Deliver Me (24 page)

His mother blessedly
ended the conversation by announcing ice cream and apple pie for dessert.

“Eli, can you help
me in the kitchen,” his mother asked as she rose from the table.

Eli wiped his mouth
and pushed his seat back. He followed his mother into the kitchen and headed
for the freezer to get the ice cream.

“Elijah—”

He closed his eyes
briefly and turned. “Look, Mama, I know what you’re about the say.”

“No, you don’t. You
see—”

A knock at the door
stopped her.

His mother’s eyelids
slid shut, and a pained expression came over her face. “I forgot to ask Tosha
not to come over,” she finished.

“You what? Mama!”

“I know you all are
in there.” Eli heard the high-pitched voice coming from the porch and cursed
himself for not locking the door behind him. Had the wrongs he’d committed over
the years really been bad enough to deserve this?

“There you two are,”
Tosha said, entering through the back kitchen door. She cradled a dish in her
hands. “I brought along a lemon and ginseng pie.”

“Oh…that’s so
thoughtful of you, honey,” his mother said, taking the pie from Tosha’s hands
and placing it next to the apple pie on the tray.

“How are you doing, Eli,”
Tosha crooned, snuggling entirely too close up to him.

“I’m good, Tosha,”
Eli answered.

His mother gave him
a
what-do-we-do-now
?
 
look, which Eli returned with a look that
said
how-do-you-expect-me-to-know
?
 
Though for Eli, to be honest, after how the
rest of the day had unfolded, Tosha showing up to the same dinner where both
Monica and her sister-in-law were in attendance seemed par for the course.

Eli made the
decision that instant to return to church. He definitely needed to make up for
past sins.

All three heads spun
when Monica walked into the kitchen. They were silent for a second, and then
both he and Mama began speaking at the same time.

“I’m sorry,” Mama
said, over-speaking her son. “Monica, this is Tosha Culpepper, an old friend of
the family.”

Eli shot his mother
a surprised look. At least her tune had changed.

“Nice to meet you,
Tosha,” Monica strolled toward them, her hand extended.

Tosha shook Monica’s
hand. “Are you here with Toby? I heard he was in town.”

Monica looked
pointedly at Eli.

“Monica and I work
together at Methodist Memorial,” Eli said. “We’ve been seeing each other.”

“I’m going to serve
dessert,” Mama said, making a quick exit from the tension-filled kitchen.

“I didn’t realize
you were attached, Elijah,” Tosha’s voice had taken on a definite edge.

“Eli,” Monica
interrupted. “I came to tell you and your mother that I have to be going. I
need to take a nap before my shift starts tonight.”

“Okay,” he answered.
“We’ll talk tomorrow,” he added in a tone that could not be misinterpreted.

“Nice meeting you,”
she said to Tosha, electing not to respond to his statement.

Tosha didn’t answer.
When Monica was gone, she turned to him. Eli took an instinctive step back. The
woman was geared for attack.

“So, were you not
going to tell me you had a girlfriend? Were you going to just play along as if
you were single?” Her voice escalated with each question. “Are you two serious,
or are you stringing her along like you do every woman you’ve ever been with?
You will never change, Elijah.”

The conversation in
the other room had stopped.
Damn
.
Alex and Toby would rib him for the next five years after this.

“I don’t know what I
ever saw in you,” Tosha continued, her squeal reaching an all-time high. “You
are nothing but a two-timing, conceited dog. You’re going to get yours, Elijah
Holmes. And I hope it hurts like hell!”

She took off like a
rocket, slamming both the kitchen and porch doors on her way out. The house was
eerily quiet, the only sound coming from the boom of someone’s stereo as they
cruised down the street.

Eli leaned against
the kitchen counter and threw his head back, pinching the bridge of his nose.
If this was the turn his life had taken, he would need more than just church to
overcome it. He was going to bible study, too. He might even stay around for
the fellowship hour.

“Is everything okay?”

Eli opened his eyes
and looked over at his mother standing at the edge of the doorway that led from
the kitchen into the dining room.

“I’m not bleeding,”
he answered. “That’s the best that could be expected.”

“I don’t know how I
forgot to call her. It just slipped my mind.”

“I hope you don’t
enjoy the lemon and ginseng pie too much. I doubt you’ll be getting another any
time soon.” He looked over at her, his eyes probing. Eli crossed his arms over
his chest and braced his feet apart. “What did you tell her, Mama?”

He couldn’t wait to
see how she talked her way out of this one.

“Tell who?” She
walked over to the sink and started stacking the pots and pans on the counter.

“Don’t start doing
those dishes. I want to know what you told her.”

“Who?”

“Tosha. What did you
tell Tosha?”

“I didn’t tell her
anything.”

Yeah, right. As
screwy as Tosha was, even she wouldn’t just assume there was something between
the two of them after fifteen years.

“Did you tell her
there was a chance the two of us would get back together?”

She looked over her
shoulder. “Now you know better than that, Elijah.”

“I know
you
,” he said, walking toward her. “It
would not be the first time you meddled in one of your sons’ lives.”

She shook her head,
refusing to look him in the eye. That told Eli that whatever was about to come
out of her mouth was not the whole truth.

“I didn’t give her
any impression, one way or the other.”

“Umm hum.”

Mama turned and
plunked a hand on her hip. “
Mais, ja mais
d’la vie
.”

Oh, yeah, she was
lying. Whenever his mother wasn’t telling the truth, she’d revert to the Cajun
French she learned growing up in the Acadian section of west Louisiana.

“You don’t have to
believe me,” she mumbled.

“Mama, I’m with
Monica.”

“And I couldn’t be
happier,” Mama answered, her eyes lighting up. “She is lovely. I agree with
Alex, the two of you are perfect together.”

“I’m happy you think
so, but do me a favor, don’t butt in.”

Her mouth gaped
open. “When do I ever butt—”

Eli caught her open
lips between his fingers and closed them. “Don’t even finish that statement.”

She rolled her eyes
at him. “Go and get yourself some dessert.”

“Only if you come
with me. Your sons will do the dishes.”

Mama threw the
dishtowel she’d just snatched from the drawer onto the counter. “Well, isn’t it
nice to have all three of my boys home? I could certainly get used to y’all
taking care of me for a while.”

Eli put his arm
around her waist and bent down to give her smooth black hair a peck. “Come on,
we’ve got lemon pie waiting for us.”

“You can eat it. I’m
not getting near that pie.”

“Nia’s probably
finished it, anyway.”

“That girl sure
likes her food, doesn’t she? Too bad she’s married. She would be perfect for
Toby.”

Eli squeezed her
shoulder. “Don’t start.”

After dessert had
been eaten and all the dishes stacked in the kitchen, Alex broke out the
Scrabble game. They formed teams: Alex and Mama, Nia and Toby, and Eli and
Jasmine, who had the advantage of having none of their words challenged since
no one dared tell Jazzy her made up words were not real.

When it came time
for Nia to leave, Eli offered her a ride to the airport, much to the ire of his
two brothers who were left with a mile-high stack of dishes.

They drove back to
Monica’s apartment, and Eli brought down Nia’s bags, which she admitted
numbered more after her earlier shopping expedition.

They headed west on
I-10 toward Louis Armstrong International Airport.

“So, did you enjoy
your stay in the city?” he asked.

“I loved it. It’s good
to see the city coming back. I’ll definitely remember more of this one than the
last time I came down here.”

“It’s probably best
you don’t remember that first trip. Most people seem to regret the combination
of Mardi Gras and booze.”

“I’m sure I’ve subconsciously
blocked it all out,” Nia laughed, then she turned to him. “Okay, enough with
the crap.”

Eli looked over from
the driver side, surprised at her swift demeanor change.

“I like you. You’re
cute, got a good job, and you seem to have your shit together. That’s why I’m
trusting you with my dearest friend.” The look on her face was dead serious. “I’m
telling you now, Elijah Holmes, if you break her heart I will come down here
and kick your ass. I’ve fought a man before. Don’t think I wouldn’t do it again.”

Okay, so Nia was
way
overprotective of Monica. In fact,
it seemed as if she was trying to prevent something that had happened once
before. She would not be this concerned without good reason. Monica had been
hurt, and Nia Gardner knew the story. Now how could he get it out of her?

It was crucial he
learn who and what had hurt Monica. Well, knowing
who
wasn’t really necessary, but Eli wanted to know anyway. He at
least wanted the name of the biggest fool on the face of the earth.

Knowing
what
, however, was essential. If he knew
what had hurt her, he had a better chance of not doing the same. But could he
get Nia to open up about it?

Monica obviously had
not divulged the truth of their arrangement, which surprised him. Women always
talked about this kind of stuff, especially two as close as Monica and Nia. It
made him feel guilty for spilling his guts to Alex.

The fact that Nia
didn’t know about their deal worked to his advantage, since he was ready to
throw the deal out the window and pursue a serious relationship with Monica
anyway. If Nia knew about their bargain, she would be skeptical about sharing
anything from Monica’s past.

Eli took his right
hand off the wheel and placed it over his heart. “I promise, with my whole
heart, never to hurt Monica.”

“Does this mean you’re
serious about her?” she asked, a curious raise to her eyebrows.

“Most definitely,”
he answered without hesitation. More than even Monica knew.

“Good.” Nia
straightened in her seat. “So when Phillip and I come back, you and Monica will
still be together.” This was a statement, not a question.

Eli caught the note
of triumph in her voice, as if she’d orchestrated the entire thing. He flashed
her a quick glance. Was he being played?

They arrived at the
airport. Eli drove up the ramp to the loading zone and pulled in at the outside
check-in kiosk. He opened the back door where her bags were stored and motioned
for a skycap.

Nia alighted from
the Rover. “Thanks for the ride.” She hefted a small carryon bag over her
shoulder.

“No problem.” Eli
handed the skycap a ten-dollar bill. He gave Nia a hug. “Don’t make yourself a
stranger.”

“You fed me your
Mama’s cooking. You can’t get rid of me now.”

Eli chuckled. “Margo
Holmes’ kitchen is always open.”

“You’d better watch
what you say. I won’t hesitate to hop on a plane and fly down here when the
mood for gumbo hits me. I’ve been known to do some crazy things in the pursuit
of good food.”

“As I said, you are
always welcome.” Eli reached into his pocket and retrieved his wallet. He
pulled out one of his cards, realizing the first step in getting information
out of Nia started with establishing contact outside of Monica. “My office,
pager, and cell numbers are on here, along with my email. If you ever want to
surprise Monica, but don’t want to get a cab from the airport, give me a ring.”

“I just may take you
up on that. Hold on a minute.” Eli tried to hide his smile as Nia shuffled
through her purse. She came up with a business card.
Yes
. “If you need anything, just let me know. Now, you take care of
my girl.”

“Yes, ma’am.” They
exchanged another light hug. “Have a good flight.”

Eli remained where
he stood until Nia walked through the automatic doors. When she was gone, he
got in his SUV and headed back for Mama’s.
 
Hopefully, Alex and Toby had already washed the dishes.