Mirrored Images

by Michelle Larks

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Melissa stared at her reflection in the mirror on her bathroom door as she buckled the gold belt on her tan, linen slacks, then smoothed the collar of her silk, red blouse. Rodgers was due at the house in about an hour. She felt her presence wouldn’t serve any purpose so she and Connie planned to dine together.

  She fluffed her mane of hair. The years had been kind to Melissa. Her face showed little signs of aging, just a few lines marked her face. She sprayed her signature fragrance Chanel #5 over her body. Jeremiah walked behind her as she opened a tube of lipstick and removed it from her hand. She smiled at him, turned and kissed his lips. “Connie will be here in a minute. I need to finish getting ready.”

  Jeremiah entwined Melissa in his arms and hugged her tightly. They stood before the mirror under the round bulbs of lights. Jeremiah’s body had begun filling out. His arms felt strong and sinewy. His gray waves were lost, a casualty of his cancer treatment. His baldhead gleamed.

  Melissa smiled at the picture they made. Her heart skipped a beat. She felt so lucky. As she turned away to look for her jewelry, the doorbell sounded. “That’s probably Connie. Would you let her in?” Jeremiah kissed her cheek, nodded and walked out of the room.

  Thirty minutes later, Rodgers wearing denim jeans and a Nike turtleneck blue shirt, sat parked nervously in his rented Lexus. He suffered a fit of nervousness. What if Jay disliked him on sight? Rodgers took a deep breath and removed the key from the ignition. He marched to the door.

  Jay peered out the living room window. He’d never felt tenser in his life. He opened the door to admit Rodgers.

  The two men sat opposite each other in matching wing chairs. Jay stammered as he asked Rodgers if he’d like something to eat. The men stared at each other wordlessly. Jeremiah purposely had yet to make an appearance, leaving the men time to bond.

  Jay licked his dry lips. “So what do you do? I mean…”

  Rodgers guffawed nervously. “I’m a record producer.”

  “Is there money in that kind of thing?” Jay asked as he fidgeted in his seat. I wish Dad would come. This small talk is not working for me.

  “It’s been profitable for me,” Rodgers admitted. “I knew early on there was a market for rap.” He rattled off a couple of his clients.

  Jay was duly impressed. He owned some of Rodgers’ client’s CDs.

  “Did you know or suspect, you were my father?” Jay asked looking closely at Rodgers.

  His query broke the ice. Rodgers face became animated as he explained his relationship with Moniqa. He told Jay that he’d loved his mother very much and had proposed to her. She spurned him in favor of Jeremiah. Jay listened, interjecting questions from time to time.

  A couple of hours later, Jay looked at pictures of his sisters. He didn’t see any resemblance between himself and his newfound siblings. He didn’t reject Rodgers outright but didn’t accept him with open arms either.

  Jeremiah eventually joined the conversation. He wove a tale of a pretty freshman he’d met on Clark University Campus who’d stolen his heart and never relinquished it.

  Jay was awed by the stories the men told. One loved the good twin the other the bad.

  He’d listened to the men reminisce on happier times and smiled at their memories. Life had improved. He’d grown fond of his Aunt Melissa and knew his father planned to marry her. His mind flickered to his girlfriend Erika and was glad she was the opposite of his mother, definitely not a drama queen or diva. He wondered if Rodgers still had feelings for his mother despite marrying another.

  Jeremiah called a local Chinese restaurant and ordered food. They men ate with gusto and guzzled beer. Jeremiah had a soft drink and seemed proud of the way his son handled himself. Jay had been fearful of how the evening would unfold. His worrying was for naught. After spending the evening with him, there was no doubt in Rodgers mind that Jay was his son.

  Rodgers departed shortly after they dined. He handed Jay his business card and other telephone numbers and told him to stay in touch. The paternity test results would be available in a couple of weeks.

  After Jeremiah locked the front door, he and Jay sat out on the patio. The temperature was mild. Cicadas chirped nosily.

  Jeremiah set his bottle of root beer on the wooden deck. “He’s a good man, son. You couldn’t ask for a smarter person for your father. He was smart as a whip in college. We roomed at the same dorm.”

  Jay cut his eyes at Jeremiah. “Are you just saying that because you already have a child?” His expression was pained.

  “Of course not. Don’t you ever think anything of the sort,” Jeremiah protested, holding his hand up. “You were and will always be my son Michaela or no Michaela.”

  Jay smiled, feeling relieved. “Just checking.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Cool north winds ushered in the New Year of 2002. Jeremiah was pronounced cancer-free. Melissa found employment with CNN and was in seventh heaven. Though Jeremiah was released for work, Dr. Herman cautioned him to start with a light workload. Jay returned to Howard for the fall semester. He’d visited Rogers and his family a couple of times.

  Moniqa was eventually released from the hospital and lived with Vanessa. She and Melissa had not laid eyes on or spoken to each other since the night Melissa found her twin in Jeremiah’s bed.

  Jeremiah and Melissa planned a May wedding. The Jeffries’ and Nancy were ecstatic. Everyone felt the day was long overdue.

  Melissa was sitting in her office looking at tapes when her telephone rang. With her eyes still on the television monitor she murmured, “Hello?”

  “Hello, Mel.”

  Time seemed to stand still. Melissa dropped the pencil she held in her hand. “Moniqa.”

  “How are you doing, sister?”

  “What do you want?” Melissa sputtered. Then cursed herself. She gave Moniqa and Vanessa too much control over her emotions.

  Melissa cackled loudly. “I hear congratulations are in order. You finally got the man. And my son.”

  Melissa winced as she moved the receiver away from her ear. She had a luncheon date with Jeremiah and he walked into her office. She shook her hand from side to side as if to quiet him. Then pointed to the empty seat in front of her desk. She mouthed, “It’s Moniqa.” Then switched the call to speakerphone. She imagined Vanessa was lurking somewhere in the background.

  “I’m sorry, Moniqa. I didn’t hear what you said. My assistant brought in a batch of paperwork. She’s gone now.” Melissa winked at Jeremiah.

  “I didn’t want anything other to offer you and Jeremiah my best wishes. I know I’ve been impossible in the past and want to apologize.” Moniqa sounded sincere.

  “Thank you,” Melissa said. “I’ve really got to run.”

  “I think we should meet one day and try to make amends. Get things off our chests.”

  “Tell you what, I’ll think about that and get back to you. Right now duty calls.” Her hand shook slightly as she switched the telephone off.

  “I wonder what she’s up to?” Jeremiah asked. “Let’s go, babe. Tomorrow’s another day.” He grabbed her hand and led her out the door.

  Epilogue

  On Saturday June 23rd, off the Hawaiian island of Oahu on a secluded beach cove, Jeremiah, looked handsome in white linen pants and shirt and Melissa in a white sleeveless lace dress with a shawl draping her shoulders exchanged vows. To everyone’s surprise, Bobo and Connie decided to make it a double wedding.

  Nancy, the Jeffries’, David, Trina, Brenda, Nina and Jacob and their sons, Rodgers and his family, and surprisingly, Edward Ross, were on hand to witness the couples exchange vows. Jokes were bandied about how Melissa and Jeremiah were twenty-one years late for the wedding. They smugly replied, “Better late than never”. Michaela was Melissa’s maid-of-honor. Jay had the honor of being his father’s best man. Love shone on the happy couples’ faces.

  Nancy and Ophelia shed tears of joy. Nancy smiled up at the beautiful azure sky, Nate, whe
rever you are, my son, I hope you’re proud of our baby.

  Melissa had never looked more radiant in her life. A tiny breeze ruffled her hair. It was bundled atop her head surrounded by a tiara of baby’s breath. She slipped her feet out of tiny beige cloth slippers and stood barefoot in the white sand. Her bouquet consisted of two roses. The people she loved most were gathered together for her and Jeremiah’s special day. She and the love of her life were finally going to be united legally, albeit later than they’d planned.

  Jeremiah couldn’t take his eyes off Melissa. She’d never been lovelier to him. The ocean air suffused her cheeks with a natural blush. Her hazel eyes glowed. Jeremiah didn’t look shabby himself. His dome shone and a wide grin seemed permanently affixed on his face.

  Connie and Bobo’s love was just as apparent. Connie wore a shape-fitting red dress with a tiny veiled hat perched on her head. Bobo wore a red suit. Only Connie’s mother was present. She sobbed silently at the sight of her beautiful daughter. Connie was the only one of her children to excel in life.

  Rodgers’ daughter, Briana, provided the musical accompaniment, singing several R&B songs along with a gospel one during the ceremony. Her voice trilled up and down the notes. The sound was beautifully poignant, equaling Heatwave’s as she sang Always and Forever. Her rendition brought tears to the women’s eyes.

  The two couples, surrounded by family and friends, cheered and clapped when the newlyweds kissed after the minister pronounced them husband and wife.

  Author Bio

  Michelle Larks is a wife, mother of two beautiful daughters, and employed as a systems computer programmer for one of the largest outsourcing firms in the word. She is a life long resident of The Windy City and was recently named A Distinguished Resident in Bolingbrook, Illinois in February celebrating Black History month, for her literary contributions.

  Michelle developed a love and love and passion for writing at an early age. That prompted her to write her first book “A Myriad of Emotions” which was released in March of 2003 to critical acclaim. Michelle’s wrote a poem titled, “Land of the Free, Home of the Brave” part of a series compilation published by the International Society of Poetry. Michelle self-published Crisis Mode in May of 2005, the book is a collection of four short stories that touch on societal issues, including an unplanned pregnancy, spousal abuse, mental illness, mother-daughter issues, a terminally ill parent, and marital infidelity.

  Michelle was named Author of the month by the Literary World website in March 2005, and A Myriad of Emotions was named book of the month in March 2004. The Raw Sistaz review website, awarded A Myriad of Emotions, and Crisis Mode, five stars. Michelle has just put the finishing touches on another book “Peaches & Cream” her most creative work to date.