“Good morning, Mrs. Porter. It’s good to have you back,” the administrative assistant stated as soon as Meesha entered the school office. At the Academy most of the staff called her Mrs. Porter rather than First Lady Porter. She liked the fact that they distinguished the different roles of the two titles.
“Thank you and good morning to you too, Alice Faye. This is the day the Lord has made.”
“Yes, it is, Mrs. Porter. We will rejoice and be glad in it,” Alice Faye finished.
“Yes, praise the Lord, we will.” Meesha waltzed past Alice Faye. Alice Faye watched Meesha’s red bottoms grace the office floor like a gazelle.
Down the hall and into her office Meesha went. Once inside, she stopped, took a moment to peruse the space before she walked around to her desk, and set her keys and purse on the walnut and cherry desktop. She was where she belonged, and she couldn’t be happier.
She got settled into the routine she had become accustomed to. There was always something that required her attention. She called Alice Faye into her office and assigned her the task of contacting several of their top donors to obtain their commitments for the upcoming school year. She also asked her to gather a list of perspective donors. They had a thriving Academy but it was only as good as their donors, and Meesha was glad she had some heavy hitters who didn’t mind supporting the school with their money.
After Alice Faye left the office, moments later, there was a knock on her door at the same time her interoffice phone rang.
“Yes, Alice Faye?”
“Mr. Porter is on his way to your office. Kingston, that is,” she clarified.
“Okay, that must be him knocking now. Thanks, Alice Faye.” She pushed the Off button to the interoffice phone while simultaneously saying, “Come in.”
In strolled Kingston Porter. “Welcome back, sis.” He closed the office door behind him and approached her desk.
Meesha stood up and they embraced. “It’s good to see you, Kingston,” she said. “Yep, I’m back in the saddle,” she said, and chuckled lightly.
Kingston wore many hats at Perfecting Your Faith. One was that of Assistant Headmaster of the Academy. Carlton’s other brother, Martin, focused mainly on church administrative functions and staff.
“Are you ready for me to catch you up on what’s been going on during your absence?”
“Yes, but first I want to get personal. We haven’t talked much, but with a new baby in the house, among other things, I’ve been swamped. Tell me, how are you and Damica? Is the wedding still on?”
“Yes. She’s doing all the planning, of course. She wants a fall wedding. That’s fine by me. I just want to make her my wife,” he said, beaming.
“Look at you, the man is in love,” Meesha remarked and smiled. “I’m happy for you, Kingston. You’re a good man and I know you’re going to be a great husband and father to Damica’s son.”
“Yes, he’s already like my son. I love that kid.”
“Damica is blessed to have a man like you, but I think she knows that.”
“I try to show her and J’elon every chance I get,” Kingston replied. “I’m just as blessed to have found her. She’s everything I’ve wanted in a woman, everything I prayed for.”
“That’s good, Kingston. Okay, enough of my probing. Let’s get on with business.”
“Whoa, hold up. I’m not going to let you off the hook that easy.”
“What are you talking about?”
“What’s going on between you and my brother? How is he treating you?”
“Things are good. I think we’re finally in a good place again.”
“Good. He better not mess up this go round. He has a good thing too you know. You’re a good woman, Meesha, and a wonderful mother to my nephews, and to that beautiful little niece of mine.”
“Thanks, Kingston. That means a lot coming from you. I know how much you admire your brother.”
“As long as he does what’s right, but I’m not going to be on his side when he’s in the wrong. Remember, sis-in-law, I got your back. All you have to do is let me know if that chump gets outta line, and me and Martin will beat him up.” Kingston leaned back in his chair and began laughing.
“Will do.” Meesha laughed.
Chapter 16
“—I’m no cheek turner. . .You kill my dog, you better hide your cat.” Muhammad Ali
“I’m leaving to go pick up the girls,” Avery told RJ’s nanny. Her girls loved attending the school that Meesha had partly been responsible for founding. The school had grown and was considered as one of the best private schools on Fisher Island and Miami Beach.
Unlike Meesha, Avery didn’t have a permanent live-in nanny and housekeeper until RJ was born. Before giving birth to her son, she preferred to take care of her own children, relying on a babysitter only when she and Ryker had an outside engagement or entertained at home.
Avery soon accepted that Ryker had been right. The live-in nanny helped her a lot with not just RJ, but with Heather and Lexie, too. On occasion, Avery would spazz out—which is how she described it to her therapist— and refused to nurse her cute, chubby little boy. During her better days, she made sure she pumped and bottled as much of her breast milk as possible. She loved the little boy, but sometimes when she looked at him, all she could think about was the way Carlton had dismissed her and made light of what she thought they had together. Other days she was irritated or angry toward the girls and Ryker. The littlest things annoyed her, and there were times she felt resentment toward everyone in her inner circle. Feelings of sadness, emptiness, and numbness saturated her soul without giving her a moment’s warning.
The weekly therapy sessions seemed to slowly help Avery, and she began to connect with the baby. She told Ryker that she was starting to feel better and insisted that he could let the nanny move out, but Ryker convinced her that the nanny should stay at least until RJ was six months old. After that, they could reevaluate the situation. Avery finally relented. She had to admit, if only to herself, that the nanny took a lot of pressure off of her and she was able to mentally take her time adjusting to raising an infant again. Heather and Lexie, now ages eleven and nine, could present a whole other set of pressure for the sensitive woman Avery was.
She left home early enough to make a pre-planned stop at one of the pharmacy stores she’d seen on her daily trek to take the girls to school. The plan she had devised would be put into motion as soon as she picked up the over the counter DNA test. Recently, she had received in the mail two Ancestry DNA kits she’d ordered. She easily convinced Ryker that it would be fun to find out about their family history.
After purchasing a DNA kit from the pharmacy, Avery chuckled as she drove to Perfecting Your Faith Academy. Avery’s plan was to tell Ryker that he was taking the Ancestry DNA test, which he was, but what he wouldn’t know and hopefully would never find out, was she was going to also do the over-the-counter test to determine if RJ was his kid. She wasn’t going to be caught up like Peyton and Carlton were when it came to Liam’s paternity. If RJ turned out not to be Ryker’s son she would have her answer because that meant her baby’s daddy was none other than the infamous, finer than Morris Chestnut, Pastor Carlton Porter.
“Ryker, the Ancestry DNA kit arrived today. Do you want to do it this evening? I got one for you and one for me,” Avery told him later that evening.
Ryker was stretched out on the sofa in the family room watching an episode of “Power.”
“Yeah, let’s do it when this goes off. I want to see what Ghost is up to. I think Tommy is going to cross him,” he said, referring to the characters on the popular cable network show.
“That’s fine. I was just letting you know it came. I’m going to go upstairs and take my shower. When you’re done watching that, just come on upstairs.”
“RJ asleep?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at her.
“Yes, he might even stay asleep for most of the night. He’s doing so much better sleeping longer.”
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sp; “Yeah, he is.”
“It’s time we let him start sleeping in his crib, Ryker.”
“We’ll talk about it later. Whoa, I knew that was about to happen!” he said, when someone was shot on the show.
Avery threw up her hands, turned around, and walked out. There was no talking to Ryker when he was watching that show. Yet, she wasn’t bothered by it at all—it was one of his few guilty pleasures. She was more concerned about him letting the nanny do her job and about RJ sleeping in his own room instead of between the two of them every night.
Tonight she had different plans. She had already talked to the nanny and told her that she wanted RJ to sleep in her room or she wanted the nanny to sleep in the room with RJ. Whichever one worked best for her, as long as Avery could have some alone-in-the-bed time with her husband.
The nanny more than agreed. She had talked to Ryker and Avery on more than one occasion about it being best for RJ to sleep in his own bed. It was safer that way and healthier. Now all Avery had to do was convince Ryker that RJ would be just fine sleeping with the nanny.
Ryker came upstairs an hour later. Avery had showered, gotten the DNA tests and the Ancestry DNA kits, together. After he took his shower, Avery approached him again about taking the test.
“Honey, are you ready to do the test?” she asked as he came out of the shower.
“Yeah, in a minute. Does the nanny have RJ?”
“Yes, and he’s asleep. You remember what she told us, and how many times she’s told us, Ryker. We have to let him sleep in his own crib.”
“Too much can happen with him being in that room by himself. He can sleep in here. He has a crib in here. Plus, I don’t see what’s wrong with him sleeping in the bed with us until he’s older.”
“You know what she said. It’s safer for him to be in his own bed, Ryker. We could easily turn over on him during the night and never know it. He can get underneath us and, well, I don’t want to think about what could happen. Let’s just try it for tonight. We can take one day at a time. She’s going to sleep in his room with him, so we can see everything that’s going on, on the monitor.”
Ryker turned the monitor toward him, looked at it, and saw the nanny asleep on the twin bed they had in the room. RJ was sleeping soundly in his crib.
“We’ll see how it goes,” he said reluctantly.
Avery had already swabbed RJ’s mouth and now she had to get Ryker still enough for him to take his test.
“You ready?”
“Yep, let’s find out where we come from for real,” he said, and laughed lightly.
Avery read the instructions out loud for the Ancestry DNA test. Ryker listened and when she was done she administered the test, only it was not for the Ancestry DNA; it was for the DNA test.
“That was painless,” Ryker said.
“Oh, darn, I think I did it wrong.”
“What do you mean you did it wrong?”
“I want you to do it again. I don’t think you had enough saliva,” she lied. “I’m glad I paid for an extra kit. Here you go. Do it again.”
This time she used the Ancestry DNA test so she could have both tests taken.
“You bought three test kits?”
“Actually I bought four,” she lied again. “I know how I can lose things so I thought better safe than sorry.” She finished the test and returned the accessories to the container like the directions stated.
Ryker smiled at his wife, shook his head, and said, “You’re so funny, Avery Mitchelson.”
“That’s why you love me,” she replied.
He grabbed her by her butt and pulled her close to him while he sat on the bed.
“Let me go put this up so I can send it off first thing tomorrow. Then I’m all yours,” she told him, kissing him on top of his head.
She turned around and he swatted her on the butt.
“Don’t you start nothing you can’t finish,” she said, smiling.
“Oh, I plan to start and I plan to make it wayyyy past the finish line,” he told her.
Her plan worked like a charm. She had both tests completed and ready to mail. She returned to the bed and for the first time in weeks, she slept like a baby, but only after she and Ryker made love like there would be no tomorrow.
Chapter 17
“Don’t believe everything you hear: Real Eyes. Realize. Real Lies.” Tupac Shakur.
As the days sailed by, Avery began feeling much better. Today was Sunday and she was up early to get herself and the baby ready for church and his christening ceremony. Meesha was having Makena’s christening, too. It was the perfect plan coming together for Avery. When Meesha told her about the date of Makena’s christening, Avery suggested that she have little RJ christened at the same time, to which Meesha readily agreed. She laughed at the thought of seeing Carlton squirm at having to dedicate a child to the Lord that could easily belong to him. Stupid fool, she thought.
Avery wondered how it would turn out. Would Carlton crumble when he held up RJ and presented the baby before God? She smiled a devilish smile.
“Heather…Lexie,” she called, holding RJ and walking up the hall toward each of their bedrooms.
When she looked inside each of their rooms, she saw that the girls were practically dressed. Avery smiled. The girls were so beautiful. Since her struggle with postpartum depression they seemed to go out of their way to be extra quiet, be more mannerable, and bother Avery less than usual. Knowing Ryker as well as she did, Avery surmised that he had talked to them and that was the reason for their pleasant behavior and attitude toward her. She wasn’t going to complain; she welcomed the bit of peace around an otherwise chaotic household with two little girls and a baby.
“Lexie, you look so pretty.” Avery entered her room and took a seat in the corner chair. The dark pink dress with layered soft tulle was one of the new dresses Lexie had chosen on their recent shopping excursion with their daddy. The girls had him wrapped around their little fingers. There weren’t too many times that he told them ‘no.’
“Thank you, Mommy.” Lexie twirled around and around before slipping her feet inside matching shoes.
Heather entered Lexie’s room. “Mommy, I don’t like my dress,” she said with her lip downturned.
“Honey, you look beautiful. Didn’t you pick out that dress when your father took you and Lexie shopping the other day?”
“Yes, but I don’t like it.”
Avery felt her mood shifting just that quickly. Heather could be a handful, especially when she didn’t get her way. She had that same spitfire, turn on a dime, personality as Avery and it caused them to clash often.
“Look, it’ll be fine. Lexie, tell your sister she looks pretty.”
“I told you not to pick that one. Go put the other one on—the pink one,” Lexie said instead.
“I don’t want to wear the pink one. You have on pink.” Heather began to pout and tear up.
RJ, as if sensing his sister’s frustration, began to pout and let out a loud cry.
“See what you’ve done,” Avery snapped. “Just go pick out another dress!”
“But…I—”
“I said, go pick out another dress or you’re going to be sorry, Heather. I don’t have time for your shenanigans this morning!”
RJ cried louder.
Avery stood up abruptly.
Thank God Ryker appeared. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“I can’t take it,” Avery said. “You have them too spoiled. All I want to do is go to church and…” she pointed at Heather who was crying now and clinging to her father’s pant leg. “You handle it.” She pushed RJ into Ryker’s arms and stormed out of Lexie’s bedroom.
They know how to ruin my day,” she mouthed as she went to her room and did the finishing touches on her makeup.
“Liam, sweetheart. You are such a handsome guy,” Peyton complimented her son. “And you look dashing,” she said, turning to Derek. “The two most handsome men in the entire world.”
“An
d you look absolutely gorgeous this morning, doesn’t she, son?”
“Yes, you look pretty, Mom.”
Peyton had slimmed down considerably. Even when she was pounds heavier, she could dress and make herself look like a runway fashion model. Today was no different. Her teal and cream Yves Saint Laurent pantsuit showed her newly defined curves while the two mobilizers might have gone undetected if it wasn’t for the slight change in her gait they caused and the bulky shoe portion of the brace.
At church, Meesha was seated in her usual space, on a row toward the front of the elegant sanctuary. The boys were in Children’s Church and Makena was in the nursery, along with her nanny. She looked up and smiled broadly when she saw Peyton walking in on Derek’s arm and Liam on her other side. Liam waited until Peyton sat down then turned and left out of the sanctuary and headed to Youth Church.
“It’s good to see you walking. God is good.”
“Yes, He is,” Peyton said, smiled, and lightly tapped Meesha on the back of her hand. Derek leaned over and greeted Meesha with a light kiss on the cheek and a pat on her back.
Moments later, Eva and Harper and Avery and Ryker walked up. Eva and Harper joined Meesha, Peyton, and Derek on the same row while Avery and Ryker took seats on the row behind them.
Everyone greeted each other.
“Why don’t you sit up here?” Peyton suggested.
Ryker showed his palm and shook his head. “No, we’re good,” he said with RJ in his arms.
“Did the girls go to Children’s Church?” Eva asked.
“Yes, we dropped them off, thank God,” Avery said, rolling her eyes upward. Ryker was not about to allow his son to go into the nursery. He had made it clear to Avery that RJ had to be basically walking and talking before he would leave his son. He did the same thing when the girls were small.
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