"But she won't be anymore, I can tell you that now!" He was almost bragging about his actions, proud before Sylvia for them.
"Yes, so I've heard. And it's your actions of doing that right there, that is making me do some serious thinking of my own. As far as this mess is concerned, everyone needs to calm down, take a breather, and consider what's happening here. Crystal doesn't need this pressure Victor, you need to go home-..."
"While that Ben is all over her?! No, no way, not while he's here all in my wife's face, turning my sons against me."
"Victor, I'm asking you to leave, and give her time to figure out what she wants to do."
"No, I'm staying right here. I want my wife home. Did Mundo tell her I was out here when I brought the boys back? Or did she send you out to get rid of me?"
"Victor, has it occurred to you, that you are now divorced?"
"Not by my hand! I didn't sign it, we're not divorced."
"Look, I didn't come out here for this. As I said, I think you should go home-..."
"I don't care what you say, I'm not leaving!"
"You are really pushing it. I am really trying to be patient with you, you know this can be construed as stalking? Harrassment?"
"I don't care! Why am I wrong for wanting my wife back? Huh? Why is that wrong? She doesn't belong here! My sons don't belong here! They should be with me."
"You know what, you're not hearing me. You're not listening to a word I say, or anyone else for that matter, so - suit yourself." Sylvia started walking towards Shanna's, not about to stand and argue with him, she was fighting back the urge to call the police on him.
"Sylvia!" He called out to her, "Is Crystal coming out? Just tell me is she coming out?"
She stopped, fuming in disbelief, and spun back to him, "She doesn't want to come out Victor, and she doesn't have to! Okay? She has a right to do as she pleases!" She spun back around shaking her head, wondering how to deal with him. She didn't want to go off on him, but at some point, something was going to have to give. As she made progress down the lane, to her horror she heard him bellowing for Crystal at the top of his voice.
"CRYS-TA-A-AL! CRYSTAL!"
"Oh my god, Shawn is going to kill him!" She looked back and couldn't see him, so knew he must have gone closer to the house. Trying her hardest not to get upset, she met Vivian and Shanna as they were coming out of the house. The three of them were heading to Gert's to check on the kids, see if she needed any help, and also to bring Sasha and Josepha over to spend some time with Angela.
"You know what, you two might have to go alone. Victor is at my house and I know, Shawn is gonna be out there in a minute. Can you hear'im?"
"That's him? What is he doing?" Shanna asked.
"Yelling for Crystal. Let me get back there - I'm not gonna be able to go." Sylvia turned making her way back to the house, with Shanna and Vivian following behind and sure enough, by the time they reached her yard, Crystal and Mundo were standing between Shawn and Victor.
"What is your fucking problem? Are you nuts?! Do you honestly want to get me in the middle of this?!" Shawn shouted, resisting with all of his might, going for him.
"You're already in the middle, keeping my wife from me!" Victor yelled back.
"Victor! Leave me alone!" Crystal yelled staying between him and Shawn, "Yelling for me like you've lost your mind! For your information, it is my choice, what is happening right now - I can't believe this!"
"I just want you to come home! That's all!" He pleaded, "I'm not trying to argue with anybody - Shawn, but this is between me and my wife! Crystal please, just come home so we can talk, a calm, talk, just you and I, please!"
"OKAY!" She shouted at her wits end, "Okay - if I go with you-..."
"No! You don't have to go anywhere with him!" Shawn objected.
"Maybe if I give him a chance, he'll calm down and we can come to an agreement." Crystal pleaded with Shawn.
"Crystal, you don't have to, if you don't want to!" Sylvia insisted and then to Victor, "You are really starting to get on my nerves! Do not make me involve the police in this!"
"I don't want any trouble, I just want my wife!" He insisted again, looking from Sylvia to Crystal again.
"Mama please, I'm gonna talk to him. Mundo, please - can you and Angela look after the boys for me?"
He nodded easy enough.
"Where you going? Take your own car, don't ride with him." Shawn directed her.
"Hey man, can you just stay out of it!"
Shawn charged for him, Mundo grabbing hold of him with all four women blocking him as well. It was because of them, and his pregnant wife that Shawn didn't barrel through them to get to him. "Shawn no!" Shanna and Sylvia yelled at him simultaneously, their hands out, Sylvia pushing against his chest. Shawn stood biting into his closed lips, grunting from deep, "Boy you got me fantasizing about beatin' your ass!"
Crystal couldn't believe him, "Victor you wanna talk to me, fine - but you watch how you talk to Shawn!"
"I'm sorry, okay? Just, can we go?" He pleaded with her, anxious to get her alone.
"Crystal! Your own car!" Shawn repeated. "And I wanna know where you're going?"
She paused, looked at Victor, "Where?"
"Ah come on Crystal, is this really necessary?"
"You want me to go or not?"
"To the house?" He pleaded.
"She's not going that far with you!" Shawn blurted once more, moving gently forward again, the small group of women and Mundo sticking close to him.
"Look you two! We're heading out, you can go to my place to talk, you'll be alone, so it'll be private." Shanna suggested.
"Crystal, that's perfect." Shawn and Sylvia both spoke up this time.
She looked at them and then back at Victor, "There, or no way."
"I can't believe this, fine! I'll go there."
Crystal wasted no time, stomping down the road towards Shanna's place with Victor rushing up behind her and then along side her.
Shawn stood watching them go and turned to look at Sylvia.
"I just want you to know, that I am so close, to putting my foot - deep into his ass, that it's causing me pain to keep from doing it!" He turned and strode off into the house, feeling the pressures of that day and every other previous mounting within him. The thought that hit him hard, suddenly, as he entered the house was that he really needed to speak to someone, anyone! In a way, he was glad there would be a meeting tomorrow night, he was feeling a deep need for it, more than anyone. The idea that Armundo might still be alive was eating him up from the inside out. If he was right in what he suspected, that meant, that Sylvia was not his wife, but Armundo's wife! That thought alone was making it hard for him to draw his next breath. He was feeling tense, wired, excitable and angry - angry to the point of exploding, he knew he didn't need to be around anyone. Angry for so many reasons he couldn't pin down just one. All he knew is one thing led to another and then another. He was worried about Derrick and knew that he should call and check on him. He was trying to cope with Angela's bodyguard being everywhere he turned; he was trying to look through him, but it wasn't easy. He was anxious about mama JoJo and getting her there with him, so he needed the building to get underway. He was worried about his wife, and what would be her reaction if her brother David, was in fact dead.
He was scared to death for Crystal.
In the time period since coming into Sylvia's life, he'd grown incredibly close to her son and daughter. Something in them, had really needed him, and something in him, really needed them. But Crystal, with her, it was a tad bit different. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, but somehow, the two of them were very much alike, in ways he could only shake his head in wonder at. She, for all intents and purposes, seemed to be more his daughter, than his own. Not in looks, but in her feelings, in her needs, in her make up, and in her intense and insatiable need to be right about her place in her family's life. He knew, that she was loyal to a fault, just as protective as he was protective, with a
touch of craziness if you pushed the right buttons with her; you could be in for a world of hurt, besides all of that, they pretty much saw things the same. However, she was a young woman, and no matter how strong she was trying to be, she was limited, physically as well due to having a soft heart of gold. He was scared that Victor would tug at it and make her feel obligated to go back to him. For what he'd come to know about Victor in the time that all had happened, he didn't trust him for Crystal and no one could make him feel or think any different. In his gut, just as Armundo had been no good for Sylvia or his own son and daughter, he saw Victor with those same eyes. He feared for Crystal and just as he would do all to protect the daughter that was biologically his, he would do the same for the one that was spiritually his. In the basement, he sat on the sofa, trying not to move for the moment; because he wanted to go to Shanna's and toss Victor out on his ear. For the time being, Victor became Armundo Sr. - he saw them as one and the same.
"Hey, is it okay if I go with Vivian and Shanna, you gone be okay?" Sylvia asked softly from the bottom of the stairs. She was split between staying home with him, or going with them, they were pushing for her to leave it, because there was little she could do for now.
He lifted his hand, a gesture to call her to him; without hesitation she was there, next to him on the sofa; Shawn gathered her to his side, kissing her lips, her nose, her forehead, holding her against him, "I'm sorry for being so, agitated lately. I know I've been a bit of an asshole, I don't want you thinking any of it is directed at you. There is so much on my mind, that's why I'm so brisk. You go on, have a good time, bring Derrick's young ones back here."
"You saying you need to be alone?"
"Yeah, I do."
"You gone behave yourself while I'm gone?" She simpered.
He smiled, "Promise, cross my heart - hope to die."
She caressed his cheek, leaned over and kissed him. "Your promise is good enough, none of that hope to die business. I plan on gettin' a good 30 to 40 years out of you Mr. McPherson." She kissed him again, "I love you, see you later."
Once more, Shawn was left alone with his thoughts, but for only a moment, he could hear Mundo's voice, Angela's and then the boys. All were coming down the stairs; once at the bottom, Darren and Isaac saw him and ran directly to him. "Gran'dad, we want pizza!" Isaac started right away.
Shawn smiled, 'Gran'dad' - that was the first time he'd called him that and the funny thing was, that simple title washed all that was bugging him away, even if temporarily, he was defused - calm. "You want a pizza? That what you say?" He scooped him up and Darren for his other thigh.
"Yeah gran'dad, I - I wan' cheese on it, an' some hot dogs on it, an' some peanut butta' on it."
Shawn's head went back shouting in laughter, watching Darren agree, eyes wide with anticipation. "Isaac, I don't think they come with peanut butter, and I don't recall hot dogs being a selection on the menu either, but we can definitely do cheese."
"Lotta' cheese gran'dad, this - this much!" He spread his arms high and low to indicate how much.
"Oh yeah, let's order that one, they ass be stopped up for days!" Mundo joked, heading for the phone.
"Order enough for everyone Mundo, including the bodyguard; Angela go ask him what he likes on pizza."
"Okay dad!"
Shawn sat holding the boys, smiling, hugging them, they were what his life was about. He wanted more of them, his own, his brother's children, family, he wanted to be surrounded by them. If he could just have that, and the rest of the world, leave him alone, then all would be bright. He didn't ask for much, never had. He just wanted to love his family and his family to love him back. He wanted laughter in his home, smiles on his children's faces, and a light of joy twinkling in his woman's eyes - his pregnant wife. More babies - he wanted to lie on the floor and let them crawl all over him, so he could hug, kiss and tickle them, wrestle with them - fall asleep in the midst of them as they laid sleeping around him; tease his daughter's, rough and tumble with his sons. He wanted to work hard, earn a decent wage to feed them all, keep their home a place where all came to, as their safe haven. He wanted an occasional call from a friend, time with the guys, brothers included, to sit, shoot the shit, watch a seasonal game or two, live life and love it. He wanted the sound of women laughing in the kitchen, cooking, with the smells they created filling the air. He wanted mama JoJo - and he wanted her there now.
What he didn't want, was any one coming into the midst of it, screwing it all up, to do harm to either; children, family, friends ... wife. He wasn't having it. He was not about to passively sit by and let anyone, man, or, man wanna be, come in and hurt those within his clan. His father made him; molded him; trained him to be the guardian of the gate. In Shawn's mind, he saw that figurative gate, within his mind, he knew the entire circumference of the fencing that surrounded those that belonged within. He didn't need to see the literal fencing, it was strong in his mind and he watched it more diligently than any dog they might own. That thought brought immediately to his mind, that they needed to get the dogs researched and ordered - he wouldn't wait on Sylvia, he would look into it and do it. Once they got them, he would see to it that they were trained to the height of their abilities, to protect his family, and all within his mental boundaries - along with him, by his side.
Crystal and Victor sat at Shanna's kitchen table, facing one another once more. She refused to sit on the sofa, where he wanted her. "You know, we've already done this?" She started out, "I don't see the point of doing it again."
"No arguing this time, okay? We'll keep it calm and really talk, I mean - the kind that will get us somewhere, all right." He reached across the table to take her hand in his again.
"Please don't do that, I don't wanna hold your hand." She pulled hers away, placing them in her lap.
"Why Crystal? I can't believe just like that, within a couple of weeks, you don't love me anymore."
"Excuse me? We've been apart for more than two weeks, and in that time, the only time you came to me, was to get a piece, after I'd seen you at the club with Jeanine."
"Leave her out of this okay? That's done and over with, I'm sorry I ever went there."
"I'm sorry you went there too, but I guess it was the eye opener that I needed. The thing is, when you left me, it was because of my acts of violence against you, I mean, now that we're divorced, you're free, to find someone better suited to you; who doesn't, react and strike out at you. Why do you even want me back? You should be happy."
Victor shifted in the seat, sitting more forward, gazing into her eyes, she was really pretty, especially with her hair done as it was, "I love you Crystal, that's why I want you back. I've been free okay, as you said, longer than two weeks - and I screwed up big time thinking I wanted to be free, but it was enough for me to see, that I wasn't happy without you. You're in counselling now, right? If you want, I'm even willing to go with you, support you, help you in whatever ways that I can."
"Help me? You're gonna help me? And what about you? You need any help?"
"I need help from my wife, to be there for me at the end of the day. I don't know, who knows what else; I mean, I'd even be willing to go to marriage counselling. When I have time that is, because of court, I have a few meetings that I have to attend."
"Such as?" She asked.
"Community service, DWI classes, AA and anger management."
"Did you have to pay a fine, bail?"
"My dad paid it for me, so I didn't have to give a dime. I was willing to, but he wanted to, so, I let him. Crystal, I'd like to spend that on you, I mean, since I would have had to pay it, maybe we can do something together, go on a honeymoon like we never had - or maybe I could buy you something, something you really want? It's up to you."
"Honeymoon? We're no longer married Victor. As for your money, I don't want your money, give it to your boys, why don't you take them shopping? The other part, ended with us."
"The judge will reverse it, I know he will, once he hears my side.
How much I love you, how much I want my family back."
Crystal could only sit and stare at him, lost as to what to say, he was blocking everything she said. "Victor, I think, you need to focus on the boys. Spending time with them, we have yet to arrange a time for you to see them, what about that?"
"I was just with them wasn't I? I'm telling you now, I'm gonna be here everyday! So I'll be seeing them, everyday-..."
"Victor..."
"Wait Crystal, what if - listen, what if - you moved back into the house? And I, left and lived somewhere else a while, until we worked things out. You don't need to be here, you should be in your own home. You won't have to pay anything. I'll take care of it all, house payment, bills, food - while you're in school. Like it was before, only, you won't have to work this time, just finish this course you've started."
Again, all Crystal could do was stare, speaking her mind she asked, "Why won't you let go Victor? You still have your boys-..."
"I WANT YOU! YOU -..." He blasted; frustrated, raking his hand through his hair, hating that he'd raised his voice. He never felt so out of control.
She sat quiet, once more watching him, trying to read him, understand him.
"I want - what I had before. My wife - you Crystal - you are my wife! I've given up everything for you. I wiped my mother out of my life - for you! Doesn't that tell you, that this is all different now? That it's not the same? Everybody deserves another chance Crystal. I mean, come on, look how many times I forgave you."
"Yeah, you did and - look how many times you provoked me. You did it all pretty well, because you even had Mundo on your side, all he knew, was that I was attacking you, he never really knew why, did he? But you used him as well, to make me feel like it was all me, that I was always the problem and not you."
"I - I don't know what you mean?" He glanced from her to the table, feeling his face burn.
"Look at you. That's what sucks about being white - as fair as you are. The fact that you know what you've done, shows on your face. I was so consumed by trying to do all that was right, that I couldn't see. All I wanted was to make you happy but you would say things to me, to make me feel inadequate."
BOMAW 10-12 Page 138
