34
Mimi walked back into the Emergency Room waiting room on her way out of the building. She saw the girls look her way, and she lifted a finger and mouthed that she’d be back. John got up from his seat and followed Mimi outside.
“John, I need to do this by myself. I’m going to call Raphael. I need to talk to him alone.”
“If you need me, I’ll be inside,” John said.
“Thanks.”
Mimi watched John reenter the hospital and then dialed Raphael’s number.
“Hello.”
“Raf, this is Mimi.”
“Hey, baby? How are you doing?”
Mimi hesitated trying to get it together. “Not well. Someone shot Afrika this afternoon…”
“Mimi, did I hear you correctly? Someone shot Afrika? How?”
“Yeah, Raf. Afrika was cheerleading at the football game. Someone shot her, and now she’s in surgery.”
“Jesus. Don’t let nothing happen to my little girl. Is she going to be all right?”
“She was hit in the back; lost a lot of blood. The doctor said he’ll do all that he can to save her.”
“How in the hell did this happen to our little girl, Mimi? Have the police found the shooter? Somebody’s going to pay. Our baby is just beginning her life.”
“I know, Raf. We don’t have any answers yet. I’ve been beating myself up about letting her come to North Carolina. Only if I had been more forceful and put my foot down.”
“Mimi, you couldn’t control what happened today. Look, let me get off the phone. I’ll be home on the first flight out. How are you holding up?”
“As best as I can under the circumstances. I’ve got to go now. Please come home as fast as you can get here, baby.”
“As soon as I get the paperwork done, I’ll be there. I love you, Mimi. Afrika is going to be all right.”
“I want to believe that so badly. And I love you, too. Please hurry; I need you.”
“I hope to see you tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Mimi ended the call and held the phone to her heart. She let the river of tears flow—an image of Afrika lying on the bed lifeless so vivid. She thanked God for this private moment…a moment where she could sift through the rubble of her broken heart to try and discern what this was all about without answering everyone’s questions.
It was to be short-lived. She looked up as she heard someone calling her name. It was Brenda.
“Mimi, how’s Afrika?” Brenda asked upon approach.
“She’s in surgery. A bullet is lodged in her back.”
“Oh, my God. Mimi, I’m so sorry.” Brenda went to Mimi and hugged her. Mimi hugged her back.
“Let’s go in. The nurse is waiting to take me to the surgical waiting room. I had to call my husband to tell him about Afrika. Brenda…”
“Yeah, Mimi, what is it?”
“Do you think…do you think Victor did it?”
Brenda’s ashen face gave away her thoughts.
“Why do you ask? Victor is many things, but he wouldn’t do anything as ludicrous as try to hurt Afrika.”
Sadness took on a different meaning. Mimi felt sorry for Brenda. Although she was a successful psychologist, Brenda allowed Victor to control her life…impair her vision of the road she had mapped out for her life. Mimi remembered how she and Brenda would have sleepovers when they were teenagers and their fathers were stationed together in Germany and how they said they would conquer the world—Mimi as a successful singer and Brenda a renowned researcher who was going to find a cure for cancer. Neither had followed their dream; both had been double-crossed… betrayed by a man—the same man, who had taken from them without any apology.
“This isn’t the time,” Mimi conceded. “Let me go in and check on Afrika.”
“Okay, I’ll go with you.”
They began to walk toward the entrance into the ER when the door opened. Brenda looked at Mimi and then back to John.
“John Carroll, is that you?” Brenda asked. “I haven’t seen you in awhile. What are you doing at Duke?”
John looked from Mimi to Brenda and smiled. “I heard that Mimi’s daughter had been in some kind of accident, and I came to see if there was anything I could do.”
“Uhm, hmm,” Brenda said under her breath, smiling for the first time.
Mimi smiled and blinked her eye at John. “Thank you, John. I need to go to the waiting room. You all come with me.”
ALL WAS QUIET WHEN VICTOR FINALLY ARRIVED HOME. HE MOVED quietly through the house but jumped when Beyonce sauntered into the hallway from out of nowhere.
“Damn cat. You need to get a freaking job, walking around the house like you own the damn joint. Get out of here.”
Beyonce ignored the snide remarks from the man of the house. She went to her litter box and did her business.
Believing he was by himself, Victor pulled off his trenchcoat and plopped down on the leather couch in the family room. He picked up the remote and turned on the television. The scene that played out in front of him was lost on Victor as a blank stare covered his face, his mind consumed with the events of the day.
Several minutes passed without any signs of life. Reaching for his coat, Victor pulled the gun out of his pocket. He turned it over in his hand and sat it in his lap, the weight of the world now on his shoulders. Without warning, Victor dozed off. Fifteen minutes passed.
A noise broke the silence in the house and woke Victor from his mini-nap. He scrambled to hide the gun under his coat and looked up to see Trevor staring at him as he walked down the stairs.
“What’s up, Trevor? Just getting home from the game? Where’s your mother?”
A deep frown clouded Trevor’s face. “I was up in my room. Mom wasn’t here when I got home.”
“How was the game?”
“The game? It’s what happened after the game.”
“What happened after the game?”
“Asia’s best friend was shot?”
“Who, Afrika?”
“Yeah. The police wouldn’t let anyone out of the stadium…at least the ones that didn’t get out before the police were on the scene. They questioned everyone. Asia went to be with Afrika at the hospital.”
“That’s terrible. I hope she’ll be all right.”
Trevor sat at the opposite end of the couch. He glanced at the television. “Tyler Perry is making bank with The House of Payne.”
“What?”
“The show on television.”
“Oh,” Victor said.
“Dad, may I ask you a question?”
“What is it, son?”
“Was that a gun I saw on your lap?”