Savory Deceits (39 page)

“Okay, I gave this some serious thought, and finally came up with something.” I paused, and looked from Nena to Starr.

“Well? Out with it already!” Starr said impatiently.

“I chose the name Kylee.” I said, looking at Nena.

“After mom,” she said, with tears filling her eyes. I nodded eyes watery as well. Starr smiled.

“Kylee,” Starr repeated, and then nodded. “I like it.” She added.

“And,” I continued, “for a middle name, I chose Serena.” I said, still looking at my best friend.

“Really?” Starr asked with tears in her eyes too. I wanted the memory of her older sister to live on as well.

“What do you think?” I asked all teary. Starr rose from the chair, and gently hugged me.

“It’s beautiful.” She whispered. “Just like baby Kylee.” She said again, releasing me.

“Kylee Serena Anderson,” Nena said smiling. “Welcome to the world.” She finished, reaching over to rub little Kylee’s tiny knuckles.

~ALANA~

“Where’re you going?” Eric asked me when I got up from the chair, beside my mother’s bed.

“Bathroom,” I replied, exiting the room without looking at him. Even though I have only known Eric for a short period, I did not like him. In a way, I blamed him for my mother’s stroke, their impromptu marriage, her lies, deception, and all of the above. My mother has never lied to me, until she met him. I could not stand watching him play the husband role now that she was sick. Where was he, all those nights my mother slept alone, while he was out doing God knows what? Two and a half weeks has gone by, since I came to visit, and I could only remember him spending the night at home once. Once! I smelled a cheater. Game recognized game, and I knew that Eric was out doing a lot more than just paperwork. To spare my mother’s feelings, I never voiced my opinions about Eric. I hated that she was so very much in love with this man; a man who didn’t care enough about her, to make it home in time for dinner, or at least sleep in the same damn bed with her. I sure as hell did not want to call him, when I found out about my mother’s stroke, but I knew that she would want him here. I shook my head, as I slowly walked down the hospital corridor. I did not really have to use the restroom; I just wanted to get out of there, before I said something very nasty to my so-called stepfather. Who was that woman I saw him talking to in the maternity ward anyway? Cheating bastard! I saw the way he held the bitch that was so rude to me earlier. That was more than just a friendly hug. The nerve of that disrespectful son of a bitch, to be all up in his hoe’s face, while my mother was lying here unconscious, fighting for her life. As soon as she was better, I am going to take her far away from here, and far away from him. With that thought, I sighed, pushed open the door to the restroom, and went in.

~TONY~

I rounded another corner of the hospital corridor trying to relocate my mother. When I finally saw her coming from the opposite end of the hall, I waved. She looked up at me, and then forced a smile.

“Mom,” I said, when I approached her. “How is she?” I asked her.

“The same,” she replied. “I went to get some coffee. Her husband and daughter are in there with her now, so I decided to give them some privacy.” She told me. Then I looked up to see a white man emerge from inside one of the rooms.

“Regina.” The man said, looking in our direction, coming towards us.

“Hey.” My mother replied, appearing to know who he was. “How is she?” She asked the man.

“The same. I’m going to have to run home, and get a few things. Can you stay with her, until I get back?” The man asked my mother.

“Sure. No problem.” She replied. “Oh, excuse me. Where are my manners?” My mother began. “Eric this is my son Anthony. Anthony, this is Eric, Cynthia’s husband.” She said, as I extended my hand.

“Nice to meet you.” Eric said to me.

“Same here, Sir. I’m sorry about your wife.” I said to him.

“Thank you.” He said, before turning back to my mother. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Call me if there’s any change.” My mom nodded, and he quickly headed down the corridor towards the elevators. Then my mother turned towards room 303, and I followed her in. She sat in the empty chair near my great aunt’s bed, and I stood behind her.

“Hey, miss lady. Look who’s here to see you. It’s Anthony. Look how much he’s grown.” My mother said, taking my great aunt’s lifeless hand. When I heard my mother crying, I touched her shoulder. She placed her other hand on mine, and leaned her head into it sniffling. “I wonder where Marissa is.” She said, glancing around the room.

“Who’s Marissa?” I asked. Just then, the room door swung open.

~NENA~

Starr looked at her vibrating phone, and read the text message displayed on the screen. Then, she quickly rose from the chair in Naima’s room, and put on her sweater.

“Honey, I have to leave for a little while, but I’ll be right back, okay?” She said to Naima.

“Oh, sure hon, go ahead. I’ll be fine.” My sister told her. Naima continued watching her baby sleep in the small clear box next to her bed.

“All right, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Starr said, leaning over to give Nai a hug, and kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks Starr… for everything.” Naima said, giving her one last squeeze, before releasing her.

“No problem mamma.” Starr said with a wink. “Nice seeing you again Nena.” Starr said, touching my shoulder, before leaving.

“Okay, you too.” I responded. I owed a lot to Starr for taking care of Naima when I should have been, especially during such a milestone in her life. When we were alone, I turned back to watch my sister bond with her baby. I looked on, as Naima reached in the clear box to rub Kylee’s little cheek. Tears filled my eyes again, as I realized how much has changed, since she and I last saw each other. “I’m so sorry I hurt you Nai.” I finally managed to say. She continued staring at her baby. “I missed so much.” I said, shaking my head, staring at my niece as well. My tears were coming down now. “I can’t believe I did that to you. Can you ever forgive me?” I said crying. My sniffles forced Naima to look up at me with tears in her own eyes. Still, she said nothing, and looked back at her sleeping baby, as those tears began to roll down her face. I could not blame her, especially after the despicable way I treated her. “I’m so sorry Nai.” I said again, still crying. “I was so stupid, but it’s over now. I ended it.” I told her. She then looked back up at me, and I could see the pain in her eyes; the pain that I caused with my selfishness. Shaking my head and crying, I covered my face with my hands, so ashamed of whom I was. “I’m so, so sorry.” I muffled through my palms. After a moment, Naima finally spoke.

“It’s okay honey. Come here.” She said, pulling me to her. I hugged her, and continued to sob.

“No, it’s not okay. I hate myself for what I did to you.” I admitted.

“Up until a few hours ago, I hated you too.” Naima whispered through sobs, still holding me. Then, I cried even harder.

“I’m so sorry, Nai.” I repeated.

“I know sweetie, I know.” She said, rubbing my back. “Hey,” she said, pushing me away to look at me. “You better quit, you’re starting to look like a raccoon.” She joked; referring to the mascara that I was sure was running down my face, and I smiled. “That’s my girl.” She said smiling back.

“I’m so sorry, Nai. Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?” I pleaded. I needed her forgiveness. I needed redemption, from what I have become, and for what I no longer wanted to be anymore.

“I already have.” She replied.

“Oh, Nai!” Relieved, I threw my arms around her again crying. She cried too. We held each other close, as the tension and animosity, that plagued our relationship as sisters, finally began to dissipate.

~STARR~

I slowly entered the penthouse being more cautious this time, not knowing who waited for me on the other side. With everything that happened with Eric’s wife, I made sure I kept my guard up. For all I knew, another wife, a brother, or some distant relative could be waiting to confront me again, so I was not taking any chances. I heard some movement off to my right, so I stopped, and braced myself. When I finally saw him, I exhaled, relieved. Eric came from the kitchen, with a glass of scotch, and stopped when he saw me. He then placed the glass on the table, walked over to me, and swept me in his arms. Without saying a word, he kissed me so profoundly, that I dropped my purse, and keys, right there on the floor, and wrapped my arms around his neck. I kissed him back just the same. When his hands began to roam my body, I lowered my hands to his chest. Instead of unbuttoning his shirt, as I usually did before, I gently pushed him away. As I tried to take a step back, to gather my thoughts, he held me in place. Then I looked in his eyes, and saw that he needed me, more so now than ever. “I want to make love to you, Starr. Right here, right now. I don’t want to let another minute go by without holding you in my arms.” He paused, and then whispered, “I love you. When all this is over, I want you to marry me.”

Stunned, my eyes filled with tears. “Life’s too short, and I want to live in the moment. I want to live in this moment, right here right now, with you.” He said, meeting my eyes.

“I love you too.” I said, and wrapped my arms around his neck to kiss him again. He held me so tight as if he never wanted to let me go. I could feel his love for me, and finally, I was able to open my heart up to him unconditionally. Naturally, I was scared, and unsure of where this new venture will take us, but I did not care. All I knew, at this moment in time, is that I could no longer picture my life without him. He lowered me to the floor, and made love to me like never before. Everything in my world seemed to come together. “I love you.” I heard him say again, before he pressed his lips to mine, as I gave myself to him completely.

43

~CHRIS~

As I entered, my hotel room, near the Milwaukee International Airport, I dropped my bag on the floor, and plopped on the bed. With my hands behind my head, I thought of Nena. She still was not answering her phone. How could I make her see that I loved her more than anything in this world did, and that is why I did what I did? Under normal circumstances, I knew that she would have never left Tony. I took out a picture of her, set it on the bedside table, and stared at it. “I love you more than life itself, Nena.” I said aloud. As I stared at her smiling photographic image, I thought of ways to convince her to come back to me. She was the only person I would do anything for, even if it meant hurting those I cared about greatly. I blinked back tears, and rolled off the bed, to shed my clothes. Then I dropped down on the floor, and did one hundred pushups back to back, each time looking at her picture as my body rose with every rep. When I finished, I went to the bathroom, and briefly stopped in front of the mirror, admiring my physique. Moving away from the mirror, I stepped into the shower, and turned on nothing but cold water. As the frigid water slowly started to numb my body, thoughts of Alana ran through my head. “Bitch!” I growled angrily. I hurriedly washed up, stepped out of the shower, and quickly dressed. Grabbing my overnight bag off the floor, I set it on the bed, and reached inside for my rental car keys, my wallet, and lastly, the black and chrome nine-millimeter pistol. I stuck the gun in my back, and covered it with my shirt. Then, with one last look at Nena’s picture, I left the room.

~STARR~

I sleepily opened my eyes to the rays of light coming through the bedroom drapes. I stirred, then nestled my head even more into the crook of Eric’s arms, and closed my eyes again. We had made love most of the night, and slept in each other’s arms, shutting out the rest of the world. I started to drift back to sleep when I heard a phone buzzing. I slowly sat up, listening to the distant sound. Then, I rolled out of the bed, just in time for Eric to open his eyes.

“Where’re you going, beautiful?” He asked smiling.

“Your phone is going off.” I said, walking naked into the living room, where we left our clothes, from the night before. When I returned with his phone, the buzzing had stopped. I went to hand it to him when it started vibrating again. He sat up, and took his phone from me, when I climbed back into the bed with him.

“Hello?” He answered, and I listened.

“Eric! Where’ve you been?” I heard a woman’s voice shout on the other end.

“I dozed off when I got home.” He lied. “Is everything okay, Regina? How’s Cynthia?” He asked, changing the subject. Regina? Who’s Regina?

“No Eric! Cynthia passed away this morning.” I heard the woman say, who was now crying on the other end.

“I’m on my way!” Eric said, throwing the covers back.

~NENA~

“You don’t have to stay here with me you know. Go to the house, and get some rest.” Naima said when I kept dozing off in the chair.