“Slow your roll,” the bartender said. “Here’s another Jack and Seven. You need it.”
“Damn right,” Marvin said, slurred. “I’ve built my company from the ground up. I’ve invested more than ten years to get to where I am today—a Fortune Five Hundred company.”
Peaches listened intently as the stranger named Marvin became more appealing to her, even in his drunken state. “So, you’re the owner of...”
“Thomas and Richmond Tecktronics, Inc.”
“I’ve heard of you,” Peaches blurted out. “You make computer software and, of course, computers. I think you have the contract at the company where I work.
“Look,” Peaches said, threading her arm through Marvin’s. “When you finish your drink, why don’t we take a ride? I’ll drive because you’re not in any frame of mind to do so.”
“Peaches, you’ve got yourself a deal. I’m not ready to go home anyway. My wife showed her ass today, and I don’t feel like talking to her right now.”
“Well, we won’t talk about your wife. Wives and boyfriends are not up for discussion.”
“Peaches,” the bartender began.
“Earl, don’t worry about me. Marvin needs some company and eventually someone to take him home. Give me your keys, Marvin.”
Earl shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the customers he had neglected. He knew that Peaches was like poison when she got under someone’s skin, and there was no readily available antidote. Peaches helped Marvin to his feet and marched him out through the front door of the bar. Looking on, Earl felt sorry for Marvin and wished there was someone he could alert about his present state, but if Marvin had come there in the first place to drink away his worries, he didn’t want anyone to know.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Rachel paced the floor of her twenty-five-room house as a migraine knocked on the side of her head. The last time she checked the clock, it was seven-thirty, and there had been no sign of Marvin. Serena was knocked out in her bedroom, and now that Rachel was alone, all of her fears came rushing back to her.
Playing back the previous hours left Rachel exhausted. Earlier, Sylvia had dropped her off just like she was a stinking, rotten sack of potatoes. Rachel knew she acted like a fool, but it seemed out of nowhere life was trying to throw her a dirty boomerang. All she wanted was answers. If there was trouble brewing in her marriage, why hadn’t Marvin been man enough to tell her?
There was no use calling Marvin’s cell again. He refused to talk to her, and maybe rightfully so, but she deserved an explanation. What if Marvin went back to Denise for consolation? No, he wouldn’t do that. Denise had a life of her own now.
“Damn, my head is killing me,” Rachel said out loud. She went into the kitchen and pulled a glass out of the cabinet and filled it with water. Next, she got her headache medicine, took it and gulped the water down behind it. She eased into a chair at the kitchen table.
Everything in the room was still, the stillness magnifying the emptiness in the house. Rachel jumped up from the chair and grabbed the phone off the wall and dialed a number. One, two, three rings, and then an answer.
“Hello,” the voice said.
Frozen at the sound of the voice, Rachel held the phone without speaking.
“Hello,” the voice said again.
“Denise?” Rachel asked, as if she was surprised that the person she dialed would be at the other end of the line.
“Rachel? What’s wrong? Is it Marvin?”
“Well, yes and no. It’s nothing. You just came across my mind.”
“I’m surprised to hear your voice. It’s been such a long time. How are Marvin and Serena doing?”
Rachel felt foolish. If Marvin was with Denise, for sure she wouldn’t ask how he was doing. “Everybody’s doing fine.”
“So what’s up? You seem to be upset about something. I hear it in your voice.”
“Well, Denise, I guess I was thinking about the family and how Marvin and Harold have been estranged for so long. I was by myself thinking how wonderful it would be for the two of them to work things out.”
“You know, Rachel, I was thinking the same thing, too. I might as well tell you. Harold and I are going to get married.”
“What? When? Congratulations.”
“Thank you. We’ve decided to get married in December. Danica is almost five, and since I spend so much time with Harold, we thought it was the right thing to do. I really do love him, and Danica loves her father. To have both parents in the home and not having to divide her time at one place or the other was best for Danica, and, of course, for me and Harold.”
“Marvin will be elated to hear it. Look, keep me abreast of what’s going on. We’d like to be there to celebrate with you.”
“Would you pass it on to the girls?” Denise asked.
“I sure will. Although we don’t need a reason to get together, this will definitely be another one of our success stories.”
“Yeah, even though I didn’t go to many meetings, I considered myself one of the Ex-Files members, too.”
“I’m happy for you and Harold, Denise. I truly am.”
“I am, too. And Rachel, I’m glad you found the man of your dreams, even if he is my ex-husband. I was stupid and foolish back then, but the cancer and my will to live for my daughter put a lot of things in perspective for me. I was crazy to have an affair with my husband’s cousin and then get pregnant on top of it, but I’ve moved on since my divorce, and I know now that Harold and I are meant to be. We took our time to become friends, and we found love waiting around the corner. All that is left is for Marvin and Harold to be reunited.”
“Beautiful,” Rachel choked. “I’ll be sure to tell the ladies and Marvin. It was good talking to you.”
“You, too, Rachel. Take care.”
Rachel hung up the phone and began to cry. For once, her life had been perfect—the perfect husband, the perfect family, the perfect friends, the perfect home—she couldn’t ask for more. She turned off the lights in the rooms downstairs and climbed the stairs to her bedroom.
Time had flown, and it was now nine o’clock. No phone calls or sign of Marvin. She walked to the bed and sat on the edge, looking at the phone and willing it to ring. Ten minutes passed by, and she lay on top of the bed with all of her clothes on in total darkness, crying for Marvin to come home.
“Where am I?” The buzz that had overtaken Marvin’s senses was beginning to come down. He squinted and looked around at the room that seemed foreign to him. Pictures of people he didn’t know were lined up on an off-white dresser with a large mirror hanging over it. Large hats in a variety of colors were slung on a rack in one of the corners. The light was low, and when he looked into the mirror, he gasped in horror.
His eyes widened as the image in the mirror reflected a terrible truth. He was naked to the waist, and when he looked down at the rest of his body, his worst fears became reality. He was completely naked—in his birthday suit. He scrambled from the bed and looked around for his clothes. Whatever had taken place in that room, he was not conscious of it. He had to get home to Rachel and Serena.
All of sudden he remembered he had been drinking in a bar because he was despondent about the possibility of losing all that he owned. Where was he? Oh God. There was no way he could be with the woman he met at the bar.
Alone in the room, Marvin searched for his clothes. Not finding them, he went into the bathroom to see if they were there. No luck. Just as he stepped from the bathroom, the door to the bedroom opened. Marvin covered himself with his hands as Peaches, dressed only in a see-through shirt, entered the room with a tray of crackers, cheese, and a glass of wine.
“Well, we’ve come back to life, and I’ve brought you a little something to reward you for a job well done. I don’t cook, otherwise I would have made it a lot nicer.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, ah...”
“Peaches. You’ve forgotten my name. Well, you were hollering it over and over again
just a while ago.”
Peaches set the tray down at the end of the bed. “Let me look at you again. No point in covering up because I’ve seen all that you’ve got. Baby, you’re a stallion. I’d let you ride me every day of the week.”
Marvin stood transfixed in the middle of the room. Overpowering perfume filled the air, and he wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Look...look, Peaches, if it’s money you want, you can have what I’ve got. I’ve got to get home to my wife and child.”
“That’s not what you were saying earlier. Remember, wives and boyfriends are off limits. Why don’t you come over here and stoke my fire some more? Your head is staring straight at me, which could only mean you want more.”
Embarrassed, Marvin covered himself with his arms as best he could, turning from her burning gaze. “Please give me my clothes. I need to get home.”
“I love a man who begs,” Peaches said, twisting her lips. She picked up the glass of wine from the tray and sipped it slowly.
“Listen, Peaches, I have a hundred dollars in my pants pocket. You can have it, just let me have my clothes.”
“I’m not your whore, Marvin. Anyway, I’ve already helped myself to your money.” Peaches put the glass down, slipped off the shirt, and walked over to where Marvin stood. She removed his arms from across his genitals and fondled him.
Marvin tried to move back, the perfume making him gag. Peaches grabbed him around his neck and pushed her naked body into his. She grabbed his buttocks and kissed his lips. “The only way you’ll get your clothes back,” she said seductively, “is after I feel you pulsating inside me, and my river has overflowed.”
“Bitch, I’m not doing anything to you. I have a wife whom I love and adore, and if I’m going to give anything to anybody, it’s going to be to her. Now get your damn hands off me and get my clothes and my keys. And if you don’t in the next three seconds, I’m going to press rape charges against you. Now move.”
“You weren’t that good anyway.” Peaches took the glass she had been drinking from and threw it against the bathroom door. It fell on the tile in the bathroom and shattered to pieces.
“Well, I don’t remember a thing, and I don’t want to.”
“I wonder what your adorable wife would say when I call and tell her you went down on me like a hungry dog?”
Marvin grabbed Peaches by the shoulders and shook her as hard as he could. “You do that, you dirty bitch, and I’ll have you brought up on charges so fast you would have thought you were inside a dryer on spin dry. Now get my clothes before I kick your ass.”
Peaches waltzed into the living room and came back with Marvin’s clothes. “You want to suck my tit—”
“Hell no.” Marvin dressed as fast as he could, not bothering to button his shirt or put on his tie. He checked to see if he had his wallet and its contents. The money was gone and so was one of his credit cards, but she’d find out soon enough that it wasn’t any good in Atlanta or anywhere else.
About to flee from the hell hole, Marvin realized he didn’t have his keys. He headed back into the bedroom where Peaches was standing naked just beyond the door with his keys in her hand.
“Looking for these, lover boy?”
“Just give them to me and we can call it even.”
“Give them to you just like that. Why don’t you reconsider, Marvin, and stay a little while longer? I forgive you for the vile things you said about me. I’ll make it worth your while. You’ve got me all worked up; you can’t just leave me so unsatisfied. You said yourself that the missus was pretty mad at you and probably hasn’t missed you at all.”
“My keys, Peaches.”
“So you’re going to leave me all hot and wanting you?”
“Use your hands.”
Peaches stared at Marvin and smiled. “You did like it.” She threw the keys at him and slammed the bedroom door.
“Bitch.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Hey, Claudette. I need to be out of the shop by eleven,” Mona said. “I’ve got to pick up my dress for this evening and check on the dinner preparations. I’ve been doing nothing but food prep for the last couple of days.”
“What’s on the menu?” Claudette asked, placing the towel around Mona’s shoulders. “Sneak me a doggie bag if you can.”
“The main meal will be a choice of pan-blackened salmon or petite sirloin served with a salad of mint, romaine lettuce with blood-orange vinaigrette, glazed parsnips, and young carrots; grilled asparagus with a Bearnaise sauce; roasted potatoes; and a nice champagne. The choice of soups for the evening will be She Crab Soup and a celery broth. Jumbo cocktail shrimp with a sweet cocktail sauce on the side will serve as the appetizer. For dessert, they will have a choice of lemon custard cake, coconut ice cream with blackberry-ginger sauce, or a vanilla buttercream cake with strawberries. It will be fancy and first class, after all, they are paying fifteen hundred dollars for the meal.”
“Oh, I wish I could be there to see you work it. I know you’re good, Mona girl. Get up and let’s go to the shampoo bowl.”
“Initially, Michael didn’t want me to cater the event, but I had to remind the brother that this is what I do. And you know that I do it with class and style. After all, that’s how I met him.” The ladies laughed. “Are you happy, Claudette?”
“Happy as a pearl in an oyster shell. Like you, I’m doing what I do best, fixing nappy folks’ hair. I know you all think I’m a magician, but for some folks you can only do the best you can. Now, I’ll have their hair looking good, but can’t do nothing with the rest of their body.”
“Just make me look pretty,” Mona pleaded.
Claudette shampooed Mona’s hair, giving her a deep massage with her fingernails. Mona continued to “ooh” and “ahh” even as Claudette rinsed her hair with warm water. Thoughts of good times roamed through both of their heads, and before long, Mona’s hair was being blow-dried and curled.
“Mona, remember when I told you and the girls that you need to go see Ashley?”
“Yeah, I remember, and we’re going to do it.”
“I’m going to schedule a date and call everybody so that we can do it together. You all have neglected her, and she is one of us. It’s like you all have kicked her to the curb. Everybody’s gotten married and gotten their lives back on track. You, Sylvia, and Rachel are living in your fine homes, but you’ve forgotten what came before. Please, we’ve got to do this. I may need you to encourage Sylvia and Rachel to get on the bandwagon.”
“This is important to you, huh?”
“It should be important to you. Mona, Ashley is special to me. Not just because she let me adopt Reagan; she and I bonded, and I understood what she was going through.”
“How do Kwame and Reebe feel about you spending all your time with Reagan?”
“You know Reebe has always been her own person, doing her own thing. Kwame doesn’t really care. He and Reagan get along fine. Sometimes I think T is a little overprotective of Reagan.”
“Just like you, mother hen?”
“I treat all my children the same. I’m just trying to be careful that I don’t make the same mistakes with Reagan that I did with Kwame.”
“Claudette, you have to be careful because kids become jealous when they see you giving a little more to another child than what they got.”
“Mona, if my kids think that, they’re crazy. I’ve done everything in the world for Reebe and Kwame.”
“Couldn’t stop Kwame from burning your shop down.”
“It was an accident, Mona, and don’t forget it.”
“Ouch, you didn’t have to pull my hair. You can forget about the tip I was going to give you.”
“It doesn’t matter, just never let me hear you say again that I haven’t done for Reebe and Kwame. They are my first loves, and I’d do anything for them.”
Mona peered at her watch. “It’s getting close to eleven. I hope you’re almost through.”
Claudette pulled the flat iron through Mona’s hair
without another word.
Marvin brought his feet to the floor and sat up on the worn, brown leather couch in his home office. Sleep eluded him, and his back ached as a result. He placed his elbows on his knees and cupped his face in his hands.
Visions of a naked Peaches danced in his head like an erotic slideshow. He shook his head to erase the memory, but it was stuck there like a tick on its victim. The screen in his head replayed his sin over and over until Marvin could take no more. He grabbed his head, then jumped from the couch and began walking in circles. He wanted to believe that his flesh had not touched that of Peaches—that he had not destroyed the sanctity of his marriage. But when he let his mind wander for only a moment, the blood rushed to his organ in total surrender.
He went to the bathroom next to his office and showered. Hot, steaming water rushed over him as he scrubbed the stench from his body. Tears mixed with the rushing water and fell to the shower floor. The more Marvin lathered, the harder he scrubbed, but it didn’t erase the vision or the nasty feeling that seemed to take hold of him. He tried telling himself that it was a night he didn’t remember, couldn’t remember—that he’d been blinded by alcohol and fear. When he turned the shower off, he didn’t feel any better.
It was still quiet in the house. He listened for any movement from Rachel or Serena but heard none. It was ten forty-five in the morning.
What was he going to do for clothes? Marvin had the shower placed next to his office because he often worked late nights in his office, but he didn’t keep any clothes there. He spied a pair of jeans and a T-shirt he’d worn on the weekend thrown over the back of the couch he’d slept on. He put them on; his clothes from yesterday would be history. He’d find the nearest garbage dump and get rid of them and all other reminders of a day he longed to forget. For now, he folded them and placed them under a cushion on the couch.
He looked around the room, then walked into the interior of the house, where all else was quiet. Marvin grabbed his keys and went into the garage. He had a decision to make today—one that didn’t come easy—but he knew what it would be, what it had to be. He hit the remote, got in the car, and drove away.
NOTHING STAYS THE SAME Page 7