Lost Daughters (9 page)

L
ORETTA HAD RETURNED TO HER ROOM AND SHUT HER DOOR BY THE
time Maureen finished emptying the trash and got back inside.

Maureen didn't bother to knock like she usually did. She opened the door to Loretta's room and entered, with the nasty condom dangling on the end of a twig. “What the hell is this?” she yelled, waving the twig in Loretta's stunned face.

Loretta gasped and almost rolled off her bed. She couldn't believe that she'd been busted.

“I asked you what the hell this is!” Maureen hollered.

“I . . . I . . .” Loretta stood up by the side of her bed, trembling so hard her teeth rattled. “Mama, I . . . I—”

“You had . . . you had . . .” Maureen stopped talking because it was difficult for her to continue. The words felt like poison sliding off her tongue. “You had
sex
tonight in this apartment, didn't you?”

Loretta's eyes almost popped out of her head. “Who, me?”

“Yes, you!”

“Mama, let me explain!”

“Explain what? You don't need to do that! I know about you messin' around with boys in here when I'm gone, and I know it's been goin' on for a while. I found a condom wrapper on your bedroom floor last year! You'll stop your shenanigans after Mel moves in here. I don't expect you to be perfect when it comes to boys—I wasn't. I did my share of foolin' around when I was a teenager, but I had a lot more respect for my mama than you have for me, girl.”

A suspicious look crossed Loretta's face. “Do you mean to tell me that you never got busy with a boy in Mama Ruby's house?”

Maureen froze. She didn't have the nerve to tell Loretta that she had not only given her virginity to Bobby Boatwright in Mama Ruby's house, but also it had happened
in the upper room
—the only place outside of heaven that Mama Ruby had held as much regard for. Had Mama Ruby found out that Bobby Boatwright had even poked his head into the upper room, let alone entered it and had sex with Maureen, he would have been “residing” in the cemetery right now instead of Seattle with his third wife and their four kids.

“I did have sex in Mama Ruby's house, but I didn't disrespect her by leavin' condom wrappers and used condoms where she could find them!” Maureen was so hurt and disappointed she wanted to scream.

“Mama, I'm sorry. It won't happen again, honest to God!” Loretta swore. From the wounded look on her face, you would have thought that she was the injured party in this case.

“I had always hoped . . . I didn't want you to do . . . what you did . . . this soon. A child your age should not be havin' sex!”

“A child? I am not like other girls my age, Mama. You should know that by now. You tell me all the time that I'm ‘goin' on twenty-five. ' ” Loretta let out a very nervous laugh.

“You ain't twenty-five yet. Don't start actin' old before your time. You'll be old soon enough and you'll be wishin' you could be young and innocent again.” Maureen shook the twig with the condom on it in Loretta's face again. “I am so disappointed in you, Lo'retta. Real disappointed.”

“I said I was sorry, Mama.” Loretta bowed her head. Then she looked back up with a pleading look on her face. “Don't be mad at me.”

“All I want to know is, was it worth it?” Maureen asked, her voice cracking.

Loretta bowed her head again and shook it. “No, ma'am. It wasn't worth it.”

Maureen held her breath and shook her head too. Then she closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head again. “Was it the Warren boy or the Harris boy?”

“Uh, neither,” Loretta said in a broken voice. “It's a boy you don't know. His family moved here last year from . . . uh, Memphis. His whole family is real snobby, so they keep to themselves. That's why you don't know them.”

“Well, this boy can't be too snobby if he's over here makin' a fool out of you!” Maureen shouted.

Maureen was too tired to give Loretta the whupping she deserved. Maybe if she had done that last year when she found that condom wrapper, they wouldn't be having this conversation now. Loretta stood in the middle of the floor with a pitiful look on her face. “Look, I know you will do things that I don't want you to do. I know I can't stop you, but don't let some funky-tail boy make a fool out of you. Be better than that.”

“I will, Mama. Anyway, that funky-tail boy already kicked me to the curb for some bowlegged Cuban girl. Before he left here tonight, he told me he was through with me.”

“See there! That's what boys do! You got a lot goin' for you, Lo'retta. If you really want to be a supermodel, you have to put your hormones on hold. Don't let some boy ruin your future. You work too hard, and I don't want it all to be for nothin' at the end of the day.”

“I know. I will take your advice. Honest to God, I will,” Loretta said, even crossing her heart with her fingers.

“Uh, now this is between you and me and whoever that boy is. If you plan to be sneakin' around with him in the future, or any other boy, the least y'all can do is get a cheap motel room. I'm not goin' to have you doin' your business under my roof—not at your age—and please make sure your boyfriends
always
use protection!”

“Mama, can we drop this subject? I get the message,” Loretta snapped, flopping back down onto her bed.

“You better get the message! I still know how to swing a switch, girl!”

“You finished?” Loretta rolled her eyes. “Anything else you got to say about this?” She snatched a
Glamour
magazine off the side of her bed and started to flip the pages.

“I don't want Mel to know what you've been up to tonight. He'd be so disappointed. I know it won't be official until I marry him, but he already treats you like his own daughter.”

Loretta shrugged. “I know, I know,” she sighed, not even looking up from her magazine.

“Or your uncle Virgil. He'd be so hurt. I already told him about that condom wrapper I found. He's the only family we have out here in Florida now, and he's had enough misery in his life.” Maureen blew out a tortured breath and glanced at her watch. “Well, I guess I need to go call Virgil and tell him I'm goin' to marry Mel.” Maureen paused and shook her finger at Loretta. “You can't have no company or go to the mall with Mona for two weeks! Do you understand me, girl?” Maureen shouted. “Now you put that magazine away and get some rest.”

“Yes, ma'am,” Loretta mumbled, rolling her eyes as soon as Maureen looked away.

After Maureen had disposed of the condom, she went back into the kitchen and picked up the telephone to call Virgil. He was happy to hear that she was going to marry Mel.

“I don't want you to spend the rest of your life alone,” Virgil said. “I just hope Mel is the right one.”

“Well, from the way my love life has been goin', Mel is the
only
one. If I don't marry him, this might be my last chance. But . . .”

“But what?”

“But maybe I should just be engaged to him for a while first. Like Mama Ruby was with Slim, that old man that died a month after she did.”

“Why?”

“Just to be sure,” Maureen answered.

Virgil choked on some air. “Mama Ruby and Slim stayed engaged for over twenty years, and they was no closer to gettin' married when she died. You ain't Mama Ruby, so don't do none of the crazy shit she did. Besides, Mel might not want no long engagement. From what you keep tellin' me, he is anxious to move in with you and Loretta. You done already made it clear to everybody that you won't live with a man unless y'all married.”

“Yeah. I just don't want to make a mistake.”

“Mo'reen, you won't be the first person to make a mistake. Makin' a mistake is a good way to learn what to do and what not to do. Marry the man and if it don't work out, get a divorce, girl. I married the wrong woman the first time, or she married the wrong man, whatever way you want to look at it. We got a divorce and moved on and I'm with a better woman now. If Mel turns out to be the wrong one for you, you will find out soon enough. You will eventually find the right man, if you lucky.”

A few minutes after Maureen's conversation with Virgil, Mel arrived with a bottle of red wine. He gave her a very wet kiss before he said a word. “Baby, you've made me the happiest man in Florida!” He caressed Maureen's chin.

“I'm happy, too, Mel. I think marryin' you is what I need to do, and I'm glad you didn't give up.”

“Oh, I love hearin' you say that!” Mel kissed Maureen again and then he glanced around the room. “Where's Loretta?”

“In bed, but I don't think she's asleep yet. Go say hello to her while I get the wineglasses,” Maureen said over her shoulder as she headed toward the kitchen.

Mel set the bottle of wine on the coffee table and headed toward Loretta's room. She had been listening at her door, so when he entered her room, she was already standing in the middle of the floor with a huge smile on her face.

“Hello, sweet thing,” Mel whispered, glancing over his shoulder, then back to Loretta. “I'm sorry I had to rush off this evenin'.”

“She found the condom wrapper on my floor last year from the first time you and me did it here, and she found the used condom in the trash this evenin'! I told her that I was with some boy that already dumped me,” Loretta hissed, looking over Mel's shoulder. “I thought you had flushed that damn thing down the toilet tonight like you always do!”

“Dammit! I meant to, but you know how worked up you had me. We'll be more careful from now on,” Mel replied, burying his nose in Loretta's hair. The scent of her green-apple shampoo made him dizzy with lust. He wanted to grab her and fuck her brains out again. He was just as excited now as he had been when he was on top of her a couple of hours earlier. He was not too worried about getting some release because he knew that Maureen would take care of him before the night was over. Now that she had agreed to marry him, there was just no telling how hard she would work to please him once they made it to her bedroom. He would go home with a smile on his face for the second time tonight.

“Kiss me.” Loretta's arms were already wrapped around Mel's neck like a necktie. “I said kiss me, dammit!” she said again, pulling him closer.

“Now you behave yourself!” he ordered, pushing her away. “It's too risky! We can't be taking chances when she's in the house. Listen, I've got another shoot lined up for you in Miami Beach in a couple of days. It's the last part of the Jupiter dress store contract that we have to fulfill. My client is comping me a room at the hotel where we'll be shooting, so you and I can hook up for a little while there and celebrate.” Mel paused and gave Loretta a triumphant look. “We did it, babe! Your mama and me are getting married. I'll be living here with you and we can be together a lot more than we are now. Just the way we planned it.” Despite how much Mel hated women, he still loved what they could do for him. He would never get tired of that.

“Let's not talk about you gettin' married to my mama. I'd rather talk about us.” Loretta paused and gave Mel a dreamy-eyed look. “That little romp we had this evenin' only made me hotter. I want to make love again so bad, I can barely stand still!” That was for sure. She kept shifting her weight from one foot to the other, almost hopping like a rabbit.

“So do I, baby! I just can't fuck any more tonight!”

“Not even my mama?”

“Huh?”

“Don't you think
she'll
want some dick tonight?”

“Uh, she most likely will,” Mel said, nodding. “Baby, we've come a long way, but I have to continue to play my part, and I have to play it right. It won't be easy and I'd rather get my groove on tonight with you again, but what the heck. If your mama wants me tonight, I have to do what I have to do.”

“Just don't enjoy it too much,” Loretta advised.

“I won't,” Mel grunted, rolling his eyes. “Now you get back to bed and let me go spend some time with your mama. The last thing we want is for her to change her mind about marrying me! Then we'll be right back where we started.”

Mel gave Loretta such an extreme French kiss she almost choked on his tongue. Afterward, he wiped his lips with the back of his hand and returned to the living room. He plopped down next to Maureen on the couch and kissed her the same way he had just kissed Loretta.

“W
HAT TOOK YOU SO LONG
?
IS LORETTA STILL UP
? ”
MAUREEN ASKED
Mel as soon as his lips left hers. She draped her arm around his neck, pleased to see such a sparkle in his eye.

“Uh, I had to take a leak. My bladder was about to explode. And, yeah, Loretta was still up, but she was so tired she wanted to get to sleep real fast. She's real happy that I'm going to be her daddy,” Mel said, pouring himself a glass of wine. He crossed his legs, hoping to hide his massive erection.

“I . . . Your hands are shakin' like leaves,” Maureen noticed. “I know you must be real nervous about us gettin' married. Especially after I put you off for so long. That's all right because I'm nervous too,” she chortled, patting his knee. She didn't notice that his knee was shaking too. “I know we've been together for a while, but marriage is such a big step, so I guess it's normal for us to be nervous.”

“Now don't you worry your pretty self about anything. Everything's going to be just fine,” Mel said. He sniffed and took a long drink from his wineglass. “So when do you want to do it? As soon as possible I hope.”

“Yeah. We'll work on a date later. Listen, us gettin' married is not the only thing I wanted to talk to you about tonight.”

“Oh? What else did you want to talk about?” Mel asked, his chest tightening, his blood pressure rising. It was stressful being who he was. At the rate he was going, he was bound to have a heart attack or a stroke, so he told himself to slow down.

“What about your family?” Maureen asked, giving him the kind of goo-goo-eyed look that made him want to laugh out loud.

Mel's jaw dropped. “My family? What about my family?”

“I know you said you don't have much to do with them, but don't you want your mama and your sisters to know you decided to get married again? They might want to come down here for the weddin'. Even though you put them on the top of your shit list, I'd still like to meet them someday.”

“I really don't want to discuss my family right now. Like I already told you, I am not that close to my folks.” That was putting it mildly. Mel hadn't spoken to any members of his family in over a year. He had not responded to the few messages that his mother and sisters had left on his answering machine. He had sent his mother a card on her birthday and last Christmas. He didn't think she deserved one for Mother's Day, so that was one card he would never send. As far as those bitch sisters of his were concerned, he would never send them any kind of card, period. “Some families will never be close. Didn't you tell me that you had folks somewhere in Louisiana that you haven't spoken to since you were a child?”

“That's true,” Maureen admitted with a mild groan. “And that's only on my mama's side. I don't know a thing about my daddy's folks. After he took off, he never even tried to contact me or my mama. Oh, well. Like you said, some families will never be close.”

“To be honest—and I hate to admit this—I don't care if I ever see my folks again. They caused me a lot of misery that I would rather not discuss right now. It's too . . . painful,” Mel barely managed to say. He had to force himself not to break down and cry.

Maureen shook her head in pity. “In that case, I won't mention your family again unless you do. I guess we just need to keep our minds on ourselves, and especially on Lo'retta. I have a feelin' she's goin' to need more supervision than ever these next few years.”

Even though Maureen had told Loretta she didn't want Mel to know that she had had sex with some knuckleheaded boy in her bedroom, Maureen now felt this was something she shouldn't keep from him. He would have to know about it sooner or later. Especially since he was going to be in such an important position in her and Loretta's life now. Mel had a right to know what he was getting into. It might even make him change his mind about marrying Maureen and becoming the father of a teenager.

“Baby, what's wrong?” Mel asked. “Is Loretta in trouble?”

“I really hate to start dumpin' loads of shit on you already, but it's important for you to know what all you are gettin' yourself into. You don't have any kids, so you don't really know what raisin' one is all about.”

“I had two older sisters. I saw what we all put my mama through. I decided a long time ago that I didn't want any kids,” Mel informed Maureen. “I don't want to be tied down with that responsibility.”

Maureen's jaw dropped and she gave Mel a sharp look. “That's what I'm talkin' about! If you don't want to be bothered raisin' kids, especially one that ain't even yours, why do you want to marry me? My daughter will be livin' with me at least until she finishes high school, and that's two more years from now.”

“I realize that,” Mel replied. He held up his hand. “You've pretty much raised your daughter already, so there won't be much for me to do. Like you just said, she'll be on her own when she finishes school.”

“Until then, though, she's a big responsibility,” Maureen croaked. “Two years is a long time.”

“Maureen, I am the one who brought up marriage in the first place. Don't you know me well enough by now to see that I know what I'm doing? If I thought for one minute that Loretta was going to be a problem, I would have been out of your life by now.”

Maureen rose up off the couch high enough to look behind her toward the hallway that led to Loretta's bedroom. “I'll be right back,” she said in a low voice as she stood up. She darted across the floor and tiptoed down the hall. She stood in front of Loretta's door and listened for a couple of minutes. Then she tiptoed back to the living room and sat down next to Mel.

“Is everything all right?” he asked, puzzled and curious.

Maureen leaned her head toward his. “I found out that my daughter is, uh, havin' sex,” she blurted. She took a long drink from her wineglass. “For at least a year now.”

“Oh me, oh my,” Mel muttered, sounding reasonably alarmed and disappointed. “Well, I'm surprised that she held out this long. I mean, she is a teenager. A lot of young girls today start doing it at twelve and thirteen.” Mel gave Maureen a sympathetic look and patted her shoulder. He drank some more wine. He was glad that it was potent enough to give him a nice buzz so quickly. He needed one to get through this night. “Face it, Maureen. Kids nowadays are fucking the hell out of each other. With people like Madonna and Prince rubbing sex in their faces all the time, it's no wonder.”

“Tell me about it, but I always told Loretta that when she got ready to have sex to let me know. I wanted to make sure she was protectin' herself properly.”

“Loretta is a very mature and responsible child. She wants to go places. She's not going to give that up to raise a baby. How do you know she's not protecting herself?”

“Oh, she's protectin' herself all right. I found a condom wrapper on her bedroom floor last year. I don't know when it got there or if that was the first one.”

“How do you know she was the one who used it? She's got a couple of wild girlfriends. One of them could have been in her room with a boy. I see that Mona girl out at all times of the night. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she talked Loretta into letting her bring one of her horny boyfriends over here. You know how kids are these days. They cover for each other all the time.”

Maureen shook her head. “It wasn't Mona or any of the few other girls that Lo'retta associates with. I asked her about it a little while ago and she admitted it. Whoever the boy is, he must have been here this evenin' too. I found a used condom in the trash tonight.”

“Well, I'm sure she's just curious. It's normal. Let her grow up and learn from her mistakes. Don't hold on to her too tight the way you told me your mama did with you.”

“My mama was not normal. She didn't want me to even
think
about boys, let alone screw one.”

“Well, you didn't get pregnant by yourself—”

“True. But that was different. That boy ra—Uh, that boy . . .” Maureen couldn't finish the sentence. She wanted to forget about John French and how he had raped her in the blackberry patch behind Mama Ruby's house. She could never forget it if she told the wrong person, or any person for that matter. “My mama had a fit when I got pregnant.”

“I don't think we have to worry about Loretta getting pregnant.” Mel was so emphatic it startled Maureen.

“What makes you think that, Mel?”

“Like I just said, Loretta wants to go places.”

Maureen felt better knowing that Mel was so optimistic. “You got a point right there, I guess.” She sighed. “One good thing is that she and her boyfriend use condoms. There may come a time when they don't. I know how easy it is to forget to make a trip to the drugstore, and I know how easy it is for some boy to talk a girl into lettin' him make love to her without protection.”

“Honey, don't get too worked up over this,” Mel advised, patting Maureen on the back. “If it'll make you feel better, sit the girl down and have a long talk with her on a regular basis. Let her know that you are not being judgmental, just concerned. That way she'll know how much you care about what she's up to. See, the problem with most parents these days is they don't communicate with their children.”

For someone who wasn't a parent, Mel sure had some reasonable theories when it came to raising kids. Maureen was so impressed that tears pooled in her eyes. She blinked hard and took a series of deep breaths.

After she felt more composed, she continued. “Most teenage girls don't want to discuss their sex lives with their mother. I know I didn't and neither did any of my girlfriends. I just don't want my child to grow up too fast. Too many emotions are involved when it comes to sex, and I don't want her to get hurt.”

“Maureen, like I said, Loretta is a responsible young lady.” Mel was getting tired of repeating himself, but he was prepared to say or do whatever was necessary. He had come too far and invested too much time and sex in Loretta and Maureen to give up now.

“Lo'retta admitted to me that havin' sex with that boy wasn't worth it, so maybe she won't do it again until she's older,” Maureen said with a hopeful look on her face.

Mel nodded. “Uh-huh. I'm sure she won't. It's something you have to get used to. For girls Loretta's age and their lack of experience, the first few times can be a real letdown. Especially with some inexperienced, frisky boy that only cares about his own needs. I was like a jack-in-the-box with my first girl,” Mel laughed. He didn't laugh long when he saw the sad look on Maureen's face. He cleared his throat and continued. “Loretta probably found her first few times just as painful and disgusting as most teenage girls, so you shouldn't worry about her becoming some kind of sexpot anytime soon. You can bet your bottom dollar that I will do my part to make sure she stays on the straight and narrow.”

Mel's support was a blessing to Maureen. It pleased her to know that she was not going to have to deal with this situation alone. She didn't feel as agitated or as let down now. As a matter of fact, Mel's attitude made Maureen feel a little more empowered. He was just as concerned about Loretta's behavior as she was. He was going to be a good father.

“Thanks, Mel. I'm so glad to hear you say that. If you don't mind, I'd like to wait a little while before we get married.”

Mel's breath caught in his throat. “Oh?” he croaked. “You got cold feet already?”

“No, not that. Now that we have this situation with Lo'retta, I'd rather wait until I feel a little more relaxed about that. What she did is a lot for me to take in. I don't want to get married feelin' the way I feel right now.”

Mel kissed Maureen again and hugged her so hard he almost cut off her circulation. “Baby, whenever you're ready to get married, just let me know.”

“I promise I won't make you wait too long.” Maureen hauled off and kissed Mel so long he had to push her away so he could get some air.

No, Maureen didn't love Mel, but she loved that he was in her life at such a crucial time. Maybe he was right. Maybe it didn't take love to make a successful marriage—just two people with common sense and similar goals. Once they took that step, she was going to do everything she could to make him glad he married her, and she was going to do everything she could to make herself glad that she had married him.