Royce (19 page)

Royce knew who he was, or who he thought he was, he was Royce Harrington a good ol boy from Amarillo, but he hadn’t been that in a long time.  He hadn’t worn tight blue jeans, plaid shirts, pointed toed boots and big belt buckles since he moved to Dallas.  Now he wore expensive custom made suits and leather shoes with tassels or laces, and as he watched Joy he realized he would have fallen for her if he’d seen her dressed like this as a boy.  He would have wanted her then, at fifteen, sixteen, seventeen he would have wanted her.  He would have been Louie even back then.  He was Louie; he had a taste of brown sugar and was lost to it.  He pulled her close, then pushed her away and spun her around and Joy laughed and he smiled,
I love you Joy ,
floated across his mind,
I love you.

When he stopped he was looking at her and Joy saw something in his eyes, “I’ll come back tomorrow okay.” “Yeah, okay,” she said softly and he picked up Justin.  Joy grabbed the diaper bag and he walked her to her car and strapped Justin in his car seat, “I’ll see you tomorrow buddy,” and he couldn’t help it he watched Joy’s behind as she walked around the car,
yep, I’m Louie and Joy’s my brown sugar.

The next day he came back and Joy let him in.  He sat on the couch holding Justin, “Joy I want this to work for us, for all of us, just keep that in mind.”  “I know Royce,” she could see something was bothering him. “You asked me the other day if seeing Justin only over here would work for me,” she nodded, and he looked at her, “No Joy it’s not enough, he’s my son and I want to see him like a father should.” “Royce it’ll work that way.”  “Maybe, but let me ask you something, would you do what you’re asking me to do?”  She looked at him for a long moment then she said, “I want to lie so bad right now, but I can’t.  I can’t do that to you or to Justin, but no if I loved him and I can see you do I wouldn’t do what we’re asking.  We’re trying to make it work for us, but he’s your son and if I were you I’d do whatever it took to be a part of his life,” her eyes were brimming with unshed tears as she spoke, and so were Royce’s.  “Thank you Joy, thank you for being honest and I hope you don’t mind but you’ll be hearing from my lawyer.” “I know,” and he pulled her in his arms.  He held her and Justin and stroked her hair as she cried.

And the next week Joy got a letter from Royce’s attorney.  But before that one of her neighbors spilled it to Michael that a man had been coming over to the house every day for the past couple of weeks.  Joy had seen Michael talking to John, he lived down the street, and she knew he worked from home, but she didn’t know he was nosy.   She didn’t think anything of it when she saw them talking but when Michael came in the house his nostrils flared.  He grabbed her by the arm and led her to the bedroom. “Michael, what is it?”  She asked alarmed as he dragged her away and slammed the door.

“What the hell is going on around here?  Has Royce been coming over here while I’m at work?”  He glared at her, his nostrils flared and he was like an angry bull and she knew she was busted.

She tried to play it off, “Yes, but it’s not what you think he wanted to see Justin and it gave us a chance to talk,” and Michael looked at her as if she thought he was a fool.

“How often did he come by Joy?  The neighbors are talking and wondering what the hell is going on?  Hell they think you’re fucking him!”  He stared at her as if he’d asked, “
Are you, are you fucking him?
”

“Of course I’m not fucking him, you know as well as I do why he’s coming over here, and it’s not to see me,”

“Do I Joy?  Do I know why he’s coming over here, it’s funny a neighbor had to tell me and not my wife that it was often…how often Joy?”  He asked her point blank and
fuck
, she thought,
fuck, fuck, fuck!

She knew her answer wasn’t going to look good, “Every day,” and Michael flipped out like she knew he would.  He went off on Royce calling him every name in the book and then he looked her square in the eye.

“Is something, anything going on between you two?”  She was exasperated by this and Michael was thinking,
the fucking snowball keeps getting bigger
.

“No Michael nothing is going on,” but he stormed out anyway, and she and the kids had to eat dinner alone and that night again he made rough love to her; at least he didn’t put her legs over her head.  This time he just rammed into her hard and then he used the words that he knew hurt her the most, “A condom Joy, that’s all it would have taken,” and she knew she would never live that down, that if she’d used a little piece of latex all this wouldn’t be happening. 

But he stressed to her that weekend, “I don’t want his ass over here again! I mean it Joy,” and she hadn’t thought of Royce until that Monday when the phone rang and it was the guard, s
hoot I didn’t call Royce
,  “A Mr. Harrington to see you Ms. Abrams,” “Sorry but I can’t see him today, tell him I’ll call him,” and before she hung up good her phone was ringing.  It was Royce, “Why Joy?  Is it because of what I said Friday, that my lawyer will be contacting you?”  “No, Michael found out you’ve been coming over and he wasn’t too happy Royce,”
understatement of the year
, “I can’t let you come over anymore, I’m sorry I know you want to see Justin but I can’t okay,” and she heard Royce swear, “Dammit, okay Joy, I’ll talk to you later,” and he drove away.  And then two days later she got the certified letter from his lawyer,

“Michael and Joycelyn Abrams, a suit has been filed at the George L. Allen Sr. building in the city of Dallas family court in the case of the minor child Justin Royce Abrams, the case is for proof of paternity and joint custodial rights of said child…You are hereby requested to appear in court on…Royce Thomas Harrington vs. Michael and Joycelyn Abrams for paternity…Seeking visitation rights for said minor…a judgment in the case will be pending…,” Joy scanned the letter from Royce’s attorney, and when Michael got home she handed it to him and walked away.  When he was done reading he came in the room with her and she knew he was mad and she knew he was going to say something hurtful and she knew he blamed her.  She’d known that from the day he dragged her from The Club in tears and he’d let her know many times since then this was all her fault.  She waited for him to say whatever it was he was going to say,

“So the prick is suing us for his custodial rights, good Joy, fucking good,” and he thought
the fucking snowball just got bigger
, and that night Joy didn’t go to bed when he did.  She stayed up and watched TV, something she rarely did, but she didn’t want him to pound inside her tonight and hear his hurtful words.  So she pretended to watch TV, but all she did was silently cry, and somewhere in the wee hours of the morning after she accidentally fell asleep on the sofa she crept into bed as far away from Michael as possible, which was another thing she’d never done.  She’d slept in his arms since their wedding day and she loved it, loved feeling his strong arms around her.  It was Michael who started it, “I love you Mrs. Joy Abrams and I never want to let you go, in my arms is where you belong and I will hold you close to my heart all night every night for the rest of our lives,” he’d said on their honeymoon and he’d done just that until now.  They were used to sleeping all wrapped up in each other and when they came apart at night, somehow one or both would find the other and snuggle back up against each other, but tonight she was scared he was going to hurt her with his love, and just as she was falling asleep she felt him reach for her and then she felt his leg drape across her body and his arms around her as he went deeper into his sleep.  She relaxed and went to sleep comfortable in his arms.

Royce had done what he had to do, he’d talked to his lawyer after the fight with Michael and his advice had been, “You have to sue for custody, if not you don’t have any rights or say so in the child’s life regardless if you’re the father or not if you’re not listed as such,” he’d said, “I’ll draw it up,” his lawyer said. “Okay I’ll let you know,” but it was hurting Joy that stopped him, but once he saw they weren’t getting anywhere.  That he wasn’t going to do as they asked and she wasn’t going for what he wanted it was time, but Joy, he desperately didn’t want her to hate him, and that Monday when she wouldn’t see him scared him so bad.  He did think she wanted nothing more to do with him, and he hadn’t seen her or Justin since.

It had been three days since he’d seen Justin and Joy had been served today and Royce sat in his office his face in his hands, worried she’d hate him and his lawyer’s words ringing in his ears, “Tell your wife, this will look much better in court if she is by your side,” he dreaded the thought of telling Tammy.  She was going to freak out he knew that, like Michael was infuriated with him, she for some reason was incensed and upset at Joy and blamed her for what happened and he didn’t know why, saying things like she would kick her bony behind, and he knew Tammy was all talk, but Joy he wasn’t so sure, he had a feeling she would fight, just the way she talked sometimes.  He could tell she wasn’t afraid and would do what she had to do, even fight if need be, “I’m from Philly okay, enough said,” she’d said acting tough one night at The Club when he teased her that she was so beautiful all the other ladies were jealous and he’d love to see a cat fight.  And now he had two weeks to tell Tammy, and he knew the sooner he told her the sooner she’d get use to the idea, Justin was here, Justin was his son. 

He put the pictures in his briefcase, the pictures of just Justin, not the snapshots with him or Joy in them, he didn’t want her to know he’d been spending time with them the last couple of weeks.  He took out a couple of pictures, the big professional one of Justin his blue eyes staring back at the camera,
damn he’s a pretty baby
, he and Joy did good work,
and look at that hair. 
Justin had a ton of curly dark hair.  It was big, fluffy and curly all over his head,
who couldn’t love him? 
And he hoped Tammy would,
she’ll have too
,
she doesn’t have a choice really
.
Justin was his son, she can’t deny him his son, no more than Joy
.

Later that night after the kids were in bed he took Tammy by the hand and led her outside on the back patio.  He thought she wouldn’t make a scene outside where the neighbors could hear.  They sat by the pool where he could see her from the underwater pool lights and the nightlights around the house that gave the house a nice lighted ambiance, “I have something to tell you.”  He sat across from her on one lounger and Tammy on the other,

“My god Royce what is it you’re scaring me taking me out here?”

“Well I don’t want the kids to hear anything until we tell them.”

“Oh, then it’s serious,” 

“Yes, it’s serious,” and Tammy felt her heart beating wildly.  She thought the time had come.  Royce wanted to divorce her.  He hadn’t been himself since the debacle at The Club and the past couple of weeks he’d been happy, and now she thought he’d been happy because he’d decided to leave her.

“Okay tell me,” 

“I don’t know how to say this other than straight out,” he paused a knot in his throat, “I’ve seen Joy Abrams and the reason she left so suddenly was because she was having my child.  She has a son and he’s mine,” and despite himself he smiled, “He’s beautiful Tammy and I want you to know him, I want you to…,”

“What!  What are you…are you out of your mind Royce!”  Tammy stood up and walked away from him, “A baby!  Joy has a baby by you!”  She looked hard at him, her words screeching,
so much for making a scene
, but he had no choice in this Justin was his son and he intended to fight to be in his life and he needed Tammy to be there with him.  She ran up on him like she wanted to slap him and he knew if she did he might slap her back, but she stopped in front of him breathing hard, her chest heaving and then she burst into tears.

“How could this happen Royce, how could this happen?”  She cried; he pulled her down on the lounger.

“Sit, sit Tammy, sit,” he was afraid she might fall in the pool now and he’d have to go in after her. “Look Tammy, I know this is hard and unexpected, but it happened and there’s nothing we can do about it but accept it,” he said trying to convince her.

“She did it on purpose I bet, I bet she meant to do it,” she said through her tears, and he felt himself wince,
why does everyone blame Joy
?

“No Tammy, she didn’t, it just happened.  The condom broke and…,” that had just come to him to lie like that.  She looked at him tears running down her face, “The condom broke Tammy, it broke when we were together.   We didn’t think anything of it at the time,” Royce lied, he knew he was becoming a very good liar and he lied so convincingly too, “So don’t blame her, blame it on a faulty condom,” he joked, and Tammy looked at him.

“This is no time for jokes Royce, a condom broke and she got pregnant,” she said sarcastically still crying.

“Yeah, that’s the only way I know it could have happened.  It’s done Tammy and I’m suing her for visitation.  He’s my son and I want to be in his life, I want us to be in his life,” she looked up at him shocked.

“Are you nuts?  I don’t want no parts of her black bastard!  She can keep him for all I care,” and Royce was shocked, stunned and in disbelief at what she said.

“Tammy you can’t mean that.  He’s a baby, he had nothing to do with this, but he’s here, you can’t fault him.”

“The hell I can’t, I don’t want to see her bastard baby and neither should you Royce, let her keep him!”   She was beyond angry, and now it was his turn to be angry.