THE GREAT PRETENDER Read Free Page A

make big plans…I figure we can take a long vacation to spend solid family time together.” Reggie spooned some rice. “You know, catch up on lost times.”
    How can you make up for ten whole years of “lost times” ? Olivia thought.
    “Well, Dad, I have a lot of things to get done in the next few weeks. You know, with school and all.”
    “Oh, hold on there, Olivia. Are you telling me that you won’t be able to find two minutes to spend with your family? We haven’t really been able to spend much time together—me, you and Valerie—in years. You’ve got to make the time, Liv. You can always do some homework and studying on vacation if need be.”
    “I don’t know, Dad. I’m seriously busy. I have quite a few projects to do, and I have to spend a lot of time at the library doing research. I just won’t have the time. You should be able to understand, right?” With that, she took her plate from the microwave and left the kitchen.
    Reginald watched her go. As usual, he almost called her back, wanting to have it out with her, but he was afraid to. He feared the litany of accusations that may come out of her mouth if he broached the subject of her attitude toward him. He knew why Olivia avoided him.
    Up until now, Reggie had resigned to leaving things the way they were, to accept the change in Olivia. What was the use of trying to make things better when one day they could easily become so much worse?
    He looked out the kitchen window and noticed that the rain was still coming down in sheets. The weather mirrored his mood…
    He needed to see Franklin. He needed to unload some of this on him, bounce his plans off his number one confederate.
    I’ll call Frank first thing tomorrow .
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter 3
     
     
     
    T he following morning, Franklin Bevins decided to take a personal day from work. He needed a break, a day with nothing to do and no obligations. He just wanted to stay home and relax.
    He thought about calling Theresa but changed his mind, thinking: Why be bothered with anybody ?
    He watched some of the morning talk shows and then called his office around ten a.m. to check messages. There was one from Reginald, saying he was back in town and needed to talk.
    After listening to the other messages, he reclined in his favorite beige chair and thought about Reggie…
     
 
     

Lauderdale Lakes, Florida
September 1982
     
    Sixteen-year-old Franklin Bevins paced the sidewalk outside Brooklyn’s pink-and-white apartment building on Twenty-ninth Street. He was livid. He had been dating Brooklyn for the past three months, and had just found out that she was dumping him for his best friend.
    “You and my goddamn best friend! You’re screwing Reggie! I don’t fuckin’ believe this shit!” Frank screamed.
    They were attracting too much attention. Two little old ladies opened their front doors and peeped out, a couple of guys hanging out under the stairs to avoid the sun stopped talking to watch and listen, and a young married couple looked on from the window of their ’75 Ford.
    “I’m sorry, Frank!” sixteen-year-old Brooklyn Speights screamed. “I’m sorry! I really like Reggie. You knew all along that Reggie was the one I really wanted.”
    “Oh, so you’ve just been balling me as a one-way ticket to Reggie?” Franklin’s voice dripped with anger.
    Shit! This can’t be happening, he thought. Not Brooklyn, Reggie—any girl but Brooklyn!
    Frank mentally calmed himself down. He could not lose Brooklyn; she meant everything to him. She was the first girl that he had ever felt this way about, and he felt like he loved her more than anything—even his idol, John Lennon! When he and Reggie first met her in the neighborhood diner, he had noticed that she’d shown more interest in Reggie, but he thought that had all changed these past few months. He and Reggie often sampled the same girls, but Reginald should’ve known that Brooklyn Speights