Betrayed (7 page)

Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Strange sensations, vibes were trying to take over her psyche. Victor's attitude puzzled her. Brenda didn't understand why he objected to every civil reason for her wanting to see Mimi. Leaning back in her chair, Brenda's eyebrows arched as she contemplated this further and felt the urge to rub her stomach as the butterflies continued to flutter.

Taking a breath, Brenda reached for her purse and pulled out a tube of lipstick. She pulled a makeup compact out of her desk, flipped it opened, and used the mirror as she painted her lips. She smiled at herself, then did a few practice dry runs for the moment she saw Mimi. Her nerves were getting the best of her, the closer it came time for her to leave.

Putting the compact back in the desk, she looked up as the
telephone began to ring. The first thought was to ignore it but when she saw Asia's number on the caller ID, she smiled and answered the phone.

“Hey, baby, what do I owe you for this phone call?”

“I was thinking about you and wanted to tell you so. I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too, Asia. Everything going okay?”

“Great.”

“What's up with you? You're being secretive. You know a mother always knows. I know…it's a boy.”

“Please,” Asia said. She giggled.

“I knew it. You'll have to tell me all about this mystery man. Right now I'm getting ready to leave to meet Afrika's mother. I'm excited about seeing Mimi again after all these years.”

“That's exciting, Mom. I'll let you go; tell me all about your meeting. Bye.”

“Bye, sweetheart.”

Brenda clicked off the phone and smiled. “Mimi, I have a thousand questions to ask you.”

The phone rang again, and Brenda clicked the
TALK
button and frowned when she heard her name.

“What is it, Victor?”

“Are you still going forward with your plan to meet Mimi?”

“Yes. Anything else?”

“Why is it so important that you have to see her? She didn't give a damn about you or your feelings when she left you all alone and pregnant nineteen years ago.”

“That was then, this is now. I'm ready to move forward and that means seeing Mimi again.”

“You're making a mistake,” Victor said with an air of authority.

“That's your opinion, Victor. Why do you care?”

“I never told you this, but I never liked Mimi.”

“Tell that to the lie detector machine, Victor. In fact, you would've put the moves on her, except she wasn't too crazy about you either.”

“Look, Brenda. I don't want to argue with you. Mimi will only disrupt our lives.”

“You're acting like this is some kind of competition between you and Mimi. Why are you so paranoid? Mimi cared about me; that's why I sent her to intercede on my behalf after I found out that I was pregnant. You were raging mad, and I wanted you to know that I wouldn't hold you responsible because I didn't want to lose you either. Anyway, that was years ago.”

“And we've been happily married for eighteen years. Think about it.”

“You have Mimi to thank for us being together.”

“Mimi shouldn't have come back here.”

“I find your behavior strange, Victor. I don't know what's up with you, but get over it. I'm going to see Mimi.”

“And you'll be sorry.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Don't try my patience, Brenda.”

Brenda clicked the
OFF
button on the phone without a goodbye. She brushed down the collar of her St. John gray and white ensemble, picked up her purse, and headed for the door.
Who in the hell does he think he is, telling me whom I can and cannot see?
Brenda slammed the door behind her and headed for the car.

B
RENDA PACED HERSELF AS SHE DROVE UP
H
IGHWAY 70
, not wanting to arrive at the restaurant too early but not wanting to be late either. Victor's telephone call continued to interrupt her good feeling, but she managed a smile and shoved the phone call to the back of her mind.

She swiftly moved over in the left-hand lane and prepared to
stop at the light. The restaurant was on the other side of the eight-lane divided highway, and her excitement rose as the light changed from red to green. Brenda made a swift U-turn, and began to move to the right so that she could turn into the parking lot a few yards up.

Boom, bam, boom!
“Oh my God!” Brenda screamed.

She didn't see…didn't know what hit her. Brenda's head flew forward and hit the steering wheel, but she held on tight until she lost control and veered into the median and an oncoming car. Whatever hit her was now long gone. Her car was now in an entangled heap of metal on the other side of the road.
Swoosh.
The airbag deployed and Brenda's head bounced between it and the headrest. She touched her finger to her face and swiped at the blood that was oozing from her nose.

Bam, bam, bam!
“Lady hang in there!” a voice shouted from outside of Brenda's window. She could feel herself begin to lose consciousness. “Hang in there, lady. We're going to get you out.”

Brenda wasn't sure how long it had been between the crash and the moment she heard the sirens. Somehow she managed to unlock the door and when she had come out of her semi-unconscious state, she looked up into the face of a kind gentleman who held her head.

“Ma'am, the ambulance is here to take you to the hospital. Is there anyone I can call for you?” the kind gentleman asked.

“My…my daughter,” Brenda managed to say. “She's speed-dial four.”

I
t was an easy eighty degrees in the middle of October. Dressed in a colorful pink, purple, and white sleeveless sundress and three-and-a-half-inch white sandals, Afrika crossed the quad in a hurry to get to her two o'clock class. She was hoping to see Keith, who was fast becoming the object of her affection and taking up more time in her already limited schedule. He had met her after cheerleading practice on Monday, and together they had gone to the student union and grabbed a snack.

Just before she entered the building, she heard Asia's voice shouting her name. Afrika turned in Asia's direction, guarding her eyes from the sun. “What's up, Asia?”

“Let me catch my breath.”

“This better be good. I only have three minutes before I'm late to class, and I'm never late.”

“Girl, you won't guess who asked me for my phone number.”

“You're right; I don't have a clue.”

“Deon!”

“You mean that fine, juicy lip, I-wish-I-could-squeeze-him-forever Eagles quarterback, Deon?”

“Yes, Nikki. He's the one.” Asia and Afrika began to jump around and slap each other's hand.

“I say, go for yours, girl. Maybe you can ask him to meet us on Friday night.”

“Been thinking about it ever since he asked me for my number ten minutes ago.”

“Didn't know you were giving him the eye.”

“The eye and everything else.”

The girls laughed.

“I've got to go, Asia. I'll talk to you later.”

“Okay, but did you know that our mothers were meeting for lunch today?”

“Really? I can't say that I did.”

“You need to talk to your mother more often.”

“You're right. I owe her a phone call. We'll talk later, Asia. Gotta run.”

Asia smiled as Nikki turned and went into the building. Asia held her hand by her mouth with her thumb and pinky finger sticking out. “Call me.”

V
ICTOR STOOD BACK AMONG THE CLUSTER OF TREES AND WATCHED
Asia and Afrika from a distance. They were laughing and seemed to be sharing a best friends' moment. It was only a matter of time, if he didn't take matters into his hands, before one or the other would stumble upon his secret and discover they were more than friends… sisters. But Victor resolved within himself that he'd go to whatever lengths necessary to make sure they never did.

He moved quickly from out of the shadows and headed for his office. It was clear now to Victor that he had to take immediate action to force Mimi's hand.

V
ictor looked like an ostrich in his gold blazer, white short-sleeved dress shirt, tie of many colors, and black slacks as he high-tailed it back to his office. Sheila, his secretary, was busy on the telephone upon his return, but she looked up when she heard the door slam.

As soon as Victor sat down, he immediately unlocked his computer, entered his password, and began to search for Afrika's profile in the student records. Finding her history, he examined several different pages, entered some information, clicked save, sat back, and smiled. The smug look became a nasty laugh and he jumped up from his chair for a premature celebration. He kissed his index and middle finger and tapped the computer screen. “Ms. Afrika Bailey, your tail is out of here. And I've got something for you, Mimi. I've got something for you.”

A
SIA WENT TO THE LIBRARY, FOUND A STUDY ROOM, PLOPPED HER
books and cell phone on the table, and sat down. Only one other person inhabited the room, and she was lost in the pages of her American History textbook. Asia had an hour before her critical thinking class—enough time to brush over some notes. This was the class she enjoyed the most; it pushed her to think in ways that were well beyond the norm. She hadn't declared her major yet, but Political Science was definitely an option.

Her cell phone began to vibrate and do a slow tango on the table. Asia recognized her mother's number and immediately answered it, whispering into the phone.

“Hey, Mom. What…Who's this?” Asia asked, a crease forming across her face, her voice raised. Jerking her head, Asia jumped up from her chair. “My mother…what? Accident? Oh my God. What hospital? Thank you, thank you.”

Asia hung up the phone and began to pant, pulling at her ponytail. “Oh my God, my mother.”

The other occupant in the room pulled her head from the pages of the textbook she was reading and looked at Asia in alarm. She threw the book down and got up and went to a tearful Asia, who paced the floor while punching numbers in her cell phone.

“Are you all right?” the girl asked. “Can I help you?”

For the first time, Asia noticed the other person in the room. She was tall with even brown skin, and her braided hair was pulled back from her face and pinned into some type of ball. She was very attractive but much older than the average student.

“Thanks, but no thanks. I just found out that my mother was in an accident, and I need to call my dad.”

“Why don't you let me do that for you? You're shaking like a leaf. By the way, my name is Leslie.”

“I'm all right. Thanks anyway, Leslie.” Asia placed the phone to her ear, but after a minute pressed the
END
button. She looked up at Leslie. “My dad works on campus; I'll walk over to his office.”

“Who's your dad?”

“Mr. Victor Christianson. He's the director of the Admissions Office.”

“Oh,” Leslie said, her voice trailing. “Dog.”

“Thank you for your help.”

Leslie stared after Asia as she left the room.

Asia ran toward her father's office, unable to keep her composure. She needed him in the worst way. The man on the phone said that her mother was in an accident and was being taken to the hospital.

With the back of her hand, Asia wiped her face and walked into the lobby of her father's office. Sheila, his secretary, was on the phone when she entered, but raised her hand and waved for Asia to hold on; she'd be with her in a moment. After a minute passed, Asia ignored Sheila and barged into her father's office. Sheila was up in a second, running behind Asia.

Sheila put on the brakes when she saw Mr. Christianson staring at her like she didn't belong. It didn't take a rocket scientist to recognize that the look meant
get the hell out of here.

“What is it, Asia? Are you all right?”

“No, Daddy, I'm not all right. Mom was in an accident and we need to get to the hospital.”

“An accident? Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Asia said, somewhat annoyed. “I received a call from someone who was at the scene of the accident and had her cell phone. They're taking Mom to Duke.”

Victor got up from his seat. “Let's go.”

V
ICTOR SAT STONE FACED IN HIS SEAT, HIS KNUCKLES WRAPPED
tightly around the steering wheel, navigating his way to the hospital as if the car was on autopilot. Small beads of perspiration glistened on his face…a small droplet settling on his lower lip.

Asia sat and stared straight ahead with earplugs plunged deep into her ears, her iPod offering a temporary distraction. Every now and then she'd steal a glance at her father who had yet to ask for details of her mother's accident.

“We're here,” Victor finally said with a strange, confused look on his face.

Without another word, Victor and Asia hopped from the car and walked into the Emergency Room. The waiting room was full and screamed of sickness. People of all ethnicities, sizes, and colors were there for one reason or another. Young kids whined for their mothers to hold them and the drab-colored walls made Asia want to puke.

Victor marched to the information window with Asia right behind him. “I'm looking for my wife, Brenda Christianson. She was in a car accident, and I was told she was brought here.”

“Just a minute; let me check,” the plump lady with the rosy cheeks said.

The rosy-cheeked lady got up from her chair and shuffled to a triage nurse and said something to her, pointing in Victor and Asia's direction. In the next minute, she shuffled back to the chair.

“Your wife is being seen by the doctor. I believe she's going to be released. Go to window number three, and they'll give you access to where she is being treated.”