Chapter Forty-three
Eliza stayed in the hospital overnight for observations. Jonathan assured Lenora he still planned to officiate Darnell and Candace’s wedding. He arose early so he could stop by the hospital before heading to Victory Gospel. Lenora was twitchy, unable to keep still for five minutes. The break-in piled on to a big wedding today was more than she could handle.
Jonathan stood in her path, to put a halt to her pacing. “Lenora, go take care of what you need to do at the church. Mother will probably be discharged this afternoon. No worries.”
“Don’t you think it’s odd that this man tried to break in while we were out last night? Michael and/or Eliza could have really been hurt. Suppose he comes back?”
Jonathan didn’t want to admit the break-in bothered him too. “It wasn’t technically a break-in. He didn’t get in here, and now that he knows we have a good alarm system, the man would be wise to not think about coming back. Besides, we had a lesson learned last night; we need to fix the motion detectors out in front, which will get done before tonight. The house was just too dark and inviting.”
Lenora’s eyes were weary. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”
No, he didn’t. In all of the years they had lived there, no one had bothered them before. In fact, he had grilled the police last night. There had been no reports of break-ins in the area. “Let’s just be thankful that God was watching over our son and my mother. Mother will be fine, and we will all return to normal. Now, you go ahead to Victory Gospel. You have an important day ahead of you.”
He followed Lenora downstairs and watched her grab her bag. She was dressed in a pale blue suit, looking very official as the wedding planner. Her hair was piled up high on her head in a mass of curls, showing off the curves of her neck. Despite the worry lines around his wife’s face, she looked beautiful.
Jonathan walked Lenora out to her car and before she climbed in, he grabbed her by the elbow. She appeared puzzled. He pulled her close to him. For a few seconds her body was tense, but eventually, Lenora melted and wrapped her arms around him. They remained in the embrace, both aware of how much they needed to connect. He pulled away and kissed her softly on the lips. “Everything will be okay.”
She smiled, though there was still a hint of uncertainty in her eyes. As the garage door opened, Jonathan stood to the side and observed as Lenora backed her Lexus out of the garage. After a slight wave, he returned to the house.
He had knocked on his youngest son’s door earlier in the morning, insisting that he get up despite the fact it was Saturday. Jonathan didn’t want his mother to be alone, and he knew Michael and Eliza were bosom buddies.
He called upstairs. “You ready, son?”
Michael’s footsteps sounded like a puppy galloping down the steps. The boy was always sullen, but today, he looked weary and apprehensive.
“Did you get any sleep, Mikey?” Jonathan asked as he pulled on his suit jacket.
“Nope.”
“Sorry to hear that, son. I appreciate your willingness to look after your grandmother today.”
He shrugged. “No problem. She can come home today, right?”
“Yes, I’m going to check to see if they will let us bring her home today. I know she will be ready because there’s nothing like sleeping in your own bed.”
He and Michael walked out of the house and entered the garage. Jonathan started up the car. Before driving off, he waited for the garage door to close.
Jonathan knew Michael had made a statement to the police, but he didn’t get the whole story. “Tell me again what happened last night.”
Michael had been looking out the passenger window. He swung around and said, “They’re not going to find anyone.”
Jonathan frowned. “Why do you say that?”
“Because we didn’t see anyone, Dad. How can they find the shadow of an unknown man?”
“Well, what alerted you to someone breaking into the house?”
Michael shook his head. “I was playing a video game in the living room. I heard a noise coming from the front door, but to be honest, I didn’t pay attention at first. It wasn’t until Grandma came into the room.”
He swallowed. “I could tell she was scared. She said, ‘Someone is outside the front door, Mikey. We need to check on it.’”
“So, I got up and we walked into the hallway. I started to turn the lights on, but Grandma said, ‘No, not yet.’ At first, I thought it was you and Mom coming back, but . . .”
Jonathan pulled up to a light and stopped. He had been so engrossed in his son’s conversation, he hadn’t realized he was about five minutes away from the hospital. “Then what? What did you see?”
Michael shrugged. “I thought I saw a man’s shadow standing outside the window next to the door. At first, I thought I was seeing things, but then Grandma had grabbed my arm. She squeezed really hard. Then, she started slipping. I could tell she was falling. I didn’t know what to do.
“I was trying to concentrate on getting her to the living room. I got her on the couch. That’s when the alarm sounded. I ran back out to the hallway, and whoever it was, they turned around and ran out. He was dressed in dark clothes and he had a hood on. I couldn’t see his face. It happened so fast.”
Jonathan had pulled into the hospital parking garage by then. He looked over at his son. “I’m proud of you. You were brave, and you took care of your grandmother.”
“You sure she’s going to be okay?”
“Yes, you know nothing knocks my mother down. Let’s go inside to check on her. She will be tickled to have you with her.”
They walked into the hospital together. Jonathan pressed the elevator button. It dawned on him that he had been inside this hospital a number of times in the past few months. He came to visit sick patients, but it was his own family that had him walking these corridors recently.
His father passed away just last month in this hospital. Then Keith’s accident, Lenora’s sickness, and now his mother. He wasn’t a man who spent too much time worrying or complaining, but he had some discomfort that he was not accustomed to feeling.
He knew not to take his family for granted, but the number of wake-up calls was like sharp-edged reminders from God. There was a sense of uneasiness in the pit of his stomach as they approached his mother’s room. Maybe he was letting Lenora’s paranoia rub off on him.
Eliza seemed to be in good spirits and had just finished her breakfast. Jonathan leaned over and kissed his mother on the forehead. “Did you sleep okay, Mother?”
She patted his hand. “I slept as well as I could in this bed. I was tired though, so I closed my eyes for a bit. How you doing, baby?” Eliza had turned her attention to Michael.
Michael reached down and hugged his grandma.
She grinned, “Baby, you saved your grandma’s life.”
Michael shook his head. “I just wanted to make sure you got help, Grandma. I’m no hero.”
“Well, you’re my hero. Did you eat something yet?”
“No.”
Eliza said, “Why don’t you go grab something to eat? Jonathan, you give the boy some money.”
Jonathan peered at his mother. She seemed a bit agitated this morning, though she was putting on a good show of being in good spirits. He handed his son a twenty-dollar bill. “Don’t be gone too long. I will need to drive to the church in a bit.”
“I’ll be back soon, Dad.”
When Michael had left the room, Jonathan turned toward his mother who had been watching him intently. “Something on your mind, Mother?”
“How’s Lenora?”
“She’s fine. I sent her up to the church so she can get what she needs in place before the wedding this afternoon.”
“It’s good that she stays busy.” Eliza had folded her arms and looked around the room.
“There’s something you aren’t telling me. You sent Michael to get something to eat for some reason. Why?”
Eliza unfolded her arms and placed her hands in her lap. “I think someone is after Lenora.”
Jonathan leaned forward. “What do you mean? I talked to Michael, and he couldn’t see anything more than a shadow at the door. Did you see someone?”
“That’s all I saw too. I knew the person was a man.” Eliza twisted her hands. Not looking at Jonathan, she stated, “I wondered if he could’ve been the same person.”
Jonathan sat very still, hoping he misinterpreted what his mother said. “Did you say ‘same person’?”
“You know I was the one who found Lenora when she got sick after Charmayne’s funeral. I didn’t think anything of it until after we got her in the ambulance, but there was a man who I could’ve sworn was standing awfully close to the bathroom door. He might have even been coming out. He saw me and hightailed it in the other direction.”
The sense of uneasiness that Jonathan had experienced previously bubbled like a pot of boiling water. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Because it didn’t make sense. Besides, Lenora was really sick that day. It was all about getting her fever down. Anyway, I overhead Lenora one day sounding really upset. Is it true that she doesn’t think Charmayne killed herself?”
Jonathan rubbed his head as though he wanted to wipe away any mention of what his mother revealed. “Lenora needs to accept the truth, and you can’t be leading her on.” He closed his mouth shut as the door opened.
Michael had returned. The boy looked from his father to his grandmother, unspoken concern on his face.
Jonathan stood, shifting his eyes from his mother’s intense gaze. “Michael will stay with you, and we will work on getting you discharged if the doctor says you’re clear to come home. I need to get a couple married today.”
Before Jonathan walked off, his mother reached for his hand. Her grip was quite firm, which indicated his mother was indeed on the mend. He eyed her.
Eliza said, “Don’t be so quick to ignore her. A woman’s intuition is a powerful thing. I can tell you something wasn’t right about the man I saw.”