THE NIKEL chapter 23

Obrey was ill in Amad's apartment in the bedroom trying to get some sleep. Jewel was in her room with the television turned up really loudly as she sang and danced. She chanted a little girl's jump rope song over and over. The room was a mess with Jewel's toys and clothes all over the place. She screamed as she raced to the living room to greet Amad.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

"Hello, angel." He entered the room carrying Jewel. "Party over here, what's up over there!"

Amad noticed how sick Obrey was and put Jewel down. Jewel skipped out of the room with her doll.

"Ohhh, you still sick?"

"I've been calling you all day. Why didn't you call back?"

"The battery in my pager was dead."

"Your pager is dead and I'm stupid, Amad."

"What's up?"

"What do you think? I'm sick as a dog and Jewel is driving me crazy. I have a meeting tomorrow that I'm still not prepared for. I need to get some rest. Amad, I'm too sick to add pissed off with you to that. You're here now. Would you please just turn off the TV so I can sleep?"

Amad turned off the TV and Obrey started to fall asleep when he came back in the room.

"Whew! Jewel is in the bed, so she should be fine. What did you give her to eat to make her so hyper in the first place?" She lifted her head from the covers. "I have to leave for just a few to take care of some business with Malik, but I'll be back soon." He bent to kiss her. When his lips got to her head, she turned around to face him. She put her hands in his face and pushed him away.

"What do you mean you're leaving? Look at me! Look at this place! Jewel isn't even almost asleep and I haven't had any rest all day!"

"I have to take care of this. I won't be gone long I promise."

"Your promises don't mean anything to me. I don't know what all the secret meetings are between you two, but I now it's not right. What's going on? And I don't wanna hear again about what you can't tell me! It does concern me. If it doesn't now it will later."

Amad sighed hard.

"You know Amad, I'm getting real sick of you taking me for granted. Just go and be with your man!"

"Everything I do I do for you and Jewel! But you't stop complaining long enough to see that!"

"You're being very insensitive. I'm sick and you knew I was sick when you left. What is it that is so important that you have to leave right now?"

The front door slammed and Jewel yelled from her room screaming for juice.

The next day at Obrey's house, Willow was there as Obrey dressed and gathered materials in her portfolio and briefcase to go to her meeting. "No! You knew that you were sick when you let him leave! Stop blaming him for everything and start taking some responsibiity for you part in the drama. Did it ever occur to you to just say no, get your keys and go home?"

"Not today, Willow!"

"I'm not being your friend by letting you do this to yourself. Let's calm down for a minute and not let this get out of hand. Obrey, this is me, Willow, your best friend since forever. Give me some credit. You think I don't know you? Look, let me share something with you. You're not going to like it, but listen anyway. Every relationship is fifty fifty or it wouldn't exist. You are geting exactly what you are giving. And you're getting what you're getting because it's what you want."

"Willow Winfrey1 I can't take it, ok?"

"Just look at it. Amad is really possessive and needs to have everything his way and he gets that in this relationship. And for some reason, something inside of you wants to be the victim. So you get to say, 'look what he did to me. Look at everything I do. Look at all the sacrifices I make and look at what I get. Poor me."

Obrey was really angry with her. She stopped gathering materials and closed her briefcase loudly and told her to get out.

"I'll leave. But as your friend it's my job to let you know what's really going on."

"GET OUT RIGHT NOW, WILLOW!" She threw a spool of thread at her as she walked out.

"I'm trying not to take any of your drama personal, but you're pushing it." Willow walked out and Obrey sat alone at her design table upset. She pushed everything off of the table.

Obrey sat in a long comfortable cotton dress at her mother's grave. "I don't know Ma, everything is so confusing these days. I wish you were here to tell me what to do. Funny I should be saying that when I used to hate for you to tell me what to do. I thought I knew everything. Now I know that I don't know nothin'." Pause. "That I don't know anything." She ran her fingers across the headstone.