nailed him to a cross.”
“Don’t most women usually get a divorce before they get engaged again?” I chided.
“I’m not like most women,” Inez reminded me, with a wink. “As you know, I don’t have many shemale friends. You are the only one who understands me. I need you there at my party, Renee.”
I didn’t have the nerve to tell my girl that I did not understand her, but I told her that I wouldn’t miss her party for the world. I was hoping that some of Inez’s confidence would rub off on me.
I had never been married. It seemed like I’d kissed nothing but frogs since I was thirteen. So far, Robbie Dunbar was as close as I could get to a prince. We had attended Butler High at the same time, and we had started dating in the ninth grade. He was reasonably attractive, despite the fact that he was bowlegged and had a receding hairline, which had started its premature decline before he even finished middle school. Poor Robbie. I probably could have done better at the time, but the boy was so devoted to me, I got spoiled and comfortable.
I was disappointed when Robbie dropped out of school in the middle of our sophomore year. Even though it was so he could work at a gas station that his uncle owned, so that he could help support his mother and three younger siblings. I admired the fact that Robbie cared so much about his family that he would sacrifice his education, but I thought that he could have come up with a better solution.
Robbie and I didn’t communicate much while I was away at Ohio State, but as soon as I finished my education and moved back home, Robbie was waiting for me with a marriage proposal, knowing that I’d had other relationships throughout my college years.
However, as much as I hated to admit it even to myself, men were not lining up to be with me, so I didn’t hesitate to accept Robbie’s proposal. But right after he’d slipped a cheap engagement ring on my finger during a two-for-the-price-of-one dinner at a Ponderosa Steakhouse, I went into the ladies’ room and cried. Not tears of joy, but tears of disappointment and sadness. Robbie was as sweet, obedient, dependable, and loyal as a puppy. I believed him when he told me that I was the only woman he’d ever slept with. But all of his good qualities were not enough for me. As a matter of fact, Robbie was too good for his own good. For one thing, he was way too passive. Not just with me, but in everything he did. He didn’t argue with people who tried to cheat him at the gas station. He didn’t defend himself, or me, when two thugs overpowered us one night outside of a movie theater and ran off with my purse and his wallet. I was the aggressor in my relationship with Robbie, and even though it was not that obvious, I was on the passive side myself.
“Robbie ain’t perfect, but he’s perfect for you. I know his mama, and I know she raised him right,” Mama told me. I knew my mother like I knew the back of my hand. What she really meant was that Robbie was probably the best I could do. My aunts and a lot of other people in my family never let me forget that all of my female cousins and a few nieces, with the exception of my severely retarded cousin, Eileen, had all found husbands by the time they were twenty-one.
Inez had already been married once before. Right after she’d graduated from Butler High, she moved to Europe with Jeremy Knight, a White boy that she’d been in a relationship with for a couple of years. When she returned to Ohio three years later, she had a new husband, a Black soldier named Paul Dunn, whom she’d latched onto in Germany. She also had two beautiful daughters, one by each of the men she’d married. The older girl, Ingrid, resembled her father: platinum blond hair, very light skin, and blue eyes. The younger girl, Malena, had inherited the looks of her darkly handsome father: dark brown hair, eyes, and skin. Both children were extremely exotic.
Despite her loosey-goosey lifestyle, Inez doted on her children, and she always put them first. She didn’t even let her boyfriends spend the night when her kids were with her, which was only 50 percent of the time. Inez’s divorced mother and her father and his young wife adored the children, too. Several times a week, the girls spent a few days with either their grandmother or their grandfather. I was proud of the way that Inez was raising her kids. I was proud of Inez, period. I loved calling her my best friend. However, she did a lot of shit that was strange, even for her. Like throwing an engagement party to celebrate her upcoming nuptials to one man while she was still married to another!
CHAPTER 8
Inez divorced Paul and married Vincent Tunney. She kept her maiden name each time she got married, claiming that it helped her maintain her independence.
“When are you and Robbie going to tie the knot?” Inez asked me when she and Vince returned from a romp in Vegas, where they’d celebrated their third anniversary.
“Next year, I guess,” I said, with a heavy sigh.
“You guess? Well, you don’t have to jump up and down about it. Don’t you love him?”
“I guess.” I shrugged.
Inez’s mouth dropped open. “Look, I didn’t want to say anything, because it wasn’t my business. But I hope you don’t do something you’ll regret. If you don’t want to marry this man, don’t do it.”
“I can always get a divorce. I’m sure you can walk me through that,” I said, with a touch of sarcasm. “I just don’t know if I am ready to give up my freedom for Robbie Dunbar. What if I meet somebody I like better after I marry Robbie?”
“Listen, don’t you make any plans for this Friday night. I’m taking you to this club off of Superior in Cleveland. It only takes about fifteen minutes to get there from here. It’s where I met Vince. If there is somebody else out there for you, he’ll be at the Victory Club.”
Inez had her new husband baby-sit her two daughters that Friday night when she took me to the Victory Club. There was nothing out of the ordinary about this club. The décor was typical: dark carpets and furniture, obligatory plants, and murals of handsome men and beautiful women on the walls. The band was a little better than the bands at some of the other clubs I went to, and most of the men had on suits and ties.
For the first hour, nobody asked me to dance. Inez didn’t wait for men to ask her to dance, she asked them. And not a single one turned her down. I was on my way back from the ladies’ room when I met Leon. I don’t know where he came from. There was no man near me, and then, all of a sudden, he was there. It seemed like he had just jumped off of one of the murals on the walls. Luther was crooning in the background, making things even more conducive to a possible romantic interlude with another man. But I decided to be cautious. I told myself that I hadn’t come to this club to look for someone to replace Robbie, per se. I was on a mission, though, but it was a soul-searching expedition. I needed to be sure that Robbie was the man I wanted to give up my freedom for. I didn’t know if my mission could be accomplished in one night, but I had to start somewhere.
“I’ll let you play with my toys if you let me play with your toys,” Leon said, falling in step beside me. Before I could respond, his arm was around my waist. I was glad that I had on my black dress. Even though it was short and tight, the fact that it was black made me look several pounds slimmer. Not that I had a weight problem, but I was as vain as the next woman. Even at a firm size 8, I was still trying to do home improvements on my body.
“Excuse me?” I said. I had on a pair of panty hose that had a sturdy control top, but I still sucked in my stomach. My admirer had a strong grip on my waist, and it felt good.
“What are you drinking?” he asked, sitting down at my table like I’d come to the club with him.
“White wine,” I mumbled. “Do I know you?” I asked dumbly.
“Not yet,” he smiled. “I’m Leon Webb.” He fished a business card out of the breast pocket of his double-breasted navy blue suit.
I looked at the card, then at him. “You are the first IRS auditor I’ve ever seen in person, thank God,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Are you surprised to see that I don’t have horns and a tail?” He laughed.
“I’m surprised to see that you