by E. N. Joy
“As a matter of fact, she does.” Now what? was what the expression on Lorain’s face read.
“Yeah, but I bet your entire church doesn’t know. I bet you haven’t gone down to the altar and testified.” Korica threw her hands up and leaned back, faking being touched by the Holy Spirit.
“So is that what this is about? You want me to tell the entire world how it is that I’m ...” Lorain pointed at herself in the chest, “... Unique’s real mother?”
“Puhleeze. Real mother, my foot.” Korica looked Lorain up and down as if she stank. “You might be the woman who spit her out from between your legs, but I’m her real mother. Need I remind you who she told the guards at the jail she wanted to see first?” Not that there was much space between Lorain and Korica, but Korica was surely closing in the little space there was. “I’m the one who all those years ago sacrificed being able to take care of my own flesh and blood so that I could take care of yours.”
Korica was starting to become emotional, and she tried her best to fight it off. “We struggled, I mean, struggled. There were times I had no idea where our next meal would come from. And there were times I had to do the unthinkable in order to make sure my kids had a meal. And when there wasn’t enough for me to eat, I had to pretend I had a stomach ache or something and didn’t want to eat anything. Then there was boosting and doing everything under the sun to get them school clothes so they wouldn’t be teased and talked about. But a new pair of shoes and a couple outfits from the Ten Dollar Store can only go so far.”
The more Korica spoke, the angrier she got. Soon tears of anger erupted from her eyes. “And what’s her real mother doing? Off living in some condo, getting the Holy Ghost every Sunday and pushing Mary Kay cosmetics like some white woman in the ’burbs.” Korica, embarrassed that she’d been brought to tears, turned quickly back to face the graves and sharply wiped her tears away.
“You make it sound as if what I did didn’t affect me either,” Lorain told her. “Well, it did.”
“Well, I can’t tell. All I know is that I’ll be darn if I just sit back and watch you take over the reins after all I’ve done to raise Unique and those boys.” Now Korica broke down from grief after staring at the boys’ small caskets.
“Look, I can’t take back what I did. All I can do is—”
“Repent and ask God for forgiveness.” Korica finished Lorain’s sentence sarcastically. “Yeah, that’s what all you Christians do. Live a hellish life, then take a shower in Jesus’ blood, and it all washes down the drain. Yeah, I get all that, but guess what? I ain’t Jesus, and I ain’t forgiving or forgetting about nothing. And neither is Unique. And if I have to keep reminding her who Mommy is, who the real mother who raised her is, then so be it.”
“You do what you need to do,” Lorain said nonchalantly. “But nothing you do will ever change the fact that I am the woman who carried Unique in her womb for nine months. I am the woman whose veins pump the same blood as Unique’s.” This time Lorain closed in the space between her and Korica. “I am the woman who, by law and any other definition, is Unique’s mother. Point-blank ... period. So if you can’t get that through your head, then I don’t know what else to say to you.” And on that note, Lorain began to walk away.
“Thank you,” Korica mumbled.
“What?” Lorain turned back around to see what else this woman had to say.
“Thank you.” Korica turned and glared at Lorain with sadness in her eyes. “You could have said thank you. That would have been nice.” Korica brushed by Lorain, leaving her with plenty to think about. So much to think about that that is exactly what was consuming Lorain’s mind at this moment as she sat on her mother’s couch.
Was she so hell-bent on making sure that the world knew she was Unique’s mother that she never stopped for one minute to think about what life must have been like for the woman who stepped in and took care of Unique? Korica was right. It didn’t matter how it came about that she would raise Unique as one of her own. The fact remains that she did it. And it was at that very moment that Lorain realized she did owe Korica a thank you. But her flesh also reminded her that for now, it would be a cold day in hell before she gave it to her.
Chapter Twenty
The twins were down for the night, and Nicholas and Lorain were sitting on her living-room couch enjoying a movie. Well, Nicholas was enjoying the movie. Lorain’s mind was a million miles away.
Nicholas burst out into laughter. “Oh, my goodness, that was hilarious, wasn’t it?” Lorain didn’t reply. “Wasn’t it, baby?” He nudged her. “Wasn’t that the most hilarious thing you’ve ever seen?”
Snapping out of her daze, Lorain replied. “Yeah, yeah, that was too much. That Tyler Perry is something else.”
Nicholas twisted his lips in disbelief at the sincerity of Lorain’s statement. “Really now?”
“Yeah.” Lorain looked at the television, pointed, and feigned laughter. “See, there. Ha-ha. Whew.”
There wasn’t a trace of laughter anywhere on Nicholas’s face. “Lorain, that scene was a serious funeral scene. So what did you find to be so funny about that?”
Busted, Lorain didn’t know what to say.
Nicholas took the remote and turned the television off. “That’s it. Spill it. What’s on your mind?”
“Noth—”
“And don’t say nothing. I’m tired of hearing that. It’s obvious that something is weighing heavy on your mind, and I’d wish you’d stop lying to me. How do you expect us to build on this relationship if we can’t even tell each other the truth about something as simple as what’s going on in our lives?”
Taken aback, Lorain replied to Nicholas, “Did you just call me a liar?”
Nicholas thought for a moment. “No, I didn’t exactly say that, but if the shoe fits ... If lying is what you’re doing to me ...”
“For God’s sake, Nicholas, my grandsons just died, and my daughter is locked up in jail being held responsible for their deaths. Not to mention the world thinks she’s some crackhead or crack dealer or both. People look at me sideways on the job every day and whisper after I walk by. And you expect me to just sit here and enjoy a movie like all that isn’t going on in my life?”
“No, I expect you to let me know all of what is going on in your life. That’s why I’m here, baby. Didn’t you believe me when I told you? I mean really, how many times do I have to say that I love you and that I want to spend the rest of my life with you? You’re the one who can’t seem to reciprocate here.”
Lorain put her hands up. “Look, Nicholas, I’m not going to go there with you; not right now.”
“Then when? Because I’m tired, Lorain.”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just what it sounds like.” Nicholas stood. “Look, I’ve told you from day one that I wasn’t out to just date. I can date anybody. I wasn’t getting in this thing for just dinner and a movie every now and then, and a couple of conversations on the phone. I was looking for a wife. And if you knew you couldn’t fit the bill, then you shouldn’t have allowed me to waste my time this long.”
Lorain was appalled. “Waste your time? Is that what I am to you, Nick? A waste of time?”
“Don’t try to play the victim, woman. I know you too well for that, and you, my dear, are nobody’s victim.” He looked her up and down. “Besides, it doesn’t look good on you.”
“So you think this is a game to me?” Lorain was now standing with one hand on her hip and the other laying at her side.
“I don’t know what to think anymore.”
“Me, neither, Nicholas. Me neither.” Lorain couldn’t believe how he was coming at her, and all because she wasn’t paying attention to some movie. This was a side of Nicholas that she’d never seen before. He’d been so understanding thus far, and now, when she was dealing with so much in her life, he decided to flip the script.
At this very moment, Lorain couldn’t help but to think divine intervention had taken place at t
he hospital on the day she was going to tell Nicholas that she was ready to marry him. Of course, she wished the situation that pulled him away from her hadn’t been what it was. But it was what it was, and right now, it is what it is.
“Look, I think maybe we better—” Lorain honestly had no idea what the next words that were going to come out of her mouth were. The interruption of the ringing telephone kept Nicholas from knowing too. Lorain held her index finger up at Nicholas and went to answer her phone.
“Lorain, is that you?”
“Who else would it be, Ma?” Lorain hadn’t meant to get out of the pocket with her mother.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry, Ma. It’s just that Nicholas is here and—”
“Oh, my goodness!” Eleanor exclaimed. “You know, with so much going on in the last couple of weeks, I haven’t had a chance to talk to Nicholas. Put him on the phone.”
Lorain looked at Nicholas. “Mom, I don’t think this is a good time to talk to Nicholas ...” Lorain’s words trailed off once Nicholas signaled for her to go ahead and give him the phone. “It’s my mom,” Lorain warned in a whisper.
“I know.” Nicholas nodded as he reached out for the phone. He just adored Eleanor. He thought she was classy, sophisticated, and more unpredictable than a firecracker with a short wick. Maybe talking to her was what he needed to up his mood. “If it isn’t the lovely Eleanor,” he greeted into the phone receiver.
“If it isn’t my future son-in-law,” Eleanor shot back.
“Well, uh—”
“I know both you and Lorain could just strangle me. I haven’t really congratulated either one of you on the engagement. But I’m sure, considering the circumstance, you both can forgive me. Besides, I’m sure neither one of you really got to bask in the idea of actually being engaged; not with what happened to the boys and all.” Eleanor sighed. “Of all days for it to have happened, it was on the day Lorain finally put that ring on her finger and came up to your job to make things official.”
Nicholas’s heart dropped, and his eyes shot over to Lorain’s hand. He didn’t know what Eleanor was talking about, because on the hand he was looking at, the ring finger was still vacant of his engagement ring.
“I was too happy to oblige when Lorain asked if the twins could stay with me that day while she came up to your job to make the engagement official. I can only imagine the look in your eyes when you saw that ring on her finger. My God, the Lord sure is able. I mean, I never thought my baby girl would settle down, would find a man worthy to be her husband.” Eleanor then made clear, “Now, I’m not saying you aren’t a worthy catch, Nicholas. You are a fine young man indeed. Any woman is a blessed woman to be able to call herself your wife. But my Lorain has been through so much. She deserves it, she really does. She deserves the best, and you, Nicholas, are truly the best son-in-law a mother could ask for her daughter. The way you’ve just stood by her side is so admirable and ...” Eleanor was so overcome with emotion that she couldn’t even get her words out. “Look, I need to go get myself together. Tell Lorain I’ll call her back.”
“Oh, I’ll tell her all right,” Nicholas assured Eleanor while glaring at Lorain.
“Bye, dear.”
“Bye-bye, Miss Eleanor.” Still looking at Lorain, Nicholas ended the call and handed her the phone.
Lorain took the phone with hesitation and was about to put it back to her ear.
“She said she’ll call you back.” Nicholas shot her a cold stare.
“What ... What is it?” Lorain fumbled hanging the phone up because she was too concerned with why Nicholas was staring at her that way. What in the world could her mother have possibly said to bring about this reaction from him? She’d find out soon, but would it be soon enough?
Chapter Twenty-one
“I’m glad you changed your mind and decided to trust me on this,” Unique’s attorney said as they stood side-by-side in the courtroom. “I really believe God is going to work in your favor on this one, Unique. I’m not a churchgoing woman, but I know God when I see Him. And believe you me, honey, He’s showed up in this courtroom aplenty of times. And if He did it for some of the heathens I’ve had to deal with,” Unique’s attorney looked her square in the eyes and meant every word she was about to say, “I know He will do it for you, woman of God.”
The court hearing hadn’t even gotten started and already Unique was emotional. She was scared and nervous. She prayed she was doing the right thing. She had been so adamant about taking a plea, but that one thing her attorney said to her changed her mind instantly. “And you call yourself a Christian.”
Yes, Unique did call herself a Christian, and as a Christian, she was supposed to have faith in God. Taking a plea, in her case, would have been almost like lying. She wasn’t a liar. She was a Christian ... with faith.
“You okay?” her attorney asked her.
“Yes, it’s just that from where I come from, from where I’ve been, I’ve been called a lot of things. Not once, though, not ever have I been called a woman of God, and by someone who doesn’t really know me.”
“Humph. That’s sad,” her attorney shrugged. “If any person can look at you and not see God, then they must be blind. Look how well you’re holding up. With all you’ve been through, that is nothing but God.”
“I don’t know about all that. I mean, you should have seen the way I was carrying on the other day after I talked to my sister on the phone. God wasn’t anywhere to be found up in that mess. I could feel the Holy Spirit leave my body and run for cover,” Unique joked, wiping a tear before it fell.
“Well, what’s that thing about people falling short of the glory?” Unique’s attorney reminded her.
“Oh yeah. Thanks for reminding me about that.” Unique shook her head. “It’s funny, I call myself a Christian, but yet, here you are the one who keeps having to remind me of it.”
Her attorney smiled. “Trust me, Unique, by the time this case is over, I’m sure I’m going to be a full-fledged believer.”
“All rise!” a voice ricocheting across the courtroom said, interrupting Unique and her attorney’s conversation. “The Honorable Judge Peaks has now entered the courtroom.” The bailiff continued his spiel before turning the court over to the judge after saying, “Court, you may be seated.”
“Mrs. Martinez,” the judge looked directly at Unique’s attorney, “as you know, your client is being charged with several counts. But I see that you have petitioned the court to separate her charges concerning drug possession with those concerning the death of her children.”
“Yes, Judge Peaks,” Mrs. Jawan Martinez stood and said. Her medium-length, locked hair reminded Unique of Sister Deborah’s from church before she cut all her hair off.
They were in the tiniest and neatest little locks Unique had ever seen. They weren’t the traditional locks referred to by some as dreadlocks. Unique could tell they were Sis-terlocks because they were exactly like Sister Deborah’s had been. With her brown skin, dark brown eyes, and not to mention her hair, it was obvious that even though her last name was Hispanic, she was not. Her husband was though. Unique, never one to bite her tongue, had come right out and asked her attorney, “What’s a sista doing with a name like Martinez? Is that your real name, or do you use it to trick people so that they don’t think you are just some janky black attorney?”
Thank goodness Unique’s lawyer had a sense of humor and had not taken offense to her blunt statement. She just let out a chuckle and shook her head at Unique, informing her that her husband was Puerto Rican. Right now, though, as she stood before the judge, Unique’s attorney was in serious mode.
“Well, Mrs. Martinez, I also see that you’ve agreed to allow the same judge to hear both cases.”
“Yes, that is correct, Your Honor,” Jawan confirmed. “I trust you to be a fair judge, and you will not hold anything against the defendant from one case to the other.”
“Mrs. Martinez, you didn’t have to indirectly remind me of
my instructions and duties as a judge.” The judge scanned over some paperwork that rested before her.
“Yes, Your Honor. Sorry, Your Honor.”
“I see from the notes of the defense attorney before you that Ms. Gray wished to waive her rights to a jury. Is that still the case?”
“It is, Your Honor. Once again, Judge Peaks, I trust that you will—”
“Once again, Mrs. Martinez, don’t push it.”
Jawan slightly lowered her head. “Thank you, Your Honor.”
Rustling the papers into a nice, neat pile, Judge Peaks spoke. “And this morning, is your client ready to enter a plea concerning her charges for drug possession?”
“Yes, she is, Your Honor.”
“And what might that be?”
Jawan looked at Unique, signaling with her eyes for Unique to enter her plea.
“Not guilty!” Unique said. “Not guilty, Your Honor.”
Judge Peaks stared at Unique. This made Unique feel as though she were being judged right then and there. It was as if the judge were making a split-second decision about Unique based on that very moment; how she looked, what she said, etc.
“Okay, and so it is entered,” the judge replied. “I’ll have my bailiff check my calendar and the court docket and get this on the calendar.”
“Thank you, Your Honor,” Jawan said.
“And now, for the charges of child endangerment and involuntary manslaughter,” the judge continued.
There was a gasp in the courtroom. It sounded like someone trying to hold back tears. Unique and her attorney looked behind them to see Lorain trying to maintain her composure.
The judge also noticed too. She shook her head at Lorain as if warning her that she’d put her out of the courtroom before she’d let her have a breakdown in it. Judge Peaks was known to show very little emotion and didn’t want that of someone else influencing her own.
Fortunately, Unique’s pastor and a couple of other New Day Temple of Faith church members were there to comfort Lorain and help calm her down. Unique didn’t see Eleanor, her biological grandmother. She figured that she was needed to stay home and sit with the twins.