The Devil Is a Lie (14 page)

T
oday should’ve been one of the happiest days of her life. But Nina felt anything but happy. She looked around her living room. Her relatives sat salivating like coyotes watching wild rabbits. Rick stood off in a corner, a sour expression etched across his face. If he’d had his way, her relatives wouldn’t get a dime. But no matter how trifling they were, at the end of the day, they were still family and she wanted to share her winnings with them.

“When are we gonna get this shindig started?” her uncle Clevon said.

Nina took a deep breath to clear her mind and release the negative energy she was feeling. She’d picked up her check two days ago, after the hold had been lifted, and she was 4.3 million dollars richer. Well, minus the seven hundred and fifty thou
sand dollars’ worth of cashier’s checks she’d taken out for her relatives. Today was a happy occasion and she was going to act happy—even if she had to force it.

“Well, let me just say I’m thrilled to have most of my family with me this afternoon,” Nina began. In addition to Aunt Frances and Uncle Clevon, the twins were there, along with Lee Roy, Uncle Buster, and a few other relatives. Nina had summoned them all there—with the exception of the twins, who showed up on their own—without telling them why, although most of them had no trouble figuring out the reason.

“What I want to know,” questioned her father’s oldest brother, Buster, “is why he’s even here.” He pointed at Rick.

Rick gritted his teeth. Nina quickly stepped in to defuse the situation. “Because, Uncle Buster, this is
our
money we’re giving away.”

“
Our?
You ain’t married to him,” Buster replied.

“Mmm-hmmm,” Aunt Frances said, leaning over and whispering in Janay’s ear. “There’s something about him I ain’t never liked, no way. His eyes are shifty.” She pretended to be whispering, but she was talking loud enough for everybody in the room to hear.

Nina knew Rick would only take so much, so she held up her hand. “Look, Aunt Frances. Neither you or anyone else will disrespect my fiancé, okay? This is our money, and anyone who doesn’t like it can leave.”

“There she go again with that ‘our’ stuff,” Uncle Buster said, looking around the room. “Did I miss a wedding? Why didn’t I get invited to the wedding?”

“Uncle Buster, if you don’t be quiet, I’m going to ask you to leave.” Nina couldn’t believe him. He never came around except to borrow money from a family member, so he had some nerve questioning Rick.

Uncle Buster leaned back in his seat, pouting. “Fine. I’m just saying. When folks talk plural ’bout their money, it usually means there’s a marriage certificate involved.”

Nina ignored him and continued. “We have decided that we have been really blessed.” She took Rick’s hand and gently smiled at him. Of course he didn’t smile back. They’d argued about this for hours that morning. Rick wanted them to just take the money and move to the other side of the country without leaving a forwarding address. But she couldn’t do that. As crazy as her family was, she’d been blessed with a windfall and felt obligated to share. Rick had finally acquiesced, but only because he knew it was an argument he wouldn’t win.

Nina released Rick’s hand and pulled a sheet of paper from her pocket. “Here’s what we decided.” She paused to flash a stern look. “And let me be very clear on this. We’re planning to take our winnings and do some investing. Therefore, we will not have cash on hand. Meaning we are not an ATM, meaning you
cannot
come to us at your leisure asking for money. What we are about to give you is a
one-time
payment,” she stressed. “One time. Do with it what you like. But this is it. There will be no more loans, investments; no more sob stories, no gifts, nothing. This is it, so spend wisely.” Nina hated being so harsh with her family, but her financial planner was adamant that she stress that her disbursing money would not be an ongoing occurrence.

“Why you gotta put all these terms on it?” Lee Roy said. “Make me not even want the money.”

“Well, Lee Roy, I’d be more than happy to give your share to someone else,” Nina said.

“Naw, naw,” he cried. “I didn’t say all that. I’m just saying, all these terms, you know, they’re unnecessary, but I want my money.”

Nina shook her head and continued reading. “I have in my hand cashier’s checks for everyone.” She had already started passing them out when it dawned on her that maybe she should’ve done this with each relative individually. She made a mental note to be more thorough in her future financial decisions. But no sense in sweating over it now. She continued, “It’s up to you to decide if you should share the amount of your gift, but I would appreciate it if you kept the amounts to yourself.”

Despite what she said, when she handed her aunt Frances an envelope, she immediately tore it open.

“One hundred thousand dollars!”

Nina shook her head. So much for her request.

“Lord Jesus, how many zeros is that?” Buster exclaimed.

“Praise God,” Frances said. “Clevon, you can get your foot fixed.” Her eyes filled with tears.

Nina’s heart warmed at the sight of her relatives tearing into their envelopes. The twins were staring at her in disbelief because she hadn’t given them anything, but most everyone else was crying tears of joy. This is what winning the money was all about. Moments like this were priceless.

“Grandma Odessa,” Lee Roy said, “how much did you get?”

“Let’s see,” Odessa replied, looking at her envelope. “Oh, glory be to God, I got…none of your doggone business.”

“Aww, Grandma, come on. Tell me,” Lee Roy said.

“Boy, you know better than to ask me a question like that. You’ll find out how much I got when pigs fly.”

“There she goes with her pig obsession,” Lee Roy mumbled.

“Before I go any further,” Nina continued, ignoring her cousin, “let me be clear. If anyone has a problem with what I have given them, feel free to decline, deny, or otherwise refuse my gift.”

“Awww, ain’t nobody refusing nothing. Quit playing. Just get on with it,” Lee Roy said.

“Yvonne.” Nina handed over Yvonne’s envelope, which she quickly grabbed and tore open. Her eyes danced as she read the check. Nina had given her two hundred thousand dollars.

“You are my favorite sister in the world!” Yvonne squealed as she threw her arms around Nina’s neck. Next to her grandmother, Yvonne was one person Nina didn’t have to worry about telling how much money she had received. Yvonne was so tight, Nina was sure she wouldn’t even tell the twins.

“Anyway, it is my hope that you enjoy your money,” Nina said.

The chatter started up again. Nina loved the look of joy on her relatives’ faces. This was what she had wanted the money to be about—bringing happiness to the people she loved.

She glanced over at Rick, who was not outright scowling anymore. But he was definitely one person who wasn’t happy. The thought crossed her mind that the money wasn’t even his. But she was too generous to say something like that. Once he got to spending, she was sure he’d get over his funky attitude.

“H
ey, Mama.” Todd leaned down and kissed his mother on the cheek.

She had been working in the garden, and she rose to her full height. “Hey, baby. How are you?” Even clad in a straw sun visor, black capris, and her green sorority apron, she still exuded sophistication.

“In the garden again, huh?” He looked around at the place that had been her pride and joy for as long as he could remember.

“Yeah, trying to get my daffodils blooming.”

“This heat isn’t bothering you?”

“Mind over matter.” She surveyed her garden with a critical eye. “Can you believe I saw some weeds creeping up?”

Todd put his hands to his chest, feigning shock. “Oh no, not the dreaded weeds.”

She pinched his cheek and said, “Come on in, baby. I’ll make you some fresh lemonade.”

Todd followed his mother inside. “The judge issued the final ruling,” he said after taking a seat at the kitchen table.

“And?” She continued mixing the lemonade in a clear glass pitcher.

“And I’m a millionaire four times over.”

She didn’t say anything as she finished making the drink. She poured two glasses, set one in front of him, then eased down in the seat across from him. “A quadrillionaire. I hope that makes you happy.” She gave him a piercing look as if she knew it didn’t.

Todd trailed his finger down his glass. His mother always made the best lemonade, straight from scratch. He took a sip, savoring the drink before finally speaking. “I talked to Dr. Phelps. I told him we’d be able to pay the entire amount due for the surgery Friday.”

His mother’s shoulders sank with relief. “Thank you, Jesus,” she muttered. “I’ve been so worried.”

“Aren’t you the one always saying if you pray, why worry? If you worry, why pray?”

She was mildly impressed. “So you
were
listening all those years.”

“Of course.” He returned her smile. “I called and checked on Grams before I got here. She’s resting. I have a good feeling that this surgery will turn things around.”

“I hope so.” She paused. “I still don’t feel like—”

He cut her off. “Mama, let it go. We didn’t have a choice.” He took a deep breath and tried to change the subject. “I’m hoping this money will also make things better between me and Pam.” Even as he said it, he doubted that anything would change. But he’d promised himself to give her one last chance. It wasn’t fair to her or him to stay in a relationship where he wasn’t happy.

“Sweetie, I think you’re going to need a whole lot more than a chunk of money, even a lot of it, to make things right between you and Pam,” his mother observed.

Todd knew the thought of Pam being her daughter-in-law made his mother cringe.

“Where’s the little gold digger anyway?” Gloria tsked.

“Mama,” Todd chastised, “behave yourself. Besides, how is Pam going to be a gold digger when I don’t have any gold to dig for?”

“Well, you may not have had any gold before, but you sure do now.” His mother slowly sipped her lemonade.

“Well, Mama. Pam was with me before I got the money. I just really wish you would learn to get along with her. At least treat her with respect.” That was a pipe dream. Pam would always be “the other woman.” In his mother’s eyes, that was unforgivable.

“A woman that knowingly tries to wreck another woman’s home is not someone who deserves to be respected.”

Todd wanted to remind his mother that he was just as guilty as Pam, but he let the issue drop.

“Anyway, I didn’t come over here to talk about me and Pam.
I came to tell you about Grams and to give you this. Here you go.” Todd slid a check across the table to her.

She picked it up, her eyes growing wide. “Oh, my. What is this?”

“What does it look like?”

She cocked her head in confusion. “It looks like a check for five hundred thousand dollars.”

“That’s what it is, then.”

Her eyes misted as she slid the check back to him. “Baby, you know I’m not gonna take that. With your father’s insurance policy, his Social Security check, and my retirement, I can take care of myself. My house is paid off, my car is paid off, and I don’t want for anything. The only thing I wanted was to pay for my mother’s surgery, and you’re doing that, so I’m good.”

Todd had known that would be his mother’s response, so he began the speech he’d already prepared. “Mama, all my life you’ve given to me. I’m finally in a position to give to you. Please let me take care of you.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“I know you can but—”

“But nothing.” She stood from the table and retrieved the pitcher of lemonade. “Why don’t you put the money away for your future family?” she asked, refilling both of their glasses.

That made his heart heavy. At the rate he was going, he’d never have a family.

His mother must’ve been reading his mind because she gently patted his hand. “It’s gon’ happen, baby. Not on your time but on God’s time.”

“Pam has no intention of ever having kids,” he said. Even the slightest mention of kids made Pam’s skin crawl. That had been just fine with Todd in the beginning, but over the last few months he had started to wonder what it would be like to be a father.

“Well, you don’t have to have a baby with Pam,” his mother said knowingly.

He dropped his hands onto the table as his mother continued talking. “I know you think I don’t like her and I don’t, but that’s beside the point. You two just aren’t right for each other. You’re trying to hang on even though God is showing you it’s time to let it go. It’s almost like you’re punishing yourself for hurting Nina. I think you’ve more than paid your debt already.”

“But, Mama, it’s not just that,” Todd said. “Giving up on my relationship with Pam is admitting that I’ve failed.”

“Baby, do you think God makes mistakes?”

His eyebrows rose in confusion. “Huh?”

“He doesn’t. Everything is as it should be. God does everything for a reason. We don’t always understand it, but it’s just as it should be. Even your grandmother needing surgery and you having to go to Nina for the money, that was all part of His divine plan.”

“So I should be with Pam?” He didn’t understand where his mother was going with this conversation.

“No. Sometimes God gives us signs that He wants something different for us, but we’re so busy trying to work things out ourselves that we can’t hear Him talking to us. You’re not a failure, Todd. And I’m not just saying that because you’re my son. You and Pam had a strike against you from the beginning
because of the way you got together. God didn’t put his stamp of approval on that relationship. Not only did you come together in sin but you lived in sin, and not one time did you ever take your relationship to God and ask for forgiveness, direction, or that He bless your relationship.”

Todd stared blankly at his mother. It had never occurred to him that his relationship with Pam was doomed from the start. Although he still went to church, he never made Pam go with him because she liked to sleep in on Sundays. They dang sure never took any of their problems to God.

“But more than anything else,” his mother continued, snapping him out of his thoughts, “you’re not gonna make it with Pam because your heart is with someone else.”

“That obvious, huh?” Todd said, not really surprised. He hadn’t uttered one word about it, yet his mother could still tell how he felt about Nina.

“Yes, it’s that obvious.” She folded her arms across her chest. “The question is, what do you plan to do about it?”

That was a question Todd couldn’t answer, but he knew that something had to change. He was a rich man, and he was still as miserable as ever.

“I’ll tell you what we’re going to do right now,” she said, taking his hands. “We’re going to pray. For Mama and to ask God to send you a sign on what you should do about your love life.”

“Take it to God, huh?”

“Nobody else can deal with it like He can.”

Todd closed his eyes as his mother began praying. He’d tried everything else. Prayer was the only thing left.