sleeping with Louis. Not you,” I reminded her.
“Didn’t I just remind you that I’m the one who hooked you up with the man? Had I not, we would not be havin’ a conversation about you leavin’ Pee Wee. He’s been my boy since we were eight, and you know that.”
“Woman, I wish you’d make up your mind. You didn’t let the fact that Pee Wee was ‘your boy’ stop you from encouraging me to have an affair. There is a possibility that I would have done it on my own, anyway, but it probably wouldn’t be with Louis if you hadn’t pushed me.”
“Oh no, you didn’t! No, you didn’t just say what I think you just said! You are a grown-ass woman, and you’ve got a mind of your own. You got involved with Louis because you wanted to, not because I wanted you to. And for the record, had it not been him, like you said, it would have been some other man. Don’t you dare try to lay this shit on my doorstep. I’m not goin’ to take the blame for your marriage goin’ kaput.”
“Is that what you think? You think my marriage has gone kaput?”
“You tell me.”
“I love my husband as much as you love yours.”
Rhoda clucked like a wet hen before she started to laugh like a hyena. “That’s not sayin’ much.”
I gasped. “Are you telling me that you no longer love Otis?”
42
Mary Monroe
“Oh, I still love him to death. He was my first love, and he will be my last. I’m better off with him than I’d be without him. He’s a good man . . . I guess.”
“You guess ? That doesn’t sound very romantic,” I pointed out.
“I learned from my mama and the other women in my family that at some point a husband’s functions have to change. So what if the sex is over? As long as the man does the other important things that he’s supposed to do, it’s still all good. It’s unrealistic to expect one man to fulfill all a woman’s needs in this day and age.”
“Mine used to,” I said in Pee Wee’s defense.
“ Used to is right. And I am sure that every single one of the Kennedy wives can say that, too. The bottom line is, I love my husband. He’s a good man, and I want to hang on to him.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. My husband is a good man. But Louis is . . . He’s a good man, too. He’s what I need right now, and as long as he’s keeping me happy, I will be with him . . . unless we get caught.”
Silence hung in the air for a few seconds like a bad odor. “I’m scared of you,” Rhoda gasped. “This sounds like more than just a fly-by-night fling. Is this thing with Louis really goin’ to go somewhere?”
I wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to Rhoda’s question. I took my time answering.
“Hello? Are you still with me?” she hollered.
“I’m still with you,” I mumbled, still trying to come up with an answer to her question.
“Did you hear what I just asked?”
“I did. I don’t know if this is going to go anywhere or not. From what Louis has said so far, it sounds like he wants it to.”
“Do you want it to go somewhere?”
“I don’t know. . . .”
C H A P T E R 9
“You don’t know?”
“That’s what I said,” I whimpered.
“I know damn well what you just said. What I want to know is, what the hell do you mean by that? What do you not know? And don’t start talkin’ that shit about you bein’ a happily married woman again. It’s borin’ as hell, and I don’t believe in that shit. Life is too short for you, me, or any other woman to be sittin’ around claimin’
to be so happily married, nothin’ else matters. Fuck that shit, and fuck whoever said it in the first place.”
“Rhoda, you know me better than anybody, including my own husband and my mama. You know I don’t jump into anything too fast or too deep,” I said, pausing to catch my breath. I was about to continue, but Rhoda cut me off.
“There is a first time for everything, Annette. For one thing, you need to get with the program before it’s too late. You need to start
“Didn’t I just remind you that I’m the one who hooked you up with the man? Had I not, we would not be havin’ a conversation about you leavin’ Pee Wee. He’s been my boy since we were eight, and you know that.”
“Woman, I wish you’d make up your mind. You didn’t let the fact that Pee Wee was ‘your boy’ stop you from encouraging me to have an affair. There is a possibility that I would have done it on my own, anyway, but it probably wouldn’t be with Louis if you hadn’t pushed me.”
“Oh no, you didn’t! No, you didn’t just say what I think you just said! You are a grown-ass woman, and you’ve got a mind of your own. You got involved with Louis because you wanted to, not because I wanted you to. And for the record, had it not been him, like you said, it would have been some other man. Don’t you dare try to lay this shit on my doorstep. I’m not goin’ to take the blame for your marriage goin’ kaput.”
“Is that what you think? You think my marriage has gone kaput?”
“You tell me.”
“I love my husband as much as you love yours.”
Rhoda clucked like a wet hen before she started to laugh like a hyena. “That’s not sayin’ much.”
I gasped. “Are you telling me that you no longer love Otis?”
42
Mary Monroe
“Oh, I still love him to death. He was my first love, and he will be my last. I’m better off with him than I’d be without him. He’s a good man . . . I guess.”
“You guess ? That doesn’t sound very romantic,” I pointed out.
“I learned from my mama and the other women in my family that at some point a husband’s functions have to change. So what if the sex is over? As long as the man does the other important things that he’s supposed to do, it’s still all good. It’s unrealistic to expect one man to fulfill all a woman’s needs in this day and age.”
“Mine used to,” I said in Pee Wee’s defense.
“ Used to is right. And I am sure that every single one of the Kennedy wives can say that, too. The bottom line is, I love my husband. He’s a good man, and I want to hang on to him.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that. My husband is a good man. But Louis is . . . He’s a good man, too. He’s what I need right now, and as long as he’s keeping me happy, I will be with him . . . unless we get caught.”
Silence hung in the air for a few seconds like a bad odor. “I’m scared of you,” Rhoda gasped. “This sounds like more than just a fly-by-night fling. Is this thing with Louis really goin’ to go somewhere?”
I wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to Rhoda’s question. I took my time answering.
“Hello? Are you still with me?” she hollered.
“I’m still with you,” I mumbled, still trying to come up with an answer to her question.
“Did you hear what I just asked?”
“I did. I don’t know if this is going to go anywhere or not. From what Louis has said so far, it sounds like he wants it to.”
“Do you want it to go somewhere?”
“I don’t know. . . .”
C H A P T E R 9
“You don’t know?”
“That’s what I said,” I whimpered.
“I know damn well what you just said. What I want to know is, what the hell do you mean by that? What do you not know? And don’t start talkin’ that shit about you bein’ a happily married woman again. It’s borin’ as hell, and I don’t believe in that shit. Life is too short for you, me, or any other woman to be sittin’ around claimin’
to be so happily married, nothin’ else matters. Fuck that shit, and fuck whoever said it in the first place.”
“Rhoda, you know me better than anybody, including my own husband and my mama. You know I don’t jump into anything too fast or too deep,” I said, pausing to catch my breath. I was about to continue, but Rhoda cut me off.
“There is a first time for everything, Annette. For one thing, you need to get with the program before it’s too late. You need to start
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