I shared this with Justine. Although Justine and I were still not close as friends, we both loved Flynn and that made us family. “He feels the same,” Justine said. “He loves you, you know. Never seen my baby brother like this before. You’re his wife and he takes that seriously, no matter what. Always remember that.”
* * *
◆ ◆ ◆
She was in front of me before I knew it. As I stepped from the newspaper office I saw the woman crossing the street from her car and I knew she was headed for me. She didn’t introduce herself. She didn’t need to. It was Faye. She got right to what was on her mind. “You think you know where Flynn’s been all these weekends, don’t you, Mrs. De Baca? Well, Mrs. De Baca, I’m here to tell you what you think you have, you don’t have. Flynn isn’t yours, never has been and never will be. You think he’s been working in San Bernardino all these weekends. Well, he hasn’t. He’s been with me all these six weekends you thought he was working. What I’m telling you, Mrs. De Baca, is that Flynn’s been lying to you so he could be with me. He’ll always be with me, always want to be with me, and if you stay with him, he’ll always lie to you about it. He belongs to me, Mrs. De Baca, and he always will.”
Then the woman turned and crossed back to her car. I hadn’t said one word. I was stunned into silence. This woman, Faye, had come into my perfect day, into my perfect world, into my perfect love, into my perfect marriage, and socked me right in the gut. I stood silently on the sidewalk and stared after her as she drove away.
* * *
◆ ◆ ◆
When Flynn came home, he encircled me in his arms as he always did and tried to pull me to him. I pushed him away. “What is it?” he asked.
“Your lady friend came to see me today. She stopped me right outside of work.”
Flynn’s lips parted slightly, but he did not speak. He sat down on the sofa. I sat in the chair beside the sofa and tried to keep my voice calm. “She told me you haven’t been working in San Bernardino. She told me you were spending the weekends with her.”
“And you believed that?”
“I believed you were working. Were you working?”
“I was working, Cassie.”
“Then you weren’t with Faye? Why did she say you were?”
“Because she’s Faye. The woman’s unstable, Cassie.”
“She knew exactly how many weekends you’d been away and where you were supposedly working. How would she know that unless you told her or unless she was with you there? Was she there?”
“She was there, Cassie. I saw her unexpectedly.”
“And you didn’t bother to tell me?” I had always been jealous of Faye, and now that jealousy was red-hot. It was an insanity. Yet I kept my voice steady. “You were spending weekends with Faye, then coming back to me?”
Flynn spoke, his voice as calm as always. “Cassie, I didn’t tell you because I was afraid you’d react like this.”
“Did you sleep with her?” Flynn just looked at me. “Well?”
“I’m not even going to answer that. Faye did come to San Bernardino. Twice. But it wasn’t like what you think. It was all about the car.”
“What about the car?” Flynn did not answer. “Flynn,” I repeated. “What about the car?”
“She wants it. Faye co-signed the note on the car when I bought it. I missed one payment and she paid it. Now she’s using that payment to claim it.”
“You mean to tell me all this time I’ve been riding around in a car you were able to buy because of her? Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
“Cassie, the car belongs to me. I repaid Faye for the payment I missed, but now she’s just being vindictive and she wants me to sign the car over to her.”
“Then give it to her! I don’t want to be riding around in a car she has claim to!”
Flynn’s eyes went cold. “That’s not going to happen. The car is mine.”
“Then I guess that car’s more important than I am.”
“Now you’re just talking foolish, Cassie. You know that’s not true.”
“Then get rid of the car!”
“I already said no to that.”
I rose and went into the bedroom. Flynn did not follow me. I slept alone. The next day things between us were no better. Flynn hadn’t told me about Faye’s involvement with the car or about her trips to San Bernardino. As far as I was concerned, he had broken the trust between us. I figured as long as he kept the car, Faye would have a hold on him. But Flynn refused to give up the Mercedes. He said it was his. He had paid for it and he was going to keep it. Flynn was stubborn and so was I. I refused to ride in the car. Flynn refused to give it up. It remained a point of contention between us.
During the next weeks we argued constantly about the Mercedes. We also argued about the fact that Flynn continued to go to San Bernardino each weekend. He said he had a contract and he was going to honor it. I continued to sleep in the bedroom; Flynn continued to sleep on the sofa. Finally, I grew tired of the arguing. I told Flynn I was going home. It had been almost three years since I had seen my brothers, Mama, Papa, and Big Ma, and maybe now was the time for me to go. Flynn didn’t try to get me to stay. I bought a one-way ticket to Toledo. There was no warmth between us as I left. Justine drove me to the train station.
CASSIE’S LOVE STORY
CHAPTER V
(1950)
The Dorr Street house was full, and I added to it. Rachel was there, tending to Becka, who had recently given birth. Becka had been ill throughout the pregnancy and was still ailing. Rachel had come to help take care of her and the baby; she was sleeping in the upstairs sun parlor. Three of the Davises, Dee’s younger brother Zell and two of her cousins, also had come up from Mississippi. Zell slept on the Sunday room plastic-covered sofa, the two cousins on a cot on the dining room floor, where there was just enough room between the wall and the dining room table and chairs to squeeze in a mattress. Man slept on the sofa bed in the living room. As I had done before, I slept with Rie and ’lois in their bedroom.
There were now four single young men sharing the space downstairs along with Dee and Stacey and the girls. They all also shared the one bathroom. It seemed amazing to me that Dee could keep the house in such order, but she did. The house was always clean and everything in place. Dee saw to that. She had set up housekeeping rules for everybody and they followed them. When all the young men got up, they rolled up the cot, reset the sofa bed, and put away all the bedding. “I might have to work like a mule to get things done,” she said, “but I told all of them, they have to work with me or they better find themselves another place to live.”