The Devil Is a Lie (5 page)

T
hey had to move. That’s what Nina was thinking as she pulled up into her driveway and saw the long, blue, beat-up Cadillac. Besides the phone calls, they’d been receiving emails from long-lost relatives, friends, and even strangers, who all were “going to die a slow and painful death” if she didn’t give them some money. In the past two days Nina had heard from more people than she had in the last ten years.

“Hey, Aunt Frances,” Nina said, heading up the walkway to her front door.

Her father’s sister was standing near her door, nervously twisting a handkerchief.

“Hey, baby,” Frances said.

Nina hadn’t talked to her aunt in two months, and the
woman had never, ever come to her house. But then, she knew exactly what her aunt wanted.

“What’s going on?” Nina asked after her aunt didn’t go on. Frances’s eyes were red, her gray hair was pulled back into a bun, and with her yellow floral dress stretched across her heavy frame, she looked like a big picnic blanket.

“Nothing, baby. I was just in the area and wanted to say hello and, um, come check on you.”

You’ve never bothered to check on me before
, Nina wanted to say. But Nina wasn’t going to be rude.

Nina painted on a smile as she unlocked her front door. “So you’re just checking on me, huh?”

“Yes, you know I worry about you,” Frances said. “I told your daddy on his deathbed that I was gonna watch over you, and I just realized that I hadn’t been doing too good a job of that.”

“You just realized that, huh?” Nina chuckled and debated whether she should point out that her aunt had definitely reneged on that promise. Nina decided to humor her aunt instead, so she stepped aside. “Come on in, Aunt Frances.”

Her pale-skinned aunt wobbled into the foyer. Frances bore the look of a woman who had been through some hard times. Given all the problems with her daughters, Janai and Janay, and their brother, Amos, she had been through a whole lot.

Nina closed the door behind her aunt. She was really tired after meeting with financial planners all day. She’d fired Mr. Abernathy and hired another attorney, as well as a financial planner from Briggs & Veselka, one of the top accounting firms in Houston.

Nina decided to cut to the chase. “So how much do you
need?” She and the financial planner had just worked out the details on what she planned to give her family, but Nina decided to see how her aunt’s numbers matched up.

Frances gave the phoniest quizzical expression Nina had ever seen. “What are you talkin’ about, baby? What makes you think I want some money?”

Nina folded her arms. “Let’s see, I win the lottery and my aunt, who has never visited me before, suddenly shows up at my house.”

“Chile, you won the lottery? Well, glory be to God.” She started fanning herself while she flashed a wide, cheesy smile.

“Hmmph,” Nina muttered. “The twins didn’t tell you?”

“I haven’t talked to those girls all week. I must’ve been livin’ under a rock because I just had no idea.”

Nina narrowed her eyes. Could her aunt possibly be telling the truth? She did spend all her time at church and playing bingo. Maybe she hadn’t heard.

Frances twisted the handkerchief again. “But seeing as how you are rich now…”

Nina couldn’t help rolling her eyes.

Frances looked down at the floor as she continued. “I mean, I just feel so awful about asking you this, but you know your cousin Amos is in jail, and he’s just a sweet boy who got in with the wrong crowd and, well, he wouldn’t have gone to jail if he’d had a good lawyer. And I was just hoping that maybe you could help him out.”

Nina stared at her aunt in disbelief. “Amos went to jail for rape, didn’t he?”

“Well, yes, but he said it was consensual.”

“But weren’t the girl’s clothes torn, and wasn’t she, like, fifteen?”

Frances turned up her nose. “She was a fast-tailed little thang.”

“Aunt Frances,” Nina began, trying to find the right words to let her aunt know she was out of her mind. Cousin or no cousin, she wasn’t about to help Amos get out of jail for having sex with a child.

Frances began to cry. “I just can’t stand seeing my baby in jail. And then”—she swallowed hard—“and then Clevon, Lord have mercy, ever since he been laid off, he been depressed and his foot is just getting worse and worse.”

Nina hadn’t heard this story. “What’s wrong with his foot, Auntie?”

“He got gangrene. The thing is crusty black and ’bout to fall off. But we ain’t got no money for him to even go to the doctor. If my man loses his foot, he’s gonna be like Kunta Kinte and lose his will to live.” She took another deep breath, her whole body shaking, like she was trying to keep from collapsing.

“I’m sorry,” she continued. “I don’t mean to burden you with our troubles, especially in light of your good news. God done showered you with such a big blessing. You don’t need to be worried about your family and their troubles.”

Nina sighed heavily. “Aunt Frances, I haven’t gotten the money yet. We’re supposed to pick up the check tomorrow. I will help Uncle Clevon out.”

Frances looked hopeful. “And Amos?”

“I’m gonna have to pray on that one,” Nina said, pushing her aunt toward the door. “But let me go. I have some studying to do for my real estate exam. I’m trying to get a specialty license.”

Frances looked at her like she was crazy. “Study? For what? With sixteen million dollars, baby, you can buy all the real estate you want. You ain’t got to worry ’bout selling nobody nothing.”

Nina couldn’t help laughing. “How’d you know how much money it was if you didn’t know I’d won?”

Frances looked confused for a minute. “’Cause you said it.”

Nina nodded, too tired to argue. “Okay, Auntie.” She opened the front door. “I’ll call you this weekend.”

“Ooooh, bless you, baby,” Frances said, patting her face. “You always were my favorite niece.”

“Mmm-hmmm. Talk to you later.” Nina eased the door closed, then leaned against it. Her family wouldn’t even give her time to collect her winnings, let alone wait on the check to clear.

“Why did I ever go on TV?” she muttered before heading upstairs to her bedroom.

Nina had just pulled out some lounging clothes when Rick walked into the bedroom.

“Hey, who was that pulling off when I drove up?” he asked.

“My aunt Frances.”

“What did she want?” But he knew even before he finished the question. “As if I need to ask,” he added, scowling.

Nina pulled off her top and pants. “Can we not start with the ‘I told you so’s’? What’s done is done.”

Rick sighed in frustration. “So did you give her some money?”

“I don’t have the money to give yet.” Nina slipped on her lounging pants and a tank top, then walked over and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Can we not talk about begging family members right now, please? How did the meeting with the developer go?”

That brought a smile to Rick’s face. He’d met with a developer about purchasing some land to build his new gym on, and he was extremely excited.

“Wow,” he said, “it was great. He is so ready to sell. I think he’s having some IRS troubles, but that’s not my problem.” A flicker of doubt passed over his face. “He was trying to hardball me, but when I told him I’d be paying cash, oh, his attitude quickly changed. He started talking about all the stuff he’d throw in. So I told him I’d bring a check tomorrow after we leave the lotto office. He’ll hold the check a week because you know our bank is gonna put a hold on an eight-million-dollar check, even if it does come from the state. But after that I can pick up the deed.”

Nina loved seeing Rick so excited. He had been devastated when he used the money he’d been saving for his gym to pay for his brother’s funeral. He’d been trying hustle after hustle to make money. He even asked her to flip houses. As he explained, she would get someone to sell their house for more than it was worth, then have the homeowner take the equity out, before sending the house into foreclosure. Since Nina wasn’t trying to go to jail for scamming mortgage companies, she quickly nixed that idea.

Now Rick was rejuvenated, and she had the lottery to thank for that.

“So how did the meeting with the financial planner go?” he asked.

“It was wonderful. I think this firm is going to be great. They’ll meet us at the lottery office in the morning.”

Rick picked her up with his big strong arms and showered her with kisses. “Yes! The first thing I want to do is show you that land. Then I want to swing by Robbins Brothers, have you pick out the biggest diamond they have, and I am going to take you to a tropical island.”

“That sounds like a great idea!”

He paused, turning serious. “Let’s get married while we’re there.”

“Oh, so you want to marry me now that I’m loaded,” she said playfully.

He pushed her away, a hurt look crossing his face.

“Come on, baby,” Nina quickly added. “I was just playing.” She knew how much he loved her, and he’d never given her any reason to doubt that love.

“Don’t play with me like that,” he said. “You know I’m thrilled about the money. But I was there when you didn’t have a dime. I was the one paying for all those real estate classes. And you know the only reason we’re not already married is because you got this crazy idea that you need to wait a certain amount of time after your divorce.”

“And you said you understood that,” Nina replied. “Besides, you said you wanted to wait, too, until you were more financially stable.”

Nina could tell he was still upset, so she stepped closer and rubbed his arms. “But, baby, we are financially stable now. So I think your idea to get married is great.” With their newfound wealth she looked forward to doing wonderful things together. Why not make it official? “You’re right. Let’s do it,” she said. “Let’s pick up our check, buy the land for our gym, buy our rings, and go get married.”

He looked at her searchingly. “Money or no money, don’t marry me if you don’t love me.”

She threw her arms around him again. “You know I love you. And I would be so happy to be Mrs. Rick Henderson.”

He finally smiled. “You just made my day,” Rick said, passionately bringing his lips to hers.

“And you’ve made my life,” she whispered after they kissed. She was surprised at how ecstatic she felt. She was about to be a married millionaire. Life couldn’t get any better than that.

T
he incessant tapping was about to drive him crazy.

Todd glanced down at the source of his rattled nerves. “Would you please stop tapping your foot?”

“What?” Pam cried. Even though it was cloudy and overcast, she wore a pair of oversized sunglasses. Of course, they topped off the rest of her outfit—a psychedelic Rocawear minidress with thigh-high boots. Before they left the house he’d urged her to change into a more conservative outfit, but of course she didn’t listen.

“What am I doing?” Pam said when he continued to stare at her.

“The tapping, the sighing, all of it,” Todd replied. “If you didn’t want to come, you shouldn’t have come.” They were
standing outside Memorial Greens Hospice, waiting for his mother to park her car. They’d been about to go inside when they saw her pulling in the parking lot. He’d stopped to wait so they could all walk in together.

“I’m here, ain’t I?” She didn’t even try to hide the boredom in her voice.

“My grandmother can sense your negativity.”

Pam opened her huge Fendi bag and pulled out a cigarette—a habit she knew he couldn’t stand. “Your grandmother wouldn’t know if it was me or Janet Jackson in the room.”

“Pam.” He eyed the cigarette just as she put it to her lips. “Can you chill with the cancer stick?”

“Good grief,” she huffed, then tossed the cigarette back into her purse. “I need something to calm my nerves. I’m not in the mood to deal with your mother and her funky attitude. Besides, it’s our anniversary. I thought we were doing something special.”

Todd knew how that went. Today was the anniversary of the day they officially moved in together. Last month, she’d wanted to celebrate the anniversary of the first time they kissed, and before that, the monthly anniversary of their first date. He lost track of all their “anniversaries.”

“Coming to see my grandmother is special to me,” Todd told her. “And we’re going to eat when we leave here.” Todd had actually asked Pam to wait at home, but she refused. She wanted to use the forty-five-minute drive to Memorial Greens to try to change his mind about the lottery money. He’d instantly nixed the idea, and Pam had spent all night and most of this morning talking about it. “It’s my grandmother’s seventi
eth birthday,” Todd continued. “I don’t want any drama. I just want to take her her gift; spend some time with her. Then we can go do whatever you want.”

“You know what I want to do—go talk to that attorney about our rights.”

“Pam, drop it,” he said forcefully. “We don’t have any rights. I’m divorced from Nina and that’s final.”

“But the divorce isn’t final.”

“Well, it’s supposed to be.” He huffed at the very idea. “I can’t show up out of the blue and try to take half her money.”

Pam suddenly grabbed his hands and pleaded with him. “Baby, we are like two dollars away from being out on the streets. And our money troubles aren’t showing any signs of letting up. This money would be the answer to our prayers. Think about it. You’re busting your butt to start a record label—”

“A talent management company,” he corrected.

“Whatever,” she said. “The point is, this money could make that happen.”

Todd tried not to let her words seduce him. Yes, he sure could use the money, but he’d hurt Nina enough by cheating on her in the first place. He couldn’t go and take her money as well.

“Let me ask you again,” Pam said when she realized he wasn’t budging, “if the tables were turned, don’t you think she’d come get her half?”

“I don’t want to talk about hypotheticals.”

“Just hear me out—”

“No. This conversation is over,” Todd said, summoning up a smile as his mother approached them.

Gloria Lawson looked her usual regal self in a pair of tan slacks and a beige sweater set with beige pearls. Her jet-black hair was pulled back in a bun, and her virtually wrinkle-free skin gave no hint of her fifty-two years. If not for the heaviness in her eyes, she’d easily pass for a woman in her early forties.

“Hello, Mother.” Todd leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

“Hey, baby,” she replied. As she turned to Pam, the smile immediately left her face. “Pam.”

“Mrs. Lawson,” Pam coolly replied. Todd couldn’t blame Pam for the coldness she exhibited around his mother. After all, the women in his family—his mother, grandmother, and cousin Shari—still treated Pam like a pariah. “You look lovely today,” Pam offered.

“Thank you,” Mrs. Lawson said, looking Pam up and down. “And so do—” She stopped abruptly and turned to Todd. “So, dear, tell me, what did you get your grandmother?”

“I bought her the Bible on audio and a CD player,” he said, holding up the pink gift bag. He ignored her dig at Pam, which he knew he’d hear about later.

“A CD? If you can get her to listen to it, that will be a miracle.” She glanced at Pam’s outfit one more time, made a slight moue of disgust, then took Todd’s arm and pulled him to her side. “Well, come on.”

“I guess I’ll come, too,” Pam mumbled as she followed them in.

They checked in at the front desk, then made their way back to his grandmother’s room. Todd was grateful that the hospice
didn’t have the stale mothball smell that a lot of nursing homes possessed. Memorial Greens Hospice was a top-of-the-line facility. Set on thirty-five acres, the modern hospice had large, comfortable rooms, a dining area, and a fully equipped family center. He’d hated putting his grandmother here, but she’d adamantly opposed going to live with anyone. Fiercely independent, it nearly took an act of God for her to finally agree on an assisted-living center. And because she suffered from a weak heart, they needed a place where she could receive medical care. She’d been there for two years now.

“Hey, Mama,” Todd’s mother said as she eased the door open. “It’s me.”

Todd’s grandmother was sitting in a rocking chair near the window, gazing out into the courtyard. She wore a yellow housecoat, and her gray hair was parted down the middle and braided in two plaits, which hung down her shoulders.

“Gloria?” his grandmother said.

“Yes, Mama.” She walked over and kissed her mother on the top of her head. “It is so good to see you. You look great. Happy birthday.”

“Hi, Grandma Hattie,” Todd said, easing up to his grandmother. He waited with bated breath, hoping she recognized him.

“Hey, baby.” His grandmother’s eyes lit up, causing Todd to smile with relief. “Don’t you look handsome.”

Pam cleared her throat after no one acknowledged her presence.

“And look at you,” Hattie said, smiling at Pam. “Just as beautiful as ever.”

Pam flashed a genuine smile for a change. “Thank you, Miss Hattie.”

“You are such a pretty girl,” Hattie continued. “Your dress is kinda trashy, but you sure are pretty. Come sit next to me.”

Pam scowled at Todd. He pleaded with his eyes for her to let the comment pass.

“Come on, girl, I don’t bite,” Hattie said, leaning over and patting the chair next to her. “Todd, tell Nina I don’t bite.” She giggled when Pam didn’t move.

Pam’s whole body tensed and Todd immediately put in, “Grandma, this isn’t Nina.”

“Huh?” His grandmother frowned up.

“Remember, this is my girlfriend, Pam. She’s been here with me many times.”

Confusion was etched across his grandmother’s face. “Girlfriend? Oh, Lord, you’re committing adultery.”

Gloria rested her hand on her mother’s arm and spoke gently. “Mama, Nina and Todd are no longer married. So Pam and Todd aren’t committing adultery.” She paused and gave Pam a wry look. “At least not anymore.”

“What you say now? Todd, you were raised better than that—cheating on your wife.” She wagged her finger at him.

“Grams, Nina and I are not married,” Todd said gently.

“You’re not?”

“No, we haven’t been together for about a year.”

She looked at Pam quizzically. “And this is your girlfriend now?”

Pam bit down on her bottom lip. Todd could tell she was
getting heated. She definitely was working hard to hold her anger in. Todd made a mental note to thank her later for at least trying to be civil.

“Yes, Grams,” Todd said. “You’ve met her before. Her name is Pam.”

Hattie leaned forward in her seat and slowly sized Pam up. “Girlfriend, huh? Why she got on her baby sister’s dress? I can see all her goodies.” She pointed her long, bony finger. “Gal, ain’t nobody ever told you to leave a little somethin’ for the imagination?”

“Grandma, that’s the style,” Todd said, coming to Pam’s defense.

Yet the older woman remained confused. “Is she a streetwalker? ’Cause she looks like a streetwalker to me in that short dress and all that makeup.”

Pam cringed as Todd’s mother tried to stifle a laugh.

“Todd…” Pam said through gritted teeth.

His grandmother’s serious tone was actually quite funny, but Todd didn’t dare laugh because he already knew he was going to have to hear about it all the way home.

“Well, if you can’t have Nina, I guess she’ll do,” Hattie said matter-of-factly, leaning back in her rocking chair. “She got a nice little figure and she look like she freaky.” She winked at Todd. “I imagine that’s why you got with her.”

“Todd, I’m going to wait outside,” Pam huffed. She marched toward the door before he could say a word.

“Bye, Nina,” his grandmother happily called as Pam headed out. “Come back and see me.”

Pam didn’t reply as she stomped out of the room. Todd debated going after her but decided not to. It was probably best that she wait in the lobby anyway, because there was no telling what else his grandmother would say.

After the door closed, Hattie turned to Todd. “You listen to your grandma. You dump that gal and go back to Nina. She’s much better for you. You been with her since you was a boy. She’s your soul mate. Not that floozy.”

It was amazing how his grandmother could remember his relationship with Nina and their long history but couldn’t remember Pam even though she’d been to visit many times. Hattie had always loved Nina, and the feeling was mutual. Hattie and Nina’s grandmother Odessa used to go to church together, and that’s how Todd and Nina met back in middle school.

Hattie’s gaze drifted to the bag that Todd had set down on the bed. “Is that for me?”

“It sure is.” Todd picked up the bag and handed it to his grandmother. She excitedly removed the white tissue paper. “What’s this?” she asked, scrunching up her nose as she examined the box.

“It’s the Bible on CD.”

“What?” She turned the box over, inspecting it.

“Yeah, you can put it in this CD player,” he said, pulling the CD player out of the bag. “Then you can listen to the Bible on audio.”

She tossed the box onto the table in front of her. “Boy, please. I
read
the Word of God. That’s how He talks to me. I don’t want to listen to nobody pretending to be God.”

Gloria gave Todd an “I told you so” look, then chuckled as she walked over and began fluffing the pillow behind her mother. “Mama, have you taken your medication today?”

“No. And I ain’t taking ’em either. They tryin’ to turn me into a crackhead,” she said defiantly.

“Mama, it’s not crack,” Gloria replied patiently. “It’s medicine, and we talked about how important it is that you take your pills.”

“Pills schmills. I ain’t taking ’em. If my heart goes out, that means it’s just my time to go.”

Gloria sighed as she rose to her full height. “Todd, talk to your grandmother. I’m goin’ down the hall and speak to Dr. Phelps. He said he had something important he wanted to talk to me about.”

“You can talk with that quack all you want!” Hattie yelled.

“Why is he a quack, Mama?”

“’Cause he’s black. Gimme a white doctor.” She stuck out her lips and rocked back and forth. Gloria shook her head and left the room.

Todd patted his grandmother’s hand. “Grams, you know that’s not true.”

“It is so,” she replied, jerking her hand away. “I don’t want no black doctor giving me no medicine. Them white folks, they the ones that know what they’re doing. That man probably ain’t even no real doctor.”

Todd let the statement pass. Lately, they’d been going through this every time he came. For some reason, his grandmother had gotten it in her head that black doctors were infe
rior. She seemed to be getting more and more cantankerous. Dr. Phelps said it was the dementia, even though his grandmother had always been prone to saying whatever was on her mind.

“You know Dr. Phelps graduated from Yale. I showed you the degree, remember?” Todd said.

“He probably made that on that computer in his office. I seen on TV you can do everything on them computers,” she said. “And yesterday he tried to poison me.” She flailed her arms, upset. “Ask him why he tried to poison me and to get me a white doctor.”

“Grams, the last time I was here, you promised me you were going to stop giving the doctors a hard time.” He pulled a sheet of paper out of her nightstand drawer. “Remember this?” He started reading. “ I, Hattie Mae Sturgis, agree not to give the doctors a hard time and take all my medication.’ See, you signed it right there.” He showed her the paper.

Becoming calm again, she leaned in and peered at the paper. “How I know you didn’t forge my signature?”

“I didn’t forge it. It’s your signature.”

She waved him off, not giving in. “Where’s Nina? I want to see Nina.”

Todd felt a sudden pang of sadness. He folded the paper and put it back in the drawer. “Grams, I’m not with Nina anymore. And I need you to focus.”

“Focus on what?” she said, her voice rising. “Are you from that
Candid Camera
show? Are you a quack, too?”

“What?”

“You think I’m crazy!” she exclaimed, wagging her finger
at him. “But the devil is a lie! You won’t make me think I’m crazy.”

“Okay, Grams,” he said, trying to calm her down.

She started getting really agitated, then a pained look crossed her face as she clutched her heart. “Owww.”

Todd immediately pushed the nurse call button and rushed to his grandmother’s side. She was grimacing as she let out a guttural moan. “Grams, are you okay?”

“What you think? My chest hurts. Go find me a white doctor,” she snapped, shooing him away. “I don’t want you to examine me.”