What's Blood Got to Do With It?

by Shelia E. Bell

  “Anyway, after I got drunk, I wanted to see Annalisse so I went over to the house. Next thing I remember is seeing Anaya walk into the bedroom, only it wasn’t Anaya. It, well you can figure out the rest.”

  Kenneth sobbed, bending over like he hoped for solace from his child. There was none. He wiped tears with the back of one hand and looked back up toward Adanya.”

  Adanya cried loudly. She wanted him to stop talking, but then again she didn’t want him to stop. She had to know and she hated that she wanted to know.

  “Annalisse lunged at me and started pounding me off of Anaya. I was out of my head; out of my mind. I didn’t know what was happening. I quieted Annalisse by putting my hand over her mouth until I could be sure she was really Annalisse and not the other way around, and, I didn’t want her parents waking up, at least not until I had a chance to tell her what had happened. But it was too late, because Mr. Kaplan stormed in the room. I thought he was going to kill me. It took Annalisse and Mrs. Kaplan to keep him from beating the brakes off me.

  “It was an ugly scene. One that I’ll always remember.” Kenneth swiped his hand across his mouth. “Trying to explain to them what happened was the hardest thing I had to do, but I did it. If I had to go to jail for making the worst decision of my life that night, I deserved it. It wasn’t easy. I didn’t know if the Kaplan’s were going to press charges against me or not. But they didn’t. I don’t know how they ever forgave me, but they did.”

  Adanya couldn’t move. She listened to the horrid truth, the sad truth, the life changing truth.

  Kenneth continued. “It wasn’t until weeks later, after Anaya started having morning sickness, lying around, and not feeling well that Annalisse told me she overheard her mother and daddy talking about how Anaya had missed her period and they were scared that she might be pregnant. I was crazy out of my mind with worry. My folks were so upset with me. I had shown that even if I had been accepted at Howard, I probably wouldn’t have lasted up there. I definitely messed up.” Kenneth paused. “Do you want me to keep on?” he asked as he used his thumb to wipe away the tears.

  Adanya nodded.

  “Annalisse didn’t want anything else to do with me. I couldn’t blame her. For weeks, I begged her to forgive me. I begged Mr. and Mrs. K; I begged my parents; I begged God to forgive me. I prayed hard. I loved Annalisse so much; I couldn’t see living my life without her by my side.

  “She finally gave in, and took me back. We finished college, got married and started raising you.

  “The bottom line is you raped Aunt Anaya.” Adanya’s voice was laced with contempt. “And you didn’t spend a day in jail? You got a slap on the wrist and went off to college? Went on about your merry little life? You and Annalisse?” Adanya’s hands flailed. “You’re sorry, that’s for sure, but not the way you think.”

  “Don’t you realize the hurt Annalisse went through after she learned what had happened? It took her a really long time to forgive herself.”

  “Whooptie do. Is that supposed to make me feel sorry for her? Well, I don’t. She should feel the way she’s feeling.” Adanya began to walk away.

  “Honey, wait.”

  “What?”

  “I know I really screwed things up, but I didn’t mess up when it came to you. If I had the power to make that night where it never happened, then I’m telling you if it meant I wouldn’t have you, then I’m not ashamed to tell you that I wouldn’t change a thing. You’re my baby. You’re my blood.”

  “But think about what you did, the crime you committed, and then hid for all these years. Then answer this one question. Adanya stared at him, and without so much as a grimace she asked, “What’s blood got to do with it?” Before he could answer, Adanya whisked out of his office.

  Chapter 4

  “In the book of life, the answers aren’t in the back.” Charlie Brown

  Adanya rushed out of the office building, blinded by a truth she didn’t want to accept. She didn’t know how she would face her life with what she’d come to learn in such a short time span. Two times, she almost wrecked her pearl white Audi Roadster, once going into a tailspin on the slick covered street leading her in the direction of her grandparents’ house. They would tell her that this whole thing was a mistake.

  She drove as fast as she could, without causing an accident, until she arrived at their one story, three bedroom brick house, tucked behind the signature white brick walls of Schilling Farms community. A patch of ice caused the Audi to slide but thankfully, it stopped a few yards short of hitting her grandparents’ garage.

  She got out of the car and hurried to the front door, placing her gloved finger on the buzzer and didn’t let up off it until she saw the oak door open. It was her grandfather.

  “Child, what are you doing out here in all this bad weather?” Maurice Kaplan looked around outside like someone could have been chasing his granddaughter. He opened the door wider so she could come inside. She walked into the living room and rubbed her hands together. Her grandmother, planted in front of the television, stood up from her seated position.

  Adanya scanned her surroundings.

  “Where’s Aunt Anaya?”

  “In her sitting room. Why? Did she call you? I tell you that girl will get a hold of a number and once she has it in her address book, she’ll call people all day long, and night, if we let her,” Mrs. Kaplan commented, and then chuckled.

  “No, she didn’t call me.”

  “’Danya,” her grandmother said and stared. “Go over there and sit by the fireplace and warm up. What’s going on?” she asked. “Girl, you’re acting like you just witnessed a murder or something.”

  Without saying a word, Adanya did as she was told. She removed her coat and then took a seat in the chair closest to the fireplace but it did nothing to warm her. She shivered from the coldness, from her sickness, and from the ice, that was quickly forming around her heart.

  “You have me worried,” he said.

  Mrs. Kaplan retreated to the same chair where Adanya had parked her body. Her slim, petite silhouette easily found space next to Adanya. Bewilderment attached itself to her face and uncertainty overtook her voice. “Talk to us, ’Danya,” she urged. “What is it, baby?”

  A slight hesitation appeared in Adanya’s eyes. She felt like she was being tormented by confusing emotions and thoughts of what was real and what wasn’t. The phone started ringing.

  Mr. Kaplan walked over to the phone lying on the end of the sofa where Mrs. Kaplan had previously sat. He viewed the caller ID.

  “It’s Annalisse.”

  “Don’t answer it,” Adanya shouted. Her outburst startled both of her grandparents.

  Mrs. Kaplan nodded at her husband and he let the phone continue to ring. When it stopped, Adanya’s phone started ringing, but she refused to answer it too.

  “Why don’t you want us to talk to your mother?” Eva Kaplan asked her granddaughter.

  “Look, whatever is going on, you can talk to us,” her grandfather said.”

  “Is Aunt Anaya my mother?”

  Mr. and Mrs. Kaplan seemed to turn a shade darker at the same time.

  Mrs. Kaplan’s hand flew against her mouth. “Oh, Lord, have mercy.”

  Immediately, Maurice Kaplan started wandering aimlessly around the perimeter of the spacious family room. “Where did you hear that?”

  Mrs. Kaplan took hold of Adanya with both arms and rocked her from side to side like she was an infant. “Yes, who told you such a thing?”

  “I heard Mother…Annalisse yesterday.” Adanya spoke softly. “She was talking on the phone about it to Miss Kaye.” Adanya proceeded to tell her grandparents what had occurred. When she finished pouring her soul out to them about everything that had transpired, Adanya felt totally exhausted. “All I need for you to do is tell me the truth. I want somebody to tell me the truth.”

  “Hi, Pretty Adanya.” Anaya quietly appeared at the entrance to the family room. A smile as wide as a moon pie filled Anaya’s face w
hen she saw Adanya.

  Mrs. Kaplan got up from the sofa and walked over to her daughter, placed one arm around her lovingly, and kissed her on the side of her neck that was shielded by her shoulder-length braided hair.

  Adanya looked away. She couldn’t digest the fact that this woman who talked and acted like a child was actually her mother. She couldn’t face her or look at her the same. She felt like she wanted to scream.

  Anaya looked hurt and started crying. “Pretty Adanya, mad at me?”

  Adanya jumped up, zipped past Anaya and ran to the bathroom, with Gram trailing behind. She didn’t have time to close the door because her grandmother blocked it. Gram walked into the bathroom and then closed the door behind. “I know this is hard for you. God only knows what you’re going through, baby. But Anaya loves you, so do not take it out on her. Everything that happened may have been wrong, but out of all of the bad that did happen, still, the goodness of God came out of it because we were blessed with you. We have a beautiful, smart, loving, young woman in you, Adanya. I know it has to hurt like hell, and yes, I said ‘hell’, but it’s the only way I can show you that I recognize your despair.

  “I don’t know how much you know, but obviously you know that Annalisse isn’t your biological mother. But the woman on the other side of that door,” she said pointing at the bathroom door, “has a child’s mind, but an open heart, and she loves you. And so does Annalisse and Kenneth. We all love you, honey. What we decided to do back then has come back to haunt us. Maybe we should have told you, but how? How could we explain it to you? Now there’s a rift in this family that only God can bridge.”

  Adanya sat on the toilet and covered her face in her hands.

  “I’m sorry you had to find out like you did. But I can tell you this; if for one minute, me or your gramps thought he intentionally hurt Anaya, he would have been locked up without so much as a heartbeat. But he was young. He made a cruel mistake and he was sorry for it.”

  Adanya remained silent, and her head remained buried in her hands.

  Her grandfather knocked on the door.

  “I’m coming in. I have something to say too.”

  Grams spoke up. “Come on in.”

  He walked into the large bathroom and planted himself on the side of the Jacuzzi style tub across from where Adanya sat.

  “’Danya, I’ve known your daddy since he was a youngster. I remember when he used to come by here to see Annalisse, called himself wanting to court my baby. His parents, your paternal grandparents, were and still are some of our closest friends, but you know that. Only thing between us is distance and that’s because after they retired and decided to move to Tucson we don’t get to see them too often. But like I said, I’m not telling you something you don’t already know. As for Kenneth, I believed him back then; I smelled the alcohol on his breath that God awful night. He smelled like the stuff had been poured all over his body.

  Tears swelled in Maurice Kaplan’s eyes as he relived the events of that fateful night. “My first thought was I wanted to kill him, but it was the hand of God that held me back. Your Gram has been by my side forty-seven years; she and Annalisse kept me from choking the life out of him. It took them a while to get me to stop and listen. The boy was sorry and hurt. God knows that he didn’t realize what he had done. That’s why it’s dangerous for young people to venture into drugs and alcohol, thinking it’ll make things better.”

  Adanya turned and faced her grandmother. With sad eyes, she spoke. “Gram, what about me? Who thought about my hurt? Who thought about the day that I would find out about all of this? Everyone seems to have been thinking about Annalisse and Kenneth, and about how to turn something foul into something good. Nobody seems to have thought about what Anaya went through. For God’s sake, Gram, my mother was raped by my father. Nothing can ever change that.”

  Mrs. Kaplan placed her hand on Adanya’s shoulder. “Nothing is going to change the past. But I do know that we had to learn how to forgive. Holding on and feeling bitter toward Kenneth was not going to change the fact that you were brought into this world. And as bad as it was, we do not believe he raped her like you keep accusing him of. Maybe we made the wrong decisions back then; I don’t know. But what I do know is that Annalisse has been a good mother to you. Not once has she complained about that.”

  “Why would she complain? It was her and my daddy’s fault for what happened to Aunt Anaya, and now everybody expects me to be fine like nothing ever happened. Well, I’m not. And you and no one else can make me feel better,” Adanya yelled. “And if she couldn’t give him her consent to have sex with her, then he raped her,” she added.

  “Hold on,” Mr. Kaplan stated with firmness. “Don’t you ever raise your voice to me or your grandmother, young lady. Now, I know this is hard for you, but I will not tolerate your disrespect. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, sir.” Adanya dropped her head.

  “And I’m sure when Annalisse was talking to Kaye she was talking out of frustration. It’s not been easy for her to keep the truth from you. It hasn’t been easy to come to terms with the fact that she could never give Kenneth what her own sister gave him. It has to be times when she wonders if Anaya understands that you’re her birth daughter. Anaya gave you your name. She lights up when she sees you. What do you think that does to Annalisse? She’s constantly badgered with memories of what happened. But what can be done about it now? Nothing. As for Kenneth, he loves you. For heaven’s sake, you’re his child. You’re his blood. If I didn’t believe that with everything in me, I wouldn’t be here defending him.”

  “Don’t you get it? That’s the problem. Why didn’t someone tell me when I was old enough to understand? Maybe then, things wouldn’t be so bad. I can’t look at Anaya as my mother. When I see her, when she came in the living room and called me Pretty Adanya, I saw a little girl. A little girl in a grown woman’s body. Not a mother, not even a full grown woman, although she’s both. But she can never be a mother to me. Never.” Adanya cried. She felt weak and sick again.

  “Shhh, baby. It’s all right. Cry, sweetheart. Let it out.” And Adanya did. She sobbed until Anaya knocked on the door.

  The phone started ringing again. “I’ll get it.” Gramps left, closing the door behind him.

  “I want you to stay here tonight. It’s getting pretty bad out there and you’ve been through enough drama. Have you eaten anything?” her gram asked.

  Adanya shook her head.

  “Let me fix you something to eat.” A knock on the bathroom door interrupted their conversation. “Yes?” Eva said.

  “It’s Annalisse on the phone. She said she’s not hanging up until she talks to Adanya.”

  “I’m not talking to her,” Adanya told her gram.

  Without opening the bathroom door, Eva responded. “Tell her she’ll talk to her later and not to worry. She’s staying here for the night.”

  “Okay.” Gramps shuffled away from the bathroom.

  “Maurice,” is Anaya okay out there?”

  “Yea, I put the TV on the Gospel Channel,” he replied.

  “Now, you listen to me, ‘Danya. I believe that everything, and I do mean everything, happens for a reason. I didn’t say that it’s always good, but what I am saying is that we have a lot to be thankful for. Look at you.” She got the hand mirror from out of the vanity and placed it in front of Adanya.

  Though her face was red and her eyes were swollen, Adanya studied her reflection.

  “You are beautiful. You have been a blessing to this family. Yes, I know it was through unfortunate circumstances. But had it not been for what the devil was planning to use to destroy this family, we wouldn’t have the precious woman you’re looking at.”

  “Gram, I’m sorry, but I don’t see it. I can’t help if. I feel betrayed, lost, and empty.” She cried in the bosom of her grandma. “Everyone has lied to me. Everything that I’ve been taught about who I am, about growing up, being an Anniston, I’m now questioning it all. And how stupid am
I?”

  “You are not stupid, and I do not want to hear any such thing coming out of your mouth ever again. As for questioning who you are, you are an Anniston. Annalisse is your mother; she’s done what Anaya will never be capable of doing.

  “I should have known something wasn’t right about me and my life. I was blinded by my wonderful, oh so perfect life. But the joke’s on me.”

  “You stop that kind of talk now, child. Maybe you didn’t come from Annalisse’s womb, but she has loved you, raised you, and cared for you. You are her daughter.”

  “Gram, you weren’t upset to find out that she was going behind you and Gramps’ back sneaking my father inside the house?”

  “Oh, you better believe I was upset. I was absolutely heartbroken. I felt like everything me and Maurice taught her was for nothing. We raised both your mother and Anaya up in the church. We read the Bible to them and had family Bible studies at home almost every Friday night. Poor Anaya, though she’s mentally challenged, she loved for us to read the Bible to her, and she still does to this day. You know for yourself how much she loves her gospel music.”

  Adanya smiled slightly. “That’s true. I bet she knows the title of every CD she has in her room, and she has tons.”

  “Yes, she does,” Mrs. Kaplan said and smiled. “Listen, I don’t want to downplay anything that happened. It was hard to deal with what Kenneth did, but then for Anaya to turn up pregnant; Lord knows that was another trial. I was so angry. I fussed at God and blamed everybody. It took me a long time to forgive Kenneth and Annalisse. I felt like they were selfish and that they disregarded everything they had been taught.

  “Kenneth’s parents were just as messed up about everything too. But God had to show me, really all of us, how to forgive. It was a tough lesson, but we had to learn it, nevertheless. So I’m telling you that I’ve lived long enough to know that everything will work out in time. You’ll see.”

  Chapter 5

  “An ounce of blood is worth more than a pound of friendship.” ~Spanish Proverb~