by Heart, Skye
~TONY~
I rounded another corner of the hospital corridor trying to relocate my mother. When I finally saw her coming from the opposite end of the hall, I waved. She looked up at me, and then forced a smile.
“Mom,” I said, when I approached her. “How is she?” I asked her.
“The same,” she replied. “I went to get some coffee. Her husband and daughter are in there with her now, so I decided to give them some privacy.” She told me. Then I looked up to see a white man emerge from inside one of the rooms.
“Regina.” The man said, looking in our direction, coming towards us.
“Hey.” My mother replied, appearing to know who he was. “How is she?” She asked the man.
“The same. I’m going to have to run home, and get a few things. Can you stay with her, until I get back?” The man asked my mother.
“Sure. No problem.” She replied. “Oh, excuse me. Where are my manners?” My mother began. “Eric this is my son Anthony. Anthony, this is Eric, Cynthia’s husband.” She said, as I extended my hand.
“Nice to meet you.” Eric said to me.
“Same here, Sir. I’m sorry about your wife.” I said to him.
“Thank you.” He said, before turning back to my mother. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Call me if there’s any change.” My mom nodded, and he quickly headed down the corridor towards the elevators. Then my mother turned towards room 303, and I followed her in. She sat in the empty chair near my great aunt’s bed, and I stood behind her.
“Hey, miss lady. Look who’s here to see you. It’s Anthony. Look how much he’s grown.” My mother said, taking my great aunt’s lifeless hand. When I heard my mother crying, I touched her shoulder. She placed her other hand on mine, and leaned her head into it sniffling. “I wonder where Marissa is.” She said, glancing around the room.
“Who’s Marissa?” I asked. Just then, the room door swung open.
~NENA~
Starr looked at her vibrating phone, and read the text message displayed on the screen. Then, she quickly rose from the chair in Naima’s room, and put on her sweater.
“Honey, I have to leave for a little while, but I’ll be right back, okay?” She said to Naima.
“Oh, sure hon, go ahead. I’ll be fine.” My sister told her. Naima continued watching her baby sleep in the small clear box next to her bed.
“All right, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Starr said, leaning over to give Nai a hug, and kiss on the cheek.
“Thanks Starr… for everything.” Naima said, giving her one last squeeze, before releasing her.
“No problem mamma.” Starr said with a wink. “Nice seeing you again Nena.” Starr said, touching my shoulder, before leaving.
“Okay, you too.” I responded. I owed a lot to Starr for taking care of Naima when I should have been, especially during such a milestone in her life. When we were alone, I turned back to watch my sister bond with her baby. I looked on, as Naima reached in the clear box to rub Kylee’s little cheek. Tears filled my eyes again, as I realized how much has changed, since she and I last saw each other. “I’m so sorry I hurt you Nai.” I finally managed to say. She continued staring at her baby. “I missed so much.” I said, shaking my head, staring at my niece as well. My tears were coming down now. “I can’t believe I did that to you. Can you ever forgive me?” I said crying. My sniffles forced Naima to look up at me with tears in her own eyes. Still, she said nothing, and looked back at her sleeping baby, as those tears began to roll down her face. I could not blame her, especially after the despicable way I treated her. “I’m so sorry Nai.” I said again, still crying. “I was so stupid, but it’s over now. I ended it.” I told her. She then looked back up at me, and I could see the pain in her eyes; the pain that I caused with my selfishness. Shaking my head and crying, I covered my face with my hands, so ashamed of whom I was. “I’m so, so sorry.” I muffled through my palms. After a moment, Naima finally spoke.
“It’s okay honey. Come here.” She said, pulling me to her. I hugged her, and continued to sob.
“No, it’s not okay. I hate myself for what I did to you.” I admitted.
“Up until a few hours ago, I hated you too.” Naima whispered through sobs, still holding me. Then, I cried even harder.
“I’m so sorry, Nai.” I repeated.
“I know sweetie, I know.” She said, rubbing my back. “Hey,” she said, pushing me away to look at me. “You better quit, you’re starting to look like a raccoon.” She joked; referring to the mascara that I was sure was running down my face, and I smiled. “That’s my girl.” She said smiling back.
“I’m so sorry, Nai. Can you ever find it in your heart to forgive me?” I pleaded. I needed her forgiveness. I needed redemption, from what I have become, and for what I no longer wanted to be anymore.
“I already have.” She replied.
“Oh, Nai!” Relieved, I threw my arms around her again crying. She cried too. We held each other close, as the tension and animosity, that plagued our relationship as sisters, finally began to dissipate.
~STARR~
I slowly entered the penthouse being more cautious this time, not knowing who waited for me on the other side. With everything that happened with Eric’s wife, I made sure I kept my guard up. For all I knew, another wife, a brother, or some distant relative could be waiting to confront me again, so I was not taking any chances. I heard some movement off to my right, so I stopped, and braced myself. When I finally saw him, I exhaled, relieved. Eric came from the kitchen, with a glass of scotch, and stopped when he saw me. He then placed the glass on the table, walked over to me, and swept me in his arms. Without saying a word, he kissed me so profoundly, that I dropped my purse, and keys, right there on the floor, and wrapped my arms around his neck. I kissed him back just the same. When his hands began to roam my body, I lowered my hands to his chest. Instead of unbuttoning his shirt, as I usually did before, I gently pushed him away. As I tried to take a step back, to gather my thoughts, he held me in place. Then I looked in his eyes, and saw that he needed me, more so now than ever. “I want to make love to you, Starr. Right here, right now. I don’t want to let another minute go by without holding you in my arms.” He paused, and then whispered, “I love you. When all this is over, I want you to marry me.”
Stunned, my eyes filled with tears. “Life’s too short, and I want to live in the moment. I want to live in this moment, right here right now, with you.” He said, meeting my eyes.
“I love you too.” I said, and wrapped my arms around his neck to kiss him again. He held me so tight as if he never wanted to let me go. I could feel his love for me, and finally, I was able to open my heart up to him unconditionally. Naturally, I was scared, and unsure of where this new venture will take us, but I did not care. All I knew, at this moment in time, is that I could no longer picture my life without him. He lowered me to the floor, and made love to me like never before. Everything in my world seemed to come together. “I love you.” I heard him say again, before he pressed his lips to mine, as I gave myself to him completely.
43
~CHRIS~
As I entered, my hotel room, near the Milwaukee International Airport, I dropped my bag on the floor, and plopped on the bed. With my hands behind my head, I thought of Nena. She still was not answering her phone. How could I make her see that I loved her more than anything in this world did, and that is why I did what I did? Under normal circumstances, I knew that she would have never left Tony. I took out a picture of her, set it on the bedside table, and stared at it. “I love you more than life itself, Nena.” I said aloud. As I stared at her smiling photographic image, I thought of ways to convince her to come back to me. She was the only person I would do anything for, even if it meant hurting those I cared about greatly. I blinked back tears, and rolled off the bed, to shed my clothes. Then I dropped down on the floor, and did one hundred pushups back to back, each time looking at her picture as my body rose with every rep. When I finished, I went
to the bathroom, and briefly stopped in front of the mirror, admiring my physique. Moving away from the mirror, I stepped into the shower, and turned on nothing but cold water. As the frigid water slowly started to numb my body, thoughts of Alana ran through my head. “Bitch!” I growled angrily. I hurriedly washed up, stepped out of the shower, and quickly dressed. Grabbing my overnight bag off the floor, I set it on the bed, and reached inside for my rental car keys, my wallet, and lastly, the black and chrome nine-millimeter pistol. I stuck the gun in my back, and covered it with my shirt. Then, with one last look at Nena’s picture, I left the room.
~STARR~
I sleepily opened my eyes to the rays of light coming through the bedroom drapes. I stirred, then nestled my head even more into the crook of Eric’s arms, and closed my eyes again. We had made love most of the night, and slept in each other’s arms, shutting out the rest of the world. I started to drift back to sleep when I heard a phone buzzing. I slowly sat up, listening to the distant sound. Then, I rolled out of the bed, just in time for Eric to open his eyes.
“Where’re you going, beautiful?” He asked smiling.
“Your phone is going off.” I said, walking naked into the living room, where we left our clothes, from the night before. When I returned with his phone, the buzzing had stopped. I went to hand it to him when it started vibrating again. He sat up, and took his phone from me, when I climbed back into the bed with him.
“Hello?” He answered, and I listened.
“Eric! Where’ve you been?” I heard a woman’s voice shout on the other end.
“I dozed off when I got home.” He lied. “Is everything okay, Regina? How’s Cynthia?” He asked, changing the subject. Regina? Who’s Regina?
“No Eric! Cynthia passed away this morning.” I heard the woman say, who was now crying on the other end.
“I’m on my way!” Eric said, throwing the covers back.
~NENA~
“You don’t have to stay here with me you know. Go to the house, and get some rest.” Naima said when I kept dozing off in the chair.
“No, no I don’t want to leave you here alone.” I said yawning. Though I was tired, I wanted to stay with Naima.
“You slept in that chair all night. Go ahead. Get some rest. Starr will be here soon, I just spoke to her. She said she was on her way. So go. Here’re my keys to Starr’s apartment.” Naima urged, handing me her keychain.
“Okay, but I’ll be back before you know it.” I said, giving her a hug.
“Okay, see you later.” Naima said. I left the room, went to the elevators, and then rode it down to the hospital’s parking garage. When I stepped off the elevator, my cell went off. I checked the caller’s ID before answering, fearing it was another call from Chris. When Tony’s name displayed on the screen, I quickly answered.
“Hey.” I said softly.
“Hey.” He responded, sounding grim. “She died.” I heard him say.
“Oh no, I’m so sorry ba…,” I caught myself. “Tony.” I finished.
“Thanks.” He managed to say. I knew that Tony barely knew his great aunt, so I could not understand why he sounded so devastated.
“Are you all right? How’s your mother?” I asked him.
“As well as can be expected,” he said sounding as if the life had just been sucked out of him.
“Where are you?” I asked him. His tone was starting to scare me; I had to make sure he was okay.
“I was just about to ask you the same thing.” He said.
“Oh, I’m just now leaving the hospital.” I replied. “I’m on my way to Starr’s. Want to meet me there?” I asked, hoping that he would say yes. The tone in his voice told me that something else was wrong.
“I’m just around the corner from there. See you in a few.” He said and hung up. Relieved, I put the phone back in my bag, and hurried for my rental car. When I reached for the door handle, my phone went off again. Fumbling with my keys, I answered, without checking the caller ID.
“Tony?” I said. There was a long pause.
“No. It’s Chris.” I got angry.
“Stop calling me!” I screamed.
“Nena, wait, can we please talk?” He begged.
“I have nothing to say to you! Leave me the fuck alone!” I screamed at him. I angrily tried to hit the END button, but made a mistake, and hit the speaker one instead. “Ugh!” I groaned frustrated.
“Nena!” Someone called out to me, and I looked up.
“Starr! I was just on my way to your place. I hope that’s okay,” I said, completely forgetting about my phone.
“Oh that’s all right! See you later then!” Starr shouted, hurrying with a very attractive white man, to the hospital garage’s elevator doors.
“K!” I said, getting into my car, and driving off.
~CHRIS~
What is Nena doing way out here? I thought she was still in Virginia. This did not make any sense. She could not have been here to see Naima, could she? Naima hated her, didn’t she? With so many thoughts running through my head, I struggled with what I should do next. Nena was the last person I expected to be here, but she was. She was mostly likely here to try to make amends with Naima again. If I knew my Nena that is exactly what she came out here to do. She was a beautiful person with a beautiful heart, and that is what I loved most about her. She wore her heart on her sleeve, which is why I want so desperately to hold on to what we had, that much more. Hearing the sound of her voice, and hearing how angry she was with me, proved that she still loved me. Or else she would not be this furious with me. This is fate. Nena being here must be fate’s way of telling me that we belonged together. I smiled, and I made a U-turn at the next corner, heading in the direction of Starr’s old apartment. I hoped, more than anything that she still lived there.
~ERIC~
I hurried down the hospital’s corridor towards Cynthia’s room. I got there just in time to see the nurses rolling her bed out of the room, with a sheet covering her entire body. Then, I saw Regina come out the room with tears in her eyes, followed by my stepdaughter.
“Hey, I got here as soon as I…” Before I could finish my sentence, Alana reached back, and punched me hard in the face, knocking me a few feet back.
“You son of a bitch!” She screamed at me. “How dare you show your face here?” She shrieked, lunging for me again. I took a step back in time, and she missed my face, landing the blow hard against my chest. “Get the fuck out of here!” She screamed again, when Regina grabbed her. “You come near my mother again; I swear I’ll kill you!” She screamed through tears. A few nurses rushed over to where the commotion was, and helped Regina hold Alana back.
“What? That’s my wife!” I shouted back at her.
“Ah!” Alana screamed, trying to get past the three people that stood between her and me. “Get the fuck off me!” She screamed, forcefully pushing the nurses away. “Where were you when she was fighting for her life, huh! You bastard!” She yelled at me, pushing past the human barricade. My eyes widened as she lunged for me again, and I raised my arms up, to shield myself from her blows. She scratched and tore at me, and hit me hard, repeatedly. “Where were you when she took her last breath, huh!” She screamed again, driving her fists into me, using my body as a human punching bag. Within seconds, Regina and several nurses grabbed her again, pulling her away from me. “Why don’t you go back to that bitch, you were laid up with all fucking night, while your wife was dying?” Alana screamed again through tears. I stood there speechless, with tears in my eyes - tears of guilt, remorse, and embarrassment.
“Eric, leave, please!” Regina ordered, still trying to calm Alana down. I slowly turned around, and walked away.
“Don’t you ever go near my mother again you hear me!” I heard my stepdaughter scream from behind me. When I entered the elevator, my eyes met Alana’s, right before the doors shut. The rage I saw in her eyes was enough to make the tears I wanted to cry for Cynthia, come out. Was this the price, I had to pay for love? Was k
arma really, that strong? When I looked in Alana’s eyes, I saw pure hatred, and I do not blame her. I wished I could have been a better husband to Cynthia. I wished she were still around for me to say that I was sorry, and that I never meant to hurt her. Now, it was too late. She was gone, and I never even got the chance to say goodbye.
~NAIMA~
I took a small step towards the bathroom and winced. My stitches still hurt.
“You need some help, chica?” Starr asked.
“No, no I got it. Thanks.” I said, taking another slow step towards the bathroom. Starr looked down at Kylee in her arms, and spoke something in Spanish. I smiled when I could make out the words ‘I love you’ in whatever else Starr was saying in Spanish. After using the bathroom, I came out to find Starr still in that rocking chair with Kylee. She slowly rocked back and forth watching Kylee open and shut her eyes again, repeatedly, before falling asleep. I then thought about her lover, Eric, and the news about his wife. I felt bad for the way things turned out for them. Life sometimes had a morbid way of giving you what you asked for, while forever changing the lives of those around you. I knew Starr wanted to be with Eric, but it saddened me that his wife had to die, in order for that to happen. Regardless of the circumstances, death affects everyone.