Savory Deceits (37 page)

“Hello, Starr.” A woman said, rising from the chair, in the corner of the room. Slowly, she crossed the room, and went over to the window. Then, she moved the curtain aside, and looked down at the view below. Although we have never met, somehow I had an idea, as to who she was. I looked her over, and noticed that she seriously needed a stylist. Everything from her beige, oversized cardigan, to the stonewashed jeans she wore, was all wrong. Not to mention, her hair was a hot ass mess. This must be what loving a man, more than he loved you, did to a woman. Watching the frail looking woman, and how she appeared to be much older than what she probably was, made me feel sorry for her. “My husband sure must love you, to have put your name, on this beautiful penthouse suite.” She finally said. I watched, as she fingered the gold-laced drapes, and then shook her head. “This place must have cost him a small fortune.” She said to herself. Then, in a huff, she turned, and glare at me.

“How the hell did you get in here?” I demanded. I was not about to let Eric’s wife intimidate me. Then, her lips curved into a slight smile, and my guards were way up.

“Same way you did.” She said with a chuckle, narrowing her eyes at me.

“What do you want?” I asked, with my eyes following her every move. I had no idea what this woman’s plan was, or what she was capable of doing.

“Humph, what do I want?” She questioned, looking at me as if I should already know. “How about my husband!” She hissed, and then shook her head at me. “How dare you stand there, draped in your expensive jewelry, which
my
husband bought with
our
money and act like I’m invading
your
space?” She said angrily.

“Like you said, he bought it for me. My name is on the deed, so therefore it is
my
space, which means you are trespassing!” I countered. This bitch needed to go. Then, she gave me that creepy laugh again.

“You whores can’t find a man of your own, so you have to take somebody else’s? How pathetic!” She sneered, shaking her head at me again. Insulted, I had heard enough.

“You need to get the fuck out, before I call the police! Or worse, beat your ass, and then call the police!” I said, with both hands on my hips, daring her to try anything. Cynthia shook her head again, as angry tears streamed down her face.

“I cannot stand bitches like you, who think that you can take a married man from his wife, and fool yourself into thinking he won’t do the same to you! Sweetie, it’s only a matter of time, before another longhaired pretty girl with a fat ass, takes him away from you too!” She spewed, heaving, trying to control her sobs. Her words touched a nerve within me, and for the first time in my life, I felt insecure.

“If that’s the case, then why are you still trying to hold onto him?” I questioned.

“I’m not leaving him!” She snapped.

“Neither will I!” I snapped back. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she started to hyperventilate. Fear-stricken, she clutched her chest, as if she could not breathe.

“Are you okay?” I asked alarmed. Then all of a sudden, she collapsed.

~NENA~

I burst through the front door, slamming it behind me. Then, Chris rushed out of the bedroom shouting, “What the hell?” Fuming, I glared at him. “Babe, you okay? What’s wrong?” He asked, reaching for me.

“Don’t touch me!” I screamed, backing away from him. He looked confused, so I said, “Who’s Alana?” His eyebrows went up, and then back down again.

“What?” He asked, stalling.

“Tell me you didn’t tell that bitch, to go after my husband, so that you can crawl your way into our bed! Tell me you did not set me up, because you knew I would fall for you! Tell me Chris!” I screamed, with tears in my eyes.

“Nena, I…I don’t know who you’ve been talking to, but…” he tried to say.

“Don’t lie to me Chris! I want the truth!” I screamed again, with more tears coming down. I did not want to believe that he could do that to me.

“Babe, I can explain…” he started, and I gasped.

“Oh my God,” I said stunned. “I loved you.” I whispered, and started crying again. He reached out to me once more, and I moved away.

“Baby please, let me explain.” He begged.

“I gave up everything for you!” I screamed. “My marriage! My family! How could you do this to me! I thought you loved me!” I shouted through tears.

“I do love you!” He pleaded.

“You ruined my life! I chose you over everyone, including my own sister! She hates me now, because I thought what you, and I had, was real. I thought our love was pure, honest, and true.” I said, wiping my face with my hands, and then shook my head again. “But there is nothing pure, honest, or true about you at all. You used me! You preyed on my emotions! And I thought you…oh God, I think I’m gonna be sick.” I put a hand over my mouth, willing the vomit that I felt coming up back down.

“Nena, baby…” he said, taking a step towards me again.

“Don’t!” I yelled. “Don’t you ever touch me again! It’s over!” I screamed, snatching the ring off my finger, and threw it at him. “You’re disgusting! I never want to see your lying face again!” Then I turned, and angrily stormed out of his apartment.

~NAIMA~

“Oh!” I shrieked, and then held my stomach, breathing through the unexpected contraction. When the pain subsided, I placed the empty fruit bowl in the sink, and relaxed my shoulders. Then, when I turned to leave the kitchen, another sharp pain attacked me from my back, traveling all the way around, to my protruding belly. “Ow!” I screamed, holding onto the counter. I steadied myself, and tried to take another step. “Ouch!” I cried again, when yet another pain followed, close behind the last one. Struggling to breathe through the spasm, I looked up, and tried to time my contractions, when another one hit. “Ah!” I wailed, reaching for the phone. Then, another pain shot from my stomach, to my back. “Oh my God!” I panicked, my body going numb, as the feeling of warm liquid trickled down my legs. Crying, I dialed Starr’s number.

“Hey girl, you won’t believe what just happened.” Starr said when she answered.

“Ow!” I screamed, when another pain shot through me.

“Nai! What’s wrong? You okay?” She asked alarmed.

“No,” I managed to say through tears. “My water just broke, and… ow!” I cried again.

“Okay, I’m on my way. Try to breathe through it hon, like how we learned in lamas class. Everything’s going to be okay.” She said, sounding just as panicky.

“Please hurry Starr! Ow!” I dropped the phone, clutching my stomach. Then, I grabbed a kitchen towel, and placed it between my legs. I waited until the last pain subsided a little, and then with all my strength; I made my way to the couch, and sat down. At last, I was off my feet, praying that it was over. With my eyes closed, I thought about my sister, and wished she were here. When another pain shot through me, I screamed again. “Oh God! Please, not now.” I cried, squeezing my legs tighter. This baby was not coming out right now, not if I could help it.

Then finally, sometime later, Starr burst through the door.

“I’m here, I’m here!” She yelled. “I got you.” She said, helping me to my feet.

“That was fast.” I said, grimacing at another pain attacking my insides.

“What’d you expect? That’s my god baby in there.” Starr smiled, helping me out the door, and into her car.

41

~ALANA~

I burst through the hospital’s double doors in search of a doctor, a nurse - anybody that would point me in the right direction. “Hi. My mother was just brought in earlier this evening.” I said when I reached the nurses’ station.

“What’s her name?” The nurse asked, typing into her computer. “Um, Cynthia Moore. I mean, Johnson. Cynthia Johnson.” I said, tapping on the surface with my nails.

“Yes. She’s in room 303 on the third floor.” The nurse replied. “Thanks!” I hurried for the elevator. When I got the call that my mother had had a stroke, I dropped everything, and raced to Sonoma General Hospital. Frantically pressing the elevator button, naturally, I feared the worst. I looked up, and watched as the elevator numbers lit up one by one, starting from the sixth floor. I sighed, and then looked around for the stairs. Rushing back to the nurses’ station, I ignored the woman that now stood there, and addressed the same nurse that I spoke to earlier. “Can you please point me towards the stairs?” I asked frustrated.

“Excuse you! I was here first!” The longhaired woman said with a Spanish accent.

“I’m sorry, but…” I tried to say.

“No!” The woman said, cutting me off. She then turned to the nurse, and completely disregarded my presence. “My friend,” she motioned to a pregnant woman sitting on the bench, doubling over in pain. “Is in labor, and she needs a doctor quick!” She said. Just then, the nurse jumped up from her seat, rushed from behind the counter, and was by the woman’s side in no time.

“I need a wheelchair here!” The nurse yelled to no one in particular. Then, a few more nurses emerged from behind the desk, and one quickly brought in a wheelchair. I stood by, and watched, as the pregnant woman suffered in agony, while her friend rubbed her back. I could not shake the feeling that the pregnant woman looked vaguely familiar. Dismissing the feeling, I remembered my mother, and turned to search for the stairs. Before I rounded the corner, I heard the pregnant woman cry out an all too familiar name.

“Nena! I need my sister. Please call her for me Starr! Please! Ow!” I stopped, then slowly turned around, and watched the nurses wheel the pregnant woman away, with her friend following closely behind.

“I will hon! I’m calling her right now chica!” The Spanish woman said, pulling out her cell phone.

“Nena?” I wondered. I tried to get another glimpse of the pregnant woman to see some resemblance, but the nurses had already wheeled her down the hall, and around the corner. Once again, dispelling the thought, I headed back to the elevators.

~NENA~

I pulled out my cell, and speed dialed Naima’s number. It went straight to voicemail. With a frustrated sigh, I turned onto Victory Avenue, en route to Starr’s apartment. After storming out of Chris’ place, I drove straight to the airport, and booked myself on the next available flight out to Milwaukee. I had to see Naima, and apologize for everything. She would have to forgive me. She just had to. I needed her to. I shook my head at myself for having been so stupid. No matter how angry Nai was with me, I was not going to give up trying to repair what we had. I felt like such a fool for letting Chris use, and manipulate me, the way he did. I was nothing but a pawn in his sick game. ‘I love you, Nena,’ I could hear him say, remembering the many times he spoke those words to me, after we had made love. I then thought of the many times, he held me, and convinced me that he was all I needed. I was so, so stupid. ‘I love you, Nena,’ I heard his voice say again in my head. The very words that I found such comfort in hearing from him now made me sick to my stomach. He never loved me. You do not do such despicable things to the people you love. Then, the night he proposed to me surfaced in my head, and my eyes watered. ‘I want to be with you forever,’ he had said.

“Lies! All lies!” I now screamed through tears, remembering all the times he looked me in the eye, and professed his love for me. I tried to focus on the street signs above, when my phone rang. Reaching for my phone, which sat in the cup holder of my rental car, I picked it up. “Hello?” I said through my tears.

“Nena? Are you okay?” A man asked. I quickly wiped my face, and tried to mask my sniffles.

“Tony?” I asked, surprised to hear from him.

“I’m all right. I’m just on my way to Starr’s place.” I said, making another right turn.

“Oh good, you’re here then?” He said, sounding relieved.

“No, I’m in Wisconsin.” I told him.

“So am I. I’m visiting my parents, because my mom’s aunt had a stroke.” He explained.

“Oh, I’m so sorry to hear that.” I said, wanting to be there for him.

“Yeah, thanks. I never really knew her that well, but my mom’s taking it pretty hard.” He said.

“I can imagine.” I sympathized.

“But that’s not why I called.” Tony began.

“Oh?” I questioned.

“Starr called me and said she’s been trying to reach you. Nena, Nai’s in the hospital.” He said sadly.

“What! Why? What happened?” I screamed, coming to a screeching Holt, barely missing the car in front of me that sat idle, at a red light.

“I don’t know, she didn’t say. They are at Sonoma General Hospital. I’m taking my mom over there right now, so I’ll meet you there.” He said.

“Thanks, Tony. See you there.” I said, making a U-turn.

~NAIMA~