That was why Jerickca loved Anthony. He knew how to make their money work for them. She lived a comfortable life and had no financial concerns. But she longed to be romanced by the man who used to make her insides shake.
She got up and went into the bathroom to relieve all the water she had drunk before retiring to bed. She grabbed her book by Terry McMillan and decided to read a couple of chapters of Another Day, Another Dollar. Terry was such a great writer. She wrote about human emotions, and once you picked up her book, you didn’t or couldn’t put it down. Jerickca had met her when she took all of her books to a signing that the poet Eugene Redman pulled together. Terry was very friendly and had taken some time to talk personally to Jerickca and Daphnie.
Finally, Jerickca fell asleep, and when she awoke the next morning, she removed her book from across her stomach where she had laid it before closing her eyes. She got up, showered, and dressed. Today she was going to take the thirty-minute drive to go visit her mother. This was her day for church, and she always spent her time at the church and at her parents’ home with her entire family, especially her mother and sisters. This was their time together to laugh and update themselves on happenings in their immediate and extended family lives.
After she dressed, she looked at Anthony who was still sleeping. She hated the fact that after twelve years, he suddenly stopped going to church without giving any explanations. She prayed that God would lead him back or that he would become inspired by her and Daphnie leaving and attending so many church functions. Unfortunately, he still hadn’t returned to the church he had once shown so much love for. Taking another quick glance at him before walking out of the bedroom, she wondered, Why can’t he express his love more openly to me? She would just have to work harder at helping him to become more expressive about his feelings. Otherwise, if he didn’t, she would die from a lack of romantic stimulation.
When Jerickca arrived in East St. Louis, she decided to stop by the office to pick up her briefcase. The office was usually open to serve the community. People who were affiliated with any local organization could request to use the facility to have baby or wedding showers, birthday parties, or some other celebration, as long as they hired the janitor and did not bring liquor on the premises. Once she secured her briefcase, Jerickca drove straight to her mother’s house.
After her family attended church, everyone gathered at her mom’s house except her sister, Barrington, who didn’t attend church on this day. Their mom was not able to prepare dinner the night before, so they decided to go to a restaurant. As Saturday Sabbath-keepers, this was something they were totally against, because they were breaking the sixth commandment, which stated: Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. But they had to eat. In the future, they would try to refrain from breaking the commandments and try to work hard to do what God had instructed his people to do.
As soon as Jerickca pulled into her mother’s driveway, Pammie and her partner parked behind her. They greeted each other and walked into the house.
Pammie asked, “What’s to eat?”
Lula Mae answered, “Nothing. We are going out to dinner.”
“Where are you guys going? Maybe we can go too.”
“We haven’t decided, Pam. Anyway, don’t you have to go to the doctor to get rid of that cold?” Jerickca inquired.
“Yeah, you’re right. I guess we’ll have to catch you all on the next trip. I don’t want to break my appointment,” Pammie said. Jerickca was so happy that Pammie and her partner would not be sharing dinner with Lula Mae and her, because she wanted to discuss some private stuff with her mama and it was only for her ears.
After chatting awhile with Pammie, Jerickca and Lula Mae got into the car and Jerickca drove over to her baby sister’s house to drop off her niece. Once they arrived on Godier Drive, Jerickca got out of her car to walk her niece into the house and to ask Barrington if she wanted to go with them. She enjoyed talking to her middle sister, who was a manager at Dillard’s Department Store.
Barrington was five years younger than Jerickca and had only attended one year of college before getting pregnant and dropping out. Since her baby’s daddy didn’t marry her, she went on to get herself a job, bought a small three-bedroom, ranch-style home, and was dating up a storm all across the metropolitan area.
Barrie, the name her family called her, had a great personality and a sexy walk that attracted men from every direction. To top that, she wore a size 5/6 dress. She had a perfect hourglass shape with curves in all the right places. She thought she was the most beautiful person who had ever walked the earth. She was very attractive, with beautiful dark eyes, thick, Brook Shields eyebrows, and hair that reminded you of Oprah Winfrey. Jerickca was disappointed that Barrie couldn’t spend Saturday with her and Lula Mae, but Barrington told her that she would meet them later.
Jerickca decided to take her mother on the Casino Queen Riverboat for dinner. They didn’t go to gamble, but to enjoy the food. They had some of the best food around. They walked into the dining area and chose a table close to the deck so that they could view the Mississippi River. Once seated, Lula Mae gave Jerickca the update on her other children.
She told her that Pammie and her partner were getting a new car and new furniture in their new home. Jerickca breathed harder and harder, because she just couldn’t believe what was happening for her sister. She was a drug abuser who had hit a major payday because she had found someone to love her in spite of her faults.
Jerickca told Lula Mae that she only hoped that Pammie didn’t break Jamie’s heart. She had a bad reputation for trying to get over on people, and Jerickca feared that this was what she was doing to her partner. Just trying to find an easy way to survive had been Pammie’s M.O.
Lula Mae discussed Barrington. “I think Barrie is being hit by that big-headed boy, Michael.”
“What makes you think that, Mom?”
“For one thing, she had a black eye, and when I asked her what happened, she said that she walked into a door.” Lula Mae asked the waiter for more napkins. She picked up her salad fork and proceeded to take a mouthful of salad.
Jerickca asked, “Did you notice anything else about her that could indicate abuse? Like does she spends as much time with you as she did before meeting Michael? Or does she worry about what he thinks about stuff she enjoys doing?”
Lula Mae rested her hand on her face and thought about her daughter’s situation. She had noticed that Barrington seemed tense and jumpy lately, especially when she thought Michael was coming over. “Jerickca, she has been acting different lately. One morning, I saw her sitting in her car in the driveway and she was crying, and when I asked her what the problem was, she was about to tell me when Michael walked out the door. She seemed frightened, now that I think about it.”
“I’ll just have to talk to her, and hopefully she will be honest with me. Please don’t worry. I’ll talk to her as soon as I can. Now, back to my marriage. How do you know when you have fallen out of love?”
“You can tell the difference by comparing how you felt earlier in the marriage to how you feel now. For instance, when you think about him, you get excited and maybe lose your appetite because you can’t wait to see him or you get all tingly inside when he’s near you. You want to hold him and be held by him. You want to feel him inside of you even when you are not around each other. When you fall out of love, you care for the other person like a brother or sister. You are not sexually attracted to him. You don’t want anything to happen to that person, but he gets on your nerves or something that he does seems gross or stupid,” Lula said.
“Mom, maybe we shouldn’t discuss this topic today, but I’m so troubled.”
“Go ahead, baby. You have to clear your heart, no matter what day of the week it is. You can’t celebrate God’s blessings if you can’t think or talk about your problems.”
“Well, I love my husband but I’m bored to death. I want romance and excitement and to spend money in Paris, buy Gucci, and Chanel. And
all he wants is to save money.”
“Child, what are you talking about? And who or what is Gucci?”
“A famous designer.”
“What they make?” Lula said with a quizzical look on her face.
“Purses, shoes, clothes, and other things. The purse you are carrying that I gave you for your birthday last year is from the designer’s line. Anyway, that’s not the point, Mother. I want to do stuff that’s exciting, romantic, and spontaneous, and he acts like he is sixty years.”
“Watch yourself, baby, because I am sixty plus and I love to do stuff. You just need to talk to him and let him know how you feel. He is a reasonable man, and I’m sure he will do what it takes to make his marriage work.”
“What is Jeremy up to?”
“You don’t want to know. That boy is going to be the death of me,” Lula chuckled.
“Why, Mom?”
“The other day, I guess it was on the first—you know, that is the day the State pays almost everyone whose name falls in the alphabet from A to F—well anyway, Jeremy got his social security check, and at least four drug dealers showed up for their money, saying that he owes them for crack they gave him on credit.”
“I can’t believe that. Are you saying they came to your house for money?”
“They sure did, and I had to pay because they said they’d kill him if he didn’t pay. They said something about they gotta teach him a lesson so that others won’t try to do that to them. So I cashed Jeremy’s check and paid all of them. He didn’t have but a hundred twenty dollars left. Now, how he gonna pay his house note and utilities with that?”
“Mom, you can’t be talking to drug dealers. Don’t pay his debt. I don’t like that. Please tell them he doesn’t live with you. Mother, are you okay financially?”
“Yes, everything is all right.” Lula Mae smiled, thinking about how special her daughter always made her feel. She looked at Jerickca and remembered that she had always worried about her more than her other children.
“If you need anything, let me know, but take this check and buy something special, just for yourself.” Jerickca looked at her mother and wanted her to have everything that her heart desired.
“You are so good to me.”
“Mom, you and dad have been married for thirty-six years. How did you make your love last?”
“It was hard because we were so different from each other. I went to church and your dad stayed home. I went out and your dad stayed home. Every now and then, I would take a drink and he would become so angry that he called me an alcoholic, a drunk, or any name he could to discourage me from drinking. But he is a good man who took pride in providing for his family. After about ten years, the fire died, but I still loved him. You have to work hard to make your marriage last, and that includes keeping your sex life active and exciting.” Lula Mae had a thought-provoking look on her face as she told Jerickca how to keep her sex life thrilling.
Lula Mae continued teaching Jerickca how to keep her man happy. “Child, buy you a long wig, and a new negligee and a bottle of wine and surprise him when he gets home from work. The purpose of the wig is to whip him with it. Swing it all around his body and pretend to be a burlesque dancer. Make that man think he’s with a different woman,” Lula Mae said with a laugh. She continued, “Excite him and entice him.”
Jerickca looked somber and said. “But what if I’m the one who needs the stimulation? Mom, I’m so bored. I have tried to do things to please him, but I still feel left out. Why is the woman the one who always has to do the pleasing?”
“Honey, men believe those statistics that there is one man for every ten women, so if you mess up, they can basically go get the other nine.”
Jerickca frowned and leaned over to her mother and said, “I hope the other nine slapped the heck out of that brother.” They both laughed and continued to eat their food. It was always nice to have someone to talk to and to share a good time with about life issues.
Jerickca thought about Patches and how fine he was. She fantasized about making love with him. She could almost feel his tongue lightly flick, lick, and suck her nipples. They would respond by becoming hard pebbles as the sensations traveled down her body like molten lava. She squeezed her thighs together to control the passion threatening to erupt in her. Jerickca realized that she would never cross her set imposed boundary with her employee. It would never happen, no matter how sexy he looked. She shook that young boy off her mind with a quick shake of her head. Thinking about her husband, she wished he could make her feel sexy again. Jerickca knew that she would have to do something to get back in the groove with him. He was a kind and wonderful man. He seemed uptight about some things, but he was a basically good guy.
She knew one thing: she was glad that she had a man, because when she was dating before she got married, she hated it. She never knew if the guy would become obsessed with her and kill her in a rage or if she would end up with some type of sexual disease. People didn’t care about each other like they used to, and she was glad she didn’t have to take chances in the dating field. She made up her mind that she would work hard to love and be loved by the man she had promised to love until death did them part.
As Jerickca and her mom prepared to leave the restaurant, Jerickca’s thoughts returned to her mother and her encounter with the drug dealers. She said, “Mom, don’t pay any more drug dealers. I will talk to Jeremy. This is going to stop, okay?”
“Sure baby. I don’t like it either.”
They both left a tip on the table and walked out of the restaurant together, with their arms lovingly around each other’s waist.
Chapter 21
Megan walked through the front door of her home and passed quickly through the living and dining rooms. She pulled out the oak wood chair at her kitchen table and tossed the mail so hard that it soared through in the air. She was sick and tired of being sick and tired, and she was so horny. It had been a while since she had been sexually intimate, and she was frustrated.
She chuckled to herself, thinking that if she were with a man now, she would probably kill him while they were having sex, because she would ride him to death. She could almost visualize the poor man pleading with her to stop loving him so hard and so long. She decided to call an ex-lover and invite him over. She picked up the phone, dialed his pager number, and waited on him to call her. The phone rang three times before she was able to pick it up and whisper in her deep sexy voice “Hello.”
“Megan,” Cecil said.
“Hey Cecil, what’s up?”
“You girl! It’s been a long time since I heard from you. How have you been?”
“I have been doing fine; just thinking about you. What are you doing tonight?” Megan asked.
“Hey I was just chillin’ at the house tonight.”
“You wanna come over and get into something?” Megan hoped he would answer yes.
“You still live in the same place?” Cecil inquired.
“Yeah. How long would it take for you to get here?”
“Hey baby, I’ll be there in about twenty minutes,” Cecil said, whispering, as if someone had walked into the room and made him uncomfortable.
“Cool. I’ll see you then.”
Megan had met Cecil in high school. They had dated on and off for twenty years. They were “friends with benefits.” She decided to shower and change into something sexy. She went and pulled out a bottle of Cristal, grabbed a bucket, and filled it with ice to chill the wine.
In less than fifteen minutes, she heard a car door slam. She went to the large bay window and pulled back the burgundy drapes to take a peep. As Cecil walked toward her door, the timer light flickered on, and she saw that he had kept himself in shape. He had a bald head, and he looked damn good. She started getting tingly all over, and he hadn’t even walked into the house yet.
After she let Cecil in, they sat down on the French provincial couch and Megan took two crystal wine glasses and filled them with the tasty liquid she needed to e
njoy this evening. As they drank the wine, they both began to get comfortable. Cecil reached for her, pulled her into his arms, and gently kissed her. She grabbed his head and tried to steal his tongue from his mouth because it felt so good inside hers. She was so hot and ready for him. He lifted her up off the couch, pulled her toward the bedroom that he was so familiar with, and stripped her out of her negligee. Once on the bed she grabbed and stroked his penis gently and felt his hardness. She knew he was ready to take her, but she didn’t want the night to end too quickly, so she slowed it down. She kissed his ears, face, and stomach and went back up to his face where she continued passionately kissing him. Cecil grabbed her by the butt, pulled her on top of him, and whispered, “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too,” she whispered as she kissed him deeply on the mouth.
“Where is your raincoat?” Megan asked in a low, sexy voice that sounded as if she were weak with desire.
Cecil reached toward the nightstand, pulled out a condom, and opened it. As he tried to put it on, Megan grabbed his penis and began to lick it. He moaned softly as she deep throated his organ. Cecil was moaning and massaging her sensually, all over her body. Finally, he pulled her under him, spread her legs, slid down her body, and buried his head in her treasure island. As he dug deeper with his tongue to find her jewels, her body temperature began to rise, and she tried to back up toward the headboard. She wanted him inside of her when she had her orgasm. She grabbed the back of the headboard in an attempt to get leverage to help her escape from him but he was so determined to please her that he followed her every move. When she backed up, he crawled to her.
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