FACING the REALITY by C.J. Greene
(Introduction and excerpt)
Copyrighted 2007 by Carla Miller
Facing the Reality
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Chapter 10
“What I am actually saying is that we need to be willing to
let our intuition guide us, and then be willing to follow that
guidance directly and fearlessly.”
Shakti Gawain
“You know…um, the doctors have told me that I might be going home sooner than they thought. My blood pressure has stabilized and the medicine that they gave me for the ulcers has practically healed them completely. I can’t thank you enough for all the help you have given me.”
I should have gotten an Academy Award for that line.
The thought of having to rely on that snake in the grass for another minute actually made me ill inside. But, I had to maintain my cool until an alternative plan presented itself. I had to get well fast and get out of that hospital bed before another penny of charges had been added to my bill.
“I’m very happy for you, Miss C.J.”
“Oh now…don’t you be so formal…you know that you can call me, C.J.” I raised my arms to give him a hug.
As he leaned down to hug me, I saw the figure of a man behind him. It looked like my husband.
“Sly?…Oh my God,…it is you!” Duke stood up and turned around quickly.
“What the hell is going on here?” Sly asked, calmly.
“Um, Sylvester Greene,--- this is an old friend of mine, Mr. Duke Preston. Duke this is my husband, Sylvester.”
They politely shook hands. “Nice to meet you…” they both said simultaneously, without a hint of emotion from either of them.
“Oh man, --- I am so glad to see you, Baby! Come here!” I said, reaching out to hug my husband.
He brushed past Duke, came to the bedside and allowed me to hug him tightly. I almost pulled him on top of me in my exuberance. I really wanted Duke to believe that we were a happy couple.
“What are you doing here so early, you sly devil, you?” Sly stood up and looked straight at Duke.
“Well now, you know…I managed to take care of my business early in California and now I’m here to take care of business with my wife.” He smiled broadly, looking directly at Duke.
“And, your wife and I have a little unfinished business of our own to take care of” Duke added, with a smirk on his face.
“What’s he talking about, C.J.?” Sly asked. I could almost see the hair beginning to stand up on the back of his neck.
“Um,…well, …um, Duke here …was generous enough to help me get my hospital bill straightened out. He is…he is…the pastor... of a local church … uh …a temple actually,... and if it wasn’t for him I would probably still be lying over there at County General, in the emergency ward doubled over in pain…Ha, ha, ha!” I chuckled, lightly.
“Yeah…ha, ha, ha…” Sly repeated, sarcastically. “Well, I am here now. So thank you very much, Mr. Pastor…whatever-the- hell- your-name-is. You can leave now.”
“That’s Father Hotep, to you,” Duke cut in.
“Father Hotep? Now, why does that name sound familiar?” Sly asked with a puzzled look on his face.
I tried to run interference before he got too suspicious.
“Um…Duke was just leaving…weren’t you Duke?”
“Yeah…I got some business to take care of myself.”
“Well it was so nice seeing you again, Duke --- and, I’ll be talking to you soon about that hospital bill, O.K.? You take it easy.” I said, smiling broadly; trying to get him out of the room as soon as possible before Sly started asking him any more questions.
“Nice talking to you, too, Mr. Greene. You have a very lovely wife, there. I’m quite sure the two of you are very happy. You have a nice day.” Duke said, as he tipped his hat politely and turned to leave. Sly sat down in the chair. He didn't look very happy and he had questions I was not sure that I wanted to answer.
“Why did you need him to take care of your hospital bill?
“It’s a long story, Honey. You know those health insurance policies are so complicated. Let’s not worry about all that now. I’m so glad to see you! Sit down and tell me all about California!”
Sylvester sat down in the chair next to my bed and told me all about how he had met with the limousine company executives and that he and his friend, Steve, were going to do a joint venture to provide limos for the Grammy’s, the American Music Awards, the Golden Globes and the Oscars. I was so happy that my husband was finally achieving some of the goals that he had set for himself and that we would soon have some extra money in the bank. But, there was still some lingering doubts in my mind about that telephone call I had made the night before I landed in the hospital.
“Sly…what happened the night of the funeral last Sunday? I asked him.
“What do you mean?” he said, trying to act all innocent.
“You know exactly what I am talking about. Don’t try to play coy with me. I called you and I heard female voices and loud music. What was going on…a little party party?”
“Oh you know…the fellas…,” he chuckled. "They had some of their women over and we had some beers, watched some videos, ate some food… but, that’s all.”
“Some videos…? What kind of videos?”
“You know…some bootleg stuff. Bad sound…horrible resolution…the usual.”
“And that’s all?”
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“That’s all…C.J. Stop nagging me about it! You know you are the only woman in my life. I love you baby.” He got up to come to the bed and give me a hug. “Being so far away from you just makes me realize how much I miss being with you.”
He leaned down again to give me a kiss. God…I missed my husband! If I didn’t think that someone could walk into the room I would have nailed him right then and there.
“So…what’s going on? What did the doctor tell you?” he asked.
I repeated the whole boring prognosis the doctors had given me, and explained the procedures they were going to do to relieve the pressure on my ulcers. Sly wasn’t exactly the most technical kind of person, and didn’t really understand everything that I had told him, but he did understand that I loved him and that I needed to rest. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about the money though, because, I knew that he would have tried to convince me to spend it on his business venture, and I wasn’t too sure I wanted to do that right away. I had other plans for that money…my business came first.
“I’m going to go talk to the doctor and I’ll be right back., “ he said. “What’s his name, again?”
“Dr. Kirkpatrick…His office is on the third floor. You should see his name on his door.”
“O.K , I’ll be right back,” he said, quickly and then went to go find the doctor.
Dr. Kirkpatrick and his colleague, Dr. Maney, were sitting in their office discussing their patient files. Sly knocked on the
door, introduced himself and apologized for interrupting their conversation. “Oh, no trouble, at all…Mr. Greene,…we were just about to come down to the room to talk to your wife.” The doctor looked like he had something very important to tell him. “Mr. Greene, your wife’s condition is very serious. She’s made remarkable progress in the last week but she is far from being out of the woods, just yet.”
“What do you mean, doc?” Sly asked. “Let’s just cut to the chase, alright?”
“Mr. Greene have you ever had an HIV test?”
“HIV test? What’s this got to do with HIV? You mean AIDS?”
“Your wife tested positive for HIV, Mr. Greene--- and we suggest that you get tested also…and, very soon, I might add.”
Sylvester dropped down into the chair at the side of the doctor’s desk and almost lost his breakfast right there on the floor of the doctor’s office. He loosened his collar and took off his hat. If he wasn’t such a dark-skinned man, he probably would have turned a few shades lighter. He listened intently, as the doctor continued his revelation about my condition.
“We also suggest that you wait to tell her, because she is not strong enough yet, to withstand the news right now. We are telling you this for your own benefit to give you the opportunity to do what you need to do for your own health.”
“In the meanwhile, we must keep this a secret. The news could give your wife a stroke or even worse…a heart attack. If you love your wife you will keep quiet until she is stronger,” Dr. Maney cautioned him.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa…Just let me think about this for a minute,” Sly said, nervously.
“Take all the time you need,” Dr. Maney, added. “Would you like a glass of water?”
“Yes, please…” and after a few seconds Sly whispered: “I can’t go back into that room. I can’t do this. Tell my wife I had an emergency call and had to leave. I’ll see her later tonight. I have to go get some air.”
“Sure, Mr. Greene…We understand. We’ll take care of everything.” Dr. Kirkpatrick helped Sly get to his feet. He took a few seconds to compose himself, then, he slowly walked dazed and stunned down the hallway back to the parking lot.
The doctors continued their conversation.
“It’s a shame we had to break it to him like that,” said Dr. Maney. “I’ll go talk to Mrs. Greene, now.”
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