Family of Lies (19 page)

“T
HINGS ARE WORKING OUT JUST GREAT!
O
NCE
S
ARAH GETS PREGNANT
, we won’t have much to worry about. That baby will be
our
permanent link to Kenneth’s fortune! All you need to do is make sure you keep her happy so she won’t ever think about leaving you before you get her pregnant,” I told Bo. I didn’t like to discuss this subject with him in the house unless I had no choice. That was why I’d met him at a coffee shop a few blocks from the house right after he and I and Kenneth had had drinks in the living room that Thursday night around nine.

I couldn’t believe that Bo had just made love to Sarah for two hours straight and had come
four
times! Whoa! That was a record in my book. I had never enjoyed a session that lasted that long or resulted in that much pleasure—with
any
of my men! Hopefully, Sarah was fertile enough and Bo’s sperm was potent enough for her to get pregnant soon.

“Kenneth will be on top of the moon, so the sooner the deed is done, the better.” I took a sip of my frappe and wiped sweat off my forehead with a napkin. Kenneth was at home in bed, as inactive as a corpse. I had just come from having a quickie with Ricky, my newest and best lover, and my crotch was still tingling.

“It would be nice to have a baby around, I guess. It would give Sarah something to occupy her time and keep her company. She’s always complaining about how bored she gets when she’s stuck in the house with just the housekeeper.” Bo sipped his coffee; then he gave me a thoughtful look. “By the way, what do you do with your time every day? I’ve been meaning to ask you that ever since I moved here.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, already in my defensive mode.

“For one thing, I know you spend a great deal of your day out of the house. I’ve called you from my office dozens of times and you’re hardly ever home during those hours.”

“I have a lot of things on my plate during the day, every day,” I replied, giving Bo a reserved look.

He rolled his eyes and snickered. “I’ll bet!”

“For your information,” I began with a smirk, “I go to the gym and work out several times a week. I go to the spa. I shop and I visit friends. I even go by Reverend Cecil’s Glide Memorial Church every now and then just to help out feeding those homeless people.” Bo didn’t laugh at that.

“No shit? I never would have guessed
you
would get involved in something like
that
.” He nodded and looked at me in awe. “I assumed that you spent a lot of your time running from one shoe and dress store to another, wrapped up in a towel in some fancy spa, the hair dresser, getting your nails and toes done, and whatnot. But helping feed the homeless—I’m impressed!”

“Well, since you asked, that’s how I spend some of my time during the day, Bo. I’m a very private person. I don’t like to toot my own horn about something like that, so not too many people know about it. I like to do certain things somewhat anonymously. Sometimes when the wrong people know you’re generous with your time and money, they come begging. What’s the big deal anyway? What’s it to you?”

“Aw, Vera. You know I’m just messing with you.”

“Don’t mess with me, Bo. I have feelings and I resent you or anybody else implying that I’m a shallow woman, because that’s not the case.”

“I’m sorry. And I have to say you really impressed me. I admire you for helping give back to the community by donating your time to worthy causes. One day when I’m not too busy, I’d like for you to introduce me to the famous Reverend Cecil Williams. I’ve been reading about him for years.”

“I’ll do that,” I said. Reverend Williams was well known, and he knew a lot of people. But he wouldn’t know me from Moses. I had only met him once when I actually worked on a project that Kenneth had initiated for low-income families to get meals and other assistance from Reverend Williams. That had gone so well, Kenneth got slap-happy and donated dozens of computers and other electronics to some local low-income families. “As soon as I can set up something, I’ll let you know. But it could take a while. Cecil Williams is a very busy man.”

“And we’ll take Sarah along with us. I’m sure she’d love to meet the reverend, too, and help him with his causes. She could be just as busy as you are. Maybe she won’t feel so bored then.”

“Sarah’s not interested in doing the things I do. And besides, I don’t want her tagging along with me too much. It’s like dragging along a little kid. When she goes shopping with me and Collette, she gets impatient real quick.”

“You can at least encourage her to do more things that women do on her own. Like getting her nails done and getting weekly facials. That would certainly take up a lot of her time.”

“Pffft!” I gave Bo such an abrupt wave of dismissal my arm felt like it was going to fall off. “She’s very low maintenance. She still gets her nails done at some Spanish hole in the belly of the barrio on Mission Street where they probably use the same drill for everybody. I wouldn’t take a skunk to some of the places Sarah still goes to. And anyway, she’d rather do things like that with her old friends. You know what they say, ‘you can take a person out of the ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto out of the person.’ ” I laughed. Bo didn’t.

“Sarah’s my wife now. I want you to remember that, Vera.”

“I’m just kidding.”

“I would appreciate you not kidding about my wife.”

I sucked in my breath and glared at him. “You’ve changed since you moved here,” I accused. “You’re not the Bo I used to know. We’re supposed to be a team shooting at the same target. What’s the matter with you?”

“We are shooting at the same target and there is nothing the matter with me,” Bo said.

“Something is wrong with you. Because with all the blessings you have now, you don’t even look happy,” I told him. He shrugged. This conversation had become awkward, but I had to see it to the end. “I hope you don’t think that I think I’m better than Sarah, because that’s not the case. She’s slow and simple, but she’s good people. And, to tell you the truth, I kind of like her now. If some of the things I say about her hurt your feelings, I’m sorry. But you know I’ve never been one to hold my tongue.”

“It’s not something you said about her that’s bothering me at the moment. I have other things on my mind.” Bo swallowed hard and gave me a wan look. Then he dipped his head and started talking in a low, controlled voice, looking at me with a strange look on his face. Between him and Kenneth, I couldn’t decide which one gave me the strangest looks. “One of my boys back in Houston called me at work today. You remember Bobby Delaney?”

I let out a disgusted snort. I couldn’t stop myself from rolling my eyes too. “How much did Begging Bobby want to borrow this time?”

“He didn’t ask for money this time. He called to tell me that Gladys has been calling everybody who knows me, trying to get my phone number.”

My jaw dropped and my blood pressure shot up. “That bitch! She took everything you had and you’re depositing her alimony payments into her checking account on time every month! What else does she want? Hasn’t she caused you enough problems? Why does she want to talk to you now that you don’t have a damn thing left to give her? As far as I know, she doesn’t know you’re working for Kenneth and living like a king and all. Unless that damn long-tongued Cash blabbed to one of those long-eared dogs back in Houston.”

“I don’t know who Cash has been talking to back in Houston. And I don’t know what Gladys knows about how well I’m doing out here. I haven’t told my old friends much about my new life.”

“Then why does she want to talk to you?” The look in Bo’s eyes said it all, and I was not trying to hear it! “Do you mean to tell me she wants you back?” I shouted, balling my fist.

“She told Bobby she misses me and wants to talk. . . .” Bo looked like he had lost his best friend. If he went back to his ex, or even
talked
to her, he would lose his best friend—me. I would never forgive him!

“Look, Bo, if you take that low-down bitch back after all she’s done to you—and after all I’ve done for you—I will never speak to you again. And you’ll be frying fish for a living! What about Sarah?”

Bo held up his hand and shook his head. “Hold up now! Don’t bust a gasket until you hear all I’ve got to say. I told Bobby to tell Gladys to go to hell. I don’t want anything else to do with that woman. Not now,” he said. “I gave her too many chances, and besides, I have everything I want now. You made it all possible and I will be in your debt forever.” He smiled and that reassured me.

“I’m glad to hear you say that.” I was so relieved I wanted to jump across the table and kiss him. “You know how much it pisses me off when you mention Gladys, so you didn’t even have to tell me about that call from Bobby, you know.”

“I know I didn’t, but I don’t like to keep things from you. You’ve been too good to me. Had it not been for you, I’d have never met Sarah.”

“Do you really and truly care about her?”

Bo shuddered and gave me an incredulous look. “Of course I do. I’ve already told you that so many times I’ve lost count. It started out as a plan to secure your future and mine, but as it turned out, I got the best of both worlds. Security and a woman I love. And things are only going to get better.”

I nodded my approval. I was beaming. I didn’t care if Bo loved Sarah or not, as long as everything continued to go well for me. It was not even going to bother me to be called “Grandma,” and I was going to dote on that child when and if it ever arrived. “So, Sarah was the one who brought up having a baby?”

“Uh-huh. And all of a sudden too. I guess Kenneth must have dropped a few hints. He’s desperate for a grandchild. She told me she wants to give him at least one before . . . before it’s too late. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Kenneth has been looking real run-down lately.”

“Not run-down enough if you ask me,” I snapped. “He’s getting on my nerves so bad I can barely stand the sight of him. When he touches me, my skin crawls.” Bo gave me such a long, hard look it made me squirm. “Why are you staring at me like that?” I narrowed my eyes and stared back at him.

He took his time responding. “I guess I’m just trying to figure you out, cuz.” He shook his head and rolled his eyes and that made me squirm even more. “I’d like to say something, but I want you to stop me when you think I’ve crossed the line. I don’t want to offend you.”

“You can say anything you want to say to me. I’ve been offended before.”

“I want you to know up front that I admire and respect Kenneth. He’s done a lot for me and he is my wife’s daddy. But I realize how much he’s getting on your nerves. I know a lot of that is because you two have been together so long and the flame of romance is probably a lot dimmer.” Bo stopped talking and let out a loud sigh.

“Don’t stop talking now. Tell me everything that’s on your mind,” I advised. “And by the way, that flame you just mentioned, it burned out years ago.”

Bo looked around the coffee shop, then back to me. “Have you ever thought about having an affair?”

I covered my mouth with my hand to keep from laughing. “Are you encouraging me to have an affair, cuz?”

Bo held up his hand again. “Yes and no. I mean, my first wife cheated on me left and right. I never cheated on her and to be honest with you, I don’t think I could live with the guilt if I cheated on my woman.”

“But you think an affair would help me?”

“I didn’t say that. If what that Dr. Ruth and all of those other TV sex doctors say is true, you’re still in your prime and you need sex more than ever now. And you’re not getting it from Kenneth.”

I did laugh this time. “I never said Kenneth was not making love to me.”

“Well, I just assumed—oh shit. I can’t keep secrets from you after all you’ve done for me. Men talk, see. Kenneth has shared a few things with me. He told me he wasn’t doing so well with you in the bedroom. And he’s too proud to use Viagra.”

“Tell me about it. He tries to please me and that’s part of the problem. Sex with an old man, who has a body like a dolphin, is no fun at all.”

“Hmmm. Kenneth was old when you married him. Was the sex with him ever good?”

“I’m sure it was to some of those whores he fooled around with.”

“Oh. I didn’t know Kenneth had fooled around that much. I thought Sarah’s mother was the only one.”

“She wasn’t. He’s had more affairs since we got married than five men put together.”

“Well, in that case, if you have one or two brief no-strings-attached affairs, it would even the score and probably make you feel better.” Bo paused and gave me a dry look. “It would be one thing if you had let yourself go and looked like the typical hag, but you’re still good-looking and sexy for a woman your age. I’m sure you wouldn’t have any trouble at all finding somebody. And maybe you should find a
young
man. I know it’s been a long time since you had a relationship with a man your own age and you probably don’t even remember what a firm young body feels like. But you’re a . . . a . . . real
mature
woman now, so I suggest you have a fling with a college-age dude—as long as he’s eighteen or over.” I looked at Bo and blinked as he continued. “If you are careful, you won’t have to worry about getting caught. Just make sure you make him use a condom every time he lays pipe. You should at least give it some thought. I have a feeling a good fuck is what you need.”

I finished my frappe and gave my cousin a big smile. “You know, I just might take your advice. . . .”

Sex was always on my mind. A good fuck was what I needed. But right now Sarah having a baby was on my mind even more. I would give up Ricky and all of my future boy toys if it meant Sarah producing just one gold-plated grandchild before I got too old to reap the benefits.

I
T WAS HARD FOR ME TO BELIEVE THAT
TWO
MORE YEARS HAD PASSED
and I still had not become pregnant. Bo and I had made love several times a week during all that time! We had almost given up hope. But Daddy’s long face and the way he got misty-eyed around other people’s grandchildren was the main reason we kept trying so hard.

My last two periods had been very light and I’d been feeling light-headed and weak a few times during those two months. But I had experienced similar symptoms before, even when I wasn’t sexually active, so I hadn’t given it much thought. My annual visit to my OB/GYN for a routine checkup was coming up soon, so I made a mental note to mention my symptoms to him.

On the day of my appointment, I treated my friend Mabel Cunndiff to lunch at the E&O restaurant, one of the best places in town when it came to exotic Asian cuisine. Mabel and I had attended the same boarding school. She had recently married and moved to the Bay Area.

“You look so tired and puffy,” she said as we enjoyed our fried rice, veggies, and blackened prawns and white wine. Mabel’s husband was a doctor, so she paid close attention to things like how other people looked. “Are you all right?”

“I hope I am,” I replied as I speared another prawn with my fork. “But if something is wrong, I’m sure Dr. Parker will tell me when I see him this afternoon. I have been feeling funny, though. It seems like no matter what I do, I ache somewhere,” I said, chewing on the prawn even though my jawbone was aching now. “I’ve had this weird, sharp, burning pain in my stomach for the past two days.”

Mabel’s big brown eyes got even bigger. Her sharp little nose began to twitch like a rabbit. She gave me such a mournful look you would have thought that I’d just told her I was dying. “Uh-oh! That’s the same kind of pain my mother had just before she died,” she warned. “I feel sorry for you.”

I froze. I suddenly lost my appetite, so I set my fork down and pushed my plate to the side. “I thought your mother died of cancer.”

“She did. That weird, sharp, burning pain in her stomach was cancer of the intestines.”

“Nobody in my family has ever had cancer,” I pointed out.

“So?” Mabel shoved a huge forkful of bok choy into her mouth. I couldn’t believe she was still able to eat like a hog and at the same time talk to me like I was about to be embalmed. “That doesn’t mean anything. Nobody in my family ever had cancer either before my mother. You know us black folks. With all the greasy pork and cow parts our ancestors ate, we are bound to inherit some of the ailments that killed them.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled. I was glad I had ordered a huge glass of wine. The buzz I had made it easier for me to listen to Mabel’s morbid comments without going into panic mode. “Like I said, my doctor will tell me what’s wrong with me.” I couldn’t eat anything else, but I ordered another glass of wine.

After we left the restaurant, Mabel hugged me like it was for the last time.

It was the middle of July and the weather was so nice I walked the four blocks to Dr. Parker’s office.

I was extremely nervous throughout the exam. When it was over, I got dressed so fast, I put my pantyhose on inside out. Dr. Parker entered the room and he was not smiling. But he didn’t have the typical grim look you’d expect to see on a doctor’s face when he was about to give you a death sentence. I didn’t know what to expect.

“Congratulations, Mrs. Harper!” he said, rubbing his hands together. “You’re going to be a mother.” A huge smile formed on his weather-beaten, fake tan face.

I was so elated I almost kissed him.

I regretted drinking the wine with my lunch. I didn’t want to do anything that might hurt the baby inside my belly. I was even afraid to walk the six blocks back to the lot where I’d parked, so I took a taxi.

I couldn’t wait until everybody was in the house. I wanted to tell Bo the good news first, but getting him alone was not easy. I had called him at his office from my cell phone before I left the parking lot. And even though I had left a message that I had something very important to tell him, he hadn’t returned my call by the time I decided to head for home. I’d left the same message on Daddy’s voice mail and he had not returned my call either.

The closer I got to home, the more I didn’t want to be in the house alone with Vera. I was afraid I’d break down and tell her I was pregnant. And I certainly didn’t want to tell her before I told Bo and Daddy. I was too excited to go shopping, so I just drove around for a while.

After about an hour, I reluctantly headed home. Costa was in the driveway waxing our rarely used town car. I parked beside him. When I got out of my car, he nodded and tipped his black chauffeur’s cap. “Costa, we may be using the car this evening,” I told him.

“As well, Senora Harper,” he replied with another nod.

I was hoping that we’d all pile into the town car and go out to dinner to celebrate.

When I got inside the house, I stopped in the foyer and took a deep breath. I moved quietly toward the entrance to the living room. I peeped in before entering, expecting to see Vera slumped on the couch or on a bar stool with a drink in her hand. She was not in the living room, but before I could breathe a sigh of relief, she came swishing in from the kitchen.

Her eyes got wide as soon as she saw me standing in the middle of the living room floor. “How was your visit to the doctor?” she asked. She had her purse and car keys in her hand, so it was obvious she was on her way out. That made me happy. I wanted to savor my feeling of elation about the baby. That would have been hard to do with Vera lurking about the house. “Is everything all right?”

“I’m just fine,” I answered with a smile I couldn’t hold back.

“Hmmm. That’s nice. But that pinched look that’s been on your face for the past few days is still there. You look constipated.”

“Uh, I am constipated, but Dr. Parker gave me a prescription to take care of that.”

“Good! Now I have to run. I will be back in time for dinner. I told Delia to cook lamb. I’m looking forward to it.” It didn’t look like the family was going out to dinner tonight. Vera ran out of the room like a dog was chasing her. I prayed that Bo and Daddy would get home before I went to bed.

Dinner was served at 7:00 p.m. I was glad Daddy and Bo had come home early enough to eat with the rest of us. Moving like robots, we seated ourselves and began to fill our plates with some of the lamb concoction Delia had prepared.

“Sarah, how did your appointment go today?” Daddy asked, using both of his hands to break a roll in two.

“I tried to call you this afternoon,” I told him. Then I looked at Bo. “I tried to call you too.”

Bo opened his mouth to speak, but Daddy beat him to it. “Oh? Is there something we need to know?”

“Uh-huh,” I said, deliberately taking my time now. I could feel the sudden tension and anxiety in the room. And I enjoyed watching Collette and Vera shift in their seats. I looked from one face to the other. I didn’t speak again until I was looking directly into Bo’s worried eyes. “I found out something today that you all need to know,” I announced, looking around the table some more.

Collette glanced at me with her eyes narrowed. Vera’s face froze. Cash didn’t even look up from his plate. Bo began to blink rapidly. His lips curled up into a smile that seemed like it had been waiting all day to form on his face. He reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “Baby, are you . . .” He didn’t even finish his sentence. I nodded.

“What is it, honey?” Daddy asked, looking from me to Bo and back.

“I’m going to have a baby,” I gushed. My eyes were still on Bo, but I heard Daddy let out a gasp. When I looked at him, he was beaming like a flashlight. “My doctor confirmed it this afternoon. If it’s a boy, I’m going to name him Kenneth Bohannon Harper.”

Bo dropped his fork and reared back in his seat. Then he looked at me with his eyes bugged out and his mouth hanging open.

Daddy choked on his wine. Bo slapped him on the back a few times. After Daddy stopped coughing, he wobbled up out of his seat and stumbled over to me, leaning on the table like a man with one leg.

“You could name my grandchild Donald Duck for all I care, and I’d be just as happy,” he managed, looking so overjoyed you would have thought that he was the one pregnant.

“When are you due?” Collette asked stiffly, giving me a look I couldn’t describe. After all these years, we tolerated each other at best. I was convinced that she resented me because she still thought my presence was a threat to the sweet position she and Cash occupied. Now that I was pregnant, my child and I would be a double threat.

“According to Dr. Parker, I’m due the twenty-third of February—that is, if I don’t have any complications.” Daddy was still standing by my side with his hand on my shoulder.

“What kind of complications?” Cash asked. “You look as healthy as a new mule to me. And as long as you lighten up on that wine and don’t do nothing too extreme, having a baby ought to be a piece of cake for a young woman like you.”

“Sometimes things happen to the healthiest and youngest women when it comes to having a baby. If I gain too much weight, or lose too much weight, I could have some problems. My mama and my grandmama told me they had all kinds of problems when they were pregnant. That’s why they each had had only one child.”

Daddy started sweating and coughing again. Vera jumped up and guided him back down into his seat. “Well, we are pleased to hear this wonderful news, baby. I’m sure everything is going to be just fine,” he wheezed.

After a few more comments about my condition, we finished dinner. Cash and Collette rushed off to go bowling. Vera told Daddy he looked like a wreck, so she escorted him to their bedroom, where he could lie down for a while.

Bo and I headed to the living room, holding hands all the way. “I’m going to start working on the nursery tomorrow,” I told him as soon as we sat down on the couch, still holding hands. “And I think we should move into your old bedroom. We’ll put the baby in the one we’re in now. I’ll have fun turning it into a nursery.”

“But the room we’re in now is the largest one on the second floor. A baby won’t need that much room.”

“Bo, I know that, but I would like a change of scenery too.”

“Do you want to move into one of the rooms on the third floor? I’m sure Vera and Kenneth won’t mind us occupying a room that close to them.”

“I’d rather stay on the second floor. But I do want to make our current bedroom into a nursery,” I insisted.

“Suit yourself, honey. It’s not that big of a deal,” Bo said with a shrug.

I was glad Bo didn’t seem too interested in my sudden desire to change bedrooms. But I had a valid reason—and it wasn’t only because I wanted to turn the room into a nursery. I wanted to make sure nobody else discovered the fact that if you got close enough to the air duct and opened the vent, you could hear everything going on in the kitchen. Last night when Bo dropped one of his cuff links, he squatted down on the floor to retrieve it. It was just my luck that it had rolled dangerously close to the air duct—which I had forgotten to close after my last eavesdropping mission earlier that day. I scurried across the floor like a frightened cat and grabbed the cuff link before Bo could crawl too close to my secret “intercom system.” I knew that if he could hear people talking downstairs, he’d say something about it. And there was no way that Vera, Cash, and Collette would continue to run their mouths so freely then.

Bo and I moved into his old bedroom a few hours later.

The next morning I was standing in front of Macy’s when they opened. I purchased over a thousand dollars’ worth of baby clothes and items for the nursery.