The Circle: Rain's Story (18 page)

Now alone, Rain scrutinized the man shake his head back and forth, back and forth, still looking dazed and confus
ed. Until finally he locked his eyes on her, and then settled on the folder in his hand. He rolled one of the chairs out from under the oak conference table, and pushed it a safe, comfortable distance from her, and sat down.

After a brief moment of silence, searching for the right words, he finally raised his head and spoke.

“My name is David Banks. I’m a physician who works for Homeland Security. I’m sure you are just as confused at what’s going on as I am. But if you give me a moment to try to explain as much as I know.” Rain sat hushed, still engrossed by the eerie similarities between the still unknown man and her brother Dayvid, in spite of him being a white man.

Without a word, he slid
a green folder towards Rain, who only stared at it. “What is it?” Rain finally spoke and questioned.

Without an ounce of emotions, the man peered back at her. “Open it and you’ll see
.” Rain slowly slid the folder to her and opened it and began reading:

CONCLUSION OF DNA PARENTAGE TEST: DNA PATERNITY RESULTS

Based on the genetic testing obtained by IRC analysis STR loci, (Source: blood and mouth swab sample/tested) the alleged father xxxxx xxxxx, is the biological father of the child (Source: blood and mouth swab sample/tested) xxxx Porter.

THE PROBABILITY OF PATERNITY: 99.9%

Rain slumped backwards in her chair and was floored by what she just read, and let go of the folder. He was in fact her biological father. Rain’s father gave her a moment to digest the newfound, harrowing revelation before he spoke.

“Rain, I’m obligated to explain to you everything I know from the beginning so you can have a better understanding so you can judge for yourself.” He
r middle aged, and distinguished looking father, reached in and loosened up his tie and explained.

“I
t was 1986 when I first met your mother.” For the first time, Rain watched him smile as he reminisced. “I was in my junior year at John Hopkins University studying medicine to become a doctor.” His brow lowered and he admitted. “I never wanted to major in medicine. That’s what my parents… my dad in particular, thought I was suited to become a physician because he said I was soft because I got along with all races and people.” He looked at Rain and stated truthfully, “in other words I had too many black friends that I hung out with.” He chuckled lightly. “Anyway….” he smiled “I was into all kinds of music, especially hip-hop and I fell in love with the music and the culture as soon as I got turned on to it.” He grinned like a school boy. “Run-DMC, Curtis Blow, Africa Bambaataa, The Beastie Boys and LL Cool J…man…” he said with glee, “those were the good old days.” He snapped out of his moment of nostalgia “On my campus and where I was, they didn’t have no place to go for good hip-hop, so me and a couple of friends used to head up to Howard University and they used to have the best parties, and that’s where I met your mother for the first time.”

1987

HOWARD UNIVERSITY HOMECOMING

              Run DMC, LL Cool J and The Beastie Boys performed that week. Drinking and partying was the theme that surrounded Howard University's annual homecoming celebration. They performed at the university's free outdoor Yard fest concerts. All the different sororities took a turn on the catwalk during the annual fashion show making it a blast. Other hip-hop celebrities and singers were there, as lines and lines of students, local college students, even people from in and out of town showed up by the droves, just to party that weekend. Add up all those factors and you have one of the key social events on Washington's calendar —a cross between the NBA All-Star Game, Bike Week and Mardi Gras.

Tailgating before a football game, alumni
reunions and parent-student get togethers are the highlights of most colleges' homecoming festivities, but Howard's is on another level. There were other items on the week's agenda, such as lectures, faculty sessions and alumni brunch and networking events. But for good or bad, the celebrities and the parties—almost all of which took place at nightclubs off campus and were not sponsored by the university, were the focal point.

Two such locals were there,
as opposite as they come. One local, was an eighteen year old, black female who lived her whole life in the inner city of Baltimore, in the mist of the biggest drug epidemic in the 80’s. The other was a young, energetic white male, from a wealthy and powerful family, who attended a prestigious local college for medicine.

A black f
raternity entertained the crowd; stomping, clapping and chanting as they stepped. It was during the performance that their eyes met for the first time.

“Hey, Banks…Banks
,” whispered one of David’s friend and fellow college students that came with him from their university. “That girl over there in the yellow has been eyeballing you ever since we got here, man.”

David, who every
one called ‘Banks’, shifted his eyes towards the girl in question as he continued to bob his head to the rhythmic beat of the step show. Speaking in a low voice, he informed his black nerd-like friend.

“Be cool man. I know she’s looking. I’m just waiting for the right moment to approach her.”

“Man, you better do it quick before somebody beat you to her. She is hot.” His eager friend warned.

David wasn’t biding his time
. He was scared to death and building up the courage to talk to her. Besides the fact that she was the prettiest girl he ever laid his eyes on, she was black and he was white, and didn’t know what to expect from her or the vast majority of black dudes that might get upset. Every thirty seconds or so, he would peer over and steal a glance, and every time, she stared back and smiled. Finally, after an intermission in the show, he made up his mind and took a chance and walked right up to her to introduce himself to her.

“Hi, I was standing over there and I been noticing you looking over my way, and just wanted to come over and introduce myself.” David said timidly.
The girl looked at him and frowned and shifted her weight to her other leg.

“I wasn’
t looking at you… I was looking at the guy behind you.”

“Oh, I apologize.” He murmured. He turned around and was ready to literally run away from embarrassment, but he heard the girl chuckle and called him back. “I’m just playing with you. Come back here.” The shy David turned back around and looked into her bright, smiling face and was able to breathe again in relief. He flashed her
a smile and said.

“Oh,
I see you got jokes. But I won’t lie… you had me ready to pick up my face from the ground.” They both laughed.

“So what’s your name?”

“My name is Remy.” David displayed a surprised looked and joked.

“Like the cognac?
” Remy heard the same thing most of her life and replied.

“Exactly like
the cognac.”  she smiled and asked him

“So, what’s your name?”

“My name is David.” He said as he flashed a nearly perfect set of white teeth and stuck out his hand to her to formally introduce himself. Remy smiled and took his hand into hers, while staring in his bright blue eyes.

They began to hit it off well, and f
or the rest of the show, they stood closely by chatting and getting to know each other, barely even watching the show. When it started to get dark, and the performances were nearing a close, Remy looked at her watch and saw that it was getting late. She wanted to get home late because of the long and grueling bus and train ride back to Baltimore from DC.

“Listen, I have to get ready and head back home.”

“Where do you live, because I’m driving and I can take you wherever you need to go?” David welcomed. Remy thought fast. The last thing she wanted was to let him find out that she lived in West Baltimore and lied.

“No, it’s okay, I live too far anyway. I live in Baltimore
County.” She lied. Excitedly, he looked over by his friend and said, “That’s no problem… me and my buddy here goes to school in Baltimore. We stay in the dorms.” It was nothing more she wanted than to get a lift. It would save her nearly three hours of travel time even if he dropped her off at the train or bus stop in the county, but she decided against it.

“No, it’s quite okay, maybe next time
.” She said, giving him a warm smile. David put his head down and submitted.

“I’m sorry, you don’t know me from Adam and
I’m already asking you to get in my car to take you home. Stupid me.”

Remy ensured him.

“No, it’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that I had to stop off at my cousin’s house here in DC anyway and they will give me a ride all the way from there. I might end up staying overnight like I always do.” He chucked her a small smile, and eyed the ground as they walked.

Remy felt bad, so since she had to take a bus to the train from DC anyway, she’d just let him drop her off
there shaving off an hour time, then offered.

“You can take me by where she lives if you want?”

His bright smile came alive once again and said, “Cool. My car is only two blocks away.”

They talked all the way to his car, and sat next to him in the passenger seat and talked some more while David’s friend admired them from the backseat. Remy was real impressed with his intelligent conversation and how he used
big words with breeze during idle conversation. Words she couldn’t even pronounce. But when she arrived to her destination, which was only a block away from the train station. He pulled to the curb and said, “Wait one second.” She watched him open the car door, run around the front of his car, and opened the door like a gentleman and extended his hand to help her out.

It was safe to say, that she was stuck on him from that moment on. She never met a person like him and most of all, she never even dated,
and much less fell for someone outside her race.

From that day on, they grew closer and closer, seeing each other nearly every weekend, dinner, movies and holding hands while walking in the park. Until ultimately, two weeks after meeting, they made love for the very first time in his dorm room and falling for each other even deeper.

One day in the afternoon, the phone rang. Remy hoped like hell that it wasn’t her job calling to see if she could come into McDonald’s today to work. They always did that on her weekend day off. Pissed off by the mere thought, she rolled her eyes, sucking her teeth as she picked the pressing comb up from the stove. Fanning the hot comb back and forth to cool it off, she had no intent on going in, because she had to look her best when she met up with David later that day.

Rachel
, Remy’s thirteen year-old younger sister, looked up from the black leather chair pulled from the dining room table. Their momma would have a fit if she came from the back room and saw her chair in the kitchen, caring none that it was the one with the rip in the seat cushion.

“Want me to answer the phone?”

“No,” Remy said, her face in a frown. “Now turn around before I burn you.”

Two
…..three more times the phone rang.

“I think we should answer it. Ma gon’ be pissed if it wake her up.”

“Ma got her ringer off. Now hold your head down, I got to get my hair done too and you wasting my time, so sit still.” she said, mushing her sister in the head. Seconds later, the ringing stopped and the tension from Remy’s shoulder’s thawed. Once she finished pressing her sister’s hair, the way she did every Sunday. She planned to put on the baddest and sexiest outfit she had in her closet. Last night when she called him at his dorm room, he asked to take her out to eat. It would be their first date. Just the thought made her smile. There was something about him that she liked, even for a white dude.

“Remy!” Frightened by her mother’s voice, Remy jump. “Ouch,” her sister cried, clutching the back of her neck as she leaped from the chair.

“I’m sorry, Rachel. Ma scared me!”

“Why the hell y’all let the phone ring off the hook and you know I’m trying to sleep? And why is my got damn dining room chair in the kitchen? I told y’all lil’ asses to use the stool.” In no mood for her mom’s rant, Remy said, “Rachel, put the chair back and get the stool and the Vaseline.”

“You been applying for more jobs?” Her mother asked in a voice barely above a whisper. Brows furrowed, Remy said, “no, why?”

“
‘Cause.” She reached in the pocket of her robe and pulled out the cordless. “Some white man name from your job is on the phone for you.” Vexed, Remy stood staring at and angry with her mother for answering it. She warned her mother before she laid down not to answer the phone because it may be her boss, and she had a date that night.

“Go ahead, take it. You need all the work so you can help out with some of these bills around here. So h
ere, take it!” Her mother said, shoving the phone in her chest. Remy took the phone. And with the sickest voice she could muster, she said, “hello.”