Soulful Strut (40 page)

“We both know you’re not going to pay me
back, Mama.” Monette already had the money in her pocket. She’d
known Annabelle would show up sooner or later. She handed her two
hundred dollars.

Her mother counted it and clicked her tongue.
“The thing is we need a little bit more than this, sugar.”

“That’s all I’ve got and that’s all you’re
going to get. Period. Don’t waste DeWayne’s gas driving over here
again.” Monette looked at her.

“Giving me a little change don’t mean you can
talk smart, girl,” Annabelle barked. She stuffed the money into her
hot-pink beaded purse. “I’m your mama and you ain’t too grown to
get a whippin’.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“We need to stick together, Monette Elise.
Like it or not, we’re the only family you’ve got.” Annabelle stood
over Monette. She put a hand on one wide hip.

“True.” Monette refrained from adding just
how sad that fact made her feel.

“Shoot we don’t need to be fussin’ over
money. That’s not the only reason I come over to see you anyway,
and don’t give me that look,” Annabelle snapped when Monette
snorted. “Hey, one of your girls from back in the day told me about
that newspaper article. She was braggin’ about it around town.”

“Yeah; Tiffany did me a real favor by talking
to that reporter,” Monette retorted.

“Well, she could’ve left out some that stuff.
She didn’t mention none of the dirt she did back then. I told her
so, too. Claimed she was trying to help. Saw her and that deputy
y’all used to hang around at The Black Cat Cafe the other Saturday.
He’s retired and—”

“What did you just say?” Monette grabbed her
mother’s arm.

“You know, what’s his name. Lloyd. Used to be
with Jerry all the time.” Annabelle lowered her voice. “They did
all kinds of stuff for Winn Barron. Says he feels real bad about
it, too.”

“Yes, I do. He hung around the DA’s office
back then. He was Jerry’s good buddy.” Monette remembered the
little round man with chocolate-brown skin.

“Poor old Jerry. Went from the big time to
the jailhouse. You know he was the first black investigator for the
district attorney. Wasn’t no good when he was a deputy.” Annabelle
dug through her purse and pulled out a lipstick.

“So Lloyd is retired. Maybe he doesn’t have
anything to lose by telling the truth,” Monette murmured.

“I didn’t hear you, sugar. Damn, I better go.
DeWayne is nodding off in the car.” Annabelle frowned as she
glanced at him. “DeWayne, wake up!”

“Judging by the way he looks, you better
drive.” Monette watched the gray head bob until it almost hit the
steering wheel. She was sure Annabelle had found him in some
raggedy, backwoods juke joint.

“Chile, DeWayne won’t let me drive that piece
of junk. He keeps it nice, though. Look at those fancy faux zebra
skin seat covers.” Annabelle nodded at the red car.

“Very classy,” Monette replied and rolled her
eyes again.

“Next time I’m going to stay longer. We can
have a good talk about what’s goin’ on with you. My car should be
fixed again real soon. Bye, baby.” Annabelle pecked Monette’s
forehead.

“Wait, give me Tiffany’s phone number. I need
Lloyd’s number, too, if you know it.” Monette pulled Annabelle
toward the front door despite her mother’s protest.

“I know her mama’s phone. All I know about
Lloyd is he lives on Black Bayou Lane and—”

“Come inside so I can write everything down.”
Monette tugged harder.

“Girl, DeWayne is waitin’ on me,” Annabelle
complained as she resisted going inside.

“He can nap a little longer.”

Monette yanked harder until they were both
through the door and in the foyer. She found the message pad and
ink pen by the hall phone. She wrote down the numbers and called
Jim once Annabelle was gone.

***

Two days later Jim came to the halfway house.
He met with Monette in Sherrial’s office. “How are you?”

“That depends on what you tell me,” Monette
replied. “Well?”

“The former deputy wasn’t hard to convince,
especially once I assured him his pension was secure. Mostly his
conscience is what convinced him. He’s been feeling bad for years,
but he was too scared of the Barron family to talk. But he did give
me this notarized statement I’m going to submit it to the Pardon
Board.” Jim opened his briefcase and handed her the statement four
legal-sized pages.

Monette read the account of how she’d been
framed. Her hands shook as she read about how her life had
unraveled. She flipped the pages, reading faster. “I didn’t know
some of these details.”

“Right. He filled in some facts that Hines
left out. Winn Barron is going to be very sorry he didn’t stay in
Palm Beach.”

“I was such an idiot. I should have known
these people would turn on me.” Monette handed the statement back
to Jim.

“Which doesn’t change the fact that they
broke the law. But I think Lloyd was a decent guy who didn’t have
the courage to stand up back then,” Jim said firmly. “Your friend
Tiffany is another matter.”

“Humph. Tiffany wouldn’t know a conscience if
one walked up and slapped her across the face. How much did she ask
for?” Monette laughed when Jim grimaced.

“More than she was ever going to get. She
wanted to have an auction between Barron and me. The highest bidder
would get a nice statement. Then I explained the basics of
Louisiana extortion laws, and that I knew she had pending
charges.”

“Let me guess. She became very interested in
seeing truth and justice win out,” Monette replied.

“After I threw in an offer to represent her
pro bono on those pending misdemeanor theft charges.” Jim handed
her the statement. “Here it is.”

The statement was taken down just the way
Tiffany talked, street slang and all. Still, it was a clear
description of her firsthand knowledge about wrongdoing in the
Pointe Coupee district attorney’s office. Monette finally let out
the breath she’d been figuratively holding for days.

“Good old Tiffany.” Monette scanned the
document before handing it back to him. She’d had enough of reading
about that part of her past.

“So this should make things right for you.”
Jim snapped his briefcase shut again.

Monette wished it could be that simple. “Sort
of. I’ve still got a ways to go. You know those rules Trudy gave me
that first day? Sherrial was a little more liberal, but now I know
Trudy was right. Just getting my life straight is a full-time job.
I don’t have any right to inflict all the problems I have on anyone
else.”

Jim studied her for a few seconds. “You do
face challenges in spite of all you’ve managed to accomplish.”

“You mean the Pardon Board could very well
refuse to hold another hearing. The Barron family still has clout.
Yeah, I know.” Monette felt lonely again, but at least she could
protect Jayson.

***

The next day Monette sat outside on the
patio. She’d hoped the sunshine would lift her spirits, but after
an hour of waiting, she’d given up. She watched clouds drift along.
There were no answers in the sky either. Not that she had
questions. Although all she could think about was a pair of brown
eyes and strong arms, Monette knew what was best Lenore came
outside.“Jayson called again. When I told him you still weren’t
feeling well, he said he was coming over.”

“Damn.” Monette closed her eyes.

“Might as well talk to him, Monette.” Lenore
lifted a shoulder, and then went inside.

Monette followed her after a few minutes. She
sat by the window, waiting for him. Candi came into the living
room, saw Monette sitting in the window seat and left. That suited
Monette just fine. She only had energy for one last heart-to-heart.
Jayson pulled up twenty minutes later. By that time Monette had her
speech all figured out. She went out to the curb before he turned
off the engine and got in the Jeep.

“You look fully recovered. That twelve-hour
nap must have done wonders.” Jayson looked at her.

“Yeah. So, how are you?” Monette tried to
change the subject.

“Worried about you. Now that I see you’re in
good health, I’m feeling a lot better.” Jayson shifted into drive
and pulled away from the curb. “Can we talk about us?”

“Wouldn’t do any good ’cause nothing has
changed.” Monette let out a long breath.

“Let’s go to my house.”

“No,” Monette said so loudly that she
startled him.

“Anybody would think I’m a serial killer the
way you screamed.” Jayson stared at Monette.

“Sorry.” Monette lifted a shoulder.

“We can go down to the lake and take a walk
if that makes you feel better.” When Monette shook her head, Jayson
frowned. “I deserve a little more consideration after what we had,
don’t you think?”

“It’s not that. It’s just...” Monette knew he
was right, but being near him was torture enough. She was taking
the easy way out for her own sake. “Sure. I didn’t mean to seem so
cold-blooded about it.”

In spite of how much it hurt, Monette didn’t
get out of the Jeep. Jayson drove down to the lake right behind the
State Capitol building. A few people strolled along. He parked and
they got out. Monette led the way to a paved walkway that led
through a landscaped area. Pink and white azaleas bloomed. A
seventeenth-century building was visible through shrubs that lined
the winding path. The Old Arsenal was all that remained of a
Spanish fort.

“I’ve never been in that little museum.
Amazing to see stuff that people who lived over two hundred years
ago once touched. History is interesting.” Monette heard herself
rambling on and wondered what she was talking about.“Yeah, I’ve
always liked history. Did we come here to visit the museum?” Jayson
glanced at her sideways.

“Not really. Although in a way I want to talk
about history. Mine keeps coming back to haunt me.” Monette
sighed.

“Baby, I’m so sorry.” Jayson tried to hug
her, but he stopped when Monette backed away.

“I can’t seem to start over, not the way I
really want to anyway,” Monette said.

“Part of building a new life meant having
your record cleaned up.” Jayson pointed to a bench beneath a wide
canopy of oak branches. They walked to it and sat down.

“I was disappointed, of course. But it’s more
than that, Jayson. I don’t want to feel out of place for the rest
of my life. I don’t want to have to apologize for who I am. My
friends will always be from a world you’re not used to. I thought
for a while that maybe I could move on, but actually it’s part of
who I am. I don’t understand society people or sorority teas. You
know what I’m saying?” Monette gestured with her hands as she
spoke.

“I think so, and I’m not liking it one bit.”
Jayson turned to face her.

“For example, we were out having dinner.
Everything was sweet. Then a reporter comes up. I felt horrible for
you.”

“That’s ridiculous, Monette.”

She put a finger to his lips. “What if Lenae
had been with us—or your father?”

Jayson moved her hand away. “Then I would
explain it to Lenae. My father isn’t all that judgmental.”

“Things could get nasty any minute. I’m going
through enough already. I don’t want to take you through it with
me. Maybe when things calm down.” Monette sighed.

“When things calm down? Look, we have to hold
onto each other when things get crazy and when everything is
smooth. If your past bothered me that much, we wouldn’t be sitting
here right now.”

“Jayson, you have no clue what this is about.
I’m handing you a gift by getting out of your life. Take it, man,”
Monette replied.

“That’s a load of crap. You can’t use me as
an excuse to run away.” Jayson folded his arms.

“Now you’re being ridiculous,” Monette
snapped. “I’m thinking of you and your family.”

“You’re scared I won’t stick around, so
you’re trying to leave me first. I’m not going to make it easy for
you. I’m going to send flowers, keep calling and tell you I love
you. Okay, so facing my uppity family won’t be easy. They could use
a dose of reality about what other folks have gone through. By the
way, Saundra and I had a nice long talk with Lenae about her
behavior toward you,” Jayson said. He nodded when Monette’s mouth
flew open in surprise.

“She wasn’t all that bad,” Monette
spluttered.

“Saundra heard her giggling on the phone with
her friends. You should have told me.” Jayson raised an eyebrow at
her.

“Oh, you mean in the ladies’ room. No big
deal.” Monette shrugged. Still, Lenae’s remark had stung Monette
more than she admitted to herself.

Jayson pulled Monette against his chest. “Get
over it, Monette. Retreating to your old world because it’s
familiar isn’t the answer.”

Monette looked into his eyes. The fire in
them was a mixture of pain and anger. Jayson was so right He wasn’t
making it easy. Monette made a halfhearted attempt to push away.
When her palms touched his chest, they stayed there. The scent of
his skin, all hot and spicy, made her light-headed.

“Well?” Jayson asked.

“The publicity—”

“I don’t care,” he said in a hoarse
whisper.

“But your friends will say—”

“Let ’em talk. You’re gonna have to come up
with something better to shake me loose.” Jayson slowly leaned
closer as he spoke until their lips were almost touching. “Because
I love you, Monette Elise Victor. Nothing and nobody will change my
mind. Not even you. So leave me if you can.”

His full, sweet lips brushed hers with each
word. Every nerve ending in her body tingled. Monette gazed at him,
mesmerized and unable to move, much less leave. “I would, but I
don’t think my legs would work.”

“Is it my fault?” Jayson whispered.

Monette could only nod. When she relaxed into
his embrace, Jayson sighed. And all the drama dissolved into
nothing. In a split second Monette drew on his strength to fight
the fear deep inside; a fear that Jayson had named even before she
had fully recognized it. Then it dissolved as well, no match for
the love he poured into one kiss. Still, she had to face the real
world.