by Mary Monroe
“I hear that,” Curtis said with a nod. I didn’t even bat an eye when he reached under the table and massaged my knee.
Curtis was probably thinking the same thing I was thinking: I wanted to make love again. Him rubbing my knee was making me squirm, so I had to say something to keep my thoughts under control. “Daddy, your hair looks like the crown on a woodpecker,” I said. “You should either keep it cut shorter or start wearing some of those hats you own. The way it’s sticking up and pointing away from your head now, it looks like you’ve been flying.” I gently kicked Curtis’s foot, hoping it would make him move his hand away from my knee. It didn’t so I shot him a hot look. He gave me a sheepish grin, but he did stop teasing me with his hand on my knee.
“I didn’t realize it was that windy outside.” Daddy patted the sides and top of his head and rose. “I’m going to step into the men’s room. I hope there’s a clean mirror in there,” he added, still patting the side of his head as he walked toward a door in the back of the room with a sign that read TOILETS: NO SMOKING, NO DRUGS, NO WEAPONS, NO SEX.
“Curtis, I’ve been thinking about you a lot since the last time I saw you,” I said in a low voice.
“I’ve been thinking about you too,” he growled. “I hope that wasn’t a one-time thing.”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Let me rephrase that. Is there a possibility that I will see you again?”
My mind was a ball of confusion. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing and hurt Curtis’s feelings and discourage him from wanting to see me again. At the same time, I didn’t want him to get too hopeful about us getting serious. “What about my husband?”
“Pfftt! What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
“What about your job? If we get caught, you’ll be looking for another job.”
“I can get another job.”
I looked Curtis in the eye and asked, “I’m not just another piece of ass to you, am I?”
His eyes got big and his mouth dropped open. He looked angry and sad at the same time. “Listen to me, Sarah. You mean more to me than a piece of ass. I can get that anywhere. But I care about you. If you were my woman, I wouldn’t trade you for five of the other women I’ve been with.” He stopped talking and sucked on his teeth for a few seconds. He surprised me by what he said next. “But since you mentioned it, you are a pretty nice piece of ass.”
I knew he was being funny, but I was not the least bit amused by what he’d just said. “I hope you don’t think that I’m the kind of woman who will jump into bed with other men as quick as I did with you, because I am not.”
“I hope you’re not that kind of woman, but if you are, that’s your business.” Curtis winked at me. “I’m just glad that you hopped into bed with me. Or onto my mama’s couch, I should say.” He laughed, but I was not amused by that either.
“I’ve never . . . I never thought I’d cheat on my husband so soon into our marriage. And especially with somebody like you.”
“Somebody like me?”
“I didn’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just that you’re so down to earth and I can relate to you. I enjoy your company more than the people I spend time with now.”
A few moments of silence passed. I didn’t know about him, but I was racking my brain trying to decide what to say next. In cases like this, I usually said something stupid. This time was no different. “I had a crush on you in school. One time I even copied your answers on a test that I hadn’t studied for.”
“Oh? That’s interesting. I didn’t think you even noticed a thug like I was back then.”
“I noticed you,” I eagerly admitted.
“But not enough to even talk to me about it?”
“I gave up my cherry to a guy whose name I don’t remember.”
“Hmmm. I guess he didn’t make much of an impression on you, huh?”
I shook my head. “I only went with him because he looked a little like you.” That comment made him grin like a Cheshire cat.
“Baby, you just made my day,” he told me.
Curtis glanced around again. Some nosy-ass, backstabbing individuals hung out in this restaurant. It was no wonder that the neighborhood drug dealers and other criminals were always killing a few for snitching. I recognized a heavy-set married woman who lived on the same block that my grandmother and I used to live on. She occupied a table against the wall. The man she was with was not her husband, and by the way he kept squeezing her hand and tickling her three chins, he was more than just a friend. Every time I looked in her direction, she was looking in mine. I knew a lot of unhappy wives cheated on their husbands. In the cases I knew about firsthand, the women had husbands who didn’t appreciate them or have time for them. I had become one of those women.
“What would you say if I told you I wanted to come back to your place tonight?” I asked. My knee was shaking and not because Curtis had begun to massage it some more. I told myself that I was enough woman for Bo and Curtis, hoping it would make me feel less guilty. It did.
“You won’t have any trouble getting out of the house?”
“I don’t live in a prison. I can come and go as I please. I would like to see you again.”
Curtis gazed over my shoulder, then back at me. “What time can you make it, baby?”
I shrugged. “You tell me.”
I didn’t look around, but I heard Daddy complaining to one of the waitresses about how foul smelling the bathroom was.
“Nine o’clock?” I said quickly.
“Nine o’clock,” Curtis confirmed. He raised his hand and crossed his fingers. “Don’t be late.”
“I won’t,” I assured him with a slow lick of my bottom lip and a naughty grin. “Oh—what about your mama? Will she be home?”
“She works a night shift. She won’t be home until seven in the morning. When nine o’clock rolls around, I want you knocking on my door. You feel me?”
I nodded so hard my neck ached.
Daddy plopped back down onto his seat with a groan. “That toilet was filthy! The stench was so unholy it would gag a mule. Flies as big as shot glasses buzzed around my head like a halo. Sitting on that commode was like sitting on a hole in the ground!” Daddy mopped his brow with one of the few napkins on the table that we had not saturated with barbecue sauce. “I don’t like to rush, but I need to get up out of here. I need to get back to my office so I can use a decent restroom and spray my hind parts with some butt spray. Lord, I hope I didn’t catch anything off that toilet seat.” Daddy looked from me to Curtis, then at our plates, which still contained several ribs. “I can’t eat anything else in this place,” he declared, signaling for the waitress to bring the check.
Daddy paid the check, leaving a huge tip in spite of his complaints about the restroom accommodations, and we left.
I had parked on the street right in front of the restaurant’s entrance. Daddy had parked directly behind me. I shook Curtis’s hand again and gave Daddy another hug before I got into my car. It was a good thing we had decided not to stay any longer. A group of rough-looking young men stood a few yards away from Daddy’s Lexus and my Jaguar, looking at both vehicles like they wanted to eat them.
“Baby, we are going to follow you until we make it out of this jungle,” Daddy told me, making sure my doors were locked. “I don’t want you cruising around over here by yourself.”
A few minutes before 9:00 p.m., I drove back into the same neighborhood. I parked in a lot a block from Curtis’s building. I eased out of my car, looking around to make sure nobody was lurking too close, and then I bolted. I sprinted all the way to his building. When I got inside and made it to his apartment on the fourth floor at the end of the hall, I pounded a tattoo on the door. He snatched it open immediately and gave me a long, hard kiss.
“I couldn’t wait to get here,” I said hoarsely, leaning my head away from his. He had kissed me so hard my lips were aching.
With a grunt, he scooped me up into his arms and carried me to the
living room couch.
CHAPTER 45
VERA
I WAS IN THE LIVING ROOM SPRAWLED ON THE COUCH, RELAXING WITH a glass of wine. My feet were on the coffee table. It had been a strenuous day for me, so I deserved to kick back. I had spent an hour on the treadmill at the gym, something I didn’t do often enough. A lot of parts on my body felt like they had taken on a life of their own, so I had to do all I could to keep myself looking and feeling good. My plastic surgeons couldn’t do it all.
My last liposuction procedure eliminated twenty pounds off my body a few months ago, which had made me look almost like a supermodel. But the loss of weight had also made other areas on my body suffer. My breasts had a slight droop to them now. I didn’t even want to bother getting them lifted again, even though that would have corrected the problem. But since I wanted to go from a C cup to a D cup, getting a brand-new pair was a better solution.
While I was enjoying my solitude, Cash moseyed in and plopped down on the wing chair facing the couch. He had come home from work early that Friday, around four. Kenneth and Bo were still at work, as usual. “Girl, you look like you don’t have a care in the world,” Cash teased.
“I don’t,” I said with a smirk. “That’s what happens when you keep up with your game.” I got up and padded over to the bar and poured him a glass of wine. As soon as I handed it to him, he took a long swallow and belched like an ox.
“I feel you.” Cash looked at me and smiled. He paused long enough to finish his wine and let out another loud belch. “I remember when we were young kids. You always looked ahead. If it wasn’t for you, there’s no telling where me and Collette would be now. Cuz, I know you said we don’t have to pay any rent or anything else to stay here, but sometimes I feel like a freeloader. I know I probably don’t say it enough, but you’re a beautiful person, inside and out. You got Kenneth to hire me and my woman so we can pay our way . . . if we have to.”
“Why are you bringing this up? Did Kenneth say something about you and Collette living here rent-free?”
“No, he didn’t. But lately Sarah keeps reminding me and Collette how lucky we are to be living in this beautiful place rent-free.”
“Her cheesy black ass is living here rent-free too!” I hollered, drinking more wine.
“I just don’t want you to think we don’t appreciate your generosity. I mean, if you ever want us to move out, all you need to do is let us know.”
“Look, one thing you need to get in your thick skull is that you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. As long as I’m controlling the situation, you don’t have to worry about anything. Fuck Sarah—that heifer! But just to be on the safe side, I hope you and Collette are banking part of your paychecks.”
“Oh, we put aside most of our money every time we get paid. I know all good things eventually come to an end. We’ve been worried ever since Sarah got here that if something happens to Kenneth, she might get all legal and shit and derail our gravy train.”
“And that’s why we all need to milk the cow as long and as hard as we can. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: Once Kenneth kicks the bucket, there is no telling how Sarah is going to behave,” I said. “With me being related only by marriage, I have no idea how she will treat me. She might even get crazy enough to mess with the business, sell it or something. Kenneth keeps changing his will and even I don’t know how generous he’s going to be to me and the rest of us now that he’s got a blood relative in the mix. He just might leave everything, or most of it, to her. I am not counting on Sarah to do the right thing and split up that money fair and square!”
“Neither am I. If you, the wife, ain’t even sure what Kenneth is going to leave you, me and Collette can’t even guess how generous he’ll be to us. He’s not the same man he was before Sarah came. And since we are on the subject, what’s the word on Sarah these days? I hope she’s not putting bugs in Big Daddy’s ears, encouraging him to change his will in a way that’ll shortchange us or set it up so we don’t get nothing! Are you keeping your eye on her and what she’s doing when she’s around him?”
“As much as I can,” I sighed, shaking my head. “Some days that little fool is like a fart in a windstorm, so keeping an eye on her can be a lot of work.” I blew out a disgusted breath. “My life was so much easier before she came here! And it doesn’t seem like she’s ever going to produce a baby by Bo that will save our asses.”
“At least since Bo married her she’s been a little easier to digest.”
“By the way, where is your lovely wife? You two usually come home from work at the same time.”
“She dropped me off, then took the car and went to some girl’s house to get her hair braided.”
“Listen, uh, I’ve been meaning to mention something that’s been on my mind for a little while.”
Cash began to fidget like a cornered roach. That made me think that he was doing something he should not be doing. Since we shared the same DNA, which was thick with high levels of deceit, there was no telling what he was doing on the sly. But as long as it didn’t interfere with my game, I didn’t care. “What’s that, cuz?”
“Have you noticed how odd Sarah’s been acting all this month?”
Cash looked relieved. “Oh, is that all that’s been on your mind?” He chuckled. “Sarah acts odd all the time. What’s your point?”
“I think she’s up to no good,” I said, drinking more wine. “Maybe she’s pregnant again,” I said hopefully. “I just hope she’s not having an affair.”
Cash whipped his head from side to side. When he looked back at me, he looked scared. “I sure as hell don’t think that the stupid girl is that stupid! After what Gladys put Bo through, he would never get over Sarah putting him in the same trick bag. She’s asking for trouble if she is fucking another man!”
“I just hope she isn’t.”
“You better do more than hope. Bo would have a fit that would never end and only God knows what he might do to Sarah.”
I snapped my fingers. “Calm down. Let’s not jump the gun now,” I suggested, holding up my hand. “I said she might be having an affair, but I’m probably wrong.”
“If you think you’re wrong, why did you even bring it up in the first place? Has she given you any reason to think she might be fooling around?”
“Not really. But since she’s been acting so strange lately, I just thought I’d mention it. Oh well. Even if she is, most married people who have affairs don’t leave their spouses,” I declared. “Especially if their marriage is as solid as mine. Now look at Kenneth and me. When he told me about his affair with Sarah’s mother, I got mad, but I didn’t get mad enough to cut off my nose to spite my face. I beat his ass, but I got over it and he’s been going out of his way ever since to make it all up to me. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’d never tell him, but his affair made me stronger and more aware. And smarter. If something happens, say he leaves me for another woman, I will land on my feet no matter what.”
Cash looked even more relieved now. “Vera, you are one amazing woman. Kenneth had his fun and made a baby with another woman, but you forgave him and stayed focused on your marriage. The world would be a much better place if all women were as sensible and loyal as you. I hope Sarah is learning how to be as phenomenal a woman as you are, don’t you?”
“Uh-huh,” I said. “I’m doing my best to help her keep her life on track.”
CHAPTER 46
SARAH
I COULDN’T BELIEVE I’D FALLEN IN LOVE WITH CURTIS IN JUST ONE month. But I had. He was the first thing on my mind when I woke up each morning and the last thing on my mind before I went to sleep every night.
I loved Curtis, but I still loved my husband too. I didn’t want to hurt Bo or Curtis. I wanted all three of us to be happy. I didn’t see why I couldn’t have them both as long as I didn’t get caught. I knew that it was wrong for me to be cheating on my husband, but it was easy for me to justify my actions.
I wasn’t the first mar
ried person to cheat and I wouldn’t be the last. Cheating was all around me. Bo’s first wife had cheated on him. Daddy had cheated on Vera with my mother. Most of his married friends had cheated on their spouses. And the way Cash stared at women’s butts and titties when we were out in public, I knew he had probably had an affair or two. He could have been involved with another woman now for all I knew. And Collette was so sneaky she was capable of doing just about anything. I had seen her checking out other men in public. The only person that I was sure had not had an affair and probably never would was Vera. She seemed to have eyes only for my daddy and I knew she really did love him. With the exception of her devotion to Daddy, Vera was too much in love with herself to share any more of her affections with another man. There were times I actually envied her. I wished that I could be more like her when it came to being a faithful wife. That way having a part-time husband wouldn’t have bothered me so much. Bo left me alone too often, and I was one woman who didn’t want to be ignored by her man.
Yesterday, Daddy and Bo left the house to go to the office before Vera and I even got out of bed. I had no idea where Vera had spent her day, but I’d spent some time with Curtis after I’d shopped at the Dollar Tree and Target for a couple of hours. I had picked him up on his lunch hour in the alley behind Daddy’s main store. I forced myself not to look at Daddy’s and Bo’s cars in the employee parking lot as I barreled past them toward the freeway.
We stopped at a liquor store and picked up a bottle of wine and some condoms. There was a McDonald’s close by, so we picked up two Big Macs. We checked into the first motel we came to, which was only half a mile away from Daddy’s store.
After our little rendezvous, I dropped Curtis off where I’d picked him up. Then I drove to the Mission district to get my nails done. I left the nail shop about an hour later and went to a movie. When I got home that evening around six, Bo and Daddy had already come home. I was shocked when I saw both of their cars parked in the driveway. My first thought was that something had happened to Daddy. I parked my car behind Bo’s silver Range Rover and jumped out. I ran into the house with my heart racing about a mile a minute.
