Chapter 36 Yale #3
“None of the girls were up to par,” Hershel answered.
“When I worked with Grant, he made sure they were bathed, in decent clothing, and their hair was presentable.” I looked up at Hershel to see him shaking his head.
“When Grant was in charge, I never worried about those things. It will take me some time to sell them, which is going to cost me money.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” Hershel's face twisted in disgust. “He made some excuse about not having the time to deal with them like Grant did properly. Apparently, your family took a few big hits over the last few months. First your husband and then your father-in-law? And your two brothers-in-law died in a house fire. You and Quincy are the only two left, right?”
“Looks like it, doesn’t it?” I replied and closed the case. There was no way that Amethyst was in on whatever Grant and Quincy were doing. I nodded at the final case and continued playing it cool.
“It does,” he agreed. The third case had some of the most beautiful diamonds I’d ever seen. They were flawless and their colors breathtaking. “So, you have no interest in taking over what your husband was doing for Robert?”
“Should I?” I smirked as I continued to look. I peered over my shoulder at Hershel and smirked. “I mean, I’m doing well on my own.”
“You could be doing better,” he countered. “Grant used to tell me all the time that you liked pretending like you didn’t know what he was doing.”
“Did he now?”
“He did,” Hershel confirmed. “Every time he and I would meet, we discussed your position, and each time Grant said you were where you needed to be.” He gave me a once-over and shook his head.
“I disagree. There needs to be another woman in those rooms. The smell of testosterone is too thick.” He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “You are the perfect person for that.”
“I doubt it,” I laughed and shook my head.
“And I hate to agree with my late husband when I say this, but he was right.” I closed the case and turned to give Hershel my full attention.
“I am where I need to be. I’m just a woman who loves to make jewelry.
” I gave him a fake smile, then tucked a piece of hair behind my head. “Trust me on that.”
“Nah,” Hershel said. “You’re more than that.
I can tell. I’ll be putting in a word with Robert.
I will only do business with you from now on.
Quincy is too sloppy; he doesn’t have the eye for the finer things like you do.
” Hershel pushed off the wall and approached me.
He towered over me, so I had to lift my head to look at him.
“You are more than a woman who loves to make jewelry. You are the jewel.” He brushed his finger along my jaw, and it took everything in me not to scream.
“That’s what Grant used to say, and I completely understand why. ”
“We shall see.” I took a step back and then checked the time on my watch. “I need to go, I’ll be in touch.” I picked up my briefcase and headed to the exit.
“Yale?” Hershel called out. I stopped walking but didn’t turn around. “You aren’t going to purchase anything?”
“Not this time,” I answered, shaking my head.
“I’ll be in touch,” Hershel replied. “Very soon.”
I nodded, then left the room. My heart beat so hard against my chest, I felt like I was going to throw up, but I didn’t hurry my steps.
There was no doubt that Hershel was watching me from the security cameras.
I unlocked my car, got inside, started it, and pulled off.
I was halfway back to the house when I remembered that I needed to call my sisters.
“Call Spelman,” I said out loud and waited for the call to connect.
“You on the way back?” she answered.
“Yeah, about halfway there,” I said as I came to a stop.
“Alright, the food is almost done,” she replied. “See you soon.”
“Later,” I hung up and drummed my hands against the wheel.
I wanted to tell them everything in person, so I was antsy as hell.
The light turned green, and I watched for a few seconds before pulling off, and I’m glad I did.
A white Charger pulled into the middle of the street, blocking my path, and a black Honda NSX Type S pulled up behind me.
I only knew the Honda because I wanted Am to steal one in college when we saw it.
“What the fuck?”
The passenger door opened, and Quincy got out of the Charger. With no sense of urgency, he walked to the passenger door and pulled the handle.
“Roll down the window, Yale,” he laughed as he knocked twice.
I didn’t move, even though I knew he knew I was inside the car.
I didn’t move. Quincy laughed, shook his head, and knocked again.
“Roll down the window, or I’ll break this muthafucka in and drag you out.
” Two more knocks, and again, I didn’t move.
“Alright, bet.” Quincy walked to the Charger, tapped on the trunk, and it opened.
I watched as he picked up a tire iron and then walked back to the car.
When he was close enough, I rolled the window down.
“Oh, you’re driving now?” he chuckled, then lowered the tire iron. “That’s a surprise.”
“What do you want, Quincy?” I questioned him. I was scared out of my damn mind, but I needed to play this cool, too.
“Just wanted to check in on you.” He shrugged like he wasn’t standing in the middle of the road. Cars slowly went around us, but no one stopped to help or make sure I was okay. “I can’t check in on my sister-in-law?”
“We haven’t seen each other in months,” I said, shaking my head.
“I’ve been busy,” he casually replied. “You know, taking over the family business and all.” He licked his lips and smiled. I nodded but didn’t say anything. “I won't keep you long. I just wanted to see your face, that's all.”
“Okay,” I replied. My stomach was turning, and I felt like I had to throw up.
“How’s Amethyst? Hell, the entire Stone family? Everybody good for now?”
“They are good,” I nodded.
“Good, I like hearing that,” he said, nodding. “I can't wait to see them, and I will be seeing them all very soon.”
“Why?” I couldn’t help but ask. The look of anger and hatred in his eyes was almost consuming.
“I’ll be seeing you, Yale,” he said instead of answering my question, then turned to walk away.
His stroll was slow and unbothered. He put the tire iron in the trunk, closed it, then went to the passenger door, opened it, and got inside.
The Charger pulled off first, then the Honda behind me slowly went around me and followed.
I didn’t care that my light was red; I turned left and sped all the way home. I parked the car in the garage, got out, and went inside quickly. My sisters were waiting for me in the living room with big smiles on their faces. As soon as they saw me, the smiles dropped.
“What happened?” Berkeley asked.
“We need to leave,” I said, walking past them and heading to my room to start packing.
“What happened, Yale?” Berkeley asked again as they followed me.
“I saw Quincy,” I answered as I took my bag from the closet. “I was coming back from the jeweler, which was a shit show within itself, and he pulled up in the middle of the road when I was at a stoplight.”
“Why didn’t you say something when you called?” Spelman questioned with an attitude.
“I’d just hung up with you.” I put my suitcase on the bed and opened it.
“What did he say?” Berkeley asked. She stepped in front of me to block me from going back to the closet. “I need you to slow down for a second and tell us what the hell is going on.”
I gave them a Cliff Notes version of the situation with Quincy, then stepped around her to grab my clothes.
When I walked out of the closet, they were still standing there.
“Y’all need to pack. We are leaving as soon as I’m done packing and can contact the pilot to let him know there’s been a change of plans.
” None of them moved, and I felt myself getting mad.
“Look, I know y’all have never dealt with Quincy, but I have, and I know what kind of man he is.
If he’s asking about the Stones, it’s for a reason.
I need to talk to them in person. I need to go home and talk to them.
” I slammed my clothes into my suitcase.
“I need to find out what the fuck that sorry excuse of a husband was up to.”
“Ain’t no way you’ll be able to get to KC,” Spelman said, shaking her head. “Amethyst had the pilot on strict orders not to fly you back. He has your fucking name flagged on the no-fly list, and I don’t even know how that’s possible.”
“Either Cross or Nine,” I replied as I shook my head.
“You can’t even drive, that nigga has too many police in his pocket,” she replied.
One of the first things I tried was to drive back to KC.
I was less than twenty miles from Tulane’s house when I was pulled over.
The police officer had me get out of the car and placed me in the back seat of his cruiser.
My car was towed, and the officer took me back to Tulane’s.
I tried four more times, and each time the same thing happened.
“One of the Stones is going to have to come and get you for you to get back,” Clarke suggested. “That’s the only way the pilot is going to take you back.” She smiled. “And I know which one will do it.”
“Who?”
“Mama Diamond,” she answered with a shrug. “All you have to do is tell her, and she’ll drop everything to come to you.”
“Suggest something else,” I said, shaking my head. I loved Diamond, but I wasn’t ready to tell her just yet.
“You were going to tell her anyway; you may as well get it over with.” Spelman handed me my phone, and I stared down at it as if it were a foreign object. “Call her, Yale.” She dropped the phone on the bed next to my suitcase. “We are going to pack; we’ll be ready soon.”
**
The next morning, I was sitting in the living room waiting for Mama Diamond to get here.
When I called her, I told her I needed to talk to her in person and that she needed to come to New Mexico.
Without questioning, it said she would be at Tulane’s in the morning.
The doorbell rang, and, like little kids, my sisters ran to the living room.
I wasn’t sure if it was support for me or to see Diamond’s reaction.
“Really?” I questioned them as I stood.
“Oh, baby, we wouldn’t miss this for the world,” Berkeley said as she climbed over the back of the couch. She positioned herself so that she could see the door and waved me off. “Now open the door.”
“I swear I can’t stand y’all,” I said, shaking my head. I playfully mushed the side of her head as I passed her.
“You love us so that’s all that matters,” she laughed.
“I’m starting to rethink that, too,” I said as I grabbed the door handle.
I looked over my shoulder at my sisters, then let out a deep breath and turned around.
The doorbell rang again just as I opened the door, and on the other side was Diamond Stone.
Her smile was infectious, and I didn’t realize how much I missed her until I was standing in front of her.
Her eyes went from mine to my stomach, and when they came back to mine, they were filled with tears.
“I was going to tell you, I just didn’t know how. ”
“Like this, Mama Diamond, I’m pregnant,” she said as she pulled me into a tight hug. “I would’ve been happy for you then, just like I am now.”
“You’re happy?” My voice cracked, but I didn’t care. This woman was like a mother to me, so her opinion mattered to me.
She pulled back and looked at me with a confused look on her face. “Why wouldn’t I be happy for you, Yale?”
“Because I don’t know who her daddy is,” I cried.
That was the reason I was holding on to my secret so tightly.
The baby I was carrying was loved by me, no matter who her father is.
“I was inseminated before all this shit happened, before me and Am stepped over the line, and now I’m standing here six months pregnant by either my dead ex-husband or ex-best-friend who ghosted me. ”
“Does it matter who her daddy is?” she countered, and I shrugged.
“No, it doesn’t because she’s going to be loved no matter what.
You’re her mommy, she has three crazy ass aunts over there, and she has us.
My son did what he did. I disagree with it, but it’s done.
” She looked down at my stomach again and smiled.
“Speaking of sons, how the hell did Pyrite see you a few weeks ago and not say anything about this?”
“I was quick and deliberate with how long I was in his presence,” I answered with a laugh as I wiped my tears. “Plus, I wasn’t this big yet. I could still hide it then.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “Now tell me the other reason you needed to see me, because I know this isn’t the only reason.”
“It’s not,” I said, shaking my head. “I need to go back home, and I need your help.”
“Why?”
“Come in, we need to talk,” I said, stepping back. Mama Diamond came inside, and we went to the living room. I was about to tell her everything, from the beginning, and I hoped and prayed she would help me.