“Is he alone?”
“So far he is,” Tameka said to Tempest. “We are pulling up to the front porch. He’s walking down the stairs. Girl, this man is fine as cat hair mixed with a chinchilla in heat on Easter Sunday morning. Whoo, he’s got hazel eyes and a cleft in his chin that you can see even with the light beard.”
Zeke looked at his wife in disbelief. “Can you try to be a little less excited?”
“Baby, she deserves to know who she’s being handed over to. I know I would want to know if I am being delivered to an ugly man or one who would be a fine candidate for repopulating the earth after a nuclear holocaust,” Tameka said.
The man stood on the bottom step, peering into the car and looking into the back seat. He spotted Tempest and took a step back. He nearly fell on the stairs at the sight of the woman, shaking his head no.
Zeke Neary didn’t drive for six hours with the woman to be told no. He wasn’t too keen on leaving her with a person who didn’t want her either or placing her in a situation where she didn’t want to be. Doing such a thing wasn’t in his nature.
“Dr. Fateman, based on my wife’s description, do you know who this man is?”
Tempest knew exactly who the man was. Her heart rate went haywire, sweaty palms gripped the handles of her purse, and beads of perspiration covered her face. Anyone but him. This must have been a sick joke. Of all the people on the planet to bring her to, anyone but that man.
“Dr. Fateman?” Zeke asked again, seeing the look of sheer fear on her face. Tameka reached into the back seat to touch her hand. Michelle passed her a tissue to wipe her sweaty face. “Okay, we’re headed back home. I can’t in good conscience leave you here.”
“No!” Tempest said, straightening her back. “Mrs. Neary, you might be right. It’s time to own up to those I’ve hurt, and this man, I broke his heart. The damage I’ve done to him...Jesus, order my steps.”
Tameka was grinning and rubbing her hands together in glee, “Now I want to know Tempest, who is this fine ass man to you?”
“That is Dr. Ferdinand Muldrake, a veterinarian,” Tempest said, “and he’s my husband.”
Tameka leaned over, sticking her face between the seats whispering, “You mean your ex-husband?”
“No, current and only husband. We never got divorced,” she said.
“Ooh girl, you’re going to need more than Jesus to help you with this one. I may have to flick some salt over you and stick a twig in your ear,” Tameka said.
“What will that do?” Zeke asked.
“Oh my goooodnnneeess! Hell, I don’t know, but this is just one of those times when Jesus might want to sit back and watch what’s about to happen here as well,” Tameka said, as she opened the front door, waving at the man who had all but passed out on the stairs. “Howdy Doc, we brought you back your bitchy ass, saditty wife. Got a problem though...you might wanna have a closer look for yourself, seeing as she can’t.”
Zeke was outdone with his own wife. She was always saying the wrong thing at the worst possible time, opening her mouth like a hood rat, loudmouth best friend spilling the tea when no one asked for a cup. He clenched his teeth, trying to get her attention.
“SheNanay, get your ass back over here,” Zeke said, using the fun name he’d given her for when they first met. “That is not the way to handle such a delicate matter.”
“Delicate, my neck. Dude, your wife has been blinded and is on the run from some dude named the Glitter Man. We were given the coordinates to this place this morning and told to drive and bring her here. She’s kind of bitch, so I don’t want to take her back with us. You cool to take this over?” Tameka said as the back door opened.
“Wow, tell me how you really feel,” Tempest said, getting out of the car and feeling her way to the front of the vehicle. “Ferdinand...if there is no place for me here, just say the word. I have a home, which is where I probably should be.”
“If you’re in need of a home, your place is always here with us,” Ferdinand said in a powerfully deep voice.
Tameka fanned herself, muttering all kinds of “Dayum.” Michelle was waving at the handsome doctor from the backseat. Tempest was taken back twelve years to her first date with the man. Zeke was the only one not impressed by the good looks and sexy voice.
Zeke stepped forward. “Hold up. Who is us?”
Chapter Ten – In Chaos
Ferdinand Muldrake wasn’t the kind of man a woman argued with even if she was right as two left shoes on a right footed duck. He was a man of pure heart but naïve to the ways of seasoned women who desired to accomplish more in the world than stare at a sexy husband and bear loads of hazel-eyed babies. At 24 years of age, the last thing Tempest wanted to do was go home to Delilah, who after the death of her brother had started going downhill.
The bad men Uncle Carl had kept at bay managed to worm their way inside the house Delilah had built as a business. Ugly men with ugly hearts ruled over Delilah and took stock of the women, wanting to use credit instead of cash. Twice Tempest begged her mother to move to Athens with her and start fresh, but she refused.
“Baby, get you a nice doctor, get married, and have some babies,” Delilah told her often. “Before long, you’ll be married to a professional man and become a full-fledged member of the Junior League, with a string of cultured pearls and everything.”
Tempest followed her mother’s dream and married a doctor. She joined the Junior League and fantasized about killing every woman who sat at the table with long red acrylic nails, expensive designer handbags, and straight shoulder length hair. It was the look of a woman of means. Add in a strand of pearls and it made a statement.
To this day, it was still her style of choice. Or at least it had been until Tameka had slapped the two ponytails from the hood onto her head. She needed to be contrite with her husband since the Neary’s were going to leave her here with the strange estrangement.
“Ferdinand, I’ve hit a snag and my eyesight...I don’t know if it will return or not. You don’t have to do this. If this is too painful, I can go. I’ll find my way,” she said to him, knowing he always had a soft spot for in his heart for Tempest.
“No, you can stay. It will do Caliban some good. Lately, he’s been acting out and being difficult,” Ferdinand confessed. “What happened to your eyes?”
“Rami popped back up. He’s still angry at me. Flashed some kind of bright light in my eyes yesterday and left me high and dry. Now I’m here,” she said, feeling her way around to the front of the vehicle.
Tameka listened, thinking the woman was full of shit and only telling part of the story which was unfair to the man. If there was one thing she couldn’t bear, it was a conniving woman. Again, she spoke up.
“Listen, Lady, you need to be a bit more honest in what you’re telling Mr. Sexy Doctor Husband Man,” Tameka said to the protest of her husband who again tried to silence the verbosity of his better half. “What Zeke? He needs to know what she’s dragging into his home so he can be prepared. This whole damsel in distress crap ain’t cute especially if there’s a crazy man on her tail who likes to throw rose gold glitter on people he hurts!”
“Rami...is the Glitter Man?” Ferdinand asked in disbelief. “If so, we need to call the authorities.”
“Ferdinand, no. The people I work for know exactly who he is and will deal with him. They sent me here to you to lie low until my eyesight returns,” she said.
“Or until they send a specialist to come kill you and everyone in this house,” Tameka said as Zeke frowned at her. “What, Zeke? He needs to know, before he agrees to take her in, and what’s at stake here. Plus, he ain’t seen her in how many years?”
“Ten years ago, she left me,” Ferdinand offered, looking down at the woman he had never bothered to divorce. “Come inside. I have lemonade and a left-over roast if you’re hungry. Caliban will be home soon.”
“Hold up,” Zeke said, looking at the man who provided an arm and guidance up the front stairs to his wife.
“Her name is Tempest, you’re Ferdinand, and there’s a Caliban. Honestly, are you a Shakespearean tragedy?”
“Feels like it most days,” Ferdinand said. “Who are you two?”
“I’m Zeke Neary. This is my wife Tameka and our daughter Michelle,” he said looking at his daughter who was now riding his wife’s hip.
“You any kin to Doc Neary?”
“Doc Neary?”
“Yeah, he has a place not far from here. I take care of his horses, Lady Macbeth and Hamlet. Also, the Weird Sisters who for some reason don’t lay eggs, which is odd for ducks,” Ferdinand said. “I like the dog, though. Mr. Wellington is very well-trained. He’s a good dog.”
“Oh, my brother. We call him Bleu. I forget sometimes that he has all them fancy letters after his name,” Zeke said, watching Tempest handle her husband as she had the Sheriff in Blairsville.
Tempest spoke softly, touching Ferdinand in a way that made Zeke want to slap her hands and tell her to stop feeling on the man. She said over her shoulder, “I went to undergrad at UGA with a Neary. Isaiah. We had some English classes together. I think his name was Isaiah Neary,” Tempest said.
“One and the same. My brother did his undergrad work at UGA,” Zeke said.
“Wow, that’s far less that six degrees of separation,” Tempest said, touching her husband’s hand for guidance.
Ferdinand wasn’t immune to her touch. His heart still raced at seeing a woman that he didn’t know if she was alive or dead with the exception of three times per year when a package arrived. She sent a card to him every birthday, one to Caliban, and a box on Christmas. The arrival of the gifts three times a year for ten years and he knew she was alive. Now she was here about to cause chaos all over again, but this time she couldn’t see.
“Ferdinand, if this is going to be too much...,” she tried to say.
“You have always been too much, and I have never been enough, yet without your eyesight, maybe now you can use more than your hands to feel. This will be a test of patience for us all,” Ferdinand said, holding her hand. “In the end, we will always be family.”
Tempest had nothing to say in the wake of his jolting words. The words shook her to the core because Ferdinand and Caliban were the only family she had left. Delilah had been gone for nearly twelve years. Her death had rocked Tempest to her soul, making her run from living in the now to a relentless pursuit of the living in the wow. Uncle Carl was gone and prayerfully burning in Hell. Jacob was gone. Markham would never want to see her again and sweet Timothy in Columbus - she couldn’t risk the exposure.
“Yes, family,” she said, gripping his arm. They were all she had left.
ZEKE DIDN’T LIKE ANY of it. The whole scenario made the hairs on the back of his arms stand up as if imminent danger were approaching, and they were all targets. Tempest having a husband was one thing, but the man mentioned an “us,” never bothering to clarify who the “us” might be or how many people lived in the farmhouse. His eyes scanned the white walls of the house and assumed, based on the cleanliness, that no children resided in the abode.
Tameka, on the other hand, didn’t bother with the details of the environment but went straight to the source.
“So, Ferdinand, all these years later and you never divorced her. I guess you knew in your heart she’d be back, but I bet you never expected this,” Tameka said with her eyebrows raised high.
Tameka helped herself to the fridge, opening the large door and pulling out the pitcher of lemonade with large slices of lemon bobbing against the container. Grateful the cabinets were clear glass, she opened one and removed four glasses and one plastic cup. Remembering the roast in the fridge, Tameka went back to get it along with a large tomato, mayo, and head of green leaf lettuce.
“Tameka, really?” Zeke asked watching his wife make herself at home.
“He offered, so I’m getting food for us all. The poor man is in shock, not only at seeing his estranged wife but also dealing with the emotions of still loving the crazy woman. I need to make him a sandwich,” Tameka said. “Plus, he has a turquoise aura which indicates a powerful healer and one that can help others find their truths. If anyone can stand finding a bit of damned truth in their lives, it’s that wife of his. I can easily guess she’s been running with and from lies since she left here. He’s probably the only person who truly knows Dr. Temptation for who she really is.”
Zeke exhaled sharply, now holding Michelle in his arms, who wanted to get down and find a bathroom. Ferdinand pointed down the hall while he went to his office, returning moments later with a doctor’s bag. He asked Tameka, “Have her eyes been examined by a doctor?”
“Man, we haven’t had time for all that,” Tameka replied slathering mayo on dark brown bread as she worked. “My husband went to get some lunch at the diner down in Blairsville, Georgia and came back with an extra plate and an extra mouth to feed. He called his Daddy who works for the FBI and is, I guess, all chummy chummy with her boss, who sent us coordinates to this place and said start driving. If you ask me, they are going to send someone to snuff her out, but that’s just me. That’s what I’d do. Pew. Pew. Snuff. Snuff. Dead people can’t talk.”
“Mrs. Neary, please stop talking,” Tempest said, hearing the sound outside of screeching tires and the laughter of children.
Her mouth grew tight and the sweat started to form on her upper lip. Ferdinand stood in front of her, and the sweet smell of a mint on his breath brought back memories. The warmth of a light hitting for face elicited a knee jerk reaction. A large warm hand touched her leg, calming the desire to run.
“Your pupils aren’t reactive. Did you also sustain a blow to the head Tempest?” Ferdinand asked.
She shook her head no, focused more on the sound of footsteps. At least four pair. Tempest listened harder as the front door opened and voices filled the house. Laughter and comradery ensued from kids who had plans to raid the fridge. Greetings were called out as the kids made a beeline for the pantry.
“Hey, Doc!” a youthful female voice said.
“Hey, Dr. Muldrake.”
Voice, in the midst of adolescent changes called out, “Wassup, Doc?”
“Good afternoon,” the last voice said, instructing the kids where to find snacks. His voice was directed at the man sitting in front of the woman. Tempest listened, waiting to hear a word from him or movement. She heard neither.
The first child’s voice asked, “Caliban, who’s that lady with your Dad?”
“My mother,” Caliban said.
“Whoa, I didn’t know you had a Mom!” another kid said, who sounded larger than the other kids and had a deeper voice.
“Stop being a ‘Tard. Everybody has a Mother, otherwise you can’t enter this world. Last time we checked, men couldn’t have babies,” Caliban replied.
“So, you gonna go over and hug her or something?” the female voice asked.
“Naw, she probably ain’t staying, so I ain’t gone even bother,” Caliban said, “Dad, we’re going out back to feed the ducks. I’ll check on the foal, rub her down and stuff. Anything else you need me to do before dinner?”
“Give Ms. Mabel an apple while you rub down the foal; she’s not very trusting of anyone coming near her baby,” Ferdinand replied.
“A mothering instinct is strong in animals,” Caliban said. “Amazing how it doesn’t come through in humans.”
“Caliban!” Ferdinand exclaimed, looking over his shoulder at his son. Tempest touched his hand.
“It’s okay,” she said. “He has every right to his emotions, anger and frustration, with me. I deserve it all.”
The child ran out the back door, not waiting for another word from his father or the people who’d brought his mother home. Tameka, having made enough sandwiches to take with them on the road, bit into hers, smiling with a mouth full of munchies.
“Yeah, Dr. Temptation, maybe you shudda started praying a while ago,” Tameka said. “Your son is pissed with you. If, and man, this is a big old dooki
e sized if, that kid can find it in his heart to forgive and love you, then there might be a chance to redeem your soul after all.”
“Mrs. Neary, I’m truly not sorry to see you guys leave so soon. Again, I thank you for your help,” Tempest said, reaching inside of her purse and locating her wallet. She opened it, not knowing which bills were which, giving up and shoving everything at Tameka. “For your troubles, take it all.”
“Ooh, thanks,” Tameka said, accepting the money.
Zeke returned to the kitchen, took the money out of his wife’s clutches, and handed it to Ferdinand, who in turn stuck it back into Tempest’s wallet.
“Hey, we earned that money. I need some new shoes and so does Michelle,” Tameka said, reaching for two of the six bills given back to Tempest. “You may not want it, but we drove six hours to bring her here, have to get a hotel for the night, and then drive back. On second thought...”
Tameka reach over and grabbed another bill. “Hey Doc, we’re going to take these sammiches to go. Do you have sandwich bags or aluminum foil?”
“We don’t need to get a hotel, Tameka, Bleu lives less than ten miles from here,” Zeke said. “Tonight, we stay with him and in the morning drive over to London to spend the day with my folks.”
“Yeah, I’m not eating DeShondra’s cooking, so where are those sandwich bags again?” Tameka asked.
“Second drawer to the left,” Ferdinand said, checking his wife’s scalp for cuts, knots, or contusions.
“Thanks. We are going to head out. You got this Doc?” Tameka asked, passing a sandwich to her husband and kid.
“Tameka, we need to know if this man has any anger issues still harboring in his soul. The hairs on the back of my arms are still on end, and for my own ability to sleep at night, I need to know if this woman is in any danger,” Zeke said.
“The hairs are standing up on the back of your arms because her boss is sending someone this way to assess her situation, which means we need to get the fuck up out of here,” Tameka said. “Thanks for the sammiches Doc Sexy Veterinarian. Be good to each other. Grow in love, yaddah, yaddah. Zeke! Let’s bounce.”
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