BOMAW 10-12

by Mercedes Keyes

  He took several deep cleansing breaths, made up his mind to live in today, and worry about tomorrow when it arrived. He walked out of his studio only to see Victor pulling up. He forced his eyes away from him, walking into the garage, and into the door there closing it behind him.

  Shawn walked into the house, found Sylvia in the room with the girls talking, "The worm that turned, is here."

  Crystal sighed, knowing it was more than likely the best she would hear out of him concerning Victor. She stood from the bed, to wake the boys up.

  They all heard a knock at the front door. Shawn looked at Sylvia, "I know you don't want me to get that?"

  She stood and passed him going to the door. Shawn looked at Angela, "You're not allowed to have anything to do with males until I'm dead and gone, you got me?"

  Angela made a face, "Ach! I don't think so, dad, you'll probably live to be a hundred!"

  Shawn turned in the doorway, sticking his ear out to hear what Sylvia was saying at the door to Victor.

  "Hi Sylvia, I came to see Crystal, my boys, if it's alright?"

  "Sure it is Victor, but ah, you mind waiting on the porch? Shawn is not feeling very sociable right now."

  "No problem; but, you mind coming out, so I can talk to you, tell you my side?"

  Sylvia felt a rush of air hit her and through her peripheral, saw her husband, standing hidden behind the door, glaring at her, shaking his head, no!

  "I already know what happened, Crystal has told me."

  "But you didn't hear from me, my side of it."

  "Victor, we've already spoken once, you and I - there's no need for you to tell me your side, trust me, I've heard all of it."

  "So you're on his side now? Shawn's? You knew me before you knew him, why are you letting him come into your life, your home and take control? I mean, who is he?"

  Before she could say a word, Shawn stepped around the door, "Her fuckin' husband! The man of this goddamn house! You don't fuckin' like it? You can see your boys someplace else! Second, you don't talk down to my wife, as if she lacks mental discernment and judgment - who the fuck are you to question her?!"

  Shaking is head, Victor backed off down the stairs walking towards his car, not willing to get into a battle with Shawn. "Shawn, I could have handled that."

  He walked off towards the basement, shaking his head, muttering, "God - give me strength. I see dead people."

  Crystal had been standing back, eyes wide, holding Darren in her arms, who was yawning from his nap, Isaac doing the same.

  Sylvia stood back, "He's waiting by the car, you already heard why."

  She nodded and walked out with her boys in hand.

  Victor looked at them, smiled, "Hey boys, how you doing? Just wake up from a nap?"

  "Yeah." Isaac answered.

  Victor picked him up, holding him, "What you been doing? You have fun in California?"

  "Yeah."

  "Well what'd you do there?"

  "Have lots of fun, learn to swim 'cause Darren drownded, Ben save him, an' teach us how to swim."

  "What?!" He looked up from Isaac to Crystal, "Darren almost drowned? Where were you?"

  "He snuck out of the house, climbed up on the lawn chair and went over the safety guard and fell in the pool-..."

  "Ben save him, he jumpded into the water, he swim really really fast an' he got'em, an' he breatheded in his mouth an' saved him." Isaac cut her off to report. For once, Crystal wished he didn't talk so well, but he wasn't through yet.

  "Ben gon' be my daddy - you can be Darren daddy."

  Crystal closed her eyes, she couldn't believe he said that, of all the things to say, when she opened them, Victor's eyes were shooting daggers at her, his face red as a beet. "Is that right, Ben's gonna be your daddy huh? Is that what mama told you?"

  "No, mama say you my daddy. She say Ben can't be my daddy, but he gone be." Isaac insisted, and could care less that he was telling this to his father.

  "Isaac why do you want Ben to be your daddy? I'm your daddy, didn't you miss me?"

  He made a face, puckering up his lips, hesitant and then shook his head, "Nope."

  Victor stood listening to him, his eyes went up to Crystal, "You do this on purpose? Turn my own son against me?"

  Crystal's mouth fell open, "Excuse me? How do you figure that?"

  "You keep that Ben away from my sons. You are messing around with him, aren't you?"

  "No I am not! I told you that!"

  "Then what is my son talking about?"

  "Victor, work on a better relationship with your sons, and stop blaming other people for the lack thereof."

  "If you hadn't taken them off to California, this wouldn't have happened, not to mention, almost drowning my other son!"

  Crystal stood a moment staring at him, quiet, "You see what we do Victor? This is what we do. We argue, all the time, can't you see we're both better off?"

  "Better off so you can have him, Ben?"

  "Stop blaming Ben for what's wrong with us Victor, we were broken long before he came along."

  Victor took a deep breath, his son was staring up at him with heated eyes. He realized he had to stop causing an argument with her in front of him. "I'm sorry," He said first, looking down at Isaac and then up at Crystal, "Really, I'm sorry. Let's go somewhere, I don't wanna stand here."

  "We can walk to the park if you want?" She offered.

  "Yes, please, let's." They turned and started making their way down the road, heading towards town, where a large park existed next to the library. When they arrived, Crystal put the kids down to play in the sand, and on the monkey bars, she and Victor followed them around, staying with them as they spoke soft and low.

  "The lawyer I spoke to this afternoon, says there is a good chance the judge will reverse the divorce because I hadn't signed the papers." He informed her.

  She stopped and looked at him, "Leave it alone Victor." She pleaded with him.

  "No, I'm not gonna leave it alone. I want you back. I want you home. I want my boys back home, so I can go back to being their father again. Crystal, I promise, I'll be much better this time. While you were away, I did a lot of thinking too, and - I realized how much you mean to me. How much all of you mean to me. Why do you think I got the house back, took on the extra work? Regardless of what you say, I really did do it all for you. Look at our boys Crystal, how can we be so bad together, when something so incredible as them comes from it? Don't we owe it to them, to at least try? I'm their father, no one else. I'm right here, where I plan to stay, with my wife, with my sons." He declared.

  "And Jeanine? What was that Victor?"

  "Nothing, I told you, nothing at all! That was just stupid, me being weak. I'm done with being that way, this is a new me now."

  "I don't know Victor, I just don't."

  "Well I tell you what, if I have to camp out in front of your mom's house at night, sleep in my car to prove to you I'm not going anywhere, I will."

  "Don't be ridiculous! That's not necessary! And - why are you pressuring me? When you took off, saying you needed time, I gave it to you. Now, I need it, why can't you give it to me?"

  "We've both had plenty of time, enough now, I want you back home. You don't come home, then, expect to see my car parked out front, every night, until you do."

  Crystal couldn't believe what she was hearing, he was starting to piss her off, "You know what, fine! You do that, hope it's going to be comfortable for you, because you're gonna be there a long time." She started heading back to the house.

  "Hey! Where you going?"

  "Home! Take care of your boys! Spend some time with them! Remind them that you're their father and you love them, if you can!"

  Darren and Isaac stopped playing, looking at her walk away, "Mama, where you goin'?" Isaac asked.

  "Stay here with your father baby, spend some time with him. When you get tired, he'll bring you home." She answered walking off.

  Victor stood steaming, watching her leave, and then looking d
own at his boys. They turned and looked at him. All three stared at each other, and not one of them knew what to do with each other, other than the two brothers who stood side by side.

  By the time Crystal made it back to the house, she stormed into the basement, steaming. Ben was there, in the basement, Mundo, Shawn and her mother cooking. The three men were putting the bedroom together for Mundo to move into. Sylvia looked up from the stove, "You okay?"

  Crystal stopped, wilted, "He says, he's going to park outside, and not leave until I come back home to him. He also saw a lawyer, who said, he could probably get the divorce reversed since he didn't sign it." Everyone stood still, staring.

  It was Ben's turn to get mad, it had been bad enough to see them walking into town together, he'd just turned the corner to see the back of them walking opposite of him. It had taken everything he had, to drive on to the house and leave them be, when it was the last thing he wanted to do.

  "I don't know what to do now." She admitted.

  Shawn threw down the Phillips head screw driver they were using to put the water-bed back together again. He leaned back against the door, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was either beat the daylights out of him, or ignore him. He looked up at Crystal, "You're gonna have to ignore him. Don't let him pressure you into anything. As for the divorce part, you may have to bring up his infidelity, his cheating on you to keep the judge from reversing it."

  "You mean, I have to go back to court again?" She asked tired of it all already.

  "If he takes it before the judge, yes, you're going to have to show up there and fight it if you want the divorce to stick." Shawn informed her.

  She looked at her mother, "God mama, there are days when I wish you had aborted me!"

  Chapter 283

  All those standing in attendance, couldn't believe the words that came out of Crystal's mouth. Ben stared at her, wishing he could make it all better. Wishing he could take her, the boys and the four of them, just leave, go somewhere, start anew. He knew her. Knew the person she was inside as well all the hell she must have suffered at her father's hands. Now, here she was, forced to deal with someone he saw as a jerk who didn't know when to let go. He turned away, because his hands were tied. She'd tied them. He had to leave and help Jake on the house. They'd gotten a lot done the previous night with his cousins present and their grandfather directing everyone. He'd gotten on Jake's nerves, even though he didn't say it out loud. But Bart had been forever correcting them, saying how it should be done, checking Jake when he said something, or looking over his shoulder. Even so, they'd got a great deal accomplished because he was really pushing to get as much done as possible to move in with Vivian.

  He listened as Sylvia advised that they all calm down. She also reminded Crystal and Shawn about the counselling sessions they were supposed to be attending.

  "Crystal, get on the phone right now, call that counsellor, what's his name?" She asked between Crystal and Shawn.

  "Chad Withering." Shawn answered immediately.

  "Yes, call him, find out when is the next meeting, you both need to get to it. No more putting things off, go on Crystal. And uh, no more thinking that way, okay? Abortion was not an option, I'm very proud of the fact that you stand before me now, troubled or not - you can get through this, and you will. Now on the phone."

  Crystal did as she was told, found out the next meeting was Thursday night, tomorrow. She informed her mother and Shawn of that.

  "I want you two at that meeting, and - no missing anymore, please?" She asked.

  Shawn was quiet, he nodded and turned to Crystal, who also nodded, they would be there.

  After helping put the bed together, and moving the dresser and chest of drawers back in place, Ben said his goodbyes. As luck would have it, crossing the front yard heading for his car, Victor and the boys were walking up. The moment they spotted him, Isaac took off from Victor to Ben.

  "Isaac! Get back here!" Victor yelled at him. He ignored him running up to Ben.

  "Where you goin' Ben, can I go?"

  Before Ben could answer, Victor charged forward, grabbing Isaac's shoulder by his shirt. "Don't be running off like that!" He snatched him around, pissed that he took off from him to Ben.

  "Don't snatch on him like that, he's fine, he's in the front garden." Ben protested.

  "Fuck out'ah my face, prick!" Victor grumbled low.

  "Leave Ben alone!" Isaac yelled, shrugging his father's grip off of his shirt. Darren started getting upset, and reached out for Ben.

  Victor turned them away, shoving Isaac towards the house, up the stairs and to the front door, as Ben stood burning hot. He wanted to take them from him but had to smile as Isaac gave him a hard time, trying to run from him, back his way, ditching and dodging him, twisting and turning around his hand, to keep him from gripping him, even falling to the porch and crawling away. Because Victor was holding Darren, or trying to, he couldn't get a good hold on Isaac. "Isaac, get over here now!" He ground out, growing angry. Isaac shot up and was out of his reach in record time, down the steps darting for Ben, who picked him up.

  "Little man, that's not nice putting your dad through that."

  "I wanna go wit'you Ben." He mumbled with a sad face, looking about to cry.

  "Tomorrow, okay?" Ben whispered low as Victor stood glaring at them, growing more angry by the moment from the front stairs, a distance away, "Keep that our little secret okay? I promise you, you can help me some more, like you did today. But you gotta be a good boy, okay?"

  "ISAAC!" Victor yelled, sharp.

  "Hang on dude, can you wait a minute?" Ben pleaded, trying to keep things calm with them present. "Go t'ya' dad now." Ben kissed his forehead, put him down and gave a gentle push in the right direction. Isaac took two steps and turned back watching Ben leave for his car and started crying, making Ben turn back. Victor rushed over, scooped him up from around the waist and turned back to the house, ignoring both boys crying for the other man.

  Ben stood watching Victor hold them in place before him as he knocked on the door. A moment later, Mundo opened it, bringing the boys in, speaking with Victor. "Ah'ight man, I got'em, thanks." They calmed down once they were with Mundo. With Shawn feeling what he did about Victor, Mundo wouldn't stand talking to him, he brought the boys in and tried to close the door.

  "Wait, can you tell Crystal I'm out here?"

  "Man, give her some space, chill for a bit - you need to back off a bit."

  "Tell her Mundo, tell her I'm out here, and I'm not going!"

  Mundo shook his head closing the door, replying, "Ah'ight man, ah'ight."

  Victor turned heading down the stairs to see Ben still standing in place, "Is there something I can do for you?"

  "Yeah, why don't you leave man? Give her some room to breathe." He returned.

  "So you can move in on'her? I don't think so! She's my fuckin' wife!"

  "Not anymore, shit for brains!"

  "Get the fuck out'ah my face before I finish where I left off!"

  "Here I am - come and get some - bitch!"

  "You'd love that wouldn't you! So Crystal can get mad at me, thinking I started it!"

  "Put up or shet up! Talkin' shit! You just threatened to finish it, well do it! No kids, no women, no other men, just you and I! Better yet, let's hit the woods pussy! Nobody will know; either I'll fuck you up, or you'll fuck me up! Come on!" Ben invited throwing his head in direction of the woods that lay a few steps from Sylvia's property. "Let's move our cars, they'll think we're both gone, come on." Ben walked to his.

  "Yeah, you think I'm stupid enough to fall for that? Got somebody waiting there for me?"

  Ben shook his head smiling, "Hey, I don't need any help, I fight my own battles! But you know what, I got your number, got you all figured out, you only fight when there's a crowd around to break it up. I bet you've never gone the distance in a fight, huh, pussy? That right, need an audience? Somebody to break it up?"

  "Look loser-..."

  "Loser? Y
ou're the loser, dickhead! Had a damn good woman an' lost her! Know what else? I'll be around, like bees on honey, because if I get'er - you better believe, I'm keepin' her!"

  "Victor, Ben - that's enough!" Sylvia called out. She was on her way back to Shanna's and came out of the garage to see them face to face.

  Victor turned to her, "It's not me, it's him! Inviting me for a little time in the woods, what's that all about?" Victor tipped his chin and hands up, clearly indicating Ben shouldn't be trusted.

  She walked to them, addressing them both. "I am not gonna have any more fighting out here, do I make myself clear? Ben, you going to help Jake, right?"

  "Yes ma'am." He answered, eyeing Victor wishing he'd taken him up on the trip to the woods.

  "Please, go on then."

  He reluctantly backed off, went to his car and climbed in, starting it, he drove off.

  She turned to Victor, "All that needed to be said, has been said - you need to leave Victor, this is Crystal's home-..."

  "No! Her home is with me, the house that we had, I got it back for us. That's her home. Sylvia, I've done everything I can while she's been gone to show her I want my family back. I can't believe you're letting him interfere in our business - this is not right."

  "Victor, listen to me. He - as you call him, is now my husband. He loves Crystal-..."

  "He's not her father, doesn't even know her - he's got nothing to do with us!" He cut her off to argue.

  "You have a lot of nerve saying that, when you let your mother do that very same thing!-..."