“Are you saying you only married Zack because you thought he was white?”
“Of course not, I love him with all my heart. It’s just that . . . being the wife of the blue-eyed soul brother has been nice. Zack is well respected in this community, and let’s be honest, a large part of that is because he’s white. Even the producer of Revelations chose him primarily because he was a white man with a predominantly black congregation. I just feel that our life has had some things that we might not have enjoyed if people knew he was black.”
“If you feel that way, just imagine how Zack must have felt every day of his life.”
“But it’s wrong, isn’t it? I mean, it’s self-hatred.”
“I don’t know. I think that sometimes we have to live with the cards that life deals us. Zack’s cards were all jumbled, and he took the easiest route. I’m sure there are those who would say he’s a sellout or whatever, but they don’t know Zack. You do.”
Feeling sick from all the food she’d inhaled, Yolanda sat back in her chair. “So I guess I’m supposed to just go on with my marriage as if nothing has happened? I don’t know if I can do that. What if he’s hiding something else?”
“Do you really believe that?”
“No. I’m just confused. And I feel sick. Why did I eat so much?”
Vanessa giggled. “I have no idea, but what you need to do is get out of this funky robe, take a hot shower, drink an Alka-Seltzer, and call your husband.”
After Vanessa left, Charlene took her advice regarding the shower and Alka-Seltzer, but she wasn’t sure about calling Zack. Before she could talk to him, she needed to deal with her own feelings. Instead of the telephone, she picked up her Bible and called on God to give her some comfort. As she flipped through the pages, she felt compelled to stop at Galatians 3:26.
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
After reading the passage and praying for clarity, Charlene carefully picked up the phone and called Zack. He arrived an hour later, and Charlene was surprised that he didn’t bring his suitcase. He walked into the house and took a seat on their living-room sofa as if he was a guest.
“So what did you want to talk about?” he asked.
“Um . . . We need to talk about everything. You need to know that I’ve told Martin and Luther about . . . well, I told them that Nancy isn’t their natural grandmother.”
“Really? What was their reaction?”
“Surprisingly, it didn’t really matter to them. They wanted to know when you were coming home and if we are getting a divorce.”
Zack folded his arms across his chest. “I’ve been wondering the same thing myself.”
“You have to realize how surprising this whole thing has been for me. For the past few days, I’ve felt like I was shell-shocked. It really hurt me to find out that you haven’t been honest with me throughout our marriage.”
“I do realize that, and I’m very sorry.”
“Please, just let me finish. One of the reasons that I was hurt was because I felt disillusioned with our marriage.”
Zack nodded his head. “I know. I let you down.”
“No. You didn’t let me down. I felt that way when I realized that I really enjoyed being married to a white man. It’s horrible to say, but I wasn’t sure if I could deal with being the wife of a black man.”
“I don’t understand. You told me that I was the first white man that you’d ever dated. You even turned me down at first because you said that you were not with the swirl.”
“I know it sounds crazy, but somewhere inside me, I felt that you were the perfect man, not in spite of being white, but because you were white. Somehow, during our marriage, I’d created this profile of the perfect man, and part of that perfection was that he was white.”
“Wow, I had no idea you felt that way.”
“Neither did I until the feelings surfaced.”
Zack stood up. “Okay, I guess I understand. I wish I could continue to be that white man that you want, but I’ve lived a lie too long. Now that I’ve told the truth, I can’t go back.” He sighed as he walked toward the door. “Let me know when I can come back for the rest of my things.”
“Wait, Zack, please don’t leave. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I was only trying to explain my feelings.”
“I understand your feelings. I’ve heard them my whole life from Nancy and Roscoe. White is better. I get that, but it’s not who I am anymore. It’s funny. All this time I really thought you loved me, and not my blond hair and blue eyes.”
“I do love you, Zack. That’s why I called you. This situation has been confusing for me, but the one thing that I know for sure is that I do love you.”
He turned away from the door and faced her. “Do you love who I am now, or who you thought I was?”
“I love Zack Morton. The man who wouldn’t take no for an answer when I refused to go out with him ten times. The man who opened doors, pulled out chairs, and treated me better than any other man I’d ever dated. I love the man who proposed to me by walking into my office wearing a tuxedo and carrying a dozen red roses. I love the father of my three beautiful children, who loves and protects us no matter what. I even love the fact that your nose works overtime and you won’t shake hands with people. It’s a part of who you are, and I love it. I don’t care about the hair, or the eyes, or even what color box you check on the census form. I love you, and I just want us to start over.”
Zack walked over and pulled Charlene into a hug. “I promise that I will never ever keep anything from you again.”
“You can go by the hotel tomorrow and get your things.” She grinned. “The children are gone, and they won’t be back until Sunday afternoon. We have the whole house to ourselves.”
Zack grinned too and took Charlene’s hand into his. She was following him up the stairs when his cell phone began ringing. “I’ll ignore it,” he said.
“No, it might be important. Go ahead and answer.”
He answered the phone and had to hold onto the stair railing to keep from falling over as he listened. “I’ll be right there.” He hung up the phone and turned to Charlene. “That was Brandon. They’ve found Tia, but it’s not good news.”
Chapter Twenty-three
“No, I don’t want anything else,” Julian replied to the convenience store clerk. He picked up the bag of potato chips and soda that he’d just purchased and walked outside. As he stood on the side of the building eating the chips and watching the patrons go in and out, he knew that he needed to get out of Atlanta as fast as he could. He scratched the razor bumps that were forming on his chin since he’d shaved off his beard. A woman near the gas pumps glanced in his direction, and he pulled his wool stocking cap down so that it covered his eyebrows, and hiked up the collar on his black peacoat. His teeth chattered in the cold, crisp November air as he tried desperately to figure out his next move.
His body trembled from his head to his toes with a mixture of anger and regret as he thought back over the past week. By this time, he’d planned to be lying on a fake fur rug in front of a roaring fireplace next to Ophelia. But none of that was possible anymore. Julian thought he’d come up with the perfect plan as he had happily driven away from the cast party and deep into the mountains of Virginia.
Prior to the party, he’d set everything into motion. Unbeknownst to Anderson, he’d taken over the editing of the show and included the footage of him kissing Yolanda that he had secretly videotaped. He was positive that once Bishop Snow saw his wife in such a compromising position, her marriage would be over. Rather than attend the party, he had waited outside until he saw Jimmy leave. As he watched him angrily walk away from the party, he couldn’t help but think of how stupid the man was being by not calling a cab. But Julian really didn’t care. All he car
ed about was that Yolanda would return to the limousine alone. He still did not understand why Tia Kitts had gotten into the back of the limousine instead and thrown his entire world off-kilter.
Julian had driven up the long, winding dirt road that led to what he referred to as his and Ophelia’s enchanted cabin, humming “Endless Love.” On the way, he’d made one stop to mail the “Dear John” letter to Jimmy, ensuring that Yolanda would be with him forever. After they arrived, he decided to take their luggage inside and allow her to continue to sleep in the backseat. Julian had packed enough of his clothing to last for several months and purchased the same amount for Yolanda.
Inside the cabin, he placed their bags in the master bedroom, and then he returned to the limousine to unload the food. The cabin was located in a secluded area where the nearest store was over ten miles away, and the closest neighbor was at least twenty miles away. It was the perfect spot for them to be alone, while he made her fall in love with him all over again.
He had opened the limousine door and leaned in to gently wake her, when he suddenly realized that things were not as they should be. She was lying on the seat facedown. Instead of waking her, he reached in and placed his arms under her legs, then lifted her out of the limousine. “Tia!” he screamed, and immediately dropped her onto the ground. She landed on her bottom with a loud thud, but still did not wake up.
Julian cursed under his breath and picked her up again and carried her inside. She was still knocked out as he placed her into a chair in the living room. A light snow began to fall, so he went out back to chop wood for the fire. By the time he returned inside an hour later, Tia was just beginning to regain consciousness. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“You are ruining my life and my plans, that’s what,” he angrily answered.
Tia looked around the unfamiliar cabin. “The last thing I remember was drinking champagne in the back of a limousine. How did I get here? Julian, tell me what’s going on,” she demanded.
“Shut up!” he screamed at her. “Everything would have been perfect if you had not gotten your stupid behind into that limousine. So just shut up!”
“Who do you think you’re talking to? Where’s the phone? I’m calling Brandon to come get me right now!” Tia stood up and began walking around looking for a telephone, but she sat down again because she felt woozy. She put her hand to her head. “You drugged me,” she accused.
“Don’t blame me because you were too dense to get into the right limousine. Now, I told you to shut up. Do it or I’ll be forced to shut you up!”
Tia suddenly heard the threat in Julian’s voice and saw the rage blazing in his eyes. “Just let me call Brandon so I can go home,” she begged.
“You’re not going anywhere. Sit down and shut up.”
Tia ran to the door and tried to open it. Realizing it was locked, she turned to look at Julian. “Why are you doing this? What do you want with me?”
“I don’t want you. You got in the way, and now I just have to figure out what to do with you. I need time to think.”
Tia returned to the chair and slowly sat down. “Please just let me go. I’m pregnant.”
Julian laughed loudly. “I’ve worked in television since I was nineteen years old. Do you really think I don’t know a padded belly when I see one? Just because you managed to fool that idiot you married doesn’t mean you have everyone fooled.”
“You . . . you’re crazy.” Tia tried her best to look indignant.
“I’m not the one carrying around a six-pound bag of foam. Go in the bedroom and you’ll find some clothes you can change into. Do it quietly, and don’t try anything stupid.”
Rolling her eyes, Tia obeyed. Inside the bedroom, she heaved and strained, trying to push open the window. She failed to get it open, so she began looking around the room for something to break it with. In the dresser drawer, she found a box of chocolates and a note. She took a bite of the candy while she read the note.
Dear Yolanda,
I know this transition is difficult and you miss your family. But I love you, and I promise to make you happy,
Julian.
“So he planned to snatch Yolanda and got me by mistake,” she mumbled to herself. Also in the drawer she found a hairbrush that she took to the window. She looked outside and noticed that the ground and trees were covered in snow, and it was still falling. Even if I get out, where am I going to go? Instead of running, she decided that she’d try to reason with Julian. She took off her dress and the baby bump pad and replaced them with a pair of jeans and a T-shirt that she’d found in the suitcase. She smiled at Julian as she walked into the living room.
“Did you leave your baby in the bedroom?” he asked mockingly.
“Okay, you got me. I’m busted. So you know my secret, and I know yours. If you don’t tell mine, then I won’t tell yours.”
“My secret?” Julian looked at her strangely. “What secret is that?”
“I found the note in the bedroom. I know that you intended to bring Yolanda Snow here instead of me. Just take me home and I’ll keep my mouth shut about this, as long as you don’t tell Brandon about the . . . the baby.”
“You must think I fell off the turnip truck. My relationship with Yolanda is no secret. It was broadcast to the entire world on Revelations.”
“But I’m the only one who knows that she wasn’t going to come up here willingly. That’s your business, and I don’t care. Just let me go.”
Julian thought for a moment. He was just about to agree to Tia’s arrangement when he suddenly remembered the letter he’d mailed. Even if he let Tia go, the letter had tipped Yolanda and Jimmy off to his plan. They probably have the police searching for me and Tia at this very moment, he thought. “Yolanda was planning to come here with me willingly,” he lied. “She’s probably angry with me now because she thinks I stood her up. So shut up, Tia. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’ll explain everything to her. I’ll tell her it was all a big mistake. Come on, Julian. Just let me go.”
“No. Now quit talking and leave me alone.”
Tia returned to the bedroom and retrieved the hairbrush. Before entering the living room, she practiced swinging it several times. These guns are gonna knock that fool out, she mused. She walked into the living room, and Julian was bent over near the fireplace, placing logs on the fire. Quietly, she crept up behind him.
Without any warning, he spun around. “I told you, don’t try anything stupid. Give me the hairbrush!”
Tia’s eyes widened, and he pointed toward the television. Peering at it, she realized it was closed circuit and the camera was in the bedroom. Grudgingly, she handed the brush over. “You are a sick, twisted, crazy freak and—”
“Watch your mouth, Tia,” he warned, interrupting her. “You are no prize yourself. Just go sit down somewhere and be quiet.”
“No. I want to go home, and I want to go now! You can’t keep me here. I know my husband has called the police, and any minute now, he’s going to be here with the cavalry to save me! You are psychotic, Julian.”
Tia continued ranting on and on and whining about going home. Her words disintegrated, and all Julian heard was the annoying sound of her voice grating on his nerves until he could no longer stand the sound of it, and he snapped. “I said shut up!” he screamed. Julian grabbed Tia by both arms and slammed her into the wall. Her neck flipped back like a bobblehead doll, and her head struck the wall. “Do not say another word, do you understand me?” he seethed. Tia did not answer, so he shook her and screamed again. “Do you hear me, Tia?” Julian watched as Tia’s eyes slowly rolled back in her head. Quickly, he released her and watched her body fall to the floor. “Tia, stop playing,” he warned her. He knelt down on the floor next to her. Oh my God, what have I done?
Julian sat in the cabin for the next several days until the stench from Tia’s corpse was more than he could stand. At first he had thought of running. He knew
that he had more than enough money to book a flight and leave the country. But then he realized that if Tia’s body was found in his cabin, he’d be the first, last, and only suspect. The next plan he thought of was to dump her body outside in the snow. If he did, he knew it would be spring before anyone located her. But again, he didn’t want her to be found on his property and implicate him in her death.
Julian believed that killing Tia had been an awful accident. It wasn’t intentional; therefore, he didn’t intend to take the blame. Finally, he decided that running was his best option, but first he had to get her body as far away from his cabin and property as possible. On Thanksgiving morning, he got up early and took a long, hot shower. Still dripping wet, he slathered lather on his face and shaved his mustache and beard. Once his face was smooth as a baby’s bottom, he put lather on top of his head and shaved himself completely bald.
Julian then wrapped Tia’s body in a bedsheet and loaded it into the trunk of the limousine. Next to her, he tossed in the pregnancy padding and her ball gown she’d worn to the party. Then Julian drove back to Atlanta. He removed everything from the limousine that could remotely connect it to him and parked it in an empty parking lot and walked away.
Now as he stood outside the convenience store, he searched for a suitable car to take in order to make his exit. A twenty-something black woman got out of her late model Honda and went into the store. Julian approached her car and noticed she’d left the keys dangling in the ignition. Then he also noticed she had two rug rats asleep in the backseat.
Moving along, he decided against another carjacking and walked to the Marta Train Station. He took a seat in the back away from all of the other passengers, while still trying to decide on his destination. It was too late to leave the country; he knew he was probably a wanted man. Instead, he decided to continue running, indefinitely.
Faking Reality Page 18
