The Johnson Sisters

by Tresser Henderson

  “Get out of my place, Cal,” I told him, but the evil look in his eyes let me know he was not about to go anywhere. “Did you forget about the restraining order?”

  Ignoring my question, he asked his own. “So you’re cheating on me now?”

  “How can I cheat on you when I’m not with you?” I asked sarcastically.

  “You couldn’t wait to get rid of me so you could sleep with someone else.”

  “You got rid of yourself when you put your hands on me,” I told him.

  “After all I’ve done for you. After everything I did to help you get where you are.”

  I looked at him with a scowl, puzzled because I didn’t know what he was talking about. I asked, “What did you do for me?”

  “I helped you get this place. I gave you money. I bought you things. I made a car payment for you.”

  “Ummmmm, Cal, you must be getting me mixed up with one of your other women, because you haven’t done none of those things for me. If anything, I gave you money. I paid your mama rent where you were staying to help y’all, and I bought your non-dressing behind clothes. So before you come out your mouth all crazy, you better rethink the situation and the woman, because you got me mixed up with somebody else.”

  Cal looked off like he was pondering my statement. He knew he made a mistake just like I said he did. Now he stood there looking stupid. He’s going to come over here like he cares about me, but sticks his foot in his own mouth by getting me mixed up with his other women. I had suspected he was doing a little something outside of me, but I could never prove it. Now he just did.

  “It’s all coming back to you now,” I said, giggling. “That’s what happens when you got too many women on your roster. But you know what? You can take me off permanently, because I’ll be damned if I’m going to deal with any more of your bullshit.”

  “Are you sleeping with dude?” he asked, dismissing my statements.

  “What do you think? I mean, he is leaving this morning, isn’t he?” I said disdainfully. “That’s the reason why you are asking, because you saw him leave, right?”

  “I thought you loved me,” he said pitifully.

  “No. I never loved you. I had a strong like for you. Now Grayson, I could see myself loving that man.”

  “You just met him.”

  “But I’ve known him for quite some time. In just a few weeks, this man has shown me what it’s supposed to feel like to have a good man next to me. I’m sad to say I never knew that until I met him.”

  “Well, you can end it because I want you back,” Cal admitted.

  “You can want me all you want. It’s not going to happen, Cal. You think I’m supposed to fall into your arms after you bust your way into my place, coming up in here like you’re Mr. Big Stuff. Like I’m supposed to be scared of you, but I’m not afraid.”

  “You should be,” he threatened.

  “Please, of what? What are you going to do, beat me again?”

  “I told you I was sorry about that.”

  “And I’m supposed to forget the way you pounded my head into the floor screaming, ‘I’m going to kill you, bitch’? I’m supposed to forget about all of that and say, ‘Yes, Cal, I love you and I want you back’?”

  “Yes,” he said sternly.

  “Then you’re crazier than I thought. You need help. Go find some doctor to help you work on that mind of yours, because you have truly lost it,” I said, crossing my arms across my chest.

  “Shauna, you know you want me,” he said, holding his hands out like he was some sort of male model. Little did he know he was far from it.

  “Look at me and look at you. I don’t need a lot of men to validate me. Ain’t that why you got Laura and Janice and Cookie waiting for you to call them?”

  Cal’s arms fell dejectedly at the mention of their names. He rubbed his head as he pivoted from foot to foot. I knew he didn’t like the way this conversation was going.

  “That’s right. I know about those women. Two of them called me, and another showed up at my job the other day, letting me know she’s your woman and to stay away from you. Funny how things turn out, isn’t it? All the while you trying to get me back, your women are going behind your back, letting me know they already have you. You better talk to them, because they blew up your spot. You are used to dealing with chickenheads who are willing to settle, but that’s not me. You got the wrong one here if you think I’m going to take you back and deal with your cheating-ass, beating-on-women ways,” I said coolly.

  The more I talked, the madder he got. His rage seemed to increase when he realized I knew a lot more than he thought I did. He was probably cussing those women out in his mind.

  “Get out of my place before I call the cops and have you locked up again, and this time it’s going to be for violating your restraining order.”

  Cal didn’t say anything. He stood scowling at me. I guessed he had a chance to think about what I was telling him.

  I walked in his direction to the door to open it for him to leave. When I attempted to pass him, he grabbed me by the arm. “You really think it’s going to be this easy to get rid of me?”

  “Let me go, Cal,” I warned.

  “Or what? You don’t have your little boss here to protect you now.”

  When Cal said that, he reared back and swung. His fist landed on my right cheek. The force from his punch caused me to fall back onto my sofa, releasing me from his grasp. Cal didn’t halt one minute before he was on me, swinging and punching. I held my hands up to block his blows, but they were coming too fast. Too many were landing on my head. I think I was screaming. And then all of a sudden, he was off me.

  I looked up to see Grayson throwing Cal to the floor. Cal quickly jumped up and swung at Grayson. He missed. Grayson retaliated by hitting him in his throat. That one move caused Cal to stumble back. He grabbed his neck, struggling to breathe. His eyes began to bulge like he couldn’t catch his breath. Grayson grabbed him, wrapping his hand around Cal’s throat.

  “Don’t do it, Grayson,” I yelled to him.

  The look he gave me asked, “Why not?”

  I answered by saying, “He’s not worth it. He’s not worth you ruining your future.”

  I could see this registering within him. He looked back at Cal, who seemed like he didn’t want any more. That one punch to his throat was enough to make Cal recoil like the coward he was. Grayson let go. Cal moaned while I ran and called the police.

  The police arrived, taking Cal away in handcuffs. Once we told the police about the restraining order, Cal tried to say I called him over there. Then he tried his best to say Grayson was the one who attacked him, but it was two against one here. Plus, the bruises on my body were enough to let the police know Cal was the perpetrator.

  Once the police were gone, Grayson came over to check on me again to see how I was doing. “Are you okay?” he asked for the twentieth time already.

  “I’m fine, Grayson,” I told him with a smile.

  “I want to make sure. I wish I would have got here in time.”

  “How did you know to come when you did?” I asked curiously.

  “I sat in the parking lot for a minute because the restaurant called me with an issue. After talking with my coworker for a bit, I pulled off and looked at my gas hand, seeing I needed to get some gas. Then it hit me. How could I pay for gas with no wallet?”

  “You left your wallet on my dresser?” I asked in amazement.

  “Yep. I turned around, and when I got to the door, I heard you screaming. That’s when I burst in. I wish I would have shown up earlier than that.”

  “Grayson, it’s okay. I’m glad you showed up when you did. You’re my hero again,” I said, reaching over and caressing his hand.

  Grayson lifted his other hand to my bruised face. He gently rubbed it, saying, “We need to get some ice to put on that.”

  “I know it looks bad,” I said.

  “Can I ask you a question?” Grayson asked.

  “You
can ask me anything.”

  “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

  “I do,” I responded, grinning slyly. “So what are you telling me?”

  “I’m saying I can see us going really far in this relationship. I know my timing may be terrible, but, Shauna, I’ve liked you for quite some time. I don’t want to waste another minute.”

  “So are you saying you want to be in a relationship with me?” I asked.

  “That’s if you would have me,” he said.

  This man knew all the right things to say. I know this seemed like we were moving fast, but we were friends first, from back in the day. Why would I want to waste time when I could see if it could work with him?

  “Do you think we are moving too fast?” I asked him.

  “Not at all. No one knows when love will strike.”

  I smiled at Grayson and said, “I would love to have you in my life.”

  Grayson leaned toward me and planted his lips on mine. We kissed for what felt like forever. Grayson broke our connection to ask me, “Aren’t you going to be late for your meeting with your sisters?”

  “I sure am,” I said, leaning forward to kiss him again.

  Chapter 36

  Serena

  The gang was all here, aside from Dawn, who I didn’t want to be here anyway for what I had to tell my sisters. It was still early in the day, so we were all dressed down in jogging pants and tees. Even Phoenix was dressed down in a pair of black-and-white geometric-print leggings and a long black top. She even had her hair still wrapped up. She was on Viv’s sofa with her feet beneath her, lying down like she was getting ready to go back to sleep.

  “Viv, you didn’t cook breakfast for us?” Phoenix asked.

  “No, I did not. Besides, it’s close to lunchtime.”

  “Then you don’t have any lunch made for us?” Phoenix griped sleepily.

  “Again, no, I do not. How many fast food places did you pass on your way over here? You should have picked me up something to eat,” Vivian retorted.

  “I didn’t stop and get anything because I figured you were going to cook.”

  “I’ve never cooked breakfast or lunch for you guys. You know we usually do dinners.”

  “You could have made an exception this time. Now what am I going to do? I’m starving,” Phoenix said with her arms clamping down on her stomach like she had bad cramps.

  “I got some leftover lasagna in there,” Viv told her.

  Phoenix jumped up with a quickness and ran to Viv’s kitchen.

  Viv looked at me as I shook my head and we both made our way to the kitchen. When we walked in, Phoenix was placing the lasagna on the counter. She also pulled out a bowl filled with tossed salad, along with taking out two different salad dressings.

  “I guess you weren’t lying when you said you were hungry,” I said to Phoenix.

  “Y’all know I’m not usually up this early on a Saturday. My body is not used to this,” she said, taking the red plastic lid off the long glass dish. She retrieved a spatula and cut a nice-sized piece of lasagna, placing it on a clear glass plate. She then went over to the microwave above the stove, placed the food inside, and set the timer to heat for two minutes.

  “Where’s Shauna?” I asked, eager to get this little meeting started.

  “Here I am,” she said, walking into the kitchen. “I hope you don’t mind I let myself in, Viv.”

  Shauna was the last to arrive and shocked the hell out of us when she came bopping her behind in there with a big bruise on the cheek. We all were ogling her, but she had the biggest smile on her face.

  “I wouldn’t be smiling if I had that bruise on my face,” Phoenix blurted. “What happened to you?”

  “It’s a long story that I don’t feel like discussing.”

  “You better tell us something,” Viv retorted.

  “Uhhh, you guys,” Shauna said.

  “Spill it,” I said.

  “Okay. Cal showed up at my place this morning and—”

  “Please tell me that fool is locked up,” Phoenix said, cutting Shauna off like she didn’t want to hear any more details. “Because if he isn’t, I’m going to call our cousins to handle this fool once and for all.”

  “Cal is locked up for violating his restraining order, and the man who came to my rescue is Grayson.”

  “Wait, wait, wait. Who in the hell is Grayson?” Phoenix asked with a frown on her hungry face.

  “He’s my boss and my new man,” Shauna revealed, grinning from ear to ear.

  The microwave beeped and Phoenix opened it to retrieve her heated pasta. The steam rose from it as she placed it down on the island. While Phoenix turned her attention to her food, me and Vivian went back to talking to Shauna.

  “You can’t be in a relationship with your boss,” Viv said.

  “Yes, I can,” Shauna replied.

  “Isn’t that a violation of some code of ethics?” I asked.

  “It might be, but we are keeping things cool until I find me another job.”

  “Shauna, did Cal hit you in the head too many times? Because you are talking crazy. One minute you down and depressed about this man beating your behind, and the next we know, you are in a new relationship with your boss,” Phoenix said.

  “Yes, pretty much, but Cal ain’t beat me in the head too many times. Hell, maybe that needed to happen in order to find the man who is meant for me,” Shauna explained.

  All of us stood there looking at Shauna like she had lost her mind. I knew my mouth was open. She didn’t pay any attention to me as her happy behind walked over to Phoenix.

  “Ooohh, that smells good. Can I get some? I’m starving,” Shauna said, reaching to take the fork out of Phoenix’s hand to taste her heated food.

  “Oh, no you are not. I don’t know where your mouth has been,” Phoenix said.

  “It’s been the same place yours has been,” Shauna shot back.

  “Which is the exact reason why you shouldn’t be eating after me.”

  “Point taken. I’ll fix my own,” Shauna said, going over to the cabinet and retrieving a plate to fix her own lasagna to heat up in the microwave.

  “Can we get this little meet and greet started before you heifers eat everything in my kitchen?” Viv joked.

  We climbed up on the barstools at the island and watched Shauna fix her food and Phoenix eat.

  “Okay. I called us together to tell you something I found out about our sister.”

  “What? She finally came to her senses and decided not to marry Corey?” Phoenix kidded.

  “No. I haven’t spoken to Dawn.”

  “Then what is this about?” Shauna asked.

  “If you two motor mouths will shut up, I will tell you.”

  “Okay. Go ahead,” Phoenix said with frustration as she squeezed ranch dressing on her salad.

  “Our sister is a porn star,” I blurted. I knew there was no other way to say it but to say it.

  The room fell silent. I looked around at each of my sisters to see all eyes were on me. It was like someone had pushed a paused button on our life, and I was ready for the playback to continue.

  “Did y’all hear me?” I asked.

  “I think we heard you, but we are not sure if we heard you right,” Viv said, looking baffled.

  “Come into the living room. I have something to show you,” I said, jumping down from my stool. Viv and Phoenix were right behind me, but Shauna was too busy fixing her food.

  “Don’t start without me,” she yelled.

  When I popped that disc into Viv’s Blu-ray player and turned her television on, the same visual of our sister’s room came on the screen. It wasn’t long before my sisters were watching Dawn in action.

  “You have got to be kidding me,” Viv said in astonishment.

  “I told you,” I said, looking over at her stunned face.

  “What does she think she’s doing?” Viv asked.

  “Well, it looks like she’s getting hammered by some dude,”
Phoenix said with a mouthful of food.

  “I can see that,” Viv retorted. “But what is she thinking?”

  “Evidently she’s not,” I said.

  “And here we were thinking little miss innocent Dawn was a prude. She’s the biggest freak of us all,” Phoenix responded.

  “Who knew she was a whore?” Shauna said, taking a sip of wine before putting a forkful of food into her mouth.

  “How? What? Who gave you this disc?” Viv stammered.

  “Tyree showed this to me. His boy brought it over to him after coming across it.”

  “So people have seen this?” Viv asked.

  “Isn’t that what porn is made for, for the enjoyment of others watching?” Phoenix said.

  “I’m calling her,” Viv said, getting up and going over to her phone.

  “For what? She is on her way over here. Besides, what are you going to say to her?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” Vivian snapped.

  “Don’t get mad at me. I thought you guys should know,” I said in my defense.

  “What else is going to happen?” Viv asked no one in particular.

  “Viv, you might want to sit back down before you make that call, because that’s not all I have to show you.”

  The looks on their faces told me everything. They couldn’t believe I had to reveal something else to them. Little did they know the next video I would be showing could permanently destroy the sisterly bond we were struggling so hard to maintain. For a moment I wondered if I should show it at all, but there were enough secrets among us. This needed to come out, although I hated to bring more damaging revelations to our slowly diminishing family.

  Chapter 37

  Shauna

  All eyes were on me now. My fork was midair when all of a sudden I lost my appetite. A day that had started out great, turning ugly to end up amazing, had all of a sudden taken another dark turn down a road I was not ready to travel.

  Vivian was standing across the room with her arms folded across her chest, watching with her mouth slightly open. Serena was sitting on the sofa, looking at me distrustfully, while Phoenix was still chomping on her food, glaring at me like she was waiting for an explanation. All of them were waiting on one, but I didn’t have any words to say.