Where I Wanna Be

by Vera Roberts

  “We got your back, Faye!” Cameron yelled out and other stylists concurred. “Whatever it is, we got you, girlie!”

  Cameron’s support warmed Faith’s heart. “Good. I’m glad to hear that. This will make my announcement a little easier.”

  “Announcement?” Jocelyn was concerned. “Are you firing us? Are you leaving us?”

  “No, no, no. Nothing like that. I’m taking a sabbatical for a few dayss.” The reason behind the self-imposed sabbatical caused a swell of emotions to be lodged in Faith’s throat and she felt herself on the verge of tears again. She managed to maintain her composure and continued. “I need to take care of some things and I can’t do that and run the shop at the same time. But I’ll be back in a week and I’ll be checking in on all of you day-to-day so I won’t be away for long.”

  “Whew, child!” Kimberly grabbed her chest. “I was about to have a heart attack in this piece.”

  “So that’s it,” Faith clasped her hands together, “I’ll be back later. See you in a few weeks!”

  Krista read more into Faith’s sudden announcement. While the other employees resumed their business, Krista knew her best friend too well. There were obvious dark circles under her eyes and the sudden disappearance of her wedding rings didn’t help matters. “Faith, can I speak with you alone?”

  Before Faith could protest, Krista led her back to their office and closed the door behind them. “Wanna tell me what’s really going on?”

  “I’m going on a small break, that’s all,” Faith shrugged, “nothing more to it than that.”

  “Can you sell me that piece of bullshit again because I didn’t quite buy it the first time?”

  “I’m fine,” Faith silently pleaded with her best friend. “I just need a break.”

  “Where are you going?”

  Far. Far, far away from here, Faith wanted to answer. “Nathan and I are going to visit Disney World and will be back in a week.”

  “Is Eli going with you?”

  Faith’s mouth opened slightly and she quickly closed it. The thought of her husband’s—soon to-be ex-husband’s—name made her skin crawl and her soul collapse. How could he give up on them so easily, without a second thought? “Like I’ve said, I’ll be back in a week and I’ll resume everything then.”

  “You wanna tell me what’s really going on with you and Eli?” Krista pressed. “Where are your rings?”

  “Why are you in my business, Krista?” Faith replied, curtly. “I just need to go away for a while.”

  “Fine, I’m dropping it.” Krista relented. “I hope you have a nice vacation.”

  “Thank you.” Faith picked up her bag and gave her best friend a hug. “I’ll be in touch.” She then left the shop.

  Krista watched Faith get into her SUV and sped off before she made her way to Tony’s, next door. He was in the middle of setting up shop when Krista stopped by. “Tony, do you have a minute? It’s important.”

  “I have all the time in the world for you, sweetheart,” Tony lightly licked his lips. “What’s going on?”

  Krista sat down in one of the barber chairs. “What’s going on with your brother and Faith?”

  Tony shrugged. “I don’t know. They’re married with a kid?”

  “Seriously, Tony…”

  “I am being serious,” Tony wiped down his chair, “why do you ask?”

  “Faith just announced she’s going on a sabbatical with just her and Nathan. She wasn’t wearing her rings and she looked like hell.” Krista knew there was something more to it than what Faith told her. “I wonder if things are okay between her and Eli.”

  Tony stopped cleaning his chair and narrowed his eyes. “She’s going on a sabbatical? Where?”

  “Down to Florida to visit the Disney parks. She didn’t mention Eli was going with them.”

  “Eli didn’t mention any trips he and Faye had planned.” Tony rubbed his goatee. “I’ll check with him to see what’s going on and let you know what’s up.”

  “Thanks, Tony,” Krista walked over to him and gave him a hug. “I really appreciate you doing this for me.”

  Tony wrapped his arms around Krista’s waist and pulled her close to his body. She was a little thick, shaped like an hourglass. It seemed every piece of clothing she wore was specifically tailored to her body. She was more conservative than the other women he had dated in the past and he thought maybe, that’s what drew him to Krista. “Anything for you, Krista.”

  ****

  The text notification on his phone woke Joey up from his peaceful slumber. It was nine o’clock in the morning and he knew he’d overslept, but the way he spent the night before was worth the lost sleep. They sat up and talked most of the night about anything, everything, even getting into friendly debates about current events.

  She spent the night with him, but they slept on the top of the bed wrapped around in a thick, fleece blanket, and with their clothes on. He didn’t look at her like she was a ho or any of the other tricks he had seen all over New York. There was something magical about that woman lying in bed next to him.

  He stretched out in bed and yawned before he grabbed his phone to check it. Tony sent a mass text message to him, Nick, and Kieran and Joey thought for a moment he didn’t actually read what he thought he saw.

  Something’s up with Faye and Eli. Faye’s going on vacation and Eli ain’t picking up his phone. See if you can reach him and let me know what’s going on.

  “…the hell?” Joey sat up in bed. He immediately put a call into Eli, who still didn’t answer his phone. Instead, Joey got his brother’s voicemail. “Yo, the moment you get this message, you need to call me, right away.” He then hung up.

  “Is everything okay?” Zoe answered from behind.

  Joey continued to stare at the text message, wondering what the hell was going on with his brother and sister-in-law. They always seemed to have the perfect marriage and their union was solid. Now something was terribly wrong. “I don’t know yet. I’m trying to find that out.”

  Zoe sat up in bed and yawned. She grabbed her cell phone and glanced down at the time. “Shit, I need to get going. I’m going to be late!”

  “I’ll drop you off,” Joey got up and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. “Just let me know where you need to go.”

  Zoe put her shoes on and grabbed her cell phone. She then joined Joey in the bathroom. She wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled at him through the mirror. “On a scale of one to ten, how badly do you think Kieran is going to kill us when he finds out what happened?”

  “Nothing happened between us, Zoe,” Joey rubbed Zoe’s arms with a free hand as he brushed his teeth. He then spit out the paste. “All we did was talk and fall asleep with our clothes on.”

  “So, if I tell him how soft your bed is, that’s okay?” She winked.

  Joey rinsed out his mouth and wiped it. “Woman, are you trying to get me killed?”

  Zoe laughed. “I just want to know what I’m allowed to mention or not mention.”

  Joey turned around to talk to his would-be girlfriend. “We’re just friends. Now, that could change and I hope it does. But as of now, we’re just cool. I don’t know what’s going on with my brother and I don’t want you to get caught up in that potential drama, if there is one. But I do want to spend more time with you and get to know you better. Is that cool?”

  “That’s cool with me.” Zoe smiled. “I just want to put it out there so there’s no confusion. If we are going to pursue something, I don’t do long-distance relationships.”

  “So, if something more were to happen between us, either I move to LA or you move here?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Good to know.” Joey softly kissed Zoe’s forehead. “I think it’s time I start visiting my older brother in L.A.”

  Two

  Eli finished getting dressed then turned on his cell phone. Immediately he was flooded with text messages and voicemails from his brothers. A confused look etched
his face when he read Tony’s message, then Joey’s, then Nick’s and Kieran’s, all wondering what the hell was going on.

  Shit. Word had already spread. He wondered if Faith personally called each brother and let them know what a dog their sibling was. No, that couldn’t be right. Faith, no matter how angry she was at Eli at the moment, wouldn’t do such a thing. But if Faith told one of her friends at the shop, who in turn told Tony who was working right next door…

  Fuck! Eli rubbed his face and placed the phone next to his ear, preparing himself to listen to the first message. He already knew what it was about before Tony spoke.

  “Dude, what the hell is going on? Krista just came in here telling me Faye is taking Nathan away on a sabbatical and you weren’t going with them. What the hell, man? Yo, when you get this, hit me up at the shop.”

  “Sabbatical?” Eli sat straight up on the bed. A twinge of worry crawled through his body and he blinked a few times. He knew Faith was mad at him and that was an understatement. But now she was threatening to take away their son from him for a self-imposed sabbatical and there was no telling when she was going to return.

  Eli skipped all of the other messages from his brothers and wondered if Faith sent him one. There were no text or voice messages from her. A slow anger rose inside Eli as he realized what was happening. She was going to skip town with their son and he would just have to find out through other people what was going on with her. He should’ve known that cordial and classy Faith last night was just a representative of the bitch ex-wife she was capable of being.

  “Baby,” Simone walked back into her bedroom, “I was wondering if we could stop and get breakfast before you head over to the shop?”

  “Sorry, I can’t,” Eli shoved his phone into his pocket and grabbed his keys. “I need to go handle some things now.”

  “What?” Simone read Eli’s face and saw how angry he was. She immediately knew Faith had something to do with it. “What’s going on, baby?”

  “Not now, Moni. I don’t want you to get involved in this.” Eli quickly kissed her goodbye. “I’ll see you later tonight.” He then left.

  Simone folded her arms while she stared out into a blank space. It was something she was going have to get used to—playing second fiddle to Faith and Nathan. It was already something she didn’t like.

  ****

  Faith finished packing the suitcases for her and Nathan. Two large ones and a carry-on bag. She double-checked Nathan’s bag and made sure he had every single toy that would keep him occupied on the plane. She double-checked her own suitcase and made sure she had everything as well.

  She lugged the suitcases down the stairs and just stared at them. Her whole world had crumbled before her in just a few hours. She never imagined she would be going on a vacation with her son, alone. She never imagined her husband, the man she had loved since she was 16, was going to leave her for another woman.

  She never imagined she would be a single mother.

  She had dropped Nathan off at the daycare so she could pack in peace and quiet. She also didn’t want her son to see her tears and the occasional shuffle of her shoulders as she came down from crying.

  Nathan didn’t ask too many questions about where his Daddy was that morning over breakfast. He was too busy playing with his oatmeal. Faith attempted to make him pancakes but after burning three of them, she ended up tossing the mixture into the trashcan and starting over with oatmeal. It was impossible to mess up oatmeal.

  She was on her way back upstairs when she heard the front door burst open and an angry Eli stood before her. Once she collected her breath and her heart rate slowed down, she addressed her husband. “You plan on paying for a new door, I hope?”

  “You’re taking my son without saying anything to me?” Eli demanded.

  “Good morning to you, too,” Faith replied coldly. “I’m going on vacation for a few weeks. I’ll be back by the end of the month.”

  “Thank you for letting me find out through other people, Faye.” Eli shook his head. “Way to go in keeping this cordial.”

  “I’m leaving to go on vacation so I don’t have to see you and your hussy flaunting your new relationship.” Faith continued walking upstairs and Eli was hot on her trail. “I need to get away and I’m going to.”

  “It didn’t occur to you to let people know what you were doing, most importantly, the father of your son?”

  Faith stopped moving around and put her hands on her hips. “And what was I supposed to tell everyone, Eli? Riddle me that. What was I supposed to say? That the father of my son decided to leave us to chase new pussy? That he gave up on a marriage because he wanted to see what else was out there for him?”

  Eli shook his head. “Don’t make me into the bad guy, Faye.”

  “Don’t make you into the bad guy? You did that without my help, Eli.” She gathered two more suitcases and lugged them downstairs. “Did I force you to fuck her? Did I force you to leave your family? Did I force you to go against our wedding vows? By the way, these suitcases are yours. I do not want you back here, again.”

  The revelation stunned Eli. He was officially kicked out of his home and knew a custody battle was imminent. If Faith’s attitude was any indication, Eli was in for a long battle. “I wanted to explain what was going on and you wouldn’t let me!”

  Faith walked up to her husband and lowered her voice. “Then explain, damnit.”

  Eli felt Faith’s cold eyes cut through his skin. “It wasn’t like we were sneaking around for months. It just happened.”

  “It just happened, huh?” Faith smirked. “I saw the picture of you two together. You always wanted a White woman and I guess your new whore was the next best thing, huh?”

  “You damn well know her skin color has nothing to do with this,” Eli defended, “and I never said I wanted a White woman.”

  “Your porn collection is full of them, Eli, what am I supposed to think?” Faith’s eyes sparked. “Do not try to turn your behavior back on me, Eli. You damn well know you were going to do whatever the hell you wanted to do. You just wanted me to be okay with it. You knew the moment I confronted you, you were going to leave. You see, you thought your actions were only going to affect you and no one else, right? That’s where you messed up. Your actions affected our son, who wondered why Daddy wasn’t around to make him pancakes. Your actions affected our families, who are going to wonder why we don’t live together anymore. Your actions affected your bank account. Please remember you married me without a pre-nup. Don’t think for one split second I won’t hesitate in cleaning you the fuck out.”

  Eli wasn’t intimidated. “So this is what this is about? My bank account? Fine. How much is it that you want? I’ll write you a check right now.”

  Faith shook her head. The man she thought she knew and loved for twelve years of her life turned into a complete stranger to her within seconds. “You still don’t get it. You are so selfish and it still hasn’t dawned on you the magnitude of your fuck-up.” She began to walk away. “I should’ve known this about you.”

  “Oh, yeah? You should’ve known what?”

  Faith was putting away dishes in the kitchen. “That you’d end up like your father.”

  In a heat of anger, Eli took a nearby vase and slammed it against the wall. Faith whipped her head around and saw a remorseful look in Eli’s eyes. “Faye… I’m so…”

  “You get the fuck out, now!” She screamed. “Stay out!”

  “Faye, I…”

  “Either you leave in handcuffs or in a body bag, Eli, your choice.” She threatened. “Get out!”

  Eli picked up his suitcases and left the home. Faith hurried behind him and locked the doors. She then watched him leave. She slowly counted to ten and was grateful Nathan wasn’t around to witness the violent confrontation between his parents.

  It was time to pay a visit to Mickey Mouse and get the hell away from her husband. Soon-to-be ex-husband.

  ****

  Eli shoved his suitcase
s into his truck and slammed the door shut. He entered the driver’s side and slammed his fists down on the steering wheel. How could he have been so stupid? Throwing a vase at the wall? As if Faith needed a reason to keep him out of the house. He sat in the truck and just wondered about his life. He had to laugh at his stupidity—it was the only thing making him smile.

  The vibration on his cell phone signaled another message. It was from Joey. There’s a family meeting at the Manhattan shop. Kieran’s in town. Get your ass here now or we’ll send Art and his officers after you.