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He stood as they approached the table again. “I was about to come get you two.”

  “No worries. We apologize for Gigi’s behavior. She’s been on a roller-coaster ride since Mama’s disappearance.”

  “Understandable. Shall we proceed?”

  They nodded. Attorney Durk opened Alice’s letter.

  “My Baby Girl:

  My biggest regret is not spending the last years of my life with you. As much as we tried to snatch you back from Beryl’s grip, his influence was too powerful. I watched my bright-eyed, youngest daughter who loved nature, cooking, and fashion waste away in an unloving marriage. Daniel and I tried to be a good example for the three of you, but I guess it’s true that children don’t always emulate modeled behavior. That’s water under the bridge now. When you lived at the house and attended Savannah State, you were a few credits shy of getting your degree. It’s time you finish it. You can get financial aid because of your income. Once you get your degree, make sure Durk is aware, and you’ll get your inheritance. Daniel and I won’t leave you rolling in dough, but you’ll have enough to start life anew.”

  Alice released the breath she’d been holding. She thought her mother would berate her in the letter, but the compassion with which she wrote made her feel guiltier.

  “I don’t know where to start.”

  “I’ll help you, Alice,” said Joshua.

  She made a knot on the side of her cotton sundress with her finger. Save church, work, and an occasional drive around the city, she couldn’t navigate a college campus again. She’d be the oldest student in the room.

  “I don’t know if I can do this. Maybe I’m better off without the money.” Synaria’s voice lingered in her thoughts. “The first step is always the hardest.”

  “Are you ready, Joshua?”

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  Attorney Durk opened the last letter. It was the longest of the three. He braced himself for Joshua’s reaction.

  “Dearest Joshua:

  I wonder if you know how proud I am of you and your accomplishments. Not so much that you have a fancy title floating behind your name, but you persevered through dyslexia. You gave us quite a scare when you were growing up. It wasn’t until Daniel suggested testing that we figured out why you were always transposing letters and numbers. You preferred being alone to being with a bunch of guys. The few friends you made have stuck with you over the years. Oh, remember how you took the SAT three times until you got the score you wanted? That’s Benson tenacity! It is the same tenacity I want you to use to get to know your son. That’s right, your son. I’ve suspected over the years you never married because you didn’t get over Deborah Sampson. You all were a cute couple when you dated. She broke your heart when she split, but it wasn’t entirely her fault. We may as well have been shit on those high-faluting Sampsons’ shoes. They didn’t feel you were the right kind of man for their daughter. In a moment of fear, she confided her pregnancy in me when she called the house to speak with you. She told me how much she loved you, but couldn’t keep seeing you. Her parents had her husband picked out. They made her break up with you, promise to get an abortion, and never speak to you again. She went behind their backs and had the baby anyway. He is your spitting image, only lighter: handsome, charming, and smart. His name is Langston Calhoun and he lives in Atlanta. He has her husband’s last name. Over the years she sent pictures and kept me updated, but I told her I’d take the secret to my grave as I promised. I never told your father, either. I know this is a shock, and I hope you can forgive me. Of all my children, you are the one who needs money the least. You do need to get to know your son. Find a way to get to know him. He deserves to have you in his life.”

  Joshua repeated the last sentence aloud. “He deserves to have you in his life.” He sat back in his seat. “Deborah Sampson.” He rubbed his head and pondered what might have been if he’d known why she rejected him. “If I could turn back the hands of time.”

  “I have a nephew. Somewhere in this world, a young man is carrying our genes,” Alice said to no one in particular.

  “Would you like me to help you get in touch with him?” Durk asked.

  “I’m not sure. I don’t know what to make of this news. I can’t go barging into his life, especially if her husband is the only father he’s known.”

  Durk nodded. “The last order of business is the actual assets.” He waved the legal document in their faces. “This is to be read once you all complete your assigned tasks.” He slipped the letters and paperwork back in his briefcase and stood. “If you two don’t need anything else, I’ll be leaving now.”

  “Thanks for meeting with us. I appreciate everything you’ve done,” said Joshua.

  They shook hands and waited until Durk left.

  “What are we going to do?” she asked. Her eyes darted around the restaurant. She wondered if the patrons heard the conversation.

  “I am speechless. We need to tell Gigi, but she’s so wrapped up in herself she wouldn’t believe us. This plan of Mama’s will never work unless we work together.”

  Alice considered the irony. “Is it me, or do you agree that even in death, Mattie’s still calling the shots?”

  18

  How Do You Sleep At Night?

  Gabrielle stuffed the last of the boxes in her Mercedes. Her resentment toward her mother grew as she thought of where she’d go. No way was she waiting thirty days to find another place. Colton would understand her plight and assist her. He’d always been so good to her. He finally agreed to see her at two o’clock in Pooler at the Embassy Suites. Maybe he was finally ready to move along with her and dump Roselle.

  Attorney Durk was right; there was no money in the accounts. Mattie either moved it or cleaned it out.

  “She always plotted against me,” Gabrielle said aloud.

  She drove toward Embassy Suites, thoughts of Alice and Joshua crowding her mind. She would be okay if she never saw them again. She visualized Joshua coming to the house with a sheriff, tossing her out and leaving her to fend for herself. Mousy Alice would stand next to him, head bowed and looking stupid, unwilling to defend her.

  “Why couldn’t I have been an only child?” she said aloud.

  None of that mattered. Colton would make a better life for them, set things straight. He made enough money to build a new house far away from the memories of her parents and siblings. Sure, he’d pay alimony to Roselle and support his college-aged children, but that was fair enough. His son and daughter would get used to having a new mother. An attractive stepmother. Why would he want to stay married to that fat pig anyway? She cackled at the memory of Roselle in the thrift shop, barely able to breathe. It was her fault for not satisfying him. Her phone rang, announcing Joshua’s call. She answered, frustrated by the sound of his voice filling her car.

  “What?”

  “Where are you?”

  “Taking care of some business. What do you want?”

  “Meet us at the house. We need to talk. Besides, there’s something I need to share with you.”

  “I’m sure you can tell me later. I’ve been banned from the house anyway.”

  “Gigi, you have thirty days until you leave. Stay there until you work things out. Besides, we need each other.”

  “You two don’t need me, and I certainly don’t need you.”

  “Attorney Durk wasn’t finished reading to you.”

  “I don’t want to hear anything else from him or the two of you for that matter. Leave me alone. Pretend you never knew me.”

  “Gigi—”

  She ended the call, annoyed with Joshua. She couldn’t wait to hug Colton and give him a deep passionate kiss. They’d spent many nights at the Suites, laughing, planning their future, swapping fantasies of life after his misery called Roselle. She found a space in the self-parking area. Colton always drove and valet-parked them; today, she’d run in and out. She’d practiced her speech about him helping her find an apartment. She needed the day to go shopping for new furniture
, curtains, and dishes. She took a few things from the house, but she wanted her new, temporary digs to reflect her tastes. She walked toward the hotel entry, stopping to check her text messages. She beamed when she read Colton’s message: Wait 4 me N the lobby.

  Slipping the phone in her pocket, she walked toward the check-in desk.

  Chante, their regular check-in girl, waved to her. “Hi, Mrs. Bembry. I haven’t seen you here in a few weeks. How’s the Mister?”

  “He’s wonderful.”

  Gabrielle felt guilty pretending to be Colton’s wife. Chante, an enthusiastic college student, always complimented her clothes, perfume, and looks. Colton nuzzled her neck and held her hand whenever they got a room, so she went along with the lie the day Chante said, “I wished my parents were still married like the two of you.”

  Without missing a beat, she assured Chante, “A marriage like ours is rare, and I don’t take him for granted.”

  “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you all in a while,” said Chante, placing her hair behind her ears.

  “We’ve been traveling. I came over to see if he got our room.”

  Chante pressed a few keys. “Not yet.”

  “Oh, he’s playing games.”

  “Role playing later tonight?” Chante bent down beneath the counter and rose with a plastic bag in her hand. “You were so right about this stuff. I have an extra one if you need it.”

  Gabrielle blushed as Chante discreetly removed the K-Y Love Passion gel.

  “You actually bought it?”

  “Yes! My boyfriend loves it. It was the spice we needed to get things back on track.”

  They giggled as Chante slipped the tube in the bag.

  Chante motioned for Gigi to come closer. “Oh, the alum is fire! I did the teaspoon with warm water and put it in the douche like you said. Ms. Gigi, I was revirginized!”

  “Don’t do it too often. Just enough to rotate your routine, okay.” Gabrielle pointed to the lobby furniture. “I’m going to sit over here and wait for Colt. Behave yourself, Ms. Chante.”

  Gabrielle sat in the lobby area and removed two magazines from her purse. Taking her mother to the doctor and various appointments required patience and entertainment. When Mattie was still with them, she encouraged Gabrielle to keep her favorite books and magazines handy in case the doctors’ visits ran over, or if the office didn’t have magazines she liked. She skimmed the pages of Essence and InStyle. Bored with the latest styles and career advice, she closed her eyes momentarily, pondering the scene at Roastfish & Cornbread. She had to find a way to make money. A mild headache formed as she wondered how she’d make things work.

  She smiled when she heard Colton clear his throat. She opened her eyes in anticipation of seeing him dressed well and ready for action.

  “Ba—”

  Gabrielle wanted to be teleported to Mexico. Africa. The moon. Anywhere except the couch on which she sat. Colton and Roselle stood before her, a united front. Roselle held his hand and rubbed his shoulder.

  “Gabrielle.”

  “Colton.”

  “Let’s go over to 145 Mulberry and talk.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I thought we were meeting alone.”

  He returned Roselle’s affection and held her hand tighter. “She is part of the conversation. Let’s get a table.”

  Gabrielle stood, noted Roselle’s significant weight loss. Her calm demeanor made matters worse. She’d yet to acknowledge her with a hello or greeting. They entered the hotel’s restaurant and were quickly seated by their waitress. Colton and Roselle sat together on the makeshift booth along the wall; Gabrielle faced them in a lone chair.

  “I’ll give you some time to look over the menu,” said the waitress. She placed water and lemon slices at the table before walking away.

  Colton and Roselle didn’t touch their menus. He spoke.

  “Gabrielle, I, we, won’t be here long. What I have to say will be brief.”

  He looked to Roselle for consent before continuing.

  “I am publicly apologizing to my wife and to you for what I’ve done. I’ve hurt her and we are working hard to get our marriage back on track.”

  “Her? What about me? You told me you were leaving her and that we’d be together. What about that, Colton?”

  Roselle stiffened but remained silent. She rubbed his hand and kept her eyes on Gabrielle.

  “Gabrielle, I got caught up. Things had gotten stale between Rose and me and I slipped.”

  “Damned right, you slipped. And licked. And sucked, and everything else imaginable. Is he like that with you, Roselle?”

  “Don’t insult my wife!”

  “You can, but I can’t?”

  Roselle cleared her throat. “I’m not intimidated by your kind. I hoped we could be adults about this matter, but I guess two out of three ain’t bad. A man can get sex anywhere in the streets, but I challenge you to think of the number of men who really leave their wives for women like you. You are a very beautiful woman, but do you think he’d trust you if you got together?”

  He waved the waitress away who’d returned to take orders. Supporting his wife’s statement, Colton added, “I am sorry for leading you on. I should have been there for my wife and kids and I wasn’t. She knows everything about us, Gabrielle, so there’s no need to bring up things we did in the past to hurt her.”

  “Why bring me here in person? You could have told me this over the phone.”

  “I’m acknowledging my wrongdoing, and I’m getting closure. I don’t want to go back on my word to Rose.”

  “How charming. It’s good to know I meant nothing to you.”

  “Gabrielle, I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t have to tell me that, Colton.”

  When she stood to leave, Roselle nudged his shoulder.

  “Gabrielle, sit down. I’m not done.”

  “I’m not a child, Colt. You don’t tell me what to do.”

  “I told you we were one adult short,” Roselle said.

  Gabrielle plopped down in her seat, scratching the ends of the chair on the floor for emphasis.

  “The keys. Give me the keys to the car.”

  “Colt, that’s my only means of transportation.”

  “Surely a woman of your caliber can get a car,” Roselle chided.

  “Colt, please don’t do this. I need that car.”

  “Gabrielle, the car is being towed as we speak. I’m taking my car back with or without the keys.”

  “You wouldn’t!”

  “I did.”

  A smirk of satisfaction covered Roselle’s face. She smiled and took a swig of water.

  “Your credit cards were cancelled this morning, and I closed out the account at the bank.”

  “How am I supposed to live?”

  “Working like the rest of us,” said Roselle. “Colton has supported you long enough. How do you sleep at night taking money from married men?”

  Gabrielle unzipped her purse, chucked the keys at Colton, and ran from the restaurant. She exited the hotel in time to see her car being angled for the tow bed lift.

  “Wait!”

  Two men orchestrated the tow. Gabrielle spoke to the one outside the truck, read his name tag.

  “Marcus, that’s my car. May I please get my boxes out?”

  “Colton Bembry gave us strict orders to take this beauty away.”

  “I know. I need to get my things out. Please.”

  She batted her eyes and gave him her famous mistress-in-distress look. He opened the door and the trunk.

  “Five minutes, Gorgeous. Five Minutes.”

  Seeing her struggle with the car’s contents, he helped Gabrielle stack the boxes and bags in the Embassy Suites parking lot. He’d seen a lot of women break under the weight of repossessions and broken-down vehicles, but he knew this situation was different. He wondered how Colton Bembry snagged such a stunning woman. Must be the money.

  Colton and Roselle made sure the vehicle made it on t
he tow truck before driving away. Gabrielle flicked her middle finger, whipped out her phone, and dialed Joshua’s number.

  “Change of plans, Little Bro. You and Alice need to pick me up from the Embassy Suites.”

  19

  Vanilla Ice Cream With Peanuts

  They felt eerie in the house without their parents. Gabrielle had stayed in the house so long after they moved out, they hardly recognized it. Now, memories of their childhood rushed back as they stood in the living room.

  “Looks like a hurricane hit the house. What did you do, Gigi?” Alice picked up shirts, shoes, and lingerie strewn about.

  “I started moving out like Mama asked me.”

  Joshua assisted Alice with moving the clothes. “You’re being pig-headed as usual. What do you not understand about thirty days? That’s more than enough time for you to job hunt. Where were you going to live anyway?”

  “It’s not important.” She assisted them with her clothes. “I can’t believe Mama would do this.”

  Alice sucked her teeth. “I guess I’m the only one willing to voice the truth. We let Mama down in her last days. Gigi, you were the worst.”

  “There you go pointing fingers again.”

  “We have a short window of time to do what she asked. I’m not playing referee with you two,” said Joshua.

  “Did you hear that, Alice? He sounded just like Daddy again.”

  “Daddy. Funny you should say that word,” he said.

  Joshua sat in Daniel’s La-Z-Boy. His countenance caught them off guard; they sat across from him on the sofa.

  “Before you got all in your feelings and walked away from the restaurant, you missed something very important, Gigi.” He waited for her to look him in the eyes.

  “Josh, go ahead and tell her.”

  “Tell me what?”

  “I have a son.”

  “No you don’t.”

  He sighed. “Deborah was pregnant all those years ago. She was supposed to have an abortion but didn’t.”

  Gabrielle sat upright. “Sweet little Deborah Sampson was having sex? You mean my responsible brother, Joshua, didn’t step up to the plate to make things right?”