A Price to Pay for Everything

by Kameisha Jenkins

  “It’s the new Cadillac Escalade. Marc talked me into getting another ride since that fool stole my car. Plus, I don’t think that I would want it back anyway. That’s a car for an old man.”

  Ilene couldn’t believe her ears. The last thing that she needed to deal with was Charles going through a mid life crisis while she was trying to host this event. Marc walked towards her with open arms.

  “Mom, you look beautiful. You ready for your big night?” Ilene looked at Marc in a way that informed him that they would have a serious talk later.

  “Chuck, that truck must have cost you a fortune. Are you sure that you want to take on something so expensive right now?” Charles continued to grin.

  “Hey, you only live once. Might as well enjoy life. After what happened to me, I started really thinking about how short life is. I was telling Marc that the incident changed my whole perspective. So we called the dealership and they sent a car to come and pick us up. Now I own that beautiful automobile outside.”

  Ilene feigned happiness.

  “Well then, I’m happy for you. But now you guys have to rush to get ready. I hope you all are gonna be ready in thirty minutes. The photographer will be here any minute.”

  Marc and Charles eyed each other suspiciously.

  “Photographer?” Both Marc and Charles responded at the same time.

  Ilene looked at them incredulously.

  “Yes, that’s exactly wha I said. Do you all ever listen to a word I say? Let’s get to it.” Ilene said as she gently guided the men upstairs. Ilene exhaled loudly as she hurried upstairs to get dressed for the event. She could hardly wait to slip on the handmade platinum silk and organza evening gown. More importantly, she couldn’t wait to arrive fashionably late and make her grand entrance. Ilene closed herself off in her powder room and began to prepare for her long awaited evening. She ignored the blinking message light on her cell phone and decided that she would have no interruptions as she prepared to make her professional and social debut into the life she was quickly growing accustomed to.

  Twenty minutes later, the doorbell rang and Marc answered the door. The neatly dressed photographer briefly stood in awe of the entry way and then asked if they were ready. After ten minutes of solitary and family poses, the photographer settled on a family portrait that would be the cover shot for the write up. The men quickly left the scene to go talk outside and ogle over Charles’s newest purchase. Ilene was left to chat with the photographer. When she asked what the by-line would read, the photographer proudly answered. “Prominent Atlanta family Hosts Gala of the Season”. Ilene gave a satisfactory smile and showed him to the door. She savored what her night would bring. She could hardly wait to see the faces of those who thought she would never arrive. Not only had she arrived, but she was making a grand entrance.

  “These bitches aren’t ready for me.” Ilene said to herself as she prepared to leave her home and second-rate life behind.

  Chapter 43 Marc

  “Have you lost your damned mind?” Marc yelled into the phone after Sherise told him that she flew to Atlanta to meet his parents at his mother’s bash. Apparently, Ilene blabbed to her about the event before she found out that Sherise wasn’t from an affluent family like she claimed.

  “Why not Marc? It’s about time they met me. You can’t just act like our baby didn’t happen.” Sherise asked.

  Marc’s tolerance for Sherise’s antics had reached it’s peak the day before, when she told him that she had retrieved Natalie’s name and address from the patron list for the auction and threatened to call her and tell her that they were expecting a child if he didn’t stop seeing her.

  “Sherise, I already told you my mother thinks you’re a gold digging slut, so I don’t know why you want to come here. In fact, I am telling you if I see you there, I will call the police and tell them you’re trespassing.”

  “Give up the shit, Marc. Get off of that stupid high horse. Your mother never said that to me. Rather you like it or not, we are going to have a baby together…so I am family. And if you didn’t tell them, they are going to find out tonight.”

  Marc punched the wall of the men’s bathroom at the Ritz Carlton as he attempted to calm himself. It didn’t work.

  “You have got to be out of your fucking mind. Listen to what I am saying to you. I do not want to be with you. I never will. I regret that you are having this kid and wish like hell we never met. Do not show up here or anywhere near my family or you will regret it.”

  “Hold the fuck up. I just know you’re not threatening me. I think you better think about the shit you’re saying, because if something happens to me, you are really gonna feel it. Don’t get me fucked up with that air head Natalie bitch that you been fucking. I don’t give a damn how you feel about me, you are gonna take care of this baby. Fuck you and your fake assed snaughty family. I go where the hell I want to go.”

  “Sherise, you’re just an ignorant bitch, you know that? You wonder why I don’t want to be with you…”

  “Marc, go to hell. I wasn’t stupid when we were fucking. You’re too busy chasing that black bitch around to care about your own child. You aint shit and if it takes my last breath, everyone will know it.” Marc sighed heavily. “Why don’t you do that then Sherise? And while you’re at it, get the fuck out of my house.”

  “What? I am not leaving. I live there. You want me and the baby out, you put us out bastard.”

  “Sherise, you got until tomorrow to get your shit the fuck out of my place. Since I’m so trifling, then go and find somewhere else to live. That’s fucking it. If I see you, I swear to God, I will hurt you.”

  Marc angrily slammed his phone shut and shoved it into his pocket. He looked at the mirror and saw his flustered reflection staring back at him. He hated that Sherise was ruining the mood for his mother’s birthday party and tried to shake off the anger that her call had just brought on.

  He splashed water onto his face from the gold gilded faucet and dried it with one of the plush hand towels provided by the hotel. He wished that he could erase her. He hated to admit that he toyed with the idea of having someone handle his less than stellar situation, but thought everyone would suspect him since Sherise was notorious for starting arguments in public settings. He rubbed a little of the hotel’s hand lotion onto his face and decided to head back to the banquet hall. A quick decision to turn his ringer off gave him a sense of control over the seemingly uncontrollable situation with Sherise. He rolled his eyes as he felt his phone vibrating in his pant pockets before he had the opportunity to turn it off. He suspected that Sherise was calling back with some ridiculous comment that would send him into a rage. This woman actually drove Marc to contemplate changing his number. When he looked at the display unit and saw Natalie’s phone number, his attitude instantly changed. A smile morphed in the corner of his lips as he thought about the four hour conversation that they had two days ago that forced him to miss his plane to Atlanta.

  He wanted to tell her about Sherise but decided not to divulge such information so early in their meeting. He decided that it would probably die out in a few weeks when he was too busy to call everyday or return long e-mails. He had been down this road before. Nevertheless he pressed the button that would allow him to hear her voice.

  “Hey you.” He heard Natalie’s voice and instantly forgot about all that Sherise had done to enrage him.

  “Hey yourself, girl. What’s good?” Marc answered cheerfully.

  Natalie chuckled as she responded to his question.

  “I think we both know the answer to that.” The two shared laughter and mentally revisited their marathon phone sex from the previous night and sexual interlude from the night before that. Marc was taken by her.

  After a few minutes of talking, Natalie became quiet and pensive. Marc noticed.

  “Is something wrong, Nat?” Natalie smiled and was moved by his show of concern.

  “Naw, it’s just stress, I guess. Trying to get back in the swing of things a
t work, and my mom just called, and then you…”

  “Hey, hey, hey. Relax. Work will be there. As far as your mom, yall will work things out. Just give it some time. And as far as me, you know you can’t get rid of me.”

  Marc giggled when he finished the last statement to lighten the mood.

  Natalie didn’t return the laughter.

  “You say that now. There’s a lot of stuff about me that you don’t know. Just because we slept together doesn’t mean that you are going to like me in a couple of weeks or months or years…”

  Marc was growing concerned about Natalie’s tone.

  “Natalie, where is the coming from? I know we need to get to know each other. We got plenty of time for that. Let’s just take it one day at a time. If you’re afraid that this was a one night stand, let that shit go. I can get ass whenever I want it. I like talking to you. We had a good time when we were together and that’s all you need to think about. I’m not going to hurt you or use you. I’m not that kind of man.”

  Natalie’s eyes stung from the tears she foughtck.

  “I know you’re a good man. I don’t want this to just go away. I have things in my past that you need to know about and…”

  “And you have plenty of time to tell me everything. I got a past, too. Natalie, I’m not going anywhere. Nothing you can say will change my mind about you. There is a lot I need to tell you too. So, don’t feel like you have to worry about me judging you.”

  Natalie began to smile.

  “Okay. I feel you. I’m sorry for getting all mushy on you. It’s just that I have never been so happy around anyone.” “Well hopefully Ms. Logan, you will give me the chance to make you VERY happy.”

  “Really? You mean you’re gonna make me WHITE GIRL HAPPY?”

  “Yes, WHITE GIRL HAPPY.”

  The two shared laughter that put them both at ease. Marc spoke first.

  “So when will I see you again beautiful?” Natalie savored his words.

  “That, I don’t know. I’ve gotten behind on my work and I have like a thousand meetings scheduled. I don’t know when I will be able to get away for a flight.” Marc was slightly discouraged. “Then don’t sweat it. I’ll come to you. That is, if your man is cool with that.” Natalie sighed loudly.

  “I think I can talk him into it. You’re okay with a little ménage trois, right?” Marc released a bellowing laughter. “You’re a trip girl. I’m gonna make you pay for that when I see you.”

  “I was counting on it.” Natalie returned. Marc blushed. “Look, I better get off this phone before you get it started up in here. I’ll try to come out next weekend.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “Natalie Patrice Logan, I can’t wait to see you again.” “Me too, sexy.”

  “Talk to you later.”

  “Goodbye Marchevis Dunbar Campbell.”

  Marc ended the call and wished that he could leave tonight to see Natalie. Sherise had called several times during their conversation. He hadn’t even noticed. He winced as he contemplated how Natalie would take the news about his debacle with Sherise. He decided he would tell her when they saw each other again. Hopefully what she had to tell him wouldn’t be worst than his secret. He called his travel agent and told her to book him a flight. He had her to book a hotel room too, just in case whatever Natalie had to tell him was too much for him to deal with. Before he returned to the banquet hall, Marc remembered that he had one more call to make.

  “Hello, this is Marc Campbell. I own condo unit 690. I wanted to see about having someone change the locks immediately. I lost my key and I am out of town. Can you have it done in twenty four hours? Good, I will stop by to pick up the key. And please, do not release my key to anyone. Thanks, and you have a good day too.” Marc smiled as he walked into the posh banquet hall for his mother’s celebration of life. He decided to celebrate his own as well.

  Chapter 44 Sherise.

  Sherise paced the floor of her room at The Red Roof Inn near Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport. After checking Marc’s voice mail, she was able to decipher that his mother’s bash was being held today in some area called Buckhead. She dialed every hotel in the area until she found out where the event was being held. As if it were her last chance to live, she was counting on the fact that she could slide the doorman a couple of bills to get her in the door. She had attempted patience and waited for Marc to invite her. When he didn’t, she exacted her own revenge and urinated on his toothbrush while he was at work. The thought of him brushing his perfectly aligned white teeth with her piss made her smile, satisfied that justice had been served.

  Listening to his voice mails had its privileges. Not only did she ascertain his social schedule, she was also privy to the tawdry details of his newest fling, Natalie. She had grown to hate her and quickly erased any messages that Marc hadn’t yet heard. Sherise was growing desperate. She only had a little while longer to lock Marc n and this Natalie bitch was ruining her plan. She would have to make sure that Natalie was no longer a threat to her happiness, regardless of who was hurt in the process.

  The discouraging phone call to Marc floored Sherise. She was a woman overcome with anger.

  “Who the fuck does he think he is? I am gonna nail his ass to the wall by the time that I am done with his bama ass.” Sherise screamed out in her dank room. No one responded. As she surveyed her meager accommodations, she was infuriated by her recollection of the menu Marc’s mother rattled off on his voice mail. Sherise had a few words for Ms. High and Mighty when she saw her. After pretending to connect with her, she had the nerve to call her a gold digging hood rat. Not only was she going to show up, but she was gonna turn the place out. Marc had already told her to get out of HER condo and she had nothing to loose.

  “Wait a minute girl. He’s already pissed. If I show up there, I’ll be playing into that bitch’s hand….But if I don’t show up, he will think he can run all over me. And that shit is just not going to happen.” Sherise said to herself.

  “I’ll just slip in unnoticed, let him know I came and leave before he tries to get ignorant. That way he will see that I am not a joke and take me seriously.” Sherise reasoned aloud, wishing that she had LaChan there to help her make this decision. Ever since the night at the auction, Sherise’s club-hopping, gold-digging associate had given excuse after excuse for not hanging out with her. Sherise decided it was envy and chocked it up to the game.

  After a quick nap and lunch at Krystal’s, Sherise blocked her number and dialed Natalie’s number again. Again, she hung up on the woman who threatened to steal her happiness. She had made it an hourly ritual and warning signal to Natalie to stay away from Marc. It wasn’t working. She decided that little Ms. Perfect needed a more blatant sign. Today, she would announce who she was to Natalie and even send her the ultrasound as proof. To her dismay, she would find that Marc wasn’t really the man of her

  A PRICE TO PAY FOR EVERYTHING

  dreams as she gushed on his voice mail, and she would quietly go back to her own world. When Sherise dialed the code to block her number and the long distance number that would connect her to Natalie, she found that the call went straight to voice mail. Sherise knew better than to leave an incriminating voice mail and delayed her plan until tomorrow. She now had to focus on the event at hand. The Campbell Bash.

  Choosing to exercise her resourcefulness, she was able to ask around and found out that one of the housekeeper’s brothers worked at the Ritz and could get her in, even a restricted event, for fifty dollars. The investment appeared to be a sound one as Sherise rode in a cab to the event. She wanted to arrive in a chauffeured limousine, but feared she would call too much attention to herself. Even her attire of a black empire waist gown with just a touch of ornamentation seemed too subdued for her.

  She stepped out of the cab and felt like she was transported to another world that was in stark contrast to her dark and musky hotel room. Bulbs flashed as others exited their cars and limos dripping with diamonds and furs. Sherise lo
oked around feverishly for her hook up named Brandon and was exuberant when she found him. Walking quickly behind him, Sherise avoided the grand entrance and reception line of the front entry to the large banquet room. Instead, she entered through the server’s quarters and quickly found a seat at a crowded table. She scanned the room for Marc and spotted him near the entrance greeting a few female guests a little too amorously for her taste. Perhaps she would accidentally spill punch on their expensive gowns later.

  The people at the table did not even acknowledge her as they chattered endlessly about their estates and yachting on the Mayan Riviera. The thought of sitting among so much money and opulence validated Sherise’s need to be there, even if she had to sneak in through the back door. “Hell”, she thought, “That’s the story of my life.”

  She motioned for one of the waiters who quickly brought her an offering of hors d’ouevres. Just as she swallowed the last morsel of stuffed mushroom, one of the society ladies sitting at the table addressed her. Sherise corrected her posture as the lady reached over to shake her hand.

  “Pleased to make your acquaintance, dear heart. I am Gladys McFaddin. My husband is Earl McFaddin, the chairman of the Board of Trade here. And you are?” The woman’s question resonated in Sherise’s mind as if she had heard for the first time. Indeed, who was she? She hated to admit that she didn’t know the answer to the question. She decided to go with what was most comfortable for her.

  “Gladys, it’s a pleasure. I am Sherise….Sherise Campbell.”

  Chapter 45 Natalie

  Natalie had not had time to unpack her bags before she was summoned back to work by an urgent message from the company’s president. He insisted that only she could handle the campaign for one of their largest clients that specialized in building luxury new homes in the south. She understood that despite her degrees and accomplishments, her primary underlying qualification was that she was a black female. A double minority. Her presence alone would lend credibility to the builders as they battled to secure their reputation.