Authors: Monique Miller

Quiet As It's Kept (8 page)

BOOK: Quiet As It's Kept

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Isaiah smiled at his father and put the tips of his fingers on his lips.

“Oh, you're hungry I see. Okay, let's go get you something to eat.”

Will took the baby down to the kitchen and fixed them both some breakfast. While he was eating his cell phone rang. Looking at his caller ID he saw that it was Phillip.

“Hey, man. What's going on?” Will answered the phone without saying hello.

“Nothing much, I am here at home with Phillip Jr. He's sick, according to the daycare. They say he has some kind of rash and they don't want him to make the other kids sick.”

“A rash?” Will asked.

“We tried to explain that the child is just allergic to mosquito bites, but they weren't hearing it. Now we have the doctor's documentation that he is allergic to mosquito bites.”

“Have you ever thought that just maybe P.J. does not want to be at that daycare with those kids and he's just trying to play hooky?” Will joked.

“Nah, that kid loves playing with his little friends. Most kids cry whenever you drop them off at daycare. This kid cries when we come to pick him up. And I hate that because I get strange looks from the daycare teacher, like she thinks the child doesn't want to go home for some reason.”

Will laughed. “I can see Isaiah doing the opposite right now. He is very clingy to Morgan and me.”

“How is my godson doing anyway?” Phillip asked.

“He's good. He's eating some baby food right now.”

“He's still eating baby food?”

“Yep.”

“Man, you'd better go ahead and give that boy some table food. That baby food isn't going to satisfy him.”

“Oh, believe me, if it were up to me, he would get table food. But Morgan would have a fit. She doesn't think he should have any regular food until he's at least a year old.” Will chuckled.

“Anyway, the reason I was calling was to see what you and Isaiah are doing today. P.J. wants to go to the park. I know you two go sometimes and we were going to see if we could tag along. This boy needs to run off some of this energy he's got.”

“Normally we do go to the park. But I need to run some errands today.” Will thought about the need to hit the pavement and look for a job. “And you know what? I think your calling is part of divine intervention.”

“How so?” Phillip asked.

“It will be hard for me to run my errands with Isaiah, so maybe his godfather will let me take him up on the offer to babysit.”

“You know I'll watch him, I told you before to just say the word. When do you want to bring him?” Phillip asked.

“How about in an hour and a half?”

“Sounds good. Shelby will probably be up by then. She worked twelve-hour shifts the past three days and now she'll be off for the next couple of days. She'll be glad to see Isaiah too.”

“Great, we'll see you in a few.”

“Sounds good.”

Will clicked his cell phone off and commenced getting the baby ready for his visit with his godfather and Shelby. The whole while he was packing the baby's things, he brainstormed on where he would go to fill out applications.

He also thought about how much worse Morgan's attitude would be when and if she found out that he had taken the baby over to Phillip and Shelby's home. But he tried not to focus too much on the fact that his wife wouldn't be happy about it. He still couldn't figure out why Morgan didn't care very much for Phillip and Shelby, especially Shelby. The two women were cordial enough to each other, but both he and Phillip noticed the lack of interaction between them.

But he couldn't dwell on relationship dynamics between Morgan and Shelby. Nor would he dwell on how Morgan was going to react to his taking the baby over to his godfather's home for a few hours. It wasn't like he was dropping the baby off to strangers or for some frivolous reason. He had a good reason, and he was bound and determined that he would get a job before the week was overâeven if it meant he had to flip burgers.

He was supposed to take care of his family by providing for them. Even though his father had been an abuser, he always took care of his family when it came to their finances. It was in that respect that he wanted to be like his father. But he in no way wanted to be like the man in any other way, especially the way he physically hurt his wife and children. Will was going to have to make some changes soon. There was no way he could ever let his temper get the best of him the way it had earlier that morning. He hoped that he hadn't inherited abuse traits from his father. Only time would tell.

Chapter 8

Phillip greeted Will at the door with his sleeping son on his shoulder. “Hey, come on in.”

“Ah, man, did I almost wake him with the doorbell?” Will asked as he carried Isaiah in one arm and held the baby bag in his other arm.

“Nah, this boy plays hard and sleeps hard. He'll be knocked out for the next hour.”

Will shook his head as he followed Phillip through the foyer, down the hallway, and into their family room. The family room was full of enough toys to furnish a small daycare center.

“Whoa, what happened in here?” Will asked.

Phillip rolled his eyes. “Isaiah.”

“Isaiah?” Will asked. “What has my son got to do with this?”

“I told P.J. that his godbrother was coming over, and he insisted on bringing all these toys down here so they could play. That's probably why he's so worn out. First he brought down one piece at a time, then when I told him to stop he pitched a fit, and then I ended up bringing down a few more.”

Will looked at a train set situated in the middle of the floor. “Poor P.J. Doesn't he realize that at Isaiah's age, all he's going to do is put the toys in his mouth and try to eat them?”

“He'll find out soon enough,” Phillip replied.

Will put the baby down on the floor next to the train set and put the baby bag down on the couch. “Can you watch him a second while I go get his car seat?” He turned to go back outside.

“Will, man, sit down and relax for a moment. Are you in a rush?” Phillip asked. “You look like you're on a mission or something.”

Will thought about it for a second and realized that he had been going nonstop ever since he'd made up his mind to hit the pavement to look for jobs. He took a deep breath, and took his friend's advice and sat down. “I guess I have been on autopilot. I have some things that I want to get done within the next couple of hours. I'd like to get back home before Morgan does.”

“Oh, man, take your time. We finally get Isaiah over here and you are only going to leave him for a few minutes?” Phillip said.

“It's not that. I don't want to deprive you all of the baby. I promise I'll bring him back over soon so you all can have some real quality time with him. I just try to have dinner ready for Morgan whenever she gets home.”

“Isn't that nice. I wish Shelby would have dinner ready for me when I get home every night.”

“You know it's the least I can do since I'm at home all day.”

“I guess you've got a point.”

“Yeah, I just wish I could do more,” Will admitted. “I've become a pretty good cook, if I do say so myself.”

“Better than when I used to visit,” Phillip said.

Will's eyebrows rose in question. “Visit?”

“Okay, that time I called your apartment my residence during the time when Shelby pushed me in the right direction to find myself. When she kicked me out of the house,” Phillip said as he nodded. “Man, you couldn't pay me to go back to those dark, lost, and lonely days. I was lost and didn't even know it. I thought I was the one who made things happen, the one who was the master of my own destiny. Boy, was I wrong.” Phillip shook his head. “But I guess we all live and learn.”

Will looked at his watch.

“Do you have to be somewhere?” Phillip asked.

“Not anyplace in particular,” Will said. “I just want to run some errands and get back home, that's all.” Will didn't want to tell his friend that he was on a mission to find a job, and he didn't care what kind of job as long as he could find something that would help him bring in a paycheck.

“Hey, Will.”

Will turned his head toward the sound of Shelby's voice as she entered the family room. “Hey, Shelby,” Will greeted her. He was glad for the interruption in the conversation.

Shelby walked over to the baby and picked him up. “Oh my goodness. He has gotten so big.” She bounced him up and down in her arms. “Hey, Isaiah.” She smiled at the baby, and the baby smiled back.

“Oh wow, he normally doesn't warm so easily to people he isn't used to,” Will said.

“That's because Isaiah knows that Auntie Shelby will spoil him to death.” The baby continued to smile at Shelby.

“So, Will, to what do we owe this visit?” Shelby asked.

“I just need to run a few errands and I can move a little quicker without Isaiah right under me. I hope you don't mind; I know you've been working the past few days, pulling twelve-hour shifts.”

Shelby rolled her eyes. “Will, you can bring Isaiah over anytime, whether you are running errands or sitting on your front porch watching the grass grow.”

Will smiled. He loved Phillip like a brother, and could say the same for Shelby, loving her like a second sister. He just wished that Morgan got along well with his best friend and his wife.

He looked at his watch again.

“Go ahead, man, and run your errands,” Phillip said. “Isaiah is in good hands. And believe me, when P.J. gets up and Nyah gets home from school, Isaiah will be having so much fun, he won't want to go home.”

Will knew his baby boy was in good hands. He had no doubt about that. But for some reason, he still had a bit of uneasiness creeping in the back of his mind. He knew it had everything to do with his wife and her feelings about Phillip and Shelby. Morgan would not be pleased if she knew he was even visiting, much less leaving the baby at their house for a few hours.

He wasn't going to dwell on how Morgan would feel or react about Isaiah's own godfather watching him. He felt as if he were in a lose-lose situation anyway. The only way he might be able to help rectify things would be to find a job. And he was determined that by the end of the week, he would be employed somewhere.

Will picked his keys up from next to the baby's bag on the couch. “His bag has diapers and enough formula to last him a little while. His favorite stuffed animal is in there too. If he gets sleepy, he might want it. He shouldn't be hungry anytime soon, but I packed some baby food also if you need it. And if he does get hungry, he'll probably use sign language to let you all know he wants to eat.” Will showed them the sign for “eat.”

“This baby knows sign language?” Phillip asked.

“I've taught him a few signs,” Will said.

“Well, I'll be darned.”

“I've seen a couple of toddlers at the hospital doing sign language, but never a baby this young. That is amazing,” Shelby said.

“Okay, man. You act as if we don't know how to take care of a baby. Get on out of here. Isaiah will be fine,” Phillip said.

Will gave Isaiah a kiss on his forehead. As if sensing that his dad was about to leave him, he started to whimper. This pulled at Will's heart. He hated it when his son was sad, and especially when he cried. Crying because he was wet, hurt, or hungry was one thing, but crying because he was scared or lonely was an entirely different story.

Shelby took her hand and gently pushed Will toward the door. “Isaiah will be fine. Go ahead and do what you need to do. I assure you he's in good hands. And, hey, if he chokes or something, don't worry, I'm a nurse.” Shelby laughed.

Will didn't.

“Just joking,” Shelby said.

Will knew that she was just joking, but it didn't make him feel any better about his son starting to cry. He said a quick good-bye to his friends, knowing he needed to take care of business. He sat behind the wheel of his car and said a prayer to God. He prayed that the Lord would lead him to the right places to find a suitable job.

He'd had faith before, but he knew faith without works was dead, so now that he was working harder, Will had no doubt that somehow and someway, by the end of that week, God was going to open a door for him to be gainfully employed.

Chapter 9

Will felt like he was working at a real jobâa job as a runner for an office building or a postal worker. He'd covered a great amount of pavement looking for jobs. He'd taken Phillip and Shelby up on their offer to watch Isaiah another two days in a row. And by the third day, Isaiah acted as if he didn't even care that Will was leaving him, especially when he was playing and trying to keep up with P.J. Luck had been on Will's side, because P.J.'s daycare had been closed the last couple of days for staff development. Phillip had been happy to keep Isaiah along with his son during the day.

This made Will even more determined to find a job. It still didn't sit well with him that he was keeping a secret from his wife. Morgan had no idea that he was taking the baby over to Phillip's house. In one way he wanted to tell Morgan, because it wasn't a big deal as far as he was concerned. But he knew Morgan wouldn't feel the same way he did.

If he didn't know any better, Will would say that his wife was jealous of the other couple. But as far as he was concerned, there wasn't any reason for her to be jealous. They were just as blessed as the other couple. And if it was a vanity thing, Morgan was probably more beautiful than Shelby was. Morgan could pass for a fashion model if she wanted to.

Often when he tried to figure out what the problem was in Morgan's mind, Will found himself getting a headache. He also felt his spirit plunge into a dark abyss. And as much as he tried not to dwell on it, his mind often ended up perplexed. He figured that one day he was just going to have to accept the strange relationship.

That Thursday, Will continued to keep the faith as he walked back into his home a little after four o'clock in the afternoon. He knew that he had to have put in at least thirty applications in the past few days. But he hadn't had any callbacks.

Isaiah had fallen asleep during the ride home and was now lying on Will's shoulder, snoring like a grown man. He placed him in the playpen, slid his favorite stuffed animal next to him, and covered the baby up with a blanket.

Will sat on the couch for a moment and took a deep breath. He was tired and his feet hurt from being on them all day, but he decided to suck it up and got back up. He sat down at his computer to check his e-mails. There had been a couple of e-mails from jobs saying that he didn't meet the qualifications for their positions. He'd also gotten a few junk e-mails. The only e-mail that brightened his day was the one his sister had forwarded. She didn't forward e-mails often, but when she came across one that she thought Will would like, she shared it with him. Sure enough, the message she'd sent had him laughing out loud.

He shook his head, knowing that even though she was thousands of miles away, his sister could still make him laugh until his stomach hurt. As if she were clairvoyant, Will got a text message from her asking if he was home and if he could log on to the Web camera.

Will responded and, within minutes, he was sitting face-to-face with his sister on the West Coast.

“Hey, big brother. What's going on?” Nicole asked.

“It's funny you just texted me. I just got that e-mail you forwarded me.”

“You just got that message? I sent that, like, two days ago.”

“Yeah, well, I've been a little tied up and just got a chance to check my e-mails,” Will said.

“I've been a little tied up also, so I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to talk to you. And, to tell you the truth, I don't have much time now. But I just thought I'd take the chance,” Nicole said.

“Again, your timing couldn't have been more perfect, in more ways than one.” Will laughed again, thinking about the message his sister had forwarded. “How's the new job?” Will asked.

“Good, I can't complain. What about you? How is the job search coming?”

“Slowly, but surely. I have faith that I'll get work soon.”

“You will, just hang in there,” Nicole said.

He was hanging in there, but he was glad to have someone else with the same faith that he'd find a job.

“Where's my nephew?”

Will looked over at the playpen, half surprised that the baby hadn't woken up to the sounds of their voices. “He's asleep.” He looked back at the camera. “I am surprised you can't hear him snoring.”

“Is he that tired?”

“Yeah, he's been trying to keep up with P.J. and Nyah the past few days.”

“Really? That's so nice. How are Phillip and Shelby?”

“They are good, the kids are good. Isaiah thinks he is a big boy when he's around the kids.”

“That is too cute. You have to send me some more pictures of Isaiah. And I haven't seen Phillip's kids in a while either. I'd love to see how big they've gotten.”

“The next time I get a chance to go over there I'll take some pictures of the kids and send them to you.

“Nikki, do you ever think about Dad?” Will asked. He knew his question was out of the blue, but his thoughts and dreams about his childhood had been weighing on him lately.

“No. I don't have a daddy. Mama conceived by Immaculate Conception, remember?” Nicole chuckled, trying to make light of the question asked. “Don't you remember? At least, that is how I remember it.”

“Nicole, seriously.” Will reverted to calling her by her given name instead of her nickname.

“No, I don't think about that, man. I forgot about him and all his antics when I moved out here. I spent far too many nights thinking about that man my entire childhood and I refuse to do it now,” Nicole said.

The house phone rang. “Nikki, hold on a second.”

A look of relief washed over Nicole's face, as if she was glad for the interruption.

Will answered the phone. It was a manager at one of the retail stores in the mall. He wanted to hire Will as a sales associate and wanted to know how soon he could start. He needed him to work during the day. Will was thrilled because, instead of only giving him minimum wage, the manager was going to be giving him a dollar above minimum wage.

When he got off the phone he told his sister the good news. “That was the manager of a store in the mall. He wants to hire me as a sales associate.”

“That's good,” his sister said.

“It is good, not great, but definitely good,” Will said.

“Are you okay?” Nicole asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“Because you look as if a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders. I didn't want to say anything, but the last few times we've talked, especially on this Web camera, you've looked like you've had a lot on your mind.”

Will had to chuckle. “I can't get anything past you, can I?”

“Nope.”

“Being out of work and not being able to find a job has been getting to me. You know me. I'm a hard worker and have had a job ever since high school.”

“Yeah, I know. I just didn't want to say anything. I knew that whatever it was, you had it under control.”

“Well, thanks for recognizing and being concerned. But I have faith that God has got me and my family in His hands. This is all just a test of my faith. And I do not plan on failing this test.”

Will was elated to know that he would soon be contributing to their household finances again. He had to take a moment and look up toward heaven. He mouthed a thank you to the Lord.

“Dag, time flies when you are having fun. I wish I could talk to you a little longer, but I've got to run,” Nicole said. “Tell my little nephew I said googey, googey, googey, daba, daba, daba, doo, doo, doo.”

Will laughed almost as hard as the baby would have if he'd been awake. “I'll do just that, little sis.”

“Love you, Will.”

“Love you too, Nicole,” Will said, and clicked off the Web camera.

He sat back and took a deep breath, again thanking God for coming through for him. The job didn't even come anywhere close to mirroring his previous job, salary, or benefits. Nor did this job have any sort of prestige. But getting the phone call and job offer had made his day. He felt like he'd won the lottery for a million dollars.

He couldn't wait to tell Morgan about the job, but held back from calling her at work to give her the good news. He wanted to tell her face-to-face, over a nice dinner. So in their deep freezer Will found the last pack of steak they had and cooked it. He baked a couple of potatoes, steamed some broccoli, and tossed a salad for their special dinner.

Once Morgan arrived home, he had already set the table with the food in the dining room. He'd also pulled out a bottle of sparkling grape juice they'd been saving for a special occasion. It had a slight chill from the short amount of time he'd had it in the freezer.

“Hey, honey,” Morgan said. Morgan wasn't as tense as she had been the previous couple of days and Will took this as a good sign. She set her purse down on the kitchen counter and picked Isaiah up out of his high chair.

“Hey, yourself. How was your day?” Will asked.

“It was good, pretty much uneventful for a change.” She gave the baby kisses on both of his cheeks. Isaiah smiled as he raised his hands and cupped his mother's face. She looked around the table at the containers of food. “What is all this?”

“Dinner for my baby.”

“I know it's dinner, silly. I mean, what is all this? You cooked steak and there's a bottle of chilled sparkling juice ready to be poured into our champagne glasses. Are we celebrating something?” Morgan asked, then a smile brightened her face. “Are we?”

“Yes, my dear, we are.” Will unscrewed the cap of the sparkling juice and poured two glasses. He handed one to Morgan. Isaiah immediately put his hands out to grab the glass from Morgan. She let him have a sip of it. The baby's face frowned up as if he had just been given a sour lemon to eat. Both Morgan and Will couldn't help but laugh.

Morgan returned Isaiah to his high chair and then gave her full attention to her husband.

“Let us toast to celebrate my new job.” Will tapped Morgan's glass with his for the toast.

“Are you serious?” She smiled like a Cheshire cat.

“I wouldn't play about something like this,” Will said.

She gave Will a tight hug. “Thank you, Lord.” Morgan took a sip from her glass. “I say, that is good news.”

Will smiled, feeling as if he were on top of the world. He was well on the way to helping his family get back on track. It had been a long time since he'd felt that way, so long that it seemed foreign to him.

“Okay, come on, sit down, tell me all about it. What firm is it with? Is it a pay raise from your last job? What kind of benefits package do they have? When do they want you to start? And what kind of hours will you be working? You have to keep in mind that it isn't just us two anymore, we have to think about Isaiah.” She barely took a breath before continuing to say, “So you'll have to let the company know that you can't work long nights at the office all the time. I mean, I understand if you have to do so in the beginning, but please try not to make it a habit like you used to.”

“Whoa,” Will said. “Don't get ahead of me, and don't get too excited just yet.”

Morgan's eyes crinkled in question. “Huh? Why?”

“Here, let's not let this food get cold.” He put food on both plates and grabbed Isaiah's plate of baby food, which was cooling off on the kitchen counter, while Morgan went to the bathroom to wash her hands.

When she returned, Will said grace and they both dug into their food. After about her third bite of steak, Morgan turned her attention back to her husband.

“All right. I do have a new job. They want me to start on Monday. But, Morgan, it isn't with a firm, and it doesn't have a benefits package, much less any benefits, except that I'll get a discount on clothing,” Will said. “And I'll be working during the day from nine o'clock
A.M.
to three o'clock
P.M.
And what else did you ask? Oh yeah, there won't be any late-night hours with this job.”

Will spooned some baby food into the baby's mouth.

Morgan stopped chewing her food. “What kind of job is it where you only work six hours a day and get a discount on clothing? Is it a retail job or something?” Morgan laughed at the thought, but stopped when she didn't see Will laughing with her.

“Actually, it is a retail job. I'll be a sales associate for that new clothing store in the mall.”

“I was just joking,” Morgan said. “You can't be serious.”

“I told you a few moments ago, I wouldn't joke about something like this.”

Morgan dropped her fork onto her plate. “So what you are telling me is that you went and got a minimum wage job at the mall?”

BOOK: Quiet As It's Kept

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