His Work Wife

by James, Sapphire

  Tyrone had been gone for two hours. Hell, I went to sleep as soon as he left and he still wasn’t home yet. I guess since I only ate Blue Bell, he had to travel all the way to Brenham and get it straight from the plant. Sometimes, I wondered how much I could take. Meanwhile, I had a missed called and text from Jani. It must have been urgent, so I dialed her number.

  “Hey, sissy, wassup?”

  I could hear Jani take an enormous sigh before she spoke. “Presley, I couldn’t tell you this while we were at the park because the day would have been ruined, but you need to know this.”

  “Need to know what?” I blurted.

  “Sis, the reason it took me so long to meet you in the bathroom is because I saw Ty talking to some bad-built, dusty-foot looking chick.”

  I knew it. I knew something was wrong when she found me.

  “That must have been Keisha. Wha… what did you hear?” I asked.

  “Sis, I heard him asking her where Kadeema was and why didn’t she come to the picnic. Apparently, she is upset because he told her yesterday that you were pregnant.”

  “Wow, I can’t fucking believe him! Well, now I know why he was so uneasy. He was looking for her ass and he’s probably somewhere talking to her. Especially, since he said he wanted some ice cream, but he’s been gone for almost two hours.”

  “Presley, I’m so sorry,” she apologized.

  “For what? It’s not your fault and if Mark’s ass did this shit, I would tell you, too. I’m okay, sis. But, let me go. I hear his key in the door. I’ll call you tomorrow. Love ya.”

  I didn’t say anything when Ty walked in. I wanted to see what he was going to say. I was pretty sure I already knew his excuses. He was going to play it off like he was talking to one of his homeboys or Chase’s funky ass. I couldn’t stand him either.

  “Man, I’m sorry I took so long. You know how I get caught up when I go to the store. Then Chase called me and…”

  “Do I look stupid to you?” I screamed, throwing a glass at his head, barely missing.

  “Aye, what the hell is wrong with you NOW?”

  I laughed hysterically. Tyrone talked a lot of shit, but his cowardly ass dipped down low when I threw that glass at his head. It was very hilarious.

  “Let me get straight to the point. I know you called Kadeema when you left here, especially since Keisha informed you that she was so upset about me being pregnant. Ain’t that right? What? You didn’t think I would find out? What’s wrong, you didn’t tell your bitch you still digging up in my shit EVERY chance you get?” I smirked.

  Ty looked like he’d seen a ghost. I could have sold him for a penny. It was actually hilarious because he wanted to be this major player, but he wasn’t no damn good at it! I stood there as he struggled to come up with a viable excuse, but what could he say? Even worse, he was trying to figure out how I knew this. He was never going to know that Jani overheard him talking to Keisha’s Elephant Man looking-ass!

  “Umm… what are you talking about?”

  “Well, your homegirl Keisha told me when you took the boys to the bathroom. She had been waiting for a chance to get me alone. Yeah, she wanted me to know that my being pregnant was a problem for Kadeema.”

  Immediately, he turned beet-red. Lord have mercy. I had such a difficult time controlling my laughter. His level of pissosity must have reached its limit. He was mad as hell, but he couldn’t show it. He knew if he were to overreact, there would have been hell to pay that night. Yep! I’d be damned if I were the only one walking around her mad. Fuuuuck that!

  *

  The next day, we said nothing to each other. It used to bother me when we didn’t speak to each other, but now I preferred it that way. It was better that way. Why did this have to be so hard? Love was not supposed to be this hurtful, was it? All I wanted him to do was love me and only me. I had let a lot of things go in our marriage, but now… I just didn’t know what to do.

  Before we got married, I just knew he was my soulmate. No one could tell me otherwise. Oh my God! I still remembered his proposal and our wedding. It was all so beautiful. I was so worried that Ty wouldn’t want to marry me if I agreed to live with him. Against my better judgment, we got our first apartment together. When he proposed he took me to Jared’s, he walked me over to the salesperson and asked him to show me the rings. There was one in particular that he picked up. He asked me if I liked it. I said, “Of course, how can I not? But what does the diamond look like?” See, he purchased the setting and the diamond separately. Right then, the salesman unveiled the most beautiful 2.5-carat ring. It was flawless. It looked beautiful on my hand. At that moment, I knew we would be together forever. He proposed to me right there in the store. It was unbelievable! I started planning our wedding before we could even make it to his car.

  The following week, I purchased every bridal magazine I could get my hands on. I spent all of my time searching for the perfect dress. Then, I saw it-- the beaded halter dress adorned with pearls, beads, and sequins. The train was detachable but flowed with such elegance. I knew that was my dress. I didn’t need to see anything else. I would move heaven and earth to have that dress on our special day. When I went to Al’s Bridal, it was the very first dress I saw as I entered the building. It sat up front on the mannequin… waiting just for me.

  Our wedding day was the most perfect day there ever could have been. As I made my way to where he was standing, I remember thinking, “Look at how handsome Mr. Tyrone Chambers looks. He is about to be all mine for the rest of our lives.” I was so proud and happy that day. After our nuptials, we went to the hotel room and made the most indescribable love. His touch. His gaze. His voice. His heartbeat seemed to sync perfectly with my inner vortex. No one existed in the world that night. Just him. Just me. Just us.

  I returned to reality as Darren and Tyler inquired about breakfast.

  “Mama, what we having for breakfast?” Darren asked.

  “I don’t know. What do you want?”

  “Oooh, I want pancakes,” Tyler stated.

  “No, I want bacon, eggs, and toast,” Darren countered.

  “Okay, since Tyler decided what breakfast would be last weekend, we’ll go with Darren’s request. Bacon, eggs and toast it is. Besides, I think the baby will like that.”

  The boys and I ate our breakfast and Tyrone never came out of the room.

  Chapter Ten: Tyrone

  Damn it, I was hotter than fish grease. I couldn’t wait to get to work Monday to see Keisha’s ass. I knew she was looking out for Kadeema, but she didn’t need to be trying to mess up my shit at home. She had crossed the line and I was going to have to put her ass back in her place.

  I shouldn’t have said anything to her at the picnic, but I thought I was careful. I waited until Presley and Jani went to the bathroom. Why would Keisha tell my wife about our conversation? It was cool though because that bitch was gon’ feel me as soon as I saw her Monday afternoon-- old mud-duck looking ass.

  I tried to come up with some creative shit to tell Presley, but I just couldn’t deny it this time. Presley knew it too. She stood there with her hand on her hip, waiting for me to fumble again. I hated when she did that shit. That was her way of making me feel as small as a grain of salt. It always worked! The good thing about her being pregnant was that she wasn’t going nowhere. She was having my baby. I was aware that I just needed to stop messing up, but if Presley allowed me to handle things on my own, eventually it would fizzle out.

  Chase was right. I had no damn business trying to stomp with the big dogs. I wanted to play the game, but wasn’t playing it right. A true playa would tell these women the real deal upfront just like Chase said. Every time I looked around, I was getting busted regarding my lies. If I didn’t know any better, I would think Presley was laughing at me every time she knew I was lying to her.

  Monday came and went. It was the end of my shift. I was putting the tools away and making sure everyone else did the same in preparation for the next shift. The night had dragg
ed on and I was more than ready to get the hell out of there.

  I had been attempting to call Kadeema all damn day, but she was refusing my calls. I knew she was still hurt. After all, every time she questioned me about the last time I slept with my wife, my answer would always be two weeks ago. That way, I didn’t have one more thing to remember. Kadeema didn’t need to know I was still making love to my wife. Hell, Presley and I would hit it two times a day and three times on Sundays. She and I may have some problems right now, but sex was never one of them. I reveled at the thought of her. I loved making love to my wife. It was exciting every time. I just had to have Kadeema because I was greedy and she was easy.

  Just as I removed my work gloves, Keisha walked up.

  “Heeey, Ty. Wassup? Y’all had a lot of orders tonight?” I guessed she sensed my anguish because she immediately asked, “What? What’s wrong?”

  Flashing a bitter smile in the attempt to remain calm, I cleared my throat. “Keisha, I thought we were cool…”

  “We are,” she interrupted.

  “Okay, so why would you tell my wife about our conversation at the park? You are the last person I expected to do some foul shit like that.”

  “Ty, I promise I did NOT tell your wife anything,” she cried. “You’re my boy and Kadeema is my best friend. Why would I do that? What sense would it make? I promise you, I never said two damn words to Presley.”

  “So how does she know then? She knew about everything you and I discussed verbatim. I know damn well I didn’t tell her. So again, how the hell does she know?”

  Keisha shook her head as she wiped her running nose on her sleeve. “Ty, I have no idea how she knows. Maybe someone overheard us, but I would never do that.”

  As angry as I might have been, I felt a sense of calm come over me. Yeah, Presley had told me Keisha was the one who gave her the information. But right then at that moment, I didn’t believe Keisha would do something so dirty. I was just going to have to figure this out another time.

  “Okay, Keisha, I believe you,” I grinned. “I’m sorry I jumped down your throat without talking to you first.”

  With me managing to upset Keisha, I leaned in to give her a friendly hug so that she would know we were still cool.

  “So have you spoken to her?” I asked

  She sucked her teeth as if to say, nigga, you know I spoke to her. “Yeah, I talked with her briefly. She’s still really upset about the baby.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I sighed heavily. “She won’t talk to me.”

  “Well, go over there and make her talk to you!” she demanded. “If you go over there she won’t have a choice. You have a key to her house, right?”

  Keisha was right. Why was I waiting like a damn fool for her to answer my calls? I had a key! I could go over there whenever I damn well felt like it. I normally didn’t pop up over there because of her kids, but by the time I make it over there, they would be sleep.

  It was on one-thirty in the morning. Slowly unlocking the door, I walked in and removed my work boots at the bottom of the stairwell. I flipped the light switch on so I wouldn’t catch her off guard. However, Kadeema met me at the top of the stairs.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  She was very calm, almost as if she knew I would be coming over. I bet Keisha’s ass tipped her off. Whatever the case was, I had driven an hour to get there and I wasn’t leaving.

  “Baby, I know you’re mad at me right now, but not coming to work and not answering my calls, you had me worried. I needed to know you were okay.”

  Her stare pierced through me like an arrow as she turned her back to me to walk away. Once inside of her bedroom, I noticed used Kleenex scattered on her floor. She’d been crying and it was because of me. Her eyes were bloodshot red, along with her nose. Apparently, she had been crying all weekend. My guilt consumed me. Not only was I hurting the one woman that held my heart, but I was hurting another who just wanted desperately to be loved.

  “Don’t you dare call me baby! Save that shit for Presley!” she roared. “I mean after all, she’s the one having a baby, right?”

  “I know,” I sighed, rubbing my hair. “But what do you want me to do? She’s my wife. You can’t be mad at me because I got my wife pregnant. Does it really make sense to you that my wife, whom you knew about, is now pregnant?”

  Damn! What did I say that for? Kadeema jumped out of that bed like she was about to grab a gun or something! For a brief second, I was worried. She stood in front of me with fire in her eyes. Yep, I had just fucked up. Even if I did think she was stupid for feeling some type of way, I didn’t have to tell her that. I should have just kept my damn mouth closed!

  “The hell do you mean does that make sense?! I’m upset because you’ve been swearing up and down that you no longer sleep with her! I’m upset because I’ve been fucking you for six damn months and your wife is three months pregnant! And the only reason you told me is because you feared I would see her at the picnic! Ain’t that right, Tyrone?”

  Kadeema was right. Hell, there was no need for me to tell her before now. I mean what for? I’ve been getting free ass damn near every day after work, and sometimes at work. So, I wasn’t about to mess that up. She can be mad about it, but I did the right thing.

  “Baby, WHAT do you want me to do? I’m sorry. Let me make it up to you,” I coaxed as I pulled her into my arms. She attempted to resist, but I held her tight. I knew she was probably going to be pissed for a good little while, but I knew just how to tame that ass. Even if it meant I had to lick her musty pussy for a while. I wasn’t sure if she was expecting me, but I was sure she didn’t have time to clean up and check herself like she normally did. Presley was the only one I could count on to always be clean and smelling like peaches. I didn’t know what it was about her, but my baby always smelled and tasted like candy to me. Tonight, I had to get back into Kadeema’s good graces. I licked until my jaws hurt. But her ass came multiple times and took her ass to sleep. By the time I left, everything between us was okay.

  Feeling good about my accomplishment, I smiled as I pulled into my parking spot. I hurried to the front porch only to be met with my belongings and note that read, “Since you don’t want to be here, then don’t be here! Take yo’ shit and carry yo’ ass back to where you’ve been until five in the damn morning!”

  Oh, shit! Time had gotten away from me! Damn it! I was out of line for this one. I’ve never come home this late. What was I going to do? How would I be able to spin this? Presley was mad as hell and there was absolutely nothing I would be able to tell her that would justify this. Once again, I was screwed.

  I rubbed my head and scratched my neck as I prepared to face the music. My face contorted with disbelief as I attempted to unlock the front door. My key no longer worked. Presley had gotten the locks changed on me! This situation was getting out of hand.

  “Presley!” I banged on the door. “Baby, please let me in. How you just gon’ have the locks changed and I pay the damn bills? Presley, open the damn door!”

  For a moment, there was no response. Then she stood in the window. Presley wore her fuchsia floor-length satin gown from Victoria’s secrets with the matching robe. Her hair was a little messy, but it still looked beautiful to me. She was only three months pregnant, but I could see her little pooch and it was super sexy to me. Presley was astonishing on a regular day, but this pregnancy truly made her glow. However, the stoic look on her face brought me back to reality.

  “What do you want, Ty?” she asked through her teeth.

  “Presley, how you gon’ just change the locks and not tell me? I live here, too, you know.”

  “What the hell do I need to tell you anything for? You don’t actually live here anymore. The only time you come home is to shit, shower, and shave! You can do that at Kadeema’s house! So get off my damn porch so the baby and I can get some damn rest!”

  Before I realized it, tears were flooding my face. I deserved everything I was getting. There I s
tood, begging my beautiful wife to let me into our townhouse. Not only that, I was embarrassed and I was exhausted. The night had held me captive and I was paying for it. The sun would be rising soon and although I knew I could go back to Kadeema’s, I wasn’t feeling that right now. I wanted to be with Presley and the boys. One thing was for sure, I wasn’t going anywhere. I was going to sit right by the front door until Presley let me in.

  Chapter Eleven: Chase

  “So what’s up? How is everything going? We still on track?” I inquired.

  “Yes, Chase, the plan is working just fine. But I am beginning to feel guilty about what we’re doing. I mean…”

  “What’s the damn problem?” I barked. “What you done caught feelings for this nigga? It’s cool. I figured as much. Actually, I was planning on it.”

  I had never liked Presley from the moment I met her. Her lil’ stuck up ass could see right through me. I never approved of her and Ty’s relationship because I was the one she should have been checking for. Who was she to turn me down? I approached her one night while leaving the club when I had Ty with me. I told her she looked beautiful and asked if we could go to breakfast. That lil’ bitch gave a blunt no thank you and bypassed me altogether. She strutted her sassy ass to my brother and the rest was history.

  I was so used to having the ladies swoon over me. I didn’t know how to accept rejection because I regularly pulled all the bad bitches Ty only dreamed he could get. He was nothing like me and didn’t possess any of my womanizing skills. Yet, there was something about my younger brother that kept me in competition with him.

  He and I had different taste in women, but there was just something about Presley and the way she carried herself that in intrigued me. I wanted her, but she didn’t want me and that was a huge problem for me. I devised a plan to destroy their relationship and cause Presley to come running to big daddy! Yeah, bro had no clue of how I was setting him up and I was using Kadeema to do it. I was getting hard just thinking about it when Kadeema decided to respond.