Love After War (23 page)

“Well, I knew something was wrong when I threw up while eating a hot dog from Gray's.”

“Stop it! Is that an alien baby in there? I wish I could get to Gray's right now.”

“When does filming wrap on this movie?” Dana asked. “And I thought you were coming to New York to do a Broadway show?”

“Raymond told me that I could do the movie or the show but not both because a pregnant woman needs rest. Since he's a doctor and my baby daddy, I had to listen. Actually, I'm glad I did because I've learned something.”

“What's that?”

“I can play Superwoman on screen, but I am really human. This baby is sapping my energy.”

“Wow. The most interesting part of this conversation is the fact that you thought you were a superhero.”

“Oh, please. You ride a motorcycle because you think you're Batgirl, so hush. I have to go. They need me on set.”

“All right, I will give you a call later. After Raymond and I agree on a price for the bike.”

“Don't you dare,” she laughed.

When Dana hung up with Imani, she really felt as if she had her friend's support. Now she prayed that Adrian would find some peace and acceptance with his family.

Adrian looked over his shoulder, hoping that he'd lost the photographer who'd been tailing him all morning. The man, dressed in a faded black T-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts, was still a few feet away from him. “Damn it,” he muttered. Adrian stopped and waited for the man to catch up with him. “What do you want?”

“I'm just trying to do my job. A picture of you and the Crawfords would pay my rent for a year.”

Adrian clenched his fists and fought the urge to punch the man in the face and smash his camera on the concrete. “You know what, you slimy piece of—”

“Listen, you went to the media first and now you want to act as if you want privacy? Get over yourself,” the photographer spat.

Adrian was about to deck him when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“It's not even worth it,” Solomon said. Adrian turned and looked at his brother. “This guy has been following the family since we came back to New York.”

“Why don't you let me get this picture and then I'll leave you alone.”

“You're going to leave us alone anyway,” Adrian snapped. “Now get the hell away from here.”

“That's right!” Solomon said. “And don't even think about snapping a picture.”

“Come on,” the photographer pleaded, holding his camera up. Solomon, who had made avoiding the tabloids and paparazzi a sport, held up a copy of the
New York Times
and spread it wide so that his face wasn't visible. He passed another section of the paper to Adrian so that he could follow suit.

“Nice trick,” Adrian said as they walked into the hospital.

“What are you doing here?” Solomon snapped. “It's your fault that they know Dad's here.”

“And how's that? Because you sent me out in the street with a bloody nose?”

“I hope you aren't expecting an apology, because I'm not giving you one.”

Adrian shook his head. “Have I ever asked you people for anything?”

“No, you just wanted to seek and destroy.”

“I had every right to be angry and I'd like you to deny that you wouldn't have done the same thing.”

Solomon stopped and turned to Adrian. “Okay, you're right. I probably would've done something similar, but it would have been directed at the right person.”

“At the time,” he said, “I painted all of you with the same brush.”

“Listen, I don't know how we're supposed to do this thing here, being brothers or whatever. I already have a brother I don't care for.”

Adrian shrugged and glanced at his brother as they entered the wing where Elliot was being housed. “I guess this is the part where we promise to keep in touch and keep our hands to ourselves.”

“I must be getting soft,” Solomon remarked as he looked at Adrian's nose. “The bridge is still intact, not much of a bruise either.”

“Come on, pretty boy, you know you're not much of a bruiser.”

Solomon laughed. “Not these days. I have a wife who frowns on that kind of behavior.”

Adrian's smile revealed a lot and Solomon pounced. “That woman who was with you, you're serious about her?”

“I'm going to marry her,” Adrian said. “And her name is Dana.”

“Dana Singleton? The photographer?”

“Yeah, how do you know her?” Dread crept up his neck. Knowing Solomon's reputation with women, he couldn't help but wonder if there was something . . .

“Dad wanted her to take the pictures for the book, but she had another assignment.”

Adrian rolled his eyes. Luckily, that assignment brought her to Los Angeles and thank God she wasn't able to work with the Crawfords on that book.

“So, were you behind that as well?” Solomon asked.

“No. She was working with Sony and Universal for the new movie that your . . . that Heather Williams and Imani Thomas were in.”

Solomon rolled his eyes. “I almost want to punch you again.”

“What happened with you and Heather? If you don't mind me asking.”

Solomon shrugged. “She wasn't the one. Plain and simple. At the time, I had some ideas about screenwriting, leaving the family business, and doing what I really loved. I dated her and she took it more seriously than she should have. I never told her I was in love with her. She just assumed that I would give her a chance because she was supposed to introduce me to some of the same producers I already knew.”

“So, you used to use women?”

“I wouldn't say I was using her, but I wasn't trying to be her man either. If I really wanted a movie deal, I could've purchased one or a studio. But that was a different time in my life and other things were important to me back then.”

“Whoa,” Adrian replied. “I would've never expected you to be that guy.”

Solomon furrowed his eyebrows. “That guy? What do you mean?”

“Someone who would want to go into show business.”

“Believe it or not, I wanted to get as far away from the Crawford name and everything it stood for. Then I got my heart broken and decided to get some payback and break some hearts.”

“That's a story I'd like to hear one day,” Adrian said with a laugh.

“Nah, I believe in leaving the past in the past, especially when I have a bright future like I do now.”

Adrian glanced at Solomon and nodded. He had a future and he couldn't wait until he was able to call Dana his wife. “Listen, I have to genuinely apologize for trying to come between you and your wife.”

“That was low and I was tempted to do something more than punching you in the face.”

“Yeah, it was. I've come to realize that love is a beautiful thing and it should be cherished.”

“She has you wide open, huh?” Solomon chuckled softly. “It's amazing that any man with Elliot's DNA understands what it means to love someone else.”

Adrian glanced at Elliot, who looked to be sleeping. “I got the results back from the blood test.”

“What's the result?” Solomon asked, peering at his father.

“I wasn't a match. The nurse said something about continuing to search for a donor on the national registry.”

“Yeah, at least Richmond will be here in the morning. Hopefully it won't be too late. I can't believe he kept this from me.”

“What was it like, growing up with him? I know what you said in LA about him, but there has to be something there.”

“He's my father and I can't say that he was Bill Cosby, but he was there. Distance at times, especially when I was around seven and started writing stories and wanted to share them with him. I wonder, now, if he was simply longing to see what his other son was doing. Dad and I didn't become close until I showed a real interest in the business. Once he saw that I inherited his desire to make money and had ideas that didn't mirror everything my mother had drilled into Richmond's head, I became his favorite son.”

“Umm,” Adrian replied. “But here you are . . .”

“Here we are. No matter what, he gave us life and I don't want to see him suffer if I could've helped him.”

Adrian didn't say a word; he just watched Solomon's face fall as he continued to look at his father. “I need to talk to him, in private,” Adrian said. He held up his hand as Solomon started to protest. “Look, I'm not going to pull the plug.”

“I don't know if—”

“Dana said I need to make peace with him and she's right. I'm past the anger and disappointment because I have to get myself together for my son or daughter.”

“What?”

“I'm going to marry Dana and we're starting a family. She's pregnant . . . at least we think she is.” Adrian glanced at his watch. “And I have to get back to Brooklyn before her doctor's appointment.”

“The moment I hear something getting out of hand in this room, I'm coming in.”

Adrian gave his brother a salute and walked into his father's room. Adrian took a seat next to Elliot's bed. He watched the older man's chest rise and fall. For a brief moment, it was as if he were looking at his mother all over again. A ripple of emotions tore through him as he reached for Elliot's hand.

The old man's eyes fluttered open. “Adrian,” he whispered.

“Yeah, it's me.”

“What are you doing here? I thought—”

“When I came to New York, I had no idea how sick you were.”

“I wasn't sure you'd give a damn,” he replied, then coughed. His entire body shook. “I can't blame you if you're here to gloat.”

“I don't get down like that. Life is precious.”

“I know. Maybe I found out too late. Everything I've ever taken for granted has turned out to be what I needed to focus on. I wish I had been able to know you. To be part of your life and more than just a check.”

“Well,” Adrian began, then stopped. He couldn't tell him that he was too late, especially since he was dying. “We can't change the past.”

Elliot laughed. “Are you sure you don't have some political aspirations? That was the most politically correct statement I've ever heard.”

“What can I say?” Adrian asked. “We can't change anything and there isn't much time left for me to be angry. Besides, I'm going to have a family of my own soon.”

“That's good, son.” Elliot broke into another fit of coughing. “I look at Solomon and his family. I see he's making all of the choices I should've made. If I had followed my heart, things would have been different. I tried to justify what I did by saying I was building a legacy for all of my children. I'd hoped you'd be able to take part in that as well but—”

“Look,” Adrian said, “you can't keep making excuses for the choice you made. You wanted money and got it at my mother's expense.” He struggled to keep his voice down.

“That's true. I tried to—”

“Look, we can't live our lives in should ofs, would haves, and could ofs—we have to take what we did and make peace with it or live with it. I made choices that I'm not proud of as well. I wanted—or at least I thought I wanted—to see you and your family suffer.”

“I can't blame you for that,” Elliot whispered.

“But I blame myself. I nearly forgot what love was and what it meant to give love and be with that one person who means more to me than anything else. I almost allowed myself to make hate a way of life. Sort of the way you allowed money to take over your life.” Adrian placed his hand on Elliot's shoulder and nodded. “I have to forgive you.”

“I don't deserve your forgiveness.”

“Yes, you do.”

The door to Elliot's room swung open and Richmond stormed inside. “You have some nerve showing your face here. Are you trying to get Dad to change his will or are you just here to make sure he dies?”

“This isn't the place,” Adrian said.

Elliot was too weak to address his sons. He pressed the button on his IV for more pain medication. Richmond glared at Adrian and didn't hide his disgust when Solomon walked into the room.

“You're in on this too,” Richmond demanded.

“You want to take all of this noise outside?” Solomon asked through clenched teeth. He nodded toward Elliot. “Do you think he needs this right now?”

“But he needed a visit from this guy?” Richmond retorted.

Adrian shook his head. “I'm going to let you argue alone,” he said to Richmond. “Being that you grew up with him and had more of a relationship with him than I did, it seems as if you'd know better.”

Adrian started for the door with Richmond on his heels. “What do you want? Money? A place in the company? No one owes you anything and—”

“I'm sorry that you think money is the only thing people want out of life. Money kept your parents together. Money forced me to grow up without knowing who my father was. I don't give a damn about money and I don't need it. If you haven't noticed, I've done well for myself without Crawford dollars. I wanted to know this man and why things happened the way they did. I wanted to make all of you suffer and I was wrong. I was being the asshole I accused him of being. What I'm not going to tolerate is facing an accusation every time I'm in your presence.”

Solomon stopped Richmond from replying. “Dad's not breathing.”

The three men rushed to Elliot's bed as alarms began sounding and a team of doctors and nurses burst through the door.

“We need room,” the head nurse said. “You three have to go.”

 

 

Dana glanced at her watch and wondered what was keeping Adrian. He knew her appointment was at three. She called him for a second time and the call went straight to voice mail.

She didn't have time to wait for him anymore. Dana grabbed her keys and her purse, then headed out the door. As soon as she started for the subway station, her phone chimed. Plucking it from her pocket, she saw that it was Adrian.

“You'd better have a good excuse.”

He sighed and said, “He's gone.”

“What?”

“Elliot died.”

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I don't know. I didn't expect to feel anything.”

“Should I—”

“I'm going to meet you at the doctor's office. Just text me the address and Solomon said he'd put me in a car so that I can get to you and get away from Richmond.”

Dana stifled a laugh, imagining that Richmond wanted to punch his brother as well. “I will send you the address and I'll see you there.”

Hanging up with him, Dana liked what she heard. Emotion. Maybe his father's death had spurred him into thinking about his family and hopefully he made peace with his father before it was too late.