She went back into the kitchen and started wiping the countertops and putting the dishes away from the dishwasher. This was a habit she developed when she was younger to deal with stress. She wanted to have control over something and cleaning was it. She could scrub as hard as she wanted to and not worry about breaking anything.
After getting his bags downstairs, she decided to check them to make sure he had packed everything. Ok, well maybe she was just being nosey. She unzipped his carry-on bag and marveled at the wonderful taste he had in clothes. Every suit had the coordinating socks, hankie and tie. She saw a new suit from Brooks Brothers and she saw the shirt with socks, hankie and tie bundled together.
She then saw the bag that carried his four bottles of cologne, electric shaver, mustache trimmer, tweezers, soap, two bottles of lotion, Vaseline, toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, and condoms.
She had passed them over so quickly she didn’t think they could have been what she thought they were but when she turned over the box, it confirmed her thought. He had an unopened box of condoms.
She held the box in her hand and stared at them. To her surprise she was calm and after checking his other luggage, she put it all by the door in the kitchen, which led to the garage. She went back upstairs and laid out his usual “traveling” clothes. Silk shirt, with no-wrinkle brown pants and brown loafers. She made sure that everything in the bathroom was laid out so that he didn’t have to look for anything. She finally grew tired and crawled into bed beside him. He moaned her name and drew her close. She held her breath to stop the tears and then let her eyes close as the tears began.
Kevin awoke to the smell of coffee. At least he was not in a jail cell.
That was nice of her, he thought. She could be thoughtful at times.
Kevin walked in the bathroom and saw his clothes hanging there. Why can’t she be the woman I married? The one who gave a shit about what she looked like, the one I would rush home to and make love to for hours. The one who was confident and self-assured. He walked out of the bathroom and saw the note:
Hope you have a productive trip. Be safe.
Hmm, that was the first time she hadn’t made little hearts or smiley faces on her note.
He walked downstairs and filled his travel mug with hot coffee. He noticed his luggage already by the back door. A smile crept on his face.
Cory knocked at the door.
“What up Nigga? You ready?” Kevin looked at his watch.
“Damn, am I late? You ain’t neva been on time.”
“Whateva Nigga, just come your slow ass on. Besides the quicker you get to the airport, the quicker you get to see her. She already there, she hit me on the cell this morning.”
“Shh Nigga, Cheryl is right upstairs.”
“Cut yourself shaving?” Cory asked while turning Kevin’s head to the side. Kevin slapped his hand away. “What?”
“You got a cut on your face.”
“Probably,” he said while walking out into the garage. “Be right back,” he yelled to Cory as he sprinted back into the house.
He took the stairs two at a time. He opened the door and saw her laying there with just her bra and panties on. As he kneeled down beside her, he noticed a bruise on her neck. As he looked further down, he noticed more bruises. He nudged her and she jumped away from him.
“Hey sleepyhead. Look, I’m sorry about last night. You know I would never intentionally hurt you. I will call you later. Ok. Look, when I get back we will go away for a few days.”
He tried to kiss her. She turned over and offered no response.
“You are going to miss your flight,” she said dryly.
As Kevin walked back downstairs he took out his phone. “Yeah, twelve will be fine. Thanks. Make sure you hook them up like I know you can.”
“Everything ok?” Corey asked as he got into the car.
“Yeah,” Kevin replied but he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling he had on the inside that something had definitely changed last night between him and her.