Brendan was silent and satisfied for the time being. “Hey, I want you to drop me past my crib so I can grab my car and pick up a few items. Make the second right.”
Tanisha followed his directions until Brendan told her to park. “Do you want me to wait?” she asked.
“No, I might be about an hour getting some stuff together. I may even get a locksmith to come and change the locks,” he said. “I mean this is my crib,” he added boastfully. Just then he turned and headed toward his condo and caught a glimpse of his car. “Oh, shit, no,” he screamed. “Awwwwww fuuuuckkk,” he was repeating as he ran toward his Corvette. Every window was smashed out of it and instead of keyed up, it looked like Freddy Krueger had gone to work on it and scraped the car from front to back. At that point the slashed tires were an afterthought. Brendan fell to his knees right there in the parking lot.
He was in such a state of shock that he didn’t notice Tanisha standing next to him. There wasn’t anything that she could say to make him feel any better, so she just pulled out her cell and dialed the police. “Someone will be here in the next half an hour they said.”
“Thanks,” escaped his lips.
“Maybe you should go take a look inside.”
They headed toward his place and when he reached his front door he tried to put his key into the lock and noticed the lock had a broken key in it. “I don’t believe this shit.”
He tried unsuccessfully for twenty minutes to get the key out of the lock before calling a locksmith. When he finally came forty-five minutes later, he charged Brendan ninety dollars to bang the doorknob off, ruining his door. His problems were only getting worse. Once inside he was amazed to find that Trina had gone psycho. His couches were cut open, things were thrown everywhere, and to top it off, his fish tank was filled with purple water, and all of his fish were dead, floating at the top.
Tanisha was standing behind him in shock. “Yo, this chick is crazy, Brendan.”
“Who you telling,” he replied. He walked to the back of his condo and surprisingly it was intact. All the dresser drawers were open and it was apparent that Trina had taken all her belongings. Then as he took a seat on the bed to let everything digest, he notices a container of bleach on the floor near the closet. He jumped up and took a look inside. “You bitch,” he yelled out.
“What?” Tanisha asked.
“This bitch ruined all my clothes. She put bleach on everything, even my shoes.”
Tanisha covered her mouth in shock and took a look into his drawers. “Looks like she did your underwear and socks too.”
Just then he heard a knock at the door and he ran to see who it was. When he answered he saw the same police officers who’d arrested him the previous night. “Oh great,” he mumbled. “You’re here to take the report on the car, right?”
“Yes, sir. The Corvette, right?”
“It looks like that’s the only vandalized car in the parking lot from what I can tell,” he spat out sarcastically.
“Brendan, don’t get like that with them. They’re here to help,” Tanisha commented.
“It’s okay, ma’am,” one of the officers responded. “We understand that he might be upset.”
“Upset? Nah, a nigga is past upset.” Brendan pointed at his living room. “Look at this. I want that bitch arrested. Just like you dragged me up out of here and filed those bogus charges…resisting arrest, my ass. You need to go find her, and you better do it before I do.”
“Sir, I don’t think you want to make threats like that. We might have to take you in again.”
“Man, fuck you.”
“Brendan,” Tanisha said before grabbing him. “Look, you go in the back, try to calm down, and I will handle this.” She began explaining everything to the officers and headed out to the parking lot. After a glass of ice water and punching the walls a couple of times, Brendan walked out to join the officers.
“So are you guys going to issue a warrant for her arrest?”
“Well, sir, we don’t have any witnesses, but we will question a couple of the neighbors to see if anyone saw anything that will help with the investigation.”
“So the fact that she had a key and there was no forced entry isn’t enough proof? The fact that she attacked me doesn’t serve as motive?”
“Well, sir, according to her statement you attacked her once she told you that she was pregnant with your child. Does she have brothers or friends who may have taken issue with you over that? We can’t just accuse her without any solid evidence.”
Tanisha had a quizzical look. “Pregnant?”
There was silence. “Man, I don’t believe this. Thanks for nothing.” Brendan turned and headed back into his building.
“Sir, you’re going to need this report for your insurance.”
Once he reached the top of the steps he turned back. “Screw you and your reports, you probably lied on those too.” Then he slammed the door.
Brendan exhaled the smoke and passed the joint back to Tuesday. She either felt sorry for him or was actually starting to dig him. He’d spent three nights in a row at her house. Tanisha had been avoiding his phone calls since the officers had spilled the news to her that he was an abuser and, even worse, to a woman carrying his seed. He’d called Dee and immediately he insisted that Tuesday would come through for him and she did. His insurance company hadn’t even cut the check, and Tuesday had already burned up two stolen credit cards and an assortment of bogus gift cards from Saks, Macy’s, Best Buy, and Circuit City replacing all the items that Trina had destroyed.
All in all Trina actually did him a favor. His claim was for fifteen grand but Tuesday had gotten him twenty thousand worth of clothes and appliances. She was charging him half his insurance check and it seemed like an unlimited supply of head. He wasn’t complaining. Tuesday was a superfreak in bed and the only thing that beats a superfreak is one with access to stolen credit cards. Brendan wasn’t even mad at Trina anymore, except for the issue of calling the police on him. He had gone to her parents’ house looking for her the day after she’d trashed his place only to get “She hasn’t been around here.” Her job claimed that she was on vacation. He gave up the search for the time being, though the pregnancy was on his mind nonstop.
“I really appreciate all that you’ve done for me Tuesday.” He was high and feeling real sentimental. “I just want you to know…”
“Yeah, yeah nigga.” She smiled. “Just put on your scuba gear and get back to diving.” She hit the remote. Raheem De-Vaughn’s CD came on as she spread her legs and leaned back on the couch. As soon as his tongue hit the spot, she shivered and purred like a cat. “Come on, let’s take this to the bedroom.”
Brendan got up and felt the effects from smoking. He was already stripped down to his underwear. He watched as Tuesday moved past him and headed for the bedroom. He watched her ass as she swished her naked bottom. All the sexing between him and Tuesday was helping him forget his problems. As he approached the bed the only thing he remembered was to keep his shirt on.
13
No Ordinary Love
Sometimes the hardest thing to say is that which is already apparent. There’s no formula to getting it out. No guarantee that your words will be received without contempt or understanding. It’s more than a roll of the dice when lives and feelings hang in the balance.
“This isn’t working for me,” I said as I dried the last couple of plates.
“I cooked and washed the dishes. You’re almost finished now so stop complaining,” Shelly replied, flipping through the Sunday Times.
I dropped the dish towel and turned toward her. “That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about us. I’m talking about our marriage.”
Shelly put the paper down on the table and a blank stare appeared on her face. Finally the corners of her mouth went up and then, “What?” The look she gave me asked the same question that I had asked of myself. Was I crazy?
“Shelly, I’ve tried but I can’t go on with this. I love you, but we ca
n’t stay married.” Her mouth dropped open.
“What’s wrong? You’re not happy?” She began to ramble. “Where is all this coming from? I thought that everything was going fine with us. I know you have been trying hard to adjust to being a father, but you and Amani are getting along, right?”
“Listen—”
She didn’t let me finish. “How can you just come out of the blue like this?”
“Shelly, I haven’t been unfaithful to you. I promise you that; however I haven’t been completely honest with you.”
“What does that mean? What haven’t you been honest about?”
I walked over and sat down in the chair across from her to tell her what I didn’t think I could. The pressure had been building up though, and I had to listen to what life was telling me. Life was telling me to be honest and to stop jeopardizing the future that I so desperately wanted. The only one that I knew I could live with. “I’m still in love with Nina.”
The look on her face showed all the pain and confusion that it should have. She began to rant and curse me.
“What?” she shot out. “I know you didn’t just say what I think you did.”
I was silent for a moment, then I muttered, “Shelly, I’m sorry. I really am.”
“Sorry? Sorry for being a no good piece of shit? Do you hear yourself ?” She began to breath heavily and I feared she might hyperventilate.
I shook my head and said, “Shelly, please calm down.”
At the top of her lungs she yelled out, “How long?”
“How long what?”
“How long have you been fucking her behind my back?”
“It’s not like that, I swear. I would never—”
She cut me off. “Cory, there’s nothing that I could put past you.” She began to cry and moved toward me. I was still seated and as she stood over me she said, “This is it. You’ve made your bed now.”
“Shelly, I’m sor—”
I didn’t get my words out before she started to speak again. “You will regret this, I hate you, you will never see your daughter again,” all came from her mouth in a combination of English and Spanish. Before I knew it I was on the receiving end of a few blows. I reasoned that I deserved worse so I took them for a few moments before escaping the house and heading to my office to spend the night.
“Hello,” Nate answered the phone.
“Hello, Nathan.” The voice was familiar. “I hope that I didn’t ring you at an inopportune time. This is Anita. Anita Lawson,” she added.
Nate was driving but was eager to give the conversation his full attention. He pulled into the parking lot of the 7-Eleven and turned his music down. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your call, Anita?”
She laughed, but he was serious. “Well, Nathan—”
“Nate, just call me Nate.”
“Okay, uh, Nate. I was wondering if you had some time in your schedule, if you might be able to come past the house this afternoon. You see, Miss Bethany has been asking about you since you came by on Sunday. Each day she keeps insisting that she is sick and going to die if she doesn’t see Doctor Baines.”
“Say what?”
She continued. “From what I can gather, you do bear a resemblance to her former doctor. The last time this happened she went on for a few weeks nearly driving us all insane. She once mistook one of my girl friends for her former neighbor and began ranting about some unreturned items that she loaned out in 1965. Eventually to get her to let the whole thing go we had to get my friend to come back by and return an ice cream scoop and a sewing machine that we had to buy from Target.”
“I understand,” he responded.
“Do you really?”
“You want me to come by and be Doctor Baines for a couple of hours and tell her that she’s fine.”
“Yes, and also to tell her that you are returning down south to work or retire. We’ll figure something out. That way you won’t have to keep coming by.”
“I honestly don’t mind coming by,” Nate shot back.
“That’s good to know. So what time should we expect you?”
“It’s a little after two now. How about six or so?”
“I’ll see you then.”
“No doubt.”
Nate had mixed feelings about going back to Reverend Lawson’s home. He honestly felt sorry for Miss Bethany and wanted to make her feel better. One of the things he wondered about was why God allowed old people to become afflicted or to suffer. His grandmother was aging and he hoped with all his heart that she would do so gracefully and without any pains and illnesses.
But truth be told he was going back over to that house for a reason that he didn’t want to admit to himself. Anita had stirred up feelings inside of him that he hadn’t felt in a long while. She was very attractive to him physically, but there was something else that he couldn’t put his finger on. Something stronger than lust. Just the sight of Anita had turned him on so much that his desire for her almost caused him to break his abstinence. On the way to Charlotte he had prayed on it over and over. He realized that he was only going to use Janette because he was lusting after Anita. That Sunday Nate had made it all the way to Raleigh before pulling off of I-85 and turning around and heading back to D.C. As he’d headed back he had come to realize that he wouldn’t be able to squelch whatever desires he had for Anita in the bed with Janette.
It was five o’clock and Nate was parked in Mrs. Winters’s driveway. He had retrieved his Lexus convertible and turned in his rental. He was wiping it down when the Metrobus stopped at the corner. Nate looked up and saw Kim’s mother step off the bus and start up the block. When she reached him her look showed surprise.
“Nate?”
“Hey how are you today, Mrs. Winters?”
“I’m fine. What brings you by?” She smiled.
“Well, I just needed you to sign some papers.”
“What kind of papers?”
“The papers for your car.”
“Well, like I told you, I was saving for a car. I don’t have one yet.”
Nate reached into the window of the Lex and pulled out the title and a bill of sale. “Well, you can use that money for the taxes and insurance.” Then he pointed to the hood, “This is your car.”
“What? You have to be kidding,” she laughed out in disbelief. She insisted that she couldn’t afford a car like this even if he was selling it for half its price.
“I’m not charging you a dime. The car is a 2003 and it’s paid for. All you have to do is sign this paperwork and take it down to the DMV, get your tags, and you’re good to go. The maintenance records are in the glove…hell, you can sell it and buy two cars if you want.” He laughed.
“Nate, I thought we talked. You don’t have to feel guilty or buy my forgiveness. I could never accept a car like this from you. It must have cost at least fifty thousand dollars.”
“Closer to seventy.”
“Oh my gawd,” she said.
“Listen, Mrs. Winters, the only thing that I ask is that you drop me off at the car dealer. I’ve already purchased a new car. I don’t want this one anymore. You need a car…summer’s almost here…I know you tired of that bus. Besides, it would mean a lot to me if you would accept it.”
Forty-five minutes later Nate was pulling out of the Porsche dealer in a brand-new Cayenne, next stop the Lawson’s.
Jamison Hakito had been a little upset with my request. Mainly because my request sounded more like a demand. “Jamison, I’m sorry to break this to you in such an abrupt manner, but I need out of New York by Friday.”
He stopped his golf club midair and slowly brought it to his side. “Cory, you know that that’s not possible. We’re preparing for the merger and I need you there.”
“Jamison, I’m sorry but I need to leave. It’s a personal matter that I’m unable to discuss. However, you have my every assurance that I can run the New York office from the D.C. office.”
“Well, I will have to discuss this with the board
because—”
“Jamison, with all due respect, I will have my office and files packed and ready to be shipped back to D.C. on Friday. I will report to my office there on Tuesday. If necessary, I will assume the rent on the apartment here for the next two months.”
There was some more volleying on his part to get me to stay in New York for a couple more months. Getting annoyed at his persistence, I finally offered my resignation and he nearly choked. I had been the diamond in the crown of Hakito Electronics. Ever since I had come aboard, the company’s expenses had dropped sharply while profits had risen drastically. I was gifted when it came to crunching numbers and configuring bottom lines that worked fiscally. On top of that, the Hakitos were superstitious and believed that I was good luck for them because as soon as I joined HE, their holdings in other businesses they owned had skyrocketed as well. There was no way that they would let me go. Once Jamison realized that I was deadly serious about resigning if there was a problem with my request, all resistance faded.
He was curious as to why I wanted to keep the apartment for the next couple of months. When I told him that my daughter wanted to finish the school year before moving back to D.C. and that my wife had agreed to stay behind, he insisted that they stay, no charge to me.
The tension was thick inside of our apartment. Shelly and I had attempted to stay out of each other’s way and were both acting very subdued. It was almost as if we were both trying to keep an explosive situation from detonating.
“So when are you leaving?”
I was packing my belongings. “The moving service is coming this evening.”
Shelly’s arms were folded and she stood in the doorway watching me. I could feel her eyes piercing my back. “Hmmph,” she said. “You know, Cory, I never figured you’d do something like this. You really didn’t seem like you’d give up so easily.”
“You know, it’s odd.” I stopped packing and turned to face her. “I was thinking the same thing. I thought about all that life could possibly offer us if we stayed together. I tried to imagine something more than familiar faces doing familiar things, good sex, and memories of the past…but I couldn’t. I want something new. I want something exciting. I want surprises.” I walked up to her. “It’s like we’re stuck and we’re trying to hold on to college dreams, afraid of the new.”
Don’t Ever Wonder Page 11