DUBIOUS Read Free Page A

around, I wrapped the towel around my waist. Satisfied that I had covered my most precious jewel, I continued to throw items into my suitcase.
    “ Who is she?” Her voice was calm, but I wasn’t fooled. She was pissed.
    “ What are you talking about?” I replied in an equally calm manner. I just needed to get the rest of my shit and get the hell out of there before she tried anything stupid.
    This time she raised her voice: “The bitch you just washed your nasty ass for!”
    “ Your language is hardly becoming. Did you learn that in school, too?” I was being spiteful to get her out of the bathroom with me. Grabbing a pair of jeans from the suitcase, I slipped them on under the towel. Instantly, I felt safer without my balls swinging freely.
    “ You forgot to put on some drawers,” she snidely remarked.
    I chose to ignore this comment. The quicker I got out of there, the better I would feel. “There is nothing more to talk about, Felicia. When you’re ready to see things my way, call me. Until then, I’m out.” I slammed down the lid to my suitcase and grabbed it by the handle.
    She jumped up off the seat allowing her robe to open. It revealed a glimpse of the skimpy outfit she was wearing. A feeling of shame came over me. I was so hell-bent on what I wanted, I didn’t even notice what she was wearing.
    “ She must be fucking you good because you haven’t looked my way for the past two years!”
    “ You are being ridiculous now. It hasn’t been that long.” I knew it had been a minute, but I refused to believe it had been two years.
    “ Am I? When was the last time we had sex?”
    I could not answer her since I didn’t rightly remember, but I didn’t want to think about it any longer. I just needed to get out of there before we both said something else that we would live to regret. “I’m about to go. Where are the papers?”
    “ There are no fucking papers you blockhead. I just made up that story so you would bring your sorry ass home to give me some dick!”
    “ You lied to me?” I was flabbergasted. In all the years that we had been together, I don’t think she had ever outright lied to me.
    She simply stood there like I was the one that was sprouting nonsense.
    The walls of the room seemed like they were closing in on me. Suddenly I needed some air. Guilt had consumed me. All the broken promises, late-night excuses, and lies had come crashing down on me, causing me to strike out at Felicia. “You’re a silly little bitch. How dare you waste my fucking time like this, acting like a tramp?” I pushed pass her and headed for the door. As I went down the stairs, I half expected her to follow me. Instead she yelled down the steps:
    “ So what is it? You fucking those dogs now or something?”
    Her words made me stop in my tracks. If she had spit on me, it wouldn’t have hurt as bad as that accusation. Squaring my shoulders, I turned around to face her for the last time. She was leaning over the banister, looking down on me.
    “ If I am fucking my dogs, at least I don’t have to worry about them running their motherfucking mouths all the time yapping about nothing.” I walked toward the door and opened it, but I wasn’t finished yet. “And another thing, you should stick to them rubber dicks you keep in your dresser drawer, you can manipulate them!” Without missing a beat, I walked through the door, slamming it on my way out.
    * * *
    Remorse and regret rode with me as I drove back to the kennel. I knew that I had went too far, but once the wheels were in motion, I could not stop myself. My grandmother used to say that a hit dog hollers the loudest, and, true to form, I had sung like a little bitch.

 
    CHAPTER 3
     

Felicia
     
    I plopped down on the sofa next to my best friend Kenya and tucked my feet beneath me. “Serves the son of a bitch right! For thirteen years I struggled to keep this household together. I scrimped and saved to put his needs before my own, and this is the thanks