Then there are reports about his high-school sweetheart, who was threatening him because he denied being the father to her unborn child. Maybe she or one of her family members did Robert in. Her family was irate and threatened to have a paternity test done on the fetus. After Robert’s death, they filed a civil lawsuit, but it suddenly disappeared. Rumor has it, they did a paternity test, and the baby wasn’t Robert’s. I read over the timeline I’ve created, based on the Dancing Hills Bulletin reporter’s thorough and detailed exposé.
Saturday, December 22, 1990 - Robert, who was living in Dallas, returned to Shady Grove for the holidays. There was a welcome parade, and he received the key to the city.
Sunday, December 23, 1990 - Went to church with his family. Was honored by the pastor.
Monday, December 24, 1990 - Visited sick kids at County Hospital.
Tuesday, December 25, 1990 - In the morning, helped serve food to the homeless at the downtown shelter, then spent Christmas at home with family.
Wednesday, December 26, 1990 - Took Regina on a shopping spree at the mall.
Thursday, December 27, 1990 - Hung out with friends.
Friday, December 28, 1990 - Spent day with family. Later hung out with friends. Same day jewelry store robbed. Edward Schwartz, the owner, was shot and killed.
Saturday, December 29, 1990 - Hung out with friends.
Sunday, December 30, 1990 - Went to church with family and then out to lunch. Hung out with friends.
Monday, December 31, 1990 - Day leading into Robert’s murder
7:00 p.m. - Celebration started at Dancing Hills Hotel, in the Crystal Ballroom.
Tuesday, January 1, 1991, 12:30 a.m. - Celebration ended at Ballroom. People started going home.
1:00 a.m. - Robert and his family arrive home. They continued the party at the house. Neighbors joined them.
2:15 a.m. - Family reported hearing a shot fired. They initially thought it was someone still celebrating, shooting off a gun.
2:30 a.m. - A woman’s screams drew them outside. Robert was found sprawled in the street, with a gunshot wound to the head.
My eyes tear up. What a senseless loss of life. My phone rings, and I welcome the distraction.
“Hello, Jocelyn.” I stand and stretch.
“Hi, Gretchen. Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“No. Did you receive my email?”
“Yes. That’s why I’m calling. I think you and Patty made great choices. I’ll contact the actors, and I’ll have the Roberts and the Sandras you’ve paired up arrive at the same time. By the way, I think Robert is a good name for him.”
“That sounds great.” I flop down on the cot, somewhat drained. “I’d like to start at 10:00 a.m. on Monday. And tell the actors to be ready to perform the scene at Robert’s birthday party, the one where he toasts his mother, and she responds.”
“Consider it done,” she says. “Feel free to call me if you need anything else. And I’ve already got my eye on actors for the secondary roles.”
“Great. I’d like to have all the casting done before Thanksgiving.”
“That won’t be a problem. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Thank you, Jocelyn,” I say, hanging up.
“Hey.”
My stomach flips at the sound of a man’s voice. “Holy crap. You scared the mess out of me, Lance.” He stands in the doorway, poker-faced. I remain seated, pissed at him about the ambush.
“Can I come in?”
“Sure.”
“I know you’re upset with me,” he says as he barely crosses the threshold and thrusts his hands into the pockets of his cutoff jeans.
“Why would I be mad that you had my parents leave their print shop on a busy day—a day the shop was filled with holiday shoppers—and come to our house, with some quack, to tell me I’m hallucinating?”
“How would you feel if I had told you I’m the reincarnation of John Walter?”
“Who’s John Walter?”
“He was the principal at Shady Grove Elementary School thirty years ago. He started out as a science teacher, and I was born the day he died.”
“Lance, I don’t know. But I would have given you the benefit of the doubt, especially if you had been dreaming about John Walter for two years.”
He sits next to me on the cot. “Gretchen, I don’t want to lose you. Your father called me. He told me to try to keep an open mind. But I don’t know where all this is going. It scares me. You know I don’t do well with the unknown.”
I take his hand in mine. “Lance, you have to trust me. I’m a big girl. I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize myself or you.”
“So what happens now?”
“I keep working on the film. And I’ve done some research.” I get up and grab my timeline, and I hand it to him.
“What’s this?”
“A timeline I compiled based on an in-depth story a reporter wrote about Robert. Lance, I’m going to reach out to Robert’s sister again. Try to get her to work with me. She’s miserable. Solving this could be life changing for all of us.”
He studies my notes, then stands and scratches his head. “What’s this about a jewelry store being robbed and the owner being shot? Was this guy involved in that?”
“I don’t think so, Lance. And out of everything listed—Robert visiting sick kids and feeding the homeless, attending church—you focus on that?”
“It’s hard not to when it’s surrounded by all the positive stuff. It stands out. You wrote here that someone said the robbers lived in Shady Grove and were never caught. Who knows if they’re still around? I have students in my class who live in Shady Grove, whose parents and grandparents have led questionable lives. The people who robbed that jewelry store and killed the owner could be among them. You need to be careful with your little investigation. And please, keep me in the loop.”
“I will.” I’m annoyed that he’s so quick to think the worst, but glad he’s being open.
“You hungry?”
“I haven’t eaten all day.”
“Why don’t we go grab a bite to eat?”
“That’s a good idea.” I look around my stuffy office. “I need some fresh air.”
Chapter 14
Regina
In Ron’s mother’s living room, I wrap up my call with Taylor, while she rummages through a stack of photo albums on the glass coffee table. The small living room is outfitted with a floral sofa and matching drapes. An entertainment center against the wall opposite the sofa is the main attraction. A flat-screen TV, CDs, DVDs, vinyl records, books, and mementos are stored in its compartments. A photo of Barack Obama sits front and center. For some black people, keeping his picture in the forefront helps them contend with the realization that it took 232 years to get a black man in the White House and that after eight years, per the Constitution, he had to leave. And of lot of them are hard-pressed to believe there’ll ever be another black president. The other photos in the house are displayed on the peach-colored walls—pictures of Veronica, Marlene, Craig, and the granddaughters. Ron is nowhere to be seen.
“I know you told me so, Taylor … I understand … I’ll be leaving soon … Love you too.”
I end the call, and Veronica, shaking her head, gives me a curious glare. On the hardwood floor with her legs crossed, she makes me think about my mother. She and Veronica are the same age, but she can barely bend over, let alone sit cross-legged. “He’s one of those?” she says through laughter.
“One of what?”
“Girl, he’s into you. Be careful. Sometimes it starts with the guy being all about you. Then they get controlling, cut you off from your family and friends, and then the verbal and physical abuse starts.” She tugs at the collar of her checkered blouse, then stares into the distance, and I wonder if she’s talking about herself. Sadness floods her brown eyes. She jerkily pats her short afro and turns toward me.
“Taylor’s not like that. He’s a big teddy bear,” I say in his defense.
�
��That’s what I thought about my last boyfriend. I thought that until I ended up in the hospital with a few broken ribs.”
“I’m sorry, but Taylor knows that if he ever put his hands on me, he wouldn’t live to brag about it.”
We both laugh. She stands, brushes off her jeans, then sits next to me, the photo album in tow. The sofa’s plastic covering squeaks. “Do you remember this?”
My face lights up. “Yes. That’s Marlene and me in our Girl Scout uniforms.”
She smiles, but then her smile morphs into a frown, her cheeks quiver, and she dissolves into tears. I grab her hand and squeeze it, trying to comfort her. “She was my baby, Regina. Now she’s gone.”
“Don’t cry,” I say, holding her in my arms.
“Now I know how your mother felt,” she says, sobbing. “How you felt.”
“You mean how we feel. The pain never goes away.”
She pulls away from me and wipes her face with her sleeve. “Look at me, falling apart. You didn’t come over here for this. Can I get you some more to eat?”
“No, I’m full.” I lay my hand on my belly, full of cabbage, rice, and baked pork chops.
We sit in silence until she says, “That damn Ronald. He got my baby hooked on that mess. I could kill him. When he started using, I told him he couldn’t come around here. Then he fell on hard times, and Marlene felt sorry for him. I told her to stay away from him. She didn’t listen. He got her hooked. People were telling me he had her turning tricks to support both their habits.”
I rock in my seat and glance at my hands wringing on my lap, thinking about the rotten turn Marlene’s life took. That could’ve been me. I’ve been here for a couple of hours now, and I’m antsy. I want to speak to Craig. I’ve tried getting info out of Veronica, but she’s dealing with her own pain.
She stands, walks to the picture window, and opens the floral drapes. “I don’t know what’s taking Craig so long to get back here. I told him you’re here. And Keisha, Shemeka, and Tameka are out in the streets somewhere. Probably at the mall. They’re twenty, twenty-one, and twenty-two. I’m surprised you haven’t had any kids. You got the hips to carry them.”
“And the ass too,” I say through laughter. “After what my mother went through because of Robert’s death, I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t go on living if anything happened to a child of mine.”
She leans on the wall next to the window and shakes her head. “Lord knows I know how you feel. Anyway, those three granddaughters of mine think they grown. I guess they are. That’s until they need something. They have an apartment together, not far from here. They’re in community college and working. I’m so proud of them.”
“That’s great.”
She switches gears and twists her narrow hips. “Girl, remember the big party we had for Robert in the Crystal Ballroom?”
“Like yesterday,” I say, glad she’s traveling down memory lane. Maybe now I’ll be able to get some info out of her.
“We brought the party back to y’all’s house.”
“I think about that night a lot, Veronica. I try to remember what was going on, who was where.” I get up from the sofa and go to the window. I peer out into the street and reflect on New Year’s Day 1991.
I look over my shoulder when Veronica moves next to me. “Yeah, we had a good time.”
“Remember the limo Robert rented?”
“Sure do,” she says, nodding. “We’d partied for five hours straight at the Crystal Ballroom.”
“We were partying like there was no tomorrow.” I smile as I remember that night.
******
Standing next to Robert in the Crystal Ballroom, I looked at the beautiful chandeliers and the tan, floor-to-ceiling drapes. The tables were covered in linen tablecloths, crystal glasses, fancy plates, and expensive silverware. My skin tingled. We’re moving up in the world because of Robert. He nudged me, and we watched our mother strut down the Soul Train line, formed by family and neighborhood friends. She swung her hips and spun around. “Not bad for forty-one!” she shouted.
Robert and I laughed and then nodded at each other. We’d spent all day working on our routine. Everyone shouted and whistled when Robert and I approached the head of the line, holding hands. He lifted me and tossed me between his legs. I came up on the other side, and we did the bump. Then we faced each other and did a funky handshake and spun around. Now side by side, he lifted me onto his hip, flipped me over, and then I did the splits. The partygoers howled and shouted, “Go Robert; go Regina.” Robert and I laughed so hard, by the time we reached the end of the line, we fell onto the floor.
He looked at me, and my heart fluttered. I’ve never loved another human being as much as my Robert. He must have read my mind because he said, “Regina, you’re my everything—my inspiration, my muse, the reason I get up in the morning. You and football. I’m going to make it right. I promise you, baby girl, I’m going to make it right.”
Before I could ask what he meant, David, from my sixth-period class, lifted me off the floor. He had a crush on me and had begged me to invite him to the party. But I only had eyes for Robert. He was so handsome that night. Robert got off the floor and straightened his tuxedo jacket. I wanted to dance with him again, but Lorraine, his ex-girlfriend, nabbed him and pulled him out of the ballroom. She looked pissed, and I wondered what was going on and what she was doing there. The next thing I knew, it was time to leave the Ballroom, and we all headed home in the limo.
******
A bell rings, snapping me out of my stupor. “Let me see who’s at the door,” Veronica says.
“What?”
“Girl, you’d better stop all that daydreaming before you miss out on your life. Somebody’s at the door,” she says and leaves me at the window.
I jump when Veronica’s screams pierce the air. I run toward the front door and stop cold when she pounces on a skinny man standing in the hallway. Another man tries to unlatch her from the skinny man. This second man appears to be in his early fifties and is clean-shaven with short hair. Wearing a burgundy pullover sweater and matching slacks, he looks like he stepped out of GQ. He grabs Veronica around her waist, but she clutches the skinny man so tight that Mr. GQ can’t separate them.
“Let him go, Mama. Let him go,” he says.
“No, I’m gonna kill his ass. Why did you bring him to my house?” she says.
“Let me go, Mama. I don’t want to hurt you,” the skinny man says.
“Fool, you the one gonna get hurt,” Veronica says.
I realize that the man she’s trying to kill is Ron, and the man trying to save him is Craig. Ron, wearing a knit cap and a dirty wool coat, manages to escape Veronica. He runs out the front door, and she chases him. Craig follows. I stand in the doorway, while the three of them engage in a shouting match. All this damn drama. They might as well be living in the projects.
“You killed my baby.”
“I didn’t kill her, Mama.”
“I’m not your mama. I’m nothing to you.”
“Mama, let’s take this inside before somebody calls the police,” Craig says.
“He’s not coming in my house.”
The three of them exchange defiant looks. Veronica turns away from her sons and storms into the house, nearly knocking me over. I step outside and sit on the steps, while Craig and Ron converse in private. Craig reaches in his wallet and hands Ron a wad of money, and Ron scampers away. Craig walks to the stairs, shaking his head, his face disgusted.
“I should have stayed in Atlanta.” He turns to me. “If I had seen you on the street, I’d never would have recognized you. You used to be a twig.”
“I get that a lot. I’m not that little skinny girl anymore. I’m thick.”
He smiles and then says, “It looks good on you.” We turn toward the street when a souped-up car speeds by. “I see things haven’t changed much in Shady Grove. Well, I hear the west side has.”
“Yeah, it’s been gentrified,” I say.
�
�I was surprised when my mother told me you were here. After you all moved, I didn’t think we’d ever see you again.”
“I had an audition at Dancing Hills University.”
“Right, that’s what I heard. You’re an actress. Congratulations. I’m glad to see you’ve made something out of yourself. Unfortunately, some folk from the old neighborhood didn’t.”
“I’m sorry about Ron and Marlene.”
“Thanks.” He drops his head and slumps his shoulders. “Sometimes I feel so guilty for leaving, but I couldn’t stay here. The people in the ’hood were pulling me down, and I didn’t want to end up on drugs, in jail, or dead. Maybe if I’d stayed, Marlene would still be alive, and Ron wouldn’t be strung out and homeless. I’m trying to get him into rehab. Until then, I’ve given him a little something to get some food, a room, and a shower. Breaks my heart to see him like that. That’s why I was late coming back. I heard he was on the streets. I went looking for him, thinking I could reunite him and my mother.”
My eyes sting and I wrap myself in my arms, trying to stay strong for Craig and myself. His pain goes through me like an electric rod. “I’m sorry, but I’m sure you did the best you could, Craig.”
“Did I?” He seems distant for a moment, and then he says, “I shouldn’t have brought him around here. My mother didn’t need to see him like that. She’s been through enough. I almost had to kill her last boyfriend.”
“She told me about that.”
“I’m real protective when it comes to my mother. Even when Marlene and Ron and I were growing up, we’d keep bad stuff from Mama, so she wouldn’t worry.”
I think about things I’ve kept from my mother—particularly one thing that surely would have devastated her. “Yeah, I can relate,” I say.
The Truth About Gretchen Page 11
