Brothers and Wives (26 page)

“She said that?”

“Yes. She was telling me things I never thought I’d hear. It seemed like your girl had been sipping on something real strong,” LaNecia sputters, making up things as she goes along.

“Damn, that sounds just like her. When she drinks too much, all her true feelings come out. What else did she say?”

“You know how men have that last fling before they get married? Yep, mmm hmmm. That’s exactly what she’s hoping to have with you, Neil.”

Neil scratches his head and stares into space.

“You don’t have time to think about this, Neil. I know you still care about this woman. Anyway, the main point is she knows I was coming over here today. She wanted me to tell you that she’s waiting for you at the Westchase Marriott. Right now!”

“S–she did?”

“Yes, the least you could do is drive on over and meet her.”

“Where’s Anya?”

“She’s gone. Reese is upstairs playing with Brax. And Vette is taking a nap,” LaNecia claims without knowing if it’s all true. “So go see what she wants.”

“But why meet at a hotel? That doesn’t sound right.”

“I already told you. She can’t let you meet her at her crib for obvious reasons. That’s why she picked a fancy hotel. And she said she’ll be wearing this red see-through lingerie from Frederick’s of Hollywood.”

“She actually told you that?” Neil asks sounding skeptical.

“Hurry, you’re running out of time. Now here are your keys. Go on!”

The minute Neil leaves his house, LaNecia places a call to the reservations desk at the Marriott to confirm that they’re still holding a room under the name of Danielle Frazier. Once she knows the room is ready, and the rest of her plans seem to be in motion, she heads out the front door and unlocks the door to her car. She feels in her pocket for Neil’s cell phone and, satisfied, she speeds away.

She sends another text to Dani. “R u there yet?”

“Almost. Where r u?”

“We’ll be together soon.”

LaNecia breaks the speed limit to get to the Marriott. Before she gets out of the car she slips her digital camera in her purse and turns it on. LaNecia opens the door and tries to walk at a normal pace inside the hotel so as to not draw attention. The spacious, well-lit lobby is crammed with guests loitering and talking. She continues walking slowly until she spots Dani, who’s headed toward the reservations desk. LaNecia tries to remain hidden so she can watch what’s going on.

Several minutes pass before Dani is helped at the front desk. LaNecia moves in closer and presses the camera’s record button the moment she witnesses the reservationist present Dani with a large, gift-wrapped box. She knows that once Ugmo opens the gift and sees the Frederick’s of Hollywood
nightie, that she’ll be convinced Neil indeed still wants her. And LaNecia prays Dani still wants Neil. And she’ll capture the whole thing on camera.
Sure, Scottie will get hurt, but then he’ll get it. A hurt man always runs into the arms of another woman. I have to make sure and be there for him when he needs me
.

“This plan better work,” LaNecia says to herself. “I spent all my extra salary trying to pull this off.”

Dani accepts the package from the reservationist, moves away from the front desk, and rips open the box right in the lobby. She holds the garment in her hand. Then Neil walks up to her. LaNecia’s glad they’re so occupied with each other that they don’t notice her listening in while she tries to stay undetected.

“I’m not sure I’m feeling this at all, Neil. What do you think you’re doing?”

“What are you talking about? I’m here because you wanted me to meet you!”

Dani gives Neil a perplexed look.

“I told you, if you ever have second thoughts to let me know. I thought this was your way of asking me to rescue you, before you make a mistake.”

“Neil, don’t lie to me. Did you set this up to confuse me? You just can’t stand to see me happy, can you?”

“I could ask you the same thing. Why’d you tell LaNecia all this garbage about how you still loved me? …”

“LaNecia. Oh, okay. Fuck! I know the girl isn’t wrapped too tight, but … hold on a sec.” Dani retrieves her cell phone and shows Neil all the texts.

The color drains from his face. “No,” he says somberly. “I didn’t send those. I don’t even know where my cell phone is. I’m sorry, Dani. I feel like such a fool.”

“Don’t feel that way. It’s not that I don’t care. But I am about to marry another man.”

“Yet you showed up here, Dani. That says something. What, I don’t know. But right now, I gotta find my phone. And LaNecia. ’Bye, Dani,” he croaks and he leaves the Marriott appearing more distressed than when he first arrived.

It’s a few days
after LaNecia attempted to destroy the future I’m trying to build with Scottie. One of his projects is behind schedule, and he’s put in a lot of extra hours today at the construction site trying to finish the building. Earlier he said he couldn’t wait to get off so he can swing by and spend time with me. I prepare a quick meal for him so that we can have a bite to eat before we play with Brax and get him situated for the night.

Once my family digs into a nice helping of baked salmon fillet, rice, and broccoli, I feel so pleased about how everything tastes that I am eager to settle into Scottie’s arms.

We’re all hanging out in the main bathroom. Scottie is pushing a button that squirts out hundreds of bath bubbles into the tub. Brax keeps screaming and making loud noises as he splashes water and tries to pop the bubbles.

“He’s having a ball, isn’t he?”

“This boy is gonna pass out tonight, Mariah.”

“I’ll bet. The more he screams, the more knocked out he’ll be.” I turn around and open the door to the towel cabinet and locate a sky blue body towel monogrammed with the initials
BF
.

“Scottie, I hope the baby doesn’t get confused by all this.”

“I think he’s too young to even notice,” Scottie says.

“No way. Kids pick up on things.” I pause and peer at my son. White bubbles cover his entire head. Scottie shapes them so that he looks like Batman.

“Ohhh, that’s so wrong.”

“Hurry up and get a camera. Go on. You gotta capture moments like this,” Scottie says.

“You go get it. I want to stay right here and watch my son have a ball.”

“Our son.”

“Scottie. Please. We can’t do this to him.”

“Since you said he’s so intelligent, he’ll be able to understand that he has two fathers.”

“But that’s not what I want him to know. Not right now. Maybe not ever.”

“I want him to know about me.”

“This isn’t about your ego, Scottie. It’s about the innocence of my precious child. You can play that important role. But he has a father.”

“I don’t wanna hear that.”

“It’s the truth.” I ignore Scottie’s funky mood and try to tickle Brax under the arms. He looks up at me with his mouth wide open, grinning like he’s having the time of his life.

“That’s how I always want him to look. Sweetly happy like he oughta be, Scottie.”

“Sco-tee, Sco-tee.”

“Who told him to call you that?”

“I didn’t.”

I sigh heavily and wonder if I can endure some of the pain that marrying Scottie may bring. Some of life’s issues
are so complicated, confusingly twisted. Every day I hear of some tragic story involving family issues. Forced marriages. Spousal rapes. Inexplicable physical abuse from a tormented stepparent. Who’s to say that, as much as I care about Scottie, one day he won’t turn into some sicko who thinks it’s okay to harm my child? I don’t think it’ll happen, but you never know. How can I stop potential harm from taking place if I’m too blind with love to see it coming?

And I can’t shake the uneasiness I felt when I got engaged and first heard from my mama once she got back to Long Beach. She told me she was happy for me, but I need to “be careful.” Of course, I couldn’t sleep well all that night. I called her the next day and said, “If you can’t offer me your sincere support, then don’t play or pretend. Be honest.”

“You
be honest.”

That’s all mama said, and now we’re here.

“Whatever you want him to call me,” Scottie advises, “you better decide soon. Get it in his head while he’s young and doesn’t know how to question.”

“Jeez, I dunno,” I mumble. “This is difficult for me. I need your help with these kinds of things.”

“Why? You having doubts?”

“I
do
want to be with you. It’s just that I get scared. Are the things I’m gaining worth everything I could lose?”

“Oh, I see,” he remarks in a clipped tone.

Scottie stands up and heads toward the door.

“Scottie, please don’t ever walk away from me. I don’t even want to get that kind of thing started. In this relationship, we’ve gotta be honest. We don’t have to yell, curse, threaten, or get physical, but let’s have space enough to say how we feel, even if it hurts.”

Scottie pauses, then slowly turns around to face me. His
eyes are filled with wounded tenderness. I hear his soul crying. The hands of his soul are beating against his chest. I can relate. This life-changing decision isn’t like going to the drive-through window of Jack in the Box, where you gotta make a quick choice out of dozens of menu items. The kinds of decisions I’m making these days are unlike anything I’ve faced before.

“I guess I can’t argue with honesty. I don’t like how it sounds when you tell me stuff like that. But if you thinking about changing your mind about being my wife, you better be truthful enough to tell me before one o’clock on February fourteenth.”

“That’s fair,” I tell him. He lowers himself to his knees and splashes water against Brax’s little bird chest. Brax screeches and throws back his head, erupting in laughter.

“Aw, man,” I say, “don’t let him get you like that, Brax. Splash him back.”

Scottie covers his eyes, looking like an oversize punk.

“Hey, Brax, man, who am I?”

“You my uncle Daddy.”

Scottie and I sit on both sides of Brax in his bed and take turns reading a few poems that celebrate African American fathers from the book
In Daddy’s Arms I Am Tall
. The vivid illustrations portray positive interactions between a father and child. Brax needs this. He’s gonna get double the love, and I want him to see and understand that’s it’s a good thing.

“Love you,” he says to me and kisses me on the mouth. “Love youuu more,” he screams at Scottie and hugs him tight about his neck.

I dab at the corner of my eye and sniff.
It’s gonna be okay. We’ll feed him what he needs to know one day at a time
.

It amazes me how it feels when I stare deeply into the eyes of a man who’s making love to me. It’s like we’ve become one, soul connected to soul, intricately woven together. When Scottie places the full weight of his body on top of mine, it feels like we’re human puzzles that naturally connect. My fingers hold tight to the hardness of Scottie’s thick neck; he rises and falls above me, stroking inside and stabbing me fiercely as if he needs to touch the deepest part of my soul. I know he’s putting his stamp on me, a sexual engraving that marks me as his. Forever. For some reason, these are the thoughts that permeate my mind as we’re having sex.

It’s mostly dark, but my night-light, which is plugged into the wall next to the bed, causes me to see shadows.

Scottie thrusts his hips, putting all his strength into his stroke. I gasp. Whimper. Then I close my eyes.

Neil is on top of me. As I grip his shoulders, his curvy muscles fill my entire hands. I stroke his smooth arms with the tips of my fingers. I like this. I miss this. He grunts and plunges deeper into me
.

Stop. It hurts
.

It’s not hurt. It’s love. And you’re mine. Don’t you ever forget it
.

I quickly open my eyes. Scottie is stroking me. He moves his sweaty face next to mine. My cheeks get wet and moist, and I feel like pushing him off me. But I lie in bed, waiting for Scottie to finish up, my eyes aimed at the ceiling, my mind crammed with odd thoughts.

*  *  *

Summer comes and picks me up the next weekend.

“Four weeks, baby. Are you ready?”

“Getting there. Hard sometimes. Tons of fun other times.”

We’re traveling to the River Oaks area of town so I can check on the wedding gown and bridesmaids’ dresses.

“Like today, for instance, getting to put on that stunning dress and making sure that the other attire is set, all of that makes me feel happy.”

“You oughta be. Not that you’ll feel elation every second until the wedding actually happens, but it’s damn sure expected that you’ll feel some joy during some parts of this entire experience.”

“That’s what I try to think about. If I concentrate on the parts that worry me, I’d probably end up running away from home.”

“Girl, it’s just like when I had to move from one place to another. Packing was a bitch, but once I hired someone to assist me and knew that Andre was helping me with the moving expenses, I felt relaxed. A good man will do that for you.”

I nod in agreement. “I actually cannot complain. Scottie has come through for me in so many ways. I mean, gosh, the fact that his uncle James is paying for half the costs plus flying my family here a week in advance is amazing. I can’t ask for anything more.”

“You’re lucky, girlfriend. Enjoy all this good stuff because I can count on both hands the number of females who want to be in your shoes.”

“Well, that’s the problem, Summer. I still feel guilty about what happened with, um, you know.”

“Ha!
That
. Well, don’t totally blame yourself. That crazy LaNecia didn’t help matters. It’s not like the idea to meet Neil came solely from you.”

“Right, and you better not ever mention this, you promise?”

“Okay, okay. Who am I going to tell?”

“It could slip out. Things happen.”

“I doubt I’ll ever mention it again. That’s your personal business. And I know you just needed to vent. Try not to feel guilty.”

“It makes me wonder, though. What would have happened if we hadn’t picked up on the fact that LaNecia was involved?”