A Woman's Worth

by Nikita Lynnette Nichols

  Arykah ran her fingers through her hair frustratingly. “You know, the more I think about this, the more I’m convinced I can’t do this.”

  “Why? Because you don’t want to face the challenge? You wanna give up on the relationship before it gets started?”

  “I can’t deal with the pressure.”

  “What pressure, Arykah? The hardest thing you’re gonna have to deal with is keeping your legs closed and controlling your mouth. If you can master those two things, everything else will fall into place.”

  Just then Theresa stormed into Monique’s office. “Adonis is on line three, and he’s upset.”

  Monique looked at her. “Upset?”

  “Yes, and he’s yelling.”

  She spoke into her cellular telephone. “Hold on a minute, Arykah.” Monique picked up the third line. “Adonis?”

  He was hysterical. “He didn’t see it, Monique! He didn’t see it!”

  She didn’t have a clue what Adonis was talking about. “Who didn’t see what?”

  “His work boots were untied and he tripped. He tried not to fall on it, but he couldn’t help it.”

  Without knowing it, Monique became hysterical too. “Who?”

  Adonis yelled into the telephone. “Boris. He fell on six hundred volts! The ambulance is taking him to Christ Hospital! I’m on my way to get Aunt Myrtle!”

  Monique didn’t respond. She quickly slammed down the telephone, then spoke into her cellular phone. “Boris was electrocuted. I’m going to Christ Hospital.”

  “I’ll meet you there,” Arykah said.

  When Monique rushed into the emergency waiting area, she saw Myrtle on her knees praying. Adonis stood from a chair, and Monique hurried into his arms. She saw that his eyes were puffy and red.

  “How is he?” she asked.

  “We don’t know anything yet. He was unconscious when the ambulance left the job site.”

  Monique released Adonis and knelt next to the only real mother she’d ever known.

  “Boris is strong, Gravy. He’s gonna be all right.” She stood Myrtle up and sat her in a chair. Adonis sat next to Monique.

  “How did it happen?” she asked him.

  “He tripped on his boot lace. Thank God he wasn’t wearing steel toes. His partner, Paul, said he was walking ahead of Boris when he heard him fall. When Paul turned around, he saw Boris lying on the third rail. He was moving like he was having a seizure. Paul was able to kick Boris off the rail with the rubber sole on his boot. Had Boris been grounded, Paul wouldn’t have been able to help him.”

  “Grounded?” Monique asked.

  “You’re grounded when you wear earrings, chains or watches. The metal feeds the electricity and it fries you.”

  “What about Paul? How is he?”

  “Paul’s cool. His rubber sole insulated him. He’s still at work.”

  Arykah rushed into the waiting room and sat next to Myrtle, then kissed her cheek. “What happened?”

  Adonis told the story again for Arykah’s benefit.

  “What did the doctor say?” Arykah asked.

  “We don’t know anything yet,” Myrtle answered sadly.

  The four of them witnessed a doctor approach a man and his young son who were also in the emergency waiting room. Adonis and Myrtle overheard minutes before Monique arrived that the man’s wife was eating breakfast with friends when she choked on a piece of bread and stopped breathing. The doctor shook his head from side to side and patted the husband’s shoulder with compassion. The son yelled to the top of his lungs. The father grabbed and held him while trying to fight back his own tears. The doctor and a nurse led them behind two double doors.

  Myrtle placed her face in her hands and cried. “Sweet Jesus, please let my baby be all right.”

  For the next ten minutes, Monique and Arykah held Myrtle’s hands. Adonis was silently praying when Boris’s doctor came to them. He stood directly in front of Myrtle. “Ms. Cortland?”

  Myrtle searched his face. He wasn’t smiling or frowning. “Yes?”

  “Boris is conscious, and he’s very lucky.”

  Myrtle cried a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Lord.”

  Adonis, Monique and Arykah wiped tears from their eyes. The doctor allowed Myrtle and Adonis to see Boris. Twenty minutes later, Adonis came and told Monique that Boris wanted to see her, and Monique hurried to be by Boris’s bedside.

  She pulled up a chair and sat next to his bed. Three machines were hooked up to Boris’s body. Monique saw IV’s dripping in both of his wrists. With Myrtle out of the room, Boris opened up to her. “I’m sorry.” It was a struggle for Boris to speak.

  Monique saw tears running from the corners of his eyes to his ears. “Shhh, save your strength.”

  “No, I need to say this to you. I know I caused you a lot of pain, and I’m sorry. I was shocked when Momma said you were here.”

  Monique placed her hand in his. Seeing Boris in that vulnerable state reminded her of the reason she had fallen in love with him two years ago. “Of course I would be here, Boris. I don’t hate you, I’m just sick of the way you treat me.”

  “Monique, if you give me one more chance, I swear to God I won’t mess up again.”

  “Boris, now is not the time to talk about this. Let’s get you well first.”

  “Please, Monique. Come back to me, baby. Please. I’m miserable, and I can’t make it without you. I may as well be dead without you in my life.”

  “Don’t talk like that, Boris. That’s morbid.”

  “Whatever I gotta do to get you back, baby, I’ll do it. I love you more than I love myself. I need you Monique, I swear I do.”

  A nurse came in and demanded that Boris rest. Monique stood and kissed his forehead lightly. “Get some sleep. I’ll see you later.”

  In the waiting room, Monique told Myrtle, Adonis, and Arykah that Boris was resting. Arykah stood and placed her purse strap on her shoulder. “I gotta get back to the office. Momma Cortland, call me if you need anything.”

  “Yeah, I gotta get back to work too. Auntie, you want a ride home?” Adonis asked.

  “No, I’m gonna stay awhile. I’ll catch a cab home later.”

  “I’ll stay with Boris, Gravy. Let Adonis take you home,” Monique said.

  The three of them stood in shock looking at Monique.

  “Are you sure?” Myrtle asked her.

  Monique didn’t look into Adonis or Arykah’s eyes. She knew what they were thinking. She focused on Myrtle. “Yeah, I’m gonna stay the night with Boris.”

  Adonis wanted to repeat Myrtle’s question, but decided not to do it in the presence of his aunt and Arykah.

  “I need you to find a house for me as soon as possible,” Adonis said to Arykah in the hospital parking lot, on the way to their cars.

  “She’s not going back to him,” Myrtle said.

  “Yes she is, Auntie, I know she is.”

  Later that evening, Monique sat at Boris’s side, feeding him applesauce. With each swallow he took, she wiped the corners of his mouth with a paper napkin. It wasn’t until that very moment when Boris truly realized what he had given up. There was absolutely no comparison between Monique and Kita. As a matter of fact, no woman could measure up to Monique.

  “Thanks for staying,” he said to her.

  “Gravy wanted to stay, but I figured you wouldn’t want your mother helping you to the bathroom and bathing you. I’m sure Adonis would’ve stayed if he could have, but he had to get back to work. Oh, Arykah was here too, so make sure to thank her.”

  “I bet I’m the last person Arykah wants to hear from.”

  “I wouldn’t say the last person. She did drop everything to come see about you.”

  “She probably wanted to see for herself that I was dead.”

  “I’ll have you to know that Arykah’s ways are slowly but surely changing. She happens to be dating a pastor.”

  “Have you met him?” Boris asked.

  “Not yet.”r />
  “That’s because he doesn’t exist. Arykah hates men, and she definitely wouldn’t get with a pastor. She’s got too many demons inside of her.”

  “Be that as it may, I can vouch for her and say that one by one, the demons are coming out. She knows she has to give up a lot if she wants to be with the man.”

  “Yeah, but how do you go from being a witch to being a pastor’s wife?”

  “Ooh Boris, don’t call Arykah a witch.”

  “She is a witch and she casts evil spells on people. If this pastor does exist, and personally I think he doesn’t, because a man of the cloth should be able to spot a witch from a mile away, but if he’s hooking up with Arykah, he needs to be warned.”

  When the nurse on the third shift came to check Boris’s vitals, Monique went to the pay-phone in the lounge area to call Arykah. Because of the rules of the hospital, she couldn’t use her cellular phone. “Hey, what are you up to?”

  “That’s what I want to ask you,” Arykah said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know what I mean, Monique. Why didn’t you let Mother Cortland stay with Boris?”

  “Because she would’ve had to bathe him and stuff. I knew he wouldn’t be comfortable with that.”

  “Why not? She’s his mother. And besides, there are professional nurses who get paid to do that stuff for patients. How do you think it made Adonis feel to hear you say that you’d spend the night with Boris?”

  Monique closed her eyes. “I don’t even wanna know, Arykah.”

  “He thinks you’re going back to Boris.”

  “Why would he think that? That’s crazy.”

  “Is it?” Arykah asked.

  “Yes, it is. Boris’s accident doesn’t change anything.”

  “Well, you could’ve fooled me. By the way, how is he?”

  “He’s good. The doctor said Boris may be released as early as tomorrow.”

  “Have you talked to Adonis?”

  “I’m afraid to call him.”

  “You’re gonna have to face him sooner or later, Monique. You may as well get it over with.”

  “I don’t see what the big deal is, Arykah. Adonis and I are only friends.”

  “If you and Adonis are only friends, why are you so defensive?”

  “Because I shouldn’t have to explain what I do. Adonis ain’t my man, and he knows that.”

  “You think he does, but actually he doesn’t. Do you remember the conversation we had in my living room the night you found out about the lump in my breast? I told you to end things with Adonis because he was serious, and he would end up getting hurt when you go back to Boris.”

  Monique became upset. “What are you talking about, Arykah? I haven’t gone back to Boris. Is it wrong for me to be by his side after a near death experience?”

  “That’s for Boris’s mother to do. It’s one thing to rush to the hospital to see about him, and it’s another to bathe him and spend the night with him, Monique. You two don’t even live together anymore, or has that changed?”

  Monique didn’t answer Arykah.

  “Oh my God. Monique, please tell me you’re not moving back home.”

  “It’s only temporary, Arykah. Someone’s gotta be there to take care of him.”

  “And you’re the only person who can do that, right? You think you can take care of Boris better than his mother could? What the heck is wrong with you, Monique?”

  “I know it will be awkward with Adonis living there, but we’ll just have to work it out.”

  “That’s one thing you ain’t gotta worry about, because Adonis won’t be there.”

  “Why?”

  “Somehow, he knew you were gonna have a change of heart. He said he saw it in your face. When we left the hospital, he told me to find a house for him. It just so happens that a three bedroom in Chatham was put on the market this morning. Adonis decided to take the rest of the afternoon off. I took him and Mother Cortland to see it.”

  “And?”

  “He bought it.”

  Saturday afternoon, Monique made Boris comfortable in their bed. She dressed him in his silk, black pajamas and propped his pillows against the headboard before giving him the remote control to the television. In the kitchen, she sat a pot of water on top of the stove in preparation for homemade soup. While she waited for the water to boil, Monique couldn’t resist going downstairs to the basement. Everything Adonis owned was gone. She heard the telephone in the kitchen ringing and ran upstairs to answer it.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Baby Girl.”

  “How are you doing, Gravy?”

  “I’m fine, how’s Boris?”

  “He’s okay. He’s lying down. You wanna talk to him?”

  “No, I’ll let him rest. Do you need any help with him?”

  “Nah, I don’t think so. I’m making chicken noodle soup for him right now. The Bishop called Boris this morning and prayed for him over the telephone.”

  “That’s good. I’m glad the Bishop took time away from his out of town engagement to bless Boris. How long will he be off from work?”

  “His doctor has him off for the next two weeks.”

  “Well, I guess I’ll come over every morning and sit with him.”

  “You don’t have to do that, Gravy. I had scheduled two weeks of vacation for the wedding but I’ll just take them now. So I’ll be here with Boris.”

  “Baby Girl, are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

  Monique spoke softly into the telephone. “I love him, Gravy.”

  “Humph, well that’s all I needed to hear.”

  “You think I’m doing the wrong thing, don’t you?”

  “You’re gonna be my daughter in-law whether you’re with Boris or Adonis. It’s a win-win situation for me. My concern is you. Do you wanna go back to the way things were with Boris?”

  “I don’t think it will be like that this time, Gravy. Boris almost died, and I think that experience has got him lookin’ at life differently. In the hospital, we sat up all night talking. And we prayed together, Gravy. That was a first for us. Boris said some things to me that he’d never said before. He held my hand and apologized at least twenty times, then he repented to God openly. I’ve never seen him cry that way before. But I’m concerned about Adonis. I haven’t spoken with him. Arykah told me he bought a house.”

  “Yeah, he did. It’s a nice house too. And it’s best he moved out. His heart is broken, but Adonis will get through this. He’s staying with me until he can move in the house. Listen, after church tomorrow, I’m gonna come by there and cook Boris’s favorite meal.”

  “I’m sure he’ll love that, Gravy. My water is boiling; I gotta dice the vegetables. I’ll give you a call later on.”

  An hour later, Monique served Boris a bowl of chicken noodle soup on a small tray. “I need to tell you something, Boris. It’s about Adonis.”

  “What about him?”

  “He bought a house yesterday, and he moved out of the basement.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Boris said.

  Monique was stunned. “You know?”

  “I forgot to tell you that he called the hospital yesterday while you were at the nurses’ station getting my release papers. He told me he had a feeling you were moving back home, and he wanted to give us our space.”

  “That’s all he said?”

  “I told him I was gonna do everything in my power to make things right between us. He asked if I wanted him to take some time off to stay here with me, but I told him that you were taking some vacation time.”

  “What did he say about that?”

  “He reminded me how special you are and wished us well. Adonis is my cousin, but he’s closer to me than any real brother could ever be.”

  Boris was asleep when Arykah called Monique’s house. “Hey, you ready to go to the mall?”

  “I’ve completely forgotten about that.”

  “That’s okay, the mall doesn’t close until six thirty. I�
�m on my way to get you.”

  “Arykah, I can’t leave Boris. He just got home from the hospital.”

  Arykah’s voice rose. “So doggone what? Boris ain’t handicapped. He can’t do without you for a few hours?”

  “He’s very weak, and I need to be here when he wakes up.”

  “So, what are you doing, sitting on the edge of the bed listening to him snore? I bet every now and then you put a small mirror beneath his nose just to make sure he’s breathing, don’t you?”

  “That’s not funny, Arykah.”

  “I ain’t trying to be funny. I wanna know why Boris can’t manage without you for a little while.”

  “Because he may need my help getting to the bathroom.”

  “Does he need your help aiming in the toilet too?”

  “That’s not fair, and you know it.”

  “Whatever Monique, I’ll talk to you later.”

  Saturday night, Adonis ran hot water in the bathtub for his aunt. Myrtle was asleep in the living room rocker in front of the television, when Adonis tapped her knee. “Auntie, your bath is ready.”

  Myrtle opened her eyes and looked at him. “Thank you, sugar. I’m gonna do the dishes first, because after my bath, I wanna get right in the bed.”

  Adonis helped her to stand. “I washed the dishes already, Auntie. And I washed the outside of all the windows while you were asleep. So you can stop bugging me about that.”

  “Why didn’t you wake me up to help you?”

  “Because I knew I could get it done faster without you breathing down my neck telling me I missed a spot.”

  “Did you put Epsom salt in the bathwater?”

  “Nah, I didn’t know how much to put in.”