BOMAW Vol. 10-12 (212 page)

She sat motionless a moment, trying to re-focus herself. She thought about what Shawn said, if she was really going to make the marriage work, then there were things she needed to do; right away her mind chastised her, 'Like, stop thinking about Ben.' Elbows on the table, her face fell into her palms, eyes closed, 'Help me God, help me to stop thinking about Ben. Help me do what's right, and make this marriage work. Please help me, I just - wanna do what's right, help me make it right.' She prayed now that she was alone. Looking around the empty house, she rose - went into the kitchen, took something out of the refrigerator to cook Victor for dinner. She would be going to that meeting tonight, but she would not leave him with no food to eat. She took out a recipe book, made out a menu of what to cook as she'd seen her mother do, and then began preparing it, following everything to the letter. Determined that if it didn't work between them, it wouldn't be because of her.

*

In La Crosse, Victor pulled into the park looking for Omiyah, she was sitting on a park bench waiting for him after receiving his call. She was smiling, excited when she saw his car turn in and pull up to where she sat. She was instantly up, making her way to his car, getting in. "Wow, hi, didn't expect to hear from you."

"Don't get too excited, I need a place to stay."

"A place to stay? Why? You have a place."

"I can't stay there, ah, Crystal's moved back home, and ah - she won't let me stay there. She says she needs time and that I should be the one to leave, not her. So, basically, I left so she could have the place."

"What?! That's some damn nerve! She gone suddenly decide to come home, and then tell you to go! Ain't that some shit! And you going for that?"

"I have my sons to worry about, as their father, I have to provide a roof over their heads, my boys mean everything to me - so, I'll do whatever it takes."

"And she knows that! She knows what your sons mean to you, she's using them Victor to keep control of you, why are you letting her get away with this?!"

"Because I love her, she knows it, and I love my boys. I have to do everything I can, to make my marriage work, that means, giving her, them - a place to stay."

Omiyah shook her head, her heart bleeding for him, if he were her man, she would not be putting him through all the shit Crystal was putting him through, she had a good man and was screwing it up. He wasn't perfect, no - but he was perfect for her, as far as Omiyah was concerned.

"Anyway, as I was saying, that leaves me with no place to go. Because of her, I went nuts on my mom, burning down her house, so I can't go back there. I just - well, I need a place to stay, I was wondering if you knew about a room somewhere I could rent for a while."

"That bar where my mother works, they just finished fixing up the place above it, it's now divided into three small apartments, I looked at them yesterday, they're real nice. One bedroom, with open plan for a kitchenette and living-room, and of course a bathroom."

"How much?"

"It's pretty reasonable, furnished, two-fifty a month, which includes utilities. Everything in there is new, I'm thinking about getting one myself, sick of roommates, too many people in my stuff and in my business."

Victor sat thinking about it, "You got time to go by there with me?"

"Let's go."

Checking the place out, Victor explained to the landlord, he would need it for just a month or two, nothing long term. As he was explaining, Omiyah jumped in saying, "I'm leaving the place where I live now, my lease is almost up, in a couple of months, I'll take the place off of him so you will still have a tenant."

Victor looked at her, didn't say anything standing there. When all was said and done, he paid two months rent on it, and the deposit, and got the key. Leaving, back in the car, he asked, "How can you afford that place every month when you keep going from job to job?" They were on their way back to the park, for him to drop her off.

"My dad gives me an allowance every month to live on, long as I stay in school. Five hundred a month." She informed him smiling.

Victor shook his head, "What does he do, your dad?"

"Works for Northern Railroad, makes a mint."

He nodded, and then, "Thanks, by the way, really appreciate it."

"So when are you moving in, to the new apartment?" She asked.

"Don't worry about it Omiyah, you won't be going there until I move out of it."

"Emm, where you going now?"

"Back home, to the house. I want her to know I have a place, and where it is."

"Don't tell her where it's at, why does she need to know?"

"Because she's my wife and I'm trying to get her back."

"God! You are so irritating! You're nothing like you used to be, God you've changed - with her anyway, you were never that way with me."

"What way?"

"Stupid! Mr. Duh - letting her lead you around by your nose hairs! I treat you good Victor, I love you - she does not love you - the sooner you get that through your head, the better! I'm the one who will be here for you, through thick and thin, not Crystal!"

Victor said nothing to that, was little he could or would say. Pulling into the park, back to the bench, "See'yah-..."

"When you need me again!" She cut him off tacking the line to it. "And you will need me again, that's the nature of the beast, when it comes to us."

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever! Bye!" He pulled off.

"YEAH! See you next time! You'll be back!"

By the time Shawn showed up back at home, he had to drive around to try and find a place to park, growing angrier by the moment when he realized there was no where to park. He ended up having to park way down the road, an almost ten minute walk with the boys, back and forth across a ditch, on the inside of the semi's and other vehicles to keep them out of the road, carrying Darren, holding Isaac's hand, and then, had to lower them over a barbed wire fence, jump over it himself to walk a distance on their neighbors land, back over again onto the land Deidre bought, and then in and out of trucks and cars to finally reach the house. To say he was pissed, was putting it mildly. It became obvious to him that the workers were taken liberties on where they could park. Stepping into the basement, setting the boys loose, who ran happily to their grandma, he didn't care that Sylvia, Deidre, Charlie, Vivian and Shanna were present, he cut loose, softening, only the F word for the sake of the boys, "What in the -F-is going on out there!" He blazed immediately.

All the women turned to look at him, stunned by his burst of anger, of course, he looked directly at Deidre, "Have you seen it out there!? You think I'm gonna have this bullshit day after day?! I can tell you right now, I'm not!"

Isaac looked up at his grandma Sylvia saying, "Granddad mad, he say, them mo-tha'-fucka's!"

"SHAWN!!!" Sylvia screeched, but the other women howled in laughter.

Shawn blushed, but he was still smoking, looking at Deidre, "Well?! Hang on, I'll be right back!" He stormed back out. With both women shouting for him at the same time, they looked at each other and said, "Oh shit." simultaneously and then burst into laughter. Shaking her head, Deidre swore, "I can tell you now, he is mad as hell!"

"You going out, or I'm going out? You should go out, that's your mess." Sylvia started right away.

"Why does either of us have to go out, let's just leave him to it."

"I would leave him to it, if I were you guys." Shanna spoke up, looking back at the door for Crystal, she turned back to Sylvia, "Well, he got the boys, but no Crystal."

Sylvia had filled them in on what was going on with her daughter, all feeling bad for her.

Vivian sitting trying to think of what she could say to her to make her change her mind. After having lunch with Jake, she'd come back to Shanna's and went straight to bed, sleeping for close to two hours before she could stir herself awake. The house had been empty, with the phone ringing. Answering it, it had been Shanna to say she was at Sylvia's and to be careful coming over, the road was a mad house. Which she had seen coming back from taking Jake lunch.

Sylvia had Darren on her lap, Isaac standing next to her, leaning down hugging him, she asked, "Do grandma a favor, when granddad mad, don't repeat the stuff he says, okay?" He smiled nodding his head eagerly.

"Where's your mama, baby?" She asked following his nod.

"Home," he answered right away, "My granddad bring us back here."

"I know baby, is your mama coming?" She asked him.

He shrugged and then asked, "Where Ben at?"

Outside, Shawn stormed about looking for the foreman, finding him - he cut loose with him. "WHAT IN THE FUCK IS GOING ON OUT HERE WITH ALL OF THESE VEHICLES???" He had no choice but to yell due to the noise level from many of the machinery being used. "WHY IN THE FUCKIN' HELL AM I PARKING HALF A FREAKIN' MILE AWAY FROM MY OWN GODDAMN HOME??! HAS ANY OF THESE FUCKERS EVER HEARD OF CAR POOLING?? OBVIOUSLY THE FUCK NOT!!! I WANT ALL OF THOSE FUCKIN' TRUCKS AND CARS OUT OF MY WIFE'S FUCKIN' YARD AND OFF HER FUCKIN' DRIVEWAY - RIGHT FUCKIN' NO-O-O-OW!!! I DON'T GIVE A FUCK IF THEY HAVE TO PARK UP A TREE! UP THE BLUFF, OR IN TOWN - I-DON'T-GIVE A FUCK! GET THEM FUCKIN' OUT OF THERE!!! BLOCKIN' UP THE WHOLE FUCKIN' ROAD! GODDAMN CITY ORDINANCE GONNA FUCKIN' FINE ME FOR ROAD HAZARDS AND ALL KINDS OF SHIT! FUCK!!!" He stood boiling, glaring from the foremen to men who stopped what they were doing to listen. The foreman had enough sense to know, that while Deidre Wherrington was paying the bill, this man was calling the shots. He strode off with Shawn right on his tail, shouting and pointing at all the cars and trucks parked everywhere. If he had to get it in the throat, then so should they. Letting everyone know, they either had to partner up with someone to get there, or don't come, they wouldn't get paid! No more parking on the private properties, or anywhere they pleased, even if they had to park in town and walk there in the morning - it was only a five minute walk from town and eight more minutes from the gas station and subway. If they were smart, they'd pay someone in town money to park on their drive or in front of their home, but from that very moment, no more parking on Sylvia's property, or Shanna's - where they were as well. He told those with bigger vehicles to set up a pick-up point somewhere else to bring in those with smaller vehicles, but the excess had to go, period - even if they had to be picked up from home.

Everything screeched to a halt - all smaller vehicles, cars, 1 ton and 2 ton trucks moved off if they were where they shouldn't be. Shawn refused to walk away until all were gone and made it clear, "This better not happen again, our personal property is not here to be a fuckin' parking lot! We're paying to get a job done, that does not include parking!" And strode off down the road to get the SUV, waiting for everyone to get out of his way to make it back to the house, parking in the drive, where he should have been able to park in the first place. Grabbing the boys things and going back in.

When all the women heard him coming back in, they got quiet and looked at the door for his entrance. He was carrying the boy's, baby duffle bag.

Sylvia was the first to ask, "Well? I hope you acted sensibly instead of going off - f'in' and blindin' like you crazy?"

He paused inside the door, looked at the women present, his sister, who knew him well, Deidre, who also knew him well. Scratching his head, he started off mumbling, "I ah, suggested they car pool, and ah, find other places to park, that's all." Then heated up once more, "Besides - you see our yard? It's ruined - at least they're off of it! Considering what they've done, I should make them pay for correcting it, in fact - I think I'm gonna!"

"I'll take care of that, Shawn." Deidre spoke up.

"Deidre! Stop - paying for everything! It will come out of their expenses, that's that! That should've been organized from the beginning!"

"Well I did rush them, didn't I Shawn?" She tried to reason with him.

"It makes no difference. I said no, that's the end of it - they'll have to pay for yard turf, for rebuilding the curb in three places and the damage done on Shanna's as well."

She sat back looking at Sylvia, who shrugged, thinking, 'I ain't gettin' in that - you on your own.' Her expression and shake of her head said it loud and clear.

"Shawn, where's Crystal?" Sylvia asked, all the women looked his way. He'd sat forward on the sofa, turning on the TV to calm down, his mind in a whirl, flipping through channels.

"Staying with that punk-ass-..."

"Shawn!"

"...dickhead, mealy-mouthed-..."

"Shawn - the boys!"

"...cowardice, shit for brains-..."

"Shawn Everett McPherson!"

"...spineless pussy-..."

Sylvia shot to her feet, slapping the table, yelling at him, "Shawn! I said stop it right now! The boys are here and they don't need to be hearing that!"

He looked back at her, exhaled, still looking grumpy, but bit his lip from saying anymore.

Charlie turned to Deidre, whispering out the side of her mouth, "I don't think he like dude too much."

Deidre had to bite her lip not to laugh, enjoying seeing someone deal with him for once, because she never could.

"Thank you, save that for when they're not around." Sylvia softened it, making eye contact with him.

"She's staying - but I'll be picking her up tonight." He informed her.

She sat back down, "That's good."

"Can you, get her other things together, so I can take them with me when I pick her up?" He asked.

"Yes I can."

"Where are the kids?" He asked.

"With Mundo, to rent movies, get them out of the house, to cheer Angela up. What an ordeal that was," Sylvia looked at Deidre, "The driver and the bodyguard wouldn't let her get in the Blazer with him, finally, we resolved it with the bodyguard riding with Mundo because Angela refused to get into her Hummer. So it's following them everywhere they go. She's not liking this arrangement, I can tell you that."

"She'll have to get used to it." Deidre murmured softly, cutting her eyes to Shawn, who of course was listening, inhaling deep, he turned back to the TV, remaining quiet for once. Listening to them chit chat behind him, he glanced over at Vivian, "Vivian?" He called to her, "You test yourself yet? I know you pregnant." He grinned, teasing her.