Page 78 of Desire
He shouted so loud my body shook against his. When he tried to release me, I held onto him tighter.
“I’m going inside, baby.”
For the foreseeable future, where he went, I went. Iris remained precisely where I left her. Two officers arrived seconds later and were confused by the scene.
“Tell them what happened, baby,” Aziel urged.
“I came to use the bathroom, and when I left the stall, she attacked me.”
I’d have to give them more details later, but that was all I could give them now. Iris began to come to, and when her eyes landed on Aziel, she jumped up like a ninja and charged him while calling him everything but a child of God. Fortunately, before she could lay hands on him, the police grabbed her.
We left them to do their jobs, and as soon as we returned to the vestibule, I saw my family pushing through the crowd with Aziel’s family not far behind.
“Oh my God!”
“Desire, what the hell?”
“Sweetheart, are you okay?”
“What happened?”
My parents and sisters questioned me all at once, but Aziel answered for me.
“Let’s find a private place so we can talk. Baby, do you need an ambulance?” he asked, taking his suit jacket off and putting it around me because I’d begun shivering.
“No, I just need to sit down and gather myself.”
With his arm around me, he guided me down a hallway and to a private room while our families followed. After taking a few deep breaths and calming my nerves, I shared what happened. I wouldn’t believe it if it hadn’t happened to me. An evening that began so beautifully ended so horribly.
ONE MONTH LATER
Finally, a month later, the incident at the fundraiser was no longer news because something crazier replaced it. Iris had been charged with harassment, stalking, assault with a deadly weapon, and attempted murder. Once they arrested her and searched her apartment, they found an excessive amount of evidence.
She’d been released from the mental facility three months ago after a three-and-a-half-year stint. It seemed as if she’d been collecting articles about me since her release. A camera with pictures of Desire and me was found as well. Because of her mental illness, the charges probably wouldn’t stick, but if nothing else, she would have to return to a mental hospital.
Desire had only a few bruises from the altercation with Iris, but mentally, she was shaken. In the days following, she was quiet, kept to herself, and barely smiled. I worked from home for a few days to keep an eye on her, and by the end of the week, the light in her eyes returned.
Today, she had an interview with the preschool opening in the fall. She’d lost her job almost two months ago and was excited about the possibility of starting at a new school.
“Are you sure you can stay with Ria until I get back from my interview?” she asked as she finished her morning skincare routine.
“Baby, did you forget I was a single father a few months ago?”
“True, I don’t know why I asked. You don’t need me.”
I hoped she wasn’t serious because that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Is that what you think?”
“You’ve been parenting much longer than I have, so I wouldn’t say you needed me.”
I took her makeup brush from her hand, placed it on the counter, and turned her around.
“I can understand why you might say that, but it’s not true, baby. Not only do I need you in my life, but I want you here. You’ve enhanced my life in ways that I never could’ve imagined. I can do this alone, but it’s so much better with you by my side.”
“Don’t make me cry because I don’t have time to redo my makeup.”
“You don’t need that shit anyway.”