Drama Two

By Cheryl-Ann Wallace

Born in New Jersey, moved to Connecticut as a child, now living in South Carolina attending MTC for an Associates.

Love writing, reading, the outdoors,shooting pool, travel and expanding my vivd imagination. I am working on a series to my first novel, perhaps in three, its such a lucky number.
Motto: Life goes on so dont give up nor give in to the hard things because that next level is truly worth it, so is accomplishing your dreams.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 18, 2010
• ISBN: 9781456815585

Cheryl-Ann Wallace

Born in New Jersey, as baby was moved to Hartford, Connecticut. Raised in a strict home, mother only parent, 2 brothers, 3 sisters. While in High School was in a prep-college program which helped me graduate 3rd in a class of 300 in 1975. Held several jobs in restaurants, then shipyard which lead to other industrial jobs, last as a security office. Due to injuries now on the disabled list. Attending Midlands Technical College (Journalism- Associate Arts). Now editing second manuscript and hope to spend rest of mature life as the most creative writer (in my mind). Enjoy writing, drawing, listening to smooth jazz or slow songs and I wish for peace, moderate living in the woods.

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Copyright © 2010 by Cheryl-Ann Wallace.

ISBN:          Softcover                                 978-1-4568-1557-8

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4568-1558-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Acknowledgement

Writing Drama Two, helped to mellow me. I used writing as an avenue to transfer the anger into a story instead of acting out the anger and ending up in jail. I encourage other women to read or write it down or talk to the Man above. It really does mend the soul.

Thanks to all at the General Electric Boat shipyard in Connecticut also friends and family who gave words of advice or inspiration for Drama Two that is the mainstay of chasing the boredom away. Women often resort to drama, trying to change him to her satisfaction but life and drama always threw logs of ice or fire to spur women to give up or be their best.

Ciena Ringgold and her parents were spending a day at the Westfarms Mall in Connecticut. It was beautiful eighty-five degree summer Saturday. Ciena and her mom, Mavis, were at Victoria’s Secret while William Ringgold, her father was down the way checking out his leather store. William had a chain of leather stores located in malls around the country. He worked hard from an early age and now, in his middle years was enjoying the fruits of his labors. He loved his wife and daughter but had another family in New York. His mistress, Cobi Marks had three sons and two daughters from him over a period of twenty-four years. He has been married to Mavis for thirty years and his daughter Ciena was celebrating her twenty-fifth birthday that very day. William was of the native Indian race but he loved his chocolate-girl, Mavis. Although William and Mavis were of medium height, Ciena was short. She was the best of both parents. Ciena had a honey-nut complexion, very shapely legs, petite body also small hands and feet. Ciena wore her hair in braids, shoulder-length.

After shopping, they all met at the food court to enjoy various lunch entrees. Ciena ordered from China Express while Mavis ordered from Nathaniel’s (their lemonade is the bomb!). William loved food from Wendy’s Burgers. They laughed and talked or watched other families, couples or singles enjoying the variety of foods at the Food Court. This was a typical Saturday afternoon, spending money after a long meticulous week at work.

Trying to get out of the parking lot was like trying to get out of a maze. Ciena was driving her parents in her Toyota that day. She finally got on the highway. It seemed like everyone was out driving somewhere at the same time. Mavis was in the front passenger side and William in the back with all of the packages. They were listening to a soul station on the radio while talking and laughing. All of a sudden, chaos erupted. Three police cars sped by chasing some young men in a weaving fast chase. The young brothers drove a silver-BMW and every-where they went they caused accidents. They cut across Ciena who then swerved and crashed into a tractor-trailer. Her car crushed and her parents instantly died. Blood and cries of help were everywhere while Ciena laid there unconscious. She woke up in the hospital two days later.

The funeral had to be closed casket. All of Ciena’s friends showed up. Ciena got the shock of her life during the reading of the will. There she met Cobi Marks and her half siblings. Cobi tried to be cordial but Ciena would have none of this. She was further shocked to find out that her father left her only three-hundred-thousand dollars while the rest of his money, business’ and estates went to Cobi and her children. Cobi’s daughters resembled her a bit. Cobi left information with the lawyers in case Ciena may want to get to know her and her children in the future. Maybe one day Ciena would need someone and reach out to because, like or not, it was the only connection to William Ringgold.

Ciena felt betrayed and very alone. She raged throughout the house she grew up in and still lived in minus her parents. Why did they have to abandon her? Did he not love her and her mother? What was the purpose of the other family? Yeah, her mother and father had broken up earlier in their relationship for a couple of years but remarried and stayed together all those years. How can a man have two families and keep them apart while holding on to secrets so long? Did her father marry her mother because she had Ciena? She met her father when she was two. The D.N.A. test proved she was his. That hurt Mavis because it showed that William did not trust her. However, time healed the wounds and love made life better for the three. William met Cobi during those two years he was away from Mavis. He did not know that Mavis was months pregnant because she did not show much. Out of pride, Mavis was not telling. Mavis never knew about Cobi.

The first year, William felt deeply for Cobi and they had twin sons. When he ran into Mavis again, he discovered he had a daughter and did the right thing according to his principles. He married Mavis after making sure Ciena was his. They fell in love again but he could not give up Cobi who was pregnant with their third child. William did what he had to do, loving them all very much. Mavis understood his line of work meant much traveling but he took care of her and their daughter very well making sure they lacked for nothing. He also took very good care of his second family.

At the time of William’s death, he had a daughter, twenty-four, Teddy and Freddy, Helen was twenty-three, Marcus was seventeen and the youngest, Gwendolyn was fifteen. Cobi Marks was fifty-three whereas William and Mavis were fifty-seven years old each.

For three weeks, Ciena mourned for her parents then decided to pack her belongings and moved south. Just get lost, blend into the crowd and start over again. One of Ciena’s friends had moved to Chesapeake, Virginia the year before so she decided to visit her for a week. During that time, Ciena met at man named Daewood Dance who worked on cars. She had him check out hers because it kept stalling at every red light. Daewood fixed her alternator, motor mounts and replaced the serpentine belt for a smaller fee than she would have paid up North. During the last night of her visit, they met for dinner. She told him much about herself then he told her how he towed and fixed cars for a living. Daewood told Ciena he had a seven-year-old daughter and he and the daughter’s mom were breaking up because she was messing around on him. He told about his dreams to open his own recording studio and auto-body shop. He suggested that maybe she would like to invest in his business or become partners. Ciena thought he was so fine and charming. He was very different from the type of men she dated. Daewood was dark-skinned, medium height and average build. He had long curly hair worn in a ponytail. He was not the type that dressed in suits everyday but had an outdoorsy and live sexual attitude.

Ciena drove back to Connecticut the next day and through the next two weeks closed her affairs, packing only what fit into her car to move down south. This would be her great adventure. She never lived anywhere except in the north and never traveled past New York. With her parents gone and her friends moving from the state, she felt an awful restlessness. This move would put spirit back into her life. She thought often of Daewood. Ciena felt they could be soul mates because she felt close even though many miles separated them. A few of her friends in Connecticut threw a farewell party for Ciena during her last night there. They had an all night party at one of her friend’s house, Paulitha Graves. Most of Ciena’s friends were five to fourteen years older than she was and always gave advice on how she was to behave. Around five in the morning, Regina, Ciena’s friend from Virginia, helped her pack. By then, the party frizzled and Paulitha decided to help her pack also. Ciena let Paulitha have most of her furniture and belongings because she would start over from scratch in Virginia.

Ciena followed Regina back to Virginia and stayed with her, her husband Jack, her children Sherica and Reggie at their house. It rained almost every day that first spring in Virginia but they still had a great time. The first two weeks, Ciena spent forty-thousand dollars shopping for self and helping Regina’s family out. She bought name brands like KingCoil®, Lane®, Kenwood®, Philips®, just to name a few. She put all her expensive purchases in storage until she found a nice place to call her own. They ate out often at Red Lobster, Old Country Buffet, Golden Corral and Fridays. In addition, they spent many days at the mall shopping for clothes, jewelry, CDs and having lots of fun.

Ciena tried to contact Daewood but he was always away or she had just missed him. Her heart cried out for him. Even though she was having fun spending money, she was lonely. She spent most of her time with either Sherica who was twelve or Reggie who was eighteen and into music. They filled that space in her where she wished she could have children.

When she was nineteen, Ciena had to go to the hospital with female problems. The doctor told her he was operating on her because of the various prescribed drugs that came out which messed up her insides. You know those new drugs that the public later found out linked to causing cancer and other kinds of negative effects (covering up genocide) such as a hysterectomy.

After a few weeks of living with Regina and the family, Ciena began to feel locked in. Although they were like family, she began to feel a bit used. Regina never told her they were doing bad and keeping her business private. Cool! Ciena’s money was flying out of the bank much too fast to keep track of. Eventually, she moved and stayed in a hotel that she paid weekly. She rode around all day or night in a blue moon funk looking for that elusive something she felt was missing. Ciena found a couple of clubs where she danced and drank but still felt like half a person and very restless.

One afternoon, Ciena enjoyed a lazy day in her new two-bedroom apartment in a very nice neighborhood. This apartment complex had an exercise room, sauna and Jacuzzi, swimming pool, tennis and basketball courts also a large laundry room. She had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large living room, spacious walk-in closets, and a huge kitchen with a dishwasher, washer and dryer set. It cost her seven-hundred dollars a month, which was high for Virginia since the average rents were between two-hundred-fifty to four-hundred dollars. Ciena was drawing and listening to Brainchild, one of five CDs playing on her Kenwood® stereo system that cost her twelve-hundred dollars. The phone rings. She contemplates whether to answer or not as she takes a second tote off her joint. Why not? She answers and finds out that it is Daewood. Excitement builds as he lays on the charm and makes love to her mind on the phone. She gave him directions to find her new apartment. Ciena rushed into the bathroom to bathe and scent herself then dress in a tee shirt and very sexy jean shorts. As she is putting on her Reeboks®, Daewood knocks on the door. She lets him in and they talked for three hours while the sexual attraction grows. Daewood walks around her expensively decorated apartment with great admiration. Purple lights, Giorgio® scented candles burning and the Maxwell’s CD playing in the background makes a very smooth ambiance. Daewood was sitting at the kitchen table and beckons Ciena from the sink. She looks at him with pure desire in her eyes but is still a little nervous. She walks around cleaning up an already cleaned area and is talking up a storm to hide the feeling within. She is glad that he is finally with her and sits on his lap. Daewood immediately takes possession of her lips, kissing her while his hands enjoyed her fragrantly soft skin. Her Wrappings® Perfume intoxicated his senses and they hungrily introduced themselves. Daewood picks her up and they ended up on the plush carpet. They are nude although neither remembers how they divested themselves of clothes. They kissed, licked, explored and savored every inch of each other slowly. Time seemed to stop for them, becoming magical and heart-felt. Surely, this was soul mates reuniting forever. They made love slowly all over the living room, kitchen and the bedroom before they fell asleep, sated. Ciena felt that she was giving him her very essence, her love and loyalty that night. However, Daewood felt it was too easy of an accomplishment to win over her heart to get into her pockets. He asked her to marry him, be his one and only and Ciena said yes. Daewood left the next morning because reality means work and responsibility. Ciena drifted throughout the day while dreaming about the love, they shared and how she would help him. She would make all his dreams come true. How could his ex treat such a wonderful person so cruelly? Why did she not want him to have things or be somebody? This ex was content that he worked at her father’s garage, driving a beat-up car, wondering where their next meal was coming from. While he was working so hard, she laid around the house wanting to have sex when he returned. Ciena thought that she would build him up to the man he was born to be.

For the next three months, she shopped and bought Daewood suits, clothes, jewelry, a corvette, a ten-thousand dollar tow truck and other things. She invested two-hundred-thousand dollars in a building he had purchased to run his own auto business. Daewood brought his daughter to stay with him and Ciena and they were happy with the way things were going. In the daytime, they fixed up and repaired the building he bought because it caught fire when it belonged to the man he purchased it from. Daewood loved the green corvette she bought him and said it was an early Christmas gift for him, nine-thousand dollars! Ciena contemplated, Men and their toys. He was in love with that car and very seldom let anyone ride in it besides himself.

As the weeks went by, he started coming home later and later. Ciena did not like to watch him get dressed up to go out while she and his daughter, Samantha, stayed home. He would let them go shopping, to the movies, the auto shop to work, Chucky Cheese or anywhere else during the day. However, during the night she was on lock-down. At first, she thought it was sweet because he loved her and protected her from the night’s bad elements. In addition, his ex gradually started calling the house for him. A woman knows when another woman is calling her man because he goes into another room or whispers. She told him she would not deal with any of his negative baggage. One day, Shamia, his ex, called to speak with her daughter after talking to Daewood then he went to the bathroom to bathe. After his daughter hung up the telephone, she began to cry. Ciena took Samantha into her arms and wiped the seven-year-old girl’s eyes while taking softly to her. She coaxed Sam to confide in her. Sam told her that her mother called her a traitor because she like Ciena and accepted all the nice toys and clothes she bought her.

Daewood asked Ciena to buy things for his daughter because she needed them and school would start soon. Shamia, her mother, rarely bought anything for her daughter but when she did then items came from a thrift store or Salvation Army. Occasionally, Ciena would shop at those places to find bargains however when you have money why would you buy second or third-hand clothes? Daewood said his ex thought only of herself or her father, putting him and their daughter’s needs last on her list. Ciena tried her best to take care of them by spoiling them. Daewood took Ciena to meet his mother and father. They instantly took a liking to Ciena and become close friends. They told her many times that they were glad their son had such a good woman taking care of him because none of his other woman treated him right. It took nine months for Ciena to realize how fast Daewood was spending her money. She was down to thirty-thousand dollars total and wondered where did all the money go? They had sunk a lot of money into repairs on the building. He also bought cars and trucks to sell or trade. They went on a trip to Georgia to visit some of his family also to a wedding. They bought clothes and he asked for a few thousand after they made love regularly.

He was starting to insist that he keep sexual distance from Ciena because it was a bad influence on his daughter while she lived there. Things began to get tense. One night, Ciena brought up the money issues to him and refused to keep it to herself any longer. She demanded, Before I take any more money out of the bank, you have to sign a notarized agreement between the both of us. Daewood tried to stall but Ciena was not having it. Although he never mentioned marriage again, he told her that he loved her as much as he did his mother, daughter and his ex. He then broke the news to Ciena that he and his ex were back together; they had been involved for eight years therefore had history and a bond. Ciena cried and felt like her heart was bleeding. He told her that he still loved her and would not let her go either. Daewood told her that he wished the four of them could live together so he would not have to pay three sets of bills. Ciena dug deep down into her strength and agreed to stay with him as the other woman. Daewood moved his daughter back to her mother’s house and moved Ciena closer to the shop. He started to use the wrecker more until the business picked up because it was slow going although they put so much money into it. At night, he went to Shamia’s house. Ciena hated this relationship because he never slept with her at night. She finally came to realize that he only spent seven nights total with her since they had been together.

He kept clothes at Ciena’s house but spent very few hours a week with her now. Loneliness crept into Ciena’s life but she remained caught up in Daewood’s game of charm, sex and lies. Many a nights, she would cry herself to sleep and promised to leave him. She would sue him because he was just using her. Every time she was ready to give up and kick him to the curb, he would show up and pour on his charms toward her. Assuring her of their bond and his love also how she could not leave him because he would kill her first. He would make love to her so expertly then ask for a few thousand dollars when he was ready to leave.

Ciena had to take stock of her life and make changes. She had to find a job because the auto business was taking too long to pick up. She and Daewood have been together for a year and the last three months spent at Shamia’s house because he claimed he was sick so he did not work. Ciena was running the business except when his father came by to help.

A month later, Daewood moved Ciena into his home where he had been sharing with Shamia and his daughter. It appeared that Shamia left him again. Ciena realized this was a game between them; Shamia did not get her way then she would leave him and take her daughter. Daewood had two sons, a teenager and the other about twenty-one years old. He also had a teenage daughter but Samantha was his heart and his youngest. He would never let anyone or thing come between him and his youngest child. This is why he would let Shamia play him so bad. He would leave Ciena alone for days, weeks, even months just to make Shamia happy. Shamia was a cold, calculating, selfish and two-faced bitch. He loved her with all his heart because they had history together.

Daewood hated being lonely and would never let a woman call-the-shots therefore he moved Ciena into his home to get back at Shamia. He replaced most of his furnishing with Ciena’s because hers had the expensive art deco look. He started having company over and gave parties because with Ciena there he felt respected and received better treatment. He made love to her and spent quality time with her when she was not at work. Ciena was happy to point out that he went to work at the shop every day. She could read between the lines and saw the feelings he tried to hide. She knew he missed his ex and daughter although he talked about her sluttish ways. After a month had gone by, Shamia was calling the house and things changed again.

Daewood made Ciena sleep in the other room while she worked seven days straight at the Meat Packing Plant. One night, he thought she was asleep and brought Shamia home to have sex in the other room with him. Suddenly, he heard glass breaking in the kitchen and ran in there while putting on his pants. He found Ciena in the kitchen throwing dishes and whatever she could get her hands on at the same time cussing him out. She yelled at him, How could you do me this way, be sexing her up right under my nose? Daewood grabbed her, trying to shake her out of her rage. He told her to clean up the mess in the kitchen that she caused. He went back to the room then two minutes later he escorted a grinning Shamia out the house. He came back hours later and laid down the law. He and Shamia were back together. Sam and Shamia were moving back into the house. They will all behave like adults and get along. Both women would give each other respect and not give him any problems. He loved them both and he was strong enough to make this relationship work. He told Ciena that things would be OK if she would accept these terms since Shamia had already agreed. He spent the rest of the night making love to Ciena because she agreed also.

Ciena’s heart was her traitor. She loved Daewood deeply and would do anything he asked just to stay in his life. Now that the money was gone, she believed that he was not using her for it anymore. They were one big happy family. They were getting along for outside appearances but inside the emotions curbed and building up. Little things seemed so unfair as far as Ciena was concerned. She worked seven days a week on the day shift while Shamia only worked three nights a week for hour hours. She wondered when Daewood worked because many times when she returned home he would still be in the bed and did not bother to get up until the evenings to hit the streets. He would tell her that he did his business in the clubs by meeting people and politicking over long conversation and drinks. He would leave his three ladies at home to entertain themselves, on lockdown again.

On the outside, Shamia and Ciena got along with smiles for Samantha’s sake. Sam was happy because her mother and father were together again. She loved Ciena because she was good to her, treated her like an equal instead of a child that did not know anything. Sam could talk to her about anything. Ciena was always open, fair and honest with her and never told her parents about her secrets. Sam could feel the tensions brewing and knew at times her mother would play games even using her to get at her father so that he would get mad and punish Ciena instead. Sam knew Ciena was her father’s girlfriend and that she loved him very much. She could see the sadness and pain her mother was causing Ciena therefore deep down Sam hated Shamia for that. Overall, she loved her parents and hoped Ciena’s love would make her stay. Sam wanted them always to be a family. Ciena hated the nights because although they lived together she was still lonely. She slept alone every night. Daewood and Shamia slept together in the other room while Samantha slept on the couch. Ciena hated the mind games that Shamia played and if she spoke of them to Daewood then he shunned her for days. She brought home five-hundred dollars a week while working at the Meat Packing Plant as a security guard. She gave Daewood all of her earnings. Ciena found out Shamia only made one-hundred dollars a week, if she did not take off time from work. In addition, he allowed her to keep most of her money to care for Sam and her older daughter who lived in the house that Shamia owned. This did not sit well with Ciena so sometimes she would not come home on her pay night. She hated herself for what she let herself get into. Ciena would ride all night long or go to the bars and get drunk. Daewood hated so