by Mary Monroe
“Baby girl, I want you and that fine-ass man of yours to come to my engagement party next Saturday night,” Inez told me a couple of months after we’d become friends. Inez was twenty-five at the time. Technically speaking, she was not a classic beauty. She had dull brown eyes and a slight overbite. When she turned to the side, her lips protruded like a carp’s. But she had beautiful bronze skin and a decent head of black hair, which she’d bleached blond years before blond hair on a Black woman became popular. She’d had matching blond hair weaved into her own.
Inez was tall and nicely built. I was almost as tall as Inez, but not as shapely. With my big brown eyes and round face, a lot of people described me as cute, or even pretty. But I’d never been called beautiful.
I dropped into Inez’s nail shop after work and on weekends on a regular basis, whether I needed my nails done or not. One thing that had attracted me to Inez was the fact that she lived such a fascinating life compared to mine. The first time I saw her, she had on a T-shirt that said: WHEN GOD CREATED ME, HE WAS SHOWING OFF.
“Engagement party? Engagement for what? You’re already married,” I said, amused. One thing I could say was that with Inez, there was never a dull moment.
“It’s over with Paul,” she announced, with a casual wave. “He’s lost three jobs because of his drinking. God made only one man that I’d be willing to support, but they nailed him to a cross.”
“Don’t most women usually get a divorce before they get engaged again?” I chided.
“I’m not like most women,” Inez reminded me, with a wink. “As you know, I don’t have many shemale friends. You are the only one who understands me. I need you there at my party, Renee.”
I didn’t have the nerve to tell my girl that I did not understand her, but I told her that I wouldn’t miss her party for the world. I was hoping that some of Inez’s confidence would rub off on me.
I had never been married. It seemed like I’d kissed nothing but frogs since I was thirteen. So far, Robbie Dunbar was as close as I could get to a prince. We had attended Butler High at the same time, and we had started dating in the ninth grade. He was reasonably attractive, despite the fact that he was bowlegged and had a receding hairline, which had started its premature decline before he even finished middle school. Poor Robbie. I probably could have done better at the time, but the boy was so devoted to me, I got spoiled and comfortable.
I was disappointed when Robbie dropped out of school in the middle of our sophomore year. Even though it was so he could work at a gas station that his uncle owned, so that he could help support his mother and three younger siblings. I admired the fact that Robbie cared so much about his family that he would sacrifice his education, but I thought that he could have come up with a better solution.
Robbie and I didn’t communicate much while I was away at Ohio State, but as soon as I finished my education and moved back home, Robbie was waiting for me with a marriage proposal, knowing that I’d had other relationships throughout my college years.
However, as much as I hated to admit it even to myself, men were not lining up to be with me, so I didn’t hesitate to accept Robbie’s proposal. But right after he’d slipped a cheap engagement ring on my finger during a two-for-the-price-of-one dinner at a Ponderosa Steakhouse, I went into the ladies’ room and cried. Not tears of joy, but tears of disappointment and sadness. Robbie was as sweet, obedient, dependable, and loyal as a puppy. I believed him when he told me that I was the only woman he’d ever slept with. But all of his good qualities were not enough for me. As a matter of fact, Robbie was too good for his own good. For one thing, he was way too passive. Not just with me, but in everything he did. He didn’t argue with people who tried to cheat him at the gas station. He didn’t defend himself, or me, when two thugs overpowered us one night outside of a movie theater and ran off with my purse and his wallet. I was the aggressor in my relationship with Robbie, and even though it was not that obvious, I was on the passive side myself.
“Robbie ain’t perfect, but he’s perfect for you. I know his mama, and I know she raised him right,” Mama told me. I knew my mother like I knew the back of my hand. What she really meant was that Robbie was probably the best I could do. My aunts and a lot of other people in my family never let me forget that all of my female cousins and a few nieces, with the exception of my severely retarded cousin, Eileen, had all found husbands by the time they were twenty-one.
Inez had already been married once before. Right after she’d graduated from Butler High, she moved to Europe with Jeremy Knight, a White boy that she’d been in a relationship with for a couple of years. When she returned to Ohio three years later, she had a new husband, a Black soldier named Paul Dunn, whom she’d latched onto in Germany. She also had two beautiful daughters, one by each of the men she’d married. The older girl, Ingrid, resembled her father: platinum blond hair, very light skin, and blue eyes. The younger girl, Malena, had inherited the looks of her darkly handsome father: dark brown hair, eyes, and skin. Both children were extremely exotic.
Despite her loosey-goosey lifestyle, Inez doted on her children, and she always put them first. She didn’t even let her boyfriends spend the night when her kids were with her, which was only 50 percent of the time. Inez’s divorced mother and her father and his young wife adored the children, too. Several times a week, the girls spent a few days with either their grandmother or their grandfather. I was proud of the way that Inez was raising her kids. I was proud of Inez, period. I loved calling her my best friend. However, she did a lot of shit that was strange, even for her. Like throwing an engagement party to celebrate her upcoming nuptials to one man while she was still married to another!
CHAPTER 8
Inez divorced Paul and married Vincent Tunney. She kept her maiden name each time she got married, claiming that it helped her maintain her independence.
“When are you and Robbie going to tie the knot?” Inez asked me when she and Vince returned from a romp in Vegas, where they’d celebrated their third anniversary.
“Next year, I guess,” I said, with a heavy sigh.
“You guess? Well, you don’t have to jump up and down about it. Don’t you love him?”
“I guess.” I shrugged.
Inez’s mouth dropped open. “Look, I didn’t want to say anything, because it wasn’t my business. But I hope you don’t do something you’ll regret. If you don’t want to marry this man, don’t do it.”
“I can always get a divorce. I’m sure you can walk me through that,” I said, with a touch of sarcasm. “I just don’t know if I am ready to give up my freedom for Robbie Dunbar. What if I meet somebody I like better after I marry Robbie?”
“Listen, don’t you make any plans for this Friday night. I’m taking you to this club off of Superior in Cleveland. It only takes about fifteen minutes to get there from here. It’s where I met Vince. If there is somebody else out there for you, he’ll be at the Victory Club.”
Inez had her new husband baby-sit her two daughters that Friday night when she took me to the Victory Club. There was nothing out of the ordinary about this club. The décor was typical: dark carpets and furniture, obligatory plants, and murals of handsome men and beautiful women on the walls. The band was a little better than the bands at some of the other clubs I went to, and most of the men had on suits and ties.
For the first hour, nobody asked me to dance. Inez didn’t wait for men to ask her to dance, she asked them. And not a single one turned her down. I was on my way back from the ladies’ room when I met Leon. I don’t know where he came from. There was no man near me, and then, all of a sudden, he was there. It seemed like he had just jumped off of one of the murals on the walls. Luther was crooning in the background, making things even more conducive to a possible romantic interlude with another man. But I decided to be cautious. I told myself that I hadn’t come to this club to look for someone to replace Robbie, per se. I was on a mission, though, but it was a soul-searching expedition. I needed to be sure th
at Robbie was the man I wanted to give up my freedom for. I didn’t know if my mission could be accomplished in one night, but I had to start somewhere.
“I’ll let you play with my toys if you let me play with your toys,” Leon said, falling in step beside me. Before I could respond, his arm was around my waist. I was glad that I had on my black dress. Even though it was short and tight, the fact that it was black made me look several pounds slimmer. Not that I had a weight problem, but I was as vain as the next woman. Even at a firm size 8, I was still trying to do home improvements on my body.
“Excuse me?” I said. I had on a pair of panty hose that had a sturdy control top, but I still sucked in my stomach. My admirer had a strong grip on my waist, and it felt good.
“What are you drinking?” he asked, sitting down at my table like I’d come to the club with him.
“White wine,” I mumbled. “Do I know you?” I asked dumbly.
“Not yet,” he smiled. “I’m Leon Webb.” He fished a business card out of the breast pocket of his double-breasted navy blue suit.
I looked at the card, then at him. “You are the first IRS auditor I’ve ever seen in person, thank God,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Are you surprised to see that I don’t have horns and a tail?” He laughed.
“I’m surprised to see that you guys are actually human,” I teased. “No offense, but I’ve always hoped that I’d never have to face one of you guys.”
“Well, as long as you don’t try to cheat Uncle Sam, this might be the last time you come face to face with the IRS.” Leon paused and smiled. He was already handsome, with his medium shade of brown skin, closely cropped black hair, shiny black eyes, and movie star Blair Underwood–type features, but his smile and expensive suit made him look even better. “In more ways than one,” he added, with a wink that made my toes tingle.
“Do a lot of people really lie on their taxes?” I asked, trying to keep the conversation neutral. This man was breathtaking, and I didn’t know how long I could keep my hands off of him.
“Sister, if I had a dollar for every lie I’ve been told by taxpayers, I could retire, move to Italy, and live like a king.” He even sounded like Blair Underwood. Compared to Leon, Robbie looked like one of the Muppets.
I sniffed and tried to appear not too interested. “I wouldn’t lie to you,” I said.
“So if I ask if you’re married, you’ll tell me the truth? And please tell me that you came here alone tonight,” Leon said, with a pleading look on his face. His neatly manicured hand covered mine and squeezed.
“I’m not married,” I replied, with a shy smile. “But I am…uh…there is someone here with me.” I didn’t see any reason to tell him that I was out with another woman.
Leon released my hand and gave me a disappointed look. “Is it somebody I need to be worried about?” he asked, looking behind him, and then over my shoulder.
I shook my head and grinned. “I don’t think so. There is nobody in my life that you need to be worried about.” I didn’t feel good about what I’d just said. The truth of the matter was, Robbie was no threat to Leon. He was not even a challenge. A feather could have knocked Robbie out of first place in my heart. I felt somewhat better when I told myself that Robbie was too good for me.
Leon took both of my hands in his and led me to the dance floor. And that’s where I stayed for the rest of the night in that club, wrapped in his arms.
CHAPTER 9
“Woman, have you lost your mind? You don’t know a damn thing about this Leon Webb,” Inez said two days after the night she’d taken me to the Victory Club. She and I were the only ones in her nail shop. She had closed for the day but had agreed to give me a manicure after hours. “Now here you are planning to spend the weekend with him! What about poor Robbie?” Inez asked, filing my nails so hard, it hurt. I didn’t complain or even flinch, because she never charged me to do my nails.
“Forget about poor Robbie. What about poor me! Look, you are the one who made me go out to meet other men so that I could be sure I wanted to marry Robbie. And that’s what I did. If I don’t like Leon and decide I still want to marry Robbie, that’s my business.”
“I don’t like this Leon. If I were you, I’d stay as far away from him as I could get. He’s not what you think. Trust me.”
“Do you know something that I don’t know?” I asked, puzzled. Inez had been acting like a fool ever since I’d told her about Leon. She had been making off-the-wall comments about him and trying to divert my attention.
“I know a lot of things that you don’t know,” Inez said in a mysterious tone of voice. She blew on my nails for a few seconds. Then she started filing them again, twice as rough as before. This time I did flinch and yell out in pain, but she ignored me and started buffing my nails like she was shining the shoes on the feet of a man she didn’t like.
“Do you know Leon Webb?” I wanted to know.
“Um…yeah. As a matter of fact, I do know him, and he’s not your type. He’s a friend of my cousin Earl, the one who has been in and out of jail half his life. You remember Earl, the pimp and drug dealer.” Inez kept buffing my nails, glancing at my face every other second.
“But Leon went to Morehouse,” I said thoughtfully, defending a man I knew very little about.
“So? There are a lot of educated thugs out there,” Inez insisted.
“Well, is Leon a pimp and a drug dealer, too? Like your cousin Earl?”
“Not that I know of,” Inez admitted. “But he’s not for you. Trust me,” she added, as she narrowed her eyes and gave me a quick nod.
“Do me a favor, and let me worry about Leon. I am still a single woman. And I am a grown woman. I can make my own decisions,” I said firmly.
“But, Renee—”
“But nothing,” I snapped, cutting Inez off. I snatched my hand out of hers. As far as I was concerned, the manicure and the conversation were over.
Leon wore suits and ties most of the time, and I liked that. And, he was very family oriented, one of the most important qualities that I looked for in a man. His wallet contained pictures of everybody, from his daughter to his elderly parents. He loved his family so much that tears formed in his eyes when he talked about them. His only brother, Stanley, had been killed in action during the Desert Storm War. His older sister, Carrie, a bitter divorcée who had packed up her three kids and left them on her ex-husband’s doorstep, now lived with his elderly parents in West Cleveland. There was a look of sadness on Leon’s face when he talked about how he was ready to settle down. And how he hoped that that would happen, before he turned thirty. He was currently twenty-nine. I didn’t tell him, but I was hoping to do the same thing.
Leon didn’t take me to the fancy restaurant like he had promised when I agreed to spend the weekend with him at his house. But that didn’t bother me at all. His house was the kind that I had been dreaming about living in all of my life: a cozy four-bedroom brick sanctuary on a quiet, tree-lined street occupied by professional people. He took me on a tour of his house, leading me by the hand. Every room in his house had the same thick beige carpeting. Each piece of furniture looked new and expensive. I was glad to see that Leon was also a neat housekeeper. Robbie’s shabby apartment, situated on a dead-end street between a greasy rib joint and a place that sold fishing worms, always looked like a train wreck.
As soon as I stumbled back into Leon’s spacious living room, he was all over me. He wrestled me down onto a plush brocade sofa, knocking a large potted plant off the end table to the floor, where the beige carpet was so thick, it felt like I had stepped onto a cloud.
“Oh, baby, I’ve been thinking about doing this all day,” he managed, rubbing my breasts. The only time that Robbie ever touched my breasts was when I climbed on top of him. Even after I’d done that, I still had to guide his hands.
I felt like I was made out of rubber in Leon’s arms. I was so limp, he could have tied me in a knot. I swooned when he lifted me off the floor and carried me ups
tairs to his bedroom. He slowly undressed me, kissing me all over. When he ripped off my panties, I knew there was no turning back.
Robbie was an easy man to lie to. I didn’t even have to put forth that much effort when I lied to him about why I had suddenly become so unavailable each time he wanted to take me to the Ponderosa Steakhouse or fishing. “I’ve been tutoring one of my students. The boy has potential, and I want to make sure he takes advantage of it.”
“That’s nice, baby. I am so proud of you. I hope this boy and his folks appreciate the sacrifices you make. I sure do,” Robbie told me.
An hour after I got off the telephone with Robbie, I was back in Leon’s bed, wallowing on his satin sheets, and squealing like a stuck pig.
The more I saw of Leon, the more Inez protested. “I don’t want you to get hurt, Renee,” she said the next time I stepped into her shop.