NOTHING LASTS FOREVER

BY

Vaughn Tunstall

EXCERPT

IT WAS THE BRIGHTEST day of a week in early September as the black limo slowly came to a stop in front of a gigantic white house.  The mansion sparkled like ivory in the sunlight as the limo doors swung open.

“Oh my god they’re here!” Casey Forrester whined as she looked curiously outside her window.  She and her husband Jack lived a few yards away from the white mansion in a mansion of their own.  All the houses around the area were mansions, but the sparkling white one was the biggest.

“Come on Jack, let’s go,” she said, tugging on her husband’s arm.  Jack sighed, put his book down, and let his wife drag him out the door.  The couple made their way to the limousine.

Emerging from the limo was an African American family of six.  David was the patriarch of the family, a tall man in his early forties with a muscular body and gray black hair.  Linda, David’s wife, was in her mid thirties, with bushy dyed blonde hair and piercing black eyes. There were four others as well, the children, as Casey knew all too well.

The eldest child, Dorothy, was in her early twenties and had short black hair and was very overweight. Tyree, the eldest son who was almost twenty, was tall bald and handsome.  Mychal, the middle child, was sixteen, tall with wild black hair. Denise, the youngest, was fifteen, tall and lanky with long black hair. They were the Woodshires and Casey was all too pleased to have them moving in.

“Hi everyone, welcome to the neighbourhood.  I’m Casey Forrester and this is my husband Jack.  Here’s a pie I baked to welcome you.”  Casey held out a golden crisp pie with outstretched arms.

“Thank you ma’am,” an old feeble man in a tuxedo said as he took the pie. The man was black in his mid sixties and judging by his clothes, Casey guessed he was the butler, Larry.

David couldn’t keep his eyes off Casey as the two glanced at each other from time to time.  Casey, a beautiful young black woman, early twenties, was tall with long rich hair.  Her husband, Jack, also in his twenties, was a short stocky black man with very average looks and patchy skin.

“Thank you very much.  We’re very happy to be moving here to Everlasting Falls,” David said as he shook Jack and Casey’s hands.

“Well children, don’t be rude, introduce yourselves,” Linda said as she glared at Casey.  They all introduced themselves and shook one another’s hands.

“Well, we’ve got to be going, we had a really long ride here.  Nice meeting you,” Linda said as she pushed Dorothy to the door.

“Okay, mother.  Chill!” Dorothy said and rolled her eyes.  Denise popped her gum, as she was the last to enter the house.

“Denise, if I told you once –”

”I know, mother.  Sorry.”  Denise threw the gum out.  Linda took the pie from Larry and threw it in the trash.

“That wasn’t nice honey,” David said.

“Neither was the way she was looking at you.  I don’t like her.”

“Come on honey relax.  Look, I’ll go call the company and tell them we arrived.” He kissed the back of her head.  Linda walked slowly around her house, admiring it.  The walls were painted a bright golden color and the floors were marble.  Above the ceiling in the center was a huge golden chandelier hanging in a hallway that fully represented the opulence of the mansion.

Linda made her way up the spiral staircase and entered the room on her left.  “Don’t you knock?” Mychal said angrily as he turned on his stereo.

Loud rock music continued to blast in the room as Mychal began kicking boxes, pretending he was playing the guitar.

“Turn it down!” Linda yelled as Mychal kept dancing.  Finally, having enough of her son‘s immature antics, she walked over and unplugged the stereo.

“Bitch!”  Mychal snarled as Linda glared at him.

“Start unpacking the rest of your stuff,” she said as she slammed the door.

Linda went to check up on Dorothy.  She saw her unpacking her boxes.

“Hi honey, how are you?” Linda asked.

“You already know the answer mother.  You know Denise and I never wanted to leave New York in the first place.  Back in New York Denise had a boyfriend and I had a life you just ripped away.  Oh no, I couldn’t start college back home in New York, I had to move to some dump named Everlasting Falls in North Jersey so you can keep an eye on me!” Dorothy yelled with malice as she threw a box on the floor and wiped the rivulets of sweat from her forehead.

“Dorothy, your father and I explained why we thought you should move with us instead of getting your own place back in New York.  Need I remind you for the millionth time your father and I have sacrificed a lot so he could build his computer company?  Do you think it was easy, impregnating me at a young age and him supporting me, you, and trying to start a new business?  You should be grateful!”

“Should I, really?  You didn’t make Dad move us here so he could help his business.  We both know that.”

“You know what, Dorothy?  Fine, be angry, I don’t care.  But you have moved here to this dump whether you like it or not!  So stop with the immature antics, it’s very unbecoming of a young lady,” Linda said in a low and patronizing tone as she stormed out.

Linda found Denise on the patio, twirling her hair and talking on the phone. “I’m trying to reach someone very important.  His name is Greg—”

But Linda snatched the phone and turned it off.

“Mom—”

“No, Denise we’ve had this discussion.  One of the reasons we moved was to get you away from that junkie Greg.  You are not to contact him again and vice versa.  Do you understand?”

Denise nodded her head reluctantly.

“Good.”

Linda left her daughter in tears.  Denise fell to the ground crying as she kicked at the cement.

“You okay sis?” Tyree asked as he came on the patio with a basketball tucked in his arm.

“No I’m not and it’s all Mom’s fault.  Once again she’s acting like a total control freak.  We have put up with her abuse for years and each day I ... I don’t know.  I just can’t take her.  I want to go home to New York.  I hate it here and I hate HER!”

Tyree embraced his sister as she kept crying.

Linda had stepped out of the house and was perusing her garden, deciding what new flowers to plant, when she spotted David with Casey a few feet from the Woodshire mansion.  Casey was laughing and twirling her hair back as David was laughing along with her.

That bitch.

Linda marched over to where David was and interrupted them.

“Excuse me dear, someone on the line for you,” Linda said, kissing her husband’s cheek.

“Excuse me,” David said and left to go into the house.

“So are you enjoying the house?” Casey asked.

“Yes I am.  It’s the people I don’t like.”  Linda glared at Casey.  Casey saw Linda’s menacing black eyes as she gulped.

“Excuse me?”

”You and Jack own Gossip, the tabloid magazine right?” Linda asked as Casey nodded.

“Well if you don’t wanna appear in your magazine with a broken jaw, stay away from my husband,” she commanded, her face glowing with wrath.

“I have no interest in your husband, but I’m sure the police would like to be informed about your threat,” Casey said with a sly smile, suddenly finding the courage to stand up to Linda.

Linda lunged at her and grabbed her throat.  “I’m not playing with you, you little bitch!  Stay the hell away from my husband or else.”  She tightened her grip like a metal vice for several seconds before she threw Casey to the ground.  Linda made her way back into the house as

David was passing her.  He was about to speak when he heard Casey coughing and gagging.  He sprinted to her aid.  “There was no call ... oh my God are you okay?  Why, did Linda attack you? Did she threaten you?”

“I’m fine.  You should go home to your loving wife,” Casey sardonically answered as she ran in her house, rubbing her swollen red neck.

Casey nearly ran into Jack as she made her way upstairs.  “My wife hasn’t had a decent conversation with me in weeks and yet she manages to easily talk to our newest married neighbour like a whore on the streets!” he yelled.  The veins popped out his neck like a Jack-in-the-box, as Casey looked shocked and confused at her husband.

“I was not–”

”Oh please, you’ve been soo excited ever since you knew they were coming here.  I am so sick of doing this, day after day and month after month Casey.  Look I don’t have time for this.  I have to go work.  You remember that, right, the thing used to pay the bills?  Oh I forgot, you don’t work, you just drool over the new billionaire in the neighbourhood.”  

On that note Jack grabbed his keys and slammed the door behind him.  Casey ran her fingers through her thick sweaty hair.  She fell to the floor and continued rubbing her neck, trying her best to placate the painful sensation left from Linda‘s assault.  She didn’t know how many more fights with Jack she could take ... or how many their marriage could.

David found his wife in their room as he sat down on the bed.  “What is it David?  I’m busy unpacking.”  She opened a new box.

“Did you attack Casey?” he asked, fully knowing the answer.

Linda laughed as she hung a picture on the wall.  “Violence, not my style hon.”  She began setting up her cosmetics on the bureau.

“Well you lied about the phone call and when I came back she was on the ground, rubbing her neck.”

“Maybe she did it herself.”  Linda opened another box as she replayed the attack in her mind, feeling fully vindicated.  David grabbed her wrist, turned her around, and looked into her eyes.  “Don’t play games with me.“

”Me, play games?  That’s rich.  Wasn’t cheating on me a game?” she asked sardonically.  David didn’t respond as Linda freed herself and walked downstairs.

Tyree was shooting hoops when Mychal came out.  “What’s wrong with Denise?” Mychal asked as Tyree shot the ball into the hoop.

“She’s upset about the move, Greg and all.  Can’t say I’m glad about it either but what are you gonna do, you know?  We live with them,” Tyree chuckled as he shot the ball and made it again.  

“So you must be excited, you and Dorothy going to Brownster College.  I mean you got a scholarship to play basketball there and all.”

“Yea it is pretty cool, wanna play?” Tyree asked as Mychal gave a smile.  Tyree checked the ball and Mychal checked it back.

*  *  *  *

IT WAS EARLY IN the evening when the Woodshires gathered around their long white table for dinner in the dining room.  The sun slowly faded behind the purplish sky as the cool fall breeze began to gently settle under the darkening sky. “Thank you, Larry” Linda said as he placed the mashed potatoes on the table.  After Linda said grace Dorothy immediately wrapped her chubby hand around the bowl filled with fluffy mashed potatoes.

“Geez, porker, save some for us,” Mychal said as Dorothy glared at him.

“Mychal,” David began.

“Now David, as rude as that was, he did bring up a good point.  Dorothy you should watch your diet.  You‘re gaining even more weight dear.  What happened to those pills we bought for you?” Linda asked, making small cuts into her steak.

“They didn’t work,” Dorothy replied solemnly as she stuffed her mouth full of potatoes.

“Well try again, they cost a lot of money and you look absolutely ghastly at such a large weight,” Linda mumbled.  She began putting cranberry sauce on her plate as she swallowed her pills.

“Well we don’t wanna waste money now do we, seeing how were billionaires!”  Dorothy threw her napkin down and stormed off like a petulant child.

“You come back here!” Linda yelled as Denise went to get her.

“Well this was fun.  Larry, good job, I’m full” Tyree said and left along with Mychal.

“Well this was a great moving in dinner wasn’t it?  Like usual, you always know how to ruin them,” David said to his wife with a sarcastic smile and left.

As David walked out Larry continued to shoot daggers at him.

And you always know how to unzip your pants.

Later that night Linda was sitting by the fire in the library reading as Larry knocked.  “Enter” she said as Larry came in and began serving Linda some brandy. “Thank you. Sit” she politely commanded as he did.

“I have been your butler ever since you were married.  I have always minded my manners and place but not this time.  Linda, David treats you like garbage.  He cheated on you once and it’s obvious he plans to do so with Casey.  I saw you choke her and I must say well done.”  Larry was giving Linda golf claps.

Linda laughed so loud she covered her mouth to muffle the sound as the fire crackled softly.  “Oh Larry, you always knew how to make me laugh.”

“I love you Linda, always have” he said as she sipped her brandy.

“Larry you—” but she was cut off as Larry leaned over and kissed her passionately.

At first Linda didn’t kiss back, but soon she opened her mouth.  Every impulse told her to stop Larry but a part of her yearned for such a passion, a passion she had forgotten how to feel.  There they were, their arms wrapped around each other like vines, their tongues playing with one another, darting in and out each other’s mouths, as they kept kissing harder and more passionately.

Unbeknownst to them, one of Linda’s children was watching.  “That bitch is kissing the hired help.  How could she ruin our family, how could she?”