by Honey
Mink snuck another peek at Charmaine and admired how her bronze strapless cocktail dress fit smoothly over her thin frame. Her chandelier diamond earrings and matching necklace were exquisite. She looked gorgeous, and that made Mink feel self-conscious all of a sudden. She quickly adjusted the single strap on her lime-green sequin and chiffon sheath, which Josiah had told her appeared to have been painted on her body to perfection. He promised to waste no time stripping it off of her as soon as they got home.
Out of the blue, Charmaine turned and locked eyes with Mink. She smiled before she took a sip of champagne. It could’ve been a case of gross paranoia, but her smile didn’t seem genuine. It was more like taunting, in Mink’s opinion. Did Mrs. Lomax somehow know about her drug addiction? The thought of it made Mink light-headed, causing her body to sway slightly.
“You’re tired. Let me get you home,” Josiah whispered in her ear and wrapped his arm protectively around her waist.
* * *
The late-summer sun shining through the blades of the venetian blinds kissed Josiah good morning the moment he flipped over onto his back in bed. He immediately reached for Mink, but her side of the bed was empty and cold. He sat up in a panic. She’d been clean and vigorously working her recovery for nearly ninety days now. Surely, she hadn’t relapsed. She was too tired to make love last night after the party, so he wondered where she’d found the energy to rise so early in the morning.
Josiah’s heart started beating so fast and hard in his chest that it was difficult to breathe. On instinct, he checked the safe and was relieved that everything was in place, including some money that he’d stashed inside that he needed to deposit in the bank. He stormed into the bathroom without knocking, but Mink wasn’t in there. He left the master suite to check in the girls’ room, but their mother was nowhere to be found. Thank God they were still asleep. Just as Josiah descended the stairs, he heard the alarm system chirp, and the front door shut. He jogged toward the front of the house and came face-to-face with Mink. She was carrying a few grocery bags. He removed them from her hands.
“Why didn’t you wake me to tell me you were going to the store?”
“And why did I need to do that, JoJo? Am I not allowed to go to the damn grocery store without your permission?”
“It’s not that, baby. It’s . . . it’s just that—”
“You thought that I had gone back out on the streets to use. Just say it! You don’t trust me. You expect me to relapse, don’t you? Thanks for the vote of confidence!” She brushed past him and stomped toward the kitchen in a huff with him trailing her.
“That’s not fair, Mink, and you know it. You’ve put those girls and me through hell over the last two and a half years with your disappearing acts and erratic behavior. So when I woke up this morning, and you were gone, the thought that you may have relapsed again did cross my mind. I’m sorry.” He placed the bags on the center island and reached for her.
Mink backed away from him. “No, JoJo! I need you to have faith in me. I’m doing everything I can to keep my promise to you and the girls. You have to believe in me and not assume the worst every time I walk out the door.”
“I’m sorry, Mink. It won’t happen again. But you’ve got to understand where I’m coming from too. Let me know when you’re about to leave the house. I want to know where you’re going. I worry about you because I love you. Don’t you understand?” He opened his arms again and wasn’t disappointed this time.
Mink walked into her husband’s embrace. “I understand. Next time I’ll leave you a note,” she promised and rested her head on his chest.
* * *
“This is your second day in a row picking up the girls late from camp, Mrs. Bishop. One more time, and we’ll have to suspend them for two days.”
Mink ran her fingers through her unruly curls in aggravation and blinked a few times before she cast angry eyes on the camp employee. The young woman’s warning pissed her, and her body was going through changes as a result of her addiction. “Are you threatening me?” she asked, snapping at the woman.
“No, ma’am, I’m not threatening you at all. I am simply reminding you about our camp attendance policy that’s in your contract.”
“Do you know who the hell I am?”
“Mommy, why are you yelling? What’s wrong?” Gem asked.
“Be quiet, Gem!” Mink yelled over her shoulder at her daughter in the backseat of the car.
“But—”
“Shut up!”
Gem and Treasure immediately started crying.
“I had an important meeting today, and time slipped away from me. That’s why I was late. It won’t happen again.” Dizziness and a hot flash had caused Mink to calm down and speak in a softer voice. “We will see you in the morning.”
Mink peeled away from the building with tears blurring her vision and ran a stop sign. The car traveling perpendicular from the east had the right-of-way. The driver slammed on the breaks at the intersection to avoid what would’ve been a terrible accident. Then the driver blew his horn as Mink continued speeding recklessly toward the interstate.
“Mommy, are you okay? I think you’re sick again.”
“I am not sick! Mommy is just tired,” she said, switching to a calmer tone. “I’ll buy Chinese food for dinner. Then after your baths, we’ll cuddle in my bed and watch TV until Daddy comes home.”
“Yaaay!” Treasure shouted.
“Okay,” Gem said quietly.
* * *
“I wanted strawberry jelly, not grape!”
“Just eat it and stop whining like a baby!”
Josiah placed his briefcase on the table in the foyer and rushed nervously into the kitchen. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him when he saw Gem standing in a chair at the island with a butter knife in her hand preparing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Treasure was sitting at the table pouting with tears in her eyes.
“Where’s your mother?”
“She went to get Chinese food. But we got hungry, so I made us a snack.”
Treasure slid from her chair and walked slowly over to her father. “Daddy, I don’t like grape jelly.”
He picked her up. “Has Mommy been gone a long time?”
The child nodded her head and rubbed her eyes.
“But she’ll be back soon,” Gem rushed to say. “She promised.”
Josiah knew something was off. Neither he nor Mink ever left the girls unsupervised for any reason whatsoever. Why hadn’t she taken them with her to buy the food? Better yet, why didn’t she just order takeout from Papa Chin’s like they often did? An unsettling feeling stirred in the pit of his stomach.
He checked his watch and sighed at the time. It was after eight, and the girls were still wearing their camp uniforms. That meant they needed to take baths, but they hadn’t eaten dinner yet. And Treasure had no business handling any knife at her age. Where the hell was Mink, and why had she left the children home alone? Deep in his heart, Josiah knew the answers to those questions, but he didn’t want to accept the truth just yet. He wanted to trust Mink like she had asked him to, but tonight, it was difficult to keep that promise.
“I think we should hop in the car, roll to Chick Filet, and pick up some food. Then we’ll bring everything back here so we can pig out in front of the TV. Hopefully, your mommy will be home by the time we return.” But I doubt it.
Gem hopped down from the chair. “That’s a good idea, Daddy.”
“Can we buy Mommy something to eat too?” Treasure asked.
“Yeah, we’ll get her the chicken salad with the fruit that she likes so much.”
“She’s going to be surprised when we come home with the salad. Right, Daddy?”
Josiah couldn’t answer Treasure. He kissed her cheek and squeezed her tight before he headed for the door with Gem a few steps behind. Mink didn’t have a problem lying to the girls, but he did. Being dishonest in the courtroom or on the campaign stump was normal, but Josiah would always be truthful to
his daughters. Mink wouldn’t be there when they returned, so he refused to tell them that she would.
Chapter Ten
Mink stumbled into the dark house and nearly fell flat on her face, but she caught herself. She giggled and immediately covered her mouth with both hands to muffle the sound. She reminded herself to be quiet as she slipped out of her shoes and tiptoed across the smooth marble floor. How she’d made it home safely was a story for the history books. Mink could hardly remember creeping along the streets with her high beams on in her inebriated state. Focused and determined, she had maintained as much control of the car as she could and avoided all accidents and the police.
“Shit!” she screamed when her bare foot connected with the corner of the center island.
She hopped clumsily on the other foot over to the table, snatched out a chair, and flopped down. As soon as she reached down to rub her injured foot, the light switched on, and brightness flooded the huge state-of-the-art kitchen. Even intoxicated, she realized that Josiah was pissed as he stood scowling at her in a pair of red boxers with his arms folded across his bare chest.
“I-it . . . it’s . . . not what you t-think, JoJo,” Mink stammered. She held out both arms to him so he could examine her veins. “See? I . . . did . . . did . . . not ssshhh . . . s-shoot up.”
“You’ve been drinking, though. I can smell the alcohol from way over here.”
“I only . . . had . . . had a few drinks . . . with s-some . . . old friends.”
“Alcohol is a drug, Mink! Damn it! You are not supposed to drink or use any drugs!” Josiah rushed toward her, grabbed her by the shoulders, and shook her body with force. “What the hell were you thinking? You left the girls here alone to go get drunk!”
Mink looked up into a pair of eyes filled with fury, but she was unfazed. She managed to stand by some miracle and held Josiah’s gaze. She spit in his face. “Fuck you!” she screamed before she wobbled away on unsteady legs.
* * *
“So you’re still not speaking to me, huh? It’s been a week now, JoJo. Get the fuck over it already. I made one mistake, and you’re acting like I committed first-degree murder.”
Josiah pushed past Mink and entered the walk-in closet to get his brown designer Monk Buckle shoes. He had an event to attend, and he didn’t have time to duke it out with his dope fiend wife. Josiah cringed and cursed himself silently for thinking of the mother of his children in such a degrading manner, but he was tired as hell of Mink and her bullshit. Most men in his predicament would’ve divorced her ass and kicked her out by now, but he was still hanging in there, trying to honor his wedding vows and keep his family together. But at the moment, all kinds of thoughts were tumbling through his head. He wasn’t sure if he could remain in a marriage with a temper-tantrum-throwing junkie no matter how much he loved her. Fuck that!
Josiah walked out of the closet and sat down on the bed to put on his shoes. He heard Mink sniffling in the corner of the room. She was having a pity party that he had no desire to attend. He was fed up with the apologies, the tears, and the damn dramatics. He wasn’t down with any of that today. He was a damn good man, and he deserved a good woman who could hold him down and take care of his children. All Mink wanted to do was get high, and Josiah was sick of it.
“I told you I was sorry, JoJo. I was just having a really bad day. I needed to relax and have a good time, so I called an old girlfriend to meet me at Houston’s to hang out. I only intended to chill with her for about an hour, but I lost track of time.” Mink wiped her eyes and walked over to Josiah and wrapped her arms around his neck as he adjusted the knot in his tie. She tried to kiss him, but he turned his head and shoved her arms down to her sides.
“I’ll be home in time to put the girls to bed,” he announced dryly over his shoulder as he walked toward the door.
* * *
“Say what?”
“You heard me, J. After the election—win or lose—I’m filing for divorce.”
Jeremiah chuckled. “Yeah . . . I’ll believe that when I see the divorce decree. You ain’t going nowhere, Negro. I don’t know what kinds of tricks that woman is turning on you, but she’s got your ass sprung, JoJo. That pussy must be flowing with milk and honey. I swear.”
“That ain’t cool, J.”
“I’m sorry, but your love for Mink runs deep, and I don’t believe you’re ever going to let her go no matter how bad she continues to fuck up. You’re just flapping your gums.”
“Nah, man, I’m serious. The girls and I can’t continue to live in dysfunction. They deserve better, and so do I.”
“How high did she get this time?” Jeremiah walked across the room and placed his iPad on Josiah’s desk. “Is she still MIA, or did she come home looking crazy already?”
“I’d rather not talk about it. Just know that she has far exceeded her limit on my bullshit meter. I’m done, J. For real.”
“Well, I don’t believe you. Act like your ass is from Missouri. Show me.”
“I will. You’ll see.”
* * *
“Aaaah, shit, Mink! Ugh . . . ugh . . . ugh . . . Damn!”
Mink’s carefully, well-orchestrated mission she called Operation Reconciliation was going exactly how she had hoped. She had Josiah by the balls literally as she deep throated him into the fifth dimension. She enhanced his pleasure with a gentle massage on his manly jewels with her fingertips just the way he liked it. Josiah had tried like hell to resist Mink’s sexual aggression, but she’d pounced on him the moment he stepped out of the shower all wet and exposed. She knew his desires and his weaknesses. So like a ho desperate for her next dollar, she was there on bended knees to swallow him whole in an attempt to make him forget about her most recent transgression. She was slurping, licking, and moaning on Josiah’s dick unmercifully without the slightest gag like her life depended on it because . . . It did.
Josiah hadn’t touched Mink in three weeks. He barely even looked at her. Most nights, he slept in one of the guest rooms. And his conversations with Mink were short, straight to the point, and usually about the girls. She was a dope addict, but she was a long way from stupid. The further she and Josiah drifted apart each passing day, she was losing him. That thought was more sobering than any addiction treatment. Mink could not lose her husband. She loved him too much, and living without him would never be an option, so she was trying to get her shit together. And the award-winning blow job she was performing on Josiah was the first move in her new game plan. But that was just the appetizer. An unlimited pussy buffet was on the menu, which included dessert. Mink was so desperate to repair her marriage that she was willing to do anything except stop drugging totally. She would simply monitor and control her usage.
She didn’t know why she’d never thought of this idea before. But now that she’d experienced a few months of a drug-free lifestyle, she believed she could limit herself to a certain number of hits on specified days. She would not use during the week at all. Weekends would be her days to indulge. And even then, she would split her usual dosage in half. But if she had to make a public appearance with Josiah during the weekend, she would reward herself with a hit on Sunday evening to make up for her loss. Brilliant plan.
“Aaaah, shit! Aaaah, shit!”
Mink was thrilled, relieved, and completely satisfied when she felt thick, warm semen rain down her throat. She swallowed every damn drop. The delicious taste of Josiah’s seed boosted her horniness to a brand-new level. She was ready to fuck him to outer space and back to earth again. She knew that would seal the deal and mend their broken marriage. Then she would be the perfect wife and mother by sticking to her plan to dial back on her drug use. But she had no plan to end her love affair with heroin completely.
Mink stood and looked into Josiah’s eyes. They were low and twinkling with pure lust. I’ve got him so damn weak, she boasted silently. I’m the drug that his ass can’t shake, so he’s just as much of an addict as I am, she concluded without parting her lips. Mink reached down
and stroked Josiah’s moist dick, and it instantly returned to life again in her palm. He was depleted of strength and resistance just like she’d hoped. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him aggressively, and he reciprocated. Mink continued her assault on Josiah’s mouth with wet, hot, openmouthed kisses as she pushed him toward the bed with his penis still in the palm of her hand. She was a multitasking sista working hard to save her marriage.
The moment Josiah’s back hit the bed with a thud and a bounce, Mink knew her plan had worked. She mounted him and eased down on his nine, rock-solid inches of thick chocolate dick. She smiled at the sound of his deep familiar growl that always got her juices flowing as she clenched the full length and breadth of him with her inner vaginal muscles. Mink threw her head back, rotated her hips, and bounced Josiah into the stratosphere while he bucked underneath her and praised her for having the best pussy on the planet.
Chapter Eleven
“Is Mink all right, JoJo? She’s acting kind of strange. Look at her.”
Josiah followed his mother’s line of vision across the crowded fellowship hall and over to his wife. He had to admit that Mink was acting peculiar. She had way too much energy, like a hyperactive child. And she seemed very agitated. Her countenance appeared flat. “I think she’s tired. She’s been going to NA meetings every day, including the weekends now, trying to stay clean. I think she needs to rest.”
Myrlie kept her eyes on Mink and frowned. “Mmmm . . . huuum . . . Well, take her home so she can sleep before she embarrasses you in front of the whole congregation.”
Josiah wasn’t ready to leave yet. It was homecoming at Fresh Anointing Pentecostal Church, and he was enjoying delicious food and fellowship with his family and church members. His campaign schedule didn’t allow him to attend his home church very often. Most Sundays, he visited three or four churches with his entourage to connect with voters. He was glad to be at the church where his father had been a senior pastor for forty years.
