George Townsend had called for a family meeting to discuss some very important business, and they were all set to gather at the Townsend family home in Flossmoor at two o’clock. John was the first to arrive at their parents’ house, and Jalen came ten minutes later.
Jalen had an inkling that the meeting was about Lisa, but he couldn’t let it be known that he was already privy to their father’s indiscretion. He had made Lisa a promise to keep quiet about what he knew and wasn’t trying to put her in an awkward situation.
“Hey, Mom, how are you?” Jalen asked. “You have it smelling good in here.”
“Fine, baby,” she answered, “we can all eat when everyone gets here.”
“Who’s here?”
“John’s in the bathroom, and your father hasn’t gotten home from church yet.”
“You didn’t go?”
“I left early. What happened to you?”
“I know I promised Dad that I would come to church today, but I’ve been swamped with work lately and was too tired to get up this morning.”
“Well, your father keeps asking about you…”
“What’s this meeting about anyway?”
“You’ll have to wait like everyone else.”
Joyce was still a very beautiful woman who was in her mid-fifties. She had light brown skin, a slim figure, and a bright smile.
John came out the bathroom and greeted Jalen with a hug and firm handshake. Joyce went back in the kitchen to finish preparing the food, and Jalen and John sat on the living room sofa.
“What’s going on?” Jalen asked.
“You tell me,” John said. “I wonder what this important meeting is all about.”
“I don’t have a clue, big bro,” Jalen lied.
Jerrica entered the house moments later, and Jalen and John got up to greet her after she greeted their mom with a hug and a kiss. She had a slim, model-like body, and like her mother, her beautiful smile and golden-brown complexion were her best features. John, on the other hand, had a dark brown complexion, and Jalen was in between with a caramel complexion.
“Hey, John,” Jerrica said, giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“What’s good, sis?” John asked.
“I had to pull some strings to get this day off at the hospital, so this meeting had better be important,” Jerrica answered.
“Hey, sis,” Jalen said, kissing her on the cheek after he wrapped his arm around her waist.
“Hey, Jalen,” Jerrica said.
“You work too hard, Jerrica,” John said.
“That’s the life of a doctor, I’m afraid,” Jerrica said.
“You need to work smart, not hard,” John said.
“I agree, but neither Jerrica nor I have reached that plateau yet,” Jalen said.
“I don’t think that I’ll ever reach that plateau,” Jerrica added.
“Being a doctor is one of the most important professions in the world, sis,” John stated. “I’m not knocking your hustle at all.”
“But you’re right, John,” Jerrica said. “I need a vacation before I completely burn out.”
“Where do you want to go?” Jalen asked. “Maybe we can plan a family trip somewhere.”
“That’s out of the question, Jalen,” Jerrica answered. “All that I want to do is sleep, and there’s always so much to do on a vacation.”
“Right, and you’ll need another vacation after your vacation,” John said.
Jerome was the fourth sibling to arrive, and he made his rounds to greet everybody with hugs and kisses on the cheek for his mom and Jerrica and hugs and handshakes for his brothers. He had a dark brown complexion like John, but he wore his hair in dreads as opposed to the low crop cut that John had, or the tapered mini afro like Jalen had. He was slated to do a show in the evening at the House of Blues in the North Loop.
“What’s going on, good people?” Jerome asked.
“Everybody’s wondering why Dad has called this family meeting,” John answered.
“He’s not dying, is he?” Jerome asked apprehensively.
“No, he’s not dying,” Joyce answered.
“Do you know why he has us here, Mom?” Jerrica asked.
“I’m not at liberty to say,” Joyce answered.
“I have a show to do at the House of Blues, so I can’t stay too long,” Jerome stated.
“He should be here any minute,” Joyce said.
“That’s dope,” John said. “Are you guys going to perform any new music tonight?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, we are,” Jerome answered. “You all should come.”
“Count me in,” John said.
“I took the day off, so I’ll be there,” Jerrica added.
“You’re a little quiet over there, Jalen,” John said. “Are you game?”
“Yeah, count me in,” Jalen said.
Jillian rounded out the five siblings as she made her grand entrance and greeted everyone with a hug and kiss on the cheek. She was a caramel beauty who stood about five seven with curves in all of the right places. She had always gotten a lot of attention from the guys but could never keep a relationship going for more than six months.
“Where’s Dad,” Jillian asked.
“We’re still waiting for him,” John answered.
“What held you up, Jill?” Jerrica asked.
“I’ve been working all weekend trying to prepare for this trial on Monday,” Jillian answered. “This family is suing Stroger Hospital for medical malpractice.”
“That’s what’s up,” John said.
“We’re all going to see Jerome perform tonight,” Jerrica said. “Are you coming?”
“Sure, I’d love to,” Jillian answered.
George came in about ten minutes later as the clock read seven minutes after two. He then greeted everyone with a hug, and he wasted no time getting the meeting started. Jalen sat in between John and Jerrica on one end of the living room sofa, and Jerome and Jillian sat on the other end. George sat in the recliner, and Joyce got a chair from the kitchen table and sat next to him.
“I guess you all are wondering why I called this family meeting,” George said, looking directly at Jalen, but Jalen didn’t change his facial expression. It wasn’t quite a scowl, but Jalen didn’t appear to be very happy.”
“I’ve brought you all here because I need to share something with you that is very important,” George continued. “I don’t want to beat around the bush, so I’m just going to come out and say it.”
“Say what, Daddy?” Jillian asked curiously.
“I cheated on your mom many years ago, and I have a twenty-seven-year-old daughter out of wedlock,” George said solemnly, and Joyce lowered her head in shame for a couple of seconds before she grabbed George’s hand.
“What?!” John asked tersely. “You cheated on Mom?!”
“Why are you bringing this up now after all this time?” Jerrica asked in a calm tone. “I don’t understand.”
“It means that Daddy was creeping around,” Jillian answered angrily. “How could you do this to Mom?”
“Come on y’all,” Jerome said. “Calm down and let Dad finish.”
“I met a woman named Annamarie at the hospital where I worked, and she was a nurse there,” George resumed telling his story. “We became friends, and I’d confided in her with my problems…”
“What problems?” John asked. “Mom is the sweetest woman I know.”
“Thank you, baby,” Joyce said, “but let your father finish the story.”
“You knew that he was going to talk about this, Mom?” Jillian asked.
“Yes, I did, sweetie,” Joyce answered.
“I am so disappointed in you, Daddy,” Jillian said.
George sighed before he slowly wiped his nose and mouth and continued, “I carried on this affair for two years, and your mom and I separated for a year after she found out about Annamarie and me.”
“Did you know about this, John?” Jalen whispered in his ear.
“No, I didn’t,” John whispered back. “I just thought Dad was working overtime because we still saw him every weekend.”
“What’s this girl’s name, Dad,” Jerrica asked.
“Her name is Lisa,” George answered. “I met her for the first time yesterday, and I want you all to meet her in due time. She’s a very nice young lady.”
“Well, I don’t want to meet her,” Jillian said. “She’s not my damn sister.”
“Yes, she is, Jillian, and I don’t want to hear that tone from you again, young lady.”
“Hold up, Dad,” John said in a forceful tone. “You don’t get to dictate to us like we’re still children. You were the one who messed up, and now you want to make amends after keeping your dirty little secret for twenty-seven damn years?”
“Calm down, John,” Jerome urged. “He’s owning up to his mistakes like a man, and he’s trying to make things right.”
“You would take the high road, Jerome,” Jillian said, “but he doesn’t get off the hook that easily.”
“I’m with Jerome,” Jerrica interjected. “If Mom can forgive Dad, so can we.”
“Answer this one question,” John demanded. “Like Jerrica asked a minute ago, why now? You never once tried to reach out to this girl after all these years, and then you suddenly have a change of heart. This makes no damn sense.”
“Annamarie disappeared without a trace after I told her that I couldn’t make a commitment to her, and I never saw her again until a few weeks ago,” George answered. “We small talked for a few minutes, and she gave me Lisa’s phone number so that I could reach out to her.”
“Don’t you have something to say, Jalen?” Joyce asked. “You’ve been very quiet over there.”
“Yeah, bro, what’s on your mind?” Jerome asked.
Everyone focused their attention on Jalen, but he shook his head and said, “I really don’t have much to say because I’m so angry right now. I totally agree with Jill about accountability, and that doesn’t happen too often.”
“I’d like to hear what you have to say, Son,” George said pleadingly. “I deserve all of your condemnation, and I can take it.”
“Are you sure?” Jalen asked. “Because what I have to say will change the dynamic of this family forever.”
“The dynamic of this family is already changed forever,” Jillian added.
“Come on bro,” John said reassuringly. “Let it out.”
Jalen took a deep breath and said, “I met this girl a couple of days ago, and we hit it off instantly. I started seeing her on the train every morning since February, but I didn’t have the courage to say anything to her other than hello until Friday evening at the gas pump.”
“You met her at the gas pump?” Jillian asked.
“Yeah, I met her at pump three,” Jalen answered.
“That’s so cute,” Jerrica said.
“I hear you, but what does this have to do with what’s going on now?” Jerome asked.
“I’m getting to that,” Jalen answered, looking directly at George, and George’s entire expression changed.
“I asked her out, and she said yes,” Jalen continued. “We met up at Chili’s and had a great time before we went back to her place for a nightcap. We talked for hours getting to know each other, and neither one of us wanted the night to end. So, I ended up spending the night, and we slept together.”
“You had sex on the first night?” Jillian asked.
“No, but we kissed and snuggled up to each other all night long, and needless to say, I fell for this girl.”
John nodded and said, “You told me this much already. What happened after that?”
“You told John, but you didn’t tell the rest of us?” Jerome asked in a dejected tone.
Jalen shook his head and sighed before saying, “She had cooked me breakfast the next morning, and we agreed to meet up later on that night. However, when I came back to her place in the evening, she was very upset about something. I then asked her what was wrong, and she was afraid to tell me at first.”
“What was she afraid to tell you, Jalen?” George asked nervously.
Jalen frowned at him and answered, “Because she had met her father for the first time earlier in the afternoon.”
“What is this girl’s name, baby?” Joyce asked curiously.
“Her name is Lisa Sosa, your daughter, Dad,” Jalen answered angrily.
“Oh, my God!” Jillian said hysterically. “This is unbelievable.”
“Believe it, sis,” Jalen said, “and this is all your fault, Dad. You ruined my life! Your damn secret ruined my damn life!”
“I’m sorry, Jalen,” Jerrica said. “I don’t know what to say…”
“Me too, bro,” John added. “This whole thing doesn’t seem real.”
“I can’t believe that you had Jalen out here committing incest, Daddy!” Jillian exclaimed. “This is terrible!”
“Come on, Jill, that’s enough,” Jerrica urged her.
“Wait a minute, everybody,” Joyce said sternly. “I have something to say.”
“What is it, Mom?” Jillian asked.
“Lisa is not your sister, Jalen,” Joyce stated.
“What?” Jalen asked. “What are you saying, Mom?”
“George isn’t your father, either,” Joyce started crying.
Everyone was stunned and sat quietly for a brief moment before George asked, “What the hell do you mean Jalen isn’t my son?!”
Joyce sighed and answered, “After you left home to be with your girlfriend, I had an affair of my own…”
“But you never said that Jalen wasn’t mine!” George said tersely.
“Do the math, George!” Joyce shouted. “You left in December, and Jalen was born the following year in November!”
“Well, who was the guy you slept with?!”
“That’s not important, George!”
Tears began to freely flow from Jalen’s eyes, and he shouted, “You two are unbelievable…two of the biggest hypocrites I had ever seen in my damn life! And you call yourselves Christians!”
Jalen stormed out of the house, and John quickly followed behind him as the rest of their siblings watched from the front porch.
“Come on, bro,” John pleaded. “Don’t go…”
“I have to get the hell out of here, man,” Jalen said. “I can’t stand to look at them right now.”
“I understand, Jalen, but don’t shut us out.”
“You understand?! How the hell can you understand what I’m feeling?!”
“Don’t jump down my throat! I’m on your side!”
“I just need to clear my head, John. I don’t even know who I am at this point.”
“Can you at least call me later?” John asked. “Just let me know that you’re okay, alright?”
“Alright,” Jalen answered, and he hopped in his car and sped off.
John sauntered back to the house, and Jerrica asked, “What did he say?”
“It wasn’t so much what he said,” John answered, “it was how he said it. I don’t think things will ever be the same again.”
“I’ve never seen Jalen this angry before,” Jerome said.
“Me, neither,” Jillian added, “and we have had some pretty heated arguments in the past.”
“Let’s just give him some space right now,” Jerrica suggested, “and he’ll be fine.”
“I hope you’re right, sis,” John said as they all went back inside.