by Mary Monroe
“You mean you didn’t call to tell me about the rape?”
“Yeah, I did, but that’s not the only thing I called to talk to you about. Reed feels just awful about what he did and now he wants to make up for it.”
“Why he damn sure needs to! Exactly how does he plan to do that? And I’m warning you, you’d better not let him off with a slap on the wrist or I’m going to kick your ass! I don’t care if he is your husband, rape is a very serious matter and you’d make it worse by letting him get away with it! If his raping you doesn’t justify a divorce—”
“Stop right there,” Joan interrupted. “I’m not in the mood to talk about divorce. I already feel like shit, and that subject would make me feel even worse.”
“Are you telling me you’ve changed your mind about divorcing him someday?”
“Lola, didn’t you hear what I just said? Let’s put me getting a divorce on the back burner for now.”
“Okay. Then what do you want to talk about?”
“Reed wants to take me to Vegas this evening. He even mentioned getting some counseling when we get back. As much as he annoys me, I guess I have to give him credit for trying to make things work.”
“I guess.” I was confused, mentally and emotionally. If a man raped me, I’d be mad and miserable as hell. And I’d never get over it, even if the rapist was my husband. I wasn’t exactly sure how Joan was feeling right now, but as long as she wasn’t screaming and crying—and was about to go to Vegas with her rapist—I assumed she wasn’t as miserable as a typical victim. I didn’t go along with everything she said or did, but I was glad to hear that there was still some hope for her and Reed. I knew she’d never be truly happy with him, though.
“On a happier note, what’s up with Calvin? Is he back yet?”
“Not that I know of. I—hold on. I think I hear somebody downstairs.”
“I’ll let you go. If I don’t talk to you again before I leave for Vegas, I’ll call you from down there.”
After I disconnected the call, I got up and padded to my door. I cracked it open just enough to stick my head out. Libby was downstairs talking to a man whose voice I didn’t recognize.
Ten minutes went by before I left my room and walked quietly toward the staircase. I eased down the steps and got the shock of my life. There was a strange man lying on the living-room couch on his back. Libby was on top of him with her granny panties down around her ankles. Her cellulite-covered butt was humping so fast and hard, you would have thought she was riding a mechanical bull. The man had his eyes closed and was moaning like he was in pain. I could tell they were both about to climax, so I crept back up the stairs before they noticed me.
Chapter 37
Lola
A FEW MINUTES AFTER I GOT BACK TO MY ROOM, LIBBY CAME UP the stairs. And she wasn’t alone. She and her mysterious male companion were laughing and joking as if they didn’t have a care in the world. The two of them stomping down the hall at the same time sounded like two horses with heavy hooves.
They were walking toward my room, which was at the opposite end of the hall from the one Libby and Jeffrey shared, so I closed my door.
“It’ll be much more comfortable in a bed,” she told the man. “But we don’t have much time.”
“Sugar Pie, I don’t know why you didn’t want to go to a motel like we usually do. Being up in here ain’t too cool,” the man complained. He had a nice, deep voice. And from what I had seen of him on the couch, he had a very athletic body and he was not bad looking. But he obviously wasn’t too particular when it came to women if he was willing to screw a frump like Libby.
“Oh stop being such a crybaby!” Libby crowed. Then she let out a sharp snicker. “Why should we waste good money on a motel when we can do our business here for free?” Her voice was getting closer, so I locked my door. She usually entered without knocking, and if she did that this time, I wanted to have time to compose myself first.
While I stood by the door listening, with my heart beating a mile a minute, she said something to the man that made me want to laugh my head off. “Baby, I’m going to put something on you a doctor can’t take off.” I could not believe Libby’s nerve! Was she stone crazy? She had a handsome, hardworking husband who adored her! Why would she risk losing him by having an affair? I immediately reminded myself that Joan also had a handsome, successful husband and she had lovers coming out of her ears. Was it possible that Jeffrey was as big a dud in bed as Reed? One thing was for sure: I would never find out.
“Yum, yum,” the man said in a loud voice. “Ooh-wee, girl. I can’t wait!”
“It wouldn’t be right for us to do it in the same bed I sleep in with my husband. I respect him too much to stoop that low. And you know how holy my mama is. It would be sacrilegious for us to fuck in her bed. Lola’s such a slut, it only makes sense for us to use her bed. Knowing her, she probably screws her punks in her room every time Mama leaves the house. And another thing, my stepsister is a straight-up slob. Her room is the only one in this house where you might ever see a roach or a gnat. If it’s the mess it usually is, and smells like rotting fish, just close your eyes and hold your nose.”
Libby was bringing a strange man to my bed so she could have sex with him! That was one thing. But the remark that really got my goat was her calling me a slob. My room was as neat as a pin and pleasant-smelling today and every day. And as far as roaches and gnats, I had never seen any in Bertha’s house.
They must have stopped walking, because they would have made it to my room by now. “You mean Lola, the woman I see roaming around with that tight-ass Joan Riley from time to time?” the man asked.
“That’s her. Lola is just as skanky as Joan, maybe even more so. And let me tell you, you wouldn’t believe how mean Lola is to me and my brother,” Libby said hotly.
“Oh, Marshall told me all about how she uses your mama. Humph! If I was you or Marshall, I’d evict that bitch before she gets even worse. Your mama is too nice to do it on her own.”
“Honey, we’re working on that!” Libby boomed. “Just wait—” She stopped talking and attempted to open my door. I was so glad I had locked it. “What the hell—I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t know that heifer locked her room when she left the house. I’m going to talk to my mama about this!”
“Yes? Who is it?” I yelled.
Even with the door closed, I could still hear Libby mumbling cuss words under her breath. She cleared her throat and said, “Uh . . . Lola, it’s Libby.” I was amazed at how sweet and gentle her voice sounded now.
“Uh-huh. Just a minute.” After a deep breath, I took my time shuffling over to the door. I cracked it open just enough to see Libby’s face. “I was taking a nap,” I lied, faking a yawn. “What’s going on?” I looked over her shoulder at the man who appeared to be in his mid- to late thirties. There was an embarrassed look on his face. Now that he was closer, I could see that he was better looking than I thought. He had really light skin, hazel eyes, a cleft in his chin, and a buzz haircut.
“What are you doing here?” Libby asked. She was looking at me as if I had just sprouted horns.
“Well, it is my room,” I said, giving her an incredulous look.
“Lola, didn’t you say you were going to the nail salon this morning?” Libby blinked hard. She was so flustered, she could barely stand still.
“I was, but I changed my mind at the last minute. I decided to wait a little while and then go to the gym and walk on the treadmill.” I was blinking just as hard as she was. “What are you doing here, Libby? I thought you were going to the nail salon and then shopping.”
“Huh? Oh!” She waved her hands and rolled her eyes. “Some dimwit didn’t write my appointment down. You know how slow and ignorant some of those people are in that place. When I got there, they already had four other walk-ins sitting around waiting. You know I’m not a patient woman.”
“Oh, yes, I do know,” I said dryly. I looked into Libby’s eyes with so much intensity, sweat suddenly
appeared on her face. I wondered how she felt now that she’d been busted. It was hard for me to keep a straight face when I asked the next question. “Was there something in my room you needed?”
“No, I . . . uh . . . I thought I heard a commotion up here, so I was checking every room upstairs to make sure nobody had broken into the house.”
I opened my door all the way.
I had to hold my breath to keep from laughing or making a sarcastic remark. I didn’t want Libby to know how busted she was. “I’m going to get my gym bag and leave in a few minutes,” I said. I glanced over her shoulder again at the man behind her. Libby’s plum-colored lipstick was all over his face.
“Oh! My bad. Where are my manners? Lola, this is Greg. He’s an old friend. I ran into him at the corner store and he invited me to have lunch.” That was all she said about the man I’d seen her having sex with a few minutes ago.
“Hello, Greg. Nice to meet you,” I said as graciously as I could. He didn’t say a word. All I got from him was a nod, a weak smile, and another embarrassed look.
Libby started talking so fast, her words shot out of her mouth like fireworks. “I had to come home first though to change into more comfortable shoes. I might go jogging after we eat lunch.” I looked down and saw that she had on a pair of her Nikes, some of the most “comfortable” shoes in the world to run in.
“Yeah . . . sure,” I muttered, giving her a sideways glance. I could tell she didn’t appreciate the way I was looking at her, because a menacing scowl appeared on her face so fast it looked like she had put on a mask. “Uh, I hate to cut this conversation short, but I need to get a move on.” They started walking backward toward the stairs. “I’ll be at the gym for at least a couple of hours.” Before I shut my door, I gave Libby a smug look and said, “You two have fun now. . . .”
Chapter 38
Joan
REED HAD CRIED SO MUCH SINCE LAST NIGHT, HIS EYES WERE RED and swollen. He looked so terrible, he didn’t want to spend too much time in public. He didn’t even want his parents to see what a mess he was. He suggested we postpone our jaunt to Vegas and have a “date night” instead.
Had he not decided to put Vegas on hold, I would have come up with an excuse not to go anyway. Sin City was the ultimate party town and I loved going down there and getting loose with Lola or some of my family members. But when I went with Reed, it was another story. If he lost money at the tables, he got so upset he drank like a fish. When we went to the shows on the strip, which were very expensive because we always requested front-row seats, he spent most of the time dozing or texting. The last time he and I visited Vegas, we spent most of our time holed up in our hotel suite watching TV and having thirty-second episodes of dull sex. And in between all that, he called his answering service every hour on the hour. I could have had more fun with a monk.
Sunday evening we decided to drive to San Francisco and have dinner at a popular restaurant that attracted A-list celebrities like Clint Eastwood and Sean Penn.
I wore my new white silk dress that I’d been saving for a special occasion, and Reed wore the navy blue suit he’d worn to a colleague’s wedding last month. Because he was so self-conscious about his red, swollen eyes, he wore a pair of the darkest glasses he owned. People stared at us because we looked like a celebrity couple.
We both ordered filet mignon, and our server promptly filled our wineglasses with the restaurant’s best champagne.
“Joan, I hope you can forgive me for my behavior last night. I never thought I’d force myself on a woman—especially my beautiful, young wife,” he told me with his voice cracking. He reached both of his hands across our candlelit table and squeezed mine. “I’m so sorry I hurt you, baby.”
“Reed, how many more times do I have to tell you to forget about what happened? I already have. And for your information, you didn’t ‘hurt’ me,” I assured him. Right after those words left my mouth, a brilliant idea zoomed into my head. If he was so remorseful about “raping” me, and was doing and saying everything he could think of to show me how sorry he was, I was going to use this situation to my advantage and milk it bone dry.
“Um, maybe if I went away for a few days on my own, I’d feel better,” I cooed.”
To my surprise, he perked up. He even smiled, which he had not done since he’d attacked me. “That’s not a bad idea, honey. I have a patient who checks into one of those spas in the wine country when she’s in a funk. She gets mud baths, massages, and all kinds of other shit you women get off on. Mother recently started going to one herself. It’s done wonders for her. Just last month, she spent four days relaxing at a place in Santa Rosa. During that whole time, she was totally unreachable. Even Father couldn’t track her down. When she came home, she was a new woman.” Reed paused and took a sip from his wineglass. “Haven’t you noticed a change in her? She’s much more serene.”
His words almost made me choke on some air. Even if my mother-in-law got help from the Wizard of Oz, she would still be about as serene as a blowtorch.
“She sure is,” I replied, clearing my throat to get the taste of that bitter lie off my tongue. I wondered how Reed could make such an outrageous statement and still manage to keep a straight face.
“You can—why are you giving me such a peculiar look now, Joan? Did I say something to upset you again?”
I shook my head. “You say I can go somewhere on my own? I just want to make sure it’s you talking and not the alcohol.”
“Baby, I’ve only had a few sips of my wine,” he insisted, lifting his wineglass and waving it in the air. “I’m not even tipsy yet. I meant everything I just said.”
I was tense, so I took a long drink. The champagne was so potent, it relaxed me right away. I shifted in my seat and crossed my legs. “Are you sure you don’t mind if I go off somewhere all by myself for a few days?” I asked softly, giving Reed a skeptical look.
“Sweetheart, I want you to do whatever it takes to restore your peace of mind. I don’t care what it is.” He was talking, but it was another man’s words coming out of his mouth.
I was so incredulous, I did a double take. My mouth wanted to drop open, but I managed to stay composed. I didn’t want to look or sound too excited. The last thing I wanted Reed to do after the statement he’d just made was backtrack and change his mind. “I’m so happy you feel that way. Now if I can get Too Sweet to keep an eye on Junior, I just might go off somewhere by myself for a few days. I was still in high school when you and I got married, so I didn’t get to spend a few years ‘sowing my wild oats,’ as they say, the way some of the girls I know did.”
“True, true, and I realize that. Before I left home to go to college, I joined a couple of my friends and we spent several months roaming around Europe with backpacks, sleeping bags, and guidebooks. It was an exhilarating experience. It was refreshing for me to experience different cultures. I really got to know the real Reed Riley and at that point, I realized what I wanted in a wife, my career, and everything else.” He paused and gave me a pensive look. “A change is definitely what you need, sweetie.”
“Thanks, honey,” I purred. “I appreciate hearing that.” I uncrossed my legs because I felt more comfortable now.
“I love you, Joan. I always have and I always will.”
I dipped my head and swallowed hard. I remained silent because I didn’t know what to say. One thing was for sure, I was not about to look Reed in the eye and tell him I loved him.
“Maybe if you do go away for a little while, you’ll feel the same way I felt after my trip to Europe. You can spend as much money as you want, wherever you go. And I promise you, the whole time you’re gone, I won’t bother you. As a matter of fact, you don’t even have to tell me where you’re going.”
“Do you mean that?” I gasped. I couldn’t believe that this was the same love-struck sad sack who got severely paranoid when he couldn’t locate me.
“I mean that. Just let somebody know where you’re at in case a coconut falls off a t
ree and lands on your head and you get amnesia or something.” He chuckled.
“Wherever I decide to go, I’ll let Lola know,” I chirped. As soon as I mentioned my girl’s name, Reed’s whole body jerked and he gave me a glassy-eyed, slack-jawed look. He stayed that way until I snapped my fingers in his face. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he croaked, with his face looking normal now. He lifted his glass to his lips and took another drink. His body didn’t jerk again, but the glassy-eyed, slack-jawed look returned to his face.
“Reed, are you sure you’re okay?”
“What are you talking about?”
“As soon as I mentioned Lola’s name, you looked like you were having a spasm or something.”
“I was hoping to hear that you’d tell Mother where you were going. . . .”
“I’d rather tell Lola. I thought this was supposed to be about me and what I want,” I said with a pout and a sniff.
He smiled suddenly. “It is, baby. Go wherever you want to go, and tell whomever you want to tell. You can even go to Europe if you want to. We can afford it.”
“I don’t want to go that far away from home.”
“I just want you to know that the sky’s the limit. I don’t care if you go somewhere halfway around the world or somewhere local.”
“Thank you, honey. You’re so good to me.”
Chapter 39
Calvin
I WAS GLAD TO RETURN TO WORK A WEEK AFTER I RETURNED TO THE West Coast. It was a smooth predawn ride in my Jeep up to Roseville, California, where I parked my eighteen-wheeler in one of the company’s satellite locations when I was not working. It was an even smoother ride to Los Angeles, where I had to deliver some toys and clothes to a high-end children’s department store.