The Ex Chronicles

by Penelope Christian

  I had spoken to him several times since our first meeting. His stories made me look at my mom and dad in a whole new light. He told me he wanted to acknowledge me a long time ago, but my mom continued to lie, so his sisters decided to track me down.

  Another week had gone by and final exams were complete. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for passing grades. I didn’t feel good about it because meeting my biological father had definitely distracted me. If I didn’t pass, I couldn’t start my job in January. I had so much to think about and so much to do, but was summoned to grandmother’s house to celebrate a family tradition of trimming the Christmas tree. I didn’t feel like hanging out at grandma’s trimming an ugly tree and listening to old people talk. I had packed my apartment and planned to move my things, but I didn’t know where I was moving it to. I know I’m not moving to my mom’s, my dad was already planning to move me to his place, and Chester had made an offer, too.

  When I arrived late to Grandma’s, I kissed her on the cheek, hugged my dad since he opened the door, waved at everyone else, and slid onto the couch.

  “You need to learn how to be on time,” Aunt Betty scolded.

  I glared at her. I wanted to punch her in the face, but I’d think of a better way to punish her.

  My grandmother stood in front of the crackling fire. She read a scripture and I totally tuned her out after the first sentence. “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children.” My head was throbbing, my breathing heavy. I felt abandoned, betrayed, like nobody’s child in that room. . Who cares that they took care of me. They would’ve gone to jail had they not done so. Food, clothes, shelter was it. Most of the love and affection came sporadically from my dad. Too bad there was no jail time for emotional neglect.

  JEAN

  I loved my family and I decided that I wanted to see them enjoy their inheritance while I’m still here. They behave badly at times, but they are still my family.

  Madison strolled in late as usual, angry.

  “Thank you all for coming…” I smiled and clasped my hands. “To our annual Christmas decorating party, but I wanted to add a bit of twist to it this year.”

  “And we thank you for having us every year,” Pastor Jones chimed in and his wife smiled.

  “I’m truly thankful for all of you.” I paused smiled toward my grandson, Aiden. At twelve, he was the most innocent face in the room.

  Ebony looked over and grabbed Troy’s hand. I’m not sure why they want to sneak around; everybody knows they were dating again.

  “I invited you all here to eat, help me to trim my trees, and…”

  Madison sighed heavily. I felt sorry for her, but hated her attitude lately. Poor thing she’s filled with so much angst and my sister, Betty didn’t help by antagonizing her.

  Ebony rubbed invisible lent from her jeans. “Madison, if you keep being disrespectful, I’m going to smack the taste out your mouth,” she growled.

  “I bet you won’t,” Madison mumbled.

  I paused and took a few deep breaths and started praying silently. . “Madison, sweetheart…” I placed my hand over my heart as a plea for her to cooperate. “As I was saying, I invited you all here to help me trim the tree and to share some things with you while I’m still here. Proverbs 13:22 says that a good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.” I paused again to allow that scripture to settle in. “And no, I’m not dying.”

  “Well, praise God,” Betty, chortled.

  “Ebony, Troy, I see you two holding hands, I know you two are together again and so does everyone else in here.”

  “Oh Mother, we just…” Ebony tried to explain.

  I held up my hand. “No need. You two have three kids together.” It felt like a fur ball was stuck in my throat after that statement because we knew they had only two together. “If that’s what you want, go for it.” I took a sip of cider and my hands trembled as I set the cup on the saucer.

  “Amen,” my pastor called out.

  “Hold up, Grandma.” Madison held up one finger and stood next to me. My heart pounded heavily. “I have something I’d like to ask…”

  MADISON

  I had to interrupt Grandma. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. I had to speak now. I flipped the light switch on so the extra lighting over the fireplace could shine down on me. I pressed my hands together to reduce the trembling. Then I pointed at my mother, “Mother, how old am I?”

  She furrowed her brows. “Twenty-one.”

  “I’ve been in this family for twenty-one years. And for twenty-one years, you all have lied to me.”

  “Aiden, go upstairs.” The man I thought was my dad instructed.

  Aiden leaped from his seat.

  “No, let him stay. He needs to hear this,” I said.

  Aiden stood frozen in place.

  “Aiden, go upstairs, now.” Troy narrowed his eyes at me.

  Shay chimed in, “Madison, what are you doing?”

  I waited until Aiden left the room.

  “Anybody else want to leave? Okay, cool,” I continued before anyone could answer. I knew they wanted to stay to hear what I had to say. There was something about the word lie that made people pause and listen.

  “All of you have allowed me to live a lie. I knew I didn’t look like anybody in this family because I look like my daddy, Chester Long. My last name is not Brown, it’s Long.” I stabbed my finger in the air. My face was getting warm.

  The room was silent. No one in the room gasped which means it was not a surprise, they all knew.

  I continued, “How did that happen? Huh?”

  Aunt Betty grunted and looked at my mother. Her grunt spoke volumes.

  “When two people sleep around and get pregnant, they don’t consider the child. All they think about is getting it in, then cover it up.” My nostrils flared. “I knew I looked different, I knew I felt different.”

  “That’s not true, we loved you and treated you just like we did Shay and Aiden,” my mother combated.

  “No, you didn’t. You say you did, but you didn’t.” I was fighting back tears.

  I looked over and saw Shay wipe her face. “Madison, don’t do this,” her voice edgy. I figured she was still mad at me from the moment I told her.

  My mother lowered her eyes and fidgeted with her hands.

  “Yes, we do love you, honey. We loved you and provided all of the same things we provided for Shay.” Troy pointed at Shay. “And Aiden.”

  I shook my head, “No. Let me ask you, how many of my lacrosse games you came to? When I played volleyball, how many times did you come to see me play?”

  No one responded.

  “Just what I thought, Momma was too busy and you were too bitter. And that made me feel like I wasn’t wanted. Shay and Aiden got everything they wanted and all of the support they needed. Now, either of y’all are at every game, coaching, cheering or whatever, supporting his whole team.

  Troy shook his head. “I loved you just like you were mine because until you were twelve, I thought you were. I had to work through it, too. I couldn’t abandon you.”

  His words softened me a bit, my heart even fluttered, but I had made up my mind to say mean things so I continued, “Dad, or should I call you Troy now? I know about your four-year old bastard son, Jayden, too.”

  He stood up. “You will not disrespect me.”

  “Oh, sir, you haven’t seen disrespect yet and neither have you.” I glared at my mom.

  My mother started toward me, but Troy stopped her. “Girl, don’t make me hurt you!”

  The pastor starting coughing uncontrollably which was the reaction I wanted. He witnessed the heathens from his congregation first hand.

  “You know what Dad, that’s fair, you have indeed supported me financially and for that I appreciate you. Although…” I paced and pressed my fingertips against my lips. “You did all of that, but you’re a weak man for not standing up for yourself
and Momma,” I paused. “You’re a whore!”

  My mother charged at me. I was pent against the fireplace as she struck me repeatedly until Troy pulled her off. “Ebony! Are you serious? That’s our daughter.”

  I could taste the blood on my lip, my face throbbed. I straightened my sweater.

  “Somebody has to pay the price for all the lies I’ve been told. It’s not my fault I was thrown into this mess of a family, now I’m trying to make sense of it. And the first thing I’m gonna do is cut all of y’all off.”

  “What do you mean cut all of us off?” Grandma asked. “Wise people are careful and avoid trouble; fools are too confident and careless, that’s Proverbs.”

  “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” I stomped toward the door. My mother raced after me and tried to block my path, but Troy pulled her away and called after me.

  JEAN

  “Baby, come back and sit down, let me explain it all to you as I should have done so long ago. Lord have mercy. I should let your momma tell you everything, but everybody’s emotions are too high.”

  I shuffled back into the living room and ushered Madison through to my bedroom. I paused, “Everybody, I ask that you excuse yourselves as I tend to my granddaughter.” I looked at Ebony. I was so disappointed in her and myself at the moment. I’m not sure where I went wrong. Maybe I allowed her to get too comfortable with me.

  Ebony started toward me and Madison and I put my hand up. “No, you leave. You’ve done enough damage.” She fell to her knees and sobbed. Troy and Shay came to her side.

  I remember the day she told me how she ended up pregnant by Chester. She came in distraught and I ushered her back to my room just like I did Madison. The chaise in my bedroom was the spot where everybody told all. She stretched out and began to talk…

  “I was at dinner with a friend and she said, hmph, married almost nine years and never experienced an orgasm can send any woman over the edge. You need to find you a man who can turn your world upside down in bed. Those two sentences kicked my imagination and my sexual desires into high gear and got me into trouble that would last a lifetime. Chester Long, you know him, Essie’s son, married to Jocelyn, was a charmer and I allowed his charm and my inquisitive spirit to take control and send me from a simple conversation into a hotel room with my legs spread wide and had the biggest orgasm I had ever experienced.”

  I remember a hot flash came over me when she said that. She continued, “the affair didn’t stop there, I mean, who could blame me, it felt good, but I hated myself for it so much so that I couldn’t even love Madison the way I should have. I knew she was Chester’s daughter, but I had to blame it on Troy and I hated him for not figuring it out. I wanted to stop, Momma, but I couldn’t.” She sat up. “I hated Jocelyn for figuring it out and setting out to destroy my marriage. Jocelyn left Chester the minute she found out, twelve years later. Of course, it took Troy several years longer to file for divorce.”

  I listened to her story and realized Ebony didn’t know Chester as well as she thought she did.

  Troy and Shay managed to get wailing Ebony to the car. I felt sorry for her, but they had to leave. My granddaughter needed me at the moment. I watched everyone drive away and I locked the door. I hurried back to my bedroom and Madison was curled into a fetal position on the chaise.

  “Ohh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry. Sometimes protecting someone does more harm than good. Your mother is …”

  She rose from her position. “A hoe.”

  “No, no, no, we’re not going to use that language.” I moved over to sit next to her.

  “Well, what is she then, getting knocked up by a married man?”

  “…neglected.”

  “By who? You and Pawpaw didn’t neglect her.”

  “Sweetheart, it’s complicated. She and your dad had issues.” I paused to determine if I should say it. “Sexually.”

  She jerked slightly and her eyes blinked.

  “Yes and as an adult, she gave into peer pressure and encouragement to step out.” I made a sweeping motion with my hand.

  “Nobody can make me do anything that I don’t want to do.”

  I smiled at her. “Yes, they can, which is why I hope you don’t move in with a man you know nothing about. Your biological dad is a liar, a cheater… oh, help me, Jesus.”

  She narrowed her eyes.

  “Yes, I know all about it. His mother Essie told me that he talked his sisters into hunting you down to tell you about him.”

  Her mouth opened.

  “Baby, your daddy is mad because your mom wouldn’t accept any more of his advances. When your dad has someone in his life he leaves your mother alone and when he doesn’t, which is very rare, he stirs up trouble and he’s a manipulator.”

  Her eyes turned glassy. “Grandma?” Her shoulders dropped.

  “When you were twelve years old, your dad Troy, found out and now you’re twenty-one when you found out. Why, because Chester plans things when it’s convenient for him. His ex-wife Jocelyn didn’t just find out, he told her.”

  Neither of us said anything until I broke the silence, “So, you’re going to get your things and move in here with me.”

  She reached for a hug. “Thank you Grandma, I love you.” Her beautiful skin was shiny from the tears; her right eye and lip were swollen. “So, he doesn’t love me?”

  “No.” I pulled her into my arms and rocked her. “Troy raised you and provided for you even after he found out, not Chester. He was just a charming and charismatic man, but he is a master at manipulating people. How do you think he got your momma?”

  She looked at me with an expression of disbelief. I had to tell her everything in hopes that it will help her to make better decisions.

  “He was genuine, wasn’t he?” I asked her.

  “Yes.”

  “Hmph and plotting the whole time.”

  “Oh, grandma, I would’ve been better off not knowing. Why did this have to happen to me?” She fell into my arms.

  “Sweetheart, why not you? You will be known by this testimony, somehow.”

  Her body stiffened as she pulled away. “I want to hurt them so bad. I don’t want to ever see them again,” she moaned.

  “Aww, my baby, I love you. Don’t say that.” I hugged her again. “You worry about graduation this weekend, you have a wonderful life ahead of you with your new job; vengeance is mine said the Lord.”

  ‘No, Grandma.” She shook her head. “Vengeance is mine.”

  MADISON

  Graduation day…

  I had planned for this day for a few weeks. I was excited my college years were finally over. I have a whole new life ahead of me. I had already made plans to work with a designer in New York. I was moving in less than thirty days and away from all of my family’s nonsense to start afresh. I mailed over one-hundred invitations because I wanted everyone to be there for my big day.

  I paid a technology intern to create a slideshow to play at the end of the graduation. I planned it, but I wanted to watch it unfold from a distance. Degree in hand, my breathing labored, I got up and slid out the side door of the arena just as the video started. The song “Holly Jolly Christmas” rang out in the arena for ten seconds, just long enough to get everyone’s cheerful attention, then “Take a Bow” by Rihanna started to play and Season Finale appeared on the screen in swirly and capital letters. Underneath it was The Lying Star-studded Cast; it zoomed in large then switched to the next slide. There was a picture of Chester standing next to a fishing boat with the caption; This is my biological dad… the liar, the cheater, the adulterer, the manipulator. The next picture was selfies with me and my aunts at Frenchy’s, Chester’s sisters; These are my two gullible aunties or lying aunties. I’m not sure which one. There was a picture of Troy that I cut down the middle to separate my mom, This is the guy who thought he was my dad, well, he is my dad. I love him, but I wish he’d man up and stop getting used. The other portion of the torn photo transitioned onto the screen, and
this is a WHORE! The picture zoomed in large, the music scratched to an abrupt stop and then Merry Christmas and an Awful New Year, I’m done. ~MB appeared. I should’ve put a picture with Grandma Jean and Ms. Essie, Thank you for saving me. But there was no need, Grandma knew I loved her.

  The crowd gasped and chatter filled the room. Mission one, accomplished.

  I guess I should’ve warned that I would embarrass them. Yes, I did, and that was just the beginning.

  Brenda A. White decided to turn a childhood dream of becoming an accomplished writer into reality. Her novels are humorous and drama-filled stories of bringing your complete self into a relationship while being pruned through joy, pain, and adversity. Check out her website at www.brendaawhite.com/. You can also follow her on Facebook at Author Brenda A. White, and Instagram and Twitter @brendaawhite.

  The EX Factor

  By J.L. Sapphire

  Taye walked out the front door of his home and slammed the door behind him. He hopped in his Ford Explorer, cranked the engine, and sped out of the driveway. He and his wife, Michelle, had just had another fight over money.

  Taye and Michelle had been married for five years. When they met, it was in a nightclub. His only intent had been to find a cuddy buddy for the night. He’d spotted Michelle out on the dance floor, rocking a body-hugging red dress, and five-inch stilettos. He’d become physically attracted to her immediately, and knew he’d found the woman he would be going home with.

  He’d walked over to her, and offered to buy her a drink…which turned into three drinks. From the way she kept rubbing his inner thigh underneath the table, it was clear that she was feeling him.

  After the club closed, they headed to a nearby hotel, and made love in every way imaginable, until they heard birds chirping early the next morning. They’d exchanged numbers before they went their separate ways, although Taye had no intention of seeing her again. When she called him a little over a month later, he assumed she wanted to hook up. To his surprise, she was calling to tell him she’d missed her period, and that she was pregnant.