Loose Ends Part 11

"Kree, if you have some free time some evenings or weekends, I'll be happy to show you around to some of the stores where there are some good buys." Mia reached for the flowered bowl of fried corn.

"Okay. Sure. Brice is not big on shopping, so he is no help. Cool. I'll let you know."

"Girl, let me tell you. There's a T.J.Maxx over on Industrial Boulevard that has some great buys. New inventory comes in on Wednesdays. Great deals, gorgeous stuff and designer labels."

From that point on, the conversation flowed freely, and second helpings and dessert were consumed without hesitation. By the time Moms brought out coffee, we were all sitting around like stuffed pigs, too full to move. All I could think of was chillin' on the sofa for a good hour or two. However, I was too lazy to move. Christian was reclining back like it would take a miracle to pry him out of his chair as well.

The women started to clear the table and help Moms wash and put up the dishes. She wouldn't let them wash the dishes by themselves. Moms claimed she knew where everything went, so she might as well help. After Christian checked on Lyric and brought her downstairs with him, her tiny arms wrapped around his neck, we chilled in the living room, watching some Clint Eastwood Western on TV. I should say that Christian was watching it. I was getting my nap on more than anything else. Ten minutes later, I was in full sleep mode.

Kree Mia and I had gotten the kitchen back in order, with the dishes washed and dried, the leftovers securely covered in aluminum foil on top of the stove, and the floor swept clean. Mama Vivica kept a neat, spotless kitchen. She had finally retired upstairs with a plate for her husband. She was going to try to see if she could get him to eat something.

Even though Mama Vivica is retired, I don't know how she does everything she does around that household. The lady, at her age, is a bundle of pure energy. Never sitting down to relax, always going, going, going, and, according to Brice, his Pops was taking more and more time and energy to take care of. This concerns him because he didn't want his moms to become a prisoner in her own home. It's obvious that Mama Vivica loves her husband and will do whatever it takes to make him comfortable.

Mama Vivica gave Mia and me strict orders to relax, sit down, rest and mostly talk. She wanted us to talk. She had already filled Tupperware bowls with food for us to take home for Monday's meal and probably enough for Tuesday's as well.

When Mia and I walked into the living room, the first thing we saw was Brice knocked out on the sofa. He had the nerve to be slightly snoring. Christian was dozing on the love seat with his head bobbing back and forth and his mouth slightly open. Lyric was the only one up and about, with the remote in her tiny hand, channel surfing. We laughed at our so-called big, strong men knocked out for the count. I know my husband. Good food and good s.e.x always put him to sleep.

Mia and I decided not to wake them and let them rest, because they both have been working really hard the last few weeks. Our men are good providers! Mia picked up Lyric, whose tiny hands were already outstretched for her mommy, and we went back into the kitchen for another cup of coffee and a snack for Lyric. While Lyric ate a little bit of our previous meal, Mia and I got acquainted.

I'm not going to lie and say I instantly liked her, but I will say that I allowed myself the opportunity to get to know her better. Yes, it was tense at first. I realized I had treated her like nothing because I had all these preconceived notions about her.

Mia didn't appear to be the woman who was going to steal my man, as Mother would have me believe. In fact, Mia's a lot like me. Yeah, as much as I hate to admit it, we are a lot alike in many ways. A black woman trying to make it in this world of ours. Loving our men too much. Compromising to meet their needs and keep them happy. Juggling families and careers. Struggling to keep our ident.i.ties intact and giving, giving, giving. Sometimes to everybody but ourselves.

So Mia and I sat there with cups of black coffee between us and reintroduced ourselves to each other. We found out we have more in common than not. One major similarity is our love of Denzel Was.h.i.+ngton. We both have undying love and devotion to this G.o.d-like man. We agreed we'd leave our husbands for him and never look back. When Mia informed me that there was a Denzel Was.h.i.+ngton marathon at a movie theater across town, we both agreed that we simply had to go. By the time we woke up our husbands, it was a done deal!

Mia Vivica's little talk worked wonders. When I first walked in her house, I instantly felt uncomfortable and out of place. I felt I had made a terrible mistake by dropping in, and then when Kree treated me so coldly, as usual, I was certain it was a mistake-major. Vivica knew all my dirty laundry with Brice, and I felt ashamed even though he was the one beating my a.s.s. Brice treated me like nothing and I treated him like everything.

Years earlier, when Brice and I were still married, an incident happened at Vivica's house in the guest bedroom upstairs. Vivica walked in on Brice beating my a.s.s over some trivial stuff. Let me see . . . Oh, yeah, Brice didn't like what I was wearing that day. He had straddled me on the bed and I was crying my eyes out, begging him to leave me alone. He was beating the s.h.i.+t out of me with his fist, and Vivica had to pull him off of me. I had a black eye, bruises and not an ounce of dignity left to show for it.

That was the evening Vivica confessed to me that her husband, Brice's father, had beaten her, and Brice had grown up exposed to that. I felt a closeness to her. She has always been nice and sweet to me; Vivica is just that type of person. But that evening, I felt a bond, a oneness. Like we belonged to a secret sorority or something. The Battered, Beaten, and Bruised Club.

After my divorce from Brice, I guess I divorced the entire family. It was easier that way. I hadn't talked to or seen Vivica since. Today, it all came flas.h.i.+ng back, hitting me in the face when I stepped through her front door. Not much had changed about the house, and standing and grinning right in my face was him.

Vivica must have sensed my discomfort, because when I came downstairs after checking on Lyric, she called me into the kitchen to chat. I slowly walked in and had a seat at the table. Kree immediately made up some half-a.s.sed lie and excused herself to another room. I couldn't stand her a.s.s.

"Don't mind Kree. You know she's intimidated by you. You scare her," Vivica said matter-of-factly, with a shrug.

"No, I don't know what her problem is. Kree doesn't say two words to me at one time. I haven't done anything to her." Anger was in my tone.

"Yes, you have. You were married to her husband. A husband that she adores."

"Believe me, she can have that s.h.i.+t," I barked before I thought about Vivica being the s.h.i.+t's mother.

"I'm sorry, Vivica," I said sincerely.

"Baby, I know this is hard for you and it's just as hard for Kree. Understand, you are both making huge sacrifices for your men's happiness. That's very admirable."

I nodded in agreement and thought about what Vivica was saying. It was true.

"Mia, I never forgot you over the years. In fact, I thought about you often. I had come to love you like a daughter, and you were the first woman that my son truly loved. I would often ask people who knew your family about you. I knew exactly when you and Christian had that baby. I even stopped by the hospital to see her in the nursery."

"Did you?" I asked in amazement.

"Yes, baby, I did. Mia, I never condoned what my son did to you, and I regret to this day that I didn't speak up and tell you to get out before it was too late. Love doesn't conquer all! I was living your life every day with his father, so I guess I wasn't in the right frame of mind myself to dish out any advice."

"Vivica, I never blamed you for what your son did to me. That was his choice."

"I know that, baby. I just wish I could have done more. I wish I could have been brave enough to tell you to leave him, but I wasn't even brave enough to do the same thing myself with Brice's father."

We stared at each other for a few precious minutes. Vivica looked down and wiped her hands on the blue-and-yellow dish cloth with pictures of ducks tucked in her ap.r.o.n.

"I don't know how much that child in there knows about all this. Knowing my son, she probably doesn't know much of anything. My son tends to keep his women in the dark. However, I know she loves him just like you did."

"I did love him."

"I know you did, baby."

"But now I'm in love with Christian so much. Christian is my lifeline." A huge smiled crossed my face.

"I know. And like I told Christian, I'm happy for you. You and he both deserve happiness in your life. That man in there has gone through so much in his lifetime. Losing his brother and his mother. Never knowing his father. I was so pleased that Christian found you. I sincerely mean that."

"Thank you. You don't know how much that means coming from you." I stood to give her a hug.

"I pray every day that my son has changed, that he has learned from his mistakes with you. I pray for that each and every day. Brice has a second chance at happiness with Kree. Do you realize how rare it is to find true love twice in a lifetime?"

At that moment, Kree strutted back through the kitchen without a backward glance.

"Kree, come here, child," Vivica said. "Sit down."

Kree looked from Vivica to me and back to Vivica with bewilderment on her face.

"Kree, I know this is hard for you, this entire, uh, situation you ladies have placed yourselves in. However, you and Mia are going to work out your differences today."

"Vivica!" I shouted in shock.

"No, I mean it. You and she could be blood sisters, you look so much alike, and I'm not going to have it. You both have more in common than you think. Walking around each other not speaking. Well, I'm not having it. Life is too short to waste it on negativity. You both made this compromise for your husbands. Well, look around. They're happy as larks and they're going to be together come h.e.l.l or high water. They have that bond."

There was complete silence. I was looking down at the light blue tiled floor like it held the secret to life, while Kree was chewing on her thumbnail. Vivica continued.

"The two of you can be unhappy for the rest of your lives or learn to get along. At least be civil to each other. Can you do that?"

Kree and I both looked down at our hands.

"Kree, you are the worst. Mia doesn't want your man. Remember, she divorced my son, not the other way around. Mia, do you want Brice?"

"h.e.l.l . . . I mean, no, ma'am."

"That's what I thought. Don't you see the way she dotes on Christian and that adorable little girl asleep upstairs?

"Kree, you are young. I know you don't have family here, and I love you, baby, like a daughter. I feel like I can talk to you like this. Besides, at this point in life, I'm too old to care."

"Mama Vivica, I-"

"Hush, child, I know. Both of you, try to get along. Why please your husbands and be unhappy in the process?

"And Kree, start standing up to that man more. Don't get me wrong-I love my son dearly-but don't let him walk all over you, baby. Quit letting him tell you what to do and what not to do. Stand up to him sometimes."

Kree opened her mouth to say something, but then I guess she changed her mind, because nothing came out. She just continued to chew on that one pitiful-looking nail.

"You need to talk to Mia. There are two sides to every story."

Kree and I both looked at each other as Vivica walked out the kitchen.

The last thing she said was, "Talk."

Later that day, after dinner, we did just that.

Christian "I 'm sorry, baby. Yeah, I know it's the second time this week. Yeah, yeah. I know. I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you and Lyric. I promise." I had as much disappointment in my voice as I heard in Mia's on the phone.

"You got that right, Boo. You will make it up too, so don't work too hard. You'll need all your strength. I'll wait up for you," Mia said in a naughty voice.

"No, baby, as much as I'd love to see your beautiful, smiling face when I walk in the door, go to sleep. I don't know what time I'll make it in tonight."

"Okay, if you're sure. Love you."

"Love you more. Talk to you later." I slowly hung up the phone and put my head in my hands.

I was working a double s.h.i.+ft once again. Summertime was always a hectic time at my job, but I was also two men short. I had terminated one fellow who wasn't working out, and another a.s.sociate was taking a paternity leave because his wife had just had their first child. Tonight Mia and I had plans to go out to dinner. However, those plans were out the door now. Duty called.

I was feeling really bad because Mia and I hadn't done a lot of family-togetherness things since the summer had begun. My mother-in-law had agreed to keep Lyric for the night while Mia and I went to a quiet, romantic dinner at a new restaurant in Midtown I had wanted to check out; some of the men at work couldn't stop talking about it. After a few drinks, I was going to go home and make love to my beautiful wife until the sun rose.

s.e.x was usually a three- to four-time-a-week event at my house. Lately our lovemaking sessions were down to nada because I was usually exhausted when I walked through the door. After a quick shower and dinner, no matter how much desire and pa.s.sion was there, I was out for the count.

Tonight was going to be special. I missed the feel of my wife's s.e.xy body beneath mine. A perfect fit. I missed looking down and seeing her stare silently into my eyes with a deep, yearning desire for me. I missed the heat and pa.s.sion of our kisses, the swell of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s as I kissed her neck, and her sweet moans when I first entered her wetness. Mia makes me feel wanted, desired and needed. Mia makes me feel like a man.

I couldn't get her off my mind, so I picked up the phone to call her back. She picked up on the second ring.

"h.e.l.lo?"

"Listen, baby. I'm sorry about tonight. I hate disappointing you and I miss you already."

"Boo, it's not a problem. We'll have many more evenings to go to dinner. You are so sweet! My li'l sweetie pie. Listen, I have Sharon holding on the other line."

"Oh, I won't hold you then. Tell her I said h.e.l.lo and y'all don't gossip for too long."

"Ha ha ha, so funny, Boo. We don't gossip. She just got back in town from visiting her parents, so we have a lot of catching up to do. She's going to pick up a large pepperoni pizza and come over."

"Well, good. Have fun. I feel better now because I know you'll be entertained for a while. Bye, baby-I'll talk to you later."

"Bye. Love ya, Boo." She hung up the phone, still laughing.

Yeah, I did feel better now! I could focus on the tasks at hand. I successfully completed some paperwork without too many distractions and even managed to finalize the schedule for the following week. I posted it on the bulletin board along with other informational doc.u.ments. As I did a quick scan of the monitors, my mind replayed last Sunday evening.

I'm not sure what Vivica said to Mia and Kree, but it worked wonders. Miracles actually. No, they are not the best of friends and, due to the circ.u.mstances, will probably never be, but at least they were civil to each other afterward and Kree wasn't directing the majority of her conversations in my direction, excluding Mia.

Mia and Kree actually carried on full-length conversations and ogled and goggled over Denzel Was.h.i.+ngton's looks, acting skills, his walk and then back to his looks. Personally, I don't see the attraction. And no, I'm not hatin' on my man.

Before we left Vivica's that evening, our ladies informed us that we were taking them to this Denzel Was.h.i.+ngton-or Denzie, as they referred to him-marathon. Brice and I had no choice but to agree. We were still stunned that Mia and Kree were communicating with each other and tried to determine what had happened to change things between them.

Vivica volunteered to keep Lyric for a couple of hours, since she and the baby had taken a liking to each other. Mia and I rushed home to change into something more casual and planned to meet back up with Brice and Kree at their condo before heading over to the show.

Everything was cool and flowed smoothly! Our ladies were s.e.xy-cool in their jeans, halter tops and open-toe sandals, both of them with painted toenails and anklets. Not knowing any better, anyone would think they were sisters. We all chatted casually on the ride over, which was about a twenty-minute drive. Brice drove, so Mia and I were sitting in the backseat of his Volvo. Kree was all over Brice as usual; you couldn't tell where he began and she ended.

When we arrived at the movie theater, we bought popcorn with extra b.u.t.ter, sodas, Raisinets, Gummi Bears, the works. Mia has a habit of scattering Raisinets in her popcorn. At first, I thought it was weird, but now I like it that way myself. Mia's like that; she has a way of rubbing off on you. Before you know it, you've adopted her ways.

A few minutes before the show started, we were seated with the ladies in the middle.

Mia and Kree were like two teenage girls the way they carried on over Denzel. It was almost disgusting. In fact, the way most of the women were carrying on was pitiful. I, for one, was not impressed. Overall, we had a really good time. After the movies were over, we played the arcade games in the lobby, like school-age kids. Brice and Mia were even getting along with each other.

At one point we spotted a Pac-Man game in the far corner by the wall near the exit door.

"Oh, my G.o.d, Brice, look at that. Pac-Man." Mia pointed and quickly walked in that direction.

We all kinda did a double take, because this was the first time since our reunion that I had heard Mia direct any comments in Brice's direction.

We followed behind Mia and were all standing around the game.

"Remember when we used to go to that arcade in Fayetteville on the weekends and I'd destroy you in Pac-Man?" Mia said with obvious glee in her voice as she glanced back at Brice.

"Yeah, I do remember that arcade. It was called All-American or something like that," Brice said.

"Yeah, that was it. And they sold some of the best hot dogs and cheese pizza."

"However, I don't recall you destroying me in Pac-Man, Mrs. Pope." Brice came up behind Mia.

"Kree, girl, you'd better come over here and feel your husband's forehead, because I think he has a fever and is delirious or something." Mia glanced over at Kree and me, now seated on a bench near the game watching their antics.

"Oh, it's like that?" Brice questioned.

"Yeah, buddy. You know I used to kick b.u.t.t, namely yours. You couldn't touch me and you hated it. You hated to lose!"

"That sounds like Brice-always a sore loser," Kree kidded back.

"Okay, prove it then. Show me. Show Kree and Christian that you can back up your words. Put up or shut up."

Mia turned around with her hands on her hips, hand held out, and looked at me. "Baby, give me fifty cents so I can show Brice who's the man."

I dug into my pocket and handed Mia four quarters. As spectators, Kree and I soon lost interest. This was obviously between Mia and Brice. We started chatting about her working at Brice's company and how she was enjoying that.