by Tina Martin
Dimitrius looked around, unimpressed. The place smelled like old, wet carpet and the waiting room chairs were visibly worn and ripped. He looked up at the middle-aged brunette when he heard her say, “Good afternoon, Sir. Interested in a policy today?”
“No,” Dimitrius told her, paying more attention to the gold chain attached to her orange-framed glasses. She looked more like a librarian than a receptionist.
“Then how can I help you today?”
“I actually need to speak with Scott.”
“Oh. Okay. Can I get your name?”
“Dimitrius Champion.”
“Alrighty. Just a moment. I’ll see if he’s available.”
While the receptionist moseyed down the hallway, seeking her boss, Dimitrius continued checking out the place. There was a candy dispenser that housed M&Ms and Skittles near a bulletin board. On the receptionist’s desk was a small glass dish of peppermints. It sat next to an antiquated desktop computer – one of those beige numbers – something from the 1990s.
“He said to come on back.”
“Thanks,” Dimitrius said, taking steps down the hallway, listening while the floor creaked underneath his feet. And then he came upon an opened office door, seeing Scott sitting behind a steel desk that looked out of place in a professional office environment. Well, actually, nothing about this place was professional, so…
Scott stood up, reached for a handshake while saying, “Mr. Champion…this is quite a surprise.”
Dimitrius frowned. He didn’t make an attempt to reach for Scott’s hand. Was the man for real? “Not here to exchange handshakes with you, Scott. I think you know why I’m here.”
Scott smirked, lowered his hand. “Actually, I don’t.”
“Well let me enlighten you. Melanie is my wife. What you had with her is over. She’s moved on, so I think it’s only fair of me to give you a legit warning – not over the phone, in an email, or even in a text message. Right here, in your face. Up close and personal. Do not call, text, look at, blink, nod, wave to – anything you can possibly think of to do with my wife – don’t do it because she’s my wife. Mine.” Dimitrius nostrils flared. Fists balled at his side. He could charge at Scott right now – had thought strongly about it – but there was no need to catch a case. At least, not at the moment. He had to give fair warning, first.
“Okay, man. My bad,” Scott said.
“Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”
“I said, I got it.”
“You better have it, because trust me, if I have to come to this office again, I won’t be doing any talking.” Dimitrius turned around and calmly walked out of the office.
In his car, he sat there. Didn’t start the engine. Didn’t move. Couldn’t shift the car into gear. All he could do was sit there until the pounding in his chest slowed. Until his vision cleared of anger. Until his mind stopped replaying pummeling Scott’s face.
He took out his phone, saw the family picture of himself with Melanie and Grace as his background photo and smiled. Instantly he felt a calmness settle over himself. He let his emotions get the best of him this morning and now he could see how unfair he was to Melanie. He felt even guiltier when he saw the text from what he knew now to be Melanie’s new cell phone number. She took the liberty of changing her number so Scott couldn’t contact her.
Dimitrius started the car, shifting it into gear. Gino should’ve been at his house already, preparing dinner and he couldn’t wait to get home, see his daughter, and his woman. He had a lot of making up to do.
Chapter Twenty-One
Sherita sat on the floor, entertaining Celeste and Nolan. Nolan had perfected the art of crawling. Celeste moved a little slower than her brother, but she never gave up trying.
“Look at you, you little show off,” Sherita said playfully, grabbing at Nolan’s feet. “I see right now, I gotta keep my eyes on you.”
“Mmmm…mmmm…ba,” Celeste said, a cheerful look overtaking her features.
“What’s got you so excited, little girl? Huh?”
Sherita watched her daughter wiggle her little body and attempt to crawl a little faster. She looked like she was heading for her but then again, she could’ve been looking behind her. Sherita turned around to see which toy grabbed Celeste’s attention when she saw Desmond peeping from around the door.
“I was wondering why Celeste was so excited, all of a sudden,” Sherita said, standing up.
Desmond smiled, stepped inside of the room.
Sherita walked up to him, wrapped her arms around his torso and said, “Hey, baby daddy.”
Desmond grinned. “You’re in a good mood today.”
“I am.” She took a kiss from his lips. “What are you doing sneaking up on me?”
“I hadn’t planned to. I heard you playing with the kids and figured I’d watch for a while.”
“And just how long were you watching?”
“A few minutes, until Celeste gave me away.”
Celeste made it across the floor to Desmond’s pant leg. He bent forward, picked her up and left kisses all over her cheek. “Hi, Celeste. You missed daddy today?”
Celeste went for his nose again.
Desmond laughed. “What is it with this little girl and my nose?”
“It’s just easy to grab,” Sherita said, watching Nolan tug at Desmond’s other pant leg.
She bent forward to pick him up and placed him in Desmond’s right arm.
Desmond kissed his jaw. “Hi, Nolan.”
Nolan flailed his arms all about, happy that his father was home.
“You got your hands full now,” Sherita said.
“Yep. Just the way I want it. Now, you can go.”
Sherita frowned. “Go where?”
“I made you an appointment at that spa you like in downtown.”
“Des, that’s nice of you, but—”
“No buts. I want you to do something nice for yourself. I can handle the kids.”
“Are you sure, Desmond?”
“Positive. Dr. Knighton put me in charge, remember?”
Sherita smiled, leaned forward and kissed his lips. “You are the best husband ever.”
“I know.”
Smiling, she shook her head. He was being arrogant on purpose. “What time is my appointment?”
“Made it for 6:30 p.m. That’ll give you time to get down there.”
“Okay. Perfect.”
“How did your appointment go, by the way?” Desmond asked.
“Better than I thought it would go. The doctor put the IUD in place, and I was out of there in no time. It was quick and painless.”
“Interesting.”
She playfully narrowed her eyes at him. “Really, Des.”
“Yeah. It is. Now, can I touch it?”
“Touch it? No, you can’t touch it. It’s up…there…somewhere.”
“I know,” he said, a wicked smile touching his lips.
Sherita slapped his forearm. “You’re silly.”
He chuckled. “So you can’t get pregnant, now, right?”
“Not until I have the device removed.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes. That’s what the material I read said. The doctor told me the same thing.”
“Yeah, but seems to me its effectiveness should be determined on a case-by-case basis.”
“Why?”
“Because some men are more skilled and well-equipped than others. I might go in there and reverse everything the doctor did.”
Sherita laughed. “Let me get ready to go. You are too much, Desmond.”
“But you get what I’m saying, though. Right?”
“Bye, Desmond.”
He laughed as she headed upstairs, then looked at the twins and said, “Well, looks like it’s just us three. Ready to have some fun with daddy?”
Nolan grabbed his necktie while Celeste took a swipe at his lips this time.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
* * *<
br />
Sherita had no idea she would be this excited to go out for an evening of pampering. No work. No babies. Just herself and her cell phone. While her toes soaked in a warm bath of bubbling blue water, she called Melanie, remembering to dial the new number Melanie had texted to her earlier.
“Hey, Sherita,” Melanie answered.
“Hey, Melanie. What’s up?”
“Oh, not much,” Melanie said, refusing to talk about her argument with Dimitrius. “I’m just getting Grace ready for dinner. What’s going on with you?”
“I’m getting a manicure and pedicure. I can’t believe how long it’s been since I’ve had this. Desmond was nice enough to make an appointment for me and watch the kids so I could have some time to myself.”
“That’s nice of him.”
“Oh, and I had my appointment today with Dr. Knighton.”
“How’d it go?”
“It went well and thank goodness. No more babies for me until I get the IUD removed.”
“I know that’s a relief.”
“It is, but I’m still leery about this weight gain.”
“Oh, stop it, Sherita. You gained what? Ten pounds at most?”
“I know, but I’m so…ugh…I don’t know what I am. I do know I’m deathly afraid of Desmond seeing me naked.”
Melanie grinned. “Why?”
“Because. I look a little…plump.” Sherita grinned at herself.
“Real men like a little plump.”
They laughed together.
Then Melanie said, “Just be happy you and Des are actually speaking to each other.”
“Yikes. So you and Dimitrius are not speaking to each other?”
“Hardly, and when we do talk, it’s an argument over stupid Scott. I just don’t understand how a man as sophisticated and handsome as Dimitrius would even think I would cheat on him. How could that thought form in his mind? I could see if I did something to make him feel insecure, but I didn’t. I don’t get it, Sherita.”
“Well, his insecurity may not be the result of something you did. It could stem from his past.”
“Yeah. I know,” Melanie said recalling Dimitrius’ ex. While he told her that his ex had secretly had an abortion, he didn’t tell her much of anything else about her or his past relationships. Whatever happened, the woman sure did a number on him.
“Anyway, I’m not going to torture myself by talking about it,” Melanie said. “I’m already on edge, waiting for him to get home.”
“All right, Melanie. I hope you two work it out.”
“Me, too. Enjoy your time at the spa. You deserve it.”
“Thank you. I will.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Dimitrius stepped inside the foyer of his home with one thing on his mind – making everything right with his woman. He’d lost his mind for the last few days and treated her like she had betrayed him when she had been completely loyal.
Walking into the kitchen, he looked over into the dining room and spotted Melanie securing Grace in her high chair at the table. Her back was towards him. She didn’t even know he was there.
“Dimitrius, my friend. How goes it?” Gino asked.
Melanie immediately turned around, locked eyes with Dimitrius. His eyes looked much warmer than they did this morning.
“Dinner is all done, seasoned just the way you like it, Sir,” Gino said looking at Dimitrius, then at Melanie, before his gaze landed back on Dimitrius again. “I’ll get out of your hair now,” Gino said.
“Thanks, Gino,” Dimitrius told him, and when Gino was out of the front door, Dimitrius took slow steps towards Melanie.
“Are—are you going to go get comfortable before dinner?” she asked.
Instead of answering her, Dimitrius rested his right hand on the nape of her neck and said, “I owe you an apology. I’m sorry, Melanie.” He pulled her into his embrace, holding her close to his chest.
Melanie felt tears form in her eyes, but she did her best to hold them in because, while he was man enough to apologize, she had issues with the way he treated her for the last few days.
“Please talk to me,” Dimitrius said.
Melanie gently pushed away from him so she could see his face. “I appreciate your apology, Dimitrius, but we need to talk, and not in front of Grace.”
“About what?”
“The way you speak to me. Can we talk after dinner?”
“Sure.”
* * *
Melanie had to make herself eat. The steak was one of Gino’s best yet. And the strawberry cheesecake was rich and creamy, with extra strawberries on top, just the way she and Grace liked it.
If only dinner wasn’t so awkward…
While she and Dimitrius did talk, they both knew the conversation needed to get much deeper than what Grace did all day, or how good of a cook Gino was. They needed to discuss their relationship.
Now, lying in bed with her back to him, Melanie attempted to get her thoughts together once again, trying to figure out how to start off the conversation. But concentration proved challenging when she could feel his body heat making her tingly all over. His warm breath finding its way to her neck.
“Melanie,” Dimitrius said, his voice slicing into the darkness of their bedroom.
“Yes.”
“You said we needed to talk.”
“We do.”
“So why are you not talking? Turn over and talk to me.”
Melanie twisted her body to look at him, connecting their gazes.
Dimitrius used his elbow to sit up partially. “Earlier you mentioned you have issues with the way I speak to you.”
“Yes.”
Eyebrows raised, he asked, “Can you explain?”
“Dimitrius, I tried to tell you there was nothing going on between me and Scott.”
“So why didn’t you tell me about the text messages?”
“Because I didn’t want to concern you with something that wasn’t a big deal and—”
“Your ex texting you isn’t a big deal?” he asked, interrupting her.
“Let me finish.”
“Sorry. Go ahead.”
“What I was going to say was, it wasn’t a big deal to me because I have no feelings for Scott and I know how to handle him. When I tried to explain to you that there wasn’t anything going on, you didn’t believe me, Dimitrius, and not only that, you made me feel like I was guilty of doing something I didn’t do. And, this isn’t the first time you’ve done that to me. We saw Scott and his wife in a restaurant, back before we had Grace, and you accused me of wanting to get back with him then, remember?”
“No, I—”
“You did. I remember it like it was yesterday. You yelled at me in front of everybody, just like you yelled and threatened me this morning.”
“I didn’t threaten you, Melanie.”
“You threatened not to come home for dinner.”
“And you told me you were leaving.”
“Yes, and I meant it. I was leaving.”
Dimitrius face contorted.
“Dimitrius, I’m your wife and I deserve to be treated with the same respect I show you.”
“I treat you with respect.”
“Yes, for the most part…when the dynamic between us is great and we’re getting along. But when something like this arises–something like my ex-boyfriend sending me unsolicited text messages–you go completely nuts, insane even, and suddenly, I’m your worst enemy. You go missing at night and leave before I have a chance to wake up in the morning. That’s not the kind of marriage I want. I don’t want a dictator for a husband.”
“A dictator?” he asked frowning. “I’m not a dictator.”
“You were this morning.”
“Okay. I was out of my mind this morning. Is that what you want to hear?”
“No, it’s not. I want to hear why you were out of your mind.”
“Listen, Melanie…I said I was sorry.”
“Dimitrius, I need you to talk to me.”
<
br /> Dimitrius frowned. “Maybe this was a bad idea.”
“A bad idea? Communicating with your wife is a bad idea?”
Instead of answering her, Dimitrius got up from the bed, walked to the bathroom and slammed the door closed. That’s when Melanie had enough.
“I can’t do this. I can’t,” she said through tears, turning on the lamp next to the bed. She walked to her dresser and removed a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. She quickly dressed, then stepped into a pair of sandals at the same time Dimitrius emerged from the bathroom.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m leaving. I can’t do this Dimitrius. I don’t like this tension between us. I can’t.”
He rushed to get close to her. “Stop. Just stop.”
“No. I think this is best. I can’t get through to you.”
Dimitrius wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t go.”
“Dimitrius, just let me go, okay. You don’t want to talk to me, anyway. Why should I stay?”
“Because I need you to. Please.”
“Dimitrius, just let me go.”
He loosened his grip on her and when she looked up at him, she was met by his sad eyes.
“Can you sit down with me?” he requested.
“What’s wrong with you, Dimitrius?”
“Just sit down with me, okay?”
“Okay,” Melanie said, following him to the chairs in front of a wall of windows.
Melanie sat down and watched him.
“I’m sorry, Melanie. But…ah…there are some things I haven’t told you because I’m not ready to face them. Um, first and foremost, I don’t want to hurt you and I’m sorry you feel like you have to leave. You, and my daughter, mean the world to me.”
“Just tell me what’s wrong.”
“I trust you, Melanie, but I struggle with trust issues and it’s way deeper than my ex. Before my mother died, she told me I couldn’t trust anyone….said loyalty was dead.”
“Why would she say that to you?”