BOMAW 1-3 (55 page)

"You - make - me ill!" Deidre swallowed back nausea staring at this creature from whom she'd orginated.

"Consider yourself lucky! He's out of your life now! As it is - since he's no longer between us - we could actually be friends. We could work together."

Deidre started laughing, a laugh of clear distaste and revulsion. "You must be kidding! I wouldn't trust you-..." right then she stopped and her expression changed, her eyes grew round, her breathing deepened, and tears rushed to her eyes. "You... you had something to do with my miscarriage didn't you? I told you I was pregnant again and that I wanted Shawn back, and you put a stop to that right away - didn't you? Did you? Did you intentionally make me lose that baby?"

Georgiana looked away from her daughter and turned her back waving her off, "Enough of this! I don't wish to discuss it any longer! I'm in need of a bath and my massage! I need to relax." She walked towards her bath.

"It's true! Oh my god! You killed my baby! You drugged me, made me miscarry!" Deidre was breathing hard, following her mother into her bath.

"Get out of my bath! I told you - I'm done with this discussion!" Georgiana shouted at her, a flutter of fear tickling her stomach. Her daughter stood staring at her, barely five inches separated them as they both stood breathing deep and long.

Deidre's eyes welled up with tears, because as she stood - she was battling a need to kill her own mother. She knew it was best that she not move for fear of attacking her. The un-natural sensation of actually bringing physical harm to her own mother made her stand frozen with the image playing out in her mind. All she would have to do is just push her back and into that tub. Hold her under water, just hold her. Deidre's heart was pounding because the urge, the need was powerful. Georgiana gulped as her own heart hammered in her chest. There was no one in shouting distance, and yet to move might be the very thing that made her daughter snap. So they stood, staring at each other. Mother and daughter. Two totally different people, opposites ... strangers ... enemies.

A knock sounded at Georgiana's door. It sprang her into immediate action, she rushed around Deidre thankful that someone was there. "YES! COME IN!" She shouted resisting the urge to out and out scream. She was shaking because she knew she was close to being attacked by her own daughter, and something told her, had she been... it would not have been good.

"Ms Wherrington? Here for your massage?" A good looking, buffed male returned entering Georgiana's rooms.

"Yes... come in please." She made her way to him.

Deidre stood in the same spot, tears rolling. Hearing them in the other room, she finally got her locked limbs to move, turning and without a word, walked quietly past her mother and out of her rooms.

"Where would you like me to set up ma'am?" The young male asked. Georgiana lifted her left hand and pointed to across the room, unable to speak, her throat was locked as she stared at the door her daughter exited. She felt weird, an unwelcome sensation coursing over her. Taking a deep breath she shook it off. "You'll get over it." She whispered, then turned away to the young man, a smile spreading across her face. "You set up, I'm going to step into my bath a moment...I won't be long."

*

"Oh my goodness mom! I'm so happy for you! I knew it! I just knew...gone try an' tell me wasn't nothing going on! When he called me, talking to me - trying to figure out where you were, I knew what the deal was! I said, em hm, mama think she slick!" Crystal laughed and teased her mother from the other end of the line on the phone. Sylvia stood with her back against her kitchen counter, phone to her ear, smiling as she talked to her daughter and her son. He was coming up next week to meet Shawn. Had heard about him from his sister, but this would be the first that they'd meet.

"Well... I was tryin' to fight it." Sylvia grinned.

"Mama! How you gone fight something that fine!? And anyway...I don't get why you struggled for so long with going on with your life! I love you mama, you deserve to be happy! You deserve to have someone love you the way any woman wants to be loved, so what if he white! That's why you didn't want me to know! 'Cause you talked all that stuff about Victor - now look at you! That's why you tried to keep it to yourself!" Her daughter laughed, and Sylvia did too, there was no way she couldn't - because it was true. She knew she'd talked some serious stuff about Crystal falling for a white boy and letting him knock her up. She still hadn't told her daughter that she was pregnant yet. She just couldn't do it. It would have to wait until after they were married... which would be real soon leaving things up to Shawn. He'd been working really hard the last two days. None stop on the book cover layout for Lowell and Mercy James. She knew he had a deadline to meet and left him to get his work done. Popping up to bring him something to eat, or coffee. He worked, sipped coffee and then stepped away and pumped iron. She'd never known anyone to work as he did. To her surprise he had a full basement like she did but his was unfinished. Yet, filled with all of his free weights, bar bells and weight plates, bars, curl bars, weight benches, an elliptical, a tread mill, a Bo-Flex total fitness gym, a punching bag, a chin up bar, a huge leg press that she thought must weigh a ton. She had quietly observed him. He'd paint for a couple of hours, break to kiss her and walk into his basement and work out like a mad man. And then run until he was pouring sweat on the tread mill. He'd come up, eat what she prepared for him, hug her tight and then back to painting.

He was due up for a break soon.

He'd given her instructions, and he'd be there soon no doubt to make sure she followed through on them. Ever since everything happened with Angela, she'd been unable to sit and get back into her writing. She couldn't focus her mind, so she would wait until things settled around them a bit.

"Mundo, you still on the line?" Sylvia asked her son.

"Yeah... I'm listening to you two. What'up?"

"Well... I want you two to know about something that I learned just a few days ago." Sylvia began.

"Yeah...listenin'." He announced.

"Ummm, your dad had other kids, well... you both know about the two in Chicago. There's another one." She informed them.

"What'aye!" Her son muttered with the rolling of his eyes, his slang term for,
'What a surprise!"

"So who is he?" Crystal asked curious.

"His name is Derrick Paul McPherson, named after his stepfather. And ummm, he lives right there in La Crosse. He's some months older than you Crystal and by the looks of his picture, you two look quite a bit alike."

"Who he look like?" Mundo asked.

"Your sister. They are both with your father's coloring and features." Sylvia clarified.

"Good! Cause I'm one of a kind! Original fine! Ain't a nigga no where with looks like mine!"

"MUNDO! SHUT UP!!!" Mother and daughter both shouted at the same time laughing and rolling their eyes.

"And uh, if it serves my memory correctly, you look like me!" Sylvia reminded him.

"Mama... you a woman, ain't the same!" He joked. Sylvia sighed shaking her head. "Anyway... also... I have Shawn's daughter staying with me. So you both will get to meet her."

"Why she staying with you?" Mundo, short for Armundo, asked.

"Its a long story. I'm gonna make it short and sweet, when I'm done... don't ask me nothing else cause I don't feel like getting deep into it. She ran away from home." Sylvia began and then lied finishing it up. "The courts assigned her into foster care until her mother got her life together since she had full custody. She made a big stink about Shawn getting her, so I have her until they get things settled." She finished.

"Mama you know you be liking you some drama!" Mundo commented, reading between the lines, albeit inaccurately, he knew nothing was as simple as that.

"Boy! Mind yo' bidness! Be glad I told you that much."

Just then Shawn stepped up to her kitchen door. She had it open with just the screen locked, walking over to it she let him in.

"Who's that?" He asked her, indicating the phone as he stepped in, bending to kiss her temple.

"My kids. My son's on the phone."

"Yeah! Put him on here, let me talk to this man." They could both hear Armundo's loud voice. Sylvia shook her head as Shawn took the phone.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Aye man! What up dude? We got to hook up man! 'bout to marry my mom and thangs - we ain't even had no discussions man. Wha's up wit' that?"

"Grab a pen and paper, I'll provide all the necessary information myself." Shawn directed him.

"Hang on hang on." Mundo requested.

Shawn grinned at Sylvia holding the phone to his ear listening to her son as he asked his sister.
"Crys' gimme some pen and paper right quick!"
Shawn chuckled as she answered,
"Nigga get it yo'self! I ain't yo' secretary! I do enough fo' yo' butt!"
Shawn threw his head back and exploded with laughter. Sylvia was curious. "What are they saying?" She asked. Shawn waved that he'd tell her later and said to Crystal, "Now you know that's not a nice thing to say to your brother."

"Pul-lease! I call him worse things than that! He better get his en' up and start doing somethin'! He gone make me tell mama what he been doing! Nothing! 'Spose to be going to school and getting a broadcasting degree..."

"Don't be telling him all my business!"
Shawn heard him shout out.

"You ain't got no business! Sorry en'! What business you got? You bes' talk to him, 'cause you gone need a home pretty soon! Talkin' all that smack! Better get yo' paper and pen and shut up talking to me!"

Shawn stood shaking his head chuckling.

"What are they saying on there Shawn?!" Sylvia asked.

"Go get on the other phone." He told her. Sylvia hurried to her phone in the bedroom and picked it up, listening to them argue in the background, back and forth. She also picked up on the fact that her son wasn't attending school as he was supposed to. Which was the main reason he went to La Crosse to live with his sister, so he could get an associates degree in broadcasting. She stood in the doorway of her bedroom looking at Shawn as he stared at her, both holding the phones to their ears grinning as her children embarrassed her with their bickering. The radio was on in her living-room, with soft music playing in the background and suddenly the gentle cords of a song came on that captured their attention.
Roberta Flacks
,
'First Time Ever I Saw Your Face'
- her kids faded into the background even more as they shared a moment so sweet, they both felt each word of that song. Standing across the room from each other, they knew how much they were in love. The song went off and Mundo came back online after they'd been standing there for more than five minutes waiting for him and Crystal to shut up so he could get back on.

"Hello? Man she get on my nerve!" Was the first thing he said picking the phone back up. "Okay man I'm ready, fill me in m'man."

"Shawn Everett McPherson - home phone - 608 - 777 - 2002, cell phone - 0349 888 6808 - 110 Washbend Road, Camp Daniels - right across from your mom. Anytime you wanna hook up and have a discussion, that's where you'll find me. Don't hesitate."

"Ah'ight man...cool. We gone do that. You know...'cause hey... the ol'lady... you might need t'talk to her a lil'bit for me."

"Talk to me about what?!" Sylvia cut in shocking her son.

"WHOA! Hey mama... I ain' know you was still on the phone!" He stated shaken up.

"HA! So she probably heard that your stupid butt is not in school!"

"Girl shut up and hang up the phone! You done already said yo' piece, now shet up! Don't nobody wanna hear that!"

"Crystal... get off the phone so we can talk. I'll talk to you later." Sylvia instructed her daughter.

"Okay mama, talk to you later. I love you. Bye Shawn! We'll be coming there to meet your daughter probably next week sometime."

"I can't wait. We'll see you then." Shawn returned, they heard the phone click.

"What's going on with you and school Mundo?!"

"Man ma! I was talkin' to m'man - can't we get back to that later?"

"No we cannot! You on my dime! I called there! We gone talk about what I want to talk about - like why the heck you not in school!?"

"Hang on one minute ma! -
HUH?! HEY MAN! HANG ON MAN!!
" Mundo shouted as if he were talking to a newly arrived friend. Shawn was laughing so hard his eyes filled with tears of laughter because he knew the trick. Anything to get mama off your case.
"I'M ON THE PHONE WIT'M'MAMA! WHAT? AAAAH MAN... OKAY I'LL GET OFF NOW!"
He continued on holding the phone away from his ear.

"Mundo!?-..." Sylvia started.

"Mama I gotta go, dude friend of mine just showed up. I'ah talk to you later man, love you - bye! Later Shawn!"

There was an immediate click.

Sylvia pulled the phone away from her ear looking at it with disgust as she stood with one hand on hip. Shawn had walked over and hung his phone up still laughing.