“We all are. Such a blessing.”
“Definitely. And how’s Pastor Black doing?”
“He’s fine as well.”
“And Curtina?”
“She’s good.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“And what about you?” Charlotte asked. “How’s everything on your end?”
“Girl, don’t even ask.”
“Why? What’s wrong?” Charlotte was glad no one else was back in the shampoo area, so they could talk a little more freely.
“Shoot, where do I begin?”
“This sounds bad.”
“It is. Reggie just told me last weekend that his former girlfriend is eight months pregnant.”
“What?”
“Yeah. That was my response exactly.”
“How long have you guys been together?”
“Only for six months, but still.”
“Did he just find out?”
“No, and that’s part of the reason I’m so pissed off. He knew right away when we started dating, but he didn’t tell me. Claims he was afraid I wouldn’t keep seeing him if I knew.”
“Wow. So what are you going to do?”
Robin reached for the bottle and added more shampoo to her hands. “I don’t know. But I really hate this because now I feel like I can’t trust him. He shouldn’t have kept this from me. Plus, I’m not sure I wanna deal with any baby mama drama. Actually, I’m not sure I wanna deal with another woman’s baby, period. But there’s one problem with that.”
“What?”
“I love Reggie. I mean I really, really love him, Charlotte.”
“That’s hard. And you know I understand that better than anyone.”
“I can’t even imagine.”
“It’s hard, and while I’ve never shared this with you before, ever since Curtina came into the picture, I’ve been miserable. At first, it was because of Tabitha and how she kept trying to be with Curtis. Then, when Tabitha starting being sick all the time, Curtina started staying at our house more and more. But the worst has been since Tabitha died.”
“Why is that?”
“Because Curtina now has to live with us for good.”
“Do you think you’ll ever feel better about it?”
“I don’t know. But for the sake of my marriage, I’m really trying.”
“Just knowing that Reggie is about to have his first child with another woman really hurts,” Robin admitted.
“I’m sure it does. I was devastated when Curtis first told me Tabitha was pregnant. But at least with Reggie, he didn’t start dating you until after the fact.”
“But he still kept it from me.”
“He definitely should have been up front with you, but if you love him maybe you should just see how things go.”
“I guess. I won’t have him hanging out at her house all the time, though. He can either pick his baby up when he wants to see it and bring it to his house or not see it at all.”
“I don’t blame you. Because some women never move on. They always feel like they have a connection with a man if they have a child with him, and they never get past it. That’s how Tabitha was, anyway.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. Reggie claims she’s not like that, but that remains to be seen.”
Robin lathered Charlotte’s hair twice, rinsed it one final time, and saturated it with conditioner, and then placed a clear plastic cap on her head. As they walked over near the dryers, Robin said, “Oh no. Look.”
They both moved closer to the TV screen.
“We’ve just learned that Harold Rush, the history teacher who held three students hostage earlier this week, has died,” the female anchor stated. “Rush had also been in the news because of child molestation charges and had just been arrested one day before the hostage incident. However, he posted bail the very next day, went to his home and picked up a handgun, and then drove to Mitchell Prep Academy. Rush is survived by his wife and a stepdaughter. This story is continuing to develop, and we will bring you more during our five o’clock broadcast.”
“Matt is going to be so hurt over this,” Charlotte said and then heard her phone ringing. She grabbed her purse, and ironically, it was Matthew calling. “Hey, sweetie.”
“Mom, did you hear?” he said, choking up.
“I did. And I’m so sorry, Matt.”
“I knew he was gonna die. I knew it.”
“Well, at least you did all you could.”
“But it wasn’t enough. I just wish I’d known what it was I was supposed to say to him.”
“Mr. Rush was a very sick man, sweetie, so please don’t beat yourself up over this. It’s not your fault.”
Matthew sniffled, and it killed Charlotte to hear so much pain in his voice. She hated that he was blaming himself for Mr. Rush’s death.
“I’m going home.”
“I don’t think you should be driving. So, why don’t you call your dad to pick you up?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“You don’t sound fine.”
“I’m just a little upset is all.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I just wanna go home.”
“I wish you would call your dad, but okay. Straight home. And I’ll be calling you in about twenty minutes.”
“Okay, Mom,” he said, sounding slightly irritated, and Charlotte knew it was because she was babying him again.
“I love you, and you drive safely.”
“I love you, too, and I will.”
Charlotte got under the dryer and called Curtis.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey. You busy?”
“A little. But I have a few minutes. What’s going on?”
“Mr. Rush died.”
“That’s too bad. Have you spoken to Matthew?”
“Just hung up with him, and I could tell he was crying. He said he was going home.”
“That’s probably best,” Curtis said.
“I agree, but I wish he didn’t have to drive himself. I told him to call you, but of course, he didn’t want to.”
“He’ll be okay. I’ll check on him in a little while.”
“I told him I’d call him, too.”
“I’m sure he’s taking this hard.”
“He is, and it’s all because he was right there when that gun went off. He didn’t actually see it, but he was right there.”
“We’re probably going to have to get Matt counseling.”
“I think that’s a good idea, and I don’t think we should go to lunch now,” Charlotte said.
“No, I’ll just come straight home when I finish up with this last meeting. Oh, and I have some other news for you, too. It’s about Raven.”
“What about her?”
“I’ll tell you later. You won’t believe it.”
“Okay, well, I’ll see you soon.”
“I love you, baby.”
“I love you, too.”
Chapter 35
Well, I’ll say this much,” Charlotte said. “You were definitely right when you said I wouldn’t believe it. I mean, Raven was always so nice. So pleasant to be around.”
Curtis lifted one of the smaller barbells from the floor. “She fooled all of us.”
Normally, Curtis did his workouts first thing in the morning before anyone else got up, but with all that had gone on over the last couple of days he hadn’t gotten around to it. Now he was warming up his biceps, but it wouldn’t be long before he lay on the bench and lifted more pounds than Charlotte cared to think about. In the meantime, she sat around watching him. They hadn’t done this in a long time, talking nonstop about everything going on in their daily lives, and Charlotte was glad to be doing that again.
“So, did you get all the locks changed?” she asked.
“Is your name Charlotte Black?”
Charlotte chuckled and so did Curtis.
“Did you call Carl?” she said, asking about Janine’s husband since he owned a locksmith bus
iness.
“Yep. I asked Lana to call him as soon as Raven was out of there, so it’s all taken care of.”
“Good.”
Curtis raised the weight with his right arm and lowered it. “All I know is that I’ll be glad when this week is over.”
“Me, too. First this whole Mr. Rush situation and now Raven. Although, I was really happy to see Matt doing a lot better when we got home, because he was so sad when he called me at the hair salon.”
“He was definitely in much better spirits, and I think he’ll feel better all the time.”
“I hope so.”
“He will. And hey, this is completely on a different note, but earlier I was thinking about Valentine’s Day. It’s coming up this weekend, and I thought maybe I would ask one of the associate ministers to deliver the sermon on Sunday, so you and I can spend the night in downtown Chicago on Saturday. We’ve had such a rough couple of months, so I really want that day to be special for us.”
Charlotte would have loved nothing more than to spend a romantic evening with Curtis on Saturday, but she couldn’t. She had to meet Tom instead.
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry,” she said, already preparing the lie she was going to tell him. “But when you and I weren’t really speaking, I planned a spa afternoon with Mom and then dinner at six. And while I know she would understand if I canceled, I really hate doing that because we haven’t done anything together in months.”
“Don’t even think twice about it. Go have a good time. We all only get one mother, and if mine were still here I’d be doing everything I could with her.”
Charlotte hated deceiving Curtis. He was being so sincere and so understanding, but it wasn’t like she could tell him the truth. She wouldn’t tell her mother the truth either and would simply call her and tell her she needed her help. She would tell her that if she somehow spoke to Curtis after Saturday and the subject came up, that she needed her to lie for her—convince him that they had in fact spent the afternoon at the spa and had then gone to dinner in the evening. Charlotte would also ask her mother not to answer the phone at all on Saturday or any day before that, just in case Curtis tried calling. The only thing that might go wrong with this plan was if Curtis called his in-laws and Charlotte’s dad answered, because he would never lie for Charlotte under any circumstances.
“I wish the timing was better,” she said. “But I’m glad you don’t mind.”
“Of course, I don’t.” He did the last of his repetitions and set the weight back on the floor. “Come here,” he said, grabbing her and pulling her closer to him and relaxing his arms around her waist.
Charlotte clasped her hands behind his neck. “You have no idea how happy I am right now.”
“I know the feeling, baby.”
“I really am sorry about this weekend,” she said again, feeling guilty.
“Will you stop talking about that, woman? I’ll make reservations at one of our favorite restaurants right here in town and then, if you want, we’ll still book a hotel room in Chicago for that evening and just come back on Monday.”
“I would really like that.”
“I think I’ll go ahead and do the message on Sunday morning after all, but I’ll keep it short. Then, we can spend the rest of the day with just the two of us.”
“I love you so, so much, Curtis,” she said, kissing him.
Curtis kissed her back but they stopped abruptly when Matthew said, “Get a room, lovebirds.”
He was grinning at them, and even Curtis laughed and bumped fists with him, but Charlotte was a little embarrassed. Clearly this was a guy thing, but Charlotte still wasn’t comfortable having her son see her kissing Curtis as passionately as she had been when Matthew had walked into the workout room.
“So how are you feeling?” Charlotte asked him.
“Better than I did when I was at school.”
“I can tell that, and I’m glad,” she said.
“Seeing you guys happy again has really helped me, too.”
“I’m sure it has, Matt,” Curtis said. “And we’re sorry for making you worry about us the way I know you have been.”
“I was worried for all of us. Our whole family.”
Charlotte caressed her son’s face. “Well, you don’t have to do that anymore, because your dad and I are fine now.”
“That’s right,” Curtis said. “We’re good.”
Matthew raised both his arms, stretching his body like most growing boys do. “I think I’ll go get a pizza, so do you want me to pick up Curtina while I’m out?”
“Yeah, actually, I do,” Curtis told him. “Make sure you get her car seat out of the truck, though.”
“I will. Oh, and can we go to Mr. Rush’s funeral?”
Charlotte wanted to tell him no, but didn’t want to hurt his feelings. “We can if you want.”
“I do.”
“Then we’ll go,” Curtis said.
“Okay then, I’m out of here.”
“Drive safely,” Charlotte told him. But when he was gone, she said to Curtis, “If we go to that funeral, what will the other parents think?”
“I don’t know. To be honest, I would rather not attend either, but this isn’t about us. It’s about Matthew and what will make him happy.”
“I know a man died, but that same man sexually molested those two girls and got one of them pregnant. Then, on my way home, Elijah’s mom called and told me that there’s a rumor going around about him having done the same thing to his stepdaughter.”
“How sick.”
“Very sick, and that’s why I have no desire to be there.”
“All we can hope is that Matthew somehow changes his mind.”
Charlotte leaned against the wall. “I know Matt has a big heart, but it’s almost as if he’s forgotten the reason Mr. Rush was arrested in the first place.”
“No, he hasn’t forgotten. Because yesterday, I heard him talking on the phone to Jonathan. He was saying how even though Mr. Rush was wrong for the crimes he committed and deserved to be in prison, he still didn’t think he had deserved to die. Plus, you know Matthew has never thought anyone should have to die because of wrongdoing. Remember when he wrote that lengthy paper back in junior high, explaining why the death penalty should be eliminated?”
“How could I forget? He took it so seriously, he drove both his English teacher and debate coach crazy.”
They both laughed at how persistent Matthew had been, but Charlotte couldn’t deny how many valid points he’d made back then. He’d only been maybe thirteen, but he had easily caused many adults to rethink their positions. Mr. Rush hadn’t been executed, but somehow this whole dilemma made her think about Matthew’s passion toward anything he fully believed in or his passion toward anyone he thought needed help.
“So,” Curtis said, pressing his body against her. “Where were we before our wonderful son came down here and interrupted us?”
Charlotte smiled. “I think you know.”
“I do, and since Matt will be gone at least an hour, maybe we should take this party upstairs.”
“Maybe. Or we could also keep our little party going right down here.”
“Makes no difference to me. Here. There. Because either way you know what’s about to happen.”
“No. But I can’t wait for you to show me.”
Chapter 36
Saturday had arrived in record time, and Charlotte had tried her best to reschedule her meeting with Tom. She didn’t have his cell number, what with him always blocking his number whenever he called her, but thankfully he had phoned her yesterday morning. She’d begged, groveled, and pleaded with him to change the date or cancel it altogether, but Tom had straight out refused. He’d even become a bit indignant in his tone and had told her he didn’t want to hear another word about it, and that she had better be there at six p.m. sharp.
So now, Charlotte had just left the mall and was heading in the direction of the motel. She’d been gone most of the day, hanging out with
her mom, shopping and then having lunch, so at least this part of her lie to Curtis had worked out perfectly. She’d called her mom as planned, and while she hadn’t told her about her blackmail situation, she had reminded her that if Curtis asked, her mother needed to say they’d had a girls’ spa day and had then gone to dinner. Charlotte could tell her mother hadn’t felt comfortable with it, but as always, she’d agreed to do what she’d been asked. She did whatever she thought was necessary to keep her daughter’s marriage intact. Then, as more luck would have it, her father was away on an NBA trip with some men’s organization, so there wouldn’t be a problem with him either. She knew anything was possible and that Curtis might just up and call her dad out of the blue on his cell phone, but it wasn’t likely.
Charlotte drove onto the interstate and looked at her navigational screen. She was only about thirty minutes from her destination, but it was barely four-thirty. Maybe she could stop at another mall on the way and see what new makeup the M.A.C. store was promoting. Either that, or she could park and call Alicia or Janine to see what they were up to. But as she debated whom to call first, her phone rang. Charlotte cringed when no number showed up.
“What is it?” she said.
“There’s been a change of plans,” Tom told her.
“What kind of change?”
“The location. I’m up in Madison, Wisconsin, visiting some relatives so I want you to meet me at this motel outside of Fontana instead.”
“But I’m already in Chicago. So, if it’s okay with you, I’d rather meet at the original spot.”
“No. Fontana is a lot more convenient for me, so Fontana it is.”
“What’s the name and the address?” Charlotte asked, not wanting to argue with him.
Tom rattled the information off. “And please don’t keep me waiting.”
“Whatever,” she said and hung up.
But Tom called her right back.
“One more thing,” he said. “I’ve already checked in, so just come to room number eight.”
Charlotte hung up again without saying a word. This was ridiculous, and she was tempted to call her cousin Dooney, who would jump at the chance to help her. But she couldn’t take the chance on him finding out she’d been silly enough to sleep with a stranger. She also didn’t want him knowing she’d messed around on Curtis, because it just wouldn’t sit right with Dooney. He was a thug, but he loathed women who slept around on their boyfriends or husbands.
Love, Honor, and Betray Page 18