Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 747(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 498(@300wpm)
“So anyway,” he continued. “I proposed about a year into our relationship. I was excited to get married. I loved her.”
Poet paused her work on the bird when JT Coldfire’s, ‘She’s Crazy’ started to play.
“I can feel just how much you loved her by the way you said it… I could almost feel it in my bones.” She shook her head, then turned back to her work. “What’s her name? You never said it.”
Maybe it’s still hard for me to say it without feeling some type of way? I don’t love or hate Lorna. I rarely think about her, but she has crossed my mind lately. Not sure why. Maybe ’cause Mama brought her up the other day? I don’t wish no harm to her, but I sure as hell don’t want anything to do with her.
“Lorna. Her name is Lorna.” Poet smiled at him, but she didn’t say anything. “So, she and I got married soon after she moved in. I got a second job so she could go to nursin’ school and just work part time. She wanted to be an LPN, then eventually an RN.”
“Like my mama and Aunt Huni.” She flashed him another sweet smile. “Okay, cool.”
“Yup. Money was tight, but we managed. I paid for her schoolin’. All I asked was that she pay for groceries from her part-time job she was workin’, and I promised to take care of the rest of the bills, and I did. Just two young adults tryna make it. We ain’t have much, but we were trying.”
“Could your mama have helped? I thought you said your mama had money?”
Kage opened a drawer and took out a pack of gum. He slipped one of the sticks out, unwrapped it, then popped a piece in his mouth.
“You want one?”
“No, thank you. Did my question bother you? If it’s none of my business, that’s fine. I just—”
“No, it don’t bother me none, but it would require me to get into a lot of shit that will take time to explain. A lot of complicated family dynamics. I’m gonna tell you about that, too, but I want to stick to your original question regarding the breakdown of my marriage, so just put that question on ice for a second, okay?”
“Okay. Got it.”
“So, I worked in construction in the daytime, and part time security at an office building. I even took on a third job for a few months—in a graveyard doing security there, too. All so she could get ’er cap and gown, and I could throw her a nice celebration for her graduation. She passed her exams, then started her nursing career. Everything was fine at first. Then, about four years into the marriage, she started actin’ funny. A bit withdrawn. She denied anything was wrong, but even though I was young and lovestruck, I wasn’t no damn dummy. When I’m with someone and I give my heart to them, Poet, it means I know them. I understand them. I know how they move, how they operate. I know how they think. I watch people. I pay attention, and I would have never married a woman I didn’t understand. I can pick up changes in folks that I’m close to. I know when you’re actin’ different, and ain’t no way to hide it from me. I can practically smell it. This may sound crazy, but it’s the best way I can explain it.”
“You are sayin’ that y’all was tuned in. Like a radio. 6th sense. Whatever station she was on, you were on. Whatever volume she was on, you were at the same level, too.”
“Yeah, that’s it. I kept askin’ her if there was someone else. She kept denying it, sayin’ I was being crazy. I could feel somethin’ was off though. I was no longer receiving a hundred percent of her, and I’m selfish when it comes to my lady. I want all of you, and if you deny me, start closing doors and windows on our communication and connection, I want to know why. If it’s something I’ve done, or somethin’ I can personally repair, then give me the chance to fix it. If it’s not me, then I am going to find out one way or another. You better believe it.”
“I’m not the least bit surprised. You don’t strike me as someone who gives up easily.” She cackled, then turned back to that bird.
“Of course I don’t. Look how long it took me to get YOU. I was willing to put in the time and effort until you gave me a chance. You get me. I knew that early on. We mesh well together. I figured you might be exactly what I was searchin’ for. I was right.”
Her complexion deepened.
“I do get you, Kage. We have a lot of differences, but a lot in common, too. I like that. Go on about Lorna.”