With This Ring

by Allison Hobbs

  And on that note, Barbara whirled on her heels and hurried out of Vangie’s room. She could be heard bumping around in Yuri’s room, and then there was the loud bang when she slammed the front door.

  “Wow. Please tell me what just happened?” Zenith asked, making a funny face in an attempt to lighten the mood.

  Vangie tried to laugh with Zenith, but her mouth began to twitch before she burst into tears.

  NIVEA

  As if things couldn’t get any worse, her new condo had a terrible mold issue that conveniently went undetected until after she made settlement and after she’d given up her townhouse. Her cash flow was running perilously low and making matters worse, with the income Dr. Sandburg had declared, he was ordered by the court to pay her only $1,500 a month. It was an embarrassment to have a child by an old, supposedly wealthy doctor and end up with only a pittance.

  And she missed Malcolm so badly, it seemed that her very soul was crying out in agony.

  She and Mackenzie were staying at a hotel, which was expensive and terribly inconvenient. Most of their wardrobe and personal possessions were in storage, and Nivea hated living like a gypsy.

  Needing to lash out at someone, she called Dr. Sandburg and called him every name in the book. “Do you realize your daughter is residing in a goddamn hotel? God only knows how many diseases she could pick from living like a transient. You know damn well you can afford to pay much more than you’re giving me. This is a disgrace. You should be ashamed to call yourself a father.”

  Dr. Sandburg couldn’t get a word in edgewise until Nivea finally took a breath.

  “You’re right. My behavior has been deplorable,” he said. “I was upset and blamed you for the demise of my marriage, but it wasn’t your fault. I apologize.”

  Nivea’s heart didn’t soften. “Your apology will not pay my bills. How can you look in the mirror knowing that you’re not doing anywhere near what you should be doing for your only child in the world?”

  “I have a great deal of guilt,” he moaned.

  “Well, what are you going to do about it?”

  “I’m going to set up a trust fund for Mackenzie. Make sure she has a nest egg when she becomes an adult?”

  “How is she supposed to survive in the meantime?” Nivea yelled.

  “I don’t know. I’m not in my right mind. My marriage is over,” he repeated and actually began to cry. “I’ve been married for most of my adult life. I don’t know how to be by myself. I can’t make wise decisions. I’m lost without Rachel’s guidance,” he wailed.

  “You and Rachel are divorced now. So you need to get over it and man up. You need to take care of your responsibility and stop whining like a child.”

  He sniffled into the phone. “That’s the way Rachel always spoke to me. She was my backbone. She was the person who toughened me up.”

  “Well, I’m the one who’s going to toughen you up, now.”

  “You are?”

  “Yes. I want to go back to court and I want you to declare your true income.”

  “I can’t do that.”

  “Yes, you can. For your daughter.”

  “My money is well hidden and I don’t want any problems with the IRS.”

  “Stop being so selfish, Bertram. When you’re a parent, your children have to come first. Don’t you understand?”

  “In a way.”

  Nivea took a deep breath, trying to keep her temper under control. “Bertram, how much money do you have stashed?”

  “Millions.”

  Nivea’s heartbeat picked up. “How many millions?”

  “I don’t know, exactly.”

  “Over ten million?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “And you don’t want Mackenzie to benefit from your money until she’s grown?”

  “I think that’s best. She can’t appreciate it now.”

  “But I can,” Nivea said in soft tone. “You said you’re accustomed to being married to a strong woman who can guide you. Well, what better woman than the mother of your child?”

  “You’re not as strong as Rachel.”

  “Yes, I am. Without me, you wouldn’t have ever known about your virile, baby-producing sperm. If you marry me, I’ll control you with an iron fist; I promise you, Bertram.”

  Nivea thought about the way her mother had always worn the pants in their family. Her dad never seemed to mind. In fact, he seemed to delight in her mother’s domination. Nivea had grown up watching the dynamic between her parents, and she knew exactly how to give Bertram what he needed. Most of all, she knew how to get his money and make it her own after she became his lawful wedded wife.

  It didn’t matter that she didn’t love him and he didn’t love her. Each had something that the other needed to feel secure. Her thoughts turned to Malcolm and she shook her head. Sooner or later, men like Malcolm always broke a woman’s heart. At least with Bertram, her heart would never be broken again.

  Bertram’s money would give Nivea a bigger thrill than any orgasm she’d ever had.

  Imagining the way her mother spoke to her father, Nivea said, “Bertram, we need to pick our rings as soon as possible. But I won’t stand for anything cheesy.”

  “Well, I have a jeweler friend who could—”

  “No, no, no, your taste in jewelry is horrid. I’ll handle everything.”

  “Yes, dear,” Bertram said.

  VANGIE

  So many things had changed about Yuri. In the weeks he’d been living with his father, he seemed to have sprouted several inches taller and had put on extra weight. What’s Jojina feeding my child? Vangie noticed other changes. A subtle difference in his vocal quality and his pattern of speech. There were nuances in his facial expressions that reminded her of Shawn, and his conversation was peppered with slang words that she assumed he’d picked up from Jojina’s little thugs.

  Her son was no longer the cuddly, high-spirited, cheerful kid he once was. He was quiet. More serious—practically sullen. He’d stiffened in her arms when she greeted him with a tight hug, and it was like pulling teeth trying to get him to open up and communicate with her the way he used to.

  On the way to her car, she reached for Yuri’s hand and he balled his fist and kept his arm pressed against his side. That rebuff hurt Vangie’s feelings, but she let it go.

  “What do you want to do, Yuri? This is our special time together, and we can go to the movies, the arcade…whatever you’d like to do.”

  “I don’t care,” he said with an indifferent shrug.

  “Monsters University is playing. Or we could go see Despicable Me 2,” Vangie said exuberantly.

  He frowned and then looked at her like she was crazy. “I’m not a baby.” The snorting sound that followed his statement made it clear that he considered his mother’s film recommendations as absurdly childish and beneath him.

  “What about Man of Steel or World War Z?”

  His frown deepened. “I already saw both those flicks.”

  Flicks? She winced as if Yuri had used profanity. She’d never heard him refer to a movie as a flick. It was new terminology and another painful reminder that someone other than she was raising and influencing her child.

  “We don’t have to go to the movies if you don’t want to. You love Dave & Buster’s; wanna go there?”

  “I guess,” Yuri muttered disinterestedly.

  Before he climbed into the back seat, Vangie ruffled his hair. He reacted with an almost imperceptible wince, as if he didn’t want his mother to touch him.

  “What’s wrong, Yuri?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Okay, but if something’s bothering you, we can talk about it.”

  “I’m good.”

  “You’re good? When did you start saying that?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Vangie sighed in resignation. “Buckle your seatbelt, honey.”

  “My dad doesn’t make me.”

  “I’m not your dad; buckle up,” she said firmly.


  Discontented, Yuri muttered under his breath, and Vangie didn’t call him on it. She had to pick her battles carefully if she wanted to win back the affection of her son.

  She spent much more than she should have at D&B, but she wanted to make sure Yuri had a good time. It was nice to see a smile finally blossom on his face, even if it took three containers stuffed to the brim with redeemable tickets to make it happen.

  “Why do you keep staring at me, Mom?” Yuri asked while he and Vangie were side by side, playing Skee-Ball.

  “Because I’ve missed you so much and I can’t get over how mature you’ve gotten.”

  The compliment brought another smile on his face and Vangie felt relieved that she and Yuri were finally breaking the ice between them.

  “Do you want to eat here or get pizza at Little Caesars?”

  “I like Domino’s better.”

  “Since when? You love Little Caesars.”

  “Not anymore.”

  So much had changed, and Vangie had to accept it. If she could do it all over again, she would have never attacked Jojina at court. But she couldn’t undo what she’d done. All she could do now was move forward, work on rebuilding her relationship with her son, and pray that the public defender could work a miracle and get her off with only probation.

  They finished their pizza and were headed for the car. “Do you wanna get water ice at Rita’s?” she asked with a big smile.

  “No, I’m ready to go home.”

  “Really? I’m surprised you’re ready to call it a day, already. It’s only seven o’clock.”

  Yuri lifted a shoulder in response.

  “I’ll tell you what, when we get home, I’ll let you download a game for your computer. But I’m not spending more than ten dollars. Okay?”

  “I don’t want a game; I want to go home,” Yuri whined.

  “What’s wrong, honey? Don’t you feel okay?” Vangie pressed the back of her hand against his forehead, checking to see if he was warm.

  “I’m not sick; I’m just ready to go home.”

  “We’re going home,” Vangie said in annoyance. She’d bent over backward, trying to make sure she and Yuri had a nice day, and now that the fun was over, he was getting cranky for no reason.

  They rode in silence for a few minutes, and when she exited the expressway, Yuri leaned forward with his face in a panic. “This isn’t the way home.”

  “Of course, it is. What are you talking about?”

  “I don’t want to go back to your apartment. I want to go home to my house.”

  Vangie was too stunned to speak.

  “The whole family’s going electric kart racing at Speed Raceway tomorrow. I wanna go, too. Can you take me home? Please, Mom. I’m ready to go.”

  “But you just got here,” she said in a pleading tone. “I can’t believe you want to leave, already.”

  Her hands were shaking so badly, she had to pull over to the curb and try and collect herself. “Listen to me; the judge says you have to stay with me every weekend.”

  “I don’t wanna be with you every weekend,” Yuri yelled.

  “I’m your mother, and I’ve been missing you like crazy. Haven’t you missed me at all, Yuri?”

  “Sometimes,” he mumbled.

  “I’m sorry for the way your life was disrupted, and I take full responsibility. But we have to move forward. Do you understand?”

  “I don’t want to stay the whole weekend.”

  “Why do you keep saying that? Do you realize how much you’re hurting me?”

  “I’m sorry, but I’m ready to go home.” Tears of frustration spilled from Yuri’s eyes.

  Vangie felt helpless and heartbroken. After being separated for such a long time, she’d expected Yuri to be ecstatic about spending time with her. But he was forlorn and shedding tears as if being with her was a harsh punishment.

  “You’re angry with me, Yuri. I get it. You think I abandoned you. But I didn’t; I got locked up for fighting Jojina and I lost custody of you. I’ve been fighting to get you back ever since. I’m not proud of the behavior that led to that and I hope you can forgive me for not being there for you.” Vangie had been avoiding the topic of prison all day, hoping that Shawn had shielded Yuri from knowing the sordid truth, but she could no longer avoid the subject. She had to come clean and explain why he was no longer living with her.

  To punctuate his displeasure, Yuri kicked the back of the passenger seat and cried harder.

  “Please, sweetheart, don’t kick the seat. Mommy’s sorry.”

  “Everybody’s always teasing me.”

  “Who teases you?”

  “Devontay and Javarious. They said you had to eat cats while you were in jail.”

  Vangie frowned in confusion. “What? Don’t listen to those ignorant little future convicts. They don’t know what they’re talking about. The food was terrible, but we weren’t fed cats or any other house pets.” Vangie shook her head in disbelief.

  “Devontay said he heard Jojina telling one of her friends that you probably started licking a lot of cats while you were in jail with all those women.”

  Vangie gasped, suddenly grasping the true meaning of the crude comment. Ironically, she was attracted to women now, but her sexual preference had nothing to do with the three days she’d spent in jail.

  Shawn and his girlfriend were poisoning her son against her. They were also teaching him to be homophobic. There was no telling how they’d react once they found out about her relationship with Zenith.

  She could no longer lie down and accept the judge’s ruling. She had to fight harder to get her child back.

  Additionally, she had to stop acting like a guilty, unfit mother; it was time to start using tough love when dealing with Yuri. Today would be the last time she would ever try to buy her son’s affection with expensive outings and junk food. From now on, they were going to talk about their feelings, and for the duration of this visit and all future visits, she expected him to treat her with respect.

  “Listen to me, Yuri.”

  “I don’t wanna listen.”

  “Listen to me, dammit!” she yelled. Yuri’s eyes bulged and he sat up straight.

  Vangie twisted around in her seat and pointed a finger at him. “Your bad attitude has got to stop. Now, it hurt my feelings when you first arrived and refused to give me a hug. But I’m over that now. You don’t have to hug me if you don’t want to, but all the mumbling under your breath and the smart little comments you’ve been making have got to stop.” Getting worked up, Vangie wagged her finger in Yuri’s face. “And if you ever kick the back of my car seat or anything else, I will whip your little ass. Do you hear me?”

  Sniffling, Yuri nodded his head.

  Clearly, their relationship had been fractured, and it occurred to Vangie that she and Yuri might need family counseling. There was no point in asking Shawn to join them. He was much too narrow-minded to agree to therapy.

  HARLOW

  Sitting in a wheelchair, Lucio wore a solemn expression as Drake pushed him across the tarmac and toward the waiting plane. Harlow and the nurse that was hired to tend to Lucio during the flight walked behind them, side by side.

  Lucio wistfully reminisced about the good old days when he was a force to be reckoned with, when he was feared. A time before he’d become a weak old man. No man would have dared to confront him, much less kidnap, torture, and leave him for dead. And anyone who had the balls to try would have paid dearly. Lucio would have methodically taken the perpetrator’s family out, one by one. Saving the best for last, he would have had the brazen cocksucker begging and pleading for a merciful death.

  As a hint of a smile began to form, Lucio’s reverie was interrupted by Drake’s voice. “After our child is born and is old enough to travel, Harlow and I are coming to Italy to get drunk with you in your sister’s vineyard.”

  “My vineyard,” Lucio corrected. Though his jaw had been recently unwired, it was difficult for him to enunciate more than a few word
s at a time.

  “All right, but you’re going to have to dispute that issue with Gina,” Drake joked.

  Drake stepped aside, so the nurse could adjust the lap blanket that was placed across Lucio’s frail thighs.

  Moments before boarding the plane, Lucio frantically grabbed Drake’s hand. “It was your friend,” he told Drake. “He left me for dead.”

  “I realize that’s what you were trying to tell me while your jaw was wired shut. But don’t worry, I took care of him.”

  Lucio jabbed his fists at the air, his way of saying, “Yes!”

  He’s sleeping with the fishes,” Drake said with a wink.

  “Did he suffer like I did?” Lucio’s voice was garbled and scratchy.

  Drake took a velvet pouch out of his pocket and gave it to him. Lucio peeked inside and upon seeing a severed finger wrapped in plastic, his lips curled in satisfaction.

  Drake left out the fact that the finger had been removed postmortem. But what the old man didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

  Harlow and Drake watched in silence as Lucio’s plane disappeared from sight. Glancing up at her husband, Harlow noticed a single tear streaming down his face. No words were necessary. Harlow squeezed his hand reassuringly. Still staring off into the distance, Drake brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

  It had been a long emotional day and Harlow was glad to be home. She undressed and put on a powder-blue nightie and crawled into bed next to Drake. He turned over and kissed her cleavage.

  “I’m really loving these big ol’ pregnant boobies,” he said and kissed each swollen breast. His hand skimmed down to her stomach and he gave her a curious look. “Wow, seems like your tummy grew overnight. You been feeding my boy power shakes?” he joked.

  “Who said it’s a boy?”

  “I say it’s a boy. How much do you wanna bet?”

  “A night at the symphony?”

  “A night where?”

  “I’ve developed an appreciation for classical music. I want us to get dressed up and go to a New York Philharmonic concert.”