Losing It

by Zaria Garrison

  After discovering this, Leon meticulously went through each frame, ignoring Sharmaine and studying the man. His face was slender, with round eyes and a big nose. Leon also noticed the man’s face was the color of roasted almonds, but his body was much lighter. The man’s back, chest, and arms were a light tan color, just like Leon’s.

  Stunned, Leon was positive that the man having sex with his wife in the video was him. This can’t be. That’s not my face.

  Leon froze the frame and studied the area leading from the man’s chin to his chest. That’s when he realized that while they had assumed that someone put Sharmaine’s head on another woman’s body, the truth was that someone else’s head had been placed on his.

  Leon stopped the tape for several moments so that his mind could process the new information. It was the only logical explanation for his wife being involved in a sex tape; however, this revelation did not answer all of the questions. He and Sharmaine had never taped themselves having sex. That meant that unbeknownst to them, someone else had. The questions Leon could not answer were who, when, and why. He knew that before he could reveal what he’d discovered to anyone else, he had to have all of the answers.

  Needing a moment to clear his head, Leon had gone out to the kitchen and had a drink of water before returning to the office and the video. His next order of business was to study the room in the video. Leon felt that it looked familiar, but he couldn’t quite remember why. It definitely was not a bedroom in any of their homes. During their marriage, he was sure he and Sharmaine had stayed in several hundred hotels. He knew the room could be any one, or none of them.

  After several hours, Leon had grown weary of studying the video and decided to turn it off and start fresh the next day. As he left the office, Leon momentarily considered calling Sharmaine and telling her what he’d discovered; however, he realized that this wasn’t exactly good news. For months, Sharmaine had maintained that she wasn’t in the video, and now he had proof positive that she was. They both were. Someone had violated the sanctity of their marital bed and made it public. He realized this was not something that should be shared. Not until he knew more.

  Instead, he had decided to go into the family room and say hello to Camille’s friend. As he walked in, he was livid to find Danté leaning over the pool table.

  After Camille stormed out, he sat down and thought about what she had said, realizing that once again, she was right. Not only was there something wrong with Camille, but with all of his children. He’d recognized it, and prayed about it, but Leon realized he’d never done anything about it.

  Taking a deep breath, he left his bedroom and decided to start with Jeanna. He knocked on her door and waited for her to answer. When she did, Leon was stunned by what he saw. Jeanna’s once immaculately clean bedroom looked like a bomb had gone off inside. Slowly, he walked in, wading through the clothes on the floor.

  “I’m sorry, Dad. I ... I’ll finish cleaning it later,” she stammered.

  Leon stepped over several items on the floor to reach the television, and turned off the movie Jeanna was watching. Then he waded over to her bed. After moving three teddy bears, a stack of magazines, and more clothes so that he could sit down, he turned to Jeanna.

  “Honey, we need to talk,” he said gently.

  Jeanna sat down in the chair at her desk. “Okay.”

  “I know that I’ve avoided it for a long time. I’ve avoided it for too long.” He looked around the room. “Honey, something is wrong. Please, tell me what it is.”

  Jeanna stared at him. “I’m fine, Dad.”

  “I know that you think you are, honey, but you are not. I mean, just look around you. This isn’t like you at all.”

  “I’ll clean it up, Dad. I promise.”

  On a hunch, he decided to try a different approach. “What movie are you watching?”

  Jeanna stood up to get the DVD cover, and Leon stopped her.

  “No, I want you to tell me.”

  Her eyes darted back and forth as Jeanna panicked. She had no idea what movie she’d been watching. She rarely paid any attention to the movies. Instead, she sat and stared at the screen.

  “I don’t know,” she finally admitted.

  “That’s okay. Can you tell me why?”

  She shook her head. Leon realized that Jeanna was too young to understand what she was doing, or even why. He stood up and reached onto the floor, picking up a dirty pair of jeans. As he tossed them in the basket, he asked Jeanna about school.

  “It’s our last week. There’s not much left to do,” she answered.

  Leon picked up some socks and tossed them into the hamper also.

  “How did you do in Mrs. Niles’ class?”

  “I think I’m getting a C.” Jeanna began picking up clothes and tossing them into the basket beside Leon. “I could have gotten an A if I’d done better on that last quiz.”

  “Oh, yeah? Was it really hard?” Leon asked as they both moved into a cleaning rhythm, picking up clothes and tossing them into the basket.

  “Kind of, but I passed.”

  As they talked and cleaned, Leon realized why Jeanna’s room had gotten so dirty. Unconsciously, she believed that if she didn’t clean it, eventually he’d have to say something, anything to her. Jeanna needed something he’d failed to give her over the past few months: a little bit of fatherly attention. At that point, she’d welcome any attention at all, even if it was negative. Leon believed that his children needed Sharmaine, so he allowed them to visit, but he didn’t realize that they’d lost him too, and just wanted him back.

  For the rest of the morning, Leon talked with Jeanna and helped her clean her room. Leon realized he’d been out of the loop about her grades in school, basketball tryouts, and the science fair. He’d told himself that watching movies together was family time, but the truth was he used the movies to avoid talking to his children. While Jeanna rattled on and on, he deeply regretted that decision.

  As they were making the bed, Jeanna grabbed a pillow and swatted Leon with it, starting a pillow fight. They swung at each other for several minutes before falling onto the bed, laughing. Leon saw a glow in his daughter’s eyes for the first time in months. He thanked God that it had not been completely extinguished.

  When they were done cleaning, they both looked around the room proudly and smiled. “We did a great job. I think you and I should do this every Saturday morning, just the two of us,” Leon said.

  “That would be great, Dad. But I promise it won’t be as dirty.”

  “If we get finished early, then we’ll just hang out.” He smiled at her.

  Jeanna hugged him tightly. “That would be the best.”

  He hugged her back and gently kissed her forehead. “It’s almost lunchtime. What do you think of asking Consuela to fix tacos?” Leon asked.

  “Sounds yummy, Dad. I’ll be down in a few moments. I just want to take a shower and change my clothes,” she answered.

  Leon left her room and briefly returned to his. Sitting on his bed was the box that contained Camille’s laptop, cell phone, entertainment center wires, and mp3 player. Picking it up, he carried the box to Camille’s room and used his foot to knock on the door.

  “Come in,” she yelled.

  “My hands are full. Come open the door.”

  Grudgingly, Camille got up off of her bed and went to the door. “What?”

  “Here are your things back. You are no longer grounded.”

  Slowly taking the box from him, Camille stepped back so he could enter the room. She set the box down on her desk.

  “What’s the catch?”

  Leon walked in and sat on Camille’s bed. “I want you to attend the meeting with Danté on Monday.”

  She stood with her arms folded, staring at him. “I never wanted to go to the meeting. I told Danté. I’m not a junkie. I got high a few times. It’s not a big deal.”

  “No one is calling you a junkie, sweetheart. The purpose of the meeting is to help you deal with
your issues, so you don’t turn to drugs again. There will be other kids there your age, and some adults who went through the same things as teenagers. Our church sponsors it. They even serve snacks and sodas. I think it will be really good for you.”

  “How do you know so much about it?” Camille’s brow wrinkled up with confusion.

  “I used your cell phone this morning and called Danté. I apologized to him for last night, and I asked him to tell me about the meeting.”

  “Who are you, and what have you done with my dad?” she said sarcastically.

  Leon chuckled. “I know that over the past few months it probably seemed like I’d been abducted by aliens. Things have been crazy around here. We’ve had one episode of drama after the other. But with God’s help, we are going to get through this.”

  Camille sat down on the bed next to him. She laid her head on Leon’s shoulder. “Do I have to stand up in front of the room and talk at this meeting?”

  “No, honey. Danté says you can just listen. They meet every week. You don’t have to say anything until you are comfortable.” He put his arm around her. “I just want to make sure you get the help you need. I’m sorry I didn’t try sooner.”

  The two of them sat in silence for several moments.

  “Okay, I’ll go,” Camille finally decided.

  Leon smiled broadly at her. “Um, I have another confession to make,” he said. “I sort of told Danté he and his sister could come over this afternoon. Otis went to pick them up.” He glanced down at his watch. “They will probably be here soon.” He looked at her sheepishly.

  Camille jumped excitedly off the bed. “Are you for real?”

  “Yes. I want to get to know your friends.”

  She hugged him tightly. “Thanks, Dad.”

  Leon left her room feeling content. Next he stopped by Rodney’s bedroom to check on him. Rodney was lying in bed, idly flipping channels on his television.

  “Hey, how are you feeling?” Leon asked as he entered the room.

  “I’m bored. Do I have to stay in bed all day?”

  Leon thought for a moment. “No, you don’t. You can get up if you are feeling up to it.”

  Rodney peeled back his covers and hopped out of bed. He walked over to his closet and stood just staring at his clothes for several minutes.

  “Can I lounge around in my pajamas? I don’t feel like putting on clothes,” he asked.

  “Well, you might want to at least put on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. I invited Danté and Nichole over.”

  “Really? I like Nichole. She’s cool. Do you think she’ll wanna play Scrabble with me and Jeanna?”

  “Get dressed and you can ask her when she gets here.”

  Leon sat down on the bed and talked with Rodney until he was completely dressed and ready to go downstairs. Then the two of them walked to the kitchen together. Consuela stood at the counter with taco shells and cheese as she put the finishing touches on lunch. Jeanna and Camille were sitting at the table.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes, guys. I need to make a phone call,” Leon said.

  “Dad, can we eat by the pool?” Jeanna asked. “It’s all cleaned out. The pool guy was here yesterday.”

  “That sounds good. We’ll all go for a swim this afternoon.”

  Leon kissed each of his children gently on the cheek; then he went into Sharmaine’s office. He went to her desk and pulled out her address book. Once he’d found the number, he placed the book back in the drawer and dialed the number from the office phone.

  “Hello.”

  “Hi, Victor, this is Leon Cleveland.”

  Victor was sitting in his kitchen having lunch when his cell phone rang. “Leon?” he asked skeptically.

  “Yes. I’m sorry to bother you on a Saturday, but it’s important.”

  “I don’t think we should be talking. If you have some news about Sharmaine’s case, you have to give it to the district attorney’s office.”

  “Don’t give me that lawyer mumbo jumbo. I need to talk to you ... man to man.”

  Victor leaned back in his kitchen chair and pushed away his plate. “All right, say whatever you need to say, but I have to warn you that if you say anything that can help my client, I will use it.”

  “That’s exactly why I’m calling. I want my family back. I know Sharmaine didn’t shoot me, and I need your help so I can prove it.”

  “And how do you plan to do that? The D.A. has you down as a witness for the prosecution. Unless you can identify the shooter, I don’t know what you can do to help.”

  Leon sighed. “I can’t identify anyone, but I do believe my wife was framed. All we have to do is figure out who framed her.”

  Victor laughed mockingly. “Now, why didn’t I think of that?”

  Leon told Victor what he’d discovered while watching the video tapes.

  “That doesn’t help at all, Leon. Sharmaine has denied being in that video. If I go into court with proof that she is, her credibility will be shot.”

  “But she truly believed that the video was faked.”

  “That doesn’t matter. It will make her look terrible to a jury. They will say that she’s backed into a corner and now changing her story.”

  “I am sure the same person who made this video tape framed Sharmaine. This is not a coincidence. It has to be connected.”

  “Are you absolutely sure about that? I read online that some hotels have been planting cameras and videotaping their customers. Then they edit and sell the tapes online.”

  “I saw that story also, but surely you don’t think that’s happening in five-star hotels like Sharmaine and I stay in. I think someone knew we’d be there and they planted the camera. I mean, why else would they change my face but leave Sharmaine’s?”

  “You have a point. So, do you have any ideas on who it might be?”

  “Not yet. That’s where I need your help. This may take some time to figure out. Do you think you can get another postponement of the trial? I know you got one when Sharmaine—well, when she was hospitalized. Is it possible to get another one?”

  “I’m way ahead of you. I applied for an extension last week when your son got sick. I’m waiting to hear back from the judge. By the way, how is he?”

  “Better. He’s home and up and around. Thanks for asking.”

  “I heard they think it was poison. You’ve got to keep those household goods away from kids these days. They’ll drink anything.”

  “I agree. Listen, Victor, will you call me as soon as you hear from the judge? Oh, and don’t tell Sharmaine that we talked. I don’t want to get her hopes up if I can’t help her.”

  “You bet.”

  Leon hung up the phone just as the front doorbell rang. When he entered the front entryway, Consuela had just let Danté and Nichole in.

  “The children are out by the pool,” she said to them.

  “Hello, Danté.” Leon greeted him and smiled.

  Danté looked nervously at Leon. “Um, this is my sister, Nichole.” He motioned his hand in her direction.

  Leon politely extended his hand to her. “Hello, Nichole. It’s nice to meet you.”

  Nichole shook Leon’s hand as he tried desperately, but failed, not to stare at her protruding belly.

  “I know. I’m pretty big. The baby’s due in about a month,” Nichole said after noticing him staring.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. The children are having lunch. Have you eaten?” Leon asked.

  “No, sir,” Nichole answered respectfully.

  Leon turned to his maid. “Consuela, will you take Nichole out to the pool and get her something to eat? I want to talk to Danté for a moment.”

  “Yes, sir, Mr. Leon,” she answered.

  Nichole followed closely behind, and the two of them walked down the hallway toward the back door.

  Danté looked at Leon apprehensively. “What’s up?” he asked.

  “I spoke to Camille, and she’s agreed to go to the meeting on Monday.”<
br />
  Danté s face lit up. “That s great. I know it’s really going to help her. I’ve been going for almost a year now. It’s a great group.”

  “Thank you, Danté. I have been so consumed with my own problems. I knew Camille needed help, but I kept putting off getting it for her.”

  “Don’t thank me. If it wasn’t for me, she never would have started in the first place.” Danté stared at the floor. “I gave Camille her first joint. But I’m so sorry that I did. I have to help her. I have to.”

  Leon placed his hand on Danté s shoulder. “It was a mistake. I forgive you. Besides, if it wasn’t drugs, Camille would have turned to something else. It could have been alcohol, or something much worse.”

  “What’s going on in here?” Camille asked as she suddenly came barreling up the hallway. “Dad, you aren’t gonna make him leave again, are you?”

  “No. We were just talking ... man talk,” Leon winked at Danté.

  Camille looked suspiciously back and forth at the two of them. “Um, can Danté borrow a pair of your swim trunks? Consuela’s looking for something for Nichole to wear.”

  “Tell Consuela to check the pool house. I’m sure there are plenty of extra suits and towels in there. Just tell her to check in the—” Leon suddenly stopped talking as something clicked in his memory.

  “Have her check where, Dad?” Camille asked.

  “Um, I have to do some work in the office. Just tell her to check the storage closet in the pool house.”

  Leon suddenly rushed off to Sharmaine’s office. He closed the door and locked it behind him.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Camille stood frozen at the front door of the recreation room, afraid to go inside. She’d agreed to attend the meeting for the drug counseling program, but now that they’d arrived, she was starting to change her mind. Danté grabbed her hand and squeezed it, encouraging her to walk in. Tentatively, she stepped forward into the room and looked around.

  The large room had about thirty chairs arranged in a huge circle. On the other side of the room were several long tables that had white tablecloths on them. One held a bunch of cups and drinks, while the other had various snacks. There was a group of teenagers standing in the corner near the snack tables, talking casually. Most of the kids were black, but Camille noticed a few white and Hispanic teens mixed into the crowd.