The Eternal Engagement

by Mary B. Morrison

  “Mona Lisa, what’s going on in there? Are you all right?” her mother asked.

  “I’m fine, Mama!” Mona was too excited to tell her mother the news. Didn’t want her mother scolding her about rejoicing over Steven’s death. Her mom would find out eventually. Mona was sure Katherine would report Steven’s death on the morning news.

  Unlocking her bedroom door, Mona kissed her mom. “Thanks for letting me spend the night.”

  “Don’t thank me, thank your father,” her mother said. “You hungry? I’m cooking breakfast.”

  “No, Ma. I’ve got some business to take care of. What’s the pastor’s number?”

  Her mother turned to her. “Whose number?”

  “The pastor. I need him to meet me at the hospital.”

  “I know that look, Mona Lisa. What are you up to?” Her mother walked away, entered the kitchen.

  Mona was right behind her. Her mother picked up the house phone, dialed seven digits. “Yes, pastor. This is Sister Ellington. My daughter needs to speak with you.” Her mother handed her the phone.

  Mona mouthed, “Thanks, Mom,” then said, “Hi, pastor. Can you meet me at the hospital in an hour? I need you.” She paused. “You can! Thanks! I’ll see you there!”

  This was the happiest day in her life. Mona hoped the coroner didn’t call her to make arrangements for Steven’s body. His parents could pay for his funeral and bury him any way they’d prefer.

  “Whatever it is you’re up to, Mona . . . don’t,” her mother said. “I know you.”

  “Everything is fine, Mama. I’ll be back later. I’ve gotta go.”

  After the shooting, her mother didn’t want her in the house. Her dad insisted she stay with them. Mona’s mom was afraid Mona would make them a target. That Steven would show up at their house, and one if not all of them would be shot or, worse, killed.

  Mona knew what her mother would soon find out. Their worries were over. Mona danced out of her parents’ house and drove straight to the store on East Highland Avenue.

  After hurrying inside, she tried on a few dresses, shoes, and veils. Making her way to the register, she said, “I’ll take these.”

  “Don’t you want me to bag those for you?” the cashier asked.

  A bag contained the clothes she’d worn into the store. “Nope.” Mona stood close enough for the cashier to scan the items on her body. She tilted her head toward the electronic gun. Beep. The price of the veil registered.

  “That’ll be five hundred forty-nine dollars.”

  Mona handed her five hundred fifty dollars, then headed to the morgue. She had to see for herself. The room was freezing. Hiking her white dress above her heels, Mona viewed Steven’s body.

  “May I?” she asked, holding the zipper to his body bag. “Thank you, Jesus,” she whispered as she zipped until the last notch locked. The weight was finally lifted from her spirit.

  Mona drove to the hospital. Hiking her dress over her shoes, she trotted inside. Glad to see the pastor, Mona said, “Thanks for coming on such short notice. Come with me.”

  Escorting the pastor to Lincoln’s room, Mona stood outside Lincoln’s door. “Besides the obvious,” she said, fingering her veil, then feeling her gown, “I asked you to come here to pray for William Lincoln. I imagine you heard on the news that he was recently shot. He’s a war veteran and he’s suffering from PTSD. He served ten years in the military and not once was shot. But he has killed. He was never physically wounded while protecting our country, but mentally he’ll never be the same. Your words can help mend his broken spirit. Wait out here for a moment.”

  Slowly, she opened the door. Lincoln laughed when she stepped inside.

  “You are so crazy, Mona. I never know what you’re going to do. What are you up to?”

  “Surprise,” she whispered, then smiled. “Before you change your mind, we’re getting married today.”

  He smiled back at her. “This isn’t exactly how I saw the wedding going, but I’m not changing my mind. If you want to get married now, let’s do it.”

  Mona pressed her lips to his. “I love you.” In that moment, everything seemed perfect.

  “Are we marrying ourselves?” he asked, elevating his bed to a sitting position.

  “No, silly.” Mona opened the door.

  The person facing her was not the person she expected to see.

  CHAPTER 68

  Katherine

  December 2010

  “You are one desperate woman.”

  Katherine entered Lincoln’s room. Mona stepped into the hallway. Came back with a man dressed in a black suit and white shirt. A gold cross dangled atop his black necktie. He held the King James version of the Bible in his hands.

  “If you don’t mind excusing yourself,” Mona said, “we’re in the middle of a ceremony.”

  Katherine shook her head. Looked to Lincoln for a response.

  “Give us some privacy,” he said. “You should’ve called first. Besides, I asked you not to come back here without—”

  “Without your son. He’s here.”

  Lincoln’s eyes widened. “For real.”

  Mona interrupted, “This won’t take long.”

  “No, getting married can wait a little longer. I want to see my son. Where is he?”

  Katherine was happy she arrived in time to stop their wedding. Mona looked ridiculous draped in all white. Was she serious? Tramp.

  Mona pleaded, “The pastor may not be able to come back. Lincoln, we need to do this now. She’s trying to ruin our wedding on purpose.”

  Katherine interjected, “You have to know there’s a wedding happening in order to plan to sabotage it.”

  Mona’s eyes narrowed in her direction. If they could speak, they’d probably say, “Bitch.”

  “What? You want to strangle me again? Go ahead. Do it while there’s witnesses.” Katherine spoke to the pastor. “If she wants to punch me in the face again, she should do it now so I can press charges.” She turned to Mona. “You’re not so bad when other people are watching, are you?”

  Katherine spoke to Lincoln. “You want to see your son or not?”

  Lincoln looked at Mona, then at the pastor. “What do you think, Rev?”

  “Doesn’t matter what I think, young man. But what I know is, I’m not performing a ceremony here today. Neither of you are spiritually grounded enough to get married.”

  That was Katherine’s blessing. Lincoln seeing Jeremiah might swing his heart in her direction.

  The pastor placed his hand on Lincoln’s head, then said, “Lord, I ask that You watch over this young man. He may have done some things not favorable in Your sight, but he has risked his life to protect the freedom and liberties afforded to every man, woman, and child in this country. We will not forsake him. I ask that You protect his mind, give him peace from within. Cast out any and all demons inside of him. Stop all demons that seek to invade his light. Build a shield of love around him. Whatever sins he may have committed, we pray for forgiveness. We pray for his full recovery, in Jesus’s name we ask for these blessings. Amen.”

  Katherine said, “Amen.” She was shocked when Mona Lisa said it too.

  “Young man, when you do what feels right in your heart, it’s never the wrong thing. Mona, tell your mother hello for me.” The pastor clenched the Bible to his chest, then left the room.

  Soon as the door closed, Mona said, “You can’t just spring this on Lincoln like this.”

  “Do something constructive. How about you go take off that white gown and go bury your husband?”

  Slap!

  This time Katherine struck back. She snatched Mona’s veil over her head, tightened it around her neck. Katherine balled her fingers into a fist and began repeatedly punching Mona in the back of her head. All the rage inside her surfaced, making Katherine want to ram Mona’s head into the wall, but she decided not to.

  Reporting the news, she understood the fine line between life and death. She was so angry with Mona she could’ve
killed her. But what was the real underlying basis for her hatred? Steven? Mona? Lincoln? Or was she in doubt about the part she’d played in all that had happened?

  Lincoln yelled, “Stop it! Didn’t either of you hear the prayer? Stop it right now!”

  Jeremiah opened the door. “Mommy! Mommy!”

  Katherine shoved Mona to the floor, then slammed her veil on top of her. Heaving, she reached for her child. “Everything is okay, baby.”

  Lincoln shook his head. “Jeremiah?”

  “Mommy, who’s that?”

  Katherine looked at Mona scraping herself from the floor. “Leave, now.”

  Mona sat in the chair beside Lincoln’s bed. “We’re not done.”

  Katherine exhaled. Lincoln’s door opened. Two officers in uniform walked in.

  Katherine recognized Detective Davenport. The other officer she’d seen but didn’t know. “We apologize for the disturbance, officers. Everything is okay.”

  Detective Davenport said, “Mona Lisa Ellington-Cunningham?”

  Mona remained silent.

  “You’re under arrest for the suspicion of murdering Davis Singletary. You have the right to remain silent . . .”

  Now Katherine wished Mona hadn’t known about her relationship with Steven. She could hardly breathe, wondering if Detective Davenport was going to call her name next. Katherine prayed her decision to accept Steven’s gifts didn’t involve her in whatever he and Mona had done.

  Mona’s hands were cuffed behind her back. She glanced at Lincoln. “I’ve never killed a soul. Promise me you won’t break our engagement.”

  Katherine awaited his response.

  When Lincoln said, “I promise,” to Mona, Katherine knew her engagement to him was officially over.

  CHAPTER 69

  Mona

  December 2010

  What a disastrous difference a day made.

  Suddenly she wished Steven were alive. That no-good, low-down bastard got off easy. Mona had an idea he’d kept the clothes from Calvin’s murder, but now she knew for sure. Not only had he hid them, they were in her car, the car her parents had given her when she was in high school. But that wasn’t nearly as shocking as his leaving Davis’s body in her Bakersfield home.

  Quietly she sat on the bus with the other women. Instead of marrying Lincoln, she was in transit to CCWF—Central California Women’s Facility, the only California women’s prison with a death row.

  Praying her sentencing didn’t warrant the death penalty, Mona had to prove she didn’t kill Davis. But Shawna Forde received the death penalty for orchestrating a home invasion that ended in two murders. Shawna hadn’t pulled the trigger, but the jury found her guilty. Listening to Marion Jones share her story on The Mo’Nique Show was frightening. She’d spent forty-five plus days in solitary confinement for defending herself. Mona’s crime was marrying the wrong man, and the only woman that could help prove her innocence wasn’t her mother, it was Mama V.

  Mona was speechless as Detective Davenport had said, “We’ve got proof.”

  Proof? Based upon Steven’s confession, the detective concluded she was guilty of murder?

  She had demanded an attorney but quickly discovered she couldn’t afford one. Her assets, frozen. Steven’s assets, frozen. Hopefully Lincoln would find a way to help her get out of prison.

  “Oh, shit. The video.” They had to have found it.

  Guards escorted her and the other women off the bus; she scanned her surroundings. “This can’t be my life.” They led her to the intake area. Was she really being processed into prison?

  “I told you I’m innocent,” Mona Lisa cried. “I can prove it.”

  Her naked body stood cold.

  The manly looking woman said, “Open your mouth.”

  Mona wanted to bite her fingers as the woman probed under her tongue, underneath her upper and lower lips. Mona’s lips trembled. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

  “Bend over and spread your cheeks,” the manly looking woman said. “Let them tell it, every person in here is innocent.”

  Mona’s ass was spread wide. The woman’s gloves slid over her anus, slipped into her vagina, roamed, slid up to her anus, probed. “Put this on,” she said, handing her a prison uniform that would become her daily wardrobe.

  “My engagement rings. What are they going to do with them?” Mona asked.

  “You’re cute. We have twice the number of inmates we should, so you’ll probably get several rings while you’re in here. They won’t look the same, but it’s the thought that counts, right?”

  This shit was a joke to her. Mona was serious. She was no longer a name; she was a number. Another woman called out her number, then said, “Come with me.”

  She knew she’d be back in California. But she’d imagined it would’ve been to move her things out of the house she was renting and bring permanent closure to the years spent with Steven.

  “My engagement rings, what are they going to do with them?” Mona asked the woman behind her, the same as she’d asked the intake person.

  “You do realize you’re in for murder. An engagement ring is the least of your worries. Wait until you meet your cellmate. My suggestion, never sleep.”

  “Then why are you putting me with her?” Mona asked.

  “We’re overcrowded. Almost double our capacity. Be happy you have a bed. Here you are,” she said.

  Another person unlocked the cell. Before Mona stepped inside, her cellmate blocked her entrance, then said, “Bitch, you don’t wanna come in here.”

  Determined to clear her name, appeal her case, get her money back from the government, and get revenge on Katherine, Mona had to survive. She had to stay out of trouble.

  The guard shoved Mona inside the cell. The metal door closed behind her. The woman in the cell stood an inch from Mona’s face. “You won’t last a day in here. I hate cellmates. I hate sharing. And I fucking hate kids. Don’t post any damn pictures in here. Keep your mouth shut, so I don’t have to shut it for you.”

  “You—”

  Wham! Mona’s head hit the wall.

  Her cellmate whispered, “Say something else, bitch. I dare you.”

  Mona touched the side of her face. Blood streamed down her fingers. She stared at her cellmate. Do I kick her ass or shut up?

  Wham! Mona’s head hit the wall again.

  “That should help you make up your mind. Either way you gon’ shut the fuck up. I’m Bambi Bartholomew, bitch, and until I get out of this hellhole, I run this block.”

  Wham! Mona slammed Bambi’s head into the same wall three times.

  “I’m not looking for trouble,” Mona said. “But you need to know, I’m nobody’s bitch.”

  CHAPTER 70

  Katherine

  December 2010

  “Good morning to you, America, I’m Katherine Clinton. At the top of the news is great news. I’m standing in front of the prison waiting for Sarah McKenny’s release this morning. It’s wonderful when justice is served. In the background are Sarah’s family and friends anxiously waiting for her. We’ll give you a breaking update when Sarah comes out.”

  The day ended with Katherine giving thanks for not being an accomplice to whatever Steven was plotting. She hadn’t walked in Mona’s shoes and wasn’t celebrating that Mona was behind bars but felt Mona deserved to do time.

  On her way home, Katherine stopped by Steven’s parents’ house, knocked on the door. His mother greeted her.

  “Come on in, Katherine,” his mother said. “Buttercup really is dead. I still can’t believe it.” Mrs. Cunningham wept.

  Mr. Cunningham consoled her. “We don’t believe our son killed those people. Steven wasn’t a murderer. And although he’s gone, we’re going to fight to the end to prove he was innocent.”

  Katherine wasn’t there to discuss whether Steven was innocent or guilty. She knew he was guilty.

  “Can you help us?” Mrs. Cunningham asked in between weeping. “We’ll pay you.”

  “No,
ma’am. I can’t get involved in this. I don’t mean any disrespect, but I have a son to take care of by myself. Which brings me to the reason I’m here,” she said, still standing in their living room. “I’m pregnant with Steven’s baby.”

  Mrs. Cunningham’s face lit up. “Are you sure it’s from our Steven?”

  Taking a deep breath, Katherine said, “I’m positive. But I’m not keeping it.”

  “I don’t understand,” Mr. Cunningham said.

  “Why would you tell us this, then tell us you’re having an abortion? You can’t kill Steven’s baby.” Mrs. Cunningham’s voice grew stronger. “We won’t let you.”

  Katherine sighed heavily. There was no way she wanted to break her promise to her mother. She couldn’t afford to be a single mom with a second child. God may never forgive her if she aborted the baby. But either way, she had to make a decision.

  Mr. Cunningham hugged his wife, then asked Katherine, “What are you thinking, child?”

  “My options are, I could put the baby up for adoption. I could relinquish my parental rights and give the baby to you guys to raise. Or I can terminate the pregnancy.”

  Katherine also worried that she’d lose Lincoln forever if she had Steven’s baby. Lincoln wouldn’t care if she put the baby up for adoption. He wouldn’t see her the same if she had an abortion. With Mona Lisa behind bars, Katherine had one last chance to win Lincoln back. But had she blown that opportunity by telling the Cunninghams? She was sure they’d tell everyone, including her mother.

  “We’d like for you to have the baby and give the baby to us,” Mrs. Cunningham said.

  Mr. Cunningham asked, “What would you like to do?”

  This was by far the most difficult decision Katherine had to make. She thought about her options, looked at Steven’s parents for a long time wishing she hadn’t come to their house. But she was there. Her pregnancy was real.

  Katherine opened the door, took one last look at their sad yet anxious faces, then answered, “I’m not sure.”