Mona drove a rental car back to the airport. It was a lovely Saturday morning, but she didn’t take a moment to admire the beautiful Galveston scenery. Mona had her Bluetooth on and her radio off, and she was all about business as soon as she got on the freeway.
Mona’s real estate agency was open six days a week, and Saturdays were always busy. Mona gave her employees every Sunday off plus another random day throughout the week, but everyone was required to be there on Saturday.
Mona’s right hand in her office was a petite Asian woman named Sue. Sue briefed Mona on the highlights of the week she missed, and everything seemed to have gone well—with one exception. One of their clients backed out of a two-million-dollar property deal entrusted to Theresa Hester.
Theresa was one of the newer realtors at the agency, and she was already on Mona’s bad side because of an account she nearly lost three weeks ago. Mona had to step in and personally save that deal, and she was sure she could’ve salvaged this last one if she wasn’t on vacation.
But it wasn’t Mona’s job to look over her employees’ shoulders 24/7. If she couldn’t depend on them while she was away, what did she need them for?
“Where is she?” Mona barked into her earpiece. “Is she at her desk?”
“Yes,” Sue said. “She’s real sorry, Mona. She was crying yesterday. She thinks you’re going to fire her.”
“I am going to fire her,” Mona confirmed.
“I, I really don’t think it was her fault,” Sue protested. “That client was skittish from the start. He was giving her problems the whole time.”
“I don’t care about that,” Mona said. “When I started this company, it was just me. Every one of my clients gave me problems, but I didn’t lose one single deal. Theresa doesn’t know how to talk to people. That’s the bottom line.”
“But it’s a recession,” Sue said. “Theresa was unemployed for five months before she found this job. She doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“She can sell Avon for all I care,” Mona growled. “Why are you sticking up for her?”
“I don’t know,” Sue said. “She tries hard. And yesterday was her birthday.”
“What?” Mona shook her head in exasperation. “I don’t give a damn about her birthday! You can buy her ass a cake on her way out the door. Put her on the phone.”
“You’re going to fire her now?”
“Yes. I want her gone by the time I get there. If I see her, it’s just gonna piss me off again.”
“So you’re coming in today?”
“I’ll be there by lunchtime,” Mona confirmed.
“Did you have a good vacation?” Sue asked. “It doesn’t sound like you relaxed at all.”
“I had a great time,” Mona said, “until you told me that woman lost another commission. Transfer me to her office, Sue. Now.”
Sue sighed, and then she placed Mona on hold. Twelve seconds later an older woman’s voice was on the line.
“Hello, Ms. Pratt?”
“Hello, Theresa.”
“How, how’s it going? Welcome back from your trip. Did you have fun?”
“I don’t want to talk about my trip,” Mona said. “I want to talk about some money you lost while I was gone.”
“I’m so sorry, Ms. Pratt. I did all I could, but they were being unreasonable. I, I told Mr. Swanson he was asking for too much from the beginning. He had me running around in circles, going back and forth between these buyers when he knew they weren’t going to pay that much. I did everything I could, but he was being a jerk. And then he blamed me when I couldn’t sell it.”
“If I hired you to sell something for me, and you couldn’t do it, I’d blame you, too,” Mona informed her.
“But it wasn’t my fault,” Theresa pleaded. “I did everything I could for him! I called everybody–”
“Do you remember that Pennington file we had problems with before I left?” Mona asked.
“Pen-Pennington?”
“You came in my office crying, saying it was all over. You said you did everything you could, and the seller was going to back out. And all of the time and hard work you invested was about to be lost. Do you remember that?”
“Yes,” Theresa said. “But that was–”
“And then I met with Mr. Pennington, and we had that contract signed in five minutes,” Mona said. “Do you remember that?”
“Ms. Pratt, this was different. I swear I did everything I could with Mr. Swanson’s property. I swear to God!”
She was on the verge of tears, but that only reminded Mona of how weak she was.
“I’m sorry, Theresa, but your services will no longer be needed. I’m gonna need you to clean out your desk. If you need a couple of weeks–”
“What? No, Ms. Pratt. Please don’t fire me! I need this job. I’ll do better. I promise I’ll do better!”
“Theresa, I’ve already made my–”
“Ms. Pratt, I’m begging you. Please let me stay! I got three kids at the house. I don’t have no money saved, and I can’t find another job. I need this, Ms. Pratt. I’ll do better. I promise!”
“How do you have kids at your house?” Mona wondered. She knew Theresa was in her late forties. If she just had a birthday, she might have hit the big 5-0.
“They my, they my daughter’s kids,” Theresa explained. She sniffled loudly, breathing hard into the phone. “My baby on that crack,” she confided. “I took her babies so CPS wouldn’t get ’em. You know once they get in that system, they life won’t never go back to normal. I’m doing the best I can to feed these kids, Ms. Pratt. Please give me another chance. I know I’m not as smart as you, but I can learn, if you help me…”
Mona wasn’t in the mood to help anyone—especially some uneducated grandma who had been trying to find something she was good at for the last four decades with no success. But there was something about Theresa that was uncomfortably familiar. Mona didn’t want to see the parallels between her incompetent employee and her best friend Dawn, but the similarities were glaring.
Mona learned a lot about her friend during the cruise, and she now understood how Dawn’s life turned out the way it did. With no intervention, Dawn might end up like Theresa one day. That was no reason to keep the middle-aged woman on her payroll, but something in Mona’s heart wanted to at least try to help.
She sighed. “All right, Theresa, I’m going to put you through training again. Starting Monday you’re going to be shadowing Sue. We’ll see how things are going at the end of the week, and maybe we’ll let you try another client by yourself.”
“Oh, thank you!” Theresa said. “Thank you, Ms. Pratt. Thank you—thank you—thank you! I won’t let you down again. You’ll see! I’m gonna get it right this time. I promise.”
“That’s fine,” Mona said. “You can go ahead and take the rest of the day off. Come back Monday, and we’ll get you started with Sue.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Theresa said. “Thank you, Ms. Pratt. You won’t be sorry.”
“All right,” Mona said. “Talk to you later.”
She disconnected and watched the freeway for a while, wondering what the hell just happened. It wasn’t like her to be sucked into someone’s misfortunes like that. She knew her time on the cruise had something to do with it, and she hoped this was just a one time thing. The last thing Mona wanted was to find herself giving money to every sorry sap with a sad enough story to tell.
***
Mona’s flight back to Austin took only thirty minutes, and it was rather boring after all the time she spent on the Ecstasy. Her equilibrium was used to the strange gravitation shifts her body was enduring. Mona didn’t even have to chew gum to keep her ears from popping.
When she landed at Bergstrom International, Dennis was already there, waiting to give his girlfriend a ride back to her condo. Mona barely thought about the pharmacist while she was away, but Dennis missed his woman terribly. He rattled on and on about how much he loved her and how lonely he was without her.
Mona knew it was over between them. She came close to breaking up with him during the ride home, but she didn’t want him to start crying on the freeway. Plus she still needed Dennis to carry her bags up when they got to her building.
But when they pulled to a stop in front of her condo, something shifted in Mona’s heart, and she didn’t feel right about using him one last time. Dennis put his car in park, and Mona stopped him before he got out to unload her suitcases.
“Hey,” she said, “how come you haven’t asked me about marrying you again? You said you would ask me when I got back.”
Dennis stared into her eyes and sighed. “I don’t know, Mona. I wasn’t really getting the right vibes, you know? I told you I missed you, and you didn’t say you missed me back. I’m happy to see you, but you don’t look excited about seeing me. I, I guess I figured you still needed more time to think about it—before you gave me an answer. I don’t mind waiting.”
Mona shook her head. “How can that be, Dennis? Why are you willing to give me so much time?”
“I don’t want to rush you,” Dennis explained. “I want to be with you, Mona, and if it takes you a little longer to decide you want to be with me, too, that’s fine. I think you’re worth it.”
Mona smiled. She reached and gently touched his cheek. “You’re sweet, Dennis. That’s really nice of you.”
He nodded, but he was guarded.
“I think you might be too nice for me,” Mona said.
He shook his head. “Don’t say that. Don’t even start.”
“Dennis, I–”
“I don’t want to hear it,” he said. “Do you think you’re the first woman to tell me that? If I’m such a nice guy, if I’m so freaking sweet, then how come you don’t want to marry me? Why won’t you take my ring? Do you want some asshole who’s gonna choke you and slap you around?”
“No,” Mona said. “Nobody’s ever going to treat me like that.”
“Then what do you want?” Dennis whined.
“I want a man,” Mona said. “I want someone who respects me only if I respect them back. I want someone who can tell me I’m full of shit when I am. Someone who can put their foot down and not let me have my way all the time. But still they have to be gentle when I need it. They have to be passionate and loving, but still hard and rugged. I want a man, Dennis. Not somebody I can manipulate.”
“You manipulate everybody,” Dennis said knowingly. “And the person you’re looking for doesn’t exist! As soon as a man puts his foot down, you’re gonna run the other way.”
“That’s not true.”
“There’s no such thing as somebody who’s hard and rugged and passionate and loving at the same time. You can’t have ’em both.”
Mona thought about her Brazilian friend and said, “Yes, I can.”
Dennis’ eyes widened and then narrowed. He nodded. “Okay. That’s the way you want it? Cool. I can do that.” His face hardened. “Mona, I want you to shut up and stop complaining. I, I, I want you to get up to your room and take your clothes off, and, and I’m gonna come up there and screw your brains out. And I want you to wash my drawers by hand when we’re done. And, and, and fix me a sandwich.”
Mona was stunned silent for a second, but then she burst into laughter. “You’re funny.”
But Dennis wasn’t laughing at all. In fact he lowered his head and started crying.
“You’re not, not going to marry me, are you?”
“No,” Mona said. “And it’s not because you’re too nice a guy. You’re a great guy, Dennis. Just not the man for me.”
“Are, are you still gonna be my girlfriend?”
Mona shook her head. “No, Dennis. I’m not going to do that anymore. I shouldn’t have done it for this long. It’s not fair if I stay with you knowing I don’t love you. I’m blocking your blessing. I want you to find a girl who will treat you right.”
“Whatever,” Dennis said. He wiped his eyes and squeezed the steering wheel so hard his fingers trembled.
“Don’t be mad,” Mona said.
He didn’t say anything.
“Do you still want to help me with my bags?” she kidded.
“Get ’em yourself, bitch.”
Mona chuckled. “All right, Dennis. That’s enough role-playing. I told you; you don’t have to change for me.”
“Just, just get out.” Dennis reached down and pulled the trunk release without taking his eyes off the dashboard.
Mona saw that he was fighting to maintain composure. This sort of sensitivity usually irritated her, but Mona felt bad about what she did to him for the past eight months. Rene said it was wrong to go through life without a care about whose heart she broke, and Mona knew her friend was right.
It was too late to repair the damage she caused Dennis, but at least she was up front with him. He was young enough to recover and fall in love again, and if Mona was lucky, maybe she could find true love as well.
She got out of the car without another word and hefted her luggage from the trunk all by herself. Dennis took off before she got her things inside the building, but that was okay. Mona knew she had to learn a lesson about using people, and this was as good a time as any.
When a handsome and muscular gentleman approached and ask if she needed help, Mona offered him ten dollars to haul her things to the elevator. She didn’t smile or bat her eyes at the stranger, and she definitely didn’t give him a hug afterwards. It was just honest pay for honest work.
Mona didn’t feel an overwhelming sense of sexiness at the end, but no one was crying or threatening to drown themselves, either, and that was just as good.
***
Rene didn’t have to go to work that Saturday, so her drive home was much more relaxing than Mona’s. And Houston was a lot closer than Overbrook Meadows, so it only took Rene an hour and a half to get back to her River Oaks neighborhood, compared to Dawn’s five-hour trip.
Rene took a rental car from the Carnival docks rather than request a ride from her soon to be ex-boyfriend Blake, and she didn’t attempt to contact him right away. When she got home, Rene dragged her luggage inside and did a quick inspection to make sure no burglars had violated her space while she was away.
She spent the next hour checking and responding to her emails, and then Rene made a cup of noodles to nibble on while she watched a couple of programs her TiVo recorded during her vacation. It was almost two o’clock when she got done. Blake still hadn’t called to see if she made it back okay. Rene grumbled as she sent him a text message:
I’m back.
Blake responded a few minutes later:
Cool. In meeting. Call you later.
Rene tried to keep her frustration to a minimum, but it was hard. Her “boyfriend” hadn’t seen or heard from her in an entire week, and all he had to say upon her return was “Cool.” Rene wanted to call him and curse him out, but she went back to the computer and pulled up her Facebook account instead.
She looked through her friends until she found Blake’s profile, and then she scanned Blake’s friends until she found his other woman. Rosalyn Lynch was twenty-five years old with brown hair and fair skin. She had small eyes, a small nose, and full lips. She was attractive.
Rene met her a few times at various functions at Blake’s place of business. Rosalyn was Blake’s secretary when he first started at the Provincial Investment Firm. Blake got promoted a couple of times since then, and he left Rosalyn behind—professionally, but not sensually.
Rene had suspicions that Blake and Rosalyn were having naughty interactions the first time she met her. Blake denied this wholeheartedly, but a woman knows when she’s in the presence of her man’s mistress. Rene could feel Rosalyn’s eyes on her from across the room, and every time she looked in the secretary’s direction, Rosalyn rolled her eyes and looked away quickly.
Rene ignored these signs because she knew she wasn’t living up to her responsibilities as Blake’s girlfriend. She cooked for him, cleaned for him, and got freaky with him whenever Blake was in the mood. But Rene couldn’t force herself to fall in love with Blake. It wasn’t hard for him to find someone who would.
But that was then.
Rene now knew that it was okay to fall in love. Her heart might get broken a few times, but that was okay, too. You have to take the bitter with the sweet. Before she could start on her new path, however, Rene had to put an end to the counterfeit relationship she’d been nursing for the past two years.
She sent Rosalyn a friend request. Rene looked through Rosalyn’s photos while she waited, but she was only allowed to see three of them until her friend request was accepted.
Rene went back to the sofa and tried to watch another one of her favorite programs, but she couldn’t follow the plot. Her mind was too preoccupied. Forty minutes later her iPhone beeped to inform her of a new email.
Rene opened the message and chuckled. She couldn’t believe it: Rosalyn accepted her friend request. Her heart knocking, Rene went back to the computer and sent Rosalyn a message:
Are you sleeping with Blake?
She looked through the rest of Rosalyn’s photos while she waited for a response, and Rene learned that Rosalyn liked to party. She had whole photo albums filled with pictures from one nightclub after another. Rosalyn posed with drinks in hand, a group of her girlfriends surrounding her with wild, inebriated smiles.
In some of her pictures, Rosalyn got a little risqué and grabbed her friend’s ass or boob. In other photos, she turned and stuck her booty out for the camera. Rosalyn wasn’t prettier or finer than Rene, but she looked like she might be down for more slutty activities, like sex in the corner of a crowded club or a three-way with one of her friends after a long night of partying.
Rene went back to Rosalyn’s profile to see what schools she listed in her bio, but then she got a message from the tramp:
Who are you?
Rene responded right away:
I’m Blake’s girlfriend. I met you at some of the office parties.
Rene didn’t think Rosalyn would respond after that, and she was right. But she got a response nonetheless. Rene’s cellphone rang three minutes later, and she saw Blake’s number on the caller ID. That was all the confirmation she needed.
“Hello?”
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“I thought you were in a meeting.”
“It’s over now.”
“Really?” Rene said. “When did it end, when I sent Rosalyn that message? Or was your meeting between Rosalyn’s legs?” She chuckled at her own wit.
“What are you talking about?” Blake said.
“Cut the crap,” Rene said. “I know Rosalyn told you I sent her a message on Facebook.”
Blake weighed his options and decided to be honest for now. “Uh, yeah, she did. What’s going on? Why would you ask her that?”
“I wanted to see if either one of you would tell the truth.”
“The truth about what, Rene? There’s nothing going on with me and Rosalyn. You know that.”
She sighed. “Blake, how the hell am I supposed to know anything about what you’re doing? You work seven days a week. Do you think I’m stupid? You think I don’t know who you’re screwing?”
“Listen, Rene, I don’t know what happened on your cruise, but–”
“I found myself,” Rene said. “That’s what happened. And I don’t need this shit anymore. You can go ahead and be with your little freak full-time now.”
“Rene, you need to calm down.”
“I am calm, Blake. I’m not mad at you. I just don’t want you no more.”
“I’m coming over there.”
“Why? You didn’t want to come when I told you I was back. Why do you want to come now?”
“You, listen, Rene. Don’t go anywhere. I’m on my way.”
“Fine. You can come get your shit,” she said and disconnected.
***
Blake’s office was thirty minutes away, so Rene figured she had at least that much time before he showed up. He might be there sooner if he was coming from Rosalyn’s house, depending on where the whore lived. Either way, Rene was sure she could pack up all of Blake’s things in just a few minutes.
What she forgot to take into account was the twenty-five months she and Blake had been together. Her ex-boyfriend had a little bit of everything at Rene’s home, from shoes and socks to his Xbox 360. Rene was only able to get Blake’s clothes out of the closet before he walked into her bedroom—exactly seventeen minutes after she hung up on him.
Blake wore blue jeans, sneakers, and a Houston Rockets tee shirt. His typical work attire? Rene thought not.
“All right, what’s this all about?”
“Those bags are for you,” Rene said, pointing to two stuffed Heftys on the bed. “I’ll get the rest of it together tonight. You can come get it in the morning. And gimme my key.”
Blake frowned and stuffed his keychain in his pocket. “Rene, we need to talk. I don’t know where you’re coming from with this.”
“You don’t know where I’m coming from?” She put her hands on her hips and stared at him in amazement. “You don’t even have the decency to tell me the truth, Blake? It’s over! I know you’re sleeping with her, and I don’t want to be with you anymore. Now gimme my key.”
“Rene, listen–”
“I don’t wanna listen anymore, Blake. I’ve been listening to your same tired lies for two years. Why can’t you tell me the truth? Huh? God! I can’t stand you!”
“All right. All right, Rene. Calm down.” He held his hands out to her, but didn’t dare touch her. “All right… Okay.” He wiped his forehead and rubbed his hands on his pants.
Rene waited.
“Rosalyn, she, she means nothing to me,” Blake said. “We hung out a few times, but I don’t love her. I love you, Rene.”
“You didn’t hang out with her, Blake. You screwed her. You’ve been screwing her. There’s a difference.”
“What do you want from me? What are you, why are you doing this?”
“I want you to tell the truth!”
“All right! I did it, okay?” Blake’s face was red and glistening. He ran a hand through his curly hair and sighed loudly. “I did cheat on you, Rene. But she means nothing to me. I love you. I want to be with you.”
“It’s too late for that.”
“Why is it too late? I’m telling you, you’re the one I want to be with. I love you.”
“You wouldn’t have had sex with her if you loved me.”
“What do you know about love?” Blake demanded. “You’re the most frigid woman I know. Do you remember what happened the first time I told you I loved you? Do you remember that?”
Rene didn’t.
“Nothing,” Blake recalled. “Nothing happened, Rene. You just gave me a kiss and rolled over and went to sleep. Do you know how that made me feel? Do you have any idea?”
“That’s no reason–”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about, because you don’t know what I’ve been through! Have you ever been with the perfect person, but they won’t return any of the love you give them? Do you know what that’s like?”
Rene shook her head and softened visibly. “Blake, I understand what you’re saying. I know I didn’t return the love you showed me. I had a wall up, and even you couldn’t get to my heart. I know that. It was my fault, and I accept responsibility.”
Blake took a deep breath, and a glint of hope twinkled in his eyes.
“But that doesn’t give you the right to cheat on me,” Rene said. “If you didn’t like what I had to offer, you should’ve left me, Blake. That’s the bottom line.”
“But I do want what you have to offer, Rene. I love everything about you.”
“Except the fact that I couldn’t love you back,” Rene said. “And that’s a big deal, Blake. You should’ve manned up and made a better decision. But you tried to have your cake and eat it, too, and that’s where you messed up.”
“But, but we’re talking about things now. We can work through this.”
“Blake!” Rene folded her arms over her chest and spoke slowly. “It’s over. We’re through. Give me my key and leave.”
Blake’s eyes grew large, and his jaw became unhinged. Rene was sure he’d make one last ditch effort, but Blake snorted and dug his keychain from his pocket. He removed her one house key from the ring and placed it on the dresser. He looked into Rene’s eyes with an expression that was easily recognizable as Your loss, and then he turned to leave.
Rene followed him to the living room and locked the door behind him. She didn’t feel nervous, but her fingers were shaking. She knew she made the right decision, but this was still a two-year relationship down the drain. Things were going to be different now, maybe even a little scary for a while.
Rene wondered if Mona and Dawn followed through with their breakups, and if either one of them felt the same apprehension she was feeling.