What Lies Between The Sheets

by Yusuf Al-Rahman

  “Morning sleepy head,” said Sasha from the kitchen.

  “Morning, Where are the kids?”

  She giggles and walks towards me, “When there is no school the kids like to sleep a little late and I let them.”

  “That’s cool. I used to do the same thing.”

  “And besides I want to spend some time with you… Just you.”

  I really wanted to get home so I could return Monica’s phone call and see who else called my house, but I knew I couldn’t just dash out.

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “Well it was a surprise I was planning since the other day.”

  “What kind of surprise?”

  “The movie cult classics that we can kick back to before the kids wake up: Let’s do it Again, Mahogany, and Love Jones.”

  Those were some good movies so I decided to stay. Deep down inside I knew it was messed up that I had even thought about leaving.

  It wasn’t long before our last movie ended that we heard the children scattering into the room.

  “Mommy we’re hungry.”

  “Okay babies, give mommy a second, Jamal excuse me for one second.”

  “It’s cool because I’ve got to run, but I’ll call you later.”

  “You really have to go?”

  “Yeah I just need to make sure my house is still intact, check some messages or what not but I’ll be back.”

  “Promise?”

  “I promise.” I kissed her on the lips very softly without the indication that I’m in a haste to get home. “Later Sash!”

  After racing through the streets, I arrived back at my spot around 2pm. The first thing I did was check the answering machine.

  “You have 4 new messages.”

  “Beep… Hey Jamal its Imani, just wanted to see if you were free later on today. Call me bye.”

  “Beep… Jamal why don’t you get your lazy butt up and answer the phone its Charmaine, just calling to see how you holding up. Give a sister a call peace out.”

  “Beep… Hey baby it’s your mama. Give your father and me a call when you get this message we just want to make sure you were okay baby. Love you!”

  “Beep… Hey Jamal. It’s Monica. It’s Thanksgiving day and I was just lonely and wanted to see if you wanted to spend time with me so if you get a chance give me a call or if not no biggie. I’ll try your cell phone or something bye.”

  I decided to call my mother first, “Hello?”

  “Hey ma it’s Jamal.”

  “Hey baby how you feeling?”

  “Okay.”

  “How did your holiday go? Did you eat enough?”

  “Yeah I spent it at Aaron’s”

  “That’s good baby…so what’s new in your life now?”

  “Nothing really just same stuff different day ma.”

  “Every day is a chance for something new and always remember that.”

  “Yes ma, hey where’s pops?”

  “He’s in the garage trying to fix that snow blower.”

  “He’s still meddling with that thing? Why doesn’t he just buy a new one?”

  “Because he’s trying to be cheap, you know how your father is.”

  “I’ll get him one as a Christmas surprise.”

  “That’s sweet of you baby.”

  “Ma, tell pops I’ll call him a little later or tomorrow… Love you ma.”

  “Love you too baby.”

  “Take care.”

  Despite whatever is going on in your life, a mother is always there to make you feel good. The next person I decided to call was Charmaine, but the answering machine answered. Imani is the next number I dialed as I prepared to get into the shower, “Hello?”

  “Imani, how are you doing?”

  “Fine, I see you got my message.”

  “No doubt! What are you doing today?”

  “I had to work yesterday so I didn’t get to enjoy Thanksgiving, so I was wondering if you wanted to come over, I cook pretty good.”

  “Sure what time?”

  “Is 7:30pm to early?”

  “Nah, actually that is perfect. Where do you live?”

  “1186 7th Avenue apartment 7D.”

  “Cool, I’ll see you later bye.”

  As I hung up the phone I thought to myself… Oh shit did I just do that? What the hell was I doing? When people think they can get away with murder, they usually try. After a shower, I threw on some clothes and cologne; I made my way to Monica’s penthouse because she obviously wouldn’t have called me if her man was around. The doorman let me in once I arrived and I took the elevator to the top floor. Before I could ring the bell, the door opened and Monica was half dressed in her nightgown.

  “Good afternoon Jamal.”

  “Likewise.”

  “How are you doing?”

  “Pretty good, and you?”

  “I missed you.”

  “I hate to sound rude and all but where is your husband and why did he leave you alone for the holidays?”

  “He’s a busy man and we had a fight over the phone.”

  “About what, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “Not at all, I pleaded with him not to go on this ‘important’ trip a week before Thanksgiving but he didn’t listen and then his flight was cancelled a day before.”

  “Damn!”

  “That’s why I am alone.”

  “Sorry to hear that.”

  “The part that hurts the most is not that he didn’t come back, I can understand if stuff is out of your hands. He didn’t have any remorse or affection to give to try and console me while we were on the phone.”

  “This may sound a bit crazy but why don’t you simply leave him?”

  “A little thing called a prenuptial prevents me from getting anything Jamal.”

  “Money isn’t everything.”

  “That’s what they keep telling me.”

  “It’s true though Monica, think about it.”

  “That’s what I like about you.”

  “What?”

  “You’re very caring and speak the truth when people need it the most.”

  All I could do was smile because she didn’t know the half. For other people I could kick knowledge but when it came to my life, I was completely blind. “I just believe in trying to help others, even though I don’t get it right most of the time.”

  “Nobody is perfect.”

  “Maybe…”

  “That’s why I called you over, I love your conversations and I don’t want you to think the only reason you’re here is to get me all hot and bothered; although I don’t mind.”

  “What do you have planned for the day?”

  “Nothing. To be perfectly honest, I haven’t planned to do anything for a while.”

  “Why not go for a walk?”

  “I hate walking and it’s probably cold as hell out there.”

  “You’re right it is kind of cold. I tell you what; I have some time. Let’s watch a movie together.”

  “Okay, find something while I’ll make some popcorn. Do you want butter?”

  “Yeah.” In the back of my mind I wanted to butter her fine ass but sometimes you have to chill and just enjoy someone’s company. How could I be thinking of sex after my escapade with Sasha?

  After a movie and a nap, I realized it was around 6:30pm and I better start making my way to Imani’s. “Oh damn.”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I’m supposed to meet up with my peeps at 7pm.”

  “Well don’t let me hold you up and thanks again for spending time talking with me, I really appreciate it.”

  “No problem, I’ll call you sometime during the week okay?”

  “No problem. Take care.”

  I quickly rushed out of the elevator, ran down the block to my car, and proceeded uptown to go to Imani’s house. There were a dozen buttons but I quickly found hers.

  “Hello?”

  “It’s Jamal.”

  She buzzed me in.
On the way up the stairs, I popped an Altoid mint in my mouth to mask the popcorn I ate at Monica’s. As the door opened, the smell of yams, rice, macaroni, and incense slapped me in the face.

  “Good evening, come in.”

  “Let me take your jacket,” she said as she glides over to me hinting of Love Spell perfume. It was definitely working because she was damn sure putting a spell on me.

  “This is a nice place Imani!” Her walls were decorated with various paintings and her choice of furniture was exquisite.

  “Thank you, come in and sit down. Dinner will be ready in five minutes. Can I get you anything to drink?”

  “No I’m cool for now, besides it’s not good to drink before you eat.”

  “That’s logical, you’re right because you get full quicker.”

  The apartment was immaculate and this woman took pride in her apartment being tidy. That is definitely a trait for wifey material because there was nothing worse than a cluttered, unorganized, apartment.

  “Is it okay if we just eat the food in the living room?” Imani asked.

  “It’s your house so that is fine with me.”

  “I always eat in front of the television anyway.”

  “You’re my kind of girl, I do the same thing. What are you watching anyway?”

  “Well, because of my schedule sometimes I miss my favorite shows so I record them.”

  “What is your favorite show?”

  “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”

  “Word?”

  “Yeah, I love Will Smith.”

  “What’s your favorite Will Smith Movie?”

  “Bad Boys II and Independence Day.”

  “What about Men in Black?”

  “Well…women like suave and romantic moments.”

  “Okay I understand the suaveness in Bad Boys II but what romantic scene was there in Independence Day? The world was at war with aliens.”

  Imani laughed and smiled at me, “You men don’t realize that a little goes a long way. For instance, when he stole the helicopter to look for his woman, which was the most romantic scene in the movie.”

  “You got me there.”

  “So you don’t think it was romantic?”

  “I never really looked at it like that, all I’m saying is if some aliens started a war here on earth and everyone was running, I’m not saying I wouldn’t think about my lady, but self preservation is important. How the hell am I going to help you if I can’t help myself?”

  “So you wouldn’t die for someone you love Jamal?”

  “Would you?”

  “Yes I would gladly die for my man, if we were in love.”

  “Stop playing, so if I was your man and Mike Tyson wanted to whoop my ass, you would take that ass whooping for me.”

  “Sure.”

  “Imani please, I’m keeping it real, if you was my lady and we were getting jacked I would say baby let the money go because life is too precious. Besides, if I die for you, you aren’t going to be crying at my grave promising to never give yourself to another man.”

  Imani laughed, “You’re crazy. You’ve been hurt before haven’t you?”

  “Who hasn’t been?”

  “That’s true, let me shut up and eat my food.”

  This was my time to quickly change subject, “This food is slamming and the meat is so tender it literally falls off the bone, where did you learn how to cook like this?”

  “In my family all of the women can cook, I’m glad you like it.”

  “No doubt.”

  “Hang with me long enough and you’ll taste stuff way better than this.”

  “That I have to see.”

  We ate our food and continued to watch episodes of the Fresh Prince. As the time passed, I decided that it was time to leave. “Thanks for having me over Imani, but I have to go.”

  “That’s fine. Thanks for coming.”

  That was odd. Most women would have wanted to know why I wanted to leave. It’s barely 10pm. “By the way the food was really good.”

  “Thanks again and call me sometime.” She handed me my coat and walked me to the door. “Have a good night.”

  Though I was caught off guard by Imani’s farewell, I couldn’t wait to get to Sasha’s house. Upon arrival, I knocked on the door and found Sasha smiling at me as if to say ‘right on time.

  “I missed you.” Sasha kissed me on the cheeks and held my face in the palms of her hands, “I missed you so much.”

  “Here I am.”

  “Let me take your coat.” If only she knew how many times I had taken my coat off.

  “You look tired baby, how was your afternoon?”

  “Exhausting. I had some projects to finish, but hurried up and got them done on time so I could be here with you.”

  “That’s so sweet.”

  I wasn’t totally lying because spending time with two other women; I really looked forward to getting back to Sasha’s crib.

  “What do you feel like watching baby?”

  “It’s up to you because I can’t promise I’m going to stay awake through the entire movie.”

  “Then close your eyes and rest your head on my lap.”

  “Thank you.”

  As sleep began to weigh heavily on my eyes, today’s events replayed in my head. I couldn’t stop lying because it was becoming second nature. Each lie I told required another one to cover that one up. Worse, the sneaking around was equally addictive, even if I wasn’t having sex. As I began to drift off into sleep I hoped that I would wake up a better person.

  Chapter 5: Entangled Webs

  It was the middle of December, a few days before Christmas Eve, Sasha and I had been going together for about a month. On the surface of everything, it appeared that our relationship was normal or somewhat perfect. She was the best a man could ever ask for as a companion. The woman was sweet, beautiful, intelligent, independent, generous, and self-sacrificing, if the need ever arose. This woman worked harder than I did, yet she found time everyday to make me lunch and on some occasions washed and ironed my clothes. Her parents would have been proud of her. I on the other hand had been far less than perfect. In the few weeks prior, I went on several dates with my other women. I had become so reckless and comfortable to a point that I no longer even worried about getting caught. My game was way too smooth for that. I should’ve known better.

  Sasha and I were downtown doing some last minute shopping at your typical department store. I’ve never been big on Christmas and all, but I loved the idea of receiving and sharing gifts. What I despised was the senseless frustration and running around.

  “Sasha, slow down baby girl, it’s not even after 7pm yet!”

  “I know but, trust me; if we don’t hurry up we’re going to miss all the good stuff.”

  “Yeah, but I’m getting kind of hungry.”

  “I promise, as soon as we get to my house I’ll cook you something.”

  “I don’t know, baby. I’ll have to think it over; I mean you can throw down.”

  “Thank you, so now can we hurry it up?”

  “I’m coming.”

  We continued to rush through the aisles and arrived at Sasha’s intended destination, the rack with the black and gray Heelies. Sasha was, no doubt, a good mother. She took the time to run downtown and find a pair size seven Heelies for her son. I just hoped he wouldn’t break his behind or sprain anything.

  “I don’t mean to be a hater, just was curious to see if you knew that he can hurt himself with those things?”

  “That’s what knee, elbow pads, and a helmet are for!”

  “Yeah but, Sasha come on, if the boy wants to skate, by him a skateboard or some roller blades.”

  “Jason is a good child so I don’t mind getting him what he wants. You mean to tell me your mother never spoiled you? Come on, I’m a mother remember.”