Black & Tan Blues Ch. 01

I must have gone right back to sleep. The next thing I knew the alarm was going off. Since I was done with classes it was my turn to get Sam up and ready for pre-school. She and I had breakfast together, and then we cuddled up and watched cartoons for a bit before I finally got her dressed and ran her over to the school.

It was great to finally have a whole day to myself before I had to go to work. I got my resume out and made one finally entry updating my degree award date and re-typed it. I was so confident that I had passed that I decided to run over to Kinko's and get a hundred copies of my resume and cover letter made.

I sat down at the kitchen table and started stuffing and addressing envelopes to the engineering firms I was interested in. Donna and I had talked and since both our parents lived close we decided to try to stay in-state, which still left over one hundred possibilities. As soon as my degree was confirmed I would pop my applications in the mail.

As I worked my mind wandered to Donna's recent changes in behavior. This morning, while the sex was great, if not quick, I could count on one hand the days that Donna had initiated sex in the morning in five years of marriage. And she had never done it on a work day that I could remember. The tiff we had yesterday must have triggered it. But we had had arguments before, some worse than this and I had never gotten that response. I was totally lost trying to account for it.

I finally finished up and put the box of envelopes under the bed. I still hoped to surprise Donna with the news that school was over as soon as I confirmed a successful conclusion to my exams. Later that evening, the three of us had dinner together before I left for work. Donna was in a playful mood for the first time in quite a while and teased me about being tired from our early morning activities. Sam chattered on about what her friends in pre-school had been up to. Just sitting there, the three of us together gave me a warm feeling. I was so looking forward to being able to do this every day.

I got to work a few minutes early and started the usual prep work. Trev came over and we chatted for a few minutes. He seemed to be in a somber mood and I kidded him about burning the candle at both ends. He just smiled and asked if I had any plans for after work, he thought we might get together for a beer. I thought that was a good idea and we went to our stations as the line started up.

The line worked a straight eight hours that night so we got to Gino's Bar and Grill about one forty five. Gino would lock his doors at two in the morning but if you were one of his regulars he would let you stay as late as four. We always made sure to tip the bartenders well for the privilege.

We snagged ourselves a booth and a couple of beers. This was a drinking man's bar so there was just a jukebox playing quietly in the corner and a hum of conversations floating around the room.

Trev reached into his pocket and pulled out the picture of Donna I had given him and slid it across the table to me.

With a strained look on his face, Trev said to me, "Ken I need to talk to you about this."

I laughed and said, "That's okay Trev, I don't mind that you kept it a couple of days."

Seriously Trev said, "No Ken, what I meant was I wasn't being truthful about where I thought I saw Donna. But I wanted to show her picture to Vicky to make sure I wasn't mistaken."

"Okay, so what's the big deal?"

Trev cleared his throat and took a swig of his beer and put the bottle down. "Last Friday night Vicky and I went out clubbing with Tony Williams and his girlfriend Vanessa. You remember Tony don't you?"

"Yeah, sure, you guys went to high school together. He worked over here on final assembly before he transferred over to Plant Three a year ago."

"That's him. Anyway we saw Donna that night at a club."

I thought about that for a moment wondering why Trev thought that was significant. Donna had a habit of going out one night a week with a couple of girls from her department. I never faulted her for wanting to get out once in awhile since I had been on second shift for over three years now. They usually went to dinner and on occasion I knew they had stopped at a nightclub for a couple of drinks. Donna would get a babysitter for Sam but she was always home and asleep before I got home from work.

"Okay, I know Donna goes out with her girlfriends occasionally during the week. What's the big deal?"

Trev hesitated for a minute and said, "Ken, this was at the 'Black & Tan'."

I felt my face start to flush and my stomach start to churn as it sunk in what he was saying. The Black & Tan nightclub was located on what was considered the 'dark' side of town down along the riverfront. It catered to a strictly Black clientele, except for some white women who dated black. If you were a white man, you were taking your life into your own hands if you ventured down there. The police were called at least once a week to quell some kind of disturbance. The city council had tried several times over the years to revoke their liquor license because of all the problems but the nightclubs lawyers had managed to fight them off.

Even given this notoriety, the Black & Tan had been one of the most popular Black nightclubs between Detroit and Grand Rapids for years. It didn't matter where you stood in the Black Community, gangbanger, criminal element, businessman or politician. At some time during the year you were seen there.

As what Trev just said ran through my mind, I shook my head side to side, "No Trev, you must be mistaken. There is no way Donna would go there!"

Trev looked at me in sympathy, "Ken, you couldn't mistake Donna in that crowd. With her blond hair and complexion she stands out like a horsefly on white rice. Besides I showed her picture to Tony this morning. He recognized her too. She was there with another white chick, long brown hair, skinny with big boobs."

My mind was spinning. She couldn't have been there. But I knew Trevor wouldn't lie to me. He never had before and he had no reason to now. There had to be some explanation for it. I tried to focus on what Trev was saying about the other woman.

"Long hair, brown, skinny you said?"

"Yeah, almost as tall as Donna, but thin, real thin. And her tits were so big they had to be fake."

Suddenly it came to me! "Tits on a stick!"

Trev's eyebrows went up. "What?"

"Did she look like two tits on a stick?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that, why?"

I started swearing, "God damn it, god damn it! That bitch, that no-good motherfucking bitch!"

"Who?"

"Connie Johnson Felgenhauer Wilkerson! That bitch!"

"I would guess you know her?"

"Yeah, I know her," I said bitterly.

"A couple of years ago before we moved into the house we are renting now, we lived in a townhouse over on the south side of town."

Trev nodded, "Sure, I remember."

"Well Connie Johnson Felgenhauer Wilkerson was our neighbor. Her and her two kids. She is about our age but she has been married and divorced twice already. That's why I started referring to her with all three last names. Has one kid by each marriage. Nice kids not that she took that much of an interest in them. Nearly every weekend she farmed them out to her ex-husbands.

"We were quite friendly with her until we got to know her real well. Donna took care of the kids a couple of days a week for awhile. Connie was a cashier for Old State Bank last I heard. But I think she gets most of her income from child support from the two exes'. She had a tendency to go out to party after work occasionally and forget to come home. A couple of times the kids ended up spending the night with us because she didn't show up until morning. When she did finally show up she looked like she had been rode hard and put away wet. After the second time that happened I told Donna no more. Connie would have to find someone else to watch the kids."

"Sounds like a piece of work. Is that why you are still pissed at her?"

I shook my head, "No, a couple of things occurred that last year before we moved. When we first met Connie she wasn't bad looking but had the flattest chest you ever saw. I mean not more than a couple of pancakes with nipples. Anyway somehow she came up with enough money to get implants. Seeing the results I thought she went about two cup sizes overboard. She looked like 'two tits on a popsicle stick.' I told her that once and she got really pissed. But she was so proud of those things she would prance around with the tightest t-shirts she could find with no bra. She liked to come up behind me and rub her tits on my back. Not when Donna was around of course.

"She talked those implants up like they were gold. She got Donna convinced that she needed them too and before I knew it Donna was making a full-court press to convince me that I would love them if she got them. Well Donna is a tall girl and well proportioned. She is over five feet ten inches and weighs close to one hundred and thirty pounds. Last time we talked about her measurements, she said she was around 35B-25-36. She has nothing to be ashamed of in the chest department. I love her just the way she is. I had to fight like hell to disabuse her of the notion. It was about that time she decided to go back to work and I think it was partly so she could earn her own money and make her own decisions about what to spend it on."

I took a deep breath, "The other thing was worse."

"I had a friend named John Preston. We went to the same high school but he was a year behind me. He was working nights on axle assembly when I came to work in the plant. He and his wife Traci had a little girl Sam's age. The four of us used to get together with the kids once in a while. Traci kind of let herself go after they had the baby, got fat and sloppy. No medical reason that we could tell, just too much fast food and not enough exercise. John and her used to fight about it all the time.

"Anyway John stopped over one day while Connie was over visiting. I introduced them. A week later I was coming home from work about two in the morning and John's pickup was parked in front of her townhouse. Another week went by and John left his wife Traci and moved in with Connie. He told me he was in love with her and wanted to marry her. I thought he was nuts and told him so. Less than a month later John got off early one night, came home and found Connie in bed with another man. They had a big fight and Connie kicked John out.

"His wife of course filed for divorce and ripped him up in the settlement. John only sees his little girl two weekends a month and can barely afford a studio apartment to live in. Neither John nor Traci have spoken to us since the divorce was final."

I thought back to that episode with foreboding. Was it just coincidence that the man John caught Connie in bed with was black?

"Shit, that's pretty ugly Ken."

"Yeah, shortly after that happened we moved out and into the house we are renting now. I never spoke to Connie again."

"So how did she get back into the picture?"

Angrily I said, "About five, six months ago I came home from work on a Friday night at my usual time. I found Donna curled up around the toilet. She had been puking her guts out. She smelled like cheap whiskey and the inside of an ashtray with a whiff of marijuana. Last I knew she was supposed to have gone out to dinner with her girlfriends from work. I cleaned her up and got her back into bed. She was practically passed out.

"The next morning I took Samantha to my parent's house and then came home and waited for her to stagger into the kitchen. I jumped on her with both feet. She was too hung over to fight with me. It turns out that Connie had called her at work several times trying to get her to go out. Said she wanted to reconnect and catch up on things. Donna finally decided that it wouldn't hurt to spend some time with her so she had Connie pick her up at the house that night. Donna says they went to a couple of bars, and Connie introduced her to some friends who started buying them drinks. Donna has never been a big drinker, usually sticks to wine, and doesn't handle liquor all that well. Donna said she thinks she remembers smoking a joint in Connie's car at some point in the evening. The last thing she remembered was Connie helping her into the house and paying the babysitter."

I shook my head. "I was so pissed! I yelled at her for the first time in our marriage. I told her in no uncertain terms that Connie was a bitch and a slut and nothing but trouble! I wanted us to have nothing to do with her in the future and if she had a problem with that then we were going to end up in marriage counseling for sure. It was the worst fight we ever had. She was crying by the time I finished and said she wished she had never gone out with her and that it would never happen again."

I slumped down in my chair and stared at my beer. "We haven't spoken about Connie since. But it looks like it did happen again and she kept it from me." Then what I had just said hit me. By not telling me she was essentially lying!

As I thought about that a dark cloud settled over me. Donna had never lied to me before, or intentional kept anything from me, at least as far as I knew. I thought we shared everything. After that incident she always made a point of telling me who she was going out with. I never thought much about it since I always trusted her. And last Friday was no exception. She had told me she was meeting her friends from work for dinner.

I looked up at Trev. He was looking at me with sympathy like he knew what had occurred to me for the first time. And something else, there was something else in his expression that put fear into my heart.

"There's more to this, isn't there?"

Trev nodded and mumbled something under his breath about "Goddamn women!"

He hesitated another minute, finally he said, "Tony is one of the regulars at the Black & Tan. He's probably there nearly every weekend and knows just about everyone who comes in. He said Donna and this Connie have been in there for at least the last three or four Friday nights that he knows of."

I just stared at him in disbelief! "Shit, no! That can't be true!"

Trev took a drink of his beer, and said "It gets worse, Ken."

I put my hands over my ears and looked down at the table. My thoughts were running in circles. Did I want to know anymore?

I sat up and looked Trev in the eyes, "Tell me."

"They have made a couple of friends."

Sickly I said, "Men friends you mean?"

"Yeah, and they are bad dudes. Both are in their late twenties. One of them is Curtis Hallock. He works at United Parcel Service in the sorting facility doing I'm not sure what. But he's also a small time drug dealer. Been busted twice for possession and once for assault and battery. He's known to carry a blade most of the time. He was married and is in the process of getting divorced.

"The other guy is James Martin. He's a corrections officer in the medium security prison over in Ionia. Off duty, he usually carries a gun, legally. He has been divorced twice and is paying child support for three kids by his second wife. Child support for three kids puts a huge dent in his salary. His first ex-wife just happens to be Tony's sister. The word going around is he is smuggling marijuana and cocaine into the prison and selling it to the inmates. Supposedly Curtis is his supplier. He and Curtis were in high school together."

I was speechless! I couldn't respond.

"I'm sorry, Ken." Trev said. "I know it's a lot to take in."

"What else?" I whispered.

Trev looked miserable. "Curtis has been bragging it around that they are getting some action off of these two white chicks and James apparently dated this Connie before. He says they have been slipping out to the car sometime during the evening and getting it on."

"Do you believe them?"

"I believe Tony. And James is his ex-brother-in-law. And he used to party with both of them years ago. Tony doesn't think too much of James since he found out he used to beat his sister when he was married to her. But he's still on speaking terms with them. Curtis may be spreading around bullshit, hard to tell."

"But you think there is something to this?"

Trev looked me in the eye, "Ken, they were acting mighty friendly Friday night when we saw them at the club. I'm sorry."

Suddenly my eyes teared up and I got up and went into the restroom. I sat down in a stall and put my face in my hands and I actually cried. After a bit I got up and washed my face in the sink and stared at myself in the mirror. My face was pale and my eyes bloodshot. Other than that you couldn't tell I was a man whose life as he knew it was falling apart.

I slowly walked back to the table and sat down. I looked at Trev, after a moment I said, "I have to know for sure. I have to see for myself."

Trev stared at me in shock, "That's not a good idea Ken. You know the shit that can happen over there!"

"Doesn't matter, I have to know. I have to know! Will you help me or not?"

Trev just shook his head, "Shit Ken, you know how I feel about women who cheat on their husbands."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, both of us lost in thought. Trev finally said, "Okay, Ken. But you have to promise me to do exactly what I tell you. Can you do that?"

I nodded, "Yeah, it's your world. I can respect that."

"Okay, let me think about it and we will talk at work tomorrow."

As we walked out the door, Trev patted me on the shoulder, "Be cool Ken. I know it's hard but you can't let her see what you're feeling."

I just nodded and left for home. Later, I sat in the dark of the living room for awhile just thinking. Eventually I got up and wandered through the house. I went into Sam's room and looked at her curled up with her stuffed dog under her chin. I kissed her on the cheek and stroked her hair, saddened at the changes I suspected were going to come. I went into our bedroom and looked at Donna sleeping. Her blond hair spread across the pillow shone from the light from the doorway. I looked at that face I knew so well and wondered how she could do the things I suspected her of. I felt my love changing, turning into something cold and bitter, wanting to scream at her and beat her within an inch of her life. I took my pillow off the bed and slowly closed the door.

I fell across the couch and covered myself with a blanket and stared into the darkness. The next thing I knew someone was shaking me. Donna said, "Wake up, Ken. What are doing sleeping out here?"

I mumbled something in reply. Impatiently she said, "I've got to get ready for work. Go to bed and don't forget to take Sam to pre-school." I stumbled back to the bedroom and slid under the covers and was instantly asleep.

Later as I got up with the alarm, I thought about the days ahead, trying to suppress the feelings that threatened to spiral into rage. I decided I needed some time with Sam. I got her up and we did our breakfast routine. I asked her if she would like to stay home with me today and maybe go to the zoo. She got all excited and started to tell me about all the animals.

I gave her a hug and said, "Then that's what we'll do today."

She said, "Is mommy going too?"

I said, "No honey, mommy has to work today. "

She got sad for a minute and said, "Well we can tell mommy all about it when she gets home, can't we?"

I laughed and said, "Yes sweetie, you can tell mommy all about it when she gets home."

We had a wonderful day together. It was a beautiful sunny spring day and we walked through the zoo holding hands and watching all the animals. When she got tired I carried her on my shoulders with her giggling constantly. Afterwards I took her to McDonalds for her favorite happy meal. By the time we got home Sam was exhausted and fell asleep on the couch watching her cartoons.