Open Door Marriage (24 page)

When the interview ended, Dallas clicked off the TV and said,
“
Well, she might have done us a favor.
”

“
Are you kidding me?
”
Tori shrieked, pointing to the screen.
“
How can this be good?
”

“
She
’
s put our business all out there in the street,
”
he said, looking over at Alicia.
“
So, now we don
’
t have to hide in plain sight anymore.
”

“
You
’
re not going to
—
”

“
Damn straight,
”
he snapped.
“
You
let her know that Alicia was living with us. She
’
s on national television making up shit I haven
’
t even thought of doing. Threesomes? Me taking turns with both of you every night.
”
He slapped his palm against his forehead.
“
Woooooow, that
’
s something I didn
’
t even think to put on the table.
I
’
ll tell you one thing, she
’
s got a wicked imagination, which is more than I can say for her daughter.
”

“
Dallas …
”
Alicia chided in a softer tone, but he silenced her with a look.

“
The days of Alicia having to be kept a secret are over,
”
he said.
“
Thanks to you and your greedy mother, everything you didn
’
t want people to know
…
”

Tori stormed from the room before he could finish.

Alicia parted her mouth to speak but Dallas held up his hand.
“
Not one word. Not a single word!
”

She held up her hands in surrender as he brushed past her on the way to his loft.

Chapter 25

Tuesday, December 25 - 2:37 p.m.

Arlington, Texas

Dallas pulled his Buick Enclave into his parent
’
s garage and maneuvered it between two other Buicks
—
a Regal and his mom
’
s LaCrosse. All three were part of an endorsement deal his agent had brokered with General Motors a few years prior. Pops
’
Regal had never left its original place. A year ago, that was cause for concern. Now, Dallas tried not to give it too much thought.

He sat in his car for a moment, thinking about the grueling two weeks that had passed since Bernice took his private life public.
Finally, he entered the house through the den, walked past a heavily decorated Christmas tree, a mountain of presents, the fireplace and an area filled with his high school trophies.

“
Hey, Pops.
”

The nut brown man with graying hair and a stocky build snatched his focus from the football game and gave Dallas a sidelong glance. Pops didn
’
t have a love for any sport, even though he watched a football game from time to time. Never basketball, though. Never basketball.

John Avery never set foot inside of a single court to watch Dallas play
—
not in grammar school, not in high school and not when he went pro. Pops had done his best to discourage Dallas from participating in sports altogether. And those were some of the biggest arguments in the Avery household. The more vicious ones between his parents were when his mother claimed that John was letting jealousy cloud his judgment.

With not so much as a hello, his father launched into,
“
Son, you know I
’
m real proud of you.
”

Something in John Avery
’
s tone put Dallas on guard. He responded,
“
Thank you, sir.
”

John took a swig from his can of beer and shifted on the sofa.
“
And I
’
m proud that you put all that money into the church. We really needed those new buildings.
”

Dallas took a seat on the recliner across from his father.
“
Yes, sir.
”

“
I
’
m really looking forward to that wedding with Tori,
”
he ventured.

He realized his father was leading to a place he didn
’
t want to visit. Dallas was hoping a trip to his parents
’
house would be a nice getaway from all the grief he had been getting inside and outside his own home ever since Bernice
’
s interview.

“
She
’
s one fine young lady, that one,
”
John said, nodding at his own observations.
“
All the times you brought her over here, that
’
s what I thought.
Smart. Beautiful. Will make a good wife. Give you babies. Lots of
‘
em. Give you a family. A
real
family,
”
he said with a cautious glance at Dallas.
“
You understand what I
’
m saying?
”

“
Yes, sir.
”

John refocused on the television and Dallas did the same. They were just in time to see the Bears wide receiver miss a perfectly good pass and a clear shot to a touchdown.

“
But, son
...”

Dallas braced himself for more of what he
’
d been hearing for the past two weeks.
The public was carrying on so badly that Alicia couldn
’
t leave his condo most of the time. Women
’
s magazines were taking Tori to task over openly accepting Dallas
’
relationship with Alicia. As far as they were concerned, both women exemplified everything that was wrong with women today.

“
Son, what you doing with that other woman?
”
John
’
s lips twisted in a frown.
“
You bringing a whole lot of shame on this family. We
’
re a good Christian family.
”
John inched forward until he was on the edge of the sofa.
“
You carry the Avery name, boy.
My
family name
—
a name my grandfather gave himself, not some slave master
’
s name. You hear me, son?
”

Dallas put his anger in check and weighed his words carefully so he could be respectful.

“
Pops,
”
Dallas began the moment the game switched into half-time and he knew he would have his father
’
s complete attention.
“
I ask your advice on a lot of things, but my intimate relationships are my business.
”
John
’
s expression went red hot, but Dallas held up his finger to keep him from interrupting.
“
Now, I never had nothing to stay about things that I saw around here that weren
’
t quite right, so I expect the same courtesy.
”

John slid back and shifted his focus to the screen, a vein in his temple throbbing at a furious pace.
“
I
’
ve done some wrong things in my time, son, but my dirt wasn
’
t all out there for the world to see.
”
He took another hefty swig from the can.
“
I don
’
t want you messing up your life the way I did.
”

Dallas nodded, but then said,
“
I
’
m just wondering why everybody
’
s so concerned with what
’
s going on in my bedroom.
”

“
The women are family, son. Family!
”
he spat, his body shaking so vigorously that Dallas thought he would drop the beer.
“
That makes it even more wrong.
”

“
So it
’
s fine as long as the women aren
’
t related?
”
Dallas said, his gaze locked on his father.
“
It
’
s fine as long as the women don
’
t know each other?
”

“
Even the Bible says having relations with two women from the same family is a sin.
”

Dallas didn
’
t miss a beat.
“
It doesn
’
t say that! The Bible does say that
adultery
is a sin. But that certainly doesn
’
t stop people.
”
He slid a sideways glance at his father, who grimaced at the not-so-subtle hint.

“
Are you sure the older one
’
s worth all this?
”
John asked, ignoring Dallas
’
plea to stay out of his business.
“
The young one is all you need to have a family.
”

Dallas stood and stretched before making it to the threshold.
“
I
’
m going in the kitchen to see Mama and get a plate before Quan eats it all.
”

John looked up at Dallas and mumbled,
“
I just want what
’
s best for you.
”

Dallas walked back into the den and leaned down to give his father a hug.
“
I know, Pops.
”

He went into the dining room, where his sister, Carrie, was putting out the last of five plates for the people who would be seated at the table for the next hour. The immediate family ate together before guests came.

Dallas shot a
frustrated
glance at Quan, his redbone, wavy-haired, freckled faced brother-in-law. Quan tended to think that the fact that all the other family members weren
’
t around gave him easy access to Dallas
’
wallet.

Carrie shot a mean look Dallas
’
way.

“
What
’
s kicking, chicken?
”
he asked, hoping the familiar childhood greeting would break the ice. His sister was a beautiful woman, with light brown skin, deep set eyes and a wide, generous mouth. She was smart, educated and could have her pick of men. Unfortunately, she scraped hers from the bottom of the barrel.

Carrie didn
’
t bother to answer. Instead, she stormed from the dining room and went into the kitchen. Dallas looked down to the other end of the table, where Quan gave him a nod along with a shit-eating-grin that made Dallas bristle.
“
What
’
s up?
”

“
I
’
m keeping it light, my brother.
”
Quan extended his fist for a pound. Dallas totally ignored it.
“
Yes, Lawd, keeping it light,
”
Quan repeated, putting his hands flat on the table.
“
But not like you, my man.
”

Dallas peered at him a moment, then decided he was better off not responding.

Quan crossed the distance and caught Dallas before he reached the kitchen.
“
Heard you
’
ve been tappin
’
a little extra ass man
—
and some
old
ass at that. I thought you ballers could have any kinda woman, and you go in for the AARP club.
”

Dallas ignored him and went straight into the kitchen toward the petite, brown-skinned woman who would break out into a smile on a moment
’
s notice.

“
Heeeeey, Mama,
”
he crooned.
“
My stomach said it
’
s not waiting for the dressing to get done. Let
’
s get to the good stuff!
”

She chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her and practically lifted her from the floor to plant a kiss on her cheek.

“
Mmmm,
”
she said, giving his back a hearty pat.
“
You always give the best hugs.
”

Dallas raised an eyebrow as he lowered her to the natural wood floor.
“
Sounds like you
’
re trying to butter me up.
”

“
Would I do that?
”
She nudged him with an elbow as she gave him a wide smile.

“
Yep. Sounds like I
’
ll be cleaning gutters before the weekend
’
s over.
”

“
I made your favorite.
”

He scanned the area until his eyes landed on a lattice crust dessert cooling on the blue granite counter.

“
Peach cobbler!
”
He rubbed his hands together.
“
Yes, indeed. All right, I
’
ll get to the gutters, clean the garage, attic, and
—
”

Anna Avery released a hearty belly laugh.

Carrie snatched up the platter of homemade dinner rolls, scampered out of the kitchen and back into the dining room. Dallas watched his sister from behind, wondering what he
’
d done that would make her give him the silent treatment. She couldn
’
t be that mad over his personal life. Maybe Quan had screwed up again and she was just mad at the world.

Anna placed a hand on his face.
“
Son, are you all right? That
’
s all I want to know.
”

“
Yes, ma
’
am,
”
he said, leaning down to give her another peck on the cheek.
“
I
’
ll be fine. I promise.
”