Truth (41 page)

When he fell silent, Marie spoke, “Ms.
Sharron, I promise to take care of Nathaniel, as much as he will
allow. He will not be alone.”

Nathaniel’s eyes moved from his wife, to his
companion, to her midsection. Marie looked away. Did he really want
to reveal their secret? She couldn’t do it; again, it was his
decision. “Sharron, this may shock you.” He grinned through the
grief; Marie believed she heard a low laugh. “I know it did me. But
dear, there’ll be another Rawls in the house. Our name will
continue. We have a baby due the beginning of next year.”

Did she understand? She squeezed both hands
again. Her eyes seemed to register every word, and she blinked two
times. The next breath she took was one of the deepest she’d taken
in a while. One more squeeze of their hands, and she fell asleep.
Sharron hasn’t awoken since.

The sound of the French door opening behind
her brought Marie back to the present. She moved her focus from the
vast green landscape to the person now looming beside her chair.
Expecting the nurse, Samuel’s presence caught her off guard.

Marie spun around, her feet feverishly
pushing into her sandals. “Mr. Rawls, I didn’t know you were
home.”

His stare was intense, as he lowered himself
onto the adjacent lounge chair. Instead of speaking, he looked out
at the blue sky. The growing silence magnified Marie’s unease. Only
the rustle of the trees in the breeze was audible. Finally she
asked, “Did you want something? Or are you waiting for the
physician to finish his exam?”

“
You like this lifestyle,
don’t you?”

“
Excuse me?”

“
I had you investigated.
Did you seriously think I would allow someone to live in my house,
care for my mother, and seduce my father without knowing her
past?”

Marie stood abruptly. She moved toward the
rail debating her response. If this were Nathaniel and they were
alone, she would meet him head-on. This wasn’t Nathaniel. And she’d
always addressed Samuel with respect, a kindness obviously not
reciprocated.

“
Mr. Rawls, your tone is
making me uneasy.”

He stood, “Really, my tone? My words aren’t
bothering you? The fact I just accused you of seducing my father –
calling you what you are, a whore.”

“
I believe you’re
overwrought by your mother’s illness. I’m sure you don’t mean
everything you’re saying.”

“
You’re wrong. I mean
every damn word. I will admit, the investigation was tricky, seeing
as though you don’t use your first name.” She turned and glared,
her gray eyes speaking the retort she wouldn’t allow her lips to
say. He continued, “My investigator told me you were disowned by
your family – they don’t want anything to do with you, after you
disgraced them, after you gave birth to a bastard!”

Her blood boiled; she couldn’t contain her
words. “Your investigator doesn’t have the whole story.”

“
When my father hears
this, once my mother is gone, you’ll be out on your
ass!”

“
Good luck with that.”
Marie’s chin rose in defiance. “Your father knows the truth. I’ve
told him everything. The truth is...” Marie straightened her stance
and contemplated. After a protracted silence, she continued with
more control and less emotion, “The truth is -- you don’t deserve
to know what happened. It’s none of your damn business.”

Samuel took a step toward her, infuriated by
her insolate words and tone. This conversation could go so many
different directions. Fortunately the destination would remain
unknown as a petite blonde nurse offered a welcome interruption,
politely knocking on the glass paned door, purposely making as much
noise as possible, as she entered the stone balcony. “Excuse me,
Mr. Rawls, Ms. Marie, the doctor would like to speak with you
both.”

Samuel’s look would stop most people in
their tracks. His brown eyes glowed with frightening intensity.
Many people would be intimidated by the darkness; Marie was not.
She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt she had Nathaniel’s support.
That knowledge propelled her forward. She’d seen those eyes before,
in the man she loved. However, they hadn’t been directed at her,
but at the man before her. Perhaps that was Samuel’s true source of
animosity. She possessed the love and support he’d never received.
Pity threatened her indignation until fear took over. What would
Samuel do if he knew she were pregnant?

The report was the same: Ms. Sharron’s
vitals continue to diminish. The IV kept her hydrated but without
nutrients she’d be gone within hours or days. This time, the doctor
did not expect a reprieve. Samuel, Amanda, and Marie listened as
the doctor explained the probable sequence of internal events
ultimately releasing Sharron from her earthly prison and stopping
her respirations altogether.

The three sat in silence as the doctor and
his staff gathered their belongings. “Mr. Rawls, I will once again
offer my nurses to stay with Mrs. Rawls during these last few days.
This is a difficult time for those emotionally bound to her. We can
have a rotation here twenty-four hours.”

Nathaniel wasn’t present, granting Samuel
the supreme position as decision maker. Marie sat straight and
looked to Mr. Samuel. She wanted compassion, understanding, perhaps
even respect for her years of service. She wanted to be the one
monitoring the sweet lady. Instead, what Marie saw was contempt.
Samuel’s sinister expression displayed his sudden ability to thwart
her plans. His voice was smug and restrained, “Thank you, Doctor. I
believe that would be best. Please have your nurses begin
immediately.”

Amanda looked from her husband to Marie,
back and forth. Finally, with a pompous smirk she spoke, “Then I
guess it’s settled. Marie, you may pack your things. It seems
everything is covered.”

“
Thank you, Mrs. Rawls.”
Despite their cruelty, Marie conducted herself with poise and
dignity. They were after all in Ms. Sharron’s room. It wasn’t the
place for an argument. “I believe I’ll wait for Mr. Rawls’ return
before I begin that endeavor.”

Amanda smirked, “Marie, perhaps you’ve
forgotten, I’m in charge of household staff. Nathaniel has more
important issues than dealing with the help. Your services are no
longer required.”

Ignoring Amanda’s directive, Marie walked
toward the bed and squeezed Ms. Sharron’s hand. With tears in her
eyes, Marie nodded respectfully to the nurses, gathered her
composure and walked toward the door of the suite. She needed air.
The day was beautiful. Her goal was the pool or perhaps gardens,
anywhere away from Samuel and Amanda.

Marie’s mind spun as she approached the
grand staircase taking in the gorgeous entry. The space below shone
brightly and full of light, the high ceiling sparkled with
reflective gold flakes glistening above the large glowing
chandelier. A story below, sunlight seeped through beveled glass,
creating prisms of color. Momentarily, Marie paused at the railing
mesmerized by the rainbows dancing on the reflective sheen of the
marble floor. It was as if the beautiful foyer was unaware that
death lurked in the shadows.

After descending a few steps Samuel’s gruff
voice stalled her movement. Gripping the rail she remained facing
forward, refusing to turn toward him. His words reached her loud
and clear, “I would appreciate you to remember, staff uses the back
stairs.” When Marie chose not to respond, Samuel moved closer,
descending a few steps. “I am speaking to you.”

Her gray eyes shot shards of hate through
the moisture she shed for the woman upstairs. “I can assure you, I
heard you. Would you like me ascend, so I may descend again?”

“
I would like you to
ascend so you may fulfill the task my wife instructed.”

Marie turned away, exhaled
audibly, and continued her descent. This time he stopped her
progress with a tight grip to her right arm as he propelled himself
in her path. “My father has a lot of important things happening
with his work; he doesn’t need to be concerned with the employment
of
servants
.” His
heavy emphasis on the last word did not go unnoticed.

Marie’s chin rose in defiance. She stared
directly into Samuel’s eyes. “I am aware of his concerns.”

“
Oh, really?”

She didn’t owe Samuel anything. Nonetheless,
she hoped her knowledge would stop his barrage, if only
momentarily. “Yes, your father is currently in a meeting with Mr.
Clawson and Mr. Mathews. That’s why he wasn’t able to be here for
the doctor’s examination. However, he plans to be home as soon as
he can. Your son is coming too.”

Samuel chuckled, “Well, I guess it’s true.
If you want to know everything about someone,” he paused, “share a
pillow.”

Marie freed her arm and attempted to step
around the detour Samuel created. The prisms of light and color
continued to dance across the floor, far below.

“
We want you gone by the
time he gets home.” It wasn’t a request.

Marie spun again, “I will not leave this
home until your father asks me to do so.”

“
So you actually think you
will stay, after my mother is gone?”

“
I think you disrespect
your mother by speaking as if she’s already in heaven.”

His rage was fueled by
multiple sources. His mother’s illness and impending death was
unjust. She deserved so much more than she’d experienced. She
deserved love and kind-ness, something Samuel couldn’t imagine
she’d ever received from his tyrannical father. As he stared at
Marie’s vain expression, he wanted to remove it forcibly from her
smug face. He had never struck a woman, yet he questioned this
woman’s true status. Believing her to be nothing more than a gold
digging whore, Samuel questioned how Nathaniel could be deceived by
this slut. Samuel reasoned it was due to his father’s increased
stress with Rawls Corporation and Sharron’s worsening health.
Fighting to contain his instincts, he reached once again for her
arm, “
I
am
dis-respecting her, when you’re fucking my...”

The front door opened as the prisms
disappeared in a shower of light. Samuel and Marie’s loud, angry
voices carried throughout the vast foyer and beyond. Nathaniel and
Anton’s attention immediately went to the two people half way up
the grand stairs.

Nathaniel’s booming voice superseded the two
coming from above. He saw the tear stained face of his love and the
menacing expression of his son. “What in the hell? ...” He watched
as Marie’s expression turned toward him with obvious relief.

The next instant would replay over and over
in his mind. Samuel’s hand was on Marie’s arm. She spun toward
Nathaniel. Anton rushed forward, as if sensing the future. Amanda
appeared at the rail above, seemingly to witness the commotion. But
no, alas she had her own agenda. His daughter-in-law’s voice
transcended the foyer, “The doctor said we all should be in
Sharron’s room; it’s almost time.”

Samuel moved upward toward his wife. Did he
push Marie? No, she simultaneously pulled away from his grip.
Physics were nonnegotiable. The law of conservation of energy
states energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only
change form or be transferred from one object to another. As the
two angry individuals exploded from their point of origin, they
each used the contained momentum to propel themselves in their own
desired direction.

The stair on which Marie stood was maybe ten
or eleven inches wide. In her haste to reach Nathaniel, her
sandaled foot misjudged the step. In slow motion, Nathaniel watched
helplessly as his new love and the life of his unborn child tumbled
downward. Her form rolled vulnerably, hitting each step with
increased speed and power as she neared the marble landing.

Anton’s agility and quickness allowed him to
reach her before she connected with the rock hard floor.
Nonetheless, Nathaniel, Amanda, Samuel, and various curious staff,
gasped in horror and stared powerlessly as Anton held Marie’s limp
body.

The most precious
possession that ever comes to a man in this world
is a woman's heart.
-
Josiah G. Holland

Chapter
26

Claire woke slowly, enjoying the soft
luxurious hotel sheets against her bare skin. Before her mind
registered her location, she snuggled happily into the blankets.
Suddenly, her knee contacted a warm leg. Claire gasped and stilled.
Only inches away she heard the unfamiliar sound of rhythmic
breathing and felt radiating heat. Opening her eyes she saw Harry’s
tussled blonde hair. Momentarily, her mind replayed scenes from the
night before as her knee mindlessly moved against Harry’s leg. It’d
been so long since she’d awakened with anyone. She smiled and
relished the softness of his leg hairs against her smooth skin.

Turning slightly toward the clock, Claire
adjusted her eyes and read the numbers: 10:27. At first, she
wondered where the morning had gone. Then she remembered dawn
breaking through the dark sky, when they finally submitted to
exhaustion and yielded to sleep. Dismissing the idea of leaving
their secure haven, Claire peacefully closed her eyes, curled her
body close to Harry, and savored the closeness.

In the recesses of her mind she recalled
Harry’s confession; he’d anticipated them together since she
purchased her first cellphone. Smiling, she contemplated her first
thoughts of a union – when Harry first asked her to play video
games. Although, she told Courtney his anti-Tonyisms drew her in;
she acknowledged to herself, his unwavering kindness, concern, and
support held her captive.