Truth Be Told

by Victoria Christopher Murray

But Grace didn’t miss the way Zoë lowered her eyes before she turned away.

  Grace’s cell phone rang the moment Frank scooped her into the car and screeched away from city hall.

  “It’s over?” Conner asked without saying hello.

  More than you know, Grace thought. “Yes, and it was bad.”

  Conner moaned.

  “I don’t want to talk now.” She shook her head, as if the action would rid Sara’s words from her mind.

  “Grace …” He stopped before he apologized, and Grace was relieved. She didn’t want to hear his regrets right now. “Where are you going?”

  “I had planned to go to the office, but I’m sure we’ll be inundated with calls. I’m going home to regroup and thank God that I don’t carry a gun.”

  “Sara Spears?”

  Was it Sara, or was it you, Conner? her mind asked. “I’ll see you later,” she said without answering his question.

  “Grace, I would come home now, but the Jacoby case …”

  “That’s fine.”

  It wasn’t anger that made her click off the phone without saying good-bye. She just couldn’t stand to hear his sorrow.

  Grace leaned back and closed her eyes, replaying the press conference’s end. Sara had scored first, but the game wasn’t over. The ball was in Grace’s court now, and when she emerged from this time-out, she would run all over Sara. By the time the final bell rang, Sara Spears would never mess with one of God’s children again.

  The shrill of the telephone startled Grace. She blinked at the bedside clock. It was three-thirty; she didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep. Before she could say hello, she heard Solomon’s cry.

  Grace sat straight up. “Solomon,” she called him calmly. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

  “My mother is sick,” he sobbed. “She’s on the floor.”

  “Where’s Virginia?”

  “She went to the store,” he cried.

  Grace was already sliding into her shoes. “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

  “Okay.”

  “When I get to the car, I’m going to call you from my cell, so answer the phone.”

  “Okay.”

  “And, Solomon, sweetheart,” she said steadily to soothe him. “You’re mom’s going to be fine.”

  “Okay.”

  She barely hung up before she dialed nine-one-one. “This is Councilwoman Monroe,” she said, then gave the operator Pilar’s information. “Please, hurry. There’s a little boy alone with his mother.” Grace gathered her sweater, purse, and keys in one motion.

  In the car, she called Conner. Marilyn answered with more cheer than usual.

  “Marilyn, is Conner there?”

  “No, Grace, but how are you?”

  Grace rolled her eyes. “Fine. Where is he?”

  “Well,” she began so slowly that Grace wanted to scream, “he’s at a deposition for the Jacoby case. He’ll be back around six.”

  She moaned. “Please do me a favor.” She paused, hoping that Marilyn heard her urgency. “Leave a message on Conner’s cell for him to call me right away.”

  “Grace, what’s wrong?” Her cheer was gone.

  “Just call Conner. Leave a message the first time, and then keep calling until he answers. I’m on my cell.”

  “Okay, Grace. Call me if you need anything.”

  She waited at the red light ready to call Solomon. But as she looked at the numbers on the keypad, she stopped. What was Pilar’s number? Oh, God, she thought. She closed her eyes. Please, Lord, what is the number? The car behind her honked, making her jump at the same time she opened her eyes. She turned the corner. What was the number? Well, she’d be there in five minutes.

  But I promised, she thought, as her car swerved down the hill. She said a quick prayer and began dialing. When Solomon answered, she thanked God. “Solomon, I’m on my way. How’s your mom?”

  “She’s still sick, but she’s awake now. Do you want to talk to her?”

  “No, sweetheart. I don’t want her to move. But tell her I’m on my way, and so are the doctors.”

  Grace waited as he yelled those words to Pilar.

  “You’re doing great, Solomon. Thank you for being so grownup right now.”

  “Okay.”

  She turned onto Pacific Coast Highway and double-parked in front of the apartment.

  “Solomon, I’m outside.”

  “Okay.” Then he hung up.

  The moment she jumped from the car, Virginia came strolling around the corner with a shopping bag in each hand.

  “Virginia!”

  “Oh, my,” Virginia shrieked when Grace told her the news. Together they ran through the hallway.

  As Virginia put her key in the door, Grace yelled, “Solomon, I’m here.”

  He rushed to the door the moment Virginia pushed it open and squeezed his arms around Grace.

  She hunched down, and held his face in her hands. “You and your mom are going to be all right.” She wiped the tears that poured from his eyes.

  “I’m scared.”

  “I know.” She glanced over his shoulder as Virginia whispered to Pilar. A knock on the door tore her gaze away and she let the paramedics inside. Then she pulled Solomon onto the balcony, not wanting him to overhear anything he wasn’t prepared for.

  “Do you think my mother is going to be all right?” he asked, stretching his neck to watch.

  Grace hugged him. “I think so, sweetie. But there is something that you and I can do.”

  His wide eyes asked, What?

  “We can pray.” She ran her hand over his head.

  He nodded. “Okay. I pray all the time with my mom.”

  Grace smiled. “I would like to pray with you for your mom.”

  He held her hand, bowed his head, and closed his eyes. She followed. “Father, in the name of Jesus, we come to you with praise and thanksgiving because you are our wonderful God. Lord, our hearts are heavy now, because we are concerned about Solomon’s mother. But we know, Lord, that you are a gracious and merciful God, and you will take care of her. And you will take care of Solomon. We know, Lord, that you are going to protect us all and help us through anything we have to face. Thank you, Father, for loving us. We love you. In Jesus’s name we pray.”

  Together, they said, “Amen.”

  Solomon tried to bend his lips into a smile. Then he hugged Grace as if he never planned to let go.

  “Mom,” Grace yelled as she entered the house.

  Lily rushed from the kitchen with a dish towel around her arm. “Hi, sweetheart.” Lily kissed Grace, then looked down at Solomon. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.” She hugged him.

  “Solomon, this is my mother.”

  “Call me Nana. Just like Amber and Jayde.”

  Solomon nodded. The smile that he always wore had been missing for hours.

  “Hi, Solomon.” Amber stood at the bottom of the stairs.

  “Hi.”

  Solomon’s wide smile made Grace want to kiss her daughter.

  Amber walked to Solomon and hugged him like she’d always known he was her brother. “I’m sorry that your mother is sick.”

  “She’s going to be all right now.” Solomon looked up at Grace, and she nodded.

  “Do you want to watch TV with me?” Amber asked.

  “Sweetheart, it’s almost bedtime.” Grace glanced at her watch. Then she added, “You can watch for a little while. I’ll come in there in a few minutes.”

  Amber led Solomon away, while Grace followed her mother into the kitchen.

  “Honey, you look tired.”

  Grace massaged her eyes. “It’s been the longest day.”

  Lily put down the dish towel. “You need to rest.”

  “So everything is fine here?”

  “Of course. The girls have eaten. Amber was getting ready for bed and Jayde …” She paused. “She’s in her room. Been there since after dinner.”

  “Still in her mood?”

&
nbsp; Lily nodded. “How’s Pilar?” she asked as she joined Grace at the table.

  “The doctors haven’t said much. Conner’s there making sure she gets settled.” She sighed. “But, Mom, I don’t need the doctors to tell me anything. Pilar’s getting worse … fast.”

  Lily tsked.

  “It’s as if she’s worsened since Conner and I agreed to take Solomon.”

  “That makes sense.” Lily continued when Grace frowned. “Pilar knows that her son is going to be fine now. She doesn’t have to try so hard to live anymore.”

  “I’m not ready for this.”

  Lily laid her hand on top of her daughter’s. “You’ve known this was going to happen. This is God’s will.”

  Grace pulled her hand away. This isn’t God’s will! she wanted to scream. God doesn’t take mothers from their children. But she didn’t have the strength to debate.

  She stood. “I’m going to get the kids to bed.”

  “Do you want me to stay until Conner comes home?”

  “No, Mom.” She hugged Lily. “You could use some rest too, and I’m going to need you tomorrow.”

  Lily smiled. “I’ll be here first thing.”

  They went into the family room, and Lily kissed Amber and Solomon. After she watched her mother drive away, Grace retrieved the bag that she and Solomon had packed.

  “Come on, you guys,” she said to the two who had settled in front of the television. “Time to turn in.”

  Amber clicked the remote, and she and Solomon followed Grace up the stairs.

  “Where’s Solomon going to sleep?” Amber asked.

  “In your room, and you’re going to camp out with Jayde.”

  “Okay.” Amber turned to Solomon. “You’re going to like my bed. I got it for my birthday.”

  “I saw your room the other day,” he reminded her.

  When Grace stepped into Amber’s room, it was as if this was the first time she saw the candy-pink walls and the lacy curtains that hung from the canopy bed. She laid Solomon’s suitcase on the dresser.

  “Amber, get your pajamas. We’ll get your school clothes in the morning.”

  Solomon edged onto the bed and folded his hands. Grace watched his sadness slump his shoulders.

  “The bathroom is right through there.” Grace pointed, wanting to rescue him from his thoughts.

  “But lock the door if you use it, or else Jayde will burst in,” Amber nodded, giving advice from her experience.

  Solomon frowned.

  “Jayde’s bedroom is on the other side,” Grace explained. She cupped his chin in her hand. “Let me get Amber settled in, and I’ll come back. Okay?”

  He nodded, but said, “I go to bed by myself.”

  “I know.” Grace smiled. “I just want to say good-night.”

  He tried to smile back.

  “Good night, Solomon.” Amber waved.

  He tried to wave back.

  Grace closed the door, wishing she could fill him with peace.

  Amber knocked on Jayde’s door. “Jayde, let me in.”

  “Sweetie, you don’t have to scream.” Grace knocked on the door and then opened it.

  Jayde was sprawled across her bed with headphones covering her ears. Her head hung over one side and her feet swung from the other.

  “Took the shackles off my feet so I could dance,” Jayde sang off-key. It wasn’t the first time that Grace was glad Jayde played the flute.

  Grace tapped Jayde’s shoulder. She jumped, jerking the headphones from her ears. Grace could still hear Mary, Mary blasting from the earpiece.

  “Amber is going to sleep with you tonight,” Grace said handing Amber her nightgown.

  Jayde’s mouth opened as wide as her eyes. “Why?”

  “Because Solomon is staying in my room,” Amber said before Grace could respond. She made a face, then went into the bathroom.

  Jayde tore the earphones from around her neck and threw them onto the bed. “Solomon is staying in our house?”

  Her daughter’s question made her think back to the way her day had begun. She had to take crap from Sara Spears. She didn’t have to take it from Jayde.

  Grace folded her arms. “Yes.”

  “Why can’t he sleep in your office, like you did?”

  Grace grinded her teeth, took a breath, and held up her hand. “Unless you’ve started paying some of the bills around here, I don’t want to hear another word.”

  Jayde scooted back on the bed. “I guess you only care about homeless orphans.”

  In less than a second, Grace grabbed Jayde’s arm and dragged her from the bed.

  “Mom,” Jayde screamed.

  Grace lifted her other hand.

  “Mommy!”

  She turned toward the voice. Amber was standing in the bathroom’s doorway, her eyes filled with terror.

  Grace’s hand shook above her head, then she lowered it. It still took a moment for her to release Jayde’s arm.

  Jayde scampered away, her eyes wide with fear. She massaged her arm where Grace had held her with a death grip.

  “I want the two of you to go to bed.” Grace’s voice was low and steady. “I don’t expect to hear a sound from this room. Do you understand?”

  Only their heads moved as they nodded. Their eyes were plastered on their mother, afraid that she might make a sudden move.

  Grace backed out of the room, closed the door, and then leaned against it. She closed her eyes, praying that would hold back her sobs.

  “Grace?”

  She opened her eyes, and Conner was staring at her. She didn’t know where the trembling began, but by the time it got to her lips, she ran into his arms.

  “Sweetheart.” He held her tight.

  “Jayde said … then Solomon cried … and, Pilar’s sick … and then Sara did …”

  Conner squeezed her tighter, pumping the tears from her. And in her husband’s arms, she released her pain from the day.

  Chapter 47

  It was the first time that Grace had seen Sara Spears’s column so far front in the newspaper. Page three was a coup for the ACC leader.

  Conner came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and another in his hand. He paused when he saw the newspaper.

  “The headline alone will make you scream,” she said before he could ask. “Councilwoman’s Husband’s Hidden Love Child.”

  Conner moaned.

  “She’s calling for my constituents to question whether I can truly represent them since I am not the moralistic, righteous, upstanding Christian that I claimed to be.” Grace looked down at the paper and read, “Councilwoman Monroe is not an example that anyone can hold up—especially not the children that she claims to care so much about.”

  Conner settled onto the bed.

  Grace continued, “She ends with, ‘If Monroe wants to impart her Christian values on the people of this city, we suggest that she begin at home. When she can pull her family together, then maybe Angelinos will be willing to listen to her holy message. Until then, we hope that Monroe will do the righteous deed and place her letter of resignation on the mayor’s desk by noon.” Grace closed the newspaper.

  Conner sighed.

  Grace moved to the window. Outside, the air was gray, broken only by the weary palette of the homes planted in the Palos Verdes hillside: steel-blue, earthen-tan, dried-grass green. It seemed the city was in mourning.

  Maybe the air’s sorrow was a sign. Since she’d been elected, the challenges had been mounting, piling high on her family’s emotional shoulders. Anything more was bound to break them.

  Conner stood. “This is not about you, sweetheart. This is an attack on your faith.”

  Her examination of the view beyond her window continued. “But now the war’s being waged against my family. It’s not worth it anymore.”

  He spun her around so fast she rocked on her heels. “This is definitely worth it, Grace. People have been and will be touched by what you’re doing and what you stand for. If you b
ack away now, what will you be saying?”

  She let a few silent moments pass. “I should keep on fighting.”

  “Fight the good fight.”

  She smiled. “Well, if I’m going to wage a war, I’d better get dressed.”

  “That’s my warrior!”

  In the bathroom, she turned on the shower, then looked in the mirror. She would fight for herself and for her family. She really didn’t have to worry about her family’s emotional burdens. With all they’d been through, they were definitely in the basement. It was time to start taking the elevator back to the top.

  Conner waved to Amber as Lily drove around the driveway. He closed the door and smiled as he looked up to the second level. Solomon had been asleep when he checked on him earlier, but he was sure to be awake now.

  He knocked on the door and stepped into the bedroom. His smile evaporated. Solomon was sitting in the middle of the pink bed with his knees pulled into his chest.

  “Hey, buddy. How’re you?”

  Solomon’s eyes were dry but full of sadness.

  “Fine.”

  Conner sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you sure?”

  He nodded, but then with quickness rocked to his knees and hurled his arms around Conner. “I’m scared.”

  “I know you are.” Conner held his son as if there were no missing years. “But the doctors are working hard to make your mother well.”

  “Mom said there’s nothing the doctors can do.”

  Conner swallowed the reassuring lies he wanted to offer and squeezed Solomon’s hands. “Your mother is very sick, but the doctors are doing their best to keep her with us as long as they can.”

  Solomon’s brown eyes became clearer. “Mom is going to die soon.” He stated the words so calmly that Conner wondered if he understood what he’d uttered. He added, “Maybe we should pray so that God knows how we feel.”

  Conner nodded and held his son’s hands. “That’s a great idea.”

  “I’ll do it,” Solomon exclaimed. He closed his eyes. “Father, God, I’m scared. But I know that you don’t want me to be. My mom told me that if I ever got scared, I should talk to you, and then I wouldn’t be scared anymore. I want my mom to get well. Please help her, God.” He paused. “And if she can’t get well, please don’t let her be scared and don’t let her hurt. I don’t want to see my mother cry. Amen.”