Borrowed Time

Five

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Standing before the mirror stationed in my bedroom's inbuilt bathroom, I traced my lips with a red colored paint. I made sure my hair was in place, that my makeup was just right.

It had been two nights since the protest that happened outside of Mike's home, and after seeing Janet there front and center, I had finally reached out to her. I wanted to express my appreciation for her support, for her courage.

"Wow." Joy approached the entrance of the bathroom, shaking her head in disbelief. "How could you even go on a date with all that's going on? I mean, Tarik just died, Toni."

Rolling my pupils in a circular fashion, I sighed. Clearly she didn't grasp the irony in what she mouthed. "I didn't ask you how you could be moving in with some other woman with all that's going on, now did I?" Awaiting her response, I eyed her sideways. "Or how you even found the time to look for an apartment?"

Joy waved me off, she too rolled her eyes. "Who is this woman anyways? How-how do you know her?" She then crossed her arms above her chest.

Turning from her, I faced the mirror once more, checking again for my appearance. "What does any of that matter?"

"I am still your wife, Toni," Joy pointed within my direction, growing closer to me. "And besides, I've always kept you in the loop about Karen and I."

"Oh, so just showing up to the burial with her was keeping me in the loop?" I was taken aback, disbelieving what she said. How could she ever attempt to accuse me of something she had done herself? While I was grieving the loss of my nephew, she was signing the lease on a new place to stay. We were not the same. "Whether I decided to date right now or later, that's my business."

Joy breathed heavily, fiddling with her hair. "Hey, do you." She then spoke sternly. "But don't forget you're a married woman is all I'm saying."

I disregarded what she spoke, rolling my eyes once more. Her presence alone reminded me of the legal union we held. I didn't need her to constantly tell me that she was still my wife.
"Look, I'm gonna head out now." I exited the bathroom, she followed. "I left you the number to the restaurant if you need me and can't reach me."

Joy wanted to talk some more, but I didn't feel the need to. Instead, I exited the house and got in my vehicle.
Janet insisted that the two of us should eat at some restaurant called Chino's. After doing research, I found that it wasn't all that far from my home, which meant it didn't take long to get there.

Once I arrived, the architect of the building immediately caught my eye. It was beautiful, fancy. Golden exterior with tinted looking glass.

Hm, Janet had better been the one picking up the bill, I thought.

She was seated in a private, secluded section of the restaurant, awaiting my presence. I joined her, greeting her with a hug and smile. She did the same. The two of us then ordered our preferred beverages and meals.

"So," she began, eyeing me closely. "How are you?" She was dressed in a skin-tight black colored dress, with pumps of the same pigment just upon her feet.

"I'm well," I said back, taking a sip of my red wine. "Just hanging in there. How are you?" I then motioned toward her.

Janet allowed her shoulders to shrug, moving them up and down. "I can't complain." She too consumed some of her alcoholic beverage.

"Good, good." I sat up a bit in my seat, holding onto my chest. "Y'know, I just wanted to thank you for all of your support. Being at the burial, protesting. It means a lot."

"Of course," her head moved in a fashion that understood my appreciation. "With Tarik being a student of mine, it broke my heart hearing of his passing. It's devastating, all that happened to him."

I smiled, grateful to know that this woman was there for me. She was more supportive than my own wife, it seemed. Since Tarik's death, Joy had only thought of herself and Karen. Their living arrangements, the state of their relationship. Regardless of our marriage's troubles, she was still supposed to be there. She was supposed to care.

"You know, I still find it so funny that you were his teacher and I never met you before," I eyed Janet sideways, my index finger upon my chin. "Tarik always got into so much trouble at school, trying to be a class clown and all." I then laughed to myself, recalling the memories within my mind. "I had to visit the school more than I should have."

She shook her head from side to side, holding up her own index finger. "Oh, no. I wasn't one of those teachers that really had a problem out of him. I mean, there were times he'd try to act out. But, my students all knew that once I gave them that look, they had better settled down." She then allowed a smile of reassurance to cover her face. "Ms. Jackson isn't one to be played with."

I chuckled, trying to imagine the woman having to look at Tarik as though her eyes warned him of his behavior. Hell, sometimes I had to look at him like that myself. "You sound just like a mom would. Do you have kids?"

"I do not," Janet replied, taking another sip of her drink. "I guess when you work with kids for so long, you pick up some motherly ways." She then pointed within my direction. "But you-you have kids, don't you? A son, right?"

Immediately, I felt uneasy. How the hell did she know about Josiah? I mean, nowadays it had been easy to search someone and have all of their information in the simple click of button. But, that caught me off guard. I had never spoken to her about him before.
"I do," I said back, slightly smiling. "How do you...how do you know that?"

The woman shrugged her shoulders like before, incessantly filling her mouth with what she drank. "I uh...I just..." It was almost as though she tried to search around for words within her throat. "Tarik would always talk about his little cousin in class. I just put two and two together...y'know?" She then eyed me as if she was curious. "You must be married, I'm assuming."

I allowed my pupils to travel to the floor beneath us, uncertain as to how to respond. At this moment, I didn't care my marriage. I didn't care about Joy. Besides, lately it hadn't even felt that I was married. So, I released heavy breaths from my mouth and said, "No. I'm...I am not married."

Janet widened her eyes, astonished. "Hm, you don't seem as though you're being honest." She then smiled, deviously, tracing the table with her fingers. "I told you, Ms. Jackson isn't to be played with."

Instantly, an uproar began within my stomach. Something about the way she underhandedly read me, created a tingly feeling in my body. It felt as though she could see right through me, right through the lie I told. And...I liked it. I liked that she made me feel as though she knew me without really even knowing me.

"Hey do you..." I paused, hoping to not come across as too forward. But I did. I placed my hand upon hers on the table, feeling her touch. She did the same. "You wanna get outta here?"

A|N:
toni gettin down like that on the first night??? 🧐
thoughts?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANET DAMITA 😍🖤