“You’re not interested in how I performed in the race? I placed third, you know –”
“Of course I’m interested, Dallis…and congratulations, darling. I think that is excellent, actually, but I was simply trying to get back into your good graces.”
“By berating my father?” Dallis pinned her mother with an annoyed gaze. “When are you two going to be done with this senseless arrangement?”
Dana paused to fully observe her daughter’s disposition. She was dressed in a grey jogging suit, and her curls were twisted messily behind her head. Dallis rarely expressed feelings of anger. So when Dana experienced it, she wanted to make certain she gave Dallis her undivided attention.
“I’m not making any excuses for Gregory,” Dana said, wanting to get back to praising Dallis for a job well done, but her daughter clearly preferred to change the subject. “But you know the decision is not up to me.”
“Are you even trying to fix things? Because you seemed pretty content to put up with Daddy’s games. No husband of mine would have me sleeping in a separate room from him.”
Dana sighed heavily. She had been down this road dozens of times with her children. Gregory was a stubborn man, who was hell bent on making her pay. “What choice do I have, Dallis? As far as your father is concerned, I’m the one totally responsible for the breakdown in our relationship. He dangles my sin in front of me as often as he can, reminding me that I’m a carbon copy of Rahab, the prostitute.”
“But it has been three years,” Dallis spewed incredulously. “This is not a marriage, especially if he can’t find it in his heart to forgive you.”
“Infidelity is not so easy for some people to get over, sweetheart. Your father is one of them. I’m not so sure if I would have been so forgiving either, if the shoe were on the other foot.”
“Do you still love him?”
“Of course I still love your father, but –”
“It’s complicated,” Dallis finished. “Well, Mom, I would have you to know that I’m tired of all the pretending.”
Dallis took a seat on the bed and locked her hands between her knees. It was another sign that Dana was acquainted with. Something else was troubling Dallis, besides the race and this situation between Dana and Gregory.
“Let’s deal with my craziness another night,” Dana said lightly, in an attempt to break the tension in the air. She pulled herself up next to her daughter. “I gather something else is on your mind. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really…”
“Uh oh…I know that tone.”
“Then you know that I don’t want to talk about it,” Dallis blushed.
“What’s his name? You can hardly look at me with a straight face.”
Dallis rested her face in the palms of her hands. “I can’t believe that I’m that transparent.”
Dana laughed. “You’re not, but it just means that I know you pretty well…come on, just spill it.”
“Okay,” Dallis looked at her mother warily. “Please, don’t mention any of this to Daddy.”
“He’s not my favorite person these days, so, you have nothing to be worried about.”
“I’m attracted to someone,” Dallis confessed. “But I don’t know what to do about it.”
“Girl or boy?”
“Mom! His name is Anwar Daxon, if you are that desperate to know.”
“It was just a question, sweetie,” Dana stifled her laugh and tried to put on her serious face. “It’s a nice name – sounds like a doctor. Where did you meet him?”
“He recently joined the swim club and we’ve been hanging out by the pools ever since.”
“Awwwhhh…I’m getting the picture now. I’m betting he’s real cute, because it takes a lot to get you off kilter.”
Dallis turned away and blushed.
“I must meet him at once, Dallis!” Dana exclaimed. “You’ve turned completely red in the face.”
“Mom, stop teasing. I don’t want to get my hopes up.”
“Why? You don’t think the feelings are mutual between you two?”
“No, it isn’t that. Daddy took to him right away, which shocked me, because you know how Daddy gets when boys start coming around. He even gave Anwar one of his business cards.”
“Your father got to meet him before I did?”
“Mom, stay focused.”
“Where’s Anwar from?”
“He says he from New Providence.”
“Well, that explains your father’s behavior,” Dana said. “New Providence is a very affluent little island, much like Bliss Haven.”
“No, I think it’s something else. There was a real connection between Anwar and Daddy. I’ve never seen Daddy so willing to help anyone in my life.”
Dana wasn’t all that surprised. Back in the day when Gregory was just another name on the church roll, helping people had been his passion. Maybe, in some ways, Gregory was starting to reacquire some of those benevolent traits.
“It is very hard to understand what your father does these days,” Dana said. “But I can relate to what you’re saying. I get a similar vibe when I see Gregory going out of his way to impress Izaiah, a young boy who doesn’t have half of the experience that Gregory has.”
“But I’m okay with Daddy wanting to help Anwar,” Dallis said. “I’m not okay with Anwar being dishonest.”
Dana frowned inquisitively, which prompted Dallis to elucidate.
“I don’t think Anwar is from New Providence.”
“Do you have proof of that?”
“No, but I’ve been trying to get him to tell me where he lives since he joined the swim club. But he keeps changing the subject somehow. He takes the public bus, always refuses my offer to give him a ride to his house. Now, when introduced to my father, he’s quick to give up information I couldn’t get out of him. I hope you see why I’m very uncomfortable about my attraction toward Anwar. I don’t want it to blind me to something I should be paying attention to.”
“If only Asia could take a page out of your book,” Dana remarked, “I would be less worried about men taking advantage of her. I could come up with several reasons as to why Anwar would want to keep his background hidden, but I would prefer to err on the side of caution. Always take heed to your intuitions. I wish I had taken heed to my own advice. Maybe, I wouldn’t be in this predicament with your father. But for whatever it is worth, I think your approach to the situation is quite mature and commendable. Your best ally is time. Time will reveal all.”
Chapter Nineteen
Over a week had gone by since Jorge was attacked by those three men, who obviously belonged to Bishop Gregory Beaufort. Should he have reported the incident to the police? Sure, but where would that have gotten him? The mere fact that he lived in St. Elmo’s Valley, automatically placed him at the bottom of the law’s list of concerns. The police probably would have taken a written statement, but Jorge knew the system. His file would be buried among the slush pile until some Good Samaritan decided to do something about it. That was just the way it was when certain types of incidents occurred in St. Elmo’s Valley.
If he’d been living in the lush coves of Crystal Bay, then the outcome would have been entirely different. His case would be plastered all over the news, with a contingent of police officers assigned to bring the culprits to justice. The island was only so big, so Jorge knew it wouldn’t have been a difficult task for the police to find his attackers. But why waste both his time and the police’s time? The line of demarcation between the rich and the poor was clearly defined. It was unfortunate, but money and fame ran the show.
By now, both of Jorge’s parents knew that he had been attacked. Surprisingly, it was at their behest that he did something about it. Normally, his parents preferred to take the passive role of ‘turning a blind eye’ to a situation, but Jorge assumed he looked so banged up that his parents were compelled to speak out of their anger. He could not blame them, though. The amount of injustice that went on in St. Elmo’s Va
lley sometimes provoked acts of vigilantism. But Jorge assured his parents that he felt much better than his face looked. Most of the swelling had shrunk anyway, leaving only a bit of soreness between his ribcage. He was thankful that there were no broken bones.
The real pain, however, was wedged deeply within Jorge’s lifeless soul. A missing he could not describe, except what he supposed was a taste of manic depression. Jorge never imagined in his life that he would fall for a girl so hard. And not just any girl. He had fallen for someone who was far out of his league – well, maybe in terms of wealth and public eminence, but the reality was, Asia Beaufort was like an adventure that would be best left unexplored. Why had he put himself in that predicament? He should have known that Asia’s father would do everything in his power to prevent his daughter from dating a poor jewelry maker from St. Elmo’s Valley.
Jorge could remember the first time Asia had introduced him to her father. She was desperate to secure funding for his jewelry business. She advocated that such a gift should be treated with respect and not be prostituted in the straw market for chicken feed. Obviously, Asia was excited about the prospects of her brilliant idea, but what Asia didn’t anticipate, was her father’s churlish attitude toward Jorge. Even now as he sat alone on the dock, splashing his feet in the crystal clear water, Jorge could picture that malignant scowl on Gregory’s face.
“You really don’t have to do this, Asia,” Jorge had told her, as they curbed their steps in front of Gregory’s office door. “I’m getting by for now.”
“Don’t be a wuss,” Asia teased. “My father is not going to maul you to death…he’s a reasonable man.”
“Is that so?” Jorge turned to Asia and was taken away by the confidence he saw in her eyes. She really believed that things were going to work out in their favor. “Well, here goes.”
Asia knocked and then pushed the door open to her father’s office. Gregory had his head bent, appearing to be engrossed in something on his desk. Asia held Jorge’s hand and pulled him toward her father.
“Daddy, I want you to meet Jorge Bentley. He’s the one I’ve been telling you about.”
Gregory lifted his head to acknowledge his daughter and her guest, only to be thrown off by Jorge’s scruffy appearance. Well, in Gregory’s eyes, it was not the quality of clothing he would have worn if he was going to sit in a meeting that would change his destiny. He blatantly examined Jorge from head to toe, ignoring the excitement he saw on his daughter’s face.
Gregory cleared his throat. “Have a seat, Jorge.”
Asia followed suit, but Gregory appeared to have plans of his own.
“I will talk with Jorge alone,” he told her. “Give us a few minutes, darling.”
“No, it’s okay. I want to be here,” Asia said.
“It’s not necessary, Asia. You have briefed me about the proposal and now I wish to speak to Mr. Bentley one on one.”
“Asia, I’ll be fine,” Jorge assured her, even though his heart was slamming mightily against his chest. He could sense that Gregory had already formed a negative opinion of him in his mind.
“Okay, then, I’ll wait for you in the living room.”
Jorge watched his love drag her steps out of the office. They had only been dating for two months at the time, but the connection was so strong between them that it felt as if she was leaving him for good. When Jorge refocused his gaze on Gregory, that dismal vibe he’d sensed a minute ago now seemed to explode from Gregory’s presence. There was a strange-looking pendant hanging from a small stand on Gregory’s desk. It had the impression of a pyramid, with an eye in the center of it. Jorge only noticed it because as a jewelry maker, he was drawn to other people’s talents. However, a pendant of that sort looked out of place in Gregory’s office.
“Where are you from?” was the first question that Gregory chucked at him.
“St. Elmo’s Valley,” Jorge answered guardedly, because everyone knew St. Elmo’s Valley had a heavy influx of illegal immigrants. So in an attempt to validate his citizenship, Jorge tossed in a little history about his background. “My family was born there in the mid-sixties, when conditions were much better than they are now –”
“I am not an idiot, Jorge,” Gregory cut in. “I know exactly what is going on between you and my daughter and I don’t approve of it.” Gregory spent the next several minutes drilling Jorge about his relationship with Asia, trying to see how far they’d gone in the expression of their love. He leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers in front of him. Jorge wouldn’t be the first boy he’d tried to thwart from his daughter’s path, but there was something about Jorge he genuinely did not like. “I have a proposition for you; if you’re wise, you will consider it very carefully.”
Jorge immediately rejected the proposition. That moment, as Jorge remembered, turned into five minutes of pure hell on earth. Gregory did not hold back on his venomous threats, as a slew of derogatory tags accompanied his rant. Jorge considered himself to be a tough cookie, but by the time Gregory got through with him, his eyes were stinging with tears. That meeting should have never happened, because it was at that point when Jorge’s relationship with Asia took a turn for the worse.
“There you are, man,” Anwar said out of breath. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
“So have I, my friend,” Jorge quipped. “I barely saw you at all this week, so I went back home to my parents. Do you remember that we have a business to run? I can’t get much done without you, especially trying to recover from the attack.”
“I’m sorry about that, man,” Anwar said. “But I have plans with Dallis.”
Jorge removed his straw hat from his head so that he could get a good look at his childhood friend. Anwar was immaculately dressed in what seemed to be brand new casual wear. His burgundy Polo shirt blended tastefully with his tan, knee-length chinos. Jorge examined Anwar’s feet and was amazed to see that his friend even had on a brand new pair of leather sandals. Jorge decided to mess with him a little.
“When you said that you were moving up to higher ground, I didn’t anticipate you robbing a bank to get there.”
Anwar smirked, even though he was annoyed by Jorge’s remark. “I didn’t rob a bank, knucklehead. I just know how to save my money.”
“Those sandals are Nordstroms…the last time I window shopped, they were on sale for eighty bucks. Our business doesn’t make that much money in a week.”
“Well, I’ve been saving for a while,” Anwar fired back. “I told you, I have a plan to get out of this hell hole. You can relax and chase your pathetic dreams of being with Asia all you want, but until you make yourself some real money, no one is going to ever respect you on this island.”
“That depends on who you want to respect you, my friend. Money and fame attract some of the most unscrupulous human beings, who only expose you to more problems. There’s nothing wrong with humble beginnings. When you try to manipulate the system, most of the time it backfires. Work hard, believe in yourself and you will eventually find success.”
“And look where that has gotten our parents,” Anwar retorted. “I don’t want that for my life, man…I’m not hurting anybody…I’m just seizing my opportunities.” He pulled out a twenty dollar bill and stuffed it in the pocket of Jorge’s shirt. “I will dive for you next week. That should be enough to keep you until then.”
“I don’t need your money.”
“Keep it…I can get more, if I need it.”
“What are your plans with Dallis?” Jorge called after his friend. “I’d be lying if I told you that I’m comfortable with what you’re getting yourself into.”
Anwar threw his hands up in the air, letting a mischievous grin pull his lips to the side. “We’re just spending time together. I’ll catch up with you later, man; the universe is finally starting to agree with me.”
Jorge stared after Anwar a long while before returning his pensive gaze to the water. Though his motives were misguided, it seemed as if Anwar was getting w
hat he wanted. But Jorge could not say the same for himself. The one thing he craved, and probably would have died trying to hold on to, had slipped through his unsuspecting fingers.
Chapter Twenty
Izaiah was impressed to see Asia waiting for him in the grand living room. Always attired in well-fashioned dresses, with a bubbly personality to match. Izaiah now thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Asia. He had thought about her strange obsession to accompany him to St. Elmo’s Valley, and how she persistently questioned him about their itinerary. Would he travel with them in groups, or would he trust the teams to handle the visitations on their own?
Gregory purposely did not inform Izaiah about the details of the young man Asia was involved with – like his name and where he was from. Izaiah guessed Gregory intended this to be an adventure of some sort, because without the specifics, it could be a challenge wooing Asia away from her obsession. Asia was being tightlipped about this boy, too, but based on Asia’s conduct earlier that morning, Izaiah was able to determine that she had an agenda she intended on carrying out – which was to use the mission as an excuse to spend time with that boy Izaiah had seen Asia hugging at the Quad that afternoon. He wondered why he hadn’t figured this out before now.
For a moment, Izaiah’s thoughts shifted back to Gregory, as he thought of how evasive Gregory could be. Izaiah was almost certain that the ‘organization’ never intended to close the doors of St. Donovan’s Chapel. Because ever since that day Gregory had picked him up from the airport, Gregory had never revisited the issue. Moves like that continued to make Izaiah feel as if the job offer had all been a ploy to get him to Bliss Haven – for reasons Izaiah was still trying to work through his head. He needed to know the real reason why Gregory wanted him in Bliss Haven, because Izaiah could not shake the feeling that something bigger was going on behind the scenes. Especially the way Gregory kept staring at him, as if he wanted to divulge some deep, dark secret.
“So, how does it feel to be the youth minister of such a prestigious church?”