Nobody's Son, page 11
At the beginning of her engagement, Ellen had made the traditional trip to a bridal salon to try on dresses. She’d taken Jenise, her mother Deloris, and her two sorority sisters, Melanie and Latisha, who were also her bridesmaids.
The ladies arrived at the salon and were greeted by an overly chipper attendant named Misty who led them to a private area that had a couch for the ladies to sit. The sofa was facing a large area with mirrors that led to a dressing room. Misty asked Ellen to give her an idea about what type of dress she was looking for, then she brought out several choices for her to try on.
“That doesn’t flatter your figure at all,” Deloris said when Ellen walked out in the first dress. It was a heavy ball gown with tons of sequins. Ellen felt as if she was dragging an albatross around, and she completely agreed with her mother’s opinion.
“Girl, no,” Melanie exclaimed as soon as she turned around in dress number two. “That looks like the same dress Peaches got married in last year. She is not someone that you want to imitate, trust.”
A parade of four more dresses continued, and no one liked anything that Ellen tried on, including Ellen. Each dress had something about it that she loved, while at the same time, having something about it that she hated. The entire afternoon was beginning to resemble a bad episode of Say Yes to the Dress, and Ellen was growing weary and discouraged.
“We have hundreds of dresses, and I’m here to help you,” Misty said. “I’m going to bring out a few more choices.”
“No, I can’t take anymore,” Ellen exclaimed.
“Don’t give up so soon, Sissy,” Jenise said. “When you see your dream dress, you’ll know it.”
Ellen sighed and joined her sister on the couch. “I’m not giving up at all. I just don’t think I’m going to find the perfect dress today.”
“A lot of brides need more than one visit before they can make a decision. Would you like for me to schedule you a new appointment?”
Ellen agreed to come back at another time, but she never did. On the advice of a coworker she decided to look for her wedding dress online. Her sister’s words had been prophetic because the moment Ellen saw the dress, she intuitively knew it was the right one. The Web site had great reviews so Ellen took a gamble and ordered her dress from a factory in China.
Hoping the dressmaker had made a horrific error that would make her glad she had to send the dress back, Ellen ripped open the package and pulled it out. Now, sitting in her living room, she bawled openly with the most gorgeous wedding dress she’d ever seen in her entire life sitting in her lap. Her crying was so loud that she barely heard another knock at her front door. Quickly wiping her tears with the back of her hands, Ellen went to answer it.
“Who’s there?” she called out.
“It’s your mother,” Deloris answered.
Ellen tried her best to hide the evidence of her tears; then she opened the door and smiled at her mother.
“What are you doing here, Mommy?” she asked. She pulled her into a warm hug and invited her into the apartment.
Deloris walked inside and immediately noticed the wedding dress sprawled out on the sofa. “Well, I went by your office to invite you to lunch, and they said you’d gone home sick. So I came by to check on you. I see your wedding dress has arrived. Did you try it on yet?” she asked excitedly.
Ellen shook her head no and fought back more tears.
“What’s wrong, Ellen? Don’t say that it’s nothing because I’ve known something was bothering you since the day I picked up Aaliyah from the mall. Tell me what’s going on.”
Ellen sat down on the couch and began blubbering again. “I called off my wedding. Semaj has changed. It’s like I don’t know him anymore. He’s become secretive, sullen, and mean. He’s lied to me and often ignores my phone calls. We had a big fight, and I told him that I couldn’t marry him,” she whimpered.
Deloris pulled her daughter into her arms and gently rubbed her back as she cried. Without saying a word she allowed Ellen to get it all out. When she thought she was ready to listen she finally spoke.
“What did Semaj say when you called off the wedding?”
“Nothing. I hung up on him after I said it. He didn’t even call me back to try to talk me out of it. He just let me go without even putting up a fight.”
Deloris took Ellen’s face into her hands and looked her straight in the eyes. “Do you love Semaj?”
Ellen sniffed loudly. “Of course I do, but . . .”
“No buts, that’s all I needed to know. Where’s your Bible?”
Confused, Ellen pointed in the direction of her bedroom. “It’s on the nightstand by my bed.”
“I’ll be right back.” Deloris went into Ellen’s bedroom and came back carrying her New Living Translation Bible. She flipped through the pages one by one, then finally stopped at a scripture. “Read this,” she instructed.
Ellen obediently took the Bible from her mother and began to read aloud. “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
“Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!”
She glanced up at her mother, and then remembered her Bible school training. “Thus, I have read 1 Corinthians 13:4–8. May the Lord add a blessing to the readers and doers of his Word.”
“Now tell me, have you been patient and kind with Semaj?”
Feeling shamed Ellen shook her head no.
“Have you been jealous, bragging, or arrogant?”
Ellen nodded to indicate yes and wiped away a tear.
“I don’t think I need to go any further. You understand what I’m getting at. You say that you love the man, but you also admit that you haven’t been acting like it.”
Closing the Bible and placing it back on the table, Ellen turned to her mother to protest. “Neither has he, Mom. He hasn’t acted like he loves me in several weeks.”
“You are not responsible for the way that Semaj acts. You are only responsible for the way that you act. Now if you could honestly say to me that you’d been acting like the strong Christian woman that I raised you to be, and he was acting a complete fool, then I’d applaud your decision to call off your wedding. But we both know that’s not the truth, is it?”
“No, ma’am,” she answered.
“Now dry up those tears, girl. Both you and Semaj are under a lot of pressure and stress with this upcoming wedding. I don’t know everything he’s said or done, but I believe that it all has a logical explanation. Be patient; give him some time. How are you going to have a long happy marriage if you give up after your first fight?”
Ellen grabbed a tissue from the box on the end table and blew her nose. “I guess you’re right, Mom. I didn’t even think about the pressure he must be under. He’s been swamped at work covering the disappearance of Wayne James in addition to his anchoring duties. I’m going to give him a call.”
“You don’t have to call him today. First, you need to meditate on this scripture and pray about the entire situation. Then when you’ve got a clear head, give him a call, and I bet everything will be fine. Besides, I’ve been living on nothing but Slim Fast and grilled chicken for two months to fit into my dress, so somebody is getting married.” Deloris laughed loudly, and then nudged Ellen until she laughed also.
Shortly after her mother left, Ellen gently picked up her wedding gown, placed it on a padded hanger, and carefully put it inside the custom garment bag she’d purchased. Then she hung it up in the back of her bedroom closet.
In order to relax and meditate on the scriptures her mother had given her, Ellen decided to draw herself a hot bath. She undressed, and then lowered her body into the tub to soak. As she lay there relaxing and praying, the Spirit led her back to her first date with Semaj.
Initially she was hesitant to go out with a news reporter. Watching the news each week, she’d developed a serious mistrust of all people in the media. While she was sure the majority of the stories they reported were true, Ellen also believed that much of what they reported was slanted in favor of the reporter’s views. It wasn’t until she found out about Semaj’s work with missing and exploited children and adults that she decided to give him a whirl.
The disaster with Butterbean, as well as a string of bad dates after that had soured her on allowing men to come to her apartment. So instead, she asked Semaj to meet her at the restaurant. That way, if things went badly, she would have her own car to escape in. Also as usual, she’d had someone meet her there as her backup plan. This time, she’d asked Melanie and Latisha to take a seat at the bar and observe. Ellen knew that her sorority sisters would not hesitate to walk right up to the table and rudely end the date if needed.
However, she should not have bothered. The date was amazing. The two of them found that they had many things that made them total opposites. While Ellen loved gospel music, jazz, and R&B soul, Semaj admitted to being a big fan of Christian rap, but Jay-Z was his favorite artist.
They both loved movies, but Ellen like horror and suspense films, while Semaj preferred comedies and action flicks. Even with those differences, they each felt that the other was the yin to their yang. Regardless of their taste in movies, books, and music, they shared the core values that mattered most. They were both Christians who believed that their faith in God and love for their families was more important than any material possession. They loved kids and both dreamed of being parents one day. Ellen felt safe in his presence, and something inside her told her that Semaj would not only be good to her, he’d also be good for her.
During dinner, he’d shared with her that his mother had died tragically while he was an infant, and he’d been raised by his grandparents. They were kind and loving people, and he’d had a wonderful childhood. He also shared that during the spring of his senior year in high school, both of his grandparents had been killed together in a terrible traffic accident caused by a truck driver who’d put in too many hours and fallen asleep at the wheel. As sad as it made him, Semaj told her that he realized it was for the best, as neither of them would have wanted to go on living without the other. Their love was an eternal one, and he hoped to be able to find the same kind of love some day. Ellen was so captivated by Semaj that she found herself swooning at the sound of his voice. Just in case her judgment was clouded by the number of horrible dates she’d had, she decided to excuse herself from the table to speak with her girls at the bar and get their opinion.
“That brotha is fine as frog’s hair,” Latisha said. “If you don’t want him, pass him my way.” She gulped down the last of her virgin strawberry margarita and signaled the bartender to bring her another one.
Good looks did not often impress her, but Ellen had to admit that Semaj was very attractive. His skin was light, although not as light as hers, and he had a very low, sexy, faded haircut that reminded her of Shemar Moore. He was almost six foot tall, and he had a slim but muscular build. When he smiled, his teeth were perfect and white behind full lips that she imagined were very soft. She had to admit, he was incredibly sexy.
“Of course he’s good looking. He works in television on the news,” she said. “The date is going so well. I just was feeling a little unsure of myself.”
“Get over it and get back over there,” Melanie said. “You’ve been praying for a good man for a long time, Ellen. I think Semaj is the answer to your prayers.”
Ellen had to agree with her. Semaj seemed to be the answer to all of her prayers.
From that night up until a few weeks prior, Ellen had never doubted that he was sent from God. Throughout their relationship, he had treated her with kindness and respect. Every Valentine’s Day, she received a bouquet of a dozen red roses, a cute and cuddly teddy bear, and a heart-shaped box of chocolates. Since they’d met, she’d celebrated her birthday three times and Semaj had made each one special. Once, he’d even baked her favorite chocolate caramel cake from scratch. He’d told her it was his grandmother’s recipe, but he wanted to do something special for her that no other man had ever done. They’d attended church service, revivals, and Bible Study together, and she knew that he was a man after God’s own heart. During their three-year courtship, he had never pressured her to have sex, and their love was pure and chaste. His track record with finding missing persons made him a local hero that was admired by everyone that knew him, and even those who didn’t. Some people who are successful talk about all the haters that they have in their lives, but as far as Ellen knew, there was not a soul who hated Semaj.
Lounging in her bathtub, she remembered all of that and suddenly realized that she’d overreacted to his current moods and made a terrible mistake.
She jumped out of the tub and dried off quickly, then put on her pink terry cloth robe. She sat on the edge of her bed and dialed Semaj’s number. As she waited for him to answer she tried to recite her apology in her head. After several rings she began to think that once again he was ignoring her phone calls, then someone picked up.
“Hello,” a woman said.
“Who is this?” Ellen asked.
“This is Gwen, who is this?”
Ellen hung up the phone without answering the question.
Chapter Thirteen
Jenise stood outside the door of the meeting hall trying to find the courage to walk in to her first support group for women who are victims of domestic violence. It had taken her years to get there, but she knew that it was the right thing for her, Reggie, and especially Aaliyah.
When her daughter walked in on Reggie hitting her, and then subsequently knocking her to the ground, there was no way that Jenise could make an excuse for it. She was lying on the floor stunned from the force of the blows as Aaliyah stood over her crying her little eyes out. In the past, whenever Reggie hit her, Jenise had been able to successfully hide her bruises from her daughter or tell her a fib to satisfy her questions. This time, there was no lie she could tell. Aaliyah had witnessed everything.
“Mommy, are you okay? Mommy, get up,” Aaliyah cried.
Trying as hard as she could, Jenise attempted to get up off of the floor and comfort her child.
“Aaliyah, get back in your room!” Reggie screamed.
“No, Mommy’s hurt,” she answered. Aaliyah reached for the phone. “I’m calling Auntie Ellen,” she said.
Reggie wasn’t about to let that happen, and he charged at his daughter, knocking the phone out of her hand. “I said, get back in your room!” he screamed even louder.
Aaliyah screamed loudly in fear and turned around and began running down the hall. Reggie knew there was another phone in the bedroom, and he ran after Aaliyah and snatched her up by her waist.
Still lying on the floor, Jenise could not see what was happening, but she heard her daughter screaming wildly.
“Let me go, Daddy. Let me go!” Aaliyah screamed.
A strength she didn’t know she had surged through Jenise’s body, and she got up off the living-room floor, ran into the kitchen, and grabbed the largest knife she could find. Then she followed the sound of Aaliyah’s screams down the hallway. As she walked into Aaliyah’s bedroom, she saw Reggie slap her violently across her tiny brown face.
“Leave her alone!” Jenise screamed.
Reggie turned toward the door and saw the blade of the knife pointed right at him. “What do you think you are going to do with that?” he asked.
“Get out of here now, or I will mess you up so bad, only Jesus will be able to save you,” Jenise threatened.
“Are you out of your freaking mind?” Reggie yelled.
Jenise didn’t know if she was out of her mind or not. All she knew was that he was hitting her daughter, and there was no way she would allow it. He’d hit her more times than she could remember over the years, and she’d taken it. He’d never laid a hand on Aaliyah. However, after seeing him slap her daughter across the face, the proverbial straw had broken the camel’s back, and Ellen was done taking abuse from Reggie.
“No, for the first time in years, I’ve found my right mind. Get out, Reggie, and don’t you ever come back!” she shouted.
He stared at her for a few seconds until he realized that she was deadly serious.
“You are gonna regret this, Jenise. You are going to be so sorry that you threatened me,” he said coldly as he backed out of the room.
“The only thing I’m sorry about is that I didn’t threaten your trifling butt sooner,” she answered. “Now get out!”
Reggie did as he was told and ran out of the apartment.
Jenise dropped the knife and rushed over to Aaliyah. A large bruise was beginning to form on her tiny face. Jenise picked up the phone and dialed nine-one-one. When the paramedics and police arrived, she told them everything, no longer feeling the need or desire to lie to protect Reggie.
The next morning while Jenise was at work and Aaliyah was at school, Reggie returned to the apartment with his younger brother, supposedly to pick up his things. After they’d packed all of his clothing Reggie went into the kitchen and noticed the knife that Jenise had threatened him with the evening before. In a fit of rage, he took the knife and stabbed holes in the couch, the mattresses in the bedroom, and anything that he could find that it would penetrate. Then he and his brother proceeded to trash the apartment. In the kitchen, they took flour from the cabinets, ketchup and mustard from the refrigerator, and floured and painted all of the furniture with it. They dumped all of the food out of the cabinets and the refrigerator onto the floor. Then one by one, they smashed all of the dishes. They took all of Jenise’s clothes as well as Aaliyah’s clothes from their closets and dressers and piled them in the bathtub. Then they ran the tub full of water and covered everything in bleach. They kicked holes in the walls and smashed up the furniture, leaving it splintered in little pieces.
