Chapter 6: The Mother Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Nobody moved.
Monique stood in the hallway holding a framed photograph of herself and Dray, taken at a family barbecue. She had been smiling in the picture, her hand resting on his chest, while an older woman stood beside them with one arm around Dray's shoulders.
The woman wore a yellow dress and a wide-brimmed sunhat.
She was unmistakably alive.
Monique looked from the photograph to Dray.
“You told me she died.””
Dray's face had lost all color.
“I can explain.””
“You said you lost your mother when you were twenty-two.””
“I know what I said.””
“You told me you couldn't stand Mother's Day because it reminded you of her.””
His jaw tightened.
“Monique, please.””
She turned the photograph around.
“Then who is this woman?””
Jordan sat down on the edge of the couch.
For a moment, Tiana thought she might faint.
Keisha moved toward her.
“Jordan? You need some water?””
Jordan shook her head, staring at the floor.
Tiana turned to Dray.
“Start talking.””
He looked at the three women.
The afternoon light had shifted across the living room, leaving the far corner in shadow. Outside, a car door slammed somewhere down the street.
Dray swallowed.
“My mother is alive.””
Monique let out a sharp, disbelieving breath.
“We can see that.””
“I said I can explain.””
“Then explain!”” Jordan snapped.
Dray flinched.
He looked toward Jordan, and something in his expression suggested that her reaction frightened him more than the others.
“You met her,” Tiana said.
Jordan nodded slowly.
“Four months ago.””
“And you knew she was his mother?””
“Yes.””
Tiana glanced at Monique.
“Did he tell you she was dead?””
Jordan looked at her.
“No. He told me his mother lived in Georgia. He said they spoke every Sunday and that she was excited to meet me.””
Monique's fingers tightened around the frame.
“He told me he had no family left.””
Dray shook his head.
“I was trying to keep things separate.””
Keisha stared at him.
“Your mother is not a secret girlfriend, Dray. She's your mother.””
He looked away.
Tiana felt a chill creep up her arms.
She had known Dray for eleven months. He had met her friends, attended her cousin's graduation, and spent Thanksgiving at her aunt's house. He'd told stories about his childhood, about growing up in a small house with a mother who worked two jobs, about the way she'd taught him to cook when he was a teenager.
But he had never introduced Tiana to his family.
He always had a reason.
His mother was busy.
His mother was traveling.
His mother wasn't ready to meet anyone.
At one point, he'd told Tiana that his relationship with his family was complicated and asked her not to pressure him.
She had respected that boundary.
Now she wondered whether she'd been respecting a story he'd invented to keep her away from the truth.
“Why did you tell Monique your mother was dead?”” Tiana asked.
Dray's shoulders sagged.
“Because she kept asking to meet my family.””
Monique stared at him.
“So you killed your mother in a story because I wanted to meet her?””
“I didn't mean it like that.””
“How did you mean it?””
He rubbed his face.
“I didn't know what else to say.””
“You could have said you weren't ready!””
“I know.””
“You could have told me the truth!””
“I know!””
His voice echoed through the living room.
Monique stepped back.
Dray immediately lowered his tone.
“I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled.””
She looked at him without expression.
“You don't get points for noticing after you do it.””
Tiana glanced toward Jordan.
“What happened when you met her?””
Jordan took a long breath.
“She invited me to dinner. She was lovely. She showed me pictures of Dray as a little boy.
She asked about my job and my family. She told me she hoped we'd be happy together.””
Her eyes filled.
“Then she asked when Dray was going to bring me to meet his fiancée.””
Tiana's heart stopped.
“His what?””
Jordan looked at her.
“His fiancée.””
Dray took a step forward.
“Jordan, don't.””
Jordan rose from the couch.
“No. You told us to ask questions. We're asking.””
She turned toward Tiana.
“His mother said he'd been engaged before. She thought I knew.””
Tiana felt the room tilt.
“Engaged to whom?””
Jordan shook her head.
“I don't know. I asked Dray afterward, and he told me his mother had misunderstood. He said he'd once talked about marriage with someone, but it had never been serious.””
Dray nodded quickly.
“That's true.””
Tiana stared at him.
“You told me you'd never been engaged.””
“I wasn't officially engaged.””
Jordan laughed bitterly.
“You told me the same thing after I asked.””
Monique looked at him.
“And what did you tell me?””
He hesitated.
She answered for him.
“You said you didn't believe in marriage because you'd never seen a healthy one.””
Dray closed his eyes.
Monique shook her head.
“You told me you were scared of repeating your parents' mistakes. You made me feel special because I was the first person who made you consider getting married.””
Tiana pressed a hand to her mouth.
Dray had told her almost exactly the same thing.
He'd described himself as a man who had never believed in marriage until he met her. He'd said she made commitment feel safe.
She had thought it was one of the most intimate things anyone had ever said to her.
Now she understood that he had used the same confession to create a sense of destiny with each woman.
“You told me I changed your mind about marriage,” Tiana whispered.
Dray stepped closer.
“You did.””
“Then why did you tell them the same thing?””
“Because I meant it.””
“How can you mean the same promise to three different people?””
He stared at her.
For several seconds, his expression looked almost angry.
Then he said, “Because I didn't think any of you would find out.””
The room went silent.
Dray seemed to realize what he'd admitted only after the words had left his mouth.
He looked at Monique.
Then Jordan.
Then Tiana.
“I didn't mean—”
“Yes, you did,” Jordan said.
Her voice was quiet now.
“You thought we would stay separate. You thought you could keep telling us what we wanted to hear because we would never compare stories.””
Dray said nothing.
Tiana felt the final pieces falling into place.
The ring.
The bracelet.
The calendar.
The dead mother.
The invented history of failed relationships.
He hadn't merely hidden other women.
He had built an entirely different version of himself for each one, changing his past whenever the truth became inconvenient.
And the most frightening part was how ordinary it had all looked from the outside.
A thoughtful boyfriend.
A hardworking man.
Someone who remembered birthdays, brought flowers, and talked about the future.
Someone who could look a woman in the eyes and make a lie feel like a confession.
Keisha took Tiana's hand.
“We need to go.””
Tiana nodded.
But before she could step toward the door, Jordan spoke.
“There's one more thing.””
Everyone turned toward her.
Jordan wiped her cheeks.
“When I met his mother, she showed me a picture of Dray at a family dinner. She said she'd taken it the previous weekend.””
Dray stiffened.
Jordan looked directly at him.
“There were two women in that picture with you.””
Monique's eyes widened.
“Who?””
“I don't know. His mother said one was an old friend and the other was someone he'd been seeing.””
Dray shook his head.
“That's not what she said.””
Jordan ignored him.
“She also told me she was worried about him. She said he'd been telling different stories to different people for a long time.””
Tiana stared at Dray.
“What does that mean?””
He looked furious now.
“My mother doesn't understand my relationships.””
“Then call her,” Tiana said.
Dray blinked.
“What?””
“Call your mother.””
“No.””
The refusal came instantly.
Tiana folded her arms.
“Why not?””
“Because she's not part of this.””
Monique gave a small, incredulous laugh.
“You made her part of this when you told me she was dead.””
Jordan stepped toward him.
“And when you used her to convince me you were serious about marriage.””
Dray shook his head.
“You don't understand my family.””
“Then let us hear it from her,” Tiana replied.
For a long moment, he stood motionless.
Then he pulled out his phone.
His fingers moved across the screen, and he put the call on speaker.
It rang once.
Twice.
A woman answered.
“Hello, baby?””
Dray closed his eyes.
“Hey, Mom.””
His voice sounded younger suddenly. Softer. Like the boy in the photographs Jordan had described.
“Is everything okay?”” his mother asked.
“No. I need to ask you something.””
“What's wrong?””
He glanced at the three women.
“Do you remember Jordan?””
A pause.
“Of course I remember Jordan. Sweet girl. Is she coming over again?””
Jordan covered her mouth.
Dray swallowed.
“Mom, did you tell her I was engaged before?””
His mother sighed.
“Baby, I told her what you told me.””
Tiana felt her heart hammer.
“What did he tell you?”” she asked.
Dray's head snapped toward her.
“Don't.””
But the voice on the phone had already heard.
“Who is that?””
Tiana stepped closer.
“My name is Tiana.””
Silence.
Then Dray's mother said something that made all three women freeze.
“Tiana? Oh, my goodness. You're the young lady he told me he was marrying.””
Tiana's fingers went numb.
Jordan slowly lowered her hand.
Monique stared at the phone.
Dray whispered, “Mom, stop.””
But his mother continued.
“I thought you were coming to dinner next month. Dray said he'd already given you a ring.””
Tiana looked at the velvet box on the table.
“He hasn't given me anything,” she said.
Another silence.
Then Dray's mother spoke, her voice suddenly sharp.
“Draymond, what have you done?””
He looked at the floor.
“Mom, please.””
“Don't you please me. I asked you about that girl in the photograph last month, and you told me she was your fiancée. You said you were going to marry her after you finished sorting out your finances.””
Monique's face crumpled.
Jordan looked as if she'd been struck.
Tiana could barely breathe.
“Which girl?”” she asked.
Dray's mother paused.
“The young woman you brought to my house last month. The one with the curly hair.””
Everyone turned toward Monique.
Monique shook her head slowly.
“No,” she whispered.
“I haven't met his mother.””
Dray's mother went quiet.
Then she said, “Oh, dear. Then who did he bring?””
Dray reached for the phone.
Tiana stepped between him and the table.
“Let her finish.””
His mother exhaled shakily.
“I have photographs from that dinner. Dray told me he was finally ready to settle down, and I was so happy for him. But when I asked about the other women whose names he kept mentioning, he said I was confused.””
Tiana felt a cold knot form in her stomach.
“Other women?””
“Yes. He said they were old friends. I wanted to believe him.””
Dray's voice rose.
“Mom, hang up.””
His mother ignored him.
“Tiana, listen to me. There's something you need to know about the woman he was engaged to before. She called me last week.””
Tiana looked at Jordan.
Jordan's face had gone pale again.
“Why did she call you?”” Tiana asked.
Dray lunged for the phone.
His mother spoke faster.
“She said she had found out he was still using her name, and she wanted me to warn the next woman before—”
The call abruptly disconnected.
For a second, the only sound was the faint buzz of the phone in Dray's hand.
Tiana stared at him.
“Call her back.””
“No.””
“Call her back, Dray.””
He backed away.
Jordan stepped toward him.
“Who was your fiancée?””
He said nothing.
Monique's voice trembled.
“And why is she still involved in your life?””
Dray looked at the three women, and his expression finally revealed something worse than embarrassment.
Recognition.
He knew exactly who they were talking about.
Then Tiana's phone vibrated.
An unknown number had sent her a message.
**I heard you finally found the other women. My name is Vanessa. Dray was engaged to me before you met him.
If you want to know why he keeps doing this, meet me tomorrow. Come alone.**
May you like
A second message appeared before Tiana could respond.
*And whatever he tells you, do not let him see the photographs.*
