We Take this Man (4 page)

After me and the girls left the nail salon, we drove home. I was trying to beat Dwight home, but we both turned into the driveway at the same time. I didn’t feel like hearing his mouth about me spending unnecessary money on the girls. He always accused me of creating mini divas. Destiny ran out of the car and up to him and said, “Daddy, look at my nails.” Dwight looked over at me and shook his head.

“They look so pretty, right, Daddy?” Destiny asked as he picked her up.

“Daddy, my recital is coming up. You coming?” Jordan asked, hanging on to his free arm.

“You know I’m going to be there, princess.”

“I’m your princess, too, Daddy, right?” Destiny said, turning his attention back to her.

“Yes, Des,” he said as he turned from the girls to me. “What’s for dinner?”

“I was going to ask you that. You know we just got our nails done,” I joked.

“Yes, I know nails are priority over food. Just order a pizza. I’m going to get in the shower. I’m tired and have a big day tomorrow,” Dwight said as he shooed us in the house.

CHAPTER 4

Tracey

M
ama Dee and Mr. Randy, her boyfriend, were sitting in the row in the small auditorium with me. I was looking all around for Dwight. Every other minute, I looked at the stage and back to the aisle to see if Dwight was coming. Work was taking over his life. I told that man that he was going to have to separate family time and work. Work ends at five p.m. no matter what. If he doesn’t make Jordan’s recital I am going to be so upset. I finally saw him two rows over, looking for us. I stood up and waved my arms to get his attention.

“Did I miss Jordan?” he asked as he wiped perspiration off his forehead.

“No, you didn’t miss her yet.”

“Good,” he said, relieved.

“Why are you late?” I huffed at him.

“Long story, I’ll talk to you about it later,” he said as Destiny got up off her seat and gave her daddy a kiss. He kissed her on her cheek and told her to go and have a seat.

After Jordan’s dance recital, we had dinner at the Macaroni Grill. We sat in a big booth. Jordan was still talking about what happened at her recital.

“You were the best dancer up there, Jordan,” Mama Dee said.

“Did you see when Leah messed up? I knew she was going to mess up. She always messes up. She was crying backstage.”

“Well, next time she’ll get it together. You did a great job. You were perfect, princess,” Dwight said as he gave Jordan a sideways hug.

“Mommy, am I going to go to dance class, too?” Destiny asked.

“Yes.”

“When? Tomorrow?”

“No.”

“Mommy, why?”

“Des, you have to be five years old to start. Next year, okay?” She finally agreed and we enjoyed the rest of our dinner.

After dinner we all came into the house. I wanted to go straight to bed, but I had to get everything ready for the next day. I went into the laundry room and put a load of clothes in the washer. Dwight bathed and washed the girls for bed. I poured the last of the Gain in the washing machine. I hate doing laundry—it is such a chore. I wished I had someone to do this for me. I so can’t see me doing my own laundry for the rest of my life. You have to wash, dry, and then fold them. Oh, how I hate it.

Destiny peeped down the steps in her Dora the Explorer pink nightgown and said, “Good night, Mommy.”

“Night, Des. Go to sleep. No playing tonight. Okay?”

“Yes, Mommy,” she said as she hugged me. Jordan came down and hugged me too. Then they ran back into their bedrooms. I placed the towels and washed clothes into a basket and brought them upstairs to fold. I dumped the towels on the bed and began folding them into squares. Dwight walked in the bedroom, closed the door, and said, “Sit down. There is something I need to talk to you about.”

“What’s wrong with you?” I asked as Dwight reluctantly came and had a seat next to me. I looked him directly in his eyes to try to get a gauge of what he was about to say.

“Remember the project we have been working on that’s taken up all my time?” he asked.

“Yes. What’s going on? Don’t tell me they fired you,” I asked as I placed my hand over my mouth and closed my eyes then took a deep breath and stood up.

“No, they didn’t fire me.”

I said “Praise God” in my mind. “So what’s going on?” I asked.

“Well, Horizon South bought another company in Maryland, and they are making some changes within the company. They offered me a better position to move with them to Maryland.”

“Maryland! I know you told them they were crazy. Right?”

“I told them as soon as they made the offer that I couldn’t accept it. I had to talk it over with my wife. Then they insisted I think about it overnight.”

“And you said you would? Oh my God. I need to sit. Dwight, we just bought this house,” I said as I sighed.
Why was he doing this to me?
I asked myself. I got up off the bed and looked him straight in his face.

“Tell them that I say no. Absolutely not. How can they ask a married father to move to another city? So if you already told them no, why are we having this conversation?”

Dwight scratched the side of his face and chin and said, “I am going to tell them no again tomorrow.”

“I can’t tell. It seems like you were considering it. I can’t believe you.”

“Tracey, I was considering it. If I took the job we would be more secure. We can put all the money back in our retirement that we used for the down payment. Plus I would be getting more experience. Then I could come home and start my own consulting firm. I think the time is right, Tracey. I think it is better to move the girls while they are young. I want us to be financially secure and this will help us.”

“We don’t need more money, Dwight. I’m one hundred percent against it. I’m tired of this stupid company. They pay well. But there are other companies that pay just as well. My answer is no,” I said as I shook my head once again. I walked into the bathroom and took a shower. Dwight tried to follow me but I shut the door in his face and locked it.

Dwight and I have not been communicating since he tried to spring that mess about moving on me. He’s barely been getting a good morning out of me. I’ve been stomping around the house and rolling my eyes at him. And if it wasn’t for the girls, he would not be eating. I was in the middle of cooking when I told Jordan to call her father and tell him to hurry up home. I had to show a home. She handed me the phone. Before I could say anything he said, “I’m on my way now, Tracey.”

“How long? I can’t be late.”

“I know. I’ll be there—I’m around the corner.” Jordan hung up the phone for me. I ran upstairs and changed back into my navy suit and slid my mules on.

Ten minutes later Dwight was still not home. I hated that he lied and said he was right around the corner and he wasn’t. I dialed his cell phone again.

“You almost here? I have to go, Dwight, come on!” I yelled into the phone. I only had fifteen minutes to get to the property. I went back downstairs and waited by the door. Still no Dwight.

“Jordan, when Daddy gets in here make sure he goes over your homework with you.” As soon as Dwight pulled up, I wanted to pull off. I saw car headlights turn into the driveway. I raced out the door as Dwight walked in and placed the car keys in my hand, saying, “Surprise.” I looked over and saw an all-white BMW X5.

“What is this?”

“Your new car, baby,” he said as he planted a kiss on my cheek.

“New car. Really? Oh, Dwight. Oh my God, thank you,” I said as I jumped in the car and looked all around at the gadgets.

He came in on the passenger side and said, “Let me show you this. You’ll never get lost going anywhere. It has a navigational system.”

“Baby, thank you so much for the car. It is so beautiful. But I still have to get out of here. Make sure the girls eat and go over Jordan’s homework with her.” I shut the car door and pulled off.

By the time I returned to the house the girls were already asleep. Their clothes were hanging up already pressed for the next day. And the kitchen was cleaned. Dwight was sitting on the sofa reading
Black Enterprise
.

“Babe. I’m shocked. What made you buy me a new car?”

“I just thought you deserved it. We can afford it now that I make forty thousand dollars more a year.”

“What are you talking about?” I said as I unhooked my earrings and sat next to him.

“I accepted the job in Maryland.”

“So there’s strings attached to the car? Unfucking believable, Dwight,” I said, shaking my head.

“No, I wanted you to have the car regardless. I have to go to Maryland.”

“We talked about this and we decided no.”
Was I the only person who remembered our conversation?
I thought.

“You decided no, Tracey. I had to take the job.”

I stood up, my voice slightly elevated, and said, “You had to take the job. Did they have a gun up to your head?”

“Tracey, sit down and listen. It was forty thousand more to go or stay with thirty thousand less. They backed me into a corner. I didn’t have any other choice.”

“Couldn’t you just go to another company?”

“You know they are the biggest company in the south.”

I couldn’t do anything but cry. As much as I was opposed to him leaving, there was no way we could afford to keep our lifestyle with him taking a thirty-thousand-dollar pay cut. “I can’t believe you would really make this decision without me. I don’t know what to say. I’m so hurt.”

“I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I want to do what’s best for the family. I really want you to move with me. We can do this, Trace. They will pay for housing. Just try it out.”

“And leave our house, are you crazy? We just waited damn near two years to move in here. I spent all these months decorating and you expect me to move.” I was furious. I couldn’t understand why he would make such a big move without me. “Dwight, you are not going to force or bribe me to move.”

“I’m not. This is not just for me; it is for the betterment of our family. I understand you’re upset,” he said calmly.

“You don’t understand how I feel. This is not right and you know it. I’m not going to uproot me and the girls. I’m just not going to do it,” I said, still in disbelief.

“I don’t expect you to, sweetheart. I just want us all to have a comfortable life. And I know I made the final decision without you and it was wrong, but I made the best choice for our family,” he said as he massaged my shoulders, comforting me.

I walked away, threw up my hands, and said, “I’m not moving, Dwight. I didn’t wait for this house to abandon it.” It infuriated me that he finalized a move that will affect our entire family without consulting me first. I didn’t know what else to say. For everything I attempted to say he had a quick response. Like he had prepared for this conversation. That made me even angrier. Tears just started falling and shooting down my face. I fell onto the bed and Dwight took me in his arms and held me. His consoling tone, warm arms, and telling me I was right lessened my anger. At least temporarily.

CHAPTER 5

Alicia

I
walked into the office with an attitude the morning the new guy was expected to start. Why couldn’t they just promote me and have that other person take my position? Too much like right. It was okay for me to be the Software Team Lead, but I’m not good enough to be the Software Development Manager. It’s all a damn play on words. I write software development documents, I code software, I plan the development schedule, I decide which requirements will be included in each installment, I hire developers, and I’m the customer liaison. So, can someone tell me again why the hell I need another manager over me?

If I go in there to find a snot-nosed rookie overseeing me, everyone is going to have a hard time. I promise to God that I will not train him. I won’t hand over anything, except my damn resignation letter. Dwight Wilson. When my project managers sat me down to tell me about the new organizational structure, I didn’t question his demographics. I couldn’t stomach blatant prejudices. Instead, I hid my fury and smiled tightly. If I wasn’t so comfortable with my job and my cushy extended cubicle, I probably would have quit that day. Instead, I decided it was worth a chance. Go in with an open mind. My team and I were too close to let this injustice ruin our bond.

By the time I strolled in fashionably late, through the maze of cubicles in our second-floor office space, my stomach was bubbling. I wore a navy polo shirt layered over a white T-shirt, with my beige and navy slip-on Pumas, just in case a fight broke out. I crept up on the team, all gathered at Desiree’s desk, and pushed my way into the circle.

“Okay, have you guys seen him yet?”

“He’s in the office with Chavis and them.”

I frowned. “I don’t like change.”

Desiree tapped on her keyboard. “Who are you telling? I hope they don’t come in here wanting to change everything. I don’t want to learn any new technology.”

Jim added, “I know. I don’t want some knucklehead coming in here messing up the program.”

A voice vibrated through our little gossip group. “I’m Dwight. Not some knucklehead.”

It took everyone a moment to recover from the shock. The sight of this tall, husky black man left us speechless. He extended his hand and no one reciprocated. We all smiled nervously. Why didn’t it ever occur to me that the new guy could be a brother? I was actually ecstatic to see him except for the cheesy charcoal suit. I chuckled to myself before finally extending my hand. “Hello, Mr. Wilson. Welcome to Optimus.”

He nodded in gratitude and began exchanging small talk, querying our interest and positions. We tried our best to size him up, but he appeared unfazed as answers flowed so eloquently from his tongue. He successfully peeled away our initial layer of opposition. We were all still quite attentive as he said, “So, can we all get together after lunch for a get-to-know session? Around one-fifteen.”

I said, “Are you asking or are you telling us that you’d like to meet us at one-fifteen?”

He blushed. “They told me you guys were a rough crowd, but I didn’t believe them.” He directed his answer to me. “We
are
going to meet at one-fifteen in Conference Room D.”