Her First

by Mckenzie, Diamond

“Ooh. Somebody needs to take a shower,” he said.

  Ethan hit him with his towel. “I was working out. Make yourself at home and I’ll be right down.”

  Ethan left Frederick downstairs while he took a quick shower. Frederick was sitting in his living room eating chicken when he came back downstairs.

  “Man, get that greasy box off my table,” Ethan ordered him.

  With a mouth full, Frederick said, “You know you want some.” He pointed at the box. “I bought enough for you too.”

  Ethan sat down in the chair. “Yea, I am kind of hungry.”

  Frederick passed him a box. “Eat up.”

  After eating and light conversation, Frederick informed Ethan, “Madison will be there.”

  Relieved, Ethan said, “Perfect. After hearing what the test results are, it’ll help me with my next approach.”

  Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Frederick commented, “I still don’t know why you’re so hell bent on getting back with Madison.”

  “It’s called Love. Something you wouldn’t know anything about.”

  “Now that’s a low blow. I’ve been in love before.”

  “Name one time.”

  “When I was in the fifth grade I fell in love with Ms. Applebee.”

  “Silly, she was your teacher.”

  “You have to admit, she was fine.” Frederick couldn’t control his laughter.

  Frederick’s cell phone rang. While he talked on the phone, Ethan finished eating. He then took his box and Frederick’s and threw them in the kitchen trash.

  I’ll get Madison a puppy, Ethan thought to himself. She’s always wanted a dog. Maybe she’ll forgive me then.

  Frederick had his X-box turned on when he re-entered the living room. “Let me beat you at a game of football,” he said to Ethan.

  “The day you beat me is the day I walk around in a skirt.”

  “What color pumps do you want to wear with them?” Frederick laughed as he handed him the remote.

  After beating Frederick at a game of football, Ethan felt a little relief.

  “Thanks man for coming over. It took my mind off some of this mess,” Ethan said.

  Frederick gave him a brotherly hug at the front door. “You know I got your back.”

  “I hope your idea about inviting Madison to mama’s party works.”

  “It will. Trust me. I should have been cupid in my other life,” Frederick joked as he headed out the door.

  Chapter 40

  Ethan checked his messages the next morning before leaving for work. He was in the process of deleting one of Sarah’s messages when he heard Madison’s name mentioned. He replayed Sarah’s messages several times. He then went to his bedroom and found the piece of paper that had Charlotte’s number written on it and dialed it.

  After interrogating Charlotte about Madison and Sarah for two minutes, Ethan asked, “Did you know anything about this?”

  “Yes. She called me last night. I was surprised she told me because it was so out of character for her.”

  “It’s all my fault. If I would have told her everything all of this could have been avoided.”

  “Don’t blame yourself. Sarah’s the one to blame.”

  “If you talk to Madison, tell her I asked about her. Pleassse,” Ethan begged.

  “I will. She invited me to tag along to your mom’s birthday party.”

  “I guess I should be glad she didn’t turn Frederick down.”

  “She’ll come around.”

  “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

  “Pray about it. God will work it out.”

  “You’re right. I’ll let you go. Thanks for everything.”

  “I want to see my girl happy and being with you made her happy,” Charlotte added.

  “Thanks.” Ethan hung up the phone. He called Joyce and left a message on her voice mail. “I’m too anxious about the tests to concentrate on anything. I’ll be working from home today. Call me at home or on the cell if anything comes up.”

  He took off his jacket and laid on his back on the bed. He closed his eyes, but didn’t go to sleep. His thoughts were on Madison and Christopher. Christopher, if you’re mine, I want you to come live with me. I hope Madison will love us both.

  He dozed off.

  ***

  Madison vowed to hold her head up high when she walked into the office. Some of her co-workers stared and didn’t say anything when they saw her.

  Madison wanted to say “boo” and see what their response would be. She chuckled at the idea.

  When she got to her desk, a yellow sticky note was stuck to her computer monitor. She picked it up and read it. I need you to come to my office as soon as you get in. I heard about the incident yesterday, but I need to hear your side of the story. It was from her manager.

  “I might as well get this over with,” Madison said out loud.

  She placed her purse in her bottom drawer and locked it. She headed to her manager’s office. He was on the phone when she entered the doorway. She knocked on the door.

  “Come in,” he said to her.

  She sat down and waited for him to get off the phone. When he looked up, he had a disturbed look on his face. He got up and closed the door.

  “Ms. Allen, I need you to explain what happened yesterday,” he said, cutting straight to the point.

  Madison explained yesterday’s events. As she told him what happened, she felt embarrassed about her actions. She could barely look him in the face. “I know my actions were not appropriate and I accept any reprimand you hand out.”

  “I’m glad to hear you regret your actions. I have to say I was a little disturbed to hear about my best employee acting like that.” Madison looked down at the floor. Her manager added, “However, I understand Sarah has some personal issues with you, and from what you’ve told me, an altercation or something would have erupted sooner or later. I just hate that it happened here.”

  “Me too.”

  “In light of what you’ve told me, we’ll have to place you on temporary suspension. It will be without pay, but at least you’ll still have a job.”

  “Thanks, sir. I understand.”

  “You can work the rest of the day, but take next week off.”

  Madison stood up. “I might be out of place, but can you tell me what’s going to happen to Sarah?”

  “Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to say right now.”

  “Okay,” she said. She dragged her feet as she walked to the door and opened it. She looked back at her manager and he looked at her and shook his head. She continued to her desk feeling like she lost her best friend.

  Owen waved at her, paused, but seemed to have changed his mind about stopping. He continued to his destination as she walked back to her desk.

  Not even Owen can face me right now, she thought.

  ***

  Ethan woke up feeling a little more relaxed. He had to gather his senses. He looked at the clock and it read ten thirty. He jumped up, hurried and used the bathroom, and washed his hands and face. He rushed to get to the doctor’s office. He was surprised at how little traffic appeared to be on the roads because Friday traffic was normally backed up no matter what time of day. Even with the light traffic, he barely made it to the doctor’s office before his appointment. The receptionist checked him in and then the nurse came to the door and called out his name.

  This is the moment I’ve been waiting for. Lord, whatever your will is, let it be. I’m willing to live up to my responsibilities, Ethan thought as he followed the nurse into a vacant room. He sat in a chair and waited for the doctor.

  “Hi, young man. How are you?” Dr. Phillips asked when he entered the room.

  Ethan shook his hand. “I’ve been better.”

  “I see the nurse tried contacting-” He looked in the file. “Sarah, but she couldn’t make it today.”

  “She doesn’t have to be here for you to give me the results does she?” Ethan asked.

  “I wanted to go over thi
s with the both of you. After going over the results, it’s probably best you’re here alone.”

  Ethan held his breath. “I’m ready.”

  “You understand the test results are 99.9 percent accurate.”

  “Yes.” Ethan looked directly into Dr. Phillips eyes.

  “You are…” The Doctor’s pager went off. He looked down at the pager and had a sudden sense of urgency. “Hold on, Ethan. I’ll be right back.”

  Ethan was hoping he left the file so that he could see for himself, but to no avail. Ethan got up and paced the floor. Ten minutes later, Dr. Phillips walked back into the room.

  “Sorry about that. A colleague needed my professional opinion.”

  Trying to sound nonchalant Ethan said, “No problem.”

  “As I was saying before we got interrupted,” he paused, “you are not Christopher’s father.”

  Ethan let out a deep breath. A part of him felt relieved. “Did I hear you correctly?” he wanted to double check.

  “Yes. You are not the father.”

  Ethan stood up and shook his hand. “You don’t know how happy you’ve made me.”

  “I wasn’t sure if this was good or bad news for you, so I wanted to see you in person.”

  “I know it’s none of your business, but his mother and I are no longer together and this would have only complicated matters.”

  “I understand. If you need anything else or have any other questions, feel free to call me.”

  “Thanks, Dr. Phillips.” Ethan smiled as he walked out the door.

  Chapter 41

  Madison made sure she kept herself busy. It was easy with customers ringing her phone off the hook. When the automated system crashed, she was forced to manually enter statistics.

  She noticed Owen as he passed by her desk a few times, but he would only smile and wouldn’t stop. This last time, she decided to follow him to wherever he was going.

  “Hey Owen, wait up,” she said as she increased her steps to catch up with him.

  As if he knew what was on her mind, he blurted out, “I didn’t know if you felt like talking.”

  She looped her arms through his and they walked into an empty break room. “Thanks for what you did yesterday.”

  “I didn’t do anything,” he said, pretending to act oblivious.

  She kissed him on the cheek. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have lost more than my dignity.”

  “I know I can be a little pushy sometimes, but we are friends.”

  “You’re the only one in here who tried to help. If nothing else, I know I can depend on you.”

  “I’m glad you feel that way.” Owen opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as Mya and two other women walked in.

  Mya joked to her companions, “Y’all better stay out of Madison’s way, or else she’ll drop kick you.”

  Mya laughed, but her other companions didn’t. They pointed towards Owen and Madison, who were now in clear view. The other women left the room.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were in here,” Mya apologized.

  “Apparently not,” Owen said.

  “Oh I got this,” Madison intervened. “Mya, I’m glad to see you find all of this funny. But in the future, make sure the person you’re talking about isn’t around to hear it.”

  “Seriously, Madison, I didn’t mean anything by it. I never did like Ms. Thing. I was glad to see somebody put her in her place.”

  “Whatever.” Madison rolled her eyes and walked out of the break room.

  Owen caught up to her. “Don’t let Mya get to you,” he said.

  “I won’t. I have bigger fish to fry as my grandmother used to say.” They walked the rest of the way in silence. Before walking to her desk, she turned and told Owen, “I’ll be out of the office all next week on unpaid leave.”

  “They shouldn’t have suspended you.”

  Madison held her hand up and interrupted him. “I would have suspended me too. I’m lucky they didn’t fire me.”

  “If you need anything, call me.”

  “I will. I have a few more things to do and then I’ll be heading out.”

  She sat down at her desk, but couldn’t concentrate. She looked at the time. Even though it was early afternoon, she felt as though she had put in a full day’s work. She activated her out of office message on her email account and voice mail.

  After making sure everything was secure, she left the office. She decided to stop by Valley View mall. Shopping always takes my mind off my problems.

  ***

  Ethan was paying for a pair of tennis shoes when he swore he saw Madison pass by.

  “I don’t mean to rush you, but there’s someone out there I need to catch up with,” he told the teenaged cashier.

  The cashier handed him his change. Ethan inadvertently snatched the bag and walked quickly out of the store. He looked in the direction he saw Madison, but couldn’t see her. He peered into some of the stores as he walked by. I know I’m not seeing things. It had to be her, he thought.

  As he looked into another store, he accidentally bumped into Madison. She looked as surprised as he did.

  “I’m sorry,” he said as he helped her pick up the bags she had dropped.

  “I have it,” she said as she motioned for him to stop.

  “No, let me,” he insisted as he picked the bags up and handed them to her.

  Ethan wanted to take her into his arms and hug and kiss her and tell her all of the things he didn’t think to say when they were together.

  “Thanks,” she said in a soft voice.

  “If you’re not doing anything tonight, let me treat you to dinner.”

  She stuttered, “I’m meeting Charlotte. Thanks for helping me with the bags, but I have to go.” She walked away.

  He ran behind her. “You’re still coming to the birthday party aren’t you?”

  “I’ll be there,” she responded without turning around.

  “See you then,” he said, unsure if she heard him as she increased her pace.

  ***

  After the mall encounter, Madison didn’t feel like shopping anymore. It took everything she could not to reach out and hug Ethan. She missed him so much, but she didn’t know if she should trust him after the Sarah fiasco.

  What if the child is his? she thought. I don’t think I could stand it. Little Christopher’s adorable, but there’s no way I can be nice to anything that belongs to Sarah.

  She beat herself up about it all the way home. Charlotte was sitting on her steps when she pulled up.

  “What is she doing here?” Madison asked out loud.

  She turned off the engine and exited the car. She grabbed her bags and Charlotte met her halfway. She handed a few to her.

  “I had just got here right before you pulled up,” Charlotte said. “I was about to leave though.”

  “That’s why you should call before dropping by unannounced,” Madison said as she unlocked the front door.

  “I was in the neighborhood.”

  “Yeah right,” Madison snapped as they went into the house.

  “Where do you want these?” Charlotte asked.

  “They go in my room.”

  They walked into her bedroom. Charlotte laid the bags on the bed and sat on the edge. “So what did you buy me?” she asked.

  “The same thing I bought you the last time I went shopping,” Madison joked.

  She removed clothes from the bag as Charlotte sat and watched. She held up a short black dress.

  “That’s cute. Let me see it,” Charlotte said before standing up.

  Madison held the dress in front of her as she admired herself in the mirror. “I bought it for Mrs. Matthew’s party.”

  “So you really are going?”

  “Yes.”

  She held up another dress that Madison had laid across the bed. It was a hot pink short floral dress. “Can I borrow this?”

  Madison smiled. “I’ll think about it.”

  ***

&nbs
p; After informing his mother, brother and Joyce about the test results, Ethan tried to find a way to relax. He flipped from station to station, but nothing was able to hold his attention for long. Frustrated because he couldn’t get his mind off Madison, he went upstairs and worked out. His body was sore, but he refused to stop. If his phone hadn’t rung, he would have worked out until he fell out.

  “Hello,” he answered, sounding out of breath.

  “Don’t hang up,” Sarah said barely above a whisper.

  Ethan laughed as if insane. He sat on the bench wiping sweat off his forehead. He remained quiet.

  “Hear me out,” Sarah begged.

  “There’s nothing else we have to say. You’ve lied and tried to manipulate your way into my life for the last time. How could you use an innocent child? You’re not fit to be a mother.”

  He heard Sarah crying. He felt no sympathy.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do,” she cried.

  “Your tears won’t work. You knew exactly what you were doing. I don’t know when you told Madison about the situation, but because of you, she’s gone. I’m sure that should make you stop crying.”

  “I didn’t mean to-”

  He wouldn’t let her continue. “Like you didn’t mean to jump her at her job.”

  “You got it all wrong. She’s the one who threw me on the floor. Do you know I lost my job because of your wife?” she yelled.

  “That’s your problem, not mine.”

  “Ethan please talk to her. She could talk to them and maybe they’ll give me back my job.”

  Ethan laughed. “You seriously need some help. I pray Christopher grows up to be sane with an insane mother.” He hung up the phone without waiting to hear Sarah’s response. Lord thank you for not letting me be tied to that woman for life.

  He took a shower, and for the first time in days, he was able to sleep peacefully.

  Chapter 42

  It had been a few weeks since Ethan ran into Madison at the mall. After countless sleepless nights, Ethan woke up refreshed and ready to begin the next stage of his life. He had a lot of errands to run before his mom’s birthday dinner. He was excited and was surprised Madison had agreed to come. It gave him hope about the state of their relationship.