I Want Candy (51 page)

“I will
not
stop! He needs to be told the truth. I worked three jobs to put you and your brothers through school, and I gets no credit! All you and Mike want to talk to me about is how I talked to you. So what! Grow some balls and deal with it! He’s sitting here on his high horse judging me when I did everything in my power to take care of him and his brothers! We worked hard around here. I loved you. You know I did! That’s why I pushed you so hard,” his father yelled, spit flying out of his mouth with every other syllable.

“You think because you paid for our schooling that you had the right to call me names day in and day out, to shove my head against walls? You think because we have college degrees that you earned the right to call me a fat idiot? You told me I’d never amount to anything. I’d never say anything like that to Allison even if she was being a smart ass or doing something foolish. There’s a lot of power in words, especially for children. That’s really being a good father? You’ll never change. Mom, I’m leaving.” Gabriel stood up and headed towards the front door.

“Please don’t go, Gabriel,” his mother pleaded once more as she scurried behind him.

“No, no! Let him leave!” his father shouted as he rose to his wobbly feet. “That’s what he does. He runs away all the time when the going gets tough!”

Gabriel stopped at the door when he saw his cell phone ringing. “Hello, this is Gabriel Justice,” he said as he made his way outside into the front yard.

“Mr. Justice, I have a ‘Mr. Eric Fields’ on the other line. He says he’s Ms. Candy Benet’s friend. He’s calling from Good Samaritan Hospital and…”

“Did something happen to Candy?” Gabriel interrupted his assistant. “Get me her room number, I’m on my way!” Gabriel raced to his car before his assistant could finish her sentence.

“No, sir, Mr. Fields is the one in the hospital. He said he has something very urgent to discuss with you.” Gabriel’s shoulders relaxed. “Well, this is strange, but put him through.”

“Hello, Mr. Justice. This is Eric Fields, Candy’s ex-husband,” Eric began. Gabriel listened intently as Eric explained what he was told just hours earlier.

“So that’s the situation,” Eric finished. “I know you care about her. You love her, and she loves you, and even though she’ll hate that I called you, I had too. She’s in way over her head.”

“Please call me ‘Gabriel.’ I want to thank you for calling. I feel so stupid. I should’ve known something was going on to make her do this. I said a few things to her I really regret, and now I feel even worse. I ran into them the other night and kept thinking about what Quentin said about keeping them a secret. I’ll deal with Quentin as soon as I get back to Cincinnati. Candy has nothing to worry about.” Gabriel hung up the phone. He looked back at the house and saw his father standing in the doorway.

“What trouble have you gotten yourself into now?” his father asked as he hit his cane up against the door.

“You’re despicable,” Gabriel said as he approached him. “I have to go. There’s a problem with an employee I need to take care of right away.” Gabriel turned away.

“Well, if you ask me, you need to take care of the girl you’re in love with first,” his father retorted.

Gabriel stopped in his tracks. “What?”

“It’s all over your stupid face. I knew you invited us down for a girl. There was no other possible explanation. You two must have had a fight or something, and now you look like some love-sick puppy. You think I’m a mean old fart who doesn’t care about anyone but himself. Well, it’s not true. I love you and all of my boys. Why don’t you grow some damn balls and get her back, and then ask us down because you really want to see us, not because she should meet your family before you pop the question. I’m smarter than I look,” his father said.

Gabriel’s eyes welled with tears as he gripped his car keys. “You’ve never told me you loved me before,” he said, his voice shaking. Gabriel wiped his eye and put his finger up, “Hold on a second, Dad.” He immediately called Candy’s phone.

“Shit! Voicemail!” Gabriel hung up and turned back to his father who was looking at him sheepishly.

His father looked down shamefully and continued with his thoughts. “Well, I do love you, and I’m telling you now – better late than never. Who is this girl, anyway?” he asked, his dry, thin lips slightly parted.

Gabriel walked back up to the porch. His father slowly opened the screen door, letting him inside. Gabriel’s mother smiled and handed him a glass of apple cider. Gabriel kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks, Ma.”

“Well?” his father asked as he slowly took his seat again in the large, worn chair.

“She’s a woman I work with. She’s very smart and…”

His father waved him off. “You don’t have to sell me on her. You were always too fussy when it came to women, so if you like her, she must be great.”

Gabriel took a sip of his cider then paused. “She’s Black.” He waited for his father’s reaction. His father looked at him and sneered.

“And? What? You waiting for me to say something racist? I know you think I’m a sack of shit, but one thing you can never accuse me of is being prejudiced. Jerks come in all colors. You never heard me talk bad about Black people around you, so why would I start now?” His father rolled his eyes. “That Beyonce girl is a looker. I’d date her if I were younger.”

Gabriel laughed. “Yeah, like Beyonce would have
you
!” he teased.

His father waved him off. “Besides, look how dark your mom is. She got mistaken for colored before!” his dad laughed. “Sicilian Princess! Beautiful as the day I met her. She has a natural tan.” Gabriel smiled and looked down into his glass.

“OK, so it sounds like you need to work that out, but I’m still here looking at your ridiculous ass.”

Gabriel chuckled and stood up. He hugged his parents and kissed his mother. His father then reached for his arm with his shaky, pale and freckled hand.

“Don’t be so quick to judge me. When you have a son that you’re trying to grow into a man, you’ll see what it’s like. With girls, the world likes ’em ’cause they’re pretty. With boys, if you can’t get a job, you’re a loser, your family starves, you get no respect from no damn body. That’s a lot of responsibility. Girls, especially the pretty ones, can always find a man to take care of ’em. Boys, they have to stand on their own two feet. When you have a boy, you remember this conversation,” his father said softly. Gabriel nodded and got in his car. As he drove back to Cincinnati, he sighed and pushed “autodial” on his car’s Bluetooth.

“Dial Candy Benet,” he said out loud.

“Hello, you’ve reached Candace Benet, please leave your name and number after the tone.”

Gabriel sighed. “Candy, I need to talk to you. This is Gabriel. Please call me back right away. Please!”

* * *

“Here’s what I’m taking,” Candy explained to Dallas and Jasmine as they stood in her foyer with their airline information.

“It’s about time you agreed to go on one of these book club trips. How’d you get a passport renewal so fast?” Dallas asked as she helped Candy load her bag into the car. “You said yours was expired.”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Candy smiled. “It helps to know people, I guess.”

“Well, we gotta get movin’,” Jasmine said as she got into the car. “What made you change your mind? I asked you about going to Egypt weeks ago, and you shot me down again.”

“I just needed to get away. I’ve never been before, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I need to get my head straight.”

“I tried to call you on the way over here, but the phone just went straight to voicemail,” Dallas mentioned as she got in the drivers seat and pulled out of Candy’s driveway.

“Yeah, I turned my phone off.” Candy’s stomach rippled as she thought back to the last call she received and the music that played while Quentin spoke. A vile taste filled her mouth. “Let’s just go, Ladies! I’m so excited,” Candy said as she looked around nervously as they proceeded down the street.”

“We are too!” Jasmine said as she opened a book and placed it on her lap. Dallas turned the radio on as they made their way to the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International airport.

* * *

“No, I need to go now. I can’t reach her on her phone,” Eric said as he stumbled about the hospital room. I’m callin’ a cab and goin’ over to her house,” Eric exclaimed to his mother.

“Eric, leave that poor girl alone!” His mother took his arm, trying desperately to hold him back.

“I’m not botherin’ her, Mama. She’s in trouble. Trust me on this! Something really bad could happen.”

“Eric, I don’t believe you. I think you’re goin’ over there to get another chance. She’s been through enough with you. Get yourself in AA and stay sober for a while, then think about datin’ her again. Now isn’t the time,” his mother warned.

Eric took his mother gently by the shoulders. “Mama, I promise you I’m not tryin’ to get her back. I love her, and I always will, but that’s not what’s goin’ on. Look me in my eyes.” Diane looked at her son closely.

“I’m not lyin’, Mama. There are some things goin’ on that she can’t get herself out of. I have to be there for her. It’s the right thing to do. For once in my life I’m thinkin’ about someone besides myself.” Eric hopped to the side of the bed and slid his jeans on. He sighed in pain as he tried to get his shirt over his head. Diane walked over to him.

“Come here, boy.” She slid the sweater over him, pulling it down gently along the hem. “I’ll drive you over there,” she said as she reached for her purse.

“No, Mama, I’m gonna handle this on my own.” Eric kissed her on the forehead then proceeded to check himself out of the hospital against his doctor’s wishes.

* * *

“Open this damn door!” Quentin pounded. “Candy, I know you’re in there! You can only ignore my calls for so long,” he mumbled as he looked in her garage window and smiled.

“Your car’s here! Open this door!” He looked around the house and across the street before walking into the backyard. He walked up to the rear patio door and pulled out a small cordless drill. After a couple of minutes, the last screw came out. He smiled at his achievement. Upon entering, he immediately went to the security system panel.

“I hope she didn’t change this shit!” he said under his breath as he punched in the code he remembered. He was successful, the alarm disarmed. He sighed with relief as he made his way from room to room.

“Candy?” He called, swinging open each door. His agitation grew and soon turned into rage. He squinted and opened up drawers and files, trying to find a clue to where she may be. “Even her damn computer’s gone!” he screamed as he tossed things around. “I should’ve never let her out of my sight. Damn it!” He picked up a large olive-green vase and cast it across her living room. Shards of glass flew in a million directions and landed in a field of debris on the pristine, white carpeted floor.

He raced back upstairs to her bedroom and went through each nightstand. Suddenly, he glanced up at the hardbound books on the shelf. Taking one down, he leafed through it. His eyes scanned the pages briskly.