Brothers and Wives: A Novel Page 5

  “Scottie!” screams a voice.

  Alarmed, Dani tosses Scottie’s arm off her shoulders. She sits up straight like a dog sensing danger.

  “You hear that?”

  “Hear what?”

  “That?”

  More screams of Scottie’s name ring out, then a loud, persistent banging at her door. Her doorknob even rattles.

  “Aw, hell nah.” Dani jumps to her feet and zips to the door to peer through the peephole. “Shit,” she grumbles and steps back. She just stands there, frozen in place, wondering why LaNecia is standing in her doorway.

  Scottie then comes over to look.

  “Um, wait a second.” He opens the front door and disappears behind it.

  “What the fuck you doing here?”

  “I should be asking you the same thing.”

  “You don’t have the right to ask me shit….”

  “Scottie,” she yelps, “don’t talk to me like that….”

  “LaNecia, I swear this is not how I want to be, but what choice do I have?”

  “Choose to be nice to me.”

  “You’re going to have to act different if you want me to respect you, or else …” He pauses. “Or else I’m going back to Michigan.”

  LaNecia gasps. “You serious? Okay, fine. What do you want me to do?”

  “You cannot be rolling up at Dani’s spot like you have the right to be here. Not cool.”

  He thinks about how he actually did the same thing, coming over without Dani knowing in advance, but he knows he’s more welcome than crazy-ass LaNecia.

  “How’d you know where she lives? You followed me?”

  “Mmm hmmm.”

  “See, that ain’t gonna work. You can’t be harassing this woman. You understand?”

  “Hmm, okay, Scottie.” LaNecia sighs. “I’ll do it your way.”

  Scottie exhales. “Because I know you very well, if you want me to talk to you in a way that’s respectful, you need to completely leave Dani alone. Don’t call. Nothing.”

  “What you gonna do for me if I do what you say?”

  “What do you want?”

  “Promise me you’ll take me out one last time, for old times’ sake.”

  His eyes glaze over. “Promise.”

  Satisfied, LaNecia extends her arms toward his waist. “Hug?”

  She places her head on his chest, closes her eyes, and squeezes her arms around him so tight that he can feel her breasts. For a second, Scottie’s mind leaps back in time. Back then, he savored how it felt to caress LaNecia’s young, hot curves—a feeling so good it made him forget where he was sometimes.

  He coughs and loosens himself from LaNecia’s grip. “I’ll holler at you later. I think it’s easier for me to go ahead and listen to what you have to say than it is to have to watch my back and wonder when you gonna jump out the bushes like the damned Bigfoot.”

  “Ha-ha. That’s the Scottie I know. That’s all I want,” she says in a barely audible voice. “I want to see and still hang out with the man I used to know.”

  “Um, yeah. Anyway, I’ll call you.” Scottie waves at LaNecia, then slips back inside Dani’s apartment.

  He returns to the living room to find Dani sitting on the sofa, blankly staring at a Viagra commercial.

  “Everything okay?” she asks.

  “Everything is A-okay. You all right? You need something else to drink?”

  “What did she want?”

  “What do you think?”

  “What did you say to her?”

  “It’s too damn long of a story.”

  “It is not. You weren’t outside long, Scottie Meadows.”

  “Long enough to get the job done.”

  Dani gasps, then giggles. “You didn’t kill the bitch, did you?” she says jokingly.

  “You’re silly, you know that? You really think I’d kill for you, Mariah?”

  “Word on the street is that you’re a bad boy….”

  “I’d love to show you how bad I am once you become mine. You know that’s gonna happen, don’t you?”

  Dani’s cheeks flush red and she doesn’t respond.

  Scottie continues talking as Dani leans against his broad chest while he tells her stories of his life. How his mother, Sola Meadows, met his father, George Foster, when she’d already had Neil by another man, a man she never married.

  “We grew up in a single household. My mom got jerked around by her boyfriends, but she raised me and Neil to treat a woman with love, respect, kindness. That didn’t always happen, of course.”

  Scottie admits to Dani that as a young boy, he felt lonely at times, because his only brother was quite a few years older. Sometimes Neil would let him tag along; other times he didn’t want to be bothered.

  “Did you wish your mom would’ve had another little boy and not just Vette? Someone you could play with?”

  “You can’t miss what you’ve never had, Dani. But I missed you from the second I laid eyes on you.”

  “Eww, sounds like someone is running game on me.”

  “Not running game. I’m the real deal, Mariah.”

  “I wish you’d stop calling me that.”

  “Okay, future Mrs. Meadows.”

  “Ha-ha.” Dani laughs. “I never thought I’d hear anyone refer to me as that.”

  “You weren’t supposed to hear that until you hooked up with me, lovely one.”

  “Scottie, you don’t have to lie to kick it with me.”

  “Oh, so you doubt me? Where’s your faith? You gotta have faith to be with me.”

  Dani doesn’t say anything.

  “I’m not hearing anything,” Scottie says softly.

  “I’m not saying anything.”

  “Then do something. You don’t have to say a word. Do something.”

  “Do what?” She frowns.

  “Wait a second.” Scottie lifts himself up from the couch and strolls over to the music. He knows music and the spines of CD cases so well, it only takes him seconds to find what he wants.

  He slides the CD case from the tiny shelf and pulls out the disc, carefully placing it in the CD player and searching until he sees the track he wants to hear.

  He turns off the television, then walks over to Dani and lifts her to her feet.

  “May I have this dance?”

  “Oh, Lord.”

  “Too late to pray now, baby.”

  Dani lets out a sigh while Scottie gives her a bear hug and embraces her around the waist. His heart leaps forward when she starts moving with him to the music. They slow-dance to a Stevie Wonder song, an artist who happens to be one of Dani’s all-time favorites.

  Does she have faith in me? Can she picture us doing this more and more? She lets him fold her sensuous body into his arms. She closes her eyes and rocks with him, slowly rotating around the room.

  After a while, Scottie can’t even hear Stevie Wonder singing anymore. He’s too busy getting lost inside his thoughts.

  I don’t know how long this is going to last, or where it’s headed, but damn it feels so good to be with this woman right now.

  — 4 —

  DANI

  Neil Still Loves Me

  It’s early August, a few weeks after Scottie returned to Houston and decided to stay for good.

  “I’m about to pull up in your driveway right now. Are you ready for Brax?” I’m down the street from Neil’s house in my truck, babbling with him on my cell phone. According to our child support arrangement, it’s his weekend with Brax. So every other Thursday, Brax cries for a good ten minutes and wildly kicks his feet when he’s strapped in his car seat. It’s not that he doesn’t want to spend time with his daddy; it’s just that whenever I drop him off, he has a hard time letting go. Today is one of those days.

  “Aw, is that my little man pitching a fit again?”

  “Yes, I think it’s because your little man was deep into his favorite cartoon. And it seems we always have to leave just when the good part is coming on.”

>   “I hate hearing him cry.”

  “You aren’t alone. I keep explaining that our DVR will pause and wait for him until he comes home, but it’s kind of hard for a three-year-old to completely understand.”

  “I’ll make him forget all about that cartoon.”

  It feels refreshing to hear Neil sound more chilled out than he was at the reunion. Since then, we’ve made somewhat of a pact. It’s important for us to get along for Brax.

  I turn the truck onto Neil’s driveway and park. He’s waiting for us under the covered entrance that leads from his sidewalk to the front door of his two-story brick home. The concrete walkway is bordered with three-feet-high bridal wreaths accented by decorative gravel stones that Neil scattered and arranged last summer. As soon as the engine of my pickup sputters into silence, Neil rushes over, barely looking at me he’s so busy trying to fling open the rear door of the double cab to unstrap his son.

  “Daddyyy!” Brax happily shrieks, wiggling in his baby seat.

  Neil smiles and kisses Brax on the center of his forehead.

  “Are you gonna miss me?” I ask Brax and extend my knuckles so we can do a fist bump.

  “Mommy, you stay here, too. Okay?”

  “No, honey bun, I gotta go grocery shopping. We’re getting low on milk and eggs and bottled water and bacon.”

  “Figures.” Neil smiles as he hoists Brax into his arms.

  Before I can continue explaining my shopping plans to Brax, we’re interrupted by the noise of a car that turns into the driveway and comes to a stop behind my Toyota.

  The music in Scottie’s Escalade is playing so loud it pulsates like the sound of a washing machine.

  While holding Brax, Neil covers his ear and shouts at Scottie to turn off his music. Instantly the thumping music goes silent, and Scottie slowly steps out of the car.

  I avert my eyes and start barking instructions to Neil. “Anyway, everything he needs is in his day bag as usual. Please do not let him have any sweets. I don’t care how much he begs. And make sure he goes to bed at a decent time.”

  Neil lowers his questioning eyes at me. Scottie’s car door slams. Soon I can feel his body standing inches behind me. He’s so close I can smell his cologne. Since that day he popped over unannounced a couple of weeks ago, we’ve been hanging out more and more. But this is the first time we’ve been at Neil’s house at the same time. I can tell Scottie’s growing more comfortable with me, but I haven’t exactly wanted Neil to know just yet, especially now that Scottie’s living with Neil.

  “You come by to see me?” he whispers. The heat of his minty breath tickles my ear. Neil flashes us a suspicious look.

  “Um, hey Scottie, what’s up?” I ask, feigning surprise.

  “You want to go up to my room?”

  “What’s going on here?” Neil asks. Brax is now tugging his daddy’s shirtsleeve and ordering him to carry him inside the house, but Neil barely pays attention. With Neil’s eyes locked on mine, I hear him mentally asking, What do you think you’re doing?

  “Let’s go inside,” Scottie says to me. Neil is holding Brax and his day bag in one arm. He grabs me with his free arm and pulls me along with him. I stumble on the walkway but don’t say a word.

  “Hey, bro, you’re trying to do too much. I can handle Dani.” Scottie removes Neil’s hand from my arm and places his hand in mine. We follow Neil into the house, and I can’t help but wonder what Neil is thinking.

  Neil sets down Brax and his day bag once we are inside his foyer. It’s a wide, open space that gives a full view of the staircase. A tiny office with French doors is located right off the foyer. The stained concrete flooring gives Neil’s house a homey feel.

  Brax dashes away, running in a circle and screaming, “I want some chocolate. I want some chocolate.”

  “What’s he talking about?” I ask.

  “Not real chocolate,” Neil explains. “Hot chocolate. I don’t understand how he can stand to drink something that hot when it’s probably a hundred degrees outside.”

  “When Brax wants what he wants, you know he doesn’t care.”

  Brax screams, “I want my choc-late.”

  “Well,” I laugh, “are you going to go make him some?”

  “No, you are.”

  “Neil,” I plead, feeling like my sticking around right now is not the best thing to do. Earlier Scottie and I made tentative plans to see each other. But I thought he could meet me at the gas station around the corner, definitely not here at the house. “I–I really gotta be going.”

  “She sure does. Follow me,” Scottie says. He strides past me with his head held high, then patiently stands at the foot of the stairs.

  “She’s not going anywhere, Scottie. I knew this was going to happen. Just because I let you stay with us d–doesn’t mean you can have c–company.”

  Neil’s voice is strong yet weak; he’s babbling like a punk.

  “Where’s your wife?” Scottie asks. “Let’s hear what your wife has to say about me having company.”

  “Okay, you two,” I cut in. “This is nuts. We don’t have to be like this. I’m trying hard to maintain my composure. And more importantly, we shouldn’t be a-r-g-u-i-n-g in front of the baby.”

  “Where’s my little brother?” Reese joins us from upstairs, her big feet stomping all the way till she reaches the bottom. Grinning so wide that all her teeth are showing, she squats till she’s eye-level with her brother, then hugs Brax around his little shoulders. He pushes her off and continues to run in a circle. Just watching him makes me feel dizzy, like I need to sit down.

  “You want to go outside and play kickball? I’ll let you win this time. Come on, Brax.”

  I watch as the kids race through the rear door in the kitchen that leads to the enclosed patio and backyard.

  The tension feels so thick I can barely think. Although I have entertained thoughts of what would happen if I dated Scottie, I’ve tried hard not to overthink things. And right now it seems Neil, Scottie, and I need to have a conversation I’m not ready to have.

  Sighing, I go into the den, the room in which the family usually gathers to watch TV and eat. I take a seat on the plush leather love seat, a piece of furniture I’ve sat on many times in the past, back when I first gave birth to Brax. In the early days, I was welcome to stop by the Meadowses’ house. I’d come by, relax on the couch when Anya was here so we could discuss babysitting arrangements whenever I needed help.

  But when Brax turned one, Anya convinced Neil that I shouldn’t be the one to drop Brax off. I got carried away one day and came by their house dressed like a porn star. Anya pitched a fit and didn’t want me around anymore. At first we used Riley Dobson, the next-door neighbor, as the go-between for me and Neil. She was safe, supportive, the ultimate peacemaker. But when her schedule changed and she couldn’t drive Brax to my place, we decided that my girlfriend Summer Holiday would take over. That plan worked at first for an entire year. But earlier this spring, Summer got a new man named Andre, no one else was available to step in, and lately I’ve been the one who finds herself back at the Meadowses’ house. And now that Scottie is living with his brother, the pressure has tripled.

  According to what Scottie told me, Neil reluctantly agreed to let his brother live with them last week. Scottie argued that it was better for everyone if he gives Neil money than to fork over four hundred dollars a week to a hotel.

  Anya was all for the arrangement. “I can use that money,” she told Neil. And that settled it.

  “Well,” I say to the guys, “since I’m going be here for a little while even though I hadn’t planned on it, can some nice gentleman bring me something to drink?”

  Scottie trudges to the large, open kitchen, which is visible from the den. Neil is right on his heels. Scottie opens the refrigerator and scans the contents. He reaches for a can of ginger ale. Neil slaps the can from Scottie’s hand. It crashes to the floor and rolls until it hits a baseboard, then comes to a stop.

  “She has
diabetes and can’t drink that, dummy. She needs to drink something …” Exasperated, Neil stops talking and pulls out a can of Coke Zero and stares knowingly at Scottie.

  “Oh, I get it. I’m taking notes, my brother.” Scottie tries to snatch the soda from Neil’s hand, but he chuckles and waves him off.

  “If you gonna take notes, then take ’em.”

  They return to the den. Neil holds my soda and stands in front of me, still quarreling with Scottie like a boy.

  I sit back amazed and watch these two men in action.

  Here you have Neil. He’s dressed in a white unbuttoned dress shirt with no tie. He’s just gotten off work from his job as a finance manager at the Texas Medical Center. I love how he’s wearing a ribbed wife beater tank top. Mmmm … I can remember the times I’d be in bed with Neil, lying on that man’s chest. He’d hold me in his arms and we’d fall asleep with my head on his shoulder. It rarely happened, but the few times it did made me wish I could experience lying next to him every night. Of course, Anya got that privilege even though she rarely took advantage of it—they slept in separate rooms. What a waste!

  Neil looks steadily in my eyes and hands me the drink.

  “Thanks, Neil. That’s so nice of you.”

  “Hey, let me pop it open for you, Mariah.”

  “What you call her?”

  “She’s beautiful, fun to be around, a little spitfire, so that’s my nickname for her.”

  “That sounds so stupid.”

  “Neil.” I giggle. “That’s not nice.”

  “And?”

  Scottie sits next to me on the love seat.

  “There’s plenty of room on that sofa over there, boy.”

  “Boy?”

  “You two are so adorable. Is this how you acted when you were younger?”

  “Scottie has always acted like a fool!”

  “Oh, really, Neil?”

  Scottie ignores Neil’s comments and opens my drink, then places the can against my mouth.

  “This is so disgusting. I can’t take it anymore.”

  “Okay,” Scottie sings. “Byeeee.”

  Neil grunts, then abruptly turns and leaves.