Mind Body & Soul

Love and War

Chapter 1: Love and War

"Good morning Beautiful people. It's a beautiful day out. Nice day for riding around with your lover and jam to Mr. Smooth in the morning.... So get up and get your move on."

My alarm went off, waking me up to Mr. Smooth in the Morning. I quickly got up and started my daily routine, which consisted of showering and getting dressed, bathing Journey, and cooking breakfast before Journey's babysitter arrived. After that, the next thing on my list was to make sure I had Andre's clothes out and ironed; even though he wasn't home. It was becoming a normal routine for Andre to stay out all night and come home right before I went to work. Just as I headed back to Journey's room to straighten up, I heard the front door slam and Andre's hard footsteps coming up the stairs. I knew then that my day would be long and tiring. For some reason, every day that Andre was upset, my day went horribly. It was like an unfortunate plague. I tried to ignore the negative vibe I felt, but while putting Journey's clean clothes away, I could feel a pair of eyes on me. I turned around and was greeted by an unpleasant husband with a pissy attitude.

"Hey Andre." I said, returning his glare.

"Mmhmm. Are my clothes ready? I have a meeting at 10:30 and I would like to be able to look nice." He said completely ignoring my greeting. He walked a little closer to me.

"Yeah, I hung it up in your closet on the door." When I finished putting away the last of Journey's clothes, I turned off the light and proceeded back to my room, which was directly across the hall from Journey's.

"Are you seriously wearing that to work, Sandra?" Andre asked as he followed behind me into the bed room.

"Yes, I am. What's wrong with it?" I asked, not that I really cared, as I bent over to reach for my heels.

"Um, it's too sexy for a law firm, don't you think? You don't even wear sexy shit for me, but you wearing it to work?" He asked with a slight attitude.

"What?! What's sexy about a black dress and a blazer, Dre? I wear outfits like these all the time, now today you decide to add your two cents. Uh, okay." As I bent back down to slip on my heels, I could feel his strong hands grip my waist and pull me back; trying to feel under my dress. "What are you doing, Dre?" I asked as I looked at him.

"Shhh. I'm sorry for coming at you like that, Sand, okay?" He said as he tried to kiss on my neck. As he leaned in trying to kiss my neck, I smelled the heavy sent of Cheap perfume I knew it wasn't my perfume, so I quickly pushed away from him. I looked up at him in anger.

"Who have you been with?!" I snapped.

"No one!" He quickly replied, trying to avoid eye contact.

"So why do you smell like another woman's perfume, Dre?! Who have you been with?! And DON'T lie to me."

"Okay, I went to my mom's house before I came home. Okay?" He said. It was quite evident that he was lying. I did not want to get into this right before I had to leave for work, so I quickly pushed past him and finished getting ready. A few minutes later, Journey's babysitter finally arrived. I grabbed my briefcase and keys, and headed out the door.

As I pulled out my driveway, I turned the station back Mr. Smooth in the Morning and continued to drive. As I hopped on the expressway, my song came on the radio. I turned up my volume and sang along as if I was feeling the hell out of that song; which I actually was. It was something about that song that always caught my attention. Now that I was married and going through my issues with Dre, it seemed like The song was written just for me.

30 Minutes Later

After grabbing a cup of coffee, I headed straight to my office. Walking in, I was greeted by a stack of papers on my desk. I knew then that today was going to be extremely long and that it would be a late night for me. I knew from the beginning that if I wanted to be partner, I would have to work hard; but with doing all this work, I should be the head of this damned firm. Pulling away from my thoughts, I began to look over my upcoming cases. Just as I opened a new file, my phone rang. I looked at the caller i.d and saw it was my assistant, Joel.

"Hey, Joel." I said, not bothering to sound professional.

"Hey! You have a package from Mr. Cooper. I can bring it to you if you're too busy."

"It's okay. I'll be there in a second." I replied.

"Alright, lovely." He said before hanging up. Joel was so sweet, which is why I brought him with me from the previous law firm I worked at in Louisiana. He was the best assistant I ever had. Along with that, he and I had history. His younger sister, Shana, and I were great friends from elementary school all the way up into high school. But in the middle of our senior year, she was killed in a tragic fire set by her ex-boyfriend; who was five years older than her. This left Joel and his parents to have to deal with the heartbreak. When his parents retired a few years ago and I got the job offer at this law firm, I told Joel to pack up and come with me. I had to fight to get the firm to agree to let me bring my own assistant, but I didn't care.

After I got my package and talked to Joel for a minute, I went back into my office to get some work done before my first client showed up. By the time my lunch break came around, I was already tired. I had four clients, two meetings, and a boring seminar that lasted two hours. I was running on fumes, but I knew that a few minutes of quiet time would help me rejuvenate. When I finally had a few minutes for downtime, I leaned back in my confortable chair and closed my eyes. Just as I was beginning to relax, my phone started to ring. I put it on speaker, not bothering to look to see who was calling.

"McKinney's office. Sandra speaking."

"McKinney?! Why don't you start using you married name? Try answering like 'Mrs. Franklin office. Sandra Franklin speaking'."

"Uh no, I'm good. Andre, what is it?? Are you calling to explain this morning?"

"Something like that...I was calling to apologize, but you don't know how to be nice to your husband. Giving me attitude and shit!"

"I wasn't, but an apology would be nice from time to time. And thank you wouldn't hurt either." I said, knowing I was pushing his buttons.

"Really, Sandra? You can't be serious"

"I'm very serious, Dre. You really need to get yourself together. You're running around acting as if you're not married, and then want to address me like I'm a child? You are out of your mind."

"Alright, Sandra. Damn! I understand, my bad. Forgive me?" He asked, but cut me off before I could answer. "Now that we're good, I just wanted to know if you could pick up my dry cleaning before you leave work."

"You are so full of it! I don't know what time I'll get off. I might be home late tonight, so I don't know. But whatever, I guess."

"Are you mad? Because I'm sure you aren't that busy to where you can't pick up my laundry. You so into work.... Man, never mind. Fuck it! I'll do it."

"Don't call my job doing this, okay? Matter of fact, I don't have time for this. Grow the fuck up!"

I said before quickly hanging up. So much for a few minutes of silence. To say I was heated was an understatement. I swear, no matter what I said, Dre never listened. He was just so damned selfish and disrespectful.

Later That Night

I made it home around 9:15pm. Not only was I beat, but I was also still pissed from my previous conversation with Dre. I had it made up in my mind that Dre would be receiving the silent treatment for the remainder of the night. That was until I walked into the house and was greeted with the smell of pot roast, my favorite meal. As I turned the corner, there were rose petals leading up to the stairs and candles lit everywhere. I put my stuff down on the couch and looked around. There Dre was, standing in the middle of the dining room with a glass of wine.

"What is all of this?" I asked all in complete shock.

"Look, I thought about what you said earlier and you were right! I do need to start listening more and not always pressuring you. Baby I'm sorry, okay? I guess I just take you for granted and don't realize it."

I smiled. I felt a little bit better knowing that he had finally listened to me. I knew that he needed to work on his self more, but right now he scored major points with me.

"Do you forgive me baby?" He asked while kissing my neck. I could feel my knees getting a little weak; he knew my spot. I nodded my head. He smiled, pulled away, and guided me to the kitchen where we had a nice dinner and conversation. When we finished eating, we went upstairs. After making it to the room, Dre turned on some soft music and pulled me close. We danced as he let his hands roam my body. He began to kiss my neck and then unzipped my dress. I knew then it was ABOUT TO GO DOWN.