White Lines II: Sunny: A Novel Read online

  Born nodded. “I’ll call her tomorrow.”

  “I’m gonna be a rapper, too,” Ethan said. He wanted to be just like DJ when he grew up. DJ patted him on his head.

  Sheldon looked on and decided that Ethan was a pussy, a crybaby, kiss-ass, teacher’s-pet kind of guy. He also decided then and there that he didn’t like him. He got up and left the room.

  The game came back on and everyone’s attention was focused on the TV until it was halftime. Ava went into the kitchen and helped Jada and Miss Ingrid finish the preparation of the food. It wasn’t long before the turkey and all the fixings were done.

  When they sat down to eat at last, Miss Ingrid offered up a prayer of thanksgiving for all that they had been blessed with. Everyone responded with a heartfelt amen. They feasted on turkey, macaroni and cheese, stuffing, collard greens, sweet potatoes, biscuits, and more, and soon they were all sprawled out in Jada’s living room watching Miracle on 34th Street.

  Eleven-year-old Adiva was the spitting image of her father. Her smooth ebony skin and long legs were reminiscent of Olivia’s, but her eyes were unmistakably Zion’s—dark, piercing, spellbinding. Her long silky hair had been inherited from him also. She was a daddy’s girl to the fullest, and she nestled into the space beside Zion on the couch and rested her head on him. He kissed her and pulled her closer.

  Ava smiled at this. She had always admired fathers who protected and doted on their daughters. It was something she had longed for in her life and never found.

  Zion noticed Ava watching and smiled at her. She was pretty, he thought. He had come into contact with Jada’s sister on other occasions, but he was careful not to look at her for too long. Olivia was like a hawk and seemed to have a sixth sense when Zion was attracted to another woman. He had learned over the years not to allow his gaze to fall on any woman for too long when Olivia was in close proximity.

  Olivia was nowhere to be found now, and he looked at Ava with new eyes.

  “Spoiled,” he said, nodding toward Adiva.

  Ava laughed. “That’s a good thing. As long as she’s being spoiled by Daddy, no boy will be able to infiltrate.” She winked at Zion.

  He nodded, agreeing. “You don’t have any kids, right?”

  She shook her head. “No. Sheldon is as close as I’ve come to having a kid of my own. I love being an aunt.” She glanced around to see if Sheldon was within earshot. Seeing that he had retired to his bedroom, she smiled at Zion. “The best part of being an aunt is that when I get sick of playing the responsible adult, I just drop his behind back off at home.”

  Zion laughed, respecting Ava’s honesty. “Yeah, that’s true.”

  Ava watched him laugh at her joke and thought Zion had a nice smile. He was the type of man who spent so much time being serious that when their face relaxed into a smile it was a treat—a rare occurrence, like a shooting star.

  The doorbell rang, and Ava rose to answer it since she was seated closest to the door. She swung it open and saw Sunny smiling brightly. “Happy Thanksgiving,” Ava sang, hugging Sunny. Her smile faded, though, when she saw who was behind her.

  “I brought a friend,” Sunny explained, gesturing at Malcolm. She looked at Jada, who stood now behind Ava. “I hope you don’t mind.”

  Jada saw Malcolm and smiled. “Of course not! Come on in.” She stole a glance at her sister, wondering what Malcolm’s presence there as Sunny’s guest meant.

  Sunny and Malcolm stepped inside and greetings erupted all around.

  Malcolm was smiling at Ava, but the smile faded when he noticed her reaction. She didn’t seem happy to see him at all.

  “Hi,” he said, his voice low enough so that she alone could hear him. “Is it all right that I came here?” He looked uneasy. “Sunny invited me…”

  Ava quickly struggled to regain her composure. “Oh … no … of course it’s okay that you came.” She plastered on a smile and ushered him inside.

  “What’s up, everybody?” Sunny seemed jovial as she made the rounds, kissing cheeks and hugging everyone.

  Ava shut the door and took Malcolm’s coat, determined to keep her poker face on. Her heart had sunk the moment she saw him. Sunny had snared the man Ava wanted for herself. She silently berated herself for not making the trip to L.A. with the two of them.

  Sunny handed her coat to Ava and she and Malcolm sat side by side on Jada’s love seat.

  Jada was thrilled to have her friend over. She hadn’t seen Sunny since her return from California, and she took her presence today as a sign that she wasn’t upset with Jada about backing out of the trip at the last minute. “How was Thanskgiving at your mom’s house?”

  Sunny was radiant. “It was great!” She had enjoyed a filling Thanksgiving feast with her family. Laughter and “remember when” had filled the household and her family had played a game of Monopoly after all the dishes were cleared away. Sunny had slipped into the bathroom while everyone was enjoying themselves and snorted a little coke before rejoining the party. Afterward, Mercedes had sat on her lap, her arms wrapped lovingly around Sunny’s waist as they enjoyed the day as a family. At close to seven o’clock, Dorian’s brother, William, arrived to pick Mercedes up. In years past, when Mercedes left to spend the holidays with her father’s side of the family, Sunny had felt abandoned and lonely without her. But this time was different. Sunny had an old familiar friend (cocaine) and a new one (Malcolm) to keep her company.

  He had arrived to pick her up at exactly eight o’clock that evening. He pulled up in his Mercedes SL500 and honked the horn, but Marisol wasn’t having it. With Sunny hot on her heels, she marched outside and over to Malcolm’s car.

  “Hello, sir,” Marisol said, her accent thicker than ever. “No disrespect, but it is not nice for a gentleman to honk the horn for a lady. You should get out of the car and come inside and introduce yourself—”

  “This is my mother,” Sunny interrupted, sarcastically. “And she insists on being bossy. So please come inside and meet my family. I’m sorry.”

  Malcolm was smiling. “No, please, don’t apologize.” He climbed out of the car and extended his hand to Sunny’s mother. “I’m Malcolm Dean. I wanted to come inside and meet you, too … but Sunny asked me to stay in the car.”

  Sunny laughed as he shifted the blame to her. Marisol was smiling at the tall, handsome man who stood before them.

  “I know,” Marisol said. “It’s her fault. Very nice to meet you, Malcolm. My name is Marisol.” She led him inside and introduced him to Sunny’s dad, to her brothers and their girlfriends.

  Sunny looked on as Malcolm and her brothers made small talk about man shit. Marisol caught her eye and gave a discreet thumbs-up when no one was looking. Sunny felt like she was on top of the world.

  She sat now in Jada’s living room with Malcolm at her side and noticed for the first time that Zion was there without Olivia. She glanced at Adiva playing on the floor with Ethan and she frowned.

  “Where’s Olivia?” she asked, her eyes focused on Zion.

  Zion shrugged. “Probably at her grandmother’s house. I left her over there hours ago.”

  Sunny made a mental note to call Olivia that night for the 411. Zion, meanwhile, looked from Sunny to Jada and back again, trying to figure out which of them was getting high again. Then he looked at Malcolm. Maybe Sunny’s new lawyer friend was the one who had needed the cocaine. He glanced at Born. For his sake, Zion hoped that the perpetrator wasn’t Jada.

  * * *

  The night wore on, with Born and DJ challenging Jada and Sunny to a game of Spades. Malcolm had never played before, so he pulled up a chair beside Sunny and watched her plan her strategy for each hand. The kids played video games in the living room and Ava stood alone, watching everyone enjoy themselves. She was crushed, her hopes of having a future with Malcolm dashed as he sat seemingly hanging on Sunny’s every word. She took a sip of her cognac and told herself that there were plenty of fish in the sea.

  Zion emerged from the bathroom, and saw
Ava standing at a distance from the gathering. He stood beside her and smiled. “What you sipping on?”

  “Courvoisier. I’m usually a light drinker—wine, champagne, stuff like that.” She watched Malcolm staring at Sunny as if entranced and shrugged. “But tonight I feel like I need something stronger.”

  Zion nodded. “I know exactly how you feel.”

  Ava looked at him, noticing for the first time how sad he seemed. “Everything all right?”

  He shrugged, too. “Nothing a glass of Courvoisier won’t fix.”

  Ava smiled at him and together they hit up Jada’s bar. While the others laughed and talked the night away, Ava and Zion talked about anything that would distract them from their troubles. Soon, they had finished off the entire bottle of cognac. They were both tipsy, but felt way better than they had hours before.

  * * *

  At the end of the night, Sunny, Ava and Miss Ingrid helped Jada clean up the dishes scattered all over the kitchen. While the kids continued to play, and the men busied themselves with conversation, Jada took the opportunity to question Sunny about her new friend.

  “So,” she said, smiling. “What’s up with you and Mr. Dean?”

  Ava was all ears.

  “He’s very handsome,” Miss Ingrid pointed out. “If I was a couple years younger, I would give you a run for your money!”

  Sunny laughed and nodded. “I know you would, Miss Ingrid! He is cute, ain’t he?”

  Jada glanced at her sister again and felt sorry for her. She knew that Ava had hoped to have a chance with Malcolm. But now that Sunny had sank her claws into him, Jada knew that it was hopeless for her sister.

  Sunny told them about her trip to L.A., how she had written Malcolm off as a corny Ivy Leaguer until he literally swept her off her feet at the charity ball. She told them about the party at Sean’s estate, about Malcolm rescuing her from the media storm, the passion-filled evening they’d spent together—censoring some of the more obscene details for Miss Ingrid’s ears—and about the romantic rendezvous that had followed over the next couple of days they spent together.

  “Today is the first time I’ve seen him since we got back, though.” Sunny sighed. “I like him. He has me feeling all pink inside—and I’m not a pink bitch!”

  All the ladies laughed at that and Ava told herself that she should be happy for Sunny. Malcolm was a great catch.

  “Sounds like Malcolm is a good catch,” Miss Ingrid said, as if reading Ava’s thoughts. She smiled at Sunny. “When he looks at you, it’s like there’s no other woman in the room.”

  Miss Ingrid’s words stung Ava and she recoiled slightly. It was true, though, she had to admit.

  “When I saw the way he looks at you, it reminded me of the way my son looks at a young lady I know.”

  Jada looked at Miss Ingrid and beamed. Miss Ingrid winked at her.

  Ava forced a smile, too. But she couldn’t help wondering if there was a man alive who would ever look at her that way, or if she would be doomed to be single for the rest of her life.

  12

  FORBIDDEN FRUIT

  Sheldon sat at the Dell in his computer class, bored out of his mind. His teacher, Miss Nevins, stood in the front of the classroom explaining how to use Internet search tools, such as Google or Yahoo, to research facts. She had delved into a long and drawn-out diatribe about it, but Sheldon was done listening. It seemed pretty straightforward to him, and he hated it when adults went on and on about a thing that wasn’t overly complicated. He felt they just loved to hear themselves talk.

  Sheldon was not a dumb kid. Despite the fact that he was labeled as a “special ed” kid, he had no difficulty learning most things. His problems emerged whenever he was made to sit still for too long. He got antsy and was prone to outbursts. His constant disturbances in class were to blame for his relegation to the short bus.

  He placed his cursor in the search box and thought of what to research. Miss Nevins was telling them to look up the state flower for New York. Sheldon couldn’t care less about flowers. There was only one topic that he wanted to know more about—his father.

  He wasn’t sure how to spell his father’s name, so he sounded it out. He typed in “Jimaree Jones” and got nothing. But the Web site threw him a life line. DID YOU MEAN JAMARI JONES? it asked.

  Sheldon clicked the highlighted name and watched in amazement as he was directed to a Staten Island Advance article from January 2000.

  The body of Jamari Jones was discovered in the parking lot of 55 Holland Avenue in the early hours of Sunday morning. Felled by an apparent gunshot wound to the head, Jones’ body was discovered by a resident of the building as she left for work. The deceased was easily identified since his wallet and identification were found in his pockets. Police sources noted that Jones was a suspected drug dealer and may have been involved in a late-night drug deal gone awry. No witnesses had come forward at press time.

  Sheldon read the article four times. He didn’t know what some of the words meant, but he was able to understand most of what the article was saying. His father had been shot in the head during a drug deal when Sheldon was almost two years old. He wondered what he looked like, and was annoyed that no picture accompanied the article. Everyone said Sheldon looked like his mother, but with his hatred toward her growing daily, he chose to believe that he was the spitting image of his father.

  As Miss Nevins went on and on about the state flower being the rose and urged the class to look up the state bird next, Sheldon put his mother’s name in the search box. Several articles popped up this time, from the New York Daily News, the New York Post and the Staten Island Advance. He read each one.

  The first was from 1994.

  Shante Howard and Jada Ford were arrested in the lobby of 240 Broadway, after selling crack cocaine to two undercover police officers.

  Sheldon frowned as he read it. His mother had made it seem as if his father was the bad guy, but here was evidence that she was selling drugs long before Sheldon was born. He read the next article, this one from a few months later.

  Jada Ford appeared for sentencing in Stapleton Criminal Court in connection with her arrest in the West Brighton Houses during a buy and bust in April. Having no prior arrests, Ford was sentenced to nine months on Rikers Island and nine months in a drug-rehabilitation facility. Ford chose not to address the court at her sentencing.

  Sheldon’s young mind was reeling. His mother had been on drugs and selling drugs. He moved on to the next article.

  Jada Ford, a resident of Staten Island, was arrested on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn yesterday when two plainclothes officers witnessed her involvement in a drug deal. Police apprehended Ford and Eric Mapleton, the alleged dealer. A subsequent search turned up crack cocaine in the possession of both parties. Ford, who police sources noted is six months pregnant, is expected to plead guilty in the hopes that the court will sentence her to rehab.

  Sheldon stared at the computer, his rage intensifying with each second. His mother had smoked crack while she was pregnant with him. He had overheard her say so during her conversation with Born, but somehow seeing it in black and white cut him like a knife. He read the final article, describing the eighteen-month sentence his mother had received upon entering a guilty plea. He did the math. If she was six months pregnant at the time of her arrest and was sentenced a month later … had he been born while his mother was still in jail?

  Sheldon grew so angry as he sat there that he didn’t notice when the bell rang and the other students around him exited the classroom. He sat there, staring at the computer monitor, until Miss Nevins approached, smiling.

  “Sheldon, class is over, sweetie.”

  Her voice brought him out of his trance and he quickly stood up and grabbed his stuff, bolting out of the classroom.

  Miss Nevins frowned as the troubled young man fled. She looked at the computer and read what he’d been staring at for so long. She knew right away that it was time for her to have a chat with Sheldon’s mother.


  * * *

  Sunny turned the Sony Bravia stereo system in her bedroom up as high as it would go. She laughed at the irony in that, as she was presently high as a muthafuckin’ helicopter! Christmas was days away and she was in a jolly mood, albeit for reasons beside the upcoming holiday. Things with her and Malcolm were going perfectly. He had proven himself to be worthy of her time, taking her on the most magnificent dates. They went to see the musical Lion King on Broadway, and he even surprised her with a helicopter ride around the NYC skyline. Sunny felt swept off her feet, the way she had once upon a time—with Dorian.

  She snapped her fingers now as she thought about him. He had been busy for the past few weeks working on a new case. Each time she spoke to him he was babbling about depositions and briefs, all things she had no knowledge of or interest in. Still, Malcolm was unlike any man she’d ever dated before. She felt that for the first time since Dorian had taken his last breath in her arms she might just have a chance at having it all—the stability of a life with Malcolm and at the same time the thrill of the life in the fast lane of getting high, partying and bullshit.

  Sunny had signed a deal with Kaleidoscope Films to do a movie about her exploits. She had gone over the contracts with Ava, who she had retained as her attorney once she and Malcolm took their relationship to the next level. Ava had been amazed by the seven figures Kaleidoscope was offering for her story, as well as so much creative control over the script itself. They were offering Sunny the deal of a lifetime. It was hard not to be envious.

  Every aspect of Sunny’s life seemed to be charmed these days. She and Olivia had been hanging out more than ever. As Olivia prepared for the upcoming launch of her Vintage label, she and Sunny had been attending party after party in order to drum up a buzz for it. Both ladies were well known in the entertainment industry as a result of Olivia’s experience as a celebrity stylist and Sunny’s modeling. As they made sure that they were photographed at all the hottest parties and that their names and the upcoming Vintage launch were listed in boldface in the press, Sunny kept getting high and her friends were none the wiser. Everyone assumed that her newfound zest for life was a result of the magnificent gains she was making in both her personal and professional lives. She smiled at the thought of it all now, as she danced around her bedroom feeling on top of the world.