Page 07

"You really do love me," Andrew stated, noting how her eyes spoke the word 'Duh!' when she peered at him.

"But don't you have practice Monday?"

Seeing her waving him off, "I don't care about that, I care about you! So do you want me to come along?" Sophia asked with hope in her eyes.

"I mean, yeah, I'd like for you to come, but we're staying at my grandparents' place," Andrew said, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh," Sophia said, a little defeated.

"So we'll just get a hotel room," Gloria said from the doorway. Smiling at her son when he turned to look at her. "They'll understand when I tell them that you're bringing your girlfriend along." Seeing Sophia blush when she winked at her. "You finish packing. I'll take Sophia home and clear it with Angie and Marcum, then we'll hit the road," Gloria stated, seeing Andrew nod.

"I promise we won't be long," Sophia said once she had wrapped her arms around his neck. Pressing her body closer to his when she felt his hand on her ass. She always wanted to feel his hand on her body, preferably inside of her cunt, but she'll take what she can get.

By the time Gloria pulled back into their driveway, Andrew was already locking up the house with his bag, along with his mother's, at his feet. Hearing the trunk popping as he neared what used to be his father's car, now his. While he did like the car, yet he knew it would only bring hurtful memories to his mother. So, seeing how they were loaded now, Andrew thought it might serve them in getting a newer car that wasn't tied to his father's infidelity.

"Gloria?" Andrew spoke as he slid into the back seat.

"Yes, baby?" Gloria answered as she backed out.

"What do you think of trading this car in?" Andrew asked, looking right into her eyes as his mother brought them to a jerking halt.

"Why?"

"Because this was dad's car, and I don't want anything of his around to make you upset," Andrew said truthfully. Watching how his mother's eyes quivered when those words left his lips.

"You sure, baby? This is still an excellent car, no matter who its former owner was."

"I know you don't like driving this car, I can tell, but for this trip, it is more reliable," Andrew said, stating the obvious. Knowing it would be a few more days before that money would be cleared.

"Then... when we get back, we'll go car shopping, but no sports cars. We have a baby on the way; we're going to need the room," Gloria said in a motherly tone.

"So SUV?"

"We'll see, we'll browse the car dealerships' websites that are around here and see what they have when we're at your grandparents' place," Gloria stated as she pointed their car towards the interstate.

Halfway through their four-hour car ride to his grandparents, his mother pulled into a gas station, not that they needed gas. No. Gloria's morning sickness hit her, and she didn't want their car to smell like vomit. Sophia quickly followed after Gloria into the store. Andrew saw the female cashier pointing towards the left and towards the back of the store when Sophia chatted with her. Getting out of the car, walking around it, and sliding into the driver's seat. He knew his mother was in no shape to be driving. Arching an eyebrow when he saw Sophia dashing through the store, running down aisles looking for something. Wondering what that woman was saying as he watched it unfold before him. Sliding the key out of the ignition when Sophia waved to him to join her.

"Can you pay for this?" Sophia asked, holding up a small bottle of mouth wash.

"Right," Andrew said, pulling out his wallet and handing the lady the card his mother had given him. "How bad is she?"

"Not bad, just a bout of morning sickness, daddy," Sophia said, mouthing the last part. She so enjoyed seeing that blush of his whenever she teased him about his new title. "Thanks, baby, I left my purse in the trunk," she whispered placing a kiss on his cheek before bounding off to the restroom.

"Do you know of anything that will settle a pregnant woman's stomach?" Andrew asked, seeing the woman smile.

"I know just the thing, have two myself. I take it this is your first?" she asked, leading Andrew to the right side of the store.

"Yes."

"I'm surprised you stuck it out and not ran off like most men I know would do," she praised.

"Wasn't about to run off, ever," Andrew stated firmly. He noted the woman's eyes held something within them yet couldn't decern what that was.

"These should tide her over until you get to where you're going."

"Thank you for the help," Andrew said as the woman rang him up.

"It was no problem; I was happy to help. Now you take care, and I hope the baby is healthy when he or she is born," she uttered with a warm smile as she handed Andrew the plastic bag that held his items.

"So do I," Andrew muttered.

"Relax, don't stress out too much; we, women, can sense that. It won't be good for her or your baby if she's stressed about you and how stressed you appear to be," she said, offering her sagely advice as she gently laid her hand over his.

"Right, relax, no stressing out," Andrew nodded.

"Now, you three have a safe trip to wherever you are going," she said, waving to him as Andrew exited the store.

Getting out of the car as when he saw his mother holding her hand against her churning stomach as Sophia walked attentively beside her. Opening the driver's side passenger door when they left the store. Neither said a word; why should she? The gentle caress on his left cheek and the soft brush of her thumb along it spoke volumes before he helped his mother to lay down on the back seat.

"Andrew, what is this?" Gloria asked, looking into the black plastic bag.

"She said it would help to settle your stomach," Andrew answered, pointing to the woman in the store.

"You got this for me?!" Gloria asked wide-eyed.

"Of course," Andrew nodded sternly.

"If I didn't feel like I was about to hurl, I'd kiss you!" Gloria said, grinning madly. Remembering how Maverick barely did anything for her when she was carrying Andrew, let alone took the innitiative to get her something that would help with the morning sickness.

"I'll take a rain check," Andrew smirked as Sophia slid into the passenger seat. "I'll try to avoid the potholes and bumps; you just rest," he said in a caring tone as he rubbed his mother's leg.

"You're so good to me," Gloria sighed as she gazed dreamily at her son.

"I do try," Andrew said, hiding his worry behind a smiling mask.

"You drive carefully, you hear?! We have a baby on board," Gloria said, gazing lovingly down at her stomach as her hand rubbed the spot where their child was growing inside of her. Nibbling on the ginger snaps that her son had bought for her, the hiss of the carbonated ginger ale filled the interior as she opened the bottle. After consuming the items, hoping it would settle her stomach, resting her head on the seat, her eyes watching her son as he drove towards his grandparents' home. Recounting how Maverick would force her to drive or do whatever he wanted to do when he knew her stomach was doing somersaults when she was carrying Andrew. She was the one that had to get the things needed to keep her healthy and their baby healthy. At the time, she couldn't understand why Maverick was acting like that; now, however, she knew she had chosen the wrong man to wed. Then again, without Maverick, she wouldn't have her son, a man that has given her what she's desired for the past two years. New life! A smile formed on her lips as her eyes slowly closed as she drifted off.

Two hours have passed, seeing Andrew and company pulling into his grandparents' driveway of the childhood home of his father, aunt, and uncle. Noting the number of cars that were parked in their gravel drive. His eyes ran over the out-of-town plates, knowing they belonged to his aunt and uncle. Remembering that his aunt had four kids, two were a little older than he was, and his uncle had six, most, except the youngest, were already in college. Hence why there were so many cars parked before him.

"Gloria," Andrew whispered, leaning around the driver's seat, softly shaking her to wake her. "We're here," he said, seeing his mother's eyes fluttering open. Trying not to ogle his mother's breasts as they moved beneath her shirt as she stretched. Feeling his cheeks heat when his mother shot him a sultry smirk when she noted where his eyes were.

"Thank you for driving honey, I needed the rest," Gloria cooed sweetly.

"No worries, Gloria."

"Remember, it's Mom when we're around them," Gloria said sternly before opening the rear passenger door. Seeing Andrew nod before sliding out of the car. Fighting down her annoyance as he held out his hand to Sophia, knowing she couldn't touch her son, her lover, the father of their child like she so wanted to, at least not in front of Maverick's family. Hearing the voices of her late husband's family members filtering through the closed door as they approached it.

"Andrew!" His Aunt Veronica exclaimed once she answered the door. Feeling his light pat on her back when she brought him into a crushing hug. "Hello, Gloria," she said politely, noticing the lack of a wedding ring on her sister-in-law's finger.

"Veronica," Gloria greeted. Wondering if she knew why her brother was gunned down.

"And who is this you brought along with you nephew?" Veronica asked, peering at Sophia.

"This is my girlfriend, Sophia," Andrew stated, introducing the two of them.

"You sure she's your girlfriend?" Veronica teased.

"Oh, I'm very much his girlfriend," Sophia retorted, draping herself against Andrew. "Aren't I, baby?" she cooed sweetly into his ear.

"Mmmhmm." Andrew hummed, noting the look in his aunt's eyes when Sophia pressed her body against his.

"Well, what are the three of you standing there for? Come on in!" Veronica stated with a warm, welcoming smile on her face gesturing them into her parents' house. "Everyone will be so happy to see the two of you. I'm sorry about what happened to Maverick..."

"He brought his death upon himself," Andrew said coldly, stopping his aunt in her tracks.

"Andrew, you can't really mean that, can you?" Veronica asked, peering back at him.

"I do. If he wasn't out cheating on Mom for the past fifteen years, none of this would have happened. If he kept to his word, Dad would still be alive. Honestly, I don't even know the man. The man that raised me really never even existed," Andrew spoke in a plain tone, seeing his mother's and Sophia's looks they levied at him.

"Andrew, I know your dad's death is hard to deal with, but you know that's not true..."

"Would you like to see all the evidence I was going to use to divorce your brother?" Gloria asked with a cocked eyebrow. "Why do you think I'm not handling Maverick's funeral? Because I wasn't going to bury the man that wasted fifteen years of my life so he could string me along."

"What's going on?" Lamont, Andrew's uncle and Maverick's eldest brother, asked, having heard the commotion. He just couldn't believe what he had just heard. Surely they weren't talking about his brother? That couldn't be; he knew Maverick loved Gloria; he just couldn't see why he would cheat on her.

"They say Maverick was cheating on Gloria for the past fifteen years," Veronica stated, not believing a word. Hearing Gloria sigh before digging into her purse.

"I didn't want to do this, but you kind of leave me no choice," Gloria grumbled as she pulled out her phone. Bringing up the video file she had Marcum send to her that she was going to use if Maverick had lied that he wasn't cheating on her or if he tried to draw out the divorce. "Does that look like me he's with?" she asked heatedly.

"Put that away, for God's sake," Veronica hissed, pushing Gloria's hand down after she had seen enough to know they spoke the truth. "Okay, I'm sorry that Mav hurt you by doing that," pointing at Gloria's phone, "but Andrew, he is still your father. No matter what he's done or did in this case, that will never change."

"I know; I am here after all. Just don't expect me to mourn for long after what he did to Mom," Andrew said sternly. "You okay?" he asked, concerned when his mother's hand went to her stomach.

"I will be," Gloria nodded, smiling sweetly at her son. "It's just my stomach hasn't settled yet."

"Are you sick?" Lamont asked with a touch of worry in his voice.

"No, not sick, just with child," Gloria said proudly. "And no, it isn't Maverick's, seeing how he had a vasectomy fifteen years ago." Seeing the look of hopefulness in their eyes that something of their brother was left behind. While she was going to tell the world that their son was Maverick's, however, that would only mean they would constantly be in her life, and she wanted no more ties to Maverick's family than they already had.

"Stupid idiot," Lamont uttered below his breath. Shaking his head at the foolishness of his brother as he turned around and ambled off to the deeper parts of his childhood home.

"Then who got you pregnant?" Veronica asked, looking accusingly at her sister-in-law.

"Sperm donor," Gloria lied, "after all, your brother has been shooting blanks for the past fifteen years without the decency to tell me he had a vasectomy."

"He really didn't tell you?" Veronica inquired, knowing that wasn't the brother she knew.

"If he had, I wouldn't have been trying so damn hard for a baby for the past two years. Do you honestly think I would have forgotten that he had one?" Gloria asked, shooting Veronica a questioning look. Hearing her sigh as Veronica hung her head.

"I can't believe he was so stupid," shaking her head, "forgive me, Gloria, you have every right to be angry with my brother, and I can understand why you wouldn't want to plan Mav's funeral. I wouldn't either if my husband was screwing around behind my back..."

"Your brother isn't a cheat," Eli, Andrew's grandfather, hissed from behind his daughter.

"I saw the video Dad; Mav was a cheater. Would you like to see it?" Veronica asked, noting how his eyes weren't on her but Sophia. She prayed he would keep that tongue in his mouth.

"What's that colored girl doing in my house?!"

"Colored girl?! You got something to..." Sophia's voice stilled when Andrew placed his hand on his shoulder and moved past her and his aunt. Noting how he stood right in his grandfather's face.

"Go on, Granddad, spout off some more bigoted shit! But know this the moment you do, that will be the last time you ever see me, we clear?!" Andrew said, defending Sophia's honor.

"Then take your nigger girlfriend..."

"We're leaving!" Andrew barked. "Have a nice life," he said, turning around, noting the shocked looks in his mother's, aunt's, and Sophia's eyes. "See you at the funeral, Aunt Veronica. Tell Grandma and the others that we're sorry we couldn't stay, but I'm not going to subject Sophia to that crap," Andrew said as he passed her. Taking Sophia in his arms, rubbing her back as they followed after his mother.

"Are you happy now! You just alienated your own grandson!" Andrew could hear his aunt's voice through the door as they walked towards their car.

"You okay? I didn't know Grandpa was like that," Andrew stated sincerely.

"I'm used to that, Andrew, but you just cut yourself off from your own grandparents?!" Sophia exclaimed; while she was so happy, he defended her like a boyfriend should; what really made her heart melt was that he chose her over them.

"I don't want that crap in my life, better off without him if he's always been like that," Andrew replied, seeing that prideful smile on his mother's lips.

"Wait!" Lamont, along with his mother and his wife and kids, nieces and nephews, came pouring out of the front door as Veronica was in a yelling match with their father. "Andrew, you three just can't leave like this. Not when we've already been dealt one tragedy."

"Yeah, well, I'm not going to dump Sophia just because Grandpa is a bigot," Andrew stated truthfully. Seeing his grandmother wince when that word left his lips.

"Andrew, honey, I know he might come off as gruff, but Eli didn't mean..."

"No, he meant every word Grandma," Andrew said, cutting her off.

"But we're still family, right?" Aubrey, Andrew's grandmother, asked, hoping that her husband's foolish mouth hadn't cost her a grandson.

"Yeah, unless anyone of you has a problem with Sophia, then no, we won't be," Andrew stated his terms, looking at every single one of them. Feeling Sophia slipping her hand into his. Returning the squeeze she softly applied to his hand when her fingers interweaved with his. Watching his grandmother walking up to them with the rest of his extended family members following behind.

"Please forgive my foolish husband; I know you don't know any of us, but we do not, do not, subscribe to Eli's views. I offer my humblest apologies for any offense he has caused you," Aubrey uttered with a bowed head.

"I've already forgotten about it," Sophia said, snuggling up to Andrew so very pleased that he stepped up like that. Plus, she didn't want to cause any more heartache for them during their time of mourning.

"I thank you for being the better person than my husband is, but I do love him, just not his view of people," Aubrey said with her head still bowed.

Looking to Andrew for his grandmother's name, feeling her gooseflesh rippling along her skin as he whispered into her ear. "Aubrey, it's fine, nothing I haven't heard before, and white people aren't the only ones that hold such views. I have plenty of cousins who're like that, just towards your race. Not that I hold the same views as they do, as it appears your family didn't take after your husband," Sophia said sweetly, smiling at Andrew's extended family.

"Gloria, dear, are you well? You look a little green," Lia, Lamont's wife, asked worryingly.

"Just had some morning sickness on the way here; nothing to worry about, Lia," Gloria said politely. Knowing the moment they put Maverick in the ground, that would probably be the last time she would see her in-laws unless Andrew had to attend some family gathering.

"Is it..." Aubrey's hopes were dashed when Gloria shook her head.

"No, not to demean your son, but Maverick sought to only have one child before he had his secret vasectomy depriving me of any more children for the past fifteen years," Gloria said bitterly. She did feel for Aubrey when she saw the disappointment in her youngest son in her eyes; she had no idea how she would act if Andrew did that to his wife, and she had to hear that her own son followed after his father. "So I had to have a sperm bank inseminate me since your son thought he could have his cake and eat it too." She just hoped no one ever called her out on her lies.

"So you don't know who the father is?" asked one of Andrew's cousins.

"No, I do not, and I don't plan on finding out either," Gloria said sternly. "All I care about now is the wellbeing of my two children and that they grow up healthy," she uttered sweetly down at her growing child.

"Well, however it happened; I'm glad you got to be a mother again. I know how you were so excited to have another. I'm just sorry that my son turned out to be a selfish man at the end," Aubrey sighed, wondering where she had gone wrong in raising him. She knew she taught him the value of marriage and what it meant to be truly married. She just never thought her own son would turn out to be that type of a man.

"So, what are the three of you going to do?" Lamont asked, his eyes running over each of them.

"Find a hotel in town and get a room until the funeral, then head back home once it's over, so Andrew and Sophia don't miss any more school than they have to," Gloria stated in a motherly tone.

"Then at least let us all, minus Eli, sit down at some restaurant and have a meal together," Aubrey uttered in hope.

"Sure, Grandma," Andrew replied once he noted his mother's nod. Sophia stepped aside when his grandmother moved up to him and wrapped him in a hug.

"Don't you be a stranger Andrew, no matter what Eli says, you and Sophia are always welcomed here," Aubrey said in a loving grandmotherly tone.

With that, saying their goodbyes, the three of them headed off towards town to find a room for the night. Arriving at a Marriot, paying for connecting rooms so they could use one bed to fuck on the other bed to sleep in while never having to step foot out in the hallway. Once they were settled, Gloria and Sophia quickly stripped out of their pants and panties, sat down on the foot of the bed, and spread their legs. Telling Andrew exactly what they wanted him to do. Andrew was in the middle of eating Sophia out while his mother rested from her orgasm when her phone went off. Blowing them a kiss when she walked into the other room, so whoever was calling her wouldn't hear Sophia's moans.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Gloria, it's Veronica; listen, I'm sorry about what Dad said to Andrew's girlfriend. I hope he and she knows we don't think like that."

"Well, he knows that just I don't think Eli is ever going to have a relationship again with Andrew after that," Gloria stated truthfully, poking around the hotel room, seeing what all was in it while she waited for the two of them to finish.

"Yeah, I can understand that. Kind of surprised me at how Andrew got up in Dad's face like that."

"I know; I didn't see it coming either," Gloria admitted.

"Woman to woman, is what I read in the paper true? That Mav was found in a room with another woman at the time of his death?"

"You mean the whore he's been fucking for the past fifteen years when he went out on those damn trips? Yeah, that was her," Gloria said, keeping her temper in check.

"Stupid fucking idiot." Gloria heard her sister-in-law curse over the line.

"Yeah, your brother is just that," Gloria agreed.

"Was there a chance..."

"No," Gloria uttered, cutting her off.

"Sorry, I just had to ask."

"Was that all you wanted to know, Veronica?"

"No, had another reason for calling, was wondering, since you're leaving after the funeral tomorrow, that we have dinner..." Nodding in understanding when Veronica listed off a few places that could house their large group for dinner.

"Golden Coral will be just fine," Gloria stated, knowing then she could eat enough to keep her and her baby healthy without racking up a huge bill. "Yes, 7:30 will be fine. Alright, we'll see you then," she said once they had agreed on a time.

Gloria stood alone in that room once Lamont and Andrew had cleared everyone out so she could say her own goodbyes to Maverick, or that was what Lamont thought she was doing. Andrew knew better; he was just wise enough not to voice it. "You were nothing but a lying bastard! If you didn't want more kids, why didn't you just divorce me?! Instead of wasting fifteen years of my life!" Gloria hissed angrily as she loomed over his corpse. "I hope you're rotting in Hell with that whore of yours! I pray you pissed yourself when you knew you were about to die! So tell me, was it worth ruining three lives to slip your dick into that whore's cunt? Because I'll tell you something, you worthless piece of shit; it felt so fantastic in making you a cuckold!" she whispered wickedly, peering down at that shell of a body. Bending low how she wished to have done this while he was alive, yet she would just have to accept he would have to deal with it in Hell. "Do you want to know who it was that made you a cuckold? I'll tell you so you can stew in it for all eternity. It was your very own son, that's not all; I'm carrying his baby. How does it feel knowing you're a cuckold and your money is going to be spent supporting our child," Gloria uttered in a venomous tone.

"I do have to thank you, if that doctor didn't tell me what you did, then I would still be a clueless idiot and would still be thinking you actually cared about me. But we both know you didn't. No one that carries on an affair behind a spouse's back, for fifteen fucking years, could ever truly love that person if they result to that. Nonetheless, you're just another piece of trash that can't keep his dick in his pants, and trust me, Andrew is a far, far better lover to me than you ever were. He gives me orgasms that you could never think to achieve, even at your peak. You will not be remembered by me, and I highly doubt our son will give you a passing thought once he is done mourning. You will simply fade into nothingness," Gloria said in a cold, dispassionate tone before spitting on him. Lowering the lid of the casket that she had opened, seeing how it was meant to be a closed casket funeral.

Smiling at Andrew when she left that room. Sliding her arm around him as he hugged her against him. Moving away, keeping to disguise that she was nothing more than a normal mother to Andrew when in truth, she was his little sex kitten. Sitting on the other side of the chapel, away from Eli, who cast her son a sneer. She knew Andrew saw it but ignored it. Taking the high road when it was obvious Eli would rather stew in his illogical hate. Plus, if she was truthful, she doubted they would ever see them again or at least for a few years. However, her stomach chose the perfect time to act up as her hand shot to her mouth. Walking hurriedly towards the bathroom with Sophia quickly following.

"Everything okay in here?" Veronica asked, sticking her head into the women's bathroom. She and her mother noted how Gloria had rushed to the bathroom with Andrew's girlfriend following behind.

"Yeah," Gloria said weakly. "Just need a few minutes."

"Okay, you just holler if you need anything," Veronica spoke in a concerned tone before shutting the door.

The funeral got underway once Gloria and Sophia returned to their seats a few minutes later. Andrew bit his tongue when people who didn't know who his father was in his last days spouted off about how great a guy his father was and so on. He noted how his mother, too, was fighting back to keep from rebuking every single word those people had spoken. Reaching over, sliding his hand into hers, seeing how she fought to hide her smile as he did. Once the last speaker was finished, Andrew, his mother, and Sophia followed his extended family as his Grandfather, Uncle, and four of his cousins were his father's pallbearers as they carried his father's body through the funeral home and out to the awaiting hearse. Maverick Mathews was laid to rest early on that early cold January afternoon.

Once, the priest had spoken, and those few that threw flowers on top of Maverick's coffin. The three of them waited off to the side, watching it all so Andrew could say goodbye to his relatives that he might not see for many, many years. She would never deprive her son of Maverick's side of the family if her son wanted anything to do with them. She, however, would be distancing herself from them, given they were no longer a part of her family given how her only connection to them was now lying six feet under. When Andrew uttered his last goodbye, waving to them as they walked to their own car, which held their luggage given how they had already checked out of their room. Noting how Andrew tossed his suit jacket into the back seat before sliding into the driver's seat.

"Let's go home, baby," Gloria said as she sat beside him. Her fingers interweaved with his as he carefully pulled around the hearse and headed off towards their home. Knowing, now that Maverick was buried, she and Andrew could finally start their new life together. She just hoped he was ready for that. Nevertheless, that's a story for another day.
The End.
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