Unfaithful Ties

by Le'Shea, Nisha

  “He’s six months” She’s says as if she thinks that she’s really holding a baby

  “What’s his name?”

  “Antwan. I’m never going to let anything bad happen to Antwan. Never going to let anyone do to him what my father did to me” She digs into the diaper bag and pulls out a butcher’s knife. “That’s enough about me, you three walk slowly to the bedroom. And you” She says looking at Jennifer. “Don’t try anything slick”

  We do just as she says

  “Climb in” She yells once we get inside.

  Malik and I climb in. I’m sure we’re both thinking the same thing.

  Lord please give Jennifer the courage to pull this off.

  Regina sets the knife at the foot of the bed and orders Jennifer to take Malik’s life first.

  Before Regina has the chance to draw her rifle on Jennifer, Jennifer pulls the mace out of her pocket and sprays it in her eyes. She grabs her eyes while aiming the rifle at Jennifer. She squeezes the trigger, missing Jennifer by the grace of God. Malik has jumped up by now and he and Regina are tussling with the rifle. Her finger is still on the trigger. The nose of the gun is pointed towards the ceiling. Shots go off. Chips of the plaster fall from the ceiling. I grab the knife. She and Malik are still tussling but I manage to move around them. I hate to do it but I have to because if she regains control of the rifle were all going to die. I close my eyes and force the knife in her lower back. She screams in pain. Malik has the gun now. Regina is staggering. Blood is gushing out of her like a water main pipe that has burst. She hits the floor hard “My baby” she cries crawling on her stomach “Who’s going to see about my baby”

  Jennifer gets her phone and calls the ambulance. God I hope this woman doesn’t die. How am I going to sleep tonight? I run and grab plenty of towels from the linen closet. I use them to apply pressure to Regina’s back. She has to survive. She just has too.

  When the ambulance arrives Regina is still breathing. She’s lost a lot of blood.

  The moment she recovers she’s definitely going to be headed to Duvall County Jailhouse. She’ll be fine. After all, she did say that being locked up is not as bad as people make it seem.

  ****

  Back at work

  Pam’s voice blares from the phone on my desk. “Ms. Mooreland Malik Shaw is on the line”

  “I don’t want to talk to him so just tell him that I’m busy”

  “He’s not going to keep buying that. After a while he’s going to know that I’m lying.”

  “Pam tell him whatever you want to tell him. I don’t care!”

  “Well fine then Ms. Stubborn”

  I get up and walk over to the window in my office, like I always do when my mind is brooding. This is my last week at this firm. It still hasn’t quite dawned on me that next week I’m going to be out of a job. Not that I’ll have a hard time getting a job at another firm. It’s just that I’ve worked my ass off for this company and now I’m leaving without ever making partner, without them ever truly respecting me, or acknowledging how hard I’ve worked.

  Pam walks into my office carrying a bouquet of flowers. “Aren’t these cute.” She asks.

  “They are cute aren’t they? You must’ve really been on some man’s mind last night?”

  “Girl please….they’re for you. Looks like you have an secret admirer”

  “Really?” I grab them from her and smell them. They smell wonderful.

  “So what does the card say?”

  “It says to Stacy”

  “Well excuse me sister girl”

  “I’m just joking” I say and open the envelope.

  Stacy I’m sorry for the other day

  Malik

  So who sent them?”

  I walk over to the wastebasket and dump the tulips.

  “I guess that means they came from Malik?” She says.

  “I just want him to give it up” I hiss.

  “The man loves you Stacy. Give him another chance. Only a man that you loves you will make himself look this desperate”

  “The man doesn’t know the meaning of love.”

  “And you don’t know the meaning of forgiveness”

  “You’re wrong. I have forgiven him”

  “If this is what you call forgiveness I’d hate to see how you’d treat him if you hadn’t forgiven him. Why won’t you just pick up the phone and call him? I know you want to. You’re just acting hard.”

  “Pam can we just drop this subject?” I sit down in my chair. “I’ve got one million things on my mind and Malik Shaw is not one of them”

  “Fine then Ms. Stubborn.” She smiles. “I hate that this is your last week. I’m going to miss you” She walks around my desk and hugs my neck.

  “I’m going to miss you too but as soon as I’m settled in a new firm I’ll definitely be offering you a job.”

  “And you know that I’ll come running. Any who I’ve got to get back to work”

  She prances out of my office.

  Clearly Malik and I don’t belong together! Why won’t he just let it go. If we were meant to be together God would have never allowed that woman to show up at Malik’s door. God knows that I don’t have tolerance for that type of mess so I’m taking it as a sign that Malik is not the man for me. Besides, he hasn’t changed one bit. Who in their right mind would get involved with a woman that crazy? Obviously he still lets his dick make all of his decisions for him. He might as well get over me because I’m not about to get caught up in his drama. Not now. Not ever.

  “Ms. Mooreland Malik’s holding on the line again.” Pam says but only this time I can hear the aggravation in her voice.”

  “I’m still busy” I say. Give it up for Christ sake.

  I collect my things and head home.

  ****

  Layla and her new beau John are headed out of the door when I get home. “Where are you two headed?” I ask.

  Layla looks back at John before she answers me.

  “We’re going to celebrate” Her eyes are getting teary, she’s happy.

  “Celebrate what?”

  She glances over at John “Go ahead…tell her” He says.

  Gaily she screams, “Sis I’m getting married. John just proposed.”

  She’s showing me her ring. It’s beautiful. Lord when is it going to be my time to have this moment?

  “Congratulations you two”

  “Thanks” They both say.

  She and I shed light tears as we hug.

  “Sis” Layla says as we pull away. “I just want to say thanks for being there for me during the times I didn’t have anybody else and just because I’m moving out that doesn’t mean that we’re not going to talk every day. I’m going to call you every day.” She squeezes me again. “I love you” She says.

  “Awww…you’re going to make John think that I’m a big baby.”

  “He probably already thinks that we both are”

  We both laugh.

  CHAPTER 37

  Kenneth & Lena...Atlanta Georgia

  Lena was waiting patiently for the inmates to be released for visitation. She was happy that the officer gave her the opportunity to be able to see Kenneth in the first place, since he’d refused to list her on his visitation list. He was a good friend of her and Kenneth’s and didn’t see any harm in letting her walk through the glass doors. Kenneth had been locked up for two months and he hadn’t called Lena even once. Hopefully he’d receive a bond on his next court date because the young woman had been released from the hospital.

  Lena could tell by the look on his face when he approached the glass that separated them, that he didn’t care to see her.

  “Hey baby” She smiled.

  “How did you get back here? I didn’t include you on my visitation list for a reason”

  “I needed to see you. We haven’t talked since you’ve been here. I just wanted to make sure that you are okay”

  “I’m fine and I don’t want to see you” He said getting to his fe
et. “Guard, I’m done here”

  “Wait” She begged him.

  He listened.

  “What if you make bond tomorrow? Do you want me to bond you out?”

  “No I’ve already taken care of that. Storm is going to bond me out”

  “Kenneth I’m sorry for all of this. I wish I could-“

  “Change things? It’s a little to late for that. Let’s just be honest with one another. This marriage has been over with for years. For some reason we’ve just been hanging onto the years. It’s time for us to let go.”

  “Are you going to move in with Storm?”

  Kenneth ignored her question. “When I get out, I’ll have the divorce papers to you as soon as I can”

  She sobbed heavily as she watched him walk away.

  ****

  Lena slumped down into the comfort of her vehicle and fled to Atlanta’s Police Department. She was there in no time.

  “If you think that I’m just going to sit around and let you steal my husband away for me you’re a goddamn fool” Lena mumbled through clinched teeth as she shut off her engine. She grabbed her purse from the passenger seat, slid the straps over her shoulders and marched right up to the double glass doors. Phones rang and keyboards clicked when she entered the building. She brisked right by the receptionist desk. Although the young lady was informing her that what she was doing wasn’t allowed, she continued walking towards Storm’s office anyway.

  Storm was sitting at her desk talking on the phone when Lena walked in.

  “That wouldn’t happen to be my husband that you’re talking to now is it?”

  “I have something to take care of, I’ll call you back” Storm said and then hung up the phone. She pulled up from the chair. “This visit is a surprise”

  “I’m sure it is. It’s also long overdue”

  “So what do you want?”

  “I’m curious to know, why is it so hard for you to stay out of me and my husband’s business”

  “Kenneth and I are friends. I can’t help it if he confides in me.”

  “You can keep the act. You may be fooling Kenneth. But you’re not fooling me. I know exactly what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to ruin our marriage because you want him for yourself.”

  “I don’t have to ruin your marriage. You did that on your own. He’s told me all about what you were doing behind his back. How nothing he does is ever good enough for you. How could you treat him like that? How could you do those things to him? He damn near drove himself insane trying to honor a marriage that you took advantage of. He told me he was miserable.”

  “I didn’t come here to get a lecture from you. I came here to tell you to back off. He’s my husband and I’m the woman that needs to be there for him right now.”

  “I hate to tell you this Lena” Storm smirked. “But I can’t stay away from your husband because your husband won’t stay away from me.”

  “You bitch” Lena quarreled, lashing her arm up to slap Storm.

  Storm grabbed Lena by her wrist. “If you ever raise your hand to hit me again. I’ll have your trifling ass thrown in jail. Now get the hell out of my office.”

  “I’ll leave but you stay the fuck away from husband” Lena demanded and stormed out of Storm’s office.

  CHAPTER 38

  Stacy...Chicago, Illinois

  My least favorite month of the year is here and the thick summer heat is blazing. It feels like the sun is smothering me. I’m walking through the doors of the high-rise building that I live in. Layla and John are moving to New York today and I’m trying to hurry so that I can see them before they leave. I hope I’m not too late. I would have been here but my hair stylist was taking forever tightening my extensions.

  I’m going to miss Layla but I know that she’s in good hands with John. He makes her happy. And seeing her happy makes me happy.

  I still haven’t met Mr. Right yet. I’ve pretty much given up. Hell, a man has a better chance of finding a man than I do. My personal life is pretty much stagnate. I’m still in the same boat I’ve been in since breaking up with Malik in college. I think I’m going to venture away from dating for a while. If Mr. Right comes along, great, but if he doesn’t that’s fine too. African American women are the least likely in our society to get married. Statistics show that 41.9 percent of black women will never get married. I’ve finally accepted the fact that there is a possibility that I may end up being another black woman that never gets to walk down the aisle. Just this year alone I’ve been a serial dater, fell head over heels for a man that screws other men and held at gun point because I’d tried to go rescue a man that broke my heart years ago. And to top that off, two months ago I left a job doing something that I loved because I wasn’t being treated equally. I’d say that’s too much bullshit to go through for an entire decade. Wouldn’t you?

  I push the number 22 once I get in the elevator. It starts elevating.

  As soon as the doors open I see a trail of red rose pedals trailing down the hallway. Some man is going to make some lucky woman gleeful tonight.

  The rose pedals are trailing down the hall and their leading to my front door. I call the onsite security and wait for them. When the man gets here he twists the knob. The door is unlocked which is rather strange. He tells me to wait outside and he goes in. It isn’t long before he tells me that everything seems okay. I’m perplexed.

  There are white candles everywhere. Tiny candles and huge candles. They smell like French Vanilla. Otis Redding is playing. I smell food. The atmosphere feels romantic and I don’t know why. I walk into my bedroom. My bedroom floor is covered with rose pedals. My bed is too. Malik is sitting on top of my mattress holding a rose.

  God I can just eat him up

  He’s wearing a nice black dress shirt and black slacks.

  “I saved this one for you” He says handing me the rose.

  “How did you get in here?”

  “Your sister let me in”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Stacy I don’t want to live without you anymore. You’re the perfect puzzle piece to my life. And I want you Stace” He says. “I want you”

  “Malik look at what happened the last time we tried to rekindle our past. It ended with me having a gun pointed at my head. What kind of women are you involved with?”

  “She meant nothing to me Stace, none of the women did. That’s why I’m here. I’ll beg you if I have too”

  “Malik why is letting us go so hard for you to do?”

  “I’ve tried to let us go for years. I can’t! And deep down I know that you don’t want me to. I know that I messed things up with us before. But I was young and dumb. I got caught up in the fame and the women, when I should have been doing right by the woman I had. The woman that loved me long before there was a possibility for me to draft in the NFL.”

  “When I was young I could picture myself sharing a future with you and I would feel thrilled about it but now I think about a future with you and I get scared.”

  “Stacey that’s because of the way that I hurt you. But I promise you I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. I love you Stace.” His voice lowered. “Stace I will sit in the same spot and watch the sun rise and fall with you without complaining, if you ask me to. I will watch wood burn with you.” He chuckled. “As long as you’re by my side I’ll do anything. I want you to marry me Stace”

  “Y-o-u...w-ant...me to marry you” I ask. My voice is cracking and my eyes are filling with tears.

  “Yes” He says, getting down on his knees. He pulls out a small velvet box. “Stacy Mooreland, will you marry me?”

  His proposal has really caught be off guard.

  “Forget about the past and I promise you’ll have the sweetest future you could have ever imagined.”

  “Yes !” I say “Yes Malik I’ll marry you.”

  He slides the two-carat diamond ring on my finger, picks me up, and carries me to the bathroom. The Jacuzzi is filled with fluffy bu
bbles. Candles are wrapped all around it. He undresses me “Malik I don’t want to jump into sex”

  “Relax” He says. “I’m not trying to have sex with you”

  As he admires my naked body I feel like I can float to the ceiling. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I say.

  “Your body is so sexy” He says. “I’ve missed it so much”

  He kisses me. Slowly my eyes close and I moan disorderly.

  He stops and I want to scream for him not to.

  He grabs some oil and I get in the Jacuzzi. Seconds later he climbs in and starts massaging my neck and shoulders. It feels like I’m at a spa getting a four-hand massage for hours. He doesn’t even attempt to have sex with me. I’m flattered.

  Later as we sit down at a candlelight dinner prepared by him I realize that he may not be perfect but he’s certainly my Mr. Right.

  chapter 39

  Brandi and Trae...San Antonio Texas

  It was a Thursday afternoon and Brandi was sitting on the vanity bench in her bedroom. While most people were excited about the Miami Heat NBA basketball team closing out game five and winning the championship Brandi was excited about life and how great it was now. She was applying a bronzer to her face when her phone rang. With the powder sponge between her fingers she pulled her cellular to her ear and continued powdering her cheeks.

  “Hey mama”

  “Hey Baby Whatcha’ doing? And how ya’ll enjoying your new place?”

  “I’m getting ready to go on a date. And we’re enjoying our new place just fine. It feels good to be standing on my own two feet and not have to depend on Trae. My job may not pay all that well but it pays my bills and puts gas in my car”

  “I’m proud of you chile’. The last time I talked to you, you said that it was going to be a long time before you stepped back into the dating world.”

  “You’ve always said that everything happens in God’s time, a lot has changed since we last talked.”

  “Well I can see that. Other than dating how have you been? I watched your grandmother struggle with breast cancer for two years and I know firsthand that it ain’t easy”

  Now Brandi was glossing her lips. “Some days it’s a struggle and some days are better than others but I don’t complain because I’m still breathing and I thank God for that”