The Vows We Break

by Briana Cole

  I opened the file and studied the financial reports as I made my way to the back of the store. Other than two restrooms and a storage area, there were two identically sized offices. Adria had yet to decorate hers, and now it was pretty bare with the exception of a glass desk that Tyree now sat behind. He was still on the phone as I strolled past, and I saw he alternated between scribbling on a notepad, pecking on the keyboard of a laptop, and forking through some kind of breakfast hash brown bowl spread on the desk while he murmured responses to the caller.

  My office was at the end of the hall, but I had taken the time to add some personal touches. A soft, chocolate-colored accent wall with framed quotes drew immediate attention when I pushed open my door and flipped on the light. I had chosen the same glass desk as Adria’s, more so for practicality versus consistency purposes. A dual monitor desktop computer still allowed desk space for the papers and trays I had neatly arranged, and because I had room, I had gone ahead and added a small bar in the corner. On top I would make sure to keep a few bottles of wine, but the cabinets would carry my mini fridge and microwave. Three oval mirrors in different sizes hung on the wall opposite my desk, and an ivory rug really added to the homey feel.

  I circled my desk and plopped into the plush swivel chair on a sigh. Everything was really coming along, and I couldn’t have been happier about that. Now that the plans were being finalized, I could concentrate on other stuff, like finding myself a place to stay.

  My dad had mentioned it again last night, and his words really had me thinking. Not that he didn’t want me there, but the baby and I needed our own space, he said. I must admit I had been hopeful, holding out for Jahmad to ask us to move in. I mean, that would be the move that made the most sense. And even though we were talking more, I was honestly scared to bring it up for fear it would have him showing his ass again. With my baby being discharged in another week or so, it was probably best I secure something.

  I had perused the internet and gone ahead and secured appointments to walk through a nearby high-rise, plus a townhome near my parents, when there was a light knock on the door. I glanced up, eyeing the large bouquet of flowers that hid Tyree’s face.

  “Girlfriend, who you got all in love with you,” he said, entering my office and setting the vase on my desk. I grinned, fingering the beautiful assortment of white and red roses. Jahmad was really laying it on thick. And I was eating it up.

  “Just a little someone special,” I answered with a slight blush.

  “Looks like a big someone special.” He nodded to the flowers. “He dropped them off personally just now.”

  I rose with a disappointed frown. “He was here? Why didn’t you send him back?”

  “I asked if he wanted me to get you, but he said he was in a rush and wanted to drop those off real quick. Hunny, he is cute too.”

  “Mmhmm,” I commented absently. My mind was still on why Jahmad didn’t at least poke his head in to say hi. That wouldn’t have taken more than a couple seconds. Had he been in that big of a rush? Oh, well. I shrugged it off, taking another appreciative look at the little surprise. He had at least thought enough of me to get the bouquet and drop it off personally. That was just sweet enough.

  After Tyree mentioned something else about an order at the warehouse and that he was stepping out to the bank real quick, he left me alone.

  I picked up the phone and dialed Jahmad’s number, surprised when it went right to voicemail. “Hey, baby,” I said. “Just wanted to say I hate I missed you but thank you so much. They’re beautiful. Call me when you’re free. Maybe we can do lunch. I love you.” I hung up and on another sigh clicked on a new internet browser to get to work. This business wouldn’t run itself.

  * * *

  “Hey, boo.” Tyree poked his head into my office. “Let’s grab some lunch.”

  I sat back in my chair, stretching the stiff muscles in my shoulders. I had to do a double take at the time on my computer screen.

  “Damn, is it really two-thirty?”

  “Time flies when you’re having fun.” Tyree crossed to me and, grabbing my hand, pulled me to my feet. “Come on, boo. You need to eat.”

  “I’m not really hungry.”

  “Well, then you can watch me eat,” he tossed back with a wink. “I got to put some more meat on my bones. My man says I don’t eat enough as it is.”

  I hesitated, glancing back down at the open documents on my computer screen. I hated leaving my work unfinished, but he was right. I probably did need to take a little break. The bouquet resting neatly on my desk brought another smile to my face. That would give me time to call Jahmad again. I wondered why he had yet to return to my call.

  We locked up the building and started down the walkway to a nearby pizza spot. It was well after the lunch rush, so within minutes, we had ordered at the counter and sat at an empty booth with our trays and drinks.

  “You talked to Ms. Adria?” Tyree asked as he dove into his first slice.

  I sipped my water and nodded. “Yeah, she made it safely. But you know she’s still trying to work while she’s on her honey-moon.”

  “Tell her I can handle it.”

  “I did,” I said with a laugh. “But you don’t know my girl. Adria is all business, all the time. She doesn’t know how to delegate. Just tries to do everything. Maybe she’ll relax if I ignore her calls while she’s gone,” I teased.

  Tyree chuckled. “She’ll panic then,” he said. “Be on the first plane out of Jamaica.” He took another bite of his food. “Well, sounds like I’m working for two business-savvy women.”

  “We’re trying. Adria has the head for business,” I said lovingly. “Me, I just do the makeup.”

  “That’s a good thing. That makes me excited about the store.”

  “I am too. It’s just so much. I’m glad we can finally see the finish line. Adria and I certainly appreciate all you’ve been doing, Tyree,” I added with a smile. “You have been a tremendous asset.”

  Red colored the cheeks of his light complexion. “Well, I’m glad you two gave me a chance. I know I don’t have much work history, but I love makeup and especially working with a little bit of this black girl magic.”

  For a while, we ate in silence, him devouring his pizza and me picking over my salad. I didn’t realize I kept glancing to my cell phone until Tyree spoke up.

  “Just call him.”

  “Who?”

  “Mr. Wonderful with the flowers,” he said like it was obvious, nodding his head to my phone.

  I smirked, slightly embarrassed. “I already called. I’m sure he’s in a meeting or something.”

  “Uh huh.” Tyree flashed a knowing smirk. “He must really be special.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  He shrugged. “I mean, you got a man delivering flowers to your job. Where are the ones like that in my playing field?”

  “Didn’t you just say earlier you had someone?”

  “Boo, please.” Tyree waved off the comment. “Someone is there, if that’s what you mean, but no, I don’t have anyone. Not really. I think I’m more serious about him than he is about me.”

  My mind crossed to Jahmad, and I could only nod my understanding. Damn if I didn’t know what he meant.

  “Men and they problems, I swear,” Tyree said with a roll of his eyes. “Well, the ones I date,” he corrected, his eyes twinkling. “Mr. Wonderful with the flowers is obviously an exception. So tell me your secret.”

  “No secret, I guess. Just love. That unconditional love.”

  “Ha,” Tyree snorted. “I have plenty of that, and it ain’t got me nowhere but a broken heart and some lies.”

  We both glanced down as my phone vibrated on the table and exchanged knowing grins.

  “Hey, you,” I answered, easing from the table and walking away for privacy.

  “Hey, just got your message,” Jahmad said. “I don’t think I’m understanding, though.”

  “The flowers, babe. I was just thanking you.”
>
  A pause. “What flowers?”

  “The ones you had delivered today,” I said, my frown deepening at his continued silence. “The roses.”

  “I didn’t send flowers.”

  I was confused as hell, but even more so, I was cursing myself for the assumption because now Jahmad’s tone was filled with nothing but suspicion.

  “My mistake,” I said quickly. “Maybe they’re for Adria or Tyree. I guess I just assumed they were for me since they were delivered to the store, but it didn’t have a card.”

  Another pause. “All right, let me get back to work,” Jahmad said and hung up, not bothering to wait for my response.

  Tyree looked up from texting on his cell phone as I sat back down in front of him. “What’s wrong, boo?”

  I shook my head and forced a thin smile. “Nothing. Just a little headache. You ready to head back?”

  He eyed my uneaten salad. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, we can head back. You sure everything is okay?”

  It wasn’t, but I lied anyway, somewhat for him. Mostly for myself.

  Chapter 5

  I wasn’t sure if people were actually whispering about it or if it was just my imagination. Either way, as I stepped into Word of Truth Christian Center, I might as well have had a bright scarlet letter embroidered on the sleeve of my Michael Kors dress.

  Pairs of eyes slid in my direction as I stepped into the foyer of the church. I had to give credit to some of the congregation. They were at least trying to pretend they weren’t whispering about me. I guess the rest of them said to hell with discretion as they leaned in to each other to talk while throwing narrow looks in my direction. At this point, the ushers were attempting to wave the members into the sanctuary. Apparently, my poly relationship and arrest for the murder of my husband were more important than the service. No, it wasn’t necessarily new news. Keon had already told me what to expect but still, I wasn’t prepared for the harsh scrutiny.

  Despite the glares and upturned lips, I planted a fake smile on my face and began maneuvering my body through the crowd. If it hadn’t been for my father’s insistence, I wouldn’t have even been here anyway. I could have found much better use for my Sunday morning than succumbing to the judgment of these holy rollers.

  Either way, I made my way into the sanctuary and let myself be escorted down the aisle to the front row. One thing I noticed, even when I was in the foyer, there were not nearly as many people here as I’d seen on previous Sundays. Whereas before I’d witnessed standing room only, now there were entirely too many gaps in seating for this to be our normal Sunday service.

  I took a seat next to my mom in the pew, and she immediately leaned over and kissed my cheek. “I’m so glad you came,” she said. “It really means a lot to me and your father.”

  “Mama, I promised I would come more. And I am. I meant it.” I glanced around, noting the few heads that whipped in the other direction when I looked their way. The attention was getting embarrassing. “Though I can’t really say it’s welcoming in here.”

  My mom threw an absent glance over her shoulder before rolling her eyes. “I can say a lot of things have changed around here. That’s for sure. Don’t even worry about it.”

  I looked sideways at my mother, easily detecting the concern in her stoic profile. Something was clearly bothering her. I rested my hand on hers. “You tell me not to worry about it, but it looks like you are.”

  She shook her head. “No, it’s not that.”

  “Well then, what is it?”

  She brought her eyes to mine, not even bothering to deny what was so clearly evident. “Let’s talk about it later,” she whispered. The corners of her lips turned up, but the smile nowhere near reached her eyes. We certainly would.

  The choir took the stage and started the service in true Christian fashion, a collection of praise and worship songs sending the members into an anointed frenzy with a multitude of shouts, cries, and stomps bouncing off the walls.

  After announcements, prayers, and offerings, I turned my eyes to my father sitting on the stage next to a few of the deacons. To my surprise, he didn’t rise for the sermon; instead, his assistant pastor, Michael Hardy, took his place at the podium. I frowned, leaning close to my mother’s ear.

  “What’s wrong with Daddy?” I whispered.

  “He’s not feeling well,” she answered simply and left it at that. Part of me wanted to brush that off as minor, just like my mother had. But another part of me couldn’t help the anxious feeling about my parents’ discussion later that day. I wasn’t sure what was wrong, but it certainly wasn’t like my dad to get sick. Or sick enough to the point where he couldn’t preach.

  As if on cue, Pastor Hardy spoke up, with a slight nod in my dad’s direction. “Everyone, unfortunately Pastor Davis isn’t feeling the best today so if you don’t mind, I have a Word on my heart that I would like to share. Is that all right with you all?” Murmurs of approval with go on, Pastors and amens lifted in the air and died down before he continued. “Pastor, we pray strength and healing over whatever ailments are threatening you at this time. We look forward to hearing the Word of God from you next Sunday.” My dad’s face seemed to strain against a smile, clearly trying to hide his discomfort.

  After the sermon, I remained seated while everyone rose around me to shake hands and exchange pleasantries. My mom had already scurried off to do her First Lady duties before seeing about my dad, and now I just waited so I could make my exit last, without the spotlight.

  “Kimmy.”

  I swallowed a groan at the voice. So much for no spotlight. Turning, I stood as Tonya Price made her way in my direction, taking up nearly all of the aisle with her robust frame. She dabbed a napkin at the beads of sweat pearling her brow and gave me a huge smile, her eyes nearly disappearing behind the folds of her cheeks. “I thought that was you.” Tonya leaned in and enfolded me in a hug riddled with sweat. I cringed. With Tonya, everything was a production. “Lord, girl, it’s been a little minute, hasn’t it? You just don’t care about us little people since you done got all high and mighty, huh?”

  I chuckled at the awkward question. “Nothing like that. And I haven’t gotten high or mighty at all.”

  “Please.” Tonya used the napkin to slap the air as if dismissing my comment. “Word around town is you done came into some big, big money. Some settlement for killing your husband or something, right?” I didn’t bother responding, and it was clear Tonya wasn’t looking for one. She just kept right on talking. “When they told me that the pastor’s daughter had gotten caught up in some kind of murder–ménage à trois foolishness, I knew it couldn’t be. I tried to tell everyone no. Not Kimmy Davis. That Kimmy Davis is a good girl and wouldn’t be involved in the devil’s work.” She stood back and eyed me up and down, her eyes narrowed in consideration. “But it looks like I may have been wrong. Looks like you done came into a whole lotta foolishness and it paid off.”

  “Ms. Price—”

  “Oh, no judgment, suga.” Tonya’s smile returned, and she tossed me a little wink. “The way I see it, you do what you gotta do and no one ain’t got no right to say nothin’ ’bout nothin’, ya hear me? That’s between you and the Good Lord above.” She lifted her hand to the sky and nodded. “Yes, hallelujah, glory be to His Name. He’s the only one who can judge us for our sins here. He’s the only one you need to answer to, ya hear me? I ain’t got a Heaven nor Hell to put you or anyone else in.” When she took the opportunity to throw her head back and laugh as if she had made a joke, I gave her arm a slight pat.

  “Ms. Price, it’s always good to see you, but—”

  “Oh, I know, suga, you need to go see about your daddy.” Tonya’s face wrinkled in apparent concern. “He’s probably torn up about the sale. I sure hate that too, because that is one anointed man of God, I tell ya.”

  I paused, picking over the woman’s words. “The sale?”

  Tonya nodded, her large pin curls bobbing with the brisk movement. “I’ve seen this
church grow over the years. Remember I was one of the first members who joined your daddy’s church. Every time your daddy preached he brought the Holy Ghost power in here.”

  I nodded, masking my confusion. “What do you mean ‘the sale,’ Ms. Price?”

  “Oh, the church. Your daddy’s having to sell the place. Announced it last week, bless his poor soul. I hate it has come to this.”

  “Wait a minute.” I’m sure my shock was now registering on my face. What the hell was she talking about? And why hadn’t my parents told me?

  Tonya must have realized she had said too much, because her eyes ballooned and she quickly covered her mouth with a pudgy hand. “I’m so sorry. That wasn’t my place. I just assumed . . .” She quickly glanced side to side before stepping closer and attempting to lower her voice. “Listen. No matter what anyone around here says, none of this is your fault, ya hear me? None of it.” She pecked my cheek and made a hasty retreat back up the aisle, leaving me even more confused.

  * * *

  I eased my car into the driveway and shut off the engine. Once more, I picked up the real estate agent’s card and glanced at the phone number. I was tempted to go ahead and call to put an offer on the table. Very tempting.

  Since I figured my parents would probably be held up at the church for a while entertaining someone who couldn’t stop running their mouth, I had taken the opportunity to detour to one of the townhomes I had seen for sale online. I wasn’t even really sure I wanted to purchase it, but it was close to my parents and in a nice neighborhood. Plus, with just me and the baby, the 2,068 square feet, four bedrooms, three and a half baths seemed just the right size. Of course I could afford bigger. Leo’s money had made certain of that. But remembering the massive mansion that had become my home, and later my prison, during our relationship was enough to have me steering clear altogether. Sure, the space was a luxury, but one I could easily live without.