Page 30 of Enigma
“Nah, mom, it’s me,” I said dryly as I heard her shuffling to make her way out of the kitchen.
My mother and sister made their way out of the kitchen to greet me, and I can honestly say I felt no connection to the people I was supposed to be closest to. I was ready to say what I needed to say, take my ass home, and prepare for my trip to Napa Valley with Dana.
“Big brother, this is a pleasant surprise,” the excitement evident in my baby sister, Calla’s voice, as she held her arms open for me to hug her.
“I’m known to do the unexpected from time to time,” I replied, picking her small frame up to hug her and kiss her forehead.
Calla was the baby and, admittedly, my father’s pride and joy because she never gave him any pushback, and she’d gone to school and gotten degrees in computer science and software development, gearing up to be the heiress to our father’s tech throne.
“Cal, what brings you by? You normally don’t do Sunday dinners,” my mother got straight to the point.
“Nice to see you too, mom,” the sarcasm dripping from my voice, “I wanted to talk to everyone about something important, is Sr. around?”
“He’s upstairs. Is everything okay? Are the kids good?” My eyes nearly rolled to the back of my head at the mention of my kids, her grandkids that she and my father had not checked on consistently since their mother had passed.
“Let’s hope you’re not trying to prepare us for one of those bullshit ‘Me Too’ scandals,” the venom evident in my father’s voice as he made his way to where we were all standing.
“That would be more your speed than mine, given your history,” I threw the venom right back, causing my mother and siblings to sigh.
If my father and I were in the same room for longer than a few seconds, it was sure to be a war of words between us that he always managed to start. I tried to be cordial and respectful, but Sr. made it nearly impossible for me to do so. His disdain for me stemmed from me being a totally different man from him, a man who loved his wife and showed her with his actions and words. Sr. had cheated on my mother for as long as I could remember throwing money at his infidelity by purchasing cars, clothes, jewelry, basically buying her compliance for the right price, and while I’m sure she had her reasons for staying I always thought she was weak for letting the strain on the relationship he and I had cause a strain on the relationship she and I had, even trickling down to her grandkids.
“Dinner is ready, let’s all move to the dining room to eat and hear what Caleb has to say,” my mother urged.
I knew I wasn’t actually going to eat, but I would at least sit to tell them that Layanna and I were dating, so they wouldn’t find out from the media once we started showing up hand in hand at Rio’s games when the season started. Everything looked amazing, my mother had always been a fantastic cook, but being in the same room as Sr. always killed my appetite.
“So, how are the kids?” My mother inquired, refusing to let the question go.
“They’re good, but you’d know that if you called and checked on them,” the table going silent, the dig landing as intended because my mother backed off from asking about them.
I could handle her being a half-ass mother to me because she’d been that way my entire life, but my children had never had the privilege of having loving grandparents they could run to when Maria and I were on their nerves. That had never been a luxury for Maria and me, considering she never knew her parents, and my mother’s parents had very little to do with us because they hated my father, and my mother opted to distance herself from them for the sake of her marriage. I’d only ever seen pictures of Sr. and his parents; however, they passed away when I was too young to remember them, and based on the snide remarks my mother would make about them, she wasn’t their biggest fan, and the feeling was probably mutual.
Unlike my parents, Calil and Calla had pretty close relationships with the kids and talked to them often, which alone played a part in why I never closed the door on my relationship with them. When Maria passed, I never had to wonder if the kids were okay and taken care of because Calla, Calil, Yanna, and Angel made sure of it, but when Angel died, my brother and sister extended that same love and support to Yanna and her kids.
I told myself I would only stay 45 minutes, no longer than an hour, yet here I was, 90 minutes later, making forced small talk because I couldn’t bring myself to share information with the very people I didn’t trust. Still, I was ready to get the fuck out of here, so I was about to rip the band-aid off and let the chips fall where they might.
“So let me get this straight, you’re dating your deceased best friend’s wife that was also good friends with your deceased wife,” the shock in my brother’s voice couldn’t be missed, “I mean I get it, Doc is some fine shit, as the kids are saying,” cutting my eyes to him as he chuckled.
“Son, are you sure this is the right move to make? Have you considered your career? The kids? No matter how you explain it, the public will take the worst-case lie and make it their truth.” My mother had very valid concerns; however, Yanna and I had discussed them at length and decided that the public could believe what they wanted as long as the people we loved knew the truth.
“Momma, I’ve been famous longer than I haven’t, and I’ve seen every lie and rumor there is to see about myself, Maria, and even my kids. If I allowed the public to dictate how I live my life, I wouldn’t have a life worth living,” I explained, noticing my father was unusually quiet.
“I’ve always loved Yanna, also studies show that it’s not uncommon for widows and widowers to find love with someone close to them,” Calla added to the conversation, her voice full of whimsy, “I think that finding love again after having it taken from you is beautiful and I only hope that you and Yanna are happy beyond what you ever thought imaginable,” her voice full of sincerity.
“Thank you, baby sis.”
“Spent your whole life judging me and turning your nose up at me just to prove you’re more like me than you’d ever care to admit,” my father finally spoke with a look of contempt plastered on his aging face before he continued, “Your brother, sister, and mother can play as dumb and love struck as they please but you can’t truly expect me to believe that you just so happen to fall in love with your dead best friend’s fat ass wife after your wife dies and absolutely NOTHING was going on between the two of you while they were still alive? Son, you might hate me, but at least I stand up in my shit like a man and don’t hide behind bullshit lies when the truth comes knocking,” he spat with venom dripping from his tongue as he proceededto sip scotch he was holding in his hand.
Since the gloves had come off and quickly, I stood and decided to get in the mud before I took my ass home.
“Funny you should speak on being a man because you have been the furthest from one my whole life. I honestly can’t remember a time when you weren’t cheating on my mother, even dragging me to some of your mistresses’ houses while you did your dirt. It wasn’t until I told Momma what was going on that you stood in that shit that you speak of. I’ve spared you for years because I didn’t want to completely taint the image Calla and Caleb have of you, but tell me, do they know about all the abortions you paid for that I heard you and Momma arguing about? Do they know that all the fancy gifts and trips you used to give her were sorries for cheating and giving her STDs? Unlike you, I’ve never felt so inadequate that I needed to break the woman I love and detach from the kids I made to make myself feel like a man. The truth is you are a bitch, have been a bitch, and will always be a bitch, and I’m glad I never met the bitch and bitch ass nigga that raised you,” I spat, clearly striking a nerve as my father raised out of his seat, getting in my face.
“Boy, who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?” He leaned in close to my face as I saw my mother rounding the table to try to get between us.
“Momma, don’t try to get between them; this has been a long time coming,” my brother warned as she stopped in her tracks.
Turning to look at my mother, I tore into her ass too, “Don’t try to keep the peace now when you sat around here being a doormat for tricks and trinkets. You allowed this BITCH to give me his ass to kiss at every turn, all because I dared to tell you the truth about what he was subjecting us both to. It was almost like you resented me as much as him for telling you a truth you hated to face and to add insult to injury, you distanced yourself from me and the kids when we needed you most, and I still paid the bills, sent the stipends, paid for vacations, and whatever else y’all could get out of me, the teen father who made it despite my circumstances,” tears welling up in her eyes, “But that stops NOW. As of today, neither of you will be getting another penny out of me, so I hope your affairs are in order.”
“Cal, you don’t have to talk to Momma like that,” Calla chimed in.
