Layover (10 page)

“So, do you think there is something still there?” He asked me.

“Yes, it’s called sex. But, it can’t solve our problems.”

“It’s a start,” he told me.

“Kenny, there is much work to be done. However, I am willing to go to counseling.”

“Counseling? Black folks don’t go to counseling. You can forget that. I ain’t going to a counselor so they can make you confess to anything you’ve done wrong, then blame all your problems on your parents.”  

That’s when I got up. I knew I was still talking to the same idiot I woke up next to this morning. This was probably a setup so he can get some booty. He probably had not intention or interest in working on our relationship.

“Ny, I’m sorry. Look, let’s talk about this when we get back to Birmingham. I can’t think about this while we’re here. Let’s just enjoy our vacation and talk about our marriage when we get home”.

I agreed to that. I went into the bathroom and got in the shower. As the hot water beat down on my body, I thought about how my life would be different if I were married to Allen. I was sure Allen wasn’t perfect. I saw a lot of his flaws in Denver, but he had one quality that separated him from Kenny - He thought the world of me. Not just the way I look, but everything. He thought I was Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman, and Halle Berry all rolled into one. As long as he thought that, there was nothing we couldn’t do together.

After we both showered and got dressed, we got ready to go.

“Are you sure you don’t want to spend the night?” He asked.

“I’m sure,” I told him.

He drove back to his mother’s house. When we walked in, his mother was sitting in her favorite chair. She looked like she was going to beat him.

“Boy, don’t you ever talk to your brother like that again! You hear me?”

“Yes, momma. Where is he? I want to apologize.”

“He’s gone with his family.”

My stomach got weak. What did she mean he was gone with his family? What was he doing with
them
? He’s supposed to be sitting there wondering where I was. Now he’s off somewhere acting like he loves his wife or something. Look at me with my nerve. I just got finished fucking my husband’s brains out.

“Where did you all go?” She asked me.

“To the casino,” I told her.

Kenny sat around for a while until it began to get dark. He soon announced that he was going out with the fellas tonight. It wasn’t like we expected anything else.

“We’re going to drive to New Orleans and hang out,” He said proudly.

“Boy, you’re going to drive several hours there and several hours back, probably drunk both ways? You better be careful,” She warned him.

“Momma, I will,” He assured her.

He went back into the room and change clothes. I sat and talked with his mother a while until Denise came over. She had brought a movie for us to watch. I don’t know the name of it but it may as well have been called,
Black Men Ain’t Worth a Damn
, because that is what the movie was about. I watched it because I didn’t feel like going to my room and sitting alone. We watched it until Allen and Lisa returned with the baby. Soon, we were all playing with Andy and the movie just played in the background. I felt a little empty because Lisa had a baby and I didn’t. I guess I felt she had the life I wanted. She made all the money, she had the great husband and the beautiful child. It’s funny how we spend our life trying to get what others have and we never realize that they want our life just as much as we want theirs. For example, Allen spends his time resenting Kenny because he has the looks, the carefree attitude, the gorgeous wife, and little responsibility. Kenny covets Allen’s money, home, vehicles and level-headedness. We should all spend more time being thankful for what we have and less time trying to get what we think we want based on how appealing it looks in the hands of other people.

“Lisa, how’s work?” I asked her, dying to say something, but not sure what.

“Actually, I’m thinking of taking a few years off. I haven’t been feeling well lately and my doctor wants me to rest.”

Oh, no this bitch didn’t! If she takes off for two years and Allen leaves her, he’s going to have to pay Alimony! She thinks she’s slick. She’s got the game on lock!

“Oh, what’s the matter?” I asked, pretending to care.

“My legs have been bothering me,” She explained.

Maybe it’s from carrying around all that excess ass! Let me stop. I’m being ugly. I should be more sympathetic but I really don’t feel that way.

“Well, I’ll keep you in my prayers,” I told her.

“Are you going to the little hole-in-wall club tonight with Allen and Denise?” She asked me.

“No, that’s not really my scene,” I assured her.

“Yeh, lil’ White girl can’t dance anyway,” Denise teased me.

Denise loved to party. She was like a female version of Kenny. I couldn’t figure out why Allen agreed to go to the club with her because he wasn’t much of a clubber either. Still, I was a little relieved that I didn’t have to sit up in his face all night while his wife was here.

Soon, everyone was gone except me, Lisa, mom, and Andy. We sat around and watched The Wheel of Fortune and other shows like it. Before long, there was a knock at the door. We all looked at each other because most people just walk right in without knocking. Since my mother-in-law was old, Lisa was half-crippled, and Andy was a baby, I was the obvious candidate to get up and open the door. When I opened it, I was stunned. I felt like I was looking in one of those funny mirrors at the circus, the one that makes you look shorter and fatter.

“Is Allen here,” the lady asked.

“No, he’s not,” I answered matter-of-factly.

She acted as if she didn’t want to leave. She stood there as if she had more questions.

“Are you his wife?” She asked me.

“No, I’m not,” I state plainly, not giving more information than was asked.

She continued to stand there. Lisa and mom’s attention turned from The Wheel to what was happening at the front door.

“We’ll is his mother here?” She pressed on.

“Yes.”

I decided at that moment that she wasn’t going to leave so I let her in. She seemed harmless enough and in the worst case, I could probably whip her ass.

“Hey, my baby,” Allen’s mom greeted the lady. They hugged and the lady sat down next to Lisa.

“How are you feeling, Mrs. Reilly,” she asked my mother-in-law.

“Fine. How about you? You look like you’ve been eating,” She told the lady.

“That and having babies,” the lady confessed.

Lisa was looking very coldly at the lady and I sensed that Lisa knew who she was.

 “Is that Allen’s little boy?” She asked.

“Yes,” my mother-in-law answered.

“Yes, and I’m his wife,” Lisa finally chimed in.

“You?” The lady asked, surprised.

“Yeh,” Lisa answered defensively, “Who are you?”

“Allen and I used to go together when we were little,” the lady bragged.

“That must have been some time ago,” Lisa cracked.

“What are you trying to say?” The lady asked.

“I’m just saying, neither of you are so little anymore,” Lisa continued.

The lady became defensive. Lisa was getting some good ones in on her and I don’t think she could handle it.

“Well, all I need to do is lose a little weight. You, on the other hand...”

I jumped up. I wasn’t about to let this has-been ‘ho talk to my sister-in-law like she was crazy.

“Hold up, thickness,” I told her, “You need to get the hell on before you get your ass kicked - all of it!”

She quickly got up and headed for the door.

“Just tell Allen that Akina came by.”

“I’m not telling him anything. That man doesn’t want to see you. He has a wife and a son,” I told her.

“Maybe he will want to see his daughter,” she taunted.

Lisa got up and walked near the door where Akina was standing.

“His what?” Lisa asked her.

“Just tell him he has a ten year-old daughter,” she said proudly and turned to walk out the door.

I got very angry. I was about to kick her ass. How dare she bring her fat ass up in here and try to wreck Allen’s home. That was my job. This wasn’t even about my feelings anymore. This was about respect and she showed none by coming up in here like that.

 “Allen doesn’t have a ten year-old daughter. You probably don’t know who the fathers are of any of your little bastard children! You better take your fat ass away from here before I put my foot up in it. If you want to claim Allen is the father of one of your little rogues, do it through the court of law, because if you come back here, they’re gonna’ take your ass away in a fucking bag.”

I slammed the door in her face. I was very angry and Lisa looked quite hurt. I was glad my mother-in-law had taken Andy to the back room. I would never want him to see me like that. I haven’t acted that way in a long time, but then, I have never had anyone close to me so utterly disrespected as what she just did to our family. It had nothing to do with the way I feel about Allen, I was standing up for our family and not letting low-life trash like that bring poison into it. Look at me, I’ve got my nerve. What I’ve been contemplating for weeks would be just as devastating, if not more so. The fact that I’m even considering leaving my husband for his brother, is a testament that I may be just as uncouth as the tramp I just threw out of the house.

Lisa sat down on the couch and placed her face inside her hands. I felt she was going to cry.

“Lisa, don’t let that bitch come up in here and upset you. She’s just mad because she fucked up her life so now she’s trying to ruin everyone else’s.”

“I don’t know, Ny. But it was around that time that she and Allen were dating,” Lisa told me.

“And so what? How many other guys was she sleeping with? Why is she just now saying something after 10 years? Maybe the other dude she told he was the father found out he wasn’t and now she needs someone else to blame. Come on, Lis, 10 years? That bitch found out how well Allen is doing and now she wants a piece of the pie!”

“Yeh, but what if it’s true?”

“Lis, come on. You know Allen was probably using protection. He’s very responsible. He wouldn’t put himself in a position like that. Anyway, he probably knew she was a trick. I mean, why did they break up anyway?”

“She cheated on him,” Lisa confided.

“See, that just goes to show you right there she was a slut. Whoever she cheated with is probably the daddy of that baby and he is probably long gone. She probably can’t find his ass, but she always knows how to get in contact with Allen. He’s the obvious choice.”

“All that’s true, but Allen was very much in love with her,” Lisa went on.

“
Was
in love with her. I promise you he doesn’t want her fat ass now, with all those damn children!”

“Yeh, you’re probably right. Thanks, Ny. You’re a real friend.”

I felt like a heel. Here this girl is telling me I’m her friend and I’m trying to get her man for myself. I am such a bumb! Still, I had to be strong for her, so I hugged her.

“How are we going to find out if she’s telling the truth?” Lisa asked

“Well, she probably won’t even try it now, but if she does, a DNA test will positively exclude Allen from being the father. Look, Lis, I wouldn’t say anything to Allen about this. It will just cause unneeded tension and stress. Besides, I doubt that bitch will ever show her face around here again.”

“You’re right, Ny. I’m glad you were here. I probably would have sat down with her and let her tell me all kinds of ugly things,” Lisa told me.

“Lis, don’t ever let anyone tell you anything bad about your man. There are some scandalous ‘hos out there.”

I must be talking about myself.

“Well, I’ve had all the excitement I can handle for one day, I’m going to bed.”

Lisa got up and went to her room. I knew she felt better after I talked to her, but I could also tell she was still concerned. But, if she was going to leave Allen, why did she care so much? Maybe she really wasn’t ready to let go.

I sat in the living room alone for several minutes. Soon my mother-in-law returned. She had put Andy to sleep and had come back to lay in her usual spot on the couch. We didn’t say anything for a while. Then, suddenly, as if she couldn’t hold her tongue anymore, she blurted out,

“That might be that boy’s baby.”

“Mom! Why would you say that?”

“I’ve seen that little gal. She definitely has some Reilly features.”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

“No, but it’s an indication,” she insisted.

“You must know more than you’re saying,” I pressed.

“No. People around here have been saying for years that baby looks like us. But since that military boy married that girl and took her overseas, everyone just let it go.”

“But why now, mom? Why would she come with this now?”