Capricorn
Chapter 55

Metal Element's Positive/Negative Effects -
Chinese Astrology Metal Signs (Monkey, Rooster, Dog)
* protective/inflexible
* visionary/harsh
* prosperous/longing
* inspirational/self-righteous
* determined/competitive
* romantic/solitary
* strong/melancholic

*

While Rich and Gladys were sitting in traffic feeling helpless, Ron, Craig, and Missy got to the hospital and were told to sit and wait, making them feel powerless. "The doctor will be right out" is a lie and always has been. Ron knew all too well.

Craig couldn't sit anymore and started to pace back and forth. Ron could only take so much of that. "Dude, you're driving me crazy. Stop."

"I can't just sit here-"

"None of us can, but that's what we have to do," Ron groaned.

"Fine, I'm going to the cafeteria or something. You guys wanna go?" Craig asked as he continued to pace but in a shorter area.

"Hospitals should have alcohol," Missy said with a sigh. 

"Cigarettes, too," Ron snorted. "Makes a lot of sense."

"Are you coming or not?" Craig asked. The only thing he wished for was Adena to be ok, fuck everything else.

"I'm gonna stay just in case they finish. I need to cuss Taye out," Missy said as she laid her head on Ron's shoulder. Her comment made Craig pause. What if they had news while he was downstairs? What if she was awake and wanted to see him? However, he wasn't sure if she even wanted to see him. 

"Call me as soon as they come out. Try to stall them. I won't be long," he said to them as he walked to the elevator. 

However, when the elevator door opened, a person Craig wasn't expecting to see was standing there. They tentatively stepped out of the elevator and looked around anxiously.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me!" Missy groaned. "Hoe, why are you here?"

Kimberly looked at her and rolled her eyes. "I should ask you the same thing."

"What do you want, Kim? How did you know we would be here?"

"I have Taye's location. I haven't heard from him since he left for work this morning. He went to therapy, but the tracker shows he went to Williamsburg for some reason, and then the power went out, and now he's here. Is he here? Is he hurt? Is he ok?"

"No, he's not ok at all. The nigga is still stupid," Missy said, crossing her arms. The white couple sitting with them in the lobby was nearly done with this conversation as much as she was.

"Well, him being here and you all being here isn't some weird coincidence. What is going on?"

"Tate's here, but he's not the one with the emergency if that's what you want to know," Craig sighed.

"Ok, well...why are you all here then?" she asked, skipping over that Craig said his name completely wrong and then noticing that someone else was missing. "Wait. Did something-?"

"Just go home, Kim. He should come back one of these days. I don't trust his track record, though," Missy said as she looked at her long, manicured nails.

"Your former best friend is in labor," Craig said. Kim's eyes widened.

"Already? Is she ok?"

"That's what we're waiting to see," Craig said. 

"So why-"

"Why was your man with his ex-wife during a blackout and ignoring your calls? Oh, dear me, Taye didn't tell you?" Missy asked sarcastically. "That tracks too. Notice a pattern?"

"Shut up, Missy. Imagine you can't find Roy in all this mess and then find he's at a hospital. You'd be pretty fucked up too!" Kim said to her. Ron chuckled because he knew what Missy was going to say next.

"I don't know who the fuck ROY is, but RON is a doctor. He's always at the hospital, and I wouldn't worry. Good thing you have a chip on him. You may need to get a leash though because-"

"Shut the FUCK up, Missy," Kim said to her. She didn't know if this was worse than Taye actually being hurt. Was he seeing Adena behind her back? Why?

"Make me, hoe." 

The nurse sitting behind the receiving desk rolled her eyes. She was also done with the conversation, and she didn't want to have to call security. She was about to get off in 30 minutes and needed to figure out if her family were ok. She didn't have time for this.

"Wanna know why you got into so many fights and almost got kicked out of Columbia? It's your fucking mouth. One day you'll piss off the wrong person and-"

"My mouth ain't the problem. On the other hand, yours has gotten you into more trouble than I've ever been. Do your clients know that their therapist is a homewrecking thot-"

Luckily Craig moved as fast as he did because if he didn't, Kim would have probably gotten a hit in or two, but Missy would have gotten in much more. We all know how Missy gets down. Ron was waiting for this to happen and held Missy down in her seat while Craig held her back. The white couple was fed up and started calling for the nurse. "We need the police!"

"It's about time I show you what you'll find out fucking around with me!" Kim said, trying to get out of Craig's grasp.

"I'm calling security!" the nurse said, reassuring the white couple but loud enough for them to hear.

"There's no need," Craig said to her. "Just go, Kim. Taye is fine. It's Adena and her baby that we're here for," he said to Kim.

"No, I need to see him now!" Kim said.

"If Adena loses this baby, it'll be your fault, Kim! Do you know that? Yours and Taye's. She's always gonna have a high-risk pregnancy. The stress Adena has gone through being a single mom got her here in the first place! What kind of bitch sleeps with her best friend's ex!? He's up to his old tricks again because why was he alone with Adena in her apartment?? This is karma. What goes around comes back around!"

"All of you! Out! Now! Security is on their way!" the nurse said to them. "Visiting hours are over!"

"You heard her. Let's go. Now," Craig said, and Kim paused and looked at him. He was serious.

She snatched her arm from his grasp, "I can walk by myself," she said as she descended the staircase. Craig followed her. 

They walked outside and saw complete chaos. A dozen ambulances were in front of the emergency exit, lights flashing and doctors, nurses, and EMTs wheeling in victims on stretchers. 

"Let's go," Craig said to her and continued to walk away from the hospital. 

"No need to walk me. I can take care of myself," Kim said as she walked beside him, but he didn't listen. They walked to the end of the block, "Are you walking me home?"

"No, I'm giving you a head start. Ron is holding Missy on the staircase right now. I'm giving you time to get away once he lets go of her-"

"It's not that serious. I know she's quite the bitch, but you can let her off her leash," Kim said to him.

"Ok, you're in public on the street. You got no protection now. This is where I stop. Have a good day or a good funeral, your choice."

"Asshole. You guys can blame me all you want, but if Taye and I are to blame, you are too. We ALL could've done more. You could've stuck around and helped her out. I know my friend. Once she deleted all your pictures from her page, I knew what was happening. Broke her heart, I bet. I knew it the first time I met you."

Craig stopped walking, he had turned and headed back to the hospital, but that statement made him pause. "I've helped her more in the last nine months than you have in 4 fucking years. Don't fucking tell me what I could've done. I haven't helped put her in the hospital twice. That Divorce Court bullshit was fucked up, and you know it-"

"WHERE IS SHE?" Missy called out as she and Ron stumbled out of the emergency staircase. Ron is still restraining her. 

"Time's up, "Craig said as he turned back to her, but she was gone. She was already at the other end of the block. Guess she wasn't that stupid. He sighed and walked back toward them. Ron let Missy go. She handed him her purse and took off running. Luckily she practically ran into Craig. "Come on, Missy, think. Let it go," he said, pulling her into a tight bear hug.

"Missy, please stop," Ron groaned, his body limp from being tired of that whole exchange. He stood there helplessly. "I ran across town for you, climbed 20 flights of stairs, almost delivered your bestie's baby, sat in a stinky cab that smelled like hot dog water just to sit here in a hospital for hours on my day off during a blackout! I don't want to go to jail to bail your dumbass out too."

Missy calmed down, and Craig let her go. She crossed her arms. "I'm sorry, you've both been superheroes today," she told them. "We've just been here for hours, and still nothing. I thought once we got her here, she'd be fine. What the fuck is taking so long" Missy said as she tried to fight back the tears, but they fell anyway.

"It's taking so long because they're working as hard as possible. They're trying everything. It's gonna be ok," Ron assured. He held Missy close. He kissed the top of her head, "You're right. Hospitals should have alcohol," he whispered, and she laughed through her tears. Craig stood there feeling like the 3rd wheel again. 

However, that didn't last long when a car screeched to a halt next to the emergency exit. The passenger side door swung open, and Gladys hopped out. She took off her heels and ran toward them. "GLADYS!" Rich called after her.

"Where is she?" she asked them frantically as she tossed her heels to Missy. Her frantic face made Missy feel worse. This was bad. Really, really bad.

"The 4th floor-"

"Show me."

"But-"

"Come on, Missy," Gladys said and ran into the hospital barefoot, dragging her along.

"Shit," Ron said as he rubbed his temple. 

"How is she?" Rich said as he jogged over and sighed. He didn't have the right shoes for this. 

"We still haven't heard anything," Craig said as Rich tossed his keys to Ron.

"Park my car for me, thank you," Rich said without looking at him. "Where-"

"4th floor."

"Well, come on-"

"Missy and Kim got us kicked out, long story-"

"Goddamnit," Rich said and patted Craig on the shoulder. "You did the right thing. I'll see what I can do," he said to him and rushed inside.

"What the fuck, bro," Ron said as he held Rich's keys. "He doesn't remember me? At all? I'm not valet."

"Just help him out, Ron," Craig said as he sat on the bench. "None of us are thinking straight." 

"Oh, shit, is that the new new Lexus??" Ron asked as he walked toward the car. 

"Have fun," Craig said. He didn't care about anything but one thing. 

Ron hopped into the driver's seat. "Whew!" he said as he looked around the interior. He opened the compartment next to the seat and saw a box. Curiosity got the best of him, and he opened it. 6 Grade A Cuban cigars. Ron whistled in awe as he looked at them. The doors locked him in automatically.

"HELLO, WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO FIND PARKING FOR THIS AREA?" Car Siri practically screamed through the speakers. Ron jumped out of his skin almost. 

"WHAT THE FUCK?!!!!! Uh yeah, actually-"

"Calculating. Go east toward 14th St." Ron pressed down on the gas, and the engine revved up. 

"Whew!"

"WOULD YOU LIKE MUSIC, TALK RADIO, PODCAST, OR AUDIOBOOK?"

Ron chuckled as he pulled the car away from the curb, "MUSIC. Tupac!" he chuckled.

"SEARCHING FOR TUPAC. WOULD YOU LIKE TO LISTEN TO BEST OF TUPAC 2 OR ALL EYEZ ON ME?"

"How the fuck do you even know that?" Ron said with a laugh as he held the Cuban cigar between his fingers. "All Eyez On Me."

"PLAYING ALL EYEZ ON ME ON SHUFFLE MODE"

"Ayyyyeeeeee!" Ron said, impressed with the speakers, and turned it up.

"TURN RIGHT ON 14TH ST, AND AT THE NEXT LIGHT, MAKE A RIGHT. THE PARKING GARAGE-"

"Nah fuck that. Let's get some food."

"SEARCHING FOR RESTAURANTS NEAR YOU. DINE IN OR TO GO?"

*

The Pig signs are Yin animals that exemplify Yin principles: peace, rest, and harmony. On the whole, Pigs are well-balanced people.

*

While Ron was practicing an exciting form of self-care, Craig sat on the bench in front of the hospital. You would think the blaring of the ambulances or the doctors shouting orders at each other would drive him insane, but he couldn't hear any of that. He was somewhere else. Surprisingly, he didn't move an inch or react when someone sat next to him on the bench. He didn't know they were there. Soon a hand was waving in front of his lifeless eyes. He came back.

He was surprised that it was Mr. Capricorn. He sat up once he noticed him. Damn, how long has he been sitting out here? "Any news?" Craig asked him. 

Rich sighed, leaned against the back of the bench, and crossed his arms. "Emergency C-section."

"Is that a good thing?"

"Maybe, it can go one of two ways. They deliver the baby alive or..."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry you all are going through this again."

"Can't believe this is the third time. I've been praying for months, only to be disappointed again. It makes you lose faith, question everything, and angers you. All of that." Then Rich paused, "Wait, she told you?"

"She did. Yeah, we've talked about it. She told me everything."

Rich was shocked. Adena was usually very secretive about her personal life. As a teenager, she would always make him pinky promise not to tell the family many things. There are some things that Gladys doesn't know, which also means there are things he doesn't. The only person who knew EVERYTHING was her grandmother. He wished she was here. If she were, they wouldn't be here. He was positive about that. 

"I can't even imagine," Craig continued as he got up and paced. "Or maybe I can..."

"And just because Turd is finally stepping up, it doesn't have to come between the two of you-"

Craig chuckled at the name he called him. "That's probably how he was able to get in..." Rich looked up at him as he paced. "In short, an argument got out of hand. I felt betrayed and that she would never trust me no matter how hard I tried. Anyway, even if she did, she stopped trusting me then. We haven't spoken since. It's been a couple of months now."

Rich sighed. "I think I know what you're talking about." Damn, if he never did that stupid background check, Craig wouldn't have left. Rightfully so. If he never came between them, Adena would've had someone by her side who would have noticed the warning signs she ignored. What he did may cost him more than he bargained for, all because he needed to be right, and Craig was just 'another nigga' to him. "I wanna apologize for that. I was trying to keep my daughter as safe as I could. I went too far. I just...you came out of nowhere practically. That birthday party? A complete disaster. And Turd's other girlfriend showed up. I was surprised she kept you around after-"

"She almost didn't."

"I can imagine. She can be a tough cookie. Also my fault, probably. She had no part of that, you know? She didn't know I even did it and kicked my ass out when she did find out. She wouldn't speak to me, and then she stopped speaking to you...damn it, I made a fucking mess. If it's any consolation, if you ever have a little girl of your own and one as hard-headed, you'll understand. But it's still no excuse."

Wow. Mr. Capricorn begging for his forgiveness? The argument was petty, and he'd forgiven Adena for it long ago. He can do the same for him. "I appreciate that."

"We're more alike than we want to admit. Or maybe it's just me. A friend of mine did the digging for me and...I feel you know exactly what I'm feeling right now. Disappointment after disappointment after disappointment, when does it stop? Seeing the people you love going through the worst things imaginable, there's nothing you could have done to stop it, but you blame yourself anyway. For years. Decades even. The first cut is the deepest, and every other incident makes it worse, then you go numb. You do dumb shit." Craig's pace slowed as he continued, "After the first miscarriage, I almost killed myself." Craig's eyes widened. "Not on purpose. It was homecoming weekend at LIU, and I needed to get away. My frat brothers were in town. We partied like we didn't have kids and wives at home, like we were 21. Me especially. Adena was young then. 6th grade, I think. I would have died from overdosing if I didn't die in that car accident. Whatever you had, give it to me. I didn't care anymore. I don't remember any of it. I blacked out. I blacked out for a whole week. Don't ask me what happened. Goddamnit, I don't know if Adena remembers, but when she came to visit me in the hospital, Gigi wasn't talking to me. That's what I call Gladys—having Adena see me look like a dumb piece of shit was embarrassing. Never again. I remember she brought me flowers and a teddy bear, and I was all banged up. I felt like a dumb ass nigga. I did some dumb shit. Gigi kicked me out. I don't know if Dena remembers that either. I think she only let me back because Dena was asking questions. Going through that miscarriage and having me in a car accident high on drugs was too much. I understood. I understand. Sometimes I still wonder, did her trust completely disappear after that? Is it love that's keeping us together? Is love enough? I trust her completely. I would take a bullet for her. She's never done dumb shit. She just kept getting me out of mine. Every day, even now, I still do all I can to win her trust. I've gotten on my knees. You'll do that a lot. I keep fighting until she tells me she trusts me, which she hasn't in those words. Sometimes I fight myself, and sometimes we fight each other, trust or not. We'll never stop fighting each other because men are stupid, and we're all human."

"Wow," Craig said, trying to digest all of that. It was hard to believe that the intimidating Mr. Capricorn had such a weak moment.

"Then it happened all over again. But that time, I stayed. I took care of her because she was inconsolable. She quit her job. She wouldn't get out of bed. I learned my lesson, and I just helped her through it. We both needed therapy by this point, and once Adena went to Columbia, we got to work. To this day, we still go. It never leaves you. Your mistakes and your sorrows never leave. You cope for the rest of your life. I'm only here today because Gigi loved me enough to let go of the past, of my past. She was carrying it more than I. She never left me. Not once. She may have gone to her mother's, but it was always to clear her head, and then she'd come back. That alone lets me know she's dealt with whatever bullshit I did because she loves me—that much. I try my best not to put her through that bullshit ever again. She's fighting for us. I at least have to do the same, if not more. I mean, look at her. If she had left me, I would've been the dumbest nigga on Long Island. You have to protect something like that. To this day, I'm still fighting off dumbasses. You'll do that a lot too. You must be willing to fight. Part of that is letting go—no use battling outside demons when demons are already in the house. Blame, guilt, regret, let it go. Let it all go, so you can keep fighting for her. And I know you can, after getting locked up, which I respect. We fight for the same thing, you and I. She's in there now, fighting for her life. We must trust each other enough to work together. You get me?"

Craig had stopped pacing by now, but he didn't know that a few tears were rolling down his face. 

"Let it go, son. I carried that shit for 20 years, and it won't help. It weighs you down. Cry it out. Men can cry. Black men can cry. It makes you stronger, believe me."

Then Craig practically exploded. For him, it was 13 years of sorrow, pain, regret, hate, guilt, mourning, depression, and suicidal ideations coming out. He's been blaming himself for everything, but especially Amanda. He would run when shit hit the fan so that that shit won't stay with him. He already had his own shit he was dealing with. He wouldn't have to worry about it if he left. Somehow you still do. You must get your shit together, cleanse yourself and let it all out.

Then a miracle happened, Rich pulled Craig in for a hug, and he stayed there until he got it all out. Once Craig calmed down, he felt lighter but so tired. "Why do I still feel heavy?"

"It takes more than one cry to clean all your shit up. There's a lot, isn't there?" Craig nodded. "Yeah, that's when you ask for help. You can call me anytime, son. These women don't understand us, but we don't understand ourselves. We have to help each other. There are boys out here who have never had a father. It will eat them away if they don't clean their shit up." They sat there silently for a minute, "Damn, I left some Cubans in my car. We both deserve one. We've earned it too."

*

The Pig signs don't suffer from the ups and downs of life. They are balanced, unlike unbalanced signs like the Dragon and the Horse. Their symbol is literally a set of balanced scales.

*

 After his joyride, Ron finally parked the car in the first space he could find in the parking garage. He carefully took some bags out and went back to the hospital. He was shocked to see Craig and Mr. Capricorn sitting on the bench, talking. "Oh, there he is," Mr. Capricorn said. "I need my keys. I left some things in the car-" then he stopped. "Wait, I know you?"

"You do, sir," Ron said with a chuckle.

"You're the doctor. Missy's guy. How's that going? I bet she's a handful, huh?"

"You don't know the half."

"Actually, I do. We've known her for years," he said. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking straight-"

"It's all good," Ron said. "After I parked your car, all nice and neat, I got us some smoothies. We need our protein. We need fuel. Strawberry Banana."

"Good idea," Rich said as he took one. Craig grabbed one as well. 

"Thanks," Craig said but gave him a look that said, 'Where the fuck you been?'

"I'm sorry to do this to you, but I need my car. I got some cigars in it. I store some there for emergencies, and during this emergency, we all deserve one."

"Cigars and smoothies? Nice," Ron said. He handed Mr. Capricorn his keys. "I didn't park far. Just in the parking garage-"

"SHE'S AWAKE!" a little voice called, and they all turned around. It was Missy. "THEY SAID SHE'S AWAKE COME ON." Craig and Rich sprinted inside.

"I got us a smoothie," Ron said to her. "You're not yourself when you're hungry." She thanked him, but he said, "Nuh-uh, not that one. That one with the H on it. I put some Henny in there for you."

"Oh, thank God," Missy said as she practically snatched it. She then pulled him in for a kiss. "Ugh, I love you," she said as she sipped the smoothie. "Come on."

That statement made Ron pause. Freeze practically. Did she mean what she just said?

*

Capricorns with the Pig sign are usually authoritarian and opportunistic.

*

https://youtu.be/sz-NhGanOAE