Between Friends (18 page)

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Authors: D. L. Sparks

Tags: #Fiction, #Suspense, #General, #African American Police, #Urban Life, #Thrillers, #African American

BOOK: Between Friends

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Chapter Twenty-two

Idalis

I hated hospitals. My mother always said that death roamed the halls, which fueled my distaste for them. There was no medium emotion when it came to hospitals: you were either elated, usually due to a birth, or devastated, usually because of death or not-so-good test results. All the nurses smiled at me as I made my way toward my grandmother's room. I forced a smile, but my stomach was churning enough acid to eat through rock.

I dreaded what was on the other side of the door labeled 406. I took a deep breath, and then pushed the cracked door fully open. My mother was sitting on a chair at the foot of the bed, flipping through a magazine. I didn't need to see my grandmother to know she was on a machine that was helping her breathe. I could hear it hissing, taunting me, letting me know that death was roaming the hallway, waiting.

I fought tears as I bent the small corner and saw her.

My mother looked up, but she didn't move in my direction.

Instead she sat silently, letting me digest what I was seeing.

I took a deep breath and moved to her bedside. Her eyes were closed. Mama had braided her hair into two long, shiny braids, which rested on each shoulder. I tried to fight my tears, but they came in waves. My mother came and led me to a chair next to the bed.

“Mama, is she okay?”

“No, baby, she's not.”

I looked up at my mom, feeling like I was five years old. I wanted her to make it all better, but I knew she couldn't. I looked to my grandmother. I wanted her to get up, help me, help me clean up my mess, but she didn't. She lay there, a shell of the woman I had known all of my life. Not many women my age could say they had their grandparents all their lives, but I was lucky. God had blessed me with her for almost forty years, and I wasn't ready to let her go.

“Isn't there something they can do?”

“Now it's just about making her comfortable.”

I wiped my eyes, “I don't understand. I thought that her doctor wanted her here as a precaution, to help manage pain.”

Mama nodded; then she sat on the edge of the bed, never letting go of my hand. “They did the scan, and the cancer has spread to her organs.”

“Oh my God!” I said, shaking my head and trying to control my sobs, which were shaking my body.

Mama hugged me and tried to console me. “Baby, she's comfortable. That's all we can ask for, for right now. The tube is helping her breathe.”

I wiped my face for what seemed like the thousandth time and took a deep breath. I thought about Cameron and how he kept asking for her. I didn't know what to tell him. He was with India. She was taking him to the zoo and out to eat.

That freed up my morning to run some errands, stop by my house and check on things as well as swing by 404 and show my face. I had been leaving the Barnes & Noble at Camp Creek Marketplace when my mother called me.

I stepped into the hospital corridor and called to check on my twin.

“Hey, you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. Mama called you?”

“Yeah.”

“You on your way to the hospital?”

Her voice was shaky. I could hear Cameron in the background. “Yeah. We're just leaving McDonald's. Um ... let me see if I can get Ms. Walker from next door to come sit with him and I'll be right there.”

The lump in my throat grew bigger. “Hurry up, Twin.”

Back in the room I took my post in a chair across from the bed. My mother was sitting in a chair next to my grandmother's bed.

“India is going to get Ms. Walker to keep Cameron; then she'll be on her way.”

She nodded, never taking her eyes off her mother.

The door to the room hissed open and Lincoln stepped inside, getting my mother's and my attention. I got up and hugged him.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I shook my head into his chest. “No.”

He walked over and hugged my mother. “Hey, Mrs. Arrington.”

She smiled. “Hello, Lincoln.”

“Do you need anything?”

“No, I'm fine.”

He gave me a look that let me know he wanted to talk tome.

“Mama, I'll be right back.”

We stepped into the hall and for a second he stood with his back to me.

I asked, “What's wrong?”

“I need to take care of some business right quick, but I'll be back in a little bit.”

My body grew rigid and I crossed my arms against my chest. “Lincoln, I need you
here
.”

“Idalis I will be right back, just let me handle this.”

I turned to walk away, but I stopped and turned back around. “Does this have anything to do with what I found in the garage?”

Anger flashed across his face as he shook his head. “You worryin' about the wrong thing.”

My eyes went to the closed hospital room door, then back to him. “Then what is it?”

“Let it go, Idalis.” His voice was rising, causing the nurses to peek up from the counter at the nurses' station.

“Lower your voice,” I hissed.

He stared at me for a moment, like he was reading me, examining my body language. I felt my face warm and my stomach started to churn.

“I really wish you would knock off this innocent act you have goin' on.”

Then I was stunned. “So just like that, huh? You gon' treat me like shit, and my grandmother is lying in there, dying?”

“Treat
you
like shit, Idalis?” He let out a slight chuckle. “Wow. You got life fucked upâyou really do.”

I turned to go back into the room and he grabbed my arm. “Where are you going?”

“You know what? I don't really care what you do anymore,” I said through clenched teeth. “Just go.” I snatched my arm free.

He stared at me for a moment before turning and heading down the hall. I stood there and watched him leave. I could feel the nurses' eyes on me. I could even hear their whispers, but I didn't care at this point.

I checked on my mother before leaving to clear my head. I ended up leaving the hospital and making my way to Chick-fil-A and getting a chicken sandwich and some lemonade. There were too many people in the restaurant, so I decided to eat in my car in the parking lot. I backed my car into the space so I could people watch and try to take my mind off my grandmother.

Every so often I would check my cell phone: nothing but the time and that stupid signal tower were staring back at me. The small restaurant was overrun with hospital visitors, who probably all felt the same way I did about the food they served up in the cafeteria.

Most were getting their dinners to go; some were staying to escape the heavy atmosphere that awaited them up the street, but they all were linked in a way that far exceeded the chicken sandwiches that they carried.

I sipped my lemonade and picked at my sandwich as I stared out my car window at the people going about their day. The proverbial traffic jam that was Piedmont Avenue was holding true to that today. I looked down at the engagement ring resting on my all-important left ring finger and thought about the history that Lincoln and I were supposed to be in the middle of making. So much had changed in less than a week. My life was turning into a train wreck right in front of my eyes; there was nothing I could do to stop the fallout.

I dialed Trip.

Relief washed over me when I heard his voice come across the line.

“Hey, are you okay?” he asked.

I pressed my phone against my ear, my sad attempt to feel closer to him. “She's bad, Trip.”

“I'm so sorry, baby girl. Do you need anything?”

“Yes, I need my grandmother not to be dying,” I said, wiping away a stray tear.

“I know.”

“How's Phil?”

It was his turn to carry the weight. “He's doing good. Still unconscious. Breathing tube is coming out today.”

“Wow. That's good news.”

“Yeah, it is.”

I swallowed, rearranged the words in my head and hoped they made sense when they exited my mouth. “Trip, I'm really sorry.”

“For what?”

“For everything.”

“What are you talking about, Idalis?”

“For pretty much all my life, you've been there for me, no matter what the cost.” I took a deep breath and tried to steady my voice. “I mean, when we were little, you would make sure I was okay, even when you knew you were going to get in trouble ...”

“Idalisâ”

I cut him off. “Let me finish. If it wasn't for me, you would've gotten that call from Phil and you would've been there for him. It's my fault. It's always my fault.”

“No, it's not, Idalis.”

“Yes, it is!” I sobbed into the phone. “And now, being the selfish person that I am ... I was calling you ... again ... to get you to save me again. To make this hurt go away.”

“Don't do this, Idalis. Not now.”

“Why? Why not? It's true. I'm getting what I deserve.”

His voice, calm and steady, held so much love. “You think you deserve to have your grandmother die baby girl?”

I grabbed a napkin and wiped my face. “Yes. No. I don't know.”

“Idalis, if you try to make what's happening to your grandmother about you, then yes, that is selfish, but that's not you. That's not the Idalis I know.”

“I don't even know who I am anymore.”

“What do you mean?”

“I'm just not the same Idalis Arrington that you grew up with.”

My phone beeped in my ear and I looked at the screen. It was India.

“Trip, I have to go. It's India. I'll call you back.”

“Make sure you do.”

I didn't even remember driving back to the hospital.

India called and told me that Grammie was asking for me. Fresh tears spilled from my already swollen eyelids in waves as I navigated my way back up Piedmont to the hospital. I brushed past a group of people huddled in the lobby; they were cooing over a woman who was holding a newborn. As I made my way onto the elevator, I ignored a nurse who asked if I was okay. I stood perfectly still in the elevator, promising God things that didn't even make sense if He'd just spare my grandmother. The doors hissed open and I stood frozen.

A voice came from behind me. “Is this the floor you wanted?”

I turned around in a haze of grief and looked into the distinguished white man's face standing behind me. His dark hair was starting to gray around the temples and he was freshly shaven. His dark suit and stark blue tie brought out the color in his piercing blue eyes.

Not sure why I noticed that, but I did.

He reached around and pushed the button to hold the door open, causing his cologne to swirl around me.

He repeated himself. “Is this your floor?”

“Uh ... I'm sorry. Yes, this is my floor.” I turned and stepped off the elevator.

When I got to my grandmother's room, my mother was staring out the window and India was standing next to the bed, trying to hide her tears. I walked toward her and touched my mother's shoulder.

Without turning around she spoke. “They took the tube out. She's asking for you.”

Mama hugged me before leaving with India, leaving me alone in the room with my grandmother.

Grammie was so fragile and so small.

I moved to her bedside and touched her hand.

The coolness of her skin caught me off guard. Her eyes opened slowly and she smiled when she saw me. I tried to will the tears to stop, but they wouldn't. Her gaze moved to the chair, motioning for me to sit down. On shaky legs I did as I was told, never taking my eyes from her face.

“Grammie, are you in pain?”

Her voice was raspy and low. “No, baby, but you are.”

That caused me to cry harder; my shoulders shook, but I kept hold of her hand.

“I can't handle this.”

“Yes, you can, baby. You need to make things right with your sister. You hear me, child?”

I slowly shook my head. “I don't know if I can. I need you Grammie.”

“Yes, you can, baby.” She cleared her throat. “I will always be with you, watching over you all. You know that. It's time, baby. My soul is tired.”

“But I need you. We need you.” I sobbed.