by Vera Roberts
“Oh, we know the answer to that one,” Faith laughed. “But he does miss his buddy.”
“Well, I’ll leave some tickets at the stadium for you two. I would love to see Nate again.” Darren replied. “I love that little boy.”
“He loves you, too.” Faith thanked the server for bringing their lunch. “He certainly loves you, too.”
Ten
“Welcome to Madre’s.” Eli greeted a young Latino man as he entered the shop with one of his friends. “What can I help you with?”
“Yo, you’re the dude on TV!” The man clamored. “Man, I don’t even watch reality shows and shit like that, you know what I mean? But my girl’s a huge fan of yours and I wanted to surprise her with one of your creations!”
“Sure thing, my man,” Eli slapped hands with him and gave him a bro hug. “Have a seat over there and I’ll help you with what you need.” He joined the two men a short time later with a notepad and a pencil. “What can I do for you, bro?”
“Okay, it’s my girl’s birthday coming up. I’m going to take her to a dinner and a movie, but I want to surprise her with one of your creations, yo! I don’t have a lot of money to spend but we can work something out.”
“Sure thing,” Eli scribbled ‘birthday’ on the notepad, “what’s your budget?”
“I got fifty on me.” The guy stated. “Is that good?”
“That’s perfect.” Eli scribbled ’50.’ “I can do a lot with fifty dollars. What’s your name, man?”
“I’m Jake and this is my boy, Aries.” The slender one introduced the thicker friend to Eli. “He might get something for his girl, too.”
“Okay, let’s focus on you first and then I’ll hook Aries up in a minute.” A Madre’s assistant came by with macaroons and bottled water. “Help yourself, gentlemen.”
Aries picked up the macaroon and examined it. “What is this?”
“A macaroon,” Eli stated, “yeah, I didn’t know what the hell it was either when I first saw it. It’s really good, though. Take a bite.”
Both Aries and Jake bit into their macaroons and moaned at the exquisite taste. “Yo, this shit is good, man!” Jake exclaimed.
“It’s better than yo mom’s,” Aries ate his.
Jake turned to his friend. “Yo, don’t be talking about my mom’s like that.”
“He was just playin’,” Eli played referee, “okay, Jake. Let’s get down to business. Tell me about your girl.”
“She’s about to turn 22. She just had my kid, man. A son.” Jake smiled.
“Congratulations!” Eli smiled.
“Thanks, man.” Jake nodded. “I’m a tattoo artist and she’s a stay at-home mom but she goes to school, too. Online school.”
Eli began drawing. “How did you meet?”
“I did her tats!” Jake reminisced. “We flirted over the course of a few hours and that’s pretty much it. I asked her out a week later. A year later, we had our first baby.”
“That’s great, man.” Eli continued drawing. “What are her interests besides school, you, and your son?”
“Hmm…” Jake leaned forward. “…geez, I don’t know, man.”
“Oh, come on,” Eli prodded, “you’ve been with her for about two years now, right? You have to know what she’s into?”
“Tattoos!” Jake blurted.
“Okay,” Eli scribbled, “what kind of tats?”
“She’s into different stuff. I just did a Hello Kitty one for her not that long ago. She has a dolphin on her ankle and a rose on a shoulder.”
“Okay,” Eli started sketching the flower design, “and what else?”
“She watches a lot of TV,” Aries mentioned. “She’s always talking about what she saw with my girlfriend. They’re best friends.”
“That’s how we found out about you!” Jake pointed.
“Other interests? Sports? Shopping?” Eli asked.
“She’s not into sports but she’s huge into shoes,” Jake shook his head, “dude, how many damn pairs of shoes does a girl need? Yo, check it…I have four pairs of shoes, okay? Just four. One for church, dirty shoes I wear for work, one for gym, and one for everyday use. My lady? She has fifteen pairs of shoes, man! Fifteen pairs! Yo, our baby doesn’t even have one pair of shoes and this chick has fifteen!”
“That’s a lot of shoes, man,” Aries commented.
“That’s what I’m sayin’!” Jake agreed. “And then she says like she needs different pairs of black shoes. Why? Why do you need different pairs of black shoes? Ain’t nobody seeing your shoes other than you!”
“It’s a status symbol for women,” Eli chimed in, “I don’t get it, neither but I don’t argue. Fifteen pairs of shoes ain’t nothing compared to my wife’s collection.”
“Oh yeah?” Jake asked. “How many does she have?”
“She converted one of our bedrooms into a walk-in closet for her shoes and handbags,” Eli stoically replied as Jake’s and Aries’s mouths dropped. “So yeah…I wish my wife only had fifteen pairs.” Eli tore off the sheet and handed it to a nearby assistant, who immediately went to the back. “But it’s little things like that that make me appreciate her. It’s weird when you’re married.”
“I hear that, bro.” Jake replied and Aries agreed.
Eli saw one of his longtime friends enter the store. “Excuse me, gentlemen. I’ll be right back.”
“Yo, can we can some more of those macaroons?” Aries asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Eli motioned to another assistant and she promptly brought over another plate.
“Dang, that was quick!” Jake exclaimed. “You really do run this place!”
“Nah,” Eli smiled, “I just work here.” He left to meet his friend and gave her a hug. “Shanita, what’s up, baby girl?”
Shanita Adams was one of Eli’s friends from high school. A dark-skinned vixen who proudly wore a red lip and unapologetic about her weaves, she became a gossip reporter after graduating from college. Though she and Eli never dated, they always remained close. “Did I come at a bad time? I know you’re always crazy busy here.”
“I’m meeting with some clients right now but I can manage some time.” He replied. “What’s up?”
“I need to talk to you after work hours. Can we meet at Gino’s around seven?”
“Sure,” Eli read Shanita’s concerned face. She normally didn’t have anything to talk to him about other than play catch-up. He wondered what was going on. “Is everything okay?”
“I don’t know yet,” she admitted, “but once we talk, maybe the air will be clear.”
****
“Okay, I spent the last few hours on my shift wondering what the hell is going on,” Eli began as he slid into the booth at Gino’s Bar & Restaurant, “what’s up?”
“Did you order a drink?” Shanita began. “You’re going to need one.”
“Yo, Shanny, stop. If something is going on, just give it to me straight.” He gestured. “I don’t want to be led on even more so.”
She blew out a breath. “I know what your family has done for me and I appreciate it,” Shanita began, “that’s why I wanted to come to you first with this.”
“Oh?” Eli asked. “What is it?”
“This,” Shanita slid the folder to Eli. “It just came in yesterday.”
Eli hardened his eyes at his friend before he opened the folder. Right before him was photos of Darren and Faith. It appeared they were on a date. He examined the photos and saw one of Faith giving Darren a kiss on the cheek while the other showed him holding her hand.
A small inferno began to build inside Eli. “Really, though?”
“Eli, I came to you because I know about the show and the past problems in your marriage. This could be totally innocent. I wanted you to see these photos first because I don’t know if our competition saw them as well. If they print the photos, we can’t do anything about that and you know, they might sensationalize the meeting to be something else.”
“Don’t print the photos,�
�� Eli couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth, “even though my wife disrespected me, I refuse to do that to her again.”
“Is everything okay between you and Faye?” Shanita asked. “I know it may not be my business but I have to ask.”
“No, it’s okay to ask,” he corrected her, “because honestly, I don’t know, either.”
****
Everything went slow at work as Eli watched the clock. He counted down the minutes to when he had to leave and dreaded doing so.
It was official – Faith had not forgiven him and there was not telling when she would. Another thing was also official – she was seeing Darren again.
It was an issue he’d dealt with for the past two years. The weekly therapy didn’t matter. She never read the marriage book. He didn’t know if she had girlfriends in her ear, asking her why she was still with Eli. He didn’t know what nasty sweet nothings Darren had sent via text message.
It really didn’t matter. Eli was still being punished and worst yet, Faith didn’t care.
She was always a bit immature and sometimes it annoyed Eli. She would hold grudges for seemingly years, and over some of the stupidest shit. As they grew older and more confident in each other and their marriage, things simmered down.
Then the affair happened and if Eli could, he would’ve showed Simone the door that day.
He wanted to relive a high school fantasy of what if? and wasn’t prepared to deal with what happened. He was selfish, stupid, and frankly, an asshole about it all. It took a lot of self-awareness and forgiving himself for his actions and hurt to everyone.
It seemed everyone had forgiven him…everyone but Faith.
It was well after ten when Eli arrived home and he deliberately stayed out as late as he could. His chest pinched in anger when he thought of Darren and that smarmy California Ken smile he loved to display. He wondered if he used that same smile as he mounted Faith.
Eli released his clenched fists. No. He was not going to get pissed over Darren, at least not yet. He needed to get some answers first before he made any rash decisions. He just hoped Faith would be forthcoming with everything.
“There you are,” Faith paused the DVR, and waved to her husband from the sofa. “I was wondering if you were going to come home tonight.”
“I was wondering that myself,” Eli took off his jacket and shoes.
“Oh?” Faith rested her head on a hand. “Is everything okay, baby? You seem out of it.”
Oh, Eli was out of it, all right. He was clearly out of the marriage. “A bit, yes.”
“Well, what’s up?” Faith patted the sofa. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” he handed the folder to her, “you tell me.”
Faith opened the folder and her eyes widened in shock. Someone spotted her having lunch with Darren and sent Eli the high-resolution photos. It appeared a professional took them. “You followed me?”
“I just handed over pictures of you obviously being on a date with your ex-boyfriend and your first response is asking if I followed you?” Eli asked. “You might want to start over.”
Faith stared at the photos. They all showed her and Darren in various states of affection. It was a platonic meeting and Darren revealed he had a new love interest. Faith felt a small pang of jealousy, though she didn’t know why. “We just had lunch. That’s all.”
“That’s not all.” He quietly replied. “You’ve been in contact with him for a while now.”
“No, I haven’t,” she said and Eli shook his head, “what? You think I’m lying?”
“Faith, I get the phone bill.” Eli showed incredible restraint thought his heart was pounding out of his chest. “Do you really want to do it like this?”
“I don’t see what the big deal is,” she folded her arms. “It was an innocent lunch. We’re not sleeping with each other. There’s no hanky-panky going on. You’re just jealous.”
“I’m just jealous?”
“You’re jealous.” Faith shrugged.
“So I’m supposed to believe you have a completely innocent relationship with your ex-boyfriend and that you two just randomly text each other and that’s not suspicious at all?” Eli smirked. “Yet, if I did that with Simone, you would’ve filed for divorce instantly.”
“That’s different!” Faith defended. “I know my intentions but I don’t know yours with Simone.”
“Oh? But you know the quarterback’s intentions?” Eli replied. “You don’t think he’s waiting for the moment there are problems so he can swoop on in with his Superman cape and save you?”
“You know what? I’m not having this conversation with you! I did nothing wrong!” Faith got up and headed upstairs. “If you want to keep thinking things are a certain way, fine, but I refuse…”
“Woman, you better get your ass back down here and sit down,” Eli’s voice indicated he was having none of his wife’s bullshit, “we’re going to talk about this now, Ms. Busybody.”
Faith stopped in her tracks and went back to the living room where she sat a far distance from her husband. “I’m here, Mr. Man.”
“So what was all that therapy about? I read a fucking marriage counseling book and gave it to you to read!”
“I didn’t need to read it!” She defended. “I didn’t have to.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Eli nodded, “I’m the asshole in this. You’re not.”
Faith held up her hands. “Your words, not mine.”
“You’re not even trying here, Faith.” He began. “It’s like the harder I try to prove myself, to right my wrongs, you try even harder to make sure I don’t. You need to stop punishing me.”
“How am I punishing you?” She asked. “You’re the one who cheated, not me! If I keep bringing it up, it’s not my fault.”
“So you’ve never forgiven me, then?” He asked. “All of that talk about forgiving me, and us doing a goddamn pinky swear? That was really for shits and giggles!”
“I’m in the process of forgiving you,” Faith defended, “I don’t know when it’ll be.”
“You don’t know when it’ll be,” he shook his head, “thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“If you hadn’t cheated on me, we wouldn’t be in this predicament,” Faith glanced at her nails.
Eli felt defeated. He didn’t want to fight a losing battle anymore. The argument was clearly about her relationship – whatever it was – with Darren and Faith brought up Eli’s past affair twice already. His wife hadn’t forgiven him because she wouldn’t. There was no other way about it.
“Fine,” Eli took off his wedding band and set it on the living room table, “I’m done here.”
“Whatever,” Faith disregarded his actions, “you say that now but you’ll be wearing it by the end of the week. You ain’t going anywhere.”
“Since you’re always right, I sincerely hope you’re right about this.” He picked up his keys. “I’ll be back for my stuff tomorrow.” He left.
Faith remained on the sofa as she admired her nails again. “And he says I’m the dramatical one in the relationship.”
Eleven
“Did a flower shop open in here?”
Simone glanced around her office as she admired the six-dozen roses perched on various spots. Each vase contained two-dozen roses. “Maybe a little.”
Pepper walked over and sniffed one of the roses. “Girl, I wish you could share some of the magic you got! I wish I had a dude give me a dozen roses.”
“You can have a vase,” Simone didn’t look up from her laptop, “I can’t bring any of this home or Elena would have a field day and I’m going to have one heck of a mess to clean up.”
“Who’s the Prince Charming?” Pepper asked as she sat down. “I know not all of our clients are this generous.”
“Darren Matthews,” Simone kept typing, “he was impressed by my, ahem, charm.”
“Darren Matthews?” Pepper shouted, causing Simone to jump in her seat. “The Darren Matthews?”
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br /> “I guess there’s only one?” Simone shrugged as she focused on her document.
“Don’t you follow football?” Pepper asked and Simone shook her head. “Darren Matthews, quarterback who plays for the Giants. The finest man to walk God’s green Earth and has been on countless magazine covers, modeling every bit of his chiseled physique.” Pepper sighed and Simone raised an eyebrow. It sounded like her best friend just had an orgasm in her office. “That’s the Darren Matthews!”
“Sounds like you’re a fan,” Simone chuckled.
“You have to date him!” Pepper’s excitement sounded like an order.
“Whoa!” Simone closed her laptop and finally paid attention to Pepper’s inner groupie. “I barely know the guy. I’m still trying to get to know him and I don’t know. I might be his Houston girl while he plays the field.”
“No man sends all of these roses for someone, if he’s just playing the field?” Pepper corrected. He likes you.”
“Well, that’s nice,” Simone replied, “but I don’t have time for a relationship. I have SHE, we just did that huge wedding and we have a ton of new clients coming in, I have Elena, and…”
“And you need a break from it all!” Pepper pleaded. “Simone, I’ve seen you work harder than anyone in these past three years. You need a break. You need romance. You need love. You need a man to give you what a vibrator can’t. Don’t deny yourself this because of what happened in New York.”
“I have a permanent reminder of what happened in New York,” Simone added. “Two mistakes and one was permanent.”
“Have you tried contacting Eli?” Pepper asked and Simone shook her head. “When do you plan on doing that?”
“Never?” Simone questioned.
“You need to contact him for the sake of Elena. Put your feelings aside for once and do this for your baby girl,” Pepper suggested, “you won’t regret it.” She left the office.
Simone stared out the window as she contemplated what Pepper said. She was right. She needed to make amends with Eli before it was too late. They have a daughter together and it was best for both parties to be involved in their daughter’s life, despite the distance.
