Her Sweet Betrayal

by Tywanda Brown

  “What can I get for you,” a tall blonde barmaid asked.

  “A bottle of Hennessey please,” I ordered pulling out my bank card.

  A few seconds later she returned with the bottle and a glass.

  “What brings you to the Red Lounge handsome?” she asked leaning against the bar.

  “Needed a stress free night,” I answered pouring myself a shot.

  “Care to talk to Sugar about it?”

  “No I’d rather drink my problems away,” I replied grabbing my bottle and walking away.

  I could tell by the way she was talking that she had been around the block a couple of times. Finding a table in the back of the bar, I sat down by a pretty red head that couldn’t be any more than seventeen. Shaking my head I continued to drink by my lonesome before wobbling to my room about one in morning; after realizing that the Red Lounge wasn’t your typical hotel, it was more of a sex empire.

  After taking a shower I passed out.

  Honey

  “Mrs. Jones my mom will be here at 10:00 a.m. like you asked. Is there anything else you would like for me to do? I’m so sorry about what happened here tonight,” pleaded Brent as soon he saw my mom walk back into the living room.

  “Yes Brent, you can’t get the hell out of my house. Honey you can go to your room and bring me all your gadgets!” mom yelled before leaving the living room.

  “Honey I’m sorry I caused so much drama tonight,” Brent said while he leaned up against his car.

  “No need to apologize, it was really my fault about tonight. I shouldn’t have come on to you,” I responded holding my head down in shame.

  Walking up to me, Brent lifted my head up and kissed me softly on the lips.

  “Technically it was my fault, I should’ve thought with my big head and not my little one. It’s over and done with now, so no need to stress over things we cannot change,” Brent responded while releasing my face. He then turned and walked away, getting into his car and leaving. Leaving me to stand outside alone lost in my thoughts.

  I stood there not knowing what to do as I watched him back out the driveway and drive off into the night. Once his car was out of sight, I turned around trying to mentally prepare myself for a long night of yelling.

  “Stephan better be able to save me, or I’m singing like a canary,” I thought as I walked into the house and headed towards my room to pack up all my electronics. Grabbing my cell phone and tablet I headed towards my parent’s bedroom.

  I knocked on the door before walking in on my mother, crying while turning up the bottle of gin.

  “Here’s all my stuff,” I said passing what I considered my life lines over towards my mother.

  Looking up at me with fresh tears in her eyes she rolled them at me before taking the electronics, but never uttered a word to me.

  “Where’s Stephan headed this time of night?” I noticed his car was gone,” I inquired slowly walking towards my mother.

  “Oh now you want to be his keeper!” Yelled my mother as she stood up in my face, like she was daring me to say something she didn’t like.

  “Look mom, I’m sorry for disrespecting you a couple weeks ago and here tonight. I deserve whatever punishment you see fit. All I ask is for you to be easy on Brent, you see…”

  “Honey, you’re not sorry. You’re sorry you got caught, so don’t stand here and try to play the innocent daughter role, because it’s a little too late for that. And as for Brent, he will no longer be your concern after tomorrow,” she replied interrupting me as she walked towards the door signaling for me to leave.

  I put my head down as the tears started to form in my eyes.

  “Tomorrow maybe my last time seeing the man I fell in love with,” I thought as I started heading out the door before my mom grabbed my arm.

  “You disappoint me Honey Bee Jones,” mom said letting go of my arm and slamming the door in my face.

  I ran to my room, closed my door, and grabbed the bear Brent gave me and cried myself to sleep.

  Stephan

  Waking up with world’s biggest headache, I rolled over to send my wife’s call to voicemail for the fiftieth time. After hitting ignore, I got out the bed and headed towards the bathroom.

  As I was closing the door I heard my phone going off again, knowing that it was just Tina calling again I decided not to answer the phone. I just pulled off my boxers and hopped into the shower.

  While in the shower, I replayed yesterday’s events over in my head. Just thinking about everything that transpired the day before, I instantly got upset and repeatedly punched the tile in the shower until my hand started to bleed.

  Unknowing to me, I had just broken the knuckles in my right hand. Yes I was in pain, but my emotional pain was over shadowing my physical pain.

  Leaning against the shower; the same tile I just abused, I used to support me while I cried.

  After crying for about ten minutes, the pain from the broken knuckles started to surface. I got out the shower and wrapped my bloody, now swollen hand in a towel.

  Once I had my right hand securely wrapped in a towel, using my left hand to quickly dry off, knowing that I needed to leave the hotel now, or I would be late for the meeting at the house; according to the hundreds of text messages from Tina.

  My phone began to ring again as I slowly got dressed. I stopped getting dressed and looked at the caller ID. I was shocked to see that it was Honey calling and not my wife.

  “Hello,” I answered the phone all while trying to finish getting dressed.

  “Now isn’t this some shit, you can’t answer the phone when your wife calls, but can answer when her daughter does,” Tina said into the phone.

  “I answered the call thinking it was OUR daughter needing her father. And had you acted like the grown woman you are, you wouldn’t have to call your husband from your daughter’s phone, because he would be by your side,” I replied while throwing my stuff into my bag and heading out to the lobby to check out.

  “What you mean had I acted like the grown woman I am? I think I handled that situation last night like any other grown woman would,” Tina said.

  “If you believe the way you acted last night, was like a grown woman, you’re dumber than I thought. But let’s not get into that, why are you blowing up my phone,” I responded getting in my car and slowly making my way to the hospital.

  “You’re right let’s not get into that. I was calling to remind you that Brent’s parents will be coming over at ten to discuss last night’s nightmare with us,” she replied.

  “Why are you telling me this, it’s not like I’m her father remember. She’s YOUR daughter, if my memory services me correctly,” I said as I winced in pain, as the pain from my hand started to intensify.

  “Stephan stop being so petty, that was said in the heat of the moment. I was mad you were going against my way of thinking, and I said something I didn’t mean,” Tina replied.

  Pulling into a parking space at the emergency room entrance I took a deep breath and cut the car off.

  “My mom used to tell me, only four people always tell the truth; God, kids, angry people and drunks. So with that being said, you meant every word you said last night. Just admit it, it don’t matter how much time and effort I put in with Honey, because in your eyes I will never be her dad,” I said before hanging up the phone and getting out the car.

  Honey

  Once again I woke up to the smell of bacon I rolled out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. After freshening up, I made my way downstairs towards the kitchen.

  I started to walk in and apologize to mom all over again, but stopped and listened to her conversation on the phone. It sounds like her and Stephan is having a disagreement about something serious.

  “That’s it. I need to come up with a way to talk to Stephan before the meeting. If I could get him to agree to talk mom into being easy on Brent and not ban our relationship, I would be willing to do anything he asked. But the only question is how will I contact Ste
phan before the meeting?” I thought silently watching as tears rolled down mom’s face.

  “Morning mom, why are you crying,” I inquired making my presence known for the first time this morning.

  “I’m crying because my fast ass daughter is going to be the end of my marriage,” she replied wiping the tears away and grabbing the three slices of bacon and biscuit she made.

  “What you mean the end of your marriage? Is dad going to leave us over this?” I asked checking to see if she had put my plate in the stove because it was no more food in the pan.

  “Now it’s dad? Why the sudden change? Just last night it was Stephan, and when did you start calling him Stephan?” she fired back angrily as she fixed herself a cup of coffee.

  “It’s always been dad, I only call him Stephan when am mad at him, because I know it hurts his feelings,” I answered honestly now checking the fridge for a plate.

  “If you’re looking for something to eat you might as well stop looking,” she replied taking a bite out of her biscuit.

  “You didn’t put me a plate up?” I asked in disbelief because mom has always put me a plate up.

  “I don’t fix breakfast for the grown women, they fix it for themselves,” mom replied sipping on her coffee as she picked the newspaper up blocking me out.

  I continued to stare at her in shock as she sat there and ate her breakfast like she didn’t have a care in the world.

  “If I was you I would make myself something to eat, because cleaning this house can be tiresome if you don’t eat something. If you would like to work on an empty stomach that is fine with me, just make sure it’s done by 9:30 so you can shower before company arrives.”

  “Yeah, this confirms that I most definitely need to talk to Stephan before the meeting. Mom is losing her mind. I get her making me clean the house, but her not cooking is low,” I thought getting up from the table and started cleaning up the kitchen.

  Tina

  I was actually not reading the newspaper I was actually hiding my tears from Honey. It was killing me to be so cruel towards her. With my face still hidden, I picked up my cell phone and looked at the time noting that it was 8:00 a.m. and Honey only has one hour and thirty minutes to clean the two story house.

  Getting up from the table, I walked over to the sink where Honey was washing dishes and put my dirty dishes in the sink. Then I turned and walked out the kitchen to make a much needed phone call.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey good morning Aunt Jessie,” I cried into the phone while taking a seat on the picnic table.

  “Tina?”

  “Yes ma’am it’s me. I’m calling because I need some advice.”

  “It must be important for you to be up this early on the phone with me. And why does it sounds like you been crying,” Aunt Jessie replied.

  “I need marriage advice,” I responded as the conversation I had earlier with Stephan replayed in my head.

  “What he do?” Aunt Jessie asked.

  Sighing I began informing Aunt Jessie on everything that has taken place in the last two weeks. I even included what happened at Stephan’s parent’s house.

  “So you mean to tell me that your fifteen year old daughter is out here getting drunk and having sex, and you’re calling me because you and your man had a disagreement. You should have been calling me from jail needing bail money,” replied Aunt Jessie.

  “Aunt Jessie, I know how to raise Honey. I just need help saving my marriage before I become a single mother,” I said now walking around the backyard looking at my small garden.

  “If you knew how to raise Honey, she wouldn’t be out here showing her ass. So with that being said she should be your first concern. Fuck your marriage, your daughter comes first. Baby men come and go, but your child is yours forever. Do you hear me?” responded Aunt Jessie.

  “I hear you, but what I don’t hear is advice on saving my marriage,” I replied heading back towards the house to check on Honey.

  “If you want your marriage to work, you need to sit your family down and have a much needed conversation. It seems to me that all your problems began to surface after Honey’s birthday. So that’s where your conversation needs to start from. Talk to both of them individually first then call a family meeting,” Aunt Jessie said.

  “How am I going to get Stephan to talk to me?” I asked after walking back into the kitchen, upon seeing Honey leave.

  “Easy try and talk to him. If he doesn’t talk at first, don’t get worried give him time,” Aunt Jessie answered.

  “How much time?” I asked.

  “Until you get tired of kissing his ass, but regardless if Stephan talks to you, make sure you still sit Honey down and have a heart to heart with her. If something is going on with her you need to find out ASAP and handle it now while she’s young,” Aunt Jessie advised me, making me feel like the worst parent ever.

  “Thank you Auntie for the advice, but I need to be going now. Got to make sure Honey is getting the house cleaned. I love you,” I said after getting the advice I been waiting twenty minutes on.

  “You’re welcome dear, and I love you too. Just remember Honey first, Stephan second,” replied Aunt Jessie as she hung up the phone.

  Sitting my phone down on the kitchen table, I grabbed a bottle of gin out of the cabinet and poured myself a cup.

  Aunt Jessie is right, I need to talk to Stephan and let him know where I was coming from.

  Picking the phone back up I started back calling him and leaving him a voicemail every time he didn’t answer.

  Stephan

  “Mr. Harris, I hate to be the bearer of bad news. It appears that you managed to break two of your knuckles in your right hand. We will have to put a splint on the broken ones, which will take up to thirty to forty five minutes to get them up and you discharged. Do you have any questions at this time?” asked Dr. Terry Watts as she took a seat at the counter and began updating my chart.

  “How long will I be out of work?” I replied pulling out my cell phone as Tina continued to blow my phone up.

  “That depends on how long it takes your body to heal. Normally it takes three to four weeks to heal broken knuckles, and your family physician will tell you when to go back to work,” Dr. Watts replied while standing up to leave.

  “Thank you Dr. Watts,” I replied watching her leave the room.

  I wouldn’t mind going home to that every night.

  Just as the door was closing my phone started ringing; looking down I saw that it was calling from my parent’s house phone.

  “Hello,” I answered while trying to get comfortable on the hospital bed.

  “Good morning baby how are you?” mom replied putting a smile on my face.

  “I’ve been better momma, how are you this beautiful morning?” I said mentally preparing for the drama.

  “I’m okay, but I would be better if that wife of yours would let me get some sleep. Now are you going to tell me what’s going on, or am I going to have to get it out of Tina?” she responded.

  “Mom there is nothing going on. Tina pissed me off and I left,” I responded as the doctor came back into the room.

  “Mr. Harris, are you ready for me or do you need a couple more minutes?” Dr. Watts asked as she sat her equipment down on the counter.

  “Who the hell is that and it damn sure ain’t Tina?” my mom yelled in my ear, causing me to chuckle before answering her and Dr. Watts.

  “Mom it’s just Dr. Watts, calm down. I got to go, but I’ll call you when I get in the car.”

  “You better call to or I’m going to whoop your ass.”

  “I promise to call you back,” I replied still trying to get her off the phone.

  “Okay bye,” she said hanging up the phone.

  “Now Dr. Watts where were we?” I asked sitting up giving her all my attention.

  Honey

  It was now nine o’clock and I just got done cleaning the kitchen and the dining room. Now I was moving on to the living room, which was pr
actically clean if you asked me. However, my mom was a mission to make me suffer.

  “Stephan needs to hurry up and get here so I can talk him into getting Brent off easy, I thought as I began dusting off the china cabinets.

  “Honey you need to stop taking your sweet time. Don’t forget you need to clean up the guest bathroom and get dress. Plus we need to have snacks out for the Michaels when they arrive,” mom said as she stood in the doorway watching me dust.

  “Yes ma’am,” I answered hoping she didn’t see me roll my eyes.

  I began dusting faster while she stood there watching me. In my opinion she could be making the snacks while she was standing there watching me.

  “At the rate you’re cleaning, you won’t have time to make the snacks. So I’ll call Stephan and see if he can stop by the store and pick up a fruit tray,” she said walking into the kitchen grabbing her phone.

  “Okay mom.”

  Dang I hope he comes early enough so I can talk to him. I really don’t want anything to happen to Brent or for our relationship to be banned.

  Brent was everything to me in such a short amount of time, but he also made up for what Stephan did.

  I tried to stop the grin that was spreading across my face.

  “You have no reason to be smiling!” My mom yelled.

  To her I didn’t, but my mind and heart felt differently.

  “After Brent and his parents leave, we are going to have a serious conversation. You have been acting way out of character since your birthday and I’m trying not to put my hands on you, but you’re making it really hard for me,” she said.

  “Yes ma’am.”

  I didn’t know how to feel. On one hand I really wasn’t sorry because Brent made me feel good after what happened, but on the other hand I was sorry because I really didn’t mean for any of this to happen.

  I was walking out of the living room when I heard her yelling.

  “Who is the woman I hear Stephan? What you mean calm down?” she continued to yell. “I hate you Stephan!”