Lookin' For Luv

by Carl Weber

  “Try to stay calm, Phyllis, where’s Mama?”

  “She’s went with Whitney to the hospital in the ambulance.”

  After listening to Phyllis explain the situation again, Kevin told her that he would be there as soon as possible. Denise, who had been eavesdropping, immediately dialed her secretary’s home number on her cell phone.

  “Hello, Ruth? This is Denise. I’m sorry to disturb you on a Sunday morning, but I need something done right away. I need two first-class tickets on the next plane leaving out of Kennedy to Richmond, Virginia. Have the tickets waiting at the ticket counter in the names of Kevin Brown and mine. I also need a limo waiting for us going to—” She looked at Kevin, who stood beside her with a puzzled look on his face.

  “Petersburg General Hospital,” he mumbled numbly.

  Denise repeated what Kevin had said. “Look, I have to go. I’ll call you in a few minutes from my car.”

  “I don’t have the money to pay you back right now,” Kevin told her. He had planned on driving.

  “Well, I guess I’ll have to stick around until you do.” She smiled. “Right now you just need to take care of your family.”

  Two hours later Kevin walked onto the floor of the intensive care unit of Petersburg General Hospital. He was greeted with a hug by his red-eyed mother. Mama noticed the white woman standing behind her son, but she was too emotional even to ask who she was.

  “Kevin, they said she’s gonna die if she don’t have this operation, but them doctors ain’t gonna give it to her.” Mama sounded distraught.

  “Don’t worry, Mama. I’m gonna straighten everything out once I talk to the doctors. Where’s Whitney’s room?”

  “She’s in here.” Mama pointed.

  Realizing he had not introduced Denise to his mother, Kevin distractedly said, “Mama, this is my friend Denise. She’s the one who helped me out with the money to fly down here so fast.”

  Mama nodded at Denise, but there was no expression other than sadness on her face, so it was hard for Denise to read her reaction.

  “You two can get to know each other later, once Whitney is better,” Kevin told them as he took Mama’s hand and led her into Whitney’s room.

  “She’s in bad shape, Kevin, real bad shape.” Phyllis stood and whispered as they entered the room.

  “I know, Phyllis, but she’s gonna be all right.” He walked over to his comatose sister and gazed down at her. Please, God, don’t take Whitney away. We need her, he prayed.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Brown?” A small, balding white man in a lab coat walked over to Kevin with his hand extended. “I’m Dr. Brand. I’m in charge of the ICU. Your mother said they were waiting for you before they could make any decisions about your sister’s care.”

  Kevin glanced over at his mother. She tried to smile through her tears, but it wouldn’t work. “You’re the man of the house, Kevin. Take care of our business.”

  Kevin nodded and turned to the doctor.

  “What is my sister’s condition, Dr. Brand?”

  “Not good, I’m afraid. Mr. Brown, your sister has severe heart disease.”

  “Heart disease? But she’s only twenty.” Kevin was shocked.

  “Heart disease can affect the young as well as the old, Mr. Brown, and with your sister having had scarlet fever as a child, well, the risk factors were much higher.”

  “I didn’t even know she had scarlet fever. Are you sure?” Kevin glanced over at his mother, who nodded that the doctor was right. “So what’s wrong with her?”

  “Well, Mr. Brown, to put it in layman’s terms, your sister had a heart attack. Both the valves to her right ventricle and aorta are severely damaged and need to be replaced. I recommend that we operate as soon as possible, otherwise she might not make it through the night.”

  “What are you waiting for? Let’s get this done.”

  “As a doctor, there is nothing I’d like more. But there is a problem that is out of my control,” he said sadly, gesturing for Kevin and his family to follow him out of Whitney’s room.

  Standing outside were two well-dressed white men.

  “Mr. Brown, this is Dr. Goldstein, our chief of staff, and Mr. Levin, our hospital legal counsel. I think your mother’s already spoken to them.” Mama nodded with a frown.

  “I’m sorry about your sister’s condition, Mr. Brown,” Dr. Goldstein said solemnly. “I was wondering if you were aware of any health insurance your sister carried that your mother might not know of.”

  “Is that what you’re worried about? If we can pay the bill? That’s my sister in there, doctor. If I have to, I’ll work three jobs.” Kevin’s voice was rising in pitch as he became more frantic.

  “Well, Mr. Brown, why didn’t you pay your father’s bill after his death?” the hospital lawyer asked, pulling some papers from a folder. “I have here almost thirty thousand dollars in unpaid hospital bills.” Kevin looked over at his mother as the lawyer kept talking. He had no idea Mama still owed so much money to the hospital. “Your sister’s operation is going to cost almost sixty thousand dollars, and that doesn’t include aftercare expenses. Who is going to pay these bills, Mr. Brown? Your mother says you’re the only one in the family with a steady job.”

  “Are you telling me you’re not going to give my sister this operation? ’Cause we’re poor?” Kevin was about to punch the man.

  Levin took a step backward, checking down the hall to be sure the security guard was at his post.

  “Mr. Brown, you have to understand. We’re not a public hospital. We’re private, and we have bills to pay too. You can always have your sister transferred to MCV in Richmond...”

  “This woman cannot be moved. It took me two hours just to get her stabilized,” Dr. Brand stated emphatically.

  “You can’t refuse a patient treatment because of past-due payment or lack of insurance in a life-threatening emergency,” Denise said, stepping from behind Phyllis.

  “Excuse me?” Levin demanded. “That’s not true.”

  “I’m afraid it is,’ she told him confidently as she stood beside Kevin. “Jackson vs. Downston County General is the precedent, if you care to look it up.”

  “And who are you?” Dr. Goldstein demanded.

  “I’m Denise Shwartz, their lawyer.” She handed each of them one of her cards. “As you can see, I specialize in malpractice. Now, Mr. Levin, I think you need to bone up on Jackson vs. Downston County General. Because if Ms. Brown dies, I’m going to take pleasure in suing this hospital and both of you, individually, for wrongful death and discrimination.”

  Goldstein glanced at Levin, who was still looking at Denise’s card with a frown. Denise was happy to see a look of fear cross the man’s face as he realized she was serious. Even as Kevin and his family were experiencing the terror of his sister’s possible death, Denise was plotting for her own satisfaction. She knew that if Kevin’s sister received her surgery, she would always be a hero to Kevin and his family and elevate herself from F.B. status to true girlfriend. To her his sister’s critical health was a perfect opportunity for advancement.

  “Believe me, I’m going to work extra hard if my future sister-in-law dies,” she told the hospital lawyer without looking at Kevin or his mother to see the shock on their faces.

  “D-discrimination?” Dr. Goldstein stuttered.

  “That’s right. I can’t wait to subpoena your records and find out how many African Americans you’ve denied treatment. Hey, you never know, I might end up with one hell of a class action suit. Oh, and, Dr. Goldstein, if you didn’t know, discrimination is not covered under malpractice insurance.”

  “Now, Ms. Shwartz, I’m sure we can work out something that will be agreeable to all parties concerned.” Dr. Goldstein smiled nervously. “Why don’t you let me have a word with my colleagues?”

  “Sure. We’ll be waiting in Ms. Brown’s room.” She grabbed Kevin’s hand and led him back to Whitney’s room. His mother and sister followed in stunned silence. Mama was too numb with the pain
of watching her child suffer to process everything Denise had said. But she was certain she had heard the word “in-law” and knew that at some point she would need to have a serious discussion with this young woman. After five minutes in which barely a word was spoken in Whitney’s room, Dr. Brand came in with a wide grin on his face.

  “What did they decide?” Kevin asked nervously.

  “They said we’re a go! I just beeped our best heart surgeon, and the O.R. team is prepping as we speak. We should have your sister on the table within the hour.”

  “Thank you, God, and thank you, Dr. Brand. I can see you had my sister’s best interests at heart all the time.” He shook the doctor’s hand.

  “Don’t thank me, thank her.” He pointed to Denise. “I don’t know where you found this young lady, but she’s the first person I ever saw frighten Josh Levin.”

  Denise sat in the hospital cafeteria, drinking coffee. It had been about three hours since Whitney had been taken to the operating room. She had not felt comfortable in the waiting room when the pastor and deaconess of Mrs. Brown’s church demanded that they all get down on their knees for a prayer vigil.

  Come on, Whitney, you have to make it, she thought selfishly. If you make it, I’ll always be a hero in his eyes. At that moment Denise’s cell phone rang.

  “Hello.”

  “Denise, this is Liz. What’s up? You paged me three times.”

  “Liz, you’ll never guess what happened,” Denise said in a conspiratorial whisper so that none of the other people in the cafeteria could hear. “I saved Kevin’s sister’s life.”

  “What the hell are you talking about? You’re a lawyer, not a doctor.”

  “I’m sorry, Liz. Let me start from the beginning.” Denise explained to her friend what had taken place.

  “You have got to be the luckiest woman on the face of the earth. If his sister lives, he’s going to worship the ground you walk on. Well, I guess you can start taking your birth control pills again, huh?” Liz joked.

  “Yeah.” Denise laughed. “Now I just hope my period comes next week.”

  “Excuse me. Denise, isn’t it?” Mama startled Denise as she sat in the chair across from her.

  “Mrs. Brown! You scared me. Any word on your Whitney?” She hung the phone up on Liz without saying good-bye.

  “She’s in the recovery room. Dr. Brand said the operation was a complete success. She’s not goin’ to be able to run any marathons, but she’ll lead a happy life. Thank God she already has two children.”

  “That’s great, Mrs. Brown. I’m so happy for all of you.” Denise hugged her as she thought about how happy she was for herself too.

  “I asked Kevin what you meant by callin’ Whitney your future sister-in-law.”

  “Oh, I’m really sorry about that. I hope I didn’t embarrass you or Kevin. The lawyer in me gets out of control sometimes. I wanted them to know how serious I was about getting care for your daughter.”

  “Is that so?” Mama raised an eyebrow. “Denise, what’s goin’ on with you and my boy?”

  Denise was speechless for a second, so Mama continued.

  “Look I’ma be honest. I appreciate what you did for Whitney, but I wanna know what you want with my Kevin?”

  “I don’t want anything from him, we’re just friends,” Denise insisted.

  Mama smiled. Who this girl think she’s foolin’?

  “Honey, do you want us to get along?”

  “Yes, Mrs. Brown,” Denise said humbly.

  “Then first of all, stop callin’ me Mrs. Brown. For as long as I can remember, people ‘round here been callin’ me Mama. You can too.” Mama sat back in her chair.

  “Okay, Mama.” The words sounded awkward coming from Denise, and she smiled nervously. This was her moment of truth. If his mama accepted her, Kevin would have no reason to refuse a relationship with Denise.

  “Now, I seen the way you looked at Kevin. Those aren’t looks of friendship. Those was looks of lust and love. Pretty white girl like you can get a black boy killed ‘round these parts, lookin’ at him like that.”

  Denise was at a loss for words. She had no idea what to say to this woman without offending her.

  “Mrs. Brown, I like Kevin, and one day I’d like to be his girlfriend. But right now we’re just friends. That’s Kevin’s choice, not mine.”

  “Well, I think you should talk to Kevin, ’cause he just told Phyllis and me that you was his new girlfriend.”

  “Really?” Denise couldn’t hold back an elated smile.

  “That’s what he said.” Mama’s face was expressionless.

  “You don’t look too happy about it,” Denise said as she tried to contain her own emotions.

  “That’s y’alls decision. I just want Kevin to be happy.”

  “I can make him happy.”

  Before Mama could respond, Kevin entered the cafeteria and sat down next to Denise.

  “What are you two talking about?” He smiled, placing his arm around Denise.

  “Oh, nothin’, baby. I was just welcomin’ Denise to the family.” Mama looked across the table at Denise. She had a bad feeling about this girl.

  26

  ANTOINE AND KEISHA

  It was warm for the middle of March. Keisha was sitting on the stoop in front of her building, rubbing Antoine’s back sympathetically as he recounted the events at the Men’s Club the night before. Although he had never actually seen Shawna dance, he was upset she spent so much of her time in such a raunchy place. Every time he had seen Billy grab a woman’s breasts, he imagined some other sleazy man doing the same to Shawna. It hurt him deeply that she would not leave her job, and he was pouring out his heart to Keisha in hopes that talking about it might make it hurt less.

  “I appreciate you listening to me, Keisha. I really needed to get a woman’s perspective on this.”

  “Like I told you before, Antoine, I’m always gonna be here for you. But I can’t believe that she’s that type. Are you sure?” Actually Keisha was thrilled by the news, because it gave her a better chance with Antoine.

  “I was in the club last night And Kevin told me after I left the man said she was booked all night.”

  “Damn, she sure fooled me.” Keisha shook her head. “I thought she was a schoolteacher like you.”

  “She fooled a lot of people,” Antoine said angrily, “but I’m through letting her make a fool of me.”

  “If you really mean that, here’s your chance.” She pointed to Shawna’s car, which was pulling up. “Antoine, please don’t be trippin’ outside the building.”

  Antoine rolled his eyes. Keisha had made enough scenes of her own in front of this building. Besides, he intended to break up with Shawna calmly and rationally.

  “I’m just gonna end things with her, that’s all. I’ll be cool.” He walked over to meet Shawna at her car, but she was already storming toward the stoop.

  “Antoine, how come every time I come over here, this wench has her hands all over you?” She gestured wildly toward Keisha, who sat with an amused grin on her face. “Didn’t you tell her we’re getting married? You’d think she’d have some respect!”

  “Calm down, Shawna!”

  “That’s right, Antoine, you better shut her up before I put my foot in her ass!” Keisha shouted.

  “Antoine. Are you going to let that bitch talk to me this way?” Shawna glared over at Keisha.

  “She’s a grown woman, and she can say any damn thing she pleases.”

  His reply sent Shawna into a state of total confusion. He had never defended Keisha in the past. The only thing she could think of was that Keisha had told him some more lies.

  “You think you can take my man, bitch?” Shawna took off her earrings as she challenged Keisha. “I don’t know what the fuck’s going on here, but I’m gonna kick your ass before I figure it out!”

  “You’re not going to kick anyone’s ass,” Antoine said sternly, stepping between the two women. He turned to Keisha. “Would you please s
tay out of this?” Keisha sat back down on the stoop so she could hear their conversation.

  “Why are you acting like this, Antoine?” Shawna wailed. “What did I do?”

  “It’s your night job, Shawna. I love you, but I can’t stand the fact that you don’t want to leave that sleazy damp. If you quit that job right now, I could forget you ever worked there, and we could still get married. But if you insist on working there, I can’t be with you.”

  “I need that job to pay for my operation!” she pleaded.

  “I don’t really care about your breast size. I love you for the person you are inside. If you really want the operation, Shawna, I’ll give you the money. Just leave that place.”

  He wished he could make Shawna understand she was beautiful just the way she was, but she seemed obsessed with getting her breasts enlarged.

  “Antoine, I’m not quitting my job. I love my job. My job makes me feel like a woman.”

  “So, what are you trying to say, being a prostitute makes you feel like a woman?” His eyes got small with anger. Then he felt the sting of pain as Shawna smacked him across the face.

  “Don’t you ever talk to me that way again! You hear me, Antoine?” She swung at him again.

  Keisha jumped up, deciding she couldn’t watch anymore. She practically flew through the air as she tackled Shawna.

  “You know he ain’t gonna fight a woman, bitch. But if you want a fight, you got one!” Keisha got in a few good swings, and Shawna fought back, scratching Keisha’s neck with her long fingernails. Antoine grabbed Keisha and pulled her off Shawna, shouting loudly.

  “Shawna, I think you’d better go home.” He was still holding Keisha, who tried to lunge toward Shawna.

  “But, Antoine, we need to talk,” she pleaded, trying to catch her breath, and straightening out her clothes.

  “There’s nothing left to be said. It’s over.” He turned his back to her as he struggled to hold Keisha, who still wanted to continue the fight.

  “Let me go, Antoine! That bitch scratched my neck!”