Chapter 41
J
oel had hired a company to coordinate the commitment ceremony. The coordinators had done plenty of weddings and commitment ceremonies, but this was the first one they had ever done where there weren't any guests. It was kind of sad that no one was present to witness the threesome's special day. A few chairs were set up just in case someone arrived and wanted to witness the ceremony. A non-traditional wedding cake sat on a small table next to the empty chairs. The thing that really made this cake stand out was the groom standing between two brides.
Erin and Kenya looked beautiful in their white linen dresses. Erin's dress was strapless and Kenya's had her favorite halter strap design. Joel was dressed in white linen too, a short-sleeved shirt and long pants. The three of them looked like they belonged together. They had purchased their clothes a couple of days earlier from a lady at a local craft market. Once she said that the outfits were cut from the same cloth, the three knew they had chosen the right clothes for their ceremony. The bright sun made the soft white linen glow in the tropical setting.
This ceremony wasn't legally binding or recognized as a marriage. It was more or less a personal expression of love and commitment between three people. More than anything it was a way of asking for God's special blessing on their lives and their relationship.
Erin, Kenya and Joel took this ceremony seriously. To them it carried the same weight and meaning as a traditional wedding. They walked hand-in-hand toward the minister, who stood at an altar on a small bridge that extended from one end of the lagoon to the other. The minister was dressed in white as well.
Reverend Gamble opened his Bible, read a few scriptures from I Corinthians and then he said, “This is a beautiful day that the Lord has made in order to bring three special individuals together to publicly declare and affirm their love and to commit their lives to each other.”
After a short prayer Erin and Kenya began to exchange vows. Joel was bothered and confused by the order of service because the girls knew he was supposed to recite his vows first. He couldn't understand why the girls decided to exchange vows first, but he didn't complain.
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Renee arrived safely on the island. A female employee from the Blue Lagoon's gift shop guided Renee to where wedding ceremonies were usually held. She took off her shoes and nearly killed herself running as fast as she could, past colorful canoes, picnic tables, coconut palm trees and volleyball nets. It was a couple of minutes past four o'clock when she made it to a huge pavilion. She almost lost it when she saw that it was empty. All she could do was jump up and down and mumble, “Shit ... shit ... shit.”
It was after four o'clock and Renee knew exactly what that meant. She refused to give up and let Erin and Kenya take her man. Renee took off running again, calling Joel's name.
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Just as Joel began to recite his vows to Erin and Kenya he heard someone calling his name. He stopped, looked around and saw Renee running full speed across the white sand in his direction. Erin and Kenya stopped breathing. They looked angry and completely baffled.
Erin asked, “What the hell is she doing here?”
Joel hunched his shoulders and said, “I dunno.”
Kenya said, “We better keep an eye on her 'cause y'all know she ain't right ... damn mental case.”
Renee was out of breath by the time she reached the altar. Joel look stunned. Now Erin and Kenya looked mad as hell because Renee's unexpected arrival brought the ceremony to a screeching halt.
Breathless, Renee said, “Hi, everybody. Sorry to interrupt things, but I really-really need to speak to Joel.”
Erin said angrily, “No!”
Renee looked confused and repeated, “No?”
With much attitude Kenya said, “That's right, no! You can't just come up here trying to ruin our special day like this. You need to sit down over there and be quiet so we can finish what we came here to do.”
Joel looked at Erin and Kenya and said, “Wait, it's okay.” He turned toward Renee and said, “Look, Renee, I'll give you a couple of minutes to get out whatever you have to say, but after that you have to promise to go away and leave the three of us alone.”
Erin said, “She's not gonna do that because something is wrong with her. She's crazy.”
Joel said, “Erin, stop. Don't do that.”
Kenya said, “I don't feel safe with her being here like this. No telling what that bitch has in her bag. Somehow we need to put an end to this because she's never gonna go away.”
Joel said, “Excuse me, Reverend Gamble. And please excuse Kenya's mouth.”
Reverend Gamble said, “It's fine. No harm. Do whatever you need to do, son.”
Joel walked away from the altar with Renee. As soon as they got about fifty feet away he asked, “What the hell are you doing here?”
Renee looked him in his eyes and said, “I'm here for you ... here for us.”
Joel didn't really know what to say because it was crazy, but also impressive that Renee thought enough of him to come so far. He softened his tone and asked, “You came all the way to Nassau for me?”
Renee teared up. “Not just for you, but both of us.”
He exhaled and said, “Damn, you're persistent. Are you feeling okay? You're not well, are you?”
Renee said, “I've never felt better.” She stepped closer to Joel and took him by the hand. Erin and Kenya watched from a distance as Joel allowed her inside his personal space. “Listen Joel, we're both at a crossroads and we need to choose the right path.”
Joel shook his head and laughed. “You sound like my mother.”
“Think about what you just said. That has to be a good thing.” She put his hand up to her lips and said, “I need you in my life. Can't you see that we're meant to be? Being without you is unnatural. All this time your love has held me captive and won't let me go. With you I find peace of mind. I need you. You've always had my back and been there to pick me up. You saved me, now allow me to save you.”
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“You know exactly what that means.” Her eyes shifted over to Erin and Kenya. She frowned at them and then looked into Joel's eyes again. “I can't live without you. I refuse to turn around and just walk away without you by my side where you belong. I'm not leaving here without you. If you want me to beg then I'll beg. Please don't walk away from me and make a big mistake. I know what you're trying to do. I know you better than you think I do ... I know you ... I know your heart. I see the real you and I want you to see the real me. It's me ... the old Renee is back ... the one you first fell in love with. Can you see the real me?”
“Yeah, I see you. But I have an obligation that I need to fulfill. I belong with Erin and Kenya.”
“You belong with me. I know you can feel it. God is here right now. He wants us to be together, to get married and raise a family. Can't you see us together with a pretty little girl and a handsome little boy?”
Joel saw a brief vision, but forced it out of his mind. He said, “I can't see it.” He pulled his hand away from Renee as rejection knifed its way through her heart. He looked into her eyes and said, “I'm sorry. I gotta get back over to the altar. Some things are just meant to be and others aren't.”
“Sorry I can't erase the past, but I'm offering you a future. . . a real future. You don't have a real future with them. You don't even know them. After all I've gone through today I can't believe you're just gonna walk away from me.”
Renee stood still and watched her best friend and former lover walk out of her life. She felt like her heart had stopped beating and the air had been sucked out of her lungs. Reality began to sink in. She had traveled by plane, taxi and boat to be with the man of her dreams and was now forced to live a nightmare. She didn't have a place to stay, a way back home or a decent change of clothes. She had traveled thousands of miles for nothing.
Joel rejoined Erin, Kenya and Reverend Gamble at the altar. He picked up where he left off and began to recite his vows. He said, “I ... I,” and then he paused as a gentle rain began to fall from a sunny, cloudless sky. Joel knew that it was a sign from God because he felt His presence. He looked over at Renee and she had her teary eyes focused directly on him. She just stood there crying her heart out.
Meanwhile, Joel looked at Erin and Kenya holding hands. He looked at the expensive diamond rings he had bought, gleaming in the sunlight. The money he spent and the rings were meaningless to him at that point. The fantasy he had tried so hard to believe in was over. Erin and Kenya had created a new bond and Joel was no longer one of them. The love he thought he had for them faded. He could clearly see now that the whole threesome thing had been about the girls all along. He came to the realization that they had used the threesome and the sexual experimentation as a way to bring the two of them together. It was hard to admit, but Erin wasn't able to love him until Kenya stepped into the picture.
Joel said, “Hold up ... wait a minute. I can't do this. I just realized that God doesn't want us together like this. Living a Christian lifestyle isn't as hard as I thought. When I do things I'm used to doing them wholeheartedly, and I refuse to be a lukewarm Christian. The whole time we've been wondering why God brought the three of us together. Now I know why. He brought the three of us together to make me see where I really need to be. I hope the two of you will be happy together.”
Erin and Kenya didn't say a word as Joel walked away. They just held each other tightly and rejoiced in the fact that they had each other.
Erin came to the realization that Joel and Renee truly belonged together. Deep down inside she knew that Renee didn't exactly come between the threesome because Renee had been there all alongâin Joel's heart. Erin knew that she and Joel could have had something incredible together, but she jeopardized it all by allowing Kenya into their relationship. Above everything, Erin came away with the person she had been closest to most of her life.
Kenya came to the realization that she and Erin were lesbians. At that point she was willing to be labeled or categorized just as long as she and Erin could be together. Kenya also realized that there was a good chance that she was pregnant with Joel's baby. If that was the case she planned to explain the situation to Erin and they would raise the child as their own.
Joel walked over to Renee and could clearly see that she had a need to love and a need to be lovedâa need to touch and be touchedâa need to hold and be held. He took her in his arms and tried his best to love the hurt away. He wanted to raise the family he had dreamed of with Renee and wanted them to grow old together.
Joel said, “I'm still in love with you, Renee.”
She whispered, “Marry me ... let's get married.”
Joel smiled. “I'd love to make you mine, to have and to hold, for better or for worse, through good times and bad times, for richer and poorer, in sickness and in health, to love you and to cherish you, from this day forward until death do us part.”
They kissed. This wasn't just any kiss, but it was one that said,
Our love is infallible
.
I promise to love you forever and a day.
Renee and Joel were overwhelmed with joy. They had built something special in the past and watched it fall apart. Now they had the opportunity to rebuild their lives together and share something even more special. What started out as
the beginning of the end
was now
the start of a new beginning
.
A divorced single mom takes a walk on the wild
side and gets into a whole lotta trouble in
Sasha Campbell's thrilling new novel
Â
Scandals
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Coming in April 2012
MONICA
“Y
ou want me to do what?” I was practically shouting and had every reason. I was even seriously considering popping somebody upside the head. The only thing stopping me was that I suddenly remembered where the hell I was.
I glanced around CJ's Cafe just to make sure no one was eavesdropping on our conversation, and to my relief, the only people looking at me all cockeyed were the couple at the next table. Hell, I didn't mean to be loud and even tossed an apology in their direction before I focused my rage on the chunky chick sitting across the table from me. There's no way in hell Keisha just said what I thought she said.
“I'm serious, Monica. Look at this,” she insisted and had the nerve to stab the newspaper with her index finger.
I shifted my eyes. “Keisha, I'm not looking at that! I can't believe you set your lips to suggest something like that to me.” My best friend had lost her mind. “Are you fucking crazy?”
Keisha blinked and then had the audacity to act like it was no big deal. “It's not that bad. I even considered it once in college. I know you could do it.”
I sighed silently to myself. “I'm not even about to have this conversation with you.”
She blew out a heavy breath, then rolled her eyes at me. “Damn, Monica, you act like I asked you to rob a bank ... like we about to set it off up in here.”
“Shiiiit, what's the difference?” I hissed and leaned back against the seat. I should have known Keisha had something up her sleeve when she asked me to meet her for lunch. And to think I'd been having one hell of a day.
Fridays are the only mornings I don't have class, and with the girls in school, I decided to finally do something I'd been considering for monthsâI got a haircut. I let Sonya, a stylist at Forever You, chop off hair that once hung to the center of my back. For two hours I was practically in tears, certain I had made a big mistake, until she swung my chair around so I faced the mirror. Sonya was heaven sent. She had given me a short, layered style that took off almost ten years from my face. You're probably thinking, what's the big deal? Well, listen when I tell you, cutting my hair was a hard decision for me. For years my hair was my strength. I was like Samson. I thought I was weak without it. But I realized the only thing that made me weak was my ex-husband Anthony. Too bad it took his sorry ass leaving for me to finally figure it out.
As soon as I left the salon, I went to meet Keisha for lunch and strolled into CJ's Café with my hips swaying. I couldn't help but notice several men checking me out. I guess the black wraparound dress I was rocking looked good hugging every curve on my body, just as I had hoped it would. The attention definitely made it worth the money I spent on the outfit. Some dude even had the nerve to try and get my attention, but I blew him off. Not that he was ugly or anything. It's just that the last thing in the world I needed was a man. All I wanted was to know that even though I was a thirty-year-old mother of two, I still looked damn good. The attention was definitely my stamp of approval. When I finally reached the booth at the far back corner, I was feeling sexy as hell. Then Keisha had the nerve to fuck everything up for me.
Our waiter returned with our salads and iced teas. Keisha waited until he had moved on to the next table before she tried to rationalize. “Listen, Monica, all I'm tryna do is help you find a job. You're the one who said you weren't asking Anthony for shit else.”
Damn right I wasn't. I'd rather clean the floor of the café with a toothbrush before I asked that bastard for a dime. I was willing to even get a job standing on the corners holding up one of those stupid “Everything Must Go” signs. I would do just about anything except beg my ex-husband for money ... and the shit Keisha was suggesting. “You're right. I meant it when I said I'm not asking him for shit. But just 'cause I said that doesn't mean I'm ready to sell my body just to earn a dollar.”
Keisha laughed, like what I said was funny when in actuality I was dead serious. “Monica, it's stripping, not prostituting,” she said a little too gleefully.
“Hell, they're the same damn thing,” I snarled at my friend. Then I stabbed my garden salad with a fork.
“No, they are not,” she said nonchalantly, then shrugged her shoulders. “In fact, Scandalous is a pretty nice club. I've been there a few times.”
“A few times?” My eyes got wide. Lord have mercy. That girl ceased to amaze me. I shook my head and gave her a pitiful look. “What were you doing ... auditioning?”
“Noooo,” she said, like something was wrong with the idea. What was up with that? Apparently it was okay for me to strip, but heaven forbid I assume she had. “It's nothing like that.” Keisha gave me a wicked grin and took a bite of her salad before she continued. “This dude I used to mess with had this thing about taking his date to a strip club. Something about it turned him on to have his woman watching the girls along with him.” Keisha had this faraway look in her eyes. Damn! I couldn't believe she was taking me with her ass on a ride down memory lane.
Keisha took another bite of her salad, then leaned in close. I guess she didn't want anyone else to hear what she was about to say. Hell, I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear it either. “They even have a swinger's section upstairs and we went up there and got our groove on. Monica,
girrrrl
, making love up in the balcony while staring down at the strippers on the stage ...
oh my goodness
... it was better than a porno tape. I don't think I ever came that hard in my life.”
I leaned back in the seat, trying to put as much distance between the two of us as I could manage. “Nasty ass.” I shook my head because I should have known better. My girl gets off on all that crazy shit.
“Monica, you act like you've never done anything freaky in your life,” she said with a disapproving look on her face.
“I have ... at home ... with my husband.” Keisha would never believe the things my husband used to make me do. Hell, I still had a hard time believing it myself.
“Seriously ... I wasn't trying to piss you off. It was just a suggestion ... a quick way to make some money ... that's all.” Keisha tried to act like her feelings were hurt, but I wasn't buying it.
I reached for my iced tea and stared at her cocoa-brown face over the rim of the glass. “Well, I'm not interested in auditioning at Scandalous. I've got two little girls. What would they think if they knew their mother was taking her clothes off in front of a roomful of horny men?”
“They won't know. The only two people who would know are you and me.” She shook her head like I was being ridiculous, when it was Keisha who had lost her damn mind. “Some weave, false eyelashes, and colored contacts ... nobody would know it was you.”
“Absolutely not.” I scowled. She tried to reason with me, but I stood my ground. “Dammit, I said, no!”
“Okay ... fine,” Keisha threw her hands in the air in defeat. “Then what are you gonna do about money?”
If anyone told me a year ago I would be sitting in a café with my best friend trying to figure out how I was going to keep a roof over my head, I would have laughed at them. Back then I was Mrs. Monica Houston, the wife of the Anthony Houston, the hedge fund king and one of Richmond's wealthiest black men. I'd been living in a big ass house in Chesterfield with a maid and a gardener. Back then couldn't nobody tell me my husband was messing around on me. I loved that man with everything I had and was confident he felt the same. Then he announced he wanted a divorce. I swear to you, I didn't see that shit coming, especially since we had just spent a week in Jamaica, screwing like two teenagers on spring break. That bastard waited until our plane landed in Richmond before he broke the news.
After that, my life spiraled out of control, and here I was a year later, a black woman with a limited education and almost no work experience trying to figure out how to make everything right in her life for the sake of my two beautiful little girls, Kenyatta and Aisha. The money the courts awarded me was barely enough to maintain the lifestyle we were accustomed to. In fact, if I didn't figure out a plan soon, I was going to find my ass on the street. “There has to be another way.”
Reaching across the table, Keisha touched my arm. “There is. We just have to figure out what it is.” I looked at her and nodded, even though I was starting to lose faith. “What I don't understand is how Anthony can be so damn stingy. Those are
his
daughters. As much money as that bastard makes, he should be glad to help you out at least until you finish nursing school.”
I remember when Anthony and I first met. I was a freshman and he was a junior at the University of Michigan. We fell in love overnight and when he graduated and asked me to return with him to Virginia, I gladly dropped out of school. I had every intention of continuing my education when we got there, but Anthony proposed and promised to take care of me forever. I was so in love I would have eaten a can of dog food if he'd had asked. Shortly after we arrived in Richmond, Anthony landed a position with a large hedge fund corporation. Then Kenyatta was born and Aisha a year later. I was happy just raising the girls and taking care of my husband. For eight years that was all I knew. Like I said, I never saw it coming.
I snatched the
Richmond Times-Dispatch
up from the table and stared down at the help wanted ad. Exotic dancing? Hell no. Not me. I cut my eyes at Keisha, then focused on the ad below it. “Look, Mason's needs a waitress to work the evening shift.”
“On Crater Road?” Keisha gave a rude bark of laughter. “I guess so. Some dude was shot and killed in their parking lot last week.”
Ms. Know-It-All.
I didn't dare look up at her. “Okay, what about cashiering?”
“Puhleeze, you can't live off minimum wage.”
“Ooh! JCPenney is hiring sales associates.” My head popped up and I stared across the table and grinned. Keisha knows I love shopping at that store.
She frowned. “They're hiring for the morning shift, and last I checked,
you
were in school. That is ... unless you're planning on dropping out.”
Keisha knew better than that. Just like the new haircut, enrolling in school was my way of proclaiming my independence. Nursing had always been a dream of mine. As soon as the divorce was final, I enrolled in a one-year accelerated LPN program. It was intense and hard work. I had classes in the morning and barely had enough time to study before picking up the girls from their after-school program. But in four more months it would all be over.
While I finished my salad, I scanned the ads and saw a few possibilities, but ended up feeling increasingly frustrated. “To be honest, Keisha ... I really don't know how I'm going to juggle school, the girls,
and
a job.”
“Where there's a will, there's a way,” Keisha said, trying to reassure me. “How about working twelve-hour shifts on the weekends at the hospital?”
I shook my head at the idea. “No. That's the only time the girls and I have to really spend any time together.”
“There is always the evenings after they go to bed,” she suggested.
I took a moment to think about it and replied, “I would be too tired for class in the morning.”
Keisha leaned back on the seat with a sigh. “Okay, then what about Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings? You don't have classes on Fridays.” She must have seen my frown because she added, “Seriously, Monica, the only option you have is to find something you can do in the evenings or over the weekends. You know I have no problem watching the girls.”
“Mmm-hmm, but how many jobs are out there like that?”
“I already suggested one and you weren't interested,” she mumbled under her breath. Then she had the nerve to stare at her hands like she was looking for chipped nail polish.
That chick better be glad I loved her; it was why I hadn't reached across the table and snatched those kinky twists outta her head. She was, after all, my best friend. We met at First Baptist Church of Virginia on Decatur Street my first year there and been tight ever since. She had gotten a degree in business at Virginia State University and three years ago opened her own boutique. Keisha was doing everything she had set her mind to, and unlike me, she hadn't let a man stand in her way.
“How about working at UPS tossing packages late in the evening or the early morning assembly line at Kraft?” she suggested.
“Maybe.” Neither sounded like something I really wanted to do, but I guess beggars can't be choosers, and with limited skills I definitely didn't have many options. The only job I ever had in high school was McDonald's. Trust me ... flipping burgers was definitely not an option. My eyes traveled over to the ad again.
Exotic dancers needed
. Goodness, was this what my life had come to?