My Dusk My Dawn

by Henrietta Georgia

  “I’ll come back when I’m ready to, and when I feel you’ve lost your attitude,” I insisted.

  “Okay,” he said, flatly.

  A pause ensued, before he stated, “You’re really hurting me, Teme.”

  “You don’t think I’m hurting too?” I asked.

  “Look, deep down I knew I’d never be enough for you. So if you’ve said all you want to say, please leave. I’m hurting over you. You’ve clearly decided I’m not worth being with, and that what I’ve got to offer you is not worth having.”

  “Daniel…”

  “You’re not even wearing my ring,” he noted.

  “Daniel…”

  He cut me off again. “We done been through so much together to just throw it all away. But if you want to leave, just leave,” he said, gesturing towards the door.

  “Daniel, I’m not leaving,” I replied abruptly. “I’m not going to let you get away with pushing me away.” He seemed surprised at the tone of my voice. “For goodness sakes Daniel, I’m not wearing your ring because I’ve got terrible oedema, and your ring just doesn’t fit anymore. As I said, I’m not going to let you get away with pushing me away. Me and the babies are the only family you’ve got, and we’re not going anywhere fast.”

  The look of shock on his face was priceless.

  “Oedema… what? Did you just…wait. No, seriously? A baby. Babies?”

  I nodded in response. “Six weeks, but it’s pretty clear we’re expecting two.”

  No sooner than I thought he would faint, the palor in his face faded, and his face lit up with joy. He swarmed me, placed a hand on my belly. “For real?” Happy tears fell from his eyes. “I can’t believe I’m going to be a father. I mean I am a father. I can’t believe…” he took a step back in pause. “I truly hope I can be the father they need, and be the husband you need. With the mess I’ve made of everything else, I just want this to succeed.” He cupped my face in his hands, leaning in for a passionate kiss. “I love you so much babe.”

  “I love you too, Daniel,” I replied, glad to be back where I belonged.

  Over his shoulder, I noticed the pile of papers on the table. News stories about the series of events unfolding in town. “The Brotherhood” was written in bold on all papers. The group that Ernesto had mentioned to me, loosely, in conversation.

  “Research?” I asked.

  “Sorry?”

  I motioned towards the papers on the table.

  “Oh, that,” he said. “The Brotherhood.”

  “Any leads?”

  He shook his head to the negative. “No, but one thing’s clear. The Brotherhood have noble intentions. Getting to people who have done wrong and deserve to be punished is great. Exacting revenge on them isn’t.” He grabbed his leather bound Bible off the side table. “Look here, according to Romans 12:19 - Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. They need to be stopped,” Daniel determined. “So, I’ve been doing a bit of investigating into them. How much do you know about them?” he asked.

  “Enough to know that you need to leave well enough alone,” I replied.

  “Does Ernesto have something to do with it?” he asked.

  I shook my head, shocked. “Why would you even suggest that?”

  “Well, he’s the one who referred you to them. He’s also got an unforgiving attitude when it comes to crime. The thought of a vigilante group operating under his nose without repercussion seems feasible, yes?”

  I pondered for a moment before agreeing with him.

  “I’ve asked Craig whether he’s seen or heard anything and he seems to not know anything at all,” he told me.

  “Or so he’s saying. If he did, he probably wouldn’t tell you,” I suggested.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “This is Craig we’re talking about,” I reasoned.

  “What you’re sayin’ doesn’t make much sense to me. Please elaborate, baby,” he urged.

  “Okay. Have you noticed Craig’s sense of righteous indignation? I was surprised at what I witnessed earlier on, and how self-righteous he appeared. Have you ever noticed him get happy when he learns that someone has been locked up? Have you witnessed a tirade about “Crims getting away with bloody murder all the time?” He feels strongly about justice and the administration of it.”

  “I can’t say I have baby,” he stated. “I haven’t worked closely with him since the suspension. Prior to that I didn’t notice anything unusual.”

  “Before I left the office, I asked him about his long suffering anger and attitude to crime, and he claims that his anger is justified as he’s angry at what angers God Himself. His exact words,” I emphasised. “I’ve told him that it isn’t up to us to exact revenge or to ask for revenge to be exacted on anyone - vengeance is to be left to God.”

  “And what did he say to that?” Daniel asked, intrigued, putting his mug of hot chocolate down.

  “He shrugged it off, but not before he lectured me about a twisted version of restorative justice.”

  “As in?”

  “He says vigilante action should be justified where the system fails to come up with an appropriate means of restoring justice to the victim,” I said.

  Daniel raised an eyebrow. “What else has he been saying?” he asked, leaning in as though I were letting him in on a secret.

  “He hasn’t said anything specific on this, but I have a feeling he’s a part of The Brotherhood.”

  “Hm.” Daniel shifted uneasily in his seat. “I wish I’d known all of this before I’d asked him to become a partner in my firm.”

  “Surely you had some idea? You at least knew how strongly he aligned more with the role of prosecutor as opposed to that of defence attorney?”

  “No,” Daniel replied, lightly tapping the table with his index finger. “I didn’t know that. Though I have had feedback from former clients on how they felt he wasn’t following their instructions. Mind you, these were clients who ultimately lost their cases.”

  “Sounds a bit suspect to me,” I said. “What if he’s throwing the cases?”

  “I surely hope he’s not!” Daniel replied a little too quickly. “It’ll be outrageous if he was!”

  “Well, as far as I’m aware, there’s no proof that he’s not,” I said.

  “Right,” Daniel said before switching topic altogether. “I’m in the mood for love, can we worry about this some other time?” he asked, tenderly embracing me and planting a kiss on my naked shoulder. “I missed you like crazy last night,” he confessed.

  “I missed you too, cowboy,” I replied, melting as his strong arms held me firm, not wanting to let go.

  The next day, at the office, Johnny was noticeably on edge. The McInnon file,” I repeated. His hands trembled as he searched through the seemingly insurmountable pile of files on his desk.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  “No, but I’ll get there,” he told me.

  “I’m asking again, are you okay?”

  He flipped the computer on and showed me the email from Craig:

  We don’t need someone with your blue sky thinking in our firm. I regret to inform you that there is no longer a position available for you at MacCauley and Brennan Lawyers.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do now,” Johnny said. “Michaela’s not going to be very happy at all.”

  “Michaela’s going to have to deal. You’re not out of a job. Craig can’t make a unilateral decision to fire you. He also can’t fire you without grounds,” I assured him.

  “Well, he insists he has grounds, and he says he’s within his power to do so. I took longer than expected on the merger file. So many things going on with Michaela…I probably do just need to walk away from this, he never wanted me here in the first place.”

  For a moment, I saw red. How dare Craig. “Don’t worry. Daniel will have a say in this as well, and I’m sure Daniel will say you’ll stay.”
>
  Johnny turned away from me and I caught a sense of fear in him as he wiped a bead of sweat off his brow. Something else was eating him up inside.

  “I’m not going to push you to tell me what’s bothering you, but I hope you know you can tell me anything. No judgement.”

  He nodded his head in response. “Thanks for your support.”

  “You’re welcome. So, you know you can tell me anything?” I repeated.

  “I do, but you’ll find out soon enough,” he replied.

  I didn’t like the sound of that. “Please tell me, Johnny?”

  “Not here,” he stated. The front door slammed and I heard footsteps approaching. Craig.

  “You still here?” he exploded at Johnny, not realizing I was there. “Oh, hi Temwani,” he said awkwardly.

  “Daniel’s not going to be happy with your decision to let Johnny go, I’m sure,” I predicted.

  “Well, I do have controlling interest in the firm now, so what I say goes, unfortunately for him,” he stated.

  Controlling interest? I was shocked. “Controlling interest? That’s news to me,” I replied.

  “His pending disbarment made it possible,” Craig stated, haughtily.

  Johnny quickly got up to go. “I’ll be seeing you Temwani,” he said. To Craig, he stated, “I’ll be out of here before you know I’m gone.” He left without giving either of us a chance to respond.

  Turning to me, Craig announced, “I’ve got your best interests at heart, Temwani. Don’t think for a moment that I don’t.”

  “Could’ve fooled me,” I told him. “Daniel may not be here, but he’s got as much right to make decisions around here as you do.”

  “Had is the operative word. Had,” Craig corrected. Switching topic, he asked, “You hungry? How about I take you out for lunch?”

  “No,” I quickly replied. “You want me to work here with you, you need to start respecting my perspective, and you need to start respecting my husband.”

  “Look. Daniel needs to act less from the heart and more from the head. I’m merely doing him a favour in letting Johnny go.”

  “I don’t think he’ll agree,” I replied.

  “You’ll see,” he said, cryptically. Impatient, he asked again, “How about I take you out for lunch?”

  I could see there was no getting out of that invitation so I said yes. As I gathered my belongings to go, I grew ever curious about what had gotten Johnny spooked.

  I caught up with Johnny sooner than I thought I would. He turned up at our place that evening.

  I immediately implored him to tell me what he’d been meaning to say previously.

  “Please keep this to yourself,” he begged. “Not even Daniel can know about this.”

  As much as I didn’t like the idea of keeping secrets from Daniel, I agreed.

  “I’m a member of this group called the Brotherhood. We’re a vigilante justice group,” he stated with bated breath.

  “Okay…” The Brotherhood. The infamous Brotherhood.

  “Anyhow, Craig… well, I got careless and I sort of let the boys down,” Johnny confessed.

  “How so?” I asked.

  “All you need to know is I let them down, and now Craig wants me out,” Johnny admitted.

  “That’s not telling me anything,” I replied.

  “Well it’s more than I should have told you in the first place,” he stated.

  “Tell me one more thing,” I requested.

  “Hm…I don’t know, I’ve told you too much already.”

  “No matter. Tell me, did the Brotherhood have anything to do with that property that was set alight a few weeks ago?”

  Johnny hesitated before replying. “Yes.”

  “The D.A.’s office is hot on their trail,” I advised, recalling the last conversation I’d had with Jude.

  “I figured that,” Johnny said. “Craig’s figured that too, and thinks I’m too much of a liability so I’m out.”

  “Well, there’s always a silver lining. If the Brotherhood’s going down, you won’t be going down with them,” I told him. “No need to think of an exit plan, you’re already out.”

  Johnny laughed nervously. “I’d like to believe that, but knowing Craig, he’ll probably get the blame shifted to me somehow. I am as he put it, the weakest link.”

  I could tell Johnny wanted to say more, but the clanging of keys at the front door alerted us both to the fact that Daniel had come back home. As much as I was burning to confide in Daniel, a promise was a promise, and I was not going to say anything to him.

  “What’s going on here?” Daniel asked immediately.

  “Craig’s let Johnny go,” I quickly answered, in an effort to prevent Daniel from getting more suspicious than he already was. “Apparently he’s got controlling interest in the firm now,” I advised. “He says your pending disbarment made it possible.”

  Daniel threw the keys down on the bench then ran a hand through his wavy brown hair. “There will be no disbarment,” he announced. “Justice will be served,” he said. I hoped for his sake that it would be. Sighing, he added, “The man’s out of line. I should’ve known having him on board would come back to bite me in the behind,” he said regretfully. Turning to Johnny, he stated, “About the job, we’ll sort something out. Don’t you worry. I’ve got a few things you could help me with in the interim.”

  9

  DEUCES

  My phone buzzed in the middle of the night. A message had just come through.

  Daniel still had his hand around my waist as I lay in bed next to him. I gently nudged him and he strengthened his embrace around me. We were both back where we belonged.

  I reached over to my phone on the dresser and lightly tapped the screen. Shania. She’d sent me a text message with a photo attached.

  The text read:

  Seems like someone was out last night having a good time without you.

  Though the lighting in the photo was bad, I would know his face anywhere. Daniel.

  I sat up in bed and examined the photo in greater detail. Daniel startled at my sudden movement. “You alright?” he asked sleepily.

  I looked at the photo again. A bevy of women surrounded him and he was all smiles, drink in hand.

  “Where were you last night?” I asked.

  “Home,” he replied.

  “The whole night?”

  Groggily sitting up, he asked, “What’s this about, babe?”

  “Just answer my question, Daniel.”

  “Yes, I was at home. The whole night.”

  Being with Duayne had meant trying to discern lies from truth and truth from lies. All the time. I wasn’t prepared to play such games again. Photos didn’t lie, and Daniel was probably not telling the truth.

  “Daniel, I don’t have a problem with you going out and hanging out with friends. But you’ve married me. We’ve got babies on the way. You telling me you were at home when you were not, is just not on. You being seen out on the town, in a swarm of women, isn’t on.”

  He flipped the night light on. “I don’t know what you’re referring to.”

  I showed him the photo Shania had sent through. He looked at the photo through sleepy eyes.

  “That isn’t me,” he said point blankly, handing the phone back to me.

  “It sure looks like you,” I argued.

  “Look. I was where I said I was last night. It sure looks a lot like me but it isn’t me.”

  I sighed and rolled my eyes in response.

  “Funny thing is when I was out last night grabbing a bite to eat, a lady outright cussed me out in public. I couldn’t understand what she was referring to, but she was dead set on the fact that I had done her wrong somehow.”

  “Seems to be a recurring theme,” I muttered.

  “Stop right there. Have I ever given you reason to doubt me? Have I not been true to my word?” he asked. “There’s got to be some explanation for this.”

  My mind flashed back to the ultrasound and how the techni
cian had insisted that twins run in the family. No twins on my side of the family, I’d said. Daniel was an only child, as far as he knew. Did he have a twin?

  “Is it possible that you have a twin?” I asked.

  He laughed nervously. “I think I’d know if I did,” he said. “I spent most of my childhood wishing I had a brother. I think I’d know if I did.”

  “What if you did somehow?”

  “It’s a stretch, but looking at that photo, I’d be willing to consider the possibility,” he admitted. “Okay, ask Shania where she supposedly saw me last night,” he suggested.

  Shania’s text message in reply read:

  Le Jazz. Sandra took the photo, she too saw him here last night. I’ve asked around tonight, and he’s here every night apparently.

  Daniel wasn’t out clubbing every night. I knew that much for sure.

  Well, he’s here in bed with me. I replied. I couldn’t resist.

  He might be there with you now, but I know what I saw, she replied.

  Why didn’t you say anything earlier? I asked.

  I didn’t want to kill your joy, she reasoned. But I thought about it and you don’t need to be dealin’ with some bullshit like this when you’re pregnant, she said. Don’t be fooled, she added.

  Goodnight Shania, I replied. I’ll call you tomorrow.

  I placed the phone back on the dressing table.

  “I love you babe,” Daniel stated, notably concerned. “I wouldn’t lie to you, I wouldn’t waste my time canoodling with other women when you’re more than enough for me. You’re everything to me. I thought you knew that,” he said, wrapping his arms around me.

  The slight panic in his voice moved me. I was just as curious as he was to find out who this person was. “I love you too baby, and I believe you. Let’s find out who this guy is, and take it from there.”

  “I agree,” he said, yawning as he spoke. “Get some rest sugarpie,” he advised, lying back down again, hand firmly on my belly. “Let’s talk more in the morning.”

  I nodded my head in agreement, flipping the light above us off before inching towards him and falling asleep in his arms.