The woman stood, her eyes now dry and bright with the hope of a new day. Vivian walked over as the woman turned to go. “He whom the Son sets free is free indeed!”
“No doubt,” Tai said as she watched the woman walk away with confidence. “No doubt.” They continued walking toward the entrance, being stopped every few feet by more thankful summit participants. Finally, they reached the entrance where Vivian’s car awaited them. It had been a long, yet fruitful day, and both Vivian and Tai looked forward to an evening of relaxation before the usual strenuous Sunday services the next day.
Traffic was light as Vivian deftly navigated down La Cienega Boulevard, turning right on Slauson Avenue and heading toward the beach community of Playa del Rey via the 90 Freeway. She punched the talk button on her hands-free cell phone to call Derrick, whom she felt she barely saw these days. He’d been incredibly understanding during this busy time, even volunteering to watch the children himself a time or two in lieu of the nanny. Vivian smiled as she thought of the ways she’d pay him back for his consideration.
“Hello?” His voice could still move her.
“Hey, baby.”
“Viv, where you at?”
“I’m headed to Penguins in Playa. Tai and I are going to grab a quick bite and then take a walk on the beach to unwind.”
“Aw, baby, I was going to take you to dinner tonight. Mother Moseley has taken the kids to a movie, along with a couple of her grandkids.”
Vivian could hear the disappointment in his voice. It mirrored her own. Yet, as she stole a quick glance at her friend, she knew this time she was spending with Tai was invaluable. Her friend needed her more than ever, and she knew she could do nothing else but be there. “I tell you what,” she continued, lowering her voice and adopting a smoky, sensual tone as she spoke. “You go ahead and grab some dinner, and later, when I get home, I’ll make sure you get dessert.”
Derrick’s low moan was clear evidence that he’d gotten her drift.
“Well, baby, you know nobody serves up dessert like you do. How could I say no to an offer like that?”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t be able to.”
“You hoped correctly.”
“Okay. I’ll see you soon. Love you, babe.” Vivian clicked off from Derrick and immediately punched in another speed dial number. Her precocious nine-year-old picked up the line.
“Yo, what up?”
“What up?” Vivian asked slowly and pointedly.
“Oh, hi, Mom!” Derrick answered a bit sheepishly, having thought this was his friend Malcolm whom he’d just paged. “I thought you were someone else.”
“Not your English teacher, I hope. Derrick, I’ve told you how I object to you using that ridiculous street language, no matter how cool it is. I want to hear sentences from you—subjects, nouns and verbs. Are you listening?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Good. How are you doing, baby? Where’s your sister?”
“She’s over at the video games. Daddy let us go with Miss Moseley to the movies. I’m getting ready to buy some popcorn.”
“Well, be a good boy and offer to buy Miss Moseley’s snacks, too, okay?”
“Okay.”
“And look after your sister. I want you guys to have a good time and not get into any trouble. Do you understand me?”
“I hear you, Mom. I’ll be good, promise.” Vivian could hear the cashier asking for D-2’s order. “I gotta go. Love you.”
“Love you, too, baby.”
Vivian and Tai entered the quaint, candle-filled restaurant a short time later. It was about an hour before the dinner crowd would start to arrive, and mid-September when most of the summer vacationers had returned to their homes, so there weren’t many others in the establishment. The waiter seated them at a small table by the window and came back a short time later with a glass of Perrier with lime for Vivian and a glass of Merlot for Tai. They decided to split an order of manicotti and ordered individual Caesar salads. A basket of warm Italian bread was placed between them, and small bowls artistically filled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar were deposited in front of them as they spoke.
“Vivian,” Tai began, taking a piece of bread and dipping it into the oil and vinegar creation. “Don’t ever take for granted how blessed you are to have a good marriage.”
Vivian paused, chewing her bread and taking a swallow of water before answering. “I don’t. I know Derrick and I are blessed, and I’m grateful. Don’t think we don’t have our disagreements, because we do. But we’re committed to having a successful marriage, and we work very hard to keep it fresh, keep it interesting.”
“What do you do? To keep it fresh, I mean.”
Vivian hesitated. Tai was her friend and all, but some things just weren’t meant to be shared outside the bedroom! “Now, girlfriend, you’re asking a lot,” she began playfully. “I can’t tell you all our secrets, but if I can swear you to secrecy, I will tell you one.”
There was a twinkle in Tai’s eyes as she leaned forward. “I swear I won’t tell a soul.”
“Well,” Vivian began tentatively, knowing the impact her following statement would make. “I let Derrick sleep with other women.”
Tai brought the wine away from her mouth, placing the glass gingerly on the table. She grabbed a napkin to catch the wine she’d been trying to swallow, a drop of which was now running down her cheek. Small splotches of red wine dotted the crisp, white linen tablecloth as well as her baby pink sweats. “Girl, stop! You could have told me anything but this! Derrick and other women?” Tai once again reached for the wineglass and took a long sip, a wide-eyed stare trained on Vivian.
“Sorry, girl! I didn’t mean to make you spill your wine,” Vivian stated, almost sorry she’d misled Tai. “But it’s not what you’re thinking.”
“Well, what is it then?”
“I’m always the other woman.”
“Girl, what are you talking about?”
Vivian began again, her voice low, her eyes twinkling. “See, I’ve got all these outfits representing different women. I’ve got wigs, glasses, all kinds of costuming to help me transform into whomever Derrick wants to be with that night. If he wants to be with a hootchie, I’ve got the booty-hugging, jungle-print miniskirt. If he wants a blond beach babe, I’ve got the waist-length blond wig for him to sink his fingers in and the thong bikini for him to wrap his hands around.”
Tai was staring at Vivian as if she were a stranger. Vivian went on.
“If he wants a Las Vegas showgirl, I’ve got the sequins and the glitter, the feathers and the pumps. If he wants a stripper, well, you get the picture.”
Tai, still staring, shook her head slowly from side to side. A slow, earnest smile teetered briefly at the corners of her mouth before widening into a cat-who-ate-the-canary grin. “My, my, my—you have been holding out on me, haven’t you? Now I find out Mrs. First Lady of the West is wearing Daisy Dukes, thongs and feathers! You go, girl!”
“This actually started several years ago. Derrick was having problems with this woman at church. He was really attracted to her and he told me so. Of course I was upset. No woman likes to know her husband is attracted to somebody else. It made me feel insecure, question my beauty, and his fidelity.”
Tai nodded her understanding.
“But in the end, I was glad he told me. Once I was convinced he wasn’t sleeping with her, it allowed us to work the problem out together. I asked him what it was about her that attracted him. He told me it was a sexual hunger she radiated, and her legs. I had to admit she was sexy, and always wore these short, tight skirts.
“Well, I decided to fight fire with fire. I went shopping, and when I got finished, I called Derrick. I told him I had thought a lot about his dilemma and had actually found someone with the attributes he lusted after. I convinced him to go to this hotel and talk to the woman, that she was a friend of mine who I felt, after he spent time with her, would free him of his physical obsession with the redhead.”
“Oh, not easily. I had to do a selling job like nobody’s business. First I told him she was a therapist and it would only be a mental exercise. He still balked. So I played the money card—said I’d flown her in, paid a large nonrefundable fee, put her up in the Four Seasons and couldn’t contact her as she had been instructed not to answer the phone.”
Tai leaned back, enjoying Vivian’s playful dalliance with deceit. “I bet that got him out of the office.”
“Faster than you can say cha-ching.”
“And when he knocked on the door, there you were.”
“In a fuschia, barely-there halter top and air-constricting miniskirt. I had on four-inch shiny gold pumps. The red wig I wore dusted the top of my behind, and when I kissed him, I left a coat of fire red lipstick on his shocked lips.” Vivian laughed at the memory. “We made love all night long. Shortly afterward, Miss Redhead moved her membership, and Derrick never mentioned her again.”
The women were silent as the waiter brought out their salads and refilled their glasses. They ate for a while, each deep in thought, before continuing the conversation.
“Maybe that’s what I should have done. Been more creative, given him more variety, lost the weight sooner.”
Vivian put down her fork and grabbed her friend’s hand. “Stop that right now. Don’t sit here blaming yourself for King’s actions. Remember, you’re talking to someone who was with you from the beginning, and no one could have loved King, tried to please King, more than you. His affairs are his fault, his problem, and I don’t want you sitting here taking the blame.”
“But I am partly to blame.” Tai spoke softly but without sadness. Vivian was ready to interrupt, but Tai stopped her. “No, I am. Believe me, girl, being here has been good for me, away from him, away from the children. It’s given me time to think.
“King and I never really had time to ourselves. Michael was already on the way when we got married, and he was barely out of diapers when Princess came along. Almost immediately, my focus became the children and his became the church, and somewhere along the way, we lost focus of each other.
“There were definitely times when I could have been more of a wife to King. But then, after the affairs started, I became so resentful, so full of bitterness, that I stopped really trying. Part of me never really forgave him for the way he hurt me, the way he made me feel inadequate. And at the same time, I now realize that allowing him to make me feel inadequate was too much power to give any man.
“There were times I’d go for weeks without letting him touch me, especially after I found out his ass had been with someone else. Oh, baby, the store would close up quick. And then I started making him wear a condom.”
“A condom, Tai?”
“Well, I didn’t know where his dick had been. I didn’t want to be sleeping with all the people he’d slept with and all the people they’d slept with.” Tai’s face had taken on a look of defiance.
Vivian hesitated. How could she really blame Tai for that? “I guess I can see where you’re coming from,” she began hesitantly. “But wow, Tai. I remember Derrick and me trying to use a condom one time, and we were both so frustrated, we quickly gave up that idea. Instead I got on the pill so—”
“It didn’t do much for our sex life either,” Tai interrupted. “And it would never last long. After a time or two he’d forget to put it on and I’d forget to ask him to. King has always satisfied me in bed, so it didn’t take much to make me forget.
“I’ve had time to really take a keen look back at how, when and why things changed in our marriage. I haven’t been a perfect wife, Viv—”
“Nobody is,” Vivian interjected.
Tai became quiet, taking in the ocean view. The gentle rhythm of the tide contrasted with the storm in her soul. “I talked to King before I left,” she said, still looking out the window. “Told him it was time to decide—her or me.”
Vivian studied her friend intently. “What did he say?”
Tai met Vivian’s eye. “Nothing.”
“Have you talked to him since?”
“Believe it or not, it seems like more now since I’ve been in L.A. than the last two months I’ve been home.”
“Maybe that’s a good sign.”
“It could be. We don’t discuss anything deep, the kids mostly and the church. The conversations don’t last long. No matter what he says, I’m sticking to my decision. It’s either April or our marriage. I’m serious. When I go back home, either she goes or I do. And this time, it’s going to be for good. I’m going to get a divorce.”
Vivian paused as the waiter delivered their mouth-watering manicotti.
“I know that decision didn’t come easy,” she said as he walked away. “It’s a big step.”
“Yes, it is, and I’m ready to take it.”
“It will be tough on you, and tougher on the children.”
“They are what have made this decision so hard. But Michael and Princess know about their father’s indiscretions, have for years, and the twins aren’t stupid; they know King and I aren’t getting along.
“Besides, I like sex. I miss sex. And before I dry up, I’d rather cut my losses, make a clean break and pray that God will send me somebody who will love me faithfully and solely, for the rest of my life.”
“You deserve that kind of love, Tai. I want that for you more than anything in the world.”
Tai sat back and crossed her arms. “Can I tell you something?”
Vivian didn’t miss the gleam that flashed into her friend’s eyes. “Sure.”
“I’ve got a secret admirer.”
“Unh-unh!”
“Girl, I’m serious.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know, it’s a secret, dummy!”
“Details, girl, give ’em up!”
“Well, I know it’s somebody at the college. In the couple weeks before I came here, someone was leaving little niceties on my windshield. A couple cards, a long-stemmed rose, one day a coupon for a smoothie at this trendy juice bar.”
“And you have no idea?”
“I have suspicions. There’s this professor that always goes out of his way to speak whenever he sees me. And my computer teacher is always flirting with me. He flirts with everybody, though.”
“Get outta here! I didn’t even know you had Black instructors.”
“Did I say they were Black?”
“Oh—my—God.”
“That’s right, girl, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.” Tai started laughing, and Vivian couldn’t help but join in.
“Now, look,” Vivian began, trying to adopt a seriousness that she didn’t feel. “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
“Oh, girl. I didn’t say I was going to run to the nearest hotel or jump in the first backseat offered. But I do find both men attractive. Come to think of it, I never paid much attention to men of other races before. I never paid attention to anybody, except King.”
Vivian shook her head. Tai had thrown a curve.
“The professor’s fine—curly, thick brown hair with smoky gray eyes.” Tai cocked her head, visually picturing him as she went on. “I’d say he’s in his fifties, ’cause he’s got touches of gray at the temples and a little streak through his hair. But he must work out because he’s in good shape and he works wonders for a pair of jeans.”
“Stop!”
“I’m only admiring God’s creation!”
“Uh-huh.”
“My instructor, Mike, is a little cutie, but I’m really not interested. If he’s thirty I’d be surprised. But he’s got this crooked, mischievous smile and the blond-haired, blue-eyed hearty looks of a Nordic Viking. He’s very affectionate, always grabbing my hand, rubbing my arms. And it’s been so long since King’s rubbed anything that chile’—”
“Girl, you know you need to quit. You better get to church bright and early tomorrow ’cause you know you need prayer.” Tai and Vivian shared a laugh t
hen as they finished their meal and headed for the beach. Vivian found herself hurrying. All that talk of rubbing and grabbing had made her ready for “dessert.”
I am the resurrection and the life
King had just stepped from the shower when he heard the front doors close. That would be the twins, he thought as he toweled himself vigorously. He poured a generous dollop of cocoa butter lotion in his hand and rubbed it on his feet and toes before moving up to his calves, knees, thighs, genitals and buttocks. He poured another handful and wiped down his arms, hands and chest. He hated being ashy.
Sex in the Sanctuary Page 24
