That touched something in him. Jail was not an option, especially in his line of work. “Remember what I said if my baby dies, Nadine. I’ll gladly spend the rest of my life in prison for my child.” Finally, he allowed Nadine to leave and go home.
Just as Nadine suspected, her parents had called the cops and reported her missing. Nadine lied and told them that she willingly spent the time with Suave. After apologizing for worrying them, she informed her parents that she wasn’t getting an abortion after all.
A week later, Nadine left for Miami to stay with her uncle without seeing or saying a word to Suave. She took a leave from college to prepare herself mentally and physically for motherhood. There were days when Nadine would rub her swollen stomach happily, and others when she wept bitterly. This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be.
Chapter Twenty-two
After waiting a few days for Nadine to contact him, Suave began to think the worst.... Nadine had gotten an abortion and was avoiding him. He had allowed her to leave his apartment that day because she had promised not to get the abortion and that she would return to him the next day. It had been over a week, and he still hadn’t heard from her. To make matters worse, she had disconnected her phone.
“Enough is enough,” Suave said aloud as he marched into “Esquire Fine Food Supermarket” on Half Way Tree Road days later, unaware that Nadine was already out of the country. He didn’t know exactly where Nadine lived, but he knew that her parents owned the business.
“I would like to speak to Mr. Esquire, please,” Suave informed the middle-aged, bald man behind the customer service counter that was stuck in the corner of the huge supermarket. “Tell him it’s Suave Brown, and it’s very important.”
The man looked Suave up and down, a suspicious look on his face. “Mr. Esquire isn’t here. Do you want to leave a message?”
“No, I don’t want to leave a message!” Suave was losing his cool, although he had promised himself that he wouldn’t. “I want to see him now!” He pounded his fists on the counter, and the man backed away in fright. “Tell Mr. Esquire to get down here right now.”
A few customers stopped to stare at the angry young man creating a scene in the busy supermarket. But instead of Mr. Esquire coming out to meet Suave, his security came. Three tall, big, burly, muscled men who looked as if they were bodybuilders surrounded Suave in a tight circle.
Suave had his gun in his waist but knew he couldn’t take on all three buffaloes. Also, there were a lot of people now gathering around, and he had no doubt the cops were on their way. As upset as he was, Suave had to let a cooler head prevail.
“Look, I don’t want any trouble.” Suave raised his hand in the air. “I just need to ask Mr. Esquire where Nadine is. I need to know if she’s okay.”
Upstairs behind a huge hidden glass window that overlooked the store, Mr. Esquire watched the scene, smirking with satisfaction. You will never see my daughter again, you piece of trash.
“Mr. Esquire doesn’t want to see you,” one of the security guards said. “He would like you to leave his place of business right now.”
“Oh, so he is here. Well, tell Mr. Esquire I am not going anywhere until he tells me where Nadine is.” Suave folded his arms across his chest, a determined look on his face. He really had the heart of a lion.
The security guards exchanged amused glances before one grabbed Suave by his shirt collar, lifting him off the ground. Suave kicked and screamed, demanding that they let him go, but he was ignored. As if he were nothing but a little insect, Suave was carried out of the supermarket and dropped on his behind outside.
Humiliated as some onlookers laughed at him, Suave slowly rose to his feet. He shot dirty looks at the three buffaloes that were using their bodies to block the entrance of the supermarket before he spun around on his heels and stormed away. Their laughter followed Suave until he disappeared around a corner.
Upstairs in his office, Mr. Esquire laughed so hard, he began to cough. He drank some water that was on his desk, his eyes twinkling in his head. He wished he had taken some action before Nadine had gotten pregnant. He should have transferred her to a school abroad and had his men take care of Suave. This would have saved him and his family all this heartache.
But his celebration was short-lived.
Two days later, Suave was back. He got thrown out again, but that didn’t faze him. Suave was doing this for Nadine and his unborn child.
Day after day, Suave would show up at the supermarket, screaming for Mr. Esquire to tell him where Nadine was. He got roughed up a few times by the security guards but nothing too extreme. Smart guy that he was, Suave made sure he went to the supermarket when it was bursting with customers. Just as he was unable to shoot up the place as much as he wanted to, Mr. Esquire knew he too could not let his men hurt Suave too much. There were too many witnesses around, and he had a reputation to maintain. Therefore, Mr. Esquire did the next best thing.... He reported Suave to the police for harassment.
“I need to see Nadine!” Suave shouted one day, standing in the middle of the supermarket. It was his nineteenth birthday, and Nadine had been missing for over a month now. “You can’t keep her or my baby away from me, Mr. Esquire.”
Soon, the crowd of curious fascinated shoppers that had gathered around Suave parted. Two police officers entered the supermarket
