“Girl, you almost got yourself hurt, walking in here like that. I didn’t know who that was jingling keys and coming in the house. What are you doing here?” Cicely asked.

“What are you doing here? You’re always here when you should be in school.” Latonya retorted.

“It’s spring break. So, I decided to grace my loving family with my presence. I was going to come see you tomorrow. I just got in a little while ago.”

“Hey, Peanut. What are you doing here? Where’s my great-grandbaby?” Gran walked down the hall into the entryway. “Well, come on in and close the door. You don’t look so good, Peanut. What’s wrong with you?”

Latonya followed them into the living room and sat down. “He kicked me out.”

“What? Who kicked you out? Carlton? Why would he do that? What happened?” Gran let loose a string of questions as she sat down on the sofa next to Latonya.

Cicely sat on the other side of her. “Where’s little Carl?”

“He wouldn’t let me take him.” Latonya wrapped her arms around herself as if that would help her hold it together.

“He can’t just take your child! We have to get a lawyer,” Cicely said, and she wrapped her arms around Latonya.

“I don’t understand, Peanut. Why would he kick you out and make you leave your baby?” Gran asked.

“He thinks I’m having an affair.”

“Why would he think that? You didn’t run around on that man, did you—” Gran’s face turned concerned and she clutched her heart.

Appalled, Latonya responded before Gran could finish her statement. “Gran! Of course I didn’t. Why would you think something like that?”

“Even if she did, that doesn’t give him any right to steal her child!” Cicely said.

“I didn’t. I had lunch with a colleague. That’s all.” Latonya took a deep breath. “Carlton’s grandfather told him some lies. Now Carlton believes I cheated.”

“Why would that man lie on you?” Gran asked.

Latonya had no idea why the old man despised her so much that he would tell an out-and-out lie on her. Even the reasons she could think to give didn’t seem like good enough ones to ruin someone’s life. “Because he hates me. He has always hated me. He thinks I’m a gold digger and he has issues with African-Americans.”

“Oh, Lord. I knew you shouldn’t have married in with those foreign folk.” Gran clutched her chest again and fanned her face with her other hand. “You should have married a boy from here and then you wouldn’t have to worry about this kind of thing.”

“Gran!” Cicely scolded. “That’s not an appropriate thing to say. Why are African-Americans always tripping when it comes to black folk from other places? We’re all black and we all can trace our roots back to Africa! The boat just dropped us off in different spots.”

“Well. That man doesn’t like African-Americans!” Gran defended herself. “Black folk from other places are always coming here and looking down their noses at black folk from here. They’re not better than us because they didn’t have to put up with the racism here and they have another home to go to.” Gran shook with anger. “Now we have to worry about him taking little Carl off someplace, back to their country. At least if he were from here we wouldn’t be worried about that.”

The thought that Carlton could very well take their child to the Bahamas and had enough money to make it difficult for her to ever see her child again placed real fear in Latonya’s heart. “I won’t let that happen.” She looked at her grandmother and her sister. “I know that you don’t have a lot of extra space, Gran but can I—”

“Don’t you insult me by asking can you stay here, Peanut. Of course you can stay here. This is your home,” Gran said forcefully.

“Thanks,” Latonya replied.

She spent the rest of the evening planning to get her child back.

The lawyer Latonya met with told her that it would be a difficult custody fight given the amount of money the Harringtons had, but he would do his best to get her baby back. The doctor assured her that she hadn’t done anything to damage the child she carried. She spent the week with Gran and Cicely, and it felt good knowing that she had their support.

Latonya had to force Cicely to go back to school and finish out the semester. By the time the week was up she’d convinced Cee Cee that there wasn’t anything she could really do, anyway. So Cicely got in the car that Carlton had purchased for her and made the drive back to Tallahassee.

After being gone a full week, Latonya missed little Carl fiercely. She knew that she would do whatever she could to get her child. But a part of her didn’t want to drag little Carl through a big custody battle over a misunderstanding. She knew that she owed it to herself and her children to at least try once more and get Carlton to see reason. She hoped that the days apart would give him time to calm down and he would at least be open to hear her out. She didn’t know if she could forgive him for throwing her out of the house. However, she knew she had to try.

When she reached the house that following Saturday afternoon she fully expected to find him playing in the back yard with their son like he did most Saturdays. Instead, she found the elder Harrington sitting there as if he were waiting for her.

Latonya’s eyes narrowed and she could feel bile rising in her throat just looking at him. “Why did you lie on me, old man?”

He turned. “I’ll have to get that Jillian to have someone come change the locks. What are you doing back here?”

“I came for my child!”

“You’re too late. My grandson figured you’d try something, so he took his son to the Bahamas.”

“He what?” Latonya’s stomach lurched and a sharp pain darted across her chest. “I have a lawyer. I will fight for my child. Neither you nor Carlton will be able to stop me!”

“You want to bet that I can’t stop you? I can and I will. My grandson is done with you, girl. You’ve outstayed your welcome. Couldn’t keep your hands off the other men and now he sees you for the slut you are. You will not be allowed to ruin the lives of my grandson or my great-grandson.” He glared at her.

“That boy is a Harrington and you are nothing. You will never be allowed to keep him now that my grandson is through with you. So cut your losses and get as far away from here as possible. I will provide you with the money you no doubt think you will miss out on if you leave. But I promise you this, if you come back here after today you’ll live to regret it.”

Her breath caught and her chest pounded so loud she could feel it in her toes and the tips of her fingers. A cold fear washed over her. The old man had threatened her life, and in doing so, he also threatened the life of her unborn baby.

“Why do you hate me so much? Is it because I’m African-American? Is that a good enough reason to want me gone?”

“I want you gone because you are no good for my grandson. He needs someone who understands where he comes from. Who won’t make him leave his home because she’s having trouble fitting in. Do I wish that he’d married a nice Bahamian girl from his own class? Yes!” The older man shot her a disparaging look. “You being a black American is only part of it. You being a poor social-climbing slut is the biggest problem I have with you!”

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a large envelope that appeared to be stuffed with cash. Handing it to her, he sneered. “Here. I had a feeling that you would come back sniffing around here after a while. Take this and stay the hell away from my boys.”

Gasping as he shoved the envelope in her hand, she took the envelope and threw it in his face.

“You can keep your money, old man. I can’t be bought. And I am not selling my child to you. I will get my child back.”

“Really?” He pretended to consider her words before turning a cold gaze on her. “If you don’t care about your own life, what about your sister? Hmm? Your grandmother? It would be a shame for her to make such a strong recovery only to have an unfortunate accident. And college campuses aren’t as safe as they used to be. Anything could happen to a pretty young lady like your sister. I know people who would do unbelievable things for just a small part of the money you just foolishly threw in my face. Don’t test me, young lady. You get out of here and stay away from my grandson and his son. If you don’t, you are not only risking your life, but the lives of everyone you claim to care about. Do the smart thing. Leave and don’t come back!”

The icy stare that he gave her left her shivering. She realized that if she didn’t want to have another child snatched away from her, or worse, murdered along with her before it even got a chance to draw a breath, she had better disappear for good. The coldness in his eyes told her that the elder Harrington would have no problem carrying out his threats on her family. He might even enjoy it.

She picked up her cell phone once she got back into her car and made three phone calls before tossing it. The first two were to her grandmother and sister, telling them that she would be going away and they probably wouldn’t hear from her again. The second call went to a friend asking for help to make herself disappear. She knew that if she did this she had to do it all the way. She could never contact her family again, because if anyone found out about the child she carried, then the Harringtons wouldn’t waste any time trying to take it away from her. She would miss her baby boy terribly. If the old man were only threatening her, then nothing would make her leave. But the child inside of her deserved a chance to live.

The elder Harrington watched the girl leave and hoped that he’d done enough to scare her off. The fact that Carlton went off that morning looking for her and took the child with him was reason enough to get rid of the girl for good.

He’d tried to talk Carlton out of going after her. The same way he’d tried to talk his son out of going after that other tramp, time after time after time. He wasn’t going to lose Carlton, too. He loved his grandson. He loved his great-grandson. He only wanted what was best for them.

In a few years, once Carlton realized that the slut wasn’t coming back, he’d be able to find a suitable woman, a nice Bahamian woman to be a wife and mother. It was for the best.

Carlton buckled little Carl into the car seat. They’d spent the day at Gran’s house waiting for Latonya to return. At first he didn’t think Gran was going to let him in. Luckily she took pity on him and did. He didn’t know what he’d hoped. He just knew that little Carl wanted to see his mother and he wanted to see his wife.

His grandfather tried to talk him out of going, but he knew he had to try to make things right. He’d let a week pass and that was too long. When Gran got up to answer the phone, he had no idea it was Latonya on the other end. Gran came back into the living room shaking. Latonya said she was going away and she wouldn’t be in contact again.

He’d made a huge mistake and he couldn’t find her to rectify it. He turned and glanced at his son. He was happy that little Carl ended up falling asleep while they were at Gran’s. It would have been hell trying to get the boy out of there after promising that he was going to see his mother.