“And I can’t wait to be your wife, Claude Justine.”
• • •
The following morning Crystal flipped first one pancake and then the next. She felt so blessed to be alive and in love.
“Smells great,” Claude said as he walked into the kitchen and placed a kiss on Javid’s forehead and then Kayla’s.
“Morning, Daddy,” Kayla chimed.
“Morning, Daddy,” Javid followed. He had begun calling Claude Daddy. At first Crystal objected, but Claude said it was only natural. He would feel left out if she forbade it.
“I guess you’re right,” Crystal had finally acquiesced. And anyway, Javid seemed clear on who his real daddy was; he and Neville spoke on the phone at least twice a week.
“Aren’t you going to have any pancakes, Mommy?” Javid asked when Crystal joined her family at the breakfast table with just a cup of tea and grapefruit.
“Yes, Mommy, aren’t you?” Claude mocked in a high-pitched tone.
Crystal waved her hand at him and then turned to Javid and said, “Mommy is getting a little wide in the hips, baby. So she has to lay off the pancakes for a while.”
Javid seemed satisfied with the response and turned his attention back to his food.
“I like your hips,” Claude said as he reached over and grabbed hold of her right hip.
Crystal blushed and gave him a look that said, “Not in front of the children.”
“So what do you have planned for today?” Claude asked as he helped Crystal clear the table and load the dishwasher.
He was actually going to be home for the entire day.
“Well, Shelly invited me over for lunch at her place.”
Claude turned around abruptly. The move was so sudden that the plate slipped from his hand and went crashing to the floor.
“Oh damn,” he said as he walked over to the utility closet to retrieve the broom and dustpan. “You know I don’t like that woman.” His voice was quivering, and Crystal couldn’t remember a time she’d ever seen Claude come undone. He actually seemed on the verge of anger.
“Yeah, but I do,” Crystal said as she took the dustpan from his hand.
“I forbid you to go!” Claude barked, snatching the dustpan from her and flinging it across the room.
Crystal jumped at the ferocity in his voice.
Forbid?
“Lower your voice, Claude, you’re scaring the children.”
“I don’t give a damn. This is my house and I’ll raise my voice if I want to!”
For a brief moment he resembled a small child experiencing a temper tantrum, balled fists, red-faced and all.
Crystal had never seen this side of him. In her mind that other shoe that had been dangling in the air above her head over the past few months came crashing down to the floor.
Kayla took Javid by the hand and led him away from the commotion.
“Claude, you’re being irrational—”
“Irrational? You haven’t seen irrational,” and with that Claude began snatching open the kitchen cabinets, grabbing plate after plate, flinging them to the floor.
“Claude!”
When it was all over, every dish they owned lay in pieces at their feet.
And just as suddenly as the storm arrived, it slipped away. Crystal was cowering in the corner, frozen with fear, not sure if he would turn his anger on her.
The house was silent as Claude stared down at the mess he’d made. When his eyes found Crystal, she saw that his face had reverted back to that of the man she knew and loved.
Claude shook his head as if coming out of a fog, and then a look of surprise streaked across his face. “Oh my God, Crystal,” he said, coming toward her, his arms outstretched. Crystal shrank away, trying to press herself further into the corner.
Claude backed off. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m so sorry, sometimes I just get—”
Crystal slid along the wall. Claude saw the horror and fear swimming in her eyes.
“Baby, Crystal … I would never hurt you, please don’t—” He suddenly broke down in tears and crumpled to his knees. “I didn’t mean to, sometimes I just get so angry …” he trailed off, sobbing.
Crystal watched him for a moment. Part of her screamed: Get your child, get his child and run!
But the other part said: Go to him.
She went to him, gathered him into her arms and rocked him until his tears stopped.
They clung to each other as he murmured “I’m sorry” and “I love you” over and over in her ear.
25
Karma didn’t really want to go.
“Aw, come on!” Geneva screeched over the phone line. “You said you would!”
Karma rolled her eyes. Yes, she had said she would go, but she’d agreed to that a week ago and so much had happened since then. Well, not really that much, but what had happened was still weighing down on her.
She hadn’t heard from CJ since what she’d come to refer to as “the New Hampshire incident.” Well, that wasn’t exactly true—he had sent her two dozen white roses and a few e-mails from Bangkok, where he claimed to be on business.
Really and truly she just wanted to sit at home and sulk.
“I don’t know, Geneva, all the way out to New Jersey, and on the bus?”
• • •
Crystal picked them up from the bus stop. Geneva and Crystal had known each other for so long that there wasn’t much Crystal could hide from her, or vice versa.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Geneva said as soon as she looked into Crystal’s face.
Ignoring her, Crystal climbed out of the car, brushed passed Geneva and walked straight to Karma.
“Hello, I’m Crystal Atkins, so nice to finally meet you. Geneva has said nothing but good things about you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Geneva said, stepping between the two women and pushing her hands into her hips. “You don’t look right. That man working your nerves?”
“Just a bumpy start to the day,” Crystal said as she climbed back into the car. “I’ll be fine once I get some wine in me.”
They drove along in silence for a while as Geneva gazed out the window like an eager puppy. “It’s nice out here in the country,” she commented.
Both Crystal and Karma laughed at Geneva’s observation.
“I wouldn’t quite call this country,” Crystal corrected her. “The suburbs, yes, but not the country.”
“It is nice though,” Karma offered from the backseat. “I want to live like this one day.”
They turned into the driveway and Geneva let off a long whistle. “Your house is beautiful.”
Crystal started to say: Well, it’s not my house, as I was so dutifully informed this morning.
Geneva climbed out of the car, her eyes wide as saucers. “I can’t wait to meet Claude.”
“Maybe later on, he took the kids to the Bronx Zoo today. He should be back before you guys head home.”
Crystal gave them a tour of the house and found herself cringing behind every “oooh” and “aaah” that emanated from the ladies.
“Karma, didn’t I tell you that my girl had hit the jackpot!” Geneva beamed.
Karma nodded in agreement even though her insides were knotted with envy.
“So where does Shelly live?” Geneva asked, her voice climbing with excitement.
“Just across the street.”
Geneva rushed to the front door and yanked it open. “Which one is it?”
“It’s the bi-level brick with the green shutters.”
“That’s it?” Geneva sounded disappointed. “I thought it would be a bit …”
“Bigger?” Karma was behind her, peering over her shoulder.
“Yeah, and I dunno, more luxurious.”
Crystal pulled the door closed. “She told you she leads a simple life.”
“Welcome,” Shelly offered with a bright smile. “Come in, come in.”
“This is for you.” Crystal handed her a bottle of wine wrapped in a
white fur cozy.
“That’s so nice, you really shouldn’t have,” Shelly said, and then pulled the bottle out. “Girl, you been spying on me?”
“Me? No!” Crystal yelped in surprise.
“Oh, ’cause Sauvignon Blanc is my all-time favorite wine.”
“Oh.” Crystal relaxed again.
“Hey, Geneva, so glad you could make it.” Shelly gave her a tight hug. “And you brought a friend?”
“Yes, this is Karma Jackson. Karma, this is the famous Shenelody Miller,” Geneva proudly announced.
Karma smiled and offered her hand, but Shelly pushed it away before throwing her arms around her.
“We hug in this house, girl.”
“My house is very small,” Shelly explained as they moved toward the rear of the house, “just three bedrooms and my study downstairs.”
Geneva was deflated. It didn’t seem as if Shelly was going to give them a tour.
Shelly slid the sliding glass door open. “I have everything set up outside.”
“Aw, man, why didn’t you tell me she had a pool, Crystal, I could have brought my swimsuit,” Geneva moaned as she walked over to the edge of the oval-shaped pool.
Crystal lowered herself down onto one of the four cushioned chaise longues. “I didn’t know.”
Karma sat down alongside Crystal and kicked off her sandals. “I could really get used to this,” she proclaimed as she took the glass of wine Shelly offered her.
Geneva bounded over. “Me too, girl. Maybe I should write a book. Shoot, maybe we all should write a book.”
Shelly sat down in one of the swivel patio chairs, crossed her legs, and looked out over the backyard. “I can’t complain. I’ve been very blessed.”
Karma pulled her shades out of her pocketbook and placed them on her face. Some people are more blessed than others, she thought to herself.
• • •
Crystal and Claude arrived at the driveway entrance at the same time.
“Hey, you.” Claude rolled down the window and called to Crystal, who offered him a smile before turning into the driveway.
Inside the garage, Claude climbed out of the new Jag he’d purchased a week earlier and rested his arms on the top of the car.
“What?” Crystal asked when she stepped out. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because you’re so beautiful and because I love you.”
Crystal blushed. She had tried all day long to stay mad at him, but with each glass of wine and with every “that man done did me wrong” story that passed between her, Shelly, Karma and Geneva, Crystal slowly came to realize that she had a good man, a damn good man, and so the anger just disappeared.
“I love you too, baby.”
The children were passed out in the backseat. Crystal lifted Javid from his car seat and Claude hoisted Kayla up and into his arms.
After undressing the children and tucking them into bed, Claude and Crystal met up in the master bedroom. He pulled her to him and kissed her. “You taste like a winery,” he joked before kissing her again.
After their lovemaking, they curled into each other, Crystal’s head pressed against his chest; she was slowly being lulled to sleep by the rhythm of his heartbeat. “What time is your flight in the morning?”
Claude yawned. “I’m on the nine o’clock.”
“And back when ? ”
Claude thought about it for a moment. “Um, Wednesday.”
He gently stroked her hair and whispered, “I didn’t even ask how you girls enjoyed yourselves over at Shelly’s.”
He knew that if Shelly had insinuated any thing a bout their past together Crystal would have already confronted him about it. Apparently, Shelly was adhering to the terms of their agreement.
“Oh,” Crystal yawned, “we had a nice time. You know, just girl talk.”
“Did you talk about me?”
“Mr. Conceited,” Crystal teased, “bulletin, the world doesn’t revolve around you, you know.” She laughed.
Of course it did, Claude mused.
“No, but seriously, Shelly is really very nice and so humble for what she’s accomplished.”
Thanks to me, Claude thought.
“The four of us really had a nice time.”
“Four?”
“Yeah, Geneva ended up bringing a friend of hers along. She’s a really pretty girl, with the oddest name. Her name is—”
“Mooooooommmmmmmmy!” Javid shrieked from his bedroom. “I peeeeeeed the bed!”
Crystal looked at Claude and sighed. “Motherhood,” she muttered as she climbed from the bed.
“No,” Claude said, tossing the comforter from his body. “Parenthood,” he said, resting one hand on her waist and following her out of the room.
26
Jaihara rubbed her swollen belly and the baby shifted beneath her hand. She grinned. The movement never ceased to amaze her.
“Okay, Mrs. Justine, this is going to be a little cold,” the doctor said before she squeezed the jelly onto her stomach.
This was her fourth sonogram.
Each time the doctor assured her that the child she was carrying, her first, was healthy. But she wasn’t taking any chances; she’d miscarried once and so she wanted to be extra careful with this one. And so demanded that she have a sonogram every month until she delivered.
It wasn’t like her medical insurance was footing the bill for it (like they would!). Her husband was a wealthy man; five hundred dollars to Claude was like five dollars to a regular Joe.
Jaihara gripped Claude’s hand. “It’s still a boy,” she teased.
Claude grinned and nodded as he stole a glance at the clock on the wall. He had a three o’clock flight back to New York. “And he’s still healthy,” the doctor added.
“Promise me you’ll be here for the birth of our son, Claude,” Jaihara pressed as they walked toward the Range Rover. “It’s the—”
“I know, baby, I know, the fourth of July.”
“Yeah,” Jaihara beamed. “Independence Day.”
Claude opened the door of the vehicle and helped her in.
“So are we good with Joshua as a name?” she asked as she flipped open the glove compartment and rummaged through it until she located the lip balm.
“I thought we had settled on Jordan?”
Claude smiled inside. Jaihara could never make up her mind. There had been only one decision she didn’t need to toss around and that was on the day he’d asked her to marry him. Everything after that had been a long, drawn-out ordeal; the house, the color of the walls, the furniture, the type of car, and she’d already had the nursery repainted six times, and now the baby’s name had changed. Although she had remained committed to a name that started with J.
Just twenty-two years old, Jaihara was the youngest of his wives. Hawaiian by birth and lineage, she had long wavy hair and eyes the color of onyx.
He loved her innocence, loved it so much that he’d claimed it for himself a year ago on a secluded beach in Maui.
Jaihara, so young, so inexperienced, so eager to learn! The sex between them was always amazing. She did whatever he requested. He was her world and she wanted to do whatever pleased him.
Claude sighed as he navigated the Range Rover down Ventura Boulevard and toward home.
The phone on his hip began to vibrate. “Ugh,” Jaihara cried, “can’t I have you all to myself for five minutes?”
Claude patted her knee assuredly. “Don’t be like that,” he said before plucking the phone from his waist and peering at the number.
It was Karma. He’d let the call go to voice mail.
“See, baby,” he said as he levied a little more pressure on the gas pedal, “that was a very important call from Hong Kong, but you mean more to me than the two million dollars I just lost by not taking the call. Now if that ain’t love I don’t know what is!”
Jaihara waddled into the bedroom, naked as the day she was born. Her belly was round and beautiful and her breasts
had swelled to a remarkable size. As she moved closer, her nipples seemed to reach out to him.
“Am I still sexy to you, Claude?” Jaihara questioned in her best little-girl voice.
“Of course,” he said, grabbing her by her waist and pulling her gently to him.
He kissed her belly first and then raised his head and began sucking hungrily on her jutting nipples.
Jaihara pressed her hands against the back of his head, urging him to suck harder. He obliged, and Jaihara groaned as she tossed her head back and settled herself down onto his lap.
She was already dripping wet when she began to slowly grind herself against his knee.
“Aiy, aiy,” she growled as she stepped up her pace. “It feels so good, Daddy, it feels so good!”
Claude loved it when she called him Daddy and began to suck more eagerly.
Jaihara dug her fingers into his skull; she was riding his knee as if it were a prize stallion. Her body twitched each time she managed to hit what she referred to as her “goody-spot.” And when she hit it Claude knew, not just from the twitching and jerking her body fell into, but from Jaihara’s breathless chant that always followed: “Goodie-goodie-goodie-goodie …”
Jaihara’s body jerked one last time and then she went stiff, except for her legs, which shook as if a bolt of electricity was ripping through them.
“Aaaaaah,” she cried out into the darkness of their bedroom before she dropped her head onto his shoulder and began to weep.
“Oh Claude,” she whimpered as the tears rolled down his back.
She always cried afterward. Their lovemaking was always very emotional for her.
Claude pulled her tight against him and stroked her back.
Glancing over at the digital alarm clock on the nightstand, he knew he wouldn’t be making his three o’clock plane back to New York; it was already after one and there was no way he could just up and leave Jaihara in the state she was in.
She was the most fragile of his wives. He would have to spend a few hours comforting her and reassuring her that he loved her and the baby growing inside of her.
He would have to call the airline and reschedule for the seven o’clock.
Lover Man Page 9
