“Looking for me? Who in the hell are you, that you’d be looking for me?”
“I’m Mimi’s husband.”
Victor let go of Raphael’s neck. There was an icy chill in the car. A minute passed without a word being said. Without warning, Victor’s voice pierced the silence, erupting in a guttural laugh.
Raphael felt the gun again but this time next to his ear.
“Drive.”
48
Mimi was angrier now than she’d been when Victor first set foot at her front door. She couldn’t believe Raphael had walked off, took her car, and left her to deal with the aftermath of Brenda’s announcement earlier that afternoon. She felt bad for Afrika…that she had to hear the raw truth of her birth while lying in a hospital bed because of a bullet wound to the back inflicted by the biological father she’d just learned about. It was a shame in more ways than one, but Mimi never expected Brenda to blurt out the reality of that truth in front of everyone it was going to hurt.
Maybe she deserved Raphael’s wrath. In her heart, Mimi knew he was hurting because she hadn’t been truthful about her pregnancy…that she was already pregnant when she met him. A terrifying thought came to Mimi. What if Raf thought she’d married him because her baby needed a father and that it would make her respectable? Well, was that the truth? Mimi looked back at Afrika, who lay staring at the ceiling. No, she loved him. God sent her an angel, and his name was Raphael Bailey.
“Mommy,” Afrika said, softly causing Mimi to catch her throat with her hand, bracing for Afrika’s question. “Mommy, let’s talk about it.”
“Is that what you really want to do, baby? All I want is for you to get well.”
“I have two wounds now, Mommy. I can’t get well unless you help me to mend my broken heart. It’s strange how a bullet darn near got me in the heart, but then it’s true when they say words can cut you with a knife.”
Mimi watched Afrika, as she lay on her side, so vulnerable and so wise. “Mommy had a terrible secret that she felt needed to be buried alive, never to surface. I was ashamed of what happened because the implications would hurt so many people.”
“But, Mommy, you were raped by that vile man. You should’ve reported him; he should’ve been in jail.”
“Baby, if I was as confident about myself then as I am now, I might’ve done that. But I was afraid…afraid that Brenda wouldn’t understand and that she’d say it was my fault. After all, she was my best friend.”
“Well, she wouldn’t be my best friend if she knew me as well as you two say you knew each other and then wouldn’t believe you. That’s crazy.”
“It’s easy to say, Afrika, but you weren’t in my shoes.”
“I know that Grandma and Granddad supported you. They’ve been so supportive of me all my life.”
Mimi closed her eyes. “That they were. I…I had even thought of aborting the baby.” Everything was still. Mimi opened her eyes and saw tears streaming down Afrika’s cheek. Mimi brushed Afrika’s face. “But I didn’t, baby, thanks to your grandparents. And I’m so glad I listened to them. You wouldn’t have been in my life. So I went to school in Hampton because I didn’t want the pregnancy to hamper me from getting my education. Hmph, and to think my first day there, I met your father.”
Afrika wiped the tears from her eyes. She looked at Mimi thoughtfully. “Mommy, did you love Daddy?”
“Yes, sweetie. I know it seems suspect, considering I met your Daddy with you in my stomach and he was none the wiser…at least I believe so, but I fell hard for that man, and not out of obligation either. I loved Raphael Bailey almost from the moment I met him, and he still has my heart. Afrika, he’s been so good to me, and I thank the Lord every day for placing him in my life.”
Mimi wiped away her own tears. She couldn’t help but notice how Afrika’s countenance changed…that warmth had replaced the pain.
“Mommy, I’m so glad. Daddy will be glad to hear that, too. And so that you know, I love him with all of my heart. I may have Victor Christianson’s DNA, but he’s no part of me.”
“It’s going to be okay, baby. Why don’t you try and get some rest and let this other stuff go for a while. It’s still you,