Regina pursed her lips for a moment before responding. “Charles, we’ve been divorced how long now? Four years? I really don’t think I need to answer to you because I’m out eating with a friend.”
“No, of course not,” Charles said after a brief pause. “You didn’t say what time Ray-Ray would be bringing Camille home.”
“Probably four or five.”
“Good, maybe I can take them both out to dinner and catch a late flight to D.C. You’re free to join us, of course.” He paused again. “That’s if you’re free.”
“I’ll have to let you know,” Regina said lightly.
“Of course. I don’t want to put you out of—”
“Don’t worry. I won’t let you,” Regina said, cutting him off just as Little Joe arrived back at the table.
“Mr. Congressman, I see you’re still here,” Little Joe said before taking his seat.
“I was just going back to my table,” Charles said curtly. “It was good meeting you. I’ll talk to you later, Regina.” He walked stiffly back to the three men at his table.
“I hope that wasn’t too painful,” Little Joe said, waving for a waitress to bring him another mimosa.
“No, it was fine.” Regina picked up her fork and started playing with her food. “I’d like to go ahead and leave now, if you don’t mind.”
“Okay. I’m not finished eating, but we can go.” Little Joe called the waitress back to cancel his drink order and ask for the check.
As they exited the restaurant, Regina noticed one of the men at Charles’s table look at Little Joe intently, then lean over and whisper something in Charles’s ear. This can’t be good, she thought.
Sure enough, she hadn’t even fastened her seat belt in Little Joe’s BMW before her cell phone started ringing. She flipped open the phone and saw that, as she suspected, it was Charles’s cell phone number. She flipped it closed without answering it. If Little Joe noticed, and she was sure he had, he decided to say nothing. She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes, saying nothing during the entire ride home, ignoring her cell phone, which kept ringing on and off.
They had just turned the corner to her house when she saw fire engines and smoke coming from a house a little farther down the block.
“Oh shit.” She bolted upright in her seat. “That’s Tamika’s house.”
“Get the fuck outta here.” Little Joe sped down the block and parked directly behind the fire engine. Regina jumped out before he could even take the key out of the ignition.
“Tamika,” she said as she ran up to her friend, who was standing on the sidewalk holding Sissy and Darren in her arms. “What happened? Are you okay? Oh my God, where’s David?”
“We’re okay,” Tamika said, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. “David’s okay, too. He’s over there talking to the fire chief.”
“What happened?” Regina said as Little Joe rushed over to her side.
“They firebombed us,” Tamika said angrily. “Those mother . . .” She looked down at her frightened children. “Little Joe, would you mind if my kids sit in your car for a while?”
“Sure, no problem,” he said, though he made no attempt to move. “The doors are open,” he told Darren.
“Now, what motherfuckers did this?” he asked Tamika after the kids were in the car.
“You didn’t tell him, Regina?” Tamika said wearily.
Regina shook her head.
“Darren was holding crack for some local dealers, and he ran off with their stuff because he got scared,” Tamika said. “They knocked on my door asking for their stuff, but it was the first I’d heard about it. We found it later, but David flushed it down the toilet—”
“Stupid move,” Regina muttered.
Tamika ignored her. “Anyway, when they came back the next time, they got into it with David, and later he had them arrested—not for the drugs, but for harassment. But they musta made their bail. I’m guessing this is their retribution. Throwing a Molotov cocktail through my living room window.”
Little Joe stood with his arms crossed over his chest as she talked, and when she finished, he asked, “Who’s David?”
“Her husband,” Regina said. “He’s a lawyer.”
“And what’s the name of these punk dealers?” he asked Tamika.
“Jerry something or other and—” She caught herself. “Look, Little Joe, it doesn’t matter,” she said hurriedly. “I don’t want you to get involved.”
Little Joe uncrossed his arms and shrugged. “Didn’t say I was gonna get involved, sweets. Your husband’s a lawyer, huh? Let’s see if he can take care of it the legal way.”
Before anyone could answer, David strode up to Tamika. His face was grim, and his eyes were red, Regina assumed from the smoke.
“Baby, the fire chief wants to know if we have fire insurance,” he said as he gently massaged the back of Tamika’s neck. “We do, right?”
“Yes, of course, we do, David,” Tamika answered. “You know we do.”
“Yeah, I was pretty sure, but I’m just a bit, you know, a little scattered right now, so I just wanted to make sure,” he said with a sigh. “Hey, girl,” he said, giving Regina a quick hug. “Thanks for coming over. Tamika could use a little support right now. She’s a bit shaken up.”
“Looks like you need some support right now, too, Dave,” Regina said gently. “You going to be okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” David said absentmindedly as his cell phone began to ring.
“Hello? . . . Yvonne, didn’t I say I’d get back to you on that? I’m dealing with my own stuff here . . . Well, Robert’s problems aren’t my problems . . . Yvonne, please, I don’t want to hang up on you, but I’m going to have to if you don’t stop . . . Look, Yvonne . . . Damn it, my house was just set on fire. Tamika and I have our own problems . . . All right. I’ll see what I can spare. But I’m not footing the whole thing. Maybe I can spare a few hundred . . . That’s right, just a few hundred. And I’m warning you not to push it . . . Hell no, I’m not going to represent him. Y’all got that crap. Like I been trying to tell you, I got my own situation here I’m trying to deal with . . . Yeah, I promise I’ll call you back as soon as I talk to Tamika and we can figure out what we can spare . . . No, sorry, but I’m not going to keep this from Tamika. In fact, I’m talking in front of her right now . . . Yeah, well, good-bye, Yvonne. I’m hanging up.”
“Don’t tell me she’s harassing you to loan her money to bail out Robert, huh?” Regina shook her head in disgust. “She called me this morning. Bail’s only set at fifteen hundred, but she’s broke and I refused to help her get his ass out. Just on G.P.”
“She’s already called me three times. I’m more than tempted to just tell her she’s on her own. I don’t care how long I’ve known Robert, I didn’t sign on for this crap,” David said in a disgusted voice. “Especially right now.” He gave Tamika’s arm a quick squeeze and turned to walk away, but then turned back.
“Hey, man,” he said, extending his hand to Little Joe, “I’m sorry to be rude. I’m David Corbett. Tamika’s husband.”
“Joe Blayton,” Little Joe said as he shook his hand. “I’m sorry to meet you under these circumstances.”
“Mr. Blayton is, uh, a friend of mine,” Regina stammered. Damn, she thought. She’d been hoping that she wouldn’t have to make introductions. It was bad enough that Little Joe had to meet Charles this afternoon; now he had to meet Charles’s best friend, too? “He was just giving me a ride home when we saw what was going on.”
“The kids are sitting in his car,” Tamika said, pointing to Little Joe’s BMW, “so they can get a little peace from all this hullabaloo.”
“Good looking out, man. Thanks.” David gave Little Joe a pat on the back, then went back to talk to the fire chief.
Little Joe looked at his Rolex. “Look, I gotta shove off, unless there’s something you think I can do around here.”
Regina and Tamika both shook their heads.
Regina looked at Tamika and shook her head. “No, I’m gonna stick around and make sure everything is okay. In fact, Tamika, why don’t you and the family stay with me for a while until everything settles down? At least until you can repair the damage to your house.”
Tamika sighed. “No, that’s okay. The house is livable. Only the kitchen was really destroyed. Some smoke damage to the rest, but like I said, livable. I’m going to get in there as soon as the fire chief clears the scene.”
“Then I’ll stick around and help you, Mika.” Regina hugged her friend.
“Well, then, I’ll talk to you later, Regina.” Little Joe kissed her on the cheek. “Tamika, I hope everything works out. Regina, come walk me to the car so you can get the kids.”
“So,” he said as they headed toward the car. “Any reason you didn’t introduce me to Mr. Lawyer back there?”
“No,” Regina said slowly. “It’s just that with everything going on . . .”
“Or to your husband back at the restaurant?”
Regina looked down at the ground as she thought about what she could say in her defense.
“Don’t bother, I got it,” Little Joe snapped. He opened the car door. “Okay, kiddies, go on back to your mommy. I’ll see you later.” After they scrambled out, he got in and pulled off without looking back at Regina.
Regina’s shoulders slumped as she escorted the children back to Tamika. She had a lot of explaining to Little Joe to do, and she had no idea how she was going to pull it off. Especially since she wasn’t exactly sure why she hadn’t made the introductions.
“You okay, Gina?” Tamika said after she hugged her children, then sent them across the street to sit on the stoop of one of her neighbors’ houses. “You look like your house just burnt down.”
Regina shrugged. “It looks like my little house of cards is certainly tumbling down.”
“Trouble with Little Joe?”
“Nothing I can’t handle. By the way, I didn’t tell Little Joe about those punks for the same reason you just realized you shouldn’t have,” Regina said, shaking her head. “I didn’t think you wanted him involved, and Little Joe doesn’t know how not to get involved when it comes to his friends. And you have to remember,” she continued, “even though we’re grown women now, he really still thinks of all of us as fifteen- or sixteen-year-olds who need protection.”
Tamika sucked her teeth. “I can’t believe I messed up like that. At least I caught myself before I gave out those names.”
“You gave him the name of one of them.”
“Yeah, well, not his last name.”
Regina looked at Tamika as if she had lost her mind. “Mika, come on now. You know you don’t need somebody’s last name to track them in the street.”
Tamika crossed her arms, then shrugged. “Well, I just kinda said his name kinda quicklike, so maybe Little Joe won’t even remember.”
Regina looked up when she heard a car screech to a halt halfway down the block. To her shock, Charles emerged, a stern look on his face, and strode toward them. For a moment she thought he had hunted her down because he was upset about her not answering his calls, then felt silly when she realized that his best friend, David, must have called him and told him what had happened.
“Tamika,” Charles said, pulling her into a hug and ignoring Regina. “Are you okay? Is everyone all right?”
“Yeah, we were all in the living room watching television when it happened. No one was hurt. Just scared as all hell.”
“Good,” he said, releasing her. “Where’s David?”
“I think he’s still talking to the fire chief.” She pointed in the direction of the fire engine.
“Okay. Let me go talk to him real quick,” Charles said before striding off.
“Um, was it my imagination, or did Charles just dis the hell outta you?” Tamika asked timidly.
“Yeah, he did.” Regina gave a sigh. “He saw me and Little Joe at Amy Ruth’s a little bit ago, which was bad enough for his ego, but then to make it worse, as we were leaving, I think someone at his table told him about Little Joe’s past.”
“Uh-oh.” Tamika chuckled. “The shit is about to hit the fan. Speaking of which, here come David and Charles now.”
David gave Tamika a distracted hug. “Mika, they’re getting ready to pull off. They said it’s all right for us to go back in the house. But why don’t we see if the kids can stay with Mama Tee tonight while we—”
“They can stay with me,” Regina cut in. “Ray-Ray, Camille, and I aren’t doing anything tonight. We’d love to have them.”
Oh shit, she thought almost as soon as she finished talking. Just that fast she had forgotten that Charles had wanted to take Camille and Ray-Ray out for an early dinner. She looked at him, and at first he returned her look with an accusing glare, but then said, “Yeah, I can buy pizza and ice cream, and we can have a little party to try and get their minds off of everything. That’s if Regina doesn’t have other plans.”
“I said I don’t,” Regina said huffily.
“Just checking,” Charles retorted. “I wouldn’t want you to have to change your plans on my behalf.”
“Didn’t I say I don’t have plans, Charles?” Regina snapped. “How about we just drop it? We’ll be home, and if you want to bring over pizza and ice cream, that’ll be fine. If not, that’s fine, too.”
“Excuse me,” David broke in, “I don’t mean to interrupt whatever shit you two are going through, but I’d say right now Tamika and I are going through some bigger shit. So get a grip, okay?”
A guilty look spread across both Regina’s and Charles’s faces.
“Look, I’m sorry,” Regina said. “We’d love to have the kids over.” She turned to Charles. “And thanks, in advance, for the pizza and ice cream. You’re right. It will be like a little party.”
“Yeah, man.” Charles slapped David on the back. “And like I told you before, you just let me know what I can do, and you know you got it.”
The two men exchanged pounds, then gave each other a quick hug.
“Thanks, man,” David said as they broke free. “It’s good to have friends like you and Regina. And I’m sorry for snapping at you like that.”
“No prob, man. It was our bad. And I’ll try and get in touch with Robert to let him know what happened, not that he’ll be much help. But just so he knows, since he’s right here in the city.”
“Um, Charles?” Regina tugged his arm. “Robert’s in jail. Yvonne’s trying to raise bail money for him now. I’m surprised she hasn’t called you yet.”
“Robert’s in jail?” Charles’s head swung from David to Regina. “What happened?”
“Oh God, that’s a long story. I’ll tell you over a slice with pepperoni,” Regina said with a sigh as they walked up the street toward her house. “I promise you’ll find it interesting, though.”
“Oh my God, Aunt Gina! What happened?” Regina looked up to see Renee and Camille running toward her, with Liz trailing a little behind. “Is that Aunt Tamika’s house with the fire engine in front of it?”
“Daddy!” Camille yelled, and jumped into Charles’s arms.
“Hey, little girl!” he said, kissing her and twirling around.
“Daddy,” Camille said, looking over his shoulder, “what happened to Aunt Tamika and Uncle David’s house?”
“That is Aunt Tamika’s house,” Renee exclaimed as Liz finally caught up to them. “What happened? Is everyone okay?”
“They’re fine, Ray-Ray.” Regina put her arm around her niece and turned her around so they could all go back to her house. “There was a little accident. But I’ll explain it to you later, okay?”
“Hey, you too big to give your Uncle Charles a hug and a kiss?” Charles playfully slapped Renee on the head. He gently put Camille down.
“I’m so
rry, Uncle Charles.” Grinning, Renee stood on her tiptoes to hug him around the neck. “I didn’t know you were in town.”
“Just got in today.” He kissed her on the cheek. “And who’s your little friend here?” he said, nodding toward Liz.
“Oh, this is my girlfriend, Liz Boyce,” she answered. “Liz, this is my Uncle Charles. Camille’s father.”
Regina smiled to herself at the ambiguity of the word “girlfriend.” She hadn’t told Charles about the sexuality announcement.
“Good to meet you, Liz.” Charles extended his hand, and the girl shook it with a smile.
“Hey, why don’t you girls run up in front of us so you can start straightening up the house? Sissy and Darren are coming over, and we’re going to have a little mini-party, okay?”
Renee, Camille, and Liz hurried ahead.
“I’m glad Ray-Ray’s hanging out with a girl who knows how to dress like a girl,” Charles said to Regina in a whisper. “Maybe she’ll finally stop wearing all these sweat suits and actually get into a skirt. Although maybe not as short as Liz’s.”
Regina smiled and tucked her hand through Charles’s arm. “Charles, it seems the Robert story isn’t the only one I need to explain to you this afternoon. But like I said to you before, you’ll find it all very interesting.”
chapter fourteen
Well, you look like shit warmed over,” Regina said after opening the door for Tamika the following morning.
“Thanks,” Tamika croaked in a hoarse voice. “Just so you know, I feel a helluva lot worse than I look.” Her locks were pulled back into a ponytail, which usually made her look younger than her thirty-one years, but now only served to accentuate a haggard face. There were dark bags under her bloodshot eyes, and her shoulders sagged as she shuffled past Regina and into the living room.
Camille, who was sitting cross-legged on the hardwood floor, was the first one to notice her. “Hey, Aunt Mika. You gonna play ’Nopoly with us?”
Satin Nights Page 15
