Another Shot At Love

by Roy, Niecey

  Lexie frowned. “He better not be cheating on her. He’s in the wedding party.”

  I took Lexie by the shoulders and gave her a firm shake. “Lexie, quit being such a shit! He better not be cheating on her because he’s her husband and she’s pregnant with his baby—your wedding has nothing to do with this.”

  “Well duh, that too. I’m just saying. I’ve already made the seating chart and name tags, remember?”

  How could I forget? Everything was about that damn seating chart. “I realize Jeremy’s snotty family has turned you into bridezilla, but you need to cut the crap and forget about your stupid wedding for just this once so we can help her figure this out. Do you think you can do that?”

  Lexie’s face fell. “I know, I’m sorry. I’m just really stressed out right now. But it’s not important.” She straightened her shoulders and said, “I know what we’re going to do.”

  “You do?”

  She swept aside the curtain and planted her feet in front of her Catherine, hands on her hips. Catherine looked up and blinked tear-stained eyes. “Get your stuff, Cat. We’re going to Tony’s work and we’re going to confront him about this. Tony can’t lie to all of us.”

  Catherine opened and closed her mouth a few times before whispering, “Okay?”

  “No, not okay,” I cut in and pushed Lexie aside. “We can’t just barge into the precinct and demand he tell us whether he’s cheating on Cat or not!”

  Lexie glared at me. “Why the hell not? He should be held accountable for what he’s doing to our sister! Look at her!”

  We both turned to Catherine who held her snotted up cardigan in pale, trembling hands. Still, it wasn’t a good idea to step on cop turf and start a domestic war. We could get maced or something. Or worse, thrown in the pokey. And who would bail us out? Mom would be so furious she’d probably leave us all in jail, except for Cat because she was pregnant. But she’d hold Lexie and me accountable.

  I shook my head. “We can’t go to his work. We’ll just—”

  “Spy on him,” Catherine said, a little bit of life in her words.

  I cocked my head and exchanged a glance with Lexie. “I’m listening.”

  Catherine shimmied to the edge of the bench and used her hands to try and push herself up. Lexie and I reached down to grab and each grabbed an arm to haul her to her feet.

  “I overheard part of his conversation with the woman he’s screwing. Tonight they’re going to some bar on the other side of town called Wild Wingz & Wild Women. She’s probably a prostitute.” Catherine looked down at her swollen belly. “He’s just not the man I thought I married.”

  My shoulders fell and I reached out to pull Catherine into an awkward hug over her belly. “Oh, Sweetie, of course he is. You’ll see. Tony loves you.”

  It sounded right out loud, I’d never doubted it before, but the raw pain on Catherine’s face was hard to ignore. She pulled away from me and reached for her purse hanging up on a peg on the dressing room wall.

  “We’ll see,” Catherine said and stormed out of the dressing room. We followed quickly after her through the shop, curious eyes watching us as we passed.

  The instant one-eighty in my sister worried me. “Cat—”

  “I looked that bar up on the internet; it’s a dive. Looks like a biker bar. We can’t go alone. Call Matt,” Catherine said.

  “I can’t. He’s out helping his dad and brother on the farm today.”

  Catherine stopped abruptly and I ran into her. She caught me by the arms and looked me in the eye. “We need a guy.”

  “Should I call Jeremy?”

  “No!” Catherine and I both said, and Lexie slowed.

  “Why not?” she demanded with narrowed eyes.

  “For one thing, Jeremy can’t keep a secret. And he’ll stick out in a bar like that in his polo.” I hurried in front of Catherine to open one of the double glass doors.

  “We don’t need him blowing our cover.” Catherine gave Lexie a pointed stare. “I also don’t need Jeremy calling Tony and tipping him off that I’m on to him. You know how Jeremy is.”

  Lexie didn’t argue—Jeremy was Mr. Fix It lately; him giving Brent my number was an example of that. She turned to wave at a girl behind the counter. “Michelle, I’m leaving for a few hours to…run an errand. If I’m not back by closing time, just lock up and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Sure thing, Lex,” Michelle said with a smile and went back to ringing out a customer.

  Catherine stormed out the door. With her back turned, I dared a glance at Lexie and mouthed, “Oh. My. God.”

  This was bad. Really, really, bad. I took Catherine’s keys and nudged her around to the passenger side of the blue van she and Tony had just purchased for their new family. It was like a bad dream and Catherine was lost in it. There was no way I could let her drive in the state she was in. I waited until she was settled in the passenger seat, and then I shut the door while Lexie got into the back of the van. I hurried around to the driver’s side and jumped in.

  Buckling my seatbelt, I got an idea…

  “I know who to call.” Scrolling through my cell phone contacts, I grinned. I punched the call button and waited. On the second ring, he picked up. “Hey, Richard, do you have any plans in the next half hour? My sisters and I need you…and you have to wear your biker gear.”

  We were camped out down the street from Catherine’s house in a big-ass black Suburban Richard had borrowed from his parents. He sat in the front seat, a ball of nervous and excited energy, decked out in his biker gear. I wasn’t sure how he was able to sit in those skin tight stonewashed jeans of his. Under the black vest he wore a black t-shirt instead of the nipple-showing white one he’d worn a few weeks ago. He still didn’t look like any serious biker I’d ever seen, but at least he was male and the chain on his wallet looked serious.

  “Kind of feels like that game, Special Ops Elite.” Richard pulled out a black canvas case with a zip top.

  “You didn’t bring a weapon, did you?” I sat in the passenger seat beside him, a wary eye on the black case in his hands.

  “You think I should have?”

  “Oh, my God,” Lexie breathed. Both Catherine and Lexie had been stunned silent when we pulled up to Richard’s house and he rushed out in his biker outfit. Now they knew what I’d felt like when he showed up at my desk in it.

  I shook my head. “Uh, no. No weapons. This is strictly a recon mission.”

  “Right,” Richard said and unzipped the case. He pulled out a pair of binoculars. “Figured we might need these since we’re undercover.”

  None of us would blend in at a biker bar. Not Lexie, dressed in a black pen skirt and suit top, not Catherine in her black leggings and maroon maternity shirt. My band shirt and ankle boots might have blended in with the crowd at the bar we were going to if not for the company I’d be showing up with. So, naturally, I was worried about this ill-thought-out mission.

  “Great idea,” I said. Maybe Catherine would let us do all the spying outside with the binoculars. A girl had to hope, right?

  Our eyes were glued to the front of Catherine and Tony’s tan ranch-style house. Catherine was on edge and I had a feeling she might explode at the slightest provocation.

  When Lexie’s phone rang, we all jerked in our seats and gazed at each other like mice caught in a trap. My heart raced wildly in my chest.

  “Turn that thing off! You’re going to ruin everything!” Catherine screeched.

  Digging in her purse for her phone, Lexie said, “Cat, Tony’s a detective, not a super villain with super hearing.”

  Catherine’s answer was a glare.

  Lexie pulled her phone out, looked at the display then silenced the call. “What’s taking him so long to leave? I thought this date of his was supposed to happen ten minutes ago.”

  “I have no idea,” Catherine said and checked her wristwatch. “He was supposed to have left already.”

  “Don’t you think four o’clock in the afternoon is
a weird time of day to go on a date?” I asked.

  “Not if you want to beat the evening supper rush,” Richard chimed in.

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” I said into the silence. “I don’t think Tony would cheat on you.”

  Catherine’s stony silence was enough to shut me up.

  At four-fifteen a tan four-door jalopy of a car approached from the opposite direction and we all sat up tall. I watched breathlessly as the vehicle swung into Catherine’s driveway.

  There’d been moments since the time we’d left the bridal boutique to the time we’d pulled up on Catherine’s street when I’d seriously asked myself if Tony was capable of cheating on Catherine. Every which way I looked at the scenario, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. And now, I really doubted he was cheating. My brother-in-law was a gentleman, as old school as it got. It wouldn’t matter if he were cheating or married, he’d never let his date pick him up. He’d do the picking-up, the driving, hold the door open and pay for the meal. That was how he’d been raised.

  Richard had the binoculars to his eyes. “Thick build, pretty face, dark brown hair in a pony tail—”

  “Give me that,” Catherine said and ripped them from his face. She leaned between the front seats and held the binoculars to her eyes. “Son of a bitch.”

  “Who is it?” I asked, squinting, though I knew it wouldn’t make my vision any better.

  “I’ve never see her before.”

  “I can’t believe it,” Lexie said and I looked back at her. She placed a hand on Catherine’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry, Catherine. Let’s just go now.”

  “Hell no. We’re going to that bar.” She smacked Richard in the back of the head. “She’s not pretty. She’s a dog. A slutty, ugly dog.”

  Richard rubbed his head. “Sorry. I didn’t really get a good look at her face, I was just getting into the role.”

  “The role?” Lexie asked.

  I cleared my throat. “Uh, Richard is part of a role-play club. They like to…reenact video games and comic books.”

  Lexie pinched her lips together, but Catherine didn’t look amused. She flicked Richard in the back of the head. “Richard, this is not a game. We are in this for real.”

  She put the binoculars back to her eyes when Tony rushed out of the front door. He went straight to the car and got into the passenger seat. I watched Catherine, not the car. I worried this would be the moment she might burst. I was pretty sure she was past tears, but I worried she might have a nervous breakdown instead. One that involved lots of swear words and breaking stuff that wasn’t hers. The tension inside the Suburban was so thick, I thought I might choke on it.

  “You sure you want to follow him, Cat?” I asked.

  She thrust the binoculars at me. “You’re damn right, I want to follow him.”

  The car backed out of the driveway and drove in the opposite direction. Richard started the car and began to pull away from the curb, and Catherine said, “Jesus, you drive like a grandma. Get going or we’ll lose him!”

  “All right, then,” Richard breathed and floored it.

  I reached out and grabbed hold of the dash with both hands and planted my foot against the glove box. “Holy shit, Richard, slow down.”

  “Do not slow down,” Catherine said.

  He didn’t slow down, not with Catherine barking orders in his ear. I held on for dear life. Catherine and Richard seemed to be the only ones who seemed not to mind the way the Suburban careened through traffic.

  “Oh, God,” I said and practiced deep breathing. “I don’t want to die.”

  “I’ve been preparing for this all my life,” Richard said and the strange calm in his voice made me look over at him. His hands were perfectly placed on the wheel at two and ten, his eyes were focused and his facial expression was blank of the fear that was probably plastered on mine, that was certainly plastered on Lexie’s face. I had a brand new respect for my new friend. In control like this, utterly calm in the face of death by motor vehicular accident, he was a completely different man. Like a macho one. Who knew?

  “I think we’re supposed to keep some distance between us, aren’t we? Like on the movies,” Lexie said, her voice strained.

  “He’s not slowing down,” Catherine said, and no one argued.

  The speed was a little nerve-wracking, especially this close to the windshield. The whole thing felt very James Bond. Something like this was much more exhilarating in the movies. In real life, it just made me remember that I had a weak bladder.

  I took a card from Mom and crossed myself. Twice.

  Thankfully, when we caught sight of the tan car with Tony inside of it, Richard slowed and we continued on at the speed limit.

  The old warehouse district was on the East side and had been built back in the 1920s. Back then that side of town had generated a lot of money in textiles. Now, the old buildings had either been abandoned or converted into small apartment units, bars, and wheel and tire shops. I’d heard there were lots of gang fights and drug busts in that area.

  “Why would Tony take a date over to this side of town?” I raised the binoculars to my eyes and watched Tony turn his head to the woman, as if he were listening intently to something she had to say. “Seems like a shitty place to take a date.”

  “Maybe he didn’t want to be seen,” Lexie suggested.

  If he was cheating and this was a date, it made sense. “I guess no one we know would ever go to that side of town.”

  “I’m going to kick her skanky ass.”

  I winced at Catherine’s hostile words. “Uh, I don’t think you can kick anything right now. We’re just on recon, remember?”

  The car parked in a graveled parking lot across from the dive bar with a big hand-painted black and white sign on the front that said Wild Wingz & Wild Women.

  “Is this a strip joint?” Lexie asked. There were hand-painted murals of women wrapped around stripper poles on the side of the building.

  “She’s obviously a tramp,” Catherine said through gnashed teeth.

  Richard pulled the Suburban to the curb on the side street beside the bar and I had a clear view of the parking lot. Tony got out of the Buick and joined the woman now standing in front of the car. They talked briefly before Tony nodded and they crossed the street. They disappeared from view and I assumed they’d gone inside the bar for their romantic date—at a strip club. Was I the only one who saw the improbability of the situation? Judging by the motorcycles lining the front of the bar and the rough exterior, I doubted there’d be much candlelight inside.

  “So now what?” Richard made the mistake of asking.

  “What do you mean? We follow him.” Catherine pushed open the side door and scooted out of her seat.

  “Right,” I said. Of course she would make us go inside. She was in it to win it. And I was the only one who seemed concerned about our safety.

  Richard took the keys out of the ignition. “We might as well park here if we want to stay incognito.”

  Like we would be incognito inside. “This is a really bad idea. Bad.”

  The Suburban stuck out like a sore thumb, brand new and shiny. Even parked on the side of the bar, it was out of place. All around were jalopies and choppers, Harleys and gang-tagged vans.

  “Richard, your mom is never going to let you hang out with us if her vehicle gets spray painted.”

  He swallowed visibly and his face contorted with worry. “I, uh, think it’ll be fine. This won’t take long…right?”

  But Catherine the Captain was out of the vehicle already, impatiently waiting on the sidewalk for her minions. Lexie didn’t budge, which made me feel a little better because at least she seemed as anxious as I was.

  “Let’s go!” Catherine roared and we all jumped out. Richard moved a little slower than the rest of us—his jeans were tighter than Lexie’s pencil skirt.

  Lexie sent me an apprehensive glance as we crossed the street, but with Catherine’s mouth pressed closed in irritation and her
brows drawn low, not moving our asses wasn’t an option.

  “Everyone is going to stare at us,” I said to no one in particular, hoping someone would chime in and support the fact I was chickening out, big time.

  “We’ll be fine. I’m sure lots of people eat here,” Catherine said and started to cross the street.

  “Lots of guys with one dollar bills, maybe.”

  “Don’t you dare wimp out on me now,” she warned.

  I hurried after her—for a pregnant lady, she sure could move. I felt a tug on my t-shirt and glanced over at Lexie. “I don’t think Tony is cheating on her. This is weird.”

  “Me neither,” I whispered back. “Stay close to me.”

  “I’ve been working out,” Richard said and I looked at his arms. They were still scrawny, but apparently his black eye, compliments of Britney’s ex-boyfriend, had emboldened his ego.

  We rounded the corner to the front of the bar and I tugged on the back of Catherine’s shirt to stop her before she marched inside. She turned in a whirl of belly and crazed blue eyes, but I didn’t back down. I gripped her shoulders and gave her the stern stare she’d been giving me for as long as I could remember.

  “Okay, Cat, now you listen to me. We go in and play it cool. No confronting anyone until we know what’s going on. Okay?”

  “How about I go in and scout the place out,” Richard suggested and puffed his chest out. “You got a better picture of the target? I didn’t get a good look when he was in the car.”

  I took out my cell phone and searched my pictures until I found one of Catherine and Tony, smiling like the happy couple we all thought they were. I showed it to Richard. “If you find him come straight out.”

  Catherine set her jaw and stared over my shoulder at the bar’s wall. “Fine, I guess that sounds like a good idea.”

  “Of course it sounds like a good idea.” I pulled her in for a hug. “This isn’t what you think. I promise you, Cat.”

  “You ladies going to be okay without me?” Richard asked.

  “Yeah, I think we’ll be fine,” Lexie said, but her eyes were darting up and down the street. It was daylight, the sun high in the sky. I doubted a drive-by shooting would happen at this time of day, or a drug-deal-gone-wrong, but I also didn’t spend any time in this part of town, so I had no idea what might happen while we hung out on the sidewalk.