Reunited by the Badge

by Deborah Fletcher Mello

  “I owe you an apology,” she said, her voice a loud whisper in the late night air. “Although I knew you’d understand why I left the way I did, I should have discussed it with you first. I know that you and I can’t move forward if I’m not honest when things are off balance. And I was off balance. I was petrified and I didn’t want you to see me be weak.”

  Silence filled the space between Paul reflected on her comment. He took a deep breath before he spoke. “Well, I didn’t understand. I thought we were well past that point with each other. Don’t you know that I don’t see you as weak? Even when you’re struggling with something? And even if you do experience a moment of weakness, I’m here to help you get through it! I’m not passing judgment.”

  “I’m flawed, Paul Reilly! Immeasurably flawed.”

  “You’re dramatic, Simone. Overly dramatic!”

  “I’m getting better. And, I’m committed to doing better. Because I want to be a great mother and a great wife. I want you to be proud of me. And I need you to trust that I will be everything our children need me to be.”

  “Children?”

  “We need to plan at least one pregnancy. Like normal people do. Maybe when Junior here is five or six years old. That is, of course, as long as we don’t have another accident when this kid is two or three.”

  “You can’t run out on me again, Simone. If you do, I can’t promise I’ll chase after you. And you definitely can’t run out on this baby if it gets hard. I can’t promise what will happen if you do.”

  Simone swallowed, the emotion catching deep in her chest. Tears suddenly misted her eyes. “I swear, Paul. I will never make this mistake again! I love you! And I love our baby and I want us to be together, no matter where in the world it takes us.”

  Another moment of silence filled the air until Paul suddenly spoke again. “You know I love you, right?”

  Simone shifted her buttocks against his pelvis. “Of course, I do. Why would you ask me that?”

  “Just in case your father kills me after our conversation and I’m never able to tell you that again.”

  Simone giggled. “He won’t kill you.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “You’re giving him his first grandchild. You’ll be good as gold.”

  Paul’s fingers danced warmly over the surface of her stomach, his thumb occasionally tapping against her belly button. Energy quivered with life beneath his touch. “We should go to sleep. We have to be up in a couple of hours,” he finally whispered.

  They both drifted back into the quiet, trading easy caresses as sleep began to consume them. Without anything else needing to be said, the decision had been made. They were having a baby, planning a future, and only needed to get past the problem that was conveniently being ignored.

  * * *

  “I’m filing the formal complaint with the FDA this afternoon and tomorrow we’re holding the press conference to announce that we’re bringing a civil lawsuit against Lender Pharmaceuticals.” Simone made the pronouncement the next day over a bowl of yogurt and granola and a cup of morning coffee.

  Paul was about to take a drink from his own cup of coffee when he paused midsip, suddenly feeling uneasy about the next steps. He knew they were opening a big can of worms and he was fearful the tactic might come back to bite them. It was one of the only times the unknown felt like it might be a challenge he wasn’t equipped to beat.

  “So, what can go wrong?” he asked. “Because I’m thinking something might go wrong.”

  Simone placed her cup onto the table, pushing it from her. “Nothing is perfectly fail-safe. We’re not going to know what will happen until we take action. But we have the full support of my brother’s law firm and that’s going to bode well for us. Ellington has even agreed to personally sit second chair.”

  Paul nodded. “And you’re good with working for your brother? I know how excited you were about the other law firm.”

  “I was excited, but when I reasoned what would be in the best interest of the case, and our family, joining Ellington’s firm made more sense.”

  She took a breath before she continued. “Announcing the lawsuit will draw attention to Lender that I’m sure they’re not going to be happy with. But I fully intend to shine a very bright spotlight on what they’ve done. I’m also going to shine a light on you.”

  “On me? Why me?”

  “Because if you’re the face of the complaint and the lawsuit, Lender is less likely to continue to try and come after you. How would it look if you publicly call them out for their wrongdoing and then something happens to you? That’s not the kind of publicity they want. Trust me. That’s also why we’re holding the press conference at the hospital. I’ve already made the arrangements. I have every intention of doing whatever it takes for this to make national news and inevitably go viral and get international attention.”

  “The hospital has probably fired me by now.”

  “No, you’re still very much employed. In fact, you’re about to be their local hero. The crown prince of everything that should be right with medical care in today’s environment. You’ll need to present your studies to the board before we talk to the press, but that’s just about giving them the facts of the case. You’ll take a stand, defend the science, and our lives will go back to being normally dysfunctional.”

  Paul blew a heavy sigh, staring intently at Simone. She seemed unfazed, totally focused on a plan she was certain would put things right. She swallowed the last bite of her yogurt and stood up from the table, clearing away their dirty dishes.

  “I need to get dressed,” she said. “I have my doctor’s appointment and then we need to get that arrest warrant lifted.”

  “That won’t happen until Daddy lays eyes on you,” Mingus interjected, moving into the room. “Good morning.”

  Paul shook his head. “Good morning.”

  “Parker can lift it, can’t he?”

  “Nope! The superintendent filed it. Only the superintendent can unfile it. There’s also the option of an overly eager rookie pulling you over and taking you in. You might even get tased if you’re lucky,” Mingus said sarcastically.

  “So, after we leave the doctor’s, we need to go see your father,” Paul said, rising from his own seat. “I can’t afford to get arrested.”

  “Well, we also have an appointment with the hospital administrator this afternoon and I need to run by my new office so I can start delegating the workload so we can prepare for tomorrow’s press conference.”

  Simone took an inhale of air, holding it deep in her lungs. She already felt taxed from everything that needed to be accomplished before the day ended. She anticipated the next day would be equally exhausting. Despite her body functioning with a mind of its own, Simone was determined to push though and do what she needed to do. She couldn’t afford to fail. Everything Paul held near and dear depended on her succeeding.

  Paul moved to her side, seeming to read her mind. “Everything’s going to be fine. We’ll get through it and if it becomes too much for you, you need to let me know.” He leaned and kissed her cheek.

  Simone tapped her fingers against his chest. “I’m going to get dressed. You need to practice.”

  Paul looked confused. “Practice?”

  “Begging. I’m sure my father won’t accept anything less.”

  Mingus and Simone laughed heartily.

  Paul nodded. “Yeah,” he said, joining in with the laughter. “Today is going to be a very long day!”

  * * *

  Simone and Paul left the doctor’s office with a prescription for prenatal vitamins, a lengthy list of follow-up appointments and well wishes from her favorite physician and his staff. Once his diagnosis had been confirmed, Paul sat with his chest pushed forward, gloating like it was his greatest accomplishment in the whole wide world. Simone was equally excited but determined not to let it s
how. Just in case. Nothing was certain in life and if the past few weeks were an indication of what might lie ahead of them, she didn’t want to tempt fate and be disappointed.

  Mingus drove them from the medical center to their brother’s law offices and waited while the two went upstairs to see Simone’s new space and meet her staff. Paul stood back, pride painting his expression as she threw herself right into the fray, giving orders. It took no time at all for everyone to know that she was living up to her reputation. She was known for being a fierce litigator: well-prepared, fair-minded and tough as nails. She expected one-hundred-percent from anyone working for her because she always gave that and much more. She was impressive, and watching her, Paul understood how passionate she was about the work she did. She loved her job as much as he loved his. As she settled in, he excused himself, taking the elevator back down to the lobby.

  Mingus was leaning against the car, his arms crossed over his chest. Paul joined him. Standing side by side, the two looked like perfection sculpted from clay. It didn’t escape Paul’s attention that passersby were taking notice of them, some staring blatantly. He was acutely aware that a few women gawked, and they were drawing attention that neither had anticipated.

  “Well, now,” Paul said, as a young woman wearing skin-tight leggings, wedge sneakers and a bomber jacket stopped to press her telephone number into the palm of Mingus’s hand.

  Mingus winked his eye at her and when she rounded the corner out of sight, he tore the sliver of paper into tiny pieces and dropped them to the ground. “These women will get you hurt out here,” he muttered.

  Paul laughed. “I don’t typically have problems like that.”

  “Give it time. I bet as soon as you’re in the park pushing little junior around in his stroller, the women will be all over you.”

  Paul laughed. “And Simone will definitely hurt someone.”

  “Starting with you,” her brother added.

  A moment passed before Mingus spoke again. “You know, if you were anyone else, I’d kick your ass for knocking up my sister. But since she loves you, and the rest of us actually like you, I’m going to give you a pass.”

  Paul chuckled. “Do you think your father will give me a pass?”

  “Oh, hell no! You’re a dead man walking.”

  Paul stole a quick glance down to the cell phone in his hand for the time. It wasn’t quite the lunch hour and he anticipated Simone wouldn’t be finished anytime soon. He sent her a quick text message, advising her to stay put until he returned. When she replied, asking where he was going, he told her a little white lie, not wanting her to worry. Knowing that she was already stressed had shifted him into protective mode, wanting to ensure he did nothing to add to her anxiety. There was a quick back-and-forth exchange before she seemed to be content with his answers.

  He turned his attention to Mingus. “Do you know where I can find your father right now?”

  Mingus nodded. “Yeah, why?”

  “I think I need to speak with him without Simone. She said she’d like to work until we have to meet the hospital administrator and I could use a ride.”

  Mingus reached for his own cell phone, shooting Ellington and Simone both a message. He suddenly gestured toward two men parked in a car on the other side of the street. The passenger nodded, then exited the vehicle and crossed over to where they stood.

  “If she tries to leave, send me a message,” Mingus said.

  The man nodded, shooting Paul a quick look before moving into the building to take up space in the lobby.

  “They work for you?” Paul questioned.

  “Yeah. Backup. Just in case. You have a target on your back, remember?” He rounded the car to the driver’s side and opened the door.

  Paul shot a look over his shoulder as he slid into the passenger seat. “It’s hard to forget,” he muttered.

  Minutes later they pulled into a parking space on Forty-Seventh and King Drive. As they stepped out of the car, both men stole glances around the block, looking up one side of the street and down the other. Mingus pointed toward the entrance to Peach’s Restaurant.

  Paul shot his friend a look. “You’re really making me interrupt your father’s lunch?”

  Mingus shrugged, his grin a mile wide. “You asked me where he was, and this is where he is. Every other Thursday from eleven thirty until two. Meeting with the other Southside Heavies.”

  Paul’s gaze narrowed. “Southside Heavies?”

  “You’ll see,” he said as he moved toward the restaurant’s entrance and pulled open the door.

  The two men stepped inside, and Mingus pointed Paul toward the back of the room and a table surrounded by eight men in deep conversation. Paul recognized Simone’s father, Jerome Black, and Pastor Randolph Hinton from Mount Episcopal Baptist Church, one of Chicago’s most renowned megachurches. The others looked equally prestigious and intimidating.

  “The man seated next to my father is Darryl ‘T-Dog’ Rockman. He’s a lieutenant with the Disciple Kings. Beside him is Alderman Lincoln Haynes and next to him is real estate mogul Maxton Price. He owns a good third of the property on the south side of the city.”

  “I recognize Pastor Hinton and the man beside him looks familiar, but I can’t place where I know him from.”

  “That’s Illinois House Speaker Mike Zell. And on his left is Floyd Mac of Mac’s Barbershop, and last, but not least, Dr. Gregory Graves, founder and director of The Graves Boys Academy.”

  Understanding fell against Paul’s shoulders. The men around that table were renowned for their activism in the community, each impacting the lives of its citizens in ways that weren’t always visible to the public. They were highly respected by their core base and carried significant weight in what did, and more important, what didn’t happen on the South Side of Chicago. It was a truce of major proportions to have them all seated around a table breaking bread together.

  Paul nodded, slightly awe-struck. The magnitude of what was going on was not lost on him. The men around that table were iconic, superheroes to the Chicago masses. He aspired to accomplish a third of what most of them in the room had already accomplished in their lifetimes. He found himself hoping that his work to right the wrongs of Lender Pharmaceuticals would have as significant an impact to those who had trusted him with their health. “Southside Heavies!”

  Mingus grinned. “You know Miss Nanette, don’t you?”

  “Yes,” Paul said. Nanette was a fixture in her Chicago neighborhood, a community mother of sorts. Everybody on the South Side who knew her, loved her. She was known to feed the neighborhood to help pay her mortgage, selling plates of her home-cooked offerings. Her home was considered neutral ground for the gangs, and at any given time the lowest of the city’s downtrodden and Chicago’s most elite could be found dining together at her table.

  “Miss Nanette coined the phrase. In fact, she instigated the first meeting of the Southside Heavies. Periodically, the faces change. Members drop or are added but they all come to the table with the same mission. To do what’s best for the residents they serve.”

  A pretty woman with a satin-smooth complexion suddenly stepped forward to greet them warmly. “Table for two, gentlemen?”

  Paul shook his head. “We just need Superintendent Black’s attention for a quick minute.”

  She threw a glance toward the table of men and then turned back toward him. “They really don’t like to be disturbed.”

  “It’ll be fine,” Mingus said as he pushed past the woman and headed in his father’s direction.

  Paul grinned sheepishly. “Sorry about that,” he said, “but it won’t be a problem. I promise.”

  The woman’s eyes were wide as saucers as her gaze floated after them. Jerome Black looked up, only slightly surprised as the two men stopped at his table. “Mingus! I wasn’t...” he started just as Mingus side-stepped and Paul slid front and
center. The patriarch sat back in his seat, eyeing Paul intently. “Dr. Reilly.”

  “Good afternoon, sir,” Paul said, acutely aware that every eye was suddenly focused on him. His nerves felt fried and his knees were shaking as he struggled not to let his anxiety show.

  There was a moment of hesitation and then the Simone’s father introduced them. “Gentlemen, I’m sure you all know my son Mingus.”

  There was a round of nods and greetings, Mingus shaking hands with the pastor and dapping fists with the gang leader.

  “And this is Dr. Paul Reilly.”

  “Good afternoon,” Paul responded, moving to shake hands as each man introduced himself. He turned his attention back to Simone’s father. “I apologize for the interruption,” Paul said, “but I was hoping to have a quick word with you, sir. Or if I might schedule some time to speak with you later?”

  “No. We need to talk now!” Superintendent Black snapped. He stood up, excusing himself from the table. He gestured for Paul to follow behind him. As the two men disappeared toward the restaurant’s kitchen, Mingus slid into the seat his father had just vacated.

  Laughter rang out warmly behind them as the two men sauntered through the kitchen area and out the back door to the alley in the rear. Jerome turned, both hands clutching his sides. The patriarch was a distinguished man with salt-and-pepper hair, a rich, chocolate-brown complexion and a full beard and mustache. He was tall and the two men stood eye to eye evenly. His expression was stoic, and Paul knew he was in a mood, and clearly not happy. For a split second Paul would have preferred going hand-to-hand in combat with the two men from Lender than the conversation he was about to have with Simone’s father.

  “Where is my daughter?”

  “She’s safe, sir. At the moment, she’s at Ellington’s law office, working.”

  Jerome gave him a slight nod, seeming to file that bit of information away. “How dare you put my child in harm’s way? Have you completely lost your mind?”

  “No, sir, and I did everything I could possibly do to ensure Simone was safe.”