Not saying another word, she opened the door wider so I could come in. I stepped inside, but couldn’t see much from the narrow hallway. I could, however, smell maple bacon. She must’ve been cooking breakfast for the two of them, and when I glanced over to the right, the busy kitchen confirmed it.
She pointed down the hall and spoke softly. It was obvious that she didn’t want this bat to go upside her head. “He’s in there on the couch.”
I walked further down the hallway, and once I saw my husband sleeping peacefully on Laquinta’s couch, I could’ve thrown up. The back of his arm was resting on his forehead, one leg was on the floor and only a thin white sheet covered his naked body. It wasn’t quite the room for Isaac, if the smell of sex wasn’t in the air. I walked over to him and stood over him. I turned to check on Laquinta and she stood quietly in the kitchen’s doorway with her arms folded, watching. I rolled my eyes at her then turned my attention back to Isaac. I lifted the bat, but instead of cracking him across his face with it, I poked at his chest. I added pressure, and that was when he moved his head to the side and slowly opened his eyes. Once he saw who I was, his eyes got as big as saucers. His brows arched inward and he quickly sat up.
“Cyd?” he said, as if he didn’t believe it was me.
“Yes, honey. You’re not dreaming so don’t pinch me.”
“Wha…what in the hell are you doing here?”
I lowered the bat to my side then placed the envelope against his chest. He looked down at it, appearing to still be in shock.
“What’s this?”
“Something I should’ve given to you a long time ago. Your divorce papers, Isaac. You can stop feeding me your bullshit about how this trick means nothing to you, and we both can get on with our lives.”
A mean mug covered his face and he snatched the envelope off his chest. He jumped up then tore the envelope in half. “How dare you come over here with this bullshit! If you think I’m gon’ let you go be with another motherfucker, you are sadly mistaken! It ain’t going down like this!”
“Oh, you’d better believe it is! And to hell with Raymond! Raymond doesn’t have a damn thing to do with you over here constantly fucking this bitch!”
“The only reason I’m here is because you were with that motherfucker yesterday! Yeah, I saw you. You lied to me! When I asked where you were…”
“Yesterday,” I said, taking a few steps back. “I met with Raymond to find out his connection with Miguel! I put closure to the situation, but you damn sure didn’t put closure to this. Nor did you ever intend to! You ran to this hookah, like you’ve always done. I hope you’re satisfied with the end result, and you can tear up those papers all you want. I intend to still move forward.”
I was so mad that I snatched up the bat and turned to walk away. Isaac came up from behind, and when he touched me, I swung the bat around, hitting him in the leg.
“Fuck,” he yelled and squeezed his eyes together. He lowered his hand to touch his leg. And that’s when Laquinta made a move towards me.
I held up the bat. “Come on, bitch! Make my day. I’d love to break your fucking neck for interfering with my marriage.”
She saw the look in my eyes then backed up. I hurried towards the door and made my way down the steps. Isaac came limping after me with the sheet wrapped around him.
“Damn-it, Cydney! Would you stop running and listen to me for a minute!”
I continued down the steps, and injured leg or not, Isaac was on my tail. By the time I reached the bottom step, he was close to me. I stopped and turned around. I held the bat in a swinging position and dared him to come closer.
“Back off, Isaac. Just let me leave in peace and stay the hell away from me.”
He wasn’t foolish enough to step forward. “Listen, calm down and let’s go home to talk about this. You’re the one who lied to me about Raymond, so I was left to assume that something was going on between y’all when I saw you at the restaurant.”
I chuckled. “You’re such a fool. You didn’t give me a chance to explain, but you couldn’t wait to come over here and jump in the bed with Laquinta. When are you going to face it, Isaac? She has something that I simply can’t give you. Hell, every woman does.”
“No, no she…they don’t. I was upset and I wanted to get back at you. I never would have come here, had I known the details of your meeting with Raymond.”
He inched forward, and still not trying to cooperate with him, I swung the bat again. This time, I sent a blow to his muscular arm. He frowned and raging anger covered his face. I had to stop him from getting close to me, but when I went up with the bat again, he blocked the bat with his arm. The bat broke in half and that was a signal for me to jet. I could never run faster than Isaac, and as soon as I got to the parking lot, he caught up with me. He tripped me to the ground and I fell hard. I turned over on my back and took deep breaths as he bent down and looked over me. His left arm had blood dripping from it, so he cuffed his hand around it.
“You see, I could hurt you, Cyd, but I’m not going to. I don’t know what kind of devil than took over you, but I’ve never seen you act so ridiculously childish. You’d better rethink some shit and do it fast. As for the divorce you want,” he reached for the torn envelope, tearing it into tiny pieces. They trickled down on top of me. “I’ll never agree to it and I’ll fight you to the end. You know why?” He kneeled next to me. “Because I love no other woman than you. Yet again, my hurt is what brought me here. I didn’t know how to handle seeing you with Raymond. I’m sorry, but it was my only solution. You were right. We’ve got to stop hurting each other. I’m going back inside to get my clothes, and then I’m leaving. If you wouldn’t mind waiting until I go back inside to get on my clothes, we can leave together.”
Without waiting for a reply, he walked away and made his way to the stairs. As he neared Laquinta’s door, I sped away and could heard him yell my name.
ISAAC
My arm was in serious pain. I didn’t know if it was broken or not. I asked Laquinta to get me a wet towel so I could wipe the blood from where the cracked bat stuck me. She gave the wet towel to me then sat on the kitchen’s chair while I leaned against the counter.
“Does it hurt?” she asked.
“Damn right it does.”
I wiped my arm. A small chunk of wood went into it, so I squeezed my eyes and pulled it out. I tossed it in the trashcan then looked at Laquinta. “Why did you let Cydney in here? Before you opened the door, didn’t you ask who it was?”
She quickly caught an attitude. “No. And when I did open the door, I wasn’t about to challenge her with that bat in her hand. Regardless, you brought that on yourself. You only came here because you thought she was with somebody else. Not because you missed me like you said you did last night.”
Laquinta was about to get started with her bullshit. I wasn’t in the mood. My purpose for being with her from the beginning was to get away from my headaches at home. Now those headaches started to come every time we got together. It was time to go. I ignored Laquinta’s comment and went into the bedroom to get my clothes. She stood in the doorway, watching as I put them on.
“I thought you were staying for a couple of days,” she said.
“I never told you that. There you go assuming things again.”
“You’re a piece of work, Isaac. When will all of this back and forth shit stop? I wish you’d just leave me the hell alone. I swear I do.”
“Be careful what you wish for, and the solution to your problem is simple. I’ll leave you alone when you stop making yourself available. There’s no need to wish something when you’re in control. And if I keep on hurting you that much, be woman enough to end this.”
She put her hand on her hip. “So, now I’m not woman enough? You didn’t say that shit when you were fucking me. My pussy…’
“Your pussy is off the chain. So what? Sometimes, it controls the hell out of me and I think we already know that. But good pussy or not, it’s about my he
art, baby. My heart belongs to my wife. I don’t know what else it is that you want me to say.”
With my clothes on, I made my way to the door. Laquinta held up her arm to stop me. “I want you to show me some love in return. You can’t tell me that you never loved me, Isaac. Many times, I felt it and I don’t care what you say.”
“You want the truth? Here it is. All you felt was my dick inside of you, giving you much pleasure. That’s all you wanted, Quinta, and up until recently, you haven’t required anything else.”
“I said, do you love me? I want the truth and I want it now.”
She wasn’t reading between the lines. I ignored her and removed her arm away from the doorway. Attempting to make this less painful for the both of us, I made my way to the door. I reached for the knob and Laquinta put her hand over mine. She shot me a stern look. “Do you?” she yelled.
I was blunt. “No. Never.”
She removed her hand from mine and allowed me to freely walk out of the door.
On the drive home, my arm was in enormous pain. I didn’t think it was broke because I could move it. It had swelled a bit, and I could kill Cydney for getting at me like a maniac. I never expected a woman of her caliber to get down like she did, but I guess she’d reached her boiling point. Only if she’d been honest with me about Raymond, then maybe things would’ve turned out differently. Then again, why did she expect for me to believe her? For all I knew, they could still be seeing each other behind my back.
When I got home, I wasn’t up for any more arguing with Cydney. Hopefully, she had calmed down. If she hit me with a bat again, I was going to make her pay.
I opened the front door, and having a slight cramp in my leg, I squeezed my calf muscle. I then went to our bedroom and looked at Cydney sitting on the bed while eating ice cream.
“You know my arm may be broke, don’t you?”
“Good.”
“My leg may be too.”
“Spectacular.”
“You were seriously trying to hurt me, weren’t you?”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it? And if your leg was broke, you wouldn’t be walking or standing on it. Now, stop whining and please go somewhere else so I don’t have to look at you. I’m still very upset with you, Isaac.”
I didn’t want to go there with her, but Cydney definitely knew how to push my buttons. “I’m upset with you too,” I said, walking further in the room so I could go to the bathroom.
Cydney licked the ice cream from the spoon and mumbled something.
I halted my steps. “What did you say?”
She stared at me as if she was in deep thought. “I…I was wondering about something, Isaac.”
“About what?”
“Does your dick ever get tired? I mean, just about every time I see you, you’re always giving it a workout. After getting so much usage, I don’t see how that poor thing can function properly.”
“Why don’t you see for yourself how well it can function? And, hell, no, it don’t get tired. It got tired of your rejection. Don’t be mad because it found itself a new home.”
“An ashy, ugly, tacky and contagious new home. Did you smell that place while you were there? It was nothing nice, and your lover really needs to clean up.”
“Whatever,” I said, going into the bathroom and closing the door.
I took off my clothes and took a lengthy shower. Once I finished, I put on my cotton robe. I slid into my house shoes, and early afternoon or not, I was going back to bed. When I opened the bathroom door, Cydney was in the bed watching TV. Figuring that she didn’t want my company, I headed downstairs to the sofa bed.
“Isaac?”
“What?” I turned around.
She held the container of ice cream in her hand. “Take this to the kitchen and throw it away for me. And bring me a glass of Kool-Aid when you come back.”
“What? Do you think I’m going to cater to you, after you damn near broke my arm and leg with a bat? Woman, please. I ain’t that big of a fool. If the shoe was on the other foot, this shit wouldn’t even be going down like this and you know it.”
“No, it wouldn’t. But you can be a forgiving husband, just as much as I’ve been a forgiving wife. Besides, you said that you loved me. So again…would you mind taking this container, throwing it in the trash and bringing me some Kool-Aid, please?”
“Loving someone means sometimes compromising. I’ll throw away the container, but you can get up and get the Kool-Aid yourself. Besides, I’m not coming back to our room. I’m going downstairs so I can sleep peacefully. By how nice you’re being to me, I think I’d better keep my distance. You may be plotting to put a knife in my back. ”
“Aww, sweetheart, I wouldn’t do that. I’m sure that after all the work you put in last night, it probably drained you. Isn’t it amazing that some men are so fortunate to be able to come home after a night like you had and sleep peacefully?”
I walked over to her and snatched the container from her hand. “You’d better not come fuck with me, Cydney. And if you throw any hot grease or water on me, I’m seriously going to hurt you.”
She pursed her lips. “Do I look like the type of woman who would do something like that? Isaac, please. Don’t you know me any better than that?” she smiled.
“Yeah, whatever. I thought I knew you, up until today.”
I left the room, only to come back minutes later with Cydney’s Kool-Aid. She displayed a sinister grin and took the glass from my hand.
“Thank you,” she said.
“You’re not welcome, and you’d better stop looking at me like that. You’re making me nervous.”
“If I’m making you that nervous, then leave. You shouldn’t want to be in a house with a woman that frightens you. Or should I say, one whom you do not trust.”
I cut my eyes at Cydney then headed downstairs to the basement. Just in case, I took my pistol with me for protection.
For, at least, three hours, I tossed and turned and kept listening for Cydney. There seemed to be something in her eyes that had me kind of worried. I didn’t think she’d go to the extreme of doing something she would regret, but who knows? I looked up at the ceiling with my hand on my chest. I then glanced over at the wide screen television and watched a few minutes of ESPN. Soon, my eyelids started to flutter. The next thing I knew, I was out.
The sound of two sportscasters going at it on TV was what awakened me. I sat up to turn down the volume and noticed a white envelope on my chest. After using the remote to turn down the TV, I opened the envelope. Divorce papers requiring my signature were inside. There was a sticky note on top that said, “please sign.” I tore the papers in half, and on my way upstairs to see Cydney, I tore more of the paper into tiny pieces. When I got to the bedroom, she was asleep. I looked at the clock and it was after one o’clock in the morning. Being very quiet, I sprinkled the torn papers over her then went back downstairs to get some rest.
By morning, I could hear Cydney walking around upstairs. I figured she was getting ready for work, and when she yelled downstairs for me to wake up, I headed upstairs.
She was leaning against the kitchen’s counter while drinking coffee. Her thick hair was full of long loose curls, her silky skin looked smooth as butter and her black suit fit every curve in her body. She’d definitely loss some more weight and looked fabulous.
“You must have another date with Raymond.” I couldn’t resist.
“No, actually, I’m going to a funeral after work today. Don’t worry, it’s not yours. Not yet anyway.”
“I know damn well it ain’t mine. And it better not be mine.”
Cydney smirked. She turned to put her cup in the sink and turned on the water to rinse it. As I glanced at her shapely ass, my dick was trying to jump out of my robe and get to her. She turned off the water then reached beside her for a towel to dry the cup. I made my move when she hiked up on her heels to open the cabinet above her. I stepped up from behind, wrapped my arm around her waist and pressed my goods
against her.
“Wha…what are you doing?” she said, trying to remove my tight embrace.
I moved her hair away from her ear and whispered close to it. “See what you do to me? Don’t you know how you make me feel? You look damn good this morning and I want you to have a spectacular day.”
I backed away, and as soon as Cydney turned around, she glanced down at my hardness. My dick was aimed in her direction. I removed my robe, tossing it over my shoulder so she could get a better look.
“We can’t help how we feel about you,” I said.
She rolled her eyes then proceeded to walk past me. I knew Cydney wanted me too, but there was a time and place for everything. Now wasn’t my time, so I chuckled and put my robe back on. When the doorbell rang, I yelled down the hallway to Cydney, telling her I’d get it.
“Who is it?” I asked.
No one answered, so I looked through the peephole. What I saw, I hoped like hell I didn’t see. I quickly opened the door, and sure enough, Erica was strapped to a car seat on the porch. The gift I’d bought her was next to her and a folded piece of paper was on top. I quickly stepped outside to look up and down the street. There was no sign of Laquinta, so I loosened Erica from the car seat and picked her up. She was asleep. I laid her head on my shoulder then hurried inside. Cydney was coming down the hallway.
“Who was at—” she paused and looked at Erica. “What the hell is going on?” she said. “That hoochie didn’t have the nerve to show up at my house, did she?”
“She’s gone, Cydney. I didn’t see her, but she left Erica in her car seat on the porch.”
A look of disgust was on Cydney’s face. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Cydney stepped outside and walked to the end of the driveway. She looked around then came back towards the door. She lifted the box.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“It’s a present I gave Erica for her birthday. I gave it to Laquinta yesterday.”
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