Her First (14 page)

She had a time juggling the baby and his stuff. “Your mama should have come down to help me,” she added as she tried to press her car alarm key.

Sarah met Madison at the door. “Here’s mama’s baby,” she said, looking at Madison. “How did it go? He didn’t give you any trouble did he?”

“No, he was a good little boy,”
Madison replied.

“Thanks. Come on in. I’ll put him in his bed and I’ll be right back.”

Madison noticed how spacious Sarah’s townhouse was. She could tell she had expensive taste. She walked around the living room and looked at the pictures above the fireplace. She noticed a picture of what must have been Sarah’s sisters and Mom. She paused when she saw a picture of Sarah and Ethan.  She picked it up.

She noticed how cozy and happy they looked. A part of her was jealous.
Sarah cleared her throat as she entered the room.

Madison
was caught off guard. She placed the picture back on the mantle. “I’m admiring your family pictures.”

“I love taking pictures.  If I wasn’t so short, I would have been a model.”
Sarah asked after a brief silence, “Would you like something to drink?”

Madison
headed towards the door. “No. I think I’ll be going. I have to drive all the way back to Plano.”

“Thanks again. I
really
do appreciate this.”

“No problem. See you at work tomorrow,” she said before walking out the door.

Madison was sleepy when she pulled up to the house. She went into the house and headed straight up the stairs. Ethan was waiting at the head of the stairway.

“Glad to see you made it back safely,” he said.

“I don’t feel like arguing. I’m tired and it’s been a
long
day.” She attempted to brush him to the side.

“We need to talk.”

With an attitude, she said, “You must have a hearing problem.”

“I owe you an apology.”

“You sure do, but save it for the morning.” She stormed past him and slammed the bedroom door, locking it behind her.

“Men, I can never figure them out,” she said, as she got undressed.  She changed into a pair of purple satin sleepers and got under the covers.

Although she was tired, she was unable to go to sleep right away. When she did sleep, she tossed and turned the entire night.  When the alarm went off the next morning, she felt as if she had been up all night.

She was still upset at
Ethan, but she wouldn’t let him get to her. She took a long shower. After spraying on her favorite perfume, she put on her money green power suit. The skirt was cut right above the knee and accented her legs. She curled her hair and added some flair to it. “This stuff is getting long. It’s time for me to make a trip to the beauty shop,” she said, making a mental note.

She needed to avoid
Ethan, but luck wasn’t on her side. He met her at the bottom of the stairway.

“I wasn’t sure if you were up or not,” he said.

“Thanks for your concern.”

“I made us breakfast.” He pointed towards the kitchen.

She moved to the right of him. “Thanks, but I’ll get something on the way in.”

He gently grabbed her by the arm as she was walking away. “
Madison, I’m sorry. Eat breakfast with me and we can talk.”

Madison
’s stomach growled, reminding her that she was hungry. “It would save me money.” She put her purse and laptop by the door.

She followed
Ethan towards the kitchen.

“Have a seat. I’ll bring everything to you.” He pulled out her chair.

He watched her eat and tried to figure out a way to bring up his actions from last night.

“Why aren’t you eating?” she said, taking a bite of her toast.

He picked up the crisp bacon. “I’m not too hungry.  Since neither one of us have time this morning for idle chitchat, let me get straight to the point.”  Madison continued to eat without saying a word.  “I apologize for going off on you last night. I don’t see why or how you and Sarah could get so chummy all of a sudden, especially after I told you what happened.”

She took a drink of orange juice and in a sedate manner, responded, “Believe me, she’s far from being my friend.”

“Then why were you babysitting?”

“She had an important meeting last night and couldn’t find a babysitter. I tried to call you and get your input, but I never did hear from you.”

“I didn’t get your message until I landed at the airport last night.”

“Sounds like you need a new cell phone provider.”

“That’s beside the point.”

“This is silly. I’m not going to argue about something that’s already over.” She stood up to walk out.
Ethan blocked her.

He took her in his arms and laid a big wet kiss on her lips. They held on to each other to keep their balance.

“You’re forgiven,” she said as she released herself from his embrace.

“I’ll walk out with you.”

They held hands as they walked down the walkway to their cars.

“Don’t make any plans for tonight,”
Ethan stated.

“I need to swing by my place and pick up a few items, so I probably won’t make it here until about seven or so.”

“Perfect. Have a good day and I’ll call you later.” He kissed her after holding her door open for her.

“See you.” She started the engine and backed out of the driveway.

He waved and got in his car as the two went their separate ways.

Ethan was speeding, but so was everybody else who was driving down Central Expressway. It was too late to slow down when he saw the flashing red lights behind him.

“This is the last thing I need,” he hissed.

He pulled over to the shoulder, reached over into the glove compartment and pulled out his license and registration. He looked in his rear view mirror and saw the cop walking towards his car. He couldn’t see his face.

“I should lock you up,” the stern voice said.

Ethan panicked. “Officer, I was only speeding.”

He heard the officer laugh and saw Steven’s face when he leaned down.

“Man, you know a brother is scared of jail. Don’t ever play with me like that again. If you weren’t in that uniform, I would give you a beat down.”

“I’m only upholding the law.”

“Well uphold this,” Ethan said with a smile on his face as he held up his middle finger.

“So where are you headed to in such a hurry?” Steven asked.

“Work. Some of us have a real job.”

“Don’t hate because you’re not one of Dallas’ finest.”

They laughed. Ethan spoke with him for a couple more minutes before heading to his destination.

As he pulled into his job’s parking lot he pulled out his cell phone and called his brother. “Frederick, I’m back in town. I still don’t know if I’ll make happy hour on Friday though,” he said as he left a message in his voice mail. “Call me when you get this message.  Bye.”

He lucked out and got a parking place in front of the building. He spoke to everyone as he made his way to his office. Joyce was sitting at her desk.

“Hey boss, glad you’re back,” she said.

“Glad to be back,” Ethan replied.

Joyce followed him into his office and shut the door behind them.

“If you weren’t my cousin, people would swear we were having an affair as much as you’ve been coming in here and shutting my door lately.”

She turned the knob to open it. “I could leave it open and let everybody hear your business.” She smiled and retreated back.

He hung up his jacket, took his laptop out the case and began hooking it up to his monitor.

“Anything interesting happen while I was out?” he asked.

“Same old stuff. But you did get quite a few phone calls from Sarah.”

“I’m so sick and tired of hearing about her.”

“What’s going on now?”

“When I got back in last night,
Madison was babysitting Sarah’s son.”

Joyce’s mouth dropped. “What? I know you almost peed in your pants.”

He logged on to his PC as he continued to talk to Joyce. “I was pissed. She’ll be getting a phone call from me later on. I don’t feel like dealing with her right now.”

With her hands on her hips, Joyce said, “I told you she is up to something. No woman in her right mind would have her ex-boyfriend’s wife keep her child. Especially when she and the ex are not getting along.”

“Did you say wife?”

“Forget I said anything.” She headed out the door.

“Joyce, I know I heard you correctly. Come back here.” She continued out as if she didn’t hear him say, “Frederick.”

He dialed Frederick’s number. “May I speak to Frederick
Campbell?” He picked up the stress relief ball and squeezed it as he waited.

“This is Frederick, how may I help you?” his brother said.

“You can help me by not telling my business. Especially to the mouth of the south,” he blurted out.

“Calm down. I assumed she knew everything. I called you before I knew you were out of town and she mentioned
Sarah and the baby and I-”

“Look. I don’t want to hear it. As far as happy hour on Friday, I have other plans.” He hung up the phone.

***

Madison
was not having the best of mornings. She almost wrecked on the way into work. Her phone rang all morning with irate customers who hadn’t paid their bills but were upset that their commercials didn’t air during the NBA finals and Sarah kept emailing her as if they were chat buddies.

As she was ending a call, the receptionist from downstairs tapped her on the shoulder. She was holding a beautifully decorated candy jar filled with jellybeans.

“These are for you,” the receptionist said.  “I tried calling, but your phone kept going to voice mail.”

“Thanks. I was on both lines,”
Madison said as she took the jar and placed it on her desk.

She assumed they were from
Ethan and was dialing his number as she took the card out to read it.

“I was calling to say thanks for the candy,”
Madison said to Ethan through the phone receiver.

“I didn’t send you any candy,” he said.

“Please, let me finish. I know that after reading the card.”

“Who are they from?”

“Sarah of all people. The card says, ‘Thanks for keeping Christopher. It means more than you know.’”

“Tell her thank you and be through with it. I don’t feel comfortable with you keeping her son.”

“It won’t be a habit. I told you that I was only doing a co-worker a favor. I would have done it for anyone.”

“Be careful. You might want to test the candy on one of your coworkers. What’s the guy’s name you say is always in your business?”

“Owen.”

“Yes, that’s the one. If he doesn’t fall over, then you know it’s safe to eat.” They both laughed.

“Let me get off of this phone, my other line is ringing. See you tonight.” She chuckled before clicking over.

***

“Things might work out after all. Madison, you keep turning my world upside down, but I wouldn’t trade you for the world girl,” Ethan stated, as he hung up the phone. He sat with a huge smile plastered on his face.

His smile quickly faded when Joyce came in and told him
Sarah was on the phone.

“You might as well take the call or else she’ll keep calling,” Joyce said before returning to her desk.

He took a deep breath and picked up the line. “Ethan speaking.”

“You don’t have to be forma
l.  I’m sure your cousin told you it was me on the phone,” Sarah said with an attitude.

“What do you want?”

“Testy aren’t we? I’m surprised you didn’t call me and let me know how much fun you had with your son.”

“I was out of town, and I don’t appreciate you using your son to get next to
Madison.”

“It was sweet of her to help me out in my situation. See, women understand other women.”

“Was there another reason for your call?” He tapped his pen on the desk.

“Now that I know she doesn’t know about Christopher being your son, you better change your tone.”

He sat straight up in his chair. “Don’t go doing anything stupid.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to get what I want.” When he didn’t respond to her comment, she continued to say, “I want you to acknowledge your son and pay child support like you’re
supposed to. My attorney will be contacting you.”

This time she hung up on him without giving him a chance to respond.

He slammed the phone down.

***

Madison couldn’t concentrate the rest of the day. She fantasized about Ethan and how he would be in the bedroom. She held a secret that not even her best friend knew. She knew in her heart that Ethan was the man she wanted to give her love to and spend the rest of her life with. 

After work, she went by her place and picked up her mail and some more clothes.  She took her time driving over to
Ethan’s.  Once she arrived there, she pulled up into the driveway, but waited a few minutes before getting out of her car.

I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to hold out.
Ethan’s kisses melt me,
she thought on her way to the door with bags of her things in hand.
Just the thought of him touching me in anyway makes me want to explode.

Before she could put the key in the door,
Ethan opened the door and greeted her. He reached down for one of her bags.

“Here, let me help you,” he said to her.

“Why is it so dark in here?” she asked.

“Trying to save on electricity,” he joked.

As they passed the living room, she saw light flickering from candles. “You’re so cheap.” She played along with him.

She followed him up the stairs. He placed her bags down next to the bed. “I ran some bath water. I see that you like Temple Bath and Body Products. I hope you like the Peach Blossoms bubble bath I used. I’ll be waiting for you downstairs.”

Madison lifted her arms and sniffed. “Am I funky?”

“You always smell like fresh flowers to me.”

She opened up one of the dresser drawers and pulled out a pink-laced bra and matching bikinis. “I could swear I saw you blush.” She looked up at Ethan.

“I better get going. Meet me downstairs when you finish.” He walked out without waiting for her to respond.

A huge smile formed on her face.

***

Ethan fixed a tray of fresh fruit consisting of grapes, strawberries, slices of cantaloupe and melon. He placed some cream cheese and crackers on the same tray.  After placing it on the table in the living room along with a bowl of chocolate, he checked on the roast he had in the oven.

After making sure the roast was done, he removed the apron that he was wearing and threw it on the counter. Before he could do anything else, the doorbell interrupted him.  He wasn’t expecting anyone, so he was surprised when he opened the door and Frederick was on the other side.

“What’s up, bro?” Frederick said as he walked in without waiting on a response.

“I’m surprised to see you here,”
Ethan huffed.

“My date for the evening lives a few streets over. Thought I would check in on you and my new sister-in-law,” he said in a sarcastic manner.

“We’re kind of busy right now.”

He walked towards the living room. “Something sure smells good.”  He reached down and took some grapes off the tray and plopped one in his mouth.

“I thought you had a date.”

“I do, but I might stay here and eat with y’all.” He sat down in the chair near the tray.

“You’re already on my bad side, so you might want to leave the tray alone.”

Frederick looked around. “Looks like you two are really taking this marriage thing seriously.”

“What Madison and I do is none of your business,” Ethan said bluntly.

“Where is
Madison by the way?” Frederick said as he looked around.

“She’s upstairs and will be down shortly, that’s why you need to go.”

“First you hang up on me, now you’re kicking me to the curb. Where is the brotherly love?”

“There’s a thin line between love and hate,”
Ethan said while holding a smile.

“On that note, I’ll catch you later. I see why happy hour is out now. I’m not mad at you. Have fun.” Frederick opened the door and walked out.

“Later,” Ethan yelled out behind him.

“Who was that?”
Madison said as she stood on the edge of the stairway dressed in a pink terry cloth short set with the word, ‘delicious’ written across the back of the shorts and the top.

Ethan
turned around startled as he closed the door. “That was Frederick. He had a date in the area and dropped by to say hi.”

“I hate that I missed him,”
Madison said, snapping her fingers.

“He told me to tell you hi.”

Madison headed to the living room. Ethan followed her. She stopped and admired the fruit tray. 

“This look good,” she said, reaching down and taking a stem of green grapes from the tray.

“They sure do.”

She turned around and caught
Ethan staring at her butt. “Ethan.”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself.”

They sat down. He dipped a strawberry in some chocolate and placed it to her mouth. She took a bite. “Umm. This is delicious.”

“Just like you.” He kissed the chocolate from her mouth.

“Mmm. A woman can get used to this star treatment.”

“In my eyes, you are a star.”

Madison felt queasy. The heat between them sizzled.  She felt that if she didn’t move soon, she would be at a point of no return. She jumped up without warning. “Woe, let’s see what’s in the kitchen.”

Ethan
reached for her. “Hold up, Madison.”

“Hmm. What?”

“Sit.” She paused, and before sitting back down, Ethan placed his hand over hers. “Every time we get to a certain point, you pull back. You act like you’re scared of me sometimes.”