In My Rearview Mirror Read online

Sitting back down, J.R. reached for the telephone. Before he was able to pick it up, the phone rang. He recognized the number right away.

  “Hey, sis, what are you doing calling me on the work number?”

  “You must have turned your cell off or didn’t charge the battery,” Ivy said. “Can’t talk to a brother on his cell if he doesn’t pick it up.”

  J.R. and Ivy laughed.

  “So whuzup? What are you doing calling me in the middle of the day, Ms. Girl About Town—the next Ms. Hot Atlanta.”

  “J.R., you’re so crazy. I miss you.”

  “Didn’t seem that way when I was moving back home. You couldn’t wait for me to leave.”

  “What if I tell you that I’m moving back to Fayetteville . . . like in two days?”

  J.R. sat up in his seat. “For real? Something happened? I thought you said you were never coming back?”

  “Yeah, I did, but I kind of miss the place.”

  “Girl, this is J.R. No need to lie to me; I know you . . . remember? I expect Winter to say something stupid like that. So what’s the real deal?”

  “Nothing, J.R. I like Atlanta, but I need to come home.”

  “For what? No one lives in Fayetteville anymore. Where are you going to live? If you want to, you can move to Raleigh and hang out with me awhile.”

  “Love to, brother dear, but I’d rather be on my own.”

  “Should I tell Dad?”

  “J.R., no. I don’t want Momma or Dad to know that I’m moving back to the area. I haven’t spoken to Momma in three or four months. She probably hates me. So you and Dad have gotten close?”

  “Yeah, I love the old man. He’s cool, even if he is my Pops.”

  “Even after all the crap he put Momma through?”

  “Got to forgive. Plus he’s given me a new lease on life.”

  “Have you seen Momma?”

  “You won’t believe this, but I was getting ready to call her. Get this, Dad saw her for the first time in I don’t know how many months. Winter dragged him over to Mom’s house to see the new twins. I bet you didn’t know Mom had given birth. Dad said Mom asked me to call her.”

  “Well, good for you. Do as your daddy instructed. I was on Winter’s Facebook page and she dropped pictures of the babies on her page and was talking about them as if she had given birth to them. Momma is a drama queen and, at her age, who in their right mind would go and get pregnant, especially when her older children are all over twenty? Now she has babies to raise—not one but two.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic, Ivy. It’s her life; you don’t have to raise those babies.”

  “I know, but how is it going to look telling everyone that ‘these are my baby brothers’ when I’m the one who should be saying, these are my children?”

  J.R. thought about Jefferson’s confession about the other little boy, Linda’s six-year-old son, who was also their brother. He decided not to tell Ivy—let that be his and Pop’s secret. J.R. liked that Jefferson trusted him enough to share such an intimate secret.

  “Are you still there, J.R.?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Just thinking about our family and all of the drama we’ve been through. And to your last question, why don’t you have some children so you can say that they’re yours?”

  “I don’t know why I bother to talk to you sometimes. You don’t get it . . . never seem to get the point. Have you talked to Winter? She’s probably peppering up Momma; you know Winter is her favorite.”

  “Don’t you mean the twins, Winter and Winston, are her favorites?”

  “Whatever. I’d talk to Winter, but she talks too damn much. She tells Momma everything.”

  “Well, I’ve got to get something to eat. Let me know when you get in the Ville.”

  “Okay, but don’t forget. You can’t tell Momma or Dad I’m coming. They’ll find out in time.”

  “Dog, everybody has secrets except for me.”

  “You need to get some nice, young honey to cuddle up with . . . take the edge off, brother. Then you might gain a secret or two.”

  “Whatever, Ivy. Dad’s coming out of his office. Gotta run.”

  “Bye.”

  “You okay?” Jefferson asked, seeing the perplexed look on J.R.’s face.

  “Yeah, I’m okay. It’s women and their complicated issues.” J.R. smiled.

  “Oh, a girlfriend thing. You’ve been holding out on me.” Jefferson slapped J.R. on the back. “Man, you’ve got a lifetime of complicated issues and drama ahead of you.” Jefferson laughed. “I’m out. On my way to ink this deal.”

  “Go get ’em, Pops.”

  Six

  Holding Ian in her arms, Winter watched Margo feed baby Evan as she swayed in the rocking chair. Her mother seemed so natural breast-feeding the baby, as if it wasn’t that long ago she or one of her other brothers and sisters were drinking from their mother’s breast. Then she thought about the slave mothers who bore babies until their dying day, producing milk not only for their babies but for half of the plantation population. One day, she was going to have one of those small wonders for herself so she could hold and love, Winter thought.

  “Pass Ian to me and burp Evan,” Margo said, making the switch with ease. “I was thinking about weaning them off my breasts and giving them a bottle. But there’s something holistic about giving them mother’s milk.”

  “I’d help you out, Mom, but I don’t have any milk to give my brothers.”

  “You keep those little titties inside that itty bitty bra of yours until you have your own babies.”

  Margo and Winter shared a laugh.

  “I want to have a baby,” Winter said out of the blue.

  “When you get a man who’s committed to spending the rest of his life with you and is willing, as Beyoncé says, to put a ring on it, then you can think about having babies.”

  “And if I don’t find that man?”

  “Listen up, my wayward child. A lot of responsibility comes with raising a child and even more if you’re a single parent. There’s no way I should be pulling babysitting duties at my age with the exception of my grandchildren, and even then I wouldn’t be at everyone’s beck and call. I made a mistake, and now I’ve got to pay the consequences for my actions.”

  “Mistake?” Winter asked with a frown on her face. “You were doing the freaky sneaky with your husband. I know . . . you forgot to get back on the pill.”

  Margo looked away, pulled her breast out of a sleeping Ian’s mouth, and then looked back at Winter. “What if they’re not your daddy’s babies?”

  Winter’s eyes jutted out of their sockets. She jumped up from her seat, almost forgetting that Evan was in her arms. “Mom, what do you mean that they may not be my daddy’s babies?”

  Margo stared at Winter but didn’t say a word.

  “Oh my God! Oh my God. Mom please tell me that you and Malik didn’t do the . . . do the . . . that you didn’t get busy. Oh my God. I don’t want to envision it. Oh, Mom, how could you? What would Pastor Dixon say if he knew you’d sinned—broke one of the commandments?”

  “Don’t be so dramatic, Winter. You’re going on and on for nothing. No one said that I slept with Malik. Anyway, it’s not Pastor Dixon’s business what I do. It’s between me and Jesus. That’s why I left that congregation; those sisters were too busy getting in my business instead of doing the Lord’s work.”

  “Back to the subject. You didn’t deny you slept with Malik. Now I understand why Daddy kept making those snide remarks. He knows, doesn’t he? He knows that you let Malik do the nasty. No wonder he’s not owning up to his responsibilities; Ian and Evan may not be his. Mom, why?”

  “Shut up and sit down with my baby, Winter. If you drop him, I’m going to beat your little ass down to the white meat.”

  “Don’t try to change the subject. Mom, you’re a loose woman.” Winter laughed.

  “Watch your mouth, Winter; I’m still your mother. Be glad I’ve got this baby in my arms because you’d have a print across your face. Th
en I’d tie together those funky little braids that you’ve got twisted all over your head until your brain hurt.”

  Winter started laughing and couldn’t stop. “Mom, you are too funny. Can’t get out of this one.”

  “You want to be let in on a secret?”

  “Can’t be better than you slept with Malik. Damn, damn, and double damn.”

  “It may not be, but it’s going to make you sit back down in that chair, and make you say, Jesus.”

  “What is it, Mom, since you’re trying to take the spotlight off of yourself?”

  “How about you have another brother you don’t know about?”

  Winter looked at Margo before sitting back down. “Another brother where?”

  “Do you remember our next-door neighbor, Linda? She has a little boy who should be six about now. Looks exactly like your father and J.R. Things that make you go hmmm.”

  It was Winter’s turn to be quiet. Ian burped and she rubbed his back. “Jesus,” she finally said.

  “Let’s put the babies down and go into my room,” Margo said.

  Winter put Ian down next to Evan. She followed Margo into her room without a word. “Does Daddy know?”

  “He and I were together when we ran into them at Cold Stone Creamery almost a year ago. Linda wouldn’t acknowledge it, but in our heart of hearts, your dad and I knew. That’s when I decided to get a divorce.”

  “So when did you and Malik get together?”

  “That’s a long story, but your father found out about it, and I’d say our marriage was truly in jeopardy. Too much had gone on. I love your dad, but I was having mixed feelings about Malik also. But I shouldn’t have done it.”

  “So, have you and Malik . . . how can I say this?”

  “Spit it out. You never seem to have trouble saying anything else you want to say.”

  “Yeah, Mom, but to learn that your momma’s been screwing around . . .”

  “Watch it; you’ve crossed the line. You aren’t that grown. Just because we’re having a mother/daughter discussion doesn’t mean you can say whatever comes out of your mouth.”

  “Just a minute ago, you said speak your mind.”

  Margo raised her finger to her lips.

  “Okay, Mom. No disrespect. The question is . . . have you and Malik been intimate recently? I saw how you perked up when Dad announced that Malik was running for office. I’m sure he saw it, too.”

  “So, you and your daddy have gotten close, I see.”

  “He’s a lot of things, but he’s still my daddy and I love him. I don’t know if I told you this, but we hang out every now and then. One Sunday, we all went to church with J.R. Can you believe we were following J.R. to church? But J.R. loves it, and I think he’s caught some of those young women’s eyes.”

  “I wish he’d call or stop by. I don’t know why J.R. is so angry at me.”

  “J.R. has been angry at the world. He felt like an outcast in the family, but now that Daddy has taken him under his wings, he’s another person.”

  Margo smiled. “That’s good to hear, but the next time you see your brother, tell him his mother wants to see him. Have you talked to Ivy? She and J.R. seemed to have slipped in some black hole. Ivy and I used to talk all the time. It’s like she’s being secretive and her family is off limits.”

  “She and J.R. talk all the time, from what Winston has told me. After all, they lived together when J.R. was in Atlanta. Ivy is closer to J.R. than I am.”

  “Did you know that Malik was running for Senator?”

  “No, ma’am. First time I heard it was when you heard it.”

  The phone began to ring, interrupting their conversation. “Answer it.”

  Winter picked up the phone on the third ring. “Hello, this is Margo Myles’ residence.”

  “Hey, Winter, this is your big brother, J.R. Where’s Ma?”

  Winter arched her eyebrows and made a wide circle with her mouth. “She’s right here.” Winter put her hand over the receiver and pointed at the phone. “Mom, it’s your son, Jefferson Jr.”

  Seven

  The drive from Atlanta was rather dull although Ivy was grateful that the weather had held up, considering the weatherman had announced that a big storm was getting ready to engulf the southern states. She hated the five-hour drive and the long stretch of road on Interstate 20, but she celebrated each time she closed in on a milestone that would get her closer to her destination.

  “Augusta, Columbia, and Florence,” Ivy shouted out loud. “Four more miles to Interstate 95 and then home.”

  Excitement mounted as Ivy crossed over from South Carolina into North Carolina. Forty-five minutes to go, and then she’d be in Fayetteville. She rode as if the forty-five minutes of travel would be her last forty-five minutes on earth. She could smell Malik’s cologne and could feel his sloppy kisses all over her, which made her mash the pedal to the metal in her quest to get to her man.

  Before she knew it, she was in Fayetteville. She exited Interstate 95 and headed into the city, where she was to meet Malik at his campaign headquarters. She pulled out her cell and punched in his number, her stomach doing flip-flops as she waited anxiously to hear his voice.

  “Baby, this is Ivy.” She grinned into the phone when Malik answered. “Guess where I am?”

  “You’re in Timbuktu?” Malik teased.

  “No,” Ivy said, laughing at his attempt to be funny. “I’ll be at your door in fifteen minutes.”

  “Girl, I can’t wait to see you. Why don’t I meet you at Luigi’s instead, since you like Italian food? I don’t want these people to see me make a fool out of myself when you walk in the door. I want that to be a private moment between us. Anyway, I want to make some kind of official announcement when you do come to campaign headquarters.”

  “What kind of announcement?”

  “That my woman just arrived in the Ville and has come to take her rightful place and shake this campaign up.”

  “I like that, baby. Okay, I’ll meet you at Luigi’s. Hurry, I don’t want to wait too long in the lobby. Smooches.”

  “Back at ya.”

  Ivy drove into Fayetteville. Nothing seemed to have changed since the last time she was there. She drove down Owen Drive and onto the All American Freeway, finally exiting at Morganton Road.

  Ivy smiled at some memory as she continued to ride down the street. She sat up straight in her seat when she saw a good-looking brother dressed in a slate gray business suit rush into one of the restaurants to probably meet a client or his woman. Yes, she was back in the Ville—her old stomping grounds.

  Turning left onto McPherson Church Street, Ivy eased down the street until she pulled into the parking lot of Luigi’s. Her mouth began to water, thinking about her favorite, She-Crab Soup.

  She wondered what her mother would say if she knew that she was having dinner with an older man, her daddy’s ex-friend, a man she believed her mother secretly had a crush on but was too afraid to explore the possibilities of a romantic relationship with him because she made a vow to her husband to love and to cherish until death they did part. Ivy didn’t understand a woman, her mother, who’d wait for a man who had put her and the family through hell, who sat in a federal prison for five years for stealing from his own company, only to divorce him in the end. Well, it was too late now. As much as she believed her mother had a crush on Malik, the man was all hers and she was carrying his baby, although he didn’t know it yet.

  Ivy got out of the car and closed the door. She’d have to get a new car if she was going to be paraded around as the girlfriend of the newest senator for the State of North Carolina. Maybe she could talk Malik into loaning her a sizable down payment so she could ride in that nice BMW650i coupe she’d been eyeing for awhile. She temporarily threw a lid on her thoughts upon seeing Malik drive up.

  Eight

  He was handsome in his Versace suit, black and white shirt with the white tuxedo collar, and a custom-made black, gray and white tie with the words I’m Your N
ext Senator running the length of it. His chiseled features wrapped up in his arrogance was what attracted her to him, although he had been a challenge most of her teen and adult life.

  Ivy smiled as she watched Malik get out of his car and saunter toward her. He was her man—a man who knew what he wanted and how to get it, a man who had the grace and style to back it up. When Malik finally stood in front of her, Ivy welcomed him with open arms, enveloping him in her embrace. She laid her lips on his and assaulted him with kisses.

  Malik gently pulled back, and looked around to see if anyone was watching. Ivy smiled again, wiping lipstick from Malik’s lips. She hoped their public display didn’t cause too much attention, although she knew Malik enjoyed every minute of it. Holding hands, Malik ushered Ivy into the restaurant where they were seated almost immediately.

  “You’re beautiful,” Malik said, rubbing the top of Ivy’s hand that sat on the table.

  “You’re handsome, Senator Malik Mason. That does have a nice ring to it.”

  “Thank you. And it will happen.” Malik looked thoughtfully at Ivy. “How was the ride up?”

  “Not bad. No, it was horrible. I counted every second, minute and hour before I would see you again. I can say this for sure, it was well worth the wait.”

  Malik’s eyes roamed over her, which made Ivy blush. She wished she could get into Malik’s head for only a moment to see what was bouncing around in there. Probably only politics resided inside, but that couldn’t be totally true because she wouldn’t have been sitting in the restaurant with him, if that were the case. So maybe she was a welcomed distraction.

  They both jumped when the waitress approached. “Are you ready to order?”

  “Yes, I’m famished,” was Ivy’s reply. “A bowl of your She-Crab Soup and your Country Salad with Salmon for me.”

  “I’ll have what the lady’s having,” Malik said with a smile.

  “Got it,” the waitress said. “Hey, aren’t you Malik Mason who’s running for State Senator?”

  Malik was grinning now. “Yes, I’m one in the same.”