Nina's Got a Secret (17 page)

Nina thought about Chrissy more than she cared to admit. Visions of Chrissy's face visited her at night while she tried to go to sleep. When she did doze off, Chrissy's image forced its way into her dreams, often causing her to awaken in the middle of the
night gasping for air as her heart raced and sweat trickled around the nape of her neck.

Nina viewed these constant nightmares as her conscience nudging her to confess to Larry what had really happened on that terrible stormy evening Chrissy's life was taken. He needed answers to those questions that bounced around in his head so that he could begin to move toward acceptance and then eventually closure.

Larry scurried into the kitchen with a sniffling and embarrassed eight-year-old clinging to his neck and shoulders like a scarf on a cold Chicago winter morning.

“It's gonna be all right, Cutie,” said Larry as he evoked the nickname he'd given Precious, hoping that it would help comfort her.

Nina crept up to the doorway and peered into the kitchen as she watched Larry place Precious on the granite countertop and go to work on her knees like an emergency room physician caring for a car crash victim.

“This might sting, Cutie, but I have to clean your knees.”

Larry used a damp towel to clean her gashed kneecaps. He then started applying bandages to her wounds. When he finished tending to Precious' injuries, she had more bandages on her knees than an Egyptian mummy.

Larry escorted the child into the media room, turned on
Finding Nemo
, her favorite movie, opened the mini refrigerator in the corner, and pulled out a huge chilled bowl. He paused for a moment to glance at Precious and then grabbed the ice cream in the freezer and put two big scoops of chocolate ice cream in the bowl.

With a level of homage usually reserved for the likes of heads of state or the leader of a monarchy, Larry served the ice cream to Precious like it was an honor.

Whatever pain Precious felt after her hard fall was diminishing by the second as she reveled in the attention she received.

Nina surreptitiously walked over and stood near the bottom of the staircase and listened to her daughter and husband's interaction. After a few moments, she turned and walked back into the living room and reclaimed her spot on the loveseat. Tears gushed from her eyes as the guilt she harbored inside ate away at her conscience like leeches on an exposed wound. This was the worst she'd felt since the crash.

Nina's temples begin to throb as she contemplated her next move.
Larry's a good man. I can't keep lying to him about what happened; he deserves to know the truth. Even if he hates me afterward, I have to tell him about my decision to save Precious instead of Chrissy.

Larry walked out of the front door and retrieved the bike. He was so consumed with caring for Precious that he didn't notice Nina sitting there until he came back inside and leaned the bike against the hall closet.

“Hey you! How long have you been sitting there?”

Nina wiped her tears and tried to look away as she answered, “I've been here long enough to see how you spoil her. You did all that because she fell off her bike.”

“No, that's not why I did
all that
after she fell. I did
all that
because I was trying to send two very important messages to her.”

“What messages were you trying to send?”

“The first message I was trying to send was that I love her and truly care. The second thing I was trying to show her was that she is a queen who is worthy of being pampered and catered to. I want that to be the type of treatment she grows to expect from a man. As long as I'm her father, Precious will never be allowed to think that pampering is a privilege; it's her right.”

The tears Nina had successfully fought back a few moments
earlier started to come back with vengeance when she heard Larry's comments. This was the type of male role model she'd always wanted for Precious. Even though she'd never felt much passion toward Larry, he'd never looked so attractive to her then at that moment. Nina realized that Precious wasn't the only person who needed him; so did she.

“What's wrong?” asked Larry. “You look like you have something to say.”

“Actually, I do. I want to tell you about . . .”

“Wait, wait! Let me say this before I forget,” Larry interrupted. “I spoke to another casting director and he's agreed to meet with you about casting Precious in a McDonald's commercial. He's pressed for time so he doesn't want to do an open casting call. This will be behind closed doors with him, Precious, and you.”

“When?”

“Next Saturday. I told him I'd speak to you first, to see if you were available. He's actually called me twice during the past two days to find out if I'd spoken to you about it. What do you want me to tell him?”

Nina paused for a moment. This was the closest they'd ever been to getting Precious cast in a commercial. She wasn't sure what Larry had done to pull this off, but he must have done something impressive.

Much to Nina's chagrin, thoughts of seeing Precious on television were rudely interrupted by images of Chrissy's hand sticking out of the murky water. Only minutes earlier, Nina had decided to confess to Larry, but that was before she'd learned of this new opportunity for Precious.

“Ummm, tell him we'll be there,” Nina finally replied with a culpable facial expression.

“Cool. I'll call him after I get out of the shower. I gotta get
cleaned up. When I drop Val off at the airport, I'm gonna hang around there for a few minutes because Barbara's plane lands about forty-five minutes after Val leaves.”

“Barbara's coming today?”

“Yeah, have you forgotten? She couldn't make it to the dinner last night because of that church function she had to oversee. But she was determined to come out and spend some time with me today and give me some birthday gifts she bought. Besides, my flight to Cleveland leaves early Monday morning, so I'll be shutting it down early Sunday night. A brotha's gotta get his rest before I meet with these snakes in the grass General Managers.”

“Where is Terry? When does he return to Los Angeles to start fighting crime again?”

“He must've left real early this morning. He's supposed to hang out with his ex-girlfriend today; she has an apartment across town. He took some vacation time to come to the dinner party. I believe he has another week or so before he returns. I gave him a key to get in and out, but I doubt it if you'll see much of him during the next week. He told me he'd stop by to pick up some of the clothes he left in the hall closet before he returns to Los Angeles.”

Nina just looked away. She was mentally exhausted from having to deal with Val's disposition; she was not looking forward to entertaining her annoying sister-in-law.

“Oh yeah, you said you had something to say to me. What's up?” Larry asked.

“Nothing; I only wanted to thank you for taking care of Precious the way you did.”

“Don't thank me. That's my daughter now. As far as I'm concerned, I'm simply doing what I'm supposed to do. Besides, all little girls need that. I want to set a standard that's going to be
hard on her boyfriends and her husband to match when she gets older,” Larry replied as he walked over and kissed Nina on the forehead.

If Larry had taken a second to look closer, he would've seen Nina's tears coming down. Her eyes turned bloodshot red as she continued sobbing and thinking about her decision to remain quiet. Her sobbing persisted until she envisioned Precious smiling on a high-definition television holding a hamburger.

L
ARRY KEPT SNEAKING A PEEK AT HIS SIDE
and rear view mirrors to see if he could catch the airport police lurking. The message on the faded sign perched on the rusted pole that was less than five feet away from his front bumper clearly stated,
No Parking In This Area.

Larry was determined to stay put rather thean spend ten minutes riding around the parking garage searching for a parking space. Besides, Barbara had already called him and confirmed that she was picking up her luggage and on her way.

Larry stopped looking for “the man” long enough to notice the laminated wallet-size photo of Chrissy that hung from his rear view mirror. When Chrissy was alive, she rarely showed much emotion. Getting her to smile in public was nearly impossible, but on the day that this photo was taken, she had smiled like never before.

A soft summer breeze swept through his window and made the photo sway. There hadn't been much of a breeze all day, but suddenly one appeared. Larry viewed that as a sign from Chrissy that she was thinking about him, too. Larry smiled as his eyes followed the picture from side to side like a man watching a dangling watch while being hypnotized.

This tranquil moment was interrupted by Barbara's loud voice. “Larry, pop the trunk!”

“Damn, that suitcase is huge! I thought you were coming for a few days, but you look like you're planning on living with us for a year,” Larry said as he helped Barb put her suitcases in the trunk.

“If I wanna stay a year, I'll do that. Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, sweetie,” Larry replied as he wrapped his arms around his sister and kissed her on the cheek. “You're welcome to live in my house for as long as you want.”

“Umm-hmm,” Barbara replied sarcastically. “You sure you don't wanna clear that statement with your wife first?”

“Don't start, Bee. We haven't gotten inside the car yet, and you're already being catty.”

T
HE DRIVE BACK TO THE HOUSE WAS FILLED
with the same idle chat that siblings go through as they try to catch up on family gossip and the whereabouts of crack-fiend cousins and underachieving cousins.

The sun was setting as Larry pulled up to the driveway. The light from the lamp in the living room could be seen from where Larry and Barbara stood.

“Let me guess, my sister-in-law is sitting in her favorite spot, being anti-social.”

“That's where she likes to sit and read. Why do you have a problem with that?”

“I don't have a problem with it. I just think it's rude to do that for hours at a time when you have company at your house.”

“Barbara, spare me! You don't want to talk to her, either.”

Barbara rolled her eyes and strolled into the house. Larry struggled behind her as he stumbled while trying to carry the huge bag. Barbara and Nina gave each other a cursory head nod, and then continued to act like they hadn't noticed each other.

“Where's my little Precious?” Barbara shouted.

“Be-Be,” Precious yelled as she ran down the stairs and jumped into her aunt's arms. Since Chrissy's death, Barbara, much like Larry, had become emotionally attached to Precious.

Nina kept reading her magazine and ignored the pleasantries. She spent the remainder of the evening planted on the loveseat with a blanket over her lap. It was in that spot she would rest for the evening and awaken to a day she would never forget.