Chapter Fifteen

 

Senator Durkheim drove off campus and headed up to his house at Bueno Vista. He entered the house in a huff and headed to the kitchen.

Charlene was in there. She had on her lab glasses and was pouring liquids into beakers. She looked up when she saw him and smiled. "Hello Stepdaddy. I didn't hear you come in."

Edward went over to her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Char, I left a very important meeting in Barbados to come here. I wanted to ensure that justice was served with Micah Bancroft."

"And?" Charlene asked pushing up her glasses and putting down the pipette.

"He showed me a video where Deidra confessed that she lied about the rape because she wanted to punish him. What kind of evil have I raised?"

He shuddered. "Do you know that a man's reputation is basically all he's got in this world that's worth anything? If I had not seen that video, I would have destroyed Micah. If a woman had done that to me..." He shook his head. "I am trying to get Deidra on the phone and can't."

"She's in class," Charlene said, pulling off her gloves and coming to sit across from him.

"I have raised a spoilt brat, haven't I?" He hung his head. "But what can I do now? She's almost twenty."

Charlene's eyes lit up. "You really want to know?"

Edward nodded, "Of course. Obviously, it's up to me to do something about Deidra. Her mother doesn't really care about her."

Charlene rubbed her hands gleefully. "First, ditch all the credit cards you give her."

Edward frowned. "But what will she do?"

"Get a job, like everybody else!" Charlene said purposefully.

"Next, have her get some help to sort out her issues. She's mixed up."

"Micah did mention that in his video," Edward said contemplatively, "but is it really psychiatric help she needs or a lesson in growing up? Too many rich kids go for psychiatric help, do you see any difference in behavior?"

"That's true, but she also needs some attention," Charlene said. "Call her often and check up on her, but don't give her any money…and stop opening doors for her. Let her work to open some of them herself."

Edward frowned. "But she is entering the Miss Jamaica competition next year February. I have to do something to help her."

"Let her do it herself," Charlene said frankly. "Deidra has a sense of entitlement that is sickening, and it's all your fault!"

Edward slumped his shoulders. "I got married several times to provide a mother for her. I'm not cut out to raise a girl."

Charlene chuckled. "You were not a bad parent the two or so years you were in my life."

"That's because you were already grown and passed the worse and more mature than your years. You know you are my favorite, Char."

Charlene grinned. "I know. I also know that you say that to everybody."

"How's James doing?" Edward asked. "Last time I spoke to him he was complaining about Deidra."

"Deidra hates him," Charlene said, "but he's not doing so badly in his second year. He wasted a lot of time in his first. He got a job at the media center recently…designing animations for Mount Faith TV."

"Oh," Edward nodded. "That's good for him. Last time I spoke to his mother, she said he was a spoilt brat. That's why she sent him to a Christian university to sort out his issues."

Charlene snorted. "I think issues should be sorted out before people are sent to university."

 

When Deidra got home and saw her father's car, she felt apprehensive. All day she had been in class and her conscience had been bothering her about lying to the police yesterday and signing that statement saying that Micah had raped her. However, today when she apologized to Micah, she had felt even more burdened. Now her father was here and probably wanted to kill Micah.

She didn't feel so well. She felt terrible about what she had done and she knew she had to tell the truth to exonerate Micah. What had gotten over her? She was convinced that she needed to do some anger management courses. To make matters worse, she had flirted shamelessly with that police officer. She couldn't even remember his name. She had just wanted to feel liked again. To be noticed.

She walked into the house depressed and feeling low. She heard her father's rumbling voice and Charlene's laughter. Those two always got on well. For once, Deidra wished were Charlene. That she had her poise and her confidence and even her looks.

Charlene didn't expect people to adore her and was never disappointed if they didn't. Charlene was comfortable in her own skin. Deidra was sure that Charlene didn't have nightmares about getting a scar on her face or had heart palpitations wondering if she ate something with too much saturated fat.

For Charlene, life was simple. She didn't have a beauty regimen or was afraid to be seen in generic brand name shoes. She gave Charlene a Hermes Birkin bag last Christmas, that was on the biggish side, and Charlene used it to carry her farming paraphernalia without a care in the world.

When she approached the kitchen softly, she saw that Charlene had pulled off her ubiquitous hat and had her hair lying in flat curls along her nicely shaped head. She had cooked something, which smelled nice, and she and her Dad were laughing and chatting easily.

Deidra entered the kitchen reluctantly. She felt like a kid again. She had spent much of her growing up years with Charlene's mother and she could remember settings like this, where her father would come over to the house and he and Charlene would share some joke or the other.

They shared a special bond and Deidra just felt alone and lonely. She really didn't have anyone in the world that truly loved her.

She had wanted Micah to love her but she was sure he would never like her much less love her again, not after this whole rape debacle.

She slouched her shoulders. The mental voice telling her to stop slouching, beauty queens don't slouch wasn't enough to make her straighten her spine.

"Dad," she said. Her voice had gotten all whispery and tear-filled.

He looked up and saw her expression and he sobered up.

Charlene smiled at her sympathetically. "I'll leave you two to talk." She picked up her plate. "Want something to eat Dee?"

"No thanks," Deidra said sighing. She sat across from her father with her head in her hands.

He reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "What's up kiddo?"

Deidra looked at him. Through the tears in eyes, he looked all blurry.

"I am sorry Daddy."

Her father cleared his throat. "What are you sorry about?"

"I made up the allegations against Micah."

Her father nodded a look of pain across his face. "I know. I called the assistant superintendent to tell him. He was very willing to drop the charges against Micah, and since only two days were wasted investigating this false charge, he will not charge you for making a false report. "

Deidra sniffled. "How'd you know?"

"Micah videotaped you confessing," Edward said stiffly. "Dee, you are not going to get away from this scot-free."

Deidra nodded. "I know."

"I am cutting you off," Edward said frankly. "You are an adult now and what you did to Micah was unacceptable. It showed me that you are a danger to society."

Deidra looked up at him worriedly. "I was just angry!"

Edward nodded. "I know. I know, but anger is never an excuse to do what you did. I am going to have to give you some tough love."

Deidra gasped. "What are you talking about?"

"As from today," Edward swallowed, "you are going to have to show me that you can survive in this world on your own and be a responsible citizen before I allow you anymore privileges. You are my only child and I cannot be a senator in the government of Jamaica and raise a dysfunctional brat. I see that now. I complain about young people and their idle ways and yet here I am enabling my own child to be the same. I put no pressure on you to be a better…productive person. I am leaving you to sink or swim, Deidra."

"What do you mean sink or swim?" Deidra felt an instant headache—her father had never spoken so sternly to her before.

"You are going to pack two suitcases and no more," Edward said. "I hope you choose whatever you are taking wisely. I am also allowing you to take your cell phone. Your school fee is paid up until the last semester. You have one year left of college, I hope you complete it but I am not helping you after that."

Deidra gasped. "That's unfair. How am I going to enter the beauty pageant in February without your backing?"

Edward shrugged and looked at her dispassionately. "Maybe it's time you think about doing something else other than in the beauty line, or you can enter the competition under your own steam."

"And where am I going to live when you kick me out?"

Edward shrugged—steeling himself against her pleading expression.

Deidra got up. "I'm going to call Tabitha!"

"I already told her not to interfere," Edward said frankly. "I threatened to leave her out of my will if she did."

Deidra sat back down abruptly, knowing that her mother loved money above all else. She would listen to Edward.

"So who is going to live here?" she asked, her face was ashen.

"Charlene and James," Edward said simply.

"James!" Deidra spat. "That twerp gets to live somewhere while you kick me out on the street. How am I even going to survive?" Deidra asked plaintively. "Don't do this to me Daddy! I promise I'll be a better person!"

Edward got up. "I'll give you one concession. When you find a job I will match your salary."

"But Daddy!" Deidra squealed. "Please don't do this to me!"

"I should have done something like this a long time ago. It took you almost destroying a man's reputation and sending him to prison to make me see the light. Come along, you have your case to pack and you need to tell me where to drop you off. If Charlene lets you back in this house again without my permission I am going to lock up this house and have her and James move out."

That's when it dawned on Deidra that her father was serious. She thought feverishly. Who did she know on campus? Where could she sleep for the night? Her life was falling apart!

 

Deidra went into her room and looked around feverishly. Where did she start? She had so many things. She went to the storage closet and took out her largest suitcases. She walked back to her room slowly. The senator was on his phone. He leaned on her door as he conducted business and Deidra felt one tear and then another dribble down her cheek.

What was she going to do? She didn't even have a bank account. She had no idea how those sorts of things worked. She just used the ATM and her credit cards. She opened her walk in closet, a sob escaping her; she had rows and rows of designer clothes. She had even arranged them according to color and fabric. She spun around and thought about it. What were the best clothes to carry?

"What are you going to do with my clothes when I am gone?" She choked out in her father's direction.

"Give them away," he said dispassionately. "Maybe some preteen girl can have them. They are too short and tight for you anyway. Which baffles me since you are doing a course in fashion design, surely you should know how to dress by now!"

"Am I even going to be allowed to come home for Christmas?" she sniffed.

Edward tapped his cheek. "I was thinking of going to New York this Christmas. Your grandmother is having a get together. If you can afford the flight you can come."

"But...but..." Deidra screamed, "This is barbaric!"

"You can always tell your grandmother what you did to warrant this punishment," Edward said. "Tell your gentle Christian grandmother that you almost sent a man to prison just because he did not want to have sex with you."

Deidra closed her eyes and grabbed some t-shirts and blouse from the hangars. She had to think about this carefully. She had only two suitcases.

"This is all your fault," she said cramming her odds and ends into the suitcases.

"I know," Edward sighed. "I spoiled you, now I am fixing it. Let it not be said that I am not the type of person who works on his mistakes when he is aware of them."

Deidra sobbed, "I don't know you this way." She fell on the bed crying.

Edward leaned over her and hugged her while she sobbed. "Hush my little girl," he said in the silence as Deidra sobbed. "You'll one day thank me for this."

Deidra got up unsteadily. "I'll never thank you. You are mean and terrible."

Edward glanced at his watch. "It will be night in two hours."

While she was trudging her suitcase downstairs James stepped into the house and looked at her tear strained face. "Where are you going?"

"Don't know," Deidra said hiccupping.

"James," Edward came behind Deidra. "I'll be back to hear about how you are doing in school. Maybe you can show me some of those animations of yours."

James swallowed and watched as his stepfather held the door open for Deidra and watched as she struggled to put the over-packed suitcases in the back of the SUV. When she started struggling to heave the second one into the back of the vehicle James ran out to help her.

She fell on the suitcase, crying.