by T. N. Baker
CHAPTER 25
“Keisha, I know you ain’t gon’ keep moping around here like it’s the end of the fucking world. You got to get it together, girl. Come on, get up. Your hanging out with me tonight,” Epiphany said.
“No, I’m really not up for it.”
“Keisha, how long are you gonna sit here feeling so damn sorry for yourself that you can’t even get up and go wash your ass? You need to get up, take a nice hot bath, and come on out and have some fun. You don’t even have to worry about finding anything to wear ’cause I already took care of that at the mall earlier, so come on.”
“Epiphany, where are we supposed to be going?”
“Out!”
“Out where?”
“To Lotus.” Epiphany started pulling the covers off of Keisha.
“On a Monday night?”
“Yeah, girl, that’s the night it be jumping. And damn, do it matter? You act like you got a job to be at in the morning or something. What’s with all the questions anyway? You ain’t got shit to do but sit up in here and be crazy depressed. You might as well get used to going out and meeting people. I’m pretty sure Tucker’s doing it.”
“I guess you’re right. Shoot, let me see that outfit,” Keisha said, absorbing all of Epiphany’s advice.
“That’s my girl. Now go wash your stinking ass, ’cause we gon’ party like it’s your birthday.” Epiphany started singing a verse from “In Da Club” by 50 Cent.
That night was just the beginning. Epiphany and Keisha were doing the club thing hard. Every night of the week there was something popping off in the “City that Never Sleeps,” and those two were there. Mondays was Lotus or Suite 16, Missions on Tuesday, Wednesdays was Club Show, the Cherry Lounge on Thursdays, and on Friday and Saturday it was whatever, ’cause just about every club had it going on.
Shana kicked it with them a few times, but like always, she was off doing her own thing. For Keisha, getting her party on was just what the doctor ordered. She couldn’t remember the last time she had so much fun. She even arranged for her son to stay in Atlanta for at least two more weeks, and the more she got her club on, the less she thought about Tucker.
One night, they were out at this spot named Cream. Epiphany noticed these three guys at the bar buying Hennessy Privilege by the bottle.
Yeah, this is Privilege too, she thought, since they all seemed to be checking her out so hard. It got to a point were their stares started making her feel uncomfortable, like maybe they knew her or something. Then she saw Keisha walk over and talk to one of the guys.
Okay, now’s the perfect time to go over and find out what’s really good. Epiphany pranced over to the bar where they all were standing.
“Girl, I was looking all over for you,” said Epiphany, putting her arm around Keisha.
“You was? Oh, I was in that damn bathroom on that long-ass line waiting to pee. Anyway, you remember K.C., right?” asked Keisha.
“His face looks familiar, but I can’t really recall where I know him from.”
“Girl, this is Shana’s man. You don’t remember him?” Keisha questioned.
Epiphany rolled her eyes and gave Keisha the “Hello, stupid, that’s what amnesia means” look.
“Oh, damn. Sorry, girl. I forgot all about that,” Keisha said, realizing what that look meant.
“Hi, K.C. I’m sure Shana told you about my little accident, right?”
“Yeah, she ran that by me. How you making out though?” K.C. questioned.
“I’m okay. Thanks for asking,” Epiphany answered.
Meanwhile, Smitty and Ness kept their backs turned to avoid any chances of her remembering them. Although they had already been aware of Epiphany’s memory loss, they didn’t want to take any chances.
“Yo, B, that bitch really don’t remember us,” Ness whispered with a boyish giggle.
“Man, you believe that shit?” said Smitty, not easily buying into that amnesia act.
“Nah, that bitch don’t remember! She got more than a good look at me to recognize who the fuck I am, plus that weak-ass nigga C said my name. She badder than a muthafucka, though.”
“Yeah, I used to fuck with her. The pussy good, too. Word up, I can definitely vouch for that shit,” said Smitty with a laugh. “Shit, matter of fact, nigga, I can drink to that,” he added.
“Yo, you a funny muthafucka.” Ness laughed.
“Where’s Shana?” Keisha asked K.C.
“I don’t know. She was home when I left. I’m surprised she ain’t with y’all.”
“So, K.C., who’s your friends? ’Cause they were staring me down when I was standing over there by myself. Now I’m over here and they act like they’re to scared to turn around and say hello,” Epiphany said, being as blunt and bold as always.
“Oh, those my niggas. They ain’t never scared. Right, fellas? Tell this pretty lady y’all ain’t scared,” said K.C.
“Nah, shorty, ain’t nobody scared over here. We just over here talking business, you know. A’ight, love, nothing personal.” Ness turned to face her while Smitty kept his back toward her.
“A’ight. Well, come on, Keish. Let’s not keep the boys from discussing man shit. Later, K.C.” Epiphany grabbed Keisha’s arm and began to pull her away.
“Okay, take care, K.C.,” Keisha said as she was being whisked away.
“You see, that’s exactly why I couldn’t fuck with that bitch. That mouth of hers is off the chain.” Smitty fronted to his boys like it was his choice and not his actions that caused her not to fuck with him.
“Girl, why you do that? That guy was kinda cute,” Keisha said, referring to Ness.
“Please, no he wasn’t. Girl, I got to teach you how to separate the fakes from the real ballers. That was a fake one,” Epiphany said, rolling her eyes.
“Ooh, come on, E, there’s the cameraman. Let’s go take a picture,” Keisha said.
“Whew! Look at you pretty ladies,” said the camera- man as he snapped several pictures of the girls. “Okay ladies,” he continued, “log on to allnightclubs. com tomorrow afternoon and look for your photos.”
“Oh, so they’re gonna be online?” asked Epiphany.
“Yes, ma’am, every picture I take is posted at that Web site,” answered the cameraman.
“Cool,” replied Keisha.
“Come on, Keish. Ain’t nothing really happening in here. Let’s bounce,” Epiphany said as she sucked her teeth to express her disappointment with the club’s crowd.
On the way out, they spotted K.C. in the corner, kissing some hood rat–looking bitch.
“Hold up, E, ain’t that K.C. over there, all on that girl like that?” asked Keisha.
“Oooooh, yes the fuck it is,” Epiphany confirmed.
“Unh-uh, I’m going over to say something,” said Keisha.
“No, don’t. I got a better idea. Wait right here.” Epiphany walked back over to the photographer.
“Excuse me. How good is the zoom on your camera?”
“It’s excellent. Why?” answered the cameraman.
“I got fifty bucks for you if you could zoom in on the guy over there in the corner with that girl and snap a picture for me, but you got to put it on the Web.”
“No problem,” agreed the cameraman as he took the crisp fifty-dollar bill and slide it into his side pocket, zoomed in on the target, and snapped a perfect shot.
“Thanks,” Epiphany said as she walked back toward Keisha, wearing a devious grin.
“Damn, E, you still scandalous.” Keisha laughed.
“Yep! A picture is worth a thousand words.”
The girls left the club and headed home. Fortunately for them, the night had turned out to be eventful after all.
CHAPTER 26
“Please don’t hurt me,” Epiphany cried out as she laid balled up in a fetal position, trying to shield herself from the kicks and punches that were landing one after another, bruising and paining her body. Suddenly it stopped, but Epiphany was too scared to hold up her hea
d to see what was going on.
“Damn, son, you fucking that ho up.” An unrecognizable male’s voice laughed. More than one person was present.
There was a moment of silence, and just as Epiphany began to slightly lift her head to see what was going on and who was doing it, the telephone rang, waking her from the horrible nightmare. She rolled over on her back, relieved that it was all just a bad dream.
“Keisha, answer your phone.” Epiphany realized she was in Keisha’s guest bedroom. “Damn it. Hello?” Epiphany grabbed the receiver with an irritated tone.
“Yeah, what took you so long to answer the phone?” Tucker asked.
“What? Who is this?” Epiphany snapped, not realizing that it could only be Tucker calling.
“Who is this?” Tucker snapped back.
“Listen, you called here; therefore you need to announce yourself, or I’m hanging up.”
“Bitch, that’s my phone you answering. Now get my son’s mother on the phone,” Tucker said angrily.
“Oops! Sorry, Tucker, I didn’t know it was you. This is Epiphany,” she said, not knowing that she had just added fuel to Tucker’s fire. He despised her.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, just call Keish to the phone.”
“Hey, T, I know you’re sore about what happened to Mali, but you’re not the only one feeling the pain of his death, you know.”
“Call Keish to the fucking phone.”
“I already tried that before I picked up, so obviously she ain’t here, and hopefully I won’t forget to let her know you called. Bye, now.” Epiphany grew furious from his response and hung up the phone.
Getting up, she headed to Keisha’s bedroom. Since the door was slightly open, Epiphany peeked in before entering.
“Keisha, wake up. Get up, girl,” Epiphany said loudly as she plopped down on what used to be Tucker’s side of the bed.
“What?” replied Keisha, frowning up her face when the scent of her morning breath mixed with last night’s alcohol hit her nose.
“Tucker just called for you.”
“He did? What did he say?”
“Well, first off, he wasn’t too thrilled with me answering his phone,” Epiphany admitted.
“Why? What did you say?” asked Keisha.
“I was trying to be nice, but he was the one acting all nasty, so I told him you wasn’t here.”
“Girl, it’s eight o’clock in the morning. You know what he gon’ think,” said Keisha.
“And so what? Let him think it. I’m telling you, if you start acting like you moved on, trust me, he’ll be back.”
“You think so?”
“Yes, I do. Trust me when I tell you. If I don’t know nothing else, I know niggas. I’m telling you, I could write a book on their asses. They may come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, but they all think the same. Girl, please believe me.” If there was one thing that Epiphany didn’t lose, it was her confidence.
“Seriously, Keish, does Tucker think I killed Malikai?”
“No, but he does think that maybe you had something to do with it,” answered Keisha.
“And what do you think, Keisha?”
“Come on, girl. Me and you go way back, like pimps and Cadillacs.” Keisha laughed, covering her mouth with her sheets.
“I know that, but you still ain’t answer the question,” Epiphany continued.
“No, Epiphany, I don’t think you had anything to do with Malikai getting murdered.” Keisha stopped laughing. She realized that her friend was really worried.
“Good, because even though I don’t remember what happened, I know in my heart I didn’t have anything to do with that.” Tears began to puddle up in her eyes.
“I know, and that’s exactly what I told T, so don’t even worry about it, girl. He’s just bitter right now because he wasn’t able to save Mali, that’s all.” Keisha sat up and put her arm around Epiphany.
“Before the phone woke me up, I was having this terrible dream, but I don’t think it was just a dream. I think maybe it really happened.
“What was it about?”
“I really don’t want to get into details right now, but just as I was about to see their faces, the phone rang and I woke up.”
“Do you think your memory is trying to come back?”
“I don’t know, but I hope so,” said Epiphany just as the phone rang again, breaking her train of thought. “You better answer it this time, ’cause I’m sure it’s Tucker calling you back,” said Epiphany as she got up to leave the room.
“Hello?” Keisha answered.
“What’s up, girly?” said the cheery voice on the other end of the line.
“Um, who is this?”
“It’s Lea, girl!”
“Oh, hey, Lea. I ain’t heard from you in a while.”
“I know, girl. I’ve been so tied up with finals and all that, but I’ve been meaning to call you for a while now. Why haven’t you been to class? You busy planning that wedding of yours?”
“No, the wedding is off,” answered Keisha.
“Why? What’s up with that? You guys are still going to get married, right?” Lea questioned.
“Lea, don’t act like you don’t know about the tape.”
“What tape?”
“Come on, Lea. Don’t you think it’s a little ironic that you begged me to have that party and those strippers? ‘Oh, come on, Keisha, you can go to the club anytime. This might be the last time you see some dicks slinging in your face.’ Remember that? Then all of a sudden a video tape from that night shows up on my fucking doorstep.” Keisha’s voice was getting louder.
“Keisha, I can’t believe that you would think that I would do something like that.” Lea was taken aback by Keisha’s accusation.
“Okay, so if you didn’t set me up, why haven’t you called me until now?”
“I told you why—school. Besides, Simone told me she spoke to you and things were cool with you.”
“Whatever, Lea, school has never stopped you from calling me before.”
“Keisha, if you really wanna get technical, most of our conversations took place in school. I never really called you at home in the first place, except for once or twice to talk about your wedding. But you know what? It’s sad that out of everybody there that night you would accuse me. What about the other girls? Simone, helped me put the whole thing together. Or how about the girl that came with you? What about your friend Epiphany? She was the last one to leave the room.”
“Well, Epiphany wouldn’t do that to me. Neither would Shana and Simone. Come on. She doesn’t even seem like the type that would do something like that.”
“Oh, and I would?”
“Well, at first I didn’t think you would, but the room was in your name; therefore, you had time to set up a camcorder before anybody got there.”
“Oh, is that right? Well, you know what, Keisha? I’m not going to sit here and try to defend myself any longer. If you think I did it, fine. But I certainly didn’t force you in the other room and make you have sex with that guy, now, did I?” Keisha was speechless. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Lea said sarcastically before hanging up the phone.
If that wasn’t enough drama for one morning, soon after she hung up with Lea, Tucker came barging into her bedroom.
“Keish, what the fuck is that bitch doing in my house, huh? What is it with you? You think I’m that nigga, don’t you? That’s what it is, huh? Just some muthafucka that you could all run over, right? I guess ’cause I ain’t knock some sense into you yet. Are you testing me? Fuck me, right? You ain’t got no fucking respect for me, do you?”
“What are you talking about?” Keisha said, playing the stupid role when she knew exactly why he was upset. That only made Tucker more furious, so furious that he snapped and slapped the shit out of her.
She let out a horrifying cry. Tucker had never put his hands on her before, nor had she ever expected him to.
“Yeah, you know what I’m talking about now, don’t you? Where
the fuck is my son at, huh? He was supposed to come home yesterday. I called your moms and she told me some bogus bullshit about you needing two more weeks. Two more weeks for what, Keisha? To hop your ass in and out the clubs? Yeah, I heard. So that’s what you wanna do, huh, club hop?”
Still stunned from being slapped, Keisha didn’t answer. Her face was beginning to swell. She sat there massaging her cheek with one hand, soothing the stinging and wiping her tears away with the other hand.
“All you do is cry, Keisha. I don’t care about those fucking tears of yours. I’ve been trying to be cool throughout everything, but no, you stay pushing my fucking buttons. Damn, Keish, how much is a nigga supposed to take from you?” Tucker was fed up with Keisha’s bull, and in his heart, he was beginning to feel like she really had no respect for him anymore. She didn’t appreciate him or anything he did for her, so as far as he was concerned, it was time to let her go, move on, and put an end to the ‘Tucker and Keisha” chapter of his life for good.
“Keish, you got to go!” Tucker realized that was the best and only decision to make.
“What? What do you mean?”
“I mean I’m not taking care of you no more. My son is my responsibility, not you.”
“Wait a minute. My name is on this house too. How you just gon’ put me out like that, T? I’m your son’s mother. Where are we supposed to go?” Keisha pleaded.
“Keisha, I told you before, I’m not trying to hear all that. This is my house. I pay all the bills. Your name don’t mean shit, so stop it. It’s not gonna fly, and if you feel differently, take me to court. Okay! Now, yes, you are my son’s mother, and I will take care of all my little man’s needs—there’s no questions about that—but you got two more weeks to yourself. I suggest you spend them looking for a place to stay.”
Keisha wasn’t gonna fight it anymore. Time and time again, Tucker had made it clear that it was over between them. She packed some of her things, and as she was about to leave, he asked for her keys. She removed them slowly from her keychain and threw them on the bed.
“Hold up. I’ma need the keys to the truck too,” he added, taking it to the extreme. Keisha cut her eyes at him. I hate you, she thought as she tossed the whole keychain onto the bed and stormed off.
