Time to call Doris back.
Tammy thought she could keep secrets but that wouldn’t work. Laura spoke with Doris again, but hastily rushed her off the phone. There was someone more important she had to speak to.
Stephanie Wagner had asked Laura to keep an eye on Tammy and report anything interesting. Laura didn’t know Stephanie’s stake in Tammy’s affairs, but she trusted the woman’s smile and girl-next-door appearance.
Stephanie didn’t pick up the phone, so Laura retired to her armchair where she fixated across the street waiting for something else to happen. There, she fell asleep.
In the morning, the car was gone, but the news was still fresh off the press. Laura dialed Stephanie giddily after her morning cup of Earl Grey.
When Stephanie picked up, the shrieking kids created a noisy din in the background, nearly preventing Laura from hearing a word.
“Good morning dear, how are the kids,” Laura said.
Stephanie huffed, “Well we just finished morning prayer and I just cannot get Jessica to stop whining!”
“Try a bit of whiskey in the oatmeal," Laura croaked.
Stephanie rolled her eyes. If this old bird was calling her so early, it had better be good.
"Is everything alright Laura?"
"Yes, yes it is."
Silence. Stephanie felt her chest tighten with rage. Would this old bird just spit it out already?
Stephanie huffed, "God knows you need the beauty sleep, so why the early call?"
"I saw something interesting last night."
"You're going to have to narrow that down," Stephanie snapped.
Laura smirked, "Tammy Powers is sleeping with a man. A white man in this town."
Stephanie smiled.
"SHUT UP JESSICA!" Stephanie screamed before turning her attention back to Laura.
"Did you catch who?"
"No. Probably someone's husband."
Stephanie huffed, "Well it wasn't mine was it you daft cow?"
"No, no, no," Laura assured her.
"What car was it? Make? Model?" Stephanie asked.
This was good. Tammy Powers had been making her attempt at a comeback from her fall from grace and Stephanie wouldn't have it. That uppity girl was too big for her britches and attempting to make waves in the wrong town.
"I have it written down. Doris is looking into it."
Stephanie squealed, "Thank you, Laura! You know what, I’ll drop by later with some chocolate chip cookies. Rest up. I'll be over soon."
Stephanie needed to get to work on the town’s rumor mill ASAP. This was information she couldn’t go without.
ELEVEN
Stephanie wasn’t the only person who was starting to get curious about what Tammy Powers was up to. She had spent years avoiding the spotlight of her tiny town, but the second a new man popped up, everyone seemed to be interested in Tammy all over again.
Randall had grown suspicious of Tammy around the same night Victor had slept over at his place. He had the feeling his hold on her was slippery. Randall toyed with the idea of trying to get Tammy back ever so often and now he was starting to see that getting her back might not even be possible.
She wasn't ready to fight him anymore. She would just look at him with those blank eyes... as if she was finished with him.
Randall couldn't have that. He had male urges after all and if he wanted Tammy to satisfy them, he saw it as her place to do so. That was his son she had after all. They were bound...for life.
I can get her back. Randall thought to himself.
He didn't concern himself with the technicalities of how he'd make that happen.
Randall knew he'd have to keep Tammy in line again. He didn't care who she thought she was seeing. He was her baby daddy... That meant something.
Randall rolled a cigarette, sprinkling a few crushed marijuana leaves onto the top and licking it closed.
Jabari is my son. She's turning him into a bitch. Randall thought.
Why should Jabari learn math and science? The only math he needed was how to keep track of his money. Randall considered himself a hustler. He wasn't one of those men who needed a job to hold him down. He weaseled in and out of trouble and found money wherever he could.
The man don't own me. Randall would say this to his son but Jabari would only stare at him blankly.
She's making a divide between us.
Of course, this was Tammy's fault. He should have known that girl was too dumb for her own good. He'd tricked her so easily into bearing his child but her naivete was no longer attractive to Randall, especially now as she was growing out of it.
He knew she'd need to be kept in line. Randall finished his cigarette and emptied the rest of his malt liquor. Tammy had ruined his life when she'd left him. But he'd always been comforted by the fact that she could take him back. Her distance meant something had changed.
Randall didn't like change. That woman would have to be kept in line...
***
Tammy walked into her living room after a long afternoon of running errands. She pushed the door open without turning the lock and she remembered finding that strange. She'd recalled locking the door. The neighborhood wasn't one for much criminal activity so Tammy didn't think much of it.
She heard a voice call out to her.
“Good afternoon baby,” Randall called to Tammy.
Tammy flinched, her stomach turning as she recognized why her door had been unlocked.
“JESUS CHRIST! RANDALL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE!” Tammy screamed.
“I’m waiting for you baby,” He continued.
He was drunk again. Or high. Or both.
If he were here, that meant he was up to no good. How the hell did he even get in? Jabari wasn’t home. Tammy had no one to call out to and Randall's presence never meant anything good. She needed to figure out an escape plan. Randall stood up, eliminating some of the distance between them. Dashing out of her house into the street would be decidedly unhelpful.
“What do you want Randall,” Tammy huffed.
She tried to make her body language as big and imposing as possible. She needed Randall to know that if he came here for funny business he wouldn’t be able to avoid her kicking and screaming.
Randall looked Tammy in the eye like she was his prey.
“Babygirl, I thought you should know that I’ve been spending a real nice amount of time with Jabari. I’ve been a real daddy to him these days. I thought you’d wanna know that he seems happy with all of this. I’m stepping up. I’m the man you want me to be,” he said.
Tammy wasn’t impressed.
Randall continued, “I’ve been thinking about taking Jay to the strip club this weekend. You know… I want him to be a real man, real familiar with how to treat a girl.”
Bile rose to the back of Tammy’s throat. Hot rage rushed to her face.
“You aren’t taking my thirteen year old to a strip club. Randall, I swear to God…” Tammy began.
Randall saw that he was losing ground fast.
He interrupted Tammy, “Fine, fine, no strip club. But I gotta ask Tammy… Speaking about that… You seeing anybody?”
Tammy rolled her eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was tell Randall anything about her personal life.
"No. I'm not."
"I think you're lying," he accused.
"I'm not."
Randall asked, “Who is it? I have a right to know who the hell is going to be around my son.”
“I’m sorry Randall but that’s none of your business,” Tammy replied, hiding her frustration.
"He's my son," Randall hissed, "Don't you think it's my right to know what kind of niggas you'll be bringing around him."
Tammy snorted.
"Since when do you care about who is influencing you son?"
"Are you mocking me?" Randall growled.
He approached Tammy, standing a few feet away from her. His nostrils flared and Tammy saw that large vein sticking out of his head that ind
icated he was angry.
"What are you going to do Randall? Break into my house and assault me? Is that how you show Jabari you care?"
"No," he growled, "That's not what I'm going to do."
He balled his hands up into a fist and swung hard, aiming for the wall just behind Tammy's head. She ducked and shrieked, clutching her head.
"GET OUT RANDALL!" She screamed when she stood to her feet.
She couldn't let him get to her like that.
"GET OUT!"
Tammy pushed past him and sprinted to her kitchen as fast as she could go. She reached over her counter for her baseball bat and cocked it over her shoulders.
"Try me, Randall," Tammy said, holding up the bat as she walked out of her kitchen, now gaining the upper hand over her ex.
He raised his palms in defeat.
"Hey, relax Tammy."
"No," she snarled, "I won't relax. I'm not the stupid girl I used to be and I won't let you roll up in my house and intimidate me."
Randall grinned, "Relax. Put the bat down."
Tammy gripped tighter so her knuckles turned white.
"Get out."
Tammy growled, "One more step closer to me and I'll use it."
She was ready to swing on him, for scaring her, for daring to think that he could threaten her.
“Now Tammy… No need to get crazy,” Randall said, trying to calm her down by lowering his voice.
Randall wasn’t such a strong man once he knew Tammy would fight back. Tammy knew she had won.
Tammy yelled, “GET OUT OF HERE RANDALL COMBS!”
She took a step towards Randall and hoisted the bat over her right shoulder to let him know she really meant business.
Randall didn’t need to be told a second time. He turned around and rushed towards the door. Once Randall was out of her house, Tammy rushed the door and locked it. She pressed her back against it and lowered the bat to the ground, exhaling sharply.
He'd be back, she knew that. He'd always come back. The next time, she couldn't let her guard down.
TWELVE
LAURA JACKSON HEARD Tammy scream. She was in the kitchen, spreading cream cheese on her cucumber sandwiches when she heard a piercing yell. The average housewife would have rushed to the street in fear. Laura smiled. Yelling was good. Yelling meant something was happening.
She finished spreading her cheese and she hobbled over to her armchair in the kitchen. Her cat, a calico named Salty, sat on the chair with a dead mouse between its teeth. Laura glared at the cat but did nothing to move either the Calico or the mouse from the chair.
She stood close to the window, pulling the curtain in front of her so she was just out of sight as she ate her sandwiches and watched the scene unfurl.
The car she recognized as Randall’s. When he burst into the street running for his life, Laura enjoyed a hearty bite.
Oh this was good.
Laura's curiosity was piqued. She knew Tammy trusted her enough to reveal the truth of what had happened. All she would have to do was go over there playing the concerned neighbor. It was a costume, just like a policeman has his costume that tells you to fear him, just like a teacher has a costume telling you she's a kind-hearted lass underneath it all.
Laura slipped on her costume and her favorite mask: a smile.
She wore a pink fuzzy bathrobe in her pink fuzzy slippers but she didn’t give a damn. This was hardly an outfit to make a house call in, but it would add to the impression she was trying to give Tammy. She wanted to find out exactly what was happening. This type of information would be beyond juicy.
Laura knocked on Tammy’s door. Tammy stood up and answered it. She was certain it wasn’t Randall, but she didn’t know who it was. When Tammy opened up, she saw her old neighbor’s smiling face. Tammy was thankful that she had someone to come check on her. She had been feeling beyond terrified since Randall had left. Tammy liked her neighbor Miss Jackson. She always stayed out of trouble. Tammy let her neighbor Ms. Jackson in.
“Here, I heard the huge commotion over here. Is everything okay? Is your son home?” Laura Jackson asked.
Tammy was still shaking visibly. “Everything’s fine… Sort of. My son’s father came over here and I guess he was a little bit upset about something. Everyone stayed unharmed though,” Tammy said. She tried to force a smile.
Laura Jackson saw that this is her way in. She could tell Tammy wanted to talk about this and here she was, the friendly neighbor coming over to see if everything was okay. She had a distinct advantage. She offered Tammy, “Would you like me to stay over for a little while? You seem a bit frightened honey plus, you can tell me anything! I am your neighbor after all.”
Tammy figured that she had no other choice but to take up for Jackson’s offer. She had no one to talk to and she desperately needed someone. This wasn’t the kind of chat she could have with her son. Plus, Tammy was scared that Randall would come back. If he did, she definitely wanted witnesses.
“I would really appreciate that Laura,” Tammy said. she gave her aging neighbor a giant hug.
“Why don’t you sit down for a bit Tammy, I’ll make us some tea,” Laura offered. Tammy agreed and her neighbor got to work preparing a hot pot of jasmine tea.
As Laura puttered around the kitchen, she began to ask Tammy questions.
“So dear, if you don’t find it too nosy… Why on earth was Randall’s upset with you? He seemed beyond angry… I mean!” Laura asked.
Tammy didn’t even think that Laura would be feeding her story directly into the rumor mill. She figured that old woman just had no one to talk to; she wanted the story simply for entertainment, perhaps to get Tammy to open up but definitely not for anything malicious.
Tammy replied, “It’s complicated. I try to keep Jabari in his life and in exchange for that he typically keeps out of my way. But I forgot that Randall really and truly believes that he owns me. I try not to do anything he doesn’t approve of. But he still accuses me of being a bad influence on his son.”
“You? A bad influence? Why it’s been quiet as hell in this house for years. As far as I see, you’re the best mother on this whole street… I mean!” Laura exclaimed.
Her plan was working. Laura smiled. She loved how easy it was for her to get folks to open up. The skill had only come in her later years, but it was a skill she was grateful for all the same.
Tammy cleared her throat, "It has been quiet. Mrs. Jackson, I must admit, there’s a new man in my life and maybe Randall isn’t wrong to be worried.”
Tammy hated to concede like this but perhaps Randall had a point. She had been moving quickly with Victor. Was that really what was best for their son?
Silver Fox: BWWM Romance Novel Page 10
