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“She’s a good woman,” was all Kendall offered for now.
“That wasn’t exactly the question, whether or not your wife was a good woman.”
Kendall quickly glanced over at the sculpture again, then looked back at Dr. Dangerfield. But he only replied with a shrug, as if to say, Oh well.
“We’re good.”
Dr. Dangerfield smiled. Less was sometimes more. She’d read between the lines. And so she moved on. “What about you, Mr. Lewis? Does your wife satisfy you?”
Isaiah grunted. “Yeah. When she can keep her mouth shut. I wish she knew when to use it for more than eating and talking shit.”
Kendall and Roselle chuckled.
At that, Dr. Dangerfield simply gave Isaiah a sympathetic look as if to say, Poor thing. “I understand you’ve had a child with another woman during your marriage to your wife, and that seems to be a source of contention for her. Why?”
Isaiah shook his head. “Hell if I know.”
Roselle looked over at him. “Yeah, right. You know you still hitting that. Aren’t you? We won’t tell.” He laughed again.
“Quandra thinks I am,” Isaiah said flatly. “That’s all we beef about—my son’s mother. I’m like, damn already—give it a rest. That shit stresses me out.”
“She’s hurting,” Dr. Dangerfield said thoughtfully.
Isaiah grunted, his face drawn into a scowl. “Hell, I’m hurting too. You see who I’m chained to?”
Roselle shook his head. “I feel your pain, bruh.” He was thankful he didn’t have to wake up to a loudmouth bitch like Isaiah’s wife.
“Try to see it from her perspective,” Dr. Dangerfield encouraged. “You not only at some point had an affair on her, Mr. Lewis, but you brought another life into the equation. A child is a constant reminder of the deceit. And that, for many women, is oftentimes more hurtful than the actual affair itself.”
Isaiah sighed. “I can’t change that. My son is everything to me.”
Dr. Dangerfield nodded. “I’m sure he is. And I’m sure your wife doesn’t expect you to choose her over him.”
He shrugged. “I don’t care what she thinks. There’d be nothing to think about. I’d be out.”
“Yo, keep it a hunnid,” Roselle goaded, “you still gotta thing for your BM, don’t you?”
Isaiah shook his head. “Nah. It’s not even like that. She and I—”
“Still fuckin’,” Roselle interjected over a laugh. He looked over at Dr. Dangerfield. “No disrespect, Doc.”
She nodded, appreciative of his mindfulness. “None taken, Mr. Woods. So, Mr. Lewis, what you’re saying is, your wife’s accusations of sleeping with your son’s mother holds no merit?”
“Only in her head,” Isaiah lied. “I don’t know what else to tell you. I’m gonna always have to deal with Cass. At least until my son is old enough to be out on his own. Until then, I’m stuck with her. And so is Quandra—if she wants this marriage. My son and his mother are a package deal, whether I want it to be or not.”
Dr. Dangerfield said, “Okay. So it’s a package deal. But what exactly do you do to make sure your wife feels supported and comfortable with the situation?”
Isaiah shrugged. “When Cass—my son’s mother—gets on her bullshit, I tell Quandra to ignore her ass. Of course she doesn’t listen.” He shook his head. “They both like keeping shit stirred up. They both crazy.”
Dr. Dangerfield’s facial expression was neutral when she said, “You don’t end up with crazy because you’re the normal one. There’s usually some form of energy that someone gives off that attracts crazy.”
He shrugged. “Then I guess I’m crazy for putting up with it.”
Dr. Dangerfield sighed. Clearly, he’d missed the point. She glanced up at the time. “Well, gentlemen. That’s it for today. Time’s up.”
Eleven
Later that evening, as the three couples took their positions, the sun dipped low, giving way to a reddish-orange sky—the perfect magical backdrop for starry-eyed lovers.
