My Woman His Wife Saga

by Anna J.

  Monica

  On a Wing and a Prayer

  Raped and beaten to damn near nothing. Is this what my life is going to be like from here on out? It’s like, I know I’ve done some shit, but why couldn’t I have just died? Why did God allow me to live through all of that, and what was I supposed to do now? I wanted to get out of here on the first thing smoking back to the ATL. I had plans to see my son once more before I went, but I just needed to get gone. Philly was not the place for me.

  I really thought my time was up though. Those guys raped me for what felt like hours, and the beatings that took place in between were unbearable. My eyes were swollen up to mere slits, and I was missing at least ten teeth. There were patches ripped out of my hair, and everything was so sore. I had cracked ribs, and my clavicle bone was fractured on the left side. Both of my arms were broken, and several of my fingers. My wrist was fractured on my left hand, and my right ankle was sprained something horrible. The doctor said that I was lucky to even have been able to crawl out of the space I was in and up the hill with all of the broken bones I had. I was surprised at the amount of damage as well.

  What I did know was that I didn’t want to spend any more time here than I had to, and I didn’t even get into who did what when the cops came. I told them I was kidnapped and didn’t know who did it. Jaydah was the one who ran everything down to the cops, and luckily the guys were already in custody from being caught up earlier in the week. Sheneka was found in a crack house out of her mind, and on the brink of overdosing. Everything was a mess, and I was just glad that they would be served.

  I denied all visits to Jaydah, and when she came up here the nurse had to call hospital security to have her escorted out because she went off in the hallway. As far as I was concerned we didn’t have anything to talk about. I was grateful that she told the cops what happened, and even more glad that she turned in my pocketbook with all of my stuff in it, but I still didn’t have any rap for that simple bitch. She was just as crazy as her sister, and I could do without the drama.

  My sister would be cut off as well. The nurse was kind enough to charge my phone for me once I was able to talk, and she even put my earpiece in so that I could make calls. I loved that all I had to do was say a name, and my phone would call it without me having to dial. I spoke with the judge first, and he was hysterical on the phone.

  “Why didn’t you stay in the house, Monica? They could have killed you! What hospital are you in? I’ll have security outside of the door twenty-four/seven. Are you trying to give me another heart attack? What the fuck where you thinking?”

  I let him ramble on for a while before cutting him off to give him the information he needed. He was coming up here regardless of the bed rest restriction that he was on. There was no use in trying to stop him. Once he made up his mind there was no changing it. I called the Cinques next, and spoke with James. I wasn’t ready to talk with Jasmine yet, and I simply thanked him for the opportunity to meet my son, and I apologized for everything else. I had their address, so I informed him that I would resume the payments as scheduled, and that I would only keep in contact when he reached out to me. I knew that he and Jazz were probably trying to pick up the pieces and put their lives back together, and I didn’t want to be a distraction. He offered to escort me to the airport when I was ready to go, but I declined. The judge had me covered.

  As I settled into my bed and got as comfortable as I could, I thought about the direction my life was going in, and I knew that it was time for a change. I needed to settle down, and maybe find someone of my own. I thought I was on my way out of here, but since I was given another chance at life I decided to do things right. No more messing with other people’s wives or husbands. No more blackmail and conniving situations, and no more holding grudges and lying. I wasn’t getting any younger, and it was time for me to start living my life . . . whatever that was.

  The doctor told me that I would be here for a while, and he wouldn’t recommend me flying back home right away. I decided that I would stay at a hotel even though I was certain the judge would insist that I stay with him. I just wanted to be by myself so that I could put my life in order. A new Monica was emerging, and it was better late than never. My new life was starting now, and as soon as I could I would start by clearing out my phone of numbers that I wouldn’t need anymore, and my sister was at the top of the list. She was poison, and I just couldn’t do it with her anymore.

  I also decided that I needed to move, and I would contact my Realtor in the morning to start looking. I didn’t want anyone I didn’t want in my life anymore to know where I was. It was time for a new beginning, and I was taking my life back. Maybe I’ll move out of Atlanta, and go to Cali. I always wanted to live among the stars. The more I thought about it the more I loved the idea. Smiling, I imagined my new life, and the new potential businesses that I could open up out there. Oh, yeah, I was ready to go. Good-bye, Philly and Atlanta . . . Hollywood, here I come!

  James

  Getting Back to the Basics

  I was surprised to hear from Monica. Those dudes really did a number on her, and it was the running top story for about a week on the news. Jazz and I still couldn’t believe that she got handled like that. I hope that never happens to any of us, and I hope Monica has learned whatever lesson she was intended to learn from this. I offered to escort her to the airport when she was ready, but she said that she was cool. She just wanted to let me know that she was okay, and that she would call soon.

  As for my family, Jazz and I are in marriage counseling. It was for the best. Although we tried to move past our issues, there were too many to try to push to the side. We had a lot on our plates, but we loved each other and we wanted to make it work. Therapy was hard, but it was necessary if we ever wanted to get over that hump and live life happily. The kids deserved that much.

  As I sat in the sunroom and watched the snow fall I took in everything that had gone on in my life for the last few years. The kids were out back building snowmen, and making snow angles. A cute little snowball fight took place, and all of the kids were in their element and getting along. This was how it was supposed to be. I peeked over at my wife curled up on the chaise enjoying a novel as we both took periodic sips of hot chocolate from our mugs. This was what life was really about: meeting your soul mate and building a family, growing old together, and instilling family values in your kids so that they could pass it along to theirs. These were the moments that made it all worthwhile.

  Sometimes we think what we have at home isn’t enough when in reality it’s exactly what we need. It’s crazy that it oftentimes takes a tragedy for us to see it. Getting up from my spot, I went out and joined the kids in a quick snowball fight before running back in the house to start dinner, since Jazz still couldn’t really stand that long to maneuver around the kitchen without being in a lot of pain. I whipped up their favorite meal: spaghetti.

  I called out for Jazz to have the kids get ready for dinner, and they all showed up just as I was putting out the place settings. Once we were all seated we joined hands, and it was Jalil’s turn tonight to pray over the food. I smiled as I looked around at my family, and it saddened me that all of this was almost destroyed. Giving Jazz a wink, I began to serve the kids as they all told us about their day in school. I loved my life, and now that I had another chance at making it right I was determined that it was going to work. I wouldn’t give up this moment for anything in the world.

  Jaydah B

  Not That Easily Broken

  How pissed was I that this bitch had the nerve to deny my visits after I helped her? I mean, for real? I loved her. Didn’t she know that? I didn’t even get the chance to apologize to her for what I did, and I was just so happy that she made it out alive. I was going through it, not knowing where she was at or if she had even survived the ordeal. Sheneka and I got into the biggest falling out behind this, and then she fell off the face of the earth. I didn’t know what happened to her until the cops had informed me that s
he almost died in a drug house, and one of the fiends was kind enough to alert the authorities to come get her because she was crashing everyone’s high. A damn mess.

  Monica hasn’t seen the last of me though. I still had her address, and since she wouldn’t talk to me here, I would just wait for her to go back home. I was already looking into hotels and airfare so that I could get down there. The nurse wouldn’t give me any information on her, but the cute little receptionist kindly informed me that Monica had been discharged when I called the hospital two weeks later. Monica loved me, she just didn’t know it yet.

  Once my travel arrangements were made I curled up on the couch with my laptop, eager to start my next novel. Monica would be the star, and I had a scandalous story that I was ready to tell.

  As my fingers flew across the keys I knew this one would be a bestseller, and I may even write a sequel to it. Either way, once I moved to Atlanta with my baby everything would be all good. While she’s painting her pictures I’ll be writing my novels, and we will be like a power couple or something. My books will eventually be movies, and maybe we could eventually move to Hollywood to set that into motion. I smiled at how bright my future was looking, and I couldn’t wait to share the great news with Monica. Time waited for no one, and like it’s been said in the past . . . don’t put off tomorrow what can be done today. Let the games begin!

  Urban Books, LLC

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  My Woman His Wife Saga Copyright © 2015 Anna J.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior consent of the Publisher, except brief quotes used in reviews.

  ISBN: 978-1-6228-6919-0

  First Trade Paperback Printing November 2015

  This is a work of fiction. Any references or similarities to actual events, real people, living or dead, or to real locales are intended to give the novel a sense of reality. Any similarity in other names, characters, places, and incidents is entirely coincidental.

  Distributed by Kensington Publishing Corp.

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