Suspicions (28 page)

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Authors: Sasha Campbell

BOOK: Suspicions
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44
Tiffany
I was so excited about my date with Baughn, I was messing up heads left and right.
“Damn, Tif! I said honey blonde. I look like fucking Carrot Top.”
“Sorry, Sarah. I'll put some toner on it and lighten it a bit.” It was like that all morning. I was so looking forward to my date.
I finished my last client by five, then hurried home and heated up the flatiron. While I was doing my hair, Candace came into the bedroom and took a seat on the bed.
“Tiffany, check this out. I was in the ladies' room at work. It's a pretty good size with about five stalls. Anyway . . . I went into the last one to take a dump. Of course, you know someone always has to come into the stall beside me.”
I nodded as I looked away from the mirror. “Girl, you know that's how it always works.”
“I know. Anyway, where was I? Okay . . . I'm one of those who will wipe my behind when I'm finished until the tissue comes clean, but since I don't sit on any public stools, I squat. I was trying to balance and wipe my butt at the same time. I lost my balance and dropped the tissue, and it flew across the floor over onto the next stall.”
“What? You lying?”
She giggled. “I'm serious. Dookey stains and all.”
“Oh my God!” I was screaming with laughter.
“Tiffany, gurl, I was like, oh shit! Now what am I going to do? I waited for the female in the next stall to say something and when she didn't, I finally said forget it, then reached my hand under and retrieved it.”
“Oh my God! Candy, no you didn't?” I said, even though the look on her face said she did.
She sucked her teeth. “What other choice did I have?”
“Not that.”
Candace leaned back onto the bed. “What you expect me to say, uhhhh, excuse me, but can you pass that back over here?”
We were falling out. I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes.
“All that woman saw was this black hand sliding under her stall,” she managed between chuckles.
“Yeah, but how many black females work in your building?” Candace was temping for a big law firm downtown and really liked her job a lot. The manager was so impressed with her skills, they were even considering keeping her on permanently. I was so happy for her because all that moping around had started to get on my nerves.
“There ain't but two black females in our department, so you know it won't be hard to figure out it was me.”
My girl has no shame. I shook my head. Only Candace could come up with some crazy mess. “You are too much.”
My cell phone vibrated. I put the flatiron down, then reached for it on the dresser. It was a text from Baughn: See you tonight. I smiled, then noticed I had one missed call. Not recognizing the number, I brought the phone to my ear and retrieved the message.
Hi, this is Marian at the Women's Health Associates. Can you please give me a call back?
It was Dr. Clark's nurse!
Oh God! Oh God!
I moved into the bathroom and shut the door, then took a seat on the stool. My hands were shaking so hard I could barely dial the number. Hopefully someone was still there, because if I had to wait until Monday for my results, I was going to be a nervous wreck. While I waited for the receptionist to put Marian on the phone, I said a silent prayer.
Please, Lord. I'll never ask for anything from you again if you get me through this.
“Tiffany?”
“Yes,” I croaked.
“Thanks for calling me back. I just wanted to let you know your tests all came back negative; however, you do have a little yeast.” I didn't hear anything else after the word negative. I didn't have it. Can you believe?
Yessss
!
Yessss
! Kimbel hadn't infected me with his germs. Hell, I hung up feeling so good about my evening with Baughn and what the future might hold for me.
I came out of the bathroom screaming and crying at the same time. Candace thought my mother had died. After I told her, we sat their hugging each other while I cried some more and started planning my future. Damn, life was good!
I had given Baughn directions to my house, and by eight I heard a car pull up out front.
“Tiffany, is that a Lexus convertible I see?”
We were both trying to peek between the blinds without him seeing us. “Damn, I guess it is.” It was a far cry from the Toyota he had taken me out in in Jamaica.
Candace gave me a weird look. “What did you say he did for a living?”
“He goes to school and works at a hotel in Jamaica during the summer.” I guess I didn't know that much about him after all, which was a shame. I spent an entire evening with him and I was more interested in talking about Kimbel's sorry ass than getting to know who Baughn really was. Tonight was going to be different.
“He must be making good money 'cause that car in about fifty G's.”
The second he climbed out that car I don't know if it was me or Candace who sucked in a deep breath.
Her eyes snapped in my direction. “Damn, that negro's fine! You didn't tell me he looked like that.”
“Probably because I didn't remember,” I mumbled under my breath. Baughn was wearing a red T-shirt that fit snugly against his chest and a pair of jeans that hung low on his waist. On his feet was a pair of leather sandals. A gold chain was around his neck, and even from where we were looking I noticed a single diamond stud in his left ear. Oh, Baughn was definitely something to look at.
Candace had the door open just as he was coming up the stairs.
“Hello, pretty lady. You must be Tiffany's roommate.”
She was grinning with a hand at her hip.” Actually, she's
my
roommate.”
Frowning, I pushed her aside and stared up into his smiling face. “Hi.”
“Hello, Tiffany. I see you are prettier than I remembered.”
He pulled me into an embrace like he missed me and I found myself squeezing back. It was hard to believe I was with him again. “And you're still looking fine as hell.”
He escorted me to the car and held the door open for me. Something Kimbel had never done. The car was even more impressive on the inside—buttercream interior, heated seats. When he started the engine, it purred just like a kitten. Low and controlled. The smell of his cologne traveled over to me. It wasn't invading at all, just a hint of the masculine man that he was.
“What would you like to do?” he asked. He took his eyes off the road long enough to smile in my direction. He was such a cutie.
I shrugged. “I don't know, you're the one who asked me out.”
“I was hoping you would want to see a movie and then go get someting to eat.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Baughn treated me to snacks and afterward we headed to have dinner at a new club, All That Jazz, that had opened the weekend before. I had planned on going with Candace, but since tonight a reggae band was scheduled to go on stage, I thought Baughn might enjoy a taste of home. We had a seat close to the bar and both ordered a drink and catfish platters.
“How long have you lived in the States?” I asked. Tonight I was determined to learn everything I could about him.
“I've lived here off and on all my life. I have dual citizenship. My father was in the military.”
“Oh.” I loved listening to his accent.
“He was killed when I was five and my mudda and I returned to Jamaica, but I always knew I wanted to get my education in the States. My father's parents live in Indianapolis. My grandfather's a lawyer and a partner at a large law firm. I hope someday to work for him.”
A lawyer?
I was definitely impressed. “I would have never guessed you as a lawyer.”
“Yeah, mon. I've never wanted anything else.” I had pegged him so wrong. “I was hurt that such a pretty lady ran off without saying good-bye,” he said as he reached for his drink.
“I just assumed that what we had was just for one night.” It wasn't the complete truth, but it would do.
Baughn shook his head. “You were dead wrong. Everyting was irie and I had hoped to see you again.”
I leaned over the table and whispered, “I'm so glad you tracked me down.”
“So am I.” Our food arrived and we were enjoying our meal when I spotted Kimbel coming into the restaurant with another female. As soon as he saw me, I kid you not, he about messed his pants and took a seat near the back, making sure he was far enough away so I couldn't see his date, yet close enough he could see me. I guess he didn't want a repeat of last time. For the first time in weeks, I could honestly say that I wasn't thinking about him. Now that I knew I hadn't contracted herpes, I was ready to put him behind me and get on with my life.
I laughed and was having such a good time listening to a live reggae band and talking with Baughn that after a while, I forgot all about Kimbel. I excused myself and went to the restroom; on the way out, I found that asshole waiting for me. I pretended I didn't see him and tried to walk past him, but he blocked my path.
“I just wanted to let you know I'm taking you to court.”
I decided to play dumb. “For what?”
“For half the wedding expenses,” he said with a confident smirk. “You stole my wallet.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Do you have any proof that I stole your wallet?” He was quiet. “Yep, take me to court, because that's the least of your worries. I can't wait to see what the judge says when I tell him why I canceled the wedding.”
“You wouldn't.”
“Oh, but yes I will; just watch me. I'll make sure it's on every blog, MySpace, Facebook . . . you name it. Maybe you don't have any respect for yourself, but at least show some for the women you are with. So please, do me a favor and take my black ass to court, because I'm about to put on a show for you.” I paused for dramatic effect and looked him up and down in slacks and a crisp white shirt. I was no longer impressed. “Like I said, that's the least of your worries. I hear the funeral homes are in trouble and rumor has it you're about to go down.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The
ring
, Kimbel. The ring you wanted back so badly. I was watching the news and I finally figured out where you got it from . . . you
stole
it from a dead woman's body.”
I never saw a light-skinned man turn that white before. “What . . . what did you do with the ring?”
“What do you think I did? I gave it to the police. I'm hoping to be a thousand dollars richer any day now,” I added with a smirk and noticed the muscle at his jaw tick.
“I still love you,” he suddenly said, like I would be stupid enough to believe anything he said.
I laughed in his face. “Whatever I felt for you died a long time ago.” With that I pivoted on my heels and walked away, making sure he saw how good I looked from the rear.
“Can we at least sit and talk about this?”
I swung around. “When I wanted to talk, you had some stripper bent over touching her toes. So, nooo, there's nothing you can say to me.” I started to leave, then swung around again. “Oh, and by the way, I just want to let you know that I've been tested and I don't have the package.”
What Kimbel said surprised me. “I'm glad, Tiffany. I'm glad you didn't get it. Do you think maybe we can go out to dinner and talk? I'd really like to start over.”
Had he lost his mind? “No, not in a million years. I hope the
two
of you have a wonderful life together. And I'm not talking about that female sitting at the table either. Now, excuse me. I've got a real man waiting for me.”
45
Noelle
“Would you like me to fix you something to eat?”
I stared at my husband, the man who had pledged to love, honor, and be faithful to me for the rest of my life, and rolled my eyes. “No.”
He had been kissing ass for a week. But no amount of butt kissing was going to undo the damage he had done to our relationship. I still couldn't believe it. He had conceived a child with another woman. It was heartbreaking. I was angry and hurt at the same time. Nineteen years ago, when our relationship was at its worst, Grant had an affair with Lucy. Not once in all the years we've been together did he mention the affair or the baby that was a result of their time in bed together. It brought tears to my eyes every time I thought about my husband being with another woman. No matter how bad our marriage had been, I never once strayed.
“Noelle, we need to talk about this.”
“No, we don't. You never wanted to talk before. Why start now?”
“Because I love you and I'm willing to do whatever we have to do to make things work.”
“Then I guess you should have thought about that before stepping out on me. Tell me at least . . . did you wear a condom?” The blank look on his face explained everything loud and clear. Like father, like son. “Of course not. If you had, Amber wouldn't be here.”
“How many times do I have to tell you, I never knew she had the baby. Last time we talked she was planning to have an abortion. I had even given her the money.”
“Guess the joke's on you. She kept your money and had the baby.”
“I didn't know.”
Okay, I can accept that and probably look past the fact that he had a baby girl with someone else, but he had an affair. While we were separated, he was sleeping with someone else.
Lucy had confirmed that Grant ended the relationship the moment we got back together. But was that supposed to make me feel better? How am I supposed to know whether every time we had an argument he had run into the arms of another female? For all I know there might be some other babies running around. My life was a mess. My best friend had given birth to my grandson, and at some point I was going to have to come to terms with that so that I could be a part of my grandchild's life when he was finally released from the hospital. At the same time I had to decide if I could deal with knowing my husband had a child with another woman. It was sad enough Amber had taken Sierra back, but at least she had been nice enough to bring her by to see me and told me I can see her as often as I liked. Thank God for small favors. I love Sierra too much to lose her.
“Baby, please talk to me.” I was so sick of his begging.
“Why? You weren't willing to talk to me any time during these last nineteen years about your affair, so why start now?”
“That was nineteen years ago. We've moved past that time in our lives. I love you. I have been committed to our marriage ever since.” He sounded so sad, but there was no way I was caving in.
“How do I know that was the only time?”
“Because I have been faithful to you. Does my word not mean anything to you?” At one time he could have told me he created the sun and the moon and I would have believed him. Now I wasn't so sure. My life wasn't the same anymore. I needed some time and space to think.
“What's happening to our marriage?” he asked. I could see the fear in his eyes. Good. Let him be afraid.
I rose from the couch. “I'm not sure yet. All I know is I deserve time to think.”

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