Unlucky Charms

After what was supposed to be a romantic candlelit dinner, Sharon stared out the window on the ride home.  The silence between her and her husband Devon was deafening.  You would think they would be able to continue their conversation from dinner, but such was not the case.  Sharon filled the evening with complaints of unhappiness and sadness.  Over the appetizer, she ranted about his lack of attention to her and the kids, Quincy, 6 and Jordan, 4.  She cried over the main course about the lack of intimacy between them and she chuckled sarcastically over desert as she threatened to walk out of the 10 year marriage. Devon sat calmly during the entire dinner taking in Sharon’s every word.  He barely uttered a sound besides his dinner selection. 

As they drove home, Devon placed a call to one of his business partners and Sharon sat in silence.  Listening to him speak so eloquently with his partner when he barely said 2 words to her all night infuriated her. Sputter, Sputter, Sputter.  The car suddenly stopped in the middle of the road.  Glancing at the gas meter, Sharon noticed they were out of gas.  Giving Devon a mean “go to hell” look, Sharon turned back towards the window and sighed loudly.  Devon turned off the ignition, took out the keys and got out of the car.  He went to the trunk and got out the empty gas tank he kept for such emergencies.   He could see the Exxon Gas Station a couple of blocks up on the right and he proceeded to walk in its direction. 

Pissed off even more, Sharon began to plunder through the arm rest compartment in Devon’s car.  She thumbed through his cd’s and receipts.  Not finding anything that struck her fancy, she opened the glove compartment.  As she rifled through insurance certificates and registrations she discovered a little black velvet box with a pink ribbon around it.  She immediately got excited as her birthday was two days away.  She felt bad for all the nasty things she said to Devon and vowed to make it up to him.  She glanced up and saw Devon approaching the car. She quickly closed the glove compartment and sat back in the seat. Devon put the gas in the tank, threw the gas can in the trunk and got back in the car. “My, you did that fast”, Sharon praised.  Devon looked at her with a peculiar smirk and said “Yeah.” 

“I could have gone with you ya know.”

“Na’ll that wasn’t necessary.  Besides you have on heels, wouldn’t wanna neglect those feet of yours by having you walk to the gas station.”

Realizing Devon was being sarcastic; Sharon turned back towards the window and ended the conversation.

It was Saturday and Sharon’s birthday.  At 6:30 am the kids came into the bedroom singing Happy Birthday over a bowl of Fruit loops.  Excited she got up early and treated herself to a day at the spa and salon.  Anticipating her gift from Devon, she practiced surprised faces in the rearview mirror of her car. She floated on air into the house with a song in her heart and was met by Devon dressed in a wife beater and boxer shorts sitting on the couch. Figuring the lack of fanfare was to throw off the surprise, Sharon played along.  She sat beside him on the couch and took a drink from his glass.

“What do you want to do for your birthday?”

“I was thinking we could just have a nice quiet evening at home.”

“You cooking?”

“Not a chance, I thought you might.”

“Not feeling it.  How bout we order something? Chinese?”

“That sounds good.”

“Yeah, the fight is coming on tonight anyway.  I’ll order pay per view.”

“Yeah…………………sounds good. I guess.”

Thinking Devon was a hell of an actor, Sharon went upstairs to change clothes. She called her girlfriend and asked her to watch the kids for the evening and then proceeded to pack them an overnight bag.  Later that evening she came downstairs dressed in Devon’s favorite jeans and a halter top.  She even put on his favorite pair of stilettos that showed off her newly painted toes. She found Devon in the kitchen ordering the Chinese food, still dressed in his attire from earlier.  Huh, she thought as she fixed two glasses of wine. 

“I’ll set the table”

“No need.  Let’s eat in the den. I ordered the fight.  Roy Jones is gonna kill him tonight

“Ok then.”

As they sat on the couch watching the preliminary fights, the doorbell rang.  It was the Chinese food.  Devon paid and brought the food into the den.  Sharon went into the kitchen and got two plates and forks.  Thinking this would be a good time for Devon to set up his surprise, Sharon lingered in the kitchen to give him time. 

“Come on already, its getting cold,” Devon shouted.  Sharon raced back into the den to find Devon already sucking on the lo mien out of the box.  She handed him a plate and they ate the food.  She sat in silence for most of the fight wondering what was really happening.  Surely Devon wasn’t this slack. When the fight was over Devon went upstairs to take a shower.  Steaming, Sharon stayed downstairs to give Devon one last chance to set up her surprise.  Once she got upstairs she found Devon in bed asleep already and snoring.  Angrily, she put on her night clothes and went to sleep also.  “Happy Birthday Sharon”, she whispered to herself.

The next morning Devon went into the bathroom to shave and Sharon sat in the bed replaying the events of the last few days in her head.  She decided to sneak downstairs to Devon’s car to find the velvet box.  To her surprise it wasn’t there.  She searched the garage to no avail.

“Wait, wait Sharon.  Where would Devon hide it?  Last Christmas he hid my earrings in….in….that’s it!”

Sharon sprinted upstairs to the bedroom and went to Devon’s dresser drawer.  Careful to not alert him, she slowly opened it.  Feeling around, she found the box.  Inside she found a diamond, princess cut ring at least 2 karats.  She placed it on her finger; perfect fit.  As she took it off she noticed an inscription inside: To Stephanie with love, D..  As Devon opened the bathroom door, Sharon shoved the box back in the drawer and sat on the bed.  Devon got dressed and left.  Sharon never made a sound or move.  When Devon returned 6 hours later he found Sharon still sitting in the same spot. He jumped in the shower again not uttering a word.  Sharon finally got up and went downstairs to sleep on the couch.  However, she didn’t sleep at all.  Her sadness evolved into anger as she replayed every argument she and Devon ever had.  The only “Stephanie” she could think of was her baby sister that lived 2 towns over. Fueled by furry Sharon placed a call to Stephanie.  Her husband answered the phone and told her that Stephanie went on a Sorority retreat and was staying in a hotel for the weekend.  She would be back home on Monday. Frustrated, Sharon hung up.

The next morning Sharon got ready for work early and left before Devon or the kids woke up.  As she sat at her desk she cried and contemplated her vengeance.  Should she start an affair of her own, leave him or, or… Her phone rang. It was the Pharmacy letting her know Devon’s Blood Pressure prescription was ready.  She said Thank you and hung up. “That’s it” she thought.  She grabbed her purse and sprinted from her office. Driving to the pharmacy she took a phone call from Devon.

“What’s up?”

“Why did you leave like that this morning? You know these kids needed to get to school.”

“Aren’t you their father? Why can’t you take them sometimes?”

“I planned to hit the gym early this morning.”

“Oh well, I had an early meeting.  If you had bothered to talk to me yesterday you would know that.”

“You were the one full of attitude yesterday.  I thought you wanted to be left alone.”

“Whatever Devon, we’ll talk about this at home tonight.”

“Yeah.”

She hung up and pulled into the pharmacy parking lot.  Grabbing her purse she went to the counter.

“I’m here to pick up a prescription for Devon James please.”

“Oh yes, here you are Mrs. James.”

“Thank you. How many more prescriptions does Devon have left ma’am?’

“Uh, let me check. Two.”

“Is it possible for me to go ahead and fill another one, so that I don’t have to come back again in 30 days?”

“I don’t see why not, you guys have been coming here for years. Just don’t tell my boss I let you.”

“Of course not, it’s between us.”

The young lady gave Sharon the additional prescription and she placed them in her purse.  As she walked out she placed a call to her boss telling him she would not return to the job due to a migraine headache.  After telling this major lie, she headed to the grocery store and shopped for a huge dinner that night. 

Once home Sharon set out the ingredients for her decadent meal.  Her dinner menu would consist of fried chicken, potato salad, collard greens and cornbread with Lemonade; all of Devon’s favorites.  As she boiled the potatoes and the ham hocks, she cut up the greens.  After placing them in the pot with the ham hocks she put the cornmeal in a bowl for the cornbread.  She sat down on the stool at her kitchen island and took a long sip of the wine she bought for her birthday.  She relived the events of the past weekend and threw her wedding ring across the kitchen.  “Damn him”, she shouted angrily.  She jumped from the stool and got Devon’s prescription out of her purse.  She laid out the pills from both bottles and began to crush them into powder.  She put the powder into the cornbread batter, in the potato salad and in the flour for the fried chicken.   After dinner was ready she made a call to her girlfriend and asked her to pick the kids up from school because she and Devon needed to talk.  Her friend agreeing, she went upstairs to take change clothes. 

After an hour, Sharon came downstairs dressed in a red, strapless dress with matching heels.  Her makeup was flawless and her hair was pinned up a rhinestone hairpin.  Devon walked into the house and headed straight for the kitchen. 

“What’s all this?”

“I felt bad and wanted to treat you to a nice dinner.”

“Smells good. Let me wash my hands.”

“Ok”

“Where are the kids?”

“Melissa has them.  I thought we should be alone.”

Devon sat down to the table and Sharon handed him a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade. She walked back to the stove and fixed his plate.  She gave him a huge chicken breast, a hefty spoonful of potato salad and greens.  She cut him a sizeable slice of cornbread and added butter.  Devon smiled as she handed him the lethal cocktail. Sharon sat next to him at the table and watched him eat the tainted soul food.

“Aren’t you gonna eat?’

“I’ve been tasting all day, not really hungry right now.”

“Oh. Tastes good, really good.”

“Thanks. I’m glad you like it.”

“You look nice too. “

“Thanks again. I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting lately.  I’ve just had a lot on my mind with work.”

“Yeah me too.  I’ve been a real jerk lately also.  Accept my apology?”

“Yes.”

“Damn girl, I can’t eat another bite.”

“There isn’t another bite to eat, you cleaned the plate!”

“Hey, a compliment to the chef.”

Sharon leaned in and kissed Devon deeply.  He grabbed her and sat her on his lap and kissed her again.  Sensing his arousal, Sharon stood up and led Devon upstairs to the bedroom. Once up there she pushed him down on the bed and climbed on top of him. She unbuttoned each of his buttons with her teeth as he palmed her ass.  Her tongue flicking his nipples, she reached down and unbuckled his pants and pulled down the zipper.  She slid down his body and pulled out his manhood.  Devon moaned loudly as she circled it with her tongue.  Sharon sucked his penis vigorously as he yelled in ecstasy.  Seizing the moment she straddled him and pulled up her dress exposing her bare ass.  She sat down on his erect penis and began to ride him like a stallion.  Bouncing up and down and side to side, Sharon rocked Devon into insanity.  It was so intense, Devon could hardly speak.  Suddenly, Devon started to stiffen and motion for Sharon to stop.  She cranked up her voltage and started to slam him into the headboard.  Devon appeared to be racked with pain in his chest as he tried to sit up. Sharon pinned him back down and bounced harder and deeper.  Devon sat up once again and then fell back down on the bed, lifeless and still. Sharon picked up his arm and felt for a pulse, nothing.  She had successfully killed him and gotten her vengeance.    

Working up a frantic persona, she called 911 and explained that her husband had a heart attack during lovemaking.  The dispatch promised to send an officer over right away and Sharon changed clothes. She leaned over Devon’s body and whispered in his ear, ” That will teach you to fuck around on me, sorry ass bastard.” As she was walked out of the bedroom, trying to work up some tears,  the phone rang.  She picked up the cordless in the hall and headed down the stairs. 

“Hello.”

“Hello, may I speak to Devon please?”

“He’s ah, not available at the moment.  Is there something I can help you with?”

“Well, my name is Derek James and I work with Devon.  I gave him a ring to hold for me for my wife Stephanie.  Its our Anniversary tomorrow.”

“Wait, WHAT!?”

” Devon is holding a ring I bought my wife Stephanie for our Anniversary.  She’s always sneaking around and I wanted it to be a surprise, so Devon said he’d keep it in his car. I wanna come by and pick it up so I’ll have it for tomorrow.  Is that okay?                                   Hello?”

Sharon’s heart began to beat rapidly and her breathing increased as she realized that she just killed her husband for nothing.  She was feeling faint when she reached the kitchen. Suddenly she dropped the phone with Derek still on the line.

“Hey, girl.  I hope you don’t mind.  I had to bring the kids back early, my husband wanted to go out.  I went ahead and fed them for you. Dang girl you cooked alot. Where’s Devon?”

“Yeah, ma that cornbread was off the chain and the chicken was good too, I’ve already had 2 pieces!  Can I have some more potato salad? Thanks.”

“Hello?  Hello?  Is anybody there?”

 

 

© Simone LaRue 2008

 

~ by simonelarue on July 7, 2008.