“Hey! I don’t regret my career choices.”
“Just the path you took to get there and what you gave up to have it?”
Damn. Charmagne was always too intuitive.
“Maybe. However, if I had my life to do over, I wouldn’t change it.”
“I’m not suggesting you should have done anything differently.” The burgeoning woman took hold of her hand. “Just make sure of what path you take in the future. It looks like you got a second time around. Thirds are very rare.”
Sonya squeezed her hand because her throat was constrict and aching with the emotion riding there.
She was saved by the honking of Charles’ horn. The line of people trying to get away was crushing. He wouldn’t be able to hold the prime spot for long.
They hurried along. Food and a visit with her friend now, Parker tomorrow.
~ML~
Beautiful, elegant and captivating. Those were the words that came to Parker’s mind as he headed home after the dance recital. He knew she was in good hands. Charles and Charmagne would be with her for the rest of the evening. He’d run into Charles in the hallway at the end of the show. They spoke on the phone a few times, but he’d missed hanging out with his college friend. It was good to see him. Charles had invited him along to dinner, but Parker didn’t feel that was the best. He wanted to talk to Sonya but he would allow her this night unfettered with her friends. Parker had promised Charles that he would be up to Northern Virginia soon.
If he was lucky, he and Sonya would work things out and they travel there together.
Tomorrow, he told himself as he continued down the road.
~ML~
“It was a lot of fun hanging out with you two.” Sonya gave Charles a hug first after they all got out of the car back at the Belk Theater.
He was parked behind her car in one of the pay lots in Uptown behind the theater. The lot had been packed early in the day when she’d arrived for the performance, but now a few people milled about. Now for the most part people were in bars, clubs or restaurants. It was busier down toward the public transport terminal and the EPI Center.
“Always great to see you. Take care of yourself and come up soon.” Charles ended the hug and moved away to allow room for his wife.
“I will be up there when the baby is born. I promise.” Sonya pulled her friend in her arms. At times like this with what was going on in her life this week—personally and professionally—she really missed Charmagne and wanted to talk to her about everything. But, she held her tongue.
“You better.” Charmagne held her as tight and close as she could with her large belly resting between them. After a kiss on her cheek, she moved away. “It’s kind of late. Do you want us to follow you home?”
Sniffling and quickly wiping her eyes, Sonya backed up to her car. “No. This is my city. I’m good. Besides you and the baby need some rest.”
“Then why are you crying?” Her friend’s eyes began to water up, her hormones working fast.
“It’s winter and the cold wind is blowing in my eyes.” Sonya blinked a lot trying to clear away her watery vision.
“Oh.” Twin stream rolled down Charmagne’s cheeks. “I thought it was because miss me, my sister. Because you really shouldn’t be so far away from your godchild.” She rubbed her stomach.
“Now you’re going to make me feel bad.” A single tear slipped from her eye before she could catch it. Just a few days ago she may have been able to joke and say she was putting in for a spot at the new African American museum in D.C., but that opportunity may be closed off forever to her if the investigation took a wrong turn in her disfavor.
“Okay, ladies. We are getting into cars before I find myself drowned out here in the cold.” Charles held Sonya’s door open for her then ushered his wife into her seat in their car. “Drive safe,” he mouthed to Sonya as he round his car to the driver side.
Sonya swiped at the tears at the corner of her eyes then started her car. That’s when something caught her eye on the hood of her car. Opening her door, she stepped out and reached for the bundle.
A bouquet of white lilies were wrapped in green tissue paper and held together by a dark ribbon—perhaps royal blue or violet.
Parker.
She pulled the flowers closer to her nose and sniffed. This time of year, the selection of flowers had to be expensive since they were springtime blooms. The color match up was odd, she was more of a classic rose person herself, but they were unique and maybe that was what he was trying to say to her. I’m unique?
Why didn’t he stay and give them to me?
“You alright?” Charmagne yelled from her passenger side window.
Turn she waved at them. “Great. Good night.”
Charmagne returned the farewell then rolled her window back up against the chilly night air.
Back inside the increasing warmth of her interior she set the flowers on the passenger seat beside the ones her friends had given her. She fastened her seatbelt. In her rearview see saw Charles pull away from her bumper. She backed out of the spot and followed her friends out of the exit for the parking lot. They went left to their hotel and she went right toward the interstate.
She turned on her radio just to get some noise in the car that wasn’t her own voice in her head. Thank goodness it was Saturday night and so the oldies station was playing the party spin for one of the local clubs. Perfect distraction.
On the interstate she was amazed at all the traffic out at that time of night then the announcer on the radio congratulated the Panthers on a win over the Steelers. She wasn’t a sports fan at all, but always believed in routing for the home team. The road narrowed because of construction and traffic pattern changes. She was moving at a turtles crawl when her phone rung.
She pushed the connect button on her steering wheel. “Hello.”
“Pumpadoodle. Sorry it’s late…were you sleeping?” There was something in her father’s voice, a heaviness that concerned her.
“No, dad. I’m up. I had an event tonight and I was out with friends.” A late Lucy squeezed into the space between her and the car before her when the lanes went from two to one. She grit her teeth at the annoyance of the driver now before her. Signs were back two miles reading merger right.
“Oh, okay.”
“What’s wrong, dad?” She was sure his call had to do with money, that money meant alcohol, but she was still concerned for him.
“Oh, nothing. Nothing.” He sighed.
“Dad?”
“I don’t want to worry you, but my feet keep swelling.” He groaned heavy into the phone as if he were lifting something or using his energy to move himself around.
“Why are they swelling? Have you seen your doctor?” She saw that the end of the road work was coming up and was elated.
“Nah. He just wants to pump me full of meds. They always make my stomach hurt and I don’t think they do a damn bit of good.”
She let out a soft exhale so he didn’t hear it. It wasn’t the meds but the alcohol in combination with the medication that caused the adverse reactions. “How about I send you some new shoes. Something a little wider and some compression socks. Think that will help?”
“Oh, sure, sure. But, I don’t want to be a bother.” He voice drifted lower.
“No bother, dad.” For once hearing her father lament about his aches and pains made her feel balanced. This was her normal. What was going on at the museum wasn’t, but this was.
“Well, thanks. I love you.”
“I love you, too. I’ll put a few dollars in the box with the shoes too.” Normally, she tried to limit giving him money. Money equaled booze. However, if her career went south there were a lot of things she would not be able to do, take care of her father was one of them.
“You’re the best, pumpadoodle.”
She ended the call just as the road opened up. Increasing her speed she was ready to get home and crawl into her bed. She was exhausted and just maybe sleep would come to her t
onight. Tomorrow she’d get up and go to church to pray for her father and pray for herself.
Moving along I-85 she was relieved to see her exit coming up in a mile and half. She switched from left to right only to be tailed to close by a semi-truck. Stepping on the gas so that she could get a little more distance between her bumper and his grill before she took her exit. Turning her wheel she moved to the right one more to get in the feeder lane to her exit. All of a sudden in her side mirror was a bright beaming light from a motorcycle that had to be doing well over the speed limit. She couldn’t cut back left, because of the big rig. The rider disregarded rules of safety and zipped left then flashed by her and zagged right cutting her off on the ramp. His actions caused her to slam on her breaks to avoid clipping his back tire.
Her foot went all the way to the floor. The car was still rolling at a rapid pace that matched the beating of her heart. Her skin tightened as she gripped the wheel and pumped the break harder over and over. Her only choice not to hurt another motorist was to swerve to the shoulder.
Tires hit debris, loose gravel and slick grass causing her car to spin out of control. She stepped her left foot onto the emergency break.
Tires screeched. Horns blared.
“Oh, God! Help me!” Her car went from a ditch up the side embankment where it got stuck and stopped. She sat there shaking, tears rolling down her face and sick to her stomach.
She wasn’t sure if she was going to faint or throw-up. Or both.
“Miss…miss…Are you alright.”
Looking out her side window, that was no longer there, she saw a shadow of a man. Guardian Angel? Good Samaritan? At this moment it didn’t matter to her.
She nodded. “Yes!”
“Turn off your car.”
“What?” Her brain was fuzzy.
“Your engine. Turn it off.” He repeated.
Understand she slapped the button. Reaching for the door handle, she tried to get out. It was stuck. Fear froze her blood. “I can’t open it.”
“It’s dented in, probably when you struck the guardrail. Don’t worry the emergency people are on the way.”
“I’ll climb out the window.” She pressed the release for her belt but nothing happened. She pressed it again then started pulling at the strap.
“Wait! Are you hurt?” He reached inside and placed a calming hand on her shoulder.
“Um, I don’t think so.” She took a moment and took stock of her body to see if she felt any pain. Then she wiggled her toes to make sure she could feel them. “No. No.”
“Then just sit tight. Okay? I’ll be right here.”
It was too dark out where her car had ended up and she could really make out the features of her rescuer, but his voice was strong and steady and she was thankful.
“Alright.”
They talked about nothing of important. Mostly the football game. She was sure the man just wanted to keep her talking.
Finally the fire department, EMTs and the police arrived on scene. It took the Jaws of Life and some sharp sheers to get her out of her car. The EMTs insisted on placing her on a backboard and neck stabilizer even though she told them repeatedly that she was fine.
Soon she was in the emergency room with nurses and a doctor checking her out.
Once it was determined that she hadn’t broken or lacerated anything she was set to be discharged. “Do you have someone to escort you home and be with you through the night?”
She could call Charles and Charmagne but she disregarded that option. She thought about Simeon as well. However, there was only one person she wanted right now.
“I don’t know where my purse is…I need my cell phone.” She said to the nurse who came in recording her vitals for the last time.
“One second I think I just saw someone bring some things in.” She patted her leg and offered her a concerned smile. “You were very lucky you didn’t get hurt.”
“I know. I can take a little shaken up over the alternative.”
The nurse brushed the curtain aside and headed out.
Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes for a moment and counted her blessings. She didn’t understand what had happened. She was faithful in keeping her car service up to date.
“Glad to see you’re okay.”
Opening her eyes, she stared at the man she hadn’t intended to see. “Are you following me, Agent Williams?”
The tall black man with salt and pepper hair and a walnut brown complexion offered her a half smile. “You took quite a spin. Can you tell me what happened?”
It didn’t escape her notice that he never answered the question about tailing her.
She would have expected these questions to come from a state trooper or city police. “Isn’t chasing down roadside accidents a little below your pay grade?”
“Most of the time. Unless they have to do with a case.” As he moved deeper into the room she realized he was carrying her purse and the flowers.
“How’s this connected the case at the museum?” Her forehead tightened, drawing down between her brows.
He set two bouquets on the small table and her purse beside her. “You’re a significant piece of an ongoing investigation. Tell me about what happened.”
She wasn’t sure what he was getting at or why a fender bender she was in drew his interest. “It’s simple. I was headed home. I got cut off by a guy speeding on a motorcycle and I tried to avoid other cars and found myself on a hill. Case closed.”
Picking up her purse she dug inside until she grasped her cell and pulled it out. She didn’t want to talk with Agent Williams anymore. She was ready to go home.
“Excuse me.” She dialed Parkers number.
“Sonya?” He sounded groggy.
“I’m sorry did I wake you?” She kept her eyes downcast so as not to see how the agent was observing her.
“You have that right.” He yawned. “You alright?”
“Um…Sort of…I mean yes.” She exhaled, rubbing her forehead, feeling out of sorts. “I’m at the hospital. I need a ride home.”
“What? Are you hurt? What’s going on?” His voice came out clear now. There was scuffling around, the sound of things opening and closing.
“I’m fine. I just want to leave.”
“Was it the recital? Did you pull something?”
“I’ll explain it to you when you get here. I’m in ER room three.”
“I’m on my way.” There was the sound of keys jingling before he hung up.
She placed her phone back into her purse then reached for the flowers and drew them into her lap, still ignoring Agent Williams.
“Who gave you the flowers?”
Glancing at him in the single chair along the wall where he sat. She held his gaze for a moment. “You mean to tell me there’s something you don’t know?”
“I know you had a recital today. Heard you did well.”
The smile curled the corners of her lip before she could catch it.
“I also know you went to a rib restaurant with your friends.”
He was well informed about her comings and goings, which reiterated to her that they were following her. “All that information and you can’t solve the flower caper.”
“Pretty much.”
“Well, there form Parker.” She lifted the flowers and smelled them.
“A bit morbid isn’t they?”
She lowered them and stared at him. “What?”
“Lilies. Black ribbons?”
Taking in everything he said, she assessed the flowers again. She realized that the ribbon was black, not dark blue or purple as she originally believed. “Death.”
“Yes. That’s my impression of them.”
She didn’t realize that she’d spoken the words aloud. There had to be another explanation for the flowers. Feeling uncomfortable with them on her lap now she set them back on the small table.
“We had your car sent to one of our mechanic. I’ll touch bases with you tomorrow on our findings.”
>
“I don’t think that is necessary, but thank you.”
“Sonya.”
Her heart lurched in her chest at the sight of Parker. It had been so long since she saw him and it felt good to take in his features. The glimpses of him in the audience didn’t count when he was in shadow and she was in movement the entire time.
“Hi. Parker.” She sat up then turned her legs to the side as she greeted him.
“What happened? Why are you here?” He rushed to her side and took hold of her hands.
She assumed he didn’t notice that the FBI agent was seated in the room while he ran his hands up her arms and down her legs looking injury.
She smiled at his concern but pushed his arms away. “I’m ready to go. Agent Williams was keeping me company while I waited to leave. Now I will go get dressed.”
Parker glanced over his shoulder and frowned. “What are you doing here? Don’t you think you all have caused her enough problems already?”
The agent rose, the two men squared off. She considered staying and trying to keep them from ripping each other’s heads off but she decided she just didn’t have the energy.
“I’m doing my job. Here to find out the truth. I would think you would want your girlfriend cleared.”
Shocked, Sonya paused to look at the agent. She’d never said anything to them about her and Parker. She wondered how far into her background they had dug. Not wanting to think about that or the investigation, she grabbed her bag of clothes they had made her remove when she got to the hospital.
“Well, you’re looking in the wrong direction. Anyone who knows Sonya would know she’s not capable of something like forgery or drug smuggling.”
Parker’s confidence in her was heartwarming.
“People will surprise you. Speaking of that of which, nice flower bundle. I’ve been told flowers have meaning…care to explain yours?” Williams tipped his head toward the bouquet on the bed with the ominous black ribbon.
“What?” Parker’s brow tightened as he looked in the direction the agent indicated.
She paused before the curtain needing to hear what Parker would say.
“Those are not from me.” He picked them up and turned the flowers left and right then pulled back the tissue to peep along the side. “What was on the card?”
Evidence of Desire: Hero Series 3 Page 19