Mistaken Identity (Identity 1)

“She showed up as I was leaving, honey. I’m sorry.”

Clenching her fists tight she bit back her retort. Now was not the time for her family unit to fall apart. She was southern enough to want to do in it private, not in front of a large-eyed boyfriend.

****

Jet felt like he’d been dropped in a battlefield. The tension in the room was so thick he was shocked no one had suffocated. The brisket on his plate was juicy and well seasoned, but he couldn’t enjoy the flavor. It might as well have been wet cardboard in his mouth. Between Kansas’s stony silence, and Darla’s non-stop babble he was ready to rip his hair out. Her father seemed to deal with it by acting like nothing was wrong.

“So, Jett, how did you meet?” Reginald asked.

“At the convention, she thought I was just a person playing my character. I wanted to tell her, but I had to wait until we were alone.” Her father’s eyebrows shot up. “In a less crowded place.” He added swiftly. “Didn’t want to cause a mob scene or anything.”

“Smart thinking,” Reginald said, a thoughtful expression on his round face. His skin was a few shades darker than his daughter’s, and he wore his salt and pepper hair cropped short, and his eyebrows were thick caterpillars above almond-shaped eyes. His skin was smooth with minimal wrinkles for a man in his mid-fifties. He possessed the same calmness that Kansas exuded. It should’ve been admirable, but it stuck in his craw that he let Darla talk to Kansas the way she did. Doesn’t he see how it affects his daughter?

Darla came off as a desperate pageant girl doing whatever she could to cling to youth, money, and anything else she could get her three inch, jeweled fingers on.

“So, Jett, how long are you here for?”

Uncomfortable he shifted in his seat.

“About another week. Then I have to start filming in Atlanta.”

“Oooh, I’m sure Kans will miss you.”

Kansas muttered under her breath.

“She’s welcome to visit me any time.”

“Kans is such a … simple girl. I’m sure she won’t want to risk being in all that limelight. I mean, the press would eat her alive.” Darla gave her a disgusted once over that made him grip his beer tight. I’d never hit a lady, but I’ like to shake that sneer of your plastic face, lady.

“Oh I don’t know. She has a give em’ hell attitude I think serves her well. She could handle them, couldn’t you, Sas?” Wrapping an arm around her chair he did his best to lend her silent support. Turning her head toward him she pierced him with a gaze so full of sadness it hurt his heart.

“Of course, I’d just wave around my press badge and slip in under the radar. Besides I have thick skin. Comes with the territory being a journalist. Trust me, not everyone likes what you write about them, and the instinct is always go for the fleshy bits of the stomach in hopes of ripping and tearing me to shreds.”

“Ugh, must you always be so vulgar?” Darla sighed and shook her head.

“I thought it was pretty fitting. The paparazzi and tabloid reporters do seem to be comparable to the scum of the earth.”

Darla placed a hand on her neck and gave a chuckle. “Price of fame right?”

“Hmmm.” Jett took a long draw of his beer. A man would have to be buzzing to put up with this for too much longer.

“What cut your trip in Aspen short, Mother?” Who knew you could make the world mother sound so much like “fuck you”.

“Oh, I was bored, and I wanted to come home to refuel and figure out my next move. I hear you received some sort of accolade at the newspaper of yours?’

“She was promoted to Lead Editor, Darla. It’s a huge honor.”

“Hmm.” The disinterest in her tone made her unworthy of the title mother. Why have a child if you planned on treating them like that? No wonder she’d spent her entire life running away from love and marriage. A hand gripped his thigh. He turned his head toward Kansas, who smiled.

“It’s all right,” she mouthed.

No, it really isn’t.

“I’m sorry,” she mouthed, almost as if she heard his thoughts.

“So what are you intentions toward my little girl?” Reginald asked.

“Wow, you don’t beat around the bush, do you, Daddy?”