Ice Heart Ch. 03

****

She didn't come down for dinner that night and Cris almost went upstairs to see if she was all right. Amaan had the music at a ground shaking volume, subwoofer cranked to full assault. He sighed as he put the smothered steak and vegetables into a storage container; it would make a great lunch tomorrow.

Alicia pasted a smile on her face; Amaan was trying. He kept up an inane chatter as he cooked the barbeque hamburgers and thoroughly made a mess out of the potato salad; he put too much pickle relish into it.

But he was trying. He was trying to win her heart, win her love again. She just didn't have the heart to tell him it wasn't going to work. She'd stopped loving him the first time he'd raised a hand to her. When she'd found out she was pregnant any chance of love had flown out the window; Amaan was not the man she wanted around her baby. Muslim when convenient, drunkard when convenient, abusive and controlling all the time.

If their baby was a boy, she feared the misogynist rearing Amaan would give the child. If it were a girl, she dreaded the enslavement the baby would endure. It was bad enough she had to endure it, but she did not want her child to have to live through it.

She was pretty sure she was in love with Mr. Cris. She felt a flush come over her face when she thought about being with him. She smiled when she thought about just sitting on his couch and talking with him. Her pussy got wet just thinking about his magic tongue and his lovely cock.

Amaan interrupted her reverie by dramatically plopping the plate down in front of her.

"There, my queen, see if that's good enough for you," he said.

It wasn't. She hated when he burned the meat like that, and the potato salad was close to inedible but she bravely pasted a smile on her face and ate.

That night, he wanted to make love, but his meal had given her horrible heartburn. He didn't believe her so she endured his clumsy, painful gropes and clumsy thrusts.

""There, that ought to hold you, see that white ass mother fucker do that, huh?" he smirked and grabbed his crotch. "When this boy nails his queen down, she STAYS nailed down, yeah!"

At 10:01, Cris banged on the ceiling to let Amaan know he wanted the music turned down. With a smirk, Amaan turned it louder for a count of ten, just to let that white ass mother fucker know who was really in charge, then turned it off.

****

Nicole had her hands full; helping Ann Marie fill out the endless questionnaire while keeping Sophia and Freddy entertained. Ann Marie looked imploringly at her daughter as the nurse came out and called for her.

Nicole sighed, gathered up the two children and followed her mother down the maze of halls.

She looked away in embarrassment as her mother changed into the paper gown.

"Why do they have you do this?" Ann Marie asked as she finally managed to disrobe, slip the gown on, and then sit up on the table.

"So we can justify the cost of our bill," the doctor joked as he came in. "No paper, no paper trail to follow, get it?"

"Ha ha," Ann Marie smirked.

"So, just been feeling run down, weak, no energy?" Dr. Welman asked as he looked over the chart.

"Yes," Nicole answered for her mother. "Some mornings she can't even get out of bed by herself and she can't drive herself anymore; just doesn't have the strength."

"And you're a waitress at... Oh! I love that place!" Dr. Wlman said.

"I thought I knew you!" Ann Marie laughed.

"Yes, yes, that is the unhealthiest place in the world!" Dr. Welman laughed. "But I'm addicted! I just can't help myself."

He did the typical examination, and then ordered the blood work done.

"I know you want instant results," he said gently. "And I could just give you a booster shot; in fact, why don't I do that? But I'd really like to see what the lab tests say, okay?"

"Okay," Ann Marie agreed.

"Okay, so good to see you, hopefully we'll be able to get you back up and running in no time," he said and left.

The booster shot, simply vitamins, did not give Ann Marie the desired energy; it just made her restless and irritable.

****

Amaan was enraged when he got home and there was no sight of Alicia. He did not know for sure, but he had a pretty good idea of where that white bitch was.

"Oh God," Alicia groaned as she knelt over Mr. Cris's thighs.

"Want me to stop?" he teased as he drove two fingers in and out of her dripping pussy.

"No, no," she gasped, so close to orgasm.

"You sure?" he teased and twisted the two fingers around in her pussy.

"Oh, damn it!" she grunted and sobbed. "Please, Mr. Cris, stick your dick in there!"

"Okay, if I must," he sighed playfully then crawled around to kneel behind her.

"Damn it!" she cried out and sprayed his thighs with her orgasm.

She laughed out loud when he picked her up easily and carried her into the kitchen.

"I've always wanted to do this," he whispered in her ear and sat her on the edge of the counter.

"Oh yes," he sighed as he drove himself into her to the hilt.

She put her arms around his neck and sucked kiss after kiss from him as he plunged forward, and then relinquished his lips as he pulled out.

"You are such a wonderful lover," she whispered in his ear as she felt his semen bubble into her pussy.

"Not as wonderful as you," he whispered back.

****

"Ann Marie," Fred said as they sat at the table and ate their dinner. "I been talking with Nicole, her and me think it'd be best if you sold that condo and moved back in here. I know you like having your own place, but it's not really..."

"Okay," Ann Marie agreed, having no energy to argue.

She'd call the real estate agent on Monday. The agent had indicated to her that she'd be interested in 'stopping by' from time to time, but Ann Marie wasn't interested in that kind of relationship.

But, she was sure, the agent would be happy to hear from her.

****

They didn't even speak to one another when she wobbled upstairs and entered Apartment 3. She walked on unsteady feet to the bathroom and shrugged out of the beautiful lacy top and the maternity blue jeans and started the shower.

When she finished, she pulled on the satin nightgown and the fuzzy slippers Mr. Cris had given her and shuffled out of the bathroom. Still, he sat on the tattered old couch and regarded her through bloodshot eyes. The number of beer bottles told her that he was pretty drunk; but not too drunk. He was too drunk to form reasonable thoughts, but wasn't too drunk to use his fists on her.

"If you're going to hit me, go ahead and get it over with," she said in resignation.

He didn't move and after a long moment she sighed and lay down on the lumpy bed, tried to get comfortable and finally fell asleep.

****

Dr. Horace Welman sighed heavily as he looked at the specimen again. He would wit for the official verdict from the lab, but he already knew what they would tell him.

"God, it hardly seems fair, but Thy will, not mine be done," he said aloud.

Julie, his nurse, rubbed has back affectionately, and then patted his shoulder.

"Need to eat; you're killing yourself going so long without eating," she reminded him.

"Nag, nag, nag," he said playfully.

"Uh huh, and what would you tell your patients?" she asked.

"Nutrition is just as important as breathing, as water," he intoned and got to his feet. "It's even more important than exercise; you can do a thousand push ups but it won't do you any good if all you're putting into your body is poison. How's that?"

"Very good," she agreed. "Now, practice what you preach; let's get something to eat."

****

"Hang on, let me see if I got this right," Sweet William said as they slowed to a steady pace. "You tapping some other guy's old lady?"

"Yeah, the kid upstairs," Cris agreed. "That loud ass Muslim?"

"Uh huh, and ain't that what split you and Ann Marie up?" Sweet William asked "She screwing around on you; so why you doing it with someone else's woman?"

"Hey, I didn't go asking for it, He sent her down 'cause he owed me some rent," Cris argued.

"Okay, I got it, it's okay if it's someone else's old lady, but it ain't okay if it's YOUR old lady," the other man said.

"Aw, go fuck yourself, man, see if I ever tell you shit again," Cris said angrily.

****

Amaan stopped by his grandmother's house on the way home from work.

"Hey Jordan," his brother said.

"Man, how many times I got to tell you, in the nation of Islam I'm known as..." Amaan spat.

"Aw what the fuck ever, n*gger, you was born Jordan and you going to die Jordan," Jerome said.

"Hey, need to holler at you anyway," Amaan said and nodded with his head toward the rear of the house.

"Uh huh, you still hit that white ho?" Jerome asked.

"Man, please!" Amaan said, exasperated.

"You ever get tired of tapping that bitch, turn her my way, I knock the back out of it," Jerome said and grabbed his crotch.

****

She sucked a few kisses from Cris and promised to be down in thirty minutes for dinner.

"I've got a surprise for you," Alicia happily told him. "I'll bring it down in thirty minutes, okay?"

"Okay," he agreed and sucked a few more kisses from her sweet lips.

She drizzled the chocolate syrup onto the bunt cake and shivered at the thought of drizzling the chocolate syrup onto herself and having his wonderful tongue lick it off of her.

Cris sighed in frustration as Amaan knocked on his door, hard.

"That's right, mother fucker, that's right," Amaan said, obviously high on something.

Cris slammed the door shut as he saw the nine millimeter in Amaan's hand.

Amaan squeezed the trigger and actually screamed at the loud roar the gun made, intensified in the small foyer.

Cris dove into the closet of the small apartment as several bullets pierced his front door and ricocheted around the small apartment. He dug his cell phone out and frantically dialed 911.

Alicia heard the gun shots and hurried out of the apartment and peered over the banister.

Cam Pao heard the North Vietnamese Army storm into the hospital again, heard the gunshots, and heard the screams of the American doctors.

Alicia screamed in horror as she saw Amaan with a gun, shooting at Cris's apartment. From her angle, she could not tell if Cris's door was open or not, could not tell if Amaan was shooting Cris.

Amaan looked up, pointed the gun at the lying, cheating bitch and squeezed the trigger.

Cam Pao heard the pretty nurse, Miss Lisa scream as the North Vietnams soldiers grabbed her and tore her clothing from her. Tears of shame poured down her cheeks as she watched them rape the beautiful, friendly woman and she did nothing but watch.

Amaan smiled in satisfaction as he heard the door of Apartment 3 slam shut. He would be up there in a minute to take care of her, once and for all.

Can Pao heard the boom of the shells as the soldiers reduced the hospital to rubble.

"No more," she vowed and picked up her tilling stick. "No more! I fight! I fight until I die!"

Amaan heard the door open behind him, heard the shrill little woman screaming at him in some strange language and turned as she charged him, sharp stick pointed at him.

His first shot hit her in the shoulder but she ran forward. The second and third bullet hit her in her head, killing her instantly. She fell forward as her artificial leg gave way and her tilling stick drove through Amaan's chest, directly into the right ventricle of his heart. His blood began spraying the walls of the small foyer and stairwell.

"Brother, help me," he croaked up at the black police officer that peered down at him.

Jordan Kirkpatrick, AKA Amaan Kaberrah died on the way to University Medical Center; the same hospital he worked at.

****

Again, Nicole sat and occupied both Sophia and Freddy as they waited. Finally, Julie came and called for Ann Marie.

"Miss Campion, I'm real sorry," Dr. Welman said sincerely.

Both Nicole and Ann Marie sat and listened as the man talked about making Ann Marie's final days comfortable, about how sorry he was, how leukemia in a patient the age of Ann Marie was usually quite resistant to treatment. None of his words were making a bit of sense to either one of the women.

"But, but, I'm only, I just turned forty!" Ann Marie finally sputtered out.

"Forty one, Momma," Nicole gently said.

"Really?" Ann Marie asked, still unable to comprehend what Dr. Welman was saying.

"I know I've just laid a heavy burden on you," Dr. Welman said to Nicole.

She could see the sincerity in his eyes and nodded in thanks.

"How long?" Nicole finally asked.

"No more than a year," he guessed. "Realistically? It's been progressing; Ms. Campion, I'm going to tell you the truth, I'd be surprised if you make it another six months."

"And what do I need to do?" Nicole asked him over her mother's loud sobs.

****

His family had descended on Jordan's apartment and tried to take all of the furniture and stereo and cookware; claiming that it belonged to them. Jerome even tried groping Alicia and his grandmother said nothing as Alicia protested.

"What is going on in here?" Cris demanded angrily from the doorway.

"Oh, no no no," he said. "You want to say that's all yours? Then so are the bills Amaan, or Jordan or whatever his name was, left behind. Y'all can come get that stuff when y'all pay for my door, my window, my refrigerator, my mirror, and replacing the carpet in the stairwell and repainting the foyer and patching and repainting the ceiling up here. Until then, get off my property."

"I be back for you," Jerome smiled, showing Alicia all of his gold teeth, letting her know he had the money take care of her right.

****

"Don't," Ann Marie said as Nicole talked about calling her father. "He don't, it's not his problem."

The pompous ass that had handled her divorce, she decided, would be the one to draw up her last will and testament. The lawyer that was handling Hank's lawsuit, she had decided, was inherently dishonest and definitely would not have Nicole's or Sophia's best interest at heart.

Mr. McGregor had joked he could have either become a priest, or a lawyer but had decided he just didn't look good in black so had opted to become a lawyer.

"At least he's Catholic," Ann Marie smiled wryly as she punched his office number out.

****

Alicia woke up, feeling ill. Suddenly, a sharp pain cut through her belly and she gasped aloud. She gasped and groaned and panted, trying to catch her breath then fell asleep again.

She woke up as another pain cut through her and she panicked. Finally, she came to, felt under the bed with her feet and located her fuzzy slippers. She loved her slippers so much; they were always right there, right within sight.

She sucked in great lungful of air as a third pain cut into her and she stumbled to the door.

Cris woke up; there was a frantic knocking at his door.

"Mr. Cris, please help me," Alicia sobbed in panic.

He guided her to his bed and helped her lay down.

"Sounds like you might be in labor," he said as he sponged her sweaty face with a damp face cloth.

"Oh," she groaned.

"So which hospital do you go to?" he asked her.

"I don't know," she admitted. "Whatever hospital the clinic uses, I guess."

"The free clinic? On Wurtz Street?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said.

"Well, then, that would be UMC," he said tightly. "But you're not going there. You're going to Women and Children's."

"I can't afford..." she said.

"But I can," he said and kissed her sweaty forehead. "Let me get your shoes; you can't go to the hospital in fuzzy slippers; where's Amaan's car keys?"

"Top of the dresser," Alicia said. "Evidence bag; his wallet's in there too."

"Oh?" he teased her. "Thank there might be any rent in there?"

He ran up the stairs, got her shoes and her sweat pants and tee shirt. Amaan's keys were easily located and he stuffed them into his pocket. He locked the door, and then scurried back downstairs.

Alicia was sleeping soundly when he let himself back into his apartment.

He set everything on the recliner and slithered out of his jeans and tee shirt and crawled back into bed next to her snoring body.

"I love you," she whispered and was snoring again in milliseconds.

"Okay, you got my business card," he reminded her again, sucked another kiss from her and left the apartment.

She lay back down on his comfortable bed and was asleep before the sound of his motorcycle faded into the distance.

"Michael Christopher Dumas, Junior!" Sandra spat at him, incensed. "You turn around and go right back there and take that poor girl to the hospital! This is her first baby? She might be in labor right now and not even know it!"

Alicia smiled as she looked around; she was in his apartment. She rolled about in his bed, feeling his soft clean sheets and smelling his wonderful, manly smell. Then an urgent need to urinate came over her and she scurried to the bathroom.

"Oh, my God!" she gasped as an excruciating pain came over her.

"I'm here," she heard his soothing voice say and she felt his hands on her, holding her,

Comforting her.

****

"Who's her doctor?" the nurse asked as Cris bustled Alicia into the lobby.

"She doesn't have one, grab the closest one; I'm paying," Cris said.

"Come on, sweetie; it'll be all right," the nurse assured the terrified Alicia.

If she thought Amaan was a reckless, careless driver, she was woefully unprepared for a concerned, frightened Cris's driving.

As he saw the familiar Lafayette Landmark loom, he saw little Mikey's face loom before him as well.

Mikey had been born at this hospital. He didn't have a first birthday; Women and Children's did not send him a birthday card.

****

"Please, Nicole," Ann Marie begged. "Could you take care of that?"

"Already done," Nicole smiled and pointed to the cake on the top shelf of the refrigerator.

"Thank you, baby," Ann Marie grunted. "I don't know what I'd do..."

"Uh uh, thank Fred; he's the one ran out and got it," Nicole said.

"You got a good man there," Ann Marie said wearily.

"Don't tell him that," Nicole smiled.

"Tell me what?" Fred asked as he walked down the stairs.

****

Danny Scandurro looked up as the well-dressed man turned from the teller window, look at him, and walk toward him.

He put a smile on his face and stood up to greet the potential client.

"Danny Scandurro, I'm the loan officer here," he said, sticking out his hand.

"Uh huh," Cris said, pumped the man's hand once and then pulled a photograph from his pocket.

"And what can I do for you, Mr...." Danny said.

"Picture of your grandson, Christopher Michael Scandurro, born yesterday, four thirty in the afternoon," Cris said, thrust the picture into Danny's hand and left the bank.

"Yes?" Cindy Scandurro smiled warily as she stepped out of the room she shared with four other credit consultants at Abdul's Department store.

"Picture of your grandson, Christopher Michael Scandurro, born yesterday, four thirty," Cris said, handed her a photograph of a beautiful little red head and left the back hallway.

"So I guess Tiny Tim was the father, not Amaan," Alicia mused aloud as she held her baby, her son.

"Beautiful is not the word for him," Cindy said to her husband.

"Uh huh," he half-heartedly agreed with her.

****

"Happy birthday to you," they sang and signed and Sophia laughed for joy.

She loved birthdays; birthdays meant cake and ice cream,

"Make a wish," Ann Marie signed and smiled happily.

Inside she was anything but happy. She was exhausted and wanted to just lie down and almost felt like crying, so exhausted was she. But her baby was three years old today. And it may be the last birthday party of Sophia's she would ever see.

Mr. McGregor had made the appropriate noises and very quickly filled out the forms for her. He seemed a little surprised at the lawsuit against her for Hank Campion's death and promised he'd look into it, no charge.