Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine. Well, some of them are.
But the important ones are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used
without permission. I'm not making any money out of this . . . . Blah, blah,
blah. You know the drill.
True Reflection of Love
Chapter 2
"Why don't you sit down, Miss Parker," he says. "Because this is going to be a long
story."
"Who is this little girl, Jarod?" Miss Parker asks
again, waiting patiently as Jarod takes a deep breath and begins his tale.
"This is Imani. Imani
Victoria Nelson. She's my
daughter," he says after a long silence.
He looks at Miss Parker and can see that she's completely shocked.
"Daughter?" she manages to squeak out. "She's your daughter?" She's stunned. But she looks closer and can see it. Despite the obvious differences, she could see the
resemblance. Looking beyond Jarod's
pale skin against Imani's brown skin, Miss Parker could see where the two were
related. They had the same deep, brown
eyes that could stare into your soul.
And when the little girl smiled, she could see the same cocky grin that
Jarod has flashed at her more times than she can remember. But more than anything, she could see
between them what really connected a girl to her father, even beyond the bonds
of genetics. She could see the way that
they looked at each other with complete adoration and devotion. It was what love looked like. Something she never saw from Mr. Parker.
"It's nice to meet you, Imani," Miss Parker says to the
child after recovering a bit from the initial shock. "I love your name.
It's so pretty. Just like
you." She smiles at the little
girl and playfully pokes at her nose.
"Thank you," Imani giggles. "I'm a namesteak," she says proudly. "Daddy named me after someone he knowed
a long, long time ago."
"It's Name-SAKE, Sweetie," Jarod gently corrects the
little girl. "Not
name-STEAK."
"Oh, yeah.
Namesake. He said she stoled his
heart and never gave it back. But he
gave me her name because he was so happy to have me. He said it was like Mommy was giving him his heart back when she
had me." Imani ends her story with
a big smile, so proud at herself at remembering the history behind her name.
"Guess what, Imani?
This is that friend I was telling you about. This is who you're named after," Jarod says, looking at Miss
Parker to judge her reaction.
"Really?" Imani exclaims with wide eyes. "We have the same name?"
"That's right. My
name's Victoria, too. But let's keep
this our secret, okay? Nobody knows my
name except for you and your daddy," Miss Parker whispers.
"Okay," Imani whispers back to Miss Parker. She climbs off of Jarod's lap and into Miss
Parker's, giving her a little kiss on the cheek. "Now that we have the same name, that means we're pals. Daddy, can I go up and draw a picture for my
new friend?"
"Of course, Honey.
Don't make a mess, though."
"Okay, Daddy," Imani says as she jumps off Miss Parker's
lap and runs up the stairs.
"I swear that girl never walks anywhere," Jarod
laughs. "I spend my whole day
chasing after her."
"I think I know the feeling.
Like father, like daughter," Miss Parker laughs back. They enjoy the irony of the situation for a
moment before allowing the laughter to die back down.
"Thank you," she whispers. "For remembering me.
I'm honored she has my name. But
where does 'Imani' come from?"
"That was my wife's idea," Jarod says with a small,
haunted smile at the bittersweet memories.
His mood getting just a little darker at the mention of Imani's mother.
"You're married?"
Yet another surprise she wasn't expecting. But he doesn't seem to hear her question and just continues on.
"When she was pregnant, she would say that the baby was like
how it says in the Bible - 'the substance of things hoped for and the evidence
of things not seen'. She was the
embodiment of faith. So that's what she
wanted to call her. 'Imani' is Swahili
for 'Faith'." He pauses for a
moment and sighs deeply. "She
taught me the true meaning of the word faith.
But now, she's gone. And Imani's
all I have left," he says quietly, trying hard to hold back the tears
threatening to fall.
"What happened to her, Jarod?" Miss Parker gently prods.
"She passed away about a year ago," he whispers.
"That was a simple enough answer, Jarod. But something tells
me there's more to this story."
"There's always more to the story when the Centre's
involved," he sighs, but doesn't say anything else for awhile. Almost like he was trying to figure out
where to begin.
"Tell me about her Jarod.
What was she like."
"Her name was Sharisse.
And she was the best person I'd ever met," Jarod begins. He stands up from his seat and walks over to
the mantle over the fireplace, gently running his fingers over the many framed
photos before selecting one and handing it to Miss Parker.
"She's really beautiful," Miss Parker comments. She stares at the picture in her hand. It was one of Jarod, his wife and Imani as a
tiny infant.
"That was taken right after we moved into this house. Up until then, we were living with her
mother, Miss Dee. It was nice being so
close to her, but, it was time for us to make a home. For Imani and for any other children we might have had."
"You mentioned the Centre, Jarod. What did it have to do with you and Sharisse?" she asks,
although not sure she wants to hear the answer. Too many dark secrets have come from that place. And just when you think you've seen it all,
something else horribly unthinkable surfaces.
Miss Parker had a feeling that Jarod's story was one of those instances.
"Up until four years ago, Sharisse Nelson had a normal
life. She lived in a normal town with a
normal family. Her parents were Hampton
and Deidre Nelson. Wonderful people and
well respected in the community. She
had an older brother and sister, and there was also a foster brother named
Billy, whom she took an immediate liking to.
They were really close growing up.
Kind of like us," he glances at her with a warm smile.
"Billy and Sharisse were bright. Very bright. Smarter than
most kids their age. Geniuses
almost. And after high school, Billy
left. To go out and try to make a life
for him and Sharisse. They planned on
running away together after she graduated.
Sharisse still had another two years, and at first, she heard from Billy
all the time. But eventually, the
communication stopped. And she didn't
hear from him at all. She felt hurt and
rejected. So sad that he had left her
all alone in the world. She had so much
going on in her mind and no one understood like Billy.
"Eventually she moved on with her life. And for years she was able to live without
Billy. Then about five years ago, her
father died. Once again, she was
crushed. She didn't feel as if she had
much of a place in this world. Only
Billy could help her. So she set out to
search for him. A search that led her
to the Centre." He stops the story
again to go search for a photo album.
He brings it back and sets it on the table in front of Miss Parker.
It opens to an older family photo. She sees a man standing next to a younger version of Miss Dee and
she assumes that's Sharisse's father.
She sees Sharisse's older brother and sister. Then she sees another young man with his hand on Sharisse's
shoulder. With surprisingly familiar
face that makes Miss Parker's blood begin to boil.
"Tell me that's not who I think it is," she groans. Her knuckles white from grasping the album
too hard.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Miss Parker. But Little Billy Nelson grew up to be your
favorite sweeper - Willie."