If Your Wife Only Knew

by Cydney Rax

  “Damn, my back.” He pulled himself to his knees and tried crawling.

  “Why aren’t you helping me?”

  Kiara stood and said not a word. Then her mouth opened wide. She stood horrified.

  A sudden roar sounded. A wave of water hit the side of the cruise ship. It wasn’t a horrific wave, but it caused a large amount of water to spill over the balcony rail and drench the deck floor.

  Within seconds, Kiara’s feet slipped from under her. She banged to the floor and landed on her thigh. The soapy watery mixture left her helpless; the pain made her want to cry.

  “Kiara, are you all right?”

  “Help me.” She felt very frightened. “My baby.” She held her stomach and her body started sliding around as she struggled to stand. She felt like she was drowning.

  Somehow Rashad managed to crawl to a table where he was able to pull himself up. He threw his large towel on the floor. It was slightly damp but dry enough to give him good balance. And completely naked, he walked across it to reach his wife. He helped her up and they both hurried across the towel and ducked back inside their room.

  “What happened out there? Why was the floor so wet?”

  “Because of the rogue wave?”

  “That wasn’t just water. It was something more dangerous.”

  Kiara fumed. “Did you know that Nicole is pregnant by you?”

  “What? What are you talking about?”

  “She just texted you a photo of the unborn baby that is in her stomach. I’m assuming you put it there.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “I saw it on your stupid watch phone.”

  “Oh, that can’t be right. That has to be a joke.”

  “That is nothing to joke about. I’m so upset at you I don’t know what to do.”

  Rashad stared at his wife then at the empty bottle of shampoo that was sitting on a table. “You tried to kill me, didn’t you?”

  “No, I did not.”

  “Kiara, don’t lie. You’re insane. And you want me dead without even knowing the full truth. Nicole has an ex. That baby could be his. You ever thought about that?”

  “If that were true, she’d be texting her ex and not you, you big dummy.” She was screaming. She beat his chest with her fists. “Tell the truth for once in your life.”

  Rashad was speechless. And he was scared. He stopped her from hitting him and forced her to sit.

  Rashad was twelve years old. His daddy had just come in real late after being gone from the house the entire weekend. The first person his daddy saw was his son, Rashad.

  “Shhh,” his dad told him and winked. “If your mama asks where I was, tell her I fell asleep in the room above the garage.”

  “Oh, okay, Daddy.” Rashad knew it was a lie. But he loved his father. He loved it when his dad let him sit in the driver’s seat of his Eason & Son van. He had a ball when his dad brought him to work and explained to him all about nuts and bolts and hammers and wood.

  His father was good with his hands and he told Rashad he had the same talent.

  “You will always have a job when you can fix and build things, son.”

  Rashad nodded and stared at his hands.

  “Protect them. They will make you a lot of money.”

  He’d follow his dad around the contracting firm, watching him fill his toolkit with all kinds of metal objects.

  But little Rashad also saw when his dad would wink and flirt with his secretary, Gloria.

  Gloria had short hair and a nice shape. She liked to smoke and dance around the office playing her beat box real loud.

  Rashad took it all in. His dad would wink at his son and take Gloria with him into one of the empty rooms at his office building. They’d be gone for an hour, leaving the boy alone to play.

  And when he’d return home after being with his father, his mom, Beeva Reese, would corner him.

  “Where were you?”

  “At Daddy’s job.”

  “Were other women there?”

  He’d shrug, nod “yeah,” and look around and ask to be excused because he was tired and hungry.

  Beeva would explode at his daddy. She hit her husband with her fists. He’d pop her back in her jaw and push her off him. She’d fall to the ground, cower and scream as he kicked her.

  That was when Rashad became afraid to tell the truth.

  Truth caused pain.

  Pain caused suffering.

  Suffering caused a woman to cry.

  Truth hurt.

  Rashad thought about his mother and the fact she’d been married a few times since his daddy died. He wasn’t very close to the woman. She seemed to be too busy with her own life. And their estrangement made him feel bad. Somehow he feared he may always have a horrible disconnect with a woman. And he just didn’t know how to close in the gap.

  He sighed and his shoulders felt heavy with fear.

  “Okay, Kiara. I’ll be honest with you. The baby could be mine. It’s a strong possibility. But it was an accident. Everything was an unintentional accident.”

  “I don’t want to hear it.”

  Kiara got up and went to lie on the couch. She pulled the covers over her head. All she wanted was for the cruise to be over so she could think clearly and plan her next move.

  Chapter 20

  The Easons returned home from the cruise. Kiara consulted an attorney the second week of October. She made Rashad sleep in the upstairs guest room. He hadn’t left the house since; he was too afraid to leave, but he was also afraid to stay.

  Kiara felt nervous and jittery. So she invited Adina over on the Monday after they returned.

  “I feel this is all my fault, Ki.”

  “Stop it. You have no control over what he does.”

  “But if I hadn’t brought your attention to all he was doing, this wouldn’t be happening.”

  Kiara said nothing. She had mixed feelings. In some ways, she wished Adina had kept her mouth shut. Truth hurt. Bad. But she needed to know what was up and now she knew.

  “Why is he still here?”

  “He refuses to leave.”

  “What?”

  “He is still begging me to hear him out. He feels he deserves that chance.”

  “You’ve given him a hundred chances, based on what you told me.”

  “Don’t worry. He is out of here. I’m about to pull an Olivia Pope and fix his ass good.”

  On Tuesday, Kiara returned to the job after being on vacation. She picked up the phone and called Alexis into her office.

  “Close the door and have a seat.”

  Alexis calmly sat down and crossed her legs.

  In a low voice, Kiara said, “I just wanted to give you a heads-up that I will be sending you a termination letter—”

  “Excuse me?”

  “It’s not for you. It’s regarding someone else.”

  “Oh.”

  “It will be addressed to Nicole. A lot of things are happening around here that have made me conclude she isn’t going to make her probation. She’s very unprofessional and causes too many disturbances in this office.”

  Alexis nodded, knowing exactly what she was referring to: the big announcement with the worst timing. Alexis hated having to rat out Nicole but she was doing things way beyond what was necessary.

  “Anyway, there is no way I can envision Nicole as being part of our team. So I’m firing her. Of course, no one else knows yet. This is highly confidential, Alexis.”

  “I do understand. And I’m sorry about how things went down. And please do not tell Nicole that I told you. I don’t need her harassing me anymore.”

  “No, thanks for telling me. I never would have known, otherwise.”

  Alexis felt guilty about not admitting that Hayley was Rashad’s. She wasn’t sure how long she could keep that a secret.

  “I will email you the letter. I want you to review it, print it on my letterhead and bring it to me in a sealed envelope. And I want you to schedule a meeting between mys
elf and Nicole—”

  “I see. When?”

  “I’m not finished yet.” Kiara studied Alexis, then remarked, “You two have never hit it off very well. Why is that?”

  “I just don’t like the bitch. Excuse my French.”

  “You don’t have to like someone to respect them.”

  “I don’t respect the bitch, either.”

  “Well, all righty then. Anyway, I need you to send her the meeting invite. Just title it ‘Miscellaneous Communications’ and blind copy yourself. I need you to be present.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “You’ll see.”

  Alexis walked back to her desk. She was happy Nicole was getting let go, but she really didn’t want to be in the meeting. Yet it was like a dream. She couldn’t believe her good luck.

  She almost salivated when she received Kiara’s email. She reviewed the attachment:

  Dear Nicole Kelly Greene,

  This is in reference to your employment dated May 28 which requires you to undergo a probationary period of six (6) months before full employment is offered. Based upon a recent evaluation by your supervisor, we regret to inform you that your work performance does not merit an offer of a permanent position. We feel our work environment may not be the best match to your work skills and work style. This is your termination notice, which is effective immediately. You will be paid for any unused accumulated vacation leave which is calculated to be 48 hours.

  We wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors.

  Sincerely,

  Kiara M. Eason

  Senior Manager of Communications

  By signing this letter below, you are acknowledging receipt of this termination notice:

  Date;

  cc: Human Resources

  Nicole K. Greene

  Alexis felt a strong sense of jubilation when she read the letter. In large bold italics she spontaneously typed at the bottom:

  P.S. Don’t let the doorknob hit your bitch ass . . .

  Alexis snickered, then deleted the last line. Nicole’s firing would be sufficient.

  “It’s a shame we gotta pay this woman to leave out the door. But even the NBA must fork over the dollars to get rid of a player. That’s cool. Whatever it takes to keep me from looking her in her ugly face ever again.”

  Heart pumping with exhilaration, she printed the document on letterhead, then carried it to Kiara, who reviewed and signed it. Alexis personally delivered the letter to the VP so he could sign it, too. When she returned to her office, Alexis happily sent Nicole an Outlook invite to the meeting, which was set for nine o’clock the next day.

  She couldn’t wait.

  That evening Alexis prepared a simple dinner. Salmon, grilled corn on the cob, wild rice, and a garden salad with ranch dressing. She filled four plates with food, took one to her mother, and set the tray on Mona’s bed before closing the door behind her.

  She returned to the kitchen, picked up two plates, balanced one in each hand, and carried them to the dining room.

  “Here you go. Hope you like it.”

  Varnell examined the meal she had prepared. “It smells good. I’m sure it tastes just as good.”

  “Mama, eat!”

  Alexis grinned broadly. This was the first time Hayley called her “mama” and meant it. She laughed and said, “All righty, Ms. Greedy. You know I wouldn’t forget about you.”

  After she set down Hayley’s dinner, she got her food and a mimosa, then joined the others.

  Alexis felt a twinge of nervousness. So far, she and Varnell had been on four real dates: the off-Broadway play, bowling, the Wings Over Houston air show, and fishing. Nice simple outings. And she’d had a good time. But still, she questioned if it was too early to let him meet her daughter.

  “I appreciate you understanding about—”

  “No need to apologize. I’m glad you told me. Children are gifts from the Lord. They are a blessing.”

  “I’m surprised you don’t have any.”

  “Not yet. I’m only thirty-one. There’s still time.”

  She shyly grinned at Varnell and appreciated the comfort his presence always seemed to give her.

  “Well, let’s eat.” She started to stab her daughter’s fish with a knife but Varnell interrupted.

  “In my house, we give the blessing before we break bread. It’s just a little habit.”

  “A great habit. I apologize. Can you say it for us?”

  Varnell grabbed Alexis’s slender hand and then reached for Hayley’s tiny fingers.

  She yelped. “Eat. Now.”

  Varnell chuckled and said, “Patience, my child.”

  Alexis felt warm and fuzzy on the inside. She held Hayley’s other hand and bowed her head but she didn’t close her eyes. She kept taking quick peeks at this man who was quietly yet authoritatively sitting in her home. The more she looked at Varnell, the more she liked what she saw.

  After the blessing, they all sat together and chowed down.

  “Is it okay?” she asked.

  “It’s great. Perfect.”

  “Are you sure you’re not lying to me?”

  “You really ought to know me better than that.”

  Alexis agreed with him. “That’s my New Year’s resolution.” She grinned and winked.

  She had both her BlackBerry and iPhone sitting on the kitchen counter. She kept the work phone powered on just in case her boss called. But when the iPhone rang, she pretended she was hard of hearing.

  “So how was your day today, Mr. Brown?”

  “It started out fine and it’s ending up even better.” Varnell’s eyes twinkled when he smiled at her. She couldn’t believe how his smile could make her blush. Alexis’s heart began to melt like a chocolaty hot fudge sundae with cherries on top. The phone went silent but immediately rang again, and she knew it was Rashad. She silenced the phone. Varnell didn’t flinch. He didn’t question.

  She was feeling this guy more and more.

  Varnell helped Alexis put the dishes in the dishwasher and wiped down the counters without her even having to ask.

  “Um, why aren’t you married?”

  “Why aren’t you married?” Hayley said, imitating her mother.

  “I’m happy. That’s what is most important.”

  Just then, she heard a persistent tapping on her front door. Alexis knew that it wasn’t a Jehovah’s Witness or the UPS guy.

  “Varnell, I need to handle this. If you don’t mind, go on upstairs and make yourself at home. You know where everything is.”

  She was referring to her den. He’d never been in her bedroom.

  “No problem.”

  Alexis went to grab her daughter and balanced her on her hip while Varnell started up the stairs. Before he reached the top, he called down to her, “Don’t hesitate to call me if you need me.”

  “It’ll be all right. Thank you so much.”

  She hesitated, then answered the front door. Rashad may have turned out to be a disappointment, but he was still her child’s father. She knew that if anything went down, Varnell would protect her. Alexis stepped outside into the noisy breeze of the darkened evening. Dogs could be heard barking. The sounds of children yelling filled her ears.

  “Skillet! Why didn’t you pick up?” Rashad openly stared at the unfamiliar black pickup parked in her driveway.

  “Please don’t call me that anymore.”

  “Okay, Alexis. What you been up to that you don’t answer the phone?”

  “Busy. That’s all.”

  “You too busy for me?”

  “Obviously I was at that particular second, Rashad. What’s up?”

  “You don’t ‘what up’ me.”

  “If this ain’t some foul mess.”

  “Let me hold her.” Rashad scooped his daughter into his arms and played with her for a minute. “So why are we outside? It’s cold. And she isn’t properly dressed.”

  “It’s not that cold, Rashad. Don’t even try it. How was your litt
le honeymoon?”

  “That wasn’t a honeymoon.” He paused. “I want to know if you heard about what happened. While we were on the cruise, Nicole texted me that she’s pregnant. All hell broke loose. Did my wife mention anything about it?”

  “She mentioned Nicole, but definitely not that. Hmm. Your little female Shrek is pregnant, huh?”

  “Shrek, Shrek, Shrek,” Hayley cheered.

  “She’s not ugly. But check this out . . . Kiara is pregnant, too.”

  “Pregnant, pregnant, pregnant.”

  Now it was Alexis’s turn to be shocked. “No shit? Whoa! Your life has really grown into a hot-ass mess. But it’s not like I care or anything. I’m glad I got out while I could.”

  His jaw rigid, Rashad felt frustrated at her behavior. “You’ve always been a pro at trying to hide your feelings. But I know even though you putting on this big act like you’re unbothered, I know you still love me, even though you got some man up there probably laying in the bed waiting on you—”

  “What? Why would you think I love you?”

  “Because you’re trying to get back at me through this new dude that has this lame-looking truck. What’s his name?”

  “Ha, that’s none of your business. As many women as you’re sticking it to, you have the nerve to be jealous.”

  “I’m used to you being accessible, being all mines.” He sounded sadly sober. “I thought you were different. A true ride or die.”

  “Are you honestly trying to go there, Mr. Married Man?”

  “Don’t throw shade. We better than this. We been together, what, almost two years?”

  “First of all, we are not together. Not anymore. And secondly, your daughter is way past two, so your calculations are way off.”

  Clearly agitated, Alexis folded her arms across her chest and debated whether or not to tell him what was about to go down with his new side chick. Once Nicole got fired, she would bet a million dollars that Rashad would have no interest in that woman. She knew he didn’t like bum bitches and that’s what Nicole would be in less than twenty-four hours.