Hot Girlz: Hot Boyz Sequel (19 page)

“You’ve been sleeping all day?”

“I have.” Her hair was mussed up and
the mascara on her eyes was smudged. She was in need of a waxing, a pedicure, a
fill, and a toothbrush.

“Where’s Lucinda?”

Mercedes folded the throw neatly and
placed it on her lap. “I let her go. I told her we didn’t need her. She was a
nurse.”

“Thought maybe she could stay on as
housekeeper.”

“I’m good. Not much going on here that
needs to be kept, really. Other than me.”

“I’m sure Lucinda’s taking this hard,
too.”

“She is.”

He said, “She was Mattie’s caregiver
as well as nurse.” He headed upstairs.

Mercedes looked up toward the landing
and noticed Mason heading toward Mattie’s room, not theirs, with Nadia right
behind him. She then heard her husband walk to the other side of the house into
their bedroom.

Within ten minutes, Mercedes had
turned the television back on and leaned upon the sofa cushions simply
scrolling through the channels, still with the sound off.

Mason came back down with a Nike
shoulder bag.

Nadia stayed upstairs.

Mercedes looked over at Mason. “Did
you go in her room?”

“I did.”

“It’s like time stood still in there.”

“I see that. Here. Your phone was by
the bed.” Mason extended his hand and offered Mercedes her cell.

She took it, placing it on the coffee
table. “Thanks.”

“I noticed an RG in your contact list.
Is that . . .”

She jumped on his words. “Oh, you
noticed, huh?”

“Is it?”

“Yes.” She looked on edge.

So did he. “You exchanged numbers?”

“No. He put his in. I forgot about
it.”

“Forgot?”

“Yes, I forgot.” Mercedes took a
breath and transferred the topic. “You talk to Star?”

He looked like he would only allow her
evasion for about ten quick seconds. “Yes. You?”

“For a minute. I wanted her to know
she didn’t do anything wrong by telling you.”

“I think she believes you’re the one
who’s mad.”

“Why?”

“For telling me.”

“She didn’t say that to me. Honestly,
instead of her thinking I’m mad, I’m the one who thinks she’s still mad. She’s
distant.”

“Really?” He just stared at Mercedes.

She saw the look on his face and
nervously smoothed her hair, and wiped under her eyes. She kept the topic where
it was. “Years ago, she was the one who resented you for being famous and being
gone. She even took your old Porsche for a joy ride and crashed it into a tree
to get your attention. She’s always been almost angry because of your fame. But
you learned how to show her you care, even when you didn’t have time to spend
with her. You bought her cards and made her feel special, and you’ve taken the
time to visit her in D.C. and Atlanta. You really have shown her that she
matters. It’s like somewhere along the way things went from being mommy’s
little girl, to being daddy’s little girl. I never noticed it until that phone
call that day. But, I can honestly say I probably would’ve done the same thing
in her position.”

“She’s a rebel.”

“Don’t mess with her Grammy, and her
daddy.” Mercedes managed a snicker.

“I guess so.” He again stared. “So,
you changed the subject. Why do you have his number?”

She began to frown. “Mason, you know
what? I think I have it because, well no, I know I have it so I can call him
right now and let him tell you what happened. Hold up. Here.” She snatched her
phone from the table.

Mason’s eyes flashed a stop sign. “No.
Don’t dial his number. Hang up.”

She pressed
RG
. “Oh, yes I am
because you’re standing before me with a duffle bag full of your clothes to
take out of here and start a life without me and that’s more than I can take.”
The phone rang. “You’re spending your days and nights away from me because you
think I had sex with this man, and I did not. I did not. I did not. Actually, I
wish I never met him.” The phone continued to ring. “Now, maybe if he tells you
that himself you’ll believe him, because you surely don’t believe me.”

“Calm down.”

“I can’t be calm. This is my life.”

He demanded, “Hang up or I’m leaving.”

There was an answer. “Hello?”

“Ryan. This is Mercedes from Vegas.”
She kept her eyes on Mason, who kept his eyes on her. “The owner of Simpson
Models. Well, I need you to do me a favor.”

Mason looked like he could stab her as
he took his keys and mail from the seat of the recliner and simply left,
slamming the front door closed.

A few seconds went by.

She continued anyway. “Listen, I need
you to know I made a big mistake. I’m a married woman. And I think you know by
now that I’m Mason Wilson’s wife. Those few moments we had together have ruined
my marriage.”

“I don’t want any mess. I can’t have
any.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have come on
to a married woman. And no, I shouldn’t have responded, either. I wish I could
go back and never have given you any attention. My whole life is different now.
So much has happened. Why did you call me and leave that message at my hotel?
And why did I call you back?”

His voice was deep. “First of all,
you’re a beautiful woman. I’m sorry about what’s going on. I wish things were
different.”

“I’ll tell you now, I wish things were
the same as they were before I met you.”

He maintained a clam tone. “Your
husband seems to be a reasonable man. Surely he knows what he has.” He paused.
“You’re right. We made a mistake. But it was only a kiss.”

“You’re single. For you it was only a
kiss. For me it was infidelity. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye. And I hope to see your husband
around in these arenas. He’d be great.”

Mercedes hung up without further
reply.

She called her husband but he didn’t
answer.

Her voicemail message was, “Please
call me. I love you. It’s too damn quiet. Come home.”

Mercedes fought back the tears and went
upstairs. She ended up in Mattie’s room. She sat on the bed, and asked out
loud. “Mamma. Why?”

She looked to the side on the
nightstand and saw a plaque with a figure of an angel. A plaque that Mason must
have left.

It read:
John 14:1 Let not your
hearts be troubled
. Mercedes nodded that’s right.

She held the plaque tight and laid
down, giving in to the mattress. She snuggled up to the jade blanket and
sniffed it. It still contained the scent of Mattie’s White Shoulders perfume.

She dozed off in the safety-kiss of
the room’s essence.

Nadia lay at the side of the bed, safe
as well.

Both broken hearts praying for
mending.

In time.

21

Venus

“. . . I’m not his real mom.”

Claude had only been home for a little
while after a long day of driving from Laguna to the Ladera office. He had
stopped by the old house and back to the new office. He looked drained.

 Though it was nearly seventy
degrees outside, the fireplace was lit for pure ambiance. It was a quiet moment
after enjoying the soulful ox-tails and green beans and rice that Venus made
for dinner. She now had time to cook and be the housewife they agreed she would
be.

It was a night of Claude and Venus
enjoying their new home. Just being. Even if only for a few minutes. Especially
since Skyy was around the corner visiting a friend from her new school whose
mom promised to bring her back by nine. It was eight-thirty.

They were in the family room curled up
together on the sectional, legs intertwined, talking. On the oversized oak
coffee table before them, two rum-mojito cocktails awaited their respective
sippage.

Claude asked no questions about Owen.

Venus asked no questions about Mary.

“I really do love this place,” Venus
said, looking up at the marigold and white trey ceilings. “Even the city. This
was a great idea.”

“I agree. I’m glad you approve.”

“Are you okay dealing with all that’s
happened? With Mattie I mean.”

Claude said, “I’m still trying to
adjust. For years I’ve tried to brace myself for the reality of living life
without her. I still can’t believe it. Like this morning when I was driving
into L.A., I thought about stopping by Mason’s house to see her and then I
realized that won’t happen anymore.”

“It does seem like a dream.” She
snuggled closer. “But, it was great having everyone over for the repast. We’ve
gotta have the family over again, but next time it needs to be for a positive
celebration. We need to make sure we take time to get together like we used
to.”

“Agreed.”

“Maybe even for your birthday in
November.”

“Maybe.” Claude leaned over to take
his glass in hand. “You want your drink?”

“No. I’m fine. Thanks.”

He took a big sip and placed the glass
back on the table. “So, where’s Cameron? I noticed his car was gone.”

Venus said, “Honey, you know where he
is.” She watched his facial expression.

He looked bothered. “Does he even come
home anymore? What’s he doing with his life? He’s supposed to be looking for
work and going to school.” At that moment, Claude’s cell rang from the end
table. He untangled himself from Venus and sat up, putting it on speaker. “Hey.
We were just talking about you. What’s up?”

“Not much.”

“When are you coming home?” Claude
asked, looking at Venus who listened intently.

“In the morning,” Cameron replied and
then said, “Hold up, Dad. I called because Penny wants to talk to you.” There
was the sound of a muffled handoff.

Claude looked like he was in no mood.

“Hi, Claude. How are you?” Penny
asked, sounding cheery.

“Penny. I’m good.”

“I wanted to tell you I found a few
properties in Newport Beach. Do you know that area?”

“I do.”

“You think if I email you the links
today you can make arrangements for me to see them this weekend? Well, Cameron,
too.”

“I don’t see why not.”

“Good.”

He pressed mute then looked at Venus.
“I want to tell her so bad.”

She agreed with him, giving an
approving glance.

He released mute and resumed by
saying, “Penny.”

“Yes,” she replied.

 “Put my son on the phone.”

“Sure. Hold on. Talk to you later.”

“Bye.”

Cameron took the phone back. “Hello?”

“Listen. I don’t want to embarrass
you, but we need to talk. You’re headed down a path where you’re so into these
women that you’re wasting your time.”

“Dad.” Cameron sounded like he dreaded
his dad’s next words.

“Son, you just lost your grandmother.
She would want you to make something out of your life. It’s time you come home
and set some serious goals. Get your resume together. Look up schools you can
apply to and get your BA, finally. You’re less than a year away. We talked
about this before we moved and you agreed, but I don’t see you trying. It turns
out Berkeley is sealing the issue of the violation of policy because my
attorney kept pushing them, but that’s the best I could do. There’s no getting
back in there.”

“That’s cool,” Cameron replied.

“It’s not cool with me. It’s still
time wasted. That money I paid the attorney went straight down the drain. And
I’m still the one doing all of this follow-up.” Claude said, “It’s like I care
more about your situation than you do. All you’re doing is screwing some woman
who’s old enough to be your mother, Cameron. This has to stop.”

Cameron was quiet.

“And also, just so you know. It’s true
that Candy admitted to her involvement in the break-in, but today she was
arrested as an accessory. It’s not her first offense so chances are, she’ll do
some time.”

Venus just listened. It was all news
to her.

“Oh man. Okay.”

“They found everything that was taken
during the burglary between her and two guys. Even your mom’s ring. And also,
Cal Berkley decided to kick her butt out for writing your paper.”

“Good.”

Claude raised his eyebrows. “So few
words from you. I guess you’re just like, on to the next one, huh?”

“Well, I can’t really talk.”

“Oh really? Man, Cameron, come on.”
His voice was intense. “I move us to Orange County and in two-point-two seconds
you latch on to this woman with money, and you remain in neutral. I’m telling
you now I’m not having it. I’m at my wits end.”