Married Men (53 page)
Authors: Carl Weber
“Sure, Al. What’s up?”
“That night me and Ma talked at the hospital.”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Ma told me about you and Rose being together the night before my wedding, Kyle.”
“She did?” ! I think my heart stopped.
“Yeah,” Allen nodded.
I’m sure my jaw had dropped down to my knees. I’d never been so humbled in my entire life, and to be honest I would have done anything if I could have just disappeared. Surprisingly, Allen never even looked my way. He just kept pacing back and forth as he held the baby.
“Allen, I swear nothing happened.” He finally looked at me with a half smile.
“Hey, don’t worry, Kyle. I believe you. I know you wouldn’t do me like that. Ma wasn’t sure about what happened, but she told me you wanted to call off the wedding and she had to talk you out of it.”
“Yeah, I was pretty mad that day. That’s why I played sick at your reception.”
“That’s also why you asked me if I was settling. Wasn’t it?”
“Uh-huh,” I shrugged as I nodded. “Look, you want me to tell you what happened?”
“Nah, man. You don’t have to prove yourself to me. You’ve been doing that all your life. I know you’re a true friend, and I love you for that.”
“Thanks, man. I love you too.” I stood up and wrapped my arm around him, praying that all the drama in our lives was gonna end.
42
Jay
“Lemme go! Lemme go! I’m gonna kick your ass, bitch! Y’all better lemme go!”
When I made my way through the crowd, I spotted Tracy kicking and screaming hysterically as two brothers tried their best to hold her back. She was trying to get to Crystal, the sister who had been pointing at us earlier. It’s a good thing those brothers were there before things got too physical. What Tracy didn’t know, or at least didn’t care, was that Crystal was Allen’s cousin and half the people in the room were her relatives. If Tracy got one good shot in on Crystal, her relatives would be on her like white on rice. Pregnant or not.
“Let her go!” All eyes were on me as I walked over and stood in front of Tracy. I stared the two brothers down and they wisely let go of my lady. Right away Tracy tried her best to get at Crystal, but I grabbed her.
“Calm down, boo,” I whispered.
“Lemme go, Jay!” She tried to squirm free.
“Stop it. We’re at a funeral,” I insisted, louder this time. She didn’t pay me no mind and lunged at Crystal again. “Goddammit, Kenya! Did you hear me? I said stop it!” I shook her and she stopped right away. I could hear a gasp from the crowd and then a whole bunch of whispering.
“Ohhh,
no you didn’t.” Tracy tried to twist away, but she wasn’t lunging at Crystal anymore, she was just trying to get away from me. “You motherfucker!” She tried to kick me in between the legs.
no you didn’t.” Tracy tried to twist away, but she wasn’t lunging at Crystal anymore, she was just trying to get away from me. “You motherfucker!” She tried to kick me in between the legs.
“Will you stop it, Kenya? What’s wrong with you?” I looked at her evilly.
“I can’t believe you just called me her name again.” She swung at me.
“Whose name?”
“Your wife’s! You just called me by your wife’s name! Twice!”
“No I didn’t!”
“Yes, you did. You called me Kenya!”
“He sure did, honey,” some woman from the crowd yelled. “You lucky he didn’t call you by some other woman’s name. Many women as he mess with.” I didn’t bother to look for the culprit. I just figured it was some sister-hating player.
“I did not call you Kenya,” I told her sincerely. “Did I, Wil?” I looked back at him. His expression was clear. He did not want to be in this one, which basically meant I had fucked up and he couldn’t help.
“Look at you. Your own fucking friend even heard it! Let go of me!” Tracy pulled herself free and headed for the door. “I wanna go home.”
I finished my Heineken, thinking about my situation with Tracy. We’d been fighting for a week and she’d threatened to move out about ten times. Hell, she’d even packed her bags a few times. She’d really taken my slip of the tongue personally. Every time I turned around she was in my face, bringing up Kenya, Kenya, Kenya. Not that I could blame her. If she’d called me by some other guy’s name, I’d be pretty pissed too.
But what Tracy didn’t know was she was better off not mentioning Kenya at all. The more she brought up Kenya’s name, the more I started thinking about my wife. Things had gotten so bad that on at least five occasions I had to catch myself from calling her Kenya again. I guess deep down I had a little more love for Kenya than I had realized. Still, it didn’t compare to the love I had for Tracy. All I really wanted was for her to forgive me and put this Kenya stuff behind us.
Things had calmed down a little last night when Kyle’s landlord finally offered us a one-bedroom apartment in his building. The thought of moving out of that rat hole, not to mention the dozen roses I brought home, loosened up her mood, because she made dinner for the first time since the funeral and afterward she initiated our lovemaking. She even told me she was sorry and that she loved me when I left the house this morning.
“Hey, Judy, what d’ya think of this?”
Judy, a short, pudgy waitress at the Roadhouse Bar, placed another Heineken on a napkin. She watched as I opened up the small jewelry box I’d been holding.
“Damn, who you givin’ this to?” She took the box out of my hands and admired the contents.
I smiled. Even in the dim light of the bar the half-carat diamond engagement ring sparkled. I’d spent half the afternoon looking for a jewelry store that would give me enough credit to buy Tracy a nice ring. It wasn’t easy, but I found one in the Coliseum Mall in Jamaica. Now all I had to do was make sixty payments and the ring would be paid off.
“It’s for my girl, Tracy. I’m gonna ask her to marry me tonight.” I tried not to, but I couldn’t help it. I was grinning from ear to ear, at least until Judy spoke her mind.
“Get the fuck outta here! You? Married? Now that’s a laugh.” Judy slapped her hand against her hip and cracked up. She probably woulda bust a gut if she knew I’d been married the whole five years I’d known her and that I was actually still legally married.
“So where is this mystery woman? How come I’ve never seen her?”
“Oh, you’re gonna meet her real soon.”
As soon as she turns twenty-one and can come into the bar,
I thought, just as I spotted Diane walking in the door. Like I’d planned, she couldn’t see me sitting in the dimly lit, back half of the bar. I watched as she checked her watch then scanned the bar. She probably thought I was late or going to be a no-show.
As soon as she turns twenty-one and can come into the bar,
I thought, just as I spotted Diane walking in the door. Like I’d planned, she couldn’t see me sitting in the dimly lit, back half of the bar. I watched as she checked her watch then scanned the bar. She probably thought I was late or going to be a no-show.
“Hey, Judy, do me a favor.” I pointed toward the bar. “See that heavyset woman standing at the bar?” Judy turned to look at Diane.
“Yeah, what about her?”
“Tell her I’m back here.” Judy’s eyes widened.
“Is that the woman you gonna marry?”
“Nah, she’s just a friend.”
“Yeah, right, Jay. Everyone’s just your friend.” She shook her head and walked toward Diane. When she was out of listening range, I started punching a few numbers on my cell phone.
“Yeah?” a male voice said.
“Biggie, you ready?”
“Yeah,” the voice replied.
“Okay. She’s here. We’ll see you in a bit.” I clicked my phone off just as Diane approached. I smiled. She didn’t.
“Hey, Diane, how are you?” I pointed at the chair across from me and she sat down with a nasty look on her face.
“You got my money?” she snapped.
“I’m fine, Di. Thanks for asking,” I said sarcastically. “Would you like a drink?”
“Fuck the pleasantries, Jay. You know I don’t like you. I just want my money so I can go home. Now did Wil give you my money or what?”
“Yeah, he gave me your money, but there’s a few things we have to straighten out before I give it to you.” I paused, and when she didn’t bother to respond, I let her know what was on my mind. “Why you moving the kids to Atlanta? You know you’re wrong for that shit.”
“Huh,” she snarled, sitting back in her chair. “What the fuck gives you the right to tell me what to do with my kids?”
“You wanna know what gives me the right, Diane?” I reached inside my coat pocket and pulled out a folded check. “This gives me the right. Your money. Three thousand big ones. So if you want it, why don’t you relax and have a drink so we can get down to business? I mean, you do want your money, don’t you?” I folded my hands over my chest to let her know I intended to wait all night if that’s how she wanted to play it. “Now what are you drinkin’?”
“Long Island iced tea,” she sighed.
“You sure about that? They make the drinks pretty strong in here.”
“Will you just get me the damn drink?” She sucked her teeth impatiently.
“No problem. I’ll be right back.” I got up and walked to the bar.
When I returned to the table and handed Diane her drink, she had obviously given some thought to my question and decided she didn’t care. She was her usual cheery self, insulting me the second I sat down.
“So how are Kenya and girls?” She sipped her drink, and I wanted to smack the smug little grin off her face.
“Why you always playin’, Diane? You know Kenya and I aren’t together. You was probably the first person she called when I left her.”
“When
you
left
her?”
Diane laughed. “From what I saw on your porch, she kicked your ass out, Mr. My-bags-were-packed-for-me. Oh, by the way, what’s this I hear, you got some teeny-bopper pregnant and took her to Ma Jackson’s funeral?” She laughed again, and took a long swig of her drink. Any second thoughts I had about my plans for the evening were instantly forgotten. This bitch needed someone to put her in her place, and I would gladly be the one to do it.
you
left
her?”
Diane laughed. “From what I saw on your porch, she kicked your ass out, Mr. My-bags-were-packed-for-me. Oh, by the way, what’s this I hear, you got some teeny-bopper pregnant and took her to Ma Jackson’s funeral?” She laughed again, and took a long swig of her drink. Any second thoughts I had about my plans for the evening were instantly forgotten. This bitch needed someone to put her in her place, and I would gladly be the one to do it.
“I’m sorry, Jay.” Diane stopped laughing and reached across the table to pat my hand. “From what I hear, Kenya still loves your sorry ass. If you were smart, you’d take your black ass home tonight.”
“You think so?” I raised my eyebrows and leaned forward to the edge of my chair. “You think she still wants me back?” I don’t know why I asked her that, or at least why I sounded so eager. Maybe it was out of curiosity and maybe a little bit of ego, but I really wanted to know what Kenya was thinking. Like I said before, with Tracy’s constant reminder, I did kinda miss Kenya. Diane’s cackle brought me back to reality.
“Hell fucking no, she don’t want you back! Who the hell would want your two-timing ass?”
“Oh, you’re funny as hell, Diane,” I frowned. “Is that how you kept Wil so happy all these years? Cracking jokes?” The laughter stopped and Diane shot daggers with her eyes.
“No, Wil’s just like you. He can’t be happy with just one woman. He needs three or four whores to keep him happy.”
“Y’know what, Diane? I been a player all my life. I can’t help it. My daddy was a player. My granddaddy was one. Shit, it’s just who we Crawford men are. But Wil, he’s only loved one woman his entire life, and that’s you. Kyle and them fucked up when they took those pictures, but you fucked up by being so damn stubborn and not believing in your husband. One day you’re gonna find out what really happened that night and then you’re gonna want him back. I just hope it’s not too late.”
“Oh, please!” She waved her hand at me. “Can we get on with this? I don’t need to hear no more sob stories for Wil Duncan. The way people been talkin’ you’d think he was a saint.”
“Yeah, we can get on with it. I’m just gonna get another beer.” I polished off what was left of the one I had and stood up. “You want another drink?” She picked up her drink, which was almost empty, and drained the glass.
“No, you was right. These drinks are strong. I can feel this one already.” She took her napkin and wiped her forehead. “Hurry up so I can leave.”
“Sure, I’ll be right back.” I smiled as I went to the bar.
When I returned, Diane’s head was down on the table. I shook her to see if she was awake. “Diane,” I whispered, shaking her again. She didn’t move. I looked around the room to see if anyone had noticed what had happened. Nope, most of the early-afternoon crowd was up front at the bar and none of them were paying attention to us. The only people nearby were the two brothers in the booth in front of me, and they were my frat brothers, Walter and Jeff.
“Yo, y’all, she’s out,” I whispered.
Like clockwork they stood, grabbed Diane under the arms and carried her the ten feet out the side door of the bar. Within seconds we were all in my car, headed down Jamaica Avenue on our way to the Budget Motor Inn on Rockaway Boulevard.
“Think anybody saw us?” Jeffrey, the larger of my two frat brothers, asked. He looked back to see if we were being followed.
“Nah, ain’t nobody see us. I was watching the whole time.” I grinned.
“Good, I love it when a plan comes together,” he laughed.
“Hey, Walter, how’s our guest doing?” I turned my head quickly to see if Diane was all right.
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