Page 63 of Finding Forever

Malik shrugged. “I met her last week. Amelia? Angelica?” Another shrug. “I dunno.”

She felt for him, she really did. This was the third woman she’d seen emerging from her ex-husband’s house in the past month, and she had no doubt that if her ex’s behavior was disturbing for her, it would be doubly so for Richard’s son, Malik. After all, he was just a kid.

For the thousandth time, she felt a surge of bitter anger towards Richard. This man simply could not keep it in his pants. And she would know. During their six years of marriage, he had cheated on her as if it was a compulsion. All it had taken him to get going had been some other woman’s come-hither look and a wriggle of a butt, and he was lost again.

Sherri brought her hand to her belly, feeling it roil. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to it. It was best for her sanity if she didn’t linger on those thoughts. All they did was remind her of everything else she’d lost.

Richard lifted his head and stared in their direction, so they both got out of the car and retrieved Malik’s overnight bag from the back seat.

“Don’t forget your donuts!” Sherri said, reaching in for the still-warm bag of donuts she’d made for him just before they left her current residence. Not only did she enjoy baking, but she also felt compelled to make sure he had a special treat from her to take with him whenever they parted. It was as if she was leaving him a little part of herself to comfort him when he needed it.

Richard stepped down off the porch and walked towards him. “Hey, man,” he said, giving his son a fist bump as he passed. “Had a good time?”

“Uh-huh,” Malik murmured, then turned to Sherri and said, “bye Mom,” with a half smile.

Sherri felt the same pang she always did whenever she returned him to his dad. He might not be her biological child, but she cared for him as if he were, and loved him just the same. The boy’s birth mother had hit the road a long time ago, probably as fed up of Richard’s tom catting as Sherri was, although that was not an excuse for leaving her child behind and never even looking back.

The greatest casualty of their divorce was not being able to see Malik every day, and whenever she had him for a day or weekend, she did everything she could to make up for how much they missed each other.

She loved taking him to the park or to the movies, and had even allowed him to teach her to play games like foosball and arcade games so they could milk the maximum amount of fun out of their visits. As far as Sherri was concerned, she was Malik’s mom, and it cut her to the quick that she couldn’t be in his life every day.

“Go on in and clean up,” Richard instructed. “Then come back down for dinner.”

Malik did as he was told, and as soon as he was out of earshot, Richard turned his chocolate brown eyes and lazy smile onto Sherri. “You staying for dinner?”

“No, I can’t,” she answered irritably. The last thing she wanted or needed was to break bread with this man. He was oblivious. Even after she’d divorced him, and told him in no uncertain terms that she was never going to get back with him, he still kept pressing the point. Somewhere in his deluded brain, he thought he would get her back.

Heaven and Earth would pass away, Sherri thought to herself, before that ever happened.

His gaze traveled her body slowly before meeting her eyes again. “Our child would be five years old now, if you hadn’t miscarried,” he said all of a sudden.

“Are you accusing me of something? Because you know damn well the doctor said there was nothing I could have done to prevent it.” Richard had been bringing up the misfortune of their miscarriage up frequently over the past months. Where was that concern in the months that had followed the traumatizing experience?

“Right!” He sneered. “You sure have no issue holding on—.”

“Let's not discuss this. It's the past,” Sherri said, cutting off his rant.

“No, let's talk about this. How come you didn't get pregnant for me again after we lost our baby?”

Because I went on the pill,she wanted to say, but kept that to herself. The reason she put up with seeing him and going through this harassment was because it was the only way she could see Malik. Though she missed the baby they would have had, Sherri couldn’t help but to also be glad that there were no biological children between them.

Changing the topic to something that didn’t center their marriage or her life post-divorce from him, she asked, “Who was that girl?” She jerked her head dismissively in the direction the Uber had gone. “She’s not the same one I saw here last time, is she?”

“Nope.” Richard grinned as if he was mighty proud of this achievement.

“And the one before? The time I took Malik to the pool for the day, she was another one, right?”

“You got me.” Still smirking.

Sherri wanted to strangle him. Why were men so clueless? “Don’t you think that’s a little inappropriate to do in front of Malik? He’s just a little boy who deserves proper male guidance!”

“Well,” he said in that syrupy voice of his, “I wouldn’t have any need for all those women if you’d give me a second chance.” He reached out to caress her arm, looking her up and down with open amusement. “You look good today. Little more size overall, especially on that ass, but I like a woman with…assets!”

Sherri put her arms protectively around herself, even though her light cotton peasant dress barely showed the curves of her body. She could always count on Richard to ogle her. Next time she dropped of Malik, she would dress in a potato sack. He tried to tug on her thick, black natural hair, but Sherri sidestepped him expertly.

She’d been there… more than once. The last thing she needed was to give in and return to a cheater. Matter of fact, she was done with men. The only male welcomed to share her life right now was Malik. End of story.

“Sher, I am willing to take you back now that you realize that boring vanilla isn’t any better on morals than fine chocolate,” he grinned. “He didn’t totally ruin you for me.”

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