“You made the decision to raise me, and I believe I know why. You couldn’t have my daddy the way you wanted him, because he was probably married, with a family of his own. You always preferred to play your ho games on married men, and I believe it backfired on you, didn’t it? You found a good man, he fucked you good during one of his weak moments, and when his love for his wife returned, he dropped you. I was your piece of him, wasn’t I? You loved and hated me because I was your constant reminder that you didn’t cut the mustard, you weren’t the best option out there, and you couldn’t hold a candle to what he had at home. You loved my daddy, and you would have done anything for him. The same way you were with William . . .
“Wait! Is William my biological father?”
Chapter Twelve
Angelo made it to the hotel in time to prevent Meagan from being put out. She was in the hallway, in her panties and bra, singing, “Giving Him Something He Can Feel,” by En Vogue and acting out the video. The front-desk agent was trying to get her to go in her room and stay there, but every time she got her back in the room, Meagan walked right back out, singing another verse.
“If you don’t go in your room and sleep it off, ma’am, we’re going to have to call the police and have you escorted off the property.”
The Asian lady looked beyond frustrated when Angelo walked up, picked Meagan up off her feet, and carried her into the room. Once he got her on the bed, he ran to the door, apologized, and promised they wouldn’t hear a word out of her for the rest on the night.
“Did you bring the weed? I need to smoke,” she announced, standing on the bed, as if it were a stage.
“Man, sit your drunk ass down! If you want me to roll this weed, you have to chill out some.”
“Yes, William’s lapdog,” she said, flopping down on the bed. “Whatever you say, William Jr.” She fell out laughing, as if it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard.
Angelo quickly broke down the weed and rolled the blunt. The NO SMOKING sign on the back of the door caught his attention before he sparked it up.
“What are you waiting for? Fire the reefer up.”
“We can’t smoke in here,” he snapped.
“Oh yes we can.”
She got out of the bed and ran into the bathroom. When she came back, she had a soaking wet towel, which she placed under the door. She repeated all the moves Devin had made on their first trip to Gilligan’s Island. When she turned the shower on, she realized what she had been doing and became determined to erase the memories of Devin by replacing them with the ones she was about to make with Angelo.
Maybe it was the champagne, but in that moment, she decided that she was done with Young Diablo. It was time to stop playing with young boys and making nursing-home visits with the old man she’d married. Unbeknownst to Angelo, she was about to give him a shot to prove himself worthy of her. If he passed, she’d be all his, to construct a future with. If he failed, she’d take a break from men altogether and focus on herself.
“Let’s smoke Mr. Hurley,” she said, peeking out the bathroom door.
“Let’s smoke so this weed can mellow your ass down,” he said, making his way to her. He fired it up and closed the door behind him.
“You know what I like the most about you, Angelo?”
“I don’t, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”
“Damn, right,” she said after taking the weed into her lungs. “I like how you’re not afraid to speak your mind, and you don’t give a damn if you hurt my feelings. As long as you’re being honest with me, I don’t give a damn about you hurting them, either.” She passed the blunt back to him and unsnapped her bra. She began twirling her nipples in between her fingers. When he handed her back the blunt, she said, “Suck on them while I smoke. You didn’t touch them at all the last time.”
He didn’t have to think about it as he pulled her into him. He sat down on the rim of the tub, making the breast-to-mouth distance perfect. He knew she was cumming when her knees shook with each nibble he planted on her nipples. She passed him back the blunt.
“Stand up. Now it’s my turn to suck on you.”
He assumed she was talking about his pole as he pointed it in her face, but she ducked under it and hummed the song she had been singing in the hallway. Angelo’s meat began to deflate. The whole act felt juvenile, so he stopped her in her tracks.
“Let’s wait until we get in the bed, baby. This blunt is smoking itself,” he lied, passing it back to her.
By the time the blunt was too small for either one of them to hold, she had calmed down a lot. Now they could play pussy and get fucked. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, and they penguin walked to the bed After laying her down like a piece of silk, he put his face between her thighs and went to work. She moaned softly and locked her hands on the comforter. When her thighs clapped against his face like cymbals, he knew she had gotten off her first one. Kissing her slowly up to her belly button, he extended his arms until his hands could feel her nipples and pinched them softly over and over again.
He replaced his hands with his mouth, and he sucked on one breast, then the next. Seeing that he had drizzled his spit in between her breasts, he mopped it up with his damp tongue and continued licking her up the middle until he reached her chin. He devoured it, as if her chin were a third breast. Her breathing changed, which let him know she didn’t find having her chin sucked a turn-on as much as he did, so he stopped and made his way to her lips. The lip-lock turned into a tongue dance, and she took the lead. He caressed her face with the palm of his hand and felt the knot on her forehead.
“He beat you again?” he asked, exasperated.
It was like the imaginary sex music that was playing in her head instantly cut off as he hovered over her body to see the war wound.
“No, William didn’t do that. Devin’s stripping high school sweetheart decided to reclaim her property.”
“So you’re telling me that you let a child knot you up, and he didn’t do shit about it?”
“It wouldn’t have mattered if he’d done something about it or not. When she walked up to our table and questioned him about me, I knew I was done with him.”
“You should never have started something with that little boy in the first place.” He leaned down and kissed her swollen forehead. “But I see you’ve learned that the hard way.”
Angelo was about to reset the mood he had taken them out of, but just then his phone rang. It was his father calling him. He picked up.
“You never call me at five in the morning. What’s the emergency?” he said into the phone as he got out of the bed.
“It’s your mother, Junior. She’s at St. Joseph’s/Candler Hospital in Savannah. She’s holding on until she sees you. She says there’s something you need to know.”
“Don’t think I’m going to be able to make that trip, but let me know when I need to come do my job.”
“What job, son?”
“Pallbearer.”
“I need you to listen to me and hear me clearly, because I don’t want to say too much on the phone. Your mother—”
“My mother abandoned me,” he interrupted, to finish his father’s sentence. “She walked out on us and—”
“And you don’t know shit, boy,” his father said, interrupting him right back.
Angelo heard the word but didn’t believe that it had come out of his father’s mouth, and before he could question it, there were more.
“You think you know every fucking thing, but you don’t know shit. Yes, that bitch left us, but I loved her, and I love you. Whatever you’ve been doing in Atlanta, she already knows, and now there’s some shit you need to know. Are you going down there to get the fucking truth from the horse’s mouth, or are you going to keep letting me lie to you because I’m clergy?”
“No. I’m on my way, Pops. Can you meet me there?”
“Well, son, your mother is upset with me about a few fucked-up things I’ve done, and we’ve said our final goo
dbyes. If you need me to be there with you, I’ll meet you there, but she wants to talk to you alone. After the shit I pulled, I have to agree with her.”
“Yeah, Pops, I need you up there with me, because I’m not leaving until she’s said whatever it is she needs to and she’s gone.”
“I’m getting up now.”
“Okay. I’ll see you shortly,” Angelo said, about to hit the END button on his phone. But then he heard his father say something.
“And, son . . . ?”
“Yes, sir?”
“I love you. And if I’ve said or done anything to hurt you, I apologize. I’ve hidden behind these robes, but they are filthy, son. They are as dirty as your mother’s, but she was strong enough never to hide hers.”
“You haven’t done or said anything to me that I didn’t deserve. I love you too, Pops.”
“I wish that were true, son. Oh, how I wish that were true.”
Angelo quickly ran into the bathroom and jumped in the shower. He let the water hit his face as his salty tears of heartbreak mixed with it. He had had hate in his heart for his mother all his life, and now her life was ending.
You get only one mother, even if she isn’t fit to be a mother, he thought to himself and then fell into prayer. After bathing and getting dressed, he walked back into the room to grab his bags so he could leave. Meagan had gotten fully dressed to go with him.
“Let me wash my face and brush my teeth, and I’ll be ready to go,” she said.
“You can’t go with me. I have personal shit I have to handle, but I’ll be back. And when I am, all the bullshit you have going on here will have to stop. I’m making you mine.” He hadn’t decided on moving forward with Meagan until that very moment. She had potential, because she had put a small crack in his heart that permitted her entrance. It was not love, but care and concern. And that was more than any other woman had gotten him to feel. He was tired of the shit William and Devin were putting her through. Although he felt she was allowing it, seeing how immature she was in her drunken state had made him realize that there was a small girl trapped inside of her that hadn’t gotten the opportunity to grow up. It was the same child that lived within him, and he knew they could mature together.
“Well, if you’re making me yours, then I need to be with you through whatever it is you’re going through,” she said as she headed into the bathroom, with him following her.
“No, you can’t go this time. But once this chapter of my life is closed, I promise I won’t stop you from being there for me.”
“I’m going with you, Angelo,” she snapped.
“No you’re not. Now, sit your hardheaded ass down somewhere. I’ll see you as soon as I get back.”
“Who are you supposed to be? William? You want me to sit back and let you dictate my moves now? You’re not William, and I’m done playing Clara.” She ended the exchange of words there and began brushing her teeth.
“What did you just say?” He was confused about what his mother had to do with anything she was saying.
She finished brushing her teeth and washed her face before she turned to face him. “I said that you’re not William, and I’m done playing Clara.”
“Clara who?”
“William’s dead wife. Her name was Clara.”
Angelo’s legs turned into mud, and he fell back onto the toilet. His mother was William’s ex-wife, and now everything made sense in a weird way.
“Clara was your mom’s best friend?” he asked.
“Yes, she was my godmother too. But I told you, they died in that car accident in Albany.”
“Wait. That makes William your godfather, doesn’t it?”
Meagan chuckled. “You put that together fast. I guess I can’t slide anything past you.” She was being sarcastic, but she ended her sarcasm by rolling her eyes. “Yes, he used to be my godfather, but he took advantage of that too. The day both of my mothers died, he was about to divorce Clara to be with me. It probably was a blessing that she died not knowing the truth, because William was sleeping with my mom too. He had all three of us hoping that he’d spend forever with us because he was a good man, but I’m sure I’m the only one he ever beat. My mama was a slut that he wouldn’t waste time trying to help, and Clara was firm. When it came to her marriage with William, she ran the show. It took him forever to decide to leave her for me, and in my opinion, the delay came from his fear of her.” She laughed and then added, “My godmama didn’t take no shit.”
Angelo was taken aback by the stomach-cramping information she was giving him. William was more of a dog than he had originally thought. He had been fucking his wife, her best friend, and his goddaughter like he was the man, and Angelo would do anything to show him that he wasn’t, including stealing his current wife.
He stood and walked out of the bathroom. Meagan trailed behind him. “Grab your purse. I’ve changed my mind. You are coming with me. There’s something you need to see,” he told her.
“Wait, there’s something that I need to tell you before we go,” Meagan said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. She instantly felt completely sober at the thought. “My mama told me she had over nine home abortions before she decided to have me and at least four more after me. She never wanted kids. When I asked her why she decided to keep me, she never gave me an answer. She would rub my face and give me a smile, as if she could see my father’s face. The only other person I can recall her looking at like that was William.”
“So, what are you saying?”
“I don’t know what you know, or why you asked the questions about my mama and godmom, but I need to add an unanswered question to that list. Is William my . . . ?”
“Hey!” Angelo yelled to prevent her from asking the question. “This shit is already a daytime soap opera. We will find out, and if that sick shit is true and he knew it all this time, I’m gon’ kill him.”
* * *
William couldn’t sleep at all that night. He kept being awakened every hour on the hour by dreams of Meagan’s wedding to the younger man he had met in the strip club. He didn’t find it weird that she was trying to build a new life with a man who was obviously younger than she was, because that was what he had done with Meagan. What did bother him was the fact that she was ready to end what they had without talking to him and trying to work it out.
He had pushed her to this point—that, he couldn’t deny—but he was doing a lot better. Now that he could see the checkered flag marking the end of their relationship, there was so much that he wished he hadn’t done and even more that he wished he had. Like disclosing to her that Clara was back.
Clara had threatened to put them both in jail, which was information he should have shared with Meagan. Maybe if he had, they could have worked with his lawyer behind Clara’s back to find a solution to the problem. If he had, then maybe, the rips in their bond would have healed themselves. There had been motive to kill Clara, but if he had paid a detective, he would have uncovered the motive she had had to fake her death. If I had handled the shit differently . . . , he thought.
Tired of thinking about what he should have done, could have done, and wishing what he had done, he checked out of the hotel at four in the morning to wait on the security company to arrive at the house at seven. The technician arrived at seven o’clock on the dot and installed the video-surveillance cameras. He also replaced the faulty system that they currently had with the latest and greatest home security on the market.
“That should do you, Mr. Tolliver. I expected to come down here and see a burnt kitchen in the process of being remodeled.” He laughed. “I guess Mrs. Tolliver made it to the kitchen in time.”
“What? What are you talking about?” William was lost.
“Your fire alarm went off not too long ago, and I had to call and check if everything was okay. You know we get fined if we send the fire department out for a false job. Mrs. Tolliver said she had been cooking and burnt the food. It was funny to me that a master chef’s wife couldn’t cook,
but she had an idiot talking to her, so she was probably distracted.” He grabbed his work kit and was about to leave, but William stopped him with more questions.
“She was on a three-way call when you talked to her?”
“No, she had some crazy guy with her. I could hear him talking crazy to her in the background when she put the phone down. You know the guy. You were home while he was here. I heard you say something that sounded a little sexual, so I hung up the phone to give you some privacy. You’re like me when it comes to my missus. I want it anytime, anywhere.”
William knew the exact day that he was making reference to. It was the day he had walked into a smoky kitchen and got himself a welcome home present.
“The guy in the background, what was he saying that you felt was crazy?”
“Well, I thought he was joking with both of you once I heard your voice, but he said something about killing you and the limo driver. That was all I made out, because their voices had moved away from the phone, and then yours came blaring in.”
“You heard someone in my house with my wife, talking about killing me and my driver, and you didn’t report it to me or the police? What sense does that make?”
“I would have reported it to the police, Mr. Tolliver, if I had thought it was a serious threat, but I heard your voice. You had to have been there while he was, because this all happened in a matter of minutes and—”
“The potato chips,” William said, running to the pantry. He opened the pantry door and looked around the room until he spotted the broom closet. He snatched open the door and thought back to the youngster at the club. He knew he could fit into this closet.
“Greg, are your calls still recorded?”
“Yes, sir. We can’t make a call without it being recorded for our insurance purposes,” he said, now taking the situation more seriously than he previously had.
“Look, I have to go to Savannah for a day or two, but when I get back, I’ll need that recording for the police and my lawyer. You just helped me in ways you’ll never understand.”
Disrespectfully Yours Page 18
