Page 64 of Secret

"Oh, I—" Jack began.

"It's all good, DJ," Wilson assured. When he had come to live with them, he was too old—and it was too weird—for him to call either of them Dad or Daddy, so they went with DJ and DD for short. "I know what y'all do when I ain't around. Just keep it quiet... and keep it clean."

He shot Jack a melodramatic eye roll, and Demarco burst out laughing.

"Yes, sir," Jack said—part jest, part serious.

"Did I miss the show?" Wilson asked.

"You didn't miss a thing," said Demarco. "It's still on there. You can watch it tomorrow after school. But I'm warning you... it's dumb."

"OK. Goodnight then." He turned, and headed back toward his bedroom adding: "It's for real this time. I promise."

"Goodnight, sweetie," Demarco said. "I'll get you up in the morning."

Jack was watching Demarco.

"What?"

"You. You make a great Dad."

"I think you're pretty damn good yourself. You also make a good...Daddy."

"Now that's what I want to hear."

"Let's go to bed."

They rose and Demarco headed down the hall. Jack stopped in the kitchen long enough to put his plate in the sink. When reaching for the light above the stove, he noticed the tiny flashing red light on the phone indicating a message. He pressed play.

Moments later, as Demarco was removing his shirt, Jack came into the bedroom. "Hey, D... do you know someone named Sheronda?"

22

"Sheronda Fienes! Are you fucking kidding me?" Alec said. They were Skyping and Demarco could see Tyler cooking in the background.

"The one and only."

"How did she get your number?"

"Really? Sheronda Fienes calls me and that's your first question."

"Wow. She's like... television gold."

"Platinum, at this point."

"So, what did she say?"

"Her message was very polite, professional. She told me that she read an advance copy of the book and that she would like to speak with me... and she left her number."

"You have Sheronda Fienes' phone number?"

"Yes. And no... you can't have it."

"I didn't ask."

"You were thinking about it."

"Yeah..." Alec paused. "I was. So, what happened when you called?"