Excerpt:
Arthur reached out his hand to Victor. “Terence has told me good things about you. She said it is unbelievable what you and Jossette were able to design.”
Victor quickly sat up from the lounge and grabbed Arthur’s hand to give Arthur a firm handshake. He eased his cup and straw to a stand next to the lounge chair. “Terence did more than help just a little bit. She played a major part in the design.”
Arthur said, “Lawrence married well. Rachel and I think highly of Terrence. Well Victor, I would really like to talk more with you some time but right now I have the great pleasure of having to reason with my very often unreasonable x-wife. Maybe you would like to go in there instead of me and I sit out here with Mark.”
“No sir. Ms. Rachel does not much like me.”
Arthur laughed. “She doesn’t much like me either. We have that in common.”
By Charles Peters
Copyright 2019
All Rights Reserved
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This story is fiction.
Any resemblance to any real people or places or things is not intentional.
Chapter 3
The past … 2015
Arthur drove up.
Mark had his bags packed and some of his things boxed up. Mark was seated in a green swing on the front porch. He had his things stacked off to the side at the base of the cement steps. Victor was reclined in a lounge chair, colored with ocean waves, not too far from the swing. Victor sucked on a straw dipped down in his chocolate frosty cup from Wendy’s. He wiggled his toes in his sandals.
“I wish I had not let Jossette paint my toe nails. Even painted black they look like they might want to sing show tunes.”
“Yeah. Apparently around mom, that can be a problem.”
“I am sorry.”
“It is not your fault.”
Arthur got out of his car. He walked up to Mark who had begun to bounce the swing side to side. “Is your mom around?”
“She is in her room crying. It is not noon and she is already drunk and popping pills.”
Arthur looked at Victor’s black toe nails. “Rachel used to do that to me.”
“Yeah. Jossette wasn’t sure about the color and I was her guinea pig. Turned out she doesn’t like the color.”
Arthur reached out his hand to Victor. “Terence has told me good things about you. She said it is unbelievable what you and Jossette were able to design.”
Victor quickly sat up from the lounge and grabbed Arthur’s hand to give Arthur a firm handshake. He eased his cup and straw to a stand next to the lounge chair. “Terence did more than help just a little bit. She played a major part in the design.”
Arthur said, “Lawrence married well. Rachel and I think highly of Terrence. Well Victor, I would really like to talk more with you some time but right now I have the great pleasure of having to reason with my very often unreasonable x-wife. Maybe you would like to go in there instead of me and I sit out here with Mark.”
“No sir. Ms. Rachel does not much like me.”
Arthur laughed. “She doesn’t much like me either. We have that in common.”
Mark asked, “Why bother talking to her. Let us just go!”
“I don’t want you to become estranged from your mom. Despite everything I know that you love her. I love her. I don’t want her hurt.”
“Mom has allowed Rita and Rosanne in my room to make plans to decorate the room for Rita and Tabitha. She has disowned her gay son.”
Victor quickly said, “I love Jossette. Mark and I are not gay.”
Arthur said, “Honestly, it would be fine if you were. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with Rachel. It is not like she has never had sex with a woman.”
Arthur opened the screen door. It bounced against his back as he stepped inside. He went up the stairs and stepped into Mark’s room. He looked at Rosanne and Rita and Tabitha.
Tabitha said, “Mr. Ramsey, I have nothing to do with any of this.”
Arthur said, “Dear, you are fine. Do not worry. Rosanne and Rita, if I ever find either of you in Mark’s bedroom again I will fire you. Do you understand?”
Rosanne said, “Yes sir. Rachel was just trying to use us in her attempt to use reverse psychology of sorts on Mark. Trust me, I had no plans for Rita to take this room from Mark.”
Rosanne and her daughters quickly left the room.
Arthur spoke to himself, “Yeah. I bet.”
Arthur walked to Rachel’s room. He opened the door to find her drinking and watching “The Three Stooges.”
Laughing, Rachel looked at her x-husband. “They crack me up.”
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Arthur turned the television off. “You are going to apologize to Mark. You are going to apologize to Victor.”
“No. I am not. I have decided that I hate our son.”
“You know that you do not hate Mark.”
“I do. I have decided. I hate him. I will not have a cock sucker as a son. I just will not.”
“Mark and Victor are not gay.”
Look in the top drawer of my dresser there. I printed the pictures out to show you.”
Arthur went to the top drawer. He picked up the two pictures of Mark and Victor. Arthur looked at the pictures. “My God. Victor is hung like a horse. Brilliant and a stallion. If our son were gay, he could do worse. Jossette is one lucky girl.”
“Look at that picture of them playing leapfrog on the diving board. They are gay.”
“No. I am pretty sure they are drunk and are just acting stupid. But look dear, it is your job to love Mark no matter what. It doesn’t matter whether he is straight or gay or bisexual or whatever. Hell. You are bisexual.”
“I hate that part of me. I don’t know why I ever thought I liked going down on my girlfriend. In the end she was such a bitch to me. She tried to steal you from me.”
Arthur smiled. “Yes. Yes, she did. Good times.” Arthur remembered the woman was caught trying to break into his safe. “And then not so much. Anyway. Dear. Understand that Rosanne and Rita are manipulating you, just like that woman did. That woman manipulated the both of us. You need to question why Rosanne and Rita want Mark out of here.”
“Rita did not suggest Mark leave. She wanted us to cut our vacation short and move back to our Atlanta Apartment as a way to keep Mark and Victor apart. I am the one who suggested that Mark should move in with you. And by the way Rosanne had nothing to do with any of this. Your taking Mark’s side and wanting Rosanne fired is wrong. It is stupid. I love Rosanne as a dear friend and I know she feels the same way about me, but if she is hurt then she might strike out at my brother Lawrence as a way to get even. “
“Maybe Rosanne just looked guilty there in Mark’s bedroom but my point stands; you were being manipulated.”
“Do you plan to take orders from your darling son and fire Rosanne because of Rita?”
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“No. Of course not. But I understand Mark’s anger. And you know he does not know anything about Lawrence and Rosanne. He does not know that Tabitha is Lawrence’s daughter and that Rosanne is kind of, sort of, part of our family in an unconventional sense.” Arthur thought about Tabitha. Rosanne was working for Rachel when the affair happened and continued working for Rachel after Tabitha was born. There was no obvious threat by Rosanne to break up Lawrence’s marriage to Terence, but he knew that was a fear of Rachel’s if Rosanne were to get angry.
Rachel moved to sit on the side of her bed. “I love Rosanne as a friend. Even though Tabitha does not know that she is my niece, I love Tabitha. My not wanting Rosanne fired is not just because I am afraid if she were to get angry she might hurt Lawrence, I do not want her hurt.”
“I don’t want Rosanne or Tabitha hurt either. I know you care about them. But you have to do right by Mark. He is your son. You love Mark. You know that you do.”
“He is my baby. But maybe I haven’t been tough enough on him.”
“You say maybe you weren’t tough enough on Mark. I remember a time when we were being too tough. Do you remember how sickly Mark was. I had my boy in crisis and I didn’t realize it. I was hurting him and I did not know it. Victor went to Terence and told her in no uncertain terms that she had to have a talk with me. He told her that she had to demand that I start treating Mark with respect. Terence watched as Jossette and Victor worked to give our son confidence. Victor helped save Mark’s life. You owe Victor a thanks.”
“Says you.”
“Says me. I want Mark to live with me as he wants but I want him to be welcomed to live here and the Atlanta Apartment as well. I remind you that this place is in my name and I pay all of the upkeep cost. I will sell it out from under you if you do not agree to my terms. I will kick you out of the Atlanta Apartment as well. Our divorce agreement gives me that right.”
Rachel said, “According to your lawyers who cheated me out of a divorce settlement, I have all kinds of money. I could buy this place. I could buy another place even better. That is if I have the money that your lawyers say I have.”
“I know you have the money. I know how you have the money. I will not allow you to buy this place through back channels.”
“I do love this place.”
“You also love Mark. Do right by him. Don’t let Rita manipulate you. You should wonder why she wants to move back to Atlanta early or whatever her agenda is. Don’t let her come between you and Mark.”
“Let me shower and clean up. I will go down and I will apologize to Mark.”
“Victor is down there as well.”
“I will be civil to him.”
“Okay.”
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