Her Designer Baby

by Shawna Washington

  “He can wait.”

  “No, Adrian, please. I don’t want to keep you waiting. I know how eager you have been for this meeting.” I had seen him going all crazy over the possibilities of working on a ranch.

  “I said it could wait. It’s not even six anyhow.” He glanced at his watch and then took my hand in his. What would I do without him?

  After another hour, I heard a car pulling up. We both stepped out to see my mom and dad getting out of the police van. Mom’s face was reddened, from all that crying probably, and Dad, well he seemed like he was the king of the universe and nothing affected him. “Mom?” I ran to her and she looked up at me with glassy eyes. “What happened?” I asked.

  “What could happen? Those assholes know not to come here again,” Dad said in a rumbled tone. “Jeez, I need a drink,” he said and then strode inside.

  You always only need a drink, I thought bitterly and then turned to Mom. “Tell me.”

  “They couldn’t find any solid proof so they let us go.” How I wished they had. At least that would have kept the old man behind bars for some time and I could breathe in relief. But no, he was back.

  “Mrs. Johnson, please let me know if I can be of any help,” Adrian stepped closer to me and said to my mom. I loved how much he respected her.

  “Thank you, Adrian. Just take care of my daughter, ”she said, caressing my cheek and then took weak steps inside the house where I could hear my dad cursing.

  “Can I come with you to the club? I don’t feel like going in right now.” I asked him weakly. “Of course, Tynice. I’ll bring you back early,” he promised.

  Shawn was as pale as Adrian was but he had a few inches on him. They both shared blue eyes and blond hair. Anyone could figure they were related. I had met him couple of times before as well so we were acquainted well with each other. The other guy, Brian, was African American like me. He too was around Shawn’s age. He had asked Adrian, pointing at me, if I was his girlfriend. “Are you, Tynice?” Adrian had asked me and I had very much rolled my eyes.

  “Not in your dreams, Leggy.” He narrowed his eyes at my nickname for him. He had despised the name. Well, he had long legs, what else could I have called him? The three of them sat and talked while I sipped my Diet Coke. That was when a group of boys entered the club. They were from our school with a bad rep that proceeded them.

  “Sent your dad some shots, Johnson? Heard he was in the lock-up all day.” One of them, Jay, called as they sat just opposite from me.

  “Maybe she joined him up for a game of cards,” the other said. “Oh I forgot, they have nothing to play for.”

  I was too tired to answer to any of their taunts. Not that I had something to say. They were right about whatever they were saying. My dad was a bastard and I wasn’t denying it. Not once. I stayed seated beside Adrian, not giving anything away.

  “He's gotta have something to bet though. Maybe stocky sack’s virginity.” That was followed by laughter. Ouch! That hurt. Before I could respond, I saw Adrian getting up from his seat and stalking towards the other table.

  “Adrian…” I called him but he was already at the guys’ table and moments later I saw his fist hitting Robert Tenning’s jaw. “You open your mouth about her again and I’ll kill you, Tenning!” Adrian gave him another punch.

  Before things could get out of hand, Shawn and Brian caught Adrian and pulled him back. “Calm it down, West.” Shawn said. The rest of the guys at Tenning’s table kept their mouths shut. That was perhaps because of Adrian’s reaction or the presence of Shawn and Brian. Either way, they seemed intimidated.

  I got a hold of Adrian’s shoulder and we went outside. I could feel him burning under my touch. Angry Adrian was a sight I cringed from too. “Adrian…” I tried to say.

  “I’ll kill that son of bitch. How dare he,” he growled.

  “Hey. It’s okay.” I tried to soothe him. Shawn and Brian had wisely left us alone when they knew we were out of danger. “It’s nothing you don’t tease me about anyway.” I tried to lighten his mood.

  “Damn it, Tynice. I get to tease you about it, not every asshole in town!” He almost yelled. Geez, alright, why so touchy? My best friend was kind of protective.

  “Did you hurt your hand?” I asked the first thing that came to my mind.

  “What?”

  “Your hand. You gave him a solid punch from what I saw.”

  “You got to be kidding me.”

  “Yeah right, Adrian West doesn’t feel pain. He is all strong and a fighter.” I thickened my voice. He tried to glare at me but the amusement in his eyes gave it away and then he finally cracked a smile. My shoulders fell down in relief. “Come, let’s get you home.”

  When I got home, Dad was already gone for the big game at the club. My mom was asleep on the couch. Her face showed the wrinkles which she had gotten at such an early age with a couple of faint bruises. Every time I looked at them, it made me wanted to shake her and pour some sense into her that her husband wasn’t worth her suffering.

  She had that absurd hope that one day he’d be back to who he was before. There was no way I could tell her that the path he was walking on was one way. There was no way back home. It was better for her to get this as soon as possible or else she’d ruin what little chance she had of gaining back a normal life for herself, and me. I pulled out the old blanket and wrapped it around her slender body. I knew she wouldn't be moving from here until Dad returned home ‘safely’.

  Tynice

  June 2014, Springfield, Illinois

  “Hey, Zach.” I picked up my buzzing phone and placed it between my shoulder and ear as I signed the papers for the rental car. My flight had landed twenty minutes ago at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield and here I was already irritated with the heat and humidity of the city. Damn you, William Parker. I’ll sure remember to take this out on you in court.

  “Hey baby, you landed down there?” Zach’s my boyfriend. He’s a writer and we were in a relationship for the last eighteen months. No matter what or who I was out in public, I wanted my love life safe and peaceful. And Zach was my safe zone. He was a bestselling author who wrote thrillers.

  “Yeah, just wishing I could take the next flight back. It’s pretty hot here,” I said as I got into the rental SUV and fired up the air conditioner.

  Zach chuckled on the other side of the phone. “I'm wishing the same thing. I miss you already, baby.”

  I pulled the SUV out onto the street. “I’ll call you back once I'm in the room, ‘kay? I'm driving right now.” I said to him.

  “Of course, sweet pea. Drive safe.” I hung up and pressed hard on the gas. Zach was the nicest person I had ever encountered. He had been nothing but kind to me. He wasn’t judgmental, he wasn’t over expectant and he was too loving. He could make any girl happy with his endearment and lovely talks.

  He would say he missed me, he cared for me and all those things but I couldn’t say it back to him. I wasn’t that person who could vocalize every little feeling I had inside me. I was closed and reserved and Zach respected that. It was one thing that had attracted me to him. Maybe that was why we had managed to come this far because before him I had a total of just two relationships. One was as short as a shooting star. The other was a bit progressed and lasted three months. So yes, this thing with Zach was an improvisation in my overall dull love life.

  It was already eight thirty according to Seattle time when I had landed in Illinois. The time difference had made it later in Springfield. It was ten thirty here. The almost six hour flight had gotten me bone tired and now this drive to the hotel was exhausting me even more. Damn my fiercely independent woman ego. I didn’t like to be driven anywhere. But during situations like this, I could certainly welcome a little domestic help. But since that wasn’t happening now, I kept driving. I had my GPS telling me how to reach my hotel that was close to Interstate 55.

  As I drove, my mind rushed over the events that had happened today. Logan had been back fro
m Chicago. He was the founding partner of Lowe and Cripps. When he had heard about the transfer of Parker’s hearing, he had gone above and beyond to see what had happened but he too had been greeted by deaf ears. And me, I had run the whole thing over and over again with my team, since they all couldn’t come along.

  It was just me, David and Rick. David was flying down on Sunday and Rick on Friday. Monday we had our first hearing. I had to come down early because Nancy Parker had come to Illinois last night and I had some catch up to do with her over the change of course I suspected the case was taking. Other than that there was her brother, William Parker, whom I had to keep tabs on. I had a feeling that it was a good thing I was in the same city as him.

  It’s never bad to be a little proactive. I had to contact Ramsey as well to let him know I was in Illinois and to see where the research was going. With this sudden turn of events I was intrigued even more. It was time to uncover the mysterious William Parker’s veil. I had a feeling he had lots of stuff hidden underneath it.

  My mind was dwelling on all these thoughts when I felt the brake getting weird. It was losing its grip. I looked down at the pedals and tried pushing the brake pedal again. It jerked and bumped before budging down a bit. I tried for a second time, it resisted first and then it went all loose and free. My car was having a brake failure. A freaking brake failure!“How could this happen?” I tried pressing it again and again but it was of no use.

  I looked at my speedometer. It said 70miles an hour. Perfect. What was I going to do? I tried slowing down by letting go of accelerator but the speed needle didn’t come down a centimeter. It stayed at 70. Why was I driving at this speed anyway? And why the hell was a rental car's brakes failing? Weren’t they supposed to check it before handing it over? “Shit! Shit! Shit!!” I had no idea what I was supposed to do.

  I had never experienced a brake failure before. Panic was beginning inside me but I tried to suppress it. Panic was the last thing I could entertain in a situation like this.

  I looked out and saw light traffic passing by. Checking my rear mirror, I could see headlights of cars from afar. I turned on my hazard lights, just in case, and then tried to focus on how to slow down the car. I pressed hard on my mind to think if I had ever read or seen anything about brake failures.

  But damn if I could remember. Not that I was much of an automobile person. I just knew how to drive and drive well. Other than that, I had no idea of anything about cars. I could change a flat tire but that was about it, my knowledge went that far. I should have known more since I was too stubborn of an ass to take a driver who could drive me from the airport to the hotel so I could just lie in a warm bed and have an uninterrupted, long due sleep.

  The car behind me approached and honked loudly. I flashed my right blinker before resuming my hazard lights. The car kept honking as it overtook me and then rushed ahead. I was tempted to give the driver some really un-ladylike finger gesture but I held back. He probably wouldn’t see it in the dark anyway. I tried to focus on my speeding car.

  I checked the brakes once more but they were of no use. I mentally weighed what possibilities I had. A) Bump into the wall repeatedly. B) Pull handbrake. C) Roll down my window and shout my lungs out for help. Option A wasn’t applicable since there was no visible wall I could see. I struck it out. Option B was something I could try but what if it would make the car tumble and roll all over the road? Struck out again. Third option – well, I couldn't really see anyone around. With all three options gone, I kept driving with the same speed. Either I was going to die or I was going to keep driving this monster until the gas ran out and it was forced to stop. I might as well reach Chicago like this.

  I kept driving and kept cursing the Rent–A–Car agency for giving me this faulty car and Kelly for choosing that particular agency and William Parker for bringing me here in the first place. I had passed my hotel and I could only imagine being in a cozy bed. My night was going to be spent driving this vehicle. I looked at the fuel tank indicator. It was almost full. I wondered how much mileage it could cover to consume all that gas.

  After driving a good while, an idea finally hit me and I changed the gear from fifth to fourth. And damn that speedometer, it fucking stepped down from70. Genius! Why didn’t I think of that before? I tried inching down one gear at a time. Ten minutes later I was driving ten miles an hour. Big progression! Now all I had to do was find a way to stop completely. Maybe I could pull the hand brake now. It couldn’t be that bad if I tried, could it? I checked the mirrors for traffic. I could see none. I drove the car towards the edge of the road and then closed my eyes briefly before pulling the handbrake.

  It stopped with a thud. I cursed and then bowed my head down to the steering wheel as I let go of my held breath in relief. My stiff shoulders finally relaxed, giving my strained back a moment of ease after the tense drive. My heart was running like a horse in a race. I could actually feel it bumping against my ribs. I gave myself a few minutes to settle my breathing and beating heart.

  Once I could think straight, I looked around to see where I was. I had driven out of the city, of course, and the area around me showed nothing but barren land with hints of grass. I looked down at my watch, it was quarter to midnight. I thought of calling Kelly to arrange me a ride back to hotel. Later I would deal with what I had to, beginning with the rental agency.

  I reached out for my phone and speed dialed my assistant. It rang three times before she picked it up. “Good evening, Ms. Johnson. Have you reached your hotel?” I could have strangled her for asking me that.

  “Who the hell did you hire to provide me that rental car?” I barely kept my temper.

  “I… I can check and let you know, Ms. Johnson. Is there a problem?” Can't believe she asked me if there’s a problem.

  “No, I love being here in middle of who knows where with a car with no brakes.”

  “I am so sorry about it. Can you please guide me to your location so I can send someone…” a beep interrupted. “…Looking for you…” another beep. “…As soon as possible…” another beep. Frowning, I removed my phone from my ear to see the screen. It was giving me alerts on my battery running out. I had to tell her my location before call ended.

  “I drove straight from the airport to the hotel and kept driving on Interstate 55. Where I am, there are no buildings. I guess it’s pretty much out of the city.” I said into the phone looking around at my surroundings. When I didn’t get the usual quick response from my efficient assistant, I said repeated myself. “Kelly, did you hear me?” no response still. I looked at the screen again, it was black. The battery had died.

  I was in the middle of nowhere in a broken car with a dead phone.

  Adrian

  July 1998, Williamsville, Illinois

  The sun was shooting fire and I was drenched with sweat. Damn these summers. With school out and the extreme weather, I had to work out at the warehouse with dad. I pulled off my soaked shirt and hung it on the outstretched branch of the tree to let it dry. I needed a good cold shower to get this heat from my skin. “Adrian, come up here! Help me get these loaded.” I looked back to see my dad waving at me. Taking a big swig of water from the bottle, I capped it back and placed it in the ice cooler.

  I went back towards the driveway where my old man was picking up the logs and loading them in the back of the truck. “I got to run to the city right now. Think you can handle things here for me?” he asked as I took the log from him and placed it on up.

  “Sure. When will you be back?”

  “By evening probably. Depends. Might have to stay overnight,” he said.

  “Uh huh.” I said nonchalantly. He knew how much I didn’t want to be handed the responsibility. Even if it had to be for a few hours – a whole night was completely out-of-the-question. That responsibility was too much for my sixteen-year-old shoulders. My home included me, my hard working dad and my drunk-to-death mother. And with Dad out of the picture, it would be just me and my mother.

  “
Adrian …” Dad tried to say but I cut him off.

  “I get it. I’ll deal.” Try to at least. I was certain that what patience my dad had, I could never have. Especially when it came to the woman who gave birth to me.

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Dad promised.

  “I know you will.” I jumped off the truck and minutes later I was watching my dad drive off.

  My mother was an alcoholic --a helpless alcoholic. I loathed the way she looked, the way she talked, hell even the way she walked. She didn’t care what she was wearing or how long it had been since she last took a shower or how messy her hair was. All she cared about was getting her damn drink and keeping them coming. And then she would keep on puking until she passed out on floor or on the couch. She was an ugly sight and a cold hearted woman. I dreaded seeing her. But days like today, I had no escape.