Somebody Else Will

Chapter 7

“So, you thought it was a good idea to steal my car? What in the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Denishia, you act like I’ve never driven your car before.”

“Nigga, are you slow? You truly have to be. Bring my car back!”

“You’ll get this shit back when I’m done with what I have to do. I’m sure you’ll get a ride home.”

“Mm-hmm. I’m gon’ fuck you up too.”

I ended the call, not bothering to tell him I reported it stolen. He had to be delusional if he thought this shit would fly with me. As I sat on a chair, I glanced over at my mama in the kitchen. She had turned on the Keurig and was preparing her sugar and cream for a cup of coffee. I didn’t see how she drank that in the evenings. I would be up until morning if I did that.

I lowered my head and took deep breaths, trying to calm my nerves. I had a headache from hell, and I just wanted this to be over. I didn’t understand what was going on with Will to where he thought this shit was okay. It was like it came out of the blue. No, it didn’t. He saw Ezekiel standing there with a bouquet of flowers and lunch. He was throwing a fit because he thought I was cheating on him.

Instead of asking the question like a man, he went with his assumptions, and like a child, he was having a temper tantrum. Then again, Ezekiel came to the shop after him. He was already there, acting a whole ass nigga. I was sure he saw the flowers Ezekiel held after the fact though. Why else would he be coming to a flower shop with flowers already in his hand? If he was there for Jamia, he would have gone to her instead of watching our drama.

However, none of that explained why he came to my job acting an ass about me not answering my phone. I was sure to delete the text thread between Ezekiel and me whenever he decided to step outside of our business conversation. I was still so angry, though, I almost didn’t care why he was behaving the way he was. No excuse he came up with would be good enough.

The point was that he was someone I didn’t need in my life. He was dead weight that I needed to shed before he gave me a stroke or heart attack. I knew my blood pressure had to be elevated. I was on the verge of high blood pressure. If my activity ever slowed down, I knew I would have it. I was on a small dose of Lisinopril to control it. If I stopped doing my own deliveries and didn’t replace the activity with exercise, I knew it would fully manifest itself.

I shifted my mind to Ezekiel and how he’d responded that we had a date when I asked him to go to breakfast Friday morning. I still hadn’t given him a definite answer on whether I would attend the party. I’d told Jamia and Jerzey about it, and they were begging me to confirm. I slowly shook my head as I recalled the conversation with Jerzey. She was talking about finding her a baller at the party so she wouldn’t have to work a part-time job to make ends meet.

I’d pretended to take offense to her statement, and she quickly apologized, thinking I was gonna fire her. She was a phlebotomist and worked at a lab Monday through Friday. I totally understood her standpoint. She was a single woman, trying to make it in life. She was saving for a house, and I could only admire her hustle and quickly explained that to her before she stressed herself out.

When I heard a ruckus in the kitchen, I turned to see my mama had fallen on the floor. I stood, making my way to her. “Oh my goodness. Mama, are you okay? Did you trip?”

She didn’t respond to me. I frowned as I made it around the island to see she was out cold, with coffee all over the place. I dropped to my knees. “Mama! Wake up!” I yelled as I shook her.

She remained unresponsive, and I noticed she wasn’t breathing. I stood and ran to where I was seated and grabbed my phone from the coffee table to make an emergency call. As I spoke to a dispatcher, I went back to my knees, dropped the phone to the floor, and checked my mama for a pulse. I didn’t feel one. I quickly started CPR as the tears finally surfaced. I didn’t understand what was going on. I felt like my life was spiraling out of control.

I was better off alone, where I couldn’t be hurt. I needed to focus on myself and now my mother, who still wasn’t responding. It was bad enough my father was nowhere to be found. I hadn’t seen the man since I was a small child and barely remembered what he looked like. Fucking deadbeat. My mama and grandmother were all I had in this world. If Ray Boswell were to come to the flower shop and smile in my face, I wouldn’t know him from Adam.

When I heard the knocking at the door, I stood and ran to it, allowing the paramedics to come in. “She’s in the kitchen.”

As they made their way to her, I called Jamia to let her know of what was going on. She immediately headed my way, knowing I needed the support. I didn’t want to call my grandmother just yet. She dealt with high blood pressure, also, and so many other medical issues. I wanted to wait until I knew more before calling her. I didn’t need her panicking her way right into a heart attack.

The paramedics seemed to be working hard but couldn’t seem to get her breathing again. Instead of saying so, they quickly got her on a gurney and hauled ass out of my house with me right behind them. I could see Jamia arriving as I got in the back of the ambulance with my mother. They were working overtime trying to get her going. They shocked her with the paddles, and that seemed to do it. Her pulse was there, and they were giving her oxygen as I stared on. Wiping my face, I thanked God for bringing her back.

When we got to the hospital, they took her to the back, and someone else led me to a consultation room. That wasn’t a good sign. We’d come in this same room when my grandfather had died years ago. I decided to call my grandmother. She would never forgive me if I didn’t. The phone rang and eventually went to voicemail. That wasn’t like her. She always answered her phone.

Once the greeting was done, I left her a message. “Grandma, I need you to call me back or just meet me at Baptist Hospital. It’s an emergency.”

I ended the call as Jamia walked in with Jerzey. I didn’t expect to see her, but I needed all the support I could get. I stood, and they both came to me, wrapping their arms around me. After releasing them, I grabbed my phone again and tried to call Grandma. It rang a few times then went to voicemail again. That shit was making me nervous. This was too much. Will acting a damn fool, my mama knocking on death’s door, and my grandma MIA.

Clearly, the Lord knew I had strength that I didn’t even know about. This was heavy. “Grandma, please call me back. It’s really important.”

Jamia came to me and grabbed my hand, rubbing it between hers. “It’s going to be okay, boo, no matter the outcome. Me and Jerzey will be here for you,” she said as Jerzey appeared on the other side of me, gently rubbing circles on my back.

I nodded and swallowed hard. Shortly after the doctor walked in with a look of defeat on his face. Before he could say a word, I flopped in the chair behind me.

“I’m Doctor Reynolds. Are you the family of Patsy Boswell?”

“Yes. I’m her daughter, Denishia Boswell.”

He nodded. “I’m sorry to inform you that your mother has passed away. We believe she had a massive heart attack. Her blood pressure was through the roof. The true cause is being evaluated as we speak. I’m so sorry, Miss Boswell. You have my condolences.”

He leaned over and gently squeezed my hand. What was I supposed to do without my mama? Jamia and Jerzey were both talking, but I hadn’t heard a word they’d said. I had zoned out, trying to accept that my mama was no longer here. What the fuck?

As I tried to compose myself, I looked up at them. “I have to find my grandmother once the funeral home leaves. She’s not answering her phone, and I’m worried.”

“Okay. Do you already know what funeral home you will call?” Jerzey asked.

“Yes. Proctor has all her information. Her funeral is already paid for. She was prepared. She wanted to make this as easy as possible for me. We’ve had the conversation. Her obituary is already done as well. She did it herself.”

“Well, at least you know what her wishes are,” Jamia stated.

“Yeah.”

A nurse led me to the room to see her, and I knew I wouldn’t be prepared to see her this way. She was just making a cup of coffee and had already called Will everything but a child of God. She was fine. After informing the nurse of the funeral home I wanted to use, I walked into the room. When I saw her lying there, I had to turn away for a moment. They’d gotten all the machines off her, and she literally looked like she was asleep. The hardest part was that I knew she wasn’t.

After composing myself, I walked into her room and went to her bedside. When the tears fell from my eyes, it was like I could hear her saying, “Girl, stop all that crying. This is a part of life. Heartbreak happens, but it’s up to you how you handle it. I know it hurts, but things happen just the way they are supposed to. It’s okay to be sad, but don’t wallow in that shit. Dust yourself off and move on.”

She’d said those exact words to me following my first real heartbreak. I grabbed her hand and kissed it just as the funeral home representative walked into the room with me. I gave him a tight smile as he offered his condolences. Once he was done with giving me information, I left the room to see my grandmother standing in the hallway. I ran to her arms, and we consoled each other. She gently rubbed my back.

When I lifted my head and saw her tears, that only made me cry more. She slowly shook her head. “Losing one child is hard, but losing two seems unbearable.”

She was speaking of my uncle that had died years ago, not long after Grandpa. He’d gotten into a car wreck and was ejected from the vehicle because he wasn’t wearing a seat belt. That was a hard time for all of us, but I knew it was even harder for her, especially since it only happened a few months after she lost her husband.

“I’m sorry, Grandma. We’re gonna be here for each other. It’s just me and you, so we have to stick together. I love you,” I said, somewhat sucking up my emotions, to be strong for her.

“I love you too, baby.”

I was more nervous than a pastor caught in a whorehouse. As I drove to Houston, all I could think about was Ezekiel’s words. It’s a date. However, I would much rather be thinking about that instead of my mama. We would be having her funeral Monday, and I felt like I was in denial. I’d been keeping busy, throwing myself into work.

The police had caught up with Will’s ass. They arrested him, but he was only there two days before he got bailed out. He hadn’t tried to contact me about his things, and I was grateful. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to deal with his bullshit. I would probably snap and kill his ass.

My grandmother, Jerzey, and Jamia had come along with me, but I would be dropping them off at the hotel before I met Ezekiel for breakfast. Jamia said they would Uber somewhere and get breakfast. I was grateful Ezekiel had urged me to bring my staff along. My grandmother, while she wasn’t my staff, didn’t need to be alone at a time like this. I felt like this would serve as the perfect distraction.

I’d only spoken to Ezekiel once since my mother passed away, and I didn’t mention it. He was my first celebrity client, and I didn’t want him to be my last. There were plenty of celebrities that lived in Houston. I refused to flake on this job or make it seem like I was making excuses for why I couldn’t deliver. My soul was hurting, but I couldn’t let it hinder the task at hand, although I knew my mama would have loved getting dressed up and rubbing shoulders with people she saw on TV. That kind of thing excited her. I would never forget how excited she was to meet Ezekiel.

“You good, boo?”

I glanced at Jamia in the passenger seat as Grandma and Jerzey laughed at something, having their own conversation. “I’m okay. I’m a little nervous about breakfast though.”

“Why? That man wants to be with you. I could see it in his eyes when he came to the shop.”

“I don’t know. Well, I guess because we’ll be alone. I’m too vulnerable right now. I’m fresh off a breakup and grieving my mother. I don’t think I can get any more vulnerable than that. I surely couldn’t cancel. This is my way of thanking him for standing up to Will. I feel like I owe him.”

“I understand, sis, but I think you just need to relax. He’s really feeling you. Does he know about your mom?”

I shook my head and swallowed hard. “But I’m sure he’ll ask about her when he sees she’s not at the party. He saw how close we were, so if everyone else is with me, there is no way I would leave her behind.”

She nodded as I turned the radio up slightly, indicating that I was done with the conversation. I just wanted to focus on the job we had to do later. I had to make sure everything was positioned correctly. I told the event planner that I would handle that part since they’d accepted my design. I knew that was beyond the scope of what I usually did, but I wanted to impress them.

As we entered Houston’s city limits, my cell phone rang. I slightly rolled my eyes when I saw Will’s name on the caller ID. There was no way I would answer his phone call. That shit would ruin my entire mood. However, once my phone stopped ringing and my grandmother’s started, that put me on high alert. I frowned and glanced at her in the back since she was on the passenger side of the van.

She answered her phone, and I listened to her intently. “Hello…? Hi, baby… I’m okay. How are you…? She’s okay also.”

I glanced at her again to see her eyes on me. Why in the fuck did Will have her number? Turning my attention back to the road, I felt Jamia’s hand on my arm, gently rubbing it. I knew she was trying to calm me down. I tuned back in to my grandmother’s conversation in time to hear her say, “Give her some time. I’ll tell her to call you after the event is over.”

The second she ended the call, I asked, “Why is he calling you?”

“I don’t know. He got my number from when he went to the store for us last Thanksgiving. I’d sent the list to him by text. He would call every now and then after that to see how I was doing and to ask me to pray for certain things.”

I rolled my eyes hard. I may as well had answered his call, because knowing he was calling my grandmother and she was actually entertaining his ass had infuriated me for some reason. I snatched my phone from the console and called him back. When he answered, I immediately went in. “What do you want, Will? And why are you calling my grandmother? She’s off-limits, just like I am.”

“Denishia, please. I’m so sorry about Miss Patsy. I knew if I called Grandma, I could get to you. I’m sorry about everything, baby. I really am. I let my emotions get the best of me. I became really insecure when I saw that actor paying attention to you. I saw the messages through the app. While I know that wasn’t your fault, I took it out on you. You stayed really professional and were sure to inform him of our relationship. I was insecure. I love you so much, baby. Do you need anything?”

I wanted to close my eyes. My heart felt like it was bleeding. I couldn’t respond to him. He sounded extremely tender. I hadn’t heard that from him in months. Taking a deep breath, I said, “I’ll call you tomorrow night or Sunday morning, depending on how long the party lasts.”

I ended the call, not waiting for him to respond. God, help me.