I parade into Dr. Ivanovsky’s office with my long, white flair, Versace maxi dress, my blue Versace sling-back flats, a yellow Louis Vuitton Murakami bag, and my favorite Prada shades. I wrapped my hair into a tight bun at the crown of my head.
I remove my shades once I reach the desk. Raven jumps up, runs around it and gives me an enormous hug saying, “Girl, I didn’t know who you were walking in here looking like a million bucks. For a second there, I thought you could’ve passed for being Mrs. Moore.”
“Well, hello to you too, Raven. It has been a while. I have changed a little, or have I?” I break our embrace and spin around.
“Girl, you look good, and your skin is flawless! What do you use on it? I wish my skin looked as good.”
“Nothing a little shea butter and Dove body bar can’t fix.” I turn the attention to her. “You’re looking good yourself. What have you been up to?” A little small talk won’t hurt. I figured this is the only way I’ll easily get the information I need. It’ll be rude to go right into the conversation asking questions about my mother. Raven is nosey as hell, but she’s far from stupid, and we agreed to catch up when I spoke with her yesterday. That was the point of coming in early.
Raven twirls her five-feet-three-inch body around mimicking me and replies, “I haven’t been up to anything besides working out and trying to get this plump body of mine together.” She isn’t lying about the plump part. She used to be much bigger in high school, but I can tell she’s been working out. Raven is short with a light-skin complexion. Her perfect teeth compliment her beautiful smile that can brighten a dark alley. It appears she’s cut her sandy red hair into the new Rhianna hairstyle everyone is ranting about and wearing, which is nothing but a modern-day Toni Braxton cut. It looks good on her. She’s dressed in a long green maxi skirt with a purple, yellow, green and white dotted scrub top. It’s funny to see how her top hugs her cleavage to play peek-a-boo. From what I recall, Raven wasn’t a fan of revealing her body parts. I guess I’m not the only one that’s growing up.
She looks at me with her green eyes—inherited from her Caucasian mother—and leans in close enough for only me to hear, “Girl, how’s your mother doing?”
Good, she’s getting right to it, I think as I chuckle and answer, “She’s fine, mostly. Has she been back since her… you know… situation?” I have to make her think I know more about the pregnancy than I do.
Raven takes my arm and pulls me to the break area. Catching the one patient that’s waiting roll her eyes, I smile as we pass her. “Oh wow! I don’t see how she does it. I know if it were me in her predicament, I would’ve tried to kill myself after the first abortion to prevent having two more and then this miscarriage. When she came in two weeks ago after she left the hospital, she looked horrible and reeked of alcohol. She was past drunk. She even fell asleep on the exam table while doc was examining her. I mean, sleeping so well. Doc didn’t even wake her once she finished. She slept for about a good two hours. When she did finally wake up, all she did was cry and talk about how she wanted to keep this one. I guess God works in mysterious ways, huh?”
“Yes, I guess so.” All this news catches me so off guard, Raven catches me dazing. It’s like I’m hearing her, but from a distance.
“You okay? You look like you will be sick, or you just seen a ghost.” She grabs my hand.
I immediately gather myself. “Yes, I’m fine. I just wish there was something I could do to make my mother feel better. Honestly, between you and me, she’s been acting a little strange since the miscarriage.”
“Although Mrs. Moore is almost is in her forties, her body can’t bear another pregnancy. She asked doc to take blood work on her to see if she can get a more legitimate reason why not, and doc did. Now we’re just waiting on all the results to come back.”
“Can you tell me what they affirm once you get them?” She and I both know she’s not supposed to do it, but I ask anyway.
“Now you know I’m not supposed to do that.” Her answer is what I suspected it to be. She takes a deep breath and continues, “But I’ll see what I can do. I’ll call you once the doc figures everything out. You can’t tell anyone I’m sharing this information with you, because you know it can cost me my job.”
“Yes, I’m fully aware. Thank you so much.” I stand and give her an excessive hug.
“No problem. That’s what friends are for, right?”
“You know it!” We leave the break room and she goes behind the receptionist desk just as another patient walks in. I sit in one of the waiting chairs.
After shopping all day, a wasted trip to the therapist’s office, taking a ride to the job, I’m now sitting in traffic for what’s going on almost two hours. I can’t help but replay my doctor’s visit. I didn’t remember any of the process from when I was younger. Maybe because I was so zoned out behind what my father had been doing to my sister, that I blocked everything and everybody out except for her. That day was a horrific day for me because my father was doing something I never imagined he would do, and for Sabrina to not tell ME of all people, made me wonder. I would always question where she would get so much money from, and her response was always the same, “Helping Daddy at the office.” Once everything came out, she was helping him all right. He had her so fucked up in the head to where she no longer wanted to live. I wonder if she killed herself because of what he did to her or if she couldn’t live without him. There’s always so much to consider.
It’s a little after seven when I finally make it back home. I’m just in time for dinner. I fill Lucia in on the events and information for the day as I stuff my face. She knows about the blood work, but says she didn’t tell me because she didn’t want me to worry before the results were back.
I eat the rest of my meal talking about my day, and place my plate in the sink just as someone enters through the front door. I go see who it is because I want to catch my mother before she slips upstairs, but it turns out to be Sam. He has a few suitcases with him that he drops at the door, walks past me, and into the kitchen. I follow behind him and when Lucia sees him; she looks at me in confusion and begins making him a plate. He sits at the table, Lucia places his plate in front of him, and he eats like a hog and doesn’t say a word, not even to thank Lucia. I take my time drinking a beer because I want Sam to hurry and leave so Lucia and I can finish talking. It seems the longer I wait, the longer he takes. I’m the first to give in as I get up and throw the now empty bottle away. I tell Lucia I’ll catch her later and pick up my shopping bags from the back door where I’d left them, and pretend to make my way to the pool house, but stand on the other side of the door snooping.
Out of eye’s view, I listen. It appears Sam is moving into the house. To me, this means I have to put my plan into action much sooner than I thought. How dare he try to invade my mother’s space? He already has control over her mind, body, and soul, now he wants to run her household. Maybe he’s making his move because he knows I’m about to make a move. Maybe Malik is still giving him information and has told him I’m putting a plan together that’ll stop him once and for all. I don’t know who to trust. I wish I would call Malik for any help. I have to figure this out on my own. How does his wife feel about him moving out? Maybe he told her he had to go out of town on business again, but this time for much longer. Maybe! Maybe! Maybe! Does he know about the several pregnancies and miscarriage my mother had? Maybe she hasn’t told him she’s miscarried because she wants him to think she’s still pregnant. That’ll be her way of keeping him. Wait! Maybe SHE’S the pregnant woman that Malik found out about but didn’t tell him. So, my mother thinks he has another child on the way and doesn’t know that she’s the woman that Malik is referring to. But why wouldn’t he just tell her he knows she’s with child. Maybe Malik doesn’t know who the woman is. All of this shit has become too much and I think I just confused myself. I realize they’ve stopped talking, so I take a peek around the door. Sam’s sitting alone at the table, so I leave him be.
I’m trying on the clothes I purchased today and dancing around the room when Lucia comes in with two beers. She goes directly to our spot in the bay window and starts talking before I can turn the music off, “So—”
She’s cut off before she can get another word out, “Me already know,” I say mocking her broken English.
“You know already what?”
“I already know that Sam is moving in the main house.”
“How you know?” She looks confused.
“Sweet Serenity Baby know everyting.” I sit next to her and place my hand on her shoulder. Then, we both burst into laughter.