40
It hadn’t even been a week, but for Byron it felt like forever since he’d talked to Cynthia. He didn’t think it was possible to know someone for such a short time and miss them so much. Good thing he was a secure man; otherwise, this sentimentality would leave him embarrassed. As it was, he felt like Jerry Maguire. Cynthia completed him.
It was Tyra’s weekend with Tanya, but Byron had found enough to stay busy for most of the day: breakfast at his favorite spot, car wash, haircut, a visit to the folks. Douglas was there and they ended up riding together to their brother Marvin’s house, shot the breeze for a couple hours. But as afternoon turned to evening, Marvin had plans and Douglas had a date, leaving Byron all by his lonesome. Unable to think of anything interesting to do, because all he wanted to do was see her.
Without further thought, he picked up the phone and tapped the message app. He cleared his throat—an unnecessary move since the message would be read, not heard—and tapped the microphone.
Cynthia: Why haven’t you called since I told you the news? Ava is not my blood sister. Even though Leah views me as her real uncle, and that’s probably why you’re still being silent, this noncommunication isn’t working for me. And it’s not like I don’t care about Leah, because I do. But the thing is, I care about you, too, and believe you feel our connection the same as I do. I understand you’ve got a job to do and rules to follow. But how does that work when it messes with your life like it’s messing with mine? We’ve got to do something about this. I miss you.
Byron, why’d you do that? She’s going to think you’re a lovesick puppy.
He was a lovesick puppy.
If the fellas had any idea I am sitting here with a schoolboy crush.
I’ve got to get out of here.
Just as he was about to jump up from the couch and make a mad dash away from his thoughts, his message indicator chirped.
The high-school crush kid was replaced by the brothah with swagger who knew she’d text back. He tapped on the icon with a megawatt braggadocios smile.
Always the confident one. How are you so sure my life is messed up?
He walked over and sat down on the couch, pulled off his shoes, and propped his feet on the table. Someone felt this was going to take a while.
Because I haven’t been able to massage that spot that makes you hit high notes, and that’s a note few if any other man can make you hit.
At the very thought of massaging and hitting, his instrument hardened in preparation for action. Byron shifted on the couch and repositioned the unruly member, even as he forced other thoughts so that they both could calm down.
Byron Carter, you are nothing if not confident.
He laughed out loud, sounding like a man who’d just won a bet.
Am I wrong? You told me yourself that you’d never had multiple orgasms until I happened to you. Are you going to tell me that the man who left you hanging after one quick nut made you sing?
The response was longer in coming this time.
Have I gone too far?
He refused to even worry about that. As far as anything he could say on this phone wasn’t as far as he wanted to go. Culver City is as far as he wanted to go. Cynthia’s bedroom and into her softness is the distance that was on his mind.
I’ve thought about what you shared about you and Ava. A great deal, actually. This technicality does not change the fact that Leah views you as her very real uncle, which is why our being together continues to feel like a line of impropriety that you’re trying to make me cross.
What’s improper about what we’re doing now? Uh-huh, thought I didn’t know that word? See why I need you around me. So I can become all edu-ma-cated. LOL.
You’re. Silly.
But I made you smile. I’ve got a friend over here who wants to make something else smile.
Please don’t talk like that. There’s nothing I can do about the way you’re making me feel.
Don’t act like you don’t have a box of toys. A big Rambo-styled dildo. Very poor substitute.
No, I tried that once. I just couldn’t get into it.
I wish I could get into it.
Byron!
Baby. I’m hurting. If I go blind, it will be your fault!
LOL!!! Shut up!
:)
I should not have called you from Minnesota. That was selfish and unfair.
You were drunk.
I was a tad tipsy.
As a skunk.
Perhaps I’d had one too many.
You know what they say about drunk folk.
What?
That a drunk tongue speaks a sober mind.
Meaning . . .
When you got upset, I was the first one you called.
Sorry to burst the bubble you’re blowing, but outside of my family, you are the only person who knows about . . . everything.
See? Even your girls don’t know, and y’all talk about everything. See how special I am? Shoot . . . I’m going to keep on blowing. And you should come over and help me. Nobody from your company lives over here. Tyra’s with her mother. I can’t even meet your son. Who’s going to know? I’m not talking and I know you won’t tell.
Seconds after he’d sent this one, another followed.
Never mind. I know what you’re going to say. Disregard what I just sent.
And then another.
Hell, no. Don’t disregard that. Get your soft, sexy, smell-good behind here so I can . . . you know . . . lick the tootsie roll.
When she didn’t respond immediately, Byron got up and walked into the kitchen. He opened the fridge, stood in front of it and studied its lean contents, and finally settled on fixings for a turkey sandwich and a beer. He’d slathered on mayo and was painting the other piece of bread yellow when his phone dinged. A smudge of mustard marked the spot where he’d tapped the screen to read her message.
Yes, I do. BTW, during a meeting this week with my director, I asked what constituted family re our agency’s interpretation. It’s a bit vague in the national guidelines. She advised that if in question, to air on the side of caution. If I weren’t in line for the director position, and if I didn’t have a pseudo-detective as a coworker who wants the position as much as I, perhaps I would be less cautious.And there’s something else.
What?
He successfully juggled his phone, a plate, bag of chips, and bottle of beer from the kitchen to the living room.
The night of the art show in Santa Monica, someone saw us.
Who?
Unfortunately, the woman I’m up against for the new job.
She told you?
If you knew Margo you’d know how unlikely something that straightforward would be. She quizzed Leah about you and then insinuated to me that she knew I was out socially with a client’s family member.
WTH? When did she talk to Leah?
When she arrived early and was waiting in the reception area. I came in to them chatting. That’s when I knew for sure we could no longer communicate.
Like we’re doing now.:)
Byron placed his head back and stared at the ceiling. This was an impossible situation. Here was a woman willing to put a client’s needs above her own desires, a client whom he happened to be quite fond of, and what was he doing? Everything possible to try and get her to change her mind. He heaved a sigh and tapped the microphone icon.
All right, then. I guess I’ll let you go.
What do you have planned for the evening?
I don’t know, but I’m going to get out of the house and find something to occupy my mind.
Something, or someone?
What, you can’t see me and I can’t see anybody else?
The pause was lengthy enough for him to eat half his sandwich and make a respectable dent in the bag of chips.
Enjoy your evening, Byron.
Wait, you’re mad now. Let’s not leave on a sour note.
I am not angry.
Yes, you are. But that’s cool, though. That’s how you’re supposed to feel about your man.
Didn’t we just discuss how we are so not seeing each other?
If I find out somebody else is making you sing like Mariah, I’ll be mad.
I probably shouldn’t say what I’ve been thinking but . . .
What??? Don’t leave me hanging like that.
Leah has one more month of court-mandated weekly sessions. After that, I’d planned to continue the meetings, pro bono, at least twice a month. Once I have been given a case, I like to stick with the client. The stability aids and often expedites their path to rehabilitation. But perhaps this one time I could assign her to another manager and eliminate even the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Byron’s heart soared for all of five seconds, until he remembered Ava’s comments about how much Leah had improved under Cynthia’s care, current Redman situation aside. His inner Jekyll said Leah would be fine, that they were all qualified to do the same job so what difference would it make? Inner Hyde got an attitude.
Don’t be a jerk. Do not jeopardize your niece’s well-being so you can be satisfied.
That is so tempting, but I couldn’t ask you to do that. Leah has had enough interruptions in her life. But if you’re still single when the sessions are over, all bets are off! I’m going to come for you gun blazing.And you know when I fire, I hit my mark.
He waited for her to say something.
She’s probably mad because I’ve got that kitty humming again.
Take care of yourself, sexy. Let me know when you get that promotion.
Ah, finally a place where that air of certainty is advantageous! Thank you for the vote of confidence.
You’re welcome.
Good-bye, Byron.
His thumb hovered over the mic. Thinking it might be easier to type than to say, he tapped the screen. The keyboard appeared. It wasn’t easier.
Just tell her good-bye, dude.
No.
Instead, he tossed his phone on the sofa cushion and picked up his beer. He wasn’t going to speak something that he knew straight out was a lie. Unless he woke up six feet under, this was definitely not his last conversation with Cynthia.
He had to say something. It would be rude not to respond. So he finished his beer and picked up the phone.
See you later, baby. Be good.
41
“Wow, girl. I thought my mama was a piece of work, but what your mom did was gangster! I’m not talking Crips and Bloods. I’m talking Bugsy Siegel and Al Capone!”
“If the situation involved her social status or reputation, even Al wouldn’t stand a chance against Anna Marie Hall.”
It was sistah-girl chat time on a Sunday afternoon. Cynthia had just revealed to her BFFs what until now only family and Byron knew, not only that Jayden’s father was married at the time he was conceived, but that her parents paid him off to stay that way.
“My mom would do something like that,” Gayle said. “No, on second thought, she’d have made me have an abortion, the less expensive solution. A quarter million dollars could buy her too many designer fashions.”
“I’m sorry you’ve spent all of these years with no one to talk to about this.” Dynah’s voice was soft, and sincere, perhaps hearing the residual pain that the other girls missed. “I can’t imagine having to navigate school, relocation, and being a new, single mom at what, twenty-two?”
“Yes, I was twenty-one when I dated Stewart, twenty-two when Jay was born.”
“But we’re your girls, Cyn. I remember asking you about Jayden’s dad and wondering why you were so evasive, almost like you didn’t know. Remember, Gayle, I even mentioned how strange that seemed. And you had no more information than I did. I thought we talked about everything. Why’d you feel the need to keep it from us?”
“I can answer that in one word, Lisa . . . Mother. In her opinion, sleeping with a married man was dreadful enough—”
“But you didn’t know. He lied!”
“A fact that was moot, given we found out after the horse had already left the proverbial stall. Her words were the A on my forehead, my prison the home of a great-aunt who lives in upstate New York. By the time I moved here, her words had taken root and I believed myself to be that scandalized woman guarding this . . . shame . . . even though Jayden is the brightest spot of my life.”
“We haven’t touched the big question.”
“I know where you’re going, Gayle, and I don’t have an answer for that.”
“For what?” Lisa asked.
“For whether or not she’s going to show up at the wedding it seems her mother has already planned.”
Cynthia’s chuckle held no humor. Dynah conveyed the incredulity Cynthia had felt for these plans.
“Do you want some advice?”
“Sure, Gayle. What should I do?”
“Marry him, of course. And before you begin firing your objections, I’ll explain why. One, he is your son’s father. Two, he’s wealthy, successful, established, and obviously loves you to want to do right after all these years.”
“But he took my mom’s money when the decent thing would have been to tell her where to take that money and demand a relationship with his son.”
“No, the decent thing would have been for him to keep his married dick inside his married pants.”
“Ha!” No one could speak truth like Lisa. That’s what Cynthia most loved about her.
“Since that did not happen,” Gayle continued, “Stewart had to make decisions based on the big picture, and the entire picture, which involved more people than just you and your family. As despicable as it was for him to lie to you, the fact is he was married and had a young child. He was in the early stages of a career that is difficult at best, the success of which is driven by relationships and status, where decisions are made on the golf course and in country clubs. His road was probably not as hard as yours, Cynthia, but I doubt that it was easy.”
“What do you think, Dynah?”
“Marriage is not something to be entered into lightly and when it is, I think that decision should be based on love. Is that what you feel for your son’s father? Because not long ago you were into the other guy. What’s his name?”
“Don’t help her remember,” Gayle interjected. “A blue collar versus a bona-fide DHOP is something not worth wasting time in being compared.”
“What about you, Lisa? Should I marry for love, or because of the lifestyle Stewart can offer?”
“Look, life is not a romance novel. I’d go for the money; then I could buy me some love.”
When the girls ended their call thirty minutes later, Cynthia was more confused than ever.
Byron wasn’t confused. He was hot, angry, and tired of sitting in front of the house he and Douglas had watched for the last hour.
“What do you say, Byron? Should we maybe try a few of the hangouts again, see if anybody has heard or seen anything?”
“That’s what we did for the last four hours.” His attempt to stretch out his back turned into a bear of a yawn. “I say we wait here for another fifteen minutes or so. He has to come home sometime, and my bet is she’ll be with him.”
“He” was none other than Aaron Smith, otherwise known as Redman.
“I still can’t believe Leah didn’t come home. The last time she pulled that stunt, me, Mom, and Dad spoke to her about it. I even promised that if she hung with this program and got into college, I’d help her buy a car.” Byron reached for his phone. Still no response from the calls and texts he’d sent her. “She’s never gone this long without calling me back. It’s total disrespect.”
“She didn’t call her mother back,” Douglas said, his speech smooth and unhurried, just like his dad. “So I don’t know why you think she’d call you.”
“It’s worked before. Leah knows how much Ava worries ever since Lance got shot. That’s what makes me so angry about this, what she’s putting her mother through.”
“Yes, but for all intents and purposes she is grown, doing what grown women do.”
“Then I say don’t half step. Own that status. If she’s grown enough to lay up with some dude still living with his mama, then she’s grown enough to get out of Ava’s house, get a job, get a car, and everything else that a grown woman needs to handle her business.”
Douglas turned his head to view the side mirror. “I think I see Gavin’s car.”
Byron checked through the rearview mirror. “Yep, that’s him. He probably knows where we can find Aaron.” Byron snatched the keys out of the ignition. “Let’s go do this.”
“By.” Douglas stopped his brother with a hand on his arm. “Let’s keep this cool. You know Gavin carries heat.”
“Well, I tell you what. If he doesn’t get his brother to bring our sister’s daughter home? He’s going to be carrying the teeth he picks up after my fist leaves his mouth.”
Whatever Douglas said was cut off by Byron’s slamming door. A shred of common sense allowed him to slow his pace, lose the frown, and walk up to Gavin Smith’s car door more civilly.
The Smith brother who’d gone to school with Nelson stepped out of his car. “What’s up, Byron?”
He held out his hand. Byron tapped it and got straight to the point. “We’re trying to find Red. Do you know where he is?”
“Why are you looking for him?”
“Because he’s with my niece, man. She’s only seventeen.”
Gavin locked his car and began walking toward the house where all of the Smith children still lived along with their mother, her boyfriend, his siblings, and several children. Douglas joined them. “Haven’t seen you in a while, Gavin? How are you doing?”
“Fine until I got accosted by your hotheaded brother at six in the morning. He’s messing up my high.”
Douglas slipped between Byron and Gavin. Byron cut him a look, but remained quiet.
“Ava’s really worried, dog, and we’ve been out all night. You know how mean the streets can be. Having already lost a child, she’s just that much more protective of the one she has left.”
“I understand, man. It’s not like Aaron kidnapped her.”
Byron placed a firm hand on Gavin’s shoulder. “Do you know where they are?”
Gavin shook him off, his expression one of somebody clearly annoyed. “No, you need to watch your hands, partner.”
Byron took a step toward Gavin. “You need to watch your mouth.”
Douglas stepped between them. “Gavin, if you hear from your brother, can you let me know? Because the next step is to get the police involved and with Leah only seventeen and Aaron twenty-five . . .”
“How are y’all so sure she’s with him?”
“Because that’s who she was seen with last night.”
Gavin pulled out his phone. “What’s your number?” Douglas told him. Gavin called Douglas’s phone. “All right, I’ll save your number. If I find out anything, I’ll give you a call.”
Byron held out his hand. “I was a little rough earlier. Sorry about that.”
“No worries, man. I’ll let y’all know if I hear anything.”
As soon as the brothers were inside the SUV, Byron let out a string of expletives.
Douglas’s calm demeanor did not shift. “Man, everybody’s concerned. You have got to calm down.”
“Leah is only one of the reasons I wanted to coldcock his ass. The other is for the weapons and other illegal activities he’s into; that makes the neighborhoods unsafe for our kids. From what I hear, Aaron is trying to follow right in his footsteps. He can follow him to hell if he wants to, as long as he leaves Leah with us.”
Byron started his car and couldn’t get off the block fast enough. An hour later, when they returned to Ava’s house, no one had heard from Leah and she still had not come home.
After giving his teary sister a hug, Byron called the police.