Cheryl never officially counseled Kylie since she didn’t have a license, but it went further than just friendly advice. She wanted Kylie to learn to be happy, for herself and her daughter.
In retrospect, Kylie was probably the reason Cheryl chose psychology as her main focus in college. She had always been a helper, but Kylie’s trauma had her Cheryl too. Psychology gave her the tools to heal, and in the end she liked to think it helped Kylie deal with it better too … especially since her friend would never get any real professional help.
Cheryl heard the floor creaking upstairs, and knew that Chastity was starting her day. She glanced to her watch, which read 10 a.m.
Good, at least she slept in a little.
She started the water for her shower, and hurried to get ready. She’d been cleaning all morning and wanted to meet Chastity in the kitchen by the time she made it downstairs for coffee.
Chastity reveled in sleeping in. She heard Cheryl sneak in a few hours earlier, but couldn’t force her eyes open. Her eyelids were too heavy, as if they needed to be peeled away.
Maybe because of how swollen they are. She patted the bags beneath her eyes, which had swelled up like grapes.
She had stayed up crying through the early hours of the morning, until she had exhausted herself to the point, where sleep was the only thing left. Finally, she rolled over, arranged her pillows, and fell into a deep slumber.
This morning, after she finally awoke … she enjoyed laying there, amongst her multiple fluffy pillows. Her legs were strewn across a long body pillow, and her arms were tightly wrapped around another. The cool breeze made its way through her open windows, and gave her comfort through all the chaos surrounding her.
Last night’s conversation cut deep, but it gave her insight on her mother and her relationship with her confidante.
As a kid, she adored her Auntie Cheryl. After all, she was family … but as Chastity grew older she was jealous of the fact that Cheryl was the one, who was always there for her mother. At least now, she could put her mixed emotions about Cheryl to rest.
Starting this morning, all she would feel was gratitude that she was the one her mother could count on. Chastity couldn’t be to her mother what Cheryl was, and that was okay. She knew being her daughter was enough ... finally.
It’s been a long two weeks, she thought to herself. The only good thing that has come from this has been gaining more understanding about Cheryl.
She looked out her window and said aloud, “I finally get why she was so protective of you, mom. You were lucky to have her.”
Chastity didn’t know the half of it.
Chapter 10
Chastity pulled up to the passenger drop-off area. It was time to say her goodbyes, and there weren’t enough words to express what she felt.
“Call me tomorrow and let me know you made it in okay,” Cheryl insisted, as she exited the car.
Chastity teared up, and jumped from her car, to grab her in a bear hug.
“I love you auntie Cheryl.” She hesitated slightly; using a name she hadn’t called her since she was a kid. “Thank you for everything.”
Cheryl lifted her hands to Chastity’s face. “Love you too. Your mom would be real proud of you, and so am I.”
Chastity dropped her arms and watched Cheryl step inside the airport. She continued waving from the curb, until her friend was out of sight, and hopped back into her Ford Explorer for the long drive home.
She glanced to her backseat, which was packed full of her mom’s belongings. Earlier, she had wrapped her mom’s journals within a sack and placed them at the top of her suitcase. She still had another entire journal to read, but wasn’t ready to read anymore just yet. After discovering about the night of her mother’s rape, she hadn’t even opened them. She couldn’t.
Before pulling away from the curb, she popped in a few CD’s and set it to shuffle. She had an array of Pharrell Williams, Gwen Stephani, some 80’s pop, and some Christian music that would be enough to keep her from getting bored.
She turned up the volume, hoping it would infuse her with enough positive energy to ignore the dread, which still set in the pit of her stomach. She smiled when one of her favorite Christian artists, Toby Mac, started pumping loudly through the sound system. His funk sound was exactly what she needed to keep her traveling in solace for now.
Chastity and her mom started attending church, while in Friendswood, Alabama. Miss Clara, who was like a second mother to Chastity, encouraged Kylie to come only after a few weeks of residing above her garage in the small apartment.
Hard wooden pews lined either side of the narrow aisle. As Chastity stepped in the small church, the floorboards creaked underneath her feet.
“Go on sweetie,” Kylie urged, nudging her daughter inside.
Although they were on time, it was obvious that most church patrons got there early on Sundays, as there wasn’t much room left. Kylie would have preferred to sit in the back row. As it was, there was enough talk around town as to why she and her daughter were in town. The last thing she wanted was to draw more attention to them than necessary, especially since they were the only white people in that small little church. She saw a few spaces up on the second row and nodded for her daughter to take the lead toward their seats.
“Aw, mom,” Chastity whispered. “Why couldn’t I sleep in this morning?”
“Because I told Ms. Clara we’d be here. It’s been a while since we’ve been, and it’s where we should be. We’ll be coming from now on, so get used to it.”
Chastity begrudgingly sat down, as her mom took her place at her side. She even had on her best dress, although she wasn’t the dress wearing type. She’d much rather be in a pair of blue jeans, but it was church … so her mom convinced her to don it regardless of her objections.
She looked up to see Ms. Clara smiling down at them, from the choir. She winked at Chastity, which made her feel a little better. Chastity thought she had the most beautiful face of anyone she’d ever seen.
Kylie motioned her daughter to lean back, as someone moved toward them. Since there wasn’t much room, everyone scrunched in as close as possible. Chastity looked up just in time to watch the largest woman she’d ever seen push her way through the pew, and make her way next to her. Little Chastity barely had enough time to scoot over before being sat on.
Unfortunately her dress and her leg became pinned under the excess body fat that fell over to either side of her new pew mate. She desperately tugged at her dress, trying to free herself from the added weight, but it was of no use. Horrified that she was stuck under someone, who had no clue that she was flat out sitting on her, she did the only thing she could.
“Momma, help me! She’s sitting on me and I can’t move!” She complained just loud enough for the whole congregation to hear.
Kylie looked down into her daughter’s frantic eyes, as she tried wiggling free. Caught between two responses, she wasn’t sure if she should laugh at her child’s predicament, or cringe as now all eyes were on them. Luckily, she didn’t have time to react, as Clara came to their rescue.
“Nora!” Clara put her hand on her hip, while pointing her finger at her friend. “Get off that child at once! Don’t you know your parts are pinning her down?”
Kylie thought she’d fall through the floor from embarrassment, but was extremely grateful that the task of asking this woman to kindly remove herself from her daughter wasn’t left up to her.
Once big Nora pried her side from the skinny little girl beneath her, she watched her scamper into her mother’s lap, where she sat for the duration of the service.
Although Chastity had many fond memories of her time with her mom in Alabama, that first Sunday in church wasn’t one of them. To this day, if she attends church she picks the back row and makes sure there’s plenty of room.
Church wasn’t a place they regularly stayed as they moved from place to place, but it was still somewhere that gave them a sense of belonging when they attended. It always
provided peace during the many storms of their life. Toward the end of her mother’s sickness, she saw her reading her Bible quite often.
“I hope you got the reassurance you needed mom.” Chastity sighed. “Goodness knows I need some now.”
After the seven-hour drive, she pulled off the main highway and into her neighborhood.
“Finally,” she breathed, relieved to be in her driveway. She turned of her engine, and grabbed a few things to take inside. After unlocking her front door, she heard the familiar mumble of someone leaving her a message on her machine.
Chastity was one of the last people she knew of, who still owned an original answering machine. She just couldn’t see getting rid of something that still worked.
She opened the door with her arms overloaded, and tumbled through the doorway, hearing the tail end of the message.
“So when you get this message, please call Timothy Banks at 408-555-3434.”
Chastity dropped her bags on the couch, and hit the delete button on her machine.
“Another parasite, whose read about mom’s passing.” She checked her machine often while in San Francisco, and had retrieved enough calls that she was ready to change her number.
As she turned back toward her front door, to get another load from her car, her pocket started vibrating.
“Oh!” Startled, she reached for her cell phone, to see her best friend’s face, which had popped up on screen.
“Hey Annabel, I’m home,” she said in a weary voice, and fell into her overstuffed papasan chair.
She and Anne had friends since college, where they met and instantly clicked. Anne owned a local café, in Silver Lake, which allowed Chastity easy access to display her work.
“It’s so good to hear your voice. Am I glad you’re back.” Anne slowed down, remembering why her friend left town, and asked, “How ya doin’?”
Although excited to have her friend back, she knew to be sensitive to Chastity’s mood. She reminded herself not to bombard her with ‘while you were gone’ stories just yet.
“Not so good. I got more than I ever bargained after my mom died,” Chastity responded, letting her voice drop.
Anne cleared her throat and said in an almost whisper,
“Yeah, I can imagine. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to her service. Chaz, losing a parent ... especially this young, is tough.”
“Just wait till you hear the whole thing.”
“Well, I got your text messages ... although they were a little cryptic.” Anne wanted to press her for more details, but didn’t know how much to ask. “What does, ‘I found out and I wish I hadn’t’ mean?”
Anne received no reply. “You still there?”
She heard her friend sniffling and kept talking to keep herself from tearing up as well. “Hey, I know you just got in but are you free? I can be over in about an hour. I have to check on my manager, at the café ... make sure he’s still pulling his weight, and then I’ll come straight over. Sound good?”
“Yeah, I need to talk to you. I have no idea what to do next.” Chastity was going downhill fast, and needed her friend to help sort out her options.
“K, I’ll see you in a bit. Want anything from the kitchen? When was the last time you ate?” Anne was already texting an order to Jim, her manager.
“Yeah, make me one of those sandwiches I like so much. The one with that special sauce and shredded chicken.” Her stomach was already growling in anticipation.
Anne texted the final items over. “Done. See you in a little bit.”
Forty-five minutes later, Chastity was finished unpacking her car. She loaded everything that held her mom’s belongings, into her study.
I’ll find a place for all of it later, after I unpack my things, she decided.
One thing that definitely needed a place now - was her mom’s beanbag chair. She tossed it in the corner of her great room, near the TV.
Her open floor plan allowed access to the living room, study, and kitchen all in one. She nudged the beanbag with her foot.
This fits well into my pad. It’s still in pretty good shape too.
She noticed an area toward the bottom, which had been patched up with electrical tape. I remember when that happened. I’ll just have to remember to sit in it carefully.
As a rough kid, she loved to jump around on different furniture throughout her house. She remembered falling onto the beanbag little too hard, causing a small tear, which sent Styrofoam beans spraying through the air. Kylie scooped up as many as she could to put them back inside, before vigorously taping over the hole. She slapped the tape on with a big X formation, to secure them in place.
“Calm down Chastity. You need to be careful.” She frowned down to her daughter.
Looking back, Chastity now knew her mother wasn’t angry with her - just distressed over the situation.
Mom, that was your favorite word ... careful. You wanted me to be careful with everything. I never understood until now.
So much became clear to Chastity.
It was your fear talking ... you were afraid to let go and have some fun, because it might turn into something you didn’t bargain for.
Chastity started tearing up and said aloud, “Oh mom, I am so sorry.”
Just then Anne tapped on the door and walked in.
“Hey, I come bearing munchies. Your favorite sandwich, and I brought dessert. How does a piece of chocolate pie sound?”
Chastity quickly dried her eyes, crossed the floor, and reached for one of the bags from Anne.
“Mmmm, this is exactly what I needed.”
Anne gave her a quick hug, with her free arm. “Welcome home.”
She pulled out the chairs from Chastity’s small table, and motioned for her friend to sit down. Chastity absentmindedly sat, and focused on the amount of food Anne was unpacking in front of her.
“Good, you brought it for two. I didn’t want to eat by myself.”
“Not only that, but I brought more for your dinner and breakfast for tomorrow ... just in case you need it.”
Anne opened the second sack, and pulled out some extras. “I brought you some milk. I didn’t think you’d have time to get groceries yet.”
She reached for some glasses from Chastity’s cabinet, while observing her friend. She looked pretty worse for the wear, but that was to be expected under the circumstances. Anne looked to her eyes, which were rimmed with dark circles.
“I told Jim to watch the place for the afternoon … it’s one of the perks of being owner. So, I am all ears … tell me what’s going on.” She waited patiently for Chastity to divulge her story.
Chastity took a deep breath, and caught her up on everything … from her discovery of the hidden journals, what lie on the pages inside, and the information she received from Cheryl.
To Anne, it was like something out of Unsolved Mysteries. She couldn’t believe any of it was real, and knew if she was having a hard time digesting it, than her friend surely was too. After consoling Chastity and giving her the reassurance that she needed, Anne got straight to the point.
“So what’s next? I would assume you probably don’t want to find your father. I wouldn’t if I was you, but don’t you want to know anything about his family? They’re yours too.”
Chastity swallowed a bite of pie. “I haven’t got that far yet. I am still in recovery mode, although I would like to know about my family,” Chastity clarified, “not him, but the rest … I’d like to find out about.”
After Anne finished her sandwich, she stood up to rinse off her plate.
“So, let’s do it.” She suggested. “What newspaper were the clippings from, that you said you found in your mom’s closet?”
“It was the Oklahoman. Why? Do you think they’d have more articles on the family?”
Chastity’s mind was spinning. She hadn’t thought that far ahead yet.
“Let’s find out.” Anne walked to the computer and logged on. “If they do, we’ll find it on the internet.”
“Yes!” Anne yelled a little louder than intended. “Sorry, I guess I’m getting a little excited.”
Chastity rushed across the room. “What’d you find?”
She looked over her friend’s shoulder, as Anne clicked on the most recent story, dated with yesterday’s date.
“Would you look at that? Jesse Mikale, former Mayor of Oklahoma City, cares for elderly father in nursing home.”
“Mayor?” Chastity was in awe.
Anne quickly moved over so Chastity could sit and read the rest in depth.
Chapter 11
Jesse Mikale was on his way to a business meeting with the Oklahoma City economic developer. He had big plans to bring a new restaurant to the down town area, near the river-walk in Bricktown.
He had just finished his last term as the Mayor of Oklahoma City, and was starting to delve in some business ventures to benefit the state. He felt his purpose was to help develop Oklahoma, and wanted to promote it as the diamond in the rough that it was.
Jesse didn’t have to work to survive, as they had always been well off, but he wasn’t the kind to live off of his family name or money. Although it definitely helped him get his foot into any door of his choosing when he was young, he proved himself, through integrity and hard work. This made him known as an honest and dependable leader.
I can at least thank dad for giving me the start I needed, he bitterly thought, as he put some files in his cabinet.
Jesse’s father, Jackson, had made his money in the oil business. His family acquired land from the sooner land run in the 1800’s. The mineral rights paid off big for the Mikales and they made millions by the mid 1900’s.
Finding Kylie Page 5
