She had spent forty minutes telling Reginald stories about Jaylen as a child while Jaylen sat beside her begging silently for mercy.
Reginald stopped.
“Mrs. Taylor?”
Monica looked at him.
“Hello, Mr. Cole.”
Jaylen saw the red marks on her arm.
His expression changed.
“What happened?”
Monica shook her head.
“Let’s go home.”
“No.”
“Baby.”
“Tell me.”
She looked through the bank window.
Jaylen followed her gaze.
He saw the vegetables.
The shoe.
Then his mother told him.
Not dramatically.
Not cleanly.
The words came in pieces.
The check.
The questions.
The accusation.
The account restriction.
The torn paper.
The groceries.
The guard.
When she reached the sentence, “They said you couldn’t be my son,” Jaylen’s face became completely still.
Reginald listened without interruption.
When Monica finished, he asked only one question.
“Did anyone offer you medical attention?”
“No.”
Reginald buttoned his jacket.
“Jaylen.”
“Yes, sir.”
“We go in calmly.”
Jaylen looked at his mother.
His jaw was tight.
Reginald repeated:
“Calmly.”
Jaylen nodded.
He removed his jacket and placed it around Monica’s shoulders.
“Stay here.”
“No.”
“Mama.”
“I’m not staying on this sidewalk like somebody put me out of my own life.”
Jaylen looked at her.
There was Clarence in that expression.
The stubbornness.
He sighed.
“All right.”
He offered his arm.
Monica took it.
The three of them walked through the door together.
The lobby changed instantly.
Devon looked up first.
He recognized Jaylen.
Then Reginald.
His face went pale.
Karen turned.
Her automatic smile appeared.
“Good afternoon. Welcome to Ridgewood—”
Then she saw Jaylen.
Her mouth stopped moving.
Her eyes flicked behind her.
Poster.
Jaylen.
Poster.
Jaylen.
Monica.
The relationship arrived in pieces.
Jaylen walked to the center of the lobby.
He bent.
Picked up his mother’s shoe.
Then he gathered the torn pieces of the check.
Only after doing that did he approach Karen’s window.
“Good afternoon.”
Karen swallowed.
“Mr.—”
“Jaylen Taylor.”
He placed the torn check on the counter.
“Senior Vice President, Hallmark Financial Group.”
Reginald stepped beside him.
“Reginald Cole.”
Karen’s face emptied.
“Our chief executive officer,” Jaylen added.