Read Quiet As It's Kept Online
Authors: Monique Miller
Quiet As It's Kept (15 page)
Will sat up and followed his wife into the bathroom. He smelled peppermint.
“Go ahead and get in the tub.”
Again he did as his wife said. “What is that smell?”
“Just a new peppermint bath wash I ordered.”
Will sat down in the tub and felt invigorated as the warm water and the peppermint made his skin tingle. He'd never been to a spa, but figured that this must be how people felt when they had a full spa treatment.
“I'll be right back,” Morgan said.
Will sat back and closed his eyes. He wished that Morgan had bought the peppermint bubble bath right after his accident. It was doing wonders for him now and he was sure it would have done even more for him when he was sore.
He opened his eyes when he felt a tickle on his nose. Morgan was standing in front of him with her birthday suit on. It had been so long since he'd seen her birthday suit that he thought he was seeing it for the very first time.
“Would you like me to join you?” Morgan asked.
“Do you have to ask?”
“Well, I don't want you to think that I want to harm you.” Morgan smiled, and it was angelic.
Will pulled her hand. “Girl, be quiet and get in here and stop playing.”
“Just checking, baby,” Morgan said.
She joined him in the tub, and, for the next hour, all thoughts of hurt, harm, and pain dissipated, replaced by feelings of love, pleasure, and joy.
Chapter 17
Will woke up well rested. The bedroom was still dark and he wondered what time it was. The clock on his nightstand indicated that it was 2:41 in the morning. He closed his eyes, trying to fall back to sleep, but he couldn't. His body still tingled, feeling good from the bubble bath Morgan had run for him. His mind still tingled too, as he thought about the way his wife had eased away all of his tension once she joined him in the tub.
He had fallen asleep easily once they finally crawled into bed. And now he was wide awake. He wondered what was in the peppermint bubble bath that now made him want to start taking baths more often. It felt like old times for him again. He was awake in the middle of the night.
Falling into his old routine he slipped out of bed, trying not to disturb Morgan from her restful sleep, and he headed downstairs. Just as he had done so many nights before, Will used the nightlights and moonlight to help guide him through the second floor to the stairs. Even though his body felt better than it had since before the accident, he held the rail as he descended, not wanting to overexert himself and cause a relapse of continuous back pain.
Gingerly, he took each step one at a time. On the third step Will felt something brush against the side of his right foot. He looked down, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dark. What he saw puzzled him. Next to his foot was one of the baby's wooden blocks. And there were two more blocks, one on each of the next two steps.
He adjusted his eyes, peering to see if there were any more blocks or anything else on the steps. Not seeing anything, he continued down the steps, avoiding each of the blocks. Once he got down the stairs he looked back up at the blocks. From the bottom of the stairs he could see that they had fallen right where a person would step when going down the stairsâthe same place he would have stepped if he had been trotting down the center of the stairs as he normally did.
Will got an eerie feeling, causing the hairs on the back of his head to stand up. If Morgan had been merely cleaning up and dropped the blocks, he could almost understand that. But the way the blocks were situated on the stairs, it was as if they were strategically placed there.
He probably wouldn't be having the eerie feeling or the negative thoughts if it weren't for the fact that the baby's blocks were normally in a case on a bookshelf in the baby's room. Will hadn't pulled them out in weeks for his son to play with, and Morgan had not pulled them out either for him to play with that night. Will shivered as he thought about what would have happened if he had stepped directly on the first block and then down to the next step trying to relieve the sharp pain in his foot. And then possibly to the next step, that is, if he hadn't tumbled down the stairs by then.
There was no doubt in his mind that his wife was trying to harm him. He replayed things in his mind: the life insurance companies, the oil on the kitchen floor, the toy in his car, and now he would add the blocks on the stairs. And though he couldn't fathom it, he was even starting to think that his wife didn't just want to harm him, but to kill him.
Will sat in his den stark still. His wife was trying to harm him and she was acting as if it was all in his head. She had basically gone so far as to seduce him the night before and he dumbly believed her. He trusted her and she took him for a fool. But he was glad he wasn't a fool, not anymore. Will remembered the proverb that went something like “Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.” He wasn't going to be a fool twice.
For the next couple of hours, Will continued to sit on the couch, thinking about any and every nuance of his relationship with his wife. And he started to wonder if there were two sides to his wife. Often he thought that Morgan's mood swings were just that. Now he wondered if they weren't mood swings, but another side of her, maybe even the real side of her that she didn't want him to see.
The longer he sat and thought, the more clear to him it became that Morgan wasn't someone he was going to be able to deal with in a rational manner. So he was going to have to be careful in how he handled her, and be careful around herâreally careful. He had no idea what she was capable of. As he thought about his entire relationship with his wife, he wondered if he had really ever known her. Many people, including his pastor, had encouraged him to get to know Morgan better before marrying her.
Will ascended the stairs, leaving the blocks where they were. He slipped back into bed an hour before Morgan was due to wake up. The hope was that she had not woken up while he was downstairs, and that she would see the blocks on the stairs and think he had slept soundly all night.
He lay awake until she turned her alarm clock off, stirred, and then got up to get ready for work. Will was tense, and remained that way throughout the time Morgan got ready for work, as she kissed him on his forehead, and until he heard her car pull out of the driveway. He played possum, pretending to be asleep the whole time.
As soon as she was gone, he jumped up out of bed and looked out of the window to make sure. He went straight to Isaiah's room and picked him up, not caring that the baby was still asleep. Will hugged the baby as if he hadn't seen him in years.
The baby awoke, crying from the tight hold Will had on him. Will loosened his grip and bounced him up and down. “Isaiah, it's okay, it's okay. Daddy's going to take care of you, don't worry.” Closing his eyes tight, Will held the one thing in his hands that would make him not think too rashly. He had learned that people who made rash moves often made silly mistakes. He couldn't let Morgan know he was on to her.
For the rest of the day and the next couple of days, Will acted as if everything was fine with the world. He did his best not to agitate Morgan, and acted as if he was none the wiser that his wife had bad intentions for him.
He literally watched his step around her and made it a point not to eat or drink anything she cooked or fixed specifically for him, no matter how hungry or thirsty he happened to be at the time. Will didn't know when or how she was going to attempt to hurt him again, and he wasn't going to make it easy for her.
When Will knew he couldn't take it anymore, he called Phillip at work and asked if he could meet him at his house. He wanted to talk privately, and Phillip, being the best friend that he had always been, didn't hesitate or ask him any questions. He just told Will he'd be at his home in thirty minutes to meet him.
When Will arrived at Phillip's home, he was already there. He rang the bell and Phillip swung the door open to greet his friend. “Hey, man, what's up? Come on in.”
Will stepped into the house and headed straight for the family room. He set Isaiah down on the floor, and the baby's bag on the sofa. Then he paced back and forth, trying to think of what to say to his friend so Phillip wouldn't think he was completely crazy. The last time he'd come over to his home basically unexpected, Will was asking for the information for a marriage retreat; now he was asking for he didn't know what.
Phillip remained quiet, patiently waiting to hear what his friend had to say. After what felt like an eternity, Will finally found the words to say, “Remember when I came over here that time and asked you for the information about the marriage retreat?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, forget it,” Will said.
“Huh? Forget it?”
“Yeah, I need your mindset to be going in a whole other direction. I know one of the callings in your life is to try to keep couples together. And I think there are many reasons why couples should try to stay together when they are having problems. But some problems just cannot be fixed,” Will said.
“You are losing me,” Phillip said. “Sit down for a minute.”
Will sat down, allowing himself to try to calm down. He needed to coherently tell his friend why he was at his home and what conclusions he had made concerning his wife.
“Okay, what I am about to say might sound a little crazy or off the wall, but just hear me out.”
Isaiah pulled himself up on the side of the couch. Will picked the baby up and took a deep breath. “Morgan is trying to kill me.”
Phillip stared at his friend as if waiting for the punch line. When he saw that none was coming, he said, “Come again?”
“Morgan is trying to kill me,” Will repeated.
Phillip looked at Will in disbelief. “What makes you think that Morgan is trying to kill you?”
“I've had quite a few incidents that all could have resulted in my demise. The worst was the car accident.”
“Will, man, that sounds a little farfetched. Are you being a little paranoid? How could Morgan have tried to kill you in your car? She wasn't even anywhere near you when you had your accident,” Phillip said.
“She didn't have to be, she set the wheels in motion for me to get into an accident.” Phillip opened his mouth to speak again, but Will held his hand up. “Look, let me talk. Let me tell you how I have come to this conclusion. And let me just assure you that I am not on any pain medication that might have me hallucinating.” Will shook his head. “Heck, at this point, I wish I were hallucinating.”
Will continued to tell his friend not only about the events that led him to the conclusion that his wife was trying to kill him. He also told Phillip about her shift in moods, and how she made snide remarks and called him names. By the time he finished describing everything, Phillip was on the same page as his friend, and just as concerned for his friend's life.
“So what are you going to do? What do you need me to do?” Phillip asked.
“I don't know and I don't know,” Will answered as he shook his head.
“If what you are saying is true, then you've got to be extremely careful.”
“I know. I've been walking around on pins and needles the past few days trying to act as if everything is fine. But I am watching my back every step of the way.”
“What about Isaiah? Do you think he is safe?”
“Lord, I hope so. I don't think she'll hurt him. I haven't seen any evidence of it.”
“It's not safe. You've got to get out of there and protect Isaiah.”
Will thought for a moment. “I don't have a clear plan, but I do know that while Morgan has been acting pretty calm the past few days, she has been known to fly off the handle over little things. Who knows what she'll do if she thinks I am going to leave her?”
Phillip nodded in understanding.
“I do know that I need to make sure my son and I are safe. And at some point I need to confront her with what I know. I also know that is easier said than done. I've tried to do it before, and it's like she has an answer or explanation for everything. So it is hard to pinpoint anything.”
“What are you going to do? Are you going to talk to her?” Phillip asked.
“I am. And I think Friday evening will be the best time to do it, because she does not have to work the next day. If we are up into the wee hours of the night talking, she won't blame me for keeping her awake at night. Bottom line, I am not going to let her squirm her way out of this one. I can't keep living like I am.”
“Just let me know what I need to do. And if you want us to watch Isaiah while you talk with Morgan, we will.”
“I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, thanks for offering, but Morgan is already sensitive about you guys watching Isaiah. I don't want to set her off before we even get a chance to start talking.”
Phillip nodded. “If you think so. I don't think it is the best idea to have that conversation with her while the baby is in the house, but you use your best judgment.”
“I think I am. Like I said, I don't think she'll do anything to hurt our son.”
Phillip shook his head again as if still not agreeing with what his friend was saying.
Will looked at his watch. “I didn't mean to keep you so long. I need to run a few errands before I go back home.”
“Not a problem, my brother.”
Phillip walked Will and the baby to the door. “If you need anything just call me.”
“I'll do that, my brother, and thanks,” Will said.
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Will laid the baby down in his crib, thankful Isaiah had fallen asleep an hour earlier than he normally did. This would give him more time to talk to Morgan about his feelings and concerns. As he left the baby's room, he closed the door gingerly behind him. He hoped the baby would fall into a deep enough sleep so as not to hear his parents talking and quite possibly arguing in the next few moments.
Will descended the stairs and headed for the living room.
“Will, honey, I'll be down there in a few minutes,” he heard Morgan call from their bedroom.
As he sat in the dimly lit living room on the love seat, he tried to think about just how he could start the conversation with his wife. Should he tell her that if she didn't change her ways he was going to leave her? Or should he just tell her that he was on to her and knew she was trying to kill him?
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