Nina's Got a Secret (14 page)

“Val, you're my best friend; I can't believe you would do something this low.”

“Bitch, I know you ain't tryin' to talk shit about me after what you did to little Chrissy,” Val replied sharply. “I'd suggest you give him what he wants because I can't control him. There ain't no tellin' what he might say to poor Larry.”

“Val, I couldn't help what happened.”

“Bullshit! Have you forgotten that I was right there and witnessed the whole thing? You could've tried to save Chrissy, but you didn't. I saw everything! That child reached out to you and you ignored her hand and went for Precious.”

“What did you expect me to do?” Nina asked in a low, begging tone. “My child was going to drown.”

“Your child knows how to swim. Chrissy was handicapped. She was helpless. She could barely talk, let alone swim. You should've at least tried to save her first.”

“Val, you don't have any children, so you don't understand. You'd have to be a mother to understand my point. As a mother, it's my instincts to save my child. You can't blame me for trying to save my child's life first.”

“Is that how you really feel, Nina?”

“Yes, I do. If you had any children, you would've reacted the same way.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Well, answer this question, Nina. If you really feel like you didn't do anything wrong, why haven't you told Larry what really went down that night?”

“It's not that simple.”

“Whatever, Nina! It's as simple as you make it. Here are the simple facts as I see them. You never really liked that child from the get-go. Did you tell Larry how you used to treat her when he wasn't around? Every chance you got, you rolled your eyes and yelled at her when he wasn't there. Did you tell Larry how you treated her when she got scared and upset at that audition? Did you tell him how you called her retarded a few hours before the accident? You let your hatred for Chrissy stop you from doing the right thing.”

“Oh, so you and Tyrone extorting money from me qualifies as doin' the right thing?” Nina interjected.

“No, bitch, what we're doing qualifies as karma. You watched a poor, helpless, handicapped child drown so you could save your little spoiled brat and your own sorry ass; it's that simple!”

Nina could feel her eyes filling with water. Images of the crash
were swirling around in her head like debris from a tornado. She felt in her heart that she did what any mother would do, but she couldn't find the words to formulate a defense for her decision to save Precious.

Val was extremely irate at that point, and was not about to let Nina up for air.

“By the way, I haven't forgotten that you promised to make arrangements for me to fly back to Monterey so I can come to the dinner party you're giving Larry for his birthday. When you call later this week to make arrangements to send Tyrone that money, I'll need to know the status of my flight reservations.”

Val hung up the phone. Nina stood there in the dimly lit hallway for a few seconds with the phone in her hand. She couldn't believe what she'd heard. In her mind, blackmail was something that happened in the movies or on some soap opera, not in real life.

“I can't believe Val is doin' this to me,” Nina mumbled as she stood in the hallway leaning against the wall.

“Doing what to you?” Larry asked as he opened the door.

“Shit, Larry!” Nina shouted and took a few steps back. “You scared the hell out of me!”

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I was going to get a glass of water.”

“Go back to bed. I'll go and get your water.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, baby, I'm sure. I was going to get a snack anyway.”

As Nina walked into the kitchen, she thought about Tyrone's disturbing phone call. She couldn't focus. The realization that she had no one to confide in smacked her in the face. Precious was the only family she had. Val, her best friend, former best friend, was the person she usually told every piece of her personal business to. Now Val was her biggest foe.

The next closest family member was Barbara, and Nina knew that her sister-in-law wanted nothing more than to discover one of her flaws. Barbara would run to Larry faster than an Olympic track star. She would use any excuse to encourage Larry to file for divorce. Nina was between the proverbial rock and a hard place.

“Here's your water.”

“Thanks, baby. So what did Val do to you?”

“Excuse me?”

“When you were standing in the hallway, you mumbled, ‘
I can't believe Val is doing this to me.
' What did she do to you?”

Nina had to think quickly; Larry was very intuitive. She had to be cool as she tried to tell a convincing lie.

“Oh, it's nothing.”

“It must be something; you were obviously upset. What's goin' on?”

Nina thought for a few seconds and then threw out a zinger of a lie.

“Well, baby, I wasn't going to tell you this, but I was making plans to have a birthday dinner for you next Friday. I thought I'd invite some of your friends. I wanted Val to come out so that she could help me with the arrangements. When I spoke to her tonight, she said she might not be able to come. That's why you heard me saying that.”

Larry smiled and gently ran his hand along the edge of Nina's cheek.

“That's nice, baby. I don't normally do much to celebrate my birthday, but a nice dinner party might help lift my spirits. Tell Val I said I'll take care of her travel arrangements. Oh yeah, let her know that I'll invite Sharrard. I'll bet she'll fly out when she hears that. Goodnight, baby.”

Unbeknownst to Larry, his pestering had solved two of Nina's
initial challenges; coming up with an excuse to bring Val back out to California and getting Sharrard to the party.

“Goodnight,” Nina replied as she stared at the back of Larry's head and struggled to fight back tears. The stress was starting to wear her down. “Larry, I need to tell you something.”

“Tell me what?”

Nina paused for a second. Larry was a good man. Unfortunately, it had taken the death of a child before Nina opened her eyes and recognized it. Nina knew Larry would be devastated if he ever learned the truth about what really happened that evening, but she also needed to clear her conscience.

“It's about Chrissy.”

“What about Chrissy?” Larry asked as he turned around to face Nina. The proverbial cat had her tongue as she tried to respond. “What's wrong, Nina? Say what's on your mind.”

“I just . . . I just . . . I just want to say that I miss her. I may not have shown it all the time, but I did love her.”

A tear rolled down Larry's cheek. He and Nina had been married for four months and that was the first time he'd heard her say she loved Chrissy. Larry hugged Nina and then placed her head on his chest. He gently removed the hair covering her face and started massaging her temple. Nina stared aimlessly until she fell asleep. Or maybe she deliberately retreated into a deep sleep so that she could avoid the reality of her situation. Now that she'd told him a different version of what happened, there was no turning back for Nina. A man stranded on a deserted island had never felt as alone as she did at that moment.

Nina was in trouble. Unless she could figure out a way to silence the people who were threatening to turn her life upside down, things were going to get worse; a lot worse.

N
INA HIRED A CATERER TO HANDLE THE ARRANGEMENTS
for Larry's party. The event was supposed to be simple and quick. All she wanted to do was have a nice dinner with about twenty of his friends and colleagues.

Val arrived a few hours before the party. Her relationship with Nina was so strained at this point that she caught a cab to the house from the airport rather than ask Nina to come and get her.

After spending a few moments playing with Precious, Val retreated to the guest room and took a quick nap.

Nina made arrangements for Maria to come over and babysit Precious while the dinner party ensued downstairs. Nina still didn't like the way Maria acted toward her, but Precious really enjoyed Maria's presence. As long as she stayed out of sight, Nina figured she could tolerate her nosy employee.

Everyone walked into the dining room and sat at the long table. The table accommodated ten seats, four on each side and one at each end. Nina and Larry sat at opposite ends of the table. Sharrard and his date sat next to each other on one side along with another white couple. Larry's best friend, Terry, sat across from Sharrard next to Val. The last two seats were occupied by Larry's partner, Jim, and his wife, Susan.

“Before we start eating, I'd like to say something,” Larry announced. “The last few weeks have been extremely difficult for my wife and me. There have been times when several of you tried to reach out and offer your support, but I've refused. That's why we decided to have this dinner tonight. It's sort of our way of letting our closest friends know that we appreciate you all. Everyone, please lift your glasses. I'd like to toast to friendship.”

Everyone at the table lifted their glasses and in unison said, “To friendship.”

The only person who didn't toast was Val. Her eyes were fixed
on Nina. Her anger seeped from her pores like gas fumes from a cracked pipe.

The dinner was awesome. The caterers brought out two huge seafood trays. The trays were four levels high and contained a mixture of lobster, shrimp, scallops, sushi, and an assortment of other fish delicacies. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the evening; everyone except Val.

Although the food served tasted amazing, the vibe at the table was awkward. At times the conversation seemed strained. Larry spent the entire evening trying to make eye contact with Nina. Terry spent the entire evening trying to make eye contact with Val. Val spent the entire night trying to make eye contact with Sharrard . . . they all failed.

Val tried on multiple occasions to strike up a conversation with Sharrard, but he acted as if she was invisible. The only time he made eye contact with her was when he asked her to pass the salt.

Nina could sense Val's frustration. Every chance Val got to look in Nina's direction she did, but unfortunately for her, menacing stares had little to no effect because Nina refused to look at her. Still, Val didn't hide her displeasure and Nina knew she needed to address her former best friend's concerns before she exploded right there at the table.

At the end of the meal, shortly before dessert was brought out by the caterers, Nina tried to defuse the situation.

“Val, let me show you something real quick in my room before they serve dessert.”

“Sure,” Val replied and stood up.

The two of them retreated to Nina's bedroom and closed the door. Before Nina could comment, Val was already in a rage.

“Why didn't you tell me Sharrard had a date?!”

“Vee, I didn't know he was coming with a date.”

“What do you mean, you didn't know he was dating someone? He's your husband's biggest client, and on top of that, he's datin' a damn white girl! You can't tell me you didn't know about that?”

“Honestly, Val, I didn't know. Sharrard is a playa! He has a different woman every time he comes around.”

Nina's comment about Sharrard's dating habits didn't help the situation. The look on Val's face let Nina know she needed to think fast because the situation had the potential to become combustible.

“That white girl can't hold a candle to you, Val. After dessert is served and everyone goes into the living room and media room to start socializing, I'll distract her so you can get Sharrard alone. At that point, there isn't much more I can do. I promised you I'd get the two of you together; it's your job to close the deal.”

Seemingly satisfied with Nina's plan, Val calmed down . . . for the moment. They went back into the dining room wearing the same fake smiles they had when they left.

When the eating was over and the liquor started to pour, Nina struck up a conversation with Cindy, Sharrard's blonde-haired, blue-eyed, five-foot-six, size four, all leg with very little ass, newly purchased-breast-implants-wearing date.

The fact that Nina was considering talking to this white woman was a clear indication of how much of a threat she considered Val to be at that point. It wasn't that Nina was some type of card-carrying bigot, but like so many black women, she despised white women like Cindy because their motives were so painfully obvious.

A blind man could see that Cindy was the type of white woman who'd probably spent less than one hour of her entire life talking to any black man that wasn't tending to the lawn at her family's suburban home or detailing the BMW her parents bought for her after graduating high school.

Cindy seemed like the type of white woman who came from a
family that avoided contact with minorities, like a fat kid avoids diet food. Cindy's parents would have screamed if they knew she was dating a black man. Well, they may have controlled their urge to go crazy if the black man in question was a multi-millionaire and could occasionally get the family sideline seats to the biggest sporting events.