Unfaithful Ties

by Le'Shea, Nisha

  “May I be excused” McKhi asked. He hadn’t even touched his food.

  “You haven’t even eaten anything” Lena responded. “Are you not hungry?”

  “Of course I’m hungry. I’m just tired of hearing you guys argue day in and day out. Are you guys getting a divorce?”

  Kenneth quickly addressed his son’s question “Son, we’re not getting a divorce. We’re just...”

  “Your father and I are going to be fine.” Lena smiled and rubbed Khi’s hand. “So don’t worry”

  Dinner was silent, mainly because Kenneth and Lena both knew that they couldn’t say more than two words to each other without it turning into an argument.

  They were just about finished with dinner when Kenneth’s phone rang. It was on the counter so he got up and answered it. It was his day off and he really didn’t feel like talking but he answered it anyway. It was Storm. Maybe she had a new lead on Sanchez.

  He grabbed his plate from the table. “What’s going on?” He asked, whirling the remaining amount of spaghetti noodles around his fork.

  “Why does something always have to be wrong whenever I call you on your off day?”

  He was chewing. “Because it’s my day off. “Whatever you’re calling to tell me better be good.”

  “Actually it’s better than good. It’s great”

  “Oh yeah!”

  “Yes”

  “I’m listening”

  “Captain received an anonymous tip that Sanchez has been hanging out pretty strong at Magic City.”

  “And? We’ve received plenty of tips about the whereabouts of Sanchez, and not one of the leads has been successful”

  “That’s why I wanted to be sure before I called you. So I drove over here by myself. I know that it wasn’t smart and I should’ve came by and picked you up first but I just didn’t want to bother you on your day off. Guess who, is here in the flesh?”

  “You’re shitting me! Are you positive it’s him?”

  “I’m willing to bet my life on it. I stepped outside for a quick second so that I could call you but I’m about to go back in and sit directly behind his ass. Hurry up and get your ass over here.”

  He headed to the bedroom to get his gun and badge holding the phone to his ear “Keep a close eye on that motherfucker!.”.

  Lena was loading the dishes into the dishwasher with an attitude when she heard Kenneth’s footsteps trekking up behind her. He was still on the phone.

  “I’ll be there in a few minutes” He said before he hung up.

  She knew exactly who it was. Storm! And she didn’t like it. It was his day off.

  “I’ll be back. I’ve gotta’ take care of a few things down at the station.” He told her, reaching for his keys that were on the counter bar.

  “What else is new?” She smart mouthed.

  Kenneth ignored her and left.

  “Khi” She called.

  “Yes mama”

  “Go ahead and shower, you have school in the morning”

  ****

  Storm was sitting at a table sipping on a bottle of beer when Kenneth walked in. Half naked women swarmed the dimly lit club while horny sex crazed men damn near lost their mind. Sanchez was the ringleader making it rain on a gorgeous woman dancing on the pole not knowing that two detectives were in close proximity of him ready to lock him away for the rest of his life.

  Storm slid Kenneth a bottle of beer as he sat down. “So where is that jackass?” He said, while looking around at all the nakedness surrounding him.

  “He’s the ring leader making it rain over there.” Storm said nodding her head in Sanchez’s direction. “Maybe you could’ve spotted him on your own if you weren’t so busy looking at all this scattered ass around here.”

  Kenneth took a swig from the bottle. “There isn’t enough ass in the world to distract me from putting his ass away”

  “Looks like you got sidetracked for a minute”

  “Well I am a man.” He chuckled. “It’s in my nature to look at beautiful half naked women”

  “Can you try and stay focused on the reason why we came here!” Storm said, and rolled her eyes. “Looks like he’s really enjoying himself”

  “Well at least his last day as a free man will be memorable. “ He chuckled. “Have you informed the force?”

  “They’re on the way”

  “Good”

  They both were halfway through their second round of beer when their backup finally arrived and signaled for them to move in on Sanchez.

  Kenneth took a quick swig, sat his bottle down on the table and he and Storm both approached the table where Sanchez was enjoying the pleasure of an enticing curvaceous woman gyrating on his lap.

  “Rodrico Sanchez” Kenneth said, “Looks like you’re having fun”

  “Homie why in the hell are you all up in my space?” He asked. “I’m good baby” He said to the stripper, while assisting her from his lap. “Look I don’t think that you want these problems shawty” He said to Kenneth.

  “I’m detective Gibson” Kenneth said and showed Sanchez his badge. “And this is my partner, Storm. Storm do you mind telling Mr. Sanchez the reason why I’m all up in his space?”

  “As a matter of fact I don’t” Storm smiled. “Rodrico Sanchez we have enough evidence to put you away for a very long time”

  “What the fuck are you talking about bitch? I ain’ did shit to be locked up for and I really don’t have the time to listen to this bullshit”

  “Actually you do because you are under arrest for the murder of Geraldine Dowers” Storm said as she pulled out the handcuffs that were in her back pocket.

  Sanchez made an attempt to run but Kenneth quickly grabbed him by the arm and slammed him into the wall. “Not so fast?”

  Storm clasped the handcuffs securely around Sanchez’s wrist.

  “You got the wrong man. I ain’ killed nobody” Sanchez pleaded.

  “Evidence proves that you did. You killed Ms. Dowers because you got into a fistfight with her grandson and he kicked your ass. So to make him pay for embarrassing the shit out of you, you killed the most important person to him”

  “You ain’t got no proof of shit” Sanchez screamed. “I ain’t going back to jail.”

  “I hate to be the one to rain on your parade but that’s exactly where you are going” Kenny blurted.

  “And for a very long time.” Storm added, and the three of them headed for the exit.

  Kenneth headed to the station, thrilled that he’d finally caught that son of bitch. However he wasn’t thrilled about doing all of the paperwork. Which always took hours.

  ****

  By the time Kenneth pulled into the parking garage it was after midnight. Languidly he detached his seatbelt, got out the car and sluggishly headed towards the entrance of the building. He’d been working all day and he was tired. All he wanted to do was go to bed.

  When the elevator doors pinged, he stepped on and pressed the button that landed him on the ninth floor. He didn’t necessarily hate living in a high-rise condo but he wasn’t too keen on it either. He’d always wanted to raise his family in a house with a gargantuan backyard. Buying a condo was Lena’s idea.

  As soon as he walked through the front door he heard Lena yapping on the phone. He was glad that Lena was still up. They needed to talk. “I gotta’ go” He heard her say as he walked into the kitchen.

  “Hey, what are you still doing up?”

  “Couldn’t sleep”

  “Oh, who were you just talking too?”

  She thought of a quick lie “Vanessa”

  Deep down Kenneth didn’t believe her. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t. He loosened his necktie, and set it, along with his pistil, and badge on the counter bar. “How is she?”

  “She’s doing okay. Why? What’s with all the questions?”

  “I’m just curious you two haven’t been on the phone this late since high school. Something must be bothering her”

  “Just catchi
ng up.” She said pulling away from the dinette table. “Another late night?” Now she was scanning the contents in the refrigerator.

  “Yeah, we finally caught Sanchez”

  “Well good for the two of you. Goodnight. I’m going to bed”

  “Before you go to bed there is something that I want to discuss with you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that our marriage is in trouble. We argue all the time. We can’t even stay in a room for more than five minutes without getting into an argument about something petty. Our son notices it. The tension between us is affecting him. And I don’t want that for him. Lena we’re practically roommates that don’t get along. I think we should try marriage counseling.”

  “Marriage counseling!”

  “I think it’s worth a shot. I just don’t know where else to turn. I know that I want our marriage to work. Do you?”

  “Of course I do”

  “Storm referred the therapist that she used. I’m going to give her a call tomorrow.”

  “Storm?” Lena hissed with a frown. “Isn’t she divorced?”

  “She is, but it wasn’t be-”

  Lena interjected. “Don’t make up excuses for her. How sweet of her to refer a therapist that didn’t work for her. You may not see it but I can see exactly what she’s doing.”

  “Lena for the millionth plus time, there is nothing going on between me and Storm”

  “Yeah tell me anything! You two have gotten so personal that you’ve told her about the problems in our marriage?”

  “She’s been my partner for years. I consider her a friend. And yes I’ve told her about some of our problems it’s not like I can hide the frustration. It’s obvious!”

  “You tell a woman that wants you about our problems? She can pretend that she’s interested in helping save our marriage all she wants but I’m telling you she has a motive.”

  “Okay somehow we’ve gotten all of the subject. Are you interested in seeing the therapist or not?”

  “Go to hell” She shouted and headed for the guest room. Just when I’d made up my mind to end things with Chris, he pulls some shit like this, she thought “I bet he’s sleeping with her and if he can sneak around, so can I!” She mumbled.

  The next morning Lena was on her way to work when her mobile rang.

  “Hey girl” She said.

  She heard sobbing.

  “Vanessa is everything okay? You’re scaring me, what’s wrong?”

  “It’s over” Vanessa cried. “He found out about everything.”

  “Oh I’m so sorry Vanessa, are you going to be okay?”

  “You should have saw the way he looked at me” She cried. “What am I going to do?”

  “It’s natural for him to be upset right now. He’ll come around.”

  “Lena if you’re still sleeping around on Kenneth I’m begging you to stop. Trust me you don’t want to feel the way I’m feeling right now”

  “Kenneth and I are going to be fine and so are you and Jason”

  “I pray he forgives me” Vanessa said sadly. “I have to go okay but please take it from me cheating to have a little something extra on the side is not worth losing your marriage.”

  CHAPTER 25

  Stacy...Chicago Illinois

  “How was your Thanksgiving?” Pam asks, standing in the doorway of my office.

  “There wasn’t a thing spectacular about it.”

  “Girlfriend you’ve been dragging since you got back from New York.” She’s opening up the blinds now.

  I blow away the steam lingering around my coffee mug before I sip the hot liquid, and I say. “I’ve just had a lot going on lately. I’m exhausted. You know? Between Vanessa’s accident, worrying about my good friend Brandi, my sister...and work I don’t know how I’m able to keep going. It’s just too much going on in my life right now.”

  “You know what you need?” Pam says moving across the room. Now, she’s standing beside me with her hand propped on her hip. I look up at her as I sit comfortably behind my desk. “What? I am definitely open to suggestions”

  “You need some sex. Not the kind you’ve obviously been getting. Good sex. You need a real man”

  I laugh. Is it that obvious? “I’m having a hard time finding a man that’s worth dating. Sex is so far stretched it’s ridiculous.”

  “Have you ever tried online dating?”

  “No...and I don’t want to either. I think people that search for a mate online are creepy”

  “That is not true. I’ve met some pretty interesting men online.” She lowered herself so that she could get a better view of the computer screen, and started typing on the keyboard.

  WWW.MEETYOURMATE.COM

  A photo of a middle-aged couple appears on the screen. Your chance to find the perfect mate starts here scrolls across the screen in red BOLD letters.

  Click here to start searching

  “It’s some fine brothers on this site.” Pam says, strolling to the small search engine box. “I am a woman...check, searching for men...check, between the ages of 35 and 45...check, Near Chicago Illinois.” She says aloud and then taps the enter key.

  “Pam I’m not doing this” I inform her.

  Several pictures of single men pop up. She clicks on a photo of a cute chocolate man. “Still not going to give it a shot?” She asked, smiling sideways at the photo that appears on the screen. “Look at that chest, I’d love to lick the sweat off of it.”

  I feel myself grinning. “He is fine”

  “Let’s check out his profile.” She clicks the highlighted letters that spell out the word PROFILE.

  Interests:

  Alumni connections, Camping, Coffee and conversation, Cooking, Dining out, Movies/Videos, Music and concerts, Exploring new areas, Nightclubs/Dancing, Performing arts, Playing cards, Playing sports, Shopping/Antiques, Travel/Sightseeing, Volunteering, Watching sports

  Sports and exercise:

  Baseball, Basketball, Billiards / Pool, Bowling, Football, Golf, Dancing, Martial arts, Running, Skiing, Swimming, Tennis / Racquet sports, Weights / Machines, Hockey, Volleyball

  Exercise habits:

  Exercise 3-4 times per week

  Pets:

  Dogs

  Religion:

  Christian

  Sign:

  Virgo

  College:

  University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

  For Fun:

  Coaching. Traveling. Road Trips. Golf. Playing sports. Happy hour. Going to sporting events. Learning to play musical instruments. The beach.

  Favorite Hot Spots:

  Some of my last few trips: Jekyll Island, Austin, Miami, Vegas. Toronto, Greenville, San Francisco, Hawaii, NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Seoul.

  Upcoming trips: NYC. Bay Area.

  Favorite Things:

  Last playlist had: Outkast, Foo Fighters, Alicia Keys, Prince, Jay Z, lots of 80s jams. 24, Big Bang Theory, The Office, SVU, Seinfeld, Glee, 24, Star Trek (nerdy, I know). Too many movies to list.

  “He seems like a pretty good catch” She smiles. “You should send him a flirt message”

  “I’m not going to make myself look desperate.”

  She laughs. “Be honest with yourself for Christ sake. You want a man...badly! Your attitude lately is screaming...Lord please send me a man. You’re cranky and bitchy. And I know that you’re not going to admit it but you’re lonely too”

  “I am not”

  “Email the man” She’s heading for the door. “If you don’t do it I’m going to email him for you?”

  Although I know that Pam has some pretty valid points I avoid her demand and swivel around in my chair. I end up facing the wall of windows in my office. Looking out of the window I force the springs of the executive desk chair as far as I can and gaze at the city. People walking around showcasing their togetherness, their happiness, their joy, fills my seated eye view and I think it’s t
he reason I’m suddenly starting to feel sad. My life is so dull. I want what they have. Jovial memories. I’m staring at love, yet I still feel so far from it. Like it’s distance. Like I’ll Never know it. Never touch it. Never feel it. Never have it. For me, finding true love feels almost impossible.

  I swivel back around and stare at the screen. Words floating in a text box on the webpage stares back at me.

  Type here to send a flirt message.

  I am cranky, and bitchy, and lonely. “Oh, what the hell!” I say and stroll the icon that says upload profile picture here. Online dating is not my cup of tea, but it can’t hurt to give it a shot. Sometimes you have to try new things in order for new opportunities to present themselves.

  There is a cute picture of myself saved to my desktop. The contrast is a little too bright but it’s still cute so I upload it. After the file uploads I type a little information about myself in the profile box.

  Hello you, yeah you! After all you are the one reading my profile aren’t you? I bet you’re smiling now. Glad that I could make you smile. Obviously you’re interested in getting to know me a little better because otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this. So here is a little excerpt that’s all about me. The best word that describes me is vibrant. I enjoy dancing, reading, cooking and just having fun. I absolutely love music, all kinds but my favorite is soul music. I work out a lot not just to look fit but to actually be healthy. I’m an attorney. I don’t have any kids right now but I definitely see kids in my future. I’m looking forward to meeting someone that loves living their life to fullest, is charming, generous, giving and kind hearted and that can be the puzzle piece that’s missing from my life, the perfect man for me. So if this description fits you feel free to send me a flirt. You never know I may be the woman you’ve been looking for.

  Once I’m satisfied with what I’ve typed I hit submit

  I continue with my normal work routine.

  It isn’t long before I hear a noise coming from my computer letting me know that I have a new email. It’s from a guy named Roland X. From what I can see he’s attractive and after I read his profile I concur that he’s interesting and definitely worth responding to. So I respond. We chat for the remainder of my shift and I’m intrigued.