Becoming Mrs. Right

by Sherri L. Lewis

  “What?” Shauntae sat back hard in her chair.

  “Baby, it’s nothing for you to worry about.”

  Shauntae sat there with her mouth open.

  “Are you listening to me? I love you and want to marry you. The problem is, she said it in front of the girls. They were jumping around and celebrating because they think their parents are getting married again. After all they’ve been through with Darla almost dying, I didn’t want to tell them anything different, but I will. I’ll fix this. I promise.”

  Shauntae pushed her plate away from her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. It’s . . . the baby. I should be in bed.”

  “Honey, I don’t want you to worry about this. Me and Darla—”

  “I’m not worried. I shouldn’t be up until the doctor says it’s okay. I’m gonna go back upstairs.”

  “You want me to bring your food up? You hardly ate.”

  “No, I’m good. I’m gonna go to sleep.”

  “Okay. I’ll be up to pray over you and the baby in a few minutes.”

  “Okay.” Shauntae walked up the stairs slowly and closed the door to the guest room.

  Don’t worry? The woman he was married to for ten years and had two babies by was now awake and acting like she did when he first fell in love with her. Shauntae went into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

  She knew where this was going. Darla was smart and pretty and the mother of his two girls. Gary would do whatever he could to make those girls happy. Now her greatest threat wasn’t Darla doing the background check. It was Darla stealing her man back. Shauntae knew that between the two of them, Darla was the best choice for Gary.

  She took off her jeans and slipped into bed. What if they somehow found out about her past? Not only would Gary have every reason to marry Darla, but the two of them could take her child away and then they’d be a real happy family. Gary would have his perfect wife back, his two daughters and her son. And she’d be left out in the cold.

  Shauntae pretended to be asleep when Gary came into her room. Since the bleeding incident, he prayed for her and the baby every night. Tonight, he did it real soft and quiet, like he was trying not to wake her up. She didn’t move until he had left the room.

  Should she still run? Maybe she could file for child support from California. If they didn’t find out about her, Gary would do the right thing and pay. Shauntae reached down to rub her belly. “What we gon’ do, li’l baby? What we gon’ do?”

  Twenty-one

  “If she said she was sorry and ain’t gon’ do the background check, what you worried about?”

  Shauntae had hardly slept. She dreamed that Darla had come into the house smiling and being really nice, but then she reached in Shauntae’s belly, ripped the baby out, and then pushed her out the front door. Shauntae banged on the door, crying and asking for her baby back. Gary, Darla, and the girls all came to the door, dressed in matching blue, preppy rich people outfits. Darla was holding her baby and he was dressed in the same outfit the whole family had on. Even though they opened the door and were standing there smiling at her, there was an invisible wall and Shauntae couldn’t get past it. She banged and screamed and all they did was stand there and smile. They looked like one big happy family and she was stuck on the other side of that glass, unable to get back in the house.

  She had woken up in a cold sweat. Shauntae kept her hands on her belly, like she was protecting the baby from being stolen from her.

  An hour after she woke up, Gary rushed in her room, said he was going to pick up the girls to take them to the hospital, and left. As soon as she heard the door slam, Shauntae had called Sherice.

  “Shauntae, the ex-witch ain’t gonna send you to jail. What’s the problem?”

  “If Gary gets married to her again, what happens to me? What if they try to take my baby?”

  “He ain’t gon’ marry her. Remember you said they can’t even talk to each other without arguing.”

  “She’s different after waking up from the coma. He said she’s like she was when he fell in love with her.”

  “That ain’t gon’ last. She’ll be back to her evil witchy self in no time. That be happening to folks all the time in the movies. They wake up all wonderful like they done seen Jesus or something. And then, after a while, they go back to being whoever they was before.”

  “You think so?”

  “Yeah, girl. You worry too much. What kind of car you think he gon’ get you?”

  “I don’t know. I ain’t worried about that right now. I want to get off bed rest so we can get to the justice of the peace.”

  Sherice didn’t seem to hear her. “When you get them new wheels and that credit card, make sure you stop by my house before you go to the mall. We gon’ tear it up!”

  “Sherice, I can’t be spending a whole lot of money. I’m broke and Darla got her own money and plenty of it. I can’t empty his pockets right now. I gotta make sure he marry me first.”

  “Yeah, you pro’ly right about that. You need to lock him down before you drain him. Dang! You cain’t even have sex because of the bleeding.”

  “Exactly. So what do I do to lock him down?”

  “Sounds like you been doing a good job having some good conversations and asking him good questions. And maybe it’s a good thing you been kissing on him and making him go running from the room so he won’t have sex with you. Sometimes wanting to have sex but not having it makes a man as crazy as some good sex. So keep taking him to the edge and making him have to run away from you. He’ll get to the point that he’s craving you and will marry you just to get it.”

  “Okay, that sounds good.” Shauntae thought for a second. “But what if . . .”

  “What if what?” Sherice was getting irritated with her. “You worry too much. I’m telling you, Darla waking up different was the best thing. It gets you off the hook with the background check and Gary still gon’ marry you.”

  “Let’s imagine the worst possible thing. What if he decides to marry her and they want my baby? He always talking about how he wants his kids all together, being raised in the same family. What if they try to take my baby?”

  “That could be the best thing. Tell them you’ll let them adopt the baby if they give you a million dollars. No, make it two million dollars. You’ll be set for life.”

  “Girl, you talking crazy. They got money, but they ain’t got no two million dollars.”

  “Well, ask for a million. You can put them on a payment plan.”

  “Sherice, you done lost your mind. I ain’t selling my baby.”

  “Why not? What you gon’ do with a baby, Shauntae? Go back to California and raise it with your mama?”

  Shauntae couldn’t say nothing.

  Sherice said, “Let’s say they do get married. He ain’t gon’ give you full custody and if you try to get child support, Darla the lawyer will dig up some dirt on you. And she won’t have to dig too far, now will she? They find out what you did and Gary can sue you for custody and the judge will take your baby before you can blink an eye. If you agree to a friendly adoption for even $100,000, you’ll be much better off.”

  Shauntae lay back on the bed. Sherice was telling the truth, but the thought of selling her baby still didn’t feel right.

  “You been watching Clair Huxtable so much you done forgot who you are. You don’t even like kids. Talking ’bout some ‘I can’t sell my baby.’ You done started believing you the person you pretending to be. What you even know about taking care of a baby? Remember how hard it was trying to take care of Brianna? Even before she got sick, you didn’t know nothing ’bout raising no child. Best thing that could happen for your child is for them to get remarried and adopt it from you.”

  Sherice’s words slammed Shauntae right in the middle of her chest. The baby got upset too, because he started jumping around and making some serious butterflies. Shauntae rubbed her belly to calm him down.

  “You ain’t got nothing to say ’caus
e you know I’m right.” Sherice’s tone was a little softer. She must’ve known Shauntae’s feelings were hurt behind what she had said.

  Shauntae decided not to answer her. Instead she asked, “Do you ever wonder what we woulda been like if we had been raised in a good family? Like with a mother and father who really loved us and treated us right? That wanted us to get a good education? I mean, for real though, look how smart you are. I don’t know too many people as smart as you. Did you ever wonder what you would be like if you had a good mama who pushed you in school instead of selling you for some drugs?”

  Now it was Sherice’s turn to be quiet.

  “Lately I been wondering what I would be like. I mean, I ain’t as smart as you. And I can’t do nothing really. But what if my mama had thought that school was important? Or if she had signed me up for piano or gymnastics or soccer or something? Who could I be right now?”

  Sherice still didn’t say nothing. Shauntae knew she had her thinking.

  “I bet you woulda been a doctor, Sherice. Or a lawyer. Or maybe even a rich businesswoman. Candy would probably be a gourmet chef at a fancy restaurant somewhere. What you think I would be?”

  “Shauntae, I ain’t playing no silly pretend games with you. All them movies and living in that house done made you stupid, dreaming about dumb stuff that ain’t never gonna happen. You need to focus on what you got right now—a rich man who wants to marry you. A man who wants to buy you a new car and give you your own credit card. Even if none of that happens and he remarries the ex-witch, he still love his child and would pay out some serious cash to be able to keep him. Either way you win. That’s all you need to be thinking about right now. A’ight?”

  “Yeah, girl. A’ight.”

  “Now call me when you get the car and the card. We gon’ do some shopping.”

  “A’ight. I’ll call you. Bye.”

  Shauntae lay in the bed after she hung up the phone, thinking about Sherice’s crazy plan. She rubbed her belly. “Don’t worry, li’l baby. I wouldn’t never sell you.”

  Shauntae thought about what Sherice said about her being a bad mama. Would the baby be better off with Gary and Darla if they got married again? She couldn’t raise a baby by herself. Especially with no money. Shauntae shook the thought out of her head. She decided to take one day at a time and see what happened.

  She got up, took a shower, and brushed her teeth, ready to spend yet another day in bed. She put on a fresh T-shirt and some sweatpants and sat down on the bed. She clicked on the Cooking Channel. She watched four different shows and learned, at least by watching, how to make some of the fancy kinda foods Gary liked. As the next show started up, the phone rang. It was Gary.

  “Hey, honey. How is everything? You picked up the girls?”

  “Their grandmother brought them and we met at the hospital.”

  “How’s Darla?”

  “Pretty much the same. Still talking about us being a family again. She even invited her mother to come live with us. She has the girls in this fantasyland. I’m going to have to put a stop to it today.”

  “Okay.”

  “Are you okay? I hope you’re not worried about all of this.”

  “I’m okay. Just tired of being trapped in this room.”

  “That’s why I was calling you. I talked to Dr. Murray’s nurse on the way to the hospital. You’re cleared. You can come out of the prison.”

  “Oh, thank you, Jesus.”

  “I figured you’d be happy about that.”

  “I am, baby. Real happy.”

  “Good. Maybe we’ll do something special this weekend to celebrate. We can go to your favorite restaurant. Whatever you want.”

  “Oh. Okay. That sounds good.” Shauntae tried to hide the disappointment in her voice.

  “What’s wrong, honey?”

  “Nothing, Gary. Just hungry. I think I’m gonna go downstairs and find something to eat.”

  “Okay. I’ll call you later.”

  “Bye.” Shauntae hung up the phone. Something special to celebrate? Her favorite restaurant? For real? Before Darla woke up, he said they would go to the justice of the peace as soon as she was off bed rest. Now all he was talking about was dinner. Even though he said Darla wanting to get married again wasn’t gon’ change nothing, it already had.

  Twenty-two

  Even though he said she was his number one, Shauntae barely saw Gary over the next few days. He kept telling her not to worry, but she wondered what was going on every day with Darla in that hospital. She was a smart woman who went after what she wanted. She’d probably do anything to get her man back.

  If it wasn’t Darla, it was the girls. Morgan cried about her parents getting married again. And Daphne had told him that her grades, which got real bad after the divorce, would go back up again if their family could go back to normal. They even said that Miss Shauntae and the new baby could visit anytime she wanted and they would be nice to her.

  Gary told Shauntae all of this, but at the same time kept saying she had nothing to worry about. How could he expect her not to worry? All he talked about was having a family and this was his chance of getting it back.

  Sherice was wrong. Darla wasn’t turning evil again. She decided to cut back on her hours at work to spend more time with the girls. She told Gary that as soon as she got out of the hospital, she wanted to start going back to church with him. She wanted the girls to grow up in church and even if they didn’t get married, they could still get along well enough for them all to go to church together. She was saying all the right things that would bring Gary running back to her.

  Shauntae didn’t know whether she was happy that Gary was telling her so she would know the battle she was fighting, or whether she would rather him not tell her because it was making her more worried.

  Almost every day, Gary would call to tell her he was on the way home, but then he would call back to say he couldn’t come yet because of some drama with Darla or the girls. One day, Morgan refused to eat until he promised that he would marry their mother. Another day, Daphne locked herself in her room and screamed as loud as she could for over an hour until she got tired and cried herself to sleep.

  Another day, Darla fell during therapy and they got scared that she had broken a bone and she had to go for X-rays and stuff. Turned out nothing was wrong, but Gary said he had to stay because Darla’s mother broke down and got all emotional because she was afraid Darla had a setback.

  Gary came home late at night, apologizing and making all sorts of excuses. Sometimes she stayed up to talk to him, and other days she pretended to be asleep while he prayed over her and the baby. Sherice kept telling her that she needed to stay awake and get him hot and horny, but after a while Shauntae felt like giving up. With Darla, her mother, and Gary’s daughters trying to get their family back together, it was four against one. Shauntae was fighting a losing battle.

  Gary called one afternoon from the hospital saying that Dr. Murray’s office had called and asked when she was coming in for a prenatal appointment. She wondered why they were calling Gary’s cell phone, but remembered that she couldn’t write, talk, or think when they first got to the emergency room. He must have written his cell number on the clipboard.

  “Baby, I’m sorry. I know I said I was going to stop neglecting you and I’ve actually gotten worse. Please forgive me. We have to get you in for a doctor’s appointment.”

  Shauntae was tired of his apologies. She was tired of him being gone and tired of wondering when he was going to come home one evening and sit her down to tell her that he and Darla were getting married again. “Give me the number. I’ll call and make an appointment.”

  “For when? I’d like to be there and I need to fit it in my schedule.”

  “You have to be there. How else will I get to the doctor’s office? Walk? And don’t worry. I’ll pay for the visit myself.” Of course she couldn’t, but Shauntae was tired of feeling like her whole life and future depended on him when it didn’t look like he
wanted to deliver.

  “Shauntae, what is wrong with you?”

  “In fact, never mind about going to the appointment with me. I’ll get Sherice to take me. That way you can make sure your schedule is free for Darla, Daphne, and Morgan. Wouldn’t want to take you away from your precious family.”

  “What is your problem?”

  “Give me the doctor’s phone number so I can take me and my baby to the doctor. You stay there with your kids. I’ll take care of mine.”

  “Shauntae!” Gary shouted. “That’s my child too.”

  “Then you need to ack like it!” Shauntae hung up the phone on him. When he called back, she switched her cell phone off. When the house phone rang, she knew it was him, but didn’t answer.

  She paced around the house for a while, trying to figure out what to do. Should she call him back and apologize? Forget that. She was too mad. She had done everything she could to become everything he wanted and he still was gonna end up dissing her for his ex-wife. She was tired of trying. Tired of talking proper. Tired of pretending to be interested when he talked about politics. Tired of pretending to be a church girl. Forget it. She’d find some other way.

  She used to do hair when she was in high school. She hooked up all her friends with the best styles. Maybe she’d borrow some money from Candy to go to beauty school and then work in somebody’s shop until she could buy her own shop. Or at least rent a booth in somebody’s shop.

  All the time she spent hustling men had gotten her nowhere. It was time to do something else.

  She turned her cell phone back on and called Sherice. “Girl, I need you to come get me.”

  “What happened? Did you get found out?”

  “No, I’m sick of this mess. I’m ready to be done with it.”

  “You mean you ain’t going to jail, but you want to leave?”

  “Yeah. Can you come get me?”