Every Woman Needs a Wife (25 page)

“I prefer to be called William. I’m sure that will be easier to remember.”

There was an insult in that somewhere. Brandi hadn’t picked up a fork before William asked, “And what college did your father attend?”

“My father didn’t go to college,” she said as Vernon passed a plate of mesquite-grilled chicken her way. Her appetite had taken a nosedive when Spencer’s scowl became permanently etched on his light brown face.

He looked at her for a moment before pushing away his plate. “Hmph. Figures.”

Brandi’s fork didn’t quite make it to her mouth. “Excuse me?”

“I said—”

“William, can I see you in the butler’s pantry, please,” Bettye said, giving him an angry glare.

As they left the room, Vernon reached for Brandi’s hand and held it for a moment.

She pulled away and now felt more insecure than she could ever remember. “Where’s the bathroom?”

“Here, I’ll show you,” he said.

When they reached the small room, angry voices rang out so loudly that Vernon tensed. He slipped into the bathroom with Brandi and closed the door. The door leading into the kitchen was slightly cracked, and his parents’ conversation came through louder and clearer than they probably knew.

“Sit your behind down and quit insulting that young woman! She’s the first one he’s ever brought home,” Bettye was saying.

Brandi smiled at Vernon as he leaned forward and kissed her lips.

“And if she’s any indication of his taste,” William snapped back. “We didn’t need to see anyone else.”

Brandi gasped, whispering, “Can we get out of here?”

Vernon shook his head and whispered, “They’ll know we’re in here if we move right now.”

“She’s from Jeffrey Manor—
working-class
people,” William bellowed. “We don’t
do
working class, we stay with our own kind. Why can’t he settle down with Veronica Chapman? Now that’s class.”

“Veronica may come from money, but she’s far from class, my dear,” Bettye said, in a voice dripping with contempt. “Word on the street is that little hussy is serving it quicker than she can buy a new pair of drawers to cover it. And he doesn’t love her. He loves this one.”

Brandi laid her head on Vernon’s chest. He kissed her forehead gently.

“Who said anything about love? People don’t marry for love; they marry for lust or convenience.”

“Well then, I guess I fall into a whole new category.”

“Oh, do tell what that is!”

“I married you because I had nothing better to do at the time,” Bettye snapped. “Lust had nothing to do with it. And this marriage hasn’t been convenient since you spread out so far it’s now a gymnastic sport just to get into your clothes. How dare you imply that
she’s
overweight!”

Brandi’s hand snaked out, covering Vernon’s laugh.

“Woman, who the hell do you think you’re talking to?” William said.

“A man who doesn’t know how to let people live their lives and learn their lessons in their own way,” Bettye shot back. “She’s beautiful, absolutely beautiful and I applaud our son for choosing such a lovely young lady.”

“He’s a child!” William roared. “He doesn’t know his asshole from an electric socket.”

“No, he’s a young man with goals of his own and if you keep trying to pressure him to fill your shoes, you’re going to cause him to break.”

“If I don’t push him, who will? He’s a weak-minded boy, thanks to you. Thinks with his heart instead of his head,” William said gruffly. “He’ll never gain half the success I have.”

“He’s a different person. Maybe he’s not supposed to turn out like you. Maybe he’ll be happy serving his community and with all that volunteer work he does. That’s important, too.”

“Volunteer work doesn’t fill bank accounts”.

“No, it serves a higher purpose. It gives people who wouldn’t have a chance at a better life the opportunity to fulfill their dreams, too. Not just people who’ve had money dropped in their laps and can lay back and take it easy like you.”

“Nothing in my life’s been easy—especially since I married you.”

“You know what to do. Don’t let a little thing like a few trips to court and handing over half your money put you off. Bring it on, big boy.”

Brandi absorbed every word, watching as tears welled up in Vernon’s eyes—but he looked up at the ceiling and shook his head to keep them back.

She reached out, pulling him to her breasts, and he stayed there for a brief moment as she stroked his head. His father obviously didn’t love him. In that moment, she knew they were kindred souls in more ways than one. Brandi trying to overcome the pain of the man who had hurt her, Vernon trying to live up to the expectations of a father he would never be able to please.

Maybe they could find peace with each other.

♥♥♥

William Spencer—who had made her life hell, even going so far as to undermine their wedding plans up to the very point of “I do”—was still up to no good thirteen years later. His nostrils flared; at that moment, he looked like an oversized version of her husband. “You were too young to be married.”

“That’s not why you objected,” Brandi shot back. “First, it was about my size. Well, I have news for you—just to please your tired behind I tried Weight Watchers and watched my weight go in the wrong direction. I signed up with Jenny Craig, then realized her tail is a little on the thick side and no one’s complaining. I like who I am and I love my size. You’re twice my size. It hasn’t done you any harm, so get a grip.”

William started to speak.

Brandi held up a hand. “And another one of your reasons—my father wasn’t a Morehouse grad as you had the nerve to point out to your snobby friends,” she said, anger shooting through her like an Apollo launch. “My father didn’t go to college, but he was smart enough to stay with the same woman for thirty-seven years. Now that’s a fidelity example for ya.” She leaned forward. “Fifty-nine and single, sporting a new Barbie doll on your arm every two weeks, and for what, huh?” Lowering her gaze to his groin, she said, “Testing it out before it falls completely off?”

He flushed a deep tan. “Don’t talk to me that way, young lady.”

“Then don’t come into my home trying to run things. Your laundry’s a little dirty, too. Some of it’s so foul that it’s standing in the corner by itself funking up the whole basement.” She turned, strolled to the door, and held it open. “There’s no advice I want or need from you. You think people didn’t know you were slipping it to Deborah Chadwick, Vanessa Stewart, and that other woman while you were married?” Brandi shook her head. “Think again, slick. You weren’t
that
slick.” She grinned as he stepped over the threshold. “With you sprinkling so much joy around the world, no wonder the former Mrs. Spencer’s having so much fun with her new man.”

William whirled to face Brandi so quickly he lost his balance and gripped the door to keep his meaty legs from buckling underneath him.
“What
new man?”

Brandi grinned, winked, and said, “Ooops.” Then she slammed the door and went back to her office.

T
he laughter soon died on Brandi’s lips as she remembered admonishments from her own mother earlier that morning: “As long as Tanya is in your house we don’t need to have a conversation.” As stubborn as her mother was, Brandi knew she meant every word. But she had to do things this way. Their conversation led to a point where Brandi got angry and said, “Mama, Romans adopted people into their families when they were adults.”

Mama looked at her, shaking her head. “That was only if they didn’t have a son to carry on the family name, or their child got killed in combat, or if they didn’t like the children they had given birth to—”

“But they adopted
an adult
,” Brandi said, “And the new person took on the family name. I’m just sort of
adopting
a family member of Vernon’s a little late in the game. She’s already housebroken, and she cooks stuff I can’t even pronounce. So what’s the difference?”

No one but Donny and Tanya seemed to take Brandi’s side in all this. But then again, Tanya really didn’t
have
a choice. They had to stick together. If it were too easy for Vernon, he would believe he could do it again. Next time she just might go Lorena Bobbitt on his ass or like that other woman who whacked her husband’s penis totally off, then fed it to the dog.

Her mother had been a stabilizing factor and the voice of wisdom for the majority of her life. Brandi hated to go against that, but she couldn’t just roll over, forgive Vernon and let it ride, either. She had to hold her point no matter what changes came down the line, and even if Vernon
got his act together she would keep her promise and see this lesson through to the end.

Mama had been so right about everything else in life, why hadn’t she seen this coming? She had been adamant about Brandi marrying Vernon instead of Michael Cobb, the man Brandi had dated for two years at Fisk.

♥♥♥

“There’s something about that Michael I don’t like. Reminds me of a cat—sneaky and quiet.”

“You’ll grow to love him, Mama,” Brandi replied, rinsing an old china plate.

“Not if you paid me to,” she said, brushing a hand over her blue paisley dress.

Brandi turned away from the sink to face her mother. “But he’s asked me to marry him.”

“So has Vernon.”

How she wished her father were alive; she could really use his help right now dealing with her mother.

“But Michael’s a gentleman, and patient and brilliant.”

Her mother’s chin lifted a little. “Vernon comes from an established family and a long line of money.”

“But I’m not marrying for money. I’m going to make my own money,” Brandi exclaimed.

“And you’ll suffer for it, especially if you don’t marry a man who can secure your future. He’ll work himself into an early grave just like your daddy.”

“No Mama, you’re wrong. He died so he wouldn’t ever have to face the pain of losing you.” Instantly, Brandi regretted her words, especially when she saw the expression on her mother’s face crumble into a mass of pain.

“Do you really think so?”

Brandi nodded. “How else do you explain a healthy man dropping dead of natural causes at the age of forty-seven, Mama? He knew you could handle his death better than he could handle yours. Why did he double the
insurance policy a day after you recovered? He was ready to go even then.”

Brandi told her mother how her father had reacted at the hospital.

Her mother could only manage to say, “He was a good man.”

“Yes, he was, Mama,” Brandi said, hugging her mother, “Yes he was.”

♥♥♥

As Brandi swiveled around in her large office chair, she saw the signs of her accomplishments all around. She realized that although her mother had said marrying Vernon would bring about security, the opposite had happened.

Her life was just as far out of control as it had been on her thirteenth birthday.

♥♥♥

Brandi craned her neck out of the nasty old man’s window. Hollywood was gone. Seconds later, so was she.

Heavy footsteps followed as he trailed after her. She pulled up her panties and pants as she ran. Every movement hurt, then a strange numbness settled over her that pushed aside fear and every other emotion.

“Come back. I won’t touch ya again. I promise. I thought you had to make a phone call.”

Fuck a phone call! She’d already paid enough for the first one she didn’t make.

She ran through the yard, her vagina throbbing with every step, tears coming so fast and furious that she couldn’t see more than four feet ahead.

She sprinted to the corner several blocks away, and there stood a tall blue, silver, and white box like her knight in shining armor. A telephone booth—just what she needed!

She snatched the blue handset and put it to her ear, fumbling in her pocket for the coins her mother insisted she keep with her for emergency purposes. This was definitely an emergency. Her fingers trembled as the coins finally made it into the slot and she punched the number.

Several seconds later a warm, comforting voice answered.

Brandi’s breath came out in a rush. “Mama, I need you. Please…I’m so sorry. Please come and get me. He…he…this man…he…he…”

“Baby, where are you?”

“I’m on—,” Brandi looked up, her eyes locked on the dark green sign with white letters. “—Forty-seventh Street and Michigan Avenue.”

Brandi heard her mother’s sharp intake of breath. Brandi knew what was next, but she didn’t care. She would welcome any sermon right now. Anything, as long as her mother still loved her and would always be there for her. Especially now. “Mama, please…”

“I’ll be right there, baby. Just get somewhere safe—inside a store or something, and stay out of sight. I’ll find you. I love you.”

Brandi couldn’t hold back the tears as her voice cracked. “I love you, too, Mama. Mama, I’ll be in…” She glanced around quickly. “A&B Liquor store.”

She turned to the store’s front glass window, which had a clear view of the street. She could watch her mother’s car pull up. She went inside and huddled in a front corner. A group of men played cards next to the wine cooler.

“What you doin’ there, girl?”

Brandi couldn’t help shivering. “Please let me stay here. My mama’s coming to get me.”

“All right.” The gruff voice bellowed across the room. “But you can’t stay here all day. She’d better come soon.”

While she waited, she thought about things her mother hadn’t told her, like that nasty old man. She never told her that someone guised as a savior could also wear a cloak of evil.

Brandi slumped against the window, which reflected the inside aisles of the store and gave her an excellent view of herself as well. What it didn’t show was the wounds burrowing a lifelong path in her mind. She would never be hurt again. She would always listen to her mother from now on.

An hour later, as she lay on the examination table in the emergency room, Brandi told her mother the truth. She told her mother everything, and then recounted the incident for the police, giving his description and the
general location of the house, since she didn’t know the address. She held onto her mother, welcoming the soft scent of gardenia. The doctor took evidence for a rape kit, explaining every step of the way, Brandi winced with every movement, especially when the cold steel went inside her already tender flesh.