Gold Hill (17 page)

Gran glanced at Rodney
Smith. His eyes were glazed over as if he’d been hit with a brick.
She continued her story.

“
There isn’t much more to
say,” Gran said. “I lost track of her, and then, you. She moved
around . . . seeing men . . . I
thought . . . ”

She glanced at Rodney Smith
again and he shook his head.

“
You’re right,” Gran said.
“This isn’t the time for me to tell you that I failed her. But I
did. And you, Tanesha. Rodney called me and told me he’d lost track
of her.”

“
She used to write me
every day,” Rodney Smith said. “Suddenly, the letters
stopped.”

“
He asked if I would help
find her?” Gran swallowed so hard that her head bobbed in a slight
nod. “I didn’t. He called again. Bumpy called.
I . . . don’t have excuses for what or why I
abandoned my daughter but . . . that’s what I
did.”

For a moment, Tanesha’s
eyes locked on Gran’s in the silent communication between people
who know each other well. Tanesha saw the whole of her grandmother
– stubborn, mean, kind, loving, righteous – and Gran took in
Tanesha. As if she had drawn in the strength to continue her story,
Gran nodded.

“
I got a call from the
police,” Gran said. “My daughter had hurt herself. Would I take the
baby? I went to one of those horrible motels on Colfax to
find . . . awful things. As you said, Tanesha, blood
everywhere and . . .
you
were the one crying, screaming
really. You were hiding under a table with your back to a wall.
Your hands were over your ears and you had your knees pulled up.
You were howling at the top of your lungs. It took me almost an
hour to get you out. You and Yvonne were in the hospital
for . . . days. I thought she
was . . . Doctors said she’d injured her brain and I
thought she’d finally come home. I went down there on the third
morning and . . . ”

A single silent tear rolled
down the contours of Gran’s face. Her eyes traveled the lines of
Tanesha’s face.

“
Yvonne was gone,” Rodney
Smith said. “The man who owns her came to get her in the night.
They left you. We’re not sure how she pulled that off, or what it
cost her, because . . . he . . . and
you . . . ”

“
He told me,” Tanesha
said. “He used to sell me too.”

“
Like it was something she
should be proud of,” Heather snorted.

“
He used to make more
money off Tanesha,” Sandy glanced at Tanesha. “And she was supposed
to be proud of that?”

“
He told us he was coming
for Tanesha after high school,” Jill said. “That he was waiting for
her to grow up so that she could get to work. So you’re probably
right, Mr. Smith. Tanesha’s mom probably agreed to go with him if
he would leave her alone until she was grown up.”

“
We snuck her out of
town,” Heather smiled. “He’s a fool.”

“
I wondered what
happened,” Rodney Smith looked from Heather to Sandy and then Jill.
“Thank you.”

“
It was more blood,
Tanesha, than I’d ever seen,” Gran said. “Yvonne had some brain
damage from . . . everything
and . . . She saved you. In my heart, I know that
she saved you.”

“
I believe that too,”
Rodney Smith said. “No matter what happened, Yvonne loved you,
Tanesha. She used to call you her special light.”

Tanesha nodded.

“
So that’s our story,”
Gran said. “Blood, tattoos, and failure. We failed Yvonne and you.
Can you forgive us?”

“
Oh Gran.”

Tanesha threw herself in
her grandmother’s lap and cried. The moment she hit Gran’s lap, her
grandmother began to sob. They cried for the loss of the beautiful
Yvonne, for the things mothers do for their children, and their own
inability to make the horrible past any better. Tanesha held on to
her grandmother until all the tears were spent. When she looked up,
her friends were gone. Rodney Smith was drinking tea with Jeraine
in the dining room and she was starving.

“
Dinner?” Tanesha asked.
When she gave a partial smile, Jeraine knew that, even though she
wasn’t all right today, she was on the other side of this horrible
mess.

“
I’ll see what I can
make,” Jeraine said.

“
You better not make a
mess in my kitchen,” Gran yelled.

He gave her a curt nod,
almost a bow, and went to make dinner.

Chapter One Hundred and
Ninety-Eight
Coming Home

Thursday night — 7:35
p.m.

Jacob hung a damp dishtowel
on the rack and looked around the large main kitchen, the center of
life at the Castle. All the pans were clean and hanging. The
dishwasher was chugging away loaded with dinner dishes. The
counters gleamed. Everything was done. Glancing at the clock, he
smiled. Jill and Katy were waiting for him to say
goodnight.

“
There you are,” Valerie
appeared at the bottom of the stairs. Jackie was strapped on her
chest in a baby sling. “I was looking for you.”

“
I’ve done Thursday dinner
cleanup for almost five years,” Jacob said.

“
Right.” Valerie gave him
a bright smile.

“
Congratulations on
finding me,” Jacob smiled at her and turned to go up the long
stairway to the loft.

“
Oh,” Valerie said. “I
wanted to talk to you for a moment.”

Turning in place, he
squinted at her.

“
You see, I bought this
building,” Valerie said. “For the Marlowe school. It’s big and
beautiful and . . . ”

“
Okay,” Jacob
said.

“
Really it’s perfect for
our expansion,” Valerie gave him one of her most dazzling smiles.
He responded with a suspicious scowl. “You know, it’s really for
Nash and Teddy. I know how much you care about them and since Park
Hill won’t be doing eighth grade next year, they really need a
place to go.”

“
Okay.”

“
And I spent my own
money,” Valerie said. “I got a steal really. It’s perfect and it
was almost free!”

“
And?”

“
It has to be moved,”
Valerie said. “You see, I made the purchase and then, well, I’ve
been a bit distracted.”

Valerie looked down at the
adorable Jackie.

“
That’s low, even for
you,” Jacob said.

“
Oh?” Valerie’s voice was
light. Seeing his stern face, she wrinkled her nose.
“Sorry.”

“
You don’t have to
manipulate me, Val,” Jacob said. “Just ask me.”

“
Okay, I bought this
building then forgot about it,” Valerie said. “It needs work but I
knew you would do a fabulous job and we’re not planning on adding
junior high until next fall. So you’ll have time.”

“
How old is the
building?”

“
Old,” Valerie said. “And
perfect. It has all the details you love. It will be awesome for
the Marlowe school.”

“
But?”

“
I forgot about it,”
Valerie said. “The developer called and said if I didn’t move it by
the end of the week, they were going to tear it down.”

“
Where are you thinking of
moving it?” Jacob asked.

“
You have that property on
Seventeenth and Franklin,” Valerie said. “I know you’re trying to
sell it but you don’t need the money and it’s just right for the
school, really perfect.”

“
Let me see if I get this
right,” Jacob said. “You bought a bargain building, from the sounds
of it a house, and want to put it on premium land but it will only
work if I spend the next year fixing it up.”

“
Right,” Valerie said.
“That’s exactly right.”

“
Where is the house
now?”

“
Brighton.”

“
You did not.” Jacob’s
face flushed with surprise. He shook his head.

“
It was a steal,” Valerie
said. “You yourself said it only needed a little clean up
and . . . ”

“
Who else could do it?”
Delphie stepped into the kitchen from the living room.

“
You’re in on this too?”
Jacob asked.

“
No,” Delphie said. “But
she’s right. We will clean the house, repair her, and when we’re
done, children will love her for decades to come.”

“
See!” Valerie said. “It
was a good idea.”

Not trusting himself to
speak, Jacob shook his head and looked from Valerie to
Delphie.

~~~~~~~~

Thursday night — 8:45
p.m.

“
You seem blue,” MJ
said.

His face was partly
obscured under his camouflage helmet. They were talking via Skype.
MJ was in the air on his way to somewhere-stan. The baby wasn’t due
for another month and he was traveling while he could. Because he
would take at least a month’s leave when the baby came, his whole
team had been working non-stop to get as much as possible done
before he left.

“
I’m okay,” Honey smiled
to reassure him.

“
But?”

“
Valerie had her baby at
home,” Honey said.

“
You showed me the space,”
MJ said. “It’s gorgeous. How is Val doing?”

“
Val’s Val – smiling,
happy, and, before you ask, Jackie is the same way,” Honey said.
“She gets this dark brooding look
sometimes . . . ”

“
Like Mike,” MJ
chuckled.

“
Exactly,” Honey said.
“But she’s good. They went to the doctor this morning and she’s
healthy. Dad’s starting to buzz around me like he did with Valerie
when she was getting ready to have Jackie.”

MJ smiled.

“
It’s nice,” Honey said.
“Bambi’s planning a supposedly secret baby shower.”

“
I bet that will be fun,”
MJ said.

“
When?” a man’s voice came
from next to MJ.

“
Joseph’s planning our
schedule,” MJ said. “Turns out the LC and some of the others are
supposed to do a month-long training. We’re trying to coordinate
the whole thing to match with my maternity leave.”

“
Paternity,” Honey
said.

“
Right,” MJ said. “If we
do that, I can stay home for longer.”

“
That’s great news,” Honey
said.

“
I know,” MJ smiled. “I
can’t wait.”

“
I’ll find out when the
shower is and I’ll send it to Joseph,” Honey said.

“
Good thinking,” MJ’s eyes
traced her face. “So why are you blue? You haven’t
said.”

“
I hate this,” Honey’s
eyes filled with moisture. “I hate it.”

“
Wait,” MJ looked up.
“Where’s the headset?”

An object bounced off MJ’s
helmet. Some hands came into view. A shadow went across the screen
as people moved away from him. Because the team spent so much time
together, privacy was a premium. When a team member needed privacy,
they asked for the headset and the other teammates moved away.
While she was sure they knew every detail of her life, this was one
of the tiny gestures that made their life work.

“
Ok,” MJ said when he was
alone and hooked up. “What do you hate?”

“
If I wasn’t paralyzed I’d
be able to have the baby at home like Val and I wouldn’t have to go
and get cut open and everyone could be here and I wouldn’t be alone
and . . . ”

Honey’s words were lost in
her tears. At this moment, all she wanted to do was be
normal.

“
What am I going to do
when the baby comes?” Honey asked. “I’m here by myself and I can’t
even shower myself and . . . ”

Honey began to sob. She’d
never spoken the words out loud to anyone before. When she looked
up, she saw only love and concern in MJ’s eyes. He gave her a soft
smile.

“
We have solutions to
every single situation,” MJ said. “You know that.”

Honey bit her lip and
nodded.

“
And it’s still very, very
hard,” MJ said. “Very hard. I’m sorry. I think it would be almost
harder if I was there.”

Honey nodded.

“
I don’t see why we can’t
have the baby at home,” MJ said. “I’ll call the doctor and see if
we can set it up.”

“
But . . . ?”

“
No buts,” MJ said. “Jake
told me the office is equipped with all kinds of things
and . . . Honey, if push comes to shove, I can do it
myself.”

“
You?” Honey shook her
head.

There was a knock on
Honey’s apartment door. With the laptop on her lap, she rolled
toward to the door.

“
You wouldn’t be my
first,” MJ smiled. “I’ll call the doctor and talk to Sam. If you
want to have the baby at home, we’ll do it.”

Trying to be strong, Honey
wiped her eyes and nodded.

“
What can I
do?”

“
I’m just being a baby,”
Honey said.

“
You’re alone during some
really big and important days,” MJ said. “I know what I’ll do. I’ll
call your Mom!”