The Marrying Kind

by Monique Miller

Genres: Urban Fantasy

Synopsis

Travis Wayne Highgate has been dumped by his wife. He's decided that trying to do things the right way got him nowhere, so he's becoming a player. He changes like a chameleon for each of his new relationships. Once the good guy, now he's devious, conniving, sneaky, and underhanded.
Travis is having the time of his life, until his plan is foiled in ways he never expected.
He realizes his wife is the one he should have worked to stay with in the first place, as chance encounters with her and his new relationships teach him that the grass is not always greener on the other side.





Monique Miller is a 1994 graduate of North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC. In 2003, she received an award from the Black Expressions Annual Fiction Writing Contest for the first chapter of her then titled manuscript, Saving the Best for Last, which is now a full length novel titled Secret Sisterhood. She currently lives in Cary, NC with her family.

Release date: June 1, 2012

Publisher: Urban Books

Print pages: 288

Sample

Travis Wayne Highgate stood in front of the Family Dollar store and jingled the last bit of change he had in his pocket. He pulled the change out and counted it. It was exactly three dollars and twenty-seven cents. He shook his head thinking about the date he’d had a few nights before. He’d spent over fifty dollars on movie and dinner with a woman who, at the end of the night, didn’t even have the decency to invite him into her house. She’d given him a peck on the cheek and said she’d call him the next day. Three days later, he still hadn’t heard from her, she hadn’t called, and didn’t answer when he called her.

He pulled out his wallet to check again to see if he missed a ten or a twenty dollar bill. After searching through a couple of receipts he’d stuffed inside, he breathed a small sigh of relief when he found two dollars folded between the slips of paper. He could just kick himself for putting himself out there, letting another woman step on his outward showing of feelings. All he got at the end of the night was a peck on the cheek and empty pockets.

Travis knew if he was very frugal, he’d be able to find enough in the freezer section to last him for another day until his next unemployment check came in. After stepping aside to let a woman and her child exit the store, Travis strode through the door and headed straight for the freezer section. He pulled out a TV dinner, a bag of Tater Tots, and a container with four Italian ices. Then he stepped over to one of the other food aisles and picked up a loaf of bread and a bottle of grape juice. Each of the items he’d picked up only cost a little over a dollar each. He already had peanut butter and jelly at the apartment.

He stepped into the line to pay for his items. As he waited, from the corner of his eye, he saw something float out of the hand of the woman standing in front of him. When Travis looked down he saw a crisp ten dollar bill lying just behind the woman’s foot. He looked around to see if anyone else had noticed it. And for a split second he thought about covering the bill with his foot to retrieve it the first chance he got.

But then he thought better of it. Sometimes it felt like he had an angel and a devil sitting on his shoulders, with the devil trying to pull him in the wrong direction and the angel tugging him in the right direction. Today the angel was winning. Travis knew that nothing good came to those who did wrong.

He tapped the woman on the shoulder. “Excuse me, miss. You dropped some money.”

The woman looked down and quickly picked up the ten. She clutched it in her hand. “Oh, my goodness,” was all she said.

Travis said, “You’re welcome,” thinking the woman didn’t have any manners.

The woman looked at him as if he were crazy and said, “Oh, thanks.” Then she quickly averted her eyes.

Travis was perturbed by the woman’s actions as she went on about her business, paying for her items and then leaving, never glancing back at him again.

“Wow,” Travis said to himself. He couldn’t believe the audacity of some women. It seemed like so many of them didn’t have any home training, not like his ex-wife Beryl did. She would never have not called back after a date, or not said thank you to someone helping her out.

He took a deep breath. He and Beryl were over now and he had to come to grips with that. Life must go on. He started to think that maybe it would be better for him to cut all of his emotions off and just become a player.

Once at the register the total for Travis’s items came up to five dollars and fifty-two cents. He felt as if the little devil on his shoulder had given him a little thump on his head for being so honest. He then eyed his selection and asked the cashier to hold on for a moment as he put the grape juice to the side and he returned to the food aisle, where he picked up a package of grape-flavored Kool-Aid instead. He thought he remembered having some sugar at the apartment. He purchased the items and then headed out.

His cell phone rang as he stepped outside of the store. He pulled it out and saw that it was Beryl. “Well speak of the devil. You sure do have perfect timing,” he said under his breath. He pushed the end button to stop the phone from ringing and cut it off.

It was Beryl’s fault that he was in this whole predicament in the first place. If only she had given him another chance. He shook his head and headed to the apartment. The closer he got to his place, Travis started feeling pretty good. In less than an hour he’d have a full stomach and even a little dessert to eat after his dinner. And to top that off, he even had a few cents left over from his purchase, enough to buy a cup of coffee the next morning at McDonald’s.

But as soon as he reached his apartment door, his little bit of euphoria was deflated as he saw a folded note taped to the door with the numbers 256 printed in large black letters. He knew it wasn’t anything from the post office or UPS; he hadn’t ordered anything. There was a sinking feeling in his stomach with a strong inkling about the contents of the letter—an eviction notice.

He wasn’t going to open the letter. He knew it would only spoil his appetite. He set the piece of paper on the kitchen counter and commenced fixing his dinner. Fifteen minutes later his food was ready, Kool-Aid and all. He pulled his TV tray in front of his secondhand recliner and popped a VCR tape into his VCR. After pressing play he sat down and started watching an episode of The Biggest Loser. It was one of his favorite reality shows. This episode was from a few seasons prior when he’d still had cable and was able to tape new shows.

After finishing his meal, Travis sat back in the chair to relax. And before he knew it, he was asleep. He awoke to someone knocking hard on his door. He wasn’t expecting anyone and tiptoed over to the peephole to see who it was. And again his stomach felt just like it did when riding a rollercoaster at the point when it did a fast dip downward.

His landlord stood on the other side of the door, pacing impatiently. Then he pounded on the door sounding like he was using his fist. “Mr. Highgate. Mr. Highgate. If you are in there I need to talk to you about your rent.” He paused as if waiting for an answer. “Mr. Highgate,” the man said again. “Are you in there, Mr. Highgate? If you are, we need to talk about your rent payment.”

The television was loud enough to be heard outside of the door, so the landlord probably knew he was at home. Travis wished the man would just go away. His heart beat furiously as he tried to stand stark still. He didn’t want to take a step away from the door for fear that the floorboards might creak. So for what seemed like an eternity he stood peeking out of the peephole, taking shallow breaths. He hoped more than anything that the man wouldn’t use his master key to open the door.

Then, after what seemed like an eternity of knocking and pounding, the man finally left. It was then that Travis remembered the note that had been taped to the door when he’d come home earlier.

He looked around for it and saw it sitting on the edge of the kitchen counter. After retrieving it he opened it up and saw that it was, in fact, an eviction notice. At the top was a red stamp that said “First Notice.” According to the note, Travis had seven days to pay the late payment or he was going to be evicted. The late payment included that month’s rent, as well as late fees and possible court costs if he was legally evicted.

His hands closed tight around the piece of paper. Then he moved over to the recliner and sat down hard as he tried to figure out just how he was going to pay the rent as well as the light bill and cell phone bill. Even though he was going to get an unemployment check that next day, it would still only cover just enough for the rent and late fees for the apartment. Just how was he supposed to see with no electricity, and how was he supposed stay in communication with the world if his cell phone wasn’t working?

He shook his head wondering how he had gotten into this predicament in the first place. Then he remembered; it was all his Uncle Billy’s fault. If it weren’t for him, he wouldn’t be in this particular mess of having to foot all the bills by himself.

Travis located his cell phone that he’d been charging and dialed his uncle’s phone number from memory. The call immediately went to the voice mail, and Travis hung up. He wasn’t going to leave a message; he’d already left a couple of messages and Billy had failed to call him back. And if Travis didn’t know any better, he’d think Uncle Billy was trying to avoid him. But Travis did know better. Uncle Billy was probably caught up with some girl, to whom he was professing his undying love. Whenever Uncle Billy hooked up with a woman, Travis was usually hard-pressed to find him.

He and his uncle had grown up together. They were only two years apart in age. Travis was now thirty-six years old. And the uncle part was something both of them joked about when they were old enough to understand families and relationships. As it turned out, Travis was actually two years older than his uncle. So while Travis called Billy Uncle, his uncle called him nephew Travis.

Looking at his watch, it was almost four in the afternoon. Billy got off work at five, and if Travis started walking right then he’d get to the job just before five and catch his uncle. He pocketed his cell phone, grabbed a jacket, and turned off the TV and VCR, then stepped back over to his peephole to see if the landlord might have reappeared.

Not seeing anyone through the peephole, Travis gingerly opened the door and looked out and saw another note taped to his door. Upon opening it, he saw the words “Second Notice” stamped in red at the top of the note. He wondered if it was legal for the apartment complex to put two notes on his door in one day. But after looking back at the first note, he saw that the dates on the letters were two days apart. The complex was obviously trying to cover itself, and how was he supposed to prove that he’d gotten the notes on the same day?

Travis knew it was just another way the system was trying to work against him. He threw both papers on the counter in the kitchen and left his apartment, headed to find his Uncle Billy. Hopefully his family member would come through for him and let him borrow a couple hundred dollars to help him get over until the next month.

Travis made it to his uncle’s job with five minutes to spare. He looked up at the sky, which was forming dark gray clouds. A storm was approaching. This was truly a time when he wished he had a few extra bucks so he didn’t have to walk. He hoped his uncle wasn’t working late because he didn’t want to have to stand out in the rain. Luckily, only a couple of minutes after five, Travis was relieved to see Billy sauntering out of the office building, laughing and chatting along with a couple of guys.

Travis called out to him, “Hey, Billy.”

Billy turned and looked his way. A sheepish grin covered his face as he walked back towards Travis. “Hey, Travis, what’s up, man?”

“You know what’s up,” Travis said.

Billy raised his hands in a surrendering pose and said, “I plead the Fifth.”

Travis gave Billy a slight punch on his shoulder. “I called you and left several messages. What’s up with you?”

“Sorry, so sorry. I did get the messages and meant to call, but I’ve just been a little busy, that’s all.”

Travis smirked and eyed Billy.

“Okay, okay, I know, I should never be too busy for family. My bad,” Billy said.

A few fat raindrops started to fall.

“Come on, let’s get to the car before we get drenched.”

Both men walked quickly as they headed to Billy’s car. Travis had almost walked past it, not realizing his uncle had a new car. Once they were inside, the rain started coming down in hard sheets, causing Billy to have to wait before attempting to drive in it.

Travis looked around the interior and took in the new car smell. “When did you get this?”

“Last week. You like it?”

Travis nodded his head. “Yeah, man, this is nice.” The car had leather seats that made Travis want to sit in it forever and just relax. And he figured it must have had each and every upgrade that had been available.

“Why did you get another car?” Travis thought the car his uncle had before was nice.

“I was getting tired of that other car, and my girl has a son who just turned sixteen so I gave it to him as a present,” Billy said.

Travis did a double take. “What, you just gave ol’ girl’s son a practically new car?”

“Man, that car wasn’t new, and she ain’t just ol’ girl, she is my fiancée,” Billy said.

“Say what?” Travis couldn’t believe his ears.

“Yep, this player’s days of playing are over. I am tired of running the game, trying to keep up with this one and that. Enough is enough. I’ll be thirty-five next year.”

Travis didn’t think the player lifestyle sounded all that bad. It sounded better than the boring existence he was currently experiencing. “Wow, I can’t believe you of all people are settling down.” Travis shook his head. “What on earth is this world coming to?”

“I’ve let a lot of good women slip through my fingers in the past by playing my games,” Billy said.

“These women play a lot of games too,” Travis said.

“Not Ashley. She is a good woman and I am not going to let her get away.” Then Billy chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Travis asked.

“Ashley actually reminds me a lot of Beryl,” Billy said.

“What do you mean ...” Travis’s voice trailed off when he heard his uncle’s cell phone ring.

Travis looked at the display on the ringing phone and saw a picture of a woman who looked pretty plain—short hair, minimal makeup, with a toothy smile.

Billy grinned. “Hold that thought,” he said before answering.

As Billy spoke, Travis tried to wrap his mind around the fact that his best buddy was actually going to settle down and get married. He wondered how Billy was going to just give up the carefree life he’d been living. From Travis’s point of view, Billy had it made. He had always been able to have his cake and eat it too.

After Billy clicked his cell phone off he said, “That was Ashley. That girl is something else. She told me to make sure I was home on time tonight for dinner, she has a surprise for me.” Billy took a deep breath. “I love that woman.”

“I know I must be having an out-of-body experience or something,” Travis said. “Where is my uncle? What have you done with him? I know you are not using the L word.”

“Yep.” Billy grinned again. “That woman keeps it interesting.”

“I guess you’ve got a hot night tonight,” Travis said.

“With her there is no telling.”

“Yeah, I’ll just bet,” Travis said. He knew his uncle very well.

“Oh, no, sir. It isn’t what you are thinking with that nasty mind of yours.”

“I know you know what I am thinking, ’cause I know how you are.”

“Okay, since it seems as though I’ve blown your mind a couple times already, let me do so just one more time,” Billy said.

Travis waited to see what else his uncle could say to possibly faze him.

“My fiancée isn’t a virgin, of course, she already has a son, but she is and has been celibate since before I met her.”

“Say what?”

Billy stared at Travis, letting him know he’d heard him correctly.

“Are you trying to say that you and Ashley have never been together?” Travis asked, his eyebrows rising in disbelief.

“Yep.”

“I know you must have been abducted by aliens or something now.”

“Nah.”

“Well, it sounds like tonight might be your lucky night.”

“Nah, doubt that. She has made it very clear that I won’t be getting any until we are happily Mr. and Mrs.”

“Well, dang. Wonders never cease. I just don’t know what to say,” Travis said.

As the rain let up some, Billy cranked the car and pulled off. “Speaking of which, what’s up, man? I’ve got to get home.”

Travis had almost forgotten about why he’d come to see his uncle in the first place. “I need a little favor.” Travis figured if his uncle could afford a new car and to give one away, he must be doing pretty good and a couple hundred dollars shouldn’t be a problem.

Billy pulled out of the parking lot and into traffic. “Yeah, what do you need?”

“I need to borrow a couple hundred dollars until next month.”

“A couple hundred, huh?”

“Yeah, just until next month. It’s been sort of hard having to try to make ends meet having to pay for this apartment all by myself,” Travis said. He knew his uncle got the point. If Billy had not reneged on him to share an apartment, he wouldn’t be scraping by like he was.

Billy rolled his eyes. “Okay, I’ll have to see. Let me check with Ashley and I’ll get back with you.”

Travis did another double take. “Say what?”

“Yeah, Ashley and I have pooled our money together. We share the bills and expenses and if it were only a few dollars or maybe even twenty dollars or so, it wouldn’t matter to me. But you’re asking for a couple hundred.”

Travis couldn’t believe the words that were coming from his uncle’s mouth. “Man, you act as if you two are already married or something. How are you going to just let her decide whether it is okay for me to borrow a couple hundred dollars?”

“Look, I know what you are thinking and she doesn’t dictate anything. We’ve decided to make decisions together. So I don’t mind letting you borrow the money, but I just need to let Ashley know about it. We are building our relationship on trust, and I am not about to break that trust before we can even say ‘I do.’”

Travis held his hands up as if in surrender. “Okay, okay, I hear you.” He didn’t like what he was hearing, but he was glad his uncle was doing well and for once in his life the man was actually trying to do right by a woman.

“I’ll talk to Ashley and get back with you.” Billy looked down at the clock on his console. “Speaking of, I need to be heading home. I don’t want to be late for dinner. Do you need me to drop you off somewhere?”

Travis needed to be taken back to his apartment, but it was on the other side of the city, so he asked Billy to drop him off at the strip mall that was just a couple of miles from his house. Maybe if he walked around the strip mall for a little the rain would die down so he could walk home.

“Take me to that strip mall over on Main Street.”

As B. . .