“What time is it?”
He looked at his watch. “Nine-thirty.”
“What did you want to talk about?”
Kenneth sat down on the love seat opposite Elizabeth. “I need to know something.”
Elizabeth rubbed her eyes and gave Kenneth her full attention. That’s when she noticed he was wearing a pair of tan slacks and a white Polo shirt. She couldn’t make out the fragrance, but one thing she did know, Kenneth smelled good, too good for an evening at home, and he definitely wasn’t dressed for bed.
“This morning, when you told Erin that I am a good man, and that I provide for all of you. Why did you tell her that?”
“Because it’s true.”
“But you’ve never said anything like that to her before. When you get mad at me, like you were this morning, you normally tell the kids how rotten I am.”
She reached out and touched his hands. “Kenneth, can you forgive me?” She shook her head, trying to clear the memories, but they wouldn’t go away. They just sat there, in her mind’s eye, accusing her over and over again. “I wish I could undo so many things. I wish I had been the kind of wife you needed from the beginning.” She released his hands, leaned back on the sofa and sighed. “But… I’m learning to let my past go and move on. Most of all, I’m just trying to grow up.”
Kenneth pointed at the Bible in Elizabeth’s lap. “You’ve been reading that a lot lately. Is it helping you – you know, grow up?”
Elizabeth laughed. “In ways you couldn’t even imagine.” She thought back to the submission passage in I Peter and said, “At times, in ways that I don’t even want to imagine.”
“You never used to read the Bible at home. Why now?”
“Things are different. I’m a Christian now, Kenneth.”
Kenneth gave her a quizzical look as he took the Bible out of her lap, perused a few pages, then sat it on the floor. “You’ve always been a Christian, haven’t you?”
Help me make him understand, Lord. “I’ve always been a church goer, Kenneth. But a few months ago, I accepted Jesus into my heart. It was the best thing I’ve ever done. Would you like me to tell you about it?”
Kenneth stood up. “No, not right now. I have plans tonight.”
“This late? Where are you going?”
“Look, Elizabeth, I came home for dinner, and I plan to be here for dinner with the kids every night I can. But once they go to bed, I’m on my time. Alright?”
Elizabeth stood up. “Exactly what do you do on your time?”
Beloved, not this way.
No, Lord, I’m not listening to You. Let him stand here and tell me to my face that he’s still got his whore. I want You to hear how this man mistreats me.
“I’m going to be honest with you, Elizabeth. I am seeing someone.” He turned away from her and picked his keys off the coffee table. “I’m just not sure if I want to be married to you anymore.”
Hurt. Pain. What else is in store for me, Lord?
“You’re going to have to give me some time to figure out what I want,” Kenneth told her.
“Do I mean nothing to you? Good God, Kenneth. Does seven years of marriage mean anything? How can you treat me like this?”
“Don’t cry, Elizabeth. I didn’t…”
“I’m not crying!” She raised her hands to her face and felt the betraying wetness. Lord, isn’t my broken heart enough of a sacrifice? Why must I cry in front of this man too?
“Look, I wasn’t trying to hurt you, I just didn’t want to lie about it.”
“Well that’s just great, Kenneth. Don’t be a liar, be an adulterer.”
Kenneth threw his hands up in the air. “I can’t talk to you. I’m outta here!”
Elizabeth picked up the ceramic vase on the coffee table and flung it at Kenneth’s head. The vase smashed against the family room wall as Kenneth slammed the back door. She fell back onto the sofa. Her Bible lay open on the floor, accusing her of not fulfilling I Peter 3. She defiantly looked to heaven and said, “He started it.”
21
Isaac was sloppy drunk. No other way to describe it.
He was at his usual table at his Friday night hot spot, getting his drink on, and barking orders at Keith and Valerie. “Y’all got to do better. We’re losing money left and right!”
Keith tried to defend himself. “We make plenty of money, man. What difference does it make if a new guy comes in and starts earning a little money too?”
Isaac tried to lean forward, but quickly fell back in his seat. Slurring every other word he said, “It’s your job to make s-sure don’t nobody else earn no money ‘less we give ‘em permission.”
“What you want me to do, man? Shove a pistol down the throat of every guy that tries to earn a fast buck?”
Isaac slammed his fist on the table. His drink spilled. Valerie picked the glass up and wiped the table with a towel she extracted from the bar. “That’s right,” Isaac said. “That’s exactly what I want you to do. You’re supposed to be my enforcer; go enforce something!”
“You know what?” Keith stood up and slung his chair back. “Forget it – I’m going to the bar and drink in peace.”
“I’m not t-through talking.”
“I’m through listening. Call me when you sober up.”
Isaac was leaning, almost falling out of his chair. “I’m not drunk, boy. You can talk to me now!”
Keith looked at Valerie. “I’m going over to the bar. Can you get him home?”
“Yeah, Keith, I’ll get him home. Don’t worry about it,” Valerie replied.
Keith angrily stalked over to the bar, turned his back on Isaac and ordered himself a Whiskey Sour.
“Why you got to be so hard on Keith? You know he does a good job for you,” Valerie told Isaac.
Isaac waved down a waitress and pointed at his empty glass. “If he’s doing such a good job, why am I losing money?”
Valerie shifted in her seat and peered at Isaac. “Ain’t nobody done business in The Promised Land but you since the day you took it over, and you know it. If you’re losing money, it’s because people are going outside The Promised Land, and Keith ain’t got nothing to do with that.”
The waitress brought another drink over to Isaac, then looked at Valerie. “Are you taking him home?”
“Yeah,” Valerie told her, then turned the evil eye back on Isaac. “What’s the real reason you’re drinking yourself unconscious? As if I don’t know.”
“What you think you know, girl?” Isaac sneered back at Valerie.
“I know plenty! Like the fact that you’re upset over Nina.”
“Why should I be upset about Nina?”
Valerie was silent, fuming, but silent.
Isaac leaned a little too far and almost fell out of his seat. He righted himself. His head began to bob back and forth. “Told me God was going to take care of her and my baby. Do you believe that? God! Like I didn’t have nothing to do with it.” He picked up his drink and gulped it down. “Nope, I’m not needed.”
Valerie opened her mouth to scream, then closed it before any uncontrollable sounds could penetrate her lips. They sat in silence for a while, Isaac brooding and Valerie pouting. Finally, Valerie could stand it no longer. She left Isaac to his thoughts and went to the bar with Keith. “Oooh, he makes me sick!”
“You need to ignore him when he’s like this,” Keith told Valerie. They sat and talked for a while trying to take their minds off the drunk in the corner. The three of them had had many happy and eventful years together. Keith and Valerie could always round up a ‘remember when’ story. So that’s what they did as they waited for Isaac to pass out.
Just when they thought it was safe to approach Isaac again, Ray-Ray walked into the Belante’ Club with two of his boys. Valerie saw him as he hungrily searched the crowd like a lion crouching upon its prey. She nudged Keith. He turned to see Ray-Ray pointing in Isaac’s direction. “I told Isaac that fool was gon’ be trouble.” He pulled out his gun. “You stay
here.”
“Oh no.” She pulled up her right pant leg and grabbed her gun from her ankle strap. “It’s on.”
Ray-Ray’s boys held watch at the door while he advanced on Isaac. He pulled out his Glock and started blasting. A bullet went through Isaac’s shoulder, his head jerked up as the pain wrenched through his body. That sobered him up real quick. He grabbed his shoulder and stared at his assailant. He knew without a doubt that he was about to die.
What would they tell his son? Is death the end of everything? Or was Nina right, and some God was going to judge him for the wrong he’d done?
“Nooo!” Valerie yelled as she shot off several rounds, and dived on the table to cover Isaac. She took a bullet in her abdomen, pulled the trigger one last time, and then dropped the gun.
Ray-Ray fell to his knees and clutched his chest. Keith shot one of Ray-Ray’s boys, as he tried to open fire on Isaac. The other gunman assessed the situation and made a fast break out the front entrance.
Keith turned and saw that Ray-Ray was still on his knees gasping for air. He purposefully trodded over to Ray-Ray, put his piece to his head and said, “I hope you prayed up, fool.” Bang!
Ray-Ray’s body made a big thud as he dropped to the floor. His eyes were wide open, the horror of expected death painted on his face.
With blood gushing from his shoulder, Isaac stood over Valerie. She didn’t look good. Her eyes raced back and forth. She was going in and out of consciousness. He looked around the room; nobody was moving. “Call an ambulance!” he screamed, then turned back to Valerie. “Come on, baby.” He shook her. “You’ve gotta make it. Don’t do this to me.”
Her eyes fluttered as she opened her mouth and whispered, “St… st… opped … him.”
“Yeah, baby, you stopped him.” He reached out his hand to rub her hair and winced at the pain shooting through his left arm. “The ambulance is on the way. Just hold on, okay?”
Her eyes fluttered again, but she didn’t respond.
“Isaac, come on man. We gotta get out of here,” Keith told him. He looked down at Valerie, then at the crowd surrounding them.
“I can’t leave her, Keith. That bullet was meant for me.” He watched as blood trickled from Valerie’s mouth. “If she dies, I’ll be here with her. It’s the least I can do.”
Tommy Brooks, the bar owner, walked over to Isaac with a nervous look on his face. “The police are on the way. Y’all need to get on out of here.”
Isaac looked from Valerie to Keith.
Valerie coughed up some blood.
Isaac knew she didn’t have much time left. “Get out of here, Keith.” He grabbed his friend’s hand and squeezed it. “I appreciate everything you did tonight. Go – take care of that gun.”
***
Nina and Lisa were on the couch wolfing down hot buttered popcorn and watching a somebody-done-me-wrong made for TV movie, when she heard the news break.
“Shots rang out at The Belante’ Club. Two men and one woman were pronounced dead at the scene. Another man, Isaac Walker, age 31, was taken to Miami Valley Hospital. His condition is unknown at the moment,” the announcer informed the listening audience.
Nina slowly stood up, one hand pointing at the TV, the other over her mouth.
“Oh my God!” Lisa said as she stared at the TV.
Nina clutched at her stomach and hunched over as a searing pain shot through her like a boulder tumbling down on an unsuspecting victim. “Aaaaah!”
Marguerite ran into the family room.
“Aaaaaaaaah!”
“What’s wrong Nina? Is it time?” Marguerite asked.
She pointed at her belly and fell down on her knees, yelling and crying at the same time.
“Isaac’s been shot,” Lisa told Marguerite.
“Well, don’t just sit there, Lisa. Call for an ambulance!” Marguerite put her arms around Nina. “It’s going to be all right, honey. Don’t worry.” Lord, help us.
22
The entire Underwood family was in the family room.
They were stretched out on the floor playing Trouble together. Danae had fallen asleep in Kenneth’s lap. Erin stretched and yawned. “I can’t play anymore Mama. I’m sleepy.”
Kenneth looked at Elizabeth. “Okay, you take Erin, and I’ll put this one to bed.”
Elizabeth smiled. “Alright – just remember who was about to win this game before you two chickened out.” It had been two weeks since Kenneth left the house on one of his late night “me time” trips. He arrived home most evenings at six and ate dinner with the kids, just like he said he would. Tonight he was even playing games with the family.
“Who are you kidding? You know you can’t beat me.”
“All I have to do is pop a six and I’m home free.”
“Yeah, but I’m only four spaces behind you, and you know I always come from behind to win.”
Elizabeth picked up Erin and started to walk out of the room shaking her head. “No way you would have beaten me. There’s just no way.”
Kenneth stood up with Danae in one hand and the Trouble game in the other. “How ‘bout we finish this little game in your room?”
Elizabeth stopped and turned to look at Kenneth. They hadn’t been alone together in months. Was it wise to have him in her room this late? Shoot, this was her husband. “Okay, you’re on!”
They put the kids to bed and met in Elizabeth’s bedroom. Kenneth put the game in the middle of the bed and sat down. Elizabeth sat across from him and said, “Oh, it’s on now.” She pushed down the ball, praying for a six. The die popped up a three instead. She moved her man three spaces.
Kenneth popped up the six Elizabeth wanted. He smirked and moved his man to the slot directly behind hers.
Elizabeth started to sweat. She needed to pop up another three. Anything less or more would keep her on the board - an unwilling target for Kenneth. “Hold on, it’s hot in here. Let me change into my pajamas. I’ll be right back.”
“Yeah, buy all the time you want, but you know I’ve got you.”
She ignored Kenneth’s taunts and stepped into her walk-in closet. She took off her University of Dayton sweat-shirt, unhooked her bra and sighed at her liberation. If bra burning was still in fashion, Elizabeth would be first in line with a drawer full of 34Cs to fuel the flame. She looked on her shelf trying to decide what she wanted to sleep in tonight. Her eyes perused her nightgowns. They were all too sexy – no, not with Kenneth in the room. She had a pair of flowery flannel pajamas a friend had given her for Christmas. Kenneth always complained when she put those on, accusing her of putting up the “not open for business” sign. She definitely didn’t want to bring up memories of their sex arguments. So, as she unzipped her faded jeans and slipped them off, she decided on the striped green silk pajamas.
“You’ve gained a little weight,” Kenneth said.
Startled, Elizabeth jumped and turned to face Kenneth. She criss-crossed her arms over her breasts. Willing herself to act like there was nothing out of the ordinary about Kenneth talking to her while she was half-naked, she responded, “I was thinking about going on a diet. I - I just haven’t had the time yet.”
“No, don’t lose weight. It suits you.” Kenneth’s eyes danced down Elizabeth’s mocha sweetness and lingered in special areas that only he knew about. “You look good – real good.”
“Kenneth, I’ll be out in a minute, just let…” He looked longingly at her. Elizabeth read the hunger in his eyes. Her stomach did the butterfly dance. “Is something wrong?”
Kenneth leaned against the wall, still appreciating the view before him. “What would you say if I told you that I want to sleep in here tonight, with my wife?”
“Kenneth, we haven’t…”
His eyes spoke volumes as he proclaimed, “I want to be with you, Elizabeth. I’ve wanted this for some time.”
Elizabeth didn’t respond.
“Is that okay?”
Lord, how can I do this? He’s hurt me so much. “Kenneth, I d
on’t know – I mean, I’m – what if you…”
Kenneth walked over to his wife, uncrossed her arms and looked into her eyes. “You’re gonna have to trust me.” He hungrily kissed her.
She tried to back away from him. “I need time, Kenneth.”
He pulled her back into his embrace. His hands trailed the plush curves of her breasts. “I need you.” He nibbled on the soft flesh of her neck. And then, in a pleading tone he asked, “Please, baby?”
The butterflies were now in her throat as well as her stomach, so she answered by unbuttoning Kenneth’s shirt and quickly tossing it on the floor. He smiled, and said, “That’s right baby, drop it like it’s hot.”
Kenneth laid her on the floor of her walk-in closet and gently removed her lace panties. His eyes danced over her body. “You’re beautiful,” he told her. Then he made hot, steamy, blow-your-mind love to the only woman God intended for him to have. His wife.
The game on their bed was completely forgotten as Elizabeth and Kenneth entered into the game of love. Simple rules, winner take all. And since they were both in it to win it, by morning, a truce in favor of love would be called.
***
When Elizabeth woke, it quickly registered that she was snuggled up next to Kenneth – the way it used to be. She stretched and moaned trying to wake up. She turned over and looked at her sleeping husband. Remembering what they had experienced the night before, she prayed, Lord, don’t let us just enjoy each other in bed, and then not be able to hold a civil conversation outside this room. I want to adore this man. Help me to move beyond the hurt and resentment I feel. Help me to forget what went wrong, and concentrate on making things right between us again.
Reluctantly, Kenneth opened his eyes and gazed into his wife’s face. He smiled, “Good morning.”
“Good morning.”
He yawned. “Mmm, what time is it?”
Elizabeth turned slightly to look at the clock on her dresser. “Oh, my God, Kenneth, it’s seven-thirty!”
Kenneth jumped up. “I’ve got a meeting at eight. There’s no way I’m going to make it,” he told her, as he headed toward the bathroom.
Former Rain-Forsaken Box Set Page 11