Lawd, Mo' Drama
Page 28
Tarcia was blowing up my pager, and I didn’t have anything to say to her. I would have to face that music soon enough, but I wanted to make sure Leah was okay with my moving in before I severed that tie with Tarcia. Her earlier messages were pleading with me to call her, but sometime after noon she had started threatening me.
I wasn’t really worried about her since I had gotten most of my things out of the house before she had arrived home; even though she had ironically left work early as well. The biggest problem that I was facing as far as Tarcia was concerned was the mortgage on the house. I had purchased the house assuming we would be raising a family together. She already had two children from a previous relationship, but when she told me that she was pregnant with my child, she had forced my hand into marrying her. She didn’t know that I had discovered that she was never pregnant in the first place. Those thoughts plagued me as I drifted off to sleep.
Bright lights coming down the street woke me up. I glanced at my watch and noticed that it was after midnight. The strange car was still parked in Leah’s driveway and the house was dark. Sitting up straight, I winced from the pain in my neck and shoulders. I can’t do this, there’s no telling when she will be back. Starting the car, I drove to a nearby Motel 6 and booked a room for the night. My reconciliation with Leah and my family would have to wait another night. I feel across the bed without bothering to remove my clothes and went right to sleep.
SAMMIE
“Ms. Davis, your mother would like to see you now,” an elderly white nurse informed me. My friends and family surrounded me as I waited to hear my mother’s fate. Thus far, no one had been forthcoming with information, and we were getting weary.
Now that it was time to see my mother, I was scared. I searched the nurse’s face for answers, but I found none. Pushing off the chair, I followed her through several long corridors until I arrived at intensive care.
“You only have ten minutes,” she said and left me outside the room trying to find the courage to go in. When I did, I was surprised to find my mother awake and looking at me with a smile.
“Hey, baby,” she said, and I smiled in return. I was still getting used to our new relationship, so I tended to blush and cry when she addressed me using terms of endearment instead of cursing me.
“Momma, you gave me a scare,” I said, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.
“Who’s here with you?”
“Jasmine and her mother are here, so are Leah and Buddy.”
“Good, I didn’t want you to be alone. Who is Buddy?”
“Someone that I’m dating, Momma. I’m going to bring him by when you get better,” I responded.
“Could you ask Jasmine, Leah, and Buddy to come in to see me now?”
“Sure, Momma; anything you want,” I said, leaving to summon my friends. At the time I didn’t think anything of her request. Momma was always a drama queen, and I thought this was just another one of her acts.
I returned to the waiting room and quickly asked Jazz, Leah, and Buddy to follow me. I didn’t want the nurse to catch us because I had already used my allotted ten minutes. We went back to my mother’s room, I parted the curtains, and the three of them filed in.
ALTHEA
“Sammie, wait outside, please; I want to talk to your friends alone,” I said. Sammy looked like she wanted to argue with me, but this was my moment; not hers. She backed out of the room looking dissolute. “Gather around, please. I have much to say and not a lot of time to say it,” I whispered.
“Oh stop it, Momma Althea,” Jasmine said.
“Hush, child, let me speak. I’ve let Sammie down all her life. I can’t leave this world without knowing that there’ll be someone here who’ll look out for her when I’m not around.”
“You aren’t going anywhere,” Leah said, grabbing my hand.
“I said hush, damn it!” I said, trying to raise my body off the bed and failing. They all shut up to hear my final words.
“I’ve been a terrible mother. I allowed my child to suffer and grow up alone. I allowed her children to grow up without their mother. I don’t want her to suffer anymore. I’m begging each of you to reach out to my child and love her like I was never able to; until it was too late. Please, I beg you! Don’t let her go through this alone. Let her know that I loved her but just didn’t know how to show her, okay? Do I have your word?”
“Yes, Momma Althea,” they chorused. I searched each of their eyes to make sure that they understood what I was trying to tell them, and finally I closed my eyes for the last time. I had righted a wrong to the best of my ability, and now I could rest.
The machine hooked up to my heart went crazy, and people started streaming into the room. They told Jazz, Leah, and Buddy to leave, and they refused to let Sammie in. I didn’t want her to see me go because I know she would have fought with them to save me. The truth was, I was ready to go. I had lived a long life, and it was time to rest.
Despite the pounding they gave my body, I was moving on. My spirit stopped briefly to kiss Sammie’s forehead, and I hoped she actually felt it before I floated on to meet my maker. And if she didn’t I was sure her friends would tell her how much I loved her.
EPILOGUE
JASMINE
It has been three weeks since Althea passed. As evil as that woman was, I still miss her today. When she opened herself up to Sammie and me, I got a glimpse of what my father had seen in her and understood their bond, which had endured through all the years of loneliness and pain. I believe that true love survives; even when one of the parties is no longer present. Althea, even in all her bitterness, gave me hope. My biggest task is to keep Sammie motivated to go forward. Sammie resented the fact that Althea chose to say good-bye to us and not to her, and I am doing everything I can to rectify that.
Sammie finally got to meet her granddaughter Nicole. Tyson brought her to the funeral and Sammie flew back with them to spend a couple of days. That was the best therapy for her. I heard it said that when God closes one door, he opens another and that is the only explanation I have for Tyson’s sudden visit. He wasn’t particularly close to Althea but he knew his mother needed him. Buddy has been a pillar of strength for Sammie and I feel like it’s a matter of time before he places that ring on her finger. She is not the wild and crazy girl that she was when I first met her. Hopefully she will clean up her act. She is learning how to leave the bad boys alone!
Leah is dating Craig. He left his wife and is spending his time with Leah and the children. Luckily for both of them, his wife didn’t try to take away the day care center that he operated. Mya still has not been officially diagnosed as autistic, but Leah and Craig are pretty certain it is the cause of her problems. They await the official results. Kentee is still out there doing his thing and hurting most of the women he comes in contact with.
As for me, I am still a rolling stone. In time I hope to find a man who can fulfill my every wish, but until then, ladies, watch your man. I’m on the prowl, and this time, I’m not going to play nice.
THE END!!!
Try and Try Again
Lenora Harrison
Maybe you got it
Maybe you don’t
Maybe you’ll try it
Maybe you won’t…
But the next thing you know
Life will have passed you by
And you’ll never know the outcome
Because you didn’t even try.
So listen up, my friend,
If you have a desire that plagues your thoughts
Or perhaps a dream that tugs at your heart
Don’t be like those who wait and wait
Nor like others who only procrastinate
Be like the one who followed the star
Cast fear to the wind! Declare who you are!
Take the first step, and then take two
Believe in yourself and others will too
And even if you fail, you will have succeeded.
Because you will have learned
just what you needed…
That the end is never the end
Because as long as you live
You are able to try and try again.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tina Brooks McKinney was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1996 with her two children, Shannan and Estrell. Once in Atlanta, she met and married her loving, supportive husband, William. Tina has mad love for Atlanta, but Baltimore will always be home. Her love for writing is evident in her novels, All That Drama and Lawd, Mo Drama. The characters are vivid and somehow familiar as they take the reader on a wild ride through domestic dysfunction.