Chapter 14
Colin’s Story
“Tell Ms. Nona hello,” he instructed, handing his son off to his doting secretary.
“He is absolutely adorable,” Nona said, placing her lips near Austin’s ear and kissing him. “Oh, my goodness. Look at those eyes, look at that handsome smile. He’s the spitting image of you, Mr. Stephens.”
Colin felt himself blushing. “Thanks. That’s my Austin-Boston.”
“He’s yours all right,” she said, pressing her cheek against the child’s. “You couldn’t have denied this one if you wanted to.”
Colin could hold back his grin no longer. “Most people say he looks like me. He’s got his mama’s nose though.”
“Maybe,” Nona said, looking from Austin to Colin in careful comparison. “I know one thing. He’s a good baby.”
“Yes, he is.” Pride illuminated Colin’s face.
“He’s so quiet that I didn’t even know you had him in here.” She ran her fingers through the child’s curly hair.
“Austin’s generally not fussy,” Colin bragged. “If he cries, either he’s sick, hungry, or wearing a soiled diaper. He doesn’t cry just to get attention or just to be picked up. He doesn’t even cry when he’s sleepy.”
“He’s my kind of baby,” Nona said. Then looking at Colin, she added, “What are you doing here anyway? I thought you said yesterday that you were off today.”
“Technically, I am, so don’t send any calls or any walk-in clients my way.” Colin sat behind his desk, picked up a pen, and motioned for Nona to put Austin in the playpen he’d brought with them. “Had a few things I wanted to catch up on, so I thought today would be a good day to do it.”
After placing the child down, Nona took the liberty to sit in one of the empty chairs across from Colin’s desk. “After you missed your wife and son when you went home for lunch the other day, I’d figure that you’d take any day off to, well . . . be off. This couldn’t wait for Monday?”
Colin pretended to be too involved in his note writing to answer right away. He was buying time to think of a response that wouldn’t expose the trouble that had been brewing in his house, but one that wouldn’t be dishonest either. “Let’s just say, I improvised.” He closed the folder he’d been writing in and opened another. Not once during this time did he look up at Nona for fear his eyes would betray him. “I brought Austin in so that I could spend time with him and get some work done at the same time.”
“And Mrs. Stephens?”
Nona was treading on waters that she’d never approached before. She’d never probed into his personal affairs. Still, Colin opted to answer. “Angel had some busy work to do this morning that would keep her away from the house for several hours anyway. So it’s not like Austin and I abandoned her.”
“Busy work? Does that mean she’s shopping again?”
It was then that Colin looked up and across his desk at his assistant. He’d probably said too much during their recent chats. It wasn’t Nona’s business that Angel had picked up a habit of shopping unnecessarily, but talking about it with someone lessened Colin’s anxiety. Nona was too busy making faces at Austin and drawing laughter from the child to see Colin’s stare.
He looked back at the paper on his desk. “No, she’s not shopping. Remember her grandmother’s friend that I told you about?”
“The one who passed away last year?” Nona asked, now giving him her full attention.
“Yes, Ms. Essie. For the past two or three Saturdays, she’s been spending time over there packing away her belongings.”
“What’s she gonna do with the house? Ms. Essie left it to her, right?”
“Yeah.” Colin couldn’t recall telling her that, but there was probably a lot he’d said in that state of mind that he wouldn’t recall now. He pulled a bottle from Austin’s bag and stood to hand it to him. It was time for a nap, and he knew the milk would do the trick. “Angel was pretty much left everything. Ms. Essie didn’t have any surviving blood relatives.”
“None? How’s that possible? She wasn’t that old that all her relatives were dead.”
The disbelieving scowl that distorted Nona’s face made Colin chuckle. “She was knocking on eighty—not terribly old by today’s standards, I don’t guess. But I know that both Ms. Essie’s parents were deceased, and both her sisters passed away some years before she did. Her husband died very early in their marriage, and they had no children. So yes; she outlived everyone in her family.”
“Her immediate family, maybe,” Nona said, “but what about nieces? Great nieces? What about cousins . . . nephews? She had to have some blood relatives left, I would think.”
Colin shrugged his shoulders. “Nope. At least, none that she ever spoke of. And no cousins, nephews, or nieces ever came around, so I’m guessing they didn’t exist. I never asked, but she never mentioned any either. That’s why she took so fondly to Angel. She was her closest thing to having a biological family. Angel’s grandmother died when she was pretty young, so since Ms. Essie and Angel’s grandmother were such good friends, Ms. Essie became sort of a surrogate grandparent to Angel.”
Nona readjusted her position in her chair, then changed the subject. “So, why are you letting these folks in corporate America own you, Mr. Stephens?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, you said that Ms. Essie left your wife a ton of money, right? Is it locked away so that you can’t gain access to it or something? That’s the only way I’d get out of my house on a cloudy day to report to a job that I didn’t need.”
Colin looked at Nona again. He didn’t realize what a boatload of grief he’d unloaded on her when he unburdened himself as they shared coffee at a nearby Starbucks after work a few days ago. It was the reason he’d gotten home so late the night that he and Angel had the disagreement. He’d needed a listening ear that night, and Nona’s had been perfect. Colin didn’t feel that his issues with Angel were topics that he could discuss with T.K. or Mason. Mason was going through his own storm, and T.K . . . well, he thought Colin and Angel had the perfect marriage. Colin didn’t want to tarnish his friend’s image.
“Did I say something wrong?” Nona had become concerned by Colin’s unresponsiveness. “I’m sorry. I just—”
“You didn’t say anything wrong,” Colin said. “But can you not say it so loud? I don’t need anyone else in the office knowing my business.”
Placing her hand to her lips, Nona lowered her voice. “Was I talking loud? My grandmama—God bless the dead—used to tell me all the time that my voice carried. She was always telling me to shut up. Said I talked too loud and too much.” She sucked her teeth like the recalled chastisement brought back old childhood wounds, then said, “I’m sorry. I’ll be more mindful of the volume.”
Rubbing his forehead, Colin released a sigh. “This is just not the kind of information I want to become common knowledge, that’s all.”
“Oh, don’t worry, Mr. Stephens,” she assured him. “I’d never do that to you. I know you confided in me in the strictest of confidence, and I want you to know that you can trust me like a big sister. None of these folks around here will ever hear me repeat anything you’ve said.”
Colin chuckled. “Like a big sister? You think you’re older than I am?”
Nona flashed a flattered smile. “I know I am.”
“How do you know that?”
“What are you, Mr. Stephens? Twenty-five . . . twenty-six?”
It was Colin’s turn to be flattered. Her guess didn’t surprise him though. Most people thought he was younger than his age. When he and Angel first got married, they’d often be mistaken as teenaged newlyweds. “I’ll be thirty-two before the end of the year,” he said.
“Really?” Nona looked surprised. “When you first introduced yourself on the day I interviewed, I kept thinking of how odd it was going to be to have to refer to some kid who was fresh out of college as Mr. anything.”
“I’ve been out of college for ten years,” Colin bragged.
“Well, I’m not telling my age, so don’t even ask,” Nona said, grinning. “I’m not as much your senior as I thought, but I still qualify to be your big sister. So if you don’t have a biological one, you can adopt me. I’ll still work like a regular employee,” she added through a giggle.
Colin came back with, “If you want to be paid as one, I suggest you do.”
They shared a laugh.
“Well?” Nona pitched.
“Well, what?”
Nona rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I might be older, but you’ve got the worst memory. Why are you working when you don’t have to?”
Reaching into his top drawer to switch from the black writing pen he had used earlier to one that contained blue ink, Colin said, “For starters, everything Ms. Essie left Angel wasn’t cash money. Her home, property, and some personal valuables were included in that.”
“Still, it’s enough for you to tell these folks who are overworking you to kiss your behind. You don’t have to be here.”
Colin laughed. “I don’t think a half, or even three quarters of a million dollars is enough to retire off of. If I were twenty years older, maybe it would be a thought. But at Angel’s age and my age, and with so many years ahead of us, God willing, I don’t think it’s enough to live comfortably off of for the rest of our lives. Not with a growing son who, seventeen years from now, will need money for college. Despite how much money my wife has, I’m still head of household, and I have a family to take care of. Even the Bible tells us that a man who doesn’t work shouldn’t eat.”
“I can think of at least a dozen men, right off the top of my head, that you need to talk to,” Nona said with a grunt. “If all brothas thought like you, there wouldn’t be so many single sistas in the world. Mrs. Stephens is a lucky woman, but I know she doesn’t need me to tell her that.”
Colin curled his tongue to keep his mouth from forming the words that it begged to. Please tell her. That’s what he wanted to say. Maybe if Nona told Angel how lucky she was, she’d appreciate him more; give him more love and affection.
“So how late are you going to be working today?” Nona asked, standing. She crept toward Austin’s playpen and reached down. When she returned to her full height, she held a near-empty bottle in her hand.
Colin stood and looked over his desk. “Is he asleep?”
“Out like a light,” Nona answered.
Taking the bottle from her hand, Colin placed it in the middle of his desk, just above the file he’d opened several minutes earlier. Looking at his watch, he said, “I’m not sure how late I’ll be here today. Probably only for another hour or so.”
“Well, if you’re still here at lunchtime and want to grab a bite to eat before going home, it’s my turn to treat.”
“I don’t think I’ll be here for three more hours, but I appreciate the offer. Even if I am, I’ve got Austin.”
“So? Bring him along,” she said, turning toward the door. “As they say, the more the merrier. It’s not like he’s gonna run up my tab.”
Laughing, Colin said, “True.”
Just before turning the doorknob to let herself out, Nona turned back to face him. “I mean it, Mr. Stephens. I’d love to have both of you join me for lunch. You’re a great boss, and I enjoy your company. Plus it’ll give me more time to play with my new little nephew.”
Colin hadn’t felt like his company was appreciated in some time. With his parents living so far away and his wife’s lack of interest, these days he hadn’t felt like he had much of a family either.
“Just give it some thought,” she added with a blithe wave of her hand. “If I don’t see you again before you leave, enjoy the rest of your weekend. Unlike you, I have to be here until closing.”