Jackson was irritated. All he wanted to do today was read a good book and relax. The last thing he ever imagined he’d be doing was covering up a family scandal. Now he’d have to discipline his son, and that irritated him even more. This was not turning out to be a good day.
Chapter 14
A mix of emotions washed over Chastity as she closed the journal. Her whole life she waited to find the missing piece of the puzzle, and now she knew what it must have done to her mother every time she pushed her for information.
I didn’t even have to say much ... my eyes would be enough to make her uneasy. She looked into the mirror and into the eyes, which she knew were her father’s.
She was stuck somewhere between being extremely angry with her mom for keeping her in the dark her whole life, and having complete guilt of her existence in how she was brought into this world.
I don’t know what I would have done if I were in her shoes. She had strength I never recognized to make the decision to have me instead of aborting the pregnancy.
Chastity had always assumed her mother was flighty. When Chastity was a teenager, she had to remind herself on a daily basis to be patient with her mom’s mood swings, without jumping to the irritation that came natural.
Kylie walked through life like her glass was half empty instead of being half full. Everything she did … she did carefully, as if she were afraid of fully living. In effect, Chastity inherited some of that behavior. If it weren’t for her art, she wouldn’t have had an outlet for her emotions. It taught her to appreciate the small things around her even if her mother couldn’t.
Moving as much as they did gave her no sense of security growing up. In retrospect, it was the main reason why Chastity began to rebel against her mother. Especially when Kylie would give her a twenty-question interrogation in preparation for a date. Chastity would just lie to her mother; do the opposite of what she promised, and stay out late past her curfew.
Now that the truth was out, she recognized that her mother was simply depressed and suffering from anxiety. She always thought her mom had a character flaw, but now knew she was only trying to make it through the day without being afraid. It dawned on her how tired she must have been to be hiding something all the time.
Why couldn’t you just tell me? It would have made life so much easier to let it go instead of keeping us uprooted and running all the time.
Chastity didn’t know that she was ready for the concept of ever meeting John and that was such a foreign line of thought, considering it was what she’d desired her whole life. Now that it was with in her reach, she couldn’t picture it at all.
As she set the journal down, she saw the light blinking on her machine.
I forgot to check those.
She walked across the room and listened to the multiple messages she’d received from an attorney, named Timothy Banks. She had a couple from his paralegal too.
“Oops.” She laughed at herself, as she remembered deleting his message from the afternoon of her homecoming.
I wonder why he keeps calling.
She promptly wrote his office number down, and grabbed the phone to dial.
“Banks Law, how may I help you?”
Chastity announced herself, and asked for Timothy.
“Please hold.” Janie buzzed into his office, with relief. “Ms. Wayne is on line four.”
“Finally! Thanks, Janie. Put her through.”
The next thing he heard was her voice, which was slow and soothing, like jazz music.
“Mr. Banks, this is Chastity Wayne. I just now got your messages. I’ve been out of town. I’m sorry for the delay.”
Well at least now he knew why he couldn’t reach her.
“Not a problem. I just have a few things to go over with you about your mother’s estate. I am sorry for your loss by the way.”
“What estate? She didn’t have anything worth leaving that I knew about, and I’ve already received the death benefit from her insurance policy.” Chastity sat, puzzled at the direction of this conversation.
“Well ... I don’t know how to tell you this.”
“Please, call me Chastity.”
“Alright … Chastity, I was instructed to go over your someday fund with you.”
The next sound he heard was a loud crash, as she dropped the phone to the floor. Chastity fumbled to recover, quickly retrieved it, only to stare at it in confusion.
Did he say what I thought he did? She placed it back on her ear, not sure what to expect next.
“I’m sorry. Are you still there?” She sat in silence, as Timothy explained that her mother left her a substantial amount of money, but that he couldn’t discuss the details over the phone.
“It’s best to set up a meeting. I’ll need you to sign some paperwork …”
Chastity thoughts were on overdrive. Money? We had money? No, this is surely a scam.
Chastity tuned back in to the sound of his voice, as he explained the channels of procedure and details on where they should meet.
“Can you fly here? I have some business that will keep me in town over the next couple of weeks.” She was at a loss for words, but one thing for was that she wanted this meeting to be on her own terms. The last thing she was going to do was to fly out of town to meet some mystery lawyer.
If he even is a lawyer, she thought. She planned to google him as soon as she hung up.
It would have been more convenient to meet at his office, but Timothy agreed to come to her. He could tell she was suspicious and he wanted to put her mind at ease.
“No problem. I can fly in as soon as possible. Hey, if it’ll make you more comfortable - look up my website. You can check out my firm online.”
She walked over to her computer, and typed in his information.
“Okay, I found it. Is your picture on here? So, I’ll know what you look like when we meet.”
Although she was caught up in a whirlwind of doubt, something about his voice spoke to her. She couldn’t help but wondering if his deep voice matched the image of the face, she’d envisioned while they were talking. His voice was what she would call rich, but it had a little bit of a scratch to it.
Not that it matters. She shook her head from her thoughts.
“No picture, yet. We’ve just got the website up, and my office manager hasn’t gotten us all together to shoot pictures. When I fly in, just look for the man in the suit,” he said, smiling.
Before hanging up, they set the time and date for their meeting.
I bet mom left me a little something that she got when Grama Wayne died. There’s no way it could be anything more.
Chastity placed her phone back in the cradle and immediately grabbed her cell, to dial Anne’s number. She couldn’t wait to add another episode to the already long dialogue of her story.
Chapter 15
Anne swung by in a cab, to pick up Chastity. She could tell she was keyed up after her call from the lawyer, and in need for an overdue girls’ night out. She finally succeeded in getting her friend out of the house, and couldn’t wait to show her a good time.
They had agreed on one of their favorite places in Chinatown, The Obsidian Bar, which was full of bold color, music, and people. Walking in, Chastity was always in awe, as if for the first time.
“This place never gets old. The reggae … the décor. Eddy says it has a good fung shei feel.”
Laughing, Anne looked at her friend. “Eddy, the frame-shop Eddy?”
“Yes.” Chastity smirked back in her direction.
“Well dummy, that was his way of trying to ask you out.” She thought her friend was totally clueless.
Chastity’s look said she thought otherwise. “It was not! He was just making conversation.” She scanned the room for a place to sit, while talking over her shoulder hoping Anne could hear her over the loud music. “Besides, I would have known if he asked me out. Plus …” Chastity stammered. “We’re ... just friends. I am not into him that way.”
Anne ha
d a laugh at Chastity’s expense. “A - you wouldn’t know if he was hitting on you if he beat you over the head with a stick, B - he’s totally into you, and C - if you’d lighten up once in a while you might notice that kind of thing more often.”
“Whatever.” Chastity saw a group of people deserting a table, and pulled Anne behind her. “Besides he’s not my type. He’s too …” She looked over her shoulder to Anne, not able to find the right words. “Something. I can’t put my finger on it.”
Anne shook her head, wondering what her friend’s type was. She never seemed to get close enough to any one long enough to find out.
He’s probably too nice. She clucked her tongue, not saying a word.
As they sat down near the bar, Anne watched her friend expertly order their cosmopolitans. She hoped after a couple drinks Chastity would feel better.
As the waitress walked away, Chastity took in the interior. The artist in her loved it. The red walls were textured in a manner that made it look like they were melting.
It looks like lava pouring down. And this is when I’m sober!
Anne watched her friend’s wandering eye, knowing that the creative juices were flowing. She let her sit in silence for the next few minutes, until their drinks arrived.
“Toast … to good times ahead.”
Chastity lifted her glass to meet Anne’s. “To good times,” she repeated, before taking a large gulp.
“Hey remember our freshmen year in the dorm, when we pulled all those pranks?” Anne laughed hoping to lighten the mood.
“Are you kidding? We could have had our own reality show.”
“Yeah, like the time we sabotaged the dorm bathroom with that sticky spiced tea that your mom used to send us? I don’t think I’ll ever forget unscrewing that shower head, pouring that sticky stuff inside, and screwing it back on for the next unsuspecting person.”
Chastity almost snorted in laughter. “You know, I don’t think the girl that stepped in next knew what to do when that mess poured out all over her.”
They both were laughing so hard that Anne could hardly continue.
“I remember. I still laugh at the thought of us hauling our butts down the hall and out the door to the stairway. We knew if she caught us, we’d be dead meat.” Anne’s voice rose an octave, as she smiled, saying, “Girl! We had some fun times.”
Chastity agreed, making her own joke. “We did, but it was honest clean fun.”
“Tell that to the girl in the bathroom. She had to switch stalls to get a real shower. That stuff probably took days to get out of her hair.”
Anne did it again. She knew exactly what to say to get Chastity to laugh.
Just when they were about to order another drink, two white wines were set in front of them.
“Compliments of the gentlemen at the bar.” Their waitress slid the glasses forward, and took the empty ones with her.
They looked at each other and smiled.
“Well, it’s not what were drinking, but I’m okay with that,” Anne said, as she noticed the two cute guys, who were smiling in their direction.
“Oldest trick in the book,” Chastity said through her forced smile, waiving them over.
Anne warned her friend. “Be nice ... they’re cute.”
All Chastity replied with was a quick wink. Anne knew she was going to have to watch her friend’s behavior tonight. Chastity had a way of putting people off if she felt like it.
“Hey ladies, may we join you?” The taller of the two asked, as he smiled at Anne.
Chastity looked up, unimpressed, and motioned the second one to the chair next to her. After the initial introductions were made, she watched Anne flirt shamelessly. Meanwhile, she couldn’t even remember the name of the one sitting next to her, and wasn’t even pretending to be interested.
Man, talk about uncomfortable silence, she thought as she made eye contact with boy number two.
She gave him her best ‘if I have to’ smile, and opened her mouth to speak.
He beat her to the punch by saying, “So Chastity, huh? Is that your stage name or did your mom just have an odd sense of humor?” He laughed at his own joke.
“Excuse me?” Unable to believe how rude he was, she pushed her wine glass toward him and gave him a look, which left no interpretation. With a fake smile and a raise of her eyebrow, she pushed her chair back. “I’ve met my two drink limit. Thanks for the titillating conversation.”
He lightly grabbed her wrist as she made an effort to stand.
“Hey calm down babe, I was just trying to break the ice.”
Oh no - he didn’t. He did not just call me an ice queen!
Chastity looked at Anne with another one of her famous looks, and left the bar.
Anne rushed out and called after her friend. “Hey wait!”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. That guy was such a jerk! Some people are so rude. I bet you I couldn’t find a quality guy with in twenty miles of here, if I tried.”
Anne wanted to tread lightly. “Maybe you could if you tried to be a little nicer.” She quickly followed up with, “I actually thought Brent was kind of cute. He had one of those shy smiles that I like.”
Chastity rolled her eyes. “Well you should have given him a few more minutes and I am sure he’d have rubbed you the wrong way.”
“I guess I’ll find out how or if he’ll rub me ... I slipped him my card on the way out.”
“You’re unstoppable!” Chastity groaned before laughing.
“That’s right and you’d be too if you felt better.”
“Well, from now on maybe I should stick to my nickname. My name doesn’t seem to fit me anymore.” She wondered why her mother picked such a virtue for her name.
“Hey, no talk of that tonight. This is a girl’s night out and that means having fun! What do you want to do now? Dancing? Some coffee? Go to a movie?”
“Let’s rent a chick flick and eat lots of popcorn. My new … old beanbag chair is waiting to be put to use, and I feel like sitting in it for a while.”
Anne conceded. “No problem. Whatever you want darlin’. We have an early day tomorrow anyway.”
As she hailed a taxi, she was glad she got Chastity out, even if it was just for a little bit.
Chapter 16
Anne woke up early the next morning, and ate her usual toasted English muffin with honey. She pulled out her planner and read her ‘to do’ list for tonight’s showing. The first thing on her agenda was swinging by Framz, the local frame shop, to make sure Chastity’s art was ready to pick up. Next, she was going to pick up their party clothes from the dry cleaners.
That’s easy. It’s next door to Framz. She checked that one off her list, and grabbed her keys.
Last night, Chastity told her about a few last minute additions to be picked up for tonight’s exhibit. She explained that the sketches weren’t of any use to her anymore, so she had Eddy rush them.
As Anne walked in to the shop, the electronic sensor went off, alerting her arrival.
“Hey there, I have it ready for you on the counter,” Eddy called from the back. “Tell Chastity I gave her the usual deal, and charged it to her card on file.”
As he came up front to the counter with her ticket, she thought he looked like someone, who would be stuck in a library studying. His black-rimmed glasses were too big for his head, and his hair suffered from an interminable cowlick.
“Thanks. I will let her know. She told me to look them over before I dropped them by.” Anne unwrapped the paper from the frames. “She said there are three pieces in each series, and a total of five series to sell, right?”
He nodded, waiting expectantly for her to discover what lie underneath. As she peeled away the bubble wrap, exposing first set, her eyes lit up.
“Wow, these are amazing.” She saw a father and daughter bonding in intimate scenes, and understood why Chastity didn’t want them anymore.
She had always thought Chastity was an extremely talented arti
st, but also knew her friend took the safe route and produced what would sell versus creating from within. Chastity’s style would vary depending on the part of town she displayed her work, but she produced a lot of abstracts and impressionistic pieces. In looking at these, however, Anne discovered the most impressive work Chastity had ever done.
The first piece in the set was of a father’s finger being grabbed by a little chubby hand. In knowing Chastity, she knew that her friend had drawn what she wished she could have experienced as a toddler.
The second showed the back of a man, who had his arms raised up, lifting his laughing daughter toward the sky. The emotion that was captured on the child’s face was mesmerizing.
The final piece showed a variety of the two of them hugging and twirling around. Their faces weren’t distinct, but it was obvious that the three pieces told the story of a powerful love. Anne’s heart melted, as these originals truly touched her within.
She’s showing true depth with these.
She was really proud of Chastity for letting go of something so personal, and couldn’t wait to encourage her to display more pieces like these in the future.
“These really pull you in.” Anne ran her finger along the side of the frame, not wanting to let them go. She knew if they pulled at her heartstrings this much, they would at the exhibit as well. “They reach out a grab you. Don’t they?” She looked into his knowing eyes.
He nodded in agreement, and reached across the counter to wrap them back up, before walking Anne to the door.
“Maybe this will be the push she needs to continue digging down deep to show others how talented she really is.” Eddy helped Anne load her car with Chastity’s treasures.
He is so into her. Anne smiled at him, as she dug for her keys.
“Please tell her that I chose muted plums and ash mattes with black frames to compliment the art. I hope she likes them.” Eddy nodded and awkwardly ducked his head forward.
“I am sure she’ll appreciate it. Thanks again.” She placed the artwork by the dry cleaning in the backseat, got in her car, and drove off.
Finding Kylie Page 7
