9
Brenda sat in her office and mulled over the thought of seeing Mimi again. It was unfathomable that after all these years she’d reconnected with her best friend. Her thoughts had so many tentacles, like that of a giant squid, wondering and seeking answers to the what, when, and the why Mimi had disappeared without so much as a goodbye. Now, she would be able to ask the questions that plagued her—put an end to the distorted and twisted emotions and thoughts her mind had fabricated. She closed the case file she was working on and checked the clock on her desk. It was eleven-thirty. She’d leave in thirty minutes.
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Strange sensations, vibes were trying to take over her psyche. Victor’s attitude puzzled her. Brenda didn’t understand why he objected to every civil reason for her wanting to see Mimi. Leaning back in her chair, Brenda’s eyebrows arched as she contemplated this further and felt the urge to rub her stomach as the butterflies continued to flutter.
Taking a breath, Brenda reached for her purse and pulled out a tube of lipstick. She pulled a makeup compact out of her desk, flipped it opened, and used the mirror as she painted her lips. She smiled at herself, then did a few practice dry runs for the moment she saw Mimi. Her nerves were getting the best of her, the closer it came time for her to leave.
Putting the compact back in the desk, she looked up as the telephone began to ring. The first thought was to ignore it but when she saw Asia’s number on the caller ID, she smiled and answered the phone.
“Hey, baby, what do I owe you for this phone call?”
“I was thinking about you and wanted to tell you so. I love you, Mom.”
“I love you, too, Asia. Everything going okay?”
“Great.”
“What’s up with you? You’re being secretive. You know a mother always knows. I know…it’s a boy.”
“Please,” Asia said. She giggled.
“I knew it. You’ll have to tell me all about this mystery man. Right now I’m getting ready to leave to meet Afrika’s mother. I’m excited about seeing Mimi again after all these years.”
“That’s exciting, Mom. I’ll let you go; tell me all about your meeting. Bye.”
“Bye, sweetheart.”
Brenda clicked off the phone and smiled. “Mimi, I have a thousand questions to ask you.”
The phone rang again, and Brenda clicked the TALK button and frowned when she heard her name.
“What is it, Victor?”
“Are you still going forward with your plan to meet Mimi?”
“Yes. Anything else?”
“Why is it so important that you have to see her? She didn’t give a damn about you or your feelings when she left you all alone and pregnant nineteen years ago.”
“That was then, this is now. I’m ready to move forward and that means seeing Mimi again.”
“You’re making a mistake,” Victor said with an air of authority.
“That’s your opinion, Victor. Why do you care?”
“I never told you this, but I never liked Mimi.”
“Tell that to the lie detector machine, Victor. In fact, you would’ve put the moves on her, except she wasn’t too crazy about you either.”
“Look, Brenda. I don’t want to argue with you. Mimi will only disrupt our lives.”
“You’re acting like this is some kind of competition between you and Mimi. Why are you so paranoid? Mimi cared about me; that’s why I sent her to intercede on my behalf after I found out that I was pregnant. You were raging mad, and I wanted you to know that I wouldn’t hold you responsible because I didn’t want to lose you either. Anyway, that was years ago.”
“And we’ve been happily married for eighteen years. Think about it.”
“You have Mimi to thank for us being together.”
“Mimi shouldn’t have come back here.”
“I find your behavior strange, Victor. I don’t know what’s up with you, but get over it. I’m going to see Mimi.”
“And you’ll be sorry.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Don’t try my patience, Brenda.”
Brenda clicked the OFF button on the phone without a goodbye. She brushed down the collar of her St. John gray and white ensemble, picked up her purse, and headed for the door. Who in the hell does he think he is, telling me whom I can and cannot see? Brenda slammed the door behind her and headed for the car.
BRENDA PACED HERSELF AS SHE DROVE UP HIGHWAY 70, not wanting to arrive at the restaurant too early but not wanting to be late either. Victor’s telephone call continued to interrupt her good feeling, but she managed a smile and shoved the phone call to the back of her mind.
She swiftly moved over in the left-hand lane and prepared to stop at the light. The restaurant was on the other side of the eight-lane divided highway, and her excitement rose as the light changed from red to green. Brenda made a swift U-turn, and began to move to the right so that she could turn into the parking lot a few yards up.
Boom, bam, boom! “Oh my God!” Brenda screamed.
She didn’t see…didn’t know what hit her. Brenda’s head flew forward and hit the steering wheel, but she held on tight until she lost control and veered into the median and an oncoming car. Whatever hit her was now long gone. Her car was now in an entangled heap of metal on the other side of the road. Swoosh. The airbag deployed and Brenda’s head bounced between it and the headrest. She touched her finger to her face and swiped at the blood that was oozing from her nose.
Bam, bam, bam! “Lady hang in there!” a voice shouted from outside of Brenda’s window. She could feel herself begin to lose consciousness. “Hang in there, lady. We’re going to get you out.”
Brenda wasn’t sure how long it had been between the crash and the moment she heard the sirens. Somehow she managed to unlock the door and when she had come out of her semi-unconscious state, she looked up into the face of a kind gentleman who held her head.
“Ma’am, the ambulance is here to take you to the hospital. Is there anyone I can call for you?” the kind gentleman asked.
“My…my daughter,” Brenda managed to say. “She’s speed-dial four.”