Imitation of Wife

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Imitation of Wife Page 7

by La Jill Hunt


  “Talk about what?” Natalie asked.

  “I don’t know,” Janelle said, wondering the same thing and praying it wasn’t what she thought it was. “Waitress, can I get another drink?’

  * * *

  As soon as Janelle got into her car to leave Brutti’s, she called Sherrod.

  “Hey, tonight isn’t a good night. Can we reschedule?” she asked.

  “Sure, is everything all right?”

  “Yeah, something just came up that I have to deal with.” For some reason, she felt the need to let him know it had nothing to do with another guy, so she added, “Girl stuff. Nivea has something going on and is coming over.”

  “I get it, and it’s fine,” Sherrod told her.

  “How are you holding up?”

  “I’m hanging in there. You know I spoke with Jordan, and she’s flipping out because she thinks she’s never going to see me again. I told her not to worry, and we’ll figure everything out. I made her promise not to run away again. But, Janelle, I hate that she’s going through this because her dad is being an asshole. What he did last night was totally uncalled for, and he fucked up big time. He’d better get ready because I love Jordan, and I’m ready to fight for her.”

  “I’m glad you told her not to leave again.” Janelle sighed. “I know you’re pissed, and you have every right to be. I don’t know exactly how all of this got to this point, but I know Garry, and I’ve known him a long time. I’m just surprised.”

  “Well, he’s gonna be surprised too, because not only am I filing for full custody of Jordan, I’m filing assault charges, too,” Sherrod told her.

  Janelle didn’t know how to react. But she knew she had to do something. “Listen, Sherrod, please don’t do anything until we talk face-to-face.”

  “Janelle, this shit can’t wait.”

  “Please, Sherrod, this situation is messed up, but I know we can figure this out. Just don’t do anything yet.”

  “I’ll talk to you later,” Sherrod said, then hung up.

  As she drove home, her head began pounding as she tried to think of how to handle this situation. Calling Sylvia and telling her what Sherrod said he was going to do would be pointless, considering how angry she was at Garry, but Janelle ordered Siri to call her anyway. The last thing she wanted was for her sister and brother-in-law to be blindsided by this in case Sherrod decided to move forward.

  “Hey,” Sylvia answered.

  “Hey, Syl, I need to tell you something.”

  “What is it?”

  “I know you are dealing with a lot of shit right now and you’ve had the day from hell, but I just talked to Sherrod. He talking about filing assault charges against Garry and seeking full custody, too.”

  The phone was quiet. Janelle looked down briefly to make sure she still had a signal.

  “Hello, Syl?” Janelle said.

  “I’m here.”

  “Okay, so...” Janelle again waited for her sister to say something.

  “Good.”

  “Huh?” Janelle was confused.

  “Good for him. He should.”

  “You don’t mean that.”

  “Yeah, I do. Garry shouldn’t have put his hands on that man. Now he has to deal with the consequences, for that and everything else. So good,” Sylvia said.

  This wasn’t the reaction she expected. She knew Sylvia was mad, but she thought she’d be a little more concerned. “Well, I guess that’s it.”

  “I guess. Tell Sherrod I wish him luck,” Sylvia said.

  Chapter 8

  Sylvia

  “Straight home after school,” Sylvia said as Peyton opened the door and hopped out of the car. She’d told both her and Jordan that they were grounded for a month and would not be able to go anywhere other than home and school. They would also share household chores, which they would have to complete together. The latter part of the punishment was Aunt Connie’s idea. She thought that would help the relationship between the two girls somehow. Sylvia wasn’t so sure.

  “I have track practice until five thirty,” Peyton said, pointing to the duffle bag she had taken out of the back seat along with her backpack.

  “Fine, I’ll pick you up then.”

  “I can get Meagan to bring me home. It’s right on the way, and she doesn’t mind.” Peyton tossed her shoulder-length hair as she adjusted both bags.

  “No, I’ll pick you up. When I said no social activities for a month, that includes car rides with Meagan too. See you then.”

  “Fine,” Peyton replied with a hint of an attitude and closed the door.

  Although she was tempted to roll down the window and yell an embarrassing threat, Sylvia just drove off. She and her best friend Lynne were meeting for coffee, and at this point, caffeine was way more important than having the last word. She’d spent most of the night tossing and turning. At one point, she expected Garry to come back into the bedroom to at least change for bed. But after their argument, he’d left the house. Sylvia thought he had stayed out all night until she heard a noise coming from the den as she and Peyton were about to walk out of the house. She peeked in, noticing the large blanket-covered body sprawled on the sofa, and realized it was him snoring. For a split second, she considered waking him up and telling him to go get in their bed since she was leaving the house. But she quickly changed her mind. Sleeping on the sofa in the den was something he probably needed to get used to since it was where he would be until he found somewhere else to go.

  “He’s moving out?” Lynne asked as they sat across from one another at Starbucks.

  “Either he goes or I go,” Sylvia said, then took a sip of her much-needed Cinnamon Dolce Latte with an extra expresso shot. “And you know I ain’t going nowhere.”

  “Lord, what is Aunt Connie saying about all of this?”

  “Well, she hasn’t really said too much, which means she’s not too happy, because she always has something to say.”

  “About everything,” Lynne added.

  “Everything.” Sylvia nodded. “I asked if she would consider staying a little while longer after her apartment is finished in a couple of months.”

  “You want her to stay longer? Well, I wasn’t expecting that.” Lynne gave her a surprised look.

  “I know, but believe it or not, she’s been a big help in a lot of ways.”

  “You just like them home-cooked meals every day.” Lynne laughed.

  “True, but it’s more than that,” Sylvia explained. “She’s good for the girls, especially Jordan. She seems to gravitate toward Aunt Connie, and she can get through to her in ways that we can’t. I know the reason Jordan came to talk to me yesterday was because of her. She listens to and trusts her. I don’t want to take that away from her.”

  “Wait, I thought you said they were leaving.” Lynne frowned.

  “I said Garry was leaving. I didn’t say Jordan had to.” Sylvia pinched a corner of her muffin and popped it into her mouth.

  “Don’t you think he’s gonna have something to say about that?”

  “Probably.” Sylvia shrugged. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “I’m just surprised, that’s all. I mean, I just assumed one of the biggest obstacles in this whole ordeal that you’ve been dealing with is Jordan, and now here you are saying you want her to stay. But you want him to go.” Lynne picked up her own muffin and took a bite.

  Sylvia shrugged. “I know it sounds crazy, but yeah.”

  “Does this mean you want a divorce?”

  That was the question Sylvia had been pondering all night. She really didn’t know what she wanted. All she knew was that she was angry: angry at Garry for his actions, but she was also angry at herself for a lot of reasons.

  Just as she was about to answer Lynne’s question, Sylvia glanced over and saw a guy standing in line, looking at her. He looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place where she knew him. They nodded politely at each other, and Sylvia turned back to look at Lynne.

  “Lynne, I
forgave him for the affair, I accepted his outside child, I gave him another chance, and we’ve tried everything.” Sylvia sighed.

  “Everything? Are you sure?” Lynne gave her a questioning look.

  “Everything. We even tried therapy.” Sylvia nodded. “You know I’ve tried, Lynne.”

  “I know you have. I just want you to consider that ending a marriage is sometimes worse than holding on to it. You know what I’m saying? You were there when I dealt with my divorce, and I can honestly say that sometimes I wonder if I made the right decision. After the smoke cleared and the hurt healed, I still love Hamp, and I wish I had tried everything,” Lynne said with tears in her eyes.

  Sylvia reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “Aw, Lynne, I know you do. And he still loves you too. It’s not too late.”

  “Honey, that ship sailed five years ago. He’s moved on with his life. You see his Instagram and Facebook pages. He stay having a young thot in his pics.” Lynne shook her head and used one of the napkins on the table to dab at the corners of her eyes.

  Sylvia felt bad for her friend. Lynne Hampton had been great friends for almost ten years until they divorced due to Hampton’s gambling addiction. It got so bad that he’d lost almost all of their savings, and they nearly lost the house. The final straw was the day Lynne walked out of work to find her car missing. She panicked, thinking it had been stolen, only to find out that it had been repossessed. Hampton had taken out a payday loan without her knowing. Although Hampton was apologetic, Lynne said she couldn’t live with someone who constantly risked her livelihood and everything that she’d worked so hard for, so she left him. It took her a long time to recover, not just financially but emotionally as well. They found a way to become friends again after Hampton finally went through rehab, and Sylvia knew her best friend was still in love with him, despite him actively dating, as she pointed out. Sylvia still hoped that Lynne would eventually find love again, if not with Hampton, then with someone else.

  “I’m telling you he does that to get your attention. And look, it’s working.” Sylvia smiled.

  “Whatever, but speaking of attention, there’s a fine dude who’s been checking us out. You see him?” Lynne nodded toward the direction she was talking about.

  Sylvia turned slightly and saw she was referring to the same guy she had locked eyes with moments before while they’d been talking. “I know him from somewhere, I think.”

  “I hope so because he’s walking over here,” Lynne whispered.

  “Good morning.”

  Sylvia smiled politely as she quickly tried to pinpoint who he was. “Good morning.”

  “How are you?” Lynne volunteered in a voice that was a little too friendly.

  “I’m okay.” He nodded, then he asked Sylvia, “I know this may seem a bit awkward, but can I talk to you for a few minutes?”

  Sylvia looked at Lynne, who, by the wide grin on her face, seemed to think the question was directed at her. She turned back to the guy and looked closely at his face, noticing a slight bruise under his eye. It was then that she realized why he looked familiar.

  “Sherrod,” Sylvia said.

  “I promise I won’t take up too much of your time. To be honest, I’m running a little late for work.”

  “Sure.” Sylvia nodded as she stood, then told Lynne, “I’ll be right back.”

  She followed Sherrod to a nearby table, and they sat. Before speaking, he set down the cup of coffee and small bag he was carrying. “I guess this is kind of odd, considering the events of this past weekend.”

  “You could say that.” Sylvia nodded.

  “I’m sure you’ve heard a lot about me, most of it pretty negative. Garry doesn’t care for me, and I gotta be honest, the feeling is mutual,” Sherrod told her. “Things came to a head Saturday night, and he crossed the line.”

  Sylvia remembered Janelle telling her that Sherrod was pressing charges against Garry and started to tell him that she had no opinion one way or the other at this point. “Look—”

  “But last night, I had to take a step back and look at the situation from all sides,” Sherrod continued. “And I had to realize that I have some fault for what he did. Jordan was with me without permission, and I was wrong. And I’m sorry. I had my reasons though, and I hope you understand that.”

  Sylvia raised an eyebrow. Jordan had stressed that he was truly a nice guy, and from what Sylvia was seeing right now, she was right. “I appreciate your apology.”

  “I love Jordan, and I have since the day she was born. I loved her mother just as much. Losing Randi has been hard for both of us, but especially Jordan. When Garry snatched her and brought her to live with you all, she felt like she lost both parents,” Sherrod said.

  “Snatched?” Sylvia frowned.

  “Essentially, that’s what he did. He knew Randi had a plan in place and left instructions for Jordan to be placed in my care if anything happened. But he wasn’t trying to hear it. He forced her to come and live with him.”

  Sylvia remembered the day she stood in the hospital and Garry told her that Randi was dead and Jordan was his daughter. She then remembered him explaining that Jordan had nowhere else to go. The truth was that Garry possibly could have continued to keep this all a secret, but he hadn’t. Jordan had come to their home, and that’s where Sylvia wanted her to remain.

  “So, now what?” Sylvia asked.

  “I’m not going to just walk out of her life. Jordan needs me, and I need her. I’m not going anywhere.” Sherrod looked at Sylvia. “Let your husband know that fight Saturday night was nothing compared to the one he’s about to have in court.”

  “I understand.”

  He stood and picked up his items. “Thanks for talking with me. Jordan is a handful at times, but she’s a good kid. She deserves to be where she’s happy, loved, and with her family.”

  “Sherrod, thank you for letting me know all of this. I understood everything you said. But I also want you to know that, even though she’s only been with us a short while, I’ve grown to care for Jordan also, and so has my aunt.”

  “Aunt Connie.” Sherrod smiled.

  “And I can’t explain why Garry has made the decisions that he has, but I can say that he loves Jordan too.” Sylvia stood. “And we are her family.”

  Sherrod didn’t say anything else before walking off. Sylvia watched him walk out the door as she went back to her seat.

  “What was that about? What did he want?” Lynne asked.

  “He wants custody of Jordan, and he’s ready to fight for it.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I guess I’m gonna need to hire an attorney. One who handles divorces and custody cases.”

  “Damn,” Lynne said, saying exactly what Sylvia was feeling.

  * * *

  The house was quiet when Sylvia returned later in the afternoon. She and Kenny met with several clients on site, and she was surprised that she was able to remain focused, considering everything that was going on in her life. Although her personal life was in shambles, her business was doing extremely well. Her plan was to respond to emails, send out invoices, and then take a quick nap before picking Peyton up from school. She walked upstairs and into her home office, and as soon as she sat at her desk, she got a phone call.

  “Hey, Sylvia, it’s Amanda Channing.”

  “Hey, Amanda,” Sylvia said. Dr. Amanda Channing was the head of the women’s ministry at their church.

  “I was calling because I have the scholarship application package for Peyton, and she also asked me about volunteering for the food pantry,” Amanda said. “I looked for her yesterday.”

  “Okay, yeah, we missed service yesterday. But I appreciate the call. I will let Peyton know.”

  “Thank you so much. She’s a really amazing young lady, and I am so proud of her. You and Garry have done an awesome job raising her.”

  “Thank you, Amanda. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.”

  “And I also wa
nted to let you know I’ve been praying for you guys. I know it hasn’t been easy the past couple of weeks,” Amanda said. “Just know if you need me, my door is always open, and that’s why I’m here.”

  Sylvia paused for a few moments, then said, “Well, that means a lot, Amanda. I’ll keep that in mind.”

  In addition to being head of the women’s ministry, Amanda was a licensed therapist and the director of the family counseling center at the church. When they’d agreed to counseling, Amanda was the first person she’d thought of. But Garry said he didn’t really feel comfortable discussing his personal life with someone they were familiar with. Sylvia felt the opposite. She really liked Amanda and felt like she would not only help them navigate through their issues, but be a little more supportive because she knew them. The therapist they’d been seeing was one referred by their medical insurance company. He was nice, but he wasn’t exactly what Sylvia felt they needed.

  “Sylvia? You still here?”

  Sylvia realized that she’d zoned out and missed something Amanda said. “Huh? What was that? I’m sorry.”

  “I asked how things were going.”

  Out of nowhere, a lump formed in Sylvia’s throat, and she felt hot. She tried swallowing and clearing her throat, but her body betrayed her, and a quiet sob escaped her mouth and tears began to fall. Before she could catch herself, the emotions she’d been holding on to for weeks erupted, and she began weeping. She was overwhelmed and crying so hard that she could hardly breathe.

  “It’s okay, Sylvia.” Amanda’s voice was soothing in her ear. “It’s perfectly okay. Let it go. Just let it go.”

  Hearing that she had permission to let go and cry freely was a welcomed surprise, and Sylvia continued shedding tears. Each time she thought that she was done, they started all over again. Eventually, she stopped trying to stop and let them flow: tears of anger, disappointment, fear, sadness, and grief. By the time she was finished, she was both exhausted and embarrassed.

  “Oh God, Amanda, I’m so sorry.”

  “What are you apologizing for? You did nothing wrong. All you did was answer my question.”

 

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