Chapter 14

“Those who are faithless know the pleasures of love; it is the faithful who know love's tragedies”. -- Oscar Wilde

 

“Pumpkin, are you all right?” Her father led her to a nearby chair.

Adanya looked around. Bleak, along with the woman she assumed was his mother, and a little girl who looked to be no more than two, three at the most, were gathered around her. She noticed several people in the waiting room were staring in her direction.

“You…Her…She…” she continued to try to get the words out. Was she dreaming? Had she somehow gotten sucked into some awful nightmare and didn’t know it? Did she really hear her father calling Bleak his son? “What are you doing here? She finally managed to ask.

Bleak spoke up before Kenneth. He looked totally confused. “What’s going on? You know her?”

“It’s a long story. But yes, I know her.” “You know me? It’s a long story? Is that all you have to say?’ Adanya’s voice rose.

“Not here, not now, Adanya,” Kenneth pleaded.

“Bleak, it’s him.”

“Who? What are you talking about?” Bleak looked around, obviously confused.

“My father. The man who rrr…─”

“I said, not here, Adanya,” Kenneth yelled. “My little girl is in there.” He pointed toward the exit, “And I don’t know how she’s doing. I don’t need this right now.”

“John, what’s going on?” The frightened looking blond haired woman finally spoke up with tears crested in the corner of her eyes.

“John? I don’t understand. Why is she calling you by your middle name?” Adanya pressured.

“Honey, who is she? What is this about?” The woman looked just as disturbed as she sounded.

Kenneth turned to the distraught woman. “This, she’s my…she’s my daughter.” His eyes were flat and fixed on Adanya as he spoke to the woman.

The woman’s hand flew up to her mouth.

“Your daughter?” Bleak said and looked at Kenneth and then back at Adanya. “But…you’re married to my mother. What’s going on here?” Bleak asked as his fury began to mount.

Adanya’s tears poured. In the back of her mind she could hear Bleak’s mother bawling. She heard her daddy talking to her, trying to calm her down. Without saying so much as another word to anyone, Kenneth wrapped his arm around the woman’s shoulder and led her, and the little girl, out of the waiting room.

Bleak chased behind them mouthing words at her father that Adanya never thought she’d hear come out of his mouth. He was too mild mannered and respected his faith too much to say a curse word. But tonight the Bleak she saw was behaving like a raging bull. He ran up behind Kenneth and grabbed hold of his shoulder.

Kenneth turned around and Bleak got up in his face screaming and yelling. A nearby security guard ran up and demanded that they leave.

Adanya was left sitting alone and confused in the waiting room. She’d been sitting so long that she finally came to the conclusion that Bleak wouldn’t be back.

She fumbled nervously inside her purse until she felt her phone. Removing it, she dialed Nanette.

“Nanette,” she cried into the phone.

“Girl, what’s wrong? You sound like you’re crying.”

“I need you to come and get me.”

“What happened?”

“Please, just come and get me.” Adanya sobbed.

“Where are you?”

“LeBonheur.”

“LeBonheur as in the Children’s Hospital?”

“Yes.”

“What are you doing there?”

“I can’t explain right now. Just come. Please. Come now.”

“I’m on my way.”

Adanya ended the call and put the phone back in her purse.

“Ma’am, are you all right? Is there anything I can do for you?”

Adanya looked up following the sound of the male voice. “No, I’m…fine. Thank you,” she managed to say.

“Are you sure? I couldn’t help but witness some of what happened. I was sitting right over there.” He pointed to a nearby sofa. “Do you need something? Can I call somebody for you?”

“No,” she said again. “But thank you. Someone is on the way to get me.” Adanya stood up while she wiped the tears and snot away from her face with the back of her hand.

“Hold up,” he said. Adanya stopped and watched as the stranger walked to the receptionist area and came back with some tissue.

“Here.” He passed the tissues to her.

“Thank you so much.” She sniffled and wiped her face and hands. “You’re welcome. If you sure you’re okay, I’ll leave you alone.”

“Yes, I’m good.” She looked around like she was expecting to see Bleak, or her father. Nobody she knew was around, so she walked swiftly out of the waiting area and didn’t stop until she was downstairs. She went to the front of the hospital and waited, hoping and praying that Nanette would be there soon.

As soon as Adanya spotted her car, she took off running toward it. Nanette pulled up and didn’t have time to turn off the ignition because Adanya jumped in the car straight away.

“Girl, what’s going on?”

“Oh, Nanette it’s terrible.”

“Where is Bleak?”

“I…guess he’s still in there. I don’t know,” Adanya said between all the sobbing. “Just get me away from here.”

Nanette yelled. “Look, I’m not leaving until you tell me what happened. Did he hurt you?” She was worried and confused. What could have happened that had Adanya so distraught?

“I’ll tell you, but get me away from here first. If you won’t do it, I swear,” Adanya opened the door, “I’ll walk, call a cab…anything,” she demanded.

Nanette reached out and grabbed Adanya’s arm and held on to her. “Close the door,” she ordered.

Nanette sped down Dunlap and headed toward the interstate. For a couple of minutes they travelled in silence, except for the constant sound of Adanya crying.

“Are you sure you want me to take you home? You can come over to my place if you think that’ll make you feel better.”

“Yeah, let’s go to your place. I think that will be best.”

The twenty minute drive gave Adanya time to think. But the more she thought about what had just happened, the more mixed up she became.

“She called him John. She called my daddy by his middle name?”

“Who? What are you talking about?” Nanette asked as she surpassed the seventy mile per hour speed limit.

“Bleak. That woman.”

“Adanya, you’re not making any sense. Did you say Bleak was with another woman?”

“His mother.”

“What about his mother?”

“His mother, Nanette. His mother called my daddy by his middle name.”

Nanette shifted her gaze on Adanya. “What does Bleak’s mother and your daddy have to do with this? You’re not making sense.”

Adanya inhaled, then exhaled. She chewed on her bottom lip and toyed with her hands. Again she inhaled and then slowly but deeply exhaled. “His, Bleak’s sister and mother were in a car accident. She called and told Bleak to come to the hospital.”

“Okay,” said Nanette. “Just take your time.”

“She, well, she…no, he,” she babbled, “when we got there we had to go to CCU. That’s what they told him. We, oh, Nanette it’s so horrible.” Adanya begin to lose control again.

“Oh my gosh, did something bad happen to his sister? Is she alive?”

“She’s alive, but she was injured bad enough to be in Critical Care. But, we walked into the waiting room, and some woman, I guess Bleak’s mother. She ran up to him when she saw him.”

“Yes, go on,” Nanette urged as she exited the interstate and drove toward the street that would lead to her apartment.

“She ran up to him and then next thing I know is, I don’t even know if I saw him first or heard him, or what, but─”

“Hold up.” Nanette pulled into her driveway. “Come on, let’s get you inside. Then you can let it all out.” Nanette opened the car door, hopped out, and dashed over to the passenger’s side before Adanya could completely get out of the car. She yanked the door all the way open and allowed Adanya to get out.

Adanya moved like she was in shock. Each step was slow paced and her head was bowed down.

Nanette guided her to the door of her apartment, unlocked it, and ushered her friend inside.

“Sit down. I’m going to get you something to drink.”

“I don’t want anything. I’m okay. I’m here now. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, sit down.” Nanette followed Adanya as she walked over to the sofa and sat down. She buried her head in her hands.

“Now what about this woman? Bleak’s mother. Did she say anything out of line to you?”

Adanya shook her head. “No, it wasn’t her. She’s probably just as messed up as I am. I don’t know where they went.”

“Where who went?”

Adanya lifted her head. Her eyes had already begun to swell. “A man walked up and called Bleak his son.”

“And what was wrong with that? You told me he had a stepfather.”

“It was my daddy, Nanette. The man was my daddy.” Adanya broke down again.

“Your daddy? Mr. Anniston? But how could he, why would he be calling Bleak his son? I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I. I think he’s living a double life.”

“A double life?”

“Yes, and Bleak, he, his mother, all of us, his little sister…”

“But I thought you said his sister was in CCU.”

“He has two little sisters. And now, oh my God.”

“What is it?”

“Bleak told me that his mother had two kids by his stepfather. And if they’re my father’s children then you know what that means.” Adanya’s pupils grew larger by the second.

“They’re your sisters too,” Nanette finished.

“Exactly.” Adanya’s phone started ringing. She fished for the phone inside her purse. By the time she found it, it had stopped ringing. She looked at her Call Log.

“Who was it?”

“Bleak,” Adanya responded. Her text message tone chimed. “It’s him.” She read the text message out loud. “Where r u? Call me, pleaz. We need 2 talk.”

“Call him,” insisted Nanette.

“I don’t know if I can talk to him right now.”

“Call him. You need to see what’s going on.”

Adanya quickly dialed the number before she had time to change her mind again.

Bleak answered almost immediately. “Where are you? I’ve been all over this hospital looking for you,” he said with severity.

“Nanette. picked me up. Bleak, what’s going on? My daddy? I don’t understand any of this.”

“I know,” he said sounding dejected and lost. “I’m just as confused as you. But it’s not good. That’s all I can say. My mother is messed up about this whole thing. And my sister, my little sister has multiple fractures. A fractured pelvis, femur, and ankle.” He cried.

“Oh, Bleak, I’m so sorry. She is going to be all right though, isn’t she? What are the doctors saying?” Adanya asked as she momentarily laid aside her own problems.

“Yeah, eventually, but she’s probably going to walk with a limp the rest of her life, and her pelvis is going to have to be fused too. She’s got a long road to recovery. And having that…that, well I can’t call him all the things I want to, but now things are really messed up. And I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything you went through tonight. I had no intention of leaving you alone in that waiting room, but I got so upset, so angry with John.”

“John? Humph. Is that what you know him as? John?” Adanya asked and looked over at Nanette.

“Yes, John Phillips, but who is he really?”

“His full name is Kenneth John Phillip Anniston. They gave him two middle names when he was born. John, after my grandmother’s deceased brother, and Phillip after my paternal great granddaddy. Guess he took it upon himself to add the ‘s’ to Phillip; gave himself a totally separate personality. I don’t know. I’m confused. I’m telling you, this is so like a movie. I feel like I’m living out my life on the big screen.”

“Tell me about it. I wanted to break his back, but I had to keep control for my mother’s sake.”

“Is he still at the hospital?”

“Naw, he’s gone. My mother forced him to leave. Plus, I’m sure he knew he better not hang around, because I don’t know how much longer I would have been able to control myself.”

“And your mother and baby sister?”

“My mother had to pull herself together for my sister’s sake. She’s in the room with her now. My stepdaddy,” he hesitated. “John, took my baby sister with him. I’m going to be here for a while. But I need to see you too.” “I can’t believe this,” he said in a choked voice. “I can’t believe any of this,” he repeated.

“Neither can I. Hold up, Bleak.” Adanya pulled the phone away from her ear to see who was calling on the other line. It was him. Her father. She ignored his call. “Bleak, that was him calling on the other end.”

“Are you going to talk to him?” Bleak asked.

“I can’t talk to him. I don’t know him anymore. I don’t know who he is.” She began to cry into the phone again. Nanette eased over next to her and put her arm around her shoulder.

“Adanya, baby, stop crying. I wish I could be there with you.”

“No, Bleak. You’re where you’re supposed to be, with your mother and sister. They need you. I’ll be okay. I’m going to be here with Nanette until I sort things out in my head. But you’re right about one thing.”

“What is that?”

“You and me…we need to talk. I need to know everything you can tell me about the man who’s torn my life apart for a second time.”

“And you deserve to know everything. I’ll call you later. Try to get some rest, if that’s possible.”

“And you take care of your mother. I can’t imagine what she’s feeling.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty distraught. The doctor wanted her to go home after he came and talked to us and saw how messed up she was. He thought it was because of my sister, and of course that’s a huge part of it, but he doesn’t know about John. I don’t know what to say to her, Adanya. Shoooot, I don’t even know what to say to you.” “There’s nothing for you to say. None of this is your fault. You’re just as much a victim as me and your mother. And my mother, well, I mean Annalisse; when she learns the truth about her husband, think about what it’s going to do to her. This man has managed to destroy everyone around him. I don’t understand, Lord. I just don’t understand.”

“Me neither, but look, I’ll talk to you as soon as I can. I need to get back to my mom. Hang in there, baby.”

“I’ll try.”