day, Willâtrying to save my childâs life and to no avail. Iâve been researching this condition on the Internet and each story is more horrible than the one before.â
âOkay, well, then get off the Internet,â William said. âYou know you canât believe everything you read on there.â
âSo, what, now youâre saying Iâm overreacting?â
William sighed. âLook, letâs just chill for a few minutes and come back to discuss this.â
âOh, so you need a break from me, is that it?â
âNo, baby, but nothing I say right now is going to work, and quite frankly, Iâm tired,â he said. âI just need a few minutesâjust a few minutesâto breathe without being disturbed.â
âSo Iâm a disturbance to you?â
William threw his hands in the air. âImpossible.â He grabbed his keys. âLook, Iâm going to hang out at Macâs house,â he said. âIâll see you when you calm down.â
âI know you are not just going to walk out while Iâm talking to you!â Nikki said, her hand on her hip. âSo you want to run to your brotherâs house to escape me, is that it?â
âBye, baby.â
William closed the door behind him and Nikki cursed. Every fiber in her being wanted to call William back and let every profanity she could summon fly. She speed-dialed Danielle instead.
âHey, girl,â she said when Danielle answered. âYou wonât believe what just happened.â
âWhat?â Danielle said.
âWill can be so insensitive sometimes. He just came home and I told him the insurance company wonât pay for my babyâs operation. And then I told him about all the horrible stuff I found out about this disease. All he could do was say he needed time to âprocess.â What kind of mess is that? Then he walked out.â
âWell, you know William always was a little slow,â Danielle said. âHe never does anything fast. He always has to think about things, or should I say, âpray on it.ââ
âWell, itâs okay for him to think and pray, but I needed him to be as freaked out as me,â Nikki said. âBut he was just calm. Maybe he just doesnât care.â
âYou know thatâs not true,â Danielle said.
âSometimes, I just wonder why I married him,â Nikki said.
âWell, I told you, you should have waited,â Danielle said. She paused. âHey, look, my other line is beeping, hold on for a sec.â
A beat later, she returned. âThis is old Troy on the other line, trying to apologize. I went off on him when some woman called my job about him earlier today. He knows heâs in the doghouse. Iâm going to make him beg, though. He canât just think he can treat me any kind of way and think that all will be well.â
âSo is he seeing the other girl?â
âI donât know,â Danielle said. âHe said she is stalking him and thatâs why she called me. She even made her cousin move next door to spy on him. He keeps saying heâs not doing anything, so I guess heâs not.â
âWell, donât be dumb over a man,â Nikki said. âYou can let him go, you know.â
âOh, I know youâre not giving me relationship advice, Miss I-canât-even-keep-my-man-at-home.â
âItâs not even like that, and you know it,â Nikki said. âBut hey, Iâm going to let you get back to your man. Thanks for listening.â
Nikki hung up. She let out a heavy breath, as she thought back over the argument with her husband. William seemed calm even at the idea that their daughter could have a serious condition. For him, prayer would take care of it. Nikki wanted that confidence; she wanted to give prayer a chance. She walked across the living room and grabbed a Bible from its spot next to a smiling photo of Psalm
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