Broken (Endurance) (20 page)

"Don't let them destroy you, honey. Don't let your father do to you what he did to me."

Cressida turned to her mother and knelt before her wheelchair, tears streaming down her face. "Momma, I’m coming to get you." Her mom didn't answer.  She just started singing old gospel hymns. No matter how many times Cressida called her mother, no answer came, only the haunting sounds of song.

Cressida awoke to a pillow soaked with her tears and sweat.  In the distance, she heard a heavy fist banging on her front door. She looked at her clock that now read nine thirty. She hurried to the door, and looked through the peep hole.  She could see the much welcomed sight of Maxwell. She took a deep breath, wiped the tears from her eyes and slowly opened the door. It was a wasted effort to try to hide her emotions from Maxwell. His happy smile instantly turned to concern when he saw her.

"What happened?" he asked as he walked into her condo.

"Nothing, I just had a bad dream." Cressida closed the door behind him.

"That must have been one hell of a nightmare."

"Hell is right." She walked back down the hall to her bedroom.

Maxwell followed, catching up to her as she stood in front of a full length mirror. "What do you mean?"

Cressida pulled her short nightgown over her head as she began to speak. "First I dreamt I was running up some stairs and this evil looking creature kept pulling me down." She walked over to the bathroom to take a shower. "I had to crawl on all fours to get to the top. You were there and you tried to help me stand on the top step, but I was being pulled down. You told me I had to let go."  She turned on the shower and stepped in screaming at the cold water that hit her body.

Maxwell came in and sat down on the closed toilet seat. "What do you need to let go of?" he asked.

"I don't know. I was hoping you could tell me."

"I don't know."

"Well, then I dreamt my mother she was staring out a window. What does it mean when you see your name written on a contract and at the top it says proprietary rights of Cressida Dash? Well, I ..."

Maxwell stood and yanked the shower curtain back. "What did you say?"

Cressida wiped the water from her eyes and turned to him. "Maxwell, you’re scaring me."

"Cressida, are you sure about what you saw?"

"Yes, it was clear. I know what it means, but this ain't the slave trade. My father can't sell me."

"Your father?" Maxwell yelled. "Cressida you just watched your father sell you to Satan!"

"What do you mean?” she said as she reached for the shower curtain. “Babe, I’m freezing."

"Sorry." He closed the curtain and walked out of the bathroom, frustrated as he sat back down on the edge of her bed. Cressida came out of the shower a few minutes later. She wrapped a towel around herself and walked out to where Maxwell sat leaning forward with his forearms resting on his knees. He seemed to be deep in thought. Cressida stood in front of him and ran her fingers over his curly hair.  Maxwell slipped his hands through the opening of her towel, pulling her close to rest his head on her stomach.

"What does it all mean?" Cressida asked.

"We have a serious problem."

"What should I do?"

"Can't really think right now... is that vanilla?"

"Maxwell." Cressida giggled.

Our Future

A cool breeze blew as the moon lit the shoreline, creating a breathtaking scene. Max laughed as he watched his wife playing with their son. He sat on a beach towel, finally relaxed.  With his family under one roof, he could now focus on his classes. He stretched out on the towel, folding his arms behind his head.

Mei chased her son as he ran, squealing with glee, to his father.  He threw himself onto Max's chest. Max groaned, but then laughed along with Uriel. Mei joined them and knelt in the sand next to Max.

She was out of breath and exhausted.

"I think he will sleep now," Mei said, trying to catch her breath.

"Thank God." Max tickled Uriel.

"Stop, you’re gonna get him going again," Mei complained.

"Mommy is not fun," Max joked as he played with his son.

"Daddy, won't be saying that tonight."

"Let's go." Max suddenly jumped to his feet, causing Mei to fall back laughing. "Serious, let’s go woman." Max picked up Uriel.

"Whatever, Max I was just joking. We don't have a bed, remember? However, I do need to feed Uriel."

"Oh, he gets to eat."

"Max, let's just relax for five more minutes."

Max sat back down next to Mei and sat Uriel between them. He looked at his wife, admiring how relaxed she looked. "Do you like it here?" he asked.

"I do. It's so peaceful. Living the next four years on a beautiful hidden tropical island is like a fantasy."

"Yeah, you’re right." Max looked ahead, watching the waves crash against the shore.

"What classes are you taking this semester?" Mei asked.

"I don't even know what I want to be."

"Is it hard because you grew up not having to worry about money?"

Max felt a little insulted, but couldn't deny the truth. "It's not only that. Things have changed and I don't want to be the kind of husband and father who rushes off to work every day. I don't want to miss out on my kids and my wife."

"I can understand that. Maybe you’re looking at it wrong. What about a different approach? Think of it this way. What would you like to do j
ust because? Something that
would make you feel good when you’re sitting in your rocking chair waiting for Uriel to come and change your diaper," Mei said, trying not to laugh.

"What, my diaper? And where will you be, grandma?"

"Oh, I don't age." Mei laughed.

"Wow, so you’re taking physics this semester," Max joked.

Mei laughed, as she leaned towards him. Uriel had fallen asleep and Mei cradled him as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Max, seriously, if you could do anything in the world, what would it be?"

Max looked up at the stars and thought about Mei's question. He began to see images of himself feeding hungry children. It would then turn into opening up children's homes and schools around the world. He could see his wife, surrounded by four sons and she was holding a baby girl. "Mei, I think I would want to help children."

"Really, I was thinking about maybe opening a children's home."

"Yeah, maybe even a school.  Mei, how many kids do you want?"

"I didn't think it was my choice, remember?"

"Well, I see the four, but I also see a fifth... a girl."

"I must look like a whale,' Mei replied.

Max tried not to laugh. He didn't want to lose his focus. "Don't make me laugh. Mei you are still beautiful and sexy and young looking," Max said, his eyes now closed.

"I told you," Mei whispered.

Max heard her and busted out laughing.

"Okay, you were right," he said looking over at her.

"Well, how do you feel now?" Mei asked.

"I didn't realize I was missing a purpose, besides loving you and our son, our life together. I didn't think about anything else. Thank you for opening my mind."

"I just asked the question.  I learned it in class the other day. The professor wanted us to soul search. When I did, I asked why God would put me in this situation. Most people worry about how they’re going to feed their family, how are they going to pay for their college tuition. We are blessed.  We don’t have to worry about that. If God has blessed you, he did it for a reason. I want to help families and children, anyone in need."

"So, that’s what we should do."

"Max, I love you.  Sometimes you drive me crazy, but I know you are only doing it out of love."

"You mean the world to me. That's why you make me crazy." Max kissed her. "So you’re serious? You want to start some sort of organization, whose business it is to only help others?" Max questioned.

"Yeah."

"Now we just need to figure out what classes we will need to take," Max said.

"How are we going to do this? Balance Uriel, school, and starting a business?"

"I don't know, but it will happen." Max looked down at Uriel. "We should get him inside before he catches a cold."

"Shake off the blanket and I'll cover him." Mei shifted Uriel to her shoulder and stood up.  She could feel sand falling out of her hair. "Max, do I have a crap load of sand in my hair?"

Max chuckled as he tried to brush the sand out of her long wavy hair. "The shower isn't installed yet."

"I know.  Here take him to the hut. I need to go rinse my hair out." She handed Uriel to Max.

"You want me to leave you alone on the beach wearing that bikini?" Max said jokingly.

"Are you serious? Nobody is even out here."

"And the baby is sleeping. I’m just saying let’s get more sand in your hair." He smiled.

"Get out of here, freak." Mei laughed as she walked towards the ocean.

Max smiled as he watched her bathe in the moonlight for a moment.  He slowly turned and walked away, heading to the village.

Samuel watched them from behind a large palm tree. The cozy little scene had bored him, but now things were becoming interesting. Samuel watched Max walk down the path that led to the village.  In a few paces, he was out of sight. Samuel stepped from behind the palm tree and walked stealthily in the direction of Mei. His pulse quickened, as he got closer to her. He enjoyed watching the salty water slide over her lean, slender stomach and shapely hips. Samuel was intoxicated by the way the water rolled down Mei's skin, gliding seamlessly over her full, plump breasts.

Her eyes were closed as she washed the sand out of her hair. After dunking a few times she finally felt satisfied. She opened her eyes and screamed.

"Oh, it's just me. Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Samuel said.

Mei walked out of the ocean enraged. "What are you looking at pervert?"

"I was just enjoying the view. It's a beautiful night," Samuel replied.

Mei  passed by him, not saying another word. She headed for the village, grumbling to herself the whole way.  Adding to her frustration was an unwelcome visitor to her family’s hut.

Renee was laughing and talking to Max. She touched Max’s forearm with a flirtatious hand while he stood facing her with his arms folded.

Mei watched the scene a few seconds before heading up the path to make a scene. She walked up, intentionally bumping into Max as she passed behind him. Max flew forward and looked back in shock. He didn't hesitate to follow her inside. Mei grabbed a towel and began drying her hair as she paced the hut. Max closed the door behind him and waited for Mei to speak. When she didn't he approached her.

"Baby, you know you’re the only woman for me," Max said, sliding his arms around her and stopping her pacing. "God designed us for each other. No one will come between us."

Mei thought about what he said and knew he was right. She wasn't angry at Max as much as she was freaked out by Samuel and tired of Renee. She didn't want to tell Max about Samuel knowing he would want to know where he was so that he could kill him. They didn't stay long in the dorm rooms and when they did talk it was all about Uriel.