“Wouldn't you be fallin' apart if you just found out somebody kidnapped you when you was a baby and kept it a secret from you for more than thirty-five years? I know that if somethin' like that had happened to me, I would be fallin' apart too,” Maureen said.
CHAPTER 32
V
IRGIL FELT LIKE HE WAS ABOUT TO HAVE A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN
himself. He was having heart palpitations and chest pains, and his stomach felt like it was on fire. He knew that he couldn't let that happen right now, though. He had to be strong for Maureen.
“Uh, Mo'reen, so far everything about Jay on the TV and in the newspaper is doom and gloom. I'm surprised he ain't been carted off to a mental hospital by now. But from what you told me about him, he seems like a strong, levelheaded brother. He turned out all right. Much better than he would have if he
hadn't
been kidnapped and raised by such a good woman. He had a blessed life because of her. I hope he ain't goin' to let this news destroy his life now. I'm sure he got a lot of things to live for.”
“Jay is blessed. He has a lot to be thankful for, praise the Lord. And, yes, that woman did raise him right. I just hope that somethin' else good comes out of this,” Maureen replied.
“I hope so too,” Virgil said hopefully.
“Two big-time therapists already contacted Jay, offerin' him their free services, but he wouldn't be needin' a therapist in the first place if he hadn't been kidnapped! Talk show people and book publishers keep callin' him, and reporters keep comin' to his house, even buggin' his coworkers and his neighbors. And he told me that one of his so-called cousins is tryin' to figure out who
he
can sue.”
“The cousin wants to sue somebody? Is that what Jay is plannin' to do? Who would they sue? That old woman and the girl that snatched him are both dead.”
“The cousin claims the St. Louis cops didn't do a good enough job of lookin' for Jay, so he thinks they ought to be sued. But Jay's a simple man. Money and all of this outrageous publicity don't even faze him. All it's doin' is gettin' on his nerves. He just wants to be left alone now. People keep comin' out of the woodwork tryin' to cash in on Jay's story in some way. His own preacher went on a talk show to tell how he âguided' Jay and his mother to the Lord. Other than his boss and a few of his friends from work, I'm the only person he wants to talk to right now.”
“Well, this is a big story, Mo'reen. A lot more folks are goin' to want to talk to Jay. Is Jay what he will keep callin' hisself? I like it better than Lawrence.”
“As far as I know, he's goin' to continue goin' by Jay. I know what you mean about more people goin' to want to talk to him, though. While I was on the phone with him, a pushy woman from some New York magazine had the operator cut in on our call. She's doin' a piece on a bunch of other kidnapped kids and wants to add Jay. He is the only black victim so far, and that magazine woman thinks it's a big deal because kidnappin' is not that common among black folks.” Maureen paused and sucked in some air. “I know we black folks got just as many problems as the rest of the races. Other than Jay, I don't think I ever heard of a black baby gettin' kidnapped. Not for ransom or by somebody that wants a child to claim as their own so they can raise itâwhich is more cruel than demandin' ransom. At least with a ransom situation, the family would probably get their baby back if they paid the kidnappers. I can't imagine all the pain Jay's real mama must have gone through before her husband killed her. It's awful! It's a sin and a shame. Don't you think so?”
“Yeah.” Virgil cleared his throat and rubbed his chest. He had to keep shaking his head to make sure he was awake, because so far, this seemed like a nightmare.
“I couldn't imagine doin' somethin' so unholy,” Maureen said angrily. “I love kids more than I love life. I didn't think I'd ever get over losin' Loraine. Nothin' is more painful than losin' a child, but my child died and I eventually learned to live with it. If somebody had kidnapped one of my kids,
I couldn't live with that.
I would rather have my child die than get kidnapped and me never see him or her again.”
“But Jay can see the folks he got left again. If he had died, that couldn't happen. Do you really think it would be better for a child to die than be kidnapped, Mo'reen?”
“I don't know, Virgil. I can't even think straight right now. All I know is what Mrs. Freeman did goes against God and nature.”
“Maybe . . . ,” Virgil continued hesitantly. “Maybe it would have been better if that old woman had died and never told Jay the truth. He wouldn't have ever found out.”
“That would have been even worse!” Maureen yelled. “Only a real evil person would do somethin' that mean. I don't care how good a person Mrs. Freeman was and how good a mama she was to Jay. I don't think they would let her into heaven if she had not come clean on her deathbed.”
Virgil remained silent for a few moments. He had to remain as composed as possible because he didn't know how he could go on with his life now knowing how Maureen felt.
“Um, don't you kind of feel a little bit sorry for that old lady? Maybe she couldn't have babies of her own. At least she was a better role model than anybody in Jay's real family.”
“I don't care if his real family were demons. Nobody has the right to take somebody else's child. There ain't no reason good enough for them to do that. And yes, Mrs. Freeman raised Jay up to be a good man, but him knowin' what he knows now, can you imagine the kind of emotions he must be goin' through? Somethin' like this could make a person go crazy! He might never trust another person again. He might never feel comfortable with his real identity and might spend the rest of his life feelin' like a man with a split personality. This might have a bad effect on all of the relationships he got nowâwith his coworkers, his friends . . . and even
me
!”
“Well, the least you can do is continue to be there for him. If he decides he can't deal with the reality of his new life now and don't want to continue bein' your friend, you'll just have to live with that.”
“I know that already. I can live with that. I still got my family and my life is goin' just fine. My biggest problem right now is makin' sure Loretta keeps up with her homework and continues to stay out of trouble.” Somehow Maureen managed to laugh. “At least I know who I am and where I came from. My past ain't a
Twilight Zone
mystery like Jay's is.”
Virgil's heart skipped a beat and his stomach churned. For a few seconds he thought he was going to have to duck into the bathroom and throw up. “Call me if you need me,” he said before he hung up. He resumed his zombie-like state, sitting on his couch staring at the wall with a grimace frozen on his face. It looked like he had on a mask. He remained that way for the next two hours.
By the end of the next day, Virgil felt like he was ready to be embalmed. Maureen had called him up several times, each time revealing more details about Jay's case. “Jay is even worse than he was before,” she reported. “I went to his house last night, and he couldn't even sit down for more than five minutes at a time. His telephone was ringin' off the hook and another reporter was knockin' on his front door. So far,
all
of Jay's kinfolks sound like straight-up thugs.” Maureen paused and shook her head. She took a deep breath and continued. “Jay told me that he didn't know what he would do if he hadn't met me. Last night I sat for two hours listenin' to him talk about all the confusion and strange emotions he's feelin'. I'm goin' to talk to him on the phone as much as I can.”
“Mo'reen, I know you like Jay, but you have to remember that you got a family and they need you too. You can't be neglectin' them and gettin' too caught up in Jay's situation. I think you did enough for him already. From this point on, this is somethin' that the brother needs to sort out on his own.”
“Virgil, there is no way in the world I'm goin' to turn my back on Jay right now. Especially after he told me he didn't know what he would have done if he hadn't met me. As soon as I cook dinner for Loretta and Mel, I'm goin' back over to Jay's house.”
Virgil had been feeling like hell ever since the news about Jay broke, but now he felt even worse. He had to abruptly conclude his conversation with Maureen and run to the bathroom to throw up again. The knowledge of what he knew about Maureen had been nipping at his heels for thirty-six years. He knew that it was just a matter of time before it consumed him completely.
“Lord, help me decide what to do now!” Virgil prayed as he leaned against the bathroom door and stared at the black bile he'd just deposited into the commode. He felt like he had been physically attacked and every wound that he had ever sustained in his life had been reopened.
Before Jay's story had been revealed, Virgil had almost convinced himself that it was no longer important for Maureen to know the truth about her past. He didn't see any reason to tell her as long as she was happy and enjoying her life. The last couple of years he had asked himself repeatedly,
What good would it really do for her to know now?
And he had told himself,
She wouldn't gain anything by knowing, and she might be so traumatized by the news that it might destroy my relationship with her.
Virgil could no longer ignore the inevitable. He had to tell Maureen as soon as possible.
CHAPTER 33
T
HE LOCAL TV STATIONS HAD REPEATED PARTS OF JAY'S STORY SO MANY
times, it had become old news by now and it had only been a week since Mrs. Freeman had made her confession.
The day before, Maureen had attempted to call Jay to let him know that she was still praying for him and to get the information for Mrs. Freeman's funeral. She had been unable to reach him and that had saddened her even more. She couldn't imagine the kind of pain he was experiencing.
Maureen, and a lot of other people, continued to be fascinated by Jay's story. There were some who were not, though. Mel was one of those people. He was sick and tired of hearing about Jay. “Baby, you don't need to go to that old woman's funeral. You had just met her and this Jay dude. Just send him some flowers and be done with it,” he told Maureen. “He's not related to you, so I don't understand why this mess is causing you so much grief.”
Loretta was another person who had heard enough about Jay. “Mel's right, Mama,” she said, pausing long enough to pick her teeth with a toothpick at the dinner table. “You don't need to get any more involved with that man.”
“That man is my friend!” Maureen snapped. She had ignored the plate of fried perch and fries in front of her so far, but Loretta and Mel were eating like they hadn't eaten in days.
“Somebody pass me the biscuits, please,” Mel said with his mouth full of food.
Loretta handed him the basket that contained the half-dozen biscuits Maureen had picked up from Tiny's Seafood restaurant down the street. “Get a sympathy card to go with the flowers you send and let me and Mel sign it too,” Loretta grunted before she stuffed a few more fries into her mouth. She stopped chewing long enough to add, “This story gets stranger by the day. In today's newspaper they talked about how that old woman had told all of the people she worked for while she was on the run that she was hidin' from a psycho husband! Like the image of black men ain't already bad enough. Huh, Mel?”
“Tell me about it,” Mel growled. “Sometimes the shit comes down on me so hard, I ought to be wearing a hard hat.”
An additional piece of information to the strange story was the fact that Jay was actually three weeks younger than he thought. None of the information on the fake birth certificate that Mrs. Freeman had concocted was true. It didn't bother Maureen that the local media was still all over Jay's story and that
some people
had lost interest in it; she continued to follow the news reports like a bloodhound.
“Jay must be so confused about his identity now,” Maureen said as she finally began to nibble on a piece of fish. “With everything that has already come out, all he needs to hear now is that insanity or some deadly disease runs in his family.”
Loretta heaved a mighty sigh and hauled herself up out of her seat, waving her arms like a windmill. “I am tired of hearin' about this kidnappin' story,” she complained, her voice shrill with indignation. “It's been a whole week now. Every time I look up, and everywhere I go, that's all I hear. From the TV, the newspaper, and you, Mama. What is the big deal?” Loretta flopped back down into her seat still ranting and raving. “People get kidnapped all the time. Shoot, I could see if this was one of Bill Cosby's kids, or one of the Kennedy kids. Jay is just another run-of-the-mill John Doe!” Loretta bit into a piece of fish, brutally snapping it in two like a pit bull.
“You could be a little more sympathetic, girl,” Maureen scolded. “Jay is not âjust another run-of-the-mill John Doe.' He's one of my closest friends.”
Loretta stopped chewing and added, “Mama, I know he's your friend, but will you please get a grip? Let's talk about somethin' else.” Crumbs and grease decorated her chin, as usual. Maureen couldn't understand how a girl who paid so much attention to her grooming and appearance could be such a sloppy eater. She wondered if Loretta was this uncouth when she and Mel ate meals with some of the sophisticated people they worked with. Loretta noticed Maureen staring at her chin, so she wiped herself with her napkin. “Can we talk about the dress I'm wearin' to prom?”
“Your prom dress? What, is that all you care about right now? You need to get it through your head that the world does not revolve around you, Lo'retta,” Maureen retorted, turning to Mel for support.
Mel abruptly stopped chewing. From the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on his face, Maureen didn't know what he was thinking. Finally he nodded. “Your mama's right, sweetie,” he said, blinking at Loretta. She stared from him to Maureen and back, her anger bubbling like a pot of boiling water. Mel turned to look at Maureen again. “Baby, did you know this dude before you went to work at that old folks' home?”
“No, I didn't know Jay before I went to work at the home,” Maureen stated emphatically. She had just swallowed a piece of fish and hadn't even tasted it. The fries on her plate looked like the fingers on a dead man's hand to her.
“Well, if you just met this man recently, how is it that he is already one of your âclosest friends'?” Mel wanted to know. “You haven't even had time to get to know him that well.”
Maureen's jaw tightened. She rarely got angry, but when she did, she didn't try to hide it. It was one of the few characteristics that she was glad she had inherited from Mama Ruby. “So what goddammit! Just a few minutes after I first met Jay, I felt like I already knew him better than I know you
now
!”
Loretta gasped and her jaw dropped
.
Mel held up both of his hands. “Don't trip too hard,” he said. “I didn't mean anything by that. I am glad to know that you've made a new friend. Even if it is a dude. I would rather have you running around with him than that slutty Catty.”
“I bet he's gay anyway,” Loretta quipped. Then she turned to Mel. “You shouldn't even be worried about him.”
“Can we talk about somethin' else?” Maureen said with a groan. “It's been a rough day and I would like to have some peace in my own home.”
Mel squeezed her hand. “I'm sorry, sugar. I didn't mean to upset you.” Then his eyes got big and both of his eyebrows shot up, looking like horseshoes. “I've got an idea. Why don't we all go over to visit this Jay. I've been dying to meet him anyway.”
Maureen's heart skipped a few beats. “Do you mean that?” she asked Mel.
“Of course I do. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't,” he replied.
Maureen gave him a huge smile and then she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “I think Jay would like that a whole lot. Somethin' tells me he needs a break,” Maureen said, patting Mel's hand. When she spoke again, her smile was gone and her voice was filled with contempt. “Three of Jay's cousins got in from St. Louis the night before last. From what he told me last time I talked to him, they look and act like a cross between the Munsters and the Addams Family. One cousin already drank up every drop of liquor that Jay had in the house and dropped a lit cigarette on his couch and burned a hole in it. Another one, who just got out of prison for robbin' a grocery store, went out the same night he arrived lookin' for a prostitute. The third one has already asked Jay for a loan.”
“Damn! It sure sounds like your friend has a motley crew,” Mel said with a horrified look on his face. “Maybe it would be safer for us if he came over here. I don't want to go around his folks and get knocked out and robbed.”
“We could invite him to dinner or somethin'. I've never met a kidnap victim before. I want to see if he behaves like a normal person,” Loretta said thoughtfully.
Maureen gave her an exasperated look. “You mean you want to see if you can figure out if he's crazy or not?”
“Yeah, I do. If findin' out you got kidnapped thirty-somethin' years ago don't drive a person crazy, nothin' will,” Loretta replied.
“I'll check with Jay and see when he's available. Maybe I'll invite Virgil and Corrine too. I'm sure Virgil would like to check out Jay and see how he's holdin' up.” Maureen paused and rose from the table. “I'll call Jay right now,” she said as she headed toward the telephone on the kitchen wall.
Jay eagerly accepted Maureen's invitation and told her to just let him know when. He declined her offer to send flowers and he told her that Mrs. Freeman had instructed him to have her cremated and not to have a funeral or a memorial service for her. She had also told Jay to spread her ashes in the ocean. The method of Mrs. Freeman's disposal horrified Maureen. Being cremated and then dumped into the ocean seemed barbaric and so
unholy
. Wasn't that what the folks in India did when somebody died? With no grave for Jay or any of Mrs. Freeman's friends to put flowers on, it would be like she never existed. Maureen couldn't fathom such a thing. She didn't know what she would do if she couldn't visit Mama Ruby's grave. She knew that Jay was going to need all the support he could get.
Maureen called up Virgil right after her brief conversation with Jay and invited him to have dinner with them that following Monday. Virgil told her that he had to drive his boss to Tampa that Monday evening. She asked him two more times that week, and each time he lied about having other plans. When she asked him the fourth time, she refused to take no for an answer. “We'll plan the dinner on a day when you don't have nothin' to do. So pull out a calendar and tell me what day that is,” she insisted.
“Uh, how about this comin' Friday,” Virgil suggested in a small voice. He had finally decided that the sooner he got this dinner over with the better. He couldn't avoid Jay too much longer. Maybe after meeting him face-to-face, he could decide exactly when and how he was going to confess to Maureen practically the same story that Mrs. Freeman had confessed to Jay.