Alex sat in her car, parked in the neighborhood she stayed in with her mom a long time ago.
There were several people walking on each side of the sidewalks. She felt nervous for some reason, but she wasn't afraid of the environment she was in. One thing she made sure of is that she'd never forget where she'd come from.
She saw the corner store she used to walk to with a few childhood friends. She remembered the time when she was leaving the store and she and her two friends saw her mother giving a man head on the side of the store. She was almost eleven and she was embarrassed.
Looking passed the corner store, her eyes scanned further down the road in front of a reddish, brown, brick house. A man by the name of Roy, lived there. She wasn't sure if he'd still lived there and wasn't too interested to find out. Roy was once good friends with her mother. When Alex would stay with her mom, sometimes they would stay at Roy's house whenever her mother's long-time boyfriend would out them out of his house.
Alex didn't realize it until she got older, but Roy would have her mother have sex with him in order for them to stay with him. Sometimes when Roy didn't want Alex around, he'll complain to her mother and she'll put Alex out, causing her to walk to her grandparent's house which was a seven mile walk. The last time she made that walk, her grandmother called Roy's house, cursing him and her mother out and she rarely ever saw her mother after that.
She shook off the memories once she heard someone blow their horn. They were blowing at a woman who was carelessly walking across the street. Alex realized it was her mom. She started her car and pulled up by her mom as she walked the sidewalk.
"Wanda?" She called out to her after show let the passenger window down.
"Alex!" Wanda shouted with excitement.
Alex intentionally went to the neighborhood to look for her mom, little did she think she'd run into her.
She couldn't even smile at her, because she wasn't a bit of excited to see her mom. "Can you get in the car?" Alex requested, unlocking the doors.
"Where we goin?" Wanda asked, opening the door and settling in the car
"I just want to spend some time with you." Alex took a look at what she was wearing. A pair or dirty grey sweatpants and an even dirtier t-shirt. Her shoes were worn out, but fitted on her feet. They were an old pair of sneakers. Her hair was still as beautiful as ever, pulled back into a messy ponytail. "Where do you live?"
"We not going to my house." Wanda responded. "I don't need to be there."
"Did you want to get something to eat?" She asked.
"No." She shook her head. "I have something to do." She would it sit back. She seemed alerted and eager to do something.
"I was really hoping to talk to you." Alex said.
"Take me around the block." Wanda ordered.
Alex slightly frowned at Wanda and put her vehicle in drive, driving straight down the street until Wanda gave her more directions.
"You're gonna turn on this next corner." She pointed her finger to the right before Alex could get to the block.
Realizing that Wanda's mind wasn't on her, Alex simply gave up trying to talk to her. She made the right turn at the corner just like Wanda instructed and drove about half of a mile.
Wanda looked in the backseat. "Where's the girl?" She asked.
"What girl?" Alex asked.
"The girl who was in the car with you the other day! Is she your daughter? She was gorgeous, just my sweet baby." Wanda cupped Alex's chin. Alex slowly moved her face away.
"She's my step-daughter." Alex responded.
"So I do have a grand baby. I need to be meet her." She said with excitement.
Alex certainly wasn't in agreement with Wanda meeting Joy.
"Stop right here."
Alex slowed the car down to stop in front of the house that Wanda pointed to. When she stopped in front of the house, she observed it. There were a few children playing outside the house. It was a one story, brown, brick house. Alex feels like she's seen this house before, but wasn't too sure.
Wanda opened the door and then looked at Alex. "Let ya mama hold a couple of dollars." She requested.
Alex sighed. "No."
Wanda stared at her in disbelief. "No?" She questioned. "Come on, just loan me some money. I'll pay you back as soon as I get it back." She convinced.
"And where in the world will you get it from?" Alex questioned her. "I know you're not working anywhere."
"Excuse you little girl, You better watch that tone you're using with me. I'm still your mother."
"You are not my mother!" Alex grew angry. "There are plenty of things I can say that you are and a mother is certainly not one. You've never loved me, nurtured me, certainly didn't raise me, no unconditional love, nothing a mother would do to her child. When it came to me, you always put me last. Everything before Alex, so no. I'm not giving you any money, Wanda." Alex's heart was racing because she wanted to cry, but not in front of Wanda.
Wanda opened the door and gave Alex a look. "Well, I have to you. You're welcome to stop by here if you want to find me."
Alex glanced at the shotgun house which looked pretty old. "I won't be back." Alex said to her as she got out the car.
"I love you, my sweet angel."
Alex almost bought it, but she didn't believe her. "I guess."
"I thought that would work." Wanda laughed and Alex looked at her with confusion. "See you later." She closed the door and walked to the house's front door.
"I'm so done with this." Alex said to herself as she drove away.
The first place Alex went to was the spa. She needed to relax a little. She waited in the waiting room until she heard her name.
"I hope you enjoyed your stay, Mrs. Robinson." The receptionist said and Alex looked up. First, she looked at the receptionist and then to the woman she referred to as Mrs. Robinson. It was LaTrice.
Alex didn't say a word, she just looked back down at her magazine, hopping LaTrice doesn't notice her. That plan failed once another receptionist called her name.
"Ms. Robinson? Your room is ready." She said.
LaTrice turned and looked at her. "Well, well, well," she smirked. "Both of us here at the same time."
Alex flashed a fake smile and sat her magazine down on the table.
"Drew must be stressing you out." She let out a chuckle. "I use to have to get away at times too, but then I got used to it. I could take him off your hands if you want me to." She smirked.
Alex shook her head. She hated seeing LaTrice's face. That woman does any and everything she can to get under her skin. It killed her that everything she saw LaTrice, she would always make comments about being the real Mrs. Robinson.
"Even if I do stoop down to that low level of giving him back to you, you wouldn't even know what to do with him. You didn't know what to do the first time, so why do you need another chance? Don't be bitter." Alex walked away and followed the receptionist to her room.
Her skin was boiling a little. Once she was in her room and undressed, she got on the table and rested her face through the hole. She just wanted to relax. After her massage was over, she felt better than she did when she walked in. It was nearly dinner time and she was headed home to her husband and Joy.
After they all had eaten dinner, Alex and Drew cleaned the kitchen and Joy went up to her bedroom to get ready for bed. As she and Drew got prepared to get in the bed, they were talking.
"How was your day today?" he asked.
"It was okay. I tried to see Wanda and talk to her, but that didn't go too well, however, it wasn't bad. After I left with my mom, which is the last time I plan on seeing her, I went to the spa to relax and ran into your evil ex-wife from hell."
"Please tell me that you two didn't have another pow wow?" He asked as they both got into the bed at the same time.
"No, there was no ho-down, throw-downs today." ALex chuckled lightly.
He pulled her close to him. "Good. Did she say anything to you?"
"You know she did, but I wasn't going to entertain her. Not today."
"I need to you wasting energy over her."
There was a moment of silence between them, then Alex spoke. "Did you know she still goes by Mrs. Robinson?" she asked.
"She does?" He asked. "How'd you know?"
"She seemed to be a regular at the spa and they acknowledged her as Mrs. Robinson." She answered. "I don't want to sound insecure or anything, but I really think she wants you back."
"You and I both know that's not gonna happen." He said. "Apparently, she brings out the bad in me and I bring out the bad in her. We weren't meant to be because I'd be with everyone but her. And besides, she's messing with my best friend."
"Best friend?" Alex questioned.
"Well, you know what I mean. Those two wanted to be together, so I eliminated myself out the equation to let them be. I'm all about you and Joy now. That's all I'm focused on. I've been doing good for the last several years and I plan on keeping that up."
She smiled, knowing his words were true.
"Listen to me when I say this. I love you, you're the only woman I want. I've messed up something like this before, but I'm glad I did because I wouldn't be laying here with you and you'll probably be with some jerk who wouldn't love you like I do."
She giggled. "Well, I'm glad that you messed things up back then."
He laughed. "Now you see."
"You're so silly." She said.
"I love you, Al." He said.
"I love you too."
At about two fifteen that morning, Alex got up to get a drink of water. While she was in the kitchen, she saw a car outside the house through the kitchen window. She saw someone get out the passenger side and walk towards the house. She didn't have the kitchen light on, so she quickly made her way up the stairs and into her bedroom to wake Drew up.
"Babe!" She shook him.
He barely moved.
She panicked a little more and hesitated to make her next move, but she had to, so she smacked his cheek. Not too hard, but hard enough for him to feel it and wake up.
"What the hell?" he woke up, sitting up, looking at her.
"Babe, someone is about to break into our house!" She pulled his arm to get him out of bed.
"What?"
"Someone is trying to break in!" She worried.
"Shit!" He got up. "Go check on Joy."
He got his gun and ran down that stairs, behind the front door as it opened slowly. As the door closed, he held his gun to the individual that was breaking into his house. She screamed.
"Oh my god!"
Drew heard Alex scream from upstairs.
"Joy?" he put his gun down.
"Dad!" She looked terrified.
Alex stormed down the stairs, "Joy's not in her-" she stopped once she'd saw Joy at the door and Drew standing across from her breathing heavily.
"Joy, what the hell are you doing coming home this late?" He asked.
"I was- I-I" she hesitated to respond.
"That was you getting out of that car?" Alex asked.
"I was just out with some friends." She said.
Alex let out a sigh of relief, placing her hand on her chest. "Is that my dress?" she asked observing the black party dress she had on.
"Where the hell were you?" Drew asked. "Do you know I could have shot you?"
"Dad, I'm sorry. I thought you guys were asleep."
"Sorry?" Drew was angry. He walked in tot he kitchen and sat his gun on the counter.
"Where were you?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, where the hell were you? And don't make me have to ask a third time!" He fussed.
"I told you guys, I was with some friends."
"This late?" Alex questioned.
"Where? And what friends?" He asked. "So I can call their parents and let them know that their daughters were out this late and are headed home or already snuck in for the night."
Joy began to fear her father because of the anger he was showing.
"Okay, sweetheart, calm down." Alex grabbed Drew's arm and stroked it. "Your yelling isn't gonna help anything right now. Just relax."
"Relax?" He got angrier and louder. "Al, I damn near shot my own daughter because you thought someone was breaking into the house!"
"I'm sorry and that was my mistake! What else was I supposed to think when I see someone walking to our door at two in the morning?" Alex raised her voice.
Drew was about to say something, but he hesitated to control his anger and glared at Joy. "Joy, go up to your room!" He ordered, "And don't think you're getting off easy with this because you're not!"
Joy nervously made her way up the stairs and into her bedroom. She was so scared because she'd never seen her dad this upset before.
"What am I gonna do about that girl?" Drew sighed, massaging his temple.
"I'm really sorry. I had no clue it was her." Alex apologized.
"No, that's not your fault. You were right about what you said. You didn't know it was her. When in the world did she leave this house?" he asked.
"I don't know. I never heard the alarm go off or anything." Alex stated.
"Did we set it" he asked.
"Joy set it." She responded and then thought about what happened. "She planned on going out." She said.
"What?" He looked at her and frowned.
"Joy volunteered to set the alarm since she was still down her watching tv in the living room. Remember?"
He thought. "No, she went up to her bedroom before we did and went to sleep."
"You went to the bedroom before me and when I was coming up she was going down the stairs saying that she left something in the garage and that she was gonna be down her watching tv." She explained. "I said I was gonna set the alarm, but she eagerly volunteered to do it and I went up stairs."
"Wow." Drew was speechless.
"Yeah. She got us."
"What am I gonna do?"
"We'll figure something out." She said.
"I may just send her to her mom for a while. Just a few weeks."
Alex stared at him for a moment. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, she's normally not like that with us. How about we just talk to her and get to the bottom of this?"
"Yeah, and if that doesn't work, then she's definitely going to Trice's house."
Alex sighed. She knew sending her to LaTrice wasn't gonna solve anything, but Drew was her dad and she wasn't her real mom, so she kept in mind not to give too much of an opinion on what he should do with his daughter.