“No, not really, Scorpio. Everything is not okay. Mario seems troubled by something that was brought to his attention. I hope the two of you are able to settle things quickly, because the last thing I want is for people to get hurt. I’m sure you wouldn’t want that either.”
My face appeared contorted. Talk like that annoyed me. Threats went in one ear, out the other. I was married to Mario; therefore, I didn’t have to explain a damn thing to Mr. Pezzano. I didn’t care how wealthy he was or what kind of crap he was involved in. He wasn’t about to intimidate me. He needed to know what kind of woman his son had married.
“Mr. Pezzano, I know you and Mario discuss an array of things, but if he is upset with me about anything, we’ll work it out. For you to say someone could get hurt, I’m not sure who you could be referring to. That kind of talk is unnecessary. Mario and I will be fine, so please do not worry about a grown man who is more than capable of taking care of himself.”
Mr. Pezzano released a cackling laugh. He abruptly silenced himself and swiftly lifted his cane, positioning it near the tip of my nose. I guess he assumed I would back away in fear. I didn’t.
His tone was stern, eyes were devilish. “Family, Scorpio. All we care about is family. If you hurt one of us, you hurt all of us. I told my son not to marry you. You are not a loyal woman, and you will never be loyal to him. He’s so freaking pussy whipped that he can barely think straight. But when he wakes up, my dear, don’t you dare say that I didn’t warn you.”
The tour was over. I marched back into the living room where Mario was. He was chilling back on the couch with one leg crossed over the other. The cigar dangled from his mouth, and when he removed it, he whistled three round circles of smoke into the air. I stood in front of him, darting my finger while shouting my demands.
“You need to get your father in check. He’s disrespecting me in my house, and I do not appreciate it. Do you mind asking him to leave?”
Mario sighed. He placed the cigar in an ashtray, and as the direction of his eyes traveled from me to his father, there was a smirk on his face.
“Papa, what did you say to my lovely wife? You have her tight panties in a bunch and she’s highly upset. I don’t like it when she’s this way. Nor do I condone the way her loud voice squeaks when she speaks to me. I do apologize to you. Because she should know better than to ask my own father to leave this house.” His eyes were now fixed on me. “That’s not going to work, sweetheart, but nice try.”
Steam was pouring from my ears. I was seething with anger, but instead of arguing with Mario for not taking up for me, I decided to leave.
“I’ll tell you what . . . he can stay and I’ll go. Call me when he’s gone, and if you decide not to call me at all, I’m good with that too.”
I wasn’t playing with Mario. While lying to him wasn’t the right thing to do, I still didn’t owe his father not one explanation. I always sensed that he was going to be a problem for us. I told Mario, a long time ago, that his father had issues with me.
I slipped my heels back on and made my way to the door. Mario called after me. I didn’t bother to turn around. I got in my car and sped off. He knew how to reach me, and I wasn’t going to step one foot in my own house, until Mr. Pezzano was gone. Maybe by then, Mario and I could get to the root of our issues.
I drove around for a while, before parking to call the kids who were still in St. Louis. Nanny B said Nokea’s parents were enjoying their company, and after Mackenzie told me Nokea was on her way there, I told them to have a good time. Afterward, I took a long walk on the beach. My thoughts were on Mario. He didn’t bother to call me, and when I returned home nearly two hours later, his sports car wasn’t in the driveway. There were very few lights on in the house, only because Loretta was still there. She informed me that Mario had left, and said he would be back later.
“Did he say where he was going?” I asked.
“No, he didn’t say. Mr. Pezzano left, and a few minutes later, so did Mario. Is everything okay between the two of you?”
“Not really, but don’t worry. Things will be back to normal soon enough.”
Loretta reached out to give me a hug. She was so sweet. Jaylin hired her years ago to help me with the kids. She was like family to me, and she was never the type of woman to stick her nose in my business. I watched as she made her way upstairs, wearing a blue nightgown that was too big for her petite frame. Her hair flowed midway down her back, and her round face displayed worry. I was starting to worry, too. There was no way in hell we were going to turn this beautiful house into a hellhole.
I tossed and turned all night. Periodically, the roaring thunder caused me to jump from my sleep and look out the window. I also glanced at the spot beside me, seeing that Mario hadn’t come home yet. I’d thought about calling him, but my eyelids were so heavy that I fell back on my pillow and went to sleep. What seemed like only a few hours later, I woke up again. This time, the smell of cigar smoke filled my nostrils. My eyes cracked open, and I could see Mario sitting in a chair, right in front of the bed. He was stark naked, legs were wide open. The cigar dangled from his mouth and something was in his hand that I couldn’t quite see. The lighting in the room was faint, and with every window wide open, I felt a cold chill. Goosebumps covered my arms and something with my hair felt real strange. It wasn’t until I turned on the lamp next to me, when I saw hair, my beautiful wavy hair, spread out on the sheets. My heart raced as I touched my head, feeling how short my hair was. Without looking in a mirror, I could only imagine.
“What in the hell did you do?” I shouted as I feverishly patted my head. “Mario, noooo! Why would you do this?”
I yanked the covers back, but as I charged out of bed, he cocked a gun to the side, aiming it in my direction.
“Don’t move,” he demanded. “Get back in bed and stay there until I say go.”
Not knowing what to expect, I eased back on the bed with my heart racing faster. All I could think was, who in the hell had I married? This was not the same man who had been nothing but kind to me for the past few years. I didn’t even know this side of him existed.
“Let me make one thing clear,” he spoke calmly and laid the gun on his lap. “You don’t get to speak to me in a nasty tone, my dear. You’re not allowed to make demands, especially when you’re the one in the hot seat, not me. Not me, Mrs. Pezzano, so I need to ask you about the night of your bachelorette party again. This time, you need to get it right and speak the truth. You need to tell me if I should believe Jaylin when he tells me he has you wrapped around his little fucking finger. Does he, or doesn’t he?”
I swallowed a lump that was stuck in my throat. With anger trapped in my teary eyes, I wanted so badly to tell Mario to go to hell. I also wanted to cry, but crying would do me no good. The last thing I wanted to do was show weakness. If Mario ever viewed me as weak, he would take full advantage of it.
“Be . . . Before I answer anything, why, Mario? Why cut my hair off like this? I would never—”
He slammed the gun on his knee. “Fuck your hair! You needed to cut that shit anyway, and didn’t you say that’s what you were going to do? I did you a favor, so stop your griping and don’t change the subject. Get back to what I asked you. Does he have you twirling around his finger like a little stripper girl on a pole?”
“I’m not going to answer any of your ridiculous questions.”
Mario’s face crumpled. His eyes narrowed to slits, and he charged at me so quickly that I didn’t have enough time to scurry off the bed. He grabbed my leg, pulling me toward him. This time, he laid over me with the gun planted at the center of my forehead.
“If you want to keep screwing me around, I’ll show you what happens to people who screw me. I’ll show you right now! Is this what you want?”
“No,” I said softly while looking into his eyes that displayed pure rage.
I could feel beads of sweat building on my forehead. For the first time ever, I feared for my life. My chest heaved in and
out, so did his.
“Tell me!” he shouted. “Tell me the fucking truth!”
I shouted back. “Not like this, Mario! We don’t have to go out like this!”
He removed the gun from my forehead and rubbed it against my trembling lips. “You’re right, we don’t. So open your mouth, talk real slow, say the right things or else this gun will find a better place to create a bigger hole.”
My eyelids fluttered when he lowered the gun, raised my wet nightgown that was clinging to my sweaty skin, and pressed the gun at the center of my pussy lips. My mouth opened wide—I was ready to talk.
“Yes,” I rushed to say. “I had sex with Jaylin the day before I became your wife. I needed to do it for my own personal reasons, and . . . and I will never go there again. As for what he said to you, none of it was true. He said those things to upset you—the only man I want is you.”
I wasn’t so sure about that after this, but I had to say anything to get Mario back on my team. He continued to lay over me without saying a word. The gun was still at the folds of my pussy; he didn’t move it.
“Personal reasons, huh? I have a personal reason to shoot you and that slimy motherfucker, and if he—”
“Sex,” I bellowed then hurried to correct my tone. “It was just sex, Mario. This has gone too far, and think about what you’re doing to us over one night of sex. I know I was wrong, wrong for lying to you and everything. I was ashamed to tell you what I did, but I can promise you, right here and now, that it will never, ever happen again.”
He added more pressure from the gun against my folds, causing me to squeeze my eyes tighter.
“It better not happen again. Not ever, and if it does, he dies and so do you.”
Mario slowly got up and carefully laid the gun on my stomach that was tied in knots.
“If it takes a toy gun for you to speak the truth,” he said. “Maybe you shouldn’t be Mrs. Pezzano after all.”
As Mario turned toward the door, I lifted the gun from my stomach. It was a heavy plastic toy gun that looked real as real could get. I had been tricked—damn! Mario left the room, and I threw the gun at the wall. It broke into pieces, just as my marriage had done. I couldn’t help but to wonder if I had made a big mistake marrying Mario, or if he had made a mistake marrying me.
NOKEA
I was in St. Louis, sitting patiently and waiting for Jaylin to arrive at Café Lapedero. It was his birthday, and yet again, we found ourselves at odds with each other. We hadn’t been to this restaurant in years, even though this was the place we often dined at to celebrate his birthday, settle some of our differences and find solace again. That was why I invited him to meet me here, regardless of him proclaiming it was “the end.”
I didn’t want to say much around Scorpio during dinner the other night, but when it came to Jaylin and me, there was no end. We would always be there for each other, and for him to try and cut off what we had was ridiculous. I was somewhat disappointed that he had returned his ring to me, but since I was moving in another direction, why not return it? So many questions about my future flooded my mind—I was starting to feel confused again. Travis was in St. Louis with me, but he had met up with his uncle to attend a St. Louis Cardinal’s baseball game. As I had done in my past relationship with Collins, I kept this intimate dinner arrangement with Jaylin private. He said he would be here, but as expected, he was late.
“Will Mr. Rogers still be joining you?” said the poised waiter, Romero. He was so nice and had served Jaylin and me almost every time we came here.
I looked at my watch, seeing that Jaylin was only ten minutes late. “Yes, he will. He should arrive soon.”
“Okay. Meanwhile, I’ll go get you some more water. Would you like anything else?”
“No. The water will be fine. Thank you, Romero.”
I released a deep breath as he walked away. And to be honest, I was a bit nervous. I wasn’t sure how Jaylin was going to behave today, especially since he seemed adamant about us going our separate ways. I bit my nail while scanning the restaurant that in a weird way was too quiet. There were only two other couples inside and their conversations were just above a whisper. Romero was the only waiter working the floor tonight, and every now and then the chef came out of the kitchen to converse with him. The whole atmosphere felt strange, but it was very romantic in a sense. The lighting was faint and scented round candles in the middle of every table in the room provided a cozy atmosphere. Crisp white tablecloths covered the squared tables, fine China was on top and every table was surrounded by two or four velvet wingback chairs. Wall-to-wall beveled mirrors made Café Lapedero appear larger than what it was, and with marble flooring traveling from one area to the next, the whole place represented elegance. I felt underdressed in my sleeveless, flared dress that dipped low in the front. It was a glittery gold, cut right above my knees and meshed well with my caramel skin. My fresh haircut was slayed, and with feathered bangs close to my left eye, I kept moving my hair to the side so I could see Jaylin make his appearance at the door. It wasn’t long before he arrived, but to no surprise, there was no smile on his face. His serious demeanor traveled with him, and his fine hair, particularly the hair that formed his goatee, was trimmed meticulously. He smooth walked my way with over confidence on display. The navy pinstriped slacks he wore were tailored to fit. His Persian blue shirt grasped the muscles in his arms and chest—a beautiful sight he was. I stood to greet him. A smile emerged on my face, but it wasn’t enough to make his demeanor change. When he arrived at the table, all I could do was spill the words, “Happy Birthday.”
“Thanks, but you didn’t have to waste your time coming here,” he said, before taking a seat in the chair. No hug, no kiss on the cheek, no thank you. . . nothing. I sat back in the chair, clearing my clogged throat.
“I don’t believe that I’ve wasted my time and I’m glad you’re here. It’s been a long time since we shared an intimate dinner like this together, and it is my hope that we can leave here on a more positive note. Will that be so difficult for us to do?”
“That depends on you, Nokea. I’m just here because you asked me to come. I thought you may have some good news for me, too, but I guess this may be just another opportunity for you to tell me how much in love you are with another man.”
“No, I didn’t come here to talk about Travis tonight. Actually, I wanted to talk about us. I want you to know how important it is for us to still confide in each other, be there for each other and to never let anyone or anything come between us. Our friendship means the world to me. I could never see myself being without it. I know my relationship with Travis is difficult for you to accept, but I need your support, Jaylin. Please tell me what I can do to help us both heal and get us back to the place where we used to be.”
Without a blink, Jaylin’s eyes penetrated my thoughts from across the table. He leaned forward, and circled his lips to blow out the flickering flame from the candle in front of me.
“Times up and lights out. There is only one way for us to get back to the place we used to be. I don’t have to tell you what you must do to make that happen. Unfortunately, you won’t do it, so stop wasting my time with this. I meant what I said about us moving on, and the time is now. Right now, Nokea, so stop trying to make all these pieces to your little fucked-up puzzle fit when they won’t. I’ll never accept your relationship with Travis. I can’t support you, but what I can do is keep my distance so I don’t offend anyone. That’s all you’re going to get from me, so have a nice evening and please don’t call me with this nonsense again.”
He was so darn stubborn. I couldn’t believe when he stood to leave—I nearly lost it and stood too.
“You know what,” I said with a heavy heart. “You expect too much from me. All I’m attempting to do is make our lives run a little more smoother than what they are now. Every time we find ourselves here, all you do is drop your measly dollars on the table and walk away. You can’t have your way, so you walk away and go to your little
corner and hide. If that’s what you want to do, fine!” My voice cracked, tone went up a few notches. “Go be by yourself and deal with your hurt the best way you can. It’s what you’ve always tried to do, but guess what, Jaylin?” I pointed to my chest. “In the end, you needed me. You’ve always needed me, and now, I need you too!”
He spilled his anger through gritted teeth. “Need me for what? What in the hell do you need me for, when you insist that you are in love with the man of your dreams? That shit hurts, and how in the world can you stand there and say I’m the one expecting too much from you? Damn, baby, what is wrong with you?”
“You are expecting too much. I remained with you through thick and thin. Stayed through all the good and bad. Never turned my back on you, but now, you think it’s okay for you to run away from me because you can’t cope with my relationship? Really? Is that how this works? Please help me understand why I need to always be there for you, but you can’t find it in your heart to be there for me?”
My words seemed to anger him more. His face appeared distorted, brows were bushy and furrowed. “Wake the fuck up, Nokea. Are you really that clueless? Just in case you are, let me spell things out for you, alright?” He stepped up to me, now nearly face-to-face. I could see the damage in his eyes, mine showed the same. “I will love you until the day I die and thereafter. There is no other woman for me, and it hurts like hell to sit back and wait until you make your next move. I’m devastated about you being pregnant, and do you have any idea how I’m going to feel if you become Travis’ wife? I give you major props for sticking by me throughout our relationship, but baby, I simply cannot do it.”
He tried to walk away again, but I grabbed his collar, forcing him to stay there and face me. Avoiding eye contact, he turned his head, looking toward the door. “Okay, so what is it that you want then? Look at me, damn-it, and tell me what you need from me.”
Jaylin Page 13
