Jrue moved over to the admissions’ booth to see if they had any more pamphlets left.
“He is so fine.”
My head whipped around to look at Zee standing there staring after him, watching his ass. I couldn’t believe she was admiring my man.
“You need to find something else to do,” I said and tried to keep the attitude from my voice.
“What? I’m just saying. Hell, if he’s messing around on his wife, why not mess around with me?”
See, it’s always women like her wanting something they could never have. Instead of fantasizing about my man, what she needed to be worried about was that overweight boyfriend of hers. “Trust me, as happy as that man looks, I’m sure somebody’s responsible for that smile, which means that sistah’s on her job.”
She laughed. “I know that’s right.”
We went back to handing out T-shirts and gift bags. Zee was spending way too much time ogling my man. I couldn’t wait until we were finally able to go public with our relationship so I could check her ass.
I was waving good-bye to two small children when I spotted Jrue’s wife sauntering her narrow hips in our direction.
“Who wears high heels to an art fair?” Zee hissed near my ear. I gave her a weird look, then glanced down at my feet. “Oops. My bad.”
I rolled my eyes back in the direction of Charlotte and took a moment to check her out. The yellow pantsuit was clearly Liz Claiborne and the shoes were Louboutin to match the leather bag on her arm. Trust and believe I planned to drag Jrue to Norfolk next weekend so he could buy me the same, because there was no way I was being upstaged by that narrow wench. Although I could wear a paper sack and she still wouldn’t look as delectable as me.
“Good afternoon, ladies.” She greeted us with a warm smile and I looked at how neat her ponytail was. No weave, all natural, and not a hair out of place.
“Hello, Charlotte,” I said, then paused to hand a pamphlet to a student and explain our program. The whole time I was talking, out the corner of my eye I caught that bitch staring at me.
“When’s your baby due?”
I turned around, fighting a smirk. I wanted so badly to correct her. You mean, when is Jrue’s baby due? I chuckled inward. In due time, Netta, in due time.
“In three months,” I replied, and rubbed my stomach. There was no mistaking the envy in her eyes.
“Do you know what you’re having?”
I paused for dramatic effect. “Not yet, but he wants a boy and I want a little girl,” I said with a laugh. I was so enjoying this. “What about you? No babies in the forecast?”
Charlotte looked a little embarrassed. Good for her. “No, we’ve talked about it, but Jrue and I need to slow down our schedules first.”
I arched my brow. “Really? Because the other day he told me he would love to have children. At least two.”
Charlotte swallowed, clearly disturbed that I’d had such an intimate conversation with her husband. Oh my! She had no idea just how intimate we have been.
I shrugged and tried to act nonchalant. “My baby’s father and I are so excited. I can’t get him to stop talking about this child. He’s been waiting a long time for this day.”
“I can imagine he is excited.” She looked past my shoulder, probably anxious to get away from me and my happy pregnancy.
“He’s ecstatic.” I leaned in, pretending like we were close friends and I was sharing an important secret. “Every man wants a child of his own. Believe me when I tell you, if a man can’t get it from his wife, then there’s always some other woman out there willing to have his baby. And I’d be damned before I let another woman steal my man.”
Charlotte eased back and looked at me as if she wasn’t sure if she should thank me or strangle me. That’s good, because I just wanted to give her a little something to think about. Trust me, the day this baby is born is the day she better get ready for me to come knocking on her front door.
I spotted Jrue heading our way. His brow was bunched and he appeared nervous as hell. “Hey, baby.”
I whipped my head around. “Hey, I—” I bit my tongue when I realized he wasn’t talking to me. Instead, I watched him lean across the table and kiss that skinny wench dead in the mouth in front of me. No the hell he didn’t.
Charlotte pulled back with this saucy grin on her face like she was telling me something. The bitch can’t tell me shit. Hell, I was the one carrying her husband’s child, not her. “I thought I would come down here and check on my husband and see if we were still on for dinner tonight.” She was smiling up at him and I wanted to reach over and scratch her eyes out. Ticktock, bitch! Ticktock.
“We should be done in plenty of time.” He was staring at her the way he looks at me and I wasn’t feeling that shit at all. That was my man. Not hers. I was supposed to be wearing that kilowatt diamond that was on her ring finger. What bothered me the most was that my man had forgotten that I was standing there. I guess it was up to me to remind him.
“Ouch!” I cried, then buckled over and gripped my stomach.
Jrue practically pushed Charlotte away and hurried to my side. “Trinette, you okay?”
“I just felt a sharp pain. Ouch! There it goes again!” God, I was good.
I leaned all my weight against him as he assisted me over to a folding chair. “I told you not to overdo it,” he scolded, then dropped down on one knee beside me. I just stared into those beautiful eyes of his.
“Shouldn’t we call an ambulance?” Charlotte asked with a frown on her face.
“No, I’ll be okay. Just give me a minute.” I flinched again for dramatic effect. “Sometimes this little lady likes to kick her mama in the ribs.” I gazed up at Jrue again with a pitiful smile on my face and he took my hand in his.
Charlotte hurried around the table and moved beside her husband, looking suspicious. It took everything I had not to laugh at her barren ass.
“Take some deep breaths,” Jrue suggested, and I did just as he said. This was just too good. “Charlotte, can you hand me a water from out of the cooler?”
She cut her eyes, then walked over to the cooler under the table and retrieved a bottle of water. Jrue quickly took it from her and pressed it up against my forehead.
“Mmm, thank you, Jrue,” I purred.
Charlotte stood back and watched the two of us together. There was no way she could not see what was going on. It took everything I had not to laugh as I rested my forehead on Jrue’s shoulder. “I guess I did overdo it today.” And then my daughter must have known her daddy was near. “Oh!” I gasped.
“What’s wrong?” My man looked so scared I almost felt bad for worrying him.
“Feel.” I took his hand and pressed it against my stomach. “She’s kicking me.”
“Wow!” he laughed. “You got a little football player on your hands.”
“Or a dancer.” I winked.
You should have seen the look on his face while she kicked around. I stole a glance over at Charlotte, standing there like a lost puppy. “Charlotte, would you like to feel her kick?”
She quickly shook her head. Hater. I didn’t want her bony fingers touching me no way. What Jrue and I were sharing she would never get to experience with him. And that’s okay, because he wouldn’t be her husband for long. That much I was certain of. This little girl I was carrying had already stolen her father’s heart. And I planned to steal Charlotte’s husband away. It was going to be easier than I had imagined.
19
Nikki
“Nikki, you’re never going to believe this.”
I was heading into the bookstore when I noticed I had missed a call from Trinette. I really wasn’t in the mood to hear about her love triangle, but as crazy as my life was, it was nice to know someone else had problems other than me.
“What won’t I believe?” I dared to ask.
“Donovan called me last night.”
“What?” I almost ran through a stop sign and had to slam down hard on the brakes
. “What the hell! When was this?”
“Last night. Girl, I tried calling you back, but you turned your phone off.”
“That’s because I caught Donovan going through my call history the other night. Not that I have anything to hide.” When I confronted him about it, he admitted he was looking for proof that I was having an affair. I was so tired of him accusing me of doing something I was not.
“Well, he sounded crazy last night. Don’t you know he asked me if while he was deployed if you had been messing around?”
No he didn’t. “What did you tell him?”
“What?” Trinette gave a rude snort. “I can’t believe you even asked me that! I told him hell no, because as far as I am concerned you hadn’t. Technically, the two of you weren’t even together at the time.”
It was good to know my best friend was still quick as a whip. “Thanks, Netta. What else did he say?”
“That was it and he acted like he didn’t even believe me. Said we were two peas in the pod, then told me to tell Leon to give him a call.” Trinette started laughing like it was funny. She had no idea this situation was getting far from funny. “I couldn’t believe he even went there.”
Hell, I could. “You remember how he was when you were here? Well, he’s starting to act like that again. One day he’s normal, the next day he isn’t. And now, ever since his best friend was murdered, he’s back to acting like he has PTSD. It’s like I’m starting all over again.”
“He’s probably just being paranoid. You know how those army dudes are. They come back from a long deployment and automatically assume someone’s been sleeping in their bed. It’s like Goldilocks and some shit. Who’s been sleeping in my bed? Who’s been sleeping in my bed?” Her crazy ass used different animated voices mimicking the three bears and had me laughing.
“You are stupid!”
She laughed. “Whatever, you know I’m telling the truth. To be honest, I don’t know how you have the patience. I stopped dating soldiers when I was nineteen after I realized they’re all broke and crazy.”
I rolled my eyes even though I knew Trinette couldn’t see me. “Well, we’re not just talking about a soldier, we’re talking about Donovan.”
“I know, Nikki. And you know I love Donovan, but the best thing you can do for your husband is get him some professional help,” she said as she tried her best to be more sensitive to my needs. I had to at least give her an A for effort.
“You’re right. Prayer and couple’s counseling just isn’t enough,” I admitted while I whipped around a slow car and made a right at the corner. “Enough about Donovan. How have you been feeling?” I asked, anxious to change the subject.
“Sick as a damn dog. I don’t know why women do this to their bodies! All the throwing up . . . eating like a crazy person . . . It’s just too much for someone to have to go through for nine months.”
That girl is so dramatic that I had to laugh. “If women didn’t do it, your ass wouldn’t be here. I’m just glad you decided to keep the baby.”
“Girl, me too. It’s actually worked out better than I thought. The way those two men are behaving, I plan to milk it for everything that it’s worth. Leon bought me that Pandora bracelet I’d been wanting. Jrue just paid off my Macy’s credit card. I’m going to sit back and enjoy this shit!” She sounded so damn giddy.
We shared a laugh. I definitely needed that with all the crazy shit happening in my life right about now.
“When’s Leon getting back from Germany?”
“Saturday.” Trinette sighed. “Two weeks was not long enough. I have been enjoying spending time with Jrue without worrying about Leon sniffing my damn pussy.”
“He doesn’t do that!” I laughed. My girl was so dramatic.
“Yes, he does, right before he dives in for a snack. Now that I’m pregnant I can’t keep that man off me. He likes sucking on my titties and slurping on my damn clit!”
I was laughing so hard I had to wipe my eye. “He’s happy his wife is finally pregnant.”
“Yeah, I know, and it’s going to break his heart when I finally leave him.” I was surprised that she actually sounded sad about it.
I still think Trinette would be making a big mistake leaving Leon for another man. She already knew what kind of life she’d have with Leon. Okay, so maybe he couldn’t put it down in the bedroom like Jrue, but he loved her unconditionally and once that baby was born, there would be no limits to what that man would be willing to do. But I guess the heart wants what the heart wants, and at least for once it wasn’t about money, so it made me wonder if maybe this thing with Jrue really was for real.
“You never know; before that baby is born you might even change your mind.”
There was a hesitation before she finally said, “Maybe, but I seriously doubt it. I think Jrue’s wife knows something is going on, so it’s only a matter of time.”
“Just be careful. You see what happened to Lorenzo.”
She snorted rudely in the phone. “No offense to Tristan, but if I was Tammy and found out my husband had been fucking a dude, I would have shot his ass too.”
So would I.
We chatted a few more minutes; then I got off the phone and thought about what she had said and decided that maybe it was time to go another route with this entire situation. Donovan would kill me if he found out, but I was running out of options.
I glanced down at the clock on the dashboard. It was barely eight. I had planned to arrive at the bookstore a little early this morning and work on inventory, but there was plenty of time for that later. Right now I had something a little more important to deal with. I headed down I-70, got off at Goodfellow Road, and drove until I reached a soldier standing on guard at the entrance. I flashed my military dependent ID, then pulled my car through the gate and up to the 138th Engineering Battalion.
Donovan had joined the National Guard during college. He had been attending on a track scholarship, but with me also trying to go to school, rent, and bills, we still were barely making it. Back then they had been giving $20,000 bonuses to join the Army National Guard, as well as money for education and books. Donovan had signed up without even telling me. That had been our first heated argument, mainly because I was scared and thought he was selfish for jeopardizing his life when he had a wife to think about. He was just getting ready to leave for basic training when I had discovered I was pregnant with Mimi.
I parked my car in the visitor’s parking lot, then moved inside the building. I had been there enough times that I knew where I was going. I nodded as I passed several soldiers in their battle uniforms. It doesn’t matter how often I see it, nothing is sexier to me than a man in uniform. I guess it’s what the uniform stands for. The pride and the confidence all together seemed to give a man swag.
I moved quickly across the drill floor to the battalion headquarters and stepped through the door. There was a young light-skinned female private sitting behind the front desk.
“Can I help you?” she asked. I didn’t miss the way she was looking me up and down. I guess wearing a uniform made it hard for a woman to feel feminine. I was rocking blue jeans, yellow pumps, and a white striped blouse. My locks I had pulled up in a cute ponytail. Yes, this sistah looked fierce.
“I’m Staff Sergeant Truth’s wife. Is your first shirt here?”
I saw the way her light brown eyes lit up at the mention of my husband’s name. I gazed down at the last name on her shirt. Sanders. I might have to bring her name up at dinner tonight and find out what her story was.
“Hold up.” She rose and walked around the corner and a few seconds later returned and signaled for me to come back. “Clarke said to come on back.”
I nodded and sashayed past her, leaving a whiff of my perfume for her to inhale. Just because she was wearing a uniform didn’t mean she couldn’t still smell good. I read the names on the doors until I spotted SERGEANT FIRST CLASS CLARKE.
“Mrs. Truth . . . please . . . come on in.”
I nodded a
nd greeted him with a warm smile. “Thank you. It’s good to see you again.”
“Yes, it is.” His grin became a devilish smirk. I watched as his eyes gave me the once-over, stopping at my ass. I rolled my eyes inward. Like I said before, men ain’t shit.
“Have a seat. What can I do for you this morning?”
I suddenly felt like I was betraying my husband by being there. The last thing I wanted was to put his business in the street, but at the same time he needed help and it was his unit’s responsibility to make sure that he got that. I lowered into the stiff chair across from his desk and waited until Clarke had taken a seat before I spoke.
“I’ve been wanting to talk to you about Donovan. Did you receive any of the messages I left?”
He shook his head. “What messages?”
Something in his eyes said he was lying. He’d received my messages but felt he had better things to do than return the calls of one of his NCOs’ wives.
“Never mind,” I muttered while I tried to hold my tongue. “The reason for my calls and for dropping by your office this morning is that I really need to talk to you about my husband’s behavior.”
His brow rose and I could tell he was interested in what I was about to say. I hated feeling like I was betraying my husband, but Clarke was his supervisor, so he would know more about Donovan than anyone else. “Ever since he’s gotten home from Afghanistan, he’s been acting weird.”
“Weird how?” he asked suspiciously.
I could barely steady my shaking hands. “Hardly sleeping, drinking too much, and really depressed.”
He laughed. “Is that all? Everyone acts like that after a deployment.”
No, he isn’t making fun of me. I shook my head and tried to remain calm. “No, this is nothing like the way he had acted when he got back from Iraq. This time it’s different. He’s really distant and agitated.”
Clarke leaned across the desk and licked his lips suggestively. “It sounds to me like it’s nothing that his wife can’t solve at home for him.” He laughed again and then had the nerve to reach down for his cell phone and start texting. “All he needs is some loving. You can handle that, can’t you?”
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