by Bell, Kris
“Isabel, don’t even try to front. You know how you look. I assume you have a mirror at home. Would I be correct in saying that it’s one of those, what do you call 'em? A fun house mirror. You know, the ones that you look into and see a thinner, taller version of the short and dumpy you?”
“Chloe, I don’t know what the hell your problem is, but you have two seconds to leave my store. There is nothing you have to say to me that I want to hear.”
I turned and tried to walk away, but damned if Chloe didn’t grab my shoulder and wheel me back around like I was a damn ragdoll. I pushed her hands off of me.
“I’m serious, Chloe. You and your flunkies need to back the hell up and walk the hell out.”
Finally, that snooty smirk Chloe wore disappeared. She replaced it with a look of pure evil. This girl was officially off her rocker! What the hell was Richie thinking getting together with her in the first place? He really must’ve thought her sex was the amazing because it definitely was not her personality and charm that won him over.
“First of all, you don’t walk away when I’m talking to you. Second, you don’t disrespect me or my friends. I don’t play that shit! I’ve fucked up many a female for less than that. Don’t make me whoop your ass all up and down this fucking store ‘cause you don’t know who the fuck you’re dealing with.”
“Ooh, I’m scared!” I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Truthfully, I wasn’t scared of Chloe or her henchwomen, especially not Tiffany. I could blow on Rhys’ wife and watch her fly away, that’s how frail she was. But I couldn’t afford to lose my cool at the job, so I needed to keep my anger in check.
But Chloe wasn’t fazed by my dry wit.
“Bitch, you need to be scared. And you need to leave Richie alone if you know what's good for you.”
I gave an exaggerated laugh. “Oh, now your visit makes sense! What, you think you can intimidate me into leaving my good friend alone? Forget it. You mean less to me than you mean to him. And trust me when I say you really don’t have a leg to stand on in the first place. Richie can't stand you.”
“Oh, is that what you think? Please, Isabel. I know Richie better than you ever fucking will and he will never be through with me. Shit, he was over my house the other day kissing all over me. You think you he’s going to get with your fucking fat ass and forget about me? Never! I’ll always be his number one bitch.”
“Whatever,” I responded coolly, although my blood was boiling by now.
“You think I’m fucking playing with you?” Chloe had gotten even closer to me; I could feel her hot breath on my upturned face, but before she could do anything else, the chime to the front door went off as a customer walked into the store.
I let go of a breath I didn’t even know I was holding. Walking away from Chloe and her friends, I made my way to the front to greet the customer, but before I could even say hello, she walked out of the store, leaving me alone again. Damn!
I didn’t turn back. I went to a display and started to fiddle with it despite the fact that it was already perfect. I heard the click clack of Chloe’s pricey stilettos on the floor coming closer to me, but I still didn’t turn around. I was determined not to let this girl get to me, but it was becoming harder by the minute not to haul off and slap her in the mouth with the back of my hand. Instead, I focused on the display.
“You really think you can take my place don’t you, you chunky bitch?” I heard her say behind my back. From her voice, I could tell that she was standing right behind me, maybe a foot away. I also heard Angela and Danielle emerge from the back room and head toward the cash wrap counter. I took a deep breath and turned around. It was time to get this over with.
“Chloe, say what you want. I don’t care. Me and Richie are damn good friends and that’s not going to change because you got kicked out his bed. But I will tell you this: If I’m just Richie’s friend and my presence has got you all bent out of shape like this, you must not be as close to his heart as you think you are. So what I suggest you do is back the fuck off of me because you’re not doing anything but pissing me off. So go to hell and have a nice day!” And with that I walked away.
I had made it all the way to the back room before the shakes took over. I was so angry and hyped up from seeing this woman on my job that I literally couldn’t get my hands to stop trembling. I took a deep gulp of water from a bottle I kept in the employee refrigerator and tried to steady my nerves. How dare this bitch roll up at my place of business like she’s the wife and I’m the mistress? She had no claim to Richie to be popping up demanding that I stay away from him. I’m sure that if we hadn’t been at the store, our conversation might’ve ended differently. At least one of us would’ve been beat up and bloody. Since I was the one without backup, I had no doubt that it would’ve been me.
I meant what I told her about not leaving Richie alone. He had proven to be a great friend and confidant, and I wasn’t about to give him up because his ex was still attached to him. I cared too much for him to simply walk away.
Buzz buzz buzzzzzz! My cell phone vibrated in my pocket. The three bursts of the vibration told me I had just received a text message. I pulled my phone from my pant pocket and opened my inbox.
Isabel, I'm coming home this Saturday. 11 am. Three week leave. See you then.
I stared at the message for what seemed like an eternity. Kyle was coming home. On leave, not orders. He had to go back to Texas after three weeks. I shook my head and put my phone back in my pocket. Well, I do want him home. I guess I should have been more specific with the conditions.
Just then Angela came into the break room with a tired look on her face. She sat down next to me at the lunch table.
“Hey, Izzy. You look like you’re deep in thought.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I was just thinking about this weekend. Kyle just texted me. He's finally able to come home for a while. He'll be here Saturday. "
Angela smiled, but didn't say anything. Speaking quickly, I added, “You know Kyle has been away for a long time. He got approved for leave, so he’s coming here to spend some time with me before he has to head back to Texas. I was just thinking I ought to find a “welcome home” banner for him or something. Maybe invite some friends for a small dinner at my place to welcome him back properly."
My boss nodded and said, “Oh, he’d like that! Didn’t you go to see him on your vacation?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I went to Texas for my week off.”
“How was it?”
I shrugged my shoulders and forced a smile.
"It was good," I told Angela. "I'm just ready for this transition to be over."
“Well, when you see Kyle you give him a big hug for me. I miss seeing his big head around the store waiting for you to get off of work.”
We both chuckled lightly and then fell silent. It was just about time for me to leave, so I got up and proceeded to pull on my denim jacket and get my purse from my locker. I noticed Angela staring at me.
“What’s the matter with you?” I asked. She looked tired and sad, and I couldn’t help but feel like she was about to drop something heavy into my lap when she stood up and sighed deeply.
“Izzy, I just came back here to warn you while Danielle was walking through the store. She got some write-ups waiting on you for a customer complaint. You know that tall, pretty girl you were talking to? Well, she told me and Danielle that she came in to buy something for her mom and you were very nasty to her. You know how Danielle is: anything a customer says, she takes to heart. So brace yourself when you walk out of here. She’s waiting for you and she‘s not happy.”
Oh, my fucking god! I just stood there staring at my boss with my purse in one hand and my name badge in another. I couldn’t believe Chloe lied on me! To Danielle, of all people. If it had just been Angela in the store, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. At least she would’ve listened to my side of things, but not Danielle. Nothing I could say would sway her from thinking that I did not get nasty with a customer.
Choking back tears of frustration, I walked with my boss to the front of the store to deal with my punishment. I couldn’t even find the strength to defend myself. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. This has truly been one seriously fucked up day.
* * * *
I left the mall and headed towards the bus stop, dialing Tara’s number along the way. My mind was completely numb from the situation I was in. For the first time in five years, I was jobless. To sit in the corner and cry my eyes out was what I really wanted to do, but since I needed to be mature about the whole situation, I just tucked my tail between my legs, gathered my belongings, and left Angels Unlimited behind for good.
It took forever for my best friend to answer her cell, but once she did, I was immediately greeted by her loud voice.
“What's up, girl!”
“Hey, honey. Why are you so loud?” I couldn’t help but giggle a little bit. Tara sounded like she was five-years-old again. Her day must’ve been going a hell of a lot better than mine.
“Well, since you must know, I had an awesome date last night and I’m still feeling the effects of his goodnight kiss.”
“Hmm….you sure the kiss is the right effect you’re feeling?” I made it to the bus stop, but apparently I had missed the one I needed since no one else was waiting there. I sat down on the bench in the bus shelter to wait.
“Izzy, I promise you this: I had a long talk with myself and I realized I’m just getting a little too old to be doing the free love giveaway thing. I went out with Derek last night and he got nothing. Just a kiss, and yes, it was lovely. I think I might hold out on this one. See how far I last without the dick.”
I had to laugh at that. “Tara, you never last long without the dick, but if you trying to behave yourself, then by all means, I support you. Just let it be known I don’t think you’ll last more than a week.”
Tara laughed with me. “Whatever, prude!” she said jokingly. “Well, what’s going on with you?”
“Oh nothing much. I just got off work. Permanently.”
Tara didn’t miss a beat. “‘Permanently’? What you mean permanently? What happened? Are you okay?”
I took a deep breath and explained to her what had happened. I told her how Chloe and Tiffany came into the store to gang up on me, and when that didn’t work, they made a fake complaint about me to my boss. When I approached Danielle to get my write ups, she was so nasty to me about the whole encounter that I went off and told her the truth. I told her that Chloe was someone I knew who didn’t like me and she came to the store to deliberately start trouble. I had sent her on her way, and out of retaliation, she made the report. Danielle didn’t want to hear it, though. She fired me on the spot under the pretense that I was bringing drama into a place of business.
“Oh, my god!” Tara said after I finished speaking. “What did you tell her after she said all that?”
“Well,” I began, “I told her that if I was bringing drama to a place of business, she was bringing ghetto fabulousness into a place of business, and if she was going to fire me, she ought to fire herself in the process. Then I exited stage left.”
“Damn, girl! I’m sorry it ended like that. What are you gonna do now?”
“Truthfully, I don't know. I still have a little money saved up. I should be okay. It’ll be tight for a while and I'll have to find something fast, but…I’ll make it.”
“Yeah, girl, you will, because you know if you need anything, I got you. All you have to do is say the word.”
I smiled. It was times like this that I appreciated having someone like Tara Taliaferro in my life. A true godsend. I thanked her.
“Oh, Izzy, you know you’re welcome!” I could tell she was blushing hard just by her tone. I smiled wider. “But I need to know one thing,” she continued. “When are we gonna beat that heifer’s ass?”
"Please, Tara. The last thing I want to do is start some more mess with Chloe. I'm unemployed now. I can't afford bail money."
“Please! I ain't talking about Chloe,” Tara corrected. “At the end of the day, she’s gonna get what she deserves. But right now I’m talking about Tiffany.”
“Tiffany? Why you want to wail on Tiff?”
“Because of the way she been acting lately. She needs to get her head bust wide the hell open! I mean, c'mon! First she starts acting stupid with her husband. Let me tell you, Rhys may not be the world's perfect man, but he is a good man. He does not deserve all the shit that bitch is putting him through. Next, this silly chick hooks up with Chloe, and lets her more or less rule her life. And now she’s bringing bitches to your job to cause issues? Hell naw! I say we roll up on her tonight and whoop her ass all up and down the street.”
“Look, I know she isn't your favorite person in the world right now, but damn. I didn’t know you felt like that about her.”
Tara sucked her teeth. “It's not about me liking her or not. Tiffany is up to no good. I can tell."
I agreed. "It does seem like it. And guess what else I found out? Remember when I told you about Richie's car getting vandalized at my apartment? Well, Chloe didn't do it. Tiffany did."
"What!" Tara yelled. I had to pull the phone away from my ear for a second as her shrill voice hit me. "Naw! I don't believe it! I bet you any amount of money that she's taking the blame to save Chloe's ass. She barely speaks. How is she gonna be bold enough to bust up someone's car?"
I thought about it. Tara did have a point. When Chloe mentioned to me that Tiffany was the one who damaged Richie's car, I saw Tiffany's expression. She looked far from confident.
"And," Tara continued, "I’ll bet my entire life savings that Tiffany brought those girls to the store because Chloe is still pissed that Richie is your man now. Chloe used her to find out where you worked so she could fuck with you."
I rolled my eyes as I corrected my best friend. “Richie is not my man. Remember Kyle? The one who’ll be here on Saturday morning? The one I saw last week in Texas?”
“Yeah, I remember his ass!” Tara said with much attitude. “And I also remember that you’re delusional so, whatever.”
Frowning, I asked, “Why would I be delusional? What are you talking about?”
“Because you know full and well that Kyle doesn't have your best interest at heart. If he cared, he would call more, and he would have sent for you long before last week. I really don't see why you're wasting your time on someone who's not even making you a priority."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard what I said. I love you like a sister, Izzy, and I hate to say it, but you can do better. Hell, you might as well get rid of Kyle and break Richie off a piece. Give Chloe a real reason to hate you."
I laughed. “You're not wrapped too tight, Tara. We’re just friends. Get over it.”
“No, you get over it. You keep telling yourself y’all just friends. All of your real friends know different. Even that colossal bitch Chloe Childs knows there’s something there between the two of you. Shit, the only one who didn’t seem too phased by y’all was Lawanda’s simple ass, but she's dumb as hell anyway.”
“See there you go, talking shit about Lawanda. Speaking of which, have you guys spoken since the fight?”
Tara got even louder on the phone then. Again, I had to move my cell away from my ear while she unleashed her anger.
“Hell no! I ain’t talked to that fake bitch! Why should I? For that matter, why should you? Seriously, Izzy, you need to put your cousin in check. She ain’t up to no good! How come you can’t see that?”
“Well, how come you can’t see that she’s a decent person?”
“Because she's not!” Tara said matter of factly.
I wasn’t even going to try to talk some sense into Tara. Obviously, she had made up her mind about Lawanda Wade and there was no chance of changing it.
Just then, I remembered the text message I received a short while ago. With everything going on, I had forgotten to tell Tara the news about Kyle.
"Well, if you feel that
way, I guess you won't like my other news."
"Which is?" Tara asked, suspicious.
"Kyle, is coming home on Saturday morning for a few weeks. He texted me right before all that crap with Danielle went down."
Silence on the line. Finally, Tara said, "He texted you? He didn't even bother to call?"
“Look, I will not fight with you over this," I said. "I don't care how he told me as long as he told me. Okay? I don't have time to split hairs. But while we're on the subject of Kyle and Lawanda, I was thinking of having a small welcome home dinner or something Saturday night for him. I expect you to be there, and I plan to invite Lawanda. But I’m giving both of y’all a fair warning. I don't want any drama to pop off at the house. We're all going to enjoy ourselves and behave. You don't have to talk to her or like her, but that’s my family, so at least respect that. Alright? Can ya’ll at least be civil for Kyle's welcome home dinner?”
Silence followed my question. At last, Tara mustered an “Alright." I saw a bus coming around the corner, so I quickly assured my friend that I was going to be all right before ending the call. Physically and emotionally drained, I boarded the bus to go home and leave my horrible day behind.
RICHIE
Rhys, Tiffany, and I rode in my newly fixed car to Isabel’s apartment. It was Saturday afternoon, and she had invited us to the little get together she was having for her so-called fiancé. It was supposed to be a small gathering, unlike mine and Rhys’ parties. I wasn’t exactly looking forward to meeting this “knight in shining armor” as she often made Kyle out to be. From what I heard from Tara and Rhys, Kyle wasn’t all that special. It didn’t matter, though. I still didn’t want to meet him.
I tried to convince my boy to skip the dinner. Isabel would eventually forgive us, but then again, she was liable to go off on us, too. As her closest friends, we were expected to show up. Rhys had no problem letting me know that he wasn’t about to have Isabel curse him out for being a no show. However, I had no problem convincing Tiffany to bail out because her sorry ass still owed me for messing up my car.
