All is Fair

Kendra Kendra woke to the sound of her aggressive alarm, as begrudgingly, as dissatisfied as any being roused from their sleep. She rose swiftly to a sitting position on the left side of her bed before sleep could take her over again. She just as quickly drained the bottle of water on her nightstand, as she removed from the bed to her feet. Yawning, she walked to the door and removed the silk robe from the hook hanging on the inside. Donning it she left her room and headed for the kitchen. No family members this week, but her maid staff arrives shortly after she awakes on the weekdays regardless of company. She choses to set the coffee pot manually in the morning, and plays her messages while she microwaves her frozen breakfast, egg whites, potatoes, Turkey bacon and sausage, and apple cinnamon French toast. She'll return dressed in time enough to get the box before it chimes and then the coffee. A Structural Analyst has to be awake early. The time is 3:15 am. On it, at her age 62, she returns promptly and finishes her meal by making toast and pouring grapefruit juice. The helpers don't make her meals, they tend to the things that are out of reach of her schedule. This is where they earn a payroll. She streams her messages, old school, she blocks messages on her cell, and only takes messages on her landline; few have this number. Those who do know, leaving a message is the only way you'll communicate with her. Calmly eating through the first few recordings that she considered futile, until she arrived at one that made her drop her fork: "Momma (shuffling/background noise) Momma it's Keno. It's official, I'm on reserve! Tell Paul to take a day to come see his little brother, students ain't gonna cry about missing a lecture... I miss y'all... I know Kendall is still away in New York. Bad timin' I know, but we'll see each other if I gotta head out there! I got the time... Call me Momma Love you!" Her boy called, he wanted to come home... oh no! Gut feelings, and paranoia, plagued her at the thought of his return. She felt Carpus City had declined since his enlistment, and bade him not to return, that she would visit him, and hopefully his wife, a few grandkids. He didn't mention a girlfriend last time they spoke. As her mind circles the issue, another message, this time from work: "Ken! Morning! It's Broderick... Uhh, Culms just found that real report on the Rhapsody building. Your hunch was right, the place was gutted 4 years back while you were in Edston! You're not gonna like what they did to hide it from you... I'll talk more when you get here!" Bad news, but she didn't rush, she made another coffee and cleaned her breakfast mess, sipping every time she passed her cup. She dropped her garbage twice on the way to the can. However, she shook herself, no weaknesses; one of the standards she lives by. She finished breakfast by pushing in her chair and leaving her marble-decked kitchen. Down the stairs stage left to the garage, it was going to be a long day. Akeno Akeno packed his quarter of the Barracks on Fort Hill, he would move to his newly leased apartment with Captain Norrly, in Carpus. Norrly was across Post at the moment and most everyone in their company had been stationed abroad, discharged, retired, or deceased, all separations influential in his decision to reduce to reserve status. It was quiet, the ghost of his team sharing riotous moments in this very room haunting him as he proceeded. Empty memories, but that's the life of a soldier. Of course there were some he was not upset to leave behind with this move, but there was one he would miss, and as he packed she crept up behind him. "Fall in Marine!" she shouted. Surprised, he nearly left his skin. She caught him dreaming, he dropped the flask he was examining when he drifted. "Goddamn Sgt. Lewis Did I startle you?" "No Major Quinton you did not!" he replied trying to maintain discipline though he wanted to smile, "I was merely analyzing the angle of your, completely predictable approach!" The Major laughed, "Completely oh!?" She wedged herself between him and his last pile of stuff, threw her bodyweight onto him; forcing them both down onto the bed, with her on top. He gazed at her face with all serenity, she rubbed her slinder fingers down the side of his face, while staring into his copper-brown eyes. Her caramel red freckles were like a galaxy of stars against her high yellow skin, surrounding twin supernova, her minty green eyes, her bushy red ponytail was like a galactic cloud. He was lost in her universe once again. He often tells her she should be in movies or somewhere the world could see how beautiful she is. "Who said you could just leave me?" She said, cuddling her face against his like a feline in heat. "Tina, you know you trippin', you know Clyde be hatin' on anyone who look in your direction..." She laughed at him, grinding her midsection on him, burrowing into his frame, "You ain't scared of him, why you actin' like that baby?" Keno looked at the roof and sighed, "I don't want that man botherin me on my way out of here. And fine as you is, never trust a big butt and a smile, so you can leave..." She looked up at him and laughed again, "Your mouth is telling me no, but your body sir," she said grinding her pelvis again. "Your Daddy can't stand me no way..." he said. She kissed him quiet, then, "You should come to Charley tonight? We're all excused we're goin to drink and screw around a little, you're leaving, so whatever we do is between us," "Like Vegas--" he started, but Jimenez broke up their make-out session she was watching the door and at the same time his phone rang, "We gotta go girl, Praus and Luis are coming," but Tina couldn't hear her, "Who's that calling you?" she asked serious, staring up at him when they both were standing upright again. He didn't answer, allowing the hasty cadence of Jimenez to douse the heat between them and also curb her curiosity, "Quinton, come on!!! she pleaded. Tina stared him a few more seconds looking at the hand concealing the ever ringing phone then into his eyes again, "Go..." he bellowed, as she threw a kiss on his half open lips, "See you at Charlie!" before skipping away with her partner. As he turned to reenter his barracks he caught the sight of Clyde stalking on his left, walking some privates to quarters for inspection. He rested arms at his back as they crossed the road behind him. He caught Akenos eye and scowling said, "Are you packed!? Ready to go to Fort Bleu?!" "Yes!" He replied reluctantly. "Outstanding!" He smiled disingenuously, "Then here's my advice," he said stepping forward, his company continuing without him, "Get off my goddamn base and don't come back!" He frowned. Akeno was a stalemate, as the sergeant ran back to his company. "You're a fine Marine!" he shouted once near them, playing to his company. Asia Asia sighed with disappointment as the phone in her hand went straight to voicemail, "Phone tag, that's a nice game, as exciting as life gets for me these days... Call me back you never told me your good news," she quietly spoke before prompting buttons, approaching footsteps seemed to rush her along with using the device, so that when the door swung open she was folding laundry and there was no phone. "Thought I heard voices... plural," stalked Peter, looking around the small laundry space, "You did," she fired back sarcastically, "I hid him in my Momma dryer!" He folded his arms and looked down at her frowning slightly, "Smart ass!" he jeered, "Ya Momma lookin' for you downstairs, she said clean this house! I agree. I'm headed to work, then out with Joe and Tim, don't wait up!" he shouted going down the stairs, no goodbye kiss, no love, not like she wanted it. She sneered as he walked away, "Paranoid ass," she said beneath her breath as the door slammed. The laundry she hid her phone beneath dialed her homegirl, Lacey, who listened to the entire exchange in silence until the door slammed. {"Is he really throwing his weight around like that's HIS house girl?!"} She scared her, for she did not know her phone was doing a fake call she threw the laundry back from off the face of the device, "O my God!!! Lacey??? Girl you scared me!!! I hide my phone when he come around! His is locked up, but he wanna go through mines! You heard that though," {"Yes!"} "I'm done with the accusations, he the one who be gone!" {"How he checkin' up on a woman he don't care about???"} Asia was saddened, "You think you met a good one, people and they facades! We used to talk about where we were moving to, now all HE talk about is this house!" Linda entered from across the hall, she was in the bathroom she also heard the whole thing. "What was he talkin' about? I didn't call you! I can clean my own house!" Asia sighed and scuffed across the hall to the closet to deposit fresh folded linen, "I knew he was lyin Momma I heard you go to the bathroom before he walked up the stairs," she pouted. Her mother grabbed the towels she had folded and handed them to her as she stood at the open door, "No sad faces, you hooked that catfish; when you gonna take that ring he stole from somebody off and get him outta here? I'm sick of this man plotting on my house! He ain't getting it! That better have been another man you were whispering to in there behind the closed door!" {"Amen Ms. Linda!"} "Hi Lacey!" "Hi Momma!" "It was Sandy, she said she had some news about this guy I used to know, or "Good News" as described in the voicemail," she answered after they greeted each other. "Her move though, wonder who she talkin bout," Asia shrugged.