What a Fool Believes

by Carmen Green

  “Why didn’t you tell me that before?” she whispered. “I’ve been worried out of my mind—”

  “The ADA told me he’s never late for anything. So although he’s not here yet, he’ll probably show up.”

  And emotionally, she’d be back where she’d started.

  “Don’t worry,” was all Leroy managed before the judge entered.

  “All rise.”

  Tia said a quick prayer, stood up, and didn’t turn around again. If Officer Rivers was there, she’d know soon enough.

  Chapter Seven

  “Ms. Amberson, you are hereby ordered to take sixty hours of anger management classes.”

  “Yes, sir,” Tia responded to Judge Dunn.

  “You’re fined two hundred dollars for vandalism.”

  She whispered to Leroy, and he addressed the court. “Your Honor, the defendant owned the tires.”

  The judge read the document again. “That may be true, but just as you own your house, you don’t have the right to burn it down.”

  Snickers resounded from the gallery. Give them some popcorn, and they’d be at Magic Johnson’s theatre. Judge Dunn looked over his glasses at her, a mischievous grin on his face, and Tia immediately knew two things. The judge was gay. And, when he took off that robe, he was a flaming drama queen.

  “Did you say something?” Judge Dunn asked innocently, inviting her to cut up.

  “No.”

  “Did you want to say something?”

  Tia licked her teeth and shook her head. No way was she going into her invisible closet and coming out in a sequined dress, five-inch fingernails, and sista girl wig on. “No, sir.”

  “Ah, well.” The judge gave a disappointed sigh. “Is the arresting officer present?”

  The assistant district attorney perused the courtroom and threw up her hands. “Officer Rivers was supposed to be here.”

  “I guess this is your lucky day,” the judge said to Tia. “The other charges are dropped.”

  “Uh, Your Honor?” Dante rose from the last row, pulling at the suit Tia had bought him two Christmases ago.

  Tia’s heart hammered. This was the first she’d seen him in weeks.

  All the books she’d read on healing from a broken relationship covered this moment. But she didn’t feel longing or confusion or loss. She felt pure, uninhibited anger. He’d used her and had been scamming her from the beginning. And now he was here to take the only thing left: her sanity.

  He may have played her for a fool, but in the long run, she would win. Knowing this didn’t stop the anger.

  “May I address the court?” Dante said.

  Gleefully, the judge lowered the gavel. “I don’t know. Who are you, and what do you want?”

  Dante came forward and moved next to the ADA. What did he think he was doing, auditioning for Law & Order? “Uh, I’m Dante Manuel, the victim.”

  This brought giggles from the gallery.

  An inch shy of six feet, Dante hardly looked like a victim. More like a down-on-his-luck door-to-door salesman.

  Were those extensions in his greasy head? Yuck.

  Tia made herself look away. With each passing second, the desire to punch him increased. As a precaution, she took two steps closer to the police officer. That way he could easily zap her ankle with his Taser, and she’d avoid a homicide charge.

  “Your Honor, it was my car Ms. Amberson vandalized. And I feel that some kind of rectification needs to take place.”

  Ill-concealed laughter rocked the stuffy courtroom. Not the big words. He must have found her Expand Your Vocabulary book, looking for the fifty-dollar bill she kept hidden in there for emergencies.

  Tia took a deep breath, held it, and started counting. If she calculated correctly, at about 450 seconds, she should drop dead.

  “And what type of rectification would you like?” the judge asked, his mental TiVo recording for on-demand playback.

  Dante swayed, getting into it. “I think some community service is good, and jail time wouldn’t hurt. Uh, I mean, I don’t know if she’s going to snap again. I mean, she looks fine now, but you never know.”

  The judge’s clerk covered her face with her hands and shook her blond head.

  “Mr. Manuel,” the judge said, trying to keep a straight face. “You’ll have to provide your own personal security if you’re scared of Ms. Amberson.”

  “I didn’t say I was scared.” Dante looked at Tia—and blinked first. “M-maybe I’ll think about that.”

  “Good.” The judge lifted the gavel.

  “Uh,” Dante interrupted. “Do I get the two hundred dollars the court is collecting?”

  Howling, stomping feet, and clapping echoed off the four walls. The judge bellowed and only stopped laughing to wipe his eyes.

  Leroy looked at Tia, and for one moment, they were caught together in the vortex of shame. He objected, to no avail.

  Dante had done something she’d never thought would happen to her. He’d bubble-gummed their names under the circus heading freak show.

  “She’s probably as stupid as him,” a woman said, loud enough for Tia to hear. Leroy objected, while the judge tried to restore order.

  Tia made a silent vow that if she ever committed another crime of passion, she’d do it in Winder, Georgia, where the probability of the gallery being filled with frightened white people was very high.

  The judge’s professional face struggled to return. “Mr. Manuel, we don’t offer rebates. Ms. Amberson, are there articles that have to be removed from the residence?”

  “Sir, the condo is mine. I bought it from the bank after it was foreclosed on. Although it was Mr. Manuel’s property before and during the foreclosure. We were going to live there together, but he made another choice, and consequently, we’re not together.”

  “I see. Well, that changes things.”

  Tia held her breath.

  “I don’t think she deserves the place, Your Honor,” Dante said. “She bought it for me. That’s why she left.”

  The lie slipped easily from Dante’s mouth, and for the first time ever, Tia found him to be a believable actor.

  The whole relationship had been a lie, and she’d been his sexual and financial means to food, clothing, and shelter. And he’d been her unsuccessful foray into opposites attracting. Where was the love she’d had for him?

  Drowned in crab killer and Jheri–curl juice, no doubt.

  “Your Honor,” Dante continued, “she promised to take care of me in the downtime. Can I get palimony?”

  “No!” Judge Dunn bellowed, trying not to lose the battle to another bout of hysterics.

  “Shut up,” Tia muttered through bared teeth.

  “What?” both Dante and Judge Dunn replied.

  “Nothing, Your Honor,” Leroy said and gave Tia a stern look.

  Tia bit her tongue and sniffed the air, smelling smoke. She searched for the source and realized it was her ridiculous life!

  She’d dedicated her career to becoming the kind of person people would take seriously. But they wouldn’t now. Not after this. If Dante said one more thing ...

  “Ms. Amberson, if there’s another outburst, you will be in contempt of court. And the fine is hefty. Fifty dollars a word. Understand?”

  Tia didn’t move. She felt that if she nodded or spoke, she’d go airborne, leaving the amused cop at her side zapping wind.

  “She understands,” Leroy answered, a death grip on her elbow. “When can my client regain possession of the property?”

  “Seventy-two hours. Officer Rivers can escort her to the property to make sure there are no complications. And that should be enough time for Mr. Manuel to find other accommodations.”

  Tia wrenched her elbow free. She was fine. As long as Dante didn’t say anything else stupid.

  “I need more time, Your Honor,” Dante said, sounding pitiful.

  “Do you work?”

  “I’m between projects,” he confessed.

  The judge sighed dramatically
. “And why is that?”

  “Because the parts I play are complexual. That’s complex and intellectual at the same time. I won’t take just anything. The part has to fit me.”

  “Interesting,” the judge said, his hands white against the black robe. “When was the last time you had a role that met your criteria?”

  “Two years ago. I had a callback for a movie with Jamie Foxx, but I didn’t get it, because of her.”

  “What did Ms. Amberson do?”

  “Your Honor, I don’t see how any of this matters,” Tia interrupted. “He’s in the condo I own.”

  “Ms. Amberson, please refrain from commenting until called upon. I’ve already warned you,” the judge admonished.

  Dante’s smug look made her want to scratch his eyes out.

  “As I was saying,” Dante continued, “I feel that after all the hard work and energy I put into my home, I shouldn’t have to give it up to a woman who was just using me for my elite address, among other untangible things.”

  Tia swayed, while fire from her stomach reached her throat. “Shut up using the wrong words,” she said.

  The judge banged his gavel. “Quiet,” he warned everyone in the courtroom.

  “And she gave me a disease,” Dante complained loudly.

  “You lying dog,” Tia exclaimed.

  The judge banged the gavel until he was red in the face.

  Tia felt her neck being held tightly and realized it was Leroy. “You’re going to jail if you say another word, and I’m not going with you! Say something else,” he threatened, “and I swear, I’ll walk out like I don’t know you.”

  Tia elbowed her cousin away. He wasn’t helping her in the least.

  “Ms. Amberson,” the judge said, “I won’t tolerate outbursts in my courtroom.”

  “What about the fact that he’s lying?” Tia demanded. “I see that it’s amusing to you and the rest of the people in this courtroom, but it’s not a damned bit funny.”

  “Don’t curse,” Judge Dunn ordered.

  “Excuse me, but he’s lying, and you’re not stopping him,” cried Tia. “Am I supposed to just take it?”

  “Yes! I can see that there were no boundaries in this relationship. Since you took matters into your own hands, Ms. Amberson, take responsibility for this. You will be fined fifty dollars for every word hereafter. Mr. Manuel, you have seventy-two hours to vacate the premises, or you’ll be held in contempt.”

  How dare the judge pass judgment on her life? “There were boundaries, Your Honor,” Tia said with earnest, “But they didn’t include sleeping with other women.”

  The audience erupted again.

  The judge held up his hands, nodding. “Ms. Amberson, I’m warning you for the last time.”

  Dante’s chest had deflated now that the audience was turning on him. “Maybe if you weren’t so square, you wouldn’t be manless,” Dante said, cocky now that she’d been reprimanded. “A little diversity never hurt nobody.”

  Tia pushed Leroy aside and leaned across the aisle, while Dante hid behind the ADA.

  “You non-fucking piece of crap. There aren’t two women alive who’d want your scabby little wiener. Go to hell.”

  “Remove him from my courtroom!” The judge had turned a burnished shade of red and was now standing. Control was gone on both sides of the bench. And Tia didn’t care. The judge had allowed a mockery to be made of her life.

  “How much is that, Cindy?” the judge bellowed.

  “One thousand dollars.”

  “You have anything else to say, Ms. Amberson?” asked the judge.

  “It’s the best thousand dollars I’ve ever spent,” Tia retorted, defiant and satisfied for the first time since this debacle began.

  Thunderous applause rippled through the room. The judge’s gavel clattered onto the desk.

  “Deputy, escort Ms. Amberson to the clerk and then out of the building via an exit other than Mr. Manuel’s. Ms. Amberson, I feel as if we’ll see each other again.”

  “Not if I can help it.”

  “Believe me, I hope not too. Dismissed.”

  Judge Dunn banged the gavel, and Tia turned around.

  Officer Byron Rivers stood at the back of the courtroom, an indescribable look on his face. Tia wasn’t sure if it was repulsion or embarrassment. Either way, she didn’t want to see her life further decimated. He could speak up, and the nightmare would continue.

  He was by the book, she’d been told. Never late for anything. A stickler for the law.

  Finally, he moved as if in a dream, tipped his head, and was gone.

  Tia allowed herself to be led out, hoping she’d never see Dante or the judge again.

  If only she could say the same for her arresting officer.

  Chapter Eight

  “Tia, come into my office, now.”

  Tia rose from her cube and felt both acute embarrassment and sympathy from her peers. Chance, her boss, had made the demand over the office paging system. Her voice had blared into everyone’s work area, which was exactly what she’d intended.

  She liked her employees shaking and defenseless before she killed them.

  While Tia didn’t want to keep Chance waiting, she didn’t want to appear afraid, either. She wasn’t Chance’s bitch, so she took the long way to her office, passing one extra cube before entering the vacuous space.

  The distance between the door and Chance’s desk seemed to be the length of the Hollywood red carpet, and Chance enjoyed every quaking step her staff had to take before they arrived, intimidated and often crying.

  Chance was a size 2 bully.

  Tia arrived at the desk, folded her hands, and forced herself not to shake.

  “Yes, Chance?”

  Pale hands extended from under jet-black sleeves and flipped open Tia’s personnel folder.

  “Do you know how many days you’ve been absent this year?”

  “Three.”

  “Six. I’m counting the half days as absences, too. In addition, you’ve embarrassed this station with your—”

  “Chance, I had pneumonia two days in January. Besides, I’ve already apologized for everything else.”

  “Else? No, antics is a better word. Taken to court by all the local news stations. You were so hideously funny, the AP picked it up. ‘I’m sorry’ isn’t good enough, Tia. We are an organization of professionals, not two-bit hoodlums,” she said imperiously. The folder snapped closed. “And you weren’t even good at that.”

  “Chance, I’d had a terrible shock. I’m sorry for causing you or the station any embarrassment. It won’t happen again—”

  “Excuse me,” Chance interrupted sharply. “I’m extending your action plan because of your unprofessional behavior, attendance and poor work performance. If you miss work one day, if you’re twelve seconds late, or if you miss one of those anger management classes, I’ll take great pleasure in firing you.”

  “Chance, this is so unnecessary. I had a simple lapse in judgment. It was immature, I know. But believe me, people will forget this with the next big news story.”

  Chance folded her hands over her waifish stomach. “Now you’re an expert? Shouldn’t you have thought of that before the profanity flew out of your mouth? Didn’t you see the cameras in the courtroom? My God,” she exclaimed. “That’s why you’re not a forecaster now, Tia. You don’t use mature discretion. Do you know anything about my personal life? No. Do you see me or anyone else from this office on our rival station as Atlanta’s funniest person of the week? No, only you hold that distinguishable honor.”

  What could she say? Some of what Chance had said was true, but an action plan? She’d been a stellar employee for five years. She’d never used a sick day before this year and had never given her parents, the Normans, a reason to doubt her integrity or commitment to the station. It wasn’t until Chance had joined the family business two months ago that Tia had become a problem.

  Chance pointed at her, and Tia noticed red marks lining her wrists. When she saw
the direction of Tia’s gaze, she slapped her hands on the desk. “You have an additional thirty days to convince me not to send you packing. Once my decision is final, my parents won’t save you again.”

  “Please assure them that they won’t be disappointed.”

  “You work for me,” she said softly. “Your job is to please me.”

  The glint in Chance’s black-rimmed eyes sent chills up Tia’s spine. Her tongue rolled in her mouth as she tried to formulate words that involved mature discretion. “Thank you for the opportunity.” To kick your ass, her brain completed, but thankfully, the words stayed inside.

  “Why are you still standing there? Get back to work.”

  Tia hadn’t wanted to hurry out of Chance’s office, but she felt as if Chance’s eyes were boring a hole into the back of her head. Before she knew it, she was on the other side, with her back pressed into the handles of the door.

  Ronnie/Rhonda, the cross-dressing mail clerk, sashayed up, dressed as a woman today. “I’d have kicked my sister’s bitch ass. You held your ground, though. Good for you.”

  Tia sprinted after him. He was six feet four and had a stride like a gazelle. “How do you know what went on in there?”

  “Baby, Rhonda knows everything. Now get to your desk before you’re on the street. She’s coming.”

  Her heartbeat thundered as Tia careened up the side aisle of workstations and duckwalked to her seat. She landed just in time.

  “I thought you were going to make my job easy,” Chance said from behind her, making the hairs on Tia’s neck stand up. “Sign these.”

  Tia squeezed her hands before turning around and taking the papers. The other meteorologists and various assistants were all huddled in their cubes like frightened kittens.

  The papers outlined her action plan and the performance review she hadn’t seen. She leafed through it and saw the low scores. “I’d like the opportunity to read this over. On my own time, of course. May I return this to personnel tomorrow?”

  Tia knew she was pushing her luck, but Chance couldn’t skirt the law, no matter how much she hated her.

  “Nine a.m. sharp. Sign the other one now.”