Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right

by Brenda Hampton

  Well, “I’m sorry” wasn’t and still isn’t good enough. And, it proved not to be when he continued seeing other women shortly thereafter. Since then, I’d cut his butt off completely. No sex, no cooking, no kids—he was lucky to get any respect. I’d be a fool to bring any kids into a disastrous situation like ours because sooner or later, one of us was going to get tired.

  Even though he hadn’t admitted it, I knew he was getting tired of my late nights as well. At first, I started off by playing his own game with him. I wanted him to feel the pain I felt, so I stayed out late nights with my girlfriend, Lea, and pretended that another man was occupying my time. Sometimes, I even splashed on men’s cologne to make him think I was with another man, but it seemed not to bother Isaac at all. He never questioned me, but he’d always make remarks about me being with someone else. To me, his thoughts of my being with another man encouraged him to see more women. And according to Miguel, that’s exactly what’s been going down.

  After playing my pretence game for so long, I finally started seeing Miguel. Sex between us only occurred three times, and when I realized he was just as bad as Isaac, and that my using him for revenge was getting old, I started keeping my distance. Miguel believes that his little hints about Isaac had been a surprise to me, but there was nothing that anyone could tell me about my husband that I didn’t already know. A while back, I saw Isaac at McDonald’s with Laquinta and their so-called child. I followed them back to her place, and to this day, he has no clue that I know what I do. And if he really believes that little girl is his, then I was going to let him keep on thinking it. She looks nothing at all like him. Laquinta is playing him for the fool that he is. I haven’t said one word to him about my thoughts, but sooner or later, being with a low-class trick of her caliber will cost him dearly.

  I sat in my office, staring out of the window. It was rather late, but I didn’t want to go home and stare at the walls on my anniversary. It was obvious that from my conversation with Isaac earlier, he most likely made plans with someone else. I’d thought about calling Miguel, or another friend of mine, Jamal, who I’d been conversing with from time to time. Tonight, however, I didn’t want to be bothered. I removed the clip from my hair and let my hair fall. I then walked over to my desk, pulled out a bottle of Martel from the drawer and dimmed the lights. I turned on some soft music and went over to the small sofa in the far corner of the room. After taking a seat, I removed my stilettos and propped my feet up on the coffee table in front of me. I unbuttoned my white silk blouse and leaned back. Thinking deeply about what Isaac was up to, I put the bottle up to my lips and tilted it. I gulped down a few sips of Martel then put the bottle on the table in front of me. My cell phone was clipped to my skirt, so I reached for it to dial his number. Surprisingly, he answered.

  “What are you up to?” I asked.

  “Trying to make my way home,” he said, releasing a deep sigh.

  “It’s almost eleven o’clock. I’m surprised you’re not home by now.”

  “I…I had a few stops to make. I should be there shortly, though.”

  “Why does it sound like you’re having a difficult time breathing? Did I catch you at a bad time or something?”

  “No, Cyd. I’m wiping my truck down. I got several spots on it so I stopped at the carwash. Where are you?”

  “I’m still at the office. I should be home within the next hour or so.”

  “Well, I’ll see you whenever you get there. Until then, look in the bottom drawer of your desk. There’s something in there for you.”

  I looked over at my desk. “Something like what?” I said, standing up.

  “You’ll see. Bye.”

  Isaac ended the call. I went over to my desk to see what he was talking about. When I opened the bottom drawer, there was a card with a single red rose taped to it. I removed the rose, sniffed it then opened the card. It wished me a Happy Anniversary and was signed, “The man who will always love you, Isaac.”

  Hurt, because things hadn’t worked out as we had planned for them to, I stood dazed for a moment and thought deeply about the man who claimed to love me. Almost five minutes later, my concentration was broken by a slight knock on my door.

  “Come in,” I said.

  When the door came open, it was Isaac. He walked in and turned up the lights.

  “I see you got your card,” he said. “You gripe about your secretary all the time, but she came through for me. I asked her to take care of that for me today, and again, I apologize for forgetting about our anniversary.”

  I folded my arms in front of me. “Well, I’ll be sure to thank my secretary, Isaac. I…I thought you were somewhere wiping down your car?”

  “I was in the parking garage. My shortness of breath was from jogging up the steps to get to your office.”

  I smiled and took a seat in my chair. As I leaned back, Isaac came around next to me and leaned against the edge of my desk. Instantly, my whole attitude had changed. He’d stolen my moment of joy. Not only was smeared makeup on his T-shirt, but I could smell cheap perfume all over him. To make matters worse, a used condom was dangling from his pocket. I wasn’t sure if he put it there on purpose or not, but the damn thing looked sticky to me.

  “Did you like your card?” he asked.

  “Yes, I liked her card, but I feel so bad that I didn’t get you one.”

  I turned to the small printer beside me and pulled out a piece of paper. I folded it in half and reached for a black marker on my desk. I wrote Happy Anniversary on the front and on the inside I wrote, “The woman who still loves you too, your wife.” I handed it to him and smiled. “I hope that’ll make you feel better.”

  He read the inside and laid the paper next to him. “Can we go home? Just for tonight, I’d like to go home together, no arguing, and just hold you in my arms.”

  I stood and leaned close to his ear to whisper. “Just for tonight, huh? I was wishing…hoping for a lifetime of you holding me in your arms, but you ruined it for me.” I moved away from his ear and my tone went up several notches. “Just like you ruined our anniversary today by sticking your dick inside of another one of your trifling whores. How could you be so fucking selfish and conniving, Isaac? And then, have the nerve to show up here like you’re doing me a favor.”

  His forehead wrinkled and a frown covered his face. “I haven’t been with another woman today, Cydney. How or why would you think that I would spend our anniversary with someone else?”

  “Because you are dirty like that and you know it. Besides, what makes today so special? You may have been with a woman the day before, but surely not today, right?”

  He defensively held out his hands and backed away from me. “Listen, I haven’t been with another woman in quite some time. Yes, I flirt a lot, but that’s as far as it goes. Lately, you’re the one whose being doing the cheating in this marriage.”

  I had to laugh because my husband seriously thought I was a fool. “Is there a possibility that the words ‘quite some time ago’ mean only a few hours ago? Isaac, before you answer, there is makeup on your shirt, perfume all over your clothes and pussy on your breath.”

  He looked down at his shirt. “That’s probably your makeup. And if I smell like perfume, or pussy…yours too.”

  I reached for the dangling condom and slapped it against his face. “Well, I assure you that this doesn’t belong to me. Now, don’t say anything else to me, and get the hell out of my office. Take this useless card and rose with you, please.”

  Isaac wiped the condom from his face and held it in his hand. He looked at it, as if he couldn’t figure out where it came from. Of course, those were his exact words.

  “I’m serious, baby. I have no idea…”

  I took a deep breath, went over to the door and held it open. “Look, it’s no surprise what I’m dealing with, Isaac. You don’t have to lie to me about your extra marital affairs because I already know they exist. There’s no need to make my blood pressure rise or yours, so let’s jus
t call it a day and chalk up yet another anniversary as a loss. Goodbye.”

  Of course, he couldn’t say much else. Didn’t even have the guts to look at me as he left. All I could do was slam the door behind him.

  I wound up spending the night in my office. Just so no one would know that I did, I rushed out about five thirty in the morning. When I arrived home, Isaac was in bed sound asleep. I thought about setting fire to his tail, but for me, those days were over. When he first started cheating, I used to chase after him, trying to make him stop. I would go through his clothes, just to find any little thing that I could to kick up an argument. Eventually, I felt as if I was starting to make a fool of myself. My reaction didn’t change anything about him and neither did my tears. Once I decided to deal with his mess, I promised never to let him see me cry, sweat or act a fool again. Yes, it was hard to contain myself, but I had to do it. My solution became revenge. I wanted to get even…get him where it hurt. I was doing just that by messing around with Miguel.

  Attempting not to wake my no-good husband I eased into the walk-in closet and searched for a new outfit to put on. I reached for my silver blouse and gray pinstriped pants then headed to the bathroom to wash up and change. As soon as I got ready to close the door, Isaac called my name.

  “Are you just now getting in here?” he griped.

  “I’ve been here. You were just sleeping and didn’t hear me come in.”

  He yanked the covers back, walked up to me and stretched.

  “Listen, I’m sorry about the mix up with the condom, but it wasn’t mine. Miguel was playing a joke on me and placed it in my pocket. Either way, our rule is to never, ever stay out all night. Every night, I come home to you and you come home to me, no matter what. Don’t start changing the rules around here, Cyd, alright?”

  In total disbelief, all I could do was stare up at him. I wanted to smack the shit out of him for constantly lying and believing that I was that damn stupid, so I did. He took a few steps back and rubbed his sore cheek.

  “You need to tell Miguel to stop playing games with you like that, especially on your anniversary. Didn’t he know how I’d react to something like that?” I spoke with sarcasm.

  Isaac continued with his lie. He got a kick out of my reaction and the grin on his face implied it. “I guess you don’t believe me, but I’ll be sure to let Miguel know what his joke cost me. In the meantime, are we still going to this scholarship ceremony tonight? The folks at your job always trying to give out money to somebody, but as late as you work, they should be giving you a raise. Besides, I’m not sure if I have to work late or not. But if you still want me to go, I’ll make some arrangements.”

  After all that had been going on, I totally forgot about the scholarship ceremony given by the executives at my job. Each year, they gave a thousand dollars to ten students from different schools that possessed the best athletic or artistic talent. Surely, I didn’t want to go alone. I had to—no, we had to put on a front for everybody, but if Isaac was a no-show, I could easily say that he had to work overtime.

  “If you could put your bitches…I mean, your obligations off for a few hours tonight, I’d certainly appreciate it.”

  “I guess I’ll have to,” he smirked, and then stepped away from me to use the toilet.

  I quickly got undressed and hopped in the shower. As Isaac washed his hands, his eyes were all over me. I knew he wanted to have sex with me, but at the rate he was going, he’d never have me again. My rushed shower lasted no more than five minutes. I hurried to get dress so I could head back to work.

  I left the house without even saying goodbye. And when I got to work my boss, Darrell, was waiting in my office to greet me. He was a younger white man, was filthy rich, and polished from head to toe. He held his position because his father was one of the stockholders. His girlfriend resembled Barbie and his boyfriend could have easily been Ken. He and I got along extremely well, and he trusted me with the secret of his down-low lifestyle. Not only that, but he considered me to be a true asset to the company and paid me much respect.

  “Good morning,” he said, sitting on my sofa with his legs crossed. I laid my purse on the table and sat next to him.

  “I don’t know about it being a good morning, but I’m here and ready to go.”

  He patted my leg. “Cydney, it’s always a good morning, my dear. Are you ready for the wonderful evening we have planned?”

  “As ready as I’m going to get. Are you bringing your girlfriend or your boyfriend with you tonight?”

  “Of course, my girlfriend. Not too many people know about my boyfriend so don’t say that too loudly. Besides, my girls been kind of bitchy lately, but we’ll see. What about you? Will Isaac be joining you?”

  “Of course. He said that he wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

  “I’ll bet. You and him have such a wonderful relationship. I hope that I find happiness someday like you have.”

  I stood and could have choked from lying to Darrell. He was nice enough to share all of his business with me and there I was lying as if I had the perfect marriage. Bottom line, I didn’t want anyone to know what was really going on. And as much as I liked Darrell, I didn’t trust him with my secrets. He was known for gossiping and I couldn’t take a chance at my business being spread throughout the office. Both Isaac’s and my parents thought things were going well, and for the time being, neither Isaac nor I wanted them to know the truth.

  “Well, sweetness,” Darrell said. “Our meeting starts in about an hour. It’s an all day thing, so make sure you have breakfast and lunch all at once. Dinner will be served tonight, but I assure you that it’ll be late.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” I said. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

  Darrell casually strutted out of my office. If he’d never told me about him being gay, I wouldn’t have ever known. I felt sorry for his girlfriend because she had no idea what was really going on behind closed doors. He said that he loved her, but there was nothing that he could do about his desire for men. I didn’t quite understand it, but I had my own problems to deal with. At this time, all I could do was lend him my ear.

  Darrell for surely didn’t exaggerate. The meeting lasted all morning and into the late afternoon. I didn’t know what I was going to wear for tonight and thought I’d have time to stop by the mall and pick up something. When I rushed into my office, I looked at the clock and it was almost four. I had plenty of phone calls to return, but before I did, I called Isaac to make sure he was coming.

  “Officer Conley speaking,” he said.

  “It’s me. Are you going to be able to make it or not?”

  “I…I’ll try,” he said hesitantly. “It’s been a kind of wild today, but I’ll put forth every effort to be there.”

  “Try hard. I don’t want to go alone.”

  “Where’s it at again?”

  “At the Hilton. As soon as you walk into the lobby, you’ll see us. I need you there by seven, no later than eight. Please.”

  “Like I said, I’ll do my best.”

  “Lately, your best hasn’t been good enough. I hope you’ll do better.”

  He didn’t respond, and because I had to return other phone calls, I hung up.

  By the time I finished my calls, it was after five o’clock. I hurried to the Galleria and tried to find something to wear. Being a size fourteen didn’t help much. Mostly all of the sexy and classy black dresses were for women whose dress sizes were in the single digits. I must have tried on twenty dresses, before I came across a black one that was made strictly for me. It stretched around my curvy hips, had a deep dip in the back, but met up with my neckline in the front. The trimming was black satin and matched a pair of black stilettos that were lined with tiny diamonds. Having little time to work with, I left the dress on and went to the makeup counter so the cosmetologist could hook me up. She made my dark brown skin look flawless and arched my brows to perfection. My lips were glossed and my light gold eye shadow and liner gave my dark br
own eyes a glamorous but seductive look. As for my hair, I left a part down the middle and let it fall on the sides of my face to my shoulders. My hair had a shine that wouldn’t quit and compliments came from everywhere. As I walked out, every woman that passed by me had something nice to say, and the men couldn’t keep their eyes off me. One man nearly broke his neck, as he tripped while trying to hold the door for me.

  “You are stunning,” he said. “Are you married?”

  I smiled and playfully rolled my eyes. “Unfortunately, but thanks for holding the door for me.”

  I kept on walking and he continued to gaze at me with the door pulled open.

  By the time I reached the Hilton, it was almost seven forty-five. I’d rushed to get there, but traffic was such a mess. Construction on the highway was down to one lane, so I knew Isaac was going to be a no show, or use the traffic as an excuse not to come. However, when I walked inside, I saw him sitting at the bar. He sat next to one of my coworkers, and I watched him from a distance. The sight of him sent chills throughout my entire body. He wore a black suit, had a black silk shirt underneath it and a few buttons were undone, displaying his buffed chest. His wavy, coal black hair had been lined and so had his thinly shaven beard. The tinted brown glasses he wore put him in a category all by himself…simply fabulous. It was sad that a man so handsome on the outside, had to be so ugly on the inside. I reminded myself of all the hurtful things he’d done to me over the years and quickly got back to reality.

  Before making my way over to Isaac, I saw Darrell and his date sitting at a table. I stopped to chat, but he rambled on for too long. He finally silenced himself when he asked me to dance. A disturbing look covered his face, and recognizing that something was wrong, I couldn’t decline.