Hidden Intentions 2 Read online

  We were about to hug, when suddenly my cell phone rang. I looked at the caller ID before answering.

  “Hey, Nelson. How’s she doing?”

  Leah had gotten her wisdom teeth removed last week and wasn’t recovering well. I had called Nelson earlier to check on her and left him a message to call me back.

  “Her fever won’t break. I’ve been giving her Tylenol, but her temperature won’t go down.”

  “Call the orthodontist and tell him she needs to go in for an emergency visit. I’ll meet you at his office.” I hung up the phone.

  “Do you want me to tag along?”

  “You don’t have to, if your head is still hurting. Do you really feel up to it?”

  “I got a pretty good amount of sleep. I feel like I could stay up all night. Besides, it gives me a chance to finally meet your sister.” Vince smiled.

  “All right.” I grabbed my car keys from the table in the foyer.

  It turned out Leah’s crazy behind wasn’t following the doctor’s orders. Instead of light liquids and soft foods, she’d been eating fried chicken and drinking soda and had not been using the squirt instrument to get the excess food out from the holes. Now, she got a nasty infection and dry sockets.

  The orthodontist cleaned out Leah’s mouth. He also started her on antibiotics and gave her a stern talk about the seriousness of following doctor’s orders.

  “I feel good as new,” Leah announced.

  “You’re going to follow what the doc says this time.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” she responded, waving her hand at Nelson.

  “The nurse is coming to bring you a cup of lime-flavored Jell-O,” I informed her.

  “Thanks for coming. I didn’t want to worry your parents.”

  “I appreciate you not calling them,” I said. “Mommy has a tendency to overreact, and I didn’t want either of them to worry.”

  “Nya, you can shut your trap now. Step aside. You must be Vince. I hear you’re making my sister happy. Keep it that way so she can stay the hell away from me.”

  Vince grinned. “Leah and Nelson, it’s nice to meet both of you.”

  “Since you’re not at death’s door, we’re going to leave. Call me if you need me to bring oatmeal over.”

  “Yuck! I hate oatmeal.”

  “I know, but it’s one of the few things you can eat right now.”

  “Instead, bring me a takeout order from that restaurant you partly own. Which means I get it for free. I’m family.”

  Leah is definitely showing her behind tonight. Maybe, it’s the antibiotics. “I’ll think about it.”

  “You own a restaurant?” Vince asked after we stepped out of the elevator to head to the car.

  “Yes, I do, but not by myself. Originally it was a business venture my husband started with his college friend Rome. When Tory’s father died, he stopped doing much of anything. The restaurant was up and ready to open, so I took his role. I came on board to help out, paying the bills, running the payroll, and making sure taxes are being paying properly. Now, I truly understand why people dread the Internal Revenue Service. Plus, I also help Rome in the creative aspect of things. He and I are constantly brainstorming for fresh ideas to help business grow. With Tory being gone so long, Rome and I decided to do the proper paperwork to remove him and officially put me as the second owner.”

  “I see.” Lines started appearing across Vince’s forehead. “When were you going to tell me?”

  Vince’s aggravation was beginning to rub off on me.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “It’s everything with our whole situation. I feel as if you’re so secretive about Tory. I’ve opened up my entire life to you.”

  “Listen, I try to put myself in another person’s shoes. I know you don’t always want to hear about my deadbeat bottle-sucking husband and what we have together. That’s why I try not to discuss it. I know I don’t want to hear about your ex-wife Charlene all the time. There is a thin line between venting and constantly talking about an ex. I don’t want to cross any lines.”

  “Nya, you said have.”

  “What?” I snapped.

  “You said, what we have together, referring to you and Tory.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that.” I sighed, shrugging my shoulders.

  “Nya, I love you so much. I can’t change your past or what was done to you. That’s over and done with. What I can do is help change your future for the better. I’m willing to do everything in my power to make things work between us, so we can have a wonderful life together. But, at the same time, I refuse to sell myself short. Hell, you’re not even divorced yet. You haven’t even started the process. I think it’s because you’re not ready to let go of him. I need someone who’s going to be totally committed to me. I’m sharing your heart in this relationship.” Vince huffed. “I think we should stop seeing each other.”

  Chapter 42

  As I walked down the hall, I heard someone crying in the nurses’ locker room. I had just finished up one of my classes. I usually taught one class every other semester. I was glad I was teaching this semester because it kept my mind off everything going on in my personal life.

  “Andrea, is that you?”

  “Yes, it’s me.” Her face was bright red, and she was in desperate need of a tissue. Luckily, there was a box near one of the sinks. She took a few tissues to dry her eyes and wipe her nose.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, hoping she would open up to me. All the students knew I had an open-door policy.

  “I can’t do this anymore. It’s too much to handle. I’m quitting today.”

  “How is this too much to take?”

  “First of all, with the exception of you and two other nursing instructors, the rest of them are mean and hateful. I feel as though they come here just to torture us and make our lives hell. I have to put up with pure torture. This morning, Mrs. Kinmore made me feel stupid in front of the whole class. While doing my clinical, I forgot two of the twenty steps when administering medication to the patient. She went off on me, saying, if I wasn’t willing to put the work in to learn all the steps, then I should look into an easier profession.”

  “I know Mrs. Kinmore can be a lot to deal with, but she’s only trying to make you the best nurse you can be. She’s pushing you because you have what it takes to be a registered nurse.”

  “Can you talk to her for me?” she pleaded.

  “No, I won’t do that. But I’ll give you some advice though.

  “Okay.” Andrea continued to dry her tears.

  “How long are you going to have to deal with Mrs. Kinmore and the other teachers you seem to despise?”

  “Five months.”

  “All right then. Five months is not a long time. Kill those instructors with kindness and do what you’re told. Some just want to see if you’re going to crack. As a nurse, you will be put in stressful situations, with doctors and patients’ families screaming at you. Mrs. Kinmore and the others are simply trying to prepare you for it. If you quit now, you’ll always wonder what could have been. Don’t take the easy way out. Besides, Andrea, you’ve come too far and worked too hard to get to this point with only two semesters left.”

  “Mrs. Sothers, you’re right. I’ve got a lot of thinking to do.”

  “You’re way much stronger than you think. Why don’t you get yourself together and go down to the cafeteria and pick up one of those IZZE drinks I always see you with. Think about what I said. I hope it helps.”

  She grinned. “I will. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. I hope to see you tomorrow.” I walked out of the locker room hoping my words got through to her. If Andrea decides to stay, in time, she’d be a hardworking nurse.

  Chapter 43

  Leah was pushing her hand against my leg as she leaned over me, trying to reach her purse under my seat.

  I hollered, “Leah, would you hurry up!”

  “I got it!” she exclaimed as she pulled her pur
se out. “I have to make sure my makeup still looks fresh,” she said with an attitude.

  Who the hell tries to look cute and sexy going to the Pungo Strawberry Festival?

  We were taking the little ones strawberry picking. Yvette decided it would be easier for all of us to pile us into the “mommy mobile,” her Honda Odyssey.

  “Are we there yet?” Michael, Natalie, and Ryan kept asking after only half an hour of being on the road. They had just finished watching a SpongeBob DVD.

  Thank God, Yvette had a DVD player installed in the car. That helped the ride go a little smoother.

  “One episode of Go, Diego, Go! and Backyar-digans ,” Yvette responded.

  It had been years since I last went to the Strawberry Festival. I was curious to see how different it was going to be from the way I’d remembered it.

  On the way there, Leah couldn’t stop admiring herself in the mirror.

  While Tara was giving Victoria a bottle, the kids were fighting over cinnamon-flavored Teddy Grahams. Yvette looked happy, like she didn’t have a care in the world.

  Seeing that, I decided to tune everyone out and take a nap until we got there.

  “Remember, kids, stay with the group. Each one of you has whistles around your necks. Only whistle if you’re in trouble or see ‘stranger-danger. ’ If you’re caught whistling for no reason, you won’t get the grand prize.” One by one, Yvette rubbed their hands with hand sanitizer and sprayed them down with bug repellent.

  The grand prize was a magic show at the end of the day.

  After washing some strawberries with water, we found a table and enjoyed the fruits of our labor. We’d been picking strawberries for at least three hours. The strawberries were so sweet and fresh.

  Eventually, all of us wanted real food. The kids settled for hotdogs, French fries, and a strawberry milkshake topped with whipped cream. Before they touched their food, Yvette advised them to have a bathroom break and wash their hands.

  Yvette and I had sweet Italian sausages. For a snack, I had my eye on a crisp funnel cake topped with powdered sugar and strawberry puree. Tara and Leah chomped down on huge smoked turkey legs.

  Afterward, we took the kids down to the local carnival. The three of them were very good throughout the day, so as promised, we took them to the carnival magic show to be entertained by clowns, animal-shaped balloons, face painting, and carousel rides. Victoria, too little to enjoy any of the fun activities, was napping in her stroller. Next year will be different for her, I thought.

  The day was coming to an end. We were sitting at a picnic area set up adjacent to the strawberry fields. Yvette, Tara, Leah, and I were sitting at a picnic table while the kids ran around and played.

  “Yvette, what did you use for your stretch marks after you had the kids?” Tara asked. “I have these stretch marks on my stomach that are not coming off. I’ve tried shea butter and olive oil, but it doesn’t work for my skin.”

  “With Natalie, I didn’t get any stretch marks. When I had Michael, my stretch marks looked more like battle scars. I used Bio-Oil. It should be coming to drugstores near us soon. Right now, you can only get it online at Amazon.com. I just ordered two bottles. You can have one, and hopefully, it will get rid of the stretch marks you have.”

  “Thanks, girl. The only thing left to deal with is my small pudge.”

  “Exercising is no fun,” Leah said, joining in on the conversation.

  “I second that notion.” Yvette nodded.

  We all began laughing.

  Tara moved the conversation in the direction of my upside down love life. “So have you talked to Vince?”

  “No, it’s been two weeks,” I revealed in between taking bites and slurping my strawberry and lemon-flavored snow cone. I felt as though my heart was at odds between Tory and Vince.

  “Maybe he’s giving you space and time to decide,” Yvette said, keeping a close eye on the kids.

  “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Are you truly ready to move on with your life, or are you still carrying a torch for Tory?” Leah asked, pinning her hair up.

  It was a hot and humid evening, and each one of us had our own portable fans blowing.

  “We’re thirsty,” the kids announced after running over to us.

  “Drink water.” Leah handed them a cold bottle.

  “I think I’m ready to move on. I’m still sad about how things turned out. Not knowing what happened to him is hard.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for you to lose him just like that.” Tara shook her head. “When Tory left, you were at your lowest point, but you can’t be moping around forever.”

  Yvette added, “Not knowing what’s going to happen in the future can be fearful. Vince is brand-new territory, and you are probably scared to get into another relationship after Tory.”

  “You can’t blame him for how he feels though,” Leah pointed out. “I’m surprised he stuck it out for as long as he did. But you were honest with him from the beginning. I gotta give you credit there. The average person would have lied and not been truthful about how they felt.”

  On the way home, the kids were fast asleep, including Victoria. The van was calm and peacefully quiet.

  Yvette slid Norah Jones’ first album in the CD player. It was just what I needed to relax.

  Chapter 44

  I took a deep breath and reluctantly knocked on the door. It required a lot of courage to let go of the past and embrace the future.

  Vince opened the door. “Hey. Come in.”

  “Hi,” I replied back before walking into the house.

  He led the way into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

  “Thank you for seeing me.”

  He nodded, all eyes on me. “You wanted to talk and I’m going to listen.”

  “Last week I went to see a lawyer. He started the separation papers for me.” I pulled a copy of the documents out of my purse and handed them to him.

  Ms. Stein, my former manager at BankFIRST, went through a nasty drawn-out divorce. Needless to say, she came out on top. I just wanted what was due to me. She’d recommended Paul Goodman.

  I didn’t feel comfortable using Vince’s lawyer, afraid that she’d violate our confidentiality and run her mouth to him, since I didn’t know how close he was to his lawyer.

  “You did?”

  “I needed some time to think. Even though I’m scared about us and what tomorrow will hold, the truth is, I don’t want to lose you. I want to let you inside my heart. Will you give me another chance?”

  He shook his head. “I—”

  “Before you go any further, I get the point.” I walked out of the kitchen and headed for the door, trying hard not to shed a tear.

  “Nya, wait, please.” Vince chased after me and stopped me at the staircase banister.

  “I can take the hint. You don’t want me!”

  “Shhh! You didn’t even let me speak. I was shaking my head in disbelief because I didn’t think you would actually go through with getting the divorce started. All I wanted from you was a little effort. These papers are a step in the right direction for us to be together. I want you back. I missed the hell out of you. The first couple of days I couldn’t go to work because I felt so awful. The jazz music of Miles Davis couldn’t even cheer me up.”

  “I missed you too.”

  “I’m scared about what the future holds too. Let’s be scared together and get through it,” he said, looking into my eyes.

  We started kissing and fell into each other’s arms on the staircase.

  Vince pulled down his jogging shorts and boxers down to his ankles. Then he took off my shirt and lifted my skirt up. With his right hand, he pinned my hands to the staircase, and he ran his tongue against my breast.

  It felt good to be at his mercy. I motioned for his dick to slip in between my moist pink walls. Every stroke was long, hard, and deep.

  After cumming, we lay at the bottom of the staircas
e holding each other. It felt right being in his arms again.

  He lifted me up and carried me to his bed, where we talked for hours, catching up on the last two weeks. I felt as though I had my friend back as well as my lover.

  “I brought your favorite.” I ran downstairs wearing Vince’s robe to grab my purse.

  “What is it? I love surprises,” he inquired when I walked back into the bedroom.

  “Before coming here, I stopped by Sugar Plum Bakery and picked up an assortment your taste buds will love. One of the things we have in common is a gigantic sweet tooth.”

  “Yeah, that’s true.” Vince grinned, looking through the box of cookies.

  Inside was chocolate chip walnut, white chocolate macadamia, fudge, shortbread, rainbow, snicker doodles, oatmeal raisin, and gingerbread cookies. I couldn’t resist grabbing two caramel glazed brownies.

  While we were stuffing our faces, Vince popped a movie called Inkwell in the DVD player. It was so funny, I almost choked on a walnut. Vince and I got a good night’s rest relieving all that tension.

  Chapter 45

  Yvette and Jarvis decided to cash in one of those babysitting coupons I’d given them. While Natalie and Michael stayed the night with me, their parents went to a concert at the NorVa, featuring The Roots and Chrisette Michele. The first gift Jarvis ever gave Yvette when they’d first started dating was a cassette tape of The Roots’ first album, which she still had. Her favorite songs were “Silent Treatment” and “Proceed.”

  The next morning, after the kids got up and ate breakfast, we were out the door to run errands. As we sang the theme song to Dora the Explorer over and over again, we went to the restaurant then made the daily deposit at the bank.

  Afterward, we were off to Wal-Mart to pick up a few items I needed. At this particular Wal-Mart, there was one way in and one way out. On the weekends, various security guards had to direct traffic to avoid accidents. Luckily, I beat the crowd and managed to get out of the parking lot without a fifteen-minute wait in traffic.