Deadly Satisfaction

by Trice Hickman

  After Samuel finished telling Geneva all the details of his brother’s betrayal, Geneva had sat on the couch stunned.

  “Why didn’t you tell me this when you found out?” Geneva asked.

  Samuel let out a long sigh. “Because we’d gone through so much and you’d finally gotten to a point where you were happy. I felt that telling you would only cause more pain, so I decided your happiness and peace of mind was much more important than my brother’s scheming ways.”

  But Geneva’s hurt soon turned to anger, and anger turned to rage. Samuel had barely finished his sentence before Geneva jumped to her feet and ran up the stairs—taking them two at a time—to the guest room where Joe had been napping. Samuel had tried to stop her, but she’d moved too quickly. She’d stormed into the room and shouted at Joe to pack his bags and leave.

  “Are you crazy?” Joe had said. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “You’re a no-good, low-down, devious coward,” Geneva yelled. “I want you out of our house right now!”

  When Joe made the mistake of telling Geneva to go to hell, he’d found himself lying flat on the floor after Samuel punched him in his jaw. Sarah had stayed in their guest room with Gabrielle, while Herbert rushed in and broke up the one-sided fight. Fifteen minutes later a cab pulled up to the front door and took Joe to the Hilton Garden Inn.

  Geneva pulled the soft lambs-wool blankets up to her neck and let out a long sigh as she thought about her money-hungry brother-in-law. Then her thoughts turned to her nosy friend, Shartell. Geneva had always known that Shartell was a bigmouthed gossiper; after all, she’d been nicknamed Ms. CIA because she had intel on everyone in town. But Geneva had also known Shartell to have a sense of honor, or at least she’d thought so. Geneva shook her head when she thought about what Shartell had said at the salon yesterday when Donetta had made a joke, and said that Shartell’s family better be careful, lest they end up in Shartell’s new book. Geneva had been appalled when Shartell had said it was actually a good idea.

  “If she’ll sell out her family, she’ll certainly throw me under the bus in order to get what she wants,” Geneva huffed. She closed her eyes and rubbed her throbbing temples. When she looked up, she was startled to find Samuel standing beside her lounge chair. “I didn’t hear you come out.”

  “You looked like you were in deep thought and I didn’t want to startle you.” Samuel handed her a glass of wine. “Here, baby. I know it’s the middle of the day, but I figured you could use this.”

  Geneva nodded her head and took a sip. “Thanks, honey. This is exactly what I need. How’s your hand feeling? Is the Tylenol helping?”

  “No, but the wine is. I already finished one glass and I’m about to have another.”

  “I might need a refill, too.”

  Samuel looked up at the dark clouds looming above. “The weatherman said this’ll be the first time in over fifty years that this town has seen snow on Thanksgiving.”

  “Snow?” Geneva looked up at the sky. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. I didn’t know they were calling for snow.”

  “They weren’t, but apparently in the wee hours of this morning an unexpected clipper, mixed with a polar vortex, came from out of nowhere, and it’s sweeping through the South. I didn’t know anything about it, either, until I turned on the news right before I poured your drink.”

  “Wow, this is sudden.”

  “Yeah, this winter storm is fast-moving, and it’s caught everyone off guard. They’re saying it’s an emergency situation. I’m glad we’ve got plenty of food, because it looks like we’re gonna get over a half foot by nightfall.”

  Geneva took a sip of her wine and closed her eyes. “Can things get any worse?”

  “Why don’t you come back inside, baby? It’s way too cold to be out here, and it’s supposed to start snowing any minute.”

  Under normal circumstances, Geneva wouldn’t have willingly gone outside in this type of cold for any reason. But what she’d just experienced wasn’t a normal circumstance. She needed the solitude and the bone-freezing chill to clear her mind. “I’ll come in after I finish my glass, which won’t take long,” she told her husband. “Between the fire, these blankets, and the wine, I’ll be warm.”

  “Okay, but if you’re not inside in the next ten minutes, I’m coming back out to get you.”

  Geneva took another sip of her wine and watched Samuel close the patio door. She’d wanted to tell him about her dream, but now it seemed silly in comparison to what she’d just discovered. She thought about how much Samuel had been hurt by his brother’s betrayal, and how he’d kept it inside because he hadn’t wanted to upset her. They’d suffered the loss of one child the year before, and he didn’t want to ruin the celebration of their new baby girl by confronting his brother, which would have surely caused a scene.

  Before Geneva knew it, she was swallowing her last sip of wine. She set the glass on the patio side table and looked up at the heavy clouds. “What’s gonna be next? A plague of locusts?” She wished she could make a wish and return her life to normal. But when she thought about it, many of the things she’d thought were normal had really been lies. Her entire marriage to Johnny had been a lie. Joe’s bond with Samuel had been a lie. Vivana’s conviction for a crime she didn’t commit had been a sham. And Shartell’s claims of integrity had been a huge farce.

  Geneva was hurt by her brother-in-law’s betrayal, frightened by what her dream might mean, and angry that Shartell had used her and Samuel’s pain to advance her own gain. Geneva was the type of person who always tried to look for the bright side of any given situation, but when she thought about the current set of circumstances, it was hard for her to see any good. She’d tried to keep a positive outlook, but right now all she could feel was the numbness that came with finding out someone had betrayed you.

  “I guess I’d better go in before I catch pneumonia out here.” Just as Geneva rose from her lounge chair and gathered her blankets, she felt a snowflake land on her cheek. She looked up into the sky and saw big, fluffy flakes starting to fall all around her. “What a beautiful sight.” She stood perfectly still, enjoying the quiet beauty of nature, and for a brief moment she felt completely at peace. But her solitude was interrupted when she heard Samuel call out to her.

  “Donetta’s on the phone,” he said.

  “Okay, tell her I’m coming.” Geneva folded her blankets and reached for her wineglass. She was looking forward to talking with her best friend, who was probably calling to give her another update about the wonderful new man she’d just met. Geneva couldn’t wait to talk to Donetta, because she needed to hear some good news right now.

  Chapter 22

  DONETTA

  “Geneva, what in the world were you doing outside? It’s freezing,” Donetta said when Geneva came on the line. “Samuel said you were out back on the patio wrapped up in some damn blankets.”

  “I had the fire going. It was nice.”

  “Geneva, you’re talking crazy. It’s thirty degrees outside, and it’s snowing on top of that.”

  “It just started, and it’s beautiful.”

  Donetta shook her head. “What’s wrong with you? I know something’s going on because Samuel answered the phone sounding like he just lost his best friend and you’re about to turn into a Popsicle. Somethin’ ain’t right.”

  “You sound congested, are you catching a cold?”

  Donetta had just finished blowing her nose to end the long cry she’d had after hanging up on Shartell. She’d called Geneva to tell her about Shartell’s scheming ways, but first she wanted to know what had made her friend so upset that she had to sit outside in the cold. “I hate it when you avoid my questions. What’s wrong?” Donetta asked again.

  Geneva let out a sigh. “I don’t want to rain on your happiness with my drama.”

  “Ha, too late for that. But I’ll fill you in on it later. Right now I want to know what’s going on with you and Samuel. Is this about your dream? Did you talk to
Councilwoman Harris about it?”

  “No, I haven’t had a chance to call her. As a matter of fact, I haven’t even told Samuel because so much has gone on in this house. This definitely isn’t the type of family holiday I’d envisioned. The last few hours have been so stressful I don’t even know where to begin.”

  Donetta had a feeling she knew what was wrong. “Did that asshole brother-in-law of yours do something to piss everybody off?”

  “How did you know?”

  “Because with the exception of the trouble that Vivana’s interview stirred up yesterday, everything with you was fine. You and Samuel get along great, Gabrielle is an angel, and your mother-in-law and father-in-law are super-sweet people, so by process of elimination, the only person left is Samuel’s brother. I’ve met him, and he’s a real piece of work, so I can only imagine what kind of stunt he’s pulled.”

  Donetta had only met Joe once, and that had been when he’d come down for a visit shortly after Gabrielle had been born. Donetta hadn’t liked him on sight, but because he was Samuel’s brother, she’d tried to be cordial. It had only taken her five minutes of conversation to assess that Joe was a complete ass, and he’d turned her off by his rude manner and off-color sense of humor. “Did he say something insulting to either of you?”

  “Girl, if you only knew the half of it,” Geneva said.

  “Oh my . . . I’m listening.”

  “We had to put Joe out of the house.”

  “What?! Why?” Donetta was still in her nightgown, so she walked back over to her bed and crawled under her cozy comforter as she watched the snow fall outside. “I just got back in my bed so I can lie down, because I have a feeling I shouldn’t stand up while listening to this.”

  “Joe and Samuel exchanged blows. Well, actually, Samuel knocked Joe out, and after that we told him that he couldn’t stay under our roof, and that he had to leave immediately.”

  “Shut the front door! You’re shittin’ me.”

  “No, I’m serious. It was awful. I’m just glad my mother-in-law had Gabrielle in the guest room down the hall, away from all the drama.”

  “Lord have mercy, Geneva. It’s hard for me to picture Samuel raising his voice, let alone fighting.”

  “Tell me about it. He hit Joe so hard that his knuckles are swollen. By the time the cab picked Joe up, his jaw was already the size of a small baseball. The sad thing is that I don’t even care. As a matter of fact, I hope his jaw swells even bigger. Maybe it’ll teach him a lesson.”

  “Damn. What in the world did he do?”

  Donetta had been lying down when Geneva began her story, but by the time she’d ended it, Donetta was sitting up in bed with her mouth hanging open.

  “I always knew that Shartell had deceptive ways about her,” Geneva said. “Otherwise she wouldn’t gossip and spread people’s personal business around the way she does. But I had no idea she could be this heartless and downright cold-blooded. I get mad every time I think about all the times during the investigation when she was working right beside me in the salon, talking and laughing with me as if she’d never done a thing. What kind of person can do something like that?”

  “The kind who doesn’t give a damn about anyone other than themselves. She’s always been a greedy opportunist, she just hid it well. That’s what deceitful people do, and that’s how they’re able to continue to shit on people.”

  “I guess you’re right.”

  “Well, don’t feel bad. You’re not the only one Shartell has tried to screw. I got a phone call from her this morning.”

  Donetta went on to tell Geneva about how Shartell wanted to feature Donetta in an article that was set to run tomorrow, and that she’d been fishing for information on the man Donetta had been out with last night to include in the story. “That heffa actually had the nerve to tell me that she was doing me a favor by calling me before she runs the article.”

  “She’s gone way too far this time. Do you really think she’s going to go through with it?”

  “I hope not, but I’m not sure. With someone like her, it’s hard to say. What I do know, though, is that Shartell likes to name names and use direct sources to make her articles appear juicier and more controversial. She doesn’t have Phillip’s name, and without it there’s no shock value. She doesn’t like to leave anything up for speculation, because that undermines her credibility.”

  Geneva was quiet, and Donetta knew that couldn’t be good. After a brief moment, Geneva cleared her throat. “I’ve had to learn the hard way that Shartell is ruthless. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if she ran the story anyway.”

  “But she never spreads gossip unless she has a definitive source to back it up. Do you really think she’d pull the trigger without a smoking gun?”

  “I sure do. Think about it. She could run the tagline, ‘Trans Woman Finds Love During the Holidays with Mystery Man’, and she’ll say she doesn’t want to reveal his name in order to protect his privacy.”

  Donetta’s heart sank when she envisioned the caption. “After all the years that I’ve known her, if Shartell is heartless enough to do something like that to me, the Amber Police Department won’t have to worry about spending taxpayers’ money on an expensive investigation like they did Johnny’s, because after I kill that bitch, I’ll gladly go and turn myself in. Knowing Shartell’s reputation, I’m sure a few people in uniform might actually thank me.”

  “Donetta, don’t say things like that. Joking about killing someone isn’t funny.”

  “I’m not joking.”

  Donetta hated that she was caught in this predicament. She knew that because Shartell’s book was scheduled for release in the coming spring, she needed something salacious to boost views of her column on Entertainment Scoop, which would increase book sales and ensure that she made several bestseller lists. For this reason alone, Donetta knew Geneva was right. Shartell was ruthless, and she’d made it clear that her own welfare was her main concern. “This isn’t good at all,” Donetta said. “Damn!”

  “Have you told Phillip yet?”

  Donetta knew that Geneva was intimately familiar with her dating rules, and why she’d set them. Geneva had been there to nurse Donetta back to health after two attacks several years ago. One man had punched her in the stomach and fractured one of her ribs, requiring an overnight stay in the hospital. The other had waited until she’d left work one night and jumped her in the parking lot, beating her until she was bruised from head to toe.

  Donetta knew that those incidents had left Geneva frightened for her, and she always worried that something like that might happen again. She knew that had been the reason why Geneva had been so concerned last night when she’d thought Phillip had been stalking Donetta in the grocery store.

  “I had planned to tell him after our date,” Donetta said. “I figured once I got home safely, I’d call him and explain things. But as you know, he ended up spending the night, which I totally hadn’t planned on. And you know I wasn’t about to tell him while he was here in my house.”

  “No, you did the right thing because you never know how someone will react.”

  “Right. Plus, I got really sick right after I got off the phone with you this morning. One minute I was fine, and then before I knew it I was practically doubled over in pain. I even had to take some Dilaudid.”

  “Oh no! What was wrong? Are you okay now?”

  “I’m still in a little pain, but overall I’m much better than I was.” Donetta told Geneva about the bleeding, the pain, and about how Phillip had taken care of her.

  “Wow, Donetta. I don’t know very many men who’re in long-term, committed relationships who’ll help to that level. He sounds like a really good person, and he obviously has a kind heart,” Geneva said. “But even good, kindhearted people can lose it. Judging from what he’s shown you, how do you think he’s going to react when you tell him that you’re trans?”

  “I really don’t know. He seems open-minded, but I can also tell he’s very
traditional. He has issues with his father, and from the little things he’s told me, I think his papa was a rolling stone. His dad had a lot of women, and I know Phillip has, too.”

  “Hmmm . . . interesting.”

  “I know he’ll be shocked, and he might even be angry. Even if he’s both, I hope he’ll be able to see me for who I am. That’s been the hardest part of my entire life, every day I open my eyes.” Donetta’s voice trembled as she spoke. “All I’ve ever wanted is to live as the person I really am, and be accepted for what’s inside of me. From as early as I can remember, I’ve never, ever felt like I was anything other than female. I remember how I used to dread trips to the barbershop when my mom would take me to get my hair cut. I didn’t want a tapered fade, I wanted my hair to grow so I could have ponytails like the rest of the girls. Sometimes I feel so hollow, Geneva. Even now, when I finally look like who I really am, it’s still not enough. I’m tired of having to prove, justify, and explain who I am. It’s exhausting, and I’m worn out. I just want to be happy.”

  “Sweetie, I’m so, so sorry.” Geneva’s voice was full of compassion. “I won’t sit here and tell you that I know how you feel, because I don’t. But like that famous worldwide project says, it gets better.”

  Donetta nodded her head as she thought about the It Gets Better Project that was started in 2010 as a way to encourage, inspire, and give hope to young people facing harassment. Everyone from well-known Hollywood celebrities to little-known community activists were featured in video messages giving their account of how they overcame the adversities and struggles that came along with being gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.