“He asked me did I know you.”
“And?” I said, getting frustrated because I wished she would just spit this story out her damn mouth.
“I denied knowing you. He told me I looked familiar and he thought he seen me somewhere before.”
“We did attend a cookout,” I said, going over to the sofa to sit down and proceed with eating my food before it got cold. Nothing worse than cold eggs.
“Yes. You even introduced me to him,” Susan said. “Maybe he didn’t recognize me because then I had short hair and now my hair is long.”
“So why are you worried? He didn’t figure it out did he?”
“Zacariah, I don’t think it’s going to be that simple. Something about the way he approached me didn’t sit right with me.”
“Well you still have your job don’t you?”
“For now. But look, he also told me that the test they had redone came back proving he and Kea were not brother and sister.”
When she said that, I was sipping on my orange juice and spit it across the coffee table. “What?” I belted.
“Zacariah, I think he knows something. What if he’s figured out who I am and is thinking about going to the higher-ups on what he thinks happened with that test? Zacariah, I’m scared.”
“Scared of what? Girl, please. Just sit back and let things fall. Besides, Derrick can’t prove you did anything. He doesn’t even know who you are,” I said, picking up my toast and taking a bite of it. With my mouth full I said, “Sit down for a bit and rest your feet. I’m about to watch this movie.”
Susan walked over to the chair and plopped down in it like her life was over. “I’ve worked so hard to get where I am in my career. I love my job.”
“Damn. You act like you can’t get another one or something.”
“Zacariah, I know you don’t have to work, but some of us do, and when we find a job we love, we tend to stick around for a long time. Plus the money is good. I’m blessed right now.”
“Then stop complaining,” I said, taking another bite of my toast only to get interrupted again by another knock at my door.
“Oh my goodness. I mean can a girl get her eat on and rest from her near-death experience? Most days nobody wants to see me and now I got a revolving door of people tapping at my door.”
I got up, placing my plate down on the coffee table for a second time, and went to the door. I swung it open without asking who it was or peeping through the hole to see who it was. This was one time I wished I had.
Chapter 45
Derrick
I could tell I caught Zacariah by surprise, which was my intention. Little did she know I followed her cousin over here. I knew I was taking a chance and could have been wrong in this instance, but the look on Susan’s face when I confronted her let me know she was scared to death at what she thought I knew. Being lied to lately had given me a sense to recognize when something wasn’t right, especially when I looked for it. Today I was searching for answers. I may not have known who my real father was, but I could find out exactly how that first paternity test came to show me and Kea as brother and sister.
“D . . . D . . . Derrick. What are you doing here?” Zacariah stuttered as she looked back at her cousin sitting on the chair.
Susan’s mouth was wide open when I stared her down. “Can I come in?” I asked politely.
“Um . . . Um . . . I’m in the middle of something.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here,” I said, entering Essence’s place.
Susan stood to her feet and started walking farther away from me as I got deeper into the space. I walked over to the television, since it was the focal point in the room, and stood where I would be able to see both ladies’ faces when I spoke. “So what do we have here?” I asked, looking at Susan.
“It’s not what you think,” Zacariah said.
I shook my head at the irony. “It feels like déjà vu to me. I can remember you saying something like that to me a few months ago when I found out you cheated on me. You do remember, don’t you, Zacariah? I did the ‘hand between the thighs’ test.”
Zacariah shifted nervously from one foot to the other before she said, “That was then, Derrick. And this is now.”
“So are you saying you are a changed woman?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said.
I giggled at her lies.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
“I’m laughing at you. You think you have changed but you haven’t.” I walked over to the plate on the coffee table, figuring it was Zacariah’s, and picked up a slice of bacon off it. I took a bite of it and sat down in the chair. “Since when did you decide to play God and bring your little cousin in on the fun?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
I giggled again, surprising myself at how calm I was. “You paid your cousin to change those results to make it look like Kea and I were brother and sister.”
“And why would I—” she started to say.
I held my hand up. “Please. Don’t patronize me. You did it because you wanted me back in your life.”
“Derrick, I didn’t do what you think I did.”
I looked at Susan and asked, “You tell me, Susan. Did she get you to change the results or not?”
Susan nervously moved from foot to foot and opened her mouth to speak, but I held up my finger to stop her. “And please don’t lie like you did to me earlier, because I don’t know how I’m going to react if you do. As we can see, you do know Zacariah. I mean you are standing in her house.”
Susan stared like she was scared to death. It wasn’t like I was going to smack her around until she admitted the truth. But I knew she took what I said as a threat, which was what I wanted her to think.
“Speak up, Susan. Did she threaten you, blackmail you, or did she pay you to tamper with the paternity test?” I looked at Zacariah, who was gawking at Susan intensely. I guessed she was trying to send some subliminal message to her to keep her mouth shut. “Susan,” I called out.
“Okay, okay. I did it.”
“Susan,” Zacariah blurted.
“Come on, Zacariah. He knows. Why continue to lie?”
“I appreciate you being honest with me, Susan. It tends to go a long way.”
“Does it go long enough for you not to have me fired?” Susan asked.
“Let me think about that for a minute. I need to talk with Zacariah first.”
“What is there left to say? The truth is out. I did all of this to get you back into my life,” she said, defeated. “Now what? I did it because I miss you. I know I messed up.”
“You damn right you did.”
“But how long do I have to live with the repercussions?” she asked sadly. “Can’t you tell by everything I’m doing that I want you back?”
“You didn’t want me when you had me,” I retorted.
“I didn’t realize what I had until I didn’t have it anymore, Derrick. I know now and that’s why I’ve been fighting so hard to get you back.”
“Susan, I know what I’m going to do now,” I said, never turning my attention from Zacariah. I could feel the air get thick as the tension of what I was about to say suspended itself.
“I’m not going to have you fired.”
I could hear Susan sigh with relief. She almost fell to her knees with gratitude as tears began to form.
“But,” I said, looking at her, “if I hear of anything else like this happening again, you best believe I’m going to be the first one turning you in. What you did ruins lives.” I turned to look at Zacariah and said, “It has ruined mine.”
“I’m sorry, Derrick,” Zacariah said.
“But there’s one good thing about this whole thing.”
Both women looked at me, asking the question, “What?” with their eyes.
“Your plan worked, Zacariah. I’m willing to give you a second chance.”
“What?” she asked in surprise.
“I’m willing to t
ake you back if you want us to work on our relationship.”
Zacariah ran over to me and plopped down in my lap. She kissed my neck, my cheeks, my forehead, and then my lips.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Derrick. I promise I will never betray your trust again.”
“But wait, Zacariah.”
“What?” she asked, stopping her forms of affection.
“This relationship comes with some stipulations.”
“What stipulations?” she asked, frowning.
“You said you are willing to do anything to get me back into your life, right?” I asked.
“Yes, Derrick, anything.”
“Then you are going to have to share me with another woman.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Share you. Another woman. Who?”
“Trinity.”
Chapter 46
Trinity
“Where have you been?” my brother asked me when I walked through the doors of my place.
“And whose father are you?”
“You were gone all night. You have been gone many nights, for that matter,” my brother said frantically.
“I was at Derrick’s. Damn, can a sister get some lovin’?”
“No,” he said loudly.
“And why not?”
“You know why,” he answered.
“Steven, I’m a grown woman.”
“You are a grown woman with a whole lot of issues.”
“Steven, don’t go there,” I said, walking to the kitchen to grab myself some yogurt.
“Trinity, you know this is too soon.”
“Love doesn’t have a timeframe to happen, Steven. It comes when it does and right now Cupid’s arrow has struck again because I love Derrick. Besides, I have things under control,” I spat.
“For now,” my brother said.
“Look, Kea and Jaquon are getting married. Derrick knows this and understands what he and Kea had has ended. Kea has chosen to move on. Derrick also knows I love him so he’s going to choose to be with me.”
“There you go getting your hopes up again. Trinity, this is what got you in the predicament before.”
“But it’s different this time,” I said, peeling the foil seal off the yogurt container and licking it.
“You know how you are, Trinity. So why do you insist on putting yourself in a situation that could possibly take you back to a place neither of us want to see you go ever again?”
“My life does not stop because of . . .” I paused, not wanting to think about my past. “Steven, I’m fine. Look at me. Does anything seem wrong?”
“It never does in the beginning, Trinity.”
“Is this how you are going to be as long as I’m with Derrick?”
“So you plan on being with him. You know I checked up on him. Not only does he love this woman named Kea, he also has some crazy ex-girlfriend who’s been trying to get him back.”
“I see you’ve been doing your homework.”
“I have to know what you are getting yourself into.”
“Well, I told you about Kea. And Zacariah, well, Derrick’s done with her. Everything is working out for the good. Derrick and I are going to be together.”
Steven sat down at the kitchen table, shaking his head in frustration. “You see what I’m saying?” he asked. “It’s starting again.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Does this man love you?” I paused too long and my brother said, “You see. He doesn’t even love you.”
“He will.”
“How do you know?” Steven asked.
“I just do.”
“Trinity, I love you but I don’t know if I’m going to be here to help you this time. If you . . .” he said, and paused. “If you resort to your old ways, I’m leaving you to deal with whatever repercussions come about.”
“But you are my brother.”
“I know this, and I have been through the thickest of situations that should have landed us both in jail. But I will not go through this again with you. If you insist on going further with your involvement with Derrick, I’m leaving.”
“I love you, Steven, and I know you love me. You will not leave me.”
He got up from the table and said, “Yes, I will.” He walked out of the kitchen.
“You can’t do this to me. Why can’t you just be here to support me? You know you are all the family I have.”
Steven looked at me longingly and said, “Trinity, I want to live a normal life and we’ve been doing that for the past few months.”
“And we can still do that.”
“No, we can’t if you get involved with another man. My life has been put on hold because I’m too busy trying to look out for you. I want to get married. I want to have children. How can I, when I feel like I have a child already in you to take care of?”
“I’m taking my medicine.”
“Every day?” he asked.
“Every day.”
“Because I counted your pills and you have skipped several. You couldn’t have taken it last night because you stayed with him and your medicine is here.”
This angered me. How dare he track my pills like this?
“You see what I’m saying. The lying has already begun. Who knows what’s going to happen next?”
“Nothing,” I screamed.
“Go take your medicine now.”
“I will.”
“Now,” he demanded.
I stormed to my bedroom with him closely on my heels. “I don’t need you to make sure I take them.”
“I know but I want to see for myself.”
I reached into the bottom drawer of my dresser and pulled out the bottle of pills. I poured one into my hand and popped it into my mouth, swallowing it dry.
“Open your mouth,” my brother demanded.
I sighed, doing what Steven asked, moving my tongue around so he could see the pill was not hiding anywhere in my mouth.
“Are you satisfied?”
“I am now, but I meant what I said, Trinity. If troubles begin again, I’m leaving you by yourself to deal with it. And if I see things getting really bad, I will tell Derrick about you.”
“You wouldn’t,” I spat.
“Oh yes, I would. He needs to know anyway.”
“Then I will tell him. I don’t need you butting into my affairs and blabbing my business to him.”
“Tell him, and do it soon, or I will.”
My brother left my room and my place as I heard my front door close. I sat down on my bed looking at the pills that had me by the throat. If Derrick knew about my condition, it could cause him to leave me forever. Hell if he knew about my past he could leave me. I hated to start our relationship off with secrets but I couldn’t risk him not wanting to be with me.
No, Derrick couldn’t find out. Not now, not ever. And if my brother considered telling him then he would need to be dealt with, just like the others who stood in the way of what I wanted.
Urban Books, LLC
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My Man’s Best Friend II: Damaged Relations Copyright © 2013 Tresser Henderson
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