His Work Wife (5 page)

The fact of the matter was Presley wasn’t going anywhere. She didn’t work and I provided a damn good lifestyle for her and the boys. She didn’t want for anything. So what I had a little something extra on the side? Hell, I was the man. It was supposed to be like that. I knew a whole lot of women that would love to be in her position. In fact, Kadeema would love to be in her position. Who said it was normal to be with just one woman anyway? Nothing was right about that. I was sure some of the wives of wealthy men just went along with the program as long as they got what they wanted out of the deal.

              I was going to do the counseling thing because it made her think that I was going to stop what I was doing. I thought about actually stopping… for a little while. As soon as she got comfortable again, I was going to be right back at it. I just had to make sure I covered my tracks better, that was all. I made the mistake of telling Presley I was sleeping with Kadeema and that shit would never happen again. Chase was right. I couldn’t believe I was about to agree with anything his dumb ass said, but I was going to have to be smarter about the things I did and I how did them.

              From now on, I wasn’t going to admit to anything. As Chase said, I would have to take ALL of this shit to the grave with me. But, for now, I was going to keep telling Presley that I had nothing to do with Kadeema and I was going to tell Kadeema I was no longer sleeping with Presley. Problem solved!

Chapter Eight: Presley

I was trying to get back to some kind of normalcy after our counseling sessions this past summer. They went okay, but nothing had really changed between Tyrone and me, and why should it? Tyrone was still doing what he wanted to do and I was just spending all of my time trying to fix it on my own.

Yeah, the good Bishop-Reverend-Pastor Jenkins had managed to get Ty to admit his adulterous ways. But the good Bishop was quoting
every
scripture known to man as it related to marriage and I didn’t want to hear all of that. I wanted him to FIX us. I just needed my marriage to go back to the way it used to be. Ugh!

Summertime had come and gone and I still felt stagnant. Since the boys had gone back to school, I decided to go back to work. I had my Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources, so I got a job as an HR Manager for one of the local real estate companies. I loved being at home with my boys, but it wasn’t a good thing for me to be at home alone during the day. Tyrone was at Donovan Tools and Supply and I had nothing. An idle mind was a dangerous mind. I did something about it.

Things were going great at work. I was adjusting to my new role as office manager. The people were very friendly. I loved it because for eight hours out of my day I didn’t have to think about my home life. However, I began to feel a tad bit off health wise. There were a few times I became lightheaded and wasn't able to focus throughout the day. Maybe it was just stress catching up with me.

              The next morning at work, I was famished, which was odd because I’d had a hearty breakfast. Breakfast no longer mattered to me. It was ten o’clock in the morning and I was on my way to get a burger and fries! Something was definitely wrong. I NEVER ate fries. I was one of the weirdoes who didn’t like fries. Well, not that I didn’t like them, they just made me too damn full. But today, they tasted great.  I finished off the fries, my burger, and still went to lunch and ate some more. What was really going on? I never ate like this. The only time I ate like this was when… Oh my God! It couldn’t be.
Wait! Did my cycle come this month?
I frantically looked at my calendar. No cycle! I didn’t even have a cycle last month.

             
Shit! Okay, okay. I’m not pregnant, it’s stress. I’ll take a test just to make sure.

******

On my way home, I stopped to pick up a couple of pregnancy tests. Yeah, I said a few. I needed to make sure and one might not confirm it for me. Darren and Tyler were all over the place and ready for dinner, but I couldn’t wait. I had to know. I gave them a snack and proceeded to take the test in the privacy of my own bathroom. Before I could flush the damn toilet, the two lines showed up. I was pregnant! I went into panic mode. Well, one of the lines were faint. So maybe that meant it was a false alarm or some shit like that. I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to confirm it though. I grabbed the boys and sped to my nearest Walgreens. I bought another pack of tests and took them when I got home. Again, both tests indicated the same damn thing… me being pregnant.

Damn it! This was what I got for trying to prove a point. I had this crazy notion that I was going to make love to my husband all day, every day, until he told me no. I sat on it every chance I got. I called myself setting him up because he would either turn me down or stop sleeping with me altogether. Either way, I would know for sure if he was still involved with Kadeema. However, I didn’t factor in getting pregnant. Ty and I had tried a few years after I had Tyler and nothing ever happened and now the universe wanted to play this cruel game. I was confused. I just wanted to have a glass of wine and go to sleep. Aww shit, I couldn’t drink! This was going to be a very long nine months.

Tyrone made it home about two o’clock in the morning as usual. I was sleeping very well until I heard him blowing his nose. Shit, I left the tests in the bathroom. I could only hope he didn’t see them, but his nosey ass was going to see them. This wasn’t a conversation I was ready to have with him because I wasn’t sure of how I felt about it.  I got up in hopes that I could get to the tests first, but Ty met me at the bathroom door.

“So… when were you going to tell me that you’re pregnant?” he asked.

“Hell, I wasn’t going to tell you because there isn’t anything to tell. Those lines are barely there visible. It could just be a false positive.”

              Ty sucked his teeth as he glared at the tests again, “Umm, Presley,” he paused. “Unless you’re blind as a bat, you are pregnant.”

              Ignoring Ty’s confirmation, I got back in bed. I just wasn’t ready to discuss this right now.

“So when are you going to the doctor?”

“I don’t know. As soon as I can get a damn appointment. Why the hell you acting all concerned when you know damn well you are not excited?!” I blasted.

“What are you talking about? You always have some negative shit to say! Here we are finding out we are about to have another baby and you go and ruin it,” he accused.

For years, Tyrone and I had discussed having another baby, but the timing never seemed to be right. I always thought if it were to happen we would both be overjoyed. This was not the way I wanted to reveal my pregnancy to my husband. A night out on the town and the big reveal at the end of the night would have been perfect. He didn’t tell me he loved me. I didn’t even receive the expected congratulatory hug. No, there was a small argument followed by silence. So there you had it. Nothing else needed to be said. I was pregnant with my third baby and I was both happy and sad about it. Happy because God blessed me with another baby created from the love Ty and I shared with each other, but sad because in my heart I knew my husband wasn’t happy about it. 

******

Gosh! This baby was already messing with my sleep. I kept having to get up because of the frequent pee breaks. I woke up at 5:30 in the morning only to find Tyrone not in bed with me. Where the hell was he at this time of the morning? I snuck up on his ass coming out of the bathroom with his phone in his hand a damn smile on his face.

“Who the hell were you just talking to in the middle of the night?!”

“Presley, don’t get the wrong idea. I was uh… I was talking to Ashton about something. I was actually gonna surprise you with that three stone diamond ring you wanted. You know… as a way to celebrate us having another baby.”

              “Uh huh. Well, tell me this, why the hell would you be calling Ashton at this time of morning? Why are you smiling all hard like that bitch done told you something good? Tyrone Chambers, please stop treating me like I don’t know what it really is,” I sneered with my arms folded.

Tyrone scratched his head as he explained, “Naw, bae, Ashton called and left me a message saying he could get me a hook up with his cousin who works at Jared. I was just smiling at the thought of being able to get you a pre-baby gift.”

Oh my God! And, the Oscar goes to Tyrone Chambers! Yeah, he had just put on an impressive act. How the fuck was he planning to get me a baby gift when he just found out I was pregnant hours ago? When did he have time to call Ashton and tell him all of this? His dumb ass got in bed with me. Ugh! I hated when he tried to mess with my intelligence. I was too tired for this shit.

              “Okay, well then, I will be expecting my ring by the end of this week. Thank you for being so considerate,” I mumbled as I fell back to sleep.

As I drifted off to Dreamland, I realized I had not told my mom and Jani about the pregnancy. I knew I wouldn’t have a problem with Jani, but Ms. Cora would be another issue. Mom always had something to say. Jani and I joked about her all of the time. Our mom was a handful. We just had to love her. Yep, I’d better get a good night’s rest because those two were going to have a field day with this news. Oh my God! I’m really pregnant!

The next morning, I called Jani bright and early and told her the news. She was ecstatic as I knew she would be.  Knowing her, she was already planning my baby shower.

Chapter Nine: Presley

As days turned into weeks, I began to accept my pregnancy. On most days, I was excited. On others, it was questionable. By September, I was three months pregnant and had coasted through my first trimester with ease.  I kept my hair done, toes manicured, and I dressed super cute. I gave new meaning to the phrase “Hot Mama.”

Tyrone’s annual employee picnic at the part was vastly approaching. With everything that was going on in our marriage, I’d forgotten all about it. In fact, I was dreading it. I had to go because we had told the boys about it already. They were excited and their hearts would be broken if we didn’t take them to the park. Ty’s company had rented Tom Bass Park in its entirety. They were going to have face painting, rides, a petting zoo and other exciting things going on. Actually, had it not been for the circumstances, I might have really been looking forward to it. However, I knew all eyes would be on me because of him and Kadeema. If one person looked at me wrong, it was going to be a day to remember. I wasn’t about to fly this plane solo, so I called Jani to go with me. When I told Ty that my sister and Skylar would be coming with us, he developed an instant attitude.  Of course, he had an attitude. He knew that if some shit were to pop off, Jani would be right there ready to molly-whop a bitch.

              As we got ready for the day’s festivities, I noticed he was acting a little bit more subdued than usual. I wanted to ask, “And what the fuck is wrong with you?!”  But, decided against it. I didn’t wish to be in a bad mood when I met up with Jani and Skylar.

              Out of nowhere, Tyrone began to scratch his head with an unscrewed look upon his face.

“Uhh, I just want to remind you that since we work together, she might be there. She has a four-year-old son and he is very smart for his age. I just want you to know that he might run up to me and say hi.”

              Wow, he was something else! It took him all of that damn stumbling around to give a warning about his bitch’s son. I didn’t even know why he tried me like that. I was so not in the mood for no extra shit that day, but since he wanted it, I gave it to his dumb ass.

“WHAT the hell you tellin’ me this shit fa? What? That’s your way of telling me not only have you spent time with this hoe, but you’ve been around her kids, too?!”

“I’m sorry. It’s just that her son is not your average four-year-old. He is very intelligent and I’m sure he will remember me. This has nothing to do with her son. And I know how you are. If he says something, you’re gonna go off and I don’t want you to take it out on the little boy, that’s all.”

I couldn’t believe him. He had the balls to warn me about this bitch’s son when SHE was the one he needed to be warning. Oh, my God, some days I found it so hard to believe that men were this damn stupid.

“Well, instead of you singing her son’s praises, why don’t you pay attention to the two we have and the one that is on its way? You are never at home to spend time with Darren and Tyler, but you have the audacity to reveal you’ve been playing daddy to this hoe’s kids? Get the fuck outta here with that shit!” I hissed. “So what you might wanna do is call her and tell her to keep her damn child away from you us because I’m going to act a muthafuckin’ fool if that lil’ bastard says anything to you while I’m with you! Do I make myself clear?”

Although I tried to avoid it, I had allowed him to put me in a very negative space. I was mad as hell at the thought of him playing house with that bitch and her kids while me and mine were over here suffering. Tuh! If I wasn’t pregnant, I would’ve pulled his lips up to his damn edge up. I didn’t need this shit. I was already overly emotional. I just had to shake my head and breathe for a moment. There I was about to bless him with another child and he was more concerned about Kadeema’s intelligent brat.

By the time we made it to the park, I had put on a façade that I was enjoying being there, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Just like I thought, all eyes were on me. They knew. They all knew, but I kept it cool. See, Tyrone was very loose-lipped and I knew everything about everybody out there. If one person said something out of line to me, I was going to start the fireworks all on my own.

              We walked around for a few hours, allowing Darren and Tyler to get on every ride they could. That was the one thing that always made me smile. My babies and my niece had a great time together and I loved seeing that. Tyrone, on the other hand, had this sulking look on his face. I was sure he was preoccupied, looking for her. I was silently paying attention to everyone I saw while dissecting their facial expressions. If I had seen just one distinct look, I was prepared to cause a scene.  Part of me wanted to tease Ty. I was so tempted to ask, “What’s wrong? Ya bitch ain’t here?” But, I left it alone… this time.

              I knew one damn thing, this little butter bean must have been pressing on my bladder because I had to pee something serious.

              “Sissy, come with me. I need to go to the lady’s room,” I insisted as I made a beeline to the bathroom.

              “Damn, sis,” she chuckled. “Let me at least tell Ty and Mark where we’re going. You go ahead. I’ll meet you there.”

              I heard Jani say something, but I had to pee so bad, I was already on my way to the lady’s room and got pissed off when I saw there was a line. Fortunately, the ladies all understood my urgency and allowed me to go ahead of them.

              Jani went to find Ty, but he was nowhere to be found. Jani left the kids with Mark and went to find Ty. But, when she saw him speaking to some big-tittie, pin curl wearing bitch, she decided not to say anything because neither of them saw her.

              “So, where is she, Keisha? Why didn’t she come?” he quizzed.

              “What the fuck you mean why didn’t she come? How do you think she felt finding out that your wife is pregnant after you promised her that you were going to leave her? The sad part is you just told her yesterday. Man, you should have told her that shit way before now, Ty.”

              “Mane, fuck that! I DIDN’T have to tell her! Most niggas would have let her find that shit out on her own and not give a damn!”

              “Yeah, that’s true. All I’m saying is you should not have waited the day before the picnic. I mean, how is she supposed to feel knowing that you have still been sleeping with your wife? And now, out of the blue, she’s pregnant. How would YOU feel if SHE was pregnant?”

              “Keisha, fuck you! I really don’t owe neither of you an explanation. You fucking a married man and so is she. Y’all both know what it is. Just tell her I’ll call her later.”

              By the time my sister made it to the lady’s room, I could tell there was something wrong.

              “Hey, what took you so long? I done used the bathroom two more times waiting on you, slowpoke,” I joked.

              “Guurl,” she said while popping her lips. “Nothing. I was over there messing with Mark’s silly ass. You good though?”

              “Uh oh. What Mark over there tripping on?”

              “Pssh! Girl, I ain’t worried about him. I’ll tell you about it later on.”

              Whatever it was, I could tell she didn’t want to discuss it, so I didn’t press the issue. I learned that when Jani was ready to talk, then she would. Until then, the baby and I were craving frozen lemonade. That was where I was on my way to.

              Jani and I took Skylar and the boys to get snow cones and I treated myself to one as well. Yeah, I had frozen lemonade and a snow cone. So what? It was hot and I was thirsty and needed something nice and cool.

              We finally left the park, making it home by 5:30 in the evening. I couldn’t have been any happier to be at home in the cold air conditioning. The butter bean and I were long overdue for a nap. While the boys and settled in to cool off and relax; I noticed Tyrone had become anxious.

              “Damn, I want some ice cream. Y’all want some?” he asked.

              I thought it odd that Ty suddenly wanted some ice cream after being gone all day. Not to mention, we passed by the store on our way home. However, I was too damn fatigued to make something out of nothing.  Besides, I was learning to pick and choose my battles and this one was definitely not worth it.

              “Yeah, buy some mint chocolate chip and rocky road,” I requested.

              “Damn, bae, you want both of them? It’s cool, anything for my babies. Be right back,” he said, kissing my forehead.

              Tyrone had been gone for two hours. Hell, I went to sleep as soon as he left and he still wasn’t home yet. I guess since I only ate Blue Bell, he had to travel all the way to Brenham and get it straight from the plant. Sometimes, I wondered how much I could take. Meanwhile, I had a missed called and text from Jani. It must have been urgent, so I dialed her number.

              “Hey, sissy, wassup?”

              I could hear Jani take an enormous sigh before she spoke. “Presley, I couldn’t tell you this while we were at the park because the day would have been ruined, but you need to know this.”

              “Need to know what?” I blurted.

              “Sis, the reason it took me so long to meet you in the bathroom is because I saw Ty talking to some bad-built, dusty-foot looking chick.”

              I knew it. I knew something was wrong when she found me.

              “That must have been Keisha. Wha… what did you hear?” I asked.

              “Sis, I heard him asking her where Kadeema was and why didn’t she come to the picnic. Apparently, she is upset because he told her yesterday that you were pregnant.”

              “Wow, I can’t fucking believe him! Well, now I know why he was so uneasy. He was looking for her ass and he’s probably somewhere talking to her. Especially, since he said he wanted some ice cream, but he’s been gone for almost two hours.”

              “Presley, I’m so sorry,” she apologized.

              “For what? It’s not your fault and if Mark’s ass did this shit, I would tell you, too. I’m okay, sis. But, let me go. I hear his key in the door. I’ll call you tomorrow. Love ya.”

              I didn’t say anything when Ty walked in. I wanted to see what he was going to say. I was pretty sure I already knew his excuses. He was going to play it off like he was talking to one of his homeboys or Chase’s funky ass. I couldn’t stand him either.

              “Man, I’m sorry I took so long. You know how I get caught up when I go to the store. Then Chase called me and…”

              “Do I look stupid to you?” I screamed, throwing a glass at his head, barely missing.

              “Aye, what the hell is wrong with you NOW?”

              I laughed hysterically. Tyrone talked a lot of shit, but his cowardly ass dipped down low when I threw that glass at his head. It was very hilarious.

              “Let me get straight to the point. I know you called Kadeema when you left here, especially since Keisha informed you that she was so upset about me being pregnant. Ain’t that right? What? You didn’t think I would find out? What’s wrong, you didn’t tell your bitch you still digging up in my shit EVERY chance you get?” I smirked.

              Ty looked like he’d seen a ghost. I could have sold him for a penny. It was actually hilarious because he wanted to be this major player, but he wasn’t no damn good at it! I stood there as he struggled to come up with a viable excuse, but what could he say? Even worse, he was trying to figure out how I knew this. He was never going to know that Jani overheard him talking to Keisha’s Elephant Man looking-ass!

              “Umm… what are you talking about?”

              “Well, your homegirl Keisha told me when you took the boys to the bathroom. She had been waiting for a chance to get me alone. Yeah, she wanted me to know that my being pregnant was a problem for Kadeema.”

              Immediately, he turned beet-red. Lord have mercy. I had such a difficult time controlling my laughter. His level of pissosity must have reached its limit. He was mad as hell, but he couldn’t show it. He knew if he were to overreact, there would have been hell to pay that night.               Yep! I’d be damned if I were the only one walking around her mad. Fuuuuck that!

*

              The next day, we said nothing to each other. It used to bother me when we didn’t speak to each other, but now I preferred it that way. It was better that way. Why did this have to be so hard? Love was not supposed to be this hurtful, was it? All I wanted him to do was love me and
only
me. I had let a lot of things go in our marriage, but now… I just didn’t know what to do.

Before we got married, I just knew he was my soulmate. No one could tell me otherwise. Oh my God! I still remembered his proposal and our wedding. It was all so beautiful. I was so worried that Ty wouldn’t want to marry me if I agreed to live with him. Against my better judgment, we got our first apartment together. When he proposed he took me to Jared’s, he walked me over to the salesperson and asked him to show me the rings. There was one in particular that he picked up. He asked me if I liked it. I said, “Of course, how can I not? But what does the diamond look like?” See, he purchased the setting and the diamond separately.  Right then, the salesman unveiled the most beautiful 2.5-carat ring. It was flawless. It looked beautiful on my hand. At that moment, I knew we would be together forever. He proposed to me right there in the store. It was unbelievable! I started planning our wedding before we could even make it to his car.