“That one declined too.”
At that point I was livid. Kamal and I had a joint checking account and we shared an American Express credit card account. The only other card I had was for my personal checking account, which I didn’t want to use.”
Cherie ended her call and passed the server her card. “I got it.”
“No…I…” Damn, I felt like a charity case all of a sudden.
True, Cherie was my friend, but I wasn’t expecting for her to have to pay for my meal.
“I got it, chill out.”
I nodded. “Thank you boo. I don’t know what the hell’s going on.”
“Just make sure you call the bank and get to the bottom of it.”
Yeah, but the bank couldn’t explain why I couldn’t use my credit card. I made a mental note to call Kamal after I called the bank. Once Cherie had her card back we drained our drinks and left. When we got in the parking lot we hugged and then parted ways.
“I’ll call you later on girl!” She yelled out on the way to her car.
“Okay!” I waved and got in behind the wheel.
My stomach was churning as I pulled out my cell phone to call Wells Fargo’s customer service.
* * *
I could not believe it. Kamal had really taken all of our money out of the account and transferred it to another one that was only in his name. Did he think I was spending too much money? I had a shopping addiction, but damn he could have warned me. I had no access to the new account and I didn’t know why, or how the bank let him do that. Come to find out he had documents that were supposedly signed by me to have the funds moved. I hadn’t signed shit and I was so mad that I could literally kill him. When I called American Express I found out that he had canceled my card, but kept his active. What the fuck was really going on? I dialed his number for the twelfth time and waited for him to answer. He was supposed to be home in two days, but I couldn’t wait that long.
“You have reached Kamal Montgomery. I am unable to take your call at this time, but if you leave a message I’ll be sure to get back to you.” Beep!
“I know you see my calls, you black bastard! Don’t make me come to LA. I’ll find you and…”
Beep!
I looked down at the phone’s screen and it was Kamal calling me back.
“Nigga, what the fuck is going on? Why the fuck did you transfer our money and cut off my damn credit card!” I immediately snapped back into my old demeanor.
It wasn’t like I was at work, so I didn’t have to give a damn about the way I talked or carried myself.
“Because I left you Sasha. I’m not in love with you anymore,” he stated simply.
Did I hear that fool right? We had just celebrated our two-year wedding anniversary, so what the hell did he mean?
“Stop playing games with me Kamal! I’m not in the mood for this. If you’re trying to prove a point, I get it. I know I’ve been difficult lately, but you’re overreacting. We’ll talk about it when you get back and…”
“I’m not coming back. I filed for a divorce and I’m staying in LA.”
My head was spinning and it felt like my legs were about to give out under me.
“You did what? Without discussing it with me? Why…?”
“I’ve been telling you for months about how unhappy I am. You just didn’t take that shit seriously. I know that I was wrong for cutting you off financially, but you’ll be okay. I’m sure you’ll get a promotion soon, since your career is more important than your marriage.”
It was hard to believe that my husband was saying those things to me. If I recalled correctly, he was the one who wanted to get married so bad.
“I should’ve left your sorry ass a long time ago! How the hell are you just gonna turn your back on me like that? I can’t afford the mortgage and everything else you’ve left me with! I hate you!” The tears fell from my eyes out of control and I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.
Kamal had left me.
“Call your daddy. I’m sure he’ll help you. Maybe you can sell your ass for him, since you won’t give me none.”
Why was he being so evil toward me? What happened to the man who used to cherish me and dote on me like he was so drunk in love? Was it all a game just to see if he could get me. Once he had me, the fun must’ve been over. The man that I had learned to trust again ended up being a sham. He was a fake and I wanted to put my hands on his trifling ass. Usually I had a lot to say, but at that moment, I didn’t. I was literally speechless.
Then I heard a woman’s voice in the background. “The food is done baby.”
“Shhhhhh!” I heard him hiss and then there was nothing for at least a minute.
“I’m sick of lying to her Mal. Tell her the truth.” The woman’s voice sounded familiar.
Was that…?
“I’m with Jordan now. She’s here in LA and we’re getting married once our divorce is final. I’m sorry…”
The phone fell from my hand and crashed against the hard wood floor. As the screen shattered, so did my life and future. What I’d envisioned for myself was no more. My husband had left me…for my best friend.
Chapter 6
Two weeks had passed since Kamal left me and although I was mad as hell at him and Jordan, I couldn’t help but blame myself. Everything I’d done wrong just kept on coming up in my mind. Drinking and smoking weed all day since then was only making me reflect instead of making me feel better. Although I’d confided in her at first, I was avoiding Cherie, who was the only real friend that I had who still lived close to me. Nadia and Bells had been filled in on the situation, by Cherie of course, and I wasn’t answering their calls either.
My career had meant so much to me at first, but I was so out of it that I’d been calling off more than usual. I had some paid time off, so I took it. It wasn’t like I was using that time wisely though. All I wanted to do was get high and drunk so that I could forget, but that shit wasn’t doing the trick. It seemed like I was doing more remembering than anything. Lord knows I didn’t want to remember.
“I’m fine pops. You don’t have to stick around.” I told my dad, who was the only one I had reached out to.
He wanted to kill Kamal so bad for not keeping his word years ago, but I had talked him out of it.
“Let him and Jordan be together if that’s what they want. They can sit back and watch me do good as hell without them,” I had told him as my mind roamed with ways to end their lives myself.
“You’re better than me baby girl. I’m all about revenge in the worst way.”
That had made me laugh despite how I felt. “I know and I’m all about revenge too. Just a different kind.” My own. I didn’t want my pops involved.
That conversation was right after the shit was fresh, and I still wanted to make sure that I got payback by doing even better than I was at first. I needed Kamal and Jordan to know that I didn’t need either of them in my life. They’d betrayed me and it didn’t matter if I felt like I deserved it or not. Even if I wasn’t the best wife to Kamal, I was a damn good friend to Jordan. She seemed so adamant about him telling me about them, but she still hadn’t talked to me herself. The two of them couldn’t even look me in the face and tell me that they were leaving together. I’d lost my husband and my best friend all at once. It was devastating and I was in mourning. For some reason I’d always expected that to happen. The two of them had always been too damn close. Still, I didn’t think they would do that to me.
After making sure that I was okay my father finally left. I was glad because I was ready to pop open another bottle of Patron. The fact that I wasn’t much of a drinker back in the day didn’t matter. It was taking the edge off and the weed was making me not give a fuck about shit. As I sipped my drink and rolled a blunt, my doorbell rang.
“Fuck!” I got up and looked through the peep hole.
Damn, it was Cherie, so instead of opening the door, I walked away and got comfy on the couch. I was sure she’d leave after a while and I wa
nted to be alone.
“Sasha, I know you’re in there! Open the door before I shoot this mufucka down!”
I shook my head as I got up and walked back to the door, because I knew she’d do it. As I opened it, I felt that maybe talking to her would help me get some shit off my chest. Maybe having a genuine friend over wasn’t a bad idea after all.
“Well, come on in wit’ your crazy ass.” I moved aside as she stepped over the threshold.
Cherie took a good look at my face and shook her head in disgust. “You look a hot ass mess. Get yourself together Sasha. Damn. You’re too fly to be moping around here giving a damn about what Kamal and Jordan are doing. Karma is a bitch and you know that.”
I sighed. Staring into my friend’s eyes, I asked her a question I’d been wanting to ask since I found out the truth.
“Did you know?”
“Hell no. I had no clue. Honestly, if I’d known I would’ve told you.”
I sighed, sat down on the sofa and waited for her to join me.
“I’m glad you didn’t. I don’t want to feel like I can’t trust anybody.”
“You can always trust me. Now, I will admit that I always thought it was something between them. Not so much a physical relationship, but a weird bond. We talked about that before though. I never thought it would come to this.”
I agreed with a nod. “You’re right. They always seemed a little bit too close. I wonder how long they’ve been fucking right under my nose. What if they fucked in my bed?”
The thought made my skin crawl. I’d have to get rid of our marital bed asap. There was no way I could keep laying there wondering.
“Let’s hope not.” Cherie frowned as I passed her the blunt. She took a pull and blew the smoke out of her nose. “So, what are you gonna do?”
“About what?”
“Your situation. Ain’t you gonna sue him for alimony or something. He can’t leave you to fiend for yourself like that. You need a lawyer asap.”
I agreed with her, but I hadn’t thought past my heartache.
“Yeah, but I haven’t got the divorce papers yet.”
She looked at me like I was crazy. “Do you need them? Shit, you need to be divorcing him. Shit, you can prove he cheated.”
“Yeah, but…” I rubbed my temples in frustration. “I don’t even want to think that far ahead.”
“Well you have to. Look around. All this expensive ass shit that you two accumulated together is not going to pay for itself.”
She was right, but I’d deal with all of that later.
“I know Cherie, but right now I just want to get myself together. I’ll deal with a divorce and all of that later. Right now, I need to be able to pull myself out of the bed in the morning.”
“I second that. I hate to see you like this. It ain’t you. Bitch, you’ve been through worse. This shit here is a piece of fucking cake and you know it. I’ve never seen you let shit get you down before. Don’t start now. I don’t hang with weak bitches. You know that.”
Taking the blunt from her outstretched hand, I let out a sarcastic laugh. “I know I have been through worse, but, Kamal and Jordan were so close to me. My husband and my bestie. Damn, I ain’t superwoman. I’ve been holding in my feelings for so long that I feel so overwhelmed Cherie. A person can only take so much before they break. It’s part of being human.” As I took a hit of the blunt, Cherie put her arm around my shoulder.
“You have me and I’m your bestie too. I’ll help you in whatever way I can. Don’t worry. I’ll find you a good divorce lawyer and we’ll make sure you get every penny back that you deserve from that nigga. I can’t believe Jordan though.” Cherie shook her head. “She need a bullet in her ass. I’m gonna be straight up with you. Divorce is the cute, legal way I’m sure you want to deal with it. If it was me though bitch, I’d kill them both.”
I believed her and as much as I played out several scenarios of murder in my head, my survival was more important at the moment.
“Girl, you just don’t know how bad I would love to torture them and then make them stop breathing, but right now, I have to think about me. It’ll be stupid for me to do something rash and unplanned. Shit, I know I ain’t getting none no time soon, but I love dick too much to be in somebody’s prison. Fuck Kamal…and Jordan, as much as I love them both. I gotta find a way to let it go, but damn Cherie. This shit is hard.” The tears started again and she pulled me into her for a hug.
“I know it is. Shit, no matter how hard we try to be, sometimes we have to cry. That’s all fine and dandy, but after you let it all out, I want you to do something about it. Okay. I don’t want you sitting in here in a funk. You have to keep going no matter what else is going on. Do you hear me? You gotta make it, because you’re still breathing and you’re still beautiful. As long as you’re healthy and you have life in you, you can love again Sasha.”
Damn, that was some real shit coming out of my friend’s mouth. She was absolutely right. I had to let it out and then climb out of the dark hole I’d buried myself in. It was time to join the land of the living, because like she had said, I was still alive.
“Why the fuck did I let you in here?” I smiled at her after we separated from our hug.
Cherie laughed as she wiped the tears from my face. “Because you already knew that you needed me. It’s okay to need somebody Sasha.”
I nodded. “Thank you Cherie.”
“No problem boo. That’s what friends are for right? Now let’s get out of here and go grab something to eat and some drinks. I know the perfect place.”
“Uh, like you said bitch, I look a hot ass mess.”
She waved me off. “Bye Felicia. You got mad wigs in there. Pick one. You got a walk in closet full of shit. Pick something. You got make up galore. Put on some and let’s fucking go.”
“Damn, you a bossy ass bitch.”
“Yup and that’s why I’m single. Chop chop!” She snapped her fingers.
I jumped up from the sofa and ran off to get ready.
* * *
That Monday morning I was up early, ready for a new week. It was time to get back to life like my girl Cherie had said. There was no need to crumble and let what had happened defeat me. You could never get a good woman down and although two more of the most important relationships of my life were over, I was not. As a matter of fact, my life was just beginning.
Staring at my curvaceous frame in the mirror, I couldn’t help but to be feeling myself. I had to admit that I looked damn good in my gray pencil skirt, money green blouse, gray suit jacket, and, money green booties. My makeup was flawless and I was ready to work toward that promotion that I wanted.
The way I saw it, Cherie was right. All of the luxurious shit around me wasn’t going to pay for itself. I had a mortgage, car note, utilities and the expensive ass lifestyle that I was used to. There was no way that I was going to fall off and let Kamal and Jordan think they had won. That was some bullshit that I wasn’t going to let happen.
After brewing some coffee and eating a croissant with eggs and bacon, I headed out. Traffic was heavy as usual, so I was glad that I had left early. Thirty minutes later and a few laughs from listening to Ricky Smiley’s morning show, I was about to pull into my designated spot. That’s when I noticed a black Mercedes CLK convertible in my space.
Oh, hell nah. That was my designated spot and I had been parking there for the past two years. Everybody knew that. I drove off trying to keep my cool and found an empty spot that was a little bit further than I wanted to walk in my six inch heels.
With my attitude in tow, I stormed inside of the building ready to find out who had decided to get on my bad side for the day.
“Hey John,” I said to the tall, dark skinned security guard.
“Hey Mrs. Montgomery. How are you?” He was polite as usual.
“Not too good. Somebody’s parked in my spot.”
His smile suddenly faded. “Oh, I’m sure it’s a good explanation for that.”
�
�Well, I guess you’re telling me that you don’t have one.”
He shook his head. “No ma’am. I don’t. Uh…”
“It’s alright. I’ll get to the bottom of it myself.” I dismissed him and walked off toward my office.
My boss, a middle aged white man named Mr. Kenneth Bradley, was standing right there at my door when I walked up.
“Oh, good morning Mr. Bradley. Perfect timing. You’re just the person I want to see.”
I was relieved to know that I would be getting to the bottom of everything expeditiously.
“Mrs. Montgomery…”
Damnit, I was sick of hearing that shit already and I couldn’t wait until I legally changed my name.
“Please, call me Sasha.”
He nodded. “Sasha. We need to talk…now.”
“Yes, we do. Somebody parked in my space and…”
“Can we go in your office please. I don’t think this is the place for that talk.” He looked around.
“Oh, of course. I’m sorry sir.” My heart started to beat erratically as I pulled out the key to open my office door.
I sat behind the desk and he sat across from me.
“Okay, let me begin,” he said after clearing his throat.
My complaint about my parking space was put on the back burner. I guess what I’d just told him didn’t matter. Then it occurred to me that he wanted to talk to me about something. My nerves were really bad. Maybe I’d taken way too much time off.
“Your parking space has been taken for a reason. Your position is no longer needed here Sasha. I’m sorry. We’ve been downsizing and at first I was going to promote you. That was before you started taking so much time off. I saw so much potential in you, but now all I can see is that you’re not as reliable as I once thought. You’ve been calling out for two weeks straight and I can’t build a business around people who are not here. I’m so sorry…”
At that point he started to sound like the teacher on the Charlie Brown cartoons.
“Whomp whomp whomp whomp whomp whomp whomp whomp…”
“Are you firing me?” I cut him off wanting him to get past the bullshit.
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