Through the Fire (19 page)

also where they all got together and watched

television.

Once in the family room, Brandon sat

down on one of the sectionals and put his head

in his hands. Wow, he hadn’t realized until he

walked in here that this was going to be

difficult. For some reason all the emotions he

had suppressed for so long were welling up

inside of him. He had to control it, though. He

didn’t want to scare his folks.

His mother sat quietly, wringing a white

handkerchief in her hands.

“Want me to make you a drink,

Brandon?” he heard his father ask.

Brandon nodded. “Yes, a whiskey. Make

it a double,” he murmured.

“Oh, my, Brandon Cameron, what’s going

on?” his mom asked. “This must be serious if

you’re asking for a double whisky.”

“Give the boy a chance to speak, dear,”

his father said, walking over to Brandon and

handing him his drink.

Brandon downed his drink at once. The

liquid burned his throat.

“What I’m about to tell you cannot leave

this room. Not yet,” Brandon said hoarsely

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195

looking from one to the other of his parents.

Each time he recited the story, his heart tore in

two. “It won’t,” his father said. Brandon

watched as he gave his mother’s shoulder a

squeeze.

“Oh man, I don’t know where to start,”

Brandon said.

“How about at the beginning?” his father

said encouragingly. His mother just continued

to stare at him.

“Brandon you need to tell us what’s going

on now,” she said finally. “The last time you

men kept me in the dark, Tristan and Sinjin

were involved in a shoot-out in New York and

your office was on fire. Please tell me we are

not about to relive that nightmare.”

Brandon snickered. “Mom, I almost wish

it were that simple.” He struggled again to get

his emotions under control. Running his

fingers through his hair, he began.

“Dad you asked me at Diamond and

Rafe’s wedding if something was wrong. I think

you kind of guessed my attitude that day had

something to do with Dominique. Well, it had

everything to do with her. Dominique and I

have been seeing one another for a while. I love

her very much. My sole purpose for being at the

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wedding was to reconnect with her. I had begun

to feel as if I was losing her,” Brandon croaked

out.

“What do you mean losing her? Did you

break up or something?” his mother asked.

“Yes…and no,” Brandon answered.

“Well that explains it all, Brandon,” his

mother said sarcastically.

Brandon took a deep breath and rushed

through the next few words like he was fighting

for his life. “We’ve been married for two years.”

His mother’s mouth fell open. “Excuse

me? Did I hear you correctly? Did you just say

you’ve been married for two years?”

“Yes, Mom, please let me finish,”

Brandon said. “It’s not that cut and dried.”

His father must have heard the

seriousness in his voice because he put a

restraining hand on her shoulder again. “Hold

on, Sarah. Go on, son.”

“As I said, Dominique and I were married

two years ago after she found out she was

pregnant,” Brandon choked out. His mother

gasped loudly. Her face drained of color, but no

one said anything and he went on to tell his

parents the whole story from beginning to end.

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197

By the time he finished, his mother was crying

outright.

“My baby,” Sarah wept. “Why didn’t you

come to us? Why’d you try to carry this alone? I

knew something was wrong. I kept telling your

father. I never dreamed it was this.”

“I’d made a promise to Dominique,

Mom.” Brandon realized that silent tears were

slipping down his own cheeks. He wiped them

away. “I realize now that I just didn’t want to

face anyone. I felt Dominique slipping away

from me. I’d already lost a child. I was so afraid

I would lose my wife as well. Dominique was a

complete wreck. I would’ve agreed to anything

just to see her smile again. At the time, I

thought keeping everything secret was the best

thing to do. Now we both realize that keeping

this secret almost destroyed what we were both

trying to protect, our love for one another.”

“Where’s Dominique now? Please don’t

tell me that you’re giving up, Brandon?” Sarah

said.

“No, mom, I forced Dominique’s hand at

the wedding. It was the best thing I’ve done

since this all started. I realized that she still

loves me. If I hadn’t taken matters into my own

hands, I would have lost her. Her father’s been

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riding her for a while to marry someone else. A

real…well, someone who’s not very nice. Now

because of his pressure, she’s agreed it’s time to

tell her family. She’s arranged a dinner for

Saturday night. I’m worried, though. I think the

stress of this high-profile case and the fallout

that is sure to come with her father after her

announcement is going to be too much for her.

That’s why I’m here now. I’m helping in any

way that I can. My baby girl is gone. I’ll not

lose my wife. I want to make more babies with

her,” Brandon said around the lump that had

formed in his throat.

“The baby was a girl?” his mother cried.

“You knew the sex that soon?”

“Mom, Dominique was going on six

months pregnant,” Brandon whispered. “Our

baby lived for a little while.”

“Oh, my God! You poor darlings.

Brandon, you should have told us,” his mother

said in a broken voice.

“Son, that was too much for you to bear

alone. I can understand why you did it, but it

seems to me that Dominique’s not the only one

who hasn’t dealt with the loss,” his father

surmised.

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199

Brandon nodded helplessly. “You’re right,

Dad. I thought I had until I came here tonight.

All of a sudden these emotions that I’d kept

hidden almost overwhelmed me. Honestly, I

feel responsible. Dominique was on her way to

see me when she began to miscarry,” Brandon

cried.

Sarah dried her own tears and set about

comforting her son. “No, Brandon. It’s not your

fault. Sometimes these things just happen.

There’s no one to blame. Did the doctor say she

can have more children?”

“Yes. The doctors couldn’t give us an

explanation as to why Dominique miscarried.

Her obstetrician couldn’t find anything

physically wrong with her. He decided that it

might have been stress-related. I still feel

responsible. I’d begun to hound Dominique,

telling her I thought her father was

intentionally keeping her in Atlanta for some

reason…” Brandon went on to repeat the story.

He felt as if he’d told it a thousand times this

week. Maybe if he repeated it enough, he’d

understand it better.

“Brandon, I can’t imagine Dominique

being six months pregnant and no one

noticing?” his mother said.

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“You have to remember Dominique lived

and worked in New York. At the time her family

didn’t see her as often. Besides that, she wasn’t

showing much which concerned me anyway,”

Brandon sighed. He was tired, drained in fact.

And the worst part of it was that he had a

feeling this was just the beginning.

“It’ll all work out, Brandon,” Sarah said

firmly. It sounds to me like you and Dominique

love each other very much. The loss of a child,

through any means, will either tear a couple

apart or bring them closer together. You and

Dominique might have separated for a little

while but your love for one another never

wavered. Hold on to that love and don’t let

anyone or anything come between you two.”

His mother patted his hand. “I’ve always

wanted a daughter. Well, now I have two. I’m

glad y’all are deciding to tell her family. Since

Dominique is capable of having more children,

I want some grandbabies soon. Lord knows,

Tristan and Alisha are just being downright

contrary, and forget about Sinjin. I don’t know

what I’m going to do with my youngest child.”

Brandon and his father both laughed at

his mother’s theatrics.

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201

“He’s not that bad, Mom. Look at Tristan.

No one would have ever thought that that

ornery dude would find a woman who would

put up with his attitude, let alone marry him.

Now look at him. Whipped like a puppy.”

Brandon laughed. It felt good to laugh again.

“She did tame him, didn’t she? That’s

what the love of a good woman will do for you.

That and a good, swift kick in the behind.

Alisha’s no wallflower. That’s what I like most

about her. She doesn’t stand for any nonsense

from your brother. Sinjin, on the other hand, is

of a different breed altogether. I am sure that

the woman to sink her claws into Sinjin will

surely have to shoot him. Lord knows, I’ve

thought about it a couple of times myself,” his

mother giggled.

Brandon laughed so hard tears ran down

his face. He had missed his mom’s witty

personality.

“Now, if you two will excuse me, I have a

lot to do before I retire for the evening,” Sarah

Cameron said, excusing herself.

“Sure. I have to call Dominique anyway.

Then I have some work to do as well,” Brandon

said. “I’ll see you both in the morning before I

leave for the office.”

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“Hang around for a few minutes, son. I

need to speak with you. Sarah, honey, I’ll be up

in a bit,” Lawrence Cameron, said smiling at his

wife.

Sarah smiled and nodded. Brandon

waited for his mother to completely leave the

room before giving his father a questioning

look. “What is it, Dad?”

“I’m still trying to comprehend why you

felt the need to keep your
marriage
—with

Dominique a secret, especially after she lost the

baby. Don’t you know it’s at times like that that

you need family to lean on?”

Brandon studied his hands. “See, Dad,

here’s the thing. When Dominique and I first

started dating, I didn’t know how you or the

rest of the family would feel. I’d never dated

outside of my race, nor had Tristan or Sinjin, as

far as I knew. Regardless of how times have

changed, this is still the South and a great deal

of our social circle is riddled with uptight

people. I didn’t want anyone intruding on what

we shared. I was cocky enough to believe that I

had it all figured out and under control.”

“It wasn’t until this situation with Alisha

and Tristan and how you reacted to them that I

realized I’d made a mistake and that I truly

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203

missed being with my wife. After she lost the

baby, it was as if I was moving in slow motion.

Nothing much mattered. I think that’s why I

missed this thing with Langston. I’m sorry, I

didn’t mean to hurt y’all’s feelings,” Brandon

murmured.

His father looked stunned. “Why would

you think we wouldn’t have approved of

Dominique? Because she’s African American?

I’ve never given you any indication that I

wouldn’t have approved a mixed-raced union.

Chad was one of your closest friends. Why

wouldn’t you think I’d approve you dating his

sister?”

“Being friends with someone is totally

different from marrying them, Dad. I just

wasn’t sure, and I respect you and mom too

much to go against your wishes…and that’s

what I would have had to do if you hadn’t

approved of Dominique. I love her just that

much. I won’t let anyone come between us

again, Dad,” Brandon said firmly. “Not even her

father.”

“Brandon you’re not sure that he did

anything in the first place. He has a right to

want his daughter to marry an African