This is an unedited version of Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Oooh lord.” Terry Meyers Wilkerson, let out a long slow moan. Sucking in a deep breath, she gingerly slid the pillow over her head, hoping to block the glare of the early morning sunlight shining through the bedroom window. “Oh crap.” She whispered and cringed from the echo of what seemed to be an unbelievably loud and constant drip-drip of water that leaked from the showerhead in the adjacent bathroom. Shifting slightly she finally noticed the arm thrown across her left shoulder and the leg across her left hip. She groaned pushing the arm and leg away as she rolled on to her back and pushed her hair from her face. Her head was pounding and her mouth was as dry as sand and tasted like she had licked something so revolting it couldn’t be identified. The margaritas. Groaning again, she tried to burrow her way into the mattress.

The shift of movement from the opposite side of the bed made her groan again. Terry had been sleeping alone for going on two years. That was when her husband had left her and their two sons. Well more like abandoned them for his new woman, his new child, his new life. Terry had gotten use to sleeping alone and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to share her bed with anyone. At least not for more than a few hours here and there. And She especially didn’t want to wake to find that a testosterone based mammal had spent the night in her bed. 

            “Hey.” She nudged the warm body beside her. “Hey. Wake up. What are you doing in here?”

            “You said I could.” Came a groggy reply.

            Frowning, Terry let her mind go over the previous evening’s events. She’d met her cousin Dee, Dee’s husband, Ben, Holly, her and Dee’s best friend, and Tyler, Holly’s fiancé for drinks and dancing at Jillians. She’d met someone. What was his name? Ethan, Elton, Erin? That was it, Erin. Erin was fine, with long lean legs and a killer smile. He’d spent most of the evening with Terry, listening attentively, laughing in all the right places and gazing at her as if she had hung the stars. That was until she mentioned her sons. That was when Erin headed for the hills. The prick. He had told Terry that he was going to the men’s room. Twenty minutes later Terry saw him whispering sweet nothings in another woman’s ear. 

Terry wasn’t foolish enough to think that anything could possibly come from her time spent with Erin, they would go out to dinner a few times, maybe get intimate. She wasn’t expecting a vow of love or even a promise ring. But Damn. After Erin found a new pastime, Terry spent the remainder of the evening sucking down margaritas hoping to drown her misery as she complained about how all men were the scum of the earth.

“God, I hate men,” she had complained. “All of you. Pigs,”

“That’s pretty harsh.” Ben had said as he raised his hand to get the waitresses attention.

Terry glanced up at him, gave a sharp nod of her head, and said. “Harsh. But true.”

“Terry, I believe the problem is that you just keep picking the wrong type of men. Maybe you need to look deeper. Look for substance instead of outward appearances.” Dee had said.

“David wasn’t the wrong kind of man. And he had substance, he wanted to get married, have a family, and settle down. He wanted all of the things that women think makes a good husband.”

“Well,” Tyler had said after placing another drink order for Holly and himself. “Call me crazy, but from where I’m sitting there seems to be a bit of a problem. David may have wanted to settle down and have a family; he just wanted to do it with more than one woman.”

Terry glared at him. “Why, thank you, Sunshine. Thank you for reminding me that my husband is a lowlife adulterer.” Tyler grinned at her apologetically. She let out an extremely unattractive snort. “Scum. All of you. That’s it,” She said banging her fist on the tabletop and startling everyone. “That’s it, I’m through. No more men for me, I’m swearing off men. No dating, no sex, no nothing, for the next, one…uh two... Uh, no, better make that one year.”

Holly picked up her drink, grinning at Terry and saying, “You, Terry Ann Meyers with no man in your life for a year. I don’t see that happening.”

“David and I have been separated for two years and I haven’t been seeing anyone.”

“Not for the lack of trying.” Holly reminded her. “Terry you’ve went out on a couple dates over the last two years.”

“One date does not imply seeing someone. I went to dinner a few times.”

“What about that guy with the big head. What was his name? William?” Dee asked. “You went out with him a few times.”

“Two times, and only because he said he was a plumber and would fix the drain in the downstairs bathroom. Only to find out that the only elbow that he knew about was his crusty ass elbows, that hadn’t seen an ounce of lotion in the last ten years.”

“So you used this guy so you could get free plumbing work done.” Tyler asked in the midst of Dee and Holly’s laughter, “That ain’t even right.”

“Please, I got two free meals and he got the pleasure of enjoying my company during said dinners. Through the entire evening, all he wanted to talk about was how nice his apartment was, and how large his big screen television was. Too bad his apartment was in his mama’s basement.” Terry grunted. “Hell, the way I see it, he owed me a whole new bathroom.”

Dee shook her head and said. “I agree with Holly, I don’t know if you can go that long without dating.”

“Well you know what, I can, and I will. You just watch. No men for me.” Terry folded her arms and nodded like a child as she made her declaration.

 “Hmm, how long did you say?” Dee had asked.

“A month.” Holly injected and Dee laughed.

“Nope, a year,” Terry pursed her lips, giving her head a quick nod and then she paused. “Um…okay one. One whole year. No relationships for me.” She declared again.

“Um hm.” Both Dee and Holly said eyeing Terry.

“You'll see.”

After her pledge, Terry sat grudgingly and watched as Dee made goo-goo eyes at her man and Holly made out with hers. After another hour of such unbearable torture, Terry conceded and caught a cab home. Terry glanced to her left. She definitely didn’t remember extending an invitation to share her bed. “You can’t come creeping in here in the middle of the night.”

Keith leaned across the small space towards her. “But,”

“Woo hoo, that morning breath.” Terry covered her nose, pushing him back.

He grinned at her. “I didn’t even brush my teeth yet.”

            “No smooches until you brush those stank teeth.” Terry said fanning a hand in front of her face.

            “Okay Mommy.” 6-year-old Keith Wilkerson said before sliding from the bed and racing from the room. 

            Glancing at the clock, Terry saw that it was 6:40 am. Grimacing she pushed back the covers, crawled from the bed and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower before leaving for work. Damn she thought, she should have skipped that last margarita. When she entered the bathroom she switched on the light, the almost blinding glare illuminating from the light bulb made her wince and she quickly switched off the light again. Groaning again the thought came to her that if she was lucky she’d slip, fall and drown in the shower, thus relieving her hangover.

Twenty-five minutes later Terry walked from her bedroom dressed in a crisp white blouse, pleated gray slacks and black loafers. She wore her dark brown hair pulled back into a loose ponytail and her chestnut complexion was void of any makeup. She banged on her eldest son, DJ’s bedroom door. “Breakfast in five minutes.” Terry called as she walked past and then paused. Grinning she took three steps backwards and quickly opened the door. “Didn’t you hear me?”

            At 14, DJ was already 5’8, five inches taller than his mother was, and he was close to 150 pounds. He jumped hearing the door open and quickly pulled his pants up tumbling and almost falling to the floor. “Mom!”

            Terry laughed and snorted at the same time. “Boy you aint got nothing there that I haven’t seen before. I said breakfast would be ready in five minutes.” Closing the door, she grinned and headed down to the kitchen with a little more bounce in her step. When she entered the kitchen Keith was already there sitting at the counter watching Arthur. Terry picked up the television remote turning the channel to the morning news.

            “Mommy, I was watching that.”

            “Yesterday was your day, tomorrow is DJ’s and today is mine. You know the rules. We all take turns watching what we want in the morning.” Terry took three bowls from the cabinet filling them with Cherrios, and plucked up a banana.

            “But it’s so boring.” Keith whined.

            “Boy, you’re not old enough to be bored.” 

            “Please Mommy!” Keith whined again. 

“Nope.” Pealing the banana, she cut it into very thin slices, putting five slices over each of the bowls of cereal. She poured milk into each bowl and was sitting the bowls on the counter when DJ entered the kitchen.

“Mom, can we have sausage and eggs this morning?” DJ asked sliding into the stool next to his younger brother.

“You know we can only have sausage and eggs on Sundays. Right now it’s not in the budget.”

“We didn’t have sausage and eggs this past Sunday.”

“Well then, we’ll just have extra sausage next time.” I hope.

“Mommy these are nasty. I hate Cherrios? ” Keith mumbled.

“So do I,” Terry said sniffing the spoonful of cereal she was about to put into her mouth and then scrunched up her nose. “But, it can’t be helped, this is what’s  in the budget.” Actually, it was a generic brand, and they tasted so bad that Terry was surprised that the grocery store didn’t offer customers a dollar a bag just to take them off their hands. She had to agree with Keith, they were nasty, but it was better than nothing.  

Keith looked at the bowl Terry had placed in front of him with disdain and then said. “You can tell Daddy, tell him we don’t like Cherrios.”

“No, she can’t.” DJ glared at his brother.

“DJ,” Terry warned. Sure, she could tell their father that his sons were tired of eating repulsive generic cereal every morning, as well as hotdogs three nights a week. But, he already knew that they were in financial trouble, he knew their situation; he just didn’t seem to care. But, she didn’t want to tell Keith that. When his father had first left, Terry had told Keith that his daddy had went on a business trip, and she’d stuck to that story for two weeks. Eventually she had to tell him the truth, and he had been so hurt; he didn’t understand why his daddy wanted to live with a stranger and not them. Terry could tell him that his father didn’t give a damn about living with his children, and that he could care less if they ate at all, but why make Keith suffer more then he already was.

“Well you can’t.” DJ said to his mother, and then dropping his eyes, he stabbed his spoon in his cereal bowl. “He doesn’t care if we eat Cherrios every day, he doesn’t care if we eat at all.”

“He does too!” Keith immediately defended his father.

“DJ,” Terry warned again.

“Tell him Mommy!” Keith said looking at his mother for conformation.

“I bet Shareese doesn’t have to eat Cherrios every day.” DJ complained.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Terry rose, gathering up the bowls from the counter. Crossing the kitchen, she ran the cereal down the drain, clicking on the garbage disposal and rinsed the bowls. “Go get your things together. We’ll stop by McDonalds and grab you guys a sausage biscuit.”

“Yippee!” Keith yelled jumping from the counter and rushed from the kitchen, DJ followed at a much slower pace.

“Sorry Mom,”

Terry sighed, stroking his cheek as he passed her. “Don’t worry about it buddy.” 22 months ago, their lives changed. They went instantly from a happy family of four to a confused and struggling family of three. 22 months since her husband had come home from work and told her that he wasn’t in love with her anymore. That he had met someone else, and she was going to have his baby. Five years before that day, Terry would have chased him from their home with a baseball bat, and she would have made both of them rue the day they had crossed her. But she’d changed, she’d grown, she’d evolved…for the most part.

Now it was just her and her boys. She had a mortgage for a house that she couldn’t afford, a car that stayed broken almost as much as it worked and a teenage son who shot up 5 inches in six months and it seem that every time his elbow bent his mouth flew open. Her husband promised to pay half of the mortgage but hadn’t paid his share in almost a year, nor had he paid her the agreed amount of child support in the last few months. Things had been hard and it didn’t look like it would be getting any easier any time soon. The hours at her job as a customer service representative at the mall were being cut because of the economy, couldn’t come at a worse time. For the past 6 months, she’d borrowed half the money for the mortgage payment from her cousin Dee. Dee didn’t complain about it and Terry promised herself that she’d pay back every cent, but it seemed that all she was doing was getting in deeper and deeper in debt. She didn’t want to sell the house, the boys had a hard enough time with their father abandoning them, they didn’t need to lose their home too, but she was getting to the point where she was running out of options.

Digging inside her purse, she pulled out her wallet, checking her cash. “$7.35, great.” She could get two sausage biscuits and an orange juice for the boys to share. On her way to work, she could stop at the grocery store and grab a Cup of Noodles for lunch. If she was lucky, she would have enough to buy a small box of that sweet cereal for the boys to have in the morning. Sighing she grabbed her purse from the table and headed for the front door.

             Walking up the steps, Wade Nelson shifted the box that he held to one hand as he used his free hand to open the door to the apartment he’d moved into five days before. The door to his right opened and two women came bouncing into the hallway.

“Hi neighbor.” The first woman, a blond with eyes as blue as marbles said.

“Oooh, hey sexy.” The second woman, a brunette, said allowing her fingers to trail down his arm as she passed him.

 “Hey,” Wade grinned in amusement and did a 360, watching the women sashay to the end of the hallway and down the stairs. Wade initially had had reservations about moving into the complex knowing that it wasn’t in the best neighborhood, but if these women were anything like the neighbors he’d have he was going to definitely enjoy it here. “Oh yeah, I’m liking this move already.” He muttered. Walking into the apartment, he closed the door with his foot and dropped the box and his keys on a tall narrow table next to the door.

The living room dining room combination was simple with eggshell colored walls and slightly plush tan carpet. It was sparsely furnished, with a dark blue sofa and blue and white striped ottoman. A 48 inch television sat across from the sofa and next to the television was a three foot bookshelf that held various comedy DVD’s. On the other side of the room was a black metal desk that he’d purchased at the second hand store, which held a state of the art computer. The room was well lit, with a sliding glass door, void of window dressing. Going into the kitchen, Wade grabbed a mug from the counter top looking inside. He scowled at the dried coffee at the bottom and then stepped to the sink running water in the mug and giving it a quick rinse. He filled the mug with fresh water, popping it into the microwave for 2 minutes and then scooped a spoonful of instant coffee into it. Taking the steaming mug with him, he crossed the room to his desk.

Sitting down he leaned back in his chair with his elbows propped on the armrest and the mug clasped between both hands as he contemplated his move from Boston to Chicago. He’d had given his family a few weeks’ notice before he packed up his belongings and moved and they were asking a lot of questions that he couldn’t answer just yet. He had two weeks to review additional information that he’d received, make contact with crucial people, and gather more data on parties of interest before he started the assignment as the new English teacher at Thomas Jefferson High. A little more than a week to meet and check out the staff, get a feel of the place and go over the curriculum before the first day of class. Wade was confident about everything in his life, his family and his relationships and his choice of occupation. But, as confident as he was in his ability to teach, he wasn’t as sure about his ability to deal with teenagers. He’d dealt with many unsavory characters. Ruthless violent people, but he felt if given half a chance these teens would eat him alive and on some level that scared the hell out of him. Sitting his cup down, he removed a stack of files from one of the desk draws, and scanned the folders, trying to see if there was something in the notes that he had missed, something that the other agent that worked the case had missed. Something was going on at Thomas Jefferson High and it was his job to find out who was behind it and to put a stop to it.

He picked up his cup, placing it on the floor next to his chair, pulled his keys from the front pocket of his jeans, and opened the top locked draw of his desk, removing another stack of files. Before closing the draw he grabbed a handful of peanut M&M candies from a bag that was tucked in the back of the draw and placed them next to the computer mouse popping a few into his mouth as he booted up the computer. He scanned a few of the files while he waited for the desktop to display on the monitor, memorizing what he could about different members of the faculty at Thomas Jefferson.

The ringing of the phone jarred Wade’s attention from the document he was reading, glancing at the phone he decided to let it go to the answering machine. “Hello, Khair. Where are you?” His grandmother asked in her native Malay tongue, using his Malaysian name. Wade smiled when he heard her voice. He’d lived in Boston for the last six years, and even though he talked to his family a few times a month and visited on holidays, he still missed them. Especially his mother who no matter what, always believed in him and his grandmother, with her insistence that he not forget his Malaysian roots and even her desire to find him the perfect wife.  Thinking about his grandmothers’ need for matchmaking, he grunted shaking his head.

Wade had spent his first twelve years in Malaysia before his Chicago born Dutch Irish father and his Malaysian mother moved to the US. At that time, it was like an adventure moving to America and experiencing a new culture. But, things wasn’t as easy as he thought they would be. Sometimes he felt as if he didn’t belong anywhere. At the beginning, he felt awkward with his fathers’ family. Not wanting to say or do the wrong thing, and when he went to school, the awkwardness grew. He had inherited his father’s height surpassing his dads 6’1 and reaching 6’3” and was rather tall for a 12 year old. He also inherited his father’s steel gray eyes, but that was as far as the resemblance went, everything else he inherited from his mother. From her glossy dark brown hair to her beautiful olive complexion. He’d went through high school hearing how tall he was to be an Asian, how he should play basketball, and other stereo types. Buy the time he turned 16 he had outgrown his awkwardness, and developed a tough outer shell that he dawned when he needed it, which came in handy in his line of work.

He listened to his grandmother tell him that she found the perfect woman for him, someone who would make a good wife and mother. Someone who did not run around the country showing everyone her body like his friend Jennifer did. Wade tried to explain to his grandmother that Jennifer was a model and that he and Jennifer were not dating, that she was just a friend, but his grandmother kept on insisting that Jennifer was looking for a husband and that her handsome grandson was just the man that, “That woman,” wanted.

Then she moved on to ask him why he moved from Boston. In the last 12 years, he had lived in California, Atlanta, and Boston. She needed to know why he’d just up and left Boston all of a sudden. “Khair? Khair? Are you there?” Wade dropped the folders on the floor next to the coffee mug, and logged onto the internet. He continued to tap at the keyboard as he listened to his grandmother. “Khair,” She begin, alternating her speech for Malay to English and back again. “If you don’t talk to me, I will have Adli bring me to your house.” She said referring to his brother Adam. She paused, “What you doing so important that you can't talk to your…”

The answering machine clicked off in the middle of his grandmother’s inquisition. Within thirty seconds, the phone rang again. “Khair!” His grandmother demanded.

“Damn,” Wade muttered reaching for the phone. “Nenek,” He said using the Malaysian term for grandmother. “I have to go grocery shopping; I’ll be there once I’m done.”

“Where were you? What are you doing?”

“I’m working Nenek, I’m sorry; I couldn’t get to the phone.”

His grandmother paused in thought. “Are you working with that girl, you’re not bringing her? I don’t like her.”

“No Nenek, I’m not bringing Jennifer, she’s not even here in Chicago.” Wade hadn’t bothered to tell his grandmother that Jennifer had a condo in Chicago as well as California, and New York or that Jennifer would probably be in Chicago before the holidays. That would just start a whole new rant about how, “that woman,” was a stalker and how he needed to call the authorities so that they could deal with the problem. “I’m coming alone, Nenek. I’ll be there shortly.”

“Good, because she’s not a nice girl, running around the world half naked.” She said with a click of her tongue. “If you had a nice wife you…”

“Nenek, I love you, I have to go now.”

“…would not have to go to the store,”

“I’ll see you soon.” Wade hung up before his grandmother had a chance to say anything else.

            “It’s been five months, David. Five months at $450 is $2250. That’s how much you own me in child support.” Terry said leaning against the maple colored counter that separated the mall employees from the waiting customers at the Customer Service Center.

“Terry, I know how to count.”

“The kids need things, they need food.”

“I know that too.”

“Well damn it, you sure don’t act as if you know it. David, I can’t do this alone. You promised to help with the mortgage payment, and you haven’t in almost a year,”

“I gave up all rights to the house, so that’s not my problem.” David interrupted her. “The mortgage, that’s your problem.”

“No, not my problem, our problem. You said that I get to keep the house, and that you would help with the payment so the boys wouldn’t have to move and you haven’t kept your word, now you don’t wan’t to pay to the agreed amount for child support.”

David waited only a moment before he changed his tone from challenging, to slightly pleading. “Come on Terry, we’re having a hard time.”

“Bullshit.” Terry snapped. On the other side of the counter, a tight-lipped woman with an even tighter bun and mahogany complexion glared at Terry. Terry smiled holding up a finger gesturing that she would only be another moment. “David you forget who you’re talking to. I know how much you bring home every two weeks.” 

“This is customer service?” The tight-lipped woman on the other side of the counter said in a way that made you wonder if what she’d just said was a question or a statement. The sarcasm did not get past Terry, who gave the other woman a droll stare and then pointed up indicating the sign that read Customer Service. For her effort, Terry received a glare followed by a grunt of disgust.

“I’m sorry ma’am; just give me one more minute.” Terry said and then into the phone she said. “DJ has outgrown nearly all of his pants, he’ll be starting school in a few weeks, and he needs clothes. I also need to get some things for Keith.”

“His name is David, not DJ.” Terry heard from across the telephone line. “David, not DJ, damn it.”

“He wants to be called DJ. He’s trying to find himself, and he didn’t want to go by his middle name, some kid on the basketball team’s name is Jerome, so he chose to use his first and middle initials. I don’t see where it’s a problem.”

“I know this is your doing, first you tell him everything that goes on between us, and now he wants to go by a different name. I know your game; you’re trying to turn my son against me.” Terry shook her head. No matter how many times she heard it, it still amazed her how David could turn his deteriorating relationship with his sons around and make her the bad guy. What David didn’t want to believe was that when he and his new girlfriend had confronted Terry with their plans to be together, DJ was at home. David thought that the boy was out playing basketball with his friends, but DJ had come home to change his shoes and while he was on his way down stairs he heard his father telling Terry that he found someone else and that he was leaving them to be with her.

“This is completely appalling.” The customer complained.

Terry glanced at the other woman, and then gesturing to the phone with her free hand, she said. “I know, right. Men are such jerks.” And, to David she said. “Oh yes, that was precisely my plan, I thought to myself, what can I do to drive a wedge between David and his son? Hmm. Let me think, I know, if only I could get little David to change his name, it would just drive his father out of his mind. He’ll be so distraught he’ll go to work and fling himself from the top of the building.” Terry snorted. “Can’t you just imagine me rocking back and forth, plotting, and twirling my hands?” She paused. “You’re such an idiot. That’s absolutely ridiculous. Besides, you’re doing a fine job of turning DJ against you yourself. I don’t have to do anything just sit back and let you piss your relationship to hell.”

“Whatever Terry. What about Keith? Are you still going to meet me later so he can spend the night with me or has he turned against me too?”

“Miss.” Tight-lipped said indignantly.

“Um, I’m on the phone here!” Terry snapped at the other woman, rolling her eyes and turning her attention back to the phone call. “David, you’re such an asshole. But I guess I learned that the hard way two years ago, uh?”

“Like I said, Terry. Whatever. Are you going to bring Keith or what?”

“Sure, I’ll meet you after work, and you’ll have a check for me. Right?” He was silent. “David!” Terry yelled.

“Yeah, I’ll have a check for you.” David barked back before hanging up.

            “Damn it David.” Terry hissed into her cell phone as she paced behind her car. She had left work and raced to the sitters to pick up Keith. After retrieving Keith and heading home, she’d had him take what had to be the quickest bath in history, and he was dressed, packed and out the door in fifteen minutes flat. Now she was standing in a strip mall parking lot where she had waited forty-five minutes past the time David had said he would meet her before placing the call to see what was keeping him. She looked into the back seat of the car seeing Keith open his backpack for what was probably the tenth time to make sure that he had his favorite action figures. Terry had made sure he wore one of his Sunday shirts and a pair of khaki pants; and he wore a smile of excitement at the idea of spending the night with his father.

            “Terry, Shreese has Lamaze class. And I can’t disappoint her.”

            “Oh please, save the excuses. What about disappointing your son? Wait a minute, what do you mean Lamaze class?”

 “Shreese is pregnant,”

“Didn’t she just have the baby? What, wasn’t it like, last week?”

“Terry, he ‘s almost one.”

“Gezz David, that girl has had two babies in less than two years, and now she’s going to have another one? What the hell is wrong with you?”

“What can I say? I’m fertile.”

“Have the two of you not heard of…ah… birth control?”

            “Come on Terry give me a damn break.”

“You know what David; I don’t give a shit about that. What I care about is that you keep your promise to Keith. You have other children, not just the ones you happen to make with her.”

“Terry, I’m trying to make this work, right now Shreese needs me”

            “And DJ and Keith don’t?”

“Terry I’ll make it up to Keith, look just tell him…”

“No David, you won’t make it up to him!” Moving quickly from yelling to almost screaming, Terry walked a few yards away from the car. “You said that the last time, and the time before that and the time before that!” people passed her walking towards the stores; several turning to glance in the direction of Terry’s raised voice. She glared at one couple who stopped walking to watch her. “What?” She asked the couple heatedly, and they turned and kept walking towards the store.

“Come on Terry. Shit!”

“No David, I’m tired of your bullshit. I’m tired of trying to do everything by myself, I’m tired of making up excuses to Keith for why his sorry ass daddy can’t spend time with him, and I’m tired of your bitch ass!” Terry paused long enough to hear David hurl a string of curses at her. “David, kiss my ass!” Terry screamed snapping the cell shut. Closing her eyes, it took everything in her not to jump up and down screaming and cursing. She walked in a circle trying to calm down, and after a few moments, she dropped her cell phone into her purse and walked to the side of the car, and opened the door. “Come on Keith.”

“Mommy, what time are we meeting Daddy?” Terry ignored Keith’s question as she towed him across the parking lot and into the grocery store. The breeze from the air conditioner hit her as she stepped through the door cooling her down from the 98 degrees outside but instead of making her feel better; it just pissed her off more.

“Mommy?”

            Terry walked towards the two rows of shopping carts dropping Keith’s hand and grabbing a cart she pulled. It didn’t move she pulled again. Nothing. She stepped to the next row and pulled.

            “Mommy, when are we meeting Daddy?”

            “Keith, shut up.” Terry growled blinking back tears and yanked the unmoving cart. Still nothing.

Wade did not want to go to the supermarket; he hated shopping for groceries, or cooking or doing anything domestic. Not that he couldn’t, he could clean just as well if not better than a lot of women, and he was a pretty good cook, he even knew how to mend a hole in a sweater or pair of sox. He knew all of these things, he just detested doing them, and he shunned them when the unpleasant task presented themselves. Against his nenek’s wishes, his mother made sure that he and his brother knew everything that was necessary for a single man to survive.

He drove to the end of the mall parking lot, pulling his silver pickup into the parking spot. He locked the doors and walked briskly across the lot towards the row of stores. He passed behind a dark blue SUV backing from a parking space. The driver pulled out without looking over her shoulder, and Wade backed up several steps as she kept backing up in his direction. “Hey!” he angrily yelled, thumping on the back window.

Slamming on the brakes the driver looked in the rearview mirror startled and then mouthing, “Oh, sorry,” she waved and chuckled as she shook her head. Wade glowered at her, grunted, and walked around the vehicle and continued into the supermarket.

When he entered the store, Wade saw that there were only a few carts left and it pissed him off even more than that twit who thought it was funny to come within inches of maiming him. Now he had to deal with crowded isles, long lines, and testy customers. Oh goodie. He stopped behind a woman blocking the last two rows of carts. She seemed to be having a hard time dislodging the shopping cart that she’d been tugging on and it seemed as though she was not going to give up anytime soon. Great now he was probably going to have to fight some woman for a cart. Wade watched as she snatched and pulled at the carts. She was a rather small woman, about 5’2” or 3” maybe 125 lbs. Her dark brown hair was in a loose ponytail and wisps of hair hung around her slender neck. His eyes traveled down her body to her curvaceous hips clad in gray slacks. Nice. Wade looked around, impatiently waiting. He turned back to the woman in front of him and sighed. Okay, That’s enough. He reached around the woman grasping the cart with the intention of pulling it free for her.

A hand reached around her grasping the handle of the shopping cart. “Excuse me!” Terry growled, glaring over her shoulder. The man behind her raised his hands in submission taking a retreating step back. Turning her attention back to the object of her immediate anger, she shook the row of carts; the sound of metal clattered and rang through the entrance of the store. Trembling from aggravation and anger, she couldn’t stop the sob that escaped from her throat and the tears that ran down her cheeks. She looked down at Keith, seeing his lip trembling as he tried to control his tears. Leaving the carts Terry squatted in front of her son, gathering him in her arms. “I’m sorry honey.”

            “He’s not coming to get me, is he?”

            “I’m sorry.” Terry whispered brushing the tears from Keith’s small round cheeks.

            “It’s okay Mommy.” And at that moment the only thing Terry wanted was to be standing in front of her soon to be ex-husband, if she were she would knee him in the groin so hard his testicles would be lodged in his chest.

            Wade watched the woman draw her child into her arms. He listened as she comforted him, brushing tears from his cheeks. He felt awkward and strangely angry. Some men were just assholes. How could this guy, whoever he was, be such a jerk to cause this woman and child such heartache? He took a step closer and then paused. What could he do? He didn’t know these people, how could he help. Glancing around, he spotted a vending machine. He walked to it depositing some change and selecting two bottles of water. On top of the machine, he saw a roll of paper towels next to a bottle of window cleaner. He tore off two sheets of paper towels and walked back to the woman and the child. He dislodged one of the carts pulling it free. “Here you go ma’am,”

Terry glanced up at the man standing behind her; he had freed one of the carts and was offering her the cart along with bottled water and paper towels. “Hey,” She said straightening. “I’m sorry for snapping at you.” She bit her lip fighting to stop the tears streaming down her cheeks.

            “Don’t worry about it, we all get upset from time to time.” he hesitated, and then asked, “Are you alright… I mean…is there something that I can do to help?”

            Terry hesitated. “Do you know of a quick way to get rid of a dead body?”

            “Ah…What?”

            “Just kidding.” Terry said, and then lowering her voice, she added. “Sort of.”

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