From Sinner to Saint

by Jones, Janice

  “Perhaps you could be of assistance in that area. I have played by the rules all my life. Now it is time for me to have some fun, and I need a playmate,” she stated seductively.

  Things were going just as he planned. Antonyo could not have been more pleased. It was as if he had read this tale in a book and followed along with the storyline.

  “I would love to play with you, Regina. You are such a gorgeous woman. I want you more than any other woman I have ever known; however, you are not the type of woman I want to sneak around with in sleazy motels. You are far too classy for that. We can’t meet at my house because I stay with my aunt right now, and we definitely can’t hang out at your crib.”

  Antonyo paused to see if his statements were having the desired effect. Regina had always been a sucker for his compliments. Looking into her smoldering eyes, he could see his flattering words still held the same power, so he continued.

  “Listen, Regina. I’m not in a rush to start anything physical with you. I’m willing to wait for you as long as it takes. We can continue to hang out and spend time together, but before we talk about taking our relationship to that level, perhaps we should wait until I can save enough money to get my own place.”

  “Do you have any money saved as of yet, Tony?” she asked as she continued to caress his torso.

  “No, not yet. With me working part time and helping my aunt pay the bills around her house, I only make enough to perhaps start saving toward the initial deposit. My plan was to wait until next semester so I can drop a class. I could then find a full-time job and be able to afford the deposit, the monthly rent, utilities, food, and general upkeep. But I think you are worth the wait, Regina.”

  After about one minute of silent cuddling and mind searching, Regina came up with a solution that would expedite her desire to have a fling with Antonyo.

  “Tony, how about we find you a small studio apartment? I can pay the rent on it and help with the utilities. That way you can continue to work at the firm and stay on track in school. You can provide your own groceries and a cellular phone. Do you think you can handle that?”

  This game is getting way too easy, Antonyo thought. A lesser man would probably get the big head after assessing his own ability, but Antonyo remained humble and continued to play his role.

  You reap what you sow, Antonyo. Trina’s voice rang in his ear, but he ignored it.

  “The question is can you handle that? Won’t your husband get suspicious about the money?”

  “Trust me. It will not be a problem. John never has to know anything about this.”

  “I really appreciate this, Regina. I look forward to every moment we get to spend together.” No use pushing the game of concern too far.

  Six days later, Antonyo moved into his very first apartment. The studio unit housed a living room and small kitchen in one area, and the bedroom and bathroom in another. Regina purchased a sofa, chair, dinette, and bedroom set, completely furnishing the entire apartment. It was small, but it was his. Finally he had the place his mother always talked about, the place where he could come and go as he pleased and do whatever he wanted to do.

  For the first two weeks, Regina was the only woman Antonyo entertained at his new apartment. He hadn’t completely stopped seeing other women, though. In fact, India, Ashley, and Bianca bought him sheets, towels, dishes, utensils, groceries, etc., etc., etc. He kept the young girls at bay by explaining that he wanted the apartment to be in tiptop shape before he invited them to visit.

  Antonyo’s stalling tactic did not extend to his mother. He was, in fact, anxious for his mother to see his new place. Wanting everything in its proper place, nothing missing, he extended an invitation for her to join him for dinner. His plan also included introducing Trina to Regina, hoping to score some respect in the eyes of his biggest critic. Antonyo assumed Trina would look at him differently once she learned of his involvement with a successful, rich attorney. The existence of her husband would remain as carefully a kept secret as the details of the JFK assassination.

  When Antonyo invited Trina for dinner, he neglected to tell her that Regina would join them. He wanted the introduction of his exciting new friend to be a surprise.

  When Trina arrived, she was indeed impressed with the décor and quaintness of her son’s new apartment; however, even with his new job, she knew this was not something he accomplished all on his own. Any one, or more than likely all, of his female tribe had contributed to the acquisition of his new home. That fact diminished the accomplishment in her eyes.

  When Trina got to the apartment, Regina was in the bathroom trying to make herself presentable. She was as nervous as a virgin bride on her wedding night, concerned about how Antonyo’s mom would feel about the obvious age difference.

  Regina made her appearance just as Antonyo walked his mother to the beautifully set dinette table. Regina had picked up takeout from one of the fancy restaurants she frequented. Antonyo made the introductions while both women were still standing.

  “Ma, this is my friend, Regina Caffey. She and I work together at the law firm. Regina, this is my mother, LaTrina Simms.”

  Trina eyed Regina disdainfully. This woman looked to be nearly as old as she was. Regina could feel the uncomfortable heat from Trina’s stare. She silently prayed that the floor would open up and swallow her whole. But her trained lawyer’s demeanor allowed her to hold her face expressionless as she reached for Trina’s hand.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Simms. Tony has told me so much about you,” Regina said evenly.

  “Unfortunately, I can’t say the same. Antonyo has told me absolutely nothing about you. By the way, you can call me Trina, since you are probably closer to my age than you are my son’s.”

  Regina’s outer armor cracked just slightly. She was mildly irritated that Antonyo had never made mention of her to his mother, but more thoroughly flustered by Trina’s jab about her age. Instead of replying, however, she simply took her seat at the table and began shuffling the food around so the plates could be prepared.

  Antonyo, who sat between the two women, also became a little rattled by his mother’s comments, but he figured as soon as Trina found out about Regina’s career, she would change her sour disposition. Antonyo began talking as he made his mother a plate of food. “Mama, Regina is a junior partner at the huge law firm—”

  Trina interrupted his praise for his new girlfriend and announced, “I think we should pray before we eat.”

  Both Regina and Antonyo stopped what they were doing. Trina held out her hands for each of them to join her in prayer.

  “Heavenly Father, we come humbly before you this evening, asking you, Lord, to bless the food we are about to eat. Remove anything, Lord, that may be harmful to us, and let the meal be used to nourish us and feed our bodies, as well as our minds and spirits. This is our prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

  Regina and Antonyo murmured in unison, “Amen.”

  Just before Trina freed the hand she held during prayer, she realized Regina wore a ring on her third finger. When she released Regina’s hand, she stared blatantly at the wedding set she wore.

  Antonyo noticed the direction of his mother’s stare and immediately set out to divert her attention. “Mama, where did you attend church this past Sunday?” he asked as he continued preparing Trina’s plate.

  Trina rolled her eyes away from Regina’s hand long enough to answer her son’s question. “I started attending Trinity Star Baptist Church with a co-worker about a month ago. I joined as a member last week. I decided it was time for me to give God complete control of running my life.”

  Regina found herself impressed by Trina’s admission. Too much time had passed since she last visited her church home. In quick retrospect, she remembered that she had really enjoyed attending church when she was a faithful participant at Liberty Temple Baptist Church.

  “Oh, wow! That’s a great thing, Ms. Simms—I mean Trina. I used to attend church regularly with my parents. I even sang i
n the choir. It’s been a while since I’ve been, though. I guess I’m a little ashamed to admit that I haven’t been to church since I started at the law firm. I’ve been so busy. But you know what? I’m going to make it a point to find time to get back into service.”

  Regina smiled broadly after her declaration, feeling as though she had scored some brownie points with Antonyo’s mother. She quickly learned differently.

  “Are you planning on taking your husband with you?” Trina asked sarcastically.

  The color drained from Regina’s face and her eyes bulged a mile outside of her head. She was more humiliated than she had ever been in her entire life. How could she have been so stupid as to not remove her wedding ring?

  Antonyo was as mortified as Regina. All the bragging about Regina being an attorney wouldn’t amount to a hill of beans in his mother’s eyes now. The only thing she would see is that he had snagged himself an older adulteress to take care of him this time.

  The three of them sat there silently for several minutes, no one even bothering to play with the food on their plates, let alone eat it. The uncomfortable silence was finally broken when Regina decided that she should at least give some sort of an explanation for her predicament.

  “Trina, I’m sure you don’t approve of your son being involved with a married woman. I totally understand your feelings. But my marriage is far from being a happy one. I know that’s not a good excuse for what I’m doing, but I truly get a lot of enjoyment out of spending time with Antonyo. He is very mature, well spoken, and intelligent. He makes me laugh, and he is such a good listener. He, in a way, makes up for what I’m missing at home.”

  Regina again wrongfully assessed that commenting on Antonyo’s positive characteristics would impress upon his mother how well she felt he was raised.

  “Regina, I did not raise my son to be a gigolo, someone you can use to get your jollies when you get bored at home. That’s exactly the type of person you have just described to me. You simply left out the sexual aspect of your relationship with my son. But I’m not stupid.”

  “I don’t think of Tony like that at all Tri—” Before she could finish her sentence, Trina interrupted her.

  “Have you and your husband separated, or have either of you filed for a divorce?” Trina asked.

  “No,” Regina answered awkwardly.

  “Then what you are doing is wrong. You are cheating.”

  Antonyo felt torn between pride about the statements Regina made about his character and shame behind his mother’s interpretations of those same statements; however, he refused to be admonished or have his friend further humiliated in his home. His mother made the rules at her house, but this was his house.

  “Mama, I feel what you are saying, but this is my life. You’re trying to blame everything on Regina, and it’s not her fault. I know what I’m doing. I’m grown.”

  Trina stood from the table and gathered her things. “I’m not hungry anymore. I really don’t want to impose on any more of you and your girlfriend’s private moments. I’m sure you only get a few, since she has more than one man to juggle.”

  “Mama, wait! You’ve always said that when I got my own place, I could make my own rules. Rule number one is you have to now respect me and my friends in my house. Mama, I’m grown,” Antonyo reiterated.

  “Being grown does not automatically mean that your decisions cannot be wrong. In fact, the letters that spell grown are the same letters that spell wrong! Regina, I pray that you follow through with your decision to start attending church service again. I will also pray for both you and your husband.” Trina then walked to the door and left the house.

  “Well, that went well,” Regina said sarcastically.

  Chapter 8

  One week after the disastrous evening with his mother and Regina, Antonyo decided the time had come to host other small dinner parties for the other women in his life. Tonight his dining companion would be India. Tomorrow night, Ashley.

  Antonyo knew he had been neglecting these two ladies since the arrival of Regina in his life. He also knew it was time to start showing them some attention before they became living proof of the old adage, out of sight, out of mind. Antonyo needed the continued support of these young women, both financially and sexually.

  While he still enjoyed his “friendship” with Regina, he felt her becoming a little too clingy. Just yesterday she told him she believed she was falling in love with him—while at work, no less.

  “Tony, can you come by my office when you get a chance?” Regina had asked as he passed her in the hall on his way to the mailroom. After completing his assignment, he made his way to her office. Once inside, she locked the door and handed him a beautifully wrapped package along with a greeting card.

  “Thank you. I’ll open these after work,” he said and headed for the door.

  “No. Open them now. You can’t be seen leaving my office with presents.”

  Antonyo hadn’t thought about that. He opened the gift first and found a stunning Movado wristwatch. He immediately found himself impressed by both the style and detail of the watch and Regina’s generosity.

  “This is a great watch, Regina. Thank you so much!” he’d exclaimed as he placed the watch back in the box.

  “Okay, now open the card,” Regina demanded enthusiastically.

  Antonyo eyed her cautiously, but did as she asked.

  The card cover contained an African American couple in a very intimate embrace. The words LOVE IS LIKE A FLOWER were positioned above the picture. Antonyo was startled by the caption, and a little apprehensive about opening the card to read the inside.

  “Read it, Tony!” Regina could barely contain her excitement.

  Finally he opened the card to find these words: Ours is just budding, still growing. I look forward to seeing it in full bloom.

  Antonyo looked up from the card to see Regina wearing a smile more bright than any he had ever seen. “I saw that card and felt it expressed perfectly how I feel about you.”

  Antonyo stood in the office feeling dumbfounded. Regina was a married woman and he was dating three other women. At no time had he ever given Regina any indication that they were in a monogamous relationship.

  Antonyo looked at the card again and then back at Regina, who still held on to her brilliantly shining smile. He began to feel suffocated and needed to get out of the office.

  “Thank you,” Antonyo said in a monotone and left the office.

  He avoided Regina the rest of the day at work and ignored her phone calls while at home.

  Today was Friday, his day off, which afforded him the opportunity to dodge her again. He really did not feel like dealing with her. He was in no way, shape, or form, stupid enough to get into a monogamous relationship with a married woman, one of the many lessons he had learned from Treecie.

  “Never make a female who is married your main woman, because you can never be her main man,” his aunt had told him.

  How could Regina actually believe that they could have an exclusive relationship when she had a husband at home, one that Antonyo saw practically every day? That was totally unfair. As soon as he prepared himself to deal with her again, he would tell her exactly that.

  Tonight, however, he would concentrate solely on getting back to his usual way of doing things. Before now, he had been too involved with Regina. She would now, however, have to take her place as a co-inhabitant of his time and space, no longer the sole occupant.

  India rang the doorbell at precisely 7:45 P.M., forty-five minutes later than he told her to be there. But what did he expect? Women were always late. He opened the door to greet his guest. To his surprise, however, not only did he find India looking as beautiful as a runway model, but also Regina, who looked angry enough to be India’s mother, coming to confront the young man who had been sleeping with her underage daughter.

  “Regina, what are you doing here?” Antonyo yelled.

  “A better question would be what is she doing here?” Regina y
elled back while thrusting her thumb in India’s direction.

  “She, who would be me, was invited,” India retorted as she pointed her thumb mockingly at herself. “And since you’re the one he’s yelling at, I assume you were not.”

  Antonyo held the door open a little wider and allowed India to cross the threshold. When Regina tried to enter too, he blocked her path with his body. “Regina, you need to leave. As you can see I have company.”

  Regina took a step backward and planted a hand on her hip, sister-girl style. Then her forefinger went to pointing and her neck went to rolling simultaneously. “How dare you tell me to leave, Tony? Did you forget I’m the one who pays the rent on this place?”

  Antonyo stood with one hand on the door jamb. He pinched his nose with the fingers of his other in an effort to alleviate the frustrations building in his head. He suddenly chuckled to himself as a funny thought entered his head.

  “My mama said there would be days like this,” he said aloud. After several deep breaths, he addressed Regina. “Regina, you can’t possibly believe that I’m not going to date other females. Why in the world would I commit to seeing just you when you are involved with someone else?”

  Regina stood speechless for a moment with her arms now folded across her bosom, but the trained attorney would not remain that way for too long. “So, what are you saying, Tony? Are you asking me to leave my husband?”

  Now it was Antonyo who stared speechlessly. Where in the world did that come from? That was the last thing he wanted, but before he could give voice to his thoughts, Regina started again.

  “I love you, Tony,” she stated softly as she caressed his cheek.

  Antonyo gently rubbed the fingers that Regina held to his face for a few seconds. He then removed her hand and placed it back at her side. “Regina, I enjoy spending time with you. I really like the person that you are, but I’m not in love with you. I never let my heart get involved, because you belong to someone else. The last thing I want you to do is leave your husband.”