Pride and Consequence

“Oh, thank you! My God, how long have you been up?” Zakira exclaimed, immediately digging into the omelet.

Malik shrugged and turned to the kitchen island. “I had to get up and get this,” he said, pulling a brightly wrapped package from a side drawer.

“What have you done?” Zakira asked, as she set down her fork and took the gift. It only took a few seconds to tear through the wrapping. When she touched the gold velvet box, her brown eyes snapped to Malik’s face. “What is it?”

Malik pulled one hand through his dreads and sat across from her. “Open it.”

Sighing, Zakira opened the long case. Her loud gasp filled the room when she lifted a gorgeous diamond-encrusted tennis bracelet from the box. “Malik,” she whispered, shaking her head at the extravagant gift.

“Think of it as an early Christmas present. Besides, I wanted to make up for the way I acted last night when you asked about Doctor McNeil.”

“I love this,” Zakira assured him, gesturing at the sparkling piece of jewelry. “But all I want is for you to be straight with me.”

“I know,” Malik assured her, nodding his head quickly. He stood, but Zakira grabbed his hand before he could get too far. She tugged and waited for him to take the chair next to her.

“Malik, I’ve got an awful feeling about this and it has nothing to do with any dream,” she said, cupping the side of his face in her palm. “It’s scaring me.”

Malik pulled her hand away from his face and pressed a hard kiss to her palm. He never answered, but Zakira could tell by the guarded look in his dark eyes that he was scared, as well.

Elegantly dressed couples filed into Badu’s Restaurant. A long red carpet led from the establishment’s entrance and ended at the edge of the sidewalk. Each guest felt like royalty as they clutched small white envelopes that carried Badu’s logo on the outside and an invitation inside.

The restaurant had undergone a mild transformation for the event. Several extra dining tables had been set on the edge of the dance floor to accommodate the staggering number of guests. Several people took to the smaller dance space, eager to enjoy the cool jazz stylings of a local group. Others were more interested in the fantastic dinners that were served. Diners had their choice of three entrées: spicy roast duck basted in a fragrant white wine sauce with a delicious wild rice, broccoli and herb side; a hearty chicken, scallop and red onion sauté served on a bed of tender noodles; or grilled salmon steak with a fresh vegetarian stir-fry.

Malik watched Zakira mingling and smiling as she wandered through the crowd. Every aspect of the evening was so perfect he wanted the entire group to know who was responsible. Heads turned at the sound of a crystal goblet being tapped with a fork. Malik had requested the band take a break when he joined them on stage.

“Ladies and gentlemen, if I could have your attention. I have a small announcement to make!”

Zakira turned to watch her husband. Her cocoa gaze sparkled with love as she admired his smooth, handsome appearance in the tailored, three-piece beige pin-striped suit.

“Tonight, many of you have approached me with congratulations on coordinating such a successful event. I wanted to let everyone here know that the menu, the atmosphere and the luxurious setting are all my wife’s doing. What you see before you tonight are the results of her hard work. Zakira, girl, you wanna come up here and take a bow?”

Applause filled the air as Zakira made her way toward the stage. She accepted Malik’s hand, and he escorted her up the short stairway. She kissed his cheek, then turned to face the crowd.

“I’m sure we all wish there weren’t a need for this type of event,” she told the crowd, watching the group nod in agreement. “Since there is, I want to thank the committee for allowing me to be a part of it. I thank you for your compliments, but the real accolades should go to the women who lend their efforts each day to help fight this dreaded disease that affects so many children.”

Zakira’s graciousness and emotional words brought forth another round of applause. She stood smoothing her hands across the sides of the chic, ankle-length silver satin evening gown and waited for the crowd to settle down.

“In lieu of applause,” Zakira was saying, “we here at Badu’s would like to forward our fee for hosting tonight’s event to the Richmond Children’s Cancer Research Fund.”

Deafening applause followed the announcement. Zakira bowed, and then nodded toward the band, who were preparing for their next set. She left the stage with Malik at her side.

“So are you glad you accepted the invitation?”

Edwina smoothed her hands over the chiffon sleeves of her cobalt-blue silk evening gown. “Oh, Z, I still get shivers thinking about what you did. That was a beautiful gesture, forfeiting your fee from tonight.”

Zakira toyed with a curly tendril that dangled from the chignon atop her head. “I thought so, too. Raising money for any charity is hard enough without having to worry about another bill.”

“Amen,” Eddie agreed, her light hazel eyes scanning the crowded room.

“So, you didn’t answer my question,” Zakira said. At Eddie’s frown, she rolled her eyes. “Are you glad you accepted my invitation?”

Edwina groaned. “Yes, I am. Despite the fact that I’ve seen two of my ex-boyfriends here with their new women, might I add.”

“Please! I bet they drooled all over themselves when they saw how gorgeous you are.”

Edwina brushed her hand against Zakira’s bare arm. “I appreciate your kind words.”

“Kind, hell, they’re true. Edwina Harris, you need to let that mess go. It’s their loss. Move on.”

“Mmm…spoken like a woman with a handsome, sexy husband to go home with.”

Zakira’s cocoa eyes clouded with concern. “Speaking of which, I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“Hey,” Eddie said, a questioning look on her face. “Is something going on with y’all? I mean, I wanted to ask you about it when I visited before, but I was caught up in my own drama.”

Zakira reached for her stepsister’s hand and squeezed it. “Sometimes I forget how handy it is to have a therapist in the family.”

“You need to talk?” Eddie whispered, pressing Zakira’s hand to her chest.

“Not here, okay? Lunch, tomorrow. Is that good for you?”

“Yeah, sweetie, it’s fine,” Edwina assured her, pulling her stepsister close for a hug. “We’ll finish discussing it later. You go find Malik.”

“Thanks, Eddie.” Zakira whispered, kissing the woman’s cheek before hurrying off.

As Edwina stood near the edge of the dance floor watching her stepsister, she had no idea she herself was being watched. Trekel Grisani had caught sight of Edwina shortly after he arrived at the restaurant. He had noticed her speaking with both Zakira and Malik several times during the evening. They all seemed exceptionally close, and he couldn’t believe he had never seen her before.

Several people told Zakira they had seen Malik head upstairs. She found him in his office, sprawled across the dark brown leather sofa. Just as she was about to approach him, his eyes opened and he sat up. Zakira decided to stay put and watch him. Malik covered his face with both hands and took several deep breaths. Then, he left the sofa and walked over to the wide desk. He stumbled just as he reached the brown swivel chair and grasped the edge of his desk for support.

Zakira balled a fist against her mouth to prevent herself from crying out. She watched Malik search one of the desk drawers before he extracted the now familiar pill bottle. He swallowed one of the capsules, then took a seat and closed his eyes again.

The next day, Edwina sat her elbow atop the table and propped the side of her face against her fist. “Are you sure you’re not overreacting?” she asked, giving her stepsister a doubtful look.

Zakira rolled her eyes toward the restaurant’s high ceiling. “No offense, Eddie, but you weren’t there. You didn’t see the look on his face when he stumbled. He was scared. He’s acting so strange. The dizziness I figured was because he’s working too hard, but now there’s the pills, this sudden checkup, a new doctor, he’s stumbling around like a drunk…I can’t help but be worried out of my mind.”

Eddie smoothed her hands over her low-cut navy silk blouse and leaned back in her chair. “This worrying can’t be good for you.”

Zakira’s stylish ponytail slapped her cheeks when she nodded her head. “I know. But it’s not going to stop until I get some answers.” She spotted Trekel Grisani heading toward the table.

“Hey, baby doll,” he greeted, as he took her hand and leaned down to kiss her cheek.

“Hey, sweetie.” Zakira replied, patting her hand against his cheek. “I’m surprised to see you outside that office of yours.”

Tree smiled, revealing his striking white grin. “Yeah, I break out every now and then.”

Zakira laughed, as she raised her hands above the table. “Tree, I want you to meet my stepsister, Edwina Harris. Eddie this is Trekel Grisani.”

Tree’s extremely handsome face registered surprise. “Stepsister? And I’m just meeting her now?” he scolded playfully.