The Retreat Read Online Free PDF

Jamal. It was confirmed. The mystery had been solved, and like many mysteries, the truth left Jamal and Chantel more confused than they were before. He was not sure if ignorance was bliss, but what he was sure of was that his world would never be the same.
    â€œDaddy.” Jamir ran from his room and sat on Jamal’s lap.
    Jamal and Jamir both had bronze skin. They both had jet-black hair. Jamir was everything that Jamal desired in a son, and for Jamir he would give the world. But no matter what Jamal would sacrifice for two-year-old Jamir, he would never be his son.
    â€œHigh five!” Jamal stuck his hand out.
    Jamir smacked his hand with glee.
    â€œHere you go.” Jamal gave Jamir some building blocks from a playpen near the TV.
    He sat Jamir down on the carpet. Jamal sat down behind Jamir and pointed to the block he wanted him to pick up. Jamir reached for a building block and played with it. Jamal placed a kiss on top of Jamir’s head. While Jamir’s attention was on the building blocks, Jamal turned his sights toward Chantel, and followed her into the kitchen. She’d retreated to the kitchen to weep. With her back turned, Jamal approached her and wrapped his arms round her waist. Chantel turned around and embraced him. Her damp face pressed against Jamal’s beard.
    â€œHow could this happen?” Jamal whispered.
    â€œI don’t know,” Chantel whimpered.
    Jamal broke away from Chantel, but he maintained his reserved tone. “It doesn’t make sense. You were six weeks pregnant when Clay died, and you said that you two had stopped sleeping with each other two months prior.”
    â€œThat’s because he liked to sleep with any little skank who winked at him. I didn’t want to risk catching something.”
    â€œMeanwhile, you and I continued to have sex, so you must have a messed-up calendar.”
    â€œI didn’t, I’m sure of it.” Chantel diverted her eyes.
    If Chantel was sure, then Jamal was certain that he had been kept out of the loop. Was it possible that Clay was the father? Yes, but the improbability of that scenario was what had Jamal perplexed. For two years, he’d allowed the death of Clay and the life of Jamir to blind him from seeking the truth. For two years, Jamir’s physical features favored his mother more, and Jamal could barely find anything that resembled him. Now, with so much at stake, he had to probe and get to the core of the issue. Jamal could not go into the next phase of his life with doubt.
    â€œLet me ask you something.” Jamal paused to see Chantel’s eyes lock in with his. “You knew, didn’t you?”
    Jamal watched Chantel’s eyes and saw that she did not respond in outrage, but stood there frozen, as if she was searching for a lie to tell but had drawn a blank.
    â€œYou did, didn’t you?” Her silence took the wind out of Jamal as he sat down on the chair next to the kitchen counter.
    â€œI knew that more than likely you were not the father. That was wrong and I’d understand if you didn’t want to have anything to do with me or my son. But everything I did, whether foul or not, I did for my son.” Chantel pointed at Jamir, who was still in the next room, playing.
    â€œI didn’t want my son to grow up hearing about his father being killed in the streets. I would rather have his father be a hardworking man of God. That’s the example I wanted for Jamir.”
    Chantel was not a churchgoer, but she always respected Jamal and his faith. Despite her deception, her reasoning was well placed.
    â€œI’m sorry; I didn’t want to hurt you. I just hoped that maybe things would work out.” In a faint voice, she added, “Why is this happening?”
    Jamal clenched Chantel closer. His heart did not even register the fact that she had deceived him. He knew that deep down Chantel never wanted to hurt him. She wanted the best for her son, and