Fallen Woman(44)

My body crashed to the bed, and I knew if I didn’t get back up quickly, I’d be a goner. I was exhausted and only awake because I’d been sitting up talking to him. He grabbed my hand and tugged it over his stomach as he pulled the rest of me into his side. I needed to get up and go to another room, but I wanted to stay just a little while longer. The warmth of his embrace, the security of his arm around me, the beat of his heart through his chest—I wanted to hang on to all of it just another minute.

Another minute turned into morning.

I woke to a firm chest turning into me. My arm still wrapped snugly around his waist, he pressed the length of his body to mine as he stretched. I’d bet money there was evidence of his arousal, but as soon as I’d felt it, he moved again. He propped his head up on his hand and stared down at my sleepy eyes. His fingers traced the line of my jaw, pulling hair from my face in his path, every second more intimate than the last. His eyes were warm and lazy, and when I reached up to touch the scar above his eye, a grin toyed with his lips. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the stampede of little feet above us. Instead, he placed a kiss on my forehead and cupped my jaw with his hand. I wanted to beg him not to leave the comfort of his bed or our embrace, but when the kids started calling his name, I knew I’d lost his attention.

“Down here,” he hollered up to the ceiling.

The charge of children came barreling down the stairs, all in matching pajamas I’d never seen, and one by one, they launched themselves onto the bed. Each child made a spot of their own in the mess of covers. Derrick put his hands behind his head, lying on Jase’s pillow; the twins flanked me, but Emmy…she crawled straight into Jase’s arms and took up residence in his heart. She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her cheek to his, squeezing as tightly as she could. When she finally released him, she kissed him with slobbery lips and laughed when he wiped it off.

“Don’t wipe away my love!” She giggled as she scolded him.

“I’m not, silly. Just the trail it left behind.” He stuck his fingers in her sides, sending her into fits of laughter as he tickled her.

Eventually, we all got up. None of them seemed to wonder where I’d come from, or if they had, they didn’t ask. We had breakfast and spent the day lazing around Jase’s house. A flash of disappointment crossed his eyes when I mentioned taking us home, but he agreed and took us back to The Village.

~~~

Drake called a couple of days later to apologize for the situation at his house. I didn’t know what to say to him, so I accepted his apology and made a mental note not to accept any more invitations to gatherings in his home. He also made good on his promise the following week. After he got two huge investors committed to his project, he paid off my emergency room visit. When he told me about it, he indicated his irritation at Willum for not stepping up and taking care of it, but it wasn’t his fault any more than it was Drake’s. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I was lucky I wasn’t beaten worse—or raped. I knew the bills were a drop in the bucket to Drake, he even said so, but it meant the world to me they were taken care of.

I had dates on my calendar with Max and Holland and prayed I could tuck that money away for a car. I didn’t need anything fancy, but relying on public transportation was difficult with children. It was fine for me getting back and forth to work, but toting three kids on a bus was difficult at best, and when Emmy was sick, it became virtually impossible. I needed to be able to take her to doctor appointments and not have to subject her to a horrendous number of germs and toxins I’m sure were rampant on the seats of the bus. Not to mention, we’d end up sitting before and after appointments waiting at the stop for a ride.

I’d noticed my normally precocious three-year-old had become lethargic and puffy. I’d been wracking my brain trying to figure out what might have caused this flare up, but it’s unlikely I’d ever know. She could have eaten something with sulfur in it, picked up an infection on the bus—there was no telling. Miss Pearl knew what to look for and continued her herbal remedies while Emmy was in her care, but all I could do right now was pray for the best. Until I got paid or went out with one of the guys again, I didn’t have enough money to pay a portion of the balance at the doctor’s office. Dr. Smithson had been really flexible on payment terms, but I knew the terms I had to adhere to, and until I could make that payment, they wouldn’t see Emmy again. Starting over with a new specialist wasn’t an option—I had to figure out a way to pay the doctor and get her an appointment.

Pearl called me home from work early, and I knew I was in deep. She was in Miss Pearl’s bed, shaking, with a hundred and three fever. I leaned down to pick her up, and she cried out in pain. Her hair was matted to her head with sweat, and the trash can next to the bed was evidence of her upset stomach. Taking to the floor, I kneeled in front of my little girl. We’d been here before, and it wasn’t pleasant. No child should have to experience this kind of agony.

“Gianna, baby, what do you need me to do?” Pearl’s soothing voice called from the open door.

I glanced at her, silently thanking her for her sympathy. “I need to get her home and into a cool bath to see if we can get the fever to break.”

“Don’t you think she needs to go see a doctor?”

I couldn’t be mad at her. She didn’t understand what dealing with this was like.