I laughed and strolled her luggage. She walked in front of me. It was so hard for me not to admire her petite and well shaped body. The blue jeans hugged her hips, and the way she walked with confidence in her black high heeled short boots brought much attention her way. When we made it to the door, another security guard’s eyes were glued to her. He reached out, giving me a slamming handshake. Nokea ignored him and turned to question me.
“Are you parked close by?” she asked.
“I’m right there,” I said, pointing to my car with a ticket on the windshield. “My fifteen minutes turned into thirty minutes.”
“I’ll pay for it,” Nokea said. She headed toward the car and the security guard let go of my hand.
“Damn, man, you hooked up the right way. Is she from the Lou?”
“Born and raised. The Lou be representing some bad-ass women, but unfortunately, that one is taken. Maybe you need to get out more often.”
“Maybe so,” he said, looking at Nokea as if he could eat her alive. It was a good thing that I wasn’t Jaylin. Even though I wasn’t, I found the man’s stares to be a bit overboard. Nokea waited patiently by my car so I headed her way.
Once she helped me put her luggage in my trunk, we got in the car. She looked cold. Even though she had on a short jean jacket, I asked where her coat was.
“I put it inside of my luggage. I didn’t expect for it to be this cold out here.”
“Do you want me to get it for you?”
“No, once you crank up the heat, I should be fine.”
I started the car and carefully drove out of the parking lot. I turned on the heated seats and Nokea rubbed her hands against the vents to warm them.
“Ahhh,” she said. “That feels so, so good. You don’t mind if I drop this seat back and take a quick nap, do you? Pat and I stayed up all night and I haven’t gotten much rest this weekend.”
“Just so the drive would go by quickly, I was hoping that you’d keep me company. But, if you’re tired, you’re tired. Just make sure you put on your seatbelt.”
Nokea reached for the seatbelt and dropped the seat back. She placed her arm across her forehead, apologizing for needing a quick nap.
At least an hour had gone by, before Nokea’s sleep was interrupted by her ringing cell phone. She popped up and reached into her purse. When she looked at the number, she mumbled Jaylin’s name and dropped the phone back into her purse.
“So, you’re not going to answer that?” I asked.
“No,” she said. She lifted the seat and sat up straight.
“What’s going on Nokea?”
“Lately, Jaylin . . . he’s been kind of to himself. He lied to me about keeping a woman’s phone number. Since I’ve been here, today was the first time I’d spoken to him, and that’s because I was stranded at the airport. I’m so upset with him. I can’t wait to tell him how much his lies hurt our marriage.”
“Just because he took a woman’s phone number doesn’t mean he planned to use it.”
“I knew you’d defend him, Shane, but whether he intended to use it or not, he shouldn’t have taken it.”
“In Jaylin’s defense, Nokea, sometimes you don’t want to hurt people’s feelings. If Jaylin had not accepted the number, that woman might have gotten her feelings hurt.”
She pointed to her chest. “What about the feelings of a wife who might have seen the entire exchange? Or the wife who finds the number in her man’s pocket? Shouldn’t my feelings be the priority?”
“Of course.”
“That’s all I’m saying. My feelings were deeply bruised and when I tried to talk to him about it, he got defensive and started cursing. Through my eyes, that made him guilty of something. I can’t wait to see him to tell him how I really feel.”
“Trust me, ignoring his phone calls ain’t going to help. If you’ve been ignoring them all weekend, I’m sure you have an angry and upset man waiting for you at home.”
She threw her hand back and tooted her lips. “Who cares? He shouldn’t have lied and that’s all there is to it. Anyway, how are things going with you and Scorpio?”
“Just okay. She lost the baby, but we’re managing.”
“She was pregnant?”
“Yeah. Almost four months, but something went wrong. What? I really can’t say.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Did Jaylin know?”
“Yes, he knew. He didn’t say anything to you about it?”
“Not one word.”
Nokea looked out the window, as if she was thinking about something. Her phone rang again and she ignored it. When she didn’t answer, mine rang. I removed it from my jeans and looked at the number. It was Jaylin.
I looked over at her. “You know I gotta get this, don’t you?” I said.
“That’s your phone and you should. If he asks for me, I’m busy.”
I shook my head and answered my phone.
“What up?” I said.
“Is that crazy-ass woman in the car with you?” he asked.
“Uh-huh?”
“Did you hear her cell phone ring?”
“Yep.”
“Did she know it was me calling her?”
“I believe so.”
“Tell . . . tell her to answer her fucking phone. As a matter of fact, give her your phone.”
I held my phone out to Nokea and she turned away.
“She won’t take it.”
“Stupid ass shit,” he yelled. “Tell her she’s got a good ass kicking coming when she get home and I ain’t playing either.”
I repeated Jaylin’s words to Nokea.
“You tell him that I look forward to it and the only butt that’s going to get kicked is his.”
“You heard her, didn’t you?” I said.
“Yeah, I heard her smart-ass. She showing that ass ’cause you’re in the car and she’s many miles away. When she get on my turf, we’ll see how quickly her tune changes. Now, tell her that.”
“Man, seriously, I’m trying to drive. The roads are slick and y’all got me in the middle of this.”
“Yeah, you get off the phone and make sure you get her here safely. I know she’s been in the car venting. Did she tell you what for?”
“Yes.”
“Ain’t that some stupid shit? I was minding my own damn business and this woman approached me. Nokea act like she saw me pull down my pants and fuck the woman. All I did was take her number and put it in my pocket. When Nokea asked me about it, I lied to protect her feelings. She always getting emotional and shit and I didn’t feel like hearing it.”
“I feel you,” I said. “I know exactly what you’re talking about.”
“All right,” he said with frustration. “I’ll see ya soon.”
I hung up and Nokea glared over at me. “So, I guess you’re feeling his side of the story, huh?”
“Well, it does make sense Nokea. Don’t you think you might be blowing things out of proportion? You know Jaylin wasn’t going to call that woman.”
“Shane, please don’t make me disrespect you. I know men and women view things differently, but you all couldn’t be that darn stupid. I don’t care what anybody says, Jaylin took that woman’s number for a reason. By all means, he loves me to death, but Jaylin will always be Jaylin. No offense to Jaylin, but my girlfriend Pat said it best. If you keep a ho under lock and key they’ll do just fine. But if you put a ho into a busy environment, a ho will turn himself loose. I’m starting to see what she meant.”
“Damn, that’s deep. Are you perceiving your husband as a ho? If so, I wouldn’t repeat that to Jaylin. He might be offended.”
“I don’t know what I’m saying Shane, but I’m mad. Personally, right now, I don’t care if he’s offended or not. I call it as I see fit.”
I shut my mouth and dreaded pulling up to their house. Obviously, some shit was bound to go down. Since Jaylin and I weren’t exactly on good terms, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
For the next few hours, Nokea and I made g
ood conversation. I felt a few extra bumps in the road, so I got off the highway, heading for the nearest gas station. The side road was dark as hell, and it appeared that we were in a rather hick little town. Not seeing a gas station in sight, I quickly pulled over to see what was up. When I got out, I saw my rear left tire was flat. I checked the trunk for a spare. Even though it was there, it had no air in it. Freezing cold, I slammed down the trunk and got back into the car.
“What’s the matter?” Nokea asked.
“I got a flat tire. I’ll call roadside assistance. It shouldn’t take long for them to get here.”
I dialed out on my phone, and the dispatcher said someone would be there in about thirty minutes. To keep us warm, I kept the car running and told Nokea someone was coming soon.
Nokea and I continued to talk and another hour must have passed. I called roadside assistance again, and they assured me that someone was on the way.
“Well, my car has been running for over an hour. I’m running out of gas and if you can give me a definite time, I’d be grateful.”
“Sir, there’s no way for me to give you a definite time. All I can tell you is that someone will be there soon.”
I wanted to curse somebody out, but remained calm. Nokea looked worried and I didn’t want to make matters any worse.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“As long as we don’t run out of gas, I guess I’m fine.”
We waited for another fifteen minutes. Shortly after, a police car pulled up behind me. He aimed a bright white light inside of my car.
“I’ll be right back,” I said, getting out of the car.
I walked up to the police car and the police officer looked scared. “Put your hands up where I can see them,” he ordered.
I held up my hands and leaned down to talk to him.
“Excuse me officer, but, uh, I got a flat tire. I’ve been waiting for roadside assistance for hours. I wonder if you could tell me where the nearest gas station is.”
He spoke in a southern tone. “Well, let’s see . . . it’s about ten, maybe twenty miles down the road. I doubt that you’ll get any roadside assistance ’round here. If they haven’t gotten here by now, young fella, they ain’t a coming.”
Cold as hell, I took a deep breath, showing frustration. “Look,” the officer said. “Why don’t you and the misses get in the car with me? I’ll take you to a gas station and you can have that there tire fixed.”
It sounded like a good plan to me. “Thanks officer. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” he assured me.
I went back to the car and told Nokea the deal. She got out of the car, and instead of taking the flat tire off my car, I opened the trunk and removed the spare. I figured it would save me much time if I put air in the spare tire and bought a new one from a tire shop on the way.
“Make sure you lock your doors,” the police officer yelled out the window. “There’s been a lot of theft in this area.”
I checked my doors and asked Nokea if she wanted to take her luggage. She said there wasn’t nothing but clothes inside and she wasn’t worried about them. Seeing how cold she was, I took off my leather jacket, wrapping it around her.
“Come on. Let’s go,” I said.
We made our way to the police car. The officer unlocked the doors for us to get in. Nokea sat in the front and I sat in the back.
The officer didn’t lie. The gas station was more than twenty miles down the road. When we got there, it was closed.
“Damn,” I said, as I looked inside and saw racks of new tires. I also saw an air pump, so I asked the officer if he would wait until I put some air in my tire. He said yes. Just to be on the safe side, I made Nokea get out of the car with me. She walked with me over to the pump and I put the air pump on the stem.
“This place looks like a ghost town, doesn’t it?” Nokea said, observing her surroundings.
I nodded. Even though the entire town gave me the creeps, I didn’t want to alarm Nokea. I pushed the button to the air machine, and just my luck, the damn thing was broken. I slammed my fist against the machine a few times. When the front of it fell off, I looked up at Nokea.
“Let’s go,” I said, thinking about how much time we’d wasted. Even though the icy streets weren’t as bad as I thought they would be, we were still at least four hours behind schedule. We walked back to the police car. Once inside, the officer looked in the rearview mirror at me.
“Where to now?” he asked.
“Would you mind taking me back to my car? By now, maybe roadside assistance showed up.”
“I doubt it, but let’s go see,” he said turning the police car around.
Disgusted, I dropped my head on the back seat, closing my eyes. I prayed for a quick solution to my problem, but when we got back to my car, it was obvious that no one had shown up.
“That gas station we just left opens up pretty early, young fella. You and the misses can stay the night at a motel, and get yourselves a new tire in the morning. By then, the roads should be clearer. There’s no more snow or ice in the forecast. I gotta get back to work, but I’d be happy to take you to the motel and pick you up in the morning.”
I sighed and turned to Nokea for her suggestion. “Nokea, what do you think?”
“I think we really don’t have much of a choice. I’m tired and I guess we’ll have to wait until morning.”
“I guess so,” I said.
The officer drove off and took us back down the long and dark curvy road. On the way to the gas station, we’d passed a motel. I remembered thinking that the motel looked like the Bates Motel in the movie Psycho. Nokea turned to the officer.
“Isn’t there another motel close by? This one looks pretty crappy, you know?”
“The inside doesn’t look too bad. A few months ago, they remodeled the entire inside.”
“Nokea, if you don’t want to stay, we don’t have to. We can chill in my car, until morning.”
“And freeze to death,” she said, opening the door. I thanked the officer. Before he drove off, he waited until we got our room. He said he’d be back in the morning. I gave him one hundred dollars for his trouble.
When I opened the door to the room, it was old fashioned. Surprisingly, it was neat and clean. There was a queen sized bed covered with white fresh sheets and a quilted plaid blanket. A dark wood entertainment center was in front of the bed, and a plaid green and blue chair was in the corner. A round dark wood table sat next to a chair by a tiny window, and a huge picture of painted orchids hung above the bed. The only problem was the damp and musty smell.
“Well, this is a surprise,” Nokea said. She walked off to look in the bathroom and said it was just as tidy as the rest of the place.
“All I can say is make yourself at home for the night. You can have the bed and I’ll sleep in the chair. Before we do anything else, please call Jaylin to let him know what’s up.”
“I’ll call him in the morning. I’m too tired to argue with him again.”
Earlier, when I had gotten my spare tire from the trunk, Scorpio had called. I sat on the bed to return her call from my cell phone.
“Hey baby,” I said. “Sorry I missed your call, but I caught a flat tire and was in the middle of trying to change it.”
“How’d you get a flat tire? Did you get it fixed?”
“I must have hit something on the road. I haven’t gotten it fixed yet, but I will get it fixed in the morning. Nokea and I are staying the night at a motel.”
“Really?” she sounded shocked. “I hope the two of you have separate rooms.”
“Yeah, baby, we got separate rooms, and if we didn’t, you know she’s a married woman and I’m soon to be married.”
Scorpio laughed. “You are so, so good. Soon to be married my butt. I had a feeling that something would happen. I’ve been worried about you. Be careful, okay? Get some rest and hurry back home.”
“You know I will. Stay sweet and I’ll call you in the morning.”
Scorpio and I ended our call and Nokea stared at me again.
“I already know what you’re thinking,” I said.
“Why Shane? Why must men lie so much? Scorpio knows that you and I don’t have anything going on, so was it necessary for you to tell her we had separate rooms?”
“In an effort to protect her feelings, yes. If I had told her we were spending the night in the same room that would have caused major problems.”
“No, if you had been honest with her, she would have known that you had nothing to hide. By the look on your face, I can see that this conversation isn’t going anywhere so I’m going to leave well enough alone.”
“Thank you. I will feel so much better if you would call your husband and tell him what’s up. If you don’t call him, I will.”
“Shane, please stay out of my business. I said I will call him in the morning and I promise you that I will.”
“All right,” I said, making my way to the bathroom. “I’m taking a shower. Before you get in the bed, if you wouldn’t mind tossing the covers or quilt in the chair, I’d appreciate it.”
“You can have the quilt. The sheets will work for me and I’ll be kind enough to give you a pillow.”
“Thanks,” I said, closing the door.
Tired, I took a rush shower and dried myself with a white towel. I wrapped the towel around my waist and opened the bathroom door. Nokea was laying on her side and had already fallen asleep. She still had on her jeans, but had removed her jacket and shirt. With her lace turquoise bra on, she was snoring her butt off.
I shook my head and made my way to the chair. It was comfortable and I had no problem snuggling up with the quilt and falling asleep.
I was awakened by a knock at the door. Nokea woke up too and we both looked at each other. I got up and when I looked through the peephole, the officer was standing outside.
“Who is it?” Nokea whispered.
“It’s the officer who brought us here.”
“Well, open the door. He might want to tell you something about your car.”
Having the same thought, I opened the door and the officer smiled at me.
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