Reyna shifted in her seat; this story sounded familiar, but she couldn’t place where she’d heard it.
“That night I did everything he wanted. If he wanted to dance, I danced. I’d never tasted alcohol before, but when he offered some, I accepted. When he invited me to his room to talk, I went. I readily accepted his offer to make me his woman, because I wanted to be his. I’d grown up reading fairy tales, and I thought I had found my Prince Charming. I thought since he wanted to sleep with me, he loved me. Love and lust look the same when alcohol is involved.”
“I know what you mean,” Reyna interjected, thinking of the night she lost her virginity. “I mean, I’ve heard that before,” she added, recovering. There was no way she’d admit to her mother that she fell victim to that stupid way of thinking too.
Jewel’s head tilted to the side, like she was analyzing what her daughter had said.
Reyna gestured with her hands. “Keep going.” Jewel now had Reyna’s full attention. She had tuned out everything and everyone around her. Even the pizza pie had lost its appeal.
“I spent the night with him . . . well, a couple of hours actually. Then he drove me to Rosalie’s house since I’d missed dorm curfew.” Jewel nodded at Pastor Jennings. “She snuck me inside without her parents knowing.”
Reyna smirked. “No wonder you’re such good hypocrites together. You’ve had decades of practice.”
Pastor Jennings narrowed her eyes, and Reyna rolled hers.
“At any rate, my life didn’t end like a fairy tale. He wasn’t Prince Charming, and we didn’t get married and live happily ever after. I never saw or heard from him again. I went back to the club every week for three months. I even did a few weeknight drop-ins. No one saw him. To this day I don’t know if he’s dead or alive. It’s nearly impossible to find someone with only a first name.”
Reyna gasped. “You mean you slept with a man without knowing his last name?” Not only had Reyna heard this story before, but she’d lived it too.
Jewel’s head dropped in shame. “Yes,” she whispered.
The pain of heartbreak from decades past sounded fresh to Reyna’s ears, and she ached for her mother in the small spot in her heart that bitterness hadn’t tarnished. She’d never witnessed transparency in her mother. The fact that she saw herself in her mother agitated her.
“Girl, hold your head up,” Pastor Jennings said, encouraging her. “That was a long time ago. We were different people back then. God forgave us a long time ago.”
Reyna started to ask Pastor Jennings what deep dark secrets she had, but she didn’t want to give the impression she cared.
Jewel collected a fresh tissue from her purse and wiped her face. “That one night with Reynard changed my life in more ways than one.” She held eye contact with her daughter. “I got pregnant.” Her voice quivered as the words poured out.
Reyna’s jaw dropped.
“That’s why I tried so hard to find him. I was carrying his child. I held on to the fantasy that if he knew about the baby, he’d do the right thing and take care of us, but I couldn’t find him. My family was so angry with me, they refused to support me. I had to quit school and get on public assistance to feed myself and the baby.”
“Wow. That’s some deep stuff,” Reyna said after gulping down the remaining diet Pepsi. The restaurant was filled to capacity, yet Reyna swore if she dropped a pin on the table, she’d hear it crash against the wood.
Reyna observed the nervous glances her mother and Pastor Jennings exchanged, and realized a vital and important piece of the story had been omitted. “What happened to the baby?”
Jewel covered her daughter’s hand with hers. “Reyna, you’re that baby. I named you after him. Rosalie told me I was crazy, but at the time I had this foolish hope that he’d come back and we’d be a family.”
Reyna’s head shook violently. She needed to release the vise grip vodka had on her thinking faculties. “I’m a little high right now. What’s your excuse?”
“What do you mean?”
“What medication are you on? Prozac? Xanax? Whatever it is, leave it alone. That stuff has you all twisted. You can’t get your baby daddies right. My daddy’s name is David Mills,” Reyna answered emphatically.
Jewel’s head shook sideways. “No, baby, the truth is David Mills was your stepfather. Reynard is your real father.”
Whatever buzz she had left fizzled with Jewel’s confession. He’d abandoned her, yet Reyna loved her father and blamed her mother for driving him away. Her heart ached for him daily. “What are you saying, Jewel?”
“Let me explain. You were two years old when I met David Mills. We were good friends, but I didn’t love him. He had a decent job, a car, and was willing to raise you as his own. He even had me amend your birth certificate to add his name. I agreed to marry him because I didn’t think I could do better. I didn’t trust my heart, and I no longer believed in fairy tales. Real life was hard. I was barely putting food on the table. I needed what he offered, and he wanted what he thought I could give him.
“David made good on his promises, and he took good care of us until he met the neighbor and fell in love. She gave him what I couldn’t and apparently what he needed. Although you believe otherwise, David and I parted on good terms. I’m happy he found his soul mate. In fact, I envy him. A few hours of fun scarred me for life. Chances are, I’ll never experience real love.” Jewel leaned close to her daughter. “The one thing I regretted is how he disconnected from you. I begged him not to, but he said it was best for all parties involved. Actually, I think his new wife influenced that decision.”
The high was officially gone. Reyna now understood what Peyton meant by messing up someone’s high. Jewel’s admission had dragged her ten degrees lower than her already depressed state. She no longer knew who she was; Jewel had stripped her of her identity. The father she loved didn’t love her. The man whom she was named after didn’t know she existed, and never would.
“Is that why you hate me so much?” The question flowed from a sea of bitterness and resentment. “You’ve never liked me.”
“I swear that’s not true,” Jewel asserted. “I love you. I’ll admit I wasn’t ready for motherhood. I was too young. I didn’t know how to be a mother. I tried to do right, but you came out looking just like Reynard. Every time I looked at you, I was reminded of what he took from me, what I had lost. I was angry and felt cheated. I didn’t know how to relate to you without attacking you, so I had Rosalie help me.”
Red spots floated past Reyna’s eyes, and her finger pointed at Pastor Jennings. “How did the way she manipulated me help me?” Reyna’s shrill tone caught the attention of the table closest to the booth. “Mind your business,” she barked when the couple stared at her.
“Baby, please listen.”
“Don’t you dare call me baby! Most of my life I’ve been nothing but a whore or a Jezebel to you. Don’t change now!”
“Okay, Reyna. I went about it the wrong way, but I didn’t want you to end up like me. I saw so many of my untamed characteristics in you, and I was afraid. I didn’t know what to do, but you were close to Rosalie, so we sheltered you. I admit, telling you to chase after Kevin was a mistake, but I didn’t do it to harm you. I wanted you to have more than I had and not get caught up with someone like your father. I shouldn’t have used Rosalie as a substitute mother, but I did. I regret it, but I can’t change what’s done. Please forgive me. I don’t want you to end up pining after someone who is not good for you and only cares about what he can take from you.”
Jewel paused to wipe more tears. “I don’t want you to be like me—defining yourself through others. I slept with a man I barely knew because I thought he would make me happy and he said I was pretty. I married a man because my father said a respectable lady should have a husband. I’m over fifty and just now learning my value as a woman.” Jewel’s sobs made the remainder of her explanation unintelligible.
“Reyna, I was wrong for using you to destroy my s
on’s marriage. Please forgive me.”
Reyna’s head snapped around at Pastor Jennings’s request, but she was rendered temporarily speechless as she fought to keep her emotions in check. Why did her mother and her foe have to bring her to a public place to tell her the words she’d longed to hear most of her life? She now had clarity about her mother’s attitudes and actions, but did she have the capacity to care? She didn’t think so.
The rising room temperature caused beads of sweat to form across her forehead. In minutes, the gel would lose its strength, causing her hair to stick up.
“This is too much. I have to go,” she said, standing and running from the table, leaving the pizza behind. She pushed her way through the crowded waiting area with her head down to hide the tears that refused to cease from flowing.
A broad shoulder bumped her. “Sorry, miss. I didn’t see you.”
“Whatever,” she mumbled and continued on.
“Reyna?”
“Reyna?” Mylan’s voice echoed Tyson’s.
Reyna stopped when Tyson’s firm hand gripped her arm from behind. Oh, crap! Out of all the people to run into, why did she have to run into Tyson and his new girlfriend? Before today, she hadn’t seen him in six months, and back then she looked good. Tonight she looked worse than she did at lunchtime.
She wiggled her arm, and he tightened his grip. “You don’t look well. Are you all right?”
Even with Miss Universe on his arm, he wasn’t letting her go without an answer. She had to get the embarrassing moment over with, before her mother and Pastor Jennings made it to the door.
“I’ll be fine, Mr. Stokes,” she said, turning around to face him. “I’ve had a rough day, but don’t worry. Your rent will be on time.” She added the last part as payback for how he had introduced her earlier. Tyson denied her the reaction she was hoping for.
“Fine,” he answered through clenched teeth. “Have a good evening, Ms. Mills.” He released her arm and turned his back to her. The hand that seconds ago had warmed her skin now massaged Mylan’s shoulder.
Reyna ran out the door and down the street. If she hurried, she’d make it to the corner liquor store before closing.
Chapter 24
Tyson allowed his eyes to drift from the road to the beautiful woman seated next to him. Even when she was distracted, Mylan’s beauty surpassed that of most women. Although they’d enjoyed pleasant conversation during dinner, Mylan’s normal jovial personality was missing. She hadn’t smiled as much, and she’d kept her hands tucked in her lap. She’d seemed tense ever since the run-in with Reyna. He couldn’t imagine she felt threatened. The night of the christening he’d told her unequivocally that whatever he’d had with Reyna was over, no matter what Mother Scott implied.
He didn’t mind the distance at the restaurant. He, too, had been thrown off kilter by Reyna’s sudden appearance. He’d dismissed her unannounced visit at lunch as a simple ploy to gain something. What, he didn’t know, but Reyna extended niceties only when it benefited her. This evening’s drama moment was unrehearsed. The tears were real; her appearance was uncharacteristic. He didn’t like it, but her emotional and physical state concerned him.
He could only guess about the source of those tears, until he saw her mother and Pastor Jennings bustling out of the restaurant behind her. It took all his willpower not to follow them, and truthfully, he would have if Mylan hadn’t been with him.
Tyson lightly applied the brakes at the stoplight, then turned his body to study Mylan more carefully. Why wasn’t this beautiful saved woman enough to keep Reyna Mills out of his mind? They’d been dating close to five months, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to commit. He’d planned to have the “status” talk at dinner, but bumping into Reyna changed that. He’d sat, eaten, and talked with Mylan, but it was Reyna’s tears that had captivated his attention.
As he crossed the intersection, the last conversation he had had with his father replayed in his mind. He’d summoned the courage to ask the judge if he loved his mother when they married. His answer both saddened and surprised him.
“I loved the idea and meaning of marriage,” his father had said. “I wanted a family, and your mother was willing to give me that. For that I had the highest respect for her. Then, after you were born, I fell in love with her. Actually, I think I loved her all along but was afraid to open up. She’s my best friend. She understands me and accepts my many faults. We may not be as outwardly affectionate as most, but your mother and I love one another very much. She’s quite a hottie.”
Tyson snickered, recalling that statement. He didn’t know hottie was in his father’s vocabulary. Could he expect the same outcome? His gut told him he would end up with less than amicable results.
He pulled into Mylan’s driveway and turned off the engine.
“Wait a minute.” Mylan touched his shoulder before his hand reached the latch. “We need to talk.”
They did need to talk, but his mind was too cluttered to have a serious conversation. However, the dread in her voice made him reconsider.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
As a lawyer, he was trained to read a person’s body language. Mylan shifted in her seat, and after fidgeting with her hands, she folded them in her lap. She looked at him but avoided eye contact. He came to one conclusion: he wasn’t going to like what she had to say.
“I learned a lot today, or maybe I finally accepted the truth. Now I know why you’ve been so hesitant about taking our friendship to the next level.” Her voice was soft, but firm.
His brow furrowed. “What do you mean? I thought we agreed to take our time and get to know one another.”
“It’s been almost five months. We could date for five years and it wouldn’t matter,” she said sadly.
“I don’t understand.” Tyson refused to evaluate the statement for its truth. He liked Mylan.
Mylan finally made eye contact, but he had a gut feeling again that he wasn’t going to like what she had to say.
“Do you like me?”
That was a no-brainer. “Of course I like you. I like how caring and attentive you are. I like how you challenge me with your intellect. I enjoy hearing you pray and watching you praise God. I like how you mesmerize me with your beauty.” He added a wink with the last statement, but unlike previous times, she didn’t blush.
“That’s the problem, Tyson.”
“I don’t understand.”
Her eyes seemed to read his soul when she said, “You like me, but you love her.”
“Who?”
“Reyna, Ms. Mills, and whatever other name she goes by.”
Tyson’s equanimity vanished, and he pounded the steering wheel. “Would everyone stop saying that? I’m tired of hearing that. It’s not true. I told you, whatever Reyna and I had or didn’t have is over.”
Mylan waited until the huffing and puffing ended before continuing. “You did say that, and I believed you, until today. At your office today, you introduced Reyna as Ms. Mills, your tenant. I thought that was odd, because I discerned her hurt when you kissed me. Then tonight your eyes burned with love and concern, but it wasn’t for me. It was for her. I believe with all my heart if you’d been alone, you would have gone after her.”
“That’s not true!” Out of habit those three words tumbled from his mouth, and for the first time he considered maybe they weren’t true.
“You may not want it to be true, but it is. Everyone isn’t wrong. You love her. Please hear me out,” she said when he opened his mouth to protest.
Reluctantly, he nodded for her to continue with her off-base assessment. At one time he did love Reyna, but she’d made it clear she didn’t want him, and he’d moved on.
“If Reyna is truly part of your past, why didn’t you properly introduce us this afternoon? Why didn’t you tell me the night of the christening that she lived in your property? Why is she there in the first place?”
“You have it all wrong. Reyna was a friend who needed help, and I had a
vacant town house. I was just helping her get on her feet,” he explained.
“If you say that long enough, you just might believe it. You’re a prominent lawyer with connections. I’m sure several of your colleagues, or even Kevin, could have offered her a rental. Somehow, I don’t think that thought crossed your mind.”
Defeated, Tyson let his head fall back against the headrest. Mylan had read him well. It had never occurred to him to push Reyna off on someone else. Kevin owned a unit in the same subdivision, and at the time, it was also vacant. Truth was, at the time he wanted to provide for Reyna.
“I don’t know what happened between you and Reyna, but whatever is, the two of you need to talk. She loves you, Tyson. I saw it in her eyes.”
“No she doesn’t.” He voiced the words even as hope sprang in his heart.
Relief washed over him in the still silence that followed. This was an abrupt end for him and Mylan, yet he didn’t harbor regrets for what could have been. Mylan would make someone an excellent wife; that person just wouldn’t be him.
“I didn’t mean to mislead you,” he said, apologizing. “Sorry if I hurt you.”
The smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “No hard feelings. You didn’t promise me forever. In fact, you didn’t promise me anything,” she replied. “You can do one thing for me, though,” she added after a brief pause. “Break the news to your mother that I will not be her daughter-in-law when I go out of town next week.”
“I have a better idea. Let’s send her a text.”
They shared a laugh, but Tyson’s heart ached. He was back at square one, pining for a love that would never be.
Chapter 25
With the brown paper bag clutched close to her chest, Reyna ran through the subdivision, nearly falling twice from blurred vision caused by the night sky and tears that refused to stop. In a matter of minutes she’d been stripped of her identity and her life. She didn’t know her last name or whose eyes and mouth she’d inherited. The hope she’d clung to for years of a father’s love had been shattered. All her life she’d tried to fill a role that turned out to be nothing but a manufactured lie. David Mills didn’t care, probably never had. He’d just said the right words to get her mother.
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