Color of Deception (3 page)

Chapter 5

“Rachel – good morning! It’s a surprise seeing you here,” Carlisha said when she looked up from the computer and saw Rachel walking into the store. Carlisha moved from behind the counter and walked over to greet her.

“Good morning Carlisha!” Rachel accepted her hug. “Uncle Pete hired me to do the bookkeeping, so you’ll be seeing me more often now. And we really need to catch up. It’s been a long time since we’ve went out together.”

“I know. Things just been kinda of different – ya know…” Carlisha released Rachel from her hug. She was sure not to press her belly against Rachel so she wouldn’t feel her bulging gut.

“You’re talking about Uncle Pete – right?”

“Yes. Things definitely aren’t the same between us anymore,” Carlisha admitted. “But this is great that you would be working here. Plus, he really needs help with the bookkeeping. Every time we walk in we’re not sure if the lights or internet will be on.” Carlisha moved back to her spot behind the counter.

“Are you the only one here?” Rachel moved and walked behind the counter where Carlisha was. She wasn’t sure where Pete would want her to set up. She rested her purse on the vacant seat.

“Yeah. Everyone else should be rolling in right before nine. So we have thirty minutes to ourselves. I get in early to get things started. Warm up the printing machines, start the coffee, that kinda of stuff. Plus I like the quiet.”

“Sounds like you’re Uncle Pete’s right hand girl.”

“Not anymore,” Carlisha said sadly.

“You’re early,” Pete stated after he walked into the store through the front doors. He was still apprehensive about agreeing to allow his niece to get his bookkeeping in order.
But an additional white face would help drown out the blacks.

“Yes. I’m an early bird. So where do you want me to set up?” Rachel asked excitedly.

“You can sit at Moriah’s desk in the office.” Pete walked past the counter, to the back of the store without acknowledging Carlisha.

Carlisha had gotten used to Pete’s disregard of her since Moriah’s death. But it made her feel terrible. Even though they were of a different race, she thought she had finally found a family to claim her as their own, but now it felt like she was an orphan once again. She rubbed her tummy when she felt movement from her unborn baby and sat back down in her seat.

“You can sit over there.” Pete pointed to the desk right across from his in the large office.

“Uncle Pete, you walked right passed Carlisha without saying good morning.”

Pete walked over to his desk and sat in the chair in front of it. “Carlisha has a job, so every day is a good morning for her.” He felt justified in his explanation.

“She was here early prepping the office for the day and you couldn’t say good morning?” Rachel started to feel ashamed of her uncle.

“Rachel, let’s be clear – I hired you to be my bookkeeper, not to tell me how to treat my staff.” Pete clicked the power button on his computer.

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice,” Rachel quoted Ephesians 4:31.

“Please don’t make me fire you before you even start,” Pete snapped after hearing her quote scripture. “The files for all the bank statements and invoices are in the file drawer behind you, you can get started with those.” He quickly dismissed her.

Rachel sat quietly and did as she was told. He was right, she came there to do a job, but knowing that he now had no regard for Carlisha, someone he once treated like a daughter, was unsettling.

Chapter 6

Pete stood in line with his basket full of groceries behind an elderly man that was having his items rung up by the cashier. Pete busied himself for the short few seconds reading the headlines on the local newspapers on the stand near him.

“Hi, did you find everything okay?” The cashier asked, grabbing Pete’s attention when it was his turn in line.

“Uh – yes.” When he turned his head to look at the redheaded cashier he was immediately mesmerized. Her full, long, curly strands reminded him of Moriah’s hair. But that was where the similarities ended. Moriah was slim, but the cashier was curvier at about five foot, six inches tall. And little red freckles perfectly dotted the middle portion of her face around her eyes and nose. She looked like she was about forty years old, but it was hard to tell.

Pete moved closer and placed his twelve items on the conveyor. He looked at his gold wedding band as he took the garlic sauce out of the grocery basket. Guilt started to creep in. He couldn’t believe that he was so strongly attracted to the woman that stood in front of him ringing up his items. He felt like he was committing adultery. But he couldn’t help admiring her beauty, despite the plain button down white shirt and khaki pants she was wearing as part of her uniform. He began to wonder why she was working as a cashier.
She’s too beautiful to be doing this type of work.

“Your total is thirty-three, twenty-five,” the redheaded cashier said. Pete looked to find her name tag pinned to her shirt –
Debra
. “Do you have a rewards card?” the cashier continued.

“Debra,” he read her name out loud.

“Yes, I’m Debra.” She tapped her name tag after she noticed that he had just read it. “Do you have a rewards card you want to enter?” Debra was oblivious to Pete’s attraction to her. She just wanted to finish up with his transaction and move on to the next customer.

“Yes. Here it is.” Pete gave her his reward card and she swiped it.

“Okay that brings your total down to twenty-nine, fifteen. Cash or credit?”

“Credit please.” Pete swiped his credit card.

“Thank you Mr. Holmes, have a great evening!” Debra read his name off the receipt before giving it to him. She began cashing the items for the next person in line while Pete collected his bags to leave the store. He liked the way she called his name – Mr. Holmes. A smiled crept at the sides of his mouth as he exited the store.

**KC**

That night, after he walked into his dark bedroom Pete suddenly felt overwhelmed by the quietness and the loneliness that came along with it. He clicked the light switch on and walked toward his large king sized bed. He looked around the room, there were so many traces of Moriah, it was as if she was only away on vacation. Her bath robe still hung on the outside of their master bath. Her shoes, a pair of black flats, that she had worn the day before she was killed, were still at the door of their walk-in closet. Pete remembered that night vividly – that was the last night that they had made love and he had caressed her in his arms. The last night that he shared their bed with her, which he was now sitting on. All of Moriah’s toiletries, clothes and shoes still remained the way she had left them before she was killed. Pete couldn’t bring himself to remove anything. How could he? He felt it would’ve been like he was killing her all over again by getting rid of her stuff. No – keeping it helped him. It made him imagine that she was just away on a trip, she’d be back soon. That made him sane, that gave him hope, false hope yes, but it was the hope he needed to get up each day and to face the world again. Going to Moriah’s gravesite a couple days ago was his first visit since her burial. And today, when he saw Debra, it suddenly made him realize that his wife was truly – truly gone!

Pete lay back on his bed after kicking off his slippers, tears streamed down his face. His heart ached at the reality of his life, the true reality – he was a widower. And perhaps pretending that his wife would soon walk back into their bedroom, alive and well, and hug and kiss him because she loved and missed him so much after having been gone so long; and to make to love to him to express how much she needed him like he needed her – was only a dream and he needed to come to terms with the truth. Pete closed his eyes and prayed he would have a dream of his lovely wife, but Debra’s face overtook his dreams that night.

Chapter 7

One thing Carlisha had learned and grown accustomed to, was solitude. She thrived on it. Some may have thought she should hate it having grown up in the foster care system, but she loved it – it was all she knew, it was the constant in her life.

Carlisha sat alone in her small one-bedroom apartment while she stared at the ultrasound picture. It was a boy! She was having a baby boy. She didn’t know what to expect when the ultrasound technician placed the device on her stomach to find out the sex of the baby. All she hoped for was a healthy child and one baby instead of multiples. And there he was – her bundle of joy, her prince, her life, her son floating around in her womb. Tears wet her face now as they did then when she saw her son, opening and closing his eyes for the first time on the monitor in the doctor’s office. She had never felt such joy in her life. She wondered if her parents felt the same way about her when her mother carried her in her womb. She didn’t even remember what her parents looked like. If she were to see a picture of them she wouldn’t know it was them. Sometimes she felt like an alien in the world – completely detached. But as she looked at the picture of her son she felt like she belonged – that she had purpose now. Carlisha rest the ultrasound picture on her lap and began to rub her belly over her dark blue shirt. She was still hiding her pregnancy, but she figured she would have to reveal it to others soon. She knew she had to let Pete know soon because she would need time off – at least six weeks, after she had the baby.

She contemplated calling Roger, her ex, who dumped her after she told him she was pregnant.
He needs to know we’re having a son, even if he doesn’t want to have anything to do with us.
Carlisha reached down to the side of the chair she was sitting in and picked her purse up off of the floor. She looked in her purse for her cellphone. She pulled it out and searched for Roger’s number in her cell.

“Roger, hey…”

“Carlisha what do you want? If you’re still talking that baby mess I don’t have anything to say,” Roger spat after realizing it was her.

“Never mind!” Carlisha shouted back. “I don’t know why I called your sorry behind in the first place.”

“Forget you then – thot! That baby probably isn’t even mine,” Roger rebutted before he hung up.

Carlisha threw the phone to the side and it landed softly on the couch to the right of her. She refused to cry over Roger. “We’re better off without him,” she spoke out loud, rubbing her belly again. “I don’t know why I got involved with him to begin with.”  Carlisha’s cellphone began ringing and she looked over at it ringing on the couch. She got up and walked over to pick it up. It was Roger calling her back. She wanted to ignore it, but she was curious as to why he was calling her back.

“Hello.”

“Babe I’m sorry,” Roger said softly.

“Huh – really?” Carlisha placed her free hand on her hip, she was amazed at his pathetic apology.

“Yes really, I’m sorry. Can I come over?”

“You must have lost your mind. Not only did you call me a thot, but you’re denying that I’m pregnant with your baby.”

“Come on Carlisha, I said I’m sorry – damn!”

Carlisha paused for a moment and looked out the window of her apartment at the open field where a few kids and parents were playing. “Alright baby, you can come over, I’ve really been missing you…”

“I’ve been missing you too babe – I can’t wait to lay it on you tonight.”

“…Ha! You must think I’m a fool. I know all you want is sex. What happen – no other woman fell for your sorry mess tonight?”

“Forget you Carlisha!”

“Do me a favor Roger and erase my number from your phone like I’m deleting yours!” Carlisha interjected before she hung up the phone and sat down on the couch. She felt the sooner she erased Roger from her heart and mind – the better. She reached for her marketing textbook off the coffee table. She had upcoming exams she desperately needed to study for. She was determined to create a great life for her and her unborn son – giving him a family she always desperately wanted.

Chapter 8

“Oh my God! My heart was pounding so fast during the exams,” Debra expressed when she walked out of the classroom. “But I think I passed all of them – at least I hope so. I’m too old to have to repeat classes next semester.”

“You are not old! I told you to stop saying that,” Carlisha interjected, she walked beside Debra.

“Well I feel like an old woman being in college classes with all you twenty-something year olds.”

“How old are you really, anyway?” Carlisha and Debra maneuvered through the crowd of college students that were exiting the exam room.

“I’m forty-two. But being around you young kids make me feel like I’m seventy,” she laughed.

“I thought you were in your mid-thirties. But you’re still not old.” They walked toward the exit.

“Thanks! That makes me feel better being around you kids. I’m so happy that was the last exam – I can breathe now.”

“Yeah, me too! I need a break from studies. I only have three classes left before I get my BA, what about you?” Carlisha pushed the glass door open.

“I have ten. But I am determined to be done by summer of next year. I’m going to continue taking the accelerated courses.”

“I’m parked over there.” Carlisha pointed to the left where her old model two door Honda was parked. Carlisha had borrowed two thousand dollars from Pete and Moriah two years ago to buy the car and to cover licensing and insurance. It wasn’t the latest, but it was her own and she took great care of it.

“Thanks for giving me a ride to work. My mechanic said my car should be ready to pick-up on Friday.” Debra followed Carlisha into the parking lot.

“It’s not a problem. It’s on my way home.”

“So Debra, why did you decide to go back to college now?” Carlisha turned left on the highway to exit the university’s parking lot.

“Well after my divorce and my ex-husband left me with nothing, I decided to go back to get my business degree to start new and make a better life for myself. I never want to be in a position again where I am completely vulnerable to someone else.”

“Do you have any children?”

“No. I can’t. Brian and I tried, but I never got pregnant. He left me for a woman that had his baby,” Debra sadly confessed. “We were married for eight years.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Carlisha expressed sincerely. She looked quickly over at Debra sitting in the passenger seat with her seat belt fastened. She knew why she liked Debra right away when they were paired up a few weeks ago to go a marketing project – Debra reminded her of Moriah. At least her natural red did. Plus she had a nice personality.

“It’s okay. I’ve gotten over him. We’ve been divorced for two years. I was finally able to move out of my parent’s basement and into a small rental house.”

“That’s great!” Carlisha felt the urge to spit. Her mouth welled up with saliva. As soon as she came to a stop light she placed the car gear in park and quickly opened the door to spit.

“Are you okay?” Debra asked, concerned as she watched Carlisha bent over spitting on the ground.

“Can you pass me some tissue out of the glove box?”

Debra passed her some tissue as Carlisha closed the car door. “I noticed you spitting in napkins during the exam too.”

“I’m fine, just got a bad taste in my mouth.” Carlisha put the car back in drive and drove forward after the light turned green. She was at seven months pregnant now but still hadn’t told anyone about her pregnancy, she didn’t know how much longer she would be able to disguise her growing belly either. There never seemed to be a right time to tell. But with Debra opening up to her about her divorce, she felt comfortable enough to share the truth. “Actually to be honest, I’m pregnant. Seven months.” Carlisha pulled at her black and gold button down top with her free hand, pulling it from underneath her seat belt, and revealed her little mound of a belly.

“Oh Wow! Congratulations! I would’ve never guessed.” Debra was amazed at how well Carlisha hid her growing bump.

“Thank you!” Carlisha covered up her belly.

“But why are you keeping it a secret?” Debra knew if she could’ve gotten pregnant she would want to scream it from the rooftops.

“Well I’m not really trying to keep it a secret. I just like keeping it to myself. There’s really no one for me to tell.” Carlisha admitted sadly with her eyes focused on the road ahead of her.

“What about the father?”

“He is denying that he’s the father, so that left nobody else to tell.”

Debra was surprised that Carlisha would have to deal with her pregnancy all on her own. “What about your family?”

“I don’t have a family.”  Carlisha suddenly realized another reason why she in fact didn’t have much of a desire to tell anyone about her pregnancy, because she would once again be reminded of the fact that she was all alone in the world. She had no one she could say was kin to her, or at least no one that would admit it because she knew she had to have family out there somewhere.

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that.” Debra now felt that her problems were slim in comparison to Carlisha’s. She couldn’t imagine not knowing who her family was. Debra wanted to find out more about why Carlisha didn’t know her family but she didn’t want to pry any further. It seemed talking about her pregnancy was making Carlisha sad enough.

“It’s okay. I’ve gotten used to it.” Carlisha turned right into the parking lot for the grocery store. She pulled into a parking spot.

“Thanks for the ride to work!” Debra turned around and got her messenger bag and purse from the backseat.

“You’re welcome! I have to run in and get a few things anyway. I feel like eating tacos tonight.”

When Carlisha and Debra made their way toward the entrance of the grocery store, Pete exited carrying two bags of groceries. Pete noticed Debra and Carlisha walking together. He was surprised to see them chatting as if they knew each other well.

“Hi Pete…” Carlisha greeted when she noticed Pete a few steps ahead of them.

“Looks like I just missed you, Debra,” Pete said, holding up his two bags of grocery, completely ignoring Carlisha’s greeting. He had intentionally gone to the store in hopes of seeing Debra. Just now was the most he had said to her in one sentence since she first rang up his groceries a few weeks ago. He felt like a schoolboy begging for a girl’s attention. But he also felt guilty for having such a strong attraction to her. He had been making frequent trips to Moriah’s gravesite, begging for his dead wife’s forgiveness because it felt like he was cheating on her and their marriage.

Debra looked at Pete, surprised that he knew her name, but then she suddenly remembered he was a regular customer. “Yes. My shift is just about to begin.” She smiled then continued to walk off with Carlisha. “Do you know him?” Debra asked as she walked beside Carlisha into the store.

“Yes. He’s my boss.”

“Wow, he just completely ignored you just now. That’s rude,” Debra called out.

“Yeah but he sure noticed you.” Carlisha could see why Pete would be attracted to Debra.
He’s young. It would be good for him to find love again. Maybe that would help him get over his anger.
Carlisha grabbed a cart.

“He’s probably just being a friendly customer. Though he seems like a terrible boss to be so rude to you. I’ll see you soon. I have to change into my uniform.” Debra waved goodbye to Carlisha and made her way to the back of the store.