“That would be good news indeed, if that turns out to be the case,” Robert said.
“Time will definitely tell.” Andrew hung up after saying good-bye. His cell phone began to ring. He pulled his phone out and looked. It wasn’t a familiar number. “Hello,” he said.
“Hello, Andrew. This is Darius Connors. I work with your wife.”
“Yes. My wife told me about you. Is everything all right?”
“I hope so. I was calling because Paris was supposed to be here this morning no later than nine o’clock for an appointment we have scheduled, and she’s not here yet.”
Andrew glanced at his watch; it was 9:37 A.M. “I suppose you’ve already tried calling her at home and on her cell.”
“Yes. I’ve tried both.” He paused a second. “Hold on. This may be her calling me back now.” He placed Andrew on hold. A minute later he switched back to Andrew. “I’m back. That was her.”
“So everything’s all right, then?”
“Yeah.” Darius chuckled. “She said she overslept.”
Andrew nodded. “That’s what I was thinking. My wife’s not actually a morning person.”
“I heard that. My wife doesn’t have that problem. With three children, you become a morning person, a noonday person, and a midnight person.”
“Paris tells me you two are about to be stretched for the next few months.”
“Yeah. I told my wife last night that the way things have been set up for the next several months, we’ll be lucky if we happen to pass each other during the night. It’s going to get crazy. But I’m just thankful to have a job. It’s tough out there.”
“I hear you,” Andrew said.
“I don’t know if wives always get what it’s like to be a black man trying to make it out here in the world. It’s not like slavery, when every black man was guaranteed a job.” He chuckled. “It was long hours without pay, but we had work. Women seem able to get a job easier these days than a man can. I’m not mad at them though. And other than being a typical wife who becomes more alert when her husband works around or with other women, my wife is pretty okay. I’ve told her all about Paris. Your wife is smart. She has a good head on her shoulders.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty smart,” Andrew said.
“Well, I’m sorry I bothered you. It was nice meeting you over the phone. Maybe the four of us can get together and have dinner or something,” Darius said.
“That would be nice.”
“Well, I’m not going to hold you. I suppose I’ll go warm up the car so I’ll be ready to hit the road when Paris does get here.” Darius laughed. “That was a joke, you know. I don’t really have to warm up the car.”
“I figured as much.” Andrew said bye and hung up the cell phone. His cell phone rang almost immediately. He looked, then hurriedly answered it. “Paris.”
“Hi, honey. I was calling to let you know that I was okay. Darius told me he had you on the other line.”
“I’m just glad nothing happened and that you’re okay.”
“Yes, I’m okay. I just have to get used to this pesky alarm going off. I guess I hit the snooze button one too many times and ended up turning it off completely. I’m sorry that Darius had to call and worry you.”
“He seems to be a pretty nice guy.”
“He is. Well, I’m leaving the house now. I’ll talk to you later.”
Andrew hung up and stared at his phone. Maybe this job is going to be good for Paris after all, he thought. If nothing else, he hoped it would keep her too busy to even think about Gabrielle and Jasmine, let alone go after them. It might also show her that things don’t always go as smoothly as we hope, no matter how much we believe that they will.
Chapter 22
Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
—Colossians 3:20
Darius opened the door to their office as he and Paris laughed about a man they’d passed coming in the building. Paris instantly cut off her laugh as soon as she saw her father sitting there.
“Hi, Daddy. What are you doing in here?”
“Waiting on you, Daughter.”
“Mr. Simmons,” Darius said, acknowledging him with a quick nod.
Lawrence returned the nod. “Darius, if you don’t mind, I’d like to speak to my daughter . . . in private.”
“No problem. I need to go check with the graphics folks on our flyers.” Darius grabbed a folder off his desk, then left, quietly closing the door behind him.
Paris bent down and gave her father a quick peck on the cheek. “Are you checking up on me, Daddy?”
“Not exactly.” He pointed to the empty chair next to him for her to sit down. Instead she walked around to her desk and sat in her own chair. “I got a call from Blake today.”
Paris sighed. “Your attorney.”
“Our attorney, it appears. He tells me that you’re still pursuing trying to take that girl from Gabrielle.”
“I told you, Daddy. If you’re not going to do anything about it, then I will. If I don’t, who else is there left to do it?”
“It’s not your place, Paris. I’ve told you I want you to leave it alone.”
“You thought the Maltese puppy would work, and it didn’t. So I guess you thought giving me a job to keep me busy slaving away on your campaign would do it. Well, I’m not going to let it go. I can’t tell Andrew the whole truth about why I’m pursuing this because I really don’t want to mess things up for you. But I can tell you. You know exactly why I’m doing this. I would think you, of all people, would support me. But I guess winning reelection is more important to you than winning back your own child.”
“Which child are we talking about? You?”
Paris leaned forward. “No, Daddy. I’m talking about Jasmine.”
“I told you: I never slept with Jessica Noble. And as your father, I’ve asked you as nicely, and as forcibly as I know how, to drop this ridiculous notion. You’re opening doors that none of us need open right now, Paris Elizabeth. How many times have I told all of you: A story doesn’t have to be true for it to bring a person down? If something like this should get out, it doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not; I’ll be slammed with it. Is that what you want, Paris?” He leaned in. “Is that what you’re trying to accomplish by doing this?”
“I want that little girl out of the clutches of Gabrielle Mercedes. I want her raised in a family with true family values. If you and Mom can’t take her in, then Andrew and I will. I wish you would support me on it. But I see that when it comes to choosing, you choose your career over your flesh and blood every time.”
“I’m going to tell you this one last time: Drop it, Paris. You need to put your energy on your own marriage. ”
Paris frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re going to mess around and drive Andrew away if you’re not careful. Whenever a person puts too much attention into the wrong things, they generally make mistakes they later regret.” Lawrence stood up. “I love you. And I want you to be happy. Take care of your husband. Work on having your own baby. Listen to your father for a change, why don’t you. And drop this notion of going after Gabrielle and that child.”
Paris stood up and straightened her yellow suit jacket by tugging it down. “Okay, Daddy. I’ll drop it. I’ll work on making my husband happy. I’ll keep working on having a baby of my own. And I’ll work hard to get you reelected. Happy now?”
Lawrence nodded once, then opened his arms wide. Paris walked around her desk and stepped into his awaiting arms. He hugged her. “I love you, baby.”
“Love you, too, Daddy. Love you, too.”
Chapter 23
Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.
—Colossians 3:21
Having walked her father to the door, Paris stood with her back against it. Tears rolled down her face. She wiped hard, then walked over and picked up her purse, took out her cell phone, locate
d the number she was looking for in her phone’s address book, and called. “Blake Daniels, please. This is Paris Simmons-Holyfield calling.” She waited for him to pick up.
“Blake Daniels.”
“Hi, Mr. Daniels, this is Paris Simmons-Holyfield. I’m calling to let you know that I will no longer be requiring your services.”
“Oh, okay, Paris. You know I think that’s best. This was going to be a pretty messy case and possibly long, not counting an uphill and hard fight.”
“Yeah, I know. You told me.”
“And you know I was also concerned that your husband is a lawyer and he wasn’t doing anything to indicate his approval toward your efforts,” Blake said. “That’s troubling not only to me, but the court, when you’re taking on something of this magnitude.”
“Yes, yes. You’re right. And my husband and I definitely weren’t on the same page when it came down to this. Well, I just wanted to call and let you know that I’d no longer be using you or your firm in this matter. I thank you for your wise counsel and for having originally filed the papers as you did on my behalf.”
“So I can withdraw your petition?”
“Yes, you can.”
“Okay, Paris. I’ll take care of this right away. And if I can assist you in the future on anything else, please know that I’m here.”
“I’m certain I won’t be calling you for anything else. Thank you, Blake. Good-bye.” Paris clicked off the phone and stared at it.
Darius opened the door slightly and stuck his head in. “Is the coast clear?”
“My father’s gone, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Darius fully opened the door and walked in. “What’s the matter with you? You look like someone stole your rainbow-colored lollipop or something.”
Paris sat down, gently placing her cell phone on her desk. Darius sat in the chair across from her. She looked at him with a stern face. “I need a lawyer.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem for you. Didn’t you tell me that your husband is one? I’m sure he knows plenty of them.”
“He is and he does. But I need a lawyer that doesn’t know Andrew or my father, for that matter.” Paris stared out into nothingness. “I need my own lawyer, one who will be working for me and my interest.”
“I’m sure you can find one in the phone book. Let your fingers do the walking. Do we even have a physical phone book in this place? Do they still even put out physical phone books? Everything is online now.” He sat back against the chair and steepled his fingers.
“I don’t want to find one in the phone book. I need a personal recommendation. I need a good lawyer, and one who’s astute in family matters.”
Darius leaned in. “Are you thinking about getting a divorce or something?”
“No. I need someone to help me get Jasmine from Gabrielle.”
“I thought you had someone for that already. That lawyer you said you went to see this morning, which was actually the reason you were late getting here. I wish you’d told me what you were doing and I wouldn’t have called your husband.”
“Yeah, I had one. His name was Blake Daniels. But it turns out he’s more my father’s lawyer than mine even though I was paying him an outrageous amount of money for his services.” She looked hard at Darius. “He must have called and told my father I was there today about Gabrielle.”
“That’s why your father was here?”
“Yep. He was here strong-arming me about dropping this . . . again.”
“You know I’ll help you in any way that I can. But please don’t cause me to lose this job. You and I both know that the only reason I got this is because of you.”
“You know: You’re just like all the rest of them. All you care about is yourself and what happens to you.” Paris stood up and looked hard down at him.
Darius stood and walked around her desk to her. “That’s not true. But if we’re going to do anything, let’s be smart about it. If you lose this job, how are you going to pay a lawyer? If I lose this job, how am I going to be able to continue helping you?”
Paris laughed, mostly to get under his skin. “How have you helped lately?”
“Okay, how about this.” Darius closed the distance between them by stepping even closer to her. “My oldest daughter, Jade, is friends with Jasmine. Last night, I happened to overhear Jade talking to my wife, Tiffany. And Jade was telling her about Jasmine being upset about being adopted.”
“So, she’s upset because she’s about to be adopted. Big deal. What child wouldn’t be?”
Darius smiled. “You’re missing it.”
Paris leaned, almost sitting on the edge of the desk. “Missing what?”
“Jade didn’t say that Jasmine was upset about the fact that she was going to be adopted. She’s upset because she found out that she was adopted.”
Paris frowned. “That makes no sense.”
“When I talked to Tiffany about it, she told me that when Jasmine came over to our house for a visit, she’d just learned about a couple of weeks earlier that her parents actually adopted her. Apparently Jasmine was having a difficult time with that new revelation.”
“Did Jasmine tell your wife any of this?”
“No, Jasmine only talked about it with my daughter. They’re the same age. I’m sure you know how that is, especially with girls.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense.” Paris was clearly puzzled now. “Maybe your daughter got it wrong. Maybe she misunderstood. You should talk to her and find out for yourself exactly what was said.”
“That’s not a good idea. I don’t want to push my daughter in the wrong direction. If I get in it, she’ll become suspicious and maybe even shut down in telling her mother anything else. As I said: I overheard them.”
Paris stood up from sitting on the desk, then sat down in her chair. “Yeah, you’re right. That’s how I used to be. If I told my mother something and she told my dad and he questioned me, it made me not want to tell her anything else for fear that she’d break the confidentiality and tell him again. My baby sister is that way now with our folks.” Paris picked up a pen off her desk and stuck the top of it in her mouth. She took the pen out and looked up at Darius. “But if what you’re saying is true, then that could only mean that Jessica Noble wasn’t her birth mother.”
Darius went and sat back in the seat across from Paris. “Another scenario could also be that Jessica’s husband wasn’t the child’s father and he adopted her.”
Paris nodded. “That’s possible. That’s why I suppose it would be good if we could find out the exact words Jasmine said to your daughter.”
Darius pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll just call Tiffany and ask her.” He held the phone, his eyes shifting a few times as he waited. “Tiff, can you talk a minute?” He paused. “I just have something that I need to ask you real quick. You remember when Jasmine told Jade that she was adopted. Did Jade say her parents adopted her or just her father?” He was quiet a moment. “No real reason. I was thinking about it but I couldn’t remember if she said it was her parents that adopted her or just her father. You know, like maybe after having her daughter, her mother had gotten the man she married to legally adopt her.” He nodded. “Okay. Thanks. I’ll see you when I get home. No, I should be home at a decent time today. Tomorrow, who can say?” He clicked off his phone and put it back up.
“Well? What did she say?”
“It was her parents that adopted her. Neither of them were her birth parents.”
Paris nodded as she again stared into nothingness. “Okay, then. Now I’m totally confused.”
“Just another piece to the ever moving puzzle.”
“Yeah. As they say: The plot thickens. But I’m not shy about stirring things up. I’m going to get to the bottom of this if it’s the last thing I do.” She smiled and looked at Darius. “I need a lawyer. Now.”
Darius leaned back against his chair, his hands cupping his neck. “Then we shall find you one.”
Chapter 24
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
—1 Timothy 4:12
“They’re going to work us to death,” Paris said to Darius as they walked back to the car provided to them by the campaign but driven solely by Darius. A little white midsize car Darius wasn’t crazy about, but at least they had a car that wasn’t his to experience all this wear and tear.
He opened the door for Paris. “You have to admit: This is fun though.”
“Oh, you just like being around all these cute young women, many of whom are half dressed and putting everything they have on full display,” Paris said.
“You’re starting to sound like my wife now.” Darius closed the door and walked around to the other side and got in.
Paris put on her seat belt. “You’d better be glad that I’m not your wife because I would have clocked you big-time today.”
“Yeah, like your eyes weren’t roving. I saw you looking at that collection of guys with the muscle shirts on. My friend Big Red says you women look just as much and as hard as we men. Y’all are just slick with yours.”
“Well, I got them signed up to vote, didn’t I? And they said they’d vote for my father.”
“What a guy says and what he does is entirely two different things.” Darius started the car and angled his body slightly as he backed out, placing his arm around Paris’s head as it rested on her headrest.
Paris looked straight into his face. “I know that. I majored in Men One-oh-one.”
Darius turned his body back forward, but allowed his arm to remain on Paris’s headrest. “I believe that.”
“Don’t you think you need to drive with both hands on the wheel?”
“Why? I can drive with my left hand just fine. Is my arm bothering you?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, it is.”
The Other Side of Dare Page 13