Tammy wasn’t convinced at all about that friendship talk. He was up to something, and she could see it in his eyes. “I hope you don’t think you’re getting any pussy!” she shot back.
Darious almost choked on his food when he heard her say that. He didn’t know that she could be so blunt. But he did like her straightforwardness. It inspired him to want to come clean with his motives. “A’ight, Tammy. You wanna know the truth?” He rubbed his hands together to get the crumbs off, and scooted his chair over to sit directly in front of her. He then cleared the rest of the food from his mouth.
“Yeah, Darious, I want the truth.”
“Look, Tammy. I helped you because I like you. And to be honest, I think the world of you. Sometimes I think that I’m the only one who sees how good of a woman you are,” he explained to her.
Tammy didn’t see this coming.
“I’m not gonna lie, Tammy. I’m hoping that one day I can make you my girl. I don’t know the status between you and ya baby daddy, but if y’all are not together, I’m tryin’ to be the man in ya life,” he continued.
Tammy definitely didn’t see that coming. She was at a loss for words, but at the same time she was flattered. For a nice guy like Darious to want to be with her made her feel somewhat special. She felt wanted; a feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time. “I don’t know what to say. I mean, I like you too… but I’m not ready to be in a relationship right now. I just broke up with my kids’ father, and I just need some time to get my shit together. I don’t wanna bring anybody into this mess of a life I have,” she said, damn near ready to shed a few tears at the thought of it.
Darious smiled. “Ya life ain’t that bad, Tammy. You just hit a few rough patches. I know with a little polish, you’ll be good as new. I also know that I’ma be here for you until you’re ready to let somebody in. Just when you do decide that you’re ready, make sure you call me first,” he chuckled before leaning over and giving her a kiss on the forehead.
Tammy smiled and confirmed that she would call him first with a simple nod. If she ever thought about being with anybody, it would have to be with somebody like Darious. He was kind, sweet, smart and handsome, not to mention the fact that he had a bright future ahead of him… and he was single. He was a good catch, but truth be told, she was still holding onto her past.
She didn’t want to say anything to him, but the real reason why she wasn’t ready to be with anybody else was because she was still in love with her childhood sweetheart, Chris.
__________
Lisa sat in the front row with Dre’s mom and his other family members that she was familiar with.
So many people turned up at the funeral. Lisa expected it though, because he was well liked in his hood. Despite the fact that he terrorized the streets before he got locked up for murder, he helped a lot of people out. That’s why it wasn’t a dry eye in the building. Everybody was crying, even Lisa. She couldn’t hold back if she wanted to, looking over at Dre lying in a coffin a mere fifteen feet away from her.
The priest gave a beautiful sermon about life and death, and how people should be living their lives here on Earth while they were still alive. It had Lisa thinking about her situation and how she needed to make some changes in her own life. All she could think about was having a chance to fix what she had broken in her marriage, and get back to being the loving wife she knew that she could be.
After the viewing, it was time to take Dre to his final resting place. Four large men stood around his casket, lifted it up and walked it down the aisle towards the hearse that was parked outside. Lisa followed behind them, along with Dre’s mother and a few other family members.
As the casket passed by the last pews, Lisa just so happened to look over and saw Ralphy sitting there. She couldn’t believe that he had come, and for a moment she wanted to jump into the casket and die right along with Dre. It was humiliating getting caught at the funeral by Ralphy with tears still rolling down her cheeks.
At first, Lisa didn’t know if she should have stopped to acknowledge him, but from the way he was looking at her, she really didn’t have any other choice. He got up out of the pew just as the casket passed by him. He was dressed for the occasion with a suit and a tie, and in his hands was a white envelope. He didn’t have to say anything to get Lisa to stop. Dre’s mom kept it moving without inquiring who Ralphy was.
“I’m sorry!” Lisa said, looking up into Ralphy’s watery eyes.
“Yeah, me too,” he said back. He tapped the envelope against his thigh while looking into the eyes of the woman who claimed to have been his wife. Seeing her there at the funeral and crying as if Dre was her husband was the final straw. Any hope of trying to save their marriage was out the window, and this time Lisa couldn’t argue with him or justify her actions. She was out of pocket all the way around the board.
“I guess I can only wonder whether or not you could have loved me as much as you loved him,” Ralphy said, and passed her the white envelope and then a pen he retrieved from his pocket. “Do the right thing this time,” he said, nodding at the envelope.
Lisa knew the divorce papers were the contents inside the envelope. She didn’t even have enough strength to put up a fight if she wanted to. This whole ordeal had taken its toll on her as well, and she felt like she had hurt Ralphy long enough.
She took the papers out of the envelope and began signing and initialing them in their correct places. It took Lisa and Ralphy every bit of five hours at their wedding to get married, but it took less than two minutes for them to get divorced. Their marriage had begun in a church, and by God’s will, a church is where their marriage was going to end. Ugly, but fair!
TO BE CONTINUED…
Stay Single
Tune in to the next series of “Single Ladies” and see what ya favorite characters are up to. Will life in the divorce lane be so bad for Lisa, or will she learn how to adapt and re-invent herself as a single mother. Will she find something new, or will she wait for the love of her life, Ralphy to come back to her.
Lamar has to make one of the biggest decisions in his life concerning who he’s going to be with. Kim and Falisha won’t be making his choice any easier once they find out about each other and begin competing for Lamar’s love. Will it get ugly, or will somebody bow out gracefully? Either way, Lamar is in for the ride of his life, and if not careful, he can end up with a broken heart.
Tammy doesn’t know what to do with herself. She has a man that wants to step up and be that special someone in her life, but she can’t seem to let go of her past, which is Chris, her kids’ father. Will she give Darious a shot and finally move on with her life, or will she continue to hold on to the past and miss out on her opportunity for another man to make her happy?
Find out about all this and more in series two of “Single Ladies”. Trust; everything you think might happen may not, and the juicy scandals of being young, sexy and single will have you turning the pages to see what’s going to happen next. Nobody’s safe, and until the next time…
…Stay Single!
Submissions
Karrington Media Group and Dynasty Publishing are currently accepting manuscript submissions. For consideration, please submit the following to [email protected]:
Cover letter: include contact information, biographical information and literary background
Detailed synopsis
First five chapters
Table of Contents
Single Ladies: Episode 3
Previously On Single Ladies
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Single Ladies: Episode 4
Previously On Single Ladies
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Stay Single
Submissions
Single Ladies 3&4 Page 8