When Everything's Said & Done (24 page)

“You did?”

“Yes. He was going up to your mother’s house. It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen y’all over there, so I spoke to him. He waved but he seemed like he was in such a hurry, I didn’t say anything else.”

“Oh.” Brenda’s smile vanished.

Mrs. Smith pushed her pocketbook up on her arm. “So it’s good seeing you, too.”

“Same here,” Brenda said and went outside.

She drove up the street. “What was Michael doing over there?” Nervously, she licked her lips. “What could he have been doing?” Brenda stopped at a traffic light. “Now that Warren’s dead, has Michael finally decided he wants to be with Cora?” She shook her head. “And here I am going to have a baby.”

She started to cross the street when a siren sounded. Brenda could see the ambulance through her rearview mirror. She pulled over to the side and waited. The am
bulance passed and Brenda proceeded toward her house. Then she made a sudden turn in the opposite direction. Minutes later Brenda parked out front of her childhood home. She got out, slammed the car door, walked up to the house and rang the doorbell.

Someone peeped through the lace curtains of the front window before the door opened.
There Cora stood with tear stains on her face.

“Is Michael here?” Brenda asked.

“Oh, Brenda.” Fresh tears flowed. “You don’t know,” she said softly.

Brenda stared at her. “Know what?”

Cora opened the door farther so Brenda could come inside. Brenda looked at her mother, sitting in her wheelchair, and at Nebia, who stood beside it.

“Michael left here about thirty minutes ago. He got in his car and drove up the street.” Cora kept her eyes focused on Brenda’s fac
e. “He had a major heart attack, Brenda. The ambulance workers tried to revive him, but they couldn’t.”

“What?” Brenda looked from one face to another. “Michael is dead?”

Cora covered her face with her hand.

“When the ambulance pulled off they hadn’t been able to revive him,” Laura said. “There’s a strong pos
sibility that he is.”

“I just called your house.” Cora wiped her eyes.

“Michael was here seeing you, then he had a heart attack and died,” Brenda repeated with disbelief.

“Michael came to tell Cora those Gangster Disciples are going to try and kill her because their friend
died early this morning,” Laura said. “They blame Cora. They think she poisoned him.”

Brenda looked as if she might faint. “How did Michael know that?”

“He overheard a conversation between Reverend Benson and two of the gang members,” Nebia said. “The reverend’s been trying to put them boys on the right road, but it’s obvious it didn’t work.”

Brenda’s eyes fluttered. “None of this can be true. It can’t.”

“It’s as true as you’re standing here,” Laura said. “All of it. And them threatening to kill Cora is real, too. Michael told us they plan to do it by tomorrow morning. So he helped us convince Cora that she’s got to leave. Go back to Africa.” Laura wiped her eyes. “He was heading to the bank to get money for Cora and Faith’s airplane tickets when he had the heart attack. ” Brenda slumped down and Cora caught her and helped her to the couch.

“I know this is hard,” C
ora said in her ear. “God knows I know this feels unbearable.”

Brenda began to cry, but it had no sound. Her mouth opened wide, but nothing came out but torrents of tears. Finally, she turned slowly and looked at every
one. “I just found out that I’m pregnant.”

Cora sat down beside Brenda and drew her in her arms. They cried together. Brenda was the first to pull back.

“I gotta go to the hospital. Maybe Michael didn’t die.” She wiped her face. “But first I’m going to write you a blank check.” Brenda looked at Cora. “Cash it at our bank. Write it for whatever you need to make your trip.”

Cora and Brenda looked deep into each other’s eyes. They hugged again.

Brenda stood up. “I’ve got to go.”

“You shouldn’t go alone,” Cora said.

“What are you going to do? Come with me?” Brenda shook her head. “You don’t have time for that. And Michael was my husband.” Her thumb hit her chest. “I want to do this alone.”

Cora looked down. “Yes. I understand.”

Brenda lifted Cora’s chin. “But it’s so good to be back. To show I love my sister again. Even in the middle of all of this.” Brenda looked at Laura. “It’s so good to be back.”

Two large tears made their way from the corners of Laura’s eyes. She opened her arms to Brenda. Brenda went down on her knees and into her mother’s arms. “Mama. Mama.”

“I love you, child. I love you.”

Cora covered her face and cried silently in her hands. Finally, Brenda rose to her feet. She hugged Nebia and Cora. “We’ll see each other again.”

“Of course we will,” Cora replied. “Once this stuff is over I’ll be back. I just don’t want nobody else to be hurt because of me. But I intend to come back.” “Where’s Faith?” Brenda asked.

“She’s napping upstairs.” Cora glanced at the stair
way. “I’ll have to get her up soon enough.”

“Here, Brenda.” Laura dug into her pocket. “You take this key, and come back here once you leave the hospital.” Brenda clasped the key in her hand. “This isn’t a time to be alone, no matter what you find out.” Laura lifted her
chin. “We’re your family. And we’re here for you if you need us.”

Nebia nodded.

“Thank you,” Brenda said through fresh tears. “But I know Michael’s gone.” She wrote the check and handed it to Cora. “He’s gone. I can feel it.” She looked off. “And maybe, finally, he’ll have some peace. No matter what I did, and no matter how I tried to make him love me the way he loved you, Cora, I never could.”

“Brenda, don’t,” Cora said.

“But it’s the truth. It was my greatest fear from the moment we married. And I threw it up in his face often enough. But this is the first time that I ever really accepted it myself.” Brenda looked down. “And maybe it’s selfish of me that it comes at this moment, at a moment when I know I will never have to share him with you again.” Brenda smiled a sad smile and went to her car.

Nehia’s Story...

“Damn,” Sheila said. “Michael died, too.”

“With a heart attack. Not too far from the house. The car ran into a telephone pole,” Nebia said.

“The timing sure is interesting,” Cynthia replied. “It’s like he died from heartache or heartbreak because Cora was leaving. Wow. That was some mixed-up stuff.”

“It was a draining time,” Nebia said.

“But Laura and Brenda finally made up,” Erica said. Nebia nodded. “That was something to see. Something to see.”

“So was Cora and Faith able to leave safely?” “They left all right. Right in the nick of time.”

CHAPTER 33

Carefully, Nebia pulled the car over to the curb in front of the airport. She sat looking straight ahead.

“I guess there’s no need to make this worse than it already is,” Cora said softly as she turned to Nebia, who sat beside her.

“I guess not. ” Nebia looked at her with tears in her eyes. “Nebia, don’t you dare cry,” Cora said. “If you cry, how can I go? How can I go if you cry?” She threw her arms around Nebia.

Faith moved toward them from the back. She slid her slim body between the two front seats. “Grandma Nebia, you crying?” Her tiny hands patted Nebia’s head.

“No, child. Of course not.” Nebia blinked several times. “You’re going with your mother to Africa. There’s going to be lots of things to see there, big animals and I hear it’s beautiful.” Nebia smiled into Faith’s pudgy face. “But you got to promise Grandma Nebia one thing.”

“What’s that, Grandma Nebia?”

“You’ll always think of me when you see a giraffe.”

“That’s the one with the long neck?” Faith’s tender brow wrinkled.

Nebia nodded. “That’s right.”

“But you don’t have a long neck, Grandma Nebia. I hardly see your neck at all.” She leaned her head to the side.

“But I’ve always held my head high and kept my eyes open, and sometimes I can see what others can’t. I want you to be that way, Faith.”

Faith nodded, although she looked uncertain; then she sat back as Cora got out of the car and opened the back door.

She leaned inside and hugged her mother as Nebia walked to the back of the vehicle. “Bye, Mama.”

“Bye, sugar,” Laura replied. “You take care of yourself and this baby. You hear? I’ll see you when you come back,” she added without conviction.

“Yes, you will.” Cora looked into her eyes. “I love you, Mama.”

“You know I’ve always loved you, Cora,” Laura replied.

Cora wiped her eyes and reached for Faith. The child climbed into her arms. “Say goodbye to Grandma. Give her a hug,” she coaxed.

“Bye, Gran’ma.”

“Bye, baby. Bye.” Laura pulled Faith to her chest as Cora held on to her waist. Finally, Laura let go. After
ward, she sat staring at her lap.

“Come with Mama,” Cora said as she put Faith down. She walked to the trunk of the car and removed
two suitcases. “I guess this is it.” Cora inhaled. She hugged Nebia again. “Thank you.” Her voice broke. “Thank you for everything.”

Nebia broke the hold. “You just get on inside that airport.”

As dusk descended, Cora motioned for a skycap, and with Faith holding an old doll, she walked toward the entrance of the airport.

“Take care of yourself,” Nebia yelled.

Cora turned, waved, touched her heart, and they disappeared inside.

Brenda was waiting when Nebia and Laura arrived home. “Michael is gone,” she said through soft tears. “I’m going to make all the arrangements tomorrow. That’s if I can.”

Nebia patted Brenda’s back.

“We’ll help you, child. Don’t you worry.” Laura took her hand.

“You look so tired, Nebia,” Brenda said.

“I am tired. Not just my body but my heart’s tired, too,” Nebia replied.

“Is Cora gone?”

“She will be in about an hour,” Laura said.

Nebia rubbed her eyes. “Think I’ll go upstairs and lay down for a minute.”

“It’s probably a good idea for both of you to rest,” Brenda said. I’ll stay up front here. Maybe I’ll look at
T.V. or something. But right now—” she paused “““I just don’t want to be alone.”

“There’s no need to be.” Laura patted her arm. “You stay here as long as you need to. This is your home.” “Mama,” Brenda said softly.

“Mmm?”

“I hate that Cora’s gone now that we could finally be together. I feel like I’ve missed the opportunity.” “They’ll be another,” Laura replied, but Nebia just looked down and left the room.

“I think I will go to my room and lay down.” Laura struggled to turn the wheelchair around. “I’m feeling a little drained.”

Brenda came over and began to push the chair. “No, that’s all right. I can make it.” Laura propelled herself forward. “I’ve made it through Annette’s death. I can make it through anything.”

Brenda watched her mother leave the room. Then she turned and gazed at the odds and ends that she remembered from childhood. She touched things and opened drawers. It was in a drawer that Brenda came across the only photo album her mother owned. She took it to the couch and opened it.

There were baby pictures, and snapshots from when they were little girls. The three of them together—she, Cora and Annette. Annette was always in the middle, and Cora always looked like she had something better to do. Brenda touched her own image, standing straight
and tall. There was a photo of a shapely, statuesque Laura wearing a fancy hat and a pretty dress, taken right before church in her church days. Brenda shook her head at all the changes time had wrought.

A soft click interrupted the memories and Brenda looked up. The sound came again, but this time the doorknob turned and three men wearing stocking cap masks burst inside.

They stood and looked at her.

“Where is your sister?” one of them demanded.

“She’s not here.” Brenda got up.

“Where is she?” he repeated.

“She’s gone. She’s not here.”

“You by yourself?”

Brenda kept her eyes on his face. “Yes. I’m here alone. My mother’s at the grocery store with the woman upstairs. They’ll be back any minute, so you better leave.”

“We not leaving here without getting some revenge for
T-Mac.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your sister killed him. That’s what I’m talking about. The bitch poisoned him.”

“That’s not true.” Brenda shook her head. “Cora wouldn’t do that.”

“It doesn’t matter to me if you believe it or not.” He stuck his chin out. “Either way someone’s going to pay for my brother, T-Mac, dying.”

“Pay for it?” Brenda started to cry. “Hasn’t enough damage been done already?” Angrily, she wiped her tears. “Somebody killed Warren, Cora’s husband. Some
body stabbed him and he died. Have you considered God may have gotten his payback with T-Mac’s death? ” “I don’t believe in no God, anyway. Yeah, T-Mac killed that policeman. I don’t know if your God had something to do with it or not, but I’m God tonight.” He made a fake lunge forward.