Unbelievable!” Ace roared, pacing in Kidd’s living room.
His brother, Eva, and his mother seemed unfazed by his tirade. Their eerie calmness irked him more. He felt betrayed when his mother admitted that it was indeed Talise at the airport.
“A girls’ tea day, huh? She flew a thousand miles to sip tea. Come on, people. How idiotic is that?”
Ace twisted his lips. It was too simplistic to believe. Talise definitely had other motives. What nerve she had to try and brainwash his mother, just so Sandra would help her to string the others along. He had to admit she was clever, though. What better way to infiltrate the family?
“You should talk, bro,” Kidd said, snacking on a sandwich Eva had prepared for him. “You’re the one who clowned on YouTube.”
When Kidd replayed the incident captured on video, Ace groaned at his brother’s scowl. Sure, he could have done without Kidd’s smart remark. After all, his reaction was merely his way of feeling in control in an out of control situation. How was he to know that it would turn out to be such a big deal?
All weekend long, Ace had held his peace and accepted his mother’s tongue-lashing about his behavior. Compounded with Kidd’s glare and Eva’s shun, he felt like a naughty grade-school boy.
Once the clamor over his YouTube celebrity status had blown over, his suspicions grew that something else was going on. His mother and Eva had one too many hushed conversations when they thought he was out of hearing range. When Talise’s name and the mention of a baby were repeatedly used in the same sentence, Ace demanded answers. She was none of their business and no longer his. How could they go behind his back and welcome her with open arms?
“The woman is lying, I’m telling you. Did she even look pregnant?” Ace demanded.
“A woman doesn’t have to look pregnant to be pregnant,” Eva retorted, rubbing her stomach.
“Hmm-mm. That’s the wrong answer in my book. The woman is lying and she has all of you feeding into her deceit.”
As hard as he tried, Ace couldn’t believe how his mother and Eva came to Talise’s defense. Nothing he said could convince them otherwise. It was part of her plan to use them to lay a guilt trip on him for a baby that didn’t exist.
“You walked out on her, Ace,” Eva snapped.
Finishing his sandwich, Kidd wiped his mouth and stretched his arm around his wife’s shoulder. His expression dared his brother a rebuttal. Whatever words he was ready to spew from his mouth, it was certain that Kidd would take it personally.
He and his brother had never fought over a woman, but somehow, it appeared things were about to change. They were going to have to step outside because Ace didn’t want Eva and his mother to witness him getting the upper hand on his older brother.
Ace barked, “Do you know how many women I’ve walked away from, Eva Jamieson? Talise is no different.” He experienced a sour taste in his mouth after spewing those words.
Standing, Kidd folded his arms and he lifted a brow. He didn’t say anything, but his stance was threatening enough, which annoyed Ace. Whose side was he on, anyway?
“Then that’s your loss. Men like you give all Black men a bad rap…”
“Babe, watch it. He’s still my brother.”
Ace didn’t blink. His brother had called it right because, at the moment, Ace was beyond angry. His family had interfered enough. It was time to part ways.
“What do you people want from me, blood?”
“You don’t need to give your DNA until after the baby is born,” Sandra spoke up. “But then what do you plan to do?”
“I’ll decide when the time comes.” Ace headed for the front door. He needed fresh air and didn’t care if the summer heat was still stifling at night. With his hand on the knob, he glanced over his shoulder.
“Have a safe flight home, Mom.” Opening the door, he was gone.
Ace walked the neighborhood until he was sure Kidd and Eva had left to take his mother to the airport. When he returned to their house, he packed as much of his things as he could.
He was going to a hotel room. The next time he set foot into their house, it would be to get the rest of his belongings. Eva was no longer on bed rest, so no sob stories could sucker him into staying longer.
Once he checked into the Hilton Garden Hotel off I-70, Ace didn’t bother unpacking. He lay on top of the bed and stared at the ceiling.
“When did my life become so complicated?” he wondered out loud.
Give Me all your worries because I care about everything in your life, God whispered in the wind, ending with First Peter 5:7.
He heard that and now he could hear his mother’s voice when he was a teenager. “Don’t lead these young girls on, Aaron,” she would say to him. “If you want to be friends, then keep your conversation friendly and don’t spend so much one-on-one time with them. Otherwise, a girl will begin to think something more is going on between the two of you.”
Ace grunted. As far as he was concerned, he had listened to his mother and never led a woman on. They simply followed and he didn’t stop them.
Recalling a time when he was just turning nineteen, trouble seemed to be dogging him everywhere he turned. Between girls, school, and peer pressure, Sandra had told him to give it all to God. She said that God wanted Ace to trust Him with all of his problems because God cared about everything in his life. Ace had dismissed her advice then just as he had done this time.
How could God care about him when he wasn’t reading the Bible, going to church, or even had a desire to live right? Nah, Ace could handle his business himself.
Closing his eyes, he heard his brother’s voice. It was after he proposed to Eva. “She is there for me,” Kidd told him. “Eva has helped me put my life in order. Now I understand Genesis 2:24, which basically says that a man will leave his parents and cleave to his wife. I would die to protect her.”
What a drastic declaration, Ace thought at the time. But Ace loved his brother and was behind Kidd 100 percent.
Finally, he recalled Cameron’s words. “She’s not like the others, man. I get the feeling she doesn’t have an agenda. She doesn’t appear needy like those women with multi-colored hair you dated. I think you can trust her from everything Lois has told me about her.”
“Trust,” Ace spat out with disgust. He couldn’t even trust his family. He continued to stew until finally, he dozed off.
When he woke up the next morning, his clothes were wrinkled and his head ached from the lack of a good night’s sleep in a comfortable bed. His muscles were tense from so much inner turmoil.
Through his uncomfortable state, he thought about what he would do that day. Besides getting some work done from his hotel room, Ace had to contact the manager at Whispering Breeze apartments. After putting his move on hold, now he was ready. Hopefully, there would be an immediate vacancy.
One thing was for sure. As soon as he could retrieve the remainder of his belongings from Kidd’s house, Ace planned to have a showdown with Ms. Rogers. From what he could see of her at the airport, Talise’s body could still grab a man’s attention. It didn’t appear there was an ounce of baby fat on her. A phone call was his only option at the moment.
He rolled off the bed, showered, dressed and went downstairs to the hotel lobby to see about breakfast. While he chewed on the food he couldn’t remember tasting from the buffet, he pondered over the stuff in his head from the previous night.
After eating, he returned to his room and turned on his computer. Slightly taken aback by the number of unopened email entries in his inbox, he addressed the immediate work-related emails and ignored those messages from coworkers about his stunt on the Internet.
Relieved that his boss thought the video was entertaining, he was warned not to let something like that happen again. Regardless of Ace’s talent, he was expected to abide by the company’s code of ethics. Ace assured Dale he had nothing to worry about.
Logging off a few hours later, Ace called the apartment complex.
“Whispering Breeze apartments, how can I help you?” The same woman who had helped him weeks earlier answered. Alma had two apartments available for immediate occupancy. Both had two bedrooms, but only one had a balcony. The other she described as a first floor with a walkout to a small patio. It led to a luscious flower garden with a manmade waterfall in the center of a pond.
The choice was a no brainer. The patio—large or small—hands down. Since his paperwork was still on file as well as his security deposit, the only thing Ace had to do was pick up his keys. Pleased with himself, Ace chuckled.
“I’ll get the rest of my things and see you soon.” After disconnecting, he grabbed his car keys and prayed that Eva wasn’t at home.
Pray. He thought about the word and grunted. With the way his family was siding against him, he doubted God had his back on this one.
When he arrived at Kidd’s, the house was empty. Ace quickly packed up his possessions and made return trips until his trunk, back seat, and front seat were stacked with his stuff.
In the kitchen, he raided their refrigerator one last time. Pivoting on his heels from side to side, Ace canvassed his surroundings. It turned out to be a much needed temporary hiding place. His brother and sister-in-law had been good to him.
But he and Kidd saw things differently when it came to relationships. Kidd believed in commitment. To Ace, responsibility was optional—and a man had to chose when and where to apply it.
Finished with his snack, he cleaned up his mess. Then, grabbing a pen and pad, he wrote, “Sis and bro, I appreciate your hospitality. Eva, I’m glad you’re feeling well enough …” Ace’s pen was poised to write “to get in my business,” but he refrained. “I decided it was time for me to move into a place of my own. I’m taking the apartment at Whispering Breeze. I’ll be in touch. Ace.”
By late afternoon, Ace had settled his matters in the complex business office. With keys in hand, he began to transfer his stuff from the car to his first floor, spacious apartment. He could really spread out with two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen nook, laundry room, and a bath and a half.
Checking his watch, Ace had to bide his time. A few more hours and Talise would be off work and at home. He didn’t want to affect her livelihood by getting into it with her over the phone at her place of work.
Surveying his new home, Ace didn’t realize until now that starting from scratch meant beginning with nothing. To survive, he reasoned that he needed three pieces of furniture: a high-def flat screen TV, a king-size bed, and a dinette set. Everything else could come later.
The shopping trip took longer than expected. Making a decision on the furniture in less than an hour, it was the TV that took the most time. Ace made the salesman go over every feature twice before he decided.
Since the furniture wouldn’t be delivered for a few days, he made another stop to buy an inflatable mattress, a microwave, and a few groceries. When he returned to his empty apartment, he got settled and then took a deep, deep breath.
It was time. Ace wasn’t looking forward to having the “talk” with Talise. But if he didn’t put a stop to it, she might permanently move to St. Louis and torment him for the rest of his days. Talise needed to face the music. Whether she would have a life after Ace Jamieson or not, Ace Jamieson was definitely going to have a life post-Talise.
After blowing up the mattress, he made himself comfortable. Although he had erased her number, he knew it by heart, or so he thought. When a recording came on that the number was disconnected, it caught him off guard.
“What?”
Okay, it had been months since he’d called her, but he was sure it was the right number. He tried two more times. Ace took a deeper breath. How did it get past him that she changed her number? Was it because of him? “She’s good,” he uttered to himself with a smirk.
Come to think of it, actually, it was his fault. He hadn’t bothered to save the number she’d been calling him from. Like that was going to stop him. For sure, Eva and his mother had her number. However, he was smart enough to know that asking them was out of the question. Cameron was his best choice.
There was only one slight problem. He and Cameron were not on the best of terms. Maybe he could tell his cousin that he was reaching out to Talise in an effort to reconcile their differences. Cameron didn’t have to know that his reconciliation included officially terminating any contact between the two of them—and his family.
“What’s up, Ace?” Cameron answered, annoyed. Clearly, the air between them was still stuffy.
“Hey, cuz, how are things in Boston?”
“Well, if you hadn’t cut up at the airport, you would be here and wouldn’t have to ask. Would you?”
That was old news. “I was coming home to make things right, man.”
Cameron didn’t bite.
“Anyway, since I can’t go near the airport until my court date next month, I … wanted to set things right with Talise. I see that she changed her number and I was hoping you had it.”
“Liar. You can lie to her, but not to me. You know we feel each other. Man, if you get caught, you pay. You got caught and now your girl is having a baby. It’s like a speeding ticket. You have to obey all the traffic signs …”
“Save your lectures for the classroom, Cam. Do you have her number, or not? I know you two have become chummy lately.”
“I’ll break your jaw for that remark when I see you. As for her number, I don’t have it and I can’t get it. When I see Lois on campus, which I try to avoid, I get chewed out because of you.”
Now what? It was obvious that Cameron wasn’t going to help him. “Write her a letter, tweet, email, or find her on Facebook, but I can’t help you with this. It was easier bailing you out of jail. I don’t have enough money to get you out of this one.”
Write a letter? Right. Knowing Talise, she would have the post office return it. As for the social networking sites, neither of them had bothered to set one up. Talise did have an email account, but he wasn’t sure he knew her address. It was some cutesy name like tatolrod@ymail, or gmail, or something like that. Trying to pinpoint her correct email address was definitely not worth his frustration. Besides, there was no reason to email her when he could text instead.
Annoyed, Ace gritted his teeth. He loved his cousin, but if he too was going to hold a grudge against his own flesh and blood because of a woman, Ace was going friend shopping.
“She’s ruining my life. It’s as if she’s running a scam on me from an offshore country.”
“That’s your doing, dude. You were wrong to leave her like that,” Cameron scolded.
“Listen, man, I can understand your loyalty to Talise because you introduced us, but it’s over. Face it.”
“It’s over, huh? Then why do you want her number?”
“So I can remind her of that fact and order her to stay away from my family.”
Cameron laughed. “Man, I’m so glad that I don’t choke when I’m in a relationship.”
“Ha! Your relationships consist of networking, seminars, and lectures. Only when we started hanging together, did I loosen you up.”
“Keep believing that.” Cameron snorted.
“How long has it been, seriously? You may not love them and leave them only because you turn away women you could easily have. You’re too choosy.”
“We have different definitions of love, but this isn’t about me. You want her number? Then you’ll have to get past lioness Lois to get it and here’s her number.”
“Sure. What’s one more angry Black woman?”
“Good luck. May the force be with you—and better you than me,” Cameron said and disconnected.
Ace knew Cameron couldn’t stay mad at him for too long because of Talise. Unfortunately, when he called Lois ten minutes later, she was beyond hot. The woman cursed him out like she was reciting from Webster’s dictionary or had created her own thesaurus. A third party would probably think he and Lois had broken up before she called Talise to the phone.
“It’s …” Lois continued manipulating his name in choice ways. “He wants to talk to you. Girl, I wouldn’t give this slimy, tattooed snake-head the time of day. He ain’t going to do anything but upset you …”
She was calling him out for the Ace of Hearts tattoo on his knuckle? Really? Ace was fuming. He didn’t let a man talk to him like that without leaving his signature somewhere on the dude’s body. He sure wasn’t going to let a woman get away with it. At least, that’s how he felt. Yet he was fully aware she was untouchable.
“Get his number. I’ll call him back,” Talise said in the muffled background.
Get my number! She knew it. So … she still wanted to play her game. Little did she know that the cards were always in his favor.
He was about to tell Lois to forget it. His inflatable mattress was seeping air anyway. Ace was slowly sinking to the floor, as if he was on a see-saw. Suddenly, Talise’s voice came on the line.
“Hello, Aaron,” she said softly.
Catching his breath, Ace’s anger began to dissipate and he felt his heart shattering. How could he confront Talise about her lies and deceit when his fight was oozing out, along with the air in his blowup bed?
“Tay?”
“Talise, Aaron,” she corrected.
Ouch. The formality stung. Talise’s eyes would light up whenever he called her his pet name. Her coldness threw him off.
Knowing what he wanted to say, he wasn’t prepared to say it now. Ace cleared his throat. Fearless, he was no Samson. No woman was going to bring him down.
“You changed numbers.” Why all the small talk? Get to the point, he chided himself. What was wrong with him?
“You called me to tell me that?” her voice cracked.
“Yes.” A piece of his heart cracked too. He steadied his breathing and gathered himself. “Tay, you didn’t have to try and trap me with this baby story. My feelings were already strong for you. I gave you my heart and your heart’s desires.”
“Excuse me?” she snapped. “Trap you? Is that what you think I did? I didn’t drug you to sleep with me.”
“Stranger things have happened,” Ace stated in a matter-of-fact manner. “Are you pregnant with my child?”
“If you had stuck around, you could have read the results yourself. In my twenty-nine years, I’ve never desired, tried, or needed to trap a man. If a man doesn’t want me, like you, then I move on.”
Through all her ranting and raving, it didn’t escape Ace that she hadn’t answered the question. “Are you pregnant with my child?” he repeated.
Silence. Ace had her cornered. So the truth was finally about to be told.
“Yes,” Talise whispered and then sniffed.
Was that the truth? “So what do you want from me, Tay?”
“Absolutely nothing. Not your money, not your name, not you!”
That’s when her bawling began and it started to rip Ace apart. A few seconds later, the call was disconnected. Ace bowed his head in cupped hands, as his bottom actually slid to the carpet. When did his life become such a guilt trip?