We pretty much told them the same story we told the cops. I had a crazy stalker that followed me from Texas. I don’t think they’d even begin to understand what really happened; that I was really being stalked by some kind of demon that had been murdered by a handful of warriors. Warriors of God, that was more ferocious and brutal than anything I had ever seen.
The world is taught that God and his angels are gentle, soft, nothing to truly fear. And it was the devil and his demons that were fierce. It was the boogie man that scared us and the monster in the closet that caused us to lose sleep.
Brainwashing!
A classic case of brainwashing 101. When Kenny and I finally talked about what happened that night, he couldn’t believe there was a man out there stronger than Gabe. I assured him it was true, I saw him with my own eyes. The demon had called him Lyon. And he had been deathly afraid of him.
Apparently, he had somehow gotten a hold of a clone or something of Lyon and entered its body. But the clone paled in comparison to the real thing. The real Lyon was beyond words, and Solomon…
When I told Kenny I saw Solomon kill the demon with his mind while Lyon destroyed his body, he’d nodded and said… “Now it all makes sense.”
I frowned confused. “Now what makes sense?”
“Why a man would walk away from a job that paid over seven figures. He has a greater calling.”
“Wow Kenny, I didn’t think you could look at things on that level.” He grunted. The old Kenny would have taken this opportunity to make a joke that would have me clutching my sides.
“Yeah well, life got a way of changing folks.” Was his only response.
It pained me to see him this way. He was not taking the death and the possible death of his two best friends well. And to make matters worse, the other board members and the investors of Gabe’s company had begun to put pressure on him. Apparently, the business world didn’t work well in limbo.
So while Gabrielle, Kenny and I were holding our breath each day, waiting to hear word from Gabriel, Calhoun Investments was not. They wanted to know what was to come of the company, and they wanted to know yesterday.
“Yas, we have to talk about the company.” Kenny had said to me one night after we’d finish eating. I looked at him confused, at that point I had forgotten all about the company.
“You don’t need to talk to me. I don’t have anything to do with it!” I began to clean the plates from the table.
“Gabe left all his shares to you. It’s your company now.” His quiet words brought me to a halt. I turned back around to face him, horrified.
“What! Why would he do that?” I asked, sitting the plates back on the table, needing to sit down before I fell down.
“Because… you’re his wife, the mother of his children, and one day it will belong to them.” I shook my head staring down at the table completely speechless. This was something I didn’t even begin to want to deal with. Gabrielle put her hand over mine.
“Don’t stress Yasmin. It’s not good for the babies.” Kenny exhaled, instantly feeling bad.
“I don’t mean to cause you stress—I just…” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to tell them.”
“Tell them Gabe will be back!” I said that with so much assurance that both Kenny and Gabrielle looked up at me. I could tell that they both really needed to believe me, so I inhaled, lifting my head higher.
“No… Gabe will be back. It’s his company. He’s not—” My voice haltered. I couldn’t bring myself to say dead. Tears filled my eyes.
“Gabe put you in charge Kenny. He trusted you to run it in his absence. So, run it! He’ll be back!” He searched my face.
“Is he coming back Yas?” He asked, sounding like a small boy. I got up from my chair, walked around the table and hugged him.
“Yes he is!” I said with all the confidence I could muster. He squared his shoulders nodding, wiping away his tears.
“Yeah! You right! He’ll be back. And I need to make sure Calhoun Investments is still standing when he gets here!”
And so, he did. I don’t know what he told the investors and the board members, but whatever it was it must have appeased them. And for all sense and purpose, Kenny picked up where Gabe left off. He had joined Gabrielle in the crusade to make sure Gabe’s offsprings came into the world safe and sound, so he took care of all business issues, including making sure the bills stayed paid.
Although there was no more laughter in Kenny, he became invaluable to Gabrielle and I over the months, and not just us. He had also taken on Mac’s responsibility with his family as well. And something beautiful ended up coming out of it. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
When I wasn’t putting on a brave front for Gabrielle and Kenny, I was balled up in Gabe’s and I bed, mourning the loss of him. I was getting bigger with his children that he may not see. It was during one of those nights in my seventh month of pregnancy that a realization came to me.
This was all my fault.
It is said that a child with a hard head will end up with a soft behind. No truer words have ever been told. My pa-pa warned me that my looks were cursed. He said it over and over again. This all happened because I didn’t take heed to his warning. Stacy and Kenny were right. This
