Big Girls Drama (18 page)

After church, everyone decided we should go have lunch together. I wanted to decline due to the long night I'd had, but Monica talked me into joining them. All I wanted to do was figure out the next steps I needed to take to get my car fixed, but I knew there was nothing I could do since it was Sunday. Right now, I was driving Kegan's spare vehicle, an Audi, which was a lot nicer than my own car. I almost told him I couldn't take this car, but after taking another look at the damage his crazy fiancée caused to my ride, I gladly accepted. I would drive it until the wheels fell off. We were supposed to meet up later and talk about how we were going to proceed with things. What that meant, I didn't know. He was the one who was engaged to be married, so was he going to tell me the wedding was off? He also wanted to see Meena and talk to her about everything that's been going on. It was a conversation that was long overdue, so I was happy he was finally making an attempt to see her.

Meena decided she didn't want to go to lunch with a bunch of old people. That was fine with me because that would be less money I had to spend. Of course, she had all types of questions about the car I was driving, and I told her everything that happened. Well, almost everything. I excluded Dempsey coming over because I felt like that would be a different type of conversation I wasn't ready to talk about. She took everything in stride and was happy Kegan was coming over later to see her. The excitement I saw in my daughter made me happy. I just hoped Kegan wouldn't disappoint her again. If he did, I was going to go find him and drag him to my daughter myself.

After dropping Meena off, I went straight to the restaurant. Even making that quick run, I still beat Kellie to the restaurant. Monica and Vivian were already seated when I arrived, making this feel like déjà vu again.

“Here I'm thinking I'm running behind, and Kellie and her brother haven't got here yet,” I said, sitting down.

“You know Kellie. I've given up on her ever arriving anywhere on time,” Monica replied.

“Well, I tell you one thing. I'm not going to wait on her like we did the last time. We're going to order our drinks and food, and she's just going to have to get in where she fits in, because I have plans,” I disclosed.

“What plans?” Monica asked.

Smirking, I said, “Kegan is coming over later.”

Both Vivian's and Monica's eyes widened at this admission.

“Is that whose car you are driving?” Monica asked.

“You noticed,” I giggled.

“Of course, I did. Now, spill the beans and tell us how that came about.”

I told them the short version of everything that happened and watched as the two of them listened intently. Neither had questions until I was finished, ending it with me driving Kegan's car.

“I'm surprised you showed up to church at all,” Vivian said.

“Trust me, I wanted to call and say I couldn't make it. I'm exhausted.”

“Not too exhausted that you don't want to see Kegan,” Monica joked.

All I could do was smile because I was excited about seeing him. Many scenarios about how his visit was going to be flashed through my mind, but I tried not to dwell on them. The main thing I tried not to do was get my hopes up about us getting back together. As much as I would like to think I would take him back, I knew things were a lot different. Especially since he had a crazy ex-fiancée in the midst.

* * *

Changing the subject I said, “Monica, your testimony today was on point.”

“Thank you. I don't even know where it came from. Honestly, I stood up to say one thing, and I ended up saying something different. If you all would have known what I was really up to, I don't think any of you would have shown up at church today,” Monica admitted.

“What do you mean by that?” I asked.

Sighing, Monica started to speak, but Kellie and her brother approached the table.

“We made it,” she said, sitting next to me. Victor pulled up the chair beside her and had a seat.

“At least you are not as late as the last time,” I said.

“I wouldn't let her,” Victor said, arching his brows. “I can't stand being late somewhere.”

“You sure you're kin to this woman, because Kellie is late to everything?” I stated.

“Yes, she's my sister. She's always been like that. Usually, if I'm going with her anywhere, I'll drive because I know as long as I'm behind the wheel, we
are
going to make it on time,” he said.

“OK, I'm right here, you guys. No need to bash me,” Kellie said.

“You should be glad we're bashing you in your face and not behind your back,” Victor joked, and Kellie playfully hit her brother.

“I know we just came from the Lord's house, but can we please get some alcohol on this table? I'm waiting for the waiter to change this water into wine,” Victor said, and we all burst into laughter.

Seeing Kellie, I could tell she was happy her brother was here. I could see why, because he was hilarious. I'd met him one other time before, but it was just for a quick moment. It was nice spending more time with him. He was very handsome, and if he wasn't gay, I think I would have tried to hit on him.

“Come to think about it, no one has come to ask us for anything. Are the waiters and waitresses on strike?” Monica asked.

“Not at all because I see a few right there huddled up together.” Victor lifted his arm and began waving at the young women yelling, “Excuse me, waitress girls. Can one of you come take our orders?”

Placing her elbows on the table, Kellie dropped her face into the palms of her hands and began shaking her head in embarrassment. We all were laughing because we thought it was funny. Victor was right. They were huddled up and not doing their job. We should have at least had our drink orders taken, but no one had even done that. One waitress immediately came over and apologized for our wait, but she looked none too happy about assisting us. After she noticed the disgruntled look Victor was giving her, she quickly switched up her attitude as she took our drink orders and immediately scurried away.

“She's not getting a tip because she acts like she has a problem with us,” Victor said.

“No, the problem is not with you all. The problem is with me,” Vivian acknowledged.

“Why?” I asked.

“I basically threatened her when she kept hitting on my husband the last time I was in this restaurant. She unbuttoned her blouse and everything. Her breasts damn near fell onto Sheldon's plate.”

“Oh, hell nawh. I would have checked her too, honey,” Victor said. “Women these days don't care if the man got a ring on or sitting right beside your ass. They are daring enough to try to snatch your man away from you.”

“You mad, Victor?” Kellie asked her brother.

“I'm getting there. I can't stand people like her. They think because they pretty, they can disrespect the next woman, or man, for that matter. I've had some women tell my ex they could turn him back straight.”

“Get out of here,” Monica belted.

“I'm serious. But Aaron made sure not to tell me that mess until we got home, because he knew I would have snatched that bitch bald.”

Laughter erupted around the table as I reached across Kellie to give her brother a high five. We smacked hands as the waitress returned with our drinks and appetizers. Victor sat back with his arms crossed, looking at his nails, admiring them like he'd just got them done.

“Do you have a problem with us?” Victor asked.

Kellie swatted at him, mumbling for him to hush, but he frowned and turned his attention back to the waitress awaiting her answer. Hell, I was interested in hearing what she had to say too.

“Excuse me?” the waitress asked, looking confused.

“I'm just asking because you look like you not happy about serving us. It's either that, or you are unhappy with your job. Which is it?” he asked.

“Oh no. There isn't a problem,” she said giving us a weak smile. “I like my job.”

“If you say so. I hope the next time you return to this table, you come with a better attitude because if there is a problem, you can get one of your other waitress friends to serve us.”

“Victor! Oh my goodness, I can't take you anywhere,” Kellie reprimanded.

“What? She know she has a problem with us.”

“Sir, I don't have a problem with any of you,” the waitress countered.

“Uh-huh,” Victor said, side eyeing her.

Clearing her throat, the waitress asked, “Can I take your lunch orders if you are ready?”

“Give us a minute, please. Better yet, make it ten,” Victor answered.

The waitress walked away, and I burst into laughter, saying, “Victor, you are a man after my own heart.”

“I just like to call it like I see it.”

“I hope you calling it like you see it don't make that girl put something in our food,” Kellie added.

“I swear to Jesus Christ if I find out that heifer messed with my food, she's going to visit Jesus quicker than she anticipated.”

Again, I burst into laughter, looking over at Kellie saying, “I'm moving him in with me. Because I'm in love with him.”

“I know you strictly dickly, which I have a large one, but you don't have the genitals I'm interested in. Now, if you were born a man, we may have some things to talk about,” he said looking at me flirtatiously.

“I'm all woman, honey, all 240 pounds of me.”

“I like my girls BBW,” Victor said, rapping Drake's lyrics.

“The kind that suck you dry and cook some lunch for you,” I finished, and we both high-fived again.

I noticed some other patrons looking our way, but I didn't care. I was really having a great time with Victor. The funny thing was, we hadn't had any alcohol yet, but that was going to change now.

“I can't take either of you anywhere,” Kellie admitted.

“Whew, I need a drink. I've worked up a thirst.” Taking a long sip of his wine, Victor said, “Yes, Jesus fixed it. I so needed that.”

“Me too,” Monica agreed. “Especially with what I have to tell you guys.”

All eyes fell on her as she shifted nervously. I noticed she wasn't talking as much after Kellie and Victor arrived. She was always more engaging, but now she wasn't saying anything. Whatever she had to tell us must've been weighing on her heavy, because she looked like she was about to hyperventilate.

“Please don't tell us you getting ready to die or something, because I can't take any news like that,” I said.

“No, Sonya. But I do want to say I haven't been up front with you at all.”

“About what?” Kellie asked.

“One thing I want to confess to you all is Devin has asked me for a divorce.”

All of us looked at Monica with sympathy, and Vivian was the first one to break the sudden silence that fell among us.

“Monica, I'm so sorry to hear that.”

“It's okay. I'm still trying to come to terms with it,” she said, forcing a smile. “I would love to spill my guts right now, but I want to talk to you all more about what's going on with me away from this restaurant. I hope you understand.”

“So you expect me to wait after you dropped a bomb like that on me?” I asked, trying to be funny and break the tension.

“Let's just eat first, and then we can go somewhere to talk about this.”

“We can go back to my house,” Vivian suggested.

“Really?” I asked.

“Sure. You ladies and gentleman have welcomed me in with open arms, so I would be happy if you all came back to my home.”

“Is your husband going to be okay with this?” Kellie asked.

“He's working today, unfortunately, but I know he wouldn't mind.”

“On a Sunday?” I questioned.

“I thought the same thing, but again, he's new to the company, and they're trying to break him in right, I guess,” she giggled.

“Nothing like a hardworking man,” Monica added.

“Just as long as he's working,” Victor chimed in.

“Victor, will you quit!” Kellie nudged him.

“I'm just saying working weekends is the best excuse to cheat. And, Vivian, I'm not saying your husband is. I'm speaking from experience,” he expressed.

Vivian laughed as she picked up her wine and took a sip, but she paused when she noticed something across the room.

“Vivian, are you okay?”

I
know
this man didn't walk up in here with some other woman with him. He told me he had to work. Here I was laughing at what Victor said, and the truth in what he said smacked me in the face. I did think it was odd Sheldon had to go in on a Sunday but thought nothing of it since he never lied to me about anything. I guess there was a first time for everything, but I would have loved his lies not to play out in front of my new friends.

I stared in disbelief as Sheldon escorted some chestnut-complected woman with long, lustrous hair to a table for two. Her face was oval-shaped and flawlessly made up. Her body was slim and tone as she wore a light grey pantsuit which hugged her curves in all the right places. On her feet were what looked like Jimmy Choos. I surmised her up in one quick glance and before I knew it, I was standing to my feet.

“Vivian, what's wrong?” I heard Monica ask.

I couldn't say anything. All I wanted to know was who this woman was walking in with my husband. I left the table with the ladies calling out to me. I ignored them as I made my way to my husband who was smiling at some woman I didn't know anything about. He didn't seem like he was flirting with her, but still, the appearance of how this looked upset me.

When I approached, Sheldon and the woman were picking up their menu trying to figure out what they were going to order. When he saw me, his eyes became as big as saucers. The nervous expression on his face only added to me thinking he was up to no good.

“Hon . . . Honey. Hey, what are you doing here?” he asked fearfully.

Smiling dryly, I said, “I'm having lunch with my friends.”

I gestured toward the table I was sitting at, only to see them all looking in our direction. Sheldon smiled weakly at them before turning his attention back to me.

“Now, let me ask you what are
you
doing here? I thought you told me you had to work.”

“I am. I'm having a meeting,” he stammered.

Did he really think that short answer was going to suffice? There was no introducing me to the woman with whom he was having a meeting, and I thought this was odd. I'd met several people from his job, and this woman I hadn't seen before. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

“And she is . . .?” I asked, looking at the docile woman.

“This is Nina Alexander. Nina, this is Vivian.”

With eyes narrowed, I looked at Sheldon with contempt, wondering why he introduced me by my name and not by my damn title. Even if he said my name, he could have at least said it in combination with the title of his wife. I kept smiling, trying to keep my temper under control. I could feel my face getting hot and decided to take a deep breath so I wouldn't act a damn fool up in this establishment.

Being the bigger person, I held my hand out and shook Nina's hand saying, “It's nice to meet you.”

At that moment, the waitress Hailey approached the table asking, “Should I bring another chair over for you to join them?”

This bitch knew damn well I wouldn't be joining them. I knew she asked this in order to be funny. I could tell by the smug expression on her face.

“That won't be necessary. My husband is having a lunch meeting, and I thought I would come over and speak. Is something wrong with that?” I asked, scowling at the waitress.

She shifted uneasily, hopefully remembering the last time she came at me wrong. She should have learned from her previous experience with me. I was not the one she wanted to come for.

“Please, give them a few more minutes, okay?” I told the waitress, and she hastily walked away, leaving us to finish up our tête-à-tête.

I returned to talking with my husband and his companion. Sheldon looked at me perplexed, like he didn't know what to say or how to act, and this was very unusual for him. Nothing shook my husband, but I guess I had that effect on him, after all.

“So, you work with Sheldon?” I asked.

Her eyes darted as she looked to him for answers.

“Yes, we work together,” she answered.

Lies,
I thought as I glared at him, noticing his nervous energy which hadn't ended.

“What do you do?”

“I'm the executive assistant to our boss,” she revealed.

“How nice. I wish Sheldon made it a point to tell me about you, but I guess it slipped his mind,” I said glowering at him.

An awkward silence fell upon us, and I broke it by speaking again.

“Well, I'm going to leave you two to get back to your ‘business.' It was a pleasure meeting you,” I said, reaching out and shaking her hand again. “Sheldon.”

I beamed as I confidently walked away from their table. Little did they know I was struggling to maintain my composure. All I wanted to do was walk out of this place, but I knew if I did that, then it would have looked obvious that something was wrong, and I couldn't have that, not after we'd just had a discussion about men cheating. So I returned to my place at the table, making sure to look unfazed. Of course, when I sat back down at the table, questions were being fired in my direction.

“Vivian, are you okay?” Monica asked, looking at me suspiciously.

Smiling weakly, I said, “Yes, I'm fine.”

“Aw, hell, this bitch is about to explode,” Sonya surmised.

“Sonya, I've told you about calling women bitches,” Monica chastised.

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that,” she said, looking at me sincerely.

“I didn't take it that way,” I told her.

“But Sonya's right. Vivian, girl, you look five shades lighter. All the blood has drained from your face,” Victor added.

“I promise you I'm fine,” I lied.

Victor looked at me sideways as he picked up his drink and took a sip.

“Who is that?” Kellie asked.

“That's my husband. And before you ask, the woman with him is his coworker,” I answered, noticing each of them were raring to ask me who the woman was.

“Vivian, if you don't mind me saying, your husband is fine as hell,” Sonya complimented.

I smiled knowing he was, which was why I had an issue seeing him with another woman. I honestly felt threatened in a sense this woman could take my husband away from me. Losing him to someone else was my biggest fear. I always wondered why he was with me anyway. I was plus size. I hated thinking being a bodacious woman was a bad thing, because in my heart, I knew it wasn't. I tried to accept there was nothing wrong with me, but it was an uphill battle. Now that this woman, who I thought was perfect, was with my husband, I could see why he would be interested in her and easily fall out of love with me.

“Vivian, I know I shouldn't be looking at your husband like that, but Sonya ain't never lied. Your husband is scrumptious,” Victor added.

“Please don't think we're coming for your husband like that, because we are not,” Sonya said.

“I know. At least you tell me to my face and are not disrespectful with it.”

“I can see why this waitress was hitting on him,” Victor said. “You are a lucky woman.”

“And don't look now, but he's coming over here,” Kellie added.

Instantly, everyone at the table turned their attention to him as he approached our table. None of their eyes left him until he was standing by my side.

“Hello, ladies and gentleman,” Sheldon greeted.

Everyone spoke in unison as Sheldon turned his full attention to me.

“Babe, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure, but let me introduce you first.”

I did making a point to tell everyone this was my husband. I hoped Sheldon caught it but wasn't sure he did. Reaching out for me, I took my husband's hand and followed him to the area where the restrooms were. They were tucked in a corner away from patrons. We were out of eyesight and earshot of everyone, giving us a moment of privacy to speak to one another.

“Babe, I'm sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” I asked ignorantly as I crossed my arms and looked at him menacingly.

“It's clear I said or did something to upset you.”

“
Did
you?” I asked curtly.

“Look, I don't like to see you mad.”

“Then you should have thought about that before you walked up in here with another woman,” I shot back.

“Vivian—”

“Do you really think I believe you work with that woman?”

He dropped his gaze as I continued.

“I can't believe you lied to me like that.”

Right then, a Caucasian man walked up wanting to enter the men's restroom, which I was standing in front of. I moved out of his pathway, allowing him to enter before we spoke again.

“Look, now is not the time, nor the place. We can talk about this when we get home.”

Sheldon stared bleakly at me while I eyed him sternly.

“Baby, I am sorry.”

“Okay,” I answered snappily. “And by the way, I invited my friends over to our home after lunch. But that shouldn't be a problem with you
since you are working
.”

He closed his eyes wearily as I walked past him to go back to the table. Sheldon coming over should have meant something to me, but right now, it didn't. I still couldn't get over the fact of how he lied
and
introduced me. It may be small to him, but to me, it was a huge problem, taking our relationship in the wrong direction. Nothing made a woman feel more loved than a man announcing his wife or woman to people, but Sheldon didn't do that. It was obvious he was embarrassed by me. One thing was for sure . . . I was going to find out what was going on, and I prayed my suspicions weren't right, because that would mean the end to our marriage.