Do Not Disturb 2 (5 page)

“Blacks,” Barbara clarified. “Working class people. If Marshal wins, you can count on all the progress and programs Jake has instated biting the dust.”

“I see,” Keisha said measuredly. “So I hold the entire hope of my race in the palm of my hands.” She took a long sip from her mug and gave Jake a long look. “Well that settles it, Jake. I have to end things. For the sake of my people.”

Barbara yanked her napkin from her lap and pushed from the table. “Neither of you are taking me seriously.”

As she moved to sashay past Jake, Caleb’s tiny hand jetted out and grazed her collar. She froze, her surprise melting to ooey goeyness. She turned to the little one and made a face, blowing her cheeks to twice their size. It was obvious that she wasn’t immune to his charms.

Jake tried to capture Keisha’s gaze, wanting to give her a little of his strength. He knew that her ex, Caleb’s father Holden, was a sore subject for her. The schmuck had really done a number on her. In every hesitation, Jake saw him building her up, claiming he loved her—just to knock her down. Replacing and forgetting Keisha had been as easy as breathing.

But Keisha’s dark eyes didn’t falter as she answered. “He wanted nothing to do with me or Caleb. He wasn’t a very good person in the end.”

“What a shame,” Barbara mused. She gave Jake’s shoulder a squeeze before she turned the ice back on, putting some distance between them. “I always taught Jake to do right by his obligations.” Jake groaned as she brought it back around to her greater point. “Jake made a promise to the people of North Carolina, Keisha. He has an obligation to not destroy all the work he’s done thus far.” She straightened her spine. “You can always find another boyfriend, but there’s only one Senator Cunningham.”

That was it. Jake put Caleb back in the playpen and whirled to face her. “In spite of what you, Dad, and Marshal seem to think, my personal life is just that—personal. It’s not you, or anyone else’s business.”

Jake turned to her in surprise. He thought he’d made himself perfectly clear. He was in this for the long haul. He wouldn’t cower or hide their relationship. Not for his father. Not for his mother. Not for anyone.

Keisha pressed on. “My altercation at Winterhorn didn’t do your public image any favors.” She crossed her arms tight across her chest as she rose and addressed Barbara. “I know that dating your son will take certain considerations and sacrifices, but I am dating your son. That fact is not up for debate.”

Jake felt the smile spread across his face as he took in his mother’s face, turning cotton candy pink. She was Barbara Cunningham. Not getting her way was foreign to her.

And Keisha wasn’t done. “I have to admit—I am out of my element. If you have any advice or counsel as far as navigating and making this work for everyone, I’m all ears.”

Jake knew his mother well enough to know that the saccharine sweet smile on her face was hiding the fact that the only real advice she wanted to give was to end it all.

“W-Well, I…” She let out an uncomfortable chuckle and clutched her Louis Vuitton as she strode toward the double doors that separated the suite from the day room. “Could I speak to you for a moment, Jake?”

The day room was eerily quiet, Raven typing away on her laptop. Barbara didn’t even look at her. In her world, the people that worked for them were just furniture. Moveable. Replaceable.

When he saw the deer in headlights expression on her face, guilt blindsided him. While she'd been an intern under Roman, Raven wasn't some co-ed lackey, though Roman, his parents, and even Jake treated her as such. She'd graduated top of her class from Duke University. She'd headed several local campaigns, all with landside victories. She'd put up with Roman's diva behavior, the Trixie incident, and even Keisha's arrest with poise and control.

He took a step toward her and put his hand on her shoulder. When she gave him a confused look, he knew what was coming next was even more vital.

"I just want you to know that you're doing a helluva job, Raven."

Her mouth quivered and she cleared her throat as she gave him a smile that lit up her whole face. "Really?"

"An excellent job," Jake confirmed. He lowered his voice. "My father may take a more, hands-on approach to the campaign. Please don't believe it is due to some sort of incompetence on your part, because you're anything but."

She turned from him, swiping her eyes. Her back shuddered. Dear lord, she was crying.

"You okay?" Jake asked gently.

She smoothed the front of her suit and collected herself before turning back to face him. Her eyes were red, but no more tears fell. "I am." She gave him a pensive look. "It's nice to know my work doesn't go unnoticed." She pointed toward the elevator. "So, uh, coffee?"

He pivoted on his heels and pushed back into the suite. His mother was pacing back and forth, murmuring to herself. He knew her coping mechanisms well. She'd worn out the carpet in a similar fashion when he'd come home and said he wanted to major in sociology. And when he brought his first serious girlfriend home and her name was Jade and she wasn't white, blonde hair, blue eyed and affluent. Oh and when he'd told her about Trixie.

She slowed when she saw him, shaking her head as she clucked her tongue. "You do know how to get my attention."

He had to breathe in and out, find his chi or whatever. "Despite what you may think, mother, this isn't some adolescent temper tantrum." He walked to her, stopping her circuit, holding her steady. "This time is different."

"Oh really?" she scoffed. "Isn't that what you said with Trixie?"

"I loved her, yes. But that's where the similarities stop." He released her, turning to the closed door. The quiet allowed him to hear Keisha's voice filtering through as she talked to Caleb. He knew that he wanted to hear that voice forever.

"I know this may be hard to believe, but everything's not about money," he said, nostrils flaring. "And I know the relationship that you and Dad have so this may even be impossible for you to understand."

"Try me."

He remembered when he first met her, standing up to the rich schmuck in the hotel bar. He thought about when she'd first told him about Caleb and promptly told him to screw himself when she thought he'd had a problem with her son. He went back to her confrontation when she stood up to Roman, laying it all out.

"She's a fighter, Mom. It would be easier for her to walk away, to walk away from us, from her education, from her responsibilities. But she fights tooth and nail every day. And I love her." He gave her shoulder a squeeze. "And if you can't accept that, I really don't have anything else to say."

He watched his mother scurry away, probably off to drink her sorrows, chased with her antidepressants. He wished there was a way to really make her understand. That love, true love, what he and Keisha had, was worth fighting for.

Chapter Seven

Keisha

Keisha pumped up the volume of her Ipod. The lyrical notes that poured through her speakers made her swing her hips from left to right. She grabbed two of Caleb's miniature hands and made faces that made him gurgle with laughter.

She had a reason to be happy--even after the speed bump of all the drama at Winterhorn, being arrested, Jake’s confrontation with his father, and meeting Jake’s mother, Barbara, things were starting to look up. Monique had shockingly decided against pressing charges and Winterhorn just wanted to pretend it had never happened. And even though Jake's parents were less than thrilled that the three of them were moving in together, it was happening. She was building a life. Building a future.

Maria was helping her load up the kitchenware. "Your madre? Why isn't she helping again?"

Keisha let out a groan. She too had been surprised that her mother wasn't up with bells and whistles in tow. It’d almost seemed like Carla should be most excited about she and Caleb moving out. Considering she'd raised so much hell about Keisha leaving Harvard and moving back to Mauryville in the first place, she’d almost expected her to throw a going away party.

Her mother was finally getting what she wanted. Keisha and her bastard child were moving out of her house, Keisha was going back to school fulltime, and she even landed a rich guy. She was always complaining about how babysitting and having them around cramped her style and stressed her out and how Keisha just wasted her brains. She should be celebrating, helping them get out as quickly as possible. But she'd been ghost when Keisha woke up.

Maria gave her a small nod with her signature toothy grin that melted away the remnants of worry that tickled Keisha's mind. While she definitely wouldn't miss working at Winterhorn, she would miss seeing her friend on a daily basis. "I'm really gonna miss you, Maria."

Her friend turned to her, deep brown eyes glittering with tears. Before a single one fell, she turned back to loading utensils. "No tears." She said it loud, a tough command, but Keisha had a feeling it was more to herself than anything else. "This is your new start." She tilted her head in Keisha's direction and after a deep breath, raised her gaze. Keisha's heart broke a little when she saw the crystal streams on Maria's cheeks. "You've worked so hard, mija. You deserve this happiness. Every ounce of it."

Not crying was no longer an option. Keisha let the sky open and the rain came down as she embraced her dearest friend. It was Maria who kept her lifted when she had no idea how she'd juggle school, work, and Caleb. It was Maria who always had a shoulder she could lean on. It was Maria who opened her doors, even though she had problems of her own.

Keisha hugged her tight. "I'll be just outside the city limits. If you ever need anything, anything at all."

Maria turned back to the boxes, letting out a bitter chuckle. "Is it okay if Ana comes and lives with you?"

Ana was Maria's sixteen year old daughter. Eight months pregnant and treated her mother like her servant. Maria was working herself to the bone to make their finite resources stretch even further and from what Maria shared, Ana acted like her mother should be grateful for the privilege.

Keisha gave Maria's shoulder a supportive squeeze. "Things haven't gotten any better?"

"I've stopped calling on the Virgin Mother to keep me from strangling the life out of her," Maria joked sadly. She exhaled as she grabbed a bit of tape and secured a box. "I wish she would just understand that it's really happening. That her nino isn't gonna pop out and then she can just go back to business as usual."

Keisha leaned over to Caleb, stroking his mess of golden-brown curls. She had to admit, she didn't fully get it when she'd decided to keep him and go through with the pregnancy. At first, she'd believed that she could just go to class as usual. I mean, the world was filled with working moms, right? But the student health center just wasn't equipped to handle pregnancy care, morning sickness was an all-day affair that kept her bedridden or clutching the toilet, and the stress of trying to figure it all out made it impossible to maintain her grades and her sanity.

She needed help, even the scrap of it offered by her mother. She needed a moment to breathe and regroup and figure out how she was gonna do it all alone. But more than anything, she needed a moment to digest the fact that nothing would ever be the same.

She turned back to the task at hand, stacking the dishes with care in the cardboard box. "It may take her a little bit, but she'll get it, Maria."

"Hmm," Maria hummed. "Let's hope it's sooner rather than later."

Keisha picked up the box with a grunt and walked over to load it on the dolly. She glanced at the TV, mostly on for background noise and double took when she saw Jake's face flash on the screen. His father’s flashed next. He was giving some sort of interview via satellite.