“Go to the car. Now.” He pointed in the opposite direction.
Mariah’s eyes welled with tears. If she’d been a different woman, Olivia might have expressed a twinge of sympathy for her. Yet, in knowing who she was, Olivia didn’t care about how Malcolm spoke to her.
“You heard him. Leave,” Olivia added for good measure.
Mariah’s face fell into a pout. Sobbing, she grunted and struggled to bend to remove her shoes before waddling barefoot on the pavement to the car.
Their audience murmured, with someone exclaiming, “Wow. Did you hear how Dr. Maxwell told her to leave?”
“That’s crazy.”
“That lady is one of the women he cheated with.”
“Is she pregnant?”
“I recorded the whole thing.”
“I would’ve slapped her hand out of my face, too.”
“She ain’t even cute. Dr. Maxwell is prettier.”
As quick as the audience tuned in to the reality show playing out in real-time, the animated crowd stopped paying attention to them and returned to their own business.
Olivia rested her fingertips on her cheek in disbelief of the dramatic scenario. “What the hell?”
“Don’t call Mariah a whore. She’s my fiancée now and soon-to-be stepmother to Christian and Simone. You could show some respect.”
“Why would I give her any kind of respect? Both of you disrespected our marriage and family,” Olivia said through clenched teeth. Her body shivered from fury.
“Look. Will you let me explain?” Malcolm begged.
“Say what you have to say and I’m out of here. I’ve wasted enough time with you and this nonsense.” She turned and crossed two aisles to get to her vehicle, followed by Malcolm. She started the car with the key fob to warm it up.
“Mariah and I got engaged last month. She lives with us. I wanted to tell you myself, which is why I instructed the kids not to share anything with you. Don’t be mad at them. I knew how you would react. I would’ve said something sooner. I didn’t know when a good time would be,” Malcolm explained.
“A good time?” Olivia released a sinister laugh and cocked her head. “A good time to tell me you got engaged to one of the many women you cheated on me with? Or to let me know she lives in the same place as my children?”
“Both,” Malcolm answered matter-of-factly.
“This could almost be laughable. It’s like I’m getting punked. Someone with a camera is about to jump out and tell me this is all a joke. Am I on TV?” Olivia clapped her hands in fake excitement and peeked around to find a filming crew.
“Olivia, I’m not trying to be funny.”
“No one said this is funny. It’s quite sad. For our children. I’m not understanding why you’re doing all of this. How did you expect me to respond?”
“I don’t know. I mean, you did set our house on fire,” Malcolm began before realizing his mistake. He raised his palms in surrender. “Don’t take it the wrong way. I don’t want you going back to jail for seeking revenge on me again. I figured we could discuss this with sensible civility today.”
Olivia couldn’t speak if she wanted to. She reprimanded herself for being crazy enough to marry such a stupid man. She opened and closed her hands, stretching her fingers to remove thoughts about body slamming Malcolm.
“Olivia? Olivia? Do you hear me?” Malcolm snapped his fingers three times.
She centered herself before responding. “Have you told the kids about moving to Miami yet?”
“No. I figured it would be better if we told them together.”
“Oh, of course. We need to tell them about their new family.
I assume you want Mariah to be there, too?” Olivia asked with open derision.
“I think it would be a good idea.”
“I can’t believe you think I’m serious.” Olivia’s eyes blinked with incredulity. “She is not to be around when we explain to our children what’s going on. I don’t ever need to lay my eyes on Mariah again. I can’t believe you’ve had them living with her all of this time.”
“There you go being a drama queen,” Malcolm sneered.
“Malcolm, you’d better tread light on your toes. There ain’t much air left in your life raft now. I’ll find a knife to jab a hole in it,” Olivia threatened. “I’m going to come by your place next weekend for us to have a conversation with the kids, without Mariah.”
Malcolm released a labored sigh. “I thought this is what’s best for Simone and Christian.”
“Well, you thought wrong. I want to rip a hole in your head for planning to move my children far away from me without my permission. As soon as I complete my counseling requirements, I’m filing a petition to seek child custody modification and get them back to San Antonio as soon as possible. Once we have our hearing, move to Timbuktu for all I care. This is the way it’s going to be. I have nothing else to say to you.”
Olivia entered her car, slammed the door, and screeched from the lot leaving Malcolm behind.
FOUR
Savvy
“You weren’t playin’ when you said this place has the best shrimp and grits.” Kolby smacked his lips and placed another fork full of food into his mouth.
“I told you. They don’t mess around when it comes to food. The owners are from New Orleans who relocated here after Hurricane Katrina.” Savvy sipped on a cup of chicory coffee. The restaurant bustled with the accordion sound of zydeco music playing in the background.
“I need to get some of those beignets for the road.” Kolby pointed to her plate. “How do you eat fried dough and stay so fine?”
“It’s one of the reasons why I work out,” Savvy stated with confidence. She licked powdered sugar from each of her fingers. “I eat what I want without worrying.”
“You don’t need to work hard. You have the kind of body a man loves.” Kolby’s eyes wandered across her from head to toe.
“Stop embarrassing me.” Savvy’s cheeks warmed with a blush.
“Why can’t women accept a compliment from a man?” Kolby questioned. He tipped back in his chair without taking his eyes from
