by Vera Roberts
****
“Hey baby!” Faith smiled as she greeted Eli in the foyer. “How was taping today?”
Eli rolled his eyes. Reality TV was exactly the bullshit he knew it was. Storylines were created based on a few small incidences. Things that were normally high-stress productions were more so because of the cameras in everyone’s faces. Eli had to fake being stressed out when really he couldn’t care less.
He quickly determined he should’ve gone into acting instead of graphic design. “S.O.S.”
“Same old shit?” Faith asked and Eli nodded. “Hey, it brings in extra income and it’s already paid for the kids’ college educations.”
“Their educations were always set,” Eli quietly reminded as he picked up their six-month old son from the floor. He gave another kiss and hug to Nathan. “I’m just doing this for Joey and Mama.”
“I can see you benefitting a lot from this as well,” Faith mentioned as she walked back into the kitchen, “I can see a lot of women visiting Madre’s now.”
“A lot of women visit Madre’s anyway,” Eli followed her. “Ninety percent of our customers are female.”
“I mean a lot of women coming in to specifically see you,” she stirred the cream cheese mashed potatoes, “I’m sure the show will give them another reason.”
Eli saw the argument before Faith had an opportunity to expand her ideals, regardless of how right she thought they were and how wrong Eli thought she was. He placed E.J. into his high chair and cleared off the table. “Dinner smells great, baby.”
“Thank you,” Faith turned off the stove and turned to her husband. “You’re going to cheat on me again.”
“And thank you for the motherfucking vote of confidence,” he calmly replied. “What’s for drink?”
“Did you not hear me?” Faith raised her voice and Eli hardened his eyes, causing Faith to drop her stance. “You’re going to be tempted again.”
Eli wasn’t planning to drink that night but decided on a beer before he sat down at the table and sighed. The affair was well over a year ago and while Simone was never mentioned by name, she was certainly a trending topic in their household. Despite the therapy, despite documenting their therapy for the entire world to see, Faith hadn’t forgiven Eli.
He began to wonder if Faith accusing him of being unfaithful was merely taking the heat off her. A peculiar phone number kept showing up on their phone bill. “No, I won’t be.”
“Okay,” Faith served dinner and brought Nathan in, “I guess that’s it.”
Eli sighed. That wasn’t it. It wasn’t the end of it. “Let’s have a nice dinner, Faye.”
****
“You don’t have to keep coming over here to fix things, Eli.” Nicola stated as she watched her son sand down an old hole in the wall and cover it up. “Art is doing a great job fixing everything.”
“Art has a lot on his plate with watching the police,” he replied. Eli wanted to add, ‘killing Black men’ but decided against his better judgment. “So I can still help while I’m young enough to do so.”
Nicola chuckled. “You’re only 30 with two children. Try being 45 with five sons – three who were college-age – and then we’ll talk.”
“If it gets to that point,” he shrugged as he finished patching up the hole. “All done, Ma. I’ll be back over later to paint over it and make it look nice and pretty for ya’.”
“Thank you, Eliodoro. But please, sit.” She motioned to the chair across from her. He promptly sat down and Nicola served him coffee and a slice of her famous caramel nut cheesecake. “So how are things?”
“Things are great! Production is smooth for the most part and all of the clients are enjoying being on TV. I never knew people still like being famous just to be famous but it’s whatever.” He dug into the cheesecake and sighed when the bite melted into his mouth. It seemed his mother’s cheesecakes were sent from the Holy Trinity themselves. “Things at Madre’s are great.”
“That’s nice but I’m not referring to the shop. I know the shop will always be great. I’m referring to you and Faith. How are things there?”
Eli shook his head. “She still thinks I’m cheating on her or I’m going to.” He took another bite of cheesecake. “So yeah, that’s what I’m dealing with.” He was met with silence from his mother. “I guess you’re also in that camp as well?”
“Eli, I know you well enough to know you wouldn’t go through months of therapy just to cheat on her again.” Nicola replied. “But I can see why Faith feels the way she does. She’ll probably feel that way for a while until it’s completely out of her system.”
“I understand that. I get that, Ma,” he defended. “That’s not the issue that’s bothering me.”
“Oh?” An arched eyebrow rose. “What is it?”
“I think she’s still talking to Mr. Quarterback,” he replied with another bite, “so yeah, there’s that.”
“Did you ask her?”
“I didn’t have to. The phone bill confessed to me. We stopped getting paper statements so I signed up to get them online.” He took a sip of coffee. “So yeah.”
“Are you sure it’s him?” Nicola pressed and Eli gave her a disbelieving look. “I have to ask these questions, Eliodoro. I’m not going to jump to conclusions.”
“There are no conclusions to jump to when she’s giving freely giving me the answers,” he replied. “So I’m waiting.”
“On what?” Nicola asked.
“For her to mess up,” Eli sat back in his chair.
“You two are being very immature about all of this,” Nicola shook her head, “marriage isn’t about tit-for-tat or constantly getting even with your spouse. You feel that way and maybe you shouldn’t be married at all.”
“You’re giving me this lecture and I haven’t done anything,” he defended, “this is rich.”
“I’m giving you both this lecture,” she sternly warned, “if you both want to work on this marriage, you both have to be one hundred percent in it. It can’t work when one of you is giving your all and the other one is halfway out the door.”
“Then tell her that, Ma. I’ve given nothing but my all since reconciling. Did you know I read a book on marriage counseling and gave it to her to read and she flat-out told me she didn’t need to read it? She didn’t even try to read it. It’s still sitting on her nightstand as we speak.”
“What book was it?”
“The Seven Principles of Making Marriage Work,” Eli nodded. “I’ll let you borrow it if you want.”
“I would love to read it,” she replied.
“Besides, I don’t even talk to Simone anymore!” Eli defended. “Hell, I don’t even know if she’s still here in New York!”
“She moved.” Nicola cut him off. “I don’t know where she is now but her business is no longer here.”
Regret swept through Eli’s body. He briefly wondered if he played a role in that. “I wasn’t aware of that.”
“You shouldn’t have been, anyway.” Nicola sipped her coffee. “If Faith is still talking to the quarterback, what are you going to do?”
Eli thought long and hard about his response. While Faith supposedly claimed she forgave Eli before, he wasn’t sure if had the same forgiving spirit as his wife. “I have no clue.”
Five
Being a single mother was a thankless job.
She was the mother. She was the father. She was the breadwinner. She was the disciplinarian. She was the good cop.
Simone was everything.
She couldn’t complain, however, considering her position. She was able to enlist a full-time nanny and was able to focus on her growing event planning business in Houston. The past two years saw her become the most sought after event planner in Houston and she acquired quite a few celebrity clients as well. Her net worth was well over five million and was proud she didn’t need any handouts or assistance from anyone.
Her newfound wealth didn’t stop the questions. If anything, they came on full forc
e.
Every so often, she was bombarded with inquiries regarding Elena’s father and if he’d tried to make any contact. He has to know about her before he can contact me, Simone snidely thought. She thought numerous times to get a hold of Eli and come clean. Each time she dialed his number, she chickened out. What was she going to say? What could she have said? How was he going to react?
So many unanswered questions.
She didn’t have to wonder how Eli was doing. Madre’s was the top-rated reality show on television and was on its way of being the most-viewed reality show ever. It was no surprise to anyone why: Eli was the star of the show with his illustrious designs and personable attitude. He made a girl feel like she was the only one in the world. When he spoke to children, he got down to their level. He talked sports and women with men. Everyone loved the family and Eli’s popularity pushed interest in both Madre’s and him. When the camera was focused on his home life, the viewers saw how much he spoiled his wife and how he was the ultimate dad to his children.
Yeck.
Simone swore to herself she didn’t want to watch the show and she wasn’t going to watch it. Out of curiosity one late night with Elena, she came across a mini-marathon of Madre’s. One episode turned into two, which turned into four, which found Simone watching the entire series up to its current fifth season.
“I made a mistake a few years ago in our marriage. I disrespected my wife and our vows and I’ll never do that again.”
She replayed the episode when Eli confessed to the affair, deliberately leaving her name out. At first, she was burned by the omission and a deep anger ran through her. A mistake? She was reduced to a mistake? Was it a mistake when he fucked her against a wall? Was it a mistake when he tied her up and fucked her on the couch? Was it a mistake when he let her decorate his luxury bachelor apartment? Was it a mistake he told her he loved her before they made love one last time?
“I’m going to hit my head!” Simone laughed.
“No, you won’t. I promise.” Eli lifted her up and Simone held onto the shower rod. “Just try to keep still.” He dived into her slick heat, gently tasting her at first before unloading rapid fire licking on her pearl. He gripped her thighs harder and brought her pussy closer to his face. He loved the smell, the taste, and the pure essence of her and couldn’t get enough.
Simone felt higher than the most potent drug. No, Eli was her drug. He was her everything. Every lick, thrust, and caress he gave her told her it was going to be the two of them forever. He knew what she needed before she figured out what she’d wanted.
He was her everything and more.
“Eli!” Her moan came out as a frenzied shriek as she climaxed, steadily gripping the shower rod as he continued to taste her. He lowered her onto his hardened shaft and fucked her against the shower wall.
They spent the entire day christening every room in her apartment.
Simone huffed as the memory faded into the background. When exactly, Simone wondered, was the mistake?
Once she calmed down, she was grateful for the omission. She was in the heart of Texas where family and marriage were valued like apple pie, baseball, and Friday night football. If anyone discovered she was once Eli’s mistress (though she’d prefer the actual term – girlfriend), Simone’s business would be over.
Personal feelings towards her ex aside, Simone needed to get serious about one thing – Elena. She needed to make amends with Eli so they would at least be able to co-parent together. They didn’t have to be friends. Hell, they didn’t even have to like each other. But they needed to be cordial enough so Elena knew there was always love for her from both parents.
Contacting Eli now was going to be tricky. She had his direct number and once he realized it was her, Simone was sure he was going to cut off all contact. While the show showcased playful arguments between Faith and Eli, they also showed serious moments of them being in therapy and Faith wiping away tears with a tissue. Simone was convinced that was for added effect.
She would worry about contacting Eli later. It was Elena’s second birthday party and there were a lot of press, celebrity clients, and a lot of food and games. She’ll deal with her emotions regarding Eli tomorrow.
****
I know she has some clue about who Elena’s father is. I just need to know where it is.
Alicia stood in the middle of Simone’s bedroom and glanced around. It was spotless and immaculate, just like her sister. There wasn’t a hairbrush out of place, any clothes on the floor, any shoes strewn around. It looked more like a showroom in a furniture store than someone’s actual bedroom.
It fit the perfectionist Simone to a tee.
Simone always strived to be perfect no matter what she did. If she sucked at checkers, she would study how to get better. If she made horrible macaroni and cheese, she would find a recipe that suited her style. If she gained ten pounds, she would put herself on a diet until eleven pounds were gone.
It made no sense for Elena’s father to willfully be absent.
Simone never did short-term flings and immersed herself into long-term relationships. If she brought a man home to meet everyone, she was serious about him. If he was a ghost, it was clear he was just biding her time.
Something wasn’t adding up.
Whenever she was asked about Elena’s father, Simone simply replied with, ‘He’s out of the picture’ and kept it moving. She never gave any details or insights as to the who, how, or why of it all. And for four long years, everyone accepted the answer. Their mother tried to pry more details out of Simone but she wouldn’t budge. She knew who Elena’s father was and until she was ready to contact him, that would be end of conversation.
“I know there has to be something here!” Alicia began snooping around the bedroom. There weren’t any notes, hints, or even small clues about Elena’s father. If Simone was hiding something, she did a damn good job that not even Inspector Gadget had a clue.
The only significant thing about Elena was she was definitely biracial with light eyes and light hair. If it weren’t for her obvious Black features, the child would clearly be considered White. Elena’s father was a White man, Alicia concluded. With the abundance of White men in New York, that could’ve been anyone.
“If I were Simone’s baby daddy, why would she keep me a secret?” Alicia thought aloud. It then hit her like a lightening strike. “Unless…I was married!”
It was time for Alicia to do some more snooping.
Six
Being connected to the D’Amato family surely had its benefits.
While Faith wasn’t a household name like her husband and his brothers, she surely reaped the benefits of it. Her salon was busier than ever, with customers coming in because they saw her salon on the show. Of course, Faith also knew the other reason why her salon was so popular:
All of the thirsty chicks wanted to see Eli make a special guest appearance at the salon.
Eli used to come in all of the time but the show’s popularity meant he needed to spend more time doing designs and traveling away from home. It was fine by Faith. If things were too hectic with the boys, Nicola or her mother stepped in to help, giving Faith some free time to herself and she took full advantage of it.
Production was going to follow Eli to Florida for a special visit at one of the flower nurseries they visit. With Nicola watching the boys for the day, it gave Faith an opportunity to settle something that had been bothering her for a while.
Darren.
She initiated contact out of boredom and nothing else and was honestly surprised when he replied. They had a friendly relationship since and never brought up the past or hinted to it. When she told Darren about her pregnancy, he congratulated her and only occasionally asked her how was she feeling.
Of course, that’s what she told herself.
Faith knew the real reason she contacted Darren. Eli was too perfect in his newfound husband dealings. The old Eli was a bit of a bad boy and lived on the edge. The new Eli came home
at a reasonable hour and was on his p’s and q’s. Faith knew it wasn’t going to last very long and from stories she’d heard from other women in her shop, it was only a matter of time before Eli resorted back to his old ways.
If Eli were going to cheat on Faith again, Darren would be the emergency glass she would break. Once may have been a mistake but twice was a habit. Eli was not going to make her look like a fool a second time.
****
“Ladies, ladies, ladies…” Jocelyn called out as she styled a customer’s hair. “…We’re all chit-chatting but no one’s bringing up how Fitz put it on Olivia last night…”
“Girl!” Krista exclaimed. “I know he beat the hell out of that punani!”
“Beat the hell out of it!” Jocelyn laughed. “Poor thing probably had to walk around with an ice pack on it.”
“You got years and years building right up between them and the way he grabbed her in bed like, ‘Girl, I ain’t playing with you!’” Krista fanned herself. “I need me a Fitz.”
“We all need a Fitz.” Jocelyn nodded and several others agreed.
“You all need a hole in your heads,” Cameron added.
“You got something to say, Cameron?” Kimberly asked. “Speak now or forever hold your peace.”
“If I must?” Cameron finished styling a client’s hair.
“You better.”
“I find it to be hilarious there are a core group of women – namely Black women – who cream their panties each week for Olivia and Fitz despite the obvious bird behavior she exhibits for a married man. Each time a White woman confronts her, she’s stuck on stupid. But yet, when that happens in real life to our dear Faye, well, it’s not longer funny or desirable.” Cameron feigned boredom. “Oh, the indignity.”
“It’s fiction and not real life!” Jocelyn defended and the other stylists nodded. “Why would we support Eli after he did?”
“Because you support President Fitz after what he’s doing?” Cameron shrugged. “Just admit it, Black female fans of Scandal are openly supporting a ho! It’s okay to admit you’re supporting a ho. Hell, some of y’all used to be one yourselves. You’re probably looking at her and Fitz and going, ‘Ah, yes, I remember that head game.’”