The Other Woman

"Rick!" I squeal, throwing my arms around his broad shoulders as my handbag sinks to the floor.
"Seny!" he mocks me in a girly tone as he too hugs me.

The late October wind in Manhattan, New York was murderously chilly. My thin black sweater that I wore just for the expected weather in Manhattan proved to be worthless. My skin simply prickled with the cold as my hair swayed back and forth from the chill wind.
"You guys cold?" he asks with a grin
"Yes, and its your fault. You told us it wasn't that cold up here" Jennifer mumbles through chattering teeth
"It isn't that cold, which proves how long it's been since you guys have visited me" he replies with assurance.
"Just take us to your house and no one gets hurt"

Nodding, Rick helps us both with our luggage, chucking our bags into the trunk of his newly purchased 2000 silver Infinity SUV as we exit the airport pick up terminal.
"Nice car" I say as I seat myself into the backseat since Jen had called shotgun.
"I know, its about the price of my house" he sighs smugly
"Are you serious?" Jennifer pipes from next to him, buckling her seatbelt.
"Almost, and I'm so proud"

"Men" I mumble while shaking my head.
I watch in awe of the unfamiliar large buildings and houses as we whiz by them in the car. Leaves on all of the trees were slowly shedding, and the leaves that still managed to clamor on were autumn shades of orange, red, and brown. This experience reminded me of a time when I had came out to Albany to visit Billie Joe. He had taken me out to a small park, one of the few times we were out in public, and the trees and entire setting were breath takingly gorgeous. It brought back so many memories...


With each step we took, the leaves crunched on the floor beneath us. The smell of autumn was all around as we strolled along the park.
"I haven't been to a park in fucking forever" Billie Joe muttered with his hands jammed inside the pockets of his pants.
"Me neither" I reply with a smile. I wanted to hold his hands fervently, but I'm sure he knew that, and that was probably the reason why his hands were stuffed into his pant pockets in the first place. We had only been seeing one another for two months now, and he came just about once a month, twice if I was lucky, so things were still a bit unsettled and hesitant. Sighing and rolling my eyes simultaneously, we walk in silence as a few kids run a long next to us, there parents fumbling while they ran to catch up with their brats.

"Are your kids like that?" I ask
"Even worse" he chuckles

I nod my head, the black beanie covering my hair giving me complete warmth. I was wearing a red thermal top with a pair of black jeans and a pair of red sneakers. My neck was dawning a black scarf, giving extra protection to my neck from the howling wind.
"You want to go for a swing?" Billie Joe asked shyly as we approached an abandoned swing set.
"Sure" I grinned. Seating myself on the wooden seat, I looked at the sun that was slowly drowning into the sky, turning the sky into a cascading hue of pink and orange. I smiled as Billie Joe maneuvered himself around me, and before I knew it, his palms were pressed against my back, gently rocking me back and forth. My fingers wrapped around the two metal chains, as he continuously swung me. Back and forth I went in the air, closing my eyes to let everything sink in.

"Are you dead back there?" I hear Jennifer bellow from the front passenger seat
"Huh? What?"
"I asked if you had any ideas of what to do tonight. Are you ok?"
"Yeah" I murmur with disinterest. "Just thinking about a few things"
"Like Tre?" Rick comments as he makes a slithering turn onto a local highway. "I still can't believe I haven't met him yet. Not fair" he sadly mumbles

"You'll live" I retort as I position myself away from the window to look ahead.
"Anyways, what should we do tonight? Hit up a few clubs? Go sight seeing? Annoy Rick and this new 'Katherine'?
"Who's Katherine?" I ask curiously
"Only Rick's latest hubby" she smiles while nudging Rick.

With a small grunt, Rick drives beyond the highway towards a mass of houses, apartments, and other large business buildings. A local fire truck's loud siren rings to my ears, and I watch men in black and dark blue suits with stuffy brief cases walk by our car, chatting away on their brain tumor inflicting cell phones.

Within a few minutes, Rick's house approaches. Disbanding from the vehicle, we all gather our luggage and tread into Rick's signature bachelor pad. It was obvious to the female eye, or any eye for that matter, that Rick was wifeless. Pictures of semi-naked women were placed on the walls; some were tasteful while others were simply trashy. An odor of leftover pizza kindled in the air, and a few scarce bottles Guinness beer were randomly strewn throughout the house.

"Does anyone know today's date?" Jen asks as she plops herself on his dark brown sofa.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's the 25th, because that's when our flight date was scheduled" I reply as I flop down beside her. "Why?"
"Because I wanted to know the deadline of when I have to purchase a Halloween costume"
"I almost forgot" I mumble beside her. Letting my feet sit on Rick's coffee table, I smile to myself. This supposed Halloween party was going to be far-fetched and absolute fun. I just wished that Tre would be here with me, but he couldn't. There touring had JUST begun, and they were even going to have a concert on October 31, 2004, in Phoenix Arizona, to be exact.

"I'm thinking of being an angel or some type of fairy" she continues
"I was thinking of being an evil referee" I mumble
"Rick, we're going shopping tomorrow" she calls out to Rick who is in his kitchen, fetching us a few bottles of beer.

And after about an hour of sipping on beer, chatting, laughing, and teasing with my two best friends, fatigue silently crept into my limbs. With a stretch and yawn, I stand up exiting into the kitchen to discard my bottle Corona. It was only a three in the afternoon, so I little nap would do me good for the intense shopping and hunting for a Halloween costumes and accessories that was scheduled tonight.

"I'm going to take a nap, I'm tired" I mumble to Rick and Jennifer who are now on their second bottle.
"Ok, I put your bags in the guest room" he declares

And so, I climb the small spiral staircase, which led to a one room upstairs parlor.
"Cool" I nod my head with approval. The single bedroom was cute, a sunroof brimmed the roof, letting fresh sunlight stream inside. A few, surprisingly green, potted plants embellished the corners of the bedroom, and the walls were striped with black and blue hues, sort of similar to the couch I owned back home. Digging out a fresh white t-shirt and a pair of Tre's boxers, which he had left in my apartment some time ago, I change my clothing and immediately snuggle myself into the queen sized bed.

"I cannot believe I let you two idiots drag me out here" Rick mutters with malice
"You need a costume too" I smile at my victim, dragging him by the hand into yet another ridiculous costume department store.

The crisp night air cradles my legs and sweeps my hair. Damn my brain for letting me choose to wear a skirt tonight, but I let out a satisfying sigh of relief when the warm air from inside Dominique's Costume Parlor courses through. With Rick by my side, trudging store to store with us girls, I felt at place.
"Jennifer get off the damned phone with Jack and help me with my costume, and aggravate Rick" I mumble to the back of me.
"Yeah, yeah, I just did" she replies, stuffing her cell back into the pocket of her brightly red velour sweater. "Now Rick" she smiles evilly whilst slinking her arm through his. "What shall you be for Halloween? A woman? Hitler? Or my personal favorite, a giant vagina?!"

A fresh burst of laughter escapes my lips, and my giggle fit lasts so long that my stomach begins to burn as if I've just been to the gym. Scowling at us both, Rick lets go of both of our arms and walks towards an aisle of ghoulish sport costumes, but not before muttering 'bitches' at his two best friends.

"We'll be in the women's section Rick" I call out towards him as Jen tugs on my arm to lead the way.

Walking through aisle among aisle of costumes, my eyes wander over costumes which were simply too revealing, plain, or just unnecessary. I mean, do you really want to dress as a stalk of broccoli for Halloween?

"Are you looking for something in particular?" I ask Jennifer, who has only one costume draping over her arm as we fiddle through racks.
"Sort of, I wanted to be an Egyptian goddess or I don't know, just something cute and put together"
"So what were you thinking about this morning? You had an eerie look on your face?" she asks, breaking our previous topic of discussion.

"I was thinking about Billie Joe, I went to Albany with him last year, and the weather and setting looked the same"
"Oh" she says sadly. "So did you ever respond to that message he left you?"
"No" I sigh. "I think he probably just got in a little spat with his wife, and he was probably mad, and maybe desperate"
"Is that what he normally does?"
"For the most part" I reply

I nod my head, continuing my hunt. And 10 minutes later, my eyes glance over a costume of a ghoulish of black and white haunted stripes. Thinking it's a silly prison costume, I slip the garment from its rack. It revealed a striped referee costume, with tight black shorts and a fitted striped polo shirt that refs wear. Hanging around the neck of the hanger was a silver whistle, and instantly I fell in love with it.

"I found my costume" I smile at Jennifer. She takes it from my grasp and examines it thoroughly.
"Its really cute" she approves
"I know, did you did anything yet?"
"Yes, but I can't decide"
She hands me back my costume and shows me the two garments in her hands. One of them was a safari outfit, complete with a small beige whip. And the other was a slimming Egyptian costume, with bright gold hues and false gems.

"That Egyptian one is cute, I would pick that if I were you"
"So would I" says Rick, who has finally forgiven us and graced us with his presence.
"And isn't that a spiffy looking costume you got" says Jennifer glancing at Rick and his sandy brown hair.

"Yup, I'm going as a pirate and Kathy's going as a damsel" he smiles
"Aw, you're going to rescue your damsel in distress" I coo
"Something like that"

Two days later on a Friday evening, I decided to give Tre a call, seeing as how I hadn't spoken to him in an entire week.
"Who still dresses up as an Egyptian? That's pretty lame" he mumbles
"No it isn't, I would have bought the costume it's really cute" I reason back to the 8-year old man on the other end of the phone.
"Then that makes you lame as well"
"Well you're dating me so you must be pretty lame yourself" I challenge
"Not really, I'm so cool that no amount of lameness can change my status"
"That was the lamest thing you have ever said" I laugh while digging into Jen's purse for piece of chewing gum

"So how's the big apple?" he asks me, leaving or playful bantering for another time
"Its great, last night we all went out to this club, Jennifer's right next to me on the bed still asleep and suffering from a hangover"

"I hope you weren't dancing too close to any guys, girls yes, but guys no" he says with false warning.
"Actually I took four guys home yesterday. It was a blast"

When he doesn't answer, I fear that he may have taken me seriously. And the only noise I can hear in the background is shuffling paper and what sounds like silverware banging together.
"Hold on one sec baby" he says. 'He's going to give up... oh shit, he made it' I hear Tre cackle.

"Sorry about that, Mike has this magician girlfriend and she was showing us a trick"
"Cool" I mumble
"So, what do you have on right now? I can't wait all the way until tonight to start phone sex"
"I'm wearing an Eskimo jacket and huge plastic rain boots, you?"

He chuckles for a second, and its then that I realize how much I miss him exactly. I loved when he laughed, his entire appearance brightened. And that smile...
Lets not even get into that killer smile and smirk of his. Those attributes of his were enough to make anyone's heart melt.
"That's pretty sexy I suppose. You of all people could pull that look off" he replies
"I know. I've had years of practice. Anyways, what are you doing right now exactly?"

"Well, I'm all the way in Rhode Island, and its pretty early. So I just got out of the shower and then Mike and his chick have been entertaining me"
"How boring and sexist, his chick" I reiterate
"Ok sorry, Mike and his personal magician. And what are you doing? Lying in bed with an unconscious woman?"
"Whatever, tomorrow I'll be partying until the sun comes up, so ha ha" I grin
"Wish I could be there"
"I hate to admit it, but me too. So I wont be seeing you until late November?"
"Unfortunately" he yawns

Jennifer begins stirring from next to me, mouthing groggy words, but obviously wanting me to get out, or at least shut the hell up. Respecting her rude wishes, I end my conversation with Tre, or at least attempt to.

"Alright before she wakes up, Bye Tre"
"Bye" he howls

I wait for the dial tone, operator, or a click to follow, but it never does.
"Hello?" I ask
"Yes?" he answers slyly
"I said Bye, so bye"
"Ok, bye"

Still nothing...

"Do you plan on hanging up now or next year?" I tease
"The next century actually" he taunts me
"Just hang up"
"No, you hang up"
"You hang up" I giggle
"I aint hangin up on you "
"Well neither am I"

The Hang Up Game

"If you don't hang that blasted phone up, I will literally rip it from your ear and flush it down the damn toilet" mutters a drained and not to mention miserable Jennifer.

"Uh, Bye Tre" I say with a small smirk
"I heard that, Bye Seny" he chuckles

The next evening, that wonderful Saturday, was the Halloween Party that Rick had invited us to attend. With an SUV loaded with a frightening referee, an Egyptian idiot, and a moronic pirate, we were ready for the party. As soon as we park the car, we could nearly smell the fun and hype that was inside the large building.

"Wow, there's a lot of people here" I whisper as we walk along the strip headed inside.
"Yep, Manhattan's finest and scariest" Rick smiles with false chipped pirate teeth.

Inside the upscale club were hundreds of ghoulish people. Decorated with spider webs, red lights, and the occasional Jack-o-lantern, the club looked exquisite. People were lined up a long bar stools taking shots and drinking wildly colored beverages. But the best part were the vibrant and unpredictable costumes. One guy, or maybe it was a girl, was dressed in a simple white sheet with the cliché peep holes. It was classic, and still funny. Some vampires with red food coloring dripping down their chins were dancing in a circle, and what was supposed to be a werewolf, smirked at me.

"Lets go to the bar and mingle" says an excited Jennifer, pulling on my elbow a long with Rick's.
"Wait! I'll meet you guys there, I have to find Katherine" he shouts over Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'.
I nod my head, but Jen simply rolls her eyes as we pursue the bar.

"This is THRILLER! Thriller Night, There aint no second chance against the thing with the forty eyes, yeah!" we both sing out loud, not caring one shit about any Jackson enemies. And after our off-beat serenade, I blow my referee whistle just out of fun.

"What will you ladies be having this evening?" asks the bartender, well he was actually dressed as Pee Wee Herman, but still looked attractive nonetheless.
"What do you have cutie?!" says Jennifer
"Are specials tonight are cobweb crawlers, don't ask. Pumpkin rumps, again don't ask, and finally Rotten nipples, and for the third time, don't ask"
"I'll have a cobweb crawler" I mumble
"Make that two" Jen winks

The party was getting insane. Rick, Katherine, Jennifer, and I were all dancing up a storm to the music that was bouncing. The noise level inside was almost that of a concert, and thank the heavens that no fights broke out between my posse and anyone else like the previous Halloween. The oddly named drinks were scrumptious, and everyone was simply having an amazing time. Out of breath from dancing with Frankenstein, I grab a bottle of water from the bar counter and venture outside for a breath of fresh air. Inside the club, the air mixed with sweat, humidity, and even more sweat, certainly not enjoyable.

Uncapping my bottle of water, I take a large swig, the clear liquid quenching my alcoholic thirst. Just then, I remember my phone is located in my pockets, hoping that Tre would have called me. But I was surprised to see that Billie Joe had instead called, not even a text, an actual phone call.
"Shit, should I call him?" I ask myself. What if I called and Tre or Adrienne picked up, or what if he's drunk and wanted some cellular lovin'?

"Hello?" I greet as someone picks up the phone
"Seny?" he asks
"Hey, did you call me?"
"Yeah, I did" he mutters none too politely. I frown and raise my eyebrows in question at his unpleasant tone.
"Ok, do you need something?"
"How come you never replied to my message a couple of weeks ago?"
"Why did you write that in the first place?!" I almost yell. "Tre was next to me that night you idiot. I was shaking when I turned off my phone, you could've gotten us caught"

"Well you could have called the next day or something"
"Well I didn't Billie, get the fuck over it. You're just upset because your used to me meeting your every damned call and command"

"Actually, I don't really give a fuck. I just thought it would be common courtesy to return a blasted phone call!"
"Why did you write that anyway, huh? Let me guess, you and Adrienne got into a fight, you got wasted, and decided to give good ole Serenity a call, am I right Armstrong? Because there's nothing like a good cellular fuck from Serenity!" I cry out

I was so angry, hurt, upset, that silent tears came to my eyes. Through my bashing, it occurred to me how many times he had used me for nothing more than a sexual replacement. That bracelet served as nothing, a fan probably mailed it to him for all I know.

"You think you know everything, don't you?" he persists
"Your damned right I know everything. What the hell do you want from me Billie Joe? I've actually been happy these last couple of months, because I know someone actually cares about me. What do you want?! " I shriek

He's silent from the other end of the phone, as I begin sobbing. If its one thing I hated, it was crying in front of people, over the phone or otherwise. It made me feel weak and cowardly. People who were outside took occasional glances at me, looking at a sexy referee crying her heart out, making me feel even crumbier.

"I'm sorry" he says in a small whisper. I didn't reply, just continued to cry because of the inevitable.

I was still in love with Billie Joe, the virus.