Skin Like Dawn by Jade Alyse Page A

I guess I’ll share mine.” 
    “What the hell do you mean?” 
    “There’s a car in the parking lot.  A brand new one.  Black.  A Camry.” 
    His wife’s mouth dropped open.  “Brandon...what are you talking about?” 
    “I may or may not have purchased a car for your birthday and had it delivered here.” 
    Maya leaned forward.  “Is this a bad time to tell you guys that I helped him pick it out?” 
    “Brandy, you bought me a car?” 
    “Yes, baby.” 
    “Where did you get the money to buy me a Camry?” 
    “Don’t ask me that.” 
    “We need to go home.” 
    “What?” 
    “Home.  We need to leave now.” 
    Helen got to her feet.  She was fuming.  “You’re damn right we do!”
     
    HE FELT SICK ENOUGH to the point where he didn’t know what to do with himself.  Maya and Sidney were on his living room couch, flicking through the channels aimlessly.  Marie had retired to bed, unable to witness what might occur between her daughter and her grandchild.  Natalie and Helen were somewhere else in the house, an awkward, tense silence, pulsating through the house.  He felt propelled to go looking for them, half-afraid of what he might find and the other half, beyond curious of how his wife was handling herself.  
    Maya was looking up at him with an amalgam of pity and confusion.  “It’ll be alright.” She sounded earnest.  “Shit happens, you know?” 
    This was coming from the mouth of someone who was three years Natalie’s junior and one of the most promising graphic designers in the small agency she worked for in Savannah.  Her idea of dependency lied with her artistic ability, combined with her driven passion to succeed without the desperation to lean on another person for financial and emotional support.  That had been Natalie once upon a time: a dreamer with a hard-edge and a quiet intellect almost as indiscreet as the steam against a window on a hot summer morning.  She had only one direct line of sight and he’d stepped in the way somehow, with his big clumsy feet, forcing his way into her life without a second thought.  He was to blame for all of this shit.  
    He cleared his throat.  “It will be soon.” And he excused himself from the room, recalling the conversation that he and Maya had had over the phone a few days earlier, knowing full well what it meant.  He could do the logical, adult thing and find something simple, quick and just enough...until...until when, exactly?  What glimmer of light through an opening of thick, dark clouds was he waiting for?   He’d waited for Natalie to come all of those years ago, but she never really did - he went hurdling after her, clumsily meeting her more than halfway, spouting out confessions of love and devotion while she stared at him dumbfounded.  He’d always tripped over her more than he should her, taking a backseat, itching and writhing the entire time, grinding his lips to quell the urge to lead.  Control.  He’d liked to be in control.  
    He went upstairs to splash water on his face, shake the feeling of unsettling resolution, and to catch his breath.  But hushed voices from the guest bedroom stopped him cold, just right within the breath of earshot, through a crack in the door.  He could see Natalie’s face, illuminated by the amber glow of the lamp on the flimsy nightstand.  Tears pooled in her eyes as she stared at her mother, running her tongue over her lips as the saltwater ran straight to them.  Helen placed her hands on her daughter’s arms to steady her.  Natalie wriggled out of her grasp like an insolent child.  “No.”  She took a step back.  “He’s my husband.  I won’t do this to him.  The decisions I’ve made since I said my vows are because of him.  Not because of you or anyone else in our family.  And now, this baby.  I’m keeping my baby, mama.” 
    “Natalie, the sacrifices I made weren’t for me.  They were for you and Maya and Sidney.” 
    “So,