“What’s wrong with your face?” Denise walked through the front door of her apartment and Naomi was the first person she saw, as usual.

“Nothing,” Naomi said hoarsely. She was wiping down the glasstop dining area table and trying to avert her face from her mother. Naomi had cried so much and so hard before and during her conversation with William earlier that day that the openings of her eyes were just slits surrounded by puffiness. She’d tried hot and cold compresses to make the swelling go down, but nothing helped. Naomi was hoping her mother would come home much later and she would be in bed before she would have to answer questions.

“Naomi. Really. It’s been a long day. I know you better than you know yourself. Why have you been crying?” Denise placed her purse and keys on the table by the door and sat her briefcase in front of the table. She turned when she heard heavy feet padding into the room.

“Naomi, I said I was sorry. Mother, I told her I was sorry. I embarrassed her. I walked in on her in the bathroom.” William winked at his sister with the eye Denise couldn’t see. The front of his shirt, hands and arms were wet. He was bathing Benjamin and Sarah, and he’d rushed out of the bathroom when he heard Denise questioning Naomi. Naomi was a horrible liar, and he was certain Denise would lose her mind if Naomi told the truth. He had hurried to his sister’s rescue.

“William, we’ve talked about this. When the bathroom door is closed, you knock.” Denise put her hands on her hips and looked sternly at her son.

“Yes, Mother. I know. I wasn’t thinking. I apologized to her, like, 100 times. That’s one of the problems with having five people in a two-bedroom apartment with one bathroom,” William said as he threw his hands in the air in mock frustration. Naomi wondered why he felt it necessary to talk about the size of the apartment, but she had a sneaking suspicion William had been planning this ruse to further his own agenda. Naomi filed her feelings about his statement away in her mental rolodex. Denise turned her attention back to Naomi.

“What did William walk in on you doing in the bathroom that would get you so upset that you’d cry so hard that your eyes are almost swollen shut?” Denise sat in one of the chairs at the dining area table and began removing her sling-back pumps.

“I…I.” Naomi couldn’t think of a plausible lie. William came to her rescue again.

“She had on one of your bras and was putting tissue in it,” William blurted. Naomi’s eyes grew huge and she looked at her brother with astonishment. Her mouth agape, she couldn’t even fathom how to respond to that.

“WHAT?!?!” Denise shrieked with wide-eyed amusement. She threw her head back and laughed like it was going out of style. Naomi crossed her arms over her flat chest and pretended to be totally insulted. William joined in the laughter. Naomi’s radar was working overtime now.

“I tried to tell her it was nothing to be embarrassed about, but she cried and cried.” William wiped his hands on the front of his shirt.

“Oh, baby, I’m sorry to laugh at you,” Denise said between hearty chuckles, “but it’s only funny because I remember doing the same thing with my mother’s bra. Come here.” Denise reached out her arm and extended a hand to Naomi. Naomi came around the table and took Denise’s hand. William went back into the bathroom to finish bathing the little ones.

“Mother, I can’t believe you were ever as flat as me when you were my age. I’m never going to have breasts and hips. All my friends are developed and I still look like a boy.” Naomi sat in her mother’s lap, and Denise put her arms around Naomi’s thin waist.

“Sweetheart, my breasts and hips didn’t start developing until I was in my second year of college. I was a late bloomer, and you take after me.” Denise rested her head on Naomi’s back as she talked lovingly with her daughter. For Naomi, William’s fib had been a bonus. She got to sit with her mother and talk about girl stuff. Naomi knew that as soon as the little ones were bathed, dried, powdered, greased and clothed in their pajamas, they’d be competing with her for Denise’s attention.

No sooner had Naomi finished the thought than her naked little brother and sister bounded out of the bathroom with William bringing up the rear.

“Come back here, you two!” William was holding a towel and trying to catch Benjamin and Sarah before they left a trail of wet footsteps from the bathroom to the dining area. He wasn’t fast enough.

“Mother! Mother!” Benjamin and Sarah reached Denise and Naomi before William could get past the coffee table and over to the dining area table. Denise opened the arms she had around Naomi and hugged all three of the children at the same time.

“My mushy-wet, little munchkins,” Denise exclaimed and flashed a dazzling smile at Benjamin and Sarah. Naomi was forced to smile, as well. Even though she wanted her mother to herself, she understood how much her little brother and sister missed Denise, too. Besides, Benjamin and Sarah would be going to bed soon and Naomi and William would have a couple of hours before their bedtime, and they could spend some time with Denise then, if she wasn’t too tired and/or didn’t have too much work. William actually demanded much less of Denise’s time these days, so there was a good chance Naomi would have Denise alone again and they could finish their discussion. Naomi wanted to talk to her mother about getting a training bra.

“How was your day, Mother?” William dried the little ones off right in the dining area. He knew it was fruitless to try to get them back in the bathroom, plus it was nice for them to all be there in the same space. His mother was smiling, Naomi was feeling special sitting on Denise’s lap, and the little ones were still and letting him dry them off. They all were quiet waiting for their mother to speak. Naomi didn’t look around at her. She trained her eyes on William, who purposely avoided her stare. She knew he was up to something. She couldn’t forget what she’d seen in that letter on his desk.

“Oh, son. It was a busy and long day. I think I have the most challenging boss on the planet.” Denise was enjoying having her children all around her. She especially liked the fact that she’d gotten home early enough for the little ones’ bath night. That meant that William wouldn’t be hiding in his room, because it was his responsibility to make sure Benjamin and Sarah were bathed every other night, because Naomi was busy with the rest of the household responsibilities.

“Mother, Naomi is too bossy,” Sarah said through the towel that William had placed over here head to dry her hair.

“Why do you say so, my beloved?” Denise furrowed her brow and feigned sincere concern. She knew exactly what Sarah was going to say.

“She makes us do homework and put away our toys and eat yucky vegetables. Right, Benjamin?” Sarah wiggled her head out of the towel and looked at Benjamin. Benjamin, always so shy and quiet looked at Sarah, then Naomi, then his mother and back to Sarah.

“The vegetables were good tonight,” he said in a quiet voice.

“See, Mother. Benjamin thinks she’s too bossy, too,” Sarah asserted as she put her hands on what would be hips one day. Denise stifled a laugh, and put on her most serious face.

“Sarah, I’m sorry you think Naomi is too bossy, but she’s only telling you to do what I told her to tell you to do. Are you doing what Naomi tells you to do?” Denise watched Sarah nod her head up and down.

“Mother, Sarah always does what I ask her to do. She’s a very good girl,” Naomi chimed in, leaving off the fact that  Sarah complained every step of the way. Naomi knew her mother already knew that part.

When Naomi had brought this complaint to Denise before, she had asked Naomi to be extremely patient with Sarah. Denise explained to Naomi that Sarah had a different personality than her other three children. Denise didn’t want Naomi to try to break Sarah’s spirits, but she did want Naomi to find a way to get Sarah to comply. Her children had to work together. They had to help Denise raise them. That was all there was to it. She didn’t like leaving her older children in charge and responsible for the little ones, but someone had to make up the income that their father just wasn’t able to provide.

As her children’s father, Emmanuel gave all he could and all the time. Even as generous as he was with his money and time, he was spread thin with taking care of his other children, as well. Denise couldn’t fault him for his career choice either. He’d taken a lower-paying job with his company that not only allowed him to meet his financial obligations to all his children, but it also afforded him the ability to make his own hours so he could attend his children’s activities and bear some of the carpooling responsibilities.

“It’s bedtime, munchkins.” Denise kissed both Benjamin and Sarah, who pouted and whined, but they obeyed and followed William out of the dining area to the back of the apartment.

“Mother, Sarah is becoming more and more difficult. Benjamin does everything without complaining, but Sarah is really challenging me more and more.” Naomi got up from her mother’s lap and sat in the chair next to her.

“I know, my beloved, I know. I just need you to continue to be patient with her. I know it isn’t easy, especially when even William does what you say, but Sarah’s a…”

“different personality. Yes, Mother, I know.” Naomi finished Denise’s sentence but not in a disrespectful way. They both smiled.

“You’re going to have to deal with all types of people, Naomi. It doesn’t hurt to start practicing how to get along with all those different personalities now. Look at it this way. If you can keep Sarah in line, you should be able to keep anyone else in line. It’s the people who know you well that give you the hardest time when you’re in charge. Remember that part in the Bible where Jesus goes back to preach in his hometown? I mean, He was Jesus, the Son of God, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords…”

“Yes, Mother,” Naomi said with a giggle, “I get your point.” Naomi and Denise exchanged more warms smiles. They both turned to look at him when William came back in the room.

“Mi-Mi, the little ones want you to read them a story,” William said to his sister without meeting her eyes. Naomi didn’t move.

“I’m talking with Mother. Can you read them a story?” Naomi didn’t want William to talk with Denise. William still wouldn’t look at Naomi. Instead, he looked at Denise.

“Mother, I’d like to run something by you that I want to talk with Dad about. I’d like to have your opinion first, if you don’t mind.” William again purposely avoided Naomi’s stare. Naomi’s heartbeat quickened as she realized how he’d used her to set up this talk with their mother.

“Go on, Naomi. Read to the little ones for me while I talk to ‘the man’ here.” Denise was happy to be included in her son’s life about anything these days. In recent months he’d grown distant and withdrawn. The fact that he was asking her advice on anything made her want to give him her full attention.

Naomi stood up and walked toward William who walked toward her. As they met to change places, Naomi bumped him hard with her shoulder. William didn’t even break stride, nor did he once look at Naomi. When Naomi got to her bedroom door, where she knew Benjamin and Sarah would be waiting, she looked over her shoulder and saw William sitting in the seat that she’d just vacated. Their mother was still smiling.

“Tell me something good, my beloved.” Denise touched her son’s knee and smiled lovingly at him.

As she closed the door to her room, Naomi heard William clearing his throat.

“I’d like to…,” William was saying as Naomi closed the door.

———-

This is Installment #7 of “The Pride.” If you missed the beginning, go to “The Pride: From the Beginning” to start at the first installment.

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Copyright© 2009, Faydra D. Fields, All rights reserved.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 22:30 and is filed under The Pride. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.