Chapter 10: Dinner at Six

Connie set the plate of tacos in front of Aaron.

“Thanks,” he grunted, as she put down Paula’s plate and then her own.

“Oh, I forgot the drinks, one second.”

“You’re going to the movies with Jim tonight?” asked Paula.

Aaron rolled his eyes.

“Aren’t you tired of him yet? He’s tall, but he’s just a kid.”

Just that afternoon, he had endured yet another screeching phone call from Lucille, Connie’s mother. His headache from that lingered.

“I’m sorry about that, Aaron. I thought she would have cooled off by now. She’s still sending me threatening letters, too. I guess you’ll have to block her number.”

“I HAVE blocked her number! And the next THREE numbers she’s called me from, too. On my WORK phone, Connie.”

“Oh, no. I’m so sorry! What can I do?”

“I can’t think of anything right now. God, my head is pounding.”

Abruptly, he abandoned his half-eaten meal and stomped off to the bedroom, scowling. Paula flitted after him with a worried backward glance at Connie.

This was not what she hoped for when she moved out after turning 18. Lucille’s entire focus in life had been to control her teenage daughter. Bitterly nursing her grievances against Connie’s father, she was determined to ensure that her daughter would not be with men.

“No nasty sex for my daughter!”

Chester Adelson had been baby-trapped by Lucille Tinlette and married in his mid-twenties. After she confirmed her pregnancy, she never allowed him near her again. When he expressed frustration, she set a baseball bat beside the bed and warned him off.

Inevitably, he found affection in another woman’s arms. Lucille felt zero responsibility for his actions and vowed to punish him for cheating for the rest of his life. He believed her, and he searched for a way to escape.

Finally, at his wits’ end, Chester fought back. He had plenty of money (part of why Lucille had pursued him in the first place), so he took drastic action.

He threatened her.

“Either you accept my terms, or I will have you thrown in a mental hospital and take Connie away from you for good. You know I have the means to do this. I am going to pay you $300,000. I am going to create a trust for Connie’s benefit. The funds will be available to her, not for you, when she turns 18.

“You are never going to contact me again. Connie’s birth certificate is going to be re-issued, with a blank entry for ‘father’ and her last name as your last name.

“When she’s older, tell Connie whatever you like. Just don’t tell her about me.”

Much later, Lucille married Adrian, Paula’s brother, when Connie was 16. Ten weeks later, that marriage was over when Adrian realized Lucille was insincere and avaricious. He felt bad for Connie, but there was nothing he could do for her.

Except, that’s how Paula and Connie got to know each other, to Connie’s ultimate benefit.

“Aaron, I’m so sorry. Let me take care of you. Here, I’ve got your shoes and pants, now, your shirt. I’m going to keep the lights off in here and the TV quiet out front. I promise, you’ll feel better soon.”

She left him with a gentle kiss and closed the bedroom door behind her.

In the kitchen, “Connie, we need to talk.”