Scandalous Truth

by Monica P. Carter

  William didn’t want to think about that right now, though. He had more pressing and immediate concerns: Managing this campaign and earning money to support his family. He knew his pastor wanted to make some significant changes as mayor. Reverend Chance wanted to make real strides in meeting the needs of some of the most vulnerable people in the city. He felt he could do certain things as a church leader and pastor, but other changes had to come from making adjustments in how the city was being run.

  William believed in the vision and wanted to help serve the needy. But he also wanted to serve the immediate needs of his family. He wanted to leave the campaign and focus on making serious money. It was the end of July, and for the fifth straight month, he knew revenue would be down from where it was a year ago. William had promised Nikki, even before the hurricane, that they would become multimillionaires, and they would live a life of luxury. But he didn’t feel he was on that track right now, not with devoting so much time to the campaign.

  “I’m having a hard time making a distinction between your voice and my own desires right now, God.” Stopping at a traffic light, William dialed Reverend Chance’s cell number.

  The candidate picked up on the first ring. Without even saying hello, Reverend Chance inquired, “Where have you been?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve been trying to call you all morning. The phone immediately went to voice mail each time,” the candidate said, sounding a bit irritated.

  “I’m sorry, Reverend Chance,” William said. “My phone didn’t ring, or at least, I didn’t hear it.”

  “Well, whatever the case, we are having an emergency meeting,” he said. “We’re going to have it at Two Sisters Kitchen, away from the office.”

  “Two Sisters? That’ll be just as bad as going to the office,” William said. “Everybody will be there. You won’t be able to get anything done for all the folks coming up to speak.”

  “Well, I still need to be out in the public eye as much as I can. So meet us there in a few minutes. We’ve got to strategize. This story is being blown way out of proportion and presented in such a bad way.”

  William wanted to say, “I told you so,” but instead, he simply replied, “Yes, sir.”

  Chapter 18

  Nikki furiously typed away on her homework assignment for her class, knowing she was behind because of everything going on in her life lately. The report had been due yesterday, but the professor had extended the deadline to this evening. It was a paper dissecting the artistic style of painter Clementine Hunter. She was enrolled in a graduate program and the summer semester was wrapping up at the end of next month, August. After that, she had one more semester before she would receive her Masters degree.

  “Maaaamaaaa!” she heard the wail coming from the bedroom and sprang to her feet, knocking over the chair. Psalm was stretched out, reaching for her mother with one hand, her other hand planted gingerly on her abdomen.

  “Oh, baby!” Nikki gathered Psalm into her arms, and the child’s cries grew louder. Nikki didn’t know if she should let the girl lie still so as not to make her stomach hurt even more, or if she should run from the house with her now, in search of a ride to the hospital. She let Psalm lie still.

  The cries grew more intense and Nikki quickly pulled on sneakers. She grabbed her purse and gently picked up Psalm, trying to comfort the child, but knowing she had to get her to medical care. She walked quickly to her neighbor’s house.

  Nikki banged on the front door until the neighbor opened it. “Mrs. Carrie, can you please give me a ride to the hospital? My baby—”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Mrs. Carrie said, slowly shaking her head. “I’m in the middle of—”

  “Please, Mrs. Carrie!” Nikki begged. The woman looked as if she might say yes, but she retreated inside her air-conditioned living room.

  “It’s so dangerous out there these days,” Mrs. Carrie said, closing the door except for a crack. “I watch the news. So many shootings and muggings and murders. I don’t go out much these days. I’m sorry. I want to help you, but I just can’t.”

  “Come on, Mrs. Carrie, please!” But Nikki knew the plea was to no avail. Mrs. Carrie’s car barely moved all week, save for a trip to the grocery store or church.

  Nikki banged on the door of the house next to Mrs. Carrie’s. No one answered. She looked around frantically, cradling her crying child. “Please, somebody!” She tried to hold back the tears from her own eyes.

  “Are you okay?” Nikki looked up, grateful for the acknowledgement. It was the man who lived on the other side of her. He was sticking his head out of the door.

  “Please, can you give me a ride to the hospital?” she asked. “My baby is sick.”

  “Oh, sure,” he said. “Let me get my shoes.”

  He disappeared into the house. Nikki raced to his car as quickly as she could, taking care not to jostle Psalm any more than necessary. Psalm’s wails tore at Nikki’s heart.

  A moment later, her neighbor reappeared, quickly snatched the passenger side door open, and helped Nikki and Psalm into the car. He raced around the front of the car and hopped in, threw the car into reverse and skidded down the driveway. They sped to the hospital, neither saying anything, as Nikki held her daughter to her chest, praying for relief as Psalm’s tears soaked her skin.

  Nikki frantically dialed William’s cell phone, but it went straight to voice mail. She tried calling him at the campaign office, but got no answer.

  “You trying to reach someone?” her neighbor asked.

  “Yeah, my husband,” Nikki said. “But he’s not picking up.”

  When the car pulled up at the hospital, she forgot about the calls, intent on getting treatment for the wailing Psalm. She climbed out of the vehicle and walked quickly through the doors of the hospital. “Please, can you help my baby?” she begged the woman who sat at the emergency room registration desk.

  “What is wrong, ma’am?” the clerk asked in a flat tone.

  “Her stomach hurts,” Nikki informed her.

  “You brought her to the emergency room for a stomach ache?” The clerk’s voice betrayed a touch of annoyance. “The emergency room is for emergencies, ma’am. You uninsured people can’t continue to use the emergency room as a substitute for a regular doctor’s visit.”

  “Ma’am, I have insurance!” Nikki snapped. “That’s not the point. My daughter is in severe pain because of a serious health condition. Just admit her, please!”

  The woman rolled her eyes, but began typing on her computer. “Name?”

  Nikki quickly rattled off all the relevant information, including noting that her daughter was at this same hospital two days ago for this same condition.

  Once Psalm had been admitted, Nikki tried to reach William. Again, the phone went straight to voice mail. She left a frantic message, then called the campaign headquarters and left a message there, too. Nikki swallowed hard to calm her nervous stomach.

  “Ma’am, you can’t use a cell phone in here,” a passing nurse said, peering into the open doorway of the room in which Psalm and Nikki sat sequestered since another nurse left after taking Psalm’s temperature.

  “Oh, sorry,” Nikki apologized, but quickly dialed again when the nurse disappeared down the hall. This time, she punched in Danielle’s work number.

  “I’m sorry; she’s on the floor right now. May I take a message?” the attendant asked.

  “Tell her it’s an emergency.”

  “I’m sorry, ma’am,” the attendant said, “I don’t think—”

  “Just page her!” Nikki was insistent.

  “Oh, all right.” The attendant’s voice was full of attitude.

  A moment later, Danielle was on the phone. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m at the hospital with Psalm,” she said, her voice cracking.

  “She got sick again?”

  “Worse this time.” A flow of tears started to flow down Nikki’s cheeks. “I’m so scared.”

  “I�
��ll be right there.”

  Twenty minutes later, Danielle arrived at the hospital, walking quickly into the waiting area. She immediately hugged Nikki. “Have you talked to the doctors?”

  “One just came out and said Psalm was stable,” Nikki informed her. “They let me go back with her for the initial consultation. Then they moved her and told me to come back out here and wait.”

  Danielle turned to Nikki’s neighbor, who was standing close to Nikki. “Who is this?”

  “Oh, this is Julius,” Nikki said, sitting down on a plastic chair. “You know, the guy who lives a couple of doors down from me. He brought me here.”

  Danielle looked him up and down, then spoke in crisp tones. “Okay, well, Julius, thanks for helping her out. That was really generous of you. You can go now. I’ll take her home.”

  Julius looked from Danielle to Nikki. Nikki was sitting on the edge of a chair, her head in her hands. “Nikki, do you want me to hang around?”

  “I said I’ve got it from here,” Danielle said. “I’m her best friend in the world.”

  “I wasn’t talking to you,” Julius said. He turned back to Nikki. “Nikki, do you . . . ?” His voice trailed off into the question.

  “Oh, whatever she says is fine,” Nikki mumbled, distracted.

  Danielle smirked at Julius, who glowered at her and left.

  Danielle sat down next to Nikki. “It’s going to be okay,” she said.

  Nikki shook her head. “Danielle, she’s got to have that surgery. She can’t keep having these episodes. She was in so much pain.”

  “I know it can’t be easy seeing her like this,” Danielle said. She didn’t have any children and had no desire to have any, though she was generally fond of her goddaughter.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do. We can’t afford this surgery.”

  “How much is it?”

  “More than we have.” Nikki sighed. “It’s really just a few thousand dollars, so as far as surgeries go, it’s not that expensive. But for us, that may as well be a few million dollars. We don’t have any money.”

  “I don’t know why you don’t just get a job,” Danielle said. “Forget what that broke behind William says. Tell him when he can start taking care of his family like a real man, come see you then.”

  Nikki squirmed. “It’s not that easy,” she said. “William has really strong views. He was raised by a mom who worked herself nearly to death because his dad wasn’t around. He sees it as his role as a man to take care of his family.”

  “Yeah, well, in case you haven’t noticed, he’s not doing much of that,” Danielle said. “I mean, if he was, you’d be driving a Mercedes, not hitching rides to the hospital. You’d be able to afford to get your hair done every week. You’d—”

  Nikki held up her hand. “Look, forget all that. I just need to figure out a way to get my child proper medical care.”

  “Well, what about faith? Don’t you believe God will heal?”

  Nikki chose her words carefully. “Yes, I believe God has tremendous power. I do. But I don’t believe I’m supposed to idly sit by and watch my child suffer.”

  “So, what are you saying?”

  “What I am saying is I need to find a way for my child to get the care she needs. Period.”

  Danielle studied her best friend and then lowered her voice. “Well, you know, I could talk to Troy.”

  “What do you mean?” Nikki asked.

  “I mean, he has a couple of hookups. He might be able to get you a hookup at the hospital.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, he might be able to get somebody to help you with your payment,” Danielle said.

  Nikki’s eyes widened. She didn’t know all the details, but she knew if it had anything to do with Troy, it couldn’t be good. She had heard about Troy’s “hookups” before. They all seemed to involve some kind of shady dealing.

  “What would Troy do, exactly?” she asked, suspicion in her tone.

  Danielle waved off the question. “I don’t ask all those questions. Haven’t you ever heard, sometimes, you shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth? Just take the gift and keep on moving.”

  “Well, I just want to know exactly what Troy will do,” Nikki said. “I know he can get involved in some crazy things, and I’m not trying to get caught up.”

  “Look, do you want this surgery for your child or not?” Danielle snapped.

  “I do, but—”

  “But nothing!” Danielle said. “All I have to do is say the word, and Troy will get it taken care of.”

  “But how? That’s all I’m asking,” Nikki insisted. “I just want to know what he will do.”

  “What does it matter?” Danielle said. “All you need to know is Troy can give you a way to pay for this surgery.”

  Nikki shook her head. “I don’t want to do anything illegal,” she said. “I don’t want to. That’s not me.”

  “Well, you weren’t saying that a few years ago,” Danielle said sharply.

  Nikki quickly looked around and moved closer. “I never did anything like this! It’s wrong.”

  “Wrong is relative,” Danielle said. “What’s wrong is letting that precious baby suffer like that when you could do something about it. You just said that yourself. You’re not above doing something crazy to get what you want.”

  Nikki shook her head again. “That’s not me, not anymore.”

  “Tell that to somebody who doesn’t know you.”

  “Danielle!”

  “Well, you can put on this innocent act with everybody else, but I know you,” Danielle said.

  “I’m not acting!” Nikki said, then lowered her voice to a whisper. “And stop talking like that.”

  Nikki’s chest heaved in quick bursts as her mind took her back all those years ago, to her freshman year of college. She was new in New Orleans, broke and on the verge of having to quit school because her scholarship covered only half her tuition and her part-time tutoring job didn’t pay nearly enough. She found a way to get the money. But she didn’t want to think about the lengths she had gone to back then to get it.

  She shook the thoughts from her mind and looked Danielle in the eye. “Well, I don’t want to do anything dishonest. Besides, Will would never go for that.”

  Danielle shrugged. “William doesn’t have to know.”

  “I don’t want to start lying to my husband.”

  Danielle gave her a disdainful look, and said, “Fine time to start thinking about that.”

  “Well . . .” Nikki’s voice trailed off.

  Danielle raised a brow. “Besides, is it really a lie if you just don’t tell him the truth?”

  “Yes, it is,” Nikki said flatly. “This is a crazy idea, Danielle. I want to save my child; you know I do. But I have a feeling that whatever scheme Troy cooks up will have something illegal or bad attached to it. “

  “Look, I’m just trying to help you. I’m not the one with the broke husband and sick kid.”

  Nikki touched her friend’s arm. “Look, thanks. I really appreciate you for trying to help. I do. But I think there are some lines we can’t cross. I’m really surprised you’d make this suggestion. Is this what being with Troy has brought you to? You really need to get rid of him because you are going down a dangerous path.”

  “Don’t start judging me, Nikki.” Danielle’s voice shot up and heads all over the waiting room whipped around to see what was going on. She lowered her voice. “Troy is fine and I don’t need you to start telling me who I should be dating. He gives me nice things and would even be willing to help you out, I’m sure. Don’t act so ungrateful. It’s really not very becoming.”

  “This is all so stressful,” Nikki said, twisting a strand of her curly hair. She had been absent from Bible Study lately, but she knew what Danielle was suggesting couldn’t be cool. “I don’t want to break the law. The Bible—”

  “Look, I already told you, I don’t need you lecturing me on the Bible,” Danielle warned. “I kn
ow the Bible inside and out and you can’t take it literally. You just use the parts that make sense and go on. You don’t see anybody running around here chopping off hands because somebody stole something, or stoning somebody because somebody had a little bit of sex, now do you?”

  “No, but—”

  “Okay, so be quiet,” Danielle said. “I was quoting scripture before you knew what the Bible was, so I know what I’m talking about. Now, back to the matter at hand. You know William’s mom is broke. His brother has too many mouths to feed and can’t spare a dime. Your folks have their heads so far up your stepsister’s rear end that they wouldn’t be able to afford to give you any money . . . and I just don’t have it. So this is probably your best option. Troy can hook you up with a way to pay for this surgery.”

  Nikki opened her mouth to offer a retort, but the doctor stepped into the waiting area. She instantly forgot her argument with Danielle and sprang to her feet, hugging her arms around her body. Danielle stood at her side.

  “What is it, doctor?” Nervousness made Nikki’s voice come out in a whisper.

  “Well, we’ll want to keep her for a few hours for observation, but she is all right for the time being,” he said. “Her condition is taking a very irregular course in that it seems to be quite aggressive. I’ve never seen such a case in one so young.”

  “What does all this mean?” Danielle barged into the conversation.

  The doctor hesitated, but Nikki nodded. “She’s family.”

  “Well, she needs to have the surgery pretty soon, if at all possible,” he explained.

  “And if she doesn’t?” Danielle asked.

  Nikki searched the doctor’s face as she waited for his answer.

  “Well, if she doesn’t, she could see quite a few of these attacks,” he said. “It’s taking a toll on her tiny body.”

  “Oh, my baby!” Nikki wailed and Danielle squeezed her friend’s hand.

  Nikki knew she had to find an answer. She looked at Danielle.

  Chapter 19

  William’s cheeks hurt from smiling so hard, as he had to do once they entered the restaurant. He knew all eyes were on the Chance party and they all had to look as if it was just any other day. Everyone was watching to see how they were handling that day’s front page story. Reverend Chance looked unaffected, but William could tell Olivia was upset at the bad coverage her father was receiving.