Betrayed (10 page)

Mimi turned up the volume on her stereo as her favorite CD by Norman Brown played. The love of jazz made Mimi think of the career she might have had if she hadn't been running away from ghosts that she thought might materialize at any time, resurrecting memories she tried to suppress that were now called her secrets.

Lost in the rhythm, Mimi thumped her thumbs on the steering wheel as Norman whaled out one of his ballads. Before she knew it, Mimi was leaving Interstate 40 and exiting onto Gorman Street. She made another quick right onto Tryon Road. In a short tenth of a mile, she arrived at her destination.

Mimi drove around until she found a place she wanted to park. The temperature had risen slightly, and Mimi opted to take off her jacket and run in her sports bra and running pants. There were more people at the lake than she'd anticipated for a Thursday afternoon. Mothers pushing babies in strollers, students out for an afternoon jog, and business types with suits and tennis shoes hugged the trail. Mimi removed a terrycloth headband from the console of her car and headed toward the trail.

Standing in the grass close to the trail, Mimi spread her legs apart and locked her hands behind her head. She proceeded to loosen up her muscles by doing a few stretches and bends, rocking to one side and then the other, finally lifting her arms one at a time, reaching for the sky. Finished with her upper torso, she did some lunges, stepping back on one leg, moving her body over the forward leg, and bouncing before repeating the same process with the other leg. When she was finished, Mimi shook her body out and headed to the trail to begin her jog.

She was fit for a thirty-seven-year-old woman. Mimi had treated her body right and left the rest for Raphael to tend to. Gliding into her stride, Mimi trotted along the trail, giving herself a power boost every two hundred yards or so.

The lake became a mirror as the sunlit sky splashed its rays upon its surface, reflecting the pine trees that grew nearby and painted a picturesque scene that encompassed the few people who were in paddle boats navigating up and down the lake. A half-hour flew by and then another. Mimi hadn't felt in better shape. Looking at her watch, she decided another half to an hour wouldn't hurt.

Nearing the end of her last stretch she gave her legs a kick. Mimi sprinted like she was practicing for a marathon, but looked as pretty as a thoroughbred on its way to winning the Triple Crown. Her form was great and her muscles taunt. Nearing the last three
meters before reaching her car, she slowed to a trot and caught her breath, giving her body time to cool down.

Mimi was in the moment. Her trot became a slow walk. Thrilled with herself for going the distance—a five-mile trek around the lake—she let out a victory scream. With hands on her hips, Mimi blew air from her mouth and nostrils, inhaled, and began to walk toward her car. She stopped cold in her tracks.

She hadn't seen him in nineteen years, but he looked as good as he did then, only now he was a little thicker and older. He was drenched in a layer of medium dark chocolate. He was of medium height, now bald, but she would've recognized him and those slightly bowed legs anywhere. He was what the old women meant when they said he could make a weak woman fall to her knees. If she had stayed in Durham, he would've been her baby's daddy. She wiped the thin coat of sweat that appeared on her face and moved out of her trance as her old love moved in her direction.

M
imi tried to keep her eyes from devouring his meaty legs that lay exposed beyond the hottest pair of white short shorts she'd seen in a long time. Her eyes continued to travel upward and beyond the hemline of his shorts, relaxing momentarily on the jewel keeper and then up toward the upper torso that was draped in a thin T-shirt, his firm nipples producing a slight indentation, but yet enunciating the healthy pecks that lay underneath. Muscles rippled like an ancient road along his massive arms, for sure the result of lifting weights daily. Then she caught a glimpse of his lips—too inviting to ignore, and when their eyes connected, the smile she tried to hide erupted on her face like a volcano.

“Is that you, Mimi?” the handsome man asked, giving her the once over.

“John…John Carroll, is that you?” Mimi said in response.

They were within a foot of each other, each assessing and reassessing what they had obviously once remembered against what was now in front of them. Then John reached out and hugged her, and Mimi fell into his arms like it was the thing to do.

“Mimi Allen,” John said, finally letting go as Mimi moved back. “Where have you been? We were supposed to be building an empire together, making babies, and making all kinds of beautiful music. What happened to you, girl? You look good so I'll assume life's been treating you kind. I can't believe my eyes.”

“Hi, John. Wow.”

“I know you can say more than that, girl. What have you been doing since you left me at the altar?”

Mimi tapped John playfully on the arm. “I didn't leave you at the altar. We weren't even engaged.”

“Girl, you know we said we were going to be together forever. One day you were here, the next, no one could find you. Have you seen Brenda?”

“Not yet. I arrived in town a little over a month ago. My daughter is attending Central, and I moved here to be close to her.”

“So what have you been up to?” John made no attempt to be discrete as he looked at Mimi's fingers. “I see you went and got hitched without me.”

Mimi folded her arms across her chest and placed her hands under her underarms. “What about you? Are you married?”

“Divorced. Twice. Now answer my questions.”

“I'm sorry I didn't tell you that I was leaving. I had some issues I had to contend with, and I had to get away to do it. I eventually went to Hampton U and got my degree, fell in love, got married, and have been moving around the country ever since. My husband is a Colonel in the United States Army.”

“Oh, I see. Big dog. Got you a Colonel.” John looked around as if expecting to see Mimi's partner trounce on him at any moment. “So where is this Colonel that you married?”

“He's in Germany commanding a brigade. He's been a wonderful husband and father.”

“Well, girl, you certainly are a sight for sore eyes. If the Colonel doesn't mind me saying, you've still got it—the full package.” John looked at his watch. “Maybe we can have a friendly, platonic lunch sometime.”

“I don't think that would hurt. I don't have anything to write
your information on, but my car is right over there,” Mimi said, pointing in the direction of her car.

“Nice ride. The Colonel can afford it, I'm sure.”

“Thank you,” Mimi said sweetly, as she and John walked briskly to the car. She fought the urge to touch him, even playfully, as the memory of Raphael's hot phone sex tried to cloud her existing thoughts. There was no doubt in her mind that she loved her husband and she planned to be his wife until death they did part, but Satan had her salivating in the flesh at this sudden reunion of two lost souls.

Mimi opened the door and reached in and got her purse. She knew that John was stalking her booty with his eyes, even though she was covered up completely. He only had to imagine, but as suddenly as thoughts of those times they had been in each other arms were overtaking her, she came to her senses and eased out of the car with a piece of paper and a pencil. She wrote John's number down, and then wrote hers down for him.

He took the piece of paper she offered and looked into her eyes. Mimi saw his eye twinkle and for a half-second thought about giving him a kiss on the lips. She refrained, but she knew he noticed, and because of the intensity of the heat that had formed from them being so close together, John reached out and pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips.

“Mimi, I'm sorry,” John said, as they recovered from his assault.

“Uhm, it's okay,” Mimi whispered, bringing her lips together, savoring the moment. “Look, I'll call you…to see when you want to go to lunch.”

“How about tomorrow? Do you live nearby?”

Mimi wasn't ready to tell anyone where she lived. God knows she'd be in trouble if she let him near her house. A ton of memories came rushing back of the day they had met during her first week in college and the fun they had had and the promises made. The
only regret Mimi had was that she had never given him a taste of her forbidden fruit. She was the biggest tease and found herself many times in uncompromising positions, but she always managed to wiggle her way out of things, because she was saving herself for marriage…that was until Victor Christianson violated her body. She shuddered at the thought, and all of sudden she wanted revenge. “I live in Durham,” Mimi heard herself say.

“I have a business meeting in the RTP tomorrow.” Mimi wrinkled her nose. “The Research Triangle Park,” John reminded her. “You haven't been gone that long. Anyway, I could meet you somewhere—your call. It's a Friday, and all the restaurants might be busy, so if you want to go around two in the afternoon, that would work for me.”

“Two sounds good for me, too. I'll let you know the place.”

“Well, it's a done deal. I thank the gods for smiling on me today.”

“It was nice seeing you again, too, John. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Mimi jumped into her car, afraid that if she lingered any longer, another kiss might have been imminent. She had loved John once, and seeing him now only brought memories of love to the surface. Raphael would always be her only true love, and Mimi sat in the car, trying to convince herself that she wasn't cheating on him.

She watched as John disappeared beyond the brush that led to the trail. She grinned in spite of herself, for truly the gods had given her something to smile about. Putting her car in reverse, Mimi moved out of the park and headed for the freeway with thoughts of seeing John again.

“Damn,” Mimi said out loud. She had forgotten that quickly that she'd promised to meet Brenda for lunch tomorrow. Well, she really did have an excuse this time. She'd think of something, and maybe after this second attempt to have lunch with her, Brenda would give up. “Damn.”

M
imi hummed, whistled, and sang herself home. How she got home otherwise was a mystery. All she remembered was that she had put the car in gear, gotten on the freeway, and now she was pulling into the entrance of her subdivision. She was too old to a let a man that she hadn't seen in nineteen years, but still had it going on, work her nerves like that.

Looking wasn't a sin, but the kiss she had placed on that man's lips or the one he had placed on hers was. After all, she was a married woman—a happily married woman, and no other man would ever take the place of Raphael. Raphael was the provider, the protector, and the only lover for her because he did it so well. They were each other's rock, salvation, the end of all ends.

So why was she thinking about John? He was her first real love, although she never had sex with him. There was no memory to make her stomach feel queasy as it did now. Maybe it was a friendly face in the midst of the warfare she had going on with Victor. Nevertheless, she couldn't wipe the smile off her face as she fantasized about seeing John in his ultra short shorts.

Mimi pulled her car into the attached garage, still humming as she got out. Floating on cloud nine, she retrieved the mail from the mailbox and went into the house. She deposited her things on a chair in the kitchen and immediately went to the junk drawer and removed her journal and began to write.

October 9, 2008

I can't get this silly grin off of my face. Who would have thought that I'd see him again? For the first time since arriving in Durham, I plunged back into my fitness program. I drove to Lake Johnson because I remembered the wonderful walking trails that looped around the lake. After a short warm-up session, I walked, sprinted, ran for five miles. I felt wonderful, and the day couldn't have been more beautiful. And then there he was.

At the end of my run, I headed back to my car. Imagine the shock when I saw this handsome man heading toward me, and as I took a second look, realized it was John, my long lost love, although he was a little older and had added a few pounds. I'm sure it was attributed to age and by all appearances his constant workout at the gym.

He was wearing these cute white shorts, exposing those legs that he used to wrap around me when I would tease him and then refuse to give up the goods. But his whole body made my knees tremble, and when he kissed me on the lips—no tongue, although I would have accepted it, I wanted to melt. I know that if I had gotten any closer to him, felt the bulge in all of his muscles, I would have been done for.

But like most married women, I came to my senses. I don't think Raf would be upset with me for entertaining a fantasy of my brief encounter. He even admitted to me that when I described how Victor was checking me out, it turned him on. And it proved to be the best phone sex we'd ever had.

Maybe I'm feeling a little bit guilty for having these feelings. True, I miss my husband, but John provided a visual to get me through tonight. Help me, Lord. Earth to Mimi.

But I'm going to see John again—to catch up for old time's sake. I really hate to diss Brenda, but it's probably for the best since her crazy, warped husband has warned me to stay away from her. My gut feeling, though, tells me something else is going on in the Christianson household, and I believe Brenda needs a friend. I owe it to her, but I'm going to
meet John on Friday. I'm going to see Brenda, but I've got to do this other thing for myself.

Wow, I'm still grinning…smiling. Oops. Dropped my pen, but I'm back. I feel so silly—like I've got this schoolgirl crush on the hottest boy on the football team. He is that, now. But Raf, I love you more.