I woke up in a much better mood, in the arms of my best friend Charlene. Plus, it’s my favorite club-themed night, karaoke! Tonight, Courtney is at the bar while Melanie sits upstairs with Stephany. The sign-up sheet goes out to the staff first, and the first few acts are always us. Alina, a new bar girl, signs up to be the first act. Lord forgive me, but I hope she never does again… I’m not a fan of Melissa Etheridge, to begin with, but my ears are bleeding by the time she’s done. Jonny thankfully takes the stage next, always singing some boy band pop song that makes Charlene tease me about how he is trying to send me a message! Tonight it’s David Archuleta’s song ‘Crush’. “My gawd girl”, she says. “You need to jump his bones already and put that poor man out of his misery”! “Jesus Char, it’s just a song”, I tell her as I bury my face in my hand with embarrassment. “Besides, what goes in and out of my vagina is not up for discussion”. There is a loud cough from
I’m paying the twenty-five dollar entrance fee into a nightclub owned by my own damn wife, just to fucking see her because it’s clearly the only way to get close enough to talk. As I walked in, the set-up of the place had been transformed for some kind of karaoke night. The girl at the door who wasn’t here last night says that it’s a fairly slow night, and to keep up with compliance laws, every first Tuesday and third Thursday the club is transformed into a karaoke bar! She hands me a paper to sign up if I want a shot at the mic, which I’m not interested in. What catches my attention is Loyalty has herself signed up under her pseudonym Amory Williams. She’s the third act. Some girl is on stage now completely destroying some Melissa Etheridge song, and I wish I had bought headphones or earbuds or something. Her turn finally ends as the big guy Loyalty slid down off the bar yesterday takes the stage. Jonny Knight the sign-up sheet said his name is. Loyalty sits tw
I rise early to find Jonny asleep on my couch, and Stephany is asleep on his chest. Fucking guy stayed all night to comfort my daughter! I sit across from him and stare at them until Jonny finally wakes up. “Mi Amor”, (my love) he says when he sees me sitting there. “What’s wrong, Amory”? “I’m tired of hiding”, I tell him. “This was never me”, I say as I point at my hair. “I did this to hide the fact that Gabby’s hair color was from her father and not me! I need to be me again”! “Okay”, he says as he cradles Stephany so he can sit up. “What’s your next move”? “I get my look back and then I get comfortable being on my bike again”, I tell him. “You’re seriously going to go through with racing him?”, he asks. “I don’t have a choice! If I don’t, he’ll be here every day, he’s relentless. What happens when Gabby has to go to the doctor and we need to take her outside? Or when she starts school, and I have to wait for the bus with her? If I don’t shake him now
I’ve been at this damn club every night this past week, and I’m still no closer to getting Loyalty to talk to me. She’s got a lot of people on her payroll since tonight is Saturday and she is not even here, but I don’t recognize any of her staff present. The staff is easy to distinguish since they all wear crisp white short-sleeve button-down shirts, black bow ties, and black shorts. I see Charlene by the bar, so I turn back into the smorgasbord of bodies and grab a young and ditzy-looking waitress as she goes by. “Hey, do you need a drink sir?”, she asks me all flirty. I pulled her close and told her, “among other things. Can you tell me how I can reach the owner”? “She’s usually in her office upstairs. She doesn’t work in the club on weekends. If she’s not in the office, she’s in her apartment right next door! The door is always unlocked, so if she doesn’t answer when you knock, open the door and yell for her”, she tells me with a wink. “Her name is Amory Willi
I wake up to Jonny already here, he has Stephany dressed and ready to go. “Say morning Mama”, he says to my daughter as she straddles his lap and he raspberries into her neck, making her giggle. It says a lot about a man who is willing to take care of a little girl. It says even more, when it’s someone else’s little girl he’s willing to take care of! I headed back to my room to get ready for the day and as I walked back out of the bedroom, the front door opened in front of me, and in walked Spin. “For fuck’s sake, Spin”, I snapped at him. “Knock”! “My wife and daughter live here, why should I?”, he responds without apology. “Mama”, Stephany squealed as we reached the living room. “Ready to go Gabby?” I said. “Airplane YaYa”, she tells Jonny. “Airplane?!”, he says, playing along. “My princess wants to fly”?! “Fly YaYa, make Gabby fly”, she tells him. He gets up from the sofa with her and flies her around the room before crash landing in my arms
As soon as I rise, I hop in the shower, then grab Brenda and we ride my bike to the car dealership where I get talked into buying a fully loaded hybrid Subaru Crosstrek. From there, Brenda goes with me to some kids’ store and picks out a converting car seat. Because my daughter is already two, I get one of those that you keep in the car permanently until the kid grows out of it. I also got persuaded into buying a stroller, and since I doubt Loyalty will let me just carry my daughter everywhere, I consider this a good thing. It was after two in the afternoon when I finally showed back up at Loyalty’s apartment, and knowing that the door was unlocked, I just walked right in. “For fuck's sake, Spin”, I heard Loyalty say from behind the door. “Knock”! “My wife and daughter live here, why should I?” I snap back while she just rolls her eyes at me. “Mama”, Stephany squealed as we reached the living room. Jonny sits on the couch with his feet resting on the coffee tabl
Since I struggled to sleep all of last night, I spent all day Monday in bed. My parents spend the morning with my daughter and head back home in the middle of the afternoon, leaving Jonny to tend to Stephany. I head down to the club on Monday night, and things are relatively normal. Like my life is starting to get back on track since Spin showed back up in it. Speaking of, I haven't heard from him since he left on Sunday, but it’s not like we have each other’s numbers or anything… But weren’t we supposed to race?! As I was about to leave the apartment on Tuesday, there was a knock on my apartment door. That’s weird, since everyone usually just walks in, it’s always unlocked. I opened the door skeptically to find a man standing there in a suit with a clipboard in his hand. “Can I help you”? “I’m looking for an Amory Williams”, he says. “That’s me!” I answered. “Amory Williams, also known as Loyalty Hart, you’ve been served”, he says as he hands me a Mani
On Monday morning we all headed back upstate. I stop by the garage and make sure things are in order, signing off on whatever I need to. Brenda can handle the rest later! I stop back at the house to grab clothes and plan out how I’m going to work out giving three years of anniversary presents to Loyalty. I know it’s odd that I still got her stuff when she’s been tryna divorce me, but we’re still married and that was something worth celebrating to me until the very end! Brenda takes care of the court matters, and since we know exactly where Loyalty is, we can send the marshal right to her to serve her. It’s Wednesday when we all head back down to Brooklyn. I haven’t heard from Loyalty since Sunday night, but then again, it’s not exactly like we have exchanged numbers or anything… Not that I’ve changed mine! I’ve been checking up on her through the video link, and every time I do, Jonny is with her. Sunday night he slept on her couch. On Monday he actually left for a pe
Loyalty sobs herself to sleep in Bo and Max’s hold and her unconscious body is then carried by Bo out of the warehouse, where she’s loaded into an ambulance and taken to the hospital to be examined. After she’s released, she’s taken to Nina’s house where she barricades herself in Jonny’s bedroom with Stephany for days! The day before Jonny’s funeral, she goes with Bo, Max, Rich, all three of his brothers, and his sister to get a tattoo. I don’t understand what possessed her to get such a thing, but she’s in mourning right now and I’m still feeling shitty that the one fucking guy I loved to hate was the one who saved my life. But still… The tattoo bothers me! Right in the center of Loyalty’s chest is a life-like replica of the back of Jonny’s left hand. In the middle, it reads Jonny Anthony Knight. It also lists his birthday as Sunrise September thirteenth, and the day he died as Sunset October fourteenth. That wouldn’t be so bad, but on the ring finger of the handprint, it says ‘Amor
Loyalty and Stephany spend one night with Jonny at his mother’s house before returning to her Brooklyn apartment. She calls me and pleads with me for space, and we agree that she’ll return to the lake house with our daughter on Saturday. Each day becomes more and more miserable without them, and by Friday I’m losing my fucking mind!Pardon my shock when Jonny calls me and I send it to voicemail the first three times before actually answering, “what”?“Amory is missing”, he practically whispers.“What the fuck did you just say?” I growled out.“Amory is missing”, he screamed into the phone. “I need you to get down here. The police want to have a word with you”!“Where’s my fucking daughter, Jonny?” I barked out frantically.He sighs, “she’s fine! She’s upstairs in the apartment. How long until you get here, Spin”?“An hour”, I told him before hanging up.I dial Gabe and he bolts down the stairs like a flash of lightning and we’re out the door in s
I wake up in the bed of my Brooklyn apartment wrapped in Jonny’s arms, and if we weren’t both completely naked I’d almost be inclined to believe that the last few months of my life were just some really bad dream. I called Spin last night and pleaded with him for space, and after promising to return to the lake house by Saturday, he reluctantly agreed. I feel sick, although I don’t admit this to Jonny. Instead, I emphasize that my feet hurt, my back hurts, my boobs hurt, my butt even hurts, and I’m just tired beyond exhaustion. He does what he can to comfort me, but I know the stress of my situation is starting to become daunting to all of us involved. I’m bored to death with Jonny’s constant babying of me and when I suggest going down to the club for our last night here in Brooklyn, he agrees yet straight up tries to dress me! Eventually, I got my way. However, I do swap the shoe suggestion for the shorter wedged heels he chose from the stilettos I originally picked.
I attend the date with Spin, only to end up in bed with him in some random room in the colonial. After knowing his history with women not sleeping in his bed, it leaves me feeling queasy that I even let it happen. It’s been three years, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that Spin just doesn’t do it for me anymore! I took Jonny back down to the lakeside hideout and confessed everything! At first, he was furious. I get it, we’ve been like fucking like rabbits with each other, so why would I even have allowed that to happen? I guess I was caught up in a moment and the alcohol sure didn’t help! “Mi Amor”, (my love) Jonny says as I lean against the hood of his car. “What is it”? I sighed before babbling out, “I did something last night that I shouldn’t have. I’m now sick to my stomach over it and I have to be truthful with you about it”. “Amory, what is it?”, he says calmly as he folds his arms over his chest. I can tell he already suspects what I’m going to s
I wake up still pissed off about Jonny’s contract and how fluidly both he and Loyalty move with each other. I try not to stress it and switch my focus to doing damage control. I have tonight all planned out, and like with the night of the Broadway show, I’m putting Loyalty’s preferences first! I leave for work without so much as a peep from anyone, even Jonny is surprisingly still upstairs in Loyalty’s private wing of the lake house. All these extra doors are starting to become a nuisance… Was it necessary to construct a hallway closure barricade in both houses?! She’s so peculiar about certain shit to the point it irks me! When I arrive back at the lake house, I head to the shower before I seek Loyalty out. She’s in the hammock with Stephany lying over her. Even though our daughter is only almost three, she covers most of Loyalty’s body. Another testament to just how small she is compared to everyone else around her, even her own child! Courtney joins Loyalty in
Loyalty, Jonny, and I traveled back to Brooklyn for one last week. They spend the week packing up their stuff to be taken to the lake house, while my anger at how close they’ve grown in the last month just seethes and festers within me. I haven’t been able to get more than a full-on-the-mouth kiss out of Loyalty and it aggravates me since she randomly breaks apart from Jonny’s hold whenever I enter a room they’re in together. By the time we make it to the courthouse for the DNA hearing, steam is coming out of my ears! It doesn’t help that Stephany throws a tantrum in the parking lot that results in Jonny carrying her like a China doll perched on his arm. I tried, Rich tried, even Loyalty tried, but Stephany refused to stop crying until Jonny took her into his arms. When the case is called before the judge, Loyalty is escorted to the plaintiff's desk with Rich and Jonny, who still has Stephany clinging to his neck. I stood alone at the defendant’s desk. I turned back a
For over a week and during our last weekend trip upstate, tensions between Jonny and Spin continued to escalate. I’ve stepped in between them more times than I care to admit. In the middle of the first week of October when we appeared in court, everyone had just about reached their breaking point! Despite Spin petitioning the court for this appearance, I initiated the divorce, and, therefore, I stand at the plaintiff's desk while Spin is still the defendant in this case. Even with Rich being with me at the podium, Stephany clings to Jonny and refuses to let him go. So we stand before the judge with Jonny between us, momentarily confusing the judge as she steps out to approach her bench. “Ms. Williams, nice to finally meet you! Please explain to me what on Earth is going on here and why this divorce case now has a paternity request attached to it”, she states coldly. I take a deep breath and say, “yes, your honor. So a little over three years ago, when I made the
I stepped out of the tent first thing in the morning to find Loyalty still lying on Jonny’s chest in the hammock. He’s holding his phone up over her head and they’re both clearly laughing. I don’t know what to make of their odd behavior anymore, so when I walk by I push the hammock and make Loyalty squeal at the sudden movement! The next morning at breakfast, Loyalty is explaining that it’s not necessary for them to take their stuff back to Brooklyn since next weekend is the last weekend before the new contracts go into effect and they’ll be at the lake house more than in Brooklyn. Courtney and Jonny agree, so they all load their dirty laundry into the washing machine together. I’m surprised they’re all in such agreement about this, but then again, Loyalty has baskets on a rack above her washer and dryer in Brooklyn that are labeled with everyone’s names on them, so I’m sure it’s not the first time they’ve all done this. At the lake house, there is shelving on the opposite
I stretch out on the warm firm surface I’m lying on top of as the familiar smell overwhelms my senses and I rub my face into it. It starts to chuckle when I feel something vibrate from under me. Jonny slides his hand down between us to retrieve his cell phone from his pocket. “Amory, where’s your phone?” Jonny asks with his voice still raspy from sleep. I shrugged, “in my room probably. Why”? “Charlene has been tryna reach you”, he says. I sighed, “she wants approval to do a duet theme night for karaoke this week”. “Like couples karaoke?” I ask him confused, and he nods. “I guess that’s a cool idea”! “Wanna do a song with me?”, he asks with a smile on his face. It’s not like we haven’t before! “As long as it’s not Love Lies”, I said through my giggles and lay my head back down on his chest. Jonny laughs hard and says, “Okay! How about-“. “How about you surprise me, but just not Love Lies”, I tell him, making him laugh harder. “Okay! No Lo