Page 80 of His Four Leaf Clover

Once again, Trent’s bullshit was costing her, but the price was way out of her budget now. She hated Carmelo and she cursed the day they met. That too was something that her son could be blamed for. Had he not gone to jail, they would have never crossed paths.

Trudy pulled up to her house and smiled when she saw both her daughters’ cars parked out front. She was surprised that they were there, especially on a work day. She knew that her grandkids weren’t with them because it was also a school day. More than likely, they were there to spend time with their father since they assumed she wouldn’t be home. She pulled down the mirror in her car and tried her best to not look the same way she felt.

After fixing her makeup, she got out of the car with a forced smile before walking into her house. She expected to see everyone downstairs but the living room, kitchen and den were empty. Trudy made her way upstairs and paused when she walked into her room. Melvin was pulling things from the closet while their daughters placed them in his suitcases and duffel bags. Her oldest daughter, Melissa, looked up and Trudy met her bloodshot eyes. She could tell that she had been crying. She frowned at her right before jumping across the bed and grabbing her by her suit jacket.

“What kind of fucking wife and mother are you!?”

Trudy was taken aback but she was happy that Melvin and their youngest daughter were there to hold her back. Melissa was always the more vocal and feisty one of her daughters.

“Excuse me? Don’t you dare disrespect me like that.”

“You disrespected your damn self by being a whore.” Her youngest daughter looked at her with hatred in her eyes.

Trudy was hurt. Granted, her relationship with her daughters had been strained lately, but they never talked to her that way before. And what hurt more was her husband standing there letting them do it.

“Melvin? What’s going on? What are you doing?” Trudy asked, even though she could clearly see what was happening.

“I’m getting the hell away from you before I lose my career by murdering you with my bare hands. You’re a disgrace to this marriage and this entire family. How could you degrade yourself that way? Your mere presence disgusts me.”

“I’m making you an appointment as soon as I can. You need to get tested, Dad. There’s no telling how many men she’s been with over the past few years. I told you not to forgive her the first time. I knew that it was gonna happen again because she’s a selfish bitch who only cares about what makes her happy. And you kissed your grandkids with that same mouth. How fucking dare you!” Melissa spat angrily.

Trudy didn’t have to wonder anymore. Apparently, they had seen the video too. Clover was an evil, vindictive bitch but she was curious as to how she got her husband’s information. In Clover’s eyes, she didn’t keep her end of the deal. Trent was a grown man and it was hard for her to keep up with him. Her daughters were furious with her when she cheated on their father the first time, and it took a while before they forgave her. She wasn’t sure if they would forgive her that time around, especially since there was video proof.

“Melvin, please, just let me explain.” Tears fell from Trudy’s eyes as she pleaded with her husband.

“Explain it to my lawyers. Don’t make this anymore difficult than it already is. I’m filing for divorce and never seeing you again would be too soon.”

“Baby, please. I know we can work this out if we just talk.” Trudy reached out to touch him, but the look on his face made her pause midair.

“Don’t you ever in your pathetic life touch me again,” Melvin growled as he looked at her hand like it was covered in shit.

“Let’s go, Dad. Get what’s most important and we’ll get the rest another time. We’ve been here long enough.” Melissa, as usual, seemed to be the ring leader.

Both their daughters helped their father carry out his bags to his car. Trudy looked out of her bedroom window helplessly as she watched her husband get into his car and drive away. She fell to her knees and cried until she was all out of tears. She stayed on the floor so long that it was dark when she finally decided to get up.

In just one day, she’d lost everything. Her job and her husband were gone, and she was almost sure that she was gonna be disbarred. Unless they said otherwise, she would still be able to practice law until a final decision was made and that could take up to two years or more. Even then, she could appeal the decision. She was sure that word was gonna get around and she would be too ashamed to look for employment elsewhere.

Besides the account that she shared with her husband, Trudy had a nice savings account of her own. She couldn’t live off of it forever, but it would last long enough for her to figure things out. She was over fifty, so starting a new career at her age wouldn’t be easy. Sadly, she didn’t have much of a choice unless she decided to put her pride aside and continued doing what she loved most.

“Girl, I know you heard about what happened with Uncle Melvin and Trudy. Grandma is spilling all the tea,” Caprice told Sade as soon as she answered the phone.

She and Sade hadn’t really seen or talked to each other since Trent was in the hospital. They’d seen each other at family functions, but it wasn’t the same as before. They didn’t hang out or talk on the phone like they used to. She didn’t care that some of her other cousins were pissed with her, but Sade was different. They were once thick as thieves, and she hated that they weren’t as close anymore. She missed her, even though she would never admit it out loud.

“Yeah, I heard, but grandma is wrong for that. Her son talked to her in confidence. She ain’t have no business repeating what he said to nobody else.”

More than likely, she told one of her messy ass daughters and it was over from there. Their grandma hated Trudy, so Sade wasn’t even surprised. Trudy kept her kids away from their side of the family, and their grandmother was hurt. She was thankful that her son had a mind of his own because he still came around to see her. Unfortunately, he didn’t really have a relationship with his siblings and their kids. She blamed Trudy for that too, even though he was a grown man.

“Fuck, Trudy! Always acting like her and her kids are better than everybody else and she outchea eating groceries. Grandma said she wanted to throw up when Unc showed her the video.”

“And he’s an asshole for even showing it to her. At the end of the day, that’s still his wife. That’s exactly why I’ve been staying to myself. This family is too damn messy.”

Sade was proud of herself for making some necessary changes in her life. She enrolled in LPN school and met some amazingly positive friends. They had her seeing things differently and it felt good. She was even dating again but she was taking it slow. She wasn’t trying to give her all to a man, especially if he was already taken.

“Girl, please. She thought that her and her kids were better than us and that’s why she stayed away.”

“Didn’t your mama do the same thing after your daddy died? She stayed away too.”

“That was different. My mama was always around before my daddy died. She just didn’t feel the need to do that anymore and moved on with her life. She got remarried and that wouldn’t have looked right. They are not the same. Since when did you become Trudy’s bestie? That bitch hates you just much as the rest of us.” Caprice looked at her phone and frowned, even though her cousin couldn’t see her. Sade had been on some kind of self-righteous journey lately and everything seemed to be an issue with her now.