by Tina Martin
“I do,” he replied quickly. “How was he?”
“Uh…he was withdrawn. He…um…he had dark circles around his eyes…looked like he was on something.”
“Drugs, you mean?”
“Yeah…looked rough, like he was an addict of some sort.”
“What else?”
“He was different from the times I’d visited before. He didn’t want to talk much.”
“You knew he was on anti-anxiety meds?”
Jacqueline nodded. “Not sure if he was consistently taking them, though. My guess would be, no.”
Carter squinted at her. He took a sip of soda and said, “Why is it that my brother thought he and I were first cousins?”
“Um…”
“Jackie, please don’t try to hide anything from me. Let’s talk, openly and honestly, okay. I have a lot of questions and I have a suspicion you have all the answers to them.”
Jacqueline’s hand trembled as she picked up her cup of ice water.
“Jackie?”
“Carter, I can’t comment on that,” she said, then attempted to stand.
Carter touched her hand and said, “Jackie, please just tell me what that means.”
“It means nothing.”
“Then if it’s nothing, why can’t you comment on it? Talk to me.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” she said raising her voice a tad. “Jacob was out of his mind and he was just saying or writing anything, apparently.”
“No. No he wasn’t. Why would he say these things? What good would this do him…a man who had already made up his mind that he wanted to die? Hunh?”
“I don’t know.” Jacqueline took a napkin and dabbed the corners of her eyes.
“I’m sorry to upset you, Jackie, but I know you’re hiding something from me. I can feel it.”
“I have to go, Carter,” she said standing.
“Jackie?”
“I’m sorry. I have to go.”
Carter scratched his head, frustrated. To be as old as she was, Jacqueline sure dashed out of there fast and in a hurry. And he sat there alone, eating. He called Shayla again before he left the restaurant but only got her voicemail.
Chapter 10
Still at the Hilton, Donovan laid in the center of the bed, the same spot where Shayla slept when she spent the night there. She left her sweet scent on the pillows and sheets and the smell of her made it seem as if she was there was at his room, lying next to him under the covers. And he’d dreamed about her last night – dreamt that they’d gotten married and were running on the beach together.
He took his cell from the nightstand and found Shayla’s number in his contact list, calling her.
“Hello,” she answered after a few rings.
He chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” she inquired.
“Why do you answer the phone with a simple hello when you know it’s me calling?”
“Um…that’s how people answer the phone, right. You want a special greeting, Donovan?”
“Nah…just curious. Have you eaten?”
“Yeah. I had a taco salad.”
“Sounds good. I tried that Mexican joint out here on the boardwalk.”
“Zapata’s?”
“Yep…was pretty good.”
“Cool. I’ll have to check it out some time.”
Donovan took a long inhale, thinking about the night she laid there in bed. What he would give to have her back here again…
“So tomorrow,” Shayla said, breaking the awkward silence.
“Yes, um…tomorrow. You want me to swing by, pick you up and we can head to the airport together?”
“Actually, I need to drive to the airport so when I return home on Sunday, I’ll have a way to get back to my house…you know, without having to call a taxi.”
That’s right…she would be returning home…a thought Donovan wanted to forget.
“So I’ll meet you at the Hilton in the morning,” Shayla said, “Then I’ll follow you to the airport.”
“Gotta be here extra early then. Our flight leaves at seven.”
“Which means we have to be there at six,” Shayla said.
“Which means you have to be over here around five.”
“Goodness. That is early.”
“Yep…and I still haven’t packed.”
“Me either. Guess I should get going so I can get my stuff together.”
“Yeah. Me too. So I’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early. Don’t forget to set your alarm clock, Shayla.”
“I won’t. Later.”
Shayla jogged upstairs, took a medium size suitcase from the closet and packed two pairs of jeans, a couple pairs of shoes, two blouses, undergarments and toiletries. And after setting her alarm, she was all set to get up early in the morning and meet her father.
Chapter 11
The loud chime of the alarm clock woke her up at 4:00 a.m. She had just enough time to shower, put on some makeup and pick out a comfortable outfit for the flight. She took her small suitcase and carefully descended the stairs, locked the front door behind her then walked to the car, tossing her bag in the back seat.
It was still dark out, street lights brightening the roadways on this very early morning. As she drove to the Hilton, the thought that this would be only her second time flying crossed her mind. The first time, was with Carter, of course, to Hawaii where they married.
Carter…
He was the one in the wrong, the one who had deceived her, but yet she felt sorry for him. She was making all these plans to see her father and making them with Donovan. She lost sight of her marriage, of making things right because she was so anxious to meet Jack. Or was it that she knew she had Carter wrapped around her finger. He wasn’t going anywhere. Yeah, he was a player back in the day, but the one thing she knew about Carter was, when he took the time to dedicate himself to something, he would be loyal to it no matter what. And she was certain that he was loyal to her. And there she goes flying off to Virginia with Donovan…
Carter was the man who should’ve been flying to Virginia with her, the man who was there when she met her father for the first time. But plans had already been made, Donovan had already bought a first class ticket and when she pulled in the parking lot of the hotel, she saw Donovan throwing a suitcase under the trunk of his rental car. She drove up behind his car, rolled down the passenger window and shouted, “Good morning.”
“Good morning, Shayla.”
“You all set?”
He closed the trunk and said, “Yep. I’m ready. I’ll follow you to the airport.”
“Okay.” She rolled the window back up.
Donovan got in the car, started the engine and backed out of his parking stall and they were on their way.
Once they arrived at the airport and successfully made it through security, they got some breakfast then sat at their gate, waiting for the boarding announcement which came only fifteen minutes later. And since they were in first class, their zone was called to board first.
Shayla took the window seat and after Donovan placed his duffle bag in the overhead compartment, he sat next to her, trying to help reduce her anxiety after learning she didn’t like flying. Once they were cruising at a comfortable altitude and the flight attendant announced that it was okay to use electronic devices, Shayla took out Carter’s MP3 player from her purse and stuck the ear buds in her ear. She had her own MP3 player but Carter’s was loaded with way more songs than she had. So she took his instead. Plus, the earphone cords smelled like his cologne and the songs he’d downloaded reminded her of him.
Donovan looked at her inquisitively and she removed the earphones from her ear.
“Are you really going to listen to music and not talk to me the rest of the flight?”
“I guess not,” Shayla said, smiling. She placed the MP3 player back in her purse.
“Really, Shayla?” Donovan asked with a smile on his face.
“Sorry. I’m not comfortable flyi
ng. I never fly anywhere…well I flew to Hawaii when Carter and I got married, but other than that…”
“So you were married in Hawaii?”
“Yep.”
“Hmm…”
“What was that?” she asked, then laughed.
“What?”
“You said, hmm…”
Donovan smirked. “There’s something that I’ve been curious about with that. How soon after your return from Norfolk did you get married?”
“Um, a week, maybe. Why?”
Donovan shrugged. “When you told me you were married, it caught me by surprise. That’s all.”
“Why?”
“Because when we were having dinner on the beach that night, you seemed pretty upset with Carter.”
“That’s because I was in love with a man who didn’t want me.” She held up her left hand, flashed her diamond ring and said, “Turns out, I was wrong.”
Donovan nodded silently.
“I’m still shocked that you know him,” she said. “And shocked that you were following me.” She slapped his leg.
“I was just doing what your man asked. Then I realized I was doing it for me and not him because I genuinely cared about you.”
Shayla blushed. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“So you said you know Carter from college?”
“Yep. We had some courses together.”
“What was he like back then?”
Donovan released a frustrated breath. He’d rather not spend their precious moments together talking about Carter. Then again, maybe he could use this opportunity to his advantage, to present Carter in a negative light. So he said, “Carter was the man. Every time I saw him, he was with a different woman. He skipped classes a lot, drove a nice car, lived in an off-campus apartment…his parents were pretty well-off, I guess. A lot of students were jealous of him. Then there was Jacob who looked like he couldn’t even afford a pack of Ramen noodles…”
Shayla turned to the window, stared off into the clear blue sky.
“I’m sorry,” Donovan said.
She gave Donovan a half-smile and said, “It’s fine.”
“No. I don’t want to upset you.”
“I’m fine, Donovan,” she said, and nothing more. She stared out the window again, feeling queasy, missing Carter, starting to have crazy thoughts like what if the plane crashed and she never saw Carter again. How would he feel to lose her? How was he feeling now, having lost her temporarily and…
“Carter’s a very intelligent man,” Donovan admitted. “That’s why he’s so successful.”
Shayla felt contrite for flying to Virginia without even mentioning it to Carter. And he’d called her every day for the last three weeks, multiple times even, and all she did was ignore his calls. A tear rolled out of her right eye and traveled the length of her face.
“What’s wrong, Shayla?” Donovan asked.
“Nothing,” she said. “I’m tired…think I’m going to rest.” She turned her back to him, and leaned against the window. Closing her eyes, she wiped more tears away.
“All right,” Donovan said, though he wanted to console her. He looked at her again and before he knew it, he’d thrown his arm around her and pulled her into his chest, ignoring her resistance until she was lying right up against him. “There. That’s more comfortable.”
She’d since stopped crying and just laid there against him, all the while wishing she was in Carter’s arms instead.
Chapter 12
Carter met Terrance for dinner at Eddie’s Place, a diner on Sharon Amity Road, closer to Terrance’s apartment than Carter’s hotel. The men sat at the bar, both ordering beers. As for food, Carter ordered red bean nachos for an appetizer while Terrance chose the potato skins – something to snack on until their entrees arrived.
“You think the Panthers are going to be any good this year, man?” Terrance asked.
“Judging by last year…I don’t know.” Carter said, not in the mood to talk football. He turned up the bottle of beer, took out his cell and called Shayla, wondering what she was doing on a Friday night. Maybe she was alone, at home curled up on the couch watching a movie. He sighed when she didn’t answer, then slid his phone back into his pocket.
“She’s still ain’t talking to you?” Terrance asked.
“No. She’s not.”
“She’ll come around, man.”
“I don’t know. I hurt her pretty bad. The sad part is, if I lose her, it’s all my fault and I don’t know if I can live with that.”
“Just give it some time.”
“It’s been nearly a month already…not sure how much more of this I can take.”
Terrance smacked his lips. “You know how long it takes for women to get over stuff. A woman can break one of her fake nails and it would take days for her to get over it.” Terrance chuckled.
Carter looked at him and shook his head.
“Besides, you should’ve took my advice and kept your mouth shut. I told you not to tell her.”
“Nah. I’m glad I told her, actually.”
“You don’t look glad to me.”
“Well, I am,” Carter said, chewing. “I didn’t want any secrets between Shayla and I, and I know I did the right thing.” He resumed eating, washed the food down with a swig of beer and said, “On a different note, I have Jacob’s notebook. He’d written some things down in there before the suicide.”
“Wait…first you got his suicide note, now a notebook. Where’d this notebook come from?”
“Don’t worry about all that, Tee. Anyway, in his notes, Jacob alluded to us not being brothers.”
“We’re not brothers.”
“I’m not talking about you, fool.”
Terrance chuckled. “I know. I’m just messin’ with ya. So Jacob said he wasn’t your brother?”
“Yeah…said we were first cousins…said we didn’t have the same mother or father.”
“Well, everybody knows y’all don’t have the same father. You didn’t look anything alike.”
“You don’t think so?” Carter inquired, because he thought he resembled Jacob. But maybe it was because they grew up in the same house.
“Nah, man. You look nothing like him.”
“Well, anyway, I did a little investigating of my own, went down to the vital records office and ordered Jacob’s birth certificate.”
“And?”
“And next to Mother, it says, Lenora Williams. So we do have the same mother which is why I’m thoroughly confused as to why he would write that we were first cousins, unless my aunt is right. Maybe he wanted to anger me even further…to start problems because he knew what he was about to do. He was about to take his own life and didn’t care about all the chaos he would leave behind.”
Their entrees came by and Carter ordered another beer. Then he took his fork and dug around in the veggie pasta.
Terrance took a knife and sliced a chunk of Parmesan chicken and tasted it. Perfect, he thought, same as it was when he was here last. “So your aunt told you that Jacob wrote that stuff to get back at you?”
“Yeah…I didn’t believe her at first—”
“I don’t believe it at all. You tell me why a man who knows he’s going to take his life make up some stuff like that. It’s not adding up, Carter. People usually speak some hard truths before they die. They don’t go around spewing out lies.”
“Yeah, but Jacob never liked me, Terrance.”
“Yeah, he didn’t like you but yet, he specifically requested that you take care of Shayla. That doesn’t make any sense either. If you were my brother, and I hated your guts, you really think I’m going to entrust my girlfriend, fiancée or whatever to you?”
Carter shook his head. “I really think he’s just trying to mess with my head.”
“Where’d you get the notebook?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Well, did Jacob leave it somewhere where he knew you’d find it?”
�
��No. I wasn’t supposed to ever see these notes and I wouldn’t have if—”
Terrance raised his eyebrows.
“Never mind that. Bottom line is, I’m not supposed to have this notebook.”
“Then let me offer you my professional opinion, bruh,” Terrance said, wiping his mouth and clearing his throat.
Carter smirked. “What’s your professional opinion, Terrance?”
“If you just so happened to stumble upon those notes…if you were not supposed to ever read or know any of the stuff Jacob wrote in that notebook, then maybe it’s not Jacob’s birth certificate you should’ve requested at the vital records office.”
Carter frowned. It hadn’t dawned on him to request a copy of his birth certificate. And he surely didn’t have a copy at home. Carter thought hard for a moment and said, “What are you saying, Tee?”
“You know what I’m saying. Get a copy, check it out and then you’ll see if Jacob’s notes are true or if he was just making things up.”
Carter took a sip of beer, finished his meal, parted ways with Terrance and drove by his home to see if Shayla’s car was there.
It was not…
Ten o’clock at night and she wasn’t at home. On a Friday. Where was she? He pulled up in the driveway, shut off the engine and walked to the house. Man it had been a long time since he’d been back there. He unlocked the door, looked around the place. Nothing appeared out of order and the house was still neat, clean and organized like he liked it.
He jogged upstairs to their bedroom and noticed the bed was unmade – not typical for Shayla. She was sure to make the bed whenever she got up. Did that mean wherever she was, she’d left in a hurry?
After he checked every room in the house, he called her again, left a voicemail asking where she was and if she was okay. Then he sent a text asking the same, hoping she would see and sense his urgency and respond.
Chapter 13
“No one should ever be this nervous to meet their own father,” Shayla said, sitting across from Donovan at IHOP. “I can’t even eat.”
