by Thorn, Ava
Hank jacked Corey up. “Don’t you ever insinuate that I don’t love Kari, I know she’s been hurt before, I’m trying everything in my power not to hurt her again.”
Corey pushed Hank off him. “Don’t ever in your life think you can punk me,” he said, straightening his shirt.
“Stay out of my business with Kari,” Hank spat.
“Kari is my sister, not just friend,” Corey said through clench teeth. “You weren’t there the first few days when she cried herself to sleep.”
Hank lowered his head and walked down the street. He had to figure out his life. Could he live another thirty or forty years with a woman he didn’t love? How does one take back a spouse after they cheated? Do you leave your cheating spouse for another who makes you feel special, desired and loved?
Chapter Eleven
Hank sat in the chair by the fireplace that held so many new memories of him and Kari making love. He shifted uncomfortable in his chair thinking about the tears rolling down her face. Closing his eyes, he tried to get the thoughts of Kari out his mind. Her job decorating for Farrah was over, he knew that over the span of two months that both women bonded and had a friendship.
He opened his eyes and looked up when he heard pots and pan banging together in the kitchen. Natalie stood there attempting to cook something for dinner. Those days he laid in bed asking for a miracle that would send his wife right back to him and now that she was it wasn’t what he wanted anymore.
The love that he had for Natalie wasn’t the same anymore. He wanted and needed Kari, the woman who brought love and happiness to him. He was better than he was with her. He wanted to be that man he was with Kari; happy and free.
“What are you thinking about?” Natalie asked, looking at him strangely.
“Only about some stuff I need to take care around the ranch,” he replied, trying not to appear guilty.
“I thought you were planning on getting back into the recording studio?” she asked.
Hank picked up his iPad and realized that Kari was still his screensaver. Going into the settings he looked for another picture to use, but he was so caught with looking at pictures of Kari and him at Graceland, that he didn’t realize that Natalie was standing behind him.
“She is pretty,” Natalie said, standing over his shoulders.
“Yeah,” he said clearing this throat and turned off the electronic device.
“I deserve this.” She sat on the ottoman in front of him. “I’ll be the first to admit that I did you wrong and I don’t deserve you or your love.” Natalie stood up and sat on his lap and slowly her arms engulfed him.
It took a minute before Hank returned the hug. When Natalie left him, he always thought that he took her for granted. It’s like what Kari said ‘Sometimes people don’t realize what they had until it’s gone,’ being with Kari showed him that it takes two to make a relationship work or fail. “I need to finish up in the barn,” Hank said, gently pushing Natalie up from his lap.
“Okay…When are you going to the studio? I thought I could go with you,” Natalie said, tucking a red curly behind her ear.
Hank put on his boots. “I don’t know,” he said, walking out the door.
Hank realized how stupid he was to leave Kari to go back with Natalie. He wished he could take it back. Walking to the barn, he sat on the bale of hay and looked at the sun-setting in the distance.
“Made the wrong decision?” a deep voice said from behind.
“Can it, Shane. If I wanted your opinion I would have called you,” Hank said through clench tenth. The last thing he needed was his cousins to gain up on him. When both of them had no room to talk.
“Well, I reckon you need my advice. Especially, since you’re sitting here with that ugly look on your mug.” Shane took a seat next to Hank.
“I think what I need is a stiff drink to keep the memories away.”
“Well I got some Jack,” Shane handed him the bottle filled with brown liquor.
Hank chuckled and accepted the bottle, tearing the cap off. He look a swig before handing it back to Shane and he did the same. “How are Jasmine and the baby?”
“She’s gotten bigger since you saw her in Dallas.” Shane smiled with love for his new wife and baby. “Baby number two will be here in the fall.”
Hank was happy for his cousins, they’d both found amazing woman who were their ribs and mothers of their children and here he was-still trying to figure it out. He loved Kari with all his heart and wanted to be with her, but another part of him felt like it owed it to Natalie to somehow rebuild their marriage. They been through two miscarriages and her infidelity did rock their union. “I’m happy for you guys.”
“Thanks man.” he swallowed more whiskey. “I’m not going to knock what you’re trying to do, but the marriage with Natalie can work if you both are willing to work hard and be honest about what happened.”
“He’s right,” Austin said, walking towards them and sitting next to him. “Daddy always said that cheating corrupts everything you work hard for.”
Hank took another drink from the bottle and gasped as the strong liquor burned as it traveled down his throat. “I know; it’s scary because when I go home and step between those doors I look at this woman and try to assure her things will be okay, but it’s not. The love and trust is the same.”
“And,” Austin said taking a drink.
“Kari memories burn like a fire and I can’t put out the flame. She’s sunk into my veins, I love her so much that sometimes it’s unbearable to be away from her.” He reached from the bottle and took a long swig before Shane tore the bottle away from his mouth.
“You can’t drink her out of your heart,” Shane said sadly.
“If you ask me for my opinion, I would say that Natalie doesn’t want you to be happy,” Austin mumbled. “It’s obvious that Natalie came back in your life when it really count, dating Kari Hayes, you’re back in the studio working on a new album.”
“The ‘I don’t want him to be happier than me’ syndrome.” Shane nodded his head in agreement. “You know we’re more like brothers than cousins and I would never do anything to steer you, but let’s not forget Natalie’s bad temper and how she alienated everyone around her. If she is not happy she doesn’t want anyone else to be.”
Hank sat there and stared into the distance, his mind was running rampant with thoughts of Kari and Natalie. Each woman was different but each woman was personality and how they was apparently different. Kari was vocal about what she wanted and needed, but most of all the small things made her happy. When he needed someone to listen she did. When they were in Texas for a week, he saw the woman who wasn’t scared to give love. He worked to gain her trust for him to only betray it like all the other guys. Kari was a keeper and any man in his right mind would see that in her.
Natalie was different after three years of marriage, she was the type of woman who carried grudges, never showed grace and forgiveness wasn’t even in her vocabulary. She always needed to feel right and allowed her pride and ego to overshadow her need to receive and give love.
“With Jasmine I learned that life has an expiration date…who would you rather spend your life with?” Shane said, taking the cap and putting it back on the bottle. “This is not going to help you find a resolution to your problem.”
“Amen,” Austin said and nudged him. “Another day will continue to pass by and you’re not loving the woman you want to grow old with.”
Hank stood up and moved away from his cousins. He closed his eyes and felt the night air wash over him. Opening his eyes, he looked up at the stars in the night sky. A smile spread on his face as Kari’s voice echo in his head. ‘I wish I can put a few stars in a mason jars so it can light your way to me in the darkness when your lost.’ She took his soul and wiped it clean. “I need to see her,” he said, turning to look at his cousins.
“Go when you sober,” Shane said.
“Are you forgetting about your wife that’s at home cooking dinn
er?” Austin looked at his watch and stood up. “I’m all for a happy reunion, but I know from a lesson with Farrah is that you need to go to Kari when you don’t have the baggage of still being someone’s husband. You owe Kari that much.”
It’s pained Hank to say what was about to come out his mouth next. “You guys are right,” he said, sticking his hand into his pockets.
“Did we just hear him right?” Austin joked. “This is the first.”
Shane reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. “Can you say it again? This time I want to put it on camera.”
“Get the hell out of here with that,” Hank laughed and gave his cousins a brotherly hug. “I need to tell Natalie I want a divorce.”
***
“Mi hija, remember what I told you about love?” Rita asked.
Kari inhaled and exhaled. “You said true love is about affection, selflessness and generosity.” She ran her finger along her yoga mat. “If I don’t have any of those qualities in a relationship I shouldn’t be there.”
“Sometimes a relationship looks right on the surface, but feels wrong deep down,” Rita continued.
“But it doesn’t feel wrong,” Kari whined. “I had the affection, selflessness and generosity.”
“In a situation like this Kari, I would tell you to take a step back, which you have done. Understand your wants and convey them to him when he comes to you.”
“He’s not going come back,” Kari mumbled, laying back on the yoga mat. “I want to stop this feeling I have inside of me.”
“It’s okay to feel heartbroken; I always told you a breakup was a lesson in itself,” Rita reminded her. “Remember to let go.”
“You make it sound easy Madre,” she sighed, putting her arm over her head. Rita’s old Spanish voice was nursing, inspiring, and exactly what Kari needed to hear. Rita gave advice that her mother wasn’t able to give.
“Love will arrive when it’s ready. People have the tendency to sabotage love with their impatience. When it happens again give all yourself to him and he will do the same.”
“Ugh.”
Rita started to laugh. “All those fairytales that you made me read to you over and over again. You always said that you wanted that fairytale ending but remember that most of those stories were written by men, who thought that a woman needed a handsome guy to come rescue her. Remember there is no fairytale and that love is complicated and comes in different forms.”
A single tear rolled down her cheek. “I will be coming for a visit in a few weeks,” Kari said.
“I would like that.”
“Well until tomorrow morning, have a nice day,” Kari said.
“Love you, sweetheart,” Rita said as she hung up the phone.
Standing up, Kari strolled into the living room wiping sweat off her face, when the doorbell sounded repeatedly. She answered the door, and found Natalie Jackson standing on the other side. It was only 8 o’clock in the morning; she looked at the other woman questioningly, as Natalie stood before her.
“What are you doing here?”
“May I come in? I came here to talk, woman to woman.”
Reluctantly Kari nodded her head and stepped aside. She walked in, closed the door.
“What do you want,” Kari said, she wasn’t about to exchange pleasantries with the woman.
“I want you to leave my husband alone,” Natalie said nastily. “You’re the reason why my husband and I can’t move on.”
“Don’t worry about me, Mrs. Jackson. I can assure you I’m not the villain you make me out to be.” Kari picked up her tea and took a sip. “Hey, I guess you need someone to put the blame on.”
“He regrets even laying eyes on you,” she snapped. “You may have had him for a few weeks but Hank Jackson will always be mine.”
Natalie was trying to get under her skin and it wasn’t working. “Does it hurt to know that the man who once loved you, sees hatred every time he sees you? Or every times Hank is with you, I’m the one he is thinking about.”
“You stole him from me!” Natalie barked, her face turning a crimson red.
“God, you’re so freaking delusional! You lost him when you spread your legs to another man.” Kari voice was cold as ice and laced with venom. “Whatever the two of you had ended long before things between he and I began.”
“You’re second best to me,” she said and scowled. “You’re competing with a wife of three years.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m not competing with you, furthermore, I’m not worried about you at all. Maybe if you stopped thinking about me and focused on your marriage, maybe just maybe, you could win this game that only you’re playing.”
“What is it that he loves about you?” Natalie took a step towards Kari, her face began to soften. “Are you a better cook, friend, lover?”
“You’re reading too much into why Hank loves me,” she said, clearing her throat. “I asked myself last week why did he chose you after you cheated. I wonder if he took you back because of the words he uttered on the day he took you as his wife, better or for worse. You don’t have to worry about me and Hank because I would never settle for second choice.”
“So, you will keep your hands off my husband? We deserve a chance to see if our relationship can recover from the crack I made in it,” Natalie said as she looked around Kari’s house.
Even if Kari wanted to be with Hank, she knew how loyal and devoted he was. Natalie came running back and he took her back with open arms. Natalie was familiar ground, and she was unchartered territory. At the end of day even if Kari wanted to fight for Hank she didn’t stand a chance with the woman who held the upper hand.
“I did my homework on you, Kari Hayes. I Googled you when Maxine told me she met my husband’s new flame.” Natalie eyed the Saint Laurent ‘Sac de Jour’ Leather Tote on the sofa. “I know what you’re worth including your family, born with a silver spoon in your mouth.”
“My family has money, not me.” Kari was growing impatient with Natalie antics.
“I can make your life hell,” Natalie said in her sweet southern voice. “Unless you give me a nice sizeable amount to leave Hank, I’m thinking 2 million dollars.”
Kari couldn’t stop the laughter that erupted from her. “You’re out you mind if you think I’m going to pay for dick.”
“Two million is only a drop in the bucket for you,” Natalie whistled.
“Hank is a good man…a man like him only comes around once. One day you’re going to realize that, but it’s going to be too late. You’re going to be that woman alone and asking yourself ‘Why can’t I find a good man,’ truth is you had your chance but you didn’t see it.”
“You don’t know anything about our marriage.”
“You don’t either! Move on with your life with him because I’m moving on,” Kari snapped. She was beyond agitated and the headache she was getting wasn’t making anything better for her.
“Just stay away from my husband and if you want to be with him it’s going to cost,” Natalie smiled slyly as she stood up from the sofa. As she walked out, her shoulder brushed Kari on the way out.
***
For the past couple of days, Hank’s thoughts had been infected with a seven letter word ‘divorce,’ he was like any human being who wanted a healthy and loving marriage.
The decision he had regarding divorce wasn’t because he wanted to be with Kari, the decision was based solely on his relationship with Natalie. He was able to enjoy many happy years with his wife but truth be told they’d both changed over time. And marriage was not the relationship they needed to be in with each other.
Hank leaned against the counter top drinking a cup of coffee listening to the news and going over the million things in his head. With the emotional rollercoaster ride he been on, he never asked questions regarding the affair. He couldn’t allow himself to obsess with the facts or thoughts of her wrongdoing; all it would do was render his healing process of moving on.
“What
are you doing, baby?” Natalie smiled, walking out the room with her cell phone in her hand.
Was she just on the phone with him, he asked himself. He inhaled and exhaled before speaking. “Nothing, I was thinking we should talk.” When she sat the phone on the kitchen counter, he couldn’t take his eyes off the device that was her source to him.
“Hank.”
“Yeah?” he said, looking at her.
“Are you okay? What did you want to talk about?” She looked at him curiously as she fixed herself a cup of coffee. “If it’s about you touring with Austin, I totally understand you will be gone from the house and I thought since we’re working on our marriage I could go with you…just like old times.”
“Greg is healthy now to take on playing back up for Austin,” Hank said, looking Natalie squarely in the eyes, he realized she was here for only the fame of being a guitarist wife.
A ding sounded from Natalie’s phone letting her know she had a missed message.
“Oh, I thought Austin was giving you a showcase in the concert to promote the few songs on your upcoming album,” she said, picking up her phone and grin ear from ear, she smiled so hard Hank knew that the message was from the other man in her life.
“The song’s about Kari,” Hank said without batting an eye. “I thought I could do this but I can’t…We can’t…If we do I will regret each and every moment not spending time with the woman I truly love.”
“What are you talking about? We agreed to work on our marriage…it’s going to be hard but we owe that to one another.”
“I felt like I owed you something and I don’t owe you nothing but a thank you. You taught me love and pain. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have met Kari.”
“What the hell are you doing?” she screamed.
“I’m thanking you for a broken heart. You hurt me and left a scar on my heart.” Hank went to a drawer in the kitchen and pulled out the divorce papers he had his lawyer drop off today while she was out.
Natalie’s eyes became watery as she looked at Hank in disbelief. “I love you Hank, I always loved you.”
