Page 100 of Crash: Love in Scrubs
Maj: You coming tomorrow?
Me: I’ll be there. How’s she been?
Maj: Moody as hell. Upset, they canceled one of her shows. She’s been snapping at everybody. She’s been a delight.
Me: I’m telling her what you said. LOL!
As Lynn and I headed back to her car, I felt more optimistic than I had in weeks. Sametra keeping me at arm’s length was allowing me to focus on something other than what I didn’t have. I wasn’t just talking, I was about action.
“How soon can we move on this?” I asked as we drove away.
“I can have the initial paperwork ready by tomorrow morning. Are you sure you don’t want to think about it overnight?”
I looked back at the building one more time, already imagining the sign:Pressure Points Rehabilitation & Wellness Center. Maybe underneath: Dr. Malik Holloway, DPT.
“I’m sure. Let’s make it happen.”
I made it back to my car in the hospital parking lot. Today was my exit interview. I’d already advised them that I would be submitting my resignation. That was the smartest move I could make. There was no need to drag this out any longer, especially when it should’ve never come to this in the first place. I was done playing their games.
I sat in my car for a moment, looking up at the building that had been my professional home for five years. Walking away felt surreal, but also liberating. This wasn’t an ending, it was a beginning. Life moved on.
My phone buzzed with another missed call from Mama. I’d been avoiding her like the plague ever since the suspension. Every time I talked to her, she was fussing about me and Sametra, and I was feeling it enough without any reminders of what had transpired.
But I couldn’t avoid her forever. Taking a deep breath, I called her back.
“Malik Jerome Holloway, you better have a good reason for avoiding your mother.”
“Hey, Mama. I know, I know. I’ve just been?—”
“You’ve been sulking and feeling sorry for yourself instead of fixing what you broke. That’s what you’ve been doing. I know it bet not be what you’ve been doing.”
I leaned back in my seat. “Mama…”
“Don’t ‘Mama’ me. I been waiting for you to call me back with good news, and instead you’ve been hiding from me.”
“I haven’t been hiding. I’ve been handling business. Just found a building for my own rehabilitation center.”
The line went quiet for a moment. “Your own place?”
“Yeah. Twelve thousand square feet in the medical district. I’m calling it Pressure Points. I hope to have it open by the end of the year. Definitely before the baby comes.”
“Well, look at my baby!” Her voice brightened immediately. “I’m proud of you, son. That’s what I’m talking about. God said to turn your setback into a comeback. Now, what about my daughter in love?”
I sighed. “Still working on that. And don’t act like you haven’t talked to her. I know Yolanda Beth-Ann Holloway ain’t minding her business.”
“Mm-hmm, maybe I have talked to her. She’s having my grandbaby after all. How much processing time you giving her?”
“She asked for space, so I’m giving her space.”
“Boy, that woman is carrying your baby and dealing with hormones that got her emotions all over the place. Space is one thing, but you can’t just sit back and wait for her. You gotta go get her.”
“I am fighting for us. I’m building this business for us, for our future, gifts, love notes.”
“Sending gifts ain’t the same as showing up, baby. You’re treating the symptoms, not the problem. She don’t need your money, she needs your presence, your leadership.”
I could hear her moving around.
“I don’t want to push…”
