The Ex-Wife (22 page)

A
fter being home with Ethan for four months, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to be an overachiever anymore. When Cam landed a
group of investors prepared to proceed immediately with development for the Blake’s Overlook project I was ecstatic. If things
worked out as Cam projected, we would walk away from this project fifty million dollars richer. It had been extremely tight
over the past few months for us. And while I didn’t make nearly as much money as Cam, all his income was going to retaining
the land. I wanted him to sell the Bentley, but he felt that investors wouldn’t take him seriously if he were driving a less
expensive car. I decided to give him a year to work things out. If there was no return or at least another investor I wanted
him to sell the land. He had a bunch of other properties that had gone into foreclosure, but he was committed to this land.
He believed the project was big enough to sacrifice everything else. We butted heads on that a lot.

As we dressed in preparation for the groundbreaking party, I was happy he hadn’t listened to me. He kept saying that we were
doing well but we weren’t wealthy. I felt differently, but his plan was to leave wealth for generations to come. This project
alone would guarantee that, but knowing Cam’s mind he’d be looking into the next big thing now that this project was going
well.

I wore a black fitted one-shoulder dress. Of course I had on a tight girdle underneath to bind my baby weight. Once I was
dressed, Cam looked at me the same way he had when we first met. My hair was pulled over into a side ponytail. I’d had a makeup
artist come to do my hair and makeup. This was the first time I’d felt beautiful in over a year and Cam looked as if he really
noticed and appreciated my effort.

On our way to the party, he touched my leg and smiled. He said, “This is what it’s all about.”

“Yeah, I agree.”

He was dressed in a black tux and we were headed to the Hyatt in midtown. When we got there, we were among a small group of
investors and contractors. Groundbreaking was scheduled for the following day. It felt so good to be out, drinking wine and
conversing with new people.

At one point people began to make toasts, thanking others for their involvement and faith in the project. Finally the group
shouted, “Cam, Cam, Cam, Cam.”

I smiled as my baby stood there blushing. Before he started speaking, he motioned to everyone to be silent. He began at the
moment he’d discovered the property was up for auction and described how he’d gone to sleep and had a vision. He said even
with the real estate market being in the dumps, he’d known this was what he was born to do. He thanked all the investors and
promised that everyone would walk away in the black, repaid ten- to twentyfold. Then he turned to look at me. “They say behind
every good man, there is a good woman. I have an amazing woman.” Everyone clapped. He continued, “When I met this woman, I
told her on our first date, I felt like God sent her to me. I think she thought it was just game. But I knew from the second
I laid eyes on her that she would be a partner and friend unlike any other. This past year has been hard. There have been
times when I didn’t think we’d ever break ground on Blake’s Overlook, but she had my back with a smile and encouraging words.
You can’t invent a person like that with all the science in the world. Ayana Small, you are my dream.”

My eyes watered and I patted them with my fingertips. I didn’t want to mess up my makeup. Cam came over and kissed me on the
mouth. When I looked at him, I noticed that his eyes were watery too. He was so good to me.

After the party was over, I wanted to make passionate love to him. He held me tightly in the elevator. I felt his penis and
it was rock-hard. I wanted him to take me right there, but I knew it would be too much to peel off my undergarments. On the
ride home, I pulled his penis out of his pants. I was proud of him and I wanted him to know it. I was impressed with the man
he had been to me over the past year and a half. He was everything, and I wanted to show my appreciation. I bent over and
put his penis in my mouth. He smelled so good and tasted even better. He moaned, and I could feel the car slowing down as
if he couldn’t concentrate. My head bobbed up and down as we rode down the freeway. There would be no mess in the Bentley,
because I swallowed his pleasure with joy. He thanked me and told me how much he loved me.

The next day was the groundbreaking ceremony. Cam had to leave a little earlier, so I had to drop Caron off at the bus stop.
Cam and I were running late because of our long night of lovemaking. There were other kids at the bus stop when I got there.
Cam usually waited until the bus came, but if I did I would be late for the ceremony. I wanted to be there to stand by my
man. He deserved my support. I rushed Caron out of the car and sped off.

When I arrived at Blake’s Overlook, I was just in time. The mayor, Cam, and the contractors wore hard hats as the bulldozer
dug into the ground. I knew that Cam had dreamed of this day so many times. I was so happy that it had come true. As I watched
him in admiration, I knew he deserved it. So many women would have walked out on him, but I’d known I had something good.
Once the ceremony was over, he came over to hug me. I stayed around for a while, but he was so busy talking to reporters,
I figured I’d head back home to get a manicure and spend the rest of the day relaxing. This was the beginning of my pampered
life and I was ready to get adjusted.

When I sat in the car, my phone rang immediately. The Bluetooth in my car picked up the ring because I had my phone on silent.
It was the nanny calling from the house. She said, “Ms. Small.” The hesitant sound in her voice scared me.

I said, “Is everything OK with Ethan?”

“Ethan’s fine, but I got a message from the school saying that Caron never made it. Is he with you?”

“No, he’s not with me. I dropped him off at the bus stop.”

She said, “The principal said the other kids saw you drop him off and then you came back to pick him up.”

“I came back to pick him up? I don’t get it. From the bus stop?”

“Yeah. That’s what the kids say.”

“Let me go to the school.”

I sped down the highway trying to get to the bottom of this. Had Caron walked away from the bus stop? I was so confused. I
decided not to ruin Cam’s day with the news and headed to Caron’s school on my own. An unknown number called and I quickly
picked up. The voice was disguised.

“You’ve finally gotten rid of the one nuisance.”

“Who is this?” I shouted.

“Your helper. You never wanted Caron. Now that you have your new baby, you can get rid of him.”

“No. That’s not true. Who is this?”

“Ha ha ha.” The laughter sounded spooky with the voice distorter. “Whatever you do, don’t call the police. Because I will
take Caron out with one shot and it will look like you did it. Remember, you picked him up from the bus stop.”

I said, “What do you want from me?”

“Meet me at your grandmother’s house.”

“My grandmother’s house?” I asked, confused.

“Yes, asshole. Your father’s mother’s house.”

My face frowned. Who could this be? We’d decided to keep my grandmother’s house in the family after she passed. My father
was mainly responsible for the upkeep. We’d gone back and forth on whether to rent it out. My father had reservations and
I think preserving it helped with his grief so we all went along with it. He often went there to relax alone. He kept the
electric and cable on. This person was someone who knew me well. A part of me thought it was Yasmin, because she was a certified
stalker.

But why would she threaten to kill her own son? I didn’t know, but I sped to my grandmother’s house to save him.

I got out of my car and suddenly felt that maybe I should call Aaliyah. Then again, I was running on adrenaline and wanted
to get to the bottom of this. I was down for a tussle but I really wasn’t feeling murder on my hands, especially the murder
of my stepson. My motherly instincts kicked in for Caron. I wanted to protect him, and whoever this lunatic was trying to
harass him had to be exposed, even if it was his mother.

Using my key to enter, I called out, “Hello.”

Caron’s voice trembled as he said, “Ayana, we’re down here.”

Before heading down to the basement, I went to the kitchen to grab a knife. My curiosity overpowered my fear. I slowly walked
down the stairs. It was dark but there was enough light peeping through the small window for me to see Margo, my patient who
had threatened to kill her father. Caron sat tied to a chair. He looked helpless and scared. She held a gun to his head. His
eyes begged me to do something to fix this.

“Ayana, are you going hurt me?”

“Why would you say that, Margo?” I asked, placing the knife on the floor. “I didn’t know it was you when I came down here.”

My mind raced. I’d called the psychiatrist treating her several times after she was admitted and he hadn’t returned my calls.
While I’d prayed that he had taken my advice to keep her for an extended period, I often wondered if she had been released.

She said, “What do you mean you didn’t know it was me? You don’t know me? You don’t care about me?”

“I do care about you.”

“You don’t!” she snapped.

“OK.”

“You made me feel like you cared about me and you could give a shit about me. You tried to send me to jail.”

“No, I just wanted you to get help.”

“I was talking to you in confidence.”

Using my hands to talk, I said, “Margo, I told you that I am mandated by law to call authorities if I believe you’re going
to hurt someone.”

“Bitch, you didn’t tell me and you didn’t even have the decency to take me to the hospital yourself. You’re a sorry motherfucker.
And then you just got rid of me. They told me I was released from your care at the hospital. You’re a goddamn coward. I guess
it’s in your blood.”

I should have taken her case more seriously from jump. The first day she came in, I’d thought she needed a psychiatrist, but
I overestimated myself. Here I was being terrorized by this woman and wondering if there was anything I could have done differently.
Regret wasn’t going to help me at the moment. All I could do now was keep talking to her. I said, “I’m sorry if you felt like
I betrayed you. I shouldn’t have. I really shouldn’t have.”

“You’re not sorry,” she said. “You’re only worried about yourself. You got the police to come to my house and you never even
called to see if I was OK. I got evicted and was on the street. You didn’t care.”

“Listen, Margo, I told them to keep you in a residency program. You needed their help.”

“They threw me out on the street to be homeless.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, because I got a place as Ayana Blue. Don’t you like how easy it is to be someone you’re not?”

My mind flooded with all these questions, wondering if she’d been doing all these things to me this whole time. As I was stumbling
over the timeline in my mind, she shouted, “Why should you have all the luck? Why do you steal the man and live happily ever
after?”

I said, “Margo, I didn’t steal the man and I swear I have problems too.”

“Bitch, don’t patronize me. How are you going to feel when they lock you up and you lose everything?”

“Margo, please. Don’t do this.”

“Why? Why shouldn’t I? You have hurt me my whole life. You! I want you to feel my pain.”

Her hand was trembling with the gun and I was trying to think of a way to get it away from her. “I never meant to hurt you.
What can I do to change it?”

“How would you feel being a child and your father treated you like you didn’t exist?”

“I’m sure that would be very hard.”

“You and Aaliyah would come here every Sunday, wearing the best clothes. Our father would usher you inside so you couldn’t
play with the neighborhood kids. Do you know why?”

Before I could answer, she snapped, “Because he never wanted you to see me! He wanted to act like I didn’t exist. He treated
me like a piece of shit. The same way he treated my mother when she told him she was pregnant.”

I started putting all the things she’d told me about her father together. It all added up. This woman was my sister and it
had been my own father’s life I’d saved.

“I’m sorry, Margo. I’m really sorry. I don’t know why he would do that.”

“You’re not sorry. All he cared about was making sure his little princesses were fine. I was treated like a mistress my whole
life.”

“Did you have any contact with him growing up?”

“No.”

“Did he and your mother have a relationship?”

“Yes, they were in love and then he went to Morehouse. My mother wasn’t good enough. Your mother took him from my mother and
she knew my mother was pregnant and didn’t care. She married him and they pretended that me and my mother didn’t exist.”

“Margo, that wasn’t right.”

“Duh! You’re the fucking psychologist. Say something smart. You fucking quack!”

Caron cried loudly and she pushed his head. “Shut the fuck up, you little brat. Your father is in your life.”