She'd been able to put him off, once again. Refusing to go any further with the discussion. That had been six years ago. He hadn't brought it back up again. May have not given thought to it again, if it hadn't been for Shawn coming to visit her. She sure hoped like hell that that, wasn't what was on his mind. Yet, she knew as far as this was concerned, there were no coincidences, nor was she dumb. His spotting Shawn, and the inquiry of whether he had been there, was the opener leading to what he was about to bring back up. It seemed that all of her life, she would pay for having slept with those two brothers. There seemed to be no end to her punishment for it.
He was hesitating.
That was a sure sign. She figured he was trying to think of another way to possibly getting her to confess. Christine stiffened her resolve.
"Mom..."
"Yes?" She patiently responded again.
"Can you tell me this ... why have so many people made claims, that Jake is not my father? And those same people, claiming, that Shawn is? Did you - date Shawn, mom? Once, a long time ago?"
Christine spun and stared at her son. Looking at him right then, she realized something that sucked the air out of her. He looked just like his father. Having seen Shawn again, after so many years, having the look of him so fresh in her mind's eye, and then seeing her son standing there, with the same short, buzz hair cut, both of them wearing an earring. A small gold hoop. Same eyes, same build... yet Benjamin was taller, almost floored her. Anger became her outlet for having turned so red and breathless.
"I am so sick and tired of you coming to me with this same old - boring question! I have told you - time and time again, who your father is! It is on your birth certificate, and it was his name on every check that arrived with child support for you! And it is validated by your own grandparents, Bart and Gert!"
"I just wanna know the truth, mom."
"I've told you the truth!"
"You said that he wasn't here today, yet - he was on the road coming from here. There is no reason whatsoever for him to be on this road, mom, unless he came on it to see someone." Benjamin accused.
"Well, if he was - it wasn't to see me!"
"What are you trying to hide, mom? Why can't you just come clean with the truth!" Benjamin was starting to lose his patience now.
"What, son? All of a sudden, Jake not good enough to be your father?! That it? Shawn's back now and he's pretty well-off, you needing something suddenly that your father or I can't provide you with? That it?"
"THAT'S GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT! DON'T TURN THIS AROUND LIKE IT'S ME! ALL I WANNA KNOW IS, WHO MY FATHER IS!!"
"JA-A-AKE!! JA-A-AKE!! JA-A-AKE!!" She screamed at him.
He backed away, turned, and took off to jump in his car. Started it up, and kicked up dust out of there.
The air went right out of her. He even left in huff like his father. She walked slowly out of the shed to watch him turn the corner out of the driveway so fast, the car almost tilted on two wheels. With her heart pounding, she turned to go to the house, to see Quincy standing in the door with it open. He still had the paper in his hand and was staring at her with a look of exactly what he asked, "What the hell is all that yelling about?! What's wrong with Benjamin?"
Christine was too upset to answer, she only shook her head, and entered the house sliding in the door past her husband and going to her sewing room; where she closed the door and sat feeling irritated and angry.
Chapter 154
What should have been a three and half hour journey, had in fact, turned into a five hour trip. A whole hour and a half late! Vivian was worried. She was feeling awful that Bart and Gert were no doubt there, waiting for her train all of that time. A whole hour and a half! When the Amtrak finally pulled into the small Wisconsin Dells train depot, Vivian was searching through the small group of people waiting at the platform for family members. Suddenly, she saw a hand waving and a smile burst upon her face. Gert had spotted her looking for them. Vivian waved back, overjoyed. There, too, was Bart standing next to her, with his John Deere bill cap on. Vivian turned from the window and made her way out into the aisle, grabbing her carrying bag that she brought on board. She was glad that she took the time, half an hour ago, to freshen up her make-up, brush her teeth, and smooth her hair. Excitement coursed through her to be off the train so she could finally greet them.
The moment she appeared in the doorway, after waiting her turn to step onto the temporary steps provided by the porter, and down onto the platform, Gert was there to grab her and hug her.
"Oh, my darlin'! Look at you! You okay? Let me see your hand." Gert asked, after the tight hug.
"Yep, I'm fine. It's still bandaged, but sore. I keep forgetting and closing my hand on it." She explained, touched by the joy and care on Gert's face.
"I'm sure it is, when we get back to the house, you can get comfortable and rest a bit. I bet you're worn out from the trip up here."
"Actually, I had a nice nap, so I'm not that tired. I'm just upset that it arrived so late, and you had to wait here all that time for me."
"Darlin', we're in Wisconsin Dells. There's plenty to do to burn up an hour and a half. Ain't that right, Bart?" Gert turned, to include her husband.
"You bet there is. We were just fine. You hungry, lil' gal?"
Vivian felt her cheeks heat, Jake sounded so much like his father, and to hear his dad call her 'lil' gal', when Jake always referred to her as lil' girl, made her feel that she was as close to the next best thing to being with him as she could be.
"To be honest, I am...just a bit." She returned, smiling up at him.
"Say no more." He returned, "Got any more bags?" He asked next.
"Yes... two."
Bart nodded and walked with them towards the luggage carriage where they were passing people their bags. Two very nice, dark floral-print canvas and leather, 26" size luggage with wheels sat waiting to be wheeled away.
"Oh! Those two are mine, here... I'll get one."
Gert and Bart looked at each other and smiled, by the looks of her luggage, she must have packed enough clothing to stay five months, let alone six days. Bart muttered to Gert on his way to grabbing one, "Your boy get this one, he gonna need a second job."
Gert could only smile. Imagining herself to be looking at her future daughter-in-law. She sighed, looking at the clothing she wore; Gert knew quality and cost when she saw it. She had no doubts that the ensemble she was wearing, more than likely, cost more than all the clothing Jake had right now, thanks to them burning his home down.
"Well, let's get going here, mother. Young lady, you ever been to the Dells?" Bart asked, leading the way with one of her bags, while she followed pulling the other.
"Just passed through sir, never stopped in before. I've heard plenty enough about it. Watched enough ads on TV, in Chicago."
"I see, you ever out of Chicago much? Been anywhere else?"
"Just Japan and Honolulu - other than there - I've only gone to Michigan or Indiana, where family lives."
"You've been to Japan, have you?" Gert asked, as they stopped by their Towne car, Bart popping the trunk. "How was it there?"
"Crowded. Colorful. Beautiful in some places; best thing - the food... I simply loved the food." Vivian answered, after Bart hefted both bags in the truck and closed them in.
"I see, so where would you like to eat, then?" Gert asked.
"I'm not hard to please, ma'am-..."
"EH! What's this, ma'am, nonsense!" Gert corrected right away, after Bart handed them both into the car and closing their doors.
"Sorry." Vivian smiled, buckling her seat. Bart climbed in and slammed his door. "Mama Gert - I am not hard to please. One place is just as good as the other."
"Mother, let's just take her to our favorite place."
"I think that's a good idea." Gert agreed. "You all buckled up, honey?" She asked back to Vivian.
"All buckled up." Vivian called. Loving the luxury of the large, new Lincoln Towne car. It appeared to be the newest
model, and the seat in the back was so comfortable she could easily sleep there.
Their favorite restaurant was the Field's Premier Steak House
, expensive, but worth it. The layout was stunning, with Frank Lloyd Wright showing off one of his many great architectural designs. Vivian was in heaven. She could immediately see why it was one of their favorite places to enjoy dinner. They were taken to a table in the gallery room, small, quaint and intimate. Only thing that was missing for her that wonderful evening, was the presence of their son, Jake. They were seated. Their good fortune was that it was early to mid-week. Memorial Day weekend was the holiday that the Dells opened full swing. This time next week, they'd be waiting for a seat if no reservations were made in advance.
After water was served, all three declined a drink. Gert ordered a starter for them, shrimp cocktail and jumbo crab lump. Vivian ordered herself a filet mignon steak, salad, no potato. Bart ordered his usual, as did Gert. Once their orders were taken and their waitress disappeared from sight, they could talk.
"What an incredible place this is, I simply love it." Vivian started first, reaching into the empty chair next to her for her purse. She was a bit awkward with her injured hand, but opened it, next her wallet to extract the amount of her train ticket.
"My husband will only eat here, I'm afraid." Gert commented, as she watched Vivian count out bills to hand to them. "Honey, what are you doing?" Gert stopped her to ask.
"This is for my ticket here, I was able to go to the bank before I left, to withdraw some money." She answered, holding it towards them. They both looked at it like she was asking them to hold her pet worm.
"Lil' gal - you can put that away. Your money's no good here. I don't recall asking you to make sure you've got our money. Mother, you tell her she needed that?"
"I never said no such a thing. Put it away, darling, and save it for a rainy day. Like my husband said, your money's no good here. This entire visit is solely our treat, so just relax, and don't worry about things like that, you hear?" Gert backed her husband.
With a sigh, Vivian nodded and put the money back in her wallet.
"You file a police report 'bout what happened?" Bart asked.
"Yes ... the thing is, my landlord had to come and change my locks on my front and back door. Everything is gone, all of my ID's. My credit cards, really and truly, I suppose I should have stayed in Chicago and started gathering everything I need to get another ID and driver's license. Only thing I could see my way to doing was canceling my credit cards."
"Least you got that done. That's the most important thing, you can worry with the rest later, you need this after what you've been through."
"A day later, now that the dust is settled, I guess I may have overreacted. It's just that, at the time - I was so scared, you know?" Vivian looked away from then, then down at her glass of water.
"Lil' gal, that's scary business. No such thing as overreacting, when it comes to being attacked on the street. With all that's going on, and people doing what they do to one another, anyone where you were yesterday would be the same." Bart reached across the table, covering her small, slender hand with his much larger one. Vivian looked at his hand on hers and saw another trait of Jake's that she loved so well. He had his father's large, rough, very masculine hands. She glanced up with a smile. Bart patted her hand gently and withdrew his. Vivian reached up to clear a teardrop from her lower lashes and smiled at them both.
Their waiter brought the starter for them, and Gert began idle small talk, as she served them all a portion on their small plates.
Bart, having seen her now for the third time, and in the restaurant, up close and personal; could finally see clearly, what an incredible beauty she was. In truth, it had taken him a bit to get past her color. She truly was dark, which had at first, obscured her features. He, personally, had never in his life been attracted to black women, not ever. For one, growing as he had under the strict teachings of his father, he'd only been with three women in his entire life. A prostitute when he was a boy of 16. He'd used his birthday savings to purchase a night with her, lying to his parents about where he'd gone off to. After seeing what she had to work with, she opened her door for him on many occasions when there wasn't a cent in his pocket. Discreet, low-key and personal... that relationship remained. While yes indeed he'd been sinning, she'd been one lady of the night that made it worth his while. He reasoned, it was either sin a lot with many, or sin now and then with one. He figured by keeping it to her, he'd spend less time before the Lord, trying to explain. In the meanwhile, she'd taught him plenty about what women liked to feel in between the sheets, once he'd learned, by the way she carried on sometimes, he figured it was true.
The second woman had been during his time in Vietnam. She had been Vietnamese. Her name, Ha`ng. She was one that he would never forget. He had loved her, almost as he had loved his wife. She had been tiny, and fierce. He'd admired her from the start. His unit had been camped out in her small village, what there was left of it. Of all the women there, she and her daughters, were the prettiest. It had taken some time before she would trust them, and with good reason. He'd shared many things with her and her children, because he could see their hunger. Noticing the attention he gave to them, one of her children, a son - stood proud, bold and brave - refusing to let any of his infantry override or disrespect his mother, his sisters. His name had been, Ly - he'd learned later, meaning "lion". Ly was tough as nails and would endure anything to protect his family. Winning his respect and trust had suddenly, become something dear to Bart. And he had. In turn, thus also winning special favors from his mother, Ha`ng. He found out later from her, that her name meant "angel in the full moon". That, she was. For a moment, Bart had forgotten that he was in the midst of a war. Forgotten the harsh realities that existed. He'd made up his mind, that when he returned stateside - if he survived the war - he would send for them. He would marry her. Not Gert. Ever plaguing his mind was the fact that she had been unfaithful to him, had been with the Edwin Piercey. And then had written to say that she was with child. He'd prepared in his mind, all the ways that he would break things off with her. Unfortunately, he would never see fulfillment of his promise to Ha`ng - because assigned out to guard an area they'd taken, he'd returned to find them all dead. Ly included. He'd heard that the boy had fought off the men who snuck in on them in the night, with everything he had. Had in fact killed two of their men.
Going crazy, Bart had lashed out at his unit. One of the men closest to him, realized he would be killed, and shot him in the side, rump and leg, before Bart could kill anymore, after shooting dead three in his unit, whom he knew were guilty of the horrific crime. With all of the investigations going on, they sent him home. His father had been the first to visit him; unhappy with all that he'd done in his life. Joining the army, which he asked him not to do, and being in the devil's war. That was how his father saw it, he'd claimed the war was the work of the devil, spurning the message of love and peace from the heavenly Father and His Son. Having been in the middle of it, Bart could easily agree that it was true. It was during that visit, that his father brought to his attention the responsibility he had to his fiancée. Word had gotten to his father, Jacob Paul McPherson, that Gert had given birth to a son. He refused to hear that the child may not be his. As far as Jacob Paul was concerned, had he not run off to a war of the devil's, he would have been in place to do what should have come first, abiding with his fiancée - so that she would not have been forced to go astray, if in fact, she had. According to his father, who instructed him, that according to the bible, engagement was as binding before the Lord as marriage. "You are committed, and you will abide by your choice. Whether it be by your own seed or not, you will abide. Had you kept yourself free of her until marriage, you would be free to wash your hands of the matter. The sins of you, son, cannot be washed away. You keep to what is your responsibility! You do not ... then, you are not my son."
And so, one of the three, became his wife.
"Bart? Land sakes, you were miles away, your starters getting cold." Gert had to nudge him, to bring him to.
He looked down at her, smiled, and then back at Vivian. "Sorry 'bout that." Bart apologized, gazing into the young woman's eyes. He picked up his fork as they returned to idle chit-chat beside him. He thought about the way his wife was, and supposed that there was nothing wrong with her thinking. Nothing wrong with what she wanted for their children. After all, as his father had taught him, God created all men as equals. It was due to the arrogance of certain men, that they'd veered from the path that their creator had chartered for them. Over the centuries, no matter how hard man fought to keep the races apart, natural instincts that God placed within us all, made us want - and love, whom we would. No matter how opposite, no matter how different, no matter what color. A man was a man... and a woman was a woman, and that is how the creator made them - and they fit, regardless of race, culture, or origin. Bart understood that now, more than anything. Certainly looking at the young one across from him, he could see it was so.
Dark as night, and yes, another angel in the full moon; she was indeed a splendid beauty. Bart smiled to himself. His father was long dead, but if he could see his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, it would no doubt bring him great pleasure. Flowing through all of his sons, seemed to be an eventual attraction to the darker casts of women. Without a doubt, that was spurred most by their mother, seeing as how she'd let none of them grow without hearing it regularly, that way back in her family, was African ancestry. She'd always gone on about Martin Luther King, making them watch the documentaries that aired concerning the marches. Speaking up, and adding her own personal experience, from having been in a few of the marches. He'd let her have her way, let her fill them with what she would. For that reason, his son's children, especially Derrick's, were not predictable. Now Shawn's would be the same and by the looks of it, Jake's, should he get his head together and latch hold of this one here.
BOMAW 7-9 Page 8
