ANOTHER KIND OF DIAMOND (56 page)

Actually, It’s like both minds worked in the unity they were about to achieve once more because Isabel’s feeling wasn’t apart from what Carissa was feeling. She had been briefed earlier by some hospital staffs and a Police Officer on the imminent visit and it got her really excited too.

In the past few weeks her health had worsened because of all that was going on around a body already weakened by drugs and disease, yet the news of her former roommate’s visit did a lot to lift a dying spirit and with that the body.

Eventually, Carissa and her family got to their destination; her husband dropped her and Christiana and drove off.

Like someone in a trance she wondered towards the hospital with her daughter tailing behind, got to the Nursing Station and introduced herself. I’m Carissa Anderson here to see Miss Isabel Diamond.

Oh! We’ve been expecting you, the nurse at the station said excitedly. She is been waiting for you all day and seemed pretty much in high spirit for this visit. Are you sisters?

Yes! She is the only sister I have, Carissa answered.

Oh that’s great!

She was informed of the hospital protocol and she with her daughter dressed up as required by policy. Come with me, the nurse said and mother and daughter began walking towards Isabel’s room. Just by the entrance she was stopped by an officer for a run of her ID and a little interview followed after which she was allowed to walk in.

That moment Carissa stepped into the hospital room where Isabel’s frill body laid helplessly on a bed, would be better expressed in a photo album. The sight of her former roommate left her speechless for a brief moment as she struggled to figure out what was going on. She has lost so much flesh and looked so different from the robust, healthy and happy roommate she used to live with that Carissa was close to tears but managed her feelings well for the sake of her daughter and Isabel too.

Isabel! She called out, and like her strength returned at the instant, her voice gained strength and she managed to shout out, Carissa!

Carissa tried to hug her but she backed off. What’s wrong with you? Why can’t I give you a hug? Ooh my God! Why are you here in this hospital? She asked with genuine concern.

Grab a seat first! Look at you! You’ve changed a lot Carissa! You actually look so good that I almost didn’t recognize you. I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I’m right now. For real! And who is the young girl with you.

That’s Christiana my daughter.

She looks just like her mom! She is very pretty!

Thank you!

How old are you Isabel addressed Christiana directly.

Ten! The girl said.

Great! Carissa you already got yourself a big girl, ha? I’m so happy for you. Christina! Isabel called out and the girl moved closer to her. Listen to your mom when she talks to you and do exactly as she tells you, okay? And please don’t live the kind of life I lived. Your mom will tell you more.

You’ll be ok! I’ll be praying for you mam! Christiana responded.

Isabel, don’t say that! You were never a bad person! Not with Carissa! We simply found ourselves in situations and tried to do the best we could.

I don’t know about that Carissa? If I lived my life right, do you think I’ll be here on this bed right now?

Oh stop blaming yourself, okay? That doesn’t make it better. After all is the righteous that bears more of earthly burden.

Ok! If you say so! I see you are raising your daughter good and that makes me happy.

I try to do the best I can for her, Carissa said.

That’s really great! Just yesterday we were kids ourselves. Those days of running around and doing stupid stuff were soon over, right? And now we’re all grownups.

I know! Carissa reacted. How time goes, ha? You don’t know it but it just flies away right before your eyes. That’s why nobody can afford to mess around too much, understand? Get it right from the begging otherwise the catching up stuff is hard like I am feeling the heat right now. I’m now a married mama with two kids and struggling to get my education and that makes it harder, understand? You have to take care of family business and your schooling too. Even with all the help I get from my husband, I still find it hard.

Carissa the way things are with me now I really wish I’ve someone to call my own kid you know, Isabel said

Don’t let that bother you right now, okay? It’s not too late for you Isabel. You can still have your babies when you get out of here.

You may wanna let the nurse take Christiana to the guest room so we can talk, Isabel continued.

A nurse was called in and she takes Christiana out of the room. Her mama followed to make sure she gets comfortable and after that returned to Isabel.

Carissa, I’m never gonna make babies, Isabel said as soon as she took her seat.

Don’t say that Isabel.

I’m telling you as a matter of fact.

Why?

I am HIV positive and at the first stage of the full blown thing.

Although Carissa received the news as a big shock, she struggled real hard to play it down and won. After a short pause she said, even that is not as bad as it used to be when it was first discovered. Nowadays people live with AIDS and make babies that are free from the disease. So you see! You can have your babies when you get out of here!

I know! But who is the guy that wants to be with me like this! Isabel asked.

Don’t worry about it, okay? How is the treatment working for you? Carissa said.

I guess they are all doing what they can, but it’s too late now.

And how do you feel?

Bad! There is a feeling of fatigue that bugs me down constantly. I can’t eat much anymore and find it hard to sleep. My body just aches with pain all the time and I don’t know how long this gonna last. Look at how much weight I’ve lost. Look! You know me Carissa before I’ turned to this. So thin her hand can go round her waist two times, that’s not the Isabel you once knew. I don’t even want to continue to live like this, get what I’m saying? ‘Cause I don’t understand the meaning of a life that depends on medications for survival. All these drugs I take give me their own problems too but what else can I do.

It’s ok babe! Things happen to people, understand? What you need right now is courage like you have always been.

I’m doing the best I can under a bad situation. Anyways, Carissa, I know I disappointed you by my actions and must have brought so much hardship on you whit the way I left suddenly. Don’t think it didn’t bother me, ‘cause I thought about you all the time but the thing is there was no way I could have stopped what happened. I apologize to you for that! Baby I’m so sorry!

I accept that whole heartedly babe but I still wanna know what really happened? What on earth could have made you leave without saying bye?

Okay! Listen! What I’ m about to say now will probably be a little hard on you but please show understanding and do forgive me!

Everything is now in the past, isn’t it? So nothing really matters any more. Actually what I seek is some sort of closure. That’s all!

Okay! It’s not so easy for me to do this but you’ve got the right to know. I shot Teri! Isabel said.

No! You didn’t! Carissa reacted.

Yes! I did it!

How Isabel?

It was at the party and he walked in uninvited with gun in his hands. I know you didn’t see any of the things that happened that night, but he was at my show.

I know that for sure ‘cause that’s where he was killed, continued Carissa.

Yeah! Then he just walked in and started shooting everywhere and I’m like he is here to get me because I was thinking about all that shit he was saying when we asked him to leave the last time he was in our apartment, you remember?

Yeah! I remember everything!

So I came from behind and shot him.

And why didn’t you tell me this then Isabel? Why? I tried to talk to you about it all but you held back. Why? You should have told me the truth from start and we could have worked out something and nobody would have known what happened. You know I was ready to do anything for you. I mean, I’m truly sorry for Teri but there was nothing I could have done to help a dead man, but you, I could’ve still helped. Baby I thought we trusted each order enough to confine in each other or was I wrong? Come to think of it in a more realistic way, it was actually his fault, understand? He chose to come to a place he wasn’t supposed to be ‘cause no one invited him to the party so he came on his own and he came with a gun and actually used it because he wanted to spoil. That for sure was recipe for disaster. Teri caused his death by himself ‘cause the way I’m seeing it, you did what you’ve got to do to protect your own so he deserved what he got. To be honest to you, I probably would have done the same in your shoes.

I’m happy the way you took the whole thing. In a way I was also trying to protect you, understand? I didn’t want to bring you into all the mess ‘cause I understood how bad it was. What if I told you and the Police found out you knew something, you would be in the same shit as I was and I didn’t want all that happen to you.

Is that why you left without saying goodbye?

You know the Police started asking a whole lot of questions and they got really nosey and when they put out the reward money I panicked.

The money and all that didn’t mean anything unless there was someone who saw you did it.

Someone saw me alright.

Who?

Gary! Isabel continued. He saw it all and then he was gonna join the LAPD. I couldn’t imagine how he was gonna be in the Police and wouldn’t say some, understand? I was really scared, so I chose to bolt ‘cause the idea of going to jail that early in my life was unthinkable.

No wonder the guy came looking for you at my place some years back. He showed me a gun that looked exactly like that one you threatened Teri with that night and wanted to know if it belongs to you.

Yeah! That’s my gun ‘cause I hid it in his place. I didn’t know where else to keep it since I couldn’t carry it around with me all the time especially as I and Wallis planned to move to another country.

Is that what happened. I was surprised he had the gun at all! And where were you and Wallis all this time?

We went to some country in Africa.

Africa?

Yeah!

Wow! How was life like over there?

Awesome! I never saw any place so beautiful. It’s a little bit more quite than what we have in LA but as lovely. It was a wonderful experience for me out there and I’m so, thankful to Wallis for that. Anyways we were living in a country called South Africa all these years.

Wow! Tell me something! How did you guys get the money for all that? I know we were struggling at the time so where did all the money for all the travel come from? Wallis himself had nothing! Remember we used to help him out with food and stuff sometimes, so how did you guys manage?

He did’ it! I mean Wallis did it all. Surprised, ha?

You mean he had money and we didn’t know? Carissa asked.

May be its better we don’t talk about that part, Isabel reacted.

Ok! Ok! Carissa conceded.

Anyways, I and Wallis eventually got married and all that but it didn’t work out so we divorced. Then I moved in with this guy who turned out a mean and abusive sort of a guy and that too wasn’t working either. And then all of a sudden something really bad happened!

Sorry to cut you short. Where is Wallis now?

He is here in LA too ‘cause they got him the same time I was taken but he is fine. Oh! He’s doing so well for himself over there. He opened up this huge super store that is well stocked with everything you can imagine and is doing really fantastic. He got involved in all sorts of charity work through a church also and I heard they built some orphanages and are continuing to do a lot of other good stuff. He is done really great for himself! He even got himself another wife in a South African girl. Actually both of them are in the US right now.

So he’s been here to see you, ha?

Yeah. He was here last week.

He wasn’t arrested or something?

Initially he was arrested and according to him, he got slammed with two charges; leaving the US with forged document and some crime he did years back.

Crime? Carissa reacted. Wallis did a crime? What kind of crime could that be? He doesn’t look like he could do that sort of a thing!

He refused to tell me exactly what happed and I didn’t push it. Anyways, is like the Police are talking about cutting him some kind of a deal. All those people he labored for over there in South Africa came out in his support after his arrest. They’ve all put out all kinds of pleas on his behalf and I hear they mean business. I also heard everyone in his wife’s family is an attorney and they are all rooting for him. Then the churches over there are also pleading he gets a second chance because of all the good stuff he is doing over there. The thing is huge.

What kind of deal is he gonna get? Did he tell you?

He said something about a two years suspended sentence or something and some sort of restitution. I didn’t really understand the whole story. But is like he is gonna return some money to some folks.