In Times of Trouble (12 page)

“What has gotten into you?” Bryan shouted. “Don't you ever make a statement like that again! Callie is the only mother I've ever known and I will not allow you or anyone else to take that away from me!”

“I'm sor—”

“Save it, Tyra! I don't want to hear another word about my mother leaving. Know this. . .if she goes, so do I.”

Callie bolted quietly across the hardwood floor and had barely made it to her room by the time she heard Bryan stomp down the hall. She buried her face in the silk-linen pillowcase and sulked for at least an hour before Bryan came in.

“Hey, what are you doing cooped up in here? Aren't you coming out?”

“Maybe later. I have a headache.” Callie lay spread across the full-sized bed, pretending to watch some made-for-TV movie.

“Something's bothering you. I can tell.” He walked inside, blocking her view of the television. “What's wrong?

“Nothing. . .”

“Mom, seriously. . .tell me what's wrong because I'm going to stand here until you do.”

“I want to go home.”

“Home? Why? Has anyone said anything to you to make you feel uncomfortable?”

By “anyone” Callie was certain he meant Tyra. “No. . .”

“Then why are you in such a hurry to go back? You've only been here two weeks. We've talked about you staying for several months.”

“I realize that I have to face this situation on my own. I need to stop using you as a crutch eventually; why not start now?”

“Remember when I was growing up and you would say ‘Bryan, I can tell you're keeping something from me. I'm going to keep digging until I get the truth. It's in your best interest to just come out and tell me?'”

Callie snickered, amused by his overly dramatic imitation of her voice. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“I'm not buying your story, Mom. Either way, I'm going to find out what's going on with you, so you might as well save me a bunch of time and spit it out.”

Callie sighed, knowing Bryan would not let up. “I overheard you and Tyra arguing earlier.”

Bryan turned pale and dropped his head as he slumped next to her on the bed. “How much did you hear?”

“Enough to know that my being here is causing problems in your marriage.”

“But, Tyra is acting stupid. She heard some urban legend from her cousin's boyfriend and now all of a sudden she's freaked out.”

“Even so, she's still your wife. As much as I love you and appreciate everything you've done and want to do for me, I always want you to make your marriage a priority. You can't do anything to save me. You guys are about to have your first child. The last thing that baby needs is to come home to chaos.”

“I'm the head of this household; I'm just going to put my foot down and call it a day.”

“No. Things are already awkward enough between her and me,” Callie explained, now able to make sense of the weird vibes
she had been getting from Tyra since her arrival. “Forcing your hand will only make things worse.”

“But, I don't want you to leave,” he whined. “I'll talk to Tyra again. . .give her a little time; I'm sure she'll come around. I don't think you should go back home. You don't need to be by yourself. I love you too much to let you go through this on your own.”

Callie reached over to him. “I love you, too, baby, but I can't stay here. I won't stay here without Tyra's consent.”

Bryan was quiet for a few moments before speaking up. “I understand if you don't feel comfortable staying here, but I'm not sending you back home.”

“You don't have a choice. Your wife is about to give birth very soon.”

“I know that. I think you should go to Lisa's. I'm sure she'd be glad if you made it for Chanelle's graduation party since she thinks you're no longer coming.”

“No!” Callie shook her head emphatically. “It's way too expensive to get a plane ticket at such late notice.”

“I'll get you to Ohio. You don't have to worry about that.”

“You're about to have a baby. Don't waste your money on me,” she argued.

Bryan looked unconvinced. “It's here or Lisa's. Those are your only two options.”

Callie began to get irritated. “I do have another option. I can go home like I said I wanted to do,” she snarled.

“Tough. It's not going to happen. Like it or not, you need to be around family right now. I saw you, Mom. You were having a meltdown. Being alone is the last thing you need right now. I'm sure your therapist would agree. Isn't that one of the reasons why you're here?”

Callie gritted her teeth, hating the fact he was right. It annoyed her even more that he used his courtroom voice as though he had been interrogating her on the witness stand. “I'll go, but I'm not ready to tell Lisa anything.”

“No one said you had to.”

A
nxiously, Lisa checked her watch every few seconds, wondering what in the world was taking so long! According to the schedule monitor, Callie's flight had landed twenty minutes ago!

“Don't worry; she'll be here in a minute,” Eric softly assured, rubbing her tense shoulders as she roamed from face to face hoping to spot her sister.

“I wish she'd hurry. Guests will start arriving within the next hour or so and I would like to be there to greet them.”

“If you're not, it won't be a big deal. Your mom and Olivia have everything under control.”

Lisa rolled her eyes without Eric seeing her. He was too diplomatic-minded right now for her to get her point across to him, so she didn't bother trying. She wished that Callie had gotten a flight that arrived earlier instead of one that arrived mid-Saturday afternoon—the
day
of Chanelle's party. And a little advance notice would've been nice, too. It wasn't until late yesterday evening that Lisa found out her sister was even coming at all.

“I'm going to need you to pick me up at the airport at two thirty-seven tomorrow.” Callie had immediately barked her demand
without the courtesy of saying “hello” first. “I'm coming to Chanelle's graduation party.”

“Thanks for telling me at the last minute. It's not like I don't have stuff to do tomorrow.”

“Sorry,” she said with no ounce of sincerity. “I just decided to come. Are you going to pick me up or what?”

“Yes.”

Eric had been with Lisa when she'd received the call and she bent his ear venting about Callie's attitude. He said a quick prayer about the situation and encouraged Lisa to “be patient” with her sister who was “likely still dealing with depression.” Depressed or not, Lisa's patience with Callie was wearing thin. It worked in Callie's favor that Eric had accompanied her to the airport. With him around, Lisa would have a better chance of holding her tongue.

“Hey. . .” Callie walked up to them as they stood in baggage claim. It took Lisa a few seconds to fully recognize her sister because Callie's once beautiful, dark, vibrant complexion looked pale. Though still rather thick in the waist and hips, she had lost a significant amount of weight, detectable by her loose clothing. Lisa welcomed her sister with a hug and introduced her and Eric to one another.

“It's so nice to meet you,” Eric was quick to speak.

Callie's smile seemed unnatural. Her once plump cheeks were now deflated and drooped like those of a puppy. She sounded cheerful when she said to Eric, “Nice to meet you as well,” but the dark circles tattooed under her eyes overshadowed any joy projected through her voice.

“How was your flight?” Lisa asked.

“It was fine. I slept most of the way.”

“I'm surprised you came up with Tyra so close to delivering.”

“Yeah, well, turns out she's not going to need my help when the baby gets here after all. Her mother and sister have her covered. Since I already have the time off, I figured I'd come and visit you guys for a while. If that's all right. . .”

Callie's explanation didn't quite add up.
“Sometimes depressed people do and say things that don't make sense,”
Eric had advised her the night he'd proposed. Seeing Callie in person confirmed that Eric had been right. Sympathy replaced all the irritability that had consumed Lisa minutes earlier. “You're welcome to stay as long as you want. Now, let's get to the house and get you settled in before the party starts.”

• • •

A smiled crossed Lisa's face as she watched her daughter interact with her friends and other guests. Chanelle seemed so carefree and loving. It was hard to believe that this was the same child who had been causing her so much grief. Lisa was especially surprised to see how tight she and Justin were becoming. Every time Chanelle was spotted, Justin was glued to her side along with Chanelle's best friend, Gericka. Though the two hadn't publicly come out and stated that they were interested in each other, anyone could see that there was a definite attraction between them. Under different circumstances Lisa might be concerned about her daughter taking interest in an older boy. Justin was, after all, about to be a junior in college, but Lisa knew him very well and if Chanelle wanted to date him, it was all right with her. Besides, technically, there was only a two-and-a-half-year age difference between them.

If the number of attendees measured success, this graduation party was off the charts. Lisa's backyard was decorated with guests of many different shapes and sizes who poured in from all over
the city and beyond, including friends and relatives from Baltimore. Lisa was particularly glad to see RJ's younger brother, David, and his wife, Sheila. They were Chanelle's godparents, but they had no children of their own. David would always hold a special place in Lisa's heart. Though they hadn't spoken much since she'd been in Ohio, Lisa would never forget all that David had done for her after RJ's actions had scandalized her name seven years ago.

It was the most horrific time in Lisa's life and had David not been one of her most avid supporters, Lisa was uncertain of what would have become of her and Chanelle. David and Sheila provided Lisa and Chanelle a place to stay when their home was foreclosed. Lisa could've stayed with her parents, but having experienced the turbulence of their marriage all her life, she didn't want to expose Chanelle to it on a daily basis. Not only did they provide her with shelter, but David and Sheila gave Lisa several thousand dollars to help her out when she moved to Columbus. She would always be indebted to them for their love and generosity.

As guests poured in, they congratulated Lisa in addition to Chanelle because of her recent engagement. This was the first time that people outside of church and work had become aware of her relationship with Eric. Unfortunately, Lisa's father had slithered up from Maryland after all. “Thanks for inviting me, Skeeter.” He smiled, calling her the nickname he'd assigned to her as a child—a name she had far outgrown! Had it not been for his deep voice and bald head, Lisa could have sworn that she was looking into the face of her sister. Callie was the spitting image of their father, Raymond Davis. Both were tall with dark skin and big-boned features.

“I invited you for Chanelle's sake.”

“I'm just glad you thought of me at all. Thank you.”

“Yeah, well, thank the Lord because I only did what I thought was right.” Lisa walked away quickly, not wanting to carry on any further. Inviting him had been the right thing. Chanelle seemed ecstatic to see him. Unlike Lisa, she didn't appear to be holding on to any resentment from their midnight drive last summer. Honestly, Lisa wasn't as bothered by her father's presence as she thought she would be. The one thing Lisa really didn't like were the conversations that took place between her parents. She'd witnessed, on more than one occasion, her parents conversing with each other. At one point, Lisa pulled her mother aside and questioned her about these chat sessions, and her mother assured her that she was only being “cordial” to him because this day was for Chanelle and not the time to hash out her personal feelings.

Lisa had to admit her father was making attempts to talk to everyone, not just her mother. Even Callie engaged in what seemed like an extended conversation with him. That was surprising; Callie had been everything but a social butterfly with the other guests. But then again, Callie had remained close to him despite all that happened. Though she had clearly expressed disdain for their father's actions, Callie never treated him any differently as far as Lisa was aware.

Lisa was in the kitchen refilling the hors d'oeuvre tray when Olivia walked in behind her. “Girl, how does it feel to have two men eyeing you?” she asked over the blaring music.

Lisa smiled. “Whatever. . .”

“Quit pretending like you haven't noticed. RJ looks like he's going to jump out of his skin every time he sees you and Eric together. Girl, I'm scared that the brotha is going to—” Olivia's sentence was left hanging, broken when RJ walked through the back door. Looking as if she'd gotten busted stealing cookies
from the jar, Liv quickly picked up the half-filled tray and excused herself.