A House Divided Read Online Free Page A

dressed.”
    “Why can’t I go to the hospital with you? Why can’t I see the baby?”
    “Because you’re not old enough to visit mothers and their newborns.”
    Curtina’s lips curved into a pout. “That’s not fair. I wanna see little MJ.”
    Even Curtina was calling her nephew by that name. She’d only heard Curtis say it a couple of times, but it had obviously stuck with her. “You’ll get to see him when he comes home.”
    “When will that be?”
    “When he’s a lot stronger.”
    Curtina didn’t argue any further, which was a bit unusual, but Charlotte was relieved. “Let’s go pick out something for you to wear,” she said.
    “Okay,” Curtina groaned. “But can we call Matt first? I wanna talk to him.”
    “We’ll call him on the way to church. You can talk to him while I’m driving.”
    “Is he coming home?”
    “Not right away.”
    “I miss him.”
    “We all do,” Charlotte told her.
    “He’ll be home again soon,” Curtis said.
    When the landline rang, Charlotte glanced over and saw that it was Matt. “I guess we talked him up.…Hey, son, how are you?”
    “I’m good, Mom. How are you guys?”
    “We’re good, too. Have you spoken with Racquel this morning? How’s little Matt?”
    “Just got off the phone with her. She’s doing fine. And so is little MJ. He’s hanging in there very well.”
    Charlotte debated whether or not this was the time to bring up this name dilemma, but she took a chance. “Honey, I know this isn’t my business, but are you really going to name your son Matthew Jr.? I mean, remember what we talked about?”
    “Mom, are you still trippin’ about that? We told you months ago that if we had a boy, we weren’t naming him Matthew the Second.”
    “I know, but—”
    “Mom, please! Listen to me. The baby’s name is Matthew Curtis Black Jr., and that’s that. So, you can call him ‘Matt Jr.’ or ‘little MJ’ like everyone else.”
    Tears filled Charlotte’s eyes. His tone was so curt. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
    “You’re upsetting me because even though little MJ’s lungs haven’t fully developed, you’re more worried about his name than his health. It’s so petty and shallow, Mom, and I’m tired of hearing about it. All I want is to see my son and for him to get well.”
    Charlotte swallowed hard. “I won’t bring it up again.”
    “Is Dad there?”
    “Yes.”
    “Then I’ll talk to you later,” he said.
    Charlotte passed the phone to Curtis and the tears she’d tried holding back flowed across her cheeks. It was official: everyone was against her when it came to little Matt—or little MJ, the name Matthew had basically demanded she call the baby. Yes, everyone was dead set against her. Even her own son.

Chapter 4
    C harlotte strolled through the hospital’s main entrance, dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, a pure white, wrinkle-free, button-down shirt, and a brown and tan cashmere wool blazer. It wasn’t overly cold, but she also wore her brown lambskin leather gloves and Burberry scarf that her mom had given her for Christmas. She walked into the elevator, rode up to the maternity floor, signed in, and headed toward Racquel’s room. She’d hoped Vanessa wasn’t in there visiting with her, and thankfully she wasn’t.
    “So how are you this morning?” Charlotte said, walking in and hugging Raquel.
    Racquel smiled, but it was obvious she wasn’t ecstatic about seeing Charlotte. “Pretty good. How are you?”
    “I’m fine. I’m so glad you were still able to have the baby naturally, because a C-section would have meant a ton of pain.”
    “I’m glad, too.”
    “So how’s my grandson?”
    “About the same, but his doctor says he’s definitely a little fighter, and he’s already made progress. He’s down there now examining little MJ and going over more test results.”
    “He’s going to be fine, and it will be great when we can finally hold him.”
    Racquel smiled. “I know. I can’t