An Angel for Ms. Right (6 page)

The door slammed behind him and he was gone into the night before Patricia could respond. She stood there gaped mouthed and speechless.

“Perhaps, I should leave,” Kenneth offered looking first to Denise then back to Patricia.

When neither woman answered he moved toward the door.

“Wait, Kenneth,” Denise walked toward him, “I am so sorry my mother put you in the middle of this mess.”

He smiled.

“It’s okay, Denise.”

She held up her hand.

“No, it’s not okay. I want you to know that as much as I appreciate you always taking the time to visit me when I come for visits; I am not interested in you in that kind of way. I have never been and probably never will be. I should have told you that a long time ago, and for that I apologize. I was confused and unsure of myself before; however, I can assure you and anyone else I am thinking clearly as of right now.”

Kenneth nodded solemnly and bent down to give her a light, chaste kiss on the cheek.

“Good luck with your studies and I still hope to see you some other time.”

As soon as she heard the door click, she walked right up to Patricia.

“Mother, this has got to stop. You cannot, and will not, try to control my life from this point forward. How could you insult Adam like that? What is wrong with you? Calling him out on his finances, on his family, on his race?”

Denise crossed her arms over her chest and stood her ground as she continued on the defensive. The time had come to settle this simmering battle of wills between mother and daughter. Denise was at her wits end and had come to the point of needing a resolution to this current state of affairs or she may have to force herself to cut ties with her mother completely.

“What happened to the sweet woman who would tuck me in at night and cuddle on the couch with me with a bowl of popcorn? The woman who would sing me to sleep and make special meals for me and dad?”

“She’s dead, Denise!”

The sudden revelations left both women quiet.

“She died when the man who promised to love her forever abandoned her with not a sliver of guilt to be found. He not only left her, he left her to raise a daughter on her own. He left me for a white woman, Denise, and demanded I continue this charade of a marriage because of how he thought it would make him look to his colleagues. He refused to be put through a messy divorce in front of them. That is why he is never here. He is with her right now living the life he always wanted to have. I was always just a show piece and now he needs me in name only.”

Patricia’s eyes watered and then a single tear streaked down over her flawless mocha skin. Soon others flooded over her cheeks. She gasped and put her hand to her face and released a heavy sniffle. No longer caring about her appearance or her clothing, she became seized with a fit of spasms as years of inner turmoil boiled to the surface.

“Mother. Mom.”

Denise moved closer to the woman and opened her arms to the disheveled woman, and Patricia fell into her daughter’s arms and exhaled more cries.

****

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

Denise questioned the woman sitting next to her.

Patricia had ceased her tears hours ago but her face still hung low and solemn. She had removed her make-up and replaced her suit with a pair of khaki shorts and blue tank top. Her long, dark hair hung down her back and in loose waves.

“I didn’t want you to hate him. I know how much you looked up to him. You beamed every time he smiled down at you. I wanted you to remember him as a good man. He was a good man for a long time and then something changed.”

Patricia reflected on her memories of the past twenty-five years of marriage to George Right. Everything had started off so wonderful. He was an up and coming black professional. He was a real prize to the girls in her South Philadelphia neighborhood. Patricia felt so lucky to have him give her any attention much less ask her to be his wife. She promised her parents she would do whatever it took to make them proud. She was the wife of one of the first African-American doctors to come from their neighborhood. She wore the right clothes, befriended the right people, presented herself well in front of all of his co-workers and, for a while, a long while, she knew that Dr. George Coolidge Right III was happy to have her on his arm. That was until the late night meetings started, all of the phone calls in the middle of the night, and the hang-ups during the day if she answered the line. Then, he became bold enough to avoid coming home at all. Small pools filled her eyes as she remembered the day when she finally confronted him and he laughed at her. Yes, he had the audacity to laugh right to her face. George came right out and said the marriage was a sham. He said he knew there was no way a black doctor could marry a white woman back then and expect to have any kind of lasting career. He admitted he and Claire had been together for years before he had married Patricia and the other woman had acquiesced herself to the role of mistress because she loved him so much. Patricia demanded a divorce and he laughed again saying he would never give it to her. She played the role of faithful wife and mother better than any of the other wives and that is how it would stay. He actually convinced himself everyone would be happy with the arrangement. Patricia would be able to keep her status and all the benefits and financial security of life as a top physician’s wife. He would be able to finally spend the time with the woman he was really in love with. George stated he would make visits to the home as often as possible so Denise would have a father figure for as long as possible. Everyone would be happy, he said, except it was far from the truth. Patricia had not had an ounce of rest or peace since that day. However, now the secret was out and Patricia felt no need to continue with the old ways any longer. Whether George agreed or not, she was exhausted and was finished with the theatrics and needed to move on with her life.

She looked over at her beautiful daughter and smiled at the concern her sympathetic face offered.

“Denise, I am sorry for the way that I have been. I did not want you to make the same mistake as me. I wanted you to have the best and I wanted you to be with the best. I thought after the situation I was in, I would be able to weed out all of the degenerates and find you someone who would really love and care for you. I did not want you to be hurt and destroyed like I was.”

“Mom, don’t you see when you changed, I changed. When you lost your love with dad, it felt like you lost your love for me, too.”

“O, honey, never!”

“Now, I know the truth, before I didn’t. I walked around empty and lonely inside wondering what I had done to ruin your marriage. Then, I met Adam and he held the same loneliness and we comforted one another. I think we completed one another. He didn’t have parents anymore and I believed any real sentiment from my own had been forgone years ago.”

As the salty tears rolled down Denise’s face, her mother wiped them away.

“Denise, forgive me. If that young man makes you feel authentic love and fulfillment then he is who you should be with and forget about all that non-sense I said earlier. I was a fool but am no longer.”

She cupped her daughter’s face with one hand.

“Always remember I love you, Denise. As long as you are happy, so am I.”

“I love you, too, Mom.”

For the first time in a long time, the two women sensed a bond forged, never to be broken again.

The train ride home was almost unbearable. Adam could not get what Denise’s mother had said out of his mind. She was right, of course. He could not offer her the home, the cars, or any other aspect of the lifestyle Denise was accustomed to – not yet. He would be able to offer only his love, his attention, and his support for many years to come before his law degree might bring in a substantial enough income to support them both. Why he had taken a chance on approaching her that day he could not be completely sure of except his heart had told him it was the right thing to do at the time. Even now, Adam was convinced he and Denise belonged together; it was only a matter of him sorting his life out so he had the means available to take care of her the way she deserved.

He had not heard from or seen Denise since Saturday and today would be the first day back to the lecture hall. To his dismay, Denise did not attend class. He was surprised and a bit worried considering the course midterm exam was at the end of this week during the next scheduled class meeting. He willed the class to hurry on and barely heard anything that the instructor spoke.

At the end of the period, Adam stormed from the room to get outside and use his phone. This was ridiculous. He had to find out if she was okay. Thinking back, he should have stayed with her to face whatever was going on with her mother. He could not think straight after she referred to him as her friend; it almost crushed him to think she did not see him as more. Out of respect for her and her mother, he had backed down. He now understood before she could ever accept him as her man, he would first have to act like one, starting with making sure if she needed him, he would be there.

He reached the park benches on the outside of the cafeteria building and sat his books down on a table. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and started to push the button to speed dial her number.

“Trying to reach someone?” the silky voice teased.

A smile donned his lips as he lifted his head and was captivated by how the bright sunshine reflected off her eyes making them appear golden. The light also warmed the color of her skin to perfection.

His earlier oath to himself revisited his mind and his will strengthened. He gathered her feminine hands in his masculine ones and looked up into her fiery gaze and matched it with his adoring one.

“Denise, you know I don’t have much money. In fact, I don’t even have a bank account yet. However, I do care for you with all of my heart, and will do anything necessary to prove my love and dedication to you and giving you a wonderful life. If you will have me, I promise to make every dream you ever had come true.”

Without hesitation, Denise dropped into his lap and kissed him hard. When they finally parted, both were breathlessly panting and wanting more.

“Mr. Aggeliki, I never have and never will care about money or frivolous things. I don’t want some guy who can give me material wealth; I want you because I know you will give me the love I have always hoped for.”

Adam’s tanned skin glowed in the sunlight as his face lit up and his dimples appeared. Denise kissed each one in turn. He thanked her with a squeeze on her bottom.

“Never again. I promise.” He crossed his heart and leaned forward and the kissed the tip of her nose. She ran her caramel fingers through his spiky jet black hair and sighed with contentment.

“Good. By the way,” she looked at him quizzically as her big brown eyes gazed into his green ones, “Aggeliki – what does that mean anyway? You said it’s Greek, right?”

“Yes. Mainly, it means ‘angel’.”

Denise surveyed her surrounding before plopping down on the hard king sized mattress splayed in the middle of the floor. Adam seated himself on the corner edge next to her.

“How is your mom holding up? I have heard divorces can get really bitter and ugly.”

Denise rolled over on her side to face him.

“Actually, she is handling this turn of events much better than I had expected. I really don’t think my father has the option of giving her a hard time. Mom never signed any kind of pre-nuptial agreement and dad has been having an affair – a well documented affair – for the entire course of their marriage. With all those facts in mind, I think she will be able to keep whatever she wants from the finances or request whatever alimony she thinks would be fitting.”

She crinkled her brows in thought.

“Really, I think she only wants some peace of mind. She mentioned possibly going on an extended cruise to Europe once this is over.”

Adam rubbed away the worry lines from his love’s forehead.

“You still have not heard anything from your father?”

“No,” she closed her eyes and reveled in his touch on her skin, “it’s probably for the best. If I was only part of an elaborate scheme to achieve success, we have nothing to say to one another for the time being. I think he loved us once but allowed his own needs and ambitions to dominate his life and ours. Maybe in the future we can all make amends. For now, so long as I have you, I am wonderfully happy and I have everything I need.”

Denise patted the spot on the mattress next to her and Adam gladly lay down, eagerly helping her position her body in a sitting position atop his own.

“I cannot believe we found this apartment so close to campus for only half of what we paid for housing on campus,” she smiled down at him.

“I know. Lucky, I guess,” Adam said as he looked around the room, “even if the only furniture we have is this lumpy mattress.”

The pair laughed at the observation.