Loose Ends (19 page)
Authors: Electa Rome Parks
“I remember those days well. I used to look forward to my summers. Sometimes I would take classes at Georgia State to keep abreast of things, but most of the time I played homemaker, wife and referee. Brice and Christian were always up to something or another.” Her eyes glazed over and she laughed at the memory.
“Moms, me and Christian weren’t that bad!”
“Yeah, right, my memory hasn’t left yet. Y’all were always into some mess, usually involving some girl or girls.”
Kree and Mia just looked at each other knowingly and smiled. Actually, it was one of the first genuine smiles I’d seen Kree direct at Mia. I don’t know what Moms talked to them about earlier in the kitchen, but it had made an impact. The ice-princess persona Kree directed toward Mia was slowly but surely melting. I saw Mia catch my eye and look quickly down into her lap.
“Moms, you’re right, Brice was always dragging me into some scheme or another. I was always an innocent bystander who got caught up and sucked in. I’d end up taking the fall with him.”
“Yeah, right. Tell that lie to someone who believes you.”
Everybody laughed at that because they knew better. Needless to say, Christian’s and my reputations preceded us in the local community. Older men and women in the neighborhood still remembered and told tales about our adventures—or should I say misadventures.
“Kree, if you have some free time some evenings or weekends, I’ll be happy to show you around to some of the stores where there are some good buys.” Mia reached for the flowered bowl of fried corn.
“Okay. Sure. Brice is not big on shopping, so he is no help. Cool. I’ll let you know.”
“Girl, let me tell you. There’s a T.J.Maxx over on Industrial Boulevard that has some great buys. New inventory comes in on Wednesdays. Great deals, gorgeous stuff and designer labels.”
From that point on, the conversation flowed freely, and second helpings and dessert were consumed without hesitation. By the time Moms brought out coffee, we were all sitting around like stuffed pigs, too full to move. All I could think of was chillin’ on the sofa for a good hour or two. However, I was too lazy to move. Christian was reclining back like it would take a miracle to pry him out of his chair as well.
The women started to clear the table and help Moms wash and put up the dishes. She wouldn’t let them wash the dishes by themselves. Moms claimed she knew where everything went, so she might as well help. After Christian checked on Lyric and brought her downstairs with him, her tiny arms wrapped around his neck, we chilled in the living room, watching some Clint Eastwood Western on TV. I should say that Christian was watching it. I was getting my nap on more than anything else. Ten minutes later, I was in full sleep mode.
Kree
Mia and I had gotten the kitchen back in order, with the dishes washed and dried, the leftovers securely covered in aluminum foil on top of the stove, and the floor swept clean. Mama Vivica kept a neat, spotless kitchen. She had finally retired upstairs with a plate for her husband. She was going to try to see if she could get him to eat something.
Even though Mama Vivica is retired, I don’t know how she does everything she does around that household. The lady, at her age, is a bundle of pure energy. Never sitting down to relax, always going, going, going, and, according to Brice, his Pops was taking more and more time and energy to take care of. This concerns him because he didn’t want his moms to become a prisoner in her own home. It’s obvious that Mama Vivica loves her husband and will do whatever it takes to make him comfortable.
Mama Vivica gave Mia and me strict orders to relax, sit down, rest and mostly talk. She wanted us to
talk
. She had already filled Tupperware bowls with food for us to take home for Monday’s meal and probably enough for Tuesday’s as well.
talk
. She had already filled Tupperware bowls with food for us to take home for Monday’s meal and probably enough for Tuesday’s as well.
When Mia and I walked into the living room, the first thing we saw was Brice knocked out on the sofa. He had the nerve to be slightly snoring. Christian was dozing on the love seat with his head bobbing back and forth and his mouth slightly open. Lyric was the only one up and about, with the remote in her tiny hand, channel surfing. We laughed at our so-called big, strong men knocked out for the count. I know my husband. Good food and good sex always put him to sleep.
Mia and I decided not to wake them and let them rest, because they both have been working really hard the last few weeks. Our men are good providers! Mia picked up Lyric, whose tiny hands were already outstretched for her mommy, and we went back into the kitchen for another cup of coffee and a snack for Lyric. While Lyric ate a little bit of our previous meal, Mia and I got acquainted.
I’m not going to lie and say I instantly liked her, but I will say that I allowed myself the opportunity to get to know her better. Yes, it was tense at first. I realized I had treated her like nothing because I had all these preconceived notions about her.
Mia didn’t appear to be the woman who was going to steal my man, as Mother would have me believe. In fact, Mia’s a lot like me. Yeah, as much as I hate to admit it, we are a lot alike in many ways. A black woman trying to make it in this world of ours. Loving our men too much. Compromising to meet their needs and keep them happy. Juggling families and careers. Struggling to keep our identities intact and giving, giving, giving. Sometimes to everybody but ourselves.
So Mia and I sat there with cups of black coffee between us and reintroduced ourselves to each other. We found out we have more in common than not. One major similarity is our love of Denzel Washington. We both have undying love and devotion to this god-like man. We agreed we’d leave our husbands for him and never look back. When Mia informed me that there was a Denzel Washington marathon at a movie theater across town, we both agreed that we simply had to go. By the time we woke up our husbands, it was a done deal!
Mia
Vivica’s little talk worked wonders. When I first walked in her house, I instantly felt uncomfortable and out of place. I felt I had made a terrible mistake by dropping in, and then when Kree treated me so coldly, as usual, I was certain it was a mistake—major. Vivica knew all my dirty laundry with Brice, and I felt ashamed even though he was the one beating
my
ass. Brice treated me like nothing and I treated him like everything.
my
ass. Brice treated me like nothing and I treated him like everything.
Years earlier, when Brice and I were still married, an incident happened at Vivica’s house in the guest bedroom upstairs. Vivica walked in on Brice beating my ass over some trivial stuff. Let me see . . . Oh, yeah, Brice didn’t like what I was wearing that day. He had straddled me on the bed and I was crying my eyes out, begging him to leave me alone. He was beating the shit out of me with his fist, and Vivica had to pull him off of me. I had a black eye, bruises and not an ounce of dignity left to show for it.
That was the evening Vivica confessed to me that her husband, Brice’s father, had beaten her, and Brice had grown up exposed to that. I felt a closeness to her. She has always been nice and sweet to me; Vivica is just that type of person. But that evening, I felt a bond, a oneness. Like we belonged to a secret sorority or something. The Battered, Beaten, and Bruised Club.
After my divorce from Brice, I guess I divorced the entire family. It was easier that way. I hadn’t talked to or seen Vivica since. Today, it all came flashing back, hitting me in the face when I stepped through her front door. Not much had changed about the house, and standing and grinning right in my face was
him.
him.
Vivica must have sensed my discomfort, because when I came downstairs after checking on Lyric, she called me into the kitchen to chat. I slowly walked in and had a seat at the table. Kree immediately made up some half-assed lie and excused herself to another room. I couldn’t stand her ass.
“Don’t mind Kree. You know she’s intimidated by you. You scare her,” Vivica said matter-of-factly, with a shrug.
“No, I don’t know what her problem is. Kree doesn’t say two words to me at one time. I haven’t done anything to her.” Anger was in my tone.
“Yes, you have. You were married to her husband. A husband that she adores.”
“Believe me, she can have that shit,” I barked before I thought about Vivica being the shit’s mother.
“I’m sorry, Vivica,” I said sincerely.
“Baby, I know this is hard for you and it’s just as hard for Kree. Understand, you are both making huge sacrifices for your men’s happiness. That’s very admirable.”
I nodded in agreement and thought about what Vivica was saying. It was true.
“Mia, I never forgot you over the years. In fact, I thought about you often. I had come to love you like a daughter, and you were the first woman that my son truly loved. I would often ask people who knew your family about you. I knew exactly when you and Christian had that baby. I even stopped by the hospital to see her in the nursery.”
“Did you?” I asked in amazement.
“Yes, baby, I did. Mia, I never condoned what my son did to you, and I regret to this day that I didn’t speak up and tell you to get out before it was too late. Love doesn’t conquer all! I was living your life every day with his father, so I guess I wasn’t in the right frame of mind myself to dish out any advice.”
“Vivica, I never blamed you for what your son did to me. That was his choice.”
“I know that, baby. I just wish I could have done more. I wish I could have been brave enough to tell you to leave him, but I wasn’t even brave enough to do the same thing myself with Brice’s father.”
We stared at each other for a few precious minutes. Vivica looked down and wiped her hands on the blue-and-yellow dish cloth with pictures of ducks tucked in her apron.
“I don’t know how much that child in there knows about all this. Knowing my son, she probably doesn’t know much of anything. My son tends to keep his women in the dark. However, I know she loves him just like you did.”
“I did love him.”
“I know you did, baby.”
“But now I’m in love with Christian so much. Christian is my lifeline.” A huge smiled crossed my face.
“I know. And like I told Christian, I’m happy for you. You and he both deserve happiness in your life. That man in there has gone through so much in his lifetime. Losing his brother and his mother. Never knowing his father. I was so pleased that Christian found you. I sincerely mean that.”
“Thank you. You don’t know how much that means coming from you.” I stood to give her a hug.
“I pray every day that my son has changed, that he has learned from his mistakes with you. I pray for that each and every day. Brice has a second chance at happiness with Kree. Do you realize how rare it is to find true love twice in a lifetime?”
At that moment, Kree strutted back through the kitchen without a backward glance.
“Kree, come here, child,” Vivica said. “Sit down.”
Kree looked from Vivica to me and back to Vivica with bewilderment on her face.
“Kree, I know this is hard for you, this entire, uh, situation you ladies have placed yourselves in. However, you and Mia are going to work out your differences today.”
“Vivica!” I shouted in shock.
“No, I mean it. You and she could be blood sisters, you look so much alike, and I’m not going to have it. You both have more in common than you think. Walking around each other not speaking. Well, I’m not having it. Life is too short to waste it on negativity. You both made this compromise for your husbands. Well, look around. They’re happy as larks and they’re going to be together come hell or high water. They have that bond.”
There was complete silence. I was looking down at the light blue tiled floor like it held the secret to life, while Kree was chewing on her thumbnail. Vivica continued.
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