His Last Name

I didn’t know how I would feel when I saw him. I had been so evil and nasty to Damien and yet he still was showing me kindness. I’m not sure what he expected of me, but I knew it was worth a try to see what he had going on.

Damien looked like the young champion I married when he picked me up from the airport. His hair was cut, his body had returned to an athlete’s frame. He was wearing a tight gray shirt with blue jeans and boots and a black leather jacket. He kissed me on my cheek and took my bags. We walked to his new black SUV. It had the new car smell. There were three dozen red roses waiting for me in the backseat.

“My flowers are pretty, baby. Thank you.”

“Anything for you. Babe, I’m so glad you are back.” He wrapped his arms around me and held me firmly for an entire minute. “I’ve been lost without you. Wait until you see the new house. You are going to love it.”

“I’m sure I will.” I placed my seat belt across my body. He typed in the address and he sped out of the airport. He followed the GPS, which led us into a double garage of a modest single home. The residence wasn’t the nine thousand square feet that I used to live in, but it was very nice.

“So what do you think?”

“From the outside it looks nice. How many bedrooms?”

“Just four, but at least we own it and no one can come and take it from us.”

“What do you mean, we own it?”

“It was a foreclosure. I bought it in straight-up cash. We don’t have any loans or a mortgage. We own it outright. My cousin put it in his name for us so no one can try to claim it. I got it for one hundred and seventy-five thousand, but it’s worth way more. It needs some work, but it is ours.”

New and no liens made the house beautiful. I got out of the car and Damien unlocked the front door and gave me a tour. There was a big backyard and lots of land. I followed him up the stairs into the master suite.

“This looks familiar, right?”

“You made the bedroom exactly like the old house.” I wanted to cry. I couldn’t believe it.

“I’m not done with your surprises.” He took my hand and told me to close my eyes. “Now open them.”

I opened my eyes and saw a custom-made closet with all my clothes I had left behind perfectly hung, and in the corner was a new dress, bag, and a pair of Gucci shoes. I cried right there.

“So do you like it?”

“Yes.” I didn’t know what to say.

“Babe, this is just the beginning. I know I put you through a lot, but I’m going to make it up to you. I promise. I told you I would take care of you. Didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did. But how?”

“So what I’ve been doing is real estate. I flipped six houses.”

“I thought the real estate market wasn’t good right now,” I said.

“It wasn’t, but it is coming back. And me and my cousin, we’re coming in at the right time. He has his Realtor license and we are killing the game. Look at this.” He showed me a bunch of pictures on his tablet. “This is one of the houses we flipped. The first one was grandkids that just wanted money immediately. They didn’t research the value or anything. We offered them fifty thousand and they took it. We put in a new tub and fixed some other things and we doubled our money in a few weeks. Did I do good, baby?”

“Yes, you did very good.”

“Well, can you show me some love?” He pointed to his cheek. I gave him a kiss on his cheek. “So now you have to call your mom and tell her I’m taking care of you again and she can stop calling me a loser.”

“She knew you weren’t a loser. You’ve never been a loser, Damien.”

“Try on your dress.”

I put the dress on. Damien zipped the back. It was a little snug.

“I gained some weight.”

“That’s okay. I like the extra meat. I love you, Tiffany, at any size or weight. I’ll put a gym in the basement for you if you want. I just want you to come back home. I don’t want you to have to worry about anything ever again. Please just never leave me again. I couldn’t take not having you by my side.”

He locked up the house and we walked toward the car. I noticed he was staggering.

“Why are you limping?”

“My leg has still been bothering me a little; I think I have been working out too hard and then fixing the houses. I go by and help the contractor and the workers sometimes. The faster they fix the houses, the faster we sell and get checks. I wish I knew about flipping houses when I had more money, but everything works out for a reason, right? Here, you drive. I have to make a deposit at the bank and then we’ll go to the city.”

I drove and he stopped at the bank. He went in and made his deposit and came back out.

By the end of the night I felt like I did when I first married Damien: like a queen. I appreciated all he did for me. I decided that I would move back in with him and work on my marriage. I was thankful that I didn’t have to go back to my mother’s.