The Dirty Divorce Part 3 (21 page)

After Travena washed my hair and put me under the dryer, I was soon ready to be styled and curled. When I walked in Jermaine’s suite he looked fabulous as usual in his white v-neck tee, some distressed jeans, and a Gucci belt that matched his red and blue Gucci sandals.

“Hey, Girl, where you been?” he questioned.

“I was in New York for a while.”

“Okay, I need to hear all about it. Oh, before we get into all that how you want your hair?’

“I want a Nicki Minaj bang.”

“Girl no. All the cunts are rocking that look. How bout I give you the Janet Jackson Pleasure Principle bang.”

I giggled. “Whatever you think.”

“Now, getting back to you being MIA. You didn’t even invite me. Damn, you know how much I love New York.” He drew an oversized heart in the air being dramatic. “Why didn’t you tell me you was up there, we could’ve hung out together?”

“Well…umm..”

“Oh, I get it. You were up there with the trade, huh? Girl, who you was messing with up top?”

“This dude named Javier, but we’re over now though.”

“Javier…Javier. That name sounds so familiar. Is he Puerto Rican?”

I nodded my head. “Yeah, why, cuz’ you think you know everybody?”

“Hold up, yeah…Javier. You talking about Camielle’s baby father? Please don’t tell me that’s the same Javier.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “His baby mother died, but I don’t remember her name.”

“That’s him. Girl, you know how she died right, her and the son,” he said, twirling me around as he trimmed my hair.

“He told me that they died in a car accident.”

“No, girl. Quiet is kept they died of HIV complications. The baby died when he was born and then the wife died soon after of pneumonia.” Jermaine was just about to trim another piece when he stopped. “Denie, please tell me that you used a condom.”

“Jermaine, please stop it. I can’t handle this shit.” Getting an instant heartache, I still couldn’t wrap my head around the HIV comment.

“Look, this is serious. I usually don’t get in people’s business, but you’re like family and I would never keep anything like that from you.”

I was in a state of shock, but tried to maintain my composure. Maybe it was shop talk and all rumors. “Maybe we’re talking about two different Javier’s”

“I doubt it. If he looks like…what’s that guy name on The Game. Umm…Malik. The football player who was on drugs. The Javier I’m talking about looks just like 0" wi Word on the street is that this thug dude was sweet on Javier. Bought him a car and everything.”

“Are you serious?” I asked swallowing the lump in my throat.

“Girl yeah, a couple of queens I know who live in New York told me about him. Apparently, the thug dude got Javier back on his feet because he used to run with the queens doing all the credit cards and check schemes. They said that thug queen laid Javier’s place out. I heard it was all white or something.”

Instantly, it felt like I was going to throw up. As Jermaine went on and on as he did my hair, all I could think of was how close Javier’s mouth was to T-Roc’s balls when we had that disgusting threesome. Javier…gay? The shit seemed unbelievable. Then I thought about what Nelson said. Maybe he wasn’t hating and was really telling the truth
.
Did Javier have HIV, too? At that moment, so many things came back to me. I should’ve known. That flu that he had the entire time we were together, and that dry cough he just couldn’t get rid of. Not to mention, that weight loss. All that time, I thought his ass was just metro sexual. Closing my eyes, I said a prayer hoping this was all just a bad dream. Maybe it was just rumors.

Looking in the full length mirror, something came over me and I just couldn’t take it any longer.

“Jermaine I gotta go.”

“Girl you not leaving out of here with your head half way done. I gotta rep to uphold. Demi Mode clients walk out of this door fierce. They turn heads all up and down Georgia Avenue.”

“I feel sick Jermaine, I gotta…”

All of a sudden I started throwing up everywhere. I didn’t even make it to the bathroom. Grabbing my bag, I stumbled down the stairs as I listened to Jermaine cuss and fuss about who was gonna clean the mess up. I didn’t care about my hair or his reputation at the moment, all I cared about was the awful things that Jermaine had just told me about Javier.

Please God, make Jermaine’s sources be unreliable, for once…

Once I left out of the shop, I walked a couple of feet toward my car when all of a sudden I heard two shots being fired.

“Oh my God!” I screamed then quickly ran for cover.

When three more shots rang out, I ducked down in front of an antique furniture store just before the window display’s glass shattered all over me. It was at that point when I realized someone might’ve been shooting at me.

Shaking like a leaf, I prayed that I wouldn’t get hit.

Moments later, I could hear a pair of tires screeching just as the shots instantly ceased.

Who the hell could want me dead,
was all I could think about as I balled up on the street in a fetal position and cried.

Chapter 23
Marisol

“Your food is on the table!” Maria called to Denie for the second time over the intercom.

Wanting us to eat as a family, Carmen and I waited for Denie to join us for breakfast, but if she wanted to remain antisocial, then we were gonna start without her. Just as I was about to tell Maria to put her plate away, Denie finally came downstairs. She looked a mess and seemed to be losing weight daily. She even reeked of odor and her hair was all over her head. With the same Betsey Johnson pajamas on for the past week, I wondered if she’d even taken a bath.

“I’m just gonna take my food up to my room,” she said, grabbing her plate off of the table.

“Oh no, Denie, you’re gonna sit down and eat with us as a family. I need to make sure you’re eating because Maria has noticed that you always leave a plate full of food when she goes to clean your room.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m not Carmen. I’m nineteen years old and I don’t need…”

My appetite was instantly ruined when Denie started throwing up all over the place.

“Oh my goodness senorita, are you okay?” Maria asked as she ran to grab some towels to clean up the mess.

I stood up to help my daughter. “Carmen, stay with Maria. I’m going upstairs to help your sister get cleaned up.”

Carmen nodded her head. “Okay Mommy. Feel better, Denie.”

“I’m alright,” Denie insisted.

“No, you’re not. Come on,” I responded as we made our way upstairs.”

If there was anything I could’ve done to remove the pain from Denie’s heart I would. It hurt me to see her in so much distress, and how she’d alienated herself from the world. I’d been worried sick about her ever since the incident at the hair salon. When Jermaine called and told me he’d found Denie laying on the sidewalk and that someone had shot up Georgia Avenue trying to get at her, my heart instantly stopped. To make matters worse, Denie had no idea who the person could’ve been. She didn’t even get a good look at the car. That was the scary part.

One thing after another kept happening to Denie and I felt like her life was spiraling out of control by the minute. I’d worked so hard to try and get her past the Javier situation, and now this shit was a major set back. However, there was no way I was gonna allow anything to happen to my daughter, so I’d been keeping close tabs on her. It was my job as a mother to protect her, especially since her father wasn’t shit. I hadn’t even called him about the incident, and didn’t have any plans on telling him. This was something I was gonna handle myself. For all I knew, it could’ve been because of something he’d done that caused this shit. I knew I’d chosen this crazy life for me and my family, but I probably would’ve had second thoughts if I’d known it would cost me their lives. Maybe it was time to get out the game. In the end, this shit wasn’t worth it.

“Denie, what’s wrong with you?” I asked as she sat down on her bed. “How long have you been feeling sick?”

“I don’t know. It’s nothing major. I just got dizzy for a second and became nauseated, that’s all. Please just leave me alone. I need to change into something else.”

“I’ll back off, but just listen to me first. No matter what the past was with us and my faults, I love you and I always have if that means anything,” I said, allowing my guilt to get the best of me.

Denie forced a slight smile. “I love you, too. I’m not mad at you. I understand more than you think I do.”

“Well, help me understand what’s going on with you then.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m just tired.”

“You have to be strong, baby. I know that was a traumatic experience, but things will work out. Don’t worry. Once I find out who did this, it’s a wrap for them.”

“I really don’t feel like talking right now,” Denie responded.

“Okay can I just say one more thing and then I’ll go?”

Denie slowly shook her head. “Yes, what is it?”

“I think if you try and work on your relationship with your father, you would be in a better place. I’m not gonna be dealing with him anymore, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.”

“What is it gonna take for you to see Rich for the animal he really is? He fucks up anything he touches. I used to be just like you and never understood why people only saw the worst in him until he hurt me,” Denie informed.

“Well, your father really does love you and…”

“Look Marisol, I can’t take it anymore. I need to tell you something.”

“Denie, call me Mom. It made me feel good to hear you say that. I don’t want to be Marisol to you anymore. I want to be your mother.”

“Okay… Mom,” she said with a smirk.

“That’s better, now what’s up?”

All of a sudden her smirk turned into a frown and she broke down crying.

“I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”

I rubbed her back in a circular motion. “It’s okay. I’m always gonna be here for you.”

“Don’t be mad, but I lied to you and I feel bad.”

“Whatever you have to tell me I can take it, sweetheart. What’s wrong?”

“Javier was telling the trut did tell him that Rich killed Uncle Carlos, because he did. He caught Lisa and Uncle Carlos together and that’s what made him do it.”

“Denie I know you’re mad at your father right now, but it’s no need to make things up because I know the truth. I know Lisa killed him.”

Denie jumped up. “Stop being in denial and just hear me out. I’m so tired of Rich making you look like a fool. He killed Carlos, then covered everything up so that Uncle Renzo wouldn’t kill us all. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you after all you’ve done for me.”

I stared at my daughter for a minute trying to process everything. “Denie, it’s okay. I was going to kill Javier regardless, so don’t feel like you have to carry that burden on your heart.”

“I need you to believe me. It’s the truth. Rich is a piece of shit!”

As my daughter cried and felt guilty for holding so much in, I finally saw Rich for the bastard that he really was. I guess it had to take the right person to allow me to see it. He was gonna pay for lying to me and taking my husband away from his kids. Trying to stay strong, I held back my true feelings.

“Well, baby I hate a liar and I’ll definitely get to the bottom of this. Just be easy. Don’t worry about anything. I have it all under control. I just want to see my old Denie come back.”

I wanted her to know that I was there for her no matter what.

“It’s hard. There’s just so much on my mind.”

Not wanting to pry, I decided not to push her anymore. But to my surprise, Denie suddenly opened up and started to talk. When she finally gave me details about the time she spent with Javier, I was appalled. At that moment, Jade’s outburst at the funeral, became crystal clear in my mind. Now, it all made sense. She’d tried to send me a message, but I’d been too dumb to see it. All this time my daughter held the answers that I went through hell and high water to get. Finally, I knew the truth.

Even though deep down inside I always knew Rich killed Jade, Javier had still crossed the line by violating my nineteen year old daughter. Denie seemed to cry the most when she told me that Jermaine had given her some uncomfortable news about Javier, but wouldn’t tell me about that part. As bad as I wanted to know what Jermaine said, I decided to wait until she was ready to open up. Denie was like a fragile flower now. At any moment she could fall apart, so I had to be overly delicate with her.

After a long heartfelt conversation, Denie and I promised to never keep secrets from each other. Although I knew she was still holding something back, I wasn’t even sure if I was prepared for much more. At that point I needed some air and decided to go and get a mani-pedi. Along with the desperate nail pampering, I also needed a moment to digest all the information that had been exposed to me.

After I got out of the shower and put on some lotion, I decided to put on my green convertible maxi dress and a pair of flip flops. Tossing my sunglasses into my hot pink Louis Vuitton Alma bag, I grabbed my keys, then walked out of the door.

Today I decided to drive my BMWine haI could let the top down and exhale. Once I got inside the car, I couldn’t help myself. I needed to curse Rich out. As I dialed his number my blood boiled all over again. Of course he didn’t answer the phone, so I decided to leave him a message.

“You bitch-ass nigga. I know you’re ignoring my call, but it’s all good. The gig is up muthafucka, you’ve been caught. I advise you to stay the fuck away from my house, and if not, you’ll see what happens when you get here, you fucking punta!”

Taking a deep breath, it felt as though I had so much more to say, but I had to plan this out carefully. As I waited for my iron gates to open, I looked in my rear view mirror and could see Carmen running out of the house with Maria chasing after her.

“Mommy, Mommy!” she yelled running toward my car.