I spooked him.” Talise swallowed as she shielded herself from Ace’s view. His normal goodbye kiss lacked the luster she had come to expect.
Standing near her apartment bay window, her heart sank when Ace sped off from the curb without giving her his customary goodbye. His hasty exit scared her.
Gnawing on her bottom lip, Talise second-guessed her timing. Maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned her suspicions. If only she had listened to her older sister, Sinclaire, and waited until she was one-hundred percent sure before saying anything.
A week earlier, some mild cramping and light spotting had occurred. Talise didn’t give it a second thought until the nausea hit. She had been enduring repeated bouts for the past few days. Finally, the unsettling experience prompted her to take a home pregnancy test.
If Talise read it right, she wasn’t. But her suspicions lingered. The thought of becoming another statistic as an unwed mother made her bawl like a two-year-old in the middle of a tantrum.
During a Skype call less than twenty-four hours earlier, Sinclaire had tried to console her. “From everything you’ve raved about Aaron …” Her sister refused to refer to Ace by his nickname, saying it sounded too gangster. “… I’m sure he’ll do the right thing. We can always repent, and God will forgive us, as long as we don’t continue in our sins. Even if God doesn’t spare you from this situation, you’ve got to turn your life over to Him.”
A tear slid down her cheek as she recalled their conversation. Stepping away from the window, she rubbed her arms and then massaged her flat tummy. Talise turned around and scanned the apartment she shared with Lois. Her roommate was one of a handful of people she could call “friend” since her move from Virginia to Boston.
After responding to a “roommate needed” ad, Talise met with Lois, studied the South End neighborhood, and quizzed Lois about her lifestyle. Seemingly satisfied, she signed the lease. That had been six months ago.
“A good friend of mine—and Cameron Jamieson is fine—has a cousin named Aaron who is equally as fine and unattached,” Lois had said when trying to set up Talise on a double date. To her description, she then added, “He’s tall and muscular and has a rugged pretty-boy face. Best of all, he’s got a good job.”
At first, Talise was reluctant. “What’s wrong with him? Is he a homosexual?”
Lois had laughed and snorted. “Far from it. He’s a good-looking brother who enjoys having a good time—nothing more.” She paused. “Just go out one time,” she had pleaded. “If he’s a jerk, then dump him.”
Talise wasn’t buying what sounded like a “too good to be true” setup. “If both of these brothers are so fine, then why haven’t you dated either one of them?” She questioned, crossing her arms.
Lois could go toe-to-toe with any woman in the good looks department. She had a touch of Puerto Rican in her blood and a whole lot of African American. The woman turned heads as a browner version of Keysha Cole.
“I learned not to date friends or friends’ relatives. My relationship with Cameron is for networking purposes only. I keep my friend pool separate from my potential boyfriend pool. Separate and not equal.” Lois’s voice had been serious.
A few evenings later, during an event at Northeastern University Cameron and Lois introduced her to Ace. Then they disappeared, leaving Talise and Ace on their own. One night turned into many nights together, phone calls, and now, possibly permanent evidence of those numerous dates.
Ace’s personality had magnetism and his presence gave her a sense of completeness in her life. God help her that she would admit it, but Ace had become like the air she breathed. With his early departure, it would mark the first Friday they weren’t together until the wee morning hours. The void was almost unbearable.
Alone with her thoughts, she blew out the candles and incense sticks. Talise retook her seat at the counter and closed her eyes. What would her father and his new wife say? Or her coworkers and friends think? She hadn’t lived in Boston a year and had already made bad choices.
Imagining the rumors made her sigh deeply. Talise Shanté Rogers, age twenty-nine, pregnant, unmarried—and a fool. What was she thinking?
Of course, Ace would want to marry her. But what if he didn’t? If he didn’t love her, then marriage was not an option, even for the sake of their child. They would share joint custody and live separate lives. That wasn’t negotiable.
Aside from being devastated by his rejection, financially, she could probably manage as a single parent. She had her salary as an airline ticket agent and the extra money she earned as a part-time stylist at a trendy salon in Cambridge. Plus, there would be whatever child support Ace agreed to pay. One thing was for sure, she would not be part of any baby drama.
But he loved her. Right? She could see it in his eyes, in his smile, and in the way he kissed her. She no longer wanted to think about any other instances.
Talise stood and picked up her shoes near the sofa. “Why am I torturing myself? A little nausea and a light period don’t mean I’m pregnant.” The argument sounded good, but Talise just didn’t believe a word of it. Tomorrow, she would buy another home pregnancy test.
Sauntering into her bedroom, she tossed her stilettos into the closet. Next, she peeled off her “man teaser” dress. That’s what Lois had called the outfit when Talise bought it. After donning a pair of flannel pajamas, she lifted her laptop off a small desk in the corner and climbed into bed.
While she waited for it to boot up, Talise longed for her mother’s advice and comfort. But Marilyn, who was only forty-seven at the time, had passed away years earlier from a heart attack. Her father, Frederick, remarried soon after. The new Mrs. Rogers—Donna—was nice, but detached. Her focus was on her husband, leaving very little attention for his daughters. She believed if a person was eighteen, they were grown and should be gone.
Donna had an uncanny way of always making Talise and Sinclaire feel like they were lacking in some area of their lives: looks, education, etiquette, or whatever the topic of the hour. It somehow seemed to slip Donna’s mind that they were the products of private education and both were college graduates as well. In fact, the Rogers family was even part of a few elite organizations, such as Jack and Jill. As toddlers, the two sisters had even modeled in fashion shows, print ads, and TV commercials. Yet Donna insisted on overlooking their redeeming qualities.
Not only were Sinclaire and Talise extremely close, they were best friends. With very similar features, their personalities were completely opposite. Two years older, Sinclaire always portrayed maturity as an example for her younger sister. Talise couldn’t recall when Sinclaire wasn’t grounded in her faith. She consistently prayed before making life-altering choices and thanked God for His wisdom afterward. Daddy affectionately dubbed her “the family prayer warrior.”
On the other hand, even without consulting Jesus regularly, Talise was loyal to her convictions. It was natural for her to treat others the way she would want to be treated. She trusted people at face value, at times, to a fault.
The Rogers sisters loved to travel. Because they were military brats who moved quite often whenever their father was reassigned, it was in their blood. During their childhood years, the girls also enjoyed when the family took lengthy summer vacations at their beach house in Destin, Florida.
As an adult, Sinclaire further fed her hunger to see the world when she joined the air force. Currently, she was serving her country in the Middle East.
In her own way, Talise was following in their father’s footsteps too. However, she wasn’t about to put herself in harm’s way. In her mother’s absence, Talise felt there was no reason for her to remain in Richmond, Virginia. Consequently, upon graduating from Hampton University, she had packed up and moved from Virginia to Texas. There she took her first job out of college with a Fortune 500 business consulting firm that required extensive travel.
Three years later, Talise concluded there was nothing glamorous about business travel. It was time to make a career move. When Southwest Airlines posted various vacancies, Sinclaire credited God for Talise beating out the competition. There were only a handful of openings for ticket agent positions. But she landed one and the perks that go along with it. Bags weren’t the only thing that could fly free.
Talise took advantage of the travel perks, which were not mandatory. She mapped out an adventure to live in different cities for a period of time. That way she could get a feel for where she wanted to settle down. So far, she had lived in San Francisco on the West Coast and Boston on the East Coast. On her next tour, she planned to move to the Midwest, maybe Chicago.
That was, until she met Ace. Funny how a man could make a woman change her plans. Talise logged on to her email and typed Sinclair a note. Her sister was the only other person who knew about her suspicion.
In the subject line, Talise typed: No I told you so.
I couldn’t keep it in. I know. I know. I should have waited, but what difference would it have made? Ace and I care about each other. I would venture to say we’re in love, but his reaction was worse than sticker shock. It was a mixture of fear, disbelief, anger, and disappointment. Since your name means prayer, I could use some right now. Email me when you can. Love T.
Talise didn’t expect a quick response. In the meantime, she visited pregnancy sites to further torture herself. Almost an hour later, she logged back onto her email account. Sinclaire had replied: Re: No I told you so. I wouldn’t.
With him or without him, pregnant or not, everything is going to be okay. We’ll Skype soon, and p.s., I’ve never stopped praying for my sister. You’re the only one I’ve got. Hopefully, Donna is beyond childbearing years. LOL. Love, S.
Talise smiled at Sinclaire’s dig on Donna. Which situation would be worse, Donna pregnant at fifty-two with a husband, or her pregnancy at twenty-nine with no husband? It would be a draw.
Shutting her computer down and putting it aside, Talise picked up her cell phone and called Ace. She got his voicemail and left a message, “Call me.”
As fear crept into her mind, she slid onto the floor and prayed longer than her usual few sentences. “Jesus, please don’t let me be pregnant, please. I promise I won’t sleep with Ace again—or any man—unless he’s my husband. God, this would ruin my life. I’m not prepared for this …” She continued to list all the reasons why the timing was all wrong. Once she said, “Amen,” Talise climbed back into bed and prayed again. This time that she would be able to sleep.
Saturday morning, Talise woke without a phone call from Ace. It was their routine to talk while she dressed to go to the salon. Either she was still having a nightmare or Ace was sending a strong signal that he was unreachable, indefinitely.
Her imagination and guilt was really working overtime. Since she and Ace had never had a major disagreement, this was a test of how they handled difficult situations. She guessed he needed solitude. There was no way Ace was the type of man to desert her—period.
Talise didn’t know how she was going to make it five more days until her doctor’s appointment. Mentally and physically, she was a wreck. Knowing this particular Saturday there was a light customer load, she called Sasha, the owner of Sassy’s Salon.
“Sasha, I’m not feeling well.”
“Too much partying?” she asked jokingly, knowing Talise never missed work or showed up late.
“I wish that’s all it was. I’ll call my customers and see if they won’t mind another stylist doing their hair today. Or maybe they’ll want to reschedule.”
Sasha agreed and reassured her, “Feel better, hon, we’ll take care of your clients. I won’t let the girls steal them.” She laughed and disconnected.
Next, Talise contacted her customers, explained that she was under the weather and gave them an option. Three decided to reschedule, one said she was going to cancel anyway, and the other two didn’t mind a one-time stylist change.
After that task was over, she lay in the bed and stared out the window. Everybody deserved a pity party every now and then. And, at the moment, Talise was suffering with a heartbreak hangover.
The day didn’t get any better. Ace still hadn’t returned her call and Talise needed to vent. Unfortunately, there was no one available. At least Lois would return tomorrow and she could talk to her.
By late Saturday night, with no word from Ace, Talise was calling him all kinds of names for his uncharacteristic behavior. She texted him: R U Ok? I missed UR call this morning. Call me.
Signing on to the Internet, she checked her email account. Sinclaire had left one, suggesting a video chat through Skype at ten o’clock that night. Eastern Standard Time. That was six o’clock in the morning in the Middle East. Checking the time, Talise quickly logged into her Skype account. It was already twelve minutes past ten. Hopefully, her sister was still online.
It wasn’t long before Sinclaire peered closer to the monitor. She looked like a dentist checking for cavities. “Are you okay?”
“I wished I had listened to you.” It was as if Talise’s tears had been waiting for her to connect with Sinclaire. Then, all of a sudden, the dam broke. Sniffing didn’t stop the tears from streaming down her face. Laying her laptop aside, Talise got off the bed and went into the bathroom. She returned blowing her nose.
Sinclaire appeared thoughtful. “Sis, regardless of the outcome, baby or no baby, God is there for you. If this man cares about you—”
“He does.”
“Then if he loves you …”
Recently, Talise thought she saw love beaming from his dark brown eyes, but on the previous night, it was as if a dirty contact lens blocked her view. She sighed. “I hope so.” Then she broke down again.
“Hey, sis, hey,” Sinclaire coaxed Talise to face the computer. “It’s okay. We’ll see what the doctor and the Lord says.”
“What? So I can cry all over again? I’d rather get it out of the way now.”
“You’re so dramatic. I’m here to fight a real war with guns and improvised explosive devices, and you’re having a tug of war battle with your emotions.”
“What are you talking about? This is a battle—a battle within myself. I am truly scared. I wish I could pick up the phone and call Mom. At least Lois will be back soon, and I can get her take on this.”
“Don’t, Talise. Be discreet about your business. Wait until you see your doctor and you know for sure. Promise me, sis,” Sinclaire ordered, as if she was a drill sergeant in the army.
“I miss Mom too,” she went on. “But you have me by phone, email, or Skype. And you said you haven’t heard from him? Is that like him to be inconsiderate, especially knowing what you’re going through?”
Talise shook her head. “This isn’t like Ace at all. I’ve called him and left a message and I texted him. It’s like he disappeared.”
Frowning, Sinclaire had a thoughtful expression. “I’m withholding my comments until after your doctor’s visit. Then I’ll start praying that he comes to his senses before I get to him.”