A House Divided (15 page)

M
atthew hadn’t had a lot to say during the drive from O’Hare, but mostly it was because he’d been on the phone with Racquel for most of the way. Now he and Curtis walked into the kitchen, and Curtina rushed toward him.

“Hey, Matt!”

“Hey, little girl.” He leaned down and hugged her. Then he pulled her ponytails. There was no mistaking that Matthew was six foot two, but for some reason he seemed to tower over his sister more than usual. Maybe Curtis was noticing how tall he was, because though Matt was eighteen and attending college, he was still a child at heart. He was mature in many ways, responsible even, but he was still very young to have his own son.

Matthew hugged his mother and grandparents, who had driven over from Chicago.

“It’s so good to see you, honey,” Noreen said.

“Glad you made it safely,” Joe added.

“Thanks, Grandpa,” Matthew said, already on his way over to the bassinet. He carefully picked up MJ, but he seemed nervous. Curtis knew it was because he wasn’t used to holding newborns on a regular basis.

Everyone looked on, not saying anything, but then Matthew turned around. His eyes watered, and Curtis was sad for his son. He’d been through a lot lately. First, getting his girlfriend pregnant during their senior year in high school, then having a premature baby while miles away at college, then dealing with the drama his mother had caused with Racquel and Vanessa, then having a hard time focusing on his exams, and now dealing with this DCFS disaster.

MJ was sound asleep, but Matt looked at him and said, “I’m taking MJ out for a while.”

Curtis saw how he wasn’t able to make eye contact with any of them and knew what he was up to. His real plan was to take the baby to see Racquel. He hadn’t told Curtis anything, but Curtis had wondered if he might do something like this; mainly because of how cryptic his phone conversation had sounded with Racquel while in the SUV. Curtis knew this idea of Matthew’s went against DCFS regulations, but he understood how his son felt. It was the reason Curtis didn’t comment.

Of course, Charlotte spoke up. “Where, Matt?”

“To see Racquel’s dad.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why? Dr. Anderson hasn’t been barred from seeing MJ.”

“Well, why can’t he come here?”

“Because I told him I’d bring him there.”

“To his home?”

“Yes.”

Charlotte sighed with frustration. “But Matt, you know MJ can’t be around Racquel and Vanessa.”

Matthew turned away from her. “They won’t be there.”

“I don’t believe that,” she said.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m still taking him.”

“I’m sorry, but we can’t let you do that.” Charlotte spoke matter-of-factly.

Now Matt turned around and faced her. “Mom, this is
my
little boy. Not yours. And if I want to leave with him I can.”

Charlotte looked at Curtis and then at her mom for help.

“Sweetie,” Noreen said, “why don’t you think about what you’re doing? I know you don’t understand what’s going on, but you have to abide by the law.”

“It’ll be fine, Grandma.”

Noreen didn’t say anything else, and because of the nonchalant look on his father-in-law’s face, Curtis knew Joe didn’t blame Matthew, either, especially since they all knew Racquel and her mother were innocent.

Charlotte still wouldn’t leave it alone, though. “Okay, fine, Matt, but I’m going with you.”

“No, we’ll be fine by ourselves.”

“Matt, why are you doing this?” Charlotte said, standing up and walking closer to him. “You know MJ is only six weeks old.”

“He’ll be seven weeks tomorrow.” Matthew stared at her, and Curtis could tell Charlotte wasn’t amused.

“He’s still too young,” she said.

“Why?”

“Because you don’t have any experience with taking care of babies.”

“Racquel’s mom taught us a lot when MJ first came home. Plus, Dr. Anderson definitely knows how to take care of a baby. There’s really nothing for you to worry about, Mom.”

Charlotte stared at Matthew, likely wishing she could shake some sense into him, so Curtis said, “To keep everyone happy, why don’t you let me go with you?”

Matthew hesitated at first but finally agreed. “If you want to.”

The more Curtis thought about it, Matthew was too upset to drive MJ anywhere. He was also inexperienced with babies the way Charlotte had said. But he’d made it clear that he was going no matter what, so Curtis had no choice but to go along with him. It was better to do that than it was to take a chance on his having an accident.

When Matthew secured MJ in his car seat, he went around to the other side of the truck, opened the back door, and climbed in next to him. Curtis was a little surprised that he hadn’t gotten in the front, but he was proud of Matthew for being so protective of his child.

As Curtis drove down the driveway and exited onto the street, Matthew said, “Dad, something isn’t right.”

“With what?”

“This DCFS stuff.”

“Yeah, but hopefully the investigation will go quickly and this will be over.”

“But what if someone set them up? What if someone hated them just that much?”

Curtis didn’t have to question his son’s last comment. He knew immediately what he was insinuating. Still, he said, “What are you saying?”

“That I hope Mom didn’t have anything to do with this. I haven’t mentioned anything to Racquel, but the thought crossed my mind.”

Curtis tried to keep a straight face, and he made sure not to look into his rearview mirror, because he couldn’t take a chance on Matthew reading his mind. Curtis hadn’t wanted to think or believe anything so awful about his own wife, either, but truth was, he had. He’d tossed around every thought imaginable, but in the end he’d decided that no matter how low Charlotte had stooped in the past, she would never concoct a scheme like this. She’d always been the kind of woman who was willing to do what she had to in order to get what she wanted, but not this. Not taking her son’s baby from his own mother, and not using the State of Illinois Division of Children and Family Services as a way to do it.

“Son, I know your mom has caused a lot of problems for Racquel and her family, but I doubt she would do something this cruel.”

“I don’t know how you can say that, Dad. She found a way to fix that DNA test when Marissa was born. And didn’t you think it was strange that she all of a sudden apologized to Racquel and her mom? She never admits being wrong about anything.”

Curtis wished he could argue with him, but he couldn’t.

“And any woman who could sleep with as many men as Mom has is capable of anything.”

Curtis was stunned. “Matt, I’m really shocked to hear you speak about your mother that way. I know you’re upset, but you’re out of line.”

“But it’s true, Dad. You’ve only been married what, eleven years? And already she’s slept with three other men?”

Curtis flipped on his signal, turned his head, and checked the traffic behind him, then crossed into the other lane. “Yeah, but it’s not like I’ve been the perfect little Boy Scout, either. Your mom and I have both done things we’re not proud of.”

Matthew looked out his window, but didn’t respond.

“We’ve both made a lot of mistakes,” Curtis said, now mulling over that thing he’d done so long ago—that wretched thing that had come back to haunt him. So far, there had been no other communication, but he worried that his secret would be publicized any day. “And when I mean a lot of mistakes,” he continued, “I mean a lot of them.”

“But Mom never stops. She’s always on a mission to get what she wants.”

“She doesn’t always handle things the right way, but I still don’t think she’s involved with this.”

“She’d better not be. That’s my mom and I love her, but if she had MJ taken from Racquel…” His voice trailed off, and he stared out the window again.

Curtis tried to ease his mind. “Son, I’m sorry this is happening. It’s a tough time for all of us.”

Matthew looked over and checked on MJ, but didn’t say another word. Curtis didn’t, either, because as much as he wanted to believe that Charlotte was innocent of all charges, he knew anything was possible. He knew Matthew might be right about everything he suspected. Nonetheless, Curtis prayed that Matthew had never been more wrong in his life.

M
atthew rang the doorbell, and Neil opened it instantly. There was no doubt that he’d been waiting and watching for them to drive up.

“Thanks for bringing him, Matt,” he said. Thank you, too, Curtis.”

“Oh my God,” Racquel yelled, hurrying over. She pulled MJ out of his carrier and walked away from them. “Mommy missed you so much, sweetie. And she’s so sorry they took you. I promise you, everything’s going to be all right, though, okay?”

Curtis, Neil, and Matthew watched in silence, but Curtis couldn’t help noticing Racquel’s appearance. Her hair wasn’t combed properly, her face was pale, her eyes were red and puffy, and she seemed exhausted. This whole ordeal was steadily taking a toll on her, and Curtis hoped things returned to normal soon.

“Hey, Matt,” Vanessa said, walking into the living room. “Hey, Curtis.”

They both spoke to her, and Vanessa hugged Matt. “I’m so glad you’re here. I know it’s hard flying back and forth, but Racquel really needed you.”

“It’s no problem, Mom.”

Curtis didn’t mind Matthew calling Vanessa Mom, but he was glad Charlotte wasn’t there to hear it, because she’d already complained about it before.

“Can we get you two anything?” Vanessa asked.

They both thanked her but told her no.

“You guys have a seat,” Neil said, and everyone sat down except Racquel. She stood, holding MJ, rocking him back and forth. She was a lot more distressed than Curtis had imagined, and he hoped she wasn’t threatening a nervous breakdown. She seemed almost in her own world, and she hadn’t said a word to Matthew. She acted as though he wasn’t there.

But then he got up and stood next to her. “You wanna go up to your room?”

Curtis didn’t think this was necessarily a good idea, because the last thing he wanted was for him and Matthew to be there for more than a few minutes. As it was, a neighbor of the Andersons had made the accusation against Vanessa, so he didn’t want to take a chance that this neighbor had seen them bring the baby into the house. If they reported this to DCFS, they would find Curtis and Charlotte in violation and might place the baby in a foster home. He would allow Matthew and the baby to visit with Racquel for maybe another ten minutes, but then he’d tell Matthew they needed to go.

Neil moved to the edge of the sofa. “We didn’t know you were coming, too, Curtis, but I’m glad you did. I’d been hoping to talk to you before now, but I’ve had back-to-back surgeries for three days. I wanted to thank you for getting here so quickly yesterday.”

“It was no problem. We were glad to do it. We’re not happy about what this is doing to Racquel or to both of you, but we’ll keep MJ for as long as you need us to.”

Vanessa nodded. “All I kept thinking last night was what if you and Charlotte lived out of town? Because it’s not like we have a lot of family in Mitchell. Poor MJ would have been handed over to strangers.”

“Thank God that wasn’t necessary,” Curtis said.

“We also want to thank you for coming over with Matt,” Vanessa said, “Especially since MJ isn’t supposed to be here.”

“I didn’t want him driving alone, and I also knew Racquel needed to see the baby.”

“I just wish we’d hear something,” she said, “because I’m not sure how long Racquel can manage. She’s terribly depressed, and she cries all the time.”

“Have you thought about hiring an attorney?” Curtis asked.

“We called one today,” Neil said. “He asked a few questions and then put me in contact with a private investigator. I told the investigator what happened, and he’s already working on it.”

“Good.”

Vanessa’s face turned sad. “We really are innocent.”

Curtis sympathized with her. “Of course you are. I have no doubt about that.”

“But I know this doesn’t look good, and that you want the best for our grandson. I just don’t want you to think we mistreated him.”

“I’m not sure who made these accusations or why, but I know you and Racquel wouldn’t hurt MJ. Charlotte knows that and so does Matthew.”

Neil raised his right foot onto his knee. “The P.I. will work to find out who called protective services, and then they’ll go from there. His plan will be to find out who falsely accused Vanessa and Racquel, and then our attorney will seek criminal conviction.”

Curtis tried not to think about his conversation with Matthew, but he couldn’t stop himself. What if Charlotte had played even a small part in this DCFS charade? What if she’d wanted to spend time with MJ so badly, she’d gone to reckless extremes? But no, she just wouldn’t do that. Curtis was an intelligent man with lots of wisdom and forethought, but he refused to believe Charlotte was capable of such ruthlessness. On the other hand, he wondered if for the first time in years he was being naïve or if he was merely choosing to see what he wanted. Was he purposely protecting the woman he loved along with the rest of his family? Was he giving Charlotte the benefit of the doubt, because last year she’d promised him she was a changed woman?

“I hope they find out who did this and quick,” he said.

“So do we,” Vanessa added.

Curtis glanced at his watch. “We should probably get going.”

Vanessa stood up. “Racquel will hate to see MJ go, but you’re right. I’ll get them.”

Curtis and Neil chatted about MJ and how happy they were to be grandfathers until Curtis’s phone rang. It was Charlotte.

“Hey, baby,” he said.

“Are you guys on your way back?”

“We will be soon. Are your parents still there?”

“Yeah, and they were hoping to see Matt and MJ before they leave. Not to mention, MJ doesn’t need to be out in the cold.”

“We’ll be there soon.”

“I’m sure you can’t talk, but are Racquel and Vanessa there?”

Curtis knew this was the real reason she’d called. “Yes.”

“This can’t happen again,” she said. “It’s too risky, and you and I could get in a lot of trouble with the State.”

“We’ll see you when we get home.”

“Fine.”

Charlotte wasn’t happy, but thankfully she’d taken his hint and hung up. Gosh, he hoped she hadn’t done anything crazy. But now that he thought about it, Charlotte sure had worked awfully hard over the last couple of weeks getting that nursery redesigned. She’d made it her priority every single day, and once the painter and wallpaper installer had finished up what they needed to do, she’d stocked up on everything. She’d purchased a number of items before MJ was born, but this morning when Curtis had gone in there to wake her up, he’d noticed a lot more. As a matter of fact, she hadn’t even had to go out to buy Pampers, because MJ had all that he needed and then some.

Curtis still didn’t want to believe Charlotte was behind those DCFS accusations, but now he knew he had to ask her. He wouldn’t accuse her outright. He would simply approach her in a noncondemning fashion and wait for a response. He would pray that both he and Matthew were wrong about Charlotte, and that someone else was guilty as charged.