“Okay, love. Talk to you soon. Love you!”
“Love you more, sis.” We said our goodbyes as I picked up the kids’ bags to take them downstairs. They were all in the living room, playing with their toys and watchingBlimpie. When Leanna saw me, she stood and grabbed her purse from the table.
“I guess I’ll be going now. Make sure you have my son’s dinner ready when he comes home. He’ll be hungry when he does make it home.”
I frowned. “You don’t have to tell me that, Leanna.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said, you don’t have to tell me to cook a meal for my husband. He eats well every night, and so do our children.”
“Don’t get snippy with me, Alicia. I don’t smell anything cooking. You’re so busy trying to get rid of your children that you haven’t even prepared anything.” She scoffed and headed toward the door. “Now I see why he’s never home.” She opened the door and then looked at my babies. “Bye, Grandma babies. I love you.”
“Love you, Grandma,” Carsyn said.
“Love you!” Chloe followed up.
“Lub you!” Carlee mimicked.
She smiled at them, then looked at me before she walked out the door. I wanted to tell her old ass off, but I just let her miserable ass walk out the door, and I slammed it behind her. I couldn’t stand her tacky ass.
Three hours later, my mom pulled up to retrieve the kids. She walked in, looking renewed and refreshed with a huge smile on her face. My brother Amir walked in behind her as I kissed his cheek.
“Ugh. What’s this on your face?” I asked, rubbing the light mustache over his top lip. He grimaced and moved his face away from me.
“I’m a grown man.”
“Boy, please. Sixteen is hardly grown. You still have shit streaks in your drawers,” my mom said, rolling her eyes at him.
“Really, Ma? You always trying to embarrass me.”
“You embarrass yourself, Son.”
I laughed. “Hey, Ma,” I greeted, hugging her tight. I missed her.
“Hi, my love. Why do you look so sad?”
“I’m not sad.”
“It looks like it. You should be twirling around with a smile on your face. Thirteen years of marriage is something to celebrate. Your daddy and I didn’t even make it that far. You should be proud.”
“I’m fine, Mommy. Just a little tired from running around all day,” I lied. I wouldn’t dare tell her what Leanna said to me. Mama had been looking for a reason to drag her, and it just wasn’t worth it. I’d never hear the end of it if Leo found out his mother got her ass beat by mine. Therefore, I would keep her nasty attitude toward me, to myself.
“Mmm. Hi, Nana’s babies! Y’all ready to have some fun with Nana?” she asked, and the kids cheered. “Well, come on! I missed you guys.”
The three of them hurried toward the door as Amir grabbed their bags. I kissed them all, said my goodbyes, then went around the house to clean up. Once that was complete, I ran a nice, hot bath and soaked my limbs. After, I pulled out the sexiest lingerie I could find, sat at my vanity, and applied a light beat to my face.
The salad was done, the roast was slow cooking, and the sides were complete. I started to feel rejuvenated and ready to give my man the intimacy we needed to restore the love in our marriage. When I finished my makeup, I pulled out his gift bags that included the five senses—sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound—and placed them on the bed. Once I slipped on the all-white lingerie set, I tossed on the white robe, went downstairs to put on some music, poured us a glass of champagne, and then plated the food.
I looked at the time, noticing it was ten minutes until eight. Leo would be home soon, so I sat at the table, sipped my champagne, and waited.
When eight thirty approached, I frowned and went to get my phone. I dialed his number, and it just rang out to voicemail. Another hour rolled by, and still, no word from him. I called the fire station, but no one answered, so I assumed they might be dealing with an emergency. When eleven o’clock came, I got worried. I called his best friend, Manwell, but he said he hadn’t seen him since he left work an hour before Leo. By midnight, my worry turned to anger as I slipped on some clothes, trashed the food, and washed my face of the makeup.
I sat in the living room, downing glass after glass of champagne until finally, at twelve thirty, a text message came through on my phone. I stared at his name on my screen and wanted to will that text message away. Something in my gut told me that whatever he had to say was going to change my life forever.
It was a two-and-a-half-minute voice note. I pressed play and waited until his voice filled the air.
“Ali, . . . I honestly don’t know what to say other than just say it. I’m not coming home, baby. I love you and my kids with everything in me, but I just can’t do it anymore. I tried to be there for you and the kids, but this shit is too heavy a burden for me to carry. I love you; I swear I do, but I didn’t ask for all of this. I wanted you. Just you. We made a vow to one another that we would wait to start having kids when we turned thirty-five, but then you got pregnant with Carsyn at twenty-seven. I was okay with that, but then Chloe came two years later, then Carlee, two years after. I asked you multiple times to get your tubes tied or get on birth control, but you refused to do either.
