Chapter 10

That evening, when Julianna returned, she found Keesha and A.J. in her mother’s room, laughing while they watched a DVD of her when she was nine years old.

"Mama!" she cried, indignation consuming her when she saw which DVD it was. "No fair! You told me you got rid of that."

Keesha stopped the machine and composed herself.

"I’m sorry, baby. But it’s so funny. I just had to show it to A.J."

"So now you know I’m the world’s worst softball player," she said, her voice glum as she turned away from her father.

"I didn’t think you were that bad," he offered.

"Are you kidding?" she exclaimed, his words forcing her to look at him. "Did you not pay attention to what you were watching? The coach *made* me bat until I hit at least one ball. Don’t tell me you didn’t notice how bright and sunny it was when I started and how night was falling when the coach finally gave up."

"I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration," Keesha said.

"Well, that’s what it felt like to me. Mama, can we *please* destroy that DVD?"

"But you looked soooo adorable in your blue and gold uniform," Keesha protested.

Julianna rolled her eyes; Keesha and A.J. shared a laugh.

"Julianna," A.J. said, "if it makes you feel any better, there are a lot worse things you could fail at. Believe me."

The tone of his voice caught her attention. She saw the look of compassion and understanding in his eyes and, without her wanting it to, the ice around her heart melted just a little bit more.

She nodded her thanks and turned her attention to her mother.

"Because you showed A.J. that DVD, I’m not going to tell you what I brought for you."

"Oh, please tell me. You know I love it when you surprise me."

"Okay," she relented, never able to stay cross with her mother for long. "I brought some of your favorite ice cream."

"Mocha almond fudge?" Keesha squealed in delight.

Her daughter nodded and smiled. She couldn’t help but notice that her mother’s eyes were brighter than they had been in weeks. "Would you like a bowl?"

"Yes! Don’t make me wait."

"Mocha almond fudge." A.J. said the words with fondness. "Could I tell you a story about your mom and mocha almond fudge."

"A.J.," Keesha warned, "don’t you dare!"

"I wanna hear," Julianna said. "Mama, you showed A.J. one of my most embarrassing moments. As payback, I get to hear a story about you."

"Well..." Keesha said, knowing she couldn’t argue with her daughter’s logic.

She just hoped A.J. knew what he was doing.

"Go ahead, A.J.," Julianna said, taking a seat on the end of her mother’s bed. "Tell me."

Keesha shook her head but didn’t try to stop him, even though she would wonder later if she should have.

"This happened many years ago," he began, pleased he had his daughter’s full attention for the first time. "Your mom had come to the Quartermaine mansion to visit. After we’d been playing tennis for a while, your mother said she was hungry. We returned to the main house, and Keesha announced she wanted some mocha almond fudge ice cream. I told her I would call Cook in the kitchen and let her know what we wanted. Well, your mother thought that was absurd. She said she was perfectly capable of scooping ice cream into a dish. I told her she didn’t understand. In our house, you didn't just *walk* into the kitchen, unannounced, to serve yourself. It was forbidden."

"Isn’t that ridiculous?" Keesha asked her daughter.

"Kinda," she agreed. "Why couldn’t you go into your own kitchen?"

"Your mother found out why," A.J. teased, a grin spreading across his handsome features at the memory.

Keesha wanted to crawl under her covers.

"What happened?" Julianna asked, her voice animated. "Don’t keep me in suspense!"

"Your mother, who told me I just didn’t want her to have any ice cream, marched boldly into our kitchen in search of mocha almond fudge. I waited for the inevitable yells, the sounds of pots and pans crashing to the floor, and I was not disappointed."

"Mama, what did you do?"

"I invaded Cook’s territory," she said, looking sheepish.

"Major mistake," A.J. said. "I tried to warn her, but she wouldn’t listen."

"What did this Cook person do?" Julianna asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"She ordered me out of *her* kitchen. Can you believe that? When I tried to reason with her..."

"Keesha," A.J. interrupted, "I told you. You don’t try to reason with a 300-pound woman, who has flaming red hair, and is chasing you around the house with a frying pan aimed at your head!"

"Mama, she didn’t!"

The image that sprang into Julianna’s mind horrified her and almost made her laugh at the same time.

"She did. She told me never to come back into her kitchen again. Ever! I ran for my life when she grabbed that heavy skillet."

"Then what happened?" Julianna asked, clearly interested in the outcome of this tale.

"Your mom made it to the back of the house. I thought I saw a flash of someone in white running by the rose garden. I raced to see if I could help, and I’ll never forget what your mother did."

"What did you do?" Julianna asked.

"A.J., please," Keesha begged, fearing that time had caused him to forget the outcome. "Everything turned out fine, sweetheart."

"But, Mama, I wanna hear what you did. How did you escape?"

"I’ll tell you what your mother did," A.J. said.

Keesha tried to warn him not to go any further, but he was too engrossed in the story and too pleased that he’d finally been able to share something with his daughter, that he didn’t heed her advice.

"To escape Cook," A.J. said, his eyes dancing, "your mother jumped, I kid you not, fully clothed, into our Olympic size swimming pool."

"Mama, you didn’t!"

Julianna couldn’t help but to laugh as she pictured her mother diving head first into a swimming pool, wearing her tennis outfit.

"Guilty as charged," she admitted. "Shoes and all."

"Did Cook relent or did you have to spend hours in the pool avoiding her wrath?"

Julianna giggled at the thought.

What happened after that came back to A.J. with a vengeance. He suddenly realized why Keesha had been silently advising him not to continue with the saga. He swiftly made the decision to finish the story. He’d brought them to this point. He knew he owed it to his daughter, and to Keesha, to tell what happened.

"My brother Jason rescued your mother. He saved the day, not to mention your mother from Cook’s frying pan."

"But I thought you were on your way to save my mom?"

"I got there too late," A.J. admitted. "When I arrived at the pool, your mother was safely in Jason’s arms. Soaking wet, and more than a little embarrassed, but safe, nonetheless."

"Jason just happened to be there," Keesha said, trying to downplay his part in her rescue. "It was no big deal. I was fine."

How many times, over the years, had A.J. heard those words: Jason just happened to be there?

"Mama," Julianna asked because she’d heard Jason’s name in conversations her mother would have, but his role in her mother’s life was never fully explained, "what is the story with Jason?"

"Sweetheart, talking about Jason will have to wait for another time. I want my ice cream!"

"But, Mama, I’ve heard his name. You have talked about him. Why won’t you tell me about him?"

"Because he’s in the past, and my relationship with Jason has no bearing on what’s going on now."

"Keesha," A.J. said, his voice quiet, "that’s not exactly true."

"See?" Julianna said. "I know something went on with Jason. I’d like to know about him. He is my uncle, right?"

"Yes, baby, but he’s not part of our lives. He’s not part of A.J.’s life. I think we need to table this discussion. Who else wants ice cream?"

"Keesha," A.J. said, knowing he had started Julianna’s questions and realizing Keesha had never shared the details of the accident he had caused with their daughter. He wanted the truth about Jason to be told. "If it’s okay with you, I think our daughter should be told about Jason and how I changed his life and his relationship with you forever."