“You didn’t tell him, did you?” Her face paled.
“No. Wayne’s a good man and deserves better.”
Relief quickly spread across Raven’s face, but soon changed to annoyance. “And of course, you would know,” she insinuated.
At that moment I hated her. How did she always seem to make me feel bad?
“Look, give me the blouse. I’m late.”
I handed it to her, wondering how she could hurt Wayne so easily, without any shame or guilt. As I watched her walk out of my apartment, I realized she hadn’t even thanked me.
I couldn’t sleep and could hardly eat. Knowing that Raven was cheating on Wayne was killing me. If he were mine, I’d never leave his side for a moment, let alone deceive him with other men. Eventually I knew Wayne would find out what my charming sister was up to. I couldn’t help but think that he must have had his suspicions already.
* * *
A week later, Wayne got a phone call from a very angry woman claiming to be the wife of Raven’s lover. At first, he thought she was just some kind of crazy calling the wrong number and hung up on her. However, when she called back with more damaging evidence, Wayne knew the woman was speaking the truth.
I’ll never know how he didn’t immediately confront Raven when she came home later that night. Instead, he decided to see for himself. The next evening, after Wayne came home from work, he called me and told me about the phone call he’d received from the angry wife. I wanted to rush right over to his apartment to console him, but comfort wasn’t what he sought from me. In fact, he had something quite different in mind.
The following evening when Raven left for work, Wayne followed her while I watched Ty. He later told me what happened. Remaining a safe distance behind her, he followed her into an apartment building. She got off the elevator on the fifth floor, but there were twelve apartments on that floor. There was no way for him to figure out which one she’d entered, so he was forced to wait for her to come out of the building before confronting her. As he waited, his fury grew. By the time Raven emerged, he was ripping mad. Because he didn’t want to get into a “he said, she said” situation in court when he applied for a divorce, he recorded what happened next.
“Raven!”
“Wayne! What are you doing here?”
“Unfortunately, I know what you’re doing here.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t play stupid with me. Did you think I’d never find out?”
“I…I…”
“Wondering how I knew about this place?”
“Rochelle told you?”
“Your sister had nothing to do with this.”
Sobbing, Raven said, “I’m so sorry.”
“Not as much as I am.”
“Can you forgive me?”
“No. You’ve never been a good wife or even a decent mother.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Do I have to paint you a picture? I want you to clear out of the apartment by tomorrow night.”
“But where will I go?”
“Go back to wherever you just came from. I don’t really care.”
When he got back to his apartment, he was still shaking in anger. I’d never seen him so angry.
I listened to the recording. When Raven began to sob, it hadn’t been because she was remorseful. I knew her well. She wasn’t sorry for any of the hurt she’d caused. She’d just realized she was caught and tried to use tears to wriggle out of the net. Raven didn’t care one bit that she’d been caught cheating or was about to lose her son. All she cared about was having a place to stay.
Deep down inside I was happy Wayne threw her out. She deserved every bit of his wrath and then some. I was in love with him and this would bring him a step closer to me. I realized, however, that I had to be patient and wait. If he really loved me as much as I loved him, our time would eventually come.
The following evening I was startled by someone banging so hard on my door I thought it would break. It was my sister.
“Where were you?” she demanded the second I opened the door.
“At work.”
“I know that. You should have been home an hour ago.”
“I stopped at the supermarket. What’s up?”
“Don’t be cute. You know Wayne threw me out.”
I nodded.
“I need a place to stay until I can get back on my feet.”
“You can’t stay here. I’m not getting involved in what’s going on between the two of you.”
“But you’re my sister!”
“I know and I love you, but—”
“Whatever happened to blood being thicker than water?” she asked.
Before I could respond, her eyes became narrow slits and she spat, “It’s him, isn’t it?”
“Who?”
“You’re in love with Wayne.” I began to reply, but she continued, “You told him to leave me because you wanted him for yourself. I’ve always known it!”
“Listen to yourself. You’re ranting. Sure, I care about him. He’s a great guy, but I had nothing to do with the breakup of your marriage.”
“Yeah, right. Tell me another one, sis.”
“This is not about me. You cheated on Wayne and hurt him. And Ty? Have you given any thought to him?”
“Yeah, Wayne can keep him.”
I looked at her in disbelief. What kind of mother was she? Hell, she didn’t even sound human.
“Don’t look at me like that. Bill hates kids.”
“I take it Bill’s your lover. You’re willing to walk away from Ty because some guy doesn’t want him. What happens if things don’t work out between you and Bill? What happens if he decides to remain with his wife? You will have lost everything for nothing.”
“I don’t need this shit!” Raven snapped, and stormed out of my apartment.
I watched as she raced down the hall toward her own apartment, then took out her key to open it. I couldn’t help but smile when her key didn’t work. Wayne had had the super change the lock.
Raven rapped on the door. “Open this damn door, Wayne! I know
