Couples of South Pointe Lake

24. Woman Scorned

Steve sat in front of his computer admiring the brilliant Saturday morning sun rising beyond his window with a cup of coffee in his hand.  The silence in the room was still and comforting, only broken by the birds chirping outside.  The time on his digital watch read 7:27 a.m.  Angie should be up and getting ready for work by now; Snuggles, that infernal feline, would be upstairs waiting on her like a self-appointed bodyguard.  For now, Steve had this moment to cherish all to himself and it felt great.

The memories of last night replayed in his head like a newsreel he would love to discard from memory.  Not the part of him superimposing Yemi’s face over Angie’s while they were having s*x.  Had I f*****g dreamed that part, or was that some hallucination?  The s*x had been a memorable one and he still retained vivid snatches to know what he had seen.  Recalling Yemi’s face had seemed way too real for him to dismiss it as something trivial.  That he had her in mind would inexplicably explain that, except the part of his involuntary tiredness.

Steve nearly spilled his coffee when something furry suddenly rubbed against his ankle, startling him.  He looked down and let off a sigh when he saw that it was Snuggles.  The cat sat on his haunches, gazing anxiously at him.  In one smooth motion, it catapulted onto his lap.  That Snuggles was here to add to his misery told him that Angie was done upstairs.  Steve dropped his cup and caressed his furry backside.  The cat meowed soothingly in response.

“Hey there, big boy.  Where’s your mistress at?”

“She’s right here, darling.”  Angie appeared from behind the doorway in a grey suit.  “Right where you left me.”

“Now why on earth would you think that, babe.”  He kissed her as she leaned toward him.  “You know I wouldn’t dare leave you for anything.”

“You’ve been up early.  I turned around about an hour ago and you weren’t there.”

“I didn’t bother checking the time when I got up,” he said.  “I’ve got a backload of stuff and figured I’d give myself a head start before you got up.  How was your sleep, honey?”

“It was great.  You want me to go make you breakfast, or have you eaten anything yet?”

“Nothing but this coffee for now.  What time will you start pushing out?”

She checked her watch.  “I’ve got some time.  I’ll make you a little something.  Be right back, and watch Snuggles for me.”

“You know he’s jealous and loves your scent more than mine,” he laughed.

Snuggles seemed to acutely grasp their conversation because Angie wasn’t half out of the room when Snuggles scampered off Steve’s lap and chased after her.  Steve picked his cup and returned to work waiting for him on his computer screen before his mind wandered off once more with the gorgeous sight of the dawn outside his window.  Angie returned minutes later, carrying a tray laden with scrambled eggs, toasted bread, butter, bacon, and a glass of fruit juice.  Steve cleared an area on his desk for her to place the tray.

“You know I’m still hurting from last night,” Angie said.  “You really screwed the pooch.”

“I’m sorry, honey.  I was so tired.  Didn’t think it’d hurt your feelings that bad.”

Angie gave him a look.  “Would you feel the same way if I’d said that?”

“That’s not what I meant, babe.”  Steve stood up and hugged her.  “You’re the only woman I want to please.  I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”

“Yeah.  You most certainly will.  What’s your day going to be like?  The grass needs trimming, remember?  You keep pushing back on that.”

“Yeah, about that.”  Steve grimaced at the thought of being reminded about it.  “I’ll look into that.  Seriously this time.”  

They walked to the front door and he gave her a final kiss before letting her go.  Snuggles stood beside him as they both watched Angie getting into her car and pull out of the driveway, then drove off.  

Steve shut the door and Snuggles trailed behind him as he returned to his computer desk.

For the next two hours, he was lost in his work and only stopped when he heard his doorbell ring.  Steve sat back and groaned as he felt a strain down in his waist, including his shoulder.  His coffee cup sat empty on the tray that previously bore his breakfast meal.  Snuggles was curled on a couch across his desk, casually licking his fur.  The doorbell sounded off again.  The time on his watch said 10:04 a.m.

“All right, I’m coming,” Steve hollered.

He pushed back his chair then left his desk.  He made it to the front door and didn’t bother glancing through the peephole as he then unlocked the door.

“What’s up, Steve,” said Garry.  “Was wondering when I was gonna see you again.  Or maybe our last talk turned you off.”

“Get your silly ass in here, Garry,” said Steve, happy to see who it was.  “Thanks for answering my call.”

“No sweat,” Garry shook his hand.  “You said you needed an extra hand on something.”

“Yeah, it’s behind.”

Steve shut the door and together they headed toward that direction.

*          *          *

CLANG . . . CLANG . . . CLANG . . .

The tapping noise echoed and reverbed in his head like an anvil slamming against a slab of steel to the point where Red couldn’t ignore it any longer.  It seemed as though a giant was using his skull at a bowling ring, adding to the sudden headache he was feeling.  He couldn’t resist his senses becoming more aware.  

Bobby Red’s eyes twitched opened tentatively.  Everything appeared blurry and vague.  The clanging noise went off like someone striking an anvil on his brain, even though he was now awake.  He blinked several times as his sight finally straightened out, and he swore under his breath when he realized that no way did this resemble his bedroom.  The ceiling was high and painted white the same as the walls; the walls harbored brown soot and graffiti.  There was a urinal two feet from him.  The room stank as though someone had recently taken pleasure in pissing everywhere.  Red was baffled as to how come he seemed to be relieving his night spent in jail with DeGreese, except this time, he was alone.  

A black man in a cop’s outfit gazed at him from behind the metal bars.  He was the one responsible for the clanging noise, as he had been tapping his baton against the bars to catch Bobby red’s attention.  Bobby groaned as he struggled to pull himself upright.  Even that required some effort.

“How’re you feeling, Red?” Elroy Jamieson said to him.

Red made a groaning noise, then he hoicked and spat phlegm into the urinal.  

“The f**k am I doing here?” he asked with a weary voice.

“Seems your buddy Charles has rubbed off his delinquency dust on you,” Elroy said.  “Not even a week since last time your ass was in here, and here you are back in it.  This a new habit you’re starting?”

Bobby Red was struggling to make sense of whatever outcome that brought him here.  The headache made that exceptionally hard.  He carefully pulled himself to his feet, realizing he had no nothing but his skivvies and undershirt, unlike last time.  He tottered as he approached the cop.  He grabbed hold of the bars to steady himself.  

“Why the f**k am I in here?” 

“You telling me you don’t remember?  You ain’t looking too good, though.  Need me to get you something like water?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Red muttered, rubbing his palm against his chin.  “Yeah, I can use some damn water.  How the f**k did I get here?”

“Hold on a minute.”  Elroy left the cell corridor but soon returned with a Crystal Clear bottled water.  “This ought to do you some good.”

Red grabbed the bottle as Elroy passed it halfway through the metal bars.  He quickly uncapped it, then drained its content in a few gulps.  A sliver of water spilled down his chin while he drank, then gave a fitful sigh before wiping his lips with the back of his arm.  

“That felt good,” Red acknowledged before turning toward the cop.  “Now, how about you be a good boy and tell me how I f*****g ended up here.”

Elroy fixed him with a pair of cold eyes when Red uttered those words, but he maintained his cool.

“One of your neighbors called up saying she heard some loud yelling from your home.  Cops came by, and they had to wrench you off from strangling your wife.  You gave her a bad cut on her face.”

“Did I?” Bobby muttered, as he fought to recall the night’s event.  He could remember challenging Bella about returning home late, but the details regarding their fight drew a blank for him.  “I don’t f*****g remember doing that.”

“Well, you should.  Your wife filed a complaint saying you assaulted her.”  

“The f**k would I want to do such?” asked Red vehemently.  “If anything, the b***h is the one who f*****g cut herself up and now gets to pin it on me.  Yeah, I remember some of it now.  The b***h has been going around f*****g some guy I know nothing about.  I was up last night waiting for her cheating ass to return home.  When she did, I asked her where she’d been, but instead, the b***h jumped me.”

“And that’s when you decided to cut up her face?”

“I told you already, boy,” Red snarled at Elroy.  “I don’t f*****g remember doing none of that.”

“I’d be careful about the way I use that word if I were you, Red,” Elroy advised.  “I know your kind, and I’m letting you know there’s gonna be some accident in here if you repeat that word a third time.”

Elroy turned to leave but stopped when Red called out to him. 

“Tell me one thing.  When the f**k am I getting out of here?”

“That’s out of my hands right now, Red.  Assault and battery are serious business.  See ya later.”

Elroy left the corridor and slammed the door shut before Bobby Red could holler at him.

*          *          *

Garry popped the tab on his beer and took a swig from it.  He rolled his shirt in his hand and used it to fan himself while he chugged on his beer.  A whirring noise came from the lawnmower machine that Steve was utilizing to plow through the swat of grass in his yard.  All the past weeks since he promised leveling his backyard, he was finally getting it done.   Steve was devoid of his shirt.  He had folded his pants legs up to his knees and was sweating as he maneuvered the lawnmower.  The work was profoundly stimulating to his mind and spirit.  It made him wonder why on earth he had put off doing it until Angie reminded him.  

He was leveling the grass three feet from the gazebo when he stopped and switched off the machine.  He ran the back of his arm across his brow while he surveyed the sight of his yard.  Steve came and sat in the gazebo across from Garry, who had assisted him earlier; both their arms and feet bore bits of cut grass.  Steve picked up his beer and popped the tab.

“Now I see why you called me to come over,” Garry remarked, “this was some job you gave yourself.”  He looked at his watch.  “Can’t believe it’s only past ten.”

“You expecting to be someplace?”

“Yeah, but I’ll tell you about that later.  Man, this is some cool breeze blowing out here on the lake.  You know, for ten bucks, you could pay kids to cut this grass for you in no time.  Unless you’re becoming cheap for your age.”

“I know.  I’ve been too lazy to think about it.”

“And you needed an excuse to get my ass over here, right?”  Garry consumed more of his beer.  He rubbed his hand over his torso.  “I was wondering how come I ain’t heard from you or the fellas.”

“I won’t know about the fellas, Garry.  As for me, I’ve been busy with other stuff.”

“Busy minding the new couple that moved into the Alvarezes’ pad, is that what you mean?  That the minding you talking about here?  Not saying I blame you, buddy.  They seem like a good couple.”

“You were there with me at Shep’s party, so don’t come here sounding off like I was the only one.”

“Yeah, we were all there.  I was surprised you made it over.  I often thought neighborhood parties ain’t really your thing.”

“They ain’t,” Steve said.  “Angie wanted to have a good look at them, so we came.  Anyway, it’s past now.”  He looked at his beer while deliberating about what he intended spilling from his lips.  “Ollie mentioned that they’re swingers.”

Garry quit fanning himself.  “Swingers?  Meaning they swing with other couples?”

“That’s exactly what he meant.”

“And how did Ollie come by this little nugget of information?”

“I don’t know, and I didn’t ask.  I thought I was having a hard time trying to grasp everything about you and Ellie.  Now it looks like you guys aren’t the only players around.”

“Don’t worry, I forgive you.  Not your fault you got to looking where you shouldn’t, Steve.  You thought more about what we discussed last time?”

Steve nodded tensely.  

“I’d best be heading back.  Thanks for the beer.”  Garry dropped his bottle then wore back his shirt.  “Are you gonna be busy this evening?  There’s someplace I’d like us to visit.  Something I think you should see.”

“Don’t I get a hint first?”

“If I gave you one, then chances are you’re gonna turn me down.  The little you know right now, the better.  We’ll take my car; I’ll pick you up at six.”  

Steve slung his shirt over his shoulder and took the empty beers cans with him as both of them went back into the house, to the front door.  Steve stopped Garry as he was about to take his leave.

“I don’t know if this is going to sound crazy, Garry.  But ain’t it weird that just when I’m finding out new stuff about you, I’m also learning more about things I’ve never thought of before?  I know that sounds crazy, but it’s so coincidental, and more . . .”

“Paranoid?” Garry interrupted him.

“I didn’t want to use that word, but now you’ve said it, yeah.  I feel like I’m waking up and not realizing this whole time that I’d been asleep.”

“Sounds to me like you’re having some tough time with Angie.  Not my business to ask, but anything come up lately?”

“Yeah, sort of.  I’ll tell you about it later.”

“Weird or coincidence, who’s to tell which is which sometimes.  Stay by your phone, okay.”

They shook hands and Steve watched Garry leave his driveway then shut the door.