When the Fairytale Ends (13 page)
Read When the Fairytale Ends Online
Authors: Dwan Abrams
She laughed and wiped icing from the corner of his lip. “No, I'm just trying to shut you up, but in a sweet way.”
“Shut me up this way more often, and then everything will be cool.”
“I know that's right,” she agreed with a smile.
“So these sweet rolls, are they for the wedding too?”
“No, I'm completely finished with the wedding stuff. It's carefully wrapped and stored in airtight containers in the deep freezer to keep it fresh. Now I'm working on the governor's menu in hopes that I'll be chosen to cater the induction ceremony.”
She turned to walk away, but he pulled her against him so that her back pressed against his chest. He lifted up her hair, scattering kisses along the nape and sides of her neck. “Tell me what's on your menu.”
She purred at his kisses and seemed to struggle to recall the menu. “Rolls. That's my theme. Cinnamon sweet rolls, vegetable spring rolls, Cajun steak rolls with gravy dipping sauce, chicken pinwheels stuffed with spinach and mushrooms, and skewer salads.”
“Skewer salads?”
“Everything you want on a salad, but pinned to a skewerâlike green leaf, red leaf, and romaine lettuce, red onion, tomato, cucumber, rolled in olive oil, sprinkled with sesame seeds, drizzled with your favorite dressing.”
“Oh my God, that sounds so good. But I thought the governor just wanted to sample this stuff. Why'd you make so many sweet rolls?”
“The governor gets a sample.” She picked up another sweet roll, but this time ate it herself. “The rest, I baked them just for you.”
Her words were like strings that tugged on his heart. Now he knew why he had come down there to bother her. Because he loved her dearly, and during this dark, cloudy time in his life when he needed a little sunshine, he had her smile to illuminate the darkness.
In one bite, he finished off the roll she'd started on, then turned her in his arms so he could kiss her sweetened lips. He then licked the icing off his fingers and hers, causing her to giggle. He nuzzled her neck and sucked on her skin the same way he had sucked her fingers. What started off as giggles became soft moans, and finally purrs.
Just as he hoisted her up on the counter, he felt a vibration in his pant pocket. He reached to retrieve his iPhone, but Shania grabbed his hand and whispered, “Don't you dare.”
For the next twenty minutes or so, the phone was completely forgotten. When they finished with their lovemaking, Shania slid to her feet and said, “Check your phone, sweetie. It might be a job calling you back.”
He had completely forgotten that his phone had vibrated. At her suggestion, he pulled his iPhone out of his pocket. He frowned when he noticed it was a missed call from his pastor. Without hesitation, he quickly returned his pastor's call.
“Hey, Pastor Ray,” he said and winked at Shania. “When you called, I was a little . . . busy. What's going on?”
“When's the last time you talked to Mother Washington?”
As soon as he mentioned Mother's name, Greg's heart palpitated. “I was just over there last night. Why? What's wrong? Is everything all right?”
“Oh, I don't want you to get all worked up.” His pastor attempted to calm him. “She was just on my heart real heavy, and I kept calling over there, but I didn't get an answer. I want to go by there myself to check on her, but I'm out of town, handling some business, and you could probably get over there before I could.”
“I'm on it, Pastor.”
“As soon as you find out something, give me a call.”
“I will.”
As soon as Greg ended the call, Shania said, “Honey, what's going on?”
“I don't know,” Greg said, already slipping on his clothes. “Pastor just wants me to check on Mother Washington.”
“You want me to go with you?” She sounded concerned.
He jogged toward the door. “You can.”
“Well, wait up,” she said, hurrying up and putting her clothes back on. “I'm coming too.”
Minutes later, Greg pulled into Mother Washington's driveway, and he and Shania rushed out the car and ran to the front door. Greg didn't bother to knock; he simply let himself in. When he threw open the door, he half expected to see Mother Washington lying on the floor in a puddle of blood. Instead, what he saw sitting on the couch was almost just as bad. Almost.
“Minister Crinkle?” The woman from the bike dealership looked at him with a wide smile, and the way her eyes glittered reminded him of snake eyes. “How good to see you again! How was your birthday? Pleasant, I hope?”
From behind him, Shania said, “Who is she? Greg, how do you know her?”
Greg stared at the woman as though she was a monster that had managed to crawl out of his worst nightmare. “What are you doing in Mother Washington's house?”
“I'm Kristen, her daughterâtechnically her niece, but she's always been like a mother to me.”
As fragments of the conversation he and Mother Washington had shared the night before wafted up from his memories, Greg looked at Kristen hard, but the adrenaline and fear pumping through his veins distorted his perceptions. He was unable to make the connection that she was one of the two daughters Mother Washington had told him about.
“Where's Mother Washington?” Greg wanted to know.
Kristen rose from the plush chair, and when she stood and he saw what she had on, he had no choice but to look away. She was braless in a white wife-beater that was tied into a knot at the back, showing off her ironing-board-flat belly and her angel belly ring. She wore a pair of shorts so tiny and tight that he was surprised she could actually move in them.
She looked over Greg's shoulder and said to his wife, “We met on his birthday, the same day he bought that beautiful bike of his. I actually helped him pick out his helmet. You know, the red and black one.”
He felt Shania's hand give him a light shove. “You didn't tell me about meeting any woman at the dealership.”
What he wanted to say was he didn't meet a woman at the dealership, he met a slut, and she was standing right in front of the helmets. Instead, he said, “I didn't think it was important.” Which, in essence, was the truth.
“Well, I'm Shania,” she said and held out her hand to the woman. “I'm his wife.”
“Kristen.” Instead of shaking the offered hand, Kristen stared at it like it was a disease until Shania's cheeks reddened, and she retracted her hand.
“So she's your wife?” Kristen asked, looking at Greg curiously. “You never mentioned anything about having a wife. To be honest, I don't even recall you wearing a ring on that day.”
“Excuse me?” Shania said, grabbing Greg's shoulder and turning him to face her.
Greg went into a coughing spell as he choked on his spit. He couldn't believe this woman was standing there telling bald-faced lies. When he could breathe again, he said, “You know what? I don't know what games you're trying to play, but I'm not playing it with you. Where's Mother Washington?”
“You sure didn't mind playing my little game at the BMW dealership.”
“Greg!” Shania hit his shoulder so hard she made his teeth knock together. “What all exactly happened at the dealership?”
Glaring hard at Kristen, Greg turned soft eyes on his wife and said, “Babe, I promise you nothing happened. I swear it to you, nothing happened. The only thing that happened is what's happening right now. I ran into this . . . this . . .” he couldn't fix his mouth to say the words
woman
or
lady,
so he finally said, “This
female
at the dealership. She made some advances that I didn't appreciate, and that was that.”
woman
or
lady,
so he finally said, “This
female
at the dealership. She made some advances that I didn't appreciate, and that was that.”
“If you're gonna tell her the story, you might as well tell her the whole story,” Kristen said.
Greg said, “What is the wholeâ”
“Greg!” Shania shouted.
“I'm not dealing with this!” Greg yelled and threw a hand up at Shania and Kristen. “Save your little games for another day. Now is not the time. For the last time, where is Mother Washington?”
Kristen retook her seat and had the decency to cross her legs like a lady. “She's asleep. She had a migraine, so I gave her a few pills.”
Greg sprinted into Mother Washington's bedroom, but her bed was neatly made, and she was nowhere to be found. His heart pounded in his ears as he repeatedly screamed her name. He looked in the closet, then went to the bathroom, and that's where he found her, crumpled on the floor.
“Oh God, Shania, call 911!” he yelled.
Greg dropped to his knees and picked up Mother Washington's frail body. He checked her neck for a pulse and breathed a sigh when he felt one, even though it was faint. Kristen ran into the room with the most inauthentic look of surprise on her face that Greg had ever seen. There was no doubt in his mind that Mother was in her current condition because of something Kristen had done to her.
“What did you do to her?” Greg gritted through his teeth.
“She had a headache, so I gave her some pain relievers, that's all,” Kristen explained in a casual tone that bordered on sounding defensive.
“Show me what you gave her.”
Kristen went into the bedroom, then returned with a brown prescription bottle. Greg snatched the bottle from her and read the label. The prescription was made out to Henry Washington, and it was 1600 mg Percocet.
Greg's nostrils flared. “How many did you give her?”
Kristen shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe two.”
Greg didn't believe a word coming out of her mouth. He yelled at her, “You idiot! It's not her name on the bottle. These were her husband's painkillers. This is way too strong for her.”
Kristen shrugged her shoulder. “Well, I didn't know. Sorry.”
Never in his life had Greg wanted to slap a female as badly as his palm was itching to connect with Kristen's face. How could she find her so-called mother unresponsive on the bathroom floor and the only thing she could do was shrug her shoulder and apologize? What kind of a monster was she?
Shania rushed into the bathroom, frantic. “I called 911. They're on the way. They should be here any minute now.” She dropped to her hands and knees beside Greg and asked him if there was anything she could do to help.
Greg didn't want to move Mother Washington much, but he couldn't leave her lying on the cold tile floor; it just didn't seem right. So he had Shania help him move her to the bed, and then he grabbed hands with his wife and began praying for Mother Washington's health and strength.
Just when he finished his prayer, they heard the paramedics knocking on the door. As Greg went to open the door, he noticed that Kristen had slithered back into whatever snake hole she had crawled out of.
After explaining to the paramedics the few details he knew, Greg went looking throughout the rooms of the house in search of Kristen, but she was nowhere to be found.
The paramedics loaded Mother Washington onto the ambulance, and it crushed Greg seeing her tiny body strapped to the stretcher. A pale green plastic breathing mask was covering the majority of her face.
Greg got in the car, and he and Shania held hands and prayed as they followed the ambulance to the emergency room.
At the hospital, Greg called Franklin. The day that Greg mentioned to Franklin that he should ask Kaiya about her past, he had done just that. Franklin told Greg that Kaiya had opened up to him about her relation to Mother Washington. Franklin admitted that he had a lot of questions, but Kaiya assured him she'd give him answersâone day.
In the meantime, Greg told him what was going on. It just so happened that Kaiya was there with him. When he got off the phone with Franklin, he and Shania waited anxiously in the waiting room for any news from the doctor. Kristen was still nowhere to be found.
While waiting, Franklin and Kaiya burst into the waiting room and both wore anxious and fearful expressions. Greg stood to his feet and touched fists with Franklin, then greeted Kaiya. This time, as he stared into Kaiya's face, he immediately drew the connection. Kaiya and Kristen looked nothing like Mother Washington, but the two sisters shared so much resemblance, they could almost go for twins. The only difference was that where Kristen had this dark edge about her, Kaiya's characteristics and demeanor showed a sweet-spirited, loving individual. No wonder Franklin could fall for the young lady so fast and so hard.
“Is my mother okay?” Kaiya asked, looking from Greg to Shania.
Greg nodded his head. “She's still alive, and they're pumping her stomach now. The doctor seemed pretty optimistic that she was going to pull through.”
Kaiya looked relieved as the stress lines went out of her face and her shoulders relaxed and dropped. She folded herself into one of the hard-backed waiting room chairs and looked off into the distance, shaking her head. “It's my fault,” she whispered.
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