by Skylar Ward
“Later, I’ll put in a change of address online.”
“You will do no such thing,” Rosina admonished. “You are working, soon you will be able to get your own place, change it then. If you change your address to this location, then you will be stuck here.”
Efia snickered. There was always logic to her mother’s superstition.
“You are right, Mom. I’ll wait.” Efia sat on the other end of the worn leather couch. “How is Dad doing?”
“He is missing you, of course.”
“I miss him, too.”
“Then come home and stop this nonsense. You should be home saving your money, not paying rent for a couch when you have a good room at home.”
“I don’t think that will be possible, especially after …”
“Especially after what?” Rosina interrupted.
Efia scooted closer to Rosina. “I know you will be disappointed in me, but please don’t hate me, Mom. I can’t have both parents hating me at the same time.”
Rosina grabbed Efia’s hand. “What foolishness is this? Are you losing your mind?”
Efia shook her head vigorously, causing several curls to fall from her loose topknot. “I got myself into a bit of trouble.”
“Trouble?” Rosina dropped Efia’s hand and stood. She planted her hands on her hips. “What type of trouble?
Efia’s eyes fell to the ground.
“No!” Rosina pointed her finger at her daughter. “You look at me when I am speaking to you. What type of trouble?”
Efia raised her eyes to her mother’s face. “I am pregnant.”
The only sound in the room came from the blaring car horns from the street down below.
Five. Four. Three—the seconds ticked away.
“Say something, Mom,” Efia whispered.
Rosina turned away as though the mere sight of her daughter was too much to bear.
Efia stood. She touched her mother’s arm.
Rosina shook Efia’s hand off. “Not now, Efia. I need a little space. Not now, child.”
Efia sat down. She had already come to terms with her pregnancy. The collateral damages, however, were proving to be more difficult. The thought of having an estranged relationship with her mother was inconceivable.
“You hate me,” Efia whispered.
Rosina faced her daughter. “Disappointed—yes. Deeply hurt—yes. Angry—yes. Shocked—yes. Hate you—never. I gave birth to you. How can I hate you?”
Rosina’s eyes turned red, and her voice broke. “I don’t understand how you allowed this to happen. You had your entire life ahead of you.”
“It was an accident,” Efia sniffed.
“Who is this boy you had this accident with?”
“He is not a boy, Mom.”
“He is not your age?” Rosina asked in apparent disbelief. “How old is he?”
Efia lowered her head, “He is in his thirties.”
Rosina clasped her chest, pain visible in the lines on her forehead. She sat. “Did he take advantage of you, is that it?”
Efia inched closer to Rosina. “No, Mom. I wanted him.”
“It is our fault, we sheltered you too much. Now the first chance you got, you went overboard. Your father was right. You should have never gone to that private island.”
“That’s not true, Mom. Whether I met him there or here, the same thing would have happened. I fell in love with ...”
“What are you saying?” Rosina shouted.
“I believe our paths were meant to cross. I have no regrets about being with him.”
“Well now that he has crossed your path, what are his intentions?”
“I don’t think he will be part of the baby’s life.”
“And why not?” Rosina’s voice rose, and her accent became pronounced. “Isn’t he the one responsible for putting you in the family way.”
“Pregnant,” Efia whispered.
“Same thing,” Rosina said. “When can we speak to this man?”
Efia lifted her phone from the coffee table. She searched for Ace Davenport. “There is something else you need to know.” She moved over to the couch and knelt at her mother’s feet, handing Rosina the phone.
Rosina’s eyes widened as she stared at the man on the screen for several seconds. “Mother of Jesus, is he an Abroni?”
“Yes, Mom, Ace is a white man.”
“What’s gotten into you?” Rosina said. “Your father introduced you to many eligible young men. And you are friendly with Samuel Njoku, what about him?”
“I like Sam as a friend, Mom. I am not in love with him.”
Rosina threw Efia’s phone on the couch as though holding it would scorch a hole in her hand. “I don’t understand you, Efia Kwateng, why would you give your innocence to a stranger?” Without waiting for Efia to reply, Rosina asked, “When is your next day off?”
“Next Thursday,” Efia whispered.
“Fine. I will set an appointment with your father, you will speak to him then. And you are moving back home.”
“I am going to be a mother, Mom.” Efia rubbed her stomach. “And I have to start acting like it. I must pave my way from here going forward. I have to make my own decisions.”
Rosina cupped Efia’s face. “I am not inviting you home to control you. We are a family. You are about to be a single mother, you will need all the help you can get. It is our responsibility as your parents to be there for you.”
“What about Dad?”
“He will come around—eventually. Rosina dropped her hands from Efia’s face and touched her stomach. “How far along are you?”
“A little over eight weeks?”
Rosina squinted, seeming to do a mental calculation. “You didn’t waste any time on that island, did you?”
Efia swallowed hard. Disappointing her mother was one of the most challenging moments of her life.
“Well,” Rosina said with a drawn-out sigh. “It is where you are now, we will get through it.”
“At least I have a job.”
“Will you still have a job when you go out on maternity leave?”
“Ace owns the company,” Efia said. “Let me fill you in on everything.”
<>
After their discussion ended, Rosina leaned her head back against the couch and closed her eyes.
“Are you alright, Mom?”
Rosina glanced sideways at her daughter. “Ace Davenport is well off, he should pay child support.”
“I know Mom, but Ace could take my kid. I can’t take that risk.”
“You are right,” Rosina said. “What about your stomach? How will you hide that from him?”
“From what I read, his office is in Massachusetts, where he lives. He is not involved in the day-to-day operations of his hotels.”
“When did he lose his wife?”
“About three years, ago.”
Rosina lifted her eyes to the ceiling. She raised her right hand. “Thank God you didn’t sleep with another woman’s husband. That is never a good thing, it only brings a mountain of bad luck.”
“Mom?”
“Yes.”
“Can you talk to Dad before I arrive?”
“No, that is your responsibility. Like you said, you are going to be a mother now. Being a mother means you must be strong. You need to stand in defense of the little one you carry. And that means standing up to anyone. I have faith in you, my child.”
“Thank you for being my rock, Mom.”
Rosina hugged her daughter. “What did the doctor say? Is everything all right with the little one?”
“Yes, everything is fine.” Efia appeared a little choked up. “Are you hungry, Mom? I was thinking of ordering some …”
“I will make you some Waakye, it is your favorite,” Rosina cut Efia off. “Do you have any groceries in the house?”
Efia shook her head, too emotional to answer.
Rosina grasped Efia’s hand. “Come on, we will run down to the store and get a few items.”
Chapter 26
Ace breathed a sigh of relief from his temporary office space in Centennial Hills. Pleased to have finally broken ground on the Vegas project, a vision of his for over two years. The upscale Boutique and Spa Hotel in the Arts District would be one of the few projects in his company’s portfolio where he planned to be involved from start to completion.
Since the lease included a professional on-site support team, he had only brought a small staff over from Massachusetts. Expecting the project to move ‘full steam ahead,’ he intended to make Vegas his base for the foreseeable future.
As Ace jotted down a few notes to discuss with Mary during their video conference the following afternoon, his desk phone buzzed. He reached for the speaker. “Yes.”
“Ms. Hollingsworth is here to see you,” Cheryl, said.
Haley is early, Ace thought, that’s new. “Send her in.” He rolled his shirt sleeves down, buttoning them at the wrists before opening the door.
Dressed in a Miu Miu red mini, lace dress, black ankle boots, and a Louis Vuitton Limited Edition bag prominently displayed in the crook of her right elbow, Haley strolled past Ace, swinging her slight hips in exaggerated style.
Unimpressed, Ace said, “Isn’t your last name Roux?”
“I never used that name.” Haley faced Ace. “It lacked that certain ring to it if you know what I mean.”
“Haley Roux,” Ace said. “It is not Haley Hollingsworth, huh?”
Haley placed her bag on Ace’s executive chair and perched her behind on top of the edge of the desk.
“Hollingsworth is me, darling,” she said. “I am a New Englander through-and-through.”
Ace stepped over to one of the flanking chairs at his desk and sat down in front of Haley. He studied her face. “What was so urgent that you had to speak to me in person?”
Haley toed off one of her boots and ran her foot along Ace’s thigh. “You have been on my mind since I saw you at the Algonquin Club.”
Ace’s eyes dropped to Haley’s foot before returning to her face. “Is that so?”
Haley ran her tongue over her red painted lips. “That is so, Mr. Davenport?” She inched her foot further.
Ace grasped her leg, stopping the movement. “What do you want from me, Haley?”
“We are both single.” Haley pouted. “And you know what they say about Vegas.”
Ace lifted her foot. “I am not seeking a relationship, Haley. Been there, done that, don’t think I am capable of traveling that road.”
Ace stood.
Haley removed her other ankle boot and hopped from the desk. She clutched Ace’s tie close to his chest with her left hand. “Who is asking for a relationship? All I want …”
“Go on,” Ace interjected.
“All I want is tonight.”
Ace held her gaze. “And tomorrow night what will you want then?”
“Another tonight. And if I get ten nights or fifty, I will take each one—no pressure, no commitment, only tonight.”
“You sound pragmatic now,” Ace said. “How do I know you won’t change the rules going forward, and bring your emotions into the equation?”
Haley reached down and cupped Ace’s crotch. “In case you have forgotten how good I am, here is a reminder.” She squeezed harder.
Ace leaned forward, placing his lips beside her ear. “You know where I am staying. Be. There. Tonight. At. Eight.”
He leaned back.
Ace placed his hand over Haley’s and gently removed her hand from his expanding crotch.
“This is a business site,” he said. “Let us keep it respectable.”
<>
Bronx, New York
Mr. Kwateng paced.
“Kofi, Efia cannot sit here all day,” Rosina Kwateng informed her husband.
Mr. Kwateng spun around, facing his wife and daughter.
He pointed his index finger at Efia. “You were an overachiever in school. I was proud to brag about your accomplishments. Now, I will be the laughingstock of the entire Ghanaian community. I won’t be able to show my face at the social club. How could you do this to your family—to me?”
How ridiculous is this? Efia wondered. Here I am with my hands folded on my lap as though I am a criminal. Now is the time for me to take that stance my mother spoke of, if not for me, certainly for my child.
“Kafra, Dad.”
“Now you are sorry?” Mr. Kwateng retorted.
“Dad, I never wanted to disappoint you, but I am going to be a mother, and I can’t change that.”
Mr. Kwateng glared at Efia.
“I can’t internalize all this negativity,” Efia said. “It’s not safe for my baby. This child didn’t ask for any of this. I love you, Dad. Hopefully, one day you will find it in your heart to forgive me.”
“Where is this young man?” Kofi Kwateng flailed his hand in the air. “Why is he not here? Does he not plan to marry you?”
Rosina grasped Efia’s hand, squeezing it. “Go on, you might as well get all of it out in the open.”
Efia’s gaze dropped to her lap. “No, there will be no marriage.”
“And why not?” Mr. Kwateng’s voice echoed throughout the apartment. “Where is his family?”
“He is an Abroni, Dad.”
Mr. Kwateng’s eyes narrowed. “A what?”
“Abroni,” Efia repeated.
“Did this white man assault you?” Mr. Kwateng asked.
“No, Dad.”
“Why don’t you kill me now? You and your mother bludgeon me to death and spare me the agony going forward.” Mr. Kwateng pointed a shaking finger at Rosina. “You are an enabler. You knew about this, and yet, you kept her secrets. Why?”
Mr. Kwateng’s eyes reddened. “Am I a bad father? Am I a bad husband? Why?”
Efia rushed to her father’s side. “I am sorry, Dad. I am so sorry.”
Mr. Kwateng sidestepped Efia.
Rosina moved over to Efia and patted her cheek before moving closer to her husband.
“It is our fault,” she said. “We overprotected her.”
“Overprotected? Mr. Kwateng’s gaze swung to Efia’s stomach. “I guess we did not do a great job.”
“Efia is 23.” Rosina’s voice hardened. “She is college educated. She has a job. Would I be happier if she had waited until she found a spouse? Absolutely.” Rosina folded her arms across her chest. “Right now, it is pointless to deal with a ship that has already sailed. We are going to be grandparents. We must come together for our daughter and grandchild’s sakes.”
Mr. Kwateng strode past Rosina and Efia. “I wash my hands of this.” He stopped in the archway that divided the living room from the dining room. “You two can carry on without my input. It is evident that you do not value it.”
Chapter 27
To: Mary Donnelly@S&Eprivateequitiescorp.com
From: Ace [email protected]
Date: June 17, 2011
Subject: Floral arrangement
A selection of these flowers seems fitting: Bouvardia, Calla Lilies, Coxcomb, Dahlias, Delphinium, Freesia, Gardenias, and Gloriosa Lilies. I trust that the florists will create their magic as they have done in the past.
Ace Davenport
<>
Ace hit SEND, just as his desk phone beeped.
“Yes.” Ace let out a loud groan. “Send him in.”
Shortly, there was a loud bang on the door.
“Come in,” Ace called out.
Leyland strolled in with a wide grin on his face. “Nice setup you have here. I never thought Vegas to be your scene.”
“Is that right?” Ace asked without looking up.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Leyland said, glancing around the office. “Vegas seemed too, down to earth for a tight-ass like you.”
“Some of us do change.” Ace lifted his head. “On the other hand, others remain miserable, hateful, and jealous.”
Leyland’s grin disappeared. “I didn’t come all this way to be i
nsulted.”
“Oh, no,” Ace said, “you came to insult me.”
“I wouldn’t have had to insult you if you included me in the ceremonial photo-op a few weeks back.”
“Do you have any idea how tiresome this pettiness of yours is?” Ace asked.
“I am the person with the Davenport name, not Drew Palmer. Why is he the one who is always front and center of everything?”
Ace clasped his fingers under his chin, hoping that Leyland’s visit would be a short one.
“You do know Drew is the Chief Operating Officer of the hotel and resort division of this company, right?”
“A company my late, dear father started,” Leyland replied.
“And lost right here in Vegas,” Ace said. “Don’t forget that minute detail.”
“That is beside the point,” Leyland said taking a seat. “Without my dad’s vision, there would be none of this.”
“And without my maternal grandparents’ money which was used to repurchase this business, there would be none of it, either.” Ace stood. He pushed his hands deep into his pockets. “Let us not continue this conversation, it’s Friday, and I would like to start my weekend early for a change.”
“I didn’t come here to piss you off.”
“And you certainly didn’t come to see about my well-being.” Ace crooked his eyebrows. “What do you want, Leyland?”
Leyland removed a letter-sized binder from his briefcase and placed it on Ace’s desk. He tapped the binder and his feet simultaneously. “I need a hundred and fifty thousand dollars to get in on the ground floor of this venture.”
Ace ignored the folder. “What type of business is this?”
“It’s a proposal for the first Tiny Housing Park in Brooklyn. Small spaces are the in thing these days.” Leyland pointed to the folder. “These guys found enough vacant land to make this happen. I am telling you this will be a hit.”
“Leave it there,” Ace said. “I’ll have my team run the numbers.”
“When can I expect a call?”
“When my team completes their due diligence.”
“This is a sure thing. You’ll see.”
“Like the last sure thing?” Ace asked. “Or the others before that?”
