Deliver Me (40 page)

“She suffered from
paranoid delusions,” she said in a broken whisper.
“That’s what this is about, isn’t it? That’s why you think I’ve been cheating
on you.”

She tried to
explain. “I had everything under control, but my hormones screwed with my
medication once I became pregnant,” she sniffed. “That’s when the delusions
started.”

“I never cheated,”
Jeffrey argued.

“I know. Even when I
was accusing you, I knew you would never do that. I just couldn’t help what my
mind believed to be true. That’s why when I realized there was a chance the
medication would no longer control the bipolar disorder I decided to set you
free. I knew you didn’t want to be married to a crazy person.”

“You never gave me
the chance to say what I wanted. How could you decide the fate of our marriage
without even consulting me?”

“You didn’t deserve
to be stuck in the kind of marriage my parents had.”

“Would you forget
your damn parents! I am not your father. And you’re not your mother. You faced
your sickness where she never could. You are so much stronger than she is.”

Amanda’s throat
ached with guilt, shame, and hope. “Jeffrey, I don’t want a divorce,” she said,
emotion choking her words. “I want to get back on my medication, and if they
don’t work, I’ll just find a combination that does. But I want you to be there
with me. I want to raise Madelyn with you as my husband, not just as our baby’s
father.”

“Oh, baby,” he
leaned over her, placing a heartbreakingly gentle kiss upon her lips. “There’s
nothing I want more.”

Tears rolled down
her eyes. “I am so sorry I put you through this,” Amanda whispered.

“I’m sorry you tried
to face it on your own.” Jeffrey brought her hand to his lips. “But you don’t
have to anymore. I’m going to be with you in every single way I can. You and
Madelyn are my life. You’re the reason I breathe. I’m never letting anything
come between us again.”

Amanda looked to the heavens, laughing through her tears, and
she realized for the first time in months—possibly years—she felt
happiness. It was like finding an old friend. “Thank you,” she said to her
husband, clutching his hand like a lifeline. “Thank you for not giving up on
me.”

“Never,” he answered
in a fierce whisper. “And I won’t let
you
give up on you either.”

“I thought you were
gonna kick my butt.” Unsheathing his four iron, Toby took practice swings at
the teed ball.

Eli rolled his eyes.
“Would you take your shot so we can finish this damn round?”

“Kinda testy, huh?”
Toby sent the ball soaring down the fairway. He must have been practicing these
last few months.

“What happened at
the grocery store,” Eli asked, picking up the conversation they’d started over
lunch.

“Oh, man. You will
not believe this! We’re standing in the frozen food section and this girl walks
past us. At first, I thought she was looking at me, but no, she’s checking out
the monk over here.”

“Must we relive
this?” Alex asked, shielding his eyes from the sun and leaning on his bag of
clubs.

Toby ignored him. “She’s
sending him serious sex eyes. And, let me tell you, baby girl was kickin’. She
had an ass made for grabbing, and remember, we’re in frozen foods, so the
nipples were standing at attention like they were saluting the flag.”

“I wish Mama could
hear you right now,” Alex said.

“Would you shut up
and let me finish the story,” Toby shot back. “Anyway, after giving homeboy
over here every kind of signal under the sun, she comes right out and tells him
her name. You want to know his reply?”

“I can only imagine,”
Eli mused.

“He says, ‘I’m
Alexander, and I’m not interested.’” Toby tried to mimic Alex’s deeper
baritone. “I’m thinking to myself
what
the hell
?
 
The girl was ready to invite him back to
her car for a quickie and that’s how he answers her.”

“She was a teenager,
Toby.”

“She was at least
twenty.”

“What am I supposed
to do with a twenty-year-old?”

Both Eli and Toby
turned and looked at their brother.

Toby shook his head.
“This is so sad. How could you let this man go so long without getting some? He’s
so far gone he doesn’t know what to do with it when it’s staring him in the
face!”

“I have to hear
enough of this from Eli. Don’t you start, too,” Alex said. “Besides, from what
I hear, it’ll be a while before the good doctor here gets any himself.”

“E?” Toby pointed
his thumb toward him. “What’s he got to complain about? He’s elbow deep in it
every day.”

Eli threw a wooden golf tee at Toby’s head. “That’s my job,
fool. And whether or not I’m getting any is beside the point,” he said to Alex.
“I could go without sex for a year, and would still be a year up on you.”

“Hold on.” Toby
pulled his glove off with his teeth. “You’re going out with one of the finest
women I’ve ever seen. Is she against sex before marriage or something?”

Eli looked over at
Alex, who stared back at him with a look that said, “
If you don’t say anything, I will
.”

“I’m not seeing
Monica anymore,” Eli admitted. Damn, but Mama had a big mouth.

“What did you do,
man?” Toby asked.

“Why do I have to be
the bad guy?”

“She wouldn’t have left if you hadn’t done something to foul
things up.”

“What makes you
think she left? Maybe I dumped her.”

“You’re not that
stupid,” Toby answered. “At least I didn’t think you were that stupid.
Please
tell me you’re not that stupid,
E?”

“He’s not that
stupid,” Alex answered for him. “I don’t know what it is about you this week,
but you’ve managed to piss off every female you’ve come in contact with.”

Eli shook his head. “You’re
right. First I miss Mama’s birthday dinner, then for some reason Monica freaks
out on me.”

“And don’t forget
your niece,” Alex said.

“My niece? What did
I do to her?”

“Apparently, you
called her by her name.”

“I did what?”

“You called her
Jasmine. You would have thought the sun dropped out of the sky or something. It
took going out for ice cream and to that Build-A-Bear place in the mall to
cheer her up. You owe me thirty-five bucks, by the way.”

Eli cursed under his
breath. Even his Jazzy Bean was mad at him.

“What are you going
to do about Monica?” Toby asked.

How many times had
he asked himself that question? The answer remained the same. “Nothing,” Eli
declared. “There’s nothing I
can
do.
She said it’s over.”

“Does she still want
Aria to perform for the banquet tomorrow night?”

“Yes. Definitely. It’s
still about saving the Parenting Center. We’ve used Aria Jordan’s name to sell
most of the tickets.”

“Damn, E. She was
good for you. I really thought you’d found Mama’s next daughter-in-law.”

If only...

“Sorry to cut the
round short, but I have to bail so I can check on a few patients.”

“I have to go, too.”
Alex said.

“Aww, man. You two
are a couple of suckers,” Toby said. “You’re only leaving because I’m winning.”

Eli and Alex shared
knowing grins.

“Next time you’re in
town, man. We’re going the whole round,” Eli said.

“Yeah,” Alex called.
“I’m gonna bring my A game.”

“If you had an A
game,” Toby replied.

Eli hooked his towel
on his bag and pulled the strap onto his shoulder. “I’ll catch you guys
tomorrow night.”

“Take it easy, man.”

“You, too,” he
called to Alex. “And tell Jazzy I’m sorry.”

“I’ll tell her, but
she’s not letting you off the hook that easy. She’s a vengeful little thing.
That girl’s got more of her mama in her than I care to think about.”

“Please don’t say
that,” Toby said, still practicing his swing. A quartet was making its way to
the ninth hole.

“Don’t worry, I’m
going to get it out of her before it’s too late.”

“Tell her Uncle Eli
is bringing a special surprise to Sunday dinner. I’ll see y’all later.”

When Eli arrived at
the hospital, he stopped in on Amanda Daniels. She was sitting up in bed,
cradling her daughter. The smile on her face was one of pure, unadulterated
happiness.

“You were made to
have a baby in your arms,” Eli said by way of greeting.

Amanda beamed up at
him. “Isn’t she the most precious baby in the world?”

“The universe.” He
walked over to the bed. “Does she have a name yet?”

“Madelyn Rose.”

“Hello little
Madelyn,” Eli said, letting the baby wrap her hand around his pinkie finger.

“Thank you, Dr.
Holmes.” Amanda covered both his and the baby’s hand with her own. “Thank you
for everything you’ve done. I could not have asked for a better doctor.”

“You’re welcome,” he
answered. “Now, you do realize my special services are not free. I expect an
invite to her first birthday party, and school pictures.”

“Of course,” Amanda
laughed.

Jeffrey walked in. “Hey,
Dr. Holmes.”

Eli shook his hand. “Congratulations
again on your beautiful little girl.”

“I don’t know how to
repay you, Doc,” Jeffrey said with sincere appreciation.

“Just take care of
your wife and little Madelyn. I’ll see you guys later.”

“Have fun at the
banquet tomorrow,” Amanda called out.

Eli waved in reply
and headed down the hallway. He would look in on a few other patients then pick
up some paperwork from his office and head home. He didn’t want to be in this
hospital a minute longer than necessary.

It was a
disheartening realization. Methodist Memorial was like a second home. He loved
his work, and he loved the place where he practiced. But it just wasn’t the
same anymore. Knowing Monica was just a few floors below left a pall over the
hospital.

Eli made his rounds,
stepped in the lounge to say hello to Otis, then headed for his office. He was
stuffing charts into an old backpack he kept in the closet when there was a
knock on the door.

“Come in.”

“Are you ready for
your ass whipping?”

Eli dropped his head
on the desk. “Hello to you too, Nia,” came his muffled reply.

“Don’t give me any
hello. I’m coming to make good on my promise.”

He raised his head
and motioned for her to come in.

“Did you not think I
was serious?” Nia asked, shutting the door.

“I don’t know what
happened,” Eli said.

“You broke her
heart, hence, your impending ass whipping.”

“But I didn’t do
anything.”

“You must have done
something. I have never seen Monica so devastated.”

“I’m telling you,
one minute we’re making love—”

She held up a hand. “Okay,
I
so
do not want details.”

“—and the next, she’s out the door. She said my
girlfriend showed up, but I don’t have a girlfriend. I have no idea what she’s
talking about.”

“So you don’t have a
tall, gorgeous girlfriend who drives a white BMW?”

“White BMW?” His
head reared back.
 

“Monica told me
about Miss Thang’s visit the other night. Who is she?”

“Alicia,” Eli bit
out, unable to believe that woman was still wreaking havoc in his life. “Alicia
Taylor.”

Nia crossed her arms
over her chest. “Was she only supposed to show up on Tuesdays and Thursdays?”

“She wasn’t supposed
to show up at all. I’m not with Alicia anymore.”

“Maybe you should
have told
her
that.”

“I have not seen
Alicia since Monica and I started dating.”

“Then why was she at
your house?”

“Because she’s
freaking crazy. Nia, you have got to convince Monica to talk to me. If Alicia
is the cause of this...” He was going to kill her, that’s what he would do. He
would hunt her down and
kill
her!

Nia looked skeptical.

“Please.” He was prepared to get down on his knees and beg.

“I don’t know. I
love Monica like a sister, and I don’t know if I can take seeing her go through
this again.”

“Nia, I love her,
too. I
love
her. I would never do
anything to hurt her. You have got to believe me. If I had known this was all
because of Alicia…”

Nia shook her head,
then sighed. “I’m not sure it will make a difference. When you’ve been burned,
you’re not too eager to get close to the fire again. And Monica has been burned
badly.”