They walked back down to the club and went inside.
“Why don’t you tell her that you’re going to leave with me,” John said.
Karen looked at him indecisively, because she wasn’t sure if she should leave with him or not. On the one hand, she couldn’t wait to spend the night with him, but on the other, she was scared shitless that he might not hold up his end of the deal by going to that meeting tomorrow. She decided to take her chances, though. “Are you ready now, or do you want to stay a while longer?” Karen asked.
“I’m ready whenever you are.”
Karen beckoned for Regina to meet her halfway across the room.
“You know you really pushed it this time, don’t you?” Karen asked, smiling.
“Girl, please. I knew you would have been upset if you’d known what I was up to, but I just couldn’t stand the thought of you and John not being together. It didn’t make any sense.”
“Well, we had a long talk, and I think things are about to fall back into place with us, so I guess instead of being mad at you for sticking your nose into our business, I should be thanking you. Actually, the best thing you could have done was bring me here, because it didn’t take more than a few minutes for me to look around and realize that I definitely don’t want to go back to the dating scene, and I definitely don’t want to give up a man who loves me the way John does.”
Regina laughed. “I’m glad you finally came to your senses. With your stubborn self.”
Karen rolled her eyes and laughed. “John and I are getting ready to leave, so I wanted to come let you know,” Karen said, glancing over at Malcolm. “And from what I can see, three’s a crowd, anyway. It doesn’t look like you need me at all.”
“Girl, please. I’ll have to call you tomorrow and fill you in, but the one thing I can tell you right now, is that he’s got it going on. And I feel like I’ve known him my entire life. He’s such a sweetheart. I could sit and talk with him all night and still have a shitload of conversation left over. Oh, and guess what? You won’t believe this. Remember how skeptical I was about him being a salesclerk?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, a few minutes ago, he told me that he owns the jewelry store we were in and three others located in the surrounding area. The only reason he was working yesterday was that his manager all of a sudden quit, and he hasn’t had a chance to hire a new one. Can you believe that? I mean, shoot.”
“I guess you never know, do you? But actually we should have known something was up when we saw how sharp he was dressed yesterday, not to mention that suit he’s got on right now. No salesclerk could afford that type of clothing.”
“That’s for sure. Well, I better get back over to the table, because Malcolm is the last person I want to keep waiting.”
“Don’t forget to call me tomorrow when you wake up. That is, if you’re alone,” Karen said and laughed.
“Girl, shut up. It’s not even like that. At least not yet, anyway. You and John have a good time,” Regina said, hugging Karen.
“We will. I love you, and thanks again for doing what you did for John and me. You have no idea how much it means.”
CHAPTER 18
AFTER ARRIVING HOME from the club the previous night, Karen and John had laughed, reminisced, and made love until sometime after three in the morning. It was now ten o’clock. Karen was lying across the bed on her stomach listening to Pam, the gospel music DJ for V103, and John was in the shower.
He’d phoned his mother just before getting out of bed, letting her know that he was moving back home and that he’d be at her place around noon to move his things. Something he probably wished he hadn’t done, since the woman had thrown the pissiest fit of all times. Karen had actually heard her screaming at him through the phone. She’d sounded like some woman who’d just recently discovered that her husband was leaving her for another woman. And to Karen, that was about the craziest shit she’d ever heard of. Hell, she was his mother, not his wife. If she’d said it once, she’d said it a thousand times: The woman needed to get a life. Needed someone to rock her little world. To put it plainly, she needed something she obviously hadn’t had in a very long time: hot, buck-wild sex.
Karen felt guilty for having such devilish thoughts like that on a Sunday morning, but the woman always seemed to bring out the worst in her. It had always been that way, and as far as she could see, it was never going to change.
As she rolled over on her back, the phone rang. It rang a second time before she finally picked it up. “Hello?”
“Hi, Auntie Karen,” her niece whispered. “It’s me. Shaniqua.”
Karen couldn’t remember one time when Shaniqua had ever sounded like she was sneaking to make a phone call to her. Something had to be wrong. “Hi, sweetheart. How are you?”
“I’m fine.”
“What are you doing calling me this early on a Sunday morning, little girl?” Karen tried to sound cheerful and unworried.
“My mommy is pregnant again,” Shaniqua said without delay and in a lower tone of voice than before.
A wave of nervousness and frustration flashed through Karen’s body, and her eyes were already filling with water. “Maybe you heard her wrong, sweetheart.”
“No. I didn’t, Auntie Karen. She and Daddy were arguing about it last night.”
Karen had warned Sheila at least a hundred times about having adult conversations in front of those children, and still the girl hadn’t stopped doing it. She was afraid to even ask what else Shaniqua had heard, but she went ahead anyway. “Why were they arguing?”
“Because my daddy doesn’t want my mommy to have any more babies, and he wants her to have an abortion. What’s an abortion, Auntie Karen?”
Dear God. That was why the poor little thing had called. She’d probably been awake most of the night trying her hardest to figure out what an abortion was. Karen didn’t have the slightest idea as to how she was supposed to answer her niece’s question. She didn’t have any kids, and until now, she’d never had to worry about anything like this. “It’s really a grown-folks’ word and something you should talk to your mom about.”
Shaniqua was quiet.
Karen figured she’d better say something. “Don’t think you did anything wrong by asking me about it, because you didn’t. It’s just that I think it’ll be better if your mom explains it to you. I’ll call and talk to her about it later. Now, are you going to be all right?”
“Uh-huh,” Shaniqua said, sounding sweet, innocent, and slightly confused.
“We’d better hang up now, so the phone bill won’t be so high. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“I love you, honey.”
“I love you too, Auntie Karen.”
As soon as Karen laid the phone on the hook, tears flowed down her face. Why was this happening? And what in the world was Sheila going to do with a fourth mouth to feed? She was having a hard enough time trying to feed the three she already had. If only she’d had her tubes tied, like Karen had suggested. Couldn’t Sheila see that she was making things harder not just for herself but for her children as well?
John stepped out of the bathroom with a towel gathered around his waist and saw that Karen’s face was wet. “What’s the matter, baby?” he asked, moving closer to her. He sat down on the bed and hugged her as tightly as he could. “What’s wrong?”
Karen sniffled a couple of times, swallowed, and took a deep breath. “Sheila’s pregnant again.”
“What? Baby, I’m so sorry,” he said, rubbing her back. “What is she going to do?”
“I don’t know, but Shaniqua says she heard Terrance trying to talk her into having an abortion.”
“What does Shaniqua know about having an abortion?”
“She doesn’t, and I’m pretty sure that’s why she called me.”
“I don’t know what to say, baby. I thought your sister knew better than to let something like this happen again.”
“Yeah, I did too, or at least that’s what
I’d been hoping.”
“Does your mother know yet?”
“I doubt it. I guess I better call her now. I hate to even tell her, because she’s been saying all along that something like this was going to happen.”
“Are you going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine. Go on and finish getting dressed.”
He kissed her on the forehead and went back into the bathroom.
She picked up the phone again and dialed her mother’s number.
“Hello?” Lucinda answered.
“Hi, Mom,” Karen said, trying to sound upbeat. “How are you?”
“Fine. How are you?”
“Everything’s good. John and I have worked things out, and he’s moving his things back home this afternoon.”
“I’m so glad to hear that. I’ve got some good news for you, too.”
Lucinda was sounding so happy that Karen knew it had to be something big. “What’s going on?”
“Well, you know Richard has been pressing me about marriage, but I’ve been putting him off.”
“Yeah. And?”
“I told him last night that I was finally ready.”
“Oh, Mom, that’s great. I have no doubt that you’re making the right decision. He’s a good man.”
“Yes, he is. It’s a big step, and it’s kind of scary, but I decided that I don’t want to mess around and lose somebody that treats me as well as he does.”
“So, when is the big day?”
“Probably sometime in August. It’ll be a small ceremony, but I will need you to be my matron of honor.”
“You know that’s not a problem. We’ll have to sit down next weekend and start planning the reception.”
“Well, I don’t want to rush you off the phone, but I’d better get back to doing my makeup before Richard gets here. We’re going to church.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later on tonight.”
“Bye,” Lucinda said and hung up.
Karen shook her head. She’d wanted desperately to tell her mother about Sheila, but she just couldn’t bring herself to say anything that was going to ruin one of the best days of her mother’s life. It was better to wait and break the news to her tomorrow.
CHAPTER 19
REGINA SET DOWN the bowl of potato salad that she’d made early this morning and hugged Karen. It was Sunday, two days before Independence Day, and Karen had invited her over for a pre-Fourth of July cook-out. Since they both usually spent all of the holidays with their own families, it had always been a tradition for the four of them to get together a day or two before—Karen, Regina, John, and Larry. Except this time, Larry wasn’t part of the get-together, Malcolm was.
“How’s it going, girl?” Regina asked, smiling.
“Fine. I would ask how things are with you, but from that huge smile on your face, it’s obvious. You’re glowing like a lightbulb.”
They both laughed.
“Girl, Malcolm and I have only been seeing each other for about six weeks, but we’ve grown so close to each other. Shoot, I think I’m in love with the man,” Regina said, setting her miniature red purse on the kitchen counter. She was wearing an ankle-length, solid-red knit dress.
“I kind of thought you were. I’m really happy for you, because you deserve someone like Malcolm. Where is he, anyway?”
“He’s bringing in the pop that you wanted me to pick up. I think John’s out there helping him.”
“Thanks for picking that up for me. I can’t believe I remembered to get everything except something to drink. Especially since it seems like we do more drinking than eating,” Karen said, fixing the collar of her white, sleeveless, mock turtleneck shirt. She wore black, cuffed shorts to go with it.
“No problem. The store was right on the way over here. Do you need me to help you with anything?”
“I think I’ve got everything under control. John cooked the spaghetti, and he’s grilling the meat now. The only thing I did was arrange the items that don’t require any cooking.”
Regina laughed. “You are so crazy. What kind of meat is John grilling?”
“Cornish hens, ribs, pork chops, and brats. He’s just about done, though.”
“Shoot, who did he think was coming over, the entire suburb? Who’s going to eat all of that?”
“John. He won’t eat a whole lot when we sit down for dinner, but he’ll trace back and forth from the TV to the kitchen all night long. And since he doesn’t have to work tomorrow, he probably won’t go to bed until around two or three in the morning, after he finishes watching those pay channels. He never gains any weight, but he can really put away a lot of food.”
“I guess so,” Regina said, pulling the refrigerator door open. “What else did you get?”
Karen took a half dozen dinner rolls out of a plastic bag and placed them single file on a baking sheet, laced each of them with margarine, and stuck them in the oven. “Macaroni salad, Italian salad, fruit salad, and chocolate ice cream for dessert.”
“Hey, Karen,” Malcolm said, walking into the room wearing a taupe pullover and a pair of matching shorts. As usual he was dressed sharp.
Both Karen and Regina turned to look at him.
“I’m good. How are you, Malcolm?” Karen reached out to hug him.
“I’m doing fine, as long as I’m with my baby,” he said, kissing Regina.
“I heard that,” Karen said, smiling.
Regina blushed from ear to ear.
John entered next, dressed in a pair of tan linen shorts and a white polo shirt. Like Malcolm, he was looking casually sharp, but then for John, that was commonplace. “What’s going on, Regina?” he said, hugging her.
“Not much, John. What’s up with you?”
“What do you mean not much,” John asked raising his eyebrows. “From the look on your face, it seems to me like a whole lot is going on.”
“Shut up, John.” Regina punched him in his shoulder.
They all laughed.
Karen looked around the kitchen. “I thought you guys were bringing in the pop?”
“We put them on the patio, so we could throw them in the cooler,” John said, opening the top half of the refrigerator. He pulled out two large plastic bags of ice and passed one of them to Malcolm.
“The meat should be done in about twenty minutes or so,” John said, brushing past Karen and stealing a feel from her butt. “You can go ahead and start bringing out the rest of the food, if you want to.”
“You think you’re slick, don’t you?” Karen asked him.
“Shit. I am,” he said, winking and grinning at Karen.
Regina and Malcolm laughed.
After the men went back onto the patio, Regina grabbed the left side of her chest and pretended she could physically feel her heart. “Oooh, girl. I get a chill every time Malcolm comes anywhere near me.”
“I can tell. I don’t think you were this caught up when you met Larry. At least it doesn’t seem like you were,” Karen said, removing the rolls from the oven.
“I wasn’t. Malcolm is so gentle with me. He’s polite, and he knows how to treat me. I’ve never met a man who was so concerned with what I want and how I feel. Larry was a good provider, but when it came to feelings, all he cared about was himself. I almost can’t believe I was ever in love with him. And worse than that, I can’t believe I’m falling for someone else so quickly. I mean, Larry and I have only been split up for about two and a half months. I sometimes wonder if we ever had real love in the first place, and I’m starting to think that maybe it was his looks and paychecks that I was so attracted to, and not him as a person at all.”
“Well, whatever the reason, at least you won’t have to deal with him much longer. When is the divorce going to be finalized, anyway?”
“Probably in a few months,” Regina said and took a seat at the table. “I wish it could be a lot sooner, but when property is involved, the process takes a lot longer than usual.”
“Just be thankful you don’t have a
ny children that you have to worry about. Have you heard from him?” Karen asked while removing plastic silverware, paper plates, and matching napkins from the cupboard above the sink.
“As a matter of fact, I heard from him last night. He called me saying he needed to discuss something with me and that it had to do with the divorce. He wanted to come over this morning, but when I told him I had plans, he said he was going to drop by Wednesday evening after I get home from work.”
“What do you think he wants to talk about?”
“Who knows. We haven’t spoken more than a couple times since he had me served with the divorce papers, so I don’t know what’s up. Knowing Larry, though, it has something to do with the settlement.”
“I wouldn’t budge on anything if I were you. To tell you the truth, I don’t even know if I would let him come over.”
“I know, but since things have been pretty civil between us, I don’t see how it could hurt anything.”
“Does he know that you’re seeing someone?”
“No. And that’s how I plan on keeping it until the judge signs that divorce decree. The last thing I want to do is give him any ammunition to use against me in court. And I sure as hell don’t want him to know that I’ve been thinking about moving in with Malcolm.”
“You didn’t tell me that,” Karen said in amazement.
“I wasn’t sure how you were going to react. You know how conservative you are.”
“Well, I don’t have a problem with it, and neither should Larry, if you ask me. Shit, he’s living with a woman who’s carrying his baby, and that’s ten times worse than what you’re planning to do. At least you’re going to wait until the divorce is final before you make your move. Hell. He couldn’t even do that.”
“I know. But I’m not taking any chances. Plus, I don’t want any conflicts between the two of them. Larry has who he wants, but I doubt very seriously if he’d be jumping up and down at the fact that I’m in love with someone else. You know how men are. They might not want you, but they sure as hell don’t want anyone else to have you either.”
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