Fool and Her Honey (9781622860791) (17 page)

“Oh, now you're ready—”

Before he could finish his sentence, I ended the call.

He called right back, and I pushed the ignore button, then turned my phone off for the rest of the night.

When I got home, I pulled his little rinky-dink ring off my finger and threw it on my dresser, where it was instantly hidden by the brilliance of those studs.

“We're thinking about getting married in Paris,” I shared with my girls. We were gathered around Candis' kitchen table devouring some Chinese food.

“Whaaat?” Candis dragged out the word. “All this time you've been crying that you weren't sure if you should marry him, and now, all of a sudden, you're getting married in Paris? Girl, I'm jealous!”

“We haven't fully decided if it will be there yet, but we were talking about it the other day.”

“So are you sponsoring our tickets?” Celeste asked.

“You gotta ask Bertrand all that. He's the one with all the money,”I answered

“I see! Trying to get married in Paris and so on. Lifestyles of the rich and—”

“But look, though,” I interrupted, “I told you I lost my phone, right?”

“You haven't found that thing yet?” Celeste frowned.

“I think Bertrand has it.”

They both looked at me.

“What do you mean?” Candis asked. “Like, has it and won't give it back?”

“Yep. I think he confiscated it.”

“You probably just left it somewhere,” Celeste suggested.

“No. I know exactly where I left it, in the house, in the kitchen. I know I did because I had to call Ms. Maybelle and let her know I was running a few minutes late for her appointment.”

“So what happened? It was just gone when you went back to get it?” Celeste asked.

I explained how I sent Bertrand back to get it and how he claimed it was nowhere to be found.

“Yeah, he got that phone,” she added.

“But it doesn't make sense for him to keep it,” I pointed out. “Even if he wanted to go through it.”

“He's going through all your stuff for sure. Just get a new one.” Candis waved her hand. “Did you have insurance on it?”

“No, and I can't afford a new one.”

“How the hell you gonna go to Paris and you can't afford to get a new cell phone?” Celeste asked with crinkled brows.

She found this hilarious, but I found no humor in it; it was the truth. She had a point, though, and I realized how ridiculous it sounded. If Bertrand could afford to spend ten grand on a destination wedding, then as his fiancée, I shouldn't have an issue with finances. At the same time, I still didn't feel comfortable asking Bertrand for money. It felt like I was giving up my independence. If he bought me a phone, then he'd probably feel like he had the right to go through it whenever he felt like it. I had nothing to hide, but I couldn't go for that.

“I could see him being curious and going through it, but why would he keep it, though? That doesn't make sense.” Candis shook her head.

“'Cause Dina be ignoring his phone calls, and not calling him when she leaves the house and all that. You know how he is. He gotta keep tabs on her.”

“Shut up, Celeste,” I said, wincing. It sounded too much like the truth.

“He said if you ain't gonna call him, your ass ain't calling nobody!” Celeste laughed again.

We all did, but inside I was processing that thought. It was hard to admit, but that was what it felt like. Even though I knew exactly where I'd left my phone that day, I still looked all around the house for it, to no avail. I'd finally gotten out of the contract with my cell service provider, and I did not want to sign another contract just to get a free phone that didn't even need replacing. Bertrand just needed to give me my phone back. It had been three days; that was plenty of time to review my contacts, text messages, e-mails, and everything else. On top of that, who knew how many appointments I'd probably missed and all kinds of important business from people not wanting to leave a message? It was just inconvenient to be without my phone. I hadn't actually accused Bertrand of stealing my phone, but the more I thought about it, the more I was ready to ask him about it once I got home.

 

 

“Hey,” I greeted, finding him in the kitchen, preparing some dinner. I picked up an apple and began munching on it, walked over to him, and pecked his cheek.

“Hey, honey. You hungry?”

“Where's my phone?” Dinner wasn't important to me right now. I leaned back against the counter and waited for an answer.

“What are you talking about?” He turned his attention away from the stove and looked to meet my eyes.

“I want to know what you did with my phone,” I demanded, convinced that he had it.

“I don't have your phone!” he exclaimed, with an expression that suggested his innocence and that he thought I was crazy.

“I know I left it in the kitchen.”

“Babe, I told you, when I looked in here, I didn't see it anywhere. I have no idea what you did with it.”

We stared at each other for several seconds, not saying anything. It just didn't make sense that my phone would just dissolve into thin air. He had to have it. I'd just have to replace it.

“Well, I need a new phone. I haven't had my phone in three days, and I'm probably missing all kinds of calls. I don't want to sign a new contract, so I'm going to need about four hundred dollars.”

Bertrand looked at me like I had just started speaking a foreign language. “Four hundred dollars, babe?”

“I don't want to go back under contract for another two years just to get a phone for free. I'd rather just replace the phone since it's been abducted by aliens or something.”

“I'll just add you to my plan, then, and you can get a phone for free. We don't need to spend that money unnecessarily, especially if we're trying to go to Paris or somewhere.”

I paused for a minute in thought. If Bertrand added me to his plan, I probably wouldn't have to pay a cell phone bill again, but he would be all in my business with tracking phone calls and ordering text message reports and stuff. I didn't have anything to hide, but I couldn't see myself just submitting myself to scrutiny like that. It just didn't feel right.

“Don't worry about it.” I shook my head. “I'll just replace it.”

“You don't need to do that. Just get on my plan. That resolves all issues. You'll have a new phone, you won't be under contract, and it won't cost anything.”

Picking up the cordless phone in the kitchen, I refused his offer. “No, don't worry about it. Let me just call them.”

While he stood sautéing pieces of chicken breast, I took a seat at the kitchen table. I called my service provider, did some negotiating for a better service plan, and agreed to a new contract in exchange for a new device. I hated that I had to do that, but I wasn't going to let Bertrand manipulate me with some hidden phone trick. He knew exactly where my phone was and didn't plan to give it back to me.

I happened to be off the next day and was home when the UPS guy brought my replacement, and within the hour I was up and running again. Coincidently, it wasn't even two days later when Bertrand came in the house after work, having magically found my phone.

“Look what I found sitting outside on the sidewalk right in front of the door.” In his hand was my old device.

“Oh.” I shrugged. It didn't make a difference at this point.

“So how did it get there?” I heard accusation in his tone of voice.

“Who knows?” I was busy reading status updates on Facebook and was less than interested. Candis and SeanMichael had a whole bunch of mushiness going on between their two profile walls that was a whole lot more interesting than this lie Bertrand was trying to sell me. I knew good and well, he didn't just find my phone lying outside in front of the door after almost a week.

“Nobody's been over here?” he asked, sounding like he was suggesting foul play on my part.

“Nope.”

“I want to know how somebody knew it was your phone and to leave it on this doorstep.”

“Because the somebody that's claiming he found it had it all along,” I started to say but decided not to engage. It wasn't worth me even getting upset about.

He walked over to where I sat on the couch with my laptop and handed it to me. I took it without looking, dropped it on the chair, and kept doing what I'd been doing. In my peripheral, I could see Bertrand standing with his hands on his hips, like he was waiting for me to explain or react.

“What?” I asked after he didn't move after a minute.

“So who had your phone, Dina?”

“I don't know, and I don't care.”

“You gotta know something,” he insisted.

“All I know is I left the phone in the kitchen, and coincidently, you find it outside, after I replace it.”

Seeing he was getting nowhere, he turned and left the room.

“Somebody left it outside the door, yeah, right,” I uttered.

He stole my phone, plain and simple, and then tried to insult my intelligence by acting like he had nothing to do with its disappearance. What kind of fool did Bertrand take me for?
Skip Paris.
I could see right now this wasn't going to work out so good.

It had been ten days since SeanMichael and I last talked, and I was determined that no matter how much I missed him, I wasn't going to make the first move, and I sure as hell wasn't apologizing. What I was doing, however, was watching the calendar, as I had determined that if I hadn't heard from him in two weeks' time, I was calling off the wedding. Obviously, he couldn't take me at my word and believe what I'd said, and I refused to put myself in a marriage situation where trust was not present.

SeanMichael finally did call on day eleven, and my heart did skip a beat, but I answered my phone nonchalantly, as if I didn't care if he'd called or not.

“Babe?”

“Yes,” I answered, as if he were bothering me.

“This week's been hell without you.”

“Mmm-hmm,” I mumbled.

“How are you doing?”

“Fine,” I blurted, keeping my answers short.

“Well. I've been thinking so much about you over the past few days, and I miss you.”

Was he expecting me to say that I missed him too? It wasn't going to happen.

“What were you thinking?” I said instead.

“I was praying about our last conversation, and I know that I don't have any reason to not trust you. I got a little bit shaken because I can't be there with you, and I don't like that Russell has access to you and I don't.”

“Me and Russell are through, SeanMichael. I've told you that.”

“I know, babe, but I guess I can't help being jealous, because you're beautiful and I love you. No man wants the woman he loves to be sought after by another man.”

“But I've already told you about Russell and that he doesn't want me. He's engaged.”

“I just got a little confused with my feelings, babe. It's not you that I don't trust. It's Russell that I don't trust, but I took it out on you, and I'm sorry.”

“SeanMichael, if I had something to hide, I would have never told you.” That was why he would never find out about those earrings.

“I realized that after I thought about it, babe. I know you could have kept that whole thing to yourself, but you trusted me enough to share it with me, and in return I insulted you, instead of trusting you back and trusting you more. Please forgive me.”

“You hurt me when you said what you said.”

“I know I did, babe. I was just angry and frustrated, and I was wrong.”

“So how do you expect me to be able to share my day with you if you're going accuse me and get mad about what I tell you?”

SeanMichael let out a pensive sigh. “I guess I wouldn't be able to expect much, and I don't want that kind of relationship where my wife can't share her day with me and is afraid to tell me what's going on. I reacted without thinking, babe. That's all. And I've been crazy out of mind thinking about you for the past few days, and just missing you from my life.”

He was saying all the right things, and I liked it.

“If you will forgive me, I want to move forward with our wedding plans. I love you and need you, Candis. We've come too far to let somebody who means nothing tear apart what we've worked so hard at. It's nothing but the devil trying to fight us at the last minute, and I refuse to let him win, and the only way he can win is if you don't help me fight.” He paused for a second, then asked, “Will you help me fight, Candis?”

“Can you trust me moving forward?” I asked, not wanting to give an immediate yes.

“Baby, I choose to trust you. I can't be there right now, but I choose to trust you, and I promise you, this will never happen again if you give me another chance.”

I let a smile come through my voice. “You sure about that?”

“I'm positive. I can't live without you, and I don't want to try.”

“Let's fight together, then,” I finally said, accepting his apology.

“I love you, baby.”

“I love you too,” I said, reciprocating.

We stayed on the phone for another two hours, catching each other up on what we'd missed from not speaking in over a week, including new wedding ideas. When the call ended, I was excited that we were back together, but damn, I felt guilty about those studs.

Oh well. What SeanMichael didn't know wasn't going to kill him.