by Donna Hill
“You can take out the fruit salad from the fridge and help yourself,” Barbara said.
“Thanks. How long for those biscuits?”
Barbara chuckled. “About ten minutes. How ’bout an egg-white omelet?”
“You hear me saying no?”
They both laughed.
Elizabeth fixed her bowl of fruit then helped Barbara cut up the ingredients for the omelet. They worked quietly side my side in sisterly companionship, the chatter from the Steve Harvey Morning Show entertaining them in the background.
“So, who’s first?” Barbara finally said.
“My story is so long I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
“Guess that leaves me.” She filled their plates with biscuits and eggs and took them to the table and sat down. “Wil plans to move to North Carolina,” Barbara said, without further preamble.
“What?”
Barbara nodded. “He dropped that bomb on me last night.”
“I don’t understand. Just like that? What about his job, his son? What about you?”
“He’s putting in his retirement papers at the end of the month. Apparently, he’s been having the house built for the past couple of years and it will be finished this summer. Chauncey will be off at college…”
“And you?”
“He wants me to come with him,” Barbara said.
Elizabeth’s first thought was that she was losing her best friend. She knew it was selfish, but she couldn’t help it. “What are you going to do?”
“I have no idea. It’s a big decision and it’s not like he asked me to marry him or anything. He asked me to move in with him. And I am too old to be shacking up with anybody.”
“But…what if he leaves and you don’t go? Are you ready to handle that?”
“I’ve just gotten used to having him back in my life. I’ve been so happy. I would have to give up everything.”
“But you’d have each other,” Elizabeth offered.
“It just seems so unfair.”
“Life is a bitch…”
“And then you die…”
They chuckled without much humor.
“When do you have to decide?”
“I guess I have a few months, at least. But I know I can’t put it off indefinitely, as much as I’d like to. If I do decide to leave there are so many things I’d have to put in order.”
Elizabeth was quiet. She couldn’t imagine her days without Barbara. They shared such a special bond. Barbara was her rock and she knew that, at any time, day or night Barbara would be there. And not just for her, Barbara was there for all of them.
“Maybe he will ask you to marry him,” Elizabeth finally said. “If he did, would you go then?”
Barbara looked at her friend of more than twenty years. “That’s the million-dollar question. I guess, I’ll play the waiting game for as long as I can.”
Elizabeth nodded.
Barbara exhaled. “So, enough about me and my drama. What’s going on with you?”
By the time Elizabeth finished detailing the events of the past day, Barbara’s head was spinning. Matthew, Ron, The FBI. Lawd.
“I…don’t even know what to say, where to start.”
“Besides everything else, we’ve got to deal with this investigation thing. That scares me.”
“You!” Barbara bit down on her bottom lip. “Let me call Ann Marie.” She got up from the table to make the call.
Ann Marie answered the phone, sounding the way she usually did this time of the morning, like she’d just had the greatest sex in the world. Her soft Caribbean accent purred through the phone.
“I hope Sterling is there with you sounding like that, Ann,” Barbara began.
Ann Marie giggled. “Of course, chile’, where else ’im gwon be?”
“Listen, sorry to call you so early, girl, but I really need to speak with Sterling. It’s a legal matter.”
She heard some rustling and muttering then Sterling picked up the phone, his voice still thick with sleep.
“I just want to warn you that my rates are triple at this time of the morning,” he teased. “What can I do for you?”
“Yesterday, we had a visit from the FBI…”
She could hear the rustling as Sterling sat up. “I’ll make some inquiries when I get into the office. I’ll give you a call this morning,” he said.
“Thanks, Sterling.”
“You have a number for Ron? I need to speak with him.”
Barbara handed the phone to Elizabeth who gave him Ron’s cell number.
“One crisis put on hold,” Barbara said after they finished with Sterling. “Now, back to you and Ron. He just left after you told him you were going to the hospital to see Matt?”
“Yep, I came out of my room and he was gone.”
“Have you called him?”
“No.”
“Don’t you think you should, Ell?”
“I’ve never been in a situation like this. It’s all so alien to me. I mean, Matt was my first love, my husband for twenty-five years. Never, in my wildest dreams, did I ever think I would find myself in a position of trying to decide if I was still in love with my husband or another man. It’s supposed to be over between us.” She looked at Barbara with pleading eyes.
“Apparently it isn’t,” Barbara said softly.
Elizabeth lowered her head. “I don’t think so, either. That’s what scares me.” She told Barbara about her dream, how real it felt. “I was trying to save them both. They both needed me…”
“Ell, they are grown men. Men who have to make their own decisions and live with the outcomes. You can’t be expected to save them, because you can’t. They have to do that for themselves. The person you have to concentrate on is you. You need to make the right decisions for you.”
“How will I know I’m making the right decision?” Elizabeth asked, her voice aching with uncertainty.
“You’ll know. You’ll know.”
Barbara sounded so sure, Elizabeth thought as she picked through her food. But she certainly wasn’t—far from it.
Chapter 10
Barbara wished that she could go directly to the spa with Elizabeth just in case they had another visit, but she was due at the hospital for a morning shift. Actually, she was looking forward to it. One of her favorite patients, Veronica Wells, was scheduled for her therapy. Just thinking about the feisty Veronica made her smile. Veronica was probably close to ninety, but she didn’t look a day over fifty. And her exuberant attitude toward life added to the older woman’s youthful aura.
As she walked through the corridors of the Medical Center en route to the rehabilitation wing, she realized how much she truly loved what she did. As a rehabilitation specialist, she’d helped so many people regain or attain a normal way of life. True, she couldn’t help everyone, but she could certainly make all their lives more comfortable.
Barbara clocked in at the front desk and went to change into her scrubs. When she returned, her new assistant, Wendy, told her that Mrs. Wells was waiting in the treatment room.
“Thanks.” She pushed open the door and Veronica turned to her with a big smile on her face.
“My favorite therapist. The only person I let rub all over me besides my hubby.” She giggled like a young girl.
Barbara smiled and closed the door behind her.
“How are you, my dear?”
“Just wonderful. But you aren’t. I can tell, you know,” Veronica said, wagging a finger at her.
It was amazing to Barbara how well Veronica was always able to read her.
“Now, why would you say that?” Barbara hedged.
“Because I know women in general, that’s why, and I know you, in particular. You show your feelings in your eyes. So rub me down and tell me all about it.”
Barbara smiled inside. Veronica Wells was just the medicine she needed today. She prepared Veronica for her exercises and began telling her about the dilemma with Wil.
“I don’t really s
ee where you have a problem, my dear,” Veronica was saying as Barbara stretched her leg to a ninety-degree angle. “You obviously have a man who loves you and who you love in return. Right?”
“Yes.”
“And, take it from me, love doesn’t come easy. You’re one of the lucky ones. You got a second chance to make it right with the man of your dreams.”
Barbara had thought the same thing.
“And the sex is good, right? Because that’s important, I don’t care what those women’s magazines say.”
Barbara bit back a smile. “Yes, the sex is wonderful.”
“If your friends are true friends they will always be your friends,” she continued. “And this job…Ha, as fast as you walk out the door, someone else will walk right in and take your place. Life is too short. We have to grab happiness when we can.”
“But I just started a brand-new business. What about that?”
“And you have three friends who can run it. Next question.”
Barbara huffed.
“The bottom line is, you have to make a decision that you are happy with. If you let him go, you’ll forever ask yourself ‘what if?’ You already know you’re a great therapist. You already know you have wonderful friends. You already know you can run a business. But what you don’t know is if you’re still good at a man and woman relationship. And that’s what’s scaring you.”
Barbara lowered Veronica’s leg and gently massaged her hip. Was she afraid? Was that really it? She’d been so sure about Michael. She’d taken everyone’s advice and jumped into a relationship with a man ten years her junior. She did love him—in a way. But there was always that nagging voice of doubt that kept telling her it wouldn’t work—even after she’d accepted his proposal of marriage. Maybe that mistake affected her more than she realized.
And maybe she was letting that recent mistake with Michael guide her decision about her relationship with Wil.
“As always you are a treasure trove of advice,” Barbara said.
“Listen to me, sweetie. I can tell you anything. The next person can tell you something else. But all the answers are inside of you. You’ll make the right decision and, even if you don’t, you’ll bounce back. We all do.”
Perhaps, Barbara thought, but she wasn’t sure if she had enough spring left in her to bounce back after another fall.
She had two more patients to attend to before she could leave and head over to the spa. Her morning had been so busy, she hadn’t had a chance to check in with Elizabeth to see if they had any more visitors. But the person she really wanted to talk with was Sterling. She needed to know her rights when it came to turning over information about Ron. She’d watched enough television crime dramas to know that they couldn’t take anything without a warrant. But what if they came with a warrant? And how involved would the spa become in the investigation if the did try to pursue anything?
The questions ran around in her head. After all the work they’d put into getting Pause for Men up and operational, there was no way in hell she was going to let it be ruined.
She could sure use Stephanie right about now. If there was ever anyone who could put a good spin on a crappy situation, it was Stephanie. If things got ugly she’d have to use her skills as a public-relations genius to make the spa smell like roses and not old gym shoes.
After several tries, she finally found a parking space and headed inside to the spa. As usual, it was busy. That was a good thing.
Elizabeth wasn’t at the front desk. “Hey, Carmen, where’s Ellie?”
“Oh, hey, Barbara. She went down to the office.”
“Thanks. I’ll be right back.” She put her things under the desk then went downstairs.
The office door was closed. She knocked lightly.
“Come in.”
“Hey,” she said, then stopped when she saw Elizabeth on the phone.
“So, I’ll see you later?” Elizabeth was saying. “Okay.” She hung up the phone. “That was Ron. We’re going to talk tonight. And Sterling called. He said he was going to come by later on this afternoon when he leaves court.”
“Okay. No surprises, so far, right?”
“None, so far,” Elizabeth replied.
“So, what did Ron say?” Barbara asked.
“That he had some thinking to do and he’d talk to me about it this evening.”
Barbara patted her arm. “It’s all going to work out. I guess, the last person Ron expected to pop back in your life was Matt.”
“Hmm. True. Him and me, both.”
“You have some thinking to do, yourself,” Barbara said.
“I know.”
“I got some of the best advice anyone could offer this morning at the hospital.”
“From one of the staff?”
“No. Actually, from a patient.” Barbara grinned. “She is my absolute favorite. Anyway, she said I already know what I have, I know what I can accomplish, but what I don’t know is if I’m still good at a relationship and that’s what’s scaring me. In my case, it’s leaving everything that’s familiar. And, for you, it’s going back to what is familiar even if it’s not good for you.”
Elizabeth thought about what Barbara said for a moment. “I never looked at it that way.”
“But, as always with Veronica, she said go for happiness ’cause life is too short,” Barbara said.
“That, I can definitely agree with.”
“Hey, hey, hey, isn’t anyone going to welcome me with open arms?”
They both turned to see the ever-stylish Stephanie breeze through the door. On first blush, Stephanie Moore could easily be mistaken for supermodel turned talk-show host, Tyra Banks. As always, she looked fabulous.
“Steph!” they sang in harmony.
Stephanie rushed over and got a group hug.
Barbara held her back at arms length. “You look good, girl. When did you get back?”
“Last night. I wanted to surprise everybody.”
“So…are you, or aren’t you?”
“Is she, what?” Elizabeth asked.
“Well, I guess I can tell you now. Before I left for Texas to see my dad, I thought I was pregnant.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened in surprise. “And?”
“Well, ladies, get your acts together ’cause you’re going to be aunties in about seven months!”
They squealed in delight and hugged again.
“This is so exciting,” Barbara said. “Oh, I hope it’s a girl so I can do shopping for all those tiny girly things,” she said, and giggled.
“How does Tony feel about it?” Elizabeth asked.
“Ooh, he’s thrilled,” she said, grinning.
“So, when is the wedding? You are going to get married, aren’t you?” Elizabeth asked, unable to imagine having a baby without a husband, even in this day and age.
“We’re talking about it. We just need to decide when.”
“Then, we need to plan a wedding, too!” Barbara chirped, clapping her hands in delight. “Not to change the subject from your fabulous news, but how was the visit with your dad?”
For years, Stephanie believed that her father had abandoned her and her twin sister, Samantha, and was dead. It wasn’t until Ali, Ron’s friend, recognized her as the little girl he used to know that she learned that her dad was in a V.A. hospital in Texas and had been for years.
Stephanie blew out a breath. “It was…hard, scary and eye-opening. We had a wonderful visit. Of course, it’s impossible to cover all the years we missed in a short visit, but we sure tried.” She smiled softly. “I got my dad back, ya’ll,” she said as her eyes filled with tears. “And he’ll be around to see his grandchild.”
“Oh, Steph, I’m so happy for you, girl,” Barbara said.
“Me, too,” Elizabeth chimed in.
Stephanie sniffed. “So, enough about me. What’s been going on around here?”
Barbara and Elizabeth looked at each other, then at Stephanie.
“We have so much to tel
l you,” Barbara said.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Stephanie said.
“Trust me, sis, you ain’t heard nothing yet.”
By the time Barbara and Elizabeth finished bringing Stephanie up to speed, her mouth was hanging open.
“Damn, ya’ll, I go away for a couple of weeks and all hell breaks loose.” She rubbed her forehead. “How is this investigation, or whatever it is, going to affect our business?”
“We have to be prepared for some kind of fallout if they decide to pursue it. Sterling is going to be here later. I’m sure he’ll let us know what our options are,” Barbara said.
Stephanie nodded as her thoughts starting turning in PR mode. She was definitely going to have to come up with some kind of spin position in the event that this got in the papers. “I’ll meet with Terri and we’ll put our heads together.” She blew out a breath. “Anything else?”
Barbara and Elizabeth flashed each other another pointed look.
“The rest deserves a ‘girlz’ night,” Barbara said.
“For sure. A welcome back and a catching up session.”
“Name the time and place and I’m there.”
“Tonight. My house. Eight?” Barbara said.
“Sounds good to me. I’ll call Ann Marie and Terri.”
Barbara and Elizabeth got up.
“I have a client coming in about ten minutes,” Barbara said. “I need to get busy.”
“Yeah, and I have a bunch of stuff to check on.”
“I’m going to catch up on emails and calls. See you ladies later.”
Barbara and Elizabeth walked out.
Stephanie sat down and thought about everything she’d been told. Wow, she’d gotten back just in time.
Chapter 11
Jennings was going over the reports he’d put together on Ron Powers, the supplier and the spa. On the surface, it looked intriguing, but, under close examination, it simply did not hold up. The guy was clean. Hadn’t been in any kind of trouble since he was seventeen years old and was arrested during a protest.
It really got under his skin how folks were targeted. Granted, there were a lot of crazies out there. And, yes, terrorists were in their midst, but, in his humble opinion, they wasted much too much time chasing down the good guys. Still, he had a job to do, as distasteful as it was. He’d follow through, dig as far as he could go and, hopefully, Mr. Powers would come out of this and land on his feet. He didn’t want to be the one to bring another brother down or possibly ruin a black-owned business. But he also knew he needed his job.
