Page 9 of I Heard It All Before

Cam and Lacey were close, but Lacey’s sister, Laila, was closer with Asha. Laila messed around with Asha’s brother, so that was how they got so tight. Lacey’s husband, Kobe, was Cam’s other best friend and he also worked at Randy’s shop. Kobe was a beast at car restoration just like Cam, and that was how they got so close.

“Yeah, I might have to do that. I just want her to make some time for us. She makes time to do her lil ladies’ nights with Asha and your cousins, but she’s always too busy when it comes to me. I love the fact that she’s about her business with work and school, but where do I fit it?” Randy wondered out loud.

“I understand that but, like I just said, that’s an easy fix,” Cam repeated, as something else demanded his attention.

He pushed his empty plate to the side as he watched a group of people smiling and waving, but he didn’t know who or what had captured their attention. When the crowd parted, Cam frowned and shook his head in disgust. Randy was saying something, but Cam had tuned him out when he saw his father and his wife walking through the door, heading in his direction. He was shocked to see them, especially in a place like IHOP. His father’s money was long enough to own a few of the restaurants, but Cam would have never thought he’d see him eating there.

Just like always, Camden Blaire was dressed to impress in a button-down shirt and loose-fitting slacks. The oxfords that he wore looked expensive enough to pay off a few of Cam’s bills for the month. He appeared to have slimmed down a lot since Cam last saw him, but that had been a while ago. He was always on television for representing certain clients or winning their cases, but Cam never bothered to watch. He refused his father’s help when he went to jail the last time, which was how he ended up doing a little time. He remembered his father telling him that jail was for the poor, and that rubbed Cam the wrong way. In his mind, he was one of the poor people that he was speaking of. Cam knew that his father must have still put in a call on his behalf because he was facing double digits just for being a repeat offender.

His wife, Amy, still looked like the same bitter, pale faced bitch that Cam remembered. Not much had changed with her but the color of her hair and the cut. She had her thin lips pulled in tight, seemingly angry at seeing the constant reminder of her husband’s infidelity.

“Hey son. How are you?” Camden asked as he stood in front of his son’s table and smiled down at him.

“Let me call you back Randy,” Cam said to his friend. He never gave Randy a chance to respond before he hung up the phone in his face.

“It must have been meant for me to see you. I just talked to your mother and asked her to tell you to call me,” Camden said.

“Call you for what?” Cam asked. He tried his best to remain calm, remembering some of the many talks that he and his mother had about forgiveness. Nora was quick to forgive and move on, but Cam was stubborn.

“I just wanted to talk to you about a few things. You know, clear the air between us,” Camden answered.

“Clear the air? I thought you did that years ago, when you decided to stay out of my life. I’m good and my air is clear enough,” Cam replied.

“Let’s go honey. He obviously doesn’t want to talk to you,” Amy said as she held her hand out for her husband to take.

Amy couldn’t stand the sight of Cam and she hated Nora even more. She hated that another woman had given her husband a baby, even though she never had a desire to do so. Amy was a business woman and kids were never a part of her plans. She and Camden were supposed to retire kid-free with their millions and let their real estate investments continue to pour in revenue. He fucked up her picture-perfect image when he decided to have unprotected sex with the help. Camden had cheated on her several times, but him being with Nora was the ultimate low. The women that he’d been with previously were young and beautiful but, more importantly, they were white. She never understood why her husband had been so careless with the one person that he should have be the most cautious with. It pained her to see Cam because she saw a mixture of her husband and his mistress whenever she did. Nora went from being a janitor with nothing, to living in a huge home and driving a luxury car, all at the expense of her husband. Camden spared no expense for his outside family, and Amy hated that even more. His son went to the best schools and wore the best clothes, but he was still an ungrateful bastard. Not to mention, the countless times that his father had to bail him out of jail or put a word in, so he wouldn’t have to do any time.

“Bye. I don’t recall asking y’all to come over here,” Cam snapped after a long pause. He cast an angry glare her way, letting her know that he didn’t give a damn about her or her feelings.

“You can leave Amy. I’ll have a car pick me up,” Camden said as he kissed her cheek.

“Are you sure?” Amy asked skeptically.

“Yes, I know you have a meeting with a client soon, so I’ll see you at home a little later,” Camden replied.

As soon as his wife was gone, Camden took a seat at the table with his son, even though he was never invited to. He guiltily dropped his gaze down to the floor when Cam made eye contact with him.

“What’s up man? What is this really about?” Cam asked, getting right to the point.

He was already aggravated because so many people were looking over at them. The great Camden Blaire being spotted in IHOP had to be something to see because so many people were snapping pictures and recording them. Cam hated the spotlight and he was ready to pay his bill and go.

“I, uh, I just wanted to say a few things to you. Things that I probably should have said a long time ago,” Camden replied, stammering the entire time.

“I’m listening,” Cam said as he stared at the man who gave him the features that he had grown to hate over the years.

“I first want to start by giving you an apology,” Camden said as he cleared his throat nervously.

“Man, you’re about twenty-seven years too late for that,” Cam chuckled sarcastically.

“I understand your anger, but I just need you know that I’ve always loved you. I might not have shown it physically, but I tried to make sure that you were financially taken care of. I wanted a better life for you, but I understand why you rejected it.”

“I rejected it because I can’t be bought. Aside from tv, I can count on two hands how many times I saw you. Do you know how it felt for my friends to know that you were my father, but you never came around? Do you know how I felt to know that you and your family were embarrassed of me, all because of the color of my mother’s skin? I was your secret and you made sure that I stayed hidden. Thanks to you, I hate to even pass by a mirror,” Cam said, feeling emotional with every word that he spoke.

He’d kept his feelings bottled up for too long and he was happy to be getting them out. His mother was right; he should have been called his father and told him exactly how he felt. He wanted to be upset with Nora for choosing his father, but he loved her too much.

“I can understand your feelings, but that is not true. I was never embarrassed of you and I never hid you from anyone. Everybody knew about you and I made sure of it. Admittedly, I did do a lot of things wrong, but life doesn’t come with an instruction manual. I did for you the same as my father had done for me. I made sure that you were well taken care of, but I didn’t give you the time and attention that you needed. For that, I apologize. I’m not perfect Cam, but I tried,” Camden noted.

“When? When did you ever try? I didn’t even have a number if I wanted to call and talk to you. My mama didn’t know how to raise a boy by herself, but I appreciate her for always being there. That’s way more than I can say for you. If you knew you didn’t want a half-black baby, you should have used protection to make sure you didn’t get one,” Cam snapped.

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