Chapter 16
I wasn’t expecting my sister to show up at my house late Sunday morning, but I wasn’t surprised either. After I let her in, she followed me to the family room, where I was sitting in my recliner, flipping through the channels.
“You’re an asshole!” she declared after minutes of us listening to the sounds coming from the television.
“I fucked up.”
“Big time. All these rooms in this big ass house, and you had the audacity to tell her to leave. What is wrong with you?”
“I was angry. I didn’t know—”
“That’s no fucking excuse. You need to call her and apologize.”
“I’ve tried. She blocked me.”
“Oh my God. You’re an idiot. Let me tell you something. If you don’t do everything you can to fix this, you deserve to live a sad, lonely, regretful life.”
“Damn, Phee. Did you try looking at it from my point of view?”
“You mean, the point of view of the person who took a couple of random statements from a bitter bitch and ran with them? No, I didn’t, because you and your point of view are stupid.”
“It was a misunderstanding, but you’re a woman, so I’m not surprised you’re taking her side.”
“I might be a woman, but you’re acting like a lil bitch. And in this situation, there’s only one side to take. You accused her of having an abortion and didn’t give her a chance to tell you she’d had a miscarriage.”
“I know, Phee. I fucked up, and I don’t know how to fix it. I feel like shit.”
She got up and headed for the front door but stopped before she was too far away for me to hear her.
“If you had any common sense, you’d stop listening to Kavia and letting her piss you off.
I know you think she’s responsible for ruining your future with Ginae, but you need to let go of the hate and resentment you have toward her.
You’re more responsible for losing Ginae the first time than anyone.
After all these years, you got your woman back, and you let the same woman cause you to fuck it up.
You made too many assumptions based on something that hating ass bitch said.
She gets off on making you miserable, and if you don’t fix this, she’ll be two for two with fucking up your life. ”
With that, Phoenix was gone, leaving me with plenty to think about. I replayed our conversation, which forced me to revisit the events of the previous evening. Last night, I couldn’t focus on anything but finding out if there was any truth to what Kavia had said.
After the drive home and a quick shower, I thought I was calm enough to address it, but each time Ginae hesitated to answer my questions, I grew more suspicious and angrier than I had been initially.
I could’ve handled the situation much better, but the thought of Ginae aborting our child had my emotions all over the place. I’d prayed so hard to get her back, only to fuck it up by allowing an outsider to plant seeds of suspicion and doubt in my head.
Phoenix was right. I made assumptions based on Kavia’s words, and the crazy part was that she didn’t say much.
When I began questioning Ginae and she didn’t give me the quick, straightforward answers I wanted, I took what Kavia had said and came to my own conclusion, and I couldn’t have been more wrong.
After Ginae dropped that bomb and left my house, it took me a minute to process what she’d said. I went after her, but she was driving away. I came back inside to get my phone and call her, but she had already blocked me.
I still thought there was a chance for me to talk to her last night, assuming she’d gone to the condo.
On my way to the garage, I grabbed my keys from the key holder and noticed there was another set of keys there.
Upon closer examination, I realized they were the keys to the condo and Ginae’s truck.
It didn’t dawn on me when I saw her drive away in the back of someone else’s car that she’d not only opted to leave the truck behind, but she had no plans of going to the condo. Needless to say, I was stuck because I had no idea where to look for her.
There I was, less than twenty-four hours later, still clueless about the whereabouts of the woman I loved. Phoenix was pissed at me, but she was the only person who could help me. I called her and prayed she would answer.
“What?”
“Where is she?”
“Where is who?”
“Phoenix, please. Let’s not do this. How am I supposed to apologize if I can’t contact her and I don’t know where she is?”
“You should’ve thought about that before you told her to leave.”
“I need your help, Phee.”
“Nah, you need to sit with this for a minute. The ball is in Ginae’s court now, so you have to wait until she’s ready to talk to you.”
“You really—”
“Gotta go. Bye!”
My sister ended the call before I could get another word in, and I almost threw my phone across the room. I had no choice but to wait until I saw Ginae in the office tomorrow . . . if she bothered to show up.
Ginae was a no-call, no-show for the past week of work, and I didn’t know how I felt about it. When I told her to leave my house, I assumed she’d go to the condo and give me time to cool off. I didn’t expect her to vanish into thin air.
By Friday, I was at my wits’ end. I’d probably called Ginae over a hundred times, with the same result each time. If she checked the voicemail for blocked callers, she could probably have me arrested for stalking.
“Are you ready to tell us what happened, Dr. J?” Lauren asked.
We were about to have lunch and our weekly staff meeting, so I guessed Lauryn thought it was a good time to get in my business.
“What are you talking about?”
“Ginae hasn’t been here all week, and you’re back to acting like you did before she took you back. What’s the deal?”
“She had an emergency at home and—”
“You would’ve told us at the beginning of the week if that were the case,” Waylen stated.
“True.” Tania agreed. “What’s the tea? I know it’s your fault.”
“I probably have the nosiest staff in the world, but since I know you’ll bother me until I tell you, I might as well get it over with. I fucked up.”
“You need to apologize,” Lauryn said.
“I would, but she blocked my number.”
“Damn. I was rooting for you,” Waylen teased.
“What can we do to help?” Tania offered.
“Nothing. This is all on me. Can we start our meeting now?”
An hour later, our meeting was over, and everyone began to head out.
Since I didn’t have anything to do, I was in no rush to leave.
As I prepared to go over some paperwork, I heard the main door to the office open and close.
Assuming it was one of my staff members coming back, or Lennon, I didn’t bother budging.
“Phyre, where are you?”
I heard the familiar voice and cringed, thinking, What the hell is she doing here?
I rushed to the waiting area and bit the inside of my bottom lip when I saw my least favorite person.
“What the fuck do you want?” I asked Kavia.
“I guess I should expect that kind of greeting from you.”
“Every single time. Why are you here?”
“I wanted to see how you were since finding out such devastating news.”
“What news are you talking about?”
“The news about your precious Ginae aborting your child without taking your feelings into consideration. I know that’s not the kind of woman you want to spend the rest of your life with. You should be thanking me.”
“Do you remember when I almost choked you to death?”
The evil smirk she wore disappeared. “Maybe I should go.”
“Nah. Have a seat,” I said in such a way that let her know I meant business.
I sat in the first seat I reached in the waiting area, and she followed, sitting across from me.
“As long as you keep your hands to yourself,” she warned nervously.
“Don’t act like I abuse women, because you’re the only woman I’ve ever put my hands on in an aggressive manner. As a matter of fact, you’re the only woman I’ve ever considered murdering, and I would happily turn myself in and serve my time with a smile on my face.”
“I didn’t come here for this. I’m—”
“Sit down, Kavia,” I barked as she attempted to stand.
“I don’t want to sit here and listen to you talk about killing me.”
“I hate you, Kavia Black. Maybe I wouldn’t feel that way if you would leave me the fuck alone. Don’t you get tired of spending your days and nights crafting ways to make my life hell?”
“We barely see each other,” she responded dismissively.
“And that’s intentional, but somehow, you’ve managed to disturb my peace too many times lately.”
“Whatever, Phyre. Why am I still here?”
“I’m sure your visit had nothing to do with checking on me. Why don’t you tell me why you’re here?”
She huffed as she removed her phone from her purse, swiped her finger over the screen, and seconds later, I received a text.
I took my phone from my pocket, unlocked it, and opened the text from the unsaved number. It was a picture, and I recognized the younger version of Ginae immediately. Although her face was a bit puffy, she looked like the beauty I fell in love with.
A man and a woman were on either side of her and appeared to be consoling her. I studied the picture a bit longer and concluded that they were probably her parents.
“Where’d you get this picture?”
“I had to do a little digging since I’ve had several phones since then. Luckily, it was saved in the cloud.”
“You took this picture?” She nodded. “Do I need to ask the obvious questions, or can you just tell me what I want to know?”
She rolled her eyes, but I could tell she couldn’t wait to tell me, especially if it would disparage Ginae’s name and make me view her in a negative light.
“For obvious reasons, I couldn’t go to our family doctor to get an abortion, and I wouldn’t be caught dead in a free clinic. I found another reputable private doctor, and apparently, Ginae did too.”
“How did you know what she looked like?”
“When I stole her number from your phone, I stole a few pictures too. I studied her face until it was ingrained in my memory because I wanted to make sure I recognized her if we ever crossed paths. I didn’t have to wait long because the picture was taken about a week after I shared the news of our engagement with her. ”
“Why did you think taking a picture was necessary?”
“It was my insurance in case she forgave you. It took over a decade, but now you have proof that I’m telling the truth and I’m not just being messy.”
“You’re most definitely being messy because this proves nothing. Get the fuck out of my office, and please stay the fuck away from me.”
I went to the door, opened it, and waited for Kavia to get up and leave.
As she walked past me, she wore that evil smirk that seemed to be a permanent fixture.
Once she crossed the threshold, I watched as she sauntered down the hallway.
The tension I felt in her presence lessened as she got further away.
I closed and locked the door, leaning against it for a few minutes to look at the picture Kavia sent.
The sadness in Ginae’s eyes and the concern on her parents’ faces were evident.
She was heartbroken over the loss of our child and our relationship, and my dumbass accused her of having an abortion.
When I returned to my office, I was no longer in the mood to work, but I also didn’t want to go back to my big, lonely house. I wanted to talk to Ginae, but I still had no idea where she was or how to reach her.
I’d been cursed out once by Devyn and twice by my sister, so reaching out to them for information would be a waste of time. God always had a way of working things out, but it was on His time. I prayed I didn’t have to wait as long this time.
“God, You waited thirteen years to answer my prayers, and I know You didn’t bring us back together for us to end this way.
I messed up by listening to someone who only means me harm, and letting my ego control my thoughts and actions.
I pray that You put it on Ginae’s heart to forgive me and that I don’t have to wait another thirteen years for it to happen. ”
Even though I knew I was blocked, I took a chance and called her. I expected it to go to voicemail after the first ring, as it had been doing since the first time I’d called after our disagreement. When it didn’t, I checked my phone screen to make sure I’d chosen the right contact.
“Hello,” she answered softly.
“Sweetness, you answered.”
“I heard you wanted to talk.”
“I want to apologize, but I’d rather do it in person.”
“I’m not coming to your house, and I don’t want you to know where I am.”
“Can we meet somewhere?”
“Okay.”
“I’ll send you the address.”
“Okay.”
Before I could tell her how much I missed her, she ended the call. I sent her the address to Soulful Diner, a small and intimate soul food restaurant. It would take me fifteen minutes to get there, so I quickly gathered my things and headed out.