Lessons From a Younger Lover

by Zuri Day

  “Who can know the mind of an asshole like my brother?” Ransom said. “All I know is that jail is about the safest place he could be right now.” Ransom sat down on the side of the bed and smoothed Gwen’s hair back away from her face. “How’s my butterfly?”

  “Much better. In fact, I don’t know why I’m still here. I keep telling them I’m fine, but they said Dr. Rolette wanted to do one final check before they released me. But there was an accident early this afternoon and he’s been tied up in surgery. The nurse was here right before you came, though. Said he should be here within the hour and then I can go…. I guess I’ll have to go back there.”

  “No, you don’t. You’ll stay with me. I’ll go get whatever you need right now and once you’ve recovered from everything, we’ll figure out what to do with the house.”

  “I need to call Robert and tell him everything.”

  “And Chantay.”

  “She’s probably ready to kill me. I bet my message box is full of her ranting and raving.”

  “Yes, and she’ll be the first one you call when you get out of here.”

  “You know it.”

  A weary-looking Dr. Rolette walked into the room. “Sorry that you had to wait so long, Gwen,” he said, looking at her chart. “You heard about the accident.”

  “Yes, hopefully everyone was all right.”

  Dr. Rolette looked at Ransom. “You know Carol Connors, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s who we operated on. They were broadsided pretty badly when a car ran a red light and plowed into her.”

  Ransom and Gwen looked at each other. Ransom wasn’t too fond of Carol at the moment, but he’d never wish any harm upon her. “Is she going to be okay?”

  Dr. Rolette sighed. “We’ve got her and the little girl stabilized. They’re both going to need major surgeries and are being transferred to Cedars-Sinai. As for the outcome? It’s in God’s hands.”

  “Kari?” Ransom and Gwen asked at the same time Kari was one of Gwen’s brightest students, and had once been Isis’s best friend. She cared for all of her students and, Kari’s mother notwithstanding, she only wanted the best for her child.

  “Her daughter was in the car?” Ransom continued. “It looks like they’ll make it though, right?”

  “Carol’s injuries were worse. Such a senseless accident, simply caused by someone not paying attention to where he was going. And wouldn’t you know he was the least hurt?” Doctor Rolette shook his head as he reached for Gwen’s wrist to take her pulse. “As for you, young lady, I think you’re going to be fine.” He scanned her chart again. “All of your vitals are normal, your bloodstream is clean. I know you were ready to get out of here this morning, but we can’t be too careful with a woman in your condition.”

  “You mean because of the aftereffects of the drug Adam gave me?”

  Dr. Rolette looked from Ransom to Gwen. “No, Ms. Andrews, because of the aftereffects of having sexual intercourse. You’re pregnant.”

  64

  Gwen stared at the e-mail from the Pasadena School District. It seemed a lifetime ago that she’d sent them her résumé, the week after she and Chantay returned from Jamaica. After reviewing her information, they were e-mailing to request an interview. When she’d sent the résumé, this was exactly the outcome for which she’d hoped. Now, not only did she not know where she’d be teaching next year, she didn’t know if she’d be teaching at all.

  It had been three weeks since Adam’s attempted rape and receiving the news that at the ripe old age of forty, Gwen was expecting her first child. Life had been a series of transitions and news flashes since then. For starters, Gwen had placed her mother’s belongings in storage and moved in with Ransom. Adam had been terminated as principal of Sienna Elementary. Even with this news, Gwen had resigned her teaching position. Everyone knew that Adam had tried to break in to her house, and from the whispers and surreptitious looks she’d received on the few occasions she’d ventured out, they suspected there was more to the story. If Gwen had her way, no one would ever know how much more. What she and Ransom had discovered during what the hospital had thought was a routine release still sent chills down her spine.

  “Okay,” the nurse had said cheerfully, holding out a bag. “Here are your personal belongings.”

  “My personal belongings? I don’t think I arrived with anything.”

  “Oh, not much. Just your bedspread and cell phone.” With that, the nurse had smiled and left.

  Gwen had dumped the bedspread out of the bag and retrieved the cell phone. Right away, she knew it wasn’t hers. When Ransom came out of the bathroom, she asked him about it.

  “Did you leave this at my house?” Gwen asked. “The night you came over and…rescued me?”

  Ransom frowned as he took the phone. “No, this isn’t mine. Where did you get it?”

  “The nurse said it was tangled up in the bedspread.”

  Ransom and Gwen had a simultaneous lightbulb moment. Adam.

  “Maybe that’s why he ransacked the house,” Gwen offered. “He was trying to find his phone.”

  Ransom flipped open the phone and began scrolling down the text messages. There were intermittent ones between Adam, Brea, Joanna, and Carol, but all of the last ones had been with Brea alone. His suspicions were instantly confirmed—she had known about Adam’s twisted revenge plot. Ransom was about to destroy the phone when he noticed the camera button engaged. Instinctively, he pushed it to see what had been taken most recently. His hand shook as he viewed the images. When Gwen tried to look over his shoulder at what was obviously upsetting him, he’d pulled away from her and destroyed the phone with his bare hands. He’d been eerily quiet after that, as Gwen was being checked out of the hospital and during the drive home. Once she and Isis were safe in his home, he’d looked at Gwen somberly, kissed her, and said, “I need to handle something. I love you.”

  Gwen called his cell phone repeatedly to find out what was wrong with him. After he told her not to worry and ended the first call, her further attempts went directly to voice mail. What had he seen on Adam’s cell phone? Then Gwen began to imagine, and became even more frightened for Ransom. She knew she’d arrived at the hospital wearing just her underwear. If Adam had taken pictures…

  Ransom arrived at the county jail, located in Lancaster, and ran into Carlos. “Where is he?”

  Unlike when Officer Carlos Lopez had responded to Gwen’s nine-one-one and instead of a burglar, found his friend and ex-classmate looking for squirrels and helping an old lady, his latest call had resulted in arresting the man he’d just transported to jail. Upon seeing Ransom, and hearing the eerie calm in his voice, Carlos immediately became concerned. “Dude,” Carlos said. “What’s going on?”

  “Adam. I need to see him.”

  Carlos had seen Ransom angry a time or two, and didn’t like the vibe emitting from his friend. “He can’t have visitors right now,” he lied, actually not having any idea about Adam’s status regarding visitors. “What’s up with you, man?”

  Ransom’s eyes narrowed as he took in Carlos’s countenance. He knew his friend wasn’t telling the truth. “He dishonored my woman. Go back in there with me, Carlos. Help me get past the bars, man. I need to see him face to face.”

  “I can’t do that, partner,” Carlos said. “Think of your daughter, man. He ain’t worth it, dog. Look, I’ll do what I can to make sure he’s in here for a minute. The sheriff owes me a couple favors, know what I’m sayin’? Go calm down, man. Love your girl, your daughter. Adam is where he belongs. Don’t stoop to his level, son.”

  Ransom took several deep breaths to still his racing heart. He was like a pit bull, ready to tear up anything he got his hands on. But he knew Carlos was right. It would serve no purpose, other than the perverse satisfaction of seeing facial features rearranged, for Ransom to assault Adam right now.

  “I’m your boy, right?” Carlos asked softly, as he pulled out his billy club and began tapping it against his ha
nd.

  Ransom nodded.

  “Then go on home and handle your household. Trust me, partner, we got this.”

  Unable to concentrate on the e-mails she was reading, Gwen got up and went into the kitchen for a glass of orange juice. Her mind was still replaying the events of the past month, even as Ransom had encouraged her to try and forget the past, to focus on the future.

  Gwen despised Adam for what he’d tried to do to her. Ransom refused to tell her what he’d seen on the camera phone, but Gwen wasn’t stupid. It had to be shots of her. But why? Any answer that came to her mind was definitely not good. He could have taken the pictures for blackmail purposes, maybe put them on the Internet, who knows? Still, she wasn’t happy to hear what happened to him shortly before his release from jail, that he’d been jumped by several inmates and severely beaten. According to Miss Mary, who’d overheard the conversation while waiting for a double vanilla latte at Kristy’s, he was holed up somewhere in Los Angeles nursing his injuries, and that once the school year was over, Joanna—now three months pregnant—would join him there. The irony of their similar situations wasn’t lost on Gwen, and it was with a tinge of sadness that she realized these babies, first cousins, would likely never know each other. Equally disturbing was Ransom’s reaction to the serious assault on his brother. He’d simply shrugged, said “shit happens,” and continued slicing vegetables for a stir fry.

  The phone rang, and Gwen welcomed the interruption, especially when she saw who it was. “Hey, brother.”

  “Hey, mother-to-be. How’s my favorite big sister?”

  “Fool, I’m your only big sister.”

  “Doesn’t make you any less my favorite. How’s my little niece or nephew doing?”

  “Fine, I guess. I’m only eight weeks, Robert, and since I haven’t experienced any morning sickness or other symptoms, I sometimes wonder if I’m really pregnant at all.”

  “Don’t tell me you went out and bought another pregnancy test.”

  Gwen laughed. Robert was one of only three people she’d told that since getting the word from the hospital and having her first appointment with her ob-gyn, she’d still taken three at-home pregnancy tests, fearing that this whole episode was just her imagination and that at any moment she was going to wake up from the dream. “I think I almost believe it,” Gwen finally answered. “Just one or two more…”

  “I’ll send you a box if you want,” Robert said lovingly. “You’ve waited a long time for this, Gwen. I’m so happy for you. Just think. Our kids will grow up together.”

  “Wow, so many babies at once. There must be something in the water here in Sienna.”

  “Are you forgetting we live in Seattle?”

  “Are you forgetting that you were here a few months ago checking on Mama?”

  “Denise was already pregnant by then.”

  “Speaking of, how is little Lorraina? And how is Denise holding up?”

  “She’s good. We had natural childbirth this time. Denise seems to be recovering faster.”

  “It’s only been two weeks. You tell that girl to take it easy,” Gwen said.

  Robert laughed. “Okay, sis, I’ll do that.”

  “I love you, baby brother.”

  “I love you, big sis.”

  Gwen hung up from Robert and dialed her mother. “Hey, Mama.”

  “Hey, Gwen. You still pregnant?” Lorraine’s tittering laughter floated through the phone.

  “Last time I checked,” Gwen responded, smiling. Lorraine was the third person she’d told about her paranoia, after confiding in Chantay. Ransom already knew—he was the one she sent to buy the at-home tests.

  “I’m so happy for you, baby. You can check all you want to, but you’re going to be fine. Esther believes in that astrology nonsense, and she said you were going to have a healthy baby boy. I don’t believe in it, mind you, but that’s what she said.

  “We’re still on for a girls’ day out tomorrow, right?”

  “Actually, Mama, someone will be joining us. I want you to meet Ransom.”

  “I’d love to meet this man who’s put pep back in your step. But you’ll have to have me home by five. I have a date.”

  “You what? Mama, have you been taking your medication?”

  “Trust me, daughter, I have all my senses about me. Your mother and her man friend are getting serious. Guess you would call it ‘going steady.’ You’ll meet him tomorrow.”

  “Wow, Mama. This is different. Maybe you can invite your friend along and we’ll double date, how’s that?”

  “Oh, Lord. Now I’m contemplating introducing my sixty-some-year-old boyfriend to my daughter while meeting her twenty-something fiancé. I must be losing my mind!”

  “Times they are a’-changing,” Gwen agreed.

  After another thirty minutes of conversation, Gwen put down the phone in disbelief. Her sixty-three-year-old mother had a boyfriend. No wonder she laughed so much these days. And Gerald, Gwen learned, had just gotten yet another promotion. All in all the Andrews family had a lot to be thankful for, starting with the heartbeat beneath Gwen’s still-flat belly.

  65

  It was the middle of May and the weather couldn’t have been more perfect. Neither could the setting. Gwen took in the gardens of The Willows Desert Inn. When she and Ransom had decided to move up their wedding because of the pregnancy, their first thought had been a quickie wedding in Las Vegas. And then Ransom had mentioned Palm Springs, where their love had blossomed, and Gwen immediately knew it was the perfect place.

  The ceremony had been short and simple, the wedding party small. Gwen wore a pink chiffon knee-length dress with Lorraine’s lucky butterfly brooch prominently displayed on the bodice. Ransom looked stunning in a white tux. Chantay and Carlos were maid of honor and best man, and Isis had served as a “miss of honor” and special witness. Miss Lorraine and Miss Mary were beside themselves with the beauty of their surroundings, and had spent much of the time since the “I do’s” walking around the beautiful grounds and catching up on the latest gossip. Lorraine’s beau, Frank, was content to sit and watch the festivities while nursing a glass of brandy, a no-no at Sunrise Place, but an indulgence Gwen had overlooked. Robert, Denise, Robert Jr., two-month-old Lorraina, Gerald and his wife, Sandy, Derek (who was back with Chantay following a brief, post-island break-up), Carlos’s wife, Lupa, Ransom’s parents, and a few employees from Blake Construction rounded out those in attendance. All were happily enjoying a sit-down dinner of Chateaubriand, lobster, roasted potatoes, and spring vegetables.

  Gwen and Ransom walked from table to table, personally thanking everyone for sharing their special day. They arrived at the table with Derek, Chantay, Robert, and Denise just as Chantay was being her usual life-of-the-party self.

  “I don’t mean no disrespect, Denise,” she said around a mouthful of lobster. “But that man there was supposed to be my baby daddy.”

  “Chantay,” Robert warned.

  “Oh no,” Denise said, laughing. “Do go on. I want to hear all the old dirt.”

  “Baby, I got some for you,” Chantay said. “Like that time Robert tried to sneak in the girls’ locker room and locked his fool self in there. Or what about when you forgot to lotion your legs before that basketball game with the LA Jaguars? Girl, his legs were so ashy that if the scoreboard had gone out, they could have written the numbers on his thighs!”

  The table erupted in laughter.

  “I’m telling you, the brother was black from the waist up and white from the waist down!”

  Ransom and Gwen joined the laughter, made pleasantries, and moved on. They stopped to chat with Carlos and Lupa, who were acting like lovebirds in the romantic setting.

  “It was a beautiful wedding,” Lupa said to Gwen. “Thank you for inviting us.”

  “I understand Ransom and Carlos went to school together. I’ll have you guys over for dinner, as soon as we get settled.”

  “Do you think you’ll like living here in Palm Springs?”
/>
  Ransom pulled Gwen to his side and kissed her temple. “We’re going to love it!” he replied.

  Gwen and Ransom had talked about relocating shortly after the Adam incident. Then, as fate would have it, Ransom’s company won a huge bid to build a resort in the area, a project that would take at least three years. The beautiful and laid back community would be perfect for Isis and one where Gwen could find work in a year or so, when she decided to rejoin the workforce. When they toured a brand-new, four-bedroom villa with outdoor pool, Jacuzzi, professional-sized barbeque pit and basketball and tennis courts, they knew they’d found their new home. Finding a plush, private, ten-unit assisted living facility for Lorraine and Frank, located just ten minutes from their subdivision, sealed the deal.

  Miss Mary and Miss Lorraine were coming around the walkway just as Ransom and Gwen reached where they’d been sitting.

  “Miss Mary, are you still looking for a boyfriend?” Ransom teased.

  “Hmph. Gwen better not leave your side for too long,” Miss Mary replied as she sidled up to Ransom and placed a brazen arm around his waist. “Or else I’ll be done found one!”

  Ransom hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek. Miss Mary blushed profusely. “Aw, get on, now,” she said, pushing away from him. “You ’bout to start something.” Then she lowered her voice. “You heard about Carol, huh?”

  “That she’s paralyzed from the waist down?” Ransom nodded. “But they think she might walk again….”

  “Ms. Disney talked to her parents, who remain optimistic,” Miss Mary replied. “Meanwhile, they are left to raise that grandbaby. Not so easy to do when you’re nigh onto seventy.”

  Talking about Kari and her mother made Ransom think about Brea. It was a shame that he couldn’t feel safe with her taking his child and spending time on their own. But she was still smarting from the verbal thrashing he gave her once Isis and Gwen were safe, including the command to never take his child anywhere without his prior permission. Until everything was official through the courts, and he felt he could trust her, it was back to supervised visits only once again.