Married Men

by Carl Weber

  “Why? Why would someone do this to me?” I was crying hysterically now and looked up at Lisa for the answer.

  She rubbed my shoulders and spoke softly. “I don’t know, Diane. Are you sure they weren’t taken before you met Wil? We’ve all done things we’re not proud of.” I shrugged her hands off my shoulders and turned around to face her.

  “No you didn’t! No you didn’t just ask me that! You think I would take pictures like this? I wouldn’t even do that with my husband. I thought you were my friend, Lisa.” I reached down and threw the pictures across the room in anger. “Get outta my house.”

  “I am your friend, Diane, but there has to be a reasonable explanation for these pictures. They didn’t just appear out of nowhere.”

  “Well, I don’t know what it is.” How the hell did she expect me to be reasonable after what I just saw?

  “Maybe they’re computer enhanced?” Lisa bent over, picked up one of the pictures from the floor, and studied it. I wasn’t too happy about her looking so closely at me with that monster penis in my face.

  “Well?” I held my breath, waiting for her answer.

  “No, I doubt they’re computer enhanced. It would be pretty hard to do with a Polaroid. So that’s out. What’d that letter say?” I handed her the letter and then reached for a picture from the floor. There had to be a way that somebody faked these pictures.

  “Oh my God!” I screamed.

  “What?” Lisa looked up from the letter.

  “I’m wearing my new blouse in this picture. I’ve only worn it once. You remember last week when I asked you to watch the kids and I came back drunk?”

  “Oh, yeah. You and the kids slept over that night.” Lisa still didn’t know where the pictures came from, but I sure as hell did.

  “Hand me the phone,” I growled.

  “Who you calling?”

  “The police. I’m gonna have that son of a bitch Jay arrested.” Lisa looked shocked.

  “Why?”

  “Because he got me drunk and took these pictures of me.” Lisa placed her finger over the phone and hung it up.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I think he was trying to teach you a lesson, Diane.”

  “Who the hell is he to teach me a lesson? He’s running around with some damn girl half his age.”

  “Think about it, Diane. It’s right in front of your face.” Lisa waved the letter in the air. “Wil told you those pictures weren’t of him, but you didn’t believe him. Now there are pictures of you, and you swore that it wasn’t really you. What does that say about the pictures taken of Wil? Read the letter again.”

  I read the letter again, this time out loud. The words hit me like a ton of bricks now that I had seen the photos. What had happened to Wil could obviously happen to anyone.

  “So maybe Wil wasn’t lying?” I asked sadly.

  “I don’t think he was, Diane.”

  I felt like such a fool. I’d taken that man through the wringer over this shit. Made him sleep in a hotel, took away his kids, took him to court. And suddenly I had second thoughts about it all. God, he must have hated me.

  “What do you think I should do?”

  “Why don’t you call him? Tell him how you feel. Tell him you love him. If that’s how you feel.”

  “I don’t know if I can do that. I mean, there’s so much shit that’s happened since then. Why should I think he’d even want to talk to me now?”

  “Maybe because he loves you.”

  The phone rang before I could answer her.

  “Hello?”

  “Diane, this is Wil.”

  “Uh, hi, Wil.” I didn’t know what to say. I was still confused, and although I wanted to believe he was innocent, I wasn’t totally convinced. This was one big mess to be sorted through.

  “Look, I didn’t call to fight, okay?” He sounded so defensive and I knew I’d driven him to it. He was getting used to a fight every time he phoned me. I was about to tell him I didn’t want to fight either, but he never gave me a chance. “Is Lisa there? It’s an emergency.”

  “Emergency? Yeah, she’s here. Hold on a moment.” I handed Lisa the phone. “It’s Wil. He said it’s an emergency.”

  “Hey, Wil.” I watched Lisa’s face go from a smile to a frown as she nodded her head. She muttered “yes” and “all right” a few times, but I wondered what Wil could be telling her that had her looking so pale. By the time she handed me the phone, she was in tears. I put the phone to my ear to ask Wil what happened, but there was a dial tone. I hung up and faced my crying friend.

  “What happened?”

  “It’s Kyle,” she sniflied. “He’s at North Shore Hospital in Forrest Hills. They said it’s critical.”

  “Oh, God! Come on. Let’s get to the hospital.” I grabbed Lisa’s hand and pulled her to the door. She was too stunned to move on her own, but somehow I managed to get her into my car and sped toward the hospital.

  “Where’s Kyle Richmond’s room?” Lisa demanded. We were standing in front of the nurses’ station and she was staring down the nurse like a drill sergeant. She’d regained her senses during the drive and was a woman on a mission. The nurse nonchalantly looked at a chart and pointed down the hall.

  “He’s in Room 302, but he already has three visitors. Hospital policy says only three visitors per patient in the intensive care unit at a time.”

  “Well, then somebody’s going to leave.” Lisa ran down the hall without another word. I glanced at the nurse and shrugged my shoulders.

  “Where’s the waiting room?”

  “Last door on your right.” She pointed to the opposite end of the hallway.

  “Thanks. If she comes back looking for me, tell her I’m in the waiting room.” The nurse nodded and I went to sit and wait.

  I didn’t follow Lisa because I figured Wil was probably in the room with Kyle, and I wasn’t ready to see him yet. Unfortunately I guessed wrong, because he was sitting in the waiting room by himself when I walked in. He had his eyes closed and his head resting against the wall. He was probably asleep and I was glad. I wouldn’t have known what to say to him yet.

  The big lug still looked good, even in his sleep. He’d grown a mustache and looked like he’d lost a little weight, too. I’d always thought he was a good-looking man, even when he gained a few pounds over the years, but now he was looking like he did when we first met. A sea of emotion washed over me when I realized how much I still loved Wil Duncan. I turned around and headed for the door, bumping a chair on my way out.

  “Diane!” I froze when I heard his voice, and turned toward him hesitantly. I tried my best not to make eye contact.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to wake you,” I said timidly.

  “It’s all right,” he stretched, yawning. “I wasn’t asleep. I was just thinking about you and the kids.”

  I gave him a half smile, then turned, hoping to make a quick escape.

  “Diane, can we talk? Please.” I took a deep breath and turned to face him. He was standing now, looking better than ever.

  “Yes, Wil,” I nodded humbly. “We can talk. I think we need to.” I walked over to where he was standing and the two of us sat down across from each other. Neither of us smiled. We both looked nervous. I didn’t know where to start, so he did.

  “Look, Diane, I don’t know how things got to this point, but I’m sorry.”

  “Wil, you don’t have—”

  He raised his hand to stop me. “Please, Di. Can you just let me finish?” He gave me a pleading glance. “I promise you can curse me out all you want when I’m finished. I just wanna say my piece.”

  I nodded. I had so much I wanted to say to him all of a sudden, but the least I could do was let him say what was on his mind.

  “It took me a while to accept it, but now I realize that it’s ...” He hesitated for a second like the words wouldn’t come out. “That it’s over between me and you.” He looked so sad when he said those words. “If you don’t move to Atla
nta, I’ll give up my apartment and move in with my mom. I’ll also pay all the bills at the house like I did before. I just wanna see my kids, Diane. I don’t want my son and daughter growing up without their father. We may be over, but I don’t want my life with them to be over.” He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his checkbook, exhaling a long breath.

  “You finished?”

  “Yes.” He lowered his head.

  “Look me in the face, Wil, and tell me you had nothing to do with those pictures.” Wil sat at the edge of his chair. I’m sure he was skeptical, since we’d had this same discussion a million times, but he tried once more.

  “Diane, I was drunk that night. I don’t even remember being there.” He sighed. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve racked my brain trying to figure out how I could let them do that to me without my knowledge. And the only thing I could come up with is that I’m just stupid.”

  You and me both, I thought.

  “Okay, Wil. I’ll tell you what. I won’t move to Atlanta and you can see the kids anytime you want, but you’ve gotta pay the bills like you used to.”

  He nodded, trying to conceal a grin. I’m sure that’s not the response he expected after all the grief I’d been giving him.

  “Don’t get all happy yet. That’s not all.” His grin flattened. “You’re not moving in with your mother either. She’s not calling me every other night to tell me how you’re driving her crazy.”

  “So I can keep my apartment?” He looked surprised.

  “Hell no!” I sat back in my chair. “Are you crazy?”

  “Diane, be reasonable. I can’t afford to stay in a hotel.”

  “You said you wanna be a father to your kids, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, you can stay in the guest room until we figure this out.” It took a while before what I said registered, and I think he still wasn’t sure he heard me right.

  “You serious? You want me to come home?” He studied my face.

  “Yes, Wil, I’m serious. We’ve both made a lot of mistakes. Me probably more than you for not believing in our marriage. But I realize my mistakes now, and I want you to come home. Not in my bed yet, but home.” I took his hand and moved from the chair across from him to the seat next to him.

  “What made you change your mind?” It’s strange. This should have been a happy time, but neither of us was smiling. I guess we were still feeling each other out.

  “Something Lisa said, something I was feeling, but mostly a friend of the family.”

  “A friend of the family?” He had this puzzled look, but then all of a sudden he smiled. “Jay, huh?”

  “You knew what he was up to?” I didn’t think he would do something like that, but I was gonna be pissed if Wil was in on that shit.

  “No, but I knew he was going to do something. What did he do?”

  “That’s not important, but you tell him I didn’t appreciate it. You also tell him he’s not welcome in my house.”

  “Whatever you want, Di. I just want to come home.” He had tears in his eyes.

  “This isn’t going to be easy, Wil. We need counseling. We still have a lot of issues. You know that, don’t you?”

  “Yeah,” he nodded and squeezed my hand a little tighter.

  “I love you, Wil Duncan, and I’m sorry.” I stroked his face.

  “I love you too, Diane,” he whispered. I kissed my husband for the first time in months. It’s amazing, I finally felt whole again.

  46

  Lisa

  I ran up to Kyle’s room and almost fainted when I saw him in that hospital bed. I couldn’t help it. I didn’t even recognize him with all those bandages wrapped around his head. And he was hooked up to so many machines. I swear if Allen wasn’t standing next to him, I might have thought I was in the wrong room.

  “You aw’ight, Lisa?”

  Allen walked over and wrapped his arms around me. But I didn’t answer him, I just buried my head into his shoulder and burst into tears. He rubbed my back softly, trying to control his own tears, but it was useless. I looked over his shoulder at Jay, who was sitting on the other side of Kyle’s bed, staring at his best friend. I’d never seen him look so solemn and that scared me.

  “Is he going to be all right?” I held my breath, waiting for one of them to give me an answer, but neither of them reacted as if they’d heard me. “Oh, my God, he’s going to die, isn’t he?” They didn’t answer that either, and I panicked. “Will somebody please tell me if he’s going to die?” I yelled frantically.

  “We don’t know if he’s going to die, Lisa.” Allen finally snapped out of his trance. “The doctor said he’s stable, but he’s got some pretty bad internal injuries. Not to mention a few broken bones.”

  “He’s lucky, he could have just as easily been killed,” Jay added quietly.

  I closed my eyes when he said that. It took all my strength not to completely break down in Allen’s arms as my mind repeated their words. God, what was I gonna tell my girls? I walked to the bedside and sat in the empty chair, taking Kyle’s hand in mine.

  “Don’t you do this to me, Kyle Richmond. Don’t you die on me. You understand me? I want you to wake up,” I sobbed. “We’ve got three little girls at home who need you. And they love you more than anything in this world.” I hesitated. “And so do I. So wake up baby. I can’t live without you.” I covered my tear-stained face because I couldn’t look at him like that anymore. God, I wish I had told him how much I loved him before this happened.

  “How? How could something like this happen?” I lifted my head to stare across the bed at Jay.

  “Something went down between him and Val and he got hit by a car,” Jay said abruptly. “We don’t know the rest.”

  “Val? The one he got pregnant?” Just the sound of her name made my blood boil. “What does she have to do with this?” I looked to Jay for an answer but he never even glanced my way. “What does Val have to do with this?” I asked again, this time more sternly.

  “I’ve got everything to do with it. This whole thing is my fault.” We all turned toward the door, and there she was. Val, the home wrecker. The bitch that took my man, and like she said, the reason he was in that hospital bed. She was standing at the door with a bouquet of flowers like she was part of the family, and my first instinct was to get up and smack the shit outta her. She had some fucking nerve coming to the hospital.

  “What are you doing here? Haven’t you done enough? Or have you come to finish what you already started?” I yelled.

  “I just came by to see how he was doing. They wouldn’t tell me over the phone.” I kept looking her way, but she wouldn’t make eye contact.

  “Yeah, well, he might die. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

  “No,” she said weakly, tears running down her face.

  “So, what happened? How the fuck did he get hit by a car?” She looked at me then at Kyle before speaking. I got up to take a step toward her, but Allen stopped me.

  “That car wasn’t supposed to hit him,” she said quietly.

  “No shit, Val. Tell me what happened,” I demanded.

  “I was in the street. It almost hit me, but Kyle pushed me out of the way.” Tears were streaking down her face now. I almost felt sorry for her—at least until she told me the rest of her story.

  “We got in a fight about your divorce and he kicked me out of his apartment. I was so mad at him I wanted to teach him a lesson. So I brought an ice pick and slashed his tires. I never thought he would come downstairs as fast as he did to stop me, but when he did, panicked. I ran into the street. I’d be the one lying in that bed if it wasn’t for him. He saved my life.”

  She began to cry uncontrollably. She must have felt like the entire world had come crashing down on her shoulders and it was all her fault. She looked like it, too. Not only were her eyes red and swollen from crying but her weave was all over the place and it looked like she hadn’t combed it in days. Her pants and blouse were a
ll wrinkled and stained with brown spots that looked like mud. I swear she looked like she’d been sleeping in them last night. Matter of fact, the more I looked at those spots, the more I think she did sleep in those clothes, ’cause those stains weren’t mud at all. They looked like dried-up blood. Probably Kyle’s blood.

  “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I swear to God, I didn’t want this to happen. I love him,” she sobbed, glancing over at Kyle’s motionless body.

  “You said you were fighting about our divorce? Why would you fight about us? Weren’t you two supposed to be getting married?”

  “I wanted to get back together with him, but he got upset when I brought up your divorce. I wanted to celebrate us, but he was still mourning you,” she managed to explain through her tears.

  “What do you mean, get back together? I didn’t know you weren’t together.” I gave her a puzzled look.

  “We broke up that night I told you I was pregnant. He told me to lose his number and that he didn’t wanna be with any woman who could lie about that.”

  “Wait a minute,” I demanded. “Lie about what?” She glanced at Kyle instead of me. “Hey, don’t look at him. He didn’t ask you the question. I did.”

  “I know,” she replied meekly. “I’m just ashamed of the answer.” I didn’t feel sorry for her anymore. I wanted to kill her.

  “You’re not pregnant, are you?” I asked slowly.

  She shook her head silently. I suddenly understood how Diane must have felt when she got those pictures and realized Wil wasn’t lying. I felt like shit.

  “You fucking bitch! I would have never divorced him if I knew that! You did that shit on purpose.”

  “Calm down, Lisa. We’re in the hospital,” Allen warned.

  “I’m not gonna calm down!” Allen’s words made me even angrier. He should have been yelling at her, not at me. I don’t know where it came from, but I reached out and grabbed Val by the neck, trying to choke the hell out of her.