by RM Johnson
He walked back to Mrs. Roberts for her response.
“Very good,” she said.
Afterward, Mrs. Roberts had brought Lewis back to her office, where he sat now.
“Where did you work before?” the tall, graying woman asked, not looking down at the résumé Lewis had hurriedly put together last night.
“At a real estate management company.”
“And why did you leave there?”
Lewis thought about lying, but really didn’t know what to say. He didn’t think he’d get this job anyway, so he thought, what harm could the truth cause?
“The owner was my best friend’s uncle. He never really liked me, and when I got into a little trouble, he fired me.”
“I see,” Mrs. Roberts said, finally looking down at the résumé through her bifocal lenses. “And what kind of trouble was that?”
“With the law. I was taken to jail,” Lewis said, preparing himself to be dismissed. “But I wasn’t convicted. I really didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Did it have something to do with you trying to provide for your daughter?”
Surprised that this woman knew about Layla, Lewis said, “Yes, it did.”
“Are you still working on getting custody of her?”
Lewis felt slightly violated by all the information this woman knew about him. He figured Eva had to have told her, and had to have had good reason. “Yes, I’m still trying, but it’s hard.”
“There aren’t a lot of men out there trying to do what you’re doing.”
“That’s what Eva keeps telling me.”
Mrs. Roberts slid Lewis’s résumé into her drawer, then stood from her desk and extended a hand out to Lewis.
Lewis stood and shook the woman’s hand.
“Eva thinks you’d be a good fit for this job.”
“I think so,” Lewis said, praying that this woman thought the same thing.
“To be so young, my niece is a good judge of character,” Mrs. Roberts said, still holding Lewis’s hand, squeezing it the slightest bit harder now. “She wouldn’t be wrong this time, would she?”
“No, ma’am, she wouldn’t be.”
“I hope not,” Mrs. Roberts said, smiling and letting go of Lewis’s hand. “We’re done here today. I’ll talk to Eva and let her know when I’ll need you back.”
“Need me back for what, Mrs. Roberts?” Lewis said, just wanting to be perfectly clear as to whether he had gotten the job, or if she was still just considering him.
“To fill out all the forms and get your start date. Which means, yes, Lewis Waters, I’m giving you the job.”
Half an hour later, sitting at Arby’s, Lewis tore into a roast beef sandwich. Arby-Q sauce was all over his cheeks. He smeared it off with a napkin and took a long sip from his Coke.
“I guess I didn’t have to tell her about your daughter, but I know how my aunt feels about stuff like that,” Eva apologized. “She works there to help kids, and people like you. I knew it might’ve made a difference.”
“Don’t even try to apologize. You ain’t do nothing wrong,” Lewis said, trying to keep the smile from returning to his face, but he could not. He shook his head, smiling even wider.
“What?” Eva said.
“I got a call this morning from the guy I’ve been telling you about. He’s going to be giving Layla back to me.”
“Are you serious?” Eva said, scooting out of her side of the booth and standing. “Boy, you better come here and give me a hug!”
Lewis put down his sandwich, slid out of the booth as well, and gave Eva a hug. He held her tight. She felt so wonderful in his arms, he didn’t want to let her go. When she did lean out of the hug, he stared at her for a moment. She stared back at him, their noses almost touching, there in the middle of the Arby’s Restaurant.
Lewis heard a child somewhere behind them whisper to his mother, “Ooh, they gonna kiss.”
Both Lewis and Eva laughed and sat back down.
“That is such good news, Lewis. I know you’re happy.”
“But that ain’t it. They’re giving me the house I used to live in. They’re gonna sign it over to me, free and clear.”
“So you’re gonna have a house?” Eva said, even more excited.
“Yup. I’m gonna have my daughter, a house, and a job. All I need now is …”
“Is what?” Eva said, sipping from her strawberry shake.
“A good woman.”
“Hmmm. I heard those are hard to come by nowadays. You gotta really work for one of those.”
“I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” Lewis said, smiling.
“Well, if that’s the case, I think you might have a pretty decent chance at finding one.”
77
Lewis had never been more happy in his life as he walked down the street toward the front door of Daphanie’s building. He was waiting on Nate’s call to tell him when he would get Layla back, and when the man would sign over the house to him.
As Lewis neared the front door, he saw a tall brown man, mildly resembling Nate Kenny, climb out of a car. He stepped down the sidewalk and stood right before the door to Daphanie’s building, his arms crossed over his chest.
Lewis walked toward the door. “Excuse me,” he said.
The man didn’t move aside, but said, “You’re him.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, bruh. But if you’d step aside, I need to get by.”
“I been watching you with Daphanie,” the man said, causing Lewis to freeze and look him in the eye.
“What you mean, you been watching me? Who the fuck are you?” Lewis said, getting defensive.
“That’s not your child. It’s mine!” the man said, appearing angry.
“What are you talking about?”
“I know Daphanie told you that the baby she’s carrying is yours, but it’s not. That’s my child.”
“Ho, ho, hold up,” Lewis said. “I think you got me confused with somebody else, man. Just who do you think I am?”
“You’re Nate Kenny. Daphanie’s ex-boyfriend.”
“No, I’m not. My name is Lewis Waters.”
The man looked embarrassed, but he also appeared frustrated. “Aw, man. I’m sorry,” Trevor said, raking his fingers over his scalp. “It’s just this has been tearing at me, and I don’t know what to do about it. Sorry, man,” he said, stepping backward toward his car.
“Wait!” Lewis said. “I know Nate Kenny. Maybe I can help you.”
Around the corner and halfway down the block, Trevor sat with Lewis for half an hour, telling him everything that had happened with Daphanie from the day Nate told her he was getting back with his ex-wife till now.
Lewis sat absorbing it all, trying to decide just what he’d do with this information.
“That’s jacked up, man,” Lewis said, feeling genuine sympathy for Trevor. “What you gonna do?”
“Daphanie thinks I’m stupid. I know that child is mine. I can feel it in my heart.”
“Sometimes your heart can be wrong about those things. Trust me, I know,” Lewis said. “You gonna have to get a DNA test, you know.”
“I have no problem with that, but I know she won’t submit to one,” Trevor said. “But you said you know this Nate guy. Can’t you tell him about me? Maybe he can convince her to—”
“I don’t know, man,” Lewis said, knowing how delicate his situation with Nate was. He still had Layla, still had the house that he had yet to sign over to Lewis. “I wanna help you, but I just don’t know.”
“Any way you could, man. I’d appreciate it,” Trevor said sincerely.
Lewis seriously thought about getting up, walking away, and never looking back. But in his efforts to get his daughter back, he had been helped by Eva, even by Daphanie. He couldn’t just turn his back on someone who was in a similar situation. “Give me your number and I’ll get back to you,” Lewis said.
78
Nate decided to drive himself today. When he pulled up to Mo
nica’s house, Lewis was sitting on the front steps. He stood and stared down when he saw Nate’s car.
Nate stepped out of the car, went around and opened the back passenger side door, reached in, and pulled Layla from her car seat.
When Nate turned around, holding Layla’s hand, Lewis halted in the center of the walkway.
Nate released Layla and she ran to her father.
Lewis scooped the little girl up and spun her in his arms.
Nate walked up beside them. He held a folder in his hand.
“How is Monica doing?” Lewis asked.
“We need to go inside and take care of this,” Nate said, stepping around Lewis and Layla and heading up the steps.
Nate opened the door to the empty house and closed it once everyone was inside. He walked across the living room, into the dining room to the breakfast bar, where he opened the folder and laid out the pages. He set down the keys to the house and the truck Monica had bought for Lewis as well. “Here are your keys back, and this is a quitclaim form. Sign it, file it downtown, and the house will be transferred into your name.”
Lewis set Layla down and walked over to take a look at the form. “That’s it?”
“Yeah, that’s it,” Nate said, slipping a pen from his breast pocket and holding it out to Lewis.
Lewis took it and signed the form. Afterward, he gave the pen back to Nate, uncertainty on his face.
“So I keep the form?” Lewis said.
“You file it at the records office.”
“Yeah, okay. Th ank you,” Lewis said.
Nate just looked at him and sighed. Nate turned, walked over to Layla, then stopped. He turned to Lewis. “How will you afford this? It’s paid for, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to still pay taxes. It’s how Ford lost his house.”
“You mean it’s how you took it.”
Nate paused before saying again, “How will you afford it?” “Not that it’s your business, but I just got a job. I can pay for this.”
Nate looked Layla in the eyes. He knew he was going to miss her, but his son was back, and he would be expecting a baby soon. He would get over Layla. He walked the little girl over to her father, gave her to Lewis.
“Thank you,” Lewis said again.
Nate didn’t respond. He turned, walked toward the door. He was prepared to open it, but he stopped and turned back to Lewis. “You don’t deserve her, you know. You don’t deserve this house. You don’t deserve any of it.”
Lewis looked bewildered, like he had no clue as to what Nate was saying.
“Look, we took care of our business,” Lewis said. “If you’d just leave and—”
“No. Not until I’m finished,” Nate said, stepping back deeper into the room. “You had this beautiful child before, but you lost her, because you don’t know the importance of being responsible, or taking care of business, or earning a living. You can’t hold on to a job because you’re lazy and worthless and don’t amount to a damn thing,” Nate said, feeling himself becoming even more angry. He thought only for a second to ask himself if he was truly angry at Lewis or at himself. It was because he had sought Lewis out in the beginning. It was Nate who had hired this man, who had brought him into his life with Monica. If he had never done that, he and Monica most likely would’ve still been married. They would’ve found Nathaniel, adopted him, and been happy and carefree together.
But Nate had let Lewis into their lives. And because of that, Monica had divorced Nate, lived with Lewis for a year, which led to Nate and Daphanie, and the child that he would ultimately leave Monica again for. It killed him to think about it, but Nate knew he would leave. And that was why he was so angry right now at Lewis.
“I just want you to know that I hate everything about you,” Nate said, after stepping right in Lewis’s face. “After everything that has happened, you made out good for yourself. But I will be watching you. You’re a father again. But if you let this child go without absolutely everything she needs, I promise I will come back here and take her from you again. Understand?”
Lewis held Layla closer to him. He looked at Nate with a murderous gaze, but did not speak a word.
“Good-bye, Lewis Waters,” Nate said, as though the man’s name sickened him. He turned, then walked out of the house.
79
Two hours later, Lewis and Eva left Layla and Eva’s four-year-old daughter, Tammi, to play downstairs in the empty living room.
“So this is where the master bedroom’s gonna be,” Lewis said, after taking Eva on a tour of the entire house. “Whatcha think? You like it?”
“The house or the bedroom?” Eva said with a sly smile.
“I’m liking you more every day. But you know what I’m talking about.”
“It’s huge, and it’s beautiful, Lewis. It’s in a wonderful neighborhood, it has a great school system. What more can you ask for?”
“I can think of one thing,” Lewis said, walking past Eva, gently brushing against her, as he made his way to the window. “But I’m gonna wait on that. I don’t want to ask too soon. Wouldn’t want to scare her away.”
“Hmph. She might be braver than you think.”
Lewis looked out the window, which offered a view of the front lawn. He turned to Eva, concern on his face.
“What’s wrong?” Eva said, reading his expression immediately.
“Can I ask your opinion about something very important?”
“Sure. Anything.”
Lewis told Eva about bumping into Trevor, told her everything the man had said to him. Lewis told Eva about how evil Nate was to him, and how Lewis still managed to hold his tongue when he wanted nothing more than to spit that newfound information in Nate’s face.
“But even though we’re over now, and I feel as though she did me wrong, I don’t wanna tell Monica about this, ’cause I know it’s gonna hurt her,” Lewis said. “She’s just coming out of a coma. She’s been through enough.”
“So what are you asking me, Lewis?” Eva said, standing very close to him.
“Should I tell her anyway? Is it something that she needs to know, even though it’s gonna hurt her?”
“I think it’s good that you’re concerned about her feelings. She doesn’t need to go through any more. But,” Eva said, slipping her fingers in between Lewis’s and holding his hand, “I think that man should know, if he doesn’t already, that the baby isn’t his.”
“But I don’t care about him. I hate him, and he hates me. So what difference does it make?”
“You’re a bigger man. And if it were you in that situation, wouldn’t you want to know?”
Lewis looked away, loosened his grip on Eva’s hand.
Eva held tight to him, pulled him closer. She looked in his eyes. “I’d like to think you asked me this because you value my opinion.”
“I do.”
“Then will you take my advice this one time?” “I don’t know.”
Eva took Lewis’s face between her palms. “Please?” She rose on her toes and kissed him softly on the lips. “Pretty please?”
“Uhm, I still don’t know.” Lewis smiled.
Eva kissed him again, this time longer, with more passion. Lewis wrapped his arms around her waist, pulled her close, till he knew she was able to feel how much he wanted her. After a moment, he said, “Okay, I’ll take your advice.”
80
Lewis stepped off the hospital elevator and headed down the hall toward Monica’s room.
An hour ago, his cell phone had rung.
“Hello,” he had answered.
“Lewis?”
It was Monica.
“Yeah?”
“Can you come to the hospital? I need to see you.”
“Is everything alright?” Lewis said, starting to panic. “Yes, I guess. Can you come? Did I catch you in the middle of something?”
“No,” Lewis had said. “I’ll be there in a little while.”
At Monica’s door, Lewis knocked softly.
�
��Come in,” Monica said.
Lewis entered to find Monica sitting up in bed, a magazine opened across her lap. She no longer wore the hospital gown, but instead a T-shirt and pajama pants. The bandages were no longer wrapped around her head, and now Lewis could see where they had shaved a small part of her scalp on the side of her head to do the surgery.
“I know, I’ve seen better days,” Monica said, running her fingers over the rest of her hair. “I get out of here tomorrow. I’m going straight to Marlene to get something done to my hair so I look human again.”
“You look fine,” Lewis said, walking over to the bed and giving Monica a light kiss on the cheek.
“You look pretty good yourself. Is everything okay?”
Lewis couldn’t help smiling. “Yeah, things are okay.”
“I was hoping you were going to bring Layla.”
“I don’t want to confuse her.”
“Oh,” Monica said, looking down at her hands. “Where is she?”
“I left her with a friend.”
“A female friend?”
Lewis thought about lying, then told himself he had nothing to hide. It was Monica who had wanted things this way. “Yes.”
Monica looked as though she were thinking the situation over in her head, then said, “Good for you, Lewis.”
“Why did you call me?”
Monica found the remote in her blankets, pointed it at the TV, and turned the set off. She looked at Lewis with both seriousness and sadness on her face. “Since you have Layla, I’ll assume Nate made it back from Atlanta okay.”
“Yeah.”
“Did he sign over the house and the car to you?”
“Yeah.”
“Did he tell you if he got Nathaniel back?”
“Monica,” Lewis said. “Shouldn’t he have told you all this? Didn’t he—”
“Did he tell me if he got Nathaniel back?” Monica said, all of sudden getting emotional. She wiped at her eyes. “No, Lewis, he didn’t.”
“I’m so sorry, Monica. I’m sure he has a good reason,” Lewis said, sitting on the side of Monica’s bed and grabbing one of her hands. “He’ll come to see you, or call you.”
