DING!
“This is our floor,” Winter said as everyone exited the elevator. “Is Evan all right, Elaine? He’s so quiet.”
“I guess he’s trying to figure out what you all are talking about. He’s being a good little boy.”
“Ian gets out of the hospital tomorrow,” Winter said. “I don’t know how I’m going to do it and work, but I’ll work it. Dad, I may need your help.”
“I said I’m here to help, and I mean that. This is Ivy’s room and our focus is on her. Let’s leave all the other stuff outside the door.” Everyone nodded yes. “All right, let’s go in.”
Sixty
The room was quiet when the Myles family walked in with Jefferson leading the pack. Ivy seemed so fragile, so lifeless, lying on the metal hospital bed with the rails pulled up on either side. It was almost an eerie sight, viewing her that way. Then her head turned ever so slight in the direction of the convoy that had descended upon her.
“Ivy, baby, how are you feeling?” Jefferson asked as he reached down and held her hand and kissed her forehead.
“Hey, Daddy, it could be better,” Ivy whispered. “Why is everyone acting as if they’ve come to a funeral?”
J.R., Winston, Winter, and Elaine looked from one to the other without saying a word. Then Winter moved in next to Jefferson.
“Sis, we’ve been so worried about you. Between you and Mom, I don’t what we’re going to do. But I do know for sure that this family is going to take good care of you.”
“That’s right,” both J.R. and Winston echoed.
“Ivy, this is your big bro, J.R. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you ever again.”
Ivy tried to laugh. “I’m sorry, guys. I keep making one foolish mistake after the other. I let what Malik said to Momma drive me over the edge. My good senses checked out for a moment, but I’m back in control. Knowing that you all have my back, I’m going to make it. I’ve got to get well so I can take care of this baby growing inside of me.”
Silence invaded the room. No one dared to be the bearer of bad news. It was Malik’s responsibility as Ivy’s husband to tell her that she was no longer carrying a baby, and it appeared to be the consensus of the group by virtue of their silence.
“You all all right?” Ivy asked. “You guys are acting weird.”
“We’re only happy that you’ll be all right,” Jefferson said.
“I want to go home with you, Winter, whenever I’m discharged.”
“My home is your home, sis. I’ll be here to whisk you away.”
“I haven’t told Malik. In fact, I don’t want to have anything to do with him. I can’t stand to look at him right now and feel good about myself.”
“Baby girl, we’ve got you covered,” Jefferson said. “Don’t you worry about a thing. You won’t have to put up with Malik ever again if you don’t want to. Your sister, brothers, and I will help you with whatever you need.”
“Thanks, Daddy. I’m ready to go home now.”
“Ivy,” Winter began.
Jefferson cut Winter off, fearing that she was about to tell Ivy about the baby.
“What is it, Winter?” Ivy asked with concern in her eyes. She asked Jefferson to raise her bed.
“Nothing. I was wondering what time you were going to be discharged so I can schedule myself accordingly. Ian is being discharged from the hospital tomorrow, and I was going to pick him up.”
“I’ll stay overnight,” Jefferson said, “and the rest of you can catch a ride with Winter and Phillip.”
“Phillip? Who’s Phillip?” Ivy inquired.
Winter motioned for Phillip to come stand next to her. “This handsome guy is Mr. Phillip Wright.” Winter made eyes so that Ivy could only see her. “He’s the guy I was telling you about.”
Ivy smiled. “Oh, that guy . . . the special person in your life?”
“Yes, this is him.”
“Nice to meet you, Ivy, although it’s under these circumstances.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Phillip. I’ll be as good as new tomorrow, and then I’ll come search for you to find out what your intentions are with my little sister.”
“Come on, Ivy.” Winter giggled.
“That’s fine,” Phillip said. “Winter is a very sweet young lady and we are taking the time to get to know each other.”
“Good for you. Wish I had been smarter.”
“Ivy, Phillip is studying to be a doctor.”
“Well, we need one in the family, if you know what I mean,” Ivy said. “Every time you look around, one of us is in the hospital.”
“You’re pulling the cart before the horse, Ivy,” Winston said. “Nobody said they were engaged and getting married. We are working on the media portion of Phillip’s father’s campaign. Dr. Shelton Wright, Phillip’s dad, is running for a state senate seat like Malik is doing but in a district out of Raleigh.”
Ivy was quiet and seemed to retreat. No one said anything until Ivy finally spoke. “Oh, okay. Look, I’m tired. Are you going to stay with me, Daddy?”
“Yeah, baby, I’ll be here.”
“Well, I guess we’ll be going,” Winter said. “Don’t worry about a thing, sis. Dad will let me know when you all are on your way to Raleigh.”
“Who’s going to Raleigh?” Malik asked as he let the door close behind him. Everyone turned around and gasped.
“Ivy is going to stay with Winter while she recovers,” Jefferson said to Malik.
“Like hell she is. Ivy is my wife, and I’m going to take care of her. That’s what’s wrong with you people; you always try to take over and end up making a mess of things. Ivy is my responsibility and if you don’t like it, you can kiss my black ass.”
“Tomorrow, I’m going home with my daddy,” Ivy said. “Malik, you have no say so over me. You should have thought about the consequences when you were telling my mother how much you wanted her . . . how much you were in love with her and would take care of her and Ian. I don’t want any man that doesn’t want me. My baby and I will be fine all by ourselves.”
“You lost the baby.”
Ivy stared at Malik. Then she saw Winter’s hand go to her mouth and the expressions of hate jump on her brothers’ faces. “Why do you have to be so cruel, Malik? What have I done to you?”
“Why don’t you ask your family? They know about the baby.”
“You’re lying, Malik,” Ivy said in a calm voice.
“Malik, you are so mean,” Winter jumped in. “As her husband, we felt it was your place to tell Ivy, especially since that was the impression you gave us. Oh, we wanted to tell her, but we were being considerate of you.”
“You are a joke, Winter. You were being considerate of me. Yet, on the other hand, all of you were ready to kidnap Ivy and take her to Raleigh. Where was the consideration?”
The room was silent again as everyone turned in Ivy’s direction. Tears were barreling down her face. Winter and J.R. were at her side, but she couldn’t stop crying.
“It’s time for everyone to go,” Jefferson finally spoke up.
“And that means you, too,” Malik said, trying to suppress the anger in his voice. “I want to be alone with my wife.”
“No, Malik, you get out. I want Daddy to stay right where he is. I’m not going home with you. You and I are done; no strings attached. Good riddance.”
“Ivy, come on.”
“You heard her,” Jefferson said. “Now get your black ass out of here before my sons and I throw you out of the window.”
“You haven’t heard the last of me, Jefferson. I’m going to send your ass back to prison.”
“Do it.”
Malik stormed out of the room without saying goodbye to Ivy.
“Malik is dangerous,” Jefferson said. “I’m not going to move from Ivy’s side until she’s safe in Raleigh. Why don’t you all go on home? Poor Evan is tired.” Jefferson went to Evan and kissed him on the forehead.
“I’m going to stay with you, Dad,” Winston said. “I’ve
got to protect you from Malik.”
Everybody laughed. “And just what are you going to do, Winston?”
“I’m going to have your back, Dad.”
“You’re going to be hiding behind Dad saying . . . don’t hit my daddy, don’t hit my daddy,” J.R. said. The room erupted in hearty laughter.
“Thank you for being here for me,” Ivy said. “Family is all I need.”
“You got it, sis,” Winter said as she kissed Ivy on the forehead. “We’ll see you tomorrow. Got to check on Mom and get Evan home. Love you.”
“Love you, back.”
“Elaine and I have got your back, too,” J.R. said to Ivy. “You’re like my twin. We used to fight each other growing up, but you are my heart, Ivy. I’m not going to let nothing happen to you.”
“Oh, J.R., that was so sweet. I love you, too, big brother. Elaine, he might make a fine husband, should you all get to that point.”
“Got you, sister-in-law.”
“It’s time to get up out of here,” Phillip said. “Too much of that commitment talk in the room.”
“Remember what I said, Phillip,” Ivy said, shaking her finger in his direction, “we’re going to have our talk.”
“Okay, sis, we’re out,” Winter said, threading her arm through Phillip’s, who was now carrying Evan. “And don’t be afraid of the big bad wolf. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Ivy waved to everybody. After the group departed, Ivy turned to Jefferson. “Daddy, please don’t leave the room. I’m afraid.”
“You don’t have to be, baby. Daddy is here. Winston will be back up after he sees everybody off. I’m not going anywhere. I do have to make a phone call.”
Sixty-One
Malik got in his BMW and tore out of the hospital parking garage. He was pissed off and he needed to let off some steam. He couldn’t believe the week he had had—going from finding out that his mother-in-law had borne a child with his DNA and that his wife tried to commit suicide and then losing the baby they would’ve shared together. He needed Perry to meet him.
“Perry, this is Malik. Can you get away?”
“Everything all right with Ivy?”
“No! I mean, she’s going to be fine, but she’s going to try and leave me. Her insane family has finally convinced her to leave me.”
“What are you talking about, man? You’re not making any sense whatsoever.”
“Listen to me, Perry. Ivy said she wasn’t coming home with me. And she lost the baby.”
“Oh, Jesus.” Perry sighed. “I don’t know, Malik. Your credibility is going down the drain.”
“Look, meet me in the bar at Carrabba’s so we can hash this thing out logically. I’m on my way there now.”
“I’m on my way, but I don’t know what we’re going to be able to do to salvage your campaign.”
“You need to come up with something. This thing with Ivy is only temporary. I won’t need her for any appearances anytime soon.”
“Whatever you say, dawg, but I’m getting a little tired of cleaning up your messes. Look, I’ll be right there. I’ve got another call coming in that I need to take.”
“All right, but don’t take too long.” Malik disconnected the call and for the next few minutes rode in silence. “Damn you, Ivy,” Malik said out loud. “You are my wife and a wife is to stand by her husband. I’ll be damned if you’re going to Raleigh tomorrow.”
• • •
Toni Gillette was having a fabulous morning. The ink was already dry on a couple of contracts that netted her a nice little fee for her story about Malik that would break sometime today. Stuffing a dry piece of toast in her mouth, she smiled at the thought of how easy it was to land a payday. Her communication skills and talent had enabled her to break into several lucrative media settings, although she hadn’t been able to realize anything more permanent from it. However, the real and immediate goal was to land a primetime spot on national television.
She looked up periodically at the small, flat-screen television set that was mounted underneath the kitchen cabinets. The newscasters were chatting about human-interest stories, which was refreshing from all the other gloom and doom that seemed to be the only news worthy of reporting these days.
Toni lifted her glass and took a sip of juice, washing down the remnants of the toast. As she prepared to nibble on a piece of bacon, her BlackBerry chimed. It was Anissa, and Toni let the call go straight to voicemail because she didn’t feel like listening to off-the-wall gossip this morning. The only gossip she wanted to hear was how a certain Malik Mason who was running for a state senate seat out of Fayetteville, North Carolina had sired a child with his mother-in-law. She smiled at the thought—ka-ching.
Dabbing her face with a napkin, Toni picked up her dishes and put them in the kitchen sink. The morning news hadn’t been forthcoming so far, and they were about at the top of the hour. She shuffled her two feet to the kitchen table and picked up the television remote. Before she was able to hit the OFF button, the newscaster made a startling announcement about a story they were going to air in the next half-hour—Ivy Mason, wife of Malik Mason . . . suicide attempt. How did she miss this one?
There was no time to waste. Toni put down the remote and reached for her BlackBerry and dialed Anissa’s number.
“Did you get my message?” Anissa asked before Toni had an opportunity to say anything.
“What message?”
“I just called and left you a message. I thought you were responding to it.”
Toni waved her hand under her chin in an attempt to cool off. She was having a full-blown menopausal attack. Stress was a killer, but this wasn’t the kind of thing she wanted to stress over. The likelihood of this story coming out at this time was going to lessen the impact of her story. It was like watching a balloon fizzle before all of the air was in it. No pop!
“I saw that you called but I haven’t listened to your message.”
“Girl, Perry called me last night . . .”
“Hold it a sec,” Toni said, interrupting Anissa’s train of thought. “There’s something about Malik’s wife on the news.”
“That’s what I called to tell you.”
“Hush.”
“We’ve just learned that the wife of N.C. Senate candidate hopeful, Malik Mason, out of Fayetteville, North Carolina, was hospitalized on yesterday. Yesterday afternoon, Ivy Mason was found by her husband, father and siblings in her home on the floor, unconscious from an overdose of Percocet. We have not been able to find out how many pills Mrs. Mason consumed or ascertain why Mrs. Mason may have attempted suicide, but we do know that Mrs. Mason is doing well under the watchful eye of her doctor.
“We’ve also learned that Mrs. Mason was pregnant; however, we understand the unborn fetus did not survive. Mr. Malik Mason did not respond to any of our phone calls. I’m Charlotte Wilson, reporting to you live for WTVD Channel 11 News.”
Toni smiled. While she felt bad for Ivy, the bit about the baby was the best segue for her story. “Anissa?” Toni called out when she put the phone back to her ear. The line was dead.
Sixty-Two
“Damn,” Malik said when he hung up the phone after talking to Perry. It was seven-thirty, and the news about Ivy’s attempted suicide had already hit the airwaves. So much for damage control because no amount of convincing would repair the harm this bit of news had rendered. Perry said he was ready to throw in the towel, but Malik believed he would prevail and begged Perry to stay on a little longer.
Years prior, Jefferson Myles was the buddy he counted on. They were inseparable—joined at the hip, brothers for life. No matter what, they had each other’s back. And then Jefferson went to prison for embezzlement and Malik had a roving eye. The woman Malik was to protect while his buddy Jefferson was in-carcerated became the object of his hidden affection—Jefferson’s wife, Margo.
It wasn’t obvious to the casual observer that Malik had a thing for Margo. Malik used every opportunity to visit her, whether it was
to help with something that needed repair at the house or running some type of errand. He was there at Margo’s beck and call so that he could be near her.
• • •
Malik cleared his head of the clutter—memories that wouldn’t die. He got up, showered, shaved, and dressed and made up his mind that he was going to bring his wife home. He didn’t care what Jefferson had to say on the matter; Ivy was his wife and she was coming home with him.
Traffic was brisk as Malik headed toward the hospital. Commuters were on their way to work and at this time of day weren’t tolerant of drivers who squeezed in front of them to turn left before the light turned red.
Malik was now at the hospital and parked his car in the parking garage. After turning off the motor, he sat a moment to gather his thoughts. He hoped there wouldn’t be any confrontation, and coming to pick up his wife would be a mere formality. He dreaded having to deal with Jefferson at all, but he was a candidate for state senator, and he knew how to conduct himself.
He exited the car, entered the hospital, and rode the elevator to Ivy’s floor. Malik was alone in the elevator, so he bowed his head in silent prayer that all would go well. Exiting the elevator he proceeded to Ivy’s room but was soon bum-rushed by news reporters.
“Hell,” Malik said under his breath as media news cameras and reporters descended upon him.
“Mr. Mason, can you tell me what prompted your wife to take an overdose of pills?” a reporter asked.
“No comment,” Malik said. At least he knew enough to say that without an attorney present.
“Mr. Mason, is it true that your wife was pregnant and may have killed the fetus by taking the pills?” another reporter asked.
Malik stared into the face of the obnoxious reporter. “Get the hell out of my face. You people don’t have any sensitivity skills. What kind of damn question is that to ask?”
“I’m sure it will be one that the police will be asking if they haven’t already.”
Malik pushed the camera and cameraman against the wall. “You all are the problem with America—sticking your noses into people’s private affairs. I bet if you turn the camera on your own lives you won’t like what you see.”
In My Rearview Mirror Page 24