A Man's Appetite (13 page)

About half an hour after Michael and Marla showed up, Rhonda’s doorbell rang. Michael decided to be the doorkeeper for Rhonda and answer the door of any visitors. When he opened the door, it was Di, Stanley, and their children. Michael was happy to see them all and greeted them with hugs. When Di and her family made it to the kitchen, where Marla was doing last minute prepping, Marla quickly gave Di a hug and spoke to the kids. She quickly went back to the food to eliminate any interaction with Stanley. Marla viewed Stanley in a totally different light. What made the situation worst was that she was the one witnessing Stanley with another woman. It wasn’t word-of-mouth. Stanley noticed that Marla was acting different, but didn’t bother to say anything. He chose to keep it to himself. It went unnoticed to Di, because she was too focused on the “spread” that was in the kitchen. Di was looking forward to eating to her heart’s content. Michael showed Stanley and the children to the living room and allowed Di and Marla time in the kitchen.

“So, everything going okay Marla?”

              “Yeah. Not a whole lot to complain about.”

“Did we still need to talk?”

              “Yes, but let’s wait until after we eat.”

“Okay.”

Marla thought Di would be more comfortable, after having some food in her stomach. All awhile, Di was clueless and didn’t bother worrying about it. She felt it couldn’t be too bad, if Marla didn’t have to tell her right then and there. There were two knocks at the door and the sound of the doorbell. Michael quickly left the living room to see who it was. On the other end was Reggie and Stephanie. “Hey”, shouted Michael. He was surprised to see the two of them, because he had no clue who Marla invited. Stephanie and Reggie greeted Michael and went straight for the kitchen to speak to Marla. Afterwards, they went to the living room to talk with Rhonda.

Although Stephanie and Reggie barely knew Rhonda, Marla thought about everyone involved in the circle and decided to invite Stephanie and Reggie. Things weren’t the best between Stephanie and Reggie at the moment, but Reggie agreed to follow her to Rhonda’s house and provide his condolences. The short notice placed a hold on Stephanie’s plans for the night. She wanted to make the visit very brief, so they could return home and have their own dinner. Before going to Rhonda’s house, Stephanie informed Reggie that she had made plans for him and her. She didn’t go into details, but she did express that she wanted to show Reggie how much she appreciate him. Reggie remained unconcerned and a little confused. There wasn’t much of a response from Reggie, yet Stephanie remained excited about the plans she had made. Part of the fuel for her excitement was the window shopping she did for her wedding ring, earlier in the day. She even took pictures of various rings, with her mobile phone to show Reggie, later on.

Although Stephanie didn’t want to stay long, Marla talked her into having a bite to eat before she left. After fixing herself a plate, Stephanie sat and talked with Marla for a while. Everyone was in the living room holding various conversations. As Marla talked with Stephanie, in the corner of her eye she could see Diane and Stanley sitting side-by-side. They were sitting so close together that you would think they were attached. Every so often, they would give each other a kiss and continue to talk with Rhonda. The look on Diane’s face was irreplaceable. She seemed to be the happiest woman on earth. Every kiss, every look into each other’s eyes, and everything else seemed to be wonderful for Diane. Marla was bothered by witnessing her happiness, because she began to question herself.

“What am I to do”, she asked herself. “Diane seems to have everything she wants in life. It looks as if she has true love and happiness with Stanley. Exposing his double life would be great, at least for me. But, what would it do for Diane? I mean, I’m only doing this for Diane. Will I be destroying her or helping her? The last incident had her in a total wreck. Just the thought of Stanley sleeping with another woman was too much. If I presented proof to Diane, how would she deal with it? She’s a full-time mother, so leaving Stanley would mean starting over in every aspect of her life. New career, new home, new responsibility, and eventually new love. What do I do? Am I truly hurting her or helping her?”

Marla was at a standstill with Diane. For a moment, she had blocked out Stephanie, but she managed to catch up in the conversation. Either way, Stephanie was ready to leave. It was only getting later in the evening and there was no way that Stephanie was going to ruin her plans. As Marla and Stephanie were sharing their last words, the doorbell rang. Marla decided to answer the door this time and see who it was. She had a good feeling of who was on the other end. When she opened the door, she saw Angie, just as she thought.

“Angie.”

              “Hey, girl.”

“You had me worried. I thought you weren’t coming.”

              “Almost. I had a lot of errands to run, today.”

“Well, I’m glad you made it.”

Angie walked in, wearing a brown, business, casual, two-piece, pants suit. She was solo for this visit. Although Rhonda didn’t really care for Angie, she thought it was only right to stop by and say hello. Also, Angie wanted to be nosey and see what was going on, how Rhonda’s house looked, and so forth. She glanced at the kitchen and went straight for the living room. “Hello, everyone”, said Angie as she walked into the living room. Everyone spoke, except Rhonda and Reggie. They both were familiar with that voice in different ways. Rhonda was unhappy with Angie being in her presence or being in her home, for that matter. She remembered Angie as being the one that congratulated Rhonda for Jimmy’s car accident, so she had no desire of seeing her or speaking to her. Angie knew she was on Rhonda’s top one-thousand list, so she kept her distance.

On the other side of the coin, Angie’s voice had become music for Reggie. The secret phone calls and motel visits had left a stain on Reggie’s heart. Although it was a fling, Reggie had become attached and even he knew it. Reggie thought that he could build on the relationship he had with Angie, while she wanted it to remain a temporary affair. At the moment, her voice was the last thing that Reggie needed to hear. Since he hadn’t heard from her in a while, there was a strong craving that develop when she entered the living room. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Reggie kept his eyes on Angie the entire time she was in the room. It was a lust that he was struggling to control. He wasn’t sure if he should leave the room or stay. Although it was supposed to remain a secret, Reggie was almost at the point of not caring. At the same time, Stephanie stood to her feet and announced to everyone that she was leaving. She approached Reggie, expecting him to be ready to leave as well.

“Let’s go, Hun.”

              “I think I need to stay.”

“Why?”

              “Well, I promised Michael I would help him clean up and whatever else. And, I don’t want to just bail on him. That wouldn’t be right.”

“Reggie. We have plans.”

              “It shouldn’t be long. I know they’re not going to stay the night here, so it should be over with soon. I tell you what…. Go and get everything set up and before you know it, I’ll be there and we can have some time to ourselves.”

Although Stephanie wasn’t happy about leaving without Reggie, she wanted to be polite and decided to agree with Reggie’s plans. There was still a little of excitement that remained inside of Stephanie, so she rushed to get home and get everything in place how she wanted it. She even stopped by a local grocery store and purchased a dozen roses to have on display. Stephanie was determined to make this night the beginning of a healthy relationship.

Angie had a seat in the chair furthest from Rhonda. There was no need for conflict and there was no telling what Rhonda might do, during her current situation. After sitting for a while, Angie got up and went into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat. Never taking his eyes off of her, Reggie quickly got out of his seat and went into the kitchen as well. Angie grabbed one of the paper plates and began picking through the food to find what she wanted. At the same time, Reggie walked up behind her. She knew who it was. Although she was purposely ignoring him, there was no denying his presence. Angie stopped what she was doing, waiting to see what Reggie was planning to do next. Very quiet and deep, Reggie whispered in Angie’s ear, “I miss you.” He placed his right hand on her side and asked, “Do you miss me?” At first, Angie didn’t respond. She was trying her best to put an end to her affair with Reggie, but there was no way to fight at that very moment. Angie whispered back, “But, there’s people around.” That meant nothing to Reggie. He needed Angie and there was no telling when he would see her again. He talked Angie into going into the bathroom with him. Quickly, Angie left her unfinished plate on the table and went with Reggie, in search of the nearest bathroom.

Since Marla was sitting alone, all she could think about was her sister, Diane. She was unsure of the next step to take. It was already determined that revealing Stanley’s double life would destroy Diane. At the same time, it might be even worse if she found out another way. Diane’s situation was a little too much for Marla. She was currently juggling her marriage and the loss of Jimmy, so adding fuel to the fire wasn’t a good thing. She was ready to give up on helping Diane. She decided to give it one chance and question Diane, before saying anything. She managed to get Diane to leave Stanley’s side for a brief moment.

Marla and Diane walked into the kitchen to talk. When they entered the kitchen, they noticed some of the trays of food left open and a partial plate of food on the counter.

“Who left everything like this”, asked Marla.

              “I saw your boss, Angie head this way not too long ago.”

“I forgot Angie was here. I wonder where she went to. Did she sneak out?”

              “Would she just leave food like that?”

“Maybe she went to the bathroom.”

              “Who knows, but what’s up?”

“What’s going on with you and Stanley?”

              “What you mean?”

“I mean is everything okay?”

              “Yes. It’s been going very good. As a matter of fact, we did something that we haven’t done in a long time. Just sat outside together on the patio and watch the stars.”

“So, no complaints, no issues.”

              “No, ma’am.”

Marla stood still for a moment and stared into Diane’s eyes. She didn’t see any worry or doubt within Diane. All she could do was take her word. She guessed if Diane had no clue, what was there to worry about. There was no open door to address what she had been seeing. If Diane was completely happy, there was no way she would turn her completely sad. In some ways, it seemed like things were getting better. Either Stanley was up on his game or Marla just had a misunderstanding. Diane grabbed one of the rolls from a pan and went back into the living room. Once she sat next to Stanley, she shared the roll with him. Marla decided to cover the food that was left open and throw away the food in the plate.

The rendezvous in the bathroom was enough to hold Reggie over for a little while. Although Reggie could’ve stayed in the bathroom forever, Angie had got what she needed and was ready to depart. “I think it’s time for you to go, baby”, she whispered to Reggie. In a way, it seemed like Reggie wanted to just cuddle and hold Angie afterwards, but that thought never crossed her mind. Especially, not in someone else’s bathroom. As they left out of the bathroom, Reggie went straight for the front door to prevent from being seen by anyone. He also knew that Stephanie was waiting on him, at home. Angie headed for the kitchen, because she wanted to get her food. When she entered the kitchen, Marla was busy cleaning up.

“Hey, girl.”

              “Hey. I thought you left.”

“No. Just in the bathroom for a minute.”

              “Oh.”

“Did you see a plate over here?”

              “That was you? I threw it away. I wondered who left the food uncovered.”

“I’m so sorry, Marla. I’ll just fix another one and I promise I’ll cover everything up.”

Marla wasn’t too bothered by it, as long as no food was going to waste. After Angie fixed her plate, she gave Marla a hug and left also. She knew her presence wasn’t desired in Rhonda’s house and thought it was best to leave as soon as possible. Slowly, all the remaining guests left Rhonda’s house and said their goodbyes. The extra company and delicious food helped Rhonda a lot. She was the best she had been, since Jimmy’s death. Although Marla didn’t get a chance to cook for Michael like she wanted, she felt the food was put to better use. She felt she had purchased the food for another reason and just didn’t know it at the time.

The situation with Diane and Stanley was still present, but Marla believed there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn’t see herself hurting Diane, in order to satisfy herself. There was nothing positive in the end result, at the current moment. For now, Marla just wanted to cuddle with her husband and put an end to a long day. She wiped down the counters in her kitchen and turned off all the lights in the house. On her way to the bedroom, her cell phone chirped.

[Kevin: Hey You]

White Collar Woman

3

The
Big
Day