by Carl Weber
“Yeah, I know, Officer. But I need to talk to her for five minutes. After that I’ll leave.”
“Okay. Lemme talk to my partner. I’m not gonna promise anything but I’ll see what I can do.” He handed me the picture and walked back inside. I took another look at the picture and tried to imagine when the hell this could have been taken. I felt like I was in the fucking twilight zone. But before I had enough time to really make sense of the whole situation, Diane walked out of the house, followed by the two officers. Her hair was a wreck and mascara was smudged all over her face. She looked like I felt. Like shit.
“What do you want, Wil?” She folded her arms and huffed. I could tell she was trying to prevent herself from crying again. Hell, so was I.
“Diane, I swear to God I had nothing to do with those pictures.” I could see her eyes get small with anger, and the female officer placed her hand on her shoulder to calm her.
“You see this?” She ruffled through the pictures and flicked at me one with a woman’s face an inch from the man’s penis. “That’s your birthmark, motherfucker.”
I had nothing to say, so she continued. I hoped it was making her feel better, ’cause it sure wasn’t doing much for me.
“And that’s your wedding ring!” She threw another picture and I could hear the white cop chuckle. “How could you do this to me, Wil? How could you do this to us? You son of a bitch!” Tears rolled down her face and I swear to God I could feel her pain. I reached out instinctively to hold her but she slapped my hand away. She sobbed on the shoulder of the female cop.
“Di, I swear to you, baby. I don’t know anything about these pictures. I love you so much. I would never do anything like this to you. Please, baby, you gotta believe me.” I couldn’t help myself. Tears began to spring from my eyes too.
“I hate you, motherfucker!” She turned her back to me, and then suddenly she was in my face. A second later I felt the sting of her heavy hand slap my face. The officers tried to stop her but she got off two more blows before they could grab and pull her off me. “I hate you, Wil! I hate you so much! I can’t believe you did this to me!” She was kicking and twisting so hard to get at me she almost broke free.
“I didn’t do it, Di. I swear to God I didn’t do it!” I dropped to my knees and watched them drag my wife into the house. “Baby, please believe me. I didn’t do it! I swear to God I don’t know anything about these pictures.” I could hear one last “I hate you” as the door closed.
A few minutes later the male officer walked out of the house.
“Mr. Duncan, would you like to press charges?”
“No, Officer.” I stood up, trying to compose myself.
“I didn’t think you would. Look, the law says that one party has to leave during any domestic dispute of this caliber. I think it best that you get your stuff and go. Maybe give your wife a call tomorrow when she’s calmed down.”
“Yeah, okay, Officer, I’ll leave. But I want you to know I’m telling the truth. I don’t know where those pictures came from, but I’m gonna find out.” I bent over to retrieve my belongings from the lawn. It took me an hour to get all my stuff into my car.
After I packed up all my stuff, I drove over to Baisly Park and sat by the lake. I loved that park, mainly because I’d had so many good times with Di there. We’d shared our first kiss there and that’s where she first told me she loved me. I’d even proposed right on the lake in a paddleboat. Whenever she was mad at me or we had problems, I’d go there and think. Most of the time I’d be reminded of the good times we’d shared and how much I loved her, then end up going home with some flowers or candy. A few times she even came down there and apologized to me. But that wasn’t gonna happen this time. Not until we straightened out this whole picture deal.
I sat by that old lake and fed the ducks for almost two hours, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened to my life. I’d worked so hard on my marriage over the years that it just seemed impossible that something like this could fuck it all up in one day. And what I hated most was that the whole thing was so out of my control. I studied the two pictures that Diane had thrown at me plus the one the cop had given me.
Damn, that was definitely me in those pictures. I just couldn’t figure out how the hell someone could take a picture like that without my knowledge. Then it came to me. The only naked women I’d been around anytime recently were at Allen’s bachelor party. And I had definitely been drunk enough that night to have a few holes in my memory. Kyle said that I’d passed out. The only question was how the hell did I end up with these girls doing this to me? Somewhere in the back of my mind it dawned on me that the only person mad enough at me lately to do something like this was Jay. What I couldn’t figure out was why he would do it. It was one thing for him to ruin his own marriage, but why ruin mine? Even if I had to drag him to my house to straighten this whole thing out with Diane, he was gonna explain this mess or I was gonna die trying.
27
Kyle
Allen and I came back from the game, welcomed by Val, who was in my kitchen preparing dinner for us. I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist. She was stirring sausage and meatballs into a pot of sauce, and the whole apartment smelled like an Italian restaurant.
“Mmm, that smells almost as good as you do,” I whispered, kissing her neck. She lifted the wooden spoon so that I could taste the sauce. My girl could cook. A tiny bit of sauce fell on her shoulder and I licked it away. “Mmm, tastes good. But not as good as you.”
“You so crazy.” She laughed, turning her head to kiss my lips. “How was your game?”
“It was okay.” I picked up a piece of garlic bread from the counter and took a bite. “I just wish Jay had come with us instead of using the game as an excuse to see some girl.”
“You know Jay is not gonna change, Kyle, so stop thinkin’ about it.”
“Yeah, you’re right. It’s just that he’s getting too old for this shit.” Val peeked in the living room at Allen, who had settled in front of the TV
“Where’s Wil? I thought he was having dinner with us,” Val asked.
“Wil had to leave the game in the second inning.”
“How come? Is everything all right?”
“I’m not sure. It had something to do with his wife Diane. I should try an’ call him now.” I took a step toward the phone.
“Oh, no you don’t.” Val turned and held on to me. “You’re not going anywhere ’til I get another kiss.”
“Do I look like I have a problem with that?” Before I could kiss her, there was a knock on the door. “Yo, Al, will you get that for me? I’m kinda busy.” I kissed Val without waiting for an answer. After a few minutes pressed against Val in the kitchen, we headed into the living room to see the back of Wil’s unmistakable bald head. He was sitting across from Allen on the sofa.
“Hey, big man, you’re right on time to eat. Val’s making pasta and the sauce is the bomb. Wil, you hungry?” He didn’t answer me. That was a definite indicator of a problem. Wil wasn’t the kinda guy to ignore you when you were offering to feed him.
“Hey, Val, why don’t you go in the bedroom for a minute?” I gave her a peck on the lips and gestured for her to give us a little privacy. She was not a happy camper at all, but reluctantly did as I asked.
“Hey, Wil, everything aw‘ight at home?” I was standing in front of him now. He looked like he was about to cry so I asked him again. “Wil? You aw’ight, man?”
“No, I’m not all right! But everything’s gonna be just fine once Jay gets here and I can kick his fuckin’ ass. He’s still coming over here, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, he’s coming over.” I took a step back and turned to Allen. By Wil’s tone, both of us knew he was serious. Hell, I’d known him thirty years, and although he was known for his sudden outbursts, I’d never seen him this upset. Whatever Jay had done must have been pretty damn serious.
“What’d Jay do now?” I sat down next to Wil and couldn’t beli
eve what I was seeing. He was actually crying. I don’t think I’d ever seen him cry. I snapped my fingers at Allen to hand me the box of tissues on the end table. “Here, big man.” I handed him a tissue and he wiped his eyes.
“What’s the matter, Wil? What’d Jay do to you?” Allen leaned closer for a response. Wil sniffled a few times then wiped his eyes again before speaking.
“That sneaky son of a bitch set me up. Can you believe it? I don’t know why, but he’s trying to ruin my marriage.” Wil slammed his hand on the coffee table so hard I could hear the wood crack. “I don’t fucking believe this! I swear ta god, I’m gonna kill that son of a bitch. I’m gonna kill ’im!”
“Hold on there, big man. First of all, let’s put this talk about killing people to rest. You ain’t gonna kill nobody. At least not while I’m around you ain’t.”
“You got that right,” Allen added. “I don’t plan on going to no funerals and I’m damn sure not visiting anybody in jail.”
“Now where in the hell did you come up with the idea that Jay is setting you up? I know you two haven’t been getting along but you know he wouldn’t do that kinda shit.”
Wil rolled his eyes. “What makes you so sure of that, Kyle?”
“ ’Cause he ain’t that type-a guy. That’s why. He’s an in-your-face kinda guy. Not sneaky.”
“Please, Kyle,” Wil laughed cynically. “You ain’t saying that shit when he set your ass up with that condom and panties a few years back, did you?” He stared at me and waited for an answer, but he knew I didn’t have one. “Uh-huh. I guess you forgot about that, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I did forget that. But just because he set me up doesn’t mean he was tryin’ to set you up.”
“Oh, yeah. Then why did he give these to my wife?” He reached into his pocket and handed Allen and me each a picture.
“Oh shit,” I muttered under my breath as the seriousness of what was on that picture hit me. I looked toward Allen with disbelief. He lifted his picture for me to see, and his expression matched mine.
It had been almost eight weeks and I’d completely forgotten about the pictures we’d taken at the bachelor party. How the hell did Diane get ahold of them anyway? Damn, maybe Wil was right. Maybe Jay did set him up after all. Fuck, maybe he set us all up. A well-placed phone call could have easily set this whole thing in motion. No, Jay wouldn’t do that, I told myself over and over again. He’d tried to talk us out of taking the pictures in the first place. Hell, there were twenty guys in that room. Any one of them could have done this.
“How do you know Jay gave them to Di, Wil? Maybe it was somebody else.”
“Please, Kyle.”
“Come on, man, at least give the guy the benefit of the doubt until you speak to him.” I was grasping at straws, hopeful that by then I could straighten things out with Diane.
“Benefit of the doubt, my ass! He did it, Kyle. Who else would do something like this to me?” Wil’s eyes never left my face. “Who?”
He’d stopped crying now and his tear-streaked face hardened with anger as he waited for my answer. As much as I wanted to tell him the truth, I couldn’t. I was too afraid of how he might react. He wasn’t yelling and screaming as I woulda expected. He was simmering like a covered pot, ready to explode, and I did not want him exploding on me.
“Answer me, Kyle. Who else would do something like this?”
“I don’t know, Wil.” I shrugged my shoulders and tried my best not to look him in the face as I lied.
“All right, then, Jay did it. I know he did,” Wil replied with finality. “And when I get through with him, he won’t be able to go home either. If he wants to play the I-wanna-mess-up-your-marriage game, then so can I. Now excuse me, I got business to attend to.” Wil stood up, picked up a magazine from the coffee table, and stomped his way to the bathroom.
As soon as he closed the bathroom door, Allen was in my face whispering with attitude. “What the hell was that all about? You know sooner or latter he’s gonna find out the truth.”
“Look, what the fuck do you want from me? He caught me off guard when he showed me them damn pictures. I was trying to buy us some time. Do you want him taking his anger out on us?” I whispered back.
“You shoulda told him the truth, Kyle.”
“Hey, I didn’t see you jump up to declare your guilt in this. So get out of my face, okay?” Allen slumped down in his chair like a disciplined child. I didn’t mean to be so nasty, but he was getting on my nerves. Hell, he was just as guilty as me. “Look, Al, if we can keep Jay away from Wil, I’m sure I can talk some sense into Diane. She ain’t gonna like it, but at least she’ll know that Wil ain’t have anything to do with it.”
“I hope so, man, ’cause Wil doesn’t deserve this.”
“I know, Al. I know. I just wish I knew how the hell she got those pictures in the first place. I sure as hell never meant for this to happen.” Someone knocked on the door and Val walked out of the bedroom.
“I’ll get it.” I think she was sick of being cooped up in that room.
“No, Val, I’ll get it.” I had a feeling it was Jay anyway. “Why don’t you go check on dinner?” She was fine with that as long as I didn’t ask her to go back to the bedroom.
I looked out the peephole. It was Jay, just as I had suspected. I turned to make sure Wil was still in the john and slipped out the door. I wasn’t ready to tell him the truth, but I still didn’t want Jay walking into a fight on account of a lie I told.
“Yo, bro, we got a problem.” I stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind me.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Diane found the pictures from the bachelor party.” I studied his face to see his reaction. From his bug-eyed expression, I knew Wil was wrong about his involvement.
“Ain’t this a mothafucker. I told y’all not to do that shit.” He shook his head.
“Yeah, I know, but it’s done now. Ain’t shit we can do but deal with it.”
“Damn, I feel for that brother.” Jay shook his head. “So what happened? Did she kick him out or what?”
“I think so. At least that’s the impression I got.”
“Damn, I know he’s ready to kick your ass. And I can’t say I blame him either. Y’all mighta ruined that man’s life with this bullshit.” Jay sighed as he leaned against the hallway wall. “Boy, you couldn’t pay me to be in your shoes right now.”
I swallowed hard and took a deep breath.
“Yeah, well, I don’t know if I’d wanna be in your shoes right now, either.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He cut his eyes at me.
“Wil thinks you’re the one who took the pictures.”
“What?” He took a step closer. “How the hell did he get that impression?” I eased back a step just in case he flew off the handle. His neck muscles were popping out like he was a madman. In our twenty-plus-year friendship I’d never once felt threatened by him. Until this moment.
“I don’t know. He just assumed it,” I answered weakly.
“What you mean he assumed it? Why didn’t you straighten him out, Kyle?”
“I was going to but—” He cut me off.
“But what? You were trying to save your own ass. I’m not taking the fall for this, Kyle. I’m not the one who fucked up this—” He never finished his sentence ’cause the door opened behind me.
“I thought I heard your fuckin’ voice!” Wil pushed his way past me. “Why’d you do it, Jay?”
“I ain’t do nothin’, Wil. Ask Kyle.” Jay glared in my direction.
“Wil, chill, man.” I tried to grab him but he threw me to the floor like I was a rag doll. By the time I realized what was up, he had Jay pinned up against the wall with his forearm pressed against his throat.
“Wil, I didn’t ... have anything ... to do with it... I swear.” Jay insisted between gasps. Both his hands were locked around Wil’s forearm trying to loosen the big man’s grip.
“You fucking liar. You thi
nk those pictures were funny, don’t you?” Wil’s voice sounded demonic as he applied more pressure and weight to his forearm. “Why’d you do it, Jay? Why’d you do it?”
“I didn’t do it ... I swear.” Jay gasped. It was obviously getting harder and harder for him to breath. “Kyle ... help me, man!” His eyes were pleading with me.
“What the hell is going on out here?” Allen burst out of the apartment. “Aww, shit!” He dashed behind Wil in an attempt to stop him but Wil had too much adrenaline flowing by now. He threw Allen to the floor with his free hand. I finally managed to struggle to my feet and grab hold of the arm Wil was using to choke Jay.
“Let go of him, Wil! You’re gonna kill him!” I pleaded frantically as I fought to pry his arm from Jay’s neck. “You’re gonna kill him!” At this point I was scared to death that he really might kill him.
“Good, he needs to die!” Wil yelled as sweat rolled down his bald head. He was so out of control I could feel his anger.
“Wil, dammit! Let him go! He didn’t do it!” My frantic tone made him turn his head. As our eyes met, I pleaded with him. “Let him go, Wil. Please let him go. He didn’t do it. He didn’t do it.” I hesitated for a second. “I did.” I lowered my head in shame.
“What did you say?” Wil immediately let go of Jay, who fell against the wall gasping for air. “I hope you said that just to save his sorry ass.” Wil turned to face me.
“I wish I had.” I couldn’t look him in the face. I expected him to grab me, to hit me at least, but he didn’t. He just stared at me for a few seconds before speaking in a wounded voice.
“Of all my friends, you were the one I thought I could always trust, Kyle. Why would you ruin my marriage?” Wil didn’t have that look of uncontrollable anger like he had just a few seconds before with Jay. Nah, he was still angry, but now he had a look of despair. Like I’d ripped his heart out. He’d expected this type of thing from Jay, I suppose. And to be honest, I believe he wanted Jay to be guilty so he could get even with him for that punch in the eye a few months back. But I could tell he never expected something like this out of me.