Married Men (37 page)
Authors: Carl Weber
“I can’t wait till the morning. I want some now,” she whined in frustration. Kenya released a long, aggravated sigh, then tried to reach under my stomach to get to her intended target. When she realized I wasn’t gonna budge, she got out of bed and left the room. For a second I thought I heard her on the phone but I quickly dismissed it. Who could she possibly be on the phone with at three in the morning? She must have been talking to the baby. I didn’t care. I was just glad I had managed to escape for another night.
I woke up the next morning to the sounds of both my kids’ loud voices. My daughter Tiffany was singing “Humpty Dumpty” as she jumped on my bed. My other daughter, four-month-old LaShawn, was howling at the top of her lungs, probably wanting a bottle or a diaper change. I pulled the covers over my head in a vain attempt to ignore them, but it was useless.
“Kenya!” I yelled. “Get the kids!”
When I didn’t get any response, I shot my arm from under the covers and playfully pulled Tiffany down to the bed. “Tiffany, do Daddy a favor and go play in your room.”
“Okay, Daddy.” She jumped off the bed. A few seconds later LaShawn was quiet. Just when I started to relax again, I heard the tap-tap of my wife’s shoes approaching the room.
“Jay, get up.” There was no warmth in her voice this morning.
“What time is it?” I didn’t even budge.
“Seven-thirty. Now get up.”
“Seven-thirty? Why you gettin’ me up so early?” I poked my head from under the covers. Kenya was all made up, wearing a tight minidress, holding LaShawn.
“Where you goin’?”
“Out.” She handed me the baby.
“Out where?” Kenya rolled her eyes as if I had no right to ask.
“Out with my girlfriends. And next time I ask you that same question, you better answer it.” With that comment I decided to back off a bit.
Kenya walked over to the dresser and put on a pair of earrings. That’s when it dawned on me the kids weren’t dressed. “You’re not taking the kids?” I sat up in a panic.
“No, I’m not,” she turned and smiled.
“B-but I’ve got somewhere to go.”
“So take them with you. That’s what I always do. They’re your children too, Jay. They need to spend time with their father.” She left the room and I followed her downstairs, carrying LaShawn.
“I spend time with them,” I protested. It was true. At least it used to be true, until Tracy came back in my life. “Come on, Kenya. I’ve got something important to do. I can’t take them with me.”
“Ohhh, well. I guess you’re not going.” Kenya picked up her keys and pocketbook with a smile as she headed for the door.
“I’ll make a deal with you. Why don’t you take LaShawn and I’ll take Tiffany with me?” I knew Kyle had his kids for the weekend and I was positive he wouldn’t mind watching Tiffany. But LaShawn was a different story. Kyle loved her, but he wasn’t about to be changing no diapers. He’d made that clear once before.
“No deals, Jay. We’re playing a little role reversal today. I’m going out just like you do and you’re gonna watch the kids for once.” She said it with finality as she took hold of the doorknob.
“When’re you coming back?” I jumped up to follow her. God, I did not need this shit today. She was going to ruin all my plans.
“Late,” she laughed as if the whole thing were funny to her.
“This is fucked up!” I screamed, which frightened the baby. She started to cry, and Tiffany came running from her room.
Kenya stopped dead in her tracks and turned with an evil glare. “No, you didn’t. No, you didn’t just say watching your kids was fucked up.” Her voice was low and cold.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Yes, you did.” Kenya glanced at Tiffany and ordered, “Go in your room, Tiffany.” She didn’t have to repeat herself, ’cause Tiffany ran like she’d just seen a ghost. “You know what’s fucked up, Jay? What’s fucked up is you not making love to me last night. That’s what’s fucked up.”
“Don’t start with that shit, Kenya. I can remember a time when I would beg you to give me some. So let’s not go there.” I could tell that hit a nerve ’cause her eyes got real small like she wanted to smack me.
“Maybe I was afraid I might catch something.” She took a step closer.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’m not stupid, Jay. I might love you, but I’m not stupid.” She turned and walked out the door, leaving me dumbfounded by her words.
It had taken me half the morning, but by ten o’clock I finally found a baby-sitter for both of my daughters. As I expected, Kyle agreed to watch Tiffany but he immediately passed when it came to watching LaShawn. Man, I musta I called every relative, friend, and ex-girlfriend I ever had trying to find a babysitter for her, but there were no takers. Finally I just decided to take her with me. I wasn’t happy about the idea, especially since it would put a stop to my plans to make love to Tracy all afternoon. But spending time with her was what really mattered, and if the only way to do that was to take LaShawn along for the ride, then I would do what I had to.
Thank God, out of nowhere Ma Jackson called the house looking for Allen. I could tell she was lonely and was really just fishing to find out if I’d heard from Allen and Rose, who had taken a little trip to Niagara Falls for the holiday weekend. They made everyone promise not to tell her where they went. After a few minutes of playing along with her weakly concealed interrogation, I decided to ask if she’d watch LaShawn. I fully expected her to say no, but to my surprise she jumped at the chance. She said it would be good practice for her with her new grandbaby on the way. She didn’t have to say it twice, ’cause I had those kids bathed, dressed, and in the car in no time flat. A half hour later I’d dropped off both kids and was headed for Tracy’s dorm at CW Post University in Long Island.
It didn’t take long to get to the university, and after signing in at the front desk of Tracy’s dorm, I raced up the stairs to her room. I knocked on the door only to be met by a light-skinned brother, probably around my age, with a beer belly and a bad attitude.
“Can I help you?” He folded his arms across his broad chest and stood in the doorway like one of Puff Daddy’s body-guards. I’m not gonna lie. I had a problem with this brother right away. Especially since Tracy seemed to like older men.
“I’m lookin’ for Tracy. Is she in?” He looked me up and down. I figured he was sizing me up. For what I don’t know, but if it was a fight, all he had to do was bring it.
“Who are you?” he asked me with a scowl.
I wanted to say, “I’m the motherfucker who’s about to kick your ass for being in my girl’s room.” But I tried to stay cool.
“Look, chief, I don’t think that’s any of your business. Now where’s Tracy?”
“I said, who are you?” His eyes got small and he tilted his head. I think he was tryin’ to flex his biceps, too, as if that was gonna scare me. This fool was starting to get on my last nerve. I wasn’t sure if he was an ex-boyfriend of Tracy’s or a wannabe, but I was gettin’ ready to put my foot in his ass until I heard Tracy’s voice.
“Daddy, will you let him in?” Tracy pushed him to the side and smiled at me.
“Daddy? Oh, my God. This is your father? I’m so sorry, sir.” I tried to sound respectful as all the blood in my body rushed to my face. I’d never been so embarrassed in my life. “Tracy didn’t tell me you were coming up.” I could feel perspiration beginning to form on my neck and forehead as I apologized again and again. Not to mention the fact that I felt like I was shrinking right in front of him.
“They didn’t tell me they were coming either. They just showed up five minutes ago, but don’t worry. He’s harmless,” Tracy assured me with a sweet smile. Her father wrapped his arm around her shoulder and smiled, too. Not a friendly smile, but one of those this-is-my-daughter-and-if-you-
fuck-
with-her-
I’ll-kill-you
smiles. I think Tracy sensed my uneasiness. She reached for my hand to pull me inside her room. I could tell by how moist her hands were that beneath her smile she was just as nervous as I was.
fuck-
with-her-
I’ll-kill-you
smiles. I think Tracy sensed my uneasiness. She reached for my hand to pull me inside her room. I could tell by how moist her hands were that beneath her smile she was just as nervous as I was.
“Come on in, Jay. I want you to meet my mom.”
I stepped in the room to greet the strikingly beautiful woman sitting on the bed. She was without question a mature version of her daughter. Tall, thin, and sexy with a touch of class. She even wore her hair in the same short, nappy bleached blond hairstyle as Tracy.
“Mom, Dad, this is my boyfriend, Jay. Jay, these are my parents, Jim and Charlotte Williams.” Tracy smiled nervously as she held on to my arm, gazing back and forth between me and her parents. I offered her mother my hand with a smile, then put both hands behind my back to discretely slip off my wedding band.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jay. Tracy has told me a lot about you.” Her mother stood and put a hand on my shoulder. “Jim, come over here and shake this young man’s hand.”
Tracy’s father didn’t budge. He just looked at his watch and declared, “I’m hungry, Charlotte.”
“Okay, sweetheart, we’re gonna go get something to eat right now. You hungry, Jay?” Tracy’s mom turned to me.
“Ah, yes, ma’am. I sure am.”
“I like him, Tracy. He’s real polite. I like a polite young man.” Her mother smiled and took my other arm. I wondered how polite she’d think I was if she knew I was around the same age she was. Or that I had a wife and two kids at home. Thank God I didn’t show up with LaShawn. I don’t even want to imagine how her father would’ve reacted.
From the dorm we drove five minutes to Greenvale and had brunch at the Country Cooking Restaurant. Tracy’s mother was real nice and chitchatted with me through most of our meal. But her father, he was another story. I was sure he didn’t like me, and the way he kept staring at me made me so nervous it was impossible to enjoy my meal.
“So Jay, are you in school, too?” Tracy’s mom asked with a big smile between bites of her omelet.
“No, I graduated from Howard a few years ago.”
Quite a few years ago,
I thought, feeling out of place. I couldn’t remember the last time I dated a woman and had to meet her parents. I loved Tracy, but I would have done anything to get out of that damn restaurant.
Quite a few years ago,
I thought, feeling out of place. I couldn’t remember the last time I dated a woman and had to meet her parents. I loved Tracy, but I would have done anything to get out of that damn restaurant.
“How old are you?” Tracy’s father didn’t even try to conceal his contempt. I looked up from my plate and he was staring me dead in the face with evil eyes. It was clear he wanted to punch me or something. From the look he gave me, I wasn’t sure if I should tell him the truth about my age or not. Especially since I wasn’t sure what Tracy had told him. Thank goodness she saved me by quickly answering her father for me. I just wish she had given him a more realistic answer.
“Twenty-three! He’s twenty-three, Daddy,” she smiled at her father.
Now I look young, maybe twenty-seven, twenty-eight. But twenty-three? Now that was stretching it. I’m pretty sure her old man felt the same way ’cause he rolled his eyes at his wife.
“You get a job, Jay?” he barked, continuing his interrogation.
“Yes, sir. I’m a social worker for child protective services.” I was hoping that the fact I worked with kids would impress him, but it didn’t. He was still just as sarcastic as ever.
“So, you protect the kids from their parents, huh?” He paused then stared at me seriously. “So who protects the kids from you, pervert?”
“Daddy!” Tracy yelled, obviously stunned by his comment. So was I.
“Don’t interrupt me when I’m talking, princess.” Tracy’s father shot her an evil look and she sat back in her chair with a pout. That look on her face was just one more painful reminder that she was, after all, only nineteen, and still subject to her parents’ rules.
“Jim! I thought we discussed this on the way up here.” Charlotte sounded like it was a struggle to keep a civil tone.
“I know what we discussed, Charlotte. But my daughter is pregnant and I wanna know what this man’s gonna do about it.” He pointed his finger at me.
“Pregnant?” I turned to Tracy, who turned to her mother.
“Mother, you promised you wouldn’t tell Daddy!”
“What was I supposed to do, Tracy? He’s my husband. He knows when something’s bothering me. I couldn’t keep something like this from him.”
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