The Other Woman

The other woman

How in the hell does a family trip turn into a divorce? Well I’m still not sure if we’re getting one or not, but I am sure that my husband is an asshole. You’re probably wondering who I am, right? And why is my husband such an overbearing piece of shit? Sit tight, I’ll tell you how. First of all, I’m Abundance Peace(don’t judge my parents wanted to change the world). Hence the name, but that’s besides the point right now.

Back to my ungrateful ass man/husband. Whatever he is right about now. He broke my heart and then had the nerve to blame me. Me, Abundance Peace, the one whose been his backbone and saving grace since we met eleven years ago. I was the one who believe in him. Who dealt with his bullshit when no one else would. I cared for, nursed, feed, provided for, and basically became his little hot flashy thing to add to his outfit of the day. Sorry for venting but as you can tell, I’m still pissed about it all.

Never mind all that, here’s the full story of how I discovered the absolute worst about Richard Henry(rolls eyes). July 7th was the day and I’ll never forget it. Everything was going smoothly. The children all got up on time, no fussing, no fighting, and no back talking or side eyes. I was in an amazing mood. Smile on my face, singing songs, and just enjoying the morning; and so was he.

He planted a cute half intimate kiss on my lips as we passed by one another. He was on his way to the kitchen and I to the bathroom to do my makeup. “Morning sexy,” he said, brushing up against me. I could feel his rock hard body against mine and my heart fluttered. I was happy we were finally in a better place. For months we had been going through the motions. Arguing and fighting. It all seemed extremely pointless to keep trying when neither of us were sure about the next step in our marriage. So we actually came to an agreement a week before the trip was to happen. We both made a promise to give the children a really special day that they would always remember. So waking up today was a good thing. I was here for it and apparently so was Richard (rolls eyes). He was putting on all the moves. I have to admit it was very nice but at the same time crazy. The shit I had been begging, crying and bitching about for the last few months, he just woke up and felt like being that man. It was a bit shocking at first, but I climbed aboard the happy train, no questions asked.

The children were dressed and sitting at the table patiently waiting for him to finish up breakfast. I know it was really nice that he cooked us breakfast while I packed lunches for the road. We had a few hours to be on the road, so lunches and snacks were a must. We laughed and joked in the kitchen together. It was like we were on the same wavelength. I loved every second of it. I could tell he did as well. His eyes said so. I could always tell how he was feeling by the look in his eyes. That was one thing he couldn’t hide. And today he had happy eyes.

“Hey mom and dad,” came our oldest son Tony, “You need any help in there?”

“Thought you’d never ask. Can you grab the plates and cups and sit them at the table please,” came my husband?

I watched as Tony got up from the table with a smile. As he walked towards the cabinet, he turned around looked at his father and said, “I like us like this.”

My jaw hit the floor. Today was definitely a day for first. Tony and Richard never and I mean never expressed feelings to each other. I could feel the tears of joy welling up in my eyes. Quickly, I grabbed a

The Other Woman

paper towel to wipe my face. I couldn’t let them see me tearing up, after all I was the strong one. I have to admit that it made me proud to see them engaging in such a positive way.

I put a slight rush on my lunch packing, breakfast was almost ready, and I was starving. The aroma in the kitchen had my stomach growling and I was ready to chow down. Pancakes, eggs, cheddar biscuits, scrapple, turkey bacon, grits, toast with butter and jelly, orange juice and coffee for me. I couldn’t wait to dig in. Apparently, neither could the kids. Honesty, our 2-year-old bounced anxiously in her seat as Richard made her plate. She stuck her little fingers onto the plate, swiping a piece of bacon. We all laughed. She was the cutest little thing.

Richard Junior or RJ for short was busy pouring everyone some orange juice. He has always been mommy’s helper. I sat at the far end of the table, sipping on my coffee, just basking in the love they were all displaying today.

I know it all seems so fantasy- like and it really was something out of a fairytale. My family has never been the lovey type. We always just knew we loved each other, kind of like an unspoken language in which we all understood. This day was just so out of the norm but I was feeling where it all was going. Kids getting along, husband showing mad love, and me soaking it all up. I wanted more of this. After breakfast was finished, we all made a joined effort to clean the kitchen and finish packing for our trip.

Just as we were finishing up, Honesty came up to me and tapped me on my leg. I looked down and smiled at her. She was so very gorgeous to me. Her big green eyes, her chubby little cheeks, her milk chocolate complexion and that hair that flowed down her back. Gosh, I loved her.

“Up. Up,” she demanded. What my little princess wanted she got. I bent down and scooped her up into my arms in the blink of an eye. Richard came strolling up offering to carry her to the car. I didn’t mind the help. It was a nice gesture. I could have used the extra help, so I handed the munchkin over to her daddy. It was at that moment that I noticed he wasn’t wearing his wedding ring.

I wanted to scream, shout, and flip out but I had made a promise to the children to make today a wonderful day. So instead I said nothing as I handed her over to him. All sorts of thoughts were running through my mind. Being the good mom that I was, I pushed them all aside and gave a loving smile.

“Thanks babe. You’re amazing,” I said to him as he kissed me on the cheek on his way out of the kitchen.

“As are you,” was his reply.

There were a few last minute things I had to do before we were to be out the house and headed for the road. First, I had to grab Honesty's favorite toy. Then, get an extra blanket for the ride home. Lastly, I had to and I mean this was more imperative than any other thing. I had to check his side table draw for his ring. I needed to see if it was there or not. At this moment my mind was doing cartwheels. Maybe he had lost it and didn’t want me to know. Maybe he’d taken it off during his breakfast cooking. Maybe he didn’t want to wear it anymore, especially since we weren’t on the best of terms as of lately. Either way I was going to get to the bottom of it all. One way or another.

I pulled the draw opened for a quick peek and that’s when the horn honked. I jumped back a bit scared. See we have always had our vow to privacy when it came to certain things in our marriage. He had his

The Other Woman

side table stand and I had my walk in closet. We never lied to one another but some things we felt were not tell-able. I slammed the draw shut after the second honk and headed to the car.

“Dang ma, why you was taking so long,” questioned my oldest?

“Had to grab your sister’s favorite monkey.”

“Yeaaaaaah,”Honesty said with much excitement, “Tecko, my Tecko,” she yelled as she reached out for her favorite cartoon monkey. I passed it to RJ who was sitting in the middle like always. That was his spot in the car, no matter what. He grabbed it and tossed it over to his little sister. Giggling when it bounced off her face and into her lap. She folded her arms in an attempt to throw a fit. RJ then began to tickle her. We all began to laugh. It was just the most adorable thing I had ever seen. Still my mind kept going back over to why Richard didn't have on his ring. I wanted badly to just ask him because I knew he wouldn't lie. But there was also something inside of me that was afraid to hear the truth.

Putting all my ill feelings aside, I turned in my seat, and began tickling RJ, “tickle fight,” I screamed! On cue Tony reached over and started tickling RJ as well. He laughed so hard as he wiggled around in his seat.

“Help Dad. Help!”

Dad immediately began to tickle me. I laughed and laughed. I laughed until my cheeks were burning. Of all the family, I was the most ticklish. I laughed so hard, the tears began rolling from my eyes and I couldn’t see. I tried hard to fight Richard off but the position that I was in made that almost impossible.

“Stop! Stop Richard,” I laughed, “ I gotta pee!”

“Oh no A.B. You ain’t getting away that easy,” he responded.

They all burst into laughter at my expense, of course. Richard finally stopped tickling me and I turned back around in my seat. And just like that we were pulling out of the driveway and hitting the road. Road trip here we come. The weather was amazing not too hot or too cool, for a Summer’s day in July. Happiness flowed all through the car, I was impressed. Still I could not shake the fact that there was no ring on Richard's wedding finger.

My mind began wandering again. Why was he suddenly being so nice? Did this have anything to do with why he had on no ring? Why hadn’t he told me about what happened it? Was this the beginning of the end? I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. Something was up. My gut told me so. And momma always told me that if you feel it in your heart it’s fear, but if you feel it in your gut it’s intuition. You should always trust your intuition.

So here we were having an awesome time and my stupid intuition just had to mess it up. What in the heavens was wrong with me? All I really wanted was the truth. Was that really so hard to get? Maybe in Richard’s case it was. He was so content with whatever he had going on (without me) that he hadn’t even bothered to put it on. I know it was a bit much but as a woman, I just needed to know.

“Baby, are you okay?”

“Yea sure. Why'd you ask me that?”

The Other Woman

“Well for one, you’re zoned out. And two, you’re way too quiet. Quiet means you’re thinking way too much about something.”

In my head I silently prayed that he wouldn’t ask me what I was thinking about. I didn’t want to lie to my husband, especially not to his face. I was determined to have a wonderful time today. I reached down, put my hand onto his, and smiled, “Baby, I’m fine.”

“Alright,” he said, never turning to look at me. He just kept driving.

That got my gears turning even more. He made it his business to look me in my eyes when he spoke to me. He said he likes to have my undivided attention and he never wanted me to think that he wasn’t paying attention to our conversations. That was one of the many reasons why I stayed with him during our bad times, because even when we were at each other’s throats, we could still have meaningful conversation, and he always paid attention. He didn’t zone out or get on his phone. Instead he’d sit right there staring into my soul as we talked. It made me feel loved, like my opinions mattered. Not this time though. He didn’t even glance my way. My heart sank in my chest. I wanted to cry, but today was supposed to be a good day.

Sitting back into my seat, I adjusted my seatbelt for more comfort, and listened to the kids sing along with the radio. Cardio B was all the rage these days. Even Honesty knew the words to Cardio B and Bruno Mars' 'Please Me' song. They sung like they were getting paid for it. Like they were performing live on stage. The song ended as we were hitting the highway.

“My turn,” I said as I leaned over, turning the station to the oldies but goodies. They were playing one of my favorite hits. Nodding my head and getting into the groove. Now it was time for the headliner's performance. ‘Summer Rain' was one of my all time favorite joints.

“Storming outside, rain she keeps me home. Quiet conversation makes me warm so,” I sang.

I could hear the kids huffing in the backseat. They hated when I sang. They said I like to take over the song. I didn’t care though, because I knew I could blow. They knew it too. I wasn’t the one to toot my own horn but (beep beep). I belted every note like I owned the song. Me and Carl Thomas were one and the same as far as I was concerned. Eyes closed and all. I was definitely feeling it. And so was Richard. I opened my eyes in time to see the loving way he was looking at me as I sang. That made me feel a bit better. We were almost back on track with this trip. A few more songs came on, and I jammed to them all before RJ asked if they could hear the normal music again. I scrunched my face up but I changed it back to the not so old people music again.

About an hour and fifteen minutes into the drive, someone was hungry, someone had to pee, someone needed to stretch their legs. I guess that meant we had to make a stop. The rest stop was probably three miles away and you would have thought I said it was five hundred miles away. Honesty let out the most depressing sigh I had ever heard come from someone who had absolutely no reason to be depressed.

Kicking her feet she screamed, “but I’m hungry now momma. Sandwich now momma.”

“Just hold your horses little lady. We’re almost there,” spat Richard, before I had a chance to say anything. Immediately, and I mean immediately she quieted down. She never gave him any lip. He never

The Other Woman

had to say things twice to her. Me on the other hand, she gave me the blues. This was on a daily basis and I was beginning to think that she liked to push my buttons. It wasn’t long before we pulled up to the gas station slash quick mart. I think the kids were out the car before Richard had put the thing into park. I just shook my head at them. Richard got out next, while I sat there for a moment more just watching them all.

“Come on momma.”

“Coming,” I yelled back.

Grabbing my little travel bag, I opened the door and hit the lock button, before getting out and joining the family. The kids waited until I was standing beside their dad, before they made a mad dash for the quick mart. Tony made sure to watch for cars. He was good about looking out for his little brother and sister. ‘Good job' I said to myself. My husband and I casually strolled behind but not too much. We had to make sure they stayed safe.

He stretched his hand out for mine.. I quickly grabbed it, I didn’t want him to think I was being weird or anything; even though I was. I glanced up at his oh so handsome face and began to blush. I couldn’t help it. My husband was fine as hell. His flawless caramel skin tone, with those broad shoulders, his perfect white teeth, and those dimples. He was an amazing creation from God. I loved everything about him, from his deep voice all the way to his sexy toes. He was everything I wanted in a man or at least that’s what I thought, until today. I was feeling pretty skeptical about the love of my life.

I played it off well. I was good at hiding my feelings until the time was right. So when he pulled me up close for a kiss, I made sure it was as passionate as it has always been. I watched as he made a quick readjustment to his junk before we entered the quick mart with the kids.

They all made a dash for the snack isle, pushing and shoving one another as if they weren’t all going to get a snack. It was kind of cute though. Seeing them in their most happiest moments is what I lived for. Not even realizing that I had stopped in the middle of the walkway to admire the kids.

“Excuse me,” came a smooth deep voice that sent a chill down my spine. I knew at that moment that he was not my husband. Quickly, I stepped aside as I pleaded my apologies to the most gorgeous human being I had ever laid eyes on.