The Reason Why (32 page)

He pulled out the tire iron that he had hidden beneath his jacket and tried to pry open the door. The bolt was too strong.

“Damn!” Chino cried out.

“What's the matter, boo?” Pam asked nervously.

“It's locked, and I can't get it open!” Chino told her. He peered around the area. There was a green steel bench about twenty feet away. He walked to the bench, dropped to his knees, and peered underneath it. The structure of the bench was such that nothing could be hidden underneath it.

“Someone would find it there,” Pam told him.

“I know,” Chino nodded. Again, he searched the area. A water fountain sat next to the park bench, and next to the fountain was a drain for the overflow from the fountain. Chino rose, walked to the drain, and examined it. He pulled out the tire iron, stuck it in one of the openings, and pried open the grate. He then lifted the grate and sat it down next to the hole. It was heavy.

Chino dropped to his knees, stuck his hand inside, and found the perfect spot. There was a shelf just below the surface of the drain that couldn't be seen. A person would have to stick his hand deep inside to find it. And as slimy as it was, no one would go there and purposely stick their hand inside. It was perfect!

“Hand me the piece, baby,” Chino whispered.

Pam handed Chino the wrapped-up gun, and he placed it inside the hole on the shelf. He rose and replaced the heavy grate, then examined the hole. Nothing could be seen from the surface. Pam grabbed Chino's hands and dropped to her knees.

“Dear God, please protect us, and forgive us for everything that has happened. Please keep us together, and let nothing but death separate us. We humbly ask that this secret goes with both of us to our graves. Amen.”

Chino stared at Pam. “Pooh, this is the spot, and you hold the secret to my freedom. You're not my wife, legally, but in my heart I trust you with my life.”

Nurses flooded into the room and grabbed Chino's arms. Nurse Jen bent over and whispered into Chino's ear as she caressed his head.

“It's all right, baby,” she said softly. “Everything is going to be all right. I'm here with you. Nurse J has your back. You hear me, Christonos?”

There were two people in this world who called him Christonos. His mother, who was dead, and his Pooh. He could hear his name being called. It was soothing. Calming. He stopped twisting and turning, and found himself relaxing. Slowly, and just barely, Chino cracked open his eyes.

T
he wedding was taking place outdoors in the park. A trellis with flowers around it had been set up near the altar, while another was set up near the front so that the bride would walk through it before her journey down the aisle. All their friends and family were in attendance, as the bride's family had made sure of it. They had spared no expense, including flying in relatives from all over.

A pianist banged out the bridal march, and the wedding began.

Chino stood at the altar waiting for his soul mate. Rock stood next to him as his best man, while Chris J, Infa, Ant, and Corey stood to one side as his groomsmen. They were all decked out in white Armani tuxedos, while Chino had on a black one.

Chairs had been arranged on either side of the aisle; floral arrangements made a pathway for the bride to walk down. White doves sat in cages throughout the area, and a white
panther with a diamond necklace snarled from a cage toward the rear of the area.

The bride cut the corner in her dress, and Chino gasped. She was more beautiful than anything in the world to him. Her white silk wedding dress was designed by Carolina Herrera, and it had over ten thousand Swarovski crystals sewn into it. Her silk shoes had the same crystals sewn into the same pattern in them, and they matched the dress exactly. She was a vision of loveliness floating down the aisle on her father's arm.

“Congratulations,” Rock leaned over and whispered.

“She's beautiful, man,” Infa told him.

Chino smiled and nodded. He knew that he had found the perfect woman for him. She was smart, funny, and she had proven that she had his back. She was the woman that he was going to spend the rest of his life with.

The beautiful bride stopped at the altar, and her father placed her hand into Chino's and then took his place of honor.

“Who here gives this woman away in holy matrimony?” the minister asked.

“I do.”

The minister turned to Chino. “Do you, Christonos, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife in holy matrimony? Do you promise to love her, honor her, and cherish her, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?”

Chino turned toward his bride and smiled. “I do.”

The minister turned toward the bride. “Do you, Tracey, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband in holy matrimony? Do you promise to love, honor, and obey him, till death do you part?”

Tracey faced Chino and smiled. “I do.”

“Do you have the rings?” the minister asked.

Rock pulled out the rings and handed them to Chino, who handed his to Tracey.

“Repeat after me,” the minister told them. “With this ring, I thee wed.”

“With this ring, I thee wed,” Tracey said, placing the ring on Chino's finger.

“With this ring, I thee wed,” Chino repeated, placing his ring on Tracey's finger.

“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the minister declared. “You may kiss the bride.”

Pam cried out in pain and arched her back. The techs rushed her into the delivery room and helped her onto the delivery table.

“Aaaaaah!”
Pam screamed, and then started breathing out heavily.

“Breathe, baby, breathe!” Mrs. Xavier told her.

The doctor on call breezed into the room. “What have we here?”

“First-timer,” the tech told him. “Her water broke in the ambulance on the way here, and she's already dilated to six.”

“She's at six?” the doctor asked, not believing what he was hearing.

“Yes, sir,” the paramedic told him. “She's already at six.”

The doctor walked to the glove dispenser, pulled out a pair of gloves, and put them on. “Let me take a look at you.”

Pam screamed as another contraction hit her.

A nurse in the room reclined the bed Pam was lying in and held her hand. Another nurse placed Pam's legs in a pair of
stirrups. The doctor pulled up a stool and stuck his fingers inside Pam to see how many centimeters she had dilated.

“She's at seven now,” the doctor proclaimed. “She'll be at nine in no time. I'm going to go and get scrubbed up. Get everything ready for me. Looks like we're about to have a baby.”

Two delivery nurses brought in some carts with several prepackaged tools for delivery and pieces of equipment. They began opening packages and arranging all the necessary delivery equipment on the stainless steel delivery carts. They were already scrubbed up and had their sterile gowns and masks on.

Another contraction hit Pam. “Chino!” she screamed.

“Chino's not here, baby,” her mother told her. “But I'm here. Don't worry, we're going to get through this together, baby. Mama's here.”

“Chino!” Pam cried out again. This time, she broke down and began crying. “Where are you?”

“Mama's here, sweetheart.”

“You said that you would be here!” Pam cried.

“Forget about him, Pam!” her mother snapped. “We have a baby to bring into this world, and a baby to raise. Forget about him.”

“Why am I alone?” Pam cried out. “Why?”

“I'm here, Pammy,” her mother told her. “You're not alone.”

“You promised,” Pam cried.

Chino lifted Tracey's veil and leaned forward and kissed her.
Damn, Pooh. I can't believe this,
he thought.
I can't believe this isn't you. How could you have shot me, Pooh? How could you have tried to kill me?

A tear fell from Chino's eyes. Everyone thought that he was overcome with emotion because of the wedding. In reality, he was saying good-bye to his past and stepping into his future. He was saying good-bye forever to his Pooh.

The cries of a newborn radiated throughout the room.

“It's a boy!” the doctor declared.

The delivery nurses suctioned the baby's nose and mouth with a tiny aspirator and wiped him down.

The doctor pressed against Pam's stomach. “I need for you to push for me again. We're going to get the afterbirth out of you. The tough part is over with; we just have to finish the job, though.”

Pam pushed, and the doctor pulled out clumps of afterbirth and placed it in a metal tray.

“What are you going to name him?” a nurse asked. She wrapped the baby in a warm cloth and handed him to Pam.

“Christon—” Pam stopped herself. “No. No, his name is Antonio.”

She too was making a break from her past. She was not going to burden her newborn child with her past luggage; she was going to give him his own name and his own future—a future that they were going to march into together.