The Broken Benefactor

~14~ (UPDATED 02/14/2020)

(MRS. LILLIAN RAYE)

"Lillian Raye, I will not stand for this. It's been nearly forty-five years since all that happened. You are too old to be walking around with all that malice in your heart. Woman, I done apologized to you a million times. You better get your heart right before you are met with hellfire." He fussed at her for the words she carelessly threw around.

          "You just keep acting like it's not a problem for you. How in the name of Cooter Brown do you think I felt all those years raising a child that wasn't mine? How the hell do you think I felt letting that woman work here so she could take care of her brat and pretending he was mine? Now you expect me to accept that negroid woman he done went and got hitched to. I bet you anything that girl is pregnant. Just like I said, 'like father, like son'. He had a pretty little white gal. What happened to her? Can you answer that question? Huhh... huhhh?" Mrs. Raye continued her rant unaware of her son's presence as he stood in front of the door to their bedroom. Ethan turned as white as a sheet.

          "Oh, my lord. Son, I am truly sorry. Your mother didn't mean all that stuff. She was just mad at me." His father tried to cover it up with a lie, but it was too late. Ethan heard everything she said. Every word.

          "Was Adell my mother?" He asked the simple question. Mr. and Mrs. Raye exchanged glances, yet, neither of them mumbled so much as one word.

          "Is she my mother?" Ethan strained to get the words out as he fought the tears forming in his eyes. For the first time in his life, he felt ashamed. He wasn't quite sure why, but he was ashamed of himself.  Ethan had the hardest time being in their presence. The only thing he wanted to do was run out of the house and never return, but before he left, he would get the truth.

          "Yes. She was your mother. That's the reason I hated her so much. She was able to do the one thing I could never do for my husband. If it weren't for Adell, we would have never had children." The woman stared at the floor as she admitted the truth to her son.

          "Why did y'all keep this of all things from me?" He asked in shock at how no one ever let on that he was the maid's son.

          "I was so mad at your father for sleeping with that girl. She worked for his family and he had a crush on her. Back then whites and blacks didn't get married around these parts. Her parents went to his parents because their daughter came up pregnant. To keep everything quiet, she had you and gave you to us. I couldn't nurse you so at first, she was just here to nurse and take care of you. After some time, your father wanted to keep her on. A few years passed and he told me to employ her as the maid so she could take care of you herself." Everything was out. The woman he called mom his entire life was a fraud.

          "Why didn't you tell me something before she died?" The painful question brought tears to his eyes. He visited his birth mother before he went to boot camp. Even though she wasn't feeling well, she prepared him a meal and told him she loved him. Adell died a few days before he graduated from the School of Infantry. He sent her money for a ticket so she could see him graduate, but instead of his real mother supporting him as she always had, her brother called and told him that she had passed away. It was just by the grace of God he was able to make it to her funeral.

          "Son, I know I have been a wicked woman. I also know God will probably punish me for my wickedness. I was so jealous of your mother. I made her swear to never reveal who she was to you. In exchange, I promised to raise you better than if I had given birth to you myself. I wanted her to suffer. I wanted her to watch me being called mom and wife with the knowledge that her black skin was the only reason it wasn't her in my place." Once the words were spoken, Ethan turned and left. 

          To his surprise, Valerie was in the hall within earshot of the conversation. The tears in her eyes confirmed that she overhead the whole sordid mess.

          Ethan grabbed her hand and tried with everything in him not to drag her out of the hellhole he once called home.

*****

(VALERIE)

"Baby, come here." Valerie grabbed his hands and pulled him over to rest on her body as they lie in bed. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and didn't say a word. She felt it was one of those times when silence was best. Ethan rolled over to his side and wrapped his arms around her. They stayed in bed most of the afternoon. After such a long trip, it was no surprise that the couple drifted off to sleep.

          Ethan tried to slide his arm from under Valerie's head. She was still asleep when he woke up. His phone had over a hundred missed calls. It seemed like everybody in the family called him. Well, at least he could count on the word to get around that he was back and... yeah, his maid was actually his mother. The information was so shocking he found it hard to believe.

          He ordered room service and hopped into the jacuzzi tub. At least the hot water was able to soothe his tired muscles. He turned on the massaging jets as he sat back and closed his eyes. Even after a nice long nap, he was still completely exhausted from driving over six hundred miles. He didn't remember the last time he drove that far.

          "Sweetie, are you okay?" She poked her head in the bathroom to check on him.

          "How long have you been up?" He asked.

          "I woke up when I heard someone knocking at the door," Valerie replied.

          "Baby girl, come in. I don't want to talk to you through the door." He insisted.

          "I wanted to give you some alone time. When I didn't hear from you, I got worried." She explained as she joined him in the bathroom.

          "I'm fine. I know it's going to take me some time to work through all of this, but I'm fine." He assured her. Ethan waved at her to join him. At first, she refused. For some reason, she was a little unsettled.

          "Valerie, come in." He smiled at her. She knew he was up to no good. Even on a day like today, his appetite for her was no joke.

          "I'm not getting in there with you. I see what you're trying to do." She laughed at his attempts.

"Come on baby. I need you to make me feel better." The devious smile on his face gave him away. Even though she knew he was up to no good, she slowly removed her clothes to allow him the opportunity of indulging in her nakedness. Ethan had become accustomed to enjoying the little striptease that made him feel ravenous for her. 

          Valerie stepped in the tub and sat on his lap as he directed. He wrapped his arms around her waist and for a few hours, they forgot about the spectacle from earlier in the day. She leaned her head back on his shoulder and helped him to forget about everything except the way her body moved in concert with his.

*****

"The best way for Wattpad to know how you feel about stories like mine is when you Comment & Vote. Your interactions are totally up to you, but hearing from you really helps and encourages me to write the stories you enjoy reading.

Thanks so much for your support."