Every Woman Needs a Wife (16 page)

When Jaunal became mayor—which he managed by using the manpower of the Black population—he believed that they would be forever grateful that he had favored them with employment over their equally educated white counterparts. He thought he could easily lead and direct Blacks. This thinking almost cost him more than his political office; it almost cost him the main source of his cash flow.

On a dark July night in 1956, an unmasked lynch mob from Jersey killed George and May Murray and Dorsey and Dorothy Malcolm as they crossed the bridge to visit relatives in Social Circle. Several rallies—with walks from Mars Hill Baptist Church all the way to the bridge that spread out over the Apalachee River—had signaled that it was time the killers were brought to justice. Blacks also began to travel in armed groups—knives instead of guns being the weapon of choice. People were liable to give you a deadly ear-to-ear smile than draw a gun and shoot—either way got the same results. Jersey whites gained a different outlook on Blacks from the area, especially when a few of the most racist disappeared with not a fare-thee-well to family or friends.

Years later Wilbur Jaunal’s manipulations tried to bring that rift back to Social Circle. After making sure that Black folk were the majority of the workforce inside Social Circle, he tried to pull a fast one, lowering the pay scale across the board to a few notches above minimum wage.

Michelle Pitchford, Tanya’s best friend, told her that her father had a convenient “accident” on that same day. Because he drove the carpool that
brought in four other managers, it shut down the whole business for two days. When the middle-level management walked, the ones under them walked, too. Blacks were not to be taken for granted.

Jaunal reinstated salaries faster than the Social Circle Bridge Club could down a few bottles of plum wine.

Tanya had learned to never underestimate people based on their color. Most of the teachers in Social Circle were Black, which meant the intelligence base in this one small city was all on equal footing, even though Blacks were taught in a church up until 1968 when laws were passed forcing integration. Afterward, Black principals ran all three schools in Social Circle. White children in the area learned early on to respect their intelligence. Well, at least Tanya did. And no one looked at her sideways because her best friend was Black and from the poorer side of town.

Vernon had underestimated Brandi’s intelligence and her ability to change a bad situation into one that worked for her. Vernon had also underestimated Tanya’s willingness to learn from the best.

V
ernon parked in front of Jeremy’s house and sat for a moment. How had things come to this? He loved Brandi but wanted Tanya, too, though certainly not on her terms. If he let her dictate, the next thing she’d want was to run the whole damn show. Which was never gonna happen.

Afraid of getting another cold reception with Lissette looking on, he placed a call to Jeremy’s cell, and practically twisted the man’s arm to sneak out of the house to help with the U-Haul rental. Without a driver’s license Venon couldn’t do squat.

Later when they went back to Jeremy’s house on Saturday afternoon to move his car, it was no longer in the driveway. Jeremy’s neighbor was raking the leaves and looked up in time to tell him, “A flatbed came about an hour ago and lugged it away. Mrs. Shipp was standing outside when they did it.”

Damn, Lissette had probably figured out what Jeremy was up to, called Brandi and they cooked that shit up, too!

Jeremy grimaced, taking in the sour expression on his wife’s face. Then he popped Vernon upside the head before turning to walk away from him without a backwards glance.

Vernon pulled up in front of the house in Jackson Park Highlands in the U-Haul. He had waited all morning to get it and now it seemed pointless. He could only hope that his wife’s plan had backfired.

Moments later he knocked. Tanya peeked out, then opened the door,
looking better than he could remember. A halter top and a pair of chinos did nothing to hide her curves. The soft scent of Satsuma wafted over him with every shake of her head. His dick stirred and nearly rose to the occasion. Damn, she looked good. Then he came to his senses.

“I came to get my things.”

Brandi appeared beside Tanya, opening the door wide, draping a single arm around Tanya’s shoulders. “They’re right where you left them.”

He watched as Tanya strolled to the kitchen. Brandi’s gaze locked on his, and she winked, acknowledging that she had seen everything. He looked back at his wife and cleared his throat. “I won’t be long.”

“Take all the time you want, dear heart. This is your house, too.” Brandi’s generous mouth stretched into a wide, sexy smile. God, what he wouldn’t give to kiss her. Jesus! What was wrong with him? He could never live in a house with both of them. He’d be hard so often, people would think it was coat rack.

Tanya appeared in the kitchen doorway holding a steaming cup of coffee. The smell assaulted his nose like a criminal making a break for freedom. His empty stomach growled. Vernon hadn’t eaten since Friday afternoon. He’d bounced around from place to place since then and still hadn’t found a place to hole up. Judging by the solid stare and arms folded across her breasts, he knew it would be a while before Brandi came around. He could tough it out. The game was on.

“Why did you lock me out of my house?”

Brandi answered in a perky, cheerleader tone. “Because I want us to be one big happy family.” Then her tone came back to normal. “We can’t do that if you’re living somewhere else, honey.”

Tanya bit her bottom lip and swallowed hard, shoulders shaking slightly. Her eyes, with a twinkle of mischief flashing in them, never left Vernon’s face. Slowly she twisted her wrist, checking her watch before giving it a little tap.

Bitch!
Vernon turned to his wife. “You’re lying and I know it.”

Unmoved, Brandi sank down in the wingback chair near the foyer. “Takes one to know one. And I thought you had scooped up the Oscar for that category.”

There was no way in hell to win an argument when she was like this.

An hour later, he’d packed his things in the U-Haul. He turned to face the women now sitting on opposite ends of the sofa. They were watching Lifetime on television. Just what they needed, female rights reinforcement.

As much as he hated to do it, he had to ask, “Have either of you seen my wallet?”

There was a slight hesitation as the women looked at each other and shrugged. “It should still be in your pants.” Brandi grinned and winked. “Unless you’re still having trouble keeping them on.”

“You wiseass.”

She blew him a fake kiss. “Ahhhh, you have such a way with words. See why I married him, Tanya?”

One of them knew where his wallet was. Monday the bank would sort things out, but until then he was strapped.

He turned to Brandi, whose smile had become a smirk. He knew she would refuse his request for cash or one of her cards.

“I’ll cancel the cards on Monday. You might not have access to our accounts then.”

“Oh, no, sweetheart,” she said, blinking innocently, “we have two different numbers on our cards now. I changed them recently. Only yours will be affected.” She winked and grinned so slyly, he wanted to jump across the room and wring her damn neck.

A sudden burst of alarm shot through him. Somehow he knew, just knew, that she had more going on than she let on. Had she already wiped out their accounts? Fuck!

Sierra and Simone filed into the living room. “Daddy!”

His heart melted at the sight of his little darlings. Bending down, he stretched out his arms to hug them. Simone was tall and slender with a ponytail draped down her back, Sierra, smaller and more round, had hair that barely touched her shoulders. Both had smiles that could make the sun rise and his heart dance with joy. Each was a perfect combination of Brandi’s creamy light brown beauty and Vernon’s chiseled features. At least that was something that was purely a natural thing. Because even something as simple as naming them had been an issue.

♥♥♥

Two months before Simone was born Brandi had said, “I want her to have my last name, too.”

Startled out of good sleep, he had turned over and replied, “Children should take on the last name of their father.”

“Why—because it’s tradition?” she snapped. “Well, I’m not going for it. They’ll have both of our names or just mine alone.”

Fully awake, Vernon sat up in bed. “No way in hell is that going to happen.”

“And why can’t I have some say?” she asked, rubbing a hand over her huge stomach.

“Because I’m head of the household.”

“Yes, but you’re not the one who’s enduring the morning sickness, going to the bathroom every ten minutes, backaches that last for days,” she shot back. “Then I’m the one who has to squeeze a couple of heads of lettuce through an opening meant for a carrot. Unless you’re doing more than just getting your rocks off on this one, stud, I suggest you get used to either a hyphen between our names or enjoy the extra space between us in bed. You pick.”

The children had both their names. And it was only when they put Simone in school that he finally understood Brandi’s logic. Caldwell was a lot further up the alphabet than Spencer. Having been called nearly last for the majority of everything in his life, Vernon could see the wisdom in the girls having his wife’s last name. Still, it would have been nice if Brandi had voiced it that way instead of making it a major two-month fight. But then again, maybe he wouldn’t have seen it that way if she had.

He had tried to get Brandi to at least try once more for a son, but she refused, saying she hadn’t wanted children in the first place. At times he realized the mistake of convincing her to have children since it didn’t get the desired result—a wife that would be so devoted to her kids she would stay at home and leave the business end of things to him. That had been wishful thinking on his part, and consistent pressure from his dad. Pressure that created more problems than Vernon could count.

“Daddy, we missed you.”

“You did, sweetheart?” he said, hugging Simone.

“Yes!” Sierra said, gazing adoringly into his eyes. “Where were you?”

Vernon looked up in time to see Brandi’s smirk reappear. “Oooooh, here and there,” he said, glaring at his wife. “I’m going to be away for a little while, but I’ll come and pick you up sometime, okay?”

“Daddy, please don’t go.” The soft, lilting sound of his younger daughter’s voice pierced his heart.

“I have to, baby. I don’t have a choice,” he answered, looking back at a scowling Brandi.

Tanya being around every day wouldn’t be good for them. Had Brandi thought beyond her own selfishness? Okay, he shouldn’t have slept around on her and all that, but damn! He wasn’t hurting anybody. And if someone hadn’t clued her in, she still wouldn’t have a problem. Neither would Tanya. An after careful thought, he knew who that someone was…

The girls held onto him, wanting to know why he had to leave. An instant of understanding coursed through him. If there was any way of pulling things back together, it was through the girls. The look on Brandi’s face when the girls asked, for a fourth time, why he was leaving, had been worth millions.

His wife simply said in a stony voice, “Your daddy brought us a new family member who can help out around here. Then
he
changed his mind. I haven’t.”

Tanya leaned on the door frame, waiting for him to contradict the woman of the house. Now what could he say to that?

Things were getting real complicated, real fast.

♥♥♥

Hours later, around sunset, after much soul-searching, he realized that he would have to do some tall talking, but maybe, just maybe Mama
would let him stay. But after mentally preparing himself, especially after what he had done to her, then going to her house only to find her gone, Vernon ended up at Craig’s house.

Craig opened the door and Vernon quickly made his request. Alanna, a dark-skinned beauty with killer curves and a luscious pair of lips, appeared beside her man, glowering angrily at Vernon. Seconds later, she yanked Craig inside and slammed the door. A stunned Vernon could hear their heated voices through the screen door.

“But that’s my friend,” Craig yelled. “You can’t just leave him out there like that.”

“You want to join him?”

Craig stammered, “I—I—I—No!”

“Then I suggest you keep your nose out of this business. This is
my
house and I won’t have a lying, cheating asshole like him under my roof.”

“I pay the bills around this place, too,” Craig shot back. “We can’t leave him out in the cold.”

“Well, I’ll give you a choice,” Alanna shot back. “If Vernon comes in, I’m walking out—with the kids!”

Silence from the home team.

Game over, man. Game over!

Vernon strolled back to the truck and drove back to his mother’s place, knocking on the door for what seemed an eternity, but there was still no answer.

A neighbor, Mrs. Morton, peeked over the waist-high bushes, saying, “You might as well give up until next week. She’s in the Bahamas.”

“Next week!” The whole world was against him. “What’s she doing in the Bahamas?”

“On a literary cruise with someone named Zane or Strebor or something like that.” Then the pug-nosed, silver-haired woman added in her raspy voice, “She went with that new fellow of hers. He’s downright fantastic! She deserves him. More than I can say for that bigmouth father of yours.”

Vernon resisted the urge to flip the woman the finger. His mother would never let him hear the end of it. New man? His mama had a new man?
When did that happen? And was the buzzard living with her? Where would that leave him? He turned to walk back to the car.

His mother’s neighbor said, “They’re going to Hedonism with the same group next month.”

Vernon paused, and turned back to the old woman. “Isn’t that the place folks walk around…naked?”

“Yep,” she said, giving him a grin. “That’s the spot.”