Blessings From the Father (17 page)

Authors: Michelle Larks

BOOK: Blessings From the Father

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“Luckily, our parents instilled in us a good work ethic. They encouraged us to go into field that would make us happy. It was easy for us to find our niches in life,” Michelle said.

The women continued chatting. Carson entered the doorway of the room and found Mariah deep in conversation with his sisters. His mother would interject comments now and then. He felt good that Mariah seemed to mesh with his family.

He glanced at his watch and returned to the living room to peep out the window.
Lola should have dropped off the girls at least an hour ago.
Carson hoped against hope that Lola would stay in the car and allow the girls to walk to the front door unaided. That hope was short-lived as Carson watched his ex-wife and his daughters walk on the path leading to the house. Carson reluctantly opened the door.

Chapter Nineteen

Mariah and Carson's sisters heard the front door open and then close. Their eyes traveled to the dining room entrance. Tiffany looked at her sisters and shook her head. She gave Mariah an apologetic look.

Carson strolled into the dining room holding the hands of his two daughters. Mariah caught her breath. The youngest girl was the mirror image of Carson. She had thick, wavy hair, with a gap between her two upper teeth. Her green eyes were a testament to her paternity.

The older girl was breathtakingly beautiful. She smiled at her aunts. Then her gaze fell on Mariah. She looked Mariah up and down; her nose twitched in the air. She turned to her father and asked in Spanish, “Who is she?”

“Now, Ali, we will not have that,” Carson firmly chastised her daughter. “Please speak in English. She's a friend of mine. Please act like you were taught manners. I want you and Ashanti to meet Ms. Green.”

Mariah rose from her seat self-consciously and pushed a lock off her face. She pasted a smile on her face.

As he introduced the girls to Mariah, Carson's ex-wife, Lola, stepped into the room. Gazing at her it was obvious to Mariah whom Carson's oldest daughter had inherited her looks from. Lola was model thin. She looked as if she wore a size zero. Her shiny raven-colored hair cascaded over her shoulders. Deep dimples were carved into her high cheekbones.

“
Hola,
everyone,” she said boisterously as she slipped off her black sable coat. Lola handed it to Carson. Carson sighed as he put the coat over his arm. Then, he walked to the closet and hung up the coat. He quickly returned to Mariah's side.

The smile on Lola's face faded as her gaze fell on Mariah. Then she shrugged her shoulders and walked over to Carson, Mariah, and her daughters.

“I don't believe I've had the pleasure. My name is Lola Palmer. I am Carson's ex-wife. Who are you?” Her dark eyes seemed to probe into Mariah's soul.

“My name is Mariah.” She thrust out her hand. “I am a friend of Carson's. Your daughters are simply beautiful.”
I will not let this woman intimidate me
.

All conversation seemed ceased in the house. Carson's relatives' attention was glued on Mariah and Lola. The family members knew that Lola considered herself a diva to the max.

“Yes, they are.” Lola smiled down at her daughters. She ignored Mariah's hand.

Carson clasped his hand around Mariah's waist. He told Lola smoothly, “Mariah is a very good friend of mine.”

The light in Lola's eyes dimmed at bit. Her lips turned down upon hearing Carson declare Mariah as a good friend. Lola had known Carson since she was fourteen years old. She was aware that her ex-husband didn't invite just anyone into the inner sanctum of his parents' home.

Lola sashayed to the other end of the table. She began talking with her ex-sisters-in-law.

Tiffany gestured to Mariah to join her in the kitchen, while Carson and his daughters chatted. The two women walked into the kitchen and stood by the sink.

“In my brother's defense, Carson didn't invite Lola to dinner. She can be a bit overbearing. If you stand your ground with her, she tends to leave you alone. But at any sign of weakness, she will walk all over you.”

Mariah smirked and waved her hand. “Carson and I are just friends. Lola has nothing to fear from me.”

“Are you kidding me?” Tiffany exclaimed incredulously. “You are the first woman Carson has brought home since his divorce from Lola. You feel me?” Tiffany nodded her head.

Carson walked into the room. “Tiff, are you telling Mariah all my secrets?” He scolded his sister.

“Sorry, I just wanted to give Mariah a heads-up about Lola. You know how she can be.” Tiffany smiled guiltily at her brother. Then, she went back into the dining room.

“I wish you had told me your ex was coming,” Mariah remarked unhappily. “I wasn't quite ready for meeting your folks, your daughters, and her.”

“Trust me, Lola's being here wasn't planned,” Carson apologized. “I was going to pick up the girls myself. Then Lola volunteered to bring them since she's going to her parents' house. They don't live too far from here.”

“I guess I'll forgive you this time.” Mariah exhaled loudly. “Next time, just give me notice if there's a possibility she'll be around.”

“I promise.” Carson pulled her into his arms. He leaned down and lightly kissed her lips. “Everyone seems to like you. I know you were worried about that. The only people I was concerned about were my parents. Although at the end of the day, who I choose to see is my choice. Anyway, I can tell they approve of you.”

“Hmmm, Granny likes you too.” Mariah snuggled against Carson. Then she pulled away from him. “I guess we should be getting back, before someone wanders in to check on us.”

Carson grabbed her hand and they returned to the dining room.

Lola finally left the house thirty minutes later. She stared suspiciously at Mariah when she thought Mariah wasn't looking at her.

As the evening progressed, Mariah felt more comfortable with Carson's family. She loved the way the family interacted with one another. Carson was a caring father, solicitous of his daughters' feelings. Ashanti was warm with Mariah. The younger girl's personality was much like her father's, while Aaliyah was aloof.

The men retired to the rec room to watch the basketball game. The women sat around the dining room table talking. Mariah confided in Carson's mother and sisters her plans for opening the transitional home. The Palmer women were impressed by the young woman and offered to help in any way they could.

Mariah could not help but feel the love in the room. There were family dynamics present that she wished had been present with herself, Rosemary, and Cassie. She knew Rosemary would have enjoyed being with the Palmer family that evening.

Finally at eight o'clock, Mariah excused herself and decided to go home. She walked to the rec room and gestured to Carson.

They stood in the hallway. “I'm going to go home,” she informed him.

“Do you have to leave now?” Carson asked as they walked upstairs and to the foyer.

“Yes. I might go back to the city tomorrow and go Christmas shopping with Granny.”

“You're welcome to hang out with me and the girls tomorrow,” Carson offered as he removed Mariah's coat from the closet.

“I know. But I think I need to come around them a little bit more before I intrude on your time with them.”

“Fair enough.” Carson held up his hands in a conceding manner. He held Mariah's coat, and she slipped it on. Carson was at her side as she bid everyone farewell. She thanked Mrs. Palmer for having her to dinner.

“It was my pleasure,” the older woman preened. “We enjoyed having you. Thank you for bringing the pie. It tasted wonderful. Don't be a stranger, and you don't have to wait on Carson to bring you here, feel free to stop by anytime,” Helen told Mariah warmly.

“Thank you so much, Mrs. Palmer. I may take you up on that.” Mariah grinned.

Ashanti walked to Mariah. “It was nice meeting you, Ms. Mari. I hope to see you again.” She smiled shyly at Mariah.

“It was nice meeting you and your sister,” Mariah responded. She looked at Aaliyah. The young girl looked past Mariah.

Carson grabbed his jacket out of the closet. “I'll walk you to the car.”

The pair walked outside and down the block to Mariah's car. Carson took the keys from Mariah's hand. He unlocked and opened the car door. Mariah got inside the car. She started the car, and rolled the window down. “I had a great time. Your family is awesome. I'll call you when I get home,” she promised.

Carson leaned into the open window and kissed Mariah. “Please do.”

She shifted the car into drive and pulled off. She glanced back and Carson stood in on the stairway waving at her. She tooted her horn.

Before long Mariah arrived home. She parked the SUV in the driveway, and walked inside the house. She took off her coat and hung it in the closet. After she turned on the lights in the living room, Mariah kicked her shoes off, and tucked her legs on the sofa. She then mulled over the day's events.

Her cell phone rang interrupting her thoughts. “Hello,” she said after pulling the phone from the bottom of her purse.

“Hey, Mari. How was your day?” Sonyell asked.

“Good and bad,” Mariah answered truthfully.

“Tell me the bad first, then the good,” Sonyell prompted Mariah. She crossed her legs as she reclined in the bed. Sasha was having fun with her cousins in Marvin and Ashley's hotel suite.

“Well, you know, I went to Granny's house and everything was going well, except Granny didn't mention that she'd invited Cassie to dinner. Things went well for about five minutes and then Cassie started with her usual sob story. You know the drill, how Granny puts me before her. Things went downhill after that and Cassie ended up storming out.”

“That's too bad,” Sonyell stated. “I know your grandmother wants all of you to get along.” Sonyell picked the remote control from the nightstand, and powered on the television.

“That wasn't the worst. Cassie has been hinting about a mystery surrounding my birth, and she acts like she has the goods on Granny or something,” Mariah admitted. “She's been doing that for a while.”

“You didn't tell me about that,” Sonyell exclaimed. She dropped the remote control on the bed.

“I didn't mention it because I assumed it was because Cassie was high. But now I'm not sure,” Mariah said indecisively.

“Talk to your grandmother again, that's all you can do,” Sonyell opined. She picked up the remote and channel surfed.

“You're right, but sometimes I'm scared to. I know whatever happened had to be bad.”

“I'm going to repeat this again, talk to your grandmother. She is the only one who can clear the matter up.”

“Okay, I will, when the time is right,” Mariah promised. “You know I went to Carson's parents' house for dinner, right?”

“Yes, I know. How did that go?” Sonyell inquired nosily.

“Pretty good. His family was nice, although I know his sisters were giving me the once-over. Of course they asked me fifty million questions. That wasn't the bad part. His ex-wife, who, I might add, is drop-dead gorgeous, dropped his daughters off at his parents' house. If looks could kill, I would be dead.” Mariah flexed her hand.

“She was that bad?” Sonyell asked in an incredulous tone of voice. Her eyes widened.

“I tried to play it off. But yes, she was pretty bad. His oldest daughter was very wary of me. She was a clone of her mother.”

“What about the youngest girl? How was she?” Sonyell craved details.

“She was a sweetie. I really liked her. She reminds me a lot of Carson. She even looks like him.”

“Well, one out of two isn't bad,” Sonyell quipped. “Suppose neither one of them liked you?” She smoothed her top down which had risen up.

“You have a point there. Carson invited me to hang with him and the girls.”

“What did you tell him?” Sonyell took a can of Pepsi from the nightstand and sipped.

“I told him I didn't want to intrude on their father-daughter time. I think I need to be around them a little longer”

“Go with your instinct.” Sonyell set the can down on the nightstand. “But if the relationship is going to move forward, then you need to get to know his daughters.”

“You're right.” Mariah sighed. “I could tell Carson wants me to spend time with all of them.”

“You got yourself a package deal, girl. I'm so proud of you,” Sonyell teased her friend. “You are a true case of never say never.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Enough about me; how is Michael?” Mariah changed the subject.

“He's good. Making all the promises he usually does when he's about to be released. Oh, I forgot, he wanted me to find out if there is something he can do, as in work for you?”

“Is he going to live with you and Sasha?” Mariah asked. “Doesn't he have to stay in the city and not cross state lines?”

“If he had been released on parole then that would have been the case. But, he's served his sentence. He just wants to find a job.”

“I hadn't thought about it,” Mariah responded. “Let me think about it.”

“I don't want you to feel obligated. However way you decide is fine with me.”

“Where's Sasha? I know it's too early for her to be asleep.”

“She's spending the night with Marvin and Ashley. Their room has an adjoining suite for the girls. So Ashley invited Sasha to stay with the girls.”