by Pat Simmons
How could God care about him when he wasn’t reading the Bible, going to church, or even had a desire to live right? Nah, Ace could handle his business himself.
Closing his eyes, he heard his brother’s voice. It was after he proposed to Eva. “She is there for me,” Kidd told him. “Eva has helped me put my life in order. Now I understand Genesis 2:24, which basically says that a man will leave his parents and cleave to his wife. I would die to protect her.”
What a drastic declaration, Ace thought at the time. But Ace loved his brother and was behind Kidd 100 percent.
Finally, he recalled Cameron’s words. “She’s not like the others, man. I get the feeling she doesn’t have an agenda. She doesn’t appear needy like those women with multi-colored hair you dated. I think you can trust her from everything Lois has told me about her.”
“Trust,” Ace spat out with disgust. He couldn’t even trust his family. He continued to stew until finally, he dozed off.
When he woke up the next morning, his clothes were wrinkled and his head ached from the lack of a good night’s sleep in a comfortable bed. His muscles were tense from so much inner turmoil.
Through his uncomfortable state, he thought about what he would do that day. Besides getting some work done from his hotel room, Ace had to contact the manager at Whispering Breeze apartments. After putting his move on hold, now he was ready. Hopefully, there would be an immediate vacancy.
One thing was for sure. As soon as he could retrieve the remainder of his belongings from Kidd’s house, Ace planned to have a showdown with Ms. Rogers. From what he could see of her at the airport, Talise’s body could still grab a man’s attention. It didn’t appear there was an ounce of baby fat on her. A phone call was his only option at the moment.
He rolled off the bed, showered, dressed and went downstairs to the hotel lobby to see about breakfast. While he chewed on the food he couldn’t remember tasting from the buffet, he pondered over the stuff in his head from the previous night.
After eating, he returned to his room and turned on his computer. Slightly taken aback by the number of unopened email entries in his inbox, he addressed the immediate work-related emails and ignored those messages from coworkers about his stunt on the Internet.
Relieved that his boss thought the video was entertaining, he was warned not to let something like that happen again. Regardless of Ace’s talent, he was expected to abide by the company’s code of ethics. Ace assured Dale he had nothing to worry about.
Logging off a few hours later, Ace called the apartment complex.
“Whispering Breeze apartments, how can I help you?” The same woman who had helped him weeks earlier answered. Alma had two apartments available for immediate occupancy. Both had two bedrooms, but only one had a balcony. The other she described as a first floor with a walkout to a small patio. It led to a luscious flower garden with a manmade waterfall in the center of a pond.
The choice was a no brainer. The patio—large or small—hands down. Since his paperwork was still on file as well as his security deposit, the only thing Ace had to do was pick up his keys. Pleased with himself, Ace chuckled.
“I’ll get the rest of my things and see you soon.” After disconnecting, he grabbed his car keys and prayed that Eva wasn’t at home.
Pray. He thought about the word and grunted. With the way his family was siding against him, he doubted God had his back on this one.
When he arrived at Kidd’s, the house was empty. Ace quickly packed up his possessions and made return trips until his trunk, back seat, and front seat were stacked with his stuff.
In the kitchen, he raided their refrigerator one last time. Pivoting on his heels from side to side, Ace canvassed his surroundings. It turned out to be a much needed temporary hiding place. His brother and sister-in-law had been good to him.
But he and Kidd saw things differently when it came to relationships. Kidd believed in commitment. To Ace, responsibility was optional—and a man had to chose when and where to apply it.
Finished with his snack, he cleaned up his mess. Then, grabbing a pen and pad, he wrote, “Sis and bro, I appreciate your hospitality. Eva, I’m glad you’re feeling well enough …” Ace’s pen was poised to write “to get in my business,” but he refrained. “I decided it was time for me to move into a place of my own. I’m taking the apartment at Whispering Breeze. I’ll be in touch. Ace.”
By late afternoon, Ace had settled his matters in the complex business office. With keys in hand, he began to transfer his stuff from the car to his first floor, spacious apartment. He could really spread out with two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen nook, laundry room, and a bath and a half.
Checking his watch, Ace had to bide his time. A few more hours and Talise would be off work and at home. He didn’t want to affect her livelihood by getting into it with her over the phone at her place of work.
Surveying his new home, Ace didn’t realize until now that starting from scratch meant beginning with nothing. To survive, he reasoned that he needed three pieces of furniture: a high-def flat screen TV, a king-size bed, and a dinette set. Everything else could come later.
The shopping trip took longer than expected. Making a decision on the furniture in less than an hour, it was the TV that took the most time. Ace made the salesman go over every feature twice before he decided.
Since the furniture wouldn’t be delivered for a few days, he made another stop to buy an inflatable mattress, a microwave, and a few groceries. When he returned to his empty apartment, he got settled and then took a deep, deep breath.
It was time. Ace wasn’t looking forward to having the “talk” with Talise. But if he didn’t put a stop to it, she might permanently move to St. Louis and torment him for the rest of his days. Talise needed to face the music. Whether she would have a life after Ace Jamieson or not, Ace Jamieson was definitely going to have a life post-Talise.
After blowing up the mattress, he made himself comfortable. Although he had erased her number, he knew it by heart, or so he thought. When a recording came on that the number was disconnected, it caught him off guard.
“What?”
Okay, it had been months since he’d called her, but he was sure it was the right number. He tried two more times. Ace took a deeper breath. How did it get past him that she changed her number? Was it because of him? “She’s good,” he uttered to himself with a smirk.
Come to think of it, actually, it was his fault. He hadn’t bothered to save the number she’d been calling him from. Like that was going to stop him. For sure, Eva and his mother had her number. However, he was smart enough to know that asking them was out of the question. Cameron was his best choice.
There was only one slight problem. He and Cameron were not on the best of terms. Maybe he could tell his cousin that he was reaching out to Talise in an effort to reconcile their differences. Cameron didn’t have to know that his reconciliation included officially terminating any contact between the two of them—and his family.
“What’s up, Ace?” Cameron answered, annoyed. Clearly, the air between them was still stuffy.
“Hey, cuz, how are things in Boston?”
“Well, if you hadn’t cut up at the airport, you would be here and wouldn’t have to ask. Would you?”
That was old news. “I was coming home to make things right, man.”
Cameron didn’t bite.
“Anyway, since I can’t go near the airport until my court date next month, I … wanted to set things right with Talise. I see that she changed her number and I was hoping you had it.”
“Liar. You can lie to her, but not to me. You know we feel each other. Man, if you get caught, you pay. You got caught and now your girl is having a baby. It’s like a speeding ticket. You have to obey all the traffic signs …”
“Save your lectures for the classroom, Cam. Do you have her number, or not? I know you two have become chummy lately.”
“I’ll break your jaw for that remark when I see you. As for
her number, I don’t have it and I can’t get it. When I see Lois on campus, which I try to avoid, I get chewed out because of you.”
Now what? It was obvious that Cameron wasn’t going to help him. “Write her a letter, tweet, email, or find her on Facebook, but I can’t help you with this. It was easier bailing you out of jail. I don’t have enough money to get you out of this one.”
Write a letter? Right. Knowing Talise, she would have the post office return it. As for the social networking sites, neither of them had bothered to set one up. Talise did have an email account, but he wasn’t sure he knew her address. It was some cutesy name like tatolrod@ymail, or gmail, or something like that. Trying to pinpoint her correct email address was definitely not worth his frustration. Besides, there was no reason to email her when he could text instead.
Annoyed, Ace gritted his teeth. He loved his cousin, but if he too was going to hold a grudge against his own flesh and blood because of a woman, Ace was going friend shopping.
“She’s ruining my life. It’s as if she’s running a scam on me from an offshore country.”
“That’s your doing, dude. You were wrong to leave her like that,” Cameron scolded.
“Listen, man, I can understand your loyalty to Talise because you introduced us, but it’s over. Face it.”
“It’s over, huh? Then why do you want her number?”
“So I can remind her of that fact and order her to stay away from my family.”
Cameron laughed. “Man, I’m so glad that I don’t choke when I’m in a relationship.”
“Ha! Your relationships consist of networking, seminars, and lectures. Only when we started hanging together, did I loosen you up.”
“Keep believing that.” Cameron snorted.
“How long has it been, seriously? You may not love them and leave them only because you turn away women you could easily have. You’re too choosy.”
“We have different definitions of love, but this isn’t about me. You want her number? Then you’ll have to get past lioness Lois to get it and here’s her number.”
“Sure. What’s one more angry Black woman?”
“Good luck. May the force be with you—and better you than me,” Cameron said and disconnected.
Ace knew Cameron couldn’t stay mad at him for too long because of Talise. Unfortunately, when he called Lois ten minutes later, she was beyond hot. The woman cursed him out like she was reciting from Webster’s dictionary or had created her own thesaurus. A third party would probably think he and Lois had broken up before she called Talise to the phone.
“It’s …” Lois continued manipulating his name in choice ways. “He wants to talk to you. Girl, I wouldn’t give this slimy, tattooed snake-head the time of day. He ain’t going to do anything but upset you …”
She was calling him out for the Ace of Hearts tattoo on his knuckle? Really? Ace was fuming. He didn’t let a man talk to him like that without leaving his signature somewhere on the dude’s body. He sure wasn’t going to let a woman get away with it. At least, that’s how he felt. Yet he was fully aware she was untouchable.
“Get his number. I’ll call him back,” Talise said in the muffled background.
Get my number! She knew it. So … she still wanted to play her game. Little did she know that the cards were always in his favor.
He was about to tell Lois to forget it. His inflatable mattress was seeping air anyway. Ace was slowly sinking to the floor, as if he was on a see-saw. Suddenly, Talise’s voice came on the line.
“Hello, Aaron,” she said softly.
Catching his breath, Ace’s anger began to dissipate and he felt his heart shattering. How could he confront Talise about her lies and deceit when his fight was oozing out, along with the air in his blowup bed?
“Tay?”
“Talise, Aaron,” she corrected.
Ouch. The formality stung. Talise’s eyes would light up whenever he called her his pet name. Her coldness threw him off.
Knowing what he wanted to say, he wasn’t prepared to say it now. Ace cleared his throat. Fearless, he was no Samson. No woman was going to bring him down.
“You changed numbers.” Why all the small talk? Get to the point, he chided himself. What was wrong with him?
“You called me to tell me that?” her voice cracked.
“Yes.” A piece of his heart cracked too. He steadied his breathing and gathered himself. “Tay, you didn’t have to try and trap me with this baby story. My feelings were already strong for you. I gave you my heart and your heart’s desires.”
“Excuse me?” she snapped. “Trap you? Is that what you think I did? I didn’t drug you to sleep with me.”
“Stranger things have happened,” Ace stated in a matter-of-fact manner. “Are you pregnant with my child?”
“If you had stuck around, you could have read the results yourself. In my twenty-nine years, I’ve never desired, tried, or needed to trap a man. If a man doesn’t want me, like you, then I move on.”
Through all her ranting and raving, it didn’t escape Ace that she hadn’t answered the question. “Are you pregnant with my child?” he repeated.
Silence. Ace had her cornered. So the truth was finally about to be told.
“Yes,” Talise whispered and then sniffed.
Was that the truth? “So what do you want from me, Tay?”
“Absolutely nothing. Not your money, not your name, not you!”
That’s when her bawling began and it started to rip Ace apart. A few seconds later, the call was disconnected. Ace bowed his head in cupped hands, as his bottom actually slid to the carpet. When did his life become such a guilt trip?
Chapter Thirty
It was one week since Talise’s argument with Ace. She was still shaken by his mean-spirited and pompous attitude. The five minutes of praying routine that she was trying to adapt into her lifestyle only caused her to cry more.
When Lois escorted her to her next doctor’s visit, she blurted out possible causes for Talise’s mood swings and forgetfulness. Finally, Talise gave her the eye to be quiet.
Dr. Sherman paused in examining her. “You’re fourteen weeks now, so you’ll experience more of your hormones being out of control. Just try and keep your stress level down. Have you talked to the baby’s father about his medical history?”
“That’s the major part of her stress. The loser,” Lois spoke up.
“I asked his mother, but never followed through. I’ll call her today.”
“Good. On your next visit, I’ll have Kathy take your blood so we can test for any birth defects. It’s nothing to cause alarm. Just routine. But if your baby is having any problems, we want to know early enough so we can intervene. The father’s medical history is important.”
When the doctor left the room, Talise snapped at Lois. “You’re a bad pregnancy partner.”
“I’m better than Ace. I just want her to know you’re having a rough time, that’s all. You know I’m here for you.”
“I know, but the next time I come, will you please be the elephant in the room and remain quiet.”
Lois shrugged. “Just trying to help.”
They left the office and grabbed a bite to eat. Lois headed back to the campus and Talise drove to the apartment to take a nap. After an hour of twisting and turning, she gave up and got out of bed.
She didn’t think it was possible, but basically, Ace called her a tramp. Where was the Ace she fell in love with? Booting up her computer, Talise fired off an email to Sinclaire.
I’m not a tramp! She typed in the subject line, with tears streaming down her face. How am I going to make it? I have twenty-six weeks left. I’m definitely getting fat now. Lois is irritating me. I’m irritating myself. I’m losing my mind. I’m venting. T.
Talise had upset herself to the point where she was nauseated. Hurrying to the bathroom, she regurgitated everything, including last night’s dinner. After freshening up, it wasn’t two minutes before she started crying again. When she fin
ally came out of the bathroom, her cell was ringing. Hurrying across the room to answer it, to her pleasant surprise, Sinclaire was calling.
Taking a deep breath, she answered. “Hello,” she was able to say before the flood gates opened.
“What’s this about a tramp?” Sinclaire was hot, as Talise repeated the phone call she had with Ace.
“Maybe you need to go home where you’ll have a better support system. It’ll be another nine months before my tour is up. I dislike very much that Ace is making you feel that way. He needs God to intervene in his life—quick.”
“I need Jesus more than he does. How am I going to get through this? How?” Talise sniffed, as she curled up on the bed. “I feel like my life is over. Who would have thought when I moved to Boston, my life would have gone downhill?”
“Okay, it’s time for me to get military tough with you. You are a woman soldier who has been injured on an emotional battlefield. You’re not the only one. Others have been on the front line and injured too. God is sending His angels to pick you up. I’ve been praying for God to send good people your way.”
Talise nodded through her sniffles. “He has. Sandra has called a few times to check up on me. I really like her, so has Eva.”
“Only God knows why those people are in your path. But if they’re lifting you up and not letting you fall, hang on to them.”
“That sounds good, but being with them is a constant reminder that I’m not part of them.”
“We don’t pick our friends, Talise. But in the end, we value true friendship. I love you, sis, but I’ve got to go. Remember, give God five minutes and your investment will pay off. I promise you.”
Sinclaire said a heartfelt prayer before they disconnected. Talise only felt peace when others prayed for her. God seemed so far removed from her situation. He hadn’t given her any assurance in a while to let her know He was concerned. It was hard to be strong when she felt all alone.
Her mind was confused. Talise craved company. She thought about calling Eva, but that wasn’t the same. Then her stomach growled. She was hungry but didn’t feel like cooking. After wrestling with herself for long enough, she gave in and called Sandra.
