A Sister's Survival Read online

  “Speaking of time, let’s get this meeting rolling,” Alita complained. “I sure wish I could take over the meeting because so far we’ve talked about everything except the assignment.”

  Burgundy frowned. “And aren’t you part of why we couldn’t get to the topic?”

  “No! You were the one going on and on about that fancy schmancy bacon and eggs party.”

  “You know what? Since you think you know everything and want to be in charge, I’m agreeing with you for a change, Lita. You are now in charge. Go ahead. Take over the meeting, Sis.”

  Dru, Coco, and Elyse smiled. This change of events was unprecedented, and no one could predict how things would end up with their big sister holding the reins.

  “Good. ’Bout time you made a decent decision,” Alita said as she stood and walked to the center of the room.

  “First of all, are y’all good with the January assignment?”

  “What was that assignment again, Lita?” Burgundy asked.

  “Huh?”

  “In January? Do you remember what we were supposed to focus on?”

  “Fuck you, B.”

  “Lita, now don’t curse me. I told you about that a hundred times. Don’t you ever curse me again.”

  “All right, okay. I apologize.” Alita sighed. “No. I don’t remember it. But you do. So be nice and remind us, B.”

  “The January assignment was for us to learn to say ‘yes’ to something you’ve always said ‘no’ to.”

  “Who came up with that bullshit?” Alita asked. “No wonder I couldn’t remember it. I definitely didn’t try to do it.”

  “Lita, you’re wrong for that. Even if you don’t agree, you should at least have given it an honest try.”

  “I’ll honestly try to do it the next time.” Alita turned to another sister. “All righty then, Dru Boo. What you gotta tell us?”

  “I was glad for that assignment because it gave me another opportunity to try and look up my ex. You know, Jerrod Dawson.”

  Alita froze as she stood in the center of the room. “And what happened? Did you find him?”

  “Yeah, in fact I did. It was through Facebook, of course. I got in touch with him via Messenger. And we actually got a chance to talk.”

  Coco hooted and hollered. “I hope that Tyrique didn’t find out about y’all hooking up.”

  “It was not a hookup, Coco. We just met for coffee. Had a face-to-face. I needed closure. You all remember how close Jerrod and I had been. Ever since we were seven years old. We’d run back and forth across the street all the time to play with each other. Our families hung out sometimes.” She swallowed deeply. “By the time we got in high school, things got really serious. I felt so comfortable with him. We’d talk about everything. Jerrod had plans to design houses. Become a CAD designer. And me, I was going to conquer the medical field. Occupational therapist. And we were planning to apply to the same college. In the tenth grade we were inseparable. But something happened. He broke up with me with no warning. We used to walk to the bus stop together, ride together, eat lunch every day in the café. All of that shut down. I racked my brain trying to figure out what I did. I asked him what was wrong. He avoided me. Acted like he hated me. You all were there. You have to remember.”

  “I remember hearing you cry yourself to sleep every night,” Coco said. “We shared a room, and I felt sorry for you, but I got so sick of hearing you boo-hoo throughout the night.”

  “Thanks for the support,” Dru said sarcastically. “Anyway, fast forward to now, I was shocked Jerrod responded when I messaged him.”

  “What happened then?” Burgundy asked.

  “We met up. And let me tell you, I was in for a surprise. It’s been, what, about ten years, and Jerrod looked like hell. But I played it off and tried to catch up. I asked what he’d been doing all this time. And he kind of avoided my question.”

  “That’s weird,” Coco replied. “All I can remember is that his daddy went to jail. And his mama almost lost her mind behind it. Remember that, Alita? You had to have remembered ’cause you and their older sister—what was her name? Rolanda?—you two were thick as thieves.”

  Alita’s eyes misted up. She hoped to God that Jerrod did not have any photos or postings of his family on his Facebook. She wanted to ask but fear held her tongue.

  Maybe she could sneak and look up his profile herself. If he did have family pictures, would it be wrong of her to ask him to take them all down? Make his page private?

  “Alita, are you listening? Why you got that faraway look in your eyes?” Coco wanted to know.

  “I wish Dru would get to the damn point,” Alita finally responded. “I’m bored as hell. Time is flying by. We need to talk about the next assignment. Fuck January. It’s almost April. And you still ain’t had that baby.”

  Everyone laughed, and Alita swiftly changed the subject. She read over a document that Burgundy had prepared concerning their meeting.

  “Okay, sisters. Check this out. The March assignment is to create a bucket list. Oh, I like this one, B. Good job.”

  Burgundy told her thanks. “Before you all go to making a list, I have an idea. How about we go on a girls’ trip?”

  “Oh, yeah, I would love to do that,” Dru told her. “I have vacation coming up, so count me in.”

  “Wait a second. When would this be? You know I gotta have the baby, then get married and go on a honeymoon. I don’t know if I can handle all that, y’all.”

  “Coco, it would be this summer. Like in June. How does that sound?”

  “One question!” Alita said. “Who’s paying?”

  “I got you.”

  “Are you serious, B?”

  “Very serious. That’s why I need to leave and take care of this catering event and make that money,” she teased.

  “Oh, yeah. If that’s how you’re paying for my trip then yes, you need to be headed out the door.” Alita calmed down, feeling humble and in a daze. “And thanks in advance. That’s very generous of you, B.” Alita was impressed. “Where we headed?”

  “I was thinking New York,” Burgundy said.

  “Count me in,” Dru said.

  “Me too,” Coco answered.

  “Me three,” Alita shouted.

  “Glad to see that we’re all in agreement. I can buy everyone’s plane tickets and pay the hotel expenses. You’ll be on your own for food and souvenirs, of course.”

  “Okay,” Alita said. “That’s fair.”

  Burgundy continued. “I’m thinking we can stay in the middle of all the action, near Times Square. Go shopping and maybe see a Broadway play or a Mets game.”

  “Damn, I’m getting excited. Is your hubby going?” Alita asked.

  “Hell no,” Burgundy said. “He is not allowed to go. It’s a girls’ trip.”

  Alita told her that a getaway was something to look forward to and she couldn’t wait to leave. She desperately needed to get away from it all. She needed relief from the bumpy and dangerous road that life had driven her on.

  Chapter 5

  March Madness

  March twelfth—Coco’s due date—came and went.

  “What’s up with you, girl?” Alita asked on the day that Coco was scheduled to give birth.

  “I don’t know,” was Coco’s honest answer.

  “What you mean, you don’t know? Does the doctor still hear a heartbeat?”

  “Yeah. Everything’s good. This baby’s just taking its sweet time. It probably has heard me fussing at its daddy so much—”

  “And you’ve got little Cypress Humphries scared already,” Alita concluded.

  Coco’s ultrasound had determined she’d have a girl. And she felt bad about it because she and Calhoun already had two other girls. She knew that Chance wasn’t his, and it would have been great to give her man a baby boy.

  “I know one thing. I can’t wait for Cypress to show her sweet little face. ’Cause as soon as I can lose a good twenty pounds, I’m getting married. And nothing in the
world will stop me from staying married,” Coco said. “I don’t ever wanna be like you, Lita. No divorces for me.”

  “Marriage is tough,” Alita told her. “And you don’t know what you’ll do in a bad situation until you find yourself in it.”

  A week and one day later, Alita drove over to Coco’s.

  “Look,” she sputtered with impatience. “You need to drink some castor oil. That’ll get Cypress and you all shook up.” She laughed. “I’ll bet my life on it. Keep a pair of clean underwear nearby, though.”

  Sick of being pregnant, Coco took Alita’s advice. She asked Calhoun to go to the twenty-four-hour pharmacy to buy her a bottle. Alita was still at her house when Calhoun got back. She opened the cap then poured one spoonful and shoved the laxative into Coco’s mouth.

  “Damn, this tastes like Wesson oil mixed with soap.”

  “You want that baby to come out, don’t you? Then get ready for round two, ’cause one swallow won’t be enough.”

  “Lita! I don’t want to. I can’t do it. Hell, I can stay pregnant two more weeks.”

  “Do as I tell you, Coco.”

  “You ain’t my mama.” She frowned. “Besides, how you know ’bout all this?”

  “Don’t worry about how I know. One more time. Open that sassy mouth of yours. And once you’re done, drink lots of water to stay hydrated.”

  Coco did as she was told. And soon thereafter, in the wee hours of the morning, her womb was ready. Cypress made her appearance, red-faced and screaming after she took her first breath.

  While at the hospital, Calhoun stood by Coco’s bedside when their daughter was handed to him.

  He held her in his arms, curiously staring at Cypress with an odd look on his face.

  Exhausted yet happy, Coco told him, “She’s yours; don’t even try it.”

  Alita and Burgundy, who were also witnesses to the birth, looked at each another and burst into laughter. They asked to hold the baby and began cooing at their niece and filmed several videos that were posted to Snapchat and Facebook.

  The joy of another Reeves child could be felt throughout. Pink balloons, flower bouquets, and baby booties dotted Coco’s room.

  “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but fuck it, I’m ’bout to say it anyway.” That was Alita.

  “What, Lita, what?” Coco said.

  “You know what today is?” she asked with a smile.

  “It’s the day my last baby was born. She completes our family,” Coco snapped at Alita, feeling exhausted from everything she’d recently gone through.

  “Well, I saw this on the Internet earlier this morning while we were waiting for Cypress to make her appearance. But Coco, girl. Today is March twenty-first! Single Mother’s Day. Ain’t that a mess? I thought it was funny as hell. Too funny.” Alita handed the girl back to her mom.

  Coco reclined on the bed, her baby settled in her arms, a frozen smile etched on her face. “Don’t embarrass me like that, Lita,” she said and took a long look at her engagement ring and an even longer look at Calhoun.

  When she was released from the hospital, Coco felt as if she was floating on a wonderful cloud. She got numerous well wishes. Even her father called and told her “Congrats.” But a couple of days later, everything changed.

  She was able to stand around in her kitchen and make sure that the kids had a decent breakfast to eat.

  Calhoun, who’d taken a week off from work to help her out, scolded Coco.

  “Now Ma. I know you think you can do it all, but you need to lay it down and try not to do so much. I can cook some eggs.”

  Coco laughed. “Man, please. I’ve seen your watery eggs. You go on back in the bedroom and play with the kids till I get done fixing a real breakfast. Thanks, baby. Now leave. Get out.”

  Calhoun did as Coco told him. Soon Chance wandered into the kitchen. At first, he was trotting in a playful run. But then he abruptly hit the floor. His skin turned yellow.

  “There you go again,” Coco scolded him. “Get up, boy, and stop all that playing.”

  When Chance still lay out like he was paralyzed, she stopped what she was doing and came to see about him. His skin felt cold and hard. Coco screamed for Calhoun. They called 911 and arranged for Dru to drop Cypress and her other kids off at Henrietta Humphries’s place. Calhoun’s mother was happy to watch her grandkids.

  After a short drive, Coco and Calhoun arrived at the emergency room.

  Coco got Alita on the phone, her heart pounded wildly in her chest. “He’s breathing, Lita, but I’m scared, really scared.” She described how Chance had acted. “This is what I get, huh? I haven’t been the best mama, and now God is punishing me by—”

  “Don’t say it, Coco, don’t. Chance will be fine. I’m on the way. Stay prayed up.”

  Once the physician examined him and gave him all kinds of tests, Coco and Calhoun got the news.

  “He doesn’t have enough red blood cells and he’s been diagnosed with anemia. Plus, he has a rare blood type, so we’ll need to get some donated blood. Chance must have a transfusion.”

  Coco screamed. “What? No!”

  The doctor looked at Calhoun. “Are you the father?”

  Coco wanted to die. “Um, no, he’s not,” she answered for him.

  “Nah, I ain’t the biological daddy.” Calhoun was grim. “I’ve raised the kid since he was little. But I’ve always wanted to know who the real father is. I guess now I get to find out, huh, Coco?”

  “But I told you, Calhoun,” she said. “I don’t know what the baby’s father is.”

  The doctor shook his head disapprovingly. “Well, whatever the situation is, it would be advisable to locate the father. And do it as soon as you can, ma’am. It could be a matter of life or death.”

  A groan escaped Coco’s mouth, and she asked to be excused. Calhoun stared at her, knowing for sure that she was about to make a phone call. He ran behind her.

  “Anything I can do?” he asked. “Oops, no. I can’t. I am not the father.”

  “Calhoun, please don’t be like this. You know how the situation went down. We were on a break and I hooked up with someone else. For just one night. That’s it. I’m sure that you had sex with other girls when we broke up.”

  “I may have done that, but at least I didn’t fuck her so good that she got pregnant. And kept the baby!” He gave Coco a sad look then turned around and walked away. Regardless of his hurt feelings, whatever she had to do, she’d be forced to handle this crisis on her own.

  Coco proceeded to leave the building. When she located her car in the parking lot, she got in and quickly dialed Q. She told him everything that was going on and asked if he could help.

  “Damn. Yeah, hell. I’ll give blood, you know I will.”

  “Thanks, Q. But how we gonna do this? Calhoun is here at the hospital, and I know he will not leave until he figures out what man in that waiting room is my child’s father. And if he sees you walking up in there, all hell is gonna break lose. He’ll put two and two together. Oh, God, why is this happening? Why my baby boy gotta get sick? I’m so scared, more scared than I’ve ever been in my life.”

  “Calm down, Ma. What’s the worst that can happen?”

  “Think about it. Calhoun has been suspicious of me ever since we got back together three years ago. And if he finds out that you were my one-night stand, he’d kill me, kill you, then you’d never get to be a father, you know what I’m saying. Everyone’s dreams would end just like that.” She paused for effect. “So please be real careful, Q. Get here when you can, but let me know the second you arrive.”

  “Okay, I’ll do that. But look at the situation like this,” Q said. “Your boy may surprise you. If I give blood and the baby turns out fine and makes it through, that may be the most important thing. Calhoun may not even care that I’m the father.”

  “Are you stupid or just dumb? That Negro won’t give a damn that Chance made it through. He will tell you thanks for the donation then pack up and leave me quicker than y
ou can say ‘Hasta la vista, baby.’”

  “Who cares if he leaves? What does he really do for you anyway? You act like he’s the only man in town.”

  Coco quieted down. In a way, Q was right. She was sure there were better men out there. But in all the years she’d been with Calhoun, she never imagined herself with anyone else besides him. Why? She did not know. Love was funny like that.

  Coco returned to the emergency room. She drew Alita to the side and asked for a huge favor. Alita listened with wide eyes but then nodded. “I got you.”

  For the next ten minutes Alita expertly distracted Calhoun, engaging him in all kinds of conversations, steering him to another section of the large facility, until Q was able to enter the area undetected.

  Q rolled up his sleeves, pumped his fists to get the blood circulating, and let the nurses draw a pint of blood. He did all that he needed to do and left just as quietly as he came.

  Coco called him and thanked him. Then she hung up and prayed.

  But later on, when the doctor privately informed Coco that the blood from Q wasn’t an exact match, she broke down. She sobbed into her hands. Alita heard Coco’s wails from around the corner. She hurried to the room and asked the doctor to give them privacy.

  She patted Coco on the back and tried to whisper words of comfort. But then Alita shut the door and folded her arms across her chest.

  “Dark Skin, I remember we talked about this situation months ago. And I asked you if you would ever be real with me and tell me who’s the daddy of Chance. You told me that you know who the father is. Now, I was shocked as hell that you slept with Calhoun’s boy. But that’s another story. We all make mistakes. But seriously, Sis. If not Q, then who?”

  Coco sniffled and avoided eye contact.

  Alita got in her face. “I asked you a question. Who is Chance’s father?”

  “I-I don’t know.”

  “You’re a damn fucking liar. You don’t remember who you slept with? Was it a whole football team?”

  Coco said nothing. Although she had never gone as far as being sexually active with five to ten men in one week, she still clearly recalled the day that Chance was conceived. And the nightmarish quality of it made her want to die. Forget a new marriage. Forget her kids.