Sisters and Husbands

by Connie Briscoe

  “It’s good that your mama doesn’t spoil you all the time like your dad does. A little work never hurt anyone.”

  Tiffany smiled knowingly.

  “You know you got him wrapped around your little finger, don’t you?” Charmaine asked.

  “Yeah. But that’s what dads are for, right?”

  “To a point, maybe.”

  “But you think he takes it too far, don’t you?” Tiffany asked. “I know that. He’s got the guilt thing going on big-time.”

  Charmaine paused. She was startled to learn that Tiffany was so insightful about her father and especially that she was willing to share her insights. “So that’s what you think?”

  “What else? But don’t get the idea that I’m taking advantage of him or anything. It’s not like that. I love my dad.”

  “I know you do.”

  “And I tease him about the guilt thing all the time. I tell him that it’s good training for me in dealing with dudes later on.”

  Charmaine smiled. “Oh, I know your father is no dummy. He does it willingly. His closeness to you is actually one of the things that attracted me to him.”

  “So, he tells me you two met at a friend’s house?”

  Charmaine nodded. “A mutual friend’s.”

  “Was it love at first sight?” Tiffany asked with amusement.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. But we were definitely attracted to each other.”

  “What did you like about him so much?”

  Charmaine thought back. “Hmm. I liked that he seemed strong and confident on the outside but also had a certain vulnerability. A softness.”

  “Yeah, he can be a pushover when it comes to girls and women. My mom even says that. But don’t push him too far. He’ll bite back.”

  “I think you’re right,” Charmaine said. “It’s something I’m still learning about him. You and your mom are close, aren’t you?”

  Tiffany nodded.

  “I remember very fondly when it was just me and Kenny, since I was a single mom for a while too. He and I are also very close. You develop a special bond when it’s just the two of you.”

  “You know, I don’t think Kenny meant to hurt me when we were playing on the Wii. I mean, I did at first, but I don’t anymore. I was upset and hurt and I blew it out of proportion.”

  Charmaine paused at folding the clothes and stared at Tiffany. It was amazing what you could learn when you talked to someone. “Thank you for telling me that. I wish you’d tell your father.”

  “I told him last night.”

  Charmaine nodded. “Good. And how are things between you and Kenny?”

  She shrugged. “Okay, I guess. Dad talked to us both last night and made us promise to try and get along better when we go bowling tomorrow.”

  “Bowling?”

  “He’s going to drop us off and come back and pick us up tomorrow night after Aunt Beverly’s dress rehearsal.”

  This was the first Charmaine had heard of that. “Cool. Do you bowl?”

  She nodded. “A lot at home.”

  “Kenny doesn’t bowl much,” Charmaine said. “But it should be fun for the two of you.”

  “I can show him.”

  Charmaine smiled. “I hope you understand that I’m not trying to replace your mother or anything like that. Your dad will always be there for you, and nothing between us or between him and Kenny changes that.”

  “That’s what Daddy has been telling me. Last night, he said he was kind of lonely before he met you and Kenny and now he’s not. He said that you all make him happy. So that’s good.”

  Charmaine was pleasantly surprised to hear that Tyrone had talked to Tiffany about these things. This was probably a first, and a very nice first. It looked like Tyrone was sincerely trying to mend the relationships. “That’s all I want,” Charmaine said. “To make him happy, and I think Kenny and I do that. Just like you do.”

  Tiffany smiled, a genuine smile. That was also a first, Charmaine thought. “You should smile like that more often,” Charmaine said. “You’re even prettier when you do.”

  Charmaine realized that Tiffany wasn’t totally won over with one conversation and a few smiles between them. There would be many more ups and downs in this crazy blended family. But she felt as if she had made a bit of progress; hopefully she would make even more in the days ahead if she and Tyrone continued to work together.

  Chapter 33

  Evelyn knelt on the ground, grabbed a handful of weeds, and pulled. She had neglected her flower garden something awful that summer, with all that was happening between her and Kevin. The weeds were getting dreadfully out of hand, and she couldn’t put off tending them for one more day. As soon as she had returned home from Beverly’s dress rehearsal on Friday evening, she changed into shorts and tennis shoes, went out back, and got busy. It was dusk and she didn’t have much time.

  Evelyn had noticed that Beverly seemed out of it at the dress rehearsal, so much so that Evelyn couldn’t get Beverly’s behavior out of her mind. Beverly wasn’t at all the happy, upbeat woman one would have expected on the day before her wedding. A couple of times their mother had to call Beverly’s name twice before she responded. And she kept stumbling over her vows, even when she was repeating after the minister. It took several attempts before Beverly finally got the vows right. Strangest of all, she and Julian had arrived at the church and left in separate cars.

  Evelyn was very worried. With anyone else, a lot of this could be dismissed as simply pre-wedding jitters or confusion or whatever. But this was Beverly they were dealing with. And she was notorious among their family and friends for backing out of weddings at the last minute.

  Evelyn stood up. She couldn’t let this slide as she had with Beverly’s two previous engagements. She needed to get on top of things. She brushed the dirt off her knees and walked into the house. In the kitchen, she picked up the phone and dialed Beverly’s numbers but got no answer. She thought a moment and then dialed Charmaine’s home phone.

  Charmaine arrived home from the dress rehearsal, dropped the dry cleaning she had stopped to pick up for Tyrone onto a kitchen chair, and grabbed the ringing phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, Charm,” Evelyn said.

  “Oh, hey.”

  “I’ve been calling and calling,” Evelyn said.

  “I had to make some stops,” Charmaine said. “What’s up?”

  “I’ve been trying to reach Beverly, but she’s not answering her cell or home phone,” Evelyn said. “I wanted to talk to her since she was so subdued at the dress rehearsal.”

  “I noticed that too,” Charmaine said.

  “What do you think is going on with her?” Evelyn asked.

  “If you ask me, she’s still got that thing with Valerie on her mind,” Charmaine said. “Understandably.”

  “Yes, but you know how she is,” Evelyn said. “And she and Julian arrived in separate cars. I’m more than a little worried.”

  “I don’t think she’ll cancel tomorrow, if that’s what you’re thinking. She told me that she and Julian were getting together for dinner after the rehearsal.”

  “Oh, good,” Evelyn said. “I didn’t know that. So I can stop worrying.”

  “I’m sure she’s fine,” Charmaine said. “Julian is special and she knows that. But how are you holding up? And how did things go with Reuben? I didn’t get to ask you at rehearsal.” Everyone was so worried about Beverly with the big day approaching, which wasn’t surprising, given Beverly’s shaky history with weddings, Charmaine thought. But Evelyn was the one going through the roughest time.

  “My date couldn’t have gone better, actually,” Evelyn said. “Until Kevin showed up, that is. He was waiting when Reuben dropped me off.”

  “You’re kidding!”

  “Nope.”

  “What happened?” Charmaine asked.

  “It was a mess,” Evelyn responded. “But I said what needed to be said to him and kicked his butt to the curb.”

&
nbsp; “Good for you,” Charmaine said. “Are you really over him emotionally? It’s been less than a month since he left.”

  “Honestly, I’m so over him it ain’t even funny. Do I still have feelings for him? Of course. But I’m past the point of wanting us to get back together because I know it would never work. Our relationship had been strained for years, and after what he did with Valerie, I would never be able to trust him again. And I can’t be married to someone I can’t trust. I’ve definitely moved on.”

  “You slept with Reuben, didn’t you?”

  Evelyn gasped and laughed out loud. “Now where on earth did that come from?”

  “I hear it in your voice, girl. You sound like a new woman.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, and it’s about damn time too!”

  Evelyn laughed again. “I know. Better late than never, I guess.”

  “Damn straight. I’m so happy for you. When are you seeing him again?”

  “He might come to the wedding with me tomorrow. We’re discussing it.”

  “So you’re a couple already?” Charmaine asked.

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Evelyn said. “But you know what? I’m not even anxious about things like that, like I would have been after sleeping with a man years ago. If we become a couple, fine; if not and we decide to move in different directions, that’s fine too.”

  “Yes! I never thought I’d hear you talking like that.”

  “Neither did I, to tell you the truth,” Evelyn said. “How about you and Tyrone? How’s that going since he moved back in?”

  “So far, so good,” Charmaine said. “We’re getting along better. So are Tiffany and Kenny. He looks like a keeper. Got my fingers crossed.”

  “Tyrone seems like good people,” Evelyn said. “I’m glad you all are working things out. Sounds like he must have come around.”

  “We both did. I had to ask myself whether I wanted to win every argument or I wanted to be married. I decided to swallow a little of my pride and offer to meet him halfway, something I would never have done before. I would have insisted on having it my way, ninety-nine percent.” Charmaine chuckled. “A sure prescription for divorce.”

  “So you compromised,” Evelyn said. “Good. But don’t bend too much. You have to draw the line somewhere.”

  “Marriage is a trip, isn’t it?” Charmaine said. “A constant juggling act. Why is it so hard?”

  “Good question.”

  “You’re the therapist. What do you think?” Charmaine asked.

  “If I knew the answer, I wouldn’t be just a therapist. I’d also be a best-selling author.”

  Chapter 34

  When Tyrone returned from dropping Kenny and Tiffany off at the bowling alley on Route 40, Charmaine was buck naked and posing seductively for him in bed. He stripped on the spot, letting all his clothing fall to the floor, and climbed in beside her. They were both so eager that they actually bumped heads, then fell back laughing. They got so little time alone together that it almost felt like they were vacationing in the Bahamas.

  Twelve minutes later she was gripping the brass headboard, gyrating wildly as the pleasure welled hotly through her loins, and calling out his name. Her voice incited him, and he went deeper, sending them both to new peaks of bliss.

  No sooner had he rolled off her and onto his back than the telephone on the nightstand next to her side of the bed rang.

  “Damn,” Tyrone said, pulling the sheet up over his waist. “Perfect timing, whoever that is.”

  “No kidding.” Charmaine looked at the caller ID. The number that showed up was the only one she would have bothered to answer at that moment—Kenny.

  “Hi,” she said. “You two aren’t ready to come home this soon, are you?”

  “Ma.” Kenny paused, but even with only that one word, Charmaine could tell from the tone of his voice that something was wrong. She sat up straight, and Tyrone turned toward her, a big question mark on his face.

  “What’s wrong, baby?” Charmaine asked.

  “We got into a fight,” Kenny said.

  “Who got into a fight?”

  “Me and Tiffany.”

  Oh, hell, Charmaine thought. Not again.

  “What’s going on?” Tyrone asked anxiously.

  “They got into a fight,” Charmaine whispered as she covered the mouthpiece.

  “Oh, boy. Anybody hurt?” he asked.

  “Are you both all right?” she asked Kenny.

  “Yeah, we’re fine, but can you come get us?”

  Tyrone was already up. He grabbed his clothes off the floor and went into the adjoining bathroom.

  “We’ll be right there,” Charmaine said.

  Within ten minutes of the call, Charmaine and Tyrone were pulling out of the driveway and heading toward the bowling alley.

  “Do you think we should call and talk to them while we drive?” Tyrone asked.

  “He said they were both fine.”

  Tyrone shook his head. “They seemed to get along better lately. They were laughing and joking while I drove them to the bowling alley. What do you think happened?”

  “I don’t know. But I still believe we’re making progress. This is just a temporary setback, and whatever happened, we have to be impartial. The goal is to get them back to getting along again.”

  “I agree,” he said, nodding his head.

  “They’re teenagers. Hormones and tempers flying. Rivalries.”

  He patted her thigh. “Don’t worry. I won’t lose my cool this time. You’re absolutely right.”

  Charmaine smiled but prayed to herself that they wouldn’t get there and find things were so bad that one of them was unable to stay calm and neutral.

  “Wonder what it could have been about,” Tyrone said.

  “We’ll find out soon enough,” Charmaine said as he turned into the parking lot in front of the bowling alley. Almost immediately, Charmaine spotted Kenny and Tiffany sitting side by side on the curb in front of the bowling alley. Tiffany was holding what appeared to be wet brown paper towels from the bathroom up against Kenny’s eye.

  Tyrone and Charmaine looked at each other with confusion as Tyrone pulled into a parking space. It looked like Kenny had gotten injured despite his claims to the contrary, but at least they weren’t still trying to punch each other out.

  Tyrone shut off the engine, and they both jumped out of the car and ran up to Kenny and Tiffany. The two teens stood up, and Tiffany removed the towels from Kenny’s eye. Charmaine winced and examined him closely. She didn’t like what she saw. Kenny’s eye was starting to swell up. No telling what it would look like tomorrow for the wedding. Why couldn’t these two get along?

  “Oh, no, Kenny,” she said.

  “Let me look,” Tyrone insisted.

  Charmaine stepped aside to give Tyrone a chance to examine Kenny’s eye.

  “That’s a real shiner you got there, but it will heal,” he said. He reached for the wet paper towels in Tiffany’s hand. They were filled with slowly melting ice. “This is good. Keep that on there until we get home,” he said, moving her hand back to Kenny’s face. “Now, tell us what happened.”

  “And why are you-all out here?” Charmaine asked.

  They both looked at each other and grinned. Charmaine frowned. This was getting more puzzling by the minute. The two of them seemed strangely chummy for two people who had just fought each other.

  “We got kicked out,” Kenny said.

  “What?” Charmaine and Tyrone cried in unison.

  “The manager told us not to come back until we grow up some,” Tiffany said.

  “Or bring our parents with us,” Kenny added.

  Tiffany and Kenny both laughed.

  “For some reason you two find this funny,” Tyrone said. “Go ahead. I’m waiting to hear exactly what happened.”

  “So am I,” Charmaine added.

  “Well, this girl in there was picking on me,” Tiffany said.

  “What girl?” Tyrone asked.<
br />
  “Danita,” Kenny said. “She goes to my school. I don’t know her all that well, ’cept I know she’s a troublemaker, always starting stuff with people.”

  “Why was she bothering Tiffany?” Charmaine asked.

  Kenny shrugged. “You have to ask Tiffany that. I was inside with some of my boys when all of a sudden I heard shouting where Tiffany was hanging with some girls. I looked over and I saw that it was Tiffany and Danita.”

  “She said I thought I was all that,” Tiffany said. “’Cause I’m from California, I must think I’m cute. She was getting all up in my face. So I told her, ‘Back off, bitch.’ That’s when she shoved me and I hit her back.”

  “So if you were the one fighting,” Tyrone said, “how did Kenny get the black eye?”

  “He tried to stop it,” Tiffany said.

  “Yeah, I stepped in, trying to break them up. Then Danita’s older brother started messing with me, telling me to mind my own business. Next thing I know me and him are going at it.”

  “So you both got thrown out,” Charmaine said. “Did the other teens involved in this get thrown out too?”

  Kenny and Tiffany both nodded.

  “I know we shouldn’t have been fighting, but they started it,” Tiffany said.

  “You always told me not to start fights but to protect myself, Ma,” Kenny said. “I couldn’t just stand by and watch that girl pick on Tiffany. We’re family.”

  Charmaine sighed deeply.

  “Are we in trouble?” Kenny asked.

  Charmaine and Tyrone looked at each other, both trying to suppress the smiles about to break out on their faces. She wasn’t exactly overjoyed to see Kenny all banged up or to hear that he’d been in a fight. Yet she was thrilled to hear that he was standing up for Tiffany and to see the two of them getting along so well.

  “I just got one thing to say,” Tyrone said. “I hope the other dude is busted up at least as bad as you are, man.”

  Chapter 35

  Beverly dashed out of the Baltimore Hyatt hotel room and down the corridor, her overnight bag flung across her shoulder. The heated exchange with Julian of only moments ago was fresh and vivid in her mind.