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“When?” Lawson and Angel asked at the same time.

Reginell let out a breath and massaged her back. “Soon.”

“See? You all support each other without even thinking about it. That's beautiful,” observed Desdemona.

“Don't you have friends back in Atlanta like that?” asked Lawson.

Desdemona shook her head. “Not really. Work keeps me pretty busy. Even when it doesn't, I've found that females don't really get along that well for an extended period of time. Somebody gets jealous or someone betrays someone else or someone takes someone else's man. There's always some kind of drama. It's easier to have one or two girlfriends I can hang out with sometimes and to keep to myself the rest of the time.”

“Don't get me wrong. We have our moments,” Lawson said, clarifying the situation. “We argue and fight just like sisters, but we always find our way back.”

“We're family,” affirmed Kina, looking at her friends. “All of us.”

Desdemona was in awe. “That's amazing. Quite frankly, it's miraculous that your friendship has survived this long. My mother used to always say that if you have more than one best friend, you're setting yourself up to get hurt. I guess you ladies are the exception.”

“Absolutely!” affirmed Angel. “When it's a true sisterhood bond like this one, nothing or nobody can tear it apart.”

Desdemona nodded, then turned her head in the direction of a ringing phone.

“Oh, that's me,” Lawson said and looked down at her phone. “It's a text from Charles.”

Kina held her breath. “What did he say?”

“He said to come to the hospital as quick as we can,” reported Lawson.

Reginell gulped. “You don't think they're calling the family in, do you?”

“We can't assume the worst,” cautioned Angel. “I witness medical miracles all the time. Maybe she woke up.”

“Don't you think Charles would've put that in the text, though?” asked Kina.

“I don't know.” Lawson pushed her plate away. “Let's just go and see, okay?”

“Do you think we should pray first?” asked Angel.

“We should pray in the car.” Lawson nervously bit her lip. “I don't know how much time we have.”

The ladies mechanically rose from their chairs, collecting their cell phones and purses. They didn't speak on the way to the hospital and forgot to pray. They were too preoccupied, not knowing if they were about to witness a miracle or were going to the hospital to tell Sullivan good-bye.

“Wonders never cease!”

 

–
Angel King

 

“Well, wonders never cease!” exclaimed Angel as she entered Sullivan's hospital room, flanked by Kina, Reginell, Lawson, and Desdemona.

“Praise be to God! I've always believed in miracles, but there's nothing like seeing one to reaffirm my belief!” attested Lawson. She was nearly brought to tears at the sight of Sullivan sitting up in her hospital bed, awake and alert. She rushed to Sullivan's side and enfolded her in a zealous embrace. “You don't know how happy I am to see these gray contacts!”

“Dang, Lawson,” croaked Sullivan. “I just came back to life. Don't try to kill me!”

Lawson pulled back. “I'm sorry. I can't help it. I'm so thrilled to see my best friend again.”

Charles chuckled, bouncing toddler Charity on his knee. “Don't feel bad. I had the same reaction. I can't tell you how good it felt to see my baby open her eyes. I think I scared half the hospital when I shouted up and down the corridor!”

“The people in this hospital may not understand your shouting, but we sure do! How long has she been awake?” asked Angel.

“A few hours,” answered Charles. “I would've called you sooner, but the doctors had to run some tests and examine her. I didn't want to call until we knew she was all right.”

Lawson held Sullivan's hand. “How are you feeling, sweetie? Are you in any pain?”

Sullivan stretched out on the bed. “If I am, I can't tell. The drugs here are fabulous! Angel, I can see why you got addicted.”

“Looks like the sadistic witch of Savannah is back!” announced Reginell. “I wouldn't have it any other way!”

“Yeah, I love you too, Reggie,” Sullivan replied sarcastically. “And thank you for keeping my broomstick warm while I was sleeping.”

Lawson laughed. “Yep, she's definitely back!”

“Well, she's still not at one hundred percent, but she'll get there,” proclaimed Charles. “The Lord wouldn't have it any other way.”

“You had us worried for a minute there,” said Kina. “But we never gave up hope, and we never stopped praying for you.”

“Thank you, Kina.” Sullivan looked over at Charity and Charles. “I had a lot of motivation right here and in that NICU to come back.”

Angel cooed. “Have you seen Christian?”

Sullivan beamed with pride. “Yes. He's teeny, but he's perfect.”

“It must've been wonderful seeing him for the first time,” said Kina.

Sullivan nodded. “When I woke up to a flat stomach, I almost had a heart attack. I didn't know what had happened to my baby. The doctors wanted me to wait before going to see him. They thought seeing him with tubes and on that breathing machine would freak me out, but I made such a fuss that they soon figured out that
not
seeing him was making me freak out even more! I think they know now not to mess with me when it comes to my kids.”

Angel tried to mask her concern about Christian's undeveloped immune and respiratory systems. “How is he? Is the breathing machine working for him okay?”

“I don't know, but God is,” attested Charles. “We put our faith in Him, not some machine.”

“Amen,” said Lawson.

Sullivan spotted Desdemona hanging back in the corner. “Wow. I'm down a few days, and y'all have already replaced me?”

Kina snickered. “Not a chance. This is Desdemona. She's helping me with my book.”

Desdemona stepped forward. “I hope it's okay that I'm here. I was with Kina when they got the call. She said it would be okay if I tagged along.”

“No, it's fine,” said Sullivan.

“I'm glad you're awake. They've all been worried sick about you,” Desdemona told her.

“It'll take a lot more than a teenager texting while driving to take me out!” professed Sullivan.

“You're a tough cookie,” joked Desdemona. “Believe me, it takes one to know one! And if you ladies will excuse me, I have a few errands to run. I get lost after the sun goes down, so I better head out while there's still daylight.”

Charles shook her hand. “Thanks for coming, and nice meeting you.”

“I'll be right back,” Kina said before walking Desdemona out.

“So Kina has a new entourage now?” teased Sullivan.

“She's harmless, and I'll take Desdemona over Kina's cameramen any day. Remember how creepy they were, filming and following her around everywhere?” Lawson glanced over at Reginell, who appeared to be in pain again. “Reggie, are you all right?”

Reginell nodded, gritting her teeth and gripping the arm of a chair.

Angel's nursing instincts took over. “Reggie, I can look at you and tell you're in agony. Let me take a look at you.”

“I'm fine,” Reginell replied breathlessly. “Excuse me.” She gathered the bit of strength she had left and dashed out of the room.

Lawson rose. “I'm going after her.”

“No, stay here with Sully,” instructed Angel. “I'm the nurse. This is my territory.”

Angel made a quick exit and found Reginell doubled over in pain right outside Sullivan's door, with Kina tending to her.

“Call Mark,” groaned Reginell, holding her stomach and struggling to breathe.

“Forget Mark.” Angel looked at Kina. “We need to call a doctor.”

“There's really not a lot of space on my plate to
add
jealousy
at this moment.”

 

–
Lawson Kerry Banks

 

Mark charged down the hospital corridor, frantically searching for Reginell. He found Lawson, Angel, and Kina instead. “Where is she? Where's Reggie?”

“She's in with the doctor.” Sullivan pointed to the hospital room where Reginell was stationed. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”

“Thanks for calling me.” Mark took a second to catch his breath. “What's going on? What happened?”

“We don't know yet,” replied Angel. “We just know that she was in a lot of pain.”

“She's been complaining about that lately,” said Mark. “I knew I should've gotten her to a doctor.”

“Don't blame yourself. My sister is stubborn. She wasn't going to a doctor until she was good and ready,” said Lawson.

They all turned in the direction of Reginell's room when they heard the door creak open and saw the physician emerge, having completed his examination of Reginell.

“Hello. I'm Dr. McNamara. Which one of you is responsible for Reginell Kerry?”

“I am,” replied Lawson. “I'm her sister and next of kin.”

Mark moved ahead of her. “No,
I
am. I'm her husband.”

Kina and Angel gawked at Mark with opened mouths.

“You mean fiancé,” Lawson said, correcting him.

“No, I mean her husband. We haven't told anybody yet, but we made it official about two weeks ago,” explained Mark.

Lawson stumbled back a bit. “So . . . you're married?”

“Yes, Lawson, we're married.” Mark edged closer to the doctor. “How is she? What's wrong with my wife? Is she okay?”

The doctor raised his hand a little to calm Mark down. “She's going to be fine. We administered an ultrasound—”

Lawson interrupted him. “Ultrasound? Is she pregnant?”

“No. We found some scar tissue outside of her uterus, which is usually consistent with endometriosis.”

“I've heard of it, but I'm not sure I know exactly what endometriosis is,” admitted Mark.

“Basically, women have tissue that line the uterus, or womb. Endometriosis occurs when tissue grows outside of the uterus, on other organs or structures in the body, like the fallopian tubes, the ovaries, or the rectum. It can spread to other parts as well,” Dr. McNamara explained.

“Is that dangerous?” asked Kina.

“Endometriosis may spread like cancer, but it's benign,” explained Angel.

Mark was still worried. “If it's harmless, why has she been in so much pain?”

“The tissue and blood that's shed into the body can cause inflammation, scar tissue, and adhesions. This scar tissue may cause pelvic pain,” said Dr. McNamara. “And trapped blood in the ovaries can form cysts.”

“Poor Reggie,” moaned Kina.

“Okay, so if pain is the worst thing that can happen, she should be fine, right?” asked Mark. “You can fix that with medicine, can't you?”

Dr. McNamara nodded. “We'll try.”

Lawson released a deep breath. “Doctor, how did this happen?”

“There's really no way to know that definitely. Endometriosis is actually quite common, especially among women Reginell's age. Risk factors can range from genetics to not having children to damaged pelvic cells resulting from infection.”

“So what happens now?” asked Mark.

“Well, we'll need to schedule your wife for a minor surgery called a laparoscopy.”

Inexplicably, it stung Lawson slightly to hear Reginell referred to as Mark's wife.

Kina gasped. “Surgery?”

“It's a very simple procedure, but it's the only way to definitively determine if she has endometriosis,” Dr. McNamara told them.

Mark was still anxious. “Can I see my wife now?”

The doctor nodded. “Yes, she's resting comfortably, but she's awake.”

“I'm coming too,” insisted Lawson.

Mark stopped her. “Give me a minute with her first.”

“That's my baby sister in there!” cried Lawson.

“But she's his wife.” Angel pulled Lawson off to the side. “Let them have a moment.”

Lawson reluctantly yielded to Mark's request and watched in the background as he entered Reginell's room without her.

“Wow, Reggie's
married!
Can you believe it?” asked Kina, still in awe.

“Mark is looking like a real husband in there with her too,” observed Angel, peeking into the room.

Lawson frowned. “I think we should be focusing on Reggie's health, not her nuptials.”

“She'll be fine,” Angel assured her. “Depending on the severity of it, Reggie could be treated with something as simple as pain meds or hormone therapy. They may even be able to treat during the laparoscopic procedure.”

Kina placed her hand over her chest. “That's a relief.”

“The main thing with endometriosis is getting the pain under control and making sure it doesn't spread to other parts of the body. The worst thing about having this condition is the chance that it will make it harder for Reggie to get pregnant,” Angel warned them.

“Uh-huh,” grunted Lawson. “I wonder why they felt the need to keep the wedding a secret.”

“I thought we weren't going to focus on Reggie's nuptials,” Angel reminded her.

“We're not. I'm just saying . . . I'm Reggie's sister and I share a child with Mark. I would think they owed me a heads-up.”

“Obviously, they thought otherwise,” remarked Angel, detecting an attitude from Lawson, as well as noting the distressed look on her face. “You're not upset about them getting married, are you?”

Lawson huffed. “Angel, they were engaged for over a year, so it's not like it's a total shock. I just thought they'd run it by me first.”

“Run it by you for what?” asked Kina, probing. “They're grown!”

“You're missing the point!” Lawson shook her head. “Anyway, I think the newlyweds have had sufficient time together. I want to go in and check on my sister.”

Angel grabbed Lawson's arm. “Wait a minute. You're okay with this, right? I mean, you're not jealous or anything, are you?”

“Angel, my teenage son has knocked up his teenage girlfriend, my best friend has spent the past few days fighting for her life, and we still don't know if her son is going to make it. I had to watch my baby sister collapse in pain, and now I find out she's married to my son's father. There's really not a lot of space on my plate to add
jealousy
at this moment. All I want to do is make sure that my sister is okay.”

Angel let her go. “I'm sorry. You've been through a lot lately. I was being insensitive.”

“It's fine. For the record, I'm not jealous of Reggie and Mark. If this is what they want, I'm happy for them. I just wish they had told me. It feels like too many changes coming at me too fast. You know I have to have structure and order. My life has been anything but that lately.”

“Sullivan is finally awake, and Reggie is getting the help she needs. I know she and Mark sneaked off and got married without telling you, but look at it this way—you didn't lose a baby's daddy. You gained a brother-in-law!” enthused Kina. “It's a happy day!”

Lawson smiled, when all she really wanted to do was haul off and slap that insipid grin right off Kina's face.

“The important thing is that Reggie now has a husband who loves her and wants to take care of her, and who doesn't want that?” Angel fished her ringing phone out of her purse. “Hello?”

Lawson and Kina watched as a stunned look washed over Angel's face. After a few minutes, she hung up the phone, seemingly in shock.

Lawson moved closer to her. “Angel, is everything okay?”

Angel swallowed hard. “Um . . . no.”

Kina placed her hand over her heart. “Oh, my God, what's wrong?”

“That was Duke. He . . . he was arrested.”