Chapter twenty-five
Caine
“Do you want to go to the fashion show tonight?” I asked.
Devyn looked up from her phone with a face that made me think I had crossed a line. “Uh, no.” She scrunched up her face like something stank. “Why would I wanna go there?”
The answer came so fast I almost laughed.
“Maybe because you love fashion,” I said with a hopeful smile.
“I do, but I have no desire to be around that woman,” she said.
“She’s still your mother.”
“Correction, she’s the woman who deserted me,” Devyn stated.
“Devyn.”
“What?”
“You didn’t even think about it,” I said.
“Because I already know my answer.”
I leaned against the dresser in her bedroom with my arms over my chest. “Sweetheart…”
“What? You knew I would say no, so I don’t even know why you bothered asking me,” she said as she tossed her phone on the bed. “When I told you I never wanted to see her again, I meant it.”
I sighed heavily. “I know you’re upset.”
“You don’t know how I feel,” she countered.
The words hit harder than I expected them to. Devyn folded her arms across her chest.
“That woman walked up to me like we were old friends. Like she knew me and had a right to speak my name,” she spat.
“Devyn…”
“No, Daddy.” She shook her head adamantly. “I am not interested in any fashion shows, coffee, lunch, dinner, brunch or whatever else she wants to do.”
We both fell quiet and I finally nodded.
“Okay.”
Her expression softened slightly, but not that much. “Okay?”
“Yeah, okay.” I shrugged.
She looked surprised, probably because she expected an argument, but I honestly didn’t have one. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do myself. But one thing was clear. No matter what I decided, Devyn didn’t want anything to do with Monique.
Several hours later, I found myself sitting inside one of the fanciest hotels I had ever been in, which was saying a lot because I had been to a lot of five-star hotels. But this one was on a whole other level.
The ballroom buzzed with energy… photographers were everywhere. The faces of designers were plastered everywhere. Wealthy people dressed in clothing that probably cost more than most cars. And I knew Monique would fit right in.
I sat quietly through the show… watching, thinking and trying to make sense of things. Then she appeared… confident, elegant and beautiful.
Just like she always had been. The years had changed her, but not much. For a second, I saw the young woman I had fallen in love with all those years ago. Then the moment passed. And I remembered exactly how that story ended.
After the show ended, people flooded the ballroom. I actually considered leaving. I stood up to do just that when somebody approached me.
“Mr. Vaughn.”
I turned around to see Monique’s husband, Corbin. He smiled and extended his hand.
“Nice to see you again.”
I shook it. “Yeah. You too.”
The interaction was polite, awkward and adult. I could be cordial with the man. I had nothing against him. Then my eyes drifted towards the little boy standing beside him.
The kid looked between the ages of eight and ten. He had brown skin, curly hair, and a stylish little designer suit. The boy glanced up from his tablet. I guess he was curious to see who the man was talking to.
“Your son?” I asked.
Corbin’s entire face lit up the way proud fathers did. “Yeah.” He rested his hand on the kid’s shoulder. “This is Lucas.”
The boy smiled politely and said, “Hi.”
“Hey there,” I greeted with a smile.
Something twisted in my chest. Then before I could think too hard about it, Monique appeared. She was still wearing makeup and glowing from the show. The second Lucas saw her, he jumped up and ran towards her.
“Mommy!” he called out excitedly.
My stomach dropped. Monique laughed and hugged him tightly.
“You did great Mommy!”
“Thank you baby.”
Baby.
The word echoed in my head. I couldn’t stop staring and thinking as my mind wandered. I had never seen Monique like that… in mommy mode. And suddenly there she was doing it naturally and effortlessly like she had done it a thousand times before.
Monique looked up and caught me watching.
For a brief second something passed across her face. Maybe a twinge of guilt.
Then she cleared her throat. “Caine, I didn’t expect to see you,” she said.
“I shocked myself by coming,” I admitted.
“Did Devyn come with you?”
“No, I came solo.”
“Okay. Well, I’m glad you came. What did you think of the show?” she asked with a smile.
“It was nice.”
“Nice,” Monique said. “Typical male response.”
“I thought you were amazing dear,” Corbin said as he kissed her cheek.
“Thank you darling,” she said with a smile. “So, Caine, if you aren’t in a rush, would you like to go for coffee so we can talk?”
My eyes immediately moved to Lucas then back to her. Corbin seemed to understand what she meant.
“We’ll head back to the hotel,” he said.
Monique nodded. “Thank you. I won’t be too long,” she said.
“Take your time. Nice seeing you again, Caine.”
“Yeah. You too.”
He grabbed the little boy’s hand and a few minutes later they were gone. Then we headed to the hotel’s restaurant and were led to a table. I had no idea what I was going to say to the mother of my child who I hadn’t seen in almost fourteen years.
The coffee arrived, but neither of us touched it. For a while neither of us spoke. Just sat there awkwardly. Then I finally broke the silence.
“How old is he?” I asked.
Monique closed her eyes briefly then opened them again. “Lucas is ten.”
Yeah, I kind of already figured that out.
“Ten huh?”
“Yes.”
I laughed, but it was short and humorless.
Then leaned back in my chair. “Help me understand something Monique.”
“Caine…”
“Nah, fa real,” I said in a sterner tone as I raised my hand to stop her from speaking. “Help me understand.” She looked away and I continued. “You told me you didn’t want this kinda life.”
She continued to sit there in silence. “You told me you wanted to be a famous model.” More silence. “You told me you needed freedom from our child, who was only four months, to do that.”
Her eyes slowly lifted to meet mine. “And I did.”
I shook my head. “No, but it looks like you built one anyway.”
The words landed exactly how I intended them to and I could tell when Monique flinched. At least they did what they should have done because I had spent fourteen years carrying around questions.
“That’s not fair.”
I laughed. “You wanna talk about fair?”
“Caine.”
“No. Let’s talk about fair.” My jaw tightened. “You left.”
She swallowed hard, but I wasn’t fazed. I kept going.
“You left me. “You left Devyn.”
Of course, I was met with more silence.
“You just disappeared.”
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, but I didn’t care. Then I leaned forward and looked her directly in the eyes.
“And now you’re sitting here with a husband and a ten-year-old son.”
The words hung between us… heavy, painful, and undeniable. For the first time all evening Monique looked completely defeated.
“I know how it looks.”
I laughed again. “Do you really?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Nah, I don’t think you do.”
If she understood how it looked, she’d understand exactly why I couldn’t stop seeing Lucas run into her arms and call her Mommy. And why that image was going to keep haunting me. Not because of me, but because eventually, I was going to have to tell Devyn.
And when I did, all hell was going to break loose.
“Caine, let me explain,” Monique said.
“Nah, it’s cool. What’s understood don’t need to be explained,” I said as I pushed the chair back and stood up.
I dropped a fifty-dollar bill on the table to cover the tab for the cups of coffee and a tip.
“Can you at least let me tell Devyn?” she asked.
“You don’t get to ask me to keep your secret for you,” I retorted. “Enjoy the rest of your night, Monique.”
“Caine please,” she whispered as her voice cracked.
I looked at her and purposely walked away without saying anything else to her. I walked through the double doors and headed to the awaiting vehicle. I climbed in the back seat and told the driver to take me back to the hotel.
Once there, I went inside and took off my jacket. I couldn’t believe the shit I had just found out. When Monique decided she didn’t want to be a mom, I thought it was something I did. But I tried to be understanding of her feelings.
As hard as it was for me to say goodbye to her, I put my own feelings aside and gave her my blessing. But to find out that she left Devyn to go raise a kid with another man. That was some crazy ass shit.
I tossed and turned all night long. At 2:30 in the morning, I was still awake, staring at the ceiling. By the time I woke up, I was even more tired than when I laid down. I had so much on my mind.
My biggest plight was should I tell Devyn or not.