Skeletons In My Closet

by Dynah Zale

  Garrett motioned for her to wipe her mouth.

  “Oh!” She used the back of her hand as a napkin and pointed to Markell’s picture, “Is this the kid you had the meeting about just last week?”

  Mindlessly, Garrett mumbled, “Yes.” He was tired. After only one hour of sleep he was running out of gas.

  “You look like you could use one of these.” Joye Anne held up her cup. “Let me run out and get you one before you fall asleep on me.” She walked out of the office.

  Garrett was so tired that he felt like collapsing on his desk. He had never been this tired before. He closed his eyes momentarily to get a moment of rest, but that rest was rudely interrupted by the sound of Crystal Cousins yelling loudly in his ear. “You lied to me.”

  Surprised by her outburst he turned to face her. Then she slapped him hard across the face. So hard that he felt blood in his mouth.

  Bloodshot eyes were a dead giveaway that Crystal had been up crying all night long. “You told me my son would be safe. You told me you had taken care of everything.”

  Garrett expected her to blame him for Markell’s death; he just didn’t expect it to be this soon. “Crystal, if you would just sit down I’m sure we can resolve this amicably.”

  “My child is dead.” She pointed in his face. “Did you and Schneider plan this?”

  “How can you say such a thing?”

  “Since our meeting, nothing changed for Markell at school.” Garrett was surprised. “As a matter of fact, things got worse. Principal Schneider did move Markell to another class, but it was a Special-Ed class. Councilman Dunn, there was nothing wrong with my son’s learning. Despite the bullying he had to endure, my son came home with straight A’s every marking period.”

  “I had no idea.” Garrett felt a ping of guilt for assuming Schneider would keep up his end of the deal.

  “The day before yesterday he came home and told me he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. I heard what he was saying, but I had no idea he would take his own life. He told me that none of the kids at school would talk to him or even acknowledge his existence. He could walk through the halls and the children wouldn’t even look in his direction; it was as if he weren’t even there. They alienated themselves from him.” Crystal broke down in tears. “My son came to me for help. I thought things were getting better. I can’t believe he reached out to me and I did nothing and now he’s gone.” Garrett placed his arms around her to console her.

  “Ms. Cousins, you have to believe that I was not aware of what was going on at that school and I promise you that I will get to the bottom of this.”

  Crystal’s face transformed from a grieving mother to a vengeful renegade. “You better.”

  When Crystal left, Garrett exhaled. For the first time since he entered politics he felt like a failure.

  Joye Anne walked back into with his coffee and set it down in front of him. “What’s wrong? Did something happen while I was gone?”

  Garrett was going to tell her about Crystal’s visit, but the phone rang and she answered. “Yes, I will tell him.” Joye Anne said before hanging up. “That was the Camden Pastors Association. They want to meet with you, immediately.”

  “Today?” Garrett had been trying to get a meeting with them for weeks and they kept turning him down. “Did they say what they wanted?”

  “I’m not sure, but I assume it has something to do with what happened at the school yesterday.”

  “They’re probably going to blame these suicides on me, just like everybody else.” Garrett sounded pitiful.

  “Whoa! Where is all this coming from? I haven’t heard anybody blaming you for what happened at the school,” Joye Anne said.

  Exasperated, Garrett shrugged it off. “Don’t worry about it.” He stood up, put on his suit jacket and took a huge swig from his coffee cup before telling Joye Anne to call the pastor’s association, “Let them know I’m on my way.”

  “Trust in the Lord.” She hollered out after him.

  Chapter 20

  Garrett parked in front of Triumph Church; one of the city’s largest churches with well over eight thousand members. Triumph was well-known for its active role in politics. If an injustice has happened in the community, Triumph would lead the way to have it corrected.

  Nervous, Garrett sat outside staring at the church, wondering what was going on inside. Stalling for time he pulled out his cell phone and called Raquel’s house. The phone rang several times before he hung up and dialed her number again. She wasn’t answering. He hadn’t seen her since she jumped in the car with her friends the day before. He needed to make sure Blair was okay.

  Indifferent to Raquel’s negligence, Garrett got out the car. The last thing he needed was to have to worry about Blair’s wellbeing, but with Raquel being his primary caregiver, there was no way to avoid it.

  The inside of Triumph church was a bit intimidating for Garrett. This was his first time visiting with the church since the construction of its new cathedral. The maze of winding corridors and closed doors frustrated him. Unsure of which way to turn, he sighed loudly.

  “Garrett.” He turned around to find Reverend Tomlin, Garrett’s own pastor. “Thanks for coming out in such short notice.”

  “It was no problem.” Garrett acted nonchalant.

  They walked through a set of double doors at the far end of the hallway. Inside, the reverend’s council sat around a huge circular conference room table.

  Not familiar with every face there, Garrett went around and introduced himself to each pastor before taking a seat.

  “Councilman.” Reverend Tomlin spoke up. He was the current council president and led all meetings. “We’re not going to take up a lot of your time. We understand that the circumstances surrounding yesterday’s crisis probably has you in high demand right about now.”

  “Yes sir it does.” Garrett still had no idea what this was all about, but he wished they would get to the point so he could get back to work.

  The pastor opened up a manila folder and leafed through a few pages. Garrett’s stomach churned from worry – he knew this was not going to be a good meeting.

  “Is it also true that you met with the mother of one of the victims to discuss him being the victim of bullying?”

  He knew it. They were going to tell him that this was all his fault and that he should have acted sooner. If he had, those kids would probably still be alive. Their accusing eyes stared down on him. He felt like a criminal ready to confess to a crime he didn’t commit. “Yes, but I can explain.”

  “That’s what I thought.” Another pastor, sitting in the far corner interrupted Garrett not allowing him the chance to plead his case.

  Their watchful stares were beginning to be too much for Garrett. The pressure of no sleep, worrying about Blair, Crystal Cousins slapping him in the face and the burden of two suicides was coming down on him hard. He was ready to have a mental break down and scream at the top of his lungs until they left him alone.

  “That’s why we have chosen to publicly endorse you for this year’s mayoral election.” Reverend Tomlin proudly announced.

  “Huh?” Garrett was in shock.

  “Yes, we need someone in office who is going to be proactive and not wait until there’s a tragedy to address issues. The meeting you had with that boy’s mother shows that you were thinking. We can’t blame you for what happened, but we like how you handled it and we hope that once you’re elected mayor you will continue to handle things in that manner.” Reverend Tomlin walked over to give Garrett a congratulatory shake. “Our young black boys are under attack, by an enemy that is much larger than us.” Every pastor seated around the table nodded his head in agreement. “We need a representative to help us win this war. We have created a bunch of programs that helps absentee fathers bond with their children and we see the loving relationship you have with your own children. We are not only willing to endorse you but each of us is going to contribute fifty thousand dollars to your campaign. That’s a
quarter of a million dollars you can use however you see fit.”

  ***

  “Tell them now. Now is the time to tell them about Blair.” Kiel whispered in his ear.

  Greed screamed in Garrett’s ear with a bullhorn drowning out Kiel’s pleas. “If you tell them about Blair they may not understand. They may feel like you misrepresented yourself to them. Are you willing to chance a quarter of a million dollar contribution to your campaign? It wouldn’t hurt if you kept Blair a secret until after the election.

  ***

  Garrett looked at the outstretched check, waiting for him to take possession. It would be so easy for him to take that check, walk away and never even mention Blair’s name.

  So he kept his mouth shut and took the check. “Thank You. I promise that once I’m elected, the programs you mentioned will have the full support of the mayor’s office.”

  “More importantly we need grant money from the city.” Another pastor spoke up from across the room.

  “Yes, money is a great issue.” Reverend Tomlin was reminded. “We need money to keep the program running.”

  “No problem. I’ll see to it personally that these programs are publicly funded.” Garrett ended the meeting by shaking everyone's hand. When Garrett reached his car the first person he called was Joye Anne.

  "What happened?" She sounded worried.

  “It looks like we’re going to have a lot more money to play around with. I’ll be there in ten minutes to tell you all about it.”

  Chapter 21

  “That quarter of a million dollars sure is coming in handy.” Joye Anne stepped back to get a better look at Imani as she posed for another picture. Joye Anne liked the pictures Sawyer had taken, but she wanted Garrett’s campaign to focus more on him being a family man instead of politician. That was the purpose of these additional photos.

  “Yes, that money came right on time.” Garrett adjusted his tie. “Billboards, massive donations to charity events and more family portraits for everyone to enjoy.

  “Speak for yourself.” Mecca pushed her husband’s hands away and fastened the tie for him. “I think the only member of our family who enjoys all this publicity is Imani. Don’t you know she had the nerve to ask me to buy her some head shots so she can sign them and pass them out to her classmates?”

  The three laughed at Imani’s antics. Then the photographer told Imani he was finished with her and he was ready for her little brother.

  “You’re done already.” Imani folded her arms over her chest, poked out her bottom lip and then placed her hands on her little hips.

  Garrett loved his daughter’s sassy attitude, but at times she could act rather bratty. “Imani, come and sit on daddy’s lap until he’s finished with your brother.”

  Imani marched over to him with an attitude. “Daddy, why can’t I be in my brother’s pictures, too?” She whined.

  “You had your turn. Now let him have a chance.” One thing Garrett had a hard time doing was telling his daughter no. That initial look of disappointment in her eyes was enough for him to want to give her the world, but Mecca kept stressing the importance of not spoiling her.

  “You look adorable.” He tried to redeem himself in his daughter’s eyes by complementing her red and white polka dot swing dress with matching headband.

  “Mommy even let me put on some lip gloss today.” She pushed out her lips to show off her glimmering lips.

  “She did!” He sounded surprised. “You’re going to be the prettiest person in the family picture. They may not even look at the rest of your ugly family because you’re so pretty.” Garrett tickled her and they laughed together.

  The photographer finally called Imani back for a few more pictures and the smile she used for the cameras was back. Garrett saw Mecca getting a coffee from the vending machines and he figured this was the perfect time to talk with her.

  “I need to speak with you about Blair.” The grave expression on his face said it was serious.

  “Oh!” She smiled. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about him too. I’m beginning to get worried. It’s been close to three weeks since you’ve heard from him or Raquel. Did you try calling over there today?”

  “No, not yet.”

  “Maybe, we should stop by there on the way home just to make sure Blair’s all right. Anything could happen to him living with his drug addicted aunt.”

  “I agree but that’s not what I wanted to speak with you about.” He took a deep breath. “We have to keep Blair’s identity a secret.” Mecca gave him a ridiculous look. “We can’t tell anyone he’s my son.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “If I plan on running this city, my professional and personal life has to be squeaky clean.”

  “I am so disappointed in you.” She placed her coffee cup down on a nearby table. “How could you think having a son you knew nothing about could hurt your career?” She threw her stirrer in the trash.

  “I told you I have to be an example to the voters. My opponents could take this story and turn it around to look like I walked out on Blair and his mother.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “I know, but in order to save Blair and myself from such ugly allegations I have decided to keep my relationship to him under wraps.”

  “You’re serious?” Mecca stared at him with contempt. She loved her husband, but one thing that aggravated her about him was how driven he was by politics. Ever since Garrett announced he was running for mayor, everything they did was scrutinized in the public eye. Politics was a dirty business, but she knew just what she was getting into when she married a Dunn.

  “Please, just go along with me on this.” Garrett begged. “I have never made a decision that would jeopardize this family and I’m not about to start now. Trust me. This is for the best.”

  Mecca saw sincerity in his eyes. She knew he was only trying to do what was best for them. She may not agree with his tactics, but his heart was in the right place. “Okay, I won’t say anything, but you have to promise me that right after the election you make this right.”

  “We can’t even say anything to the children until the time is right.” Garrett stressed the importance.

  “I understand.” Mecca replied.

  Garrett gave a huge sigh of relief and kissed her on the cheek. The photographer was now ready to take pictures of everyone together. Surrounded by his entire family Garrett smiled broadly, portraying the image of a devoted father and loving husband. While inside he felt like a monster. Blair was a part of their family and he should have been there as a representative of the oldest child to Garrett Dunn.

  Photo shoots were always tiring. Afterwards Garrett suggested the family go out for dinner. As they gathered their things to leave, Garrett’s cell phone rang out loud.

  “Daddddddy.” Imani groaned. She knew that if he answered his phone it would delay them from eating.

  “I promise, whoever this is I will tell them that they will have to wait because I’m about to take my hungry family out to eat.” He jokingly pulled out his phone and placed it next to his ear ready to get rid of the unwanted caller. “Listen, whoever this is I can’t talk right now I have my family with me and they are tired and hungry so I would really appreciate it if you called me sometime tomorrow.” He sang playfully.

  “Okay!” A faint familiar voice replied.

  “Blair.” Garrett was surprised. “I’ve been calling your house for weeks.”

  “I know. Aunt Raquel made me promise not to call you,” Blair hesitated. “I’m tired of sitting here by myself every night. I just wanted to know if you could come over. I promise I won’t take up a lot of your time. I just want somebody to talk to.”

  Garrett could hear the desperation in his voice.

  “Blair, sit tight. I’ll be there tonight.” He disconnected the call and turned back to his family. “Sorry guys, there’s been a change of plans.”

  Chapter 22

  Mecca said she would take the kids to dinner
alone while Garrett went to check in on Blair. He rushed over to Raquel’s. To his surprise he found her there, outside, sitting on the front steps rolling a blunt.

  Garrett snuck up on her. “It’s good to know you don’t smoke that stuff in front of my son.”

  “Councilman Dunn.” She gave him a sly smile. “Long time no see. Where you been at? Your son has missed you, but we both know it’s not unlike you to walk out on him.” She licked the blunt. “What do you want?”

  “Why haven’t you been answering your phone? I’ve been calling for weeks. I was so worried about Blair; anything could’ve happened to him and you never called me back.”

  “Don’t come around here trying to play the loving father role. She lit the blunt and blew a cloud of smoke in Garrett’s face. “Blair and I have seen the billboards of you and your family plastered all over the city, but it’s weird how I’ve seen no mention of Blair.”

  “It’s not like that. I would never intentionally leave my son out.” Garrett didn’t know why he was defending his actions to Raquel.

  “Whatever, just remember that I’m Blair’s guardian and I refuse to allow you to hurt him.”

  “Me?” Garrett couldn’t believe this woman. “Listen, you were the one that was going to be arrested at the bank. If it weren’t for me, you would be behind bars right now.”

  “You want me to thank you? I don’t think so buster, you know better than to throw me in jail, because if you did I would tell it all. How you have a bastard child outside your marriage and how you never paid a single dime in child support.” She turned her back to him and chuckled. “Oh the press would have a field day with that one.”

  Garrett knew Raquel was not bluffing. She had nothing to lose by destroying his career. “What do you want from me?”

  “Another seven hundred dollars would do?”

  “Raquel, I’m not a bank I don’t carry that kind of cash on me every day.”