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Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Chapter 55: Facing The Music

Keshia woke up unable to recognize her surroundings. A pounding headache wasn't helping her recall the event of the previous night. She had left with Graham. that much she remembered and she must have been at his place now. Or a hotel? Either way, it didn't sound too right.

With a real effort of concentration, the last thing she could remember was getting undressed...At least that was all her. Right as her cell phone rang and amplified her pain, she remembered also throwing herself in Graham's arms. She looked up at her caller ID to find it was Nathan. She let the call go to voicemail, she couldn't deal right now.

"Breakfast is served!"

"Graham!"

"So sorry, just grab a robe by the bed. No peeking, promised."

"Well, it's nothing you haven't seen before if my memory isn't playing tricks on me."

Keshia had a sad voice and was looking down. She had destroyed her marriage; turned her back on her vows.


"Keshia, what do you think happened last night?"

"I was mad at my husband, went to a bar, drank more than I should, got back to your place, or a hotel, wherever we are right now, got naked and threw myself at you."

"And then..."

"Well, I can still put 2 and 2 together."

"Really? What if I were to tell you the answer may be more like 3 than 4?"

"Sorry?"

"Nothing happened, Keshia! I wasn't going to take advantage of you! I know you are committed to your husband. And we are at my place. A hotel probably would've made this look much worse that it already seems."

"What will Nathan think?"

"Tell him you spent the night at a hotel. He has no reason to doubt you. That's where you told him you'd go. Or at Mandy's. You girls always stick for one another."

"I guess you're right...I have to leave."

"No breakfast? I'm just kidding, don't look at me like I'm crazy. I totally understand. I was kind of just being selfish."

"Selfish? How?"

"You don't really want to know. Well, I'd offer to have one of my drivers drop you but that wouldn't look good. Would you like me to call a cab?"

"Please do."


Keshia looked at her house, sure it was far from the luxurious life Graham was living but it was her little world, everything she had built for herself with Nathan. She had lost her key. Before she rang, she started sobbing; for some reason she wasn't sure if she could or even wanted to salvage her marriage.


"Keshia? Honey, I don't like to see you cry."

"Nathan, we still need to talk. I know I stormed out last night so it's mostly my fault we didn't have a real discussion."

'Well, I was blinded by jealousy. I wasn't too nice, I understand. Although, I still wonder where you were all this time, you didn't come home."

"I was at Mandy's."

The lie had barely made it out of her lips that she thought she should have cleared it with Mandy before using her as an alibi. She hadn't even answer her calls in the morning.

"Mandy? That's impossible, Gary spent the night at her place and we've all been worried sick about you all morning. I fell asleep rather late not wanting to call you and aggravate your impression that I had trust issues. But this..."

Keshia closed her eyes. She felt helpless...It was too late to claim she was at a hotel and she definitely couldn't tell Nathan she had left the bar with a total stranger. There again, she thought that would probably sit with him better than hearing she was with Graham. But she felt like she owed him the truth.

"I will have to ask you to take a deep breath and let me explain before you jump to conclusions or say anything."


Right as Keshia spoke those words, the phone rang.


"Don't answer it."

"I have to, it's Mandy. I bet you haven't called her yet."

Nathan picked up the phone and by the look on his face it probably wasn't Mandy. And he was getting an information Keshia wanted to give him herself. He dropped the phone's receiver and looked at her in a way she couldn't interpret.

"Tell me you were not with Graham..."