“Boo.” The voice startled me from my rolled-down window.
“Robert.” I released a sigh, actually grateful to see him.
“Well, well, long time no see. Mya wasn’t at ballet practice or school. I was beginning to think you left town.”
“I definitely felt like it. Between my bathroom brawl, and Mya being attacked at school, I could’ve stayed under the covers for a good long time.”
“But you didn’t. That-a-girl.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Speaking of votes …” He grinned. “Holly is still planning to commandeer you for a few fund-raisers. I’m up for re-election next year. These good looks can only go so far.”
I took a long deep breath. “Just one more thing on my crowded plate. But I honestly think I’m going to have to pass.” He’d understand if I told him Jake and I were on rocky terrain and I wasn’t sure if our marriage was going to survive. I could explain that Sirena was the Big One I’d been preparing for all my life but the truth was, you can’t ever prepare for an earthquake of this magnitude. When your foundation starts to crumble, there’s nothing to do but hide and pray for it to be over.
“Not even for li’l ol’ me?” Robert asked.
I couldn’t resist his pout, which came out more sexy than sympathy-ridden. “I’ll see.”
“That-a-girl,” he said, this time putting a one-handed squeeze around my neck. “There’s always a little fight left in ya.”
“You just reminded me I’m due for a serious massage.”
“I can accommodate you,” he said and winked, giving one more squeeze for good measure.
I put my head down, and before I knew it I was gushing with tears.
“Whoa! Hey, what’s going on?”
“No, it’s nothing. I’m just dealing with some issues. It’s not anything you said.”
“Oh, yeah, I can tell.” Robert’s dry wit usually made me smile. Not this time. “Anytime a woman bursts into tears after I try to flirt with her, I know I’m doing a bang-up job.”
“Really, I’m okay.” I started my car and exited the school parking lot. Falling into Robert’s consoling arms was tempting, but it wouldn’t stop the tremor rolling through my life.
Cry Me a River
Trevelle stared at the back of my head, waiting for me to turn around, but I couldn’t. My eyes were rimmed with redness from crying. It was an all-day, all-night leakage. Always on the verge of tears, from the minute I woke up to the minute I fell asleep. Jake had gone to Vancouver to film his new movie with Sirena. It made it easier not to have to voice what I was feeling.
“At some point you’re going to have to get off your high horse. Obviously you hate yourself.”
“I don’t hate myself. I’m just sad that this is what my life has come to. My husband left me.”
Trevelle giggled or snickered. Either one was rude. Then I turned and faced her, ready to give her a piece of my mind. She pointed. “Aha, caught ’cha.” She came and wrapped her long arms around me and squeezed. “You have made a mess of things.”
“It’s not my fault. It’s Jake’s fault. He knows that woman is manipulative and scheming. He should hate her, like I do. And now, he wants me to raise her son. I thought I could—for a minute, I believed I could do it. But I can’t live like that.”
“Jake hated Airic, but he’s raising Mya.”
“You know, I’m about sick of that tit-for-tat argument. It’s different. This is all completely different.”
Vince came in and set down a couple of boxes while Trevelle and I were still in the middle of an embrace. “Now that’s what I like to see, my two favorite girls bonding.”
“She’s in need of many hugs,” Trevelle said before untangling her bracelet from my hair.
“One big happy family,” Vince said.
The word family made me gush with a fresh set of tears. I ran to the bathroom and took a handful of tissue off the roll.
When I came back out, I saw Vince on bended knee in front of Trevelle. He was holding up a black case. I approached slowly and stood over him like an invisible spirit. Which wasn’t hard, since they both pretended I wasn’t there and proceeded uninterrupted.
“Would you do me the honor of being my wife?” His hand shook while he opened the box to reveal a gorgeous—however modest, for Trevelle’s taste—engagement ring.
She kept both hands over her mouth. Vince finally stood. “My knee can’t take it anymore. What’s it gonna be, you’re in or you’re out?”
Now I was directly between the two, staring up between the two of them like a tennis match.
“Vince, you know I care deeply for you. But we, you and I are—”
“What? You’re black, and I’m white.”
“No, of course that’s not what I was going to say. Our backgrounds. Just different.”
“I busted my ass to make enough money to buy this ring, woman. I respected you enough to want to show you I’m sincere. I love you.”
“I love you too,” she admitted with a trembling bottom lip. “But …”
“You got some nerve.” This time it was me speaking. They both looked at me as if realizing I was there. “You just got through telling me to get off my high horse. Seriously, Trevelle. Your advice isn’t worth a hill of beans.”
“Now this is different.”
“Ahuh,” Vince and I said at the same time.
“It’s very different. Vince and I have only known each other for a year.”
“But long enough for you to know how different you two are. Please, go on.”
“I’m afraid,” Trevelle announced. “I’m scared of being hurt again. I’m scared of giving my heart to you.”
“Would I hurt you? Look me in the eye and tell me, do you think I would ever hurt you?”
“Not intentionally. But I’m sure that’s what Jake told you too,” she said, facing me.
“Leave me and Jake out of this,” I growled.
Vince went back down on his knee. “Trevelle Doval, I promise to love and protect you for the rest of my life. Will you marry me?”
“On one condition,” Trevelle said, cutting her eyes toward me. “If you work things out with your husband. Open your heart and mind to that little boy, and be a family.”
“This is a setup.”
Vince looked up at me. “You’re either in or you’re out.”
“You first,” I said to Trevelle, knowing she’d never take the bait.
“Mr. Capricio, it would be an honor to become your wife.” She tilted back her head. “Dear God, please let this man be the one.”
Vince stood up. “The only one.” He swooped her up in a big hug.
I clapped and cheered as if they’d just said their I do’s. “I can’t believe it.”
“Now your turn. Go get your man. Stop acting like you know everything.” Trevelle touched my face. The jangling of her many bracelets used to drive me insane; now it was a sentimental sound that reminded me I had a friend.
“There’s only one problem—he’s in Toronto, Canada, remember? Filming a movie with Sirena. So I figured …”
“Don’t assume anything. A man will tell you exactly what’s on his mind. You just have to listen,” Vince said in a more fatherly tone.
“Oh cry me a river,” Trevelle interjected. “Whatever you figured, you figured wrong. You need to tell him you love him and can’t live without him, and everything else will fall into place.”
“Said the woman who hadn’t wanted to accept his first proposal,” I said.
“That was all a ruse. I’ve been waiting for him to get down on one knee since January.”
“Ooh, what happened in January?”
“Remove your mind from the gutter and get on the next plane to Canada, will you?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I gave Trevelle a salute and pecked Vince on the cheek. “Thank you, guys. I’ll call and let you know how it goes.”
Ray of Sunshine
With that optimism,
I headed for Canada. My mom and dad stayed with Mya. The nine-hour flight left me restless and full of anxiety. What would I say when I saw him? Would he be happy to see me? I called ahead only to reach Jake’s voice mail, which I’d hoped he checked by the time I was there. He kept his phone off during his all-day filming schedule. Our conversations had been brief and brooding. I hated myself for having been so selfish. Not being able to welcome the boy into our lives the same way Jake had opened his heart to Mya, knowing she wasn’t his biological child.
But I had a plan. I was going to make everything right.
“Taxi? Do you need a taxi?” The Ethiopian driver nearly blocked my exit of the double doors at the airport. He stretched his skinny arms out wide. “This way, I have a taxi for you.”
“No, thank you.” I had a high hope that someone would be standing outside with my name scribbled on a drawing pad, VENUS, Mrs. Parson, Mrs. JP. Hell, at this point I’d take, Bitch with Attitude.
There was no one. Jake probably hadn’t gotten my message. Him not wanting to hear another one of my whining messages, he probably had no idea I was standing on the airport curb nearly ready to start sobbing. The cool clear air was a sweet awakening. Maybe I’d made a mistake. What in the world was I doing listening to Trevelle Doval anyway? Go get your man.
“Mrs. Parson?” A young woman with large sunglasses and puffy pink cheeks stood in front of me. “I’m Gertrude, Mr. Parson’s assistant. I am so sorry to be late.” She was a strawberry blond curly-headed girl wearing a bulky sweatshirt that said peace. Her jeans skirt nearly touched the ground. She smiled.
“I’m just glad you’re here.” I hugged her. She appeared miffed, but grateful this wouldn’t affect her coveted personal assistant position, even if it only lasted as long as the filming of the movie.
“Can I get your bags, eh?” Her Canadian tweak on the end of her sentence was the only reminder I was in another country. That and the icy cold wind that whipped across my face. The sun was high and bright and I was still shivering. I pulled my trench collar up around my neck and face.
“No. All I have is this.” I showed her my bag, a gift from Burberry to Jake. Free things came all the time—watches, hats, jeans, T-shirts—all in hopes he’d be caught wearing it in a paparazzi pic worth a million in free advertising.
I slipped into the front seat of Gertrude’s cube-shaped vehicle and we were on our way. The downtown city was big, metropolitan, and clean. She drove me straight to a hotel. The valet rushed to open my door and I pushed the lock. “I thought we could go straight to the filming. I was hoping. I mean … I haven’t seen my husband in a week, and I miss him.”
“JP—Mr. Parson—asked me to take you straight to the hotel.”
“I’m sure he thinks I should go rest, but I’m not tired. I don’t think I’d survive sitting inside that room, just sitting. It was a long flight. I promise not to get in the way.”
Gertrude looked torn. She understood perfectly well my situation, but there was her concern of not following orders. “Okay, then.” She picked up her cell phone and thought about calling someone for a second opinion, then laid it back down. “I guess it’ll be all right. We’ll just drop in so you can say hello, then I’ll bring you back, or take you to the City Center. There’s great shopping there. Most wives love the City Center.”
“Great plan.” I waved at the zealous valet, who was still trying to get the car door open.
“What’re you doing here?” Jake’s eyes widened, then darted around over my head where I stood outside his trailer. He pulled me up the few steps and inside. He hugged me fiercely tight, then again asked, “What’re you doing here? I told my assistant to take you to the hotel.”
I was frozen with disappointment. “You’re not happy to see me?”
“I am. It’s just … I’m working, babe. It’s hard to focus as it is.”
“Understandable. I just wanted to see you and tell you I am sorry for not being on board right away. I love you unconditionally. I had a change of heart and would like to be involved with Christopher.”
“That means so much to me,” he said. “Okay, we’ll talk about it some more at the hotel.” He picked up the walkie-talkie–looking phone and squeezed the side. “Gerty, can you come pick up my wife and take her to the hotel?”
“Yes, sir.” Gertrude responded like a military command. “Right away.”
I swallowed back the lump in my throat and tried not to take it personally. I leaned in and kissed his cold lips, ignoring the tickle of his mustache he’d grown for the part. It was the easiest way to transition from the young character to the older one. I’d read the script, set in the Roaring Twenties in Harlem. I’d counted the kissing scenes with Sirena as Sarah, the woman he couldn’t resist, though she continually put him in danger. How apropos.
We both jumped with the banging on the door. “Must be her.”
He swung it open, then pulled it close and talked low. I couldn’t see who it was. Then her distinctive laugh. Sirena.
I moved to the tiny window and peeked down through the miniblinds. She stood in a bathrobe, her hair upswept and sophisticated, her shiny red lips perched in a smile.
Before he came back inside, I moved to the sad rendition of a couch. I smiled and tried to look relaxed and unfazed. No pressure. “Is Gertrude coming?”
“Yeah, she’ll be here any minute. Sorry about that. It was Sirena.”
Big smile. No stress. This time the knock was softer, almost timid. I stood up, knowing it was my ride. “I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah, babe. But understand I’m at the mercy of these guys. I don’t have a set time.”
“No, I understand. As long as you come eventually. Whenever you get there is fine.” I was the picture of a loving, understanding, secure wife married to a movie star with an upcoming love scene with the woman he may or may not have fathered a child with nine years ago. I kept it together right on out the door.
Gertrude handed me a bottle of water. “Is everything okay?”
“Just beautiful.”
Mistaken Identity
I sat on the edge of the hotel bed and then fell backward with exhaustion. Gertrude had taken me shopping as if her orders were to make me shop until I dropped. My feet throbbed along with my back and neck. I stared at the ceiling, studied the design of the moldings. So much work involved to make something look so simple. Kind of like being married. No one knew the work involved.
I stripped off my clothes and hopped in the shower. Later, dripping wet, I opened my suitcase and pulled out my secret weapon. I held up the long strands, the wig I’d bought before leaving Atlanta. I had planned to give him a show. One night of freaknik was the quickest way to a man’s heart regardless of how much they denied it.
After having lectured Miriam on being herself, here I was following suit. Embarrassing. I pushed the wig bag in its velvet pouch. How desperate was I? A woman in love was capable of just about anything.
The sun had set and threatened to rise again by the time Jake came to the hotel. I listened while he showered. There was an art to his bathing, a rhythm. If the water ran too long with no movement, I knew he was in there thinking. The water streamed steady with no sloshing movement. He was thinking. He was acting a bit pent up. But who wouldn’t be after a long day of hard work?
When Jake came out, still moist from his shower, I was lying across the bed in the matching lace bra and panties. I was posed on my stomach for full effect, wearing the red five-inch-heel pumps from the premiere, the ones I’d vowed to never wear again. My new hair cascaded down my back and I waited for him to say something.
“Baby, damn.” His palm cupped a handful of cheekage. “Damn,” he whispered again, sliding his fingers where even the panties couldn’t reach. “Nice.”
“How nice?” I arched my back, then stretched in a nice catlike pose.
His towel was on the ground, followed quickly by my ensemble. The high heels and the wig were the only survivors. I’d kept them on the enti
re time, proud of my new set of skills.
Jake fell into me as if he’d never had me before. I held him tight and kissed his neck. He pumped and surged until we both collapsed. A faint taste of salt from our aerobic lovemaking stayed on my lips. I remained still as long as I could, not wanting to disturb his recovery time. His weight was crushing me. I tapped him lightly on the shoulder. “Why didn’t you say something about my new hair?”
He rose up on his elbows. “I missed you.” His dark shiny eyelashes blinked slowly. “Honestly, I didn’t even notice this … thing.” He stroked his hands through it, then made some kind of face between confusion and wonderment.
“Well, you certainly acted like you noticed.”
“You’re the only thing I’m hungry for.”
I kissed his smooth strong chin. I scooted from underneath his weight since he wasn’t giving up peacefully. I still had on my high heels but hadn’t noticed until I attempted to get on my feet.
“Don’t take them off.” He caught me just before I was about to step out of them. “Please,” he said. “Just till you get to the bathroom. Then do a little pose.” He grinned with his hands resting behind his head. The sheet barely covered his precious loins and I had a sudden flashback of the pictures on the Internet.
This was no time to reincarnate the past.
“Oh … now I’m auditioning?” I played along. “I thought none of this getup mattered?” I stood up, took a few steps, then did a mild swirl of my hips. I lifted my arms and belly danced slowly. “Don’t say I never did anything for ya, boy.” I pole danced without the pole, slinging my new hair every which way.
“I would say you’ve done everything for me.” Jake’s megawatt smile turned back into a lazy grin. “I love you, baby. You’re my life.”
On that note I felt like jumping back into bed. Tears sprang from my eyes and I turned quickly so he couldn’t see. “Wow, if I’d known it was that easy I would’ve whipped out the wig and the high heels a long time ago.”
Un-Nappily in Love Page 23
