Skeletons (20 page)

41

Santana

A
steria and I walked into the hospital together as our men followed. Our strides were strong yet filled with worry as this was the second time our friend was attacked this month and we wondered what was going on.

I cried into Mikes arms as Asteria asked about Jovanna and Keith as mad as I was at her I wouldn’t allow our argument keep us from being there for one another. We waited around for an hour until Jovanna walked out the grimace on her face told us that she was in a lot of pain. She embraced me then pulled Asteria in as we stood holding one another in silence just as friends are supposed to do.

“How is Justin?” I asked.

“The doctors said that the knife missed any vital organs and that he should be fine.”

“What is going on Jovanna, this is the third time that you were attacked?” I asked.

Jovanna cried, “I can’t talk to you about it right now, please give me some time.”

“There shouldn’t be secrets between friends.” I reminded her.

“I know Santana, but if you would allow me some time…”

“Take your time; go tend to your man.” Asteria looked at me sternly, her eyes begging me to let up on her friend.

“I feel like my life is in shambles.”

Mike came up and hugged Jovanna, “Let’s pray for healing and clarity.”

Holding hands and interlocking our fingers we all bowed our heads as Mike lead us in prayer and at that moment, with the amount of compassion that my husband extended towards my best friend, I knew that I’d made a huge mistake and I wanted him back in my life forever.

We left the hospital and drove back to our home where Mike and I first tore each other’s clothes off as we fucked on the living room couch, then we showered together with him taking me from behind in the shower, finally ending in our marital bed where we made passionate love falling asleep holding each other.

The following day at work I didn’t say anything to Tabitha, but she held a smile on her face the entire day. I wonder if she tried using my credit card again because I put a fraud alert on it so if she did the purchase would decline and the authorities would be notified. That afternoon I was called into Mr. Gold’s office for an urgent meeting. I didn’t know what was going on, but as I walked out of my office I saw Tabitha passing me with tears in her eyes.

When I got into the large corner office, there sat Mr. Gold, Niles Bergenstein, Mr. Gold’s Vice President and Julie.

“Santana, please close the door behind you and have a seat.” Mr. Gold said sternly.

I did as I was told taking seat in the large leather chair identical to the one that Julie was seated in to my right.

“A very serious matter has been brought to my attention.” He continued, “You know that fraternizing between members of my management team and their employees is strictly prohibited.”

“Yes, Mr. Gold I understand that clearly.”

“With that being said, what is your relationship with Tabitha?”

“She is my assistant.”

“No, what is your personal relationship with her?” Mr. Bergenstein asked.

“We don’t have a personal relationship Mr. Bergenstein as I stated before she is my assistant.”

“According to Ms. Grey, you two have a very close personal relationship so close that you granted her access your corporate credit card where she made several expensive purchases.” He said holding up a copy of the credit card bill.

I shifted in my seat.

“What is the nature of the relationship between you and Ms. Gray?” Mr. Gold asked again.

“She is a friend.” I whispered.

“According to Ms. Grey the two of you are involved in a sexual relationship. Is that correct?”

I was too embarrassed to answer.

“According to Ms. Grey, you paid for her companionship through dinners, shopping, hotels and monetary gifts. She informed us that you paid her car note three months in advance.”

“Tabitha was a friend in need and I helped her out.”

“Were you involved with her sexually?” Julie asked.

“I don’t feel the need to answer that question which is my personal business that has nothing to do with this company.” I looked at Julie as if she’d lost her mind; despite her Executive Secretary title she was merely an assistant and I still out-ranked her.

Mr. Gold removed his Foster Grant bifocals, “It becomes the business of my company when it affects your work and it has affected our finances due to the fact that she has had access to your credit card to make personal purchases at your behest.”

“I inadvertently handed it to her and I’ve asked for it back, but she refuses.”

“Why didn’t you come to me about this, if this is truly what happened?”

“I was ashamed.” I answered.

Mr. Gold sighed deeply, “You are a good employee, but I cannot go against company policy so I have no choice, but to displace you from employment within our company.”

My mouth fell open, “Mr. Gold, I’ve been with you for over ten years!”

“I know and that is what hurts the most, but if I look the other way for you then I’d have to do it for others and I simply cannot do that. I am sorry Santana.” Mr. Gold stood, Mr. Bergenstein and Julie followed.

“Please have your office cleaned out by the end of the day.” Mr. Bergenstein put. “It was nice working with you.”

Fighting back tears I walked back to my office only to find Tabitha sitting at her desk with that same smug expression written on her face. I walked over to her reached my hand back and landed it across her face. Tabitha fell backwards with her head landing in the black, standard issue office trash can.

“You knew what you were doing all along!” I yelled. “I should’ve followed my gut and never befriended a scandalous bitch such as you!”

“I didn’t force you to do anything.” Tabitha said as she stood up and straightens her outfit. “You entered into this by your own free will. You were lonely, you were under sexed and desperate. I gave you what you wanted and I don’t recall forcing you to do anything!”

We held the attention of the entire office and security was on their way.

“Tabitha, I feel sorry for you. You seek people out in their time of need and you use them until they catch on to your deceitful little games then you try to ruin them.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about Santana! I was your friend, I can’t help that you have homosexual tendencies that you don’t even understand for yourself. I cannot help that you needed to use drugs in order to cope with going home to your husband and children at the end of the day.”

“Fuck you!” I lunged at her once again, but the husky security officer grabbed my arm and pushed me back.

“It’s time to go.” He said.

“I need to get my purse out of my office first.” I huffed. I couldn’t believe that I allowed myself to lose my cool like that.

I grabbed my purse, coat, pictures of the Mike and the kids and my degree off of the wall and walked out of the office with my head held high. Tabitha sat in her chair with alligator tears running down her face as she played the victim as the entire office was held captive by her performance.

Take a bow.

What was I going to tell Mike? I thought as I drove home in a mad fury. Mike and I discussed him and the children moving back home while we worked on our issues through Christian marital counseling with a Pastor that his father recommended. As I parked my van my cellphone alerted me to a new multimedia message. I opened it, my eyes widened and I suddenly felt sick.

“How do I taste baby?” Tabitha’s voice came across and the jittery camera panned to me licking my lips with her juices fresh around my mouth.

“You taste like butterscotch.” I moaned.

“Do I taste better than your husband?”

“Who?”

“Mike, do I taste better than Mike?” she asked in a drunken laughter.

“Mike who?” I smiled as I buried my face back between her thighs.

Tears escaped my eyes as I watched how starved I looked.

I looked up as Mike was watching the same video on his own phone as he too cried tears of a marriage pushed to the edge and could not be saved.

Mike removed most of his things from our house. That night as I sat alone in my bedroom crying because of the deceit that I locked in my closet I lost not only my job, but also my dignity, respect and most importantly I lost my family.

42

Asteria

M
y insides hurt as I drove home from the hotel that night and now sitting here in the hospital waiting on the news about Justin, I felt as if I needed to be admitted into one of the hospital beds in the psych ward. I couldn’t believe that Pandia knew about Keith and I. The only thing that I could do was cry.

“Hey baby are you alright?” Eric asked as we drove home from the hospital in silence.

“My stomach hurts just a little.”

“When we get to your house I will make you some tea to settle your bowels.” He offered.

“No, Eric I think that it would be best if you just dropped me off at home and you went to your own house.”

“Wow.” He breathed, “I didn’t see that one coming.”

“I’m sorry it’s just that I am so tired and I have a lot on my plate so I want to be alone tonight.” I softened my tone and rubbed his back.

“If you say so.” He said picking up speed in the car.

Once inside of my house I asked the babysitter to stay while I took a hot shower. I felt numb and alone with no one knowing my secret; I had no one to talk to. I thought that I was done crying myself to sleep when I ended things with Keith.

I felt like a moving target the following morning when I walked into the salon. All eyes were on me. Pandia was sitting in her chair smoking a cigarette and drinking out of a bottle of Citron Patron.

“Well, well, well look at what the cat drug in.” she slurred, “My twin sister Asteria. You guys know one thing about twins is that we can tell when the other one is in pain? Yeah, that is the truth; I remember when we were twelve and Asteria was in The Girl Scouts when she broke her arm I felt that shit before I even knew that she was hurt.”

“She has been like this all morning.” Aaron whispered to me, “What is going on Asteria?”

Pandia stepped up to me and pointed in my chest, “See sister, my pain is your pain and your pain is mine.”

Londyn tried to take the bottle from Pandia, but she pulled away. “Don’t touch me Londyn! I love you like a sister, but you could never truly be my sister.”

“Come on Pandia, let’s go inside of my office and talk about this.” I offered, but she went on.

“Do you know why you could never be my sister Londyn?” she slurred.

“Why?” Londyn asked clearly irritated.

“Because you are too good of a person and you have morals, respect oh and you would never fuck my husband.” She took a swig from the bottle in her hand.

My head dropped low as everyone in the salon looked at me in shock.

“What is she talking about Asteria?” Londyn asked.

“Pandia, please let’s talk about this in private. Please don’t do this here.”

“We shared a womb for nine months and apparently we also were sharing a man for the past three years.”

Londyn looked at me with disgust, “Is this true Asteria? Were you sleeping with Keith?”

Tears rolled from my eyes and hit the black ceramic tiled floor, “Yes.”

Aaron’s hands clasped over his mouth, “Oh my God.”

“Asteria how could you?” Londyn asked as she moved away from me. “That is your sister.”

Pandia took a long swig of the bitter tasting liquor and garbled, “But that is not all! Do you want to tell them the good part or should I?”

I was silent.

“My son has a brother and his name is Latif. Our sons are not only cousins, but also brothers. Now ain’t that some shit!”

“What!” Aaron exclaimed, “Now this is too much!”

“The thing is I can’t even blame you Asteria, because you have some serious mommy issues. You always felt as if mom didn’t love you as much as she loved me no matter how much you over achieved and tried to outshine me.” Pandia poked me in my forehead forcing my head back, exposing the flood of tears that were streaming down my face. “Truthfully mommy loved you very much. She was proud of you for all that you accomplished, but she knew that you were the strong one out of us. She knew that you would make it, but she was unsure about me; that is why she rushed me into marrying Keith because she felt that I needed a man to take care of me.” She laughed the laugh of madness and pain.

There I stood, exposed with nothing to say.

“Keith doesn’t want you. He will never leave me. I curse the day that you were born.” Pandia said with her nose against my nose, the scent of cigarettes and alcohol escaping her breath, attacking my nostrils.

Pandia grabbed her coat and stormed out of the salon.

“She can’t drive home like that!” Aaron said as he grabbed his own coat and ran after Pandia.

I looked at Londyn who held up her hand and said, “I don’t even have words for you. I have a client in fifteen minutes.”

Feeling like a fool I walked to my office where I stayed for the duration of the day.

Eric came over later that evening even though I’d been ignoring his calls and texts. He wanted to know what was going on and why I was acting shady towards him. I curled up on the couch with a blanket thrown over me while Latif was in his room playing. I couldn’t hold it in any longer, I had to tell someone the truth.

“I am not who you think I am Eric.” I said with tears in my eyes, “I am a horrible person.”

Puzzled, Eric asked “What do you mean?”

“I never meant for any of this to happen, but I never tried to stop it either.”

“Asteria, what is going on?”

“I have been sleeping with my sister’s husband for the past three years and Latif is his son.” I admitted, as bad as I felt it was also a relief to finally say it out loud to someone.

Eric looked at me in disbelief then put his face in his greasy hands.

“You can hate me now; everyone else does.”

He remained silent for a few moments then looked me deep in my eyes and said, “I don’t hate you. Does your sister know about this?”

“Yes, she recently found out. I never meant to hurt her.”

“This is deep Asteria. Are you still seeing him?”

“No I ended it shortly before meeting you; I just couldn’t do it any longer.”

“What is your sister saying?”

“Well, she cursed me out at the salon this morning so basically she hates me.”

“I doubt that she hates you, she is just angry as she should be. You deceived her, she is hurt.”

I rose from the couch and yelled, “What do you want me to do!”

“Show some compassion Asteria!”

“She has always had it all; she had the grades, she had the looks and she mom’s love!” I cried, “All I wanted was to have the love that she had, but he didn’t love me, he just used me.”

“You allowed yourself to be used!” he yelled back, startling me, “So now what?” Eric stood in my face.

“I don’t know Eric. She is hurting so bad, but I’m hurting too.”

“Tell her.” He suggested.

“I can’t, she won’t answer her phone.”

“Then go where she is and tell her until she listens.” Eric wrapped his arms around me, “That is your sister, your twin and you two share a bond that is unlike any other. You need one another; don’t let this ruin your bond.”

“You can leave if you want, I will understand.” I cried.

Eric looked confused, “Why would I leave you?”

“Because I am a terrible person; what type of person fucks her own sister’s husband?”

“The kind of person who needs a love of her own.” He kissed me passionately. “I guarantee you that you will never sleep with him again.”

As bad as I felt, Eric had a way of making me feel really good about myself; I knew that I would have to speak to Pandia sooner or later and I wanted the support of my girls, Santana and Jovanna to back me up.