Chapter 6 Gorjess
Who Are You? . . .
I couldn’t find one con when it came to being Solomon’s person as he called me.
My daddy always told me that whoever came into my life as a friend or romantic partner should add to me, not complete me.
That was how I felt when it came to Solomon.
He added so much to my life. Just the thought of him made my spirit glow, my heart smile, and my soul rejoice in the glory of God for the creation of something so perfect.
My connection to him had increased the footprint of my business as well.
The magazine article that we interviewed and had a photo shoot for was published late last month.
As it was contracted, they did a complete spread on my business.
I had a waitlist of clients who wanted to use my services.
Solomon wanted me to hire a second groomer and mobile unit.
I wasn’t sure if my business was prepared for that overhead just yet.
Yes, I appreciated the new business, but I still had to be smart with my moves.
One of the biggest things that was added to my life that I didn’t realize I needed was family.
When I moved to Charlotte, I found a family in Elica.
When I met Solomon’s family, it was like I gained aunties, uncles, cousins, another father, sister, brother, and a mother that liked me.
Since we met, Elica, Cadence, Michelle, Tsia, and I had been attached at the hip when we weren’t at work or with our men folk.
All of us together were fools. I hated it for anyone that made it a problem.
Wait . . . I said that there were no cons with my connection to Solomon.
I lied. I had finally figured one out, and it was working out with him.
I would never make that mistake again. Now we were in this gym with this stranger who claimed to have a sister with the same exact name as me. I was so confused.
“Um, I’m not sure what to say. That’s my name, but I don’t have any brothers. I only have one sister,” I told him.
Solomon, who stood beside me, took a small step forward in front of me. He didn’t completely cover me, but it was in a protective nature. The guy who said his name was Darius noticed and put his hands up. “Yo, I just said that she was my sister. I’m not going to hurt my sister.”
“You have me confused for someone else. I’m not your sister. Like I said, I don’t have any brothers,” I urged.
He nodded before he pulled out his phone. I wasn’t sure what he was doing. When he lifted the phone face level, I concluded that he video called someone. A deep voice came through the speaker of the phone. “What’s good, Son?”
“Hey, Pops. Um, I’m at the gym. You’ll never guess who I ran into. I’m going to turn the phone around,” he told him.
When he turned the phone around, it was an older darker-skinned man.
He had a gray beard and a low haircut. He was attractive.
Neither of us said anything as we examined each other, then his eyes widened with recognition.
A single tear dropped from one of his eyes.
“Gorjess . . . Gorjess? Is that you, baby girl? Oh, my God!”
There were so many conflicted feelings that swarmed around in my body right now. My hands gripped the back of Sol’s shirt. “I’m sorry, sir, I don’t know you.”
“I know you don’t, baby girl. I know. You haven’t seen me since you were three months old when your mama, Athena, took you for the weekend and never brought you back.
” His eyes tightened and got closer to the screen.
“Is that a butterfly necklace? You still have it. I gave that to you with a matching bracelet when you were born.”
I was stuck. Did he just say that Athena was my mother? That can’t be right. “No, Athena is my sister. My parents are Brenda and James Bulb.”
The man on the other end, who had yet to tell me his name, just smiled. “Baby girl, I’m not here to upset you. I want you to go home. Ask BB and Athena who Travis is. Young man, please get my phone number from my son. Gorjess, when you are ready to talk, I will be here. Can you do that?”
I nodded. “Yes, I can do that. I will ask them, but I don’t want you to be disappointed.”
He smiled again. “Like I said, when you’re ready, I will be here. You are so beautiful. I can’t stand her for what she did, but you look just like your mother.” He snickered. “Darius, make sure you give Solomon my number.”
I tittered quietly at the fact that he knew who Solomon was without being told.
I found it interesting that he also knew my mother’s nickname was BB as well.
Darius and who I assumed was Travis exchanged a few more words before the line was disconnected.
I was in a daze, but I knew that Solomon and Darius exchanged contacts.
The next thing I felt was the hug that Sol engulfed me into. He repeatedly kissed the side of my face. His hand rubbed my back.
“Sol, what am I supposed to do? I’m so confused. None of this makes sense,” I admitted.
His eyes were sympathetic as he gazed at me. “I love you. We can do whatever you want to do. Knowing what I’d been through in my past, you need to see this through. God is funny. It’s like he knew to connect us at the right time so that I could be your support.”
“I love you too. Thank you for being there for me.” My shoulders lifted with my loud sigh. “I guess it’s time to visit my lovely family.”
My hand went to my necklace and rubbed it. It was crazy that he recognized it. I had no idea how this would play out, but I had a feeling that my life was about to be turned upside down.
Who Am I? . . .
The only way that I could think to get my mother and sister to meet me was to tell them that I wanted them to meet Solomon at a very nice restaurant.
I hadn’t seen Athena in over a year and my mother since the reading of the will.
She pretty much told me to fuck off in a churchly way.
Although I hadn’t seen her, I talked to her a few times.
When I invited her to dinner, she told me that the only way that she would come was if her husband was invited.
She suggested that Pastor Terry lead me and Solomon in the sinner’s prayer because she knew that we were fornicators.
I made her believe that was a possibility.
Athena had no hesitations about the invitation.
Solomon had been so supportive after we left the gym.
The first thing that I did was go home to look at all of my important paperwork.
My birth certificate had Brenda and James Bulb on it.
Elica told me that it wouldn’t be weird for them to be on there if they legally adopted me.
I didn’t understand if I had a father. It was all so confusing.
“Are you ready to see them?” Sol asked with his arm wrapped around my shoulder. “I want you to listen to what they have to say, baby. We are here to find out the truth.”
We were at a steakhouse that was my father’s favorite. I decided to come to a place that might calm me if I needed to be calmed. “Okay. Like I told you before we got here, my mother can be rude.”
“I’m not worried about that shit. I’m a rude ass Polcanig myself,” he said with a wink.
My laughter was hard. It hit differently when he said it. I couldn’t wait to tell Elica about it.
“What’s so funny? I want to laugh.” Athena had a very distinctive voice.
My cheeks were high at the sight of her. She looked good, happy, healthy. I stood to my feet to welcome her into a hug. This is my sister. “Hey, Sis! I’ve missed you.”
“You look so good, Sis,” she said. She pulled back from the hug without letting go of me. She leaned over a little to gaze at Solomon. “Mm, isn’t he fine. I see you, Gorjess.”
I felt my cheeks warm. When I looked over my shoulder at him, he winked seductively at me. “I did good for myself, didn’t I?”
We sat down before I introduced her to him. In the midst of the introduction, I noticed my mother and her husband, Pastor Terry, walk in. I stood again to greet them. “Hey, Ma. Hi, Pastor Terry.”
He smiled. “Hi, Gorjess. It’s nice to see you. I don’t mind if you call me dad.”
My slight smile dropped, and my face scrunched. Is he serious? “No thank you, I rather not.”
My mother’s eye roll didn’t escape me. She didn’t try to hug me before she sat down nor did she speak. “Ma and Pastor Terry, this is Solomon Leota. Solomon, this is my mother, Brenda, and her husband, Pastor Terry.”
Solomon extended his hand to Pastor Terry first. They clasped hands. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
When he extended his hand to my mother, she looked at it then him. I knew her mouth was about to be reckless. “What are you?”
My head dropped because this would not end well. Solomon’s tone was hard. “Excuse me? I’m not sure I understand your question.”
“I mean are you black, white, or what? What are you?” she asked with boldness and ignorance. She was so embarrassing. Even her husband seemed embarrassed.
Solomon glared at her for a moment before he snickered quietly. “I’ll excuse the ignorance that is laced throughout your tone. My mother is Caucasian, and my father is Polynesian and Black.
Athena shook her head. “I swear you always have to do too much. From the looks on his face, Pastor Terry is getting tired of you like Daddy eventually did.”
“Little girl, shut up. You would know about doing too much. My husband is fine where he is,” she proclaimed.
I saw the waitress in the distance walking our way. When she got to the table, I asked her to bring a round of water then give us fifteen minutes to order. If I could get away with not having Solomon pay for my mother and her husband’s food, I would like that.
Her attitude made it more urgent for me to get to the truth. I didn’t want to be here anymore. “Ma, since you asked Solomon what he is, let me ask you, what are you?”
My mother’s face tightened. She looked between everyone at the table with confusion. “What do you mean, what am I?”