by Janae Keyes
I chugged my drink, wishing the haze of the alcohol would come through, but satisfied yet, and walked out to my car. The night was slightly balmy and clear. Perfect convertible weather again. I was starting to love this town. Always warm, tons of sun, the only downfall was the traffic. There was just too much of it.
I slid into the driver’s seat and plugged in Everly’s address. She lived all the way on the other side of Los Angeles from me. South Central. Hadn’t I heard about that place in a rap song when I was younger? Maybe Snoop Dogg or Tupac?
I dreamed I was in California listening to those songs, but never thought I’d really make it out here. Yet here I was.
I drove through LA, following my GPS as I got further from the bright lights of downtown, the busy streets of Beverly Hills, and the gentle sway of the boardwalks.
Now where I was driving into was run down. You could tell the people here survived paycheck to paycheck. There were gang tags everywhere, it looked like I had just driven into a music video from the early nineties.
Including the guys walking down the streets with their pants sagging around their asses. I didn’t want to bring more attention to myself than I was positive my car already was. It was nicer than anything I saw as I made it the last couple of blocks.
When I pulled up outside of the condo she lived in, the area was starting to look less ragged. This was all fresh development. I got out of my car, locked the doors, armed the alarm, and walked up to her door.
I looked at my watch. I was early. This appeared to be my new norm. Shrugging I rose my hand to knock on her door but was greeted by the woman who I had helped that morning.
“Don’t you look nice. Lemme go get Everly. She’s just finishing getting ready. Keep an eye on that car. It’s too nice for this neighborhood.”
That was just the reassurance I wanted. “Thank you. I guess I’ll wait here.”
She gave me a look I recognized from my mother. One that said, “Don’t be stupid.”
“Listen, I didn’ say ya haddya stay outside wit ya car. I said you needed to keep an eye on it. We have a couch and a window. That suffice just fine for you while you wait. Understand?” If looks could kill, I would be dead with the one she gave me.
“Yes ma’am.” I walked through to door and sat on the couch, watching my car. I shouldn’t be so concerned about it, but I couldn’t help my paranoia. I didn’t grow up in this environment.
“Hey.” Her soft voice startled me from my trance.
I couldn’t catch my breath for a moment at how amazing she looked in her form fitting sky-blue dress, kitten heels, and simple makeup. When I finally recovered enough to talk, I said the first dumb thing that came to mind. “Hey. I thought your aunt was watching your daughter?”
“She left Madison with her husband so she could help me and grab some things for Madi to work on. She needed some things from home for her homework.” I watched as the guard went up around Everly. Tonight, was going to be an interesting date with the way things were starting.
“Ah. Well, you chariot awaits you. Shall we go?” I help my arm out to her and waited for you to take it.
“Let me tell Aunt Gracie I’m leaving.” She walked back into what I assumed was the kitchen, only to return a moment later with the older woman behind her.
“Now, ya listen here. You bring her home on time. No funny business. I survived the Riots, built a business through it. I ain’t afraid of no pretty boy, and neither is my husband. Got it?” She glared at me as she warned me.
I nodded gulping. I had a feeling no answer besides a nod would be acceptable right now. Didn’t matter if the woman liked me or not, she was still protective of her family.
“Good. Now git goin’.” A large smile spread over her features and she made a shooing motion.
Hurrying to the door I opened it for Everly, her aunt still watching us. After we exited the house, I looked over at Everly and let out a breath I had been holding. “Didn’t you tell her this was just a dinner for two friends catching up?”
“She is old school. She doesn’t see it as that, and at this point I would rather not argue with her about her perception of things.”
Made sense to me in a way. I let the silence hover in the car as we drove, thinking about what the course of action would be. I wanted to know more about her daughter. Was dad involved? I didn’t want the complication of another man in the picture, but I would respect that if he was.
I checked my GPS and saw that I was close to the restaurant. Close enough to kill the GPS so I didn’t ruin the surprise of where I was taking Everly. Taking a blindfold out of the glove box I handed it to her while I waited for the light to turn green.
“What do you want me to do with this?” Skepticism colored her voice.
“Just put it on. I want where I am taking you to be a surprise. Please?” I was relieved when she put it over her perfectly flattened hair and sat there. Small favors.
“I hope this isn’t some cruel trick where you take me back to your place and try and surprise me by telling me you’re a world class chef now too.”
“No. Just a surprise.” I saw the restaurant pulling into view and was thankful they had a valet. One less thing for me to worry about. Parking. I pulled up in front of the booth and motioned for the kid there to hold on. Stepping out of the car I closed the door and motioned him over.
“When you open her door, don’t tell her where we are. Be careful with my car. Any scratches and it’ll be your job.” I handed him two hundred-dollar bills and his jaw dropped. It was nice being able to tip nicely for people. Rich didn’t mean you couldn’t tip well. My parents instilled that into me too. I always tipped well.
“N-No problem, sir. Right this way.” He motioned me onto the sidewalk before going to the passenger’s door and opening it for her.
“Welcome ma’am. I hope you have an amazing evening.” Not bad, the kid listened pretty well. I watched him slide into the plush leather seat and sigh. He wanted to be rich so he could drive for more than two minutes, I could tell.
“Are you going to tell me where we are yet?” Her voice held a pinched tone, like she was still worried I had just taken her back to my place.
I turned her toward the restaurant and removed the mask.
She clapped her hands together and laughed before turning toward me. “How’d you know I’ve been wanting to try this place out?”
“I didn’t. I’ve heard some things about here and thought it would be a nice place to go.” I didn’t need to tell her that a third cousin twice removed or some shit like that owned it. She might run.
She ran to the front door, obviously forgetting I was with her and walked through when they opened the door for her.
This was a great night already.
Chapter 8
Everly
The night was already off to a great start. I had been wanting to try Providence for ages, but it was out of my price range. A single parents pay could just afford what we needed in SoCal. But I would give up everything of mine to make sure Madison was happy.
Madison.
He kept trying to breach that subject and I wasn’t ready to talk about her. Every question outside of what I had told him I had to redirect him.
“Where is her dad at?”
A burst of white wine escaped my lips as I coughed at this question. I definitely was not ready to answer that one. I would have to redirect him again. “He was a one-night stand. I got drunk when I came home for Christmas break and woke up in a hotel room. I don’t even remember what he looked like.”
Same thing I had told my family would have to do for now.
“Oh. So, she doesn’t have any male figure in her life?” He looked confused, and somewhat sad for her.
“She has my uncle. That’s all who’s ever been there for her. What about you? What have you been doing for the last eleven years?” I turned it back on him, tired of all his questions.
“Finished college, took six tries to pass the bar, toyed aro
und with a few jobs, finally found this one. Wasn’t expecting to run into you. That’s for sure.”
Fuck. He wasn’t going to let me read his expression. He wanted to play games.
“I’m honestly surprised you graduated. Did you pay someone to pass your classes for you? You could barely concentrate when I was tutoring you.”
“That’s because I wanted a taste of you. Now I want the whole meal. We have unfinished business you know, Everly.” He gave me a scorching glare, so hot I felt my thin lace panties start to melt.
“This isn’t a date Noel. Even if it was, I don’t sleep with someone on the first one.” I gave him a pointed look.
“Everly, quit playing games. We’ve already been there. It would just be picking up where we left things in the library. You should have come home with me.” His face contorted into an expression of helpless need as he ground his teeth, obviously trying to control himself. “I have waited eleven years to find you again, and I’m not going to give up this time. Okay? You have something that belongs to me and I intend to claim it.”
Shivers ran over my body. Did he know about Madison and was just waiting for me to tell him the truth? There was no way that was possible. I hadn’t even told my few friends from school I was pregnant. I ghosted everyone. I thought back to that night in the library, trying to remember what I could have said to make him think he had any claim on any part of me.
Then it hit me like a brick. As he gave me a quick fucking I would never forget, the touches I could still feel, he had demanded control of my most secret places, and I had given it to him. Fuck. Good job Everly. Good job.
“You have no stake on my body. We had one night. Ten minutes tops. Eleven years is a long time to hold a flame for someone. You can’t tell me you haven’t moved on. It’s you.” I held back the tears that wanted to clog my throat. I knew he had to have forgotten me along the way. There were too many women dropping their clothes at his feet for him to remember me in the masses of them.
“Yeah, there were others. But it was because I was trying to wipe your memory out of my mind. The way I connected with you. Fuck, every time I fucked someone, I saw you, okay. Is that what you wanted to hear? Well guess what baby, you never left my system.”
His bold gazed pierced me, waiting for me to object to anything he just said. I couldn’t though, because I had felt the same. But I wouldn’t say it out loud. I couldn’t. That would be too much. I sighed and looked at my hands. I decided the best thing to do would just not say anything.
“Exactly. Ah I see food.”
We ate in silence as I thought about what he said. If he was that intent on being with me, he would meet Madison. Would he know my truth when he met her?
I was about to ask for the dessert menu when my phone vibrated in my clutch. I opened it to see who was calling me. Aunt Gracie. She wouldn’t call unless it was an emergency.
“I need to take this. It might be an emergency.” I pushed back from the table and started to walk toward the front of the restaurant.
“Hello?”
“Everly, baby girl, I am so sorry to interrupt, but Uncle Ben fell and hurt himself bad. I gotta take him in. You gotta come get Madi. I know this isn’t what you was plannin’ but things change. I’m gon’ leave her with Celly, my neighbor.” The panic in her voice was audible through the phone line.
“Shit. Sorry Auntie. Okay. We’ll be on our way soon as we pay the bill. Let me tell Noel… something.” I hung up and headed back inside the restaurant to our table, where he had already ordered our dessert. Too bad it would have to be to go now.
“Hey, we have to go. My uncle fell and my aunt has to take him to the hospital. She left Madison with the neighbor, but she can’t watch her for long. I have to get her. You can take me home and I’ll just go get her from there.” I didn’t want them to meet. Not until I knew him better from his college playboy days.
“I have room. Let’s go get your daughter and we can go out for ice cream. No excuses.” He rose from the table, throwing a handful of hundreds onto it, not bothering to count and we left.
Chapter 9
Noel
That wasn’t how I had planned to end dinner, but things don’t always happen how I plan for them to happen. I waited while Everly programmed the address to her aunt’s house in my phone and we left the restaurant. We were headed back to South Central.
“You make good money at the office. Why do you still live here?” My curiosity got the better of me and I asked the question that had been bugging me all night.
“Because it’s close to my aunt, and it’s my hood. I grew up here.” She talked to me as she stared out the window.
“Family values. I understand that. We have strong ones in my family too.”
“Oh? Is that why you fuck everything that walks?”
“Whoa. What’s that mean? I already told you I want to change because of you.”
“Yeah you could have done that in college. Instead it’s been eleven years! Eleven fucking years Noel.” She sniffed loudly and slammed her fist down on the door.
“Fine. Shit. I fucked up a lot. I still fuck up. I want to fix shit. Let’s have this talk later, when we aren’t heading to get your kid. I don’t think she wants to see you upset. That would be a great first impression for me.” Breathing usually helped me calm down, but with her scent all around me it just made my blood boil.
“You can just drop me off. I can walk home from there.”
Was she fucking serious? It was dark, it was getting late. No. I didn’t think so. “No. I will drive both of you home and make sure you get home safe. I don’t think Mr. Carson would appreciate it if I let someone kill you when I could have driven you home myself.”
“Fine. But only because I have o… My daughter to think about.”
What was she about to say? It didn’t matter, we were here. I parked and was trying to get out of the car when she opened her door and walked up the pathway to the door. I caught up to her as she knocked on the door and a little girl with startling green eyes answered the door.
Eyes I hadn’t been able to see in the pictures on Everly’s desk.
Eyes that were looking at me curiously.
Eyes just like mine.
Chapter 10
Everly
“Thank you Celly,” I called down the hall to the woman who was laying on the couch.
“You know it baby girl. You tell your aunt to let me know how Ben’s doing.”
“Will do.” I turned to see a stare-off happening beside me between the two people I never thought would meet.
Madison was looking at him, probably waiting for him to introduce himself, or for me to. Noel however, had caught on already. He was staring at her in awe and wonder.
There were going to be far more long conversations in my future. Conversations I wasn’t ready or willing to have with anyone.
“Everly, who is this?” Noel finally broke the silence that was becoming more stifling than the air before a sudden storm.
“This is Madison.” I was nervous and hoped he wouldn’t call me out in front of her.
He closed his eyes and muttered a small prayer before opening them again and bending to her level. “Well, hello there. You are just as beautiful as your mother. I’m Noel.” He reached his hand out to her.
She shook it carefully, looking over her shoulder to me. I gave a slight incline of my head, our signal for “It’s okay,” and continued to watch their interaction.
“Hey, it’s late. We should get going. Don’t you agree Noel?” Turning I started to walk toward his car, only to stop when he grabbed my arm.
“We need to talk, don’t we? Enough bullshit. Truth. You know who her father is. I know who her father is. Does she?”
“Can we talk about this not around her? I haven’t said anything.” My skin blazed where he touched me, and it was all I could do to keep my anger above my lust for him.
“Fine. We talk tonight about this. I’m done with the secrets.”
/> We got back to my condo and I got Madison settled in for the night. I shut her door as I left her room, making sure she was asleep. I didn’t want to go downstairs and face Noel, who was pacing around my living room.
Fuck, this wasn’t how I wanted to do any of this. My terms. I wanted it on my terms.
Walking slowly down the stairs I kept my head held high. I wasn’t going to be forced into regretting my choices. They were mine.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice was a hushed growl.
I was right. He was livid. But who could blame him?
“You were in Boston. I was here. My mom was dying when I found out. It wasn’t a good time. You had a reputation. The last thing I wanted was to go back there and be ‘the one Canali knocked up’ or ‘poor little poor girl.’ I didn’t want those labels. I gave everything up so I could go to school here. I found something worth it for me that pays my bills.”
He was still paving like a caged bull and I couldn’t tell what his temper was bound to do. Would it explode? Would it simmer? Would he be the one to run this time?
“You don’t think I would have helped, do you? You think I would have made you get rid of her? Forced you to have an abortion? No. Family values Everly. She’s my daughter. I want in her life. I want to know her. I want her to know me. And I don’t want either of you living in this area. It’s dangerous.” He was staring at me, boring a hole through me to the wall.
“No. I am not going to uproot Madison. I refuse. You can’t tell me what to do with her! You haven’t been here! You want me to rip her away from her school? Her only family? Just to appease you?”
“Not her only family anymore. Now her family is my family too! Don’t try and guilt trip me for not being there. Not when you didn’t let me be there. This is as much on you as me. I fucked up. Neither of us thought in that library. And we have a child because of it. A child you have robbed me of knowing for ten years.” Tears were streaming down his face. Tears. I had made the great Noel Canali cry.
