A Love of My Own
Contents
_____________
Acclaim for E. Lynn Harris and
A Love of My Own
“Harris is a great storyteller who knows how to tug on the
heartstrings with wit and sensitivity.”
âUSA Today
“Harris is a wonderful writer. His romantic scenes, whether
between men and women, or men and men, are always
touching.”
âSan Francisco Chronicle
“Harris's talent as writer has increased with each of his books.
His stories have become the toast of bookstores, reading
groups, men, women, and gay and straight people.”
âAtlanta Journal-Constitution
“[E. Lynn Harris] tucks in plot twists bound to keep his readers
turning pages late at night.”
âThe Washington Post
“This book is loaded with sensational goings-on and characters,
both old and new, who will keep readers returning for
more of the same.”
âPublishers Weekly
“What's got audiences hooked? Harris's unique spin on the
ever-fascinating topics of identity, class, intimacy, sexuality,
and friendship.”
âVibe
In celebration of this being my eighth novel, this book is dedicated to eight amazing women whose love and friendship I treasure.
Charlotte “Cindy” Barnes
Regina Brown Daniels
Garbo Watson Hearne
Yolanda Starks
Robin Walters
Sybil Wilkes
Dyanna Williams
Brenda Braxton Van Putten
In Memory
Victims of 9/11
Gerald Douglas
Calvin Gooding
Aaliyah Haughton
Orville Henry
Jon Richardson
Arletha Stapleton
Lorraine Haynes Wilson
Acknowledgments
__________________________
My, how time flies when you're having fun. It has been ten years since I entered the world of writing, and I'm just as grateful today as I was when I was selling copies of
Invisible Life
out of the back of my rented car.
I'm grateful to God for allowing me to enjoy a successful career with the support of my family and friends. I have mentioned a lot of these people before in past acknowledgments, but I must mention them again because I realize now more than ever that nothing can be taken for granted. Faith, family and friends are so important to me.
So here goes. My mother, Etta W. Harris, and my aunt, Jessie L. Phillips, for always supporting and loving me unconditionally all my life. I'm thankful to Rodrick L. Smith for his love and support for creating a place I can call home. Thanks also to Rodrick and Stephanie for sharing your daughter, Desiree, with me. I must thank all of my family: my sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins and my new godson, Sean Harrison Gilmore.
I have the best friends in the world. People I've known for twenty-plus years and have loved me before I became “E. Lynn, the author.” These friends understand when I can't come out and play and are always sending encouraging words of support and prayer. They include the amazing eight ladies mentioned in the dedication and Vanessa Gilmore (known from now on not as Judge Gilmore, but Sean's mom), Lencola Sullivan, Troy Donato, Sean James, Blanche Richardson, Carlton Brown, Rose Crater Hamilton, David and Tracey Huntley, Debra Martin Chase, Lloyd Boston, Derrick Thompson, Brian Chandler, Keith Boykin, Anderson Phillips, Reggie Van Lee, Ken Hatten, Brent Zachery, Tavis Smiley, Steve Barnes and Hugh Watson.
I've made some new friends latelyâsome of whom had a big part in helping with this novel. Thanks to Chris Bequette, Derrick Gragg and Sanya Whittaker Gragg, who make me proud to be a fan and graduate of the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville.
The year 2002 also marks my ten-year anniversary with my publisher, Doubleday/Anchor. This is something I'm most proud of. I look forward to spending my entire career with the best in the business. I realize how lucky I am to be published by a company who treated me from the beginning like I was a best-selling author. I extend my heartfelt thanks to: Stephen (the great) Rubin, Michael Palgon, Bill Thomas, Jackie Everly, Linda Steinman, Suzanne Herz, Jenny Frost, Pauline James, Laura Wilson, Ari Jones, Emma Bolton, John Fontana, Ann Messitte, Luann Walther, Jen Marshall, Meredith McGinnis, Carol Lazare, Judy Jacoby, Gerry Triano, Dorothy Boyajy and Rebecca “Still the Magician” Holland.
As always, I offer special thanks to my publicist extraordinaire, Alison Rich, a wonderful woman I'm proud to also call my friend. Thanks for all your hard work and always going the extra mile for me.
Although not a part of Doubleday, I give special thanks to Chris Fortunato and his staff.
They say good friends don't make for a great staff. For me nothing could be further from the truth. I am grateful to the following people for being special friends and helping me hold my life together: my assistants, Anthony Bell and Laura Gilmore; my agents, John Hawkins, Moses Cardona and Irv Schwartz; my attorney and friend, Amy Goldson as well as my Atlanta attorney Joe Beck and accountant Bob Braunschweig. Special thanks and much love and respect to Tony Hillery of TZR. I must also thank Shannon Jones, Janis Murray, Taurus Sorrells, Matthew Jordan Smith, Patrik Henry Bass, Smith & Polk Public Relations, Bobby Daye, Roy Johnson, and Amy DuBois Barnett of
Honey
magazine for schooling me in the magazine industry.
Thanks to the entire staff at my home away from home, the Trump International Hotel and Tower, with special thanks to Elizabeth, Rose Marie, Carlos, Dennis and Suzy. Thanks to Dr. Ian Smith for the medical information.
There are also several people and organizations that have supported me with each and every book. I realize they don't have to, and I'm extremely grateful. My thanks to Stanley Bennett Clay, David Star, and
Essence, Ebony
and
Savoy
magazines. Black Radio has been a big boost to my career. I wouldn't be here without
The Tom Joyner Morning Show, Doug Banks and DeDe McGuire, The Steve Harvey Show,
Frank Ski, Ryan Cameron, Donnie Simpson, Wendy Williams, Skip Murphy and his wonderful, crazy team, and Cliff and Jeanine on the West Coast. Special thanks to the CBS
Early Show
for giving me national exposure.
There are also several organizations that support me with a great deal of love: booksellers (a special shout-out to the black booksellers, since it all started with you), librarians, and book clubs the world over; Carol Mackey and the Black Expressions Book Club; Sigma Gamma Rho, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Zeta Phi Beta, Delta Sigma Theta, Kappa Alpha Psi, Alpha Phi Alpha, NAACP and the Links. Thank you all very much.
I have two wonderful outside editors whose friendships and talents I treasure. Charles Flowers and Chandra Taylor made writing this book fun, and I couldn't have done it without them. I will miss our Saturday get-togethers.
Thanks to all my writer friends, published and unpublished, for your friendship and support. I'm so proud to be a part of this community.
I must also thank the cast of
Dreamgirls; The 20th Anniversary Benefit
and The Actors' Fund of America for my Broadway debut. You were all so warm and loving and made the dreams of a little boy from Little Rock, Arkansas, come true. Special thanks to the directors, Brenda Braxton and Danny Herman, and the musical director, Seth Rudetsky.
I've saved the best for last. I have the best editor in the world, who happens to be a wonderful woman and great friend to all fortunate enough to know her. Janet Hill takes my words and stories and molds them into best-sellers. She is the one person I depend on for making my career so special. I couldn't do it without her. I wish all my writer friends have the same experience. Thanks, Janet.
In closing, I want to thank the fans who have supported me with each and every novel. I don't take you for granted. We've been through a challenging year as a country and as human beings living in a world that's constantly changing. Still, just the thought of all you marvelous fans makes me deliriously happy to turn on my computer every day and ponder, “What can I write today?” Thank you for that pleasure and privilege. I wish you all love, all the time.
e. lynn harris
New York City
June 2002
Prologue
__________________
That's the Way Love Goes
JANET JACKSON
Sometimes the beginning of a story starts at the end.
It was December 2001, a few days before Christmas.
Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Tyler Sr. had just come from the mall loaded down with presents and decorations. This was going to be the first Christmas they would share with their adult sons, Raymond Jr. and Kirby, in their new home in Naples, Florida, which they had built to enjoy their retirement.
It would be different from the cold-weather holidays they'd spent in Birmingham, Alabama. In Florida, Christmas Day wouldn't be spent in front of a roaring fireplace but maybe on the beach where they could watch the sun descend slowly in spectacular shades of orange and pink. Christmas would end with a twilight swim under the stars.
While Marlee was placing gifts under the tree, Raymond Sr. was at the bar preparing cocktails. Once he finished mixing the drinks, Raymond placed a drink on a sterling-silver tray for his wife of forty-plus years as the phone rang.
“You want me to get that, baby?” he asked.
Marlee loved that her husband still called her baby and smiled and said, “Sure, Papa.”
She opened a box of Christmas cards and gazed lovingly at her husband as he answered the phone.
“Yes, this is Raymond Tyler. Slow down. I can't understand a word you're saying.”
Marlee took a pen and started to write special messages to her sons when she heard the tone of her husband's voice change.
“You said your name is Zola. Oh God, no! What hospital?” Raymond Sr. asked. His wife looked at him and noticed that the pleasant expression on his face had changed; a mask of joy had been replaced with one of horror. Marlee dropped the cards and pen to the floor and rushed to her husband's side.
“Raymond, honey, what's the matter?”
He removed the phone from his ear and placed it against his heart and cried, “Baby, our son Raymond's in ICU, we've got to get on a plane right away.”
What had happened to Raymond Jr.?
