Ebony Angel (29 page)

“What about the shop? It isn’t good enough for you, I guess. You’ve always thought you were better than others. Hell, how many kids you know around here call their mother Mom?”

Ebony set the letter on the table. She had a smart-aleck remark but held off. She didn’t want to be slapped again. “This is ridiculous. When I was fourteen, I tired of people teasing me for calling you Mommy, so I shortened it to Mom. If you had a problem with it, you could have said something. And of course the shop is good enough for me, but it isn’t my dream. That’s your dream.”

“It’s our dream. I’ve been saving for us. You don’t belong out at that highfallutin’ school. They’ll treat you like crap because your pedigree isn’t up to snuff.” She softened. “I’m sorry I hit you, baby.” She caressed Ebony’s face. “You belong here with me. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. Let me be here for you now. You can’t raise Crystal on your own.”

“But I want to go to college. I want to own my own business someday, not take over yours.”

Marissa wet a towel in the sink, then cleaned the cornmeal off Ebony’s face. “Let’s compromise. When I open the shop, quit your job at the convenience store and work for me as a shampoo girl and braider. I found a place with a room we can turn into a nursery for Crystal.”

Ebony smiled, glad Marissa was finally cooperating. Her mother always gave her a hard time, but in the end she usually came through.

“Malcolm X Junior College is right down the street from the salon. You can take a few classes there. I’ll even pay for it.”

Ebony looked at her mother crosswise. “I have a full scholarship to one of the top universities in the country. People would kill to have this opportunity, and you want me to throw it away! Why are you trying to hold me back?”

“I love you, baby, but you’re young, idealistic and dumb. I’m not holding you back; I’m giving you a head start. You have a baby and don’t have time for four years of college before you start your career. You can have your beauty license in a few months, then earn a degree in two years from a junior college if you decide to continue school. I’m telling you the fastest way to become independent.”

“You don’t understand.”

Marissa crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her gaze. “And who does, Dan? I know you’ve been sneaking to see him again.”

Ebony folded her arms over her chest.

“I didn’t graduate number one in my class, but I’m not stupid. Trae giving you Crystal has Dan written all over it.”

“At least Dan supports me.”

“Ebony,” Trae called from the living room, ending her trip back in time. “It’s getting late.”

“Here I come.” She thought about Richard. They had both grown to be disappointments to their mothers.

Trae moved from the recliner to the couch. “I have something for you.” He took a typed letter out of his pocket and handed it to her.

She read the letter. “This says you beat Richard and threatened to kill his family if he didn’t stay away.”

“I know. I wrote it.”

“That’s horrible, Trae. What is wrong with you? Why would you write something like this?”

“The words been spread around the street that I beat Smoke, but no one would dare to tell you for fear of crossing me. In comes the anonymous letter.” He flicked the letter.

She pushed the letter toward him. “I don’t know about this.”

“It’ll work.”

“It sounds stupid, but I guess we don’t have a choice.” She set the letter on the coffee table, then leaned on the arm of the couch. “I’ll be glad when this is all over.”

He toyed with the manila folder he had brought with him. “There’s something else I need to discuss with you.” He paused. “I’m truly sorry I didn’t give you legal custody of Crystal. Now that I’m going legit, I pray you can forgive me.”

“I need time to think. Maybe we should have our showdown tomorrow. Mom’s drained the fight out of me.”

He fingered the folder. “You didn’t legally adopt Crystal, so I had to do some research.”

“Trae,” she paused, “I’m tired, upset and trying to figure out how to pull off this deception.”

“It’s just, I found something. Have you ever seen your birth certificate?”

“Of course. I trust you’re coming to a point.” She curled her legs under herself and used the armrest as a pillow.

“I know you’re tired, but I don’t know when I’ll see you again. I’ve been putting this off for weeks.”

She straightened up. It wasn’t like Trae to hem and haw. “What’s wrong?”

He found a certificate in the folder and handed it to her. “Dan was married.”

“No way!” She examined the duplicate of Dan’s marriage license. “Oh my goodness.” She laughed. “I can’t believe this. Wait ‘til I tell Skeet.” She reached for the phone.

“There’s more.” He took the phone and set it to the side. “She died two years after their marriage.”

“Poor Dan. No wonder he never talks about her.” She read the vital statistics on the marriage license. “She died the year I was born. I guess when she died his dreams of family died with her.”

“He has family. He’s your father.”

“You don’t know how many times I wished Dan was my father. I love Mom, but she never understood my needs, and emotional support was out of the question. Our dads were too busy getting high to care about us. He didn’t even give me his name after they married.”

“They had a baby, Ebony.” He handed her Savannah’s obituary. He had stolen the original from Genevieve’s years prior, made a copy, and replaced the original in case he ever needed to blackmail Dan.

She looked up from the obituary. “She died on August sixteenth.” She felt queasy.

“Your birthday.”

“Yes, my birthday.” She silently read, “…Savannah leaves behind her husband of two years, Dan Washington, and her newborn baby, Ebony Washington.” Hands shaking, she dropped the obituary.

He drew her into his arms, rubbing her back as she sobbed.

“Why didn’t they tell me? I don’t understand. Why would they do this? They knew how much I wanted a real father. He’s been here all the time.” She thought about the nights she’d spent hiding in a corner of the room, worried someone would break in. She had called Dan many times, begging him to come get her, but he told her he didn’t have any rights and Marissa would have him arrested. He did have the right. How could he allow a drug addict to raise his child? How could he leave her alone? How could he?

“I know this is a shock.”

“Please, Trae, leave me alone.”

“Why are you angry at me? I thought you had a right to know.”

“I’m not angry at you. I’m upset, period: My fiancé dumped me, my mom’s not speaking to me; my father never claimed me. He knew I needed him and said nothing. Nothing, Trae! Well I don’t need any of them. I’ll raise my baby on my own.”

He stared at her.

“What?” she snapped.

“Nothin’.” He raised his hands slightly. “I thought I’d stay away for a while, but I’ve changed my mind. I can sneak by and…”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I don’t need you to babysit me, Trae. I’ll be alone, not lonely.” She sorted through the documentation of Dan’s marriage, her birth, her adoption and Savannah’s death.

“Melodramatic and arrogant,” he said. “I don’t want Crystal to think I’m abandoning her. Talking on the phone isn’t the same.”

She slapped her forehead. She had been so busy wallowing in self-pity she hadn’t taken into consideration how Crystal would react. “You’re right. Don’t pay any attention to me. So how are we doing this fight?”

He rose, calmly picked up the lamp and hurled it across the room, smashing the front window.

She jumped up. “Trae! Are you out of your mind?”

“I didn’t do it! They’re lying.”

“Get out!”

He tried to kiss her cheek. She hit at him. “Get away from me. How could you?”

“I love you,” he whispered.

She snarled. Yes, she was supposed to be playing along, but she was actually angry. How could he break the window?

“I’ll send someone to fix that.”

“Go away now.”

“Come on up, Skeet.” Richard unlocked his front door and continued packing. He didn’t know what his mother was up to, but she said she needed him to get down there immediately. Nonno wasn’t sick, so he had no idea what could be so urgent.

Skeet walked into the bedroom. “Why didn’t you tell me you’re selling your condo? How many times have I said I want to buy this place?”

“I didn’t know you were serious.” He tossed two pairs of jeans on the bed. Trae had violated his home, and Richard no longer felt comfortable in it.

“Hell, yeah, I’m serious. I put your for-sale sign in the trunk of my car. I get first dibs on this joint.” They both laughed. Skeet plopped down on the chaise lounge. “You find a new place yet?”

“I haven’t even tried.”

“I found the perfect place, but it’s a rental. The only problem is the location. I love the west side. Oak Park is as close to leaving the west side I’ll ever get.”

“Where is it?”

“About a mile from Chinatown.” He scratched his head. “Now that I think about it, it’s in a perfect location for you. Let’s go.”

Richard took a few pairs of socks out of his drawer. “Can’t you see I’m packing? I’m leaving town in the morning.” He continued his work.

“Damn, man. It’s only seven. You have all night. This place won’t be free for long. If you like, we can start the paperwork for me to buy this condo before you leave.”

“You are entirely too impatient.”

“I just know what I want, and don’t see why I should wait to get it. You want to sell this place. I want to buy this place. I don’t see the problem. Now let’s go.”

* * *

Richard stood in the foyer of the two-bedroom town house. “Hidden Oasis is right. I would have never found this place.” Royal blue carpeting covered most of the floors. The kitchen, living room and dining room were part of a large hexagon. “I love this layout.” The bedrooms were off the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock sides of the room.

“These are sweet, ain’t they? I’m tellin’ you, if someone had moved them to the west side, I’d of bought one.”

“It’s perfect for me.” Richard inspected the kitchen. The cabinets had plenty of storage space, and the appliances were new. He pointed at the dark-gray ceramic tile. “Nice. Who do I contact?” He didn’t want to buy another place until he and Ebony were together again.

“So it’s a done deal. Cool. What’s your realtor’s number?”

“I’m not contacting anyone tonight. I’ll call whomever from Texas—tomorrow.”

Skeet walked out. Richard ignored Skeet and stepped out onto the patio through the sliding door in the kitchen. The patio stretched from one bedroom around the back of the town house to the other bedroom. He wondered who tended the patches of lawn surrounding each home.

Skeet stepped onto the patio, handing the phone to Richard. “I have your realtor on the line. I’ve already explained everything to him. All you need to do is confirm.”

“You’re not serious, are you?”

“Just tell the man you’ve found a buyer for your place, and you want to sign a lease for this place before you leave tomorrow.”

Richard was anxious to move out of Oak Park, so he took the phone and made arrangements with the realtor, then went into the kitchen. “Don’t ever pull anything like that again. How did you get his number?”

“Off the sign you had in your yard.”

Richard laughed. “You really did take my sign. I didn’t even notice. You’re out of your mind.” He sat on one of the stools at the breakfast bar. The park across the street would be perfect for Crystal. “Do you know if any of the units out here are for sale?”

“I’m sure some are.” Skeet’s cell phone played “Bohemian Rhapsody.” He looked at the caller ID, then went into the living area answering, “What’s up?…No way!”

* * *

“Skeet, I wouldn’t joke about something like this. Dan is my father. I saw the birth certificate, his marriage license and everything. I’m so angry I could spit. How could they keep this from me?” Ebony switched the phone to her other ear, rolled over on the bed and hugged her pillow.

“That’s jacked up. What did he say?”

“I can’t speak to him right now. I feel so betrayed. First Mom, now this. I need time to sort out my feelings.”

“Forget that feelings crap. I’ll three-way his ass right now. I want answers.”

“No, Skeet.”

“And what the hell did Marissa do this time?”

Ebony smiled. Skeet was the only person who had always supported her decisions. He could be meddlesome at times, but she realized he was the only one who truly had her back. “It doesn’t matter. Do you want to go to the movies? I’m home alone and bored.”

“I’m still trippin’ off Dan bein’ your father.”

“Wild, huh?”

“I’m not tryin’ to rush you off or nothin’, but I got company. I’ll come by tonight. We can catch a late show.”

“Oh, no, don’t rush things on my account. Love ya.”