Sisters and Husbands (28 page)

“Was who him?” she asked with studied innocence. She knew it was a stupid question the minute she asked it. He had obviously
been parked outside waiting for her to return. But she was enjoying every minute of watching Kevin squirm, and she wanted
to string it out for as long as she could.

“The dude who just dropped you off,” he said. “Who the fuck else would I be talking about?”

Evelyn had to struggle to keep the smirk off her face. “Oh, you mean Reuben. Yes, that was him.”

“Where have you been all night?”

“Out. With Reuben.”

“Smart-ass,” he hissed.

“Have you been waiting here since ten?”

His lips tightened. “What was I supposed to do? I really need to get some things out of the garage and you
said
you would be here.”

“I got held up. What can I say?”

“You must be screwing him. What else would you two be doing until almost midnight?”

She studied her fingernails. “I know you’re not talking to me. Not when you just slept with my sister’s best friend.”

“Oh, so that’s what this is. Revenge. Payback time.”

“No, Kevin. More like ‘I have needs too’ time. And since you can’t fulfill them, I found someone who can.”

Kevin stared at her with disbelief. “So you admit you fucked him?”

She said nothing.

“You know, I really do need my tools from the garage, but another reason I contacted you was to see if we could talk and try
to work things out. As long as we’ve been together, it would be irresponsible for us not to try.” He shook his head. “But
now I don’t know. I can hardly believe you did this. Although I guess in a way we could call it even.”

By the time he finished his little speech, Evelyn’s eyes were as big and round as pancakes. She walked up to him and got right
in his face. “If you’re going to stand there and compare what I did to you screwing my sister’s best friend and try to call
it even, then you’ve become a bigger fool than I realized. And if you think for one minute, for one second, that I would ever
go back to your sorry ass after the shit you pulled, then you’re the biggest fool on this goddamn planet.”

He stared in silence as she hastily went to a kitchen cabinet, opened it, and retrieved two keys from a hook on the door.
She removed one key and held it out to Kevin without looking in his direction. As soon as he took the key, she walked to the
door and opened it.

“I’ll see you in divorce court.”

He opened his mouth and looked like he was about to say something until she turned to him and he saw the look of disdain on
her face. He quickly shut his mouth and walked out the door. She slammed it right on his heel and swiped her hands together
as if brushing him out of her life.

Damn, that felt good.

C
harmaine reached into the dryer and pulled out an armful of freshly laundered dark clothing. It seemed that the load got larger
every time she did the laundry, which was now a few times a week. Tyrone and Kenny were the worst. Although Tiffany had more
clothes, guy stuff was bigger, heavier, and dirtier.

This batch was going to take at least two trips from the basement up to her bedroom, where she usually did her sorting and
folding. The wedding was the day after tomorrow, and she wanted to make sure the kids had whatever clothing they might need,
so she was washing everything. She took the first armload, mostly jeans and slacks, and carried it up the two flights of stairs
and dumped it on the bed. Then she went all the way back down to the laundry room for the rest of the items in the dryer.
Both times she passed Tiffany, lounging on the couch in the recreation area, watching television and talking on her cell phone.

It dawned on Charmaine that she shouldn’t have to do this all by herself. She also needed to get dinner on the stove. Tyrone
and Kenny were out getting haircuts for the big day and planned to stop at the grocery store on the way home. Everyone was
doing their part of the household chores. Why couldn’t Tiffany pitch in and do her share?

Charmaine marched into the recreation room and planted her feet between Tiffany and the television set. “Just a second, Dawn,”
Tiffany said into her cell phone. She paused in conversation, covered the mouthpiece, and looked up at Charmaine with annoyance.
“Yeah?”

Charmaine was tempted to tell Tiffany to address her as “Yes, ma’am,” but she knew that what she was about to ask Tiffany
to do was going to upset her enough and she didn’t want to push it. “I need help with the laundry.”

“Oh,” Tiffany said, acting surprised that Charmaine would dare mention that word in her presence. “Um, I’ll be there in a
minute, after I get off the phone.”

“I need help now. You can call Dawn back later.”

Tiffany frowned. “I don’t think so. She’s getting ready to go out with her mom, and we need to finish this up.”

“I would appreciate your help
now
, Tiffany, not later.”

Tiffany blinked and started to say something, no doubt something sassy, but the look on Charmaine’s face made her decide against
it. Maybe it was the fire pouring from her flared nostrils, Charmaine thought as Tiffany reluctantly told her friend good-bye.
Tiffany hung up and dragged her feet as she followed Charmaine into the laundry room. She rolled her eyes with disgust as
Charmaine removed the laundry from the dryer and piled it in Tiffany’s arms.

“That’s enough,” Tiffany protested as Charmaine started to drop more jeans into her arms.

“Is that the best you can do?” Charmaine asked.

“Yes, this is a lot.”

Charmaine rolled her eyes skyward. “Go on and take it up to my bedroom then.” Charmaine grabbed the rest of the clothes from
the dryer and followed Tiffany up the two flights of stairs. Tiffany walked into the bedroom, dumped the clothes, and made
a beeline for the exit.

“Uh-uh,” Charmaine said, as she dropped her own pile on the bed. “Where do you think you’re going? I need help folding them.”

Tiffany stood in the doorway and placed her hands on her hips with indignation. “Most of that stuff isn’t even mine. It’s
Kenny’s.”

“Some of it is yours. And what difference does that make? We’re family, we help each other out. Kenny and your dad are shopping
for food. Do you plan on eating any of it?”

Tiffany smacked her lips and walked back toward the bed.

“What do you want me to do?” she said, staring at the laundry as if it was a new species of animal that she had never seen.

“Haven’t you ever folded laundry before?” Charmaine asked.

“Sure. But I’ve never folded boy’s stuff, since it’s just me and my mom.”

Charmaine nodded with pretended understanding at this newfound excuse. “It’s simple, really,” she said. She lifted a pair
of Kenny’s running pants and tossed a pair of Tyrone’s jeans into Tiffany’s arms. “I’ll admit that guys are different in a
lot of ways, but since they basically have two legs just like us, you shake them out, fold them over like this, then like
this. And presto!” She held the folded pants out for Tiffany to see. “Probably the same way you fold your own. Right?”

Tiffany couldn’t help but crack a tiny smile at Charmaine’s cleverness. “I guess.”

They both folded in silence for a few minutes as Tiffany quickly got the hang of it.

“You do much housework at home?” Charmaine asked.

Tiffany nodded and turned up her nose. “All the time.”

“Like what?”

“Let’s see,” Tiffany said. “Laundry. I do the dishes every other day since we take turns. On weekends, I clean up my room
and the bathroom. Vacuum.”

Charmaine nodded. She was surprised to hear that Tiffany did so much around the house. So she wasn’t treated like a princess
at home. The royal treatment was more Tyrone’s doing than anything. “So your mom makes you help out. That’s good.”

“Good?” Tiffany asked with surprise. “What’s so good about it?”

“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.

E
velyn 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.