Tabitha Ch. 12

"Why don't you just call him and tell him that?"

"He wouldn't believe me."

"He wouldn't believe his sister...or his daughter?"

Tabitha shook her head. "There's something about this woman that has him completely fooled. He loves her and no matter how many times she fucks up, he'll always see the best in her. He doesn't think she's capable of all the horrible things she does, so she'll get away with it and he won't be able to live without his kids."

Wes nodded. He left her to throw things in her suitcase and after pulling on a pair of shorts, left the room.

A few minutes later, Dion entered the room with Rick close behind her. "What's happening with Nikki?"

"I'm not explaining it again!" Tabitha snapped.

"Well, I'm going with you!" Dion screeched back.

Tabitha rolled her eyes. "You have the babies, Dion! You are not getting involved in this."

"I am going! He's my brother too!"

Tabitha was about to argue when Rick stepped between them. "Let's go down to the office and make some flight arrangements. We'll get someone in here to re-pack this mess you've created. You two can take both babies with you in addition to the night nurse. Mum and Posie are both here to help me with Rose and Patrick."

"I'm going with you," Wes said from behind Dion.

Tabitha nodded slowly, finally letting tears of panic slip. "We just can't let her take them!"

Dion hugged her. "We won't, I promise, but we've got to be calm if we're going to help them. Let Rick get the flight arranged and the staff can pack all of us, we'll go have a cup of tea and finish getting ready. Okay?"

Tabitha nodded.

Wes grabbed her into a hug before they passed him. "I'll be ready when you're ready."

***

Wes groaned when he turned on the phone. The private plane Rick had secured for them had landed a half hour before. Tabitha, Dion, Lily, Ash, and Jane—Dion's helping hand—had taken off in the car right away. He'd stayed behind to collect their luggage. While waiting for the conveyor belt to start, he powered up his cell phone and the phone blinked with the waiting messages a whopping thirty-five messages.

He had a sneaking suspicion he knew who'd left most of them. Instead of listening to the messages, he dialed Jazzy's number immediately.

"You have got to get an international plan on your cell!" she practically shrieked when she picked up.

"You knew where I was and could have reached me if you tried hard enough."

"Well, your parents are here and I've been fielding a million questions about where you are, what you're doing to the house, and who this girl is you've chased to England."

"Why do you answer the phone when they call?" he groaned.

"That wasn't my mistake this time; I answered the door when they rang the bell!"

"They're here?"

Jazzy grumbled something inaudible. "Yes, little brother. They're here...at my house...for almost a week now."

"Where's Clay?"

"He's staying with Peter." Jazzy's voice was terse.

"I'm dropping off the luggage; I'll be there in an hour."

"You'd better be here sooner than later or I'll drop them off at your doorstep and go stay at Peter's until they leave."

"Be nice, Jazzy!"

"Be here, Wes, as in five minutes ago!"

Wes muttered a few choice curses as he hung up the phone. His parents were in town, they'd been there for days and Jazzy was obviously at the end of her rope. Jazzy and their father didn't exactly get along. She resented his posturing and judgment. He was still salty about the unwed pregnancy and her shacking up with a musician. Wes tended to be a buffer between the three of them...a bigger loser than his sister, with no adorable grandchild to distract them.

This would not be a happy family reunion.

***

Tabitha rang the doorbell for a third time. Frustrated, she began to bang on the door.

"Use your key!" Dion urged behind her.

"I am not just going to walk into the house, what if they're home?"

"What if she's already gone with the children?"

Tabitha looked down at the keys in her hand. Dion was right, best she offend her brother by walking into his house than allowing his children to get too far away. They entered the house, and began to look around. From the kitchen, a sable brown woman crept into the living area. She wore dark wash jeans ripped at the thighs and a red halter top. Her hair was short, but neatly pressed against her head.

"Waynette," Tabitha said in greeting. "I'm glad to see you're still here."

"Get out of my house," her sister-in-law snapped.

"This not your house, this is my brother's house. I was under the impression that you lived in Hartford these days with...what's his name?"

"Mickey and I broke up."

Tabitha bristled at her matter-of-fact tone. "Oh, so you broke up with your boyfriend and decided to come home for a visit with your husband and children?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm not trying to say anything!"

Waynette's gaze flitted up and down Tabitha's form. "You look like shit."

Tabitha rolled her eyes. "What the hell are you doing here, Waynette? We all know that you're not exactly the world's best mother. You're even worse at being a wife. So why are you here?"

"What do you know about being a mother? I'm here for my kids."

"You're not taking these kids away from my brother!"

Waynette was shorter than Tabitha, and much thinner, but she gave her a look that indicated she planned to start something physical.

"You can't tell me what to do with my children!"

"These are not your children until you decide to be a mother to them!" Dion snapped, coming around behind Waynette. She'd taken a path through the dining room and the kitchen.

Waynette rounded on Dion, fist clenched. "Don't you judge me you bougie bitch! You think just because you live in England and your husband wants you barefoot and pregnant all the time, you're a better mother than me!"

Dion bristled. "Don't presume to know anything about me. My children know me and they have a home that is safe. You've been upstate for months, then come back here and try to take these kids away from the father who's been busting his ass to care for them without you!"

Tabitha thought of Ash and Lily, still in the car with Jane. Her brother's children deserved the same security as those two and their other siblings. The crux was the mother; the mother that brought them into this world accepted them and cared for them. Tabitha thought of her own mother and winced. How had Derrick ended up with someone so close to the mother that hadn't even raised him?

"You need to leave," Tabitha informed Waynette. "You need to get out of this house before those kids come home from school."

"I'm not leaving here without my kids."

"That's where we disagree!" snapped Dion.

"Mom?" a small voice said from behind Tabitha. All three women turned to face Nikki. "Mom, we don't want to go with you."

"Oh, baby," Waynette said with a fake sweetness. "It'll be fun! We'll go live in my new apartment and daddy will send us money!"

Dion's face flashed with anger. "You want my brother to pay you to kidnap his kids?!"

"It's called child support. I need the money."

"Why?" asked Tabitha. "Why do you need money?"

Waynette put a hand over her pursed lips and glanced at Nikki. She didn't want to say it in front of Nikki.

Tabitha turned back to her niece and pulled her into a hug. "You were supposed to go to school today," she whispered against her cheek.

"I know," she answered.

"I can't believe you're already fourteen," Tabitha said with a smile. "Go to your room and wait for a minute. We'll get you back to school soon, okay?"

Nikki nodded and with one final glance at her mother, she went to her room.

"What's going on, Waynette?" asked Tabitha. "Why are you here?"

"I'm pregnant."

Dion was practically vibrating with anger.

"Why did you come back here? Why can't you just sign the divorce papers and you and Mickey raise your kid without all this drama?" Tabitha waved her hand between herself and Dion.

Dion laughed. "He's dumped her, Tabby. Her boyfriend doesn't want a baby. He wanted sex. He wanted to take her from her husband. He didn't want a family with her. Why do you think he didn't let her bring the kids when she moved out?"

Waynette glared at Dion but didn't respond.

Dion continued. "What happened? Did the relationship start to crap out? Was he about to dump you so you thought getting pregnant would fix everything, like it did with Derrick?"

Tabitha shook her head. The truth was in Waynette's angry eyes and clenched jaw.

"Derrick married you when you got pregnant with Nikki because he loved you. He still loves you. That's why he let you come back in this house and he would have taken care of that baby too." She pointed to Waynette's still-flat stomach. "But we're not going to let that happen."

"Do you really think you can stop me from being with my kids?"

Dion stepped between them. "I'll give you five thousand dollars right now. You leave here; get a place to live, have that kid and leave Derrick out of it."

"I'll match that," said Tabitha.

"Fuck you!" Waynette yelled moving to slap Dion.

Dion batted the hand away. "Neither one of us are in any condition to fight. I've just had a baby and you're carrying one. Don't put your hands on me and I won't make Tabitha tie you to a chair until you are willing to be reasonable."

Waynette rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you think I'm going to walk away from my family if you give me money?"

"You said that's what you wanted!" Tabitha urged.

Dion nodded. "I'm not paying you to leave your family. I'm giving you money to get on your feet. You won't have to rely on Derrick or Mickey or anyone else to live. Derrick is taking care of the kids; don't take them away from their life. The baby you're carrying isn't his responsibility, it's yours. Handle your business. You're about to have four kids, don't you think it's about time to stop thinking of yourself?"

Waynette shook her head. "I can't pay back ten thousand dollars."

"It's not a loan. I don't expect repayment. I expect you to be better than this."

"When can I have the money?" she relented.

"Tomorrow," Dion said on a sigh.

Waynette sunk into a chair and rubbed her eyes. "What will they think when I leave again?"

"They won't think badly of you as long as you don't stay gone forever."

"So I'm just going to raise this one on my own now; a single mother?"

Dion put a hand on Waynette's shoulder. "You won't be the first."

"Alright," Waynette said heavily. "I'll take the money and I'll leave the kids."

Tabitha smiled and hugged her sister-in-law. "We'll take Nikki back to school and come back in the morning to give you the money."

Waynette nodded.

***

"I've got to go to the grocery store," Jazzy said as soon as she opened the front door. She pushed past him as he entered the house. "Blake is down for a nap and I'm about to lose my mind."

"Nice to see you too!" Wes called to her back. She stopped walking and turned around. She looped her arms around his waist and put her head on his chest. "I'm glad you're home safe," she muttered giving him a squeeze.

Wes walked into his sister's townhouse with heavy legs. He wasn't looking forward to seeing his parents again. He knew part of it was his fault; he'd rebelled so hard that he'd created a nice, big rift. His parents were on the periphery of his current life. They existed somewhere outside of his everyday, but now they'd transplanted themselves right smack dab in the middle. Was he even ready to introduce Tabitha to them?

He sighed. What did it matter? They'd insist on it regardless.

"Wesley?" his mother called rushing out of the kitchen.

His heart leapt a bit. His mother looked older. Her hair was almost completely white now where it had been salt and pepper the last time he'd seen her. She was also thinner, her face a bit drawn, some new wrinkles around her eyes. Still, she was beautiful.

"Hi mom," he said bending down to hug her.

"You look so good!" Lucy gushed framing his face in her hands. "You do need a haircut, though."

"Thanks."

He straightened in time to see his father walk in from the living room.

"Wesley," Stanley Roberts said extending his hand.

Wes shook it. "Stanley."

"Don't mock me," his father cautioned.

"Oh, stop it, the both of you." She glared at her husband. "Shaking hands with your son, Stan; really?"

"I thought you'd bring your girlfriend," Stan said looking around. What's her name, Tiffany?"

"Tabitha," Wes corrected. "She's jetlagged and I'm pretty sure she's not up for all this just yet."

"We'll have her for dinner tomorrow night," Lucy said with a nod.

"I'm sure you will," Wes muttered.

"Where's Clay?" Stan pressed again. "He hasn't been over all week. Has he finally abandoned Jasmine?"

"He loves her," Wes said matter-of-factly.

His father harrumphed and walked through to the kitchen.

"The more things change," Wes muttered.

"Don't mind him," Lucy said rubbing her son's arm.

Wes pulled away from her. "You don't have to make excuses for him anymore, mom, I've figured him out already."

Lucy pressed her lips together. "I've missed you."

"Not enough to call, though."

She flinched at the biting remark. "I just don't know that you'll want to talk to me," she said quietly.

"Well, I don't want to do it, now." He sighed at the pain on his mother's face. "I'm sorry, okay. I'm just tired from the flight and not in the best of moods right now." He wasn't about to tell his mother that he was more concerned about the problem going on with Tabby's family than making nice with his family.

"That's fine, dear. Just go have a nap on the couch while the baby is down. Once he gets up, we're all up."

Wes nodded and retreated to the living room. He reclined on the couch, but couldn't sleep. Instead, he shot off a text to Tabitha.

u okay?

In seconds she responded.

We're fine, taking Nikki to school, then

a nap. Call u later.

Wes tossed the phone onto the coffee table and began to drift in and out of sleep. All he had to do was get through a night alone with his parents and he could see Tabitha tomorrow. Once Jazzy had a visit with Clay, she'd be in much better spirits and they could both protect Tabitha from Stan and Lucy Roberts over dinner the next night.