Moments: A BWWM Short Story Collection

XII. Blackmail (Pt. 2 of 2)

I breathed out as my eyes flicked up to the mirror, where the clock foretold 6:00pm was right around the corner. I steadied my nerves and made one last attempt to straighten my tie, but it was no use, my hands just wouldn't stop shaking.

Everything else looked my best, save for stress lines beneath my eyes. I kept repeating Grace's assurances that her secret plan was foolproof and everything was going to be alright, but nightmarish scenarios filtered in whenever I closed my eyes. I was starting to feel sick to my stomach from worry.

"Grace." I said shakily to the closed bathroom door. "I don't think I can do this."

"Yes you can, sweetie! You climbed Arman and Son's corporate ladder like a rocket! If anyone can face down that skank, it's Mr. Damian Harold Parker!"

I sighed and shook my head at my reflection, and Grace continued.

"I believe in you, baby. You made me so happy when you married me, when you put a roof over my head, when you gave me kids, and especially when you dug that tomato garden in the pouring rain. Are you going to let that woman step on everything you've ever given me just because she's gotten away with it before?"

A chuckle escaped my lips; how could I have forgotten about the tomato garden? There'd been a shortage of tomatoes due to a recall, and Grace had craved them all throughout her pregnancy with our youngest Joy. Add in a week of thunderstorms and my own inability to read directions, and we had one muddy mess on our hands.

And yet, that heartfelt whisper of thanks as she took the first bite had made it all worthwhile. I would've planted an entire orchard to hear it again.

The doorbell rang downstairs and I glanced up at the clock. Six on the dot.

I corrected my tie as best I could, checking myself one final time before exiting the room and descending the stairs. My eyes swept the various family photos over each step, and I drew strength from the memories that had been born here.

Adrian's first baby tooth, Jerome's little league softball team posing after winning their first game, and Grace reading Phyllis the Frog Comes to Town to Joy as she sat on her lap. There was our disastrous yet unforgettable ski trip where I fractured my leg, and Grace's favorite picture so far, the five of us on Miami beach at sunset, where the sky was just the right shade of purple and red.

I gripped the banister as I spotted the shadow at the door. I wouldn't let Crystal destroy what we had; I'd trust Grace as she and the kids trusted me all through those years. Nothing, not even the sight of Crystal's dress, deterred me as I opened the door.

"Finally!" she breathed. "Any longer and I would've been mosquito chow!"

I shut the door, wishing I could point out such a feast would be her fault with her attire. She was decked out in an incredibly skimpy sling dress that left practically her entire breasts and midriff exposed. The silver on tan was tacky enough, but the way it not so subtly showed off certain piercings made me glad the kids were at Grace's sister.

"So... where's fat, dark, and boring?" Crystal asked as she resumed her fake breathy voice. "Too afraid to show herself in front of her replacement?"

Crystal pushed past me to take in the house, and my hands coiled into fists.

"You will not talk about my wife that way in our house." I said calmly but firmly. "You are our guest this evening, and I expect you behave yourself."

Crystal shook her head at the furniture before arching an eyebrow at me.

"Hm... so you're the dominate type then? I'll have to be sure to wean that out of you once you've chosen to be my obedient boy toy." She said smugly before running a disdainful finger across the couch. "And you will be my toy, because judging by these ghetto decoration choices, I'd say you couldn't possibly pay $50,000 a month."