Checkmate 2: Let the Games Begin (26 page)

“I trust you to end this, babe. Whatever romantic relationship that y’all have, it must end today. If you can still work with her and have no problems with separating work from pleasure, then continue to work with her. I trust you to do that.” Monty stared in her eyes and felt relieved that she was being very mature about the situation and was giving him the opportunity to severe any romantic ties that he had with MiKayla in a decent manner. He was shocked, because this wouldn’t have been the same attitude he would’ve gotten a year before.

“Thanks for trusting me to handle this.” He kissed the back of MJ’s hand.
“Daddy loves you and mommy,”
he stated.

“Yeah, we know. And, Monty Banks… Puh-leese, don’t take my kindness for a weakness. Now get outta here and call me when you leave her house.” Candy said with a look of confidence as she kissed him on the lips.

Monty walked out feeling good. He loved Candy’s new attitude, but inside Candy was nervous  hell about sending him over to MiKayla’s house. She didn’t know how that would end, but she brushed it off, knowing that no matter what happened Monty would not let them down. As he backed out of the driveway, she picked up her phone to call Dee and fill her in on what had happened.

__________

Monty pulled up to MiKayla’s condo. He sat in his Tahoe and tried to figure out a way to tell her that they had to chill out. He desperately wanted to be with Candy and save their relationship, but he’d gotten more attached to MiKayla than he expected. He got out and walked up to the front door. He put the key she’d given him inside the keyhole to unlock it as he walked in. Sweet sounds of Floetry played throughout the house on the surround sound system. As he walked into the living room she looked up at him. She was lying on the sofa with her head resting on her arm. She sat up, but didn’t say anything. The innocent look on her face made this so much harder for him as he walked over and sat by her. He patted her on the leg and smiled a little. She smiled back and dropped her head.

“Are you alright?” He asked her.

“Yeah, I was just sitting here thinking. I’m glad that you came over.”

“Well, your text message sounded important. I was thinking that we needed to discuss a few things anyway.” Monty stated. He couldn’t stand the thought of looking into her beautiful eyes as he broke her heart. “You speak on it first and I’ll chime in when I feel the need to.” MiKayla nodded her head as she agreed to start first. She looked into Monty’s eyes and mustered up the courage to tell him how she felt about him along with the other details of her life that he needed to know about. She cleared her throat, trying to find the words of where to start.

“I want you to know that I’m falling in love with you and I can’t help the way that I feel. It was tough on me today to see you leave with your ex or shall I say your lady… again. I know that you’ve always told me that if she gave you another chance that you’d take it, but in my heart I felt that we’d began to build a stronger connection with each other and that you wouldn’t feel the same about her if she decided that she wanted you back.” Monty sat up, wanting to go ahead and end this before the conversation got too deep. He already felt bad for her, knowing that he had to tell her that their relationship had to be strictly business from this point on. Even he knew, in the back of his mind, that this was going to prove to be easier said than done. His feelings were caught up, as well.

“MiKayla, let me say something,” he interrupted.

“No, just let me finish please.” She insisted. She stood to her feet and walked into the kitchen to fix a glass of wine. Monty followed her.

“Have some?” She asked as she got another glass out of the cabinet.

“No, thank you. I’ma pass on the glass of wine today.” He stated with a smile. He sat on the bar stool and watched her pour her drink.

“Okay, but you might need one.” She said smiling. She walked over and sat next to him as she immediately began to talk. 

“Candy is a very pretty lady.” Monty looked at her in silence, but quickly thought to himself.
Where is this coming from?
She continued. “I could see it on the picture in your office, but in person she really looks flawless. I could see why you’re drawn to her.” She said, stalling for time.

“Yeah,” he paused. “It’s more than just her beauty that draws me to her.” He stated.

“And, your son is so cute. He looks just like you.” Monty smiled, watching MiKayla as she tapped lightly on the side of her wine glass. Her eyes were dazed as if she was all of a sudden in another world. She took another sip, slowly nodding her head.

“I would find myself looking at the picture of the two of them in your office on a regular basis. I always wondered what my son would have looked like.” She stated. Monty’s eyebrows rose out of curiosity, but as he cleared his throat to say something, she continued.

“I envy your relationship with Candy.” She hesitantly smiled a little.  “My life could have been the same if Chad wouldn’t have left me.” She said drinking the rest of her wine. Monty cleared his throat again, this time jumping right in.

“Who is Chad, MiKayla?” He asked while watching her pour another drink.

“Chad,” she reluctantly smiled. “Chad was once my fiancé.” She paused taking a drink from her glass, slowly looking up into Monty’s eyes. She had the prettiest eyes he’d ever seen. It was like they could speak to him without one word parting from her luscious lips. She continued as he waited to hear where those old feelings were coming from.

“We were so happy and in love. We’d been together for three and half years and, in that time, he made sure that I didn’t want for nothing.” She was off in her own little world as she continued. “When we found out that I was pregnant, he asked me to marry to him. That was the happiest day of my life.” She smiled. “The plan was to be married by the time our son was born, but that never happened.” She drank more wine as Monty sat there unable to move. He was in a zone of listening to her. MiKayla took in a deep breath as she recalled the day it all ended.

“It’s been over a year and a half since my dreams were shattered. Thinking back, that day started out lovely. Chad woke up and cooked me breakfast and we sat in bed and ate together. He was excited about the day, because he had an important deal taking place that would surely get him out of the drug game once that final transaction was made. Being pregnant with our son gave him an epiphany. He realized that it was very important that he be here to help support me and raise our son together. This made me a very happy woman, because I’ve always known that dealing with the amount of drugs that he was dealing, for long period of time, would get him caught up in the worst way… prison or death.” MiKayla sighed as the smile on her face was only there to cover the pain she felt inside.

“I remember him kissing me on the lips and telling me that everything was going to be different when he got back.” She turned the glass up, drinking the rest of her wine. She reached for the bottle to pour more, but Monty grabbed her hand.

“MiKayla, I don’t know where you’re going with this, but please don’t do this to yourself.” He sadly stated.

“No, you don’t understand… I have to,” she insisted as her voice shook, but she fought the tears as she’d always done. “Chad left home that day and never came back.” She sighed. “He never came back, Monty,” she whispered. Monty could clearly see that this was painful for her. He grabbed her hand and held it as she continued. “As the hours went by and my phone calls went unanswered, I knew that something had happened. My sister, his mom, and his younger brother came over to our house so that I wouldn’t be alone. They asked me the same questions over and over again and I had nothing different to say that could lead us to where he was, because he never told me exactly where he was going. His mama led us in prayer for, at least, an hour as she tried her best to think positive. Even though no one wanted to show it, all of us feared for the worst. The next morning had gone by and no one still had heard from or seen him. I was four months pregnant and deep down inside, I knew he wouldn’t leave us like that. But, I swear I would have felt better if he had left me for some other chick or just left me to do his own thang. At least, I would have known that he was alive and alright.” MiKayla sat there and her leg shook uncontrollably. It was as if she didn’t even realize that it was shaking like that. Monty sat in silence not knowing what to say. With her head hung low, she continued.

“A week had passed and no one still had heard anything. For me, no news was good news. At least, that’s what I made myself think. The police had been notified, but they were of no help. He’d had a few run-ins with the law and to them he was just another drug dealer off of the streets. In the meantime, the days turned into months with no appearance or news about Chad. I’d somehow fooled myself that he was still out there watching over us from afar. Maybe he was caught up in something much bigger than we knew about and couldn’t be around us or we’d be in danger, too. So he stayed away to keep us safe.” She smiled looking back up at Monty. “That’s what I told myself and for a long time I believed it. Three months after he disappeared and two thousand miles outside of where we lived, his black Suburban was found. It was located in a Chop Shop that was being raided by the FBI’s. A detective called Chad’s mom a couple of days after and said that Forensics had been going through his vehicle looking for anything that would give them a clue of Chad’s disappearance. The only thing that they could find was blood on the carpet behind the driver seat. It had been there for quite some time we were told. It was later determined that the blood that they tested was an identical match to Chad’s. And even though they didn’t find his body, my heart was broken and I felt as if I was left to care for our baby alone.” Monty was shocked. He had no idea that she had gone through so much grief. She had a way of hiding her feelings very well. He was speechless as he continued to listen.

“I lived in our home until after I had our son, Chad Junior, who was born a week after the Forensic tests came back. I was so stressed that I couldn’t keep him safe inside me and he was born premature. I had him right at seven months and his little lungs weren’t developed enough to survive. I let him down; just like my mom did me. I’d always thought that when I had a child of my own that I would never compare myself to the poor parenting skills that my mom had, but that day, when my baby died, I compared myself to her.” She looked at Monty as the tears fell from her eyes and lowered her head back down. “I could’ve saved him, but I was too selfish and let my own feelings interfere with his well being, and his health.” She wiped her tears, not once looking back up into Monty’s face. He was still speechless. This was starting to be too much for him and even though he wanted to stop her right there, he could tell that she needed this weight to be lifted from her shoulders. So, he continued to listen, still holding her hand. She grinned a little, to his surprise.

“You know, Monty. All that time I had never packed up Chad’s things. His bedroom shoes stayed right where he left them and I tried my best to suppress the thought of him being gone and go about my life as if he was coming home some day. That dream came to an end when I lost our son. I felt then that they were together and at peace. So, after coming to terms with losing Chad and our baby, I went home and packed up our things. It was very tough, but definitely time for me to move on. Strangely, while packing, I ran across a key that Chad left me, hidden in the bottom of his drawer with a note that read…

“This key is to secure your future. Take care of yourself, my love. I’ll always be with you and our son. I love you more than life itself, Chad.”

The key was to a safe hidden in our attic. Let’s just say that when I found and opened it, it contained enough money to hold me financially for a very long time.” She grinned. “Funny huh,” she said. “He said he’d always take care of me.” She cried and Monty pulled her close to him while he hugged her.

“Wow, MiKayla… I’m so sorry to hear this. I know that this has been hard for you, but what I’ve learned while being around you is that you’re a very strong person. You’re stronger than what you give yourself credit for.” He continued to hold her close as she cried in his arms. She backed away from him as she wiped her eyes.

“I’m so sorry. I’ve never allowed myself to go this far in telling anybody about this.” She paused. “Hell, I’ve never allowed myself to cry. I didn’t even cry at my mom’s funeral, because I didn’t want to feel anything for her.”

Monty couldn’t believe his ears.
Damn, her mom is dead, too.
He quickly thought. She turned to look at him and noticed his confused facial expression. She never talked about her relationship with her mom and Monty never asked. The only person he knew was her sister. He didn’t want to pry, but he did want to know what happened to her mom, but he wasn’t going to push her to talk about it if she didn’t want to.

“I’m sorry, Monty. I know its more things about my life that you don’t know about and over time I was intending to tell you. I do feel better that I’ve opened up about the more important parts of my life, though. If time permits, maybe someday I can tell you more.” She poured herself another drink. Monty stood there as he watched her drown her pain with one glass followed by more glasses of wine.

How could I end this without throwing salt on her wounds?
He asked himself.

“My gut feeling is almost always right and I have a feeling that your main intensions were to come here and ask that we slow things down or end it all together. Am I right?” She asked with her arms slightly folded. Monty cleared his throat.

“Well, baby,” he paused. “I wasn’t expecting to come here and hear all of this, that’s for sure. That changes some things for me, because I don’t want to add to your pain.” He stated while looking into her glossy eyes.

“One thing I’ve learned over time is how to let go.” She responded as a tear fell from her eye. “Wow, I’m not even an emotional person and look at me, I can’t stop crying.” She said wiping her tears again. She grinned trying to cover her pain. “What’s up that?” She asked. Monty knew she was trying her best to accept what he was trying to tell her as she continued. “Look, Monty. You don’t have to say a word. The family you have with Candy is what I’ve always wanted. I can’t blame you for realizing that before it’s too late. I’m not going to make this any harder for you than I’m sure it already is. From this point on, it’s best that we go our separate ways.” She said trying to lighten his conscience as she picked up her glass of wine.