by Mary Monroe
We ordered a large pepperoni pizza and a pitcher of beer. For the next two hours, Calvin talked about his late uncle and how much fun they used to have when he lived in Chicago. He also told me more about his experiences in the military and some of his work-related adventures. His corny jokes were not the least bit funny, but I still howled with laughter. The most important thing he said was, “You are the most intriguing woman I’ve ever met. Not to mention the most beautiful and the sexiest.”
Calvin’s assessment of me was so endearing it restored my ego. I wanted to leap across the table and rip his clothes off, but since he was not interested in me only for sex, I didn’t want him to think that it was my main interest in him. Somehow I managed to control myself. “Thank you,” I said shyly.
After he finished the beer and the last slice of the pizza, he glanced at his watch and then he gave me a pensive look. “Lola, this has been a wonderful night, but I guess I’ve bored you long enough.”
“Yes, this was a wonderful night. I hope talking to me made you feel better.” I stood up because he had dropped a generous tip onto the table and already had his car keys in his hand.
“I do feel better. Much better.” He put his arm around my shoulder and kissed my cheek. “Let me walk you to your car.”
When we got to my dusty old Jetta, Calvin wrapped his arms around me and kissed me long and hard. When I felt his erection pressing against my stomach, I stiffened. He suddenly released me and backed away. “You feel so damn good!” he mouthed.
“So do you,” I mumbled. If he had changed his mind and wanted to have sex with me tonight after all, I was ready, willing, and able. All he had to do was tell me. I checked my watch. “It’s not that late and I’m in no hurry to get home. Um . . . what do you want to do now?” I asked dumbly.
He gave me a serious look. “I really hate to leave you, but I do have to get going,” he told me in a casual tone. I was about to pucker my lips because I thought he was going to kiss me again, but all I got this time was a quick pat on the shoulder before he told me, “Take care of yourself. I’ll be in touch, baby.” Then he spun around and trotted across the parking lot to his Jeep.
When I pulled into my driveway ten minutes later, I was surprised to see all the lights out in the house. Libby’s car was in the driveway, but Jeffrey’s was not. When I got inside, I was even more surprised to see that nobody was home. Wherever they had gone, they had left in Jeffrey’s vehicle and taken Bertha with them.
I went to my room and got into my nightclothes. I didn’t want to check my e-mail and other messages because I didn’t want to be disappointed if Calvin hadn’t sent me another one yet. I scolded myself for even thinking about something that silly. I had just left the man a few minutes ago, so he would not have had time to send me another message. Since I had had such a wonderful time with him tonight, I was in a good mood and I wanted to stay in it.
I had no trouble falling asleep because of all the beer I’d drunk, but I woke up suddenly about twenty minutes later. Jeffrey’s car was still not in the driveway, and I was still the only one in the house. I got so concerned, I put my clothes back on, went downstairs, and started pacing the living room floor.
I tried to call Jeffrey, but I got his voice mail. I didn’t want to hear Libby’s voice, so I didn’t call her. When I heard the loud muffler on our elderly next-door neighbor’s fifteen-year-old Chevy, I rushed outside.
“Mr. Fernandez, can I talk to you?” I yelled, running toward him waving my arms. He parked and piled out with a frightened look on his molelike face. “Did you see my family this evening? They’re not home and I don’t know where they are. Bertha never stays out this late.”
Before Mr. Fernandez answered, he made the sign of the cross. I braced myself because, under the circumstances, this particular gesture was not a good sign.
Chapter 31
Lola
“THE AMBULANCE TOOK BERTHA TO THE HOSPITAL A FEW HOURS ago!” Mr. Fernandez told me, raking his gnarled fingers through his wiry white hair. “Libby rode in the ambulance with her. Jeffrey and Keven followed in Jeffrey’s car.”
I gasped so hard I almost lost my breath. “Something’s happened to my stepmother?” I asked dumbly.
Mr. Fernandez, a retired plumber and a very religious man, crossed himself again, gave me a pitiful look, and nodded. He and Bertha had been neighbors and close friends for more than forty years. She had taught all four of his children and their children. They lived in Texas and Mexico now, but every year they sent cards to Bertha for Christmas and Mother’s Day. I could see that Mr. Fernandez was just as worried as I was. There were tears in his eyes and sweat all over his face. “The way Libby was screaming, I think it’s something real bad. I already lit a candle for Bertha. You need to go and be with her now!” Mr. Fernandez whirled around and trotted up to his front door mumbling in Spanish, crossing himself again, and shaking his head.
Bertha had been in my life longer than either of my parents. We had had a lot of ups and downs, and despite all her health issues, real and imagined, she had scared me only one other time. About twelve years ago I’d had a relationship with a man I thought I loved. Bertha had gone out of her way to break us up. She made fun of his large nose and said mean things about him to his face. When she found out he had asked me to marry him, she got so upset she ended up in the hospital. The relationship ended shortly after that, and Bertha quickly recovered, but the possibility of my running off and marrying a man was not the case this time. I couldn’t believe that my refusal to postpone a date so I could perm her hair was responsible for whatever had happened to her. But apparently it was.
I ran back inside and dialed Jeffrey’s number again, and he still didn’t answer. Then I tried Libby’s, and she didn’t answer either. There was only one hospital in South Bay City. I immediately called the admissions desk to get her room number so I could go check on her.
It was only a ten-minute drive to the hospital, but it seemed more like an hour. I prayed all the way that Bertha’s situation was not too serious. I couldn’t even imagine what my life would be like without her. Even though she had been driving me up the wall for years, I still cared about her.
My mind felt like confetti by the time I pulled into the hospital parking garage. I walked on wobbly legs and had a headache so severe, my vision was blurred. I had to blink hard so I could focus well enough to keep from bumping into other visitors and walking into a wall.
What I saw when I got off the elevator, which was a few feet from Bertha’s room, made me stop dead in my tracks. Reverend Clyde, the new preacher who now presided over the church Bertha belonged to, was entering her room. I stood stock still and held my breath for a few moments. I couldn’t think of anything more ominous than seeing a member of the clergy entering a loved one’s hospital room holding a Bible.
I exhaled. Then I held my breath some more and stood still for another four minutes. My chest tightened and my stomach turned when I finally started moving toward Bertha’s room. When I reached the door, I gently opened it and shuffled in. Reverend Clyde, Kevin, and Bertha’s doctor stood on one side of the bed. There was a grim expression on each face.
Jeffrey and Libby stood on the other side of the bed. Libby was crying and stroking the side of Bertha’s face. Nobody noticed me until I cleared my throat. That was when Libby glared at me and roared, “YOU LOW-DOWN, FUNKY BLACK BITCH! YOU FINALLY KILLED MY MAMA!”
“What?” I croaked. My legs buckled and I almost crumbled to the floor. Somehow, I managed to remain standing. I didn’t know what else to say or do.
“Lola, I am through with your rotten, useless, self-centered ass!” Libby shrieked as she shook her fist in my direction. Jeffrey had his arms around her waist, but the way she was bucking and rearing, I knew that if she got loose she would really hurt me. Or maybe even kill me. She didn’t even let the presence of the preacher and the doctor stop her from ranting. “I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!”
“What . . . what happe
ned?” I whimpered. Even though Libby was mad as hell at me, I still approached the bed. When I attempted to touch Bertha’s face, Libby pushed my hand away. The next thing I knew, she slapped my face so hard I saw stars. I didn’t hit her back, because I had too much respect for Reverend Clyde and Dr. Wilcox to act like a savage.
“What do you care? You’ve got some nerve coming here! If you don’t get out of my sight, I’m going to do more than slap your face!” she screamed.
“I have just as much right to be here as you!” I countered as I massaged the spot where she’d hit me. “She was my mother too!”
“She was your stepmother, bitch! And you treated her like trash! Now you get the hell out of this room before I kick your ass!”
“Libby, you need to calm down,” Dr. Wilcox said in a gentle tone. “This is a sad occasion and I won’t tolerate you causing such a ruckus—”
“Don’t you tell me what I can do, Wilcox! Mama would have been better off with a witch doctor than a jackleg quack like you! If you had taken better care of her, she’d still be alive!”
“Libby, that’s enough. This is not the time or place to vent your anger,” Reverend Clyde said gently, holding up his hand.
“Don’t fuck with me, preacher man! I will kick your holy ass too!” she screeched. I had never seen a man’s jaw drop as fast as Reverend Clyde’s did. Libby had crossed one line too many. Insulting one of the most respected doctors in town and threatening to beat up a preacher was as low as a person could go.
I started backing out the door.
“Libby, you’ve made your point,” Jeffrey said, giving her a stern look as he released her. From the expression on her face I thought she was going to slap him too. Kevin, who was crying as hard as Libby, wrapped his arms around her and held her in place. Jeffrey strode over to me. “Lola, let’s go outside,” he said in a shaky tone. I moved like a zombie when he put his arm around my shoulder and led me out of the room. We didn’t stop until we reached the end of the hall.
“Jeffrey, I hope you don’t blame me for what happened to Bertha,” I whimpered. “You told me to go on out because everything was under control.”
“You are not responsible for anything.” He gave me a bear hug and rubbed my back for a few seconds. When he leaned back and looked at me, his eyes were full of tears.
“What time did she die?” I sniffled. I had already shed a few tears, but I knew I was going to shed a lot more.
“She died about two minutes after Reverend Clyde arrived. She went peacefully. And she was lucid enough to tell us all good-bye.”
Jeffrey’s last sentence really tugged at my heartstrings. If anybody should have been present for Bertha to say a final good-bye to, it was me. And if I had not wasted those four minutes standing outside her room, I could have. “I . . . I wish I’d been with her,” I sobbed.
“I’m so glad she held on until Reverend Clyde had enough time to pray for her one last time.”
“If only I had not upset her this evening—”
“Lola, listen to me and listen good. What’s happened tonight is what it is. And we can’t change a thing now.”
“But Libby thinks it was my fault!” I wailed.
Jeffrey held his hand up to my face and shook his head. “Bertha died because it was her time. Forget about what Libby said. You let me deal with her. The next few days are going to be pretty tense for everybody. Now you go home and get some rest—in your room. When I bring Libby home tonight, don’t come out unless I tell you to.”
“You think she’s planning to get violent when she gets home?” I wailed, balling my fists because by now I was just that angry. If Libby attacked me when she got home, all hell would break loose because I would defend myself. And I didn’t care who witnessed it.
“I don’t know what she’s planning to do, but let me worry about that. We’ll talk about this tomorrow after we’ve all tried for a good night’s sleep and when Marshall comes to the house.”
“Oh God. Then both he and Libby will gang up on me! Jeffrey, you better stay close, because if either one of them touches me, there will be one hell of a bloodbath up in that house.” My whole body was trembling and my fists were still balled.
“Nobody is going to gang up on you, and there is not going to be a bloodbath, tonight or any other time. I’ll make sure of that.”
My legs felt so weak, I had to lean against the wall to keep from falling.
“You look terrible, so I want you to leave now. We’ll take care of everything here, so don’t worry about a thing.”
After Jeffrey hugged me again, I stumbled into the elevator. It felt as if I were having an out-of-body experience, because I couldn’t even feel my feet moving as I headed to the parking garage.
I couldn’t stop the tears from gushing. Everything seemed so surreal; it was hard to believe what was happening.
I sat in the parking garage another ten minutes before I called Joan.
Chapter 32
Joan
I WAS SO GLAD IT WAS FRIDAY. IT HAD BEEN A CRAZY WEEK FOR ME, and I was happy it was about to end.
I had spent most of the evening with Junior and three of his friends. After a soccer game that they had won, I treated them to dinner at Red Lobster and two hours at their favorite video arcade.
Junior had a lot of friends. He liked to spend time with them without me breathing down his neck, so I gave him a lot of space. Unlike some of the other teenagers I knew, my son was damn near perfect. I was so proud to be his mother. As far as I could tell, he had never experimented with drugs and he didn’t associate with a bad crowd. He loved school and was an honor student. He was also a good-looking boy, so he had more than his share of girls chasing after him. Reed and I had had several conversations with him about sex. He didn’t know that I’d found a package of condoms (with two missing . . . ) in his pocket last week when I was about to do the laundry. I hadn’t mentioned it to him or Reed, and didn’t plan to anytime soon. I was just glad that my son was being responsible.
While the boys played video games, I visited the mall across the street. Even though I had more clothes and everything else I needed, shopping was still one of my favorite pastimes. Since I’d grown up pinching pennies and shopping in discount stores, going hog wild in some of the most upscale stores in town gave me a rush. I surprised myself when I purchased only four pairs of shoes and a new bathrobe. I surprised myself again when I got home and saw that I had already purchased the same bathrobe a few days ago. It, as well as several other items I’d bought in the last few weeks, still had the price tags attached. I made a mental note to go through my wardrobe before my next shopping spree so I wouldn’t duplicate items.
A few minutes past ten p.m., I poured a glass of wine and curled up on the living room couch, happy to be alone. Reed had left to go hiking with Dr. Weinstein about four hours ago, and Junior was in bed.
Five minutes later, just as I was about to turn on the TV, my cell phone rang. I snatched it off the coffee table, glad to see Lola’s name on the caller ID. I was anxious to hear about her date.
“It’s me, Joan. Can you talk?” She sounded distressed. I was glad I had placed the wine bottle close by, because something told me I was going to need it.
“Sure. My in-laws picked up Junior a little while ago, and Reed’s going to be gone for the whole weekend. Hallelujah!”
“Oh? Where did he go?”
“He and Dr. Weinstein went hiking at Point Reyes.”
Lola remained silent for a few seconds. “Oh yeah. You told me about that. Humph. Reed’s more of a dark horse than I thought.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Other than playing golf and harassing you, I didn’t know he had interests besides his work. Especially something like hiking.”
“I didn’t know he was interested in hiking either. I just found out the other day.” I cleared my throat. “Okay, don’t beat around the bush. I know you called to tell me about your date, and he must have been pretty bad if
you’re taking your time to get to him.”
Without preparing me, Lola announced, “Bertha’s dead.”
Those two words made my jaw drop. “What?” I got so light-headed a feather could have knocked me over.
“And it’s my fault.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Did you kill that old woman?” I had to take a long drink from my wineglass.
“You know I would never put my hands on Bertha.”
“Then how is it your fault?”
“She wanted me to delay my date tonight so I could give her a perm. That would have taken at least a couple of hours and I didn’t want to put Lester off that long. I refused to do so. She tried to guilt me into letting her have her way. I didn’t do it this time, and she got real upset. Since everybody else was in the house, I went back upstairs to get ready for my date. When I got back downstairs and saw Bertha lying on the couch, moaning and groaning, I almost changed my mind about going out. Jeffrey assured me that she was only being dramatic, as usual, and he told me to go on out because everything was under control. So I left. I thought she was having a panic attack, like that time she thought I was going to run off and marry that marine. Anyway, this time Bertha had a heart attack. She died before I could get to her hospital room after I left my date.” Lola choked. “I . . . I . . . didn’t get a chance to say good-bye to her.”
“Oh my God!” I exclaimed as I rose up off the couch. “Where are you now?”
“I’m still sitting in my car in the hospital parking lot. I’m so damn nervous, I’m afraid to drive. My hands are shaking and I can barely feel my feet.”
“Oh, girl, I am so sorry. You must be frantic! Do you want me to come pick you up?”
“No, you don’t have to do that. I just need to sit here a few more minutes until I calm down. I had a bad feeling when I got home and saw all the lights out in the house. When Mr. Fernandez told me that an ambulance had taken Bertha to the hospital, I knew then that she had to be in pretty bad shape.”