Secrets On Lake Drive (3 page)

I loved Roman. All that time we spent after
school together, I was starting to feel like his caretaker. He was
such a well-mannered, bright young boy, and he reminded me of
myself when I was in school…eager, yet a little timid. He looked
similar to that little boy named Franklin from that TV show,
My
Wife and Kids
, except Roman has green eyes. I took a special
interest in him and helped him build some confidence when I
organized class participation activities, show-and-tell in
particular.

I remember our very first show-and-tell
activity. Roman was so nervous his hands were shaking. I pulled him
over to the side and told him everything was going to be okay. Then
I took off a gold necklace I was wearing, put it into his sweaty
palms, and closed his fist. That way, he knew I was with him and he
wasn’t just standing up there alone. He showed his yellow and red
Tonka truck without a nervous bone in his body. Boy, did he make me
proud that day.

He never did give the necklace back. I
figured he probably lost it, but I didn’t care. I would do anything
to support my star student. It was my mission to be there for
him.

Chapter 4 -
Fly and
Flashy

I’ve heard things about Sean through the
Milwaukee grapevine. He was known as a ladies’ man, a player, and
his cockiness was sickening, parading around night after night with
different women on his arm like a pimp. Granted, he was a gorgeous
individual. If
Milwaukee Magazine
created a list of
beautiful people in Milwaukee, Sean Beauvais would be in the top
three, or maybe even asked to grace the cover. He reminded me of
actor Michael Ealy, except Sean has black hair and green eyes.

He was the type to flaunt what he had, and
everything he owned had to be name brand and top of the line. He
wasn’t big on jewelry, but I know he owns a stainless steel Rolex
because he had it on the other night. Sean had no physical flaws,
which surprised me considering all the fights Daryl’s brother said
he’d been in. He was perfect from head to toe, and that alone put
him in a class of distinction.

Women were drawn to him not only for his
looks, but the man was filthy rich. He had money and spent it like
it was nothing, balling uncontrollably all over town. If he wanted
it, he bought it. He was one of those men that would leave a good
waitress a hundred-dollar tip, or over tip valet parking attendants
for bringing his whip around. Women couldn’t resist a man like
Sean. With all the wining and dining, having a man as fine as Sean
on your arms could easily become a way of life. And though
appearance mattered more to men than women, no woman wants to
introduce an ugly man to her girlfriends. With Sean, the only issue
she would have is keeping her girlfriend’s hands off of her
man.

Sean owned many properties all around the
city and the place that he called home was on Lake Drive. He lived
in a three-million-dollar mansion with a spectacular view of
beautiful Lake Michigan. His home looked more like a medieval
castle rather than a home for two.

A two-car garage housed his black,
tricked-out Cadillac Escalade, complete with a set of Giovanni
rims. Then there was his boy toy, the infamous china white BMW M3
convertible with tinted windows that he would only drive in the
summer. When he really wanted to show off, he would leave them both
parked in the horseshoe driveway during the spring and summer
months.

He owned the kind of home that made people
wonder who lived there and what kind of work they did to maintain
such a high-class property. After all, the taxes on that house
alone were more than my salary. Average class citizens like me
looked forward to riding down Lake Drive to look at the houses of
the rich people in our city. Just riding by, I would imagine maids
on the inside dusting and cooking while the owners were busy at
work.

Sean had what I called the three S’s –
stability, security, and sexiness. He was the complete package and
had what it took to get any woman he wanted, and he knew it. Unlike
most men, I don’t think he’s the type to take an interest in any
woman that pursued him. He wasn’t about to let some woman
choose
him. He was the chooser, the hunter, and he wasn’t
afraid to go after his prey. It was all part of the game.

TO MY SURPRISE, Roman showed up at school
the next day. I felt proud when he came up to give me a hug. Those
were the times I enjoyed my job the most.

“Ms. Smith, I missed you yesterday.”

“Aw, you did?” I didn’t try to pry any
information out of him as to why he wasn’t at school. I’m a firm
believer that grownup business should be just that – for grownups.
There was no need to put children in the middle of adult
disputes.

“Yes,” he said, showing his cute little
dimples.

“I missed you, too, hun.”

When class was over, I stayed after school, hanging
pictures from a finger painting exercise the class participated in
earlier. Roman was there with me again, waiting to be picked up.
Can’t say I was surprised.

An hour later, the school secretary came
walking into my classroom. She had a limp as if one leg was longer
than the other one. I knew right away something was up. The only
time I’d ever seen that fat ol’ lady leave her office was when she
took her lunch breaks.

“Ms. Smith, Roman’s father just called and
asked if you could take Roman home. I wrote down the directions. It
should be easy to find. He lives on Lake Drive.”

“Okay. Thank you.” I took the directions
from her, even though I knew how to get to Lake Drive. I had a good
mind to call Sean and make him come and get Roman, but I didn’t
even go there. I didn’t want Roman to see me angry, but I was
fuming. “Roman, sweetie, get your stuff together so I can take you
home.”

“Okay.”

Roman placed his eight crayons neatly back
in the slender Crayola box and put them in the upper zipper of his
book bag. For the entire twenty-minute drive, Roman talked my ears
off, asking question after question, but that’s what kids his age
do. They want to know everything.

When I pulled my Honda Accord into the
driveway of his house, Sean was standing at the front door wearing
a white wifebeater tank and some comfortable gray cotton shorts
that weren’t too baggy or too clingy. He was sweaty, as if he had
just been working out. Roman jumped out of the car and ran to his
father. Sean may not have been the perfect father, but Roman loved
him dearly. He was so happy to see his father that he left his book
bag in the backseat of my car.

While reaching in the back to get it, I
heard Sean tell Roman to go to his room, then he walked down the
front steps as I exited my car and started walking towards him to
meet him on his walkway. It was all starting to make sense to me
now. He purposefully didn’t have Roman picked up because he wanted
the opportunity to talk to me, face-to-face. Figures.

“So what is your problem with me again?”

“I’m not going to have this conversation
with you again, Mr. Beauvais. I dropped Roman off for you and…”

“What? You want some gas money?”

“No, I don’t want any gas money. How about a
thank you?” He just stood there looking at me. “Yeah, that’s what I
thought. Anyway, you’re welcome. Now I’m going to go.” I tried to
walk away from him, but he grabbed my arm.

“No, we need to have this conversation. If
my son is in your class, then there has to be some interaction
between us.”

“Really?” I yanked my arm away from him.
“Why is there a need for us to have some interaction now? The
school year is almost over.”

“That still doesn’t change the fact that my
boy is in your class. So, again, I ask, what is your problem with
me?”

Sean boldly stood a few inches away from me,
waiting for an answer to his question. Being the type of person
that he is, this guy wouldn’t give up. I mean, he didn’t get as far
in life as he did by letting people walk all over him. However, I’m
no pushover myself. Since I was old enough to walk, I was telling
people what to do. And I had to tell this guy something so he could
get off my back.

“Okay, well, it’s like this. I don’t like
you. I feel like Roman deserves better.”

Hey, I was honest. I didn’t like him, and I
knew he didn’t like my response. He was heated, and I literally
watched his face turn red like he was turning into a red version of
the Incredible Hulk. But, like they always say, you shouldn’t ask
questions you don’t want the answers to.

“I take good care of my son!” he yelled.
“How dare you insult me while standing on my property!”

There was no way I was just going to let him
yell at me to the top of his lungs like I’m hard of hearing. So, I
yelled back at him. “Well, if you would’ve come to pick up your
son, I could’ve insulted you on the school’s property!” I laughed
internally and then kindly I dismissed myself. “Have a good day,
Mr. Beauvais.”

As I started walking back to my car, he
stepped in front of me.

“I’m not done yet. You judge me but you
don’t know me. You don’t know who I am. How can you say all this
stuff about me when you don’t know me?”

“I’ve seen you around doing your
thang
. Yet, you don’t have time to spend with your own
son.”

“How do you know what I do with my boy? You
don’t live here.”

“Wow. What a great observation. I don’t live
here.”

The more the conversation went on, the more
facetious I was being with him. It was pretty funny to watch his
reaction to what I was saying, which was a look of disgust.

“Actually, I don’t care what’s going on in
your house. Just make sure someone picks up Roman on time tomorrow.
That’s all I care about.” I pulled out a twenty-dollar bill from my
purse. “Oh, and here’s the twenty back that you gave me at school
the other day in case your driver needs some gas for the
Mercedes.”

Grinning, I got in the car, cranked up the radio,
and sped off. I had to call Keisha.

“Uh huh, where you been? I tried calling you a
couple of times,” Keisha said immediately upon answering the
phone.

“Girl, I had to wait after school again with
Roman. We were there for an hour, and then the secretary came into
my class and said that Roman’s father had called and wanted me to
bring Roman home.”

“Wait a minute…the secretary came to your
class?”

Keisha had me laughing already. I knew where
she was going with this.

“Yeah, the secretary.”

“Well, dang, it must have been serious. The
last time I seen her come out of the office was when the principal
bought those pizzas and put them in the teacher’s lounge. She
wobbled in and got like three slices, then wobbled back out.”

Keisha was laughing so hard, she made me
laugh even harder. “Girl, you wrong.”

When Keisha finally stopped laughing, she
asked, “So Sean told her to tell you to take Roman home?”

“Yeah, and when I got there, Sean was already
standing at the door. He proceeded to send Roman to his room, then
he’s all up in my face talking ‘bout I don’t know him and I can’t
judge him and all that nonsense.”

“Well, everybody and they momma knows the
Beauvais men and know of their ways.”

“I know, and that’s what I told him. I was
like, I see you have time for all those women, but you can’t make
room for your own son. Girl, he was pissed. I just got in my car
and left.”

“I can’t believe you went off on him again
like that. Girl, you bold.”

“Right is right and wrong is wrong. Now I’m
just waiting to see if he’s going to pick up Roman on time
tomorrow.”

“Probably not,” Keisha said, in a way that you could
tell she was rolling her eyes, mixed with a little bit of neck
snapping.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Well, I have
to run. I’ll see you later.”

“Okay, girl.”

A FEW WEEKS later, I was still on my grind, going to
work every day with the same routine. Just one more week is all I
kept saying over and over in my head, as I pranced into class with
my usual 16-ounce cup of Breakfast Blend coffee from Starbucks. I
desperately needed a break and could hardly wait until school is
out for the summer.

Upon checking daily attendance, I noticed Roman
wasn’t in class.
Maybe he is out sick,
I thought.
He’s
been here every day for the past two weeks, and then all of a
sudden today, he doesn’t show up.
Then I got to thinking about
the look on Sean’s face a few weeks back when he was talking to me.
What if I pissed him off to the point that he would remove Roman
from my class?
Maybe I should not have been so in-your-face
with Mr. Beauvais. If I’d just kept my big mouth shut, Roman would
be in class and life would be back to normal. Still, Roman
shouldn’t have to be left after school so frequently, waiting for a
ride home. So, I’m guessing I did the right thing. However, his
absence has me thinking otherwise.

I didn’t want to do it, but I had to call and find
out what the deal was. Knowing Sean, he probably would look at the
caller ID, see my number, and not bother to answer. I decided to
call anyway. It was my duty.

“Hi, this is Ms. Smith calling. Roman has
been out for a couple of days. Is he sick?”

“Nah, he’s not sick. I’m actually in the
process of moving him to a different school for next year. He won’t
be back anymore this week, so don’t look for him.”

I knew the dark, manly, powerful voice
belonged to Mr. Beauvais.

“Why is that?”

“Because I don’t want him anywhere near you
and your negative influences.”

Me, negative?
Everything I’ve done
has had positive effects on Roman and the rest of my students for
that matter. I knew this was a ploy from Sean to ruffle my
feathers, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.