Hidden Riches (33 page)

U
nfortunately, I had trouble sleeping at night, thanks to Seth. I had been getting up around four each morning since he'd broken up with me. Almost every day I went to work an hour early so I could read the morning newspaper with my coffee so I'd be relaxed by the time my co-workers arrived.

I rarely talked about my personal life with anybody at work, except Lucy. Most of my straitlaced, stuffy coworkers seemed interested only in work so they kept their personal business to themselves too. I had mentioned to my supervisor and a few others that I was engaged but since nobody had asked me about that since I'd told them, I assumed they wouldn't care one way or the other about what had happened between Seth and me so I decided not to mention it unless someone asked. That was one consolation. I planned to take life one day at a time and hope for the best.

Life was too short and even shorter for some folks as I was about to find out.

It was six forty-five A.M. that morning the second week in September when a special news bulletin interrupted the jazz radio station I listened to every morning. I was shocked when the announcer reported that a jet had crashed into one of the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City. I finished my coffee and shuffled down the hall to the break-room to get another cup. When I returned to my office a few minutes later, the same announcer broke into the radio program again. I was getting annoyed because “Caught Up in the Rapture” by Anita Baker had just come on. But when the man said that another plane had hit the other twin tower, I got scared. I didn't find out until an hour later that the plane crashes had been deliberate. By then, some of my co-workers had come in. We all gathered in our conference room to watch the events unfold on a portable TV.

“My sister lives in New York,” Donna Handel, one of the teachers, said, choking on a sob.

“My nephew works in one of those buildings,” one of the male teachers said.

We all turned to Mrs. Trumble, our birdlike, white-haired principal. “In light of this situation, we'll close for the day until we know more about what's going on,” she told us.

People immediately began to scramble out into the hallway, cussing and crying. I turned off my computer, gathered my things, and prepared to leave. The principal and a few other staff members were at the front entrance sending kids back home. I was in such disbelief; I don't even remember the short drive home.

Mama had already called me and left three messages so I called her immediately.

“I know I'll never get on no airplane now,” she declared. “You lock your doors and stay inside until we find out what else them terrorists fools done cooked up. In the meantime, you take care of yourself.” Mama cleared her throat which told me she had more to say. “Uh, you and Seth still ain't back together?”

“No,” I said sharply. “And we won't be.”

“Oh, well. Everything happens for a reason. Maybe it wasn't meant for you and him to be together.”

“Maybe it wasn't,” I agreed. “But I'll do just fine without him, Mama. Don't worry about me.”

“You get on with your life, sugar. Don't let this setback, set you back.”

Mama's advice was good, but it was too late. The breakup was always on my mind and the hurt was still as painful as it had been the moment Seth told me our relationship was over. I had been eating like a bird since the last time I saw him. It was so ironic that I had lost another eight pounds because of that.

I did everything I could to keep myself grounded so I wouldn't think about the break-up too much. But I did. I thought about it day and night, every day. I'd even called Seth a few times trying to get him to talk to me. So far, I had not been able to catch up with him and so far he hadn't returned any of my calls.

After we returned to work two days after the attack, I began to work overtime. I knew it would help for me to keep myself busy. I spent more time with my friends, I read books that had been sitting on my bookshelf for months, and I continued to go to the gym.

I had seen Darla Woodson at the gym, but we had not spoken since Seth had dumped me. But the following Monday evening when she climbed onto the treadmill right next to me, she immediately began to walk at a slow pace and talk about her love life.

“Girl, I never thought I could be so happy,” she gushed. “I am so in love!”

I was taken aback because Darla didn't seem the least bit concerned about last week's terrorist attacks. That was all everybody at the gym was still talking about. “I can tell. How is your boo doing?” I asked, speaking in a dry tone of voice. I assumed she was avoiding the terrorist issue because it was so painful and she didn't want it to interfere with the state of bliss she was in.

“Oh, he's doing just fine. Everything is going so much better than I even expected!”

“You must have had some weekend,” I said, smiling to conceal my smoldering envy. “Did you know anybody in New York or D.C.?”

Darla gave me a puzzled look. “No. Why do you ask?”

“Some of my co-workers had relatives in New York and D.C. They're okay, though.”

She gave me another puzzled look. Either this woman had just crawled from under a rock or she had a short memory. Then her eyes suddenly got big. “Oh! Are you talking about the terrorist attacks?”

I nodded.

“I don't know anybody in New York or D.C., but my hairdresser had a sister on the plane that crashed into the north twin tower.” Darla shook her head and let out a sorrowful sigh, but her sympathetic gesture didn't seem sincere. “Oh well. We all have to go sometime.” That was all she had to say about the biggest tragedy that had ever occurred on American soil in our lifetime. I was stunned and disappointed to know how lax she was. With a huge smile, she waved her hand in my face, pointing to the ring on her finger. “Can you believe this? It was his grandmother's ring.”

“It's lovely,” I mumbled. Seth had not asked me to return the engagement ring he had given to me. An hour after our break-up I had removed it from my finger and put it in a zip-lock baggie. I stored it in the same kitchen drawer where I kept my other notions, such as my needles and thread, safety pins and such. “You're one lucky girl.”

“You don't know the half of it. We got married in his parents' house last Saturday afternoon. We had not planned to take the plunge so soon, but last month all of a sudden, he wanted to do it this month. And that was fine with me.” Darla started up the treadmill and began to walk at a slow pace. “Since it was so sudden and unexpected, I had to rush and find a dress. I always wanted to have a big wedding and that's what we had talked about. But, you know, it was real quaint to have a little ceremony in his parents' house with just family and a few close friends.”

“That sounds so nice, Darla. Congratulations,” I muttered.

An apologetic look suddenly crossed her face. “I'm sorry to be hogging the conversation about me. What have you been up to since the last time I saw you? You look like you've lost a few pounds. Did you find a dress yet? Have you and your fiancé picked a date yet?”

I shook my head. “I won't be needing a wedding dress.” I kept my voice strong and my head held high.

Darla gasped. “Oh? What happened? Did you change your mind about getting married?”

“Something like that.” I cleared my throat and blinked hard to hold back my tears. I had shed a lot of tears in the last few days, and I didn't want to shed any more. “He broke the engagement.” I reorganized my thoughts and kept my chin up. I was determined to keep my wits about me. I refused to show my pain, especially to a person I hardly knew.

“Oh shit! Well, I hope you're still going to be friends with him! Maybe he'll change his mind later on.”

I offered a weak smile and shook my head. “I don't think so.”

“Well, if you don't mind me asking, what the hell happened?”

“He just said he wasn't ready to get married yet.” I forced myself to smile. “It was good while it lasted though. He was so special to me.”

“What a shame. How are you handling things?”

“I'm okay, I guess. I still feel a little numb about it, but I'll get over him.”

Darla gave me a curious look. “That dude is not telling you something. There has to be a serious reason as to why he called off the wedding other than him not being ready to get married. How long were you guys together?”

“Four years,” I said hoarsely.

“And he suddenly calls it quits. Oomph, oomph, oomph! I feel so sorry for what that asshole did to you!”

“We had a lot of good times though.” My voice had begun to weaken, no matter how hard I had tried to keep sounding strong.

“He's still an asshole and I hope that he regrets what he did to you someday!”

I exhaled and touched Darla's shoulder. “Thanks, Darla. I appreciate your concern.”

“Well, I know I don't know you that well; but would you like to get together for a drink or dinner sometime? That way, we can really have a decent conversation about this. I mean, that is if you'd like to discuss this some more. I have a lot of time on my hands these days. I've already resigned from my boring job, which I hated anyway. We just moved into our new house two days ago so after we finish getting everything in place, you're welcome to come over. I'm sure Seth would love to meet you. Especially after what you just went though. I swear to God, I don't know why some men do the things they do! Thank God there are still some good ones left. Seth is the most sensitive man I've ever known so he'd be a good person for you to talk to.”

Even though my eyes were open, everything went black for about two seconds. I could still hear Darla talking, but the only word that really jumped out at me now was her new husband's name:
Seth
. “Your husband is named Seth?”

She nodded vigorously. “He's already told me that we'll name our first son Seth Junior. I'm probably already pregnant. We've been getting busy since we met last April.”

“Do you have a picture of your husband?” Had Darla not told me her husband's name was Seth, I would not have been interested in seeing what he looked like.

“Oh, I've got lots of pictures of him and of me together.” Darla paused her treadmill and leaned down to lift her gym bag. She rooted around in it for a few seconds and pulled out a wallet and flipped it open. “Here's one we took when we went to the Bahamas. We won't get our wedding pictures until next week.”

The picture in front of my burning eyes made my head swim. There was Seth in a floral shirt and a straw hat, standing in front of a palm tree with his arm around Darla. There was a tall glass in his hand with a pine -apple wedge and one of those cute little umbrellas hanging over the lip. The date at the bottom of the photo was the same date that he had told me he had attended that retreat in Sacramento.

“Have you ever seen a more handsome man?” Darla asked, sliding her tongue across her bottom lip.

“Yes,” I mumbled. “I have. My ex was just as hand -some as yours …” My head felt like it was going to explode. I ended my session on the treadmill and retrieved my gym bag off the floor with my hand shaking so hard I almost dropped it. I sniffed and gave Darla a guarded look. “It's been nice talking to you. Good luck.”

“I wish you didn't have to rush off. I was going to invite you to join Seth and me for drinks this evening. He's working late so it'll be a couple of hours from now. I'm sure he would love to meet you. He's got a few single friends he could introduce you to.”

“Thanks, Darla, but I'll have to decline your invitation. I already have plans for this evening.”

“Well, can I get your telephone number so we can keep in touch? If I am pregnant, I don't know how much longer I'll be coming to the gym.”

I pretended not to hear Darla's request for my telephone number. I couldn't get out of that gym fast enough. I didn't care if I had to drive fifty miles to another gym I'd never work out in this one again! I sprinted to the nearest exit and I didn't stop until I had made it outside and to the end of the block.

I was in such a daze I couldn't even recall where I had parked. It took me fifteen minutes to locate my car at a meter two blocks from the gym.

With my hands shaking and tears streaming down both sides of my face, I drove to Seth's office. I knew that without an appointment, and since it was after business hours, the security guard would not allow me to enter the building so I didn't even try. That didn't stop me from going into the underground parking garage.

There were four parking levels. It took me an hour to locate his BMW. I hawked a dollop of spit smack dab in the center of the front windshield. Then I keyed the front, the back, and both sides. Just as I was about to leave and go to a hardware store to purchase something that I could use to slash his tires and bust our every single one of his windows, a man in a gray suit appeared. He didn't see me so I crouched down until I heard him drive away. My plan was to hang around until Seth showed up so I could give him a piece of my mind and a punch in the nose if he provoked me.

I couldn't remain in the garage too long before somebody saw me and got suspicious enough to call security so I left ten minutes later. Catching up with Seth so I could tell him to his face what I thought of him was not going to be easy. Especially with the way he had already been avoiding my phone calls and not returning any of my voice mail messages. Accepting an invitation from Darla to “meet” him so I could bust him in front of her—in the house that should have been my new residence—didn't appeal to me. There was no telling what I would do to him if I confronted him in the new house he'd just purchased. And there was no telling what he would do to me.