North American Vampire Council & Past Calling (Hypernaturals 12 & 13)

Fight Club

Ken looked at Sam.

"You have to tell her everything, Ken." Sam advised.

Ken looked at his hands. "Before I left for West Texas, Cherlynn and I had a fight. Over you."

Morgan waited. When Ken needed prompting, she said. "Continue."

I thought there could be a lot of different reactions to that, but Morgan is in data-gathering mode. She did not have the 'what the fuck' reaction I am. Not that my reaction is on my face.

"I never told Cherlynn about you. Anything about you. Ever." Ken rubbed his hands together, apparently to be doing something with his hands and give him something to look at other than Morgan.

Personally, I would rather look at Morgan, but that may just be me.

Ken is going to trickle this out. Part of his embarrassment about coming here is more than it merely being an old lover he is asking for help from. Morgan will not ask, at least not when she is in this mode, so as her current partner I interceded. "Ken: let me cut through some of the fog. I am guessing that the reason you said nothing about Morgan to your wife is that you did not want Cherlynn to think something that is not true, but that she might. Pick one. First: that you had a long-lost love you are still pining for. Second: Cherlynn knew you used to date Morgan, and she worried for some reason that she would somehow suffer by comparison or some other similar scenario. Morgan's name was in the papers, and she left Houston famous and in the public eye. She took down a lot of corrupt bigots. Another option: Perhaps Cherlynn was concerned that you wished you married a white girl instead of her, because of something someone said that was hurtful. Maybe not about you, or her, but your daughter. You said you all picked your neighborhood to avoid those exact scenarios, but that does not mean that you have always been able to."

Sam tilted his head at me. "Damn, son. You set that up fast."

Son? Sam is still reacting to my apparent age. I let it lie because it is not important and I am a decade younger than him at least.

Ken gave me an affirmative nod. "Cherlynn and I went out the weekend before I left. Got a babysitter. We were meeting her old friends from work. Three other black women. All single. I was the ball and chain. I told her to go if she wanted an to not drag me along if she wanted to have fun but she wanted me there. We don't get out much anymore. We went to a club. I was the only white man in it. A few white women. Some Hispanic men and women. It was not a new thing: Cherlynn in her single days went there a lot. The bartender knows her by name still. A guy was hitting on Cherlynn, and she was laughing and enjoying the idea that she still, for lack of a better phrase, 'had it'. She told the guy she is married. Pointed at her ring. He asked her which brother in the club that night was the lucky guy, because if he wasn't around, well, he didn't have to know they got it on. Cherlynn pointed at me, and that made the guy chill fast. Not because I am big and scary or anything. He just shut it."

"You are not small."I pointed out.

"This guy hit the gym every day. I may have been bigger, but that would not have mattered. I'm a geologist. I did not even have a rock in my hand. Imposing I am not. Later, in the men's room, the guy follows me in and gets up into my face. He asks me why I have to be going after the fine as hell sisters. Don't I have enough white ladies to... You know. Why do I have to get all up into his world too? Haven't whites taken enough already? On and on like that. Much coarser language. If I have a kink, why not get a chink? The guy rhymed it that way. If I gotta dip my dick in some color, why not get me a Chalupa. They are always needing anchor babies... On and on."

"He accused you of raiding women of color because you have a kink that way or something." I said.

"Pretty much. Yes. Not in that language. It was hideous. Bigoted, and not only for whites, but Hispanics and ... Whatever 'chink' is. Chinese? Japanese? Asian in general? Not sure. Ended up with him asking me how I am going to feel when he goes off and gets himself a fine ass white woman since I am in his hunting grounds, he's going to go hunt in mine." Ken said.