BOMAW 1-3 (39 page)

"I'm sorry, daddy! Please, I just wanna go!" she cried, trying to hug him. Shawn kept pushing her away. Steadying himself, he reached up and pulled her arms from around his neck, forcing her back away from him to return to the sofa. He held her there to keep the distance between them.

"I want you to listen to me," he tried again.

"Let's just go, daddy, then we can talk. I wanna get out of here." She was shaking, short quick rocks back and forth, anxious and afraid, so sorry for hurting her father.

"Angela, you can't go with me. Your mother will be here soon, I'll give her a call—"

"No! I wanna go with you!"

"You can't go with me, do you understand? Not after what you said—"

"I didn't mean it! I didn't mean it! Please, sir, my dad didn't do that! He didn't!" She was sobbing.

"Angela! Calm down and listen to me!" Shawn shook her gently to get her attention back to him after she turned yelling the truth to the officer.

"Please, let me go with you!" she bawled.

"No...you cannot be alone with me anymore...you're going to have to stay here—"

"They said I could go with Sylvia! You said Sylvia would be with me! She's here! Sylvia! Sylvia, I'll go with you! Please, I'll go with you! I don't wanna stay here!" Angela cried, turning pleading eyes to the black woman she knew was her father's intended. Right then and there, she just wanted out of that police station. The entire experience left her exhausted, scared, and traumatized. She didn't care that she didn't know Sylvia, going with her was better than staying in the strange cold police station.

Sylvia started crying again.

"Shawn...I'll sign for her," she pleaded gently.

"No! I can't take the chance that she'll run again."

"I won't run, daddy! I swear I won't! I swear, daddy...I won't run, please, daddy...I won't run! I'll stay with Sylvia! Don't leave me here!" she begged and pleaded, crying and shaking, grabbing her father's jacket and pulling herself to him, trying to force him to grab her. Shawn's knees were aching, he pushed himself up from the kneel and sat on the sofa with his daughter sitting next to him, hugging him and crying into his chest, begging him not to leave her. Shawn sat looking at Sylvia and then the officer.

"What's it gonna be?" the officer asked, knowing this would be the outcome if he came in and talked to her before he left.

"I'll sign for her!" Sylvia answered before Shawn could say anything.

"Wait a minute!" Shawn corrected her and then to his daughter. "Angela…Angela, look at me." He grabbed her by the arms and pulled her off of him to make eye contact. Her nose was running, her eyes red and swollen from crying. The officer stepped up, passing the box of Kleenex again. Angela grabbed several out, blowing her nose, but she kept her eyes on her father. "If Sylvia signs for you…If we take you with us from here...you will not run! Am I making myself clear?"

She was quick to nod.

"I am your father and I love you with all of my heart and soul. But if you ever...
ever
pull what you did today again...that's it—"

"Shawn! She's your daughter, don't say—"

"Sylvia…shush! I'm talking here! Let me handle this!"

Sylvia bit into her bottom lip and shut up. Right then, she felt certain their relationship had moved up to an entirely new and more intense level. This side of him, the man that dealt with his daughter in no uncertain terms, was startling. While, yes, he could flash a flirtatious grin, be charming beyond belief, was a incredible artist and a fierce fighter to protect her, he also showed himself to be very forthright and wouldn't stand for shit from anyone, that meant her included, so certainly not from his daughter. There were many faucets to his make up, each one only served to excite and fascinate her more with him. He was a real man, as gentle as he could be rough. With every new introduction to his character make up, she found herself falling deeper in love. While at any other time, with her first husband, she would have been angry at being hushed, now, she found that she wasn't. Something about his absolute masculinity, intensified her femininity to the extent that she would yield to him without dispute, because he was in the right—no matter how hard it was to watch.

"Don't do it again, Angela...don't do it again. I am
your
father, you will not control my life doing what you did, or saying what you have. You do not dictate to me! Your mother and I, are done! We are done for good! But that does not have to change what we have. I love you no less...but you will not emotionally blackmail me! You will not use these theatrics to get your way! Life is about change! Things have changed in your life and there is nothing you can do to undo the change. Do you understand me?"

She nodded, hiccupping and crying more.

"If you want to be with me, you will be with me on my terms...mine! If I could work out you being with me always...I would. But know this, get it in your head, get it in your heart, your mother and I…we are no more. That is final."

"I'm sorry, daddy...Pl-pl-please!"

Shawn sighed and pulled her to him and hugged her. "I'm sorry, too, pumkin'...I'm sorry, too," he returned, stroking her hair and looked up at Sylvia and the officer.

"Okay...she can sign for her."

"I'm not getting an answer from either place, his home or his mobile phone. I hope everything is okay. God, the least that he could do is call me!"

"Considering that it's three in the morning there, he may have the phones off. Let's not worry over that now, we have a little over two hours left of our flight, you're better off getting some rest for when we get there."

"I just hope to God he's gotten Angela."

"If you haven't talked to him, how did you know she was there? You never explained that." Georgiana asked softly in the quietly gliding jet. The lights were dimmed for them so they could sleep. Her daughter lay across from her as she voiced her thoughts. Deidre was quiet and thinking, trying to figure a way of telling her mother, then thought,
what the heck!
"I called back after the police left to give him an update, and someone else answered the phone," she admitted. Her mother came to full attention, leaning up on her elbow to glance across the dimly lit space at her daughter. "A woman?"

Wrestling with the discomfort of it, Deidre answered, "Yes, a woman."

"Oh my...well, there you go. Hmph, see...and you were going to try and move where he is. Maybe it's a good thing you gave up those plans."

"I made a mistake...so many mistakes," Deidre said, laying quietly.

"How so?"

"He asked me to leave California. He asked me to put our family first. He asked me to trust in him. To believe that all my material things meant nothing. He wanted me to follow him, have his babies, so that together, we could farm some land...just as his parents did. Raise our children unspoiled by all the trappings of wealth and corruption. He was right, because all that I have...means nothing to me. If I don't find a way out...I'll...end up…like you. God help me, I don't want to end up like you," she spoke from her heart, not caring how it sounded to her mother.

Georgiana lay thinking about that, she chuckled softly after giving it some consideration. "Seems to me, you will never find your peace, or your place. You may not think much of my life, but I don't waste time on trying to fix something that is obviously irreparable. I live my life for me. Because when it's all over, I'll only have death to face. Nothing left after that. I don't believe in Hell, and I sure as hell don't believe in Heaven. Just here…and now," she said, laying back, her arm up over her forehead as she reclined contemplating her daughter. "You were such a silly child. Silly girl, and now a silly woman, and Shawn Everett McPherson was too much man for you."

"When we get to Madison, do me a favor...leave me there. No need for you to stay."

"Don't be ridiculous, you're…so…sensitive," her mother drug out slowly, grinning. "Now did I get all worked up when you insulted me? No...besides, you need me present to see that matters get taken care of correctly. She's my granddaughter, I have every right to make sure she's okay."

"Whatever, mother, whatever. Were it not for the pictures of her arranged around the house, you'd probably forget what she looks like."

"Beg your pardon, she looks like her father...so there. Anyway, who's this woman?" her mother asked, her mind going back to her main concern.

"Her name's Sylvia Payne. Angela told me about her. Shawn's been seeing her for sometime, so it seems. She's…black."

"What! As in, African American black?"

"Yes."

Georgiana threw her head back and dissolved into uncontrollable laughter. "Ohhh, my poor daughter...give'im up! She'll eat you alive. Haven't you been watching Jerry Springer? Hmmm, I wonder what she's got that's attracted him? Oooh, I do so love a challenge," she muttered the thought, shivering.

"You so love a challenge? What have they to do with you?" Deidre asked.

"Oh, hush, I'm thinking. I mean, for you, of course! Leave it to me, give me a little time, and I'll come up with the perfect formula to break them up. Won't be that hard. One thing about them, they're about nothing but the bling-bling, being seen, and a fancy ride. I'll have to get to know her a little bit. So, when you talked to her, how did she sound?"

"Like a woman!"

"Well, duh! Of course! I mean, did she sound smart and white, you know, educated? Or did she sound like one of the bimbos off of Jerry Springer? Or country?"

"I don't watch Jerry Springer mother, might I suggest you leave off from it as well? I would have thought you above those kind of talk shows."

"You are so narrow-minded! Try thinking outside of the box! I happen to think he's a genius. Don't you get it? By opening the stage for them, he's making it possible to expose them all for what they really are. He's educating the world and giving them enough rope to hang themselves. Oh, when I think of some of them, I can't believe Shawn would even consider a relationship with one."

"Excuse me, if I'm not mistaken, there are white persons on his show as well!"

"Southern, hillbilly white-trash and rednecks! He can't only use the blacks, then it would be too obvious what he's doing."

"Mother, you are truly twisted. The more I know you, the sadder I get. So if you would please, don't say another word. I'd like to get a little rest before we land."

"Yes, yes, go to sleep, leave it to me…I'll fix it as usual."

*

It took another half an hour for the officer to list what was expected of Shawn. He could not return to his residence until the investigators of Juneau County searched his home from top to bottom, and confiscated his laptop and computer. At no time could he be left alone with Angela. Sylvia had to read over the release and check off all that she would be expected to do when they released Angela into her temporary custody. She had to answer a number of questions asked by the officer that all started with, "Do you understand that at no time..." She also had to sign for a release for them to run a check on her background, everything there was about her had to be run. Having done all that was asked and answering, it prompted her to state, "We're all too tired to drive back where we live and so we'll be getting a room—"

"He'll have to get a separate room. He cannot bed down in the same place with her. Also, you must both keep your cell phones on. As soon as the judge can attend to this matter, you will be called back to the courthouse, so stay in town until we contact you to appear before him. When you all return to your home, she will have to go home with you. She cannot sleep where he sleeps, until his things have been thoroughly searched and checked over by Social Services and they have spoken with her," he went on carefully until they understood without any doubt, making Angela slip deeper into her sorrow.

Sylvia sat yawning as she followed behind Shawn in his SUV. It was almost 4:30am and they were all exhausted as he led the way to a Ramada Inn, after she drove him to his vehicle where Angela leapt out. She now trailed behind while she kept glancing to her right at his daughter. She was most certainly his child. Her hair, eyes, beauty...she was breathtaking to look at. The very image and essence of him. Hair so black, thick and long, she should be a child model. She was dozing now. Sylvia had mixed feelings surrounding the whole ordeal. While she was both hurt and disappointed at her for what she'd put her father through, she supposed this child was in an ugly emotional tug-of-war. Looking at her, seeing her the way she was earlier at the police station, only helped to support her reasons for never leaving her husband. Divorce did very unfair and sometimes tragic things to children, especially young girls, whose early years should be spent building their self image, character, and confidence.

Not fighting for her right to have a mother and a father with her, as every child deserved.

She couldn't help herself, she felt stupid doing it, but she took her hand from the wheel and laid it on her lower belly and wondered, was her cycle changing, or was she at that very moment carrying Shawn Everett McPherson's second child? If indeed she was, then what? She didn't want any more children. After what his daughter had put him through, would Shawn? She yawned again, and turned on her right blinker to exit the interstate for the Ramada Inn ahead, following Shawn up the off ramp. They pulled in and parked right next to one another. Shawn was the first out, coming to her side of the car and opening her door for her. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned, apology clear in his tired eyes. With all that he had gone through, he was worried about her, she could see it written all over his face. She noted that there was even a touch of fear, insecurity for what he was putting her through.