Page 44 of The One


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“Why didn’t you tell me you were being harassed by your…by that woman?” I shouldn’t be so tickled that he can’t even bring himself to call her my ex-mother-in-law; I so love his show of possessiveness. It’s crazy.

“I didn’t think it mattered, really.” Why do I always want to pout and regress into a little girl when he’s like this?

“Now you know, everything matters that have to do with you. Now, what did she say to you?”

“How do you know she said anything?”

“How do you think? Now spill.” I told him all of it, from the first phone call to the last, and he swore under his breath and pulled me up from my chair and into his arms.

“She’s an ass, don’t listen to her. Is she aware that you’re no longer part of her family? Why is she still calling you with this shit?” He didn’t seem to need or want an answer as he pulled my head into his chest and rubbed my back comfortingly. “Do you have a lot to do, or can you finish this at home?” I looked back at my desk, where I did indeed have plenty on my plate, but there wasn’t anything I couldn’t put off until Monday or finish up at home on the computer.

“I can take some of it home with me, I guess.”

“Good, come on, you’re out of here.”

“But she wants me to come to her house this evening.” He snorted and grabbed my hand, barely giving me enough time to grab my purse.

“That’s not gonna happen.” Somehow the way he said it made all the rough edges inside smooth themselves out, and I no longer felt so hunted and alone.

STEPH

As a woman who’d spent the last two years coming into her own after that disaster of a marriage, I shouldn’t be so quick to revert back to my girlish ways, but Mace makes it easy. I was fine just letting him call the shots because they all seemed perfectly aligned with my needs. And besides, Ms. Kitty was having the time of her life. If something was off, she’d have told me for sure.

These days she’s happy just playing with her fingers and toes and humming under her breath, happy as a clam. I took a moment when Mace stopped by my house for me to pick up some clothes to check in with her and got a lecture for my trouble. “You’ve been pretty quiet, Ms. Kitty.”

“Yes, I have, and you should be pleased about that. Just keep feeding me the good stuff, and you won’t hear so much as a peep outta me.”

“The good stuff?” Sometimes I think she has a life outside of my drawers. She acts like she’s her own separate entity or something. “Yeah, but the last time you didn’t talk to me, it was because you weren’t happy.” She huffed, promise you she did.

“Look, there’re three types of not talking. There’s not talking to you because I’m so mad I want to go upside your head with a cinderblock, and then there’s not talking because I’m too full of cream and need to digest. Plus, I need to get myself together after the nasty shit you two been getting up to.”

I wonder how many other women get embarrassed by their vajayjay like this? “What’s the third reason?”

“He knocked my damn teeth out, and I need to recuperate.”

“Oh my word Ms. Kitty, you got teeth?” That sounds nasty.

“Ask Daddy Mace. Smack that all on the floor

Smack that give me some more

Smack that 'till you get sore

Smack that oh-oh!” She chuckled; I’m almost certain I heard it. And where in the world did she hear that song? Good lawd, she’s making up her own ditties. No, wait, I heard that song before.

Wait, what did she say? Ask Mace? What? Oh, my goodness, is that what he was complaining about?

“What’s taking so long in here?” He walked into the closet where I was still standing, looking lost after that conversation. “Huh?”

“Snap out of it. What’s wrong with you? You’re not thinking about that woman, are you?”

“Did Ms. Kitty bite you?”

“I told you your tight as shit pussy almost took the skin off my dick. Why are you asking me this now?” He’s so testy sometimes. I didn’t bother answering him, just finished grabbing my clothes and throwing them in an overnight bag before he dragged me out of there and down the stairs.

I pouted as though I were mad at his manhandling of me, but inside I was a jumping jellybean. No one has ever opened a car door for me, let alone helped me get seated and then strapped me in. That alone was enough to set Ms. Kitty to purring, which she did all the way to his place.

He seemed a bit distracted when we got there, but I didn’t think too much about it until I heard him on the phone a few minutes later. “Did you come to my place?” Whoever it is he was talking to must’ve answered in the affirmative because all he did was say, I could tell that’s all, and no, nothing’s wrong, see you later then.

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