Double Trouble (15 page)

Pam patted the back of her hand. “You don’t have to make any decisions now. Relax and enjoy your free time. The boys are with their dads, meeting who? Their grandmother? You said she flew in to meet them? And an uncle or aunt?”

Belinda scratched the side of her ear as she tried to remember. “Their grandmother is here, I think there’s a brother who lives here as well. Plus another brother and his wife flew in yesterday. They’re all getting together today for lunch, but I passed. Not ready to deal with their mother or anyone else in that family.”

As the week progressed, Belinda thought more and more of what old man O’Connor did all those years ago and it pissed her off more. When she thought of her pregnancy, how she went through it alone, how she'd accepted hand-me-down clothes so she and her sons were warm, or her visits to the welfare office for assistance, she burned with anger at his audacity.

Selfish bastard
.

From what the twins told her, they had not talked to him directly, but their mom said he deeply regretted his mistake and wanted to make amends. Problem was… there was no way to turn back the hands of time. She wanted nothing to do with the elder O’Connor.

Pam nodded. “I hear you.” She stopped and looked over her shoulder with a wide smile. “Hey baby,” she purred as Julio came into view.

“Mi cara,” he said as he came fully into the room and sat next to her. Without so much as a glance at Belinda he took his wife into his arms and kissed her long and hard.

“Looks like once again I'm left to introduce myself. Hi, I’m Tex.” A tall, good-looking black guy leaned against the doorframe, smiling at her with cool elegance. He was dressed in a pair of dress slacks and a fitted short-sleeve shirt, looking as though he'd stepped out of GQ magazine. Her girly parts stood up and took notice. “They do this all the time, ignoring everybody else. No manners.” He grinned as he tipped his chin toward the kissing couple.

“I’m Belinda, nice to meet you Tex. And they are entitled, this is their house.” She eyed him critically, something about him seemed familiar but she couldn’t place it.

He chuckled as he walked toward her. “Problem is they do that everywhere, makes it hard for a lonely, single man.”

She met his brazen gaze and laughed. “No, you didn’t just go there.” She glanced at his surprised expression and tried to stop herself from laughing, but failed. “See that line right there…lonely, single man, was over the top. You and I both know that’s not true.”

His eyes lit up as he chuckled and then it hit her. The walk, the flair of style, even the smile reminded her of her former pastor in Florida, who was serving time for rape.

“What? You saying I’m not a single man? I am, whenever Pam comes up for air you can ask her.” He winked and she bit back a groan. Her former pastor hadn’t given her a second glance, not in the 'I wanna get with you' way. His questions had been more about her financial stability.

Belinda waved him down with a genuine smile. “You may be single, but lonely, not hardly. You were smooth until you dropped that line.”

Tex laughed.

“You read him on the first line, Belinda,” Pam said. “He’s my bestie but he’s out there. Baby, you remember my friend Belinda.”

“Yes, how is your father? Your sons?” Julio asked as he continued to hold his wife in a loose embrace.

“My dad…well, we are still waiting for the results from this last surgery. I hired nurses to be with him around the clock to make sure he does everything the doctor instructed. My sons are okay, thanks for asking.” Talking about her dad left a sour taste in her mouth. On the one hand, she was glad to be here for him; on the other, she resented him for not standing up to her mom all those years ago. What kind of father allows his wife to put out their youngest child? Because of his illness she hadn’t been able to talk about that time in her life, but she knew they would eventually tackle it.

Julio nodded, placed a quick kiss on his wife’s lips, and stood. “Let my wife know if there is anything we can do for you, I know it is not easy for you.”

Touched, Belinda nodded as he and Tex left the room.

“Julio is right, this isn’t easy, but when it’s all said and done, you do what you have to do. At least your dad has a shot at a decent life if this last surgery works. By the time I found my mom, she was beyond help. But I stayed until the end because I wouldn’t have been able to live with any other choice. Family… God chooses and puts us together. Sometimes I wonder if “He” ever gets mixed up.” Pam reached over and squeezed Belinda’s hand. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Unable to speak around the lump in her throat, Belinda nodded. Seeing her father with twisted limbs was hard. Dealing with Donnie and Blaine was complicated. Assisting her sons as they navigated new paternal waters was draining. All of these things created an emotional land field that threatened to blow her personal needs out of the park.

Neither spoke for a few moments.

“What happened to the other guy? The older man you were using for sex?”

Belinda choked and then coughed at the question. “Girl, you need to warn me before you ask questions like that.”

Pam grinned.

“He broke up with me.”

Pam stared at her. “What? Why? He saw Donnie and Blaine?” She leaned forward in her seat, eager.

Belinda nodded. “In a way.” She went on to explain what happened in the restaurant.

“Well…hmm. I guess that was slated to happen eventually anyway. Especially now that your other men are here. At least you guys left on good terms. Some people don’t.”

“Yeah, he called a couple of nights later and we talked it through. Supposedly we're okay.” She shrugged, her mind still on Tex and his similarities to her former pastor. “That guy Tex, where is he from?”

Pam leaned back, crossed her arms and gazed at her with a raised brow. “Tex? You’re interested in him?”

Belinda laughed at the frown creasing her friend’s brow. “No, not in the 'just the two of us' kind of way. He reminds me of my former pastor in Miami, except my pastor was mixed, Black and Spanish or something.” She waved. “It’s uncanny, but they look, act, and move very similar. I wondered if they might be related.”

Pam shook her head slowly. “I don’t know. He never talks about his family. Could be though, who knows? What’s the guy’s name, I’ll ask him.”

Belinda chuckled. “Pastor Herman. Eric Herman.” She waited until Pam was finished writing. “He’s in prison for raping a twelve-year-old girl.”

Pam’s jaw dropped as she gazed wide-eyed at Belinda. “What the hell? Naw… and he's still alive? Where is her family?”

Belinda nodded. “Exactly, that’s what I thought. It happened five years ago. I had joined the church because my best friend at the time, who I now call 'Crazy Trinity,' was a member. And since she had moved with me to Florida to help with the boys after my godmother died, I thought it only fair. Big mistake!”

Pam nodded.

“Turns out this guy had a history of being a pedophile with the kids in the church. This time the family refused to back down, and pressed charges. You would think the church members would’ve rallied around the young girl; she was only twelve, right? Or her family, right?” She stared at Pam as embers of resentment lit inside her belly.

“Right. Of course.”

Belinda shook her head. “Didn’t happen. The community was more outraged than the members. The church members swore the devil was at work to destroy the pastor and that we should stand with him. And this was after there was irrefutable proof he had done that shit.”

“You lying? They wanted you guys to let a rapist be pastor? They done lost their damn minds. I can imagine what you had to say about that.”

Belinda nodded. “Trinity starting spouting that stuff to me, be faithful, don’t listen to the devil, and the rest of that brainwashed BS. I cursed her out so bad she started crying, and then she packed her suitcase. Claimed she couldn’t remain in a house with a sinner on their way to hell. I guess she was afraid the angels might get us confused, or that I would mess up her blessings. Whatever. For the next three months she called and sent emails telling me to get saved, repent, return to the church, and finally, actually asked for donations to the pastor’s legal fund.”

Pam laughed, stood, and then patted her butt. “Glad to see the donations made no difference. He’s in prison probably learning the error of his ways through his ass.”

Laughing at Pam’s antics, Belinda thought back on happier times. She and Trinity had been close friends when she lived in Georgia. Being the only two young females in the church, they had bonded and the boys had loved her. Adam had taken it hard when Trinity moved out, but Abe had been best friends with the rape victim’s brother and didn’t buy into the pastor’s innocence that Trinity attempted to sell.

When Belinda never responded, Trinity’s tone changed. Like an unhinged evangelist, she would leave messages on the answering machine calling Belinda a whore, an unfit mother, even accused her of engaging in incest with Adam and Abe. After Belinda changed her email account and phone, letters started arriving in the mail. Both her sons had been shocked when they heard the phone messages. Abe called Trinity crazy and Adam agreed. After reading the first hateful letter from Trinity, Belinda never opened another. Instead, she placed them in a box in her closet just in case she ever needed to press charges.

She prayed that day never came.

Pam touched her shoulder with a look of concern. “You okay?”

Belinda nodded slowly, reigning in the memories. “Yeah, just thinking about all the stuff that happened. People do some wild stuff, that's all I gotta say.”

Chapter 11

Blaine pulled the chair out for his mom and waited until she was seated before taking his seat opposite his son. Warmth filled his chest with that acknowledgment. Adam was his and they were making progress, building a relationship. Granted it was shaky, although not hostile like Abe and Donald’s, but he thought they were progressing nicely after a week.

“I am so happy to meet both of you,” his mother said into the silence.

Abe nodded and picked up his menu.

“Thank you,” Adam said as he picked up his as well.

“I can’t get over it. You are the only ones in the family to have eyes like mine. So nice to see.”

Adam didn’t look up as he nodded.

“I’m happy to meet you as well,” Frank said as he opened his menu. “Nice to have older nephews in the family. I hope we get a chance to talk one on one later. I’m staying with my step-daughter and her family while here, but my schedule is open.”

“Okay,” Adam mumbled.

“Sorry I’m late, had something come up at the last minute,” Red said as he approached the table and pulled out the last empty chair.

“No problem,” Donald said. “We just got seated and haven’t ordered yet.” He turned slightly to Abe and Adam, who sat next to each other. “Abe, Adam, this is my brother, Benjamin, but everyone calls him Red.. He lives here. Red, this is my son Abe and his brother Adam.”

Red tipped his head toward the teens. “Hiya Abe. I met Adam at the construction office a while back. Good to see you again.”

Abe frowned and looked at his brother. “You met him?”

“I guess so. I don’t remember,” Adam said haltingly. “Which construction company was it? I applied to a few of them.”

“Three X. I walked in while Ross was interviewing you.”

Adam’s face cleared. “Oh yeah, he was mad at you about that. I forgot.”

“Why didn’t you work with us?” Red asked the question Blaine had wondered about.

Adam shrugged. “It was that or landscaping. I like working in the ground, so I took that job.”

Red glanced at Blaine as he nodded. “Well, if you ever change your mind, let me know and I’ll get you on with us.”

“Thanks,” Adam said, although his voice lacked conviction.

Red’s brow rose.

Frank shrugged and placed his menu to the side.

Donald waved the waitress over.

Adam and Abe stared at their menus as if the secrets of life were written on the pages.

Blaine exhaled slowly, read the sorrow in his mom’s gaze, and knew this lunch would be one for the books.

Once the waiter left with their orders, his mom placed her clasped hands on the table and leaned forward. “First off, let me say I am sorry for the misunderstanding that happened all those years ago.”

“What misunderstanding?” Abe asked.

Blaine met Donald’s gaze. Without Lindy to intervene, they would have to step in if the boys went too far. Under no circumstances would anyone be allowed to disrespect Allie O’Connor, not even her grandsons.

“When your mother called to tell your fathers about you.”

“How was that a misunderstanding? Mom called, was told her message would be passed along, it wasn’t. At least that’s what we were told. Is that the misunderstanding you’re talking about?” Abe asked in a moderate tone.

Nodding, Blaine saw the light of battle and respect enter his mother’s eyes. He leaned back to watch her work. If anyone could break through to these boys, she could.

“Actually you're right. It wasn’t a misunderstanding. My husband lied to your mom. He admitted it. His reasons don’t matter because the cost is too high. I thought to sugarcoat what happened, but you’re a straight shooter like your father, who is like me.” She smiled.