Blessings From the Father (26 page)

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Authors: Michelle Larks

BOOK: Blessings From the Father
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Chapter Thirty
Back at Carson's office, the insurance representative had just departed, after filling out an assessment report. Luckily, Carson kept duplicate office files on his laptop computer. So, he had receipts for the stolen property. The insurance rep told Carson that processing would take about thirty days. And that he would be in touch if further information was needed.
Mariah had just returned with lunch. The couple was eating their meal when the office door swung open.
Lola strode into the office. She walked rapidly to Carson. He stood up, totally amazed to find his ex-wife in his office.
Lola threw her arms around Carson's neck. “I heard what happened. I had to come over to offer my sympathy and see what I can do to help.”
Carson quickly disengaged her arms, and stepped back. “Uh, thanks. Don't you see Mariah here? It would be nice if you greeted her.”
Lola shot a Mariah a look that displayed indifference. “Hello.” She turned her attention to Carson. “Is there anything that I can do? I am so glad that you weren't here when the robbery occurred. I shudder to think of what I would have had to tell our daughters if something happened to you.”
“Well, you don't have to shudder or anything else. I am fine,” Michael told her curtly. He sat back down in his seat. “So, how did you learn the news?”
“Uh, I called your mom this morning. You know I call her every once in a while.”
“No, I wasn't aware of that. To my knowledge, you hadn't talked to my mother in years until you stopped by on Christmas Day.”
Lola waved her hand. “That just goes to show you how much you know.”
“Whatever,” Carson said impatiently. “Thanks for stopping by, Lola. Mariah and I are in the middle of lunch. I have some things I need to do. See you later.”
Mariah watched the exchange between Carson and Lola with a neutral expression on her face. Inside she felt sweet vindication for Lola's despicable behavior on Christmas. Mariah didn't miss the ugly glares Lola sent her way.
“I guess I'll be on my way. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I'll call you later,” Lola informed Carson.
“I'm pretty sure that I'll still be busy later. So anything you have to say, you can say it now,” Carson told her tersely.
“I don't want to discuss family business in front of her,” Lola said haughtily. She raised her chin.
“You can. Mariah is my woman, so anything you need to say, you can say in front of her.”
Lola's face flushed bright red. “Why, I never. Good-bye.” She turned on her heel and walked heavily out of the room.
Mariah burst out laughing. “I'm your woman, am I?”
“And you'd better believe it,” Carson told her emphatically.
“Hmmm, I like the sound of that,” Mariah preened. “Now you've gotten Lola riled up. She didn't look happy to see me here at all.”
“She'd better get used to it,” Carson said in an emotionally charged voice. “I don't plan on letting you go.”
“You'd better not,” Mariah said tapping his arm.
“In the past I allowed Lola to run away a few women. It was a bad precedent. Had I been more assertive then we wouldn't be going through this now. But, maybe I hadn't found the woman worth fighting for until I found you.”
Mariah leaned over and kissed him. “Ditto that. I am so blessed that God brought us together when my car broke down.” She caressed his cheek. “I really need to head back to the office. I know Sonyell is suffering about Michael's leaving this morning. I have a few business matters to attend to.”
The couple rose from their seats and Carson walked her to the outer office. Mariah donned her coat. Carson walked her outside to her car.
“I'll talk to you later. Thanks for coming here. Your being here made me feel better. I appreciate the support.” He rubbed her cheek.
“It was my pleasure. Later, babe.” Mariah drove to her office on Indianapolis Boulevard.
Carson watched her drive off. He rubbed his hands together and shivered from the cold, then returned to his office.
What a day,
he thought.
I wonder who is responsible for breaking into my office.
Chapter Thirty-one
After Mariah returned to her office, she found Sonyell in a depressed state of mind. After Sonyell told her about her conversation with Raquel, Mariah sent her friend home for the day. She promised to check on Sonyell later.
At five o'clock, Mariah locked her office and headed to Raquel's House of Beauty, the name Raquel had renamed the beauty salon. Mariah pushed the glass door open. Raquel did a double take when she saw Mariah. She put her hand on her hip and said, “Now, I know you didn't have an appointment today. I would have remembered.”
“You're correct. I need to talk to you, when you have a minute.” There were three customers waiting to get their hair styled. Mariah greeted them warmly.
Before Mariah took a seat in the waiting area, she walked to the table overflowing with magazines. She picked up the latest issue of
Essence Magazine
and sat in one of the empty seats. She flipped through the pages while she waited on Raquel.
Thirty minutes later, Mariah followed Raquel to her office in the back of the salon.
“What's up, Mari? Do the police have any leads on who broke into Carson's office?”
“Not yet, it's too soon. Investigations take time,” Mariah informed her friend.
“We both know who did it. I know that you like Sonyell, and want to give Michael the benefit of the doubt. A tiger never changes his stripes, and Michael is the tiger in this case.”
“Would you stop saying that? There is no proof that Michael was involved. Like you I had my doubts, but at this point it's just speculation.”
“See, I knew it,” Raquel exclaimed happily. Then her expression sobered. “I guess Sonni told you we had a little spat.” Her eyes dropped to her desk.
“A little spat? Sonni was almost a basket case when I got back to the office. Have you ever heard of that saying, ‘if you don't have anything good to say, say nothing at all'? You need to implement that saying into your daily life.”
“I don't know why. I didn't lie. Sonni stays in a state of denial where Michael is concerned. She's too good for him and has always been.”
“Can't you be compassionate?” Mariah implored her friend. “Michael is Sasha's father. You should restrain yourself from those types of comments for that reason if for nothing else. Sonyell is already beating herself up. Michael's behavior has been good since he was released from prison. Carson said he was doing well on the job. There is no indication that he did anything.”
“I'd say there are two good reasons why. The number of years he's been in prison, not to mention his juvenile record. He may be Sasha's father, but at the end of the day, he's a convict.” Raquel was dogged in her conviction.
“I am sorry to hear you say that.” Mariah shook her head sadly. “You've known Sasha since she was born. Imagine how she's going to feel when Sonni talks to her about what happened. Again, I'll ask you, where is your compassion?”
“Sonyell brought this situation upon herself. She never should have gotten mixed up with Michael. I urged her to consider having an abortion when she got pregnant,” Raquel said self-righteously.
Mariah fought an urge to wipe that smug expression off Raquel's face. “Like you did, three times before? I swear you use abortions for birth control, like some women use the pill or patch.”
Raquel held up her hand. “That was hitting below the belt.”
“I know.” Mariah crossed her arms over her chest. “Just like you've been doing to Sonyell. We both have loved and supported you over the years. We went to the clinics with you, even though we disagreed with your choices. We fed you, cried with you, and were there for you because that's what friends are for. Not to kick you when you're down.”
Raquel looked ashamed. “You're right. I guess I can be so full of myself sometimes.”
“Yes, you can. That's why I need to be around to bring you down to earth. Sonni is hurting and she's hurting bad. If you want to be a friend, call her and apologize for the things you've said and go see her. Try to uplift her spirits. Michael has never beaten her. Nor has he disrespected her when he's been on the outside. He's a good father and a nice guy. He's just made bad decisions in the past, like all of us. His decisions landed him in jail. People can change if they want to. Maybe he's finally grown up and he wants to change. We don't have to love Michael but we can like him. At the end of day he's Sonyell's choice.”
Raquel covered her mouth with her hand. “Now, I feel like crap,” she moaned. “You're right. I may have come on a little strong when I talked to her.”
“You think,” Mariah replied sarcastically. Her eyebrow rose.
“I will call her and apologize. I'm sorry.” Raquel looked dejected.
“You should be. She is at a crossroads with Michael and he knows it. That's why I don't think he did it. I pray that everything works out in Sonni's favor. At any rate it's out of our hands and the truth will prevail.”
“Look, that client was my last appointment for the day. Do you want to catch a bite to eat?”
“No, I have a few errands to run before I go home. We'll get together soon.”
“We haven't had a chance to really hang out since Christmas. I've missed spending time with you and Sonni.”
“We've both been busy with the plans for the transitional home. I've also been shopping, getting ready to move into my new home.”
“Oh, I forgot about that. How is it coming along?”
“I should be able to move into it in another week or two.” Mariah rose from her seat. “I've got to run. Why don't you stop by Sonni's and apologize to her? I know it will make her feel better. I plan on spending Saturday with Granny. Maybe we can get together Saturday evening. Carson will have his girls this weekend, and he's planning on taking Sasha with them to the skating rink.”
“I swear you're sounding more domesticated each time I talk to you.”
“Yeah, but it's all good. I am enjoying life.”
“Good. I'll go see Sonni and let's plan on spending time together Saturday even if it's at one of our houses.”
“Let me know the details. And, Rocki”—she gave her friend an impervious stare—“be nice. I know sometimes that's a foreign concept to you. Be nice to Sonni.”
“I will,” Rocki assured Mariah fervently. She made a zipping gesture across her face. “My big mouth is on lockdown.”
“Good.” Mariah walked to Raquel and hugged her. “I'll see you later.”
“Okay,” Raquel responded. She took her purse out of her desk drawer. Raquel pulled out her mirror, repaired her makeup, and prepared to visit Sonyell. Several minutes later she was on her way to Sonyell's house.
After leaving the hair salon, Mariah decided to head home. The day had been an emotional one. She felt the need to go home and chill out. She called Carson, who said he might stop by to visit later.
Twenty minutes later, Mariah was home. She looked at the stacked boxes strewn around the house and knew that she needed to put a few hours into packing. Yawning, she didn't feel up to the task. Mariah walked into the kitchen, and put a kettle of water on the stove for tea.
She walked into her office and turned on the stereo. Gospel sounds filled the air. Mariah checked voice mail at work. She had received a few calls that required her immediate attention. She sat in her desk chair and returned the calls. When she was done with her tasks, Mariah left her office and went into the living room. She sat on the sofa and leaned her head back against the back of the sofa for a few minutes. Then, she walked to the kitchen and prepared a mug of tea.
Her father's journal was on the cocktail table. She set the mug on the table and picked up the journal and read.
I can't believe I'm really in Asia. Me, Harold Ellison, in a foreign country. Everything about Vietnam is different from America. Someone told me that General Sherman from the Civil War said war is hell, and he ain't never lied. I thought basic training would prepare me for Vietnam, but training didn't even come close. I am more conscious than ever before of not having family. Most of the GIs write to their family and girls, but I don't have anyone to write to. Sometimes, I scribble in my journal. Some of the guys from my unit back at Fort Bragg are here in 'Nam. I never made friends easily, so I don't really have anyone to talk to. I'm going to try to stop being so standoffish and make some friends. It makes no sense with all the hundreds of men here, I feel so alone. I've got to make a better effort to find a friend, or this tour of Vietnam is going to feel like a lifetime.
Mariah read until her eyelids dropped. She laid the journal down and decided to eat, take a shower, and then read more. Her eyes skimmed the next page, and she saw a name that caused her to blink several times. Her heart rate sped up, causing her breath catch in her throat:
Joseph Green
, her grandfather.

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