by Tosha Damaya
She laughed. "What about when I was eighteen?”
Zeke thought back to that time and realized that he was a player back in college and wouldn't have wanted to meet Sydney then.
"I believe that we met at the right time. I wish we would've gotten together sooner, but the friendship we had before created a foundation for our relationship. I plan on loving you until I'm buried six feet under."
Sydney wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on the tips of her toes so that they were eye level. "I plan on loving you for eternity."
That night, Sydney was in bed with Zeke cradled in his arms after making love and was thinking about the future when she realized something. "Your thirtieth birthday is in a few months."
"I don't want a party," Zeke mumbled half asleep.
"It's your birthday baby, we have to celebrate it."
"We can celebrate with just me and you."
Sydney wasn't listening to Zeke and was already planning different things in her head. Maybe a small dinner party with friends and family would be nice. It would give her a chance to use the invitations she got months ago. "What about just dinner?"
The only response she got was a light snoring in her ear. She laughed and fell asleep a few minutes later.
≈
"A dinner party? That's what he wants for his big 3-0?" Sierra asked.
"No. He doesn't want to do anything at all. I got him to agree to the dinner."
Sierra wiggled her eyebrows. "How did you get him to agree?"
Sydney laughed at her sister. "Get your mind out of the gutter."
Sierra grabbed the macaroni and cheese, and Sydney picked up the yellow rice and took it to the table. They were at Sunday dinner at their parent's house. Zeke and Ethan were talking with their dad, and their mom was setting the table. "Why are their eight placemats?" Sierra questioned after walking into the dining room. She thought it was just the 6 of them.
"Your brother is coming and bringing his girlfriend. All of my children are coupled up. I love it!" she squealed.
Sierra ignored her mother's happiness. "Who is he bringing?"
"Someone named Denise, no that's not right, her name is Danielle."
Hearing that pinged Sydney's interest. "I didn't know they were still together."
"Me either," Sierra commented.
"Well, I'm excited to meet her," their mother stated with a smile.
At that moment, the doorbell rang, and their mother ran to the door. "Speak of the devil and her manipulative ass will appear," Sierra stated. She just couldn't believe that Danielle was going to be in her childhood home.
"Be nice."
Sierra snorted. "Fuck being nice."
"I know that's not my little girl using foul language like that?"
Sydney and Sierra looked in the doorway and observed their father walking in with their men. "Daddy, I keep telling Sydney to clean up her mouth, but she won’t listen.”
Mr. Adams wasn’t fooled. “What has you cursing like a sailor, Sierra?"
She almost told him the truth, but Danielle and Jonathan walked into the room. All eyes were on them, and you could cut the tension with a knife. "Honey, this is Jonathan's girlfriend Danielle. Isn't she beautiful?" Theresa gushed.
"It's nice to meet you, Danielle," Mr. Adams greeted politely by walking over and shaking her hand. "Have you met my daughter and their mates?"
"I have. It's good to see you all again."
This bitch, Sierra thought to herself. Instead of replying she went and sat down. Everyone did the same. Dinner was served, and small conversations were starting.
"So what's new girls?" Mr. Adams didn't talk much on the phone and usually used the dinners with his children to catch up on everything he missed. It seemed like something dramatic was happening almost every day.
"Nothing new," Sierra stated. She wasn't going share anything with Danielle present.
"Same old stuff daddy. The store, babies, and home," Sydney added.
"Okay, what about you two?" he stated pointing to Zeke and Ethan.
Ethan went first. "Business is good. I’m still settling into living in Austin.”
"How's the law office, Zeke?" Samuel asked continuing his questioning around the table.
"Great sir. I have no complaints. I've been focusing on Syd, the babies and work."
"That's good." Mr. Adams noticed how Danielle was paying a lot of attention to Zeke. She was so focused on him that she barely saw his son. "Danielle, tell us about yourself."
Danielle flashed a million-dollar smile. "I'm twenty-four, an only child, and a Texas native. I work with my father at his consulting firm. I met Jonathan at the hospital when I was visiting my grandfather."
"Jonathan, you and Danielle must be serious if you're bringing her to our dinner table."
Jonathan grabbed Danielle's hand. "We are pops. In fact, she's pregnant, and we're getting married."
Danielle smiled again. "Surprise!"
Theresa screamed, excited, but everyone else was rendered speechless. Sierra refused to hold her tongue. "Oh hell no! Bullshit!"
"Sierra!" her mother hushed.
"No, Momma. This woman is only trying to upset Sydney and make Zeke jealous. I know police cleared you, but I still think your ass had something to do with the robbery and probably the fire. You ain’t foolin’ me." Sierra refused to be in the same presence as Danielle, so she stood up. "Your ass probably not even pregnant,” she said before leaving the room. Ethan got up and followed her.
Danielle started to cry, and Jonathan was trying to console her. "Baby, my sister, is crazy; don't listen to what she says."
"That's not right to call our sister crazy, Jon."
"We all know she isn't wrapped tight, Syd."
Zeke wanted to interrupt and let him know that Danielle was missing a few screws in the head, but he held his tongue.
Mr. Adams decided to end the conversation. "We are all aware that Sierra has a colorful personality, but she also is a good judge of character," he stated while eating. That shut Jonathan up.
Danielle and Jonathan left dinner after they finished eating. Zeke was helping Theresa clean the dishes, which left Sydney alone with her dad. “You alright, baby girl?”
“Yes.”
“No, you’re not. What’s bothering you, honey?”
“I don’t want to sound spoiled, but I wanted to enjoy being pregnant. I can’t help but feel Danielle is trying to steal my happiness.”
He felt the same. “I got a bad feeling about her. What the deal with her and Zeke?”
Sydney sighed and told him everything about Danielle including that she and Zeke dated, the fight at the restaurant, and her coming to the club the night of the fire. She told him how Zeke, Ethan, and Sierra thought she had something to do with the robbery, but there wasn't any evidence pointing her way.
"Just because there isn't evidence doesn't mean it's not true. A gorgeous face has never fooled me. Just be careful."
Sydney nodded her head. "I will."
Chapter Nineteen
Zeke took so much time off from work to help Sydney that he was now behind in his cases. She felt guilty about it and wanted to help the best way she could. Whenever he came home, the house was clean, and he had a meal on the table. Instead of him going out to lunch, she brought him food to his office. She wanted to be a supportive partner.
Today, Sydney ordered food from an Italian Restaurant. She drove to his office and walked up to his secretary's desk and greeted her.
"Hello, Brenda."
The older woman smiled at her. "How are you doing, Sydney?"
"Pretty good. Is he here?" she asked while pointing to Zeke's closed office door.
Brenda shook her head. "Not yet, his last meeting is running a little bit over. I know he wouldn't mind if you waited on him, though."
"Thanks, Brenda."
Sydney walked into Zeke's office and sat his lunch on top of the desk. She always liked the way his office was decorated, but she esp
ecially loved the fact that there were more pictures of them together. He even had a framed photo of the ultrasound on his bookshelf. She was admiring the picture when Zeke walked into the room.
"I don't think my girlfriend would like another woman waiting for me in my office." He couldn’t wait until he could refer to Sydney as his fiancée, and then wife. It was just a matter of time before he popped the question. The ring was already picked out and hidden at the house.
Sydney looked up and smiled. “I have a feeling she wouldn’t mind.”
Zeke chuckled before pressing his lips against hers. “You’re glowing today, Syd. It's beautiful."
Zeke pulled Sydney away from the bookshelf over to his office chair. He sat down and placed her on top of his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. "I'm waiting for you to not be so damn perfect."
"I'm nowhere near perfect. I just know that I love you unconditionally."
"Even If I get fat?" She was a little worried about the weight gain while carrying twins.
"I don't mind a little bit of junk in the trunk."
That statement got a huge laugh from Sydney. "I love you," she said in between giggles before kissing Zeke. He returned her kiss, and they continued making out like teenagers. They were interrupted when the office door opened.
Bryan realized that he was disrupting a private moment. "I apologize. I thought you were alone. Brenda went on her lunch break."
Sydney hopped off of Zeke's lap. "It’s fine. I was just leaving." She kissed Zeke on the cheek. "I'll see you at home, Mr. Coleman."
Bryan waited until she left the office before speaking. He cocked his head to the side. "What happened to the big mofo with the attempted murder charge?"
Zeke hid his smile. "He violated probation."
Bryan chuckled, knowing that Zeke was lying his ass off. He decided to let it slide. "Our next appointment is here, Mr. Coleman," he mocked.
Zeke followed Bryan to the meeting, and they spoke to the new client about his case and the different legal options he had. Zeke and Bryan walked out of the meeting feeling positive that they could make an easy deal with the defense attorneys without going to trial. It was after two when he got back to his office and he was only sitting down for five minutes before his phone starting to ring.
“Mr. Coleman, I have Detective Demetrius Rice on hold for you.”
“Transfer him through.”
“Zeke, I need for you to come down to the police station," Demetrius said right away.
Zeke's heart started to race. He hoped nothing new happened. He just saw Sydney a couple of hours ago. "What’s going on?
"Everything is fine. We just had a breakthrough in a case. On-duty deputies just arrested a man for a DUI. They searched his vehicle and found Sydney's purse and wallet. He's incoherent at the moment, but there's a possibility he's the one that robbed her."
Zeke hung the phone up and rushed out of his office. He couldn't wait to come face-to-face with the man that had hurt Sydney.
≈
Zeke arrived at the Austin Police Department and showed his work ID to gain access to where the inmates were located. Zeke only came to the jail for work. He always felt claustrophobic when he came through the last door and could no longer see outside. His father taught him and his brothers a long time ago that there were enough black men in jail, and they didn't need to be one of them.
Out of the four of them, Ethan was the only one that had been arrested. Zeke smiled a little when he thought of the prank that Ethan pulled in high school that put him in jail for conspiracy to commit terrorism. Ethan thought it was a good idea to call the front office and say that there was a bomb in the school library. His little stunt got the school evacuated, and the SWAT team came on campus, looking for an imaginary bomb. Zeke remembered how pissed their father was and how much money he spent to get the charges dropped and expunged off Ethan’s record. To this day, Ethan still had the newspaper articles from the incident.
After what felt like forever, Zeke finally stood in front of the last door that took him to the offices and waited for the guard to give him access. He walked down the long hallway until he found Demetrius.
"Hello, good sir."
Demetrius looked at his watch. "I expected you here twenty minutes ago."
"Traffic was a mess and then I had to wait for the guards to put me through all of these damn doors. How can you work in this dungeon? I feel trapped whenever I'm here."
Demetrius shrugged his shoulders. "I won't be here much longer. This case is the last one I'm working before I resign." Demetrius picked up the case file and handed it to Zeke. "The mystery man is Ricky Jackson. He's thirty-five and a career criminal. He has past charges of burglary, petty theft, and battery. His last arrest was for possession of cocaine and he's currently on probation," Demetrius explained.
"Is the probation officer violating him?"
"Yes. No matter what, he's facing time for this DUI. Deputies got him veering off the road for more than a mile on camera. He almost hit a civilian that was walking on the sidewalk."
Zeke nodded his head while listening and looking at the man's photo. He looked a lot more than his thirty-five years old. The man clearly had poor hygiene with his matted hair and scars covered his face and neck. He’d probably had a hard life. "Has he said anything about Sydney?"
Demetrius shook his head. "We've been giving him the chance to detox. He was wasted when he arrived."
Zeke handed the folder back to him. "Let's see what he has to say now."
≈
Zeke anxiously waited until Demetrius and Ricky walked into the interview room. He wanted to go in there and beat the shit of the man, but decided against it. He sat in his chair and watched behind the two-way mirror. The guards sat Ricky down, and Demetrius started to speak from across the table.
"I'm Detective Rice with the Austin Police Department. Are you aware of your current charges of Driving under the Influence?"
Ricky nodded his head, refusing to speak.
"Sir, during a search of your vehicle we came across a woman's purse. Do you know who it belongs to?”
“My girlfriend,” he answered.
“And what is her name?”
“We were only together for a short time,” he said.
Demetrius was tired of beating around the bush. “The owner of the purse was robbed a few months back. I find it strange that you had it in your car.”
That put Ricky into a panic. He shook his head from side-to-side. “I didn’t rob anyone.”
“No one said that you did, Mr. Jackson."
"I want a lawyer. I know my rights, and I don't have to speak to you," Ricky replied quickly.
Demetrius figured that he would lawyer up quick. "I'll let you contact an attorney, but it's not going to help your case, Mr. Jackson. You're not going to win in this situation," Demetrius stated. He signaled to the guards that he was finished and left the room. Zeke was waiting for him on the other side of the mirror.
"He was lying."
Demetrius agreed with Zeke. "I know. I think our best bet is calling Sydney in to see if she can identify him."
"She never saw his face."
"But she heard his voice. If she gives us a positive ID, we can use it to build our case. Do you think she would be up for it?"
Zeke wasn't sure if Sydney would want to participate. Lately, she had been expressing how much she wanted to move forward from the robbery and fire. "I'll ask her tonight and get back with you."
≈
Sydney got excited when she heard the front door open to the house. She cleaned her hands from cooking and went to greet Zeke. As soon as she saw his face, she knew something was wrong. "Did you have a bad day?" He was fine when she saw him earlier for lunch. “What happened?"
Zeke didn't want to start the evening off with the negative news, so he redirected Sydney. "I'm starving. Is dinner ready?"
Sydney wasn't fooled. "Yeah, I made a salad, lasagna, and garlic bread.
Let's eat and talk."
Zeke followed Sydney to the dining room. She served him and provided him with Scotch to drink while she settled on some water. She couldn't wait to enjoy a glass of wine after her pregnancy ended. After Zeke had got settled, she started asking questions. "What's bothering you, and don't lie to me."
He sighed. "A man was arrested and he had your purse and belongings. There's an enormous chance that he's the same person that robbed the store."
She didn't expect to hear about the robbery. She thought that he had a rough time with a client. "I didn't think the person would ever get caught."
"He's not talking, baby. There's no real evidence to tie him to the robbery. Right now, he's in jail for a DUI."
She didn't like hearing that. "There has to be something done."
Zeke ate some more of his lasagna, contemplating on if he wanted to tell Sydney that she could come in and identify the man. He didn't want her to be stressed out.
She watched him, amused. "Zeke stop hiding it from me."
"Detective Rice wants you to come in and identify the man by his voice."
"Do I have to see his face?"
Zeke shook his head. "No, but of course you have to listen to him. If it's going to be traumatizing for you, then don't do it, Syd. According to Demetrius, he's going to be serving time for a while."
"But not for what he did to me." She wanted closure, but knew that hearing the voice of a man that almost killed her was going to be hard. “Will you be there?”
“No. I can’t be in the room with you because I don’t want to compromise the investigation, but I’ll be there afterward.”
As long as she had Zeke to lean on when she finished, she would be able to accomplish it. "Okay, I'll do it." She wanted that man in jail for taking her money and hurting her.
≈
The next morning, Sydney stood inside of a room with Detective Rice. She had her back turned to eight men. They couldn’t see her, but she didn’t have any intentions of seeing them, either.
Show me where the money is kept.