He followed his best friend, who obviously did not understand him. “Dre, I slept with your sister.”
Dre found his bottle and quickly located a couple of glasses. “Before or after you married her?”
“After,” Rene admitted. “But I told you why I married her.”
Dre poured out two fingers. “To trick your aunt. Are we talking about Roberta?”
It looked like the bullet hadn’t taken any of Dre’s reasoning skills. “Yes.”
Dre moved on to the second glass, pouring with a practiced hand. “Good move. She thinks my momma has the sight. She’ll probably vote with you just because she’ll think you’ll listen to Momma. Don’t, Rene. She knows little about running a business that doesn’t include cutting hair, and don’t let her tell you she does her own books. She hired LaTonja Nichols to do those after Dad died. So if she starts telling you she can see the stock market through her tarot cards, do not believe her. Actually, let Sylvie deal with Mom. It’s the best way to go. You agree with everything Mom says and then go tell Sylvie and she’ll get you out of it.”
Had Dre not heard a word he’d said? “I married your sister under false pretenses.”
Dre handed him a drink. “I doubt that. You didn’t tell her why you were marrying her? I mean you told her your bullshit reason, right?”
“I told her what was happening with my family,” Rene explained. “I didn’t lie to her. She helped me with a couple of business problems I was having.”
“Yes, she’s good at strategy. And you’re real good at lying to yourself. So why are you going to lose your job if you married Sylvie and Roberta is going to vote your way because she wants to breed my mother’s psychic abilities into your family bloodline?” Dre’s eyes widened. “Damn, did Sylvie say she doesn’t want kids? Because I can tell my mom. It might actually be good for me. Deflect attention off the bullet thing. I like the way you think.”
“Andre, I used your sister.” He was ready for a beat-down. Maybe the physical pain could make him forget the emotional ache of losing Sylvie.
“Sure you did.” He moved past Rene. “We need some snacks in here. I feel like this is going to be a long night. You are in full-on woe-is-me mode.”
He was going to have to push the issue. “I slept with Sylvie and I’m going to divorce her.”
Dre stopped. “I doubt she’s going to let you do that. Sylvie tends to get her way when she wants something. Did you tell her someone threatened her and you got all freaked out?”
It was Rene’s turn to be surprised. “How did you know that?”
“It’s not a big leap. There’s only one reason you go this loony tunes. You’ve been crazy in love with my sister since we were kids. There’s no way you divorce her without giving the marriage a real chance unless you thought she would be better off without you.”
“She will be.” He couldn’t get around that logic.
“You’re looking for a fight from me, but you’re not going to get one.” Dre’s voice had gone soft. “I know who you are. You took a crappy situation your family put you in and used it to try to make the family you actually want. Whoever is challenging you . . .” Dre stopped in front of the sofa and seemed to think for a moment. “Charles?”
Rene nodded.
Dre’s dark eyes rolled. “I told you he would be trouble. He always hated you. Anyway, you put Charles in check, and Charles came back over the top like the jerk he is. He figures out the only real way to get to you is to go through Sylvie—your supposedly fake wife who everyone knows is pretty much the love of your life. You flip your shit because, again, you’ve loved Sylvie since you were a kid. You decide the only way to save the world is to sacrifice the one relationship you’ve waited on all your life. Do I have it right?”
Sometimes he hated the fact that Dre knew him so well. “Or I’m ruthless and I understood Sylvie had a thing for me. I knew she suited me and she would make life comfortable for me. Why not kill two birds with one stone.”
Dre moved in, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You never killed a bird in your life, much less by throwing a stone at it. You’re a good man, Rene. No matter what your cousins and aunts and uncles say. You do right by people, and you’ve always done right by Sylvie. Even when it cost you. And you’ve been taught to sacrifice your own happiness for the needs of others. Now tell me if I’m right.”
There was no other way to answer but the truth. “Yes.”
“Good, then call and order us a pizza. I’ll go put on some pants.” Dre frowned. “The delivery driver will probably talk. Maybe you better pick up the pizza because if Sylvie figures out where you are, she’ll show up here and then she’ll tell Momma where I am because she’s cold that way.”
“Dre. We should talk about this.” He didn’t understand how Dre was so calm. “I married Sylvie and I didn’t bother to tell you I was going to do it. I wouldn’t have called you even if I thought you would be able to pick up.”
Dre shook his head. “I’m cool with it. I wish I’d been able to come to the wedding, but I always figured there would be one. Treat my sister well. Be a good husband to her and we won’t have any trouble.” Dre pointed to his own chest. “And I’m going to be the coolest uncle ever. Sylvie will relent on the kids thing. She’s going to want them eventually, and I’ll set Momma on her about that because I’m also cold.”
Dre had always been stubborn, but Rene had to get through to him. “You’re not going to be an uncle. There are no kids on the way, and there won’t ever be. We’re getting a divorce. I told you. And it’s a good thing because I don’t have anything to offer her now. The fight with my mother was real. She has a boyfriend, and she’s let me know she doesn’t need my help anymore.”
“Did she finally throw down with Louis?” Dre’s whole face lit up. “Damn. Good for Cricket. Did you act like an asshole about it?”
“How did you know about Louis?”
“Because he’s been in love with your mother forever. He makes goo-goo eyes at her, and he treats you like gold. I’m not saying he was like a snake or anything. He loved your dad, too, but he always had a thing for Cricket. How do I know? I watch. I learn. I am a very emotionally aware man, Rene. It’s necessary to do the kind of art I do. I connect with people on a real level.” Dre stopped. “Maybe that is a bit of the sight, like Momma has. I also have a sparkling personality, and people tell me things. So why don’t you tell me how bad you made things between yourself and your mother.”
Rene was so spun around by Dre’s reaction that he found himself simply replying without thinking. “I fired Louis. I set a PI on him and found out some things I didn’t want to know. I pointed out to my mother that he was likely after her money. I told her she was acting like a child. I made her cry.”