Ivy's Twisted Vine Redux by Latrivia Nelson (books to read for beginners .TXT) 📕

“Far from it. I’m just a little shocked.” He didn’t want to admit that he had some color issues, at least not now.

“Shocked. Whatever happened to freedom of choice? Please, you actually are going to sit here and tell me that you’ve never been with a white woman?”

“What I do is my business, and I’m a Brigadier General in the United States Marine Corp, so of course I believe in freedom… the freedom to pick any woman in the world besides my daughter.”

“You know, I always pegged you wrong. I figured that white women were right up your alley. I mean, Mom is high yellow; the woman you saw after the divorce was high yellow. I just figured you liked women with a fair complexion.”

“Well, all of my girlfriends from college and high school were extremely light complexioned women, but I guess it was a coincidence.” His daughter was much too observant.

“Or maybe you were just brain washed. They say that black men back then only dated light skin women. It was a sign of status.” She could hear his aggravation even in his silence.

“Bull. My biggest crush was on the blackest thing at TSU.” Madison laughed. “That was back in the day. You tiny boppers don’t know anything about that.”

“Madison, do you really care that he’s white?”

“Nope. Some of my best friends are white.” Madison laughed. “But I do care about what his intensions are towards you.”

“I don’t know what his intensions are. So far, he’s been understanding, but who’s to say that won’t change.”

“I know, and you should keep that attitude about both of them.” He worried for her now. “Regardless of what they do, I’ll be there soon. You won’t have to go through this alone. I promise, princess.”

Chapter Twelve: Kitty Kat

Chapter 12

KITTY KAT

“So, is the wedding still on?” Mayor Henderson asked driving his golf ball across the Southwind golf course. It had been nearly a month and a half since he and Grey’s last conversation about the wedding and Ivy’s pregnancy. He was starting to become nervous.

“Yeah, that I know of, it is.” Grey teed up and took swing. Making contact, he watch the small ball soar through the air. “As soon as the baby gets here, we’ll get married.” He watched the ball land in satisfaction.

“What if the baby happens to belong to the cop?” his father asked with concern for the future of the family. He knew that he had inquired more than once, but he had to make sure that his son was sure of his decision.

“Then it does. I just can’t afford to loose Ivy at this point. And I know this sounds crazy, but I don’t know if I don’t want to loose her because I love her, or if it’s because I can’t stand to see her with someone else.” Wiping the sweat from his brow, Grey looked across the course. “I just never thought that life could become so complicated in such a short period of time. I’m loosing myself, because I’m loosing her.”

“I know that it’s a hard pill to swallow, but what you’re feeling is natural, son. You could be a father soon, or a stepfather…” Mayor Henderson shook his head. “This is not exactly how I pictured you starting a family.”

“Me either. This is some messy shit that I’ve gotten myself into.”

“Yeah. I agree with you on that. But even still, you need to keep this under wraps. Don’t let the public know we have a family issue. They really eat this stuff up. And you could possibly suffer at the polls on Election Day.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not about to let this leak out.” Grey understood politics more than he understood anything else in his life. “And Ivy’s been tight-lipped about it, too. She’s very embarrassed, of course.”

“Of course…” Mayor Henderson rolled his eyes. “Did you meet with the other young man like I told you to?”

“Yeah, over a month ago.” Grey hesitated. “You know him.”

“I know him?” Mayor Henderson’s interest peeked.

“He’s your lead guy on the NARC-TACT team.”

“Agosto?” Surely, it couldn’t be him.

“Yep, that’s the bastard.” Leaning on the golf club, Grey looked at his watch. “I had lunch with him at the Piatza Club the other day, per your request. When I saw him come through the door, I almost fell out of my fucking seat. I couldn’t believe it. You know, I never even knew that she looked at other men, especially other races. He’s a problem for me, and he knows it.”

“This entire situation is a problem. Did she know that you two knew each other?” Mayor Henderson could not grasp the understanding behind Ivy’s choice.

Grey looked over at his father awkwardly. “Does it matter?”

“I just wonder if it is possible that Ivy found out about your little indiscretions and took it upon herself to get you where it would hurt.”

“She would never intentionally get pregnant, though. It wouldn’t have even mattered to me if it has just been a one-night stand, but most days I feel like it’s something else between those two. But no…I don’t think that there was any sinister plot behind it. It was just a coincidence.”

“Or karma.” Mayor Henderson smirked. “Everything in life has a way of making a full circle, boy. Let that be a lesson to you.”

“Whatever.” Grey didn’t feel like hearing one is his father’s lessons on life. “What do you know about this guy? I mean, I’m trying to gather dirt on him as we speak, but if you know some people on the force that could dish some dirt or some angle that I use just in case, it would be helpful.”

“Well, we had an issue with a drug dealer that was peddling meth in the East Memphis school district a few years back. Nicola helped nip the bud in that entire operation in less than two months. It was some pretty heavy cop work, but he pulled it off. Actually, it made the Memphis political machine look