Page 3 of Her Exception

“Ease up, Mecca. You know he means no harm,” Promise said quietly as Tony slurred under his breath and walked sideways toward the passenger side of my car.

“I don’t want to hear that shit. That man is thirty-eight years old. There’s no reason for him to be acting like this.”

“I’m not saying you’re wrong; I’m just saying now’s not the time.”

“If not now, then when? Y’all don’t talk to him about this when he’s sober. We got too much to lose to be fighting in public. And I know better than anyone how quick people are to pull a gun these days and shoot. It’s not worth it, Promise, and he needs to learn that from us before he learns it an even harder way.”

“I can agree with that. Just take it easy on him until he sobers up. You know he’s like a little child when he gets drunk. He’s not going to receive what you have to say anyway.”

There was no denying that, so I nodded and shook his offered hand before getting into my car. I looked over at Tony, whose head was bobbing as he fought his sleep. The punch the man landed had a small knot on the side of his temple, but that was the only hit he’d gotten in before Tony did damage. Now, there was no doubt in my mind he’d sleep like a baby before his bubbling stomach woke him up.

My grip around my champagne flute tightened when Heather announced her pregnancy. She was an old friend from high school that I was surprised reached out for my address to send me an invitation to her engagement party and wedding. I wouldn’t say we were best friends, but we had several classes together and had a genuine bond. More than anything, her wedding was looking like it would be a fifteen-year reunion for our graduating class. So many familiar faces were in the room. While a lot of them were happy about seeing one another, the unexpected reunion took me back to the worst time of my life.

Heather announcing her pregnancy only made it worse. Knowing there was a baby in her womb triggered me. Pregnancy…alwaystriggered me. I had the emotional intelligence and wisdom to feel my sadness and not let it consume the happiness I felt for others being blessed with a baby. Tonight, that was a little bit harder to do. The mix of so many old friends along with the reminder of the man I’d been trying to forget had me heading in Heather’s direction as soon as she was done with her announcement and taking pictures with her fiancé—Gary. I told her I would see her at the wedding, where I was sure she’d make a beautiful bride, but that I needed to depart early. She gave me a disappointed pout and hug before thanking me for coming.

I made it to my car briskly with no destination in mind. The last thing I needed to do was go home and drown in my depression. It didn’t help that it was August and the anniversary of my breakup with him and the abortion was last month. My energy had been so low. Even fifteen years later, I found myself still crying, hurt, and angry over what could have been—over how foolish I was to think I had a real shot at forever with him. No matter how much I told myself I was only eighteen and had all the time in the world for love and children, experiencing what I thought would be my forever so young and not having further relational success made me more bitter than I’d like to admit.

Driving aimlessly led me to a bar that would give me double shots for the price of one, allowing me to get tipsy sooner, so I could forget about the happiness I’d witnessed that reminded me so much of my sadness. As soon as I stepped inside, peace consumed me, and that’s when I realized I probably needed to slow it down with my drinking. Just the thought of using alcohol to numb me gave me relief, and it was the only solace I’d had lately. That truth didn’t stop me from heading to the left toward the cherry oak bar.

I went to the side of the bar that was near the pool tables and arcade games since fewer people were over there. Only a few seconds passed after I was seated before the tall, thin, and pale bartender made his way over to me. He gave me a lazy smile and bob of his head as he placed a white, square napkin in front of me.

“What’s up, hun? What can I get’chu?”

Though I had an idea of what I would get, I still grabbed the small menu from the box that held the condiments to look at the featured drinks of the week. Getting mixed drinks would fill me up quicker without consuming as much alcohol. As much as I wanted to ask for shots of unending tequila, I told him, “I’ll take the lemon ginger mule.”

“Cool. I’ll get you a shot of tequila on the side.”

I bit down on my lip to keep from declining his offer. “Thanks,” I muttered, pulling my phone out of my pocket.

“Did you want to get food too?”

“Um… I’ll take a fried chicken tenders salad with ranch. Extra tomatoes please.”

“Put hers on my tab.”

At the sound of a deep, husky voice behind me, I turned slightly to see who was offering to pay for my things. He was cute, that I could admit. Though he wasn’t my type physically, I had always been a woman to appreciate the beauty of Black men. This chocolate king with locs that hung just past his shoulders had a dazzling smile as he stared at me. I had to resist sticking my finger in one of his dimples. I loved straight white teeth on a chocolate man. And he smelled good too.

“Thank you…” I extended my hand for him to shake as I waited for him to supply me with his name.

“Vontae.”

My smile spread as he placed his hand in mine. “Thank you, Vontae.”

“You’re welcome, beautiful.” As he pulled his hand out of mine, Vontae sat on the empty stool next to me. “What’s your name?”

“Shalom.”

His brows raised as his head dipped. “I’ve never met anyone with Shalom as a name before. Do you provide the peace your name suggests?”

“If a man gives a safe environment for me to do so… yes.”

Vontae’s tongue rolled across his cheek before he smiled. “I like that.”

Silence found us as I looked ahead. Though I’d come here for a distraction, I wasn’t exactly sure if I wanted it from a stranger. Sex, like alcohol, could give me a brief distraction from reality, but being with someone new was too much of a risk.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Vontae asked as the bartender put my drink and shot in front of me.

I told him thank you before giving Vontae my attention. “Talk about what?”

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