Nobody's Son (17 page)

As he lay on his cot consumed with the memories of his past, Wayne suddenly heard a noise and voices. He reached over and turned his radio off, and then he sat quietly listening. His abductor had already brought his daily meal, and Wayne wondered why he would return. He heard the sound of a door opening and unfamiliar voices.

“Help me! Help me, please!” he screamed.

Earlier that evening, Wayne and Rip had pulled into the empty warehouse parking lot. “Turn your lights off,” Rip told Semaj. “It looks like we got here before Reggie, and I don't want him to notice us when he pulls in.”

Semaj noticed a secluded spot near a tree. He pulled over to it and parked the car as far out of sight as he could.

“This should be good. His lights won't point in this direction when he pulls in,” he said as he turned off the engine.

Semaj didn't know why, but he was shaking like a leaf blowing on a tree.

“Calm down, you're making me nervous,” Rip said.

“Shhh, I see lights in the distance,” Semaj answered.

Rip laughed loudly. “We're inside a car over a hundred yards away. They can't hear us talking. But, you're right. That's the red Toyota. Call the police.”

Nervously, Semaj dialed 911. He told the operator who he was and advised that he'd located Reggie.

“Is the little girl with him,” the operator asked.

Semaj looked in the direction of Reggie's car as he slowly parked. He waited for them all to get out. “Yes, I see her and another man.”

“Don't approach them, Mr. Matthews. An officer is on the way,” the operator instructed him.

After he hung up, Semaj felt as if everything was happening in fast-forward motion. Although he was standing right there, the entire incident felt as if he was having a weird out-of-body experience. Instead of being involved in the action, he felt as if he were standing outside of himself and watching a movie.

Before he knew it, the police had pulled up and surrounded the warehouse. With lights and sirens blaring they were able to get Reggie and his brother to surrender quickly. The two of them were handcuffed and placed in the backseats of waiting cruisers while Aaliyah was placed in Semaj's waiting arms.

The police opened the bay door in the front of the warehouse and just as quickly they found Wayne James shackled to the cot. After using bolt cutters to free him, they brought him out.

Holding a shivering Aaliyah in his arms, Semaj tried his best to keep his distance from Wayne as he was led to a waiting police car. His attempt at being inconspicuous failed, and Wayne spotted him.

“Mr. Matthews!” he yelled.

Reluctantly Semaj turned in his direction. Wayne motioned for the policeman that was escorting him to follow him to where Semaj stood.

“I'm sorry to bother you, but this officer told me that you are responsible for finding me and this young lady,” Wayne said.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” Semaj answered with no emotion.

Wayne grabbed his hand and vigorously shook it. “I just wanted to say thank you. I am eternally grateful to you for what you've done.”

The feeling of satisfaction Semaj had dreamed he'd have when he finally heard those words did not happen. He didn't feel elated. He didn't feel vindicated. All that he felt deep down within was overwhelming shame.

“There's no need to thank me,” he mumbled. Unable to look Wayne in the eye he pulled his hand back and stared awkwardly at the ground.

“I have to express my gratitude. I owe you my life,” Wayne said.

Semaj looked up as he heard Ellen scream his name. She and Jenise had just arrived and were walking swiftly in his direction.

“No, you don't. You don't owe me anything,” he told Wayne. He quickly walked away and rushed over to reunite Aaliyah with her mother.

As he drove Rip home that night Semaj felt conflicted and confused.

“What's wrong, cousin?” Rip asked.

“I don't know. I thought that I would feel better after this whole ordeal was over, but I don't. There's a gnawing knot in my stomach that won't go away.”

“You don't have to worry about framing Reggie. I overheard the cops talking. They don't think Reggie kidnapped Wayne. They realize he's too big of a moron to pull off something like that. Can you believe he was asking them if he could collect the reward for finding him?”

Semaj laughed loudly. “No, you have got to be kidding. Does he realize he's going to jail for aggravated assault, vandalism, and kidnapping of his daughter?”

“This nimrod asked them if he could collect it and use it for bail.”

The two of them howled with laughter. One of the things that Semaj loved most about his cousin Rip was that he could always find a way to cheer him up.

“I saw you talking to Wayne,” Rip said after the laughter died down. “You looked pretty tense. What did he say to you?”

“He wanted to thank me for leading the police to him.”

“A few days ago, that's exactly what you wanted. All you could talk about was making Wayne James owe you a debt of gratitude. How did it feel to finally get it?”

Semaj gave his cousin a look that he knew would explain exactly how he felt. Ever since they'd been kids they had a unique way of communicating with each other. They talked a lot, but often, no words were needed. They rode the rest of the way home in silence.

As soon as he was inside his apartment, Semaj picked up the phone and called Ellen. He'd just seen her when she and Jenise picked up Aaliyah from the warehouse, but he wanted to hear her voice again before he fell asleep.

“Hey, beautiful,” he said.

“Hey, handsome,” Ellen answered. “I can't tell you how proud I am to be your fiancée right now.”

“Oh yeah? And why is that?” Semaj stretched out on the bed as he talked.

“You are amazing, Semaj. Not only did you find my niece and reunite her with our family, but you stumbled upon Wayne James too. You are all over the news, baby. I mean, it's not just Atlanta news either. You're on CNN,” she gushed.

Wayne sat up on the bed. He no longer felt relaxed. “You know I don't like all the publicity. I just enjoy what I do.”

“I know, baby, but you found a major celebrity that was missing. Whether or not you like it, this is a very big deal. By the way, did you get a chance to talk to Wayne James?” Ellen asked.

“Briefly, why do you ask?”

“Didn't you say that you found out he's your biological father? I guess I'm being silly. Of course, standing out there in the parking lot was not the place to discuss it.”

“We discussed it before he went missing,” Semaj said quietly. “He denied it completely, but I'm sure of it. I guess he doesn't want me in his life.”

Ellen sighed. “Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry. I guess that's why you've been acting so out of character lately.”

“I suppose so, but I've accepted it. I mean, it would've been wonderful to have the great Wayne James as my dad, but it's not what he wants. I'm sure he's got his hands full already with five boys.”

He stretched out on the bed again. As he lay there he explained to her how he'd had a breakthrough while taping
The Kandyss Kline Show
. Without revealing his part in Wayne's disappearance, he let Ellen know that he finally realized what being a father truly is, and that he'd had it all along.

“When you and I have kids, I promise you, Ellen, I'm going to be the best dad. I had a great role model in my Pop Al.” Anxious to change the subject he continued, “First, we gotta jump that broom. Where are we with the wedding plans? I hope you didn't cancel everything all ready.”

“No, I didn't cancel anything,” Ellen assured him. “But we do need to choose our wedding menu with Cedric.”

“I thought you took Jenise.”

Explaining her personal meltdown, Ellen let him know that the menu was still on hold, but Cedric had agreed to set up another tasting as soon as they were ready. “If he can fit us in, do you think we can go next Thursday for lunch?”

“Sure, set it up, baby,” Semaj said.

They spent a few more moments telling each other how happy they were that things were back on the right track, and they were eagerly looking forward to their big day. Then they finally hung up.

“We have got to stop meeting like this,” Cedric's front-desk greeter joked when Ellen arrived at his catering service the following Thursday. “It's a pleasure to see you again, Miss Winston.”

Ellen smiled broadly. “It's great to see you again too.”

“Where's your busy fiancé today? I bet he's out finding more missing persons. Tell him I need him to find Elvis for me,” he said obviously joking some more.

Laughing lightly, Ellen played along. “You know he can find anyone.”

“When I saw on the news how he found your niece and Wayne James being held captive together in the same warehouse I was just in awe. He is simply remarkable.”

“Thank you, so much.” Ellen beamed with pride. “I just came from work so he'll be meeting me here soon.”

Cedric came out into the waiting area to greet her. “Ellen, you're here,” he happily exclaimed.

“Yes, I'm here again, Cedric.” She hugged him warmly.

Cedric looked around. “Don't tell me that I'm still not going to get to meet your fiancé, the hero?” he asked.

“Oh, don't worry. Semaj will be here this time. We're excited about getting married and ready to grub on some good food.”

Forty-five minutes later she was still sitting alone in the front lobby feeling like a complete fool. Several times she'd dialed Semaj's number, but he did not answer. Ellen was livid that once again he was missing appointments and not returning phone calls. After he explained to her about finding his father and how it was the reason for his erratic behavior she truly believed that they were well on their way to putting their relationship back on track again. Since that time, Semaj had seemed to her to be back to his old self. She kicked herself for actually feeling sorry for him when he'd told her that Wayne James cruelly rejected him. Apparently that was not the reason for his behavior since he was still missing appointments and ignoring her calls.

The clerk sadly looked at her with pity in his eyes. He didn't speak, but Ellen knew he thought she was as dumb as a box of rocks for continuing to put up with Semaj.

Finally feeling fed up, she stood up to leave just as her cell phone rang. She answered quickly, hoping it was Semaj.

“Hello,” she said.

“Where are you?” Jenise asked frantically.

Ellen sighed. “I'm sitting at the caterer's waiting for Semaj, but I was just about to leave because it's obvious that he has stood me up once again. I am so sick of him acting like a crazy person. How many times is he going to say I'm sorry and expect me to just accept it? Even the Bible says that God doesn't forgive us unless we are truly repentant. Semaj obviously has not changed one bit so he can keep his sorry to himself.”

Rattling on in anger Ellen did not notice that Jenise was not speaking. She had a lot of pent up anger inside, and she continued ranting and raving for several moments before she finally stopped.

“Jenise, are you still there?” she asked anxiously.

“I don't know how to tell you this, but Semaj is not coming. He can't come.”

Suddenly Ellen noticed the urgency in her sister's voice. “Oh my God, what's going on? Is he okay?” she frantically asked.

“He's been arrested, Ellen. Semaj is in jail.”