Divine Intervention (28 page)
Read Divine Intervention Online
Authors: Lutishia Lovely
57
All The King’s Horses
I
t was quiet at the dining room table, and not because it was just the three of them—Tabitha, Tai, and King. It was because while Tai had agreed to let King back into the house, she was determined not to let him back into her heart. Easier said than done, she’d discovered in the past tumultuous and trying week. Since returning to the home they’d shared for more than a decade, King had been on his best behavior. That in itself was no surprise; this was neither his nor Tai’s first time at this dance. But what struck Tai was the true feeling of remorse that she felt from him. It wasn’t just the fact that he’d brought her flowers every day, flowers she knew that instead of sending the secretary he’d picked up himself. It wasn’t the gift boxes she’d found sprinkled throughout the house, making her entire abode resemble a treasure hunt. Just this morning, she’d gotten into her car and once on the road heading east, had pulled down her visor to block out the sun ... and into her lap had fallen front row tickets to an old school show happening Labor Day weekend: Cameo, Gap Band, Rose Royce, the Time, Evelyn “Champagne” King.... And that was just on Friday night. Saturday included the Whispers, Kool and the Gang, and one of Tai’s favorite male vocal groups, Boyz II Men. Just thinking of them brought back memories of a trip she and King had taken to Hawaii. Their hit song, “I’ll Make Love to You,” had just come out. She and King had laid out a blanket on a private section of beach, enjoyed a candlelight dinner, and then made love almost all night to that song.
t was quiet at the dining room table, and not because it was just the three of them—Tabitha, Tai, and King. It was because while Tai had agreed to let King back into the house, she was determined not to let him back into her heart. Easier said than done, she’d discovered in the past tumultuous and trying week. Since returning to the home they’d shared for more than a decade, King had been on his best behavior. That in itself was no surprise; this was neither his nor Tai’s first time at this dance. But what struck Tai was the true feeling of remorse that she felt from him. It wasn’t just the fact that he’d brought her flowers every day, flowers she knew that instead of sending the secretary he’d picked up himself. It wasn’t the gift boxes she’d found sprinkled throughout the house, making her entire abode resemble a treasure hunt. Just this morning, she’d gotten into her car and once on the road heading east, had pulled down her visor to block out the sun ... and into her lap had fallen front row tickets to an old school show happening Labor Day weekend: Cameo, Gap Band, Rose Royce, the Time, Evelyn “Champagne” King.... And that was just on Friday night. Saturday included the Whispers, Kool and the Gang, and one of Tai’s favorite male vocal groups, Boyz II Men. Just thinking of them brought back memories of a trip she and King had taken to Hawaii. Their hit song, “I’ll Make Love to You,” had just come out. She and King had laid out a blanket on a private section of beach, enjoyed a candlelight dinner, and then made love almost all night to that song.
“Mom, you’re not listening to me!”
Tai shook herself out of her reverie. “I’m sorry, baby. What did you say?”
“I asked if you and Daddy were going to come with me to LA next month. Freshmen orientation begins in August and I’ll want to show y’all around the campus and show you where I’ll be hanging out.”
King and Tai exchanged a look and a slight smile. Each knew what the other was thinking. “We’ve already seen the campus,” Tai said. “Your sister went there, remember?”
“Of course I remember,” Tabitha said with a roll of her eyes. “But that was her experience. I want you guys to be a part of mine. You guys can get a hotel room near the campus, or stay with Uncle Derrick and Aunt Viv. Okay?”
“We’ll see, baby girl,” King said, with another glance in Tai’s direction. “We’ll see.”
After dinner, Tai followed her usual pattern and went into the den. This was her quiet time, when she’d read, reflect, or watch TV. Tonight, she didn’t feel like thinking over much and so reached for the remote. After flipping through a couple dozen channels, she settled on HGTV, and a show where ordinary rooms were transformed into masterpieces.
“Thinking of redecorating?”
Or moving?
King stepped farther into the room.
Or moving?
King stepped farther into the room.
“Maybe,” was Tai’s noncommittal answer. King joining her in the den was also new. Normally after dinner he’d retire to his office. Sometimes he’d go back to the church, or if it had been an extremely long day, he’d lounge in the master suite. But every night this week, he’d found wherever Tai was and joined her.
King sat, and for several moments there was silence between them. “Crazy how different the girls are,” he finally said. “Can you even imagine Princess asking us to join her anywhere?”
“No. If you’ll remember, our visit to the UCLA campus was most unexpected, and most unwelcomed.”
“That’s for sure.”
Both were silent again, remembering what had happened when they discovered that Princess had lied to them about sharing a condo with her best friend. They’d made a surprise visit and discovered the truth: that Princess and her best friend, Joni, were living together all right, but they were cohabitating with their boyfriends, Kelvin and Brandon.
“I’ll have to check the schedule, but I’m almost sure there will be time during the conference that I can get away to visit where she’ll be staying on campus. It will be nice to see her home away from home for the next four years.”
“I told Derrick that I’d try and get out to see him whenever I got a break in my schedule. It might be around that time.”
More silence. More thoughts and words that were left unsaid. Tai sat there thinking about all of the times she and King had spent casual evenings talking about a bunch of nothing, taking for granted the fact that they shared a life. King sat there feeling hopeful that what he was experiencing at this moment, he’d continue enjoying for years to come.
“Thanks for the tickets.”
King turned to Tai with a smile. “Oh, you found those, huh?” He crossed his right ankle over his left knee and rested his arm across the couch . . . precariously close to Tai’s shoulder.
“More like they found me. They fell in my lap when I pulled down the visor.”
“There’s a limo ride that goes with those front row tickets. And dinner at Crown Center.”
“King, I—”
“I don’t have to go,” he interrupted. “I thought you might invite down Viv or Carla or even look up your old girl from Sprint, the one you used to work with. What’s her name?”
“Sandy.”
“Right, Sandy. I just know that those are some of your favorite groups and I wanted to make it a night you’d remember. I want you and whoever you take to have a great time.” Silence, and then, “I wouldn’t mind seeing the Gap Band though, or Cameo. Man, hearing those songs would take me back.” He looked at Tai and began to sing. “ ‘When I first saw you, you had sparkle in your eye . . .’ ”
“King, don’t.”
“I’m not trying to start anything. I’m just remembering what we grooved to in seventy-nine. What about this.” He jumped off the couch and started dancing around the room. “ ‘All pretty ladies, around the world.’ ”
Tai burst out laughing. She hadn’t seen this carefree King in a long time, but his antics reminded her of the good years, the years in between his affairs.
Affairs, remember? The reason you can’t enjoy him now.The reason you’re leaving.
“I think I’m going to go read a bit and make it an early night. Thanks again for the tickets. I just might call Sandy.” She got up from the couch and left the room before he could answer.
Affairs, remember? The reason you can’t enjoy him now.The reason you’re leaving.
“I think I’m going to go read a bit and make it an early night. Thanks again for the tickets. I just might call Sandy.” She got up from the couch and left the room before he could answer.
King slowly made his way to his home office and once there, sat down in the chair. Discussing those old songs with Tai had put him in a contemplative mood. He’d jacked up royally, and it would take a Herculean effort to win her back. “And a miracle, buddy,” he mumbled to himself. “Don’t forget that.” Then he remembered the glint in her eyes as he sang Cameo, and the wide smile that graced her face before she remembered she wasn’t happy. The concert was over a month away. King clung to the belief that they’d attend it together.
His phone rang, and when King looked at the caller ID his good mood fled. After not calling for almost a month, following his assurance to her that their sexual rendezvous was over, Charmaine had been blowing up his phone for two days straight. He reached over and picked up the phone.
I might as well end this once and for all.
I might as well end this once and for all.
“Hello.”
“Hello, King.” In spite of his resolve, he warmed at the sultry sound of her voice.
“You’ve been calling nonstop for two days. What is it?”
“I miss you, among other things.”
He looked toward the stairs and, convinced that Tai was not within hearing range continued, his voice low and filled with chagrin. “Look, Charmaine. We’ve already been down this road. Let’s not do it again. What we shared was beautiful, but it is over. You only make this harder by continuing to call.”
“But that’s just it, King. What we had is far from over. It will never be over.”
A foreboding feeling climbed from King’s core and spread over his chest. “Why not?” he asked, sitting up as he did so.
A short pause and then, “I’m pregnant.”
And just like that, the world that King Wesley Brook had known for more than twenty-five years began to unravel as he foresaw his fall. And all the king’s horses, and all the king’s men, would not be able to put his life back together again.
58
End Of The Road
T
ai frowned at the knock that interrupted her reading. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand—just after midnight. More than four hours since she, King, and Tabitha had parted ways after dinner, and a little less than eight hours when she’d need to be up again. For a quick second, she thought that this was the beginning of a seduction of the King kind. She looked down at her nondescript cotton nightgown and again, for a split second, thought of the negligees in her closet, gathering way too much dust and too little use.
What am I thinking? The last thing I want is that adulterer in my bed.
She thought this, but her va-jay-jay tingled anyway.
ai frowned at the knock that interrupted her reading. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand—just after midnight. More than four hours since she, King, and Tabitha had parted ways after dinner, and a little less than eight hours when she’d need to be up again. For a quick second, she thought that this was the beginning of a seduction of the King kind. She looked down at her nondescript cotton nightgown and again, for a split second, thought of the negligees in her closet, gathering way too much dust and too little use.
What am I thinking? The last thing I want is that adulterer in my bed.
She thought this, but her va-jay-jay tingled anyway.
“Yes?”
A slight hesitation and then the door opened. King’s head peeked in. “You asleep?”
Tai closed her book. “What does it look like?”
King stepped inside the bedroom and closed the door. Only then did Tai notice the tightness of his lips and the sadness in his eyes. Her heart dropped. “What’s wrong?”
He leaned back against the door and sighed. Tai waited. He gazed at her with a look that she couldn’t read. And then he looked away.
“King. What is it?” More silence. Tai’s heart constricted before its beating increased. “Baby, I’m becoming concerned. What is going on?”
King pushed away from the door, crossed over to the bed, and sat down on the bench at its base. “I got some disturbing news tonight.”
“About what? Derrick? Did you talk to him?” King shook his head. “Doctor O and Mama?” Again, a negative head shake. “Well, what then?” Tai huffed, before picking up her book. “You know what? Never mind. I’m not even going to try and pry info out of you. If you weren’t going to say what’s on your mind, why even knock on my door?”
“She says she’s pregnant.”
Tai’s mind went to the only other female besides herself that she’d recently encountered. “Who?” She threw the book down on the bed and sat straight up. “Please don’t say Tabitha. I don’t think I can handle my youngest daughter being pregnant right now.”
“No, not her.” King’s voice was barely above a whisper and Tai could have sworn she saw water in his eyes.
“Then who?”
Silence.
And then, reality dawned. “Not the chick you screwed on the island.” In this moment Tai realized she’d almost take the news that it was Tabitha instead of the young woman with whom her husband had sexed. “Please, King. Tell me it’s anybody but her.”
“She’s lying.”
Tai snorted. “Oh, really?”
Is that why you’re sitting there with troubled eyes and ashen skin?
“Granted, someone who would screw a married man obviously scores low in the morals department. But the very fact that you couldn’t keep your dick to yourself puts your hat in the could-be-baby-daddy ring, huh?” When King continued to be silent, Tai’s sarcasm turned to something else. Dread.
He really thinks this chick is pregnant with his child!
Is that why you’re sitting there with troubled eyes and ashen skin?
“Granted, someone who would screw a married man obviously scores low in the morals department. But the very fact that you couldn’t keep your dick to yourself puts your hat in the could-be-baby-daddy ring, huh?” When King continued to be silent, Tai’s sarcasm turned to something else. Dread.
He really thinks this chick is pregnant with his child!
In an instant, Tai’s mind rolled back to another day, and another time, when she thought another woman had birthed King’s child. She’d enlisted help in tracking down the young man who was just months younger than her oldest daughter, Princess. In a wicked twist of fate, that young man was now her son-in-law, Kelvin, whose father turned out to be the husband of her best friend. The incredulity of these events was the only reason Tai wasn’t off the bed with her hands wrapped around King’s throat right about now, and the only reason she spoke calmly instead of calling the man who sat in front of her every name but a child of God. “Do you think she’s lying about being pregnant or lying that the baby is yours?”
Honestly, King feared that every word Charmaine had spoken was true. But he wasn’t ready to admit that. So he used the noncommittal phrase that men picked up around the age of four and often used until they’d breathed their last. “I don’t know.”
“Well, you need to be finding out!” Anger began to replace the numbness that had been Tai’s initial feeling and suddenly the room was too small for them both. She stood and looked down on the man she’d loved since she was fourteen years old, the only man she’d ever known in an intimate way. “There’s one thing I can say for sure,” she said after taking a deep breath. “I did everything I could to stay in this marriage—put up with your intense focus on the ministry that led to absences in the home, your lack of attention, and countless affairs. These last couple years have been good ones, and I actually thought that finally we’d gotten past . . . all our problems. But I guess not.”
“We’ll get through this,” King said. “I love you, Tai. After what happened with Ap—” Tai’s eyes narrowed. “Well, uh, the last time, and you took me back? I fell in love with you all over again. I didn’t mean for what happened in Barbados to ever take place. It was a moment’s weakness and I’m so sor—”
Tai put up her hand to stop King’s apology. “If I had a dollar for every
sorry
you’ve given me, I’d be rich.” Slowly shaking her head from side to side, she continued. “
Sorry
isn’t going to fix it this time. I’m going to go downstairs and when I come back, I don’t want you to be in the room.”
sorry
you’ve given me, I’d be rich.” Slowly shaking her head from side to side, she continued. “
Sorry
isn’t going to fix it this time. I’m going to go downstairs and when I come back, I don’t want you to be in the room.”
Is this really it? Is this really how it all ends?
An eerie calm came over Tai as she reached for her purse sitting on the kitchen counter, retrieved the cell phone inside it, and scrolled down to a number she hadn’t dialed in a while.
An eerie calm came over Tai as she reached for her purse sitting on the kitchen counter, retrieved the cell phone inside it, and scrolled down to a number she hadn’t dialed in a while.
“Hey, Tai!” came the cheerful voice on the other end.
“Hello, Sandy.” At another time, Tai would have smiled and been happy for her longtime friend. Since working together at Sprint back in the day, she and Sandy had formed an unlikely but long-standing friendship. Theirs wasn’t the “call each other every week” friendship, yet whenever they talked, it was as if no time had passed. When Sandy divorced several years ago, she’d leaned on Tai for counseling and support. And when Sandy and the man she’d met online fled to Cabo San Lucas for an impromptu wedding after knowing each other only six short weeks, Tai was one of the first women she’d called.
And now the tables have turned,
Tai thought with a grimace that she tried to pass for a smile.
Funny how life works out that way.
And now the tables have turned,
Tai thought with a grimace that she tried to pass for a smile.
Funny how life works out that way.
“Uh-oh. What’s wrong?”
“I called to ask you something.”
“I’m listening.”
“You know the attorney you raved about who helped you in your divorce proceedings?”
A sigh could be heard on the other end. “Tai, no. Are you and King—”
“Yes, Sandy. King and I are over. Now, can you give me your attorney’s number? I need to give him a call.”
One week later, King exited his car at the Plaza, Kansas City’s tony shopping and eatery district that had been fashioned after its sister city, Seville, Spain. He was there to meet with a young man who’d come highly recommended, a bright, innovative Web designer who’d created an interactive model for ministries to connect more fully and directly with supporters in other countries. During his visit with Wesley Freeman in Barbados, and during subsequent conversations with him and other international ministers, he’d grown increasingly excited about taking his ministry and message to a truly worldwide stage. King had the clout and Wesley had the connections. Together, King figured, he could increase his reach into the hundreds of millions in less than two years.
As he approached the restaurant, a young man walked toward him. King took in the look—bushy red hair, bright blue eyes framed with horn-rimmed glasses, high-water khakis, and a button down blue shirt—and knew immediately that this was the computer nerd who would join the team taking King and Mount Zion to new heights.
“King Brook,” he said, once he’d reached the young man. He held out his hand for a shake.
Instead of a handshake, King was given a manila envelope. Before his mind could form a question, the stranger before him provided an answer in three simple words:
“You’ve been served.”
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