The Countdown to Thirty

by Nefertiti Faraj

  I grabbed my suitcase from the trunk and walked up the badly chipped red porch steps. I took a deep breath before knocking and reminded myself to take everything I saw or heard with a grain of salt. I knocked a friendly little tune to let them know I was here and in good spirits. I waited for a few moments but no one came to the door. I knocked again louder this time but still no response.

  “What the hell?” I said to myself feeling frustrated that I was going through this. I knew Mama was at work but I told Riley last night before I went to bed what time I would be here.

  I pulled out my cell phone and called Riley, no answer.

  I dialed Mama’s number next.

  “Mama,” I said once she answered the phone, “I’m here at the house but nobody’s answering the door and Riley’s not answering her phone, I can’t get in.”

  “Well Kaia I can’t do too much about that right now I’m working girl. They knew you was coming, go around back and knock on they bedroom window. They probably still sleeping,” She said sounding irritated at their irresponsibility.

  I let out a sigh, “Okay, I’ll try.”

  “Text me either way let me know if you get in.” She said

  “Okay Mama, bye.” I said as I carried my purse and luggage back down the porch steps and towards the side gate.

  A new black sign hung against the chain linked gate in bold red letters that read: BEWARE OF DOG.

  I knew it was just a scare tactic the homeowners in the neighborhood used to wane off burglars since it was faster and more affordable then buying an alarm system.

  “They ain’t got no damn dog.” I said sarcastically as I lifted up the handle and walked through the narrow passage on the side of the house. My orange sandals flip flopped against the cement walkway and my luggage violently brushed up against the overgrown shrubs that grew from both sides of the pathway.

  “Dang!” I said struggling to get my luggage through, “Why don’t they cut this shit?”

  Just then my ranting was cut-off by the unmistakable sound of paws racing against cement and violent aggressive barking. I knew the sounds originated from the depths of hell once I saw the red nosed Pit Bull turn the corner and charge straight at me.

  “Aagh!” I let out a deep throated scream in sheer terror and panic. I was in too much shock to think. Things were happening so fast that my body seemed to takeover on its own and do what it needed to in order to protect its precious blood supply. I quickly threw my luggage in the path of me and the Pitt Bull and ran back towards the gate I came through while reaching in my purse for my stun gun. I could hear the dog jump over the luggage and continue in his relentless pursuit for flesh and blood while his barks registered in my mind as “I’m gonna get you bitch!”

  In what had to be the most important two seconds of my entire life, I managed to open and run through the gate, pull the latch back down and remove my hands before the Pitt Bull mangled them to shreds. I dropped down on the ground crying hysterically while my mind raced frenziedly trying to process what I’d just gone through.

  I was almost eaten alive by a Pitt Bull!

  Oh no I think he got me!

  No I think I’m fine!

  Why am I shaking!

  Why can’t I stop crying!

  Fuck this dog!

  The Pitt Bull continued barking wildly while he made several failed attempts to jump over the gate. His continuous barks finally snapped my mind back into reality and that’s when I noticed I didn’t even have my flip-flops on anymore; that damn dog ran me right out of my shoes.

  That was it. Sonya was right. I needed to take a stand at some point in my life. This was my moment to shine and I was angry enough to do it. I wiped my eyes dry along with the snot that was beginning to run from my nose and stood up with my stun gun in hand, fully charged. I walked towards the gate and tried to figure out the best way to do this. Holding my purse in my left hand, I extended it over the top of the gate to hover as bait. The Pit Bull accepted my challenge and jumped trying to snap my hand off no doubt, but he didn’t jump high enough. I shook the purse trying to bait him again and this time he leaped high into the air giving me enough opportunity to sneak in with my right hand and stun him in the neck.

  “Bullseye.”

  The loud staticky noise coming from stun gun quickly ceased as the Pit Bull let out a pathetic wail as he fell to the ground unable to move. I looked down at him without any sympathy as I opened the gate. No matter how cruel it may sound I felt happy in a way, but overall I was still mad. I bent down and stunned him again but this time in the leg. He let out another wail and laid there on the ground with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

  “Hey man, what the fuck you doing man!” A male voice shouted in both fear and anger.

  I turned around to see Derrick and Riley in their pajamas running down the porch steps towards me. I walked back through the gate to the front yard ready to justify everything I’d just done if anyone had a problem with it.

  “Whose dog is this? Whose evil Pitt Bull is this?” I screamed shifting my glare from Derrick to Riley then back to Derrick again.

  “It’s mine bitch, what the fuck you do to my dog man!” He shouted as he ran to his dog’s side.

  Riley had her hands pressed up against the sides of her face in total disbelief of what was happening. “Oh my God Kaia what happened?”

  “Y’all asses were in the damn house sleeping, fucking or doing whatever the hell you do when you should’ve been answering the door and because of it fucking Cujo almost ate my black ass and I had to fuck him up. Get my luggage! Get my shoes! I’m out of here!” I screamed at the top of my lungs giving no regard to the neighbors who had come out of their homes to watch the show.

  As Riley’s big sister she knew me well, she knew me very well. She knew my moments of indignity like this were few and far in between, but if I went there it was one: for a damn good reason, and two: it wasn’t for show, I was legitimately angry. During rare moments like this I could feel my mother’s venom running through my veins.

  Riley scurried to grab my stuff from the side of the house, “Derrick you told me you got rid of the dog last night! Mama’s gonna kill me when she finds out what happened! You know she thought the dog was gone!” She cried.

  “It’s not my fault man! I didn’t know she was gonna go in the backyard, damn!” He yelled as he hovered over his dog trying to nurse it back to health.

  I felt sorry for my sister I really did, because she was right. Mama was just about going to kill her when she found out what happened. From the sounds of it, it wasn’t completely her fault but Derrick was a knucklehead and this was just another prime example. Once I got my suitcase back in my trunk and my flip-flops back on, I pulled back out of the driveway in search for a hotel, no dogs allowed.

  By the time I’d checked into my one-hundred dollar a night hotel room and settled in Mama was on her break and called me to see how things were going at the house. I explained to her how things went from my encounter with fluffy on down to Derrick calling me a bitch. If you thought I went off you should have heard Ms. Tajuana Jackson. To hear her actually defending me for once warmed my heart, but it was bittersweet since she dogged Riley out in the process, no pun intended.

  We agreed to meet at Celeste’s house once she got off work. She insisted on heading straight there after clocking out because she needed to calm down first before somebody got fucked up at home, as she put it. I knew that that somebody was both Derrick and Riley.

  I turned the TV on and tried to get comfortable in the bed but I was angry at myself now for even bothering to come all the way down here. Here I was spending an unexpected two hundred dollars plus tax over the course of the weekend on a pointless hotel room because I now refused to sleep under the same roof with Derrick.

  “Why didn’t you ask Celeste if you could stay there?” Mama had asked before we ended our conversation.

  Celeste wanted too much constant spotlight for me to want to be an overnight guest. N
o way was I sleeping over there. Plus now, my plans for nearly the whole day had changed. Last night on the phone Riley and I agreed to have breakfast at Applebee’s, then stop at the nail shop and get Pedi’s so I could keep up with my weekly routine, then catch the matinee at AMC Theatres to see the new Taraji P. Henson and Idris Elba movie. I wanted that time to catch-up with her but most importantly to have the talk, but she couldn’t even show me the respect to have the crust removed from her eyes. She was so neglectful it was crazy.

  I bit into my Motel 8 complimentary Blueberry muffin and appreciated how fresh and moist it was.

  “Still not Applebee’s, but definitely a close second,” I said after washing it down with a healthy sip of coffee.

  “Yuck!” I complained, “Definitely not my Starbuck’s either.”

  If there was one thing on this earth that could upset me it was definitely the taste of stale, bitter or just not right coffee in my mouth. It was so bad that I poured it out and opted for ice cold water instead.

  While under the comfort of my standardized hotel comforter I listened to a rerun episode of “The Parkers” and triumphantly replayed my dog tasing incident in my head.

  Looking back on it now it seemed comical. I gushed with laughter at the thought until my eyes ran with tears, “I’m sure this isn’t what Christian had in mind. Wait until I tell him.” I laughed.

  Then the thought of me telling Christian slowly ceased my laughter. How could I tell him if I’d been ignoring him? Three days after our impulsive kiss he called me but I was too embarrassed to answer. Then on the fourth day when he called me again I just let it ring until my voicemail icon popped up. It took me four hours just to work up the nerve to listen to it and when I did all he said was for me to call him back.

  I’ll come clean, I did finally break-down and talk to Malcolm but because of it I feel so much better now. He apologized for being insensitive to my needs and told me he’d never want to lose me. Because of his work schedule and the kids these last few years have been hard on him but he wants to make things work with me, even if he has to bend on some of his rules, his words not mine. This is the man I’ve spent the last two years of my life waiting for. Am I supposed to just give it up because of a fight? No way. And definitely not because of a passionate heat of the moment kiss with Christian. If Sonya can have a “countdown to thirty” plan so can I and mines is to go for what I want, the man I want and that man is Malcolm.

  I grabbed my phone no further delaying the inevitable and text Christian back.

  Me: How’s training going?

  Christian: It’s whack, ready to come back. How you been?

  Me: I’m okay, sorry I missed your calls.

  Christian: You don’t have to apologize. My bad for the other night that was crazy. I didn’t mean to push up on you like that.

  Me: It’s okay we can just forget about it. I think it was just too many emotions at one time. Let’s just forget it happened okay.

  It took a while for his next text to come through but when it did I became flustered and even more of a nervous wreck.

  Christian: I don’t want to forget it happened. I need to talk to you when I get back.

  “Oh God Christian, what are you talking about!” I asked as if he was right in the room with me.

  What does he mean he doesn’t want to forget it happened? Could Christian really have something for me? Was the kiss really more than just worked up emotions? Is this why Desiree went crazy in Victoria’s Secret? Did he really call out my name in bed!

  “No! No! It’s not what you think Kaia.” I told myself.

  Then I thought back to the day at his apartment when he terminated my conversation with Sanders, then the fact that he never liked Malcolm the minute he laid eyes on him along with any other guy for that matter.

  “No,” I shook the notion from my head, “He’s just being a big brother that’s what they do. I’m sure it’s no different with Celeste and Riley. The only difference is we live in the same city.” I reassured myself.

  But that still didn’t explain the kiss. And it really didn’t explain his comment after the kiss that only until now seemed to pop back into memory. “I didn’t want it to happen like this.” If he didn’t want it to happen like this then how did he want it to happen?

  “Oh God,” I sighed praying Christian, the Christian hadn’t been harboring some sort of secret crush on me all these years. It would mess up everything! I text him back agreeing to meet-up once he got back from Phoenix. My first plan is to squash this and squash it soon. For my sake and any possible future with Malcolm, for his sake and for our family’s sake….no matter how good of a kisser he is.

  Thirteen

  Sonya

  After waking up horrified and still in shock to find out Lamont was the one behind the pregnant woman’s shooting my heart weighed more than a concrete block inside my chest. It’s been a whole lifetime since I’ve felt emotions like this and I didn’t miss the feeling. As a matter-of-fact I hate the fucking feeling because it’s been causing me to wail all morning long. And sadly the cruelty of misery hadn’t adopted any leniency since I escaped it years ago. I hated this. After burying my head under the armor of my girlish purple comforter embellished with printed gray dandelions I cried for the woman and her baby. Then cried for the baby I loved and lost and finally for Lamont because the man I once worshiped who I thought could do no wrong was a lost soul.

  A half hour before one Saundra called and let me know she was in the car waiting outside. She was picking me up for day one of Corrine’s bridal shopping extravaganza even though she informed me that Corrine started looking the day after the proposal. What made this day so special is that this was the day all of her best friends would be here with her.

  We walked into Antonio Philippe’s Bridal Show exactly at noon and were greeted by a refined and yet fashionable sista with an edgy bob cut and unique cat like eyes. Perhaps if she were about three inches taller she could have easily graced somebody’s runway for sure.

  “Welcome to Antonio Philippe’s, are you a part of the Corrine Palmer wedding party?” She asked with an Ivy League accent.

  “Yes we are,” Saundra replied while removing her designer shades and planting them neatly in her hair. “Have they gotten started yet?”

  “No, you’re right on time, please follow me.” She said with a comforting smile as she began leading us to the back of the boutique.

  The boutique was more of a bridal showroom and was very upscale and particular in its fine finishing’s, crystal chandeliers and dramatic long flowing draperies that graced the presence of each window. We walked past an endless plethora of white dresses decorated in satin; silk; lace; feathers; beads and sequin. The showroom was not only fancy it was expensive. It made sense for a woman of Corrine’s standards to pick this boutique to locate the perfect wedding dress and bridesmaid’s gowns.

  “Hell if I ever get married again one day I’m picking this place to find my dress.” Saundra whispered to me as we continued to follow.

  I didn’t respond; my mind was still too distracted to comment but for the life of me I was trying to keep it together.

  Saundra stopped walking and grabbed my hand stopping me to. She turned to the woman escorting us and asked, “Can you give us a moment please?”

  I gave Saundra a confused look.

  “Sure, take all the time you need, I’ll let Ms. Palmer know you’re here.”

  Saundra responded with a smile and a “Thank you.”

  She walked me over towards one of the finely draped windows that had a beam of sunlight pouring through the showroom floor. I leaned against the wall and focused my eyes on the shadow of the window pane against the maple wood floors. Saundra stood in front of me and looked me in the face with concern.

  “Sonya what’s wrong? You’ve been quiet since I picked you up. This isn’t like you even on your worst day.”

  So much for holding it together. Either her big sister radar had kicked in or I was a
terrible actress. Regardless I needed to get this out. I took a deep breath and let it go.

  “You know that story on the news about the pregnant woman, the woman who was shot during the so-called random home invasion? Jeanette Myers?”

  “Yea, did you know her? Everybody’s talking about that, is that what’s wrong?” She asked looking very concerned.

  “No I didn’t know her, but I feel like I do. The latest breaking news said they arrested her fiancé,” I said between sniffles, “he hired someone to fake a break-in and kill her.” I said with tears beginning to flow down my face, “But she didn’t die.”

  “Are you serious? Oh my God that bastard. It wasn’t a real break in?” She asked with her hand pressed to her chest. “To think I even deposited money into the bank account setup for him, are you kidding me?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  Saundra was passionate about this type of thing especially since David works in the legal field. She could have been the poster child for women against domestic abuse.

  “It’s tragic. They should give him the chair, but why is it affecting you like this?”

  I grabbed tissue from my purse and dabbed away the tears that had fallen. I was about to reveal the real truth about my past and it sickened me.

  “Because I knew him. When the story broke last night they released his name and mug shot, Saundra its Lamont, my Lamont. I got pregnant in Reno and when I told him…he beat me up pretty badly. He said it was my fault and he threatened to kill me if I didn’t get rid of it. But he didn’t have to do that because I lost the baby. That’s the real reason why I left. It was more than just your average breakup.” I confessed.