I’m not bad on the eyes and I was an established woman, living on her own with a career. What the hell? After a year of courting, dancing, and real good fucking, I assumed he was ashamed of my weight and decided to give him an ultimatum the next time he came over.
I remember the day so clearly. How could I forget? It was the biggest clusterfuck I had experience in all of the 27 years I had thusly lived. First, I was accosted at my job. By whom? Just guess. Tyrone’s wife! Yup, she pulled up in a minivan with three kids in the back. She rolled down the passenger side window and asked, “Is your name Veronica?”
“Who wants to know?” I asked while walking to my car. Of course I was suspicious, this is San Francisco; she could be crazy. I wasn’t going to stop until I was sure I wouldn’t be kidnapped. To be fair, the windows were black tinted and so at this point I didn’t actually know that there were kids in the back.
“I do,” She said speeding the van up and then putting it into park. She jumped out, ran around the front to step in front of me. I wish she had stayed in the car. From this vantage point, I could see her weave did not match her leave out. She looked tired. If we looked up, the word tired in the dictionary the woman’s picture would have been beside the word and it made me pity her even more. “I’m Cocoa. And this is Titi, Candy and Tyrone Jr.” She said yanking open the automatic door of the minivan. “Say hi kids.” The one called junior looked to be about 7 or 8 and was playing a handheld game. He all but grunted and the one closest to the door named Titi was strapped in a baby seat and of the presumed non-talking age. Only the middle girl named Candy waved from under half laden eyes. She was shy.
To call my reaction appalled is not saying enough. I was shocked out of breath. “And what can I do for you?” I asked. This was by far, an out of this world crazy coincidence that this woman’s son’s name just happened to be the same name as my current boyfriend’s name. Right?
“Well, first you can stop sleeping with my husband.” If brains made audible sounds, I do believe my brain would have sounded like a car crash. All the thoughts I had churning smashed right into each other. “I’m, pardon?” I asked. I meant to say I beg your pardon and I’m sorry but as I said, they were smashed together.
“I said, first you can stop sleeping with my husband,” She said, pushing some button within the vehicle so the car door closed automatically and putting her hands on her hips.
“And how do you know I’m sleeping with your husband?” I asked bending forward to encourage more airflow. I would have put my head between my knees but as I said before, I did not know if this woman was crazy. If she started swinging, I wanted to be aware of it before I felt a knot growing on my head.
“You are Veronica Lewis, yes?”
I nodded lamely.
“I read my husband’s phone records. He calls you almost every day. He visits you as well. Over the past year, he has brought you lunches I prepared him, brought you to dance halls I suggested for our date nights and visited you nights he thought I would be working late, but never stayed the night.”
I had to hand it to her. She had done her research. I had questioned several times the truth behind his never spending the night and never introducing me to his family. Now I knew. Knowing lit an angry fire in me. “I had no idea.” I breathed easily knowing that if this woman proved sane, we’d probably be kicking some ass together soon.
“I’m aware. I didn’t think you knew. Which is why stop sleeping with my husband was the first thing I said to you.”
“What’s your second?” My phone vibrated in my hand.
“Tell me where he is.”
I glanced down at the screen, “gladly. Speak of the devil and he shall appear. He just texted me. Apparently, my roommate let him in and he’s waiting even though he knows I usually don’t get off
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