Lawd, Mo' Drama

by McKinney, Tina Brooks

  Jazz called as I was headed out to lunch.

  “Hey, sis,” she said, and I smiled into the phone. I still hadn’t gotten used to the title.

  “What’s up?” I answered.

  “Nothing; just checking on ya. How’s work?”

  “Work, child, work. Something you don’t know nothing about,” I joked.

  “Hey, one of us has to keep our pulse on the social world,” she replied. “What are you doing after work? Wanna go get something to eat?”

  “Can’t; got to go over to Althea’s and check on her. I haven’t heard from her for a minute, and I’m worried.”

  “Hey, come to think about it, I haven’t, either. Have you called her?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been calling her for the last few days, and she won’t answer.”

  “Look, I’m not doing anything. Do you want me to ride over there?”

  “Would you? I can’t shake this feeling that something isn’t right. She keeps a key under the flower pot on the front porch.”

  “Sure, sis. I’ve been feeling funny, too, but didn’t know why. I’ll call you when I get there,” she said, hanging up the phone.

  I felt better immediately. I had been fighting the urge to leave all morning, and now that Jazz was going over there, I breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way I could make it all the way to her house on my lunch hour and arrive back to work on time. Since I was no longer putting out for the boss, I didn’t want to give him any reason to write me up.

  LEAH

  I fell asleep with Kentee still in the house, and I was surprised to see that he was still there in the morning, fast asleep on the couch. As uncomfortable as the couch was, I knew he was going to be in some pain when he stood up.

  Ignoring him, I went about my ritual of getting ready for work. I turned on the coffeepot and ran my shower. Once he got up, Kentee bathed Kayla and Malik while I handled Mya. She was still withdrawn and did not fight me when I put on her clothes.

  I fixed a quick breakfast for the children and savored a cup of coffee while Kentee ironed the clothes he had slept in. He looked preoccupied and said very little which was fine to me. I assumed he was thinking of a lie to tell Tarcia about where he spent the night. Since she was nothing more than a hood rat, I imagined he was going to catch hell when he went home.

  “Do you think I can have some of that coffee?” Kentee asked.

  I shrugged my shoulders in response. I pointed to the cabinets where all the condiments were kept, then glanced at my watch.

  “Take a plastic cup, because we have to be leaving,” I said, since I was not about to leave him in my house unattended.

  “Uh, okay. Listen, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I want to start paying child support. I can bring some money over this evening after I get off work, maybe bring some Chinese food and…,” he said, not finishing his sentence and searching my face for a reaction.

  Putting down my cup, I returned his gaze. “What are you doing, Kentee?”

  “I’m trying to do the right thing.”

  “Okay, I’ll buy that this time. But I want you to understand you cannot keep rolling in and out of your children’s lives. If you are going to be their father, then be their father. I cannot and will not keep picking up the pieces you leave behind.”

  “I understand. Just give me some time to get my life in order. I’m not going anywhere again.”

  He got his coffee, said good-bye to the kids, and left. I shook my head at the closed door, but I didn’t have a chance to reflect on what was just said or things that he didn’t say.

  Barking orders, I got the kids out of the house and loaded up in the car. I managed to drop off the children without running into Craig, and I was both happy and disappointed. My thoughts were so muddled that I forgot about having to deal with Tarcia.

  She was in rare form that morning, so I made no attempt to speak with her. She had dark circles under her eyes, and they were red-rimmed. She barked at Andrea and gave me the evil eye every time I looked at her. I wanted to opt out of the department for the day, but we were swamped, so I just dug my heels in and concentrated on my work.

  It was difficult to concentrate, with her slamming down the phone and shoving things around, but I tried my best to tune her out. I could only surmise that she was calling Kentee, and he was not answering. I wanted to shout out to her, “Been there, done that,” but I didn’t feel like snatching out her weave. Luckily, she went home sick at lunchtime, and we were all given a reprieve.

  “I guess all is not well in paradise,” Andrea said, but I just nodded my head; not wanting to get into any discussion about Tarcia and her personal problems. I ate lunch at my desk and lost myself in a novel. My lunch hour flew by, and I finished up the rest of the day working on a deposition that was shaping up to be extremely interesting. I planned on asking Andrea to see the rest of the case file in the morning.

  It was a long day, and when it was over I practically skipped to the car. I was looking forward to a nice long bath. If Kentee did show up, maybe I could get him to entertain the children while I finished up my book. Reading was a pastime that I’d had to give up once I had children, and I missed it.

  JASMINE

  I called Althea repeatedly as I drove over to her house. My fear was beginning to spiral out of control, and I wasn’t sure why. When I got there her car was parked in the driveway, but she did not answer when I rang the bell. After waiting a few minutes, I started pounding on the door so hard that my knuckles hurt. I was hoping that Althea hadn’t fallen off the wagon and started drinking again. She had been doing well for the last few months. My biggest fear was that she was drunk and unwilling to answer the phone.

  Checking over my shoulder several times to make sure no nosey neighbors were watching me, I retrieved the key that Sammie had told me about. With shaky fingers, I inserted the key in the lock and opened the door.

  “Althea!” I yelled out as I stepped into the foyer.

  The house was closed and the drapes were all drawn. My voice echoed back, scaring me. I pulled the door closed behind me and stepped further into the house. I smelled old garbage and bacon grease. I wanted to open the windows to air out the house, but first I had to find Althea.

  It was possible that she had ridden with someone to the store but, in my gut, I didn’t believe it. I started searching the house, calling out every few minutes, hoping she wouldn’t come to and shoot me.

  “Althea, it’s me, Jasmine. Are you here?” I yelled as sweat popped out on my brow. I checked the kitchen and it was empty. The living room was also empty, and so was the bathroom off the living room.

  My cell phone rang and scared the shit out of me. I had it tucked in my bra on vibrate, and I almost wet myself. “Shit!” I grabbed at the offending instrument and tried to shut it off. I felt like I was walking among the dead and didn’t want to disturb anything.

  “Hello,” I whispered.

  “Hey, baby,” Carlos said.

  “Look, I’m tied up right now. I’ll hit you back,” I said, snapping the phone closed and ending the conversation. With my hand still covering my chest, I took deep breaths to calm my nerves. Baby? That rat bastard cheated on me and now I’m Baby? He’d better save that notice for his wife, I thought to myself. I leaned against the back of the sofa, wondering what to do next. I hadn’t searched the bedrooms yet, and I was afraid to. But since I had come that far, I had to finish. I pushed off the sofa and went in search of Althea’s room.

  There were three bedrooms, and the center one appeared to be the largest, so I went in there first. I was scarcely breathing when I pushed open the door. The shades were drawn and the room was dim, and I searched for the light switch. The room was clean but the bedding was rumpled.

  “Althea?” I asked again, not expecting an answer. I noted that the cordless phone was not in its cradle, and I went on the other side of the bed to see if it had happened to fall on the floor. My heart practically stopped when I saw Althea lying on the floor beside
the bed with the phone in her hands. “Althea!”

  Falling to my knees, I touched her neck to see if I could feel a pulse while placing my face close enough to see if I could detect her breathing. Her breath was shallow and I snatched the phone from her fingers and quickly punched out 9-1-1.

  “Nine-one-one, please state the nature of the emergency,” the operator said.

  “Yes, I’m at…shit, I don’t remember the address but it’s on Winters Chapel Road. My stepmother is unconscious and is barely breathing. Please send help!” I said, fighting to keep my composure. Even though Althea was not technically a relative, I had come to think of her as a stepmother.

  “Okay, I’m dispatching an ambulance. Please tell me more about the patient. How is she lying?”

  “Lying, what are you talking about?” I said, fighting hysteria.

  “Is she on her back or her side?” the operator answered without switching beats.

  “She’s on her side,” I responded. “Should I move her?”

  “No, leave her where she is. Did you try to wake her?”

  “No, she didn’t respond to my scream when I found her, so I assumed she wasn’t just going to wake up.” Now I felt stupid because she might have been drunk and not heard me. I gently shook Althea but she didn’t move or make a sound.

  “The ambulance is on the way. I want you to keep me informed of her breathing. I’ll stay on the line with you until they arrive.”

  “Okay,” I said, still trembling. I grabbed the sheet off the bed and threw it over Althea.

  “Her skin is so cold. I put a sheet over her, is that okay?” I asked.

  “Yes, but I don’t want you to move her body, okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you see anything that might have caused her to fall, or does there appear to have been a struggle in the room?”

  “No, the room doesn’t look like it’s been disturbed,” I answered.

  There was also no evidence in the room that she had been drinking, and that scared me even more. In the distance I could hear a siren, and I hoped that it was coming there. I opened the front door and left it ajar, then I stayed by Althea’s side until the paramedics came into the room. Thanking the operator, I hung up the phone and backed out of the way.

  The paramedics were asking me questions that I didn’t have answers to, so I punched in Sammie’s cell phone number. They had brought in the stretcher and placed Althea on it. She did not come to the entire time. They taped her chest with wires and ran an IV into her arm and also placed an oxygen mask on her face.

  “Her vitals are steady but they’re low,” one of them said to the other, and I willed Sammie to pick up the phone. She answered on the last ring before the phone automatically went to voice mail.

  “Hey, where was she?” she asked.

  My teeth became locked, and I could not find the words to speak to my sister.

  “Jazz, what’s wrong?” she said with her voice rising.

  “I don’t know what’s going on, Sammie, but you have to come. She’s unconscious, and the paramedics are here. Please hurry!” I said. Turning around to face the paramedics, I asked them, “Where are you taking her?”

  “DeKalb Medical,” they responded.

  “Sammie, they’re taking her to DeKalb Medical. I’ll ride with her. Please hurry.”

  “Did you tell them about her brain tumor?”

  “Damn, I was so upset, I forgot.”

  “Tell them and let them know that she’s refused treatment for it. I’m on my way,” she said.

  SAMMIE

  I acted on pure instinct. I could not possibly drive to the hospital by myself, so I called Buddy.

  “Hey, baby,” he said when he answered his cell phone.

  Taking a deep breath, I spoke as normally as I could under the circumstances. “I need your help right away. Are you busy?”

  “Not too busy for you. What’s up?”

  “My mother is ill. They’re taking her to DeKalb Medical, and I’m in no condition to drive. Can you come get me?”

  “No problem; I’m right around the corner. Meet me in the lobby in about five minutes,” he said.

  I went to office administration, instead of my boss, to request permission to leave early.

  “Ms. Baylor, my mother is ill, and I need to leave. My sister found her unconscious, and they’re taking her to DeKalb Medical. I’ve got to go,” I said.

  “Of course. Have you informed Mr. Spencer?”

  “No, I haven’t told anyone. I have a ride picking me up. Please, can I go now? I don’t know what’s going on, and I’m about to lose it.”

  “I understand. Please call us and tell us what’s going on. My prayers go out to you,” she said, and I left her office. I went straight to the elevator without bothering to turn off my PC or anything. I had my purse, and that was all that I needed. My mind was racing. I was scared that I was about to lose the mother who I had finally become close to.

  Buddy was in the lobby when I got there, and he ushered me out to his car. Luckily for me he didn’t speak on the way to the hospital since I would have been incapable of coherent thoughts. He got me to the hospital before the ambulance even made it, and we paced the lobby together.

  While we waited, I was surprised to see Jasmine’s mother burst through the door. She marched right up to me and hugged me. I had been trying to hold my stuff together, but seeing her face caused me to lose all composure. We had a group hug in the lobby as they wheeled my mother in.

  “What happened to her?” I asked no one in particular.

  Jasmine came in and rushed to her mother to give her a hug. I waited until they finished before I approached Jasmine. My eyes asked all the questions my lips could not form.

  “Boo, she’s in a coma, but they don’t know if it is tumor-related yet. Her doctor is in there with her now,” she said, closing her arms around me as I cried for the first time. We cried together until it was time to fill out the insurance forms.

  Hospitals are very insensitive. They want to make sure you can afford to pay for their services before they even venture to guess the nature of the problem. I had to check my tongue before I cussed out the heifer behind the desk who was demanding my mother’s insurance card. Luckily, Jasmine thought to bring Momma’s purse with them.

  I helplessly watched them wheel Momma to the back as I filled out countless forms so they could admit her.

  How was I gonna live without the mother I’d just found?

  LEAH

  “Leah, I need your support. Can you come?” Sammie asked when I answered the phone. I was at the center picking up the children.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Althea. She’s in a coma, and we’re at DeKalb Medical. Can you come?”

  “I’ll do my best. Let me see who I can get to watch the kids. If I can, you know I’ll be there for you,” I said, hanging up the phone.

  Craig looked at me with questioning eyes as my mind raced through the possibilities. If Kentee was telling the truth, he would be at my house when I got off, but I didn’t trust his ass as far as I could throw him.

  “I’ve got a problem. My best friend’s mother is in a coma, and she wants me to come to the hospital. I can’t possibly take the children with me, so I have to find someone to stay with them until I get back,” I said.

  “I’ll do it,” he said without hesitation.

  “But they have to eat, and the staff has gone home,” I said, thinking his invitation was the best answer to a difficult problem.

  “We can order a pizza and wait on you, or I could take them to your house and wait on you,” he said. “Whichever you prefer.”

  “I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

  “Then they should be at home, so I can put them to bed. Do you trust me?”

  “Of course, with my heart and soul,” I responded, giving him a glimpse of how I had been feeling for him since we had first met. I briefly thought about Kentee, but quickly dismissed him. Craig was mor
e qualified to watch the kids than Kentee.

  “Kentee wanted to come by tonight to see the kids, but I’ll call him and tell him to make it another day. I need to reach the hospital as soon as possible,” I said.

  “Okay, let me close up shop here, and I’ll follow you home.”

  I called Kentee and explained the situation. He wanted to argue, but I told him I didn’t have time for his dumb shit. We left the center together, and I let Craig in the house before taking off for the hospital.

  “Make yourself at home,” I said as I raced down the walkway to my waiting car. I thought ahead to the possible events that I could walk into at the hospital. I knew Sammie was not ready to lose her mother so quickly after reconnecting with her.

  My heart bled for both Sammie and Jasmine because Sammie would lean on Jasmine like a brick pillar until things settled down. I prayed for the best as I raced to the hospital.

  KENTEE

  I went home at lunchtime that day and removed my clothing from Tarcia’s house. I had been prepared to move back in with Leah when she had pulled this dumb ass-stunt. Knowing that I could not go home to Tarcia, I had no choice but to wait on Leah to get to her house and that just didn’t sit right with me.

  “She chose a teacher at the day care center to watch my children,” I said out loud. I was huffing, puffing, spitting, and grunting when it dawned on me why she had chosen a teacher who had been around my children over me.

  “Damn, I really fucked up,” I said. I realized that she was doing the only thing that she knew how to do, and I promised myself I would be a better husband and father. I also decided to sit in the truck until she got home and not give her a minute’s worth of grief for not letting me stay with the kids. Sure, I could have gone back to Tarcia’s house, but I didn’t feel like hearing her shit. I needed to be home, and that was the bottom line. So, I snuggled down in the comforter that I kept in the cab of my truck and waited in front of Leah’s house.