by Maryam Diaab
“Well, I’m not, so why don’t you get off my back and let me get some sleep?”
Eva could not believe what she was hearing. In all the time she had been with Massai, he had never spoken to her like that. She was used to him spoiling her, catering to her every whim and treating her like a queen. She had no idea who this Massai was, but she intended to get to the bottom of his strange behavior, sooner rather than later. She knew that if she allowed too much time to pass, it would only be a matter of time before the world she had so carefully crafted would come crashing down around her.
* * *
“Alexis, did you hear me?” Claire asked, flipping through the New Orleans tour guide she had purchased before leaving Detroit.
“No, what did you say?” Alexis said, rolling over in bed but not removing the covers from over her head.
“I said that we should go to the Riverwalk today to do some shopping. This is our third day here, and can you believe we haven’t even gone shopping?” Claire’s brightly animated tone made what Alexis was about to tell her all the more difficult. “Then we can go to one of those voodoo shops. I heard they have all types of crazy stuff. Maybe we can get a little doll that looks just like Kevin and poke holes in his face,” she said, laughing.
“I can’t go,” Alexis said, the pillow muffling her voice.
“What did you say?” Claire asked, coming over and snatching the pillow from under Alexis’s head and glaring down at her.
“I said I can’t go.”
“Why not? Are you feeling okay?” Claire touched her palm to Alexis’s forehead to check for fever.
“I feel fine; I just have other plans.”
“We are not going to let you sleep all day,” Morgan warned from the balcony.
“I won’t be sleeping.”
Claire put her hands on her hips and frowned at Alexis. “Then what are you going to be doing?”
“Well, I’m not exactly sure.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Claire said, exasperated.
“Massai is picking me up later.”
Morgan came in and looked at Alexis disbelievingly. “So you have a date?”
“It’s not a date.”
“Then what is it, exactly?”
“A tour of the city.”
“I would love to know what happened between the two of you last night. One minute you’re saying that you can’t stand him and the next you’re going out with him. Alone.”
“What did happen last night?” Morgan asked, sitting next to Alexis on the bed.
“Nothing. We just talked and got to know each other a little bit.”
“Did he tell you about his girlfriend?” Claire asked excitedly.
“Yes, he did.”
“Well, what did he say?”
“None of your business.”
“Oh, my God, you must really like him if you’re not going to tell us what he said!” Morgan exclaimed, smiling.
“I don’t like him; we’re friends.”
“Friends with benefits?” Claire asked slyly.
“Nothing happened,” Alexis insisted.
“Maybe not last night, but I bet something will happen before we go back to Detroit.”
“I don’t think so,” Alexis said. “And since you two are all up in my business, what did you do last night?”
“Little Miss Committed over here got her groove on,” Claire revealed, pointing at Morgan.
“Are you serious?” Alexis asked, surprised. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Morgan began, throwing her arms up in the air with a pained expression on her face. “One minute we were watching New Jack City and the next Malik started handing out bottles of Heineken.”
“Okay,” Alexis said, intrigued. “How do you go from watching New Jack City to having sex?”
“I honestly don’t know. I don’t even remember how many drinks I had. All I know is we somehow ended up butt-booty naked in the game room on top of a pool table.”
“On top of the pool table?” Alexis screeched. “Oh, my God, Morgan, what the hell were you thinking? I expect something like that from Claire, but not from you.”
“Excuse me?” Claire interrupted.
“I know,” Morgan said, completely ignoring Claire. “Orlando was so drunk that he couldn’t even remember my name. He kept calling me Brandy.”
“Well, what about Craig? Are you going to tell him?” Alexis asked, finally sitting up in bed and securing an elastic band around her ponytail.
“No, I’m not going to tell him. Do I look crazy to you?”
“Crazy enough to sleep with a guy on a pool table the first time you meet him,” Claire said with a smirk.
Morgan ignored Claire again and continued. “And even if I did tell Craig, what would I say? ‘Baby, I had sex with a guy in New Orleans and he changed my name to Brandy?’ ”
“I guess you’ve got a point there,” Alexis agreed, before turning to Claire. “So, Ms. Henry, what did you and Malik do last night?”
“Nothing as exciting as eight ball over there,” Claire joked. “We kissed a little, talked. He’s really not my type, though. He’s way too into basketball, but he is cute and rich and fun, so I told him that we would hang out tonight after the concert.”
“Okay, Claire, I get your point,” Alexis said. “But it doesn’t seem like you’re all into girl time yourself, inviting Malik everywhere we go.”
“I did not invite him. He offered to take us to some clubs. I thought it would be fun, considering your birthday is tomorrow. We can celebrate after the concert. And you’re the one making dates without checking to see what Morgan and I have planned.”
“Number one, it’s not a date. Number two, I don’t have to check with you, or anyone else, before I make plans. I’m grown, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“Well, since you’re so set on deserting your girls, I hope you at least get some while you’re gone.”
Alexis laughed and looked at her friend. “My name is not Brandy.”
11
FAMILY TIES
Eva sat in the fluffy black armchair next to the California king-sized bed she shared with Massai and watched him bound around the bedroom pulling on shirts and shorts only to change his mind, starting the process all over again. He hadn’t said more than a sentence to her all day, and she knew for sure that something was going on that he wasn’t telling her.
“So what are your plans for the day?” Eva asked as Massai came out of his walk-in closet fastening a platinum Rolex watch around his wrist.
“Nothing much. I’ll be going to some clubs with Malik and Orlando later.”
“And right now?”
Massai’s jaw’s tightened before he answered, a sure sign that he was lying. “I have a meeting with Todd,” he said, referring to the agent he had been with since graduating from Duke and entering the draft.
“You’re wearing jean shorts, a t-shirt and gym shoes to a business meeting?” Eva asked, her voice tight with skepticism.
Massai placed his wallet in his back pocket. “It’s casual. We’re meeting at The Gumbo Shop, and then I have some running around to do.” Massai checked his watch and quickly walked toward the double doors of the bedroom.
“Great, then if it’s casual, I can go with you, right?” she asked, getting up and strutting over to her own walk-in closet.
“Um…” Massai began, his jaw’s tightening again. Eva stopped and looked over her shoulder at him and saw the panic in his eyes. “Eva, I’m already running late,” he said, tapping the watch’s face. “It’ll be a lot faster if I just go.”
Eva walked over to Massai. Her hands, adorned with long acrylic nails painted a fiery red, roamed Massai’s body until she reached the zipper of his shorts. “Don’t you want to spend time with me anymore?” she pouted, standing on tiptoe to plant a kiss on his mouth.
Massai grabbed her hand and removed it from his genitals. “I really don’t have time for this, Eva; I’m going to be la
te. Why don’t you plan something for us to do another day?”
Massai turned and swiftly walked out of the bedroom, leaving her dazed and confused. He had never turned down her advances before. Even if they were in the middle of a heated argument, she knew that she could just touch Massai a certain way and everything would be okay. This time was different.
As soon as his footsteps faded she snatched up the phone and frantically dialed.
“Carlos Lewis.”
“I think you were right. Massai is seeing someone else.”
“Eva, how many times do I have to tell you not to call me at work talking about some other man?”
“I’m sorry, but it’s important.”
“Important to you or important to me?”
“What should I do?” she asked, ignoring Carlos’s sarcasm and the annoyance in his voice.
“About what?”
“About Massai and whoever it is he’s sneaking around with?”
“So now you believe me?”
“Well, this morning when he came home he smelled of perfume, and just a few minutes ago he made up some story about having a meeting with his agent just to get out of the house.”
“So?”
“Are you listening to me? My man is cheating on me!” Eva yelled hysterically.
“Oh, no, boo hoo,” he mocked. “The man you have been cheating on for months is finally getting a clue and stepping out on you. What the two of you need to do is stop playing these silly games and go ahead and go your separate ways. Then you can be with me exclusively.”
“That was not the plan, Carlos.”
“So what was the plan?”
“The plan was to get Massai to marry me,” she said desperately.
“Well, what the hell am I here for? Just a little piece to tide you over while Massai is on the road?” he asked angrily.
“Of course not, baby,” Eva assured Carlos, softening her voice. “You know I love you and that I’m just with Massai for one reason. As I’ve told you before, I’m doing this for us. Once I’m married to Massai for a while I can file for divorce and get half of everything. We can get half of everything.”
“Have you ever heard of a little thing called a prenuptial agreement?”
“Massai is not the type to ask me to sign one of those,” she told Carlos confidently.
Carlos sighed, sitting back in his leather desk chair and propping both feet on his mahogany desk. “Well, it seems like your plan may not be working, Eva.”
“Now do you see my problem?”
Carlos closed his eyes and thought of his current lifestyle. As a computer engineer, he was by no means poor, but thinking about gaining millions of dollars for loaning his girl out a few nights a week was just too easy. He could see the money, and the stacks he envisioned nearly gave him a hard-on. “Yeah, that is a lot of money,” he told her, trying to downplay his enthusiasm.
“I have to do something. Maybe I should confront him?” she wondered, the wheels in her head began turning wildly.
“Bad idea,” he said. “Confronting him is going to put him on the defensive, and that’s the last thing you want.”
“Well, I don’t know what else to do,” Eva whined.
“I’m sure you will come up with something; you always do.”
They ended their conversation, and she remained on the edge of the bed, slowly looking around at all the things she stood to lose. Holding her head in her hands, she felt a single tear trickle down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away and looked around the room again. The thick carpet and opulent décor were light years away from the place she came from.
Eva, the product of an alcoholic mother and absentee father, grew up on the south side of Chicago, poor and hungry. For breakfast, lunch and oftentimes dinner, she would eat saltine crackers and water, hoping that the combination would swell in her stomach and make her feel full. Clothing from the Goodwill and dusty, run-over shoes were staples of her wardrobe as a child. It wasn’t until she turned seventeen years old that she realized that her pretty face and nearly perfect body would be her ticket out of the ghetto and to a better, brighter life.
Five days before her high-school graduation Eva moved out of her mother’s apartment in the projects and into a condo on Lakeshore Drive with the forty-four-year-old man she had met while waiting tables at a Michigan Avenue restaurant. In exchange for freaky sex and home-cooked meals, Robert bought her anything her heart desired and even paid her way through nursing school.
Four years and one nursing degree later, Eva packed her bags and disappeared in the middle of the night from the apartment she shared with Robert. Her destination was New Orleans. Two weeks later, she met Massai and realized instantly that she had hit the mother lode. Now everything seemed to be falling down around her head; when she closed her eyes, she saw herself back in Chicago, dirty and eating crackers for dinner.
Eva picked up the phone again and dialed. “Hello?” A voice thick with sleep and liquor came on the line.
“Hi, Mama. How are you?”
“Well, well, well. Long time no hear from. How long has it been? Three months now? Living down there in the big mansion has you confused about who you really are.” Joanna Norris started in on her daughter immediately.
“No, it’s not that.” Eva felt the need to explain. “I’ve just been really busy. You know we redecorated the house a couple of months ago.”
“Isn’t that nice,” Joanna said with ill-concealed sarcasm and loathing.
Eva took a deep breath and plowed ahead. “Well, I called because I need some advice on a problem I’m having.”
“Knocked up, huh?” Joanna coughed and, Eva guessed, probably took a long drag on a cigarette. “Better get an abortion before you’re too far along. You know, once you have a baby, that man you’re with will disappear; just like your daddy left us.”
“No, Mama, that’s not it. I’m not pregnant.”
“Thank God. All kids do is give you trouble, anyway. Not worth the hassle.”
Eva mentally said a prayer of thanks that she no longer had to endure her mother’s daily output of negative attitudes. “I think Massai is cheating on me.”
“Eva, I have told you time and time again that don’t no man stay for too long. If he wants to leave, then that’s exactly what he’s going to do, and there is nothing you can do to stop him.”
At the end of the conversation, Eva was more depressed than ever. She sat in the same spot on the bed for more than forty-five minutes, replaying the last couple of days in her head. Then something her mother had said during their brief conversation suddenly struck her as brilliant.
“Knocked up?” she had asked, immediately assuming that was the problem she was calling to discuss.
Having a baby was the perfect solution. Though she found the prospect of becoming fat unappealing, she knew that Massai was not the kind of man to shirk his responsibilities. She also knew that he wanted nothing more than to be a father, and Eva decided that she would become his fairy godmother and turn his dream into reality.
Newly inspired, she went into her huge walk-in closet and searched through one of her drawers. Poking through panties and bras, she finally located a yellow sewing kit and unsnapped the lid. Pushing aside spools of thread, scissors and a thimble she found what she was looking for. Extracting a small white envelope from the box, Eva opened the flap and chose the smallest, slimmest needle she could find.
Returning to the bedroom she kneeled in front of the nightstand on Massai’s side of the bed and pulled out the drawer containing his stash of Magnum condoms. She scooped up every single one. Holding the needle firmly between her index finger and thumb, Eva began to poke tiny, undetectable holes into each condom.
At first, she was unsure whether this was something she really wanted to do. But after putting three small holes into the first condom, she rubbed her thumb over the foil packaging and felt nothing abnormal. Feeling more confident, she repeated the process until she had altered the reliabi
lity of all twenty condoms.
12
TRANSITIONS
“Where in the hell have you been?” Claire demanded as Alexis approached the table she and Morgan were sharing.
“Well, hello to you, too,” Alexis answered sarcastically, tossing her purse onto the table.
“I’m serious, Alexis. I left about fifteen messages on your phone.”
Alexis could tell from her tone that Claire was really upset, so wiping the smile she had worn all day off her face, she sat down on the opposite side of Morgan and softened her response. “I’m sorry, Claire, but Massai and I just lost track of time.”
“You were with Massai all this time?”
“Yes. We were having such a good time we didn’t notice seven o’clock had come and gone.”
“You missed the concert. Do you know that Morgan and I waited almost an hour for you?” she asked, sounding seriously distressed, shooting daggers at Alexis with her eyes.
“Look, I already apologized. If my saying sorry isn’t good enough, then I really don’t know what else to say.”
“I’ll tell you what you need to be saying,” Claire began with a ghetto-girl twist of her neck. “You need to say that you’re going to give me back my seventy-five dollars I paid for that show.”
Alexis was fed up with the testy exchange. “Fine, Claire, that’s not a problem. As soon as we get back to the room, I’ll write you a check.”
“That’s what I thought,” she responded. “And it better not bounce.”
“Where is Massai?” Morgan asked, changing the subject.
“He’s over at the bar with Orlando and Malik,” she replied, still peeved at Claire. “Aren’t you two going to ask me how my date went?”
“Oh, I thought it wasn’t a date.”
“It wasn’t.” Alexis realized her slip of the tongue. “I meant how my outing went.”
“How did it go?” Morgan asked, again trying to play peacekeeper.
“It was, hands down, the best date I’ve ever been on.”
“There you go using that ‘D’ word again,” Claire laughed.
“Fine! It was the best outing with a man I’ve ever been on.”