“Jeez, knock much?” she squealed as she turned around and stuffed her arms into her blouse.
“Shit, sorry. I thought you’d gone already,” Royal apologized. “Keshaun gave Precious a juice box and she squeezed it all over my shirt.”
She looked over her shoulder to note the bright purple stains on his pale blue shirt. She waved to the sink, “go ahead, clean off. I’m almost done.” She buttoned her shirt up, grateful she had pants on. He had seen her in her cheap cotton bra. He’d probably also seen the stretchmarks on her tummy. She wanted to melt into the floor in humiliation.
He grabbed a bunch of paper towel and began dabbing the shirt with water. He was silent as he worked, and she reached past him to collect the make-up she’d left sitting on the counter. “Excuse
Royal stared at the woman he’d been dating off and on for the last three years and wondered what it was which had attracted him to her. She was beautiful on the outside, there was no doubt, but the ugliness inside was currently blazing forth making his stomach churn with revulsion. His friends and family had never hidden their dislike for Ambrosia, but he had ignored their complaints because she had suited his lifestyle, and she wasn’t bad in bed.Keshaun had never failed to bash the woman and had said more than once he did not like the way Kara behaved in the presence of the domineering bitch. He had always laughed it off but right now, the rage boiling in his blood at her behavior today had him reeling.As he noted the little girl standing there with tears in her eyes from watching the scene unfold, he felt nauseated. “Leave.”“Excuse me?”“I said leave. I don’t care where you go, how you get there or how
By the time she got to the diner she was a certifiable wreck.Prince and Mindy were dead. Precious was the child she’d carried. Royal Robinson had known who she was before even coming to the gas station, of it she was certain, which meant it was highly probable so did Keshaun. Had it all been an elaborate ruse to fuck with her?And what was the craziness about Prince leaving a letter declaring his love? It had to be a misunderstanding. She forced herself to forget the one time he’d kissed her out of the emotions of finding out they were having a girl. He’d wanted a girl desperately and Mindy had been feeling under the weather. She hadn’t attended the ultrasound. When the technician had told them it was a girl and had left them alone, he’d been so excited, he’d kissed her full on the mouth. It had been less than a
She knew she had rendered him speechless as she sat waiting several long seconds for him to respond.“Why didn’t he tell me?”“I don’t know,” she drew her fork through the potatoes and grimaced. “I can’t begin to understand their minds. They lied to me so much it bordered a work of fiction.”“What do you mean?”“For starters, I thought they were from Pittsburgh. I had no idea they were from out of state.”“Mindy was originally from Pittsburgh. He met her when he’d gone to a football game.”“I knew how they met but I didn’t realize he had simply been visiting.” She shuffled, “they told me his brother’s name was Rick.”“Rick?”“Rick. You
A week later, Famke entered her apartment and grimaced at the mess of the kitchen table. “Bram?”“In here,” he called from down the hall in his bedroom.“Why is there white stuff all over the kitchen table?”“Because I’m stupid,” he grunted as he came back into the space tugging a shirt over his head. “Part of my midterm assignment for chemistry is to write about the reactions of certain products. I put a bit of vinegar into baking soda and instead of doing it in the sink, I did it on the table. I thought it would be a small reaction. I was wrong. It bubbled everywhere.”“Great,” she grimaced at the sight.“Don’t worry about it. It’s my mess. I’ll clean it. You got a parcel today. From New York.” He made wide
My dearest Famke,There isn’t a day which goes by I don’t think of you. The time we spent together were the happiest days of my life. Watching our daughter grow within you was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had. I only wish I had told you how much I loved you when I had the opportunity. Your selfless heart and kind soul was a true testament to the beauty you possess inside and out. Every day I watch our daughter and wish you could see how amazing she is. She is four now. There is you in her. I see it every day. She has a habit of pulling her lower lip, right in the center, between her teeth. You used to do this when you were thinking hard. She also has your dimple on her right cheek.I know taking her from you caused you pain. Forcing Mindy to raise a child which was not hers will remain my greatest regret in life. Despite how much she wanted a child, she wanted one of her own. Do not fret, my love. She
Famke knew the man was bound to show up sometime and when he arrived at her workplace six days later, it was while Kara and Keshaun were in the middle of another one of their fantastic arguments about him not appreciating how she needs the finer things in life.“Famke, weigh in here,” Kara dragged her into the argument. “If you could do Christmas in New York, you would right?”“You are asking the wrong person,” she shook her head. Avoiding the gaze of the man approaching the counter. “I have never been out of Pittsburgh, let alone the state. With my luck, I’d get pickpocketed or mugged within ten minutes of being in the Big Apple and lost within twenty. I once got lost in IKEA. New York does not appeal to me.”“If you could go anywhere?”“But I can’t
She flung herself into the chair opposite the desk as Royal followed close behind her and firmly shut the door.“You can’t keep coming to my work and harassing me.”“So where can I harass you?”“Very funny.”“You can’t keep avoiding me, Famke. We need to talk about this.”“Why? Why do we need to talk about anything?”“I’m angry.”“I did nothing to you!”“I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at my brother. I’m angry at my sister-in-law. I’m angry they left me with this mess to clean up.”“You mean raising your niece?”“No. I mean sorting through the mess of their marriage and their bullshit. My brother,” he s
“It’s weird,” Bram said as they stood in the entrance to their apartment block waiting for Royal to pick them up Friday morning. “He thinks in a weekend he can convince you to leave Pittsburgh behind to help him raise his niece?”“Yup.”“And you told him I had to come?”“I’m not leaving you alone.”“You do realize I’m eighteen. I don’t have to come. I could stay home alone.”“Five days before Christmas?”“It’s going to be weird.” Bram shifted uncomfortably. “What if you get attached to the kid and they change their mind? Prince did it. Why wouldn’t they?”She was starting to regret telling her brother a version of the truth when he’d turned sixteen and the rest now. Back then he had brought up a m
“Happy birthday, Famke,” Nyx shoved a box across the table.Famke opened the package and took to laughing. “No way.”“Is that my face?” Royal asked his eyebrows meeting in the middle.“Remember when you went to the doctor, and you were complaining how the mood swings aren’t getting better despite the medication adjustments and sometimes you wanted to punch Royal in the face for breathing loudly? Now you can.” Nyx was proud of herself as Famke showed off the children’s version of a stand-up punching bag, she’d specially ordered with Royal’s face on it.Royal took the box from her and grinned, “it’s saying something about my ego isn’t it, when I’m proud of the fact I’ve been made into a toy?” The table laughed at his comment. “You don’t need this, baby girl. We can duke it out anytime you like. Wrestling would be preferred.” His inuendo wasn’t missed by a single adult at the table and he rubbed his shin as the toe of her shoe connected with it. “Or keep the punching bag.”“Mine next,” C
“Precious, come on, let’s go!” Royal bellowed up the stairs looking for any sign of the child.“Just a minute!” she screeched back.“Mommy is going to ring my neck if we’re late.” He looked up and groaned his heart in his throat as she climbed a leg over the banister and slid down the rail with a loud cackle, her Disney princess underwear flashing him the entire way down. He caught her before she hit the knob at the bottom and swung her squealing into the air. “You’re going to give me a heart attack.”She clutched his neck, squeezing it tightly. “Throw me again, Daddy.”Ever since he told her he’d gotten approved to adopt her, Uncle Royal no longer existed. It had been two months since he and Famke gained sole custody of her, and he was thrilled. He was Daddy all the time. His brother was probably rolling in his grave, and it made it even sweeter. He threw her up in the ai
“So what?”“Those apron strings were hard to cut. You were angry when he married Mindy against your recommendations. Yet when he and his wife went through problems, he cried on your shoulder an awful lot, didn’t he.”“Yes. There’s nothing wrong with relying on your family.”“How many times did you say, ‘I told you so’ and make him feel badly for not following your advice?” He paused, “you would give him advice, correct?”“Yes, as any good mother would.” She partially answered the question.“Did you encourage him to take Mindy to Pittsburgh and source out a blonde, white woman to scam similar in size and posture to Mindy and steal their child from her?”“Objection!” the lawyer for Imani was on his feet and the judge agreed.The lawyer waved it off, “When did Prince tell you Mindy lied about being pregnant?&rdquo
Famke took her seat back next to Royal shaking with unbridled rage. The next several witnesses were the doctors and nurses and even the cop who once looked for Prince as a favor to his nurse wife on behalf of Famke. Yet she couldn’t stop the fury in her belly. Being accused of fooling around with a married man wasn’t sitting well with her. By the time the court recessed, she was a quivering mess. Royal pulled her to a quiet corner of the lobby and cupped her cheeks. “Breathe, baby girl.” “How fucking dare, he outright suggest, I was screwing around with Prince? Your mother put this nonsense into everyone’s head and it’s insulting.” “Yes, she did. We knew this shit was going to be thrown out there though. I know it hurts your feelings and your pride but they’re grasping at straws. They need to prove Mom wasn’t part of the kidnapping and they’ll fight dirty. I love you,” he didn’t look away from her. “No matter what the outcome in there is today, I love you.” “I love you too.” She
Famke sat with Royal behind the prosecutions side of the courtroom and bounced her foot nervously. Imani’s sister Amari was sitting across the aisle from them glowering at them.Cliff and Jubilee were sitting with Denny and Mary, Cliff’s parents on the other side of her and Royal and Cliff’s spine was straighter than steel.Famke was called to the stand as the first witness for the prosecution. After going through the spiel about telling the truth and reminding her she was under oath, the lawyer smiled gently.“Ms. Noor, can you tell me how it was you were first introduced to Mindy and Prince Robinson?”“Yes.” She cleared her throat. “My brother was at the Saint Mary’s hospital, in the specialized children’s ward undergoing cancer treatments ahead of a surgery. They were trying to reduce the size of his tumor with radiation and chemotherapy ahead of the surgery. I spent a lot of my time at the ho
A month later they were sitting in front of a judge in a barely comfortable room after the room was called into session. The judge smiled at Famke, Royal and then nodded at Imani. Their lawyers sat beside them, but the rest of the room was empty per the judge’s order. The entire process had been rushed given Imani’s upcoming criminal case and her lawyers wanted it settled before her trial.“I had a lovely conversation with Precious.” Judge Ringer began. “She is a lovely little girl.”“Thank you,” Famke smiled nervously as Royal rubbed her shoulder softly.“She adores you,” the woman looked to Famke directly. “We shared a good conversation about boundaries today. I don’t know many five and half year olds who know the word boundary, let alone have a clear understanding of what it means.”“Therapy,” Famke couldn’t fight the smile on her face. “We’ve un
Famke and Royal were sitting in the dining room of Black Magic after their visit to the lawyer’s office, facing Jubi and Cliff. Royal gripped his ever-present refillable tumbler, filled full of his favorite coffee Keshaun poured for him and he was clutching it like a lifeline.Famke’s heart ached for the three people at this table. They were flipping through the scrapbook after Royal pointed out what the lawyer noticed when she was looking through the photographs in the book. Neither Jubilee nor Cliff spoke for quite some time and Famke knew they were trying to process their emotions.Cliff’s phone rang and he looked at it and then declined the call.“Mom?” Jubi asked softly.“Yes. She hid this from me.” He said his voice cracking. “She knew all this time. It meant she even lied when we talked to her the other day, and she said she knew at Thanksgiving. She knew long before then.”“I belie
Famke sat with Royal in the lawyer’s office feeling dumbfounded. “You’re telling us she has a chance?”“Not a good one,” the lawyer sighed. “Pennsylvania has law which supports rights for visitation for grandparents.”“Even if they’re unfit?” Royal asked, clearly as perplexed as Famke.“Can you prove she’s unfit?”He rubbed his forehead. “Her husband of forty years just left her because she’s off her rocker.”“He left her because she’s unfit?”“He left her because she’s tearing her family apart with this bullshit,” Royal countered, frustration marring his face. “I thought this would be a slam dunk. Famke is her biological mother. I was appointed her legal guardian when Prince died.”“Yet,” the lawyer waived to the papers she was served, “Famke, you said you never intended to be
Famke paced while Royal was furiously staring at his mother’s face on the video call.“You’re suing us for custody?”“Yes. Famke doesn’t want her. She never intended to be her mother. You have banned me from seeing or talking to Precious. I have rights as a grandparent.”“As a grandparent. You forget, I was named legal guardian of Precious in Prince’s will.”“Yes, but it’s invalid because her biological mother is alive which means the legal guardianship is moot. My lawyer checked. Precious’s original birth certificate was registered at the hospital she was born. It lists her as the mother and him as the father. Your claim to Precious doesn’t mean anything since Famke is the listed parent and she’s alive and never gave up parental rights.”“Imani,” Cliff moved to stand behind Royal at the desk in the office. “You are tearing your family apart. Why? You are willing to go to such extremes to get your own way at the risk of losing Royal and Jubi? Me?”“There was a time this family stuck t