grabbed Mimi by the shoulders and pushed her into a chair nearby. “No, you listen to me. I want you to take your daughter out of Central and move out of town…far away…to where, I don’t care. Brenda can never know that Afrika’s my daughter.”
Mimi knocked Victor’s hands away. “I never said she was your daughter. You’re making an assumption that you aren’t even allowed to make. Now you listen. If you put your hands on me again, I’ll have your sorry ass arrested…something I should have done a long time ago.”
“You don’t scare me, Mimi. Afrika is my daughter. I checked her date of birth. She was born two weeks after Asia. The timing makes perfect sense.”
“Perfect sense? Perfect sense because you raped me? And you want me to be silent so Brenda won’t know what a bastard she married? I was silent for nineteen years because I didn’t want your sins to come between Brenda and me. She and I were friends long before she ever met you. When she came to tell me that she was pregnant and to talk some sense into your irresponsible ass because you weren’t hearing it, I should’ve told her to forget about you. But noooooooooo, I had to be the mediator. And instead of mediating, I ended up being impregnated against my will by the likes of you. I have no plans to tell anyone, but not for your sorry sake. For Afrika’s. I wouldn’t want her to know what a pathetic excuse of a man her biological father is and that he’s also a…”
“Watch it. Although I don’t care what you think, I’m standing here.”
“You belong in jail, Victor.”
“The statute of limitation has long since run out, Mimi dear. And if anyone is going to jail, it’s not going to be me. In fact, I might call my insurance broker this afternoon and increase my policy. Brenda may have to use it, with all the threats you’ve made on my life. All I want to know is if you’re still going to deny that Afrika is my daughter?”
“How many ways do you want me to say it? Yes, Afrika is your daughter! Is that what you want to hear? What you gonna do now, add another notch to your baby-making belt?”
“Don’t be so dramatic. I’m not going to do anything. I can’t get over how much she looks like Asia. I do make some pretty girls.”
“Let me tell you one thing, Victor. Afrika has a father who raised her and helped to mold her into the woman she is today. Not some man without a conscience that forced his way on her mother with some lame excuse about being drunk and upset because he had gotten his fiancé pregnant and wasn’t ready to be a daddy. I wasn’t ready to be a mother, but if I had been ready, I wouldn’t have allowed you the honor of being my baby’s daddy. I’m surprised Brenda is still with you.”
Victor stood over Mimi. “Just know that it’s going to stay that way; Brenda will always be my wife until death do us part. And for your information, I’ll only own up to two children…Asia and Trevor—not Afrika or any other being that has sprouted from my seed.”
Mimi stood and moved away from Victor. “So why did you come here today? You’re despicable, Victor Christianson. You’re a man with no soul. You come to my house unannounced, demanding to know if Afrika is your daughter, but in another breath, write her off with a disclaimer. I want you out of my house now, you sorry son-of-a-bitch.” Mimi pointed toward the door. “I don’t ever want to see your ugly face again. You don’t have to worry about me telling Afrika about the likes of you; you don’t exist. You’re invisible and always will be.”
“Brenda knows you’re here in Durham, and she’s going to try and contact you.”
“What? How?”
“Afrika was at the house with Asia on Friday night. The conversation led from one thing to another. And here I am. Let me take this moment to warn you again about getting out of town. Brenda wants to see you, but that can’t happen.”
“I have no plans to see Brenda and tell her what kind of person you really are. You have my word on it.”
“That’s all well and good, Mimi, but I still want you out of town.”
“I can’t jump up and take Afrika out of school. She’s happy here, and the semester just