by La Jill Hunt
“Thank you so much.” I winked and took it from him.
Kendra stormed out of the room and down the hallway.
“You sure she’s gonna keep quiet?” He gave me a concerned look.
“I’m sure,” I said and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him full on the mouth before he walked out the door. When he was gone, I counted the money and smiled. Not bad. It was more than what I needed and way more than I expected. I wondered if he had given me the amount because of our being caught by Kendra. In that case, her coming home unexpectedly had actually been a good thing. But now that she knew what he and I were doing, I wondered if her knowing would cost me more than I imagined.
Celia
It took two trips for me to take all the shopping bags out of the trunk of my car. I locked the door of the car and then entered my house through the side door of the garage. I had just made it upstairs into my bedroom with the last of my newly purchased items when my cell phone rang. I reached inside my Michael Kors bag and pulled it out. When I saw it was a number from the office, I didn’t answer. I had taken a much-needed day off, and the last thing I wanted to talk about was work. Whatever it was, it was gonna have to be handled without me. I was about to put it back in my purse when it rang again. This time, after seeing the caller’s name, I answered.
“Where are you?” Nikki, my best friend, asked. “And don’t lie. I came to surprise you and take you to lunch, and you’re not even at work.”
“Oh, that must be why the office was calling. I saw the number and didn’t answer.” I laughed. “I took a day off. Lord knows I needed one. You know that place has been stressing me out the past few weeks.”
“I know, and I’m glad you took off. You should’ve called me, though, so we could hang today.”
“I started to, but I decided to spend some time with Kendra this morning. We went to eat and then to the mall.”
“How is she? She’s still in school, I hope.”
“Girl, yes, and she’s doing good. You know I like to grab her when I can and make sure she’s good. With her being in school, working, and taking care of the twins, it’s been hard for me to catch up with her.”
“She’s still being the mama, huh? Where is Diane these days?”
“Kendra says she’s a CNA and works for some home health company. I guess it’s working out for her, though, because she ain’t hit me up in a couple of months for no money. So, I guess that’s a blessing.”
Normally, my younger sister constantly had her hand out, asking for me to help her out with bills, food, etc., so I was surprised when I hadn’t heard from her. That was another reason I invited my niece out. I wanted to talk to her face to face and make sure everything was okay. Kendra had a habit of telling me things over the phone that were fine when really, they weren’t. One thing she would not do was lie to my face.
“Well, I’m glad she’s finally getting herself together. It’s about time.” Nikki sighed.
“It is. So, why the hell were you taking me to lunch? What did Patrick do now?” I asked, sitting on the bed and preparing myself for the latest relationship fiasco involving Nikki’s bum-ass boyfriend of two years. I had tried telling her time and time again that he was no good for her, but she seemed to think that somehow, he was miraculously going to stop lying, cheating, and spending all of her money. Her acceptance of him, despite the bullshit he brought with him, was due to the fact that he was a deacon at their church. That, to me, was an oxymoron. Deacon or not, he was trifling. Nikki swore he had potential, but I didn’t see it. I definitely couldn’t understand how someone who couldn’t get their own lives in order could direct folks on how to live theirs. But Nikki adored him, and so did a bunch of others, not only in the church, but the community, too.
Patrick was as slick as a snake oil salesman. He was one of those guys that grew up in the streets but decided to turn his life around. He spent a lot of time still hanging out in his old stomping grounds, under the guise that he was encouraging young guys to turn away from crime and turn to God. Let Nikki tell it, he was the next Rev. Run. But even if he did suddenly see the light and become the decent man she thought he could be, nothing was gonna change the fact that he had a baby mama from hell.
“Why do you think what I gotta tell you has something to do with him?”
“Just tell me what he did.” I sighed.
“Fine. Why did I get a call from some apartment complex looking for him because he’s behind on his rent?”
“Wait. He moved out? When?”
“Hell no, he didn’t move out. He’s been living with me for the past year. How about he let his baby mama get a place in his name? Here I am trying to help him get his credit together so we can buy a bigger house, and he’s over here creating more bills with Tiesha’s ass,” Nikki whined.
“Girl, listen, don’t let this stress you out. As long as he ain’t get it in your name, then don’t even worry about it. How the hell did they get your number anyway?” Not only did I wonder if Patrick had been stupid enough to list Nikki as a reference or something, but I also was curious as to why Nikki felt the need to get a bigger house than the one she currently owned. Three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a den, and a family room were more than enough room for the two of them. Surely she wasn’t thinking about having a baby with this fool.
“I don’t even know. I swear, every time we get closer to our blessing, the devil gets busy and tries to tear me and him apart,” Nikki responded.
I decided I wasn’t even going to try to reason with her. It was pointless, because all the advice I’d attempted to give her in the past had fallen on deaf ears. She’d come to me with a complaint, and I’d encourage her to leave him alone and try to point out that she could do bad all by herself. Truthfully, she was the one in the relationship doing well, so in all actuality, she wouldn’t be doing bad at all if she told him to leave her the hell alone. Nikki was the Director of Nursing at one of the most prestigious nursing care facilities in the city. She made an exceptional salary, which was good, because neither one of Patrick’s current career choices, deacon or community activist, were paid positions. His only source of income was Nikki.
“Well, let me put all this stuff I bought away before Darnell gets home. I don’t wanna take a chance of him seeing it and hearing his mouth.” I hurried and made an excuse to get off the phone.
“You know Darnell doesn’t care. He loves for you to have nice things. Heck, didn’t he just buy you that MK purse and matching boots last month? You need to be thanking God every day for blessing you with such a good man. I told Patrick the other night he needs to hang out with Darnell. I’m hoping they can be a positive influence on one another.”
“What? How?” I asked, wondering what kind of positive influence Patrick could have on my husband, who had been a postal employee for fifteen years, paid not only our mortgage but the majority of our household bills, and was attentive and faithful. Nikki was right about one thing: I had a good man.
“Patrick could motivate Darnell to come to church with you.”
She had me there. One thing Darnell didn’t do very often was attend church. He believed in God, but he wasn’t very religious and would only go on Christmas or when I was doing something special on the program like the Women’s Day celebration.
“Well, maybe. Listen, I’ll call you later, and you may wanna pull your credit report and make sure Patrick hasn’t jumped out there and gotten anything in your name behind your back,” I suggested.
“You think he’d do that? Naw, he wouldn’t.” Nikki answered her own question.
We said goodbye, and I ended the call. I began unpacking my shopping bags and thought about how blessed I was. I couldn’t imagine being single and having to deal with men like Patrick.
I knew when I met Darnell ten years ago that he was a good man, and when he saw I was a good woman, he made sure to make me his wife. We made a good team.
I picked up my phone and called him, but he didn’t answer. He told
me he had a doctor’s appointment this morning, and I wanted to make sure everything went okay. I sent him a quick text, finished putting my things away, and decided to take a quick nap. I woke up an hour later, surprised by Darnell, who walked into our bedroom.
“Darnell?” I asked groggily as I sat up.
“Uh, yeah, baby. Who else would it be? You expecting someone else?” he teased.
“You’re not funny. What are you doing home early? I called to see if you wanted to meet for dinner somewhere, but you didn’t answer.” I looked at him. “How was your appointment?”
“My what?” He seemed confused by my question.
“Your doctor’s appointment?”
“Oh, yeah. It went fine. How was your, uh, outing with Kendra?” He reached for the TV remote and turned to ESPN before sitting at the foot of our California king-size bed.
“It was good. You know we had a good time as usual, but I do need to talk to you about something.”
Darnell quickly turned around with a worried look on his face and muted the television. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Well, you know how close Kendra and I are, Darnell.”
“Yeah.” He frowned.
“She’s the closest thing I have to having my own child, and I love her and her sisters, and despite our differences, I love my sister too.”
“Celia, where are you going with all of this? If you have something to say, just say it.”
“Well, I want us to go on a family vacation. All of us: you, me, Kendra, the twins, and maybe Diane,” I told him.
“What? A vacation?”
“A family vacation. A cruise, or maybe just rent a beach house for a week. We can all get away. Kendra truly deserves it, and I know she won’t wanna go without her sisters.” I waited for him to say okay. Darnell enjoyed traveling, and we had started tossing around ideas of where to go next. I figured now that my nieces were older, he wouldn’t mind them tagging along.
“You want to bring a bunch of kids with us on vacation, Celia? I don’t know about that.” Darnell exhaled and rubbed his temples.
I was totally shocked by his response. No wasn’t a word that I heard from Darnell very often. Not that I was spoiled, but because I never really asked for anything extreme. To me, inviting my family to join us on vacation shouldn’t have been that big of a deal, so I was kind of put off when he resisted.
“They’re not children, Darnell. They’re teenagers,” I told him.
“That makes it even worse. You know how teenagers are: they drink, smoke. . . .”
“You know my nieces aren’t like that. Don’t even try it. They’re good girls.”
“I’m not saying that they aren’t. And Diane? Y’all can hardly be in the same room with each other, and now you’re talking about going on a cruise with her? That’s crazy.” He shook his head. “I don’t want to spend my vacation playing referee between you and your sister. You know how crazy you sound right now? Naw, Celia. That’s a horrible idea. I can’t believe you would even suggest that.”
“It was just a thought, Darnell.” I sighed, realizing that maybe he was right. My sister and I got along about as well as a KKK member at a Black Lives Matter rally. I allowed my desire to do something life changing for my nieces to overshadow the fact that Diane and I hated one another at times.
“I know, Celia,” Darnell said, turning the TV back up.
I looked over at him, as handsome as ever, and crawled across the bed behind him. Putting my arms over his shoulders, I whispered in his ear, “I have another thought, Darnell.”
“Really? What’s that?” He smiled.
“Instead of arguing about a vacation, how about we do something else?”
“Like what?”
“Like this.” I eased around and straddled his body, kissing his neck as I unbuttoned his shirt. A slight moan escaped him, and his hands cupped my ass, turning me on even more.
It had been weeks since we’d made love, and I was horny. Our mouths met with a passionate kiss, and I guided his hands into my loose-fitting jeans, then between my legs, so he could feel how much I wanted him.
“Damn, Cele, you’re so fucking wet,” he said, playing with my clit.
My hands left his and found their way inside the front of the sweatpants he was wearing. My fingers wrapped around his thick hardness, and it was my turn to smile. I eased off his lap and kneeled on the floor. I slipped my shirt over my head, and Darnell’s eyes went to my full breasts.
“You like?” I asked, posing in the new bra I had recently purchased.
“Hell yeah!” He nodded.
“Good. I got something else I hope you’ll like too,” I said, again reaching for his manhood, this time taking it out of his pants. I eased in to kiss it, but Darnell’s hand stopped me.
“Cele, stop,” he said, nudging me away. “Come on.”
“Nope,” I said, once again attempting to take him into my mouth.
“I’m not playing, Cele. Don’t.”
“Darnell, just let me try,” I said, my hands planted firmly on his thighs as I stared at him.
“No, I don’t want you to try. I told you I don’t want that,” he said. “Now, you wanna have sex, I’m fine with that—”
“What I want to do is please my husband with my mouth.” I sat back on my knees in frustration. “But he won’t let me.”
“Celia, why the fuck do we always go through this?” He adjusted himself and his penis, and I knew the moment was over before it even started. I had hoped that tonight would be different. Sex with Darnell was good, but I wanted something more—something he wasn’t willing to do, or in this case, wasn’t willing to allow me to do. Darnell refused to let me perform oral sex on him. He also didn’t allow me to be on top when we were in bed. We basically had two positions: missionary and doggie when I could persuade him. There was the occasional morning wakeup “spoon” sex also, but that was it. At first, I thought it was because he suffered from some sort of childhood trauma, or maybe he’d been molested. I’d even suggested we go to a sex therapist. But he insisted it wasn’t any of that, and that it was truly out of respect for me. He felt that there were certain things that wives shouldn’t do in bed and only skeezers or whores, as he called them, did. As his wife, he said, I wasn’t either one of them.
“Darnell, I swear, your sexual hang-ups are so damn frustrating.” I stood up and headed toward our bathroom. “You don’t want me to suck dick, you don’t want me to get on top, and God forbid I want you to hit it from the back.”
“What are you trying to say, Celia? I don’t satisfy you?” He walked behind me and stood in the doorway.
“I’m saying I need to take a shower,” I told him then closed the door in his face.
Kendra
After discovering my mother and my uncle in bed, then damn near coming to blows with her, the last place I wanted to be was in the house. Normally, I hated having to work on a Friday, but today, I was glad to have somewhere else to go. I had been working at Cell City for a year, and Fridays were our busiest days. We had a continual line of customers who either wanted to pay their prepaid bills or buy new phones. Despite having two other coworkers, it was my friend Sierra and I who would hold the place down and make sure the customers were handled. We stood behind the counter beside one another, taking payments and answering questions.
“It’ll take about three or four days. Right, Kendra?” Sierra asked. When I didn’t answer, she called my name again, this time a little louder. “Kendra?”
I glanced up from the computer screen that I had been staring at for the past two minutes and realized she was talking to me. “Huh?”
She gave me a strange look, then repeated, “Turnaround time on a Galaxy repair is three to four days?”
“Oh, yeah.” I nodded. “That’s right.”
“What the hell is wrong with you today, girl?” she asked after the customer had left.
“Nothing, I’m fine,” I lied. My mind was all over the place with thoug
hts about what had happened at my house and my mother’s threats. All I wanted to do was call Aunt Celia and tell her everything, but I knew Mama wasn’t playing when she said she would kick my sisters and me out. If that happened, we didn’t have anywhere to go. As much as I knew Aunt Celia loved us, she always said she could only take Ashley and Avery in doses. There was no way we could go and live with her. My hands were tied.
“You’ve been spaced out ever since you got here. You sure you good?” Sierra asked again. I could see the concern in her face. Normally, I was bubbly and polite, but today, I knew she could tell I was distracted.
“Yeah, I just got into it with my mom, that’s all.” I sighed.
“Oh, I know how that bullshit is. You know my moms stay tripping. I can’t wait to get my refund check so I can get an apartment. I’ve been saving all my coins, child, because I can’t stay there much longer.”
“Yeah, I can’t leave, though. You know I have my little sisters to look after.”
“I’m glad my brothers are older. They’ve been gone. As soon as they graduated, they were both out the damn door before they took their caps and gowns off.” Sierra laughed, and so did I.
The door buzzed, indicating that a customer was entering. We both looked up and couldn’t help but notice a tall guy with an athletic build walk in and start looking at the phones.
“Can I help you find something?” Dante, the store manager, came flying past us and strolled over to the guy. Sierra bumped my arm, and I shook my head. Dante was normally in the back of the store, where he was too busy doing inventory or some other imaginary task that prevented him from dealing with customers. However, whenever a handsome customer that he deemed approachable came in, he would mysteriously appear and offer assistance.
“Uh, I’m just looking right now. Thanks,” the guy told him.
“Well, I’m Dante. If you need any help, just let me know.”
“Thanks.” The guy went back to looking at the phones.
Dante came and stood behind the counter and murmured, “Umph, umph, umph. I love a tall glass of water.”