by Toya Wright
Robert was furious! He started to resent her. Initially, by being silent about the accusations, he was honoring her wishes, keeping somewhat of a peace in the home. At the same time, he felt like Lady Soul was getting a pass to say whatever she wanted about him and her petty ass was dogging him out. It also seemed like he had something to hide.
When he started talking, his wife didn’t support him defending himself. That, too, became a topic of discussion. How could a married man come forward to dispute rumors that he is an abuser and his wife not stand in the court of public opinion to show her support?
People did not feel at ease about that at all. Madison’s lack of support did not reflect badly on her, as much as it reflected badly on him. It further gave credibility to Lady Soul’s claims. What kind of wife doesn’t stand by her man in tough times? One who doesn’t believe in him. He lost respect from his friends and peers. Ultimately, that led to artists not wanting to work with him and the most feared of all…he lost his job.
Riding the wave of emotion, Robert went from furious to devastated. He wanted so badly for Madison to see this situation from his point of view. She didn’t seem to. She wanted to protect their new marriage and the career she had worked so hard for. How could Madison have known that this story would trail on this far?
In the meantime, opportunities kept coming to Madison as a result of the press digging into her past. She landed in Black Enterprise Magazine’s ‘40 Under 40’, a coveted list of young, black movers and shakers. She was being asked to do speaking engagements, for a fee of course. Her bosses also saw that she was not allowing her personal life to interfere with her winning record. The girl was 25-1. She was becoming a shark in the courtroom.
Madison didn’t think about the long term affects this could have on Robert. Unfortunately, shit just wasn’t coming together for him.
“Do you even care that my shit is all fucked up?” Robert asked Madison in anger one day.
“What kind of question is that? Of course I care.”
“You don’t seem to. All you care about is what’s going in your pocket…you making money!”
“Do you know how hard it was for me to get where I am? Do you have any scope of the sacrifices I have had to make to have even a glimmer of a chance at an illustrious career? This isn’t something that just anybody can do, Robert! I can’t even speed on the highway, without fearing it will make the 6 o’clock news. I have had to sharpen my skills and study my ass off at the expense of a personal life. I spent days with no sleep, living on coffee and peanuts just to give myself an edge over my competition. I can’t count the number of times I have been the only black face or the one person in a skirt. You can’t imagine the types of nappy headed, slave bitch jokes and discrimination that have been thrown at me. But you think I don’t care?”
“You don’t! You made that clear!”
“What do you want me to do? You want me to stop working? How are we gonna pay bills then?”
“Support me Madison! I listened to you when you had me looking like a coward…a punk ass nigga who beats women and didn’t wanna confront it! I held my peace until I couldn’t any more. I’m out here clearing my name without my wife. How credible do I look saying I don’t hit women and my own wife is never by my side?”
“This shit is embarrassing, Robert. Honestly, I don’t feel like taking off work to deal with this sess pool of shit swirling around Lady Soul’s stupid ass. I don’t understand why out of all the guys she’s been with, you are the one who gets all the negativity.”
“Fuck this,” he mumbled under his breath walking away.
“What?” Madison scrunched up her face and cocked her head to the side. She knew his slick ass comment was directed towards her.
“I said,” he cleared his throat to make sure she heard him, being a complete asshole. “Fuck…this! I was honoring your wishes to keep peace in the home, you didn’t do the same. Now, what peace do we have? Yes we are married, but if you and I don’t make it, this is still my life. And the lives of my kids. I am the one who has to live with this Lady Soul bullshit. Not you! You seem to have forgotten that. My whole livelihood has been caught up in her dumb ass fantasy world. A nigga lost his job, friends, all streams of making money. I was in high school the last time I was broke. That was 20 years ago!”
“Sue the bastards,” his wife suggested.
“Huh?”
“Sue them. Sue Lady Soul and sue the publisher of the book allowing her to defame you like that. I have a few friends in entertainment law who will put the wheels in motion. Monica! She does entertainment law! Let me make a call.” Finally somewhat happy with a resolution, Robert got the ball rolling to place a lawsuit on those involved. This would shut Lady Soul up, compensate him for the loss of past and future earnings and show effort to clear his name.
Suing them still did not make up for the fact that his wife did not have his back. He felt like if anybody was going to jump at defending him, it would be his wife who earned a living defending the law. She was a pro at it!
Their situation went from bad to worse. By the time the lawsuit was filed, the situation had dragged on for nearly two years. The owners of the book publishing company were so heavily connected in the music industry, Robert was completely blackballed. No one would work with him, no one wanted to hear his side of anything.
At one point, she found Robert crying on the back patio, sitting by the pool. Not the sobbing, snot-running cry, but the emotion was so much that tears streamed down this face. He was so overwhelmed, he truly felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. She sat down to comfort him and he flinched. He looked at her and slid away from her. She slid over to where he was. He stood up and looked down at her.
“You know, Madison, you never asked me if I did it.”
“So…what does that have to do with anything?” She answered. Being a lawyer, she knew exactly where he was headed with it.
“You didn’t ask if I had abused her because you never had the intention of defending me or supporting me or going to bat for me.” With that said, he walked back in the house.
Madison felt some kind of way about him blaming her for how it unfolded. She pushed back. In actuality, they were pushing away from each other. Madison was spending more time with her friends and Robert was out of the house half of the time. If he was home, he was not anywhere near her. They were both losing sleep over the state of their relationship. There was little to no communication. In truth, they were spending more time talking to themselves than to each other.
Madison was now the sole breadwinner and she was holding it down financially. She never thought she would have to help a man get back on his feet. Robert could not get a job, he could not be himself, he had no peace, all because of how selfish she was for never making a public appearance to stand beside him. When the pastor said, “For better or worse,” neither of them was expecting this. Madison was not prepared for how bad the feelings associated with ‘for worse’ could be.
They sunk to their lowest low. They barely saw each other and hardly spoke to each other because an argument broke out, literally, within minutes. They could be talking about the weather and it would end up about Lady Soul. That is not the way either of them wanted to be. They were both hurting.
Madison was in the process of losing a husband because of her unwillingness to compromise and realize that she was not in the relationship alone. She now made more money than him and put her career before him and his well-being, not seeing that it was hurting them as a couple.
Madison was not willing to listen to what he had to say. She heard him, but she wasn’t really listening. She was unsupportive, even when all he asked for was her presence. Robert should have had more input in the situation because although they were married, Lady Soul’s accusations affected him more. His vote should have been the deciding one. Instead, Madison was hell bent on having things her way. She was selfish. She should have given her opinion, but let him handle it the way he saw fit.
Robert moved out. He told her he felt stifled and needed to find himself. The energy between them was so bad, he couldn’t do that with her around. Madison got scared, thinking, Am I about to lose my husband for real? She didn’t want him to leave, but there was no changing his mind. She really didn’t try to. At the point when she saw him packing bags to leave, her pride and her heart were damaged.
Robert began acting out, seeking attention. Since he was in such a bad place with his wife, he acted out on social media. He posted pictures of crazy shit, telling Madison he was concentrating on a hobby. From the looks of things, he was getting into other women moreso than a hobby or finding himself. She didn’t feel that married couples should separate. Her mind grew wild with dark, twisted fantasies of what he could be doing with other girls when she was not around. Seeing him have freedom made her feel even more selfish than before.
While he was out soul searching, she had to think about whether or not she wanted to even be with him. When she wrote out a list, the pros outweighed the cons. She had to realize that in his life, he was the star and his light had become drastically diminished in her shadow. He would have been ok with that if she had allowed him to shine in the home which she didn’t allow him to do. Rather than let him be a man, she questioned every choice he made, every decision he believed in.
Through it all, they have opted to go to counseling. Giving up is easy, fighting for your marriage to make it through those ‘for worse’ moments is when you see what you are both really made of and if it will last.
KENNEDI
that night after getting back to our villa, Kennedi suggested that we chillax by the pool. I must admit, we were a cute group of chicks. All my Divas had fresh manicures going on, no dry, cracked feet. Me and Paris trotted down to the beach, I wanted to check out that big ass hammock just feet from the water.
We saw a white lady with cornrows and beads on the end, you know, the kind tourists get when they travel to the Caribbean. She immediately approached us, smiling a mile wide.
“Hey ladies!” her accent was a strong, English one. I guess she could tell by our reaction that we were somewhat stunned by it. “Yah, I know, I know. The locals have been laughing at me, it’s ok.” We couldn’t help laughing either.
“We were just…” Paris started, but couldn’t finish.
“We weren’t expecting it,” I said.
“Yah,” she laughed. “The name’s Daphne. I’m staying in the next villa. Well, actually, me and my crew.”
“We are on a girls’ trip too!” Paris chimed in. I looked at her with the sly stank face and my eyes grew slightly wider, like Bitch, we don’t know her. This could be a setup. You always have to keep your guard up!
“We’ll be making a ton a noise. I wanted to invite you ladies to our bon fire. I have my children, husband and about 30 other people with me. We rented all of the other villas on this property, and we’re a rowdy bunch!” There were only four villas total. I knew how much we paid for ours, so I was quickly doing the math. “It’s gonna be fun. Go get your girls!”
“I’ll ask if they want to come,” I began.
“Let me go introduce myself.” Daphne blasted past us up the trail with Paris and I in tow. She introduced herself to everyone and their faces were crazy! Like, where did y’all get this white lady from? It seemed innocent enough. We grabbed our shoes and walked down to the bon fire. Most of her crew was just as friendly as she was. They were really into having a good time.
We lit a fire, the men set up a few logs. Daphne’s kids were in their late teens to early 20’s. They had a speaker port for the iPhone and played music. Granted, we didn’t know most of the songs, but when they asked where we were from and we said Atlanta, they turned up for us. They were taking pics with Sade. They recognized her as more of a personality than an actress.
It was so amazing! We made s’mores, drank wine and nibbled on fruit. It was just good, wholesome fun. In my head, I’m thinking, this is kinda cute or whatever. I still wasn’t ready to let loose. I could tell British wasn’t either. It was something we hadn’t really experienced before. For some reason, it was hard to trust how welcoming these strangers were.
Then the food came out from one of their villas. Their chefs hauled a tub full of hot dogs and sausages out to the shore. They set up a little table for the food and condiments. Paris danced on this sexy guy with blonde hair, we found out later his name was Adler. Curls dangled just past his shoulders. When he swept it up in one of those effortless buns, he blew us all away. He was gorgeous. I was instantly glad that she had her own room, just in case he ended up back there. Paris was a little chunky, but Adler was hugging all of her curves.
It was actually just the kind of no fuss atmosphere we needed. By the time our new English friends got the clambake going, me and all my Divas had let loose. We were singing, drinking, dancing, drinking, eating and drinking.
In the distance coming down one of the trails, we could see candles. Daphne’s kids brought out trays with mini cupcakes on them. Each cupcake had a number one candle on it, they were singing and we joined right in.
“Awwww!!” Daphne was in tears before the cupcakes made it to her. She kissed her children and her husband. “You guys mean so much to me. I love you all for making this trip across the pond with me. A year ago today, I didn’t think I was going to live. I was in a horrible accident and almost lost my life. Lying there in the hospital bed I had nothing but time to think about my life and talk to the Lord. I thought about my wonderful husband, George, whose face was the first one I saw when I woke up from my coma, and our four children who we have raised over the last 25 years.”
“I thought to myself, that I was by no means ready to die. But if the Lord saw fit to take me, I had already experienced more love and laughter than most people even dream. There were still things I wanted to do, goals I had to set aside to raise our kids. One of those goals was to finish college. I dropped out when I got pregnant with Margo and never went back. So, today, I announce to everyone, that I have enrolled in university to begin in the fall!” Daphne gave a fist pump and the crowd cheered. We cheered her on as well.
“I’m so excited! Me and George have made a pact that this is the first of our annual trips. Each year, we are going to a new place we have never been before. My dream is to travel and see the world! And eat lots and lots of food!” We all laughed. “To all of you here, whatever your heart desires, do it! Don’t give up on anything! On love…on laughter…on your dreams…You never know when the time will come that you are no longer able to. I’m going to find a reason to smile, even on my worst days because that is one more day I almost didn’t have.”
“Daphne, you’re so longwinded, the candles blew out, Dear,” her husband said. Everybody laughed. The music came back on and we got back to it!
Daphne’s husband grabbed Kennedi’s hand and danced with her. He recognized her from the posters his oldest son used to put on the walls in his room. Daphne’s crew went crazy when they first saw Kennedi. They took pictures with her and even played some of her songs.
Kennedi kept thinking about Daphne saying not giving up on your dreams. It was as if Daphne was speaking directly to Kennedi. Dancing barefoot in the sand under the moonlight, Kennedi was thinking about her future, about feeling fulfilled. Through the years she has struggled to maintain an identity, let me tell you about it.
Kennedi, the beautiful Kennedi, looked like an angel and sounded like one, too. Her ass is so damn talented and honey that caramel skin is flawless. Unlike British who sought after men in the music industry, Kennedi was a money maker. She performed at talent shows for years until the right person with the right connections heard her and was able to get her in front of record label execs.
The label agreed and put her out as their premier female solo act. When it was all said and done, the kid was a hit. Throughout the 90’s, Kennedi burned up the charts. She easily had almost two dozen top ten hits, was featured on TV shows, and even a movie or two. A
ll the teenage girls wanted to be Kennedi. The influence she had on the country was amazing. Hell, I even wanted to be like Kennedi at one point.
Her energy was infectious, which is what people liked about her. To meet Kennedi was to love her. Life as a musician was hard, especially back in the day traveling from city to city, spending very little if at any time at home with family. She began to seek other opportunities. It was on one of those acting gigs that she met Ty Woodley. Before I go any further, let me just say, Ty is one of the finest men you will ever come across. Ever! He was the 1990’s type of fine, light-skinned, dark brown curly hair with hints of natural blonde, slender build with hazel eyes.
They met on a set, really casual. Their interaction was cool, but Kennedi was more concerned with learning her lines than trying to mack some little, wanna-be, film director. A few years later, homeboy had cut off that curly carrot top and sported a 3 p.m. shadow. The definition he gained in those muscles only helped his case. This time when they ran into each other at a music awards show, she was ready to listen to anything he had to say.
During that time, he was busy adding to his portfolio. He was able to successfully produce and direct films in virtually every genre. His style was not cookie cutter or predictable. You could not see one of his movies and think, This is a Ty Woodley film. The women swooned over him and his cast mates loved his take charge attitude, which won him popularity in Hollywood. Ty slowly crept over into the white side of directing.
“How’s my beautiful girl?” He always greeted her that way, or called her his angel. He hugged and kissed her, making her really feel loved. Her heart always jumped when she saw him. Their relationship flourished. Kennedi wanted to stay in music after dabbling in a few other things; she learned that music truly was her passion.