My White Ex Soldier

Chapter 5

Ever since Desiree’s unfortunate turn of events with Taylor, she could feel her sister eyeing her suspiciously and she knew exactly what was going through Rochelle’s mind. Normally if something like that happened, it would be more of a possibility that Rochelle was the guilty party. After all, Rochelle was the one they would expect to have more than one man in her bed. Literally. For two straight days, Desiree neither saw nor heard Rochelle come in or leave. The only person she saw was Cynthia and even then, for a few minutes each day.

Two days after the incident, Desiree walked to the kitchen and for the first time in two days, found Rochelle seated having coffee with Cynthia. A half smile played on Desiree’s lips.

“She lives!” Desiree said with a smile. Cynthia looked at her frowning.

“What are you talking about? I saw you last night when you came in,” she said. Desiree shook her head.

“Not you. Her. I rarely see her,” she said pointing at Rochelle. “If I didn’t know any better I would think you were avoiding me,” she added as she walked towards the table.

“Why would she be avoiding you?” Cynthia asked looking at Rochelle who was smiling.

“Well, I kind of busted her having sex,” Rochelle said smiling gleefully. Desiree rolled her eyes.

“You saw Denzel naked?” Cynthia asked excitedly. Rochelle shook her head.

“No, some white boy,” she said dismissively with a wave of her hand. Cynthia looked more confused than ever.

“What? Why? What happened to Denzel?” she asked looking at Desiree.

“He was an ass,” she said simply before standing up and walking to the fridge.

“I’m sorry but I need more. Saying ‘he was an ass’ just won’t cut it,” Cynthia said as Desiree took two eggs from the fridge and then walked to the stove. She looked over at her sister and cousin and smiled. They were as hungry for a detailed account just as she was for breakfast. She smiled and switched on the stove before breaking the eggs in a bowl. “Today, Dee,” Cynthia pressed looking at Desiree who was frantically beating the eggs.

“Okay, chill,” Desiree said as she poured some oil in the pan and walked back to the fridge. She came back holding a stack of containers in which they stored all their vegetables. She took her time pouring all the ingredients inside the pan as the two watched her. She was having fun looking at them sitting there, waiting for information that did not seem to come fast enough. “So, this is what happened,” Desiree said as she stirred her now very aromatic omelet. “I was not very forthcoming about what I did for a living,” she said as she seasoned her omelet.

“Why? What did you say you did?” Rochelle asked.

“I sort of said I own a catering company,” Desiree answered as she served her omelet on a plate.

“Seriously? Why would you do that?” Rochelle asked.

“Well, I think I understand that Rochelle. Speed dating is like internet match finding. Everyone oversells themselves just a little bit to appear more appealing. That was the case, right Dee?” Cynthia said looking at Desiree who was now sitting down at the table. She nodded.

“Something like that and Mark since he is rich….”

“…Hold up. What do you mean rich? How rich are we talking?” Rochelle asked cutting Desiree short. “Donald Trump or Prince William?” she asked looking at Desiree who appeared a bit taken back.

“Oozing money, rich. Not Trump or the royal family but he has money to spend. At the strip club he wouldn’t be throwing tens, he would throw hundreds,” Desiree said as she took her first bite. Rochelle mouthed a low wow as she looked at her sister.

“At least tell me you got something before he left! Some Jimmy Choos? A Chanel bag?” Rochelle asked dramatically. Desiree laughed.

“So anyway,” Desiree said ignoring her sister’s dramatic comedy. “When Mark found out I don’t own a catering company he came here and got all weird calling me a gold digger and telling me that I am quote unquote, unclassy,” she added before taking another bite of her omelet. Cynthia and Rochelle looked at her surprised.

“What do you mean he found out? How did he find out?” Cynthia asked looking at Desiree.

“He hired a P.I. or something. I don’t know,” Desiree said as she shrugged. Cynthia scoffed.

“He got a private investigator? That is no better than siccing a dog on you,” she said disgustedly.

“Talk about modern day apartheid,” Rochelle said as she grabbed her sister’s fork and took a generous bite of her omelet.

“Hey! Get your own damn eggs,” Desiree complained as she took her fork back.

“So what happened after that?” Cynthia asked ignoring Rochelle’s childishness.

“Wait, that’s not all. He knew about Leon,” Desiree said looking at Cynthia.

“How?” Rochelle asked.

“Search me. That’s what made him tell me that I was a gold digger because there is no way I wouldn’t have known that he was married. He actually claimed that I found out that Leon actually did have a wife but I never left because I wanted more from the relationship…something monetary,” Desiree explained. By this time, she could tell from the way her cousin and sister were looking at her that they were even more disgusted with Mark than she was.

“Okay, I officially hate him. I don’t care whether he looks like Denzel or not,” Rochelle said leaning back in her chair. Desiree smiled.

“I know. And to make it worse, we had plans that night. So when he came, I was all dressed up and sh*t,” Desiree continued before she took the last bite of her omelet.

“Screw him,” Cynthia said. “So, this white guy, is he the other guy you met that night?” she asked with a smile. Desiree nodded.

“Actually, he is the only person I gave my number to. I didn’t feel right giving it to anyone else…not even Mark,” she said smiling. “So, I called him over. I was upset, obviously and when he showed I came clean about working for the supermarket. He had told me that he was in IT or something…no. A web designer,” Desiree said with a smile.

“So what does he really do?” Rochelle asked. Desiree laughed.

“He is a landscaper,” Desiree said. Cynthia looked at her and smiled.

“He cuts grass,” Cynthia said smiling.

“When you say landscaper, it sounds important,” Desiree said quickly.