by Angel Hunter
“Come on in. I have a phone call.”
He followed her into the living room.
Crystal picked up the phone and said, “Hello?”
“Hi, Crystal.”
The voice wasn’t familiar. “Who is this?”
“It’s Lena.”
Crystal almost dropped the phone. Lena was the last person she expected to call her. What could she possibly want? Did she find out about Crystal and Lange’s affair? Did Lange know Lena was calling her? Trying to sound in control, Crystal told Lena, “I’m about to run out. Is everything okay?”
“Yes, everything is fine. Do you mind if I call you later? I need to talk to you.”
Crystal wanted to know what she had to talk to her about, but with Roger standing there, she didn’t want to take a chance. “I won’t be in ‘til late. Call me tomorrow.”
“Okay. Talk to you then.”
They hung up.
“Is everything okay?” Roger asked.
“Yeah. Why?”
“You’re all frowned up.”
Crystal brought her hands up to her face. “Am I?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Listen, give me one more minute. I have to go upstairs and get my purse.” She left him standing there with a puzzled look on his face.
In the car, Crystal kept trying to make small talk. She was trying to keep her mind off Lena’s phone call, but Roger wasn’t cooperating.
“Roger, why aren’t you talking to me? I feel like I’m having a one-way conversation.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just that I know something is bothering you and I want you to be able to talk to me. Who knows? I might be able to help.”
“I told you it was nothing,” Crystal snapped at him.
When he didn’t reply, she apologized. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I don’t open up often, and when I’m having a problem, I feel like it’s just that my problem. I don’t want to be a burden.”
Roger didn’t respond.
“Do you accept my apology?” Crystal didn’t want to ruin the night. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. When she noticed his smile, she took his free hand in hers.
“You’re lucky I can drive with one hand and that you’re irresistible,” he told her. “But I can’t help but wonder who could get you all worked up like that.”
“My mother,” she told him. He was aware that they weren’t speaking at the moment.
“You know you need to resolve your differences. She’s the only mother you have.”
“I know, but it’s hard to let go. She’s with the man who raised—”
Roger removed his hand to turn the corner. “I know. You told me all that, but you have to let it go sooner or later. You only get one mom.”
Crystal turned her head and looked out her window. “How about we change the subject?”
“I can do that. How about this? There’s something I need to have clarified between us,” he said.
“What?”
“I need to know what we are.”
“Huh?” Crystal looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“Are we a couple or are we just friends?”
“Why do we have to put a title on it?” Crystal asked. “Why can’t we just be?”
“Because I’m ready to settle down. I’m ready for a relationship. We both know I’ve wanted to be with you for a long time. Now that the opportunity is here, well, I don’t want to mess it up. So, I guess what I’m doing is asking you if you’ll be my lady.”
Crystal just smiled. She didn’t want to say yes but she couldn’t come right out and say no either. What she chose to say instead was, “I have to think about it, Roger. I’ve been single for a while now, and to just jump into something this soon . . . I don’t know. Will you give me some time?”
Roger looked over at her and said, “I’ll give you some time. Just know that I don’t plan on waiting forever.”
“And I’m not expecting you to.”
That night after Roger dropped her off, she lay in bed and wondered why this was happening now. Why did Roger, who was a good man, have to come into her life when there was a slight chance with the man she lusted after? Crystal picked up her phone and dialed Lange’s number at the hotel. He wasn’t in. Crystal wondered if he was with Lena. She left a message. “I need to talk to you about something. Call me first thing tomorrow morning.”
The next day when Crystal woke up, she thought about calling Lena back, but first decided to call Lange. She tried the hotel first.
“Good morning,” Lange answered.
“Good morning. Where were you last night?” Although she had no right to ask, she couldn’t help it.
“I went out for drinks with some friends.”
“Oh. Your wife called my house last night. Do you know what she could want?”
“She what?” Lange sounded as surprised as Crystal felt when she first heard Lena’s voice.
“She said she needed to talk to me about something. Are you positive she doesn’t know about us? Maybe she’s been having you followed or something.”
Lange started laughing.
“Why are you laughing?” Crystal asked him. “This is serious. It’s not a joke.”
“I know that, but you’re getting all worked up and paranoid. So what if she had me followed? We’re attorneys and you’re assisting me on Tina’s case.”
“I’m glad you can be all calm about this,” Crystal said. “How did she get my number anyway?”
“She must have looked in my directory. I don’t know.”
“You think I should call her back?” Crystal wanted him to say no.
“Yeah, and then call me back.”
When they hung up, Crystal decided to take a shower before she returned Lena’s phone call. After drying off, she wrapped a towel around herself and dialed the number.
“Hello.” It was Lena sounding sleepy.
“Good morning, Lena. It’s Crystal. I’m returning your call from yesterday.”
“Can you hold on a second?” Lena asked.
“Yes.” Crystal could hear water running in the background.
“Sorry about that. I was asleep. I went to wash my face,” Lena told her.
“I could have called you back.”
“No, no. I need to get up anyway. It’s funny. Ever since Lange moved out, it’s hard for me to wake up. When he was here, I’d get up early to be with him, but now . . . I don’t know, it’s like my clock is all messed up.”
Crystal didn’t know what to say. She figured she’d just wait it out and see what was on Lena’s mind.
“Would you like to meet me for breakfast?” Lena asked.
This was getting weirder and weirder by the second. It definitely didn’t sound like Lena suspected Crystal and Lange of having an affair. Letting her curiosity get the best of her, Crystal agreed to a meeting place.
“See you in an hour,” Lena said.
An hour later, Crystal pulled into the parking lot of Clara’s Place. She walked through the door and heard Lena call her name. “Crystal, over here.”
Lena was already seated. She had on black leggings with boots and a white collared shirt buttoned halfway up with a black bodysuit underneath. Her hair was back in a ponytail. She wore no makeup, just a touch of lip-gloss. Crystal was glad she decided to wear jeans and a wife-beater under her jacket. It took her over twenty minutes to decide, and she figured comfort was the key.
Crystal sat down and forced a smile.
The waitress came over with coffee.
“I’ll take tea,” Crystal said, looking at the menu in front of her and then at Lena. “Have you ordered?”
“Not yet. I know you’re wondering why I called you.”
That’s an understatement, Crystal thought.
“Well, I’ll get straight to the point. I don’t know how much Lange has told you, but I’m sure you’re aware of the fact we’re separated.”
Crystal nodded.
“It was mostly
my idea.”
Crystal didn’t respond.
Lena cleared her throat. “Remember the last time you saw me?”
Lena didn’t have to refresh her memory.
“Well, he’s not the reason. This separation is something that’s been in the making for quite some time. I was unhappy and dissatisfied with myself. I was pretending to be something I wasn’t, and I finally couldn’t take it anymore.”
Crystal had to know, “Why are you telling me all this?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I need a friend and Lange used to say I should get to know you.”
This surprised Crystal. “He would say that?”
“Yes, and well, I know that you two are working on a case together, and obviously if he told you about our little separation, you have some kind of relationship other than business.”
Crystal sat up straighter.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is these past couple of weeks have been hell, and I wanted to know if you would talk to Lange about coming back home.”
Crystal shifted in her chair. “Why don’t you call him up yourself?”
Lena ignored the question. “Did you tell him you saw me out with another man?”
“No.”
“I figured as much. I told him about my affair and he took it hard.”
Crystal stood up and said, “You know, I feel uncomfortable with this conversation. This was a bad idea.”
Lena looked Crystal in the eyes. Crystal felt like Lena was reading her. She turned to walk away, but not before Lena said, “Yeah, maybe it was.”
The second Crystal arrived home she called Lange. Once again she left a message. “Call me.”
LIFE GOES ON
Over two weeks had passed since Tyson’s accident. Everything turned out okay. He was back in school and living with his dad, and Jewell was going by the house every day. King tried to bring up their escapade a number of times, but she would stop him and tell him, “It was a mistake. It never should have happened.”
In reality, she wanted it to happen again, though she was still seeing Evan. Sometimes when she was alone, she’d think about it over and over. Next thing she knew, her hands would start roaming. She’d find herself masturbating. A number of times she wanted to pick up the phone, call him and invite him over, but fear of the unknown stopped her.
Thank goodness she had Evan to keep her occupied. He was being very understanding about her spending so much time at King’s house. When his friend called him from the hospital to tell him he saw “his black girlfriend hugged up on a black man,” he got upset and almost jumped to conclusions. When he didn’t hear from her that night, he had to talk himself out of driving to her apartment.
“I’m sorry I had you so worried,” she told him when she finally reached him. She went on to tell him about the accident.
He was very sympathetic but felt slighted. “I could have been there for you. I would have liked to have been there for you.”
She went on to tell him that she stayed at King’s so they could go to the hospital together. Evan didn’t understand why she couldn’t stay at her own place, but he didn’t tell her this. He wanted to ask her if anything happened between the two of them, but he didn’t want it to seem like he didn’t trust her.
Jewell was thinking about Evan as she and Tyson were sitting in his bedroom.
“You know you don’t have to come by so much,” Tyson told her.
Jewell’s feelings were hurt. “What do you mean I don’t have to come over every day?” Don’t you miss me?”
“Of course I miss you, but well, I’m not a baby anymore.”
King was in the doorway. When he heard this, he started laughing.
“Dad doesn’t treat me like a baby. He treats me like a man,” Tyson informed her.
“A little man,” King said and walked into the room.
Jewell got off the bed, kissed Tyson on the cheek and told him, “I’ll try not to baby you so much.” Looking at King, she asked, “Walk me to the front door?”
Once in the living room, she asked, “Can you believe him?”
“Yes, I can. He is growing up, you know.”
“I know, I know.”
“I have a date Thursday. Do you mind coming over and . . . never mind.”
“What?” Jewell asked, hoping she heard wrong, hoping she didn’t just hear him say he had a date.
“Well, I know how much you miss having Tyson with you, and I was going to get a sitter, but if you want to you can come and watch him. Either that or I’ll bring him to you. The choice is yours.”
Jewell was still stuck on the fact that he said he had a date. “You’re going out on a date on a Thursday? When I agreed to let Tyson come stay with you, I didn’t know you’d be leaving him alone on school nights to go on dates.” She was jealous and was not hiding it well.
“Look, I don’t want to get into an argument over this. Do you want to watch him or should I just get a sitter?”
“No, I’ll come over.” Jewell turned to leave. She couldn’t get out the door quick enough.
SOUL SEARCHING
“Girl, he had the nerve to tell me he was going on a date,” Jewell told Elsie.
“Well, what do you expect? You won’t give him the time of day unless it relates to Tyson. You can’t expect him to be celibate.”
“Shit! I don’t want him dating.”
“Then you have a decision to make.”
Elsie was telling Jewell that she had a decision to make, but she was no closer to making one herself. She knew she needed to get real and honest about what she was doing and who she would be doing it with. Her love life was a mess, and it was all her fault. For the past couple of weeks, she had been seeing a lot of Janay. At the same time, she tried to give Summer attention so she wouldn’t become suspicious, but it was taking its toll. She knew she couldn’t keep this up much longer. What she needed to do was just come clean.
Jewell wanted to get off the subject. “Let’s get everyone together and have dinner later.”
“I’d like that,” Elsie responded.
“I’ll call everyone.”
After they hung up, Jewell called Crystal and told her the plans. Crystal agreed to call Susan. She ended up leaving a message on Susan’s cell phone.
Susan was in with her therapist, who had asked her how the habit developed. “Well,” Susan told her, “after I graduated from high school, I didn’t touch it for some time, but once I started college, I picked it up again.”
“Why is that?” Dr. Elliot asked.
“To study, to keep me wide awake. I was popping No-Doz like there was no tomorrow. Eventually they didn’t work as well, and I knew several others student were sniffing coke. They seemed to have energy that lasted for days.”
“You weren’t afraid?”
“Not really, because the couple of times that I did it with Timothy, it made me feel like I could conquer the world. Plus, the way I figured it, I was strong. There was no way I would get addicted.”
“When did you figure out that you were?”
Susan looked up. “Just recently. I thought that because I was running a business, paying my bills, still doing all that I’ve done, that there was no way I was an addict. Then I realized that I couldn’t get through my day without at least one hit.”
Susan was starting to look forward to her days with Dr. Elliot. She found herself able to open up more with each session. It wasn’t easy at all. Some days she craved cocaine like it was the last piece of dessert on earth, but she refused to break down. Timothy helped her get through most days. He’d talk to her or they would do something together. Susan had even joined a gym.
Susan glanced at her watch and said, “I think my hour is up.”
Dr. Elliot looked at the clock and said, “You’re right.”
They stood up and as Susan turned to leave, Dr. Elliot told her, “Susan, you’re doing great. I believe that you will overcome this. You just have to believe it as well.”<
br />
That was just what Susan needed to hear. “Thanks.”
When Susan entered the hallway, she turned the ringer back on her cell phone and noticed that she had missed a call. She pressed the button and saw Crystal’s number. When she dialed the number, it just rang. She must be on the other line, Susan thought.
THE TRUTH COMES OUT
“Lange, there’s something I need to tell you.” Crystal and Lange were out to lunch. She was tired of holding it in. She needed to tell Lange about the time she’d seen Lena in the mall with another man. She knew some things were better left unsaid, but she was feeling guilty. She also knew that what Lena said about wanting Lange to move back home played a part in this decision.
“What is it?” Lange asked, hearing the seriousness of her tone. “Did you talk to Lena?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“Well, before I tell you what she wanted to talk to me about, I need to tell you this first. I know I should have told you a long time ago, when it first happened, but—”
“Just spit it out, for goodness sake.” She was making him nervous.
“I saw Lena with another man a few nights before the office party,” she blurted out.
Lange shook his head. “What did you say?”
She repeated herself and added, “I know I should have told you when it happened, but I was afraid to. I didn’t want you to think I was just telling you because I was attracted to you.”
“Well, why are you telling me this now?”
“Because Lena asked me to ask you to move back in.”
Lange looked at Crystal like she’d lost her mind. “She did what?”
“She asked me—”
“I heard you, I just don’t understand why she would come to you.”
“I think she knows about us, or at least suspects something. The way she looked at me, well, it was very uncomfortable.”
“You should have told me what you knew, Crystal.”
“I know, Lange, and I’m sorry.”
“We’re supposed to be friends, almost soul mates.”
“What do you want me to say?” Crystal reached across the table and held onto his hand.
Standing up, Lange said, “I think I should leave.”
