by Mary Monroe
“Don’t worry. We won’t need a lawyer to get involved in this. This is just another part of the plan to keep Lo’retta in line, in case she tries to stir up some mess later on down the road,” Maureen explained. Big Maureen’s silence told Maureen that even more of an explanation was necessary. “We’ll make Lo’retta think these papers are real, but they will be as phony as a three-dollar bill. After she signs them, you, me, and Virgil will be the only ones with copies.”
“What about Lo’retta? Won’t she need a copy?”
“She can have a copy if she wants one, but it won’t do her a bit of good. I’m goin’ to have Virgil word it so she can never try to contact her child, even after it gets grown.”
“Oh.” Big Maureen’s silence worried Maureen. “I’m glad Mama Ruby didn’t sign no papers like that when she gave me up. My daddy’s mama wouldn’t have been able to find me and bring me home to my real family. I’d still be the lost orphan child that I was for the first fifteen years of my life.”
Maureen was tired of all the secrets and lies in her family, but she knew that for the good of everybody involved, some of the secrets had to remain. Mama Ruby had given up her own baby and then stolen one from another woman. Well, with Loretta’s baby, it was time for somebody to do the right thing. But was what she had cooked up the right thing? Maureen wondered. She didn’t know the answer to that question, and she didn’t want to dwell on it. As far as she was concerned, it was the best thing for everybody involved.
After Maureen ended her call with Big Maureen, she began to pace back and forth, almost walking a hole in her living room carpet. She had overloaded her mind with more scary thoughts. Now she had one more thing to be on pins and needles about. In addition to being nervous about getting married soon, and still trying to get used to the fact that she had been kidnapped at birth, she was scared to death that Loretta might change her mind about the baby. That night before she went to sleep, she prayed twice as long as she usually did.
Maureen dialed Loretta’s telephone number several times over the next couple of days. Each time the answering machine picked up. So far, Loretta had not returned any of her calls. That made Maureen even more nervous and apprehensive. She couldn’t wait for this adoption thing to be over and done with.
That Sunday, Virgil composed a very official-looking bogus contract on his computer. The next day, Maureen sent it by registered mail to Loretta. She called Loretta’s residence again and left a detailed voice mail, alerting her that the “contract” was on the way. Maureen had to make sure that Loretta didn’t get slaphappy and talk to one of her so-called new friends, or somebody with some legal knowledge. The message she left informed Loretta that if she involved someone else, the couple in Canada would cancel everything and she’d be stuck with a baby she didn’t want.
Loretta didn’t bother to return that call either. The only way Maureen knew she had received the document was when she verified its delivery with the post office.
Loretta had not only received and signed the document, but she also returned it to Maureen by overnight FedEx the next day. That was a good sign, Maureen decided. Even so, all kinds of random thoughts kept entering her mind. Like, what if five or ten years from now, Loretta had a change of heart and hired a lawyer to help her get her baby back? Or what if Loretta did something stupid and had a miscarriage? And the worst thought of all: What if Loretta and Mel got back together and he talked her into keeping the baby?
Maureen knew that she wouldn’t be able to rest or sleep right again until everything was over—her marriage to Mel and the “adoption.”
She waited a few more days and dialed Loretta’s number again and got her answering machine once more. “Hello, baby. I hope you are takin’ care of yourself. Uh, Jay and I finally set a date to get married. We are not doin’ anything fancy or even in a church. Big Mo’reen recently had surgery and is taking longer to recover, so she can’t make it back to Florida to see me and Jay get married anyway. We’re just goin’ to go to the courthouse. Virgil and Corrine will be our witnesses.” Maureen knew that it would do no good to invite Loretta to come home to see her get married, so she didn’t even bother with that. It broke her heart to be so cold toward her own child, but what choice did she have? Loretta knew what she wanted to do with her life, and it didn’t include her countrified mother.
Three days later, Maureen received a card from Loretta congratulating her on her upcoming nuptials. It made Maureen cry. It was the plainest, cheapest (ninety-nine cent) card that she had ever received in her life. But it was still special. Maureen didn’t mention the card to Jay or anybody else. She slid it back into the envelope and placed it in her Bible, paper clipped to the original copy of Mama Ruby’s death certificate.
“Have you been crying again?” It was the first question out of Jay’s mouth when he arrived at Maureen’s apartment a couple of hours after she had read the card from Loretta.
“Somethin’ got caught in my eye,” she fibbed, wrapping her arms around his waist. “What’s up?” She grinned.
“Look, we need to get to the furniture store by tomorrow. We have to pick out the rest of our stuff by then if we want it to be delivered before the wedding.”
“Okay. Oh, by the way, Catty and Fast Black keep makin’ a fuss about us not havin’ a big church weddin’ or even a reception,” Maureen told Jay.
“That’s too bad,” he chortled. “I don’t want to do any of that. I’m tired of bein’ the center of attention.”
Somehow, the news had been leaked to the press that Jay was getting married. Several photographers and a couple of reporters were already at the courthouse when he and Maureen, with Virgil and Corrine in tow, got there the following Saturday afternoon.
“I guess the world will never let me forget about what happened to me. I just hope that someday you can forget about it and we can go on with our lives and live like normal people,” Jay told Maureen the day after they had exchanged vows. A picture of them running out of the courthouse was on the front page of the local newspaper that day, as were a few updated bits and pieces about Jay’s kidnapping. “The way these people are carrying on, you would think that I was the only black baby in America that ever got kidnapped! It’s a good thing I had the strong, loving mother I had—even though she wasn’t really mine. She taught me to be strong. If I hadn’t had her, I would probably be stone crazy by now. Do you know what I mean?”
A slight smile crossed Maureen’s face and she nodded. “Yes, I do know what you mean.”
CHAPTER 68
A WEEK BEFORE SHE WAS DUE TO DELIVER HER BABY, LORETTA CALLED home. It was Valentine’s Day.
“Mama, it’s me,” she announced. Loretta sounded so casual you would have thought that she and Maureen had been chatting every day since her departure.
Loretta did not apologize or explain why she had not returned any of Maureen’s telephone calls.
“It’s so good to hear your voice,” Maureen said. Her voice was shaking like she was about to throw up. “I hadn’t heard from you and I was wonderin’ what was goin’ on with you these days.”
“You know I’m a busy girl, Mama. Me and Kyle plan to get married in a few months. Oh, our weddin’ is goin’ to be so cute. He’s real close friends with this white dude who owns a house in the Hamptons. He said we could get married on his yacht.”
“A yacht? Oh my God!”
“Don’t sound so surprised, Mama. You know the kind of people I like to associate with. I don’t know any losers anymore.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Maureen sniffed.
“Speakin’ of losers, how is everybody doin’ down there in Florida?”
“I don’t know any losers down here in Florida, but everybody I do know is doin’ just fine.”
“Oh. Well, that’s nice. Anyway, Kyle really loves me. Mel didn’t know what real love was.”
Maureen could have gotten a lot of mileage out of Loretta’s last comment, but she didn’t think it was worth it. What she did say
was enough. “I kind of figured that out.”
“Kyle’s mama is a white woman. I never thought that we’d have white folks in our family!”
“Neither did I,” Maureen said. She wondered what Loretta would say if she knew that a white boy had fathered her.
“And he’s Jewish. I know what a Jesus freak you can be, so I hope him bein’ a Jew won’t upset you.”
“I don’t care what his religion is. I just hope this boy Kyle is good to you,” Maureen managed.
“Oh, he’s everything I ever wanted in a man—cute, generous, funny, ambitious, tall, and a great kisser. And he’s not a boy, Mama! He’s a mature man of twenty-two.” At least he’s closer to Loretta’s age than Mel was, Maureen was glad to hear. “Kyle is a makeup artist, so he knows a lot of people in the modelin’ industry and he’s goin’ to help me make it to the top.”
Like Mel was supposed to, Maureen thought. The comment was on the tip of her tongue. “I hope you’ll be very happy, Lo’retta. You deserve it.”
“You bet I do. After all Mel put me through. And guess what, Mama?”
“What, Lo’retta?”
“Mel had the nerve to move in with some pig-faced little skank from Detroit of all places, the butthole of the ghetto world. Talk about scrapin’ the bottom of the barrel! That hoochie-coochie woman made a lame music video with some has-been rapper—who just got out of prison—so now she thinks her butt don’t stink. She had the nerve to tell me to my face that she was movin’ to Miami to model. Miami! I told that numbskull that you don’t end up in Miami, that you start off your career there. Anybody with a brain knows that South Florida is like an elephant’s graveyard. That’s why so many old people retire and move there to die. Anyway, Mel talked her out of it and they decided to stay in New York.”
“Harrumph. I didn’t know you and Mel still talked to one another,” Maureen said sourly. She wanted to throw up every time Mel’s name came up in a conversation.
“We don’t. We just know some of the same people. That’s how I get the news about him and that rag doll in blackface he dumped me for. I don’t know if I told you, but you don’t know how lucky you are that he’s out of your life.”
“Oh yes, I do,” Maureen said quickly. “I wouldn’t trade five Mels for one Jay.”
Loretta took her time responding. “Umph! You still with Jaaay?”
Maureen knew that Loretta had never cared much for Jay. She obviously still didn’t and probably never would. The way she spat out his name made it sound obscene.
“We got married. I left you a message on your machine. You sent me a card congratulatin’ us,” Maureen reminded her in a low, exasperated voice. “I hope you ain’t gettin’ senile like me.”
“I just forgot, that’s all,” Loretta whined.
“You should be havin’ the baby in about a week, right?” Maureen asked, holding her breath. She never knew what Loretta was going to say next.
“That’s why I called you today. Will you get in touch with Big Mo’reen and tell her she should get up here right away? The next couple of days, if possible. I want her to be here the day I drop this load so she can take it off my hands and be on her way with it to Canada so I can put this out of my mind—and so I can start losin’ this damn weight!”
“I’ll call Big Mo’reen right away,” Maureen said quickly.
“Good! And, Mama, please take care of yourself,” Loretta advised, almost sounding like the caring, loving daughter she used to be.
“I will. You do the same, Lo’retta,” Maureen croaked. “Uh, Lo’retta, no matter what happens, I’ll always be just a phone call away. My number will never change and if somethin’ happens and you can’t get in touch with me, you can always call up your uncle Virgil. His phone number is the same one he had since he got out of the army.” Maureen tried to think of other things to say to Loretta because she didn’t know if Loretta was about to hang up, and she had no idea when she would speak to her again.
“Mama, I know I wasn’t the best daughter in the world, but you did a real good job raisin’ me. I wanted to let you know that. I know . . . I know you spoiled me on account of my twin gettin’ drowned. I wonder how I would have turned out if she had lived.”
“I wonder that same thing myself, Lo’retta. I spoiled you and didn’t whup you enough, but I did the best I could.”
“You did, Mama. I will always love you for that.” Loretta actually sounded remorseful. She paused and for a moment Maureen thought she’d hear a few sobs coming from Loretta’s end. But she didn’t. “I wish to God that Mama Ruby hadn’t died so soon,” Loretta said, no longer sounding remorseful. Now she sounded angry. “She would have taken care of us! With her guidance and protection, our lives would be so different right now. She wouldn’t have let Mel get close enough to even smell me or you, huh?”
“That’s for damn sure,” Maureen agreed. “But Mama Ruby is gone and we have to live without her guidance and protection.”
“Yeah. And like I just said, I know I wasn’t the best daughter in the world, but I know you loved me anyway.”
“We did have some good times together. Before and after Mama Ruby died. You weren’t the worst daughter in the world, and I still love you,” Maureen assured Loretta.
“You do? You still love me?”
Maureen was surprised that Loretta sounded so surprised to hear that she still loved her. “I always will. That’s what bein’ a mother is all about.”
“Oh. It is? Hmmm . . .”
Maureen’s mind almost shut down on her. The last thing she wanted now was for Loretta to be thinking about motherhood. She was terrified at the thought that Loretta may want to keep her baby after all. Maureen didn’t know what she would do if she did, but she knew that Big Maureen would never get over such a major disappointment. She immediately began to do some damage control. “Uh, but bein’ a mother is very hard work. You have to be really ready for it and you have to make all kinds of sacrifices. A baby could really put a girl’s career on hold, maybe even end it!”
Loretta groaned in agreement. “Tell me about it. Anyway, if you and Jay ever have kids, I hope—” She stopped. “Never mind, Mama.” Then in a very loud and impatient voice she said, “Sorry, but I gotta run! Just get in touch with Big Mo’reen and make sure she gets up here in time to pick up this baby so I won’t have to deal with it that much. She can sort out things with that Canadian couple. They are probably uppity anyway, so I’m glad I don’t have to deal with them. I want this baby to be out of my life forever as soon as possible. I don’t even want to look at it, but I will have to do that after all. At least for the first day after it’s born. I haven’t told my doctor that I am not keepin’ this child, and it might look funny for me not to even look at it after it’s born, and then for Big Maureen to show up in the hospital and take it on the same day. I’ll take it home and hang on to it just long enough for Big Maureen to situate herself and be on her way with it.”
It. Maureen wondered what Mama Ruby would say if she knew that her granddaughter thought of her child as an “it.” Well, it was going to be raised by the right—no, the best—mother. Just like Jay and Maureen had been.
CHAPTER 69
BIG MAUREEN ANSWERED HER TELEPHONE ON THE FIRST RING. WHEN Maureen told her she needed to get ready to head to New York as soon as possible, Big Maureen told her, “Girl, I packed my suitcase the same day you told me Lo’retta was goin’ to let me have that baby!”
“Now, don’t you get up there to New York and say the wrong things to Lo’retta,” Maureen warned. “It could mess up our plans.”
“What do you mean? What wrong things do you think I might go up there and say to Lo’retta?” Big Maureen asked in a gruff voice. “I ain’t stupid.”
“I know that, but we just have to make sure we keep our stories straight, that’s all. Don’t say nothin’ that you and I and Virgil didn’t discuss. If Lo’retta asks you somethin’ you don’t know, just play dumb, claim partial amnesia if you have to. When you ge
t to New York, the basic story is you came to pick up the baby to take it to that childless couple in Canada. Don’t add to that.”
“Hmmm. What kind of story will Lo’retta be tellin’ the folks at the hospital? Don’t they have all kinds of rules and regulations? I can’t just walk up in there and tell them to hand me over that baby. This ain’t no puppy I’m goin’ to collect.”
“Lo’retta won’t be tellin’ them anything. I think she’s goin’ to take the baby to her place so you can pick it up there. She said you need to be in New York before or right after she gives birth so she won’t have to deal with the baby any longer than she has to. And she told me she’s gettin’ married as soon as all of this is over.”
“Married? Heaven forbid it ain’t to that doggish Mel. If I could get my hands on him, I’d wring his pecker off with my bare hands like I was wringin’ a chicken’s neck!”
“Mel dumped Lo’retta for another girl. Lo’retta’s marryin’ somebody else,” Maureen said glumly.
“Well, whoever he is, he has my sympathy. I’m goin’ to pray for him. Lo’retta needs a whuppin’ more than she needs a husband!”
“Well, it’s too late for a whuppin’,” Maureen whimpered, wondering if Loretta would have turned out better if she had whupped her as often as Mama Ruby had whupped Maureen when she got out of line.
“Little Mo’reen, I’m beside myself with disbelief! Only God knows what that girl will do next.”
“I know. She’s somethin’ else,” Maureen mumbled.
“Listen, I know you just got married a little while ago yourself and all, but can you meet me in New York?”
“What? Why?” Maureen gulped. “I don’t think Lo’retta wants to see my face anytime soon. To be honest with you, I’m not that anxious to see hers, either.”
“I just need somebody strong like you to be with me in case somethin’ goes wrong after I get there.”
Maureen laughed. “I don’t think anything is goin’ to go wrong. Lo’retta will be as anxious to get this baby off her hands as you will be to get it.”
