by Twyla T
I took that letter and dropped it off at the Bistro because I didn’t want to face Crystal. Eventually, I knew that I would have to, but I couldn’t that day. A stop by the liquor store was not missed before I headed back home. I knew I was gonna need something to calm my nerves. At that moment, I knew for sure that I had to end things with Malcolm. Cameron was still my sister, despite the circumstances that popped up, and it was time to cut the bullshit, which is why Malcolm was at my house when they popped up. I know what it must have looked like, but he really was just about to hop in the shower. I asked him to open the door because one of my home girls was about to stop by and I assumed it was her. Never in a million years did I think my mom and Cameron would be on the other side of the door. I can’t blame Cameron for shooting at us, but I’m glad she didn’t kill anyone. Now, here we all are, each person lost in their own thoughts.
Cameron looked at her mom and then she looked at her sister. As she scanned the room, she noticed that Malcolm was nowhere in sight. She got up and picked up her gun that was sitting beside her mom. Neither Mrs. Miller nor Charlotte budged, which confirmed that everyone was in shock. The house was eerily quiet. Cameron had never been in her sister’s home before, but that didn’t stop her from going from room to room looking for Malcolm. He was nowhere to be found. Cameron went and opened the front door and noticed that his truck was gone. “That black motherfucker left!” Cameron said to herself.
Cameron started thinking about how fucked up her life was. Blowing Charlotte’s brains out crossed her mind, but she couldn’t bring herself to shoot her in front of their mom. Malcolm was the one who had caused all of this drama and bullshit and was the one who needed to pay. If I would have just been a woman and did what I wanted to do, none of this would have happened. Why didn’t I just leave him? He’s killing me slowly anyway. Malcolm is gonna pay for all of this. There is no other way around it, Cameron thought to herself. She bent down and picked her purse up from the floor that she dropped on the way in and retrieved her cellphone to call him. Malcolm answered the phone, but no words ever left his mouth. Cameron was too furious to speak, so the line was just silent. Tears streamed down her face. After two whole minutes of silence, Cameron held the gun upward and fired it.
On the other end of the phone, Malcolm was speechless. He knew that Cameron would be calling soon and there was no sense in ignoring her because he had truly fucked up. She was silent, which meant she was fed up, because her mouth was too smart and slick to be quiet. Malcolm knew it was best to remain quiet until she spoke. He heard sniffling and then her voice was low, but he heard her say, “You have fucked over me for the last time and I refuse to live like this anymore,” and then a gunshot rang out loud!
Malcolm almost lost control of his truck. He had made it about twenty miles away from Charlotte’s house, but he knew he had to get back there as quick as possible. He cried and cried and had to pull over. He called Cameron’s phone about twenty times, but she never answered. Malcolm called Charlotte’s phone next, but she didn’t pick up either. Traffic was heavy and it would take him longer to get back, but he was headed back to see just what had happened.
Back In Mississippi
Kingston ran into his Paw Paw’s arms as soon as he spotted him after school. He was so happy because he knew he was about to have the best weekend ever. Right after leaving the school, Kingston asked were they gonna go fishing. “Of course we are,” his granddad answered. Fishing was one of Mr. Miller’s favorite things to do and he had taken Kingston a few times, and he loved it. They headed out to Choctaw Lake, so they could get a couple of hours in before dark. When they made it, Mr. Miller put a life jacket on Kingston, then himself, before loading and getting into the speed boat.
Within the first three minutes, Mr. Miller got a bite on his line, so he switched rods with Kingston to let him reel in it. Kingston was super excited that he caught the first fish. They stayed out there about an hour and a half and caught a total of four fish. Two of them were too small to keep, so Kingston threw them back. Mr. Miller already knew where Kingston wanted to go next, so he went ahead and headed towards McDonald’s without him having to ask. When they made it, Kingston ran straight to the play land. After he played for about twenty minutes, they went inside to order. “May I have a cheeseburger kid’s meal-” Mr. Miller started, but was cut off.
“I want a man’s meal like you, Paw Paw. Get me a quarter pounder with fries and a Coke,” Kingston said.
“Well, just give us two quarter pounder meals with Cokes, please ma’am,” Mr. Miller said to the cashier while laughing.
“Hey granny!” Kingston said as he took off running to hug a lady that walked up behind them.
“Granny?” Mr. Miller asked.
“Yes Paw Paw, she told me I can call her granny,” Kingston said.
Mr. Miller didn’t know what to say, so he just introduced himself.
“I know who you are. I’m Mrs. Edwards.”
The ticket number to their food was called, so Mr. Miller told her it was nice to meet her. He didn’t want to question Kingston about why he was calling this strange woman granny, but he was sure going to ask his daughter.
Later that night while Mr. Miller was in the back, the doorbell rang. Ding dong…ding dong…ding dong!! Mr. Miller couldn’t get to the door fast enough. Whoever was on the other end was being very impatient. “I’ll get it Paw Paw,” Kingston said while running towards the front door, almost knocking his granddad over.
“Wait a second son…” Mr. Miller tried to say, but Kingston had already opened the door.
“Well, hello, little fella; aren’t you just as cute as can be!” said the voice at the door. Charles froze dead in his tracks, not believing he was hearing this voice he hadn’t heard in a few years.
“What in the world are you doing here?” Mr. Miller asked.
Chapter 1
“Well, it’s good to see you too, Charles,” Crystal said. “And look at this little cutie right here. You must be Kingston,” she continued. Kingston stood there looking back and forth between the two adults, wanting to say something, but not knowing exactly what to say, so he remained quiet and just stared at both of them.
He finally broke his silence by saying “You look a little like my granny number one!”
They both looked at him while having their own separate thoughts, but elected to just ignore him. “What are you doing here, Crystal?” Mr. Miller asked again nervously. Sweat beams had started to form on his head, and he wiped them off and rubbed his hands on his pants. He thought that when she appeared a few years ago, that would be the last that he would have to see of her. It cost him so much and he was still paying for it. Cameron had suffered the most because of him and his inconsiderate decisions. She was the ultimate sacrifice and had no idea just what her dad had done for his own selfish reasons. Mr. Miller started thinking back to how all of the madness began…
The new custodial worker always seemed weird, but he was always nice, so I made it my business to talk to him and keep him near. It seemed that he needed some extra support, so I kinda took him in. I could tell that he was a bit shaky around the edges. Malcolm was his name. I invited him to a baseball game that I had extra tickets to one weekend and that sealed the deal with the relationship that we had started to build. I don’t think he had ever gone to a game before and since my son, Fred, was in the army, I didn’t mind taking him. Talking to me every day became a mission of his after that. He would always ask about my baby girl, Cameron, after I caught him staring at a family picture that was on my desk. He asked to meet her, but I didn’t think it was a good idea. It really didn’t feel right. I was starting to look at him as a son, but not necessarily a son-in-law. He asked me about taking her out several times, but I always told him no. He never stopped asking, even with me knowing that he flirted with and talked to other women.
“You can’t expect for me to hand you over to my daughter with me knowing how freely you flirt with women,” I said to him.
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“I won’t be this way when I settle down. I promise,” Malcolm replied. I tried to tell him that he must start making changes before even thinking about settling down, but he blew me off with the wave of his hand and kept right on talking about taking Cameron out on a date.
A few months later, Malcolm had just left out of my office and only about two minutes passed before there was a knock on my door. Thinking that it was my receptionist bringing me the monthly report, I said come in without even looking up. After thirty or so seconds passed, I heard someone clear their throat. While still looking down, I told her thanks and to place the report on my desk. I was very busy trying to seal a deal I had been working on for the past few months. Working as the senior project manager for one of the top construction companies in the states had its perks, but it could also be overwhelming at times. I made it my business to try to stay ten steps ahead of the competition. Malcolm would eventually work at one of the sites, but he had to start out at the bottom just like everyone else did with the company is what I started thinking when I saw his file and thought about him asking to be promoted already. When she didn’t drop the folder on the desk, I finally looked up. Looking at Crystal, I thought I saw a ghost. To say that I was shocked would be an understatement. I hadn’t laid eyes on that woman since she dropped Charlotte off with us over twenty years ago.
“Long time no see huh,” Crystal said. I was speechless. Anger that I had for her started to resurface because of how she had handled things. I didn’t regret raising Charlotte at all, but a better plan could have been put into play. At times, I still can’t believe my marriage withstood that test, but it sure as hell wasn’t easy. I can’t count the counseling sessions we attended together and individually. Sometimes, I still think that Carla holds a small grudge and if she ever stepped out on me, I wouldn’t have any other choice but to deal with it. We made it through, but to look up into Crystal’s eyes had me seeing red.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“Please calm down Charles. I know that work would be the only place that I could catch you by yourself, so I decided to go for it after all the contemplating I’ve been doing,” Crystal said.
“Why are you here?” I asked again.
I just need to talk to you. I can’t tell you how sorry I am for what I did. I want to make things right,” she said.
“Make things right! Make things right! Just what in the hell does that mean; how can you make things right?” I asked while becoming angrier.
“I want my daughter back,” Crystal said. I hopped up out of my chair so fast that the chair hit the wall and made a loud boom. I walked around the desk and temporarily thought about choking the shit out of her, but my senses kicked in and I calmed down. I had never laid hands on a woman and wasn’t about to start. She must have saw my mood change because within seconds, she started crying and she threw her arms around me. I started to feel bad for her, so I lifted my arms that had been hanging stubbornly by my sides and gave her a hug to try to comfort her. I briefly had thoughts of the few moments that we shared, and she must have felt it in my body language because she leaned up and kissed me. It was a sweet, soft, and sensual kiss.
I pulled back after about five seconds that seemed like an eternity after I heard a male voice clear his throat. It was Malcolm. I noticed his phone in his hand, but I had no idea that he had taken pictures of me hugging Crystal, and even the kiss, until the next day when he demanded that I get him a date with Cameron.
I didn’t take heed to his threat initially, but when I noticed that he had photo shopped several pictures of Crystal and myself, I had to give in. He had pictures of us naked while hugging and kissing. I had a baby with this woman, my wife’s sister, so I knew there was no way she would believe that those pictures were photo shopped because she knew exactly how my office looked. I was caught between a rock and a hard place. In my mind, I figured that Malcolm getting with Cameron wouldn’t be such a bad idea. I wanted the best for all of my kids, so I put my plan into action. I knew I wouldn’t be able to stand looking at Malcolm on the regular, so I called in a favor to one of my buddies and got him a job driving trucks. Because of my connections, he started out making close to six figures and within six months to a year, he would be making that amount.
After Crystal popped up on that day, it seemed that things took a turn for the worse, so seeing her at this very moment, I was not looking forward to the future.
Chapter 2
Cameron ended the call with Malcolm after she fired her gun into the air. Plaster and dry wall started falling from the ceiling, leaving a small hole from the bullet that had lodged. Within seconds, her mom came running into the living room and Charlotte was right on her heels. “What’s going on in here Cameron? What happened?” her mom asked with a panicked expression all over her face.
Cameron didn’t even answer; she barely looked up at them. Another call was placed and she immediately started crying and screaming. “HELP! HELP ME PLEASE!! He’s going to kill me as soon as he gets back! Please help me. I’m not ready to die. Send someone fast… no, I don’t know the address here. I just got here and caught my husband with my sister and he went crazy on me…. ma’am, you don’t understand. He is on his way back and he is going to kill me this time. He has tried several times before. He never started back taking his meds and he is crazy! Please help me!” Cameron said to the 911 operator while crying harder. There was silence and she finished up by begging them to please hurry and send help right away because she wasn’t ready to die.
“Cameron, sweetheart, what are you doing?” her mom asked.
“Something I should have done a long time ago. I’m sick of him and I never should have let him get away with running me off of the road and almost killing me. I have been stupid long enough. This madness ends today,” Cameron said to her mom with finality. Charlotte just stood there, not knowing what to say. She really didn’t know all of the details surrounding her sister’s ‘accident’, so she opted to remain silent out of fear of possibly saying the wrong thing. It was clear that she didn’t know Malcolm too well. Cameron looked over at Charlotte and pointed the gun at her. “If I really didn’t love you, I would blow your mother fuckin’ brains out-,”
Cameron started saying, but was interrupted with her mother screaming her name. “CAMERON MILLER! You put that gun down right away,” Mrs. Miller said.
“It’s Cameron Miller Price, thanks to daddy,” Cameron said while still aiming the gun at her sister.
“Just shoot me. Go ahead and shoot me because I don’t deserve to live,” Charlotte said while tears were rolling down her face. Cameron walked closer and told Charlotte not to tempt her, and their mom stepped between the two of them.
“If you shoot her, you’re gonna have to shoot me first. I can’t sit here and watch you kill my child,” Mrs. Miller said to Cameron.
“You still calling me your child?” Charlotte asked through tears. Crystal has been here and she told me everything,” she continued. Charlotte heard Mrs. Miller saying I raised you and I will always be your mother, no matter what, before she started thinking back to the night she finally called Crystal and decided to meet her.
Two weeks had passed since Crystal showed up at my house claiming to be my mom. I wouldn’t give her the time of day, so she left a letter on my car and I got it the next morning. She wanted me to meet with her for dinner, but I couldn’t bring myself to do so. So, I wrote her a letter back and left it with a guy at the bar. I must have read that letter at least a thousand times in just that short period of time. I probably had it memorized. My emotions were all over the place. I felt everything except happiness because of the things that I had been doing.
I decided to finally meet with Crystal because I felt like she owed me some type of explanation. If you give your child away, there has to be some kinda valid reason, right? Still not knowing whether she was really my mother or not, I went ahead because I couldn’t deny the resemblance th
at she shared with who I knew as my mom my whole life. When I arrived at the restaurant, she got up from the booth to hug me, but I was hesitant. She noticed and said that she understood, but I saw some hurt in her eyes. It was awkward sitting across from her because I didn’t know what I was supposed to be feeling.
“I was selfish and there really aren’t any words that I can say to make anything right or to make you understand my actions. If I could do it all over again, I would, but that’s impossible. I know that I can’t come in and expect for you to just accept me with open arms, but I just need to try to make things right in my life at this point,” Crystal said.
“What’s going on in your life that made you pop up after all of these years? It can’t be just you wanting to make things right because you’ve had years to try and do that,” Charlotte said, not caring anything about Crystal’s sad speech.
“I really don’t want to go into all of that right now; I just-,” she started saying before Charlotte cut her off.
“Listen, you’re pretty lucky I’m even sitting here right now. You left me and then popped back up and you’re still trying to hide things. I don’t have to take this,” Charlotte said while standing up and grabbing her purse.
“No, please wait. Just give me a few minutes to explain. It’s really difficult,” Crystal said, as a single tear slid down her left cheek. She tried to wipe it off before Charlotte noticed, but it was too late. Charlotte sat back down and softened her mood once she saw the true hurt in Crystal’s eyes. “I really didn’t even want to bring this up because I don’t want any sympathy, but I should have known that I wouldn’t be able to just pop back up without explaining myself. I have breast cancer. I was diagnosed ten years ago, it went into remission, but now it has returned and it seems to be spreading. I decided not to go through with treatments this time because years ago, the chemotherapy made me feel ten times worse. I didn’t want to die without you knowing the truth about things that happened all of those years ago,” Crystal said.