Marlene got a pen and paper out of her purse. Her fingers were numb by this time. “Here’s my number and address. Please try and come. If your nephew doesn’t want to, then I’ll even pick you up. It really would be nice to have you,” she pleaded.
“I’ll see what I can do. I won’t make any promises, though.” He took the information and placed it in his back pocket.
Without thinking, Marlene hugged him. It was sort of instinctive, as she used to give him hugs all the time as a child. “We’re gathering together at four. I really hope you can make it.”
Harold nodded. “I’ll see what I can do,” he repeated before going to meet his ride.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Guess Who’s Comin’ for Dinner?
I AIN’T STAYIN’ IF THAT MAN IS COMIN’ OVER HERE, and I mean it!” Frances said defiantly. She had been asleep when Marlene returned home and hadn’t found out about Harold coming for dinner until this morning. Marlene thought Frances would share her excitement. Instead, her mother was livid. “How do you even know that was really him? ’Cuz of some scar? Do you know how many people have scars? Ain’t no tellin’ who you got comin’ over here. That man could be some type of serial killer.”
“It was him, Mama. He even had a picture of me in his wallet.”
“I don’t care what you say. If he’s comin’ then I’m leavin’.”
“Suit yourself. I’ve invited him over and I won’t take back the invitation.” Marlene was stern. She left her mother sitting in the living room pouting and went into the kitchen to prepare Christmas dinner.
Michael was at the table drinking a cup of coffee. “I can’t believe how irrational that woman is. I’m starting to believe I was adopted,” Marlene said, then kissed her husband on the forehead. “Either that or I inherited all of my daddy’s characteristics.” She walked over to the sink and began running water.
“So she doesn’t want this Harold person to come over, huh?”
“Yeah. I don’t know what her problem is. You would think she’d be happy to see someone who was at one time a good friend of hers.”
“Apparently they weren’t as good friends as you thought.”
“No, they were. My mother is just fickle.” She turned off the water and placed the ham in the sink. “She went from one extreme to another about it not being him. She even accused him of being a serial killer.”
“I will have to admit, honey,” Michael said cautiously, “it does sound sort of weird for him to have a picture of you after all these years.”
“So you agree with her that I shouldn’t have invited him over?” She turned around, daring him to say yes.
“No, I’m not saying that. You must have meant a lot to him, like he did to you. All I’m saying is that you have to think about how it sounds. If you hadn’t told me about seeing him that day at the hospital, I would probably be a little leery also. Maybe you should have told your mother about that.”
“Yeah, maybe. At the time I figured she would be more concerned about her health than anything else.”
“Michael.” Frances burst into the kitchen. “Can you give me a ride to Sis’ Binford’s house? I’m spendin’ Christmas with her and her daughter since my daughter prefers to spend the day with strangers.”
Marlene didn’t even turn to look at her.
“Sure, let me finish my coffee first,” said Michael. He would gladly get rid of his mother-in-law for a day. Frances turned around and walked back out.
“Don’t forget to take your medicine with you,” Marlene yelled. “Especially your blood-pressure medicine, since you’re so angry. I don’t want you going over there gettin’ sick.”
Frances never responded.
Michael gulped down the last of his coffee and took his cup to the sink. He whispered in Marlene’s ear, imitating Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator:“I’ll be back.”
“If you don’t feel like taking her, then don’t. She’s acting silly.”
“I’d rather take her than listen to her gripe for the rest of the day. Who knows? This may be our best Christmas yet.” He gave Marlene a devious smile.
Marlene knew he was saying that because Frances was leaving, so she playfully hit him. “Stop it. Just go—and be careful.”
“I will.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Merry Christmas, honey.”
“Merry Christmas to you too.”
“Are you serious?” Kim asked Marlene while laughing.
“Yes! Ask your dad. She was furious with me for inviting him over.” Marlene had just explained to her girls and Gwen why Frances wouldn’t be celebrating Christmas with them today.
“That is too funny,” Gwen said. Her son, Galvin, was spending Christmas with his father’s side of the family. Beside Galvin and a cousin, Gwen had no other relatives in Columbus. If she didn’t travel to see her family during the holidays, she usually spent that time alone or with the Tibbs family.
“That’s your mama,” Kim said to her mother.
“Not by choice, honey—believe that,” Marlene responded. “Did y’all have a good time at Evelyn’s yesterday?” she asked Kim.
“Yeah, it was great. Wendy, she said to remind you that you still haven’t brought Kimberly over to see her.”
“I know. I’ll get to it, I promise.”
“Where were you yesterday?” Kim asked Wendy. “I tried calling to see if you wanted to come over there.”
Wendy was caught off guard by the question. “I was out runnin’ around.”
“I tried to call you too,” Marlene admitted. “You must not have had your cell phone with you.”
Wendy had spent the day at Jaylen’s place. The two of them had talked, watched movies, and even made plans for New Year’s Eve. She hadn’t told Gwen or Kim about the possibility of their getting back together yet, and she wasn’t going to do it now with her mother sitting there. “Excuse me for not being available when y’all wanted me,” she kidded.
Gwen gave Kim a look that Kim clearly read as Something’s going on.
“Well, both of y’all missed the Christmas Eve service yesterday. Pastor Jones knows he can preach,” said Marlene.
“He sho’ can,” Gwen agreed, although she hadn’t gone yesterday. She didn’t belong to Marlene’s church—or to any church, for that matter. However, she had heard Pastor Jones on several occasions and enjoyed each of his sermons.
Marlene looked at her watch and was a bit anxious. “It’s almost four now. I better start setting the table.”
“I’ll help,” Kim volunteered.
“Me too,” Gwen said.
“While you guys are doing that, I’m going to change Kimberly.” Wendy got up from her chair. “Mama, do you want me to tell Daddy and Terrance to wrap it up?”
“Yes.” Michael and Terrance had been involved in a very intense chess game downstairs while Tyler and Tori were also down there playing with their new toys. Marlene mistakenly spoke her thought out loud: “I hope Mr. Wallace decides to join us.” She had neglected to get his information, so she couldn’t follow up with him.
Kim tried to comfort her. “If he doesn’t, don’t feel bad. You did the best you could do.”
“Yeah, I know,” Marlene said before going into the kitchen.
Gwen and Kim followed behind her.
After changing the baby, Wendy went down to the basement. “It’s time to eat, guys,” she said to the children.
“Aw, man!” Tyler moaned.
“Aw man nothing. These toys will be here when you get done, so go,” she said sternly, and pointed up the stairs.
“Aunt Wendy, can Kimberly sit by me?” Tori asked.
“I’m sure that can be arranged.”
“Goody,” Tori said, running up the stairs.
Wendy overheard Tori teasing Tyler about not being able to sit next to the baby. She shook her head and laughed. Kids, she thought, and walked to the back room where Terrance and her father had settled.
“Checkmate!” Wendy heard Terrance yell.
�
��Wait a minute,” Michael protested.
“Give it up. You have nowhere to go,” Terrance gloated. “I gotcha!”
“I want a rematch.”
“Cool. It doesn’t bother me if you wanna get whipped again.” Terrance taunted his future father-in-law and began setting up the chessboard.
“Y’all don’t have time for that now,” Wendy interrupted. “Mama said it’s time to eat.”
Michael looked at Terrance. Both of them knew that if they started another game now, it would not be over before Marlene summoned them again. “After dinner, be prepared to take a beating, boy!” Michael declared.
“You may want to brush up on your game a lil’ bit and read instructions on how to play.”
“Just come on,” Wendy said on her way back up the stairs. She did not feel like hearing the two of them talk trash.
Kim stood at the bottom of the stairwell that faced the front door. “Tori and Tyler, get down here now!” she yelled up to her children, who were playing in the bathroom. The water was turned off and their little feet scurried down the stairs. “I don’t know why y’all didn’t wash your hands when you were in the basement,” she commented because it didn’t seem rational for them to go all the way upstairs when there was a half-bath down there.
“My fault,” Wendy confessed. “I wasn’t thinking. I told them to go upstairs.”
Kim looked out the living room window. “Someone just pulled up in the driveway.”
“I’ll get the door if you go tell Mama that her guest is here,” Wendy said.
“Wait and make sure it’s him first. I don’t want to get her hopes up.”
Kimberly lay on her back, kicking her legs and making baby noises. Kim went over, scooped her up, and kissed her.
“You can take her in the dining room,” Wendy said, walking toward the door. “Oh, and put her high chair between Tori and me. Tori wants to sit by her.”
“Any more orders you want to give while you’re at it?” Kim asked her sister half jokingly and half seriously.
Wendy laughed. “Sorry. I guess I should have said please.” She looked out the peephole and saw two people walking toward the door. “Oh no!” she said out loud.
“What’s wrong?”
Wendy looked at Kim with a strange grin. “Guess who’s comin’ for dinner?” She opened the door just as the person was about to ring the doorbell.
“Ms. Phillips?” He looked perplexed. “What are you doing here?”
“My mother lives here.”
“Hot diggety dog!” he proclaimed and snapped his fingers. “If I had known that we were spending Christmas with your family, we would have been here much earlier.”
Wendy laughed. “We’re glad to have you, Otis.” She stepped away from the door so that he and his uncle could come in.
Kim overheard the name and remembered the maintenance man from the school where Wendy used to work. She hurried to tell Marlene that her guests had arrived.
“Hello, sir. I’m Wendy. You must be Mr. Wallace. Otis and I used to work together.” Wendy held out her hand to shake his.
“It’s a small world. Well, nice to meet you, Wendy.”
Marlene walked up with her apron on. “I’m so glad you could make it.” She hugged him.
“This is my nephew, Otis. This is Marlene.”
“Woo, I see why your daughters are so fine. They get it from their mama.”
Marlene chuckled. “Thank you. I haven’t gotten a reaction like that from anyone in a long time.”
“Mama, I already know him. He and I used to work together at the school.”
“Wow, that’s great.” Marlene was excited. “Let me take your coats and then I’ll introduce you to the rest of my family.”
Harold and Otis dusted the snow off their boots and politely took them off, since they noticed that no one else was wearing shoes. Marlene took the coats but passed them to Wendy, who hung them in the closet. By this time, Terrance and Michael had come from the basement into the living room. Gwen, Kim, and the kids were called by Marlene from the dining room.
“This is my daughter Kim,” Marlene said after introducing her husband.
Harold politely said, “Nice to meet you,” while Otis gave his charming smile. “Did you get married yet?” Otis asked.
His looks hadn’t changed since the day he and Kim had first met. He had on different clothes but the hair, tooth, fake jewelry, and curl were still there. “No, not yet, but soon,” she said.
“Well, remember what I told you. . . .”
“What was that?” Terrance came and put his arm around Kim.
“Uh . . .”
“This is my future son-in-law, Terrance.” Marlene continued with her introductions. “These are their two children, Tori and Tyler. The baby Kim is holding is actually Wendy’s, my oldest daughter’s, child.”
“That’s right! You look so good that I almost forgot you had a baby,” Otis turned and said to Wendy. “You need to bring her up to the school sometime.”
“I know.” Wendy had sent pictures, but she hadn’t taken Kimberly to see any of her former co-workers. Otis didn’t ask about Kevin, which indicated to Wendy that somehow he had heard about their separation. Several of her co-workers had been getting suspicious when he no longer attended school functions. Wendy hadn’t confirmed or denied their suspicions. She’d kept quiet because she didn’t want them in her business.
“And this is Gwen, a very good friend of the family. She’s like a daughter to me,” said Marlene.
Otis eyed Gwen from head to toe. She was dressed in black and red leather. Her hair was in a ponytail with spiral curls. She looked good, and Otis wasn’t oblivious to that. “You know, I like a woman with a lil’ meat on her bones,” he said after kissing her hand.
Harold rolled his eyes. “Excuse him. This is my sista’s child. He inherited his personality from his daddy’s side of the family.”
Everyone laughed. Gwen wasn’t offended, nor was she flattered. Otis had a long way to go before he could compare to the guys that she was used to going out with.
“Where’s your mother?” Harold asked.
“She decided to spend the holiday with one of her friends.”
“Is it because she knew I was coming?”
“No . . . she . . .” Marlene was having trouble lying. “Yes.”
“Dang, Unc, what you do to run the woman off?”
“Probably nothing,” Marlene said to Otis. “You have to know my mother. She’ll get mad over simple stuff and not speak to you for weeks.”
Harold put his head down. “I’m sorry to cause so much trouble.”
“Don’t be,” everyone said in unison, except the kids, who weren’t paying attention. Both Otis and Harold were shocked by how quickly they responded.
“Mr. Wallace, you have no idea how peaceful it’s been today. Thank you for coming,” Michael said, and they all went into the dining room, where dinner was waiting.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Baby-Mama Drama
Dear Kevin,
Welcome home! I just wanted you to know that I missed you and thought about you A LOT. Call me. Maybe we can bring in the New Year together.
Love, Your Friend,
Renée
KEVIN WAS TOUCHED by the handwritten Christmas card Renée had mailed to him while he was away. Inside were three red rose petals. He immediately picked up the phone to call her.
“Hi, it’s me. Leave a message,” the recording on her cell phone answered.
“Hey, it’s Kevin. I wanted to let you know that I made it back. Thank you for the card. It was really sweet of you. It means a lot to know that you care—and, uh . . . in case you’re wondering, I missed you too.”
Kevin laid the card on the coffee table and walked to the bedroom so he could unpack his suitcase. He’d missed Kimberly while he was gone much more than he missed Renée. Flying to Philly to be with his family helped him overcome the loneliness he would have otherwise felt that day. His
mother wanted him to stay through the New Year, but Kevin was eager to get back before then. As cute as Renée was, there was only one female Kevin would like to be with tomorrow for New Year’s Eve. After unpacking, he decided to call Wendy and make arrangements to spend time with his daughter.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Wendy. This is Kevin.”
“Um-hmm.”
He could feel the tension. “Listen, I was thinking that if you didn’t have any plans tomorrow night—”
“I do,” Wendy said quickly.
“O-kay. Is Kimberly involved in your plans? ’Cuz I was kind of hoping that—”
“Kim is picking up the baby tomorrow night at eight. Kimberly is staying overnight with her.”
“What are you doing during the day? Can I—”
“I plan on visiting Terrance’s mother. She’s been asking to see the baby.”
“Wendy, would you stop it?” Kevin was getting upset.
“Stop what?”
“Stop using Kimberly to get back at me!” He raised his voice. “I’m sure Kim wouldn’t mind if you called and told her that Kimberly is coming with me. I—”
“I’m sure that Tyler and Tori will be looking forward to her staying with them.”
Kevin felt like throwing the phone against the wall. Wendy was irritating him with all of her excuses. “The kids were able to spend Christmas with her. I would like to see my daughter. Will you stop acting so childish and let her spend the night with me?”
“Don’t you mean you and your girlfriend?”
Kevin spoke firmly. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“Yeah, whatever. I don’t care anymore. I’ve made plans with one of my friends also.” She intentionally emphasized the word friends.
“You are trying your best to pick an argument and I’m not in the mood to get into it with you. Just call me when Kimberly comes back from your sister’s house.”
“Fine.”
Kevin hung up the phone without saying good-bye. It upset him that Wendy was using Kimberly to get even with him for having Renée over during Thanksgiving. Since that day Kimberly had not been to his place, and he had seen her at the house only for an hour or two on several occasions. During the visits, Wendy would disappear into another area of the house so she wouldn’t have to be in the same room with him. Whenever he suggested getting Kimberly overnight or for a day, Wendy always made up an excuse like she had just now. If her behavior continued, he planned to take legal action in order to obtain regular and permanent visitation rights.
Soul Matters Page 19
