One Man's Trash

by Yolanda Allen

  “I’m feeling pretty good. I was a little bummed when he didn’t like the song that I wrote, but at least he liked me overall.”

  “Well you know I’ll help you with the other two songs. This is our shot, JT. He loved my song. He was really feeling it.” Diamond clapped her palms together in excitement. If she wasn’t at a place of business she would’ve did her happy dance.

  “Our song. He loved our song.” JT corrected her.

  “You know what I meant. Anyway, I should get back to work. We should go celebrate.”

  “Cool I’ll see what Trey and his girl are doing tonight.”

  “Okay let me know and I’ll meet up with you guys.”

  They hugged goodbye. Diamond floated to the elevator. Philip James of Tri Records loved her song. She was on cloud nine right now and no one could take her off her high. One step closer to reaching her dream. As soon as the elevator doors closed, she did her happy dance.

  “You can pull over to the right, sir. Right there where that tall guy is standing. Thanks.”

  The cab driver double parked in front of the restaurant. JT, Trey and Nina stood near the entrance. JT opened the car door and helped her out. She wrapped her arms around his neck. A familiar scent filled her nostrils. Tangelo. She held on a little longer and sniffed again. Definitely, Tangelo. JT suddenly pulled back. What the hell was that all about? Where was he before he showed up tonight?

  Diamond kept her smile glued to her face trying to hide her suspicions.

  “Hey girl!” Nina grabbed her attention.

  “Hey Nina, honey. Thanks for coming out.” She air kissed her on both cheeks.

  Trey stretched out his arms. “Give me some love, girl.”

  Trey embraced her. “Hey Trey, you know I got nothing but love for you.” He slowly pulled away.

  “You look nice by the way.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Alright let’s go inside. I’m ready to eat!” Trey opened the door, Nina went in first and he entered behind her.

  JT let the door close. He pulled Diamond to the side. “That was a long hug.”

  “What?”

  “Trey.”

  Diamond rolled her eyes with annoyance. “JT, I always hug Trey. Why are you tripping?”

  “You don’t ever hug him like that. And then he’s telling you how nice you look.”

  “So now it’s against the rules to hug your friend and for your friends to give me a compliment? Thanks for letting me know.”

  He walked back to the restaurant’s door. “Just watch those damn hugs.”

  Diamond followed close behind. “Are you serious?”

  He opened the door and faced her. “Dead ass.” He walked ahead of her into the restaurant. Diamond couldn’t believe this guy was tripping over a hug. Trey was his close friend. Why was he getting his panties all in a wad over Trey hugging her and giving her a compliment? He damn sure didn’t bother to tell her that she looked nice.

  Diamond sat next to Nina and across from JT.

  “Diamond, you alright? You look a little upset.”

  “Oh. No, I’m fine. I just got a little headache. Nothing serious. I probably just need to eat.” Diamond opened her menu.

  “Are you sure?” Trey persisted. “I have some headache medicine in my car. I can go get it for you—”

  “She’s fine,” JT interrupted.

  She looked at JT. “Thanks, Trey. But I’m fine,” she said without looking his way. Trey dropped the matter.

  Diamond felt her temperature rise. She took controlled breaths. She never knew she had a temper until she met JT. He brought out the worst in her sometimes. She glared at him but he never made eye contact. He studied his menu as if he hadn’t seen it for the millionth time. If looks could kill hers would be an oozy and JT, well, there would be no JT.

  # # # #

  Diamond dialed JT’s number for the third time. It went straight to his voicemail like the first two times. What the hell was he doing? His phone was never off. It went straight to voicemail again. Was he hurt? Was he on the train with no service? She dialed his number again. Ringing. Thank goodness.

  JT picked up on the fourth ring. “Hello.”

  “Hey. What were you doing? You sound out of breath.” Diamond stopped pacing the floor.

  “Oh.” He cleared his throat. “Nothing. I’m not doing nothing.”

  Liar. Diamond sat on the couch. Since when did doing nothing make you winded? “So I wanted to come over to work on these songs for Philip. When are you free?”

  “About that. Why don’t you just email me the lyrics.”

  “Email you? Why would I email you when I can just come over? JT, what’s going on?”

  “Nothing’s going on. Just email me the two songs. I’m going to get Stephanie to sing on them.”

  Stephanie. Diamond sucked her teeth. “Stephanie? Phillip didn’t even like her. Why don’t you want me to sing on the tracks? I thought we were doing this together?”

  “Babe, it’s not that I don’t want you to sing on the tracks, it’s just that I don’t want Phillip to think that we are together. It could jeopardize some things if they think that we are in a relationship. What if they sign me? I’m sure they have a non-fraternization policy or something.”

  Diamond pulled at her bottom lip. She stared out the window. She hadn’t thought about a non-fraternization policy. She was a better singer than Stephanie, there was no question about that. She was in this to be a songwriter not a singer. As long as Phillip knew that she wrote the song, did it really matter who sung them?

  “Ok fine, Stephanie can sing on the tracks I don’t care. The next question is, why do you want me to email you the songs? I can still bring them to you. I want to sit in on the recording sessions to make sure Stephanie does my music right, anyway.”

  “Babe, trust me. Stephanie is better than what you heard. The reason I said email the songs is because I knew that you would want to be at the recording session and Stephanie says that you make her nervous. That’s why she didn’t do so well the last time.”

  “I make her nervous? Get the hell outta here with that. If Stephanie was a professional then she could sing in front of anyone. It’s not like I’m a freaking judge on American Idol.”

  “You make her nervous. Actually uncomfortable was the word she used. What can I say.”

  “What you can say is…my girlfriend wrote the damn song and she’s going to be here to hear you sing it. That’s what you can say.”

  “Diamond, it’s not a big deal. Stop blowing things out of proportion. You want me to make it right?”

  Diamond pinched the bridge of her nose. “Of course I want you to make it, JT.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have a problem with me working with Stephanie. This is for us baby. We are a team right?”

  “Yes, JT, we are a team.”

  “Okay then. You can email the songs or you can drop them off. Whatever makes you happy. But Stephanie is going to sing on the track and we need her to be comfortable. So that means?”

  Diamond blew out an irritated breath. “That means that I can’t sit in on the session.”

  “Good girl.”

  “JT…are we really in this together? I just feel like you’re trying to do this on your own and you know I want us both to succeed. This is my life too, you know.”

  “Babe, we are a team. I got you. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “So I got to go. I’ll talk to you later.”

  Diamond hung up the phone. It didn’t feel like he had her. She needed a drink but she couldn’t drink alone. Her mom always said, only drunks drink alone.

  She texted Kimmy: Drinks. Paradise….NOW!

  She could always count on her road dog. She walked into the lounge. Kimmy waved at her from the bar.

  “Thanks for meeting me.” Diamond kissed her cheek.

  “What’s the T, girl?”

  Diamond sat on the stool and ordered a white Russian. “The T is, JT.” She didn’t have to loo
k at Kimmy to know that she had rolled her eyes at the sound of his name. She always rolled her eyes at the sound of his name.

  “What he do now?”

  Diamond rested her head in her hands. She peeked over at Kimmy. “I got him a meeting with my boss. My boss loved the track that I wrote and sung on. JT produced a track that he wrote and had Miss Booty Shorts sing on.”

  “Wait. Miss Booty Shorts? Who is that?”

  “Stephanie. The chick from the other night. Anyway, my boss told us that he didn’t really like the song that JT and Stephanie did, he said the lyrics were too elementary. So I told JT that I would help him with the two songs that Philip wants so he can present the demo to the Board.”

  The bartender placed her drink on a white square napkin. “Thanks.” Diamond swirled the liquid around in the glass with her straw. “So long story short, JT doesn’t want me to sit in on the recording session with Stephanie anymore because she told him I make her feel uncomfortable which is why she didn’t do so well on the last track.”

  “I call bullshit. JT is a total bullshitter. B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T Bullshit.”

  “Tell me how you really feel, Kimmy.”

  “Seriously. You make her feel uncomfortable? Why? Because you’re cock-blocking? Is that why Miss Booty Shorts is feeling uncomfortable? I don’t trust him, Diamond. I’m sorry but I just don’t.”

  “It’s no big deal really. I’ll just take him the songs tomorrow and let them do their thing. As long as he’s not changing my lyrics, then it’s cool. My goal in all this is to be a songwriter, not a singer. I already know that Philip likes my writing.” Diamond shrugged.

  “I will never be that friend to say, I told you so, but Diamond…watch him. Watch him.”

  She nodded. Kimmy had never been this serious about anyone before. Maybe her “feeling” was something to pay attention to. Diamond always believed anything done in the dark would soon come to light. Karma’s a true bitch. If JT had any ill intentions toward her, he would definitely get his. She came to New York with one goal in mind, to become a successful songwriter. If allowing Stephanie a few seconds of shine got her one step closer to achieving that goal then so be it.

  SEVEN

  Always trust your female intuition, her mother always said. Well today Diamond’s female intuition told her to not call JT before showing up at his place. Unlike him, although she had a key to his apartment, she always called or texted him to let him know that she would be coming by. Today she decided against it.

  She descended the stairs to JT’s apartment. The door was ajar. That’s interesting. Was he home? Did he forget to close the door behind him? She stepped inside. His sneakers and a pair of yellow flip flops with a flower in the center were near the door. Those weren’t her flip flops.

  She listened. No music played. No talking. No singing. So why was there a pair of flip flops here? Obviously they didn’t belong to JT.

  Diamond didn’t bother to take off her shoes. She tiptoed down the hallway. She reached the bedroom first. The door was halfway closed. JT laid butt naked on top of the sheets, on his back. Miss Booty Shorts lay beside him, curled up underneath the sheets. They were sound asleep.

  Diamond pushed the door open. She crept up to JT. His mouth was slightly opened. His hand rested peacefully on his hairy chest. She used to watch him sleep sometimes when they first met and would giggle when his mouth twitched at the corners. It was cute.

  Was being the keyword right now. She raised her hand back. Lord forgive her. She came down with a force she didn’t even know she had. His silky caramel skin met with the palm of her hand. Shit. That stung! She’d never hit anyone before.

  JT jumped out of his sleep startling Stephanie. His right hand braced his fall. He looked up at her with dazed eyes. Stephanie sat up in the bed with the sheets gathered at her neck. A deer in headlights.

  “What the fuck, Diamond?”

  “Exactly, JT. What the fuck?” She stood over him with her hands on her hip. “This doesn’t look like a recording session to me.”

  Stephanie sat motionless and speechless. Diamond saw stuff like this on T.V. or read about it in books. Never did she think that she would be experiencing it in real life. Her first boyfriend. Her first breakup. It definitely wasn’t her first heartbreak. No. She’d experienced her first heartbreak when she was sixteen and found out that her life-long crush, Ryder Gillian was dating Erica Strange. She had cried for two weeks.

  This was heartbreak number two. And it was just as painful as the first. Maybe even more painful. She didn’t have words. She couldn’t think of anything to say. What do you say when you catch your boyfriend in the bed with another woman? What amount of yelling and screaming and cussing would take away the pain? Even releasing her frustration in a slap caused her more pain.

  JT sat on the floor. His big brown eyes stared up at her. “Diamond, I can explain.”

  And that was her cue. She spun around on her heels and bolted out the front door. There was no need to explain. There was no reasoning or justification for his actions. He was the ultimate loser. Damnit, Kimmy, of all the times to be right. Shit.

  Diamond power walked down the sidewalk. She fumbled in her purse for her phone. Vision blurred with tears. She pressed the number two button.

  “Mom.”

  “Diamond, what’s the matter sweetheart? What’s wrong? Are you crying?”

  Diamond reached the end of the street and squatted to the ground, holding her body up with one hand. Her legs were like jello. She didn’t know what hurt worse, the pounding in her head or the breaking of her heart. She held the phone to her ear. She wanted to answer her mom’s questions but the only thing that came out of her mouth was sobs. The ugly cry. The uncontrollable sobbing that you would expect from a baby not a grown woman standing on the corner near a bus stop.

  “Diamond, baby, calm down and tell me what happened.”

  Diamond inhaled deeply and let out the breath slowly. She repeated this two more times before she was able to speak without crying. “Mom…I just caught JT in bed with another woman. I can barely breathe right now.”

  There was silence on the phone. Her mom let out a huge sigh. “I wish I was there right now to comfort you baby. I’m so sorry. Where are you now?”

  Diamond stood. Of course today she wouldn’t have any tissue with her. She looked around. A ninety-nine cent store was two doors down from where she stood. “I’m still in Brooklyn, Mom. A block from his house. I need some tissues. I’m going into this store to buy some now.”

  “What did JT say? I mean, tell me what happened?”

  Diamond grabbed a pocketbook sized pack of Kleenex tissue from the counter.

  “One dollar please,” said the cashier.

  “Hold on, Mom. I need to pay for this.” Diamond handed the clerk a dollar bill.

  She stepped outside and blew her nose. Three tissues later she could breathe through her nose again.

  “Hello.”

  “Yes, baby, I’m still here.”

  She sighed. “I came to JT’s house, I have a key, he didn’t know I was coming. The door was cracked open so I just walked in. I didn’t say anything. I saw a pair of female flip flops, so I tiptoed to his bedroom and found him and this girl asleep. And…I slapped him. Hard. Real hard. So hard I hurt my hand.”

  Surprisingly her mom giggled. “Well he deserved it. Hurting my baby. If I had a son I would send him up there to beat his butt.”

  “Mom!” Diamond laughed. “Don’t make me laugh, I’m upset.”

  “I’m serious. There is never a reason to cheat on anyone. If you are not happy in a relationship then just leave. Did you have any signs that he was unhappy?”

  “No, I didn’t. I mean I just got him a meeting with my boss so that they could listen to his demo and possibly sign him to the label. I was even helping him with his songs. Which they loved by the way. But no, Mom, I did not see this coming. At all.”

  Or maybe she just ignored the signs. Now that she thought about it, he
did show some cheater tendencies. The other night she smelled Stephanie’s perfume on his clothing. The fact that he didn’t want her to come to any of the recording sessions anymore. How he insisted on using Stephanie on the tracks although Philip wasn’t that happy with her voice.

  Denial. That’s what she was living in. Denial. But she was always taught to never jump to conclusions. Ask the right questions to get the right answers. Wait until you have proof before you go accusing anyone of anything. Well she had followed the rules. And the truth came to light.