Page 29 of Unexpected Pass

“My mom gave birth to me in Philly. My dad thought it was a great idea.”

I gave her the quick version, not the ridiculously long one my mom loved to tell me. My parents were driving through Philly on their way to Jersey when my mother went into labor and had me in the back seat of my father’s ’89 Cadillac.

“And it was a good idea. Phileigh is a beautiful name.” Ms. Barnes smiled at me, and I stared at her in confusion. I thought she didn’t like me.

“It definitely made me stand out. I’m always the only Phileigh in the room.”

“I bet. I hope you are thankful to your parents for giving you that unique identifier. Standing out in a crowd is a gift.” She smiled. “Tell me… What do your parents do?”

“Well, my mom is a certified nurse assistant, and my dad is a retired barber,” I replied. “They’ve been married for twenty-five years and together for thirty.”

“That’s admirable… twenty-five years married,” she said, responding as most people do when they find out how long my parents have been married.

They didn’t know that fifteen of those years were filled with infidelity. They didn’t know how my mother used to put me in the car countless nights to go confront him at his mistress’s house. They didn’t know how I had to wipe my mother’s tears and try to build up her confidence every single time and how I lost more and more respect for my father until our relationship became non-existent. Nope. All everyone saw, including my mother, was twenty-five years of marital bliss.

“I guess so,” was all I could think to say. Anything else would have me disclosing my parent’s business to this woman, who probably couldn’t care less. A moment of silence passed between us before Ms. Barnes spoke.

“I often wished for a two-parent household when I was raising my sons alone after their dad was killed when Kellon was just a baby.”

I felt a pang of empathy pass through me. I knew about Kellon’s brother passing away, but I didn’t know about his father. That was a lot of grief for one person to have.

“You did an amazing job with them, Ms. Barnes. You raised two NFL stars, so kudos to you.”

“Thank you, baby,” she replied softly. I could hear the pride in her voice as the car slowed to a stop. My eyes darted back out the window, and a row of high-end stores appeared. My eyes lit up.

“Is this Fifth Avenue?” I asked.

“Yes, it is, and I have my son’s black card with strict orders to get what we want!” She displayed a black credit card, sporting a million-dollar smile.

I chuckled, feeling both relaxed and overwhelmed. Accepting this treatment from a man I’d just met didn’t feel right.

“This is a lot. I could grab a few things from Rainbow, or better yet, I could have my bestie bring me a few items.”

Ms. Barnes stopped to stare at me. She had a puzzled look on her face.

“Word of advice… When a man offers to get you nice things, be skeptical, but accept them, chile. You always deserve it.”

I nodded, taking in her words as we exited the vehicle, and then I realized I was on one of the best shopping streets in the country. I scanned the block and took it all in. What had my life become?

“Are you ready, honey? There is money to spend.”

I nodded as we entered the first high-end store together. I marveled at how clean and sleek everything was. Back home, I’d been in luxury stores, but none were this nice.

“Go ahead, honey. Look around. I see some items that got my name all over them,” she said before walking away and leaving me alone.

I peered around, trying to figure out where the plus-size section of the store was but came up empty.

“Hmmm.” I exhaled deeply as I moved around the store, checking the racks. A frown creased my pretty forehead. Everything was beautiful, but like most high-end stores, there were nothing in my size. I sighed in disappointment and embarrassment.

“And why haven’t you picked anything yet?”

Ms. Barnes approached me with a handful of clothes in her hand. I thought about lying and saying I didn’t find any of the clothes appealing, but that would only make me look snooty.

“Um, It’s just... I don’t see anything in here in my size.”

Ms. Barnes looked around, and her expression softened. “The website said they had bigger sizes. Let me see what you like.”

I hesitated for a moment before picking up a few items that were situated nearby.

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