Ex-Terminator Life After Marriage (20 page)

T
he air was brisk but gentle. An overcast sky blocked the sun, but it was perfect for a morning run. Ashley slowed down to a trot as she rounded the bend headed toward home. She patted her stomach, assuring the baby growing inside of her that her jog was done for the day.

As Ashley neared her house, William stood in the driveway with his arms folded across his chest. His eyes were glued on Ashley as she walked in his direction with no hint of his real thoughts shining through.

“I just lost a baby a few weeks ago,” William reminded Ashley as she passed to the side of him.

Ashley glared at William, disbelief written on her face. How dare he throw up the dead bastard embryo in her face. So that was what this was all about—his coming back home. William wanted the son or daughter his mistress failed to give him.

Ashley continued toward the house.

“You’re going to walk past without a word?”

“I didn’t think your statement required a response, William. You made yourself clear. But so that you know, it is safe for me to continue jogging for at least another month.”

“It doesn’t matter who says it’s okay—I say it isn’t. Today we have a matter we need to handle.”

Ashley stopped in her tracks, squinting her eyes against the sun, and swiveled her body around so she could get a good look at William.

“What matter?”

“Get ready. We’re going to the courthouse to apply for a marriage license.”

Ashley froze.

“William, I’m not going to marry you.”

“Our child will have a mother and a father.”

“It will, but not at the same residence. It’s time for you to leave.”

“Ashley, you let me come home, and I have no plans of leaving. Those people in that support group have got your mind twisted. Didn’t think I knew you went to your little meeting yesterday, did you? If you didn’t want me to know, you shouldn’t have written it in your calendar.”

Ashley rolled her eyes. “William, I’m not going to remarry you. If I need to move out of the house, I will.”

“Don’t make a grave mistake by walking out of here.”

“And just what does that mean? Certainly you’re not going to try and harm me in any way. You’ll put your child in danger.”

Fire rising in his eyes, he raised his hand and pointed his finger as if he were going to reprimand her, but Ashley had already disappeared into the house.

“You will be Mrs. William Lewis a second time,” William said to the wind.

“BellSouth. Rachel Washington speaking.”

“Hey, sweetie. This is Sylvia.”

“You’re feeling bad because you treated me kinda shabby last night.”

“Correction—early this morning. I was in a deep sleep with no crazy dreams interrupting me until you called.”

“Say what you want, but I’m sure your boy toy was lying next to you.”

“Wished he were, but happy he wasn’t.”

“What kind of sense does that make?”

“It’s a long story, Rachel. Besides, I called to see how you’re doing. Have you spoken with Marvin?”

“Not yet. Actually, I’m too ashamed. He called me at least a half-dozen times, and I wouldn’t answer his call.”

“You’re going to lose a good man. I know how this Denise thing looks, but you have to trust your instincts. Denise had the man; you’ve got him now. You’ve got to keep that barracuda in the water.”

“Now look who’s being insensitive?”

“I’m sorry that Denise has cancer, and…”

“What, Sylvia? Tell me…”

“A thought just came to me. We should all rally around Denise like we did with Claudette. Rachel, Denise is scared. That’s what this is all about. While I may be a tad bit cynical in my thinking, if we rally around her, she’ll find the support she’s looking for and need. It will take some of the pressure off of Marvin.”

“You are so smart, Sylvia. I’ll get my Marvin back and Denise will have the support of the group.”

“Don’t go skinning and grinning, yet. We have to be sincere about this. I’m going to call the rest of the group…ohh…”

“What?”

Sylvia caught a glimpse of Ashley standing in the doorway to her office and waved for her to come in.

“It’s Ashley, Rachel.”

“Is she all right?”

“Ashley, Rachel wants to know if you’re okay?”

Ashley took a seat in the chair next to Sylvia’s desk. Her face was pale, and she looked visibly shaken. Sylvia put the phone on speaker.

“She’s not all right, Rachel. What’s wrong, Ash? Is it William?”

“What did he do to you?” Rachel piped in.

“He made me go down to the courthouse today. We applied for a marriage license.”

“What?” Sylvia and Rachel exclaimed in unison.

“Is this what you want?” Sylvia continued. “You said at the meeting you weren’t going to marry him. Why don’t you just kick him out of the house?”

“William is adamant about us getting remarried. It will have to happen over my dead body. I’m not going to marry him. I feel so stupid because I let him back in my house. I thought William really wanted me. When I saw him at the door that day, I couldn’t resist letting him come in. Sure I said all those things at that first meeting about it being just me and my baby, but William came back, and I wanted my husband. But now, I don’t know who this person is William has become. He is so possessive, but I’m telling you, it’s all about having this baby. He doesn’t care about me.”

“You know you can come and stay with me, Ash.”

“Thanks, Sylvia. I’m not sure what to do. I could go and stay with my parents, but they hate William with every fiber of their being, and I don’t want to hear them talk about it day and night.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Rachel asked.

“Yes, go get your man,” Ashley said with a smile.

There was a brief moment of laughter.

“I better get back to work,” Rachel said. “I’ll give you the update at six on the continuing saga of the life and times of Marvin and Rachel…a little something from the drawers of the Ex-Files.”

The ladies laughed again, and Rachel hung up.

“What am I going to do, Sylvia?” Ashley asked.

“Do you believe in prayer?” Sylvia replied.

“Well, yes. I guess I’ve never really prayed for anything special. I’ve always had what I wanted.”

Sylvia looked at Ashley with hard eyes.

“What did I say, Sylvia?”

“Nothing,” Sylvia replied, realizing she was doing the other woman a disservice by not telling her what she really felt. So what if Ashley had it good all her little life? When things weren’t going Ashley’s way, who did she come running to?

“You gave me a look.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just know that you’re not going to marry William if you don’t want to. You have a place to stay, and we’ve got to go to the Lord in prayer for the rest. Give me your hand, Ashley. Close your eyes, and let’s pray.”

Rachel swiveled around in her seat. She hadn’t given BellSouth a good hour of productive work this morning. Chatter coming from other cubicles hadn’t calmed her nerves.

She looked at the time posted on the bottom of her computer screen. It was eleven o’clock. Rachel put the end of her pen in her mouth and gnawed on it. She finally got up enough courage to lift the phone from its cradle. She dialed.

“Good morning, Thomas Technical Technology Solutions.”

“Yes. May I speak with Mr. Marvin Thomas, please?”

“I’m sorry. Mr. Thomas is in a meeting right now. Would you like to leave a message?”

“No, I’ll call again later. Thank you.”

Rachel set the phone in the cradle. She continued to turn her chair from side to side.
Was
Marvin in a meeting? She called his direct number, but apparently he had it forwarded to his secretary’s line. She had to trust him. For the next three hours, she placed four calls to Marvin, but the meeting he was in was lasting a lot longer than she thought a meeting should.

S
team engulfed the bathroom, clouding the mirrors completely. Denise cleared a space on the mirror—a small circle large enough to see her face. She stared at the image that stared back, its face swollen, its hair patchy.

Denise moved in closer for further examination, picking at a blackhead like it was a new discovery. She wiped the mirror again, exposing breasts that seemed to have lost some of their perkiness.

Taking her left breast in her hand, Denise examined it gently, afraid to discover what she already knew she would find. She pulled her hand back as she hit a tender spot. With the other hand, Denise glided over her right breast to make sure there was nothing different since she had examined them last night.

The image in the mirror went from soft to defiant. It also looked strong and sure. It was ready to do battle against all of her enemies, even the one called cancer.

The phone interrupted Denise’s thoughts. She slipped into a terry-cloth robe and quickly answered the phone.

“Good morning, Denise. How are you feeling today?”

“Marvin,” Denise said in a low, sexy voice. “I feel pretty good, especially knowing that you’ll be by my side when I go for treatment today.”

“I said I would. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

The hospital walls were as drab as Denise felt. Though she dreaded the thought of another chemo treatment that would leave her feeling like dung, today, she rejoiced inside because Marvin was there to give her all the support she needed. She hadn’t even told her family that she was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer.

Even Harold, her lover and Marvin’s cousin, passed through her thoughts. Would his family take Danica if…if she didn’t make it? Marvin was the one who wanted a baby, but she was the foolish wife who’d had unprotected sex with her lover and produced a baby neither wanted. It never occurred to Denise that she might have to pay the price for her sins. “The Big C” was a death sentence that she never saw coming.

Although Denise was glad Marvin was at her side, he hardly said a word. He was pleasant on the ride over, but it was quite obvious something was on his mind. Denise was sure that her burden had now become his burden and he was overwhelmed with just the thought of it. If Rachel were the reason for Marvin’s silence, though, the next few hours would erase her from his thoughts.

The nurses greeted Denise like they were old friends. Marvin stood back until Denise introduced him, though a little awkward. He produced a slight smile, but it quickly faded once one of the nurses ushered Denise toward the room where her chemo would take place.

Marvin sat down in the waiting room with two other pale-faced men who had probably shouldered their burden much longer than he. He tried to read their faces, but their expressions never changed.

A slight vibration caused Marvin to grab at his side. He pulled his cell phone from its holder and glanced at the number. This was the fourth call from Rachel, with just as many coming to the office.
Now
she wanted to talk, even though he had left more than twenty messages the night before, hoping to explain what had gone down with him. Well, Miss Rachel would have to sit on the back burner today, he thought, and he put the cell back in its holder and rested his head in his hands.

“Mr. Thomas.” The voice seemed to boom, jerking Marvin from his wandering thoughts. He looked around to make sure that he was the Mr. Thomas that was being summoned.

“Mr. Thomas,” the nurse said again, looking directly at Marvin.

Marvin stood up and went to the counter.

“Mrs. Thomas is having second thoughts about her chemo treatment and the doctor is on his way to discuss it.”

Marvin cringed slightly at the reference to “Mrs. Thomas.”

“What do you mean, ‘second thoughts’? We’re here to try and save her life.”

“Calm down, sir. Follow me and you can discuss this with your wife and the doctor when you get to the room.”

Marvin followed close on the nurse’s heels. They passed several rooms, making a few lefts and rights before proceeding through a door where Denise lay on a recliner. She looked so fragile to Marvin; the mere sight tugged at his heartstrings.

“What is this I hear about you not taking chemo?” he asked gently.

“I’ve been thinking, Marvin. My chances may be better if I have a radical mastectomy.”

“When did you decide this?”

“I was lying here thinking about Danica and what would happen to her if I died. Marvin, I know I’ve been a vain woman most of my life, but I’ve got a little girl I’d like to see grow up and give me some grandbabies. My chance of survival will be greater if I do this, and I don’t want to suffer through the side effects of chemo and the bald head.”

“Even if it would save your life? You’ve got that vain thing going again.”

“I haven’t been a role model, or the best wife, or the best mother I can be. I’ve lost a lot because of my stubbornness and bourgeois attitude, but if I can increase my chances of being able to raise my child, I want to take it.”

The door suddenly flew open and in walked a tall, dark and statuesque physician in civilian clothing—a long white coat draped over it.

“Hello, Mrs. Thomas. I hear you’ve made a decision regarding your breast cancer treatment.”

“Yes, Dr. Sosa. And this is my husband ah…ex-husband, Marvin Thomas.”

“Nice to meet you, sir. I’m Dr. Timothy Sosa, Mrs. Thomas’ physician.”

Marvin extended his hand. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Sosa. I just need to know if Denise’s decision is the best one.”

“Let’s ask the patient.”

“Dr. Sosa,” Denise began, “I know in the beginning you suggested that a mastectomy might be the best route for me to take considering the stage my cancer is in. I know I wasn’t very agreeable to that in the beginning, but after thinking about it and praying about it, this is what I want to do.”

“Let me say this, Mrs. Thomas. You have stage II breast cancer, for which we are treating you appropriately. Since we are already on course with your chemo treatments, it’s advisable that you complete today’s treatment. That way, if you’re sure about having a mastectomy, your tumor will have had enough shrinkage for us to consider your request. Right now, we need to get your vitals and blood count so that we can proceed with your treatment.”

“Dr. Sosa, am I going to lose all of my hair?”

“More than likely. You don’t have much now, which is typical after the second cycle of treatment. Since we are hoping that all goes well, you’ll be able to grow your hair out again.”

Denise smiled.

“Have you told the rest of your family about your illness?” Dr. Sosa glanced at Marvin. “Other than Mr. Thomas?”

Denise winked at Marvin. He smiled back but was not amused.

“Not yet, but Marvin and I will tell them this week.”

Marvin flinched and gave Denise a haunted look. This was harder than he expected. He’d been caught up in the moment of Denise’s desperate plea for help. Being the decent man that he was, there was nothing else to do but to be there for her. He was not enjoying the cozy little family environment that she was painting for the good doctor, though. Maybe Denise was scared and was holding on for dear life. Rachel crossed Marvin’s mind, and suddenly he wanted to talk to her.

Dr. Sosa briefly placed his hand on Denise’s folded ones for reassurance. Then he prepared to administer the IV portacath that would be inserted just under her collarbone. “Let’s get started.”

Marvin moved toward Denise and stroked her arm. She looked innocent and helpless. “I’ll wait for you in the lobby.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll let you know when Mrs. Thomas has finished her procedure,” Dr. Sosa said. “Then we can talk about scheduling her surgery.”

“All right, Doctor.” Marvin shook Dr. Sosa’s hand and left the room.

Marvin felt his heart flutter. He would be there all the way for Denise, but he needed to reach Rachel because he was going to need support as well.