“You haven’t spoken to him?” Queen asked.
“I called. No answer. I texted. No response.” Delilah said as she poured.
“Okay. Wait. I heard you talking to him yesterday. You two seem fine.”
“I think I’ve learned a lot the past few months. What I’ve learned the most is that nothing is ever what it seems. And I know nothing about the people I think I love,” Delilah said.
“You think—”
“So what do we need to do for Goodiva? What’s next?” Delilah asked.
“Dee... tell me what’s going on. I know how much you care for him. If you want to talk about—”
“I don’t!” Delilah swiped the loose hair on her forehead back and tucked it behind her ear. She picked up her glass and sipped the wine. “What do we need to do next for Goodiva?”
“Uhm, doctors. We need to get her checked out. But she’s too weak with exhaustion. I’m thinking Casey. He does home visits since the COVID,” Queen said.
“Right, the hospitals are a disaster. I have daddy’s blood pressure monitor around here somewhere. We’ll keep an eye on her and get her checked out soon,” Delilah agreed.
“Dee?”
“Why don’t you spend the night out in the guest house with her?” Delilah asked. She put her cell phone in her pocket before she left her seat, only stopping to pick up the glass and Maverick’s letter to take with her. “I’m going to bed. Tomorrow I’ll come down there and make us breakfast.”
“Wait!” Queen got ahead of her. “Just a sec. Okay?”
Delilah drank the rest of her wine. Queen took the glass from her. She set it down on the coffee table. “Look at me.”
Feeling her head swim with thoughts she’d been trying to forget she fought the urge to flee. Queen cupped her face in her hands. “I know you love him. And you know what? He loves you too. Whatever it is between you two it’s normal. It’s not the end of the world. Don’t let it destroy what you said was making you happy.”
“It already has.” Delilah pushed her away. She picked up the bottle this time leaving the glass behind. “I’ll see you in the morning.” She stumbled but corrected her steps. When she glanced back she saw her friend pick up the glass of wine she left behind and drink it. Maybe Queen needed something to numb her too. She understood. Delilah gave the only smile she could since she found him gone and then willed her legs to be strong enough to make it up the rest of the stairs. It was hard to get out of her muddled thoughts. She didn’t even bother to check on her son. After playing and pretending with Noah all afternoon she had no imagination left. Delilah lifted the bottle to her lips and took a long swallow, went in her room and collapsed on bed. She heard her phone beep in her pocket. It took her several minutes before she cared to read the message on the screen.
Maverick: I can explain. Answer my call. I’m sorry.
“You’re sorry. You’re sorry. You’re sorry!” She tossed the phone to the floor. Delilah spilled red wine on her comforter. She fumbled with the bottle and eased off the bed to go into her closet. She drank from the bottle searching for her favorite nightgown to wear. But in doing so she came across his shirts hanging inside. At first she paused and stared at them thinking they may be Charles. But Charles things were removed from her room months ago. She touched one and then the other. The bottle slipped from her hand. Wine spilled out all over cashmere white carpet. Delilah yanked the shirt off the hanger. She yanked the next shirt and the next. Before she knew it she was sobbing and yanking everything down, ripping shirts that belong to her with her bare hands. She went to her knees in shock at what she had done. Her mother didn’t come. Her father didn’t come. There was no one. Being alone felt different this time. It felt like the end of who she was. All her life she needed people. From finding friends and sneaking them into her bedroom, to marrying into a family of wicked, rich, calculating people there was no time to be alone. Defeated she crawled, because her legs were jelly and her stomach sour. Her knees were wet with red stains from the pooling wine in her carpet. She reached the letter and her hands trembled as she sat back and stared at his intentions. She already knew the words but read them anyway.
He had to leave.
He had to work through his own shit.
No, this wasn’t about her or Noah.
He has to get better, and be better.
When he comes back they would talk about the future.
He loved her.
A bunch of nonsense. The truth was he was a coward. She faced her demons and all the scandals thrown her way. She didn’t run from town. He was running from her. So to hell with him. Weeping she tore the letter in half and then into fours and dropped it in a pile. She went to the bed shattered, and slept that way.
“DEE? DEE? WAKE UP.”
“Huh?” She winced. Delilah squinted at Queen. “What? What’s wrong?”
“You tell me?” Queen stepped back and crossed her arms. Confused and suffering a brutal headache she sat up and looked around. Her mother was in the closet with a trash can and a mop. She was scrubbing red wine out of the carpet. “Are you okay, Dee?” Queen asked.
“Yea? Yea. I’m fine. Ma, stop that! Get out!”
“Dee? You stop!” Queen snapped.
Delilah frowned.
“You can be angry. You can tare this house down. But stop punishing your mother!”
Delores picked up the bottle and trash bag then started for the door as if neither of the women spoke her name. Delilah felt a deflation inside of her. All of the wind and might was gone. She was tired of her sorrow and her anger.
“Sorry Mama. Don’t worry about the stain. It’s ruined. Like everything else,” Delilah mumbled and looked away.
“I’m sorry too baby. I’ll bring you Noah when you are ready,” her mother said before she left. Delilah dropped her head in her hands.
“You talk to him?”
“No. I don’t want to talk to him,” Delilah said.
“He called me,” Queen offered.
“He did?”
She nodded her answer. The women sat in silence for a moment before Queen spoke. “He said he was trying to call you. That you weren’t picking up. He sounded concerned.”
“Don’t answer his calls. Delete his number. No. Block his number. Excuse me,” Delilah got out of bed. She felt sick all over. She just wanted a shower. Queen offered her no privacy, instead she followed Delilah into her bathroom while lecturing her. It didn’t take long for Delilah to turn down the volume in her head. While Delilah stripped off her clothes she listened to nothing but her own thoughts. And there was plenty of thoughts swirling in her mind. Goodiva wasn’t out of the woods. The government had plans to use her as bait for the mad Saudi Prince now stalking her. She would need to beef up security and to get her team together and start preparing for a counterattack. The pandemic had crippled Falcon Cove with many people out of work. She needed to check into her foundations to see how they were serving the community. A food drive sponsored by her as an independent woman of Cove and not a Montgomery would be a good start. There was plenty to do.
“Dee? Hello? Did you hear me?” Queen asked.