Andre made it to the office and the work day started like any day would. And even though his mother did a good job of hiding the previous day's events, he could feel the stares from the other employees. People that shouldn't have known anything other than Andre's name and position in the company, looked at him as if they had been in the office the entire time of his ordeal. Shaking it off and keeping things business as usual seemed a harder task that day than any other before.

Returning to his office from a meeting he asked Lisa what was next on his schedule. Her answer surprised him.

"You have a meeting- well more like a block of time- scheduled with Cookie."

"A block? I don't remember putting her on the schedule."

"You didn't. She sent me an email request."

"And how long is this block?"

"Four hours."

"Four hours? That seems a bit long." After a few seconds he thought it might have something to do with his father. "Let me see what she wants." He walked over to her office where he could see she was busy with paperwork and knocked on the open door.

"It's open." she replied.

"Yeah, because you left it wide open." She looked up from her desk. "Good thing you weren't doing anything embarrassing."

"Hey baby, how are you today?"

"Feeling better. Lisa said you have a four hour block of time scheduled for us. Did I miss something?" Cookie looked at her watch.

"Is it that time already?"

"Yes."

"Okay. You should go to your office and get your coat. I'm gonna run to the ladies' room and I'll meet you downstairs. Our car should be waiting for us."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see. Meet you downstairs."

A few minutes later the two of them were waiting just outside of Empire's doors for their car to pull up. Being the gentleman that he was, Andre opened the car door for his mother, then he entered the other side.

"Do you know where we're going?" she asked, buckling her seat belt.

"No." Andre replied.

"Not you, our driver."

"Yes ma'am." The driver replied. "I don't think traffic will be a problem."

"That's good." The driver pulled off, Cookie crossed her legs and Andre noticed her footwear.

"Nice boots." She flexed her foot in the mocha colored boots.

"Thank you. I caught them on sale. I didn't want to pay three hundred for them but compared to what they were when I first saw them I would have been a fool not to. So I bought two pair."

"Yeah, Rhonda has four of them and believe me she paid the entire full price."

"Well, I can't knock her style on these because they are great boots." They rode in silence for a few minutes before Andre began recognizing buildings.

"You never said where we were going."

"To see Dr. Morell."

"Dr. Morell? Ma, come on now."

"Don't you come on now me. Dr. Morell said he needed to see you within forty-eight hours and I said you'd be there if I had to bring you myself. So I am."

"You don't trust me to make me own appointment or go by myself?"

"Andre, I love you but no, I don't. I don't trust Rhonda to do it either. I was very serious when I said I need to make sure you're healthy. Being a CEO is a tough job and I want to make sure you can handle it if Lucious chooses you."

"Which I doubt he will."

"You never know son."

"He doesn't really care about me beyond making sure this IPO goes off without a hitch."

"Well, if your dad doesn't care, that's on him. He should and he knows he should. Being a parent doesn't stop when your children turn eighteen or twenty-one. It's ongoing; you'll always need advice. And I missed seventeen years with you and your brothers. I can't make up for that but there are things I can do now and in the future. I can't help but wonder how your lives would've turned out if I had been at home. You might not have married Rhonda. Hakeem would probably be with a woman his own age."

"Jamal might not be gay."

"Except that. That was gonna happen no matter what anybody did. But I think I could've helped your father accept it better."

"Somehow I doubt that." Cookie thought about it.

"Oh who am I kidding? I doubt it too."

Andre heard his phone buzz and he pulled it out of his inside suit pocket to see what the message was. As he did a folded piece of paper fell out and landed on the seat. Cookie picked it up to hand it back to him and glanced at it as it opened a little. She was taken aback by what she saw. He reached for it.

"Thank you. Didn't know what was gonna fly out." He said clearly in a nervous voice. She started to hand it to him but held onto it.

"This handwriting looks kinda fancy son. Who did you write this for?"

"Come on mom."

"And it's in a different language? What is it? I don't know a lot about languages but I know I don't recognize this one."

"It's Swahili. And it doesn't matter who I wrote it for; I haven't decided it I'm going to send it."

"Swahili? When did you learn that? That doesn't seem like a language for a business degree."

"It's not, not one of the normal business languages anyway, but I learned it in school." Cookie gave him a little side eye as she started to hand it over.

"And why aren't you going to send it? You obviously spent time on it for someone special..." and then it dawned on her. "Did you write this for Xandri?" Andre closed his eyes at being found out by his mother. "You did write this for her!" He sighed.

"Yes, I did. I was going to send it to her along with her favorite flowers. To thank her for coming to see me yesterday."

"Oh Andre, that's so sweet." She smiled at the fact that she knew exactly why he was sending it. Saying "thank you" was a good cover but she knew better. She held the note out for him to take.

"Thank you but I might not send the flowers or the note."

"Oh why not? Unless..." he looked at his mother and she held the note closer to her. "...unless this isn't a thank you note." Her son sighed deeply, wanting to bury his head in his hands as well as the conversation.

"It's not," Cookie's mouth dropped open. "which is why I wrote it in Swahili. We learned it together, for us. Xandri's the only one who would understand the sentiment and meaning in the words. She's the only one I could've written those words for."

"You don't think she deserves to hear them, whatever they are?"

"She does, there's just a lot consequences and repercussions behind it if I do."

"I see." The car stopped in front of a building.

"We're here." the driver declared. Andre looked out of the window, dreading going in.

"You ready?" Cookie asked.

"No, but I guess I don't have a choice do I?"

"Nope." They both got out of the car and headed up to Dr. Morell's office.

     After stepping into the office, Andre checked in with the receptionist. Cookie found them two seats and sat down. It was nothing like the therapist's office in the prison. For one, it had windows with views. Albeit it was mostly of the buildings across the street but views nonetheless. There was warm nice plush carpet on the floor, not cold hard tile. The seats were cushy and clean not hard plastic with non-removable stains. There were updated magazines and plenty of pamphlets to read. The office was brightly painted and lit in such a way that it made a person feel comfortable in expressing their feelings. She never wanted to talk to the prison therapists; none of the inmates did. They never seemed like they wanted to help or listen. Hired Help was what the inmates used to call them. Their degrees hung on the walls but they meant nothing. Many times the inmates felt better after talking to each other than any of the hired help. Cookie hoped Dr. Morell was more caring than that. Her son's life was at stake.

Andre took off his coat and sat next to his mother.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked her. She looked at him and laughed a little.

"I remember a time when I used to ask you that. You used to say 'add ninety-nine and you're in business'." They laughed. "You were always thinking of ways to get money, how to manage money."

"I guess it started early and made a way for me."

"Yes it did. I'm very proud of you, you know." She patted his hand. "Even if Lucious hadn't made it big, I think you would have found a way to go to school, get out of the hood and more importantly stay out of the hood."

"Probably." Andre got quiet a moment. "I would've come back to get you though."

"Me? Why just me?"

"Not just you; Hakeem and Jamal too. Ma, I could tell as a child that you and dad wouldn't always be together. I knew some of what you did for him, for us. I tried to protect Jamal and Hakeem as much as I could. They were too young to see how it wore you down, but I could see it." Cookie hung her head at the thought of what her children had seen when they were too little to understand. "I wanted to get all of us out of there; leave dad right where he was. Miserable and alone."

"I don't know that I would've been able to leave your father. We were so young and he was all I knew."

"I know. I was just as devastated as you were when he sent the divorce papers. He tried to hide it but I found out. There was a time when I wanted us to stay a family, be a better family. But after I saw the way he treated you, throwing you away like...like..." Andre paused as his emotions caught in his throat. Cookies eyes misted as her son showed this depth of emotion and she held his hand. "I've learned a lot of things about my father these last twelve to fifteen years of my life. I'm not proud of most of my discoveries. That's a difficult task I have to deal with and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. But I need you to do me favor." he said. Cookie looked her son in the eye.

"What's that?"

"Please don't let him back into you- your heart, your head or your bed. That connection is strong between the two of you and I don't want you getting hurt again. It wouldn't be fair and after all you've been through for him, it just wouldn't be right."

"Thank you for looking out for me son."

"Somebody has to. When you start to let your heart feel again, he's gonna get jealous. He's gonna feel like no man will ever be better for you than him and he's gonna do whatever he can to stop that man."

"What will it matter? The ALS is gonna take him out of here in a while anyway."

"Because I don't think you can wait that long." Cookie looked at him in surprise.

"Andre what are you talking about?"

"I've seen the way you look at a certain...ahem... head of security." he hinted then she playfully slapped his arm.

"I have not!" she laughed. Andre gave his mother the side eye then smirked.

"HmmMmm. Tell that lie to whoever is willing to listen 'cause I don't wanna hear it."

"Excuse me Mr. MBA are you using my own parenting reasoning against me?"

"If it's working, then yes." They were laughing at each other when a nurse came in the waiting room to lead Andre back to see the doctor. He stood expecting his mother to come with him. "Aren't you coming?"

"Oh no baby. I brought enough stuff to keep me busy. This is your conversation with Dr. Morell. If you need me, just come get me. Otherwise, I'll be right here when you're done."

"Okay." and he followed the nurse back. Cookie said a silent prayer that her son would be open with the doctor and say everything he needed to say.

     Cookie had been sitting in the waiting room learning how to work her tablet better. The technology that developed while she was in prison amazed her. She figured out how to text and make cell phone calls pretty easily. Computers and tablets were a different story but she was learning. Today she was figuring out how to read and edit documents on it. Not the easiest thing. Listening to music and watching videos was a breeze. Jamal downloaded a program that allowed her to make edits to music, save it and send the file back. She liked that she didn't have to be in the studio all the time to make music. Sometimes the inspiration hit in the middle of the night about how a song should be or could be arranged.

     She had been working for a while and hadn't noticed the time. Andre had been back with Dr. Morell for nearly an hour and a half. She hoped what was a good thing. Meanwhile she needed the ladies room and to stretch her legs. The receptionist showed her where to go and as she was washing her hands she could hear her phone buzz. She mentioned to the receptionist that she was stepping into the hallway to make a phone call, in case Andre was done and looking for her. Cookie dialed the last number that called her. Lucious was on the other end.

"You rang?"

"Quit with the attitude Cookie. Yes I did. Have you seen Andre?"

"Yes, he's here with me. What do you need?"

"I need him, here. Where are you?"

"No can do. We're at Dr. Morell's office and he's in there talking with him."

"Dr. Morell? What the hell is doing over there?!"

"Dr. Morell needed to evaluate him before he could refill or change any of his medications."

"Cookie all you're doing is enabling him. I need him here, right now. You get him out of there and back in this office right. damn. NOW!!!"

"I will do no such thing Lucious Lyon!! You are at the point of trying to decide which one of your sons to leave your company to and you know good and damn well Andre needs to be stable enough to do that."

"Hell if the boy ain't stable, he ain't stable!"

"You need to give him a fighting chance! Let him get his mind straight and present the best part of himself. Fair is fair Lucious. Fair is fair."

"You get him back here." And before she could respond he hung up on her.

"Oh my god I could strangle him!!" She took a few cleansing breaths before entering the office again and wondering if she should make an appointment for herself.

     Thirty minutes later Andre emerged from his conversation with the doctor and had the paperwork that Cookie needed to sign to be added to Andre's case. After signing she had the chance to look at her son. His eyes were a little puffy and his nose sounded like he was stopped up; she could tell that he had been crying. She hoped it had been a good conversation. She didn't expect him to tell her anything though. That might be too much too soon.

"All set?" she asked.

"I've given my blood work, I have my new prescriptions and next appointment. So I'm good. Did I miss anything at the office?"

"Just your father having a fit because you weren't there when he was looking for you."

"Maybe we should head back."

"No, not yet."

"But you said-"

"Your father would have a fit if the sun decided to shine when the weatherman said it would rain. He'll be alright. We still have time on the schedule."

"Okay. Where to next?"

"Lunch. I have an awesome place in mind."

"Lead the way."

     When the driver stopped in front of the restaurant Cookie had given him the address to, Andre was surprised. He was expecting to have lunch at a five star restaurant that he was used to eating in, but not this place. It looked like the worse diner in the world. Oddly enough it smelled amazing. Cookie looked at the expression on her son's face and laughed a little.

"What?"

"This is where you picked to have lunch?"

"Don't give me that look. You haven't even been in there yet. Can you agree to give it a chance? It's not what it seems but I guarantee you won't be disappointed." Andre gave her a sideways look as he opened the door for her.

"If you say so."

As they entered they were greeted warmly by the hostess and Cookie requested a table for two. It didn't really matter where they sat; the diner was pretty empty.

"If this place is so good then where are all the customers?" he asked.

"Oh, you just missed our lunch crowd." the hostess replied. "It takes us a few hours to recuperate for the dinner crowd. But don't you worry, we've got you taken care of."

"Thank you." Cookie replied as the menus were placed on the table.

"Can I get you anything to drink while you're settling in?"

"Sweet iced tea please."

"Make it two." Andre replied.

"Coming right up."

"See? I told you this place wasn't what it seemed. And you have to agree that it smells great in here. There's just something about onions and peppers cooking on a grill."

"I was expecting a higher class of restaurant."

"I know you're used to the finer things in life now but every once in a while you need a little soul food, a little grease to fill up the empty places after spilling your emotions."

"So this is the equivalent of pigging out on junk food after a good cry?"

"Something like that." They started looking at the menu. It was the basic diner menu seen in every diner, anywhere in America: patty melts, Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes and gravy, fried chicken, chicken fried steak, tuna noodle casserole, etc.

"So what's good here?"

"I heard the onion rings are to die for."

"Fried food? Yeah, I bet they are."

"Oh come on, enjoy life a little, have some with me. You'll just work it off tomorrow."

"Probably." Their waitress brought their iced teas and asked if they were ready to order.

"I know I want a large plate of onion rings." The waitress wrote it down.

"You're not gonna eat those all by yourself are you?"

"Of course not son! We'll share them. And I think I want one of those juicy bacon double cheeseburgers. Oh well done please. Haven't had a good one in a long time. It's gonna be sooo good."

"Are you trying to give yourself a heart attack?"

"Noooo. What's wrong with a bacon double cheeseburger?"

"Take your pick- the four pieces of bacon or the two cheeseburgers?"

"Argh, come on Andre!" The waitress was getting a kick out of the two of them.

"Do you have a healthy alternative?" he asked her.

"We have veggie burgers." They both shook their heads no to that suggestion. "You can do a turkey burger or salmon burger." Cookie turned her face up at those choices too.

"Salmon burger?"

"Actually a salmon burger sound delicious. It will help balance out the onion rings."

"But salmon? You can't put cheese on that!"

"You could, might not be as delicious though." The waitress suggested.

"What about the turkey burger? Maybe you could try that."

"Can I get it with cheese?" The waitress nodded.

"Yes."

"But you don't need the cheese ma."

"But I want the cheese son. And the bacon. And what about my calcium intake? I'm a little older now, you know I need that." Andre laughed.

"Then order a milkshake. If we're having onion rings, you should only have one, bacon or cheese." Cookie pouted a little.

"I can not believe I'm having a conversation like this with you."

"Reminiscent of you trying to get me to eat broccoli huh?"

"Exactly!" They both laughed.

"Come on mom order, I'm hunnnnngry."

"Okay, okay. Cheese or bacon, cheese or bacon?" Andre picked up the menus and handed them to the waitress.

"I'll have the salmon burger, well. No ketchup, lite tarter sauce. She'll have the turkey burger with cheese..." Cookie smiled. "and one slice of bacon. And large onion rings to split."

"Okay, coming right up."

"Yay, cheese and bacon."

"You are too funny." Andre replied. He took a few sips of his tea and looked at his mother. "Okay, go ahead and ask your questions."

"What questions?"

"About my session with Dr. Morell."

"Oh, that. I figured if there was anything I needed to know that you would tell me when you're ready. I'm not that concerned about it as long as you're talking and going through the process."

"Cool. So what should we talk about? How do we get reacquainted with each other?"

"Good question. Let's start with my daughter-in-law Rhonda. I've missed out on your whole relationship. I have no guide to go by in getting to know her. So help me out. Help me get to know your wife."

"What do you want to know?"

"What do I need to know? What did her parents think of you? I can't imagine that her gun toting Texas family was too accepting of this black boy from Philly that was coming to marry their little girl."

"They weren't. They didn't really accept me, at first. Probably still don't. Rhonda was grown so there wasn't much they could say about her life; she was doing what she wanted anyway. She had a few scholarships from her beauty pageants but she funded her own way into school. She doesn't go back unless she has to and they don't venture to come up this way. Every once in a while they meet somewhere in the middle. A couple of checks a month and everything is alright between them."

"Do they even talk?"

"I guess so. I'm not privy to those conversations though."

"Interesting. I know she has book smarts but what a mother really needs to know if the girl her son is marrying can take care of him. 'Cause you know men tend to marry women who are like their mothers."

"Really?"

"Really."

"I didn't know that."

"So tell me what do Rhonda and I have in common besides being women? Does she cook?" Andre made a face. "Oh, Andre I don't like that face."

"Well...sort of."

"Sort of? Describe sort of." Andre had to really think of the last thing Rhonda cooked. "Wow, has it been that long?"

"Yes."

"Andre! Okay, easier question can she cook? Can she at least boil water?"

"Yes, she can boil water, for her tea. She can make eggs, toast, saute vegetables, sandwiches, cocktails. Anything more than that our chef does. Well, she did manage a roasted chicken once."

"Was it good?"

"The roasted potatoes were better." Cookie tried not to laugh. "Hey, I said she cooked it; never said it was edible."

"Do you ever cook? Do you remember how?"

"Yes, I remember. Sometimes I do cook. Never anything big though."

"Can she clean and sew?"

"Clean- yes. Sew- she knows what needs to be done like for the clothing line but I've never seen her actually sew anything. If anything needs fixing she sends it to the tailor."

"Of course she does."

"That's just how we are."

"I see." Their waitress brought their food to the table. The scent of the onion rings made Cookie smile. "Man this is gonna be so good. Make sure you try it without the ketchup first." After a couple of rings Andre had to agree that they were very delicious.

"Try your turkey burger and tell me what you think." Cookie took a bite of it and was pleasantly surprised. "See?"

"Okay, it's not so bad. Could use a little more bacon though. But it's good."

"I knew you would like it."

"Now back to our conversation, tell me how you and Rhonda met and what made you want to be with her instead of Xandri."

"Well," he said as his wiped ketchup from his mouth. "we were all accounting/business majors so we were always in and out of class together, hanging around the library and whatnot. Xandri and I met freshman year and hit it off immediately. But something changed after two years; I know now it was me. Rhonda had always been around so it's not like she came out of nowhere, but she caught me on a day that I wasn't feeling...myself. And I saw her in a different light. It was like she grabbed all of my attention and sucked me in."

"That's an interesting way of putting it."

"That's what it felt like. But it was a different kind of fall, not at all like falling in love with Xandri. That was beautiful and natural. And deep; loving Xandri was deep. I guess you could say I fell hard for Rhonda. She convinced me that I needed her, that we needed each other. I got my diagnosis soon after we were together. We'd made it through school, grad school and I figured if she'd stuck with me that long that maybe I should marry her. So we got married."

"It all sounds so...compartmentalized. What attracted you to her?" Andre thought about it. Things had changed so much between them he was pretty sure his original reasons had changed.

"She has an amazing ability to focus, great attention to detail. Rhonda has a great personality once you get to know her. She's strong, brave, consistent. It's hard to describe what I feel for her."

"Do you love her?" Knowing what she had seen in his office, she just had to ask him that.

"She's my wife. What kind of question is that?"

"A damn good one, I think. And one you didn't answer."

"Yes, I love Rhonda; she's my wife."

"What do you love most about her?" He shrugged.

"I don't know, there's so much. Her commitment to me, her beauty, her wisdom." Cookie took another bite of her turkey burger trying to think of a positive response. It wasn't coming.

"And Xandri?"

"What about Xandri?"

"What did you love about her?" Andre couldn't answer without smiling.

"Xandri is awesome in the way she cares about people."

"She's the shirt-off-her-back kinda girl huh?"

"Yes and more. See, she's the beyond the moment type of person who would give you the shirt off her back but she would also take you shopping because she knows you would need clothes for the next few days and weeks. And she would also buy you clothes because she knows they could increase your confidence in yourself." Cookie took note of his attitude change.

"Anything else?"

"Xandri has the prettiest eyes, and this walk and curves that guys just wanted to touch. Her smile would make the most hostile environment feel like home. She's so easy to talk to because she listens, not just hear you but really listens. And she has this huge heart that just radiates love, honesty, loyalty, good vibes and warmth. Xandri's just good people, absolutely beautiful inside and out. You always need someone like her in your corner." Andre tired to contain his smile but it was a futile attempt.

"So why didn't you marry her instead?" That caught him off guard.

"Huh?"

"I wish I had my camera rolling while you were describing Xandri. Because it's clear to me that she's the one you love."

"What? Mom you haven't been listening. Rhonda is my wife."

"Oh I've been listening baby; I heard everything you said, but your face is telling me exactly how you feel. I wish you could see your facial expressions. You are so stoic and serious when you talk about Rhonda. But Xandri? Oh your eyes light up like the sun outside." Andre shook his head, trying to tell his mother that she was wrong. "You're gushing and blushing all over Xandri! HmmMmm that's right, blush-ing. Your cheeks are as red as the ketchup on this plate."

"Ma..."

"Come on now. If we're being honest here, let's be honest. You still have serious feelings for Xandri don't you? After all these years?"

"How do you have this uncanny ability to know all this stuff?"

"I'm your mother baby. Mothers always know. I know you're married to Rhonda, you say she's your wife but every single thing about you is professing love for Xandri." He sighed and realized there was no way of getting around this.

"I do still have feelings for Xandri. As much as we've kept in touch over the years and her still being my go to person, I haven't been able to completely let her go."

"Has she been able to let you go?"

"Yes, at least I think so. She's been in relationships and was even engaged."

"What happened?"

"Her best friend Noelle was home sick and like any good friend Xandri decided to bring her some soup, medicine, and juice. She had a key and when she entered the apartment she heard Noelle grunting and thought she might have been throwing up in the bathroom."

"She wasn't throwing up?"

"Far from it. Noelle was grunting because she was riding Reverse Cowgirl on Xandri's fiance Jordan, who was supposed to be out of town on a business trip. She ran out of there so fast that she didn't have time to close the door."

"Oh my god!"

"Yeah, they were just about to send out their wedding invitations too. I was her shoulder to cry on that time. Rhonda wasn't happy about that but Xandri was a friend in need. As much as she had been there for me how could I not return the favor?"

"Is she seeing anyone now?"

"Not that she's mentioned. I guess she needed some time. They had been together for a long time. Over two years."

"So how did he take her helping you while they were together?"

"As far as I know, he didn't have any problems with it."

"Hmmm."

"What?"

"I was just wondering if that had anything to do with his cheating on her?"

"I doubt it. If a man wants to stray, he's gonna stray."

"And have you strayed? With Xandri?" Andre started to speak then stopped. "Is the question that hard to answer?"

"It's not just what I answer, it's how I answer it. A part of me has always kept Xandri in my heart. And there was a time, before she met Jordan and after, that I honestly tried to rekindle things between us."

"I see that didn't work."

"No, but what's so scary is that it almost did."

"What?!"

"The day before my wedding to Rhonda, I went to Xandri's apartment. It wasn't even the middle of the night, early evening. I went there specifically to have my one last fling. She didn't know that. She let me in because I told her that I was getting cold feet and I needed her to encourage me. I was completely sober and in my right mind."

"That was debatable."

"I know and I can't believe I'm telling you this. We started kissing and things almost got away from us; we were just a couple pieces of clothing from being naked. I asked her to be with me one last time and she said she 'I can't'. I wanted to ask her why but I knew the answer; we both did. If we had made love that night it would've resulted in Rhonda being stood up at the altar. If we had, I wouldn't have wanted to leave the following morning."

"Are you serious?" Andre nodded. "Wow."

"So Xandri made me leave and I left without complaining. Rhonda and I were married. Months had passed before I needed to call her about anything that was going on with me but nothing changed between us. She was still my voice of reason; I just knew where the line was. That night was the last time I had kissed her until she left Jordan. I guess it had been about six or seven months after they broke up and I called just to check on her. I went to her apartment and she was doing well. She had been on a few dates set up by friends and family but she didn't click with any of the guys. And I thought I'd try my luck again. It was like we'd never left each other. The passion was overwhelming. I asked her to be a more intimate part of my life. And before she could protest, I told her there was a way we could get around Rhonda and everything was going to be just fine. Xandri made it very clear that after what she had been through with Jordan that she wasn't going to share. It was all or nothing." Cookie scratched her head and frowned.

"I know I'm going to regret asking this but... what was the way around Rhonda?" Andre hung his head and tried to collect himself.

"I can't believe I'm going to tell you this either but here goes...Rhonda and I have an open relationship of sorts." Cookie's eyes opened as large as they could at those words. Then she shook her head, telling herself that she didn't just hear Andre say that.

"I'm sorry. Did I just hear you say... that you and your wife have an open relationship?"

"Of sorts."

"Of sorts?! Does that make a difference?"

"Well, yes."

"And just so I'm clear... an open relationship means you give each other permission to sleep with other people?"

"Yes." Cookie sat back against her chair and folded her arms in front of her. She had heard a lot of things, but never expected to hear this from someone she knew, especially one of her own children. "We have rules. And our rules are a little different than most couples who have open relationships."

"Okay I think we're getting into the TMI realm here. TMI is the correct phrase right?"

"Yes it is. But a part of us getting reacquainted means we talk about our lives." She steadied herself.

"Proceed."

"Our rules are that one, we have to do a background check on anyone that we bring in. I mean full Federal background check- warrants, felonies, everything. Two, we both have to decide on the person or persons. Doesn't matter where we meet them, if one of us or both of us is uncomfortable, it's a no go. Third, we don't bring them to our home or go to theirs. We agree on a neutral space. There are a couple of luxury hotels and spa resorts that we like, particularly for their discretion. And fourth, there are no strings attached. Everything is for pleasure purposes only, nothing emotional." Cookie was shocked.

"This is a real thing?"

"Yea. Obviously we don't tell everyone because not everyone will understand."

"I see why because I don't understand."

"And we're careful about where we go. We don't go to swingers clubs because you never know who's there. No chat rooms, no conventions. We choose invite only parties."

"And this...this actually turns you on?"

"Sometimes." Andre watched his mother's eyes widen again. "We don't always have sex. Being a voyeur is nice. I like to watch my wife be fluid."

"Uh oh, new terminology again."

"Sometimes seeing my wife have her fantasies fulfilled is the turn on. I don't have a desire to be with men; Jamal can keep that. But there are times that Rhonda's satisfaction can only come from another woman. I like to see her reaction when she's with a her. Or a him. Seeing her with a man who does something different than I do... to see her reaction is hot." Cookie drank her tea, wondering if the diner could make it a Long Island Iced Tea. She was definitely going to need a drink when she got home.

"Oh my god."

"I know it's shocking to hear but that's the way we are."

"I hear you saying this but all I really hear is, you and your wife are saying that neither of you are enough."

"What do you mean?"

"If this was a few times a year thing, it wouldn't bother me. But this sounds like you do this all the time. And to me, it says that what goes on in your bedroom, isn't enough to keep you there. You're not satisfied. Like you're bored with your marriage."

"On the contrary I think it's does the opposite and brings excitement. But I can understand your point."

"And if you let someone, or people, come between the two of you there will always be someone between the two of you. That can create unnecessary space. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yea, but that's why it works mom. There's no one between us, no emotions, no strings attached." And then it hit Cookie.

"Is that that real reason that you haven't invited Xandri in? Keep it honest with me."

"That and the fact that she's more my type than Rhonda's. If our marriage was just one of convenience, I'm sure Xandri and I could work out an acceptable way for us to be together."

"But you're missing my point baby. If you'd rather be with Xandri than Rhonda, then you need to rethink your marriage. Life is too short to spend it with the wrong people."

"I love Rhonda."

"Who are you trying to convince, me or you?"

"Ma, I do love my wife."

"But you're in love with Xandri. And son you're old enough to know the difference."

     Lunch was over and Cookie was sitting at her desk playing parts of her and Andre's conversation over in her mind. What she'd heard was so off the wall that she didn't even know if she could confide in someone who didn't have a ton of degrees and a legal obligation to keep it quiet. Again, the thought crossed her mind about what her sons lives would have become if she had been there to raise them. Andre definitely wouldn't be with Rhonda. Their whole relationship was a disaster just waiting to happen. A huge one at that. And with them working together in the same company, it would be a small matter of time before their home problems became a part of company business. But she didn't know how to make him see that. In the meantime she was going to settle for the information on the note that he'd written for Xandri. The note that he didn't realize he'd left in the car. Or maybe Cookie strategically hid from him. She was going to give it back, when she was done with it. She looked up from her computer when she heard the knock on her open door.

"Come in." The handsome, smiling face of Malcolm Deveaux peeped in. "Hey Malcolm."

"Hey, I have those reports you asked for."

"Oh good. You can put them in that top tray right here." She looked back at the screen. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about this Google Translate would you? I figured out how to translate from English to another language but I'm not sure about the reverse." Malcolm walked behind the desk to to see her computer screen.

"I do. I wasn't aware that Empire that documents that needed translating. I might be able to translate it myself."

"As far as I know, the lawyers have a way to handle anything outside of the county." Cookie kind of lowered her voice. "Andre wrote a note for Xandri that he may or may not have left in the car when we were together. He told me earlier, when it fell out of his pocket that he'd written it in Swahili. And I thought I'd try to translate it before I returned it."

"Swahili huh? Interesting. Mind if I take a look at it?" She turned to look at him.

"You speak Swahili?" Malcolm looked a the note.

"Well, I can't guarantee a fifteen minute conversation but I could get around a Swahili speaking region better than the average tourist."

"By all means, take a look."

"I'm surprised that this word didn't jump out at your first."

"Which one?" He pointed to what he was talking about.

"Simba."

"Is it supposed to mean something?"

"You don't know about Simba, from the movie 'The Lion King'?"

"No."

"You've never seen it?"

"Apparently not. What is it?"

"It's a Disney movie that came out about 1994. Simba is the main character and that in Swahili means 'lion'."

"Lion?"

"Yea, and if I remember my animals correctly Simba Jinke means 'lioness'."

"Lion and lioness. Interesting." Malcolm pointed at another word.

"And I if remember my adjectives, nzuri yangu means beautiful."

"So this first line says 'My Beautiful Lioness'?" Malcolm nodded.

"Very deep words."

"HmmMmm. Is there an easier way to translate this?" He looked at her printer to see if it was also a document scanner.

"Yes, we can scan this into a Word document, then cut and paste into the translator."

"Good let's try that." Malcolm took the note and starting scanning it.

"You know, if you're interested in knowing more about 'The Lion King' I'm pretty sure Jamal has the DVD he bought for Lola. I'm sure you can borrow it. You and Little Miss Lola can have a girls night in and watch it together. Or...."

"Or?" she asked giving him a flirty eye.

"Or, you and I can have an afternoon out by catching the matinee on Broadway one Sunday and dinner after." Cookie was quietly contemplating Malcolm's offer for a date, while conscientiously replaying Andre's words. Forget Lucious.

"An afternoon out sounds like a wonderful idea." They both smiled.

"Good, you let me know when you want to go and we will."

"Cool."

"Okay, I think this is ready. Take your mouse, highlight all the words, then right click to copy them." Cookie did. "And they you're going to paste them here," he said pointing the box. "and it should automatically detect the Swahili...which it is and just click translate."

Yangu Nzuri simba jike

Upendo wangu

Utamu yako uongo si

Kati ya mahali ambapo miguu yako sehemu

Lakini katika maarifa ya ubongo wako

Na joto la moyo wako

Kuna usalama katika upendo wako

"Okay, clicking translate. Let's see what's on Andre's heart..."

My Beautiful lioness
my love
Your sweetness lies not
Between where your foot part
But in the knowledge of your brain
And warm your heart
There is safety in your love

"I think he meant that word to be 'legs' instead of 'foot'. Makes more sense that way."

"Yeah." Cookie leaned back in her chair. "Oh. my. God. I see what he meant by consequences and repercussions! He was completely honest with me at lunch; he is in love with Xandri."

"He was gonna send this to her?"

"Yes! At first he said it was a thank you note, for her coming to see him. But I definitely see that it's not. Rhonda would have a heart attack if she saw this!"

"So what are you gonna do?"

"His note, his feelings, his decision. I will return it though. I don't know what he's going to do. I don't even know what I'd do."

     Cookie's day was almost done. She had one meeting left and then she could go home to have that drink. She arrived at Andre's office, hoping to speak to him but Lisa was the only one there.

"Hey Lisa, is Andre still in?"

"Sorry, he's gone for the evening. I was just heading out myself. Did you need anything?"

"No, just to leave this on his desk."

"Be my guest."

Cookie walked in and over to his desk. It was very neat and pristine. She placed the envelope right in the center, so he wouldn't miss it. Her words to her son?

"Andre,

My advice to you would be to send the note and let the chips fall where they may. I already told you how short life is. But these are your words, your feelings, your decision. I'll support you no matter what."

      Cookie was sitting in her office waiting for her last meeting of the day, bracing herself for what was coming next. Rhonda came to the door and knocked. Her mother-in-law looked up and welcomed her in.

"Hey Rhonda, come on in and have a seat." She entered but stayed where she was.

"I'd prefer to stand. This shouldn't be long; our dealings in Empire don't usually cross." Cookie nodded because she knew it was true.

"Suit yourself," she replied as she stood. She took a stack of papers from the top tray on her desk. "May I see the call log on your phone please?" Rhonda was taken aback.

"My call log? Why?"

"I just need to check something." Rhonda unlocked her phone and showed Cookie the call log. "Could you scroll through your calls from yesterday?" Rhonda obliged. "Hmmm...just as I thought. You cleared your call log to erase your incoming calls."

"And?"

"Well, since you did, you erased all the evidence of us calling you yesterday."

"Who called me? You didn't call me."

"Oh yes I did. Take a look at this." Cookie handed her the papers Malcolm brought earlier. "Since your phone is Empire issued, it is also Empire monitored. Check out the highlighted portions." Rhonda looked at them and the smugness look on her face began to fall. "HmmMmm, take a good look. See the ones in pink are where I called you yesterday. And this one, this one indicates where I left you a message. The ones in green are when Malcolm, our head of security tried to called you. The ones in orange, came from Jamal's phone. And these in blue came from Andre's phone."

"Why did you call me from Andre's phone?"

"Well, we figured that if you weren't going to answer our calls that you would at least answer one from your husband. See, Andre had a very serious episode yesterday."

"What? He didn't say anything!"

"Well you can take that up with him later. We were trying to find his medication but he had so many empty pill bottles in his desk that we didn't know which doctor to call. That's why we called you. Surely you would know who his current doctor is. Hakeem figured out his lock code and we called from his phone. The first time Kelly answered, she refused to give the phone to you after being told that it was a medical emergency and then she hung up on me. That's this call right there. So I called right back and she let it ring." Rhonda was shaking her head, in disbelief but really trying to come up with an answer to refute the evidence.

"I...I...I don't..."

"Stop. Just stop." Cookie stood right in front of Rhonda's face. "I'm gonna tell you this, and you better listen to me real good...yesterday was the first and last time that you will EVER, ignore a phone call from me. Do you understand? Business calls will come from my office. The only time I will ever call you on your cell phone is on Andre's behalf. I wasn't there when you were dating or at your wedding, so right now Andre is the only thing we have in common. Do you hear me?" Rhonda didn't like being put in her place but that's exactly where Cookie had put her.

"Yes, I do."

"Good. Now there is something else we need to discuss. You might want to sit down for this." Rhonda sat in the chair closet to her. "When Xandri was in the conference room with Lucious and I, she made a suggestion based on the message Andre left her. You didn't actually hear the message but you knew it was her calling back."

"And she suggested what?"

"That as soon as the IPO is done, Andre needs to check himself into a mental health facility. Lucious and I agree."

"What? Are you serious? Andre doesn't need a facility, he just needs to ta-"

"Take his meds? That's what you were going to say weren't you? We both know if he was able to stay on his medication this conversation wouldn't exist. But since it does, he needs to do that. He needs the discipline and the psychotherapy."

"The psychotherapists haven't helped before."

"Maybe because he stopped going. But you knew that right? I took him to see Dr. Morell today and they talked for a long time, about an hour and a half."

"You took him? Why in the hell did you do that?" Cookie was beginning to see what Lucious was talking about. Rhonda may have been good for the company but she wasn't a good life partner for Andre.

"I took him because one, Dr. Morell wouldn't refill his prescriptions until Andre came in to see him. He needs those and he won't continue to refill them if he stops. Two, Andre wants to be CEO and Lucious is not going to do that if he can't keep his mind together and three because he's close to loosing it and I can't let my son do that."

"He is fine."

"He is NOT fine!" The sternness in Cookie's voice startled her. "You two are married but I can tell he doesn't trust you."

"You don't know about our marriage."

"Don't I? How come you didn't tell him that you almost bitch slapped Xandri in the conference room? Huh? Probably the same reason he didn't tell you about yesterday."

"We have a solid marriage."

"Well then you tell me if you're such an awesome wife in your solid marriage, why haven't you taken him to see a psychotherapist? Huh?"

"Because he doesn't like to go."

"It doesn't matter if he likes to go or not. Do you know what happened yesterday? My son was in the fetal position on the floor of his office, grunting and beating the floor like a damn irritated gorilla!! You can't tell me that there isn't a problem there. And when a person starts talking about contemplating suicide or trying it out there is a problem, they need to speak to someone!!"

"Andre's never talked about suicide before! You're the one that's crazy, making accusations like that."

"Oh it's not an accusation Rhonda and I sure as hell am not making it up. I heard it from his own lips." Rhonda's mouth dropped open in speechless horror. "See how he doesn't trust you? Husbands and wives are supposed to tell each other everything. He's not telling you shit because he doesn't trust you to help him." Cookie watched her daughter-in-law shake her head in disbelief. "Don't shake your head at me. It's true. I sat in his office yesterday while he told me how many times he's contemplated suicide." The shock and fear she'd felt while Andre talked was coming back. Cookie was shaking and tears came to her eyes. "It's almost as scary as the many times he's attempted it."

"You're lying!" Cookie threw up her hands in frustration.

"Why would I lie Rhonda?! Why would I lie? I have absolutely nothing to gain by telling you a lie. Did you know about two months ago that he was sitting in a dark room in that giant house of yours with a gun playing Russian Roulette? Huh?"

"Lies. There is no gun in our house."

"Oh yea there is and if it had worked, you'd be a rich young widow. He put one in the chamber, spun it and closed it. The gun is a six-shooter. And Andre, my son- your husband, pulled the trigger six times. SIX DAMN TIMES and the gun didn't go off. You know what he did? Andre took it to a gunsmith who said all it needed was cleaning. So they cleaned it and he attempted it AGAIN! The second time the trigger jammed." Cookie's tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"See? He gave up since he figured it didn't work."

"NO, he didn't; he just gave up on using the damn gun. Do you know how many times he's thought about going into a New York subway tunnel and jumping onto the tracks? Or going to a beach at high tide and walking into the water, resisting the urge to swim, not caring where his body would end up or who would find him? Or how about the many times he has thought about going to the roof of this building, yes this Empire building and jumping off the roof? He said every time he goes up there to do it the door won't open. What do you understand about your husband? My son was not just talking about committing suicide, he has actually attempted it! As a wife how in the hell did you miss that?!"

"What do you want me to say Cookie?! He's never talked about it with me so how am I supposed to know?"

"See that's the problem. It's called communication, Rhonda. You TALK to each other. You wonder why you're so upset with Xandri? It's because he trusts her, enough to talk to her. She listens to him when you won't."

"Why are you mentioning that home wrecker's name?"

"Girl are you listening to anything I've said to you? She's clearly not the home wrecker Rhonda, you are! You're wrecking your own damn home!!!" Rhonda got up to leave.

"This is ridiculous and I don't have to listen to this!"

"You're damn right it is and you do have to listen but we're not done yet."

"Oh yes we are."

"No we are not. Sit down. Now." As Rhonda sat Cookie took a second to blow her nose and compose herself. She picked up a folder from her desk. It was the full packet from the facility there were considering. She handed it to her.

"What is this?"

"This is the information from the facility Xandri recommended." Rhonda tried to dismiss that name.

"How does she know anything about this place?"

"Because her uncles and her brother have been patients there. They even have a special intake process for famous or well do to people. They have strict guidelines, great programs. Even Dr. Morell approved of the facility."

"So why are you giving me this?"

"So you'll know what to expect after the IPO is done. Andre has agreed that he needs go and is on board, Lucious and I are on board. The only person who needs to get on board is you. If Andre decides that he wants another facility they even gave us a list of highly recommended alternatives."

"I'm not checking him in."

"As long as Andre is of sound mind you won't have to; he can check himself in. This is just in case he isn't. We all need to be on one accord about his mental health." Rhonda rolled her eyes. She didn't want to hear any of this. Andre just needed to take his meds and stay on them. "Take it home and talk to him about it. If you want him to overcome this disorder, and have a real chance of becoming and remaining Empire's CEO then you have to be a part of support system. If you can't do that then maybe you shouldn't be married. And I'm so serious about that." Rhonda just looked at Cookie, stood up and walked out.

Andre was sitting in one of their sitting rooms, having a large mug of hot chocolate. Dr. Morell cautioned him against drinking alcohol for the first few weeks of being reintroduced to his full regime of medications. He had selected some nice old school r&b music to relax and listen to. Nothing from the playlist he shared with Xandri though. His feet were propped up on the ottoman of the comfortable chair. The music wasn't loud enough to disturb the neighbors but loud enough that he didn't hear his wife come in. Rhonda walked into the room and stood in front of him. He hadn't noticed. She was beyond irritated with him. He was masturbating to some dream about Xandri, he didn't tell her about his episodes or his suicides attempts. All of that she learned from her ghetto, loud and gloating mother-in-law. And on top of that he was deciding to check himself into a mental health facility without discussing it with her first. She picked up the stereo remote and turned off the music. Andre opened his eyes.

"Hey baby. I didn't hear you come in. How was you day?" He asked. Her anger and frustration hit their boiling point. She couldn't control her actions and before she knew it her right hand abandoned it's position by her side and slapped her husband's left cheek as hard it could. Shock and confusion covered Andre's face as he felt his stinging cheek. And before he could say anything, she said:

"Andre. What. The. Hell?"