Crowning Glory

by Pat Simmons

  She sniffed again. “I love you, too.”

  “I know. Good night, baby.”

  The next morning, he woke still reminiscing about his conversation with Karyn. The vibes were still there. The chiming of his doorbell cut into his daydream. Dori’s shouts of jubilee at the possibility of company made him get up to answer it.

  “Daddy, somebody’s at the door.” She pulled on his hand. “Come on, Daddy, before they go away.”

  Let them go away unless it was Karyn. Judging by the insistent chiming, whoever was on the other side had no intention of leaving. Levi opened the door and Dori screamed her delight.

  “Uncle Seth! Hi, Miss Tia.”

  Seth bent and scooped up his niece. Tia tickled her stomach.

  “What are you two doing here? Dori and I were going to finish Christmas shopping.”

  Tia grinned. “For Karyn?”

  Dori nodded. “She has lots of presents from me and Daddy.”

  “Really?” Tia lifted a brow as Levi ushered them in the door, then shut it.

  Levi took their coats and didn’t bother to hang them in the closet. With little care, he discarded them in a nearby chair as his brother and Tia headed to the fireplace. Dori broke away and ran into her room. Within minutes, she returned, dragging a stuffed animal Jet had recently bought her.

  Tia oohed and ahhed over the toy to Dori’s delight. Seth’s gaze followed his fiancée with love. If Nalani wasn’t in town, Karyn would be with him. In almost two months, she had never asked where he lived. Now that they had officially professed their love, things would change and their relationship could move at a faster pace. Thank God.

  When Tia settled on the sofa, Dori claimed one side of her, Seth stole the other. Levi sat back on the other sofa. “So, what’s up? Oh, pardon my manners. Do you want something hot to drink or a snack?”

  They shook their heads as Seth stood. “Come on, Dori. Show your favorite uncle your room.”

  Dori jumped off the sofa, grabbed his hand, and led the way. “Uncle Solomon is my favorite uncle.” She laughed, giggling at the game they always played.

  Levi eyed him with suspicion before looking at Tia. His future sister-in-law had brought so much life and energy to the family. Plus, she would be the daughter his mother never had, but if he and Karyn continued on the same path, Sharon Tolliver would get two daughters.

  Tia lowered her voice. “I wanted to talk to you about Karyn.”

  Instantly, Levi stiffened as he braced to react. “Why? What’s wrong? I just talked to her not long ago.” Levi was getting up to get his car keys.

  “Sit down, Tolliver.” She laughed. “I wanted to give my two cents. I like her. She’s down to earth and pretty and has the sweetest spirit. I know I don’t have to sing her praises because you know that. I didn’t have a chance to meet Diane, so I can’t compare the two, but I do know Karyn is perfect for you and for Dori.”

  Grinning, Levi relaxed. “You gave me a serious moment of high blood pressure.” Levi’s heart continued pounding. “Don’t you ever do that to me again. I loved Diane and will always miss her, but Karyn…there’s so much to say. We’re happy.”

  Tia patted his knee. “Then my job is done. I’m team the bookseller.”

  “You’re late. Momma gave me that the first day she met Karyn, and as close as Jet is to Dori, no other woman has made it to the top of Dori’s list.”

  “Good because I asked her to be in my wedding.”

  He knew there was a reason he loved his future sister-in-law. “What did she say?”

  “Oh, I guess it all depends.” Shrugging, Tia shouted over her shoulder. “Seth baby, you ready to go?”

  What kind of answer was that? Levi also stood. “Depends on what?”

  “You.” Tia wagged her finger. “Don’t mess this up. I get good vibes about her.”

  Seth came out of Dori’s bedroom. “Not quite, T. Dori and I are having a tea party,” he said, feigning seriousness as his eyes pleaded for rescuing him.

  Tia laughed first, then Levi joined her. They strolled to Dori’s room. Levi shook his head. As the only grandchild, Dori had all of them wrapped around her finger.

  Somehow Seth had twisted his long legs in an Indian style at a plastic colorful table. At more than six feet, his body and legs would crush Dori’s children furniture. Stuffed animals were situated on both sides as invited guests. Tia concealed her laughter as Dori unsuccessfully tried to steady a miniature party hat on Seth’s head. Levi wasn’t so discreet. On the table in front of Seth was a tiny saucer.

  Seth turned and looked at them with the cup to his lips and his pinky posed. “Tea, anyone, herbal or black?”

  Levi and Tia collapsed on each other as they bowled over laughing.

  CHAPTER 33

  “I was hoping your sister was coming to break you out of this joint at the same time I was escaping,” Buttercup said, wrapping her micro braids around a hot curler.

  Buttercup had saved more than the mandatory thirty percent of her weekly paychecks, had steady employment for more than a year, and even earned a raise. As a guest at the transitional women’s center for the past fifteen months, she had obeyed almost all of the center’s rules except for the over-the-limit accumulation of personal belongings. Her counselor had turned a blind eye to her closet of elaborate headbands.

  Karyn’s mood was somber. Her soon-to-be-ex roommate had signed a lease on a furnished one-bedroom apartment, believing she and Halo would be married upon his completion. “I’m going to miss you. In less than thirty days, you’ll be gone.”

  “You’ll be right behind me in six long, excruciating months.” Buttercup grinned. “Hey. Your sister is a jewel. She didn’t have to set aside that money for you.”

  “I know,” Karyn agreed.

  “She could’ve been like some people and written you off because you’re an ex-felon.” Buttercup stopped curling her hair and turned around. With a fist positioned on her healthy hips, she tapped her house shoe on the wood floor. “Run this by me again the reason you can’t move in with her.”

  “Because…” Karyn stretched out on their couch. “She’s staying in the university’s housing. That’s not considered a permanent residence by the state.” Karyn squeezed her lips to keep from pouting. “Once she sublets an apartment near here, I’ll be able to get weekend passes to visit when she comes to town.”

  “At least you have access to money from your trust fund. Girl, do you know how much damage we can do at the thrift stores? Forget that. You don’t even have to wait until Macy’s has a sale. You could create your own.”

  “That money is going to be a blessing as a deposit on the loan for our business.” Karyn began to loosen her braid since Buttercup had agreed to wash her hair after she finished with her own. “And, as you know, that money will not void my parole. I still have to hold down a job to complete it. And believe me, that’s my goal.”

  “Because of Levi Tolliver,” Buttercup stated. When Karyn didn’t answer, Buttercup resumed curling her hair. “Humph. A low-paying job with crazy employees—”

  Karyn held up her finger. “Just one.”

  “Yeah, right. Okay, back to Levi. When do you plan to tell him?”

  “Who said I was?”

  “See, you must think me and everybody on the church van is stupid because even they know you will, even if you don’t think so. As you know, Mother Caldwell has reversed her decision of telling Levi. Now, she’s keeping a tally on how many of us think you’ll break soon. She’s guessing on the first of the month—perfect way to start the New Year, she says. Deacon Deacon has already been wrong twice. He thought you would cave in after the church sermons.”

  “I was close a couple of times,” she whispered. Karyn contemplated celebrating the year with a clean slate, especially since Levi had been upfront with her on their first date about his pain, anger, and his struggle to move on—not first date material, but the honesty was there from the beginning.

  “Brother Brad Pickle pick
ed the twentieth because he used to run numbers, and Halo—my honey—is praying never. And you know he’s one praying hunk.”

  Outnumbered, Karyn shook her head. “What’s the prize?”

  “For Mother Caldwell, the satisfaction of being right.”

  “And the others?”

  “The satisfaction of Mother Caldwell being wrong.”

  They shared a laugh.

  “You’re going to tell him?”

  Karyn huffed. “Buttercup, why do you keep harping on this? I’m not obligated to tell him. My sins are in my past, and I have the scriptures to back me up.”

  Yanking on one of her braids, Buttercup yelled as she tried to detangle her curler. Once she accomplished the task, she used the hot appliance as a pointer. “Wrong. You’re not obligated to tell your neighbor, teacher, car salesman, or store clerk, but the man you love? He’s in a different category. When you love each other, you share secrets, faults, and fears. You know what the Bible says about perfect love. First John 4:18 says it casts out all fear.”

  “What if I lose him?”

  “God’s got an answer for that, too.” Resting her curler on the sink, Buttercup crossed the short distance to the couch and forced Karyn to shift her body, so she could sit next to her. “I don’t have the correct answer. There is nothing worse than losing our freedom—nothing. Scratch that. Going to hell is irreversible. If Levi wasn’t so important to you, you wouldn’t be this tormented.”

  Tears streamed down Karyn’s face. She was mad at Buttercup because she was speaking the truth and mad that Buttercup and Halo had overcome the same issues—incarceration. There would never be any judgmental spats between them.

  Closing her eyes, Karyn leaned her head back until it rested on the wall. Buttercup wrapped her arm around her shoulders. “I knew there would be roadblocks after I was released, but falling in love with a good man who was also the victim of crime wasn’t one of them.”

  Buttercup untangled her arm from behind Karyn’s back, then checked her watch. “Ooh, if I don’t get to bed soon, my skin cells…” She paused. “One final question. Does Levi have perfect love?”

  One of Karyn’s eyes popped open. “Is this a trick question? Only God has perfect love for us.”

  “Then trust God’s perfect love to give you peace, regardless of how much of a jerk Levi acts.”

  “Hey.” Jumping up, Karyn balled her fists. “Levi is not a jerk!”

  Buttercup grunted. “Then I guess he’ll have to prove it.”

  CHAPTER 34

  Jet cleared her desk in preparation for her two-week vacation. She wanted next year to be different for her. It was time to make peace within. Although she wasn’t a churchgoer, Jet had to have faith that justice was served for her sister.

  Lifting her phone off the console, she made the decision to make the first step toward healing. She punched in the number to Tolliver Real Estate and Development Company. Once the receptionist answered, she was transferred immediately to Levi.

  “Hey, Jet. What’s up?” he answered.

  She swallowed, suddenly unsure. I’m a strong, independent, successful black woman. Her mantra had always been she didn’t need anybody, but she had been wrong. “I’m ready for closure. Will you go to a crime victims grief counseling with me, please?”

  Levi was speechless. Jet knew she had caught him off guard with her request. Initially, they both had balked at the idea because Diane’s death was still too fresh. At least Levi had attended once, maybe twice.

  “Will you?”

  “Yes,” he choked. “Yes, Jesetta, I will go.”

  “Thank you.” They chatted a few more minutes before signing off with Merry Christmas. Jet inhaled deeply as if she were repeating a yoga technique. “A new year and a new beginning.” She curled her lips into a slight smile. If only she had a song in her head, she would hum it.

  Jet was about to shut down her computer when, against better judgment and contrary to her declaration of moving on, she pulled up the story about the grocery store massacre. It had become a yearly ritual to reread line by line the names of the victims.

  The news articles always made Jet cry, not only for her sister, but the families whose lives were shattered by the senseless act. “I love you, Diane,” she whispered. She continued the self-torture by Googling the website that listed all inmates, including those convicted for the shooting, with their whereabouts and status.

  From there, Jet started to feed her curiosity as she plugged in random names: herself, Rossi’s, Levi; coworkers. When she typed in Karyn Wallace, Jet’s heart stopped, her mouth dropped, and her eyes bucked. She blinked in disbelief. It had to be a joke. She didn’t actually believe she would get a hit.

  This Karyn Wallace—a black female, age twenty-six, was released earlier in the year. Could she be one in the same? Jet was on a roll, pulling up picture after picture, but all were current inmates. She didn’t have a social security number to get a police check. Was Levi’s Karyn an ex-con? Did he know? If so, had he lost his mind?

  It better be a coincidence because Jet would not allow her niece to be around any type of criminals. Jet signed off her computer and snatched her purse out of her desk drawer then locked it. She was going shopping. Her adrenaline was pumping. The snow was steady and heavy. It didn’t matter. Her vehicle had front wheel drive, and she was going to put it to the test. All bets were off for her to seek counseling if Karyn Wallace #176410-456 was the same one disguised as a bookseller.

  Criminals didn’t deserve second chances. Two of the gunmen in Diane’s killing were on parole at the time of the murders. “They weren’t reformed or trustworthy.”

  Suddenly, Karyn’s face was plastered on the person who pulled the trigger and killed her sister. Did Levi and everyone else know, except her? How many Karyns with a ‘y’ with the last name Wallace had served time in prison? If she couldn’t get her hands on the people who killed her sister, Jet would be satisfied with any ex-con as a stand-in.

  Neither the snow nor other shoppers would deter Jet from completing her mission: confront Karyn and respond accordingly. In the parking lot, Jet made her own parking space, taking liberties with a handicap spot. Turning off the engine, she grabbed her purse and got out. Briefly forgetting about the hazard of snow, she almost slipped.

  “For your sake and safety, I hope there are thousands of Karyn Wallaces in prison.” This was one of those times Jet wished she had bought a gun. Her steps were angry as she cleared the mall entrance. She made a beeline for Bookshelves Unlimited. She searched the store as if her eyes were a scope on a rifle. Once she locked in on her target, she kept walking, not so gently moving customers out of her way.

  Within a foot of Karyn, Jet halted, causing someone behind her to trip. “Do you have a minute?” Her tone hinted that she wasn’t asking a question, but making a demand.

  “Hi, Jet. I don’t now, but if you want to wait in the café, as soon as I get a break, we can talk.” Karyn turned back to a couple she was helping.

  Karyn brushing her off, infuriated Jet. “No, you are going to talk to me now, hussy. Have you ever spent time in prison?” Jet waited for Karyn’s brow to flinch like on the TV shows when someone lied. Nothing.

  “What? I’m working, if you don’t mind.” Karyn dismissed her.

  Jet reached out to grab her at the same time a security guard snatched her. “Let me go! Let me go!” She took a swing. Another guard hurried to assist. The pair managed to drag Jet out the store. One was already radioing for backup. Great, she was going to jail. She didn’t want a record and have her picture posted somewhere like a criminal.

  Within minutes, a patrol car sped to a stop in front of the mall entrance. The red and blue lights were spinning. Two more officers jumped out and raced through the doors. Jet was still struggling to free herself as a crowd gathered.

  “What seems to be the problem, Jim? What do we have? Another shoplifter?” A tall skinny officer demanded.

  The cop was black. The situation cou
ld go two ways. She could plead she was ‘Shopping While Black” and she was targeted by the white officers, or he could be color blind and treat her like the very people she despised, a criminal.

  “I don’t know if she’s on drugs or drunk, but she marched into the bookstore and threatened a worker.”

  “Assault, huh?” The same officer stated as if it was an open and shut case.

  Since Jet had an audience, she decided to give them a show—big mistake. Screaming at the officers was not the way to be heard. The next thing she knew she was in the backseat of a patrol car and charged with peace disturbance and resisting arrest.

  Weren’t officers supposed to read her Miranda rights or something? She blamed temporary insanity for her predicament. Once she calmed down and thought how ridiculous the accusation, she could have kicked herself. Karyn didn’t look like she had it in her to hit a squirrel in traffic.

  She called Rossi to post bail. “You know I’m good for the money,” she rambled on. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem surprised. That surprised her. After two hours of the nightmarish ordeal, she was released. Outside the Belleville police station, Jet fell into Rossi’s arms and cried like a baby. He hugged her and let her vent.

  “I already prayed for you after you called. Come on. I’ll take you to your car, then I’ll trail you home. I know how this ended, but I’m a little curious how it all began.”

  Jet was grateful Rossi didn’t ask another question. The short humiliating ride was done in silence. He didn’t play the radio. Even the snowfall had stopped. It was her curtain call to a bad day.

  She mumbled her thanks when Rossi parked next to her car. A parking ticket under her wipers didn’t phrase her as he cleaned her windows. Once she was inside her car, Jet laid her head on the steering wheel. She needed counseling. She needed God. She needed a drink.

  Back in his car, Rossi honked. Jet’s hand shook as she fumbled to insert her key into the ignition. Adjusting the heat, she drove away from her attempted scene of a crime.