A Constant Reminder (21 page)

“What?

“Us shopping. You have Teri and your other friends that you hang out with. You’re my only friend. Every time we’re together you want to bash Adam. I’ve been with him for ten months would you give it a rest. Sometimes I think you’re jealous.”

Erika followed Roxanne to the children’s hats and belts.

“Why would I be jealous?”

“I have no idea why…with all the horrible things that have happened to me. I would think that you of all people could be happy for me. Happy that I found somebody I love and loves me back.”

Erika and Roxanne didn’t notice a handsome black man dressed in business attire watching them from afar. He was out in the mall looking in at them.

“Okay don’t get all emotional on me.”

“I don’t think this friendship can last. We need a break from each other.”

“Why Adam wants us to take a break?”

“See that’s what I mean. Adam never even mentions you. He is not thinking about you at all.”

“Since when?”

“Since forever. Do you want my boyfriend? I know your track record with sleeping with people’s husbands and boyfriends.”

“You think I’m trying to sleep with Adam?”

“You tell me.”

“Did he tell you that?”

“Oh my god. Your despise for him is extra.”

“I don’t want him.” Erika took a breath. She looked as if she would cry tears at any second. Roxanne watched as Erika tried to reel in her emotions. “I’m just jealous of you, like always. You know you’re a much better person than me. You are my best friend. I want you to be happy.”

“Well let me be happy. The only time I’m not happy is when I’m with you.”

“That hurt.”

“I’m just being honest.”

They hadn’t realized that the handsome black man was monitoring them. The man in the suit approached Erika and Roxanne. Erika was first to notice the sharp dressed man.

“Hey.” Erika hugged the man. Roxanne didn’t bother to look at him. Erika had been around a time or twelve, another random guy on her list of past lovers.

“Erika, Roxanne you going to act like you don’t know me?”

Roxanne turned to take a look at the man that knew her by name. Quincy, her ex from Northern was standing in front of her. He held his arms out and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Quincy.”

Quincy pulled away and she could have sworn he sniffed her. She could smell cologne around his neck. It smelled expensive.

“I was walking by and I thought it was you two bickering like two old ladies.”

“Some things never change.” Erika added.

“I almost didn’t recognize you Erika. You cut your hair.”

Roxanne’s eyes floated to Erika hair. She had never warmed up to her blonde curly Afro.

“It’s a very easy style to maintain.”

“It nice. It suits you.”

“Thanks.” Erika beamed.

A salesgirl listened in on their conversation as she hung clothes on hangers and placed them on a clothes rack. I’m sure she thought their conversation was more interesting than anything else going on in the desolate store.

“Last time I saw you guys was graduation day. Roxanne you were still pregnant. Did you have a boy or a girl?”

“I had a girl. She’s six years old, almost seven”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.”

“You know I thought the baby was mine at one time.”

Roxanne raised her brows. “Why did you think that?”

“Timing and the way you just iced me out like that. But Erika set me straight.”

What did he mean by Erika set him straight? Roxanne rolled her eyes at Erika and she declared she would get to the bottom of that comment later.

“What are you doing out this way?” Erika asked to take the focus off of her shadiness.

“My office is out here, a few blocks down on Yorkshire. I’m on lunch and I got to get back for a meeting. Can we all go out for dinner one night?”

“Sure. I would love that.”

“Roxanne?” Quincy snapped Roxanne out of her vile thoughts about Erika’s two-faced ass.

“Yes of course.”

“Great.” Quincy reached in his slacks pocket for his wallet. He retrieved it and pulled out two business cards. He dispensed them to Erika and Roxanne.

“Please call me. We all need to catch up.” Quincy smiled and flashed his prefect set of teeth.

“We will.

“Hope to hear from you soon.” Quincy waved and walked away. He exited the store.

“He wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.” Erika announced.

Roxanne looked at the salesgirl. “Well maybe you and him can be very happy together.”

“He’s your ex.”

“That has never stopped you before.”

“Look, I have never done that to you. I never would. You are my best friend.”

Roxanne rolled her eyes and walked away from Erika. She wondered if best friend meant the same to Erika as it meant to her. Probably not after she mentally assessed their relationship.

CHAPTER 16

Roxanne was a little hesitant to bring up the Erika situation. She didn’t want to give Adam any more reasons to dislike her. He never acted like he hated Erika but how could he not. He was cool every time she rolled her eyes at him, excluded him or said some offhanded comment.

It was getting old. It was getting tired. Roxanne would never behave in such a way. It was disrespectful. It was like Erika didn’t value her or their friendship.

Roxanne wondered how long it would be before Adam and Erika had a knockout drag down. Adam was a nice even-tempered guy but Erika was the type that would physically fight a guy.

All was calm at the apartment. Adam didn’t bother to tell Roxanne about Erika’s unexpected visit to Jimmy’s Lube. He didn’t want to say anything to upset her. He truly felt like Erika was digging her own grave. He wouldn’t interfere in their friendship. He didn’t understand women enough to understand the complicated drama they had in their friendships.

It was a little after ten at night. Adam and Roxanne were in their bedroom. Adam left the room to go take a leak. Morgan was alone in her bedroom. Morgan sat on her pink canopy bed. Her pink and black Monster High blanket was pulled up to her waist. She spotted Adam as he crossed her open bedroom doorway. When he came out the bathroom she spotted him again.

“Hey Adam.” Morgan called out to him as he dashed pass her bedroom door from the bathroom.

“What’s up?” Adam quickly doubled back to peek into Morgan’s bedroom.

“Come here. I got a secret to tell you.” Morgan waved him into her bedroom.

“A secret, cool.” Adam walked into the room and took a seat on the bed facing Morgan.

“This is not really a secret. It’s just something I was thinking about.”

“What were you thinking about?”

“Well, I say my prayers every night. Do you say yours?”

“Sometimes but not every night, sometimes I forget.”

“Do you know what I pray for?”

“No what?”

“I pray for a dad.”

“A dad.” Adam was caught off guard by her shared information.

“Lots of kids at school have dads. My momma told me to pray for the things that I want and God would bring them to me.”

Adam didn’t know what to say. “Praying, that’s a good idea.” He remembered how he prayed he would survive prison and he knew that prayer was answered. He survived in one piece, a little damaged and broken but he had survived.

“God brings me everything I want. But he won’t bring me a dad. Maybe I’m not praying hard enough.”

“I think you are praying just fine. It’s okay if you don’t have a dad. I don’t have a dad either.”

Morgan thought about what Adam said. She didn’t know he didn’t have a dad. “What happened to yours?”

“He died.”

“That’s terrible. You know I never had one. I think he died too but I’m not sure.”

“What did your mom say about him?”

“She said that she didn’t know what happened to him. Anyway, I just wish I had one.”

“Dads are okay but they’re not better than moms. Moms are the best.”

“Yeah they are but… Dads can do a lot of things moms can’t do.”

“Like what?” Adam shrugged with his hands and shoulders.

“Ahhhhh, they play with kids. They pick them up from school. They help them with homework. Lots of stuff like that.”

“I play with you sometimes. I have picked you up from school before. I’m not the smartest but I can help you with your homework.”

“Do you want to help me?”

“Hell yeah I really want to.”

“Well if you want to.” Morgan tried to contain her excitement.

“Okay let’s shake on it.” Adam offered his hand.

“My momma says we hug in this house.”

“Do you?”

“Yeah, I do whatever my momma says.” Morgan reached her arms out to Adam.

Adam leaned over and gave Morgan the hug she desperately craved. He hated to admit he craved it too. He cared about Morgan more than she would ever know. Morgan snuggled in close to him.

“I have a secret.” Adam admitted.

“You do. What is it?” Morgan excitedly waited for the details.

Roxanne had gotten out of bed and headed to the bathroom. She walked pass Morgan’s bedroom door and noticed Adam sitting on the edge of her bed.

Roxanne took two steps back to observe what was going on in her daughter’s room. She was eavesdropping but not really because it was her apartment. Morgan was her daughter. Adam was her boyfriend. She had the right.

“My secret is, I love your mother. I love being here. I’m glad you guys let me come live with you.”

“Momma said you were by yourself.”

“I was. Now I have you guys and it makes me so happy. I have a family now. Guess what?”

“What?”

“It’s past your bedtime.”

“Ohhhhh man.” Morgan pouted.

“Goodnight, give me a hug.” Morgan gave Adam a huge hug. She purposely squeezed his neck as tight as she could.

“Your mom will be in to tuck you in. Don’t let her see that game under your pillow.”

Morgan’s eyes grew large. She wondered how he knew she had her Nintendo 3DS underneath her pillow.

Adam stood. “Goodnight, Morgan.” He gave Morgan a kiss on her forehead.

“Night, night.”

Adam left the room. Roxanne was no longer in the hall. He reached the hall and went into the kitchen. He stood at the refrigerator staring at a photo of Morgan as a toddler. The photo was held to the refrigerator with a magnet. He touched the photo and then opened the refrigerator door.

He ventured back to the bedroom he shared with Roxanne. She was sitting in her bathrobe. She was on the edge of the bed rubbing lotion on her legs. Adam entered drinking a glass of orange juice.

“Hey thanks for being there for my kid. You know picking her up from school. Stuff like that. I know you’ve never been around any kids.”

“You don’t have to thank me. I love Morgan. She’s a good kid. Besides I think we should start to plan our future together.”

“Plan our future?” The words surprised Roxanne. Every guy she ever dated ran from all conversations that contained the word future.

“Yes, our future. We’re not going to date forever. Do you see me in your distant future?”

“I do.”

“I don’t see a future without you in it.”

Roxanne smiled but something about Morgan’s words to Adam struck a chord with her. “How come you never ask me about Morgan’s father?”

This was a delicate and complicated question, one that he should have thought of. Any guy would have at least inquired about Morgan’s father’s whereabouts. Adam could kick himself for not thinking to ask that very important question.

“I don’t know.” A senseless response but he didn’t have time to think of a better one.

“You have never even asked if I get child support.”

“Do you?” He already knew the answer to that question and so many more.

“No, I don’t.”

“I just thought that if you wanted to talk about that guy, you would have mentioned him. Obviously he’s not around.”

“No he’s definitely not around.”

“It doesn’t bother me at all. He’s gone and I’m here so there’s no drama.”

“Drama free, the best way to be.” She rhymed. “The truth is, I don’t know who Morgan’s father is.” Roxanne took in a deep breath before her big reveal. “My senior year in college I was attacked.” Roxanne hated the word rape and only used it a few times in her life.

“Attacked.” Adam pretended to be looking for something in the closet. He didn’t want to hear this story.

“Yeah attacked, not date raped. Some stranger attacked me one night. I never saw the guy, his face. I don’t know who he is. At first I tried to act like it never happened. Then I got pregnant. I really tried to act like that wasn’t happening. I was in denial and then just like that I was having a baby. I just couldn’t bring myself to have an abortion. I wasn’t even acting like it happened so I was trying to act like the baby wasn’t happening either. I just went to class and tried to block it all out… Adam.”