The Sunday Brunch Diaries

by Norma L. Jarrett

  “Man, why are y’all acting like women up in there? I’ve been ready,” Chris yelled from the living room. Chris was still in awe of the spacious suite. He hadn’t thought anything could top the ride over on Kelvin Jeffries’s private jet.

  “Perfection takes some time,” Anthony said as he came out of the bathroom. “Where the heck is Rex?”

  “Man, I haven’t seen him since lunch. That fool’s been gone all day. Anybody try to call him?” Kevin said as he dropped on the couch and grabbed the remote.

  “Yeah, he called. He’s on the way. He said he went to the mall to pick up something to wear.”

  “Dude had the most luggage . . . never mind,” Anthony said. There was a knock on the door.

  “I bet that’s him now,” Kevin said as he opened the door.

  “What?” Rex said as he walked in and met their stares. “I told you I needed to go to the mall. Man, they have some nice shops out here.”

  “I can’t believe he came to Vegas to shop, like we don’t have a thousand malls in Houston,” Chris said. “Oh, I gotta call my baby to see if she’s feeling okay.”

  They all rolled their eyes. “Man, you gonna kill the vibe,” Kevin said.

  “Go ’head Chris. That’s what you need to be doing. Don’t listen to Kevin. That Negro stays in the doghouse,” Anthony said.

  “Well, he needs to do it on the way out, because we are about to head to the Palms,” Kevin added as if he was in control of the agenda.

  As soon as they reached the top floor their mouths dropped.

  “Ah man, I knew it. None of these women have clothes on,” Octavio said.

  “I know, I know,” Chris said, trying to keep his eyes front and center. Part of him felt ashamed but the other half of him couldn’t help but enjoy the scenery.

  “Fellas, it’s gonna be alright,” Anthony reminded them.

  “Look at ole girl over there in the white bikini,” Kevin said. “Is there a pool up in here or what? Why you so quiet?” He looked at Octavio who was standing still.

  “Nothin’, nothing man. There’s just a lot going on in here.” He tried hard not to stare at the tall Latin beauty who had just walked by and winked. “God, please help me. I can’t handle this right now.” He repeated to himself, “I’m in love with Angel, I love Angel.”

  Once they got to the VIP area, bottles of Moët and Cristal started flowing.

  “We need to make a toast,” Anthony said. Although none of them normally drank, they each had a glass raised. “To my brothers . . . work hard and play hard.”

  After he took a sip, Anthony noticed a woman with shapely long legs appear in the VIP area. He stared for a moment. “Michaela?” he uttered.

  “Anthony?” As she walked over to him, his mouth was still open a bit. He stood up, kissed her on the cheek, and grabbed her hand.

  “What are you doing here?” he said, still holding her hand. He tried not to stare, but she hadn’t changed at all from their college days, even though it’d been years since they’d seen each other. Her layered hair fell below her shoulders. Her skin was creamy and her voluptuous lips were moist with gloss. She wore a white kimono-style minidress with stiletto sandals. She was dripping with diamond hoop earrings and bracelets and wearing a huge diamond ring.

  “Oh, I’m here on business. I do marketing for an apparel company and we’re trying to promote some of our items. We have a contract with Kelvin and some of his teammates. I’ve been coming to this event for the past three years and I’ve never seen you here.” She smiled and batted her extra-long eyelashes at him.

  “I, um. We just decided to come.” Boy did that sound stupid. “Umm, you want to join us?”

  She looked around the cushioned booth and noticed all the men staring at her.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. These are my friends from Houston, Chris, Kevin, Octavio, and that’s Rex.” They each reached out to shake her hand. She nodded and smiled.

  “Michaela and I went to undergrad together.” He tried to put his hand over his wedding band, but he remembered it too late. He knew she’d already seen it.

  “Well, I gotta see a few people I know, but I would love to catch up. Gotta schmooze a bit, you know? You gonna be around for a while?” She smiled again and touched his arm lightly as she awaited his response.

  She always got me with that smile. “Oh, yeah. Not going anywhere.” He felt his phone vibrate. It scared him, causing him to spill his drink a little. “Oh, sorry about that, almost got it on you,” he said as he quickly composed himself. “No, don’t worry about it. We’ll catch up. It was good seeing you.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Really good.” She finally let go of his hand.

  As soon as she walked away his friends rushed him. “Man, who was that? She had it going on,” Kevin said.

  “Man, we used to mess around back in undergrad. She’s cool. She was the one that got away, I guess. I messed up,” Anthony said. “Okay, fellas, show’s over,” he said as he snapped back into reality.

  “Okay man, you’re supposed to be the strong one, talking about this as just a night of innocent fun,” Chris reminded him.

  “Yeah, an innocent night of fun,” Anthony said. He still could smell a trail of her perfume. “Yeah, yeah Chris,” he said, fully aware now. “It’s about the fellas tonight. Don’t even trip, it’s under control,” he said as he refocused his attention on his boys.

  Octavio was shaking his head. Rex just shrugged, then looked around, and Kevin started whistling. The music started pumping up. “Upgrade ya . . .” Once they heard the beat, they decided to leave the VIP area to mingle.

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  Revelation

  “Okay y’all I feel old,” Angel said. All the ladies were in her bedroom. “I can’t believe I have several gray hairs coming in.”

  “Girl, please, my mother was prematurely gray. It’s not a big deal. Just get some hair dye,” Jermane said. She got up and looked in the mirror. She turned around slightly to inspect her hips and thighs.

  “Jermane please, you don’t have an ounce of fat. You really make me sick,” I said.

  “Yeah, and she doesn’t even have to work out,” Capri added, as she rolled over on her side.

  “That’s not true,” Jermane said as she sat back on the bed. “My energy level isn’t the same.”

  “Ladies, this is a part of the process. We have to work a little harder, to be this beautiful,” Jewel said.

  “Yeah, this is true,” I agreed. “It’s just not fair, though. I don’t know why God designed some of the things the way he did.”

  “I’m thinking about doing that diet that Janet Jackson did. I can’t believe she lost all that weight,” Jewel said as she pinched the side of her stomach.

  “Jewel, please, you would evaporate,” Angel said.

  “Well, I just have this paranoia about weight. Want to do it with me, Lexi? No offense, but you have picked up some weight.”

  “For the love of God, Jewel, I’m pregnant!”

  She jumped on the bed. “Omigod! I knew it, I knew it.”

  Jermane ran over and yanked me up from where I was sitting. “Lexi, is it true? Oh sweetie, that’s wonderful.”

  For the next twenty minutes I was bombarded with all kinds of questions and showered with all kinds of sister-love. I was glad I finally let the cat out of the bag to everyone. I felt like I might need four godmothers.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

  High Rollers

  It was close to 1 a.m. Chris and Octavio had spent most of the night sitting in the VIP area. Rex had disappeared again. Kevin was busy eating and taking in the scenery, and Anthony and Michaela were talking again. They’d found a couch and sitting area outside on the balcony and gotten comfortable.

  “So how’d you end up getting into this business?” he asked as he leaned back to get comfortable.

  “Well,” she crossed her legs. Anthony could not help but glance at them. “This is my husband’s company. You remember I majored in fashion merchandising
, but marketing sort of comes natural for me.” She shook the loose wave away from her face.

  “Um. So where’s this husband now?” Anthony asked. Darn, that sounds so predictable.

  “Working in New York. He stays busy. Typical Type A personality.”

  “So he lets you run around the streets of Vegas alone.”

  “He trusts me. Besides I’m a big girl,” she said as she licked her lips. “What about you? Where’s wifey?” She raised her eyebrows.

  “Home. Other than games, I don’t get away much. This was one of my first trips with my boys since I’ve been married.”

  “Yeah, I can tell. You all looked so stiff. Well at least I helped ward off some of the gold diggers.”

  “Yeah. You sure did, at least for a little while.” He winked his eye.

  “I’ve done my deed for the night. Your wife’s a lucky lady. Well, Anthony Stanton, I’m getting ready to call it a night.”

  Before he knew it he’d jumped up to grab her hand. “You’re gonna be okay, right? Do you need me to get you a cab or anything?” No, that was not the right thing to say. He was surprised at himself.

  “No, no. I have a few friends still here. But perhaps we can stay in touch. Maybe we can do some business together.” She reached in her purse for a business card. Right before she walked off, she grabbed a pen and wrote something on the back. When she placed it in his hand, he stood there speechless.

  He realized she’d given him a room key and her room information on the back of her card. He shoved the items in his pants pocket. He rubbed the back of his neck, then his face. “Wow, this is wild.” He reached in his pocket again and felt his cellphone. He pulled it out and noticed four missed calls from Capri. “It’s all good, I haven’t done anything,” he thought. But he wondered why he was feeling guilty.

  CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

  Lay Your Head on My Pillow

  Anthony cleared his throat and felt his chest. He rolled over and felt the other side of the bed. His throat was extremely dry. He didn’t sit up right away. He just stayed there with his eyes closed. He noticed the clock on the stand. 4:30 a.m. He noticed it was still dark outside. As soon as he moved a little more he heard a sigh. It was coming to him. He wasn’t in Houston and Capri was not the woman next to him. He quickly rolled over on his back and his eyes sprang open. He wanted to jump up, turn on the light, and run. Oh crap.

  Anthony was paralyzed, unsure of what to do. Then he felt Michaela snuggle under him.

  “Umm,” she purred.

  I’m stuck. Darn. In the midst of his panic, he noticed how warm and comfortable her body felt. She had on a large T-shirt, so he didn’t feel all her skin, but it was her legs that did it for him. He wrapped his hands around her waist and allowed his hand to touch her leg slightly. How’d I get here? Then he remembered the bottle of champagne that was left in the living room of her suite. “Two old friends.” That’s how it all started.

  She moved and grabbed his hand. She wrapped it tightly around her. He had to admit, it felt so right. But then he thought, “I’m kidding myself, since when does sin ever feel bad?”

  She locked her fingers in his hand and brought his hand to her leg.

  Oh no. Despite his thoughts he followed her lead. She rolled over and it was clear she was fully awake. She took her hand and traced his lips and finally reached up to kiss him.

  Anthony didn’t do anything. He didn’t kiss her back, he didn’t move her hands. All he could see was Capri’s face. Then all of a sudden he grabbed her and kissed her back.

  “Dude, where is he? Capri has called me twice. I can’t be lying to her,” Kevin said. “Soon I’m gonna get in trouble.”

  “Man, calm down. I don’t know what he could have been thinking about,” Chris said as he paced the living room floor. “I told you this was a bad idea. We couldn’t just hang out in Houston. We had to come to the mecca of sin.”

  “Okay, let’s not overreact. You have to admit, we had a pretty good time and most of us have been acting like we got some sense,” Kevin said.

  Rex poured himself some coffee. “What the heck are we gonna do? It’s still early, so maybe Capri will think he’s still asleep.

  A few seconds later, the door to the suite opened and Anthony walked in wearing his clothes from the night before. “Don’t ask me jack.” He walked past them and slammed the door.

  “You go in there,” Rex said to Chris.

  “Naw man, I’m gonna wait a little while.” Chris went and sat on the bar stool. “The man said he doesn’t want to talk.”

  “I think we should give him his space,” Octavio said. “Boy, I’m glad I didn’t drink anything last night.”

  “Well, I’m headed to the buffet. A man can’t deal with all this on an empty stomach,” Kevin said as he walked out the door.

  When Anthony walked out of his room after about two hours, he thought he was alone in the suite. He’d finally called Capri and told her he forgot to charge his phone. That was the first time he remembered lying to his wife. He went to the bathroom and when he came out, he noticed Chris was out on the balcony. “Darn, I thought I was alone,” he said. He walked over to the glass doors and went outside. He sat down on the chaise lounge next to Chris.

  “What’s up, man?” Chris said, not trying to bring anything up. “This is a nice view.”

  Anthony was quiet. He was starting to feel the hunger pangs kick in. “So, I know you want to know what’s going on with me.”

  “I’m not gonna say a word. You want to talk, we can talk. If you don’t, that’s on you, bro.” Chris was still looking at the clear sky.

  Anthony took a deep breath. “Chris, I don’t know what happened. I saw her, all these old things started coming up from the past. All I knew is I wanted to spend some time with her. When we were together in undergrad, I left on a really bad note. I needed some closure.”

  “But Anthony, dude, y’all aren’t back in college. You have a wife.”

  “Chris, man, don’t you think I know that? I would never, ever hurt Capri.”

  “I don’t think anybody ever intends to cheat on their spouse.” Chris paused. “I take that back, some people out there have no respect for the institution of marriage. They let all kinds of foul Spirits come up in their relationship. Anthony, man, you got to keep things tight. You can’t even play around. You know Satan is always looking for an open door. He’ll dress it up right and the next thing you know, he will have a stranglehold on you.”

  “Chris, man, I know you’re right. You know I have a strong relationship with God, but there is so much temptation. I’ve been slacking. I know how much you and Lexi pray together; maybe Capri and I need to do a little more of that.”

  “Anthony, all I can say is you have to be the spiritual leader of the home. You can’t afford to slack off. You know how much the enemy fights a marriage between two Christian people? Do you know how powerful you all could be? It’s extra work, but you gotta keep things covered. God entrusted you with this relationship.”

  “Chris, I know everything you are telling me is true. I can’t put myself in a position like this again. Just one drink and the next thing you know we had knocked off a bottle of champagne. You know my system couldn’t take all that.”

  “So?”

  “What?” Anthony said.

  “Did you?” Chris looked Anthony straight in the eye.

  “Naw man, honestly I didn’t. It got heated though. I had no business in her room,” Anthony said as he put his head down.

  “Man, I’m not gonna lecture you. But you gotta deal with it,” Chris said.

  “Chris, I just need a favor.”

  “Yeah man, whatever.”

  “Can you pray with me? I can’t even go to God right now for myself.”

  “Now that I can do.” Chris put his hand on Anthony’s shoulder and began to pray.

  Father God, we humbly come to You right now. First, thank You for allowing us to see another day. Thank You for not punishing us accordin
g to our inequities. Father, as I stand with my brother, we ask that You would cleanse and restore us. Father, we know without You we can’t be good husbands or fathers. Lord Jesus, keep us from harm. If we opened the door to sin, we ask that You shut it immediately. God, help us to stay connected to You. Help us to walk in victory as we continue to seek and do Your will. Now as we end this prayer, we thank You that You do not condemn us, but You hold us responsible for repentance. And in order to repent we must change our ways. We thank You that You are a loving and forgiving God. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

  “Thank you, brother,” Anthony said. When he lifted his head, he felt lighter.

  “No problem, man. We all have tests.” He looked at Anthony and noticed his eyes were a bit teary. “C’mon. I don’t know about you, but I need to get some grub. I’m not sure anything is left, if Kevin has anything to do with it!” He hit Anthony on the back.

  “Yeah, you right.” Anthony managed to let out a chuckle. “I’ll be ready in a minute. I need to call my wife before we go.”

  “Gotcha. I’ll meet you in a few,” Chris said as he opened the glass door to the suite.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

  Confessions

  Dear Father: I’m just learning how to talk to You. Chris told me all I have to do is say what is on my heart and I don’t have to worry about exactly how to say it. I have a few things I need to do and I need Your strength.

  Rex was on his knees and his hands were shaking a bit but he continued to pray in his mind.

  I have some things to tell my wife. I love her so much, God, and I don’t want to fail her. I want to be the man she needs me to be. The only example she has had is her father and he seems to have done no wrong in her sight. But I know differently. I just really need guidance. You already know what I’ve been holding in. It has caused me to look at her father differently. On the one hand, I knew he did what he had to do. On the other, I’ve lost so much respect for him I can barely look at him. I feel like everyday I’m wearing a mask.