Friday nights in D.C. are off the hook in the springtime. People have been cooped up all winter and are pressed to get out to see and be seen. Every restaurant, bar, and club is making money. From Georgetown, to downtown, to the suburbs of Maryland and Virginia, people are out partying and trying to mingle. Now we were back on the scene as if we never left. When I got a phone call from Nate letting me know he was back home, there was no question that a trip from New York was mandatory. He’d called the night after he left Kim’s mother’s house and a week later I was home. Shelly elected to stay back in New York because she had already planned a shopping trip to Woodbury Commons, so my weekend with the fellas would have no constraints.

Nate gave me the biggest bear hug in the world in the parking lot of the Jasper’s over in Largo not caring how weird it might have looked.

“Man, it’s good to see you,” he said as we broke our embrace.

“You too.” I returned, smiling at my friend. “You looking good, bro. You been taking care of yourself I see.”

“Actually I had put on some weight but I got it back together and I’ve been working out like crazy.”

“So where is Brendan?”

“He and Dee are on the way now.”

“Oh, Dee is coming too? I’m going to need an appointment tomorrow,” I said lifting my cap off my head.

“Yeah, you know he and Brendan have been hanging tough since we left.”

“Yeah, I know and honestly I think that Dee has been a negative influence on that man.”

Nate laughed. “Yeah, you might need to talk to him. He doesn’t want to hear anything that I have to tell him right now.”

“Why’s that?”

“I told him that he needs to come to church with me.”

I laughed. “So you were telling me that you found God. That’s a beautiful thing. I need to come along with you myself while I’m here.” I paused and tried to remember the last time I went to church. “So where are you going to go?”

“Well, the church I went to in Charlotte was actually started by a brother who has a church right here in D.C. Lloyd Lawson.”

“The name sounds familiar.”

“Yeah, he’s really a dynamic brother. This Sunday will be my first time attending his church, but I did hear him preach in Charlotte a couple times. He’s the reason why I’m back in D.C.”

“How’s that?”

“Well, his words motivated me to face my fears and guilt. I put it all in God’s hands and here I am. I’m not running anymore not even from my own habits.”

“That’s deep.” I said and then saw Brendan pull up with Dee following.

We greeted each other and headed inside to get a table. Just like old times, Nate rolled up on the hostess and spoke to her for a few moments. A minute later the manager, Roy, came to the lobby and greeted Nate. They shook hands and laughed before he waved for us to follow him to our table.

“Thanks, Roy.” Nate said.

“No thang. It’s good to see you again. Don’t be a stranger.”

“Some things never change, huh?” I asked, amazed at how Nate still had so much pull.

We ordered drinks and appetizers and kicked it like old times. I let them know that my time in New York was coming to a conclusion. After my meetings with a company we were trying to acquire in Chicago I would be back in the D.C. area to stay. I tried to explain to them what the married life was like and conveyed all the joy that I experienced getting to know my daughter. Then Dee asked a question out of the blue that hit me in the face like a ton of bricks.

“So, Cory, do you think that you made the right choice dropping Nina and getting back with Shelly just because you two had a kid?”

I paused and the table was silent. The thought went down like a cup of hot water burning my insides and before I could answer, Brendan jumped in. “Of course, he did. Dee, you just don’t know how much this nigga always loved Shelly, ’cause if you did—”

Then I interrupted him. “No. I didn’t.” Every one paused again and I looked down at the table and quietly reiterated, “Damn, I didn’t.” It wasn’t the first time that I’d admitted to myself that I should have never married Shelly. I had already told Nina that I felt that way. But saying it aloud to my friends for the first time, I realized that I needed to do something about my situation. “But you know what, fellas?”

“What’s that?” they said in unison.

“At the end of the day, I’m gonna make it right.”

“That’s cool,” Brendan responded in a low tone. Dee simply nodded and Nate’s eyebrows went up to show his curiosity.

Eventually the conversation regained its pace. More drinks came between the people-watching and the laughing. The Soundstage was getting more packed by the minute. There was an assortment of professional women and men who had come in at happy hour who were blending in with the wannabe thugs and hoochies who were crowding the bar. As we laughed, talking about which summer events we were going to attend, a girl walked past our table. She was wearing a pair of Apple Bottom jeans and a handmade pink knit sweater. Her rear end was perfectly shaped and caught the eyes of everyone at our table. I watched as Nate amazingly returned his focus back to his entrée. Dee predictably said, “Damnnnn.” But I was amazed at what I saw next.

Brendan stood up and moved quickly toward her and grabbed her arm. She stopped a few yards past our table and he was all over her. It was like watching a flashback of the old Nate. He said something to her and she began smiling. A few seconds later and he had his cell in his hand putting her number into it.

Once he sat back down I commented, “So it’s like that now?”

He was grinning ear to ear. “What was I supposed to do?” He laughed. “You saw the ass on her, right?”

“Cory, this dude is off the chain right now,” Dee said approvingly.

“You mean this dog, right?”

“Gimme a break, man,” Brendan replied.

“Looks like you making your own breaks.” Nate laughed, shaking his head. “You got both feet in the game now, bruh.”

Dee chimed in and began to tell the story of Brendan’s new and improved attitude. It was like Dee was proud of his new Frankenstein’s monster. “B, tell them about Tuesday.” Then he laughed out. “Ya’ll, this guy is unbelievable.”

Brendan, with no shame, told the story of his night with his new sex partner. Nate’s mouth dropped open when Brendan explained how Tuesday had sexed him all night and scratched his back up. When he finally made it home, luckily Trina had already left for work. Just thinking of how he nearly got busted made him take a deep breath. It wasn’t until the hot water and soap hit his back in the shower that he realized he had been carved up like a turkey.

When I asked how he kept Trina from noticing during sex, he answered, “We haven’t had it in weeks. I think she gave me an infection and all of a sudden her sex drive has fallen off. It don’t take a scientist to figure out that she must be doing her own thing. I guess a leopard never really does change its spots. The hell with it.”

Nate joined in, “Why don’t you be a man about it and confront her? Why play games with her?”

Every time he spoke like that it shocked us all. He was a brand-new man. Brendan shot back, “No use. Her days are numbered. I’m waiting for the right time to get rid of her, but right now she is paying half my mortgage. She doesn’t give me much fuss about what I’m doing. Shit, most of the time when I get in she’s asleep already.” He laughed.

“So you’re cool living like that?” I asked.

He smiled and looked at his ringing cell phone. “For now,” he said, nodding slowly. “Hello.” He answered. “Oh, what’s up Tanisha?” Dee grinned from ear to ear as if to say look at how I’ve helped him.

When it came to Brendan and Dee, it was a case of a lost soul following a blind man. Wherever Dee was leading him, it was sure to be uncharted territory. He had unleashed the player in Brendan and at this point there was nothing Nate or I could offer that could compare to the sense of self-worth that he had now with his new identity. We did what men do in these situations. We decided to live and let live.

We left the bar and headed downtown to my favorite club, Dream. I loved the spot because it was a place where you could see a thousand black folks together looking good and partying, and almost never a fight. There were fine women everywhere, even if half of them were looking for ballers, the other half came to play and have a good time. The warm night had the spot jumping and there was a line down the block. We valet parked and this time Dee knew a bouncer at the door, so Nate didn’t even have to ask for Marc, the owner, to get us into VIP. We were inside in no time and were enjoying the atmosphere. OutKast and Sleepy Brown were scheduled to perform, so we made our way upstairs to the stage area.

We stepped in and took notice of the jam-packed room. Nate decided to play the back, so we followed suit. Soon the group came on and had the place rocking. When they performed “I Like the Way You Move” all the women who were dancing near the back rushed the crowded floor and suddenly there was a little breathing room. I prepared to take a seat and it was déjà vu all over again when I saw her standing in the back sipping a drink. I didn’t say anything to Nate as I strolled over to her.

“What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”

Paula’s eyes lit up when she saw me and she beamed with affection. “Well, if it isn’t Cory Dandridge.”

The embrace was genuine and lasted a little longer than it should have. She smelled like a dream and was dressed to kill. She was wearing leather pants and a tight-fitting cashmere sweater that showed her cleavage. We began talking and she explained that she was in town for a conference and was staying with one of her sorors. I was so caught up in the shock of seeing her again after all this time that it never even registered that she was in my hometown and in a nightclub of all places. I asked her a series of questions but never got around to asking about her husband. The last I’d heard from her she was going to give her marriage the old college try. Our affair had ended when I left Atlanta to move back north. Months later on a trip back to Atlanta for a wedding I made an attempt to see her again. She agreed to see me but at the last minute, instead of showing, she wrote me a letter telling me that she wouldn’t be seeing me in my hotel. I understood that she wanted to do right by her husband but her letter had stung me nonetheless.

“I’m headed back to Atlanta on Sunday,” she said.

I nodded in response.

“I’d like to see you before I leave,” she said matter-of-factly.

I felt a sense of pride and my chest swelled a bit with her offer and I replied, “I would like nothing more but…”

“But what?”

I held my hand up showing her my wedding band. Then all of a sudden she covered her mouth and her eyes showed both hurt and shock. When I reached for her she attempted to shove me away and I dropped my drink causing it to splash all over my shoes and pants leg. “How could you?” she screamed and stormed off.

I was in shock, and within seconds Nate had come to my side. “Yo, what the hell did you do to her?”

“Huh.” I was still in shock.

“Who was that?” Nate asked as we watched her head down the steps making a getaway.

When I explained to Nate who she was, he shook his head and like a true friend he tried to hold back his laughter. He bought me another drink, a coke with no liquor in it, and we sat and talked. I was as confused as I was upset when he made sense of it for me.

“Cory, if that’s the worst that ever happens to you for messing with a married woman, then consider yourself lucky. You were in a situation that was in no way sanctioned or blessed by God. It was chaos and we know who the author of chaos is.”

“Yeah, I feel you.”

“When you step out there like that, things become unpredictable. You may think that you’re in control but in all actuality you’re nothing more than a pawn.” He paused, “Now what do you think would have happened if you had tried to shove her the way she did you?” He burst out laughing and I laughed too.

“They would have locked my ass up tonight.”

“You know it.”

“Come on. You ready to bounce up out of here?” I asked.

“Ready when you are.”

The club was too crowded to look for Brendan, but since he was riding with Dee we figured he’d do exactly what he wanted to and make his way home eventually. We headed down the steps and toward the exit. As soon as we walked out the front door and headed toward the car, Nate tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Brother, for you tonight is like that old show This Is Your Life. The one where you meet up with everybody from your past.”

“How so?” I asked just in time to see Nina standing in front of me waiting for someone. As I moved past her our eyes met and the connection that we shared made it hard to breathe.

He smiled and said, “I’m going to get the car, man.” Then he spoke to Nina briefly and kept moving.

The night was getting weirder and weirder. “So what brings you to town?” Nina asked.

“I came home to see Nate.”

“Is she here with you?”

“No.”

There was silence and a black BMW pulled up to the curb. “Keep this.” She slipped me her cell phone. “I’ll call you in an hour from my house. Don’t answer it unless you see the word home appear on that screen, brother.” She had a smirk on her face. “Unless you want to get your feelings hurt.”

I nodded and watched her jump into the passenger seat of the Beemer. The windows were tinted and I couldn’t make out the driver’s face. She pulled off and Nate pulled up.

He drove. We hit New York Avenue and headed toward 395 toward Crystal City. He didn’t ask me any questions about Nina. He did tell me that he wanted me to take him to get his Lexus out of my mother’s garage in the morning. “Ready to put the top down on it?” I asked.

“Nah, I’m getting rid of it tomorrow.”

The car was practically brand new but nothing surprised me about the way he spent money. I figured he was trading it in even though he hadn’t had much of a chance to enjoy it. I probably would have asked about it if my mind hadn’t been preoccupied with the phone in my pants pocket. We drove straight to the hotel and both went to our rooms. I looked down at my slacks and shoes and thought about Paula. She was a nut. As crazy as she had acted I had to admit that I was glad to have run into her. Some part of me even felt good about rejecting her advance. After all, she had done the exact same thing to me one year earlier. I laughed aloud as I began to get undressed.

I called Shelly to say good night but she must have been asleep because there was no answer at the house. I put on ESPN and plopped onto the bed. I was excited and nervous about going to see Nina at least once before I went home. She had to get her phone. My mind began to drift back to the summer day when Shelly told me that she was pregnant. I was truly happy that day. I couldn’t quite remember where we got off track. It dawned on me that we never really did. I got caught wondering about whether Shelly and I still had the magic. When Nina’s phone rang and I saw home appear on the screen, I realized once and for all that we didn’t.