Hot Girlz: Hot Boyz Sequel (25 page)

Terrence sat close to Star. “We met in
Music School in D.C. Been knowing each other for about four years.”

“Really?” asked Mercedes.

As Star reached for the sugar, her
colorful bracelets jingled. “Yeah, it took him about three-and-a-half years to
ask me out.” She added the packets to her tea and stirred.

“Hey. A guy’s gotta build up the nerve
to ask out the most beautiful girl in school.”

Rashaad pointed to Terrence and gave
him a watchful eye. “Smooth.” He looked at Star. “Watch out, Sis.”

Star grinned.

“If I may ask, how’d you two meet?”
Terrence asked Mercedes.

She looked proud. “We met at Southern
Cal. So we’re college sweethearts, too.”

“Yep. A long time ago.” Mason cut into
what was left of his steak and took a bite.

Rashaad said to Star, “So, you gonna
beat me to the altar, huh?”

“Not even. You’re about ten minutes
away from what I saw.”

Mercedes asked, “Saw what?”

Star spoke while looking at Mason.
“When he had that tournament out here at Johns Creek, he and Sasha were
attached at the hip. Wait till you see her with him. They look alike, act
alike, laugh alike. It’s crazy.”

But it was Mercedes who said, “We’ve
got to meet her.”

Rashaad grabbed a hold of his dinner
roll. “You will. Next subject.” He bit into it once, and then twice, and it was
gone.

Star asked, “How long are you guys
gonna be here?”

Both Mercedes and Mason said at the
same time, “Till tomorrow.”

“Well, glad you could come out,” Star
said.

Terrence said to them, “Me, too.”

Mercedes raised her glass. “So, cheers
to your professional music careers, and to your friendship, and to tonight.
Here’s to family,” she proposed, then paused to look at Terrence, “and
friends.”

Everyone raised their glasses as well,
and said, “Cheers.”

~~

Later, Mercedes was in Rashaad’s two
bedroom suite getting ready for bed when he came in. He asked, “Dad’s not
here?”

“No. Why would he be?”

“He’s staying at the Twelve, too. He
said he’d stop by.”

“Does he know I’m staying with you?”

“Yep.”

“Then why would he stop by?”

Rashaad spoke fast. “Because, I asked
him to and he said he would.”

“It’s okay, Rashaad. I know what
you’re trying to do. Besides, I’ve gotta leave early in the morning.”

“Mom, I’ll be right back. I’ve gotta
talk to him. In private.”

“Rashaad.” Mercedes looked at him like
he need not bother.

“Be right back.”

She raised her hands in surrender as
he left.

~~

By twelve midnight, Rashaad walked
back in the room, turned on the light and walked into the bedroom where
Mercedes was.

“Mom.”

“Yes.” She was lying down, but very
much awake.

“I talked to Dad.”

She looked over at her son. “Good.”

“He was in a rare mood. He actually
wouldn’t stop talking. Told me to settle down and get one woman to come home to
and stop playing the field. Told me I’ve gotta have a safe place to lay my head
when everything gets crazy.”

Mercedes look pleased. She adjusted
herself so she could sit up. “Good for him. I agree. Having a home and
stability is critical. Your fame is tough enough. Being single and famous is
harder than people think.”

“He also said what you thought he
would. That I should walk in my own shoes, not his. That I should get out of
his shadow and make mine big enough for the next generation.”

“Oh, he was on a roll, huh? I’m glad.”

“And mom?”

“Yeah.”

“Dad was drinking. Cognac.” He looked
let down.

Her brows lifted. “He was not.”

“He was. He needs to come home. If he
doesn’t, all of that mess will start up all over again.”

“Oh my God.” Her voice was sad.

“He’ll be back in rehab. I think it’s
Grandma. And it’s you. And his retirement. He’s missing his career.”

“I’m just shocked. I mean, he hasn’t
had a drink in twenty years, or so I thought.”

She was quiet.

Rashaad just looked at her.

She said, “He vowed to never die the
way his dad died from damage to his liver. It’s like the sins of his father
won’t go away. You know your dad talked about your granddad’s drinking, and his
own drinking when he was interviewed on BET. And he mentioned it in his book.
Mason promised me he’d be different in honor of his dad. And he promised
himself.” The color had drained from her face.

“Star’s in the room with him. She’s
gonna stay the night. She heard everything he said to me. We both told him to
come home.”

“Really? Star, too?”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll see.” Mercedes gave an exhale.

“Well, I’ll let you go to sleep. I
just had to tell you.”

“I’m glad you did, Son. I’m glad you
did.”

~~

Sleep didn’t come for Mercedes.
Insomnia did. Again.

Through the night she thought and
worried and wondered, tossed and turned and remembered. Remembered the morning
she thought she smelled brandy on Mason’s breath after he drank from a coffee
mug. The same day he was about to go to the meeting about the city council
vacancy.

Rashaad was asleep in the other
bedroom when Mercedes got up. She went to her laptop in the still of the dark
room, logged into her email, and created a new message to Mason.

Mercedes swallowed hard, and fought
away her emotions, reminiscing on the good times and wishing things were still
the way they were before the Las Vegas trip. She typed, “
The sweetest days
I’ve found, I‘ve found with you,
” reminiscent of the song Mason had Kenny
Rodgers sing to her in person on their anniversary seven years ago.

She clicked send, logged off and
headed back to the bed, missing the way there were, not so very long ago.

27

Venus

“. . . seduce him into your life with money . . .”

That Monday, Venus had not left.

She stood her ground and claimed her
home and family.

When Claude came back that night with
Skyy, she was at home being a mother and playing housewife. She slept in their
bed, just as Claude did, though each half of the bed was like two separate
sleepers. No one said a word and no one made spousal advances.

This particular night, it was almost
eleven in the evening and Claude was not home yet, which was becoming more and
more common for him, though it had never been before.

Without bringing things up again, his
usual passive-aggressive behavior showed up as a stand in for what words did
not say: he was angry, he was hurt, and he was about at his wits end.

But she wasn’t.

Venus was up. She had already taken a
relaxing aromatherapy bath. And she had gone through a few boxes in the kitchen
that she had asked the movers to leave for her to unpack. One was full of
fragile stemware and china that she inherited from her mother who passed many
years ago.

Tonight, what had been on her mind was
to tell Claude what she did not have the nerve to tell him over the phone.

She sat on the cranberry loveseat in
the den.

Claude came in through the front door
after parking in the driveway as opposed to the garage next to her car. It
seemed to be his way of saying even their cars could not be too close together.
As if that was too intimate.

She said loudly after hearing him
close the door, “Hello.”

“Hi.” He walked from the living room
into the den where she was.

“Did you eat?” She had made his
favorite shrimp and chicken fettuccini.

“Yes.” He wore light gray dress pants
and a white dress shirt. His plum tie hung from his pants pocket.

“Cameron’s gone again?” he asked.

She just laid it out. “Honey, Cam
moved out this morning. I wanted to wait until you got home to tell you.”

He actually just shook his head. “I’m
not surprised. I guess he’s got himself a sugar momma now.”

“Maybe. He moved in with Penny.”

“You have her number?”

“I do.”

“Call her. Please.”

Venus took her phone from the sofa
cushion, dialed up Penny and extended her hand for him to take it.

He did not take it. “Put it on
speaker.”

Venus held it up toward him as he
stood next to where she sat.

“Hello?” Penny’s greeting was bright
and cheery, even considering the lateness of the hour.

“Penny?”

“Yes. Hi, Mr. Wilson.”

“Listen, I know my son is there. I
know you let him move in with you.”

“Yes, he’s here.”

“So, you’re gonna take care of him I
guess?”

“No. He can take care of himself.”

“With what?”

“He’ll have to tell you that.”

“No, I’m asking you. You’re the one
who just said he can take care of himself. You must know how.” His tone was
semi-smartass as his anger escalated.

Her tone was sweetness and light.
“Yes, I do. Mr. Wilson. I understand your anger.”

“No, you don’t. Do you have any
children his age?”

“Older.”

“A son?”

“Yes. Two.”

“Well, I’m a man. I don’t know about
your son’s father, but I need to raise my boy to be a man, making sure he has a
chance at life, with an education and a future. He needs to experience being
the head of the household so he can take on the responsibility of his family.
Cameron is being taken care of by you in your household. He’s a young man,
actually a boy. You cannot rob him of his manhood and seduce him into your life
with money, and no doubt sex, and expect me to be okay with it.”

“Mr. Wilson. Your son is a man. He’s
making his own decisions. I haven’t offered him anything.”

“You offered him a roof.”

“He asked to stay here.”

“You’re old enough to be his mother.”

She explained, “I am. But I’m not his
mother. I’m his girlfriend and I have no problem with that, neither does he,
neither does my family. But you do, and I understand that. Cameron can’t live
his life for you based on your life-wishes and wants for him. He has his own.
And I think he’s more of a man in standing up for his wants than trying to fit
into the mold that you’ve carved out for him. With all due respect.”

Venus still held up the phone.

Claude still stood over her. He gave a
slight nod. “Well, I see you can be very convincing. I’m sure that turns him
on. Sounds like he’s right where he needs to be. I hope he gets himself
together. But I’ll tell you one thing, and you can tell him I said so; he’ll
never get another dime from me or spend another night under my roof, ever.
Since he wants to be a man he can be one. And you might want to take off the
man-hat you’re wearing, because you’ll soon find that unless you hand it over
to him, he’ll just be another son. You two have a good evening.”

“You too, Mr. Wilson.” She was still
easy breezy.

“Oh, and by the way, find another
realtor. My son may need your money, but I don’t.” He stepped away and Venus
hung up. He said with tightness to his words, “I’ll be damn. That rich bitch
has got her a boy toy, and now she’s talking shit.”

Venus scooted back. “Claude.”

He turned to her. His eyes were
focused. His face was firm. “Venus, let me tell you something while I’m at it.
Bottom line with us, I think you might be the reason Fatima was killed. And
with that thought in my head, I can’t even look at you.”

She said, looking defensive, “I told
you, I’m not. I didn’t tell Owen anything about where we were going the night
before, and I didn’t tell him we were going to Mason’s house. Mercedes told you
back then that Owen wanted Fatima to run off to Vegas with him and get married
the night before. The night we all ended up together in that hotel room. She’s
the one who told him she was coming over to Mason’s house for Thanksgiving and
couldn’t see him. Not me.”

“See, I just might have to go and see
him again, just to cuss his ass out after I ask him some questions.”

“Owen is the devil. Straight up. And
you’re buying into his lies just like he wants you to.”

He leaned against the wall and took
his tie out of his pocket, tossing it along his neck. “His lies, huh? I was
living my life thinking I had a woman I could trust who was into me and only me
as I gave her the good life. But it turns out you and Fatima were whores. She
was screwing this crazy Negro who turns out to be Cameron’s father, and you and
her were both freaking him, you were backstabbing her by wanting me all along,
and you told him every move the three of us made the night before she died.”

He continued, “That makes me wanna go
crazy. All this mess was going on and I had no idea. I bond to you after Fatima
dies, and we get closer through grieving over her, and next thing I know, while
we were in Vegas I popped the question and that was that. But I will tell you
this, if Owen is making this shit up he needs to write a book and give Eric
Jerome Dickey a run for his money because this mess is too twisted to be lies.
He doesn’t seem that bright.”

Venus’s eyes were large. Her words
were even larger. “Well, they are lies. They’re lies and they’re ridiculous.
Years ago you apologized for blaming me for all the secrets Fatima hid from
you. I left you back then because I felt like a replacement living in the
shadow of Fatima. You said you felt alone and broken and begged me to come
home. Well, here I am, seven years later, and we’re going through the same damn
thing again living with the ghost of Fatima. When I had a miscarriage back then
you said we’d rebuild our family and you told me you could love me the way I
needed to be loved.”

“That is what I said,” Claude retorted.
“But those two letters from a prison inmate changed everything. I don’t know
you. How do I love someone I don’t know?”

“What do you mean, you don’t know me?
I’m the mother of your child. I took on Cam like he’s my son. Even though he
hated my guts, I stayed and worked past off of that. I’ve shown you a whole lot
more over all these years than two letters should be able to destroy. That is
if you’re really done with the whole Fatima thing. You told me I will always be
your wife, and that even though she died, we live on and have to be happy. This
is not what happy feels like, Claude.”

He stepped away from the wall. “Yeah
well, not only do we live on but Owen’s ass lives on, too, and he keeps
reminding me that I might be sleeping with the enemy.”

“The only enemy is Owen. He needs to
be reported at the prison for sending letters like that. I thought they
screened mail. This is way past sick. Yes, you do need to go see him, and I’ll
go with you. I’ll put everything I love on this, Claude, even on Skyy. I did not
sleep with or tell Owen anything. The first threesome I ever had in my entire
life was with you and Fatima on your birthday. Now you either believe that, or
you don’t.”

“I don’t.” He said it almost mocking
her.

“So you’re serious, like you said the
other day, you want me to leave?”

He reached in his other pants pocket.
“I’ve arranged for you and Skyy to stay in a house in Newport Beach that I
found for Penny. I ended up renting it for you today.” He walked to her. “That
way Skyy won’t have to switch schools again. It’s furnished. Here’s the
address. Here are the keys. I’ll take care of everything.” He placed a piece of
paper and set of keys on the coffee table before her.

She didn’t even look at them. “Taking
care of everything but you and me, I guess.”

He walked away and out of the room.
“Goodnight, Venus.”

She snatched the keys and sprung to
her feet. “Where are you going?”

“To bed.”

She put her hands up. “So that’s it.
You just hand me keys and kick me and your child out and you can actually
sleep?”

He got to the stairs and began to go
up. “Oh, you can best believe I’m sleeping in my bed. You can come up and go to
sleep when you’re ready, like we’ve been doing, but only for one night. I don’t
expect you to leave until tomorrow. My mom always called you Fatima, anyway.
Maybe she knew something. Like maybe you can’t turn a ho’ into a housewife.”

Her eyes offered a swift kick. “Fuck
you, Claude.”

He stopped and turned
around, this time pointing with his finger. “I won’t be letting that happen
either. No matter what, I sleep in my bed in my house. But there’ll be no more
of that with you.”

Her words bolted from her
mouth. “This is my house, too. I am your wife. And anyway, where have you been
these last few nights?”

He looked toward their
daughter's room. “Keep it down. You’ll wake up Skyy. We already have one
screwed up child. We don’t need two.” He continued up the stairs to the
landing.

She took the stairs fast
and threw the house keys at him and ran up close to his back with her fist
balled up. She missed her target. The keys hit the wall.

He spun around. “If you
touch me, I will hit you back.”

She stared with fire in
her expanded eyes like she was seeing a stranger, trying to figure out how the
man she loved could be eyeing her like he wished she was dead. “Owen won.”

Claude said nothing. He
turned around and went into their bedroom, silent, but the entire language of
his body still said,
try me
.

Venus just stood at the
top of the stairs in the heat of her pain and said, “Still in love with a dead
woman.” She looked toward the door of their room. Her foggy eyes moved down the
hall toward Skyy’s room. And she made herself go back downstairs and over
to the box she had unpacked in the kitchen. She repacked it.

She looked up as if she
could see the sky, up toward her best friend-ghost, who was no longer in their
bedroom but still in her life and she said, “You win, too.”

28