Married on Mondays

by HoneyB

  “I love you, Daddy,” Foxy said, releasing her embrace.

  “Follow me, Dad,” DéJà said, leading the way into the kitchen.

  Mason laughed at the racks in front the office as DéJà unlocked the wheels. She rolled the carts to the side.

  Their dad chuckled. “Is my angel a prisoner in her own office? What in the world is going on?” he asked, standing in the center of the office.

  Victoria awakened to the sound of rolling baking racks and her dad’s voice. “Daddy?” she said. Her eyes widened. “Daddy!” Victoria sprang from the sofa, dashed to her dad, held him tight.

  Mason hugged Victoria.

  “Daddy, it’s a long and short story,” Victoria said, squinting at DéJà and Foxy.

  “Well, I’ve got more time than money when it comes to my queen, princess, and angel.” He waited for Victoria to release her embrace, then said, “Let’s all sit on the sofa, and angel, you start from the beginning.”

  DéJà hurried to sit on the opposite side of their father. Foxy sat next to her. Victoria sat on the edge next to Mason.

  DéJà noticed their dad hadn’t asked Victoria to summarize her story or give him the shortest version and he hadn’t told her to start at the end and explain the story backward as he’d done numerous times when they were teenagers. Start from the beginning meant her dad had as much time as it would take to listen to Victoria’s problem.

  “Y’all already know but do not interrupt me,” Victoria said, staring at DéJà.

  “Wait,” Foxy said. “Don’t start without me. I need to lock the front door.”

  “We have customers,” DéJà said.

  Foxy whispered, “I’ll give them a twenty-dollar coupon and politely ask them to leave.” Foxy was back in the office in less than five minutes.

  Victoria exhaled. Her dad held her hand. Mason placed his burly arm around her shoulder. Tears streamed down Victoria’s cheeks as she began to explain. “Rain is upset with me.”

  “This is about him?” Her daddy laughed, then asked, “He’s still soaking about your marrying Naomi?”

  “It’s more than that, Daddy,” Victoria said, watching her sisters cling to every word coming out of her mouth.

  “I’m sorry, angel. I never really knew him, but each time I saw him on television, he seemed a little off. Like something was always troubling him. Tell Daddy what’s bothering my angel.”

  Victoria swallowed air, took a deep breath, then said, “Rain told me my virginity is his and—”

  Mason Montgomery stood. His nostrils flared, eyes watered, lips twisted to one side. He balled his fingers into fists, rubbed his knuckles together, then interlocked his fingers and cracked all his knuckles at the same time. “Keep going.”

  Victoria closed her eyes, then said, “If I rape you, Victoria, what are you going to do, call the police?”

  “That’s it!” DéJà yelled. “Rape you? You’ve been keeping something like this from us? You’ve been passively acting like all he wanted to do was have sex with you, and that fool threatened to rape you?”

  Tears of anger flowed down Mason’s face. “DéJà, get your gun. I need to pay this Rain man a visit.”

  DéJà hurried to their safe, unlocked it, retrieved her .45 caliber, then handed it to her dad.

  Mason commanded, “Victoria, let’s go.”

  “This was what I was afraid of.” Victoria looked at DéJà and said, “Satisfied?”

  DéJà said, “You thought you could handle something like this on your own? Sis, what’s wrong with you? Don’t worry. I got your back. Remember that. I’m going with you guys.”

  “Me too,” Foxy said.

  Victoria couldn’t say no to their dad so she got her purse and followed Mason out the door with her sisters trailing. The ride to Rain’s house was quiet. They all knew when their dad was outraged, it was best for them not to talk while Mason was thinking.

  Victoria sat in the front with her dad, wondering what Naomi would say when she found out about this episode. Maybe Victoria could swear her sisters to secrecy. What was she thinking? Depending on the outcome, Naomi might hear the news before Victoria got home.

  Mason parked in Rain’s driveway. “Angel, come with me.”

  It was as though they were all nicknamed Angel, because Foxy and DéJà followed Victoria and Mason to the door. Mason stood at the front door beside Victoria. Victoria stood in front of the peephole, rang the doorbell.

  Rain opened the door, opened his mouth.

  Bam! Mason’s fist landed in the center of Rain’s face. Rain tried to slam the door. Bam! The second punch caused Rain to stumble, then fall in the doorway.

  “Get your punk ass up, or my foot is coming down there to get you,” Mason yelled.

  Victoria stared at her father’s cowboy boots. Her sisters remained quiet. Victoria did not derive pleasure from seeing her dad beat Rain. Honestly, she was afraid of what would happen after the fight was over.

  Rain scrambled toward the coffee table.

  “His gun!” Victoria screamed.

  DéJà beat him to the table, kicked the table over on Rain, then kicked his gun under the sofa. Rain stared at Victoria. If looks could kill, she’d be the one on the floor fighting for her life.

  Mason stomped Rain in the chest, left his foot there, applied so much pressure that Rain tried weaseling his way out of the fight but couldn’t.

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Montgomery. I wasn’t serious. Victoria, tell your dad I’d never hurt you.”

  Mason looked at his daughter. Victoria remained quiet.

  Mason placed his other foot on Rain’s chest. He pushed his heels into Rain’s chest.

  Rain wheezed. Tried to speak but couldn’t.

  “You come see Mason Montgomery when you want to be a man. Do not man the fuck up against any of my girls. If you go near any of them again, I will kill you. That’s a promise. And when Mason Montgomery makes a promise, he keeps it. And when your sorry punk ass is dead, who you gon’ call motherfucker? Who you gon’ call? Dirty ass cop. I see why your parents disown you.”

  Mason stepped off Rain’s chest and said, “Girls, let’s go.”

  CHAPTER 47

  Foxy

  There was rage inside every man that could unexpectedly explode at any moment.

  Come clean or walk away dirty? Witnessing her father crush Rain’s chest, Foxy understood DéJà’s concerns. How would she feel if Winton had lied to her, claiming his ex-fiancée was his cousin? Had invited her to their wedding? Allowed her to stand with his family in their wedding photos?

  Her dad was so mad he could’ve killed Rain. Whether Rain was serious or not about raping Victoria, there were near-casualty consequences beyond Rain’s imagination for his actions. If Rain knew the type of man Mason was, he would’ve never threatened to rape Victoria. But Rain hadn’t known. And Foxy didn’t know what would break her husband, but it was time to squash the love triangle. She had to work things out with her husband or divorce him.

  Tuesday night her frustrations had again led her to Dallas’s house. She couldn’t continue the emotional tug-of-war. Foxy had made her decision. She lay in the bed beside him with his head on her breast. She stroked his hair.

  Foxy whispered, “Baby.”

  “You ready?” Dallas asked, gently biting her nipple.

  Foxy slid her hand between her nipple and his mouth. For the first time since she’d known Dallas, his touch irritated her. Foxy wasn’t upset with Dallas. She was irritated with her situation; therefore, everything agitated her, including him.

  Maybe talking about her problems would help. “I walked in on Winton and Nova yesterday morning.”

  “He was bold enough to bring a woman to your house?”

  Foxy shook her head.

  “Yesterday?” he repeated.

  Foxy nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Where? Weren’t you at home or at work? How could you walk in on him, if you were supposed to be someplace else?” Dallas leaned his back against the headboard
. Scooted a few inches away from her. Folded his arms.

  Foxy hadn’t seen him behave like an adolescent. She snapped, “I was supposed to be wherever I was. I went to my husband’s office.”

  Dallas stared at her. Disgust coated his eyes. His right eye squinted. “Why?”

  Something in the air had folks borderline hostile. Was there a full moon? Her dad beat Rain. Rain acted like a madman. Winton was angry. DéJà was up in arms. Victoria was trying to get in Naomi’s good graces. She was heated, and Dallas was pissed off.

  Foxy wasn’t explaining why. “Forget it, Dallas,” she said, hitting him in the face with a pillow. She went to the bathroom, turned on the shower.

  Dallas entered the bathroom. “I asked you why. Why did you go to his office?”

  Foxy stepped inside the shower, closed the glass door.

  Dallas opened the door, stood in front her, closed the door. “Foxy, you are going to tell me why you went to his office. Say it.”

  She felt cornered by his relentless questioning. Didn’t want any sudden outbreaks. “I want my husband back. I mean. I love you, but… we can’t go on like this forever. It’s time for me to make a decision. I decided. That’s why I went to his office. Satisfied?”

  Dallas stepped out of the shower, left the door open. “No regard for me, huh? If that’s what you truly want, I’ll help you,” Dallas said. “You’ve made my decision for me. If you go back to him, I’m selling this house and moving out of state to be closer to my girls. I was hoping to surprise you with the house I’d bought for us. Maybe you’re right. Maybe it is time to make a change.” Dallas blinked away his tears. “Leave my key on your way out, and don’t come back unless you’re moving out of state with me.”

  Foxy stepped out the shower too then stared in his eyes. She swallowed hard. Tears streamed down her cheeks. When was he going to tell her he was moving? He hadn’t left, and she was already feeling lonely with the thought of not seeing him and jealous of girls she hadn’t met. They’d have Dallas and she wouldn’t.

  “I’m sure you’ve made the right decision,” she said, praying she’d done the same. “I’m gonna miss going out on Saturdays and stopping by in the morning and—” Foxy stopped in the middle of her sentence then stepped back in the shower.

  “I’m going to miss you too,” Dallas said, closing the shower door.

  Foxy placed her hand on the glass. He was too far away to hear her say, “I will always be here for you and I will always be your friend.”

  CHAPTER 48

  Victoria

  Butterflies

  Orchids

  Women

  Blossom into beauties

  Spreading wings

  Peeling leaves unfold

  Harvesting colorful wonders to behold

  Taken for granted

  Oblivious to nature’s tenderness

  See?

  Not

  Most precious to the world

  The essence of existence

  Will cease to exist

  When women stop producing

  Little boys and little girls

  Roaring thunder, darting lightning, darkness overshadowed the day. Victoria stood in the lobby, staring out the window. She’d forgotten to visit the fifty-year-old soccer mom yesterday. She apologized and tried refunding the two thousand dollars the lady had paid, but she insisted that Victoria keep the money and rescheduled the appointment.

  A streak of lightning bolted through the dark clouds illuminating the sky. “Y’all ready,” Victoria asked her sisters.

  Foxy’s tote bag was on her shoulder. DéJà’s purse was in her hand.

  “Maybe we should give it a few more minutes for this downpour to ease up,” Foxy said.

  “I can’t cancel on my client twice. She desperately needs this appointment.” Victoria slid her chair to the table with her sisters. “Besides, what am I going to do at home until Naomi gets there?”

  “You’re still afraid to be home alone?” Foxy asked, then offered, “I’ll go home with you and wait until Naomi gets home.”

  Victoria was afraid. She hadn’t seen or heard from Rain since her dad had beaten him. But she felt in her gut that the question was not if but when would Rain seek revenge. “Nah, I’ll keep the appointment. Besides, her house is en route to mine and servicing my client will take my mind off of him. Well, looks like it slowed down enough for us to make it to our destinations.”

  “I’m following you to her house,” Foxy said, locking the front door.

  “And I’m following you,” DéJà said to Foxy.

  Victoria hurried to her car in time to beat the next downpour. She started her car, flipped the switch for her windshield wipers. Frantically the blades swept back and forth but still not fast enough to keep pace with the gusty winds slamming rain against her windshield. Victoria drove fifteen miles per hour along Shoreline Drive until she came to Lakeview Pike.

  Foxy’s headlights flickered, then Victoria’s cell phone rang. She tooted her horn at Foxy, ignored her phone. She’d be okay. Victoria pulled into the soccer mom’s driveway and waited for the rain to subside, so she could make her way to the woman’s front door without getting drenched. She checked her caller ID. “Blocked” appeared on her display. She’d assume it was Rain or the wrong number as no one called her from blocked numbers. There was no message to check.

  Victoria opened her car door, screamed, then slammed it shut. “What the hell was that?” Her heart pounded in her throat. She sat staring into what was now moderate rainfall. “Okay, Victoria. You can do this. Get out of the car. You can see her lighted porch from here and you’re twenty minutes late.”

  She opened her car door again, placed both feet on the ground, then closed her door. An overstuffed, soaked baby doll was on the ground beside her car. “Why do parents buy these things for their children?” Stuffed animals had no useful purpose, and parents needed to boycott dolls. What child needed to pretend she was a mother before she learned to read and write?

  Knocking on the door, Victoria waited for the woman to answer.

  “Hey, I assumed you weren’t going to make it in this horrible weather. My kids are home. I picked them up early. Would you like to come in?” she asked, opening the door.

  “Sure,” Victoria said. “We can talk about whatever you’d like.”

  The truth was with no window coverings and not being able to see what or who might be outside, Victoria didn’t want to be home alone. She didn’t want to sit at DéJà’s house, and she refused to go with Foxy to Dallas’s place. Victoria followed the woman to her living room.

  “Let me get you a towel to sit on. I’ll be right back.”

  Victoria stood in front the mantel. What a lovely family photo. The man was bald, dark, handsome and had a smile that showed how happy he was in that moment. His eyes beamed. The children clung to him, and he held tight to his wife. Victoria wondered if there was a chance for the soccer mom to remarry her husband.

  “Would you like a cup of tea?” the woman asked, handing Victoria the towel.

  “Oh, that would be perfect. Nice picture.”

  “Yeah, I leave it there for the kids. If it were up to me, I’d throw it out,” she said, leaving the room.

  Victoria wasn’t convinced the woman meant that. Her bitterness was in part responsible for her low libido.

  She returned with two cups, a white pot with hot water, tea bags, honey, and spoons on a tray. The woman set the tray on the coffee table.

  Waiting for the woman to sit, Victoria spread the towel next to her, then settled in on the sofa. She gave the woman time to get comfortable with her presence. “We can talk about whatever you’d like.”

  She cried. Wiped her tears with one of the cloth napkins from the tray.

  “It’s okay to grieve over your husband leaving the family. But it’s more important to have hope that he’ll return. If that’s what you want.”

  She sniffled with the roar of the thunder, then nodded. “I do still love him.
I do want him back, but I’m so angry with him.”

  Victoria was selfish for a moment, reflecting on her marriage. She didn’t want to live her life without Naomi.

  The woman exhaled. Took a deep breath, then sighed. “I thought I could handle it all, you know. But now that he’s gone I have time to think about how he must’ve felt. I was Mom first. Nothing came before my kids, not even my husband. I was supervisor to thirty employees dealing with their family problems. I came home and cooked because I refused to feed my kids fast food.” She chuckled. “See, I’m still programmed. I said my kids, not my family. I cleaned. Checked homework.”

  Victoria placed her hand on the woman’s hand. “Everything you’re saying is I, not we. Did you let your husband help?”

  She shook her head, closed her eyes. “I assumed I was supposed to do it all. That’s what a mother does you know. And when he tried to help, well he was always in my way. I could do it faster and better without him.”

  Looking into the woman’s eyes, Victoria asked, “What does a wife do?”

  A flat smile stretched across the woman’s face. Tears glazed her eyes but didn’t fall. She nodded, rocked. Sat there as if she feared giving the wrong answer.

  Victoria changed the topic. “Let’s focus on your sex life.”

  The woman chuckled. “What sex life? I don’t have one since he’s left. That’s why I called you.”

  She obviously didn’t have much of a sex life when her husband was there, but Victoria didn’t educate her clients by making them feel guilty. Why had this woman waited until her relationship was over to make a change? If she had exerted this energy while her husband was home, he’d probably be the one sitting on the sofa next to her.