The Look of Love

by Crystal B. Bright

  * * * *

  “Shit! Shit! Shit!” Eboni sat in her car about a block away from Queen Elizabeth’s house. She’d been checking all gossip sites on her phone for the last hour to see if anything had popped up on Gunnar. She hoped that because of him being an MMA fighter that he wouldn’t be considered newsworthy.

  She chewed on her lower lip and flicked her thumb over the wide screen. Nothing so far, but a teaser about something coming out about him flashed across one site’s page.

  If her news came out and Gunnar heard it from someone else besides her, he would be so upset.

  Damn Craig and his big mouth. No, more like damn her and her Aunt Bettie and their mouths. She should have known that Craig wasn’t asleep on the couch when her aunt had blurted the news about her and Gunnar.

  No time like the present. Eboni drove to Queen’s house and parked out front. She wouldn’t dare park in the driveway and take the chance of getting trapped if someone parked behind her and Gunnar asked her to leave once he heard the news.

  By the time she got to the house, cars filled the entire driveway. Since Gunnar had parked the Hummer in the street, Eboni assumed he wanted to allow people more room to park in the driveway.

  After a couple of deep breaths, Eboni went up to the house. She could hear the cheers and chatter inside. She knocked on the door, feeling silly doing so considering she had keys to the place. When no one answered, she walked inside.

  Monica and her husband sat next to each other on the couch along with Elizabeth facing the large-screen wall-mounted TV. Tillman and Tisha made their place on a loveseat that lined the opposite wall. Shay stood by the kitchen talking to Gunnar. When Shay saw Eboni, she raised her hands in surrender.

  Eboni noticed Gunnar looking confused until he turned and saw Eboni.

  “I was just talking to your man, nothing else.” Shay moved away from him.

  “I know, Shay.” Eboni hugged her. “How are you doing?”

  Shay nodded. “Better. Happy to be here for a bit until I can get my stuff together.” She gave Gunnar a playful punch on his arm. “He’s been like a great older brother.” She strolled by Eboni and leaned down next to her ear. “I can see why you like him.”

  Eboni felt her cheeks getting warm. She imagined she must be blushing so brightly by now. Gunnar wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him.

  “Glad you’re here.” He kissed her. “I missed you last night. I got used to you being here.”

  Eboni tried to smile. “Hey, I need to tell you something, but I was trying to wait until after the game.”

  Gunnar’s eyebrows drew together. “What is it?”

  “Is there somewhere more private where we can--”

  Gunnar flinched and reached into his pants pocket. “Excuse me.” He grumbled and sounded like he cursed under his breath. “They got an alarm at the salon.”

  “And we’re all set for the kickoff, folks. This is going to be an exciting game between the Virginia Beach Wolves and the Maui Sharks. With this being breakout quarterback Gideon Wells’s first big game, I’m sure the former all-star will be pulling out all the stops,” the announcer said.

  “I have to go. We can talk when I get back.” Gunnar kissed her forehead. He walked in front of the screen, which got the crowd to groan their displeasure.

  “Son, where are you going? We have enough food and drinks.” Queen tried summoning Gunnar back.

  “I got an alert that the alarm is going off at the salon. I’ll be two seconds. I know you’re recording it so I won’t miss a thing.” Gunnar started to open the door.

  “Come give me a kiss before you go.” She raised her arms in the air.

  Like a good son, he kissed his mother’s cheek. Eboni knew he would have made a great father.

  “I’ll be back. No betting while I’m gone unless you’re betting my brother comes out on top.” Gunnar walked out of the house.

  At least this break would give Eboni time to think and come up with a way to tell Gunnar about the pregnancy.

  Shay sauntered back over to Eboni. In a low voice, she said, “I know what’s going on.”

  Eboni wanted to ignore Shay but with the lithe woman blocking her view of the game, she had to give Shay her full attention. “What are you talking about?”

  Shay pulled Eboni into the kitchen. “News going around that Gunnar had a lovechild.”

  Eboni tried not to gasp but it came out anyway.

  “Did you know about the child?” Shay asked. When Eboni didn’t answer, Shay filled in her own blanks. “You’re pregnant.”

  Eboni didn’t confirm or deny Shay’s assessment.

  “You were,” Shay continued.

  Eboni’s gaze dropped.

  “Shit, girl, you need to go after your man. He’s going to the salon. You two will be alone. Tell him there.”

  Eboni grabbed her purse and coat. As Shay had suggested, Eboni would go after her man. She hoped he would understand her side.

  * * * *

  Gunnar expected to see police in the parking lot when he got to the salon. Instead, he found nothing. He went into the back door and disabled the alarm to the main salon so that he could walk around. He kept the alarm on for the front door until the police arrived. As he was about to walk into the main area, the sight of a gun muzzle through the curtain stopped him.

  Gunnar raised his hands in the air. The curtain pulled back to reveal the person holding the gun.

  “Don’t do this,” Gunnar said just as a flash erupted from the gun’s barrel.

  Gunnar fell back on the floor. Searing heat and pain ripped through his side. He heard footfalls stomping out of the front door and the store alarm sounding.

  He struggled to his feet and stumbled to the office. He managed to get to the security camera. Like he’d done when he and Eboni had had their connection by the washing machine, Gunnar managed to erase the last hour recorded on the security camera.

  “Gunnar?”

  He heard Eboni’s voice at the same time he heard sirens.

  “Don’t come in,” he said weakly.

  By the time he saw her, he fell to the floor. Eboni’s scream rang through his head before he blacked out.

  Chapter 18

  Eboni sat in the hospital room with Gunnar’s still body lying on the bed next to her. She wouldn’t let his hand go until he woke up.

  Doctors had said the shot went into his side. It had punctured his small intestines and gone through his body. She’d been told that Gunnar must have had a horseshoe and rabbit’s foot in his pocket for his incredible luck. Eboni had almost laughed. Getting shot didn’t seem like a lucky happenstance.

  Who the hell would do that to him? Shay’s ex-boyfriend came to mind first. If that fucking bastard had hurt Gunnar, there wouldn’t be a place in this world where Eboni wouldn’t go to find him to exact some revenge.

  Eboni kissed the back of Gunnar’s hand. “I know you’re sleeping, but I need to talk to you.” She rubbed her thumb over his knuckles. “I didn’t want you here when you first arrived to fill in for Queen. I thought you would be a distraction.” She laughed through tears coming down her cheeks. “You were a great distraction. You made me remember our time together. You made me get in touch with my feelings for you. You made me remember that I loved you.” She squeezed his hand. “I still love you. I love you, Gunnar Wells.”

  Eboni put her forehead on the mattress and sobbed.

  “You’re not going to let me sleep, are you?”

  She brought her gaze up and saw Gunnar smiling down at her. His eyelids hung halfway down over his eyes.

  Eboni leapt from her chair and embraced him so hard she thought she would hurt him, but she didn’t care. “I didn’t think you would…I thought you were going to--”

  “Stop. I’m alive. I’m here. Does Mom know?”

  The hospital-room door opened. Elizabeth sauntered inside with a scowl that would scare the dead. When she got
close enough to Gunnar, she picked up a pillow from a cart next to him and swatted him with it.

  “Come on, Ma.” Gunnar put his hand over his stomach.

  “You scared me to death. Why did you go into the salon without the police? You’re not Superman.”

  Eboni backed away from Gunnar long enough for Queen to embrace her son and kiss his cheek.

  “I thought the alarm was a fluke.” Gunnar squeezed Eboni’s hand and then took his mother’s in his other.

  “The police asked us who we thought would do this.” Elizabeth patted Gunnar’s arm. “Shay is giving them every detail of her creepy ex-boyfriend.”

  Gunnar shook his head. “It wasn’t him.”

  Eboni furrowed her eyebrows. “You know who did it? You have to tell the police. They’ve been waiting for you to wake up.”

  “I can’t help them.” Gunnar shook his head. “I know it wasn’t that guy.” As he smiled at his mother, he proclaimed, “You’re closing that salon.”

  Queen’s eyebrows furrowed. “No, I’m not.”

  “I wasn’t asking. You need to close it. It’s attracting a dangerous element there. It’s not safe for you to keep it open.”

  “That’s not for you to decide. It’s my business. I’m keeping it open. People in that community need me, need my services. I can’t turn my back on them.”

  “Gunnar, we can beef up security. And you’re--” Eboni had almost said that he would be there, but with his look, she knew he still planned on leaving.

  A nurse walked into the room, breaking up the tension. “Good morning, Mr. Wells.” She dragged in behind her a machine on its own stand. “It’s not often we get a celebrity in here. The guys in here are going crazy.”

  Gunnar offered a slight smile.

  “And the women are just--” The nurse cut off her statement when she saw Eboni’s expression. “Let’s just say you’ve definitely made an impression.”

  “When can I get out of here? I have things to do.” Gunnar rubbed his hand over his eyes.

  “That will be up to the doctor.” The nurse wrapped a cuff around his arm and engaged the machine to get his blood pressure. “We have you on antibiotics now. We’ll keep your bandages changed. If all goes well, maybe in a few days. But that’s my guess.”

  “I’ve canceled my surgery.”

  Gunnar shook his head. “No. You need that surgery now.”

  “And what? Both of us will be laid out at the same time. No, I’m going to make sure you’re all better before they cut me open.” Elizabeth grabbed his hand again.

  “That’s crazy. I’ll be fine. You need this surgery.”

  “I need my children all happy and healthy.” She patted Gunnar’s shoulder.

  “Speaking of your children, did you see Gideon?” Gunnar smiled. “I can’t believe he came here right after the game when he heard about me. He was tight-lipped about the Super Bowl results. Did he win?”

  Elizabeth looked forlorn. Eboni tried hiding her laughter considering she knew the results.

  “He lost?” Gunnar asked.

  Queen Elizabeth beamed. “Just teasing. His team won.”

  Gunnar nodded. “Awesome. I’m telling you. You raised a family of champions.”

  The nurse removed the cuff and wrapped it around the monitor she’d pull into the room. “I know.” She patted Gunnar on his shoulder. “You’re an MMA champ. Now you have a Super Bowl champion in the family. And I hear congratulations are in order.”

  “Yeah, Gideon Wells is an awesome player.” Eboni patted the back of Gunnar’s hand.

  “No, I saw online that you’re going to be a dad.”

  Gunnar’s eyebrows rutted together. “I’m not going to be a dad.” He turned to Eboni. “Am I?”

  Eboni didn’t answer. She couldn’t move. She hadn’t expected the news to be blurted out by a nurse. Being in a hospital room with the TV turned off and Gunnar’s phone away from him, she thought she would have time to break the news to him.

  The nurse continued. “I saw the story online and the ring in your pocket, and I just assumed--”

  “Ring?” Eboni had to sit down again.

  “I’ll leave you all alone. The doctor should be in shortly.” The nurse backed out of the room.

  “Eboni, even when I left, I’ve only thought of you. Every day, every moment, I wanted you. I thought you wouldn’t want me again after I left, so I never tried to contact you again.” Gunnar hit a control on the inside of his bed to bring his head up. “When I saw you taking care of my mother when I came home, the old feelings came back. You have my heart completely. I don’t want to spend another moment without you. I don’t know where it is in the room, but I have a ring for you.”

  Both Eboni and Elizabeth gasped.

  “Will you marry me? Please say yes, or I’ll pull the guilt card and say that I almost died.” Gunnar laughed and quickly held his side.

  “Gunnar, before I answer anything, I need to tell you something.” Eboni’s stomach flipped. She wanted to hold Queen’s hand in case Gunnar got out of bed and walked home. “What the nurse said.”

  “About me having a kid? Not true. I wasn’t lying when I said I hadn’t slept with anyone else since moving away to train.”

  “You’re partially right. You don’t have a child. You would have.” Eboni maintained eye contact with Gunnar until realization crossed his face.

  “You were pregnant? When?”

  “I found out after you left. I was depressed and getting sick. I thought it was because I was crying all the time.” Eboni didn’t mean to make Gunnar feel guilty. She needed to tell it all. “When I wasn’t crying, I was eating everything in sight. My aunt told me she thought I might be pregnant. I took an at-home test. It came out positive.” She averted her gaze. “I didn’t want to believe it. I mean, we were both so careful. You wore condoms and I was on the Pill.”

  Gunnar adjusted himself in bed as he split his gaze between Eboni and his mother.

  “I decided to get an official word. So I went to the doctor. He confirmed that I was about two months along.”

  Gunnar sat up taller. “So what happened? I haven’t seen a child around you since I’ve been home. You haven’t mentioned having a kid.”

  Eboni glanced up for a moment and then dropped her gaze again.

  “You got an abortion?” Gunnar slipped his hand from hers.

  “No. Of course not. Even if you had said you never wanted to see me again, I would never do that. I lost the baby. For the longest time, I blamed myself. I thought I had done something wrong. Then your mother explained that sometimes these things happen.”

  Gunnar turned to his mother. “You knew? All these years, all the phone calls we’ve had. Never once did you say, ‘Guess what, son? You were going to be a father but Eboni had a miscarriage.’ Never crossed your mind to tell me something like that?”

  “It wasn’t for me to tell you. This was Eboni’s news and your business.” Queen’s voice came out low and slow.

  “My business? Oh, no. Apparently, it’s the world’s business now. How did this get leaked to some gossip site? Is that why you didn’t come by the other night?”

  “Stop it, Gunnar. I wouldn’t do that. My cousin overheard my aunt mentioning it. He blabbed the news. I was going to tell you last night before you left for the salon. Then I thought that if I had caught you at the salon we could talk there.”

  “I’m not mad that you miscarried. It happens to lots of women. I’m pissed that no one who claims to love me bothered to tell me. I would have come home to be with you had I known. Did you think I stopped caring about you? Or did you stop caring about me?”

  “Gunny, that’s not fair. I had no idea where we stood.” Eboni wrapped her arms around her body.

  “When you two went out to dinner and I asked you if you’d talked, I thought you talked about that then.” She glanced at Eboni.

  Eboni had already felt guilty for not telling him right af
ter it happened. One look from Queen Elizabeth and Eboni felt like dirt. She returned her attention back to Gunnar, who looked like he wanted to melt her in her spot just from his glare.

  “It didn’t matter if I were in prison. A part of me was in you and it died and no one thought it was my business to know. I had a right to know. I had a right to be involved whether we were together or not.”

  Eboni swallowed. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  “I am too. As soon as I get clearance to leave, I’m going back to Vegas.” Gunnar turned to his mother. “Hopefully, Gideon will be here soon. He can take care of you.”

  “Gunnar--”

  “I’m really tired. Could you turn off the lights when you two leave?”

  Eboni’s heart sank to the floor. She’d known Gunnar would be mad. She’d never thought he would turn his back on both her and his mother.

  Queen Elizabeth approached her son. “I know you’re angry. Get some sleep. Think about everything. Remember that we love you.” Despite Gunnar turning his head, she managed to kiss his cheek. “I love you. I will always be there for you.”

  Queen stepped away from Gunnar to give Eboni a chance to kiss Gunnar good-bye as well.

  Eboni couldn’t muster the strength to approach Gunnar. Not initially. Then she realized that she did love Gunnar. She hadn’t withheld the information to hurt him. She approached the side of the bed. He flipped his face to the other direction, away from her.

  “I love you, Gunnar. I love you.” She kissed his cheek, his temple, the side of his neck, anyplace she could reach. “If it means anything to you, I couldn’t wait to have our child.”

  Gunnar remained quiet.

  As he had requested, Queen turned off the lights when she and Eboni walked out of his hospital room. When Eboni heard his door click shut, she fell into Queen’s arms and wept.

  “I thought you would have told him by now. Why didn’t you said anything?” Elizabeth stroked Eboni’s back as she hugged her.