Behind Closed Doors (13 page)

“Hey,” Karen yelled like she always did whenever she entered her mother’s house.

She heard three adult voices saying “Hello” from the kitchen—her mother’s, Sheila’s, and her mother’s significant other, Richard’s. Before she could set the box of corsages on the dining room table, she saw her niece and two nephews racing toward her and screaming, “Auntie Karen,” like they hadn’t seen her in ages. She was glad to see them too and hugged each of them one by one, praying that all of their hands were clean, because Lord knows, children and the color white didn’t mix.

“How are my little sweethearts doing?” she asked, smiling.

“Fine,” they all answered in unison.

“You guys look so cute in your little outfits. I should’ve brought my camera so I could have taken your picture.”

“Granny took us shopping yesterday and bought them for us,” Shaniqua quickly offered as important information.

It figured, Karen thought. Sheila was probably too
busy buying that no-good father of theirs something to wear and had no money left from her latest welfare check to buy the kids anything. What a shame. “That was nice of Granny, wasn’t it?”

They all shook their heads and mumbled uh-huh.

“Auntie Karen,” Shaniqua said. “Jason got in trouble at school again this week, and he got kicked out for five whole days.”

“Jason, what did you do?” Karen asked, placing her palm on the top of his head.

He didn’t say anything, and that told her it must be pretty bad.

“He told the teacher he wanted to…you know, that word that starts with an F that you’re always telling William not to use. Anyway, that’s what he said he wanted to do to her,” Shaniqua said.

“Jason,” Karen said, elevating her voice. “You know better than that. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Jason tucked his head, which meant the boy had at least some remorse for his actions, and which also meant that the right discipline would alleviate a great deal of this horrendous behavior of his. But then, it would take a certain kind of mother to give him that, and the poor little thing was far from having one of those.

Karen went into the kitchen and hugged everybody. “You all are looking mighty sharp today.”

They all laughed.

“You’re looking good yourself with all of that white on,” Lucinda complimented back.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“You really do look nice in that outfit, Karen,” Sheila said, smiling.

“Thanks,” Karen said. The verdict was in: Sheila wasn’t upset with her anymore.

“Are you guys about ready to get going?” Karen asked.

“Service doesn’t start until eleven, but we’d better get started so we can get some halfway decent seats,” Lucinda said. “Even the people who don’t go to church at any other time of the year seem to find their way to the sanctuary on Easter and Mother’s Day. The last couple of years, the balcony was completely filled up, the ushers had to place folding chairs down each of the aisles, and some of the congregation had to squeeze into the choir stand. I don’t want to take any chance with us having to do anything like that.”

They all gathered into the living room, where Karen pinned a white corsage on Lucinda, since Lucinda’s mother was deceased, and a red one on herself. She hadn’t bothered to buy one for Sheila or the kids, since she and Sheila hadn’t been talking. How was she supposed to know whether they were planning on going to church or not? And of course, Sheila hadn’t bothered to buy any either. But, it was too late to be stopping by any flower shop. By now, most of the places were probably sold out anyway.

Karen, Lucinda, Richard, and Shaniqua sat down inside the Jeep, and Jason, William, and Sheila got in her
car. Karen turned the key in the ignition, looked back, and saw John blocking the driveway with the Beamer. Oh, no. She was hardly ready to talk to him, and seeing him was only going to make things harder. The fact that he might pull something like this had crossed her mind when she was getting dressed this morning, since she’d told him she was going to church with her mother, but she’d forgotten all about it.

Lucinda looked around, when she noticed Karen gazing through the back window. She smiled when she saw John waving at her. She waved back. “Girl, get on out of here and go talk to that man. You know that’s what he’s waiting on,” Lucinda said, laughing.

Karen rolled her eyes at her mother playfully. This was right up Lucinda’s alley, since she’d never accepted the fact that they’d split up in the first place.

“What do you want?” Karen asked as she walked down to the street.

“I want you, with your fine self,” John said, grinning.

She almost grinned back, but her grandmother had taught her long ago that it was a grave mistake to show all thirty-twos if a woman wanted a man to take her seriously. “We’ve got to get out of here, so will you please move this thing?”

“I’ll move it if you promise to call me when you get back from taking your mother to dinner.”

“How do you know I’m taking Mom out to dinner?”

“Because you always do every year. And anyway, she told me you were, when I called to wish her a happy
Mother’s Day this morning. Even said I could go with you guys if I wanted. Maybe that’s what I ought to do, too.”

It was so fitting that her mother would tell John something like that. Knowing Lucinda, she’d probably coerced John into coming over there, trying to be some matchmaker. “Look, if it will get you to move this car out of my way, I’ll call you when I get back. Okay?”

“I miss you, baby.”

Shoot, she missed him, too, but she wasn’t going to let him know it. “I’ll call you when I get back,” Karen said, tipping back up the driveway in her heels.

She slid back into the Jeep and shut the car door. She figured the least she could do was talk to him. She wasn’t ready to let him move back in yet, like Regina had suggested, but maybe she would start spending a little time with him. It seemed stupid to date her own husband, but that’s as far as she was willing to let it go. At least for now.

John drove off, Karen did the same, and Sheila followed behind her in the direction of the church.

“I
CALLED THAT BASTARD
at least ten times today, and he never even bothered to call me back,” Regina said to Karen. They were on their way to their toning session at the health club. Usually they drove separately, but since they were both feeling a bit on the lonely side, they figured they’d might as well ride together and get a bite to eat somewhere afterward. The way they used to do, when it was just the two of them and they didn’t have husbands.

“Girl, I don’t know what’s the matter with Larry. He’s really showing his ass,” Karen said, adjusting her Anne Klein sunglasses.

“I even tried calling him again at Ted’s this morning before I got dressed for work, but like every other time I’ve called, Ted said he wasn’t there. I’ll bet you anything he’s not staying with Ted. I’ll bet he moved in with that slut.”

“You think he would do something like that?”

“Hell, yeah. Look at how he’s acting toward me. Look how he keeps dodging my phone calls. I’m telling you, this shit is starting to piss me off, and my love for him is slowly turning to hate. I wish I could shoot his no-good ass.”

“Girl, don’t even think like that. He’s not even worth it.”

“You know I would never go that far. I’m just saying what I feel like doing.” Regina raised her left arm to see what time it was. “Larry should be off work by now. I’m driving by Marilyn’s condo to see if his car is parked outside,” Regina said, already heading in that direction.

Karen wasn’t sure if she liked this or not. She couldn’t believe how bold Regina had gotten. It was amazing how being hurt could change so quickly into anger. Usually, Karen would be all for something like this, but Regina was way too upset to be driving by anywhere, let alone where her husband was probably shacking up with some whore. There was no telling what might happen. She had to try and talk Regina out of this. “I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that you even care where he is or what he’s doing.”

“No, I’m sick of begging his yellow ass, and I’m sick of all these sleepless nights. You don’t know how hard it is for me to get up, get dressed, and struggle through eight hours of work. Shit, I haven’t had any decent sleep for almost two weeks, and I’ve hardly eaten two full meals in the last seven days. And yesterday, when I broke the
news to my parents, you would have thought somebody had died. Ma cried through almost all the church service, and Daddy hardly said more than two words the whole time we were at the restaurant. Instead of them supporting me, I spent the rest of Mother’s Day trying to console the two of them. I thought about this shit all last night and most of today, and I’m sick of taking this off of Larry. If he won’t talk to me on the phone, I’ll make his sorry ass do it in person.”

Karen had known all along that Regina was planning to do more than just drive by there. She could hear it in her voice from the beginning. Usually, Karen was the one with the don’t-take-no-shit attitude, but Regina was acting rather courageous today. For the first time in a long time, Regina scared her, and Karen hoped Larry still had his ass at work.

Regina slowed the Mercedes and stopped directly across the street from Marilyn’s brick condominium. As expected, Larry’s Lexus was parked right in front. Regina squinted her eyes in anger, and without even realizing it, threw her car in park, jumped out, slammed the door, and stormed up the sidewalk. She rang the doorbell over and over again, like most children do when they don’t know any better.

“Regina,” Karen yelled while leaning out the car window.

“All I’m going to do is talk to him. Nothing more,” Regina yelled, turning back toward the door. She continued to bang on it and rang the doorbell repeatedly.

No one answered.

They were trying Regina’s patience. “I know you’ve got your silly ass up in there, Larry, so you might as well bring it on out here right now.”

The noise must have been carrying all the way across the street, because Regina saw Karen step outside the car and walk around to the back of it. She must’ve been positioning herself just in case she had to intervene.

Regina glanced over at the window to the right of the front door and saw Marilyn peek out at her and then close the blind in a hurry. Regina laughed. “Well, isn’t that a bitch. You were acting like the Wicked Witch of the Midwest, when we were down in Atlanta. Like you were some bold bitch. But look at your coward ass now.” Regina was loving every bit of this because it was obvious that Marilyn was terrified that maybe she and Karen had shown up to kick her home-wrecking ass.

“Open up this got-damn door, bitch,” Regina continued. “I’m not leaving until you send my husband out here. You can come too, if you want to. You’re just like part of the family now, anyway.”

Still, nothing.

Regina was fed up. She was sick of being ignored, and she was going to get their attention one way or the other. She walked out to the curb, searching up and down it, then grabbed a medium-sized rock.

“Girl, are you crazy?” Karen asked, walking toward her. “Let’s go. He’s not worth this, and you know it. What if they call the police on your butt?”

“Uh-uh, he’s trying to play me for some kind of a fool, and I’m not putting up with this shit anymore,” Regina said, moving into target range of the Lexus.

Larry, who’d clearly been watching her every move, swung open the front door when he saw her pull her arm back, preparing to hurl the rock through his car window.

“What’s the matter with you?” he yelled, running across the lawn and down to where Regina was standing.

“There’s nothing the matter with me. What the hell is the matter with your lying ass?” Regina asked, lowering her fist back down to her side.

“This is not the time or the place for us to discuss our personal business. Let’s just meet somewhere and talk about this like two adults. Okay?”

“Oh, now you want to act like two adults, huh? Well, too damned bad, because that’s what I’ve been trying to do for the last ten days. You didn’t pay me any attention, though, did you? So, I figured I’d lower myself to your level and start acting like a child. I’ve been calling you every day, and you’ve been acting like it’s no big deal. Like you couldn’t care less. And I know you didn’t fix your lips to say ’Let’s meet somewhere.’ You must be out of your mind. Why would I meet you somewhere when we have a home over in Wesleyan Estates? Remember? Or have you suddenly forgotten about that?”

“Regina, come on and get in the car,” Karen said. Now Larry was starting to piss her off, too, but she didn’t want to say anything she might regret. Especially since their situation wasn’t any of her business in the first place.

Regina ignored her. “So, tell me, Larry, are you still staying with Ted?”

“I’m not going to discuss anything standing out here on the street. I can’t believe you’re embarrassing me like this and making such a fool of yourself.”

Regina looked around the neighborhood and saw four or five people acting as though they had important business on their front lawns, but it was obvious that they were more concerned with the commotion she and Larry were creating. But what did she care? She didn’t have to live in this neighborhood. “You should’ve thought about that before you started sticking your dick between Marilyn’s legs.”

“You are impossible,” Larry said, walking back up to the condominium. “I’ll talk to you when you’re in a more civilized state. Right now, though, I can’t deal with you.”

“Don’t walk away from me, Larry. I’m telling you, if you know what’s good for you, you won’t do it.”

He waved his hand at her and continued up to the front door without looking back.

“You doggish motherfucker,” Regina screamed and tossed the rock as hard as she could at the window on the driver’s side of the Lexus.

Larry turned around when he heard the crash, and saw the ruptured glass shattering piece by piece onto the pavement. He rushed back out to the street. “What did you do that shit for? You are one silly bitch.”

“No, you’re the bitch. You weren’t even man enough
to tell me you wanted someone else, and you’re still not man enough to face me now.”

“You’d better stop pushing me, Regina, before I have you arrested. I’m not playing with you.”

“And who are you? Because I’ll say and do whatever I damn well please, brother,” Regina said, moving closer to him. “And what police officer do you know of that will arrest me for damaging my own car? I might not ever drive your precious little car, but my name is on the title as big as day.”

“I told you, you’d better stop pushing me. Karen, you’d better get your friend before I hurt her.”

Wait a minute. Karen just knew he wasn’t talking to her. And she hoped, for his sake, he wasn’t thinking about hitting Regina. That shit wasn’t going to work. “Regina, let’s go, okay, before this mess gets out of hand,” Karen finally said. “You can deal with this later.”

“No, I’m not going anywhere,” Regina said, jumping in Larry’s face. “What do you mean, before you hurt me? I wish you would. I’ll have your ass locked up so fast, you’ll wish you’d never even thought about touching me.”

Damn. Karen wished Regina would stop this, because it was obvious that Larry was running out of patience and was becoming more and more annoyed. She’d known from the very beginning that it was a serious mistake for Regina to come over here, and she could kick herself for not stopping her.

Larry pushed Regina away from him, causing her to
stumble. “I’m telling you one more time. You’d better get the hell away from me.”

“Regina, let’s go,” Karen said, raising her voice this time.

“You’d better listen to your friend before I do more than push your silly ass,” Larry said, gazing at the broken glass again and shaking his head.

“Just try it, Larry. You’re just mad because I came over here and interrupted your little program. And I’m telling you now, this is only the beginning. I’ve shed tear after tear and lost I don’t know how many hours of sleep, but I’m through crying and now you’re the one who’s about to have the sleepless nights. I promise you that.”

Regina glanced over at Marilyn, who was now bravely standing inside the doorway like nothing had happened. She hadn’t said one word the whole time. Didn’t seem one bit disturbed by what she’d just seen. But, then, why should she? She had exactly what she wanted: someone else’s husband giving her sex, probably money, and the relationship she’d always craved. What a ruthless bitch. “What the hell are you staring at? I should come up there and whip your little two-faced ass.”

Karen politely walked over to Regina, who was still yelling and screaming, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her toward the car.

“I’m getting your rotten ass for this, Larry. Just watch. Every dog has his day, and you’d better believe the day is coming for you and your black bitch,” Regina shrieked, being dragged across the street against her will.

“No, your day is the one coming,” he said furiously.
“Much sooner than you think. You’re about to get the surprise of your life, and I can’t wait for it to happen.”

“And what is that supposed to mean? You planning to divorce me?”

“Girl, get your butt in the car,” Karen said, leading Regina to the passenger seat. She shut the door, walked over to the driver’s side, turned on the ignition, and snapped the seat belt at her waist. Her legs were much longer than Regina’s, so she had to adjust the side mirrors and the seat.

Regina barely closed the door before Karen started down the street.

“Can you believe that shit?” Regina asked Karen. “I can’t believe he actually pushed me like that.”

“To tell you the truth, I can’t either, but then, I can’t believe anything he’s been doing to you lately. He’s clownin’.”

“I don’t know whether I’m hurt or mad or what. I guess I’m both. But I do know one thing, I’m tired of begging him. Pleading with him like he’s some king or something. I decided today that I can’t go on like this anymore. I do want to work things out with him, but I’m starting to realize he’s not interested in trying to make that happen. He’s acting like Marilyn’s got him pussy-whipped. I could just strangle her simpleminded, conniving ass. Oooh.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing when I saw how he was acting toward you. It’s almost like she’s voodood him or something,” Karen said, rolling the window
down a little further so she could get a bit more fresh air. “I mean, he’s acting like she’s got complete control over his attitude, his emotions, and although I hate to agree with you, his dick.”

Regina laid her elbow just below the bottom of the window and rested her head in her hand. All of a sudden she felt like crying. Her emotions were so volatile these days, as they were each month when she got PMS, right before her little red wagon rode in. “Sometimes I feel like this is a bad dream that I can’t wake up from.”

“Girl, I don’t know what to say except everything will be all right. It might not seem like that now, but it will. One way or the other. Everything does happen for a reason. For every good, there is bad, and vice versa. You’ve got to pray to get on with your life, regardless of what the outcome is. I know it’s hard, but trust me, you’ll be fine.”

“You know, it’s funny how yesterday, I was so depressed and feeling like I couldn’t make it without Larry, but today when I woke up, I actually started picturing what it would be like to be single again. I guess I was trying to face reality. Although, I still don’t fully understand why he’s doing what he’s doing. I mean, whatever happened to ’for better or worse’ and ’til death due us part’? We’ve only been married for two years and look at us. We’re already preparing for divorce court.”

“Girl, you don’t know if you’re going to have to get a divorce or not, so don’t even start thinking like that.”

“Well, it sure seems like that’s what he wants. Normally, I never think the worst about anything. You’re usually the pessimistic one when it comes to situations like this, but I’m optimistic about everything. And although I never really thought about it before, that one saying you have makes a lot of sense.”

“Which saying is that? You know I have a lot of them,” Karen said, laughing, trying to brighten Regina’s spirits.