“No. Girl, you’ve done more than enough just by being here the last two days. Plus, there’s not much else to do because I already told the nurse which funeral home to call, and once they arrive, I’m going to go back in to see my mom one last time. After that, you can drive me home.”
Alicia took both of Carmen’s hands into hers. “I’m here for you, okay? I’m here, and I’ll do whatever you need me to do for you.”
Carmen smiled again and said, “Thank you, but really, girl, I’m fine.”
Alicia stared at her and then wondered if Carmen was having a nervous breakdown.
Right after they left the hospital, Alicia drove Carmen to her apartment and they both went inside. On the way there, Carmen had talked about seemingly everything she could think of, but all Alicia had done was mainly listen.
“Have a seat,” Carmen said, and then dropped a duffel bag onto the sofa, the one Alicia had placed a change of clothing inside and brought to her yesterday afternoon. Thankfully, Carmen wore a size six, the same as Alicia did, so Alicia hadn’t had any problem finding something to loan her.
Alicia took a seat and then Carmen went into the bathroom, returning minutes later.
“There’s something I really need to talk to you about.”
“Of course. What is it?”
Carmen took a deep breath. “Okay. First of all, there’s a reason I’m not as sad as most people will probably expect me to be.”
“Which is?”
“I’m not very sad because even though I’ve lost the one person who loved me unconditionally and I’ll miss her terribly, I’ll soon have another person in my life who will love me just the same.”
“And who is that?”
“Well, in about seven or seven and a half months—that is, if my calculation is right—I’ll be giving birth to a precious little baby,” she said, smiling. She was beyond excited, so Alicia smiled with her.
“Really? When did you find out?”
“I knew my period was pretty late, so right after you left for a while yesterday, I went down the street to the pharmacy. I went there so I could get a pregnancy test, and when I came back and took it, the results showed positive.”
“So, is that what you wanted to tell me yesterday just before Phillip walked in?”
“Yes. And, Alicia, I’m so excited. I mean, I do wish my mom was still here so she could get a chance to see her first grandchild, but I’m still very happy about all of this.”
“So, who’s the father?” Alicia asked without thinking.
Carmen paused and then said, “Actually, that was the other thing I was going to tell you about yesterday, but now I think it might be better if I waited on that. I mean, don’t get me wrong, you know I trust you completely, but, again, for right now, I really think it’s best I don’t say. At least not until my relationship with him becomes a lot less complicated than it has been.”
Alicia wondered if he was married and couldn’t imagine any woman being careless enough to get pregnant by someone else’s husband. She kept her thoughts to herself, however.
Carmen nestled farther into the sofa. “I know I probably should have waited until I was married before trying to get pregnant, but I really wanted this baby.”
Alicia tried masking how astonished she was. “So, it wasn’t an accident?”
“No. I planned the whole thing from beginning to end because I knew how much my man wanted to have a child. Which is also why I know we’ll be married long before our baby gets here.”
Alicia hoped for her sake she was right, but she didn’t comment one way or the other. Instead, she sat quietly and pretended she was just as elated as Carmen.
Chapter 31
JT turned onto his street, pulled in front of his house, and frowned when he saw Carmen’s vehicle. It was ten P.M., so he had no idea what she was doing there so late. It didn’t add up because when he’d spoken to Alicia again in the late afternoon, she’d told him Carmen’s mother had passed and that she was going to stay with Carmen at her apartment for a few hours, helping her make calls to relatives and do whatever else was necessary. She’d told him all the general details, but she hadn’t said anything about Carmen coming home with her.
After JT drove inside the garage, he stepped out of his vehicle and Alicia opened the door leading to the kitchen. Then she closed it behind her.
“Hi, sweetheart,” she said. “Before you go in, I need to talk to you about something.”
He leaned against his car door. “I’m listening.”
“When I called you earlier, Carmen was actually taking her mother’s death pretty well, but as time went on this evening, she became a lot more emotional. As a matter of fact, she pretty much cried her eyes out just before my mom and Dad James came by, but then while they were there, she laughed and joked about just about everything. So, needless to say, I’m very worried about all these mood changes she keeps having, and I didn’t think it was a good idea for her to spend the night all by herself.”
“That’s all fine and well, baby, but I’ve already expressed to you how I feel about this.”
“I know, but, honey, she really needs me right now. She needs us.”
“No, she needs you,” he said, trying not to sound as pissed off as he felt. “Because I don’t know a thing about her.”
“But you know she’s my friend and that I care about her, right?”
“Nonetheless, I still don’t want her here.”
Alicia tossed him a dirty a look, something JT hadn’t seen her do before. “What’s wrong with you?” she asked loudly. “I mean, how can you be so cruel?”
“I’m not. But it’s like I told you before, I don’t want someone staying here when I don’t know if they can be trusted.”
Alicia folded her arms. “You know, JT, I’m really shocked to see you taking such a strong stance about this because this is so totally unlike you. You’re acting as though Carmen has done something to you personally or like she’s one of your worst enemies, and I don’t get that.”
JT wondered if Alicia was simply trying to make a point or if maybe his negative attitude toward Carmen was beginning to make her suspicious. Either way, he couldn’t take any chances.
“Okay, fine, baby,” he said. “She can stay.”
Alicia hugged him and then pecked him on the lips. “Thank you for understanding, and I’m sure she’ll feel well enough to go home by tomorrow or the next day.”
When they went inside and into the family room, Carmen stood up. “JT, I hope you’re not upset about my staying over here.”
JT gritted his teeth. “Of course not. You just lost your mother, and we’re glad to have you.”
“Oh, bless you,” she said, smiling, and JT wanted to smack that grin from her conniving little face.
“You’re welcome,” he said reluctantly.
But he had barely gotten the words out before Carmen rushed over and hugged him. “You and Alicia really are lifesavers, and I don’t know what I would do without the two of you.”
JT pulled away from her and glanced over at his wife, checking to see her reaction. Interestingly enough, she was smiling with the utmost approval. She was actually thrilled beyond measure and clearly had no idea her “good friend” was scheming and doing everything she could, trying to take her place.
This whole scenario, though, was too much even for him and the reason he finally said, “Hey, baby, I’m beat. So, I’m gonna head upstairs to take a shower and get ready for bed.”
“That’s fine. I’m going to sit and chat with Carmen for a while, but after that I’ll be right up.”
“Take your time,” he said, and went on his way.
JT slipped off his suit jacket, plopped down onto the chaise, removed his tie, and flipped on the television. A few minutes ago, he’d told Alicia how tired he was just as a way to escape Carmen and whatever she was plotting, but now he realized he hadn’t been lying. He truly was exhausted, and if he hadn’t been a stickler about always showering be
fore turning in, he would have skipped freshening up altogether and would have fallen straight to sleep.
So he sat only for a short while, then finished undressing and went into the bathroom. He opened the glass door, threw his plush bath towel over the side of it, turned on the steamy-hot water, and stepped in. This felt good already, and this was one of the days when he was glad he’d insisted the builders install a very high-pressure showerhead. It could easily be adjusted so that the water flowed less powerfully, but he always kept it at this position. He loved the way it massaged his muscles and how rejuvenated he usually felt once he finished lathering down and rinsing off. It was one of the small luxuries he’d requested but one that had been well worth asking for.
JT stood still for longer than normal but then finally turned off the water and stepped out. He dried himself off, secured the towel around his waist, and strutted back into the bedroom. It was then that his heart skipped a beat and began pounding rapidly.
He couldn’t believe his eyes but knew he wasn’t hallucinating. Carmen stood in front of him, dropping to the floor what appeared to be one of Alicia’s bathrobes, and then moved closer. She had not a stitch of underwear on.
She placed both arms around his neck, but JT pushed her away. “What are you doing? And where is Alicia?”
“She’s out. Yeah, I sent the little wifey off to fetch me something to eat. I told her I was finally hungry and that I had a huge taste for some Giordano’s deep-dish pizza, and she was in her car and on her way in no time. She’ll be gone for at least an hour.”
“You’re sick, Carmen. You know that? You’re sick and you need help.”
“Why? Because I know what I want, and I’m not afraid to go after it?”
“No, because you’ve got my wife thinking you’re her friend, yet here you are standing in her bedroom, butt-naked, trying to seduce her husband.”
Carmen smirked at him. “I guess I don’t see what the problem is.”
“You know exactly what I mean, and I want you out of here.”
“But your wife wants me to stay, remember? She told me I can stay for as long as I want, and before she left to go get me something to eat, she told me to come right on up to that gorgeous guest bedroom I’ll be sleeping in…but I decided to come satisfy my man instead.”
“Carmen, I’m only going to say this one more time. Get your crazy behind out of here.”
“Geez. You’re so testy these days,” she said, stroking the side of his face.
JT slapped her hand away as hard as he could.
“And violent, too,” she said, laughing at him. “But I forgive you.”
Now JT wanted to laugh himself, because this whole travesty seemed more like a bad joke. It certainly didn’t seem real, but what he worried about most was how he was going to bully Carmen back to that room Alicia had set up for her.
“You know, baby,” she said, laying across JT and Alicia’s bed and resting her head against two pillows, “you really should answer my calls or at least have the decency to call me back. We’ve had this very conversation before, but you still don’t seem to understand.”
“I understand perfectly. But in case you forgot, Carmen, I’m a very busy man with a lot of important responsibilities, and it’s not like I can drop everything I’m doing just because you want me to.”
“You drop what you’re doing whenever that little tramp calls you.”
“What tramp?”
“Your wife, of course.”
“Oh, so now you’re back to calling her names again.”
“I’ve never stopped. I mean, maybe for a little while, but she’ll always be a tramp-trick in my book.”
“Look, Carmen,” he said, “Alicia could walk in at any time, so do you really want her to catch you lying in our bed like this?”
“Do you want her to catch me?”
“Of course I don’t.”
“Well, then I suggest you drop that towel and make love to your real woman.”
“Yeah, right. You must be crazy.”
“Make love to me or else I’m telling her the truth about this baby I’m carrying.”
JT took two steps backward. “What baby?”
“The baby I told her about this afternoon. The baby that belongs to her loving, faithful husband, Pastor JT Valentine. Right now, she has no idea who the father is, but if you don’t give me what I want, I’m telling her everything.”
JT glared at Carmen and wanted to choke the life out of her. He wanted to end her existence, dump her body, and read that she’d been classified as a missing person.
But he knew his thoughts were nothing more than wishful thinking and that he had to do what Carmen wanted. He wouldn’t have sex with her in his and his wife’s bed, and he would instead insist they go back to her guest room, but he would do whatever else she wanted just to keep her quiet. He would play all her ruthless games until Minister Payne took care of things. JT would sit back, waiting patiently, until his gracious protégé brought this nutcase to her knees.
Chapter 32
It was just after seven, but Alicia lay quietly with her back toward JT and couldn’t stop thinking about that FedEx delivery. She’d thought about it on and off quite a bit yesterday, but with Carmen’s mom passing, she hadn’t focused on it nearly in the manner she was now. Then, last night when she’d returned with Carmen’s pizza, sat, eaten a couple of slices with her, and had finally gone upstairs to bed, she’d come into the room and found JT sound asleep. For a moment, she’d considered waking him up but had decided she just didn’t have the energy or desire to talk about Donna and the terrible things she’d said about him.
Alicia sighed and turned onto her back. She looked over at JT and surprisingly, he smiled at her. Still, all she did was look up at the ceiling, refusing to say anything.
“What’s that about?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“C’mon,” he said, reaching over and caressing her stomach. “Tell me.”
“I don’t wanna talk about it.”
“Don’t wanna talk about what?”
Alicia pretended she didn’t hear him.
“Wait. I know you’re not still upset about this whole Carmen thing and the fact that I don’t want her staying here.”
“No. Well, yes, I’m still not happy about that, but right now that’s the least of my worries.”
“Baby, please don’t do this.”
“Okay, fine. I’m upset because, for the life of me, I don’t get why this Donna woman sent me that package.”
JT moved his arm away from her. “But, baby, we already went over all that when you called me yesterday.”
“Maybe so, but I’m still bothered by the whole thing. I mean, who does this kind of crap for no reason?”
“Someone who is simply trying to cause problems for us, and as far as I’m concerned, this Donna person is nothing more than some raving lunatic.”
“But, JT, why is she continuing to make all these accusations if there’s no truth to what she’s saying?”
“Honey, pastors and their wives have to deal with this kind of madness all the time. I’ve told you that before, and at some point, you’re just going to have to get used to it.”
“Maybe, but just to be safe, I want to file a report with the police.”
“No,” JT said abruptly, and Alicia looked at him. He seemed dead set against the whole idea of pressing any charges, and that made no sense to her.
“Why not?”
“Because this really isn’t all that serious. I know it has you upset, but I don’t think it’s necessary to involve the authorities.”
“I disagree, JT, because this woman told me flat-out that when it comes to you, I should definitely watch my back. So, to me, this is beyond serious.”
“I understand how you feel, and if for some reason this woman contacts you again, I promise we’ll call the police. We’ll report everything.”
“Good,” Alicia said but had a feeling JT was hiding something.
She wasn’t sure what exactly, but she knew that whenever her father would lie to her mother, he would either become defensive or would become angry and would blame everything on someone else—people who were crazy or who were simply just trying to make trouble for them. He would respond almost precisely the way JT was.
JT pulled his wife closer to him and hugged her. “I know this whole pastor, first lady, church situation can be a little trying at times, but please know that I am completely in love with you and only you, and that I would never do anything to hurt you. Sweetheart, you are my world, and I’ll do whatever necessary to protect you at all costs. You hear me?”
Alicia gazed into his eyes, wishing she could believe him. But her intuition insisted there was more to the story and that it was only a matter of time before Donna exposed it. Then, without warning, Alicia thought about Phillip and how he never would have caused her this kind of worry. He never would have caused her any kind of pain or suffering, and she was sorry she hadn’t appreciated how wonderful he was when she’d been married to him. She was sorry she’d acted like a spoiled brat, the kind who had to have everything she wanted or else, and that she hadn’t realized what it truly meant to have a caring, compassionate, and honest husband. She hadn’t taken the time to notice just how perfect Phillip had really been for her. She hadn’t valued his strong character or his obvious desire to do the right thing—she hadn’t cherished the man any woman in her right mind would long to be with. She’d made a huge mistake in terms of the way she’d betrayed him, and now this, these accusations and suspicions about JT, was the result of it. She finally had all the material possessions she could want and the ability to buy even more if she so chose, but sadly, she no longer had the most important thing of all: true happiness.
JT picked up his cell phone and answered it.
“Good afternoon,” Barb said in a chipper tone. “So, how’s my favorite pastor today?”
JT gritted his teeth. “What is it that you want, and why did you send my wife that pathetic letter?”
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