Love Won't Let Me Wait Read online

  I was certain that the Intellica deal was dead at that point. Calango would be a fool to agree to their terms and fork over the money they were asking. Given the outcome of my meeting with Perkins I figured I’d have no problem convincing him that it was time to proceed with the purchase of Technosync. Hell their asking price is 3 million less than our original offer to Intellica. Calango is a pretty astute businessman. He will just have to put whatever attachment he has to Intellica aside and make the best business decision. Yep, I was pretty confident I had seen the last of Kyle Perkins. One thing was still bugging me though. Why did Perkins all of a sudden liven up when Debbie mentioned Toya’s name? He was damn near in a coma before Debbie buzzed in. I wondered what the connection was. I turned in my chair and buzzed Debbie on the intercom. “Any messages?” I asked.

  “Yes, sir, I’ll bring them in.”

  “Thanks, Debbie, but I’m going to be leaving for lunch shortly. I’ll pick them up on the way out.” It was eleven thirty-six and I figured after spending the morning with Perkins I deserved an early lunch.

  I stood up and walked into my private bathroom, turned on the faucet and washed my hands and face. I washed my hands on average thirty to forty times a day. Toya swears I’m compulsive, but I disagree. I come in contact with a lot of people during the course of my day, and I shake a lot of hands. I have no idea where these people’s hands have been. The same goes for doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, telephones...come to think of it, maybe I am a little compulsive with the hand washing.

  I walked out of the office stopping at Debbie’s desk to retrieve my messages. There were two messages. One from Toya, and an urgent message from Josh. He wanted me to meet him at Applebee’s for lunch at noon. I figured Toya and her connection to Perkins could wait and headed for the elevator.

  “Debbie, I’m going to lunch. You can reach me on my cell phone in case of an emergency.”

  “Yes, sir. Enjoy your lunch.”

  “Thank you,” I called back to her. As I entered the elevator I mused on Josh’s message. Must be something really important for him to leave an urgent message for me. My level of concern continued to mount as the elevator door closed in front of me.

  I walked into Applebee’s and proceeded straight for the bar. The sight of Josh slumped in his barstool, confirmed that something was seriously wrong. I walked over and climbed onto the barstool next to him.

  “What’s up, big man?” Josh looked over at me with a half-hearted smile. His face was drawn and tense. Then he turned and went back to stirring his drink with his straw.

  The bartender walked over and took my drink order, a Hennessy on the rocks. I had been drinking Hennessy since my meeting with Perkins and decided to go with the consistent approach. And from the expression on Josh’s face, I was going to need some alcohol support. We sat in silence until the bartender returned with my drink. I took a swallow and turned to Josh.

  “Josh, what’s on your mind?” Josh’s warm smile was nowhere to be found. I had never seen him appear to be so sad. Not even after he tore his ACL and MCL in the second to last game of our senior season at UCF. That injury ended what was an almost certain pro football career before it had a chance to get started. Josh’s lifelong dream was to be an NFL running back. Even after that dream was shattered by injury, he still managed to keep smiling. The look on his face right then was an indication that whatever was on his mind was extremely important. Finally Josh spoke.

  “Man, in all of my most terrifying nightmares, I never imagined this would happen to me.” I took another sip of my drink.

  “What happened, Josh?” He shook his head and his eyes began to fill with tears. I reached over and put my hand on his shoulder.

  “I caught Stacey cheating on me.”

  “What! You’re kidding right?” Josh shook his head. He wiped his huge hands across both eyes to dry the tears.

  “I wish I was man, I wish I was.” I was dumbfounded. Not Josh and Stacey. If there was one union I was sure would succeed it was theirs. Their marriage seemed as solid as a brick wall. This was a serious blow to my already suspect faith in the institution of marriage.

  “Josh, what happened?” Josh looked over at me. He had the look of a beaten fighter, slumped on his stool in the corner of the ring after having totally dominated his opponent for eleven and a half rounds, only to be knocked out by a lucky right hand with one second left in the twelfth and final round. What do you say to someone after something like that happens? Josh returned to stirring his drink. It looked like he hadn’t taken a sip of it since it was put in front of him. Head hung he began.

  “Monday morning I went out to San Diego for a meeting. I wasn’t supposed to be back until Friday, you know? After the second day…Tuesday; we decided to take Wednesday off and resume meetings on Thursday. I’ve been doing a lot of extra traveling these last few weeks, what with the new ad campaign and all. I hadn’t spent but two or three days with her during these last two weeks. I figured I would catch a flight back home and surprise her for a few hours before catching a late flight back to San Diego.” He paused as if reflecting on the moment.

  “After the meeting I caught a flight back to Atlanta, rented a car and drove home to Columbus. When I got to our sub-division I parked the car on the street a few houses down and walked up to the house. There was one light on in the office upstairs, so I figured Stacey was up there working on the computer or something. I snuck in through the back door. The security system was already disabled. I headed for the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of wine from the wine refrigerator and two wine glasses from the cupboard. I could hear music coming from upstairs. That song, “A House Is Not a Home” by Luther Vandross was playing on the stereo.

  I walked upstairs and headed down the hallway to the office. When I peeked in Stacey wasn’t in there. I figured she was in the bathroom. I checked the bathroom in the hallway right next to the office. She wasn’t in there either so I figured she must be in the master bath.

  I turned and started back to the other end of the hall to the master bedroom. As I got close to the bedroom I heard something banging, like a hammer against a wall. The banging sound got louder the closer I got to the bedroom. I could also hear some noises…voices coming from the room.

  When I got in the doorway.” Josh paused again. He struggled to maintain his composure. I was too shocked to move or offer any consolement. Josh steadied himself and continued.

  “I looked in and saw my wife.” Josh balled his hand into a tight fist. His forearm trembled with tension. “She was on her fucking hands and knees on the edge of the bed. Some dude was standing behind her, pounding on her from behind. The goddamn banging sound was the headboard hitting the wall.” I gulped half my drink down. “I stood there silent for almost two minutes. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to just bum rush their ass and fuck them up good.” I snapped out of my trance.

  “Josh, you didn’t-“

  “Nah man,” he interrupted. “But I wanted to, King; I really wanted to.” I exhaled with relief. “The motherfuckers were so busy fucking they didn’t even notice me standing there.”

  “What did you do?” Josh shook his head.

  “I turned and walked out of the house. Walked right out the front door. I was walking back down the sidewalk to the car. I still had the stupid bottle of wine in my hand.

  On the way back to the rental car I noticed a red Honda Accord. It had rims, ground effects kit; you could tell it belonged to a young guy. It was parked under a tree right across from my rental. I don’t know how I missed it before. I guess I was so excited about surprising Stacey.” I hung my head. I couldn’t imagine what Josh was going through.

  “The car wasn’t parked in front of any house in particular. It was like incognito, right on the property line. It had a Florida tag, IPM-99P.” I couldn’t believe he actually had the tag memorized.

  “I knew it was his car. This motherfucker had parked down the street, crept up the block, into my house, my room, my bed, to fuck
my wife. Just like I was planning to do.” I couldn’t miss the sad irony in that.

  “I got in the car and started driving. I wound up back in Atlanta at the airport. Before I knew it I was on a plane heading up here.”

  “When did you get here?”

  “Last night. I’m supposed to be out in San Diego at my meeting right now.” There was no need to comment on that. I understood why Josh was here in Charlotte and not in San Diego at his meeting. I felt like the depth of our friendship was again affirmed.

  Josh’s family was less than three hours away from Columbus in Savannah, Georgia. But when Josh needed to talk to someone, without hesitation he flew up here to Charlotte to confide in me. That’s deep. I felt like I really needed to come through for him. I searched in vain for the perfect response and settled for the first thing that came to mind.

  “Hey man, I’m sorry, Josh. That’s fucked up man. I can’t believe Stacey did some foul shit like that. In your fucking house; in your bed. That’s low man, that’s dirt low.” Josh seemed almost unfazed by my ranting.

  “It’s not all her fault.” I looked at him, surprised by and curious about his comment.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “King, I wasn’t spending time with her like I should have. You know I travel a lot on business. At least one week a month. I told you man, I was gone for a whole week. I can’t blame her for-” I cut him off.

  “Josh, that’s bullshit. You are not the one to blame in this situation. Man I know you. You love Stacey more than anything in this world. You’ve been completely faithful to her from day one, and, bro you have had plenty of opportunity to cheat. You have fine ass women coming on to you all the time. And not once have you cheated.” I felt confident avowing Josh’s fidelity. I was certain that he had been faithful to his wife and their marriage.

  “But, King,” he tried to butt in.

  “Nah, Josh,” I continued talking over him. I was hyped and beginning to yell. The bartender brought me another drink and gave me the eye. His way of letting me know that the people around us were getting an earful of our very personal conversation. It was obviously not his first time having to intervene with two patrons baring their souls over a drink or two. He was very tactful. I lowered my voice and leaned in close to Josh.

  “You’re making fucking excuses for her and there are none. You don’t get that goddamn lonely in a week. She did that shit because that’s what she wanted to do. There are women that would sell their soul for a hard working, honest brother like you. You’re out here busting your ass to make a comfortable life for your family. It’s not like you were disappearing one week out of the month to go fishing or something. You were busting your ass working. You’re a good brother, Josh; a lot better man than me or anyone else I know for that matter. She just fucked up! It’s not your fault or anyone else’s but hers. She doesn’t deserve you.” Josh was solemn.

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I just feel helpless. I wish there were something I could have done to prevent it. Maybe if I could have-”

  “Josh,” I interrupted. “It would have happened sooner or later. You can’t control what a woman does with her body. If she wants to give herself away, she’ll find the time, the place, and the person to give it to. There isn’t a damn thing you can do about that.” I took a swallow of my drink. “Better you find out now than later on. At least you don’t have any kids to worry about.” Josh grudgingly agreed with me.

  We sat in silence for some time, seemed like an hour or more. I didn’t know what else to say. Josh continued to play with his drink. I think I was angrier than he was. I wanted to call Stacey everything from a skunk whore to a dirty bitch. But I was unsure of how Josh would react to me referring to his wife in those terms. You don’t lose your love for someone in a day, regardless of how badly they have wronged you. Stacey was still Josh’s wife and I was careful not to disrespect her. At least not out loud.

  Josh’s news brought forth a cavalcade of emotions from deep within me. It was all coming to the surface. I started reflecting on my own experiences with marriage, and women in general for that matter. For the most part they have all been negative.

  My parents divorced when I was in the third grade. My brother Tye has been married and divorced three times and my sister twice. I’ve been the other guy in a few marriages and I’ve had more than a few women creep out on me. Those experiences are probably the source of my determination to make my marriage, if I ever got into one, last. Period!

  After a couple more drinks I walked Josh outside. He was totally dejected as he climbed into the backseat of the cab that had been waiting for him. I tried to convince him to allow me to drive him to the airport, but he refused. I understood. I had done my job. What Josh wanted now was time alone.

  I watched the cab pull out of the parking lot. I glanced around for my Jeep. My head was a battleground of anger, confusion, disillusionment, and disgust. The alcohol only added to the powder keg of mixed emotions I felt.

  I climbed into my truck and headed for home. I kept hearing Luther singing “A House Is Not a Home” in my head. I felt like I was losing it.

  A couple of blocks from my apartment building my cell phone started ringing. I snatched it up off the center console where it had been sitting, pressed the talk button and answered.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, baby, what are you doing?” It was Shannon.

  “I’m on my way home, what’s up?” I responded while hoping she’d be brief. I wasn’t in the mood for idle chatter.

  “Well,” Shannon continued. “About our dinner date at your place for tonight?” She cooed in her primary, resolve dismantling, girly voice. Evolution had ensured that all women have one. It is instinctively deployed when necessary to manipulate a man into doing something they know that he won’t want to do.

  Actually I had forgotten all about the dinner date. I lied anyway.

  “Yeah, what time are you coming over? I wasn’t too concerned about dinner. I could order something from the Chinese joint around the corner and have it delivered.

  “You haven’t finished cooking yet have you?”

  “No, I have not finished cooking yet, why do you ask?”

  “Oh good,” Shannon sang. “Can we do it at my place instead? I’ve got this new recipe for lasagna.” I didn’t care either way. I just wanted to get off of the phone.

  “That’s fine. What time do you want me there?”

  “Can you come over now?” Again with the girly voice. “I’m about to take it out of the oven in another five minutes and I want it to be fresh.” I was approaching my breaking point.

  “Shannon, it’s two in the afternoon, I’m not ready for dinner yet!”

  “Well, have you had lunch?” Her voice remained calm and her tone charming. Come to think of it I hadn’t had lunch. “Why don’t you come over and have lunch with me?”

  I whipped my truck around in the middle of the street doing a complete u-turn. I didn’t even check for oncoming traffic.

  “Whatever!” I shouted into the phone. “I’ll be there in a minute.” I hung up before Shannon could respond. I was steaming. You would have thought I was the one married to Stacey. Again with the Luther shit. Fuck a house and a home!

  I was approaching the stoplight at Monroe and Fourth Street, about a block from Shannon’s condo. The light changed to yellow and I sped up determined to make it through before it changed to red.

  I was about fifteen yards out of the intersection when the light changed to red. I didn’t even think twice about it, I flew through without so much as tapping the break.

  Almost immediately I saw the red and blue lights flashing behind me. Instinctively I glanced down at the speedometer to see how fast I was going. Sixty-three in a forty-mile per hour zone. No way was I going to get out of this.

  I pulled over and threw my Jeep into park, leaned over and got my registration and insurance from the glove box. My fury was at an all time high and I obviously wasn’t thinking
clearly. Leaning over and reaching in the glove box after being pulled over by the police. A Black male in a nice ride? I was lucky I didn’t catch a bullet in the back of the head making a move like that. Smart brothers know not to make any sudden movements when you get pulled over by the police. As a matter-of-fact don’t even breathe too hard unless they tell you to. A room is still a room. “Yeah, fuck you too Luther” I mumbled.

  I sat tapping the steering wheel with my index finger, waiting for the officer to approach and begin writing me the inevitable speeding ticket. I was in no mood to endure the customary bullshit pleasantries from some prick cop and found myself in the unusual position of yearning to be ticketed and not wanting to offer a defense. A nanoscale sacrifice to get this cop out of my face and be on my way.

  I put my head on the steering wheel and it suddenly dawned on me that I probably should not have been driving after all the alcohol I had consumed. I held out hope that the officer wouldn’t detect the liquor on my breath.

  There was a tap on my window. I reached over, pushed the button, and let it down halfway. Before the officer could ask I stuck my hand out with my license, registration, and insurance information. I didn’t even look up to acknowledge the officer. After a brief silence a female voice spoke.

  “So, what’s the hurry?” I immediately felt some hope. Maybe I could talk my way out of the ticket. I had done it before and women do it with male cops all the time. I looked up prepared to turn on the charm.

  As my eyes made contact with the officer’s face, my mouth fell open. I was in shock. What in the world is going on?

  Of all the cops in the city of Charlotte, it was just my luck that I would be pulled over by her. Yeah her. Remember the chick that Raoul and I were cracking on in the club the other night. Well she was standing right in front of me, fully outfitted as one of Charlotte’s finest, holding my license, registration, insurance, and at the moment nuts in her hand. And from the grin that crept across her face when she recognized me, I was wrong when I assumed that she had forgotten all about the joke-cracking incident in the club.