by Lena Skye
“Is this the same heaven that dad will be in?” Kalena asked.
“Are you trying to press my buttons today?”
“Nope, I’m just inquiring about some things.”
Her mom gave her the death stare, then she was saved by the bell. The doorbell reverberated throughout the house.
“Are you expecting company?” Kalena asked.
“Nope.”
“I’m gonna answer it,” Kalena said as she jumped to her feet and went to door. She made her way through the dining room, down the hall, and to the door. She looked through the peep hole and her heart dropped. It was a face that she hadn’t seen in person in over a year and she could have gone much longer without it.
Reluctantly she opened the door and stood face to face with the person that she was trying to forget.
“Hey Baby girl.”
“Hi dad,” Kalena said, lacking enthusiasm.
“Wow, not even a hug for your old man?”
Her father wrapped his arms around her, she stood frozen.
“Kalena who is that?” she heard her mom say from the back. Her mother walked out and soon mirrored her daughter’s demeanor, “What are you doing here?” she said to her husband.
“I came to see you.”
“What do you want?”
“I want to talk.”
“We don’t have anything to talk about. Go home to your girlfriend.”
“I’m so sorry about what I’ve done to our family. I’ve been praying and asking God for guidance. I want my family; I don’t want us to be over. Will you come back home?”
“I’m done with you. You’ve made your decisions, now you have to live with them, I’m finished Henry.”
“Baby, I need you to really consult God on this one. Don’t throw away everything that we’ve built just because you’re upset.”
“I’m so tired of you. Just to let you know, I’ve been praying. Leaving you has been the best decision that I’ve ever made and I finally feel at peace.”
Kalena felt awkward as she stood in the middle of her parents. Their words were a blur, but it made her feel intrusive.
“Umm, I think that I’m going to leave,” Kalena said.
Her mom gave her a silent nod.
Her dad said, “Can I see you tomorrow? I’ll be in town for a couple of days.”
“I hope you have a hotel room,” her mom said.
“If that’s what you want,” he said.
“Knowing you, you probably have a woman here that you’re staying with. You can’t keep it in your pants to save your life. Did you consult God about that?”
Kalena grabbed her coat and purse and headed out of the door. When the cool breeze hit her face, she felt relief. Her dad had a lot of nerve showing up at her mom’s new place the way that he did. Her dad felt like he owned her and that she was always going to come back to him. Kalena said a silent prayer with the hope that it would strengthen her mother’s resolve. Her mom was finally starting to be happy again, her dad would only bring heartache and misery. She didn’t trust that man as far as she could throw him.
That was why she couldn’t stand men; they lied through their perfect teeth with a look of sincerity on their face. In the middle of that thought, her thoughts drifted to Tommy, the man that would literally fight for her. Deep down she knew that he would never treat her the way that her father did her mother. She was such a stupid woman. Not many women had a Tommy in their lives and she was about to throw hers away.
She felt extremely silly about getting so upset with him over what happened. He had every right to be pissed and that was the kind of man she claimed to always want. Also, he got arrested because of racism. There should have been two people in handcuffs that evening, it wasn’t right. She shook her head at herself; he probably never wanted to talk to her again after the way that she behaved. Even after she snapped on him in the car, he still wanted another chance. He said some hurtful things to her but they were partially true and he was pissed.
When she got in her car, she headed to Tommy’s house. The right time to apologize was in her face. Going with her gut seemed like the best thing to do, and the sooner she corrected her error with him the better.
He cared about her and stuck around through the toughest times. He watched her date other men even though she knew how he felt about her. She couldn’t get to his house fast enough. Twenty five minutes later and she was there.
She skipped up his steps and knocked on his door. The door opened however it wasn’t Tommy, instead it was a familiar face. It was the same girl that was at his house before. It didn’t take him long to pick back up with her.
“Who is it?” Tommy said in the background.
“It’s your friend,” she said without acknowledging Kalena’s presence.
Tommy walked to the door and looked surprised to see her, “Hey.”
“Hi, sorry, I came by to say something but never mind,” Kalena said quickly.
“No wait,” he said.
“No, I’m leaving.” she replied forcefully and quickly walked to her car.
Kalena didn’t want him to follow her; she didn’t want some big emotional showdown. She wanted him to wait for her. She wanted him to not go back to an old flame just because they had a disagreement. She felt stupid all over again. Maybe he wasn’t the kind of man that she should have been with after all.
#Chapter10
“I am going to pray for you Tamika,”
Kalena's Mom
Tamika sat in the waiting room of her lawyer’s office; her hands were shaking the entire time. Was this a good idea? Maybe she should just get up and go home. Her mind raced with all sorts of thoughts but her gut told her that she was doing the right thing. It was time for her to end things with Reggie. For good.
After learning about his involvement in the drug trade and his continuous cheating, she’d been sick to her stomach. Damn, she wished that lamp would have hit him over the head. He lied to her for their entire marriage; she didn’t know anything about the man that she married.
Her family was extremely upset when they found out that she was contemplating divorce, her daddy was especially pissed. ‘There is just something that I don’t like about him,’ her dad used to say, ‘he seems like he’s hiding something.’ Tamika would shush her father and keep him from saying anything bad about her boyfriend. She should have listened, and most importantly she should have done a damned background check. In the end, daddy was right.
That’s what everyone should do on someone before they marry them. Love is great but concrete facts don’t hurt either. She checked her watch to see what time it was, and then the door opened.
“Alright, I will follow up with you regarding the details. We’ll give him a little while to get a lawyer, he’s going to need one,” the lawyer said to her client.
Tamika looked up and saw Kalena’s mom, “Hey!”
“Oh my goodness, hey Tamika, what are you doing here?”
“Probably the same thing that you’re doing here,” Tamika said.
“Aww, I’m so sorry to hear that. Kalena did mention you were having problems. You and your husband are so young, are you sure?”
“You don’t even know the half of what I’ve been through; it’s time for me to get the hell out of my marriage before things spiral out of control.”
“Okay, I’m going to trust your judgment and I am going to pray for you, Tamika,” she said as she pulled Tamika into an embrace.
Tamika tried to hold back tears, she had had enough crying. It was time for action. “It was great seeing you, I’m sure that I’ll be seeing a lot more of you now that you’re closer.”
“I sure hope so, sweetie.”
Kalena’s mother left and Tamika followed the lawyer into her office. It was time to serve her husband with divorce papers.
#Epilogue
A week later Tamika sat on her living room couch without wine. Drinking was turning her into an emotional basket case and she wanted to live her l
ife with a clear head. Although she was without wine, she had another vice that was in the living room with her. Jin sat on the chair next to the couch. He came home with her after work to cheer her up.
It was the day after Reggie was served with divorce papers and she was an emotional wreck. Just thinking about his reaction tore her heart to shreds.
“So how are you holding up?” Jin asked her.
“Ugh, I was hoping that I would hold up better than what I actually am but yesterday really has me shook.”
“So shook that you can’t eat the Chinese food that I bought to cheer you up?”
She smiled at him, “Nope, not that shaken. I’m going to eat, you know me. Nothing gets in the way of me and food.”
“Good, then I would have had to call men with the white coats.”
“No need to call in the cavalry,” she laughed.
“Whew! So what happened yesterday if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I couldn’t bring myself to give him the papers myself, so I had him served at his job.”
“Uh oh,” he said.
“Yeah, uh oh is right. He was sitting at home when I showed up, waiting in the car. When I got out of my car he was standing there. It looked like his entire body was shaking,” she closed her eyes and tried to get the vision of her trembling husband out of her head.
“Then what happened?”
“He asked me to change my mind and he told me that he loved me. All I could say to him was ‘go away’. I just want him to get a lawyer so that we can settle this and move on with our lives, you know?”
“I’m sorry, I can’t say that I know what it feels like. However, I am very sorry that you have to go through this. You deserve much more.”
“Thanks,” she said as she dug into her food.
“Do you think that he’ll be back? Do you feel safe?”
Tamika shook her head, “I think I know him well enough in that aspect, he wouldn’t hurt me. Although he’s a liar and a ton of other things, he really does love me. I’m pissed that our marriage was based on a false foundation but in his twisted way, he thought that he was doing the right thing.”
Jin sighed, “Okay, but if you ever need anything, just let me know. I want to make sure that you’re safe. You know that I can help you move if you have to. If you ever feel unsafe, you can also apply for a transfer, they’re looking for someone in a few of our locations.”
“I’m not going anywhere and I doubt if it will come to that,” Tamika said but she was unsure. She just hoped that Mimi kept her word and left her alone.
For the next two hours Tamika and Jin chatted about things other than work and her marriage. She heard more charming stories about him as he was growing up. It was obvious that he loved his sister very much. He rambled on and on, in an attempt to fill the void. He didn’t like seeing her upset and sad.
Tamika walked Jin downstairs to his car, she had a wonderful evening with him. He did for her what her friends couldn’t do. They didn’t know how to laugh, talk, and forget. He gave her the opportunity to take her mind off of her reality. She appreciated it.
“Will I see you in the morning?” he asked, “I understand if you’re not in the mood.”
“No, I’ll be there.”
“I’m serious Tamika, if you need some time off just let me know. You have two weeks that you still need to take, anyway.”
She shrugged, “I’ll be there.”
He gave her a smile, “That’s what I like about you, you’re a fighter.”
“Sometimes I don’t feel like one.”
“You are. You’re one of the strongest women that I’ve ever met.”
His words warmed her heart, so she decided to follow it. Before he got into his car she gave him a quick kiss. His lips were warm and soft, just the way that she remembered.
“Wow, that was unexpected,” he smiled.
“I like to give surprises.”
“What a coincidence, I love receiving surprises.”
She laughed, “Goodnight Jin, I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Bye sweetie.”
Tamika walked back inside of her condo, unsure of what she’d just done. It was pure instinct that made her kiss Jin. He’d been so nice to her and she enjoyed the affection. Hopefully she hadn’t opened up a can of worms.
Little did Tamika know that her kiss with Jin had an audience.
Outside Reggie was sat in his car, jealousy and Jack Daniels running through his veins. He had come over to try and beg for forgiveness once again but he did not expect to see what he saw. That motherfucker kissed his wife!
Well, his wife kissed him but that was beside the point. He knew that dude was scheming on his wife the entire time. He took another swig from his flask, opened his gun to see if the bullets were still loaded, and then put his foot down and followed Jin’s car.
Someone had to pay for his mistakes and Reggie was not going to let this go...
THE
INDEPENDENT WOMEN
SEASON 1 - FINAL EPISODE
A BWWM Interracial Romance Serial By..
LENA SKYE
Summary
Tommy desperately tries to make good with Kalena but will it all fall on deaf ears?Have two people that were perfect for each
other missed their chance?
Meanwhile, where there is life there must also be death and Reggie is planning to do something that promises to change everything for everyone, forever....
A Few Months Earlier....
The screeching of basketball shoes were loud against the hardwood floors at the gym. It was one of Jin’s favorite pastimes. He loved being on the court with his friends, it helped keep his body in great shape, and he got to release some aggression that he collected throughout the day. People thought that he had it easy at his job. How hard could it be to find people jobs? The truth was that some parts were easy. However, finding someone that was qualified, that would be a great fit, and would stay in the position was the difficult part.
He prided himself on how well his candidates did in his placements. It was the reason that he was quickly climbing to the top of the totem pole. He’d now been in his managerial position for a year, it was tough but he loved the pressure.
He and his friends sat on the bleachers waiting for their turn to play. They took note of certain people on the court and tried to strategize. At first they didn’t get any respect because no one thought that the team with Asian men on it was going to beat them, but now people took them a lot more seriously. They were a threat and they’d embarrassed many people on many days.
While they were waiting, they sat around and talked about their day.
“So, I hear that it’s your one-year anniversary in your position,” his friend Miguel said.
“Yep,” Jin replied, “They gave me a fancy pen and everything.”
“No bonus?”
“That comes during Christmas,” he laughed, “I hope.”
“So how have things been for you there, do you see yourself staying with them for much longer or going after an even bigger fish?” his friend, Aran, asked.
“Things have been going well, I hired two new people not that long ago and they’re doing pretty good.” His thoughts went to one of them in particular. She was gorgeous and her huge accomplishments in such a short period of time had made him look like a dream as a manager. The crazy part of it was that she had no idea about how great she was. He hated to see her stay in the shadows during the meetings. She needed to speak up so much more because her input was valuable, the truth was that she could be doing his job. Her instincts were second to none and she knew how to find the right people.
“What’s that face?” Miguel asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean,” his friend laughed, “Who is she?”
“Why does it always have to be about a girl?”
“Because that’s the only time you have that goofy looking grin on your face,” Aran confirmed.
<
br /> “It’s just this woman that I hired, she’s hot. She’s extremely intelligent, she’s beautiful, she’s funny, and she’s really sweet.”
“Don’t do it!” Miguel said dramatically, “Work romances never work and you are her boss. That’s a sexual harassment suit waiting to happen.”
“I just know that she’s going to be mine one day,” Jin admitted, “It may not be tomorrow, but it will happen eventually.”
“Since you’re obviously going to ignore my good advice, what does she look like?” Miguel asked.
“She has a fair complexion, a banging body that she hides in suits, and curly hair,” he said.
“Are we talking about a light skinned black girl?” Miguel asked.
“You like black women now?” Aran asked.
“I’ve always liked black women and yes she’s black. Is that a problem?”
Miguel laughed, “You wouldn’t know what to do with all of that. Black women are different. They’re aggressive and they have major attitude.”
“You need to stop watching so much TV,” Jin said, “They don’t have any more attitude than other women, shit, have you met my sister?”
He shrugged, “Just be careful.”
“I know what I’m doing. I just have to wait.”
“I hope that you do, we don’t want to see you in the paper with a sexual harassment case. You’re too little and cute for prison,” Aran said.
“Oh hush, I wouldn’t do anything disrespectful.”
Just as the discussion was going to continue they were interrupted.
