The Ex-Wife
Page 6
Cam’s attorney said, “No more questions.”
The judge asked my attorney if he had a witness and he shook his head no. I wanted to pop him in his head. Casey had been quizzed on all the dates. Instead, he wimped out. I stomped off the stand to my attorney’s table. As I sat, I angrily asked, “Why didn’t you call Casey?”
“If you want to commit perjury and serve time for a goddamn divorce, you can do it on your own.”
I looked at Casey and shrugged. She didn’t know what was going on. Before I knew it, Cam had his dream come true. The judge granted him a divorce. She probably wanted him for herself. How could they really prove we weren’t together? I broke down in tears as she explained the divorce was final.
Cameron looked at me with sympathy, but victory also sparkled in his deep-set dark eyes. They headed out of the courtroom first and we followed. Out in the hall, my attorney shook hands with Cam’s attorney.
“You must be fucking her. Is that why you just quit in there?”
My attorney squeezed my triceps really tightly and pulled me farther away from where they were. “Listen, clearly I defended this case with all I had even though at times I knew you were lying. I still wanted you to keep your family. I’m not so sure anymore that you deserve it.”
“Whatever. You’re a wimp. Casey, let’s go.”
My attorney asked, “Do you want a copy of the divorce papers?”
“What difference does it make?”
“Today you feel that way, but when you fall in love and want to get married again, you’re going to wish you had them.”
“I’m not going to care because I’m not getting married again. This did it for me. I’m so over it. What’s the purpose anyway?”
“Yasmin, you’re taking a really immature approach.”
“Who you calling immature?”
He mumbled something under his breath like “I see why he wanted a divorce.” By this time Cam and his family had headed to the clerk’s office to get the paperwork.
I looked at Casey and said, “Let’s get out of here before I curse this bastard out.”
When we walked into the salon, Tayshawn said to Casey, “So you did your thing, boo?”
“No, they never even called me to the stand.”
He laughed. “Whew, I told you, girl, you should have taken the queen again.”
“Drama queen,” I said sadly.
His face quickly turned serious when he noticed I wasn’t laughing. “Did you lose?”
My eyes filled up with tears and Tayshawn came over to hug me. The entire ride to the salon, Casey had been silent. She patted my back as Tayshawn said over and over, “Oh, honey child, I cannot believe this.”
Casey added, “It’s his loss.”
I didn’t want to hear any of this. I just wanted my family back together. I didn’t know why I had wanted to cheat on Cam, but now that he was officially my ex-husband, my heart couldn’t take it. I couldn’t accept the thought of someone else being with my man.
Ayana
Cam and I had talked on the phone a few times over the past week and had seen each other once for the inspection since the contract was accepted. He’d primarily kept it professional, but that didn’t change the butterflies in my belly whenever I was within twenty feet of him. Shouldn’t I be too old for these schoolgirl feelings?
We scheduled the final walk-through for the morning of the settlement. When I pulled up, my heart beat rapidly, as if it were fighting to escape my chest. I wanted to shake the uninvited emotions, but I couldn’t. Cam pulled up seconds after I got out of the car. He beeped the horn as if I didn’t see him. His big smile greeted me as he quickly stepped out of his car. He walked over to me and offered a friendly half-hug. Then he leaned over to kiss my forehead. My vagina quickly twitched. The slightest touch should not have the ability to turn me on like that. He was dressed more professionally than usual this morning. He had on jeans with a blue-and-white checkered dress shirt and a teal tie.
We got on the elevator and headed up to the twentieth floor to my penthouse condo. He opened the door. It was just the two of us in my lovely new condo and I wanted to kiss him. I liked this place, but I liked Cam even more.
“Isn’t the seller’s Realtor supposed to be here too?”
Cam shrugged. “Yeah, sometimes they’ll come but a lot of times they don’t.”
We went into every room and Cam was diligent about checking that all the toilets flushed and the windows opened and closed as expected. He turned on the washer and dryer. I said, “Didn’t the inspector check all of that? The place is only a year old, what could be wrong?”
“You’d be surprised. Early in my career, I had situations where the inspector came in and said everything was cool. We would go to settlement and six months later the water heater would break or the air wouldn’t work. So I just figured it would be wise for me to get more knowledge on what they’re checking for and how they determine everything is legit. This way my clients aren’t faced with a big HVAC bill shortly after buying a house. Who has that kind of money?”
“Is everything good here?”
“Yeah, everything is good. I also tell my clients to be sure the energy in the place is right. What is it that you feel when you step through the door? I’m big on energy.”
I was impressed with his advice. “Me too.”
We paused and both were likely thinking about the magnetic energy between us and what if anything we should do about it. To break the ice, he said, “Are you good with the energy of the place?”
“Yes, Cam. The energy is right.”
He blushed and I shook my head. He asked, “You sure this is what you want to do?”
I thought that was something of an odd question. “Yes,” I said slowly.
“I’m just saying people have doubts even on the day of a settlement. I always like to be absolutely sure. It’s better to lose a deposit than to be the owner of a home you don’t want.”
“I guess if you put it like that it makes sense.”
“I’m not a successful Realtor because I try to close every deal. I’m successful because I actually put my clients first. It’s easy to be anxious for a commission check and manipulate clients to buy something they don’t want. Realtors do it every day but that type is usually hustling for new clients all the time. I do minimal advertising. Ninety percent of my business comes from referrals. Why?” He didn’t pause long enough for me to answer. He continued, “If I take good care of you and you feel like I really had your best interest at heart, whether you actually buy a house or not, you will tell your friends about me. Right?”
I nodded. As he held the front door open for me, he half-smiled. “When you live with integrity, you sleep so much better at night. Even if that means I don’t earn as much, I’m going to do what’s right.”
“Very true.”
“And I earn as much as, and most likely more than, the shady Realtors, and my soul is at peace too.” He chuckled.
“That is a great way to look at it.”
We headed out of the building. Cam asked, “Do you want to drive together?”
“No, we can drive separately.”
“Yeah, that’s cool. See you in a second.”
“OK.”
I drove to the title company and reflected on Cam’s integrity. That was definitely a rare trait. I pulled into the parking lot right after he did, but he took a minute to get out of his car so I waited. When he finally stepped out, I followed. He put his arm around my shoulder. It felt natural walking with him this way. He asked, “Are you excited?”
“Yes, I’m very excited.”
“Good. That’s exactly what you should feel. A little nervousness is OK, but I’m always disturbed when people are too nervous. I feel like they’re not sure or they can’t handle it financially. You know?”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
“And you hate to hear when anyone you’ve sold a house to has foreclosed. I don’t like that feeling.”
The receptionist ushered Cam and me into a small conference room. She told us that there were doughnuts and coffee in the kitchen. Cam seemed very popular at this title company, as every person we saw on the way to grab coffee greeted him as if he were the president. Men and women alike treated him with respect. He was personable and polite, confident and caring. I loved the way I felt walking beside him.
By the time we got back to the conference room, the seller and his agent were there. The representative for the title company wasted no time getting started. He put a stack of papers in front of the seller and me. He handed copies to our agents as well. He explained that he’d go through each page with me. We got started and as the representative talked, Cam followed up each of his statements with a layman’s explanation of what I was signing.
I wondered if all of Cam’s clients felt this protected or if I was special. I kept thinking, I can’t be wrong about this man. I just wished he didn’t have ex-wife drama because I would have hopped on it, literally. I missed most of the details that he explained to me as we flipped through the pages. His mouth moved, but I couldn’t hear anything as I fantasized about his lips touching my skin. Cam nudged me and I jumped. He’d been calling my name, but I was trapped in a daydream and he was the main character. He said, “Sign here.”
Kiss here. I was signing and smiling as Cam led the way. I was partially happy that I didn’t have to see Cam anymore after this, because this infatuation was definitely not healthy. Once everything was handled, the seller and his agent were told they could leave. They shook my hand and congratulated me. Cam, the title representative, and I were left so I could sign another long contract. Finally it was over and I was the owner of my new home. Cam and I walked out of the office.
He asked, “Have you decided when you’re moving in?”
“I’m not sure yet. Probably in a few weeks.”
“I like to bring all of my clients a housewarming gift, so let me know when you’ll be there.”
“My sister and my parents are going to meet me there now for lunch. Do you want to stop by?”
“Sure. I have a run to make but I’ll meet you there in about an hour or so. Is that OK?”
“That’s perfect.”
I called Aaliyah and my parents to let them know that everything was final and that they could grab lunch and stop by. I had stopped at Target the night before for paper goods, cleaning supplies, and toilet paper. I asked my father to bring his card table and folding chairs, then headed straight there.
My parents were first to arrive. Daddy came in grinning from ear to ear. My mother gave me a hug. “Congratulations, sweetie.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Daddy looked around the place, nodding with approval. “I like this place, Yana.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
“It definitely suits you.”
Daddy can fix anything, build anything, and he knows everything. He was my real-life superman. My mom always insinuated that he was the reason I was single. Daddy was the ideal man, and if I was going to be with someone he had better be like my daddy. He received his PhD from Morehouse College when I was a kid and worked as a school principal most of our lives. He and Mom met while they were in undergrad, he at Morehouse and she at Spelman. Dad went on to become the superintendent during my last year in high school. He had been retired almost five years now and had served on a consultant basis for a while. After my mother retired from teaching, he decided they would both relax and explore the world. Now they went wherever the wind blew them. He still did odd home improvement projects but nothing demanding.
My dad went upstairs to the loft while my mom helped me open the card table. The doorbell rang and it was Aaliyah and the crew. I love my nieces, but those little girls run through your house like a tornado. Whenever they would come to my apartment, I’d get complaints from the neighbors below. Being that it was midday I assumed no one was there so I didn’t give them the no-running speech. My youngest niece, Troi, hopped right into my mother’s lap, and my oldest niece, Tayme, met my father at the bottom of the stairs. “Pop-pop!”
It’s amazing how history repeats itself. Without question, I am a daddy’s girl and Aaliyah is a mommy’s girl. We didn’t have any sibling rivalry about it either, probably because we weren’t competing for attention from the same person.
Aaliyah had two big bags from Chipotle and I grabbed one from her. She said, “I love this place, Ayana. It is so you.”
My mom said, “I agree.”
“Well, I only see one problem,” Dad said.
“What?”
“It’s going to get really warm upstairs.”
He pointed to a big vent on the wall in my dining room. “You see this.”
“Yeah.”
“That intakes the hot air.”
My eyebrows wrinkled because he was confusing me.
“ACs don’t just cool a place. This vent intakes the hot air, while these vent.” He pointed to smaller vents. “They blow cold air out.”
“OK.”
“The largest intake should be at the highest level in your house. They have a small little intake up there, so that’s going to be your hottest area.”
“Daddy, you’re literally over my head.”
“Upstairs will absorb the heat from not only this level but from all the levels underneath you. And this big vent needs to be up there.”
“So can you fix it?”
“Man, that would require ripping out a bunch of ductwork and you never know what you’re getting into when you do that. At this point, you’re going to have to leave it that way.”
My lips curled with disappointment. He put one arm around me and said, “It’ll be OK. What did you plan on putting up there anyway?”
“My office?”
“Yeah, I don’t think you’ll want to be there on hot days.”
My mom interrupted, “Alan, don’t get her all worked up right now.”
“Well, it only makes sense that she knows what’s going on. Knowing is half the battle.”
Aaliyah proceeded to set everyone’s food out and said, “C’mon, y’all, let’s have lunch and celebrate Ayana’s new place.”
I sat down at the table and Daddy jokingly said, “And Lord, don’t let my baby melt up in that loft.”
We all burst out laughing. Aaliyah said, “Daddy, stop.”
He finished grace and we started eating. We chatted about minor things and watched the girls run in circles. Daddy never failed to mention how much they were like Aaliyah and me. In the middle of lunch, the doorbell rang. Everyone looked shocked and their responses forced my heart to plummet into my lap. I smiled. “That’s my Realtor.”
Aaliyah raised one eyebrow at me and I shook my head. She was so obvious. When I opened the door, Cam smelled so enticing that I had to take a deep breath before saying anything. He had an edible arrangement in one hand and a bottle of champagne and a large envelope in the other. Passing the champagne and arrangement to me, he said, “Congratulations.”
“Thank you so much.”
He walked in and I introduced him to my parents. “You sold my baby this piece of crap?” Daddy said with a smile.
“I’m sorry, sir. That would be me,” Cam responded, seeming like a good sport.
Dad stood and shook his hand. Laughing, he said, “Good job, son.”
“Thank you. And I must tell the both of you good job, because Ayana was a pleasure to work with. Women like this can only come from great parents.”
Dad chuckled. “Now you’re going too far.”
My mom looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She hated when he picked with people like that, but Daddy was the same whethe
r he’d just met you or if he’d known you all his life. Aaliyah came over and shook Cam’s hand.
“Aaliyah. I’m Ayana’s little big sister.”
Cam nodded. “OK, I get it.”
My mother chimed in. “They are only fifteen months apart and when kids are that close, it’s really easy for the younger one to take on the role as the oldest.”
Aaliyah had always wanted to be someone’s mother, which is why she had taken on that role, not because she was more mature than me. She was just bossier than I was. I rolled my eyes. By Cam’s smile, I could tell he got the message.
My dad said, “Seriously, I think this condo is ideal for my butterfly. She’s fluid.”
Cam squinted. Dad raised his eyebrow, insinuating that Cam was slow. Cam said, “No, I get it. She goes with the flow.”
“OK, I got a little concerned,” Daddy said, laughing. “I’ve always told her that she didn’t know where her career would take her, especially because it all happened so fast. One day she’s a struggling doctoral student and the next she’s a bestselling author, talk show host, and running her own practice. I advised her not to buy anything because she could get a call anytime to, say, move to New York or LA.”
Cam said, “I hope not.”
That comment got everyone’s attention, except Dad. He continued, “And she’s always enjoyed traveling. Even as a kid. She’s been all over the world.”
“Daddy, I have not been all over the world.”
“I’ll put it to you like this, she goes everywhere she wants to go.”
“I do not. There are many places I’d love to go that I’ve never been.”
Dad said, “Like where?”
“I’ve always wanted to cruise the Mediterranean.”
“See what I mean, son, she’s fluid. That’s why I was always unsure if she should buy anything, but I think this place is perfect for her.”
“I’m glad you think so, Daddy.”
He nodded seriously. “I do.”
My mother stood up. “Ayana, did you get any trash bags?”
“Yeah, I did.”
I rummaged through the Target bags and pulled them out. “Here, Mom.”