Saturday 2
Saturday morning wasn’t the same at Marla’s home. Normally, Saturday meant the family had two free days to relax and enjoy one another. But, this Saturday was more of a task than a day at work could ever be. She knew she would have to find a way to visit Rhonda. Although Rhonda lived next door, it was a part of the world that Marla didn’t want to believe existed. In her mind, she was a murderer. In the past, she had almost destroyed her own marriage. But now, she found a way to destroy someone else’s marriage, permanently! Marla laid in the bed, as her eyes wondered the room. She would stare at various things throughout the bedroom for long periods of time and try to clear her mind. Not only did she want the thoughts to go away, but she wanted to rest. All last night, she was unable to sleep. She would briefly sleep for an hour or less and then wake up all over again. It was the eighth or ninth time that she had awaken. After so many times, she had lost count. Although Michael was in deep sorrow, he managed to go to sleep. His pain was very different. While he struggled with the loss of a good friend, Marla was forced with the loss of a friend and making herself responsible for it.
Later on….
Michael stood at Rhonda’s door and took two knocks. As he stood patiently, there was no answer at the door. He prepared to knock again. After the first knock, the door opened and Rhonda stood on the other end. “Hey”, said Michael unsure of what to say. Rhonda stood emotionless and gazed into Michael’s eyes. In the corner of her eye, she could see Marla standing off to the side, behind Michael. Although Marla had got up the nerve to go with Michael to check on Rhonda, deep down she wasn’t ready. Marla’s stomach was in a knot, while all she could do was watch. She never said a word, just as Rhonda. For Rhonda, seeing Michael made her think of Jimmy. She reached for Michael and wrapped her arms around his neck, as she cried. At that moment, she needed the comfort of a man. She was too weak from all the worry and disbelief of her husband being dead. Michael didn’t know how to respond to another person’s pain, so he just held onto Rhonda and allowed her time to weep. Marla remained in the same position and never moved a muscle. As her stomach continued to tighten, Marla partially blacked out for a moment. She was finally facing the day that she tried to mentally erase for the past two days.
After a few minutes, Michael remembered that Marla had walked over to Rhonda’s house with him. He turned his head to see why she hadn’t approached Rhonda and provide some support. As he looked, he could tell that Marla was off in her own world. After calling her name a few times, Marla realized Michael was calling for her and responded. Michael wanted to take Rhonda into her living room, where she could have a seat. He asked Marla to help and she became mentally strong enough to accept the challenge. Briefly, they both managed to block out their surroundings. Focusing on photos and other personal items would be too much for either one of them, so they chose to ignore everything to be strong for Rhonda. The entire experience was surreal. Marla tried to provide strength for Rhonda, but her pain was almost equal to Rhonda’s. For the moment, Michael did majority of the communicating. Eventually, Rhonda came around and began to respond to Michael. It was Marla that continued to struggle. In her mind, she was a murderer.
# # #
Reggie was at the barbershop, cutting one of his regular customer’s head. There were two other men, waiting to have their hair cut by Reggie also. Like most barbers, Saturday was the busiest day for Reggie. He headed to the barbershop as soon as he woke up. Normally, he gets a good mixture of regular clients and visitors. It had been a while, since Reggie heard from Angie. Every so often, he would check his phone for any missed calls or messages. Reggie maintained his professional barbering, but he didn’t communicate as much. Normally, he would hold conversations with 2 or more people at the same time. He would talk with his clients, the clients of other barbers, and the barbers themselves. Angie entered his life at an awkward time. This caused Reggie to become attached to Angie. Throughout the morning, he was tempted to send a message to Angie. The main reason he didn’t send a message is because he was too busy cutting hair all morning. The stale, white motel stayed on his mind.
The relationship between Reggie and Stephanie was starting to get better, but it had no effect on how he felt about Angie. For Reggie, Angie was filling a void that Stephanie had left. During the crazy situation involving the note, love was distant. Since he knew nothing of the note that was discovered, the sudden change was a tough blow. He assumed Stephanie had a change of heart and decided to go elsewhere. Being that he still knew nothing about the note, everything with Stephanie was questionable in his eyes. He felt he could only deal with her with strings attached. He had to have a backup plan for whatever may come about. And, Angie was his backup plan. Reggie was considering Angie as his priority. While fulfilling his needs, the relationship with Angie brought forth some excitement for Reggie. Meeting at a secret location, so that no one would know was risky and it intensified the sexual aspect of their relationship. But now, everything had come to a halt. Reggie was starting to believe that it was just his luck with women. Instead of ruining his Saturday, he put that situation on the shelf and focused on his profession, barbering.
# # #
Stephanie spent the morning preparing food. She hadn’t had a chance to talk with Reggie about moving forward with their marriage plans and felt she had to do it today. In order to prepare for the conversation, Stephanie decided to clean up the house and cook for her man. She believed what people said about food being a way to a man’s heart. In her mind, it was time to take the next step. Even if it meant going to a local courthouse, Stephanie was ready. Just being able to say “I do” was a huge accomplishment. In some ways, it would seem as if Stephanie held more value in obtaining a ring and having a celebration than the actual relationship. She was comfortable in her career and now, she was ready to start her family. The thought of having a new last name and being completely taken off the market was invigorating. It was definitely at the top of her lifetime goals. The entire day, Stephanie was on cloud nine. She hadn’t had a Saturday like this in a long time. Although no decisions were final, she knew that things were only going to get better. She expected a healthy and enjoyable conversation with her “soon to be” husband and prepared for such.
After getting her food together, Stephanie decided to leave for a while and do a little shopping for herself. She was already having a good day, so why not make it better? As she left, in route to the mall, she made a mental note to pick up a bottle of wine to go along with the meal. She even made plans to stop at some of the jewelry stores within the mall. She wanted to look at some of the rings on display, even though she planned to have her wedding ring custom made. Stephanie believed that every Saturday should feel like this. With her favorite radio station playing and the sun covering the entire city, there was no place she would rather be. Stephanie had no plans of starting over. Her only focus was to move forward and build upon what was already established. Today was going to be the start of a lifetime commitment.
# # #
Being by Rhonda’s side, during her time of bereavement was a life-changing experience for Marla and Michael. Both were able to see how a spouse you love is irreplaceable. At that very moment, there was nothing else that mattered to either one of them. Michael had quickly thrown out of the window any thoughts about Marla and the note. He managed to place himself in Rhonda’s position. “What if the last time I spoke to Marla was an argument”, he asked himself. “Not a hug, not a kiss, not a smile, but an argument over something as petty as a piece of paper. How could I live with that?” Unknowing to Michael, it was the exact experience Rhonda had with Jimmy. All because of that note, Rhonda’s feelings were bitter towards Jimmy and that is how the relationship ended. Although Jimmy remained alive for a while, in the hospital, there was no time to makeup, hug, kiss, and express true feelings towards one another. This is one issue that continued to haunt Rhonda. She felt that she was the cause of his death and she would never have the opportunity to truly apologize to Jimmy, face-to-face.
On the other hand, Marla had to find a way to forgive herself. She had already made plans to get things right with Michael, so that wasn’t a huge problem. What weighed on her now was trying to convince herself that Jimmy’s death was not her fault. Marla was working hard to quiet her thoughts, as they continued to race. “It was never my intentions”, she said to herself. “I didn’t purposely do all of this to hurt anyone. I actually believed I was helping someone. I didn’t want any of my family or friends to be emotionally destroyed. Death was never an option. But, I have to stop this. I can’t destroy myself. I have a family at home. I have Michael and Junior.”
Suddenly, thinking about Junior lighten Marla’s mental load. Junior was one of the pieces to her life that kept her focused and sane. She would quickly remind herself that life was about Junior, not her. All of her problems, mistakes, and misunderstandings held no value over Junior. As she sat in Rhonda’s living room, she watched Michael console Rhonda. She could see Junior in Michael. In some ways, she managed to obtain a little peace. Jimmy’s death wasn’t completely removed from the picture, but it was no longer hindering Marla. Marla stood up from the chair directly across from where Michael and Rhonda were sitting, walked over to Rhonda and had a seat next to her. Feeling Marla place her arms around her, caused Rhonda to cry even more. Only this time, some of those tears were tears of joy. Rhonda was thankful to have neighbors like Michael and Marla. She felt that she didn’t have to fight the battle alone. Marla started to shed more tears, but she remained strong for Rhonda.
Later….
Michael and Marla decided to leave for a while and return to their home. They promised Rhonda that they would be back with food and drinks. They felt it was the least they could do to help Rhonda out, during her time of sorrow. As they walked back to their home, they were side-by-side and Michael kept his hand around Marla’s waist. There wasn’t a lot of communication between them. Their experience with Rhonda left them speechless. Since the weather was nice, Michael decided to prepare his delicious barbeque for Rhonda and Marla could add some side dishes. When they approached the front door, Marla stopped.
“What’s wrong”, asked Michael.
“I have to call Diane.”
“Okay.”
Michael walked inside, as Marla took a seat on the concrete step that led to their front door. She pulled out her cell phone and called Diane.
“Hey, Diane. Are you busy?”
“Not really. What’s up?”
“Well, me and Michael were planning to prepare something for Rhonda and I was calling to invite you and the family. I think the company might help.”
“Okay. I’ll have to see what Stanley has planned. He’s been gone all morning.”
“Really? Well, let me know. Hopefully, you can come by, because I need to ask you something.”
“Okay. You don’t want to ask now?”
“Not right now. I’ll discuss it later.”
“Okay.”
Hearing that Stanley was away all morning reminded Marla to speak with Diane about what she had saw between Stanley and the brunette. For Stanley to be away all morning, on a Saturday was not a good sign to Marla. Marla assumed that Stanley was starting to get careless with his double life and spending more time with another woman. At this rate, she knew that something had to be said. The longer it went, the worst the outcome could be. Instead of dwelling on it, Marla decided to wait until she saw Diane face-to-face. She put her phone away and went inside to start preparing food with Michael.
Later into the evening, the sun was beginning to set. Michael “que’d” some steaks, burgers, and a few halved chickens. The entire time he stood out on the back patio, he kept visioning Jimmy sitting on his patio and enjoying the smell of barbeque. The thought of Jimmy being gone still hadn’t sunk in for Michael. He kept looking across the patio, hoping to see Jimmy come out of his house and ask could he come over to eat. All of those comical self-invites were no longer there. Now, Michael was taking his barbeque to where Jimmy once lived. Several times, he drifted off as he barbequed and thought about Jimmy.
As Michael and Marla covered all of the food to be transported together, Michael stopped and gave Marla a kiss on the lips. Although the kiss was unexpected, Marla totally understood why he planted one on her. She only responded with a smile and continued to package all of the food. The more Michael thought about Jimmy, the more he realized how unpredictable and priceless life is. He knew he had to cherish every moment he was allowed to share with his family. Every day became an opportunity, a privilege, and a blessing. Looking at Marla’s eyes, displayed the woman he chose to spend his life with. He could hear the pastor asking him: “….through thick and thin, for better or for worse, for as long as you both shall live.” It was a commitment that he made, despite the flaws, the mistakes, and the mishaps. It was a commitment that he dedicated his life to. And as long as he had breath in his lungs, he was determined to fulfill that promise.
Marla and Michael finally made it to Rhonda’s house, with Junior in tow. The second visit was two-hundred times easier than earlier. Both of them had managed to get over the initial shock and placed all of their focus on comforting Rhonda. Marla informed Rhonda that she had invited some guests. She informed Rhonda that they simply wanted to show their condolences in her time of bereavement. Rhonda didn’t have the strength to question the guests, even if she wanted to. She simply nodded her head in agreement, as she watched Michael and Marla setup the food.
About half an hour after Michael and Marla showed up, Rhonda’s doorbell rang. Michael decided to be the doorkeeper for Rhonda and answer the door of any visitors. When he opened the door, it was Di, Stanley, and their children. Michael was happy to see them all and greeted them with hugs. When Di and her family made it to the kitchen, where Marla was doing last minute prepping, Marla quickly gave Di a hug and spoke to the kids. She quickly went back to the food to eliminate any interaction with Stanley. Marla viewed Stanley in a totally different light. What made the situation worst was that she was the one witnessing Stanley with another woman. It wasn’t word-of-mouth. Stanley noticed that Marla was acting different, but didn’t bother to say anything. He chose to keep it to himself. It went unnoticed to Di, because she was too focused on the “spread” that was in the kitchen. Di was looking forward to eating to her heart’s content. Michael showed Stanley and the children to the living room and allowed Di and Marla time in the kitchen.
“So, everything going okay Marla?”
“Yeah. Not a whole lot to complain about.”
“Did we still need to talk?”
“Yes, but let’s wait until after we eat.”
“Okay.”
Marla thought Di would be more comfortable, after having some food in her stomach. All awhile, Di was clueless and didn’t bother worrying about it. She felt it couldn’t be too bad, if Marla didn’t have to tell her right then and there. There were two knocks at the door and the sound of the doorbell. Michael quickly left the living room to see who it was. On the other end was Reggie and Stephanie. “Hey”, shouted Michael. He was surprised to see the two of them, because he had no clue who Marla invited. Stephanie and Reggie greeted Michael and went straight for the kitchen to speak to Marla. Afterwards, they went to the living room to talk with Rhonda.
Although Stephanie and Reggie barely knew Rhonda, Marla thought about everyone involved in the circle and decided to invite Stephanie and Reggie. Things weren’t the best between Stephanie and Reggie at the moment, but Reggie agreed to follow her to Rhonda’s house and provide his condolences. The short notice placed a hold on Stephanie’s plans for the night. She wanted to make the visit very brief, so they could return home and have their own dinner. Before going to Rhonda’s house, Stephanie informed Reggie that she had made plans for him and her. She didn’t go into details, but she did express that she wanted to show Reggie how much she appreciate him. Reggie remained unconcerned and a little confused. There wasn’t much of a response from Reggie, yet Stephanie remained excited about the plans she had made. Part of the fuel for her excitement was the window shopping she did for her wedding ring, earlier in the day. She even took pictures of various rings, with her mobile phone to show Reggie, later on.
Although Stephanie didn’t want to stay long, Marla talked her into having a bite to eat before she left. After fixing herself a plate, Stephanie sat and talked with Marla for a while. Everyone was in the living room holding various conversations. As Marla talked with Stephanie, in the corner of her eye she could see Diane and Stanley sitting side-by-side. They were sitting so close together that you would think they were attached. Every so often, they would give each other a kiss and continue to talk with Rhonda. The look on Diane’s face was irreplaceable. She seemed to be the happiest woman on earth. Every kiss, every look into each other’s eyes, and everything else seemed to be wonderful for Diane. Marla was bothered by witnessing her happiness, because she began to question herself.
“What am I to do”, she asked herself. “Diane seems to have everything she wants in life. It looks as if she has true love and happiness with Stanley. Exposing his double life would be great, at least for me. But, what would it do for Diane? I mean, I’m only doing this for Diane. Will I be destroying her or helping her? The last incident had her in a total wreck. Just the thought of Stanley sleeping with another woman was too much. If I presented proof to Diane, how would she deal with it? She’s a full-time mother, so leaving Stanley would mean starting over in every aspect of her life. New career, new home, new responsibility, and eventually new love. What do I do? Am I truly hurting her or helping her?”
Marla was at a standstill with Diane. For a moment, she had blocked out Stephanie, but she managed to catch up in the conversation. Either way, Stephanie was ready to leave. It was only getting later in the evening and there was no way that Stephanie was going to ruin her plans. As Marla and Stephanie were sharing their last words, the doorbell rang. Marla decided to answer the door this time and see who it was. She had a good feeling of who was on the other end. When she opened the door, she saw Angie, just as she thought.
“Angie.”
“Hey, girl.”
“You had me worried. I thought you weren’t coming.”
“Almost. I had a lot of errands to run, today.”
“Well, I’m glad you made it.”
Angie walked in, wearing a brown, business, casual, two-piece, pants suit. She was solo for this visit. Although Rhonda didn’t really care for Angie, she thought it was only right to stop by and say hello. Also, Angie wanted to be nosey and see what was going on, how Rhonda’s house looked, and so forth. She glanced at the kitchen and went straight for the living room. “Hello, everyone”, said Angie as she walked into the living room. Everyone spoke, except Rhonda and Reggie. They both were familiar with that voice in different ways. Rhonda was unhappy with Angie being in her presence or being in her home, for that matter. She remembered Angie as being the one that congratulated Rhonda for Jimmy’s car accident, so she had no desire of seeing her or speaking to her. Angie knew she was on Rhonda’s top one-thousand list, so she kept her distance.
On the other side of the coin, Angie’s voice had become music for Reggie. The secret phone calls and motel visits had left a stain on Reggie’s heart. Although it was a fling, Reggie had become attached and even he knew it. Reggie thought that he could build on the relationship he had with Angie, while she wanted it to remain a temporary affair. At the moment, her voice was the last thing that Reggie needed to hear. Since he hadn’t heard from her in a while, there was a strong craving that develop when she entered the living room. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Reggie kept his eyes on Angie the entire time she was in the room. It was a lust that he was struggling to control. He wasn’t sure if he should leave the room or stay. Although it was supposed to remain a secret, Reggie was almost at the point of not caring. At the same time, Stephanie stood to her feet and announced to everyone that she was leaving. She approached Reggie, expecting him to be ready to leave as well.
“Let’s go, Hun.”
“I think I need to stay.”
“Why?”
“Well, I promised Michael I would help him clean up and whatever else. And, I don’t want to just bail on him. That wouldn’t be right.”
“Reggie. We have plans.”
“It shouldn’t be long. I know they’re not going to stay the night here, so it should be over with soon. I tell you what…. Go and get everything set up and before you know it, I’ll be there and we can have some time to ourselves.”
Although Stephanie wasn’t happy about leaving without Reggie, she wanted to be polite and decided to agree with Reggie’s plans. There was still a little of excitement that remained inside of Stephanie, so she rushed to get home and get everything in place how she wanted it. She even stopped by a local grocery store and purchased a dozen roses to have on display. Stephanie was determined to make this night the beginning of a healthy relationship.
Angie had a seat in the chair furthest from Rhonda. There was no need for conflict and there was no telling what Rhonda might do, during her current situation. After sitting for a while, Angie got up and went into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat. Never taking his eyes off of her, Reggie quickly got out of his seat and went into the kitchen as well. Angie grabbed one of the paper plates and began picking through the food to find what she wanted. At the same time, Reggie walked up behind her. She knew who it was. Although she was purposely ignoring him, there was no denying his presence. Angie stopped what she was doing, waiting to see what Reggie was planning to do next. Very quiet and deep, Reggie whispered in Angie’s ear, “I miss you.” He placed his right hand on her side and asked, “Do you miss me?” At first, Angie didn’t respond. She was trying her best to put an end to her affair with Reggie, but there was no way to fight at that very moment. Angie whispered back, “But, there’s people around.” That meant nothing to Reggie. He needed Angie and there was no telling when he would see her again. He talked Angie into going into the bathroom with him. Quickly, Angie left her unfinished plate on the table and went with Reggie, in search of the nearest bathroom.
Since Marla was sitting alone, all she could think about was her sister, Diane. She was unsure of the next step to take. It was already determined that revealing Stanley’s double life would destroy Diane. At the same time, it might be even worse if she found out another way. Diane’s situation was a little too much for Marla. She was currently juggling her marriage and the loss of Jimmy, so adding fuel to the fire wasn’t a good thing. She was ready to give up on helping Diane. She decided to give it one chance and question Diane, before saying anything. She managed to get Diane to leave Stanley’s side for a brief moment.
Marla and Diane walked into the kitchen to talk. When they entered the kitchen, they noticed some of the trays of food left open and a partial plate of food on the counter.
“Who left everything like this”, asked Marla.
“I saw your boss, Angie head this way not too long ago.”
“I forgot Angie was here. I wonder where she went to. Did she sneak out?”
“Would she just leave food like that?”
“Maybe she went to the bathroom.”
“Who knows, but what’s up?”
“What’s going on with you and Stanley?”
“What you mean?”
“I mean is everything okay?”
“Yes. It’s been going very good. As a matter of fact, we did something that we haven’t done in a long time. Just sat outside together on the patio and watch the stars.”
“So, no complaints, no issues.”
“No, ma’am.”
Marla stood still for a moment and stared into Diane’s eyes. She didn’t see any worry or doubt within Diane. All she could do was take her word. She guessed if Diane had no clue, what was there to worry about. There’s was no open door to address what she had been seeing. If Diane was completely happy, there was no way she would turn her completely sad. In some ways, it seemed like things were getting better. Either Stanley was up on his game or Marla just had a misunderstanding. Diane grabbed one of the rolls from a pan and went back into the living room. Once she sat next to Stanley, she shared the roll with him. Marla decided to cover the food that was left open and throw away the food in the plate.
The rendezvous in the bathroom was enough to hold Reggie over for a little while. Although Reggie could’ve stayed in the bathroom forever, Angie had got what she needed and was ready to depart. “I think it’s time for you to go, baby”, she whispered to Reggie. In a way, it seemed like Reggie wanted to just cuddle and hold Angie afterwards, but that thought never crossed her mind. Especially, not in someone else’s bathroom. As they left out of the bathroom, Reggie went straight for the front door to prevent from being seen by anyone. He also knew that Stephanie was waiting on him, at home. Angie headed for the kitchen, because she wanted to get her food. When she entered the kitchen, Marla was busy cleaning up.
“Hey, girl.”
“Hey. I thought you left.”
“No. Just in the bathroom for a minute.”
“Oh.”
“Did you see a plate over here?”
“That was you? I threw it away. I wondered who left the food uncovered.”
“I’m so sorry, Marla. I’ll just fix another one and I promise I’ll cover everything up.”
Marla wasn’t too bothered by it, as long as no food was going to waste. After Angie fixed her plate, she gave Marla a hug and left also. She knew her presence wasn’t desired in Rhonda’s house and thought it was best to leave as soon as possible. Slowly, all the remaining guests left Rhonda’s house and said their goodbyes. The extra company and delicious food helped Rhonda a lot. She was the best she had been, since Jimmy’s death. Although Marla didn’t get a chance to cook for Michael like she wanted, she felt the food was put to better use. She felt she had purchased the food for another reason and just didn’t know it at the time.
The situation with Diane and Stanley was still present, but Marla believed there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn’t see herself hurting Diane, in order to satisfy herself. There was nothing positive in the end result, at the current moment. For now, Marla just wanted to cuddle with her husband and put an end to a long day. She wiped down the counters in her kitchen and turned off all the lights in the house. On her way to the bedroom, her cell phone chirped.
[Kevin: Hey You]