He leaned his head against the wall and thought about Veda. He wondered what she was doing for the holiday, and he wished he could see her. Maybe he would ask her to fly back down in another week or so, even if only for a day trip.

“I wonder what’s taking them so long,” Carmen said suddenly, and then got up. She stood for a couple of seconds and then paced back and forth.

“We just have to be patient,” Alicia said. “I know it’s hard, but I felt the exact same way when my dad was shot, and you see how things turned out for him. Everything worked out fine.”

Carmen walked over near the television that was hanging from the wall, looking distraught, and for a second JT felt sorry for her. But it was only for a second, because while he was sad for Rita and for what she was going through, he could also see the positive side of things: If Carmen’s mother survived the surgery, Carmen would be so consumed with taking care of her, she wouldn’t have time to harass him. JT would be the least of her worries, and what an astounding reprieve that would be.

Four more hours passed and then finally both neurosurgeons came out and spoke to them again.

“Well,” Dr. Mehta began, “as it turns out, it was a little worse than what Dr. Nigam and I had originally thought, and I want to be honest with you. Your mother only has a fifty-fifty chance of surviving this.”

Carmen sniffled and tears fell instantly.

Dr. Nigam looked at her sympathetically. “Had your mom been complaining of any headaches?”

“Yes. She’s been having them on and off for a week or so, but she wouldn’t go get them checked out. But then, this morning, she felt a lot better. Better than she had over the last couple of days.”

“Had she spoken about any chest pains or anything? Because there was a period where we had a little difficulty keeping her heart stabilized.”

“No. She’s never mentioned anything like that.”

Dr. Mehta placed his hand over Carmen’s and said, “Well, we’ll be keeping a very watchful eye over her, and we’ll be hoping for some major progress as your mom recovers.”

“Can I see her?”

“She’s still in recovery and probably won’t be conscious for a while, but I’ll have one of the nurses come out to get you as soon as she’s situated.”

“Thank you, Doctor. Both of you,” she said, looking at Dr. Nigam, too.

“You’re very welcome, and please take care.”

When both men were out of sight, Carmen’s face turned serious. “She’s going to die.”

Alicia frowned. “Carmen, don’t say that. The doctor said she had a fifty-fifty chance and we have to believe that she’s going to be fine. We can’t just give up on her.”

“That’s right,” Tanya said. “What we’re going to do is keep praying for a miracle. We’re going to keep our faith in God, no matter what.”

JT felt a little awkward because, as a pastor, he knew those were the kinds of words he should have been saying. He knew he should be the first person to comfort anyone who had a seriously ill mother, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He couldn’t force himself to comfort the woman he’d been cheating with, not in front of his wife and her parents.

“Maybe you should get something to eat,” Alicia suggested to her.

“No.”

Alicia turned to JT. “Honey, I’m going to stay here with Carmen for the night, but if you want, you can go on home.”

JT had thought he would never hear those words and wanted to jump for joy. “Are you sure? Because I can hang around for as long as you need me to.”

“No, go on. We’ll be fine.”

“Well, I guess we’ll get ready to leave, too,” Tanya said. “But we’ll be back tomorrow.”

Carmen forced a smile and then stood up and hugged her. “Thank you so much for being here with me all this time. And I’m so sorry your cookout was ruined.”

Tanya wrinkled her forehead. “Don’t you even think twice about that. Your mom is the priority right now.”

James hugged Carmen next. “We’re here for you, and you just let us know whatever you need, okay?”

“I will, and thank you for everything.”

“JT, if you want to leave your car here for Alicia, we can drop you off at home.”

“That would be great, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course we don’t.”

JT pulled his wife into his arms. “Now, baby, you call me if you need me.”

“I will,” she said, kissing him.

Then JT looked at Carmen, figuring he’d better say at least something to her prior to leaving, before the rest of them got suspicious. “I’ll be praying for your mom.”

“Thanks,” she said, grabbing hold of him, and he was sorry he’d said anything to her. “That really means a lot, JT. More than you could possibly ever know.”

JT pushed her away in a subtle manner, and he and Tanya and James proceeded down the corridor leading to the parking lot. He looked back at Alicia and Carmen and prayed that Carmen wouldn’t do or say anything stupid. In times of heartache or loss, most people tended to become extremely sentimental and were much more apt to come clean about their wrong-doings. If they had betrayed a close friend or family member, they were more prone to confessing everything. He had to believe, however, that Carmen was different…and that she had sense enough to keep her mouth shut.

JT read off the number of the account he wanted Diana to transfer his marketing funds into, and she repeated it back, making sure she had it right.

“That’s correct,” he said.

“Then I’ll get this taken care of this afternoon.”

“I really appreciate what you’re doing, because I know six figures is a lot of money.”

“As a matter of fact it is, and I just hope you’re worth it.”

“Hey, come on, now. Why do you say that?”

“Because once again, I only saw you one time last week and that’s just not enough for me.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. But I promise you, things will be very different this week,” he said, knowing he really would be able to make good on his word since he was pretty sure Alicia would be spending most of her time at the hospital with Carmen. Now that he thought about it, it was kind of strange how some things tended to work out, because who would have guessed that the reason he now had more free time to be with one mistress was because his wife was busy trying to comfort another one?

“I hope you mean that.”

“I really do.”

“Okay, I’m holding you to it, and of course I can’t wait to see you in a couple of hours.”

“I can’t wait to see you either, which is why I’ve been thinking about you all morning.”

“Well, I guess I’ll see you when you get here then.”

“See you soon.”

JT ended the call and set his cell phone down on his desk. He thought about calling Alicia to see how things were going at the hospital, but his phone rang before he could pick it back up. The word “private” was displayed on the screen, which made him a little uneasy because there was a chance Alicia had left the waiting room or the hospital for a while, leaving ample opportunity for Carmen to call him.

“Hello?”

“Well, well, well,” the woman said. “It certainly has been a very long time, hasn’t it?”

“Excuse me, do I know you?”

The woman laughed. “I can’t believe you don’t recognize my voice, especially with all the history you and I have.”

“Look, I’m very busy, and I think maybe you have the wrong number.”

“No, I don’t think so. And by the way, did your wife tell you I saw her at the mall? Did she tell you Donna stopped and had a nice little chat with her?”

JT’s heart pounded heavily. This just couldn’t be. Not now. Not when he finally had the perfect long-range plan in place and was experiencing no obstacles.

“Are you still there?”

“Why are you calling me?” he finally asked.

“JT, JT, JT,” she sang. “Now, why does anyone contact a person they haven’t spoken to in over two years? They do it because either a family member has died or because they need money, and I’m here to tell you that every one of my family members is alive and well.”