Ebony Angel Read online

  “I had fun today. Are you taking us out again?”

  “Of course I am.” He covered her with the comforter. “But you have school in the morning, so tonight you need to sleep, and I need to head home.” He kissed her forehead.

  “I wish you, Mama, Trae and Skeet could get married and we could all live here.”

  “Don’t you think it would be a tad bit crowded? And I’m pretty sure that’s illegal in just about every country in the world.”

  She looked upon him, her face scrunched in thought. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Mama says she doesn’t love Skeet and Trae in the marrying way.”

  “How old are you? You sound grown.”

  She giggled. “I turned seven last month.”

  “Well, my Christmas baby,” he tapped her nose with his finger, “go to sleep. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight, Smoke.” She rolled over.

  Richard brushed his lips over Ebony’s until she woke.

  “Tease,” she whispered.

  “Who, me? You seduce me and kick me out, then have the nerve to call me a tease.”

  “Where’s the baby?”

  “I put her in your bed.” He stroked her braids behind her ear. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For giving me a chance with Crystal. She’s great. You have done a wonderful job.”

  “You don’t know how relieved I am she likes you.”

  “That makes two of us.” He kissed her gently. “I’d better go before we end up naked. What time should I pick you up?”

  “Six should be early enough. That way I can chat with Nonno.”

  “You trying to make a move on my grandpapà? Note to self: Change calling time with Nonno.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Ebony sat on the locker room bench lacing her shoes. “He didn’t shoot anyone, Jessica. You heard wrong. And I don’t appreciate the way you made me sound like some sort of thug groupie. What if he believed you?” When Richard dropped Ebony at school, Jessica made it her business to stress that Ebony “loved her some thugs.”

  She waved Ebony off. “I didn’t tell him anything he didn’t already know. Go ahead. Protect your man. He’s a cutie. Almost makes me want to cross over. Why didn’t you tell me he’s one of Trae’s boys?”

  “Because he isn’t. He’s the regional manager of an investment firm.”

  “Yeah, right, and I won the lottery last night.”

  “What made you think he works for Trae? And lower your voice. I don’t want the whole world hearing my business.”

  Jessica rolled her eyes. “Come off it, girl. Trae wouldn’t let some white boy have his woman. I love you, but everyone knows this is a business deal. Trae needs a clean-up man for his money. Smoke is the perfect man for the job.”

  Ebony fell off the bench, laughing. “My God, you’re making my stomach hurt. Whew. Where do you get this stuff?” She remained on the floor, holding her stomach.

  “No one believes you just bumped into this perfect white guy on the train. You all could have put a little thought into your story.”

  “This has got to be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” Ebony grabbed her towel and headed for the aerobics room. “Richard doesn’t work for Trae. I’m not discussing this further.” She giggled. “Wait until I tell him.”

  “How do you keep attracting these high rollers?”

  “What are you talking about? I broke up with Trae years ago. I grew up, and he became a drug dealer. Maybe it’s time for you to grow up.” Frustrated with this rerun of their previous arguments, she increased her pace. “Never mind. I’m past sick of this line of questioning, officer. Move on.” It had taken Ebony years to convince Jessica to try for her bachelors. It was looking as if it would take another few years to convince her drug dealers don’t make good relationship material.

  * * *

  Richard couldn’t believe what Ebony was telling him. “You all’s grapevine on the west side is out of control. First I am a crazy white guy, next I am working for Dan, then I smoked the Collins brothers, now I’m laundering money for Trae?” He laughed. “I’ve been a very busy boy since meeting you.” The rumors were bad enough, and he hated to think what realities lay before them. This was the only life she knew, but shortly he would show her a better way. He would save the angel.

  His cell phone beeped, indicating the battery was extremely low. “I’m not trying to rush you, but I want to buy Crystal a bedroom set for my place. The next date may end at my condo. I don’t want you driving late at night. Purple’s her favorite color. Maybe we can paint her room this weekend.” He searched his drawers for the charger, then remembered he wasn’t in his downtown office or using his own car.

  Clark cleared his throat. Richard spun around in his chair to face him. “Duty calls. I’m ready whenever you are…Love you, too.” He disconnected. “What’s up?”

  “With her two days and already talking street,” Clark cracked, his voice thick with sarcasm. “What next? We all have to take a crash course in Ebonics?”

  “Don’t start with me,” Richard warned. “You can go back to Texas if you don’t like how I’m running things here. Otherwise, you have an invitation to butt out of my private life.”

  “Do your parents know you’re shacking up with Miss Ghetto-fabulous USA?”

  “Do you have business with me, or did you want to see how far you can push me before I leap over this desk and put my foot up your ass? If it’s the latter, you’ve just about reached my limit.”

  Clark tossed a folder on the desk then backed away. “Why did we open a site out here? Read the demographics report. People in this income bracket don’t invest.”

  “The days of our customers coming to us have passed.” Richard rounded the desk and hung his suit coat in the closet, dropping the dead cell phone in the pocket. “We must be aggressive and find new markets. Yes, these people do invest. These are the working-class people. You know, the people whose buying stimulates our economy.”

  He crossed the room, pointing at the busy shopping plaza through the window. “Check out the cars, clothes, jewelry, hair. We’re an investment option with higher returns. Chicago’s a gold mine, Clark. Think outside the box.” He walked back to his desk. “We want everyone to come in out of the cold and invest with us.”

  “Nickels and dimes won’t help us.” Clark rolled a chair from the conference table. “We need to focus on the Gold Coast, the Magnificent Mile. Downtown has money. The suburbs have money. Even the north side has money.” He leaned his lanky body forward. “If you want oil, drill where there’s oil.”

  Richard stared into Clark’s murky green eyes. “You’re being lazy. Yes, we’ll have to put in all of the front-end work, but with bigger risk come bigger returns.”

  “Or losses. Mark my words. In this case, it’ll be a loss.”

  “Can I count on you to give it your all? If not, I’ll assign you to a different project.”

  “You honestly believe this’ll work?” He ran his hands over his short red hair.

  “I know it will.”

  Clark rocked in the chair, looking around the room. “You haven’t led me wrong yet. I’m in.” He released a nervous laugh. “Now it all makes sense. You’re with Ebony to appeal to our new demographic. You’d better hope this works. The Austin office won’t tolerate your smudging the company name.”

  Another rumor making its rounds was the last thing he needed. “Let me make something perfectly clear to you. I am with Ebony because I love her. Some day I’ll bring her and her child to the office. I expect you to show them the utmost respect. If I ever catch you disrespecting them, I’ll fire you. And the main office is as welcome to my private life as you are.” The one lesson his father had taught him well was what happened when you put your career before your family.

  “But, Richard…”

  “No buts. Are we clear on this?”

  “Yes. Have you told your parents about Ebony?”

  “I didn’t tell my parents abou
t my other girlfriends. Why would I tell them about Ebony?” He sorted through the file Clark had tossed on his desk. “Did you need anything else?”

  “I guess not.” He headed out. “I’ve known you a long time. You’ve changed.” He leaned against the doorframe. “I don’t know if you’re in love or lust with Ebony.”

  “Love.”

  Clark held up his hands slightly. “Okay, let’s say you love her. Can you take her to business dinners? She can be the most eloquent-speaking woman in the world, but if she walks in looking like Bonequesha, no one will hear a word she says, and you’ll lose credibility. Business is business. We both know the real reason you haven’t told your mother you’ve found the love of your life.” He left, closing the door behind him.

  Richard leaned back in his chair, placed his hands behind his head and put his feet on the desk. He dreaded telling his mother about Ebony.

  Stephanie Dubois never liked his female friends. Even in high school, she hounded him about his choice in women. She wanted him to date daughters of CEOs, CFOs or at least presidents within corporations. He wanted to date girls he liked. By the time he entered college, he had quit introducing his female friends to his mother.

  Thinking about how his mother would react to him dating a beautician’s daughter brought a wicked smile to his face. Humor of the situation lost, he closed his eyes. Telling her about Ebony would force him to make a choice and face realities he wasn’t ready to face. Tired of the unending battle, he faded into sleep.

  * * *

  Eight-year-old Richard crouched behind the sofa in the study of his parents’ home. In a few days, Nonno would be out of the hospital, and they could go home. He dug the Sixlets candy out of his pocket. If he ate one pack a day, his grandfather would have four days to recover from this mysterious stroke thing his parents claimed he had.

  He sat on the floor, and then leaned against the wall. Once everyone fell asleep, he planned to sneak out to the boathouse. No one would find him there.

  “I can’t find him anywhere, Phillip.”

  Richard heard his mother’s frustrated voice. He crawled to the other side of the couch, and then peeked from under the end table. He wondered if Sophia Loren, his grandfather’s favorite actress, was her cousin, since they looked so much alike.

  “He doesn’t listen.” Standing in front of the bookshelf, she brushed the dust off her sky-blue silk pantsuit. “I’ve checked every nook and cranny. I’m filthy.” She stood with her hands on her narrow hips. “I don’t know what to do with him,” she said in the clipped tone Richard had grown accustomed to.

  “He’s scared, Stephanie.” Phillip sat in one of the French walnut armchairs and rested his elbows on his knees. “What were we thinking? We should have never sent him to live with Papà.” He passed his hands over his short, black hair. “Now our son doesn’t feel welcome in his own home.”

  “Of course he does. He’s always been a little…I don’t know. He isn’t like the girls. He’s wild. That’s why Papà took him. We did the right thing.” She settled in the matching armchair across from Phillip and crossed her legs.

  “Richard isn’t wild. He’s a boy. You can’t expect him to sit around the house all day playing with Barbie dolls.”

  “Every time he visits, he terrorizes the girls.” She stroked her hair, smoothing strays that had escaped her French knot. “I don’t know how to handle him. He was happy with Papà. We are good parents. We did what was best for our son.”

  “Have you seen how the girls taunt him? They’re lucky all he’s done is cut their dolls’ hair. It’s not as if they actually play with them anymore.”

  Richard stifled a laugh. If he weren’t running away, he would tape the pages of their diaries all over the grand hall. That would teach them to call him filthy little lost boy.

  “Now that Papà’s taken ill, we don’t have a choice. I’ve already sent someone to gather his belongings. We’ll just have to make the best of the situation.”

  “Stephanie,” Phillip snapped.

  “What?” She waved him off. “Oh, you know what I mean.”

  Richard’s eyes narrowed. He knew exactly what she meant. He was no one’s charity case. He remembered an expensive-looking vase on the end table. He flashed a perfect smile.

  Bianca, his oldest sister, had said the Octagonal Satsuma vase was more valuable than he was. His mother had probably taken days choosing it. He scooted forward, resituated himself and tilted the edge of the table. The antique vase fell to the floor, shattering.

  “If I had a choice, I wouldn’t live here, either!” he yelled as he stomped the pieces into the floor, making sure to scratch and scrape the marble as much as possible. “I hate this place!” He ran to the bookshelf, pulled books down and tossed them around the room.

  His father, a large man, grabbed and held him close to his body. He fought in Phillip’s arms. “I want to go back to Nonno!”

  “Stop fighting and look at me, Richard,” Phillip commanded.

  Richard shut his eyes and closed his heart to the truth. He knew why his mother never wanted him. “I don’t hear you. I don’t want you. I don’t love you. I don’t need you,” he chanted.

  Stephanie knelt beside Richard and Phillip. “Please.” She gently placed her shaking hand on Richard’s shoulder. “Listen to me.”

  The unfamiliar crack of his mother’s voice stopped him. He slowly peeked out of one eye. The tears streaming down her face made him feel guilty for breaking her vase. He dug in his pocket and pulled out his candy. “This is all I have,” he whispered. “You can have it.”

  She gently closed his hand. She had the most beautiful sepia eyes. He didn’t think he would ever see any quite like them. The contrast between her creamy white skin and dark eyes amazed him. She didn’t allow any of her children to play in the sun, especially Richard. She had explained that the sun’s rays cause some disease that makes your skin fall off. Her reasoning didn’t make any sense to him. Nonno was always in the sun, and his skin hadn’t fallen off.

  She took his hands into hers. He was amazed by the contrast between his olive complexion and her alabaster complexion. He turned away from her and the feelings stirring within him.

  He could practically hear his sisters singing their favorite Sesame Street song. He frowned.

  “I don’t belong here. You don’t want me, and I don’t want you.” He folded his arms over his chest. “I want to go to the hospital and stay with Nonno.”

  She hugged him from behind. “But I do want you. I love you, Richard.” He stood stiff in her arms. “Please, baby, forgive me. I can explain.” She rocked him. “You’re my baby. I do love you.”

  Phillip sat on the floor in front of Richard. “We love you and want you to live here with us.”

  “No, you don’t!” He glared over his shoulder at his mother. “You don’t have a choice but take me in. I’m the filthy little lost boy.” He marched to the middle of the room, crying more than singing, “Guess which one does not belong here.” He pointed at his parents. “Guess which one is not the same.”

  Stephanie crossed over to him. “Stop!”

  “Can you guess which one does not belong here?”

  She grabbed him by his shoulders, pulling him to her body. “You belong here.” She wiped his tears away. “You belong with me. I want you with me.” She rocked him. “I’ll never let you go again. Never again. Please forgive me, baby, please.” Exhausted, he leaned against his mother. She kissed the top of his head. “I love you, Richard.”

  Phillip joined in the embrace. “We love you, son.”

  Then why did you give me away?

  * * *

  Ebony saw her black SUV in the parking lot of the plaza, but the investment firm was dark. The other stores on the strip had also closed. She lifted her book bag onto her shoulder and ran to the office’s front door.

  The closed sign was in the window. She tried the handle. The door was unlocked. She entered the office. The silence and darkness troubled her
almost as much as Richard not answering the phone. She stared at the front door. If there were a robber inside, he would be making noise, so she locked the door. She felt along the wall, but couldn’t find the light switch. She dropped her book bag to the floor and got the tiny flashlight at the end of her key chain from her purse.

  She followed along the dark hallway until she found the office with Richard’s nameplate on it. She slowly crept into his office. The parking lot lights provided enough light for her to see into the room. She heaved a big sigh of relief upon seeing Richard lying back in his chair asleep, his feet on the desk. He had kicked the phone off the hook. She placed her purse and keys to the side.

  “Richard,” she whispered. “Richard.” She smoothed the worry lines on his face. “Time to go home.” His disoriented and scared look sent her into worry mode. “What’s wrong?”

  His face softened. “You’ve come to save me again,” he whispered hoarsely.

  “What am I saving you from?” She was failing with Trae and Skeet, but wouldn’t fail with Richard.

  He kissed her lightly. “Childhood memories. Oh, shoot!” He jumped up. “I was supposed to pick you up. Where is Crystal?” He helped her stand. “I’m sorry.”

  Ebony hugged him. His fast-beating heart thumped against her chest. “Mom has her. I’m worried about you.” She ran the back of her hand along his five o’clock shadow. “Tell your people to lock the office at the end of the day, even if you’re here working. This is the south side of Chicago, not an upper-class suburb of Austin.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said with a crooked grin. “I’m sorry. I must have gone to dreamland. I need to charge my cell phone.”

  “What are the dreams about?”

  “Crystal feels loved. It’s hard on kids…” he rambled on. “I’m glad Crystal has you. Your family isn’t conventional, but you make sure she feels loved, wanted.”

  They’d both grown up knowing the pain of feeling unwanted, and wouldn’t wish it on any child. She thanked God for sending her someone who understood her. “I’m glad I have you.”