If I Were Your Woman (12 page)

The hour went far too quickly, but they made a date to see each other that night and they never looked back.

It was maybe two months into the relationship when Tony experienced firsthand what Kim endured during a crisis. The wait in the emergency room was pure torture. He'd always heard of sickle cell disease and its predominance in the African-American community. But he knew no one who had it and he certainly had never witnessed an episode. The physical pain that Kim was in was unbearable to watch. He felt useless, unable to do anything to alleviate her agony.

When the doctors finally came out they told him that she was resting and that they were going to keep her overnight, and since there was nothing more he could do, the doctor suggested that he go home.

Reluctantly he left and on his way out he was nearly run over by a woman whose countenance looked as if it were carved from the great totem poles of the American Indian. She was regal and the spitting image of what Kim would look like when she got older.

“Are you Mrs. Littlejohn?”

She stopped suddenly, her eyes wide with something resembling fear. “Yes, yes.” She pressed her palm to her breast. “Kim, is she all right?”

“Yes, the doctors said she's resting. But they are going to keep her overnight.”

She seemed to shrink in relief as if the anxiety over her daughter was the starch in her back. Then she actually focused on Tony.

“You are the young man she talks about.” Her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

“Anthony Dixon.”

“I'm glad that you were there for my daughter.”

“So am I. And I plan to be for a long time.”

“I hope you are a strong man. You will need it.” With that she walked away.

Tony didn't realize just how strong he had to be. Between Kim's chronic episodes and stays in the hospital and her mother's blatant dislike for him, it was a hard road for him and Kim, but they endured. And against her mother's wishes, they married three years later.

Kim desperately wanted a child. The doctors all said no. She suffered two miscarriages that nearly killed her not only physically but spiritually as well. Tony said no more. He would not risk losing her. But in one careless night of passion she became pregnant again. This time she made it past the first trimester and they both became hopeful. The doctors were optimistic at first, but then the crises began, one after another, and then…she was gone. Her mother blamed him, cursed him for taking away her only child. And he swore to this day that the heartache of losing Kim was what eventually killed her mother. How could he not feel the weight of that kind of guilt?

“Daddy, Daddy, look what I drew.”

He blinked, shook his head slightly, and focused on his daughter, the past receding to that hidden place in his heart. He took the drawing and smiled. It was a stick-figure picture of a little girl holding the hand of a man.

“That's me.” She pointed to the little girl. “And that's you.” She grinned, displaying the gap in her front teeth.

Tony's heart surged and he was suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. This was his baby, his and Kim's gift to the world. He owed it to both of them to do right.

He scooped her up and onto his lap. “You're very talented, you know.” He kissed the top of her head.

She bobbed her head. “I know.”

Leslie laughed. “And modest too.”

Joy hopped down. “I'm going to make another one that you can take with you when you go.”

Before Tony could react she'd run off into the next room. He looked up at his sister, who was still standing by the sink.

“I'm going to talk to Stephanie and tell her everything. And no matter how things turn out, I'm going to start being a real father to Joy.”

“It's what Kim would have wanted, Tony.”

His nostrils flared and his eyes filled. “I know. I know.”

B
ored senseless, Stephanie puttered around the house rearranging things that didn't need to be rearranged. She watched the soaps for a while and then a few of the court shows until she couldn't take it anymore.

She wandered into her bedroom and took her PDA out of her purse to check her to do list and any upcoming appointments, which is when she remembered that she'd taken Ali's phone number and had promised to give it to Ann Marie.

She still couldn't shake the feeling that she knew him. It was odd. There was no real recollection but more of a feeling of familiarity like a favorite blanket. Strange. She shrugged it off and pulled up his information. She glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand. It was after two. Ann Marie should be up and about. She didn't imagine that she'd gone into work.

Stephanie reached for the phone and dialed Ann Marie's number.

The phone rang and rang and she was just about to hang up without leaving a message when Ann Marie answered the phone, her voice soft and husky.

“Girl, I know you are not still in the bed.”

“Chile, when ya got a man like mine, no reason to get out.” She laughed wickedly.

“You are too much.”

Ann Marie yawned loudly. “What's going on? That man of yours should be keepin'ya warm on a day like today.”

“It's over.”

“Say what?”

“Yeah.”

“Hold on.”

Stephanie heard some shuffling around and low murmured voices, and then Ann Marie came back on the phone.

“I had to excuse myself so I can listen to this uninterrupted. What happened?” she asked. “Oh, hang on again.”

Stephanie heard Ann Marie and her husband, Sterling, talking in the background.

“Sorry,” Ann Marie apologized. “Sterling is suddenly feeling abandoned and decided to finally go and dig out the car. Now, back to you. Let me hear it.”

Stephanie sighed heavily. “I really don't want to talk about it.”

“Ya betta won talk 'bout sum'ting when ya get me out me bed and chased me man out de house,” she chastised, her accent locked and loaded.

With great reluctance Stephanie relayed what had transpired up to and including her visit to his apartment and everything in between.

“Dayum.” Ann Marie was thoughtful for a moment. “But she could have been anyone. Maybe a relative.”

“Which I'm sure that's what he'll tell me. I was so stupid for not saying something when I saw them together. There would have been no way to fabricate a story,” she said with disgust.

“That's true. Well, are you going to talk to him?”

“Why bother? I'm sure he'll only lie.”

“Listen, no matter what you decide to do, for your own peace of mind you should settle it. I can tell you, it will haunt you forever if you just walk away with it hanging in the air.”

“I just can't…I don't think I could bear it if he lied to me. You didn't see them together. There was love in his eyes.”

“What if you could find out who the woman was before you spoke to him?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said you got the plate number.”

“Yeah…What are you getting at?”

“Sterling is a lawyer. He has plenty of contacts in the police department. I'm sure he can get someone to run the plates.”

A knot of apprehension twisted inside her. Run her plates? That was like spying. “Ann, I don't know.”

“You have nothing to lose. At the worst, you'll find out who she is. The bottom line is, you must talk to him, whether you say it's over or not. It obviously wasn't or you wouldn't have gone over there. And if it really was you wouldn't care one way or the damned other.”

Stephanie knew she was right. By nature she was a stickler for details. It's what made her stellar at her job. She never let details go unattended, and agenda items not in place and taken care of drove her crazy. If she didn't put some closure to this thing with her and Tony and get the answers that she needed, yes, it would haunt her forever.

“Okay,” she relented, though the nature of what she was about to do did bug her. She gave Ann Marie the license plate number.

“Connecticut, huh? Well, I'll give it to Sterling when he gets back. As soon as he finds out something I'll let you know.”

“Thanks, Ann…I think.” She chuckled without a stitch of humor.

“Well, let me get myself together.” She walked to the window and peeked out between the slats in the blinds. She spotted Sterling on the street shoveling snow along with about four other intrepid souls. “At least it stopped snowing. One thing I always hated about the States was the cold-ass winters. If it wasn't for that no-good ex-husband of mine I would spend my winters in Jamaica.” She sucked her teeth.

“Did he win the election?”

“Me don't know and don't care. I'm sure he told Raquel, but she knows better than to speak her pop's name to me after what he did.”

Ann Marie had been through it with her very estranged husband, Terrance Bishop. He came back into her life after more than twenty years claiming to want her back only to find out that he simply wanted the perfect family picture for political purposes back in Jamaica. She'd nearly lost Sterling as a result.

“Oh, I almost forgot why I really called.”

“There's more?”

She told him about Ron's friend Ali, who was looking for an apartment.

“Not a problem.” She took down his number. “I'll give him a call. So, what's he like? Is he dangerous?” she asked in a teasing tone after Elizabeth had told them that he had been in jail.

“Actually, he seems anything but dangerous. He's really nice. He feels like someone I've always known.”

“Well, if you give him your seal of approval I will definitely find him something good.”

“Thanks.”

“Like I said, I'll call you when I find out something.”

“Okay,” she said on a breath.

“And hear me now. Don't be listening to no damned slow sad songs. Turn on some reggae and shake your boom-boom. You'll feel betta.”

“Ann, you are too crazy. I'll talk to you later.”

Ann giggled. “Bye.”

Stephanie hung up the phone and felt mildly better. There was something a little underhanded about investigating someone without their knowledge. But if she got the information, at least she would know who and what she was dealing with.

 

While Sterling was out playing in the snow, Ann Marie took a quick shower, used her favorite body oil, and slipped into a brand-new Victoria's Secret catsuit and waited on the couch for Sterling to return. She wanted to make sure she buttered him up good and proper to ensure that he would do her this one little favor.

“Whoa, now this is what a man likes to come home to,” Sterling said, a lecherous grin tugging at his mouth.

Ann Marie waved a slender finger. “Good things come to those who wait. I ran you a hot bath. Don't want those muscles to get stiff from the cold and all that shoveling.”

He took off his coat and hung it on the rack by the door, then came fully into the living room. He walked up to her and leaned down until he was inches from her mouth. He tilted up her chin with the tip of his finger. “You're going to kill me, woman,” he whispered harshly against her mouth.

“But you'll die a happy man.”

“Promises, promises.” He kissed her softly, then headed off to the steamy bath, taking off his shirt in the process.

Ann Marie watched the muscles in his back stretch and ripple and couldn't wait to run her hands all over them.

When Sterling emerged from the bathroom with no more on than a towel wrapped around his waist, Ann Marie almost forgot the plan. He came over to her.

“Now, where were we?” He stroked her shoulder and let his fingers drift over her breast.

She drew in a breath and forced herself to concentrate on the matter at hand. She took hold of his fingers and brought them to her lips. She slipped one in her mouth and slowly sucked on it.

Sterling dropped down in the space next to her, leaning forward to take a long overdue kiss.

She pressed her finger to his lips, then ran a nail down the center of his chest.

“I need you to do something for me.”

He licked her finger. “Whatever you want.” He ran his hand along her thigh.

“Good.” Her hand traveled lower, settled on his belly for a moment, then journeyed downward to the thick bulge protruding in the towel. She cupped him and gave a gentle squeeze. Sterling groaned deep in his throat. “I need you to make a call for me. Find out about a license plate number.”

“Hmm,” he murmured, transported by the sensation of her hand on him. Then what she said registered and he came plummeting to earth. He jerked back. “What?”

“I need you to get some information on a license plate number.”

“Ann, what are you talking about? Whose number and why do you need it?” He leaned back against the couch and glared at her.

“Well.” She pouted for a moment, then slowly churned out the reason for her request.

Sterling jumped up. “No. Absolutely not.” He started pacing and shaking his head. “I don't want to get involved in any of you women's eye-spy business.”

Ann Marie got up and walked over to him. She pressed her tiny body against his. “Why can't you do me this one favor?” she purred. “Even though it's for my friend it may as well be for me. If I didn't think it was important I would never have asked. She deserves to know.”

“Why doesn't she just ask him?” he said, his tone not as harsh.

“What if he lies?”

“What if he tells the truth? All men don't lie, Ann. All men are not Terrance.”

She flinched, then lowered her eyes. “I know that,” she said softly. “You've proven that to me.” She caressed his cheek. “I only want the same thing for my friend. I want her to finally have the same thing that I have—no doubts.”

Sterling sighed heavily. “Fine. I'll make a few calls. But I'm warning you, Ann, sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.”

She reached up on tiptoe and kissed his lips. “I'll make it worth your while.”

He fought down a grin. “You'd better. Come on in the bedroom, I have a trick I want to show you.”