CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Thou canst not come to me: I come to thee.”

- William Shakespeare

 

The shades were drawn in Nine’s bedroom so that she could get some rest and possibly an escape from her ratchet life. First, she discovered that her family did exactly what she forbade them to do…get caught up in the press. And when she came home after the meeting, she found a goodbye letter from Chipo, only to learn that she left without actually saying goodbye.

The date for her departure was always the same. It was just that the troubles of the world caused Nine to forget that she was leaving.

She was about to roll over and get some more sleep when the phone rang. Instead of reaching for it, she pressed the pillow over her head. “Leaf,” she whispered. “Get that.” When the phone rang again she said, “Baby, please get the phone.”

When she threw the pillow off her head and rubbed her hand over the cool mattress, she sighed. He wasn’t there. Using the little energy she possessed, she crawled to the other side of the bed and snatched the phone off the hook, squashing the handset against her ear. “Hello.”

“Good morning, beautiful niece,” Victory sang. She was in the wrong mood. “I was calling to see how you’re doing.”

Nine sighed, rolled over on her back and placed her other hand on her forehead. “Did Samantha and Bethany get home yet?”

“Not yet,” she sighed. “But I know the prison will release them any day now. I’m just waiting for their bail amount from the lawyer you attained.” She paused. “Thank you for helping me pay for it.”

Helping? Bitch, I paid it all!

Nine tried desperately to hold her anger but she made a way. The only thing she wanted was to let the situation subside and get the Francesca venture off the ground. And if it meant keeping the peace with her family, then so be it. “Not a problem, Aunt Victory. When you get the exact amount let me know.”

She was about to hang up when Victory yelled, “Wait!”

Nine rolled her eyes. “What do you want now?”

“Wow, aren’t we grumpy this morning?”

“What do you need, Victory?” Nine said in a serious tone.

“I know you told me no about the car money because I keep asking but I’m really hoping you will reconsider. I still want to give Bethany a wedding gift but now there’s another problem.”

Nine sat up in the bed and crossed her arms over her chest. “What now?”

“It’s Isabel. I don’t know what’s going on with her. I believe it has something to do with her and Alice not talking anymore. They got into a spiff a few days back and neither is telling me what happened. But now…well now, she’s been mentally unstable. I might have to put her in a facility, Nine. Of course, I can’t afford to do it. Things are not like they used to be since daddy died.”

Breathing heavily through her nose, Nine said, “What is the matter with her?”

“Just a lot of snapping and talking to people who aren’t there. The usual but it’s just happening more.”

Nine sighed. “I will be by to check on her in the morning. I will make a decision then.”

“Thank you so much, niece.”

“I am talking about the facility, Victory. The verdict is still out about the car, since at the very least, the wedding will be postponed until next year. That is, if they do not get convicted.”

“I know and I love you so much for helping me.” She paused. “I’ll talk to you when you get here. Bye!”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t give her another dime, bae,” Leaf said walking into the room. He flipped on the light and sat on the edge of the bed. His body was glistening with sweat, which meant he had been in the gym downstairs working out. “She’s using you.”

“But she said it is for Isabel this time.”

Leaf sighed. “The nigga Kerrick left you the money. If he wanted them to have it, he would’ve written it in his will.”

“The nigga you are talking about happens to be our grandfather. Not just mine.”

“I don’t respect a man who would demand that his children breed amongst each other. Why I gotta keep telling you that when you know my stance?” He paused. “Now look at the news. Every time I turn around, I see a story about you and me. And the Prophet family.” He paused. “People thinking I’m like them…with the incest and shit.”

Nine rubbed her temples. “Do you love me?”

“Yes.”

“Then you are with the incest shit,” Nine said emphatically. “If there is one thing about grandfather’s philosophy that I respect, it is that we are superior. And mixing bloodlines could taint that.”

“When I fell in love with you, I didn’t know,” he said standing up. He walked toward the window and opened the curtains. “There was no way I was going to turn my back and walk out on you at that point. I was already gone.”

Nine strolled over to him and snaked her arms around his waist. “What did you tell me when I was pregnant and had some reservations about us being cousins and in a relationship?”

He sighed. “I said that we were already in love and that our life didn’t have to be like anybody else’s.” He paused. “But sisters and brothers…I just can’t understand that.” He turned around and faced her. “At the same time, I don’t want this lifestyle for Julius.”

“Every family is given a set of rules by which they operate. Ours is in-breeding and getting money, cousin. And that is okay. If we are all in agreement, where is the dishonor in that?”

Leaf sighed, realizing he was not getting through to her. “I don’t accept it and I never will.”

“Unfortunately, that is a decision you do not get to make on your own. When it comes to Julius anyway. I am hoping that at some point, I will birth a beautiful baby girl. And then they can be together.”

Leaf pushed her away and walked toward his walk-in closet. “Let’s cross that bridge when we get there,” he responded, fully prepared to veto her decision at that time.

 

****

 

Bethany sat in the passenger seat of Nine’s black Phantom Coupe, Samantha was in the back and the energy Nine exuded upon both of them was intense. As she steered the car quietly toward Victory’s house she hadn’t blinked once, causing the sisters to stir with fear.

Both wondered were the rumors true?

Was Nine Prophet capable of murder?

Against her own people?

“I’m sorry, Nine,” Bethany started, her smile lifting only on one side of her face. “I didn’t mean—”

“He is a man, cousin,” Nine said cutting her off, eyes never leaving the road. “He is a man and yet both of you fight over him as if he is immortal. As if there is no other.”

“There is no other available Prophet,” Samantha responded. “Their marriage means I’m alone. Who can I marry out of purity? You have Leaf, mother has Blake. What about me?” Her head drooped. “And I know you’re angry, but it wasn’t even as bad as it seemed,” she whispered. “We were talking about him on the way back from getting her dress. All I did was explain that the only reason he was marrying her instead of me was because of her looks.” She turned her head toward the window and caught a reflection of her face. “That he clearly enjoys spending more time with me because we’re always together.”

“And then I told her I was pregnant,” Bethany said rubbing her belly. “With me and Noel’s first child.” Suddenly she grew angry. “So she hit me and I defended myself.”

Nine looked into Bethany’s eyes and then down at her flat belly. Although she understood the rules of their family, Bethany’s pregnancy came at the most inopportune time for the wine venture.

Silence.

“Oh, Nine, aren’t you happy for me?” Bethany sang, eyes wide with excitement. “Say something because your silence is killing me.”

“You are sisters. Circumstances may make it appear otherwise but at the end of the day, you are sisters. Even the Romans who practiced blood purity remained cordial if one was chosen over the other. Why must we display ourselves so poorly in front of outsiders, when we are already being judged?”

Silence.

The sisters dropped their heads.

“Now, the wedding is off until next year, pending an investigation with the airline,” Nine continued. “You are being charged as terrorists! Do you not see what the fuck you have done wrong? This is why grandfather was so strict and so rigid! This entire family is falling apart.”

Both women looked at Nine in shock because she rarely used profanity. Believing they didn’t care or understand why this was so important to her, she pulled the car over. “Get out.”

“Excuse me?” Bethany said.

“I said get out of my car.” She looked at both of them. “I do not want to see you two for awhile. Please understand that it will be best for you and me. I can be homicidal when angry and that is a side neither of you want to see.”

Frightened, they opened the door and Nine pulled off, running over Samantha’s foot in the process.

Her cries of pain didn’t stop Nine from getting away from the scene. She didn’t even look in the rearview mirror to see if she was okay. Any and everything was getting on her nerves. So when her phone rang, she snatched it up and said, “This better not be bad news.”

“Okay, I’ll call back later,” a woman said.

Frowning, she asked, “Who is this?”

“It’s Shawna, Gene’s…I mean Galileo’s baby mother.”

Nine rolled her eyes and slammed her hand on the steering wheel. “What is wrong? Is his child okay?”

“I lost my job two weeks ago and Galileo hasn’t brought by child support in weeks. So the baby and me are hungry. Ms. Nine, I’m sorry to bother you but anything you can do to help us will be appreciated.”