Page 13 of Without You
He nodded. “If I could turn back the clock and fix everything, I would. I failed at marriage, big time, but if I ever get the chance to be with your mom again, I definitely won’t screw it up.”
Ennis puffed out a breath and stuck his hands in his pockets again. Neither of them spoke for a while. Then he quietly asked, “You think you’ll get a chance to be with her again?”
Not with Dudley Do Right in the picture, but Terrence didn’t say that out loud. “Maybe. I’ll see what the future holds. Go on inside. Make your list like I told you.”
“All right. Later.”
Terrence climbed into the SUV and watched Ennis go in the front door. His son had given him valuable information, assuming his interpretation of his mother’s behavior was correct. Maybe she wasn’t involved in a serious with relationship with Austin after all.
He didn’t want to get his hopes up, but if she still harbored feelings for him, he might have a chance at winning her back.
* * *
Beingin the studio was usually an escape for Terrence, but today was not one of those days. Everyone was upset with him—the producer, the engineer, the assistant engineer, and even the intern, who he snapped at when he brought a sandwich with mayonnaise and Terrence specifically asked for mustard.
They’d all gone on break after a heated exchange because of Terrence’s lackluster performance in the booth on his latest project,Annihilation. The only person who remained was Bo, who eyed him from one of the leather couches through a haze of weed smoke.
His friend took a drag of the blunt and extended it to Terrence. Terrence shook his head and paced the floor.
“What’s going on with you? You’re not yourself. You’ve barely done any work on this album so far, and everything you have done is garbage,” Bo said.
Terrence could always count on his unfiltered comments.
Annihilationwas turning out to be a bust. It’s possible he was trying to put out another album too soon after the last one, but he believed he had more stories to tell. He considered theHustlealbum, his first, his greatest collection of work to date. That single word meant he was ready to take on the world and do whatever it took to succeed. Even the album cover, a simple photo of his back with the word “Hustle” on his shirt, represented the rawness and simplicity of all the tracks.
Annihilationshould elevate his game and was a surprise for fans, yet the record company breathed down his neck, probably because they suspected he was near the point where he would retire soon. His business ventures netted him millions, and he’d dipped his toe into the acting pool with a few roles on TV and in film, most recently playing himself in an action flick. He couldn’t blame the company for wanting to capitalize on his celebrity status before he retired from hip-hop.
“I can’t concentrate tonight. I have a lot on my mind.” He ran a hand over the back of his head.
“What’s going on?”
Should he share? Bo was his closest friend. If he couldn’t share with him, who could he share with?
“Charisse is seeing someone.”
Bo’s eyebrows inched higher. “Word?”
“Some Dudley-Do-Right-looking dude.” He rested his back against the wall.
Silence settled in the room as Bo continued to smoke. He let his hand fall between his knees. “It’s been five years, man. Did you think she was at home with the kids baking cookies and watching reruns of “Leave it to Beaver” or some shit?” He squinted at Terrence through a screen of smoke.
“Maybe.”
They both chuckled, releasing the tension in the room.
“I know it’s crazy, but…I guess I still consider her my wife.” He swallowed. The truth hurt. He wanted to hold onto her but didn’t know how.
“I hear you. So she’s your wife, sitting at home with the kids. Doing whatever wives do, holding you down. Except—real talk—you ain’t been her husband in a while, dawg. You weren’t her husband even when ya’ll was married.”
Terrence wanted to punch him. Sometimes he hated Bo’s unfiltered comments.
But his boy was right, and he wanted Charisse back. So how should he proceed?
7
“Hello?” The phone woke Charisse up in the middle of the night, and Terrence was on the other end.
“Hey,” he said.
