Sisters and Husbands (24 page)

“Wow, you’re not wasting any time,” Beverly said.

“Nope. He called this afternoon and asked. I thought, why not? Here I am lounging around in my pajamas feeling sorry for myself
because of a husband who doesn’t give a damn about me. Why shouldn’t I go out and have some fun? No crime in that.”

“You should fuck him,” Charmaine said.

“Charmaine!” Beverly laughed. “What the hell’s wrong with you, girl?”

“I don’t pay her any mind when she talks like that,” Evelyn said, waving Charmaine off.

“I’m serious. It would do you a world of good. That’s what I would do. Hell, yeah.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Evelyn said. “But you’re not me. We don’t think of sex the same way. I didn’t even sleep with Kevin until
we had been dating for a couple of months, and believe it or not I’ve been faithful to him all these years. For you, Charmaine,
sex is like brushing your teeth.”

“Hardly. I’m definitely a one-man woman. I don’t sleep around, but I will get it on with someone once in a while if I’m attracted
to him and we’re both unattached. I bet it’s been a while since you and Kevin slept together. Right?”

Evelyn shrugged.

“You know I’m right,” Charmaine said. “And you’re a single woman now. Or almost. If you’re feeling it for Reuben, go for it.”

“But I’m not feeling that.”

“Uh-huh,” Charmaine said doubtfully. “You’re denying your feelings, is more like it.”

Beverly laughed. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe we’re sisters. We’re so different.”

Charmaine smiled. “True. But that’s what keeps things interesting.”

“Now
that
I can agree with,” Evelyn said.

“Seriously, though, you should think about what I said,” Charmaine added. “Free your mind and do something purely for yourself.
I bet when you’re having lunch with Reuben that Kevin is the furthest person from your mind, isn’t he?”

Evelyn laughed as she thought about how true that was.

“See?” Charmaine said, smiling in triumph.

“I admit that being around Reuben is refreshing,” Evelyn said. “But sleeping with him at this point is out of the question.
It’s way too early. Besides, I’m still legally married.”

“To a cheater,” Charmaine said.

“We haven’t even begun divorce proceedings.”

“When are you?” Beverly asked.

“I’m going to contact a lawyer this week. I have to after this.”

“When you’re ready call me,” Charmaine said. “I’ll hook you up.”

Beverly sipped her wine and sighed deeply as she listened to her sisters discuss the pros and cons of various divorce attorneys.
All she could think was that she fervently hoped she never ended up needing one.

A
fter leaving Evelyn’s and picking up Kenny and Russell from the movies, Charmaine entered the house and went straight up to
get ready for bed. It had been a long couple of days and she was tired. She climbed between the sheets and flipped the television
to the Food Network.

When Charmaine was honest with herself, she realized that Kevin’s cheating on Evelyn had unnerved her more than she cared
to admit. Yes, she believed all men had it in them to cheat. They were a different kind of beast. Yet she also believed firmly
that as long as she picked a good enough man and fulfilled his needs in every way—emotionally, sexually, mentally—he wouldn’t
stray.

But with Tyrone staying at his mama’s, his emotional and physical needs weren’t being taken care of—at least not by her. And
that was a prescription for marital disaster. Unless she wanted to end up like Evelyn, she needed to patch this thing up with
him ASAP.

She picked up the phone on the nightstand and dialed Tyrone’s cell number. It was late, after ten o’clock, but this was important.
When he didn’t answer, Charmaine dialed his mother’s house and got Anne, Tyrone’s mom, on the line. Charmaine had never gotten
along well with Anne. Tyrone was a bit of a mama’s boy, and Mama expected her son’s woman to treat him like Moses coming down
from the mountaintop, which went against every fiber of Charmaine’s being. Pleasing her man emotionally and sexually was one
thing, catering to him like a servant was another. Tyrone was perfectly capable of pitching in around the house since both
of them worked. So Charmaine wasn’t at all surprised by the cool tone in Anne’s voice when she realized that it was her daughter-in-law
who was waking her up.

“Sorry to disturb you, Anne,” Charmaine said. “Can I speak to Tyrone?”

“He’s not here.”

Charmaine frowned. Where would he be so late, when he had work tomorrow? “What time are you expecting them back, if I may
ask?”

“He didn’t tell me, but he might have told Tiffany. Hold on and let me ask her.”

An alarm went off in Charmaine’s head as she waited for Tyrone’s mother to return to the phone. So Tyrone was out and Tiffany
wasn’t with him? Where the hell was he? And who was he with?

“Charmaine,” Anne said when she came back to the phone, “Tiffany said he went to meet a friend at a bar and grill.”

“I see,” Charmaine said. She didn’t want to push too much by asking who this friend was and whether it was a man or a woman.
Besides, Anne was unlikely to give up the information readily even if she knew. Charmaine cleared her throat. “Can you have
him call me when he gets in?”

“It will probably be pretty late by the time he gets back. I might be asleep.”

“Can you leave a message where he’ll see it, then?” Duh!

“I guess I can do that.”

Charmaine slowly placed the receiver back into the cradle. This was exactly the kind of thing she was talking about at Evelyn’s
house tonight. Let your man stray too far and you might not be able to rope him back in before some bitch got her claws into
him. Tyrone might be out with his buddies. Then again, maybe not. By letting him go, she had left the door wide open for another
woman.

She was going to have to make it her business to catch up with Tyrone tomorrow and have a good long talk with him. It would
be hard to find him since he moved from one building to the next as an electrician and kept his cell phone turned off while
working. But find him she would. If this marriage was going to work, it was time for them to move beyond the nonsense.

Evelyn kicked off her slippers and slid beneath the bedcovers, still wearing the same white pajamas she’d had on all day.
She pulled the blanket up to her chin and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to blot out all thoughts of those two people together.
But it was impossible, and the vision of Kevin and Valerie having sex with each other literally made Evelyn feel nauseated.
It was gross enough to think of him being with another woman, but the thought of him with Valerie, someone she knew so well,
was disgusting. If she lived to be a hundred years old, she would never be able to wrap her mind around the idea of the two
of them together naked.

Yet in a strange way he had done exactly what was needed to knock some sense into her head. Kevin had obviously decided that
their marriage was over a long time ago. He was just biding his time until
she
realized it. Well, she had. She didn’t need any more signals from the bastard. She understood with complete clarity that
it was over between them and that she had to start planning a life without him.

And poor Beverly. This had been devastating for her too, for different reasons. Evelyn could remember when Beverly and Valerie
were in college together and Valerie would sometimes come to the Jordan house to stay during school breaks. The two of them
would run giggling up to Beverly’s room and talk and laugh until the wee hours of the morning. When they weren’t together,
they were yakking it up on the phone.

After college, Valerie got a job in Washington, D.C., and moved here with her daughter Olivia. Over time the relationship
between Beverly and Valerie had evolved as they started spending more time with the men in their lives. Yet through everything,
they had always had each other for consolation and advice.

And Kevin, her husband, had come between all of that history, all of that friendship. Evelyn shook her head. There was a time
when Evelyn didn’t understand women who always put guys down, dogging them, calling them names. Whenever women talked that
way around her, she would remind them that there were good men out there. You just had to look. And she would point to Kevin
as an example.

So much for that.

She still believed there were at least a few good guys left. She had to for Beverly’s sake. Beverly had yet to get married
and try for happily ever after. Even if the dream turned out to be a nightmare for Beverly too, Evelyn thought every woman
should experience marriage at least once. And for all she knew, Beverly could be a first among the Jordan sisters. Beverly
could get this thing called marriage right.

The telephone rang and Evelyn glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand. It was nearly eleven o’clock. Who could that
be? She leaned over to peer at the caller ID, and it delivered a shock. Kevin.
Now
he called? All this time she had prayed that he would contact her and he hadn’t. Now that she didn’t care to speak to him,
what does he do? She rubbed her eyes to clear her head and braced herself for whatever he was about to throw her way.

“Yes?” she said coldly into the mouthpiece.

“Evelyn? How are you doing?”

Evelyn moved the phone a foot from her face and stared at it in utter disbelief. If this wasn’t so incredibly unbelievable
she would crack up laughing. She brought the phone back to her ear. “Look, I know you’re not calling to chat with me, Kevin,
so please, just get on with it. I’m tired.”
Bastard.

“Fair enough,” he said, clearing his throat. “Um, I suppose you talked to Beverly?”

She didn’t utter a word. What the hell did he think? He understood how close she was to her sisters. Or maybe not. Obviously
he didn’t understand the bond of trust that was needed between husband and wife. So why should she expect him to understand
the bond between siblings? Still, that comment didn’t deserve a response. Let him figure it out or stay ignorant.

“Okay, well, actually, I wanted to apologize for… for what happened. I know you’ll have a hard time forgiving me, and I don’t
expect you to right now. I still thought I owed you an apology. So I’m sorry.”

“Well, guess what, Kevin? You’re wrong. I won’t have a hard time forgiving you. Know why? ’Cause I ain’t even going to try.”

He cleared his throat. “Fair enough. I understand.”

“No you don’t or else you wouldn’t have done this,” she said, her voice rising. “Out of all the women you could have picked
if you wanted to cheat on me so badly, you had to pick Beverly’s best friend.”

He sighed deeply but said nothing.

“You’re despicable.”

“You’re right.”

“Why her, Kevin?”

“You and I had separated,” he said. “And she was going through some stuff with her ex-fiancé. We were both lonely. We were
both there.”

“Is that it? You were lonely and she was convenient?”

“That’s about the size of it,” he said.

“Still no excuse.”

“It meant nothing.”

“Not to me, it didn’t,” she said. “I honestly don’t even know who you are anymore, Kevin.”

He sighed. “I believe that. Sometimes I’m not sure I know myself.”

A part of her wanted to feel sorry for him. He was obviously as confused as anyone, even more so. She thought to suggest that
he seek out a therapist to talk about what he was going through, but she was so angry with him that she couldn’t bring herself
to be helpful in any way.

“Is that all you called for?” she asked. “’Cause I’ve got things to do. Like falling asleep while watching television and
erasing you from my thoughts.”

He chuckled softly. “Yeah, well, I wanted to get some tools out of the garage this week, but I can’t find my key to the house.”

“Come by one evening after I get off work and I’ll give you another one.”

“I’m off Wednesday,” he said. “How is that?”

“Not Wednesday. I have plans.”

“If you’re working late, I could stop by your office and pick up the key around five or six o’clock.”

“I’m not going to be at work then,” she said.

“Oh. Might I ask where you’ll be?”

“I’m meeting someone for dinner.”

“You mean a date? With a man?”

He said it like it was a miracle that she would have a date with someone. Asshole. “Is that so hard to believe? Just because
you don’t find me attractive doesn’t mean no man can.”

“I never said I didn’t find you attractive. Why would you say that?”

“Because that’s pretty much what you said. You said you weren’t attracted to me romantically anymore.”

He smacked his lips impatiently. “That’s different. Who is this dude?”

“An old friend from high school I ran into a couple of weeks ago. You don’t know him.”

“How can you date while we’re still married?” he asked, his voice filled with surprise.

“You’re joking, right?”

“You hear me laughing?”

“Well, you know what?” Evelyn said, laughing at this ridiculousness. “I’ll do whatever the hell I please. You’ll just have
to come another day for the key.”