Mistress (16 page)

For a while now, I’d learned to pack an extra set of clothes and shoes in the car. There wasn’t enough time in the day for me. I speeded my way to the Cheesecake Factory from the hospital.

“Ladies, sorry I’m late. Babies come when they want to.” I plopped down in the booth.

“It’s all right. We were just about to order drinks.” Maria handed me a menu.

“We’ve been waiting for over an hour.” Charlotte folded her arms. “Believe me, I have better things to do than wait on you.”

“Hello to you, Charlotte. How’s married life treating you?” I hadn’t seen or really spoken to her since I was in the hospital. She needed someone or something to give her a better attitude. Maybe her husband Bobby wasn’t doing the trick.

“Don’t patronize me.” She rolled her eyes. “My marriage is fine, with nine months of wonderful bliss.”

Ever since Charlotte came back from her honeymoon, she’d been even snappier with me. Before, we talked at least once a day. Now, I was lucky to get a hello out of her. I tried not to let it get to me.

“Charlotte, don’t start. Alex and I don’t want you to bring your shit to the table tonight.”

I looked at Maria. “What’s been going on?”

“Girl, you know . . . the same old thing. The business at the restaurant has doubled, and so have my hours. I’m beyond beat down, but I enjoy every minute of it.”

“I feel you on that one. Yesterday, I worked a fourteen-hour shift. At times, I think my body is going to shut down. Xavier’s home-cooked meals and sweet nothings in my ears keep me going. So has it really come to pass? Hasaan and you are over for good?”

“Yeah, I dibbled and dabbled back to him in the past. This time it’s for good.”

Speaking of the everlasting moocher . . . just then Hasaan walked in. He wasn’t alone either. Another woman, who couldn’t even compare to Maria, was gripping his hand. She was a rather skinny woman dressed in a purple spandex dress and she had a weave that needed to be reweaved back into her one-inch hair length. Bad acne and dark blemishes consumed her face, and her long dark blue fingernails made me cringe.

Hasaan walked by and didn’t utter a word to any of us. He definitely wanted to be seen.

Maria began tapping her hand on the table, giving me the cue that she wanted to do something to a particular somebody with her fists.

“Hold on now. What are you getting all huffy about?”

“I’m not. It doesn’t matter to me. He’s with a broke-down chick.” Maria balled up her hands in a fist.

“Calm down. He’s not even worth it.”

“I know,” she said, taking a deep breath.

“He was trash anyway.” Charlotte looked up from the menu.

“I wouldn’t mind spitting in his face though.”

After the waiter took our orders, we had to wait another twenty minutes before I could dig into my first decent meal for the week.

Maria calmed down. From the looks of it, Hasaan and his creature date got tired of waiting at the bar for a table and left. Not to mention, his and her credit card got denied. I saw the waiter shake his head and hold up the cards.

“How’s the new house?” I asked Charlotte, attempting again to spark up a cordial conversation.

“What’s it to you? You don’t care about me, Alex.”

“That’s it. I’ve tried to be nice to your behind. What’s your problem? Are you bored sitting at home all day deciding what wallpaper should go in the foyer? Go do something with yourself and go back to work if all you have to do is analyze me. I’m not looking at you, Charlotte, I’m looking past you.”

“You heard what I said. You don’t care about anything or anybody. Especially your babies. I would have thought you would have learned your lesson after the first abortion. Maybe you should find another form of birth control. A condom, the shot, or a simple diaphragm works.”

“My babies have nothing to do with you.”

“You’re just a painful reminder.”

“A painful reminder of what, Charlotte? What the hell are you talking about?”

“I can’t have kids. Bobby and I have been trying for a while. I thought it was him, but it’s not. It’s me. We tried everything, and I keep getting a period every month.”

“What!” Maria said, astonished.

“Look at you, Alex. You’re around babies around the clock. You can get pregnant at the drop of a dime, as fertile as you are,” Charlotte shot back.

“Don’t get mad at me because you can’t have kids. It’s not my fault you’re infertile. Most women can get pregnant. It’s a shame I can’t add you in that category. I know what I did was wrong, but you’re not going to punish me in your own sick way. Charlotte, you’re not God. You’re just a woman who can’t give her successful, wealthy husband what he truly wants. A child. I bet you’ve been wondering each day in that head of yours if Bobby will stay or leave you all alone to put his seed in another fertile woman.”

Before Charlotte could get a word in, the waiter came back with our entrees. “Here is your grilled chicken.” He placed the sizzling plate in front of me.

“I just lost my appetite.” I handed him a fifty-dollar bill and stormed out of the restaurant.

On the way home, I stopped by Quiznos’ to buy the antipasta salad.

Xavier had a late shoot and told me he would be over later.

Upon arriving home, I ate every bit of my salad, took a hot shower, and watched the DVD,
The Best Man
, and dozed off to sleep on the couch.

I awoke to Xavier all on top of me, my shirt lifted up and my panties tossed on the carpet.

“I’ve been horny all day,” he whispered in my ear, sliding his dick inside of me. I could tell he’d just had a shower too.

I kept squeezing my vagina walls in and out while he penetrated me.

“My turn. Sit on the couch.” I forced him off of me. I rode him with my butt facing him. That position can be a lot of work, but it was well worth it when both of us came at the same time.

We rested for ten minutes.

“Come on,” I suggested, pulling on his arm, and ran up the stairs.

He followed behind me. My baby was so tired after a ten-hour shoot. Once in the bedroom, Xavier and I fell out on the bed.

Cruising down Virginia Beach Boulevard on a sunny morning, the world was at my command, as I sipped on a caramel latte with one scoop of sugar. The sounds of “U Don’t Know My Name
”
seeped through my speakers. Next, Jill Scott’s “He Loves Me
”
played.
I haven’t heard this song in a while. Ninety-five point seven always knows how to take it back.

It felt so intoxicating to be in love. I didn’t want to do anything or go anywhere without Xavier. Time flew when I was in his arms. If he had to go to a photo shoot or I was paged to the hospital, I agonized over the next time we’d be together. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was in love with him, but I sure did like his ass.

Barnes and Nobles was jam-packed, which was typical for a Saturday. It boggled my mind how so many people stayed for hours and hours in there reading. I liked reading in the comfort of my own home, sitting right by a window with a cool breeze. Taking advantage of the savings and avoiding the never-ending aisles of trying to find the right one, Black Expressions and Doubleday book clubs delivered my book selections to my front door. Once a month, I made a trip here to get all of my magazines. I could subscribe, but this had been a ritual of mine for years.
Essence, Self, Vogue, Black Enterprise, Black Woman, Vibe, Cosmopolitan—
you name it, I got it.

Kneeling down to get the current issue of
InStyle
magazine, I looked up to see
her
hovered over me, aged about ten years from the picture I took from Ms. Cracken. After all this time, I ran into this woman. Jarrad’s (“I’m-going-to-leave-her”) wife.

Tina carefully examined my physique. Many times, I played in my mind over and over again what I would say to her if I ever got the chance. Better yet, what I wanted to do to her. Hell, Tina crumbled my happiness and dreams of becoming Jarrad’s wife with two more children, the mansion home, and a guesthouse for our company.
I’ll wait and see where her head is at before I react. If she acts up, ‘Pocketknife Pete’ will help me get out of this jam.

“Alexis Gibbs, I presume?”

“Tina Simmons, I presume?” I stood up to face her.

“Listen, I didn’t come here to fight,” she explained, taking her sunglasses off.

“What do you want? Don’t waste my time.”

“I’m asking you nicely to stay away from my husband. We’ve been married for many years, and I intend to reach my twentieth wedding anniversary. You see, Jarrad was just going through a midlife crisis, but he knows where home is.” She dangled her wedding ring and laminated marriage certificate in my face.

“Jarrad doesn’t interest me anymore. I’ve moved on.”

“Honey, I know you’re quite scorned because Jarrad broke things off with you. I’m sure you can find someone else to smooch off of. Maybe if you go to school and get a proper education you wouldn’t have to get your bills paid by doing ungodly acts. I’m sure your mother didn’t raise you like that.”

I remained cool on the outside, but inside I was boiling. It would have killed me more if she knew her words were crawling under my skin.

“Gee, Tina, you’re one to talk about school, especially high school. You barely made it out of Princess Anne High School. All you wanted to do is sit at home, eat Rice Krispies Treats, and bounce checks all over the Tidewater area.”

“Little girl, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Jarrad told you a bunch of pillow talk, full of lies.”

“It seems as though I have strangled a nerve with you. I may be young, but your husband didn’t say that when we christened every room in the condo in Miami. Not to mention, the house he also bought me with the title in my name for a graduation gift. Hmm, it must have slipped my mind. And the brand-new BMW jeep after a little spat that we had.

“Anyway, I was so excited to be graduating from college to get accepted to medical school on a scholarship. After a lot of hard work and dedication, you’re looking at Dr. Alexis Gibbs, specializing in obstetrics.” I grinned and winked my right eye.

“Tell his mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Simmons, I said hello. How’s his brother David and his wife doing? I really enjoyed her baby shower.”

“You’re lying. He couldn’t of possibly spent our money on a leech,” she said, her face red now.

“Hmm, you’re one to talk doing the oldest trick in the book by getting knocked up to trap Jarrad. The only reason he married you was because it was the right thing to do, not even sure if your daughter Renee is really his. He hasn’t divorced you because of the kids. Once Jarrad junior turns eighteen, your gravy train is over.”

“Beating you with this heel is the right thing to do. Stay away from my husband.”

“It’s been lovely chatting with you, but I really need to be running along.” I ignored her remarks and glanced down at my watch.

When I looked up, Tina’s crazy ass had her hand raised up to smack me. Reacting quickly, I threw the caramel latte in her face. Knocking her down, I kicked her in the stomach.

As I reached for my pocketknife, a man who appeared to be the manager came storming over.

“Ladies, is there a problem here?” he asked, gazing down at Tina.

“No, I was just leaving.” I dropped the magazines onto the floor.

“Leave Jarrad alone. He’s mine, you hear me!” Tina yelled over and over again.

I turned back around to see a young woman consoling her, Renee. She rolled her eyes at me and attempted to help her mother stand up.

I hadn’t had a Saturday off in three weeks, and Tina wasn’t going to spoil it.
Jarrad and I have been over for almost three years and she wants to trip now. I’m not going to deal with this drama
. I buckled up my seat belt.

Next stop was another Barnes and Nobles fifteen minutes away at Lynnhaven Mall.
I’ve got to have my magazines.

The clock read 4:53 and I was just about to start on my roast chicken dinner for Xavier and I, inspired by the cook on the show
Barefoot Contessa
on the Food Network. Her cookbook along with
Everyday Italian
arrived today in the mail.

Just then the phone rang. “Hello?” I answered.

“Alex, this is Maria.”

“Maria, if you’re calling me to talk about Charlotte, please save your breath. I don’t think I’ll ever be her friend again.”

“No, I’m not calling because of that. Can you come with me to my mother’s apartment? She wants to have dinner, and I don’t want to go alone. Plus, I can use you as an excuse to leave, if she starts drinking. I haven’t seen or talked to her in three months, so I have to admit I’m scared to deal with her and her drinking.”

“What time do you want me to be ready?” I asked.

“Be ready in an hour.”

“All right.” I hung up the phone.

As I was getting ready, I called Xavier to let him know I’d be cooking tomorrow for him. Besides, it was guys’ night out this evening. Xavier and I weren’t jealous people. I didn’t snoop through his cell phone, clothes, or papers he had lying around, and he did the same for me. I heard the horn blowing outside.

“Hey,” I said closing the passenger door of her Altima.

“Hi. I need to stop by the store to pick up a couple of sodas for Mom.”

“All right. What’s been going on?”

“Nothing much. I’m looking into applying for a business loan at BankFirst to build the restaurant. I’ve started jotting down ideas for the layout of the restaurant. I figure, with a business loan from the bank, my savings, and the money Tony gave me years ago, I can make something happen.”

“That’s great. Promise me one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Please have your crab cakes on the menu. Yours are very tasty.”

“All right, I promise.” Maria pulled into the parking lot of Farm Fresh grocery store. “Are you coming in?”

“Yeah, I’ll come in.”

The store was busy and crowded. Sodas were two aisles down from where we were standing.

When I grabbed a shopping cart, I spotted Hasaan. Then he spotted Maria not too far from me. Since leaving him, she hadn’t really dated anyone.

“Hello, Alex,” he remarked in a friendly tone.

“Do you have a job yet?”

“Ha-ha. Very funny. I’m going to talk to Maria.” He walked past me. “Maria.”

Maria turned and looked at him in disgust.

“Hasaan, what do you want? You can’t pay for your groceries?”

“Yeah. Can I get twenty dollars please?” Maria raised her hand to smack him.

“I was just playing. I’m glad to have ran into you.”

“Hmm . . . I can’t say the same for myself.”

“I don’t blame you for the comments you and Alex make to me. I smooched off of both of you. Maria, you were just trying to be supportive, and I used your kindness for weakness. I took a little time to go back to Jamaica and had a talk with my father. He was disappointed on the choices I’ve been making. I’m going to get myself together, by myself. Here’s my new number, just in case you want to talk from time to time.”

Maria took his card. “Thank you. I accept your apology. I wish you the best of success in all of your endeavors.”

“You’re welcome. I was looking for capers in the grocery store, but they don’t have the particular brand I want. Now I’m off to Wal-Mart. Take care of yourself, Maria.”

“You too,” Maria said, seeming impressed with what he said.

“Are you all right?” I asked as Maria was knocking on her mother’s apartment door.

“Yes, I’m fine. I just want Hasaan to get it together. I would take him back right now.”

“I know. If you want, call him from time to time. It may give him some incentive to head in the right direction.”

“Who is it?” Ms. Brown asked.

“Mom, it’s Alex and I. Open the door please. It’s cold out here.”

“Maria, Alex, you’re early. It’s so good to see you. I haven’t even started cooking yet.” She opened the door very slowly. Her hair was all over the place, looking a mess. Ms. Brown looked somewhat embarrassed to see us. It was as if she was preoccupied prior to us coming over here.

I looked down at my watch. We were almost an hour early. The cologne of Dolce & Gabbana lingered in the air, a fragrance that Maria had purchased for Hasaan many times during the course of their relationship. I looked down the hallway to see Ms. Brown’s door shut.

Maria seemed to be thinking the same thing as me. “Mom, is someone else here?”

“Why would you think that?”

“Who’s here, Mom?”

“A friend of mine who was just leaving.”

“What’s his name?” Maria ran to the room, her mother following behind her.

I followed behind Ms. Brown.
I hope Maria and I don’t get arrested tonight.

The mystery friend was in the shower. Maria opened the door and then the shower curtain to find Tony, her father, with soapsuds all over him. Maria was shocked.

Ms. Brown looked bewildered, and I was just grateful it wasn’t Hasaan. Maybe it was wrong to think that way, but I didn’t put nothing past anyone.

“Tony, what are you doing here?”

“Taking a shower. I’m assuming this is your first time finding out about your mother and I. Baby, can you give me a few minutes to get cleaned and dressed? I’ll meet you in the living room.”

“All right. Mom, where is it?” Maria started searching all over the apartment, especially the bathroom and kitchen cabinets.

“Where’s what?”

“The bottles of whiskey, your drug of choice, and Tony’s bottle of tequila.” Maria looked in the pantry.

“Your father and I are not drinking any more. We’ve been going to the AA meetings together.”

“How did you two get reacquainted again? I thought you despised him?”

“Well, I do when he drinks. I’m pretty sure he despises me when I drink. When we’re both sober, we like each other. After all these years have passed, I still hold a special place in my heart for him. You remember Carl, the bail bondsman. He is both of our sponsors. He keeps a careful eye on both of us. Maria, baby, I know it may be hard for you to believe me, but your father and I want to stop drinking.”

“What if he leaves you again or you may leave him again? Are you going to be down and out with a bottle again?”

“I hope not. I took a stand not to drink any more, no matter how many difficult times I may face. One of our dearest friends, Dion, who Tony and I went to high school with, has been diagnosed with liver and kidney failure. He’s on the transplant list right now. Because of all his drinking and him not taking care of his health. I hope it’s not too late for your father and me to clean up our acts.”

“Mom, you’re really going to clean up your act?” Maria had tears in her eyes.

I couldn’t stop crying, myself. All Maria ever wanted was her mother to stop drinking and her father to show her that he cared. I was hoping Maria could find it in her heart to forgive Tony for not being there, and move on, giving him a priceless chance to be in her life.

After Tony came out of the bedroom, we all started talking and laughing about how he and Ms. Brown met. She even showed Maria and I pictures of them as a family. I guess times weren’t always bad with this family.

Ms. Brown explained to Maria and me, “Tony and I are taking one day at a time. Our goal is to get back together with both of us sober.”

Since Maria cooked all the time at the restaurant, I wanted her to get a break from the kitchen, not to mention, get acquainted with her father. Ms. Brown and I made fried chicken, mashed potatoes from scratch with the skin, and steamed broccoli with cheddar cheese. For dessert, Ms. Brown had made a chocolate cake with vanilla frosting earlier in the day.