Page 13 of After Him, There Was You
I would answer her question when I made it back to our table.
“Hey, Vivian!” I happily greeted, causing my sons’ father’s girlfriend to drop the hand of the man she was seated across from, confirming my initial suspicion she was indeed indulging in inappropriate behavior.
“H-H-H-He-Hey… Hey ummm… Hey, Eva. H-H-How are you doing?” Vivian inquired, tripping over her words while doing her best to regulate her breathing.
“Oh, girl, I’m great. I’m sure you didn’t know Tara and I come here every week for breakfast. You remember my best friend, Tara, don’t you?” I asked, pointing back in the direction I was seated in before justice and the need for answers pulled me right out of my seat. “What are you doing here, and who is your friend?”
The chocolate cutie sitting across from her seemed to be none the wiser to the fact he was seated across from a woman who had a whole boyfriend at home who more than likely thought his girlfriend wasn’t out creeping.
“This is my friend, Canton.”
“She forgot to say that I’m only a friend because she keeps rejecting me,” he playfully added.
“Is that right?” I asked, giving Vivian a knowing look. “That’s interesting… real interesting. Well, Vivian, it was good seeing you as always, and I guess I’ll see you when you and Trevor drop the boys off at my house.”
Walking away from their table, I was livid. I was so angry you would swear it was me who was personally being cheated on,but it pissed me off because Trevor was an amazing man, and I knew he hadn’t done anything to warrant her cheating on him.
I was well aware Trevor and I had an unconventionally healthy co-parenting relationship, and I counted it as a blessing because I had love for him which was something a lot of baby mothers couldn’t say about the father of their children.
If Vivian thought I wasn’t going to take a photo and sing like a canary, she had another thing coming.
“What was that about?” Tara asked as soon as I sat back down at our table. “Why did Vivian look so cozy with that man?”
“Apparently he’s her friend, but according to him, it’s only because she doesn’t want to be more,” I explained, replaying the conversation with her from start to finish as I watched Vivian and her side man hurriedly exit the restaurant.
When we locked eyes as she walked out of the door, her orbs held nothing but fear and regret, and to me, both sentiments belonged there.
“How could she cheat on Trevor like that?” Tara asked like she wasn’t fresh off a cheating induced rendezvous herself.
“I don’t know, but you better believe I’m going to let him know what I saw.”
“Are you sure you don’t need to stay out of it?”
“You sound crazy,” I argued. “If having sex with Jason has caused you to lose more than a little of your judgement and common sense, then you definitely need to go home and wash him off of you.”
“No, E. I’m just saying what if Trevor doesn’t want to know? What if him knowing you saw her here with another man does him more harm than good?”
“And what if she’s sleeping with himandTrevor?” I questioned, pointing to the table they were seated at as if they were still seated there. “God forbid she gives them a sexually transmitted virus or disease trying to be a low-key whore. Somethings are avoidable, and I assure you that’s one thing I don’t want on my conscience.”
Momentarily pausing our conversation, we confirmed the accuracy of the plates, thanked the waitress, blessed our food, and got back to it.
“I’m going to tell him because I would want someone to tell me,” I concluded, ready to end the matter at hand because Tara wasn’t going to change my mind about something I felt in my heart was right. “Back to you and the date you will be going on.”
Cutting into my stuffed French toast, I found my mouth watering in anticipation for the delicacy I swore the restaurant’s chef created just for me.
“You look at your food, specifically your French toast with more intensity than I’ve ever seen you look at any man with the exception of Trevor. Come to think of it, are you sure there isn’t a hidden agenda somewhere, pressing you to tell him about your run-in with Vivian and her mystery guy?”
“No, there isn’t. I love Trevor as the father of Egypt and Tyger, and I love him as a friend, but there’s nothing more there, and I definitely don’t have an ulterior motive regarding me telling him what I saw aside from protecting his mental, emotional, and possibly his physical health.”
“Are you saying you never thought about how life would be if you and Trevor would have been able to work through your issues and stay together?”
“Do I think about what life would be like if my sons had their father and mother in the next room together? Yes, but I’m content with the healthy relationship we have. Don’t try to loop me in with being one of the women who succumb to the pressure of feeling like they have to be with the father of their children.”
“Are you saying that’s what I did?”
“Yes,” I answered honestly, pausing to take a sip of my mimosa to wash down my food. “I’m not saying it was your sole reason, but I know it was a factor. You didn’t experience what I experienced growing up, so I don’t expect for you to view things the way I do.”
Like many adults, my childhood was the primary reason I viewed relationships like I did. Throughout the majority of my childhood, I watched my mother suffer by the side of the father of her three daughters, simply to maintain the façade of what she thought a family unit was. I loved and respected my daddy because I knew it was what I was supposed to do, but I couldn’t stand to share the same space with him for longer than ten minutes because of his ornery disposition and entitled ways.
