"People stay married because they want to, not because the doors are locked."
-Paul Newman
"You're going to live with us now?" Andre handed Carl a comic book from his organized, cataloged comic book collection.
"I don't know. I think so." Carl took a seat on the bean bag in Andre's room and marveled at the pristine condition of the comic.
"Do you like my mommy?" Andre sat on the floor in front of Carl. His legs crossed Indian style.
"I don't know."
"Do you like me?"
Carl didn't know how to answer, so he shrugged.
"I don't know if I like you either."
"My Grandma Ella says you are some genius."
"I like Ms. Ella. She remembers. She doesn't keep asking me how smart I am."
"How old are you?"
"Almost four."
"My Grandma Ella says you know algebra."
"Don't everybody?"
"Not everybody."
"I like Ms. Ella. I like your Dad too. He keeps forgetting. I always have to remind him I am very smart. I don't think he knows what very means."
"Your mom has a lot of money?"
"She says she didn't like playing poor. It was exhausting."
"You have Batman and Captain America on your wall. Who's that on the ceiling?"
"Zeus and Atlas."
"What action heroes are they?"
"They're not. Zeus was the lord of the sky and rain. He ruled the gods. Zeus made Atlas hold up the heavens. I read the bible, and I didn't see Zeus or any mention of Atlas. I asked the Sunday school teacher, and she didn't have any answer for it. Said there was only one God and Jesus. I couldn't make out all the words in the bible, but it didn't make sense."
Carl was completely enthralled with Andre.
"I asked my Mommy, and she said when I go to the gifted school I will learn which came first the egg or the chicken."
"You think there is an answer for that?" Carl asked.
"I hope so because it makes my head hurt thinking about it." Andre paused, "Does it hurt yours too?"
"I never thought about it until now." Carl scratched his head.
...
"Hi, Son."
"Hi, Mom."
Rick stepped into his mother's home as she held the door open for him to do so. She caught sight of Ms. Mabel across the street sitting on her porch rocker waving. She waved back.
"How are you faring?"
"On the Lori end not well at all. It's affecting me with Michonne. If it wasn't for the baby, I think Michonne would have quit me by now."
"Come on and sit down. You hungry?"
"Michonne keeps me fed. Won't let me leave until I have eaten."
"That's good."
Rick pulled up a chair and sat while his mother poured herself some tea and sat at the kitchen table as well.
"How's little Andre and the baby?"
"I never knew Andre was so smart to be almost four years old," Rick remarked.
Ms. Ella laughed, "Did he tell you very?"
Rick laughed as he nodded, "We named the baby Abigail."
"My middle name?" Ms. Ella was surprised. Pleasantly surprised.
"She's a beauty. Head full hair and those eyes."
"I hope she's smart like Andre wouldn't that be something?" Ms. Ella smiled. "I would love to see her son, Me and Ms. Mabel if it's all right with Michonne."
"You and Ms. Mabel? When did this happen?" Rick was skeptical knowing first hand that feud between the two spanning almost 20 years.
"Never mind when. We have buried the hatchet. Now tell me when can we come visit?"
"When I get the air in the house with Michonne right. I don't like where we are, and I don't know how to resolve it until I can get Lori on the same page."
"She has been making a show of it in the church. I can't stomach it. I just stopped going. Makes my heart too heavy sitting there with everyone knowing my hand in it. I go over to Mabel, and we enjoy bedside Baptist together, or she comes over here. We pray together."
"You and Ms. Mabel?" Rick scratched his head.
"The hatchet has been buried. Don't have me go digging it up to prove it to you."
...
"I thought we could go to counseling and also have Pastor Gabriel sit with us to work through this. If you want to get custody of your daughter, I will stand by you and have her in our home. Help you raise her if you want."
"Didn't you burn all my clothes? Even our mattress?"
It never ceased to amaze Rick the lengths that Lori would go to maintain their marital status. It made him sad that he couldn't and that he didn't want to.
Rick wanted a divorce. He had to be as cold as possible to get his point across finally, and it didn't make him happy to do so, but he had to make his intentions clear.
"Lori, from my lips to your ears, I do not want to work on this marriage. You were not the problem. I was and am. I had made a baby with someone who I love more than my life. The scary kind of love is what I have for her. I should never have kept our marriage going, and it was way before Michonne came into the picture. When I first asked for a divorce eight years ago. The reason why Negan and I fell off as brothers. He didn't think it was fair to stay married if I wasn't happy. It wasn't fair to you. But somehow we worked through it. Back then there wasn't anyone else- just I got tired of being where I didn't want to be- and that was with you. Now there is someone else. Her name is Michonne. I want her with every fiber of my body, and I can't keep doing this with you. Sign the damn papers."
Every word that Rick spoke was like being hit with bricks to the point she eventually felt a numbing rage towards the end. She snatched the paper and signed and threw them at him. "Fuck you."
Rick grabbed the papers that were scattered on the floor, "Thank you. I am going to ask Carl if he wants to be with you or me. It's in the divorce that he has a choice, and we will honor it. Carl can change his mind at any time."
"Fuck you."
People close to Lori would ask her how she didn't know. She didn't.
She was born and raised in Florida. She went to Florida State College. What type of situation would she need to have been in for anyone to tell her about Suzanne? Why would it even be a topic?
Ezekiel from the church they both attended, filled her in on what he heard and about Rick's preference for women of color. Rick had never dated a white girl. Not until Lori.
Ezekiel wasn't from King's County either, and over coffee, Lori got most of the hearsay.
...
"So all this time?"
Rick was taken aback by all the information divulged to him about Michonne and her life in New York as a big time lawyer making a name for herself. Her sizable inheritance and the house they were in that was becoming more and more a home than he would ever imagine.
"Yes." Michonne and Carol answered Rick in unison.
"All we are doing now is making sure you and your new family establish a routine. See if there are any pings and if so we them sniff out. So far it's been silent. That's a good thing." Carol reasserted. "I hope you don't have a problem with me staying in the home to ensure their safety and with your background of stalking Michonne I think we would make a pretty good team." She winked at Rick to show she was just teasing.
"I am sorry to hear about your husband, Michonne." Rick had no idea until now what Michonne had to bare while in Kings County.
"Thank you for saying that." Michonne didn't know if it was her hormones askew, but she had been out of the hospital two days and couldn't seem to get a grip. "I loved him so much." She found herself in Ricks' arms, and it felt good not having to be restricted in when and where to show their affection for each other.
Ms. Ella and Ms. Mabel stood in the foyer of Michonne and Ricks home eight weeks later. Both of their mouth's were agape. The house was over 12,000 square feet with seven bedrooms and eight and a half bathrooms. Four bedrooms downstairs including a master upstairs and downstairs. Two laundry rooms, on both levels and a Gourmet kitchen with granite countertops. Double staircase and outdoor screened in in-ground pool that had an automatic hardtop pool cover. Gadgetry galore.
"Ain't this something, Ms. Mabel?" Ms. Ella asked.
"It sure is. Never been in anything as nice and pretty like this before." Ms. Mabel responded.
Rick took their suitcases and carried them to two spare rooms located downstairs as the two older women admired the home when swim trunk clad 13-year-old Carl and almost four-year-old Andre were headed to the pool but stopped when they noticed the two older women.
"Hi, Grandma Ella and Ms. Mabel," Carl said excitedly.
"Hi, Ms. Ella. I missed you." Andre went over to hug the woman and scowled at Ms. Mabel.
"Why are you looking at me like that young man? What I did you?" Mabel asked.
Ms. Ella admonished Andre for being rude.
"Me and Ms. Mabel are friends now. She is good people, and I am sorry for putting you in it, okay?"
"She said you were a hellion, Ms. Ella." Andre looked to Ms. Ella.
"Well, I used to be but not anymore. Now go now and greet Ms. Mabel."
"Hi, Ms. Mabel. My name is Andre."
"I know you. I know who you are little boy child. I heard about you being smarter than Einstein, a man from long ago."
"Einstein? Was he very smart?"
"I reckon. That kind of intelligence I can't speak on, but I reckon so."
"I am going to ask my mommy. She knows everything and what she doesn't know we find the information and we read it together." Andre said assuredly.
Ms. Mabel looked to Ms. Ella, "I say he is Very."
"Rick what are you doing? I am trying to get Abigail ready to meet her Grandmother Ella and her Great Aunt Ms. Mabel."
Rick stopped kissing the back of her neck, and he took his hands from under her blouse where he was fondling her breast.
"How does it add up again?"
"It adds up where I think it's disgusting that I love you and want you to do dirty things to me." Michonne picked up their baby who was wide eye and dressed in a pink and white dress with booties to match.
"Seriously, tell me again?"
"My mother and Ms. Mabel are half sisters. They messed around with the same man who produced Suzanne. That same man, my dad- was in love with my mother and they married and had me. They moved away from the scandal to New York. My father who passed away some years ago got in on the ground floor of Wall Street and worked hard and made a name for himself. My mother finished her degree and was a lawyer and then a judge. Ms. Mabel never knew where my mother went and that my mom married the man she was pregnant by until she reads this letter from my mom to her. That is how I come about coming here. My mother knew if any hick town were going to be safe it would be Kings County with the help of your mom Ms. Ella who kept a watchful eye even if she didn't know the extent of the danger for Andre. I am sorry for that, but I didn't know I would be involved with Ms. Ella's son and just wanted by all means necessary to keep Andre safe. Your mother was instrumental in helping my mom leave town. I know it's convoluted, but Suzanna was my half sister and half cousin...Ughh the whole thought makes me think I should quit you." Michonne began to brush pass Rick with their baby and the letter in hand
Rick grabs her free arm with the letter.
"Let that be the last time you talk about quitting me. You hear me? We are not dating we are married. I am your husband until I can't breathe another breath so help me God woman, you and I will always be." He kisses her firmly on the mouth, and it had Michonne slightly dazed.
"Okay." She agreed enamored with his aggressiveness especially since they resumed sexual relations with the ferocity they didn't even know existed.
"We didn't go through all of this to let everything in the past that was outside of our control to determine how we should feel. I love you Michonne Benton Grimes. You are everything to me, and I don't give a damn how you came about being created."
"Well, I, Mrs. Benton Grimes want you to put a placeholder on that aggression for tonight. Please, and thank you."
He taps her ass as they smile at each other.
"I am going to keep you good and pregnant until we have a mutual understanding."
"We are not Sasha and Daryl." Michonne walked into the family room to introduce Abigail to Ms. Ella and Ms. Mabel.
Ms. Ella and Ms. Mabel both took turn fawning over Abigail. They sat on the couch together holding her and bottle feeding the baby when she was hungry.
They all smiled as Andre and Carl seemed to get along as they listened to what Andre asked Carl and what was to be Carl's response.
"Do you like my mommy?" Andre asked Carl.
"Yes. I like your Mom. She knows a lot about comics. She's fun too."
"Do you like me?"
"I think you're kind of cool to be almost four years old."
"I'm cool?" Andre made a mental note to ask his mommy if being cool was better than being liked.
"I think so," Carl shrugged.
"I guess you're cool too."
Ms. Mabel took the letter from Michonne, and she handed it over to Ms. Ella.
"You know my eyes ain't no good for that kind of writing. Let's go in the room that is picked out for me, and you read it to me." The two older women find their way to Ms. Mabel's room and close the door.
Ms. Ella comes out the room an hour later alone wiping at her eyes. "I forgot about that hatchet."
Rick asked, "Ms. Mabel going to be okay?"
"I apologize for not telling her, and she forgave me again. She on the phone with your mother right now, Michonne."
Michonne went over and hugged Ms. Ella, "Thank you for being there for Andre and me. I wanted to make sure you heard that from me. We appreciated that. Our home is always open to you."
"I hope that invitation is extended to Ms. Mabel as well because she says she ain't leaving. All that she has gone through in life finding out you are her family and part of her baby girl. Good luck getting her to leave."
Michonne glanced over at Rick who had no response and casually strolled out to the pool to watch his two boys splash around as he carried his baby girl.
...
Pastor Gabriel had a full house. Word of mouth about Rick carrying a pregnant Michonne out of the church while his wife passed out at the altar had people not wanting to miss any action at Pastor Gabriel's Church of God and Christ.
"Amen, Amen, Amen! When God closes a door. Don't try to force it open. Let it close. For the God we worship here right now today knows what's best!"
Amen Amen Hallelujah (random voices in the church).
"When God closes a door be thankful that he ended the journey that was taking you nowhere. He sometimes has to slam that door in your face, so you realize...We are done here. No more!"
Amen Amen Hallelujah (random voices in the church)
"Don't question him...God knows what's best for you...he will only give you what you can bare...Sometimes we spend so much time staring at the closed door or-stay with me now -fighting to re-open the closed door that we don't even realize all the other open doors God has for us. The reason why is because of our inability to look forward and let go of the past. We need to know when to move in a different direction. Turn towards other opportunities that God has prepared for us and sometimes it is for us alone...And it is okay. It will be alright. Do I hear an Amen?"
...The END...
A/N: I want to say thank you to all who joined this rollercoaster ride all the way to the end. Yes. I am putting this puppy to bed. This was too heavy, and it fried my brain cells. Lol
I am glad there was some take away from this story. Some nuggets that may help or just food for thought. I appreciate the reviews immensely. The guest review where she left the story but came back on the rollercoaster ride speaks volumes to me, and I appreciate that you gave this story another try.
My take away is this (may not be your take away and that's ok)
Not all stories of infidelity end with the adulterer suffering the kind of Karma that some of us think they deserve. I think Karma comes in all forms like Ms. Mabel coming to live with them...lol or learning about your family sordid history for example. It's not always the step out in the street and gets hit by a bus. I think that is Tyler Perry's arena and how TV shows want to make us feel good that they will quickly get their just desserts but it's not really the case all the time, and Michonne and Rick are my examples of that.
I don't condone, but I understand the passion, and if anyone of us has ever been passionate about anything we should be able to relate and still be able to point out things that are wrong about what passion can make a person do.
Thanks Again!
P.S. I will be wrapping up Pencil skirt. I will be back to the keyboard with HoneyBee. The From My Lips to your Ears will be churning in my brain because there are so many places to go with that story and it's fun.