Marriage Mayhem (23 page)

He figured that Jennifer typed that one because last night he had heard her say those same exact words.

Another letter read:

The last letter he read was different then the others. It read:

Jermaine quickly glanced over his shoulder and noticed that Chad, one of his coworkers, was smiling at him, and even winked at him.

Jermaine stood and faced all of his coworkers and gave them the finger.

“Fuck all of you!” he yelled, then angrily stormed into his supervisor's office and announced his resignation.

The following day Jermaine was interviewed by a broker who owned a Century 21 real estate branch in Thousand Oaks, California, and was hired on the spot. While sorting papers and getting his desk in order, a beautiful Mexican woman approached him and introduced herself.

“Hi. I'm Sylvia.”

He stared at her a few moments before answering.

Sylvia was a plain type of woman; no makeup, no jewelry, or no flashy clothes.

“I'm Jermaine, it's a pleasure meeting you, Sylvia.” He wanted to say more, but was at a lost for words.

“I've been employed here for six years and if there's anything you need help with, please don't hesitate asking me.”

He glanced at her finger and saw no wedding ring, which boosted his spirits and confidence ten notches higher.

“You will definitely be the first person I ask if I have any inquiries,” replied Jermaine, smiling, and then out of the blue, he got bold and asked a question.
I've got nothing to lose and everything to gain,
he thought.

“Sylvia, would I be out of line if I asked you to have lunch with me today? That is, if your husband won't mind?” He did a little prying.

“You don't waste any time, do you? Normally, I don't do lunch with strangers, but since you're new here and seem like a pretty nice guy, lunch will be fine. I don't think lunch will do harm to our work relationship,” she responded, actually happy to be noticed by someone.

“It could possibly enhance it,” Jermaine replied, giving her the best smile that he could.

She then returned to her desk and continued working.

As Jermaine went over some leads on foreclosure properties that his boss had given him, an African American male coworker approached him.

“What's up, my brother? I'm Reggie,” said the man, offering a handshake.

“I'm Jermaine, nice to meet you, Reggie.” Jermaine accepted the handshake.

“I seen you shooting a few lines at the mystery woman and just wanted to congratulate you on that. Sylvia hasn't smiled like that in the six years that I've been working with her. I don't know what you said to her, brother, but whatever it was, keep on keeping on. It might open a door for you, you know I mean?”

“Hopefully it will, Reg.”

“Man, you're like me,” Reggie said, and then pulled a chair next to Jermaine. “Sisters just insisted on disrespecting a brother, and not showing any type of appreciation or consideration whatsoever, so I started dating other races. And believe me, man, I'm lovin' it. When a brother is with a white woman or a Mexican woman, man, that really pisses sisters off; they turn up their noses and look at you like you got shit all over you, but I just smile at 'em and keep on stepping.”

“I hear you, man, you're right,” replied Jermaine.

Jermaine and Sylvia lunched at a Mexican restaurant called Baja Grill. While eating, they conversed on the real estate market, their parents and siblings, their likes and dislikes, and also their past relationships. Realizing that Sylvia was the shy, quiet type, Jermaine took pleasure in leading in conversation. They were enjoying the date, but before they knew it, it was time to go back to work.

Trying to be sincere, Jermaine had revealed his situation about Karen to Sylvia. Jermaine felt that he was ready to initiate another relationship. Sylvia was actually just as attracted to him as he was to her, but she did not show it.

She was very sympathetic to his issues and she was very much attracted to him, but decided to take things slow. She did not want to stumble across any trouble, especially with the evil, mean, black woman that Jermaine had described to her.

During the course of the next month Jermaine and Sylvia began spending time together, but neither of them had talked about sex. They did not want that to be the foundation of their relationship or possible marriage.

Jermaine's father used to always tell him, “Son, good things are worth waiting for. Any woman who gives it up on the first night isn't the type of woman you'd want to make your wife.”

Jermaine was assured that Sylvia was worth waiting on, and her feelings were mutual. They were both in search of a lifetime commitment, not a one-night stand, or not just someone to get their rocks off with.

Being seen with a Mexican woman did not bother Jermaine at all. As a matter of fact, he held his head up proudly. Sylvia treated him like a king, respected him, and produced concern and love. What he really admired about her was that she carried herself like a virtuous, shy woman.

Sylvia had come from a decent family that instilled morals and principals inside her. Her parents exercised dignity, integrity, and the importance of family value. Her father had once owned a small cab company in Guadalajara, but opportunely, after struggling and sacrificing to save money, he sold his business in order to move his family to the United States so they could get an education and a shot at a decent life.

When Mr. Siordia, Sylvia's father, had first met Jermaine, he instantly did not like him simply because he was black. Because of his dislike toward Jermaine, Mrs. Siordia's feelings were mutual.

“I want you to marry a doctor or a lawyer, a mayor, or a politician, Sylvia. You deserve someone of that class and not anything less,” her father had said to her.

“Father, even a doctor, a lawyer, a mayor, or a politician can be unfaithful or evil. The bigger the title, the more the cheat. I'm not looking for someone with a big title, Father, I just want someone who will love me for me, be faithful to me, respect me, treat me good, and someone who will appreciate my love. That's what I want in a husband, Father. I could care less if he's a garbageman, a mechanic, a plumber, or a security guard; as long as he treats me good and shows me that he loves me and cares for me, that will be enough for me. Jermaine really loves me, Father, and I haven't told him yet, but I love him too. You and Mother have taught us not to be prejudiced, Father, so please remember that in accepting Jermaine.”

“Prejudice is not an issue here. What I'm concerned about is your disease. Have you told him that you have cancer, or are you hiding it from him?”

“I think it'd be best if I don't tell him right now. Revealing my disease could possibly change things, and I just don't think it's time yet.”

“If he loves you, Sylvia, then your disease or condition would not be a factor in your relationship. Love is unconditional. It always has been and it always will be. When I married your mother, my vows were to love her for better or worse, through good times and bad times, and most importantly, through sickness and good health. Like I said, if he loves you like you say he does, and I truly believe that he does love you, then your disease should not be an issue,” explained Mr. Siordia.

She embraced her father and began crying.

“I just don't want to lose him, Father,” she sobbed.

“It's your life, Sylvia. I have no right to suggest you do things that are against your will, and I've always wanted what's best for you. Maybe I'm being a little over-protective, or selfish, or maybe just afraid of losing you to another man, but I have to learn to respect and accept any decisions you make in your life. I keep forgetting that you're a grown woman and not a baby anymore. You're an intelligent, responsible woman who's capable of making sensible decisions, but aside from all that, to me, you will always be Daddy's little girl.” Tears ran from his eyes as he hugged his daughter.

“You're right, Father. I will always be Daddy's little girl. Thank you for understanding, Father. I love you so much.”

As time passed, Mr. and Mrs. Siordia had been observing how special and exceptional Jermaine was treating their daughter, which caused them to grow fonder of him. Besides, they both knew that there was nothing that they could say or do to change Sylvia's mind toward Jermaine. She was happily in love.

Sylvia had not had sex with anyone since her last relationship, which was two years earlier. The last boyfriend she had, whose name was Eduardo, had cheated on her with her cousin and also with her two best friends. She discovered that Eduardo had been sleeping with them all for almost two years and unfortunately, everyone knew except her. With Eduardo being her first, her heart was completely shattered to pieces.

 

 

Jermaine felt like this was something he should have done a long time ago. He felt that being with Sylvia was the right move for him. He told his mother and sisters about her, and they could tell by the excitement and enthusiasm in his voice that he really cared for her and would treat her very well.

“At least she's not one of those ghetto women that Jermaine is normally attracted to,” his oldest sister had said.

“I'm happy for him,” said his other sister. “She's nice, intelligent, and has positive things going on in her life.”

Working out of the same office became a problem for Sylvia and Jermaine, mainly due to everyone being in their business. Each day when Jermaine arrived at the office, Reggie approached him, smiling. “Did you hit it yet, man?”

“You're getting kind of personal aren't you, Reg?”

“Just tell me if you hit it, man, that's all I wanna know. I've got a hundred-dollar bet with Larry, Shane, Marcia, and even the boss, saying that you've hit it, so I need to know so I can collect my cash, man.”

“Reggie, do you actually think that I'd let you know something that personal?”

“Hell yeah, you my boy, ain't you?”

“Yeah, I'm your boy, Reg, but she's my girl, and I wouldn't say or do anything to hurt her.”

“Damn, you fall in love too quick, man. That shit could be dangerous, you know. Check yourself, before you wreck yourself, man.”

“Believe me, Reg, I know what I'm doing.”

“Yeah, right. I'll bet that you knew what you were doing when you married that nightmare too, huh?”

“Chill, man, take it easy, Reg. Man, I really think you need to go buy yourself a can of business.”

“Whatever.”

One day during lunch Reggie, once again, began voicing his opinion toward black women.

“Man, I'm telling you that a high percentage of black women be trippin', and I don't understand it. This one heffa name Pam kicked me dead in the ass with a pointy-toed shoe, and then busted the windows out of my Beamer. Like a damn fool, I took her back, and a week later the heffa stabbed me. That's when it was time for me to say goodbye, you know what I mean? But being the pussy-whipped man I was, I accepted the heffa back again, man, and a week later I found out that she had fucked up my credit by using my identity to forge some damn loan documents to purchase all kinds of shit. Man, she had rented cars, maxed out my credit cards, and had even charged over three thousand dollars worth of shit from Victoria's Secret. Yeah, she was just one of the many unappreciative women I took care of. After her, I dated another sista named Rochelle, right? Man, this woman didn't have any shame about embarrassing herself in public. She would wait until she was in the presence of a crowd of people and talk loud and ghetto to me, you know? The bad thing about it was that she didn't care who heard her, and didn't give a damn about what she was saying. She was straight ghetto, man.”

Listening to Reggie, Jermaine could have sworn that he had ultimately described Karen, but he did not care to comment at the moment.

 

 

Mornings when Sylvia arrived at work, a few nosy coworkers would approach her and began making small talk in hopes to get some information about her and Jermaine so they could gossip.

“How is he in bed?” asked Marcia.

“Does he have a big dick?” Sandra boldly asked.

“Have you exchanged juices yet?” asked Cheryl.

“How is life with a black man?” Lisa asked Sylvia that same question just about every day.

“Why are you guys so into my business? If and when Jermaine and I ever get intimate, believe me, you inquisitive hounds will never know,” replied Sylvia, directing her response to all of them.

While sitting at the dinner table later that evening, Sylvia made a suggestion.

“Sweetheart, I think that us working in the same office will one way or another effect our relationship. I honestly recommend that, for the sake of our relationship, we should strongly consider working apart from one another.”

“Yeah, babe, we're on the same page. I was thinking the same thing. Reggie is all over me every day like white on rice asking me all kind of questions about us, and to tell you the truth, I'm tired of it. Tomorrow, I'll call a few other local Realtors to see if they have any openings and if so, exactly what they have to offer. As long as I'm not too far away from you, I can deal with it, but you know how I get those sudden urges for your kisses.”