by Bailey West
“Ladies, this is the one!”
After dress shopping, we had a pamper session of massages, manicures, and pedicures in the hotel spa.
I passed on the massage because I read that there were certain areas a pregnant person couldn’t have massaged. I didn’t want to have to fight a masseuse for messing up, so I went with the pedicure without the spa and a manicure. We went back up to our suite and found a buffet of food waiting on us.
“Compliments of Mr. Valentine,” the room attendant said.
There was a little bit of everything to choose from, from steak to seafood.
“Averie, don’t mess with that seafood or that caviar,” my mother instructed.
“I’m not, Mommy,” I said then quickly put the crab leg cluster back on the pile.
We sat around and ate, laughed and gossiped.
“I knew something was up because I had a dream about fish and I knew it wasn’t Torrey,” Vivian said adding to the story of how my mother found out about my pregnancy and our marriage.
“Correct. I’m not pushing any fully formed human beings out of this cooch,” Torrey said.
“You’ve never wanted children?” Kenzie asked.
“No, not really. I think I may have wanted them when I was in my early thirties because it was the acceptable thing to do, you know get married and have children but then I got so busy with all of my charities. I really didn’t want to make time to be a mother. I know that sounds selfish but…”
“It’s not selfish. It’s being honest. I get it,” I said.
“I do too,” Keeva said, “We are taught to desire a husband and kids but deviating from that is fine. There is nothing wrong with living your life the way you want to live it.”
“I will focus on being a great aunt to all the kids Averie is about to pop out and continue with Princess and Princeton. I am just fine,” Torrey finished.
I looked over just in time to see Vivian roll her eyes. I didn’t know exactly what that was about. The food was cleared from the room and fresh coffee, water, and tea were brought in. I fixed myself a cup of chamomile tea and curled up on the opposite end of the couch from my sisters.
“I would like to discuss something since we are all here together,” Mommy said.
“Oooo, my bachelorette party?” Kenzie asked while dancing in her seat.
“No, Kenzie. I think we’ve talked about your stuff enough today. Keeva,” Mommy continued.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“I’ve sat back now for several months and watched you go through your situation with Kerem. Do you know what you want to do as far as the relationship is concerned?” Mommy asked.
“Ummm…no…I mean…I don’t know,” Keeva stuttered.
“Keeva?”
“Yes, Vivian?”
“He cheated, correct?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“The Bible gives us two reasons for divorce do you know what they are?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Hardness of heart and infidelity. If they leave you or turn their back on you, you have every right to ask for a divorce. And infidelity because they’ve broken the marriage vow. Now you can walk away from your husband free and clear but let me explain something to you. You are going to hurt whether you are with him or not. You have to mourn the death of what your relationship was because it will never be that way again. Grief has stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. You have to go through all of that to move on from what you’ve been through.”
“And that’s exactly what it feels like. Like someone had died.” Keeva explained.
“No one in this room would disagree with your decision to move on from the relationship because what you’ve experienced is the ultimate betrayal right? Can I say though, if you still love him and he is repentant for what he has done? Notice I didn’t say sorry, I said repentant. That means he recognized his error, has turned away from it and will never do it again, then I would say that he is worth fighting for. But if he is not repentant but merely sorry that he was caught, then it’s time to let it go,” Vivian said.
“He’s apologized one million times. He’s sent flowers, candy, clothes, shoes, and handbags trying to get me to talk to him but I’m just so damn…sorry, dang on mad and hurt that all our conversations turn into arguments. I want to let him back in, but then I don’t.”
“What is your conflict?” Torrey asked.
“I’ve always said that if he ever cheated on me that I would leave immediately. No, if ands or buts. Now I feel stupid because I really want him back some days. It’s like I’m fighting against myself.”
“I get that,” Vivian said. “Then you are also worried about what people will think.”
“Yes. I don’t know why I am, but I am. I feel like I have to set an example for my little sisters. You know, like how you shouldn’t take nothing off no man.”
“Yeah, but have you asked your sisters what they think? It’s ultimately your decision, but I’m sure they would just tell you that they want what’s best for you,” Mommy said.
“We just want you to be happy, Key.”
“Yes, we want you to smile again and ultimately get some dick and unwind…wait is dick a bad word? Sorry, Mommy. Sorry Vivian,” Kenzie said.
“I can’t take these foul mouth girls of mine anywhere!” Mommy shook her head. “Anyway, we are not telling you to make a decision now, but you have to start thinking about your next move.”
“I love him so much! I just don’t know why he would do something like this and mess everything up!” Keeva cried.
Kenzie scooted closer to me and grabbed my hand. I’d been fighting off the tears, but now I was letting them flow freely. I was hurting for both my sister and my brother. I understood Key’s conflict because I felt it too. I would love to just dismiss Kerem, but he’d been a part of my life for so long. I didn’t know what life was without him. I looked over, and both Coco and Torrey were wiping tears.
“Men do a lot of things without thinking. I would love to say that you are the first woman in this room to experience something like this but you are not,” Vivian said, “I can tell you about the choice because I made a choice to stay with my late boyfriend, Charles after I found out that he’d slept with a slut from the neighborhood.”
“Really, Momma?” Torrey questioned.
“Yes, he was dumb and was thinking with his small head instead of his big head. He got caught up, and I was pissed. I sat in our bedroom and cut holes in the bottom of the pockets of all his suit jackets and hung them back neatly in the closet. He kept trying to put his wallet or keys in his suit pocket, and they would fall out!” She laughed.
We all laughed too.
“That was so petty!” Coco laughed.
“When my husband would piss me off, I would move his things to weird places. We wouldn’t be speaking, and he would always be too proud to ask me if I’d seem them. I’m talking about important stuff like one of his work shoes, his uniform hat, his keys. Anything I could find that would annoy him,” Mommy said.
“Daddy was always looking for something!” Kenzie said.
“That’s because I moved it,” Mommy chuckled.
“A man that loves you can make a mistake, realize the mistake then move heaven and earth to try to make it up to you. A real man won’t rush your decision making or blame you for their mess up. He will let you take your time and take full responsibility for his mess,” Vivian said. “If you want to talk with him and feel like you need a mediator, get with JD and Elisa. They will do it for you, and they are great at it.”
“We believe in marriage, and we believe in staying together in a lot of situations but not in all situations. Sometimes it’s best to go your own way but I think you and Kerem have a chance,” Mommy said.
“At least all of you saw your parents in a loving relationship and can kinda mimic that. All I saw was my mother hustling in the streets trying to scrape together a little bit to feed my siblings and me. She used m
en for money, influence or whatever. I had so many uncles growing up; Uncle Fred, Uncle Chris, Uncle Cleatus…I didn’t realize until I was older that none of those men were my uncles. I mean none of them ever hurt me or anything, but her life made me the woman that I am today. I worked hard to make enough money, so my kids never know what it is to be hungry. I know I’m different than all of y’all with y’all degrees and whatnots, but I really do like being around y’all. Thanks for having me,” Coco said.
“You’re family, Coco,” Vivian said.
“Yes, ratchetness and all,” I added.
We all laughed.
“Torrey, it’s your turn,” Vivian said.
“My turn! I don’t know what we would need to discuss about me.”
“How about your fear of relationships, so you are pushing August away even though he is a good man who cares about you.”
“Momma, I don’t think we need to discuss that. It’s my personal deci…”
“I said it’s your turn, Torrey,” Vivian said in an authoritative tone that I’d never heard come from her before.
“Yes, ma’am,” Torrey quickly replied.
Samuel
“Hey love, welcome home. I missed you,” I said while taking Averie’s bags from the airport worker.
“Thank you. I missed you,” she said and stretched up to kiss me.
I hugged all the women before they went to their respective cars and Averie and I went to ours.
“Are you hungry? We can stop and have dinner before heading back downtown.”
“No, I want you to tell me how you fixed my financial situation.”
“It’s going to take some time to explain so let’s eat and then we will sit down and talk.”
“Why does it feel like you are stalling?”
“I’m not stalling. The conversation is going to be more involved, and I want you to hear it on a full stomach. Besides, I’m sure my baby is hungry.”
“Okay, let’s eat, but then after that, I want it all in detail,” she acquiesced.
I called ahead and told Ulysses that we were on our way to Untraditional. Averie had been talking about the chicken and waffles, and since she was over the morning sickness, her appetite had gotten better. Ulysses had our regular table set up in the back room where Averie and I did the taste testing when we first met.
“This room brings back memories,” she smiled when we entered the room, “Did you have any idea then that we would be here, married and expecting a baby?”
“I didn’t know the marriage part, but I was pretty sure I was going to get you pregnant,” I laughed.
“Shut up, El,” Averie joined in on my laughter, “For real, what did you think about me then?”
“I thought that you were beautiful, brilliant, headstrong and embodied everything I wanted in a mate.”
“What took you so long to say something?”
“I didn’t want you to think that I was like those other dudes who had some semblance of power over you and took advantage of it. I had to be sure before I made my move. Once you shoved your tongue down my throat in the war room, I knew you were feeling me too.”
“I kissed you? That’s the story your sticking with?”
“That’s the version I’m going to tell our kids and grandkids.”
Averie had the red velvet chicken and waffles while I enjoyed the seafood po’ boy that was now on the menu.
We took an entire sweet potato pie to go and headed to the condo.
We entered the condo, and Averie took my hand and led me to my home office.
We both sat on the sofa facing each other.
“Okay, now tell me what you did to fix the finances at Patterson.”
I stood and went to my desk to retrieve the paperwork. Some of it needed her signature. I handed her the folder and sat back on the couch next to her. She opened the folder and started reading through the paperwork. After reading the part that I knew was going to upset her, her eyes flew from the paperwork to me.
“Samuel, are you kidding me? You acquired my law firm?”
“No, I didn…”
“That what this paperwork says! Unless I am seeing something wrong which I know that I am not. You assumed the debt and acquired the firm...MY FIRM!”
She stood from the couch and started pacing.
“How could you do this to me? Why would you do this to me? You know that firm is my legacy! It’s all I have to show for the back-breaking hard work that I’ve done!”
“Love…please let me explain…”
“I don’t want to hear your explanation. I can’t hear anything from you right now. This is the most disgusting thing anyone has ever done to me in business. You talked about us being partners and co-captains, but then you go behind my back and do some foul crap like this. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say…”
“AVERIE!” I yelled and grabbed her wrist. “Sit down! Let me explain what all of this is!”
“Don’t yell at me!”
“Stop spazzing out for just a few minutes so I can talk to you, geezuz!”
She was about to go into full panic mode. I pulled her toward me and grabbed both of her shoulders.
“Calm down before you make yourself sick. It’s not what you think. Please, love let me explain.”
The tears had already started pouring out of her eyes. I wiped them away with my thumb before gently pushing back down onto the couch.
“Okay, look. Yes, on paper it appears that I acquired Patterson Law, but I did not. I found out that Travis Bell was making a play for your company. One of my sources at the bank was inking the deal for him and let me in on it before it could happen. He stalled Travis so that I could assume the debt. Travis still believes it’s going to be a done deal but it’s not.”
“He was trying to take my firm from me?”
“Yes, that’s what the whole accounting mix-up was supposed to do. It was supposed to show that you were not stable financially especially with the escrow money missing. That gave him the opportunity to offer the bank the chance to settle the debt and take the company from you.”
“Oh, my gawd…”
“Yes, so while we were supposed to be with the accountant trying to put out that fire, he was going to swoop in and take everything. After I found out, I moved the money immediately and settled with the bank. All of your accounts are back to normal.”
“So then what does that make you?”
“It makes me your creditor. You will have to pay me back in order to remove my name from your business. Essentially, paying yourself back since my money is your money.”
“And you stopped all of that from happening while I was away for three days?”
“I did.”
“Thank you, baby!”
“I’m going to always take care of you, always. Look, Countee found the person at Freda’s firm that caused all of this mess, and he found out something about Caroline that I bet you didn’t know. Look at this,” I handed her the information that Countee found.
Averie read through the information then looked up at me.
“You have got to be crapping me!”
“No, it’s legit. She has a meeting set up for tomorrow. You want to roll through?”
“Of course!”
“Also, Olivia and Countee went through your accounts and found all the hidden money. All of that money has been put back into place. You can start repaying me whenever you are ready, so you can get my name off your paperwork.”
“I’m not in a hurry. I appreciate you so much, Samuel. You saved my life’s work. I can never repay you for that.”
“I don’t need repayment. Your love is enough.”
Averie
Samuel, Countee, Laila and I arrived at the restaurant. Countee found out which room the meeting would be in so we made our way there. I couldn’t sleep last night thinking about the information I’d found out about Caroline. It was so crazy how a person could make themselves out to be something they really were not. She de
finitely had me fooled. I had to wake Samuel up so he could assist me in falling asleep. He did an amazing job as always.
“I put a block on their cell phones in this room. If I hadn’t, they would’ve gotten the email from the bank denying their claim to the firm. I wanted you to be able to them,” Countee said.
“Isn’t it such a coincidence how we keep meeting like this?” I said as I entered the private dining room behind Samuel and Countee. Laila came in behind me.
Both Caroline and Trevor Bell looked surprised to see me. I pulled out one of the chairs across from Caroline while Countee, Laila, and Samuel stood behind me. “What are we celebrating?”
Neither Caroline nor Trevor responded to my question.
“Oh, cat’s got ya’ tongue now, huh? Oh, I know, you want me to guess. Let’s see, um… you may be celebrating that fact that you think you took over my firm but both of you have been in this room with no cell reception, so you have no idea of what’s been going on for the last…” I looked at my watch, “What babe, an hour or so?”
Samuel looked at his watch, “Forty-five minutes to an hour, yeah.”
They both reached for their phones.
“Oh, they’re not going to work. We made sure of that. I guess a toast is in order though, to me securing financial backing for Patterson Law for decades to come.”
“That’s impossible,” Trevor finally spoke up.
“It would have been impossible if I didn’t have someone who is smarter than you in business and put all the money, plus some, back. I have to hand it to you, Bell, you had all of us going for a moment. There really was no way for me to recover from losing those clients that your firm poached and the money that went with them. The accountant that you bribed to change my financials was really good, but under pressure, he cracked, literally.”
“Literally,” Countee confirmed.
“Then I started thinking about you Caroline. I thought, what would cause such a good friend of mine to turn on me like this? Why would she try to undermine me at every turn? Then I found out who your father was and I understood it all.”
“This has nothing to do with my father,” Caroline finally said.