Read Online Borrow Trouble by Mary Monroe - Free Book Online Page A

too.
    Even though Mama was polite, she kept rolling her eyes at Leon and giving me suspicious looks. When Leon stopped the leaky faucet in the kitchen sink from dripping, Mama smiled for the rest of the evening.
    â€œI done had two plumbers out here, and three of my nephews. Nary one of them could stop that leak,” Mama said, looking at Leon like he had just walked on water. “You, you take a pair of pliers to it, and five minutes later, it don’t leak no more. Ooh wee, child!”
    â€œAnd it won’t ever leak again,” Leon assured Mama, patting her shoulder. “If it does, I will buy you a whole new set of faucets.” He was as slick as a used car salesman.
    Mama was beaming. “Renee, run in the pantry and bring out that bottle of wine I been saving,” she ordered, with a huge grin. “Leon, I hope you like white wine.”
    â€œYes, ma’am. I sure do,” Leon lied. Other than beer and rum, he didn’t drink any other alcohol. But it didn’t take me long to realize what Leon’s strategy was. He was the type of man who was willing to do and say whatever it took to keep people happy.
    Everybody except Inez. The first time I saw him angry was when I told him that Inez wanted to be maid of honor in my wedding.
    â€œNo way! No way will I let that bitch be involved in my wedding!” he roared.
    His words horrified me. “She’s my best friend. I know she doesn’t like you, and you don’t like her. But I love you both, and I don’t want to be in the middle of all this animosity. My wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event, so I want what I want.”
    â€œWhat about what I want? This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me, too.” Leon had never been married before, but he’d lived with the mother of his daughter for eight years.
    â€œBaby, she wants to be there for me. Until now, she didn’t even want to be in the same room with you. If she can get to this point, can’t you?”
    â€œWhy are we even having a church wedding in the first place? Can’t we just go down to the courthouse?”
    â€œWe don’t have to have a big church wedding. I didn’t want that, anyway. That’s all Mama’s idea. And your mama’s, too. If you want us to go to the courthouse, that’s fine with me.”
    â€œAnd anyway, every couple I know that had a big church wedding ended up getting a divorce,” Leon said.
    â€œLeon, you can stop now. I already told you that getting married in the courthouse is fine with me,” I chuckled. “And if you change your mind later on, we can always renew our vows in a church.”
    I avoided Mama, Inez, and everybody else for the next few days. I didn’t have enough nerve to tell them that the big church wedding that they’d been wanting to experience wasn’t going to happen. At least not with me.
    I got Mama’s answering machine when I called from the Hyatt Hotel in nearby Cleveland. That’s where Leon and I had checked in right after we’d exchanged vows at the courthouse, six months after our first date.
    Leon didn’t believe in spending money on frivolous things, like the weeklong honeymoon in Niagara Falls I’d suggested. I didn’t argue with him at the time, but I’d pouted behind his back. I decided that it would be to my advantage to keep our disagreements to a minimum until our marriage was more secure.
    I didn’t leave a message for Mama. But when I called Inez’s house and got her answering machine, too, I didn’t hesitate to leave a message telling her that Leon and I had “eloped.” Before I could hang up, Inez clicked off her answering machine and picked up the telephone.
    â€œI’m here,” she said in a low, raspy voice.
    â€œPlease be happy for me,” I pleaded. “I love Leon, and he loves me. That’s all that counts. I never said it, but I didn’t want you to marry Vince.