Chapter Six Breaking News
May 2022
Olivia whispered a quick prayer that all would go well for her first public outing. She pressed the ignition, laughing when she recalled CJ’s joke about New Yorkers’ aggressive driving.
It simply wasn’t true. Most car owners lived in the suburbs and rarely burdened themselves with the bumper-to-bumper grind in the city. And those who lived in the city took the subway.
Growing up in the suburbs of New Jersey, she’d had a typical suburban driving education. When Cindy tried to teach Olivia how to drive, she quickly realized her nerves weren’t up to teaching her headstrong daughter. Olivia was embarrassed when she was forced to use a class credit for Driver’s Ed, since the class was for students who couldn’t learn from their parents or who failed their license test.
The teacher, Mr. Giovani, did not tolerate what he called a “rude driver.” Decorum had been part of the overall score—no rolling eyes or cursing or blaring of the horn was allowed, not even when it was justified.
But if CJ ever drove with one of her godsisters, Billie or Perry, at the wheel, he’d be scared out of his mind.
Olivia quickly found the coffee shop, using her father’s directions rather than her phone app. She parked the car and found the small square building sandwiched between a barber shop and a nail salon in a busy plaza. Olivia craved a piece of Ghirardelli chocolate with sea salt after smelling the dark roast, chocolate, and salt.
She pushed open the door and immediately slid into the short line in front of the counter. Toward the back of the room sat six women of varying ages, books either clutched in their hands or scattered on the low table. Olivia immediately recognized the distinct royal blue with a gold hair pick comb on the cover of The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris.
Olivia placed her order and then drifted near the book club, pretending to look around the coffee shop.
“I liked the book and all, but now I can’t use grease or drink tea.”
An older woman who sat in the center of the group, near the wall, raised an eyebrow. “Now what are you talking about, Kelli?”
“I mean, I can no longer trust those products after this book and after watching Get Out. These social justice–slash–thrillers need to choose something I don’t care about. Like a macaron.”
One woman clutched her nonexistent pearls. “Speak for yourself. Those French almond cookies are delightful.”
Olivia’s lips twitched at her reaction, though she’d have to agree with the stranger. She fell in love at fourteen years old when Ama took her, Billie, and Perry to London’s Louis Vuitton store, where they were served tea and macarons while they waited.
“Is that why you switched to coffee?” another woman asked.
“Yes!” Kelli responded. “I just can’t bring myself to stir in cream,” she said with a shudder.
The other women laughed at her joke.
While crocheting a scarf, a woman with salt-and-pepper hair said, “That’s why you can’t use random hair grease.”
Olivia smiled. Crocheting a scarf was an interesting choice given the season.
“Ladies,” tsked the woman in the center, who looked to be the leader of the book club, “let’s stay on topic.”
“This is on topic,” argued Kelli, the conspiracy theorist.
“Our questions.” The book club leader slapped a piece of paper with the back of her hand. “I put a lot of effort into pulling these together.”
“Google is free,” Kelli muttered.
“I’m this close to kicking you out.” The older woman pressed her thumb and index fingers so close together that Olivia was sure there was only an infinitesimal space between them. “You better be glad your mom is my friend.”
Kelli stood and gave her a hug. “You know you love me, Aneesa.”
“I suppose, since I’m your godmother and all.”
Kelli patted her shoulder and returned to her seat.
“Okay, now back to my questions.” Aneesa opened a gorgeous aquamarine-and-gold notebook and clipped the printed page inside the folder.
“I found it interesting that the author chose hair grease instead of a chemical relaxer. Do you have any theories on why the author made that choice?”
The women were quiet for a moment. Some of them picked up their mugs and sipped. Olivia leaned in closer. She wanted to hear their perspectives, especially since she stopped her relaxers and went natural just the summer before.
“Come now. I told you we were going to be an actual book club this summer.” Aneesa scanned the faces of her lackluster book club members. “We have to read the book and answer questions. Not just drink tea and coffee and gossip.”
A woman who sat next to her raised a hand as if she were in school.
“Yes, Dana,” said Aneesa.
“I think it’s the lower barrier of entry, right? No one’s going to put something chemical in their hair, especially when Black women are moving away from relaxers.”
Kelli removed her fingers from across her closed mouth. “But wouldn’t it have been an interesting choice?” She pursed her lips. “You straighten your hair to fit into a certain standard? No one’s asking you about your interesting hairstyle. No one wants to touch your hair if it looks like theirs.”
There were no comments after Kelli spoke her piece.
Aneesa’s attention drifted toward Olivia, who quickly pivoted on her heels and turned to face the counter. Surely it didn’t take this long for a salted caramel macchiato.
“Hey you,” Aneesa yelled.
Olivia wasn’t sure if Aneesa was addressing her, so she didn’t turn around.
“The pretty young thing in the yellow blouse,” Aneesa sang in a yoo-hoo voice. “Turn around, please.”
Okay, so she is speaking to me.
Olivia slowly turned around, tilted her head, and then pointed to her chest.
“Yes, you who’s listening over there.” Aneesa waved at Olivia to come closer.
“You seem like you have something to say, and as you can see, no one is answering my very thought-provoking questions.”
“Hey!” Kelli protested.
“I’m Aneesa Wilson.” The woman gave Olivia a wide smile. It may have been the freckles smattering her chestnut brown face, but she seemed open and friendly.
“This is Lydia, and Carol.” She pointed to the women seated beside her. “The one with the big mouth over there is Kelli. Beside her is Dana. We are the members of the Highland Beach Bookworms.”
“Working title,” Kelli muttered.
“It’s decided. We’ve already voted,” Aneesa snapped. She reapplied her smile when she turned to focus again her attention on Olivia. “Anyhow, what’s your name?”
“I’m Olivia J... Olivia.” She stopped herself from saying her last name.
“Olivia J. Sounds like a DJ.” Kelli mimicked scratching a record.
“I assure you, I have no talent for spinning records.”
“Olivia J... oh!” Aneesa’s eyes stretched wide. “Janice mentioned an Olivia at the mayor’s office today. She, um... popped by earlier for coffee.”
Wow. Janice really got the word around.
“Yes. I’m working with the mayor to see how we can replicate the strategies you’ve used for Highland Beach to protect other historic Black neighborhoods.”
“And you’re related to the Jones family,” Aneesa surmised.
“Hmm, yes. Well, I’d better get my—”
“So back to my question. Using a natural product is an interesting choice, right?”
Olivia nodded. “The Other Black Girl was actually one of my favorite reads. It’s deliciously subversive. I think using hair grease, something we are familiar with and grew up with, is a brilliant choice. Especially when many of us now view natural hair care as a way to reclaim our natural beauty. It’s insidious... and genius.”
“Very astute, Olivia Jones.” Aneesa smiled. “You want some wine?”
“Oh, I... didn’t realize they sold wine.”
“They don’t.” Aneesa lifted a bottle from a red tote bag. “We bring our own. You should join us next time. Next up is Island Queen by Vanessa Riley.”
“I’ll do that,” she agreed. Though by the time they meet next, they may not want me to join. She shook off the melancholy and exchanged phone numbers and email addresses with Aneesa.
“Olivia! Salted caramel macchiato,” a young man shouted from behind the counter.
“That’s my order. I’ll see you later.”
“Oh, please sit. You haven’t had any wine yet.” Aneesa pointed to the bottle of Catena Zapata malbec.
Olivia leaned over and whispered, “That wine won’t force me to smile more or make me ‘not see color,’ right?”
The women laughed, but Kelli responded, “Oh, it’ll make you smile, all right.”
Olivia took a glass, and the women moved on from the book to chatter about their families.
“The Nelsons will be here next week. You know Selene had that surgery, so they had to delay it.”
“Oh, that’s good. She deserves some rest, poor thing, after her husband died.”
Dana turned to face Olivia. “How’s our mayor doing? I haven’t seen him out and about as much.”
“I... think he’s doing fine, I suppose.” Olivia shrugged. “N-not sure why he isn’t as social.”
“Oh, now, I wouldn’t call Mayor Jones a social man.” Dana shook her head, but her straightened bob never moved a strand. “He can carry a conversation, but he’s more action oriented. Which is good, because we need someone to fight for us.”
“Hmmm. He’s social enough. Saw him out a few months ago with Lauren Miles,” whispered Lydia, a short woman with even shorter hair. “Then last year it was that young girl.”
“Wait a minute. Back up to Lauren.” Kelli leaned closer. “I feel like I’ve been out of the loop. They’re dating now?”
Lydia shrugged. “I saw them at a few events together. Once at dinner in downtown Annapolis. I’m telling you, Lauren is smitten.”
“And CJ?” Aneesa asked. Olivia noticed she was the only one who addressed him without the honorific.
“Seems like he’s biding his time. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think our mayor was in love with Riley either, but he and Lauren have no chemistry, if you ask me.” Lydia shrugged. “Meanwhile, Lauren is buddying up with Christine. You know how she is about her son.”
Carol sucked her teeth. “Intimately.”
Lydia looked around and then leaned forward. “Well, seems like she has Christine’s blessing and—”
“Ladies, are we going to talk about the book or gossip?” Aneesa cut in.
Kelli gazed at the ground as if she were thinking. Then they all looked at each other and grinned. “Gossip!” They clinked their glasses together and chattered more about the good residents of Highland Beach. Thankfully, the conversation drifted from the mayor to other people who were coming in for the summer.
“Do you have any little ones, Olivia?” Dana’s voice boomed, grabbing everyone else’s attention.
“You have kids?” Carol asked. “How old? Which chapter of Jack and Jill are they affiliated with?”
“Oh, I... no kids just yet.” Though she thought of Zora, who would do well in Jack and Jill, an organization run by Black mothers to shape future leaders in the African American community. “But I have a goddaughter, and I think I’ll talk to her father about joining the nearest chapter.”
“What about her mother?” Kelli asked.
“She passed away when she was a baby.” Olivia smiled. “She’s such a sweetheart. If you have any recommendations for affiliations near Sag Harbor, I’ll be sure to pass that along.”
Carol took her contact information and promised to email her details. After about another hour, they ended the meeting. Before Olivia could leave, Aneesa tapped her shoulder.
“Do you have a few minutes to talk?” Aneesa asked once the other women had filed out of the building.
“Sure... of course.”
“Okay, good.” Aneesa waved at the sofa. She looked around and then finally settled her warm, chocolate eyes on Olivia.
“I know who you are.”
Olivia stiffened on the oversized sofa. After absorbing Aneesa’s shocking news, she stood to leave, but when the older woman reached out to touch her knee, she settled back down.
“I’m not here to threaten you, and I don’t gossip. Well, not in a bad way,” she amended.
“I know Cindy,” Aneesa went on. “I was her best friend growing up. In fact, I helped her choose your name. We kept in touch for a few years after she left the area, but then, when your... when Chris passed away, she and I fell off. I should’ve tried harder, but I—”
“You know my mother?” Olivia repeated in shock. She should’ve known someone would know Cindy.
“Yes. How is she?”
“She’s good. Really good.” Olivia wasn’t sure if she should share the fact that her mother was back in Highland Beach.
“I’m glad. I miss my friend.” She shook her head as if she were disappointed in something. Herself, maybe? “I should have been there for her.” Aneesa’s words confirmed Olivia’s guess.
“I should’ve... insisted she come back home after everything. We would’ve taken care of her... and you.”
“We?”
“Me, your grandmother, God rest her soul. This community. We take care of our own, even if Christine would’ve had a conniption.”
Olivia tilted her head, recalling her mother’s words, though she couldn’t remember how Cindy felt about Highland Beach. She’d grown up nearby in Annapolis. Cindy once told her that to travel to the exclusive beach town, she either borrowed her mother’s car or asked CJ and Chris for a ride. She’d been clear about Christine and CJ, but the community itself? Olivia couldn’t say. But knowing Cindy, Olivia thought she would’ve assumed that the community, since she technically did not live there, would side with Christine.
“Does anyone else in Highland Beach know about my mother’s pregnancy?” Cindy had shared that although some people might remember her, they didn’t know about Olivia, since she stayed away from Highland Beach during her pregnancy.
Obviously, that wasn’t true. Aneesa was living proof.
The woman shook her head, leaning forward. “She knew tongues would wag, so she stayed away,” she answered, lowering her voice. “If she’s worried about coming back, those who would recognize her would remember her only as the girl who dated CJ for a few summers.
“I hope this question isn’t too intrusive,” Aneesa added, “but I thought about you and Cindy often over the years.” She nibbled her bottom lip. “Were you both okay back then?”
Olivia’s defensive armor slipped away, and she wondered what it would have been like if Cindy had stayed in Highland Beach. “We did just fine in New Jersey. We had some amazing people who helped us. They were like family to me.” She thought back on all the things Omar and Ama had done for them. For Omar, that generosity was born out of guilt: he’d made an honest mistake and revealed Chris as a whistleblower while working for the police force. But over the years his guilt was transformed into love, as Olivia knew now, and remembering that filled her heart with comfort.
“What is Cindy doing now?”
Olivia internally debated. She’d like to confirm Aneesa’s purported best friend status before she divulged more details about her mother.
When Olivia didn’t respond, Aneesa pointed her finger. “Okay, Fort Knox. I’ll let you keep your secrets. Just give your mother my number and tell her she had better call me. We’ve got twenty-five years of catchup to do.”
The drive home had been quiet and contemplative. Olivia had been shocked by Aneesa’s immediate recognition of her. She was also shocked by the conversation surrounding Lauren Miles. CJ really needed to make sure his slate was squeaky clean before pursuing her mother. She didn’t want her mother labeled a pariah, or “the other woman.” And no matter what Aneesa had said about benign gossip, it was never fun being on the receiving end.
She parked the car and found her mother seated at the table alone, eating a salad. Cindy wiped her mouth and greeted Olivia, while looking over her daughter’s shoulder. Olivia knew who her mother was waiting for, though she would never admit it.
Olivia glanced at her watch. It was just past eight o’clock, but she didn’t really know the mayor’s hours.
“He had to stay a bit later.” Olivia answered her silent question. “I actually went into town, grabbed a coffee, and I...” She walked to the table and sat across from her mother. “I ran into one of your old friends.”
“A friend?” Cindy looked genuinely confused. Olivia’s stomach dropped. Was that woman a charlatan?
“Aneesa.”
“Aneesa!” Cindy clapped a hand over her mouth. She let out a muffled cry.
“She claimed you two were best friends.”
Cindy nodded, with her hand still covering her mouth. She rocked in her seat, as if someone had tugged a thread that unraveled her balance.
Olivia reached into her purse and pulled out the folded sheet of paper. “She wants to reconnect.”
Cindy lowered her hand and grabbed the paper with shaking fingers. “I’ll call her.” Her lips pulled down into a frown. She looked worried, sad.
“For what it’s worth, Aneesa really wants to talk to you. I don’t think she’ll give you too hard of a time. She just misses you.”
“I shut her out.” Cindy licked her lips. “I... I knew if I contacted her, if we talked like we used to do, that she’d call me out. I know she wouldn’t recognize me.”
“You changed a lot?”
Cindy laughed. “A little. Now, I’ve never been what you’d call a warm person. I’ve always been a little closed off.” She huffed. “I am an open-and-shut case of having daddy issues.”
“You do?” Cindy rarely talked of her mother and hadn’t said a peep over the years about her father.
“Your grandfather left me and your grandmother, Eileen, high and dry. He had an entire other family somewhere in Virginia, and I guess he loved them best because he left us. Told us he had to make a choice and that he was very sorry, but he couldn’t handle two households.”
Deep down, Olivia had known there was something awful about her grandfather. And now, learning this about him, she had an even better understanding of why CJ’s actions were so painful for her mother.
Once, in the natural curiosity of a ten-year-old, Olivia had asked about her grandfather after Cindy shared a sweet memory about Olivia’s grandmother during Christmastime.
“Your grandfather is dead. And good riddance,” Cindy said, with so much venom in her voice that Olivia was too afraid to speak for the rest of the day.
Still, Cindy’s revelation was shocking as it rolled over her. Taking a page from Dr. LaGrange, Olivia simply waited for her mother to share more at her own pace. Cindy laughed—a pitiful and small laugh. “I became a woman that day. After that, I trusted men as far as I could throw them, and at twelve years old... it wasn’t very far,” she said, shaking her head. “But Aneesa... I trusted her. She made me believe in goodness again.”
“You’ll call her?”
“I will,” she answered in a decisive tone. “Tomorrow evening.”
Olivia was happy for her mother and Aneesa. They’d have so much to catch up on, and Aneesa would be excited about Cindy being at Highland Beach. But she’d want to meet up, of course, and then... Olivia’s stomach dropped. Then maybe her mother would run into Lauren, or maybe Aneesa would mention her to Cindy.
She glanced at her mother, who stared at the paper with Aneesa’s phone number.
Olivia cleared her throat. “I think you should know that there is a rumor going around that CJ is dating another woman,” Olivia blurted out. “Her name is Lauren Miles. And he was in a relationship about a year ago with someone on his staff. She was... younger. But she’s out of the picture now. As is Lauren Miles.”
Cindy flinched at this news, but then seconds later her face went blank.
“Same old CJ.” She shook her head. “Yes, I didn’t trust men, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t attracted to them.”
“I spoke with CJ,” Olivia began, “and—”
Cindy waved a dismissive hand. “Did you know Aneesa and I met him and Chris on the same day?”
Olivia shook her head. Of course, she didn’t. Her mother rarely, if ever, spoke of Chris and CJ. It was as if she’d jammed all her hurt feelings in a mason jar and tossed it to the bottom of the ocean.
“Aneesa and I lived in the same apartment complex in Annapolis. We were in eighth grade, called ourselves ‘grown,’ and went down to Venice Beach to see some boys we met at the mall. That’s when we met Chris and CJ.” Her mother wore a dreamy smile on her face.
She didn’t know her mother could be so soft and so loving. A year ago, she would’ve argued that Cindy was too practical to dream. Shame chased that errant thought away. Olivia, of all people, understood the hidden emotional depths of a Black woman. Why share the pain when the world had shown little care for your feelings?
“Chris was running around with friends and stopped in his tracks. Then he introduced himself as if I was supposed to know who he was or be impressed.” Cindy laughed.
“He was friendly, chatting away. He bought me a popsicle and introduced me to CJ, but he didn’t have to. I saw him... felt him staring at me,” she whispered, more to herself it seemed, and so low that Olivia wondered if Cindy realized what she’d been sharing.
“That’s how I spent my weekends that summer. Me, Aneesa, Chris, and CJ. Some other friends, too. Chris was dating some stuck-up girl at the time, but they broke up when she went back home for the school year. Then Chris and I became closer. Best friends. He’d often drive to see me when he got his license.
“Christine loathed me. I think she knew what I didn’t realize back then.” Cindy looked up from her salad at Olivia with wet eyes. “That Chris loved me, but I had my eyes, my heart, fixed on CJ.” Cindy’s voice hitched. “Stupid me. I could’ve been loving Chris the entire time instead of falling for a boy, for a man, who would break my heart time and time again.”
“Mom...”
Cindy reached out and squeezed Olivia’s hand. “Thank you for telling me about Lauren.”
“We don’t know anything concrete just yet. It’s just gossip. Hearsay. CJ himself told me they aren’t anything serious.” Olivia’s heart thumped. Maybe she should’ve waited. She’d done this before with Perry and royally screwed up. She’d done it with her friend Kara, too.
Would she ever learn to just shut her mouth?
I can fix this.
“Mom, listen to me.” She squeezed her mother’s hand.
Cindy shook her head.
“No, please listen to me. This is important, okay?”
Cindy’s dark and weary eyes focused on Olivia. “Okay.”
“I didn’t tell you about Lauren so you’d retreat. I told you so you could be prepared for the whispers. You should be fully aware when you eventually go into town.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does. Because you matter to me and to CJ. He doesn’t know how to reconnect with you. He’s made it abundantly clear to you and to me what his intentions are. He stood up to Christine and left when she disrespected you. If he could, I’d bet he would shout how he feels from the rooftops.” Olivia sighed, realizing her own role in this.
Olivia didn’t want him to acknowledge their existence because she was afraid of the backlash.
I’m tired of secrets.
Secrets had a shelf life. What’s more, it became so much worse when the owner of the lie didn’t bring them to light.
CJ wanted to own that he abandoned his family, but Olivia wouldn’t let him. And now, the shame Olivia harbored around her birth created distance between them.
She hated the distance, and she wanted to get to know her father openly, without restrictions.
“I have to give him permission to talk about us,” Olivia said slowly, accepting what she must do.
“I’m scared,” Cindy admitted.
“Me, too. But we must be brave.”
Cindy surprised her with a quick hug. “You have a good heart, Olivia Jones.”
Olivia sat frozen at first, but then finally squeezed back when Cindy didn’t let go.
“It takes a lot of work. A lot of... therapy.”
“Well, I hope it helps me. I feel like I’m just unearthing a lot of old and painful memories right now.”
“It is working,” Olivia assured her mother. “A year ago, you wouldn’t have shared about your past. You couldn’t speak about Chris without shutting down.”
“So we’re going to do this? Strut around Highland Beach and tell the world you’re the mayor’s daughter.”
“And Cindy’s daughter, too.” A rush of nervous energy made her entire body shake. She drummed her knees with her fingers to relax her nerves. “We’ll need to talk to CJ and Alan to see how they want to handle the communications.”
Cindy nodded, and then finally she smiled wide and slow like the Cheshire Cat revealing its presence to Alice.
The change of heart surprised Olivia. “You’re happy about this?”
“Oh, I just thought about Christine’s reaction.” Cindy widened her smile. “I’m looking forward to it.”
They both laughed. Her mother stood. “If you’re hungry, there’s salad in the fridge. I think I’m going to get in some rest.” She stretched her arms overhead. “Tell CJ I’ll talk to him early tomorrow morning. I think we should craft a plan as soon as possible.”
Olivia agreed. “I’ll let him know if he’s here before I go to bed.”
By the time Olivia ate the salad and showered, she was drooping like an unwatered plant left in the sun. It had been a long and emotionally draining day, and she just wanted to nod off. CJ texted to let her know he was still at the office, catching up on paperwork that was due in the morning.
She let him know that she and Cindy wanted to catch him before work the next day. He replied with a thumbs-up.
Olivia slept, but not without strain and worry. She didn’t know what to expect from Highland Beach, but she hoped the community would be accepting.
She woke up the next morning to a hurried knock. Opening the door, she found CJ’s frowning face, heated eyes, and clenched jaw.
“Good... morning?” Olivia greeted him with a question in her voice.
CJ grunted.
“I still don’t understand your grunting.”
“It means...” she heard Cindy’s voice from behind CJ, “that someone beat us to our announcement.”
CJ tapped his phone and showed it to Olivia. She recognized the Highland Beach newspaper’s Facebook page. Her attention snagged on an anonymous comment.
There was a picture of Olivia laughing with the Highland Beach Bookworms. The poster had circled her face in red with the comment:
This is Olivia Jones, Mayor Jones’ child. @Highlandbeachmayor Why hide your daughter? Are you ashamed?
Olivia’s eyesight went blurry. This was a nightmare.
“Oh my God.” It had to be Aneesa. Olivia shook her head. No, Aneesa was in the picture, though the poster had been kind enough to blur her face. It was someone else. Someone had suspected her identity and followed her into Main Market. The same someone she thought she felt following her to CJ’s job and watching her when she used his car to drive to the coffee shop.
Her body went cold with the realization. Someone really had been following her.
“What do we do?” She lifted her head and met CJ’s heated stare.
“How do you feel? Are you okay?”
Olivia stepped back into her room and sat on her unmade bed. She shook her head, gathered herself close, and curled into a ball. She wasn’t ready to reveal her identity—not like this.
“I’m fine.” The lie tumbled out of her mouth with ease. She was not okay. Not even close.