Michelle cut in, glancing around them. “Perhaps we should finish this later. We should get going. It’s a long drive. Is that okay, honey?” she asked Andre. “You can look at the books in the car.”
“Okay,” Andre answered.
“We’ll get back to this later,” Rashad said, lifting Andre onto his feet and standing up. “You guys ready?”
Michelle got Andre’s booster seat from her car and got Andre settled in with his books.
As they got under way, they heard Andre pressing the buttons in the first book.
After a while, Andre asked, “What’s your name?” It was obvious whom he meant.
“Rashad. And you can call me Rashad.”
“Thank you, Rashad.”
“You’re welcome.”
Andre went back to pressing the buttons in the book, so Rashad and Michelle began to talk.
“Your son is beautiful. He’s so little,” Rashad said.
“He is beautiful. As for little, that’s perspective. You should have seen him as a baby. He was tiny. But I know what you mean. He’s a child. And when you’re the parent, you’re all he has.”
“With you as his mother, he’s going to be a valuable man one day.”
“That’s all that matters.”
After a pause, Michelle changed the subject. “I can’t believe our art class is over now. It’s just in time for me to buckle down and finish up my semester at Howard. Finals are in a couple weeks and final papers. But still, no more treks to the Torpedo Factory.”
“Nine weeks went by quickly,” Rashad said. “Especially because I got to see you every week.”
“I know. I’m going to miss that.”
“Can I still see you every week?” Rashad asked, touching her hand.
Michelle placed her hand in his. “I would like that.”
Rashad became aware that the backseat had become quiet—no more buttons being pressed. He glanced in his rearview mirror and saw Andre craning his neck to see something out the window.
“What are you looking at, Andre?”
“An airplane. It’s flying really high,” the boy said.
“You like airplanes?”
“Uh-huh! I’m going to fly an airplane when I grow up.”
“Okay,” Rashad said. “That was need-to-know information. We should be going to the National Air and Space Museum. Have you been to the National Air and Space Museum, Andre?”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a big building with all kinds of planes in it, and it has all kinds of information about the history of airplanes.”
“Can we go there?”
“We are definitely going there. Not today, but we’ll make plans to go there soon. I’m free as early as next weekend, but we need to ask Mom.”
“Can we go, Mommy?” Andre asked.
“Maybe not next weekend, but we can go.” Michelle turned to Rashad. “Are you sure you want to go? I can take him on my own.”
“Are you kidding? It’s the National Air and Space Museum. We’re going.”
Michelle laughed at his fervor, and that made Rashad laugh, too.
They pulled into the parking garage at Baltimore Harbor just before noon. They parked and got to the Baltimore branch of the National Aquarium right on cue for their entry time. They had three hours to see what could be seen.
It turned out that three hours wasn’t enough. They were able to spend time in the Children’s Discovery Gallery, and they got to the Dolphin Discovery Amphitheater, which was next door, and the Jellies Invasion, which was on the other side. But they didn’t get to the Australia exhibit, and they didn’t get to the birds at all. Andre was mesmerized by the jellyfish and other invertebrates. It was like a translucent light show.
Andre let Rashad pick him up and hold him to the window to peer at the giant octopus, and he said no when Rashad started to put him down, so Rashad held him until they got to Shark Alley.
Andre’s little eyes went big at the sight of sharks circling the viewing room in the huge tank.
“A shark!”
“It’s so graceful,” Michelle said.
“Can they get to us?” Andre asked.
“Not a chance,” Rashad answered and rubbed Andre’s head.
They next climbed the stairway of the circular tank to see the Atlantic Coral Reef exhibit.
“What’s that?” Andre asked.
“That’s a stingray,” Rashad answered.
After climbing upward, they cut across to the Tropical Rain Forest exhibit, where the frogs were.
“Uh-oh,” Michelle said.
“What?” Rashad asked.
“Wait for it.”
“Mommy,” Andre said, “can I have a frog? Please.”
“There it is.”
Rashad chuckled. It took them both to talk him out of it, and he did the same thing when they got to the turtles. He also asked for several of the bony fish, as well—a cardinal fish, a clown fish, a porcupine fish, even a moray eel.
They made it to the animal encounter activity, in which Andre got to touch an Australian python, and they made it to Nature’s Recyclers, which showed decomposers, but they didn’t get to the 4-D Immersion Film Theater.
“Mommy, I have to go,” Andre said as they stood in the Harbor Overlook near the end.
“Sorry,” Michelle said to Rashad, “but we need to find a—”
“Hey,” Rashad responded. “Little bodies have little bladders. We should probably all go.”
Michelle smiled at him.
“Oh, I have the map,” Rashad said. “I’ll take him, and we’ll meet you there.” He pointed to the page.
“Are you sure? He can come with me. I’m used to—”
“I think I got this.”
“I want to go with him,” Andre said, taking Rashad’s hand.
Rashad was touched.
After freshening up, the group visited the gift shop. Rashad got an underwater ocean vista puzzle, a book on sea animals and a pair of pajamas for Andre. He got a jellyfish paperweight for Michelle as well as a larimar-and-silver dolphin and starfish pendant on a chain. He got himself a silk tie with turtles on it.
“These are to remember our trip since nobody remembered to take pictures.”
“You don’t have to spend this much,” Michelle said.
“I know. It’s okay.”
After they left the National Aquarium, they walked along the Inner Harbor. Michelle had worn only a sweater over her blue slacks and mock turtleneck. Everything hugged her body in a way that Rashad loved, but it was a cool mid-November day. Rashad wrapped his arm over her shoulder as they strolled. Even with Andre there, she didn’t seem to mind. When they separated, he took her hand, and they continued on, Andre running along ahead of them.
When it was time for dinner, they found a seafood place along the seaport.
“You know we’re eating stuff we just saw swimming about,” Rashad said to Andre. “These could be their cousins,” he added and chuckled.
“Yuck.”
Michelle swatted his arm and laughed.
“Don’t terrorize my child. We don’t like to think of our food walking or swimming about.”
After he had finished eating, Andre scooted over to Rashad and asked him about the sea animals pictured in his new book. Rashad read bits of the text to him while Michelle finished her meal.
Outside the restaurant, Andre held out his arms for Rashad to pick him up, which Rashad did, and they rounded the Inner Harbor back to the car.
“One last stop,” Rashad said. “It’s a short one.”
“Where to next?”
“We can’t come to Baltimore without seeing the folks, and I have to give my dad his birthday present. It
won’t take long.”
On the way to his parents’ house, Michelle’s face looked pained.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Are you sure we should go to your parents’ house?” She pointed her finger toward the backseat where Andre sat.
He didn’t get it.
“Of course—why not?”
She pointed her finger more adamantly toward Andre.
“And?”
“I have a son,” she whispered. “What will they think?”
“They know that you have a son. After the Kennedy Center, my whole family pestered me for more details. They know you have a son and that you’re divorced....”
Michelle’s face crumpled again into the pained expression.
“And that’s not what they want for their son.”
“Michelle, they don’t judge you for that. I don’t care about that, and neither do they—not my parents and not my brothers or in-laws.”
Michelle shook her head, clearly disbelieving. She would have to see it for herself, he thought.
“Don’t worry. Trust me.”
When they got to his parents’ place, Rashad reintroduced Michelle and presented Andre, who had been tasked with holding the present while Rashad carried him.
Rashad put Andre down to hug his father and wish him happy birthday. Then he looked toward Andre for the present.
“Andre, are you over there shaking my dad’s present?”
Everybody laughed except Michelle, who flushed a deep bronze.
“Andre,” she said quickly. “You’re supposed to be helping deliver the present.”
“Okay,” Andre replied, coming over to them.
Rashad cupped the little one’s head and drew him over. “Andre, this is my dad, Mr. Brown.”
“Hello.”
Andre still held on to the box, so Rashad prodded him further. “I think you have something to give Mr. Brown.”
Andre held up the small, rectangular box but apparently couldn’t resist shaking it again.
Everybody laughed again, except Michelle, who got hold of the box and handed it to Rashad’s father.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “This is for you.”
“Not a problem. Hey, little fella. Want to see what it is?”
His dad, to the consternation of Michelle, handed the box back to Andre. “You open it.”
“Can I?” he asked his mother.
“You go right ahead, sweetie,” Rashad’s mother said.
Michelle nodded.
Andre tore at the wrapping, handing bits of paper to his mother.
It was a gold ID bracelet with his father’s name engraved on it, and Andre handed it to Rashad’s father, who took it, put it on and held it up.
“Now that’s class. Thank you, son.”
The two hugged.
“How about some cookies and milk,” Rashad’s mother said to Andre. “Is that okay with your mother?” She looked at Michelle.
Michelle smiled in response.
“Let’s go to the kitchen.”
Instead of taking Andre’s hand, she took hold of Michelle’s forearm, drawing her into the next room. Andre followed them.
Rashad had no idea what transpired in the kitchen, but both Michelle and his mother came back smiling in half an hour when it was time for them to go.
His mother hugged Michelle to her breast.
“I’ll see you again soon.”
He could see that Michelle had tears in her eyes as she hugged his mother and collected Andre in her arms.
“What happened? Why the teary eyes?”
“Nothing, we just chatted. I like your mother. She reminds me of mine.”
Rashad could hear what Michelle wasn’t saying and read her tears as gratitude for acceptance—real acceptance. He was glad that things had gone well.
By the time they got back to Michelle’s, Andre had fallen asleep.
Michelle lifted him out of the booster seat and onto her hip; his head rested on her shoulder.
She was looking around the parking lot and jumped when Rashad put a hand on her shoulder. Now that they were back in Greenbelt, she seemed distracted again.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, taking Andre from her. “I got him. You get the car seat.”
“Oh, thank you.” She deposited the seat in her car and came back. “Would you walk us up?”
“I think I have to,” he said good-naturedly. “I have the little one.”
“Oh, yes.”
At the door, she glanced around the hall before unlocking her door to let them in. Once inside, she led him to Andre’s room, turning on the lights along the way. He couldn’t tell whether she was being protective or overly cautious, but since the front door downstairs stayed open, he decided that the extra vigilance was for the best.
In the living room at the door, she accepted his good-night kiss. It was gentle at first, but once Michelle became lost in the moment, their lips became thirsty and their kiss passionate. For someone who hadn’t seemed to fit his expectations, this woman was setting off his world.
Chapter 11
Michelle was counting the first register when the call came. She asked the manager of the next shift to finish for her and rushed to the Metro, to her car and to Andre’s preschool, fighting back tears and a rising desperation.
She had been riding so high after Saturday at the National Aquarium. Now, three days later, and the black hole was opening around her with the potential to consume all that she loved.
The police had long since arrived by the time she got there, and in the principal’s outer office, she heard one questioning Andre.
“Tell me again who he was.”
“It was my daddy. He was mean. He said bad words. He said bad things about Mommy.”
Michelle rushed in and scooped Andre up in her arms. The tears she had been holding back slid down her face. At least Andre was safe.
“Oh, baby. It’s going to be okay. Are you all right?”
“Mommy, it was Daddy.”
“I know, sweetie. It’s going to be okay.”
After a few moments, she let go of Andre and let him be taken to the principal’s waiting room so that the officers could talk to her. She found out that a man had been seen speaking with Andre at the fence of the school’s enclosed playground, and this man, according to Andre, was her ex-husband, Lucius.
“He’s violating a court order that granted me sole custody and limited his visitation rights. And he’s also violating a restraining order I had taken out against him,” she said.
“We’ll need to see the paperwork,” one officer said.
“Was he trying to take my son?” Michelle’s voice wavered, and tears sprang back into her eyes.
“We’re not sure. He was interrupted by the child’s teacher before he could attempt anything. Nothing he said to the boy gives us an indication of what his purpose was.”
She told them about the calls, the letter, the rat’s carcass. They asked her a litany of questions. Did Lucius know people in Maryland? In D.C.? When had she last seen him?
“What can be done?” Michelle asked.
One of the officers sighed. Once they had confirmed the court order, a warrant could be issued for Lucius’s arrest. They would send extra cars to patrol the school area and her neighborhood. They would also contact the Charleston Police Department so that Lucius would be detained if he returned home.
In the D.C. area, however, they had no known contact for him. They had already checked his credit cards—no trail. Without knowing where to look for him, increasing the patrol around her was all that could be done. This man was smart, they said. He was covering his tracks.
“Should I take Andre o
ut of school? Should I move away?”
They couldn’t tell her this but gave her the number for another detective and a victim-witness advocate.
“Just keep a close eye on him,” one said. “If your ex-husband shows up again, call us so that we can apprehend him. Don’t try to confront him on your own.”
Michelle lifted her hand to take the business card the officer was giving her and realized that her hand was shaking. After more questions and more cautions, she calmed herself, collected Andre and took him home.
She had plans for the night, but her plans were changing.
Her first impulse was to try to get away. But she couldn’t move again, not unless she was willing to ask Nigel for money. And it might come to that. On her own, it would be impossible to reestablish herself, even if she spent all the money she’d managed to save in Andre’s college fund.
And the more she thought about it, the more convinced she was that she couldn’t keep seeing Rashad. She couldn’t leave Andre alone for any length of time that she didn’t have to, and she couldn’t embroil Rashad in this mess that Lucius was creating. Even if Lucius was detained, he wouldn’t be put away for long, and knowing about Rashad—if he didn’t already—would only make Lucius more spiteful and vindictive.
She didn’t even want to tell Rashad about all this baby-daddy business.
Knowing how sweet Rashad was, he would probably want to protect them, but how could he? He couldn’t be with both of them all the time. It would be a problem for him, and, even worse, it would make her dependent on a man again. She didn’t want that, not even if he was a good man for a change.
Lucius was doing just what he’d probably set out to do; he was ruining her life, sucking the happiness right out of it. If Lucius stole Andre from her, what would she do? He wasn’t equipped to raise, much less love, a child, but he might do it just to spite her. She never thought for one minute that maybe Lucius wanted to see his son; he had never paid Andre any mind when he’d had the chance. But he owned his own construction company in South Carolina, so he had the means to go someplace where she might never find her son.
Michelle thought of Rashad. She felt herself shutting down, but she didn’t know what else to do. She should deal with this on her own first, before bringing someone else into the situation, into her life.
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