Phillip raised his arm toward the headboard. “I was also a little shocked by the way her mom was talking to her, and she never went into Melanie’s room even once. Are they mad at each other about something?”
“Not that I know of. I mean, when we were younger her mother would constantly make comments about her weight, but that was a long time ago.”
“Well, I do wonder if there’s a lot we don’t know, because when I went in to pray with her dad, he told me he’d apologized to Melanie and asked God to forgive him for all his sins.”
“Really? Apologized for what?”
“I don’t know, and when I mentioned it to Melanie, she seemed embarrassed and like she was afraid her father had told me a lot more.”
“I do know that Melanie’s parents were a lot different before I met her, because she told me a little about it. But once her father recovered from some car accident, everything changed and her parents became good people. They’ve always been wonderful to me as well.”
“Yeah, but you know the saying. You never know what’s going on behind closed doors.”
“That’s true, but Mel is like a sister to me, and if there were major problems between her and her parents I would know about it.”
Phillip leaned closer to the center of the bed, gazing into Alicia’s eyes.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing. Can’t I admire the woman I love?”
“And you just decided to do that right in the middle of our conversation?” she said, laughing.
“Kinda. You’re such a beautiful woman, and I loved you from the first time I laid eyes on you. Now you’re going to be my wife again.”
Alicia smiled but wasn’t sure how to respond.
“I know you must be tired of hearing me say that over and over, but I can’t help it. For the first time in years, I’m truly happy and content. I feel like I have everything now, and not many people can say that.”
“I agree. We’re very blessed.”
Phillip held the side of her face and kissed her with more passion than usual but then pulled away. “Okay, I’d better get out of this bed before we do something we’ll regret. Although I know you’d be fine with that, wouldn’t you?” he said, laughing. “If we could make love right this very second, you’d be on top of the world.”
“You know I would be,” she said, forcing a smile and hoping Phillip couldn’t tell how insincere she was.
“Well, just remember, only two months to go and I’m all yours. Every part of me.”
When Phillip went into the bathroom, Alicia got up, walked over to the chair where her tote sat, and pulled out her phone. It was a good thing she’d gotten into the habit of keeping her phone on silent with no vibration, because Levi had just called her ten minutes ago. He’d also sent her a text that said, “Where are you? I miss you. Call me.”
Alicia dropped her phone in her bag and fell across the bed, face-first. She’d never felt so trapped or defeated in all her life, but she had to do the right thing. Do right by Phillip. Live happily ever after with the man everyone wanted her to be with.
She settled her mind, got back out of bed to get her phone, and dialed Melanie. With the way she’d acted last night, Alicia wondered if her friend would answer.
“Hello?” Melanie said.
“Hey, Mel. How are you?”
“Hanging in there.”
“How’s your dad?”
“About the same. I called the nurse’s station maybe an hour ago.”
“I’m sure it’ll take a little more time before he progresses.”
“That’s what I’m praying for.”
“So am I. We all are.”
Melanie didn’t say anything further, and their silence was unsettling. It felt strange and uncommon, and while Alicia had considered easing into another conversation about Melanie’s eating habits, she knew this wasn’t the right time. But oddly enough, Melanie was the one who had questions for her.
“So, when we were on the phone last night, why did you tell me you’d finished reading your manuscript?”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s what you told me then, but right before we left the hospital, you said you still had a few more chapters to go.”
Alicia swallowed the huge lump in her throat. Gosh, had she actually told Melanie two different stories? But even if she had, why was Melanie confronting her about it? Why was she acting as though she’d caught her in something and couldn’t wait to interrogate her?
Alicia made up another quick lie to appease her. “I did finish reading it, but I still need to type in my changes and additions. I always mark up my manuscript as I go along, and then I have to incorporate everything on my computer.”
“Oh, I see.” Melanie said, almost sounding sarcastic.
Alicia ignored her and changed the subject. “So when are you going back to the hospital?”
“I’m getting ready now.”
“I really wish I could spend the day here with you, but I have to get back home so I can finish up my work. I’ll be calling you, though, and I’ll definitely get to see your dad when I come back for church on Sunday.”
“How come you didn’t bring your laptop and manuscript with you?”
Wow. Just wow. Melanie had turned into a real piece of work this morning, and Alicia was getting a little tired of it. She knew Melanie was going through a lot, which was the reason Alicia was being tolerant, but she could only take so much attitude and rudeness.
“Well, for one thing, when I heard that you’d passed out and that your dad was having emergency surgery, my work was the last thing I thought about. All I knew was that I needed to get here.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right,” she said.
“Is Brad still dropping you off at the hospital? Otherwise, I can come get you before I head back home.”
“Yes, he’s in the shower now, but thanks.”
“Okay, well, I’ll let you go, and kiss your dad for me.”
“I will.”
“And Mel?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m really sorry again about the things I said last night. You’re my girl, I love you, and I just want you to be all right.”
“I know that. I love you, too.”
Alicia set her phone down, and though she wondered why Melanie still wasn’t acting herself, she soon thought about her drive back to Covington Park. She was already promising herself she wouldn’t call Levi, and she wouldn’t stop by his friend’s house to see him. She would head straight to her condo so she could read the manuscript she hadn’t looked at for the past two days. She so needed to get that finished, because she knew Phillip would be driving over, just as he did every Friday when he left the church. She had to get as much reading done as possible so she could spend all of tomorrow and Sunday with him. Then, on Monday, she would finish reading completely and would type everything in. Monday was Phillip’s day off, but she would just have to come up with some other lie to explain why she needed another full day of work with no distractions. She would then be able to email the finished product to her editor on Tuesday, and all would be good.
She would also take some time on Tuesday to check in with their wedding planner. There still wasn’t much to do at this point, but Alicia wanted to touch base with her to make sure nothing had been missed. Regardless of how she’d been feeling as of late, thanks to Levi, Alicia wanted her and Phillip’s wedding to be flawless. Not because she was nearly as excited about getting married as she had been, but because Phillip deserved it. He’d earned the right to have the best of everything, including a loyal wife, and Alicia would give him that. She would forget her own desires and learn how to be happy with the existing conditions. She would pretend Levi was a mere figment of her imagination.
Chapter 24
No matter what explanation Alicia had tried to come up with, Melanie knew something was wrong. Alicia had sounded sort of squirrely, and she’d paused for a couple of seconds before answering Melanie’s questi
on. Most people who lied didn’t realize they were doing that. But as of yesterday, Melanie had begun doing a bit of pausing and lying herself to her ER doctor, so she knew firsthand how a person acted when they weren’t telling the truth.
Melanie heard Brad shutting off the water in the shower, so she knew once he shaved he’d be getting dressed pretty quickly. She still had on her robe, but it wouldn’t take her long at all to slip on the pair of jeans and sweatshirt she’d already laid out. The temperature was going to be in the eighties today, but the air-conditioning at the hospital last night had been pretty cold, and she wanted to be prepared for it. There was no doubt that her mother would think she should have worn something more presentable, but Melanie was planning to stay for a few hours and wanted to be comfortable.
She looked at the clock. Since it was still too early to call her office to let them know she wouldn’t be in today, she took a deep breath and called her mother. She wasn’t looking forward to speaking to her, but Gladys was still her mother and it was only right that she check on her.
Gladys answered on the first ring. “So when exactly are you going to get back over here?”
“When Brad gets dressed, he’ll be dropping me off.”
“Well, it’s good to know that you’re in no real hurry.”
“Mom, I really needed to get some rest, and I do feel a lot better.”
“Yeah, but it’s like I told you last night, if you ate right every single day and not just when you want, you wouldn’t gain any weight, period. You also wouldn’t have to resort to some crazy crash diet. All that up-and-down stuff is just plain silly. Especially when I’ve taught you so much better than that.”
“I do eat right, and I work out, too. But I’m not you, Mom.”
“Isn’t that the truth, because if you were me you’d be using a lot more common sense.”
Melanie squinted her eyes. “Why are you always so mean to me?”
“Look, what time are you going to be here? It’s bad enough that you left in the first place. Your dad’s doctor came and talked to me and Freda about an hour ago, but you’re the nurse practitioner. You’re the one who understands all that medical lingo. But noooo, you were more worried about going home and getting in bed.”
“Mom, I’ll see you in a little while, okay?”
“Whatever, Melanie. Come or don’t come. Good-bye.”
Melanie opened her mouth to respond, but Gladys had already hung up. Her mother had always been unloving and disapproving, but now she was being downright cruel. She seemed mad at the world. Although, maybe this was the only way she knew how to deal with her husband’s illness and the fact that he wasn’t doing so well. Melanie was afraid, too, but instead of being angry she was trying her best to remain prayerful and positive. She also didn’t understand why her mother was being so unsympathetic about her collapsing at the hospital or about her struggle with her weight. It was as if her mother didn’t love her, and that she spent most of her days looking for reasons to criticize and hurt Melanie. It was senseless, and while Melanie had become as immune to her mother’s comments as she could, she wondered why Gladys had always been so tough on her. She wondered why her mother had never loved and nurtured her only child. Maybe it was because Gladys had grown up in foster care and had never met her own parents. There were times when Melanie had wanted to do a background check on her mom and search for her biological grandparents, but her mother had made it clear that she never wanted to lay eyes on the “lowlifes” who obviously hadn’t cared enough about her to raise her.
Brad walked into the room with a large bath towel wrapped around him and sat on the bed next to Melanie. He hugged her, and Melanie wondered if this was his subtle way of saying he was sorry for squealing on her to the doctor.
But how wrong she was.
Brad wrapped his arm around Melanie’s waist. “Baby, I know you won’t want to hear this, but you need help.”
She scooted away from him. “For what?”
“Your eating disorder.”
Melanie laughed out loud. “You must be kidding.”
“I’m very serious. You have a problem, and I would be less than a husband to sit back and watch you starve yourself. Which is exactly what you’re doing.”
“Where is all this coming from?”
“You have to ask? You’re not eating. You fainted in the ER last night. You were dehydrated, and I found these inside the vanity,” he said, pulling her box of diuretics from inside his towel.
“What were you doing in my drawer?”
“The same reason you were in mine the other day. I wanna know what’s going on.”
“And you think losing ten thousand dollars—no, wait, make that twenty thousand dollars—is the same thing as me taking a couple of pills?”
“I’m not saying it’s the same thing. I know what I did was wrong, and I’ve owned up to it. But you’re in denial.”
Melanie got up and stormed down the hallway. “I don’t even wanna talk to you anymore.”
She slammed the bathroom door and let her robe drop to the floor. For the first time in years, she hadn’t gotten on the scale as soon as she’d gotten up, and it was all because she’d been afraid to see how much weight she’d gained from the IV. So, this morning, she’d gone to the bathroom and come back out to call to check on her father. But now, Brad had made her so furious, she needed to know how much damage had been done so she could take care of it.
She stepped on the scale and wanted to cry. She was up five pounds. Five whole disgusting pounds, the four she’d lost this week plus a new one. She’d known this was going to happen, but somehow seeing it with her own eyes made it too real to deal with.
She looked at her body in the mirror that spanned the double-sink vanity and shook her head. What a disaster. Here she’d stopped eating solid food so she could lose more weight and do it quicker, yet she’d ended up dehydrated and had been pumped with fluids. As she gathered her thoughts and composure, however, she realized all she needed to do was take two diuretics and drink her three shakes. She would do this today and tomorrow, and at the very least, she’d be down those five pounds by the time she got up on Sunday or Monday. She’d been worried about what she would eat on Father’s Day, but sadly, dinner was no longer happening.
She would also take the potassium pills Dr. Romalati had prescribed for her, so she wouldn’t have to worry about that, either. Her father would get well, she would lose the weight, she and Brad would settle their differences, and life would return to normal. There was, of course, this awkward tension between her and Alicia, but she knew that would work out, too.
In a few weeks, her problems and emotional concerns would be a distant memory. It would feel as though none of it had happened.
Chapter 25
Alicia scanned through a few SiriusXM channels until she found Kirk Franklin’s Praise. She’d been driving for nearly an hour, heading back to Covington Park, and she needed to hear something inspirational. Something that would help her stop thinking about Levi and do the right thing. She couldn’t, shouldn’t, and wouldn’t see him today. Instead, she would drive straight home and get back to work.
She switched lanes and saw that her father was calling.
“Hey, Daddy.”
“Hi, baby girl. What’s going on?”
“Just on my way home.”
“Have you spoken to Melanie? How’s Brother Johnson?”
“I talked to her a couple of hours ago, but there’s still no change.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I said another prayer for him this morning, and I’ll continue to do so throughout the day.”
“It was really nice of you and Charlotte to stay so late last night.”
“Of course. Brother Johnson is a wonderful member, but he’s also your best friend’s father.”
“This is really hard on Melanie. She’s not saying much, but I can tell she’s worried out of her mind.”
“I’m sure she is, and that’s totally understand
able.”
“I wish I could be there with her today, but I really have to get my manuscript read.”
“How are you in general, though?” Curtis asked. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m good,” Alicia said, but she wasn’t sure she liked where their conversation was going. She knew her father well, and his tone sounded suspicious.
“I hope that’s true, because you seemed a little preoccupied at Bible study this week. Then last night at the hospital you weren’t much different.”
Alicia bit her bottom lip. “I’m fine, Daddy. Really.”
“Baby girl, I’ve seen you like this before, and since I’ve never been one to mince words, I’m just going to say it. The last time you acted this way was when you were having that affair with Levi. And don’t tell me he’s still in prison, because I saw D.C. on Monday, and he said Levi was released last Friday.”
Alicia had known her father would eventually find out, either from D.C., a man her father knew well and who was also good friends with Levi, or from someone else. It was just that she’d been hoping he wouldn’t learn about Levi’s release so soon.
“Daddy, I can’t believe you would think something like that.”
“Look, you’re a grown woman, and I can’t control what you do. But I won’t condone it, either.”
“You’re worrying for nothing, Daddy.”
“Really? So Levi hasn’t tried to contact you? Not in the whole week he’s been home?”
Alicia hated having these kinds of conversations with her father, because she didn’t want to keep lying to him.
“Daddy, it’s like I said. You’re worrying for nothing.”
“Why won’t you answer the question?”
“Because it’s silly.”
“What’s silly about it? You were in love with that man, and now he’s out. Not to mention, you’re acting like something’s troubling you.”
“All that matters is that I love Phillip, and we’re going to be married.”
“You’re clearly not going to tell me the truth, so I’ll just say this. The last time you messed around with Levi, things turned out horribly for you. Have you forgotten that you were arrested like a criminal? Have you forgotten how heartbroken Phillip was? How badly you hurt him?”
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