Lies and Alibis

by Warren, Tiffany L.

  “Dionne, stop playing. For real. I know you're not okay.”

  “You're right, but I can't talk about it right now. Just tell me what's up with you today. Occupy my mind.”

  “I lost a patient. She died while I was trying to resuscitate her.”

  “I'm sorry honey. Are you okay?”

  I nod as if she can see me. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “What are we doing for your birthday?” Dionne asks. “It's this weekend. Camille said something about a trip.”

  “I didn't know if you'd be in the mood for a celebration. With everything going on with Rod....”

  “Everything is cool with Rod. As a matter of fact, I think I may have conceived last night.”

  “Why do you keep trying to have a baby with him Dee? Just leave him! You can do better.”

  “Girl, please. Every man cheats. Even the broke ones, why wouldn't I be with one who's paid?”

  Every man cheats. This makes me think of Lucas. He left a note on my locker this morning that said, “Invitation still open...Lucas.” I rolled my eyes and tossed it in the trash.

  I say, “I hope that there are men that don't cheat. If not, I'm never going to get married.”

  “Sometimes you don't know until after you marry them.”

  But Dionne knew. She knew. Even before they were married.

  Dionne continues, “You're going to find the one Sydney. You have to.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Maybe you'll find someone on your birthday weekend! Let's drive to New Orleans.”

  “Can’t we fly? I'm not in the mood for a road trip with Camille. Maybe, I don't want to ask forgiveness for my sins this weekend, you know?”

  Dionne laughs out loud. “Girl what sins? I wish you would sin, so we would have something interesting to talk about!”

  “I've sinned! And I repented!”

  Still cracking up, Dionne replies, “You sinned once, in college, and you're still talking about it.”

  Okay, it's true. My life is somewhat boring. I don't have any time for carnal pleasure. I work, work and then work some more. But I save lives and that's pretty exciting.

  “Who's getting the plane tickets?” I ask, desperately wanting to change the subject so Dionne can stop laughing at me. “I don't have any money. So it must be you.”

  “Wow. Because my husband is the millionaire, I'm just supposed to ante up, huh? You make a doctor's salary.”

  “Not even six figures. Don't go there. I can barely keep a roof over my head.”

  “You could if you'd move out of that swanky little downtown loft. You need to just stay in our guest house. No one ever uses it.”

  “No way. Rod might lose his life, and then I'd be doing jail time. Don't think so.”

  Now she's laughing again. “Now the innocent is talking murder!”

  “You know what! Just take that little black American Express of yours and get us some airfare and a hotel room. Email me the flight arrangements.”

  “Okay, baby girl. Feel better...your patient is probably in heaven.”

  “Okay.”

  I disconnect the call, sit my phone on the table and sigh. I feel better about Mrs. Exum, but now I've got the blues about my birthday, thanks to Dionne.

  Lucas walks into the cafeteria, with deliberate and purposeful looking strides, as if he's on a mission. I slide down in my seat and will myself invisible.

  I watch him scope out the side of the room where I usually sit. Is he really looking for me? If he is, I need to do a better job of hiding.

  He walks up to the head ER nurse, Connie, and taps her on the shoulder. She turns and looks at him, or I should say, she beams at him. Freaking ridiculous how he has them all fooled. Then, she points in my direction and nods. Shoot! She's ratted me out.

  I dash out of my hiding spot and make a beeline for the door. I'm pretty fast, but his long strides can match mine all day long.

  “Sydney! Wait up!”

  Okay, it would be really silly of me to keep fleeing him. We're both adults, and even though he cheated on me, I should still be able to hold a civil conversation with him, right?

  Wrong! I press my internal turbo boost button and zoom around the corner. I make it to the on-call room (where naps and occasional sinning occur) and pray that it is unlocked. Score! It is!

  I hurry inside, slam the door behind me and lock it. Safe.

  Then I hear the tap, tap, tap of Lucas knocking. Seriously? He's going to knock?

  “Who is it?” I ask.

  Lucas laughs. “Sydney. You are crazy! Can you open the door? I want to ask you about a patient.”

  Perhaps he's being serious, so I open the door. “Which patient?”

  “Patient? Did I say patient? I meant to say that I've been patiently waiting for a response from you. My mom’s birthday party at Pappadeaux's on Saturday.”

  I try to slam the door shut, but he holds it open. He's stronger and his biceps are bigger than I remember...

  “I'm going with my sisters to New Orleans for the weekend. Now you've got your answer, can you leave me alone?”

  “Why didn't you just tell me that from the beginning?” Lucas asks.

  “I just decided to go today, but it's not like I owe you a response.”

  Lucas's face twitches. It's a very tiny move, but I see it. He does that when he's annoyed.

  “You're right, Dr. Baker. You don't owe me anything. Enjoy your birthday weekend.”

  Darn, darn, darn! Why can't I be a mean girl? The cheater looks genuinely disappointed, and I feel sorry for him. Why do I feel sorry for him?

  “Lucas...” I say to his back as he turns away.

  “Yes?” This sounds hopeful. Sigh.

  “Tell your mother I said hello?”

  He nods. “Sure thing, Syd.”

  As he walks away, he stands tall and gets his stride back, but I've seen it. The chink in his armor is growing, but I wish he'd duct tape that thing together.

  Before I can close the on-call room door Head Nurse Connie trots up to me with an expression of glee on her face.

  “So, are you going out with Lucas?” she asks. “Everyone wants to know.”

  I lift one eyebrow and say, “You can tell everyone to get some business, Nurse Connie. Y'all are not about to be talking about my love life at the nurse's station.”

  “Or lack thereof,” she says.

  I let out a big sigh. “Or lack thereof.”

  ~8~

  Sydney

  One day until my birthday trip. One day until spending a fun-filled weekend with Dionne and Camille. Woo-freaking-hoo! I don’t sound excited about it, because I’m not. I haven’t been able to think about anything except my lack of male companionship ever since Lucas brought it up the other day.

  Since I don't have anything else to do, or any patients to check on, I'll go into one of the on-call rooms and read. It's hard for me to just sit and do nothing, but I've been reading this Lolita Files novel on my Kindle for the past three months. If I can’t have a man, at least I can have literature.

  I stop in the locker room first to grab my Kindle out of my purse. Ming Nah is sitting on the floor in front of the lockers, crying her eyes out. This is awkward. We're not enemies, but we're definitely not friends either.

  “Ming Nah, is everything all right? Is there something I can do?”

  She shakes her head.

  “Um...does that mean that everything is not all right? Or that there's nothing I can do?”

  She nods. Is this charades or something? I need her to use her words.

  “I-I was pregnant.”

  I lift my eyebrows in shock. She was pregnant? With Lucas's baby? And the dirty dog broke up with her. He hasn't changed at all.

  “You were pregnant?”

  She nods. “I had an abortion.”

  Oh...ouch. The Lucas I knew in college would've broken up behind that. He might not go to church all that often, but he's still a church boy.

  “Are you okay?” I as
k. I want to ask if she's told Lucas, but I don't know her that well, and it might sound...well...a little nosy.

  “No. I'm not okay. I wanted the baby, but I...I wasn't sure...who the father was.”

  Now this is really uncomfortable, and too much information for me. I shift my weight from one leg to the other, while trying to think of something to say.

  “Um...is there anyone I can get for you? Should I find Lucas?”

  “No, no, no! Not Lucas,” she bawls. “He hates me. Plus, I heard the nurses saying that he asked you out on a date. I hope you two are ha-a-a-appy!”

  “I said no. I’m not dating Lucas.”

  Ming Nah's face brightens. “Really? You two aren't dating?”

  “No!”

  She stands to her feet and wipes the snot and tears from her face with her scrubs. “Well, then, maybe there's still a chance.”

  “Maybe.” I give her a non-committal shrug. I don't know what else to say.

  I watch as she tries to fluff her pin straight hair in the mirror. She looks a mess, but she seems satisfied with her reflection.

  “Do you think I should go and find Lucas? Talk to him?” she asks.

  “Um...I think you should...do whatever makes the most sense to you.”

  “You're right! I will!”

  She marches out of the locker room like a woman on a mission. Did I just encourage her? I grab my Kindle from my locker, although, I'm sure there's an interesting show going on somewhere in the hospital right now - the “conversation” between Ming Nah and Lucas.

  As I attempt to leave, Lucas bursts through the door. I'm really having all the luck today, aren't I?

  “Is Ming Nah in here?” Lucas asks.

  “No, you just missed her. I think she's looking for you, though.”

  He sits down on the wooden bench in between the lockers. “Good. Then that means she's already looked here. I'm not trying to talk to her.”

  “Why? Because she cheated on you?” I know I should've resisted the urge to say this, but I couldn't.

  “You like that, don't you, Syd? Go ahead and rub it in.”

  I shrug. “Not rubbing anything in. I'm just saying...”

  “You're right. I don't want to talk to her, because she's a cheater.”

  I nod. “Yep. I can definitely relate to that sentiment.”

  “I didn't love her, though. You loved me.”

  Both of my hands fly to my hips. The nerve of him!

  “What makes you think I'm talking about you? I could be talking about another one of my boyfriends.”

  “Really? Are you? I heard, from a very reliable source, that you haven't really dated since we broke up.”

  I press my lips into a grim-looking, straight line. “Which one of my sisters was it? Dionne or Camille?”

  “Dionne hates my guts...”

  “Camille! I knew it.”

  No one has wanted me to bury the hatchet with Lucas more than Camille. She just wants to plan a wedding!

  “So is it true? Have you not been with another man since we were together? Have you been saving yourself for my return?”

  “You wish! I have been saving myself for my husband! And you are definitely not him. I refuse to marry a man who can't keep his junk in his pants.”

  “Junk?” Lucas bursts into hysterical laughter.

  “Oh, you're laughing at me?”

  “I remember how you always had kiddie names for body parts. Pocketbook, junk, coota-cata...”

  “I'm surprised you still remember that.”

  “I remember lots of things about you. Like how your lips quiver at the beginning of a kiss and then how greedy they become once you get turned on. I remember that you can't control yourself when I stroke the back of your knee.”

  He's off the bench now, and walking toward me. I'm backing away. With each step he takes in my direction, I take one in retreat. I swallow. Hard. I like to think that I’m immune to Lucas’s charm, but I’m not one hundred percent sure.

  “I recall how flushed your cheeks get when you're satisfied, and how you'd always want a snack afterwards.”

  The wall has stopped my escape, and now Lucas towers over me. His heavy breathing and smoldering eyes take me back to a place I'm never trying to revisit.

  “Is the sex all you remember about our relationship?” I ask in a quiet voice.

  “No, but that's all I'm thinking about right now.”

  Lucas takes my face in his hands and devours my mouth with a passionate kiss. At first, I try to resist, but my body responds without my consent. I feel my hand pull him closer at the small of his back, a move that always drove him wild.

  “Let's play hooky. Let's go back to my place,” Lucas says breathlessly when we finally separate.

  I shake my head. “I'm not sleeping with you Lucas.”

  “Then don't. Let's...just watch movies and celebrate your birthday. I'll buy you a cake and we can chill. Maybe we'll even kiss some more.”

  I untangle myself from his arms. “No. Lucas this is a mistake. Just forget it happened.”

  “I can't forget we happened, and neither can you, Sydney. You know the reason Ming Nah cheated on me?”

  I shake my head.

  “She says I'm emotionally unavailable, and that I won't give her my heart.”

  “I'm supposed to care about your messed up relationship?”

  “It's because I never stopped loving you, Sydney. Come home with me.”

  “My flight to New Orleans leaves in the morning.”

  He smiles. “I'll have you home at a respectable hour, doctor.”

  With the kiss still simmering on my lips, I reply, “Okay, but don't think this means we're getting back together.”

  “I know there’s absolutely no chance of that.”

  So why is he grinning like he believes he’s already won?

  ~9~

  Camille

  I pace frantically in front of our gate. Our direct flight from Atlanta to New Orleans will be leaving soon, and Sydney isn't here. It is bad enough I had to beg Bryan to let me go for the weekend.

  “Where is she? She's going to miss our flight!”

  Dionne gives me a blank stare and shrugs. “I haven't talked to her.”

  Then my phone buzzes, and I pull it out my purse. It's a text message from Sydney.

  I read it aloud. “Something came up, enjoy New Orleans! Love Syd.”

  Dionne narrows her eyes. “She's not coming?”

  “No! What could be more exciting than sharing her birthday in New Orleans with her sisters?”

  Dionne grins, and then laughs. “Umph, umph, umph...somebody's sinning!”

  “I don't think so. Sydney has too much sense for that.”

  Dionne stands and slings her special edition pink suede Louis Vuitton bag over her shoulder. “Well, if Sydney's not going, I'm not going. I've got some...things...I need to accomplish here in Atlanta.”

  “But Dionne! I'm looking forward to this!”

  “Well then go! There's nothing wrong with going to New Orleans by yourself. As a matter of fact, I'm going to call ahead and order you some spa services.” She kisses my cheek and walks toward the security gate.

  Go alone? I've never traveled alone before...but now that I think about it, it would be nice to enjoy all of the blackjack, bingo and slots without Sydney and Dionne's sisterly judgment.

  Well...since I am going to New Orleans by my lonesome...what happens there will most definitely stay there. No one will know, except me and my God. And since he's been in a blessing mood, I stand open and ready to receive.

  Lord, open the windows of heaven! Pour out a blessing I don't have room enough to receive...

  ~10~

  Sydney

  “How are your eggs?” Lucas asks, as if it's the most natural question in the world.

  Why am I here eating eggs with him? We should not be sharing breakfast, lunch, dinner, or any snacks in between. How did I let this happen? How did Lucas creep back into my heart over a mo
vie and a sinfully delicious red velvet cake?

  Speaking of sin, I did not sleep with him, but he almost took me there. Too many glasses of Moscato, too many memories and voila, we're lip locked and I'm asleep in his arms and missing my flight to New Orleans.

  “They're fine,” I reply as I swallow another mouthful. My stomach is a ball of nerves, so I don't really want to eat, but he got up and fixed breakfast.

  “I tried to make them the way you like. Mostly done with some soft parts and melted cheese.”

  “Yep. They're just right.”

  The other thing that's making this so weird is his memory. He keeps remembering everything that I love. My favorite wine, cake, movies...we watched Love and Basketball, Brown Sugar and Love Jones. It's almost like we never broke up.

  But we did break up, and it was an ugly affair. The memory of it all still makes my stomach lurch.

  It was late and I had been out with my study group, cramming for my anatomy final. The library was about a ten minute walk from my dorm, but I ran the entire way back, because I couldn't wait to get to my room and call Lucas before I went to bed. My roommate, and soror, Fatima, hated our late night chats, but I didn't care. She was just jealous that I had a man, and that she, in all her tiny stomach and bubble booty glory did not.

  I was on the track team in high school, so the run was a breeze. I was barely winded when I got to my dorm, but what I was about to see would take my breath away. I opened the door with Lucas on my mind, and then I saw him. Naked from the waist down, and taking Fatima from behind! I stood there in shock, unable to scream, cry, and holler. They didn't even realize I was there for a good twenty seconds. That may seem like a short time, but it felt like an eternity.

  Finally, I did scream. I let out a wail that could wake the dead. It did wake half of our floor in the dorm. Girls came running like there was a fire. Lucas heard me screaming...looked over his shoulder, stared at me...and kept going. He kept moving behind Fatima until she pushed him off.

  Everyone saw him flee from our dorm in his underwear. Everyone knew how he'd desecrated our relationship.

  I place my fork down on my plate. Suddenly, I can't eat another bite. In fact, the atmosphere in the room is stifling with him releasing his cheating carbon dioxide with each exhale.