Heart of Gold (2 page)

They were playing
Madden
on the television. “What about?” Amari asked, controller in hand, doing his best to evade Preston's defenders.

“Crystal.”

“What about her?” Preston asked, holding his own controller and not taking his eyes off the screen. “You know she ran away last night.”

Amari added knowingly, “Fence painting in her future for sure. What a dummy.”

“No, she's not!”

“Yeah, she is,” Amari countered.

“She's just having issues.”

“Uh-huh, like what?”

“She didn't tell me.”

Both teens turned. “You saw her last night before she left?” Amari asked, searching her face.

She nodded.

Preston, also known as Brain for his sky-high IQ, paused the game. “Okay, tell us everything, and don't leave anything out.”

So she told them about visiting Crystal last evening and finding her packing in her bedroom.

“Did she say where she was going?” Amari asked.

“No, but she talked about hooking up with her old friends.”

“That means Dallas,” Preston concluded.

Amari exhaled a sigh. “Stupid. Have you talked to Ms. Bernadine yet?”

“No. Crystal made me promise not to tell anybody.”

Once again Amari shook his head, “That's a helluva thing to do to a little kid.”

Zoey wanted to argue that she wasn't little anymore, but both he and Preston were pushing fifteen and sixteen. To them a ten-year-old probably was still a little kid. “You think I should tell her?”

“Yes!” they replied with one voice.

“But what if she makes me paint the fence for not saying something last night?” So far, Zoey was the only kid in town who'd yet to whitewash Ms. Marie Jefferson's fence as punishment for doing something dumb: Devon'd had a turn for lying and stealing money, and Crystal and the boys were busted last spring for creating a secret e-mail address in order to cruise the Internet in places they weren't supposed to be.

“I don't think Ms. Bernadine would do that, Zoey,” Amari offered reassuringly.

Preston concurred. “Me neither. You want us to go with you?”

“No. I'll go by myself.” She didn't want to go alone, but the need to get out from under the secret made it necessary.

“You sure?” Amari asked. “Might be good to have some support if the grown folks start yelling.”

“I know, but I need to step up. Crystal said she was going to hitchhike.”

“Double stupid,” Amari declared.

It was hard for Zoey to defend Crys's decision to leave behind the good life they'd all been given with their adoptive parents. Before Ms. Bernadine came into their lives, Zoey had been homeless in Miami, Amari was in Detroit, stealing cars for fun, and Preston had been trying to survive the foster care system in Milwaukee. “Do you know whether Ms. Bernadine's heard from her yet?”

“No. We started texting Crys this morning as soon as we found out she'd taken off,” Preston explained, “but she hasn't come back at us.”

“But whatever happens, I'll bet she won't be gone long,” Amari declared sagely. “She can't make it on the streets anymore. Kansas makes you soft.”

Preston wasn't so convinced. “I don't know, man. She could be gone for a while.”

“Then put your money where your mouth is. I give her two days, tops. If I'm right, I get your telescope. You win—I don't know. What do you want?”

“For you to stop tripping. No way are you getting my scope, but if I win, you do my chores over at the rec center and vice versa.” Amari nodded, and they shook to seal the deal.

The bet aside, Zoey hoped Amari was right. Life in town just wouldn't be the same if Crystal stayed gone forever. Needing to talk with Ms. Bernadine before she lost her nerve, she got to her feet.

“You sure you don't want us to go with you?” Preston asked again, looking concerned.

“I'm sure, but thanks, Brain.” She spoke to Amari. “Are you and your dad working on the car today?”

“Probably not with all this Crystal drama, but when you're finished talking to Ms. Bernadine, you're welcome to come back and hang here with us.”

Brain nodded agreement. “Especially if you don't want to hang with Devon.”

Zoey had been an only child in Miami, but now considered the boys family, and they were the best big brothers in the world. “Okay.”

Feeling a bit braver, she left them to go talk to Ms. Bernadine. It was only a short walk across the street, but she kept saying “Please don't let them yell at me” the entire way.

Amari's grandfather, Malachi July, answered Ms. Bernadine's doorbell.

“Hey, Miss Z.” Malachi owned the Dog and Cow, the town's diner, and was known to the kids as OG—hip-hop for Old Gangsta. He wasn't really a gangster but Amari had given him the title because he was so cool.

“Hey, OG.” She took a deep breath. “I need to talk to Ms. Bernadine. It's about Crystal.”

“We haven't heard from her yet, baby girl.”

“I know—that's why I need to talk to her. I might can help.”

Sheriff Dalton was in the front room, talking to the Henry Adams adults: Amari's parents—Ms. Lily and her husband, Mr. Trent, who was also the town's mayor; Amari's great-grandmother, Tamar; Reverend Paula; Ms. Rocky, who managed the Dog and Cow; and the town's schoolteacher, Mr. Jack James. All looked worried.

Ms. Bernadine walked over. “Hey, Zoey.”

“Hi, Ms. Bernadine. I came over to tell you that Crystal might be in Dallas.”

Every eye in the room swung Zoey's way, and she had to fight to not squirm under the scrutiny. “I—I talked to her last night before she left. She made me promise not to tell you. Do I have to paint the fence?”

Ms. Bernadine shook her head. “No, honey.”

“Crys said she had friends where she was going. I told her hitchhiking was dangerous, but she didn't listen. A boy drove her away from the house.”

The sheriff asked, “Do you know his name?”

She shook her head. “No, sir. But I memorized the license plate.”

He grinned. “You just earned yourself a county sheriff's badge, young lady.”

Trent said approvingly, “Way to go, Zoey.”

Ms. Bernadine hugged her tight and kissed her on the top of her head. “You rock, missy.”

Zoey felt a million times better. Crystal would probably call her a snitch when she got back, but at that moment Zoey didn't care. She'd deal with that when the time came.

“And free dessert for the rest of the week,” Rocky told her. “On the house.”

“Thanks! But you have to give some to Preston and Amari, too. They were the ones who figured out she probably went to Dallas.”

“You got it.”

Zoey recited the plate number for the sheriff, and he immediately got on his phone. Ms. Bernadine asked, “Did Crys say anything else?”

“Just that she wanted her old life back.” Ms. Bernadine's eyes got real sad, so Zoey told her the next part. “I asked her if it was because she didn't like us anymore, but she said that wasn't it.”

“Okay, honey. Thanks. That information helps a lot.”

“You're welcome.” She also wanted to tell her that Amari didn't think Crystal would be gone long, but she kept that to herself. She wasn't sure Ms. Bernadine wanted Amari's opinion. “Is it okay for me to go now?”

“Yes.”

All the adults offered her thanks, and a relieved Zoey left.

C H A P T E R

2

B
y late morning, Bernadine was finally in the house alone. After all the Crystal upheaval, she welcomed the solitude. Parts of her were angry, others disappointed, and others wanted to fall to the floor and weep. The signs had been there. In fact, as the summer waned, she'd sensed the storm on the horizon. Crystal had been despondent over her unrequited crush on Diego July and waxing nostalgic about her old life on the streets. Although Bernadine assured herself at the time that Crystal had too much to look forward to and would get over herself eventually, she'd been terribly wrong. And now, here she stood on her deck wondering if she'd ever see her child again. Thank God for Zoey, however. The information she provided on the license plate enabled the sheriff's office to track down the driver. As a result they'd learned that, one, Crystal had duped the boy into believing that Bernadine sanctioned the flight, and two, he'd dropped her off by the 183 South ramp. Sheriff Dalton's next task was to show Crystal's picture around at the local truck stops in the hope of finding someone who might have seen her or given her a ride. He also had a few law enforcement connections in the Dallas area, and he promised to e-mail her picture to them as well.

As had become her habit since this madness began last night, she took out her phone to check for messages. None of her texts to her daughter were being answered and all the calls had gone straight to voice mail. Why, Crystal? she wanted to ask. Why choose to run from such a blessed life? Bernadine took out the note she'd found taped to the front door last night and read it for what seemed like the hundredth time.

I have to go, otherwise I'm going to explode. Hope you'll forgive me one day.

Love you,

Crys

Sighing, Bernadine put the note back into her shirt pocket and prayed the nightmare might end soon.

When her phone rang, she startled. Hoping it was Crystal, she quickly viewed the caller ID and was crestfallen to see that it was her sister, Diane.

“Hey, Di. How are you?”

“Doing good. I'm at the airport. Can you send someone to pick me up?”

Bernadine froze. “What airport?”

“I think it's called Hays?”

Bernadine mentally pleaded.
Please lord, not today!

“Are you there, Bernie?”

“Yeah. I'm here.”

“How long will it take you to get here?”

Bernadine sighed. “I'll send a car for you. It'll take about an hour.”

“An hour?”

“An hour. Are you on a layover?”

“No. Harmon and I are having some work done on the house, so I thought I'd come stay with you. Shouldn't be more than a week or two.”

Bernadine felt a headache settling in. “Di, this isn't a good time.”

“Don't be silly, just send the car.” And she hung up.

Bernadine dropped into a chair. Head in her hands, she voiced an irritated and frustrated “Dammit!” then put in a call to her nephew, Harmon Jr., Diane's oldest son. “Why is your mother in Kansas?”

He chuckled. “Hello to you too, Aunt Dina. Is that where she is?”

“Yes,” Bernadine snarled. Her sister was one of her least favorite people in the world.

“Well, it seems Dad's finally had enough of her minute-by-minute criticisms. He's divorcing her.”

“What!”

“Yep. Served her the papers a few days ago.”

“But why come here?”

“Probably no place else to go. She can't stay with me because she and Joan haven't gotten along since the day they met. Remember the drama at our wedding?”

The wedding took place seven years ago. When the preacher asked whether anyone had a reason the bride and groom shouldn't marry, Diane stood up and declared Joan too low-class to marry her son. It took half the church to restrain Joan's mother so she wouldn't leap over the pew and whip Diane's sneering behind. As a result, Diane and her son hadn't spoken for two years. “What about your brother Marlon?”

“He and his partner, Anthony, offered to take her in, but she said she had no intentions of living in an F-word household.”

“Oh, good lord.”

“I know. And since we all know my sister Monique is at the top of Mom's persona non grata list for marrying outside the race, you're it, Auntie.”

“I'm so lucky,” Bernadine declared sarcastically. “Okay. I suppose I don't have much choice. She is my sister.”

“And remember, no good deed goes unpunished.”

She laughed for the first time that day. “Anything else I need to know?”

“She and Dad are broke. He declared bankruptcy six months ago, and they moved into a one-bedroom apartment. I think the close quarters is what sent him over the edge. That, and the fact that she wouldn't stop spending. She called me yesterday, screaming that he'd canceled all her credit cards. I tried to explain to her that it went with being divorced, but of course she didn't want to hear it.”

Bernadine's brother-in-law, Harmon Sr., was a good guy. He'd put up with his wife's tantrums and selfish, over-the-top behavior for thirty years. It saddened her to hear about his financial struggles. “Does he still have his dental practice?”

“Not sure. You know how closemouthed he can be, and with them being in Detroit and me in Austin, there's no real way to tell. He keeps saying he's fine, though.”

She made a mental note to reach out to him just as soon as the Crystal situation was resolved—if it ever got resolved. “Anything else?”

“Not that I can think of. You okay?”

“Doing great,” she lied.

“Good to know. Hope Mom doesn't make you too crazy.”

“Me, too. If she does, I'll just bury her body where it can't be found.”

“Sounds like a plan. Love you a lot. Later.”

“Bye.” After ending the call, Bernadine exhaled audibly in response to the continuing madness that had become her life. First Crystal, and now Diane. She had no idea what she'd done to be so deserving, but she needed it to stop.

She put in a call to her driver, Nathan, and asked him to make the airport run. A bit over two hours later the shiny black town car pulled up smoothly to the curb. She watched through the screen door as Nathan hustled around to let Diane out of the car. Her sister stepped out, swathed in scarves and wearing skinny black jeans and spike-heeled black leather boots. The expensive black handbag hanging from her shoulder looked large enough to hold a bowling ball, and her wrists were lined with gold bangles. She'd always had a trim figure, but there was trim and there was anorexic. Bernadine hadn't seen her since divorcing Leo five years ago, and Diane was skinny in a way reminiscent of aging women with old money bent upon reclaiming their youth. She was in her fifties now, and it was not a good look.