The doctors had said that it might be hours before Renee regained consciousness, and now Regina wished they had all listened and waited in the lounge rather than in the recovery room. The whole scene seemed so eerie and unreal.
Regina looked down at her pocketbook when she felt it vibrating and realized it was her cell phone. She dug it out and looked at the number before answering.
“Hey,” she said, and walked out of the recovery room.
“Girl, I thought you were supposed to be calling me back,” Little Joe growled over the telephone. “Is she going to be okay?”
“Oh man,” Regina said, rubbing her temples. “The doctors say she’s going to be okay, but if you saw her, you’d have to wonder.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Yeah, that bad.” Regina sat down in a chair in the hallway. “Little Joe, Robert simply can’t get away with this shit—beating up a kid and then trying to rape her. He just can’t. Someone needs to catch him, cut off his dick, and shove it up his fucking mouth.”
“Yeah, that sounds about right,” Little Joe said in agreement. “But no one even knows where he is, huh?”
“No. I think every cop in the city is looking for him, though. And did I tell you he beat the shit out of Yvonne earlier this evening? We had to take her to the hospital, but they just treated and released her.”
“Damn, that muthafucka is off the hook, huh? But don’t worry, the cops’ll find him soon enough,” Little Joe said soothingly. “So okay, how are you doing, Gina? You hanging in there?”
Regina let out a deep breath. “I’m trying to be okay. I really am. But I’m having a hard time holding it together. Brenda’s with Renee now, and she’s having a harder time than me. I need to get back in there and make sure she’s okay. When will you be back in town?”
“Damn, baby. The earliest flight I can get outta here is at seven a.m. tomorrow, which won’t put me in New York until about two p.m. Can you hang in there until then?”
“Get here as soon as you can, will you?” Regina said tenderly. “It’ll be good to be with you, Little Joe.”
“Same here, babe. Same here.”
Regina had just snapped her telephone shut when Charles walked out of the recovery room. “Everything okay, Gina? I turned around and you had just disappeared.”
Regina stood up, hoping the guilty look on her face wouldn’t be too noticeable. “Yeah, I just came out here to get some air. It’s so damn depressing in there.”
“Ain’t that the truth?” Charles said with a sigh. “Brenda’s in there crying, Tamika and David look like they’re about to fall apart any minute, and Puddin’s almost catatonic. I’m glad Yvonne decided to go home rather than join this motley crew.” He walked over to Regina and kissed her on the cheek. “Come with me to get a candy bar or something. The doctor told me he’s got Renee so heavily sedated she won’t be awake for quite some time.”
Regina slipped her arm around his waist so naturally that she had to wonder about her own sense of morality. Here she had just gotten off the telephone with her lover, and now she was seeking comfort from her former husband. The thought made her shudder, and she pulled her arm away. “No, I’d better get in there and make sure Brenda’s okay. I’ll see you when you get back.”
Charles shrugged and put his arm around her waist just as she had done to him a few seconds before. “I really don’t need a candy bar. I was using it as an excuse to come out here and make sure you were okay.” He kissed her on the forehead. “Come on,” he said, leading her back to the recovery room.
“You know, sometimes I wonder what I’d do without you.” Regina gave Charles a weak smile. “It seems like you’re always here when I need you.”
“That’s my job, baby.” Charles gave her waist a squeeze. “Oops. I’m not supposed to call you baby, right?”
“Right.” Regina smiled inwardly. Her last telephone conversation with Charles earlier that day in the kitchen was the first time since the divorce that he hadn’t used the endearment and given her the opportunity for her one-word comeback. It felt good to use it again.
“You know, Gina, if there’s one thing I can always count on with you, it’s reminding me of my place. I guess I should thank you for that.” Charles leaned down and kissed the top of her head before opening the door to the recovery room.
“Has she come to yet?” Regina asked as she walked over to Renee’s bedside.
Brenda shook her head, then looked up at Regina. “But she will, right? She has to, right? The Lord wouldn’t take my baby away, would He?”
“He wouldn’t,” Regina said, bending down to kiss her sister.
It was almost two hours later when Puddin’ suddenly said in an excited voice, “I think her eyes just winced. At least the one that isn’t bandaged up.” Puddin’ moved in for a closer look. “See? She did it again.”
“Oh, thank you, Jesus!” Brenda jumped to her feet, her hands clasped. She leaned down and spoke close to Renee’s ear. “Ray-Ray. Baby, can you hear me? It’s your mother. It’s me, baby. I’m here for you.”
Tamika, David, and Charles crowded around, and they all heard Renee begin to softly moan.
“Ray-Ray, sweetie,” Regina said, and gently stroked Renee’s hand. “Your Aunt Gina’s here, too. And your Aunt Tamika, your Uncle David, and your Uncle Charles.”
“Uncle Charles?” Renee said in an almost inaudible whisper through her wired jaw.
“Hey, Ray-Ray. I’m right here.” Charles’s voice was low but excited. “I flew from Philadelphia in a helicopter to be right here with you.”
Renee slowly opened her eye and blinked a few times. “In a helicopter?” she asked in a slurred voice. She tried to turn her head to look at him but winced in pain. “Where am I?”
Tamika whispered to David to get a nurse, and he quickly left.
“You’re in a hospital, baby,” Brenda answered. “You had an accident, and your Aunt Regina brought you to the hospital. But the doctors said you’ll be okay.”
“Your Aunt Regina and your Aunt Puddin’,” Puddin’ interjected. “You know we had to look out for our girl.”
“And I got here as soon as I heard,” Brenda added.
“An accident?” Renee blinked her eye rapidly as if trying to wake up. “What happened?”
“It was nothing, sweetie. You’ll be fine,” Regina answered as she massaged Renee’s hand. “Everything’s all right.”
Renee closed her eye, and Regina thought the girl had fallen asleep, but she reopened it in a few minutes and tears trickled down her cheeks.
“It was Uncle Robert,” she said in a louder, hoarse voice. “He rang the bell and I let him in and then he just went crazy.”
“It’s okay, Ray-Ray,” Tamika said. “Get some rest, and we’ll talk about it later.”
“No!” Renee shouted, and tried to rise up from the bed, but she fell back and started sobbing. “Where’s Liz? He hurt Liz. Where is she?”
“Renee, calm down, sweetie,” Regina said urgently. “Liz is okay.”
“Mom, my head hurts so bad.” Renee sobbed. “Mom, I hurt all over. And I can’t move my arm or my leg. Mom!”
“It’s okay, baby. Your arm and leg are in a cast. But they’ll be okay, and you’ll be able to move them soon. Everything is okay,” Brenda said frantically.
“Miss Harris, good to see you awake. You say you’re in pain?”
The words were spoken with a Jamaican accent, and Regina turned around to see a middle-aged nurse walking toward the bed with a medical chart in her hand.
“She said she hurts bad,” Brenda said, turning toward the woman, who ignored her and continued to address Renee.
“You’re in pain, dear?” the nurse asked as she leaned over Renee.
“I just said she was,” Brenda said indignantly. “And I’m her mother.”
“And that’s very nice for you, I’m sure, but I was asking the patient,” the nurse said, checking Renee’s vital signs. “Now, dear, tell me, are you in pain?�
��
“Yes, but I want to know where Liz is,” Renee said. “She’s my friend. And she was hurt, too.”
“I don’t know where Liz is, but I can find out for you,” the nurse said soothingly. “But right now I’m going to increase your morphine dosage so you can be more comfortable. I’ll be right back.”
“I don’t want morphine,” Renee said in a hoarse voice as the nurse disappeared. “I want to see Liz.”
“She’s here in the hospital, too, and she’s okay. She’s resting, and you should be, too,” Regina said, massaging Renee’s hand ever harder. “You have to calm yourself.”
“I am calm,” Renee protested, her one good eye blinking rapidly. “But I wanna see Liz. I wanna make sure she’s okay. Uncle Robert smashed her head into the wall. And I wanna make sure she’s okay.”
“Ahem. Congressman Whitfield.” Regina looked up to see Dr. Rosenthal addressing Charles. “I hate to ask you and your family to leave the room, but we did say you would only be able to stay a few minutes, and you seem to be getting the patient overly excited. If you would just step back into the waiting room while we tend to—”
“Mom! Aunt Gina! Tell him I want to see Liz,” Renee said urgently.
“Don’t worry,” Brenda said. “I’ll tell them.”
“I’m right here!” Liz’s voice rang out from the doorway. “I’m right here, Ray.”
The girl’s head was bandaged, but otherwise she looked none the worse for the incident, Regina noted. It was the first time she had seen Liz without makeup and in a hospital gown, and damn if the girl still didn’t look like a runway model.
“Liz?” Renee tried to look at her friend out the corner of her good eye. “Liz? Are you hurt?”
“Oh my God, Ray, look at you,” Liz said as she rushed to Renee’s bedside.
“I’m okay.” Renee managed a smile. “I was just worried about you.”
“And I was worried about you,” Liz said, stroking Renee’s swollen cheek. “They wouldn’t tell me where you were, but I tracked you down.”
Regina leaned over and whispered in Liz’s ear, “We’re trying to calm her down. Don’t say anything that will get her excited.” Liz nodded her assent.
“Liz, I love you so much,” Renee said as more tears swelled from her good eye.
“And I love you, too, Ray.”
“And, Ray-Ray,” Brenda interjected, “your mother loves you, too.”
“Isn’t that good? We all love each other,” the Jamaican nurse said as she approached Renee, hypodermic needle in hand. “Now, how about we give something to Miss Harris to make her feel good?” The nurse stuck the needle into Renee’s IV line.
“I just wanted to tell—” Renee started.
“You can tell anything you want when you feel a little better,” the nurse cut her off.
“But I just wanted . . .” Renee tried again, but just that fast the morphine kicked in and her eye seemed to roll back in her head. “Oh, that feels good,” she murmured.
“That’s my job, mon,” the nurse said with a smile. “To make you feel good.”
Dr. Rosenthal cleared his throat. “And it’s my job to ask everyone to clear the room, if you would.”
Liz looked up at Dr. Rosenthal with pleading eyes. “Couldn’t I just stay with her for a few more minutes?”
“No. You heard the doctor,” the nurse said brusquely. “You can stay with her a few minutes another time after she gets some rest.”
“And who are you?” Puddin’ asked with a smirk. “The enforcer?”
The nurse turned and gave Puddin’ a slow up and down look before answering. “As the recovery room nurse, I suppose you could say I am. Now, will you please all leave for the patient’s sake?”
“What Nurse Maughn means,” Dr. Rosenthal said, “is that—”
“I think they know what I mean,” Nurse Maughn said, giving the doctor a meaningful stare.
“I notice you ain’t give that nurse that ‘I’m Congressman Whitfield’ shit, huh?” Puddin’ told Charles as they all trekked back to the waiting area.
“No, I know when to keep my mouth shut,” Charles said with a grin.
“Yeah, you might be large and in charge,” Puddin’ said, “but even Jesus Christ don’t be fucking with God.”
“Puddin’,” Brenda said in a shocked voice. “That’s blasphemy.”
“Brenda, you know what? I’m just so happy that Renee’s okay I don’t even give a shit about your holier-than-thou bullshit,” Puddin’ said with a wave of her hand. “Just say a couple of Hail Marys for me when you get a chance, and we’ll call it a day.”
“Puddin’,” Tamika said reprovingly, “Brenda only made a statement. And you don’t have to be holier than thou, or even a Christian, to think what you just said was blasphemy.”
“It’s okay, Tamika.” Brenda shrugged. “I’m not studying Puddin’.” She turned to Regina. “Why don’t you all go home? I’m going to go ahead and sleep in the waiting room until I can see Renee again.”
“Well,” Regina said, “I was planning to—”
Charles cut Regina off. “Good idea, Brenda. But you don’t have a cell phone, do you?”
Brenda shook her head.
“Okay. Then just call on a pay phone or ask if you can use the phone at the nurses’ station to let us know when Renee wakes up, okay?” Charles gave her a hug, and David and Tamika followed suit, while Puddin’ and Regina looked on.
“Brenda, if you want, I can stay here with you,” Regina said finally. “I really don’t mind. I’d like to be here when Renee wakes up again, too.”
“So would I,” Puddin’ said. “We are the ones who saved her, you know.”
“And Brenda’s her mother,” Charles said, giving Regina’s arm a little squeeze. “So why don’t we just let her do her motherly thing, okay? We can all stop by in the morning.”
Regina glanced over at Brenda—who was giving Charles an appreciative smile—then gave Charles’s arm a return squeeze and nodded. “Just make sure you call and let us know if there’s any problem, okay?” she said, giving Brenda a hug. “And you know what? I love you.”
“And I love you, too, little sister.” Brenda kissed her on the cheek. “And so does my daughter.” She gave Regina another quick hug. “Or should I say our daughter?”
“Your daughter,” Regina said with a smile. “And my niece.”
chapter seventeen
Good morning, sunshine!”
Regina yawned and stretched before throwing off the blanket and sitting on the side of the bed. She had a slight headache, the kind you get from not getting enough sleep or sleeping too long. She couldn’t figure out which it was. She did know that she felt as if she were in a fog. “Mmm . . . what time is it?”
Charles sat down next to her and handed her a cup of coffee. “A little after twelve, so it’s actually ‘good afternoon,’ not ‘good morning.’ And you got a good seven hours’ sleep. Or at least six hours, since you ravished me for an hour.”
“What?” Regina’s head jerked back. She looked down and found she was wearing a red cotton pajama top. And yes, she was still wearing the panties she had on the day before. But . . . had she . . . ? Had they . . . ?
“Calm down. You’re going to spill your coffee.” Charles chuckled. “I was only kidding.”
“Oh. Well, yeah, I knew you were kidding,” Regina said sheepishly, not sure if she was relieved or disappointed.
“No, you didn’t,” Charles said with a laugh. “I should have kept the joke up a little longer. You should have seen the panic on your face. The thought of making love to me couldn’t be that disturbing, could it?”
“I can’t believe I slept this late, though,” Regina said, ignoring his last question. “What time did you get up?” She took a sip of her coffee, then placed it on the nightstand as the fog lifted and the previous night’s events rushed back to her. “Oh God, any word from the hospital? How’s Ray-Ray? Did Brenda call?”
“Cool out,” Charl
es said soothingly as he rubbed her back. “Renee’s fine. They moved her to ICU right after we left, and they plan to move her into a regular room later today.”
“How do you know all that?”
“Well, Brenda’s called twice . . .”
“Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“Because you needed your rest,” Charles explained. “If it were bad news, I would have wakened you, but since everything was all right, I figured I’d just wait until you woke up on your own. I came in a couple of times to check on you. I’d forgotten how beautiful you are when you sleep.”
“So Ray-Ray’s fine? You’re sure?” Regina asked skeptically.
“Fine as can be expected under the circumstances. She’s pretty much conscious, but still in a lot of pain, of course. And she’s sleeping a lot because of the pain medication, but that’s a good thing. She needs as much rest as possible. Brenda’s still with her, and I’ll take you up to see her later this afternoon, okay?”
“No, I’ll just drive up there now,” Regina said, looking around for her robe. She put it on and headed to the bathroom, then stopped in her tracks and turned back toward Charles. “You know what?” she said slowly as she moved back to the bed and sat down. “On second thought I’ll wait until later. Brenda probably wants, probably needs, to spend time alone with Ray-Ray right now. After all, she’s Ray-Ray’s mother, not me.”
“That sounds about right,” Charles said with a nod.
Regina stared at Charles, noting for the first time that he appeared to be the one who needed to rest. He looked as if he hadn’t slept at all, though when they’d gotten in and he helped her to her room, he had said he would sleep on the living room couch. There were bags under his eyes, and his face had a haggard look. He was also badly in need of a shave.
“Did you get any sleep?” she asked, picking up her coffee.
“No, not really.” Charles yawned. “I put the living room back together as best as I could . . .”
Regina sighed. “God bless you. You didn’t have to, though. I would have gotten around to it.”
Charles shook his head. “When we walked in and saw the mess, you sat down on the couch, and I thought you were going to cry. You didn’t, though. You closed your eyes and started snoring. That’s when I carried your butt upstairs,” he said, chucking her under the chin. “Anyway, I couldn’t sleep, so I figured I’d straighten up so you wouldn’t have to face it again this morning.”
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