The Case Manager

by Latoya Chandler

  “I am doing what any father would do. While my attorneys are handling that end, I will work on my part rebuilding what we once had. But first I need to fix things with you. Especially since you are the only connection that I have to get in contact with her.”

  “So, that’s what this is about? You’re using me.”

  “Please don’t think like that, Jenna. I know you’re upset, but I am trying. I want to make this right.”

  “If you say so, Dad.”

  “Am I not the same person who made sure you wanted for nothing? I made Camilla move you into the house because you came first. I didn’t care what would happen between me and her. You are and will always be my main priority. You along with all your sisters. You girls are my world.”

  “Do you really think moving me into that house with that racist woman while you were off doing you was a good thing?”

  “She is a lot of things, Jenna, but a racist isn’t one of them. How could she be? Have you seen your father lately? The last time I checked, I am far from being light skinned or white.”

  “I am not color blind, but you, Dad, are clearly in denial. She was horrible to me. She called me names and made my life a living hell. She did the same things to me as she did to Candice before she shipped her to your ex-wife and later pronounced her dead.”

  “That is why I want to sit down and talk to you face-to-face. Please consider coming down so we can talk about all of this.”

  “I’ll think about it, Dad.”

  “Don’t think, just do it. I love you, Jenna.”

  “Okay,” I mumbled. I disconnected the call and wiped tears from my eyes.

  Leaning my head back against the head rest, I gave in to my pain and allowed my tears to communicate the intensity of the pain that I had been feeling. I wanted to stay mad at my dad, but something wouldn’t allow me to. Part of me wanted to choke him and the other part of me wanted to try to fix things. My heart had been heavy since finding everything out, and the weight increased following Dad and Candice’s talk at my place.

  Like an emotion detector, Candice picked my feelings up as I walked into the room. “Jenna, what’s wrong? You were perfectly fine when you walked out of here. What happened?”

  Unable to keep my composure, I shook my head, flinging tears from side to side.

  “Okay, try sitting down for a minute. Get the tears out of your system so you can tell me what’s going on.” Her eyes stretched.

  “Please do, because I am about to go from zero to one hundred in two minutes,” Nakita made known.

  “Please calm all the way down, Nakita. We need you to stay over here on the calm side with us.” Candice side-eyed her.

  “I . . . I’m just so hurt. I cannot believe Dad isn’t the man I thought he was. I don’t know why I called him back. I hate him, but I love him so much right now.”

  “Don’t say that. Hate is a strong word.”

  “Candice, how could you defend him?”

  “I am not defending anyone. I just know anger is fueling you to feel this way.”

  “Here she goes with the Ms. Nancy diagnosis.”

  “Nakita, it’s the truth, not a diagnosis. Please stop comparing me to that lady. I am nothing like her.”

  “You might be right, Candice. However, he is everything but the man I thought he was. He is a liar and a coward. I have zero respect for him.”

  “I understand and can relate, trust me. What did he want?”

  “He wants me to come to New York tonight to have a face-to-face.”

  “Well, if you decide to go, I am coming with you. I have a few things that I need to unload on him.”

  “If you’re going, please know I will be in attendance as well,” Nakita made known.

  “I appreciate the both of you, but I will be all right. I can handle this one alone.”

  “No matter if you can or can’t, I am going with you,” Candice conveyed.

  “So am I. I will ask Ms. Jasmine and the girls to look after the kids for us,” Nakita expressed.

  “All right, but, Nakita, I need you to promise me that you will keep your cool, no matter what.”

  “Don’t do me like that, Jenna. I am not crazy. Or am I?” she joked.

  * * *

  After kissing the kids, Ms. Jasmine, and the girls goodbye, we loaded up in my Maxima and got on our way to meet my dad. He’d asked me to meet him at the Crab House in Long Island City, which happened to be one of my favorite places to eat. I had been a seafood junkie since college. I would eat chicken occasionally.

  For Candice’s sake, I’d been hoping we would be able to air everything out and get closure and forgiveness. I hated seeing her hurt like that. I was glad that through it all she had such a great support system. Ms. Jasmine, the other girls, and Nakita primarily were there for one another no matter what. They were inseparable. They may not have had the same DNA, but they were family. They’d been more of a family to me than my mom’s side of the family had ever been. Dad’s side appeared to be nonexistent. He said they were still in Jamaica, and due to a disagreement, he hadn’t spoken to them in years.

  I’d been driving in a daze. I heard the girls talking, but I was not listening. I suddenly had an ill feeling in my stomach about our little meet and greet.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Breakdown: The Ugly Truth

  Jenna

  Upon our arrival, my stomach began doing backflips. I had asked Nakita and Candice to stay in the car and wait fifteen to twenty minutes before going inside. I’d thought it might have been more than enough time for him and me to talk. I honestly felt we’d said everything that needed to be said over the phone. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door and entered the Crab House. All sorts of aromas boxed me in instantly, causing my stomach to growl. Thank God the knots in my stomach have vanished.

  Perhaps I’d thought that too soon. I fumed the closer I got to the table.

  With each step, my stomach tightened and ached. I hadn’t seen Camilla in years. She’d sent holiday cards while I attended college. That was the most she would communicate with me. Dad would come to me for most of the holidays, and he’d bring the twins with him at times as well. I honestly hadn’t a desire to see Camilla. Witnessing her sitting at the table with Dad caused me to feel queasy. A warm feeling rose in my chest and I couldn’t control it. That hateful woman said my sister died. She threw her away. Why would she be at the table with Dad?

  “Why is she here, Dad?” I raged.

  “Jenna, what is your problem? You moved away and have clearly lost your manners,” Camilla chastised.

  “What’s wrong with me? I will tell you what my problem is,” I seethed, taking a seat on the opposite side of them.

  I had no idea why I sat down. Everything in me decided to turn around and leave. My body turned against me and sat at a table with the woman who was responsible for making my life and Candice’s a living hell.

  “Please do. You have no right coming in here questioning anyone or anything. We are still your parents, not the other way around.”

  “You, lady, aren’t a damn thing to me. What you are is a liar. I cannot stand the sight of you right now. Dad, why the hell did you bring her here?”

  “Watch your mouth, Jenna,” Dad said.

  “That’s all you’re going to say, Dale? She is out of line and being very disrespectful.”

  “Respect, lady? You have a lot of nerve.”

  “Jenna, what has gotten into you?” Camilla brows raised.

  “Your lies have gotten to me.”

  “Dale, what is this about?”

  “Dad, you didn’t tell her?”

  “I wanted the three of us to talk about everything together,” Dad admitted.

  “So you didn’t even bother confronting her lying, conniving ass, Dad?”

  “Jenna, I am not going to tell you again. Show some respect.”

  “Are you serious, Dad? Respect? I cannot believe you’re actually sticking up for this lying—”

&n
bsp; “You’re not too old for me to slap you, Jenna. Dale, you need to—”

  “I dare you to slap me. I am not that little naïve girl anymore. I will whoop your ass up and down this restaurant.”

  “Dale!”

  “Don’t call him now. Did you call him when you mentally, verbally, and physically abused me? Did you bother to call him when you sent Candice off to that place knowing his ex-wife was the owner?”

  “What are you speaking of, Jenna? This is nonsense.”

  “So you have no idea what I am talking about. Is what you’re saying, Camilla?”

  “Dale, you’re going to just sit here and allow her to speak to me like this?”

  “You know sitting back and allowing things to happen is what he does best.” I cut my eyes at him as he stared straight ahead blankly.

  “This is ridiculous. I didn’t agree to come out to dinner to be disrespected.”

  “Why did you send Candice to that woman, Camilla?”

  “Jenna, we are not having this discussion. Out of respect for my daughter, please allow her to rest in peace. We are not about to talk about this.”

  “You are such a liar. I hate your bug-eyed ass. You’re not getting off that easy! I need you to answer my question. Why did you send her there?”

  “I see what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to feed your father this poison to come between us. Dale, you know I had no idea that Nancy owned that place until long after Candice was there. The only time I spoke to that woman was when Candice passed. I wanted to be the one to break the news to you, Dale. You were so hurt and unable to think straight that I made the necessary arrangements to have her cremated so that she would always be with us.”

  “Well, how do I look for a dead person, Mother?” Candice interrupted, hand in hand with Nakita.

  Mother’s left eye began twitching before turning a strange hue when she turned around and saw the image before her. The daughter she’d pronounced dead was standing before her, and it looked as if her heart might have been beating fast, because Mother had a glare written all over her that indicated she was going to explode. The muscles in her tongue must have been frozen because her words came out jumbled together in a slur.

  “Iiisss ttthhhis some kind of sick, twisted joke?”

  “No, the joke is on you, cunt.”

  “Not now, Nakita,” I said.

  “You’re right, my bad. I am going to chill, for now.”

  “Oh, my God, baby, it is you. Why did Nancy lie to me? I am so sorry. I had no idea.”

  “What did I ever do to you to make you hate me? I did everything I could to try to make you love me. The only thing that I ever longed for was my mother’s love. Was that too much to ask for? Why was it that hard for you to love me? You made me hate the skin that I am in. I used to take baths in bleach to try to lighten my skin, hoping that would persuade you to love me. The mirrors in my bedroom were covered because you made me hate the sight of myself. I walked around in baggy clothes because you shamed me constantly. I kept telling myself something had to be wrong with me because all mothers love their children. Especially their only child. But not my mother, and I just want to know why. Am I that ugly that it was difficult for you to love me? What was it?” she cried with such a shaken fear that I couldn’t do anything but grieve with her.

  “That is so untrue, Candice. Please have a seat. We are starting to get an audience.”

  “I couldn’t care less. Everyone needs to know you for the heartless, selfish woman you are. You sent your own daughter away to be raped repeatedly. That’s right, Mother, because of you, I was raped during and after my first pregnancy. I was also impregnated by one of my abusers. But this isn’t surprising to you because you know all of this already.”

  “N . . . no.”

  “You are a liar. I called you. I called and told you and you said I was a disgrace and a liar.”

  “Excuse me, ma’am, I am going to have to ask you to please quiet down or leave,” a manager interrupted.

  “So you have nothing to say at all, Mother?”

  “Ma’am, if I have to ask you to quiet down again, I am going to have to ask you and your party to leave.”

  “No worries. I am out of here,” she said, and with slight hesitation, she ran toward the door, dragging Nakita with her.

  “Camilla! You need to tell me now what the hell is going on. You had an urn. You said it contained our daughter’s ashes. What the hell have you done, Camilla?” Dad lost it.

  “Dale, I am as shocked and dumbfounded as you. I have no idea what she is talking about. That place must have done a number on her.”

  The consistent pounding in my left temple was making it hard for me to process what was coming out of that lying bitch’s mouth.

  “Don’t you dare sit here and lie to my face, Camilla.”

  “She was out of control, Dale. I didn’t want to worry you. You had enough on your plate with all the extra hours you were working at the time. Well, supposed to be working. So I thought.”

  “Bullshit, Camilla! You are her mother. You gave birth to her. How could you?”

  “You want the truth? I will give you the truth. I hope you can handle it.”

  Neither I nor my dad said a word. We just stared at her, expressionless.

  “She is the reason my parents disowned me. She is also the reason why I am not an attorney today. I’ve suffered in silence for far too long. Every time I looked at her, I didn’t see my daughter. The only thing I saw was the image and reflection of my failures.”

  Slamming his fist down, he spat, “Are you serious, Camilla? Do you hear what you’re saying to me?”

  “I would apologize, Dale, but you’re partly to blame. You didn’t make things easy for me. Why didn’t you tell me about Nancy? I had to find out who she was while lying in that hospital bed after giving birth to your twins. While making arrangements for your daughter, I mentioned her name. She asked if you were her father. She knew who I was, and of course I had no clue who she was. Without question, she made sure to fill me in and blame me for taking her husband away from her. A husband I never knew she had. So out of anger and regret, I sent Candice there anyway, not caring any longer what happened to her.

  “Because of you and your daughter, my life has been a living hell. You are a sorry excuse for a man. I had to be the man and the woman in this sham of a marriage. The only thing you’re good at is sharing your dirty manhood with every black woman moving. I know you only married me because you felt sorry for me. I am not stupid, and I’m far from anyone’s charity case. I also knew telling you that your precious daughter was dead would hurt you to the core. So with that I made sure to hit you where it hurt, so that it would burn like hell.

  “Let me not fail to mention all the affairs. What did you expect, Dale? You did this. Nancy was so wounded that she was eager to go along with my plan. I will say I didn’t have any idea what was going on in that house. Nor did I care, honestly. All she wanted was a hefty envelope of hush money to make my story real. The money to remodel the kitchen came in handy, and I got away with all of it after all these years. You want to know why? Because you are incompetent. You don’t check your bills, credit cards, bank accounts, or anything. You just worked like the slave you were meant to be and allowed me, your master, to control you.”

  The crazed look in his eyes terrified me as he slid his hands around her throat. I could see his grip tightening as Camilla scrambled to get ahold of any leverage she could and pry his large, muscular hands from her throat. Onlookers begged him to stop and even tried to separate his hand from her neck while I sat in awe. I would have never thought he had it in him. I was glad he did, honestly. She was out of line. If he hadn’t grabbed her, God in heaven knew I would have. Camilla had me stumped for a moment. I could not believe the things that were coming out of her mouth. If those people didn’t get Dad off her, I didn’t think she was going to make it out of there alive. Her face was changing colors from the lack of oxygen. The sad thing abou
t it was I didn’t even feel sorry for her.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Open Wounds: Hurt People Hurt People

  Candice

  It felt like Jenna had been inside the restaurant with Dad forever. I knew she hadn’t and that I was becoming impatient. I had been contemplating from the moment she stepped out of the car when would be a good time for us to make our entrance. My thoughts were in a free fall. I told myself that sitting down and talking with Dad was what I needed for some sort of closure. I had walked around in the dark all my life not speaking up for myself or asking questions. So much so that I hid in big clothes. Underneath all those layers, I buried my self-esteem, love, and confidence for myself. I had come to a point in my life where answers had been needed and my dad had them. There wasn’t any way I would have been able to be an example to my babies, especially Amiya, if I didn’t peel those layers back. The first layer started with me going to have a sit-down with my dad. That might have been the second layer, actually, because when I confessed to Ms. Jasmine about what had been going on at Hope House, I had felt a sense of relief.

  I wasn’t sure how the meeting might turn out, but I knew it was long overdue. Different thoughts and scenarios danced in my mind. I felt a sea of anxiety deep down paired with each pondering moment. My heart had been telling me it was necessary. However, my gut and mind fought tooth and nail, enhancing the anxiety within.

  Like a bungee cord, Nakita snatched me out of my thoughts. “Are you sure you’re all right with this, Candice? You don’t have to go inside. We can wait for Jenna out here.”

  “I think I need this. I have to continue peeling all of these layers back.”

  “Well, let’s get in there and get to peeling some layers back.”

  “Nakita, we are just going to talk, right? No, I am going to talk, okay?”

  “Yes, I am here for moral support.” She cut her eyes at me.

  “I just need you to do me one more favor.”

  “Yes, I can, no problem.”

  “You don’t even know what it is.”