NOTHING STAYS THE SAME

by Suzetta Perkins

  “Yeah!” Serena said.

  “Daddy’s got to make a call first, and then we’ll go.”

  Marvin took Serena to the family room so she could play with her toys. There was no sign of Rachel. He passed through the kitchen and out into the hallway that led to the garage. Her car was gone when he opened the door.

  Upset, Marvin went back into the family room and picked up the phone. He dialed Kenny’s cell phone and was pleased that he answered on the second ring.

  “Hey, Marvin. What’s up? Things went pretty well today,” Kenny said with excitement.

  “Yeah, but I’ve got a bigger problem,” Marvin said.

  “What is it?”

  “Peaches has been to my house.”

  “What do you mean she’s been to your house?”

  “Just what I said. She handed Rachel an envelope that had a picture of me and Peaches in a compromising position. Now Rachel’s gone.”

  “Damn. I thought Peaches got the message.”

  “Apparently, she didn’t. I’ve got to take care of her. She’s not going to destroy everything that I’ve worked so hard for. She thinks she’s slick. I’ve never hurt a woman before, but this might be the first time.”

  “We’ve got to come up with something, quick. Our energies need to be channeled into fighting this merger, not this beast of a woman. What kind of woman would try to extort money that doesn’t belong to her in the first place? She’s not a half-bad-looking chick, and I’m sure there are some brothers out there who would love to handle her.”

  “It has something to do with control. I recognize that same spirit in Denise, although she played the game a little differently. Harold told me that he and Denise are getting married.”

  “Does that bother you, Marv?”

  “When he first said it...yes. But when I think about how unfaithful Denise was, there is no way on earth I would take her back.”

  “Anyway, you have Rachel. Your good woman.”

  “I don’t know, dawg. The events of the last few weeks have made us distant. And Peaches certainly isn’t helping me to regain my wife’s trust. Peaches doesn’t even want me. It’s all about the money.”

  “I’m on my way home. Sylvia is calling me on the other line. I’ll think about things and give you a ring once I get home.”

  “Okay, Kenny. Look, thanks for being there.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  Mona flitted around the house like a chicken with its head cut off. Being armed with a bit of gossip always made her antsy. She wasn’t sure what she would say to Rachel, but the fact of the matter was that she didn’t know what Rachel wanted to talk to her about. It felt good knowing that she was going to have backup. Claudette had agreed to come, although Mona wasn’t forthcoming with any of the tidbits that Sylvia had shared with her. This had to be natural.

  She jumped at the sound of the doorbell. Little Michael charged into the room pointing at the door.

  “Doorbell, Mommy.”

  “I’ve got it. I think it’s your Auntie Rachel.” Mona moved gracefully toward the door in her long, red satin caftan. “Hey, Rachel,” Mona said, stopping to give Rachel a kiss. Little Michael waved. “Let’s go back in your playroom and play with your toys,” Mona said to Michael.

  “Hey, Mona,” Rachel finally said. “Michael Jr. keeps you busy I see.”

  “That’s not the half of it. And at night when his daddy comes home, he keeps me busy, too.”

  “Too much information, girl.”

  For the first time, Mona got a good look at Rachel. Rachel looked frazzled and not her usual coiffed self. Mona started to say something about the cheap flip-flops that dangled on her feet but changed her mind.

  “You want some water or something stronger?”

  “Probably the something stronger. A glass of chardonnay would be fine.”

  “One glass of chardonnay coming right up. So what brings you to my neck of the woods?”

  “Mona, it’s a long story. I would have never believed it myself it if didn’t happen to me.”

  “Sounds serious,” Mona said, concern written on her face. She went to the wet bar and poured Rachel a glass of wine. Rachel was quiet until Mona returned. Mona handed Rachel the glass and noticed that her lips were pinched. Rachel tried to relax. “What’s wrong, Rachel?”

  Rachel took a sip of the wine and put the glass down on the table that sat next to her chair.

  “Things are pretty rocky at my house, Mona. It’s more than Marvin’s attempted suicide. When I look at your beautiful home with the twenty-foot vaulted ceilings, open-air living space, a lake next to your twenty-foot pool and tennis courts, I get a little jealous.”

  “You and Marvin have a beautiful home, too, Rachel. You need to stop looking at what me and the doctor have and appreciate that fine living you’re doing across town. We’re both extremely fortunate to have the husbands we ended up with. I count my blessings every day.”

  “Your husband isn’t in a mess. My fine home...may not be my fine home in a month, maybe two.”

  “What you talking about, Rach?”

  “We’re about to lose everything. Marvin sold his majority shares in the company, and now we’re fighting to get them back.” Rachel lowered her head, then brought it back up and gazed into space. “This was not what I bargained for when I married Marvin.”

  “But you married him for better or worse, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, Mona.” Rachel lowered her voice; she was becoming irritated. “I did, but the man I married was a go-getter, a strong mover and shaker, taking the fast track up the Fortune Five Hundred chain. He wasn’t a quitter.”

  Mona moved over to Rachel and rubbed her back. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Sometimes life throws us a curve ball, and it’s all in how you handle the situation.”

  “That’s true, but tonight I found out that my husband is not perfect.” Rachel picked up her glass and took a sip. Mona sat down on the couch adjacent to Rachel.

  “You want to talk about it?” Mona asked.

  “His lover showed up at my door and handed me an envelope. Do you know what was inside the envelope, Mona? It was a picture of them naked, and she was on top of Marvin.”

  The house was still. Nothing ever kept Mona from running her mouth, but she found herself speechless. Sure, Sylvia had told her of the possible infidelity, but to hear the graphic description of what caused Rachel’s pain made her ache.

  Mona swallowed hard. “I’m so sorry, Rachel. What did Marvin say? Surely, he had an explanation...a good one.”

  “What was he going to say? His naked ass was in the picture. And I saw her in the flesh. He had to be mighty desperate to put his...his thing in her nasty stuff.”

  “Oh, Rachel. Marvin doesn’t deserve you. I can’t believe that he would do this to you.”

  “He claims that the woman is trying to blackmail him for fifty thousand dollars. I don’t believe that crap for one minute. She wants my husband, and she’s going to go to whatever lengths necessary to see that she gets him.”

  “Well, you need to fight for your man.”

  “For what? How long would this have gone on if she hadn’t shown up at the house with the picture? I’ve got to get tested. She probably has AIDS.”

  “Calm down, Rachel. We got to make sense of all of this. The Marvin I know loves you, heart and soul. I know pictures don’t lie, but there has to be some explanation.”

  “This doesn’t even call for an expert opinion, Mona. As you said, the picture doesn’t lie. What if that had been Michael in the picture instead of Marvin?”

  “You know, Mona. I would be kicking ass first and taking names later.”

  “See. What happened to a reasonable explanation?”

  Whew. This was more than Mona bargained for. Rachel needed some real help, and none that she could provide. She needed a professional.

  At the sound of the doorbell, Rachel straightened up. “Are you expecting company?”

  “I don’t know who thi
s could be.” Mona said, ignoring Rachel’s direct question. Mona went to the door. “Oh what a surprise. Rachel, it’s Claudette.” Rachel frowned.

  “I was in the neighborhood,” Claudette began. “I remembered you said that Michael was working late tonight, and I decided to stop for a minute to see what you were up to. Time for you to come into the shop and get your head done.”

  “Hey, Claudette,” Rachel said, her voice cool.

  “How have you been? Missed you the other week when we went to see Ashley.”

  “Could be better, Claudette. How’s Ashley?” Rachel asked.

  “She’s doing quite well considering she’s sitting in jail on a murder conviction. Served that asshole right. Ashley should have clubbed him to death.”

  “Okay, Claudette,” Mona said, taking a peek at Rachel. “What would you like to drink?”

  “Just water,” Claudette said. “Trying to lose weight now that I’ve quit smoking.”

  “Scared of you, girl,” Mona said. “I’ll be back in a sec with your bottle of water.”

  “I need to see Ash,” Rachel finally said. “She made the hard choice by killing William. I don’t know if I could do time.”

  “I won’t say that Ashley was justified in killing William,” Claudette began, “but sometimes when you’ve been abused by a man long enough, you do crazy things for survival. Like your last exhusband, what’s his name?”

  “Reuben.”

  “See, if I was with Reuben and he did all the stuff he’d done to you, girl, he’d be in worse shape than what you left him in. I’m a non-violent person, swear to God I am, but put your hands on me, you’re a goner. T never put his hands on me but that one time, and I kinda asked for it.”

  “What about the time Ashley’s husband had your butt up in the air and threw you in your car?” Mona said as she returned to the room with Claudette’s bottled water. Mona looked at Rachel.

  “Oooooooooooooh, ooh, ooh, ooh,” Rachel laughed.

  “Hee, hee, hee, hee, heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee,” Mona followed in laughter. “That was a good one.”

  “You got me,” Claudette said. “Maybe I’m all talk now, but if I was in a real situation like Ashley, I might have reason to hurt somebody.”

  “You’re all talk, Claudette,” Mona said, getting in a last laugh.

  “This isn’t about me,” Claudette stammered, looking from Mona to Rachel.

  The doorbell sounded again. “Saved by the bell,” Mona said, moving quickly toward the door. “Guys, it’s Sylvia. I can’t believe that everyone stopped by on the same night.”

  “Hi, everyone,” Sylvia said, giving Mona a kiss.

  “Tight jeans look good on you, Sylvia,” Mona said. “Got to let the brothers know that the booty is alive and well.”

  “Quit, Mona, while you’re ahead,” Sylvia scoffed. Sylvia reached over and gave Claudette a hug. She hesitated at Rachel’s turned back and found a seat. “I just love your house, Mona. It’s so mod, colorful and beautiful.”

  “What is this, Mona?” Rachel asked all of a sudden.

  “Looks like the Ex-Files reloaded.”

  “I’m going to get ready and go. I suddenly feel tired.”

  The girls stared at Rachel. “You’re not going anywhere, Rachel,” Mona said sternly. “You are our sister, and you’re in trouble. We’re here for you as always. I wasn’t sure what prompted you to come to my house on a weekday, Rachel, but I knew I would need reinforcements. And now we’re all here. You can either share your story or I will fill everyone in.”

  Rachel looked around the room. Only love for her looked back. She wanted to reach out to Sylvia and tell her she was sorry, but her pride kept her from doing so. It was easy to share her sob story with Mona because she didn’t judge, although the more she thought about it, the more she realized that neither did Claudette or Sylvia—even Ashley. She felt embarrassed, and it kept her silent for longer than she intended.

  “Let’s take a time-out,” Mona said. “What can I get you to drink, Sylvia?”

  “I’ll start with a chardonnay,” Sylvia said.

  Mona smiled. “Same thing Rachel’s drinking. You two always did think alike.”

  Rachel knew what Mona was trying to do—melt the ice between her and Sylvia. Sylvia was only trying to be helpful, trying to be her friend.

  “Sylvia,” Rachel spoke up. Three pairs of eyes focused on Rachel. “I’m sorry about the other day. I was under a lot of stress and I didn’t handle things well.” Rachel looked at Mona. “I hope you’ll forgive me, Sylvia. I’ve missed you terribly.”

  Sylvia went to Rachel and squeezed her tight. “I’ve never stopped loving you, friend. Just gave you your space because I knew you needed it. And I promise to be more sensitive.”

  “No, you didn’t say anything wrong or out of order,” Rachel pleaded. “It was me. I called you over to the house and rejected the very advice I was seeking. I realize that advice is not always going to be what you want to hear, although I don’t always take and run with every piece of advice given to me.”

  “That’s for sure,” Mona said. “Now if you had made up earlier, all you would have had to do was go around the corner for advice. But this is good. I think we need to get together more often.”

  Sylvia clung to Rachel. “I say we plan another trip to the spa. How about it, Rachel?”

  Rachel smiled. “I’d like that. And this time we should go on a day when Claudette can go.”

  “All of their open days are my work days,” Claudette began, “but I’ll work something out. Maybe a Tuesday during the day would work.”

  “Sounds like a plan,” Mona chimed in. “I love it when things come together.”

  Rachel looked into Sylvia’s eyes. “Tonight feels like the first time the Ex-Files met and we were sharing our stories.”

  Sylvia smiled. “Look how far we’ve come.”

  “We’ve got miles to go,” Rachel said, staring into space.

  “Look, I’ve thrown a little something together to coat your palates, and when we’re finished we’re going to listen to Rachel and then pray.”

  Astonished, Sylvia looked at Mona. She didn’t believe the word “pray” had come from Mona’s mouth.

  “I don’t know why you hussies are looking at me like that. I pray all the time. Me and the Lord are tight. Our relationship is better than most. Oh yeah. My God is an awesome God. He just answered my prayer.”

  “You don’t cease to amaze me, Mona,” Sylvia said. “Prayer definitely is in order.”

  “When we do, let’s offer up a prayer for Ashley,” Rachel said. “I’d like to go with you next time.”

  “Ooh, there is a God,” Claudette bellowed. “I feel him all over me. Y’all are making me want to shout up in here.”

  “You can shout if you want to,” Mona said, giving Claudette the evil eye, “but if you break anything...”

  “You’ve got to pay for it,” Sylvia, Rachel, and Claudette said in unison. Everyone laughed.

  Being surrounded by her sisters was the next best thing to survival for Rachel. She wasn’t sure what was going to become of her and Marvin, but she knew that she’d be able to get through it with the group’s support, especially with Sylvia’s.

  “Mona, can I stay with you tonight?”

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  Cecil Coleman picked a hair from his chin, then splashed on his favorite cologne. He put his hands on his hips and flashed a toothy grin.

  “Look at that six-pack,” Trina teased, easing herself into the large tiled bathroom with the Roman tub and separate shower. The smell of spice permeated the room from the scented candles that surrounded the tub. A long, gold-painted, wrought-iron, boat-shaped basket that held several green, orange, red, and gold macramé balls adorned one corner of the tub. Trina went to her husband and encircled his body with her arms, planting kisses across his back. “You smell good, too.”

  “All for you, Trina girl.” Cecil turned so he could admire his wife. “Girl, you’re supp
orting that itsy-bitsy push-up bra. Tryin’ to tempt a brother when he’s in a hurry. Please don’t tell me you wear a thong to court.”

  “What they don’t know won’t hurt them.”

  “Baby, I do appreciate that you’ve kept that fine figure of yours in excellent shape over the years. Lionel Richie might have sung it, but you’re my brick house. Kiss me, girl.” And their lips met in joyful harmony.

  Cecil was the first to pull away. “I’ve got to go, baby.”

  “But today is Saturday. You’ve worked hard all week, and you need to take some time for yourself.”

  “Wish I could do that, Trina, but I’m working on this case for Marvin Thomas. His board of directors have given me the green light to fight for Marvin’s shares. I don’t know why I let him proceed with making that offer in the first place, especially since he was under duress, but I’m going to fight those white boys on this. It’s going to get nasty.”

  “Guess who I ran into the other day jogging in the neighborhood?”

  “Spare me the twenty guesses and just tell me.”

  “My cousin Kenny. You won’t believe where he lives.”

  “I can take an educated guess,” Cecil said, putting on his roundneck sleeveless undershirt. “In the neighborhood.”

  “And how about on Riverdale Court in the house that I’ve envied ever since they built it?”

  “No kidding. I guess we’ll have to find somewhere else to live. Too many black folks moving in. Before long, it will become a real ghetto full of wanna-be professionals.”

  “Listen to you, Cecil. You’re not the only black person with money. Yes, we’re doing alright for ourselves, but never forget where you came from.”

  Cecil stopped and looked at Trina. “Just kidding, baby.” He paused, then continued, “The other day, those white boys looked at me as if I was some kind of token attorney. I’ve earned my way to the twenty-ninth floor, and no one is going to take that away from me. Every day that I go into the office, I stop and stare at my name written on the bronze plaque with the other partners. I’ve defended and fought against big and little companies on mergers, buyouts, takeovers, and I want what Cecil Coleman is due. Is there anything wrong with that?”