BOMAW 1-3

by Mercedes Keyes

  Shawn shook his head laughing, "Mundo was right, you are tight!"

  "Mundo can kiss my hinder! This ain't none of his business! This between you and I, if you trust in me to be your wife, then you trust in me to handle the money. I don't need no new house, I need to check our account... and feel secure... that's what I need. So what's it gonna be?" She crossed her arms over her breasts and looked down at him.

  Shawn was smiling in the dark and put his hands beneath his head looking up at her dark image staring down at him.

  "So... what does this all entail... you handling the money?" He asked.

  "I pay the bills, I monitor the spending... I yea or nay purchases and keep us out of debt. Everyone will continue to eat, we will always have lights and fuel, insurance, maintenance on the cars, everything taken care of ... by me."

  "And my credit cards?"

  "They come to me."

  "All of them!"

  "Every single one Shawn... because you too quick with the card, you need to learn to go for the cheaper alternative - see you done got fed that nonsense you get what you pay for! In some instances... it certainly is true - but in others, the cheaper will do."

  "At least let me keep one!"

  "Which one has the least amount of credit on it?"

  Shawn started laughing rolling in the bed shaking his head. "You gotta be kidding me!? Are you serious?!"

  "Do I look like I'm serious? You doggone right I'm serious, now which one has the least amount on it? That's the one you can keep. But - I don't want you to use it, its for emergencies only! I'll give you money each week to spend."

  "WHAT?!" He sat up in the bed next to her.

  "Will you hush man for you wake up these kids."

  "Well they better sleep through it! How much money are you talking about giving me?"

  "Well what do you need money for? I'll keep gas in all the vehicles, food in the house, I'll keep you supplied with your paints. But come to think of it, most of the stuff you do, you can do in that computer... you don't really neeeeed to paint!"

  "WHAT?!"

  "Shhhhh! Okay okay okay... I'll keep the painting supplies coming, but still... you don't need that much money on you. You don't smoke, you don't drink - much that is... so what are you going to do with it?"

  Shawn sat staring through the dark at her in disbelief, he was speechless, his brain jammed up and went completely blank.

  "See... you can't even think of anything to spend it on... you have all the clothes you need, and when you need more, I'll buy them."

  "I don't want no Kmart - Walmart clothes!" He complained.

  "Ain't nothing wrong with Walmart - Mr. California-man! You want a big family... well here we go! Time to tighten it up baby! Now... how much money you want a week? Twenty-five or thirty dollars?"

  "Twe- Thir... oh hell! I'll spend that in five minutes right here in town!" He argued.

  "Not unless you wanna be broke you won't."

  "Oh no no no - I protest! I don't even wanna hear about anything less than a hundred dollars!"

  "A week Shawn?!"

  "Yeah!"

  "Four hundred dollars a month Shawn!? You spend four hundred dollars a month?!"

  "No." He answered gulping.

  "More or less?"

  "I'm not telling you."

  "Shawn, I'm telling you now... there ain't no reason in the world, for no body to be spending four hundred dollars a month! So if you have been, you can kiss -(She gave a gestured kiss to her hand)- those days goodbye! Goodnight!" And she turned over on her side of the bed.

  "What do you mean, goodnight?! I'm not done yet... that's not a lot of money."

  "Goodnight Shawn... we'll talk about it tomorrow."

  "I wanna talk about it tonight. Okay okay... eighty a week... can I get eighty a week?"

  "Thirty Shawn."

  "Seventy-five?"

  "Thirty-five."

  "Seventy?"

  "Thirty-five."

  "Hey... you were suppose to move up more!"

  "Thirty-five- ninety-nine."

  "Sixty and you got yourself a deal."

  Sylvia was quiet and thinking, then said, "Forty-five and that's it Shawn."

  "What am I gonna do with forty-five dollars a week?"

  "Save it... put it away, let it build up... then buy something."

  He threw himself back on the bed like a spoiled little boy, pouting. Then came up with an idea, "If I can earn a little extra on the side outside of my check I get each month, that's mine to keep right?"

  "Well if you can do that... you don't need the forty-five!"

  "Aye! The forty-five is mine! But if I make a little extra on the side... is that mine?"

  Sylvia sighed thinking about it, "Yeah Shawn... that's yours."

  "No matter how much it might come to?"

  "Why, you going back to Melba's?" She turned to him to ask.

  "Shit... with you holding the purse strings, I may have to!"

  Sylvia turned over laughing, "Goodnight my husband." She got a grunt in return and laughed even more.

  Chapter 66

  Monday morning, everyone in the house was up except Crystal. Sylvia had to call her job and call the school with the numbers that Mundo gave her, telling them that they had a family emergency and she would be off for the next few days. Since Crystal had never taken a day off, they put her on vacation because she had plenty of time saved up. Shawn and Mundo took Angela to school and disappeared for the entire morning, ticking Sylvia off because then she was left to deal with the boys alone. She fed them breakfast, dressed them and left them to watch Sesame Street while she cleaned up the house. Mundo left the basement a mess, didn't fold up the sofa sleeper, had been munching out of the refrigerator at night, and left dishes in the sink in the small kitchenette in the basement, she was not happy. Mumbling to herself, "Oh no he did not! I know he know me! Lord knows he gone hear it from me when they get back here!"

  On the way upstairs, the phone rang. "Hello?"

  "Hello Sylvia Payne?"

  "Yes?"

  "This is detective Meridoc - ummm, this call is concerning Ray Olivetti."

  "Oh... they've set a new court date?"

  "No... he's dead."

  "What? He's dead? Oh... ummm, how?"

  "That's what we're trying to find out. We found that there are strange circumstance surrounding his death, things that just don't add up. We would like to question you, and Mr. McPherson, we rang his number but received no answer there."

  "Oh... ummm, that's because he's here now... we're due to be married in a few days... and I don't wish my kids to know about the case with Ray Olivetti, so we will have to come in there for any questioning."

  "That's fine... can it be a day this week?"

  "I would rather not, we really are pressed in our schedule for our up and coming wedding, we're getting married Friday."

  "Sorry Ms. Payne... its going to have to be this week."

  Sylvia exhaled dramatically. "I'll have to call you back when Shawn gets home, can I get your number where to reach you?"

  "Sure, have a pen?"

  "Just a minute." Sylvia put the phone down and went to her office and saw her daughter cross the hall and go straight into the bathroom, she looked terrible. "Crystal? You okay?" She asked at the bathroom door.

  "Yeah... I'm okay."

  "You hungry?"

  "No mama... I'm fine... I gotta get going, I have to drop the boys off at day care and head to work."

  "I've already taken care of that. We'll talk when you come out." Sylvia said and went for the pen and paper, returning, she wrote down his name and number and promised to get back to him that day.

  Crystal washed up, and came out looking at her boys, her mind on the race to figure out how to get through this day without Victor. "Mom we have to go, I can't believe it's 11:30! Why did you guys let me sleep so long. Come on Isaac, find your shoes."

  "Crystal... leave him and come sit down... Isaac... go back and watch t.v. ba
by."

  "Mama... we have to go!"

  "No... what you have to do is come and sit down... right now. I've called your job and the school. Your job has put you on vacation for the next week, and you need it."

  "Mama why'd you do that!"

  "Come - sit - down... now!"

  Crystal walked over to the table and flopped down in a chair, her eyes were puffy, she looked like she needed to sleep for at least 6 more hours.

  "I want you to listen to me. I don't want you to talk yet... just listen. Understand?"

  Crystal nodded, her eyes were tearing up - she needed to move, she couldn't just sit there, her stomach was hurting and she was fighting back a pain that was holding on so tight, she needed to move or lose her sanity.

  "Shawn has talked to Victor, he's talked to Mundo, and I've listened to you. Now I want you to listen to us, to me... when Shawn gets home-..."

  He and Mundo stepped onto the kitchen porch as she said his name, coming into the house. They looked at Crystal, Mundo eyes softened to see his sister the way she was, she looked like she was barely holding on, and her breathing was getting deep, her eyes were once again filling with tears.

  "I was just getting ready to talk to her." Sylvia started. Shawn was looking at Crystal, her deep breathing and struggle to keep control.

  "She needs to walk Sylvie... Crystal... come on lets go for a walk... lets just walk... okay... come on... please? Come on."

  She stood fighting back crying and walked toward him, he made eye contact with Sylvia, "Come with us?" He asked, Sylvia considered it, then changed her mind, "No... you two go."

  He turned and they did, headed out and started walking down the country road that passed some farms, it was a slight chill in the air, Crystal walked quietly beside Shawn with her arms crossed before her, holding her sweater closed. The cool air in her face was helping, she took several deep breaths as they walked. He waited until they were a quarter of a mile from the house and asked, "Your heart still beating fast?"

  She looked at him then, "Yeah... a little."

  "Let's trot?"

  "What?"

  "You heard me... let's trot... just a shuffle run... just a slight one." He started moving a head of her and then turned backwards facing her, as he trotted backwards, she was looking at him like he was crazy, "Well come on... you can't trot?"

  "I don't feel like trotting!"

  "Do it anyway... for me... please... come on."

  "This is ridiculous!"

  "I know... come on... just a little shuffle trot... breath a little... come on."

  She sighed deep and started up for him, "That's it... keep it going..."

  "Do you know how ridiculous we look? Trotting down this country road... looking like a couple of morons."

  Shawn chuckled, "Speed it up then little mo'! Come on!"

  "ACH! Little mo'?!"

  "I'm bigger than you, so you can call me Big mo'... how's that?" He winked, she smiled and shook her head.

  "I guess. Its not that I can't run, I just don't feel like it."

  "Well you're not doing too bad for not feeling like it... keep it up."

  "How far are we going?"

  "As far as it takes."

  "As far as what takes?"

  "As far as it takes to burn off all that frustrated energy. There's quite a bit, that's why your heart's racing, we have to channel it, burn it, and then we can talk... so keep running. I'm right here with you."

  "You know what... you crazy, you got me out here running like some kind of fool, only white people do crazy stuff like this... you know that don't you?"

  "Starting to feel better already I see."

  "No I'm not, I fail to see what this is going to accomplish... I have to get to work-..."

  "You're on vacation."

  "I need to get to school."

  "School can wait a day or more."

  She said nothing more and just trotted beside him, picking up her pace a bit, she didn't like to trot, she preferred to run. He speeded up right with her, she suddenly felt as if she could just run and never stop, and so she kept going, Shawn kept on with her.

  "You think I'm crazy?" She finally asked controlling her breathing.

  "No."

  "You just saying that?"

  "No."

  "I think I'm crazy."

  "Why?"

  "Just because... I am."

  "Well it doesn't work that way. A crazy person who is indeed crazy, doesn't realize it... they just are, and seem perfectly normal to themselves. I happen to think there are other things going on."

  "Like what?"

  "Ooooh... you're trying too hard to prove something. Probably to people or before people that don't even count. Do one thing at a time Crystal, especially now that you have two boys to care for. Either work... or go to school... but don't do both."

  "Yeah... well, I'm not quitting school... I've come too far, and struggled too long to get where I am, I have to finish. And I have to work... especially now that Victor's gone."

  "I think you should just go to school, and deal with the boys and yourself."

  "Emmm, good thought... problem is... life's expensive. Children are expensive, to live... you need money."

  "Victor will be giving you child support."

  "It's not gonna pay the rent though is it?"

  "No... its not. Does finishing school really mean that much to you?"

  "Yes it does."

  "How much does it mean to you?"

  "Well not more than my kids... but it means a lot to me to finish."

  "Would you sacrifice to finish?"

  "I already have."

  "Will you sacrifice more?"

  Crystal stopped, taking deep breaths, and turned to him, "What are you getting at?"

  "Your mother and I, we want you to finish school. We think you should. We also think, that in order to do it, and do it right, you need to let something go."

  "Like what?"

  "Your job."

  "And how am I to live?"

  "With us."

  Crystal stared at him.

  "Your mom and I can help you by taking the boys to day care and preschool. Victor will be providing child support for money, while your mom and I fund you for the rest of what you need. We also want you to go to the doctor, I personally think... an herbal doctor as well wouldn't hurt. I think you need to be on a really good supplement. I don't think you're eating right. I don't think you're getting enough rest. I think you're overwhelmed. And I think you have too much pride to stop and say... help... somebody help me. I'm not your father, so I can't tell you what to do. But Crystal... you need us right now. You need help and you know it. If you don't stop... think... and come to grips with certain things right now... right here and now... things are going to get worse... not better. I know - that you know... what I'm saying is true. Because you're smart as hell. If... if, you play your cards right, and make sense of it all now... and start to fix it... if... you want to... you might - be able to save your marriage. If not... you will at least be able to save yourself. I'm asking you to please, look at me, and see that what your mother and I are offering you... is a chance to make things right for yourself. While you may have been wrong in other things that are eating you up inside... make this right decision... and rest... so you can re-energize and get back on track."

  "I'm not your responsibility. My mom is your responsibility. I made my bed... and I'll lie it."

  "Crystal... its time for you to make a different bed for yourself. People do it all the time, throw out that old lumpy mattress, and bring in a new one, guaranteed better sleep. Darlin'... don't walk away from this... don't continue to punish yourself. Victor is a big boy, he'll recover. Do this Crystal... for once, ignore your head, and listen to your heart. I'll tell you what... I know you're straight foreword, look me in the eye and tell me... you don't need any help... and I'll drop it now." Shawn focused his eyes straight on her light brown eyes, and she stared at him until they watered up on her. />
  "I'm so..." She stated, then stopped.

  "What... say it."

  "I'm so tired... I just... I just want everything to just stop... just for a while... cause I can't breathe... I can't - breathe."

  Shawn pulled her into his arms; she clung back to him.

  "Okay... well... now you can ... now you can. Take a deep breath... another one... and say... I need to come home."

  She stood on the side of the road holding him, clinging tight and said in his neck, "I need - need to - to come home... I need to come home."

  "Good girl... good girl... now lets head back." They turned and started walking back, Shawn kept his arms around her, she kept hers on him for a moment more, then felt self-conscience and pulled away. "Where will we all sleep?"

  "We'll make due, how'd you sleep last night?"

  "I slept fine."

  "Well there you go. The boys slept fine as well, I think you should move your things into storage for a while and just move into my house with the boys while we work to add on, we have plenty of room... everything will be just fine."

  "Its just temporary... until I sort things out... and... can deal with everything."

  "Of course... we'll take it one day at a time."

  "Okay... okay."

  * * *

  "Doris... this is Gert. I'm looking for Jake, I left him a message on his answering machine... but I haven't heard from him yet... is he there?"

  "You just missed him. He's going out of town to deliver some timber to Minnesota... he'll be back day after tomorrow."

  "Damn him... slippery as an eel!"

  "What is it about Gert?"

  "Its personal. I'll have to catch him when he returns... oh... his cell phone, give me that new number of his, I keep misplacing it."

  "Okay... hang on." Doris answered and left the phone, returning a moment later, and read off the number to Gert.

  "Thank you... you coming to the wedding Friday?" Gert asked.

  "I wish I could, but I'll be out of town this weekend with my kids, I tried to get Jake to come, but he says he can't come, he has to go to his brothers wedding."

  "Yeah well... to be honest with you, I'm wishing you would take him on with you. Never mind... I'll get a hold of him myself. Bye bye."