Savory Deceits (10 page)

“I'm beat. Can we go home now?” I asked hopeful.

“Sure. C'mon. I parked over there.”

Nena was completely silent in the car, on the way home, which made me worry. I waited until we were safely in our home, before speaking to her.

              “So, how have you been?” I finally asked her. I watched her swiftly move around our bedroom, putting my things away for me. We had been home for almost an hour now, and already she has fixed me something to eat, took a shower, and now getting me settled back in. When she did not answer me, I persisted. “Well?” I said to her. Nena then looked up at me, as if she had forgotten I was there.

“Huh? I'm sorry, I didn’t hear you. What did you say?” She asked me. Then, I studied her for a minute. Something was off. She seemed troubled, which made me feel bad.

“Are you okay?” I asked her. “You have been acting strange, since I got back. Do you want to discuss the giant elephant in the room?” I assumed.

“What? No. I mean, I'm okay. I just got a lot on my mind that's all.” She replied, without looking at me.

“Well, okay. I mean, if you want to talk about…” I began to say.

“No. I don't.” She said sharply. “I don't want to talk about it.”

“Well, all right then.” I replied feeling guilty again. She then stopped what she was doing, and looked at me. The expression on her face was not anger, but sorrow.

“As much as it hurt to hear you tell me what you did, I'm still glad you told me. Rather than letting me find out about it. Yes, it is going to take some time for me to learn to trust you again, but I believe you meant it when you said you were sorry. I know deep down inside, you did not intentionally do something like that, just to hurt me. I think I know you better than that. I also know that you love me, and believe me baby; I love you too, with all my heart. I just don't want to lose you.” Her eyes filled with tears, and she looked away. Then, I went to her, and took her in my arms.

“Oh baby, you're not going to lose me. I am so sorry I hurt you. I never meant to. I swear to you, on my life, that I will never hurt you again. I love you girl. You are my life. I don't know what I'd do without you. Please forgive me.” I said, relieved that she was giving me another chance. I stroked her cheek, as I watched the tears stream down her face. I hated myself for hurting her. “Shhh, baby, please don't cry. I am so sorry.” I whispered, choking back my own sobs. I held her close to my heart, and kissed the top of her head.

Then, she looked up at me, and said in a voice barely above a whisper, “I forgive you.” With that said, I lowered my head to kiss her. I kissed her so hard, and with such gratitude, that I felt her body tremble against mine.

“Thank you baby, thank you.” I said, secretly counting my blessings.

Later that night, I made love to my wife like never before, and everything in our world seemed right again.

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of something frying in the kitchen. I smiled, because I knew that is what good sex did to a woman. My father had always told me that as long as a man could put it down in the bedroom, and bring home the bacon, his woman would always take good care of him. Now, I could hear Nena in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. The aroma of fried eggs, and bacon, filled the air. God it felt good to be home again, I thought to myself, stretching. Since I was on leave for two weeks, I planned to show Nena how grateful I was to have her in my life. Women like Nena are not easy to find. She was caring, understanding, and full of compassion. I was very fortunate to have someone like her as my wife. When I started to get out of bed, the phone rang.

“Honey could you get that, I have my hands full!” Nena yelled to me from the kitchen.

“Okay!” I yelled back, rolling over to pick up the phone. “Hello?” I answered.

“Hey bro, what's up?” Chris said.

“Hey man! What’s good?” I said beaming.

“Nothing man, just working hard, as usual. How was deployment?” He asked me.

“It was all right. Some places were boring, but Italy was straight. It’s good to be home though.” I said, sitting up, to lean against the cushioned headboard.

“Oh, I bet it is. It's good to have you back, safe and sound man.” Chris said.

“Yeah thanks. So what is up with you and Naima? Nena told me, Nai, is supposed to be staying here with us, but she has not been here since I got back. I guess she’s back with you then, huh?” I assumed.

“No. I figured she was there with you two.” Chris said.

“No, it’s just me and Nena here.” I replied.

“Well, I don’t know.” Chris said, sounding the least bit worried.

“What’s up with you two anyway? Are you two together or what?” I asked curiously.

“Nah man can’t do it. I just want to chill right now. Shit is not what it used to be.” He revealed, and I shook my head.

“Damn, that’s fucked up. But I feel you, bro.” I said.

“Yeah. Look man, I have to go. Great to have you back. Say hi to Nena for me all right.” He said.

“All right I will.” I replied.

“Later.” Chris said, and hung up.

~NENA~

“Who was that?” I asked, walking into our bedroom, with a breakfast tray in hand. Tony replaced the receiver, and then smiled.

“Oh, that was just Chris calling to welcome me back. He said hi.” Tony said, eyeing the hearty meal, I prepared for him.

“Oh, okay. How's Naima?” I asked phishing for information on her and Chris’ relationship. I set the tray in front of Tony, and sat down on the edge of the bed next to him.

“She's okay, I guess.” He said, helping himself to a fork full of bacon.

“You guess?” I questioned with a frown.

“Well, she's not at Chris’,” he said through chews. “Mm babe, this is so good.” He began, buttering his biscuit.

“Oh, yeah?” I asked, feeling somewhat relieved.

“Yeah babe. I haven't had a good meal like this in a while.” He said again, eating some more bacon.

“Thanks, but I was referring to Naima.” I said, watching as the food began quickly disappearing from his plate.

“Oh, yeah. They’re not together, and Chris wants to keep it that way.” Tony explained, taking a helping of eggs into his mouth.

“Oh?” I said, and looked away.

“I mean you have to admit,” Tony began, then pausing, to take a big gulp of orange juice. “Naima's put that man through a lot these past few years. She can't expect to just walk back into his life, as if nothing happened.” He explained, and then paused again, to eat some more eggs. “It doesn’t work like that, and I can’t say I blame him for not wanting her back.” He finished, taking another sip of his juice.

“Yeah, but everybody makes mistakes. It is whether you have learned from those mistakes, that matters and I think Nai has learned from hers. That is why she came back. She loves him.” I said, in my sister’s defense.

“Yeah well, sometimes love's not enough. I will talk to him though, but right now, I want to focus on my wife.” Tony said, setting the tray, with the now empty plate, aside. He then pulled me to him, and sat me on his lap.

“You're so beautiful.” He said to me. I flushed, and he smiled.

“Thank you.” I replied. Tony fingered my hair, and pushed it away from my face. Then, suddenly, I flashed back to the night Chris did that very thing, right before he kissed me.

“You okay?” Tony asked when I tensed.

“Yes.” I said, faking a smile. He looked at me for a moment, and I avoided his eyes. He then touched my hair again, and lowered his hands down to my breasts. Then, I thought of the way Chris’ mouth felt, where Tony’s hands now were, biting my nipples, as I came like a tidal wave crashing to shore.

“I want you to have my baby.” Tony finally said. His request surprised me, bringing me back to reality.

“What?” I said, now looking at him.

“I've been thinking about this since deployment. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted one. I love you Nena, and I want us to start a family; if we haven't already.” He said, placing his hand on my stomach, and I laughed.

“Where is this coming from?” I asked, getting serious.

“It’s coming from your husband, who loves you more than anything in this world.” He said, looking into my eyes. Then, I thought for a moment. A baby? My heart said yes, but my head said no.

9

“Hey, it's about time girl. I was beginning to think that you weren't going to show.” Naima said, rising from the table. I greeted her with a hug, and took a seat across the table from her. Since Tony has been back, I have been using him to avoid my sister. I eventually began to feel guilty about it, and asked her to meet me for brunch, at one of our favorite coffee shops in the city. Café Mocha, known for its famous Vanilla Crème Espressos, was the hottest spot in town. Besides their amazing lattes, I loved the friendly atmosphere that surrounded the quaint little café. An amenity that most people enjoyed about Café Mocha, especially during the summertime, was a majestic outdoor dining area, with large colorful beach umbrellas attached to each table. With all the birds chirping, and butterflies in the air, dining outside gave me a sense of peace, and tranquility.

“Are you two ready to order?” A server asked when she approached our table.

“I'll have a frozen vanilla latte please.” Naima said.

“Um, can I have a glass of water please?” I asked.

“Sure. I have one frozen vanilla latte, and a glass of water coming right up.” The server said before making her way to another table.

“Glass of water?” Naima asked me quizzically. “I know how much you love this place, and their espressos. I expected you to order half of what's on that menu.” She finished with a chuckle, and I smiled.

“I'm just not in a coffee mood right now.” I said.

“So you mean to tell me that you came all the way out here, just to drink water? C'mon, I am sure you have plenty of water at home. So what's up?” She asked me.

“Okay,” I began with a sigh. “It's just that I haven't really been a good sister to you the past couple months, since Tony got back from deployment. I know we haven’t spent as much time as we should together, with your working, and my going to school.” I explained.

“It’s all right hon. If anything, I'm really happy for you. You have your husband back, and everything seems to be going great for you two.” She gave me an encouraging smile, and I felt bad.

“But you haven't been back to the house since Tony came back. I wondered if you were mad at me or something.” I said phishing.

“Hello? Tony has been gone for six months, and now he is back. Surely, you did not expect me to hang around while you two got it on, did you?” She said, scrunching up her face, and I laughed.

“Well, okay, I see your point. So what has been going on with you? Tony told me that you were no longer at Chris’ place. Where’ve you been staying?” I asked her.

“The Marriot. I took my boss up on her original offer, to put me in a hotel, during my stay here.” She explained.

“Aw hon,” I felt terrible.

“I’m fine really. Granted, I would much rather be at Chris’, but he needs time, and I’m willing to give him that.” Naima said hopeful.

“Time for what?” I asked her.

“Time to figure out what he wants. My coming here was good at first, but things started to move a little fast for him, and I totally understand where he’s coming from.” She explained.

“So you two have talked about this?” I asked her.

“Yes, and we’ve agreed to take things slow.” Naima said. I nodded, trying to shield my guilt. Just then, the server returned with our orders.

“Can I get you ladies anything else?” She asked.

“Um, yes
she
,” Naima said with a nod in my direction, “would like a Vanilla Crème Espresso please. Thanks.” She told the server with a smile.

“Gee, thanks.” I said a little annoyed at her mothering. Naima sipped her latte, and sat back in her chair, staring at nothing.

“What is it?” I asked her.

“I really miss him.” She replied, twirling the straw inside the thick creamy liquid. Now, I looked away ashamed. “I miss the way he used to hold me, telling me how much he loved me. I still remember our first kiss.” She said reminiscing. I felt a knot in my stomach, as I watched my sister, dreamily talk about the love of her life. Fortunately, I have been avoiding Chris as well, since Tony’s return. However, I still could not erase the memory of the night we made love. I hated myself, because I enjoyed every minute of it. The way he touched me, the places he kissed me, and the way his big strong rod explored my insides. The tight spot, at the pit of my stomach, started turning once more, at the thought of him. Naima was speaking again, but I did not know what she was saying.

“I'm sorry. What was that?” I asked her, coming out of my daydream. Then, she rolled her eyes at me.

“I said, what is up with you and Chris? Did you two have a fight or something? It’s like you two barely talk to each other anymore. What gives?” She asked me.