“Eh…” I released a breath, unsure. “I want to help, but I probably shouldn’t. Lacey just got back and even though things are okay between us now, I—”
“I would never ask unless I had to, Drake. We’ve got adoptees coming in from all over the state for this. It’s our first one, and I don’t want to disappoint the kids.”
God… I rubbed the tension in my brow before answering. I didn’t want to spend a moment away from Lacey today, but this was for the kids. “I’m going to say yes, but I need to make sure it’s okay with Lacey first. I’ll call if it’s not.”
“I seriously owe you. Thanks so much. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
“I’ll send Mina with the van to come and get you. Let me know if you can’t come.”
After letting her know I would, I ended the call and left the bathroom. The sight of my girlfriend sleeping peacefully had me wanting to call Natalia back and tell her I couldn’t make it. Lacey lay on her side, her dark curls spread across the white pillowcase. The bedding was pulled down and settled right at her bare hips, giving me full view of her naked back that had the tone of liquid caramel.
I crossed the room to her in two strides. I didn’t want to wake her, but I did have to ask her about what she thought of my plans to volunteer today.
Sliding onto the bed, I moved in close behind her. I grasped her arm, brushing my lips along her shoulder.
A shudder escaped her and a husky moan left her plump lips.
That was my undoing. I crept my tongue out, tasting her sweet skin, and she turned. Her fingers went into my hair, and my mouth was on hers.
“Hey, gorgeous girl,” I said before dipping my tongue into her mouth. Her second moan silenced under my deep kiss. She rotated to her other side, pressing her breasts against my chest.
Her arms threaded around my neck, and her lips escaped to pant out a, “Hey yourself.”
She eased her legs apart and wrapped her limbs around my hips. She pressed me with her body to lie back, and I knew she wanted to straddle me. I braced her hips before she could.
I tilted my head back. “Hey, I want to but I have to leave this morning. Natalia called a minute ago. She’s in a scrape at the Y and asked if I could volunteer to help set up equipment with Kyle and Luc. I won’t go if you mind, though.” I touched her bottom lip, brushing over her piercing below it.
She smiled slightly. “Of course I don’t mind. When will you be back?”
“She didn’t say how long it would take, but I’ll try to leave as soon as I can. I know you wanted to see your mama today.”
Lacey really surprised me last night when she mentioned wanting to visit her mama’s resting place. Before she went back to Paris, she’d been adamant that she needed more time, and I fully supported her and her decision. I’d be there for her when she was ready. She’d actually mentioned her decision when I was debating telling her about seeking my own mother out. In the end, I decided to wait a little longer. I wasn’t entirely sure I’d continue the process just yet and wanted to be sure I was before I opened up that door with her. The thing was, I knew Lacey would understand that. She would because I’d be just as understanding for her.
“Okay,” she said. “Hey, maybe I should go too. They could probably use more volunteers.”
She started to get up, but I touched her arm. “No. I want you to sleep. You need to rest.” Taking the blankets, I wrapped her back up.
She pushed out her bottom lip, mock pouting. “Fine. You can have your way.”
I kissed her nose. “Thank you. Now rest. I’ll try to make it back as soon as I can.”
*
Kyle tightened the last screw on the booth, standing up when he was finished.
“God, that was a bitch,” said Luc, plopping down on the folding chair behind the booth we’d all just constructed.
He was right about that. The indoor carnival being held at the Y’s gymnasium had over twenty-different booths and the ‘manpower’ of Kyle, Luc, and myself were the only three that constructed them. I had to say we did a kickass job though. All the volunteers with Natalia were right behind us, placing prizes and setting up, so everything was all set for the kids to come in.
“Yeah, but I say we did a job well done.” Kyle leaned against the booth.
“And I agree.” Natalia approached the booth, beaming.
“Did we make our deadline?” I asked her.
“Yep. We’re all set. We’re about to open the doors now so you boys better get to your assigned booths.”
Luc pouted, hopping over the side of the both in one bound. “You better be feeding us later.”
She shook his shoulders as he passed her. No doubt trying to shake him out of his mood. “I told you I would. We’ll celebrate with barbeque tonight.”
This didn’t seem to satisfy Luc. He continued to pout as he walked away, a laughing Kyle shaking his head beside him.
“Thanks so much for coming, Drake,” said Natalia, giving me a friendly side hug.
“It was fine. My girlfriend is really understanding.”
Her face fell a bit at that. “I’m so sorry about that again. Thank God it all worked out.”
She wasn’t the only one relieved. “Yeah. Hey, did you need anything else before I go?”
She chewed her lip. “Not unless you’re really offering. We could really use your help running the booths today.”
“Any other time I would.”
She nodded but didn’t look upset. She understood. “Well, I’ll go get Mina to give you a lift to wherever you want to go. I would, but I need to be around to get things going.”
She left and I immediately called Lacey. I wanted to check on her, and the sound of her voice literally brought a smile to my face.
“Hey, baby. You guys all done?” she asked.
“Yeah. We finished the set up pretty quick and things are about to start.”
“What kind of carnival is it?”
I forgot that I hadn’t mentioned that. The details were fuzzy for me at the time since Natalia didn’t really explain too much about it until I got to the Y today. “Natalia runs this outreach program for adoptees. A bunch of similar programs across the state are coming together and hosting a carnival for the kids. They’re having this big speaker come and everything at the end. I guess she’s a big influence in the adoptee community.”
“Wow. That’s awesome.”
“Yeah.”
“You should stay, Drake.”
Of course she’d say that. Look out for me when she just got back. “It’s fine. I told Natalia I had plans with you. She asked me to run a booth, but—”
“Oh, then you really should, Drake.”
“But what about you? You wanted to see your mama.”
“It’s fine. I want you to stay. I think you need to stay.”
There was no arguing with Lacey Douglas. “Okay. I’ll stay, but on one condition.”
“Yeah?”
“You come to Korean barbeque tonight with the group. I want you to get to know everyone.”
“Of course. I love you.”
“Love you more.”
*
“I have the perfect booth for you to run, Drake,” Natalia said, scurrying through the quickly filling gymnasium of children and their parents.
I chuckled at how excited she was. “Really?”
“Yep. You won’t be disappointed.”
As soon as she said the words, I knew exactly the booth she was directing me to, and let’s just say I wasn’t disappointed. It looked like Luc would be partnering with me running this one, but I didn’t mind. With a red nose and rainbow unitard on, he sat in a dunk tank. They didn’t give him a wig, but I wasn’t surprised. That platinum hair would suffice for sure. I put a fist to my mouth as we approached, trying to choke back my laughter.
He noticed, placing his hands on hips. “You see this shit they put me in, Drake?”
I won’t say karma was a bitch, but… “Well, h
opefully the kids won’t have very good aim.”
After directing me inside the booth, Natalia handed me a black microphone. “You can get people to come play by using this. Don’t hold back. The more you make Luc out to look like an idiot, the more people will want to play.”
My look of elevation must have read across my face because Luc said, “Go easy, man. It takes a lot to keep this looking good.” He framed his hair.
I tipped my mic at him. “I got you.”
More than he knew.
Turns out I didn’t have to do much at all to get kids and their parents to come over. Luc was required to taunt the crowd as a part of his job as volunteer, and they came in droves. Despite our combined efforts throughout the day, we had yet to dunk him. People just didn’t seem to be able to hit the target, and the large teddy bears behind me didn’t seem like they’d be finding new homes anytime soon. I still had fun, though. It was great people watching, seeing the diverse groups of parents and children. Many of them shared their stories and experiences. It was all around a good time. We were about to shut down our booth for the finale of the carnival, the speaker, when two familiar faces crossed in front of the booth.
I raised the mic to my lips with a smile. “I see a pretty little girl out there who looks like she might have the arm to dunk our clown.”
Whitney’s little head shot my way. She held the hand of Natalia’s mom, Ms. Johnson. Whitney’s toothy grin exposed when she saw it was me speaking to her.
“Care to try your luck, beautiful?” I eyed her.
She practically tugged Ms. Johnson off her feet over to me.
“Hi, Drake!” She sprung up and down on her toes.
“Hey, yourself. You want to take a crack at the clown? He’s looking mighty thirsty for a drink of that water.”
Whitney held out her hand and Ms. Johnson smiled, placing a ticket in her palm. I exchanged the ticket for a ball and handed it to Whitney. She scurried away in front of Luc, and I went around and greeted Ms. Johnson.
“Good to see you, Ms. Johnson,” I said. “I didn’t know you knew Whitney.”
The aging woman smiled. “Good to see you again too, Drake. And yes, I’m babysitting Whitney today. Her mama and I go way back. She had to go into work last minute so I brought Whitney.”
Whitney looked about ready to throw, but I decided to go over and give her a few tips. “Now, make sure you aim right for the target, Whitney. But before you do, you can’t forget to turn on your space shoes.”
She frowned, lowering the ball. “But I’m not wearing space shoes.”
Placing my mic down, I went over to her. “I think you are.”
I squatted, pretending to press buttons on her shoes. On my way back up, I whispered how they worked to her, and she giggled, giving a nod that made the beads on her braids jingle.
Luc eyed the two of us. After adjusting his nose, he popped his hands on his hips. “You can try little girl, but even space shoes can’t beat me.”
These would.
“Now, on three, Whitney,” I prompted. “One. Two. Three.”
I lifted her by the waist, and she threw the ball. The sheer look of terror on Luc’s face was priceless as the ball hit the target and he went for his first drink of the day.
Whitney practically shrieked she was so excited. I gave her a high five and directed her to the wall of prizes. “Take your pick, Whit.”
She crooked her finger at me, and I came over to her, getting to her level.
“Can my prize be a kiss?” she whispered in my ear.
I chuckled, pulling back. “It would be my pleasure.”
I left her a good one right on the cheek and gave her an oversized bear as a bonus. I’d never seen a kid so happy.
Ms. Johnson took her hand. “Come on, Whitney. It’s time to go see Miss Natalia speak.”
I narrowed my eyebrows. “Natalia’s speaking?”
She nodded. “Yes. The scheduled speaker unfortunately couldn’t make it, but Natalia is used to public speaking at events like this. It shouldn’t be a problem for her. You boys should come after you close up shop.”
Myself and Luc, who was still trying to dry his hair, ended up joining Kyle and Mina on the bleachers later that night. The house was packed, and I had anxiety building up in my gut on Natalia’s behalf.
“God, there’s a lot of people here. You think she’ll be okay?” I asked the group.
Mina waved off my comment. She sat on a step below Kyle, resting against his legs. “Oh, yeah. This will be a cakewalk for her. She said we’re going for food right after this. Are you going?”
“Uh, yeah. I am. And I invited Lacey too.”
“Oh, fun. It will be good to see her again.”
I pulled my phone out to text her to be ready, but the lights went dim and Natalia came out to the middle of the floor. I put my phone away and applauded with the rest of the crowd. As I watched her, I knew she’d be okay. She stood tall, waving to everyone like she’d done this a million times before taking the standing mic.
She put a handheld microphone to her lips. “Hi, everyone! I hope you all had a good time today at our first ever Adoptees United Spring Carnival.”
She held out the microphone, pumping up her other hand to amp up crowd noise. They gave it to her, hooting and hollering. When she got the crowd silent, she put the microphone to her lips. “Excellent. Well, now, I want to get a little serious on you all for a minute. I think we all know why we’re here. We’re all a part of the adoptee community, an awesome community full of some of the most inspiring and truly amazing individuals I’ve ever met. Our stories link us; provide us with a bond that is so strong it could never be broken.
My name is Natalia Johnson, and I’m not just one of the organizers of this event, but I’m an adoptee just like you. I was adopted into a wonderful home and a loving family on the West Side of Chicago, but before that, I was abandoned in the countryside in a small village of China. Today, I’m going to tell you my adoption story, and how my experience as an adoptee did anything but break me. Being an adoptee rocks, and today is a celebration of who we are. Our journeys may have started as individuals, but we ended up as a powerful community.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Lacey
“It’s just right up here,” Derrick said, navigating his Cadillac up the hill.
Even without Derrick’s statement that we were coming up on the cemetery I would have known. The location of Mama’s resting place was burned into my memory. I could never forget. It was my mistake Drake and me stumbled upon this area before. I was so happy, so distracted by our time together, I wasn’t aware of how far I traveled.
Today, coming wasn’t a mistake.
My heart raced. My palms sweated beneath my clasped hands. Despite that, I was ready. I was ready to see her.
“Too bad Drake couldn’t come,” Derrick said.
The truth was Drake didn’t know I was doing this. After he explained the details of what he volunteered for, I wanted him to stay. It would be good for him. I decided to use the alone time to spend with Mama. This was something I needed to do.
I faced Derrick, smiling. “He doesn’t know I’m doing this. He’ll come next time. Today, I think I should be alone with her.”
Derrick nodded once, settling on that as he pulled to a stop.
We were here.
Drawing in a deep breath, I righted the yellow lilies on my lap. They were Mama’s favorite flowers too.
“One of my boys lives up the street. I’ll hang there until you’re ready. Just call me.”
I gave Derrick a hug after his words, silent thanks for everything, support and all.
The walk to Mama’s plot was a hard one. Her memories revived with every step my feet made across the soft earth. I forced myself to be happy by the memories instead of sad, and by the time I made it to her, I was at peace. Her place in the park stood out just like she did. The headstone was large, polished marble with elegant script.
Naya Do
uglas
Her own light in the stars
My lips lifted at the words. She’d want her name displayed as if it were on a marquee, so I made sure of that. She was forever a star.
My next thoughts weren’t really thoughts at all. Dropping to my knees, I rested on the grass with her. Doing so only felt natural. Being there with her was as if it were one of the many nights we spent together, me lying in her bed while we did one another’s nails. It was just the two of us for so long, but that was okay. In fact, it was perfect.
I laid the lilies on the green grass, fresh and lovely; just like her.
“Hey, Mama,” I said, arranging the blooms. “I’m so sorry it took so long for me to see you. There’s no excuse for that, but I’m here now, and I hope you’ll forgive me.”
The breeze passed by, brushing my skin and sifting through my hair, and I smiled. I had a feeling I was forgiven.
“So much has happened, Mama. Things I never thought I’d be blessed with. For starters, I met a boy. You met him before. His name is Drake, and he’s so wonderful. I wish you could have gotten to know him. I know you both would have gotten along great. I also think he might be the one. In fact, I know he is.”
I ran my finger under the marble script of her name, listening to the air as if to seek her response. I knew she’d be smiling right now.
“I also was given my greatest wish, my greatest dream. An opera. A leading role in Paris. Can you believe it? The experience was so amazing, but it also helped me realize something. It helped me discover what my true dream was, what I really need, and that’s this.”
I raised my hand, motioning to the small world around me. “Home. You. My family and Drake. I need to do things on my own terms. I need what I love to do while being around the people I love. And you’ll be happy to know I’ve already started that. I have an audition coming up, an open call, and it’s at the big theater. The same stage you starred on. It may not be Paris, but it’s what I need, and I hope I’ll make you proud.”
“I know she would be proud, Lace.”
The Dividing Line Page 25
