When she reached Mrs. Jordan’s house, the twins were screaming and crying. They practically bowled her over as she walked through the door. She glared at their grandmother and was met with an apprehensive look. Myah had the twins grab their things. Kayla and Kevin were so upset that they barely were buckled in their respective car seats before the events of the rest of their day was relayed to her. They were not able to eat with their dad and his friend. He put the kids in the car and drove around for a while, evidently trying to find someone to take care of them. He picked up his mother from the salon and she fussed at him about not wanting to take the kids because she had plans of her own. Grandma did nothing but yell at them while they were at the house and wouldn’t allow them to call her. By the time the story was over, Myah was hot under the collar. She picked up her phone to call out and realized that there was someone there.
“Hello?”
“Ma, you called the hospital looking for me. Is everything all right?” Nekeya asked.
“Is it possible for you to meet me at the house? I need to talk to you,” Myah said as she turned the corner onto her block.
“Well, I’m already here. I was concerned, so I came directly here after finishing my paperwork. I need to talk to you too,” Nekeya stated apprehensively.
“Okay, I am getting ready to pull in the driveway. Would you come and help me get the twins out of the car?” Myah asked as she maneuvered the car into the garage.
“Here I come.”
They got the twins out of the car, into their pajamas, and into their respective beds. Myah and her daughter gathered in the kitchen. Myah sat at one end of the table with a baby monitor in one hand and a freshly made smoothie in the other. Nekeya sat across from her holding an identical drink.
“So, who should go first?” Nekeya asked.
“I think that you should go first. My news is pretty life altering,” Myah said as she stared at her drink contemplatively.
“Mine, sort of, is too,” Nekeya said. “Is yours good life altering or bad?”
“Well, I really don’t know. It depends on how you look at it.”
“Okay, I feel the same way about mine, so I will go ahead and tell you mine,” Nekeya took a sip of her smoothie. “I am going to be moving to Georgia to assist with a new project starting up there. Some of the project managers asked me if I wouldn’t mind going there and assisting with the research. They are going to pay for the rest of my classes as long as I maintain a B average and are willing to assist me with finding a job afterwards,” Nekeya looked at Myah. Tears filled Myah’s eyes. “I know that this is huge, but it is a great opportunity and Grandma Stallman said that she really doesn’t mind me staying with her until I find…Ma, please don’t cry. I’ll visit…”
Myah wiped her face and let out a laugh. “Baby girl that was my news! The team of researchers want me as one of the leads on the project. I have been thinking about returning to Georgia for a little while now and this came at a really good time because I need…we need a fresh start. The twins will start school next year and I wouldn’t want to make any major changes once that started. They want the project to start soon, so that means that there is very little time to get things done.” She wiped the tears from her face again. She took her daughter’s hand in hers. “I have to tell the twins that we are moving. I have to either put the house up for sale or place an ad to find renters. I have to find a place in Georgia. So much to do, so little time, but I am happy that we will be doing this together.”
“Ma, what about Patrick?” Nekeya sincerely sounded concerned.
“Evidently, he had an “emergency” business trip that is going to take him away for about 2 weeks. It might take him longer. I don’t know the details. I wasn’t privy to the necessary information. I wasn’t even notified about it until after he was already gone. The message was relayed via Mrs. Jordan,” she said with venom in her words.
“Are you going to call him and tell him what’s going on?” Nekeya asked.
“You know, I really don’t know. I don’t want to be spiteful or vengeful, but I am not feeling the whole sharing thing with him right now. If he calls to check on the twins, then maybe I will. I seriously doubt that is going to happen though,” Myah looked down at the smoothie. A feeling of remorse overtook her. She didn’t feel right treating Patrick the way that he had treated her over the past few months, but she was still very angry with him.
“Whatever your decision is, I will support it,” Nekeya stated as stroked her mother’s hand.
“Thanks, baby. I truly appreciate that,” Myah spoke the words through the tears that poured from her inside and out. She rose from the table and gave her daughter a hug.
The next couple of weeks seem to float by. Everything seemed to just fall into place. Myah had put an ad in the local paper to find new tenants for the house. Within two days of placing the ad, she found someone to rent the house. Her mother did research for housing in Savannah. Her mother wasn’t computer savvy, so she had Myah’s brother send photos and information regarding the housing. They did the tours and voted yay or nay. Once the list had been narrowed down to two, Myah and the kids hopped on a plane and viewed the house. They found the perfect 4-bedroom house for them and within the week, the paperwork for purchase was being processed. She and Nekeya set the date of their move for the same day so that it was one smooth transition and to combine the moving cost.
She tried to call Patrick and tell him what was going on, but he wasn’t returning any of her calls. She left messages stating that they really needed to talk and that the kids really wanted to hear from him. She found out from his brother that he was upset about her threatening to have his mother thrown in jail. His brother also stated that their mother’s reaction was just that of a concerned grandmother. His mother was just questioning where Myah’s priorities were. Myah thought to herself, she is truly getting ready to find out. After a week, she found out that he spoke with the twins when they were with Nekeya. Nekeya didn’t know that he still wasn’t speaking with her mother, until she made a comment about her mother’s new position and he seemed completely clueless. He still didn’t call her to clarify.
Myah had the mover’s pick up her furniture early. She and twins moved into a hotel for the last week of their stay in California. The twins were excited about their move and the new house. Myah didn’t think that it really registered that their father wasn’t coming with them and that they would see him a lot less. She made a mental note to approach the reaction to that reality with caution and as much tenderness as she could muster. She called around to local storage areas to find the cheapest place to store all of Patrick’s belongings. The new tenants had done their walk through and had provided a list of requests they had for the house, which Myah passed on to the handyman that she’d hired, requesting that she be kept in the loop.
During her final week in California, Myah came up with a plan. Myah’s plan was to write Patrick a note and give it to the tenants the day before she left. She would explain the situation as she saw it and why she needed to move on. She had the keys and instructions for his storage unit. She had already had the locks changed on the house, so that just in case he returned early, he couldn’t just walk into the house. She was getting the last of the bags ready to go and checking to make sure everything was ready for the drive to Georgia. She and Nekeya decided to drive the SUV and put Nekeya’s car with the items to be moved by the movers. She was checking over the final checklist when she heard a knock on her room door. She wasn’t expecting anyone. She checked the clock. It was a couple minutes past 8 and Nekeya was giving the twins a bath. She checked the peephole and let out an exasperated breath before she cracked the door, leaving the reinforcement latches on the door.
“Yes, Patrick. May I help you?” Myah said.
“Kamyah, let me in,” Patrick demanded. “What in the hell is going on? Where is all of my stuff?”
“Patrick, why should I let you in? I have been trying to talk to you for over two w
eeks now. I have to get messages through various family members regarding your “feelings” and “understanding” of our situation. I have left messages and numerous requests for you to please call me so I could let you in on what was going on with me. You chose to ignore me,” she said as she walked over to the table and picked up the envelope with the key and letter she’d prepared for him. She slid it through the crack of the door. “Here you go. This is all that you need from me. We can work something out with how the twins will visit you.” She could hear him open the letter and then heard him crouching down as he spoke.
“I have something for you that I want you to have. I think that this is something that might…just take it,” he said as he slid the box through the opening. Myah looked down at the floor with the ring shaped box. Her breath caught in her chest. Her heart began to increase its tempo. She could feel her palms begin to sweat. Her eyes began to water. She knelt down and opened the box. Inside the box was the most beautiful, two carat diamond ring.
She stood there admiring the ring. Her emotions were getting the better of her. All she could feel was…anger and frustration.
“It’s amazing that you chose to give me something like this now, as if I would ever marry someone that acted they way that you have. Are you kidding me? You treat me like a non-entity and I am supposed to say how much I love you before God and my family. You pass our children around like they are a peace pipe to the nearest individual with a pulse and I am supposed to say ‘yes I would like to have more children with this man.’ You cheat on me with some woman that is around the age of my eldest child and I am supposed to say ‘hey baby, I promise to love, honor, and respect you.’ I don’t think so!” She took the ring off, replaced it in the box, and slid it back out the door.
“I think that you are making a big mistake! I am a good man and a loving and devoted father. I do what I need to do to make a good life for us. I wasn’t cheating on you all this time. My boss signed me up to be his visiting niece’s beck and call boy. I didn’t think that it would be that big of a deal, not until I was required to be at her side for events and functions. I was going to…” The door was suddenly shut completely.
“I really don’t need to hear any more,” she said through the door. “It is a little too late for apologies and explanations. We will be getting on the road tomorrow. You can come by and spend time with the twins in the morning for breakfast and spend some time after breakfast. My new contact number and address is in the letter. We can make some formal arrangements after you read the letter. It has several options for how we handle the transition for the twins. Other than that, we don’t need to talk about anything else.” She waited for a response or reaction.
“So that’s it. It’s over? 7 years of our lives done and over with, just like that?” he asked sadly. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
“It has been on the verge of a break up for quite some time now, Patrick. Goodnight,” she walked away from the door and made her way to the bathroom.
Myah and her family were surprised at how smooth the transition was from California life to Georgia life. It‘d been three months and the twins had just returned home from their first visit with their father. Nekeya was preparing to get her own place and was looking forward to the great work the new research facility of the Westmont Hospital of Savannah, Georgia was about to embark on. The twins seemed settled. The father aspect of their family dynamic was not as huge a hurdle as she thought that it might be. The kids looked forward to the time that they were able to be with Patrick. He actually made the time to spend with them once again. They were going to be with their grandmother that evening because she had the grand opening of the hospital and its new facility.
As is the customary fashion of the hospital, a car service was provided on the night in question. Myah was both excited and nervous. She didn’t tell Jeffrey that she was moving to Georgia. She made an appearance at his going away party, but barely stayed through the first toast, since she knew she was going to need to get on the road the next morning. She said a quick goodbye, good luck and keep in touch. She chickened out on calling him several times. She didn’t want to seem stalkerish or even desperate. She went through all the trouble to find out what his Georgia number was only to be too scared to pick up the phone and call.
Nekeya found out that she still hadn’t called him and set up the service for the function so that Jeffrey was Myah’s driver and not anyone else’s. Nekeya dropped the twins off at her grandmother’s house and had her car pick her up from there. Myah checked herself in the mirror again. Nekeya called to tell her that he was on his way to her. Myah was beginning to get butterflies in her stomach and the nervousness was beginning to become overwhelming. She peered out her doorway to see the town car pull up to the house. She grabbed her purse and keys and began her long, excruciating journey to the car. What if he doesn’t want to see me? What if he is dating someone? What if is upset about the fact that it has taken me this long to contact him?
She made it to the circular drive and was surprised to see him leaning on the door of the car and not holding the door open. She found this odd because he didn’t know what type of client was coming from the house. Or did he?
“Good evening, Dr. Stallman,” he stated.
Guess that answers that question. “Hello, Jeffrey. How are you this evening?” she responded reflexively.
“Better now that I am seeing you,” he said as he stood to his full height. “What brings you all the way to Savannah?”
“I would like to say that it’s you, but that wouldn’t be the truth. Although knowing that you were here was an added bonus,” she noted suggestively.
“Ahh, I am glad to hear that.”
“How did you know that I was the one coming out of the house?” she asked, genuinely baffled.
“Try as she might to disguise it, your daughter’s voice is very recognizable,” he said as he pulled her closer to him and leaned down to kiss her forehead.
“Interesting. I should’ve known,” she said as she allowed her body to press into his. He leaned against the car, taking her with him.
“I was hoping that I would see you again. I really didn’t want to go without being able to see you and your smile and…” he told her as he moved he hands down her back and along her backside.
She blushed in his arms. “Well, now that you are seeing me, my face, and…” she looked toward his hands. “What exactly are you planning?” she asked as she pressed her lips to his.
“I have a few thoughts on that,” he said, and in one fluid motion he slid her dress up, lifted her up, opened the door, and slid them both into the back seat of the car. Myah giggled and thought to herself how happy she was that she made this move to Georgia. It looked like things were going to be better and she was finally finding the happiness she and her children so deserved.
The Final End
A Dreamer’s Today (a book of short stories):
Beneath My Window Seat
Epiphany has grown to become the woman she has become in a home that is near and dear to her heart. Her milestones and memories contained in the markings and etchings of a window seat in her childhood bedroom. She has fought to maintain hold on this home, but life altering events where she may have to let go of one of the last ties she has to her childhood and her parents.
The Intimacy Friend
Jeanette and Thomas have been on a merry-go-round of friends and lovers for quite some time. Jeanette has grown tired of the round and round of it all. She needs to determine if this is something that she can continue in spite of her own personal desires or not.
Miss U of I Girl
The story of two young friends, their meeting and the connection they forge because of it. Life throws their respective plans for a loop.
Who’s Watching Me Now?
Charisma is being stalked but every attempt to find proof is thwarted. Her best friend, Melody, has been unavailable. She enlists the assistance of her friend’s ex and her old c
ollege friend, Derrick, to get the attention of a man she is interested in. What will happen when she finds out the reason why her friend has been unavailable and she is the reason for Charisma’s uneasy feelings?
An Ever Changing Moment
Andrea has to deal with the antics of a very promiscuous child, Kendrell. Her husband, Joshua, doesn’t seem to see anything wrong with his son’s behavior. The events that unfold within a short time change all of their lives in ways they could never imagine.
So Hard to Say Goodbye
Isaac left his heart and the woman that he loved at the altar 6 months ago. He feels compelled to make it up to Jacqueline in some kind of way. He concocts an elaborate scheme including his best friend and Jackie’s best friend, who happen to be siblings. Will his plan work in getting his woman back? Or will he find himself in the former shoes of the woman he loves, left at the altar.
The Place My Heart Belongs
Day’ja is married to a Movie Star husband and a loving father. She is the mother of three beautiful children with said man. Upon finding out about his infidelity, she opens herself up to have a relationship with her old college friend and former lover. Her husband’s pretend “girlfriend” is who he ends up having an affair with. Day’ja is faced with the choice of trying to work on a marriage that has been a well kept secret or being true to a part of her heart that she thought she’d tucked away, long ago.
Mommy, you are
Rosaline is has just received news that is about to rock the world of her and her closest male friend. One night filled with tears, Mojitos, food and movies led them in to unfamiliar territory and now situations must change as their roles take them in different direction than they’d planned their friendship to go. How do you handle such a delicate situation?
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