Chapter 5 Adesua Ridley
Adesua Ridley
Adesua shoved nearly anyone who got in her way to get to Joseph, since Amelia had made it a mission to be out of sight and out of mind.
So Adesua had to deal with her boyfriend instead.
Joseph stood out, not because of his smooth, dark-hued skin, but because of his extremely tall stature, which towered over everyone, including Omar and Wei.
He had full lips; the bottom was the shade of dark-pink tulips and the top, a beautiful espresso brown that she couldn’t stop staring at.
She had to tilt her head to take in his staggering height.
Adesua waved, catching his attention so he wouldn’t move.
Joseph held the tip of her chin, lifting it before she could speak. “Baby doll, you looked like a queen up there.” He came down to her level, kissing her gently.
The feeling of his plush pursed lips on hers made her almost forget what she’d come to him for. He had a way of doing that to her. She shook herself out of the trance.
“Don’t you do that,” she said with defiance.
“Do what, my little Dusie?” Joseph smirked as he pushed her hair behind her ear.
Adesua was usually the timid one, but tonight she was giving it to everyone straight.
“Why were you talking to Dale?”
Joseph flared his nostrils, rubbing his nose while sniffling. She knew instantly this was his way of getting his story straight. Little motions he did before telling her a grand lie or hiding something. She had become adept at identifying those cues.
“Dale is a man of many words and wonders, and one of those wonders is us, my dear.”
Adesua furrowed her brows.
“‘Us.’ What do you mean by ‘us’?”
He wiped a trickling bead of sweat from his eyes, which more than likely could have formed because of the dreadful summer heat or the lies dripping from him. She didn’t break eye contact.
“Me, you, our friends. He wants to do a piece on Harlem and its growing community. Especially us and all that you have done for Harlem since you have gotten back from Atlanta.”
Adesua was apprehensive. It was a good answer—a great answer, at that.
But the way he worded it seemed predictable.
One thing Adesua had never done was doubt her intuition.
She clicked her tongue because she knew better than to make a ruckus in front of everyone on the dance floor.
That was what they expected from someone like her.
“Very well, Joseph. I have to find my sisters. Enjoy yourself.”
She grabbed an hors d’oeuvre from a nearby platter, stuffed it in her face, and downed a juice cocktail, turning her back on Joseph.
He knew not to stop her. She walked past the sea of men who tried to get her attention.
Adesua knew far too well that the league of handsome men who would usually approach her were as sour as the milk they looked like.
Even though Joseph had his fair share of problems, Adesua was okay settling on him for now.
She ran toward the back of the estate, getting away from everyone. Her body felt heavy as she found herself sitting near the steps. A group of young boys came up to her, staring.
“Hey, toots, go grab us another beer. You have some very thirsty guests,” one of the boys called out.
She ignored them, as she knew from their informal attire that they had not been invited.
“I know you heard me. Go fetch us a beer.”
“Clearly, you all don’t know this is my home, and I’m not the damn help. So why don’t you go on about your business.”
The boy snatched her arm, squeezing it tightly and bringing her closer. Adesua cried out.
“I ain’t ever gone let a nigger, rich or poor, talk to me any kind of way.” He pushed her toward the fountain.
Adesua caught sight of Wei, Omar, and Diego walking toward them.
“Wei! Help me!”
Her brothers came running, swinging blows at each of the other boys’ faces.
One of the boys tried to speak up between each hit, trying to justify his actions. “It was an honest mistake, man. I thought she was the help back-talking!”
Wei’s eyes turned black. “I wouldn’t even let you boys lick my boot clean. Don’t you ever come back to this property again! I remember faces.”
Adesua sat on the fountain’s edge, crying as her brothers started to crowd her, consoling her.
She had never liked causing a scene, so she ushered them all away.
They wouldn’t see her cry. She stood up and headed through the maze she knew too well.
The garden maze was the only place she loved besides the art room.
She never felt alone here, and the rows of roses seemed to reach out to her.
After having some minutes to herself she saw Kavita through the tall bushes, pacing back and forth.
Nothing out of the ordinary other than her cursing at the night sky.
“This is all wrong. None of this. Why would I?”
Kavita gripped her own wrist, seemingly holding herself back.
“Kavi, what in the heavens is wrong with you?”
Adesua grabbed hold of her shoulders. Kavita’s eyes glazed back. Adesua started to feel like Kavita too. Her stomach and body felt heavy, like the world was pulling her down. Everything seemed brighter. The moon seemed to be edging closer to them. Stars were twinkling bright in her flashing eyes.
“Dusie, are you even listening to me?”
Adesua didn’t know how long she had zoned out of the current situation, but she could tell she needed to contain this before Dale could get this breakdown on Metropolitan Musings.
With almost perfect timing, she saw Amelia walking out the kitchen’s back door, heading for the maze, and they made eye contact.
“Amelia, over here, now!” Adesua yelled for her to hurry, hoping she would run faster.
Amelia stumbled over to them. Adesua clocked that there wasn’t something wrong with just Kavita, but all of them.
“I think something was put in the food or drinks,” Adesua struggled to get out.
Kavita looked left and right, at both Adesua and Amelia, then let out a laugh so loud that guests quickly turned toward them. To Adesua, it was better they hear that than a cry.
“What did you do, Kavita? I s-swear, if you—” Amelia stammered.
“We all needed to let loose a little, don’t ya think, Mellie?”
Kavita plopped to the ground once again. Adesua tried to bring her to standing, but to no avail. She found herself on the ground with Amelia, and was now laying her head on her lap. Fingers tickled the side of her head, but they weren’t hers. She turned back quickly, which shook Amelia up.
“Henri! Oh, how I missed you the whole night, my baby brother,” Kavita slurred.
“You ladies are wrecked. See, this is why I never drink. Kavita is always up to something. Get up, we need to move before Mother and Father see us like this,” Henrik said with authority.
They all headed toward the maze, where most guests never ventured.
Although the maze wasn’t used for parties, it did have a few aged stone benches that were covered in ivy.
Henrik struggled with having Kavita’s and Adesua’s arms wrapped around him.
He wasn’t the strongest person, but he gathered enough strength to accompany them to a bench in the maze to sit down.
Their shoes created a crunchy noise as they walked down the pathway.
It didn’t mean much to them until Henrik stopped dead in his tracks, making them nearly fall.
Adesua kept her head down. “Henrik, at least warn us if we are making a deto—”
She heard Amelia’s gut-wrenching scream, words she couldn’t make out, followed by a loud splash in the pond.
Adesua’s eyes were struggling to stay open.
All the commotion made her body feel as if it were being dragged down.
Dreadful exhaustion overwhelmed her. Everything was out of focus and out of reach when Henrik let go of her and Kavita.
She rubbed her eyes, trying to get hold of herself.
Adesua saw Henrik and Amelia in the deep pond, but she realized something else was in there with them.
Adesua’s vision blurred. All she could make out was a white suit and a full head of black hair.
Was it Wei? What if the boys they’d kicked out earlier had done this to him?
Her eyes began to well with tears as Kavita looked on in horror.
“He’s dead! He’s dead!”
Amelia struggled, pulling the body to the edge of the pond as Henrik waded into the water, grabbing the poor unfortunate soul . . .
“It’s Dale!” Henrik screamed.
Adesua’s rising heart rate began to slow down once she realized it wasn’t her brother.
As Henrik dragged the body out of the neck-high water, Dale’s eyes were wide open with terror and blood slowly seeped out of his head.
Adesua looked at the pointy sculptures in the pond.
Maybe he had fallen and hit one? The endless possibilities made her stomach turn, but as long as it wasn’t Wei, she could try to calm herself.
Her spine tingled as chills went across.
Someone was screaming for her to move, but she felt as if her feet were stuck to the ground.
“Adesua, help us!” Amelia said, exhausted.
Adesua mustered the little energy she had left, but even Henrik couldn’t pull deadweight, even with Amelia’s help.
Kavita fell to the ground, looking at the moon.
Adesua didn’t have time to coddle her. She took off her heels and walked as fast as she could without also falling in the pond.
Henrik jumped out of the water to help Adesua pull Dale’s body out.
Amelia made her way out, her blue dress drenched.
“Henrik, go get Omar, Wei, and Diego. We need them now,” Adesua said.
A few minutes went by before Mr. Pierre arrived. He looked over Dale’s body as if it wasn’t the first dead body he’d seen.
“Henrik told me to come to the pond. I told Mr. Jenkins and Mrs. Darla to inform staff to stay away from this side of the grounds and block the exits from the back of the estate,” he said with ease.