The Devil Is a Lie (16 page)

N
ina needed the Word from Pastor Ellis today. Initially, she wasn’t even going to go to church because she was literally worn out. But her grandmother’s words echoed in her head. If things were about to get worse, she definitely needed to be prayed up. She’d asked Rick to come to church with her that morning, but as usual, he gave some lame excuse as to why he couldn’t come.

She stayed behind to talk with Pastor Ellis, who gently chastised her because he hadn’t seen her in church lately. He also warned her that with her newfound wealth she needed to make sure she didn’t forget about God. Nina quickly pulled out her checkbook, but he placed his hand over hers and said, “That’s not what I meant, Nina. Of course I’d love to take a tithe or offering, but I’m talking about the fact that we often go to God
only when times are bad. We need to remember He’s there when times are good, too.”

“Pastor Ellis, times are far from good for me,” Nina replied.

After Nina said that, Pastor Ellis took her back to his study, where they talked and prayed for another thirty minutes.

As she prepared to head home, she felt like her faith had been renewed.

“Hey, baby girl!” Nina heard someone call as she headed to her car in the church parking lot, which was almost empty. She turned around and almost fell over at the sight of her mother.

“Mama, what are you doing? Are you following me now?” Her mother looked even worse than she did the last time. Her eyes were red, with dark circles underneath. Her lips were a crusty white. And she was wearing three layers of clothing, all different colors. Nina felt sick to her stomach.

“Look, Nina. Mama’s in trouble.” She rubbed her arm as she shifted from one foot to the other. “I know you got issues with me and you mad ’cause I wasn’t the Brady Bunch mom,” she continued. “But I did the best I could.”

“The best you could?” Nina asked incredulously. “Are you for real? The best you could do was to never call?”

“I was locked up,” she protested. “And I didn’t want your grandma fussing about her phone bill, with me calling her collect. You know she ain’t never liked me no way. She thought yo’ daddy coulda done better than me.”

“What was wrong with writing, Mama?”

“I never been good with writing.”

Nina debated saying anything more. But then she decided
that she had waited a long time to have this conversation with her mother, so she wasn’t going to hold back. “Even if it was two lines on a piece of paper. Or even three words—I love you. When’s the last time you said that to me? The best you could do would’ve included coming to see us when you got out of jail. The best you could do would’ve meant your love for us was stronger than your love for drugs and alcohol!”

Her mother’s eyes grew wide as she leaned in. “I ain’t on no drugs! Who told you that?” Her eyes darted from side to side. “See, the government is out to get me. They spreading rumors about me.”

Nina swallowed the lump in her throat.
Do not cry
, she kept telling herself. “Mama, I’m not giving you any money.”

“Look, can you stop being mad? Some people wasn’t put on this earth to be mamas. I got problems, okay? There. I admitted it. Now can I have some money?”

Nina remembered the stories her father used to tell her about how beautiful her mother was. How she was so sweet and how much he loved her. But the woman standing before her now, Nina didn’t see any semblance of beauty. She couldn’t picture this woman ever being sweet. She didn’t understand how anyone could love the woman standing in front of her.

She was about to say something when the man she’d seen pacing back and forth the other day with her mother came stomping toward her. “Forget this!” he yelled. “I’m tired of this crap!”

The man looked just as bad as her mother, only he had a crazed, wild look in his eyes. He stopped right in front of Nina
and pointed a long, bony finger. “Your mama needs you,” he spat. His breath was atrocious, smelling like a combination of beer and three-day-old fish. His beard looked like he’d cut plugs in it, and his dreadlocks looked like they had all sorts of critters growing in them.

“You can help your mama!”

“Excuse me?” Nina said, stepping away from him. “Who are you?”

“Come on, Roscoe.” Nina’s mother put her hand to his chest. “I told you I’d handle this.”

“Well, handle it then!”

Nina’s mother turned back to face her. “I told you, this yo’ stepdaddy.”

Nina turned up her nose in disgust. The whole scene was surreal.

“And I’m ordering you to help your mama out,” he said. Nina would have burst out laughing if the situation had not been so pitiful.

“Let me do this!” her mother snapped.

“It’s been a week and you ain’t been able to get a dime out of her,” he said, like Nina wasn’t standing right in front of them.

“And she’s not going to get a dime,” Nina said, fed up. “Stop following me around,” she told her mother. “Stop harassing me. You didn’t have anything to say to me then. I don’t have anything to say to you now.”

“You don’t know who you talking to,” Roscoe said, grabbing Nina’s arm roughly.

“Let go of my arm!” Nina screamed.

“You crazy, stingy…”

“Roscoe, stop!” her mother yelled.

“No, she’s gonna give us some money.” The crazed look in his eyes intensified, terrifying Nina. She tried to pull away, but his grip was too strong.

“Roscoe, please,” her mother begged.

“Shut up!” he screamed as he began shaking Nina. “I’m not leaving here without some money.” Without warning he slapped Nina across the face.

Nina couldn’t make out what happened next, but the next thing she knew, her mother was riding Roscoe’s back, wildly hitting him in the face.

“Get off of her!” her mother yelled. “Get off of her!”

By now Nina was screaming, trying to avoid being hit by her mother’s blows. She managed to pull away from Roscoe as he tried to fling her mother off his back. Nina heard her mother yell as Roscoe tossed her onto the pavement like a rag doll. Nina paused, thinking she needed to go for help, but one look at Roscoe sent her racing to her car. Nina flung her door open and jumped in. Before she could start the car, though, Roscoe came barreling at her. He threw himself across the hood, startling Nina. She began to panic as she tried to turn on the ignition.

Nina dropped the keys to the floorboard, then quickly reached down to retrieve them. By the time she looked up, Roscoe had picked up a big rock and hurled it at her windshield. The glass immediately shattered and Nina screamed again.

“Hey!” a man yelled from across the parking lot.

Nina felt a spurt of relief as several men ran toward her.

“Hey, what’s going on?” one of them shouted.

“Help!” Nina screamed.

Roscoe paused, looking toward the men. He turned back, snarled at Nina, then took off running out of the parking lot.

“Nina?” She realized Todd was one of the men who had come running over. At that moment, Nina wanted to throw her arms around his neck. “Are you okay?” he asked.

She sat in her front seat, trembling.

“I’m sorry, Nina.” Her mother was standing next to Todd.

Nina couldn’t help it, she buried her hands in her face and cried. When Todd reached in the car and gently pulled her out, she cried even harder, and she didn’t protest at all when he put his arms around her to comfort her. It felt natural, like old times.

“Ma’am, are you sure you’re okay? Do you want an ambulance?” one of the other men asked.

Finally Nina recovered a little. She sniffed as she pulled away from Todd’s embrace. “No, I’m okay.”

“Well, is there anyone we can call for you?” the man asked.

She fumbled in her purse and pulled out her cell phone. “I’ll be okay.”

“Are you sure?” Todd asked.

She punched in Rick’s number. “I’m sure.” Nonetheless, her hand was shaking. She had to hang up twice before she could accurately dial the number. She cursed when, as usual, she got Rick’s voice mail.

Todd, who hadn’t moved from her side, turned to Nina’s
mother. “Mrs. Morgan, we need you to file a police report,” he said, not bothering to greet her.

Nina’s mother turned frantic. “I ain’t talking to the police.”

“What do you mean?” Nina said, snapping her phone shut. “Mama, that man attacked me.”

“Uh-uh. Roscoe didn’t mean nothing by it.” She started backing away. “He just gets a little out of hand sometimes.”

“Mrs. Morgan, please,” Todd said.

She shook her head. “This would be his third strike, so I ain’t saying nothing. Matter of fact, I’m ’bout to go.”

“Mama!”

Her mother ignored her as she retreated across the parking lot after her man.

“Do you want us to stop her?” one of the men asked Nina.

She thought about it, but then shrugged. What was the use? Might as well let her go on. Maybe now she’d leave Nina alone.

“No, forget it. I just want to go home.”

“Well, you can’t drive your car like this. Let me take you home,” Todd offered.

Nina glared at him through tear-filled eyes. The last thing she wanted was for Todd to do anything for her.

“Come on, Nina. It’s the least I can do,” he said.

She looked at her car and realized she didn’t have much choice.

“Okay, fine.”

Todd led her to his truck, got her seated, then went back to talk to the other men. He was pointing at her car, no doubt making arrangements to have it towed.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked once he jumped into his truck.

“My crackhead mother and her crackhead husband just attacked me in the church parking lot. Do you think I’m okay?”

“No, I guess not,” he said softly.

Nina didn’t bother responding to his comment. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“I go to this church, remember?” Todd quickly corrected himself. “I mean, I haven’t been going regularly over the last year, and when I do go, I usually go to the early service. I just came today to the eleven o’clock service because…” He paused. “Well, I don’t know why I came late.” He glanced over at her. “Maybe God had something special planned for me today.”

She stiffened in her seat. No, he wasn’t trying to act like his being there when Roscoe attacked her was some divine intervention.

“Can you just take me home, please?” she said, pulling out her phone to try Rick one more time. Her heart fluttered when Rick finally picked up.

“Yeah, what’s up?” he said.

“Rick, where are you?” The anger in his voice made her want to burst out in tears.

“I’m handling some business. What’s up?”

“Well, can it wait? I really need you.”

“No, it can’t wait. What’s going on?”

“My mom’s husband just attacked me at church.”

That made him hesitate. “Are you all right?”

“I am, but I’m a little shaken up.”

He seemed relieved. “All right then, go home, lay down, and I’ll be there in a little while.” He hung up the phone before she could protest.

Todd was looking straight ahead, giving her space, but Nina was so embarrassed that she pretended to keep talking. “Okay, all right, baby. I’ll have someone drop me off at home. You’re on your way? Okay, then. I’ll talk to you in a bit.” She snapped the phone shut, grateful that Todd didn’t make a comment. “You can take me on home,” she said softly.

He pulled out of the parking lot. “You’re still in the same place, right?”

“Yeah, my mansion is being remodeled.” He laughed, but she didn’t.

“Sorry,” he said, losing his smile. “I just thought, you know, thought you might’ve moved.”

“No, I haven’t. I’m sure your girlfriend has you guys already living in River Oaks with security guards and a house staff, but I’m trying to be careful in my spending. I’m still in the place I’ve been in for the past year.”

“If I was still with Pam, I’m sure she would have us in a big mansion,” Todd replied, without looking Nina’s way.

Nina did a double take. “What do you mean, if you were still with her?”

“I broke up with Pam.” He kept his eyes on the road, like he was afraid to look her in the eye.

Nina didn’t know what to say. The few times she’d seen Todd with Pam, he hadn’t looked happy, but she had told herself it was just her being jealous. She never would’ve imagined Todd and Pam
were on the verge of breaking up. Nina was especially surprised that she would leave after he’d just come into all that money.

“I guess you can say I finally came to my senses,” Todd said.

“Finally,” Nina mumbled.

He remained silent, and the roar of the engine filled the cab. “Just so you know, I’m really sorry about how all of this turned out.”

Not sorry enough to take my money,
she wanted to say.

“So did Pam take you for half the money before she left?” Nina said instead.

“Nope. I’m still married to you, remember? She has no right to the money.”

“Kind of like someone else I know,” Nina couldn’t help adding.

“Okay, I deserved that one,” Todd said. “But just so you know, I hope Rick and the money bring you all the happiness you deserve.”

Nina leaned back against the passenger seat and didn’t say anything else as Todd navigated toward her house. She wanted to ask him more questions about Pam. Was he lying to her? And if not, why’d they break up? What really happened? But she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of thinking she cared.

Then her thoughts turned to Todd’s well wishes for her and Rick. That was a joke. The money definitely hadn’t brought them any happiness.

Nina was tired—tired of the stress she’d felt since the day she found out she was rich. She thought back to the last day she’d really been happy. Her heart sank when she realized it was the day
before
she won the lottery.

N
ina glanced around the beauty shop. Even though there were only five stylists, more than twenty women were at various stages of getting their hair done. She knew she should’ve rescheduled her appointment. She was still shaken up about her run-in with Roscoe yesterday. Rick didn’t get in until near two in the morning. Nina was so furious that she left this morning before he woke up. So the last thing she felt like doing was sitting up in a beauty shop all day.

Nina had been under the dryer and now had been waiting for an hour on Davion, her stylist, as he finished up the two people in front of her. Nina couldn’t understand why he continued to double book his clients. But despite everyone complaining, he wouldn’t change. In fact, complaining only made
him move slower. And because he was one of the best hair stylists in Houston, she, like everyone else, sat and waited.

“I see you over there giving me the eye,” Davion finally said. “Come on here, girl.” He patted the chair his last client had just vacated. “I’ve already told you, when you come in here, you need to schedule some time. Bring a book, work, something. You can’t rush perfection.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Nina said, taking a seat.

“Now I am available for in-home services,” he said as he flipped the cape around her neck.

“And let me guess, that’s double what I pay here?”

“Triple, girlfriend. But don’t act like you can’t afford it.” He playfully pushed her shoulder. “I saw you all up on the news. Shoot, truth be told, you need to hire me as your personal stylist.”

“Please, you know I am just a simple girl and not about to splurge on something like a stylist.” Nina tsked.

“Therein lies the problem,” he said. “Well, at least I know I have a big tip coming. Seriously, though, if you want to skip the shop, I can start coming to your house. It won’t be triple. Double maybe.”

She laughed as he started styling her hair. “Thanks for looking out for me.”

“Anytime.” Nina smelled her hair sizzling as he took the flat iron to it. She almost said something, but since she didn’t feel like getting cursed out, she kept quiet. He may have been momentarily frying her hair, but the fact remained, he was the reason her hair was so healthy. “You just missed Shari,” Davion said.

“Oh, wow. I hate that I missed her. I haven’t talked to her in awhile.”

“Yeah, she told me. It sounded like her feelings were a little hurt.”

Nina made a mental note to call Shari as soon as she left the shop. She hadn’t been doing a good job of keeping in touch, even though the two of them used to be really close.

“Mmm-hmmm, she told me about your ex.”

Nina grimaced. She didn’t want everybody knowing her business, especially that Todd had taken half her money. Shari never had been a loose-lipped type of person, so Nina couldn’t understand why she would be up in the shop talking about her. Davion did have a way of making you gossip without even realizing it, but Shari knew that. Maybe she was just mad at Nina.

“It’s so sad,” Davion said.

Nina sighed. She might as well give Davion the juicy information he was looking for. “Sad? Please, try low-down and dirty.”

Davion stopped in the middle of styling her hair. “How is his grandmother getting sick low-down and dirty?”

Surprised, Nina swung her head around. “What? What are you talking about?”

“His grandmother,” Davion replied. “What did you think I was talking about?”

Nina felt her heart start to race. Todd’s grandmother was one person she would always feel a connection with. Not just because she was a sweet woman who had doted over Nina much of her life but because she always brought a smile to Nina’s face.
Plus, Nina’s own grandmother Odessa was friends with her. “What’s wrong with Grams?”

“Grams?” Davion said. “Umph. Sound like somebody’s still feeling all personal.”

“What do you mean, she’s sick?” Nina didn’t have time for his sarcasm.

“Well, I ain’t one to gossip, so you ain’t heard this from me.” He lowered his voice. “The woman done had a massive heart attack and is barely hanging on. They have her on life support while they fly her a heart in from Japan. If it doesn’t get here in time, they don’t think she’s gonna make it.”

“Oh, my God,” Nina said, fighting back tears. She fumbled in her purse for her cell phone as Davion continued talking.

“And she has severe Alzheimer’s, so the heart might not even take because the Alzheimer’s has attacked her whole body. The doctors say it’s the worst thing they’ve ever seen. Just sad,” he said, shaking his head. “But don’t let me sit up here talking about the woman.”

Alzheimer’s?
Granted, it had been six months since Nina last saw Grams, but she had talked to her about a month ago. She seemed her usual self then, a little irritable, nothing really out of the ordinary. How could Alzheimer’s take over that fast?

“Davion, give me a minute,” Nina said, standing up. “I need to make a phone call.”

Davion raised his eyebrow. “You’re gonna lose your place. You see all these people in here.” He pointed at an older woman sitting in the waiting area. Her head was full of pink hair rollers and she was glaring at him. “You see Miss Lulu trying to stare
me down?” He wiggled his neck at her. “You got a problem? ’Cause you looking at me like you’re crazy.”

“I just want you to stop running your mouth and finish her hair because I got to go,” Miss Lulu said.

“You ain’t goin’ nowhere but to bingo. So sit back and be quiet.” The shop erupted in laughter, and Miss Lulu folded her arms across her chest.

“Or you can have Tameka finish you up,” Davion said, motioning to the scrawny-looking girl at the back of the shop who was straightening up her station for the fifth time. Her seat was almost always empty. The only clients she ever had were walk-ins.

“Go on, you’re in such a hurry, let Tameka do you,” Davion snapped.

Miss Lulu rolled her eyes, then picked up the
Essence
magazine on her lap and commenced to reading.

“That’s what I thought,” Davion said.

Nina’s position hadn’t changed, though. She didn’t have time to be dealing with this mess. “Fine, Davion. I’ll just have to lose my place. I’m goin’ to step outside and use the phone.”

Davion waved at her in frustration. “Go on. Considering the circumstances, I’ll finish you next. Come on, Miss Lulu.”

“Thanks,” Nina mumbled, preoccupied with punching in Shari’s number as she headed out the door.

“Hey, Shari,” Nina said as soon as her former cousin-in-law picked up the phone.

“Well, hello stranger.”

Nina noted the pertness in Shari’s voice. At least she didn’t have an attitude.

“Let me first apologize for not doing a better job of keeping in touch,” Nina began.

“It’s all good,” Shari responded lightly. “I haven’t done such a great job myself. I knew things were hard on you with the divorce, and I called myself giving you some space. But I should have done better.”

“Look, I’m leaving the beauty shop—”

“Oh, you still go to Davion?”

“Yeah,” Nina replied. “Anyway, he told me a little about Todd’s grandmother.” Shari and Todd were cousins on his father’s side, so she was not related to Grams, but Grams was the type of woman everyone liked. “I can’t believe she had a massive heart attack,” Nina continued. “They really don’t think she’s gonna make it?”

“Whoa…” Shari said. “That is not what I told Davion. She had a stroke. It wasn’t massive. You know he has a flair for the dramatic.”

Nina felt a wave of relief sweep through her body. “So Grams is okay?”

“Well, no. But it’s not as bad as that. Her heart is giving out and she has to have a transplant. She’s actually going in tomorrow.”

“Where?”

“To some private facility in Katy. I think the name is Huffington something or other.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of that place. They’re supposed to have state-of-the-art medical facilities,” Nina said. “What time?”

“I think Todd said around ten.”

Suddenly, going there seemed like a good idea. Everything inside her was telling her to go, not just for Grams but because this ordeal had to be brutal on Todd and his mother. “You think, um, you think it would be okay if I dropped by there? I mean, I don’t want any problems with his psycho girlfriend.”

Shari laughed. “Girl, Pam is history, thank God. Todd found out she was cheating on him.”

So Todd wasn’t lying about breaking up with Pam. And she was cheating? Talk about karma
. Nina shook away that pleasurable thought. That was irrelevant. All that mattered was being there for Grams.

“Thanks a lot for letting me know what was going on, Shari,” Nina said.

Shari hesitated before replying. “Nina, this is really hard on Todd. I know you can’t stand him, but he could really use you being there. Despite what you may think, he really and truly loved you. He just made a stupid mistake. I hope you can forgive him, at least for a few days, and go be by his side.”

That kind of talk made Nina uncomfortable. It wasn’t her job to “be by his side.” But he did save her from Roscoe, and she did care about Grams. “Uh, okay. I’m goin’ to go. At least I think I am. Don’t say anything, though. Just in case I change my mind.”

Nina could hear a smile in Shari’s voice when she said, “I won’t say a word. Take care, girl, and stay in touch.”

Nina said good-bye. Despite what she said, she knew she wouldn’t change her mind.