Page 92 of Believe in Me

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My internal alarm clock woke me up at six the next morning. Lorenzo’s side of the bed was empty, but that wasn’t unusual. I knew he was either downstairs cooking breakfast or in his office writing. I had texted my doctor, who was also a college classmate, during the party to see if she could see me that morning and although her office was usually closed on Saturdays, she said yes. Lorenzo was going with me, thank goodness, because I was nervous just thinking about it.

After I hopped in the shower and threw on a sundress to battle the muggy August weather, I headed downstairs to find both the kitchen and Lorenzo’s office empty. He had left my food in the oven and a note on the refrigerator letting me know he had to run some errands but would be back in time to go to the doctor with me. So I ate and thought about the dinner party, how Lorenzo relaxed after meeting both of my parents, and how Nicky nearly came unglued when Damon showed up. She was preoccupied for the rest of the night, staring into space and not really there with the rest of us. Angie called me later that night to discuss it, and we agreed that Damon moving back home had thrown a major monkey wrench in Nicky’s plans. We both wondered how she was going to handle things and if she would really follow through with marrying a man she didn’t love. They hadn’t even set a date. Neither had me and Lorenzo, at least not an exact date, but we did plan to marry within a year and we shared that with my family at the party. On the other hand, Nicky had been quick to say they hadn’t even discussed it, and I could tell Travis didn’t exactly like hearing her say that.

After breakfast, I decided to leave for a while, since it was just after eight and my appointment wasn’t until ten-thirty. I was surprised to see Rell washing one of Lorenzo’s cars and thought maybe he’d made it back home until I walked over to the garage to see that his Range Rover wasn’t there. I frowned slightly and just stood there. Lorenzo hated to drive. That was one of the reasons he paid Rell to do it. But then again, he also hated leaving home, and he’d done that, too.

Rell, who Lorenzo now swore could talk although I’d yet to hear him utter a word, rushed over to me and I shook my head, told him I’d drive, and decided to take the Maybach to ease Lorenzo’s mind in case he made it back home before I did. I stopped by my mom’s to pick up some of my personal photos I’d left behind in my old bedroom and was grateful her house was empty and that I didn’t walk up on another senior citizen porn scene. My next stop was Mama Higgs’ house. I’d called her while on the way to my mother’s, and she’d said it was okay to drop by.

“Hey, Renee!” she greeted me, pulling me into a hug right in the doorway. “How was the party last night?”

“It was really nice. My folks loved Zo, and he seemed to really have a good time. He even said we should do stuff like that more often,” I said, as I followed her into her living room.

“That’s so good. I’m glad you’re pulling him out of that shell.”

“Me, too. And my mom wanted me to tell you last night was just about her and my dad meeting Lorenzo and my sister’s fiancé. She’s planning another party, and she wants you and Mel to be there.”

As I sat on the sofa and she crossed the room to the bookshelf, she said, “Oh, I love a good party! Tell her I’ll help her plan it. Give her my number, too.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I watched her dig through some photo albums and then pull the picture of Lorenzo’s father from its frame. Handing me a pile of photos with Clarence Higgs’ picture on top, she said, “Please be careful with my Clarence’s picture. It’s the only one I have of him. That man hated taking pictures.”

“I will. My sister Angie’s going to scan them on her computer and help me make some bigger copies. I can make you one, too.”

“Yes, I would love that! Girl, I can’t believe Zo is letting you make that house look like a home.”

I smiled. “Neither can I, actually.”

“Hey, are you in a hurry? Want some tea or coffee?”

“Coffee would be great.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

Sitting on her super comfortable sofa, I smiled down at the stack of photos in my lap. I already knew what frames I was going to buy from Home Goods and exactly how I was going to arrange them on the wall. Now that I had Lorenzo on board to make some changes around the house, I was going to see about brightening things up a bit, too. Everything he owned was inarguably gorgeous and expensive, but also muted and dark.

I picked up the photo of his father and noticed it was folded. Frowning, I unfolded it and stared at it for a moment. When Mama Higgs returned, I looked up at her, and asked, “Who is this in this picture with Lorenzo’s father?”

“Shit,” she muttered. “I don’t know why I never cut him off that picture. Please don’t let Zo see it. It’ll set off a trigger in him and he’ll be on the warpath to find and kill that man again.”

“Kill him?”

“Yes. I don’t care how many times I’ve tried to tell him I don’t believe Jaywalk had anything to do with Clarence’s death, he won’t believe me. Just because Jaywalk was the last person known to see him alive doesn’t mean he killed him. They were good friends, and—”

“This…this is Jaywalk?”

She nodded. “Yes, it is.”

I got to my feet so quickly that my head spun a little, and I had to catch the arm of the sofa to steady myself. The pile of pictures slid to the floor, but I couldn’t be bothered with that.

“Renee, are you all right?” Mama Higgs asked, as she set the two mugs on the coffee table and squatted next to me to pick the pictures up.

“Yes, but I’ve got to go. I’m sorry. I’ll come back for the pictures.”

I was already out the door before she could respond. Once in the car, I gripped the steering wheel and tried to calm my breathing as I stared down at the photo lying in the passenger seat—a photo of Clarence Higgs and my father.

*****

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