No One in the World (34 page)

“Will I? I'm Cobi Aiden Winslow,” he said, extending his arms out to his sides. “State's attorney, member of the powerful Winslow family, and Blac is an ex-con who's been in and out of the system since he was a child.”

“I'm sorry I didn't tell you,” Eric said shamefully.

“No time for that now. I will tell the story and it will be believed. There will be an investigation, but considering what I just told you, would you convict me?”

Eric didn't think he would, but Cobi's experiences were on the right side of the courts. Having been a defendant, Eric knew unanticipated things could happen. “No, I wouldn't. But what if they do?”

Cobi forced a smile again. “Then I do the time, shoulder the weight. It's the least I can do, considering the hell you went through all your life for me.”

“I ain't do it for you. I did it because I had to.”

Cobi shook his head. “You did it for me. You just didn't know it till I found you. Now come on, the police will be here any moment.”

“If you do this, everyone will know you're gay,” Austen said, standing.

“I'm tired of hiding.”

“And what about the arrangement?” Austen asked, taking Eric's hand.

Cobi glanced down at their interlaced fingers, then he looked back up at Austen. “We'll figure it out later. But now—” Cobi paused.

Eric heard police sirens in the distance.

“Take off your clothes,” Cobi said to Eric.

“No. I can't let you do this. It's wrong.”

“Do you hear the sirens?” Cobi said forcefully, pointing angrily toward the front room windows. “Do you want to go back to prison? Do you want never to see Austen again, never to see your daughter again? If not, shut up and take off your fucking clothes, Eric. Please!”

Eric continued to stare out of the front door of the mansion, wondering what would happen to him and what would happen to his brother.

Cobi told Eric he had nothing to worry about. He knew that Sissy would come after him. “This is my home, but till I come back, it's yours. Sissy can say what she wants, but she can do nothing to you,” Cobi said, a reassuring hand on Eric's shoulder. “You and Austen are safe here.”

They had switched clothes, and Eric stood staring at Cobi, as if looking into some weird 3-D mirror. Eric could've cried at that moment. He felt the tears ready to fall, but he pushed them back. No one, no one in the world had ever sacrificed a thing for him, but Cobi was risking his reputation, all that he'd worked for, even his freedom. Eric threw himself into his brother, wrapped his arms tightly around him, and said, “I love
you for this, Cobi. And for everything you did.” The tears started to fall, and he buried his face into his brother's shoulder.

Cobi hugged Eric back for a moment, then leaned away from him. “Everything is going to be all right, you hear me? All this will work out, and I'll come back home, and then we'll work on catching up on those thirty years we lost, okay?”

Eric wiped the tears from his face, smiled as best he could for his brother, then said, “Yeah, okay.”

Eric felt an arm move around his waist, then felt Austen's body behind his. She kissed him on the back of his shoulder, lay her cheek there, then said, “Are we going to be all right?”

“I'm gonna do everything I can to make sure we are,” Eric said, staring out into the distance before him. “And Cobi said we will be, so we will.”

I
thank God for blessing me with my son, and allowing him to be a part of my life for fifty-four years. He was a good child and I truly miss him. Written with his friend, RM Johnson, to whom I am forever grateful, this book was a departure for Lynn and also very dear to him. It could not have been published without divine guidance and the help of those around me who kept me encouraged, especially my granddaughter Roshaunda C. Rand.

I am very fortunate that Dermot Damian Givens, Esq., Karen Hises, Esq., and publishing attorney Lloyd Jassin were there to help me navigate the unfamiliar publishing waters, among other things. I am grateful to my lil' cousin Gail Burney for her important role in my life and the life of this book; and to Kerri Kolen, my son's editor, for her concern, patience and respect. To the bookstores, book clubs, students of E. Lynn Harris from U of A Fayetteville, up-and-coming authors he helped to get started and all the readers who have supported him from day one: Thank you and may God bless each and every one of you.

Discovered on his computer and cowritten with RM, this book, and also the other published and unpublished material my son left behind, are fragile gifts from God and reminders of his artful gifts, humor and courage.

—Etta Harris, 2011