“But I can’t give you children.” She couldn’t even look me in the eyes. “You can’t possibly want me now.”
“Listen here.” I lifted her chin so I could look into her eyes. “I want you, and only you.”
“I believe you want me—right now. Until another woman comes along who can give you what I can’t,” she said. “Give you a child to call you Daddy.”
“Look, for right now, being called Uncle is enough,” I said, although my heart told me that even if it were true now, it definitely wouldn’t always be.
As if on cue, there was a splash from outside, and the sound of my niece Mariah laughing. I walked over to the sliding glass doors that opened onto the patio. Marie stayed a few steps behind me as we went outside to join everyone by the pool.
As we approached, I noticed that although everyone was sitting around eating barbecue and talking, no one had a smile on his or her face. No one looked particularly upset, but it just wasn’t the type of expressions one might expect at a barbecue. Then again, what the hell did we have to happy about?
“Vegas,” my mother called out. She stood up with my nephew Jordan in her arms.
To me, it sounded like she was saying my name as a warning to everyone else that was present—like she was announcing me, rather than greeting me. Everyone who had been chatting just seconds before now silenced themselves.
“What, did I break up the party or something?” I raised my hands in surrender. Was the dark cloud I now felt hanging over me visible to everyone?
“It would seem to me that the party has just begun now that you are here, Vegas.”
This time it was Consuela who spoke my name. She was the grandmother of Paris’s son—although there had yet to be a blood test to prove the relation. With everything going on in the family right now, Jordan had been away with her. I had no idea that he would be back in the midst of this war, or that Consuela would be staying around. I hadn’t seen her since I got out of jail. It would have been nice to get a heads up, considering my past with her and my present with Marie. I couldn’t wait to get Junior and Orlando alone. There was nothing more awkward than standing in the room with two women you’ve slept with—although I hoped my thing with Consuela was such a long time ago that there wouldn’t be any kind of awkwardness left over between us.
“Consuela.” I returned the greeting. She was everything I remembered and then some. I couldn’t help but admire how tight her body was, even in her late forties. Whatever was in J-Lo’s water was in hers too.
“Vegas, Vegas, Vegas,” she said in a sensual, singsong voice. “You’re looking as handsome as ever.” Consuela started walking toward me. I stopped where I stood, as did Marie.
“You don’t look so bad yourself. I didn’t know you’d be in town.” I was trying not to be obvious as I checked out her curves, but I must have failed, because I felt Marie’s elbow jab my arm.
I turned to face Marie, looking at her like she was crazy. She was like a mirror, giving me the same look. She cleared her throat and nodded her head toward Consuela.
“Oh, yes.” I turned back to Consuela, who still had her eyes glued on me. If I had to guess, she hadn’t even looked Marie’s way. Marie was invisible to her. “Consuela, this is Marie. Marie, this is Consuela.”
“Hello, Marie,” Consuela said, still not taking her eyes off of me.
Marie didn’t respond. Consuela probably wouldn’t have acknowledged a reply anyway.
“Well . . . it’s good to see you,” I muttered, once again finding myself trying to fill in an awkward silence.
“It’s better to see you.” The singsong was gone. Her tone was full-on sultry now.