What's Blood Got to Do With It? Read online

  Adanya clung to her father’s arm as they pushed through the crowd of Grizzlies fans and into the FedEx Forum.

  “Daddy, I have a feeling we’re going to win tonight.”

  Kenneth Anniston squeezed his daughter’s forearm. “We better win after having to fight through traffic, not to mention this huge crowd. I don’t think we’ve been to a game this season with as many people turning out tonight. But it’s the first time in a while that we’ve been on a winning streak like this. It looks like we’re going to be good contenders for a championship team this year.”

  “Whatever you say,” agreed Adanya. “Do you think those two guys that call themselves

  Grizzlies Super Fans will be here tonight?” Adanya laughed as they inched closer to the entrance of the FedEx Forum.

  “They always are,” Kenneth Anniston answered.

  “I hope we’re lucky enough to be sitting close to them. You know those guys are all over the Forum on game night.”

  “Yeah, I know and I’m like you, I hope our season tickets pay off and they’re sitting in our section. Wouldn’t it be a riot?”

  They finally made it inside the congested Forum and took off toward the direction of their seats.

  Adanya relished the chance to hang out with her father. For her, as long as he was in her life there was no need for her to be involved with anyone.

  The game ended with the Grizzlies winning again. To top it off, she and her father were lucky enough to have the two, well-loved notorious Super Fans sitting in their section. After the game ended, they were able to take several pictures with the famous duo. Adanya and her father moved aside so other fans who were in line could take pictures with the Super Fans.

  “Honey, I’ll be right back. I see one of my clients.” Kenneth pointed to the left of him.

  “Okay, I’ll wait here,” she said as he walked off.

  Adanya’s mouth opened when she saw the guy from lunch standing almost directly in front of her. He was laughing and talking with a group of people. She quickly turned her head and shuffled through the crowd toward her father, hoping that Bleak wouldn’t see her. Unfortunately, it was too late. She felt a light tap on her shoulder.

  “We meet again.”

  Adanya looked around. “Oh, hi.”

  “See, I told you that I’ve seen you before. Probably here.”

  “I don’t think so. I don’t attend these games that often.”

  “Is that right? Well, seeing you here makes it my lucky night.”

  “Excuse me.” Adanya rolled her eyes and walked off.

  A deep crease formed on Bleak’s face as he watched her leave. He shrugged his shoulders and laughed. “We’ll see each other again,” he whispered to himself, before he turned and walked back to his friends.

  ◊

  “Daddy, you all right? You’ve barely said a word since we left the Forum.”

  “I, uh was just thinking about the big win we pulled off. That was a great game.”

  “Yeah, it sure was. And we got pictures too. I can’t wait to load them on my social media site.” Adanya smiled.

  Kenneth reached over and patted his daughter’s hand. “Honey, where do you know that young man from?”

  “Who?”

  “The guy I saw you talking to.”

  “Oh, I really don’t know him. I only saw him for the first time earlier today when me and Nanette went to lunch. He walked over to where we were seated and introduced himself; saying he thought he’d seen me somewhere before. He asked me my name.”

  “Did you tell him?” Kenneth asked.

  “No. Of course I didn’t. I don’t know anything about him.” “That’s my girl. You know I want you to meet a nice young man one day, but I don’t think he should be a white guy. You should stay within your own race. Plus, I don’t like the way he approached you. You have to learn how to discern a man’s true motives.”

  “Don’t worry. You’ve taught me well. And as far as considering dating outside my race, well, I’m not trying to be racist, but the man I one day hope sweeps me off my feet will definitely be a brother.”

  “Just be careful. You’re a beautiful young lady, and I know how men operate. If you have any questions, you come to me. And if you see that guy again, I want you to let me know.”

  Adanya frowned. “Why? I don’t think he’s a psycho or anything. He didn’t come across like that. I think he was just flirting.”

  “Still, I want you to keep your guard up. You never know what’s on these guy’s minds.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  On the drive home, Adanya nestled on the passenger’s side of her father’s luxury automobile. Her thoughts leaned toward Bleak. Of all people to run into, why him? What kind of name is Bleak anyway? Why am I bothered about it? Stop it, Adanya. He’s just another flirtatious man trying to get what he wants out of a woman. She would definitely take into account what her father told her.

  The closer they got to home, Adanya felt herself growing weary. Her eyelids fluttered and she positioned her head comfortably on the back of the head cushion. It had been a great day and a fantastic evening.

  ◊

  “Pumpkin. We’re home.”

  Adanya raised her head suddenly. “I didn’t know I’d fallen asleep.” She opened the door, stepped outside of the car, and the two of them went inside, and out of the cold garage.

  “How was the game?” her mother asked when she walked inside.

  “We won.”

  Kenneth gave a thumbs up sign. He walked up to his wife and kissed her on the forehead.

  “Mom, Daddy, I’m going to my room. I’m exhausted.”

  “Okay, sweetheart,” her mother told her.

  “G’nite, Pumpkin.”

  Once in her bedroom, Adanya prepared for bed and then decided to call Nanette.

  “You saw him at the game? How did he look?” Nanette sounded more excited than Adanya ever had about a guy before.

  “The same as when we saw him at lunch, except instead of dress slacks and a button down shirt he was in a pair of jeans and a Polo.”

  “Was he with a girl?”

  “I couldn’t really tell, but I don’t think so. I saw him standing with a few people. I didn’t see a girl next to him but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t with one. Anyway, who cares?”

  “You care or you wouldn’t have called me to tell me.”

  “Nanette, you get excited over the least bit of things. So what if I called to tell you? It doesn’t mean a thing. I just wanted to tell you because I knew you would get a kick out of it.”

  “I’m glad you did. Did you tell him your name this time?”

  “Nope.”

  “What did your daddy have to say about him?”

  “Nothing, because he wasn’t around, thank God. He saw somebody he knew so he was busy talking to them when Bleak stepped to me. Ugh, the nerve of some of these dudes. Girl, I tell you these guys will do anything to get into a girl’s-well, I’m not even going there.”

  “You are judging the man without knowing anything about him. That’s totally unfair. You wouldn’t want someone doing you like that.”

  “I know and you’re right. But I’m just being cautious. Most of these guys aren’t serious. All they want is sex, and white boys are no exception. And you know me; I’m not about to entertain someone like him who walks up on me like he did. He doesn’t know me from any other female out there.”

  “Maybe, he wants to get to know you.”

  “Look, I’m tired and I’m starting to feel bad, like I’m coming down with a bug. I’m going to lie down. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Okay.”

  “Bye.” Adanya turned back the bedspread. Before climbing underneath the cover, she knelt on her knees and prayed. Afterward she pulled the sheet and comforter up close around her neck. The winter season should explain her chill, but it had been warm inside the Forum, the car, and it definitely was warm inside the house. She tossed and turned. During the night, she started to
feel feverish and her chills increased. Her body ached with every turn.

  After several hours of torment, she got up, took a couple of fever reducer caplets, and drank a glass of juice. She returned to bed and with the morning light, she felt somewhat better.

  ◊

  “Good morning, sweetheart.” Annalisse studied her daughter’s face for a few moments. “Are you feeling all right? You look a little pale.”

  “I feel a little better than I did during the night. Right after I went to bed, I started having chills, and I felt feverish and achy. It’s probably a twenty-four virus, or maybe I was just plain tired.”

  Like she was an infant, Adanya’s mother approached her and placed the back of her hand lightly against her forehead. “Doesn’t feel like you have a fever.”

  Adanya pulled away. “I know; I told you, I’m better. I’m leaving now. I’ve got to get to work.”

  “Okay, try to have a good day.”

  Adanya hurried out of the door with her cream colored, wool, ruffled coat buttoned to the top of her neck. She arrived at Rhodes Communications Building, parked, and in record time, jumped out and hurried out of the cold into the warmth of the building. Toward the end of her third lecture of the morning, Adanya was feeling worse than she had the night before.

  She reported to the Communications Director and informed her that she was going home. She texted Nanette and cancelled their lunch date.

  On the way home, Adanya felt her body temperature rise, and her throat had begun to ache. The weather outside was also turning brutal. The frigid air reached the inside of her car and disregarded the car’s interior heat. She pushed the remote to open her side of the three-car garage when she approached her parents’ massive 5,500 square foot house. Her mother’s black BMW x6 looked like it had never moved.

  Adanya envisioned her mother as one of the “Housewives of Whatever,” and smiled slightly at the thought. She got out her car and turned the garage doorknob leading into the wide open foyer. She had no idea what caused her to ease inside the house rather than announce her presence. Maybe it was the fact that she felt more awful with each step she took.

  She heard her mother’s voice going a mile a minute. Annalisse did most of her business consulting from the confines of a huge home office. She was obviously on the phone, one of Annalisse’s preferred past times when she wasn’t entertaining.

  “I don’t know, Kaye. It’s been twenty-two, going on twenty-three years. Imagine living with this for that long. I’m tired of hiding. I want to live my life. I want to be freed from the grips of the past.” Her mother’s voice sounded tear-filled.

  Adanya remained in the entrance hall, too afraid to move. She was frozen in time. What was she talking about? Any other time she would have disregarded her mother’s conversation and went up the back stairway to her room. She didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but her feet held still like they were meshed in hardened stone. She continued to listen while she tipped inside the half-bath located right off of the foyer and tore a sheet of toilet tissue off its roll to wipe her running, crimson nose.

  “Hold up. Adanya is grown. It’s time she knows the truth. And what about me? I’m only thirty-eight years old. I’ve done more than my share to make a good life for her. I know God has His ways. But this has truly been one of those times when I have to constantly remind myself that I’m not supposed to lean to my own understanding.”

  What is she talking about? There was no retreating. She had to know what her mother was talking about, and what did she have to do with it. She took a careful position closer to the kitchen so she wouldn’t miss a word.

  “I hear what you’re saying, but you know for yourself that some things that God allows are just too far-fetched. I can’t help but wonder why He does the things He does. I mean, think about my autistic twin sister. Compare her to me. Here I am, a member of Mensa, married to a good man who loves me and God with all of his heart; but because I have a womb that doesn’t ovulate, I haven’t given my husband a child. Tell me how I should make sense of that?”

  Adanya felt faint. But she couldn’t stop listening.

  “Yes, I hear what you’re saying, Kaye. And I am thankful. I know that the circumstances back then could have turned out different. But on the other end, I feel like me and Kenneth are reminded of our past every single, solitary day when we see Adanya. And then, my sister. Poor Anaya; it’s just hard to imagine what goes through her limited mind.”

  “Sure, I hear you,” Annalisse said into the phone. “And yes, I’m appreciative that I had parents that were able to send me to college. I’m grateful that I had the chance to step up to the plate and at least try to make things easier when it came to my sister. I still can’t imagine what Anaya had to go through.”

  Annalisse was silent for a few seconds on the phone, apparently listening to Kaye’s rebuttal.

  “Okay, so what’s that got to do with any of this? Kenneth was blessed to start a lucrative tech business, and…so what? All of that is truly favor from God, I know. But, just try to listen to me for once. Understand where I’m coming from.”

  Adanya heard her mother’s hand hit against what sounded like the granite kitchen island countertop. Her voice rose and the words that came out sounded laced with anger. “I didn’t complain, well except to you, not one time. I accepted full responsibility of raising Adanya after I finished college and so did Kenneth. Don’t get me wrong, I love her like my own. I thank God for her, but the fact remains, she’s not my child. And she needs to know that, Kaye. She deserves to know the truth.”

  Adanya suddenly felt light headed. Everything around her grew dark before she collapsed. When she awakened, she was in her bed with a heavy quilt covering her body. She sat up suddenly, and surveyed her surroundings somewhat confused.

  “Ahhh.” Her mother rushed inside Adanya’s bedroom while her father’s familiar footsteps trailed behind Annalisse’s. Adanya placed her head in her hands and shook from side to side.

  “Adanya, baby, how are you feeling? You scared me to death. You really have it bad, don’t you? I didn’t know what to do when you passed out like that. Tomorrow, you are going to the doctor and get some antibiotics. The flu is nothing to play with.”

  Adanya looked past her mother and connected with the awkward stare on her father’s face.

  “Who am I?” Adanya cried. “Tell me right now.” She jumped out of the bed, balled both fists staunchly to her side, and started screaming like a toddler having a tantrum.

  “Settle down, Pumpkin.” Her father walked closer to her and encircled her body in his arms, but Adanya pulled out of his hold. “What’s wrong? Do we need to take you to the ER?” he asked.

  “No, I don’t need to see a doctor, and I’m not your pumpkin. I want to know what’s going on. I heard you, mother, or whoever you are,” Adanya continued to wail. She glared at Annalisse with eyes that looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.

  Annalisse peered at her husband with a look of fear mixed with concern on her face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What is it you heard, sweetheart?”

  “Don’t play with me, mother. You know darn well what I heard.” “Adanya, calm down, honey. Just tell us what on earth you’re talking about?” Annalisse continued to look at her daughter with surprise.

  “You think I’m like your sister? Well, I’m not Aunt Anaya. I have the capacity to think, and I know what I heard you telling Miss Kaye,” yelled Adanya.

  “What is she talking about, Annalisse? What were you and Kaye discussing?”

  “Oh, you mean you haven’t told Daddy how miserable you are?” Adanya feigned laughter.

  “Wait, please don’t do this,” her mother said.

  “No, don’t you do this.” She pointed at Annalisse with contempt plastered across her face.

  “Look, will somebody tell me what this is all about?” Kenneth reached out both hands and walked toward Adanya to embrace her, but she quickly took a step backward.

  �
�Don’t you touch me. I bet you’re just as much to blame as she is.”

  Kenneth searched his wife's eyes for answers.

  “I was talking to Kaye on the phone earlier this afternoon.” Annalisse looked ashamed. Her high yellow complexion turned a shade darker.

  “So what does that have to do with anything? You’re always talking to Kaye about one thing or the other.”

  “Oh, so you really didn’t tell Daddy. How could you?” Adanya started crying. “How could you lie to me all of these years? I’m not your daughter?”

  Kenneth stumbled. His left palm landed on the dresser, which steadied him somewhat. He looked at his wife of eighteen years with an unknowing expression.

  “What…what is she talking about? He looked like he was desperately trying to pull himself together. “Where has all of this nonsense come from?”

  With tears flowing from her eyes, she answered in a broken voice, “Kenneth, she knows.”

  “What did you say?”

  “Kenneth, honey, I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I was just having one of those days, and, well, I felt like I was about to explode. I’ve, we’ve been keeping this hidden for so long that I needed to vent, and so, so I−”

  Kenneth waved her off with his hand. Anger was apparent in his voice. “You…Annalisse. How could you?” He transferred his gaze toward his daughter, and the angry looking expression on his face turned to one that looked like sorrow.

  “Baby, I know this has to be hard. But you have to know that we love you. We always have. And we always will. I don’t know how much you know, or what all was said, but please believe me.” He shifted his eyes over at Annalisse. “We are your parents. We always will be,” Kenneth tried to assure Adanya in a loving manner.

  “You think I’m crazy. That I’m supposed to act like I didn’t hear what I heard?”

  Adanya dashed pass the frightened looking couple and started opening drawers and throwing her clothes out on the floor. Next, she swiftly opened the door to her walk-in closet and grabbed a huge piece of luggage from off the top shelf. Taking the clothes by handfuls, Adanya started throwing them in the suitcase.