Chapter 8
Noah held the duffle bag in one hand and her trembling fingers in the other. Usually it was hard for others to keep up with his long stride, but Leah was practically race walking down the stark white hallway. From what Leah shared during the trip to the hospital, Dayo Eze was Leah’s person. He was her mother’s only sibling and from what he could gather, the man had made it his mission to see that she got to have as normal an upbringing as possible. “He’s my biggest cheerleader,” she said, as she obviously fought back tears in the cab of his truck. “I wouldn’t be who I am today without him.”
When they reached Room 403, Leah hesitated, and Noah gave her hand a little squeeze. “Hey, it’s all gonna be okay.” She nodded in agreement then pushed on the heavy wood door.
“Sweetie am I glad to see you,” said the tall thin man sitting upright in the hospital bed. “I feel completely naked and unloved in this drab ass cotton gown. You know cotton makes me feel poor.” His gaze swung to Noah, his eyes lighting up. “Did you bring me a present! I usually don’t do White boys but this one might make the cut.”
“Uncle D, this is Noah. We were on a date when you called.”
“Oh, shit! If I’d known, I would have suffered in cotton silence and called you tomorrow. I see your taste has markedly improved, sweetie. It’s nice to meet you, Noah.”
“It’s nice to meet you as well, sir.”
Leah relieved him of the leather duffle and pulled up a chair next to her uncle’s bed while he took the chair near the closet doors. “What happened, Uncle D?”
“According to the doctor, I had a mild heart attack.”
“What? How?” Noah watched as Leah leaned into her uncle, stroking his thin forearm.
“Sweetie, I don’t know. However heart attacks happen. My chest was bothering me while I was at the salon and Jake dragged me here kicking and screaming. I should fire him. I told you hiring a straight male cosmetologist would be nothing but trouble.”
“Looks like you owe him your life, Mr. Eze.”
“Baby, call me Dayo or Uncle D. Mr. Eze makes me sound old. And rich but that’s another thing altogether.”
“Sure thing, Dayo,” Noah laughed.
“How long have you been here?”
“About five hours and don’t give me that shit about calling you from the start. I didn’t need you sitting in triage with me for hours on end. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t dying first. If that had been the case, I would have asked you to bring my urn.”
“Uncle D…”
“Girl, we are not gonna be here forever. As your grandmother use to say ‘one day my enemies will succeed.’ That’s why I already have my final fabulous resting place picked out. I can’t trust nobody else’s taste and you know I’m over the top.”
“Did I not tell you Nigerians could be dramatic?” Leah said, looking across the bed at him.
“You have your urn picked out?”
“Sure do, baby. Leah, you didn’t show it to him when you went to the house?”
“No, Uncle D. I was trying to get to you.”
“When I get home, bring him by the house so he can see it.” He turned his gaze back to Noah. “I’ll show you the bullet points I have for my funeral program as well. I can’t leave anything up to chance. Leah would be too distraught and funeral directors don’t have enough taste, so I want to be prepared. I have everything all laid out so all she’ll have to do is make sure my wishes are carried out.”
“This is quite morbid talk, Uncle D.”
“Girl, will you quit rubbing my arm as if I’m about to meet the Lord tonight?” Dayo said, swatting away her touch. “I want to know more about Noah.”
Dayo now lay in the hospital bed, fingers threaded together, his hands resting on his abdomen, his dark eyes pinning Noah to the wall. Although he felt as if he was being dissected he didn’t avert his gaze. “Uncle D, you had a heart attack. If Jake hadn’t been in the salon, who knows what could have happened to you. This is not the time for twenty questions.”
“Don’t worry about me. They got me all strapped up to these machines.” He pointed to the heart monitor. “If anything goes wrong, that tyrant of a nurse would bumrush her way into the room and start to prod me. Now tell me about Big Country. How long have you been seeing each other? I’ve never heard of you and Leah tells me everything.”
“I do not,” Leah insisted.
“What about that time you were crying over that guy that looked like Garfield the cat? At least your taste has improved.”
“You’re never gonna let me live that down, are you?”
“Nope.” Dayo turned his smiling gaze back to Noah. “I mean she was down bad. Pass me my phone, baby. I can show you his picture.”
“Uncle D, you still have it?”
“Hell, yeah. Just to remind you that being a bit more superficial and shallow won’t hurt.”
“Wait, does that mean I’m ugly?” Noah inquired.
“No, baby. No, no, no. You fine as fuck, Big Country.”
“Uncle D, please behave. Noah is not here for you to pick him apart.”
Although she’d been on the verge of tears on the way to the hospital, Leah now looked much more settled and the smile on her face was genuine. This was obviously their usual banter. “Of course he is. He’s here to support you which means he cares. And that also means he’s willingly opened himself up to my snooping. Now, what are your intentions with my Baby-Niece?”
“Noah, you don’t have to answer.” He got the feeling that Leah wanted him to shut the interrogation down but he was absolutely answering every one of the man’s questions. Dayo’s approval was needed. And he planned to put his best foot forward.
From what he gathered by the phone calls in the truck, Dayo wasn’t the uncle of her other siblings, but they all had a deep affection for the man. Which cemented in Noah’s mind that he was a cornerstone in Leah’s life. “I want to get to know Leah better, Dayo. We met very briefly in high school and according to her I was able to leave a pretty good impression on her. I want us to explore a relationship now that we have fully developed frontal lobes.”
“Well, it looks as if you two have mismatched intentions, sweetie. This man wants a relationship.”
“And I was clear with him that this was casual.”
Her uncle pierced her with a knowing glance. “Then why are you entertaining him? You told me you planned on hoeing this summer.”
“Noah just asked me on a date and I gave him an opportunity.”
“And I’m grateful,” Noah interjected.
“And what makes you think that’s not still my plan? It was just a date.”
“Two dates.” When she cut him to ribbons with a glance he had to swallow down the bark of laughter that threatened to spill out.
“You might still have hoeing in mind, but he don’t,” Dayo said, pointing in Noah’s direction.
“He’s entertaining me as well, Uncle D.”
“So both of you are foolish, huh?” Dayo’s gaze ping ponged between them. “So much for that fully developed frontal lobe.”
This time, Noah didn’t fight the chuckle that rose in his chest. “I never said I was smart, Dayo.”
“Of course you are. Baby-Niece is a prize.” Dayo again swung his eyes to Leah. “Give us a moment, sweetie.”
“Uncle D, what are you gonna do?”
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Now go,” he said, making a shooing motion towards the door. Both men watched as she walked out of the room, pulling the heavy door closed behind her. “Make yourself useful and help me into these pajamas,” Dayo said, motioning to the peach-colored silk garments next to him on the bed. Noah approached and motioned for Dayo to turn away from him and he untied the hospital gown. “When God saw fit to take my sister, I made it my business to protect her child. I wanted to adopt Leah, but my mother was convinced it would be better for her to go to her philandering ass daddy and his long-suffering wife than to be raised by an openly gay man.
“Even though she lived with her daddy, every chance I got, she was with me and my mother. I needed to make sure that she was good. Her father was so stifling and dogmatic when it came to how children were supposed to be reared. Saved, sanctified and filled with hatred of everyone that didn’t walk in accordance with the good book. This from a man with a total of three outside children. Anyway,” Dayo continued, lifting his arms as Noah slid the pajama top on one arm then the other, “I still kick myself daily for not fighting to adopt her, not that Malcolm would have put up a battle at all.” Noah worked around the electrodes to button up the top. “All that matters now is that Leah is happy and adored by the person that wins that piece of cement she has in her chest. She’s the best thing that happened to the world.”
Noah buttoned the garment as far as the connectors would allow then straightened the feathered collar of the silk top. “It would seem that you are her world, Dayo. When I tell you she dropped everything to get to you tonight, it’s not an understatement “
“We’re all we have left. My father left my mother and went back home to marry a second wife when we were preteens and we never heard from him again. When my mother died, I didn’t continue her habit of sending money back to her side of the family in Nigeria, so they were upset and stopped dealing with us. But I couldn’t care less because all they wanted was money. I had to protect Leah and make sure she got her mother’s inheritance. But enough of my ranting. That could go on all day, honey.”
“I’ll help you with the bottom, but according to that arm band, you’re considered a fall risk at the moment. So, it looks like we’ll have to do it with you on the bed.”
“I wish someone was here to witness you saying that. I can’t remember the last time someone so good looking as you said something so salacious to me.”
Noah laughed, giving his head a shake. “Glad I could brighten your day.”
“And just know, I wish you luck with Leah. She’s a tough cookie because her daddy ain’t shit…I’m sorry. I’m trying to focus on the positive. I need to keep my stress levels down according to that 4’ 8” tyrant of a nurse. My baby’s tough but she’s also giving and smart and funny. She needs a person that treats her like a queen. Take it from a queen.” Dayo laid a hand on his chest. “She needs to be lavished with attention. Spoiled if you will.”
Noah took it all in as he skimmed the silk pajama pants over his legs. He knew by the way she dropped everything to be at her uncle’s side that she had a heart of gold and would do anything for a person she cared for. If Leah gave him half a chance, he’d spoil her rotten and he told her uncle as much.
“All you have to do is be patient with her, Big Country. That heart of hers is just waiting on the right person to thaw it. Now ask her to come back in here. I know she’s chomping at the bit to make sure I don’t scandalize you.”
“It would take a lot more than helping you get dressed to do that.”
“Is that a challenge, Big Country?”
“Absolutely not. Leah might not let us be friends if you keep it up.”
“Baby, I ain’t afraid of her. Oh, and her ring size is seven and she loves marquis cut diamonds.” Dayo gave him a wink. “Keep that in your back pocket, in case you need it.”