Talk a Good Game (46 page)

Rock. Rock.
“Because I was mad.”

“
Mad? Mad about what?” I didn’t
mean to snap, but I did.

“
I…” He
swallowed. “I was mad because you left me. You promised to be my
stepmother.”
Rock. Rock.
Rock.

Damn, I did promise. My voice
softened. “I know and I am sorry. Sometimes things don’t work out
the way we want. But, it has nothing to do with you.”

His lips quivered. “But I-I was
hurt.”

“
And you think I wasn’t hurt when
you said those mean things about me to your counselor?” CJ pushed
his glasses onto his face and looked on the verge of tears. “All I
have tried to do was provide a little normalcy to your life. Lord
knows I never had any in my life but I thought you and I understood
each other.”

“
I do—I mean—we do. I was just
angry.”

“
You can’t
be blurting out
and doing things just because you
’
re angry because
one of these days you
’
re going to do or say
something you can’t take back and there…” my throat caught and it
took me a second to pull it together, “there can be
consequences.”

“
Yes
ma
’
am,” he said with a
nod.

“
And quit all that rocking. What
did your counselor tell you? You have to start being aware of what
you’re doing.”

“
Yes
ma
’
am.” And then a tear rolled down
his cheek. Ugh! The whole situation had me so damn frustrated. Why
did I have such a soft spot for this kid? Yet even though I’d
rather not be bothered, part of me wanted to do whatever I could to
help him.

“
I forgive you,
but next time, I
’
m going to be the one popping you
upside your head. You understand?” I said
bluntly.

He nodded. “Yes
ma
’
am.”

A small smile curled my lips. “Now
come and give me a hug.” I rose and he came around my desk and I
wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him almost as tightly as he
was holding me. “Just because I’m no longer with your dad that
doesn’t mean I can’t still be a part of your life.”

“
Okay.”

I rubbed his back and kissed his cheek the same way
Uncle Todd had the day he found out Daddy had used my right
shoulder as an ashtray.

For years I had felt guilty
believing it was my fault that my father had been killed. That just
my mentioning our family secret it had come back to bite me in the
ass. Until a few days ago, Uncle Todd had never mentioned that day
and neither had I. Now I knew; I did have a hand in my
father
’s
death.

According to Uncle Todd, they had been called to
investigate a possible burglary at a warehouse. The intruder fled
the scene and dropped his gun onto the floor. Once they found the
building all clear, Uncle Todd confronted my father. When he told
him he was going to bring him down, revealing what Daddy was doing
in front of the entire city, Daddy snatched the gun and shot
himself.

He was more of a coward than I had ever
imagined.

Uncle Todd covered it up so Daddy died with honor
and Mommy could collect his pension. He had also hidden the gun,
making sure no one was ever arrested for murdering a cop.

It was going to take a while for me to get used to
the two of them being together but since Mommy was home and looked
happier than ever, I was willing to try.

I released CJ, then gave him a
stern look. “Now just because I’ve forgiven you that doesn’t mean
you
’
re off the hook. For the next few
weeks, you will be working here in the restaurant a few hours a
week, after school.”

“
Oh cool!” he said and I couldn’t
believe the way his eyes lit up.

I smiled. “My cousin is leaving,
and we need to teach someone else how to make the cornbread. You
think you can handle that?”

CJ nodded his head eagerly.
“Yes
ma’am
.”

“
C
’
mon let me show you the kitchen.”
I draped an arm across his shoulders and led him down the
hall.

“
Ms. Jae, I think counseling is
really helping me,” he said as we were walking.

“
Really?” I didn’t see any real
improvement but maybe I was missing something, “Good for you. I was
hoping it would.”

“
Can I tell you something?” he
said then stopped.

I turned to face him. “Sure, what
do you want to tell me?”

“
I think…,” he started slowly, “I
remember my mother getting killed.”

* * *

“
Thanks for letting me know he was
here.”

“
No problem.
” I was
standing behind the counter taking a delivery order when Kaleb
stepped into the restaurant. Every woman in there was staring at
him but the only woman he seemed to have eyes for was me. Not that
I was surprised. “I figure this will give him something to do until
you get off work.”

“
I agree.” He looked at me as if
he was trying to figure me out, which I don’t understand. I was the
best thing to ever happen to that man. But like so many before him,
he was just too stupid to realize it.

“
Can I talk to you for a
moment?”

“
I need to grab some paper towels
so you can follow me to the storage room.” I turned and walked back
and was glad I had worn a yellow sundress with high heel black
Jimmy Choos. As soon as I reached the door, I punched in the
passcode and waited for him to step inside before shutting the door
behind us. “Before you get started, I wanna talk to you about
something.”

He nodded. “Sure.”

“
A while back CJ mentioned he
remembered his mother.”

Kaleb laughed like what I said was
ridiculous. “He was too young to remember her.”

“
That
’s
not true. I remember my father
tossing candy into my crib when I was two.”

“
Yeah, but CJ
has always been a little…” he cringed like it was hard to say. “a
little slow, and he
’s
never mentioned his mother to
me.”

“
Maybe because
you’re too busy yelling at the kid that you rarely listen.” My
voice was laced with sarcasm. “He
’s
mentioned her
to me. And today he told me he remembers seeing his mother’s
murder.”

He laughed. “That’s
impossible.”

“
Why?”

“
Because CJ was with me.” He
dragged a hand across his hair. “Listen, I think my son just wants
attention. He misses you.”

“
I think
it
’s
something he needs to start exploring with his
therapist. Maybe there’s something hidden that is the cause of all
his pain. He still has the little men his mother bought him and
that might mean something.”

He shrugged and didn’t look the
slightest bit convinced. “Maybe. I’ll have his therapist talk to
him and see what she can uncover.” He said then cleared his throat
and changed the subject. “Speaking of therapy, I want you to know
I’ve started counseling.” Leave it to Kaleb to always make things
about him and his needs. It was apparent his son would always come
second. I guess that’s why I felt so sorry for CJ.

“
Good for you. What are they
treating you for?”

“
Bipolar disorder.”

Hell, I coulda told him that and saved him a few
hundred dollars.

“
She’s started me on a medication.
She said my mind was racing all over the place with negative
thoughts.”

“
Good for you,” I replied and was
really happy for him.

“
I can already feel a difference.
I don’t know how I was living with that hell in my head for so
long.”

Neither could I.

He reached for my hand. “All I
want to say is don’t give up on us just yet. Please, just give me a
chance to get myself together before you find yourself an
apartment.”

I stared up at Kaleb wanting
desperately for things to be different between us but then I
thought about my father and all the years my mother used to listen
to the same pleas. “
I don’t
know,” I started and shook
my head.

“
Babe, please.
I
’
m going to be a changed man. I
promise,” he said softly.

He reached for my other hand. And when I stepped
away I felt something in my hand. It was my engagement ring.

“
Kaleb I told you—”

He backed away out of my reach.
“Keep it. That ring belongs to you and when you
’
re
ready you can either wear it or mail it back to me.”

Without another word, I reached
for a roll of paper towels for the bathroom. I was stepping out of
the storage room when I ran right smack into someone. “Sorry, I—”
my voice stalled when I realized that person was
Frankie.

“
Hey, I was just in your office
looking for you.” He was grinning until he saw Kaleb come out of
the storage room behind me. Of course men can be so
territorial.

“
Babe,” Kaleb asked eyes narrowed
with curiosity, “who is this?”

“
I was getting ready to ask her
the same thing.” Frankie stepped forward and placed his hand at the
small of my back.

I looked from one to the other.
“Kaleb this is an old friend. Frankie this is Kaleb.”

Frankie instantly knew who he was
but Kaleb was clueless. I could see him struggling to stay calm and
the last thing I wanted was a repeat of what happened at Alphonso’s
shop. Kaleb was probably two seconds away from going off when CJ
picked the perfect time to come out.

“
Dad, come see! I made the
cornbread for dinner.” He signaled with his hand for him to come to
the kitchen.

“
Here I come, son.
” Kaleb
then turned back to me. “Babe, I’ll call you later.” He leaned down
and kissed my cheek.

As soon as they disappeared I knew it was only for a
few minutes and then Kaleb would be back so I needed to get Frankie
out of there.

“
So
that
’s
your fiancé,
huh?”

I squeezed the ring inside the
palm of my hand. “Yeah, that’s him.”

“
Are the two of
you getting back together?” I was getting ready to say no but
something in my eyes must have said something else. He held up his
hands in surrender. “
Hey, do you.
”

His comment provoked nothing but
attitude. “What the hell does that mean?”

Frankie looked at me, clearly
disappointed. “It means you need to figure it out because you can’t
have it both ways.”

I rolled my eyes. Frankie knows
how I feel about ultimatums. I get enough from Kaleb. “Who says I’m
tryna have it both ways?” I was just feeling overwhelmed right now.
That’s all. I felt as if I was being pulled in two different
directions.

He shook his head.
“It
’s
no secret how I feel about you but
I
’
m not gonna sit around forever
waiting for you to figure it out. Either you want me or
you
’
re gonna be with dude. You need
to decide.” He pressed his lips to mine, letting his tongue explore
my mouth. And then without another word, Frankie turned and walked
out the restaurant.

NYREE

I woke up on Sunday and it took a few moments for me
to realize I was staying back at my house, with Janelle sleeping
across the hall.

Is this what my life has become?

I still couldn’t believe what
Jeremy had done to me after all the promises to come clean and no
more lies—only to find out he had lied to me again.

I curled into a fetal position and
laid there crying the way I had for the last week. I don’t know why
I was wasting tears on a man who was truly not worthy of my love
but I guess we can’t control who we fall in love with.

What I can’t understand is how
could one man lie so much? It just didn’t make any sense to me,
especially when I had proven time and time again I was willing to
accept him and all his kids despite the lies. Yet he still couldn’t
just be a man and be honest with me. But why?

“
Please Lord. Please take the pain
away,” I prayed. I just wished I could fast forward my life six
months from now. By then, I would be over Jeremy and my life would
be back to what it was before.

By the time I made it to the kitchen, Janelle was
sitting at the island drinking coffee and Honey was eating from his
bowl.

“
Hey girl, you going to church
this morning?” she asked.