It took me a minute to remember to breathe. Good thing Carmen had left the air condition running. I reached for the air vent to make sure it was blowing full blast on my burning hot face. It was early September, but Charleston, South Carolina, didn’t know anything about cooling down. Fall and spring always went through the South like a blur, barely noticeable. Summertime humidity seemed to stick around until it lost the battle with winter. Even then, winter barely took a bite of the South.
I looked over at Carmen and asked, “Does Cedric know you were married before?”
She shook her head. “No. I’ve been meaning to tell him, but the words never come. Now Darius is here in town. I’m still in shock after not seeing him for so many years.”
I frowned. Carmen was only twenty-eight. She must have married this man pretty young.
“So your ex-husband just shows up in town all of a sudden?”
“He found me. Darius Randall found me.” Her voice lowered but was still intense. “He called me this morning. I don’t even know how he got my number.” She seemed to be gulping for air. “But he’s been in Charleston since last week. I saw him last Thursday at the hospital. It was like seeing a ghost. He just appeared casually in front of me, smiling as if he’d been a part of my life all this time.” Carmen’s voice cracked.
“Just breathe, honey. It’s going to be okay.” I prayed Carmen wouldn’t hyperventilate on me. I’d never seen her like this before.
“It was a mistake to marry him,” she practically whispered.
“Well, I suppose you were in love with him at one time. Love has been known to fool a person. You had to be pretty young, right?”
She nodded. “I was seventeen when I met him. He seemed so grown-up, more mature than the boys my age. After a few months of being with him, I found myself pregnant. I had just turned eighteen.”
A child? “Oh.” What else was she going to spring on me? “You have a child too?”
“I lost the baby.” Carmen closed her eyes. “Darius pushed me, and I fell down a flight of stairs. He made me lose the baby.”
I flinched from the anguish in Carmen’s voice. I knew about marrying young. Ralph Patterson and I married shotgun style when my family found out I was pregnant with Junior. For many years, I resented my marriage. Thankfully, God moved Ralph and I to reconcile a few years before his passing, but I couldn’t imagine a man placing his hands on me and causing such devastating harm.
“It sounds like you needed to get away from Darius.” I tried to remember the man’s face I’d just seen moments ago before we rushed away. “He doesn’t sound like a nice man.”
Carmen sniffed. “I stayed with him a few months after the baby died. I should’ve left sooner. He blamed me for losing the baby when he was the one who pushed me.” She scoffed, “He claimed I was standing too close to the edge. The man placed both hands squarely on my back and shoved me. It took me a few months, but my parents helped me get a divorce lawyer.”
She let out a breath as if pushing the memories away. “My parents felt like I was too young and influenced by an older man. The divorce was almost painless. Darius didn’t put up a huge fuss. He wanted to be rid of me. I went off to college like I was supposed to, graduated, completed medical school, entered residency. Then I met Cedric.”
Carmen looked at me. “Ms. Eugeena, I put Darius behind me. I didn’t mean to keep this from Cedric. I just pushed that whole part of my life out of my mind.”
I rubbed her arm. “I understand. If I were your parents, I would have done the same thing to get you out of that awful marriage. You know you need to tell Cedric. He’s thinking you both are getting married for the first time. He needs to know.”
“I know, but I’m afraid Cedric will not accept this with an open heart.”
“Cedric loves you. Believe me, I know my son. You tell him what you told me. He’ll understand. Now can we get some food? I think I’m going to pass out.” I wasn’t being overly dramatic either. My face was feeling sweaty despite the air conditioning.
“Oh, yes, I’m sorry. We need to take care of you.”
Carmen and I was seated for our meal, and I checked my glucose which was definitely low. I swallowed a glucose tablet and drank the water Carmen had requested from the waiter.
After we received our orders, we both seemed to get back to normal. That was as normal as one can be after learning about Carmen’s past. I polished off my grilled chicken salad and realized telling Carmen my son would understand could be wishful thinking. I knew my middle child very well. Cedric’s sensitivity could make him react in a way that was not good. One of the reasons why Cedric had remained a bachelor so long was his determination to not be hurt by a woman. He played the field and pretended to enjoy his life, but when I saw Cedric with his nephews and niece, I saw the family man he longed to become one day.
One could only hope and pray.
Carmen took care of the bill. As we headed back to the car, something caught my attention from the side.
Was that Darius Randall looking at us from across the parking lot?
I looked over at Carmen who seemed to be in better spirits. She hadn’t noticed what I saw. We climbed back into the car. I looked in the passenger side mirror, and then pulled down the visor to peer through the mirror. Mr. Randall wasn’t in sight, but I was thoroughly creeped out. It’s possible I was seeing things, but my age hadn’t stopped my ability to pick up details.
Darius Randall appeared to be following us. Carmen not only needed to tell Cedric, she may need to report this man to the police. This man came to Charleston for a reason and seemed determined to talk to Carmen.