Eye Candy (20 page)

My heart sank to my feet as I couldn’t believe what Tiffany had blurted out. I guess after the beating she took from Monica she wanted to get one final blow in. After the confession, I looked stunned while Monica turned to me.

“Oh my God, Aaron,” she said with tears beginning to fill in her eyes. “Is that true?”

“Just wait a minute and let me explain something first,” I said.

“Answer me, Aaron!”

“Monica, it was all a setup,” I said trying to get her to understand. “Don’t you see it was all part of Sebastian’s ploy?”

I moved closer to my wife but she was very apprehensive to accept me. She pushed me away as she gave me a cold stare.

“Get away from me, Aaron.”

“Monica, please you just don’t understand the full details yet.”

“How could you do this to me and tarnish our love for each other?”

“Sweetheart, let me explain everything to you for a second.”

“No, I’ve heard enough of this diabolical plan involving you, Sebastian, and Tiffany,” Monica said literally crying now.

“It’s not what you think I promise,” I said pleading my case to her. “Just calm down so we can go home and talk about it.”

“I’m going to calm down alright but not at home with you.”

“What?”

“I’m headed home and going to pack a few of my things. Then I’m going over to my parent’s house.”

“Monica, I think that’s a bit premature.”

My suggestion was falling on deaf ears as Monica quickly moved towards the front door of the condo. Before she made it there, I tried to stop her but to no avail. She managed to slip her wedding ring off and threw it at me. Then she ended up running down the hallway to an open elevator. Visibly upset, she pressed the down button and was on her way out the hotel.

“Mr. Malone, you may want to let your wife blow some steam off,” said Officer Jackson who was still standing there.

I was in the hallway and looked back at him. Then I decided to walk back to where he was. Before I did, I picked up Monica’s wedding ring off the floor and placed it in my pocket.

“My wife needs me right now, Officer Jackson.”

“I wouldn’t doubt that,” he said as he pulled a small writing pad from his shirt pocket. “But she also needs time to vent and soak in what just happened. You’ll have plenty of time to explain everything to her.”

“I feel so guilty and stupid for my actions.”

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up too bad. We all make mistakes in life.”

“Yeah, well probably not like the one I made. It may have cost me my marriage.”

“Believe me, Mr. Malone, I’ve seen worse in my line of work. But for now, I need to find out more about this Sebastian character.

“Well, I would love to get my hands on him right about now.”

“Easy, sir, let us do our job and bring him in for questioning the right way.”

“Officer Jackson, I just don’t know what the motive would be for Sebastian to plot something as destructible as he did.”

“So how long have you known, Sebastian?” he asked writing on his pad with an ink pen.

“We met in college and had been the best of friends since.”

“Well, sometimes your best friends can be your worst enemies.”

“Yeah, I truly believe that now,” I said with my head down.

“How about we go downtown to the station where I can continue to ask you more questions?”

“Officer Jackson, I think I really need to go and see about my wife.”

“Mr. Malone, it will only take about an hour. Besides, we need to make sure we have enough information on Sebastian so we can bring him in.”

“Okay, lead the way,” I said giving into his suggestion.

When we made it downstairs, I found the valet and he quickly retrieved my car. Then I followed Officer Jackson’s cruiser to the Atlanta Police Department.

At the station, I met a few detectives who wanted to know everything about Sebastian. They asked me a series of questions with some not even pertaining to the case. I ended up staying there a little over an hour. In the end, the detectives assured me they had enough to pick him up once the warrant was signed by the judge. They also asked me not to make contact with him no matter what.

As I drove home back to Sandy Springs, I decided to call Monica at home from my cell phone. I figured she wouldn’t pick up the phone and I was absolutely right. The home phone repeatedly rang until it rolled over to voice mail.

Pulling up in the driveway, I could see Monica’s car was nowhere in sight. I quickly parked my car and ran inside the house. There in the kitchen, I notice my plate from breakfast still on the table. I turned my attention towards the stairs and yelled out.

“Monica, are you upstairs?” I asked out loud knowing there wouldn’t be an answer.

I scampered upstairs to our bedroom and found it the same way as this morning. When I looked in our large walk-in closet, I could tell Monica had taken her suitcase and a lot of her clothes. Missing from the bathroom were all her personal items. Disappointed and dejected, I sat on the end of our bed with my head in my hands. I thought to myself what was I was going to do now.

CHAPTER 23

Two days had passed and I was agitated the police still hadn’t picked up Sebastian. The detectives at the police department had assured me the day was coming real soon anytime now. I had made it up in my mind if the police didn’t deal with him by tomorrow, I would. I wanted answers for what he had done and, more importantly, retribution for the death of my sons.

Meanwhile, over at the Carmichael’s residence, Shanna had dropped by early in the afternoon to comfort her close friend. Monica was still angry with me and refused to accept any of my calls.

“Monica, I knew Aaron was going to eventually cheat on you,” Shanna said as the women sat in the kitchen. “All men are dogs!”

“He said it was all a set up by Sebastian,” Monica said to her friend.

“And you believe that?”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore, Shanna.”

“Well, I can believe Sebastian was one shady character,” Shanna said with a frown. “I never liked him anyway.”

“If Aaron couldn’t trust his so-called best friend then who can I trust?”

“You can trust me, Monica, because I’m your real friend to the end.”

The two women stood up, embraced, and hugged each other as Monica was still emotional from everything that happened. Then they sat back down.

“I really appreciate you for coming over today, Shanna.”

“It’s no problem, Monica. So have you spoken to Aaron yet?”

“Not since I last saw him at the Twelve Hotel,” Monica said sadly. “I just can’t bring myself to speak to him right now.”

“Well, I know someone you can definitely speak to.”

“Who is that, Shanna?”

“A good divorce lawyer,” Shanna said looking very serious.

“I don’t want to talk about that right now.”

“Why shouldn’t you, Monica?”

“Because I think you may be jumping the gun on that discussion.”

“You have a right to your opinion, but if Aaron was my husband I’d make the call.”

“Aaron was and still is a good husband despite what has happened lately,” Monica said with confidence. “He was a great father and provider for our sons, too.”

Monica’s mother, Allison, had entered the kitchen now before Shanna could get another word in. She smiled at her daughter and Shanna also.

“Hi, Mrs. Carmichael,” Shanna said speaking first. “How are you doing?”

“Oh, I’m just fine, Shanna,” she said. “So what are you two girls talking about in here?”

“Aaron,” Monica said quickly looking at her friend.

“Well, don’t worry your pretty head over everything that has occurred,” Allison said to her daughter. “Everything will eventually work out for the best.”

“You sound so optimistic Mrs. Carmichael,” Shanna said in a pessimistic tone with doubt in her eyes.

“You have to be, Shanna, when you’ve been married as long as I have.”

“So, do you think Aaron was wrong for what he did?” asked Shanna.

“I’m not saying he was wrong or right. Yet, sometimes you have to look beyond the scope of the situation.”

“What do you mean by that, mom?” asked Monica.

“Dear, every so often, you have to judge a man on how his good deeds greatly outweigh his faults,” Allison said to her daughter. “Now, how about I whip us up some lunch to eat?”

“That sounds great, mom.”

“Yes, Mrs. Carmichael, it surely does,” Shanna said agreeing with Monica.

“Monica, your father just called a few minutes ago,” Allison said walking over to the refrigerator.

“He did?”

“Yes, he just finished another lecturing class at Emory. He’s on his way over and wanted me to make him some lunch.”

“So, what does the head chef of the house plan on cooking?” Shanna asked as she looked at Allison.

“I think I’ll make chicken Philly cheese steak sandwiches loaded with green bell peppers and onions,” said Allison pulling a few contents from the refrigerator. “And a side order of curly fries to go along with it. How does that sound, girls?”

“It sounds very fattening and high in cholesterol, mom.”

“Yes, Mrs. Carmichael, we’re still on our diet,” Shanna said.

Well, one fattening and high-cholesterol meal won’t kill you two,” Allison said as she dug into the cabinet next to the stove for a large skillet. “Besides, it’s one of your father’s favorite quick lunch meals, Monica.”

“Since I know that now, I wouldn’t dare try to argue with you on that one, mom.”

“I promise to cook a healthy and well-balanced meal for dinner this evening. Are you staying for dinner too, Shanna?”

“No, I hadn’t planned on it, Mrs. Carmichael. And I didn’t want to impose on your family dinner anyway.”

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all, Shanna. We would love to have you at our dinner table. It makes room for more interesting conversation.”

Allison prepped the food she was about to cook and put her cooking skills to the test. In a short while, the veteran chef had the kitchen smelling good enough to make anyone’s taste buds water.

Anxiously waiting for some sort of news or development, I decided to grab my keys and head out the house. I figured if Monica was going to avoid all my phone calls, I had no choice but to go to her. Before I did, I wanted to take her something special. And the first thing that came to my mind was red roses.

As I drove down Roswell Road, I came across a small florist shop. I must have passed it a million times to and from work but never patronized the establishment. I was somewhat of a novice with flowers as Jane always was my go to person for items like that. I zipped my car into the florist parking lot and made my way inside.

“Good afternoon, sir,” said the friendly female worker as I entered. She was busy making a lily flower arrangement on the counter she stood by.

“Hello,” I quietly said as I looked around the tiny shop. I was the only person there but flowers were displayed everywhere.

“So, what can I help you with today?”

“Um, I’m looking for roses but not just any type.”

“Ah, I think I might have what you’re looking for indeed.”

She moved away from the flower arrangement she was working on and led me towards the rear of the store. There we came upon an exquisite display of beautiful roses. They were many colors including yellow, pink, orange, and even red.

“Wow, these are very nice,” I said looking overwhelmed at what was in front of me.

“They’re more than nice, sir,” she said smiling at my lack of knowledge for roses. “These roses were cultivated all the way in California. We had them delivered here via FedEx this morning.”

“They’re definitely what I’m looking for.”

“So, who are you buying these for?” she asked looking at my wedding band on my finger.

“They’re for my wife.”

“You must be planning a very special occasion.”

“Not really,” I answered. “They are going to be more of a peace offering.”

“Well, she’ll know for sure how special she is to you once she takes a look at these roses,” she said. “Notice how the petals are full, round, and larger than your normal traditional rose.”

“Yes, they are very impressive.”

“How many would you like today, sir?”

“I’ll take a dozen of the red ones.”

She carefully picked out twelve roses and we returned back to the counter where she was when I first came in. There she cut down the roses’ stem and thorns. She did all this while handling them as if they were precious as a newborn baby. When she was finished making a few minor adjustments to the roses’ appearance, she wrapped them in a delicate colored paper material. Only the rose buds would be displayed as the stems were hidden well inside the paper. Then she placed an elegant bow around them before handing the rose display to me.

“They look perfect,” I said with a cheerful smile. “Thanks for all your help.”

“No problem at all,” she said with an even bigger smile. “I hope she enjoys them.”

I paid for the roses and exited the florist shop. When I reached my car, I lay the rose display on the back seat so they wouldn’t be damaged. Then I headed for Monica’s parents house.

I saw Dr. Carmichael’s car in the driveway as I pulled up. He was the last person I wanted to see because I still remembered the conversation we had in Hawaii. I swallowed my pride, grabbed the extraordinary roses, and walked to the front door.

“Sounds like I heard a car door slam outside,” said Dr. Carmichael before he stuffed his mouth with the sandwich his wife prepared for him.

His wife, daughter, and even Shanna looked at him baffled as they dug into their lunch at the kitchen table. Allison decided to see if her husband was right and stood up from the table. She made her way to the window in the kitchen that overlooked the driveway.

“You’re right, William, it is Aaron who just pulled up.”

“He has some nerve coming over here unannounced,” said Shanna attempting to instigate the situation.

Monica said nothing and nibbled on her curly fries on her plate. Then she took a sip of ice tea from her glass.

“Excuse me everyone,” said Dr. Carmichael standing up from his seat at the table. “I’ll handle this.”