Kennedi went back into the bathroom; cleansed, toned, and moisturized her face; brushed her teeth; and rinsed with mouthwash. Then she slipped out of her satin nightgown—the one Blake had given her four months ago on Valentine’s Day—laid it across the brass towel rack, and turned on the shower. But before she stepped inside, she looked back at the gown and wondered why Blake would have given her such a beautifully romantic gift if he was so in love with someone else. She wondered how he’d been able to keep a straight face whenever he was there at home with her, knowing that he was seeing someone else behind her back. She wondered how he could betray her in such a ruthless way, yet still make love to her as recently as this past weekend. It was true that their level of intimacy had changed over the last couple of years and that they only had sex once or twice per week, but Kennedi never would have guessed that Blake was having an affair. She never would have guessed that he was sleeping with two women at the same time….
“Oh, dear God, no,” she said out loud, and then covered her mouth with both hands. She’d been so shocked and upset about Blake’s adultery and his decision to leave her that she hadn’t even considered the fact that her health and possibly her life might be in danger. She’d never even taken the time to think about the fact that Blake might have been having unprotected sex with this woman like it was nothing. Men did careless crap such as this all the time, and the idea that he might have contracted some deadly virus, particularly one called HIV, was enough to send Kennedi into a frenzy. It was enough to send warm chills, if there was such a thing, through her entire body, and she knew she had to get tested. She knew she had to visit her doctor’s office, no matter how humiliating this was all going to be. She could kill Blake for placing her in this position.
About a half hour after she’d gotten dressed, Kennedi decided it was time she called Patrice. She’d wanted to phone her last night, right after Blake had left, but even though Patrice was her best friend and actually more like a sister to her, she hadn’t been in any shape to talk to anyone. She’d been much too devastated and, for the most part, speechless.
Kennedi dialed Patrice’s number, placed the phone between her ear and shoulder, and rubbed shea butter on her hands.
“Hey, girl,” Patrice said. “And why are you calling me from home? Why aren’t you at work? Because I know little miss I-don’t-play-hooky-from-work-no-matter-what isn’t doing exactly that, now are you?”
“P, you have no idea how I wish that was my real reason for not going in today. You have no idea at all.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Can you come over?”
“This sounds serious.”
“It is.”
“I was going to make a couple of calls to two of my clients, but if you really need me, it can wait until later this afternoon.”
“If you don’t mind, I sure would appreciate it, because I really need you right now.”
“Kennedi, you’re worrying me, girl, so please tell me what’s going on. I’ll be over as soon as I get dressed, but you have to at least tell me what’s got you so upset, because I can hear it in your voice.”
“Blake moved out last night.”
“He what?!”
“He left and he’s not coming back.”
“I’ll be there within the hour,” Patrice said, and hung up.
What I want to know is who this tramp is,” Patrice said after Kennedi told her everything. They’d been sitting in the kitchen for a few minutes, but now Patrice was up walking around and making threatening hand movements. She was more livid than Kennedi had expected her to be.
“He wouldn’t say.”
“Well, that’s beside the point, because we’ll find out soon enough, anyway.”
“I still can’t believe this is happening. I mean, no matter how much I keep playing Blake’s words over and over, it just doesn’t make any sense.”
“I can only imagine, because I don’t get it either. I’ve known Blake from the time you and him started dating, and he’s the last man on this earth I would have suspected to be cheating.”
“Yeah, which just goes to show you can’t trust anyone. You can’t trust anyone at all.”
“That’s probably true, for the most part anyway, but Kennedi, I hope you know you can trust me. Always.”
“I do know that, but when it comes to men, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust another one again. Not after this. Not after being in love with the same person all these years, thinking he felt the same way about me, but then hearing that he doesn’t and hasn’t for a long time.”
“These women out here are something else, because while Blake is completely at fault, this woman knew he was married and she never should have even considered having a relationship with him.”
“You and I know that, but not every woman feels the way we do. Not every woman has strong moral values, and a lot of them couldn’t care less about the vows a man has taken with his wife before God. Women who sleep with married men basically have no conscience, and they are no better than dogs living on the street.”
“You’re right, but it has never occurred to me to take up with any man who belongs to someone else. Not ever. Not now at thirty-nine and not even when I was in my twenties.”
Kennedi sighed. “Neither have I, but…”
“Blake should be ashamed of himself, and I can’t tell you how disappointed I am in him. Not to mention how outraged I am because of what he’s done to you.”
“Well, actually, that wasn’t the only startling news I received yesterday.”
“After what you’ve already told me, I don’t even know if I want to hear it.”
“It’s not bad.”
“Good.”
“You’re not going to believe it, but I had all the numbers that were drawn for the Mega Millions game two nights ago.”
Patrice cracked up laughing.
“I told you you wouldn’t believe it, but it’s true.”
“You are too much,” Patrice said, still chuckling. “But I have to say that I think it’s wonderful how you’re not letting this whole mess with Blake get you down and that you’re still able to joke around and have some fun.”
“P, it’s no joke. I’ve never been more serious about anything. I’m really telling you the truth.”
“Will you stop that?” Patrice told her, now laughing harder than before.
But then Kennedi reached into her purse and pulled out both the ticket and the local section of the newspaper. “Here.”
Patrice took each item into her hands, looking at the newspaper first and then at the ticket. Then she looked at Kennedi. But apparently she still couldn’t fathom it, because she scanned everything again. Then she set the paper and the ticket down on the island. “This is mad crazy.”
“Isn’t it though?”
“Oh my goodness. You actually won the entire jackpot.”
“I know, and what are the chances of that happening?”
“They’re next to none, but you sure don’t sound too excited. I mean, I don’t even know how you can sit there all nonchalant the way you are. You ought to be jumping toward the moon.”
“It’s hard to feel happy and excited about something when you’ve had your whole world turned upside-down.”
“I guess it would be sort of bittersweet for me, too, if I were you. But I can’t get over this. As a matter of fact, I was just watching the news last night and heard one of the anchors saying that there was only one winner this week and that the ticket had been purchased here in Covington Park, but I never would have thought in a million years that they were talking about you. They were also saying that the person hadn’t come forward and that so many people had played on the day of the drawing that the pot ended up totaling out at around sixty-three million.”
“Are you kidding? Because it was around fifty when I bought the ticket.”
“No. I’m positive.”
“Wow.”
“Wow is right, but you’ve got
to get this taken care of. I know you’re hurting, but girl, you’ve got to put that aside for the time being.”
“I know, and that’s why I’ve already called my attorney and made an appointment for this afternoon. I didn’t tell him why, but I explained that it was an urgent matter.”
“Good. And what about your accountant?”
“I was going to call him first, but then I remembered that he and Blake have gone golfing together a few times, and the last thing I want is for Blake to find out about this. So I asked my attorney to bring in one of the accountants they do a lot of business with.”
“You don’t think Blake would have the audacity to try and claim some of the money, do you? I mean, he wouldn’t dare after slithering in here like the snake he is and then proclaiming his undying love for some whore.”
“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t put it past him, and I’ll just have to deal with that when and if the time comes.”
“I guess so. But hey, I just have to ask you this. What in the world possessed you to even buy that ticket? Because for as long as I can remember, Blake has always been the only lottery player in this household.”
“Tell me about it. With the exception of a few times over the years when Blake would practically beg me to play, you know I’ve never believed in throwing away any of my hard-earned money to the lottery. But the other day, I just so happened to run into the convenience store, and I heard this couple going on and on about what they were going to do with all this money after they won it. We sort of chatted and laughed about it, and then I thought, ‘Why not?’ Especially since Blake has always believed he was going to hit it big. To be honest, I was pretty much just doing something to be doing it, and I never expected to win one dime.”
“Well, you did, and I couldn’t be happier for you. I mean, really, Kennedi, I know gambling sort of goes against what we believe as Christians, but it couldn’t have happened to a better person. You deserve this.”
“Maybe.”
“I know this is a tough time for you, but I promise you, things will get better. And as angry as I am with Blake right now, who’s to say he won’t come to his senses? Who’s to say that he won’t eventually realize what a huge mistake he made and that he’s given up the best thing that ever happened to him?”
“I don’t think so. Not after seeing how strongly he felt about what he was saying to me. Plus, even though I still love him and I’m already missing him so, so much, I don’t think I could ever get past this. I really don’t think I could ever take him back.”
“Well, regardless of what happens, I’m here for you.”
“I know that. And Patrice, I’m really depending on it.”
Chapter 3
As Patrice turned her Mercedes E350 out of the subdivision, Kennedi was glad Patrice had been able to take off the rest of the afternoon. Of course, it wasn’t all that hard to do, what with Patrice working as an independent contractor, consulting for small businesses that needed help with start-up procedures and marketing. Patrice had worked as a marketing manager for a number of years, but when she realized she could double her salary she’d decided to branch out on her own. She’d made the transition two years ago and was already at the point where she had to farm out a number of projects to other contractors because she didn’t have time to handle them all on her own. Although Patrice never complained about having to give up any work coming her way, because she always earned a huge percentage from those assignments as well.
“P, thanks again for spending all this time with me, because I know you weren’t planning on it.”
“Don’t waste another thought on that. You are my priority right now and everything else is secondary. You said you wanted me to come with you, and that’s all I needed to hear.”
Kennedi felt her eyes filling up, but she refused to shed any more tears. She’d been crying on and off for nearly twenty-four hours and enough was enough. At least for the rest of today, anyway. She had business to tend to, and it was time she did what her cousin’s teenage son would tell her to do: “man up.” It was time she doubled her determination and did whatever she had to do so she could make sound decisions.
Patrice and Kennedi drove for a few minutes in silence, headed to one of the office supply stores, but then Patrice spoke.
“I’m so glad you decided to purchase a new safe, because you just can’t take any chances. Not with Blake knowing the combination to the one you already have.”
“I know. I sort of doubt that he’ll be going into it anytime soon, because all we keep in there are things like our wills, power of attorney documents, insurance policies, and marriage license, but just to be sure, I figured it would be best if I bought one that only I’ll have access to.”
“Trust me, it’s a smart move.”
Another twenty seconds or so passed, and then, out of nowhere, that whole affair nightmare hit Kennedi like a massive plane crash. “I am so sorry to keep bringing this up,” she said, “but can you believe what Blake has been doing behind my back? And all this time, too.”
Patrice sighed. “It’s like I told you before, I’m just as surprised as you are.”
“I feel so stupid and naïve. Like I’m the biggest fool in history.”
“But you’re not. Some people are good at being slick, and you can’t help that you didn’t notice what he was up to. And anyway, it’s not like you should have had to be suspicious of your own husband. You never should have had to worry about him messing around, not even remotely.”
“Maybe not, but I have to admit that the more I think back over the last year, there were a few signs. None that I would have thought twice about had he not told me he was seeing someone else, but there have definitely been some changes.”
“Like?”
“Well, for one thing, he’s been working a lot later than usual. Not every day, but more often than not. Then, about a year and a half ago, he all of a sudden decided it was time he got his body back in perfect shape. Which I didn’t think was any big issue, because we all start to feel that way when we get older, and I just figured it was because he’d turned forty around then.”
“I could see that, because I’m feeling that way myself right now.”
“And so am I, and I’m sure it’s because we’re both turning forty this year ourselves. But the only thing I’m thinking about now is that Blake started acting as though he was obsessed with working out. I mean, he goes to the health club six and sometimes seven days a week. And even when he doesn’t do that, he’s running two to three miles.”
“Amazing. And how typical that he’d want to look better for some mistress.”
“But you know what’s sad?”
“What’s that?”
“From the first day I met Blake, I was foolish enough to believe that we’d be married until death. For whatever reason, I never considered the idea that he would eventually want someone else.”
“Blake is so wrong for this.”
Kennedi shook her head in bewilderment and peered out of the passenger window. Once again, she wished her mom was here. This time, so she could lie in her arms the way she had when she was a child and sometimes when she was an adult. Without question, she would have given up every dime of that lottery jackpot—she would have done anything in her power and would have made every sacrifice necessary just to be able to touch her beautiful face and see her lovely smile. She would have done anything just to have another five minutes with her.
After picking up the new safe and a few other office supplies that Patrice needed, Kennedi realized they still had a little time before the meeting at her attorney’s office, so Patrice suggested they stop at a restaurant for a bite to eat.
“We haven’t been to that cute little eatery down here on Maple in a little while, so what about that?” Patrice asked.
“To be honest, I’m not all that hungry.”
“But when was the last time you had something?”
“I don’t know. I guess yesterday morning.”
“Then as far as I’m concerned there’s nothing else to talk about.”
“So I suppose you’re my boss now.”
“Exactly.”
Kennedi smiled, and after another couple of miles, Patrice pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot and they left the vehicle and walked inside. It was shortly after one o’clock, past the lunch rush, but still there were a good number of people sitting at tables. Thankfully, though, the line for ordering wasn’t all that long.
“So, what do you want?” Patrice started in immediately.
“I think I’ll just have some lemonade.”
Patrice looked at her with a “whatever” sort of look and then back toward the woman behind the counter. “We’ll have two tuna croissants and two lemonades.”
The cashier punched everything in and asked, “Will that be all?”
“Yes.”
“Then that’ll be $15.76,” the woman said, and Patrice passed her a twenty-dollar bill and waited for change. Then they moved down a ways to wait for their number to be called, and as soon as it was, they headed toward the first open booth they could find.
“Hey, why don’t we see if there’s a table outside on the patio. Especially since the weather is so gorgeous today.”
“That’s fine,” Kennedi said, and couldn’t help thinking how she and Blake had come here several times last summer for a quick bite to eat.
“Here’s one,” Patrice pointed out as soon as they stepped through the doorway, and they each took a seat.
But as soon as they did, Kennedi looked over at one of the tables not too far from them and gasped.
One in a Million Page 2
