Tommy rested his hand on hers. “You don’t know that. There’s still time.”
Delilah leaned close against him. She was more grateful each day for his support. She didn’t think she would have made it through the last few weeks without his love and caring.
“Veronica and Roxanne are enjoying themselves,” he said. “That’s a start.”
She looked across the property to where the girls were feeding the horses. “They needed this. It’s so relaxing out here. We needed to get away. Thank you again for inviting us.”
“Pretty soon you won’t need an invitation,” he said. “This will be your home too. Have you thought any more about when that will be?”
She shook her head. “How could I with everything going on?”
“Maybe that’s the reason you need to think about it. Everything has been so up in the air lately. Our marriage would be one thing we could finalize.”
She peered up at him. “You want to get married in the middle of all this chaos?”
He pressed a kiss on the top of her head. “I’m beginning to think that chaos, as you call it, is really just life and it’s always happening. We can’t escape it.”
Delilah thought he had a point, but she had her concerns. “Right now, I’m not even sure I could get all my girls to attend a wedding,” she said. “And I can’t have one without all of them there.”
“I know,” he said. “I just want you to start thinking about a date. We’re not getting any younger, you know.”
She smiled. “Speak for yourself, old man.”
He leaned down and kissed her lips. “I’m not that old.”
When he raised head, she told him, “I love you.”
“I love you more,” he said, “and I can prove it.”
“How?” she asked.
“Look behind you.”
When Delilah turned, she saw Alisha walking up the path to the gazebo where they sat. “She came,” she said. “And she brought a friend.”
“Told you.”
She kissed him again. “Thank you.”
“Hello, Mr. Tommy, Momma,” Alisha said when she and her friend reached them. “This is my friend, Jeff Parker. We used to work together at McKinley and Thomas.”
“Nice to meet you, Jeff,” Tommy said, extending his hand.
“Welcome, Jeff,” Delilah said. “It’s a pleasure to meet one of Alisha’s friends.”
Delilah watched the look Jeff gave her daughter and knew he felt something special for her. She was grateful Alisha had him to lean on during this time of trouble.
When Tommy stood, she asked, “Where are you going?”
“I think you two need some time alone. I’m going to show my new friend Jeff here around the place.” He looked at Jeff. “Are you game?”
Jeff glanced at Alisha before answering. “Thank you,” he told Tommy. “I’d love to see your property. We saw some horses driving up. Are those yours?”
Tommy nodded. “Are you a horseman?”
Jeff grinned. “I love to ride, but I wouldn’t call myself a horseman.”
Tommy clapped him on the back as they walked away. “We’ll have to change that.”
Looking after them, Delilah said, “Tommy sure took to him quick.”
“Jeff has that way about him,” Alisha said. “I can’t explain it.”
Delilah studied her daughter, trying to see if what she saw in Jeff’s eyes was reflected in her daughter’s. “I’m glad you came,” she said. “I wasn’t sure you would.”
Alisha took a seat on the swing across from her mother. “I wasn’t sure I would either. Jeff helped me decide.”
“He’s good for you then.”
She met her mother’s eyes. “I think so.”
Delilah knew this was their time to clear the air between them, but she didn’t know where to start.
“I went to see Morgan,” Alisha said.
“He told me.”
Alisha nodded. “I’m not surprised.”
“How did it go?”
“How did he say it went?”
“He thought it went well, but I didn’t ask for details. I didn’t think it was my business.”
Alisha looked away. “All my life I’ve been one of Rocky’s girls. Who am I now?”
“You’re still one of Rocky’s girls, Alisha. Nothing has changed.”
She turned back to her mother. “How can you say that? Everything has changed.” She looked across the property to where her sisters now sat on the edge of the pond. “They’re my half-sisters,” she said. “And I have two other half-siblings. Things may not have changed for you, but they have certainly changed for me.”
Delilah wondered if she’d ever be able to say anything right again from Alisha’s perspective. “You had to know, Alisha. My only regret is that Rocky and I didn’t tell you. That way, he could have reassured you of how much you meant to him. I’m sorry we didn’t give you that. I’m sorry I didn’t give it to you.”
Alisha wiped at her eyes. “I’ve been thinking about Dad a lot lately. I miss him so much, especially now.”
Delilah wanted to pull her daughter into an embrace, but she didn’t because of the distance she felt between them. “I miss him too.”
Alisha looked up at her. “I know you loved him,” she said. “I know you did, so how did this fling between you and Morgan happen? I still can’t get my mind around it.”
“I can’t explain it any better than I already have,” Delilah said. “There is no real explanation. Morgan and I were two people who felt they needed each other. When I look back on it now, I understand that I was more to blame than he was.”
“Why do you say that? Morgan says he took advantage of you at a time when he knew you were missing Dad.”
“That’s how I wanted to remember it too,” Delilah said, her memory of the past clearer now than it had ever been, “but it’s not true. You see, though he never spoke the words, I knew that Morgan was in love with me. It wasn’t something we discussed. We both loved Rocky, and neither one of us would ever have done anything to hurt him.”
“But you did,” Alisha said.
“I know,” Delilah said. “Maybe a part of me wanted to hurt your father. I was angry with him for leaving me and your sisters alone so much. I had begun to wonder how much he really wanted a family. I was feeling like extra, unwanted baggage. And there I was with two little girls and practically no husband. Yes, I was angry. And there was Morgan who loved me. And who also loved your father.” Delilah closed her eyes. “Believe me when I tell you, nothing would have happened between me and Morgan had I not wanted it to happen. I’m not proud to say it, but it’s true.”
“Thank you for being honest,” Alisha said. “There’s been too much dishonesty among us, too many secrets. From Roxanne and her married lover, to Dexter deleting messages and lying to Veronica, to Morgan meeting me at ASCAP without telling me who he was, and to you and Daddy keeping a secret that really shouldn’t have been kept. It’s too much. I’d rather know the truth than live a lie.”
Delilah breathed a deep sigh. “Does that mean you’re ready to forgive me?”
Alisha shrugged. “Jeff said something that made me think about it. He said that since Daddy forgave you, then I should too. He said if I didn’t, I’d make Daddy’s forgiveness and love all in vain.”
“Jeff sounds like a wise man.”
“He is,” Alisha said. “So I’m trying to follow his advice. But it’s hard, Momma. I’m trying to forgive you, for Daddy’s sake, but I’m still very angry with you. I don’t know when that’s going to go away.”
“You have every right to be angry, Alisha. I’m not asking you not to be. That you’re thinking about forgiving me is enough.”
“There are strings attached, though,” Alisha said.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean we have to go forward as a family in honesty. There can’t be any more lies or secrets between us. We’re family. If we can’t trust each other with our
secrets, who can we trust?”
Delilah knew her youngest daughter was right, but she also knew that some secrets were necessary. She chose to keep that opinion to herself. “We’ll have to get your sisters to agree as well,” she said.
Alisha nodded. “We need a family meeting.”
Chapter 54
Delilah called to Veronica and Roxanne, beckoning them to join her and Alisha. “They would have been over here anyway had they realized you were here.”
“That may be true, but I don’t think they wanted their picnic turned into a family meeting.” Alisha sat on the swing next to her mother, who had taken her up on her suggestion for a family meeting. Alisha just hadn’t expected the meeting to happen today, right now. “It could get ugly.”
“It won’t get ugly,” Delilah said. “It may get uncomfortable, but it won’t get ugly.”
“I hope you’re right,” Alisha said. She stood as her sisters came closer. Not waiting for them to get to her, she walked toward them. When they were close enough, she pulled both of them into a single embrace. She stood holding them close for a minute before she felt her mother join in the group hug.
When they all pulled back, Delilah, tears in her eyes, said, “It’s been much too long since we’ve done that.”
“You’re right about that, Momma,” Veronica said, her eyes also full. “That’s not all I’ve missed about y’all. I miss everything—the good and the bad.”
“Well, it seems we’ve had more than our share of the bad lately,” Roxanne said. “It’s been a tough couple of months for Delilah and her daughters.”
Alisha couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’d say that’s an understatement.”
“What matters is that we’re together now,” Delilah said. “The past is the past.”
Alisha glanced at her mom. “Except now the past has become the present and has major implications for the future.” She turned to her sisters. “I told Momma we needed a family meeting. It’s been a long time since we’ve had one.”
Roxanne nodded. “It’s time.”
“I agree,” Veronica chimed in.
“We couldn’t have picked a better spot,” Delilah said. “Let’s go back to the gazebo; we can talk there. Tommy and Jeff will give us the privacy we need.”
“Jeff?” Veronica asked.
“I remember Jeff,” Roxanne said, a grin forming on her face. “He’s one of the guys who helped Alisha move out of her apartment. I knew he had eyes for her then.” She nudged her sister with her shoulder. “I guess you finally saw what I was trying to tell you.”
“I’m seeing a lot of things these days,” Alisha said. The evolution of her relationship with Jeff was only one of them. “When I needed somebody, I immediately turned to him. I guess I’ve been turning to him when I needed help for a while now.”
“Good for you, Alisha,” Veronica said.
When the four women were all seated in the gazebo, Alisha and Delilah on one swing and Roxanne and Veronica on the swing facing them, Delilah said, “I’m going to take one of the benefits of age and be the first one to speak, even though this meeting was Alisha’s idea.” She took a moment and made eye contact with each of her daughters. “I want to apologize again to each of you for the secret Rocky and I kept about Alisha’s parentage. I hope you know that we kept it with the best of intentions. As it turns out, it was the wrong decision. This was the kind of secret that you needed to hear from both of us. Maybe Rocky and I would have realized this had he not died so unexpectedly, but we didn’t get that chance. And now we all have to live with the consequences. It would still have been hard to hear and digest with Rocky here, but you would have had the support of both of us to get through it.”
“I forgive you, Momma,” Veronica said.
“So do I,” Roxanne said, “but I’m not the one who’s most affected, and neither is Veronica. This one really belongs to Alisha, and you have to give her the time she needs to make her way through it.”
“Thanks, sis,” Alisha said, reaching for her oldest sister’s hand and giving it an affectionate squeeze. “Momma and I have talked this out already. And I’m trying to make my way through it. Morgan and I spent some time together the other day, so I’m making progress. I just need things to be all right with all of us. This family is my rock, my foundation, and always has been. When I learned about Morgan, I felt my foundation crumble, and I didn’t have anywhere to stand. I don’t like that feeling, and I don’t want to experience it again.”
“I’m with Alisha,” Veronica said. “I’ve felt a bit rudderless lately myself, and it’s not a good feeling at all. Unlike Alisha, though, I brought it all on myself.” She glanced from her mother to her two sisters. “I need to apologize to each of you for the way I left Birmingham. I was wrong not to contact each of you to say good-bye. I know I can’t speak for Dexter, but I need to apologize for his actions. First, for not inviting you all to the surprise going-away celebration he planned for me, and more recently, for deleting your phone messages.”
Delilah took a deep breath. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Veronica. I have some responsibility in this as well. Maybe things would have turned out differently if I had told you girls about the Legends offer and allowed you to make the decision, instead of keeping it from you. It seems I have a bad habit of thinking ‘mother knows best.’ I promise to do better in the future. I have to start treating you three like the women you are, rather than the little girls you used to be.”
“Unfortunately, we sometimes act like little girls,” Roxanne said. She turned to Veronica. “Despite the ugly things I said to you about taking the Legends offer, I want only the best for you. Nothing would make me happier than to see Veronica Y hit the top of the charts.”
“That goes double for me,” Alisha said. “I’m sorry I wasn’t more supportive either. I was so proud when I saw that picture of you and those three guys in the entertainment section of the Atlanta paper. That was my sister doing it up with Atlanta’s finest! I called you then and left a message, which I now know you didn’t get.”
Veronica wiped at her eyes with her fingers. “I love you guys so much. The past is the past,” she said. “I’m ready to leave it behind and move ahead.”
“So am I,” Alisha said, “but first I have another apology to get out.” She turned to Roxanne. “I was way out of line in the things I said when you told me about you and Gavin. I didn’t mean them. I couldn’t handle what I was feeling about Morgan being my biological father, so I unloaded on you. It wasn’t fair.”
“But there was truth in the things you said, Alisha,” Roxanne told her. She sighed deeply. “My relationship with Gavin didn’t just affect me. You were right to remind me that it affected Delilah’s Daughters and our family as well. I never meant to bring shame on the family.”
Alisha reached out to her sister. “I was overreacting,” she said. “Delilah’s Daughters will survive, and so will the Monroe family.”
Roxanne squeezed her sister’s hand. “I’m not so sure,” she said. “There’s something else you need to know.”
“What?” Alisha asked.
Roxanne glanced at Veronica, then back to Alisha. “Not only did I have an affair with a married man,” she said, “I’m pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” Alisha repeated.
Roxanne nodded. Then she turned to her mother. “I’m sorry. I should have told you earlier, but I couldn’t add to the burden you were already carrying.”
“I’m sorry you felt you couldn’t tell me,” Delilah said, tears in her eyes.
“Wait a minute,” Alisha said, “I’m still on pregnant. You’re really pregnant?”
Roxanne nodded. “You’ll have proof in about seven months when you meet your niece or nephew.”
Veronica chuckled. “She’ll have proof long before then, when you blow up like a whale.”
“Let’s be honest,” Roxanne said, her hand pressed across her stomach. “This pregnancy wasn’t planned, and this baby wasn’t conceived under
anything close to ideal conditions. I never planned on being an unwed mother or a single parent, but that’s what I’m going to be.”
“You won’t be alone,” Delilah said. “You and the baby will have all of us. I’m going to be the best grandma ever. Just watch.”
Roxanne wiped at her tears. “Thanks, Momma.”
“And I’ll be the best aunt,” Veronica said.
“No, you won’t,” Alisha said, “because that will be me.”
Roxanne sobered. Looking at Alisha, she said, “I can’t be pregnant and be a member of Delilah’s Daughters. I’m sorry I let you down.”
“You have more important things to think about than the group,” Alisha said, “and so do I.”
“But what about the demo?” Roxanne asked.
Alisha waved the notion away with her hand. “I’m not sure,” she said, “but don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to Mr. Tommy and Morgan and see what they think. You should focus on the baby. We can think about the demo later.”
“She’s right,” Delilah said to Roxanne. “Putting all the plans for Delilah’s Daughters on hold seems the right thing to do for now.”
“I can’t help but wonder what Daddy would think,” Roxanne said. “I feel I’ve let him down even more than I’ve let you guys down.”
“More than anything,” Delilah said, “Rocky loved you girls and wanted the best for you. He loved you more than he loved Delilah’s Daughters. He may have been disappointed in the group not flourishing, but he would have understood that what was going on in each of your lives was more important than cutting a demo. Rocky had to make the choice between family and music himself, and he chose family. He’d want you to do the same.”
“Where does that leave me?” Veronica said. “Does putting family first mean I should walk away from the Legends contract?”
“I don’t think so,” Roxanne said. “That contract was probably a godsend that we didn’t recognize. If you hadn’t taken it, we still would have lost the Magic City contract due to my pregnancy. If I were you, I’d look at that Legends contract as a blessing straight from God.” She turned to Alisha. “I know this is hard for you to hear, but your relationship with Morgan opens new doors for you as well. It’s probably a good thing that you aren’t tied down with Delilah’s Daughters.”
Delilah's Daughters Page 25
