Infidelity (12 page)

With her clothes wrinkled, her hair half done, and her make-up looking crazy, she walked into the small office and tried to act normal. The office was small and cluttered. There were old phone books from previous years in the corners, on tables and on old file cabinets. There were a few old plants stacked on top of phone books that served as tables.

Two desks, one for Persha and the other for Brenda, the office manager sat in the middle of the office. Persha’s desk, was also cluttered just like the rest of the office, she had stacks of policies, files and old pictures of herself, her mom and her girls scattered on the desk. Buried beneath all of that was a telephone and the usual office supplies.

The office had old blinds that they kept shut at all times and a door off to the left of the room which was a closet converted into an office for the agent.

Before Brenda, could say a word, Persha looked up from her desk and sighed.

"I tell you, I’m having such a hard time with this mold stuff and the insurance company," Persha complained.

"Ooooh, they still trying not to pay your claim?" Brenda asked, but her features had already softened, so Persha knew she’d get away with being almost an hour late, despite the fact she didn’t even call.

"Yeah, and look at me. I’m barely making it, living out of a suitcase at a cheap motel. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to hang in there."

"Emph! Poor thing," Brenda cried.

"I’ll be okay though."

"You know, not all the time, but if you need a place to sleep, baby come on over to my place. I sure hate you having to go through this mess, with your mama so far away too. It’s just me and Jessie, and he works the overnight post on Friday through Sunday, so you keep that in mind, you hear?"

The phone rang, so Persha didn’t have to do anything more than shake her head. Brenda caught the phone and that left Persha alone with her thoughts.

At around 11:45 in the afternoon Brenda suddenly started laughing. During this time, Persha was bent over and digging for paperwork at the bottom of her desk drawer.

"I’m glad you find humor in this," she said without looking up.

"Persha!" Brenda called all giddy.

"Brenda, if Mr. Tomlin comes back and I don’t have those papers, I’m dead meat." She didn’t look up.

"Oh, Persha, I think you can break for a minute or two," Brenda sang.

When Persha stood up and turned around she nearly cried at the sight of Clarke standing there with a vase of tulips and baby’s breaths.

"I figured you had a bad night after we talked on the phone this morning, so I was hoping these might make you feel better," Clarke said. "I’d also like to take you out for lunch if you’re free." He smiled, then looked at the flowers. "And, well, I had no doubt tulips would bring a smile to your face."

"Just precious! Just precious!" Brenda sat back clapping her hands like a child.

Speechless, Persha looked at Brenda then back at Clarke with the flowers.

"Oh, shoot! You didn’t have to do that," Persha said. "You’ve helped so much already." Tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Girl, you’d better take these flowers before I give them to Ms. Brenda!" Clarke threatened.

"Ooooo wee, chile. And you know I’d love to have ‘em too," Brenda joked. "Tulips are my favorite!"

After they decided the best place to put the vase in the small cramped office, Clarke turned to Brenda and asked, "Would you like to join us for lunch?"

"Oh no, I couldn’t. You lovebirds go right ahead. I’ll hold down the fort," Brenda insisted.

"Okay, but you want me to bring something back for you?" Persha said as she grabbed her purse.

"No, baby, I’m gonna make my way up to the sixth floor and grab something from the deli in a bit."

"You sure?"

"Yes I am. Now scoot and have a good time."

Persha looked at Clarke and then said, "I need to go to the bathroom first if you don’t mind."

"Whatever you want," he said, holding the door open for her. They walked over to the bank of elevators and waited for one going down. They then hopped on the elevator and headed down to the basement level.

On the elevator, Persha turned toward Clarke and said, "Did you have sex with Kelsa last night?"

"No girl!" Clarke exclaimed.

She took his word and left it at that.

When the elevator doors opened, they were the only two down there. "The bathroom is over here," she said as she pointed to her right. "And no one ever comes down here." She grinned as his eyebrow elevated upward.

"So you not hungry?" he asked.

"I am, but not for food right now. We can grab a quick burger later," she teased, leading him into the ladies room.

Persha locked the door behind them and prayed no one would suddenly need to come in. Clarke’s pants were already at his ankles when she turned to him. He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her down to her knees.

That wasn’t what she had in mind, but if it was what she had to do to keep her man satisfied and out of his wife’s bed, then she’d do it. After a few minutes longer than she intended, she got up and hiked up her skirt.

"Damn, you didn’t have on any panties?" he asked, excitedly.

"I didn’t have time to grab any this morning," she tossed at him. Before she could lean up against the sink, Clarke was on his knees and his head was buried between her thighs.

While she was enjoying that, she really wanted to feel him inside of her. She let him go at it for a few more minutes before whispering, "Clarke, baby, give me what I really want."

He moved back and looked up at her. Persha hopped on to the sink and spread her legs.

"There’s just something about you and sinks, huh?"

"Guess so," she smiled.

"I don’t have a condom on me," he warned, hesitating before making another move.

"C’mon, Clarke, we don’t have much time."

That’s all he needed to hear.

With all his might, he thrust himself into her. She grabbed at his neck and his shoulder, finally settling for his hips. She pulled him in, tugging at him harder. Every time his hips moved, she tried to match is pace. She spread her legs wider, and pulled him closer. Clarke dipped his head down and took one of her nipples into his mouth. He held it between his teeth and added just a bit of pressure as he continued to push himself deeper between her tighs. A few minutes later, they both exploded and collapsed into each other’s arms.

"I swear you got the best pussy ever!" he said.

Persha looked into his eyes and said, "Don’t you ever forget that!"

A little while later, when Persha walked back into the office, she looked even more tussled than she had earlier.

Brenda glanced up at her. "So where’d you guys eat?" Brenda asked.

"Huh?" Persha frowned. She had already forgotten the excuse she and Clarke had used to slip out of the office.

"Oh, yeah, we went to Macaroni Grill, you know right down the street here on Westheimer." She opened the desk drawer and put her purse back.

"Emph, that sure was fast. Usually it takes just about an hour to travel up Westheimer during the day, much less up and back too."

"Yeah, well Clarke knows his way around real well, so he’s always taking short cuts." When the phone rang, Persha quickly grabbed for it. She didn’t feel like entertaining any more of Brenda’s nosy questions.

"Hey, girlfriend! What’s going on?" Cricket said through the phone.

"Aey Cricket, nothing much. What’s up with you?"

"You were weighing heavy on my mind, so I knew that meant I needed to call you. I put Auntie down after a sponge bath and had a free moment."

Persha wished she’d get to the point. She knew that wasn’t the reason Cricket decided to call. Cricket was the type who moved and spoke at her very own pace regardless of whether it suited anyone else.

"Yeah, so I was thinking I’d be able to get away for a few hours this evening, and Kori agreed, so you were the last one left."

"Cricket?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Girl, see that man’s got your head so messed up, you can hardly pay attention. I was telling you, we’re meeting at Fandingo’s for dinner and margaritas this evening."

"Okay, I didn’t catch that part," Persha added.

"See, it’s that man. Your mind is slipping, gurlfriend. Know when something’s no good for you, and know when to walk away and stay away."

"Okay, so what time are y’all meeting?"

"Mmm, about 5 o‘clock. I know you’re on Westheimer, and it’s stop and go traffic down that entire stretch. So how’s six o‘clock. Is that good for you?"

"It should be. I’ll meet y’all there."

Before Cricket could start preaching again, Persha hung up like that was her way of saying goodbye.

As if an after thought, she turned her body to face her computer and dialed Clarke’s number.

"The Ad Agency," the receptionist said, "handling all of your cleaning needs. How may I direct your call?"

Persha found that greeting strange for an advertising agency, but she figured, whatever’s clever.

"Mister Hudson please," Persha said.

"May I say who’s calling?" the receptionist asked.

"Can you tell him that it’s Persha?"

"Yes. Hold one moment please."

A few minutes later, his baritone rang through.

"Hey, Shorty, what’s up?" he asked.

"Nothing, I was calling to see if you have any plans for tonight." Persha relaxed a little when she heard Brenda on the phone. Sometimes it was hard sharing such a small office, nothing was ever private.

"Actually, I was thinking about meeting a few of the fellas for a drink. Why whassup?"

"Nothing, my girls are crying about you taking up all my time," she chuckled.

"Hold up a sec, let me close this door." Persha heard him get up from his chair. She heard the door close a few minutes later.

"Okay, I’m back," he said. "Ah, Persha, you’re not talking to your girls about us are you?"

She pulled the phone from her ear and looked at it closely, as if to better examine what he was saying. She didn’t want to fly off the handle for no reason.

"What’s that supposed to mean?" she asked, trying to control the tone of her voice.

"I’m just saying, I don’t know if it’s a good idea to be talking me up to your girls. I mean, you know how friends sometimes have a tendency to start dipping into folks business. That’s how shit get all thrown off sometimes."

"Oookay, well, without going into full details, no I don’t talk you up around my girlfriends! Now is that all you need to know?"

"Whoa! Shorty, whassup with all this ‘tude? Now a brotha can’t even talk to his woman? Why you jumping all sensitive on me?" he asked innocently.

"You know what? This isn’t the time nor the place for me to get into it." She rubbed her forehead with her free hand then stopped when she remembered that Brenda rarely missed a thing.

"Shorty, it ain’t like I’m telling you not to run with your crew. I’m just saying be careful what you tell folks about your business. That’s all I’m trying to say. I ain’t trying to get you all twisted or nothing like that."

"Well, I was just trying to touch basis with you because I’m probably gonna have dinner with them and I may be late meeting you at the house. I was just trying to make sure I didn’t miss our connection."

"I feel you, I feel you. Hey look, why don’t you kick it with your girls for a few hours, get a little taste, then hit a brotha on the hip when you finish doing your thang and we’ll go from there? Kelsa’s back at work, so it’s all gravy, baby."

"All right. I’ll talk to you later. I love you, Clarke."

He hung up so fast that she knew he didn’t hear her. Persha busied herself around the office until quitting time. A few minutes before five o’clock she grabbed her purse and rushed out before Brenda could start asking questions. She smiled as she passed the basement restrooms on her way to the garage.

Persha pulled into a spot in Fandingo’s parking lot and wondered why she had agreed to go in the first place. She wasn’t really in the mood to hear Cricket complaining. And she was still a bit perturbed from her phone conversation with Clarke.

Just as she decided to pull back out of the parking spot and turn back around, Kori knocked on her window and nearly scared her to death. Persha rolled the window down.

"Lawd have mercy! Gurl, whatchu doing out here in this heat?" Kori asked. "You better come in and have a cold rita! We already got a table."

"Oh, and here I thought I was actually early," Persha said.

"Nope! We’re already on round number two. You better hurry."

"I’ll be right in, let me clear my voicemail." She watched as Kori’s thin frame walked back into the building. When she got to the door, her bright pink linen dress almost blended into the building’s wall. Her cornbread colored skin was the only sign that she wasn’t part of the fixture.

Persha had a feeling they’d been talking about her, especially if they were already on the second round. She didn’t look forward to going inside, but against her better judgment, she went and joined them inside at their table anyway.

Like magic, when she sat down at the table, a drink appeared before her. The waitress reached from behind and gave her a straw.

"Do you know what you want?" the waitress asked with a thick accent.

After sipping in silence for a few minutes, Persha looked up. She sighed. "Dang, this is soooo good. Just what I needed." No one else said anything. Persha started feeling the tension, but she wasn’t in the mood. She tried to ignore it. Especially since her nerves were still frayed from the conversation with Clarke.

Cricket looked at Kori and Kori looked at Persha. Neither said anything. Finally Persha’s arched brows inched up.

"Okay, what’s going on?" Persha asked.

"Nothing," Kori said quickly.

"Oh, we opened a tab at the bar, you know to keep the drinks coming," Cricket threw in.

"That’s cool, but what’s the problem. What’s up? What are you two really up to?" Persha’s patience had run out. She didn’t have time for this.

"You’re gonna hate us," Cricket muttered.

Persha sighed, thinking here we go again. "Why exactly am I going to hate y’all?"