Tsea (8 page)

“Mommy,” my daughter climbed onto my lap and pressed a hand to my tattoo. “What does that mean?” Her innocent eyes traced the letters.

I smiled softly. April had been asking a ton of questions lately. I figured a query about my tattoo was coming.

“It’s a word in Hebrew,” I began hesitantly.

She leaned forward, eager to learn more. I smiled, overcome by my love for her. Smoothing her tawny hair away from her face, I looked into her light brown eyes as they twinkled with intelligence. She was so beautiful and so innocent; did she need to know about this now?

When I hesitated, she narrowed her eyes in confusion. “Is it something bad?”

Even at eight years old, my daughter was incredibly perceptive.

I sighed, recalling my days on the stage when I’d danced in nightclubs for a living. That had been so long ago, it felt like another lifetime. I’d left my stripping gig behind ten years ago because it no longer held the same appeal. And yeah, a bit of it had to do with Stoker and his insanity, but most of it had come from me. I didn’t regret my time there but I also didn’t regret leaving when I did.

April shook my arm, “Mommy?”

I smiled at her. “In the Hebrew language… it stands for ‘soiled’.”

She scrunched her nose. “What does that mean?”

“Dirty.”

“Dirty?” April giggled. “That makes no sense.”

“Well, when your mommy was younger, she used to do things that a lot of people didn’t respect.”

“What did you do?” April widened her eyes.

I shook my head. My baby wasn’t ready for the details yet. Maybe when she was older. “It doesn’t matter.”

“If it means that you’re dirty, why didn’t you take it off?”

“Because this doesn’t define Mommy anymore.” I hugged her close. “You and your little brother do.”

“And Daddy?”

“Yes,” I smiled. “And Daddy.”

“Did somebody call for me?” The front door slammed shut and Carlos stepped into the living room. He was dressed in his usual ‘lecturer’ outfit of khaki pants and a button-down shirt.

“Hey,” I stood to my feet and kissed him on the lips. He held me around the waist and kissed me back with such enthusiasm, I nearly dropped to my feet.

After Stoker I decided to leave the club. I wanted to focus on turning my interest in  real estate and investments into a business as profitable as stripping. Carlos had waited patiently for me to figure out my own life. I’d kicked him to the Friend Zone, an area that he couldn’t escape for many years.

Finally, on my twenty-sixth birthday, Carlos told me to get over myself because he loved me and he wanted to marry me. After hurling a few choice words – and a little name calling – I said ‘yes’. We’d gotten married and had April the next year. Carlos Jr or ‘Juney’ had come two years ago.

I was amazed by my love for Carlos and angry that I’d spent so much time following after Manuel. Carlos’s character and values were impenetrable. I knew I could trust him. He often reminded me that everything happens for a reason, but my annoyance at my choices could not be denied.

Carlos released me to give April some love. I smiled at the picture they made. April was going to do great things. What Stoker had tried to take away in death, my daughter had brought back with love and hope.

This was April Kelly’s legacy. This was
my
legacy.

“Juney’s napping?” Carlos inquired as he kissed April’s temple.

“Yup. He’s out like a light.” We walked back to the sofas and sat down. “What were my two favorite ladies talking about?”

“Mom’s tattoo!” April shouted.

Carlos’s eyebrows threatened to disappear into his hairline.

“I told her what it means.”

He coughed. “Did you now?”

“It means ‘dirty’, but Mom’s not dirty anymore.” April said with authority. “She’s got us and she bathes.”

“Really? I think I smell something…” Carlos sniffed the air.

I swatted at his arms and rolled my eyes. “So mature, Professor.”

“Well, I try.” He winked. “I’m going to go check on Juney.”

I nodded as April clambered onto the sofa with the remote. Her favorite show came on around this time. Carlos emerged from the back room with Juney. Our two year old, normally a bucket load of energy, was still limp from his nap.

“Hi, baby,” I cooed and held out my arms as Carlos transferred the little boy into my lap.

“Yay!
Diego
!” Carlos sat beside me and stared at the television screen as a short, Hispanic boy delivered a lesson on panda bears.

I shook my head and smiled as my thoughts led me back to April’s question. It had been a long road to find peace after being kidnapped by Stoker. A part of that peace came from cutting my ties with my wild lifestyle and creating a legacy that I wanted to pass down to my children.

That’s where Stoker had gotten it wrong. In his crazed mind, his solution to the violence and immorality in the world was adding more violence. He’d missed one little detail. Every person, no matter how far gone down their paths, was worth saving. Every life had purpose.

It was a lesson I’d learned the hard way, but one I would treasure forever.

THE END

A Word from the Author

Hello! Thank you for coming along on this journey with me. If you enjoyed this story, I would be honored if you would let others know by writing a review on Amazon. Word of mouth is important for an author’s success. Thank you for your support!

I would love to hear from you at
[email protected]

You can also follow me on IG: Nia Arthurs @nia_bks and Twitter: @niaarthurs

Other Books By This Author

Available on Amazon…

The Taming Series

Taming Mr. Jerkface

Taming Mr. Charming

Taming Mr. Know-it-all

Taming Mr. Darcy

The Seven Realms Series

Genesis

Revelations

The Tree of Knowledge (coming soon)

Love & Reggae

Amid the Noise

Count Me In

Buffalo Soldier

The Boyfriend By Series

Boyfriend By Blackmail

Boyfriend By Midnight

Boyfriend By Design

Confessions of A Church Girl

Glass Houses

Fitting In

Standing Out

Standalone

Whiter Than Snow

Scarlet

Married By Science

Love In Many Shades

Cece & David

Cece & David 2

Cece & David 3

Cece & David 4

Read on for an excerpt from the first book in the Love In Many Shades Series:

Cece & David

A chips
– Belizean reference to a bag of chips

Anime
– Japanese animation

Carib
– A group indigenous to the Caribbean

Chetumal or “Chet”
– a city in Mexico that Belizeans often travel to for the variety of shops and cheaper wares

Cut her eye
- Glaring or looking at someone with the eyes narrowed and looking to the side instead of looking straight ahead at the intended person. Often done to show displeasure

Dalla
chips, biscuit
– an item that costs a little more than a dollar, seen as very expensive to seven year olds with a limited allowance

Garifuna
- mixed-race descendants of West African, Central African, Island Carib, and Arawak people. One of the cultures in Belize.

Junior college
– Belizean high school students normally graduate secondary school between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. Junior college allows them to mature and gain their Associates degree so that they can find jobs or pursue further education

Pibil
– roasted pig marinated in seasonings and cooked underground shredded and garnished with diced onion sauce, eaten with avocado and fresh tortillas

Salbutes
– fried corn dough disc slapped with shredded stewed chicken meat in gravy and topped with finely cut cabbage, pepper, and jalapenos

The dust rose like a wave, covering each of the children racing about in a coat of fine sand. The shouts and giggles of little girls playing “running race” from one end of the small school yard to the other rang across the green buildings standing sentinel over the burgeoning generation of future teachers, lawyers, and prime ministers. The voices of little boys stooping in the dirt and shooting tiny balls that glittered in the sunlight carried over to the classrooms a few feet away.

Far from the noise and the activity outside, seven-year-old David Kim remained indoors with a book open before him. Every few minutes, he turned the pages of
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
by F. Scott Fitzgerald, murmuring at the revelations each chapter revealed. His slanted eyes were hidden behind the thick volume and only the top of his thick black head could be seen by passersby.

“David.” A voice sounded, but David was in another world and so paid the person no heed.

“David,” His teacher, Mrs. Foster, stooped to David’s level and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked up with a startled grunt. Mrs. Foster’s kind brown eyes peered into his. “Wouldn’t you like to go outside and play with the other children?” She inquired.

David glanced toward the open doorway, where the sun sliced the green and brown scenery outside. He shook his head emphatically, hoping that his teacher would leave him alone so he could continue with the story. David was naturally shy and the other kids teased him mercilessly, calling him all manner of things. He preferred being by himself.

Mrs. Foster stood and straightened her teal blue work pants and matching shirt. She knew that David was having a hard time of it with the other students. His best friend, another Chinese boy named Harry, had gone to the States to live earlier that year. David had withdrawn into himself and refused to interact with the other children beyond their forced conversations and group projects in class. She worried for his social development, knowing instinctively that compromise needed to be met by both parties.

Sighing lightly, Mrs. Foster tugged the book from David’s grasp. “How about,” She said with gentle care, “you go outside for a minute. The novel’s not going anywhere.”

David pouted, but his parents had taught him to respect his elders. Despite how badly he wanted to stomp his foot and demand the book back, he simply ducked his head and obediently walked outside. He squinted against the sharp difference in light and slunk to the edge of the school yard, hoping to blend in. The sun’s rays battered his body and sweat immediately began to form on his forehead. David wiped the tiny drops and checked his watch. It had a bright green band with his favorite hero on it and he was quite proud of it.

Great
, he thought happily. Only five minutes until the bell rang and they had to return to class.

“Hey,
chini
!” He heard the call and knew it was directed at him, but David chose to ignore it.

David’s great-great-grandparents had moved from China to Belize, a small country in the Caribbean, to meet the rising need for indentured servants in the late 1800’s. David, with his pale skin and slanted eyes, looked different from the other cultures in the population. His parents had always told him to be proud of who he was and to ignore ignorant people. Unfortunately, that was hard to do when the kids at school kept calling him stupid names.

“
Chini!
”

David whirled around to face the bane of his existence. Shawn Anthony sauntered up to him, swaggering with a sneer on his face. Shawn bullied everyone, even girls and David had no respect for him. Still, David was small for his age and Shawn was big for his age. The older boy loved acting like that made David less than human.

“
Chini
!” Shawn drew abreast of the younger boy and shoved his chest. “Didn’t you hear me calling you three times?” Shawn’s friends, Harold and West, snickered when David stumbled backward.

“Leave me alone, Shawn.” David squeaked.

The boys laughed. “Leave me alone, Shawn.” The bully mimicked in a high-pitched voice. David tried to walk away but Shawn followed him. “When I go to your shop will you give me a free chips?” Shawn taunted. David folded his arms and wished for the time to fly faster so that the bell would ring. Once they headed into class, Shawn would leave him alone. “Make sure you give me a good chips too.” Shawn laughed, sensing that David was getting upset.

David’s family owned a small grocery store a couple blocks away from the school. Last year, his father had trusted him to tend to the store alone a couple times a month and he was very proud of that. Shawn lived around his house too and when he came to the store, he would talk down to David. David hated how Shawn thought he was better than him just because he had to serve him in the shop.

“I’ll tell Mrs. Foster on you.” David threatened when Shawn followed him into the middle of the school yard.

“Ha! Sissy!” Shawn pointed a finger at David’s chest. “You’re such a
girl
.”

“I am not!” David insisted, his eyes blazing with fire.

“Hey!” A newcomer entered the fight, cutting through the tension with her voice. “Shawn, you’re standing right on our finish line.” The girl tilted her head to the side and placed her hand on her hips. Her light brown skin and big brown eyes identified her as a part of the Creole population, one of the biggest ethnic groups in Belize. She was very pretty. Her hair was braided in six thick plaits that fell to the small of her back. Her small nose flared when she stared Shawn down. Even though she was about his height, she held herself like an adult.

“I’m sorry, Cecilia.” Shawn grinned, but his bluster was fading beneath the pretty girl’s disapproval.

“I told you don’t call me that, Shawn.” She narrowed her eyes. “Now, leave David alone,” She brushed a fat twist behind her ear and the gold bracelet on her hand sparkled in the light, “Or I’m never sharing my fruit pops with you again.”

“Okay,” Shawn slapped David on the back and stepped a little away from them. “I was just playing with him.”

“Well, now you’re done. I have a race to win.” She waved her hand dismissively, shooing the big bully. He ran away. Cece huffed and then turned her attention to David. “He’s so annoying.” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be afraid to tell Mrs. Foster when he gets like that. He’s a jerk.”

“I- I will.” David replied, staring at her with new eyes.

Cece blinked at him and a half-smile lit her face. “You need to move so I can do my race.”

“Oh, right.” David nervously slapped his hands against the pockets of his khaki trousers and backtracked until he was out of Cece’s way. She nodded her little chin once and turned on her heels to the starting line. David watched in awe as Cece kicked up her feet and, along with five other girls, flew toward the middle of the yard where a line had been toed into the sand. Her white uniform kicked up around her legs as she raced. True to her word, Cece won. She celebrated to the ringing of the bell which called them to line up in front of the school buildings.

David kept his eyes on Cece for the rest of the day. The next morning, he brought her a lollipop from his parent’s shop.

“Thanks.” She said with a smile and promptly ignored him.

The next day, he brought her a juice pouch.

“Wow,” She grinned as he handed her the gift when the bell rang for their fifteen minute break. “Thanks.”

Once again, Cece walked away and went to join her own friends, leaving him alone in the classroom with his book.

The next day, David handed her a
dalla
biscuit.

Cece’s eyes went wide as she grasped the package. She appraised him with her intelligent brown eyes. “You want to be best friends,
noh
?”

David nodded slowly, waiting for her reply.

The pretty little girl placed a finger to her chin in thought. Nodding slowly, she agreed. “Okay. We’re best friends now. I’ll bring you a chips tomorrow.”

True to her word, she did. And so began the long and fruitful friendship of David Kim and Cece Walker.