The Improbable Read online

  “Well what you expect? You’re my princess Eva-Marie, you come first.” He reassured me.

  “That’s always good to know Daddy.” I reached over and rubbed his shoulder.

  He rubbed my hand and checked his watch. “Well, baby, your mother invited someone here to lift your spirits!”

  My eyebrows furrowed. What? As he began rising, I, too, began sitting up in my bed. “And who could that be?” I asked, grabbing my glass of orange juice from the nightstand.

  “Come on in,” he instructed to someone at my door.

  “Good afternoon, Eva!” A deep voice greeted me.

  Oh goodness gracious! I swallowed my orange juice – and disappointment – down hard when I turned to see Ray Jackson’s tall behind standing in my room.

  “Eva, I’m sure you remember Ray, from the time we had him over for dinner.” My father introduced him. “Said he saw you at the party the other night. He ran into your mother this morning at the grocery store and told her he wanted to see how you were doin’. Ain’t that sweet?”

  I straightened up and forced a smile. “Of course I remember.” I oozed of fake enthusiasm. “Ray, good to see you.” I nodded politely at him.

  “Always a pleasure to see you too Ms. Hutchinson. I’m glad you seem to be doing okay since the incident my dear, I was worried sick when they said they’d found your robe. But all is well this morning, I see.” Ray smiled brightly and took a seat on the sofa in the corner of my room, crossing his legs in all his snooty-ness.

  “That it is,” My father smiled at us both. “Eva, you’re gonna need to get ready soon.” He began making his way out of my room.

  Ready? What? No, I’m enjoying my day off! I threw the blankets off and followed him, stopping at my doorway. “What? Ready for what Daddy? I thought I got the day off.”

  Daddy smiled at me from the staircase. “Ray’s offered take you out for a nice day in the city, just go ‘head and enjoy yourself, baby.”

  “But Daddy I really don’t –” I began to protest, being overruled by my father.

  “And I trust that you won’t give him any complications.” He said curtly, warning me with a simple menacing look from his eyes. “He’s a nice man Eva-Marie, you’re going. That’s it.” He didn’t bother to look back at my disapproving glare. “Mary, come get your daughter freshened up to go out with Mr. Jackson.”

  I sat by the bay window and crossed my arms over my chest, looking out into the trees in the back yard. How could he do this? I didn’t even like Ray! He was a pain in the neck and never stopped talking about himself! I fumed silently.

  “Don’t worry Eva-Marie, we’re gonna have ourselves a good time in the city, don’t you worry.” Ray brooded with satisfaction, on my sofa in my room.

  I regarded him with a disgusted expression. “Get out.”

  He chuckled and shook his head, but rose from the chair. “Keep playing hard to get. You’ll learn to love me Eva.” And with that, he exited the room, greeting my mother politely on the way down.

  “Let’s get you ready Eva.” Mama came in with my outfit and hair-styling tools.

  I shot her a disapproving expression before disappearing into my bathroom for a shower without a word. So much for a relaxing day off, my domineering father and Ray’s big head had now ruined it. And oh how my mother just went along with it! She must’ve had at least some idea of what I was going through. I scrubbed my face more angrily as I thought about how angry all three of them made me.

  “Why do I have to go?” I asked mama as she was curling my hair in front of the vanity mirror.

  Mama sighed and smiled. “You know that we want nothing but the best for you Eva.”

  “I don’t know, nor do I like, Ray, Mama. What’s the big deal about him?” I eyed her in the mirror; her expression had morphed into seriousness.

  “We just want you to have a good life, baby.” She concentrated on getting my curls to perfection.

  I could see it on her face that there was something more. “What is it Mama…?”

  She spun me around to face her. Mama spoke in a hushed tone, “Ray found out about our secret, honey. We don’t know how he knows but we know that he knows. We’re just being cautious and keeping him close. I know you don’t want to live like this forever baby, the faster you’re married to a nice man like Ray, the faster you’re out of this mess, that we put you in.”

  Realization clouded my expression. “I understand,” I mumbled. “Does it have to be Ray?”

  “Not necessarily. But just go out with him a few times and see how it goes. I only urge you because the clock is tickin’ Eva-Marie, we don’t have forever.”

  As much as I didn’t want it to be true, I knew it was. It was complicated the life my parents and I lived. Mama was right, the only way to get me out and live a life of freedom was through marriage. As much as I didn’t want to believe it, I knew, and hated that I knew, she was right.

  4. Annoyances

  “And last but not least, here we have your office.” My father announced as he opened the door to an empty room with a desk, two chairs, and a window. He had been giving me a tour of the station as if I hadn’t been there multiple times as a kid.

  I walked in, set my box of belongings on the desk, and opened up the blinds to let the afternoon sunlight in the room. The sight of boxes was beginning to make me sick; I had seen box upon box in my new home and now the office. “Thanks for showing me around, Pop, it means a lot.”

  He took a seat and shook his head. “It’s my pleasure, son. I’m ecstatic to have you here.” His voice gave off no trace of excitement. “However, I will have to ask that you address me as ‘Sir’, ‘Chief’, or ‘Warren’ when we’re here.”

  “Yes…sir.” I nodded.

  Warren’s face looked troubled as he rubbed his chin. “Have you had the chance to catch up with Timmy and Chris since you’ve been here? I see those two all the time at the City Club.”

  “Uh, yeah. I was with them at the party the other night.” I answered the irrelevant question.

  “Ah, the party.” He sighed. So that’s what he had been thinking about.

  Why had I brought that up? I wanted to kick myself because I knew he was going to go on a rant about how much it displeased him – and God forbid I did anything to displease my unpleasable father. “What about it, Pop?” I began unpacking the box.

  “It’s simply unacceptable behavior, son. You have a family reputation to uphold and a serious career ahead of you!” He looked at me expectantly. “Were you intentionally putting that all on the line?”

  Avoiding his eye contact, I continued to absentmindedly unpack. “Just wanted to get out.” I had no better answer and arguing with my father was a pointless path to take.

  “Do you think that excuse would be enough to hold up in court, had that young negro girl pressed charges?” Warren questioned with frustration. “And you put your reputation on the line for a negro, son! You could’ve just let her go!”

  His yelling riled me up. With perfect timing, my hand landed on a framed photograph of my mother volunteering with other doctors in Africa. “Oh yeah? And what would mom have to say if I let her go just because she’s a negro? God, just listen to yourself!” I was thoroughly disgusted; sometimes it seemed as if my father didn’t even miss my mother or never cared for the work she did, but instead just lived comfortably off the money that she left behind with us.

  “They took her from me!” He exclaimed.

  “She was sick!” I fired back.

  “And she wouldn’t have been if she hadn’t been traveling to that God forsaken country.” Warren concluded in a grave tone.

  I set the photo on my desk and shook my head. “Believe what you want.”

  My father sighed. “Oh let’s not do this here, son.”

  “Sorry,” I spat.

  “So how are you getting settled into the new home?” He asked after a few beats of silence.

  “There’s boxes everywhere, I still need to buy the basics to
survive while I get everything situated.” I shrugged, trying to ignore the fact that he’d ruined my mood – from constantly bad to worse.

  “Well you can head out for the day, I just wanted to make sure you got settled into your office before you start working.” He began making his way out the door.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled.

  “You’re going to do well here, son, I have big things for you.” Warren smiled tightly and exited.

  Giving up on trying to organize my office, I left shortly after. He’d pissed me off and I just wanted to get out of the same vicinity as him. I took the stairs down to the lobby and walked out onto the busy sidewalks of downtown Chicago. The hungry eyes of groups of women and even married women were hard to avoid and only annoyed me further as I made my way to the corner store.

  “Good afternoon,” the store owner greeted me from behind the counter.

  I nodded in response and headed to the back to grab a carton of milk.

  “Good afternoon Mr. Edwards! How are you today?” A unique female voice entered the store.

  I headed to another aisle and grabbed a loaf of bread and began to think of other foods I needed to survive in my new home.

  “I’m great when you’re around, my love, you look wonderful as always.” Mr. Edwards gushed.

  “Me? You look younger every time I see you! I’m just –”

  When I was reaching for another item I felt her back bump into mine, causing the glass milk carton to fall and shatter on the floor. “Christ!” I cursed, spinning around to see a negro girl already on her knees to pick up the glass pieces.

  “I’m so sorry,” she apologized, not looking up at me.

  “Well an apology won’t get the milk out of my leather shoes now will it?” I snapped.

  The girl still didn’t look up at me. “Oh c’mon, let’s not cry over spilled milk.” She giggled.

  Anger flared inside of me. “Who do you think you’re talking to like that?” I asked, outraged. “I can have you arrested in five seconds if I wanted.”

  She dropped the glass pieces she had gathered and rose. Those familiar dark eyes pierced into mine. “And I can have you killed in two.”

  Both of our expressions shifted as we began to recognize each other. It was her! Eva-Marie, the crazy broad from the party! She looked beautiful as ever and for a split second I wanted to apologize for how I had been speaking to her but she’d returned my attitude with just as much fire.

  “Eva-Marie how long does it take to buy my cigarettes?” A male voice entered the store.

  “I was just looking around,” Eva-Marie answered without taking her eyes off of me.

  The man she had been with the night of the party came to stand next to her, not acknowledging me one bit. “Jesus, look at your hand, it’s bleeding!”

  She looked down at the red stream of blood on her hand. “Oh, I didn’t notice. I was just trying to –”

  The man dragged her up to the front before she could finish her sentence. “Can we get some napkins please?” He sounded genuinely concerned – I took it that he in fact was her boyfriend, as I’d thought when I saw them together at the party. Better him dealing with her stupidity and attitude than me, I didn’t even really know her and she already drove me crazy.

  “Are you okay Miss Hutchinson?” Mr. Edwards handed her a wad of napkins. Her boyfriend intervened and pressed them onto her bleeding hand.

  With her free hand she rubbed her forehead and nodded. “I was just trying to help and didn’t notice I had cut myself, I’m fine.”

  I rolled my eyes and watched with disgust as they catered to her every need; the whole incident was her fault anyways.

  The man she was with purchased a pack of cigarettes and ushered her out. She looked at me with an unreadable expression as he dragged her out of the store. What did she want? If anything, she should’ve apologized to me! Her presence annoyed me; I was still angry at that broad for not saving my ass in front of the police when she had the chance! But I had to remember she probably didn’t want to ruin her image of ‘Daddy’s Perfect Little Girl’ by taking any responsibility for the situation. Ugh she was so annoying to me! Even more frustrated than before, I picked up another carton of milk and slammed down my money at the front counter.

  “Clean up in the second aisle.” I suggested before exiting and finally going to be at peace in my own home, alone, and away from the city.

  5. Headaches

  It seemed as if the telephones at Ace Cigars just wouldn’t stop ringing and once I finished one task the next one began with no breaks in between. I had about two different piles of paperwork to organize and a grand headache to top it all off! Feeling fairly overwhelmed, I rested my head in my hands and shut my eyes. The throbbing of my head didn’t cease but it still felt amazing to just stop. But of course, my microscopic break didn’t last long.

  “Eva, baby, how are you?” Ray’s voice broke into my thoughts.

  I sighed and looked up to see Ray standing in front of my desk; I truly was not in the mood to deal with him. I was giving him chances, but my patience with him was wearing extremely thin! “What do you want Ray?”

  He furrowed his eyebrows and partially sat on my desk. “Now is that any way to talk to your man, darling?”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Is there anything you need?”

  Ray reached his hand out and caressed my cheek. “Can I not stop by just to visit a lovely woman like you?”

  “I suppose you can…” I watched him as he walked around my desk to get behind me.

  He bent down to my ear. “Especially since you’ll belong to me soon.”

  I ducked away from him and stood up, angry. “I belong to no one thank you very much.”

  Ray was smiling smugly at me when my father came up behind me. “Eva, please take this to Mr. Bushman on Ashland and then you’ll be done for the day.” My father handed me an envelope. “And tell him I said you’re welcome.”

  “Yes sir,” I exhaled loudly, not in the mood to deal with his orders either.

  “Thank you, and clean up your attitude.” Daddy said. I could feel his annoyed expression even with my back turned to him.

  I mocked him silently while my back was turned. I’d been avoiding my parents ever since they hooked me up with Ray to make it clear that I was upset with them.

  “I’ll see you later, my love.” Ray kissed me on the cheek.

  “Bye.” I wiped his kiss off of my cheek without looking at him.

  “Eva-Marie, you’re headed straight home after that errand, correct?” Daddy asked. “I don’t need you disappearing off of the radar again.”

  “Yes, daddy.” I answered.

  “Don’t go talking to any strangers.”

  I sighed. “I won’t, Daddy. I’m not five, for goodness sakes!”

  “You watch your tone with me little girl.” My dad pointed a finger at me, signaling that it was time for me to shut up.

  I kept my mouth shut but in my head I was screaming at him. How stupid did he think I was? ‘Don’t talk to strangers’? He always acted as if I was just going to blab about our family secret to any and everybody!

  “Calm down baby, don’t be so tense.” Ray rubbed my shoulder.

  I shook my head and grabbed my belongings, heading out the door; I wasn’t interested in what Ray and my father were headed upstairs to talk about. The early evening breeze made me breathe a sigh of relief. Whenever I was at my job or near Ray, anxiety would kick in and to have both at the same time made my chest feel tight! The short drive downtown was relaxing as it gave me time to clear my mind of all the work I’d been doing. Despite the perverted whistles I received on the street, the walk up to the office building on Ashland Avenue helped me unwind as well. I entered the always-busy lobby and headed straight for the elevator – keeping in mind that the faster I delivered the envelope, the faster I would be able to go home and be alone in my room.

  Feeling as if I’d hit the jackpot in my own quiet elevator, I shut my
eyes once the doors closed. But once again, the silence only lasted for a microscopic second until the doors opened for one more person. My eyes opened and for a moment I wondered if I was dreaming when I witnessed the man from the party – the same one that had saved me – enter the elevator! He entered with his head down, looking as if he didn’t want to be bothered. I had been a little too drunk to remember all the details, but what I remembered from all the times I had seen him after was that he was always angry. I was used to the occasional rude white man but he just always seemed to be fuming! Rolling my eyes, I took a step back hoping he wouldn’t speak. I had already dealt with Ray and I couldn’t take another asshole in the same day.

  He reached out and hit the same floor number multiple times.

  “I don’t think you should do that, you might jam the elevator.” I said, hoping I wouldn’t get stuck in an elevator of all places with him.

  “I’ll remember that next time.” He grumbled and looked over his shoulder at me.

  His smoldering blue eyes locked with mine. My stomach dropped, causing me to look down at my shoes. “I was just trying to help you.”

  “Why would I want anything to do with you?” He spat.

  I blinked, confused as to why he was so angry.

  “Don’t try to act all innocent, you’ve already caused enough trouble in my life for the short amount of time you were in it.” He accused.

  “What are you even talking about?” I slightly raised my voice.

  His eyes widened. “You got me arrested! And never once tried to apologize!”

  I was outraged! “Has it ever occurred to you that I never had the chance to? You probably wouldn’t have noticed because you’re always too busy being mad at the world for no reason, even when people are trying to help you! Remember the convenience store incident? Exactly! And even if I didn’t apologize you’re fine now, aren’t you? You aren’t in jail are you? Just because I didn’t apologize doesn’t give you the right to be the world’s biggest pain in the ass!”

  The elevator doors opened to my floor and I stormed out, leaving him wide-eyed and shocked. Served him right! Granted, he was a beautiful man with irresistibly perfect facial hair, stunning blue eyes, magnificent facial structure, and flawlessly tousled hair. However, he had the world’s ugliest attitude! I had to give myself a few moments to calm down before entering Mr. Bushman’s office and delivering the envelope. Finally, I just wanted to go home; I was officially done dealing with the day!