Lost Daughters (16 page)

M
AUREEN WAS IN LOVE. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HER LIFE, SHE WAS
hopelessly in love. She was in love with Jay Freeman. Thinking back, she realized that she had fallen for him the first time she laid eyes on him.

“There ain't no such a thing as love at first sight! It's
umpossible
. You got to get to know a person real good before you can fall in love with 'em.” Mama Ruby's words taunted Maureen as she drove home from work that evening. Mama Ruby had been wrong, though.

There
was
such a thing as love at first sight, Maureen told herself. It was not “umpossible” like Mama Ruby had told her. Maureen was in love, but under the current circumstances, she couldn't do a goddamn thing about it.

 

Despite what Mama Ruby had tried to teach Maureen about love (even though Mama Ruby had confessed to her that it had been love at first sight when
she
met her first husband), Maureen knew what was in her heart. She didn't know much about Jay, but she knew all she needed to know. He was charming and sensitive and she loved a man with a sense of humor. During their lunch, he had said cute, funny things that had made her laugh out loud, something Mel rarely managed to do. The fact that Jay was so devoted to his mother was another point in his favor. He had his share of flaws, but nothing she couldn't live with. He was not classically handsome, but she liked his looks anyway. His eyes were too small, his nose was slightly crooked, and there was a small bump on the ridge. Father Time had already claimed a noticeable portion of his wavy brown hair, but she could overlook his receding hairline and the bald spot on the back of his head. He was well groomed and so polite that he made her feel socially clumsy.

Maureen's attraction to Jay seemed almost supernatural. She felt like she had known him all of her life. Her emotions had already spun out of control. She didn't know what to do with herself. And Mel. Poor Mel. He was so good to her and Loretta. Maureen could never hurt him. If only she had waited just a little longer to marry Mel, she would probably be with Jay. But she was married to Mel and she would stay married to him.

Unless he left her on his own, or died . . .

Maureen scolded herself for even allowing such a ghoulish thought to enter her mind, but she couldn't help herself. The more she thought about Jay, the more she wanted to get to know him better—and the more she wanted to be with him than she wanted to be with Mel.

When Maureen got home, Mel was in the living room, slumped in one of the easy chairs, sipping from a beer can. She didn't like what she saw. She fantasized about him packing up and leaving, but she knew he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon—if ever—and she had no intention of making him pack up and leave. She had too much of an investment in Mel: her daughter's future. If she dumped him, Loretta would be devastated and their relationship would never be the same. That alone was reason enough for Maureen to put Jay out of her mind.

But she couldn't.

“How was work today?” Mel asked.

“Oh, it was all right, I guess,” Maureen muttered, kicking off her shoes. “I met this one old lady's son today, and he was really nice and friendly. He even took me to lunch,” Maureen added, curious as to how Mel would react to her socializing with another man.

“That's nice, dear,” Mel said, more interested in his beer than in Maureen. He took a long drink and let out a burp that sounded like a growl.

“His name's Jay. His mother is kind of fussy, so I felt real sorry for him today. I really enjoyed talkin' to him. . . .”

“That's nice, dear,” was all Mel said again.

Maureen was disappointed. She expected Mel to be curious about her new male friend, but she was also glad to know that he was not the jealous type. “Is Loretta home?”

“Uh, she's at the mall with a couple of other kids,” Mel answered.

“I'm glad she's spendin' more time with her young friends,” Maureen said with a thoughtful look on her face. “I'll thaw out some pork chops and get dinner started.”

“Oh, you don't have to worry about cooking dinner. I picked up some ribs on my way home,” Mel said quickly.

“That was real thoughtful of you, honey!” Maureen said. “You are goin' to spoil me rotten.”

“I hope so, baby,” Mel crooned.

I don't deserve this man,
Maureen told herself. The man had married her knowing that she didn't love him, just so he could help her provide a real home for her daughter. How many other men would be willing to do something that noble? The fact that Mel didn't have a problem with her having male friends was another bonus. Maureen enjoyed a lot of other bonuses, too. Since Mel moved in, he had purchased new living room furniture, he'd paid off Maureen's two credit cards, and he paid most of the monthly household expenses.

Loretta was also very generous. Last week she bought Maureen new clothes from some of the most expensive boutiques in Miami, and she'd sent Maureen to a spa where she'd been pampered for four hours straight. She'd even purchased a new bed mattress for Maureen (Loretta and Mel had practically worn the old one down to the floor). Maureen had so much going on in her life now, and she didn't want to lose it. She
had
to keep her increasing obsession with Jay Freeman under control.

Later in the month, Maureen went into the kitchen at the nursing home as soon as Catty started her shift and told her about Jay. She had not mentioned him before because she had been trying to put him out of her mind, but she couldn't, so she had to share her feelings with her best friend. Catty listened with great interest as Maureen regaled her with the details of her fascination with Jay. “Girl, there is somethin' about that man. Maybe I'm goin' through my midlife crisis a few years early, huh?”

“Midlife crisis my ass!” Catty guffawed, shaking a spatula in Maureen's face. “You been bit by the love bug, honey. You just need some strange dick, that's all.”

Maureen rolled her eyes and gave her friend an exasperated look. “I'm a married woman, Catty.”

“Uh-huh! I knew somethin' like this was goin' to happen after you married Mel. You should have waited,” Catty teased.

“Hush your mouth! You kept tellin' me I'd better marry Mel while I had a chance!” Maureen wailed.

“Well, you don't have to stay with Mel,” Catty said with a shrug. “I hate to keep remindin' you, but I left my husband within hours after we got married.”

“I couldn't do that to Lo'retta.”

“You ain't doin' nothin' to Lo'retta.”

“If I dumped Mel, he wouldn't want to keep workin' with my daughter.”

“So what? She don't really need him no more! Her name is well known now. I see three different billboards with her face on 'em on my way to work every day, and I can't crack open a newspaper that don't have at least one ad with her in it. That girl is doin' so well now, I know she could hook up with some other photographer and manager real quick,” Catty declared.

“You got a point there. She could probably do all right now without Mel's help,” Maureen agreed.

“Then what's the problem?” Catty paused, shook her head, and mumbled profanities under her breath. The spatula was still in her hand and she waved it some more as soon as she spoke again. “I mean besides that damn Mel!” Catty snarled, spitting out Mel's name like it was a wad of stale chewing gum. As far as she was concerned, that was exactly what his name was. She knew from the hostile stares he gave her when she visited Maureen and the sarcastic remarks he made when she tried to talk to him that he still didn't like her. It was no wonder she resented Mel more than ever now. Because on top of everything else, he was blocking Maureen from being with a man she did have feelings for.

Maureen blew out some air. “I don't know what to do. I'm just gettin' used to bein' married.”

“Then do the next best thing—do a little somethin' on the side with Jay,” Catty suggested.

“Me? You want me to cheat on my husband?” Maureen gasped. She lowered her voice when she noticed a couple of other kitchen workers looking and listening. “You of all people ought to know that I would never do somethin' like that,” she muttered.

“Why not? I do it all the time!”

“You don't have a husband anymore.”

“After I divorced Yellow Jack, I was a common law wife to several other men, and I had affairs on all of 'em,” Catty boasted. “If I ever be another man's common law wife, I'd probably cheat on him too. Cheatin' is human nature. It keeps folks from gettin' bored.”

Maureen shook her head and laughed. “I need to get back to work.”

“You need to start actin' more like the rest of us, girl,” Catty hollered at Maureen as she scurried out of the kitchen, still laughing and shaking her head.

When she entered Mrs. Freeman's room, Jay was there.

“Hello, Maureen. I haven't seen you in a while,” he said.

“I guess you've been coming by while I was tendin' to one of my other patients or on one of my off days,” she told him.

“Well, I'm happy to see you again,” Jay said. “Very happy.”

“Me too,” Maureen replied with a huge smile on her happy face.

T
HAT THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, WHEN MAUREEN DIDN'T HAVE TO GO TO
work, she didn't know what to do with herself. Loretta had plans to hang out with some friends after school on Thursday. On Friday evening, she was scheduled to do her second auto show assignment in less than a month. With prom coming up, Loretta was giddy about that. She had already purchased two different dresses, but she still made trips to the mall every other day to search for another one.

Though Loretta was fairly careful with her money, she did like to splurge now and then, and not just on herself. She had purchased a brand-new Mustang for Maureen the day before, and that had made Maureen so happy she cried. What puzzled Maureen was that Loretta had not purchased a car for herself yet. “I'm goin' to wait until this summer,” was all Loretta had said when Maureen asked her about that.

Since Loretta couldn't take Mel to the prom and she didn't want to miss out on such an important night in a high school student's life, she had settled for Tyrone Hardy, one of Mona's cousins. Since Tyrone was gay, he wouldn't be any trouble. Besides, the boy could dance like Michael Jackson.

It seemed like Maureen's plan to spend more time with her daughter had backfired. Now instead of Loretta spending so much time with Mel, she was running from here to there with Mona and a few other teenagers. At least that was what Maureen had been led to believe. Loretta was spending more time with Mona and her other friends but not that much. She still had Mona at her beck and call. She thought nothing of calling her up at a moment's notice. Like she did that Thursday evening. “I need you to give me a ride. Mel has a shoot in Lauderdale this Saturday that don't include me, but I want to go with him. If my mama asks, I spent the night with you.”

“I don't like lyin' for you. Especially when I know you still fuckin' your mama's husband,” Mona protested.

“I'll give you a hundred bucks,” Loretta offered.

“Cool!” Mona yelled. “What time do you want me to pick you up and where do I have to drop you off to meet Mel?”

Loretta had become even more attached to Mel. She could barely stand for him to be out of her sight or share the same bed with her mother. Waiting until June, when she'd be out of school and free to leave home with him and let the rest of the world know how she felt about him, was almost unbearable. But she had no choice.

Maureen had no choice either, but she was beginning to weaken. The more she saw Jay, the more she wanted to be with him, not Mel. The people who knew her best noticed a change in her demeanor.

“Mel must really be tunin' up your body in the bedroom on a regular basis,” Fast Black commented to Maureen during one of her unannounced visits to Maureen's apartment. “I bet he got the right tool to do it with too. Them tight pants he wears protects the property, but they don't hide the view, if you know what I mean. I don't remember the last time I rode on a train as big as his.”

“Keep your voice down, you nasty thing you!” Maureen ordered, looking toward the hallway. “Get your mind out of the gutter! I don't want my daughter to hear you talkin' that trash.” Maureen lowered her voice even more. “And yes, Mel is takin' care of business in the bedroom on a regular basis.”

Maureen's last sentence was a lie. Well, almost. Mel was taking care of business in the bedroom on a regular basis but not with Maureen. The last time Mel tried to make love to her, she told him she had cramps, but she was not about to reveal that information to a big mouth like Fast Black. Fast Black and Virgil had once been lovers and were still very close. She would blab Maureen's business to him in a heartbeat. Besides, Maureen told Virgil what she wanted him to know herself. She wanted him to know how she felt about Jay.

“I don't know exactly what it is about Jay, but I feel a real strong connection to him and it's about to drive me crazy,” she confessed to her brother over the telephone after Fast Black had left.

“What do you plan to do about it?” Virgil asked, holding his breath. The last thing he wanted to hear was that his sister was going to cheat on her husband.

“Nothin', I guess. If Mel ever leaves me, maybe me and Jay can get together.”
Or if he dies,
she thought, shuddering so hard her whole body ached.

Maureen knew that Virgil had initially had some concerns about Mel's relationship with Loretta, but now that Loretta was spending more time with kids her own age, her spending too much time alone with Mel was a subject that Virgil rarely brought up anymore. Now he had something else to worry about: Maureen's attraction to another man.

That Monday morning when Maureen went back to work, she went to Mrs. Freeman's room around ten to grease her scalp and braid her hair. Mrs. Freeman was sitting up in bed with tears rolling down her face.

“What's the matter?” Maureen asked. She set the tray that contained a wide-toothed comb and a jar of Royal Crown hair grease on the nightstand and rushed to the side of Mrs. Freeman's bed.

“My son is on his way over here,” Mrs. Freeman sobbed.

Maureen was confused. She couldn't imagine why Mrs. Freeman would be crying about Jay coming to visit her. “Shouldn't you be happy about that?”

Mrs. Freeman shook her head. “Not this time. There is something real important that I have to tell him while I still can.”

“All right, then,” Maureen replied, still confused. She waited for Mrs. Freeman to say more on the subject. When she didn't, Maureen added, “I can come back after he leaves.”

Maureen was tending to other patients, so she didn't see Jay when he arrived. When she passed by the receptionist's desk a few minutes later, though, Peggy promptly reported that he'd already entered the premises.

Whatever Jay's mother had to tell him had to be very private because the door to her room remained closed for hours. It was still closed when Maureen prepared to go home. Jay's car was not in the parking lot, but another hearse was. Maureen didn't know until one of her coworkers called her at home around 7:00 p.m. to tell her that Mrs. Freeman had passed away during Jay's visit. That was only the beginning of an unimaginable turn of events.

For one thing, the verdict in the Rodney King case a few days ago had angered a lot of people. The cops who had been caught on tape beating Rodney King had gotten off with a slap on the wrist. People had been rioting and looting in L.A. and several other cities, even parts of Miami, since the verdict had been announced. Two young men who lived across the street from Maureen had been arrested for looting a beauty supply store, and the Puerto Rican family that lived on Maureen's block, the parents and their four grown sons, had all been arrested for breaking into the corner grocery store. They had loaded up the back of their truck with everything from video games to cartons of beer.

The next day when Maureen left for work, she saw numerous police cars and a few TV news vans along the way. Several streets had been closed, the windows in a lot of stores had been broken, and there were angry-looking people on almost every corner. A great sadness came over her when she saw that several of the businesses in the strip mall near her work had been looted. When she pulled into the nursing home parking lot, she saw a news van from one of the local TV stations parked near the entrance. Several reporters and cameramen were in the lobby scurrying around like squirrels, speaking into walkie-talkies and scribbling on notepads. Her first thought was that this all had something to do with the riots.

“Peggy, what in the world is goin' on around here with all these newspeople?” Maureen asked as she approached the receptionist.

Peggy's eyes got so big and wide she no longer looked Asian. “You didn't hear?” she choked, wiping her nose with a Kleenex.

“Hear what?”

“Mrs. Freeman passed yesterday after you left,” Peggy reported.

“I know that. Darla called me at home last night and told me. Is that what all of this fuss is all about? Was Mrs. Freeman somebody important?” Maureen was so confused she could barely stand still as her mind raced with one thought after another. Why would the newspeople be interested in Mrs. Freeman? If that little old lady was somebody important, how come Jay hadn't mentioned that when Maureen had lunch with him?

“Was Mrs. Freeman connected to that Rodney King in some way?” Maureen asked.

Peggy shook her head and gave Maureen a long, sad look. Then she handed her the morning newspaper. The headline made Maureen's head spin almost off her shoulders.

 

 

“What's this . . . I . . . ,” Maureen stammered as she read. As soon as she saw that the woman on the deathbed was Mrs. Freeman and that Jay was the victim of the kidnapping she had confessed to, Maureen ran to the restroom and threw up.