As the doctor read, Jasmine searched her face. But it was as if the doctor wore a mask—there was no “good news” or “bad news” in her expression. The doctor scanned the notes as if she were reading a newspaper.
When she looked up at them, though, she was smiling. And that gave Jasmine hope.
Dr. Lewis said, “Can you join me outside?”
Hosea tucked the Bible he held under his father’s arm, then the two followed the doctor into the hallway. She led them to the side of the nurses’ station, but when she faced them, her smile was gone.
“As you can see,” the doctor began, “your father’s unresponsive…”
Tell us something we don’t know.
“But the good news is, he’s more stable than he’s been.”
“Is that good news?” Jasmine asked. “He’s stable, but he’s not moving. How long is he going to be this way?”
“We don’t know,” the doctor said, shaking her head. “And that’s one of the problems. We don’t know why he hasn’t awakened or why he isn’t breathing on his own. But…we did have some good signs today. The swelling in his brain has gone down considerably, which lessens the chance of brain damage.”
“Okay,” Hosea breathed. “That’s good.” He grabbed Jasmine’s hand as if he needed something to hold on to.
“And then,” the doctor continued, “the neurologist’s tests came back—your father does have brain activity.”
“What does that mean?” Jasmine asked.
Hosea answered before the doctor could, “You’re saying he’s not a vegetable.”
The doctor nodded. “Those aren’t the words I would use, but yes. His brain is active. That means we’re going to move forward, keep doing everything to keep your father alive.”
Jasmine wrapped her arms around Hosea’s neck. “You hear that, babe. He’s going to be fine!”
The doctor held up her hands. “Now, I do want to caution you,” she spoke slowly, as if her next words were most important. “There are many questions we have about your father, and we won’t be able to assess much until he wakes up.” And then, as if she hadn’t taken away enough of their joy, she added, “If he wakes up. It’s too soon to know.”
“That’s okay, Doctor,” Hosea said, waving away her last words. “This is still good news for us. Thank you.”
The doctor stuffed her hands into the pockets of her lab coat. “If you have any questions, I’ll be in my office. And you can always call me.”
They nodded their good-byes and waited until the doctor was steps away before they held each other again.
“He’s gonna make it, babe,” Jasmine whispered in his ear.
Hosea nodded. “Yeah, he is.” Leaning back, he said, “Okay, now let’s go do our part; let’s get in there and pray.”
EIGHT
JASMINE MASSAGED HER EYES, BUT she couldn’t wipe the sleep away. She glanced at the clock; only five minutes had passed. At eight o’clock, it was far too early to be falling asleep.
“What’re you reading?”
Hosea’s voice made her smile. Jasmine pushed aside the book, the reason for her weariness. “Is Jacquie sleeping?”
Hosea nodded. “I stayed until she closed both eyes, but she was fighting it. She tried to sing her song at least one hundred times.”
“You know, your father”—and then her voice became softer—“taught her that song.” After a moment of quiet, Jasmine added, “She missed you a lot.”
He nodded. “I missed her, too. And I missed this.” He pointed to the bed.
“I’m so glad you came home tonight.”
“Well, Doctor Lewis kept insisting that I’d do Pops a lot more good if I got some rest, if I got back to some semblance of my life.”
“She’s right; your father wouldn’t want you sitting in the hospital day and night.”
Exhaustion was in his sigh. It had been a week since Reverend Bush had been shot, and although she’d come home every day, Hosea left his father only long enough for a quick shower and change. He’d spent his days reading the Bible to him and his nights praying for him.
But tonight, after they’d shared a dinner she’d ordered from Sylvia’s, he’d stood when she’d kissed him good-bye.
“I’m going home with you,” was all he said before he moved to the side of his father’s bed. Holding her hand, suddenly, he’d knelt down and lowered his head. Not more than a nanosecond later, Jasmine did the same. She bowed her head and together, silently, on their knees, the two sent their requests to God.
Now, two hours later, here at home, Jasmine had never been so glad to have her family together.
“I called Pastor Wyatt.” Hosea walked over to where she sat. “I asked him to preach tomorrow.” He shook his head. “I’m not ready.”
Looking up, she lied straight to his face, “I’m glad you did that.” She hid the hope she’d had that tomorrow would be her debut, the first Sunday since Hosea was named pastor. She’d already purchased her outfit. “You’ll be ready next week.”
“Yeah,” he said flatly. He tilted his head to glance at the book she’d pushed aside. “What’re you reading?” Before she could respond, Hosea picked it up. “The Bible?” as if that was the last thing he’d expected.
“I’ve been trying to get some reading done.”
“Wow.”
“Well, you’ve been telling me that I needed to read the Word more.”
“Yeah, and how long have I been saying that? But you’ve always complained that there were too many begats this and begats that for you to handle.” He sat down on the bed.
“It’s a different game now.”
He frowned, unbuttoning his shirt. “Why?”
“Because you’re the senior pastor.” She pushed herself from the chaise and walked over to the bed. Climbing behind him, she pressed the tips of her fingers against his shoulders and massaged. “And I’m the pastor’s wife. It’s important for me to be up on everything in the Bible.”
He chuckled, a little. It was the first time she’d heard any kind of joy from him in over a week, though it didn’t make her happy that he was laughing at her.
She slapped his back gently. “Don’t make fun. I am the first lady.”
“Only an interim one.”
“For as long as it lasts, I’m going to be a proper one.”
Pulling her into his arms, he said, “You don’t have to change a thing, Jasmine. I love you the way you are.”
“You might but the people at church don’t.”
“Who said that?”
“Oh, please. Don’t tell me you never noticed how they treat me. And the board meeting was ridiculous. Some of those things they said…so much for their being Christian.”
“Judge their words, not their hearts. They’re not perfect.”
“Seems that they’re not. You ruffled more than a few feathers when you said that we wanted to be like them. What’s the story behind that?” she asked, eager to know.
“No story.” Hosea shook his head. “I just needed to remind everyone that there was only one who walked this earth perfectly. And anyway, all those things they said, I think, were good. Everything that anyone had on us is on the table; there’s nothing left to throw in our faces.”
Jasmine took a second before she said, “Babe, I’ve been thinking…maybe I should take a leave of absence. Malik can handle things at Rio for a little while, and this way none of those—”
“Be careful!” he warned playfully.
“—Saints…on the board will be able to say anything about where I work.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know I don’t have to, but it takes away every piece of ammunition from those holy rollers, and the best thing is that I’d be there for you whenever you needed me. You’re going to have your hands full.”
He nodded slowly, as if giving thought to her words. “But you just got back from a leave. If you keep doing that, Malik is going to have to replace you.”
&n
bsp; “So what?” And then she spoke the words that she’d been thinking ever since she learned that she would be the first lady. “Maybe it’s time for me to leave the club for good.”
“To do what?”
“To stand by your side. To really be your helpmate.”
“Helpmate?” He chuckled. “You have been reading the Bible.”
“I should be at your side; that’s what a wife’s supposed to do. And it’s not like we need the money.”
“Whoa. I never thought I’d ever hear you say that. So you’re willing to give up your six figures so that you can stand next to me?”
“Yup.” She snuggled closer to him. “And like I said, it’s not like we need my income. With your show and what you’ll be getting from the church…”
“I’m not taking a salary.”
It took a moment for her to make sense out of his words. “What?” She pushed herself away from him.
“I’m not taking any money,” he said, as if he needed to repeat it a different way. “First of all, my prayer is that I won’t be doing this for more than a few weeks.”
“But you don’t know that. Doctor Lewis said—”
“You know my faith is not in the doctors,” he interrupted her. “I trust that they’ll take care of my father, but my faith is with—”
“I know, I know.” Jasmine waved her hands like what he was about to say about God wasn’t important. “But not even God can tell us when your father will wake up.” She didn’t add the one word that Dr. Lewis had used—if—the word that changed this whole equation.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “The point is, for however long Pops is down, it’s temporary.”
She shook her head, wishing he’d stopped talking about interim and temporary. No one knew if Reverend Bush would ever return to his position. And whether he did or not, they needed to be compensated for their work now.
“So how are we supposed to live?” she asked. And what about my summer place in the Hamptons?
“There’s nothing wrong with the way we’re living, Jasmine. So if you want to leave Rio, that’s fine.”
“But then, we’ll just have your income from Bring It On.” And how are we going to get two chauffeurs on that?
He said, “My check is more than sufficient. And we have plenty saved. We might have to ease up on a few things, ’cause I know you’re not thinking about moving away from here…”
You got that right!
He said, “But we’ll be all right. So give Malik your notice, if that’s what you want.”
And how will I get a new wardrobe if I do that? “I’ll think about it,” she said, not planning to think about it at all. She was going to leave Rio, and he was going to get paid.
He rubbed his eyes, suddenly weary. “I need to check on Pops.” He reached for the phone and looked up as she paced. “Whatever you decide, I’m fine,” he assured her again.
She nodded, but her thoughts were on how she was going to get a check for Hosea into their bank account. She picked up her Bible and flipped it open, not really caring where the pages fell.
“Still no change?” she heard Hosea say.
There may have been no change with his father, but she already had an idea about how she was going to change Hosea’s mind.
Hosea hung up the phone with a sigh. “Pops’s the same,” he whispered as he stood up and embraced her. Inside his arms, she felt his emotions—his fear, his exhaustion, his hope. She held on to him, letting him know that she would always be there.
I’m not going to say anything else, she thought, as he led her to their bed. At least not tonight. But she was going to handle this. When she finished, not only would Hosea have a salary, but there might be a little something in it for her, too.
After all, she was the first lady.
NINE
“I KNOW IT’S A LOT to ask, Malik, but you know the pressure I’m under.”
Jasmine had been waiting for a day to speak to her godbrother. She didn’t want to call him from home yesterday and take the chance that Hosea might overhear. So she’d waited until this morning and then cornered him the moment he walked into the office.
Now he sat behind his desk and nodded as he listened to her plea. “How much time off do you want?”
She shrugged. “You saw Reverend Bush. And the doctors can’t tell us anything.”
Malik shook his head. “This is so deep.”
“So between taking care of his father and the church and his show—how is Hosea supposed to handle everything? He needs me.”
A pause and then, “I agree.”
She exhaled, relieved. “Thanks.”
But then he leaned forward. “Now you know I love you, right?”
“Yeah,” she spoke slowly, wondering what was coming.
“And you know business is business.”
“Definitely.”
“Well, you just came back, and now—not knowing how long you’ll be away this time—I may have to find someone else.”
Not a second passed before she said, “You should.”
“Really?” His face stretched with surprise. “I thought you’d be upset and fighting to hold on to the benjamins.”
“Well, with Hosea’s income, we don’t really need mine.”
He grinned. “Hello? Is this Jasmine Cox Larson Bush talking? You two have been living pretty high up there on Central Park South.”
“And we’ll stay that way. Especially after you take a recommendation to the board that Hosea should be paid.”
“Brother Hill said that Hosea wasn’t taking a salary.”
Jasmine waved his words away. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It didn’t make sense to me,” Malik agreed. “But if that’s what Hosea wants—”
“Hosea doesn’t know what he wants. He’s tired, confused, stressed. It’s hard for him to think.”
Malik chuckled. “So you’re going to help him.”
“Exactly, and you’re going to help me.”
Her words took his smile away. He leaned back, folded his arms. “I’m not getting involved in one of your schemes.”
“Did I say anything about—”
“You didn’t have to,” he interrupted. “I’ve been pulled into enough of them to know…”
Jasmine sighed, tired of this old song. “When are you going to forgive me for that?”
“For which one? For when you tried to get me to hook you up with Reverend Bush? Or when you got me to lie to Hosea about your being married before? Or when I helped you lie about Jacqueline’s paternity?”
“Dang! You kept a list?”
“No, ’cause if I did, there would be a dozen more times when I suspended judgment for you.”
“But that’s what you were supposed to do. Because you promised my dad that you’d take care of me.”
“I’m sure when I meet up with him in heaven, he’ll apologize for putting that on me. ’Cause taking care of you is no joke. Now, Serena…”
Jasmine rolled her eyes, knowing he was going to say that her sister was easy. Of course she was. She was a boring thirty-eight-year-old living a mind-numbing life in Florida. “If you would listen to me for a moment, you’ll see that I’m not talking about doing anything underhanded. Just take a request to the board. Make sure Hosea gets paid. That’s all.”
He nodded, although his eyes were still filled with doubt.
She added, “You know if Pastor Wyatt had been appointed, he would have demanded more money.”
That was all she needed to say; she knew her godbrother couldn’t stand the associate pastor.
Malik nodded. “Okay, I’ll call Brother Hill.” She grinned, but he didn’t stop there. “Just know that this is all I’m going to do. Because now that Hosea’s the senior pastor, everything has to be on the up and up. It could get real messy if anything else came out.”
“You don’t have anything to worry about; I don’t have a single secret left.” She paused, thought about the flashback
s she’d had last week. But that was so long ago those days didn’t count.
“If that’s the case, then we’re cool.” He stood and hugged her. “I’ll check on that salary thing, and you keep me posted on how long you’ll be away.”
“I will,” she said, deciding not to tell him that if he got Hosea the right amount, she’d never come back. She had loved working at Rio—after four years, it was still one of the most happenin’ spots in lower Manhattan, often cited in Page Six, the New York Post’s get-your-name-in-at-any-cost gossip column for the famous and fabulous.
But as wonderful as this life had been, there was a new day awaiting.
She marched down the hall, past cubicles filled with assistants chatting on phones, offering incentives to get celebrities to come and party at Rio.
Behind her closed door, she went to work on the next phase of her plan. When the board told Hosea that he would be paid, she had to make sure he accepted it.
Reaching for the telephone, she knew just how she’d get her way.
TEN
JASMINE HAD LEARNED A LONG time ago that a little food and a lotta love in the afternoon was her key. Even though she’d brought a light lunch, she had no doubt that within an hour or two she’d have Hosea screaming, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” to all her demands.
As the cab slowed in front of City of Lights, she straightened the red bow on the picnic basket. It had been tough trying to buy this today; how in the world had she forgotten Valentine’s Day? It must’ve been all that was going on with Reverend Bush that had her off her game.
Hosea hadn’t mentioned anything about Valentine’s Day either. Any other year, that would have been a major violation. But she had to give him a free pass—and it worked in her favor anyway. Hosea probably hadn’t shopped for a gift, and she knew exactly what she wanted.
As she stepped across the parking lot, the thought of Reverend Bush’s shooting filled her mind again. She was sure that every time Hosea took these steps, he had those thoughts. And though it had to be hard, she was still glad that he’d decided to come to the church—at least every morning. He had agreed to give up his day watch at the hospital only once they had come up with a schedule for someone to be with his father during the day.
Lady Jasmine Page 5
