Authors: Carl Weber
Married Men (5 page)
“That’s my mother, Rose. She needs me to take care of her.” I put on my pants calmly.
“You ever think about putting that old lady in a home?”
I spun around, glaring at her with my teeth clenched. “Don’t even go there.”
Rose jumped back as if I’d scared her. She’d rarely seen this side of me, so I think she figured she better back off a bit. A good thing for me. It probably saved me a hundred bucks.
“I’m sorry, Allen. I was just concerned about where she’s gonna live when we get married. She not going to live with us, is she?”
I was sick of all her damn questions, so I didn’t answer. I just finished dressing.
“Allen did you hear me?”
“Rose, I gotta go. Let’s talk about this after church, okay?” I left the room, trying to avoid the argument that would soon be unavoidable. What would I do with my mother once I was married?
When I walked out the door I could hear Rose yelling, “She’s playin’ you for a fool, Allen!”
I wanted to yell back, “So are you!” but I just kept on walking.
The ride home was short, and the only thing I could think about was Kyle sitting in that jail. I just wished there was a way to contact him and make sure he was all right. That dream had seemed so real.
I walked into the house to find Ma snoring on the couch. The TV was on. I turned it off and sat down on the sofa next to her. I gently shook her until she woke from her sleep. Ma was a short, heavyset, light-skinned woman in her late sixties. She was never seen anywhere without one of many wigs or hats to hide her gray hair.
“Hey, baby,” she said, smiling. Ma had a beautiful smile.
“Hi, Ma. Come on, let’s go ta bed.”
I helped Ma get up off the sofa and we both walked up the stairs to the bedrooms.
“Lemme go see if I can find your blood pressure medicine, Ma.”
“That’s okay, baby, I found it right after you hung up.”
I threw Ma an I-can’t-believe-you look. She’d played me just like Rose had said.
“Where’d you find it?”
“You know, it’s the funniest thing. Them pills were right in that medicine cabinet, just like you said. I don’t know how I missed ‘em.’
“Neither do I, Ma. Neither do I.” I shook my head.
I made sure Ma got in bed. then walked downstairs to turn off the lights before going to bed myself. I thought about going back over to Rose’s, but changed my mind when I looked at the clock.
“Allen? Allen, come up here a minute,” Ma called down the stairs.
I knew whatever she wanted was something stupid, but I ran up the stairs anyway.
“What, Ma?”
“You not going back over to Rose’s, are you, son?”
“No, Ma.”
She smiled.
“How come that girl ain’t had no baby by you yet?”
“Ma, I told you ten times. Rose doesn’t wanna have a baby ’til we’re married and can afford a house.”
“Well, what the hell you waitin’ for? I’m not gettin’ any younger Allen, and you my only child. I would like to leave this here world knowin’ my grandchildren.”
“You mean that, Ma? You okay with me getting married?”
She was silent for a few seconds before she shook her head. “I guess I ain’t got no choice. Rose is a nice girl. I just wish you wouldn’t give her all your money.”
Both of us were silent as I tried to figure out who told her I was giving Rose money. It had to be Kyle or Jay. Wil wouldn’t do that type of thing. Damn, I hated when they got in my business.
“What about you, Ma? Where you gonna stay when I get married?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Same place I always stayed. With you.” She laughed as if I should have already known the answer. My stomach got queasy just thinking about it. I’d taken care of my mother since my father’s death when I was fourteen. I’d always hoped that when I got married, Ma would cut the apron strings. It wasn’t like she couldn’t take care of herself. Hell, I was taking care of her, and she would go to her friends’ houses and clean like she was getting paid.
“Good night, Ma.”
“Good night, son. Sweet dreams.” I walked into the bathroom for some antacid. I took the medicine and went to bed, trying to think of a good way to tell Rose that my mother would probably be going on our honeymoon.
3
Wil
I walked into the bedroom of my Rosedale home to find my wife Diane, who was trying to rock our crying eighteen-month-old son Teddy to sleep. She blew a loose strand of hair out of her face, and I could see she was exhausted. Diane worked hard with Teddy, and I loved her for that. I was thinking about getting her a nanny when our second child was born in two months. She would probably need the extra help. I wanted to make sure our children had all the nurturing and love in the world.
I’d met Diane by coincidence a little over eight years ago. At the time, I was working in sales for Johnson & Johnson products, while Diane was the supervisor in the shipping department, which was housed in another building. She had a reputation for being a real pain in the ass, and everyone from my department tried their best to avoid dealing with her. But one day I had this obnoxious client on the line, and he was demanding next-day shipping. The guy was buying almost a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of products and was threatening to cancel. I didn’t wanna lose my job or my commission, so I called up my usual contact in the shipping department. She told me there was nothing she could do with an order that big without approval from her supervisor. Enter Diane, the tiger lady, who turned out to be a cute little kitten. I explained the situation to her, and without giving it a second thought, she approved the shipping request.
Now, I’m not in the usual habit of sending women I’ve never met flowers, but Diane had done me a huge favor, which I totally hadn’t expected. So to thank her, I sent her a dozen white roses. I figured if I ever needed her help again, she would always remember the flowers. Well, to say she was flattered would have been an understatement. She was overwhelmed. Two days later she sent me some Tommy Boy cologne, which was my favorite. I found out later that she’d been asking the people in Human Resources a lot of questions about me after she received the flowers. I returned the favor by sending her a box of Godiva chocolates. Now this little gift giving went on almost nine weeks without Diane and I ever laying eyes on each other. All we did was talk on the phone. The funny thing is, it would have been easy for one of us to walk over to the other’s building and say hello. We’d probably passed each other in the parking lot a thousand times. Finally I asked her to dinner, and the rest is history.
I walked over to the bed and kissed Di on the forehead.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked, looking at our son.
“I think he has gas.”
“Here, let me have him.” I took Teddy from her gently. “What’s up, little man?”
Teddy stopped crying as soon as he heard my voice.
Diane sucked her teeth, “He’s such a daddy’s boy,” she teased.
“No doubt,” I laughed, sitting in a wood rocking chair. “Give me a bottle, baby. I’ll put him to bed.”
She handed me a bottle.
“Dinner’s wrapped up in the fridge if you want it.”
“Thanks, Di. I had a little somethin’ before I came home.”
“I kinda figured that. I just wanted to let you know I didn’t forget you.” She smiled.
I smiled back. “I know, baby. I appreciate everything you do.”
“How was the game?” she asked as she rubbed my back.
“We won,” I responded absentmindedly.
“What’s the matter, Wil? You don’t sound right.”
“Kyle got arrested today,” I whispered
“For what?” Diane was shocked.
“Sssssshhhh.”
I pointed to the baby, nearly asleep. “Believe it or not, attempted murder.”
I pointed to the baby, nearly asleep. “Believe it or not, attempted murder.”
Diane didn’t say a word. She just looked at me. The two of us were caught in a speechless stare.
“You okay, Wil?”
“Yeah, I’m aw’ight,” I replied, not believing it myself.
“Who?”
“Whadda ya mean, who?”
“Who did he try to kill?”
“He didn’t try to kill anybody, Di. The cops got him on a mistaken identity. I’m gonna take the day off Monday and go down to the courthouse to see what’s going on.”
“Did anyone speak to Lisa yet? She must be going out of her mind.” Diane picked up the phone.
“She’s aw’ight.” I gestured for her to hang up the phone. “Allen and I stopped over there before I came home. She’s the only one who’s spoken to Kyle, and that was by phone. You should let her get some sleep.”
“Okay, but I’m gonna give her a call in the morning.”
I nodded my approval, then stood up. Diane looked over my shoulder.
“Is he asleep?”
“Yeah.”
“You know he looks just like you.” She kissed me.
“Yeah, but he has your eyes.” I smiled.
“Why don’t you put him to bed then come back and put your other baby to bed?”
“Now that’ll work.”
I carried Teddy into his room and placed him in his crib, turning on the baby monitor.
“Good night, little man. I love you.” I looked down at my son, then up toward the ceiling. “Thank you, God, for Teddy and Diane. And please look out for my boy Kyle.”
When I walked back into the bedroom, I was pleasantly surprised. Diane was lying on the bed, wearing a sexy silk nightgown. I had to stop and admire the contrast between her very light skin and the red material that rested softly along her full-figured curves. With her long, soft black hair shimmering in the dim light, she took my breath away. Diane was a big woman, but hell, I was a big man. So what did I need with a small woman? As I told my boys when we were growing up, “Ain’t nothin no small woman can do for me but introduce me to her big friend.”
“You know I love you, don’t you?” I asked my beautiful wife.
“Yes, I do Wil.”
I lay down next to her, wrapping my arms around her waist. She kissed me passionately. I could feel the fullness of her breasts rub up against me, and when she kissed my neck, I let out a soft moan.
“Make love to me, Wil,” she whispered. I slid out of my T-shirt, and flexed my muscles with a smile. I’d gained a few pounds over the years, but I was still in pretty good shape for a big man. Sliding my pants off in one motion, I gently crawled onto the bed beside my very pregnant wife.
“You okay?” I asked before entering her.
“Yeah, just put it in,” she whispered passionately.
Just as I did what she had asked, the phone rang.
“Don’t answer it,” Diane said. “Let the machine get it. I just want you to make love to me.”
Beep!
“Sorry to call your place so late, guys. This is Kenya.”
I rolled over and grabbed up the phone. “Hold on, Kenya.”
It took me a few seconds to turn the machine off and think of a good lie. I knew exactly why she was calling. Jay hadn’t made it home yet and probably wouldn’t be home for quite some time.
“Hey, what’s up, Kenya?” I tried to sound natural.
“Have you seen Jay? I been trying to reach him on his cell phone for an hour.”
“Uh, yeah ...” I hesitated for a moment. “We was hangin’ out at the Roadhouse earlier. But he left with some brother who was interested in buying his bike.”
“Good. I can’t stand that damn motorcycle,” she said with an attitude.
“Look, Kenya, I’d love to talk, but Di and I were kinda gettin’ into somethin’, if you know what I mean.”
“Oh, I am
soooo
sorry, Wil.”
soooo
sorry, Wil.”
“It’s all right.”
“Tell me somethin’, Wil. Do you think Jay would cheat on me?” There was silence on the line. I think Kenya suspected what I already knew. Jay had been cheating on her for years.
“I don’t know, Kenya. Do you have any reason to believe he would?”
“Look, Wil, I’m sorry for bothering you. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Bye, Kenya.” I sighed, hanging up the phone. I could hear the sorrow in her voice and it didn’t make me feel good at all. Times like this, I hated the way Jay treated Kenya. Especially since she just found out she was pregnant.
I dialed Jay’s cell phone to let him know he was being hunted down. Jay had two cell phones. One for his wife and family, the other for his lady friends. I’d tried to talk him out of it, but he didn’t pay me any mind. The only one who could talk any sense into him these days was Kyle. Di stuck her finger out and hung up the phone before the first ring.
“Please don’t start, baby. With Kyle in jail, I really don’t wanna fight,” I pleaded. We’d had this argument many times before. She hated when I covered for Jay. And she wasn’t about to let it go this time.
Other books
Moon Dance by V. J. Chambers
Rise of the Elementals by Rashad Freeman
Black Genesis by Robert Bauval
The Hellraiser Films and Their Legacy by Kane, Paul
This Way to Heaven by Barbara Cartland
The Accidental Scot by Patience Griffin
Desperate Choices by Kathy Ivan
Louise's Dilemma by Sarah R Shaber
Captain's Choice: A Romance by Darcey, Sierra
Hollywood on Tap by Avery Flynn
