by Cydney Rax
“What’s going on? Where are you taking him?” Nicole asked.
“We’ve been consulting with this nice lady since she got here. She said to go to Sugar Land Methodist, so that’s what we’ll try to do. We’ll make sure they have space for him there first, and if they do, you’re more than welcome to ride in the vehicle with us or you may follow behind and meet us there.”
“Of course I’m going with him. What type of wife do you think I am?”
“You’ve already shown them what type you are,” Kiara wearily answered. She felt distressed and regretful about her ex. “I always warned Rashad that he tried to do way too many things on the job. He feels he has to wear every damn hat at Eason and Son, and he never should have tried to do this type of work.”
Kiara told herself that she was no longer in love with Rashad. But all she could think about was Myles and Jazzy. An achy lump developed in her throat. They’d had some rough patches during their years together, but if she stopped acting stubborn, she could admit there’d been more good times than bad.
She pulled herself together and decided to travel to the hospital with Jerry, who had contacted Kiara when it seemed like Nicole wasn’t sure when she’d show up.
Kiara climbed into the passenger seat of the company van and slammed the door. She buckled her seat belt and looked around. It had been ages since she’d sat in this vehicle, and she remembered the day she and Rashad drove it home from the dealership.
“Wow, Jerry. We’ve been through a lot, haven’t we? I can’t remember one time when you haven’t been there for us, Rashad, our family.” She warmly patted his hand as he drove toward the hospital. “Thank you so much.”
“No! Kiara. Thank you. I was scared you’d hang up on me when I called since this really isn’t your problem. But you handled the crisis like a true champ.” Jerry laughed bitterly. “If Rashad pulls out of this and learns that you were there when he really needed someone . . .” He could barely finish his sentence. Kiara wanted to hug him. They sped along the streets in their quest to be there for Rashad. She knew her ex-husband assumed that she despised him. But moving on didn’t always signify hate.
After Rashad was admitted and rolled away to get examined, everyone sat in the waiting room. In time, they were relieved to learn that he wasn’t permanently damaged by the accident.
The attending physician provided Nicole with an update: “The muscles surrounding Rashad’s spine were sprained.”
“What does that mean exactly?” she asked.
“There is no immediate cure for the type of injury he sustained.”
“What?” Nicole leaped to her feet, on the verge of flipping out. “I mean, I don’t understand. No cure? Is he handicapped?”
“In time he will be back to normal. But he needs to take several anti-inflammatory medications and get plenty of rest. We can also do some icing techniques to ease the pain. And depending on how well he recovers, he might have to go through long-term physical therapy.”
“Oh my God, are you serious?” Nicole rubbed her temples and cursed. “It sounds worse than I thought . . . I never expected any of this.”
“Welcome to marriage,” Kiara calmly told her. “The land of expecting the unexpected.” She was standing nearby in the dimly lit hallway and was anxious to hear Rashad’s prognosis. She quietly stepped into the room.
Nicole couldn’t look Kiara in the face. She was thinking that the woman had to be filled with glee. She’d been blessed with the healthier Rashad while Nicole had to deal with his ailing, sickly side.
Nicole turned and begged the doctor, “Are you sure about this? What if it’s just a simple backache? My back would hurt like hell when I was pregnant. I’d pop a couple of extra-strength Tylenols and call it a day.”
The doctor gave Nicole a stern look. “You can’t compare a pregnancy backache with the tragic accident that happened to your husband. Rashad is almost forty. If he’s been working hard labor nearly all his life in construction, he may have done damage to his back without realizing it.”
“If that’s true, then that’s messed up. I can’t believe this is happening to me.”
“What’s happening to you,” the doctor replied, “could be a whole lot worse. At least he doesn’t have to have major surgery, young lady, he isn’t paralyzed, and he didn’t even break one bone . . . or die.”
A somber hush fell over the room.
“I’m sorry you seem stressed by the prognosis, young lady, but there has been some damage, Rashad’s in a lot of pain, and right now he needs your support.”
“Poor thing,” Kiara remarked. “I truly hope Rashad pulls out of this. I know he will. He is so active and likes to keep moving. When will he be able to receive visitors?” she asked the doctor.
“Yeah,” Nicole spoke up. “I was wondering about that, too, but there was so much confusion and . . .”
The doctor ignored Nicole and began quietly speaking to Kiara.
Outwardly Nicole tried to appear strong and act interested in everything that was going on. But inside she was fuming. And embarrassed. For a rare moment she wished that her mother was by her side. Nicole could use some emotional support, but trying to reach out to Evelyn, or even Shyla, would make her feel stupid and weak. Nicole decided to keep her hurt feelings to herself and prayed for her husband to get better—fast.
* * *
That evening Nicole was the first person to visit Rashad. His hospital stay was scheduled to last a couple of days at least.
She held her breath and timidly entered his private room. She almost gasped when she saw him. Propped up against several pillows, Rashad wore a wrinkled blue smock. An IV tube was attached to his arm. His face was ashen, but when he saw Nicole, he managed to crack a weak smile.
“Hi, husband,” she said in a tiny voice.
Rashad tried to raise himself up, but quickly slumped back when the task felt too difficult for him.
“Are you crazy, babe? You are in no condition to be trying to sit up. I’m so mad at you I could scream. What were you thinking?”
“It’s good to see you, too,” he said in a hoarse voice.
Nicole leaned over and kissed his cheek. She’d never seen her man in a state of weakness before. And it scared her. Rashad seemed human. And she quickly realized that what Shyla had told her about marriage was the truth.
“Did you bring my laptop?” he asked.
“What? What are you talking about?”
“I thought I told you, or I told somebody, to bring my laptop up here.”
“That sounds crazy. What would you want that for? To try and do some type of work while you’re here? Rashad, you are getting to be ridiculous.” Fear of the unknown made Nicole agitated. She clutched her purse and repeatedly banged it against her side.
“This is crazy,” she continued. “We haven’t been married very long at all, and this is what we gotta go through?”
“Excuse me? Did you just call me ridiculous? Do you think I want to be here, Nicole?”
“I, um . . .”
“Listen to yourself and then tell me who’s being ridiculous.”
And so the arguing began.
“Why’d you even try to climb a damn ladder in the first place?”
“You can’t tell me how to do my job. I know what I’m doing.”
“Do you realize how stupid you sound? If you really knew what you were doing, you wouldn’t have fallen on your ass like a rookie.”
He gritted his teeth and tried to sit up and lean over to smack her, but she jumped back in disgust. The more Nicole watched her banged-up husband struggling, the more she felt like she was the one who’d gotten injured.
“If you are so smart, why are you in here looking all pitiful, huh? I’m so mad at you for being careless—”
“Shut it.”
“You shut it. The more you talk, the dumber you sound. I don’t want to have to worry about your ass every single day that you’re gone, Rashad.”
Her voice grew louder
, which made Rashad attempt to sit up again. But he couldn’t.
“I’ve been doing this type of work for years.”
“No one would ever know it by the bandages all over your body.”
He sighed. Weakly laughed. What was he doing arguing with her from a hospital bed? “Nicky, these bandages prove the work I’ve done for years is hard and dangerous, yet I lived to tell about it.”
“Oh God! You sound as crazy as you look. I don’t want to hear any of that.”
“Wow, where’s the compassion?”
“I’m too annoyed to be compassionate, you fool. Next time be more careful is all I’m trying to say. Think of me. Think of the kids and take better care of yourself while you’re on these dangerous and hard jobs.”
Nicole almost wished she could call a nurse and get her own blood pressure taken. She took a few deep breaths and decided to lighten up. By the way he was wincing, she could see Rashad was still in some discomfort. Perhaps his medication was making him cranky. But she realized that even when her husband was healthy, some days she felt like she was in a war zone. Their arguments were silly, but brief, and always exhausting. Nicole turned her attention to Rashad.
“Babe, time out. Please, let’s not fight. It’s making me tired. I really just wanted to see you. Make sure you’re all in one piece. I hate hospitals. They smell bad. It’s depressing to be around sick people. And to be truthful, I am smart enough to realize that your job has safety risks. I-I don’t blame you for falling, because accidents can happen to anybody, at any time, no matter how cautious you are.” She paused and stared at him. His being hurt made her feel an indescribable pain. The only thing she could do was back off and let her heart slowly refill with love for him. “Babe, you look a hot mess, and I’m probably not making things any better by fussing at you.” She leaned over and kissed his dry cheek.
“That’s the most truthful thing you’ve said all day.”
She smiled and gently stroked his hair. “How are you really feeling?”
He sighed. “I’m alright, considering what could have happened. Can’t wait to get the hell up and out of here.”
Nicole nodded. She decided it made no sense to try to win an argument. It was too late to change what happened.
“Rashad, as long as you’re here, you might as well enjoy this. At least you can feel good knowing that for twenty-four hours a day, they wait on you hand and foot. I’ll give ’em that much credit.” She paused and contemplated their future. “I’m assuming you won’t be able to go back to work right away. Is that going to affect any of your projects? You know you have critical deadlines coming up.”
He said nothing and pretended like he was too busy watching television.
“Did you hear me? Am I right? Will you miss out on any projects because of this?”
“Is that all you care about, wife?”
“Um, well, no—”
“Because from where I’m sitting, you seem to be more concerned about me going back and stacking my papers than you are about me getting better. The company will function even if I’m not there.” He took the remote and turned up the TV volume.
She snatched it from his hand and muted the sound.
“Hold up, Rashad, you’re taking this all wrong. As long as you’re here in this place, where many people are in great pain, I know that things aren’t right, but if they let you out, then it means you’re on the mend. The prognosis is good and you’ll be returning to your normal life. That’s what worries me—”
“Nicole, I found out why you couldn’t reach me the second Jerry told you I got injured.”
“But I came as soon as I—”
“Believe it or not, I have been able to do some things since I’ve been here. And when I had a moment to myself, I checked my phone. It took a while for me to get a cell phone signal in here, but I finally got through. I listened to a voice mail from my credit card company. A courtesy security alert. Large purchases were made at Neiman Marcus, which ain’t the norm for my Amex. And they wanted to make sure no fraud was going on. I called ’em back and found out someone used my card to buy expensive-ass designer shoes . . .”
Nicole grabbed Rashad’s hand, lifted it, and kissed it several times before letting it go. “Babe, I’m so sorry. I know it sounds crazy. But it all happened at a bad time. I swear, the timing was fucked. I was already at the cash register. I couldn’t just abandon everything like that. We were almost done,” she explained. Her cheeks reddened, which made her feel even more embarrassed. She prayed he’d understand and know that she really did try to get to him as soon as she could. “And you shouldn’t have bothered yourself at that moment trying to check a credit card purchase. It wasn’t that important.” Her voice sounded hollow and empty as her words slid to a strained silence.
Rashad rolled his eyes. “Did you want a marriage . . . to be a ride-and-die partner with me . . . or did you do it just for an expensive wedding . . . and a big pretty house that you wanted to show off to your haters?”
“Oh my God. I can’t believe you just asked me that. Because from what I recall, you told me that you were going to spoil me. Remember? You told me that you couldn’t make any major purchases for a girlfriend at the time because you were still married and going through a divorce. But that when it was all over and you got a wife, then you could splurge.”
Rashad shook his head. “Nah, I don’t remem—”
“The fuck you don’t. Your memory must have gotten jacked up along with your back injury. Because I can’t forget something like that. And it’s very unfair of you to make me think you meant what you said, when you really are el cheapo. I’ll bet you bought your bougie ex-wife whatever she wanted and never gave her hell about it.”
“Keep Kiara’s name out of your mouth.” His eyes bulged from his head.
“Why are you looking so crazy, Rashad?”
“Why you talkin’ about Kiara?”
“What? I can’t believe you actually said that to me!”
“I can’t believe you picked some fucking designer shoes over seeing whether your dude was dead or alive after falling off a ladder. That’s what has my face messed up from the chest up. Not a fall from a ladder, but the fact that my ride or die put herself first instead of making sure her breadwinner was still alive. And then thinking it was enough to go through a third party like Jerry to check on me. Why didn’t you drop everything to make sure I was good? Choosing shoes over me? That shit hurts me way more than my damn back.”
Rashad’s words hit Nicole like a flinging sledgehammer. She grabbed his hand and shook it. “Babe, I am so sorry for doing that. The shoes aren’t more important than you. I’ll even take them back to the store and get a refund if that’ll make you feel better.”
“If that’ll make me feel better?”
Her eyes lowered to the floor. It felt really bad for her to mess up on this level, especially when she knew that she really did care about him. “Please don’t be mad. I can’t stand it when you’re mad.”
He angrily snatched away his hand, pushed the volume button on the remote, and pointedly stared at the television. Family Feud was airing; Steve Harvey was cracking jokes and making faces.
“Babe,” she pleaded again. “I don’t want you to think I didn’t care about you. But in that moment, it didn’t sound like a life-or-death situation. And it wasn’t life or death, or else you wouldn’t be here. You’re in a doctor’s care and you’ll be better in time, so try to focus on the good side, not on the worst. I’m so grateful and happy that you’re alive, do you understand that?”
Right then a pretty nurse with wide hips, big boobs, and shapely legs sashayed into the room. Rashad’s face immediately brightened when he saw her. “Hey there. You decided to come back. I didn’t scare you away last time?” he asked.
The nurse and Rashad giggled and smiled as if they shared a private joke.
“I decided to come back because I just had to see what you want to order for your dinner, Rashad Eason.” His nurs
e beamed and handed Rashad a menu. “We have some turkey and dressing that’s out of this world. Would you like to add that to your dinner list?”
“Um, his wife can help him pick out his food.” Nicole walked over and grabbed the menu from Rashad.
“You need to be eating healthy, babe, and they got a lot of good stuff on here that sounds way healthier than turkey and dressing. Damn, I know you miss my cooking, and I sure wish I could cook for you while you’re here. But all that’ll change once we get you back home again. I’m going to make sure that you recover really well.”
“Is that right? I’d like to see that.”
“Stop playing.”
The nurse discreetly left them alone.
Nicole sat next to Rashad and eagerly reviewed the menu. She liked how she could feel as if she was doing something to show him that she was concerned.
“Babe, I think you should order some skinless chicken breast and peas, corn, and a nice garden salad. And then you can add a wheat roll and some water, iced tea, and apple juice. How’s that sound?”
“It sounds fine. Order for me, will you? Thanks.” He suddenly sounded more tired. And right then, Nicole grew sincerely worried. What was going to happen? She thought about the baby, working at her job, dealing with the new house, and not having her best friend to talk to. Life felt like it was too much to handle.
“I can try and call Nadia and see if she can help out while you’re gone. Maybe offer her a huge raise or something. And I can take a few days off of work to see about you, Rashad. I know all my sick leave is depleted, but it’s okay. We’ll get through this somehow. If I’m ride or die like I say I am, I may as well prove it, right?” She tried to laugh. “This isn’t going to break us. You will get better and we will get better, too.”
We just have to, she thought and went to find the nurse to let her know everything she wanted her husband to eat for his dinner.
* * *
That evening Kiara brought Myles and Jazzy over to Eddison’s house. He had invited them to eat dinner and watch a movie.
“You’re into Disney movies?” Kiara asked in a teasing voice.
