A House Divided (A Reverend Curtis Black Novel)

by Kimberla Lawson Roby

“He’s going to be fine, and it will be great when we can finally hold him.”

  Racquel smiled. “I know. I can’t wait, and neither can Matt.”

  “So when are they letting you go home?”

  “I’m not sure, but I really don’t wanna leave little MJ.”

  “Understandable. I wouldn’t want to, either.”

  Racquel looked up at the flat-screen television, and now the atmosphere felt awkward again. Charlotte wondered if Racquel blamed her for what happened yesterday, but she didn’t dare ask her.

  “Is there anything I can get you?” Charlotte finally said.

  “No, I’m fine, but thank you.”

  Charlotte looked at the TV screen, too, but then turned when she heard someone walking in. To her regret, it was Vanessa. Although, the good news was that Neil strutted in behind her.

  “Good morning,” Charlotte said, smiling.

  “Good morning,” Neil said, but, of course, Vanessa pretended Charlotte was invisible and that she hadn’t heard her speaking to either one of them. Now Charlotte felt even more out of place, but she tried to make small talk. She still couldn’t stand Vanessa and never would, but she would put on a happy face to keep peace. For the moment, anyway.

  “I just thought I’d come see how Racquel and that grandson of ours is doing. Curtis will be here, too, when service is over.”

  “Sounds good,” Neil said.

  Charlotte looked back at Racquel. “Actually, I was hoping to see the baby now. Is that okay?”

  Vanessa tossed Charlotte a dirty look. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. My grandson needs his rest, and too many visitors aren’t good for him.”

  It was all Charlotte could do to hold her tongue.

  Neil seemed out of sorts and hurried to say, “I need to see a couple of patients, but I’ll be back soon, sweetie.” He clearly didn’t want to witness any trouble, so he kissed Racquel on the forehead and left.

  Charlotte grabbed her handbag from the chair. “Racquel, I think it’s best I leave, too.”

  “No arguments here,” Vanessa said, taking a seat in the recliner.

  “What?” Charlotte said.

  Vanessa ignored her.

  Charlotte held her tongue again. “Like I said, Racquel, I think it’s best I leave. I don’t wanna upset you, so I’ll see you later.”

  “Hmmph, you should have thought about that yesterday,” Vanessa spat.

  Charlotte smiled at Vanessa, all the while wishing she could wring her neck. If only she could give Vanessa a Chicago South Side beatdown and get away with it, she would. But instead, she gained her composure and walked out of the room with total class. She had another plan, anyway.

  As she headed down the hallway, preparing to ask one of the nurses to page Dr. Neil Anderson, she spotted him talking to another physician. This was right up Charlotte’s alley.

  “Charlotte,” Neil said, “this is Dr. Koster, little MJ’s pulmonary specialist. And Doctor, this is MJ’s other grandmother.”

  “Very nice to meet you,” Dr. Koster said.

  Charlotte smiled. “Likewise.”

  “Dr. Koster just gave me some very good news. Little MJ is doing much better than expected.”

  “How wonderful,” she said.

  Dr. Koster nodded. “It is. He’s doing so much better already that we might be able to remove his breathing tube tomorrow.”

  Charlotte smiled again. “What a blessing, and I know Racquel and Matt will be thrilled.”

  “I was just on my way to tell her,” Dr. Koster said, “but then I saw Neil. I could tell early on that your grandson was a fighter, but I guess he’s more of a fighter than we realized.”

  “Apparently so, and thanks for taking such good care of him,” she said.

  The doctor extended his hand. “Again, it was great meeting you, Charlotte, and I’m sure I’ll see you again.”

  Dr. Koster walked away, and Charlotte didn’t waste any time making her move. “Neil, could I speak to you in private?”

  “Sure. Let’s go in here,” he said, opening the door to a small family waiting room. No one was in there, so it was perfect.

  Charlotte gazed at him for a few seconds and burst into tears. She hoped this wasn’t going too far, but she needed an ally, and this was the only way she could think to get one.

  “I am so, so sorry, Neil, for the way things turned out between Vanessa and me yesterday.” She sobbed for effect. “That argument never should have happened, and I’m so sorry we upset Racquel the way we did. I’m sorry for everything,” she said dropping her purse onto the floor and covering her face with both hands…still weeping.

  “Heyyyyy,” Neil said, pulling her into his arms and caressing her back. “Everything is going to be fine. None of us is happy about what happened, but what we have to do now is focus on little MJ. We have to band together for him and Racquel.”

  “I know, but I just feel awful,” she said, stepping back and gazing directly into his eyes again. “And I can’t stop thinking about Racquel and how she could’ve lost the baby.”

  “But she didn’t.”

  Charlotte sniffled and wiped her face with her hands again, and Neil snatched a few tissues from the Kleenex box on the table and passed them to her. She carefully patted her face, so she wouldn’t ruin her makeup any more than she had. “I just don’t want you to hate me.”

  “Hate you? I could never do that. We all make mistakes, but the important thing is to move on.”

  “Thank you for being so understanding,” she said. But this time when she gazed into his eyes, there was no denying the strong attraction and obvious chemistry between them. Charlotte had noticed this very thing many months ago and had purposely ignored it. She and Curtis were happier than ever, so no matter how intense the attraction was between her and Racquel’s father or how undeniably gorgeous the man was, she wasn’t interested. Although this still didn’t mean she wouldn’t take full advantage of the way Neil felt about her, along with anything else he had to offer, if it meant keeping her in the constant presence of her grandson. She would do just about anything to be around him—even call him little MJ. She needed to have a real relationship with him, especially since she was the better grandmother. And no one, not that witch, Vanessa, or even Racquel, would stand in the way of that. It was true that she was the first lady of a very well-known church right there in Mitchell, and that she had deep-rooted Christian values the same as the next person, but there was also another side to her—a side she hoped she wouldn’t have to expose anytime soon. She’d gladly and willingly do it, though, if she had to.

  Chapter 5

  Talk about a turn of events. Charlotte had gone from hoping to see her grandson up close to now actually standing over him inside the neonatal intensive care unit, and she was in pure heaven. She and Neil were dressed in protective scrubs and surgical caps, and thanks to all her tears, apologies, and the pleading she’d done, Neil had agreed to slip her in to see the baby for a few minutes. What a handsome and precious little thing he was, even with a breathing tube and an IV needle inserted into his body, and Charlotte was in love with him already. He even had thick, coal-black hair, the same as Matthew when he was born. Charlotte could hardly take her eyes off him and wished she could scoop him out of his incubator, whisk him away from the hospital, and fly him out to Boston to see Matthew. If she could, she would take little MJ and physically move there for the remainder of Matt’s semester. That way, he’d be able to stay in school and wouldn’t have to worry about trying to get home on weekends, something she knew he was planning to do as often as he could so he could be with his son. She totally understood that, but it was like she’d been trying to explain to Curtis yesterday: she also didn’t want him jeopardizing his education. What Charlotte wanted was the best for her son, and eventually she would figure out a way to make sure he had it. She would do whatever was necessary to keep him in school, and at the same time make it possible for him to be a good father.

  One of the N
ICU nurses walked over to Charlotte, the one who looked to be no more than in her late twenties. Still, she seemed extremely knowledgeable. “He really is the cutest little thing we’ve seen in a while. We all just love him.”

  “Thank you,” Charlotte said. “And, of course, I agree with you.”

  All three nurses laughed, as did Charlotte and Neil.

  “We’re very happy for you, Dr. Anderson,” one of the other nurses said. “We’re happy for your entire family.”

  “That’s very kind of you, Donna. How nice of you to say such wonderful things and take such great care of little MJ.”

  Donna stood next to Charlotte. “You can touch him if you want.”

  “You sure?” Charlotte asked, and also looked at Neil.

  “It’s fine,” the nurse said.

  Neil smiled. “Of course. Go ahead.”

  Charlotte’s stomach fluttered. She didn’t know why she was so nervous and excited, but maybe it was because she hadn’t felt this overjoyed since the day Matthew was born and then the day when, well…Marissa had come into the world. Charlotte remembered how elated she’d been as soon as she’d laid eyes on her new baby girl. Her daughter’s birth hadn’t happened without controversy, what with Curtis questioning whether Marissa was actually his daughter and then Charlotte having to work as fast as she could to figure out a way to pay off a DNA technician so the results could be falsified. But once all that had been taken care of, she and Curtis had welcomed their new child and loved her with all their hearts. Even Matthew had loved his baby sister from the beginning, and life had been good.

  Charlotte smiled at her latest thoughts, but then sadness overcame her. She always tried to forget about all the ugliness, particularly the fact that Marissa had been a bad seed with serious mental issues and that as she’d gotten older, she’d shown signs of deception. She’d purposely done cruel, evil things on the sly and with a smile on her face. For some reason, Marissa had loved Curtis, but whenever Curtis left for out-of-town speaking engagements, Marissa had always treated Matthew and Charlotte like they were hated enemies. But Charlotte knew she couldn’t help herself, and that her actions were a result of her heredity. Aaron, Marissa’s biological father, the man Charlotte’s first affair had been with, had been diagnosed with serious mental issues and had been institutionalized before Marissa was born. Sadly, though, Marissa had eventually fallen to her death, and ever since then, Charlotte had longed to have another baby. She’d mentioned it to Curtis a few times, only to learn that he didn’t think it was a good idea because of all the marital problems they’d been having over the last few years, but even when she didn’t talk about it, her desire to have a child never waned. It was the reason she desperately needed to be around her grandson.

  “Go ahead,” Neil told her again. “It really is okay.”

  Charlotte looked at the purple latex gloves she’d slipped on before entering the nursery, took a deep breath, and reached her hand through the round opening. She grabbed little MJ’s hand and admired each of his tiny fingers. Oh, how she loved this little baby with her entire being. She knew she hadn’t given birth to him, but her feelings for him were no different than if she had. She would protect him at all costs and would give her life for him if she had to. He was only a day old, but he was everything to her.

  “He’s so absolutely beautiful,” she said, her voice shaking and eyes watering. “He’s just perfect.”

  “He certainly is,” Neil said, standing next to her and admiring his little grandson. “I never expected to be a grandfather so soon, but I wouldn’t trade him for anything.”

  “Same here,” Charlotte said, caressing the baby’s fingers while watching him stretch his tiny little neck and arms and move his legs. He never opened his eyes, and he seemed to be resting peacefully.

  A bit more time passed, but when Charlotte looked to her side and through the glass, she saw Vanessa and Racquel and quickly turned her attention back to the baby, pretending they weren’t there. At first she wondered why they hadn’t come inside the unit yet, but then she realized maybe they were waiting for her and Neil to come out. But she wouldn’t leave her grandson until someone made her. She wasn’t planning to move until she was forced. To her regret, though, only seconds passed before they heard a knock on the door.

  Neil turned around, as did all three nurses, and Neil said, “Oh, Racquel and Vanessa are here.”

  Charlotte kept her eyes on the baby. She’d heard Neil very clearly, but she didn’t let on.

  “I’m sorry to have to end your visit, but I know Racquel can’t wait to see her little one,” he said.

  Charlotte still didn’t respond to him but told the baby, “Nana loves you, little MJ. I love you with all my heart, and I’ll be back to see you soon, okay? I love you.”

  Charlotte released the baby’s hand and stepped away from the incubator. She so wished she didn’t have to leave him, but she also knew it wouldn’t be long before Vanessa called in a firing squad if she didn’t. Even now, as Charlotte turned and looked at her again, she saw how disgusted she was—although, this actually made Charlotte happy. Not only was Vanessa fuming because Charlotte was spending quality time with the baby but also because seeing Charlotte with her husband was likely making her psycho. It was the reason Charlotte rubbed the side of Neil’s arm right in front of her and said, “Thank you for bringing me in to see our grandson. You have truly made my day.”

  “You’re quite welcome,” he said.

  Charlotte and Neil exited the room, and Charlotte smiled at Racquel, who was sitting in a wheelchair. “He’s the most precious thing in the world, Racquel, and Matthew is going to be beside himself.”

  “I know. I can’t wait for him to get here.”

  “I’m going to call him shortly, but if there’s anything you need, anything at all, just let me know.”

  Vanessa pushed Racquel’s wheelchair forward so that she stood directly in front of Charlotte. “I want you to hear me and hear me good. If our daughter needs anything at all, her father and I will get it for her.”

  Charlotte stared at her like she was crazy, but since Neil and Racquel were witnessing this madness, Charlotte forced a smile and said, “I was only trying to be helpful, Vanessa. I know you don’t like me, but I really do care about Racquel and the baby. And I hope you and I can eventually become friends.”

  “Ha!” Vanessa said. “Please. That will never happen. And I do mean never.”

  Charlotte feigned another smile, mostly to appease Racquel and Neil, but thought, You got that right. Not only will it never happen, but it’s only a matter of time before you become my worst enemy. And sweetheart, it won’t be pretty.

  Chapter 6

  Thank God little MJ’s breathing tube had been removed as planned. Not yesterday, the way Dr. Koster had anticipated, but about an hour ago. Charlotte was glad she’d decided to call Racquel to see how things were going this morning, because if she hadn’t, there was no telling when she and Curtis would have found out. There was a chance Matthew would have told them, but since he had class this morning, he likely would have waited until this afternoon.

  “You know,” Curtis said, drinking the cup of coffee Agnes had just set on the table in front of him, “little MJ is very blessed, and so are we. The entire congregation was praying for him, and you know how I feel about the power of prayer.”

  “It really is wonderful to have so many people that care about us,” Charlotte agreed.

  “We need prayer because the devil is always busy. But the good news is that we serve not just a sometimes or every-now-and-then God, we serve an every-hour, 365-day God who does all that He says He’ll do.”

  “Wow, you’re on fire this morning, aren’t you?” Charlotte said.

  Curtina laughed. “Daddy, you’re saying the kind of stuff you say at church on Sundays.”

  Curtis laughed, too. “I guess I am, huh? Daddy’s just happy, sweetie. Happy my little grandson is fine and thankful for all our other blessings. God is so
good to us, even when we’re not all that great ourselves.”

  Curtina ate the rest of her cereal and drank her orange juice. “Mommy, can I go back upstairs to watch Sprout until it’s time to leave?”

  “I suppose. We’re heading out in about thirty minutes, though, so you make sure you have everything packed in your book bag.”

  “I will.”

  Curtina skipped out of the kitchen, and Charlotte couldn’t help thanking God for her little girl, the same as Curtis had just thanked the Lord for little MJ. Years were passing, and Curtina was almost five years old now, yet it was still hard to believe there had been a time when Charlotte couldn’t stand her. She was embarrassed to even think back to those days when she’d treated an innocent child so horribly, but it had only been because Curtis had conceived Curtina with another woman outside of their marriage. He’d had an affair and broken it off, then his mistress had died, and Charlotte’s stepdaughter had moved in with them. It had been the worst time of Charlotte’s life, or so she had thought, but soon she’d come to love Curtina as if she were her own, and Curtina loved, loved, loved her back. She never even brought up her biological mother, mainly because she barely remembered her, but it was fine, because to Charlotte, Curtina was in fact her daughter. It was funny how things changed and how time truly did heal all wounds, just the way folks always said.

  “So are you going to the hospital this morning?” Curtis asked.

  “Maybe around noon, and hopefully I won’t have to run into Racquel’s witch of a mother.”

  Curtis looked at her and then toward the television. Agnes wiped off the counter near the stove but never said a word.

  Charlotte knew they didn’t want to hear her ranting on and on about Vanessa, but she was still beside herself because of the way things had turned out yesterday. Charlotte had gone to the hospital first thing, yet Vanessa had said and done everything she could to stop her from seeing little MJ. She’d been downright rude, and since Charlotte hadn’t been able to contact Neil, she couldn’t do anything about it. She did finally hear from Neil early evening, once he’d finished a ten-hour brain surgery, but by then, she’d been too frustrated to talk about it or drive back over to the hospital. Charlotte wondered when this tug-of-war was going to end, and although she was trying her best to keep things cordial with Vanessa—at least when Racquel and Neil were around—she was growing very tired of this woman. Charlotte had held her tongue more than a few times, but she was also human and knew if Vanessa didn’t watch herself, this wouldn’t end well.