Skeletons (15 page)

32

Santana

T
abitha was sitting at her desk talking on the phone as usual when I called her into my office. We were extra careful not to be seen talking to each other too often because I didn’t want to stir up any suspicion that we were fraternizing.

“What’s up?” she smiled; I noticed a pair of diamond earrings sparkling in her ears.

“Close the door behind you.” I said. Tabitha sat in the chair facing my desk, crossing her legs. Although we’d been together just the other night I longed to nestle my head between the soft folds of her thighs. “Did you get my text message?” I asked.

“About the money?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, I got it and I’ll start paying you off next week when I get paid.” She seemed offended.

“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but it is just that money is tight at my house and I don’t want my husband asking questions about where I spent fifteen hundred dollars.”

Rolling her eyes Tabitha flipped her long weave, “I understand; is that all?”

Taken aback by her change in attitude I sat up straight in my chair, “Yes that is all Tab.”

Getting up in a huff Tabitha marched out of my office and didn’t speak to me again for the remainder of the day.

I hit traffic on highway 270 on my way so I called Mike to tell him that I would be late and asked if he could start dinner. I zoned out while listening to Ameil Laurreux sing about being free when my cellphone alerted me of a text message from Tabitha:

I need you

I was in between the exit to Tabitha’s apartment and my own home and I didn’t know which way to go until she sent me another text message this one was a pic of her naked. I text Mike’s number:

Send me something to think about while I wait in traffic

Three minutes later Mike sent me a picture of last month’s Visa bill that I thought I’d carefully hidden and said:

WE NEED TO TALK ASAP!!!

Needless to say, I turned off on Tabitha’s exit.

Tabitha came to the door in nothing more than a smile and the sparkle of the large diamond earrings in her ears. Not hesitating I pressed my lips against hers parting them with my tongue. I was thirsty for her brand of liquor and hungry for her flavor of food. At that moment I wanted Tabitha more than I wanted to go home to my family.

“Slow down baby.” She whispered handing me a blue pill, “Let’s go to the moon.”

I swallowed the tiny pill with a swig of the margarita that she held out for me. “Better yet let’s go to Mars.” I smiled as I slid out of my pea coat not caring about it dropping to the floor behind me.

“Wait I have something for you.” Tabitha teased as she held my hand leading me into the bedroom.

He had to have been made before they broke Adonis’ mold because the naked man that lay in Tabitha’s bed was a God. At first I was taken aback by his presence, but I was quickly taken in by his body.

“Santana this is Corey.” She introduced.

I was speechless as he rose to greet me, his large erect penis leading the way.

“I have heard so much about you.” His voice was deep and sensual as he took my hand.

“Corey will be joining us tonight and I hope that you don’t mind.” She said as she kissed my neck.

The large effects of the tiny pill were beginning to take effect as my entire body began to tingle with every touch that it received from Tabitha and Corey.

At that moment I didn’t care anymore; I didn’t care about the time, I didn’t care about the money, I didn’t care about anything except for what was happening to my body at that very moment. Tabitha and Corey took me around the universe and back again and we chronicled it all with pictures that Tabitha took with her iPhone, but I didn’t care about that either.

Walking into my house at three-thirty in the morning only to find Mike and the kids gone. There was a single note on the refrigerator that read:

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

I was too tired and sore to deal with Mike and his nonsense so I laid the letter on the table and went to the couch where I slept until it was time for work.

Mike didn’t answer any of his calls or texts when I tried reaching him. I tried calling Malik but his phone just went straight to voicemail. It was hard to concentrate at work since I didn’t know where Mike had taken the kids. Calling his parent’s house, his mother answered, “Hello Santana, how are you?”

“Hi mom, I am fine. Have you seen or heard from Mike and the children today?”

“Yes, they stayed the night over here last night. I don’t mean to pry, but is everything alright between you two?”

Breathing a sigh of relief I lied, “Yes mam, we are just having a difference in opinion.”

“Submitting to one another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church and he is the savior of the body.” She quoted from the bible, “All marriages have ups and downs and ins and outs, but remember to seek help from the Lord and everything will work out fine.”

“Thank you mom; take care and I will talk to you soon.”

“I love you.” She said before hanging up.

I was relieved to know that Mike and the children were safe at his parent’s home and that he didn’t run off and do something crazy.

Tabitha text me during lunch with Asteria:

Corey had fun last night

I text back:

Corey was fun last night lol

“What is going on with you today?” Asteria asked after watching me pick at my salad.

“Mike took the kids and stayed over to his parents’ house last night and I’m not sure of how I should feel.”

“You should feel pissed!” she exclaimed.

“I thought that I would be too, but waking up this morning to a quiet, clean house, getting myself ready for work without anyone asking me a million questions I hate to sound mean, but I didn’t miss them.”

Asteria’s eyes widened, “What are you saying?”

“I’m not sure and that is what scares me.”

“Wow girl, I didn’t know that you two were having problems.”

“All marriages have their fair share of issues it is how you handle them that makes a lasting union.” I quoted my own mother.

“Have you talked to him?”

I shook my head no, “He won’t answer my calls or my texts and I emailed him earlier, but still no answer.”

“I am sorry to hear this.”

“Don’t be; I’m going to give him his space for a few days then we will talk.”

“You two have been dealing since high school so if you don’t make it then I will question life itself!” she said.

“I think that is half of the problem Asteria.” I said sadly, “So how are things with you and the mystery man?” I said changing the subject.

Asteria smiled and fluttered her false lashes, “No more mystery man, his name is Eric and things are going great.”

“Wow there is finally a name behind the mystery.”

“Yes it feels good to be treated like a girlfriend.” She laughed.

“Well I am happy for you.”

“Can I ask you a question without being all up in your business?”

“We are friends so you can ask me anything.”

“I noticed that you have been spending a lot of time with Tabitha; what is going on with you and her?”

I was extremely uncomfortable with her question, “What do you mean?”

“I am just saying that you two are totally different so when I saw you together at The Melting Pot I was shocked.”

“She is my co-worker and she is cool that’s all.” I tried to hide the truth, “She is young and impressionable so I’m trying to guide her.”

“What do you really know about her though Santana?”

Thinking about my friend’s question, I really didn’t know anything about her at all.

“I’m not trying to be nosey, but I’m just concerned that since you have been hanging with Tabitha things between you and Mike have gone south. If I were you I’d leave the friendship with Tabitha alone and focus more on my marriage.”

“How do you know that things between Mike and I haven’t already traveled there before Tabitha came into the picture? You really need to stop making half-witted assumptions about someone else’s business and focus on your own lonely life.” I shot clearly offended.

Looking around for the waiter so that I could pay the bill and hightail it out of the restaurant I continued, “What do you know about relationships anyway Asteria, when for the past three years you have been dealing with a man who won’t even acknowledge you in public.”

My friend’s skin turned red and I could see the fire building up inside of her, “How dare you come at me like that Santana! You think that you are high and mighty because you are married and I am not!”

“No I find it rather strange that you have a baby by a man that we have never met before and that you have allowed yourself to be the bottom bitch for over three years yet you think that you can give me advice.” I slammed twenty-five dollars on the table, “How about this, when you stop being a sperm depository for someone else’s husband then you can offer me advise!”

Tears welled up in my best friend’s eyes as she blinked fast trying to keep them from falling, but they made a fast trail down her soft cheeks. I was embarrassed by the scene that I’d just made and how I felt like a fool. Instead of apologizing to my friend I stood up and walked out of the restaurant as fast as my legs could carry me leaving Asteria sitting there with her mouth hanging open.

The house was quiet when I got home from work; Mike and the kids were staying another night with his parents. I no longer cared about salvaging this relationship; I was tired of bending and flexing to meet the needs of other people while my own needs went unmet. After getting out of the shower, I lay across the sectional in the family room and swallowed one of the tiny pills that Tabitha gave me and closed my eyes trying to forget the life that I worked so hard to build, but worked even harder at tearing apart.

33

Asteria

“S
antana is lucky that she is my best friend or I would have mopped the floor with her ass!” I fumed as I paced the floor in my apartment that night. Pandia sat on the couch while our sons play together.

“Calm down Asteria, she is just going through some things right now. Give her some space and time and she will apologize.” She assured me.

“I don’t care what she is going through, that is no reason to treat me like shit!”

Pandia didn’t like cursing around little Keith so she shot me a stern look, “Calm down, you are scaring the boys.”

I plopped down on the couch next to my sister and laid my head on her shoulder.

After a short silence she asked, “Have you ever noticed how much our son’s look like one another?” she said as she watched the boys closely. “See how little Keith has those deep set eyes and long eyelashes now look at Latif, he has the same. Also look at the shape of their nose, exactly the same.”

“Well we are twins Pandia.” I managed through the knot in my throat.

“But little Keith looks nothing like me, he looks exactly like his daddy.”

“Girl please that boy is a spitting image of you and Keith. What are you trying to say that Latif is Keith’s son?” I laughed nervously; I was relieved when her cellphone rang.

“It is Keith.” She rolled her eyes, “Hello?”

I sat and listened while my sister talked on the phone to my ex-lover and her headache. Ordinarily I would have been mad, but today I didn’t care because the more time that I spent with Eric the less time I desired to spend with Keith.

“Girl I have to go Keith is tripping again.” She began packing up their things.

“He has some nerve as much as he stays out at night.” I said as I helped her.

“He has some nerve after what happened with Keisha.”

“Yeah, I’m still in shock over that.”

“Of all people why did he choose that ghetto queen Asteria? Am I not good enough for him?”

“It is not about you Pandia, it is about him. Keith is a selfish son-of-a-bitch who was more concerned about his dick than he is about his marriage. Don’t blame yourself for what he did wrong.”

“I cook for him, I keep a clean house, and I get freaky in the bedroom…”

“Whoa, wait a minute now, I love you girl but I don’t want to hear about your freaky side!” I joked tossing a teddy bear at her.

Pandia laughed, “I’m serious though, what am I doing wrong?”

The hurt in my sister’s eyes spoke volumes to me, while I regretted ever laying eyes on Keith I knew that there was no way I could let her know about us. “Again honey, it is not about you it is about him. He is selfish, you could be the perfect wife, flawless mother and the impeccable lover but it will never be enough for someone who is as egotistical as Keith.”

“Do you think that he will ever change?”

“Eventually, but how long do you have to wait?” I asked. “I know some women who have been waiting on a man to change for over ten, fifteen or maybe even twenty years Pandia. Do you have a decade to wait around on him to change? Is it fair that he gets to run around living the life of a single man while you still live the life of a married woman?”

Pandia was silent for a moment as we gathered her son’s items, “He says that he is stressed at work because of all of the budget cuts, he doesn’t know if he will get enough hours or even have a job when he comes to work then when he comes home he gets stressed by all of the responsibility that I lay on him with the house and little Keith.”

I couldn’t believe the words that were coming from my sister’s mouth, “That is a bunch of bullshit Panida! If he is that stressed then he needs to depend upon his wife for comfort not run to the arms of another woman!”

“I know Asteria, but I want my family to work. We grew up without a father and you know how hard that was on momma.”

Remembering when my father walked out on us for another woman and never visiting or calling us again really hurt me, but seeing how strong mom was throughout made me proud once again. “Yes it was hard on mom, but she kept her self-respect and we turned out perfectly fine. Besides, you will find another man if that is what you are worried about.”

“I don’t want another man; I want the father of my child, my husband, at home. That is what is best for little Keith. Being married is so much more complex than you realize Asteria, but if things with you and Eric keep going as well as they have been I’m sure that you will find out how hard marriage is soon.”

Ignoring her last comment I helped my sister and her son put on their coats, kissed them both goodbye and walked her to my door. I don’t care how complex marriage is, I would never put up with a man cheating on me.

I don’t know why I was surprised when Keith walked in an hour after Pandia and little Keith walked out; I felt him climb into bed with me and our son, kissing me softly on my neck.

“What are you doing here?” I whispered.

“I came to see you, but I had to make sure that she was at home.”

“You need to leave and go home Keith.” I said as I pushed his hand off of my breast.

“Come on now, you have been playing me off for the past week.” Keith pulled my tank top down forcefully, ripping it and exposing my bare breast. I jumped up out of bed.

“Keith leave now; it is over between us! I cannot do this anymore. I cannot live with myself knowing what I am doing to my sister.”

“Here you go with this bullshit again.” He grabbed me by my arm and pulled me to him, “You know that you want this.”

Just then Latif started to stir.

“Leave before you wake Latif up.”

“I guess that mechanic got your nose wide open now.”

“This has nothing to do with Eric, but it has everything to do with me.”

“It is funny how you didn’t give a fuck about me fucking around on your sister, but now you want to act all holy and shit.” Keith fumed, “You better hope that she never finds out about us and the truth about your son.”

Folding my arms across my chest I said, “No you better hope that she never finds out.”

Keith laughed, “I have nothing to worry about because she will never leave me, but you, well you are her sister and she will never forgive you.” Keith yanked my panties down and began toying with my pussy, but I didn’t respond to his touch; that didn’t matter to Keith he took what he came for then left when he was done.

I didn’t move until I heard his truck speed down the street. I knew that Keith would never tell her, but just the thought of what I did made me sick. I couldn’t believe that I was a person who would betray the love and trust between twin sisters for a man. Keith was not worth it and if I could turn back the hands of time I would never have slept with him. How could I have been so stupid thinking that he would ever leave his wife for me when deep down I knew that Keith had no intentions on leaving her? I was the selfish one, constantly feeling as if Pandia and I were in some sort of competition when we weren’t. The tears stung when they ran down my face, because of my own insecurities I hurt my sister, and ruining her family and now I have to deal with the reality that I may have to raise Latif without his father and spend the rest of my life without my sister.