8. Justine

"I'm sorry about all this, babe. I know it's a lot, but we can't rest on our laurels. I know Melanie; I know how her mind works. The fact that you embarrassed her in front of all those people she worked so hard to impress isn't something she's going to let go of easily."

"Who cares? As if you'll let her get near this one." Monique looked at her nails; they were gorgeous, by the way, which reminded me. I haven't had a manicure in months.

"Yeah, but she doesn't know that I'm back, neither does she know that Justine and I are an item or that she's under my protection."

"How could she not know that you're back? Didn't she see you at the party?"

"No, I left to follow Justine before anyone saw me, really."

"And you don't want anyone knowing until after the divorce that you two are in a relationship."

"Exactly, Carl. So that's the first thing we have to navigate. For now, she's going to be working with me, but that's going to take a while because we have to get the daycare set up first because she wants the kids to be close."

"I say we take both of them for a plane ride over South Sudan and drop them off in a parachute. Her asshole ex and that thing your father brought home with the hag he married."

"I like her idea; let's go with that."

"Both of you be quiet. Monique, if you're going to be like this, you can have the next three months off. Go pester your son in Boston."

"Why the hell would I do that? And miss all the fun? All that boy talks about these days is body parts. It was fun playing doctor when he was a kid, but he's damn near a whole-ass adult, so all he does these days is nag-nag-nag about every little sniffle. You know this. Why are you being mean to me?"

He rolled his eyes at her and turned back to me. "Listen, trust me, I know what I'm doing. Like I said, I know Melanie and her ilk; she's going to try to get back at you, and she's going to use your husband and kids to do it. We're getting out in front of all that before she strikes."

"I'm not understanding how you got this soft this quick. You've only been back a day, and you're already…."

"There're children involved, you female python."

"Carl, don't start with her. Now, I think I should introduce Justine to Gramps first thing first, my first day at the office. Justine, is there anyone you trust to leave the kids with for a few hours?"

"Uh-huh, the babysitter." What is going on? ‘You can't tell? That's a real man right there. Don't you feel ashamed after wasting your life with that small dick asshole you were soooo in love with?' Justice, I know you're stuck on the size of his cock, but this is serious. If you don't have anything constructive to add, pipe your ass down.

‘I'm just saying, even if he is crazy, it's not like you have to marry him. You were married to the asshole for ten years, and look where that got us. At least one weekend of that monster isn't going to change much.'

No.

"What's going on?"

"She's talking to her twin."

"What? Where?" Monique looked around the room for a person, and I wanted to fall under the damn floorboards. Why did he tell them that?

"He's like your Aunt Bessie."

"Ohhhh, ain't nobody like my aunt Bessie. That bitch, she mean as hell."

"Are we going to spend the next half an hour discussing her mental defect again?"

"No, Carl, but we can pull that plank out your ass and beat you with it instead."

"You see what I got to deal with here, baby? You gotta save me."

I'm not sure if they were intending to lighten the mood or make light of the situation by making me laugh or if this was their usual repartee, but it sure was keeping my mind off of things back home.

All kidding aside, though, there was a lot to process and unpack here. What I thought was some colossal joke at my expense is turning out to be the most otherworldly experience of my life. I mean, who thinks like him? Or is this how all people with bucket loads of money react to situations?

"How long were you planning to stay here, baby?"

"Just the weekend." Why am I answering him like this is normal?

"Okay, so we've got one more day. Do you want us to grab the kids and bring them here? No, wait, that's too much of a distraction and besides, it's not time for them to meet their new daddy yet."

Yup, I'm convinced. I have completely gone around the bend, and I'm going to wake up any minute with my ass strapped to a gurney.

‘Get the dick first.'

Fuck off.

"She's doing it again." Monique's tone almost had me on the floor in stitches, and the way Carl was eyeing me as if I were a cobra getting ready to strike didn't help.

* * *

Look,I know I started off my Friday night drunk off my ass and ended it a little bit high, but this is too much. By mid-afternoon Saturday, this man had contacted a PI, one that was already on his payroll, by the way, a divorce attorney, and my Dad. Yes, you heard that right. He called my parents and told them about the affair.

The next thing I knew, somebody named George was picking them up in Marcus' private plane and bringing them here and I had yet to understand any of what was going on.

"Don't worry, this is how he does things, but he's a freaking genius, so I've learned to let him do his thing. Trust me." Monique came and sat next to me on the dune where I sat, looking out at the water.

I had to leave the house when it got too crazy. Between my Dad, my brothers, and Marcus, I'm not sure who was the craziest. Right now, I think Carl is the only one keeping all their assed out of jail.

My Dad and siblings want to go beat the shit out of Paul, and Marcus is encouraging them because, as he puts it, he can't do it right now because he doesn't want to show his hand too soon, but if they get it started, he'd really appreciate it.

I don't know how he'd sold my family on him because they're not known for being swayed by money and material wealth, so he must've said or done something that had them thanking him for taking care of me instead of my Daddy shooting him for following me here.

My mind was all over the place, but who can blame me? I hadn't really had time to process any of this, starting with my husband's affair. I've been on autopilot since the moment I confirmed the affair, but now, with everything else that had happened in the last day or so, my poor brain is trying to sift through everything at once.

"Wait, there's one thing I don't understand. I thought Marcus hadn't been back here in fifteen years. How does he see his grandparents?"

"They come to him all over the world. He refuses to come back here because he doesn't want to see his father. He's as stubborn as a mule. I don't know what the old man told him this time to get him to come back."

"Wait, you don't know why he's back?"

"No, he wouldn't say. Why did he tell you?"

"No." It must be the fact that he was taking over the company. But why didn't he tell them but tell me? And why did that give me butterflies?

"Monique, is this real?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so. Remember that stubbornness I mentioned. If he's set his sights on you, there isn't much you can do to escape his clutches. If you're not interested, I suggest you get your ass in the witness protection because he's not gonna stop."

"Is he crazy?"

"Not even a little bit. He's too damn smart for his own good. But this is how he is. He's been in every dangerous jungle, desert, and shanty town on the earth as far as I know, so he pretty much lives on guts and nerves of steel. Once he locks onto something, it would take an act of the almighty to get him to change his mind."

"But, I'm an almost divorced woman with three kids. What could he possibly want with me when he could have anyone he wants?"

"That's just it, he could, but he's always gone his own way and done what he wants, what's best for him."

"It's gonna take me a minute to accept all this." I looked back at the house where I could see through the open French doors that my family and him were still debating the best way to handle my soon-to-be ex for now.

"Can I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"You don't look older than thirty-two, thirty-three, but Marcus said you have a son in his second year of Pre-Med. Wouldn't that make him about nineteen?"

"Yeah, the math ain't mathing, is it."

"I'm thirty-three. My baby wasn't conceived consensually."

"What? I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. It was the worst thing to ever happen to me, but he turned out to be the best thing in my life."

"What happened to the one who attacked you, if you don't mind me asking?"

She turned and looked at me fully. "He was one of my mother's junkie boyfriends, dealers whatever the hell he was. Nothing was reported; no one cared. I had my son and decided I wanted to keep him as young as I was. I won't pretend that everything was honky dory."

"I moved in with my grandmother after Damien was born; she helped me out a lot. I finished school, then went to community college with the intention of going to a better college once I got a decent enough job that could pay the bills."

"Then I met that asshole one night, and my life changed. One week after I told him my story, which was a whole year after we met, the man who assaulted me slipped and fell off a roof."

‘I think I just came.' Justice that is not appropriate for this conversation.