“Look, man, I don’t know what’s going on, I swear. I can call Kim, but I doubt that I will get ahold of her. Last I knew, she was going to church with our mothers. It is possible that she has Kimberly with her.”
“Did your kids go to church also?”
Terrance hadn’t anticipated stumbling into a web of deceit by coming to speak to Kevin. He hated being in the middle of any kind of conflict. He knew about all the drama that had caused the separation between Wendy and Kevin. Kim had also told him about many of the things Wendy had done, like considering an abortion, swearing, and even trying to find a baby-sitter so she could be alone with her date tonight. Terrance wouldn’t dare tell Kevin any of that. Originally, Kim had said that she wasn’t going to baby-sit, but it was possible she had changed her mind. “No . . . they’re with my dad, but—”
Kevin wasn’t sticking around to hear any buts. He left his Coke and Terrance at the booth and fought his way through the crowd to his car.
“Sorry I took so long.” Carrying a bowl of popcorn, Wendy walked back in the living room, where Jaylen was sitting. “I wanted to check on the baby.”
“Is she still sleeping?”
“Soundly. I don’t think she’ll be waking up anytime soon, but I still want to stay up here.” Wendy sat down on the couch. While she was getting their snack, Jaylen was supposed to be looking through the movies and deciding which one he wanted to watch. However, Wendy returned to the living room and heard the sultry sounds of Luther Vandross playing on the stereo, and the lights were dimmed.
“That’s fine with me,” Jaylen said. Wendy had originally planned for them to sit downstairs in the recreation room, but since she was unable to get the security company out to fix the alarm, she was more comfortable staying upstairs. In the basement she had a seventy-five-inch theater-like television screen with surround sound. The basement was fully furnished with a wet bar, a full bath, a pool table, and a lot of other luxuries Kevin wanted. That was where Kevin would entertain his guests. Wendy showed Jaylen around the place and carefully manipulated her words, telling him that she got the house as part of the “agreement” between her and Kimberly’s father.
“I still can’t get over how fabulous you look,” Jaylen commented on Wendy’s figure.
“Thanks.” She was flattered.
“I’m serious. Most women blow up after they have kids. But you look great!”
“My sister’s not fat. Remember, she has two kids.”
“Yeah, Kim is an exception too. But why turn the focus on her when you’re sittin’ right next to me lookin’ very good?” Jaylen gave a charming smile.
Wendy laughed flirtatiously. She had made every effort to look good that night. She was dressed casually in a Nike jumpsuit she’d recently bought. She’d specifically chosen to wear it tonight because it showed off the after-pregnancy figure she had worked very hard to achieve. Her hair was pulled up in a clip with a few curls hanging down in the back. Her eyebrows were newly waxed, and she had given herself a facial before Jaylen arrived to make sure that her skin would look radiant. “You’re not too shabby yourself, mister.” She playfully poked him in the chest, displaying her professionally manicured nails.
He scooted closer to Wendy and put his left arm around her shoulder. The two had been talking on the phone since the night after Thanksgiving, but this was only the second time they had seen each other outside of the gym. The closest contact between them on Christmas Eve had been a hug, although Jaylen wished he had decorated his place with mistletoe so he could have used the excuse to kiss her. Tonight he planned to make it clear that he was serious about taking things to the next level.
With his arm around Wendy, Jaylen reached over in her lap and picked up one popcorn kernel with his right hand. Instead of eating it himself, he put it in Wendy’s mouth. He spoke in a soft and seductive voice, “I am really glad you called me—you know that, don’t you?”
“Why are you so glad?” Wendy could have cared less if they watched a movie or not. Her ego preferred that she listen to Jaylen’s flattering remarks.
“I feel like I’ve been given a second chance. This time I’m gonna do things right,” he said.
“Um-hmm, you’re just saying that,” she teased.
“No, for real. You have no idea how much I’ve thought about you.”
“And just what would you think about?”
“Everything: the sound of your voice . . . your smile . . . the way you made me laugh . . . your morals and values. You are perfect. I didn’t appreciate your discipline with remaining celibate until the women I dated after you seemed so eager to give it up. I guess it was then that I realized that intimacy meant more than just sex. We didn’t have a sexual relationship, but we certainly had an intimate one. I have never stopped thinking about you.”
“Look at you, trying to run game. You probably did think about me, but I’m sure it was more like ‘Man, I wish I had hit that’ instead of appreciating my discipline.” Wendy wouldn’t admit it to Jaylen, but she was not one hundred percent sure she wouldn’t give it up this time around. She’d tried being the good girl and it hadn’t gotten her anywhere. She threw a popcorn kernel at his face and it landed in his lap. He picked it up and put it in her mouth.
“What you said isn’t true. I wasn’t thinking or wishing we had done anything. At first I was, but then I was getting it regularly—”
Wendy held her right hand up. “Please spare me the details.”
“Is someone getting jealous?” Jaylen chuckled. “Ahhh . . . I see you’re the one who wishes we had done more.”
“Oh, don’t flatter yourself, buddy.”
“Would you believe that I’ve been abstaining from sex for almost a year?”
Wendy laughed. “Yeah, right!”
“I swear I have.”
“Whatever—game recognizes game. You are not gonna get me with that one.”
“How about I get you with this?” Before Wendy could respond, Jaylen held her chin and kissed her passionately on the lips. His lips were so soft and full. Each second he pressed them against hers, Wendy loosened her grip on the popcorn bowl a little more. Kissing him felt very good, and her hormones were raging. After about fifteen long seconds, the kiss was over and she was left stunned.
She took a deep breath. “Um . . .” She couldn’t formulate any words to say. She had wanted and even expected Jaylen to kiss her, but she was startled by the intensity of the kiss. She was startled even more by the combination of frantic doorbell ringing and banging at the front door.
“Open the door!” Kevin shouted from the other side. He had parked his Hummer next to the black Camry sitting in the driveway. He had no idea whose car it was, but the churning in his stomach had signified that he wouldn’t like what he was about to discover.
Meanwhile, Wendy was frozen and Jaylen stared at her, wondering who was at the door and why she wouldn’t get up to answer it. Even though Luther Vandross was still belting out sounds on the stereo and the lights were still dimmed, the mood for the evening had taken a turn away from being romantic.
Betting that she had never gotten around to changing the locks, Kevin used his old house key and within moments he stood over Wendy and her beau on the couch. “Happy freakin’ New Year!” Kevin said sarcastically and threw his arms up in the air.
Jaylen stood up. He didn’t know who Kevin was. However, he had enough sense to know that the man was not happy about him being there. If something were to go down, he was better prepared on his feet than on the couch.
Wendy looked petrified and accidentally dropped the popcorn on the floor.
“Naw, man—have a seat,” Kevin said to Jaylen. “Continue doing whatever it was you were doing with my wife before I came.”
“Your wife?” Jaylen turned to Wendy for an explanation.
“Yeah, that’s right—my wife. Did you forget to tell the man we’re married, Wendy?”
Wendy put her head down and covered her eyes with her hand. Whatever
emotions she’d felt from Jaylen’s kiss were now replaced by fear. Oh God, please . . . this can’t be happening. It can’t be!
“I’m not sure what’s going on, but I’m gonna leave and let y’all figure this out. Look, dawg, I didn’t mean to disrespect you or anything like that,” Jaylen explained. “I—”
“Slow your roll, partnah. I ain’t got a beef with you. Handle your business. I’m getting my baby girl and I’m out.” Kevin turned and walked away.
“No!” Wendy got up from the couch and ran after him. Jaylen took the opportunity to get his coat and leave.
“Get off of me!” Kevin pushed her away so hard that she fell and broke one of the nails she had gotten done earlier. By the time Wendy got up, Kevin had made his way to Kimberly’s nursery. He shut and locked the door.
“No! Kevin, please don’t do this,” she cried. “Kevin, please. Please don’t take Kimberly. I’ll listen to anything you have to say now, I promise. Just don’t take my baby . . . please!”
Kevin was angry. Not only had Wendy lied to him, but she also had the audacity to have another man in his house. He was hurt. Kevin snatched one of Kimberly’s baby bags off the dresser and stuffed it with as many things as he could find. Kimberly had slept through all of the ruckus so far. She whined a little when Kevin picked her up and placed her in the carrier. Wendy continued pleading with him on the other side of the door.
“Kevin . . . baby, please don’t do this.”
Kevin opened the door. With Kimberly’s baby bag on his shoulder and her carrier in his hand, he walked right past Wendy without saying a word.
She held on to his arm with tears streaming down her face. “Wait . . .”
“Leave me alone, Wendy.”
“I’m sorry—I swear. Let’s talk. Let’s try and work things out,” a desperate Wendy begged, holding on tight to Kevin as he went into the kitchen in search of milk and bottles. He didn’t respond to Wendy’s plea. “Kevin . . . c’mon, baby. Please don’t do this—please . . . let’s just talk.”
“About what, Wendy? I hate to think about what would have happened between you and dude if I wasn’t here,” he shouted. Kimberly started crying.
“Nothing, I swear . . .”
“The least you could have done was let me have Kimberly for the night. But you couldn’t even do that. You shoved her in the nursery so you could whore around.” Kevin became angrier by the minute. By now the carrier and Wendy on his arm were heavy and it was difficult for him to gather Kimberly’s bottles. Kevin cautiously set Kimberly down on the floor and used his free arm to hold Wendy at arm’s length so that he remained closer to the baby. Kimberly began crying louder.
“Me! What about you and Renée?” Wendy retorted.
“Oh, so you’re trying to get back at me? You wanna know about Renée? I’ll tell you about her. She’s mad at me because I didn’t want to go out with her tonight. For months she has made no secret about being interested in me. But I haven’t done anything with her—nothing—because of you!” Kevin squinted his eyes and pointed at Wendy. “It’s been all about you the entire time. I’ve been about you—you’ve been about you. Everything has been centered around you!”
“That’s not true!”
“Oh, it’s not? How many mortgage payments have you paid since I moved out? How is it that you’re still driving a BMW but you don’t have a job? You have used Kimberly as an excuse in order to use me,” he said as he got a few bottles of breast milk out of the refrigerator. Five-month-old Kimberly was squirming and wailing in her carrier now. “I didn’t realize it until tonight. But no more. Things are about to change.” Kevin picked Kimberly back up.
Wendy grabbed the cordless phone off the wall.
Kevin gave her a disgusted look. “I hope you’re not calling the police.”
She stood silent.
“Go ahead. I dare you to call. They won’t take me to jail. Kimberly is my baby. The worst thing they’ll do in a domestic dispute is order one of us to leave. Remember, this house is in my name. If anyone has to go, it’ll be you. And I will make sure that Kimberly stays with me because the car, that’s in my name too. It’s a long walk from here to your parents’ house. I’m sure the cops would agree.”
“I hate you!” Wendy yelled.
“You know, tonight has totally changed everything I thought about you. You’re pathetic. If I had any hope of us getting back together I don’t now. If it wasn’t for you being the mother of my child . . .” Kevin was so frustrated that he couldn’t finish his sentence.
Wendy stood speechless with eyes full of tears as Kevin stormed away. She threw the phone across the room after she heard the door close and fell to the kitchen floor. She sobbed and said out loud, “God, how can You allow him to do this to me?” She felt an urge to pray, but she really wasn’t making a sincere appeal to God for answers. Doing so would have required her to examine her behavior that night. However, Wendy was so wrapped up in what Kevin had done to hurt her that she failed to acknowledge her own faults.
Chapter Thirty
Can You Hear Me Now?
WENDY!” Her mother and sister both called out after rushing into her house. “Mama, she’s in the kitchen,” Kim yelled to Marlene as she saw Wendy lying on the floor. Marlene had gone to check another part of the house, but ran into the kitchen once she heard Kim.
“Wendy, get up,” Marlene said to her daughter. She and Kim bent down in their church clothes and high heels, trying to lift Wendy, who was still crying frantically.
“He took my baby,” Wendy sobbed.
“Who, Kevin?” Marlene asked.
Wendy nodded her head.
“Get off the floor and tell me what happened. You can’t lie here all night.”
Wendy was not cognizant of the time. It was a quarter to two in the morning and she had been in the same position since Kevin had left, a little after ten. After service, Kim had dropped Evelyn off and was on her way to take Marlene home when she noticed a voice message waiting on her cell phone. It was Terrance calling to tell Kim about seeing Kevin at Horizons. Kim then told Marlene how Wendy had lied to Kevin about her baby-sitting earlier. Marlene asked why Wendy hadn’t wanted to go with them to church, and Kim simply said that she had other plans. Until she heard Terrance’s message, Kim had no idea that Kevin wanted to keep Kimberly.
Kim and Marlene managed to help Wendy into one of her kitchen chairs. Wendy sat in the chair, crying and looking at the floor. Kim left to get a washcloth from the bathroom so she could wipe Wendy’s face. On the way down the hall, she stopped in the living room to turn off the stereo that was still playing. She looked at the popcorn scattered about the floor and used her imagination to piece together that night’s events. In the kitchen, Marlene knelt down in front of Wendy and said, “Tell me what happened.”
“Mama . . . he took my baby. . . . Kevin took my baby,” she cried. The breaks between her words were the pauses she took whenever she had to catch her breath.
“Okay, calm down, sweetie. Why did he take her?”
“’Cuz . . . he was . . . mad at me.”
“What did you do? Why was he mad at you?”
“Because . . . Jay—Jaylen was here.” Wendy’s tears fell in her lap.
“What!” Marlene was stunned. She didn’t bother asking any more questions. Like Kim, she could put the pieces together from there. “Oh Wendy.” Marlene rose, leaned forward, and laid Wendy’s head on her shoulder. “What in the world has gotten into you, baby?”
Kim came back with the wet washcloth and handed it to Marlene, who wiped Wendy’s face. Kim didn’t know what to say. She felt horrible watching Wendy cry. She wished she had been able to talk some sense into her earlier. Either that, or she wished she hadn’t given Wendy such a hard time about baby-sitting. Kim sat down quietly at the table and let Marlene do all of the talking.
“Honey, why did you tell Kevin Kimberly was with your sister?”
“I—I don’t know. . . . He just came and took her, though.�
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“Shhh, stop crying like that. You’re gonna make yourself sick.”
“He . . . I want to call . . . the police.”
“I don’t think you should get the police involved.”
“But what if he doesn’t bring the baby back?” Kim spoke up.
Marlene didn’t respond at first. Instead, she stopped consoling Wendy with hugs and pats and sat down in a chair at the table. “Kimberly is Kevin’s daughter also.” Marlene was concerned about had what happened tonight, but she had more wisdom than her daughters and did not want to respond emotionally. “Even though he has taken her, he will not hurt her. I’m sure of that.”
“But Mama—”
“But Mama nothing,” Marlene replied to Kim’s protest. “Listen to me. Kevin is hurt and angry—honestly, I can’t say that I blame him.”
“But . . . he cheated on me . . . first,” Wendy rationalized.
“I know that you know better than to use that as an excuse with me about your behavior tonight. I raised you better than that.” Marlene was stern. “Two wrongs do not make a right. You’ve made your bed, now you have to lie in it. Kevin loves that baby just as much as we do. He would never let anything happen to her. He needs this time with her, so let him have it. Look at me, Wendy.” Marlene demanded her daughter’s undivided attention. She pointed at Wendy as she talked. “If you get the police involved, that’s going to make Kevin even angrier, and then you don’t know what he’ll do.”
“But what if he . . . takes her out of town or . . . something?” Wendy said. She still had tears streaming down her face, but she wasn’t crying hysterically like she had been when her mother and sister first arrived.
Marlene stopped pointing. “You watch too much television. The man has a business to run. He’s not going to take her anywhere.”
Kim decided to ask another question. “How do you know for sure?”
“I don’t know for sure. I’m praying that I’m right. Give him a day or so. If he doesn’t bring Kimberly back or call, then we’ll see what we have to do.”
Soul Matters Page 21
