by Jj Rossum
April was rewinding back to Tuesday night, and then it sunk in for her.
I felt a little bad about the way she found out, but I had planned on doing it before the party. April had simply beat me to the punch by telling me she was having major second thoughts.
“How great is that?” Marco said. “We should toast to new love!”
He grabbed four of the cups Mark had just put out on the table and filled them quickly with Coke. The man had hosted parties and served drinks before, you could tell. Even Holly was impressed.
“I might have a job for you during the offseason, if you’re looking,” she said.
Marco laughed again. He did that a lot.
“To love,” he said, holding up his cup. The three of us followed his lead. “To love just starting,” he said, gesturing toward Holly and me. “And to love still going strong.”
“Cheers” was offered up and everyone drank.
April sat her cup down and excused herself to the bathroom. Her eyes seemed to indicate that she wanted me to follow, but I pretended I hadn’t seen.
Mark grabbed Marco to introduce him to someone else, so Holly and I walked around the pool.
“So we are in a relationship?” Holly asked. “You could have told me.”
“I just did,” I said.
“April didn’t seem to like that.”
“You noticed that too, huh?”
“It was impossible not to.”
I spotted Stephanie and her husband Rick, who I had never actually met. He looked positively thrilled to be there.
Stephanie introduced him to us, and I introduced Holly to them.
I tried to make conversation with him while Holly complimented Stephanie’s outfit, but he was clearly a two-word answer kind of guy. I half-expected him to start grunting his answers. And I immediately felt sorry for the life Stephanie must live away from the school.
Mark loudly called for everyone to gather near the food table so that he could pray over the meal. April was back from the bathroom and was standing next to Marco.
Holly grabbed my hand and hurried me over to the table, and she found a spot to the right of April. Mark asked everyone to take the hand of the person next to them, and I knew it was with absolute glee that Holly grabbed April’s. It wasn’t like April could refuse, and Holly knew it. The look in April’s eyes hadn’t changed. She was not a happy woman. No one else in the circle would have been able to feel the tension, but I sure did.
When the prayer was over, April tried to pull her hand away from Holly’s, but Holly didn’t let go immediately.
“Your hands are so soft, April,” she said, pulling April’s hand up closer to her face. “What lotion do you use?”
April forced a smile.
“I forget the name of it.”
“Well, when you remember it, tell Luke. I’d love to have it.”
And with that, Holly let go of April’s right hand. April grabbed it with her left hand, as if she were trying to shelter it from Holly.
Holly turned back to me.
“Ready to eat, Baby?” she said, winking. Holly would never normally use a word like baby. This was all part of her fun little show.
“Lead the way, Baby...” I replied.
It took a while to make it through the food line, but once we finally did, we made our way over to one of the tables set up by the pool. April and Marco were at a different table.
Music played in the background, and everyone was talking and laughing loudly while we ate.
Mark stood up from the table he was sitting at with April and Marco and called for everyone’s attention.
“Quiet down, all of you. Before I give you an in-school-suspension,” He said, laughing too loudly at such a cheesy school joke. A few courtesy laughs were heard around the tables.
“Seriously, though. I know we have said this over and over, but I just want to say to you, April,” he said, turning toward her, “how glad we are to have you on staff with us. It’s been a pretty trying year so far, but we are all blessed to have you as part of the Lakefront Family. I know it hasn’t been easy, but you’ve already done a tremendous job. And, as long as Marco lets you stick around the area,” he said laughing, “we look forward to many years with you.”
“To April and Marco,” he said, leading everyone in a toast. I didn’t remember toasting anything more than once in my life, and this evening had already provided two. Why don’t we just toast dessert later, too?
Thankfully, no one starting chanting “speech, speech!” and everyone went back to eating.
After about fifteen minutes, Mark stood up one more time. “Oh, and the desserts are on their way out. The coffee will be in the cabana. Help yourselves. Just remember to help me clean up afterwards!”
As Mark sat back down, Marco stood up with plate in hand. He headed back over to the food tables for seconds.
Holly shot up from her chair immediately.
“Do you need anything else?” she asked, but she was already walking toward Marco before I had a chance to answer.
Holly met Marco at the food table, and they instantly started talking about something. They were behind April, who had watched Holly like a hawk when she left my table.
Now, April was trying to look discreet as she turned around to see what they were doing. She kept looking at her plate, taking a bite of food, and then casually turning, hoping to catch them out of the corner of her eye.
When Holly knew she had April’s attention, she lightly grabbed Marco’s arm, and with her other hand, she pointed back to me, smiling. Then she smiled and pointed to April. Marco nodded and laughed.
I had no idea what she was saying to him, but I knew it was making April very uneasy.
Finally, April picked up her plate and walked quickly over to where they were. Holly smiled at her when she saw her coming, and then patted Marco on the shoulder. Holly took her plate and left the food table just as April reached it. I caught April turn and glare at her as she passed, but Holly was all smiles.
Holly took her seat next to me. April and Marco were still discussing something while standing next to the food.
“What did you say to him?” I asked. “Whatever it was, it seemed to piss April off.”
“Oh, I was just pointing out that from a distance, you and April look like you could be related. I told him it was the eyes and hair.”
“But, we don’t look anything alike.”
“I know. I could have said whatever I wanted to him and he would have believed it. Plus, I just wanted to point to you both. April didn’t seem happy though. I’ll have to explain later, I guess.”
More winking, and then Holly was back to eating her food.
After thirty more seconds or so, April and Marco returned to their table. He seemed fine; she did not.
Dessert was brought out, and the coffee station was set up. I waited for the initial rush to die down, and then I went up to get coffee.
I had only been there for a few seconds when Marco spoke from behind me.
“This has been a great night,” he said.
I nodded.
“If we do one thing right at Lakefront, it’s that we eat well.”
I asked him if he wanted me to pour him a coffee, but he declined.
“There is something I would like, though,” he said.
I was hunched over my coffee, trying to perfect the cream and sugar ratio. Marco grabbed my elbow.
“And what might that be?” I said, not turning.
“I’m going to go out front to smoke,” he said. “And, I want someone to talk to.”
He let go of my elbow, and I turned toward him, coffee still on the table.
“And who better to join me,” he said, lowering his voice. “Than the man who is fucking my wife?”
We locked eyes, and I saw dancing fire in his. He could be charming and engaging and full of life, but now I could see in his eyes that the Marco who went nuts on teammates and coaches had finally shown up to the party.
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I had known a moment like this would come. And I wasn’t going to back down.
“Just so long as you have enough smokes for two people,” I said, my focus on him not wavering.
He laughed, loudly.
“It seems I am sharing my wife with you,” he said. “So, I don’t see any harm in sharing my cigars.”
“Then, let’s go,” I said.
We walked out of the cabana, and I led him through Mark’s house to the front door. April had been talking to Mark’s wife Vanessa, and hadn’t seen us. Holly saw though. And I couldn’t read the look on her face.
She had mentioned that I could die that night, so her thoughts might have wandered to planning my funeral. I hope she was regretting turning down my last fuck offer.
When we reached the front yard, Marco asked me to wait while he went to his car.
He was either going to come back with cigars, or a machine gun and go Tony Montana on my ass.
Either way, I was ready to smoke or be smoked.
Marco was carrying a box as he returned to where I was standing. I had moved far enough away from the front windows so that whatever was going on wouldn’t be visible from the inside. Mark was most certainly not a fan of smoking.
“Only the finest,” Marco said, opening the box.
Inside were individually wrapped Cuban cigars. On top of them was one of those cigar cutters that looked like it could be used as a guillotine for lizards.
Two cigars were unwrapped, cut, and lit in less than a minute.
“Wow,” I said, breathing in the first bit of Cuban smoke.
I wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between a Cuban cigar or a candy one, but I could tell Marco took great pride in them. So, it was amazing.
“Only the best,” he said.
We stood there for a few moments, inhaling and exhaling, neither of us saying a word.
I assumed he would say something when he was ready; I was too busy enjoying my first Cuban cigar.
In the 11th grade, my English class had a substitute teacher for a week. He had been an Amish looking fellow, but he had no problem casually swearing in front of all the students. None of us complained because we all liked him and weren’t used to having a teacher who wasn’t stuffy or crotchety. One day, he stopped in the middle of the lesson and said “Guys, there are three things in life you all need to do. One: go out of the country at least once. Two: drink expensive scotch. And three: smoke a Cuban cigar.”
Wherever you are, Mr. Albers, this puff is for you.
“So, Luke,” Marco finally said. “How long have you been sleeping with my wife?”
I thought about giving him a smartass answer like “I don’t believe I’ve ever said I slept with your wife.” But, I think he expected me to back down, to be afraid or to make excuses. That wasn’t going to happen.
“Since Monday night,” I said, as casually as I would tell someone my grocery list.
I could tell he didn’t expect a direct answer, but he oddly seemed to approve of my forthrightness.
“My agent, Phillip, takes many would-be clients to Bern’s. His motto is ‘Wine them, dine them, and hope to sign them.’ And Bern’s is the best place to do that.”
“It’s a great restaurant,” I said. “I was there just the other night.”
Marco obviously knew I had been there, no use beating around the bush. I was simply trying to stay one step ahead of him. And so far, it was working.
“So I’ve been told,” he replied. “Philip called to tell me that he was watching April have dinner with a man who was not me. I asked for a picture. He sent one.”
Because he had probably rehearsed this in his head, he pulled out his phone to show me the picture. I figured he probably would have used it as evidence if I had denied what he was accusing me of. But now, it was little more than show and tell.
He flipped through his phone to the picture and showed me.
“That’s a pretty clear picture,” I said. “No mistaking either of us.”
“No, there isn’t.”
Marco put the phone back in his pocket.
“She thinks I came up here to support her for this dinner. But I don’t care about this fucking little party. Or her job.”
“Or her. From the sound of things,” I said. It was risky to say that to a man in this situation. But, I did.
“Oh, did she tell you that?”
“Showed me too. She came over the night you hit her.”
“Really?” he said, actually laughing. “She told me she was out driving around.”
“Technically that was true.”
“I don’t make a habit of hitting my wife, Luke.”
“I tend to think once is too many times,” I said. “But I might believe you if I hadn’t followed your career all these years.”
He took in a long drag and exhaled a perfect ring. In any other situation, I would have expressed how impressed I was, and asked how he had done that.
“Because you’ve seen me get angry on the field, you think that means I abuse my wife?”
“It certainly seems to point to a problem with controlling your temper, yeah.”
“Do you have any idea,” he said, stepping closer to me and lowering his voice, “how much pussy I get because of the shit I do on the field? The ladies, they love it, man. I don’t have to ask them, they come to me. Everywhere I go. It’s fucking crazy.”
“If that’s true, then why fly all the way back here to confront me? You get it everywhere you go, and you worry she might be having an affair with someone, so you drop everything and fly home?”
“She’s mine,” he said, his voice deepening and becoming more aggressive. “No one takes her from me.”
His eyes were burning into mine. There was no doubt that Marco was now very serious.
At that moment, I heard a sound behind me and turned. It was April.
“What’s going on here?” she asked. I could sense fear. She still didn’t think Marco knew.
“Just having a chat with my new friend,” Marco said, patting me on the shoulder. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“I think I’ll stay out here,” April said, taking a spot to my left and his right, between us, but not directly. “What are you talking about?” she asked. She was nervous.
“You need to go inside,” he said, again, this time more forcefully.
“I said, I think I’ll stay out here.”
Marco was getting more agitated.
“If you don’t go inside, I might end up hurting your little boy toy. And I don’t think you’d want that.”
The look on April’s face went from nervous tension to shock. She didn’t care that her husband had just threatened me. She only cared that he knew.
“How could you?” she said to me.
“I didn’t say anything, April. He already knew.”
Then, the fear was back in her eyes.
“Look honey, I can explain,” she said, turning back to Marco. “He started flirting with me and—”
“Shut up,” he said, backhanding her.
April fell backwards onto the grass.
Marco stepped toward me as I stepped toward April, hoping to shield her from any more blows. I hadn’t expected him to hit her. He did it with such speed and force.
“If you touch her again, I’ll kill you,” I said. “I told you, she’s mine,” he said, lunging toward me.
I pivoted backwards just in time and was able to push him away from me. Marco stumbled a little, but didn’t fall over.
“Stop it,” I heard her say loudly. But when I looked down at her, she wasn’t looking at Marco. April had been saying that to me.
“He just hit you,” I said, not thinking I would need to remind her.
“It was an accident,” she said, even though she was holding her cheek. “He wasn’t trying to hurt me.”
Marco was standing behind her now, and he put his arm around her.
“It was an accident,” she said agai
n.
“Are you listening to yourself?” I said. “He just hit you. He’s hit you before. He will hit you again!”
Marco stepped in front of her, this time looking like he was protecting her from me.
“She’s mine,” he repeated. “You don’t get to have her.”
I knew men could be possessive, Latin men, in particular. I was. I knew macho men were kings of double-standards—”Do as I say, not as I do.” They could do whatever they wanted with any woman they wanted to, but if someone so much as looked at their wife a second too long, they’d want to pummel you. That was Marco.
And April. God, I knew she would never leave him. She had to have known he cheated on her. She obviously knew he was abusive with her. But, she would never leave. The lifestyle his career afforded was too much to let go. And, at the end of the day, he had been paid well for many years for all the stunts he pulled on the field. Everyone knew how he was. She knew. If she hadn’t already left him by this point, she never would.
I had just been a play-thing, a diversion. Someone to make her feel better about herself, to give her energy to endure more of her life with him. She would have continued if he hadn’t shown up. But, she became too afraid of what might happen if he found out. April lived a life of luxury, but she lived it in fear.
“I don’t want her, Marco,” I said. “I did. For a few days, at least. She is a special woman,” I said, looking right at her. ”But, I had someone the whole time who I already loved spending time with, who I couldn’t wait to see each day. She was right in front of me, and somehow I let myself lose sight of her. But that won’t ever happen again. I love someone, but it’s not April.”
I turned back toward the house, surprised the whole crew hadn’t come out to look for us. But, only one person was standing there. Holly.
She must have heard the whole thing.
“Let’s go,” I said, taking her hand in mine.
And we walked back to the party, where people were either eating dessert or busy cleaning up.
Mark loudly asked where I had been, saying I had missed out on some seriously good key lime pie.
“I was out front talking to the Batistas,” I said.
Before Mark could ask if they were coming back, Marco returned.