Married Men (25 page)
Authors: Carl Weber
“I’m telling you, Kyle. I’m in love with her.”
“So then prove it. Give yourself the ultimate test.”
“What’s that?” At this point, I think Kyle was just saying anything to pacify me. I could see by the doubt in his expression that he didn’t believe I could love Tracy as much as I knew I did. But what did I expect? I would have been just as skeptical if he was the one falling in love with a woman he’d only been with one time.
“Go home to Kenya, buy her some flowers, then apologize for not taking her to dinner. After that, make love to her. I mean really make love to her like you did before you were married. Then when you’re finished, take her in your arms and hold her for the rest of the night. When you wake up, I want you to walk into your daughters’ bedroom and give each of them a kiss. Then walk back in your bedroom and take a good look at the mother of your children. If you’re still in love with Tracy after that, then the two of us will talk again. Okay?”
I didn’t answer him. I just finished my beer in one gulp and took my coat from behind my chair. “I hope you got room, ’cause I’ll be spending the night at your place tomorrow night,” Promised.
“I guess we’ll see in the morning, won’t we?” he answered as I walked by, patting him on the back.
I could see the brake lights and the flashing police lights a few miles ahead when I crossed the George Washington Bridge. I jumped off the highway at the first exit and started driving the back roads home. This wasn’t the first time I traveled back roads home so I wasn’t concerned about it. That is, until I entered Jersey City and passed a woman I could have sworn was Tracy. I was so sure it was her I almost had an accident trying to make a right turn to circle around the block for a better look. As I made my turn, I realized I was on Tonnelle Avenue, right smack in the middle of what people in Jersey City called “the track,” a small strip of blocks with cheap hotels and alleys used by prostitutes to pick up johns.
Following the slow-moving cars, I went around the block three times before I spotted the woman again. At this point I was praying it was a case of mistaken identity, because the thought of Tracy being a prostitute was making my stomach turn. When I spotted the woman again, I pulled alongside her and rolled down my window. That’s when I was happy to see it wasn’t my lover, but damn near a twin.
“Hey, baby, you going out’?” She stepped closer to the car and leaned her head in so far that her breasts practically fell out of her top. She definitely wasn’t Tracy, but I have to admit the resemblance was a real turn-on.
“How much?” I asked out of curiosity more than anything else. The last thing I was going to do was screw a prostitute.
“How much you got’?” she asked.
She was holding a lollipop and licked it with her tongue as she waited for my answer. My johnson jumped to life as I watched the lollipop disappear into her mouth, stick and all. Having intercourse with her was out of the question, but the thought of her lips wrapped around my johnson was getting more and more enticing.
“How ’bout twenty-five for some head?”
She laughed, pulling her head out of the car. “Shiiit, nigga, twenty-five won’t even get me in your car.” She turned to walk away. One look at her fat ass in those tight, hot-pink satin pants made me say something I knew I’d probably regret.
“How ’bout fifty?”
She turned around and flashed a smile. “Just for a blow job?”
“Yeah?” I said, unlocking the car door.
She got in the car and pointed. “There’s an alley about three blocks down.”
As I drove the three blocks to the alley, I couldn’t help staring at this woman. It was incredible how much she really did resemble Tracy. Maybe if I tried while she went down on me, I could imagine I was back in bed with Tracy. Now that I would pay a thousand bucks for.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Blondie,” she replied. I knew it was probably just a street name. Who the hell would name their kid Blondie?
“Well, Blondie, you don’t mind if I call you Tracy, do you?”
“I don’t care what you call me as long as I get paid.”
As we approached the alley, my conscience finally kicked in and I realized what I was doing was wrong. I was supposed to be heading home to apologize to Kenya and then make love to her. Somehow I’d got sidetracked and was about to pay fifty dollars to a prostitute who was a dead ringer for Tracy.
“Pull in that alley right there,” she told me.
I ignored her and passed it. I was about to tell her I’d changed my mind when I heard the whoop-whoop of a police siren behind me. I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw flushing police lights.
“Oh shit!” I tried to think as I turned toward Blondic. “If they ask you, my name is Jay Crawford. You’ve known me for years. You need to tell me your real name.”
“Jay,” she said softly.
“What?” I was in a panic, watching the cops get out of their car.
“You’re under arrest for soliciting a prostitute.” I turned and she flashed her badge.
“Ahhh, man. I can’t believe you fucked me like this!”
“I didn’t fuck you at all,” she laughed as the other officers opened my door.
19
Allen
It was late and I was tired from all the running around Rose and I had done. Not to mention the fact that we’d made love for about an hour when we got home. It had taken three days, but Rose and I had finally gone to the bank and added our names to each other’s accounts. Surprisingly she hadn’t taken a dime of her money out of any of her accounts. This gave me a renewed sense of trust in my future wife. Oh, I was still concerned about her so-called cousin Ray and her almost obsession with getting pregnant all of a sudden, but I had to admit things were really going well. After going to the banks, Rose and I had finished what was left of our wedding arrangements and headed home.
As was the custom the last few days, we made love until we couldn’t make love anymore. Both of us were so exhausted that we collapsed into each other’s arms and probably would have stayed that way ’til noon if the phone hadn’t rung about 4 A.M. I picked up the phone, expecting it to be Ma.
“Hello,” I answered, half-asleep.
“This is the AT&T operator. We have a collect call from Jay Crawford. Will you accept? ”
The first thing that came to my mind was,
Uh-oh Jay’s in trouble again.
The first thing that came to my mind was,
Uh-oh Jay’s in trouble again.
“Yes, operator, I’ll accept.”
“Allen, that you, man?” I could hear other voices echoing in the background.
“Yeah, it’s me,” I was starting to wake up. “Where the hell are you, Jay, in a cave?”
“Nah, man, I’m in jail.” I could hear the embarrassment in his voice.
“Ahhhh, shit!” I untangled myself from Rose’s arms and sat up in the bed. This was worse than I thought. I knew Jay’s call meant trouble, but I never expected he’d be in jail. “What the fuck you doin’ there?”
“I don’t even wanna talk about that shit right now.” He was agitated. and his voice was full of desperation. “I just need you to get me the fuck outta here.”
“Aw’ight, man, where you at?”
“I’m in Jersey City at the BCI precinct on Boiling Street.”
“Okay, I’m getting dressed now. What’s your bail?”
“A grand.”
“Shit, my ATM card is only gonna give me five hundred.”
“Can’t you borrow some money from Rose?”
“Yeah, right, that’s funny, Jay.” I glanced over at Rose, who was still asleep, and almost laughed. I can’t ever remember her loaning me money. Not even five dollars. “Don’t worry, Jay. I’ll get the money. I’ll get it from Kyle and Wil.”
“Thanks, man. Listen, do me a favor and call Kenya and tell her I’m with you.”
I hung up the phone and got dressed, then called Kenya to leave a message on their machine. I was just about to walk out the bedroom door when Rose called me groggily. “You leaving, Allen?” She lifted her head to see the time.
“Yeah, I gotta go take care of something for Ma.” I walked over to the bed and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Okay?”
“All right, just make sure you come back. I need to talk to you about something important.”
I kissed her again. “Okay baby. Get some sleep.”
I pulled into Wil’s driveway and looked up at his house. There wasn’t one light on and I was sure everyone was asleep. Shit, it wasn’t even five in the morning. I shoulda been asleep myself, but my boy Jay needed me. And even though Wil and Jay were having problems, once Wil knew what was up, he wouldn’t mind being woken at this hour either. At least that’s what I was hoping as I nervously knocked on the door. When no one answered, I banged a little harder. About two minutes later, Wil opened the door like a wild man, wearing only a pair of boxer shorts and a T-shirt. He was holding a big-ass baseball bat, ready to swing.
“What the hell are you doin’ here?” I probably would’ve reacted the same way if he’d showed up at my door before dawn.
“We’ve got problems,” I told him seriously.
“Let me guess. Jay?” He put down the bat and gestured for me to come in.
“How’d you know?”
“He tried to call me collect half an hour ago.”
“He called you too?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t accept the call.” He chuckled.
“Why?” I glared at him.
I didn’t like that. For all he knew, Jay could have been near death. Or worse, he could’ve been calling to say I was near death.
“I told y‘all I’m not fuckin’ with him no more.” Wil crossed his arms over his chest.
“No one’s askin’ you to fuck with him. But the least you coulda done was accept his phone call. Someone coulda been hurt.”
“Were they?”
“No.”
“All right then,” he said matter-of-factly. “What he do this time, anyway?”
“He’s in jail.”
“In jail! For what?” I could hear and see real concern from him for the first time. “What’s he in jail for? What happened?”
“Wil, honey, who’s that at the door?” Diane called from up the stairs.
“It’s Allen, Di.”
“Allen? What’s he doing here?” Wil’s whole demeanor changed as Diane walked down the stairs.
“Is everything all right, Allen?” She walked over and stood next to her husband.
“Yeah, everything’s cool. Just a little guy stuff,” I told her, hoping Wil would back me up. I liked Diane, but everyone knew she was real nosy, and had the world’s biggest mouth.
“At this time of the morning?” She looked at me then Wil suspiciously.
I knew she wasn’t gonna budge ’til she knew exactly what we were talking about. Thank God Katie started crying and Diane had to check on her.
“What’s he in jail for?” Wil asked as soon as Diane was out of sight.
“I’m not sure. All I know is he’s got a thousand dollars bail. I could only get five hundred out of the ATM machine. So I was hoping you’d come up with the other five then ride down there with me.”
“Ride down where with you?” Diane asked, catching the tail end of our conversation as she carried Katie down the stairs.
Wil and I made eye contact with blank expressions on our faces. I’m almost positive he was about to agree to go with me, but as soon as he heard Diane’s voice, he changed his mind.
“Ride out where with you, Allen?” she repeated, this time sternly. I still didn’t answer, so she turned to Wil. “Are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on?”
Wil and I both stood silently.
“This is about that collect call from Jay, isn’t it?” She may have been asking the questions, but she already knew the answers. Diane stared Wil in the eyes. “I know you don’t think you’re leaving here to go save Jay’s ass again, Wil Duncan. Not after what he did to your eye. You’re not goin’ anywhere but back to bed.” Diane handed the baby to Wil.
“I’m not going anywhere, Di,” he repeated her words weakly.
“You sure you don’t wanna go?” I asked.
“He’s sure,” Diane answered for him, folding her arms as she cast daggers at him with her eyes. I knew the look she was giving him well. It was the same look Rose gave me when she was about to cut the sex off for a week or two. I stared at Wil too, waiting for
him
to give me an answer. But I knew he wasn’t gonna say what I wanted to hear. Not if he wanted to sleep in the same bed as his wife.
him
to give me an answer. But I knew he wasn’t gonna say what I wanted to hear. Not if he wanted to sleep in the same bed as his wife.
“I told you before, Allen, I’m not fucking with Jay no more.” On that note, I walked over, kissed my goddaughter, and said my goodbyes. As I walked to the car, I had to chuckle. Wil and Diane weren’t that much different from me and Rose.
I got into my car and put Wil and Diane out of my mind. I had to find Kyle, and I had no idea where the hell he could possibly be. I’d tried to find him before I came to Wil’s, but when I stopped by his apartment, he wasn’t there. I even drove by his house just in case he might be baby-sitting the girls, but there was no sign of his truck there either. Now that Wil had let me down, I’d have to take another run by his place, and with any luck he’d be home by now.
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