Vic stopped and glanced over her shoulder. “But Mom—”
“Sweetheart, your girls are going to be just fine,” George Vincent said, with Bébé cradled in his arms. “Why don’t you and A.J. go out to dinner and catch a movie since your mother and I are going to pick up T-One and T-Two from school?” He shooed Vic and A.J. forward when Vic nervously glanced up at A.J.
“Mom,” Vic stuttered, “you’ve got our cell phone numbers, right?”
Louise chuckled. “Did they change from twenty minutes ago when you gave them to me for the third time?”
Vic shook her head.
Louise smiled. “Then I got ’em. Now please go.”
* * *
A.J. stood along with Zach and another police officer inside a room with a one-way mirror next to the interrogation room Vic was in. He felt as if the walls were closing in on him. He willed his claustrophobia not to rear its ugly head. Although he wasn’t permitted to be with her during the hypnosis session, he’d gladly suffer through this and more if it meant she felt a sense of peace knowing he was nearby.
Zach patted A.J.’s shoulder. “Baby Girl is gonna be just fine.” He adjusted his earpiece the moment he heard a voice transit through. He focused straight ahead.
* * *
“Vic,” a male voice said, extending his hand as he walked into the room. “I’m Officer Arthur McNeil. I’m a police hypnotist with the Oakland Police Department.”
Seated inside one of the interrogation rooms at the police station, Vic stood and rubbed a sweaty palm along the side of her dress before she answered. “H-Hi.” The single word came out cracked despite her best effort to remain calm and steady her nerves.
She glanced first at the video camera in front of her, then to the tape recorder on the table. Both had been turned on before the officer walked in. She sat again as the officer positioned a chair in front of hers. Listening intently, she nodded occasionally as Officer McNeil explained the process, answered her questions, and dispelled the misconceptions about hypnosis.
“Vic, I want you to close your eyes and breathe deeply…relax completely.” the hypnotist said. He paused. “Now I want you to count backwards to ten…slowly.”
“Ten…nine…eight…” Vic counted at a languid pace until she’d reached one.
“Vic, right now I want you to imagine you’re inside a movie theater, watching a film. Tell me about every scene that comes up on the screen and describe it…just like an investigative reporter would do.”
Vic’s eyes remained closed. “Ran out of Caitlyn’s house and got into my car. Drove round and round Lake Merritt for a long time. Then headed home…”
“What route did you take?” the hypnotist asked.
“Grand and Harrison.”
“Were other cars around you?”
Vic shook her head.
“All right, Vic,” the hypnotist said softly. “What’s the next scene you see?”
“Came to a stop light. I missed it twice…no, three times.”
“Why?”
“I was crying.”
“Why were you crying, Vic?”
“Remembered what Ron did to me.”
The hypnotist probed again. “What’s coming up on the screen now, Vic?”
With her eyes still closed, Vic inclined her head slightly. “Heard a screeching sound and bright lights.”
“What did you do, Vic?” the hypnotist asked.
“Tried to move out the way…too late.” Vic paused. “I hit something…then something hit my car.”
“Okay, the next scene.” the hypnotist said.
“Got out of my car…” Silence stretched between Vic and the hypnotist for a moment. “I looked down. It was Baptiste…” Vic heaved. “He was very still. Knelt next to him to help…couldn’t let him die.”
The hypnotist jotted notes on the pad resting on his lap. “Describe the car?”
“Red…two doors.” Vic stopped talking for a moment, then said, “Q…U…E…E…” she broke off and shook her head. “Can’t see anything else…the car is driving off.”
“Vic, I’m going to count from one to ten. When I reach the number ten, you will become alert. You’ll feel refreshed and relaxed and I want you to open your eyes on ten.”
* * *
A.J. smiled at Zach and shook his hand the moment Vic recited the partial license plate number to the hypnotist.
Zach glanced over at the officer standing next to him. “Ya get that number?”
The officer nodded. “Yes, sir, Lieutenant.”
“Run it through the system. The minute something comes in, notify me.”
* * *
After they left the police station, Vic and A.J. stopped by the hospital to check on Valerie and Nicole, then drove back to her condominium. At A.J.’s request, Vic spent the rest of the afternoon convincing him to marry her.
Sated, Vic lay snugly in his arms in the middle of her bed.
A.J. placed a kiss at her temple. “I’m proud of what you did today, Honey.”
Vic looked up at him with all the love a woman can feel for her man. “I’m glad you were there for me, Baptiste. I just hope Zach can track down the car.” She chuckled. “I’ll call the realtor tomorrow and put the condo back on the market since I won’t need it anymore.”
He chuckled back. “Oh, I think we’ll need it,” he said and circled his tongue on her earlobe. “It’s a good hide-away from the girls when we want to get away and be alone and when I need convincing about something.”
She playfully punched his shoulder. “Hush, man.”
He cleared his throat. “We have a choice.”
“What?”
“We can wreck this bed some more—” He broke off to lift his head and look at the clock on the nightstand—“or we can do something really crazy.”
“Baptiste, you and me together is crazy enough.”
“No, I mean something really, really crazy.”
She lifted her brow. “Another one of your outlandish schemes?”
He gave her a roguish grin. “Yes.”
Chapter 15
After a quick shower, A.J. told Vic she was as beautiful dressed in jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes as she was decked out in a designer outfit. It was a little after four in the afternoon as he drove them to the Oakland airport for a flight to Las Vegas.
A couple of hours later, he and Vic walked along the Vegas strip, enjoying the warm desert evening. After losing several rolls of quarters playing slots at one of the casinos on Fremont Street, they viewed a dazzling light show on the five-block strip. Their next stop was the first wedding chapel he found.
“The ring?” the justice of the peace said, smiling.
Vic glanced up at Baptiste before looking back at the gray-haired man. “We don’t have a ring.”
“Oh, I see,” he said.
“Here, woman.” Smiling, A.J. took the diamond stud out of his right ear. “Pull your hair back for me,” he softly instructed, and then placed the stud in her left ear.
Vic touched her earlobe, smiling again. Suddenly her eyes flared, and she gasped. “Baptiste?”
“What’s wrong, mon amour?”
“Did you feed Harry and Sally?”
“No.”
“Man, it was your day to feed them.”
“Listen, woman, if I hadn’t had to drag you out of the house earlier when you were giving all those instructions to Louise and G.V., I would have remembered.”
Lifting his brow, the justice of the peace cleared his throat. “Uh, excuse me. Are you two sure you’re making a wise choice?”
“Umm-hmm,” Vic answered with a huge smile.
A.J. beamed. “Absolutely.”
“By the power vested in me by the State of Nevada, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife.” He looked at A.J. “You may kiss your bride.”
Although he’d planned for them to stay in Las Vegas for a couple more days to take in a few of the shows, A.J. grabbed Vic’s hand, rushed out the chapel, a
nd hailed a taxi. When the cab came to a stop, he let Vic climb into the backseat first, and heard her mumbling under her breath something about hoping she didn’t find two dead fish when they got back home.
* * *
“Guess what?” Sunday morning, Vic stood at the kitchen counter and put the finishing touches on a Caesar salad she was preparing.
She and A.J. had invited the Baptiste and Bennett families, along with K-Mart and Alex, over to watch the Oakland A’s baseball game that began at noon. After the game, they planned to tell everyone they’d eloped six days earlier.
Brie, Moni, Aimee, Caitlyn, Louise, and Mama Z were seated around the table and lifted their heads to wait for Vic’s announcement.
“The girls and I got Baptiste a new recliner.”
“What?” they all replied in unison, flabbergasted.
Vic nodded, elated she’d might finally convince Baptiste to give up his worn-out recliner. “It’s beautiful. Just wait until you see it.”
Aimee made the sign of the cross. “Does he know yet?”
Vic shook her head.
Moni gasped. “Oh, my God. He doesn’t?”
“Not yet,” Vic said. “I wanted to surprise Baptiste, so I told him he had to watch the game in the family room.” She beamed. “I think he’s gonna really like it.”
Brie chuckled. “Girl, we’ve tried for years to make him give up that raggedy chair he’s lugged around the world and nothing has worked. You’ll bury him sitting up in it.”
Mama Z slowly shook her head, “That there man ya got is gonna have a heart attack when he finds out.”
Louise was out of her seat the second Bébé started to squirm. Shortly afterward, a loud squall came from CeCe. “Naw, you finish what you’re doing,” she told Vic, who was walking toward the crying infants. “We got this.” Louise nodded at Mama Z. “Z, you get CeCe.” She lifted Bébé from her high chair. “Come on to your nana, baby,” she murmured softly, rubbing the infant’s back. “Your mama has lost her mind, moving your daddy’s chair like that.”
Vic’s mouth fell open and she tried desperately to defend her action. “But the new one we got him is really nice.” She glanced over at a giggling Caitlyn, who was nursing Nicolas. “What’s so funny?”
Caitlyn wiped away tears of mirth. “I just can’t wait to see what kind of stunt A.J.’s going to come up with to get his recliner back.”
* * *
A.J. stared at the huge flat-screen television in the family room and frowned. “You know, I think the picture is much sharper on the one in the living room. Let’s move in there.” He glanced over at the other men. “Grab everything and hurry.”
Marcel, Ray, Alex, Alcee, Harrison, and George Vincent scrambled from their seats.
Ray nudged Alex. “Grab a kid.” He tucked Taylor under his arm sideways and headed for the door.
“Unca Ray…Unca Ray,” Taylor cried out.
Ray halted and looked down at her. “What’s the matter?”
Taylor pointed at the floor.
Ray stooped, picked up Taylor’s Oakland A’s cap, placed it on backward, and rushed toward the living room.
After Alex hoisted Tyler onto his shoulder, she cupped her hand next his ear.
Alex looked at her with his mouth ajar. “Didn’t you just go?”
Tyler shook her head. “That was T-One.”
Alex headed down the hallway toward the bathroom and shouted over his shoulder, “Pit stop. Save me a seat.”
Marcel snatched up a tray nearby and placed everyone’s drinks on it. In his haste, one of the glasses tilted over, spilling most of the contents. “Dammit.”
Harrison frantically scanned the room until he spotted one of Vic’s plants. He quickly grabbed it and sat it over the huge circle of liquid in the center of the table.
Marcel stared at Harrison. “Think Vic will suspect anything?”
Harrison thought for a moment. “If she asks, we’ll tell her one of the babies peed on it.”
“Tell her they peed out beer?” Marcel exclaimed.
Harrison shrugged. “Yeah. Now, let’s go.”
Alcee and George Vincent scooped several bowls of snacks off the table, but one of them crashed to the floor before either could catch it. They glanced down at the crumbs and looked at each other. George Vincent swept everything under an area rug. “You didn’t see that, right?”
Alcee shook his head. “Didn’t see a thing.”
A.J. stopped and answered the door on his way to join the others. K-Mart and Chandler entered, followed by Tara and Lincoln.
“Opening pitch in twenty minutes,” A.J. quickly advised before disappearing with K-Mart and Lincoln, leaving Tara and Chandler standing alone in the middle of the foyer.
“Dang!” Chandler placed her hands on her hips. “How is it they can love you all night long and before the National Anthem is sung, you get tossed to the wind?”
Tara nodded. “I know. Same thing here.” She shook her head. “It’s a sad day when a baseball game can make a man move at the speed of light.”
A.J. entered the living room a few moments later and carefully stepped over Taylor, who sat near the television. With his eyes glued on the huge screen, he walked backward to the area where his recliner was usually located and lowered his body. He landed on the floor.
Vic walked in and stared at her husband in bewilderment. “Man, why are you sitting on the floor?”
“My chair…my chair,” A.J. uttered faintly and stared around him at the empty space. “Honey, it’s gone.”
Vic knelt in front of him. “Baby, the girls and I brought you a brand-new one.” She glanced to the other side of the room and pointed to the plush black leather recliner with a huge bow on top of it. “Don’t you think it’s gorgeous?”
A.J.’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he lay back on the floor.
K-Mart rushed over to A.J.’s side. “Doc’s hyperventilating.”
George Vincent rallied to the defense of a half-conscious A.J. “Sweetheart, you just can’t move a man’s chair up from under him like that. It’s too much of a shock on his system. Look at him.”
“I hear ya now,” Ray shouted from across the room. “It’s a shame. Just a doggone shame.” Looking around at the other men, he added, “See, I told y’all this was gonna happen. A bunch of sistas done come in and took over mon frère’s crib.”
Chuckling, Zach sipped his beer. “Yeah, and they running it like the White House, too.” Then he looked over at Vic. “Baby Girl, it takes years to break a chair in. Process like that is delicate. Takes time. Ya just can’t rush it overnight.” He nudged Marcel in the side. “Ain’t that right, brother-in-law?”
Marcel nodded. “That’s right. A man’s home is his castle, and petit frère’s throne has been removed.”
A smiling Alcee scooted to the edge of his seat. “Is he still with us?”
Harrison knelt next to K-Mart and placed his finger at A.J.’s wrist. He smiled when A.J. winked at him. “Pulse is faint.”
Vic had seen and heard enough. Baptiste had both outsmarted her and found a way to keep his old chair in front of witnesses. She leaned over him, chuckling. “I’m sorry, your majesty. I was wrong. Please forgive me.” She stood and waved at Chandler and Tara. “Come on, y’all. Let’s hurry and get this man’s chair out of the garage before he really does something crazy.”
About five minutes later, A.J. was resting comfortably in his old recliner. Sitting on his lap, Vic looped her arms around his neck. “Happy now?”
A.J.’s eyes were riveted to the flat screen television. When the pitcher reared back and tossed out the first pitch, he stood to his feet and shouted, “Strike.”
Vic landed on the floor.
* * *
After the game, everyone retreated to the spacious patio area in the backyard where Vic had sat up two huge picnic tables. They feasted on grilled chicken, salad, and all the trimmings.
Moni cleared her throat and pointed to her left earlobe. “
Vic, I’ve been here all day and I’m just now noticing it.”
Vic fingered the diamond stud in her ear and smiled.
Brie snorted. “Humph, you going blind here, Sharp-Eye Tate. I didn’t say nothing, but it’s the first thing I noticed when I got here.”
Aimee, who sat next to Vic, leaned over for a closer look. “Looks like the mate to the one A.J. wears.”
Vic glanced at Baptiste, who snickered and tried to concentrate on the baby monitor she’d placed in front of them to listen out for Bébé and CeCe, who were asleep in their nursery.
Still seated, Moni placed her hands on her hips and looked directly at Vic. “All right, lady, we need to know what’s going on around here.”
Zach nudged Moni in the side and beckoned her closer. “Ya got two suspects in this, baby. Bring brother-in-law in for questioning, too.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right.” Moni turned back around and this time she waggled her finger between Vic and A.J. “Well?”
Everyone nodded their approval of Moni’s inquiry and shifted their gaze to Vic and A.J., and waited.
Vic nonchalantly shrugged. “I proposed to Baptiste, that’s all.”
Caitlyn, Moni, Brie, Aimee, and Chandler said in unison, “You did?”
Tara’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, how romantic,” she whispered, sobbing quietly.
Lincoln wrapped his arm around Tara’s quivering shoulders. “My baby just gets a little emotional, that’s all,” he defended when everyone stared at Tara, baffled.
Marcel lifted his glass high in the air in a mock salute. “That’s the way to go, petit frère. Make them come and ask you.”
Caitlyn looked at her husband and huffed. “A man is supposed to propose to a woman properly over a candlelight dinner and soft music.” She glanced over at Vic. “Right?”
Vic nodded, but didn’t say anything.
Caitlyn turned back to Marcel with her eyes narrowed. “And just what do you mean by that last comment, Marcel Xavier Baptiste?”
Zach came to Marcel’s aid. “Now hold up, sister-in-law. Y’all women can make a man flat-out tired chasing around after ya.”
Moni whipped her head around and tossed her husband a pointed look. “Now you listen here, Zachary Nathaniel Tate. I was the one,” she reminded him with her finger jabbed at his chest, “who had to chase after you, remember?”
When a Man Loves a Woman (Indigo) Page 16