Mattie's Call (30 page)
Authors: Stacy Campbell
“Lamonteâ”
He reads from the article. “My family decided it was better to parcel my children out like land just because I lose my grip on reality sometimes. My own baby girl is a big-time architect in Atlanta and she won't come to see about me.”
“Lamonteâ”
He holds his hand up again and reads, “She is so ashamed of me she spells her business name like a man. She won't use the name me and her father gave her.”
“Lamonte.”
“Toni, you told me the reason you spelled your name
Tony
was because you didn't want to be discriminated against as a female architect.”
“That is true. When people see the name Tony Williamson, they assume I'm a man and are willing to do business with me. Tell me you haven't noticed the shock in men's faces when they meet me for the first time.”
“Toni, you've been in business five years. Everyone in Atlanta knows Tony Williamson. Your work defies gender. Even race. Who are you? Don't I deserve to know who I'm about to spend the rest of my life with?”
I've got nothing. There is nothing I can say to him to convince him how sorry I am.
“Did you ever try to reach out to your sister all these years?”
“I tried. No luck.” I'll fix this lie later.
Lamonte clears our plates from the table in silence. A die-hard penny-pincher, he rarely uses my dishwasher. Says it's too expensive. Instead, he fills my sink with hot water, Dawn, and a capful of bleach and cleans the dishes. As if his scrubbing will wash away what is going on between us.
I join him at the sink, but he shoos me away, tells me to get ready for tonight. I gaze out the front window at my lawn; a few reporters remain.
I walk to my front door, yank the door open, stand in my robe and slippers and yell, “You are trespassing. Please leave the premises.”
Stacy Campbell
is the author of
Dream Girl Awakened, Forgive Me
, and
Wouldn't Change a Thing
. She was born and raised in Sparta, Georgia, where she spent summers on the front porch listening to the animated tales of her older relatives. She lives with her family in Indianapolis, Indiana.
You may visit the author:
www.stacyloveswriting.com
,
[email protected]
,
www.facebook.com/stacy.campbell.376
, and
www.twitter.com/stacycampbell20
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
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Wouldn't Change a Thing
Forgive Me
Dream Girl Awakened
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Strebor Books
P.O. Box 6505
Largo, MD 20792
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
© 2016 by Stacy Campbell
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means whatsoever. For information address Strebor Books, P.O. Box 6505,
Largo, MD 20792.
ISBN 978-1-59309-600-7
ISBN 978-1-4767-7734-4 (ebook)
LCCN 2015957692
First Strebor Books trade paperback edition April 2016
Cover design:
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Cover photograph: © Keith Saunders/Keith Saunders Photos
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