Affirmation (4 page)

How
you like that,
you
piece of shit
?

Anyway,
she didn’t need him in her child’s life. She needed someone willing to stand toe-to-toe with her dad and fight for his woman.

Ugh, you weren’t his woman, girl. You were a one-night stand
and
likely
one of many
.

She continued rubbing her
stomach;
it had a strong calming effect. There’s no reason to get
upset, forget it, she
always wanted children.
If she thought about it, raising children didn’t require a man. Many single women did it all the time.
The glass half-full
perspective actually worked.

Here, in the global village of Puerto Plata, she
found a nice villa in Sosua Hills
which she
purchased
outright
with cash
to avoid
the
mortgage application process and credit checks. She had assumed a respectable
name
and bogus ID with her photo that said Leslie Warren.
The people
here
didn’t pry into your business and ask a billion questions
. When the realtor asked what her occupation was, she lied and said she was a writer and he didn’t pry any further.

Well, she figured i
f
the novel
‘
How
Stella Got Her Groove Back,’ was based loosely on an author’s experience
while on vacation
, shit there’s a possibility someday
Shanda
might actually
write a book
, except the real life ending wouldn’t
be the
island love
she later married
was actually
gay
!

Shanda's face scrunched in disgust, “Ah, man, that's really some low-down shit, right Gee?”

Gee didn’t answer. The spoiled dog remained sleeping.

“Lazy butt.” She said to her only companion and
looked out at t
he picturesque landscape
. The place
soothed away the tension
and it’s what she needed during pregnancy
.
No drama, no stress.

She had her dog, met
a few
nice
people
and had begun to think of the Dominican Republic as home. I
nitially, assimilation into the laid back environment and its friendly people
required an
adjustment.
Brooklynite
’s aren’t
accustomed to pleasantries from strangers
. It took an a
ttitude
renovation
to accept the niceties.
She retired the Brooklyn armor and went with the flow.

Clad in a
teeny
bikini, the evidence of her condition was on full display.
As she
massaged the
hilly mound
, the
baby kicked in response
this time and she laughed,
“Okay, cool it. You aren’t hungry. I know because I’ve eaten like a lumberjack
today. No more food.
You take after papa
because I usually don’t eat like this, you hear me in there?
”

Shanda
pushed her shades up and chuckled
. The navel ring reminded her of the pre-Shanda body
. She’d
eventually have it
back,
but for now
she basked in the miracle of motherhood. The hideous
maternity clothes
worn by some for comfort, though, she refused to wear
. Oh hell no!

She decided to go for a swim
. S
ubmerged
to her neck in the water, her skin instantly
cooled
by at least fifteen
degrees. “
Aaaahhh
, th
is is
nice.”

Her
thoughts drifted to her best friend and she frowned. The image of Selange’s crest-fallen face
caused guilt.
She wanted to tell Selange the truth but when she spotted the FBI
,
she bolt
ed
.
The bond between friends went beyond blood; they were spiritual sisters,
and
she’d keep it that way.

There’s a lot she hadn’t told Selange. Eversince,
Selange
married Alfonzo, her parents
pestered Shanda to cut the ties
with her friend solely because they didn’t like who she married. How could they
ask such a thing?

On the
day she
arranged to
be at Selange’s side
for the
birth
of the twins, her dad
caught wind of it and
used his clout
to have
her removed from the plane.
The
underhanded tactic
employed
against his daughter
proved he only cared about his stupid job. Of course she lied when she agreed to wear the
wire; it’s the only way
to get
him off her back and
say good-bye
to Selange.
She never intended to go through with the subterfuge. Never
!

She sighed, and waded through the water and it cleared her mind.
She dipped her head in
to cool her
scalp.
She re
moved the
weave
and wore her hair short in shiny curls which showcased her
pretty face. Somehow, changing her appearance
had a
liberating
effect
. Ev
erything about
independent
living
gave nourishment to a
new
spirit
and she
l
oved it!

S
he
prayed the
receptionist
at the clinic
remembered to mail those letters when she
got to
New York
. The letters were important. Her parents wouldn’t stop the search unless they
had
assur
ance
she hadn’t come to any harm.
They
were informed of her displeasure with their
meddling and
the
setting
of
rules for a
n adult w
oman
, but hadn’t paid heed to anything she said.

They hadn’t
interfered with any relationships with her other
acquaintances and it hurt they single
d
out Selange when she was the best of them all.

O
ver-bearing parents and one in law enforcement tend to lecture, enforce rules and not listen to their children until something goes wrong. Anyway, in her letter addressed to her parents,
she gave them a transcribed
e
yeful
.
Boy did she!

She laid it out in plain English her emotional truth. T
hey’d
have their
written
confirmation;
she split because of what her father had done and
their over-bearing behavior
.
The poke
at
her father and his law enforcement friends were certain to halt their search
. She documented in
unequivocal terms
that
asking her to spy on
a
friend
was a
trust
violat
ion
and they lost her respect because it’s evident they didn’t respect her!

L
et the
f
eds
find another fucking stool
pigeon
!

It’s the letter addressed to
Selange
which she found the hardest to write. In
the note
, she explained
the reason for the
abrupt departure and disclosed
everything she
learned
. The only part she omitted was her father standing front and center with the feds in her apartment. Although, she despised what he did, she understood his warped sense of justice included trying to protect his
daughter. Once she mentioned her father sought to
coerce
her
in
to wear
ing
the wire
by
us
ing
Selange’s children
,
he’d become a marked man. Shanda wasn’t stupid, Alfonzo would have her father killed and she couldn’t live with being the person who signed the execution order!

CHAPTER
T
HREE

The caterers were busy in the kitchen, a small group of set designers turned the Diaz property into an outdoor
dream on a beautiful Saturday morning. Maria fussed with the caterers, complaining the food choice was not representative of the blended heritages. “It’s too Italian.”

“But the bride-to-be chose the menu.” The frazzled head chef answered as she waved at one of the staff who ogled the multi-tiered cake with miniature gold balls
back to work, “Diana, vamanos!”

Maria persisted, “Sí, I understand, but we must add a few Puerto Rican dishes, she will not mind.” She scoot close to the woman and gave her a run-down of some of her son’s favorite dishes.

The children
ran through the kitchen
and Maria shouted for them to stop running and
to
quiet down. She pat the woman’s shoulder, “Make sure you get it perfect.”

“
Sí, senora.”

“And do not forget, only a pinch of
pepper in the
carne guisada,
comprende?

“Sí.”

“And do not over
cook
the
cuchifrito;
my son does not like it
overly done
.”

“Sí, senora,” the Chef said stiffly as she hurried about the spacious kitchen, peering over the shoulders of her staff.

Maria nodded and departed and the Chef rolled her eyes, glad the meddlesome woman had gone and she could re
turn to
work.
Cooking fine cuisine was her business and not homemade dishes saturated with greases and
swine. But, the interloper was the groom’s mother and these were very powerful people. In order to avoid finding her catering company blacklisted or worse, she tapped one of her staff and assigned her to make Maria’s
uninspiring
dishes.  

The Chef glanced at the
figure
against the wall
when his hand
rotated slightly
to
peer
at his wristwatch and
then from
narrow slits
he
resumed
observation of the
workers.
The
d
isciplined soldier
’s
silence and
immobility
had
caused
her to t
emporar
ily forget his presence.
Armed men like
th
ese
were posted everywhere on the estate. It served as a reminder of the Diaz’ importance and notorious reputation.

Sí, the
request of the groom’s
mother
was not debatable and must be honored.

                                
****

“
We
can’t stay in bed the entire morning
, hun. You’
ll
eventually
have
to
let me up
.
”

Alfonzo
’s lip curled in opposition to
Selange’s statement. They were
laying
together, hip to waist, and he wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere, not even on this
festive
day
.
The heat from her body
served as a
blanket and
felt
very soft.
“Not yet.” He
said
, clutching her tighter
and
then
brush
ing
aside
her
hair
to plant
a lingering kiss on the nape of her neck
.
“
I’m comfy.”