Color Me Grey

by Michelle Janine Robinson

  “He knows that the babies have two different fathers, but he doesn’t know the other father is me, and he doesn’t know the circumstances surrounding my becoming Jacob’s father. You would think he would. I mean, he’s married to a woman who spent the better part of the last few years with only two men; me and her husband, but somehow he’s clueless. He knows that Jacob is not his, but somehow he hasn’t figured out, or even questioned, that it might be mine. Although, I’m sure that’s subject to change.”

  “You do know when he does find out he’s gonna want to kick your ass, right?”

  “I’ve got much more important things than that to worry about. She doesn’t want me to have anything to do with my son and that’s just not going to happen.”

  “What are you trying to say? You’re going to try to fight her for custody of her own child? Come on, David. Under the circumstances, don’t you think you better just cut your losses and let her take the lead and maybe, just maybe, she’ll eventually come around? I mean, if I’m hearing you right, you did rape the girl, didn’t you?”

  “Yeah. I know and I’m so sorry. I feel guilty as hell about that, but that doesn’t negate the fact that I have a son. Shouldn’t my son know who his father is? It’s his birthright.”

  “David, you know you’re my boy and all, but really. Listen to yourself. You do know who you sound like right now, trying to justify what you’ve done?”

  “I don’t sound anything at all like him. I can’t believe you just said that.”

  “Ask yourself one question, David. If you truly believe you don’t sound anything like your father, why was that the first person you thought of? And it was, wasn’t it? Your father was the first person that came to mind.”

  “Touché,” David said. “Nevertheless, I really do want to do the right thing here. There are things that I’ve never told you about how Bridget and I met, and if I have to, I will get sole custody of my son with that information. But, I need all of it. I want you to dig up everything you know about Bridget Grey and Jade Smith. Those may be aliases, but I want you to start from there. Put every- thing together and then let me know what you find. Okay, Michael? If your moral fiber doesn’t permit you to help me, then I completely understand.”

  “Naw, man, didn’t I tell you I got your back? I meant that. Who the hell am I to judge anyway. I’ll get right on it. Now, let’s get our drink on. Something tells me you could use more than just a beer.”

  “Barkeep,” Michael said jokingly. “Bring us a bottle of your best Scotch!”

  Michael was very good at what he did and with as little information as two names, he was able to uncover much more than even David probably could have anticipated. If there was one thing Michael had learned being an investigator, it was that most ordinary people had secrets; those things they didn’t want their neighbors or their spouses or even their families to know about. Usually it was things like clandestine affairs, questionable paternity or petty thefts, but he found he hit the jackpot with Bridget Grey and Jade Smith. He wasn’t sure if it were one or both of them. But clearly, either or both of them was very dangerous. Before he went to David with what he had found, Michael decided to dig a little deeper.

  “Didn’t it seem a little strange that these girls would attack one of the security guards and they were going to be leaving the home soon anyway?”

  “According to the report in both of their files, the girls both shared a room. One night the director of the home was looking for one of the security guards, a Buster Williams, and she found him in Jade and Bridget’s room. Someone had beaten him with a chair leg. The police and the social worker assigned to the home tried to locate the girls for a while but eventually they stopped. If I were going to make a guess, I would say that one or both of the girls was raped by Mr. Buster Williams. In fact, according to this, there was vaginal blood and semen found in one of the beds.”

  “Did either of the girls have any family?” Michael asked the representative at the Bureau of Family and Children’s Services.

  “Bridget Grey had no family; both of her parents died when she was a baby and her grandmother died not long after. However, Jade had a mother, Chantal Smith. She was a junkie and a prostitute. Her last known address was somewhere on Westchester Avenue.”

  “Any record on what happened to her mother?”

  “Not on anything we would have kept. Once they leave the system, they’re no longer our problem. But, I bet the police would know. People like Chantal Smith always eventually find their way to the police one way or another. I would check with them.”

  “Oh, by the way,” Michael asked as he left. “Who was listed as Jade Smith’s father?”

  “According to this, her father was listed as unknown. Although in such cases that is not uncommon.”

  Michael knew he couldn’t get the information he needed through usual channels so he decided to call an old friend.

  “Yo, Santucci, I need your help on something. I got a woman, disappeared maybe twenty years ago, without a trace. She may be difficult to locate, frequented Hunts Point; a junkie. You know the type.”

  “What’s in it for me?” Michael’s old contact at the police station asked.

  “I’ll owe you.”

  “Yeah. That and a metro card will get me to Brooklyn.”

  “I see we’ve forgotten the numerous times I’ve saved your ass. Haven’t we, Santucci?”

  “I’m just pulling your chain. What info have you got on her? I’ll see what I can do.”

  Within forty-eight hours Michael had more than enough info on Ms. Chantal M. Smith, including the fact that for several years someone had continued to pay the rent on her rundown West-chester Avenue apartment. Michael was sure the information he had collected was much more than David was ready to hear. Chantal had been killed, buried and eventually unearthed. But, her true identity might be more than even David could handle. Based on the report, Michael had a pretty good idea who had killed Chantal. Michael knew that the facts contained in this

  report would be earth-shattering for all those concerned. He also knew he would have to get every bit of information he could gather before presenting any of this to David. Unless he could back everything up with cold hard facts, it would be difficult for even his best friend to believe. He had bits and pieces but he needed more.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  STEPHEN AND JADE

  “He’s lost without you,” Jade assured Bridget. “You just wait and see; he’ll be home before you know it,” she lied.

  Nothing could be further from the truth. When Stephen initially left Bridget two weeks earlier, he had gone from angry to depressed and back again. But Jade had seen to it that the tide changed in exactly the direction she wanted—toward her.

  “I don’t know why she doesn’t just tell you the truth and end this farce here and now,” Jade told Stephen.

  “What farce? What are you talking about? What did she tell you?” Stephen asked.

  “It’s not for me to say. Bridget and I are more than just friends; we are sisters. What would I look like telling you things that she clearly doesn’t want you to know? No, I won’t betray her confidence, just as I would not betray yours. But, you have to be smart about this whole thing, Stephen. You and I both know Bridget is not equipped to care for either of those babies. She can barely take care of herself. If I were you, I would do everything I can to make sure your daughter is protected as well as Jacob’s father is ensuring that he is protected.”

  “Who is he Jade? I know you must know who he is. Who is Jacob’s father? You are the only person Bridget would ever tell. Was he just some random guy she picked up somewhere? But, that doesn’t sound like Bridget,” he said more to himself than to Jade.

  “Stephen, how do you really know what is or isn’t like Bridget? The two of you worked together, yeah. But, you dated for such a short period of time before you got married. You really don’t know much of anything about her.”

  That’s when Stephen realized that eve
rything Jade said was absolutely true. He really didn’t know Bridget as well as he initially believed himself to. That was one of the things his parents had tried to point out when he first announced to them that he would be proposing to Bridget. His mother, especially, thought that Bridget was very vague about her life before meeting Stephen. But, Stephen had allayed his mothers fears by explaining to her how much she missed her parents and how she had tried to forget the painful memories of their death by blocking that part of her life out. However, now he realized there was much more to it than that. He also realized the only hope for finding out all he needed to know, both for himself and for Jasmine’s well-being, was to enlist Jade’s aid. Yet, he wasn’t sure he trusted her either. He had at least loved Bridget, once, but Jade he had never trusted. She had always struck him as a calculating, manipulative woman that should be avoided at all costs. Now, here he was living in her home, spending time with her. Something about this situation just didn’t seem right.

  “It’s not for me to say who it is, Stephen. That’s a matter for you and Bridget to discuss. I won’t get in the middle.”

  Jade left the room—left to allow Stephen to stew over what she had said. He was an even easier piece to move around her virtual chess board than Bridget was. Over the years, Bridget had become less and less vulnerable to her influence, to Jade’s dismay. Jade always knew that was a danger when she started working at McDonnell. She had made a mistake in allowing that to happen, but since that time she had made up for that mistake in countless ways. She had learned of ways to manipulate Bridget without even dealing with Bridget directly. Now, she was going to take the last thing that Bridget had left.

  Stephen’s emotional exhaustion was affecting him physically as well. Where he once worked long hours and spent time in the gym, he was now constantly tired. He went into the living room and laid on Jade’s pullout couch. Stephen’s dreams were always the same, with little to no variations in theme. They would start out with him and Bridget making love. He would be close to ejaculation and just as he was about to let go, there would be a faceless white body standing behind him, naked and waiting for him to finish so that he could have his turn; and that’s when Stephen would inevitably awaken.

  Jade, better than anyone, knew the tell-tale sound of passion, even in someone’s sleep. She watched Stephen having his “dreams” night after night, carefully planning her next move. She decided that tonight would be the night. She approached Stephen where he was sleeping, wearing nothing more than a sheer T-shirt and her panties under the guise of waking him from his “nightmare.” She stood above him, the scent of Bridget’s signature Mont Blanc cologne filling his lungs. Semi-awake, Stephen reached for her in the night, pulled him to her and already erect from the dream he had just had, he embraced her, sought out her mouth with his, kissed her, plunging his tongue deep inside of her mouth. Jade met his tongue with an equal level of voracity. By the time he was fully awake, his hardness was already poking at Jade, eager to enter her. For just a moment he tried to resist, attempted to pull away, rise from beneath her, but Jade held fast. Stephen flipped her over and entered her, pounding away at her with a mixture of anger and lust. When he was done, he could barely look at her, yet he was still mildly aroused and fighting an inner battle to go for round two. Guilt was not enough to make him walk away. Round two would be just one of many times the two had sex over the coming months. And, eventually, with the help of Jade, Stephen had convinced himself that he had done nothing wrong. After all, he thought to himself, hadn’t Bridget herself slept with another man long before I ever even thought about cheating on her?

  “Hi, Jade. Can I speak to Stephen?”

  “He’s sleeping, Bridget.”

  “It seems like every time I call, he’s sleeping.”

  “Well, Bridget, just like you, he’s been through a lot. It’s affecting him just as much as it is affecting you. You have to be able to understand that, or there is no hope for the two of you working things out.”

  “Yeah, but how can we work things out, if we don’t communicate with one another? Every time he’s supposed to come and get Jasmine, you come and get her. We don’t even get a chance to talk to one another then.”

  “What are you trying to say? I didn’t sign on for this. I’ve been trying to help both of you. I didn’t ask to be put in the middle of this.”

  She knew just what buttons to push, as she played the role of the victim.

  “I know that, Jade, but I think now is the time for you to step out of the middle nonetheless. If you keep allowing Stephen the opportunity to avoid me, we will never have a chance to mend our marriage.”

  “I tell you what. Why don’t I just kick him out of my place and you two can have all the time you want together? Although, that will just afford him the opportunity to consider getting his own place and then where will both of you be? Things will be much more permanent then.”

  Jade was pushing the right buttons indeed. She knew that was Bridget’s greatest fear. She knew that Bridget somehow felt better about him staying with Jade because that meant he wasn’t making a more permanent decision about their marriage. What she didn’t know was that was the furthest thing from Stephen’s thoughts. Over the past couple of months, he had in fact made lots of decisions, none of which Bridget was going to like.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  BRIDGET’S BREAKDOWN

  For months Bridget waited and hoped for Stephen to come around. He was still staying with Jade, so she hoped that meant that he hadn’t made any drastic decisions. After all, if he hadn’t gotten his own place, didn’t that mean he was still on the fence as to whether or not he would be returning home? So, it was no surprise when one afternoon Stephen called her and asked to meet with her at their favorite restaurant for dinner. She asked Consuelo to watch the twins and spent the better part of the day dressing for her night with Stephen. She wanted everything to be perfect. Jade kept her abreast of Stephen’s mood, his thoughts on the separation, and his general feelings on the situation. She was hopeful. According to Jade’s interpretation, Stephen was heartsick and that hadn’t changed during the three months that they had been apart. What Bridget kept wondering was why he hadn’t come home. Then it occurred to her that that was probably why he wanted to have dinner with her tonight at her favorite restaurant. He was probably going to come home.

  Bridget spent the better part of the afternoon making sure absolutely everything was just so and left the house to head downtown a little early. She had been so preoccupied with the breakup and caring for the babies that she hadn’t been taking care of herself as well as she could have. Her hands and nails looked awful and she decided to treat herself and get a manicure.

  Bridget was slightly disappointed when she walked into the restaurant and realized Stephen wasn’t alone. He had brought Jade along. Over the past couple of months, Jade had been a godsend—allowing Stephen to stay at her place, and in Bridget’s mind, preventing him from seeking a more permanent residence. She kept Bridget abreast of Stephen’s ever-changing state of mind and acted as her own private cheering squad. Or, so she thought. Therefore, despite Bridget’s initial disappointment at not being able to have this time alone with Stephen, she understood why Jade might be there. Bridget presumed she was acting as a buffer between the two.

  As Bridget crossed the room and made her way to the table where Stephen and Jade were sitting, she had a smile on her face that was unmistakable; the look of a woman in love that was soon to be reunited with the object of her affection. That smile was quickly diffused when she reached Stephen and attempted to greet him with a kiss. Stephen’s first reaction was to pull away. When he saw the wounded look on Bridget’s face, however, he made a vain attempt to recover and planted a dry, half-hearted kiss on her cheek. Sitting at the table, Bridget glanced at Jade and took note of the fact that she would not maintain direct eye contact with her.

  “Hi, Jade,” Bridget initiated. “Are you okay?”

  “Oh, yeah. I’m fin
e. Everything is good.”

  As Bridget prattled on and on about the twins and anything else she could think of in between, Stephen realized how pointless this all was and decided the best thing to do was to get straight to the point.

  “Bridget, I want a divorce.”

  Bridget’s face went ashen.

  “Stephen, you...you don’t mean that.”

  “Jade, I thought...,” she started.

  “There is really nothing else to say. I am in love with someone else and I want a divorce. I didn’t go out looking for someone to fall in love with. It just happened. She’s been there for me.”

  When Stephen reached for Jade’s hand and held it, everything became crystal clear. Stephen and Jade were having an affair behind her back. And, not only that, it was more than just an affair. He said he was in love with her. The usually calm Bridget, did something so uncustomary for her. She lost control. She jumped up from her seat and pushed everything on the table onto the floor and ran out. For Stephen it was an embarrassing scene that would mark the end of all the drama he had experienced since they’d first said, “I do.” But, for Jade, it was only the beginning of her carefully planned handiwork.

  “All I’m saying, Stephen, is if you keep giving her money and paying all of her bills, she has no reason to give you custody of Jasmine. You know I would never do anything to hurt Bridget. She’s been my best friend my entire life. I’m just thinking of what’s best for my goddaughter; and for you. I know how much you love that little girl. I love you and I just want you to have an opportunity to have a relationship with your daughter. I didn’t know my father, so I understand better than anyone how important it is. Most people think it’s so much more important for a boy to have a relationship with his father, but I think it’s even more important for a girl. The relationship a daughter has with her father and the kind of man he is shapes what sort of men she chooses in the future. I think you’re a great father and I can’t imagine a better father for Jasmine. I want that for her. If not, I’m afraid to imagine the alternative. I know Bridget well enough to know that she doesn’t always make the best choices. And, I hate to see Jasmine suffer for her decisions.”