A Love Like This (Book 1) (54 page)

“
Why didn
’
t you tell him sooner,
”
 
I asked.

“
Jermaine has always felt different.
 
If he had known he was the son of a crack addict it would have killed him.
 
I did what I had to do to protect my son,
”
 
Grandma Bess said.

“
What about daddy?
 
Why didn
’
t daddy tell
 
Pookie
 
he was his father?
 
What about us,
”
 
I say feeling a lump in my throat.
 
 
 

“
There was no way to tell Jermaine who his father is without telling him about his mother,
”
 
Dana says.
 
 
“
We did what we thought was best.
”

“
Best for who,
”
 
I say standing to leave.
 
I head to my bedroom and close the door behind me.
 
I stretch out on my bed and look up at the ceiling as tears roll into my ears.
 
When we were younger
Pookie
 
was always at our house.
 
I just assumed it was because he didn
’
t have anyone to play with at his house.
 
But thinking back I guess it was odd that my dad took
 
Pookie
 
to
 
all of his
 
little league games.
 
My dad went to parent teacher nights and took
 
Pookie
 
on fishing trips.
 
They were always talking and going places together.
 
He was his father in every way except in name.
 
There
’
s a soft knock on my bedroom door.
 
Tucker walks in and sits on my bed.
 
He rubs my stomach.

“
Are you alright?
”

I shake my head no.
 
 
“
My family has been living a lie for nearly thirty years.
 
I can
’
t imagine how Jermaine must be feeling.
”
 
 
He brushes away my tears. I sit up to hug him.
 
 
“
I bet you
’
re regretting marrying into such a crazy family.
”

“
I love you no matter how crazy your family is,
”
 
He says and kisses me.
 

There
’
s another knock at the door and Keisha and
 
Nickie
 
step in.
 
 
“
Are you two in here making the bed creek again?
”
 
Keisha says.
 

“
I
’
ll be outside if you need me,
”
 
Tucker says before leaving the room.
 
Keisha plops into a chair and
 
Nickie
 
climbs into bed next to me.

“
Should we call
 
Pookie
 
or go to his house?
”
 
I ask.

“
I
’
ve called him ten times,
”
 
Keisha says.
 
He won
’
t answer.
 
 
“
We should give him time to cool off.
”

“
Who was that dude that was in the living room when we first came in?
”
 
I ask.

“
That was Chris Callaway.
 
He
’
s Valery
’
s son and I guess that makes him
 
Pookie
’
s
 
half brother.
 
You guys realize this means
 
Pookie
’
s
 
our half brother also,
”
 
Nickie
 
says.

____

Keisha and
 
Nickie
 
leave the room after Leila falls asleep.
 
Tucker, Mike, Shauna, Sarah and
 
Nogood
 
are sitting in the living room unsure about what to do next.

“
I have to go check on my kids.
 
 
You guys this is all going to turn out fine,
”
 
She says looking around the room at all of their worried faces.
 
 
“
I
’
ll talk to you all tomorrow,
”
 
Keisha says picking up her things and leaving.

Tucker heads into the room and climbs into bed with Leila.
 
 
Nickie
 
sits on the couch next to mike.
 
She rubs her stomach and grimaces.

“
Are you ok?
”
 
Sarah says.
 

“
Yeah, I think the stress is giving me an ulcer.
”
 
 
Nickie
 
get
’
s up and heads to the kitchen.
 
Sarah and Shauna follow her.
 
She takes a club soda out of the fridge and sits down at the kitchen table.
“
So are you guys freaked out about this whole thing,
”
 
She says to Shauna and Sarah.
 

“
Not at all,
”
 
Sarah says.
 
 
“
At our last family reunion my Me-Ma took of her underwear and peed in the cat
’
s litter box.
 
 
Poor thing
’
s crazy as a loon.
”

“
My family is so dull that I spend most of the time zoning out when we
’
re all together.
 
The most excitement we
’
ve had was when Leila came to visit,
”
 
Shauna says.
 
 
Nickie
 
leans over and clutches her stomach.
 
 
“
Are you sure you
’
re ok,
”
 
Shauna says.

“
I
’
m ok,
”
 
Nickie
 
says.
 
Sarah walks over and get
’
s three glasses and a bottle of wine.
 
 
“
No I
’
m not going to drink.
 
My stomach hates me right now.
 
I
’
m not sure what I ate but I feel like I
’
m going to puke.
”

Sarah stops pouring her wine and looks over at
 
Nickie.
 
 
“
What,
”
 
Nickie
 
says when she notices her staring.

“
Nickie
 
are you pregnant?
”

“
No don
’
t be ridiculous,
”
 
Nickie
 
says with a slight chuckle.
 
Her smile slowly fades as she mentally counts.

“
Oh no,
”
 
Sarah says.
 
 
“
You are aren
’
t you?
”
 
 
Nickie
 
let
’
s her head fall onto the table.

“
Damn it,
”
 
She says.

Chapter 29

 
 
 
 
 
Shauna crept away
 
from the group after drinking nearly a whole bottle of wine last night.
 
 
Her head is spinning when she wakes up.
 
She stumbles out of
 
Nickie
’
s
 
old room towards the smell of fresh coffee.
 
It is just after dawn and the house that normally vibrates with energy is eerily quiet.
 
The floor boards creek under her bare feet as she tiptoes down the hall and into the kitchen.
 
She pours herself a cup of coffee then steps
 
lightly into the living room.
 
 
Nickie
 
and Sarah are sleeping on opposite ends of the couch and
 
Nogood
 
is curled up in an arm chair.
 
Shauna walks out onto the front porch for fresh air and sees Dana sitting on the stairs sipping a steaming mug of coffee.
 
Shauna turns to head back into the house but Dana spots her.
 
Dana has small dark circles under her brown eyes and she looks deflated.

“
I
’
m sorry.
 
I didn
’
t mean to disturb you,
”
 
She says.

“
You
’
re not disturbing me honey.
 
Come and keep me company,
”
 
Dana says scooting over and making room for Shauna.
 
They sit in silence drinking their coffee.
 
It
’
s just after six
in the morning.
 
 
The sun is pee
king over the houses and already starting to heat the day.

“
It
’
s so peaceful out this time of morning,
”
 
Shauna says.

“
Yeah, I usually come out to do a bit of gardening before it
 
gets
 
too hot.
 
But I
’
m not feeling up to it today.
”
 
Dana looks over at Shauna.
 
 
“
I can
’
t imagine what you must think of us.
 
I know we
’
ve made a terrible first impression with all the yelling and
drama.
”
 
 
Dana shakes her head and looks down at her coffee.
 
 
“
He
’
s always been such a good boy.
 
We thought we were doing the right thing by not telling him about Valery but now I
’
m not so sure.
 
There
’
s much more to being a mother than biology.
 
Jermaine would have had a terrible life if Valery had raised him but we made sure he always had everything he needed.
”