At the bottom of the stairs, I called out, “Rush! You here, baby?”
I went in the direction of the aroma, deducing that since he hadn’t answered my call that Rush must’ve gone out for a run or something. But as soon as I rounded the corner, preparing to do breakfast by myself, I ran into Rush and his mother sitting down eating a meal together. Siobhan was stunning in the daylight. Her hair had been pulled around to the side of her face and braided in a thick plait. As her smile formed, her cheekbones made a bold appearance, and her dark eyes lit up. Something had changed. She was happy. I could tell.
“Hey, good morning, babe,” Rush greeted. He stood from his chair and made his way over to me near the kitchen’s rectangular island, to pull me into a hug.
“Hey…” I dragged, with a thin smile, wrapping my arms around his back, and burying my face into his chest.
When we broke from our hug Rush took my hand and proceeded to walk me to where they were dining so we could continue our meal together.
“Good morning, Alika,” she greeted.
“Good morning.”
“Since the two of you haven’t officially met, Mom, this is Alika, the love of my life. Alika, this is my mother, Siobhan Cavanaugh.”
The moment the word mother left Rush’s mouth, I saw instant pride in his mother’s face. I had feelings rushing through my body and I didn’t know what they were. All I knew in that moment was that something felt weird. It was more than just the fact that Rush had all these monumental episodes falling out of his closet, and they were falling with heavy ass thuds to the ground. Like 4.0 tremors and shit. But then again, we were in California. What else did I expect?
“You’re a beautiful, girl, Alika. It’s very nice to meet you. Thank you so much for the box of tissue last night. It came in handy.”
“You’re very welcome, Ms. Cavanaugh—”
“Oh please, call me Siobhan,” she interrupted. And maybe someday even Mom,” she said, smiling at both me and Rush.
I blushed slightly. Okay, Siobhan, it is.”
I sat in part awe and part observation, and I was so taken aback by the scene that I’d forgotten to fix myself a plate to eat. I didn’t even know if I was still hungry. I felt slightly out of place. But then the more I watched them, the more it dawned on me that my slight tinge of jealousy was gravely out of line and I felt guilty for even feeling it. Rush had years of catching up to do with his mother, and it was only right that I allow them that time to do so.
“So, babe…” Rush said, breaking into my thoughts. “I was thinking that since you wanted to host a dinner party we could do that this weekend since my mother is here.”
“Oh…okay. So, not next weekend, but this one coming?”
“Yeah, we could hang out with a few friends, and they could meet my mother since she’s here for another week…maybe.”
“Oh…another week? Okay,” I replied, slowly.
“Son…no. It’s okay. Please don’t fuss.”
“It’s not fussing, Mom. We’ll be entertaining a few friends who didn’t even know I had a mother. This is a big deal. They’ll love you. Don’t worry.”
When I saw the exchange between the two, I tried softening. The moment looked tender, and it had to have meant a lot for Rush to be reunited with the mother who had abandoned him so many years ago. There was just so much. First, he met a daughter he never knew he had, and now a mother that he thought was dead.
I must have zoned out because the next thing I heard was Rush calling out, “Alika…”
“Yes, I heard you. I think it’s a great idea.”
“Okay, so it’s done.”
“Absolutely,” I concurred.
TWENTY-NINE
Winters’ Mocha Lovin’ Latte
Friday evening
For the past week, Detective Silas Winters had been meeting at his family’s café. There were long chocolate vinyl booths and fancy dark wood tables that were filled with yuppies from around the city during the day. But in the evening, it wasn’t uncommon for Silas to go there to think or to jot down notes on the mystery novel he was developing. The setting provided the solace that he needed when dealing with the madness in his line of work. Ever since Silas was a young boy, his family had invested in commercial real estate. As a result, the name Winters, was well-known around the real estate and land development circuits. Silas, however, had deviated from the family’s enterprise, and had always felt a strong pull toward law enforcement. So against the better judgment of his family, he had gone on to serve and protect. But it wasn’t without bumps in the road. Because of Silas’ socioeconomic status, most of his colleagues had never taken him seriously. But he had deduced early on that he wasn’t on the force to make friends, nor gain approval, so it ceased to bother him.
Tonight Silas was seated in a booth opposite his reluctant partner, Rick Morgan. The two had been brainstorming motives of opportunity in the death of a local millionaire, Lance Cambridge, all the while butting heads on where their individual theories lay. Rick, the older of the two men was leaning in the direction of the killing being a cold case because in his opinion, every stone had been turned. He was ready to hand over the file and move onto something else. His nonchalant attitude about the case was starting to bug Silas, and more than a few times they had become involved in extremely heated exchanges with one another.
Their department was getting nudged by the mayor’s office to solve the homicide. People were being sued left and right, including the hospital, members of its staff, and even hospital security was under fire. Someone had been stationed outside Cambridge’s room when his prognosis was critical, but when his condition was upgraded, keeping him safe suddenly became lax.
“We’re missing something,” Silas stated, emerging from silence. He was looking back and forth between surveillance photos and his notes.
“Yeah, scholar, ya think?” Morgan retorted, sarcastically. “Somebody is always missing something. Let’s be real about this. More than half of crimes are solved with the help of witnesses. We have none.” He pulled his cup of coffee to his lips and took a long sip.
“You would think that with as many folks that came out to see him being laid to rest, he wouldn’t have an enemy in the world, but shit!”
“Nah, best believe that when that many people love and adore you, there’re just as many who despise the very air you breathe—including some of the ones acting as though they love and adore you.”
“For sure,” Silas agreed.
Morgan huffed and puffed a bit, with exaggerated sighs. “Okay, so let’s go over some of this stuff. I need to get to a cigarette like yesterday.”
We have a possible motive with Janae Lawson, the mother of the child who Lance paid to keep away from the son.
We have the brother of Janae, Jacob Lawson, who we know was recently put behind bars, but who has enormous reach. Not a huge motive, but there might be something there.
We have the son, Hunter, who apparently didn’t know he even had a child until recently.
We have the journalist guy, Titan McKinney, who was fired because of the piece he did. Although the article did come down, thanks to the internet and screenshots, etc, several thousands of people still saw it.
There’s a bevy of women, but they were probably just happy to be included in an entourage of side pieces.
We have that one business partner—”
“Okay, let’s stop for a second. I say we focus on these two photos right here,” Silas proposed, pushing two glossy 11x14’s forward. There’s some significance here. I’m sure of it.”
The images that they were looking at were from Premier Full Nude Gentlemen’s Club, and from the hallway outside of Lance Cambridge’s hospital room at UCSF.
“I’ve scanned these two photos for the past week, and I’m convinced that this woman right here,” he said, firmly pressing his forefinger onto the picture, “…might just be this figure in scrubs on this image as well. I’m absolutely convi
nced of it.”
“You’re reaching just a little bit, don’t you think? Yes, that’s a woman right there,” Morgan said, lifting the nightclub picture at eye level. “Even from a distance, you can see she’s a very beautiful woman. But we have no idea what the sex of this individual is, right here. No idea. And for all we know, it could actually be a doctor. Ever thought of that, scholar?”
“You’d think that seeing as you’ve been on the force far longer than I have, Rick, that you’d be more open to seeing things through a lens that’s not your own. This woman right here had left the scene by the time police arrived and were ordering everyone to stay to provide witness accounts.”
“Are you kidding me? So had a lot of other people!” Morgan laughed.
“Absolutely, but most of them were men that were there and weren’t supposed to be! You know, trying to hide from those people called wives! But this woman, had she been a part of the entertainment, would have still been there. Don’t you think?”
“You do know this is 2014, right? There’s such thing as girl on girl action. It predates both our years on earth. What if this woman that you’re so focused on was just in the vicinity trying to get a piece of the action? What if she was there to spy on her girlfriend or some freaky shit like that and wanted to get outta there as quickly as possible?”
“The fuck are you on some reality TV bullshit? Put on your cop shoes. This woman is a person of interest. I’m willing to bet it’s her. Look at her form on this picture in this dress—”
“Please don’t tell me that you’re gonna say you can see a figure through those damn scrubs! Because I’ll be leaving from this café the minute you say you do.”
“No, smart guy, I’m saying that if you look at this closely, you will see that this person was in disguise. Look down at the shoes.”
It was enough to quiet Morgan momentarily while he allowed what Winters had said to digest. “Okay. I’ll entertain your theory. What about the shoes?” he said, looking away to investigate the image further.
“That’s just it. There are shoes,” Silas smiled. “Look at some of these other pictures of staff. They’re wearing covers over their shoes that match the scrubs. And even the ones who aren’t, have on a particular style of shoe that appears rounded in the front. Even when we were there for questioning, I paid attention to that. These shoes in this picture, with this…woman, are regular tennis shoes.” He smiled big, then commented, “She slipped up.”
Morgan leaned back into the booth seat and looked up at his partner. “Well, I’ll be goddamn.”
THIRTY
Rush
I sat on the sofa in the small retreat at the other end of our bedroom. “Come here, babe,” I said, pulling Alika onto my lap. “What’s wrong? You seem distant.”
“I’m good.”
“Pretty little liar, you are, Alika,” I said, running my hand down her back. “What’s going on?”
“Where’s Siobhan?”
“She’s in the room I had set up for her down the hall.”
“Oh, she’s gonna be staying a while then? Longer than a week?”
“Well, when she heard about my father, she flew out with intentions on finding me and staying for a day or two. So, she’ll be here for a few more days. I was thinking about going back with her just to see where she lives, how she lives.”
“Really? When were you gonna tell me, Rush?”
“I’m telling you now, babe. We haven’t really had time to talk since everything just kinda happened so fast yesterday.”
Alika fell into silence. I knew there was more that she wanted to say, but she wouldn’t. I suspected it had something to do with my mother being there with us, but couldn’t understand why. She stood from my lap and walked to close our bedroom door, then returned to where I was.
“What happened between the time you were pissed about her being here and then calling her Mom? Has she even told you everything, Rush? She’s been gone for twenty-seven years and y’all are acting like she never left. I don’t get that.”
“You don’t have to get it, Alika. You weren’t there for it. I’m the one who it affected. I was the kid. And now I’m the man who has decided that she has told me enough.”
“What’s enough, Rush? What’s enough? She explained to you why she left when you were younger, I assume?”
“Yeah, she did.”
“Did she explain why she stayed away? I’m sure the same reasons that she left you as a boy, canceled out when you became an adult. Why did it take your father dying for her to come and find you? What about all the years in between?”
“You’re out of line, Alika. Let’s not do this.”
“How am I out of line? Because she’s your mother and it’s none of my business?”
“Because she is my mother…yes, that.”
“Hmph,” she nodded. “And because it’s none of my business?”
“I didn’t say that it wasn’t your business, Alika.”
“Well, you might as well have, Rush.”
“We’re not doing this,” I told her firmly.
“Where has she been?” Alika fired, dismissing my comment. “She left when you were five. What happened when you turned eighteen? Let’s just say that she was ordered or threatened to stay away from her child. Let’s just say that. I would think if she would be counting down the years to adulthood to come for you! Nobody could force her to stay away from a grown man. Maybe eighteen…twenty-one…twenty-five. But here you are thirty-two, and now all of a sudden here she is, and you’re just ready to accept it all.”
“You don’t know what she’s been through. Having something held over your head that could damage you in everyone’s eyes, primarily your young son’s! That’s a lot for any one person to handle. She did what she had to do.”
“Okay, and that thing that was held over her head that could damage her in everyone’s eyes…did she tell you what that was?”
“Yeah, she did,” I stated proudly.
“And there’s my point. If she told you last night, then what was so hard about telling you back then. Why now? That’s all I’m asking you to consider.”
When I breathed a frustrated sigh, it fueled Alika’s anger even more. Her stubbornness with this issue was starting to get on my nerves. I honestly didn’t feel like living in the past. I was talked out about the whole situation. I was ready to let it go.
“Was her life threatened, Rush?”
“Alika, let it go.”
“Was she told that she would be murdered if she attempted contact with you? Because to me, that is the only thing that might keep a mother from her child. So, was it that?”
“What would you know about that, Alika? Are you a mother? No, you’re not. And furthermore, why make someone relive something that was so traumatic in their lives? You, better than anybody, should understand that,” I tried to reason.
However, after the words left my mouth, I instantly regretted them. But it was too late to take anything back. I watched as Alika’s shoulders tensed, and I could also see the ducts of her eyes begin to fill with water. She stood just mere inches from me, and I could see the lump in her throat pulsate from an unexpected swallow. I’d caught her off guard, and I hadn’t even meant to.
“Alika…” I started, as I reached for her. “Baby, I’m so sorry…”
She took a few steps back while shaking her head side to side, in what I knew to be disbelief, and hurt. “Wow. Just, wow,” was all she said, before turning on her heel and walking out of our room.
“Alika, I didn’t mean it the way it came out. Come back,” I pleaded, following behind her.
She turned her brown eyes on me. “Please don’t follow me, Rush,” she stated, firmly. “I’m going down to the guesthouse for the night. I think that’s best.”
~*~*~
As we drove along, my mother was subdued and to herself. She was eerily quiet. It seemed to me that she had a lot on her mind. But it might very well have been that she was just at peace
for the first time in a long time, so I didn’t pry. I just left her to her silence.
When I left the house, I looked down to see if the lights were on at the guest house. I wanted to go to my baby, but I knew that she needed to calm down and I wanted to give her that time. I owed her a deep apology from the heart. I had brought a lot to her in a very short period of time and she was handling it all like a real champ. If she allowed me, I would definitely treat her to something spectacular the moment our lives returned to normal.
“Son…” my mother began, breaking her silence. “Thank you for sending for my things at the hotel. I really appreciate it. But you really didn’t have to. I was just happy that you listened to me at all, and that I got to see your face after so much time. That was all I needed to be happy.”
“I wasn’t gonna have you staying at a hotel when there’s so much room at the house. How do you like your room?”
“What’s not to like? It’s beautiful. The entire place is! If it weren’t so cold out, I’d be in the pool swimming a couple of laps. I love to swim.”
“Well, when you come back in the summer or spring, then you’ll have all the time in the world to swim.”
“True!” she said, laughing, stroking the side of my face. “And I can’t wait. Now that I’m here with you, the time seems so short. If it’s possible, I would really like to see my granddaughter while I’m here. You don’t have to tell her who I am just yet if you don’t want. I’m sure she’s still pretty overwhelmed with getting to know her daddy.”
“Yeah, there’s for sure been a lot for everyone. But Michaela’s a smart little girl,” I admitted, blushing. “You’d be surprised, Ma. Really.”
“No, I wouldn’t. She’s your daughter. I’m not surprised at all.” She paused and shook her head in disbelief, then turned up the corners of her mouth as she prepared to speak. “I still can’t believe that your father did that to you. I hate speaking ill of the dead, but that man had no heart.” She dropped her head momentarily, then looked back up, but into the distance. “You know, he had me leave under an assumed name in case you ever tried to find me.”
Rapture 2: a BWWM, Alpha Male Romance Page 16
