THE GREAT PRETENDER (42 page)

Minutes ticked by in silence.

“
Reginald?
” she said desperately.

Reginald busied himself reading Hart-Roman proposal drafts and memos. He would not even look at her.

They flew in silence for the entire hour of the flight to Orlando.

When they landed
, Reginald rented a car and drove to the Embassy Suites ten minutes away from the home he had shared with Renee and Denise.

They checked into separate suites, and the next morning, Tracy woke up before dawn to wait outside his door, ensuring he would not leave without her.

After a stop
at Blossom Bloom
,
he drove to the town house. Parking across the street, he left Tracy in the car, and walked over to the house.

Standing on the sidewalk, Reginald observed the house. He remembered all the nights he had driven into this driveway with flowers, walked up the path to that front door…Opened the door to the sparkling eyes of his happily anxious little girl, just waiting to throw her arms around her dad…but that little girl would never grow up now. She would be six years old forever.

No doubt a new family lived here today…a
real
family.

He stood rooted to the sidewalk, staring at the house…Remembering his sins…and making his peace.

It was not
until they were standing over the graves, carefully laying the flowers, that Reginald finally spoke to her.

“How did you know I was coming up here?”

Obviously caught off guard, Tracy cleared her throat. “Roger called me.” She paused. Then she said softly, “Reggie, this has to stop. We have to talk…You can’t keep me shut out forever. Even Roger sees it. You still need me…just like I need you.”

Reggie fell silent. He knelt beside Denise’s marble headstone and closed his eyes, praying. Once he was finished, he gently kissed the bare marble and laid his cheek against it.

Minutes later, when they were walking along the path back toward the car, Reginald suddenly stopped. He turned to Tracy, and for the first time in six months, he looked her in the eye. “I thought it didn’t matter who it was. Tom, Dick, Harry. It didn’t matter. I could live with it because
I
was hiding a child.” His eyes never left hers. The emotions of the day were playing in them. “But, Frank?
Franklin Bevins
, Tracy?”

Tracy reached for his hands. “I’m sorry.” Her eyes filled with tears. “
I’m so sorry
. If I could undo it all, I would. I…I can’t defend it, Reggie. I can’t defend it, but I don’t even know where to begin explaining how it happened. All I know is, you’d been gone, and he was in pursuit. It’s no excuse, but…that’s how it happened. I—”

“No,” Reggie said, stopping her. He gently removed his hands from hers. “No. I can’t hear that right now.”

“Okay,” she said, drying her tears. “But please don’t shut me out anymore. At least move back into the house, Reggie.
Please
. We can see Dr. Berenger, but we have to start somewhere. You can stay in the guest room, but
please come back home
. I know you want to…I can see it in your eyes…I can feel it bouncing off of you. You
want
to come home where you belong. You still need me just as much as I still need you…” Tracy wept.

“Did you two ever have s—”

“
No.
Never in our house.”

He broke eye contact and glanced around. Except for them, the cemetery was empty. Their path was shaded by tall, looming trees overhead. Out on the street, he noticed there was a car in the intersection waiting to enter the graveyard. Who did they have buried here? Certainly not a six-year-old angel…Or a heartbroken and desperate mother…

He turned to Tracy, and once again, he looked into her eyes. Red and full of tears and sorrow, they were begging him to come back home…

Wordlessly, he put his arm around her, and he could feel the relief that flooded her body. Together they walked back to the car, both feeling a wave of nostalgia. They were teenagers again, a new bud of love on the brink of blooming.

And when Reginald returned with her to Miami, for the first time since he had found Renee and Denise…there was a break in the cloud.

A CONVERSATION WITH

MILLENIA BLACK

Q: What was your inspiration for writing
THE GREAT PRETENDER
?

A: I was very intrigued by the idea of a man who was the head of two separate families, but neither of his families knew the other existed. I wanted to explore the possibility that this man could pull this off successfully for several years and then have various factors make him want to stop…only by then, it would be impossible to end it without all hell breaking loose one way or another, for all concerned.

Q: How has becoming a published author changed your life?

A: I have an optimism and drive that wasn’t there before. Writing a novel is a great, personal accomplishment, and the journey of offering that work to all readers makes for a very motivating and worthy challenge.

Q: What have you learned through writing this book and becoming a published author?

A: I was actually very surprised to learn that there is an intensely palpable and unjust racial divide dominating the literary world.

Q: What is your greatest aspiration as an author?

A: I aspire to have a boundless appeal—one that could incite the eternal extinction of the racial inequality that still exists in a society of “equal opportunity.”

Q: Is there still room for novice writers hoping to get published?

A: Yes, always. I believe there is room for anyone who is willing to make room for themselves. It takes good material, earnest determination, the patience of Job, and that lucky break every first-time bestseller gets to make big goals come to fruition.

Q: Thank you very much for your time. Is there anything else that you wish to add?

A: Yes! Readers can visit my Web site at
http://www.milleniablack.com
to request book club chats, enter the contests, etc. I’ve written an article, ‘7 Smoke Signals Your Man Is Living a Double Life,’ also posted at the Web site. Visitors may also join my announcement list and the ‘Ask Millenia’ newsletter, where I respond monthly to questions from visitors who think their mate could be cheating or living a double life…

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Discuss the central characters—Reginald, Tracy, Franklin, Olivia, Valerie, Renee and Denise. Discuss the secondary characters—Justine, Roger, and Brent. Did you have any favorites? Least favorites? What are your thoughts on each of them? What were their individual motivations? Discuss their judgments and behaviors throughout the story.

2. Tracy and Reginald were married for two decades. Do they really love each other? Their family? Discuss how they both turned outside of the marriage to meet needs. What were those needs? Were they met?

Discuss their time in New York. Reggie revealed all of his secrets. Should Tracy have been completely honest about Franklin at that time? Could that have saved Frank’s face? How might things have turned out differently if she had been as forthcoming as Reginald? Discuss the relationship between Tracy and Franklin by the end of the story. How had it changed?

3. When did you know who the “mystery woman” was? Who had you suspected before her identity was revealed?

4. Justine Roman referred Tracy to Dr. Berenger so the family could get help. Discuss the result of the first and only session. Should they have listened to Olivia and not gone after all? What were your feelings when it was all over?

5. In your opinion, what was the relationship between Reginald & Renee about from beginning to end? Do you think Reginald actually loved Renee? What did Reggie mean to Renee?

Reginald chose to confess all to Renee in a letter. Did you agree with this? Could he have possibly prevented her death, and Denise’s, had he chosen a different way to communicate the truth to her? Discuss Renee’s state of mind after reading this letter and what she proceeds to do to guarantee an eternal revenge. Was her action foreshadowed?