Why Me? My Pleasure, My Pain

By Tameka Alston

Why Me? is a novel about a young educated lady named Kate who had the life that she always dreamed of. She had two georgeous daughters, a loving husband, and the career of her dreams. Until, one day tragedy struck and Kates husband was in a car crash that instantly killed him. The death took its toll on the family, and Kate gave up on ever finding love again.

Months later, Kate was pursued by a young man named Jeff. He was nice, handsome, and seemed to have all of the qualities that Kate admired in a man. Kate was very resistant at first, but gave in to Jeffs charming ways. After dating for a while Jeff popped the big question, and Kate happily accepted.

Shortly after marriage, Kate slowly started to see changes in Jeff that she had never seen in the past. Little did she know the secret past that he kept hidden from her. From the beginning of the relationship, Jeff had been deceiving Kate and her daughters. As Kate started to see more changes in her husband, she realized that her family was in danger. Eager to save her family, Kate discovered the unthinkable which threw a monkey wrench in her plans of rescue. Did Kate make it in time to save her family?

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: May 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9781475925456

Tameka Alston

Tameka Alston, currently a resident in Charlotte N.C. pursuing my Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. I have been married for three years to a great man, and currently do not have any kids. I have been inspired to write by my husband, and I am excited to see where this road takes me. “Why Me” is the first novel that I have ever written, and I have also started on my second novel. One day I wish to be a famous author because of my work. I have three brothers and two sisters who are all very excited about “Why Me”. They have given me constant encourangement, and I am very thankful for them all.

Book preview

Chapter 1

BLINDED

It was the beginning of summer, and the neighborhood looked beautiful. The flowers were blooming, the sky was blue, and kids were running up and down the sidewalks. Our neighborhood was surrounded by woods. The smell of the honeysuckles and the sweet sounds of bees buzzing were the best part of living here. There were rose bushes on every corner, and the sight of the beautiful houses were the talk of the town.

After putting in several hours at the hair salon, I couldn’t wait to get home to my kids. I quickly unwrapped my hair so that it could fall into place. The brown highlights that I put in matched my brown eyes. I sometimes touched my hair up at the shop after the customers were gone.

On the drive home, I decided to stop by the grocery store to pick up some sweets for my girls. They always expected something, so I didn’t want to disappoint them. The drive home was only minutes away from the grocery store. I pulled into my driveway and noticed my 6 and 11-year-old daughters sitting on the front porch. They had looks on their faces that I had never seen before. I grabbed the two bags of groceries out of the back seat before I got out of the car.

Hey! You two! I missed you today. I’m so happy to be home with my babies! I said, in a loud cheerful voice. My 6-year-old ran and wrapped her arms around my waist. That was the way she hugged me when I came home. Hey! Cassie! I missed you! I grabbed her hand as I got closer to my 11-year-old named Maggie. Maggie had a sour look on her face that let me know that they had another bad day with their stepdad.

They had a weird relationship with him. At times they seemed to be very distant when he was around. Maybe it was because they were still sad because of their father’s death around that time of the year four years before.

Hey, what’s up? Why the long faces? I asked. Maggie looked and rolled her eyes. I’ve never known an 11-year-old with such a bad attitude. She had counseling, and it seemed as if it didn’t put a dent in her problem. (Whatever, that might have been). I had tried, but she just didn’t want to talk to me. I had given up for a while and just let things be the way that they were. So, we decided to go into the house.

Walking into the front door I felt a sense of ease because I was happy to be home. Jeff! Jeff! Baby, come give us a hand with the groceries! I yelled so that Jeff could hear me.

"Ok, he said, walking out of our bedroom. He came and grabbed the groceries out of my hands and placed them on the kitchen table while giving me a kiss on the lips. He had this glow in his eyes that indicated he was happy I was home.

The girls didn’t want to do anything that I told them to do today. He looked at me in the eyes waiting for a response.

Maggie screamed, He’s lying! I didn’t like when she talked about her stepdad that way. She had gotten completely out of control.

I don’t want to hear anything you have to say, so go to your room! I yelled. Being around Maggie and Jeff at once made me realize how disrespectful she had become. Before remarrying, as a single parent, I tried to raise her to be a respectful child. Having two parents could have made a big difference, and sometimes I beat myself up over that. I punished her when she talked back to him but it was getting old. She had gotten used to that. There were several things in her room to keep her entertained anyway. Nothing at all seemed to help.

As she walked to her room, I noticed the look on her face. It was a look of fear and it scared me. I didn’t know what else to do. I felt like I was losing my child. Seeing her become more aggressive every day bothered the hell out of me. She slammed her room door so hard that my big beautiful framed pictures fell off of the wall and broke. I was furious because one was my favorite picture. It was a beautiful scene of a rose garden. There was something about that picture that reminded me of my grandmother, and Maggie ruined it.

I looked at Jeff and said, I am so tired of the way this girl carries on! Why can’t she act like her sister? I wished that Maggie had more of a positive attitude like her sister. Cassie was one of the most cheerful kids I had ever seen. Her dark-colored eyes and short straight hair reminded me of myself as a child. My mother used to call me the happy one. I was always happy and excited about something. Learning to cook with mom, going to school, and having summer breaks. It seemed as if nothing got my spirits down as a child.

I wanted the same for Maggie. She was a beautiful young lady who resembled her biological father. She had light brown eyes and dimples that carried on for days. He hair texture was also straight and she wore it that way very often. Being so beautiful on the outside didn’t matter because Maggie had a bad attitude. I had seen a dramatic change in her over the years, and I didn’t like what I was seeing. She wasn’t only rude to Jeff but to anyone else who crossed her path. There were plenty of complaints coming from school, and even my parents realized how sour she had become. I didn’t know exactly what I had to do, but I sure had to find a solution to whatever her problem was.

Chapter 2

GROWING PAINS

After the episode the day before, I decided to take my family to the park for a little outing. It was a way for everyone to relieve tension. Going to the park wasn’t something that we did a lot, but I thought that it would be great for that day. On the way to the park everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Even Maggie had a partial smile on her face.

Mom, I’m so happy to finally get out of the house, Maggie said. I’m so tired of staring at those darn school books. It was starting to give me a headache.

Well, we should do things like this more often. I think it would do the family some good to get out, Jeff responded and leaned back in the passenger seat.

That would be great, and I promise we’ll start doing more things like this, I said to Maggie, ready to get out of the car.

As I pulled up to the park, I saw that there were not too many people there. Roosevelt Park was often packed with kids and hikers. So, it was a shock to see it look so empty. It was one of the prettiest parks in town. They had a little play area for the kids, a sitting area for adults, a hiking trail, and a beautiful lake that Jeff and the girls fished in from time to time. We all got out of the car and separated, going in different directions.

You girls be careful around that lake. Especially you, Cassie, I said, walking towards the bench to have a seat. While the girls went to play, Jeff and I sat down to catch up. During the week we didn’t really get to talk as much as we wanted. Since I worked most of the time, and he worked at a regular 9 to 5 job, we had to take some time out to enjoy each other. Jeff was a life saver. He went to work and then watched the girls when they got home from school. Their afterschool activities ended at 5:00, just in time for Jeff to get there and pick them up after work. We had only been married for three months, and the girls just didn’t seem to like him that much.

At first everything was great. We used to go on dates and take the girls places together. They seemed to like him then. After we got married, they started to change towards him. Cassie was a good child, but she was sometimes resistant to the instructions he gave her, also. I guess getting used to him had to take some time. I figured that he would grow on them and desperately wanted that.

Well did you sleep good last night? Jeff asked me, while messing with his ingrown fingernail.

Not so good. I just don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. Maggie is just getting worse and worse. It all started when we got married. Maybe she feels like we moved too fast. Her father had a good relationship with them and I just think that she hasn’t let go of the fact that he’s gone, I said, while looking at the ground.

Jeff looked at me with his beautiful brown eyes and said, Maybe the girl is just growing up. You know how girls are, especially girls around her age. They start to think that they are grown. You just have to remind them every now and then. If it makes you feel any better, I’ll talk to her for you. You take Cassie out for some ice cream one day and leave us two alone so that I could get to the bottom of the problem. I think she would talk to me if there isn’t anyone around to interrupt. He looked sure of the thought.

Well I guess so, but you have to be easy on her. She is just a little girl, I replied.

"Kate, I know what to do, so just follow my lead. Have I ever let you down? If you want me to be a father figure to them, you have to let me lead sometimes and not always expect