The Eleventh Commandment (18 page)

“ H
ey, brother!” At the sound of her big brother's voice, Stacy's heart soared.

“Hey, lil' sis. It's about time you answered your phone. We were getting ready to put out an APB!”

“I'm sorry, Brent. I have been missing in action.”

“What's going on with you?”

That was the million-dollar question, and the reason why Stacy hadn't called the brother who'd practically raised her. He could read her like a national best seller and her latest life chapters weren't ones she wanted him to peruse. From the time their father died, when Stacy was only ten years old, Brent, who was the oldest of her four brothers, became the undisputed head of household. He'd teased her mercilessly, shooed her away when his friends came over, and basically lorded over her as though he were God. In turn, Stacy adored him.

When Stacy turned sixteen and began dating, Brent was worse than the LAPD. He insisted on meeting all of her boyfriends and she didn't know what he said to them after his standard, “let me hollah at you for a minute,” but she'd never been treated with anything less than the utmost respect from these dates. After his marriage and the birth of his first child, Brent wasn't as hands-on as before. By then, however, Stacy had come into adulthood and after growing up with four rambunctious brothers, was more than able to hold her own.

Stacy didn't introduce Brent to her first husband, Darius, until after they were married. But that's not why Brent never liked him. According to him it was because Darius never fully looked him in the eye. “Don't trust that dude,” had been Brent's first, middle, and last impression.

Tony was different. Brent had liked him right away. Along with a love for sports they shared a love for business and golf. In fact, all the brothers liked Tony. When it came to the Gray family, he'd fit right in. Which is why the ups and downs Tony and Stacy had recently experienced were all the more troubling, and made it all the more necessary to keep her brother out of the messy marital loop.

“What's been going on with me?” Stacy repeated in a playful manner. “Well, brother, you'll be happy to know that involves my looking for real estate in Calabasas.”

“Seriously, Stacy? Y'all are moving back to Cali?”

“That's the plan. As we speak, Tony is working out for the Sea Lions.”

“Well, that's just great. I know how much you've wanted to move back here.”

“You know it. There are parts of Arizona that are simply stunning, but California will always be home.”

“Your niece and nephew will be glad to hear that you'll be living closer.”

“Ah, how are my little bedbugs?”

“Growing like weeds. How is DJ?”

“Five going on fifteen. He fancies himself having a girlfriend.”

“My man! Sounds like I need to school my nephew on a thing or two.”

“He'll be delighted. Nothing thrills him better than a visit with his favorite uncle.”

“Don't let our brothers hear that.”

“Naw, we'll just keep it between us.” A beep sounded in Stacy's ear. She looked at the caller ID. “Brent, hold on a minute.” She clicked over. “Hey, Little Bo Peep.”

“Stacy, are you busy?”

“No,” Stacy replied, noting that once again her usual moniker, Spacey, was noticeably absent. “Just talking to my brother. You okay?”

“No, but I will be. I'm going to make sure of that. Can I come over?”

“Sure.”

“Good, I'll see you in fifteen.”

Stacy shifted back over to her brother and after agreeing to give him a heads-up regarding her LA visit, and to try and get him four tickets to the first game, she ended the call and made DJ's lunch. In a rare move, she bypassed the dining room table and let her son eat his chicken nuggets and fries while watching his favorite cartoon. Darius would definitely have something to say about it if he knew that the TV was serving as babysitter, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Stacy got the feeling that whatever it was that Bo had to tell her, she'd need to have her wits about her.

Just moments after getting DJ settled, her doorbell rang. That he pulled out a large bottle of cognac shortly after their hug was her first indicator that this was not going to be an ordinary visit. She had a flashback to the first time she saw Bo totally imbibe—in a cozily warm cabin in Big Bear where a recently exposed secret of a three-way love affair had caused quite a chill.

“Where's DJ?” he shouted, barely inside the door.

“Uncle Bo!” DJ ran into the room and gave Bo a high-five. “Where's Daddy?”

“Working, little man. When are you going to your job?”

“Uncle Bo,” DJ laughed, “I don't work.”

“With the amount of food you eat, you should.”

“Speaking of which,” Stacy interrupted, “are you finished with your lunch?” DJ shook his head. “Then go back into there and finish eating.”

“Uncle Bo, can we play videos later?”

“We'll see, DJ. Right now, I need to talk to your mama.”

DJ walked back into the game room, and after retrieving a glass and ice for Bo's afternoon drink, Stacy joined him in the living room. Once they were alone, she wasted no time assuaging her curiosity. “Okay, Bo Peep. What has you chugging liquor in the middle of the day?”

Bo fixed her with a look. “I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count.”

Stacy didn't have to guess. There was only one thing, or more accurately one person, who could put Bo Jenkins Crenshaw in this kind of mood. “What's going on with you and Dee?”

Bo tossed back the cognac and refilled his glass. “I think I'm going to lose him.”

“Trust me, when it comes to losing Darius I know what that feels like.” Bo smiled at the inference of the time when he and Stacy battled for Darius's love. “And it doesn't feel like what I see between y'all.”

“Yeah, well, that's because you haven't seen the crowd in our bedroom.”

“Excuse me?”

“Darius is in denial, but he's in love with Paz the Ass.”

“He's still tripping on that actor?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know?”

Bo gave her a look. “Trust me, I do.” His normally jovial countenance turned sad. “I think Darius is in lust with him,” he whispered, followed by a generous gulp of Courvoisier.

“Maybe, but I don't think you have anything to worry about.”

“For real, Stacy? You really believe that?”

“When it comes to knowing how much Darius loves you, trust me, I know. I'm the one he left so he could be with you, remember ?”

“As crazy as your ass was, how can I forget?”

“Me? If anybody was crazy it was Darius. How'd he think he was going to get away with taking both of us on vacation—at the same time?”

“Ha! That Big Bear situation was a mess with a capitol M.”

“Him thinking he could go between cabins, giving me a kiss and you a hug.”

“He thought you wouldn't notice him tipping out in the middle of the night.”

“That's because he never bothered to find out whether or not I was a light sleeper. I knew as soon as he left the bed, heard him trying to slip into sweats and tennis shoes and ease the keys off the table. Felt the whoosh of cold air when the door opened and the click when it closed.”

“And then you came storming over to my cabin yelling like a banshee.” Bo's humor had returned and he now laughed at the memory.

“I was on what was supposed to be a romantic getaway with my fiancé. Oh, and I was pregnant. Forgive me for being just a little upset.”

“A little? Girl, you came at me like Joseline did Stevie. You wanted to beat. My. Ass.”

“I'll admit it. I wanted to clear a path of snow with your narrow behind.”

“Ha!” Bo poured another glass of liquor and motioned to Stacy.

She held up her soda. “No, thank you, I'm good. DJ,” she yelled so that he could hear from the other room, “are you finished eating?”

“Yes. I'm watching TV!”

“Okay.”

“You're lucky to have DJ,” Bo said, his mood once again swinging from happy to sad.

“He's a good kid,” Stacy admitted.

“Not only that, but Darius loves him. And because you have his son, he'll always be a part of your life.”

“Yes, I guess that's one way to look at it.”

“Those are the times I feel most complete—when DJ is over and we're sharing family time. Me cooking, him and Dee in the other room watching TV or playing a game. Then later when we're watching some crazy Disney movie and later, when DJ falls asleep in between us on the couch. Those are the times that Darius is settled and calm; I know that it makes him feel complete too.”

“There's nothing that says family like a child in the home.”

“I feel that way exactly,” Bo said, placing down his glass and turning to Stacy with a serious look. “Which is why I have to ask you something, and why I want you to hear me out before you throw me out.”

“With the crazy way your mind thinks, Bo, I can't make any promises.”

“I'll just have to take my chances then. See, I've thought of a plan that can alleviate both our fears—yours about financial security and mine about marital security.” He took a deep breath and continued. “If I talked Darius into paying you a million dollars . . . would you have a baby for me? One that Darius and I can raise as our own?”

Y
ou want me to do what?” Stacy hadn't had a touch of alcohol, but she could have sworn she was drunk.

“I know it sounds crazy.”

“You think?”

“But I've given this a lot of thought. Darius loves DJ, loves kids. Just recently we had a conversation about it, and he admitted that he'd love to expand our family.”

“And he said he wanted to expand it with me as surrogate?”

“No, the conversation didn't get that far. But you know how private Darius is, and with his public profile, you know how untrusting he is of people.”

“Yeah, but famous people use surrogates, and others adopt.”

“Darius wouldn't do that,” Bo quickly retorted, shaking his head. “He wouldn't want to go through that process. Plus, he loves the fact that he can look into DJ's face and see himself. Stacy, he would love to have another biological baby.”

Stacy met Bo's intense stare. “You're really serious about this, aren't you?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, Bo. I don't know what to say, except . . . are you fricking crazy?! Have you forgotten that I'm married? And even if I weren't, I don't know that I could carry a child for nine months, give birth, and then turn the baby over to y'all without a backward glance. Actually, even just saying that out loud lets me know that I couldn't. I couldn't have a child out there somewhere with my DNA and not have anything to do with it.”

“That's just it, Stacy. It wouldn't have to be that way. This child would be DJ's biological sister, and you'd be Aunt Stacy. We could handle it as an open adoption, with you seeing the child as often as you'd like. The only difference is that he or she would grow up in our home, instead of yours.”

Stacy looked at Bo with creased brow. “You've really thought about this, haven't you?”

“I've thought about saving my marriage, Stacy. I've thought about keeping my man.”

“Bo, stop drinking. Alcohol is clouding your judgment. Darius is not going to leave you.”

Bo threw back the last of his drink. “He'd better not,” he said, his tone low, his eyes narrowed. “Because Bo Jenkins Crenshaw wouldn't take that shit lightly. He wouldn't like that move at all.”

Hours after Bo left, Stacy was still reeling from their conversation.
He wants me to have a baby? For him and Darius? True, we've learned how to coexist, but . . . did he actually let those words come out of his mouth?
Shaking her head, she walked to the computer, decided to check her e-mails as a way to get her mind off the madness. Aside from the normal spam, there were e-mails from two potential employers that she'd sent resumes. One was from Globally Green, a company that served as an online networking community between environmentally friendly companies and consumers. This marketing position appealed to Stacy because she'd work from home. Tony didn't even need to know she had a job!

She opened the e-mail. Her heart sank. It was a “thanks but no thanks” rejection letter that she deleted without finishing. She clicked on the other job-related e-mail and deleted it too. They'd requested an interview, but the job was in Phoenix. Stacy hoped that by the end of the week it would be confirmed that Tony was a Sea Lion and she'd be relocating back to LA.

Her phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, she said to herself, “Maybe this is my answer now.” She placed the call on speaker. “Hey, baby!”

“Hey, baby girl! You found our house yet?” The enthusiasm in his voice jumped through the phone and almost slapped her in the face.

“I've got a couple serious contenders.” Stacy tried to rein in her joy. She didn't want to celebrate prematurely. “Why, should I step up my search?”

“Damn right! You're talking to an official Sea Lion, baby!” Tony whooped for emphasis. “I just signed the contract.”

“Yes!” Stacy joined in the celebration, dancing around the room. “Congratulations, baby.”

DJ came running into the room. “What is it, Mommy?”

“Daddy got a job, baby. He's going to play football in Los Angeles !”

“Sea Lions!” DJ exclaimed. He too joined in the dance.

“Tony, I'm so happy for you. So happy for us!”

“Me too, baby. I know the stress and pressure of this whole situation has made me less than an ideal husband lately. I want you to know that I'm sorry, Stace. For everything. I love you, baby. Thanks for always believing in me.”

His words caused tears, happy ones. With one phone call, and one announcement, Stacy's world had gotten brighter and all of her problems had gone away. Even a one-year contract would be enough for them to pay down their debts and allow for a bit of a savings account. Maybe Tony would even take her advice and hire a financial planner. Mismanaging finances was a common mistake among professional athletes. Maybe it wasn't too late to turn their finances around and secure their future!

She and Tony talked for half an hour and it was by far the best, least stressful, most upbeat conversation that they'd had in months. She got off the phone and immediately called the realtor, followed by her travel agent. In two weeks, Tony would be playing in a preseason game. If all went the way she'd hoped, the family would be relocated by the time that happened and the Johnsons could be ready for a new, more peaceful chapter in their lives.