27. Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Remi
M y mother stared at me with tears in her eyes. Bless her heart, the woman knew how to tug at my emotions.
"What exactly are you accusin' me of, Remi?" She looked at my father, confused.
I'd asked my parents and Lani to be at my parents' place a day before Thanksgiving.
"Did you or did you not slap Echo around when she was a kid, Mama?"
My father had lost his shit when I told him what I learned from Echo. He'd known that Mama didn't like Echo, but physical abuse was something he didn't tolerate, and he was fuming.
"I never did that, and if she's accusing me—"
"Mama, you did," Lani interjected. "You did it in front of me."
"Lani Drake, hush your mouth with all these lies."
Lani looked weary. "No lies, Mama. You called her all sorts of names. I did, too. I have no excuse, and I own it; you should do the same."
"I don't even know why we're talking about Echo," my mother said haughtily. She leaned back on the sofa in the living room. My father was sitting next to her, but he didn't have his arm around her like he normally did.
Lani was in an armchair across from them, and I was in another.
"Cause I'm dating her." I dropped the bomb.
Lani smiled wanly. She'd already guessed. My father knew. My mother looked like I'd asked her to dance naked at the Germantown Festival.
"This is not funny, Remi. Your joke is in poor taste," Mama snapped.
My father rose and walked to the bar. He poured himself a drink and stayed there with his glass of what I suspected was a Tennessee whiskey.
"Dallas?" my mother protested.
"Honey, I'm having a lot of trouble with you hitting Echo."
"I never—"
"Stop," Dad cut in softly. "I don't know what you have against her. She's a sweet kid. She's nice. She works hard."
Mama flashed angry eyes at my father. "Oh, you don't, do you? You always sided with that little bitch. You think I didn't see how you looked down your nose at Lani; always saying how Echo is so amazing. How dare you? She's the daughter of a whore. She doesn't even know who her father is."
Dad looked confused as hell. "What the hell are you talking about, woman?"
"The first time you met Echo, you said you wished Lani was more like her," Mama threw at him.
"Yeah, because she was a straight-A student with a lot of ambition. I did wish Lani could be more like her. I didn't care about the grades, but if she had goals beyond marrying Tommy Fuckin' Spalding, I'd have liked that."
Lani squirmed. "In the spirit of absolute transparency. Tommy and I are not together anymore. He wants us to pretend through Thanksgiving at his parents' place, but I told him I couldn't do it."
"Congratulations," I said to Lani.
"What? What's goin' on with my children? My son says he's dating some half-black—"
"Stop." I sprang up. "Mama, here are my cards on the table. I asked Echo to come for Thanksgiving dinner so she could meet y'all as my girlfriend. Mind you, as soon as I can convince her, she'll be my wife. But if you, Mama, are going to speak that way about her, whether she's with me or not, I will not bring her over, and I won't come either."
This drew attention from my mother, father, and sister. Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas Eve dinner were sacred; no one missed them unless you were in the hospital with a broken leg. That had happened to me once, and my parents and sister had brought Thanksgiving to my hospital room.
"Marriage?" Mama looked like she was going to have a heart attack. "What?"
"Deal with it." I was done with this drama. Fuck, no wonder Echo was so worried about my mother. She knew her better than we all did, obviously.
"I can't have the help show up as a future family member," Mama declared, her arms crossed.
"Then I'll be spending the holidays with my girlfriend and future fiancée and wife," I announced, rising. It crushed me that her hate for people that she saw as coming from a lower station was bigger than her love for me.
"Do you think I can join your Thanksgiving dinner, Remi?" Lani asked tentatively. "Echo makes a mean stuffing."
Something was going on with my sister. It wasn't a complete about-face, but she seemed to have spent some time thinking about who she had become and what choices she'd made. Probably just as I had.
"Absolutely." I patted her shoulder, feeling proud of her.
"You do that, Lani Drake; you will be completely cut off from any money you're getting from us," my mother thundered.
"That's fine, Mama," Lani said sadly, standing up. "I think it's time I paid my own bills, don't you?"
That was the bravest thing I'd ever heard my sister say, and I grabbed her in for a hug. "So proud of you, sis," I whispered.
"Actually, Sierra, you're probably gonna be alone for the holidays," Dad spoke softly, but I could hear the iron in his voice.
"What's that supposed to mean, Dallas?" Mama's lips quivered, and her eyes filled with tears; this time, I could see that they were genuine.
Dad was always on her side. He didn't raise his voice at her. They didn't fight. All in all, he indulged her. But she'd crossed a line for him and hadn't even realized it. All their marriage, he'd given her whatever she wanted and put up with her pettiness, as we had, but this was a bridge too far. My happiness wasn't something Dad was going to fuck around with.
"That means, Sierra, that if you can't accept Echo as Remi's girlfriend and future wife, then we as a couple are not going to make it."
The flat tone of his was filled with grief. I didn't want my parents to break up, not because of me—but I didn't think that was all this was. I realized that Dad was finally tired of having a wife who cared more about social standing than her own children.
"I've been there for Echo since she came to us," Dad continued, "And I know you hated that. You tried to get me to stop helping her, but the truth is, Sierra, I didn't help her. She took care of herself. I didn't hire her because I was being nice to her; hell, I had to compete to bring her into GeneVerse. You never believed that."
My mother looked at him in shock. Everything she ever held true seemed to be floating away from her. "You always had a soft spot for the servants, Dallas, and I—"
"They work harder than you ever had to," Dad cut in. "Fern may not have been a loving person, but she worked with her hands and damn hard. Echo is more successful than your children; hell, I'm grooming her to take over as CEO of GeneVerse when I'm ready to retire."
Anger gave way to shock, and my mother stood up, her fists on her hips, her eyes throwing daggers. "Dallas Drake, you won't be doin' that when we have two children who will inherit your business."
"They'll inherit my stock, sure, but not the company, not as CEO," My father persisted, "How can they? Neither of them understands what we do. Echo is a scientist and a damn good one. I think in ten years or even less, she's going to be a strong leader."
"You can't do this, Dallas," Mama was flustered because he was right; neither Lani nor I had a scientific bone in our bodies. Dad had never pushed us to study what he was passionate about. He let us find our own way and supported us; hell, he supported Lani financially so she could move out of our parent's home and be able to live her life the way she was used to. But that didn't mean we could run his company. I wouldn't even know where to start.
"It's my company, Sierra, I can do whatever the fuck I want."
"How dare you speak to me like that?" When Dad didn't respond, Mama turned to me, and I could see her eyes turn malicious. "She just wants you for your money, Remi. You know that, right?"
"That's fine with me," I replied, "I'll give her anything I have to keep her with me."
"What is goin' on with y'all?" Mama cried out. "What has this girl done to my family?"
Lani burst out laughing inappropriately, and when Mama glared, she smothered her amusement. "Come on, Mama, this ain't nothin' to do with Echo. This is about Remi growing up and realizing there's more to life than being a Drake. I'm still gettin' there. I reckon it's gonna take me a little longer. I don't want to be married to a man like Tommy who lives off his father, has no spine, and sticks his dick into—"
"Lani Marie Drake," Mama raged, "Mind your language."
"—his dick into any slut who comes along," Lani continued. "The worst part of it is that I felt just fine cheating on him 'cause he was doin' it to me. Look at us. Marina cheated on Remi. He hurt Echo. Tommy sleeps around. I slept with Kate's fiancé. Is this what it means to be rich and elite? That we have no moral compass?"
Mama shook her head, and I knew she was struggling to process what was happening to her family. Echo had been a catalyst for me, and I was grateful for it. I knew what it meant to love someone with all my heart and be loved for who I was, my authentic self, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Before, I didn't know how freeing that was, so I didn't appreciate it, but now I'd fight the world to keep Echo with me, to stay with her.
Mama dropped back on the couch. Her shoulders slumped, and she looked small and bereft. I wanted to soothe and comfort her, but I also knew that was not how she'd learn to be the woman I needed her to be so we could be a family. Not a for- show family but a real one where we were honest with one another and not constantly worried about saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.
"Lani, Remi, you guys should head out." Dad gave Lani a kiss on her forehead and patted my shoulder. "I think your Mama and I need to have a conversation."
"Dallas," Mama whimpered, "I need my babies at home for the holidays."
My heart went out to her, and I saw that same pain reflected in my father's eyes. He sat down next to Mama. She immediately turned to him, hiding her face in his chest, sobbing. He stroked her back. "We'll figure this out, Sierra."
"Dad?" I asked.
He smiled, shaking his head. "It's going to be alright," he assured Lani and me. "I'll call you about tomorrow."
I put my arm around Lani and walked her out of the living room. At the doorway, I turned back to look at my parents. "Mama, I love you. I'll always love you."
She cried harder at that.
I hated hurting her, but I also knew that this had to be done, and not just because of Echo—because it was the right thing to do.