"The reason I can’t marry you is because I’m in love." She took a deep breath. "With someone else." Kennedy stood there waiting for a reaction.
"You’re in love with someone else! How? When, with whom?"
Kennedy walked back over to the bar and poured another drink.
"It just happened."
Robert walked to the bar with her and spoke calmly.
"How did it just happen, Kendy? You’ve been with me five years. I don’t remember any other man. Look," he grabbed Kennedy by both of her arms. "You don’t have to go through all of this if you don’t want to get married. We can keep things the way they were." He kissed her on the neck and then he tried to kiss her on the lips. Kennedy pulled away. He saw the sincerity in her eyes.
"It happened in Phoenix," Kennedy said calmly as she watched a tear fall down Robert’s face.
"I’m sorry, Robert; I didn’t mean to hurt you like this. I really didn’t."
She walked over to touch him. Robert moved his shoulder.
"So who is he? What’s his name, Kendy?"
Tears fell down Kennedy’s face again. She took another sip of her drink. She started fidgeting, afraid of what he was going to do to her, once he found out. Her lips began to tremble, and tears fell down her face.
"Well, this he we’re talking about is a--a--a--she."
He stared at her in shock.
"A woman! You’re in love with a woman?" He laughed it off. "You’ve got to be kidding me. You are kidding me, right?"
She shook her head nervously.
"You mean to tell me all these years I’ve been dating you, giving you everything I had, which is not as much as you have, but I gave you everything, my heart, my soul, my time, and you’re a dike! A fucking dike!" He shouted so loud that Kennedy began to be truly afraid.
"No Robert, I wasn’t. It’s just something that happened. I didn’t ask to be this way, honestly. I never lied to you before."
Robert grabbed her by her arms.
"Have you slept with her?"
She was afraid to answer.
"Answer me, damn it!" He shook her.
"Yes," Kennedy said, in a low tone. Then he shook her again, and her voice echoed through the house. "Yes! Yes! I have slept with her." Her voice trembled in fear and she cried again, in a low passionate voice. "Oh my God, yes, I’ve slept with her."
Robert stopped shaking her and raised his hand to hit her, but changed his mind. Kennedy was more frightened than ever.
********
Now, my Mom tells me she’s in love with you." Kennedy smiled nervously, wondering what could be coming next from a twelve-year- old. "I’m going to tell you this. I don’t like what my mother does with other girls, but that’s what she likes and I don’t hate her for it, as long as she don’t do that kissing stuff around me, you feel me?" Kennedy smiled at the slang he was using and replied.
"Yes, I feel you"
"Good. Now, all I want to know is are you going to hit her and hurt her like Tonya and my Dad? If you are, then you should leave us right now. Because I promise, when I get big enough, I’m going to get them for hitting my Mama."
"Oh, Nico," said Kennedy, looking at him with love in her eyes. "I will never ever hit your mother, and I promise, I’ll never intentionally hurt her either."
"What does inten-- What does that mean?"
"That means I won’t hurt her on purpose. I love your mother, too. With all my heart." Kennedy noticed Angel standing in the doorway. "I promise, we will take good care of each other. We will never do any kissing around you, I promise." Nico gave her a big hug. "You know, Nico, I love you and Briana like you were my own children."
"I love you, too, Kendy." Kennedy’s eyes filled with tears.
"Why do girls cry so much?"
"I don’t know Nico." She smiled. Angel came in the room.
"Nico, go start doing your homework," Angel said, as she sat next to Kennedy.
"He’s a very intelligent boy," Kennedy said.
*********
"RW, how dare you let her stay in my house! She’s totally against God!" Melonie yelled angrily.
"Sit down, Melonie. Mother, can you excuse us?"
"Sure." She walked out of the room.
"I don’t believe what I’m hearing; how can you tell your own daughter to get out of this house? Did you forget she bought this house for us? And who are you to judge someone? I think if we go back some years before Kendy was born, I think someone I knew had an illegal abortion, and I do believe that’s murder, or did you forget that too? So if you are without sin, cast the first stone. But if you aren’t. . . " He stared at Melonie, directly in her eyes. She looked at him with fear and tears in her eyes. "So how dare you judge your own child? No sin is greater than the other. If you want to know who might burn in hell, then maybe you should look in the mirror, because judging someone is just like being a homosexual, a murderer, a fornicator; all of it is a sin. I know my daughter has Jesus with her. Because of that, the Lord will deal with her. Like I said, Melonie, I didn’t write the book of laws; I just work to follow them. Maybe you should work to do the same thing." He got up and walked out of the kitchen. Melonie just sat there and cried.