by Tina Martin
_________
Desmond stood up. “All right, little lady. You’re going to have to come with me to the pharmacy to pick up mommy’s medicine. But let’s go check on mommy first.”
Desmond walked upstairs, stepped into the master bedroom and saw Sherita lying there in the center of the bed, resting. He smiled. He never imagined he’d be married with a wife and two kids so soon. While it was something he always wanted, he delayed it as long as he could. He wanted to make sure he was ready and now, he was in the thick of it. And so was Sherita. He wouldn’t have it any other way.
Chapter Eleven
Dante sat behind his desk, temples throbbing, trying to wrap his mind around what Emily had told him. She confirmed what he knew – she was pregnant. While that was good for him, she took issue with it. She wasn’t ready for a baby. In essence, she was telling him she didn’t want his baby. How could she not want his baby?
Feeling a strong intensity of frustration pulsating at his temples, he pressed the speakerphone button on his phone and dialed Phyllis’ extension.
“Yes, Dante.”
“Phyllis, clear my schedule this afternoon.”
“Should I arrange the staff meeting for another day this week?”
“No. I’ll email you with a new date and time.”
“All right, Sir.”
“Thank you, Phyllis.”
“Not a problem.”
Dante pressed the button again, rubbed his eyes and expelled a breath. Why was Emily making a big deal out of this pregnancy? He leaned back in his chair, expelled more breaths. He never would’ve imagined this would be happening to him. While he knew, somehow, in one way or another, the situation would be resolved and Emily would always be his, it still troubled him that she was bothered by the pregnancy.
He sat up when he heard his intercom buzz. He pressed the button and said, “Yes, Phyllis?”
“Hi, Dante. You have a visitor. Were you expecting anyone today?”
“No, I wasn’t expecting anyone. Whoever it is, tell them they’ll have to make an appointment.”
“Okay, Sir.”
“Who is it, by the way?” he asked curiously.
Phyllis looked up at the man, watching him walk near the coffee station like he was thinking about getting a cup. Then she said discreetly, “He says his name is Harding Champion.”
A frown settled deep into Dante’s forehead. “Who?”
“Harding Champion. He’s dressed casually, so he’s probably not here on official business. Should I tell him to make an appointment?”
“No. Give him a badge and send him up to the fourth-floor conference room.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks, Phyllis.”
“You’re welcome.”
Dante remained at his desk, waiting until this Harding Champion had time to find the conference room. Who was he and why was he requesting to see him? Phyllis said he wasn’t dressed up, so maybe his visit didn’t have anything to do with business. Surely someone who wanted to do business with The Champion Corporation would present themselves in professional business attire. But what really piqued his interest was the man’s name. He was a Champion. Maybe his impromptu visit was of a personal nature.
Deciding to be proactive, Dante packed up his briefcase and logged out of his computer. As soon as this meeting with Harding Champion was over, he was done for the day. After a botched lunch with Emily, he wasn’t in the mood for work.
Briefcase in hand, he locked his office door then strolled down the hallway to the conference room where his visitor should’ve been waiting by now. When he opened the door to the conference room, he immediately froze. His mouth opened to speak, introduce himself, but no words came out. His eyes widened, nearly bulged out of his head as he stared at Harding. He didn’t know who Harding Champion was, but looking at him was like looking at one of his brothers. Same build. Same hazel eyes.
Harding stood up, reached to shake Dante’s hand and said, “Hi. I’m Harding Champion. You must be Dante.”
Still shocked, Dante didn’t reach for Harding’s hand. He just stood there.
Harding raised his brows before returning his hand to his side. “I’m sorry that this is completely sporadic and I know I probably should’ve made an appointment but I figured it was now or never. I’m your half-brother.”
“That’s impossible,” Dante said. He closed the door to the conference room. “I have two brothers.”
“Yes. I know. Dimitrius and Desmond.”
“Then who are you, and why do you think we’re related?” Dante asked.
“I’m Harding. I live in Wilmington, North Carolina.”
“Have a seat,” Dante said, gesturing to a chair.
Harding sat down again.
Dante sat down across from him. “Why do you think we’re related?”
“Because we have the same father.”
Dante frowned. “Who’s your father?”
“Nolan Champion.”
Dante shook his head. “This isn’t possible. There is no way we have the same father. You have to be mistaken.”
“I wish that was the case, but it’s not. Nolan is my father.”
“How old are you?” Dante asked him. “Thirty-eight.”
“I’m forty-one. My brothers are thirty-five and thirty-one. If what you’re saying is true, you’re, in essence, telling me that my father was cheating on my mother.”
“I’m sorry for the implication, but I’m not the one at fault here. I just thought you’d like to know that I existed.”
Still frustrated from earlier, Dante said, “I don’t want to talk about this. I don’t know you, and I was just heading out of the office.”
Harding stood up. He had a feeling his revelation wouldn’t be received well, but he at least expected Dante to hear him out. “Well, if ever you want to discuss it, you have two sisters and a brother who would love to meet you.”
Harding continued out of the conference room and Dante, still seated, buried his face in his hands, trying to wrap his mind around what the man just told him. How could this be? There had to be an explanation. His father loved his mother. They were dedicated to each other. In love. He saw it with his own eyes, and such being the case, there’s no way his father could’ve had a separate life. No way.
Standing, he took his briefcase from the floor then walked to Dimitrius’ office. He tapped on the door before pushing it open.
Dimitrius looked up. “What’s up? You ducking out early?”
“I am, but I wanted to run something by you.”
“What’s that?” Dimitrius asked, typing an email. He glanced at Dante then back at the computer screen.
“Do you think our parents had a good marriage?”
Dimitrius stopped typing, took his hands off of the keyboard and said, “Of course. Where’d that come from?”
Dante sighed heavily and shook his head. “I just got a visit from Harding Champion.”
“Who?” Dimitrius asked.
“Harding Champion.”
“Never heard of him. Is he a distant relative?”
“Well, he says he’s our brother.”
“What?” Dimitrius asked, his face contorted. “I don’t think I heard you correctly.”
“He said he’s our brother. Said we have the same father.”
“Do you think there’s any merit to it?”
“I don’t want to believe there is, but I do think there’s merit to his claim.”
“Based on what?”
“The fact that he looks just like us. If people saw us with him, they’d know, right away, that we were related. Same skin tone, build, hazel eyes and the same height range.”
“There are plenty of look-a-likes in this world, Dante. Doesn’t mean they’re related.”
“Dimitrius, give me a break. You don’t think I know that?”
Dimitrius rubbed his hand across his face out of irritation.
“I’m telling you he’s our brother,” Dante s
aid.
“Then where is he?” Dimitrius asked, gesturing wildly. “Why am I not being introduced to him this very second?”
“Because I sent him away.”
“Why’s that?”
“Didn’t want to deal with it. At least not right now.”
Dimitrius leaned back in his chair. “So let me get this straight. A guy comes here, tells you he’s our brother and you send him away because you don’t want to deal with it?”
“Not right now. I have enough problems to concern myself with.”
“I see,” Dimitrius said, seeing the angst in his brother’s eyes. “You and Emily…”
Dante nodded. “We got into it today. She finally told me about the baby, but she’s talking like she doesn’t want it. Like my baby means nothing to her. She’s upset about the pregnancy. About everything.”
“She’ll come around.”
“Not so sure about that. And now, I have to deal with this extra bit of confusion in my head, having to think about the possibility that maybe dad didn’t love mom as much as I thought he did, which means my whole concept of having a beautiful family and a spouse to love forever are all based on lies.”
“Not necessarily, Dante.”
“Hear me,” Dante said. “Some people marry for fun. Some men marry because they got the woman pregnant. Some women marry because they’d always planned to do so before a certain age. Whatever the case, when the thrill of the newness wears off, they go about seeking that same serendipitous feeling of love with someone else. Our parents didn’t marry for any of those reasons. They genuinely loved each other. I witnessed that. Now, I’m learning that it was all lies? Dad had a secret life?”
“We don’t know that for sure, man. I think you’re jumping the gun on this.”
Dante stood up. “Well, I’m going to find out. I have to. If our parents weren’t in love and faithful to each other, then what hope do I have to hang on to?”
“I’m not following you.”
“I based my life, my new start on Dad’s good example. Now there’s a possibility that it was a sham.”
“Again, let’s not jump to conclusions,” Dimitrius said. “Since you sent Harding, or whatever his name is, away, let’s meet up with him–me, you and Des–this weekend. No need to drag this out. Let’s get to the bottom of it, and we’ll go from there.”
“All right. I’ll check with Phyllis on my way out to see if Harding left any contact information.”
“Cool.”
Dante headed for the door. He touched the handle, then turned around to look at Dimitrius again. “He said he has two sisters and a brother. All Dad’s.”
“We’ll find out the truth soon enough.”
Dante nodded, then walked away.
Chapter Twelve
Dimitrius stepped inside of a quiet home. Instead of announcing his arrival, he walked to the family room and saw Melanie sleeping peacefully on the couch. And she was out, mouth wide open, probably exhausted from a long day of entertaining Grace.
Grace.
Dimitrius headed upstairs to her room and upon rounding the door, he saw her standing up in the crib, playing with a toy giraffe. When she saw him, she smiled, jumped up and down while holding on the crib’s rail gate.
“There’s my darling angel,” Dimitrius said. “Hey, sweetheart.” He lifted her from the crib, gave her a loving kiss on the cheek then carried her downstairs. “Did you tire mommy out today?” he asked, stepping inside of the family room again. He was seconds away from bending down to plant a soft kiss on Melanie’s lips when he heard her phone buzz. He didn’t know why it caught his attention. He never paid much attention to her phone, but today he picked it up and saw a text message from a number that wasn’t programmed into her contacts:
828-555-7970:
Dimitrius frowned. Right away, he knew who this message was from. Scott. His wife’s ex. While he had her phone, he decided to see if there were any other messages exchanged between the two of them.
828-555-7970: the reason we broke up is because you apparently lied to me…told me you couldn’t have children and then low and behold you have a baby with that Champion dude
828-555-7970: was this all planned? I mean, if it was, I can’t fault you…the guy is loaded, so I heard. Guess money trumps love.
828-555-7970: one thing is for certain…he’ll never have your heart like I had it. No man will. Joke’s on him.
Immediately, Dimitrius felt a stabbing pain shoot through his heart. First, why was Melanie entertaining anything Scott had to say? Did the guy still have a hold on her? That would explain why she didn’t dismiss him at the museum. Was she still in love with him?
Secondly, was she lying about not being able to get pregnant? He didn’t think so. He remembered how much of a struggle the issue was for her. Still, Scott brought it up. Then, there was the matter of some necklace that Scott supposedly gave her. He looked at Melanie’s neck but didn’t see a necklace. Scott claimed she wore it last Saturday. Dimitrius had seen Melanie wear a gold necklace, but she had plenty of gold necklaces. Why would she wear the one she received from Scott? Why would she still own the necklace?
He wasn’t sure if he should bring it up, but how else would he know if she wasn’t over Scott. And in his text messages, Scott claimed that Melanie married for money. That he would always have her heart.
When Dimitrius saw Melanie shifting and repositioning on the couch, he eased her phone back down to the table.
“Hey,” she said lazily, then yawned.
“Hey.”
“When did you get here?” she asked drowsily.
“A few minutes ago.”
Melanie sat up, reached for Grace. “Go change clothes and get comfortable. I’ll watch her.”
“Okay,” Dimitrius said, lowering Grace to Melanie’s lap. “Have you thought about dinner? Gino isn’t scheduled to come by today.”
Gino was their chef who came by three days a week to cook.
“Then let’s go out for Italian.”
Dimitrius smiled faintly. “All right. Be right back.”
* * *
At the restaurant, Dimitrius quietly observed Melanie with thoughts he dreaded swirling around in his mind. He forced them away to focus on her. He watched her secure Grace in the high chair. A very attentive mother, she made certain to keep one of those high chair covers in each of their vehicles just to ensure Grace didn’t pick up any germs. She removed a packet of antibacterial wipes and cleaned the area where Grace’s hands would come into contact with the table. Then she settled in her own seat, looked at the menu and asked, “What are you getting?”
“Don’t know yet,” he said, looking at her. The menu remained on the table in front of him.
Melanie glanced up at him. She grinned. “You don’t know because you’re not even looking at the menu, babe. Everything okay?”
He forced himself to smile. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”
She looked at him with skeptical eyes. “I don’t know. I’m trying to figure out what I want to eat and you’re not even looking at the menu.”
“Why don’t you order for me?” he proposed, then stroked his mustache.
With raised brows, she said, “Okay. If that’s what you want.”
“Yes. That’s what I want. You know what I like, don’t you?”
“Yes, but we’re not at The Carribean Hut, so…”
“Funny,” he said, mildly amused.
She giggled.
When the waiter came by, Melanie ordered chicken lettuce wraps along with an order of breadsticks and marinara sauce for an appetizer. She figured Grace would stay occupied chewing on a breadstick. For Dimitrius, she ordered the bread-crusted, chicken parmesan and for herself, a thin-crust medium pizza with spinach, onions,
green peppers, sausage and extra cheese. She knew Dimitrius would help her finish it.
When the food came and they were halfway into their meals, she looked up at Dimitrius. Even though they’d been conversational, something was off. She could feel it. His mind seemed to wander now and then and she wondered if something was bothering him. Was it problems at work?
“So, how did I do?” she asked to get him talking again.
“What do you mean?”
“With the food.”
“Oh. It’s good. Never had this before, but it’s pretty good.”
“You can have some of this pizza, too. I’m not going to eat it all.”
Dimitrius took a sip of wine. “I need to ask you something, Melanie.”
“Okay,” Melanie said, wiping marinara sauce from Grace’s cheek. The mere sound of his voice warned her that something was wrong. She felt her stomach drop but pretended to be calm while attending to Grace.
“When Scott broke up with you—”
“Oh, gosh…this is about Scott?”
“Yes. As I was saying, when he broke up with you—”
“Why are you bringing him up again, Dimitrius? I thought we were past that.”
“I thought so, too,” Dimitrius said, “But apparently, we’re not.”
“Meaning what?”
“When Scott broke up with you, you were heartbroken. Am I right?”
Melanie exhaled a long breath. “I don’t believe this.”
“Just answer my question, Melanie. When he broke up with you, were you heartbroken?”
“I was. We were together for two years. We were supposed to get married.”
“And then he found out you couldn’t have children.”
“Yes.”
“So he left you.”
Melanie nodded. “Yes. Why are you—”
“Do you still love him?”
“Why are you asking me that, Dimitrius?”
“Because I need to know.”
