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Authors: Monica P. Carter

BOOK: Scandalous Truth
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Chapter 7
“Troy, I know you're in there!” Danielle hissed, her cheek pressed to the cool wooden door. She strained to hear movement, but could discern nothing. She knocked lightly, but insistently, on the door again, and then looked around. None of the neighbors came outside, thankfully.
“I saw your car in the parking lot!” Danielle said, this time a little louder, but trying not to raise her voice. “I know you're home.”
Danielle had called Troy all day on his cell phone, but hadn't received an answer. Even when she called his job, she only received voice mail. She had tried to calm her mind while Nikki visited her earlier in the evening. Danielle had managed to put Troy out of her thoughts for a short while. She had even gone to bed shortly after Nikki left, but her mind raced with so many questions. Why was Troy ignoring her? Was he with that other woman? Who did he think he was that he could ignore her?
Finally, shortly after 4:00
A.M.
, Danielle could take it no longer. She climbed out of bed, quickly dressed and hopped into her gold Lexus coupe and sped to Troy's apartment to see if she could catch him and get to the bottom of this.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Her balled fists pounded on the door, and this time when she spoke, her voice was no longer low. “Troy! I know—”
Before she could finish, the door jerked open and he stood before her, eyes red with sleep. “Girl, what's your crazy problem?”
“I know you have that woman in here.” She shoved past him and flicked on the living room light. He held up his hands against the glare, cursing.
“You're out of your mind,” he said. “Nobody is here, but your crazy self. Now stop trying to wake the whole neighborhood.”
Danielle ignored him and stalked through the apartment, opening and slamming closet doors. She knelt and peered under the bed, where he returned, pulling the covers over his head.
“Well, why haven't you been answering or returning any of my calls?” she demanded, temporarily satisfied not to have found anyone, but still suspicious.
“Danielle, did it ever occur to you that something could be wrong, that I might be sick?” Troy asked in annoyance.
For the first time, she noticed the tissues on his night-stand and a half empty glass of orange juice.
“Oh, I'm sorry!” she said, her hand to her mouth. “Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because, I didn't feel like talking to anybody,” he said through the covers.
“But, baby, I could have come over here to take care of you,” Danielle cooed.
He grunted. “Right. You don't even like taking care of people at work, and that's your job.”
“That's not true!”
“Okay, well, whatever,” he said. “But look, I have a cold or sinus infection or something. So can you let me get back to sleep? It's the middle of the night.”
“Oh, well, I'll just stay here with you,” Danielle said.
“Danielle, I'm sick,” he said. “I wouldn't be any good company. And I don't want to get you sick.” He let out a cough and she leaned away from him, grimacing.
“Yeah, you're right,” she backed toward the door and rifled through her purse for antibacterial hand wash. “I'm sorry for waking you.”
“Right.”
Danielle fled from the apartment, slathering on antibacterial hand wash and never noticing the neighbor's door that stood slightly ajar.
Chapter 8
Nikki and William waited seemingly forever before the doctor emerged. “Is she all right?”
“She will be,” said the kind-faced man. The lines around his eyes spoke of concern. His name tag identified him as Dr. Woods.
“Oh, thank you.” Nikki visibly relaxed. “What made her cry like that? It seemed like she was in so much pain. I couldn't bear it.”
“Well, she has what is called a choledochal cyst,” Dr. Woods said. “It is a digestive condition.”
“Is it serious? You said she will be okay, right?” Nikki's dark brown eyes searched the doctor's face. William put his arm around her.
“Yes, it is serious, and yes, there is a very good chance she will be okay,” the doctor assured her. Dr. Woods included them both in his glance. “This is a situation brought on likely by an abnormality that's been there since birth.”
“Since birth?” Nikki's voice cracked. “How can that be? You mean my baby has been sick and I didn't know?”
“Well, what usually happens is that by about the age Psalm is now, bile begins to collect in the duct, forming a cyst, and this can cause a lot of other things,” he said. “It can eventually cause abdominal pain and fever, though usually we don't see that in a patient this young.”
“What can be done about it?” William jumped in. “It's curable, right?”
“There is a surgical procedure to remove the duct and use a piece of intestine to replace it,” Dr. Woods said.
“My baby has to have surgery?” Nikki's voice quivered.
“Well, it doesn't have to be something that happens today, but the procedure can cure her condition. The sooner, the better, to prevent any further episodes like the one that brought her here tonight.” His pager sounded. “Well, I've got to respond to this, but I'm available to you if you need to confer later. You are free to visit her room at any time.”
As the doctor walked off, Nikki's breath caught in her throat. She let it out in a slow, ragged manner and turned, burying her face in her husband's shirt. “I can't believe I didn't know she was sick. I'm a terrible mother.”
“Baby, you are the best mother in the world,” William said. “The doctor said she will be fine. And she will be. We'll get her the care she needs and this will be behind us. God has revealed the condition so we have to trust Him for deliverance.”
“What if the doctors can't do anything for her?” Nikki's eyes searched William's face for assurance.
“They will,” William guaranteed.
“But what if they can't?”
“Things will be fine.” William rubbed her shoulder. “You heard the doctor. We will pray for God's healing and that He directs the doctors to the best course of action. Now let's go see how our baby is doing.”
“Okay.” Nikki nodded. She squeezed William's hand, then walked with him to Psalm's room.
Nikki touched her child's arm while William prayed.
“Dear Heavenly Father, we ask that you show mercy to our daughter. We know you have the power of healing. Please deliver her from this terrible affliction. In the name of your loving son, Jesus. Amen.”
“Amen.” Nikki echoes the word, but nervousness crowded out confidence. As they stood next to Psalm's bed, watching her sleep peacefully, fear churned in Nikki's belly.
Chapter 9
Danielle dialed Nikki's number on the way to work the next morning, as was her habit. She didn't get an answer on Nikki's home phone, so dialed her friend's cell. Nikki answered on the second ring.
Danielle knew instantly something was wrong. “Are you okay?”
“It's Psalm,” Nikki said. “We had to take her to the emergency room last night. We're still here.”
Danielle gasped. “The emergency room? Is she all right?”
Danielle heard the breath catch in Nikki's throat. “I don't know,” Nikki said. “The doctor said she has some birth defect and has to have surgery.”
“Birth defect?” Danielle said. “She's four years old. How does she have a birth defect?”
“I don't know.” Nikki's voice was small. “I'm just scared.”
“Look, I'll be right there. What hospital?”
“No, don't come, we're about to take her home.”
“Okay, I'll meet you at your house. I'll use my key.”
 
 
About thirty minutes later, Danielle snatched the front door open when she heard Nikki and William pull into the driveway with Psalm. “Come on in and tell me what happened,” she said as Nikki gently lifted Psalm from her booster seat.
Danielle ushered her friend into the house, holding the door as the smell of coffee and bacon greeted Nikki. Nikki smiled and shifted Psalm in her arms. “Thanks,” she said. “You are so sweet. You didn't have to do this.”
“Well, I know if you've been at the hospital all night, you've not eaten,” Danielle said, grabbing a cup of coffee from the counter and handing it to William.
“Thanks,” William said.
Nikki disappeared down the hall with the sleeping Psalm.
“You didn't have any syrup, so is jelly okay for your bacon?” Danielle called to Nikki, knowing her best friend always ate something sweet on her breakfast meat.
“I'm really not hungry,” Nikki said, re-entering the kitchen.
“Baby, you need to eat,” William coaxed softly.
Nikki nodded. “Yeah, jelly is okay.” She sat down to the food and they bowed in prayer.
“Dear Lord, thank you for this meal,” William said, “and thank you for even the blessing of this morning. Thank you for giving us the knowledge of our daughter's condition and we pray you guide us in the best course of action. Please grant healing. Amen.”
“So what is this about a birth defect?” Danielle asked, her eyes moving from Nikki's grim face to William's.
“Well, the doctor said she has a condition that is the result of some birth defect she has had all this time.” Nikki's words came out softly and deliberately. “All this time, my baby has been sick. I . . . I just don't understand.”
“Well, I'm sure it's not as bad as the doctor said,” Danielle assured.
“Well, birth defect sounds pretty serious to me,” Nikki said.
“But that's all right,” William reminded his wife. “God can do abundantly more than we can even think, much less ask Him to do. And that's in the Bible. So healing our baby is well within His capabilities, and I feel she will be delivered.”
“I'm just going by what the doctor said,” Nikki insisted. “I am so scared and—”
“Who are you going to believe?” William challenged. “The Lord or some human doctor?”
Nikki opened her mouth, then closed it.
Danielle nodded. “Yeah, listen to William. He's right. Remember when you came to my house last night trying to give me a word of encouragement to help me face my doubts? You wanted to tell me that God would see me through, right? Well, I'm trying to do the same thing here.” Danielle raised a brow. “Surely you can take a few words of encouragement, can't you?”
Danielle saw the emotions play across her friend's face. She knew Nikki wanted to latch on to the words, but her doubts and concerns battled her faith. “Now tell me every single thing the doctor said,” Danielle invited.
They told Danielle about the conversation with the doctor, and she nodded gravely.
When they finished telling her about that day's experience, Danielle shook her head and said, “I've never heard of this choledochal cyst, but maybe it's not as bad as you think it is.”
“I'm going to look it up on the internet,” Nikki said. “And we're going to get this taken care of as soon as we can.”
“Can you call the insurance company today to get pre-certified?” William asked his wife. “That way, we can get the ball rolling and can go on and schedule the surgery, if we find it's necessary.”
“You're not going to let her have surgery, are you?” Danielle asked.
“I'm sure it won't come to that,” William said. “I'm praying she can be cured without that extreme measure.”
“Well, the doctor said surgery is what would cure her,” Nikki insisted.
“Well, still. . . .” Danielle wasn't convinced they should be so quick to consider surgery.
“Look, if surgery is the best thing, then that's what it'll be,” Nikki said. “I can't let my baby get sick to where she is in as much pain as she was last night. It was horrible. She cried so much that her throat was sore and finally, all she could do was hiccup. I felt so bad. If I could have taken her pain as my own, I would have. I'll do whatever I have to for my child.”
“Shouldn't you trust in God?” Danielle prodded. “Faith—”
“—without works is dead,” Nikki interrupted flatly. “And I'm going to work on getting my child better, no matter what it takes.”
Danielle shuddered.
Chapter 10
The insurance company's denial was immediate. The surgery wasn't covered. They said surgery wasn't the recommended treatment in patients Psalm's age, and that most people didn't experience ill effects from the condition until years later.
“Well, my baby was in terrible pain last night,” Nikki said to the dry, bland voice on the phone.
“Well, ma'am, all I'm saying is this surgery is not considered the appropriate treatment, according to our experts,” the insurance representative said.
“Well, ma'am,” Nikki tried to speak calmly, “the doctor said—”
“Yes, I understand.” The representative cut her off, speaking as if to a child. “Doctors sometimes over-treat. They often try to do the most drastic measure. Here, we want to be responsible.”
“Responsible? What do you mean?” Nikki said before calming herself down. “Look, lady, I know you're just doing your job, but you've got to okay this surgery for my little girl.”
“I'm sorry, ma'am.”
“But I can't afford it without insurance!” Nikki said, clutching the receiver to her ear. Sweat beaded her nose. She could hear Psalm stirring in the other room. “Okay, look, I've got to go. Thank you for your non-help.”
“You're most welcome.”
Nikki stepped into Psalm's bedroom. The girl was just starting to awaken. “Good morning, precious,” Nikki greeted with a wide smile. She didn't want Psalm to sense her anxiety. She leaned in and kissed the girl on the forehead. “Are you hungry? Do you want breakfast?”
“Yes, ma'am,” Psalm said, stretching her tiny arms high over her head as she sat up in the bed.
Nikki's brows arched in surprise. She wasn't sure Psalm would be ready to eat, but the girl's assurance was a welcome response. Nikki reached down to help her daughter from the canopied bed, but Psalm sprang up and raced off from the room.
“Mommy, let's play hide and seek!”
Nikki followed the child in wonderment. It was as if Psalm had never been sick and had not spent hours at the hospital. Maybe her prayers were working, Nikki mused. She hadn't wanted to trust her daughter's care to a few random prayers, but maybe prayer was just the antidote. Relief coursed through her being as the anxiety of the past few hours began to dissipate.
Nikki's eyes fell on the children's Bible on the bookshelf. “Thank you, Lord.” She breathed the words.
“Mommy!” Psalm's voice was insistent. “Come play with me!”
Nikki emerged from the bedroom. “Okay, okay,” she said with a laugh. “Let's get you some food; then we'll play.”
Nikki felt chagrin at her earlier dismay. “I'll never doubt you again, Lord.”

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