Confessions by Sasha Campbell Read Free Book Online Page B

Redbone, five ten, with a medium build, and the sexiest smile. Donovan grew up with an alcoholic father who kicked his ass on a regular basis. Whenever his father put him out, Donovan would come over and I would sneak him in through my bedroom window. We’d spend the night holding each other and planning a better life. I didn’t give him my virginity until our sophomore year, and I never regretted it. As soon as we graduated high school, we got married with my family’s blessing. Both of us attended college locally—he on a track scholarship, and me with the help of financial aid. We lived in a one-bedroom apartment that was no better than the projects, but neither of us complained. We had each other, and that’s all that truly mattered. I worked as a manager at Walgreens during the day and an intern at the radio station at night while Donovan opened a barbershop. When I found out I was pregnant, neither of us thought life could get any better. We were so happy. We saved everything we had and bought our first home one month before Mimi, short for Tamika, was born. It was hard juggling work and motherhood, but Donovan didn’t want someone else raising our daughter, so we arranged our schedule to make sure Mimi was always with one of us.
    A sob rose to my throat and tears spilled and dampened my mail. I remember being so tired, so very tired. If only I hadn’t been so willing to please my husband and had insisted on a babysitter for help, maybe she…maybe things would have turned out differently.
    I stared down at the tear-stained letter. According to its contents, it was time for me to say good-bye not to one but to two of the most important people to ever become a part of my life. Part of me still wasn’t ready to let go, even though deep in my heart I knew I had lost them both years ago.

6
Trinette
    I arrived at my lovely two-bedroom condo. My maid, Consuela, had come through for her weekly cleaning, and the house smelled fabulous as usual.
    I stepped through the house on my beautiful mahogany wood floor. Last year Leon had a fit when I told him I planned to pull up all the carpet and replace it with wood flooring, but in the end I got my way and haven’t regretted my decision yet. One of Consuela’s responsibilities was cleaning the floor with Murphy Oil Soap once a month, and her hard work rang true.
    I headed to my room and slipped out of my clothes and moved into the shower. It was important for me to smell fresh and look fabulous when Leon arrived. I needed a new house, and it was going to take a little extra loving to convince him. In the end I would get my way. I always did.
    As I lathered my body I thought about my life with Leon. He was an excellent provider and a good man. I didn’t know if I would have been where I was if it wasn’t for him. I don’t give him all the credit, but some just the same.
    Don’t get me wrong, I love my husband, but at that point in my life it had to be about me. I’d traveled around being the dutiful and supportive wife for five years while he had been transferred all over the place as a result of one bank merger after another. Every time we had to move, I smiled; said goodbye to my job, my friends, and neighbors; packed up our stuff and prepared for the next location. Five years without objections or questioning, what about me? But at thirty, I decided it was finally my time to shine. It was time for me to finally start living life for me. That’s why I went back to school, and after years of starting and stopping, I finally got a degree in social work and was lucky when I landed a job at the Division of Children and Family Services. For the first time in my life it wasn’t about simply earning a paycheck. I finally had my first job that held real meaning. I was able to finally do for me. I was no longer just Leon Montgomery’s wife. Or the little bucktoothed girl from Englewood Park. I was finally Trinette