Her So Called Husband

by Chenell Parker

  “Nothing at all. I’m bored as hell in here.”

  “Where’s Dre?” I asked, hoping he was gone.

  “He went to the barber shop. At least that’s what he said,” she responded.

  That was perfect. Dre only let one person cut his hair and that was our cousin, Derrick. They would be in the shop for hours joking and playing video games. Cherika said he had only been gone for about an hour. I knew he would probably be there all day. It was now or never. I hung up with Cherika and headed over to the barbershop. I spotted Dre’s car backed into a spot at the store across from the shop. I drove around the block a few times just to see if anyone was outside.

  Once I saw that the coast was clear, I made my move. I grabbed the envelope from my purse and secured it under the windshield wiper on the driver’s side of the car. It would be the first thing to catch Dre’s eye when he got in. I hated to hurt my cousin like that, but he needed to know that his wife was a no good, grimy bitch. I could breathe easy now that the hardest parts were over.

  All I had to do now was sit back and wait for the shit to hit the fan.

  Chapter 10: D’ANDRE

  I had been at home for the past few days spending time with my kids. My baby girl was in Atlanta visiting her brother and I missed the hell out of her. I was so happy that she was coming home tomorrow. Cherika was driving me crazy so I decided to go to one of my barbershops and chill.

  My cousin, Derrick, ran the place for me since he was a licensed barber. I only used the place to wash my dirty money, but the profits were damn good. After being there for a few hours, I said my goodbyes and prepared to go home.

  When I got to my car, I noticed a white envelope stuck under my wipers. I looked around to see if anybody was watching me. I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary so I grabbed the mail and hopped in my car. At first I thought it might be pictures, but the envelope was too light. I was curious about what it was so when I stopped at a red light, I tore the envelope open and pulled a piece of paper out.

  “What the fuck!” I said aloud to myself.

  The car behind me honked its horn. I didn’t even realize the light had turned green. This had to be some kind of joke. According to the papers in my hand, Troy was Drew’s biological father. This was no joke. There was no mistaking the truth that stared me in the face. This paperwork was definitely official. How else would Troy and Drew’s full names be on it?

  It appeared that whoever wanted me to see this didn’t want their identity revealed. I noticed that the customer info section at the top was blank. I didn’t have a clue who it could be. I really didn’t care at this moment. I’ve always had doubts about Drew being mine, but Troy never crossed my mind. It all made sense to me now. That’s why that nigga went left on me. He was fucking Cherika. I wondered how long it had been going on. I really didn’t know how to feel at this point. Troy was like a brother to me at one time. That pissed me off more than anything.

  A part of me felt like both of them did me a huge favor. There was no doubt in my mind that Cherika and I were history. I was looking for a way out and she gave it to me. I wasn’t even going to wait until morning to leave. I was going to get my shit and bounce tonight. The house was dark and quiet when I walked in. I knew my kids were sleeping and I was happy that they wouldn’t see me leaving. I know Cherika wasn’t going to let me go without a fight, but I was prepared.

  I went into our bedroom and headed straight for the walk-in closet. I knew I wouldn’t be able to take everything tonight, but I wanted to get the most important things first. Knowing her ghetto ass, the rest would probably go up in flames before morning. Cherika was lying in the bed watching TV. When she noticed that I was packing my clothes, she jumped up and started screaming at me.

  “Dre what the hell are you doing?”

  “Man, Cherika I’m out. And don’t start all that screaming and shit before you wake up the kids.” I knew that wasn’t going to happen.

  “What you mean you out? How you gon’ leave your kids for another woman Dre? What am I supposed to tell them?” She started crying, but I wasn’t falling for that shit.

  “First of all, I’m not leaving them, I’m leaving you. And this don’t have anything to do with Alexus. This is all on you.”

  “What’s all on me? I have done nothing, but try to keep my family together. You’re the one who bought a third person into our marriage.”

  “You ain’t done nothing, huh?” I asked.

  “No I haven’t,” she cried.

  “Ok. So answer this for me. Who were you fucking when I was locked up?” She had a surprised look on her face that she quickly erased.

  “I wasn’t fucking anybody! I don’t know who you been taking to, but somebody is lying on me.”

  I continued packing. My mind was made up. No matter what she said, I was leaving.

  “So you saying you never had sex with Troy?” She kept her face straight this time when she lied to me.

  “What! I never had sex with Troy. Who told you that?” I was done talking. She would never tell me the truth anyway. I went in my pocket, pulled out the DNA paper, and held it up for her.

  “So since you never slept with him, these DNA results saying he’s Drew’s father by 99.6 percent must be a lie too.” This time she couldn’t hide the look of shock on her face. She looked at the results and quickly came up with another explanation.

  “That shit is fake! Somebody probably photo shopped that or something. When did anyone get the time to test Drew? That’s bullshit!” she screamed.

  “So why him, Cherika? They could have picked anybody and said they were Drew’s father. Why would anyone just randomly pick Troy?” She wasn’t making any sense to me.

  “Baby I don’t know, but that’s a lie. Drew is your baby.” She retorted. “Prove it. Let’s take another test,” I suggested. I knew she would never go for that.

  “Why you doing this, Dre?” She cried. “You just trying to find any reason you can think of to be with Alexus.”

  “Like I said before, this don’t have anything to do with her. You giving me all the reason I need to leave your lying ass. Just tell the truth Cherika. That’s all I’m asking you to do.”

  She sat on the floor crying, but she didn’t respond. She was proving her guilt and didn’t even know it.

  I grabbed the two duffel bags that I packed and prepared to take them to my car. Cherika jumped up and blocked the door so I couldn’t leave.

  “Move out the way Cherika. Don’t even play yourself.” I told her. She was about to start acting a fool, I could tell.

  “Dre, please don’t do this!” she cried falling to her knees.

  I stepped over her and walked down the stairs. I put the two bags in my trunk and went back to get some more. When I got back upstairs, I noticed Cherika wasn’t in the room. I used this opportunity to take as much as I could before she came back. I grabbed another duffel bag and filled it with shoes. I decided to come back later for everything else. I heard voices coming from down the hall so I assumed Cherika was on the phone calling one of her sisters. I would be long gone before any of them got here.

  After checking the closet one last time, I grabbed my bag and headed for the front door. I got downstairs and had to do a double take. Cherika and all four of the kids were sitting on the sofa downstairs. I could tell that she had woken them up because they still looked tired.

  “Daddy, don’t leave us,” my oldest daughter cried. I looked at Cherika in disgust. She was using my kids to get me to stay.

  “I’m not leaving you baby, I just need to get away tonight.” I told my daughter. She was only eight, but that didn’t matter to Cherika. She would use a dog to get her way. My kids should have been in their beds sleeping instead of getting caught up in our drama.

  “Don’t lie to her. Tell her you’re trying to move out on us,” Cherika said as tears fell from her eyes.

  If my kids weren’t down here, I would have slapped the shit out of her. I put my bag down and sat on th
e sofa next to my daughter. I hated to see her cry. If making her happy meant leaving a little later, then that’s what I would have to do. I turned the TV on and watched cartoons with them for a while. I could feel Cherika staring at me, but I refused to look her way.

  After a while, the kids were sleeping peacefully once again. I looked over at Cherika and said what was on my mind.

  “You’re a poor excuse for a mother. Why would you do that to them? That’s fucked up, Cherika.”

  She sat there wiping away her tears, but she didn’t respond. I got up and started bringing the kids upstairs to their rooms. I hope she didn’t think I changed my mind. I was still leaving.

  Once the kids were in their rooms, I prepared to dash the scene again. I grabbed my bag and started for the door.

  “Dre wait!” Cherika yelled. I stopped to hear what she had to say. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, just please don’t leave me!” she cried.

  “Cherika, it’s late. You wait until two in the morning to decide you want to talk,” I said as I left.

  I heard her break down as I walked out the door. This time she didn’t try to stop me and I didn’t look back.

  I went back to the condo and unpacked all of my clothes. Alexus would be home later today and I couldn’t wait. I wanted to call her, but it was too late so I sent her a text instead. I wanted to make sure she came straight here before going anywhere else. We had a lot to talk about. I needed to tell her about everything that happened while she was gone.

  I never did apologize to her for putting my hands on her, but the thought of her being with somebody else enraged me. It felt like she started pulling away from me after that. I couldn’t let that happen. I would do whatever needed to be done to make her happy. I needed her more than she knew. I didn’t want to be with nobody else. Not even my own wife.

  Chapter 11:ALEXUS

  We were on our way back to New Orleans from visiting my brother, Allen in Atlanta. It felt so good to get away from all the madness in my life. I honestly didn’t miss Dre one bit. I did miss my bestie though. I talked to her every day while I was away. She was the only one that knew about Dre hitting me. If my brothers knew, they would go crazy. Jada and I finally figured out how he found out some of the things he knew. Malik would never answer when I called, but he did answer for Jada. He told her everything that happened the night he left her house. Apparently, Dre saw him at the bar and they had words. Malik was the one who shed light on how long we had been back in contact with each other. Thanks to Dre, I lost a good friend and Malik had to have his jaw wired. It wasn’t Dre who attacked him and his friends, but I know he was responsible for the attack.

  Dre sent me at text early this morning telling me to come straight to our spot. He said we had a lot to talk about. I really wanted to go to my mom or my sister’s house, but I knew he would have a fit. I didn’t need him showing up at any of their houses looking for me. I guess I could spend today with him since Jada invited me to her family’s seafood boil the day after.

  Alex was pissed that I wanted him to drop me off at Dre’s house, as he referred to the condo. He hated Dre more than anybody else. Alex was the oldest out of the six of us. He was extremely overprotective of me. He was very outspoken so I never knew what to expect when it came to him and that mouth of his.

  When we pulled up, I hurried out of the car to grab my bag. I didn’t want Alex to get out. I went to the driver’s side and gave him a kiss, telling him that I would call him later. As soon as I got up the stairs, Dre opened the door and pulled me into a tight hug. He picked me up and grabbed my bag as he walked inside with me in his arms. We went into the master bedroom and I noticed something was different. Dre had a lot of his clothes and shoes lying around the room. He always kept clothes here, but this was way more than usual. He laid me down on the bed and started taking my shoes off. I wasn’t in the mood for sex right now. I wanted to know what the hell was going on. When he started removing my shorts, I stopped him.

  “Dre, what’s going on?” I asked.

  “Why are your clothes all over the room like this?” He ignored me and continued trying to take my clothes off.

  “Dre, stop,” I said again more forcefully. I could tell he was mad, but I didn’t care. I needed some answers. Dre sat on the bed next to me and told me everything that took place over the last few days. He even showed me the paternity test that somebody left on his car. I couldn’t believe Cherika and Troy slept together. I was having an even harder time believing that Troy was Drew’s father. Some things just weren’t adding up.

  “Dre, I think you should do another test. This is weird. Who could have tested Drew without y’all knowing?” I was trying to make sense out of a crazy situation.

  “I don’t know.” Dre said. “I wouldn’t just go by what that paper says,” I told him.

  “Maybe you can make an appointment somewhere else to have it done again.”

  He didn’t respond, but I know he was thinking about it. This was all too much for me to handle. I didn’t need these kinds of problems. I was ready to leave Dre and all his drama behind.

  The next day, I decided to clean the house and wash all of our clothes. Jada was picking me up in an hour to go her cousins’ seafood boil. Jada’s twin cousins, Katina and Katrina, were the same age as us. We hung out sometimes, but this would be my first time going to their house. They were sweet girls who always made me feel welcomed. Dre was walking around with an attitude ever since I told him that I was leaving. He was starting to get on my nerves. I didn’t tell him to leave his wife and I damn sure didn’t tell him that I would be living here with him permanently. I refused to sit inside under him all day.

  “What time you coming back?” Dre asked as I was getting dressed.

  “I don’t know,” I responded with a hint of disgust in my voice. I was not Cherika. D’Andre Mack was not the center of my universe.

  Jada sent me a text letting me know that she was outside. I grabbed my purse and prepared to exit stage left, when Dre grabbed my arm.

  “Damn, I can’t get a kiss?” he asked. He leaned down and forcefully stuck his tongue in my mouth, almost gagging me. “You better be good,” he said as he released me. I walked out the door without replying. I still loved Dre, but I wanted a break. I was feeling suffocated.

  I got in the car with Jada smiling from ear to ear.

  “What the hell are you so happy about?” Jada asked.

  “I’m happy to be getting the hell out of that house. I just got back yesterday, but I’m ready to go again,” I responded.

  “Girl, that man is not letting you go nowhere. You stuck for life,” Jada laughed. I didn’t find it funny because it was true. No matter how many times I tried to leave Dre, he always made his way back into my life. That was nobody’s fault, but my own.

  When Jada and I pulled up to her aunt’s house, there were cars everywhere. I didn’t expect so many people to be here. It kind of made me nervous, but I didn’t let it show. I was happy that I decided to look extra cute today. I wore my yellow Chanel romper with my yellow and grey Chanel ankle strap wedges. We walked into the yard and I felt like I was on display. All of Jada’s male cousins eyed me like a piece of meat as we passed. Jada stopped to introduce me to a few of them. I made sure to stay close to her as we searched around for the twins.

  “Girl, you got my cousins foaming at the mouth with all of that ass you got.” Jada laughed.

  “I didn’t know this many people would be here,” I responded. We went into the house and found the twins in the kitchen with Jada’s aunt, Tyra. Tyra was the twins’ mother, but she looked damn good for her age. Trina and Tina were her youngest at twenty-one, but she had another son who was twenty-six that I had never met. Jada and the twins always talked about him. That was the only reason I knew he existed.

  “Hey pretty girl,” Tyra smiled as she spoke to me. She always called me pretty girl whenever she saw me. This was my first time at her house, but she was always at other family gathe
rings that I went to with Jada. She was always nice to me no matter where we were.

  “Hey Ms. Tyra,” I said.

  “Girl, I told you to stop calling me Ms. I am not that damn old. Just call me Tyra,” she said while snaking her neck.

  “Hey y’all,” the twins spoke.

  “Hey,” we replied in unison. We sat around in the kitchen laughing and talking with them for a while.

  “Ma!” someone yelled from the front of the house.

  “I’m in the kitchen,” Tyra yelled back. I heard footsteps coming our way and then he appeared. I had to force my mouth closed as I stared at the specimen before me. He was tall with light skin and pretty gray eyes. I tried not to stare, but damn it was hard. When our eyes locked, I quickly looked away, but he didn’t.

  “Helloooo,” Tyra said, getting his attention.

  “Oh, um where you want me to put the liquor at?” he asked.

  “You can bring it in here,” Tyra responded. “And this is Jada’s friend Alexus. Lex this is my oldest son Tyree,” Tyra introduced us. We spoke to each other as he exited the kitchen.

  “Well damn,” Tyra laughed as she looked at me. I blushed, but she was right. Her son was fine as hell.

  “Where is the bathroom?” I asked to no one in particular.

  “It’s the first door down the hall to the left,” Tyra answered. When I got up, Tyree and another man were entering through the front door.

  “Damn,” one of them said as I passed by. I splashed some cold water on my face before I left the bathroom. I really had to get it together. The last thing I needed was to meet somebody else right now. I still had a mess on my hands with Dre. I would never be able to forgive myself if I dragged another innocent person into my mess. I felt bad enough about what happened to Malik.

  Jada, the twins and I, sat in the yard eating seafood and drinking wine coolers. I didn’t know what Tyra did for a living, but she had a beautiful home with a huge yard and pool. There were a lot of people here and they still had room for more. Tyree and some of his cousins were playing dominoes at a nearby table. I noticed that he kept sneaking peeks at me, but I pretended not to pay attention. Jada noticed too and made the twins aware of it.