The Ex-Wife (5 page)

T
wo days later I sat in Cam’s office signing the contract to place an offer on the penthouse. He was very gracious, but standoffish
at the same time, as he explained each page of the document. He suggested we lowball the seller initially; if they didn’t
bite we could come back.

“You can gamble with condos. They don’t go as quickly as some houses.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“And you realize that you’ll be in that same situation whenever you want to sell. Are you comfortable with that?”

“I am and I’ll definitely be there for a while. With traveling and all, I just need a place to lay my head.”

“So what if you fall in love and…”

My eyes shot an invisible dart at him that landed right on his forehead. He wrinkled his brow and waved it off. “Never mind.”

I hadn’t really meant to respond that way, but something about his insinuating that I was looking for or that I needed love
bothered me. Was it possible I had just wanted a one-night stand with him? I shrugged, hoping to decrease the tension in the
room.

“No, go ahead. So if I fall in love…”

“It’s possible you could be trying to get this off of your hands in a year or so.”

“I would expect that I’d be dating someone longer than a year before I’d be willing to sign over my life to them for better
or worse. You know?”

“You never know. Sometimes it takes years to make a decision about a life partner. Sometimes it takes minutes.”

He paused and looked at me.
Does he think I’m that gullible?
I smiled and shook my head a little.

“I’m comfortable with lowballing the initial offer. I try not to be anxious for anything, so I’m up for negotiating. As long
as I get what I want for the price I need.”

“That’s what’s up,” he said.

After the last of the documents was printed and signed, Cam took his time explaining and clarifying everything a second time.
He seemed so patient and passionate about his job. I liked that about him. I found myself smiling at him for no reason and
he returned a smile each time he caught mine. As time passed I found myself less and less angry, and more and more curious
about this guy. My heart and my brain told me that he was who he’d told me he was. He’d backed off like he promised. He didn’t
bad-mouth his stalker ex-wife, like the average man would have been tempted to do. He simply admitted that he should get his
business in order. He seemed noble in his words and actions. That was a rare combination and maybe that’s why I’d felt so
deeply connected to him that I wanted to rock his world on a first date.

Still, I yearned to know his complete story. The what, when, and why of this guy’s being in any kind of domestic situation
with that angry woman who had called my show. It would have been too hypocritical of me to pretend I was interested in hearing
his side, so I suppressed the urge to ask.

After the paperwork was done, he suggested I wait for him to walk into the parking lot because it was dark out. He secured
the building and we headed out to our cars. I noticed him staring at me as he held the door. I wished I could decipher what
was behind his intense eyes: lust, lies, or a lonely man on a quest for love. I didn’t know and I didn’t slow my pace enough
to figure it out.

I unlocked my car with the controller and he walked over and opened the driver’s-side door. I smiled. “Thank you.”

Ducking his head into the car he said, “I’ll be in touch hopefully by tomorrow. The agent should have everything first thing
in the morning. At least he’ll be able to look at the offer and see if we’re in the ballpark. I can usually gauge by their
response what the seller is willing or not willing to do. I’ll contact you as soon as I get a call from him. OK?”

I said, “OK. Hopefully we’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Definitely. You’ll hear from me one way or the other.”

“Sounds good.” I paused. “Thanks, Cam.”

“You’re certainly welcome.”

He reluctantly pushed my door closed and took two steps back. I felt awkward starting the car as he stood there, but I did.
When I backed up, he raised his arm one more time in a wave. I beeped the horn, because I would have felt slightly stupid
waving back. Finally he headed to his car.

I called my younger sister. “Aaliyah, what are you doing?”

“The same thing that I’m doing every night at eight.”

“Right, tell my nieces that I said good night.”

“Auntie said night-night.”

They responded in their three- and four-year-old languages. God only knows what they said, but it sounded sweet and momentarily
distracted me from what I really wanted to talk to Aaliyah about.

“So did you sign the contract?”

“Yeah.”

“Did y’all discuss you-know-what?”

“No.”

“Did he tell you why, you know, he acted like, you know?”

I knew she had to do that for the sake of little ears, but I was irritated and I wasn’t in the mood to translate her cryptic
phrases. Aaliyah knows me so well that when I paused before responding, she laughed and said, “Sister, let me call you when
the girls go to sleep.”

“Thank you.”

“OK, Ayana. You can be such a jerk sometimes.”

“Never that.”

I headed to the grocery store to grab a roasted chicken for dinner. I rolled a cart into the store in something of a daze,
simultaneously looking at messages on my phone. As I tried to prioritize whom I’d call back, I dropped a bag of grapes into
the cart. My bottom lip nearly fell into the cart too when I noticed Cam staring back at me. Considering I was exhausted,
momentarily I assumed I was hallucinating. Why was I imagining his smile? I rubbed my eyes to rid my mind of his image. Then
I looked again. It was a real estate ad and it really was Cam. I was less than two miles away from my apartment and I frequented
this grocery store. Never had I seen this ad.

As I strolled through the store with Cam’s eyes staring into mine, I imagined what could have happened if he hadn’t been married.
With the type of attraction we shared, I was certain we would’ve been taking long strolls in the park, going out to dinner,
making love any- and everywhere. He was probably the type that sent emotional text messages. Simultaneously, I snapped at
myself.
What if isn’t what is. Don’t fantasize when the facts are staring you in your
face.

I was conflicted in my spirit. I was trained to analyze a person’s character after speaking to him a few times. Cam had given
me no reason to believe he was a shady person. Everything about him seemed sincere. So why did I feel this empty feeling in
my stomach? Why did I feel as if I’d been betrayed? Maybe I was just disappointed in myself.

By the time I reached the register, I had explored every possibility with Cam. He seemed little-boy sweet and as much as I
knew it was never going to be, I wanted to know more about him. He seemed like an interesting and honest person. After interviewing
one hundred men, I was convinced there weren’t many Cams. But damn, why did his ex-wife have to be a crazy lady? Oh well,
shit happens, and by the looks of things other shit doesn’t happen.

When I reached my house, Aaliyah called back. There was no crying, yelling, or giggling in the background. I said, “Now that’s
better.”

She laughed. “Leave my babies alone. It only sounds like that when we’re in the bathroom.”

“Geesh. You need to put them to sleep sooner.”

“Why?”

“So you’ll have time to talk to your big sister.”

We laughed because Aaliyah was always the available one if you didn’t mind the background noise.

She said, “Whatever, Sister.”

“OK, so anyway, I told you how I slipped and fell on my Realtor’s thing the other night. Right?”

“Yeah, freaky-freaky.”

“Stop, you know he must have been extremely nice if I did that.”

“Yeah, OK, you told me all of that after you did it. And then his wife called and we concluded that you kick his nice ass
to the curb. Correct?”

When I didn’t respond, she continued, “Ayana. You know better. We talk about chicks like you. Whether they are separated or
not, they are still married. When he’s done, go for it.” She laughed. “I would say there are other fish in the sea, but I
guess we all know that’s not true.”

We laughed really hard.

“So did he keep it professional when you saw him tonight?”

“Yeah, he did.”

“Cool. Maybe he is a good guy.”

“Duh, that’s why I’m calling you. I feel like he’s a really good guy and a part of me wonders if I should continue to talk
to him until the divorce is done.”

“What if it’s never done? Would you be a mistress?”

“That’s not what I want, but I do like this guy. He has a wonderful spirit.”

“They all do in the first week.”

I laughed. “True. You’re not lying about that.”

“If anyone trusts your opinion you know I do. So let’s be honest, no one, not even Ayana Blue, can trust her own advice once
the aura of romance is in the air.”

“Ha ha. Really funny. That’s my favorite saying, isn’t it?”

She continued, “Once the love hormone starts circulating, you instantly become stupid. Is that correct, Dr. Blue?”

“You make me so sick.”

“I’m just saying, this is shit you’ve told me. I’m only regurgitating it.”

“Well, pick on somebody else. I just need a girlfriend to talk to right now.”

She laughed. “A’ight, I’m listening. So you like this guy?”

“Yeah, I feel like he’s a great guy.”

“OK, give him thirty days.”

Shocked by her words, I said, “You think?”

“No, I don’t think, but that sounds like what you want me to say.”

“I’m really not looking for you to say anything. I just want you to listen. You understand?”

“Yeah.”

As I put my groceries away, I told Aaliyah about the many things Cam and I had in common. How we’d talked for hours when we
went to Copeland’s and how I connected with Cam in a way that I hadn’t with other guys. I’d met many successful men on my
journey but there was always something missing. People come in my office all the time wondering if connection is something
superficial people are looking for in love. My response is that in any relationship, the initial interaction is one of the
most important moments. There are many other things to factor in, but if your mind is right, you won’t bond with the wrong
people. I was caught in a war between my feelings and my ego. Could it be possible that my mind wasn’t right if Cam was wrong?

Aaliyah listened and resisted offering advice. I appreciated it. After we got off the phone, I did a yoga DVD, hoping to calm
my spirit. I reflected and prayed and forgave myself. After I showered, I hopped into bed and within minutes I drifted off
to sleep.

As I prepared to go into the office, I got a call from Cam. I assumed my prayer had been answered because my heart beat at
a normal pace when I answered. He said, “Good morning, Ms. Blue.”

“Good morning, Cam.”

“Got some good news. The listing agent got the contract and already spoke with the seller.”

“OK, and…”

“Here’s the bad news.”

“What?”

“They want you to settle by the end of this month.”

I looked at the calendar. The end the month was in ten short days. I huffed, “Is that even possible?”

“Yeah, if we finalize the contract this morning, I can speak with your loan officer. He’s my man and I’m sure he can have
an appraiser there tomorrow and an inspector out in a couple of days. I’ll need to speak with the settlement company to see
if they can fit you in, but I don’t think it will be a problem. The condo association handles your property insurance.”

“I don’t have a problem settling by the end of the month but I’m not sure I can move in right away. I’m so not spontaneous
like that.”

“Is that right?”

His question seemed more like a statement and I wondered if he was thinking about my sexual spontaneity. It’s hard to get
past having sex on the first night with most men. They don’t get the fact that they were just special. Instead, they think
you must do this all the time. I see this often with couples: they have sex on the first night and the man always has a question
in the back of his mind. I hoped Cameron didn’t see me that way, but it was too late to fix it.

He continued, “Your first mortgage payment wouldn’t be due until the first of the following month, so you have a little time.”

“OK,” I said hesitantly.

He asked, “Are you comfortable with settling this month? If not, we’ll push it back. But if we do that, keep in mind that
it’s possible they may not accept the price then. You never know.”

“I feel you. OK, the end of the month works.”

“He’s faxing me a copy with the amendment. I will fax it to you to get your John Hancock. The settlement date is April twenty-eighth.
You’re cool with that, right?”

“Yes.”

I was really happy the seller had accepted the contract, but I felt pressured. After a few deep breaths, my spirit was calmer
and Cam explained again what we needed to do. In order to get everything handled, I was forced to reschedule my morning appointments.
I see patients Tuesday and Thursday mornings from eight to twelve and Monday and Wednesday evenings from five to nine. Since
I’d cleared my schedule the night before, I was really putting myself into a bind, but I had no choice if I wanted to get
the place at the right price. I would have to work both morning and evening to make up all the appointments I’d missed. Including
the talk show, I was looking at a ten-hour day. Ugh! I was slightly irritated, but oh well. By noon everything was confirmed
and I had a settlement appointment for April 28.