The After Party: A Novel

Fletcher Mitchell stared out the window and was unable to accept that his wife, the woman he loved and married was getting out of a car with another man. Unable to move or react, he watched the guy walk around and open the door for her. Offering his hand, she took it and got out. He opened the gate for her but wasn't stupid enough to walk inside. He held his breath, praying she wouldn't be dumb enough to allow him to kiss her in front of their home, but he wasn't sure because if she were bold enough to allow him to bring her home when her husband and children were inside, she might. It took everything in him not to go outside and confront them but his sons were inside. Thankfully, she simply flicked her fingers and strode up the sidewalk with the guy watching her until she got inside.

Denisha jumped out of her skin when Fletcher stood up, turning on the light. The shock on her face quickly changed to a mocking look. The one she always got when she knew she was wrong and no longer cared. He knew she had not cared for a long time and tonight was the final proof. There was so much he wanted to say but he refused to utter a word.

Making his way to the room where his twin sons slept, he sat in the recliner next to their beds. The words his mother had uttered two years earlier pounded in his head, "Son, be careful who you tie your soul to, everything that is good to you is not good for you and ripe fruit soon spoils."

Pain rocked through him because that is exactly what had occurred. He had tied his soul to her, allowing her to mother his children and his life was filled with rotten fruit.