Wives and Champions (7 page)

Shaking his head, Dante said, “No. We
were at Connelley’s last night. I ordered wine. She didn’t touch
it. Emily loves red wine.”

Dimitrius looked over at Dante. “Well,
you don’t think she would try to terminate—”

“
Don’t know,” Dante said.
“I would like to think the best about my wife, but she seemed
pretty adamant about not having another baby right now.”

The brothers sat quietly for a moment,
processing what Dante had told them and then Dimitrius changed the
subject. “Me and Mel took Grace to that ballerina show at the
museum this morning.”

“
If I knew you were going,
I would’ve brought the twins,” Desmond said. “I had them out at
Battery Park this morning.”

Dimitrius chuckled. “It’s funny how
we’re sitting at a bar talking about our wives, children and
ballerina shows. Who would’ve ever thought?”

“
Yeah, especially after
your wild past, Dimitrius,” Desmond said.

Dimitrius snickered. “You’re one to
talk. Remind me, how long did you stalk Sherita again?”

Desmond smiled. “I
didn’t
stalk
her.
We probably wouldn’t even be married right now if it wasn’t for
that little scheme you and Dante cooked up.”

Dante smiled lazily. He was too busy
thinking about Emily and the life growing inside of her to add to
the conversation.

“
How many times do I have
to tell you Dante planned all that?” Dimitrius asked. “He told me
after the fact.”

“
Well, either way it goes,
I’ll always be grateful. Sherita drives me crazy, but I love her
and the twins. They have redirected my focus, you know. Made me
realize what really matters in this world.”

Dante nodded.

“
She drives you crazy…”
Dimitrius said, grinning. “Let’s get back to that part.”

Desmond took another sip of vodka.
“Well, she’s different, after the babies, I mean.”

“
Different how?” Dante
asked.

“
She…ah…she won’t let me
touch her. It’s like, if I touch her, she pulls away from me, and I
know what your next question is going to be so I’ll go ahead and
answer it. No, we haven’t had sex since the babies.”

“
There was no action on
your Myrtle Beach trip?” Dimitrius asked.

“
None. We barely
hugged.”

“
Ouch,” Dimitrius
said.

“
Jeez. And I thought I had
problems,” Dante added.

“
Well, the trip did give us
time alone to de-stress, but that’s all.” Desmond shook his head.
“It’s okay, though. I can handle it. I’ve practiced self-restraint
before I married Sherita, so I have no issues waiting until she’s
comfortable with sex again. The thing is, she’s not handling any of
this well – the marriage, babies, her body. Don’t get me wrong…she
loves Celeste and Nolan but she will not accept any help. She feels
like she needs to do everything. She’s breastfeeding, not getting
enough sleep. Her blood pressure is up and down and she’s more
conscious of her body and the weight gain. She won’t even undress
in front of me.”

“
She doesn’t look like
she’s gained that much weight,” Dante said.

“
Well, she’s gained about
fifteen pounds. To a woman, one pound is a big deal,” Desmond
said.

“
That’s true,” Dante
said.

“
Did Emily or Melanie have
any postpartum issues?” Desmond inquired.

Dante and Dimitrius both shook their
heads.

“
If Melanie did have some
issues, she worked through them on her own because I never knew
anything about it.”

“
Same with Emily, but it’s
different for every woman, I suppose,” Dante said. “If you’re
concerned about Sherita’s issues, then maybe you two should go to
the doctor to check it out together.”

“
I would if Sherita was
willing, but she insists that she’s fine.” Desmond glanced down at
the glass, at the alcohol still there. His breath nearly escaped
him when he remembered how her eyes saddened right in front of him
– before they left the house this evening. He had to do more to
help her. Had to, whether she liked it or not.

“
So, while me and Mel were
at the museum today, we ran into her ex,” Dimitrius said, deciding
that now was a good time for him to finish telling the story he
started earlier. “Well, actually,
she
ran into him. I had stepped
outside to take your call, Dante, and when I returned, I saw her
talking to the guy.”

Desmond shrugged. “She was talking to
her ex. Big deal. She probably felt like she had to
speak.”

Dimitrius frowned. “If you saw Sherita
talking to an ex, you wouldn’t feel a certain kind of way about
it?”

“
Depends on what they were
talking about. If the guy looked like he was coming on to her, oh,
I would definitely have a problem with it,” Desmond
said.

“
Well, Melanie wasn’t
flirting with him,” Dimitrius said. “The thing that irked me is,
this is the second time this fool has shown up someplace where
Melanie and I was. We saw him on another occasion when we were out
to dinner once.”

Dante looked at Dimitrius. “Is that
the guy who left her because he thought she couldn’t have
children?”

“
Yeah. That’s the one,”
Dimitrius confirmed. “Why would she have five words to say to the
dude? I mean, really. According to her, he broke up with via
voicemail, yet, she entertains this guy like he’s an old friend. I
don’t get that.”

“
She was probably just
being polite,” Dante said.

“
And, he asked her who
Grace was. You should’ve seen the look on his face when I walked up
and told him that Grace was our daughter. His mouth fell open, and
he looked at Melanie like he was having a hard time comprehending
what I’d just told him.”

“
He probably realizes he
made a mistake with Melanie,” Dante said.

“
Well, he’s going to
realize he’s unconscious if I ever find out he’s bothering my
family. He’s married with a son, yet he was staring at Melanie like
she’s the one that got away.”

Desmond shook his head. “See, this is
where you have to have faith and trust in your woman.”

“
I do trust her. It’s him I
don’t trust,” Dimitrius said, remembering the look in Scott’s eyes.
He was probably wondering how Melanie was able to have a baby when
she told him she couldn’t have children. He realized that dumping
her was a mistake. But what was it to him now? He’d moved on,
married and had a son. Did he not think she would move on as
well?

“
One thing is for certain,”
Dante said.

“
What’s that?” Desmond
asked.

“
We all got issues.” Dante
grinned.

Dimitrius picked up his glass and
said, “That’s true.” He tossed the rest of the Bourbon back to his
throat and lowered the glass to the countertop.

“
But it’s nothing we can’t
handle,” Dante said. “If we can successfully run a multi-million
dollar corporation, certainly we can handle issues in our personal
lives.”

Desmond nodded though he knew his
problems with Sherita were more complicated than any business deal
he’d ever negotiated.

Chapter Five

“
I’m so glad we were able
to get together like this,” Melanie said, sitting on the sofa in
Emily’s family room with one leg folded underneath her.

Ezra and Grace were busy running
around the room, taking turns chasing each other and playing with
toys.

Sherita held Nolan in her lap. Celeste
was sleeping in her car seat.

“
I am, too,” Emily said.
“Everybody’s been so busy lately.”

“
Yeah. Too busy,” Sherita
said. “I don’t know what it is, but lately, I’ve been so
exhausted.”

Emily smirked. “You have twins, and
you don’t know what it is? Not to mention Desmond.”

A half smile came to Sherita’s
face.

“
Are the babies still
keeping you up at night?” Melanie asked.

“
They are. You don’t see
these bags underneath my eyes?” She grinned.

Melanie chuckled. “It’ll get better,
Rita. I was up and down with Grace until she was about…ummm…almost
eight months. Then again, you’re breastfeeding, so…”

“
I’m going to be honest,”
Sherita said. “Breastfeeding is stressful. Being a mother is
stressful. Being a wife is stressful.”

“
Preach,” Emily
said.

The women chuckled.

“
But it’s everything I ever
wanted,” Sherita continued. “When I was single and everybody kept
on asking me when I was going to get married and have babies…I was
so stressed out because I didn’t think it would happen for me. I
never thought I would get my happy ending, but I have it. I have
everything, and now I’m more stressed out than I was before I had
it all. And to make matters worse, I feel like I’m
failing.”

“
Failing?” Emily
asked.

“
Yes. I have my own
photography studio now, but I can’t concentrate on work because I’m
always worried about Celeste and Nolan. I feel guilty when I’m at
work because I could be at home with my children. Desmond makes it
a point to remind me, every chance he gets, that I don’t have to
work…that I can be a stay-at-home mom, and maybe he’s right. Maybe
I can’t be superwoman. I can’t do it all. God knows I want to, but
I feel like—” Sherita felt tears settle in her eyes. She forced
them in and said with a strained voice, “I feel like I’m going to
crash at some point.”

“
Wow, Rita, if it’s that
bad, hun, then maybe you do need to take a step back and reconsider
some things,” Melanie said.

“
But I don’t want to take a
step back, Mel. Like I said, I’m living the life of my dreams and
now that I have what I want, I’m stressed out. I feel like I’m not
a good mother to my children. I’m not a good wife. I can tell by
the way Desmond looks at me that he’s absolutely disgusted and
turned off. I don’t even think he’s attracted to me
anymore.”

“
Now, stop it, Sherita,”
Emily said. “Why would you say something crazy like
that?”

“
It’s just the way I’ve
been feeling lately. Look at me. I look like a slob. My hair is a
mess. My breasts are big and heavy. I can’t even fit any of my
clothes. And I am deathly afraid of making love to my husband
because I’m so scared I’m going to get pregnant again. I completely
ignore his advances and I know he’s growing tired of
it.”

Melanie frowned, not knowing what to
say.

Emily didn’t say a word
either.

Sherita sighed heavily, kissed Nolan’s
chubby cheek then said, “I guess being on the outside and seeing
how happy other people were, especially you and Emily, while I was
still single had me longing for what you had. Now that I have it, I
don’t know what to do with it. I’m barely treading water.” Sherita
sniffled, eyes filling with tears again.

“
Aw, Sherita, it’s going to
be okay,” Emily said.

“
Yeah, and maybe you need
to talk to a doctor,” Melanie said. “You shouldn’t be feeling this
way. You need to enjoy your babies while they’re still babies. They
grow up so fast.”

“
I know.” Sherita dabbed
her eyes. “Desmond thinks I should see a doctor, too, even though I
told him I was fine. I don’t want him thinking I’m
crazy.”

“
Well, if you feel like you
need to see a doctor, then by all means,” Emily said. “I had a bout
of postpartum after Ezra. It only lasted for a couple of months and
it wasn’t so bad that Dante noticed. In fact, I didn’t even tell
him. I just felt the change within myself and went to see my
doctor. I took some anxiety medication for a few months. It helped
a lot.”

Sherita nodded with sad
eyes.

“
It’s nothing to be ashamed
of. A lot of women have issues with postpartum depression, but you
have to do what you have to do to keep yourself healthy for your
babies.”

“
You’re right,” Sherita
said.

“
And as for yourself, you
need to include some exercise in your routine,” Melanie said.
“That’s what I did after I had Grace.”

“
Exercise? I can barely
keep my eyes open. How am I supposed to add exercise to my
schedule, too?”

Melanie shrugged. “You have to. It’s
what any doctor will tell you. Plus, if you feel conscious about
the baby weight, even though I think you look fabulous, you have to
do something about it. Don’t you guys have an indoor workout
room?”

“
Yeah.”

“
Then, there you go. Hop on
that treadmill, girl.”

Sherita dabbed her eyes while
smiling.

“
Life can be managed. We
just need to sit down and prioritize, you know,” Melanie said. “For
instance, I would love to get a job, ramp up my career and be that
briefcase-toting, working woman who can juggle home and work life.
But I choose to stay at home with Grace. We’re not having any more
children. Grace is it for us.”