Loving Logan (7 page)

“Hello” Shelby said in a disgusted
tone.

“Shelby are you alright? I have been calling
you all night!” Logan said frantically into the phone.

“I am fine Logan. What can I do for you?”
Shelby said irritably.

“Shelby I did not say that about you!” Logan
said softly into the phone. “I mean I did but not like that. Not
the way she said it. I was drunk...” he started to finish but
Shelby cut him off.

“LOGAN, LOGAN!” Shelby yelled into the phone.
“Let me help you, YOU have a child, YOU have a new baby on the way
with poor white trash and I” Shelby said pausing. She rested her
head back on the headrest. When she did she noticed her father
waiting for her in the front door.

“I don’t have time for this shit!” she said
hanging up the phone and getting out the car. Shelby knew that
Logan would be very angry and probably confused but right now they
were in the same boat.

“Good Morning Baby Girl!” her father said to
her as he kissed her cheek and walked her into the house with his
arm around her. “I thought you forgot how to get out of the car for
a minute there” he finished smiling.

“Sorry about that Daddy” Shelby said giving
her father a side hug. “I had a phone call that I had to take” she
finished smiling at her father.

As they walked into the library all the ease
that Shelby felt went out of her body. She immediately felt like
she was in the lion’s den. Her mother was sitting in a wing backed
chair in front of the old limestone fireplace. It was rooted in the
deep French and Italian tradition of stone mantle carving and
single handedly metamorphosed the look of the house and transformed
the living area into the desired dreamscape of regal
sophistication. Savannah and Greyson were sitting across from their
mother and her grandmother Queenie was sitting in her wheel chair
at the center of the room. There was two people there that Shelby
did not expect to see and that was Cassidy and her mother Grace.
Jumping out of her seat Cassidy walked over to Shelby giving her a
big hug.

“Good Morning sugar lips!” Cassidy said
happily hugging Shelby. “Did you climb out of bed with that sexy
ass man to come to THIS? She finished gesturing to the
room.

“No, Logan is expecting another baby to he and
I are... well we never were.” she whispered to her
friend.

“SHUT UP!” Cassidy yelled which made everyone
turn and look at the two of them realizing she had said the first
words to loud she finished in a whispers. “Well that has to be
about as welcome as an outhouse breeze”

“Yeah!” Shelby said shaking her head and
grabbing the bridge of her nose. “So what is all this about, why
are you and your mom here?” she finished.

“I have no...” Cassidy started to say when
Jackson Beasley cleared his throat and said “Ok, let’s get the
meeting started”

Shelby and Cassidy looked at each other and
went to take their seats. First Shelby greeted her grandmother.
“Good Morning Granny don’t you look pretty today” she said leaning
down kissing her on both cheeks.

“I know!” her grandmother said smiling. I feel
SEXY today!” she said wiggling in her wheel chair

“HA! Get is Granny!” Cassidy said leaning
across to give Queenie a high five.

“MOTHER!” Jackson said disapprovingly. Waving
him off

Queenie said “Oh hush Boy! You are the only
grown ass man I know that needs to call a peace conference to get
you wife to treat your daughter better. Don’t you chastise me
Jackson Beasley!

Rolling his eyes and taking a deep breath
Jackson said “Mother may I begin?”

“Oh shut up boy and say your peace. My high is
wearing off.” Queenie said.

“Granny have you been smoking weed again?”
Greyson said trying his best to keep a straight face.

“Yes! I have glaucoma! That is my story and I
am sticking to it!” Queenie said turning her head up and looking
away. Cassidy was hiding behind Shelby in laughter.

“As I was saying” Mr. Beasley said talking
over the laughter. Which encouraged everyone in the room to
straighten up. “Sarah, Grace and I have called this meeting because
we think there is time that some truths be told.” He
finished

“Truth? Momma what is going on?” Cassidy said
turning toward her mother.

“Sit still Cassidy” Grace said to her daughter
regally. Grace Graham came from one of the richest families in the
world she was beautiful and very educated woman. She commanded
respect in the home and the boardroom. Shelby knew that her father
and the Graham family had brokered many deals together and Grace
had been the representative from the Graham family. Cassidy had
always been close to her mother and their relationship was one that
Shelby wished she had with her own. Who was sitting across the room
looking at anywhere but at the people in the room?

“First I want to say to my children. Shelby,
Savannah, and Greyson I love you more than my life you are the
Beasley legacy. You may not like my decisions but they are mine and
you will respect them. Clear?” Jackson said. “Yes. Yes, Yes Sir”
came from Shelby, Savannah and Greyson respectively.

“Translation. I’m gonna shit on you and you
should call it apple butter! Queenie said.

“Your mother and I need to clear up some
things from the past.” Jackson said like his mother had not said
anything. “Mrs. Graham needed to be here to accomplish the full
story being told” he finished.

The room was so silent that you could hear a
pen drop everyone was waiting with bated breath to find out what
was going on.

Sigh “Oh, daddy could you forget the dramatic
and tell us what you are talking about?” Savannah said annoyed when
the silence drew out too long.

“Savannah!” Sarah said

“As you all know from my beautiful daughter’s
outburst and our last family gathering. Sarah is not Shelby’s
biological mother.” Jackson started.

“Which explains a lot.” Cassidy mumbled. Grace
slapping her hand and putting her finger to her lips.

“What you all DON’T know.” Jackson continued.
“Is that Sarah is not Savannah nor Greyson’s biological mother,
either.” He finished.

“WHAT!” Savannah and Greyson said
simultaneously. Placing his hand on his shoulder. Jackson pushed
Greyson back down into his seat.

“Children! I would like to be allowed to
finish! There shall be no more interruptions... CLEAR?” Jackson
said to all of them.

“Yeah... shhh! This just got good!” Cassidy
said.

“You just cannot help yourself can you young
lady!” Sarah said to Cassidy with disdain.

“No, No I really can’t!” Cassidy said right
back to her.

“Grace I see you still have not learned to
control your filly” Sarah said.

“Yes Sarah and I see that you still are not
able to have one.” Grace said to her.

“HA!” Queenie said “Now that was good! I knew
I liked you!” she finished laughing.

“ENOUGH!” Jackson said “The next two people to
speak with be Sarah and I” he paused to turn toward his mother.
“And ONLY Sarah and I!”

“Boy I have told you about pointing at me!”
Queenie said rolling her eyes at her son.

“The Beasley family has a long standing
tradition of arranging the marriage of the first born son. Which
happens to be me.” Jackson started to tell the story. “I told my
father I was unwilling to be married off to some woman I barely
knew. But I was willing to give him grandchildren and heirs to the
Beasley name. Sarah was the woman that I chose.”

“Wait a minute. You turned your father down
for the arrangement to marry a hooker from North Carolina? Good
choice son” Queenie said sarcastically.

“Why do you let her speak about me that way?”
Sarah yelled standing up and going to the bar to make herself a
drink.

“Because young lady, my son knows what side
his bread is buttered on.” Queenie answered for her son.

“Anyway! Unfortunately Sarah forgot to mention
to me, that she was unable to carry a child” Jackson
said.

“Because I loved you Jackson! How many times
do I have to say that?” Sarah said she was getting more and more
upset by the minute.

“Sarah not now!” Jackson said to
her.

“So wait. Who is our mother? I thought that
Shelby’s mother died giving birth, she didn’t? Greyson said
standing up and pacing.

“To answer your question son. No, Shelby’s
mother is not deceased. When she was eaves dropping as a child she
heard THAT part wrong. However, Shelby’s biological mother is not
yours or Savannahs.”

“WHAT!” Came in unison from everyone in the
room except Sarah and Grace.

“Shelby. Your mother was the love of my life,
I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Sadly she was a
poor girl with a scholarship from the other side of town. I knew
that my father would have no part of that union. When she had you
she knew that I could give you a better life than she could so she
agreed to let you go and be raised as a Beasley should
be.”

“My mother’s alive?” Shelby said staring into
the air.

“So let me get this straight my genius son.
You thought your daddy would have more of a problem with you
marrying a poor girl than a hoe?” Queenie said pointing at Sarah.
“Boy you are a dumb as your father said, and you did not know him
at all” she finished.

“Really momma? I wonder why that is? It
couldn’t be because he was there and communicated with his
children.” Jackson yelled.

“Well it isn’t like you were listening!”
Queenie yelled back at her son. “Obviously! Your family is in
shambles boy and you want to blame it on being a Beasley. This is
not happening because you are a Beasley, THIS is happening because
you are Jackson!”

“That has been the problem hasn’t it mother?”
Jackson started to say but was cut off by Savannah.

“ENOUGH! Daddy who is my mother?? Momma what
is he talking about?” Savannah said tearfully. Sarah could see that
Savannah was very upset and wanted to comfort her but she knew that
what she is about to learn she may not want that.

“I am!” Grace said from her seat.

“WHAT?” Savannah and Cassidy said at the same
time.

“Momma. Puh-lease tell me that you are NOT
serious!” Cassidy said turning to her mother. Taking her hand Grace
said to her daughter. “Baby girl I have always told you that I was
not a perfect woman. This is one of my imperfections. Many of years
ago Jackson and I had an indiscretion. Savannah was a result of
that indiscretion, neither one of us wanted to shame our family
names and I did not want to hurt your father any more than I
already had. So I agreed to let Sarah and Jackson raise Savannah as
their daughter.” She finished rubbing her daughter’s hand. Jumping
up out of her seat Cassidy looked down at her mother in
shock

“So this escapee from Whore Island is my
SISTER?” Cassidy said to her mother in a high pitched
scream.

“Oh I got your whore island” Savannah said
starting to walk toward Cassidy to fight. Grayson grabbed his
sister and held her back.

“Savannah! You sit yourself down and stop
acting like a round the way girl!” Queenie yelled at her
granddaughter “Besides you cannot fight! You are two steps from
being a white woman” she finished.

“So Shelby’s mother is alive and Savannah’s
mother is...” Greyson said pausing and pointing to Grace. “Is Mrs.
Graham. Who is my mother?” he finished.

“Your mother is a young woman I met years ago
on a business trip. She too could not afford to raise you in the
manner you should so agree to disappear from your life.” Jackson
said.

“Unfortunately Greyson, Your mother passed
away 3 years ago from breast cancer.” Sarah chimed in.

“Oh my God!” Greyson said sitting down in the
chair he had once occupied.

“Children I love all of you. As if I carried
you in my womb. I am so sorry that your father and I demons have
come to haunt you all in this way.” Sarah said to them.

“So my son cheated on his wife and made
children for her to pass off as her own for years.” Queenie said
looking at Jackson. “Oh the fruit of my loin.” She said pausing
“That rotted! Boy, you are a disgrace to this family name! You did
not do all of this to honor the Beasley name. You did this because
you are a selfish ass that needs to be flogged! Sarah for all these
years of giving you a hard time I apologize. I can only say to you.
I am sorry” she finished as she turned her wheelchair to leave the
room. “Jackson! No mother has known no more disappointment then me
today. I am so ashamed to be your mother.” Queenie finished as the
left the room calling for her driver.

“Well that is not a surprise.” Jackson said
taking a sip of the drink that he had poured for
himself.

“Jackson I do not think now is the time for
you to have a pity party!” Sarah said.

“So all of you got together and had some type
of strange orgy made kids and started passing them out like breathe
mint!” Greyson said