They all laughed.
“So, what are you going to do about Jayon? That’s if Omar doesn’t get to him first,” Dakota said.
“Omar isn’t like that. Besides, I’m not telling him during our anniversary weekend. First, I will talk with Jayon on Monday, and tell Omar after it is all handled.”
“Well, good luck with that. I personally think a hot affair will loosen you up some, Ms. Esquire,” Dakota said.
“Ha ha. I’m going to ignore that comment. Only Omar knows just how loose I really am,” Jordan said jokingly. “Speaking of loose, Lexia is coming in town Monday, and she wants to stay with one of us, I think—and it ain’t gonna be me.”
“Why not?” Chrasey said.
“Because I am having a hard enough time giving Omar the time he needs without having another woman in my house to give it to him. Besides, Chrasey, let me see you let her stay with you and Keith.”
“Oh no, she isn’t. I guess that just leaves Dakota—she is the only one who doesn’t have a husband to be stolen,” Chrasey said.
“That’s not right. Why you guys treat her like that?” Dakota said.
“Please, Dakota. Have you forgotten about how she had sex with Tim when he was with Tasha? And she boinked Edgar, Tammy’s boyfriend Chris, and Alicia’s man. The girl just doesn’t care. I know she claims to have changed, but I’m just being on the safe side,” Chrasey replied.
“Well, she can stay with me. Besides I have my men whipped, so I am not worried about it,” Dakota giggled.
“M-hmm. Well, she should be in town on Monday—I will tell her to call you when I speak to her,” Jordan said.
“Well, I have to go, you guys. Breakfast is ready,” Dakota said.
“OK. I will call you guys later,” Chrasey said.
They all hung up.
Once Dakota leaned over and placed her cordless phone on the cradle, she swung her legs out of the bed and put on her lavender monogrammed robe. She walked down the hall and stood in the kitchen doorway. She was just in time to watch David set the table.
As she watched him carefully place the forks and knives on top of the napkins, in her mind she was thinking to herself, This is husband material all the way.
Right during that very delightful thought, the doorbell rang. Without thinking twice, too far in “la la land,” Dakota glided toward the door. She looked through the peephole and didn’t see anybody.
“Who is it?” she called. When she didn’t hear a reply, she opened the door to see if someone was in the hall.
Maybe worst case she thought it could have been her landlord, maybe a Jehovah’s Witness, maybe the paper boy coming to collect money, a FedEx package, something. . . but she damn sure wasn’t prepared for it to be Tony. After waiting for him to ring her doorbell all night, when he finally arrived he wasn’t even on her mind. There Tony was, standing at her doorstep, bright and early, dressed in a dark gray Sean John sweatsuit and a baseball cap. All six-four of his frame filled her doorway, and the wifebeater underneath his sweat jacket clung to his six-pack.
Too in shock, mesmerized, and panicked to remember she had every right to just slam the door in his face and have a great excuse, she just stood there, looking dumbfounded.
As he mistook the open door and the lack of words for a welcome, he began to step in. Just as he took his second step in the door, reality hit her and she realized what was happening.
“Where do you think you are going? You think you are just going to waltz in here like everything is OK?” she said.
“Damn, Dakota. You’re not even going to ask if I am OK? You are just going to start your drama as soon as I walk in the door ... I was in jail all night.”
“For what?” she said, clearly seeing through his well-planned excuse.
“I got pulled over, and they said I had too much alcohol in my system.”
“Well, why didn’t you call me? And why were you driving around drunk?”
“I wasn’t drunk at all—it was more to do with me being a black man driving a nice car. And I called my brother to come bail me out.”
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you, Tony—you always have a million excuses. You do this all the time. Quite frankly, it all seems hard to believe.”
“You’re calling me a liar?”
“No, I’m just saying I knew you would ...”
Just then, a loud noise came from the kitchen. Either David dropped something by accident or he made the noise on purpose as a friendly reminder that he was waiting.
“Who is here?” Tony asked.
“I was just about to mention that. I have a friend over, a friend from work. We were about to have breakfast and do some work.”
“It’s Saturday. And isn’t it a little personal to be doing work at your house?”
Dakota knew that there was no way she was going to fool Tony into believing it was all innocent—she was in her damn robe, for Christ’s sake. But she figured she’d play his own game on him—that was her story and she was sticking to it.
“Oh, no. We worked on some projects here last night. I was waiting on you to show up—you never showed so we just worked for hours and hours. Before we knew it, it was so late I just let him stay over. He lives way out on the Island. So, he slept in the guest room, and now he is up, cooking breakfast.”
“Mmm-hmm, Dakota. That sounds like bullshit to me.”
“You’re calling me a liar?”
Tony knew right then what Dakota was trying to do, what game she was playing. It was way too familiar for him not to notice.
“Not even. Well, since I am here why don’t I join you two for some breakfast,” he said.
“Tony, we really have a lot of work to get done. You will just be a distraction for me.”
After what looked like an I can’t believe this chick look, Tony replied,
“OK, ’Kota. Well, I am going to let you get back to your business breakfast. I guess you can give me a call when you’re done.”
“OK. I definitely will.”
She waited as he walked back out the door, gave him a peck good-bye, and closed the door after him.
Proud of her “playa point” she just earned, she walked to her terrace and waited for him to come into sight. She watched him get in and pull away in his black Cadillac Escalade truck. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she returned to the kitchen. David was sitting at the table, sipping on a cup of orange juice, reading Dakota’s Essence magazine.
“Is everything OK in here?”
David looked up. “Yes, other than the food getting cold.”
“I’m sorry. Let’s eat.”
David was so tempted to ask who the guy was belonging to the male voice he’d just heard in the living room, but he figured it wasn’t his place. He hadn’t earned that right, and if she wanted him to know, she would tell him.
So, they sat there and ate breakfast like nothing had happened.
7
What a Celebration
About three hours after Jordan had hung up with Chrasey and Dakota, she was all dressed and ready for her and Omar’s anniversary lunch at Jezebel’s. As she slipped her foot into her dark-brown Italian leather pumps, Omar yelled down the hall.
“Jordan, phone.”
“Who is it?”
“Jayon,” Omar yelled back with a little attitude in his voice.
Jordan took a deep breath before picking up the receiver that was lying on the table.
“Hello,” she said.
“Hi, Jordan. I’m sorry to call you at home on a Saturday but I couldn’t sleep last night, “ Jayon said, all in one breath.
With Omar in the room getting some things together, Jordan felt under pressure.
“It’s OK, Jayon. We can handle this on Monday.”
“I just want you to know that I am very sorry. I have been going through a lot since the whole thing with Dawn and me. I had no right to do what I did, though, Jordan. I had too much to drink yesterday when I stepped out of the office—I know
that was dumb of me. I don’t know if I told you, but yesterday I found out Dawn called our engagement off because of some guy she was cheating on me with and I was really feeling it. I guess I just wasn’t thinking straight—I just wanted someone—”
“Jayon, I understand. Truly, it’s OK.”
“You promise, Jordan? Can we put this behind us?” Jayon asked.
“Yes, we will.”
“Are you going to say something to Omar?”
“Jayon, I will see you in court Monday morning.”
“All right, Jordan,” he said, quickly catching the hint.
“And don’t forget all the files,” she said. “And Jayon, don’t be so hard on yourself. I understand—we all do things without thinking first sometimes.”
Jordan threw that last comment in to ensure it would sound like they were discussing business. It must have worked, because Omar left the room moments later instead of waiting to hear the whole conversation out.
“Thanks for being so understanding.”
“OK, I’m on my way out with Omar, so I have to go.”
After Jayon apologized once again for calling her on a Saturday, they both hung up.
Jordan walked down the hall and grabbed her dark-brown leather purse and headed toward the living room. As she sat down and began to place the belongings from the bag from the day before into the brown leather bag, which matched her outfit for the day, Omar walked in.
“Can I at least have you to myself on weekends?” Omar said in a sarcastic tone.
“Omar, don’t go there. It was a two-minute call.”
“OK, but I’m just saying, you’re with him every day, all day. What he had to say couldn’t wait? I mean, damn, when we do have our time, Jayon and your work is going to start invading that, too.”
“Omar, let’s not ruin our day. He just wanted to make sure I was clear on some things before we met on Monday, that’s all. Now can we go?”
As she finished her sentence, Omar was already walking out of the room.
About ten minutes later, no words had yet been exchanged, and they headed out for their lunch date.
Once they were seated at Jezebel’s, they were both pros at making the waiter think things were just fine, smiling and saying thank-you through the whole ordering session. However, the moment he turned away, back to complete silence. Jordan and Omar were pros at this. They had mastered the art of going out, even when they were mad at each other. Quite pathetic but true—it came with being in a relationship for fourteen years. Fights and attitudes were a given, so like most aspects of it, you just learn how to live with it. But this was their anniversary—a line had to be crossed.
“C’mon, Omar, are we gonna sit here and not talk through the whole lunch?” she said, finally deciding to be the bigger person.
“Talk,” he said, obviously deciding not to join her. How typical of him, she thought to herself. She wanted to strangle him.
“Talk? Fine,” she said. “Jason has his exam for kindergarten next week. I wanted to plan a trip to take him to Disney World when he passes.”
“And what if he doesn’t pass?” he replied.
“How dare you say that. Of course he will pass,” she said.
“I’m just realistic. Just because you think you’re the smartest woman on the planet doesn’t mean your son can’t fail some silly test,” he said.
“What is all of that for, Omar? Is there something you want to talk about?”
“Nope, nothing at all,” he replied, clearly hiding his real thoughts.
The waiter approached the table. “Salmon?”
“Right here,” Jordan said.
The food was a good reason to be quiet for a while, but after the first few bites she started back up. “Omar, are you upset about last night or about me getting that phone call earlier?”
“I am upset because you put our relationship second to your career and I’m tired of it.”
“Omar, that is far from the truth. Everything I do is to produce money. I am not at all the industry parties or social events. Every time I’m not at home, I’m producing a dollar. And I don’t see you complaining when I have to pay your half of the bills.”
It just slipped out. She knew once the words were leaving her mouth it wasn’t the thing to say. At the same time, she was tired of having this conversation with Omar.
I would love not to have to work and be able to stay home and take care of my son, but he doesn’t have it like that. So I do my part—and I do it quite well, I might add, Jordan was thinking to herself.
Before she could try to fix it, he put his fork down and gave her a look of death.
“Well, maybe if you did stay your ass home, I could work more and I could handle things. But you want to be the damn man in the relationship—you wouldn’t know what it’s like to stay home. You wouldn’t even know how to be a kept woman—you’re too damned ‘educated.’”
Wanting to defuse the situation, since they were at their anniversary lunch, she just remained calm. Besides, she knew not to mess with a man and his pride, and practically saying he couldn’t head his household was pretty damn risky.
“Whatever, Omar. Let’s just eat. I promise you I will do whatever I can to be home as much as I can. And if you want, I will give up my whole career to take care of you, your child, and your home. You just let me know.” Her slight sarcasm was evident, but she took a bite of her food and thought that was the end of it.
“I want you to give up Jayon,” he said.
She almost choked. “What?” she said.
“You heard me,” he replied.
“Where did that come from?”
“I’m tired of sharing you with him. You guys have been best friends for all these years and he gets to spend more time with you than me. You guys work together, you’re on the phone all the time. When you and I fight, you go out with him—I feel like he is my fill-in.”
“Omar. I only see him when we are at work—and then we are working. We may be friends, but I rarely see him unless it’s work-related. The whole best-friend thing kind of went out the window when we grew up. We are not nearly as close as we used to be,” Jordan explained.
“You guys are still a lot closer than we are.”
Hearing him say that almost broke her heart. But deep down she knew it was true. Still, she made an attempt. “Baby, don’t say that. You have been my best friend for fourteen years and still are.”
He didn’t say anything. She took that as a sign, so she said nothing more. They just sat there and finished their meals.
8
Surprise Visit
“Wait up, guys ...” Chrasey said through her gasps of breath.
She was walking fast down the street, trying to keep up with her kids—her son Quinton and daughter Kelsey. Chrasey was just returning home from taking her kids to the park. Her inability to keep up with them was just a reminder of how badly she had to lose some weight. She hated that feeling of gasping for air.
As she rattled through her keys for the key to get into her house, she heard a car coming down the street. When she looked over her shoulder, she noticed a black BMW. She thought nothing of it, but as she unlocked the door, she noticed it slowed down a few houses away. She opened the door, and the kids took off running. She stepped in after them, leaving the door open. Kelsey ran into the living room and turned the television on, and Quinton ran to the refrigerator to grab a Capri Sun. Once Chrasey saw they were jumping right into things, she stepped back and took a peek out of the door. The car gradually pulled up in front of her house. Her heart was beating fast. Through the tinted windows she couldn’t see who it was. Of course, her mind had already taken in the possibility that it could be Trevor, thus the fast heartbeat. Keith was out taking his mother to run her errands and shouldn’t be back anytime soon. Still, Chrasey was afraid that he could pull up any minute. She was even more nervous thinking to herself that Trevor could be so bold—she was worried she had started something with a crazy man.
“Trevor? What are you doing at my house?” Chrasey asked as she approached the car.
“I was just in the neighborhood. I had to come by here on my way home,” Trevor said. After Chrasey gave him a look of doubt, he continued, “And I saw you out here. I wouldn’t just pop up like this, Chrasey—I am not crazy.”
“Well, you are here in front of my house ... and you did drop me off yesterday. It could almost look as though you were looking for my house.”
“Chrasey, I have been driving through this neighborhood for years. It just so happens that I am driving through and you were outside. Besides, how would I even know what block you lived on—you had me drop you off around the corner. You could have lived on any one of these streets.”
After Chrasey took a moment to realize the logic of what Trevor said, she said, “So what is in this neighborhood that brings you through it so much?”
“My daughter. She and her mom live on Brinkerhoff Road.”
“I didn’t know you had kids.”
“Not kids, just a daughter. She is 3.”
“Oh, that’s nice. Look, I am sorry I accused you of stalking me,” Chrasey said with a giggle.
“That’s OK. I can completely understand how it seemed.”
“So I guess we both spent our Saturdays doing parenting stuff—I just came back from the park with my kids.”
“How many do you have?”
“Just two. One boy, one girl.”
“That’s cool. Aren’t you lucky! I hope my next one is a boy.”
“Hey, you never know.”
“Yeah, well, after I dropped you off yesterday, I went by to see my daughter. I realized as I was on my way that there’s a lot of great things for me in this neighborhood.”
“Oh, really ...” she said with a smile, knowing exactly what he was hinting at. “Well, listen, my husband will be home any minute, and I was going to start dinner.”
Diva Diaries Page 5