Chapter 28
My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
—1 John 3:18
It was early when the phone rang, awakening Paris. Paris quickly looked at the caller ID; it was her parent’s home number. Andrew rolled over. She slid her feet into her light blue silk slippers, slipped on her silk robe, and dashed out of the bedroom into the hallway so not to wake Andrew completely.
Paris pressed the TALK button. “Hello,” she whispered.
“Did you happen to see the news this morning?” Deidra asked before saying hello back or asking Paris how she was.
“No. We happen to still be asleep.”
“Still asleep? At nine o’clock in the morning?”
“It’s Saturday, Mother. People tend to sleep late on the weekends, especially when they don’t have to get up and go to work,” Paris said.
“But you don’t work,” Deidra said.
“Yeah, but Andrew does. And he’s off today.” Paris sat down on the top step, wrapping her robe around her better to ward off the chill. “So what were you saying about the news? What happened?”
“Your father . . . he’s all up in arms. He just learned that someone stole his bone marrow donor campaign idea,” Deidra said.
“Stole his idea? How does someone steal an idea about becoming a donor?”
“Apparently this pastor on our local NBC morning news is talking about his church spearheading a drive to bring awareness of a little girl in need of a bone marrow transplant,” Deidra said. “I believe it’s the same little girl your father was planning to highlight. So, of course, your father is livid. He claims this will undercut the impact of his plan before he can even get it out there.”
“Why does Daddy care who spearheads this if the whole point was to bring awareness and possibly find a donor for her? You’d think Daddy would be happy.”
“Because your father wants to tie this effort in with his reelection campaign. If someone else is doing it, it takes away from him appearing to be leading the charge.”
“Well, he’ll make it work to his advantage,” Paris said. “He always does. And honestly, this absolutely works for me. Now I won’t have to feel bad about not standing with all of you had Daddy done this the way he was planning to.”
“Oh, he’s still planning on doing it his way now. He just has to step up the timetable so he can take this narrative back from that church before it looks like it’s really their idea. He’s been on the phone with William and their PR person all morning setting things up. They’re trying to schedule a news event right now so he can make it on the evening news. He’s hoping the newsfeed will get him picked up on a larger scale after it airs here. You know how these things work.”
“Great,” she said. “Well, I hope everything works out for him.”
“He still wants to make a good showing at the news conference. He wants all of us standing together as a family, like what he was saying yesterday,” Deidra said.
“Okay. Well, I’ll let Andrew know when he wakes up.”
“Paris, I know what you said yesterday about not wanting to take part. But I really think you should come and stand with us. If not for your father, do it for me.”
“Mother, I hear you. I heard Dad. But I’m honestly not interested.”
“Hold on a second, Paris. Your daddy wants to talk to you for a minute.”
Paris didn’t want to talk to her father. Not after the wonderful time she and Andrew had together last night. She looked up at the ceiling and shook her head.
“Paris, this is your father.”
“I know, Daddy,” she said, standing up now. She went down the stairs to the den. Even though Andrew was likely still asleep, she didn’t want him hearing any of what she might say in response to her father and start the friction between them all over again. Not after last night.
“I need you at the news conference so we can stand united as a family.”
“Daddy, I already gave you my answer.”
“I heard you,” Lawrence said. “And I was fully willing to allow you that. But things have changed overnight. Pastor Landris was on television this morning talking about doing the very thing I said we were going to do. Speciously, there’s a spy in my midst. How else would that preacher end up coming up with the very thing we’d discussed doing? This is definitely no coincidence, I’ll tell you.”
“I don’t think this is anything that merits stealing. Just like you and William decided on it, I’m sure the way William found out about this child’s dilemma, so may have Pastor Landris. I personally think it’s great that this is being done for this little girl and her family and I don’t have to be involved.”
“Where’s Andrew?”
“Still asleep.”
“Asleep? Then wake him up.”
“Daddy, I’m not going to wake Andrew up. I’ll just have him call you when he wakes up.”
“Listen, Paris Elizabeth, I don’t have time to play. I need all hands on deck. Andrew said he would stand with us on this, so I need him to know the plan.”
“Then tell me and I’ll tell him.”
“Why would I tell you? You’ve made it abundantly clear that you want nothing to do with any of this,” Lawrence said. “So wake up your husband and give him the phone. We need to be sure we come off as sincere and creditable in this as possible. We have to take hold of this before Pastor Landris and his church completely upstage us and get all the credit. We can’t just talk; we’re going to have to prove that we mean what we say. So put my son-in-law on the phone and hurry up about it! We’re wasting time, all right?”
Paris pressed her mouth tight before forcing a smile. “Sure, Daddy. Just a minute.”
She walked back upstairs to her bedroom. Andrew was just coming out of the bathroom. “Daddy wants to speak to you.” Defeated, she handed her husband the phone.