long story, but gotta get it off my chest
I had been tellin' my wife at the time that I knew somethin' was goin on... but she insisted on being caught instead of being honest. She claimed that she was out bowling with co-workers twice a week, but it was too obvious cuz whenever we'd go bowling with friends her back would always hurt the next day. Whenever she'd go 'bowling' with co-workers she'd come home like she'd been at the damn spa, all refreshed. Anyway, I sat at home ere’ night for weeks knowing that she was doin’ something but I just couldn’t prove it. I looked at her and honestly asked her if there was something wrong and she lied. I promised her that I would file for divorce if I ever discovered infidelity. Then she had the nerve to try and say that I should pray about my insecurities. I then decided that enough was enough.
I installed a caller ID box in the basement on a phone jack... then each night when I got home I would compare the numbers called on the cordless phones in the bedroom and living room to the box in the basement that she didn't know about... of course I was quickly able to figure out which number she was deleting... instead of confronting her, I just called my connects at Cellular One and ran a trace on the number... had dudes name, address, DOB, SS# and ere'thing... I drove past his crib one night that she was supposedly 'working late' and her car was there in his driveway. The car I had bought for her. I was really boiling at that point. Little did they know that I was sitting there with my loaded 9mm in lap. I had already figured out what I was gonna do. I was gonna kill her. I didn't give a damn who caught it... but SHE was the main one who was gonna get it... if dude had been there to walk her outside or something, I woulda got him too, but he wasn't my target...
I called both my moms and pops separately and told them what I was about to do. I don't know why I called my parents, I guess it was the pain eating me up inside and out of respect for them, I wanted to let them know that I was at rock bottom and that I appreciated all their love and support since birth. Kind of like a "I know you've done all you can for me and this is not your fault" type of closing. Of course they pleaded with me to calm down, drive from the scene and not resort to the violent act I had promised. I then powered off my cell phone off and sat with my finger on the trigger. I remember the day like it was yesterday... July 26, 1999. I waited and waited and waited. I must've sat there for close to 3 hours but her and dude never emerged. There's no way they could've known I was there cuz I had borrowed my buddy's SUV and was sitting on a side street about 4 houses down from dude's house.
After contemplating my options and knowing full well that after gunning them both down, I'd either go to prison or be killed in a shootout with police while on the run, I decided against it and drove home. I think what hit me in the heart was knowing that our 2 kids would've be left without their parents. I kept seeing my 5 yr old daughter's face and hearing her say "Why did you do that to mommy?" It wouldn't have been fair for me to leave them alone in this world with in-laws or someone other than one of us caring for them. I think that was God looking down on me. Honestly, I had no conscience about shooting either one of them, had I seen them. Wouldn't ya know who came home 20 minutes after I got home. It was hard to look at her that night, but I sucked it up and showed no emotions at all in front of her and played it cool.
Imagine bustin' ya azz to provide for your family and then find out that your wife is runnin' around with another dude. Not just a one time deal, but an ongoing affair. We had been together for 7 years and her tryst with dude was at least a few months. All cuz I was in last semester at Howard U. tryna make the situation betta for my family (her + 2 kids). Her older son was not my biological, but I treated him as blood and as my own child. No, I wasn't bringing in the $$$ I had the previous 5 years working FT, but I was back at Howard tryna finish up my BA. Sad part is that she was the one who inspired me to go back to Howard and finish up my degree. Yeah, I was not home as I would've liked to have been... but I was in school FT, working PT and doing an internship. Wasn't like I was out partying. I actually talked to the guy she was having the relations with. I called him the very next day on his cell and said these exact words "So... you're f**king my wife?". He then responded... "Oh,, this must be (my govt name)". Talk about me being shook, the cat knew of me and my name. Dude and I talked for like 20 minutes. He said that she told him that she was divorced. Told him that she was still in the house for the sake of the kids and that we slept in separate bedrooms. It was a tense convo, but one that enlightened us both. He confirmed a lot of things that I had suspicions about, like 'business trips', 'late hours', new tires on her car and extra money she had received. That cat was straight up being played by her but dude straight up wanted to marry her. I couldn't help but laugh at that notion.
The single most important thing that I learned from my divorce (okay okay, I learned this in my Anger Management class when I was going through the divorce) was that you can only control yourself. You do not control what any other person does. If your wife/partner wants to walk outta the door what are you gonna do… physically stop them??? That works on occasions (temporarily), but in the long run someone will end up in jail and 90% of the time it’s the man. For the most part, you just have to use good ole common sense in making decisions on the type of person that you decide to be involved with. People sometimes snicker when I admit to going to Anger Management. But those classes every Monday for 6 mos, probably saved my life. Everyday, I re-considered my thoughts of killing her. Seriously. I needed a place to relax and let my thoughts go. In that class I was in the fellowship of other brothas who were going through similar circumstances and we kinda leaned on each other and became friends.
I never asked my ex-wife why. It didn't matter to me. She betrayed me. After giving her numerous chances to come clean, she refused. I honestly was prepared to try and work things out, even if she had admitted cheating. it woulda hurt, but I would've tried. Til this day, she never admitted to what she did. Wasn't an issue for me about why anyway. I believe in the sacredness of vows, but when one person refuses to admit their wrong, you can't move forward no matter how much you love them. In that case, you must go on with your life. I was criticized by the 'God fearing' members (grandparents, uncles aunts, etc) of my family who didn't believe in divorce, but I shook them off with one question. "Would you rather I sit in a corner, cry my eyes out and contemplate murder or suicide or do what's right for me, file divorce, move on with life and eventually find someone who'll not only love and respect me, but someone who deserves my love and respect?" Room kinda went silent after that.
Fortunately, I'm here to talk about it, which let's you that I wised up and drove from away from the house that night cuz I realized that my life wasn't worth losing cuz ONE woman who betrayed me... but being on the other end of a cheating spouse hurts like hell and can drive folks to kill... trust me... I'm not a hood type cat who grew up on corners or nothin'... but I was a hurt husband who owned a gun. I advise my fellow brothas not to deal with married women. Don't look at a man's stature and assume he won't do something should he find out. A heart hurt will resort to anything when broken. The puzzy aint worth losing your life. That's from both perspectives... from the boyfriend/husband aspect and the playas who love to deal with married sistahs.