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“What did you say, Mommy?” she asked innocently.
“Nothing, sweetie,” I said, holding back the tears. Any sacrifice would be worth it for this little angel.
“Mommy, can we have dinner together tonight?”
“No, babygirl. I have to work, but Nichole will have dinner with you.”
“Can Nichole work and you have dinner with me for once?”
I started crying then. I couldn’t help it. Everything was so messed up. When Jess asked me why I was crying, I told her I had dust in my eyes.
“Poor, poor Mommy,” she said sadly.
Della Ray
I was an hour into my shift when I received a call from an unknown number so I watched it ring, fighting with all my might not to pick it up. It stopped and I sighed with relief. It would all be fine.
Just before I took the first step away from it, it began to ring again. I pulled it out of my pocket and placed the phone to my ear. “Hello?” I hated how breathless and eager my voice sounded.
“Della-Ray,” my sister’s voice came through and my heart sunk into my stomach.
“Denise?” I hadn’t seen her in four years. Ever since Jess was born.
“I’m at your home with Nichole,” she responded. “I hear you’re at work.”
The hair on my arms stood on end. “What are you doing there?”
She ignored the question. “I just saw Jess. You’ve done a great job with raising her. Can you get home a bit earlier today, though? My boyfriend and I need to be on our way in about an hour.”
“Can I talk to Nichole please?” I asked.
There was shuffling and movement as I waited for her to be put on. I placed the tray down on the nearest table and focused on my call.
“Hey,” she said, her voice unnaturally bright.
“How did Denise know where we live?”
“I told her. She wanted to see how her daughter is doing. Umm … can you ask for the rest of the night off? They need to speak to you.”
Nichole sounded strange and my heart began to pound in my chest. I knew something was very wrong. I ended the call and hurried over to Henry, my suspicion about what was going on becoming too nerve racking for me to remain. He gave me the rest of the night off, and I was in a taxi and on my way home in no time.
There was a small beat up Honda in our driveway.
I hurried into the house and burst into the living room. Jess was asleep in Nichole’s arms. Her mother and my sister were seated on the adjoining sofa. She was looking much, much older than was normal for her age of twenty-six. Beside her was a man in a fedora whom I assumed was her new partner.
I ignored the both of them and immediately hurried over to Jess. “Is she okay?” I asked.
Nichole nodded. “Talk to them,” she said. Then she rose to her feet, with Jess’s head on her shoulders and headed back to Jess’s room.
I turned towards my sister. My question was simple. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re here to take Jess with us.”
“What?”
“We’re here to take Jess with us,” she repeated.
“What do you mean?”
“We’re taking her to the orphanage down at Cuyahoga. It’s about two hours away from here. I signed her up for admission when she was born. I gave them a call just now and they say they can immediately start looking for a family who would—”
“You must be out of your mind!” I yelled before she could finish her ugly sentence.
“I’m not, Della-Ray and I’m not joking either.”
I started to walk away from her. When I heard footsteps behind me, I hurried on and as soon as I arrived at Jess’s room, I shut the door behind me and locked it. Nichole was sitting on Jess’s bed and patting my baby’s stomach.
“What’s going on?” I asked Nichole. I felt like a hunted animal. No matter where I turned, there was danger.
She opened her mouth to speak, then shut it, guilt filled her eyes, and I understood what she had done. Denise began to knock on the door but I ignored it. I directed my fury at Nichole. “You called her?”
“No. She called me. She just wanted to know where we had moved to and how you were coping. I told her the truth.”
“Why, Nichole? Why? You know what she’s like.”
“She’s Jess’s mother.”
“I’m Jess’s mother!” I screamed, tears streaming down my face. “I’m Jess’s mother. Me. I’m the one that loves her. How could you, Nichole? How could you?”
“I’m sorry, okay. At that time, I really believed it was better if she was with a family that could afford her medical bills.”
There was a stronger knock on the door, and I knew it was the man who had come with Denise.
“We don’t have time for this,” his deep voice came through, and when he banged on the door impatiently, both Nichole and I jumped.
