“Are you sure you want me to take you home? You can come over to my place if you think that’ll make you feel better.”
“Yeah, let’s go to your place. I think that will be best.”
The twenty minute drive gave Adanya time to think. But the more she thought about what had just happened, the more mixed up she became.
“She called him John. She called my daddy by his middle name?”
“Who? What are you talking about?” Nanette asked as she surpassed the seventy mile per hour speed limit.
“Bleak. That woman.”
“Adanya, you’re not making any sense. Did you say Bleak was with another woman?”
“His mother.”
“What about his mother?”
“His mother, Nanette. His mother called my daddy by his middle name.”
Nanette shifted her gaze on Adanya. “What does Bleak’s mother and your daddy have to do with this? You’re not making sense.”
Adanya inhaled, then exhaled. She chewed on her bottom lip and toyed with her hands. Again she inhaled and then slowly but deeply exhaled. “His, Bleak’s sister and mother were in a car accident. She called and told Bleak to come to the hospital.”
“Okay,” said Nanette. “Just take your time.”
“She, well, she…no, he,” she babbled, “when we got there we had to go to CCU. That’s what they told him. We, oh, Nanette it’s so horrible.” Adanya begin to lose control again.
“Oh my gosh, did something bad happen to his sister? Is she alive?”
“She’s alive, but she was injured bad enough to be in Critical Care. But, we walked into the waiting room, and some woman, I guess Bleak’s mother. She ran up to him when she saw him.”
“Yes, go on,” Nanette urged as she exited the interstate and drove toward the street that would lead to her apartment.
“She ran up to him and then next thing I know is, I don’t even know if I saw him first or heard him, or what, but─”
“Hold up.” Nanette pulled into her driveway. “Come on, let’s get you inside. Then you can let it all out.” Nanette opened the car door, hopped out, and dashed over to the passenger’s side before Adanya could completely get out of the car. She yanked the door all the way open and allowed Adanya to get out.
Adanya moved like she was in shock. Each step was slow paced and her head was bowed down.
Nanette guided her to the door of her apartment, unlocked it, and ushered her friend inside.
“Sit down. I’m going to get you something to drink.”
“I don’t want anything. I’m okay. I’m here now. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay, sit down.” Nanette followed Adanya as she walked over to the sofa and sat down. She buried her head in her hands.
“Now what about this woman? Bleak’s mother. Did she say anything out of line to you?”
Adanya shook her head. “No, it wasn’t her. She’s probably just as messed up as I am. I don’t know where they went.”
“Where who went?”
Adanya lifted her head. Her eyes had already begun to swell. “A man walked up and called Bleak his son.”
“And what was wrong with that? You told me he had a stepfather.”
“It was my daddy, Nanette. The man was my daddy.” Adanya broke down again.
“Your daddy? Mr. Anniston? But how could he, why would he be calling Bleak his son? I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I. I think he’s living a double life.”
“A double life?”
“Yes, and Bleak, he, his mother, all of us, his little sister…”
“But I thought you said his sister was in CCU.”
“He has two little sisters. And now, oh my God.”
“What is it?”
“Bleak told me that his mother had two kids by his stepfather. And if they’re my father’s children then you know what that means.” Adanya’s pupils grew larger by the second.
“They’re your sisters too,” Nanette finished.
“Exactly.” Adanya’s phone started ringing. She fished for the phone inside her purse. By the time she found it, it had stopped ringing. She looked at her Call Log.
“Who was it?”
“Bleak,” Adanya responded. Her text message tone chimed. “It’s him.” She read the text message out loud. “Where r u? Call me, pleaz. We need 2 talk.”
“Call him,” insisted Nanette.
“I don’t know if I can talk to him right now.”
“Call him. You need to see what’s going on.”
Adanya quickly dialed the number before she had time to change her mind again.
Bleak answered almost immediately. “Where are you? I’ve been all over this hospital looking for you,” he said with severity.
“Nanette. picked me up. Bleak, what’s going on? My daddy? I don’t understand any of this.”
“I know,” he said sounding dejected and lost. “I’m just as confused as you. But it’s not good. That’s all I can say. My mother is messed up about this whole thing. And my sister, my little sister has multiple fractures. A fractured pelvis, femur, and ankle.” He cried.
“Oh, Bleak, I’m so sorry. She is going to be all right though, isn’t she? What are the doctors saying?” Adanya asked as she momentarily laid aside her own problems.
“Yeah, eventually, but she’s probably going to walk with a limp the rest of her life, and her pelvis is going to have to be fused too. She’s got a long road to recovery. And having that…that, well I can’t call him all the things I want to, but now things are really messed up. And I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything you went through tonight. I had no intention of leaving you alone in that waiting room, but I got so upset, so angry with John.”
“John? Humph. Is that what you know him as? John?” Adanya asked and looked over at Nanette.
“Yes, John Phillips, but who is he really?”
“His full name is Kenneth John Phillip Anniston. They gave him two middle names when he was born. John, after my grandmother’s deceased brother, and Phillip after my paternal great granddaddy. Guess he took it upon himself to add the ‘s’ to Phillip; gave himself a totally separate personality. I don’t know. I’m confused. I’m telling you, this is so like a movie. I feel like I’m living out my life on the big screen.”
“Tell me about it. I wanted to break his back, but I had to keep control for my mother’s sake.”
“Is he still at the hospital?”
“Naw, he’s gone. My mother forced him to leave. Plus, I’m sure he knew he better not hang around, because I don’t know how much longer I would have been able to control myself.”
“And your mother and baby sister?”
“My mother had to pull herself together for my sister’s sake. She’s in the room with her now. My stepdaddy,” he hesitated. “John, took my baby sister with him. I’m going to be here for a while. But I need to see you too.” “I can’t believe this,” he said in a choked voice. “I can’t believe any of this,” he repeated.
“Neither can I. Hold up, Bleak.” Adanya pulled the phone away from her ear to see who was calling on the other line. It was him. Her father. She ignored his call. “Bleak, that was him calling on the other end.”
“Are you going to talk to him?” Bleak asked.
“I can’t talk to him. I don’t know him anymore. I don’t know who he is.” She began to cry into the phone again. Nanette eased over next to her and put her arm around her shoulder.
“Adanya, baby, stop crying. I wish I could be there with you.”
“No, Bleak. You’re where you’re supposed to be, with your mother and sister. They need you. I’ll be okay. I’m going to be here with Nanette until I sort things out in my head. But you’re right about one thing.”
“What is that?”
“You and me…we need to talk. I need to know everything you can tell me about the man who’s torn my life apart for a second time.”
“And you deserve to know everything. I’ll call you later.
Try to get some rest, if that’s possible.”
“And you take care of your mother. I can’t imagine what she’s feeling.”
“Yeah, she’s pretty distraught. The doctor wanted her to go home after he came and talked to us and saw how messed up she was. He thought it was because of my sister, and of course that’s a huge part of it, but he doesn’t know about John. I don’t know what to say to her, Adanya. Shoooot, I don’t even know what to say to you.” “There’s nothing for you to say. None of this is your fault. You’re just as much a victim as me and your mother. And my mother, well, I mean Annalisse; when she learns the truth about her husband, think about what it’s going to do to her. This man has managed to destroy everyone around him. I don’t understand, Lord. I just don’t understand.”
“Me neither, but look, I’ll talk to you as soon as I can. I need to get back to my mom. Hang in there, baby.”
“I’ll try.”
Chapter 15
“The hardest thing to govern is the heart.” Elizabeth I
Kenneth Anniston didn’t know what to do. How had things spiraled out of control the way they had? All the years he’d been with both Annalisse and Carla and he’d always managed to keep his two lives separate. He loved both women. He didn’t care how much people said, 'You can’t love two people at the same time.' That was a lie, and he was living proof of it.
He and Annalisse had been through some rough and tough times, but through it all they stood by one another. Their marriage was solid. And even though Annalisse had never been able to give him a child, he felt blessed to have had Adanya.
Granted, the way she was conceived was horrific. There was barely a day that passed when he didn’t think back to that night some twenty-three years ago. He had honestly mistaken Anaya for Annalisse. If he hadn’t been so drunk out of his mind, then his life, and Annalisse’s life would be totally different. But that difference would have meant they would not have had Adanya, and Adanya was everything to him. She had ways just like him. She was his pumpkin, the one who he adored. And Annalisse, well their relationship had been made stronger because of it, in Kenneth’s opinion.
He hadn’t meant to hurt anyone, but now in a matter of months his entire world was crumbling rapidly. All the monetary wealth and success he’d acquired couldn’t change what was happening to him. And he thought his relationship with God was strong. He was a faithful churchgoers with both of his families. He paid his tithes, he prayed and sometimes fasted. He gave to those less fortunate, and still God let this happen?
He drove around town until he found himself on the street to his office. He turned into the parking lot of his office building and parked. The lot was empty except for the security team.
He got out of his car and headed toward the office building. Removing the keys to the building, he unlocked the double locks and was met by Dino, his lead security guy.
“Good evening, Mr. Anniston. What brings you here this time of night? Everything all right, sir?”
“Hey, Dino.” Kenneth shook his head. “Man, everything isn’t all right. It’s a mess.”
“Can I do anything to help? You wanna talk about it?” Dino offered his boss.
All the years Dino had worked for Kenneth Anniston, he’d always found him to be a pretty fair boss. He believed in treating his employees with the utmost respect, compensated them well, and he also believed in elevating them.
Dino was a prime example. He’d been with Anniston Digital Technology for going on eight years, starting off as a part-time temp from one of the staffing companies in the city. From working as a temporary security guard, he got on permanent and the rest was history. He had excellent work ethics and learned everything he could about his position in security. Dino considered himself more than the average Joe-blow security guy. He took ultimate pride in his job responsibilities, and he had been rewarded quite well in position and compensation for his loyalty to the company. He was the head of Security, and he loved his job.
“I’m going to be okay. I’m going to my office and try to settle my mind.”
“Sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Dino prodded.
“No, but you can pray for me and my family.”
“Yeah, of course, Mr. Anniston. I will.”
“Anyway, why are you here tonight?” Kenneth asked. “The rest of the team is in place, right?”
“Oh, yes sir, but you know how I do it. I’m not above coming out here at night to support my team. I told them I was going to come order pizza for the night team. They do a great job, and I wanted to show ‘em I appreciate ‘em; that’s all.”
“You’re a good guy, Dino. I’m going on up. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Take care, Mr. Anniston. I’ll be leaving shortly, but I’ll tell the team you’re here so they won’t get alarmed when they see lights on in your office.”
“Thanks, Dino,” Kenneth said and walked toward the elevator with hunched shoulders and a downtrodden spirit.
He opened the door to his office and went and sat on the same sofa where just a few months earlier he had listened to Adanya’s sobs. He stared blankly out the enormous window and began to think.
What was Adanya doing with his stepson? How did she even know Bleak? He thought about the night at the game when he saw Bleak approach her. He had purposely walked off to avoid Bleak seeing him and Adanya. Was that the first night Bleak met her, or had they already known each other? Had Bleak discovered that Adanya was his child? Were the two of them involved? The onslaught of questions kept racing through his mind, so much so that Kenneth couldn’t wrap his thoughts around the events that had transpired. He didn’t know what to think.
It was his personal mission to keep his life with Annalisse and his life with Carla apart. Bleak being a white boy, gave Kenneth an added sense of security because at least he wouldn’t have to be concerned with Adanya ever meeting up with his other family, or so he thought. But as fate would have it, everything had backfired. And all the years he’d spent ingraining into Adanya’s head about the importance of dating within her race had gone out the window. What could she have been thinking? Kenneth wrestled with thoughts of what might have gone wrong.
He met Carla some thirteen years ago at one of the technology conventions he used to frequent in the beginning stages of building his business. Back then she worked as an administrative assistant to the vice president of one of the companies that he later bought out, and now owned and operated.
When he saw her, he was immediately attracted to her. He was a happily married man, he’d told himself at that time. But in his eyes, there was nothing wrong with being attracted to another woman, as long as he didn’t act on his feelings.
Carla was not only attractive, he later found out that she was smart, intelligent, and there was a certain something about her that made Kenneth want to get to know her.
The second evening of what would be a weeklong convention, Kenneth had spotted her downstairs in the hotel restaurant and bar dining alone. He and some colleagues were in the restaurant discussing sports and politics while eating and having a few drinks. Kenneth tried to keep his eyes from roving to the table where she sat, but it was hard for him to do. He got up and excused himself from the table and went to the bar and ordered a glass of white wine and had it sent to her table. He also told the server that he would take care of her check. Kenneth rejoined his colleagues, but barely took his eyes off Carla.
Carla looked around after the server delivered her glass of wine and that’s when Kenneth met her look with a smile. She nodded, and then without touching the glass of wine, she got up and proceeded to leave the restaurant.
He got up and excused himself again and left his colleagues looking bewildered.
“Excuse me,” he said to the tall, slender, blonde who reminded him of a fashion runway model.
Carla was aloof at first and refused to give him the time of day. He didn’t know if it was because he was a black man or not, but he didn’t care. The more she evaded hi
m, the more he pursued her. She continued to brush him off during the course of the convention, and Kenneth decided to let it go. Months passed and she was quickly forgotten, until he saw her again. This time, it was in Seattle, Washington which at the time was quickly rising to the forefront as one of the nations’ top digital cities.
Their chance encounter this time was more open and friendly. He saw her browsing at one of the hundreds of vending booths that lined the meeting hall where the digital convention was being held. He walked up on her, politely introduced himself as John Phillips and used the age old line, “Have we met before?”
Unknown to his immediate family, Kenneth often used his two middle names as a business pseudonym. He had chosen to do so as a d/b/a so the full knowledge of his business and now secret life would go undetected by Annalisse. He convinced himself that a d/b/a was the right thing to do just in case things ever fell apart between him and Annalisse. He didn’t want everything he’d worked hard for over the years to be taken from him like he’d witnessed some of his constituents.
As for Carla, she never had a reason to suspect anything differently. And when it came to conducting business, it hadn’t posed a problem because his financial and business attorneys managed to keep his affairs in proper order. He felt the name John Phillip, with an s, sounded more businesslike.
Anniston Digital Technology, Inc. had turned out to be a highly successful company, but it was never listed under the name of Kenneth Anniston. Unknown to Annalisse, everything Kenneth owned and operated, other than their shared property and assets was under the name of John Phillips. Now, years later his reasons for using John Phillips had backfired.
He continued to reminisce about when he first met Carla. That day in Seattle, Carla mesmerized him with her magnetic smile. This time around, for reasons unknown to him, Carla agreed to have lunch with him. While dining with her, he realized just how much he was attracted to her. Yes, he was a married man with a child, but he hadn’t set out to have an affair on Annalisse. It just happened. That’s what he told himself.
What's Blood Got to Do With It? Page 14
