The butler set a plate stacked with chocolate chip pancakes in front of me with a dish of sweet butter and a creamer cup filled with cinnamon honey syrup. As I smeared the melting butter on the steaming pancakes, he came back with a glass of chocolate milk. My comfort breakfast.
“Are you ready to tell me why you’re here?” Mom asked. “Not that I care, mind you. I love having you around.”
“I know, Mom, and thanks for this,” I said, pointing my fork at the pancakes.
“Did you and Melinda have a fight?” she asked, not letting it go.
“Sort of, I caught her with another woman,” I replied, with tears glinting off of my eyelashes. I thought I had cried it all out last night, as puffy as my eyes were.
“Oh, no. Are you sure? I mean, could it have been something else?”
“Mom, her face was buried between two fat tits. Yes, I’m sure.”
My mother blushed, which I guess is why I said it so bluntly. I wanted her to drop the subject, as naïve as that thinking was.
“So, are you going to tell me about it, or keep it bottled up inside until you hate her?”
“That last option sounds pretty good,” I jested sardonically.
“Really? Well, you’ll need a good divorce lawyer then.”
“Divorce?” God, no! “I just married her. I’m not ready to give up on her yet. I love her, I’m just not sure I can trust her anymore.”
“Okay. I understand that you’re angry with her, and deservedly so. And now you understand that you’re willing to fight for her, so what’s your plan?”
I pushed my plate away, too distraught to eat now. “I haven’t thought that far ahead. Damn it, Mother, I just walked in on her and the other woman yesterday. How can I possibly know what to do about that other than cry?”
“Crying is good, for a while, honey. But that only goes so far until you harden your heart, move in here permanently and grow fat on those pancakes.” She inhaled slowly and let it out quickly. “I made a lot of mistakes when you were young. I blame myself for your drinking. It was my duty as your mother to protect you, and I didn’t do it then, but I’m going to from now on. Whatever you decide to do about Melinda, I will support you one hundred percent. I just ask that you are absolutely sure, before you make the second biggest decision of your life.”
“What was my first big decision?” I asked.
“Getting married. Do you remember what Norma said to you on your wedding day? She said that marriage is about love, trust, and understanding. Those were the same vows your father and I exchanged on our wedding day. Did you get caught up in the Supreme Court ruling celebration? Is that why you married Melinda?”
“No. Ever since we proposed to each other I’ve been thinking of our wedding day. I never had a doubt that she was who I wanted, warts and all, both hers and mine.”
“So now I guess it’s time to remove the warts?” Mom asked.
“Maybe not. I spoke with Meg last night. She was flying down to San Francisco to investigate what happen. She said that Melinda thinks someone roofied her, and challenged Meg to find out why and prove her innocent.”
“Does Meg think she’s innocent?”
I shook my head. “Meg would be the last person to believe Melinda’s innocence. She’s always thought that Melinda was a malicious bitch who was just toying with me. She took the challenge to prove that theory.”
“And are you happy or mad about that?”
“I’m happy about it, because regardless of what Meg thinks of Melinda, I know she’ll be professional and get to the bottom of it, presenting the facts whether they’re good or bad.”
“I also believe that. Meg was completely professional when we hired her to look after you, and I don’t believe she will ever stopped looking out for you. At least I hope she doesn’t. But we trusted her and she gave it to us straight. Even though it broke our hearts sometimes, especially when you woke up in that back alley. I cried for a week.”
“Oh, Mom,” I whimpered. “I’m so sorry to have put you through that.” Too many emotions were swirling in my heart. I felt as if I were drowning in a sea of them.
“I know you are, honey. And I’m sorry that I let you get in that shape in the first place. But we found each other again, and I know you and Melinda will, too. Give her a chance to prove her innocence, Chris. Don’t stop trusting her yet, not until Meg tells you what she found.”
“All right, Mom. I’ll make my decision after I hear back from Meg,” I promised.
“Well, if Melinda is innocent, then you won’t have a decision to make, will you?” Mom asked.
I laughed. “No, I guess I won’t, and I won’t be sorry about that either.”
“Well, then, eat your breakfast,” Mom ordered. “You’re going to need your strength for the joyful reunion.”
“From your lips to God’s ears, Mom.”
I had ran home to my mommy because my life was over. But after talking with Meg, who advised me to run as far away from Melinda as possible, even as she told me that Melinda insisted she was innocent of any wrong doing, I had a feeling, like a tiny bud pushing its way up through the ashes of a burnt forest bed, that Melinda was blameless. My mother was right. If I loved and trusted Melinda, I shouldn’t judge her yet, no matter how much it hurt seeing her with that slut.
I Threw a Pity Party and No One Came — Melinda Blackstone-Livingston
Until I met Chris, I knew that my life was missing something, I just didn’t know what. Then, by chance, I stopped for breakfast at a greasy spoon and met the woman of my dreams, and I threw egg white snot at her. It was like when I was a kid and would bully the girl I secretly had a crush on. It didn’t work back then either. Just as then, this beautiful maiden dressed as a waitress wouldn’t give me the time of day, especially after I got her fired. I tried to repent my evil ways, but she wouldn’t let me in. The more she pushed me away, the harder I tried to be her friend. She was poor, with barely a roof over her head, and I was the uppity billionairess who talked in the third person. For the first time in my life, it didn’t matter to me whether she was rich or poor. Finally, she opened the door just a crack and asked if I could give up my money and live with her in squalor. I knew it was true love when I accepted the challenge.
But as egotistical as I can be, I have to admit, her challenge changed me. It taught me the value of love in general, and her love in particular. So how in the hell can I live without her now? She’s the reason I wake up sober in the mornings, eager to start the day. She’s the reason I sleep through the night without alcoholic nightmares plaguing my dreams. Thanks to her, I’ve had a taste of life without the enhancement of drugs or alcohol, and I liked it. I’ve had a taste of Chris Blackstone-Livingston in my life, and I loved it. I need her, I crave her, and most importantly, I love her. I have to make things right between us. I have to get her back.
Chapter Twelve
Investigating Infidelity — Meg Bumgartner, Melinda Blackstone-Livingston, Norma Shelby, and George Kirk
Written report on Melinda aka Blackie Blackstone (Livingston) and Christine aka Chrissie (Blackstone) Livingston
Client is both Blackie Blackstone and Chrissie Livingston
Meg Bumgartner, Private Investigator
Case #226: Marital Infidelity
Blackie Blackstone-Livingston
Subject is a twenty-seven-year-old lesbian, jet black hair, tall, black eyes, high maintenance attitude.
Married to Christine Blackstone-Livingston.
Chrissie Blackstone-Livingston
Subject is a twenty-six-year-old lesbian, long sandy hair, green eyes, and a sweet disposition.
Side note: I am personal friends with Chrissie (reference case #210)
I accepted a Skype call from Blackie, who was requesting my services. She claims that someone drugged her and created the appearance that she was having an affair. She has requested that I look into the matter, to discover who is responsible for setting her up in this situation. During the discussion, I was given the nam
es of one of the parties involved in the deception and some background information that may be helpful.
After terminating the conversation, I called Chrissie, to apprise her of my conversation with Blackie and that I had accepted the case. She was very happy to hear that and offered to help in any way she could.
She told me about their wedding last week and how wonderful everything had been going. She said she had spoken with the first scholarship awardee and was very excited about working with her. And she said that Blackie was working on a plan to help out an acquaintance from college that she had been responsible for getting expelled. At this point, I don’t believe there’s much I can learn from the scholarship winner since she was only introduce to Chrissie yesterday. But the man that Blackie offended could be harboring a grudge. According to Chrissie, he was not aware of Blackie even being in California, but Chrissie had talked with his wife, so there’s a possibility. And if he did know, that may have been his incentive to set Blackie up.
The first step will be to interview Blackie.
*
Blackie’s butler showed me in to the vestibule and asked me to wait. I got the feeling she didn’t like me very much. Her face was blank, but her eyes were shooting daggers at me. A moment later, Blackie came rushing in and held her hand out to shake mine. I kept my hand at my side.
“Is there someplace that we can talk privately?” I asked.
“Sure, uh, let’s go in the game room. No one ever goes in there but me,” she said, leading the way down a short hallway.
The room was small, with a couple of pinball machines and a green felt pool table.
“Is there some place to sit, or are you expecting me to show you my boobs on the pool table too?” I asked sarcastically.
“Damn it, Meg. Will you give me a fucking break? There’s a table and chairs over here.” She pointed to a small table in the corner of the room.
“All right, here’s how we’re going to do this,” I said, sitting down across from her. I pulled out my small notepad and ink pen from my inside jacket pocket. “I’m going to ask questions and you’re going to answer them without hysterics. Understood?”
“No hysterics, got it,” she chortled.
My first few questions were the standard, who, what, when, where, and how. From that I could construct the timeline. Surprisingly, Blackie answered each question quickly and apathetically. I was curious to see how she’d answer the hard questions.
“Why did you sit down with Tori, your ex-girlfriend? Were you hoping to hook up with her again? You know, sow your wild oats one more time?”
She took a breath and looked me right in the eyes. “Nothing could be further from the truth. I saw an old friend and went over to say hello. That’s all.”
No hysterics, not even a cuss word. I was impressed with her restraint, and that annoyed me. But that was only the first of several hard questions I had for her.
“I’m confused,” I said. “Why is she still your friend when she tried to blackmail you?”
“Because, she had a gambling problem,” Blackie stated. “I had my vices back then, but gambling wasn’t one of them. I had an uncle who gambled away all his money and would do anything, even bribe his niece so he could make another bet. I learned from his addiction that even if I paid Tori off, she would just want more. As her friend, I tried to cut her off.”
“That’s very noble of you,” I jibed. “So did you sit down beside her or across from her?”
“Across from her,” Blackie affirmed.
“And her perfume caused you to cough, is that right?”
“Yes, she was wearing really cheap perfume, and a lot of it. I’m allergic to cheap perfume.”
“Of course you are,” I retorted. “Did the waiter bring the tea, or was it already on the table when you sat down?”
“It was already on the table, but it had fresh ice and no lipstick on the glass rim, so I knew she hadn’t drank from it yet. Tori always wore really red lipstick and it turned me off of drinking after her. Not like Chris, who wears the prettiest pink lipstick that doesn’t stick to her glass. I didn’t mind—”
“Okay. I get it. Now tell me how the tea tasted?”
Blackie shrugged. “I don’t know, it tasted like tea, I guess. I had to add sugar to it though, it was pretty strong tasting.”
“Was the sugar on the table?”
“No, it came from Tori. There were no sugar packets on the table, so Tori dug in her purse and pulled out three packets of sugar. I figured that she was stealing them, as I’ve seen her do that before.”
“Why three packets?” I asked, thinking that was a lot of sugar for a glass of tea.
“She knows I like my tea sweet, and frankly, I wished that she had given me more packets. I usually add at least five packets to my tea.”
“So, what was the brand of sugar she handed you? Was it in a pink packet or a blue one?”
“Damned if I remember,” she said. “I don’t really pay attention to such things.”
“And how did the tea taste after you added the sugar?”
“Tasted fine, I guess. I only took a couple of gulps, while the sugar was still on the top of the ice cubes, and then I ate the ice cubes. It was like eating a sugar cube.”
If it was a roofie, Blackie had brought it into her system twice as fast because she didn’t wait for it to dissolve into the tea. I made some notes on my notepad and then looked at Blackie again.
“So, what happened next?” I asked her.
“We talked,” she replied.
“About what?”
Blackie squinted her eyes, shaking her head. “I know she asked about my ring,” she said, looking at the black diamonds on her finger. “I don’t… I don’t remember anything else after that.” She looked back up at me, “I’m telling the truth, Meg.”
My gut was telling me that she was. Damn it, my gut is never wrong. This could have been a simple robbery, but Chris walked in before Tori could take the ring. Except that didn’t explain why she found Blackie in Tori’s boobs.
“What is the next thing that you do remember?”
“Waking up in my empty bed, thinking I was catching a cold,” she said.
I finished writing my notes and stood up.
“What happens now?” she asked, standing up next to me.
“I’m going to the pizza joint and ask a few questions,” I replied, tucking my notepad back in my jacket pocket. She looked at me with questioning eyes, and I knew she was waiting for me to ask her to come along. She had cooperated and answered all my questions without the dramatics, and the little voice was nagging at me from the back of my head. It was telling me that there was more to this story than Blackie was privy to. Thinking that I should probably say no, I surprised myself by saying, “Want to come?”
“Yes, I do, thanks,” she replied.
“All right, but I will ask the questions, understood?” I asked, as I slid my ink pen in next to the notepad in my jacket. “I won’t tolerate any interference from you.”
“Absolutely,” she cheered, stopping short of slapping me on the shoulder.
“Good, and on the way, we need to stop at a lab and have your blood drawn and tested for drugs. It’s probably too late for that, but I like to be thorough.”
“Sure, take all the blood you need,” she said, holding up her arm. “Whatever it takes.”
Skyping with Chris — Norma Shelby, Chris Blackstone-Livingston, and Kate Stana
Sitting in front of a computer, at a small desk in the corner of the family room, I brought up the Skype program, and connected with Chris in Memphis.
“How are you holding up, dear?” I asked.
Chris looked tired, and pale, and her smile was weak. But what broke my heart was that her eyes were void of that sparkle I so loved to see.
“I’m okay, Norma,” she replied. “How’s Melinda? Is she all right?”
“Yes, as well as could be expected. She’s with Meg right now, trying to find out what happe
ned.”
“I know what happened, Norma. I saw it with my own eyes. What I want to know is why it happened.”
“We all want to know that, dear. If Meg is as good as we all hope she is, we should know in a day or so.”
“She’s that good, Norma, and I know she’ll uncover the facts,” Chris said, and then she averted her eyes.
“Chris, I can only imagine that when you saw them together your heart died a little. But, my darling girl, please don’t give up, not yet. Melinda loves you. She’s out there now trying to prove that to you.”
Chris nodded. “I know. She’s sent me a thousand texts already, telling me how sorry she was, and that she was set up.” She looked down for a moment and then held her cellphone up. There was a picture on it, I believe the young kids would call it a selfie, of Melinda sitting in a car beside Meg, who was driving. Meg was frowning and pushing her away. “I hope that she does prove it to me, Norma. I hope that with all my heart. But even if she does, how could I ever erase the sight of her with another woman? How can I erase the vision of someone else’s breasts against my wife’s face?”
“By giving it time, dear. It won’t be easy, but if you love her, and I know that you do, be patient with her, and with yourself, and give it time.”
“I’ll try, Norma, I promise,” Chris said, wiping a tear away.
“That’s my girl,” I said with a smile.
“Norma, how’s my kitten? Is someone taking care of her for me?”
“Yes, don’t worry, Charlotte and I are taking care of her.”
“Is that Chris?” Kate asked as she walked into the room.
“Yes, did you need to speak with her?” I asked, making room at the computer.
“Just a quick update, if you don’t mind?” Kate asked.
“I don’t mind, do you, Chris?”
“No, not at all,” Chris replied.
“Thank you,” Kate said. “I just wanted to let you know that Emily signed the contract I faxed to her yesterday. She said she is available to shoot the commercial whenever you need her to.”
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