Dilemmas (Part 1) (11 page)

Joe stepped out of the car with a handful of roses.

“Oh my, Joe, those are beautiful,” she said.

“Three dozen, Cup, all for you.”

Bevelyn walked over to the driver, who handed her a large basket with wine glasses sticking out of the top.

“Wow, Joe, you’re really doing it big today.”

Bevelyn and Joe started to walk deep into the field.

“Let’s stay away from the groups of yellow flowers,” she said, still concerned about the bees.

“I’m not worried about that at all. I’m just excited to be here with you right now.”

Bevelyn and Joe laid out a plaid cloth. She placed the roses in one area, pulled out the wine and glasses, and noticed an envelope and a small box with her name on it.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Oh, just pocket change for you and the kids.”

She placed it on the side and laid down on her back to face the sky. Joe rubbed her hair while staring at her. “Maurice is a lucky man,” he said to her as he started to kiss her. She instantly became wet as he lifted her dress to kiss her inner thighs.

She started to pull at his pants, “You know what happened last time we were here. Are you sure you want to go there?” he asked her.

“That was ten years ago, Joe, I need it,” she replied.

He reached for the box and pulled out a rotating dildo with an anal attachment. “Let me play with it. I want to watch it sliding in and out of you,” he said as he pushed her legs apart.

Her pussy was glistening. “Just fuck me,” she said seductively. She pulled him closer and began to fondle him. He flipped her over, pulled out his dick, and started to put it in her pussy. “Grab my hair,” she said to him as he penetrated deeper. She used her fingers to play with her clit as he fucked her. She knew he was going to be pretty quick but just wanted penetration. He lifted her hips off the ground and began to pull her back and forth, which gave her just enough time for a small orgasm.

“Do you want me to pull out?” he asked her.

“No,” she said as he started to come.

He shoved his dick inside her deep enough for her to feel his dick slowly going soft.

They began to leave, and as they walked through the field, they walked into a bee-infested area. She grabbed his hand and started to run to the waiting limo. “Open the door! Open the door!” she yelled as she ran.

The driver rushed out and opened the door.

“Ah!” Joe said as he was inches away from the car.

“What’s wrong, Joe?”

“One got me,” he said.

Bevelyn started to panic.

“Where’s your pen, Joe?” she asked urgently.

“It’s not here. I feel dizzy Bev, very dizzy.” He started to grab his throat.

She turned to the driver in a desperate panic. “GET HIM TO THE HOSPITAL NOW!” she yelled.

“Yes, ma’am,” the driver said as he ran to get into the car. The car sped off, and Bevelyn stood in one spot with the basket in her hand, crying as rocks flew from the tires.

She ran to her car and threw the basket onto the passenger seat. She was trying to put the key in the ignition but was shaking too hard. She dropped the keys and started to scream. She beat the steering wheel as she sat there. Her mind was racing, and she had no one to call because no one could know she was with him. She picked up the keys. She was able to bring herself together enough to drive away.

Maurice and Nedia took a late lunch together at a nearby restaurant. Nedia was acting a little distant toward Maurice.

“What’s wrong, Nedia?”

“I don’t know. I’m thinking so much right now, Maurice.”

“About what?” he asked.

Nedia began to express concern about where any type of relationship would head between the two of them. She told him she understood what she was getting into when they first started but that having a child may not be the best situation for the two of them.

“Wait, where is all this coming from Aiden? We have a history, and you know I do not hide anything from you,” he said in a loud whisper.

“What about me, Maurice? What about what I need? I need someone with me every night, not whenever it’s convenient.”

“I understand, Nedia. Tell me what to do, and I will do it,” he pleaded.

“Why do I believe you, Maurice?” she asked.

“Because you know me, Nedia.”

“Maurice, I have to tell you something. Once I tell you and you can forgive me and accept it all, I may reconsider the baby, our relationship, and everything.”

“Our relationship?” he said loudly. “You’re second-guessing our relationship now too? What have I done, Nedia. Look at me! It’s me!” he said passionately.

“I have a secret and a past, Maurice. I don’t know if you can handle it,” she said as a tear slid down her face.

“Tell me now, Nedia. Please just tell me now so we can move past it.”

Nedia looked at him and could see he was sincere in his plea. “OK, let’s go outside.”

They both went outside, and she stood in front of his car. She looked at him deeply. “I have no idea how you will take this, Maurice. If you walk away from me and never speak to me again, I will completely understand,” she said with fear in her voice.

“What is it, Nedia?” he asked.

“Well…I have…been sleeping—” she started to say but was interrupted by her phone ringing.

“Tell me. Don’t answer it,” he said.

“I have to, it could be the hospital, and I know when I tell you that it will be a long conversation.”

She answered her phone, “Hello?”

She looked at Maurice and dropped the phone. He bent down and picked up the phone. “He’s dead! Joseph is dead!” the voice on the phone said.

Maurice looked at Nedia, and she collapsed in his arms.

Bevelyn was at home, crying and pacing the floor. “Something is not right. I can feel it,” she kept saying to herself. She called Maurice’s sister, asking to pick up the kids because she was not feeling well. She constantly checked her house phone and cell phone for a call from Joseph. “What am I going to do if something happens to Joe?” she thought. Realizing she had the basket in the car, she ran out to get it so that she could discard it. She grabbed the basket and started walking to the outside garbage. She remembered the envelope. She opened the envelope, and inside was a card. “You were never mine, but you always made me feel like yours. Thank you for giving me a chance at something I never thought I could have. You will forever be my Cupcake. Now throw this card away, and make sure you and the kids enjoy!” was written on the card, and ten one-thousand-dollar bills. Bevelyn began to cry as she sat on the ground. She decided place the basket in her trunk to discard at a later time.

Maurice drove Nedia back to the hospital. She ran down the hallway, following the screams of Diane’s voice. Maurice ran down the hallway beside her. Once they reached Joseph’s room, Nedia ran to Diane. Maurice stood behind Nedia and looked toward Joseph’s body.

“What happened?” Nedia asked Diane.

“He had an allergic reaction to a bee sting, baby. It sent him into a severe asthma attack,” she said. “I just don’t understand, Nedia. How could a bee get into his office on the twenty-third floor?”

Nedia turned to Maurice, “Can you call Bevelyn?” she asked.

Maurice walked to his office. He told Dr. Taylor that he would not make it back for their weekly meeting because of an emergency. Dr. Taylor told him to let the receptionist know that the meeting would be canceled until further notice. He picked up his desk phone and called Bevelyn. She picked up on the first ring.

“Hello?”

“What’s wrong?” he asked her.

“Oh, nothing, why?”

“You sound like something is wrong, but listen, you need to get down here as fast as you can. Take the kids—”

“What’s wrong?” she interrupted

“It’s Joseph. He died.”

Bevelyn fell right where she stood. “WHAT? What do you mean? Where is Nedia?” she asked.

“Just get down here, Bev, Nedia needs all the support she can get.”

Bevelyn hung up the phone and screamed, “I knew it! I knew it! Oh Lord, help me!”

Bevelyn grabbed her keys and headed out the door.

Maurice sent a mass text message, “Joseph is dead!”

Diane began to feel as though she were going to pass out. The hospital decided to place her on observation. Maurice went back to Joseph’s room, and Nedia ran up to him and hugged him. “I will stay right here, Nedia. I will not leave your side during this.”

She continued to weep. Maurice wiped her tears as she laid her head on his chest.

“How can I handle this, Maurice? What am I going to do?” she asked.

“Take everything one minute at a time, sweetheart.”

Nedia asked if he had called Bevelyn. He told her that she was on her way.

“Maurice, go on to work. I’m very emotional right now, and I don’t want to be leaning on you too much, not realizing it.”

“Nedia, I’m not going anywhere. You need me, so I’m going to be right here. Even if I have to sit on the side, I will be right here.”

“Thank you so much,” she said.

He kissed her forehead, and then Maurice and Nedia headed to Diane’s room to be with her. Nedia grabbed Diane by the hand as they sobbed. A loud scream came from down the hallway. “Bevelyn!” Nedia said. “Maurice, can you show her where we are?”

Maurice went down the hallway and saw Bevelyn leaning against the wall. “Bevelyn, we’re down here. Diane is in observation.”

Bevelyn extended her hand for Maurice to help her up. He reached down to help her up, and she leaned on him as they walked down the hallway to Diane’s room. Bevelyn ran to Nedia. Maurice sat in a chair as Nedia and Bevelyn consoled one another.

chapter
10

The funeral was in two days. Nedia received a call from Bevelyn, asking the details of the funeral. “It’s Thursday at one,” Nedia told her. Once Nedia hung up, she called Maurice at work.

“You know that Bevelyn cannot come to the funeral,” she said.

“I know. I’ve been thinking about that. I’ll take care of it,” he said to her.

Dr. Taylor came down the hall and asked if he was OK with all that was going on. “Yes, I don’t think I can make the weekly right now, but I really need to be caught up on a lot, if you know what I mean” he said.

Dr. Taylor laughed and said, “I completely understand.”