Lieberman continued. “Mrs. DeSalle has requested that in the event of her death, her daughter, Mika, should be adopted by Mariah Williams. And if Mariah is unavailable or unwilling to adopt Mika, her sister Soleil DeSalle will become her legal guardian until she is eighteen.”
“W-what?” Lucy said, shock and surprise in her voice.
Lieberman looked at Mariah. “Will you adopt Mika?”
Mariah glanced in Mika’s direction. “Of course I will. I would be honored to be Mika’s adopted mother.”
Soleil looked at Mika. The little girl appeared ready to cry. Connie squeezed her hand.
Lieberman nodded in Mika’s direction. “Mika has spent most of her life with her mother’s friend Connie Dyson in Santa Barbara. Connie and Mariah would like to give Mika the chance to get to know her new family. Then the matter can be brought up before family court to change the custody terms if Mika wishes to remain with Ms. Dyson.”
Soleil looked at Mariah. She whispered to her, “You knew about this?”
“I only found out about it last week,” Mariah whispered back.
Soleil looked at the little girl again. Faith must have gotten pregnant and had the baby while she was in Oklahoma. Why had Faith kept her existence a secret? Why had Mika been living with someone else? Soleil had to only look at her own childhood to know the answer to that one. Had Faith been trying to avoid making the same mistakes with her second daughter that she had made with her first? Maybe Faith had a conscience, after all.
She thought about the name of her new sister. Mika for Mik, of course, and Shelton for her father, and Luna for her. Soleil was the sun and her little sister was the moon. Maybe Faith really did have faith after all, just like she, Esparanza, still had hope for the future.
Soleil stared at the frightened little girl, who stared back at her. The resemblance was freaking her out. Looking at Mika was like looking at herself. They had the same grey/hazel eyes, the same hair texture.
“You look like me,” Mika said to her.
It seemed like everyone in the room was holding their breath. Lucy was staring at her. Eve was looking at Mika. Mariah glanced at Lieberman, and then turned toward Mika.
What should I say, Soleil wondered. She’s only a little girl. A real little girl, not a jaded, old-before-her-time woman/child like she’d been at that age.
Soleil smiled at Mika, but her lips trembled. “That’s because we are sisters. Lots of sisters look alike.” She glanced at Eve and Lucy. A chuckle started in her throat. She or Mariah would have a lot of explaining to do one day. She shook her head at the absurdity of the situation. She covered her hand to muffle her laughter.
Eve started laughing, too. “Lots of sisters look alike,” she repeated.
Mika looked confused. “What is so funny?”
“Soleil is just so glad to have you as a sister, that’s all,” Mariah said. “Would you like to come to Malibu to visit me tomorrow?”
Mika looked at Connie.
“It’s okay, Mika. You can spend the day with Mariah if you want to. You can spend as long as you want with Mariah. She is going to be your new mother.”
“Where is my old mother?”
The room became silent again.
Soleil stood up. She walked over to Mika. She knelt beside her. “Faith is gone, Mika. She won’t be coming back.” Mika smelled of shampoo and baby oil, mixed with a light scent of patchouli.
Mika touched Soleil’s short hair. “Is she dead?”
Soleil nodded. “Yeah. And she wanted you and me to get to know each other. She wanted you to get to know Mariah, too. You should get to know Eve and Lucy. They are your aunts.” Soleil tousled her little sister’s hair. “When is your birthday, Mika?”
Soleil intrigued Mika. She never took her eyes off of her. “January 14. When is yours?”
Before Soleil could answer, Eve spoke. “That is my birthday, too.”
Soleil glanced at Eve, then back to Mika. This was getting weirder and weirder. “My birthday is November 2. Maybe you and Aunt Eve can have a party together.”
Mika scrutinized Eve. “She is white. Is she related to Aunt Connie?”
“No, she isn’t related to me,” Connie stated. “She was your father’s sister.”
Soleil stood up. She eyed Lieberman. “Is there anything else that we need to do here?”
“No. I should have the other matter settled by the end of the week.” Lieberman shot his cuffs and coughed.
“Then why don’t we find a nice place around here to grab a bite to eat? Mika, would you and Connie like to go with us?”
Mika looked at Connie and nodded.
“That sounds like a good idea,” Lucy seconded.
They all stood up. Mariah shook Lieberman’s hand again and started out the room. They all filed out of the conference room, with Connie and Mika bringing up the rear.
Soleil shook her head. Faith had saved her biggest surprise for last.
Lucy
Faith’s one selfless act had probably saved Mika’s life, Lucy thought as she watched the little girl seated on the opposite side of the table.
They had found a restaurant nearby that could readily seat six people without a long wait. When they took their seats, Mika sat between Connie and her newly discovered big sister. Mika seemed drawn to Soleil. She didn’t talk, but she kept glancing up at Soleil as if she was seeking her approval. Soleil returned her glances with a smile. It was obvious there was a bond between the two of them, even though they had just met. Soleil hadn’t sworn since her initial outburst in Lieberman’s office. Maybe Mika would be a good influence on her.
“What would you like to eat, Mika?” Mariah asked. Mariah was already extending her mothering to her soon-to-be-adopted daughter. Connie tried to be as unobtrusive as possible, letting Mika get used to her new family.
Mika looked at Connie, then at Mariah, who sat on the other side of the table next to Lucy.
“Can I have a real hamburger?” Mika looked at Connie again. “And some fries?”
Soleil laughed. “Don’t tell me that you are a vegetarian, too, Connie?”
“I have been a vegetarian for about twenty years. I only let Mika eat meat a few times a month. She usually doesn’t eat red meat.”
Lucy could tell that Connie was uncomfortable looking at Soleil. Connie also remembered what Soleil was like as a child. Looking at Mika was like looking at Soleil sixteen years ago, except for one big difference. Thankfully, Mika didn’t have the haunted look in her eyes that Soleil did at that age. Mika was a happy child. She did not live with an abusive mother.
“Mariah is a vegetarian. But I eat meat sometimes. Especially on special occasions, ” Lucy said.
Soleil shook her head. “Meat as a treat. Imagine that.” She looked at Eve.
Eve chuckled. “It’s a California thing.”
“Must be.” She looked down at Mika. “I’m sure that it would be okay for you to have a real hamburger and fries today. Today is a special occasion, don’t you think?”
Connie sighed. “Sure, Mika. You can have a hamburger and fries.”
“Maybe she wants cheese, too.” Soleil winked at Mika. Mika giggled.
Lucy could tell that Mika admired Soleil. Soleil had found a soul mate. The best parts of Faith would live on in her two daughters.
And what about the best parts of Ricky? Lucy glanced at Eve. She was looking at Mika. Maybe she was also trying to find what remained of their brother in the countenance of his daughter.
“Mika, did you understand what Mr. Lieberman was saying in his office?” Mariah asked after their orders were taken.
Mika nodded. “Yes. I am supposed to go to live with you now because my mother died.”
“And what do you think about that?”
Mika looked from Connie to Mariah. “Do I have to stay with you forever?”
Mariah smiled. “Of course not. If you don’t like it, we’ll see if you can return to live with Aunt Connie.”
“You live i
n a house on the beach?”
“Mariah has a great house. You’ll like it there,” Soleil said.
Mika looked from Soleil to Mariah.
“Can I get a kitten?”
Mariah smiled broadly. “Sure, you can get a kitten. I used to have a cat when I was little.”
Lucy looked at her mother. “You never told me that you had a cat.” How many more surprises were left, she wondered.
“You don’t know everything about my life, Lucy,” Mariah said. “His name was Tiger. He was a yellow striped cat. My younger sister and I got him from a neighbor.”
“Apparently, there are a lot of things that we don’t know about our mothers,” Soleil muttered close to Lucy’s ear.
“If I become your little girl, do I have to change my name?”
Lucy looked at Eve.
Mariah continued to smile at Mika. “No, you will still be Mika Shelton.”
“I’m changing my name back to Shelton,” Eve said as she returned Lucy’s stare.
“Oh, shit,” Soleil said. “I can see years of analysis in the future.”
Connie glared at Soleil. Soleil bent her head and rolled her eyes at her.
“What is your name now, Aunt Eve?” Mika asked politely.
“My name is MacRae. That was my married name, but I’m divorced now.”
“Oh.” She smiled at Connie. “Aunt Connie is divorced, too.”
Connie’s face flushed to match her hair.
Mariah cleared her throat. “I have an idea. Why don’t you, Aunt Connie and I spend the day together? We can go and look for a kitten. I can show you my place in Malibu. Then we can drive up to Santa Barbara and you can pick some things to bring down with you. I haven’t been to Santa Barbara in a long time.”
“That’s a great idea. You can spend the night with us in Santa Barbara and drive back tomorrow.”
“What about Soleil?” Mika asked.
Soleil ran her fingers across her head. “I have some things I need to talk to Eve and Lucy about. They are coming over to my house to hear a CD.”
Lucy tried not to react to Soleil’s statement. She wanted to play her CD for them? She had never thought about sharing her father’s CD with her sisters. But she was curious about what Mik said to Soleil.
“We are?” Eve did not try to hide her surprise.
“Sure, we can ride over to my house in my truck. I thought that you should get to visit my place before you went home. But it’s nothing like Mariah’s mansion. It’s just a one bedroom musician’s apartment.”
“Are you a musician, Soleil?” Mika asked.
She nodded. “Yeah. Are you?”
“I’m taking piano lessons. But I only have a keyboard at home.” Mika moved her long fingers as if she were practicing.
Lucy drew in her breath. This was getting stranger by the moment.
“I play piano, too,” Mariah interjected. “I have a grand piano at home. I can give you lessons. I used to teach piano.”
Lucy was aware that her mother had taught piano. After Mik left them, one of the ways her mother had supported them was to teach piano to rich kids in Brentwood and Bel Air. She thought about how different Mika’s life would be from her childhood. If Mika went to live with Mariah, she would enjoy the home that she didn’t get to live in until she was a teenager. But Mika would grow up without either of her birth parents in her life. If Mariah adopted her, Mika would become her sister. But Eve would still be her aunt. Wouldn’t she? Lucy scratched her temple.
Soleil
After lunch the group split into two parts. Connie and Mika walked with Mariah to her Jaguar. Soleil, Eve and Lucy headed in the opposite direction toward Soleil’s truck.
“I hope that the three of us can fit in the cab after lunch,” Soleil quipped.
“We’ll fit, fat-ass,” Eve threw back.
“Be nice, Aunt Eve,” Lucy admonished.
“Shut the fuck up.” Eve glared at Lucy.
“Smile, girls, you’re on Jerry Springer.” Soleil said sarcastically as she pushed the button to turn off the vehicle alarm and unlock the doors.
Lucy opened the door and climbed in. Eve squeezed in next to her.
Soleil got in the driver’s seat. She looked at her two passengers. “You do want to hear the CD, don’t you?”
“Of course,” Lucy said quickly.
Eve hesitated. “I guess so.”
* * *
Soleil got three Cokes out of the refrigerator. She was having second thoughts about sharing the contents of the CD. She set the cans on the round wooden table she had found dumpster diving one Saturday morning after staying out all night.
Eve wiped the top of the can with her hand and pulled off the tab. “I don’t need a glass.”
Lucy looked at the faded blue wallpaper. “Me, neither.”
Soleil followed her gaze. It was a crappy apartment.
Eve took a swig of the beverage and set her glass down. “Just when I thought we had heard and seen everything, we find out Soleil has another sister.” She shook her head. “My mother is going to shit when she hears about this.”
Lucy laughed bitterly. “My brother’s daughter is my sister’s sister. I want to be in the room when Mariah explains that.”
“Well, if she is a part of this family, it will make perfect sense to her.” Soleil glared at Eve as she went into the bedroom to turn on the CD player.
“Is there anyone else my brother fucked that we should know about?” Eve looked at Lucy.
“Give it a rest, Eve. Why don’t you just fuck Lucy yourself? Maybe it will make you feel better.” Soleil turned the speakers toward the table. “Now let’s hear the words of wisdom from Dear Ol’ Dad.”
Eve stood up. “I don’t think I want to hear it.”
“What the fuck are you gonna do, leave? You don’t even know where you are. How you gonna get back to Malibu, hitch a ride?” She shook her head. “Good luck, Goldilocks.” She turned on the player.
When Mik started speaking, Lucy dropped the can on the table. “Oh, shit,” she whispered.
Eve stood in the window. She looked at the stereo and then looked over at Lucy. She pursed her lips. “Listen to him. That crazy motherfucker.”
Lucy stared back at her. “Yeah, listen to him. ‘Only you can determine what happens next.’ You can spend your life contemplating what Ricky did or didn’t do, or you can get over it and get on with your life.”
Even though it was her second time hearing it, Soleil felt the tears again. She looked at Eve. “Let it go, Evelyn. Just let it fuckin’ go.”
Eve sighed.
“I love you, Eve.” Lucy ran her fingers through her hair.
“Shut the fuck up, Lucy. Don’t be so magnanimous.”
Lucy glared at Soleil. “What?”
“This isn’t easy for any of us. Eve is entitled to her feelings. None of us asked for this shit.” She looked at the speaker. “But I, for one, still love him. No matter his mistakes, he was our father. Sure, he fucked up, but haven’t we all?”
“Poor little Mika.” Lucy shook her head.
Soleil giggled. “Yeah, her adopted mother will one day have to explain to her that her adopted sister may or may not have fucked her father. And that her half sister tried to kill her mother, while her aunt tried to save her adopted sister. And that her grandfather was also her sister’s father. It sounds like a family reunion in West Virginia.”
Eve laughed. “I’ve been to West Virginia. They aren’t that fucked up there.”
Mik started to sing. Lucy nodded. “Nice song.”
“It’s gonna be my first single.” Soleil turned off the music.
“I bet it will be a big hit,” Eve predicted.
Chapter Nineteen
Eve
When Eve walked into the room, she saw her mail stacked up on the kitchen counter. She set her new suitcases down on the area rug in the hallway, not taking her eyes from the nearby counter. She walked over to the pile, sifted through the expired junk
mail. She was not concerned about missing a sale at Macy’s or Ulta. About halfway through the pile, her fingers touched the envelope. She pulled it out and looked at it, feeling the outline of the disc it contained.
She sighed heavily and walked over to the large window in her living room, holding the envelope as if it contained a bomb. She looked at the Pittsburgh skyline spread out before her. It was so different from the view of the Pacific Ocean from Mariah’s place, but it was home. What had her father thought when he gazed at Pittsburgh for the last time before heading west?
It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining on the Monongahela River. She turned away from the view, slipped the CD out of the envelope and inner sleeve and into her stereo.
“Evie, it’s your Dad.”
Eve stared at the stereo when he uttered the word that had rarely crossed her lips in thirty years. He had started her CD the same way he had started Soleil’s. Eve had never felt like she had a dad. And no one had ever called her “Evie.” She would have punched them out if they had.
He cleared his throat. “I know you probably hate me and wish I was dead. Well, that will happen soon enough. But I wanted to talk to you.”
She sat down in a chair across from her entertainment center. Even though the stereo was on a shelf above the television, she found herself staring at the screen, staring at her distorted reflection.
“I want you to know how much I love you. I have always loved you. I don’t know what Dee has told you over the years, but there was never a day in my life when I didn’t love you and Ricky—when I didn’t think of you.”
At the mention of her brother, she looked up at the stereo.
“You are my firstborn.” He laughed. “I’ll never forget the first time I saw you. I had been at work when Dee went into labor. I rushed over to Magee Hospital, but you had already arrived. It was a quick labor. I saw you in the nursery. The nurse brought you over to me.” He sniffed. “I had never been around babies much. You were sleeping, but when the nurse picked you up and brought you over to me, you looked right at me. It was like you knew that I was your daddy. I thought my heart was going to come out of my chest. I loved you instantly. It was a miracle, a miracle that Dee and I could have created such a perfect creature. You had fine blonde hair and big blue eyes. You were mine, all mine, and nothing in the world could change that. My little girl.”
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