“Mother, are those... tears,” Tom asks her stunned.
Lil smirks then wipes under her eyes. “I'm allowed to cry, you little shit!”
“And she's back,” Ethan laughs. The room laughs with him.
“Should I call my sister, Lil,” Eric asks when we settle down.
She shakes her head. “If she needs you, Eric, she'll call. She never wanted to walk away from Matthew, she just needed someone to affirm he was what she thought he was. Besides, right now, I'd bet they're fucking like rabbits again.”
“Ew. Change the subject, please!”
“Sure, Tony,” Nathan says. “How about we find this Phil person and beat the shit out of him?”
“I'm in,” Russell and Tom shout at the same time.
Tony grins. “No need. Matthew took care of him three years ago.”
“How,” I ask, wanting to know exactly what Matthew did.
Aaron clears his throat and Tony clamps his mouth shut.
Chapter SEVENTEEN
She’s going to be FUN!
“Oh, no,” Ethan sighs. “Out with it. What happened, when and where?”
“It's okay. He's on retainer. For all of us.”
“Hold it,” Ethan holds up a hand, then goes to the doors and closes them. “You aren't, Aaron. Give me a dollar.”
Aaron hands him the bill.
“All right, shoot,” Ethan says, crossing his arms.
Aaron looks around the room then shrugs. “We beat the shit out of him in Chicago, three years ago.”
“What did Matthew do?”
“I hear he broke his nose. You'd have to ask Sherita for the rest, she was there for the whole thing. Matthew sent me to change after I got blood all over my clothes. Not mine; Phil's. I got first crack,” Aaron says with a huge grin, pulling out his cell. “Hi, Sherita. Busy? ... Good. I have Matthew's lawyer here and he would like to know the events from three years ago ... Ethan Harvey ... Some, I had to leave remember? You guys had all the real fun ... I'll put you on speaker. Go, Sherita.”
A smooth voice comes over the speaker. “Sherita Boyd.”
“Chi-Chi, I'm gonna kill you! What happened three years ago? You didn't tell me shit!”
“I'm good at keeping secrets, Jason. Shut the fuck up and let me talk to the lawyer. Wait… Let me guess, if you're there, that means Madison isn’t far, but since Aaron's the one that called me, I'd have to say Madison is not there. Where-oh-where could she be... hmm… haven't heard Matthew's voice either, so they must be off together, somewhere. Bet they're at the pretty white house with all the fucking windows that drives the housekeeper insane. Bout fucking time.”
“Damn,” Mandy shouts. “She's good!”
“I believe that's Mandy. Hello, Mrs. Cannon. And since your husband is never far away from you, allow me to say hello to him as well. Hello, Joshua.”
Joshua blinks and stares at Aaron's phone. “Uh, hi.”
Sherita chuckles. “Dr. and Mrs. Stephen Cannon, how are you?”
“We're great,” Dad says frowning.
“Dr. and Mrs. Harvey, my sympathies to you and Dr. Alexander for the awful events with Mariah. Aaron, give Ethan a dollar, please.”
Aaron gives it to Ethan, who frowns. “Done, Sherita.”
“Send me a bill for the balance of the retainer, Counselor, and congratulations on the birth of your son. Dr. Alexander, I heard that Guzman fucker got into a gang fight in lockup and that his injuries were substantial. Glad he survived; it would not be fair if that fucker got off so easy… You know, dying before he’s properly punished to the satisfaction of the law, like those others shits. Do you have a cold, Dr. Alexander?”
“Um, call me Marcus,” I say, frowning as well. “And no, I'm fine.”
“Glad you're healthy. I thought I heard you sneeze. If I ever did... ever, Marcus.” She sighs. “Good evening Evelyn, Monica, Lisa, Nathan, Tom, Russell, Dr. Reed, Tony, Kristen and Eric.”
“Good evening,” they all answer, like they are in school. They, like me, are totally stunned.
“Has Mariah awakened again, Marcus?”
“No, not yet.”
“I should’ve called Madison myself, when I heard what happened. I apologize.”
What the hell? “No need. We're all guilty of forgetting.”
‘Who is this,’ I mouth to Aaron.
‘Matthew's right arm,’ he mouths.
“And his left one, too. He can't do shit without me. If he'd listened to me at any time starting six years ago, he and Madison would’ve been together, then. Stubborn fool.”
“Wow,” Ethan mumbles. “Are you in the room?”
“Nope; still in Chicago. I'm actually watching Vonnie and Paddy, today. Cute couple. Damn shame about her arthritis. I can't wait to see their faces when they find out their daughter accepted Matthew's proposal.”
“Damn,” we all say together. Sherita laughs.
“It's my job. Anyway, you guys want to know what happened the day Matthew found out about Phil?”
“Yes,” Ethan says, still chuckling.
“Okay. Matthew called and asked me to get Phil to Madison's station. She had just told Matthew half of what happened to her by that prick. Turned out he worked for Matthew, here in Chicago, right around the corner from Madison's station. Matthew was here because of the incident between Adam and Madison and he believed he sought his employ to be close to Madison. I agree; quite a coincidence, Phil being there and he was around when she was in New York.”
“What incident between Madison and Adam,” I ask.
“Adam’s bitch of an ex-wife showed up and lied about her and Adam still being married. She took the engagement ring right off Madison's finger. While she was trying to figure out what to do about Adam, Madison had my husband contact Matthew. He showed up here the very next day. Sometime during breakfast, Madison told him of some things Phil said to her. Matthew was only going to have him apologize to her but as soon as she saw Phil, she put herself behind Aaron and started shaking. Matthew, Aaron and Seth got her to tell almost the whole story and it included him raping her.”
“What happened to him, Sherita?”
“Marcus, he got the shit beat out of him. There was the first guy, green-eyed fellow, he beat him first. I thought he was gonna kill him. All the rage on his face and the swift, hard blows… ‘twas beautiful.”
Aaron blows on his nails then rubs them on his chest, making us chuckle.
“Cool it, Aaron,” Sherita laughs. “Another guy, with blue eyes, stopped him and ordered the prick to be placed in some mode of transportation; I believe it was a white van with three guys and a beautiful dread-locked, black woman. She was so gorgeous!”
We snicker at that. She's obviously talking about herself.
“Blue eyes called a lawyer but he was on his way to court, so he talked to this guy's beautiful Latina wife. Then the first guy was sent off to change his clothes, and the blue eyed guy said something to the others and this fucker Phil made a nasty comment about Madison and this other guy with brown eyes punched him. Well, blue-eyed guy got pissed and yelled at brown eyes about having all the fun, so blue eyes whacked one across the face of the prick, and that crack almost made me sick. Almost.”
“So where is Phil now,” Nathan chuckles.
“Well, I heard one of the three guys in the van broke his leg after someone suggested he would get a nice bonus. Then I heard someone said to take him somewhere and beat the shit out of him and drop his ass off in the middle of the Deep South, where there are outhouses for bathrooms. Rumor has it that he gets his ass handed to him every April eleventh.”
“April eleventh? Why that date,” Ethan asks.
“That's the date Phil raped Madison,” Kristen says, grinning.
“Matthew is a fucking genius!”
“I'm sorry... who, Tom,” Sherita says.
“A guy I know,” Tom grins.
“Oh. Anyway, last I heard, he was still there because he was told if he ran, he would be found a
nd it would be worse for him. That's it. I have to run now.”
“Thanks, Sherita. I'll see you Wednesday.”
“Fine, Aaron. Congratulations, by the way.”
Aaron frowns. “On what?”
“Ask your wife,” Sherita laughs and hangs up.
Aaron pales. “Excuse me,” he mutters leaving the room.
* * *
I sent everyone home and planted myself in my wife’s room, reading and watching her. After a few hours, Mariah wakes again, groggy but alert. The first thing she asked about was the babies. I decided to tell her the truth and she cried in my arms. Broke my heart all over again.
Madison and Matthew finally showed at the hospital but they didn't come into the conference room right away. Instead, Mandy found them outside the room, engaging in a heavy make-out session.
Mandy screamed. “Damn it! You scared the shit out of me! What happened to the two of you at breakfast?”
Joshua strolled over to them. “Yeah, didn't you get enough yesterday?”
‘Fuck off,’ Matthew mouthed.
Madison winced as she moved away from Matthew. “Does it look like it, Twerp?”
As we laughed at her eye roll, Matthew and Joshua walk over to the other side of the room, where the men are.
Nathan nods toward the women. “What's wrong with her? Madison, I mean.”
Matthew adjusted himself and gave us an all-tooth grin. “Hand to brand her; wanted to make sure she thought about me with every step she took today. She'll be fine in a couple of days.”
“Dirty dog,” Ethan chuckles.
“Three years and you ruined her. She'll never let you fuck again,” Russell muses.
“Fuck you. Almost had her outside that door. If it weren't for Mandy...”
“Dirty, dirty dog,” Tom laughs, slapping Matthew's back.
“Finally got the woman I love. She wants more babies, Cramp. She doesn't care when. Neither do I,” Matthew grins.
“Good. Lila needs another little girl around her.” I scoff, and nod my head at my group of brothers. “Neither of these fuckers can seem to get that job done.”
These fools ball-up paper and pummel me, laughing.
“Set a date,” Nathan asks, shaking his head.
“Shit... We didn't get around to it.” He looks over at the women on the other side of the room. “Smooch?”
“What,” Madison snaps after wincing again when she turned to us.
“When are we getting married?”
She smirks. “When Mariah's well enough to walk down the aisle as my matron of honor. No wedding before that.”
“But, Smooch—”
“No wedding until she can walk down the aisle, Matthew.”
“You heard her, Toad,” Evelyn scowls. “You will wait.”
Matthew’s face drops. “Shit.”
Madison’s brows raise. “Are you going anywhere between now and then, Matthew?
“No.”
“Am I?”
“No?”
“No. So shut up and let me talk to the girls. I'm trying to tell them how good you were last night. And this morning. Funny thing is, they don't believe me.”
“Mandy should. That is if Twerp listened.”
“Fuck you, Toad.” Joshua scowls. “You couldn't teach a frog to hop.”
The room explodes into laughter. When it stops, Matthew puts his hand on my shoulder.
“By the way, Madison asked me to go back to Chicago with her. It's her last week on the air.”
“Yeah, she said she's moving here. When's her last show?”
“Friday afternoon. The station is throwing her a party Saturday. We'll be back Sunday. If anything happens before then, call me.”
I nod. “I will. Mariah will be upset to miss it but I’m glad you can be there for her. I’m sure she will be, too.”
“I'll go,” Joshua offers. “I'm on leave anyway. I'm sure Mandy will want to, as well.”
“So will Lisa and I,” Nathan nods.
Russell slaps Matthew’s back. “Evie and I will, too.”
A loud laugh from Kristen makes us all turn in her direction. She and Madison are sitting in the corner. Madison gives Kristen a 'what the hell is wrong with you' look.
“Kristen, are you all right? You want to share the joke?”
“Yeah, I'll share it, Lisa. Apparently, Madison here –”
Madison's hand snakes around and captures Kristen's still laughing mouth.
“Let her finish, Smooch,” Matthew grins.
“Um, no. I think I'll let that one go.”
“I know I'd like to hear it,” Joshua says.
Madison looks horrified for a moment, then she gets a mischievous look on her face. She almost growls her answer to Joshua.
“Okay, Twerp. I'm afraid Kristen's getting a little bored with just the two of us; she just loves a good threesome. I asked Kristen if she would mind if I invited Mandy into our, um... activities tonight. She doesn't think she'd be game.”
I turn to Mandy, who has gone beet red. “What,” she whispers.
“Ooh, look at the blush on her. Maybe she would like to join us, Kristen.” Madison slowly makes her way over to Mandy, clasping her hands at her back and grinning.
Kristen's quiet as she bites her lip; Mandy watches Madison, going even redder, if that’s at all possible. Madison twirls a small piece of Mandy's blonde hair.
“Ever kiss a woman, Mandy?”
“Oh, my God,” Nathan pants.
“Uh, n-no,” Mandy stutters.
Madison shakes her head softly. “'Uh, no'? Doesn't sound very convincing, Mandy.”
“Don't,” Joshua whispers.
“Shut the fuck up,” Ethan hisses out.
Tony groans as he hurries from the room. “Anybody but my sister... anybody but my sister!”
I can't take my eyes off Madison and Mandy. Madison's arms go around Mandy's waist and she leans in. I stay silent and still. She's gonna kiss her! Madison's thumb works its way across Mandy's jaw. All of our breathing has picked up.
“Hello, children,” my mother sings.
Damn it! Sooooo close!
“Maybe some other time. Rain check,” Madison offers then whispers in Mandy's ear. Mandy grins and whispers back. She then winks at Joshua.
Madison shrugs. “My loss,” she says and moves to our parents.
The men and I stand there and groan.
“Is it too late for Toad to call off his engagement?”
“Damn right,” Matthew chuckles, staring at Madison.
“Okay, fine, but she needs to stop doing that. My fucking cock can't take that for the rest of my life,” Ethan mutters.
“She can do that whenever she feels like it, fucker,” I mutter then laugh. “As soon as my wife is back to herself.”
They laugh with me, slapping my back as we move to greet our parents.
Chapter EIGHTEEN
Getting to Know Her Again
Thursday, Mariah slept most of the afternoon and through the night. She wanted to be awake and alert to see Madison's last broadcasts.
I encouraged everyone to go to Chicago for Madison. After the events of the week, a break is what they needed. If my wife weren't still here, we'd be with them. I'm sick of the hospital.
I brought in Mariah's iPad and had it programmed to the hospital's Wi-Fi. I crawled in the bed next to my beautiful wife, she rested her head on my chest and we watched Madison, together. It felt so good to hold her again.
Mariah cried during Madison's speech and whispered ‘I love you, too’ when Madison spoke of her.
“Wow. The camera really likes Matthew,” Mariah grinned when he sat next to Madison. “But don't tell him I said so.”
* * *
She finally saw our kids later that morning and they were able to visit her for almost an hour before she got tired again. Donnie cried when he saw her. He ran straight to her bed and hugged her tight. He laid against her and wouldn't move. Lila had no problem, either. She wal
ked right up to her, climbed on the bed and started speaking in Spanish. Alex wouldn't come near her.
“Not in front of Daddy, remember? It's very rude,” Mariah smiled. “He doesn’t understand Spanish.”
“Mommy, do you need me to kiss your boo-boo?”
“Please, Angel. It hurts so badly.”
Lila kissed Mariah's hand and a tear rolled down her face.
“I feel so much better, Angel. I'd feel even better if Alex gave me a big hug,” Mariah pouted then looked hopefully at our son.
He looked a little nervous as he walked over to her slowly. He stopped a foot away.
“It's all right, Alex. Mommy won't break,” Donnie told his twin, holding out his hand. Alex takes it and climbs up and kisses Mariah's cheek.
“I love you, baby.”
“I love you, Alex,” she cries back to him. “I've missed you all very much.”
“Mommy?”
“Yes, Donnie?”
“Where is the baby? Your belly is small again.”
Mariah's eyes well and I sit on the bed and explain, honestly.
“There were two babies, like you and Alex. They died.”
“Like Grandpa Donald?”
“Yes.”
“Are they with him?”
I smile, liking the thought of that. “Yes, they are. He's taking really good care of them for us.”
Mariah places her arm over her face and sobs. I rub her arm as Donnie hugs her tight.
“Why is Mommy crying, Dad,” Alex whispers.
“Mommy misses the babies and she's sad. She'll be all right. Just let her cry.”
“Okay.”
“Shh, shh, Mommy. It's okay,” Lila says, rubbing her head. She starts singing “You Are My Sunshine,” like Mariah sings for her when she's hurt or sad. She sounds terrific.
Mariah looks at our daughter and smiles through her tears when Lila finishes singing. “Thank you, Angel.”
“I love you, Mommy.”
“I love you, Angel. May I have a kiss?”
Lila reaches and kisses Mariah on her cheek.
When they asked her what happened to her, she told them she'd tell them when they were older.
“Right now, Mommy doesn't think you should know. Just be glad that I'm okay and I can't wait to get home to you. Be good for Gram and Granddad. Promise?”
Marcus: The M Series, Book Three Page 34
