And I Trusted You (9 page)

The End

Funeral Weekend

“Hi, I’m getting off the exit. I make a right, right? Then go to the second traffic light and I’ll be at the gas station on the corner. Yeah, I’ll see you in a bit. I’ll be driving a blue Passat.”  Stan hung up the phone. “I hope she’s the same as she is online”, he thinks to himself.

He traveled the distance and pulled into the gas station. Parked off to itself was a red Mercedes coupe. He knew it was Liz because the car looked the same as the one in the picture she emailed him a few months earlier. She was so proud of herself for finally getting the car she wanted. She had asked him all sorts of questions about a woman buying a car alone and what kinds of things she should ask the salesman. They had started talking online in a chat room almost three years ago. It was an ethnic room so he felt comfortable going there. During that time, he’d talked to her almost every day online. He’d even called her on the phone. He was careful to never do it from home, ‘cause he didn’t want Liz’s number showing up on the phone bill. She called him most of the time on his cell phone. But their main source of communication was the computer.

Stan pulled up beside the flashy car and looked over to see if he could see the driver. Sure enough, Liz was sitting behind the wheel. She looked at him and smiled then gave a small wave. They both simultaneously opened their doors and walked to the back of the vehicles. Stan couldn’t contain himself. He hugged and lifted her off the ground as he planted kisses all over her face. “I’m so glad we could get this weekend together.” He hurriedly said.

“So am I. I’m sorry about your Aunt’s death. But at least we’ll be together. When does Samantha expect you back?”

“I told her I’d call her to let her know how things are going. Naturally, I’ll have to put in an appearance at my family’s place. But most of the time can be spent with you. Now, here is the address to the place where I’m going, how far is this from you?” Stan asked handing her a slip of folded paper from his pocket.

“Oh, shoot! This is only a few of miles from where I live. You could go on a walk and be at my place in about 25 minutes. Let’s go back to my place and then we can decide how we want to do everything.” Liz suggested.

They both get into their cars and Stan followed Liz. She drove like a racer cutting through traffic and beating lights. They arrived at a modest brick home on a nice residential tree lined street. Liz wasn’t married, of course and she didn’t have any children that lived with her. Her son was eight years old, but he stayed with his grandmother. She had been given custody of him because Liz became pregnant with him at such a young age. So, Stan wasn’t surprised when he walked into the house and there was a boy’s room with a bunk bed for when a friend stayed over with him.

Liz led him to her bedroom and he put his things down. He lookeds around the room and noticed she hadn’t made any changes since she remodeled the room. Everything was just as it was in the pictures. And, of course, she had her computer set up with her web cam. It was away from the bed, so he never saw the bed when he talked to her on cam, which was every day.

As he sat on the loveseat across from the computer, he began to think about the time he had wasted being married to Samantha. They had one daughter who was five years old and she was the light of his life. But Samantha was nothing like Liz. Liz was about eight years younger and a strong black woman. She was working in her chosen profession and doing the things she wanted. They both shared a passion for pool and tequila. They liked the same kind of music and just get along so much better than he and Samantha.

Surprisingly, he hadn’t set out looking for someone in the chat rooms as most people did. He had just been bored one night and gone in to see what was going on. The group had made him feel welcomed and he felt like a part of the family after a few months. They had a yearly meet and greet which he had attended since joining the room.

Samantha was more into books than computers and she spent her time reading or writing. So, while he was on the computer, she was in her room doing something else. He had tried to get her interested in the computer, but she didn’t like the conversations, most likely because of her strict religious upbringing. Ironically, that was the thing that had attracted him to her. Now, Liz was showing him that being a little wilder and looser was a lot more fun.

She had sent him pictures of her in suggestive positions. They had cyber and phone sex at least once a week and he was sure this would be the first weekend he actually got to penetrate her. Just thinking about it made him warm in the groin. He could feel himself stiffening. But he didn’t want to rush it. There would be plenty of time for that later. He mentioned to Liz that he needed to let his wife know he’d made it safely.

He speed dialed the number on his cell phone, “Hi Sam, I’m here. No, I haven’t gone by the house yet. I didn’t expect the drive to take so much out of me, so I’m gonna take a short nap before I go over. Yeah. I left all the information on the desk, so you can go ahead and have the flowers sent.  No, put it on the Visa. I’ll call you later. Okay, bye.” He said hanging up the phone.

Liz looked at him in surprise. “Why didn’t you tell her you love her? I mean you don’t have to avoid saying it because you’re here with me, yanno.”

“That’s not it. I don’t say it much anymore ‘cause I don’t feel it. Anyway, I don’t wanna talk about Samantha. She is out of sight and I don’t want her on my mind. I want to concentrate on this time with you. So, where are we going for dinner, I’m starved.” He commented walking over and wrapping his arms around her small frame. That was another difference from Samantha. Liz was a short petite woman, and Samantha was a short thick woman. She had gained weight after the baby and lost some of it, but she was bigger than he liked. “I have to put Samantha out of my mind.”

              He and Liz left the house and headed to a nearby restaurant. He decided after dinner it would be best to go by and see the family. So, he dropped Liz off and drove the short distance to his Uncle’s house. Surprisingly most of the family had already arrived. He thought he would get a day to spend with Liz, but with most of the family there, he doubted that would be the case. Funerals are usually like family reunions in black families, so everyone was there. He spied a cousin he hadn’t seen since his wedding years ago. They exchanged phone numbers and everything. Then he saw his favorite cousin. They talked about going out, so he called Liz and told her he would be longer than he expected. “I know. You and the boys are going out. I expected as much. I’ll leave the key under the door mat for you.” She said and hung up the phone.

              “Whew, I can’t wait until you get here for the night!” She said with excitement.

“Dang. She is so good to me. Samantha would be asking all kinds of questions and hounding me about who I’m spending my time with. Just being a pain in the butt.” He thought “Okay, thank you baby. The funeral is tomorrow at 2pm. I’ll see you in a few.” He told her then hung up the phone. It was so easy to be himself and free with Liz.

He and his cousins and a few friends headed to a strip club across town. Everyone was making comments to him because he was the only one married. “Hey Stan, are you sure, Sam isn’t gonna sneak up on you?” Arthur said. “Nah, she don’t have to do that. You know married women got spies everywhere. She’ll be tellin’ him where he went when he gets back” Laughed Richard. “Yeah, and she’ll have all the attitude to go with it. Watch and see.” Grinned Scotty.

“You guys are just jealous because you don’t have the same benefits I have. I don’t have to go out looking for sex like you trifling bums.” Stan boasted.

“Yeah, you’re right, you don’t. But, you got a ball and chain all in one. You don’t have any freedom. Look atcha, sittin’ there shakin’ in ya boots, just cause we talkin’ ‘bout Sam. Don’t be scared, man. WE can tell it’s been a while since you’ve been out with the guys, but we promise we ain’t gonna tell on you.” Richard said as they all laughed.

Stan spent a few more hours with the fellas then decided he wanted to go home and handle his business with Liz. The stripper on stage was just about her size and he couldn’t keep his mind on the conversation with the boys. So he made his excuses and headed back to her place. Just as she’d promised the key was under the doormat. He let himself in and walked back to the bedroom. The lights were off, but he could see because of the candles glowing in the dark. Liz was lying on the bed in a body stocking. He remembered they discussed the kinds of outfits she liked to wear. But he forgot about it until he saw her in it. Dang, she is fine! He dropped the key on the dresser and slowly walked over to Liz. She sat up just enough to let her legs gap open a bit. He took a long slow look and huskily said, “I’m gonna take a shower.” He walked into the bathroom to start his water. “I can’t believe I’m shaking.” He didn’t bother to pack a lot of clothes and for once Sam didn’t do it for him, so he didn’t have any PJ’s to sleep in.  He hurriedly jumped in the shower then dried off with the towel Liz had left for him to use.

When he stepped out of the bathroom, Liz was poising on the bed. She stood up and beckoned for him to come to her with her right index finger. Once he was standing beside the bed, she finished drying him off and let the towel fall to the floor. As she pulled his head to her breast, he felt his manhood go rock hard.  He groaned and deftly pulled her down and beneath him on the bed. She smiled and playfully kissed him on the nose. “You know, I’ve been waiting for this moment for years. It’s about time we get the chance.” She said spreading her legs for him. He entered her in one swift thrust. He only had one thing on his mind, making sure they are both satisfied. The course of their lovemaking took several hours. They went from the bed to the floor to the shower and back to the bed. Finally, breathing heavily he rolled onto his back. Propped up on one elbow he said, “Thank you for being the woman for me. I haven’t felt like this in years!”  He smiled and laid back on the pillows. He looked over at the clock and realized it would be time to get up in a couple of hours. He hadn’t gotten back from the club until 1am. Here it was already 5:30am, “I’d better get a couple of hours sleep. The family wants everyone at the house no later than 10am.” He informed Liz.

He mentioned to Liz what was on his mind and they rolled over in each other’s arms to sleep. The next morning (such as it was) they had a light breakfast and Liz gave him the key to the house. She wouldn’t be home when he finished up with the family and she fully expected it to be an all-day thing. So, Stan dressed in his navy blue suit and put on his shoes then headed over to his Aunt’s house. When he arrived there were already a few family members present. Friends were stopping by and soon the house was full of people. Around 12:30 a black BMW pulled up as he was looking out the window. He was actually thinking about what it would be like to move there. To his surprise, he noticed how much the car looked like his wife’s. He dismissed the thought as him having a slightly guilty conscience and walked away from the window. A few minutes later on his way back from the bathroom, he saw a silhouette that looked familiar. He walked around and through the crowd and came face to face with the person. Standing beside the woman was his little girl, Alicia. He bent down to kiss her on the cheek as he looked up into the face of his wife. He almost fell back on his heels.
“What is she doing here?”
He thought. “Hi, I didn’t know you were coming. What made you change your mind?” He said stepping back.

“Alicia is really upset about losing her favorite Aunt and she wants to say goodbye. So I figured I’d come on up and give her the chance. Besides, you’ve got a hotel room, so we can just stay with you and not have to worry about anything. Besides, Alicia misses you, you know how she is.” She said tipping up to kiss him on the cheek. He walked outside holding his precious daughter in his arms thinking about the huge change in plans. “This messes up my trip royally. It’s a good thing I didn’t wait ‘til tonight to make love to Liz. Now I have to find the time to get over and explain things to her. Dang!” As the family lined up in their cars for the funeral procession, Alicia wanted to ride with her father, which meant Samantha would also be riding with him. Besides it would look funny if they took separate cars and he didn’t want that to be the case.

Even though he had been thinking in the back of his mind about leaving Samantha since he’d gotten there, he wasn’t ready for everyone in the family to know that just yet. Contrary to how he felt about her, his family loved her to death. They all thought she was the best thing in the world for him.
“Wait until they meet Liz.”
As they drove to the chapel, there was little conversation between Sam and Stan. Alicia chattered the entire ride. Finally when they parked and were on their way inside, she grabbed both her parent’s hands and entwined them. Stan looked over at Sam to see what her expression was. She gave him a small smile, but said nothing. They were seated with the rest of the family with Alicia between them. As the service progressed, Alicia became upset. When it was time to view the body, she held onto the hand of her mother and tugged on Stan’s pants legs until he picked her up. She buried her face in his shower as they all walked past the body of her favorite Aunt. She didn’t want to see her Aunt this way. Samantha could do nothing to calm her down, so Stan took her outside. He explained to her once again about death and tried to calm her fears. Finally the rest of the family began to file out of the chapel. All of his buddies from last night were in a group together. He was so busy with Alicia, he hadn’t noticed them standing only a couple of feet away. “Dang, Sam is getting finer and finer. That baby weight looks good on her.” Noticed Scotty.