Color of Deception Read online

  Carlisha listened and watched, peeking up over her computer monitor periodically, at the exchange. Despite Mr. Holmes grief she couldn’t believe how he was continually being so disrespectful to Mrs. Bevins. Her spouse died one year ago as well, she shouldn’t be spoken to like that. The business phone line rang distracting Carlisha from the scene in front of her.

  “I know you’re angry but that is no way to speak to me! My husband died that day as well. I’m heartbroken just as much as you are,” Mrs. Bevins stated.

  “Well it wasn’t my wife that crashed into your husband! It was the other way around!” Pete was done with the conversation. It was taking every bit of strength not to want to strangle the life out of the older woman in front of him. He felt that would bring him immediate pleasure, death to one of the people he now despised.

  “My husband had a heart attack; he didn’t intentionally cause the accident…”

  “Get out of my business establishment and take your flowers with you!” Pete demanded. He desperately wanted to pick up the vase and throw it against the wall to show Mrs. Bevins just how much he didn’t appreciate her presence or her pathetic sympathy.

  “I will leave. But for your own good Mr. Holmes, you can’t continue on with bitterness, I don’t think your wife would want that –”

  “How the HELL would you know what my wife would want?” Pete was livid that she would suggest that she knew anything about his dead wife. He walked toward the counter, picked up the vase with the flowers and slammed it on the floor. “That’s what I think about your pathetic flowers and your idiot of a dead husband.” He marched back to his office unfazed by what he had just done. He felt justified in his anger and was sickened at the notion that Mrs. Bevins thought it right to visit him, especially on this day.

  Carlisha, who was now off the phone, and Mrs. Bevins watched as Pete walked away. They were both completely dumbfounded by his actions.

  “I’m so, so sorry Mrs. Bevins,” Carlisha said out of respect for the older woman and because despite the fact that her and Pete’s personal relationship was now nonexistent, she still saw him as a father figure and felt the need to apologize for his actions. “But you must understand today is a really difficult day for him.”

  “It’s alright dear. Grief does crazy things to some people. I just wanted him to know that he’s in my prayers. I will continue to pray for him. God bless you sweetheart!” Mrs. Bevins turned and walked out of the store.

  “What the heck just happened, I heard a crash?” James said after he ran to the front of the store.

  “A vase fell,” Carlisha answered, still watching Mrs. Bevin through the clear glass window as the older woman walked to her car.

  “Was someone arguing over a bill or something too? We thought we heard Mr. Holmes raising his voice.” James walked over to see the broken vase and flowers splattered all over the floor.

  “I guess you could say that. Today is one year since Mrs. Holmes death, so he’s not in his best mood,” Carlisha told him.

  “Aww man, it’s been a year? Wow!”

  Carlisha picked up a waste basket and started to clean up the mess of flowers, broken glass and water.

  **KC**

  Pete knelt down on the grass. The area was slightly shaded from the hot sun by a small cherry blossom tree. He knew Moriah would love that. She didn’t like being in the sun for too long because she got sunburnt easily, plus she loved cherry blossom trees. She had dragged him out to the Cherry Blossom Festival every spring in DC since they started dating and they’d went every year together since.

  Pete placed three dozen red, yellow and pink roses by the tombstone that read:

  Beloved Wife

  Moriah Sabrina Holmes

  1970 - 2012

  Tears streamed down Pete’s face to where he was almost blinded by them. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” He screamed, and then he placed both of his hands to his face. He didn’t care if any other mourners at the cemetery heard him. If they feel as terrible as I do they would be screaming too. “Baby, I miss you so much!” He removed his hands from his face. “It’s been a year to date and I still haven’t gotten over losing you, I don’t think I ever will. I close my eyes sometimes hoping, wishing and praying that when I open them back up, that the notion of you dead and gone would only be a dream. But I open my eyes back to this constant nightmare. I don’t even know how I’m living each day. Everything without you here irritates me. I hate this world! I hate my life without you!” He sobbed and brought his arm to his face and wiped his wet cheeks and nose with his sleeve. “I love you Moriah. We were robbed of our wonderful future together. I miss you!” Pete adjusted himself and sat on the grass with his knees up. He wasn’t concerned about getting his jeans dirty. He picked up a book he had brought with him. “I brought that book you didn’t get a chance to finish reading, I thought I’ll continue where you left off and read a couple pages for you.” He flipped the pages to where Moriah had marked where she had stopped reading. “Chapter thirteen, ‘Love is the forgiver of multiples of wrong doings’, Rebecca told her son…” Pete began to read the book from where Moriah had left off.

  Chapter 4

  Hours later, as Pete approached his house, he saw a black kid and his white friend skateboarding along the sidewalk. The black kid, obviously not paying attention, suddenly skated onto the two way lane road. Pete saw him ahead and had a huge urge to accelerate past the twenty miles per hour restriction. This punk thinks he could just ride his skateboard in the middle of the street. I should just roll over his stupid black behind! Pete remedied in his mind gripping the steering wheel tightly. Then the picture of possibly spending life in jail for his crime deterred him from the fantasy of seeing the lifeless body of the black kid lying on the street. Then again spending life in prison wouldn’t be so different from the hell he thought he lived at that moment. Waking up each morning with his beloved wife not by his side felt like extreme torture each and every miserable day of his now life.

  Pete blew his car horn profusely at the two boys as if each honk conveyed the cuss words that swirled in his mind. He rolled down his passenger side window, “Get the hell out of the street you idiots!”

  “Sorry Mr. Holmes,” the black kid said with a surprised look on his face before getting back on the sidewalk. His white friend followed.

  Suddenly Pete recognized the black kid. Pete used to be his little league basketball coach at the community center he and Moriah volunteered at. The kid was one of the best players on the team. Dominic is his name, Pete remembered. Pete rolled his passenger side window back up and continued down the road not looking back at the kids. After he turned left onto his street he noticed two vehicles parked in front of his Victorian styled home: a C-class Mercedes Benz and a Volkswagen Touareg. Of all days this was definitely one of them that he didn’t want any company. He wondered how long they had been waiting for him. They didn’t even call him on his cell to let him know that they were coming over. He thought of driving right past the house, but he didn’t know where he would go to kill time until they got the hint that he didn’t want company.

  Pete pulled into his driveway and pressed the button on the garage door opener which was clipped on his visor so the garage door would open. He drove in, and then pressed the button again to close the garage shut.

  “Welcome home!” Rachel said cheerfully after Pete walked in the kitchen from the door to the garage.

  “Hmph! To a house that’s not empty,” Pete emphasized to his uninvited guests. “The spare key Moriah and I gave you all were for emergencies only, not to show up at my house unannounced,” Pete said standing at the door surveying the room. He noticed Rachel and her mother Leah preparing dinner. He took in the scent of the food cooking – it smelled delicious. It immediately reminded him of Moriah’s home cooked meals which he missed.

  “Pete we came to eat dinner with you tonight. We didn’t want you to be alone on the anniversary of my sister’s death,” Noah spoke up. He was sitting in the family ro
om across from the kitchen watching a show on TV.

  Pete walked into the family room and sat on the couch with Noah. He threw his keys on the coffee table. “Someone should’ve at least called me,” he growled. But he couldn’t complain much because the food Leah and Rachel were fixing had his mouth watering already.

  “Now we all know had one of us called you would’ve made up some excuse as to why we couldn’t come over,” Leah said, pulling out a pan of cornbread from out of the oven.

  “I’m just saying – your spare key is for emergencies only…” Pete defended.

  “And this is an emergency.” Rachel, pleased with her salad prep, placed the bowl of fresh greens, fruits, vegetables and nuts in the fridge.

  “So how are things going at the business?” Noah asked while turning down the volume for the TV.

  Pete relaxed into the couch, getting himself mentally prepared for having to engage with his unwanted company. “I need to hire a bookkeeper. My books are all screwed up and I keep forgetting to pay the damn bills on time. Moriah took care of all of that stuff so I never needed to worry about it – until now.” Talking about his wife, knowing that she was no longer here still bothered Pete. That’s one of the reasons why he didn’t want their company. They we’re living reminders of the void in his life.

  “I can come in and help you Uncle Pete. I took a QuickBooks class last semester and I really liked it.”

  “Oh that would be wonderful!” Leah popped her chicken fettuccine bake in the oven. “I think your current part time job is interfering with your studies anyway.”

  “No it’s not Mom. But if Uncle Pete wants me to be his bookkeeper it would give me more flexibility.”

  Pete instantly wished he hadn’t mentioned he needed a bookkeeper. He didn’t know if he would be able to stand having to deal with Rachel at work along with her pestering him every Sunday and Wednesday about going to church. “I don’t know. I would prefer someone with more experience.”

  “I studied QuickBooks for a whole semester and I’ve done payroll, reconciliations, taxes, all that stuff…” Rachel pleaded.

  “Come on Pete, give her a chance. You just said that your books are not in order. At least give her a trial period to prove that she can handle it,” Noah reasoned.

  Pete ran his hand through his hair. What the hell? She probably won’t screw up things more than I have. “Alright. You have a month to prove yourself. Three days a week, six hours a day, twenty-five an hour, start tomorrow.”

  “Thank you Uncle Pete! I’ll put in my resignation for my current job tomorrow as well.”

  “I said this would be a trial,” Pete said starting to get frustrated again.

  “Yes – but I know I will do a great job. Trust me!” Rachel started to load the dishwasher with the dishes used to prepare dinner.

  “Dinner should be ready in twenty minutes,” Leah announced.

  Good! The sooner the better so you all can leave me alone.

  Chapter 5

  “Rachel – good morning! It’s a surprise seeing you here,” Carlisha said when she looked up from the computer and saw Rachel walking into the store. Carlisha moved from behind the counter and walked over to greet her.

  “Good morning Carlisha!” Rachel accepted her hug. “Uncle Pete hired me to do the bookkeeping, so you’ll be seeing me more often now. And we really need to catch up. It’s been a long time since we’ve went out together.”

  “I know. Things just been kinda of different – ya know…” Carlisha released Rachel from her hug. She was sure not to press her belly against Rachel so she wouldn’t feel her bulging gut.

  “You’re talking about Uncle Pete – right?”

  “Yes. Things definitely aren’t the same between us anymore,” Carlisha admitted. “But this is great that you would be working here. Plus, he really needs help with the bookkeeping. Every time we walk in we’re not sure if the lights or internet will be on.” Carlisha moved back to her spot behind the counter.

  “Are you the only one here?” Rachel moved and walked behind the counter where Carlisha was. She wasn’t sure where Pete would want her to set up. She rested her purse on the vacant seat.

  “Yeah. Everyone else should be rolling in right before nine. So we have thirty minutes to ourselves. I get in early to get things started. Warm up the printing machines, start the coffee, that kinda of stuff. Plus I like the quiet.”

  “Sounds like you’re Uncle Pete’s right hand girl.”

  “Not anymore,” Carlisha said sadly.

  “You’re early,” Pete stated after he walked into the store through the front doors. He was still apprehensive about agreeing to allow his niece to get his bookkeeping in order. But an additional white face would help drown out the blacks.

  “Yes. I’m an early bird. So where do you want me to set up?” Rachel asked excitedly.

  “You can sit at Moriah’s desk in the office.” Pete walked past the counter, to the back of the store without acknowledging Carlisha.

  Carlisha had gotten used to Pete’s disregard of her since Moriah’s death. But it made her feel terrible. Even though they were of a different race, she thought she had finally found a family to claim her as their own, but now it felt like she was an orphan once again. She rubbed her tummy when she felt movement from her unborn baby and sat back down in her seat.

  “You can sit over there.” Pete pointed to the desk right across from his in the large office.

  “Uncle Pete, you walked right passed Carlisha without saying good morning.”

  Pete walked over to his desk and sat in the chair in front of it. “Carlisha has a job, so every day is a good morning for her.” He felt justified in his explanation.

  “She was here early prepping the office for the day and you couldn’t say good morning?” Rachel started to feel ashamed of her uncle.

  “Rachel, let’s be clear – I hired you to be my bookkeeper, not to tell me how to treat my staff.” Pete clicked the power button on his computer.

  “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice,” Rachel quoted Ephesians 4:31.

  “Please don’t make me fire you before you even start,” Pete snapped after hearing her quote scripture. “The files for all the bank statements and invoices are in the file drawer behind you, you can get started with those.” He quickly dismissed her.

  Rachel sat quietly and did as she was told. He was right, she came there to do a job, but knowing that he now had no regard for Carlisha, someone he once treated like a daughter, was unsettling.

  Chapter 6

  Pete stood in line with his basket full of groceries behind an elderly man that was having his items rung up by the cashier. Pete busied himself for the short few seconds reading the headlines on the local newspapers on the stand near him.

  “Hi, did you find everything okay?” The cashier asked, grabbing Pete’s attention when it was his turn in line.

  “Uh – yes.” When he turned his head to look at the redheaded cashier he was immediately mesmerized. Her full, long, curly strands reminded him of Moriah’s hair. But that was where the similarities ended. Moriah was slim, but the cashier was curvier at about five foot, six inches tall. And little red freckles perfectly dotted the middle portion of her face around her eyes and nose. She looked like she was about forty years old, but it was hard to tell.

  Pete moved closer and placed his twelve items on the conveyor. He looked at his gold wedding band as he took the garlic sauce out of the grocery basket. Guilt started to creep in. He couldn’t believe that he was so strongly attracted to the woman that stood in front of him ringing up his items. He felt like he was committing adultery. But he couldn’t help admiring her beauty, despite the plain button down white shirt and khaki pants she was wearing as part of her uniform. He began to wonder why she was working as a cashier. She’s too beautiful to be doing this type of work.

  “Your total is thirty-three, twenty-five,” the redheaded cashier said. Pete
looked to find her name tag pinned to her shirt – Debra. “Do you have a rewards card?” the cashier continued.

  “Debra,” he read her name out loud.

  “Yes, I’m Debra.” She tapped her name tag after she noticed that he had just read it. “Do you have a rewards card you want to enter?” Debra was oblivious to Pete’s attraction to her. She just wanted to finish up with his transaction and move on to the next customer.

  “Yes. Here it is.” Pete gave her his reward card and she swiped it.

  “Okay that brings your total down to twenty-nine, fifteen. Cash or credit?”

  “Credit please.” Pete swiped his credit card.

  “Thank you Mr. Holmes, have a great evening!” Debra read his name off the receipt before giving it to him. She began cashing the items for the next person in line while Pete collected his bags to leave the store. He liked the way she called his name – Mr. Holmes. A smiled crept at the sides of his mouth as he exited the store.

  **KC**

  That night, after he walked into his dark bedroom Pete suddenly felt overwhelmed by the quietness and the loneliness that came along with it. He clicked the light switch on and walked toward his large king sized bed. He looked around the room, there were so many traces of Moriah, it was as if she was only away on vacation. Her bath robe still hung on the outside of their master bath. Her shoes, a pair of black flats, that she had worn the day before she was killed, were still at the door of their walk-in closet. Pete remembered that night vividly – that was the last night that they had made love and he had caressed her in his arms. The last night that he shared their bed with her, which he was now sitting on. All of Moriah’s toiletries, clothes and shoes still remained the way she had left them before she was killed. Pete couldn’t bring himself to remove anything. How could he? He felt it would’ve been like he was killing her all over again by getting rid of her stuff. No – keeping it helped him. It made him imagine that she was just away on a trip, she’d be back soon. That made him sane, that gave him hope, false hope yes, but it was the hope he needed to get up each day and to face the world again. Going to Moriah’s gravesite a couple days ago was his first visit since her burial. And today, when he saw Debra, it suddenly made him realize that his wife was truly – truly gone!