Broken (Endurance)

by Thomas, April

  The men left before the ladies, eager to get the bachelor party going. Max was happy that Nelson and David could come along, knowing they wouldn't want to miss it. Max got into the limo and sat next to his uncle. "Hey, where are we going?" Max asked.

  "They built this new club in town. It’s upscale and classy; kind of a cross between a strip club and a night club. It's called, Club Ice," Tamarius said.

  "Does Makayla know?" Maxwell asked.

  "I don't think I would be sitting here if she did," Tamarius replied.

  "Ooo!" Everyone yelled then laughed at each other.

  "We will all be at your funeral tomorrow," Maxwell said.

  "Don't worry, I think I will be buried next to you," Max replied.

  "Oh yeah, Mr. Hickey." Tamarius laughed. "I'm not helping you this time."

  Max laughed to himself. "I still can't remember that night," he mumbled.

  "Did you ever figure out who did that to you?" Tamarius questioned, already knowing the answer to the question.

  "No," Max responded.

  "Taisha."

  "Taisha Ledell?"

  "That's the one."

  Max was speechless as he thought back to that night. He’d never realized the extent she was willing to go to to stop his wedding. Max's mind quickly ran to Mei. Did she know? he wondered.

  ***

  Mei stood in front a full length mirror wearing a black mini dress with gold and black high heels. She placed her hand over her stomach. "In a few months I will not be able to wear this dress," she said to herself.

  Makayla knocked on the door. "Come in," Mei called out. "Hey, girl, you ready?" Makayla asked as she walked to Mei. "I'm freaking hungry."

  "Yeah, you better eat before you drink tonight," Mei replied.

  "I know or I’ll be on the floor." Makayla began to look at her outfit in the mirror. "I swear I gained like ten pounds."

  "Yeah, I wasn't going to say anything." Mei giggled.

  "I blame that man," Makayla said.

  Mei laughed as she grabbed her purse. "Is Cressida ready?"

  "Yeah, she’s downstairs with Cora and Jasmine. Let’s go." Makayla headed out the door.

  All the ladies looked stunning wearing outfits that would get them stares all night long. When they arrived at the club Makayla met with the club owner who led them to the private room she had requested earlier that week.

  They walked past another bachelor party already in progress. They could hear the men in there laughing loudly. It brought a smile to Makayla's heart as it reminded her of Tamarius' signature laugh.

  "Here we are ladies. I tried to switch your room with another party, but the staff told me you’d requested this room?" the manager questioned.

  "It didn't matter." Makayla smiled while everyone walked into the room and headed straight for the buffet table which was filled with all sorts of food and bottles of champagne.

  "If you need anything there is a house phone in your room."

  "Thank you," Makayla said, smiling at him.

  The manager left the room and made sure to take a good last look at all the women. He grinned, delightfully liking what he was seeing. Makayla walked over to Cressida. She took her hand and walked her to the center of the room beside the stripper pole.

  "Please tell me this is not where you tell me to swing this pole." Cressida laughed.

  Makayla laughed. "No, crazy, I hired a stripper to do that."

  "Serious, you do know our men will kill us." Cressida smiled.

  "I know." Makayla smiled back.

  "Oh, death wish... gotcha," Cressida replied.

  "It's your bachelorette party. I want you to enjoy it."

  "Makayla, I didn't pick a maid of honor for my wedding. Would you do the honors?"

  "Really? You want me? I would be honored," Makayla said, giving Cressida a hug.

  Mei pulled out a chair from the corner and placed it behind Cressida. "Have a seat. The show is about to begin," Makayla said.

  "I'm scared." Cressida laughed. She sat down and Mei placed a blindfold over her eyes.

  Jasmine and Cora found a seat next to Mei. "This is going to be fun," Jasmine said to Mei.

  "I know. Makayla planned it out," Mei replied.

  "How is the baby?" Jasmine asked.

  "He's getting big." Mei smiled.

  "How is Max handling fatherhood?"

  "Max is a good father and husband. I got lucky."

  "We all did." Jasmine smiled and looked at Cressida who sat, anxiously fidgeting with her hands while Makayla left the room to find out why the stripper was taking so long.

  "Speak for yourself, Mom," Cora replied.

  "Cora, give that boy a chance. He still calls the house every day," Jasmine said to her daughter.

  "I just can't stop being mad at him," Cora replied.

  "Cora, maybe you’re mad at yourself for still loving him," Mei stated.

  Mei's words struck a cord with her. She was mad, but lately it had shifted. She still loved Nelson. It was getting harder to return his unopened letters. Cora even turned him away when he tried to visit her at college two weekends in a row. It hurt her, but she figured eventually he would just give up.

  Makayla was on her way back from speaking with the manager. She wanted to meet the dancer who would be performing for them. Dressed in a cheesy Viking costume with long blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, he was tall and muscular and would put on a great show.

  As Makayla passed the room before theirs, a dancer walked out giving Makayla peek inside. She laughed as she caught a glimpse of a man getting an unwanted lap dance. But she froze when she realized the man was Tamarius.

  When Tamarius pushed the unwanted dancer off his thighs, he glanced up and saw Makayla. Surprise reflected in his eyes a brief second before the door closed on his gaze.

  Makayla took off to her room. The dancer waited outside for her to announce him.

  Makayla leaned against the door to catch her breath and calm herself down. She decided she would not tell the girls their men were right next door. She pushed open the door and sauntered in. "Okay, ladies, get ready." Makayla tried to sound excited. She turned around as she heard a knock at the door and two men arguing. She opened the door to see her husband and the Viking dancer ready to fight. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her.

  The Club

  "Tamarius!" Makayla yelled, grabbing her husband's arm.

  "Hey, beautiful," Tamarius said, quickly dropping his arm and pulling Makayla close to him.

  "You know this jerk?" The male dancer asked.

  Makayla stood in front of Tamarius as he prepared to leap forward. "They are ready. You can go ahead," Makayla told the dancer.

  "You’re not coming?" He grinned as he winked at Makayla then glanced up at Tamarius who was giving him the dirtiest look. He walked into the room and began his performance.

  Makayla turned around and took a step away from Tamarius. "Just go back to your room and enjoy your party and try not to get pink eye," Makayla snapped, not looking at him.

  "Makayla, I didn't want that..."

  "I know," Makayla said, cutting him off. She turned away and entered the room.

  Tamarius banged his head back against the wall before returning to his room. The rest of the night was spent with Tamarius trying to figure out what was happening in the room next door. He tried to use his telepathic abilities, but Makayla would not respond to him. It was one in the morning when everyone had had enough. They headed out to the valet and waited for their limo to be pulled around.

  "Is that my wife?" Max asked, as he watched Mei being stopped by a guy who seemed to be trying to pick her up. Max couldn't control the smile that rose across his face. Mei looked beautiful wearing a black mini dress. Her hair was up in a long pony tail and she wore gold bangles and hoop earrings with black and gold shoes. She held her wedding finger up in the guys face and he let go and stepped back.

  Makayla and Cressida came into view along with Cora and Jasmine. Men
seemed to be swarming around them as they waited for their limo. Max started to walk towards them when Tamarius stopped him.

  "Where are you going?" Tamarius asked.

  "Those guys are swarming Mei and Makayla."

  "What?" Tamarius looked at Max as he stormed off then turned in the direction he was heading. Some guy was trying to pick up Mei.

  Nelson passed them both when he spotted a drunk guy trying to take Cora's hand. The entire group was over there, stepping behind each of the girls. Nelson stepped in between Cora and the drunk man who didn't seem to understand the word ‘no’. Nelson glared at him. "You need to leave," he growled.

  "Why can't I ask her?" The man swayed as he spoke and tried to step around Nelson.

  "I said leave!" Nelson yelled.

  "Hey, sexy," the man said, grabbing Cora's arm and yanking her roughly.

  Nelson grabbed the man by the collar and punched him in his face, knocking him to the ground. He quickly grabbed Cora, stopping her from being tossed down with the drunk man.

  "Are you okay?" Nelson asked Cora.

  "I think he scratched my arm," Cora said, looking at the blood oozing from the scratch.

  Nelson shoved Cora behind him when he saw the man getting up.

  Tamarius stood patiently behind his wife, waiting for the drunk loser talking to her to notice his presence.

  Makayla ignored Tamarius as he folded his arms across his chest. Unfortunately for the guy trying to pick her up, he made the fatal mistake of touching Makayla, causing Tamarius' fist to come flying around Makayla and hit him right in the face.

  Maxwell didn't hesitate to pull his fiancé away from a pimp reject. Max had already put his wife in the car while arguing with another man who seemed to believe that Mei was interested in him.

  "You girls sure know how to make a scene." Maxwell laughed as he opened the limo door for Cressida.

  "Not our fault." Cressida smiled while getting in the limo. She laughed as she saw Jasmine already sitting inside. "I think we had more excitement out here than in the club."

  "I know. My husband came right over and shoved me in the limo, not a word." Jasmine smiled.

  "Men. We could handle ourselves. They act like this is new," Cressida said as the door opened and Makayla entered the limo, sliding across as she looked at her cousin and smiled. "Is everyone okay?"

  "Cora?" Mei said.

  "Nelson is walking her over now." Makayla smiled.

  The limo door opened and a blushing Cora entered. Nelson leaned in. "Are you ladies all right?"

  "Yes, we are," they all answered.

  Nelson looked over at Cora and smiled. We wanted to touch her and tell her the things she’d not allowed him to tell her before. He was tapped on the shoulder by Tamarius who wanted to speak to his wife. Tamarius leaned in and looked at Makayla.

  She turned to look at him and shook her head as she tried not to smile.

  "I'm sorry about earlier," he said.

  "I will see you home, sweetie." Makayla smiled.

  "Goodnight, ladies," Tamarius said before closing the door.

  "Let's go to the diner. I am so hungry," Makayla said.

  "Didn't you eat at the party?" Jasmine said.

  "Yeah, but I need real food," Makayla replied.

  "Yeah, I'm not ready to go home just yet," Cressida said. "I have to sleep alone tonight."

  "Well, it will be the last night you sleep alone." Jasmine smiled.

  The men headed for the mansion thinking the women would already be there. They were disappointed to find out they’d stopped to eat. Hungry themselves they scavenged the kitchen making themselves sandwiches and joking over the night’s events.

  Tamarius waited anxiously for his wife to return. Max and Maxwell went to bed, too tired to wait any longer and leaving Tamarius no choice but to wait up with David.

  "Why don't you guys spend the night? I can have Winston set up a couple rooms. Nelson is already sleeping here. He practically lives here."

  "Nelson is staying?" David asked.

  "Yeah, he kind of has a room here. Nelson has been coming here since he was in elementary school. He's part of the family," Tamarius replied.

  "I don't know if I should. Cora..."

  Tamarius smiled. "I would be the same way if I had a daughter. I understand, but Nelson is a good boy."

  "How do you know?" David asked.

  "Max and Nelson are so close, when I would school Max, Nelson was right beside him. Not that he learned everything, but I knew that one day everything would sink in," Tamarius said as he took a sip of his drink.

  "Cora is the only child I have. It's hard to let her go," David replied.

  "I can't say that I know how you feel, but I had to step back from Max many times and remind myself that I'm not his father. I love him like he was my own, but at times I had to let go. It's not the same, but I can understand."

  "I guess I’ll take that room," David said, feeling better about spending the night.

  "I’ll take you. No need to bother Winston." Tamarius got up from his chair and led David out of the kitchen.

  "So how do you feel about Cressida?" David asked as they walked to one of the guest suites.

  "I've always liked Cressida and I think they’ll make a great couple. I'm happy for them."

  "She seems like a really good person. And how is married life?"

  Tamarius smiled as he thought about his wife. "I met my match. Makayla is everything I've been searching for."

  "Those are the ones to hang onto," David stated as they reached his guest suite.

  "I’ll leave a note for your wife and daughter," Tamarius said before saying goodnight.

  As he said he would do, he left a note on the front door for the girls then headed upstairs to take a shower expecting Makayla to be back by the time he came out. When he came out of the shower he was happy to see his wife walking through the door, her high heels in her hand.

  He stood by the bathroom door brushing his teeth as Makayla began to undress. She walked past him and turned on the shower. Tamarius finished brushing his teeth and walked into the room. He dimmed the lights then slipped under the covers. He sat up in bed and waited for her to come out of the shower.

  After her pre-bed routine she stood across the room watching Tamarius. "Had fun tonight?"

  "Not really," he replied. "I did have fun watching you in that outfit you had on."

  Makayla smiled as she walked to the bed, pulled the sheets back and got in. "I hope you enjoyed your lap dance," Makayla said, turning off the lights.

  "Come on, I didn't want that on me." He curled up next to her.

  "You didn't need to punch that guy."

  "He asked for it. He saw me standing there."

  "Still."

  "You knew I was there, too."

  "I love you."

  "Yeah, say it now to save your butt." He smiled. Tamarius gently placed his hand on her stomach and kissed her neck whispering, "I love you."

  They fell into a deep sleep.

  Tamarius found himself in a dream, holding a little boy.

  The Archangel Michael approached him saying, "The time is near for your son to be born. You will name him after King Solomon. He will seek and find wisdom. I will warn you, a battle is ahead, but you and Makayla keep God first and you will always succeed."

  Nerves

  Tamarius awoke to the sound of Winston calling his name. He cracked open his eyes to see him laying out his suit.

  "Good morning, son." Winston placed Tamarius' shoes next to his suit. "Your wife is helping the bride dress. I must go help your brother. His nerves are on edge," Winston informed him before quickly leaving the room.

  Winston made his way down the hall to Maxwell's room where David Pennington and Nelson were helping him get ready.

  Maxwell paced back and forth in his suit, excited and nervous about the day. "Nelson, I got Mei and Uriel birthday gifts. It's been so crazy this month and with them away at college we didn't really get to pla
n a party," Maxwell said, pulling out a small jewelry box. "I will most likely forget, so could you please give this to her?" He handed it to Nelson.