The Side Effects of You (19 page)

After the burial, we headed to the banquet hall for the dinner. Charles was quiet while he drove.

“The service was nice,” I said.

He looked out the window. “Yeah,” he said dryly.

“And what a surprise to learn that your cousin Quentin is with my hairdresser. I had no idea. Especially with that scandal going on with her and her husband. I'm going to have to call her and catch up.”

He said nothing.

I rubbed the back of his hand. “Baby?”

“Please, Sammie, baby, please. I don't want to talk right now, baby. I just want to ride in peace, please.”

He didn't yell, and he didn't snap, so I just leaned my head on his shoulder and held his hand. He rested his head on my head, and his teardrops fell onto my breasts. He sniffled, and I didn't say a word. I just let him have his moment in peace.

When we arrived at the banquet hall, he let out a few deep breaths, and then we got out of the car.

“Hold on, baby,” I said. He turned to me. “Let me check you out.” I wiped his face and straightened his tie and then smoothed his jacket. “There. All set, handsome.”

“Thank you, and I love you. I wasn't trying to be mean before.”

“I know, baby. It's fine. Come on.” I grabbed his hand, and we went inside.

We caught up with his family. Most of them were shocked to see we were back together. A few minutes later I spotted Andrea at a table across the room.

“Charles, baby, I'm going to go over and speak to Andrea. I'll be back.” He nodded, and I headed her way. “Andrea,” I called out when I was a few yards from her.

She looked up. “Sam. Hey, lady. I wanted to speak earlier, but you were with Charles. So how are you?”

I took a seat next to her. “I'm good. Need an appointment. You see my taper is almost a mini fro.” I laughed.

“Yes, you need to visit with the clippers. But your hair still looks good. You're maintaining it well.”

“Yes. I'm learning. The first week was hell, but I'm getting better.”

“Yes, you are.”

“I had no idea you were with Q.”

“Well, you must have been living under a rock, because we made the paper,” she informed me.

“When, girl?”

“Last week.”

“Well, I haven't read the paper or watched much television since Mom passed,” I told her.

“I see you're hugged up with Charles. What happened to what's-his-face?”

“Ethan,” I reminded her.

“Yes, Ethan. I thought you two were hitting it off.”

“That is a long story. Let's just say in the blink of an eye, my life changed. My husband and I are getting back together.”

“I thought you two were divorced.”

“Yes, we did divorce, but we are going to remarry. We call it renewing our vows. And this time, it is forever.”

“Wow. Look at you glowing.”

“So, what's up with Q? I know there is some crazy mess about your husband going around, but how in the hell are you with Quentin? I was shocked to hear he divorced that stuck-up heifer he was married to, but I was even more shocked to see you on his arm.”

“Well, Quentin was my first love, my high school sweetheart, but in college we went through some changes, broke up, and both of us married the wrong person. He tracked me down, showed up at my shop one night to apologize to me for the foul way we ended, and then I foolishly started hanging out with him, knowing that would lead to disaster. My marriage was in the toilet, but I pretended to be in bliss. Quentin and I are just made for each other, and it didn't take long for us to rekindle our romance. And now here I am. About to be divorced and to share custody of my kids with Jeremiah. As bad as it sounds, I'm happier now.”

“Well, love has a way of doing that. If you'd asked me the night we met if I would ever go back to my ex, I would have probably slapped your face,” I said.

We both laughed.

I went on. “But the first night that we were together, it felt natural. It felt right. And from that night on, we've been back together.”

“I'm happy for you. How's Josie? I mean, I never got an update on the date.”

“I haven't seen or talked to her this week, but the date went well, and they are happy, last I heard.”

“We should get together, have a girls' night,” she suggested.

“We should. How about next Thursday night? I'll text Josie.”

“That's cool. Let me put it on my calendar.”

Andrea and I continued to talk until the guys came over. We told them how we met and knew each other, and we made plans to get together that week for dinner. Then Charles and I excused ourselves to greet our guests.

My feet were aching by the time we got in that night.

“I'm going to go shower,” Charles said as we stood in the foyer. He leaned in and gave me a peck.

I headed to the master bedroom, removed my dress, and then walked into the kitchen in my robe to get a glass of wine. There had been no alcoholic beverages at the dinner, and I needed my fix. I had just finished pouring the wine when the doorbell rang, and I jumped.

“Hold on,” I yelled and headed toward the door. I looked through the peephole and saw a young lady. I opened the door.

“Hi. Can I help you?” I said.

“Um, who are you?”

“Who are
you
?”

“I'm Shana.”

Charles's teenage ex. What in the hell did she want?

“I'm Sam, Charles's wife.”

“You're Sam, Charles's
ex
. Why are you here?”

“Why are
you
here?”

“I came to speak to Charles,” she said.

I folded my arms across my chest. “About?”

“None of your business. Is he here?”

“Yes. He is in the shower. I'll let him know you dropped by.” I went to close the door, but she stopped me.

“Did he tell you about me?” she asked.

“No. What's to tell?”

“Well, we've been together for only two years.”

“You
were
together. I heard things didn't work out.”

“Well, there are reasons for that.”

“You don't say.”

“Look, I'll come back at another time. I need to talk to him.” She stormed off, and I shut the door.

I went back to my glass and took two gulps of the wine. “Bitch,” I mumbled.

A few moments later, Charles walked into the kitchen. “Did I hear the door?”

“You did,” I said.

“Who was it?”

“Take a wild guess.”

“My neighbor? Did he want to borrow something again? Boy, I wonder how he can afford to even live on our block. He borrows everything,” he said. He went for a glass and hit the ice dispenser on the fridge.

“No. It was Shana.”

He froze. “Shana? What did she want?”

“I don't know. I asked, but she informed me that it was none of my business.”

He headed for the liquor cart, chose something dark, and poured it over the ice in his glass.

“Well, I have no idea why she came by. Normally, she'd call first,” he said.

“Well, tonight she thought it was cool to just show up.”

“Why didn't you let her in?”

“Are you kidding me? What if I had invited her in and you didn't want to see her or something?”

“True, but now I'm just curious. I wonder what she wanted.”

“If you're so concerned, why don't you call her?”

He took a sip of his drink. “Yeah, I'll call her.” He went into the bedroom for his phone, or so I thought. He didn't come back right away.

“Oh no, you won't talk to her in private,” I said aloud to myself and walked into the bedroom.

Charles was pacing, with the phone to his ear. “Yeah, of course, you know this is Charles. You stopped by. I'd like to know why. Give me a call back.” He ended the call. “Her voice mail.”

I rolled my eyes. “I figured that much.” I walked back into the kitchen. I needed a refill.

He followed me. “Baby, why do you have this attitude with me? I didn't do anything.”

“I know, Charles, but the teenage tramp dropping by here out of the blue is a red flag for me.”

“How? Why?”

“I don't know, babe. I mean, we just got back together, and I don't want any drama. And my gut is screaming
drama
.”

“Come here, babe,” he said. He pulled me into his arms. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about. She and I have been over for months. Why she decided to show up out of the blue is a mystery, but I'm not worried, and you shouldn't worry.”

“Are you sure, Charles? I mean, I'm not in the mood to deal with young, hot ex-girlfriends, and I'm not up for any love triangles or stalking. I mean, none of that.”

He laughed. “Baby, relax. You are making a big deal out of nothing. She may not even call me back. I'm sure it's nothing.” He kissed me and smiled. “Are you cool?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I'm cool.”

“Good. Now, I'm going to go up to my office. I have to check some e-mails and see what I need to get back to work on Monday.”

“Are you sure you're ready to go back so soon?”

“Yeah. I mean, Mom is resting, so sitting around makes no sense.”

“Okay. Well, I'll be going in tomorrow. Is that okay?”

“Sure, babe. Sure. And we need to talk.” He moved to make another drink.

“About?”

“Our living arrangement. I don't want you to go home. I want you to stay here.”

“Really? Don't you think this is a little sudden?” I asked.

“Sammie, this is me. We were married for six years. We've dated. We've lived together. We've made love a ton of times. I'm serious about getting our lives back on track together.”

I heard him and understood. And in a way, he was right. I had agreed to come back, and it was not like we weren't married before. “Okay. I'll talk with a Realtor this week, and I'll start making arrangements to bring my things over.”

“What things? All you need is clothes. There is an entire empty side in the master walk-in for your things. That closet is larger than our smallest room in the house.”

“Oh yeah? I need to check that out. I have things I want to keep. I mean, everything is beautifully decorated here, but there are a few things I want to hold on to.”

“Come on. Follow me.”

I walked behind him as he gave me another tour of the house.

“Besides my office, there is another master for guests, two spare rooms for our kids, with a Jack and Jill bathroom, and this space down the hall.” He pointed out each room as we went. Finally, we stopped in the doorway of an upstairs room. “This could be your office slash craft room slash whatever. So I say we keep your bedroom furniture for the guest room, and everything else, we can sell.”

He was right. His place was completely furnished and straight out of
Homes & Gardens
magazine. The outdoor living area had furniture, a fire pit, a pool, and a hot tub. I really had nothing I needed to keep.

“I hate to say it, but you're right.” I smiled. “Now I have a question for you.”

“Go ahead.”

“When are you going to put a ring on it?”

“Wait, I already put a ring on it. Where are your rings?”

“I have them, but that was then. This is post–six figures. I need you to upgrade me if you wanna be with me.” I snapped my fingers in the air.

“Okay. I can do that. You pick a date, and I'll be there on time.”

Ready and willing, I said, “How about Monday?”

“As in the day after tomorrow?”

“Yep. If you're serious?” I said as a challenge.

“I'll pick you up at one.”

“I'll be ready,” I squealed. I leaped into his arms and kissed him. “We're getting married. We're getting married,” I sang.

“Yes, we are.”

I gave him a final kiss and headed back downstairs. I figured I'd wait until after we tied the knot before I spread the word. Most of my family and close friends were going to think I was insane after all the bashing of Charles I had done, calling him scum, a dog, and a whore. Everyone who knew me knew that Charles and I had ended on a sour note. They were going to flip.

I went into the kitchen, grabbed my glass, then headed into the living room and settled on the sofa to watch a little television. At some point, I dozed off. A couple of hours later, Charles woke me with a kiss.

“Come on, Sam. Let's go to bed, baby.”

I allowed him to help me up and guide me to the bedroom. I climbed in bed, and I slept like a baby.

I sat with my lawyer and nodded at everything Jeremiah's slick lawyer said, until he mentioned full custody of my children.

“No, we didn't agree to that. He can keep that house, all those cars, and the vacation home. I keep my share of our investments, and I want joint custody of my kids,” I asserted.

Jeremiah whispered something in his attorney's ear.

“Well, due to the circumstances and why we are here today, Jeremiah feels that he will be a better influence for the children,” his attorney remarked, clearly repeating what his client had told him.

I looked at my soon-to-be ex-husband square in the eye. My eyes burned. “You know the truth about what went on behind closed doors in our house. You do
not
want to do this to me after everything else you've done. All that material crap, I'm willing to give you, because I know my kids need a nice place to stay when they are with you. Don't do this, Jeremiah. I don't want to go to court. I want to get this over with so I can move on, but there will be hell to pay if you continue with this pursuit to take my children. Don't do this to them. I'm a good mother, and you know it.” My voice broke at the end.

I was stronger now, but when it came to my kids, I'd go to mush. Losing them would drive me to a place Jeremiah did not want to see.

Jeremiah whispered something else, and my lawyer and I waited for his next offer.

“Full custody with visitation,” his attorney declared.

I wanted to jump across the table. “No!” I shouted. “Hell no!”

“My client won't accept anything less than joint custody,” my attorney countered. “We don't want to go before a judge with this. Let's just agree to joint custody and proceed with the divorce. My client is being more than generous. She is not even asking for spousal support.”

“Spousal support?” Jeremiah chuckled. “I wish this whore would try to sue me for alimony,” he said, showing his true colors.

“And your client is a man of God,” I spat at his attorney. “As I said, no. I'm not giving up custody of my kids. I'm not a whore, and I
am
a good mother.” My gaze went to Jeremiah. “If you had been taking care of your wife instead of running behind—” I was about say the word
dick
, but I caught myself. His eyes narrowed at me, and I dropped that subject. “I'm a good mother, and I'm not giving up my children.”

“Well, if this is your decision,” his attorney said, “this will have to go before a judge. Now, be careful, Mrs. Young. You did have an affair. The judge isn't going to look too kindly on that behavior.”

I twisted my neck. If I had to hand over the video clip of Jeremiah and Franklin to keep my kids, that was what I had to do. I had to fight fire with fire. “I'll take my chances.” I stood.

“You may want to think about what you're doing, Ann. You know what I'm capable of,” Jeremiah said in a low voice, threatening me.

I walked around the table to stand in his face. “I do know what you're capable of. Too bad for you, you have absolutely no idea what
I'm
capable of. Try me, Satan.” I headed for the door. “Good day, gentlemen,” I said just before leaving the room.

I headed out of the law office and hurried to my car. I had to do it. I didn't want to, but I had to. The video clip was only three minutes or less, but it was my weapon.

I got in the car and called Q to bring him up to date on what was going on with Jeremiah. I told him that if Jeremiah and I went before a judge and the judge didn't give us joint custody, I'd have to submit my evidence. He agreed that I should.

He asked me to meet him at the house, but I told him I needed to go by my shop to take care of some things. He insisted that I come over, but business had to come first. After a lot of going back and forth, he let me go.

I headed to the salon so I could check my inventory. I had to see if I needed to place an order. I was booked solid for the rest of the week, and I didn't want to come up short on products. I was in the back with my order list when I heard someone knocking. I wondered who thought we'd be open on a Monday.

I rushed over to the door and smiled when I saw it was Q. I unlocked the door and let him in. “Baby, what are you doing here?”

“I had to see you, babe.” He kissed me.

“Well, I'm working in the back, getting my order list together. Come on back.” I turned to walk away, but he grabbed me.

“Hold on, baby. I wanted you to come home because I got something for you.”

I put my hand on my hip and smiled. “What do you have for me, Mr. Hughes?”

He pulled a red velvet box from his pocket. “This.”

“Is that what I think it is?”

He opened it. “If this is what you were thinking, then it is.”

“It's beautiful.”

“Just like you.” He took the ring out of the box and slid it on my finger. “I was wondering if you would keep this safe for me for a little while.”

“I can, but why can't you put it in a drawer or a safe or a jewelry box?”

“Because if I did that, no one would know that we're engaged.”

“Is this your way of asking me to marry you?”

“Yeah. Um, will you?”

“Come here.” He step forward, and I kissed him. “Of course I will.”

“I love you.” He kissed me.

“Now, you know I'm not telling anyone about your wack-ass proposal, right?”

“Hey, I was nervous and was trying to be clever and superromantic. You know I'm not good with stuff like this. All I know is I love you, and I didn't want to wait until tonight to give you this ring.”

“Well, I'm glad you showed up with this gorgeous ring, and as corny as that proposal was, I'm glad to have gotten it.” I held up my hand and admired my ring.

“Yeah, that was a bit lame, wasn't it?”

“It was, but I loved it. Thank you, baby. My ring is gorgeous.”

“You like it?”

“I love it.”

“Good. Charles and I met up at the jewelers, and he got Sam a beautiful ring too.”

“What? He's going to propose today too?” I asked.

“No. They are getting married today. They are at the courthouse right now.”

“Get the hell out of here. She didn't tell me on Saturday.”

“Well, I guess they decided later. All I know is he got the ring and said he'd size it later. I wished him luck.”

“Come to think of it, how did you know my ring size? I mean, this is a perfect fit.”

“Your wedding rings were on the dresser, so I took them with me. Fortunately for me, the ring I picked was the right size, so, boom, you got your ring, baby.”

“Maybe I should give the rings back to him,” I said.

“No. Save them for your daughter. I'm sure she may want her mother's rings, or your son may want to get engaged to his future wife and seal it with those rings.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“So, how much longer do you have here? I want to go celebrate, and I want to ... you know.”

I locked the door. “We can celebrate here. I mean, we do have champagne, and I can put the washer on the spin cycle.”

“I just got an erection,” he said.

“Come on. Bring your erection into my office. We can start on my desk.”

“Let's go.”