The phone was still ringing nonstop and Charlotte wondered when any of this was ever going to cease. It seemed that every media outlet in the country was now aware of David’s custody filing and the HIV scenario, and they were shamelessly trying to get Charlotte and Curtis to comment. But Lisa had advised them against speaking with anyone until she was able to schedule a formal, exclusive interview. She was also preparing another press statement to send out over the wire, so hopefully this would answer most of the media’s questions.
But even with the circus of reporters working so hard to contact them, none of that compared to the court papers that had been served to Charlotte this morning. The documents clearly outlined everything David was asking for and the hearing date was less than two weeks away. Charlotte had been hoping she’d have a chance to speak to David when he’d brought Matthew home last night, but once David had waited to make sure Matthew was in the house safely, he’d backed out of the driveway and left. She’d debated whether she should try to reason with him one last time, but she’d decided it probably wasn’t going to make any difference. It was also why she’d decided to swallow every ounce of pride she had and was now preparing to call her cousin Anise. She hadn’t wanted to, not with the awful terms she and Anise had been on for more than six years, but she didn’t see where she had any other choice. There was no choice—no choice except to try and get Anise to talk some sense into David before it was too late.
Charlotte took a deep breath and dialed Anise’s number.
She picked up after the third ring. “Hello?”
“Anise?”
“It’s about time you called me back.”
“What do you mean? I didn’t even know you called.”
“I’ve tried you at least five times, both on your home phone and your cell and mostly my calls went straight to voice mail. Actually, I just tried Curtis’s cell about an hour ago, but he didn’t answer either.”
“We’ve been getting tons of calls all day, so we finally just stopped checking the caller ID altogether. And then Curtis has been on the phone with his publicist and Elder Jamison, so he probably just didn’t answer.”
“Well, I was calling because I received a phone call from David’s mother this morning, and she wants to talk to you.”
“About what?”
“David. And while she told me a few of the details, I think it will be best if you speak to her directly.”
“Anise, why can’t you just tell me?”
“Look, if you want the number, then I’ll give it to you.”
“My God, girl, what is it going to take for you to stop being so hateful toward me? Yes, I made a mistake, but I’ve apologized how many times?”
“The only reason I’m calling you is because I care about Matthew, and I would never allow anyone to hurt him. So do you want the number or not?”
Charlotte couldn’t imagine what David’s mother could possibly need to speak to her about, but figured it couldn’t hurt anything. “What is it?”
Anise recited the number and Charlotte wrote it down.
“Before you go,” Charlotte said, “do you have a few more minutes? Because I was calling to ask you a favor.”
“What is it?”
“I need you to talk to David about this custody case he just started. Because even though he won’t listen to me, maybe you can get him to see how damaging all of this is going to be for Matthew.”
“Look, why don’t you just call David’s mother. Okay?”
“You know what, Anise? Just forget it.”
Charlotte hung up and tried calming her nerves. She’d been hoping Anise might be mature enough to put aside their differences, even if only for Matthew’s sake, however, she could tell it wasn’t going to happen.
Although the one thing Charlotte had to admit was that if Anise had put forth the effort to call her at all, she really did think it was important for her to speak to David’s mother. So she went down to the family room and told Curtis about it.
“That’s strange,” he said. “But if she wants you to call her then it must be for a good reason.”
“Maybe, but if she’s going to try to defend her son, then I don’t wanna hear it. I don’t wanna hear anything about David and how he has rights when it comes to Matthew.”
“I still think you should call.”
“I guess,” she said, picking up the phone.
When she’d finished dialing, she walked over to the window.
“Hello?” the woman answered
“Mrs. Miller.”
“Yes.”
“This is Charlotte Black, Anise’s cousin.”
“Yes. How are you?”
“I’m well. And you?”
“Fine.”
“You wanted to speak to me?”
“Yes. I’m sure you’re a little shocked about that, but after seeing all the news coverage about David filing for custody of his son, my husband and I decided we needed to get in touch with you right away.”
“Is there some sort of problem?”
“Well, the thing is, Charlotte, David has known for years that he can’t have children, but he’s always been in denial.”
“I don’t understand.”
“He was injured as a small boy, and the doctor told us back then that his chances of having a child were next to none. But he’s always wanted children and refused to believe any medical opinions.”
“Did Anise know that?”
“No. Not until I called her this morning. I always wanted to tell her, especially when they were married, but I knew my son would hate me for it and that he would feel it wasn’t my business.”
“What I remember is him being angry at Anise because she didn’t want children.”
“Yes, because he always believed that if she had stopped taking birth control pills, they could have had as many children as he wanted. Then, of course, they split up and he remarried. But eventually, he divorced his second wife, too. David doesn’t have much to do with his father and me, but his second wife told me that after they’d tried for more than a year to get pregnant and nothing happened, he blamed her for everything. He told her it was all her fault, and the next thing she knew, he was serving her with divorce papers.”
“I had no idea.”
“But worse than that, there’s another reason David wants a child so badly.”
“Which is?”
“My father passed about five years ago, but before he died, he and my mother revised their will. So when my mother passed last year, David learned that they’d left him a sizable trust fund. But until now he’s only had access to twenty-five percent of it. And the only way he can get another twenty-five percent is if he has children. And then the other fifty percent is to be divided among David’s children in two installments. When they turn eighteen and then again when they either graduate from a four-year college or turn twenty-five, whichever comes first. My parents were never happy about the way David treated my husband and me, so they decided they would leave half of what they would have given to David to their future great-grandchildren. Which is why having custody of a child would at least allow him to get the other part he has coming to him immediately, and we’re talking easily another one hundred fifty thousand dollars.”
Charlotte heard what Mrs. Miller was saying but none of it made any sense. She had no problem believing that there was a trust fund and that David was looking to cash in on it, but what she didn’t believe was that David couldn’t have children. Because regardless of what his mother thought, Charlotte knew for sure that David was Matthew’s father because they had proof that Curtis wasn’t. The DNA test Curtis had taken had confirmed everything and Charlotte certainly hadn’t slept with anyone else around the time Matthew had been conceived.
“This is a lot,” Charlotte finally said, but didn’t bother telling her what she was thinking.
“I’m sure it is. And while I hate having to go behind my son’s back, telling you all of this, I couldn’t just sit back and let him claim a child that might not be his. I wanted to let you know so that you can, at the very least, have a paternity test done. It may turn out that David is the father, but I figured you’d want to find out for sure.”
“I appreciate your concern.”
“I’m sorry for any problems this may cause, but, as I said, my husband and I felt an obligation to tell you.”
“Thank you again.”
“You take care now.”
Charlotte turned toward Curtis.
“So what did she say?”
“You won’t even believe it. She said that David can’t have children and that he wants custody because of some trust fund stipulation.”
“Can’t have children?”
“That’s what she said.”
“But how can that be?”
“I don’t know.”
Curtis frowned. “So what his mother is saying is that she doesn’t think David is Matthew’s father?”
“No. She doesn’t.”
“Then if he’s not, who is?”
“He has to be because you were already tested.”
“Exactly. So if I’m not and David might not be, then I ask you again, who is?”
“Wait a minute, Curtis. What are you trying to say?”
“I don’t know. You tell me.”
“Tell you what?”
“Well, if I’m not Matthew’s father and let’s just say David isn’t either, then it has to be someone else.”
“What?!”
“I’m just trying to figure this all out.”
“I was only with you and David, Curtis. Period.”
Charlotte spoke confidently, but she also thought back as far as she could, trying to remember if maybe she had slept with someone else, even if only for one night. But she couldn’t. She had no recollection of sleeping with any other man during that time and she resented what Curtis was trying to insinuate.
“You can think whatever you want,” she said. “Because regardless of what David’s mother or anyone else has to say, David has to be Matthew’s father. I wish he wasn’t, but he is.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am,” Charlotte said.
She hoped she was telling the truth.