Miss Opportunity - Ch. 35.3

While Millsap and Cami continued to bond in that Enfield hotel room, Towanna and her man continued to bond in Roe’s Littleview home. They’d eaten dinner and made love several times tonight, as well. Now they were lying in bed talking and listening to Secret Garden in the romantic candlelit room.

Tonight’s subject: Millsap and Cami.

“I was on pins and needles the whole time she was here,” Millsap Monroe Sr. (aka Roe and Sapp) said, referring to today’s close encounter with Cami. “I was so afraid she would recognize me, even though I dressed extra nerdy today and pretended to have a cold.”

“Why don’t you just tell your son the truth already?” Towanna asked, snuggling next to the man she couldn’t help but fall in love with over the last two months of exclusive dating.

Roe was kind, sensitive, handsome, and a great lover. Unfortunately, he was also overly anxious about things, which Towanna did not love. In fact, she found that trait quite irritating about the man she deemed to be her Mr. Right.

“It’s only a matter of time before Cami makes the connection between you and Millsap anyway. Especially with that unique eye color of yours. Brownish-green is rarely found among black people, you know,” Towanna continued, trying to cajole Roe to push past his fears for her sake. For everyone’s sake.

“I know,” Roe replied, looking anxious again. “But I’m just not ready yet, Tootie,” he said, calling Towanna by the nickname he’d given her. “Quite frankly, I don’t really know how to come clean after so many years of outright lying to my son.”

“It’s simple,” Towanna replied, sitting upright now in the king-sized sleigh bed. “Just say, son, I’m not really gay. Never have been. I initially lied about my sexuality because I knew that would get your mother to not only finally divorce me, but also never try to reconcile after I got out of bankruptcy. I continued to lie about my sexuality over the years because if your mother ever found out the truth, she would go after all the back child support she is entitled to, but never pursued because she found other ways to make money, including through you,” Towanna concluded, convinced that Millsap would understand his father’s dilemma.

“When you say it like that, it does sound simple,” Roe acknowledged, even though he was still fearful of his ex-wife bankrupting him all over again.

“It’s only hard if you continue to make it so, baby,” Towanna replied, settling back down again.

“Tell you what, I’ll think about it, okay?” Roe was already thinking about the high court costs, other legal fees, and all the back child support he’d have to pay Bonnie. Child support that the vindictive woman would surely demand…with interest.

“Okay.” Towanna snuggled closer, ready to let the matter drop for the moment. “Just don’t take too long, Roe. I’m not getting any younger and neither are you,” she added, letting him know that she wanted a future with him. Yet until Roe came out with the truth, enabling him to openly date her in Enfield and everywhere else, Towanna was withholding any I-love-yous.

* * *

Although Mike-Mike and Tonja had their secrets, too, and weren’t exchanging any I-love-yous yet either, that didn’t stop him from taking her to see his grandmother at the nursing home the next day.

Mrs. Duggar and Tonja took to each other like fish to water. They were both good mothers, enjoyed serving others, and they both saw greatness in Mike-Mike.

At the end of the visit, Mrs. Duggar pulled Tonja to the side and whispered three important things to her.

Thing one: “I know you love my grandson. It’s all over your face.”

Thing two: “My grandson loves you, too. It’s all over his face.”

Thing three: Make sure he retires from the game. Don’t let it retire him.”

Tonja committed all three things to heart, tattooed them upon her soul through constant rumination so that she wouldn’t ever forget them. The last thing in particular would be revisited and recited at a very crucial time in Mike-Mike’s life.

© 2008 by Suprina Frazier

* * *

To hear Secret Garden (featuring Barry White and several other old school crooners):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZdHMBvjtL0&feature=related

Comments

Suprina said…
*Nerd Moment*

• In some states, if a court order for child support was in place while the child was a minor, the mother can get back child support from the father even if the child is now grown. Especially if she provided all of the support of that child while he/she was a minor.

• In some cases, the now grown child can received that back child support if that child was providing his own care as a minor such as contributing to his household’s rent and utilities.

• If the court order is established AFTER the child is already grown, back child support is more difficult to collect.

Hope that info helps some of the single mothers out there dealing with dead-beat dads.

Suprina

PS. I know some of y'all are tripping over that revelation about Towanna and Millsap's dad. I tried to give y'all several hints by talking about the eyes, but no one guessed. Not even Subrina, who is usually the one driving up too close to my plot points. lol.

Oh, I feel so accomplished for surprising so many of y'all this time. Yay, Suprina! LOL!!!
Anonymous said…
Woooooow! I am with out words! Roe is Millsap's dad? Not Gay? Towana and Roe? Can things get any crazier? I feel like I need a diagram or something!

God bless
Joy
Paula said…
WOW!!!!!!!!

I am stumped because I cannot remember you giving any hints. Oh, I am going back to read all these post to see where I missed it.

Thanks for all the post!

PS. Ladies Florida is one of those states that you can your child support after the child is grown.

A friend of mine just collected $10,000 from her sons father who is now 24.
Subrina said…
Suprina I picked up one your hints about the eyes and I was trying to figure out how Roe and Milsap might be related (this was on of the comments I was having problems posting when she first met him at the club).

I was thinking that he may have been his brother or real father. Now you did shock me when I realized he wasn't gay but he needs to get a backbone.

Towanna is too good of a person to deal with a grown man insecurities and fears but that exactly what the real Towanna would have done. I used to have conversations with her about her letting men use and depend on her for to many personal issues. She don't need no weak man in her life because she is a PHENOMENAL WOMAN and Roe needs to man up.

As you probably can tell I won't tolerate a weak man.
Anonymous said…
i had tyo blink a few times and rub my eyes to make sure i wasn't reading wrong!!!! that absolute weird nerd is ROE!!!! uh-uhn girl!!!! what??!!!
crazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzy and makes for a even thicker and stickier plot!! ha! yes pat yourself on the back indeed y'all got us good!

i was wondering why you kept referring to the eyes but dumb ole me!! sheesh!

i hope to hope that bonnie doesn't have a rite to any more child support! wasn't Millsap already contributing to the household while a minor... obliged to do so by greedy mom?? so haha to you Bonnie-you might just lose here and i hope you do!!!

sharon
Jrboss said…
Ok, I'm a tad bit confused or maybe I'm reading too fast. Who is ROE again. I remember him but I can't remember him. Is that dumb? (Face in a frown)
Carmel Beauty said…
Yeah you got me too with that suprina.
Suprina said…
Joy: Yep! on all points except maybe you needing a diagram. Things haven't gotten that complicated in the story, have they? lol.

Paula: It was my constant reference to Roe's eyes and intelligence (nerdiness). The gay thing and how relaxed and confident Roe was at the club where Towanna met him might have thrown you off. Also all the various nicknames (Sapp, Roe). Kudos to your friend in Florida for getting her just due.

Suprina
Suprina said…
Subrina: I'm not surprised about you picking up some of my hints. You've definitely done that before. lol. I'm just glad that I could surprise you at all.

Yes, Towanna is too good of a person to deal a wimp. And that's really want the real Towanna would have done? Wow! This character is more on point than I thought, because you never told me that in your email about your friend.

And yes, I can tell that you can't tolerate a weak man. I don't care for them much either.

Suprina
Suprina said…
Jrboss: Maybe you are reading too fast. ROE is the guy Towanna met at the Littleview club, Millsap's daddy, Bonnie's ex-husband. I've referred to him by at least 3 names in this book, so maybe that's what's confusing you.

Carmel B: *Big cheesy grin*

Sharon: Yes, that absolute weird nerd is ROE. lol. The eyes were my biggest hint.

Bonnie actually does have legal rights to that child support, Sharon, even though Millsap was contributing to the home. Here's why:

1. She had a legitimate occupation as a bail bondsman, which she used as mostly a front just to say she had steady income and was employed. Otherwise the authorities would have had to look into why she wasn't on public aid and how was she maintaining her household.

2. Millsap didn't have any legal income at that time that he could claim, so it looked like his mother was taking care of him when he was actually taking care of her.

Therein is the loophole. If Roe tries to prove otherwise, it could shine the wrong light on Millsap and cause his son to go to jail.

Also the reason Roe didn't give Bonnie any child support during those years is because he knew she didn't need it on account of what she had influenced their son to do. He also knew that she would blow it on herself.

In order to feel like he was contributing to his son's welfare somehow, Roe urged Millsap to go to college at the place he worked so that he could at least pay for the boy's education via his job connections.

I know I just told some of the story, but I didn't want anyone to be confused on the issue of Roe. Are we all on the same page now? Hope so.

Suprina
Anonymous said…
Prina,
No, I am not tooo confused. I am sure that it doesn't help that I am catching up by reading Delia's story at the same time. So many characters... and thier lives so intertwined it is a little mind boggeling.

By the way... at what point did you realize that this would be a series and when did you decide to write Cami's book?

Because I am amazed at how well the three intertwine.

God Bless
Joy

Popular Posts