My Woman His Wife Saga (44 page)

It took me awhile to unglue my feet from the door after Monica left. Just the smell of her had me open again, and I was almost tempted to peek into my checking account to see how much I had available for a night with her. Yeah, I knew now wasn't the time to be thinking about sex, but I was a man after all. Shit, I couldn't remember the last time I got laid properly, and I didn't even know when the next time would be.
Lord, let me just go check on my son, and get a snack ready for the kids.

Peeking into my room, I saw that Jordan was still asleep. He shared a room with the boys normally, but with him having to heal, and the boys used to being rough I decided it was better to keep him with me during the night. He was moving around a lot better, and was able to go longer in between doses of pain medication, so that was a good thing. When I took him back for his follow-up visit the doctor said he was right on schedule, and would be back to normal real soon. I couldn't wait, and I knew his brothers and sisters were ready for some real playtime.

Janice was so attentive to her brother when he was around them, making sure he didn't try to run too fast and wasn't in any real pain. I could tell that she was happy to have him back. All of the kids were. I also noticed that Junior seemed a lot more at ease, and less troublesome without Jasmine around. He hadn't gotten in trouble in school since they'd been back, actually earning a gold star every day. The teachers were very impressed with that. He also wasn't as distant and mean to the other kids, and they all got along nicely. What was Jazz doing that I wasn't, and vice versa? The kids seemed at peace, and it was odd that none of them really inquired about her whereabouts. That definitely struck me as odd, and I couldn't point any fingers because I was out doing me most of the time, and Jazz would be stuck with the kids. I was sure she was extra stressed out, and was probably in here snapping on them. Things were definitely going to be different once she got back home so that we could maintain a happy household. It was a must for these kids.

From what the doctor had told me, things were looking good and she was having consistent brain activity for someone in her state. He was taking her out of the sleep-induced coma slowly and giving her a chance to wake up naturally, so it would be determined once she was awake when she would be able to come home. The dosage that he was using was being lessened over time to prevent any further complications. It was explained that bringing her from that type of sleep to fully awake wasn't a good idea. The family and I hoped that it would be soon.

I decided that I would talk to Jazz's mom about the situation with Monica. I didn't have anything to lose, so I was going to just run down the entire sordid affair from the beginning so that she could understand everything. The last thing I wanted to do was keep Monica from her son. I just needed her to know that she couldn't have him back. The kids would be devastated, and that would open up a can of worms that no one was ready for.

By the time the kids got home, I had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cold milk waiting for them on the table. They were usually hungry when they got in, and that would hold them over until dinner was done. I must admit that I could never be a
Mr. Mom
–type dude. All this cleaning and cooking, ironing and folding clothes, checking homework and doing projects was all too damn much for one person. Yet, Jazz did this and held down a job. Women are truly amazing.

Jordan was just waking up when the kids pulled up to the house in their uncle's truck. He volunteered to pick the kids up from the afterschool program for me so that I wouldn't have to drag Jordan out of the house every day in his condition.

I was helping Jordan out of the bed and into the bathroom when the kids came barreling into the house. They were hyped up, talking about whatever happened in school, and I was sure they talked the entire ride home. Jazz's brother was running around as Junior and Jalil chased him around the living room in a never-ending game of freeze tag. Their laughter reminded me that sticking all of this out was worthwhile.

“Jordan!” the kids screamed in unison as we approached the steps to come downstairs. He smiled as he held on to the railing and took the steps down slowly. He was so excited to see the kids every day, and I knew that he couldn't wait to get back to school. The doctor said that he would only need a few more weeks. Hopefully Jazz would be home by then.

“Kids, there are snacks in the kitchen for you to eat until dinner is done. Everybody wash their hands first!” I yelled after them as they ran toward the kitchen. I couldn't help but smile at my children. Jazz's brother had the same look on his face.

“Thanks a lot for helping me out. Can I please at least give you gas money?” I asked him as I gave him a quick handshake. He refused every time, so I knew this time wouldn't be any different.

“No thanks, James. This is what family does for each other.”

“I really appreciate this, man. Thanks for everything.”

“No thanks necessary. See you tomorrow,” he replied, giving me one last pound. “Bye, kids!” he called out toward the kitchen.

“Bye, Uncle Ronnie!” the kids sang in unison, sounding like their mouths were full. All we could do was smile.

I went to use the phone while the kids chatted about their day, and caught Jordan up on what was going on in school. I had a nagging thought on my mind, and as much as I was trying to get past it I couldn't. Glad to finally have some time to talk, I called Jazz's mom. I needed some understanding and clarity, and I knew she would have the answer for me.

“Hi, Mom,” I spoke into the phone the minute she answered.

“James, how are you and the kids?” she responded, and I could hear the smile in her voice.

“Everything is good. Are you busy? I just needed to talk to you about something real quick.”

“Sure, just got to my son's house, about to start dinner. What's troubling you?”

“Mom, I'ma need you to grab a seat. This is about to be heavy.”

It took me about forty-five minutes to run down the idea of the threesome turning into an actual act, and all that happened before that. I'd spent years blaming Monica solely for the demise of my marriage, when in reality had I not sought her out in the first place it wouldn't have even gotten to this point. Yeah, Monica had an agenda, but so did I. I just wanted a threesome. Who knew that it would turn into all of this?

“And the last time we saw Monica she was driving away from my house after leaving my son on the dining room table,” I concluded with a sigh. After revealing to her who exactly the girl was who gave her the number at the hospital, it all clicked for her and she was extra quiet on the phone.

“Well, James . . . ” she began, becoming quiet for a second again. “This is a tough decision. The things that you did in the past are just that: the past. Every mother wants to have a connection with her kid. I don't see it being a problem because she appears to come in peace. Let's make it a day over the weekend so that all of the kids can meet her at once, and we can all be there.”

“I like that suggestion. Is this weekend too soon?” I asked, not sure if I would go through with it if I waited too long.

“Better now than never. Go ahead and give her a call. I'll come on Friday to help you break the news to the kids.”

“Thanks, Mom. I appreciate everything you're doing.”

After we hung up I sat for a minute to think about my next move. Something was telling me to just let it go, but I couldn't. Since we were all reconnecting and getting closure from past events, there was just one little matter that needed to be handled. Scrolling through my call log, I hit the number I had used to call Monica earlier, hoping she would answer. Three rings later she picked up, sounding like she was out of breath.

“Monica, I'm sorry to bother you. I just had a question to ask you.”

“It's not a problem, James. Can you hold on for one second?”

“Sure.”

It took her about a minute or so to return to the line, and she sounded a little clearer. I might have caught her in the middle of something, and the visual in my head caused my dick to jump in my pants. Shaking my head to clear the image, I attempted to focus on the situation at hand.

“Sorry about that. Is everything okay?” she asked in a concerned voice. She probably thought I was calling to tell her she couldn't see her son, but I squashed that immediately.

“Everything is fine. I just wanted to see if we could meet up on Friday to discuss the kid situation. My wife's mother will be here.”

“Oh, sure, that's not a problem. Just give me a time and I'll be there.”

“Be here by two, so that way we can talk before the kids arrive. It hasn't been decided yet how we will introduce you to the kids, but it will definitely be done,” I informed her as my mind raced. I wanted this experience to be as smooth as possible without any backlash if I could help it. The way I figured it, if I gave Monica what she wanted, and that was to see her son, then we could be done with this and move on with our lives.

“James, I'll be there, and I really appreciate this.”

“No problem. I'm just doing what I can. Just know that the kids may not be as receptive as you could be expecting them to be. You are a stranger to them, Monica.”

“I totally understand that, and once again I appreciate everything you are doing.”

After running down the discussion we would have, and how she would be introduced, she sounded a lot more relieved. That nagging thought in my head wouldn't go away, and I just needed to get it out and over with. It was like a now-or-never type of situation. I yelled her name out before she hung up and I lost the courage to dig for more information.

“Monica, I have a question to ask you, and I just need you to be honest with me.”

“Sure, James, what do you need to know?”

“Well . . .” I paused before continuing. I was about to open a can of worms that I knew I probably wouldn't be able to close, but I just couldn't help it. “A few years ago when you left that letter on the table you said that Jasmine had an affair with some twins at the gym. How true is that statement, and can you help me find them?”

The line sounded like it went dead, until I heard her breathe on the other end. I needed to know the truth, and she was the only other person who could help me. I left that part out when I talked to Jazz's mom. Although she found out when I did that the twins weren't mine, she didn't know that I had this suspicion for years. I needed to know the truth, by any means necessary.

Speechless. Who knew that James would bring that up after all this time? I mean, from what I saw, all of the kids looked like him. Why would he have a reason to believe that they weren't? Unless of course something went down with that twin who was in the hospital, and he found out that way.

“Well, James, I can't promise you anything. I'll have to make a few calls because I haven't seen the twins in years. I overheard them at the gym talking about the threesome they had with Jasmine, and I felt you needed to know. That's why I included it in the letter I left you before I moved out of the city,” I responded.

“They were bragging about my wife in public?” he asked, sounding angry and surprised.

Shit, that's what men do: lie and brag about their sexual trysts in public.
Why was he so surprised? “Basically. You know how guys are at the gym. They all want to brag about who slept with who, who has the biggest dicks, et cetera. You know the drill. From what I heard, when you guys split up Jazz was going to them for personal training. I guess it got more personal than just working on the machines.”

He got quiet for a minute, and I allowed him that time to digest what I just told him. Even though men cheat, it's different somehow when a woman does it. It's like, they can dick down a dog and it be cool, but as soon as we let someone else besides our mate dip in the cookie jar we are tainted, damaged goods. Women obviously do it better. Cheating, that is. Hell, not only did she step out, but she pushed out two babies and still held the secret for years. Jazz was a bad bitch, if I could say so myself. I guessed James had no reason to suspect her of being pregnant by someone else because they already had a set a twins, and twins probably ran in either or both of their families. I never cared enough to find out either way.

“Hello?” I spoke into the receiver to make sure he was still there since I didn't even hear him breathing.

“I'm still here. Could you just do me that solid and get the information for me? I would really appreciate it,” he said, sounding weary and defeated.

“Sure, no problem. I'll get the info you need to contact them by Friday. I'll have it when I come over.”

“Monica, thanks for everything. I really appreciate this.”

“Thank you as well. I'll see you then.”

I had to get my head together for a second. From what I gathered, it appeared that everything was really a mess over at the Cinques! It's always been said that what you do in the dark comes to light, but damn. I couldn't say that I blamed him though. If I had been in his situation I would have done the same thing. It's not like Jazz would keep it real with him about it anyway. Knowing her, she probably wouldn't even want to discuss it, and when you got something like that bugging at you, it's hard to let it go.

Looking to my left, I found a pissed-off Jaydah staring back at me. I apologized because we were in the middle of handling business, but I needed to take all calls, and I couldn't afford to miss any. I saw that it was almost five, and I needed to get at Sheila when she got off work. Rolling over I jumped right back into action, knocking that attitude clear off her face. I really didn't feel like any beef with this chick, so I needed to at least let her get a nut before I bounced out, and thankfully it didn't take long.

The minute she was done convulsing and hanging on for dear life, I peeled her naked body from mine and hopped in the shower. I needed to call Sheila, and I didn't want her to have any excuses not to help me. Oh, Jaydah was pissed that I was rolling out and I had to promise her I would come back just to get out of her place. She was still just too damn clingy, so I knew I would have to watch out for her ass. Taking the steps two at a time, I got down to my car as quickly as I could, locking the door before pulling my phone out. It was five thirty, and I was supposed to have called Sheila fifteen minutes ago.
God, please let her answer the phone.

“You're late,” she answered the phone, not even bothering to say hello. I wasn't in the position to snap back because I needed her, so I took a deep breath before responding.

“Sheila, I apologize. I was caught up and—”

“What do you want, Monica?”

For real?
I had to pull the phone back and look at the screen to make sure I dialed the right number. The times had definitely changed, because the Sheila I remembered would have never talked to me like that.

“Well, can we meet up somewhere to talk?” I asked hesitantly, not sure of what to expect. I couldn't believe this chick had me nervous.

“Talk about what? I have to pick up my son, and I have things to do before then. I don't have a lot of time right now for your shit.”

“Sheila, you might want to bring it down some. I'm not calling to start anything up. I just need your help, and I thought since we were friends—”

“Friends? With who?” She cut me off with even more anger in her voice. “Bitch, you tried to ruin my life, or did you forget that part?”

Speechless once again. Between her and James I didn't know who was worse. You leave your beloved city for a few years, and come back to totally different people. Yeah, it was time for me to get back on my game because it was obvious folks done forgot how I got down. Playing it cool, I put the phone back to my ear, feeling totally in control.
Sheila had better recognize real quick who she is dealing with.

“Sheila, first of all I don't know who pissed in your coffee today, but you might want to tone that shit down. I just need some info from you, and I was going to pay you for your time, but since you want to be a dizzy bitch—”

“Hold up—”

“No, you hold up. All of this attitude you giving me is really unnecessary. I ain't calling you for your raggedy pussy. I need your help. Now, do you want to make this money or not?”

“Meet me at Ms. Tootsie's in an hour,” she said in a defeated tone. I was going to apologize to her, but I changed my mind. Apparently she liked being checked . . . Simple ass.

“I'll see you in forty-five minutes,” I responded before hanging up. Starting the car, I backed out of my space and pointed my rental toward Center City. I swear I didn't feel like all of the aggravation that I was experiencing in my hometown, and best believe when all of this was over Philly would never see this face again. It was too much damn work.

As I was driving I noticed a few cars back that same black car that was following me before. But then, I wasn't sure if it was the exact car or just someone with a car like it. Turning off a few blocks down, I noticed the car did the same as before and turned off with me. This went on for like ten minutes. Deciding to drive slow, the cars that were in between us went around me, leaving the car that was following me no choice but to catch up. Stopping at the red light, I put the car in park and prepared to get out. I couldn't see who the other driver was because the windows were covered with dark tinting. My plan was to go tap on the window and see who was inside. This shit was getting ridiculous.

I hoped for a second that maybe they had the wrong person, and maybe they needed to see who I was. Everyone knew that my fellow Philadelphians hated me. That wasn't lost on anyone, but after all this time folks still wanted my head on the chopping block? Really? I hadn't stirred up anything in years, and totally left Philly alone when I rolled out of here. This time, I just needed some information, then I would be gone. No harm, no foul.

Putting my hazards on, I got out of the car, leaving the car running and the door open just in case I had to get back inside and get ghost. I did not feel like dying today, but someone was gunning for me and I wasn't in the mood to run. I popped the trunk like I had to get something out of it, just in case my plan to approach the car didn't work too well and I lost the heart to do it. I wasn't even five steps out of my car before the car behind me rolled back a little and then slammed into the back of the rental. I barely had time to jump out of the way. Landing on the ground near the curb, I saw the car back up once again, and the driver turned toward me. I hopped up off the ground and dodged in between two cars just as he got up on me, and whipped the car the other way. Yep, someone definitely wanted me dead.

Other pedestrians and drivers stopped to gawk at the scene, and a few even came over to help me. I could already hear someone speaking to the police on the phone, repeating the license plate number of the other vehicle to the cops. It was a good thing I did get out of the car because I could have been seriously hurt.

“Ma'am, are you okay?” one of the pedestrians asked me as I stumbled toward the car to get my phone and pocketbook.

“Yes, I'm okay. I just need to call my friend to tell her I will be late,” I responded in a daze as I searched under the seat for my phone. I could not believe this shit was happening, but it's cool. I knew I had to call in reinforcements for this one. Wasn't nobody in Philly going to chump me.

“Sheila, is there somewhere else I can meet up with you in about two to three hours? I just got into a car accident, and I'll need to handle this so that I can get another rental.”

Surprisingly she cooperated, and gave me the address to her house. My next call was to Enterprise, informing them of the damaged vehicle, and that I would need another one. Thankful that I opted to get their insurance as opposed to using my own, I cleared the car of my belongings once the cops took my statement and the statements from a few witnesses. The tow truck didn't take long at all, and pretty soon I was back at Enterprise in a new vehicle with tinted windows, and the deductible paid on the damaged one. I needed to make this visit with Sheila quick and get back to the judge's spot before anything else happened. I must admit that I was a little shook, but I was too cool to let the enemy see me sweat. If they were going to chase me out of here they would have to try harder than that.

On the ride over to Sheila's place I ran through a list of people who could possibly want to take me out. It wasn't a long list, but a list nonetheless. I mean, there was that situation with Rico that never got resolved. After I cleaned out the spot I knew for sure that his team would want me dead. I didn't take everything; the cops did grab a few items “for evidence,” or so they said. Those were the very same cops who wrecked my place down the line. I swear, you can't even trust the law to stay clean nowadays.

There was Rico's girlfriend at the time, Sheneka. Now, she was a crazy bitch, and apparently really loved Rico.

There was Sheila, but I just as quickly dismissed that thought because that wasn't even her type of thing.

The Cinques were a thought as well, but I dismissed that notion too. They had my son, and my money. Why would they want to kill me? There was the judge's wife, and the mayor's wife and daughter, and even that cop I slept with to avoid getting a ticket that time, but none of them seemed like logical candidates. Sheneka didn't even know I was in the city, or did she? I was confused, but out of all of those people someone wanted me dead. The question was who, and I would try to figure that out before I left the city. That was, if I made it out of here in one piece.

I arrived to Sheila's apartment about two hours later, and I could see that she was definitely making more money now. Instead of the little apartment she used to have, she now lived in a split-level layout in Presidential City right off of City Avenue. It made me smile to see that she had come up the way she did. When I got into the building I had to sign in at the desk, and wait for a call to be placed to her apartment to let her know I was there. They had this thing on lock, so I knew there was no way I could come kicking and banging on her door like I did back in the day. After all of the technicalities, and damn near being strip searched, I was granted access to the elevator that led me to her floor. When I got off I could see her door cracked open, waiting for me to come inside. I was a little irritated that I even had to go through all of that, but I didn't even feel like getting into it with her.

Once inside, I took my shoes off because I didn't want to risk scratching the hardwood floors, and as I crossed the room my feet sunk into the area rug, which showcased a beautiful carved coffee table, which looked like a family tree minus the names.

Sheila looked amazing. When she walked out from what I assumed was the kitchen, holding a steaming cup of something, I checked my smile as I took her in. The last few years had been good to her. From the top of her neatly curled head to the tips of her cranberry toes and all the curves in between, homegirl looked good. She sat down on the chaise across from me, tucking her shapely legs under her body. Making eye contact before speaking, she sipped from her cup and set it down on an onyx coaster. Damn, I wanted to kiss her.

“Why are you back here?”

“I just told you over the phone—”

“No, why are you here in Philly? The city was at peace without you.”

Taking a deep breath, I ran down the entire story concerning the Cinques and the returned checks and how I was being followed since I arrived. I skipped telling her that I was staying with the judge, but I did remind her of the reason for my visit.

“Although I don't think he will use it against me, or keep me from seeing my son, I know this is important to him and I really need that information.”

She sat and stared at me for a long moment, and I thought for a second that maybe she didn't hear what I said. I wasn't in the mood for anything extra, but if I had to I would throw in some extra cash, or whatever it was that she wanted. I just needed to get this over with.

“It appears that today is your lucky day. The twins work out at the same gym I do, and one of them is my personal trainer. I have their number, but you didn't get it from me. I don't want no part of this bullshit.” Sheila spoke with venom as she looked at me through slits because her face was in such a scowl.