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Mike was in the room when we showed up, helping to unpack his son’s belongings. It turned out that M.J. was the second youngest of Mike’s four sons. He had had two already when we met in Jamaica and his wife became pregnant shortly after he returned home. Mike took one look at A.J. and knew the truth. There was no point in trying to deny it when he followed me to my truck, asking questions faster than I could register them all.
I agreed to meet Mike for drinks later that night, begging him not to cause a
scene or tell A.J. anything about his father. We met in the Omni Hotel lobby and had a lengthy conversation, where he lambasted me for not being honest with Aleck. Aleck had told him about running into me in Dallas, and about the sex that had ensued. Mike also informed me that our indiscretion had ended Aleck’s marriage a few years later, when he came clean to his wife, Janice, about the affair. I was in shock and I was speechless.
I apologized to Mike but he said, “Kiss, I’m not the one you need to be apologizing to.”
“You’re right,” I said hesitantly. “Do you have a number where I can reach him?”
“I can do one better than that,” Mike said. “Aleck’s upstairs, in Room 932.”
My mouth fell open. “He’s here…in Atlanta?”
“Yes, he rode down here with M.J. and me to help me drive back. He didn’t come to the dorm earlier today because he had a stomachache.” Mike slid a pass key across the table to me. “I’m in a different room but he gave me one of his keys, so I could check on him later.”
Mike stood up. “I’m going to take M.J. and A.J. to the movies.” I gasped. “Don’t worry. I promise that I will not say a word to your son. This is not my mess.” He paused. “Kiss, as you know, I am anything but perfect. Far the fuck from it. There’s one thing that can never be denied, though. I love my kids; they’re everything to me. Aleck has always talked about having a son. Here it is that he has one, in college, and he doesn’t even know that he exists.”
I fought back tears. “I was wrong. I see that now.”
He caressed my shoulder. “Then make things right.”
I watched Mike walk off and then stared at the pass key while I finished off my rum and Coke. I sat there another thirty minutes or so, trying to find the guts to go upstairs. He was going to hate me, I was convinced. Why wouldn’t he hate me?
I called Nancy and asked her to get Calibri on three-way. I needed a serious pep talk. Nancy got onto the entire “I told you so” trip and I wanted to reach through the phone and strangle her ass. Calibri was more sympathetic and told Nancy that we cannot focus on the past but deal with the present. Calibri even offered to get on the first thing smoking from California so she could be there by the morning. There was nothing she could do so I told her thanks, but no thanks.
After I got off the phone with them, I went into the ladies’ room and sat on the toilet for another ten or fifteen minutes, with the lid down and my pants up, trying to practice what I was going to say to Aleck.
“Hey, Aleck. Long time, no see. By the way, we have a son in college.”
“Aleck, I have to tell you something. My son is your son. I lied. So what else is new?”
“Aleck, sorry to hear about your divorce. Want to go meet your son?”
No, none of that shit was going to fly. I sucked in my chest and got up off the toilet, flushed it to pretend like I was using it, and then put on a show of washing my hands. I played with my hair because it had become ruffled, put on some fresh lipstick and powdered my face. Then I went out to find the bank of elevators.
As the elevator ascended to the ninth floor, I could feel my heart leaping in my chest. There were butterflies in my stomach. I was sweating. Room 932 was in the middle of the hallway. I rapped lightly at first, then remembered the pass key and pondered on using it. I hesitated when he did not answer but then slid it into the lock. The green light came on and I pushed. The room was dark and the air was dry. Aleck had the heat up high, even though it was August in the South.
I could make out his form on the bed, his beautiful form. He was snoring loudly and it made me smile. I remembered his snoring, even though I had only heard it twice. He was a heavy sleeper. I was not sure whether to climb into bed with him or cut on the light. I wanted him badly. The thought of him lying there in that bed made my pussy wet. It was calling out his name: Aleck.
As much as I wanted to get butt naked and attack him, I had to be sensible so I walked over to the bed and cut on the light on the nightstand. Aleck stirred. I sat down beside him and rubbed his back.
“Aleck?”
“Kiss,” he replied in his sleep. He knew my voice.
“Aleck, we need to talk.”
One of his eyes popped open, then the other. “Am I dreaming?”
“No, you’re not. Mike gave me your room key. We ran into each other today.”
Aleck wiped the drool from the side of his mouth and sat up, adjusting his eyes to the light. There was a discomfort as we both tried to decide whether to hug, kiss, or do nothing at all. Instead, he ran his fingers through my hair.
“What are you doing here in Atlanta?” he asked.
“Long story.” I laughed. “Long-ass story.”
“Mike’s son is going to Morehouse. I rode down here with him to—”
