by Dash, Jayson
“I hope what you’re saying is true. I’ll be damned if I have to go down that road again and—”
“Sabrina, baby, you have my word. I’m not that type of guy. I don’t play with women’s emotions. I’m 100% real with you.” He wiped her tears and asked, “Do you trust me?”
Sabrina paused. “I guess I do.”
“Sabrina, I don’t need you to guess. I want to know that you can without question because if not, this relationship will not work without trust.”
“I know that, Brett. And I do trust you...for now.”
“For now?” Brett repeated. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means I trust you until you give me a reason not to.”
Brett waited a beat and said, “Okay. That sounds fair enough.” He diverted his eyes back to the road and added, “That’s good enough for me.”
“Same here.”
The evening would have been nice if it wasn’t for the clouds that were begging to from in the sky. Sabrina didn’t really believe in superstitions but she did hear that bad weather on a wedding was a sign of a bad marriage. And since it wasn’t her own wedding, it didn’t faze her one bit.
About twenty minutes or so later they were at the country club where the wedding was taking place. A handful of wedding guests were standing around chatting amongst each other. Some were pointing at the clouds overhead and contemplating whether or not the wedding was going to be a disaster. They were probably right.
Sabrina held onto Brett’s hand as they walked inside the place and walked past the table with mounds of wedding gifts wrapped in colorful wrappings. She started to feel bad about not buying a gift and stopped herself. She was not about to make herself feel bad. She didn’t buy a gift because it was just like adding insult to injury, despite it being customary to buy gifts for the bride and groom, but in her case, she deserved a pass at least this once.
Hell, she didn’t hate on whatever it was Carl thought he had with his former mistress. She was just being a realist. She had no reason to envy Jasmine for being in her former place. In actuality it was the total opposite and Sabrina felt kind of sorry for her. Well, not really.
They followed other guests as they flocked to the patio outside that was decked out by white chairs covered by white linen. It looked elegant and nice, nothing too spectacular to brag about. Seeing that most of the seats were already filled, Sabrina and Brett sat in the middle on the groom’s side. It took everything she had to fight the nauseating feeling that was swelling inside her stomach as she sat down and pictured what was to come in a few moments.
The ceremony was supposed to start in five minutes and as other guests got settled and the wedding party was nowhere to be found, it was obvious that things were running behind schedule.
Boredom was beginning to take over and Sabrina was feeling like she was on the verge of losing her damn mind. Even though the sun wasn’t out, the air was humid and musty, hot even.
Sabrina was trying to mind her own business but she couldn’t help but to overhear a female voice coming from behind her say her name or something close to it. So she listened harder just to be on the safe side.
A moment later she heard someone say, “If you ask me, Carl was a dumb ass for cheating on Sabrina with Jasmine, of all the bitches in Miami. And it wasn’t like Sabrina was ugly, and she’s an editor at that magazine, so you know she got mad money.”
“True that. I knew her for a while and I knew she and Carl were bound to breakup after all the shit he kept putting her through. Shit, he’s not all that. He looks like he was repeatedly beaten with an ugly stick.”
Sabrina laughed and said, “I second that.” She turned to face the chatting females and added, “I don’t know why I couldn’t see it when I was dating his sorry ass.”
One of the females dressed in a blue dress chuckled and said, “Oh, shit, Sabrina. What you doing here?”
“I decided to come and show off a little bit. You know, just to let him know what he missed out on.”
“Girl, I don’t blame you.” She paused and said, “Since you and Carl broke up, I don’t see a reason not to tell you what I heard about why y’all finally broke up.”
“What’s that?”
She leaned closer and said, “Well, rumor has it, after you busted Carl’s ass for tricking with Jasmine, he found out that you were using up all his credit cards and fucking up his credit.”
“What? I cannot believe that idiot—okay, I take that back. I know what Carl is capable of and know for a fact that he made that lie up. And his broke ass was freeloading off of me.”
A female sitting beside the woman in blue chimed in and said, “Oh, you know what I heard?”
“What?”
“I heard he only went to Jasmine because he said you were never in the mood for sex and you were always complaining about how tired you were from work and you never wanted to try anything different. And he claim that you didn’t want kids and he did.”
Sabrina exploded with laughter. After she composed herself she said, “Wow. Carl is a fucking scumbag and he doesn’t deserve to be happy. What a bastard!”
The woman in red said, “Shit, if I would’ve known you sooner I could have saved you the trouble and told you ahead of time. I dated his sorry ass back in college and even back then he was dog.”
“Damn,” Sabrina said coolly. “What a small world.”
“Yes, indeed. And you know Jasmine is pregnant, right?”
“Oh, really now?” said Sabrina. “That doesn’t surprise me not one bit.”
The one in blue said, “I know something that will.”
“Oh, yeah?”
She grinned and said, “Well, everybody knows how much of a slut Jasmine Phispatrick is and we all know she can’t stay tied down to one man. Needless to say, the bitch is pregnant with another man’s baby!”
“Wow! That’s just disgusting. How you know all that?”
“My cousin Tray is best friend’s with the guy and the only reason she’s getting married to Carl is because he’s too stupid to realize she been cheating on him.”
Sabrina was still trying to wrap her mind around everything she was hearing. Even though she didn’t like gossip, she loved what she was hearing about Carl and the pregnant slut he was about to marry and be stuck with for the rest of his miserable life. At first, she did have her suspicions as to why he Carl was trying to marry Jasmine so quick and now she was certain why.
She turned to Brett and said, “Thank God I’m over that fool. He got too much drama going on.”
“Yeah, I heard that.”
“To this day, I still don’t know what drove me to stay with him for two years, besides the fact that I thought I was in love him and for my mother’s sake.”
Brett glanced at her. “You mean to tell me that you were actually in love with that idiot?”
“Keyword: thought I was in love.”
Just then she felt a tap on her shoulder and saw the woman in blue smiling at her.
She asked, “Is that your new man sitting next to you?”
Sabrina smiled and said, “Yes, he is.”
“Damn girl, looks like you’ve joined the Jungle Fever club. I love white men too, matter of fact, I’m married to a white guy.”
“Uh, good for you.” She didn’t know what else to say without sounding stupid.
She chuckled and asked, “So, what did it for you?”
“Huh? Did what?”
“What made you want to date a white guy?”
Sabrina waited a beat and said, “I don’t know. I mean, it’s not like I went out looking for the perfect white guy or anything, it just happened.”
“I know what you mean. I got tired of dealing with the bailing my man from jail and bullshit. It got old and I had to let it go.”
“I feel you. I’m not trying to put down all the black guys, but the ones I dealt with like Carl weren’t about anything but playing games and being afraid of commitment.”
“We
ll, good luck, girl. I hope he’s treating you right.”
“Thanks, and good luck to you too.”
Sabrina turned around and stared at Brett for a moment.
He noticed her eyes were on him and turned to ask, “Is there something on my face?”
“No, there’s nothing on your face. Your face is flawless.”
He beamed. “So is yours. Damn, you are so beautiful. How did I get so lucky to meet someone like you?”
Sabrina pondered his question. She knew exactly how that happened; she thought she was going to celebrate a two-year anniversary with a person she once thought was the ideal man before he showed his true colors and started cheating on her and how she finally put an end to all the bullshit. Somehow she was able to move along and remind herself that it wasn’t her fault that Carl was a dog and he was dogging the hell out of her. He didn’t deserve a good woman like Sabrina and as a result of his selfish ways, it all came to an end.
As she sat there, looking into Brett’s handsome face, she felt a sudden urge to reach out to him to make sure this was all real. To make sure that she was not hallucinating or having a fantasy. Then her eyes began to burn like they always did when she was about to blow like a river.
“I guess we both got lucky,” Sabrina said coolly, trying not to let the tears fall.
Brett’s smile faded into a frown. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“Um, nothing is wrong,” she said quickly, turning away and wiping her eyes. “I just had something in my eye.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Matter of fact, I need to go the bathroom and freshen up. This ceremony doesn’t look like it’s going to start on time anyway, so I’ll be right back.”
She grabbed her purse and headed inside for the bathroom.
After sneaking inside the place and asking around she finally found the ladies’ room. Once there, she stood in front if the mirror and stared at her reflection. Her mascara was smudged and her eyes were almost bloodshot like she had been crying forever. A few seconds passed and she knew it was going to happen—she burst into tears and let it all out like a crybaby. But it felt so damn good to cry, even though she had no real reason to be crying to begin with.
Or did she? It could have possibly been due to the fact that Brett was so damn perfect to her. And she didn’t want to end up like she did with Carl, being the “other woman” on the side while he pretended everything was fine. She didn’t deserve to be hurt again, and yet she was so vulnerable. Was it her own fault that she ended up getting hurt by Carl? Did she drive him to sleep with numerous women behind her back? She didn’t think so but his actions said otherwise.
Maybe she didn’t love him, or maybe she didn’t show him enough love, or lack thereof? Either way, she was not the one to blame. All her life she had been pushed and shoved this way and that way, this guy telling her, “You’re not good enough” and that guy telling her, “Love isn’t real, it’s just some make-believe shit that’s so overrated.”
Ever since she found out her biological father was out of the picture and never saw a picture of him, never heard of him except the little details her mother mentioned about him, Sabrina never understood a father’s love. Never got daddy’s attention. Sure Sean Mead was in the picture, but it just wasn’t the same.
She always wondered if things would have been different if she would have gotten to know her father and if she wouldn’t have such bad luck with men in the past and—
She trailed away from her thoughts as she heard a sob come from a stall a few feet away from the vanity mirror where she was standing. She didn’t pay it any mind and reached into her purse and pulled out her mascara and reapplied some. Once she was done she was about to head back outside when she heard another sob, this time it was followed by a whimper.
“Um, is everything okay in there?” Sabrina asked a moment later.
“No, it’s not,” cried the woman in the stall. “This is the worst day of my life.”
Even though her voice was disguised with sobs, Sabrina seemed like she recognized the voice from somewhere. She just didn’t know where.
That is until the stall door opened and the woman was exposed.
Standing there in a snow-white wedding gown, hair done up in a fancy updo, eyes bloodshot with mascara running down her cheeks, was Jasmine-fucking-Phispatrick in the flesh looking like a hot mess tore up from the floor up.
Sabrina suppressed a laugh when she said, “Well, well, well, if it isn’t the man-stealing bitch, Jasmine Phispatrick.”
Jasmine looked as if she was about to have a heart attack and drop right on the floor. “S-Sabrina?”
“Yes, that’s my name last time I checked.”
“What are you doing here? Did Carl invite you?”
“Obviously he did,” snapped Sabrina. “Why, does that surprise you?”
Jasmine waited a beat, looking over Sabrina’s appearance as if she hadn’t seen her in years.
“Yes,” she said, “Carl told me that you weren’t coming and that you returned the invitation because you were heartbroken and couldn’t take it.”
Sabrina laughed harder than she expected.
“Oh my God. That soon-to-be husband of yours is just full of surprises, isn’t he?”
Jasmine cut her eye at Sabrina. She walked past Sabrina and stood at the mirror with her back towards Sabrina.
Speaking to the mirror, Jasmine said, “Yes, he is. And that’s why I’m in here and not out there.”
“What are you saying exactly?”
“Well, you know the term, ‘Mama’s baby, and daddy’s maybe’?”
“Yeah.”
She turned to face Sabrina and said, “I can’t believe I’m actually telling you this, but you’ve probably already heard it from someone else. I’m twelve weeks pregnant with another man’s baby and Carl doesn’t know. I feel bad and can’t go through with it.”
“After all the hard work you put into stealing him from me?” Sabrina said sarcastically. “Not that I give a damn about his sorry, good-for-nothing ass.”
A smile crept cross Jasmine’s face and quickly vanished.
Jasmine said, “Look, I know you and I have never seen eye to eye or anything, but I think I owe you an apology.”
“That’s mighty big of you.”
“Anyway, I’m sorry for taking Carl from you and disrespecting your home all those times we slept in your bed, in your car and in the—”
“Okay, I get it,” Sabrina said, cutting her off abruptly.
“When Carl and I first got engaged a long time ago I was madly in love with him and when he dumped me for you, I got jealous. I told him to break it off with you because I thought things would be different. They were until he cheated. So to get back at him I cheated as well with his best friend and now I’m pregnant with his baby, which we decided to keep.”
“And by ‘we’ you mean yourself and the baby daddy?”
“Correct.”
“And Carl has no idea that you are three months pregnant? How the hell is that possible?”
“It’s simple really. I told him I didn’t want to have sex again until after we were married and I started wearing baggy clothes when I started showing.”
“Oh. So why are you hiding in here crying up a river instead of telling Carl?”
“Because I-I can’t tell him. He’ll be crushed.”
Sabrina paused and said, “In that case, do it for me. You don’t think my heart was crushed when he bailed out on me after all the shit he put me through? I wanted to track him down and rip his heart out.”
Jasmine exploded with laughter and said, “Damn, Sabrina. You haven’t changed a bit.”
“Just a little bit.”
Jasmine looked her over and said, “I see you’ve had a mini-makeover since I last saw you a few months ago. You look good.”
“Thanks. You don’t look bad yourself—except you’re wearing a white dress and I know you probably haven’t been a virgin since middle s
chool.”
They both erupted with laughter for the first time in a very long time. It was hard to look at them and be able to tell that they once were good friends at one time ago.
After Jasmine fixed her makeup, she said, “Well, I guess it’s time to get it over with. Not only is Carl’s heart going to be broken, but so is his wallet after all the cash he put into this wedding and this gown. Oh, well. He’ll get over it.”
“True. Well, good luck with the baby and everything.”
“Thanks, and you too.” She paused and added, “Maybe we can hang out sometime after this mess blows over?”
Sabrina pondered her words and said, “Sure. We’ll see.”
Just then a bridesmaid barged into the bathroom and spotted Jasmine. “Girl, where have you been? The ceremony was supposed to start damn near twenty minutes ago and everybody is looking for you.”
“Chill out, Mercedes. There won’t be a wedding today. It’s off.”
The bridesmaid looked relieved and shocked. “Oh my God! You finally came to your senses?”
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” said the bridesmaid coolly. “Since you not marrying him, can I tell you something? But first you have to promise me that you won’t get mad.”
Jasmine’s facial expression changed. “Whatever. I promise I won’t get mad.”
The bridesmaid took a step closer to the door and said, “I accidentally slept with Carl at his bachelor party.”
The atmosphere was thick, quiet.
Jasmine killed the silence with her hysterical laughter.
“Wait, hold up,” said the bridesmaid. “You’re not mad?”
Jasmine ignored the question, turned to Sabrina and said, “And just to think, I was about to marry that son of bitch. Got me feeling sorry for his cheating ass. Fuck Carl!” She gathered up her dress and said, “Sabrina, I’ll see you around. I’ve been riding this roller coaster with Carl too damn long and it’s time to get off the ride.”
Sabrina chuckled and said, “Go handle business.”
Moments later she made her way back outside and took her seat beside Brett.