Bad Habits Part 57

"Yes?" she answered.

"I love you."

She smiled, even through her tears. "I love you too, Cain. Goodnight."

"Night," he whispered.

There was a knock to his bedroom door. Cain set his phone down. He licked the blood from his split lip. "Come in."

Joseph did. He had swelling under his left eye. "I'll pay for the damages," his brother said.

Cain waved it off. "I'm rich. Remember?"

"I'm sorry, bro. I don't know why I flew off like that."

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have hit you," Cain said. "You were right."

"There is no right or wrong when it comes to us man." Joseph entered. "You know I saw her before I was deployed to Iraq. Probably right before she got arrested."

Cain frowned. "You did? She never said."

"She came to see me on base. Wanted to meet." Joseph stopped at the dresser and leaned back on it. "Told me she married, and it was legit this time. She showed me this huge diamond on her finger. Said she was different. That things were different."

"Aah," Cain said half-understanding.

"I asked her one question before I walked out of that diner and didn't look back. Want to know what it was?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, tell me," Cain said.

"Why did she ever have children?"

Cain looked down. His jaw hurt, his head hurt, his heart hurt. He just didn't have any energy left. Still he was grateful that Joseph asked the question he'd wanted to ask for so long. "What did she say?"

"She said she needed a family, a cover, and two snot nosed kids were perfect. Men were more trusting of a single mother." Joseph walked over to Cain and put his hand on his shoulder. "I don't know what you got yourself into with these people, with her, but I'm telling you, bro, you have to do whatever the f.u.c.k you have to, to be free of it all. Then you get as far away from her as I did and never look back."

Cain nodded. He rose and embraced his brother. The two of them gave long drawn out sighs before they parted. "I think Lailynn and I will head back out to Florida after the weekend."

"No."

"It's cool. You got something going on. I can tell. When it's over, I expect to see you down there. Still owe me that fishing trip. Right?"

Cain smiled, though his mouth hurt from the exertion. "Right."

"Cool. Oh, and whoever she is, I hope she likes to fish. Bring her too." He nodded to the cell phone.

"How did you know?"

"I'm your brother. I'm also a good eavesdropper. Plus your wife's name isn't Simone." Joseph winked before he walked out.

Cain laughed. "Yeah, well one day my wife's name will be Simone. Just wait and see, little brother."

Chapter Twenty-Seven.

The Hard Truth Simone/Cain Two Days Later "Anne!" Simone yelled from the back room. She hurried to greet her as Anne came through the door. She was missing a shoe. "Thank you so much for coming on short notice. I will give you gas money."

"Why you call her? I'm taking care of the boys!" Diane screeched. She dropped a spoonful of egg scramble on Danny's plate while Denny laughed out loud at his grandma's outburst. Diane continued to glare openly at Anne. The toddler set his cup down and dug his fingers in the cold eggs, eating a handful.

"Quiet, Mama." She winked at Anne, hoping she was indeed as tough as Kim said she was. Diane was in rare form that morning, and she was running late. Getting through Manhattan on a Wednesday morning would be a task in itself. "I'm just going into Manhattan for a few hours. I shouldn't be long."

"It's okay." Anne smiled, dropping her purse. "We'll be just fine." She gave Diane the side-eye.

Simone caught it. "Mom, let me speak to you for a minute in the room."

Diane glared at Anne a moment longer and then followed. She closed the door. "I want you to behave. Don't get into it with Anne."

"Why the h.e.l.l we need her? She act like she's their mother, bossing them around. And Kim let's her. It's me and you taking care of the boys. What the h.e.l.l she got to come over here for?"

Simone dropped her hands to her hips. She wore a blue pantsuit and a white blouse of Kim's. Packing under distress, it appeared that every outfit seemed to miss a critical piece. "Did you have a beer this morning?"

Diane scratched her matted afro. "I can handle it."

"Mom, look at me.." She took her hands. "Do you know how much I love you?"

Diane lowered her gaze.

"I want to fight for you, pour out all the liquor within a hundred mile radius and fight it out with you, but I can't, Mama. I just can't. Not anymore."

Diane's eyes slowly lifted.

Simone's voice wavered. "I know you're sick. I grew up with that sickness, remember? I know what happens when you drink, and Mama, I know what happens when you don't. We both do."

Diane nodded, sniffing.

"Right now, my priority is those two helpless little boys. They come first. They have to."

"You want me to go?" Diane said under a weak sigh.

"If you're going to drink, you can't stay. Not even when I'm here to hold you through it. You know what that leads to."

"We out of beer, so-"

"So can you help Anne with the boys and not fight with her? You can try to put those boys first and not your thirst."

Diane nodded. "I'm sorry, baby. I hate that heffa out there, but I do love my babies. I don't want to make it harder on you. I really don't. I just. I guess I always do huh? That's why Kimmy don't want me around."

"Kim loves you. She was sick too, remember? She couldn't handle it all. None of us can." Simone squeezed her mother's hands. "Don't you understand, Mama? We have to help ourselves too. That's what I'm learning. It's not just about being there for each other."

Diane nodded. "I know it."

Simone hugged her. "I'll be back, hopefully, in time for lunch. We can order pizza." She did a mental calculation of the money she had left over. After buying some groceries she was down to only $500 out of the money Cain gave her. She would have to make that stretch for several weeks. Kim's bills were coming too. With no access to her accounts, she wasn't sure about how to pay and what to pay. Her sister was suspended without pay. "I'll be back soon, okay?" She let Diane go.

"f.u.c.k the pizza. I'll make sloppy-joes. I seen some ground beef in the fridge. Them little b.a.s.t.a.r.ds will love it." Diane smiled through her tears.

"The cursing?"

"Yeah, s.h.i.t. I mean, yeah. I'll cut it out for the babies, right?" Diane shrugged. "They not b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. It's a figure of speech."

"I don't want them to hear you say the word. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yes. I'm sorry."

Simone kissed her cheek. "Be back soon." She turned and grabbed her cell phone. No missed calls from Cain. That was quite disappointing. It had been two days since they last spoke. Keith had called her almost hourly. She had to focus on one thing at a time. She had to focus on getting her life back. Simone kissed the babies goodbye.

"Mr. Gatlin, welcome."

Cain looked up from the text message he was about to send Simone. A tall, attractive, middle-aged black woman walked out. She wore a physician's coat and a conservative suit underneath. He slipped his phone in his pocket. "You're Dr. Englewood?"

"I am. We met before, about five years ago, I believe." She extended her hand. He smiled and nodded, shaking her hand.

"Oh yeah, I remember."

"Come this way." The doctor turned on her heel, her lab coat flowing open. She pushed the buzzer and a guard looked over to confirm it was indeed her before accessing the release. They were granted permission behind the heavy steel door.

"She's been agitated since your call. She's refusing her meds."

"You have her on medication?"

"Anxiety, depression. Yes, we have her on some mild anti-depressants. In the last two years we've had our moments. She keeps preaching about her release. That this was just another con and she was going to be out soon. Some days I think reality hits her hard. She also incites the other patients. She caused a riot two months ago. I called your wife. I thought she told you?"

"She didn't tell me," he said stiffly. Why Maryanne kept his mother's issues a secret was plain to him. Maryanne wanted to always be the center of attention. She'd bristle at the mention of a visit. Since his mother was such a viper, he reasoned it away. Now he wasn't sure of any of it.

He kept his eyes straight as they pa.s.sed a hall of closed doors. The mournful sounds of the lost and broken echoed from behind each. It was quite an eerie sound. It gave him the creeps. His mother was anything but insane. This place, after five years, would definitely make her that way.

"You requested a private meeting." Dr. Englewood stopped in front of a closed door. "To facilitate this, we've had to restrain her. She will be wearing her jacket."

"Why?"

"She's refusing her meds and like I said, she's been quite agitated since we told her you were coming. Trust me, Mr. Gatlin, it's for your own protection."

"But she wasn't psychotic. She had issues."

"She murdered a man," the doctor said with a frown.

Of course he couldn't confess the hustle that got her sent here instead of prison. Joseph may think her capable of murder, but Cain still refused to believe it.

"I know this is difficult for you. It's your mother, but this is the only way I will grant the visit. Otherwise, I would have to have two of my staff present. Your choice, Mr. Gatlin."

"Is she that bad?"

The doctor gave a patient smile. "She's that smart. See for yourself." Dr. English pushed open the door. Cain's eyes moved from the doctor's to the open door. He hadn't seen her in five years. That was a lifetime ago. He remembered how angry she was about the deal at first, until he lied and told her that Andrew would have her declared sane within six months. Well, those months ticked by and he continued to let her sit. He nodded to the doctor and walked inside. The room was simple enough. It contained a card table and two chairs, one chair pushed in at the table, the other turned away facing a window that was double plated and barred with a mesh screen. Light filtered in sparingly. Cain stepped forward. Seated in the chair was his mother. Her arms were crossed in front of her and belted down by ties and straps that wrapped around her waist. The doctor closed the door behind him. He noticed her dark raven hair had suddenly gone ghost white. She was only fifty. She shouldn't be that gray. Yet she was.

He opened his mouth to speak. Nothing escaped. He closed it and swallowed.

"What is it, Cain? You need mommy now?" Her head slowly turned, giving him her profile as her eyes slipped over to him. She smiled. "Like always."

Simone found Sue Bailey Esq. to be larger than life. First was her top-notch office in Manhattan. Keith previously had an office similar in stature, just a building over. Simone always felt intimidated by the high-powered women she saw come in and out of those gla.s.s doors. She secretly fantasized about being his equal, while she unknowingly gave in to his fantasy to be nothing close to it. When she arrived, she was ushered through offices that housed an army of attorneys that worked under Sue. They took everything from her birth mother's name to how many sugars she wanted in her coffee before she was granted permission to meet the woman herself. And Sue greeted her coolly. She sat silent, watchful, behind a dark wood desk staring at her from the clear lenses of a pair Chanel frames. In her mid forties, Joan she was polished, and tough. She could see why the two women would have a friendship that expanded decades.

"That's everything from start to finish," Simone said.

"Not quite."

Simone frowned. "I beg your pardon?"

"Are you sure that you're telling me everything about your husband? Has he threatened you or-"

"That's everything," Simone answered. She refused to broach the subject. Sue stared at her, and again she worried about what an attorney of her stature would cost. "I'm sorry. I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I've told you everything. I know Joan arranged this. If it's money, well I plan to pay once I get on my feet." She looked around the plush office, then at the breathtaking view of the city. "I really hope you can help me with this divorce."

Sue leaned forward. She removed her gla.s.ses. "Mrs. Livingston, relax."

Simone released a deep sigh.

"I'm not a divorce attorney."

"But I thought-"

"I'm much more, and trust me, what you need is more than a divorce. You need liberation. That's why Joan sent you to me."

Simone exhaled. Some of the tension in her chest lessened. Not all but some. She still had no idea what an attorney like Sue Bailey would cost her.

"As for my retainer, let me put it this way. I'll take every dime of it out of your husband's pompous a.s.s." Sue opened her file delivered by her attorneys without even a small smile. She scanned the information and then eventually looked up. "Here's the good news. In this state, the law is crystal clear. He committed fraud. He entered a marital contract with the promise of starting a family. His intent can be proven by the games he played with your uterus. My attorneys say you have visited a fertility clinic three times in the past two years. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"This of course started before and after the period of reconciliation from his alleged affair."

"He had an affair."