by Forever Redd
The first movie was always “Best Man,” with Taye Diggs and Nia Long. We loved that movie. Especially when Taye got beat up for fucking Morris Chestnut’s soon to be wife. I’m not sure why, but seeing a man get his ass beat for doing something in the dark just got us going. I wanted to fast forward to just that part.
Halfway through the movie, Jody called. “Hey, ma, you missing daddy yet?”
I blushed and giggled like a little girl in love. “Hey, boo,” I replied and mouthed the words, “Its Jody,” letting Karley’s nosey ass know who was on the phone.
“Lemme hear you say hey, daddy,” Jody said, sounding all sexy.
I got up from my comfortable couch and went into my bedroom for some privacy.
“Hey, Daddy,” I giggled into the receiver. “You must be missing me if you calling less than an hour after dropping me off.”
Jody chuckled, “Yeah, I miss you already, ma. I’m tryna get this shit squared away down in the bottom and then I’ma focus on our future. You ready to ride with me?”
He knew that. He knew I was onboard the minute I got out of the car in Branchville. “You know I am. We gon’ do this, Daddy. You will be mine. As for me, I’m already yours.”
Jody and I talked about this and that before I let him go so he could get some rest before he rode out. I felt it in my heart to tell him I loved him, so I just blurted it out.
“Be careful Jody, I love you.”
There was silence.
“Umm, I know that was sudden, so I don’t expect you to say it back. No worries.”
More silence. I felt so stupid. What was I thinking? It had only been a few weeks and there I was talking about love.
“Well, lemme get some sleep, since you tried to have me up all night…”
I cut him off, “Had you up, my ass. You was the one tryna seduce people and shit. That was all you. I simply went with the flow, sir,” I said while laughing out loud, but I didn’t disregard the fact that those three words went unmentioned.
“Bye, girl,” Jody laughed.
I responded, “Sleep well, Daddy.” I was just about to press the red button when I heard Jody call my name.
“V, I love you too, ma.”
“I know. I can feel it.” I disconnected the call and smiled at those three words.
*****
The ringing of my cell phone startled me out of my sleep. I didn’t even look at the caller ID. I just pressed the answer button. “Hello,” I drowsily answered.
“Victoria, wake up, it’s Leon.”
Leon? What the hell would he be calling me for? Jody? “Oh, my God, Leon, is Jody okay? What’s going on?”
“Look, I don’t know what the fuck goin’ on, but yo, one time just swooped in on us. I got out of the car with my hands raised and shit and they told me it ain’t had nun to do with me. I got back in the car and called you.”
“Okay, okay. What do I need to do?”
“Get dressed and stay by the phone.”
I hopped out of bed and ran to the shower. I got dressed and waited for the phone call. I was so nervous. I was biting my lip to the point where it was starting to bleed. When the call came through, I was told to meet him at the county jail because Jody was being taken into custody.
“Okay, what did he do?”
“I don’t know.”
“What you mean you don’t know? Were you not there? Did you not listen when the cops were talking? What the fuck, Leon? Damn?”
“Aye, look. The police said it ain’t had shit to do with me, so it ain’t had shit to do with me. He said get back in the car. I got my black ass back in the car. It’s the fuckin’ police, Victoria. I ain’t want it.”
“Okay, fine, whatever. I am on my way down there.”
Bond court was being held at six AM. I had about a forty-five minute wait in the cold, far from sterile, county jail. The chairs were made of some sort of synthetic plastic and were hard as hell. I just had to ride it out and see what my dude did. I hoped it wasn’t some bullshit, but I hoped it wasn’t no big shit either.
They finally called his case number and he was being charged with violation of a restraining order and possession. The possession I could get past, but the restraining order had me puzzled. They announced the bond and the process of him getting out. I went over to a bonds man and paid the four hundred and twenty nine dollars it was going to take to get him out and then I went back home to wait out the four hour processing time. Jody definitely had some questions to answer when he got released, starting with what was he even doing in Columbia and why he didn’t let me know.
When Jody got out of the slammer, I ran to him and greeted him with kisses to both his cheeks. “What happened? What did you do?”
“I’m sorry to have brought you into my shit, Victoria, but I don’t know what you mean by what did I do? Let me guess, you are like the other thousands of Americans that believes a black man is guilty ‘til proven innocent?”
“Stop right there, I am here aren’t I? If I thought you were guilty of anything, I wouldn’t have spent my hard-earned money getting your ass out. So cut it out. What are you being accused of, like why are you being accused?”
“Aside from what you heard in the courtroom, nothing. Possession and violation of a restraining order. The possession charge was two ounces of green, and the restraining order I didn’t even know that was out. I think I was set up.”
“Set up how? You knew the person you were going to see, right? I mean didn’t you know if y’all had a previous beef, I mean like enough to involve the law?”
“Victoria, look, I appreciate you coming down here to get me and all, but right now just isn’t the time. I’m tired and aggravated. I need to get my car. Where is my car?”
“I have no clue. I thought Leon was going to meet me down here with it. Weren’t y’all together?”
“Yeah, let me call him and see where my shit at. I don’t want you to have to ride all the way to Branchville to take me back. Give me a second to see where this fool at.”
*****
Jody
I walked off for a few minutes of privacy to make the phone call.
“Yo, why you called Victoria man? What the fuck was you thinkin’?”
“Shit, I was thinkin’ you got fucked up in Columbia and you needed some Columbia help. She could get to you faster than I could man. I’m on the way man, damn. I got the car, and I should be there in fifteen. Tell me again what happened.”
“Okay, you remember that girl, Nikki?”
“I knew it. All that fucking around with these women gon’ get you in a world of hurt, man. Leave the pussy alone for a second.”
“Can I finish?” I asked. “Anyway, I came up to Columbia because I was gon’ break her off a lil’ sumthin’. I was in the store waitin’ on Nikki to get off when this broad I used to fuck with came in the store poppin’ shit. When she fired off that mouth, I fired back and she called the cops.” I went on to break down the scene for him.
“Damn, if it ain’t the one and only punk ass Jody,” she said, walking up to me.
“And if it ain’t—what’s your name again?”
“Nigga, don’t act like you don’t know my name, but then again it could have been that you forgot where you be putting that dirty dick. Oh, but trust, you know exactly who I am.”
Nikki was looking between the two of us with a “what the fuck” expression on her face and I just wanted the chick to get the hell on through.
“All I’m saying is if you was worth remembering, I would have,” I snapped back.
“That’s cool, bet I got sumthin’ to make dat ass remember.”
“That’s when she called the police. She said she was scared and I was threatening her and all types of shit. That’s why they pulled us over. When they had us both get out of the car they searched the car for weapons and found the pack I was gon’ drop off to one of the young boys that live s in Nikki’s complex.”
“That sound like some bullshit,” Leon stated
.
“I know, right.”
“I’m talkin’ ‘bout that story. I’m turning in now, but look, you still takin yo’ meds?”
“I see the headlights. Can you see us?”
“I see y’all, but you ain’t answer my question,” Leon said.
“Yeah, I know.” I pressed the end button. Ain’t nobody have time for Leon and his line of questioning. Plus, I had Victoria all in my mouth. I would answer all their questions in due time, but right now I needed a hot shower, some sleep, and a good ol’ heart to heart with my mama.
Leon parked my car not too far from us and hopped out. He gave me the side eye. I believe he thinks I have a problem with women. It was true that I had bedded a few here and there and got on through, but it was because they didn’t understand me. They wanted to change me, make me out to be someone I wasn’t.
The crazy girl at the gas station was one that I bedded and bidded. Basically, I hit it and quit it. There was no room for her on my team because she was nosey as hell, always trying to snoop through my shit. It pissed me off to no end, but she continued the dumb shit even after I told her about it. I got hit with the restraining order because she said I would come by her house all hours of the night and stalk her on the job. I never did any of those things, but I happily accepted the order to keep her crazy ass away from me. The time before that was my deranged baby mama.
I had been trying to figure out a way to tell Victoria about my son, but I didn’t know how. I knew how I felt about her and I knew that those feelings would only get stronger, but the lady wasn’t just my baby mama, she was also my ex-wife.
That portion of my sordid past, I wanted to keep from Victoria. She was a good girl and she deserved a good man. I had already made my mind up. I was going to be the man she needed me to be because she was definitely the woman I needed. She was smart, intelligent, she could tell a good joke, and she even laughed at mine. If we discussed anything I was interested in, she made it a point to ask questions and learn the things I liked.
When she was nervous, she would bite her bottom lip, like a little kid trying not to cry. She woke up every morning with a smile on her face and a heart filled with love. Her looks? Oh, my God, she was gorgeous. From the spikey hair-do that sat on top of her head all the way down to her gold toe ring. She had a set of the prettiest teeth I had ever seen and her lips were so juicy. I longed to suck ‘em. She had ambition and she was independent. Victoria was definitely a keeper.
My ex-wife, Imani, was utterly flawless with the exception of her attitude. Her skin was as dark as night with a creamy look and feel to it. Her body was perfect. She had a small waist and a gigantic ass. When I met her, she was working as a hostess at Red Lobster. We flirted back and forth and exchanged numbers. We dated for a while and then she got pregnant. She had my son, Davion, and flipped the fuck out. She would break shit in the house when something didn’t go her way and she was always complaining about this or that. Nothing could satisfy her. One day, I came home to find her sitting in the middle of the floor crying her eyes out breaking every CD and DVD in the house.
“Yo! What the fuck you doin’?” I asked her.
“Aaarrgh,” she screamed and charged at me like a raging bull. She had her teeth clamped together, and was drooling from the mouth. She had a piece of a broken disc in her hand and began slicing at my face and arms. “I found her number, nigga. I found that shit. You wanna cheat on me?”
“What the fuck you talkin’ ‘bout? What number?” I asked, trying to block her attack.
She wouldn’t talk. She just kept screaming and growling. So, I slapped her. I didn’t have a choice, she wouldn’t calm down, and she wouldn’t stop swinging. I slapped fire out her ass. When her head went to the side, I swear I heard her teeth click. I’m not an advocate at all for domestic violence, but in that case I called it self-defense.
She called the police and I received my first CDV charge. Imani was great to look at but nothing more. I knew I was wrong to lay hands, but I didn’t beat her. I simply brought her back to reality and as unfortunate as it was, it felt good. Of course, there were other incidents that followed with that lunatic, but the courts always sided in her favor. She was so much of a headache, I gave up my parental rights and had child support deducted from my check. Anything to be over and done with her.
“Look, thanks baby for coming down here. Go home and get some rest. I’ll call you in the morning,” I told Victoria.
“Umm, is that all you have to say?”
“What you want me to say? I’m tryna go home and shower and put this night behind me. I’m tired, shit!” I screamed.
“Jody,” Leon grabbed my arm. “Don’t do that man. She came because I called her. She was here for you, bruh. Don’t do that.”
“I’m sorry, Victoria. I’m tired. It’s been a long day. Please go get some rest and let me call you in a few hours. Please?”
Victoria was standing there looking hurt and confused. I knew I didn’t have to yell, but she had to realize I had a life before her and it was going to take me a minute to adjust now that I had her.
“Fine,” she sighed, then turned on her heels and stormed off.
7
Victoria
Jody took his trip down to Florida to handle his business, but he and I weren’t talking when he left. I refused his calls and I left his text messages unanswered. I thought he was wrong for handling the arrest situation the way he did. The unnecessary yelling and Leon having to calm him down. I wanted Jody to understand I was there for him and I was simply trying to figure out what was going on, it was only natural.
“Ya know I really wish you would stop the games. That man tryna talk to you and you sitting over there poutin’ like a spoiled child. If you don’t want no more of him, tell him that and pick yo’ lip up off the floor,” Karley fussed.
“I know, but I am trying to decide what I am going to do. What is going to be my course of action? I want him to know that he hurt my feelings.”
“Whatever, keep right on playin’ and miss out on ya blessing. How that song go? It ain’t nothin’ to cut that bitch off.”
“If he calls again, I’ma answer.”
“You mean when he call again,” Karley said and left my bedroom.
*****
Jody
I contemplated calling Victoria back. I had called her well over thirty times already, and she didn’t answer any of them. I sent countless text messages and got no response.
I didn’t get the chance to explain why I left so suddenly. I really needed to handle my business, but I still didn’t want her to think I was giving up either. I was just left with no choice. I had to get my head in the game and handle my shit.
Damn, I missed my baby.
No better time than the present to call my mama. She was the only other woman next to Victoria that had ever really loved me.
“Hey, Ma. Guess who it is,” I sang into the receiver.
“Jody. Hey, baby, how ya feeling?”
“I’m good, Ma. Just down here tryna tie up a few loose ends before I make that move back home.”
“That’s great, baby. Your daddy is so proud of you. All parents like to see their children do well and for you, that’s extraordinary.”
“I know, Ma. Where is Pop anyway?” I asked.
“He is out back in the shed. You want me to get him for ya, baby?”
“No, Ma. I wanted to talk to you.”
“Oh, okay. Is everything alright?”
“Yes, ma’am. Just wanted to talk to my leading lady, that’s all. I wanted to let you know that there may be a new leading lady in my life. You gon’ hafta move over,” I laughed, but my mom didn’t. “Ma, you there?”
“Yes, baby. I’m here.”
“Did you hear what I said?”
“I heard you,” my mom said with a sigh.
“So, say something. Say you happy, say you pissed, but say something. Why would you ignore me, Mama?”
“Jody, I just don’
t know what to say. I don’t know if I should feel sorry for these unsuspecting ladies or should I feel sorry for you. You have the worst taste in women and it always ends up bad.”
“Why would you say something like that? Why? It’s because you think I’m crazy, isn’t it? You feel just like everybody else. Mama, I thought you were better than that.”
“Now, you wait one damn minute, Jody,” Mama fussed. “I don’t think anything like anyone else. I am going off of what you’ve displayed. Look at your actions, Jody. What about Annisa?”
“Julisa,” I corrected her. “What about her?”
“Jody, you damn near beat that poor child to death in the middle of one of your tantrums, or do you not remember that? What about Stacey? You took her through so much the girl almost committed suicide twice. Who is it this time, Jody? What’s so special about this one? Have you been taking your medicine?”
“Her name is Victoria, Mama. She is so beautiful. You should see her. She laughs all the time, she is always so positive. She has her own home, she is in her last year at USC, and she works full time. Guess what else, Mama. The best part about her is she is just like you.”
“Like me? Lawd, have mercy. Like me how?”
“She loves me, Mama. When I told her I loved her, she said she knew because she could feel it. No one has ever told me they felt my love, but she can. That’s why I was calling, I want you to meet her.”
“When was the last time you took your meds Jody?”
“Why you keep bringing that up? Are you gonna be happy for me or you just gon’ keep talking about something irrelevant,” I yelled. “Soooo you wanna meet her?”
“That’s fine, Jody? When would you like to bring her over?”
“As soon as I get back. But first, I gotta get her to talk to me again. That’s the other reason I’m calling. She is mad and I wanted some advice on getting her back. I told you she is like you, so I was wondering what would make you happy?
