—
"You almost ready to go, babe?" Shemar asked his wife, while the two of them were getting prepared for another day at the retreat. He had been inside the bathroom of their suite, brushing his teeth.
Toni, who was rummaging through the drawer she stashed her clothing in, responded with, "Well, I still gotta hop in the shower. Just tryin' to figure out what I'm going to wear." She pulled out a black blouse and jeans, along with a white sundress.
"Aw, babe. You know you look beautiful in whatever you wear," The husband said back, as he stepped outside of the bathroom and grew closer to her. "And don't worry about the shower. I ran you a bath. Put some bubbles in it and everything; just how you like it."
The woman sighed, rolling her eyes in circular motions. "Why would you do that? I wanted to take a shower, not a bath." Walking toward the direction of the restroom, she marched past him, feeling her body load with rage.
Shemar followed behind her, confused as to why she acted so ungracious. All he wanted to do was cater to his wife the way a man was supposed to. But just like regularly, he was made to feel as though he had wasted his time. "My bad, babe. I was just trying to—"
But, before he could continue on, Toni cut him off with, "You should've asked me first." She then knelt beside the tub, extending her right arm into the heated liquid, reaching for the tub's drain. "I don't need you running no bath for me."
"Here you go being difficult," the man moved his head from side to side, an indication of his disbelief. He wasn't surprised that his wife had drained the water out. What took him back was even after all the years of them being married, she still wouldn't let him be the man she prayed for.
"How am I being difficult?" Toni asked, rising from the spot she knelt in. Her eyes held endless curiosity, as she was anxious for her husband to elaborate. "If I don't want you to—"
But just as she had done him, Shemar halted her words when he replied back with, "Anything I try to do for you, you 'ont let me. Can't carry ya luggage in, can't run you a damn bath." He used his fingers as gestures to list examples. "Can't do shit."
"Yeah, well, I can do all that by myself," the wife said back, rolling her neck. "I am more than capable." Her shoulders shrugged, moving up and down.
Shemar breathed heavily, waving the woman off. "Then what the hell do you need me for?" He exited the bathroom, incessantly shaking his head from one side to the other.
Toni followed him, not trying to hear what was asked. "Look, I know I'm set in my ways. But, you married me though, didn't you?" She walked into the direction of the provided drawers, grabbing from them a pair of underwear and a beige pigmented bra.
The man sat upon their nearing bed, beginning to place shoes onto his feet. "Yeah. I did. But, what does that matter? You don't even want me loving on you, Toni."
Now as they continued to converse about how Toni hadn't at all appreciated the man she vowed to love, Whitney and Bobby were also inside their suite preparing for the day ahead of them.
She was standing before their suite's bed, covering her bare body in moisturizer. She hadn't known all that was planned for the day, but knew that the first thing on the agenda was another couples' breakfast.
Bobby, who had been brushing his box-cutted hairstyle, watched as his wife gathered herself. He couldn't help but miss how intimate they used to be before every right turn became a left turn. How they couldn't keep their hands to themselves, how they were inevitably in love.
"Baby, you know you the most beautiful thang out'hea?" He asked, growing his presence closer to hers.
"Tuh," Whitney eyed him sideways, beginning to apply undergarments to her body. "Tell me something I don't know." Clothed in her bra and panties, she then covered her legs with a pair of denim jeans.
"I'm serious," Bobby said back, smiling a bit. He sat his wooden brush down on the nearing countertop. The man then stood behind his wife, placing his arms around her waist. "Can't no other woman look good like my woman." He held her tighter, pulling her physique even closer to his own.
"Boy, please," she said back, rolling her eyes. Whitney loved her some sweet talkin', just not Bobby's. She knew her husband like the back of her hand. She was well aware of the games he played and the tricks he used. Frankly, it was those games and tricks that won her over in the first place. "You must think you gettin' some tonight."
The man sighed, in disbelief that his wife had so quickly caught onto his motives. "C'mon now, Nippy. You and I both know it's been a minute." He practically begged, gliding his desire filled hands up and down her backside. "We need this."
"No," she replied, pulling away from him. "You need this." She pointed toward him, then crossed her arms above her chest. "Look, you need to call that bitch you been texting if you want ya lil meat sucked. Cause I ain't going down on nobody, you hear me?"
Bobby waved her off, walking into the opposite direction. "Aw, here we go with that shit." He stopped his movement, then put his hands into the surrendering position. "I thought we put that behind us last night?"
"Oh no, honey," Whitney moved her head from side to side, disagreeing with what was mouthed. "We might've scooted it over a little. But, we ain't put a damn thing behind us." She placed a black turtleneck upon the upper half of her body. "Don't move too quick, you ain't off the hook just yet."
Now just after those two had came to the agreement that there would be no action following that night, they joined some of their friends in a private room where breakfast was served.
"Blair," Toni called out, looking into the man's direction. Before her, a plate of scrambled eggs, toast, and sausage rested. "When is Mariah coming? You said she would be down thirty minutes ago." She was curious as he had been the only one from his union at breakfast.
The eyes of their other friends stumbled upon the man as they also wondered the same thing. It was unlike Mariah to just simply not be present.
"Tried to wake her up this morning," Blair said back, consuming a mug of French Vanilla flavored coffee. "She looked at me and laid back down." He then shrugged his shoulders, trying to put forth an oblivious act.
Whitney rolled her eyes, allowing her lips to curl at the side of her mouth as she hadn't believed what she heard. Although she and Mariah carried the dysfunction they had, she never not once grew fond of Blair. There was just something about the man she did not trust.
"Is she okay?" Angela asked, after she had taken a small sip of a glass of orange juice. She was thoroughly concerned because just like Whitney, there were things about her friend's husband that she also didn't trust.
"Oh yeah," Blair said back, placing his pupils onto the floor that sat beneath them. He watched as guilt crept around his feet, reminding him of the damage he had done. "She's good."
"Well, good morning to y'all," Janet greeted her dear friends, entering the room. Just like Blair, she had come without her own spouse. "Whew chile, I am starving." With eyes following her, the woman grabbed a plate from it's respective place then began filling it with her preferred breakfast choices.
The other friends greeted her back, shocked to see that she too had been alone. It was only Angela who knew that something had definitely been going on between the woman and her husband.
"Janet Damita," Whitney began, applying brown maple syrup to the pancakes that hugged her plate. "Where is yo' man at?" She then grabbed a fork, utilizing it for consumption.
Janet turned from the display of food, facing her peers. "Oh, he'll-he'll be down in a minute." But truthfully, she hadn't at all known where Boris had been. He still hadn't showed up since the previous night after he had gathered his belongings and left. "He overslept a lil bit, that's all." She waved her left hand, trying to feather off any suspicions. The woman then took a seat at the table after she had finished plating the foods she desired.
"Hm. I ain't never known Boris to be late like this," Whitney said back, placing the index finger of her right hand upon her chin. She knew that something was not only wrong with Blair and Mariah, but also Janet and Boris.
Shemar had fixed his mouth to add his commentary, but before he could, Boris had just entered the room.
The man never not once looked into his wife's sight, but gave permission for his eyes to roam everyone else that was present.
"Good morning, everybody," he said, taking a seat next to Janet at the table.
"Morning, babe," she began, trying to act as if everything had been okay. She feared the thought of her friends knowing her marriage was in trouble. "It uh...it took you long enough to—"
But, her words were impeded when her husband cut them off with, "Oh, I was saying good morning to them." He motioned towards the others at the table. "Not you."
Breathing rather hard, Janet couldn't help but to feel embarrassed. She could sense all of the eyes that were upon her, all of the surrounding mouths that gasped. Honestly, she wanted to burst into tears but she knew she had to put forth a strong act. She was not going to let everyone see her break.
"Y'know what," Angela spoke, looking over at Blair. She indeed knew of the difficulties her dear friends suffered from within their marriage, as Janet had previously confided in her. And knowing this, she figured she'd switch gears before anything further escalated. "Give me your key. I'm gonna go see what's taking Riah so long." After the man had handed over his hotel card, Angela then gave her eyes to Janet and said, "Girl, come with me."
Janet got up from the table, shaking her head in an up and down fashion. In her mind, she thanked Angela for pulling her away from something that could've gone terribly wrong.
"I'll come too," Toni said, also rising from the table. Before they were completely out of the room, she turned toward Whitney and said, "You coming, Nip?"
But the woman jerked her head back, frowning a bit. "For what?" She smacked her lips. "Y'all gon' head. I'll see her when I see her."
Doing as they were told, the three women exited the room and began walking down a couple hallways that led to the hotel's lobby. Once they were there, they marched over to some nearing elevators. They took those to Blair and Mariah's specified floor.
Standing before the suite's door, Angela unlocked it then entered the room as the other two women followed behind her.
They saw Mariah laid out in the nearby bed, seeming as if she had been peacefully resting. Though, it was strange to them how red her face appeared to be.
"Mariah?" Toni called out, standing at the bed's rear end. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about her friend was definitely abnormal.
Growing closer to the sleeping woman, Angela gave a few pats to Mariah's backside. "Riah, I know your behind ain't that tired. Wake up." After noticing no reaction movement, she then began to shake the woman's legs. "Girl, you hear me. I said wake up now."
Janet's head moved from side to side, in disbelief that her friend had not yet woken up. "I ain't never known this girl to sleep this hard." She laughed a bit, crossing her arms above her chest. "Y'all think she fooling us?"
Toni released a few giggles as well, also not understanding exactly what was going on. "Maybe she don't wanna be bothered or something, hell." She walked closer to Mariah, eyeing her closely. She then grabbed onto the woman's closest arm, but was taken aback by how cold her skin felt. It was almost as if heat hadn't circulated throughout it at all.
"Goddamn, they must have the A.C blasting. She's cold as hell."
Angela became greatly concerned. Her heart began to race rapidly within her chest, making her feel as though something wasn't right. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm not liking this." She placed the index and middle fingers—from one of her hands—upon Mariah's neck, searching for a pulse. After realizing her friend had one, but rather a very faint one, she said, "I think we need to call an ambulance."
—
A|N:
whew. what're your thoughts? 🤔
- not edited