Chardonnay: A Novel (27 page)

“Yeah, so?”

“How’d it get on your finger?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean like who gave it to you? Who put it on your finger—do you
recall?”

“Myron.”

Jase swallowed hard and shook his head making his greased locks
sparkle in the dwelling sun light.

“Jase, why are you asking me this?”

“Because nobody else seems to want to ask you anything.
No one
seems to care about you the way I do.”

“You have a lot of nerve—hiding shit from me like I’m a gold
digger! How do you think I felt?!”

He briskly walked to me and stood in my face and let out,

“Well, how do think I felt when I came to the realization I was in
love with my brother’s Fiancée?”

I turned my head sideways wondering what the hell Jase was talking
about. He stood back from me and the fickleness in his eyes told me that shit
was about to get real—or become crystal clear since it had always been at that
point. I pursed my lips and said,

“What does that have to do with me?”

“Because...
your
-the-fucking-Fiancée...”

A cool breeze off the ocean blew as he stood there looking at me,
heartbroken and pained.

My mouth parted as I tried to comprehend what Jase was trying to
say and the calculation that came up in my mind had to be wrong. I knew he hadn’t
just told me what I thought he had.

“Myron...and I are half-brothers...the other reason why I couldn’t
tell you my past.”

I couldn’t move...how could this possibly have happened?

“I wish it could be different. But it’s not.” he said.

I looked up at him and asked, “Does Myron know?”

He nodded his head yes.

“Neither of you said a damned thing?!”

“No, we were taught to keep it hush.”

“So Mr. Kent is your father?”

Jase nodded his head yes.

“Oh my God, how did I not
know.
West Africa.
Mr. Kent is from Sierra Leone.” I said to
myself.

“When he got to the states he was trying to hustle anyway he
could-drugs helped him build his empires. He gave a whole fuckin’ empire to my
mother to keep her quite.”

“I’m sorry Jase....but I gotta go.” I said getting up and running
off the boardwalk.

23

Lies,
Love, and Resentment

When I got
back to the hotel room Myron was sitting forward in a lounge chair with his
eyes looking up at me. He knew what Jase was going to tell me, that’s why he
let me go. I threw my purse at him as I walked towards him. He stood and pulled
me in his arms,

“I’m sorry,”

But in reality, it wasn’t his fault.
I
had fallen in love
with Jase...his brother.

“I couldn’t say anything. My pops would rather it be this way so
he doesn’t look bad—and Jase ends up being a rich kid from Adam.”

“I want to go home.”

“But do you unde—”

“Myron! I don’t care to understand it. All the opportunities you
two had to tell me this and neither one of you had the balls to do so! All this
time I was fucking brothers! And I thought Slim was my down fall.”

Myron flinched at the mention of fucking him
and
Jase. He
snatched his light jacket off the bed and whipped it on his bulging shoulder
blades.

“Where are you going?” I said as he marched towards the door.

“To take a walk...you get some rest.”

Breakfast was served at the Vonseigneur home for everyone
including the directing crew. I poured some orange juice into my frosted goblet
as everyone else moved around me to collect whatever they wanted off the
platters. I myself wasn’t hungry. Just as I was about to sit at the table
preoccupied by Syndi and Micah, Jase and Myron walked in-both still in their
pajamas. Micah jerked his head over to me and pulled me down,

“Girl when they start hanging together—you need to get that shit
in check. It will make it hard to do ‘em both.”

I wisped Micah away out my ear and sipped on my juice as Myron sat
next to me. He grabbed a plate and began putting fruit on it. Jase sat directly
across from me...this was too much for me. I couldn’t look at either. Myron’s
hand went under the table and relaxed on my thigh. Jase’s foot nudged mine only
to get my attention so I could look him in those tranquil eyes. He blinked
slowly at me and I was done. I got up from the table and went to a downstairs
restroom. I was nauseated beyond belief and had been for the last few days.
Instead of being proactive and knocking on the door, whoever was outside it was
pressed up on it and listening. I began to throw up uncontrollably. I grew into
a dry heave when there was no more lining of my stomach to be ejected.

“Chardonnay.”
I heard a voice say on the other
side of the door.

I gave a dragged, “What.”

“The flight leaves at noon we gotta go honey.” It was Micah.

Myron rode with me on the plane ride back. Jase would be on his
own chartered jet. They indeed not only acted as if they weren’t brothers but
didn’t even acknowledge it around each other. They wouldn’t even be seen with
each other.
Some family tree.

I had a taste for McDonald’s when we got back to the states.
Luckily it was Myron’s favorite fast food place to eat so we stopped off and
got some food. I ordered a strawberry shake along with my premium BLT chicken
sandwich. Myron watched me eating in awe as we sat at his dining table in his
downtown penthouse. I caught him staring at me when I heaved and came back up
for fries. He was chewing slowly with a smirk.

“What?” I asked dipping my fry in some ketchup.

“I’ve never seen you eat like this...you cool?”

I nodded my head.

“It must be all that skinny food they had down in the islands. I’m
a thick chick and I just wouldn’t survive if I had to live there.”

Myron chuckled.

“Well, you didn’t eat much while you were down there.”

“I couldn’t...my stomach wouldn’t take it.”

Myron shrugged his shoulders and leaned over the table to kiss my
cheek. He stood from the table and walked over to the ringing off the hook
phone. I finished my food as he held a conversation with his agent and went
into the bedroom.
 
It seemed like solace
for once. Being here with my man, letting Jase go, I didn’t need anything else.
Myron would be my wings. I didn’t need the modeling career or college, like
everyone was saying
,
Myron will take care of you
.
He came in the room with me as he held the cordless phone to his face and
handed me some keys. They were the keys to a Land Rover, one of my dream cars.
He pointed out the window down into the on sight parking lot. I nearly peed at
the sight of it. It was iced Silver with a white chocolate interior. The grill
and gills on it blinged even brighter. I jumped and hung onto his neck. I could
hear his agent laughing and saying,

“I take it she likes it!”

“Yeah, man. She loves it!”

“Like I love you.”
I said taking the phone from him
and hanging it up.
 

Needless to say I showed him my appreciation.

*
 
*
 
*
 
*

In the
following week our engagement party was being planned once again. My mother and
his mother were being busy bee’s...literally towards the bridal consultant. I
was forced into setting an exact date for our wedding. Myron thought it would
be perfect for us to be married on the same day of our commencement ceremony we
had at seventeen and and eighteen-years-old...August 29
^th
.
This year
.
That meant we had four and a half weeks to
plan it.

The engagement party went well, somewhat. Once again all of Kansas
City’s elite crowd, Myron’s buddies, and family, very little of my family
joined to congratulate us. None of my girls were there.
Just
Konstance.
After all, I had disowned Zasmyth, Fianna and Katura. Myron
looked happy as he looked on at me through the crowd. I knew my expressionless
face wouldn’t be acknowledged. I felt the nausea began to stir in my stomach
and walked quickly off to the rest room. I stayed in there most of the night,
and no one had come to look for me. Loud music began to pump through the
speakers and loud laughs and chatter rung out. I knew that the parents and
older crowd were leaving at a certain time so the young crowd could enjoy
themselves more, Mrs. Lim-Kent’s words.
 
I walked back out and looked on as everyone got their groove on. When I
glanced around the room I saw some chick on Myron as they stood near the bar. I
wasn’t surprised. He looked as if he was enjoying himself talking with her and
the female’s chest was pressed against his. I licked my lips and began to press
my heels in their direction when I was snatched away by Gehvoni. He began to
dance up on me saying,

“Come on Nay! Have some fun!”

“Move out my way!”

“What’s the
matter!
I know you can move
it! I saw what you could do last month at that bachelor party.”

Smack! Gehvoni’s face was red as tomato juice. I stomped over to
Myron and his slut—Tiffunie Hallenburg. I stopped just a few feet away from him
and dialed the number I had remembered in my head like my ABC’s. To no avail
her cell didn’t ring or she couldn’t hear it over her gold digging voice.

Before I knew I was doing it I had snatched Miss Tiffunie by her
weave and swung her away from Myron, who had a shocked look on his face.

“What? You want this bitch?! Is this what I gave up new dick for—HUH?!”
I said in Myron face.

He didn’t have anything to say. Tiffunie came up on me and pulled
me back by my hair. Myron pulled us apart and said,

“Chardonnay we were just talking—damn!”

“Oh yeah with her titties all up in your face?”

“Why you tripping?
He just wanted to buy a necklace
from me for you!” said Tiffunie in her baby like voice...I swear it sounded
just like her. She showed me the exact same necklace she had on in a red velvet
box. Her family owned a very lucrative jewelry business called Hallenburg and
Company. I felt stupid but looking at her and knowing that she could still be
showing him more than some karats, I asked,

“So would this be your number?” I asked as I showed her the number
I had just pressed in my phone.

She looked at it and said, “No, why?”

“No reason.” I said looking at Myron and walked off. He was making
me crazy. He caught up to me and hugged me from behind,

“I would never hurt you again...and I mean that.” he said turning
me to him.

“Plus, now I have a big brother that told me if I ever caused you
harm he would kill me.” He said with a half chuckle.

“So you two talked?”

 
“Yeah, I’m going to talk
with my pops—we both need to.”

“I have no business with your father—you’re who I have business
with.”

“What do you mean baby?”

I moved from his hold and told him what I had been doing. I was
tired of wanting to know who this girl he had feelings for was. That entailed
with his past infidelity made me insecure.

“I need to know who she is. I’ve been checking your voice mails
and I came along some girl talking about you two.”

“You went through my shit? I knew I wasn’t tripping...all this
time.” he said shaking his head.

“Uht uhn.
This is about you! Even though I was wrong for
doing it you should have never gave me the reason to do so.”

“Yeah, you right. But she’s a faint memory, Char. Trust me. Now I
want to make this thing with us grow and I hope you can give us a fair chance.”

I slightly nudged my head and winced away the shrewdness of his
words. He ran his hands over my sleek shoulders and kissed my right collar bone.

“Let’s not ruin this night. Especially since Konsuelo just walked
in.” He said looking past me.

I turned to see my big cousin running towards us yelling an
excited,

“Chardonnay!
My baby cousin!”

I smiled and ran to her crazily waved arms.

“LO! What’s-up! Ive missed you gurl!”

“You know I’ve been busy in the NY. My, my, my, look at you—you
look like a superstar! Uht no—erase that—a rock star in those lime green tights
gold top and Converse gold heels!”

I laughed and her eyes fluttered over from me to Myron. They
stared at each other for a moment before Konsuelo said, “I know that’s not
little pimple faced Myron aka lil’ Usher meets Henry Simmons!”

Myron began laughing along with Gehvoni and Konstance who had
converged outside. He used to have bad acne back in the day before merging out
of his awkwardness and puberty.

“Yeah, what it do baby?” he said walking to give her a huge.

“Nuthing’ boo.”

“I see you still look like Kenya Moore.” he joked.

Back in the day when we all got through playing Hide N’ Go Get it,
we all would sit down and joke who looked like what star the most. I never got
placed since I looked so much like myself. Lo always joked Myron looked like
Henry Simmons from NYPD Blue. I could see how he and Jase were brother’s seeing
how Jase
favored
 
Boris
Kodjoe, the shorter muscular version. Their looks were far but keenly similar.

 
They hugged and she turned
to look at me and said, “We need to go kick it! You don’t mind me kidnapping
this ‘bout to be married woman do you?”

He shook his head no.

“But have her home at a decent hour ma’am.”

We waved the guys off as we head out for a night on the town.

After I went to the penthouse downtown were I was now staying at
with Myron and changed my clothes, we went out to eat, to the movies, and then to
this salsa club. While we were at the salsa club Konsuelo took me to the side
while Konstance danced with some random guy. We went to the VIP lounge area and
grabbed a booth. A waitress walked over to take our drink orders and then
retreated to the private bar.

“So... what are you going to do at this point in your life
Chardonnay?” Konsuelo asked while taking off her Baby Phat pink mink shrug.

I ran my tongue along the top row of my teeth as I looked off at
others invading the room through the flashy golden doors. I thought to myself
and even chuckled a bit with myself and how I had gotten myself into the things
I had done. My mind and everyone else had escaped me. I looked back at my big
cousin, the one person I knew personally that I could say I admired, and a tear
fell from my left eye.

“You see Nay, I look at you and...you’re all dolled up—your second
outfit change of the night in your powder pink Versace baby doll ruffled top
and silk, cashmere trouser daisy duke shorts...” Konsuelo laughed finishing, “No
wonder these chicks in here mad at you—shit I’m jealous! But the point is you
look so glamorous that if I didn’t know you I wouldn’t be able to tell you had
problems. As women...some of us anyway...we hold all the shit that’s been done
to us in. I can tell something deeper is going on with you.”