“Leo is on his way to the hospital. So are Pastor and Sister McCoy,” Cynthia further explained to Brother Mackey over the phone.
“Thank you, Sista Cynthia.”
“No problem. I’m praying for your family, Brother Mackey.”
“Thank you, we’re get to the hospital right away, and God bless you, Sista Cynthia.” Brother Mackey hung up the phone, and rushed to call and tell Brooke the tragic news.
***
“Any news yet?” Leo asked Hezekiah upon arriving at the hospital.
“No, not yet. Did you call Brother and Sister Mackey?”
“Cynthia called them, and I called Pastor. They should be here soon.”
It didn’t take long before Pastor, Miss Josie, Brooke and the Mackey family arrived. Hezekiah, Fancy, and Leo gathered around them, assuring both families that they were praying for them.
They stopped talking to each other when the receptionist asked, “Is the family of Stiles Graham here?”
“Yes, right here,” Pastor spoke up, as he, Josie and the Mackey’s walked up to the front desk.
“Only two of you can come back to the patient area,” the nurse explained.
“I’ll wait out here,” said Josie.
“Okay, thanks, baby.” Pastor kissed Josie on her cheek.
“We’ll wait out here too,” said Brooke, looking at her mother for her to agree. She did.
Pastor and Brother Mackey walked up to the double doors. Pastor pushed the button. The door opened.
A nurse greeted them. Are you looking for Mr. Graham?”
“Yes,” Pastor answered.
“Follow that blue line until you get to ER15.” The nurse pointed at the blue line on the floor.
“Can you tell me how my daughter is doing too?” Brother Mackey asked.
“Your daughter?” The nurse looked puzzled.
“Yes. She was brought here too. She’s married to the patient. Her name is Detria Graham.”
“I’ll see what I can find out,” she said, as she prepared to walk away. “You can go ahead to Mr. Graham’s room.”
“Thank you. God bless you,” Pastor responded.
***
“How are you, Son?” Pastor asked when they walked into Stiles’ room.
“I’m good,” Stiles answered, looking and sounding like he was embarrassed when he saw his father-in-law enter the room with Pastor.
The ER doctor arrived soon after they entered Stiles’ room. He was short in stature, sported a thick beard, and was somewhat on the chubby side. It was easy to tell that he was of Indian descent by way of his complexion and thick black hair.
“What’s the verdict, Doctor?” Stiles asked, grimacing as if he was in pain.
“The x-rays show you have two fractured fingers on your left hand and some internal bruising around your torso.” His accent proved that he was indeed of Indian descent. “You’re going to be sore for a few days. The good news is you’ll survive,” the doctor said jokingly. “I’ve written you a prescription for pain along with an anti-inflammatory medicine. When the nurse brings your script, you’re free to go. Follow up with your doctor in one week.”
“And my daughter? How is she?” Detria’s father asked as he stood next to the doctor, not bothering to acknowledge Stiles or anything the doctor said about his son-in-law.
“Yes, the nurse told me you were inquiring about, uhh.” He looked down on the clipboard he was holding, “Detria Graham?”
“Yes. Where is she? How is she doing?” Brother Mackey asked.
“Yes, how is my wife, Doctor?” asked Stiles.
“It says here that she was transported across the street to the Women’s Pavilion. They should be able to tell you something over there. I’m sorry, I don’t know any more than that.”
“Thank you, Doctor.” Mr. Mackey turned and starting walking off, but then as if he suddenly remembered something, he stopped, turned back around, walked, and stood at the side of Stiles’ hospital bed.
“Brother Mackey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…,” Stiles began trying to explain.
“I swear, as God is my witness, if you hurt my daughter again, or my grandbaby she’s carrying, I’ll spend the rest of my life making your life miserable.”
“Brother Mackey, I understand how you feel, but please be careful. Don’t use the Lord’s name in vain,” Pastor warned.
“Don’t you get all sanctimonious with me. That son of yours is the one who’s hiding behind the Lord. He can run all he wants, but he can’t hide. And I’m telling you,” Brother Mackey said, pointing his finger at Stiles, “you’re going to pay for what you’ve done to my baby girl. You’re going to pay dearly.”
***
Brother and Sister Mackey and Brooke left the hospital where Stiles was and rushed across the street to the Women’s Pavilion to check on Detria and the baby. When they inquired about Detria, they were told that she was on the third floor in Labor and Delivery.
When they got to Labor and Delivery the doctor was still making rounds, so the Mackey’s were able to talk to him about Detria.
“Your daughter is a little dehydrated. Due to the stress of a premature labor, her blood pressure is somewhat elevated but that’s nothing to be overly concerned about,” he explained. “We’re giving her fluids and monitoring her. We’re going to keep her for a couple of days since we had to perform a C-section.”
“And what about my grandbaby? Is my grandchild going to be all right?” Brother Mackey looked at the doctor like he was expecting to hear the worse.
“All I can tell you is that we were able to save the baby, but I can’t say if the little one will survive. He’s fighting but he’s in bad shape because he was born so early. The pediatric neonatologist will have to tell you more about that. I’m sure he’ll be here as soon as he can. I’m sorry.”
“A boy? She had a little boy.” Mr. Mackey tried to smile but his pain was too great.
Brooke hugged her mother and father. “Everything is going to be fine. You’ll see. Just keep the faith.”
Chapter 31
“People are such great mysteries. Just when we think we have understood them, a wonderful new aspect shows in them.” Eucharista Ward
Skip tried sitting up in the narrow hospital bed, but fell backward from the stabbing pain that hit him in his ribs. The bandages made it even harder for him to move. “Ughhh.”
“Baby, lay back. Relax. Your ribs are fractured, so don’t try to move.”
Skip looked on the left of him, and Meaghan Perkins got up from the cold green leather chair and stood next to the bed. She rubbed the back of her hand along his swollen face before leaning over and kissing him on his forehead.
“You need to take it easy. Are you in much pain?”
“Yeah. I guess I’m not the prize fighter I thought I was,” Skip said and tried to chuckle but instead winced in pain.
“The pain medicine will take effect soon. Try to be quiet and just chill.”
Unlike other women who’d come and gone in Skip’s life, Skip and Meaghan had been in an on again off again relationship for three years. Skip called her his ‘bed buddy’ but Meaghan wanted more.
Meaghan seemed to understand, or rather accept, his insatiable desire for women, including his fascination with the first lady. However, she was still curious to find out how serious he was about Detria.
Meaghan was a member of Holy Rock too. She and Detria knew each other from the women’s focus group meetings they attended monthly at the church. That was the extent of their interaction with one another.
One evening when she was over at Skip’s place, Meaghan went through his phone while he was in the shower. She found a string of sexual text messages between him and Detria. Some men can be so stupid, she thought. He doesn’t have a password on his phone, and he doesn’t have sense enough to delete his messages.
She kept quiet for several weeks, not wanting Skip to know that after they made love, she made it her business to find out who else he was
messing around with.
On several occasions, she thought about confronting Detria, but always told herself to keep quiet and let the affair play out. Meaghan thought about the whole scenario with Skip and Detria. Instead of Detria realizing that she was just another one of Skip’s casual flings, the stupid woman had fallen hard for Skip and now Detria was pregnant, possibly with his love child.
“So I have busted ribs, a broken nose, a couple of missing teeth, and what else?” Skip tried to be humorous but inside he was seething. Stiles had gotten the best of him, and Skip wasn’t happy about it. Here he was, laid up in the hospital all whipped up like he’d been in the ring with Floyd Mayweather. And for what? All because Stiles couldn’t stand the fact that he couldn’t keep the hot little First Lady happy in the bedroom.
“That’s it, honey,” Meaghan said, trying not to sound like she was worried.
“When is the doctor coming? I want to know how long they plan on keeping me up in here.”
“I wish you would try to relax and let the medication take effect, Skip. You’re going to be in here for at least a couple of days so there’s no need to get yourself all worked up. Plus, the longer you stay here, the more time your lawyer can work on building an airtight case against Pastor Graham for assaulting you.”
“Good, because I’m the one laid up in here on my back. Preacher boy is the one who walked up on me, not the other way around. I was Detria’s guest and he came barging up in there like he was Iron Man or somebody. Everybody knows that he and Detria are separated. That dude has some serious issues. So, whatever he gets he deserves.”
“Look, baby, there’s no need to dwell on any of that now. Close your eyes and rest.” Meaghan lightly pecked him on his swollen lips as Skip’s eyes slowly closed. The medication had finally kicked in.
Meaghan quietly stepped back and sat down on the hospital sofa, folded her arms, and laid her head against the cold leather. She had a thousand nasty, evil thoughts racing through her head, and every one of them was about Detria Graham. It was high time Detria got a taste of her own medicine. Meaghan believed she was just the woman to give it to her.
Chapter 32
“Not all scars show.” Unknown
Skip was released after spending three days in the hospital. He still had some physical healing to do, but as for his wounded ego, it would probably take quite some time before he felt better.
Detria hadn’t been as fortunate as Skip and Stiles. Within hours of arriving at the hospital after the brawl between the two men, she had gone into labor. Giving birth at 24 weeks proved to be quite dangerous for her baby. Her baby boy entered the world weighing barely over one pound. Detria was heartbroken and terrified. She prayed that her little boy would be okay.
The neonatologist explained to her that babies born between 23 and 24 weeks have a good chance of survival. Detria was relieved to hear this bit of good news, but he warned her that her son still was not out of danger. Babies like her son who were born months before the due date, faced a long time in NICU. The baby was also at risk for serious disabilities, although some extremely premature babies grow up with no long-term effects of prematurity. Her precious little boy faced a bevy of possible health concerns. The doctor was especially worried because her baby showed signs of respiratory distress syndrome, also known as RDS. RDS babies lack a protein called surfactant that keeps small air sacs in the lungs from collapsing. Another concern was IVH, or bleeding in the brain, which usually occurs near the ventricles in the center of the brain. He was on oxygen, needed mechanical assistance to help him breathe, and his body systems were underdeveloped.
Detria sobbed. Was her child going to have to pay for her mistakes? Would her little boy suffer because she had exercised poor judgment in her marriage, her relationships, and her life?
Her parents and Brooke had come to the hospital to be with her, but they had left to take Sister Mackey home.
Sister Mackey’s health was unstable. Not wanting to chance her having a lupus flare up, Brother Mackey insisted that the two of them go home so his wife could get some rest. He assured Sister Mackey that he would bring her back to the hospital the following day to see Detria and check on the newest addition to the Mackey family.
After a few hours, Stiles was released from the ER. Assuring Pastor, the McCoys, Leo and Cynthia that he was all right, he insisted they all go on home. It had been enough drama for one night, he told them. He was going to go across the street to check on Detria.
On his way to the Women’s Pavilion, Stiles decided to call Brooke first. He wanted to know if the Mackey’s were still visiting with Detria. Stiles understood that Poppa Mackey was upset with him, and he didn’t want to cause more friction between himself and Poppa Mackey. His father-in-law already looked like he wanted to cause him harm when he came with Pastor to see him in the ER.
Stiles was relieved when Brooke answered her cell phone. Surprisingly, she didn’t sound like she was upset with him. If anything, she sounded like she felt sorry for him. Brooke told him that they had left the hospital. She also told him that Detria had a baby boy. Stiles was overjoyed to hear that she’d given birth to a son, but saddened when Brooke told him that the little boy was in a medical dilemma. He released a heavy sigh as he ended the call and headed to see his cheating wife and newborn baby.
When Detria saw Stiles enter her hospital room bruised and swollen, instead of feeling sympathy toward him, she became angry. She almost hated him. She felt that because of him, she had gone into premature labor and now her son’s life was at risk. Detria pressed the Call button and begged the nurse to come and make Stiles leave.
The nurse came in and insisted that he allow Detria to rest. Sadly, Stiles turned and left, not wanting to cause Detria any more discomfort, or get himself in deeper trouble.
With everyone gone, Detria lay in the hospital room all alone to face her demons.
Chapter 33
“It hurts the worst when the person that made you feel so special yesterday, makes you feel so unwanted today.” Unknown
Stiles stood outside NICU peering through the glass window separating him from his one-week old son. Stiles still had a number of bruises on his body. His nose and eyes were still slightly swollen, and his broken fingers were encased in splints.
The NICU nurse had rolled Elijah’s tiny incubator close to the window so Stiles could see him for the few minutes he was allowed. She remained next to the incubator while Stiles watched the newborn. Elijah was still in guarded condition and even Detria was not allowed to see him, except through the glass partition.
From what the doctor had said, Elijah could grow up to be a normal kid despite his difficult and premature birth, of which Stiles partly blamed himself for. If he hadn’t lost his temper, if he had practiced self-control, if he hadn’t let Skip get under his skin then Detria would not have gone into premature labor. Sadly, there was nothing he could do to change any of that now.
He looked at the infant and prayed for his little boy to survive. He prayed that God would forgive him for the hardship he had already brought on Elijah’s life because of his uncontrolled anger. Lastly, he prayed that Elijah shared his DNA. It would be days, if not weeks, before he found out.
Detria’s infidelity had caused him to be uncertain about everything they shared. He felt that she further betrayed when she named the little boy Elijah James Graham, knowing full well the two of them had agreed early in their marriage that if ever they had a son they would name him Stiles Chauncey Graham. Stiles was crushed. It felt like the ultimate sense of disloyalty. Did she really hate him that much? Not only had she not named the boy after him, but Detria didn’t give him Pastor’s name either. Stiles didn’t know what to think anymore. The only thing he was sure of was that his life was in shambles and he didn’t know where to turn. Tears silently flowed down his cheeks as he placed both hands flat against the window. His faith was shaken. For the first time in years, he felt disconnected from God.
He had stood in the pu
lpit of Holy Rock just weeks ago and assured his congregation that he was not going anywhere. Now, he was having second thoughts. He didn’t know how he could lead the congregation when his own life was so messed up, so disoriented. Stiles turned and walked away from the NICU.
***
The ringing cell phone startled Stiles as he drove toward his townhome. He answered it. It was his administrative assistant, Sister Gloria Wooten.
“Hello, Sister Gloria.”
“Hello, Pastor Graham. How are you? I’ve been so worried about you?”
“I’m going to be fine. How can I help you?”
“Pastor Graham, your ex-wife called.”
“What did you just say?”
“Sister Rena Graham called you,” she repeated.
“Rena? Are you sure it was Rena?”
“Yes, Pastor. It was her.”
Stiles rubbed his head back and forth as he made a right turn at the light. “What did she say?”
“Only that she wanted to talk to you.”
For a minute, he was without words. Did Sister Wooten just tell him that Rena had called? Was she back in Memphis? Had she ever left? And why didn’t she wait to see him in his office when she was here not long ago? It didn’t make sense, but then again, lately nothing in his life made sense.
“Uh, look, Sister Gloria. Did she,” he paused, “did she leave a number where I can reach her?”
“Yes, she did.”
Gloria became his administrative assistant weeks after he became Holy Rock’s Senior Pastor. She had witnessed the fall of his marriage to Rena and here she was again, watching him go through drama with his second wife.
Gloria voiced her dislike for the First Lady on several occasions throughout his marriage to Detria, but her opinion fell on deaf ears. Maybe that was the way it was supposed to be, because Stiles was a man of God, and as a man of God he did not want to entertain gossipy opinions about who he was married to. Gloria came to the conclusion that it was not her place to give him counsel, so she had long since stopped acting like a second mother to him and tried to remain in the role of his administrative assistant.
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