Single Ladies 7 & 8: That's What Friends Are For

by Blake Karrington

  Darious, who was in the garage with the door up, walked out to the driveway, surprised that Tammy had the kids with her. She walked up to him with Sinniyyah in her arms, waiting to see what he was going to say.

  “Are you sure?” Darious asked, wondering if she was ready to bring her kids into his life.

  “Mmmm-hmmmm,” she nodded, leaning in to kiss him.

  This was a big step for their relationship, but Tammy felt comfortable enough to have Darious around her kids on a more permanent note, plus she was tired of always having to find a babysitter in order to spend some quality time with her man. Tammy felt that if they were going to be together, then Darious might as well get to know the kids. He’d only seen them a couple of times, and that was due to Tammy trying to give Chris some respect by not having his kids around another man. That way of thinking had run its course, and it came by way of the fact that Darious wasn’t just another man, he was Tammy’s man and the person she planned to spend the rest of her life with. Darious being a part of her kid’s life was inevitable, and that was something Chris was going to have to learn how to respect.

  __________

  When Ralphy pulled up to the block, Scoop was in the cut, sitting on some steps a nice distance away from the heavy dope-fiend traffic heading for the workers. The moment Scoop saw Ralphy pull up, he removed the gun from his waist and set it on his lap. He wasn’t sure what type of shit Ralphy was on, or if he’d put it together that he had something to do with the shooting at the dentist office, but just to be on the safe-side, Scoop had his gun at the ready.

  “What it do, big homie,” Scoop greeted, extending his fist for some dap, which Ralphy returned.

  “Yo, I think we might have to go to war with these niggas on the West Side,” Ralphy said, easing his arm out of the sling.

  “War? Niggas don’t go to war like that anymore,” Scoop chuckled. “Especially when the beef is personal. And what makes you think it was the niggas from the Wet Side?” Scoop asked, trying to see where Ralphy had come up with that idea.

  “Man, it had to be. Them niggas came for blood not money. I don’t know how, but I got a feeling Dre’s people know I had something to do with his death.”

  Ralphy didn’t sound all that sure, which made Scoop feel like he was in the clear.

  “Yo, my nigga, you ain’t been out here in a while, and I tried to warn you.”

  “Warn me about what?” Ralphy shot back with a little attitude behind it.

  “This street life ain’t you anymore. You’re a family man now, and that’s where you belong. Shit gets ugly out here if you’re not careful,” Scoop told him.

  Ralphy was a little shocked by what Scoop had said. It was as if he didn’t have any respect for Ralphy’s G card anymore. The more Ralphy sat there and thought about it, it also sounded like Scoop didn’t want him out there on the streets at all. It wasn’t what he said, it was how Scoop said it that caught Ralphy’s attention.

  “So you’re gon’ put dis work in wit me or what?” Ralphy asked, but only to check Scoop’s temperature on the matter.

  “Homie, I really don’t got the time for war. I’m trying to make some money right now,” Scoop said, turning his head away to look down the street.

  “Just let that shit die down before you get yaself killed,” Scoop said, before getting up from the steps and walking off down the streets toward his workers.

  Ralphy knew right then and there that Scoop was no longer on his side. He didn’t know if or to what extent Scoop had something to with the shooting, but if it came out that he did, Ralphy wasn’t going to hesitate in putting a bullet through his head, so called friend or not.

  __________

  Just about every Sunday, Ms. D had a dinner, and it was a guarantee that everybody would show up. She fried chicken breast, fish and a few other seafood creatures like shrimp and crab cakes. Mash potatoes with gravy, macaroni and cheese, greens, corn, and white rice were also on the menu. Her house smelled like a soul food restaurant, and in the midst of the great smell, the aroma of her specially made apple pie blended in the air. Mrs. D could cook her ass off.

  “All right, somebody clear this table off,” Mrs. D yelled out from the kitchen.

  Lamar wasn’t getting up from in front of the TV and nor was Ralphy. The football game had them locked in, so it was up to the females to get the job done. Lisa couldn’t do much of nothing with her wound, and Falisha was upstairs in Mrs. D’s bedroom talking on the phone. Tammy and Kim were left to take care of the dinner table.

  “Are you okay?” Tammy asked, seeing the blank look on Kim’s face as she sat at the table.

  Unlike many women, Kim still had the abortion on her mind, and she wanted to tell Lamar what happened so bad. She just didn’t know how he was going to react to it. She loved him, and didn’t want to risk losing him. At the same time, she didn’t like hiding things and keeping secrets from him. It just felt wrong all the way around the board.

  Mrs. D finally got everybody to the dinner table. Little Anthony, Sinniyyah and Naomi all sat at the kitchen table, with Mrs. D going back and forth to check up on them. As soon as everyone was seated, Falisha said grace.

  “Heavenly Father, thank you for this food you have provided for us, and thank you for allowing friends to come together and enjoy this meal. God, I ask that you protect us from the evil plot of the devil, and to make us all strong enough to move on. God knows that strength is what we’re gonna need. And please protect us from these wolves in sheep’s clothing. In the name of Jesus. Amen!”

  Lamar looked up at Falisha knowing that after that sarcastic prayer ,there was more to follow, and nine times out of ten, it wasn’t going to be good at all.

  Mrs. D even gave her a look as if to say, “Don’t start ya shit.”

  Falisha kept her cool and began to eat along with everybody else. For the first few minutes, it was pretty much silent except for the sounds of spoons and forks hitting the plates and a couple of moans from the delicious taste of the food..

  “I got an announcement I wanna make,” Tammy said, wiping her mouth with the napkin. I’m moving next week,” she said, taking a sip of her juice.

  “What? I know it’s not with that boy,” Kim spoke, surprised to hear that coming from her.

  “His name is Darious and he’s far from a boy,” Tammy quickly corrected. “Besides, he makes me happy.”

  “That’s right girl, that’s all that matters,” Falisha cut in.

  “You know Chris gon’ kill you and him when he gets home,” Ralphy chuckled.

  “Chicks ain’t got no loyalty now-a-days. A nigga go to jail, and a female is so quick to forget about everything a nigga did for them before he got there,” Lamar said with a slight attitude “I don’t respect it,” he concluded, taking a bite of his chicken breast.

  “Lamar!” Kim yelled, smacking his arm, “Don’t be rude.”

  “Nah, nah, that’s cool, Kim. I’m not mad at Lamar. He’s only saying how he feels. But let me say this to all the niggas that’s locked down in the pen, I didn’t put a gun to nobody’s head and made you be a trap boy. Chris did that on his own. I would have stood by his side if he worked at McDonalds in order to provide for his family. He knew what he was doing, and the possibility of being taken away from his kids. But, guess what, he kept doing it. Meaning he didn’t give a damn about me or our kids. He left this pussy out here so he could be around a bunch of men and dicks. If you think I’m about to put my life on hold for the next ten years, you and every other nigga, got another thing coming,” Tammy said pointing her fork at him.

  Lamar sat there and continued to eat his food. He really didn’t have anything else to say. Chris had always been a cool dude to him, and from the outside looking in, it looked like Tammy was leaving him when he most needed her.

  Ralphy, on the other hand, had something he wanted to get off his chest. He cleared his throat, reached into his back pocket, and pulled out an envelope. Inside, were the
divorce papers signed by him and Lisa, and ready to be processed. He held onto them for good reasons and the most important of them was that he wanted to make sure a divorce was what he really wanted.

  “Me and Lisa been together for a long time now, and I know everybody is aware of what happened between us. I just wanna say that when you love somebody as much as me and Lisa love each other, you can make it through anything,” Ralphy said, taking the papers and ripping the up into little pieces, “Me and Lisa are back together.”

  “You just sayin’ that cause she got shot. Nigga, the streets is talking,” Falisha said, biting down on her fish.

  “You out of pocket, Falisha,” Kim said.

  “Look who’s talkin’,” Falisha shot back. “Don’t you got something you wanna say, since everybody got announcements…”

  “I got an announcement,” Lamar said, reaching into his pocket for the ring.

  “And who you screwing now?” Falisha shot at him.

  She wasn’t taking any prisoners today. Her hormones were running wild and she was just saying whatever came to mind. Lamar was so shook he put his ring back inside his pocket and continued eating without attempting to respond to Falisha’s comment.

  “Damn, you cold,” Mrs. D said, shaking her head at Falisha.

  “Yeah, and don’t think that I don’t know that you got cancer. You like a fuckin mother to me, and you hide some shit like this from me… from us.”

  Mrs. D leaned over and back-handed Falisha right in her mouth, splitting her bottom lip on the side. Falisha knew she was wrong, and that’s why she did nothing but cover her mouth with her hands and remained quiet while Mrs. D said what she had to say.

  “Yeah, I got cancer, but that’s my business. I was going to tell the rest of y’all who didn’t know, on my own terms, not yours,” Mrs. D said, cutting her eyes over at Falisha. “Now, if y’all don’t mind, I wanna enjoy the rest of this meal without the negativity. So if you don’t have anything positive to say, then don’t say nothing at all,” Mrs. D concluded before digging into her plate.

  Everybody was in agreement with trying to salvage what good was left in the Sunday dinner. Silence took over the table, and just when everybody thought that the day was over, Falisha rocked the table with her own shocking public announcement.

  “Well, how about one more quick announcement. I’m pregnant!” Falisha said before turning around and walking out of the kitchen on her way to the bathroom.

  __________

  Johanne sat in her hospital bed looking at the positive pregnancy test the nurse had given her. She was so astonished by the good news, she could barely feel the metal rods keeping her shattered shin bone in place. This whole time, she had no idea she was absolutely with child and the more she looked at the test, the more excited she became.

  “Excuse me, nurse. Is it possible for you to find out how far along I am,” Johanne asked, reaching over and grabbing her cell phone off the stand.

  “Sure, just give me a minute,” the nurse responded.

  Although Ralphy said that he’d be back around 8:00, Johanne couldn’t help but to try and call him. She wanted to give him the news right away, hoping he would be just as happy as she was. Unfortunately, her few attempts at calling him ended up going straight to his voice mail. She thought about texting him, but that was a little too cheesy. Johanne would have to wait, but in the meantime, in between time, she was going to bask in the beautiful gift of motherhood.

  Chapter 5

  “BABE!” Darious yelled out from the upstairs bedroom. “Come ’ere real quick,” he shouted.

  Tammy was in the kitchen feeding Sinniyyah in her high chair. She picked her up and headed upstairs to see what Darious wanted. When she got to the bedroom, he’d just wrapped up a phone call.

  “Yes babe,” Tammy said, putting Sinniyyah on the bed, then walking over and standing in front of him while he sat on the edge of the bed.

  “On ya way to go pick up Anthony, I need you to drop this medication off to one of my patients,” Darious said, grabbing her by the waist. “I got a lot of running around to do before I go to work.”

  “Yeah, sure babe. That’s no problem,” she said, rubbing the top of his head, “Are you okay, ’cause you look a little stressed out,” she said, pushing him back onto the bed. She then climbed on top of him.

  She leaned in and kissed him then looked into his eyes. She still couldn’t believe how far in-love she was with Darious, and he felt the same.

  “You know I love you right?” he asked, reaching up and placing his hand on her cheek. “Promise me that you’re not going to leave me,” he said.

  “I know you love me, Darious, and I’m not going anywhere. You got my heart,” she responded leaning back over to kiss him again.

  This time, Sinniyyah interrupted the moment, crawling across the bed and grabbing a handful of Darious’s face. Her finger was lodged in his nose and the saliva from her mouth dripped down into his eye. Sinniyyah was laughing and bouncing back and forth like she was having the time of her life. This was the first time Sinniyyah was this intimate with Darious, and to be honest, Tammy was feeling the bond.

  __________

  Kim pulled up right in time to catch Falisha coming out of her house. She beeped the horn twice but Falisha only looked at Kim’s car before going back into the house. Falisha really didn’t feel like talking to anybody at this point.

  “Here we go wit dis bullshit,” Kim mumbled to herself getting out of the car with her briefcase in hand.

  Kim didn’t want to, but she walked up to Falisha’s front door and rung the bell. There was a lot of tension between them, and Kim wasn’t the type to walk around with a chip on her shoulder. If she had a problem, she confronted it head on.

  “Come on wit da childish shit and open the door,” Kim yelled through the mail slot.

  Kim was about to yell in the mail slot again, but before she could, the door swung open and Falisha was standing there with an obvious attitude.

  “What do you want, Kim?” Falisha asked, stepping out onto the porch.

  “So it’s like that? You sayin’ that we’re not cool at all anymore?” Kim asked, putting her briefcase on the ledge.

  Falisha never said anything, but she felt some type of way about Kim wanting Lamar since day one. The only reason she entertained the whole race to capture Lamar’s heart, was because she truly thought that she had it in the bag. She never thought in a million years that he would choose Kim over her, given the history they had, along with amazingly great sex. When he did choose Kim, it was mind blowing and it caught Falisha off guard.

  “Come on, Kim. You know what it do. You took my man, and that was that. We cool and everything, but we’re not friends,” Falisha said.

  “So we’re not friends because of a man?” Kim asked.

  Falisha didn’t say anything right away. She looked down the street, trying to avoid any eye contact with Kim, but Kim walked over and stood in front of her, forcing Falisha to look at her. Kim could see the anger and the hurt in her eyes and knew that what Falisha felt was real.

  “You know that I was in love with Lamar, and you still pursued him. You didn’t give a fuck about me or how I felt. To you, this was all a fucking game, and Lamar was your prize. A friend… you can’t be serious. A real friend would have backed off, instead of doing the shit you did. But guess what, I’m good. You and Lamar ain’t gon’ last another month once he finds out you got an abortion,” Falisha said, looking down at Kim’s stomach before walking into her house and slamming the door behind her.

  Kim sat there on the porch with a dumb look on her face after being chewed out by Falisha. Not only did she feel bad, she also felt like a home wrecker, because if it wasn’t for her, Falisha and Lamar would be together. It was something Kim had never really thought about until now, and the more she thought about it, the more she could understand how Falisha felt.

  What she couldn’t grasp was the last comment F
alisha made pertaining to how long her and Lamar had left to be together. She wanted to bang on the door and ask Falisha what she meant by it, but Lamar pulling up on the block made Kim leave it alone for right now. This definitely wasn’t going to be the end of that conversation, but for now, Kim had another pressing issue to deal with, one that might make or break her and Lamar’s relationship.

  __________

  Darious had warned Tammy that the neighborhood was a little ghetto, but that was an understatement. When she pulled up to Milton Rd., it looked like a zombie land. There were dope fiends everywhere, and for a minute, Tammy was scared to pull over. In fact, she drove right by the house she was supposed to deliver the medication to.

  “Shit,” Tammy mumbled, pulling over towards the end of the block after seeing that she had passed the house. Two luxury cars parked on the pavement caught Tammy’s attention, and for some reason, she felt comfortable parking behind them. Plus, it wasn’t that many dope fiends at this end of the block.

  “You lookin’ for somebody?” a female voice asked when Tammy got out of the car.

  Tammy looked over and saw a young girl coming down off the porch with one of her hands behind her back. Despite her intimidating approach, Tammy thought the young lady was cute, rocking a pair of 7 jeans, a white shirt and some Saint Laurent sandals. Her hair was straightened and draped over her left shoulder, allowing her diamond studded earrings to bling in the sunlight. Tammy didn’t know her, but she looked like somebody of importance.

  “I’m going up the street to deliver this mediation to a patient,” Tammy said, looking down at the address she had written on a piece of paper. “Is it safe to even go up there?” Tammy asked, picking her head up as the young lady walked up to her.