by Mary Monroe
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked, my eyes still on my reflection in the mirror.
Scary Mary plopped down on my bed with a groan, placing her cane across her lap. “Now that Lizzie done come clean about that bun in her oven bein’ Peabo’s, you ain’t got to worry about your man bein’ connected to her no more. If I was you, I’d move him back up in this house as soon as possible.”
“I’m in no hurry, and Pee Wee isn’t either.” I lifted a pair of black slacks off the dresser. It was a struggle to get into them because of the bothersome pounds that I had regained. I got the zipper to go all the way up, but even though I sucked in my gut, I was unable to button the waistband.
“I hope you don’t mind me sayin’ so, but seems like you havin’ a mighty hard time gettin’ into them britches. And you lookin’ right plump these days, if you don’t mind me sayin’ that neither.” Scary Mary paused and turned her head to the side. She looked at me out of the corner of her eye. “Lord have mercy. You ain’t expectin’ no little newcomer in a few months, too, I hope.” She sucked on her teeth and shook her head. Then she gave me a look that made my flesh crawl. She pressed her lips together, furrowed her brow, and shook her head some more. “What a mess you would have on your hands if that was the case. You and that Lizzie woman both bein’ pregnant at the same time! Both of y’all with one foot and a big toe in the grave.”
“I’m not pregnant by Pee Wee,” I said quickly, sliding my arms into the sleeves of a loose-fitting, blue and black plaid blouse.
“You ain’t pregnant by Pee Wee? Oh.” Scary Mary looked disappointed. “But you didn’t say you wasn’t pregnant... .”
“I am not pregnant, period,” I snapped. “Let’s go downstairs so I can fix you a drink before I leave.”
“Oh, you ain’t got to worry about fixin’ me no drink. That was the first thing I did when I got here. I could find my way to your alcohol with my eyes closed. But since you mentioned it, I wouldn’t mind havin’ another one for the road. I know I ain’t supposed to drink hard alcohol when I’m driving, but believe it or not, being drunk sharpens my senses. I make my best decisions when I’m buzzed. You ought to try that sometime when you tryin’ to get through some difficulty.”
I was glad when I got downstairs to see that Pee Wee had already arrived. And since Scary Mary made herself comfortable on the couch with another drink, and was looking from me to Pee Wee like she wanted to bite us, I thought it would be in our best interest for us to leave right away.
“We better be on our way,” I told Pee Wee.
“But our reservation is not until eight o’clock,” Pee Wee blurted, looking at his watch. “It’s not even seven yet. I came early so we’d have a little more time to kick back and just visit,” he said. It took him a few moments to read my face. I rolled my eyes and bit my bottom lip, and he finally got the hint. “Oh! You said somethin’ about stoppin’ by the mall on the way to the restaurant to pick up some frock they holdin’ for you at that boutique next to the shoe store, didn’t you? I almost forgot!”
“Uh-huh,” I said quickly, beckoning for Charlotte. She sat stock-still on the arm of the couch, facing Scary Mary. From the pinched look on Charlotte’s face, I could see that she was as eager to get away from Scary Mary as I was. Lillimae was in the kitchen, cooking a “snack” for herself and Scary Mary. Despite the fact that my mother was not too fond of Lillimae, Scary Mary had become quite fond of her.
“We better hurry if we want to beat the traffic,” Pee Wee suggested, ushering Charlotte and me out the door.
Since we had some time to kill, we actually did go by the mall on our way to the restaurant. I didn’t have anything on hold at that boutique, and I had purchased all of the Christmas gifts that I could afford, so all we did was a lot of aimless window-shopping.
“Mama, can we go in that toy store next?” Charlotte asked, pointing toward a window that displayed everything from video games to black Barbie dolls.
Just as I was about to respond, I saw something that made me freeze. Walking toward us was Ronald, and he was not alone. There was a plump, attractive woman in her late thirties walking beside him. Trailing behind them were four kids. The youngest was an adorable little boy who appeared to be around six. The other three, all girls, were in their early teens.
Pee Wee was well aware that I was seeing a couple of other men, but Roscoe was the only one whom he’d seen me with. He used to cut Roscoe’s hair until Roscoe started going to his competitor, who was Lizzie’s new employer, and the nephew of the man she dumped Pee Wee for. Roscoe had told me early in our relationship that since he and I were together, he no longer felt comfortable letting Pee Wee cut his hair. A “conflict of interest,” he called it. Pee Wee was disappointed to lose a long-time client, and when I told him the reason Roscoe had deserted him, he laughed about it.
Since Ronald had a bald head, he didn’t need a barber, but he went to one anyway to get his scalp oiled and massaged. He worked in Akron, so he went to a barbershop there. As far as I knew, Pee Wee didn’t even know Ronald.
I was wrong.
CHAPTER 40
PEE WEE CLAPPED HIS HANDS, THREW HIS HEAD BACK, AND yelped like he was being reunited with a long-lost relative. He rushed up to Ronald and shook his hand, then slapped him on the back. “My man! I haven’t seen you in a while! Merry Christmas!” Pee Wee yelled, grinning like a fool. Ronald just stood there blinking and trying his best not to make eye contact with me. “Baby, this is Ronald Hawthorne from the pool hall. I used to whup the drawers off his ass at the pool table so many times he stopped comin’ to the pool hall.” Pee Wee grabbed my arm and pulled me forward, like he was proudly putting me on display. My face got so warm it felt like somebody had just wrapped a hot towel around my head. “This is my wife, Annette,” he introduced. Then he smiled at the woman standing next to Ronald. “This must be the lovely wife you was always braggin’ about. And I recognize your kids from the pictures you used to flash all the time.”
Ronald and his wife were dressed in expensive, casual outfits. She wore a dark blue wool coat over jeans and a loose-fitting light blue blouse. Ronald had on an ankle-length leather coat, jeans, and a maroon turtleneck sweater. The kids all had on jeans and hooded jackets, buttoned all the way up to their necks.
“Hey, brother,” Ronald finally managed, looking at the ground when I tried to look in his eyes. “Uh, this is my wife, Nola, and these are our kids... .”
“Where are the other two?” Pee Wee asked.
“Huh? Oh! The older kids are out with their friends this evening,” Ronald replied. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen a human act this nervous.
“Well, you’ve got a beautiful family, man.” Pee Wee paused and turned to me. “Ain’t this a beautiful family, baby?”
“Sure enough,” I responded. It was hard for me to keep a straight face, but I managed. “You look familiar, Ronald. Have we met before?”
He finally looked me in the eye. “Uh, I don’t think so!” he said, talking so fast spit flew out the side of his mouth.
I stepped closer to Pee Wee, my eyes still on Ronald’s face. “Pee Wee, as soon as the weather breaks, we need to have a cookout and invite Ronald and his family,” I said, tugging on Pee Wee’s arm. Ronald looked like he wanted to sink into the ground.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I know our daughter, Charlotte, would love to meet your girls, my man,” Pee Wee grinned. It had been a while since I’d seen him this jovial, and it made me feel good.
“I’d like that,” the wife said. “Now that the kids and I are back in Richland for good, I’d really like to get back into the swing of things. Annette, I make some mean barbecue sauce—I add lime—so having a cookout would be right up my alley.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” I said stiffly.
“Six kids!” Pee Wee said, like it was something that nobody else had done. Now that I knew about his low sperm count and the fact that he would never have the large family he used to tell me he wanted, I could u
nderstand why he was in such awe of Ronald having so many kids. “And I know you must be proud of them all. Six kids are such a blessin’!”
“Seven soon,” Nola chirped, patting her stomach. “Two more months to go. We tried real hard for this one.”
“Seven!” Pee Wee yelled. “Brother, no wonder you stopped comin’ to the pool hall. Sounds like you didn’t have time to put your pants on!”
Nola smiled in my direction. “I’ve been up in Detroit with my baby sister since June. She was pregnant with her first and so frail things didn’t look too hopeful. She’d already miscarried three times. Anyway, the doctor put her on bed rest to see if that would help. The kids and I stayed with her until the very end. She now has a beautiful baby girl.” Nola paused and wrapped her arms around Ronald in such a way that from the painful look on his face, you would have thought that he was now wearing a straightjacket. “Poor Ronald. He was so lonesome he cried like a baby each time we talked on the telephone.” Nola paused again and caressed Ronald’s face, which must have been as hot as a campfire by now. “Ronald was on the verge of a nervous breakdown being so alone. He called me every night, and he drove up to Detroit every chance he got. It’s a good thing I got back home when I did. Women would love to get their hands on my boo; but I know I can trust him, so I didn’t worry about him, uh, doing anything crazy while I was gone.” Nola jabbed Ronald’s side. “Right, baby?”
“Right,” he mumbled, glancing at me.
Nola leaned forward and winked at me. “I told Ronald to be careful because there are a lot of skanks in Richland.” She was right about that. And the way I was feeling right now, Ronald must have thought of me as one of those skanks his wife had warned him about.
“Tell me about it,” I snorted. “Well, I’m happy for you, Nola.” I turned to face Ronald. “What was your name again?” I asked, snapping my fingers.
“Ronald,” he practically growled.
“You’re a lucky man, and your wife is a lucky woman,” I said. “I hope you will always be good to her.”
“I ... I intend to,” he managed, looking at me with defiance—as if I was the one who had been deceiving him!
“Can’t we go in the toy store?” Charlotte said, tugging on my hand.
“Oh! What’s wrong with me! This is my daughter, Charlotte,” Pee Wee introduced.
Charlotte had met Ronald just once when he came to the house to pick me up. She had only glimpsed him as she rushed to her room with a couple of her friends. From her reaction now, she didn’t remember meeting him. And for that I was glad.
“It was nice meeting you all,” I said, already walking away.
“Hey, man, let me give you my phone number in case you want to get together some time. You still go fishin’? I know some good spots up around Cleveland with some bass that will bite anything.” Pee Wee scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. By now I was ready to pass out. My relationship with Ronald was over.
I did not sleep with other women’s husbands.
After we left the toy store, with video games for Charlotte that I’d never heard of, we went to the restaurant, even though we were a half hour ahead of our reservation. Charlotte and Pee Wee sat down on the velvet couches in the waiting area. I made a beeline to the bar and by the time the waiter led us to our table, I’d drunk two glasses of wine.
I was glad that we’d been seated in a booth near the back exit. I didn’t like sitting out in the open in any restaurant. It seemed like every time I went somewhere and sat by the entrance, somebody I didn’t want to see saw me.
Right after our waiter took our order—we all requested steak and veggies—I looked at Pee Wee and then at Charlotte. I had to blink to hold back my tears. This was the first time the three of us had been out in public together since Pee Wee had left me for Lizzie. As disappointed as I was with him, I was just as disappointed with myself. I wondered if I had not had the affair with Louis Baines, would Pee Wee have gotten involved with Lizzie. I couldn’t change the past, but because of it, I would not be as stupid in the future. It saddened me to know that some people who had good lives didn’t realize it until it was too late.
“What’s wrong, Annette? You look kind of sad,” Pee Wee noticed. “You got tears in your eyes.”
“I’m all right,” I said. “Just some dust or lint got caught up in my eye.” I dabbed at my eyes with the tail of my napkin.
“She must get stuff in her eyes all the time,” Charlotte chirped. “Every time I look up she’s crying like a baby.”
Pee Wee and I looked at Charlotte at the same time.
“Like I just said, I got something in my eye,” I insisted.
“But, Mama! What about last night? I heard you crying in your room—all night!”
“I cry sometimes myself too, Char,” Pee Wee said, blinking hard. He had tears in his eyes too.
“Yes, I do cry sometimes,” I admitted. “There’s just been so much going on in my life lately.”
“Like what, Mama?” There were times when I wanted to strap a muzzle onto my daughter’s mouth. This was one of those times.
“For one thing, my daddy is getting to the point where he needs somebody to look after him more. Having Lillimae around is a double blessing, but I still worry about him. And then there are some work-related issues that have me concerned. We’ve had some dangerous situations at the office with hostile debtors. So you see, my life is not so simple anymore,” I said, giving my daughter a sharp, threatening look. I had to keep reminding myself that kids noticed more than we thought they did.
“Don’t I know that. One thing you and I both need to do is be there for Rhoda and Otis.” Pee Wee shook his head. “They are goin’ to need some serious emotional support.”
Charlotte blinked and looked from me to Pee Wee. “Why? Did Jade already quit that cool stripping job?” she asked.
Pee Wee and I looked at Charlotte again at the same time. I couldn’t tell which one of us displayed the biggest frown. He took the next words right out of my mouth. “Char, strippin’ ain’t a cool thing for any female to do. If you ever do somethin’ like that, I would never get over it.”
“But why are strip clubs so bad if so many men go to them?” Charlotte asked.
“Because they don’t know any better,” I said, glaring at Pee Wee.
“That’s right. We don’t know any better,” he muttered, looking like he wanted to melt into the floor.
CHAPTER 41
BY THE TIME WE LEFT THE RESTAURANT, THE WEATHER WAS SO bad that several streets had been closed. The detour we took only led us to another detour.
Pee Wee had to drive through an unincorporated area, swing back through downtown, and then onto the freeway to get back to our side of town. Once we got there, we saw several traffic accidents, and people slipping and sliding on the icy ground, falling down like bowling pins.
“What a mess of a night,” I complained. “It’s never taken this long to get to my house.”
“We are closer to my place than yours,” Pee Wee mentioned, in a cautious voice I noticed.
“So?” I mouthed. I already knew where this conversation was going, and I didn’t like it one bit.
“So? Well, so it might make more sense for y’all to come home with me tonight. “ Pee Wee glanced at me as he wrestled with the steering wheel to avoid hitting a stalled car in front of us.
“Yeah!” Charlotte hooted from the backseat, pumping her fist like she’d just won a prize.
“I don’t think so,” I said quickly. “I’d really like to get home and sleep in my own bed tonight.”
I didn’t know what Pee Wee thought I meant by the last part of my comment, but he gave me a weird look. “You can sleep in my bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.” He peered at Charlotte through the rearview mirror. “Char, you know your room is already available for you.”
I looked at Pee Wee like he had lost his mind—and he must have! Did he actually think that I was going to sleep in the same bed that he’d slept in with t
he woman who had ruined our marriage? The only reason I didn’t ask him that question out loud was because Charlotte was in the car. I still had not even set foot in the apartment that he had shared with Lizzie, and I didn’t plan to ever do so! “No, that’s all right,” I said firmly.
He must have read my mind because his face looked like it was about to crack. “I’m just tryin’ to help, Annette.”
“Then help me get home, all right?”
After several more delays, Pee Wee finally parked in front of my house. He leaped out of the car. After a lot of slipping and sliding, and almost falling on the ice, he opened the back door for Charlotte. They hugged one another for a couple of minutes. It gave me enough time to open my own door and scramble out before he got to me. But he still followed me up to the porch, with his hand on my shoulder. Even with his support, I slipped on some ice on the steps. Had he not been there to keep me from falling, I might have injured myself.
“I would come in for a nightcap, but I’d better get back on the road. There’s just no tellin’ how long it’s goin’ to take for me to get back to my side of town,” he said.
“Daddy, why don’t you just spend the night with us?” Charlotte suggested with a hopeful look on her face. Like I said, there were times when I wanted to strap a muzzle on my daughter’s mouth. I gave her one of my stern “What’s wrong with you, girl?” looks. She promptly got the message. “Uh, maybe some other time, huh, Daddy?” she amended.
Pee Wee laughed and tickled her chin. “Yeah, maybe some other time.” He hugged Charlotte again. Then he gave me a dry look and a playful tap on my shoulder. “Have a blessed evenin’,” he told me as he ran back to his car.
The only light on in the house was the lamp on the end table in the living room. I assumed Lillimae was in bed.
Even though Charlotte was on the Christmas holiday break from school, I still sent her to bed right away.
About an hour later, I heard a commotion on my front porch. Before I could set my glass of hot tea on my living room coffee table and get off the couch to go investigate, the front door flew open like a tornado had suddenly dropped down out of the sky. To my surprise, in walked Muh’Dear with her arm around Lillimae’s shoulder.