“Good for you, but that courtesy went out the window years ago. These women out here today are crazy. I’ll mess somebody up getting at me like that, and she’s the one who brought that shit on herself, too. I know she’s your wife but that was ridiculous. And as fine and classy as she is, she should know better.”
“Yeah, well, obviously she doesn’t. I’m starting to see a side of her I didn’t even know existed. And fine or not, I don’t like it one bit.”
“John-John, please,” Jaylin said, opening the door to his Mercedes-Benz and giving me dap. “Stay up, and we’ll holla soon.”
“No doubt.”
Jaylin shut the door and sped out of the parking garage. I headed back upstairs to my office. Truly behind on my work, I asked Sylvia to stay late and help me get caught up. Since we had so much to do, there was no time to discuss our personal situation. And by the time we had almost everything in order, we left the office together around 8:30 p.m.
I walked Sylvia to her car. When I opened the door, and leaned down to kiss her, she held her hand in my face.
“Do you understand what no means?” she asked.
“No,” I said, leaning in to kiss her. She turned her head, but I turned it back toward me. I pecked her lips and forced my tongue in her mouth. When she reached up and rubbed the back of my head, I knew I was in business. Soon after, she backed away and wiped her lips.
“Now, go home, please,” she said.
“Only if you’ll go with me.”
“Listen, if you don’t talk to Dana, she is going to lose her mind and mess both of us up. Please go see what she wants.”
“I already know what she wants, and I’m not worried about Dana right now.”
“I am because I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Please, please do your best to put some closure to this mess, okay?”
“I intend to. Right after you let me make love to you tonight.”
“You are a persistent little something, aren’t you?”
“Only when it comes to something I want. Follow me to the Renaissance. I assure you it will be worth your time.”
“There’s no doubt in my mind that it will be,” Sylvia said, reaching for her door to close it.
On my way to the Renaissance, I was all smiles. I checked my rearview mirror, several times, to make sure Sylvia followed me. After the valet parked our cars, we headed to my room and tore it up. Sylvia wasn’t holding back and neither was I. More than anything, I realized that night that I not only needed her, but I also loved her. There was no way for me to move forward without her.
13
SYLVIA
I was so caught up in this mess with Jonathan that I didn’t know what to do. We spent the entire week avoiding Dana and screwing the hell out of each other. Thing was, I truly enjoyed our times together. I didn’t even care about my friendship with Dana because Jonathan was everything I needed. Just maybe, all of this would somehow work out for us. I knew how much he cared for me, so anyone standing in the way certainly had to move on. Including Dana. Jonathan promised me he would make time over the weekend to talk to her, but I didn’t know how successful that conversation would be.
What made me more irate about the whole thing was she continued to call my house, and yell and scream at me like it was all my fault. When she implied I wasn’t good enough for Jonathan, and implied that I didn’t have enough class to be with a man like him, that really made my blood boil. How dare she say that when she was the one running her supposed to be classy ass around here acting like a fool? On Friday, she cut Jonathan’s tires so he couldn’t go to work, and he just called me this morning and told me she was outside with a bat, threatening to smash the windows to his car if he didn’t talk to her. He said that after he called the police, he was on his way to get a restraining order against her. He advised me to be careful and encouraged me to get one as well.
I really wasn’t worried about her crazy butt. Whatever was going to go down, so be it. Jonathan was being too nice for me. If he would just put Dana in her place, or maybe kick her tail one good time, she’d be all right. I understood his position, though. He always tried to do the right thing, but that was him and this was me.
Since it was a beautiful day outside, I put on my workout clothes and headed for Forest Park to jog. I called Britney’s house to see if she wanted to go with me, but Beverly said she was still in bed after coming in at four o’clock in the morning. I told Beverly she should have torn her behind up, but all she did was laugh. The shit wasn’t funny to me because they knew better letting Britney get away with too much stuff. If somebody didn’t start putting their foot down, Britney was going to one day find herself in serious trouble.
I parked my car by Steinberg Skating Rink, and by the time I jogged to Lindell Boulevard, my heart raced fast. I put my hair in a ponytail and sat on a bench to catch my breath. When a man in a pickup truck blew his horn and flicked his tongue in and out at me, I presented my middle finger and started to run again.
I was almost on DeBaliviere when I saw Dana charging my way. She didn’t have a bat or any other objects in her hands, so I bent down, placed my hands on my knees and tried to catch my breath before she approached me. Since she was in high heels, I started to take off, but maybe it was time that I listened to what she had to say.
“You are a dirty bitch, Sylvia,” she said, moving close to my face.
I backed up. “Dana, I’m not going to stand out here and argue with you. Now, if you got something to say, say it and be done with it. Just know, though, I’m not going to be too many of your bitches.”
“All I want to know is what possessed you to sleep with my husband? Not only that, but how in the hell could you do this to me? You knew—”
“Dana, let me stop you right there. All I knew was that you were playing Jonathan for a fool. I told you over and over again I didn’t like it one bit, and when he came to me for comfort, it was hard for me not to be there for him.”
She put her hand on her hip and got teary-eyed. “But . . . but you were supposed to be my friend, Sylvia. I trusted you with my husband and with my secrets. How could you do this to me?”
“I honestly can’t say that I’m sorry because you opened up the door for another woman to love him. Unfortunately, that woman just happens to be me. I told you that you were going to lose him, Dana. You put all of us in this uncomfortable situation and I’m sorry it has to be like this.”
“So, you’re blaming me for you being trifling, huh? Out of all of the men in St. Louis, you want my damn husband? I’m telling you now, there’s no way in hell I’m going to lose him to you or to any other woman. What you walked in on the other day, prepare yourself to walk in on it again. Jonathan still loves me, and when he realizes how much joy and happiness this child is going to bring us, you are going to find yourself left without.”
I shrugged and pursed my lips. “If you say so, Dana. Now, do you mind if I get back to my workout?”
Dana narrowed her eyes and glared at me. “You have no damn regrets, do you? And by the way you’re talking, you are still fucking him, aren’t you?”
“Don’t worry about what I’m doing. That ain’t your business. But, if I am still screwing him, it’s because he can’t let go.”
Dana slapped the shit out of me, causing my head to jerk to the side. Instead of punching her ass, I gave her a hard push that sent her to tumbling to the ground.
“Backstabbing bitch,” she yelled, as I jogged away. “I hate you, Sylvia! I hate you!”
I kept on jogging, but Dana wouldn’t let it go. While driving in her car next to me, she cursed and yelled at me. When I tried to veer off and take a shortcut, she was finally out of my sight.
Shortly after, I heard a car skid and a loud crash. My head snapped to the side and all I saw was smoke. I quickly ran to see what had happened. The front of Dana’s Jaguar was mangled. The Lincoln Navigator she’d run into was smashed as well, but not like her car.
Panicking, when I saw her uncon
scious and blood dripping down the side of her face and matted to her sandy-brown hair, tears welled in my eyes. I couldn’t tell if she was dead or alive. Afraid to touch her, I watched as a jogger pulled her limp body from the wrecked car. He reached for his cell phone, handed it to me, and yelled for me to dial 911. I called and the dispatcher said help was on the way.
Pacing back and forth, I watched as the paramedics put Dana and the lady in the Lincoln Navigator on stretchers and into ambulances. Thank God they were both still alive. The police asked if anyone saw what had happened, so I stepped forward and explained how she must have taken her eyes off the road. After seeing how nervous I was, the officer offered to take me to Barnes Jewish Hospital to make sure Dana was okay.
It was a few hours before the doctors came out and told me anything. I lied and told them I was her sister. When the doctor asked for her husband, I told him Jonathan was on his way. Dana was lucky, so the doctor explained. Not only was she unconscious, but also she had a broken nose, a fractured rib, had lost a lot of blood, and as for the baby, they could not save it.
Feeling as if this was my fault, I sat in the waiting room and released many tears. My entire body ached. I had a throbbing headache that wouldn’t go away. Fearing to call Jonathan and break the news to him, first, I wanted to see Dana. The doctor led me to intensive care, and when I got a glimpse of how messed up she was, I couldn’t get myself together. A few nurses helped me stand and they escorted me back into the waiting room. One of them gave me some pain medicine for my headache, and after I calmed down, I called Jonathan. He answered, but I remained speechless.
“Is anyone there?” he repeated.
“Jonathan,” I said softly.
“Sylvia? Talk up, I can’t hear you.”
“Dana’s in the hospital.”
“What?”
“Dana was in a car accident. She’s in the hospital.”
“What hospital? Is she okay?”
“I don’t know,” I said choked up.
“Where are you?” he yelled.
“Barnes Jew—”
The call ended.
When Jonathan came busting through the doors, I was still in the waiting area with rattled nerves. He went straight to the nurse’s station and the nurse took him back to intensive care. I didn’t even have the guts to look at him and tell him what had happened. I figured he’d want some answers, so I hung around and waited for him.
Finally, after about an hour of being with Dana, Jonathan came out, appearing devastated. His tie was loose, his shirt hung out of his slacks, and his jacket was thrown over his shoulder. His eyes searched around, and when they connected with mine, he slowly walked toward me. I stood up and held my arms out for a hug. We embraced, as I cried on his shoulder. When I let go, we sat down. Before he said anything, he used his cell phone to call Dana’s parents. Agitated by their many questions, he told them where Dana was and hung up.
“Are you okay?” he asked, rubbing my messy ponytail back.
I took a hard swallow and shook my head. “No.”
“What happened? When you called, I had just gotten back from getting a restraining order.”
I placed my hands over my face and closed my eyes. “We got into an argument and everything just . . . just happened so fast.”
Jonathan moved my hands away from my face and I opened my eyes. “So, you were with her when this happened?”
“No, but she . . . she was yelling crazy stuff at me as I jogged, and . . . and she must have taken her eyes off the road.”
Jonathan shook his head, displaying disgust. “I can’t understand why she insisted on acting like this. Did you say anything to her?”
“Yeah, we went back and forth for a while. When she slapped me, I pushed her down.”
“So, how did y’all have a physical confrontation if she was in the car?”
“At first when we argued, she was out of the car. Then, when I jogged off, she got in the car and came after me.”
“So, when y’all argued, why did you push her on the ground?”
“Because she slapped me, that’s why,” I said with attitude.
“So you pushed her on the ground, knowing that she was pregnant?”
I cocked my head back and wasn’t feeling Jonathan’s questions. “After she slapped me, she’s lucky that’s all I did to her.”
Jonathan stood up and took a few steps. He slowly turned. “Do you know she lost the baby?”
I nodded. “Yes. But are you implying that my push had anything to do with it?”
“Shit, Sylvia, I don’t know. Why couldn’t you just walk away from her?”
“I tried! I tried to be calm about the situation, but she wouldn’t let it go.”
“And I’m sure you didn’t either,” he said, raising his voice.
I jumped up from my chair. “Hold on one damn minute! I know—”
Jonathan looked over my shoulder and so did I. We saw Dana’s parents come in. Mama Bell hugged him then she gave me a hug too. Mr. Bell did the same, and they all headed back to see Dana. I waited for about fifteen minutes before I left.
Since Forest Park was close by, I jogged back to my car. I sat and listened to some soft music for a while. My mind, however, was going a mile a minute. I couldn’t believe Jonathan’s response. I already felt guilty, and I didn’t need any additional pressure from him. If anything, he should have been man enough to talk this shit out with Dana before it got out of hand. He knew how crazy she’d been acting and he didn’t do nothing about it but get a restraining order. What in the hell was that supposed to do? A restraining order didn’t mean shit to Dana, especially when her father had connections and money to get her out of any trouble she’d get herself into.
Overwhelmed, I went home and took a hot, bubbly bath. I wanted so badly to hear from Jonathan but he didn’t call. I’d even thought about calling him, but I quickly changed my mind. I knew he was busy trying to make sure Dana was okay, so I allowed him all the space he needed.
By Monday morning, I was hurt like hell. I expected to hear from Jonathan, but when Crissy came through the door and went into his office, I had a feeling something wasn’t right. She didn’t say anything to me, until after I listened to her conversation with Jonathan on the phone.
“Line one,” she said.
I picked up. “Hello.”
“I’m not going to be in for a while. Crissy is going to take care of things for me. If you wouldn’t mind showing her where she can find the files for the cases I have coming up, I’d appreciate it.”
“I’ll do what I can.” My throat ached, so I swallowed. “How long are you going to be out?”
“For at least a month. Dana’s conscious now, but she has a long road to recovery. Losing the baby was quite damaging for her.”
“I’m sure it was. Not only for her, but for you as well.”
“Yeah, it was.”
“Well, I’ll do what I can to help out Crissy. If you need anything, just call.”
“I will,” he said and then hung up.
I was crushed and rushed to the bathroom to release my emotions. I knew working for that bitch Crissy was going to drive me crazy, but stupid me was still trying to be there for Jonathan, as I’d always been.
When I got back to my desk, I gathered Jonathan’s files and took them into his office to give to Crissy. She was on the phone. I reached out to give them to her, but she mouthed for me to put them down on Jonathan’s desk. As I was on my way out, she put the caller on hold and asked me to sit. Not feeling up to her bullshit, I let out a deep sigh and took a seat. When she got off the phone, she opened her purse and slid on some lipstick.
“Does this look okay?” she asked wiping around her lips while looking at her compact mirror.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Yeah, I guess.”
She closed the mirror and glared at me. “Sylvia, what is it about me that you don’t like? I have done nothing to you, and you always come at me with such an attitude.”
“I feel the same way about you, Crissy. You’re always walking up in here like somebody owe you something and I don’t owe you nothing.”
“I do not come off like that. I get along with everybody in this place, with the exception of you. You have an attitude, honey, and you know it.”
“Maybe I do, or maybe I don’t, but don’t worry about my attitude. For the next month, we have to work together, so the faster we put all this chaos behind us the better.”
“I agree. So, if you wouldn’t mind filling me in on what Jonathan’s been doing, we can start from there.”
“I’ll do what I can.”
I spent the entire day running around the office for Crissy. Around three o’clock, she said that she was tired and headed for home. Not wanting to stay either, I asked her if I could also leave and she suggested that we leave together.
We walked to the elevator and didn’t say much of anything to each other. By the time we reached the parking garage, Crissy told me to have a good evening and went to her car. Unbelievably, we made it through the day without scratching each other’s eyes out. I guessed, just maybe, she wasn’t so bad after all.
Jonathan hadn’t called to speak to me all week long. Crissy said he called the office to check on things, but he never asked to speak to me. I was dying inside, but I put up a front like everything was all good.
On Friday, as I gathered my things to leave, Crissy came out of Jonathan’s office and thanked me for helping her out this week. When I nodded and didn’t say anything, she displayed a puzzled look.
“Girlfriend, I don’t know what’s been ailing you this week, but I am sick and tired of seeing your long face. Besides, I know something is going on in that big head of yours, especially since you haven’t gone off on me all week long.”
I laughed. “Trust me, I’ve wanted to go off on you, but I kept my peace.”
“Go off on me for what?” She put her hands on her hips and grinned. “I’ve been nothing but nice to you this week, girlie. If you had gone off on me, I would have gone right back off on you.”
Slick Page 14
