The Perfect Mistress (8 page)

She had thought about that at least. “Vernon would have to pay alimony.”

“And a judge will say what's wrong with you, why can't you go to work?” Her tone softened. “All I'm saying is, you said yourself that Vernon had been acting better.”

Joyce lowered her head in shame. Her mother didn't know half the drama Joyce had endured.

“We don't need a baby,” Joyce said with finality.

“Maybe this is what you need to fix your marriage.”

“A baby is not the answer,” she repeated.

Her mother shot her a stern look. “Is Vernon a good father?”

Joyce thought about that. His relationship with Julian had been strained the older their son got. But Joyce knew that was because her son was resentful of the way Vernon treated her. And there was no denying his love for Lauren.

“Yes, he's a good father,” she admitted.

“Then everything else is fixable.” Her mother sat back down, crossed her arms, and continued. “Honey, let me tell you, you get rid of this one and get you another one, and he's going to cheat on you as well. You might as well stay with the devil you know.”

Joyce tilted her head, her mind racing back to the conversation the night Vernon showed up at their house to get her to come back home. Had that been what her mother was doing? Staying with the devil she knew? Joyce shook her head. “There's something wrong with that, Mother.”

“Ninety-two percent of men cheat on their wives.”

She knew her mother had just snatched that statistic from the atmosphere. But Joyce found the strength to say, “Is Dad in that ninety-two percent?”

Her mother at first avoided the question. She walked over to the stove, picked up the teapot, and refilled Joyce's cup.

“Your father loves me,” she said. “I don't have to condone or agree with some of the things he's done, but at the end of the day, he comes home. And I know his love for me is one hundred percent real.”

How could her mother find peace with that?

“Don't look at me that way,” her mother said. “You've dealt with it for this long.”

“Yeah, and I was looking forward to leaving with Lauren.”

Her mother waggled a finger at her, as though she knew better. “And now you look forward to my new grandbaby.” She clapped her hands. “I can't wait to tell your father. He's going to be so excited.”

Joyce couldn't take any more of this. She stood and grabbed her purse so she could leave before her father got home. If her mother was thrilled about this news, her father would be overjoyed, and right about now, she didn't know how she'd muster up any enthusiasm about the child growing inside her.

L
auren watched her brother throw his belongings in a duffel bag. She wanted to ask if he was going to bother folding anything up. But the way he was ramming everything into the bag, she knew that she had to choose her words carefully.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice soft.

“I will be when I get out of this place,” he growled.

“Is it really that bad?”

He spun around on her. “Pregnant?” he snapped. “She's pregnant. Yeah, I'd say it's pretty bad.”

Lauren was trying to see the bright side of that. “It might be cool to have a little brother or sister.”

Julian looked at her like that was the dumbest thing she'd ever said. “Whatever. She can stay here and be tied to him the rest of her life. Let him keep dogging her out.”

“Daddy loves Mama,” Lauren said defensively.

“Yeah, if that's what love is, they can keep it.” He zipped the bag up.

She hated that his last day in town before he left for the army was ending up like this. They were supposed to be happy, celebrating. In fact, that's what they had been doing before this day took a turn for the worse.

Her mother had cooked a big farewell dinner for Julian,
who was leaving in the morning. They were enjoying a rare family dinner when her parents broke the news.

“We have some news,” her father said.

Lauren couldn't help but notice the uneasy expression on her mother's face. Lauren's first thought was that they were about to announce they were divorcing, but the giant smile on her father's face quickly caused her to dismiss that idea.

“You two are going to have a little brother or sister,” her father proudly announced.

The news wiped the smile right off Julian's face and left Lauren stunned.

A baby?

If she were younger, Lauren might have been upset because she never wanted to share her status as Daddy's girl, but the more she thought it about, having a little sibling around might be cool. Julian, on the other hand, had stood up and stormed out.

“Why are you so mad about it?” she asked. While her father had told her to give Julian time to process the news, Lauren had followed him into his room. “It's not like you're going to even be here.”

“Do you see what he does to her?” Julian's rage was evident. Lauren knew he didn't really cut for their father, but right now he was acting like he couldn't stand him. “No, you know the answer. You see it,” he said, narrowing his glare at her, “and you cosign it.”

Lauren was speechless. How did he know her secret?

“I-I don't cosign anything,” she replied.

“Whatever, Lauren. Mama may be stupid, but I'm not.”

“Don't call her that,” Lauren said.

Julian waved her off. He grabbed another bag and snatched
his top dresser drawer open. “All Dad has to do is buy you a little gift and you're just fine with what he does,” Julian said, pulling out underwear, then stuffing it into his bag. “Who cares if it hurts Mama?”

Those words hurt Lauren. What was she supposed to do? She wanted to ask her brother that, but when she opened her mouth nothing came out.

“Y'all can have this life,” he mumbled.

“I hate that you're leaving upset.”

He took a deep breath before turning to face her. “Look, Sis. It is what is. I've been begging Mama to leave for years and she won't. If she doesn't care about what he does to her, I can't make her. I just know if I ever get married, and I doubt I will, given the sterling example that has been set for me, you won't have to worry about me treating my wife the way Dad treats Mom. His cheating makes me sick to my stomach.”

Lauren wanted to come to her father's defense, but she simply reiterated, “He loves her, though.”

Julian rolled his eyes at her naïveté. “Whatever.”

“I'm gonna miss you,” Lauren said.

His stance softened. “I'm gonna miss you, too. I really am. And I don't mean to be snapping at you.” He shook his head. “But I'm telling you, you'd better find you a college far, far away because, a baby and fighting parents? That does not make for a happy home.”

For a minute, she thought her brother might be right. But then she had a flash—what if the baby was just what her father needed to let his outside girlfriends go? Yeah, that would be great. Lauren decided she would say a special prayer that her little brother or sister would change her father, and hence, change all of their lives.

T
here was no love like the loving Vernon Robinson gave. Once again, her husband had loved her to oblivion and beyond.

“You want some water or a beer?” Joyce said as she climbed out of bed. The moon's rays beamed into the bedroom as if they were putting an exclamation point on their lovemaking. They had weathered some serious storms, but these last few months had made Joyce optimistic that they were back on the right track. The only thing Joyce hated was that Julian had yet to come around. He was off in basic training and had only called once in the month since he'd been gone. Joyce remained hopeful that he'd accept the baby. And she couldn't wait to tell him how loving and attentive Vernon had been. Maybe her mother was right. Maybe this baby would save their marriage.

Vernon smacked her bare behind as she reached down to grab her robe. “Just some water, babe, because I need to stay hydrated for round two.”

Joyce slipped her robe on, then leaned down, planted another kiss on her husband's lips, and made her way into the kitchen. Lauren was fast asleep on the sofa in the living room, her lean teenage body covered from head to toe by the down blanket. A videotape was still playing in the recorder. Joyce
pushed the off button on the remote, cutting off both the TV and the VCR.

Joyce had just grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator when the house phone rang. She wondered who would be calling so late. But she picked up the phone and said, “Hello?”

No one answered.

“Hello,” Joyce repeated.

Finally, a female voice said, “Is Vernon there?”

Joyce's breath caught in her throat. “Umm, may I ask who's calling?”

“I need to speak with Vernon,” she said, this time with much more attitude.

“Excuse me,” Joyce said, “may I ask who's calling?” Her whole body had grown tense by now.

“I need to speak with Vernon.” The caller now enunciated each word.

Joyce enunciated right back. “And I need to know who the hell wants to speak with my husband.”

She huffed, like Joyce was the one calling her house at two in the morning. “It is very important that I speak with him.”

“If you can't tell me who you are, or what you want, you won't be speaking to anyone on this line.”

“Put him on the phone!” she screamed.

“Bitch, please.” Joyce slammed the phone on the cradle. “Tell it to the dial tone.”

Of course, it rang right back. Joyce contemplated ignoring it, but curiosity got the better of her and she snatched the phone back up. “What?”

“Put Vernon on the phone,” the woman repeated, though her voice was a lot calmer.

“Look, I don't know who the hell you are, but you will not call here demanding to talk with my husband.”

“I just need Vernon.” Her voice quavered now. It sounded like she was crying.

She could dissolve in a giant puddle of tears, but she was not about to talk to Vernon. “I don't know what you need with my husband, but it ain't happening.”

“You know what?” she said, her voice a mixture of sadness and anger. “Tell your husband to meet me at the hospital because I'm about to give birth to our child. I'm at Duke Memorial.” And then it was her turn to slam the phone down.

Joyce stood in the kitchen, absolutely mortified. She didn't notice that Vernon had appeared in the doorway.

“Who is that on the phone, and what's wrong with you?” he said.

Joyce looked at her husband, searching for traces of deception. There were none. This had to be some horrible, horrible prank. Maybe the woman had the wrong number. But then Joyce quickly remembered that she'd asked for her husband by name.

“Who was that, Joyce?” Vernon repeated.

“It was . . . it was for you,” she mumbled, trying to keep her rage at bay. There had to be an explanation. Vernon had promised her that he would do right from now on, so there had to be an explanation to this call.

“Okay, if it was for me, why didn't you give me the phone?”

“She hung up.”

“She?” His tone betrayed the fact that he knew that this wasn't going to be good.

“Yeah,” Joyce continued, walking close enough to him to
feel his hot breath on her face. “It was someone who said you need to meet her at the hospital because she's about to have your child.” Her eyes bore into her husband. She wanted him to look as mortified as she. No, she wanted him to laugh and say that somebody was playing a stupid joke. But his silence said everything.

“Who is she?” Joyce asked.

“I-I-I don't know,” he stammered. “You answered the phone.”

“Which of your women is pregnant?” Joyce said, pulling her robe tighter, suddenly feeling self-conscious of being nude.

“I don't have any women,” he responded with more certainty. “And I don't know why some woman would call you with that mess.”