Forgiveness and Second Chances (13 page)

Jeremy’s nose began to flare. Malanie could tell something serious must have happened between them.

Stefanie gave her a gentle push and grabbed the gift. “Briana, I will give her the gift, but you have to leave now.”

Briana turned before leaving. “You’ll regret turning your back on me.”

Jeremy closed the door in her face and stared at Malanie. “Stefanie, can you please excuse us?”

“I have to check on Eric.” She tiptoed away.

Malanie gazed at him. “Calm down and tell me, what did she do?”

He sighed. “She told Alanie you didn’t love her.” He moved closer to her.

“What! When?” she asked, her hands on her hips.

“About three months ago, but it doesn’t matter. I handled it.” He took her arm.

“You handled it. Why didn’t you tell me?” She tugged her arm away.

“Because I took care of it.” He hit the counter, making her jump. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Don’t apologize for that shit.” Her eyes started to twitch. “Alanie is my daughter, too.”

He smirked. “Baby, I know. I wanted to spare your feelings, and Alanie knows the truth. If she’d done damage, I would’ve told you. Briana is nobody to me or us.” He gently took her hand and kissed it. “I wasn’t trying to keep things from you, I just didn’t want to hurt you.”

“I don’t want you to spare my feelings anymore. I don’t want any secrets between us. Okay?” she asked, moving closer to him.

“Okay,” he said, leaning down to kiss her lips.

Someone cleared their throat, and they both looked over.
Oh my God, his parents.
Malanie felt like a teenager again, getting caught making out.

“Mom, Dad.” Jeremy stepped over and hugged them.

“Hi, son.” His mother kissed him.

“Malanie, you’re all grown up, and you look great.” His father walked over to her and hugged her tight. “It’s been too long.”

“Yes, it has. Thank you for taking care of my baby.”

He got serious. “When I opened the front door that night and saw Alanie, my heart dropped. I was angry, but then I read the note. I smiled and picked her up, and….”

Malanie held back the tears. “I know.”

“How?” Jeremy asked, moving closer.

“I was there. I placed her on the porch and hid and watched to make sure she was okay, and I saw your dad’s reaction.” She looked at his dad. “When you picked her up, I stayed there and cried. After ten minutes I left, knowing she would be safe.”

Jeremy hugged her. “You never told me.”

“Where’s my baby?” Mrs. Wood asked, interrupting.

“She’s out back, Mom,” Jeremy said, still holding on to Malanie.

Mrs. Wood went to the back, and Malanie could hear Alanie yell, excited.

“Grandma, you made it!”

“I knew you guys would finally get it together.” Mr. Wood spoke, a wide grin on his face. “Malanie, I understand why you left Alanie with us. Stop punishing yourself. Jeremy here said you turned out to be an exceptional woman that any little girl would be proud to call mom.” With that, he turned and went to the yard. “Happy birthday, baby.”

“Grandpa!”

“Let’s go sing happy birthday to our daughter.” Jeremy grabbed Malanie’s waist and guided her out back, where everybody got together and sang.

They were on their way to pick up Malanie to go over Derrick and Stefanie’s home for a cookout.

“Why does she have to go?” Alanie asked Jeremy from the back seat.

“Who?”

“Mom…why does she have to go everywhere we do?”

His eyebrow arched. “Because we are a family. I thought that’s what you wanted?”

She crossed her arms. “I do, but….”

“But what?” He raised his voice.

“Nothing, Daddy…Forget I said anything.” She turned her head to look out the window.

Malanie walked toward the car and got in. She kissed Jeremy on the lips. “Hi!” She smiled toward the back seat. “Hi, sunshine.”

“Hi, Mom.” Alanie spoke without facing her.

“What’s wrong?” She turned her attention to Jeremy, noticing both of them had an attitude.

“Nothing.” He kept driving, avoiding her eyes.

“Alanie, look at me.” The little girl turned and stared at her mom. “What’s wrong, sweetie? You know you can talk to me about anything.”

“I know, Mom.” She gave her a fake smile. “Nothing’s wrong.”

Malanie turned around and sat in silence, not saying another word.

They reached Derrick and Stefanie’s house. Alanie jumped out and ran to the back yard.

Jeremy and Malanie got out of the car, and he walked around to her. “Nothing’s wrong.” He leaned down and kissed her. “I’ve been waiting to taste some of your brown sugar.” He smiled.

“You’re so silly.”

He grabbed her hand and they went to the backyard.

“Well, hello, you two,” Stefanie yelled, passing the baby to Derrick. “Everybody, this is Malanie,” she said to the other guests at the cookout.

Malanie lift her hand and waved. “Hello!”

Jeremy laughed and whispered, “You got to love her.”

Stefanie hugged her tight. “I’m so happy you came. We can finally hang out.”

“Me too.”

Stefanie took Malanie’s hand out of Jeremy’s and showed her around. Baby Eric started crying. “I’m going to put him down for a nap. Follow me.”

They entered the house and walked to the baby’s nursery. Stefanie changed him and started feeding him.

“He’s such a cutie,” Malanie said, touching his tiny hands.

“So…you and Jeremy, finally.”

She felt herself blush. “Yes.”

“Girl, I’m so happy for both of you. I saw the way he looks at you.” She patted the baby’s back, burping him.

“I tried everything to forget him, but he was always there.”

“And you were always there in his heart, too.” The baby burped and she turned him over and continued to feed him. “I felt some tension between you two and Alanie.”

“I’m not sure. She’s acting strange, ’specially when I’m around her dad.” She leaned on the crib.

“What do you mean?”

“When we’re alone she’s wonderful, but when he’s around she’s a brat.”

Stefanie smiled. “She’s jealous.”

“Of what?”

“You and him.” Malanie looked at her with a questioning expression. “Before you came into their life it was Jeremy and her. She had his full attention and now she has to share it with you and she doesn’t like it. She’d always been daddy’s little girl, never had to fight for his attention, and when she’s with you, you give her your full and undivided attention. She was getting the best of both worlds and now she has to share the two of you, and she doesn’t like it. But she’s the child, and she has to learn to share.”

“I just want her to be happy.”

“Malanie, she is happy. You can’t give her everything she wants to make up for the past. You’re her mother. It’s not the first time she’s pulled this.”

“When?”

“Jeremy was seeing a woman named Laura. Alanie liked her, but when they got engaged everything changed. She was competing for her father’s attention, and she won.”

“Thank God she did.”

Stefanie laughed. “Laura wasn’t the one. He was just trying to find a mother for Alanie. I think he was trying to replace you, but never could.”

“Was she a sister?”

Stefanie giggled. “Yes, she was.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry, she never had a chance. Back to the subject at hand: Alanie will be okay, because deep down this is what she wants…her parents together. She just always thought she would be number one, which she will always be for both of you. But if you guys were to go your separate ways, she’ll regret it.”

“I didn’t know you knew each other that long.”

Stefanie got up and placed the baby in his crib. “Girl, we go way back. Since you’re going to be part of our circle, I’ll tell you how we met and why we love Jeremy so much.” They walked out to the formal living room and sat across from each other.

“Derrick and I married straight out of high school, and he joined the Navy. I didn’t know he had emotional issues from his past. While at boot camp, he was always in trouble. He couldn’t handle the instructors yelling at him. They warned him one more incident, and he would get kicked out.”

“But isn’t yelling part of the boot camp thing?”

“Yes, but he thought he would be able to handle it. Let me tell you how they met.”

“What did you call me?” Derrick shouted.

The recruit division commander got in his face and yelled
, “Ni___ like you don’t deserve to be in the Navy.” The man spat in his face and pushed him with so much force that he stumbled.

Without thinking, he slammed his fist into the man’s left eye.

“Who’s a ni____ now? Petty Officer!” Out of nowhere, Jeremy ran in between them, grabbed Derrick into a bear hug, and dragged him to the berthing.

“Let me go!” Derrick yelled, trying to break free from his hold. Once inside, Jeremy released him. “Don’t fucking touch me, you guys are all the same. You think because you’re white you have the all the power.” He charged at Jeremy.

Jeremy pushed him back. “What’s your problem? I just saved your sorry ass.”

“I didn’t ask you for help, white boy.” He stepped back. “I don’t need anybody’s help.”

“From where I’m standing, you do.”

“I can handle things by myself,” he said, puffing.

“Why did you join the Navy then?” Jeremy asked him.

“None of your fucking business, white boy.”

Jeremy just stared at him, his nostrils flaring. “I’m not going to take too many white-boy digs from you. In here, you’re not black and I’m not white. I only see blue.”

Derrick just stared at him. “What’s your deal, dude?”

Jeremy ignored his question and continued. “I joined to be a better man and father for my little girl, because I didn’t have the chance to prove it to her mother. So why did you join?”

Derrick sat on his bed and put his hands over his face. “I joined to give my wife a better life.”

“Then be better for her, because what you did out there isn’t better for her. Now you’re looking at being discharged, before your career even starts.”

He started shaking his head. “I can’t be discharged. What will I tell her?”

“You should’ve thought about that before you threw the first punch.”

He sighed. “I have issues….”

“Maybe it will help if you talk to someone. I’ve been told I’m a good listener. I won’t tell anyone.” Jeremy sat next to him.

He opened up about the abuse he’d suffered at the hands of his stepfather. “The memories of my stepfather calling me names and beating me all came back. I saw red when he touched me. I wish I could take it back. I can’t go back empty-handed. She deserves more.”

At that moment the military police, a drill instructor, and their master chief entered. “Recruit, I told you you had one more chance.”

“What happened?” the master chief asked Jeremy.

Derrick was about to answer, when Jeremy spoke up. “I threw the first punch.” They all just stared in disbelief, especially Derrick.

The drill instructor was going to object and Jeremy glared at him. “What you called him was degrading. I lost my cool, and punched you. I believe it’s against military code of conduct to say anything racist against anyone. It’s punishable,” Jeremy said, still glaring at him, making sure he got the point it was in his interests to keep quiet.

The man remained silent.

“Recruit Wood, you will be reprimanded for your actions,” the master chief said.

Derrick started to talk. “Master Chief, I was—”

Jeremy cut him off. “Yes, Master Chief, I understand.”

“Jeremy took the fall for Derrick, saving his career. He’s always been there for us. He encouraged him to finish college, to submit his package for officer, and because of him we are where we are, literally. Everywhere Jeremy goes, Derrick is somewhere behind. You see, that’s why we will do anything for that white boy.”

“My white boy.” Malanie chuckled. “He’s always been so kind.”

“What’s this I hear about a white boy?” Derrick asked, walking in. “Only I can call him that.”

Jeremy came behind him, laughing. “She said I’m her white boy. I like the sound of that.”

“Stefanie, what crazy stories have you told her? Malanie, don’t listen,” Derrick said, kissing his wife.

“Alanie is asking for you. She wants you to meet her friend.” He helped Malanie up.

“She wants her friend to meet me?”