Imagined Love Page 5

  “Jade probably should be helping her . . . ole dumb self,” Honor added.

  “Ma!” Alonzo called, as he prepared to tell on his sisters.

  “Be quiet,” Honor hissed. “Why you always trying to tell on somebody?”

  “Give me a dollar and I won’t tell.”

  “Where I’ma get a dollar from? You know I ain’t got . . .”

  “Ma!”

  “Here,” Jade said, as she handed Alonzo a dollar. “Don’t tell, okay? She was just playing.”

  He snatched the dollar bill from her hand and stuffed it into his pocket. “Thanks. You lucky, Honor. Next time you better watch your mouth,” Alonzo warned then left the room.

  “Wow, thanks, Jade,” Honor said, as she gave her a hug.

  They all were impressed, but Katrina saw what happened as an opportunity of which to take advantage. Jade would come to regret her actions that day. She’d soon learn that sometimes it didn’t pay to be nice.

  A short while later Landon opened the door for Willa and gave her a big hug. It wasn’t hard to tell he had a little teenage crush on her and Cicely cautioned him to watch himself. Once again Willa thought she was overreacting but was too tired to speak about it. Besides, she was more interested to learn why Cicely was doing homework with Jade and not her own kids.

  “So Katrina didn’t have homework?” Willa asked.

  Cicely stumbled over her words as she tried to come up with a reasonable explanation. She was grateful when the phone rang and jumped up from the kitchen table to answer it. “I’ll be right there,” she said then placed the phone back on the receiver. “I’ll be back in a minute, Willa. My friend Mary needs my help right quick. Don’t go nowhere, okay? I wanna hear how your day went.”

  “You mind if I use your phone?”

  “Girl, please, of course not. Help yourself to whatever you need. I’ll be right back,” Cicely said then walked a few doors down to talk to Mary.

  Jade had finished her homework and went back upstairs with the girls. Willa was about to make a call but it was obvious Landon was lingering in the kitchen

  because he wanted to talk to her. So she asked how he was doing and what he wanted to be when he grew up. Willa was impressed to hear how much thought he’d given his future. Her interest was piqued when he told her about his dream to plan events for a living. Before she got pregnant, all Willa wanted to do was go to college for a business degree to be able to start her own party planning company. Dorothea and Miles both thought it was the stupidest idea in the world! According to them no one was going to pay money to have her blow up a few balloons. Willa had every intention of proving them wrong, but after she got married and had Jade her dreams got put on hold. That was the reason she encouraged Landon to stay focused and not let anything get in the way of reaching his goals.

  Slightly depressed, Willa excused herself to use the phone. Losing her job and having no real prospects for a new one had caused Willa to rethink her plans. There was no way she could afford to keep the apartment and take care of Jade and the new baby on her own. It just seemed easier to reconcile with Miles so she decided to call him to find out if that was even possible. As expected, he wasn’t all that interested in talking to her at first. However when Willa said she would drop all the charges against him, Miles was more receptive and agreed to meet her for dinner so they could talk. He was still in love with her and Willa was counting on that fact to get her way.

  Miles and Willa had reconciled and were doing well in the six months that followed. The only thing they argued about was Cicely’s kids and why they were constantly at his house. And it wasn’t even that Miles didn’t like the kids. He just couldn’t stand Cicely and figured the more her children were around the more he had to deal with her. He thought she was a user who was always looking for a way to get over on people. And the more Katrina came around, the more Miles saw those same tendencies in her. He didn’t care for her and was livid when Willa decided to have the girl’s birthday party at their house!

  At seven and a half months pregnant Willa’s energy level wasn’t what it usually was and she had Landon do most of the planning. At least that was the excuse she used to convince Cicely to let him help. Her reluctance was obvious and Willa could only contribute it to her being angry and jealous. The first time Landon helped with a party was for the Fourth of July. Willa was so impressed with his creativity and attention to detail that she let him plan Jade’s birthday party a few weeks later. And he turned their backyard into Strawberry Shortcake land! It was incredible and probably the best party Jade ever had. After that Cicely was constantly dropping hints about her birthday and the type of things she liked. She was expecting a party and for reasons they didn’t understand, thought Willa and Landon would be planning one for her. When August 4th came and went, her attitude changed drastically.

  She stopped letting Katrina come over as much and seemed cold whenever Willa was around. Seeing a mother be so envious of her own kids was upsetting and she decided to have a little chat with Cicely. Of course she thought it was ridiculous for Willa to think she was jealous of anyone, let alone her own children. And to prove it, Cicely agreed to let Landon plan Katrina’s party—which is exactly what Willa wanted.

  Once again she was blown away by the young man’s organizational skills. Landon managed money much better than she did and was able to put every dime of the budget to good use. Katrina was overjoyed and declared the party to be the best day of her life. The only thing that would have made it better in Willa’s opinion was if Miles and Cicely weren’t there! They had such bad attitudes that it made the other guests uncomfortable. And when the birthday girl went to give Miles a hug to thank him for the party, he barely responded to her. That’s why Willa found it odd later that afternoon when Miles seemed anxious to talk to Katrina. She was able to catch bits and pieces of what he was saying and realized that a little investigating was in order.

  On Monday, October 12th, instead of waiting in the car for Jade and Katrina, Willa decided to meet them right outside of their classroom. There was someone to whom she needed to be introduced.

  “Why would you want to meet her?” Jade frowned.

  “I’ll tell you later. Now come on before she leaves,” Willa said then waddled behind them.

  The girls were even more confused when Willa drove slowly through an area near the school as if she was looking for something. Then she pulled in front of Cicely’s house instead of taking Katrina to their home like they’d planned. Neither of them dared say anything, though. Willa’s hormones had been blamed for some very strange and irrational outbursts. There was no telling how she’d respond, so they remained quiet.

  “Come on, girls, I need to talk to Cicely for a minute.”

  Katrina’s siblings were surprised to see them since they usually spent Mondays at Jade’s house. Cicely told them to go in the den to watch TV until she and Willa were finished talking. And there were threats made against their lives if either one of them were caught on the steps eavesdropping. Once the kids were settled Willa explained why she stopped by and asked for a favor.

  “Girl, let’s ride! Let me get my purse. Landon,” Cicely called, as she headed towards her bedroom. “Keep an eye on the kids. Me and Willa gotta make a run. I don’t know how long we gone be but make that spaghetti for dinner if we ain’t back in a few hours, you hear me?”

  “Thank you, Landon. Here you go,” Willa said, as she handed him a twenty dollar bill.

  “Uh, uh, he don’t need no money, girl. You spoil him enough as it is. Give that back, boy.”

  Willa never liked the idea of parents saddling their older children with the responsibility of caring for the younger ones with no reward or apologies for doing so. It was obvious from the way Cicely demanded Landon watch all the kids that she felt differently. Willa managed to slip him the money anyway and gave him a wink. Then she and Cicely left to find out just how long Miles had been keeping secrets.

  “I think we need to talk,” Willa
said to the woman staring at her through the screen door. “I’m Willa Caldwell . . . Miles’s wife.”

  “Yeah, we definitely need to talk,” she said, allowing the women inside.

  Rhonda Williams introduced herself but before she could complete her sentence, Cicely demanded to know if Jewel was in fact Miles’s daughter! Willa quickly realized bringing her along had been a mistake. At the time it didn’t seem wise to show up on Rhonda’s doorstep alone but Cicely wasn’t the best choice for a sidekick. Rhonda had similar feelings and asked to speak to Willa alone. Once her husband Christopher left to drive Cicely home, Rhonda began by clearing the air. She wasn’t having an affair with Miles as Cicely had insinuated. True, she had gotten pregnant by him, but they hadn’t seen or spoken to each other since their one-night fling back in April of 1970.

  “Miles doesn’t even know about Jewel,” Rhonda said.

  “Oh, he knows! The only reason I even knew to look for Jewel was because Miles was questioning my daughter’s friend about her. So he knows something.”

  “Well, I can assure you he didn’t hear anything from me,” she said then explained to Willa what had taken place over eleven years ago.

  Rhonda and Miles, both suffering from broken hearts, leaned on each other for comfort at her cousin’s party where they met. Neither of them had any intentions of seeing each other again and didn’t even exchange phone numbers. It was only after Rhonda found out she was pregnant that she contacted her cousin for Miles’s address. At that time she and Christopher had reunited. They had gotten married and he planned to raise the child as his own. However, he felt Miles had a right to know about the baby and convinced Rhonda to tell him.

  She went to Miles’s mother’s house and got the shock of her life. Myrna called Rhonda every type of whore, tramp, and bitch she could think of and told the girl not to tell anybody that lie about Miles getting her pregnant!

  “And I guess I didn’t get enough the first time because I actually went back. When Jewel was about six months old I took her over there thinking Myrna would feel some kind of grandmotherly bond with her. But she pulled a gun on me and threatened to kill me and my baby if I ever set foot in her house again! Needless to

  say I never went back and the only people me and Christopher ever told about Miles was my parents and Jewel. So I don’t know how he found out because I’m guessing Myrna didn’t tell him.”

  Willa felt overwhelmed. In one regard she was relieved because in April of 1970 she and Miles weren’t back together yet. It wasn’t until his high school graduation a few months later that they rekindled their relationship. However, she also felt angry at the realization that Miles had lied about not being with anybody while they were apart. He swore to heaven that he’d loved her too much to ever be with another girl. His other ten-year-old daughter proved otherwise! Then Willa began to wonder what else Miles had lied about and the anger she felt showed on her face.

  “You okay?” Rhonda asked.

  “Hmm? Oh yeah, I’m fine.

  The truth was Willa didn’t feel fine. She knew it was ridiculous to be mad about something that happened when she and Miles weren’t even together. Their break up was supposed to be permanent so he was free to be with Rhonda or anyone else he wanted. Yet what was bothering her was not only that he lied, but that for months after their reunion Miles had continuously made her feel guilty for dating other boys. He had punished her by withholding his affection and making Willa feel as if she had to earn his love and trust when he’d been involved in another relationship as well . . . one that had resulted in the birth of a child!

  Willa asked to use the bathroom since the baby was turning flips on her bladder. While washing her hands she stared at herself in the mirror. Every time Willa thought her life couldn’t get any crazier, it always did. She wanted to leave Miles and start over fresh with Jade and the new baby. However, it seemed idiotic that she could forgive him for physically abusing her and not be able to get over something that happened when they weren’t in each other’s lives. Then there was Jade to consider. How would she cope with everything? Jade would go from being an only child to the middle child with an older sister she couldn’t stand!

  “What the hell am I gonna do?” Willa asked her reflection, as she wiped tears from her face.

  “Where you been? And where’s Jade?” Miles asked when Willa walked into the kitchen.

  “I just left Rhonda’s house.”

  “Who?”

  “You know Rhonda Williams. Well, I guess she had a different last name back when you screwed her and got her pregnant!”

  Miles’s bright skinned face turned beet red as he stared wide-eyed at his wife. Then he invited her to take a seat at the kitchen table while he explained. Last

  week while he was at Myrna’s house his little sister Lydia asked him how Jewel was doing then quickly corrected herself and said Jade. She tried to laugh it off but Miles knew something was going on. He’d heard that name a few years before and knew it wasn’t a coincidence that his sister had said it. So he asked Myrna if she knew someone named Jewel and she said no nonchalantly and went on with their conversation. Miles hadn’t really thought much more about it until he heard Katrina say it was a girl at their school named Jewel who she had mistaken for Jade because they looked a lot alike.

  The next day Miles went back to his mother’s house but that time he asked his father who honestly had no clue what he was talking about. Myrna continued to lie despite how tormented her son seemed by the thought he could have another child growing up without him. Miles thought he would never know the truth then Willa walked in announcing that he does, in fact, have another daughter living less than ten minutes away! He was eager to meet her but wanted to know if her existence was going to cost him the family he already had.

  Willa didn’t know how to answer that. She knew Miles well enough to know he would never abandon his child and that Jewel would have been in his life from the very beginning had he known about her. Willa just didn’t know if she wanted to deal with someone else’s child. The new baby would be enough of an adjustment without adding another kid, especially one her own daughter hated. It was too much to handle and Willa didn’t know if she could or if it was something she should even be considering.

  “You lying!” Katrina shouted when Jade told her the news.

  “I wish I was lying. Can you believe that crap? Out of all the people in the world, stupid Jewel is my sister! I hate that girl! And then my dad threatened to beat my butt if I said I hated her one more time because she’s my sister and we’re supposed to love each other. And how exactly did that happen, Mr. ‘I only loved you, Willa’, Mr. I’m Perfect,” Jade said, as she rolled her eyes. “He’s such a liar. The whole time they were broken up he swore he hadn’t been with anybody else. And now, all these years later, here comes Jewel!”

  Jade was only repeating what she’d heard Willa saying to friends. And she didn’t even understand it all but it made her feel like a grownup to talk like that and have Katrina hanging on her every word.

  “So she coming to live with y’all?”

  “No, don’t even think that,” Jade frowned then stuck her tongue out in disgust. “That idiot is supposed to come for visits so my dad can get to know her. I keep hoping he’ll hate her too and tell her not to ever come over again. But I guess that won’t happen since he already likes her better than me. All he says is Jewel is so pretty. Jewel is so smart. He doesn’t know anything about that stupid girl and he

  already bragging about her!” Jade’s voice quivered. “I never heard my dad tell me I’m pretty or smart. All I ever hear is how I need to do better! If I get an A- on a test then it should’ve been an A+. If I get second place in a race it should’ve been first. Even when I got picked to perform in my modern dance class he wasn’t happy for me because it should have been the lead role. I can’t do nothing right but this stranger comes along and he thinks she’s perfect!” Jade began to cry. “I hate him and I wish he and Jewel would jus
t go away!”

  “I think you pretty and smart,” Katrina said, as she hugged her best friend tight. “Jewel ain’t nothing compared to you!”

  Jade smiled and wiped her tears away, grateful for Katrina’s comfort. If only that had been enough to ward off the merciless teasing she got at school once students found out about Jewel.

  “Ew, Jade, your daddy nasty! He did the oochie coochie with Jewel’s mama! Your daddy the oochie coochie man, your daddy the oochie coochie man,” a group of kids chanted for weeks every time they spotted her.

  Jade was miserable and all anybody had to say about it was, “Oh, just ignore it.” The teacher was too busy to deal with it and Miles and Willa were too caught up in what they were going through to care. Besides her granny, the only other adult that even noticed how unhappy she’d become was Cicely. She gave Jade big hugs and told her she was beautiful and smart and incredibly special. And when Miles and Willa didn’t pay much attention to the honor roll certificates and other awards their daughter received, Cicely put them in frames and hung them up on her wall. She made Jade feel safe and loved and that drew her closer to the woman, something her parents would grow to resent.

  The week before Thanksgiving Willa sat on Cicely’s couch explaining why she was leaving Miles!

  “Oooh, girl, you just don’t need this kind of stress,” Cicely said, as she helped Willa prop up her swollen feet. “I know Jewel just a kid but I can’t stand her either! What she need is a good ass whopping and she might be alright.”

  “Yeah, it’s getting hard not to slap that little arrogant heifer in her mouth! And I thought Rhonda was an okay person but she’s a fool too. I don’t know what gave her the impression that she was gonna be running my house, but I had to get her straight. She acts like Jewel is a princess and that I’m supposed to be making all these special allowances and arrangements when she comes over. Girl, please, I told Rhonda if her daughter has special dietary needs then she needs to take care of them before the girl comes over because kids in my house eat what I cook! So I guess Jewel called herself challenging me. Do you know that little bastard had the nerve to lift up one of my pots and tell me to make her something else because she doesn’t eat pinto beans?”