Lawd, Mo' Drama

by McKinney, Tina Brooks

  “Damn, you sound like you know my mother already,” I said, laughing.

  “Okay, I have another confession. I once read a letter from your mother to our father. Althea did love him, but she tried to force him into abandoning us, and he wasn’t about to do that.”

  “So, you knew about them?” I asked. “Wow! You know it’s hard to imagine my mother loving anything or anybody other than herself!”

  We traveled the rest of the way to my mother’s house in silence. Anxiety twisted my stomach when we pulled up in the driveway.

  “Gurl, you look like you’re about to stroke out! Are you okay?” Jasmine asked.

  “Yeah, I go through this every time I see my mother. She has this effect on me. And now, with you here, she’s surely going to act a fool. You can still turn around, if you want to,” I said, shaking my head to ward off unwanted thoughts.

  “No, we’re about to do this damn thang.”

  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

  “Gurl, I ain’t even going to trip off your mother. I just want to meet the woman who caused us so much pain. It’ll be okay.” She patted my hand as she opened her car door.

  I went first, with Jasmine following me. She was hidden behind me, so Althea did not see her when I rang the bell. After two or three rings the overhead light clicked on, and the door opened. Althea was wearing a ratty robe and her hair had a few rollers scattered in its black and gray mess. She had a cigarette hanging out of her mouth and a large stain down the front of the robe.

  “What the hell are you doing over here?” she demanded, placing her hands on her hips. “I ain’t seen your black ass since that night at the hospital when you killed your daughter!” she exclaimed, rolling her neck for emphasis.

  Stunned, but not surprised by the vicious attack, I uttered not a word. Jasmine stepped out from behind me, and my mother visibly paled. The cigarette dropped from her lips and, for the first time in my life, I witnessed my mother speechless. I could imagine her shock at seeing me and Jasmine standing side by side.

  Althea stumbled back from the doorway like she was suffering from Fred Sanford’s heart attack. Jasmine walked right past her into the house and I quietly followed. There was a tense silence as we stared Althea up and down.

  Her house was a mess. Empty beer cans littered the floor, and wrappers from various fast food restaurants littered the tables. All the ashtrays within sight were overflowing, and I detected traces of marijuana in the air.

  When I lived here, the place was immaculate. Of course, that was because it was my job to clean it. Out of habit, I started picking up the trash.

  “Stop that! I didn’t ask for your help. I haven’t seen your ass in about three years, and now you wanna bring one of your friends over here without even calling first! What if I had been entertaining?” She jeered.

  “Well, it’s obvious you’re not because you wouldn’t be looking like you do if you were!” Jasmine said the words, and my mouth all but hit the floor. No one talked to my mother like that without a severe tongue-lashing. Althea was the only person I knew who could undress you with her tongue.

  Althea stepped closer to Jasmine. “Who the hell are you?”

  “You know damn well who I am! I just had to come and have a look at you! I can’t believe my father was gonna leave my mother for you,” Jasmine said, snapping her own neck to mimic Althea’s earlier motions.

  “Oh, I heard about how when a woman sleeps with another woman they start to look alike, but I ain’t never seen this shit before,” Althea said, laughing.

  I was stunned because this was the first time that Althea mentioned my shady past. I was both embarrassed and amused. “Dayum.” I stifled the urge to clap my hands. Of course it embarrassed me that she mentioned the women in my past, but the shock factor alone was worth that. This shit was so good, it should have been in the movies. I was turning my head from left to right so I didn’t miss a single emotion. On the inside I was cheering Jasmine on, and I wanted her to knock Althea out. I was so excited. I practically forgot Althea was my mother.

  “What the hell is the matter with you? Why did you bring this woman to my house?” Althea yelled at me, bringing me out of my reverie.

  “That woman is my sister who you knew about and didn’t tell me!” I screamed back.

  “Uh, uh…” Althea stuttered.

  “I’ve been lonely and afraid all my life, and the one person who could’ve changed this, didn’t.” I jammed my hands on my hips.

  Althea struck me with the force of a linebacker, knocking us both over the sofa. We struggled to get away from each other. Jasmine stood rooted to the floor in shock. Althea rose first, pushing herself away from me like she had touched raw shit. I got an unwanted glimpse of her breasts while she was righting her robe.

  “Sammie!” Jasmine yelled. “Sammie, you better slap that bitch! I don’t care if she is your mother. You’re a grown-ass woman, and you don’t have to take that shit. Hell, if you don’t slap her, I will!” Jasmine said, starting around the sofa. As if an invisible rope was pulling my arm, I hauled off and slapped the taste out of Althea’s mouth, and it felt good.

  Oh shit, I said to myself as I shook out my hand. I fully expected Althea to come at me like a banshee, but it didn’t happen. Instead, she started to cry softly, then louder as she gained momentum. As much as I wanted to see her reduced to tears, it hurt me to have caused her pain. She was my mother; after all. My short stubby fingerprints were visible on her face.

  “You’ve never been a mother to me. At best all you’ve been is an incubator, and when my time was done you tossed me out!” My tone of voice forced Althea to take a seat and her body shook with the pain of her sobs. I had finally spoken the truth for once but it didn’t feel as good as I thought it would.

  “Uh, I’m sorry,” I mumbled, taking steps in Althea’s direction to give her a hug.

  “Don’t touch me!” I was stunned at the sheer bitterness in her voice.

  This was totally out of control. Jasmine stepped in and sat next to Althea. She placed her arm around her shoulders. Surprisingly, Althea allowed this contact. Feeling out of place, I stepped outside for a much-needed smoke. I was so upset, my entire body was trembling. I pulled a cigarette out of my bra and lit it with the lighter that I also had stashed there. I drew deeply from the cigarette and thought about what had just happened.

  “Wow!” That was the only thing that I could say.

  Suddenly I heard a very strange sound. It reminded me of the sound that you hear just before someone gets killed in a Friday The 13th movie. I looked around the front yard trying to locate the source of the sound, when I heard it again. The hair at the nape of my neck stood up as the sound got closer. Ditching the cigarette, I ran back into the house slamming the door behind me.

  The one good thing that I learned from the movies was to run first and ask questions later. I was not going to wait on Jason or Freddie Krueger to come get me!

  LEAH

  I left Momma’s house; anxious and excited at the same time. It was five p.m. and the children had been at the center the entire day. I was hopeful since no one had called requesting that I pick Mya up. Although I wanted her to be happy at the center, I also felt like I was losing my babies when strangers could keep them occupied for so long without calling for a time out.

  I parked the car and entered the day care center and, much to my astonishment, it was quiet. The receptionist told me that Mr. Richmond wanted to see me in his office, and the knot of apprehension in my stomach grew. I followed her down the hall to his office and waited while she went in. She waved me in as she exited, and what I saw brought tears to my eyes.

  Mr. Richmond was holding Mya as she slept in his arms. His smile was gentle as he motioned for me to have a seat. I did so, but I could not peel my eyes away from the sight of him holding my child. My heart was doing flips and my hands would not stay still. I gripped the armrests to steady myself in the chair.

  “We had an interesting da
y,” he said with the same gentle smile.

  “She is a handful, but I warned you,” I said defensively. All my hopes that this arrangement would work flew quickly out of his open office window.

  “Yes, she is, but she’s manageable; with the proper care and attention. I tried to get her to play with the other children, but she seemed more content to hang out with me.”

  A single tear rolled down my face. “You’ve been holding her since I left?”

  “No, of course not. She acted up when she realized you’d left, but she calmed down when she saw her brother playing with the children. The hardest part of the day was when the other children took their naps. That’s when she decided she wanted to play! I brought her in here with me, so the other children could get some rest.”

  “Well, it was worth a try. I’m sorry that it didn’t work out. What about Malik and Kayla? Can they stay? I can try to get my mother to watch Mya until I get on my feet financially,” I said with a bowed head.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Mya. She’s so much work and I’m sure you’re too busy to personally babysit her,” I said heavily.

  “She reminds me of my son. She has some problems, but I would no more turn her away than I would any of the other children. I created this center for children like Mya.”

  “You have a son?” I asked. He hadn’t mentioned this when I had taken my initial tour.

  “Had. He died. He had some medical problems that we didn’t know about. He had several seizures at the day care provider’s, and they failed to inform us of them. With early detection, we could’ve had him hospitalized and quite possibly would’ve discovered his brain tumor. He would’ve turned four today, but he died two years ago.”

  “Oh my God. Why would they keep something like that from his parents?” I exclaimed.

  “To be honest, I don’t know. I didn’t find out about the seizures until the funeral. Given the size of the tumor, I’m surprised he wasn’t having them at home as well.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” I replied.

  “Yeah, it was tough, but I know God has a better plan for my son. Holding Mya reminds me so much of him. You realize that you have your work cut out for you, don’t you? Personally, after spending the day with her, I’m convinced that Mya has autism.”

  “Aut…what?”

  “A-u-t-i-s-m. In laymen’s terms, autism is a complex developmental disability stemming from a neurological disorder that affects the normal functions of the brain. That would explain her lack of communication skills.”

  “But, I don’t understand why none of the other doctors that I took her to couldn’t see that,” I said, shocked that there might actually be an explanation for Mya’s behavior.

  “Those emergency room doctors aren’t paid to diagnose her disorder. They’re only interested in patching up her wounds and moving on to the next patient.”

  “But I took her to her regular physician, and he never suggested that her problem could be neurological.”

  “I can’t speculate on that. The good news is that I have a friend who specializes in the treatment of children with autism, and I’ve taken the liberty of setting up an appointment with him. I have to warn you that this won’t be easy. Are you up for it?”

  “Yes. This is one reason why I need this job so much. Once I’m enrolled in a health plan, I can afford his services. But I need to get off probation first. Are you saying that your center will keep them?” I asked, fighting to keep from getting my hopes up.

  “Yes, of course. Do I have your permission to have my friend look at Mya?”

  “By all means, yes,” I replied.

  “He may want to also look at Malik as well, since they’re twins. Would that be a problem?”

  “If it will help, you have my full cooperation.”

  “Diagnosis of autism is a long process involving extensive testing. Sometimes it takes years before they officially declare a child to be autistic. But her prognosis will be much better if we get started treating her early.”

  He stood up, and I came closer to grab Mya. I got a full whiff of his cologne, and I didn’t know what it was, but I liked it.

  “Why don’t you get the other children? You can get them settled in the car, and I’ll bring Mya out to you. I’d hate for her to wake up while you were driving home.”

  “God, you sound like you’ve been in a car with us when Mya’s all riled up!” I laughed.

  “Hey, it’s like I told you, I’ve been there. But I only had one so I can only imagine the chaos you’ve been experiencing.”

  I collected Kayla and Malik and, as promised, he brought Mya to the car. She didn’t even budge as I strapped her into the seat. He smiled at me as I was leaving and called out, “See you Monday.”

  Mya did not wake up until we reached home, and she smiled at me for the first time in a week. My heart swelled as I returned her smile. Hope flowed through my veins. I unhooked the child seat and went to open the front door before I started helping the kids out of the car.

  I put my key in the lock, but it offered no resistance. Since I was a little crazy about locking doors, I knew right away that something was wrong. I turned the knob to see if that lock was engaged, and the knob turned freely. Stepping away from the door, I back-peddled to the car, climbed in, and slowly backed out the driveway. I searched for my cell phone to call for help.

  My fingers wanted to dial 9-1-1, but I called Coy’s cell instead. I was hoping that I could get him to swing by and possibly catch Kentee still in the house. I let the phone ring about six times before disconnecting. Desperate, I dialed his pager and put 9-1-1 behind it twice. It did not dawn on me that I had committed the number to memory until I disconnected the call. Despite my fear, I laughed and mouthed the word, “Sprung!”

  Coy’s call brought me back to the twenty-first century. “Hey, pretty lady, we still on for tonight?” It felt like he was reading my thoughts as I began to blush.

  “Yes, but I have a problem. The front door was unlocked when I got home.”

  “Where are you now? Did you go in the house? Was there anyone in there?”

  “Slow down. I’m across the street, watching the house.”

  “Good. Stay there. I’m not far.”

  “I don’t know if he’s in there or not. His car isn’t in the driveway.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything. He might have hidden it someplace else in the neighborhood. Wait, won’t the alarm go off if someone goes through the front door?”

  “Unfortunately, the alarm is just for show. It’s not monitored, so I didn’t think to change the code on it. If it went off when he went in, it wouldn’t notify anyone and he would just turn it off himself.” Yet another demonstration of the raggedy nature of my current situation.

  “I’m right around the corner. Stay put. I’d like to catch that bastard in your house.”

  “Me, too,” I said. In less than a minute, Coy pulled up behind my car. The kids, with the exception of Mya, were still sleep. Mya was sitting quietly like she knew something I didn’t.

  Coy jumped out of his car and ran up the driveway in a crouched position. He held up his hands to signal me to stay put, then he pulled his gun out of his holster as he neared the house.

  “Be careful,” I whispered to his retreating back. He looked so sexy, I forgot about the possible danger he might be in. He stood to the left of the door, pushing it open with his foot.

  “Police! I’m advising you to come out with your hands up.”

  I was too far away to hear whether anyone answered, but no one exited the house. After waiting for a few minutes, he stepped inside. My hands were sweating and my stomach was twisted in apprehension. I didn’t exactly know what to wish for.

  Coy was gone for almost fifteen minutes. I had gotten out of the car and was halfway across the street when he came out the door. He took one look at me and shook his head.

  “I told you to stay in the car!” He wanted to be mad at me, but his lips
formed a half smile that disappeared when I asked if all was well.

  “I can tell by the look of your bedroom that he’s very pissed off at you. I think he may have peed on your pillow!”

  “Nasty bastard!” I yelled to the sky, wishing Kentee was still within hearing distance.

  “I need to get some techs down here to dust, and to take some samples. I don’t want you going in there until we’re finished, okay?”

  “Okay,” I replied.

  He walked over to his car and called for backup. I needed to go to the bathroom big time. Checking his watch, Coy returned to my car.

  “Are we still getting together tonight?”

  “Yeah, my mother agreed to watch the kids. I was just coming home to feed them and grab some clothes.”

  “Take them to McDonald’s, and stop by my house when you’re done. I don’t know how long I’ll be,” he said, handing me a key and a scribbled note with directions to his house. “Leave your keys, and I’ll lock up when we are done.”

  “Can I get you to do me another favor?”

  “Sure,” he replied.

  “Can you pull the linen off the bed so my mattress can have a chance to air, and maybe run some water on the sheets?”

  “I think my guys are going to want to take the sheets to demonstrate the malice intended toward you. See you in a few,” he said, going back to his car to write up his report.

  I got in the car and drove like a bat out of hell to get to McDonald’s. I had to pee so badly it was making my eyes cross as well as my legs. He gave me the keys. I shouted to myself. Hell, if I wasn’t sprung before, I am now!

  After dinner, I allowed the children to play for a while. I didn’t want to arrive at Coy’s too early because that would allow me time to snoop, and I didn’t want to get caught prying. I wanted to time it so I arrived about the same time he did. Even though I wanted to shower and freshen up, I didn’t want to give him cause to distrust me. It had been a long time since I had been a guest in a man’s home.

  My cell phone rang, and I dug deep in my purse to answer it. “Hello,” I said, looking around to make sure the children were safe. I didn’t have to worry about Mya because she refused to leave my side.