Walking slowly to his truck he replayed in his mind the night of Black’s heart attack:
“Khadijah, I am going home. I don’t know if I can do this any longer. I am losing my wife and I just don’t know”…she didn’t say a word. She never did. That’s what he liked about her. She just was, there were no complications or expectations attached to her. She worked hard and was an uncomplicated woman married to paraplegic, who needed affection and stimulation. They had been involved for over two years, way longer than any of the others. Cinnamon had known for months, and through the grace of God had not left him. He had been holding his breath since. When he’d arrived home at midnight, he was stunned that Cinnamon was not there. He knew immediately she was with Black. He did nothing, because he knew he had set up the whole thing. But the pain in his heart was like a hot knife. When the phone rang shortly after six a.m. he knew it was Cinnamon, he had just never expected the call to be about Black being in the hospital. That really complicated things. He would never forget walking in the room and hearing Cinnamon tell Black she loved him. He swallowed down bile as he pulled into traffic.
