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pour the right brand of liquor based on the color of the bottle before she could read. And pouring from the wrong bottle meant an encounter with Gran’s wrath. Gran had one hellish temper. Terelle’s mother and Aunt Bennie still bore the scars of that temper. Beatings with razor straps, ironing cords, broom handles—whatever Gran could get her hands on. Terelle figured if Aunt Bennie was actually a lesbian, then it was probably due to her being molested by one of Gran’s drunken customers. But that was kept quiet because the man was supposed to be somebody important—somebody politically connected. Her mother’s drug addiction and poor parenting skills could probably be blamed on Gran, too. Gran was no model parent—that was for sure.
    It had taken Marquise a long time to grow up and face his responsibilities but now that he was ready, she was going to do everything in her power to help pull him along. She didn’t mind working a little overtime to pay for the calls. That was a small thing. She worked for her money and didn’t ask anybody for anything. Marquise was her future, and if holding her man up until he could do better classified her as a fool, then she was glad to be one.

Chapter Six
    “ T his is Kai Montgomery. Has Dr. Harding returned from vacation?” Kai asked, confident that her professional tone would persuade the receptionist at Dr. Harding’s posh Bala Cynwyd office to impart the information.
    “Yes, Ms. Montgomery, he’s back. But he won’t be in the office until late this afternoon. He’s at the nursing home this morning. Would you care to leave a message?”
    “No thanks. I’ll call him there.” Kai hung up. Bewildered, she wound a lock of hair around her finger. The bastard was right here in the facility and hadn’t bothered to call her. She angrily punched the numbers to his pager and after inputting her extension, slammed the phone into its cradle.
    The wait was excruciating. Patting her foot impatiently, and twirling her hair until it became tangled around her finger, Kai grimaced when she began to feel a dull throbbing in her left temple, the prelude to an oncoming migraine.
    Eight minutes later the phone rang; Kai yanked the receiver from the cradle on the first ring.
    “I can’t believe…”
    “Miss Montgomery?” The voice did not belong to Kenneth. Kai regularly received calls from relatives of nursing home residents on her caseload and, unfortunately for her, the call was from a client’s family member.
    “Yes, this is Kai Montgomery. How can I help you?” She didn’t try to disguise her annoyance.
    “This is Emma…uh, Emma Randolph. Irving Randolph’s wife…,” the woman stammered.
    “Yes, what can I do for you, Mrs. Randolph?”
    “Well, you see, I have the receipt here for some socks I bought my husband. I bought—let me see now…Yeah, I bought twelve pairs of those heavy thermal socks. And they wasn’t cheap. I got the receipt right here. Socks don’t cost what they used to. Was a time when…”
    Kai’s long sigh of exasperation caused the woman to pause.
    “Now I was there last night—and when I visit Irving I always check his closet and drawers to make sure all his things…”
    “How many pairs of socks are missing, Mrs. Randolph?”
    “Well…all of them. He ain’t got none of them new socks. The onliest ones left in his drawer is…”
    Onliest! Kai sucked her teeth and groaned, certain she had now heard it all.
    “Bring in the receipt and you’ll be reimbursed.”
    “I can get all my money back?”
    “Yes.” Kai hissed.
    “Okay, I’m gonna take your word. ’Cause the last time I…”
    “Mrs. Randolph, I have another call,” she said, wishing she did. Where the hell was Kenneth?
    “When should I bring it in? Will you be in your office tomorrow mornin’? See, I ain’t got nobody to bring me there today…”
    “Take the receipt to the Finance Department on the first floor. Listen, I have to go.” Kai slammed down the