From Sinner to Saint

by Jones, Janice

  “We’ll see you then.”

  Claire felt much better about her unpleasant encounter after talking with Leonard. It was good to know she had an ally in handling this. Now she needed to talk to her man. She really wanted to see him. Claire dialed his number.

  “Hey, you,” Antonyo answered upon recognizing the phone number.

  “Can you come back over now? I need to see you. I want you to hold me and help me alleviate the stress of what happened when we were interrupted earlier.”

  Claire’s mention of the episode immediately brought images of the sexy Glendra to his mind. His body responded instantly. “I’m on the way.”

  Claire hung up the phone, smiling brightly at the thought of being with her lover in just a little while. Her love for Antonyo overflowed, making her want to spend every waking moment with him.

  Then it hit her. After she and Leonard talked with the girls and explained their new relationships, she would ask Antonyo to move into her home. Claire figured this would be the best way for the girls to get to know him and get used to him being around.

  Claire ordered pizza and salad and had already set the dining room table for dinner when Leonard arrived with Glendra and Yolanda the following evening. The family only used the dining room for special occasions and important family talks. Claire felt tonight’s discussion would be appropriate for its use.

  Claire hugged Yolanda with relative ease, happy to know that at least one of her children still loved her. She approached Glendra a little more cautiously, hoping not to get another fight started. She wrapped her arms around her daughter.

  Glendra respectfully but stiffly returned her mother’s embrace. Claire could feel the tension. She could only hope that by the end of the evening things could be rectified between her and her daughter.

  Everyone sat down at the table and all began digging into the food but Glendra.

  “Honey, have something to eat. I made sure that I ordered your favorite pizza,” Claire said.

  “I’m not hungry,” Glendra replied.

  Leonard and Claire eyed each other, both with the same thought running through their heads: This is going to be as difficult as we anticipated.

  Leonard began first while they ate. “Girls, your mother and I have gotten together to discuss something with you. Specifically, we want to talk to you regarding our personal lives.”

  Glendra rolled her eyes hard and sucked her teeth so loudly that Claire was sure the neighbors could hear her. Leonard shot her a look of warning before continuing his speech.

  “We understand that our split is hard on you two girls. We both apologize to you for that. We have simply grown apart and we no longer make each other happy. But we feel it is unfair of us to stay together just to make you two happy.”

  Claire figured she should jump in now. She didn’t want Leonard to have to do this by himself. “Both your father and I have moved on with our lives. I, in particular, have started seeing someone else seriously. Leonard and I understand that this may be difficult for you to accept right away, but we don’t think we should sneak around behind your backs and be deceitful.” Claire looked directly at Glendra when she finished talking. She was rewarded with a glare of pure contempt.

  The room fell silent for several moments, everyone stewing in their own thoughts. The only face completely readable was Glendra’s. She held so much hatred in her heart for her mother.

  Yolanda spoke first. “I don’t know if I will ever get used to seeing you with someone else, Mom, but if you’re both cool with it, then what can I say? I just don’t want to have to call anyone else Dad.”

  Glendra decided to hold her anger in check and pretend that she felt the same way as her baby sister. “Me too,” she lied.

  Leonard and Claire eyed each other again, thinking the same thought: This was not so bad after all.

  “Well, is there anything else that either of you want to say?” Claire asked.

  “I’m cool,” Yolanda stated.

  “I’ll have some pizza now,” Glendra answered.

  Chapter 12

  Antonyo jumped at Claire’s proposal to move in with her. Her offer stated that for the first six months, she would handle all the household bills while he began building himself a little nest egg. After that, he would begin paying one-third of the bills, which included the mortgage, the utilities, and the car insurance. One half seemed unfair to Claire, since her daughters were her responsibility. Besides, she made quite a bit more money than he did.

  Antonyo had no intention of ever paying Claire a dime. His plan included being gone right as the six months came to a close. As a matter of fact, he was going to try to work on getting her to pay a couple of his car notes while he stacked his cash until moving day.

  When Antonyo informed Trina of his plan to move in with Claire, he was prepared to hear a sermon about the perils of his wayward lifestyle, and he was, unfortunately, not disappointed.

  “When, Antonyo, are you going to stop with this craziness? Did you not learn anything from the last time you got involved with someone else’s wife? Do you remember how that woman tossed you out on your ear, leaving you with your pitiful self standing at my doorstep?”

  “Ma, Claire and her husband are getting a divorce,” Antonyo stated as if it really made everything A-okay. Trina’s eyes rolled so far in the top of her head, Antonyo doubted he’d see anything but the whites of them ever again.

  “So, do you plan on marrying Claire when her divorce is final? Are you going to spend the rest of your life with a woman who is twice your age and has two almost grown daughters, one of whom is only two years younger than you?”

  It was now Antonyo’s turn to show her the whites of his eyes. An actual answer was not necessary because they were both aware that marriage was nowhere in his life plan.

  “Antonyo, don’t you see this is a dead-end lifestyle? You flitting from woman to woman, leaving a string of broken hearts in your wake is not what God has purposed for your life. Each of us was created to glorify God, Antonyo. The Bible says so. One of my favorite scriptures says, ‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ You were created to be so much more, sweetheart.”

  “Ma, I appreciate your concern. I understand that you love me and you worry about me, but you do that based on your own moral compass. I’m cool with my life. I’m not dissing God or anything like that. I’m just not ready to become a monk.”

  “This woman obviously has deep feelings for you, Antonyo. How can you just use her until you’re tired of her, and then break her heart? Don’t you have any remorse for how you treat these women? Or did I actually raise you to be a complete sociopath?”

  “Ma, none of this has anything to do with you. I am an adult and I am responsible for my own actions. God may not be pleased with me, but I’m sure you and He are cool. Let me worry about the consequences of my actions.”

  “Trust me, Antonyo, there will be consequences,” LaTrina stated as she left him to his packing.

  The day before Antonyo moved in, Claire called a meeting between herself, Antonyo, and the girls. She intentionally waited until the last minute in order to give the girls no more than one night to voice their displeasure with the situation. She explained to Glendra and Yolanda that Antonyo was the new man in her life. They were in love, and he would be living with them.

  Antonyo expected a negative reaction from both girls, but to his surprise, only Yolanda became slightly irate. Glendra reacted as if she were perfectly fine with the situation, even happy that her mother had found someone to love.

  “Mom, I’m all for you having a new man, but why does this young guy have to move in here with us? I think that’s too much!” Yolanda exclaimed.

  Claire opened her mouth to rebut, but Glendra came to her mother’s rescue. “Yolanda, you are not being fair. We cannot dictate who Mom falls in love with. We need to be supportive of both our parents now. We don’t get to
make the rules and we shouldn’t complain. We should be happy that our parents are friends with each other and not dragging us through some ugly custody battle. We should also appreciate the fact that Mommy is willing to be open and honest with us about her new relationships. Both Mom and Dad deserve our cooperation.”

  Claire was stunned, but happy. She really wanted the girls to get along with Antonyo, and having Glendra’s cooperation would go a long way toward accomplishing that goal. Her daughter’s change of heart thrilled Claire immensely.

  Antonyo was shocked out of his socks. The trained schemer in him detected a set- up, though he was not quite sure yet what the beauty had in mind. Manipulation was his claim to fame, so he could smell Glendra’s brand of crap from a mile away. Game recognized game.

  Two weeks later, they were all living as one big happy family. Yolanda maintained a polite and respectable distance, but Glendra behaved as if she and Antonyo were best friends. Oftentimes she would approach the couple, prompting them to engage in board or card games. Antonyo would always decline, feigning tiredness, on which occasions Yolanda, Glendra, and Claire would play; or he would say that he just wanted to spend time alone with Claire. Because of his attraction to Glendra, he knew being around her too often, even in Claire’s presence, could prove dangerous for him.

  During the initial weeks of cohabitation, there were two occasions where Claire and Antonyo found themselves faced with conflicting schedules, leaving Antonyo with the day off while Claire was scheduled to be at work. Antonyo spent those days at his mother’s or his aunt’s until Claire came home from work; however, on the third time around, his dodge game came to an end.

  Glendra had a dentist’s appointment scheduled after school the following evening, and Leonard was supposed to take her. He called Claire to inform her that an emergency came up at work. He asked Claire to reschedule the appointment if she was unavailable to take Glendra.

  After hanging up from Leonard, Claire remembered that Antonyo had the day off, so she volunteered his services. She explained to Antonyo that it was just a routine cleaning; therefore, no parental signature would be required. He just needed to get Glendra there and back home.

  “Claire, are you sure the dentist will allow me to sign her in? I’m not a relative,” Antonyo pleaded, trying to get out of doing the favor.

  “Glendra is almost eighteen years old. She can sign herself in for a regular check-up. She just needs a ride.” Claire walked away as if the simple matter were decided.

  Antonyo didn’t want to protest too much for fear he might raise Claire’s suspicions, so he let the issue drop; but he was very uncomfortable with the whole idea of being alone with Glendra.

  Glendra had been plotting in her mind a way to get back at her mother for breaking up their family since the day her parents told them about their separation. She was standing there as the exchange went down between Antonyo and her mother. A sly smile crept upon her face as she grasped the impact of their conversation. Tomorrow would be the first time she would be able to put her plan of “operation get even” into motion.

  Antonyo saw Glendra’s smirk just as Claire turned to leave the room. Yep. This fine young woman has something up her sleeve, he thought to himself.

  “Come on, Tony. It’s just a doctor’s appointment. It’s not like Mom is asking you to take me to the prom or anything.” Glendra laughed out loud at her little joke as she followed in the direction of her mother.

  The following day, when Antonyo arrived at Glendra’s school, she and another young lady were waiting out front for him. Both girls approached the car. Glendra opened the door, letting the seat up for her friend to get in the back.

  “Tony, this is my girl, Tamara. We usually walk together, but since I’m not going home, can you drop her off at her house? She lives right around the block from us,” Glendra explained as she settled herself in the front seat, assuming the matter to be settled. Antonyo guessed she got that trait from her mother.

  Antonyo turned to look at Tamara. She was an average-looking girl, nothing special about her; quite a contrast to the beauty occupying his front seat. “Sure. I’ll drop her off,” Antonyo replied nonchalantly.

  Tamara scooted forward in her seat so she could whisper loudly in Glendra’s ear. “Girl, he is foine as fish whiskers.”

  “I told you he was,” Glendra whispered back, sending both girls into a fit of giggles. The two continued to talk amongst themselves in their secretive girl talk the remainder of the ride to Tamara’s house.

  When the car stopped in front of Tamara’s house, Glendra stepped out to allow Tamara to exit the back seat. She grabbed her friend and spoke directly into her ear. This time Antonyo could not hear a word. When they parted, the giggles started again.

  “Girl, you are crazy. Call me when you get back from the doctor’s office,” Tamara told her.

  When Glendra returned to her seat in the car, Antonyo asked, “What was the joke? I want to laugh too.”

  “It’s just silly girl talk. Nothing that you would find amusing, I’m sure,” Glendra said, and chuckled again. After several minutes of silence between the two, Glendra struck up a conversation. “Tony, can I ask you something?”

  Antonyo became slightly unnerved because he knew Glendra had some deviousness planned, but he answered affirmatively. “Sure, what is it?”

  “Do you think I’m pretty?”

  Antonyo’s inner cautionary red flag went up again. He decided to tread lightly in answering her question. “Yes. I think you are very pretty. Why?”

  “Well, there’s this guy that I’m into. I mean, he is fine as frog hair. Problem is he’s seeing someone else. I’m not necessarily trying to steal him away from her. I just want a little bit of his time for right now. What do you think I should do?”

  So, this was her little scheme. Very clever, Antonyo thought. Glendra was trying to seduce him. The idea appealed to Antonyo greatly because of his attraction to her, but he wondered how she believed they could pull it off without Claire ever finding out. It was time for him to ask a few questions of his own.

  “Well, how cool are you and the girl he’s seeing?”

  “What difference does that make?”

  “I mean, is she someone whose feelings you care about, or is she just another female to you?”

  Glendra thought about that for a moment. How did she really feel about her mother? She thought about the hurt her mother caused her and her sister when she decided to choose her young lover over their father. She thought about how selfish her mother was for splitting up their family, and she thought about her own horror the day she caught her mother and Antonyo in the bedroom together. Then she answered Antonyo carefully. “Let’s just say we’re cordial. If she found out I was kicking it with her man, she would truly be angry with me, but my plans are to keep it all on the hush-hush. She ain’t really got to know nothing, if you know what I mean.”

  He knew exactly what she meant, and her answer was like sweet music to his ears. “Well then, I think you should go for it. Just be sure you’re careful. A harmless fling can turn into a dangerous situation if things don’t go well. The best thing to do is to be very discreet. This is something you shouldn’t tell anyone, not even your best girlfriend. The more people that know about it, the more chances there are for you to get caught, and the last thing you want is to have your friends start talking behind your back. They may begin to distrust you, thinking that if you are willing to creep with one woman’s man, you might just creep with their man too.”

  Antonyo couldn’t really care less about what Glendra’s friends thought about her. He just wanted to make sure there was no chance of him getting caught.

  They completed the rest of the ride to the doctor’s office in stone silence, each of them stewing in their own thoughts of what to do and say next.

  After the appointment, on their way back home, Glendra announced, “You know what, Tony? I’m going to go for it.”

  She placed her hand on his upper thigh
and began softly massaging it, as she looked him directly in the eyes.

  From that moment forward, it was on and poppin’ for the two of them. Whenever the two of them schemed to be together, Tamara was always Glendra’s alibi, and Aunt Treecie was Antonyo’s.

  One month had passed since Glendra and Antonyo began their scandalous and unscrupulous affair. Each night, Glendra wrote in her diary, recording their tawdriness in permanent ink. The only people the two ever discussed their affair aloud with were Tamara and Aunt Treecie.

  Tamara also knew that the initial motivation behind Glendra starting the affair was revenge; however, things had taken an unexpected turn for Glendra. She found herself falling for Antonyo and getting extremely jealous of the nights he spent in her mother’s bed. She not only wanted to hurt her mother with their affair; she now wanted Antonyo all to herself.

  Claire noticed a change in her daughter’s behavior toward her over the past few weeks. Her assumption led her to believe that Glendra was once again upset about her and Antonyo’s relationship. At times when they were all together, she would catch Glendra rolling her eyes at the two of them. Claire remembered how well Glendra and Antonyo seemed to be getting along initially and how their budding friendship had thrilled her. Now she was at a loss as to what to do to make her daughter feel better. Claire decided she would try talking to her after dinner one night.

  Claire approached Glendra in the kitchen while Glendra loaded the dishwasher. Antonyo was away visiting his aunt, and Yolanda was upstairs doing homework.

  “Glendra, sweetie, are you having problems because of my relationship with Tony?” Claire asked.

  Glendra almost dropped the glass she held in her hand, totally caught off guard by her mother’s question. Before her mother approached, she stood there thinking of a way to let her mother know about her and Antonyo so she could have him all to herself; but upon hearing Claire’s voice, she realized she was not prepared to spring the news on her mother just yet.