Another Man Will

by Daaimah S. Poole

  Finally, this older black man came into the waiting room and called out, “Mr. Haines and Ms. Turner, follow me please.” I stood up and grabbed Kori and followed him down the hall. The man took us into a small room and instructed us to have a seat. A woman with a white lab coat came in and began to explain the testing procedure.

  “I’m going to insert this in your mouth, and I need you to hold it against the inside of your cheek for me. Okay?”

  We both said yes and took turns opening our mouths and being swabbed. Afterwards the lab worker inserted the swabs into vials and then sealed them. She scribbled a few things down the side of each with a black marker and said that she was done and that we would receive our results in two to four weeks. I was surprised it took only ten minutes. I thanked the lady and gathered Kori and my bag and began walking out the door. Kenneth was right in front me. I had so much I needed to say to him. I sped up a little and tapped his shoulder.

  He turned around, backed up, and said very rudely, “What’s up?”

  “So, when you get the results, are you going to come and get your daughter?”

  “Yup, but if she ain’t mine, then it is a done deal and you better not say anything to me.”

  “I don’t say anything to you now. You are ridiculous; you know this is all stupid and unnecessary.”

  “No, I don’t. That’s why we are here.”

  I didn’t know why I was still shocked that Kenneth was acting like an ass. “You are a fucking idiot,” was all I could think to say.

  “Whatever,” he said as he flagged me, pulled up his sagging pants, and then bent the rim of his hat down and said to his sister, who was waiting for him, “Man, let’s get out of here.”

  She rolled her eyes at me one last time, and I just shook my head.

  “Kenneth, you got this,” she had the nerve to tell him. “I don’t know why chicks be trying to blame babies on dudes. You don’t have anything to worry about.”

  I couldn’t hold back anymore. Syreeta was always saying whatever the hell she wanted to someone, and no one was supposed to respond.

  “Why don’t you stay out of this, Syreeta? Kori is his. She is your niece, whether you like it or not.”

  She walked over to me, pointing her finger in my face, and said, “That’s yet to be proven.”

  “Nothing needs to be proved. I know who I slept with, and so does your brother. You weren’t there.” I stood toe-to-toe with her and looked her directly in her face, as if to say, “Try me, bitch.”

  Kenneth grabbed Syreeta, and Dana began pulling on me. Syreeta was still talking trash, but I was happy that I had finally stood up to her.

  “Girl, you lucky I don’t feel like getting a case, because I would smack the bullshit out of you,” Syreeta yelled.

  “Syreeta, please! You still a woman, and I will fight you like one. Like I said, you need to mind your business.”

  “I ain’t got to mind shit,” she said like she was ready to throw a punch, but Kenneth grabbed her before she did. She kept trying to yank her arm away from him, screaming, “Get off me. I’m cool. I ain’t even got time for this dumb bitch. She the one who don’t know who her baby father is.”

  All she was doing was a bunch of hollering, making herself look foolish. People were staring, shaking their heads, and the security guard was on his way over. I thought I had won our match and felt like I had a victory, until she screamed, loud enough for the entire family court building to hear, “Crystal, your ho ass is nothing. You hear me? You have three babies and three baby fathers. Ain’t none of them with you, and no one will ever want your ass. Because you’re just a whore-ass baby mom. Okay? Just a baby mom. You’re not a girlfriend. You’re not a wife. You’re just a baby mom. Find out who your baby daddy is before you say anything to me. Okay. Let’s get out of here before I snap on a bitch,” she said and then walked off.

  I wanted to give a quick rebuttal, but I couldn’t think of anything to say back to Syreeta that would hurt as much as the words she had just hurled at me. I did have three baby fathers, but I wasn’t a whore. And I knew for sure she had slept with more men than me, and she was a lesbian, but nothing came out. Her words stung, and she was kind of right. I wasn’t a girlfriend or a wife. I was just a baby mom.

  On Fridays I usually ordered pizza or made some kind of finger food for the kids. It depended, because my children were picky. On different days they decided what they would eat and wouldn’t eat. Sometimes I’d end up making three meals: one for Nasir, one for me, and the other for Jewel. My mom said, “Don’t fix a bunch of different dishes. Make them eat what you cook,” but I didn’t want them to be hungry.

  While I prepared the ground beef for our tacos, Nasir played with his toys in the middle of the living room floor and Jewel entertained Kori as she sat in her bouncy seat. Jewel was my little helper, my big girl. She was only nine, but she was always telling me that when she grew up, she wanted to be a teacher and a mommy like me. She had a very nurturing personality and always helped me with her brother and sister.

  My house was a three-bedroom house. Initially, I was renting, but then my landlord retired and sold it to me before she moved to Florida. It was a nice home on a quiet block, but by the time Kori got big, I was going to have to move because there wouldn’t be enough room.

  My living room had a big green love seat and sofa. In the middle was a large rug, which the children played and watched television on.

  “Nasir, we are going to clean this living room and then your bedroom tonight. Okay?”

  “My room is clean.”

  “No, clean means everything off of the floor and out from under the bed. We are going to clean this entire house.”

  My house wasn’t dirty, but it is hard keeping everything together. But as long as we had a clean kitchen and bathrooms, who cared if there were a few toys on the floor? I didn’t. I’d rather spend time with my kids and take them out for a day in the park than make them spend the day cleaning.

  “Hey, Mom,” I said, picking up the ringing phone after checking the screen.

  “What are you doing tonight?”

  “Cooking tacos for the kids and trying to clean the house.”

  “Dana told me about what happened in court. Don’t worry about Kenneth or his sister. But I know one thing. He has to help you with that baby or he is going to deal with me. Anyway, I didn’t call to talk to you about that. I just wanted you to know I have Brandon and Mimi over here, so if you want, you can brings yours over, too.”

  “The kids? Tonight? Mom, that’s okay. I already started dinner, and I don’t have any plans.”

  “It’s Friday night. You had a long day, and you need a break. Bring them kids over here.”

  “No, Mom. I’m okay. Maybe next time.”

  “Next time, I don’t know about that. I’m not going to call you every week and beg to watch your children.”

  “Okay, I’ll bring them over after they eat.”

  I welcomed the break my Mom was about to give me, but I didn’t have anywhere to go. Jewel would be happy to spend time with Mercedes, even though you could never tell they were the same age. My niece acted just like her name: spoiled and entitled. Yvette bought her everything; she even got her hair and nails done and my little girl still plays with dolls.

  Mercedes was waiting on the steps for us to arrive. She called out to Jewel and ran over to the car as soon as she saw us. Her hair was in long rod curls and she was wearing all pink. Jewel was as excited to see her and jumped out of the car to hug her cousin.

  “Mercedes, look at you. You look so pretty,” I said as I gave her a sideways hug and grabbed Kori out of her car seat.

  “Thank you, Auntie Crystal. Can I hold the baby?”

  “Let me get her inside and I’ll let you hold her.”

  I walked in my parents’ big home. You could see both the kitchen and the dining room from the front door. It was one big, open space. Every time I walked through my parents’ door I felt like time stood still and
I was a kid again. My nephew Brandon had already taken over my mother’s television with his game. I spoke to him, but he was too busy killing people on his game to respond.

  “Look at my baby. She is getting so big.” My mom grabbed Kori, who then began to cry.

  “She is probably still hungry. That’s why she being fussy.” I got her bottle out of her bag, warmed it up, and gave it to my mother, and she began feeding her.

  My mom looked down at Kori as she fed her and shook her head and said, “How can a man not want to be a part of this precious baby’s life? Now that you took the test, explain to me what’s going to happen next.”

  “We’ll get the results, and everything should be okay after this. It will prove she is his.”

  “Okay, he better hope so, because he sure has a lot of nerve. I’ll tell you, these men today have lost they damn mind. Making babies and then not taking care of them.”

  “Yeah, well I think he is going to get it together. At least I hope.”

  I talked to my mom a little more, then went upstairs to put the kids’ bag in my and Dana’s room. It was the back room. My half was the right side, and her half was the left. We used to jump on the bed and stay up all night in this room, sharing so many secrets, dreams about who we were going to be, who we would marry, and where we were going to live. Back then I would never have thought my life would turn out like this.

  “Mom, I’m going to get out of here.”

  She gave me a kiss on my cheek and asked if I had packed enough diapers.

  “Yeah, and I already made the formula, so all you have to do is put the bottle in warm water for, like, two minutes and it will be ready.”

  “I raised three babies. I’ll manage.”

  “I know you will. Thanks for taking them, and I’ll be here first thing in the morning,” I said as I was leaving and tried to figure out what I was going to with my free time.

  CHAPTER 5

  Crystal

  I wa s ready to go pick up my babies. Being home alone and listening to the sound of nothing was boring. It was only nine, but I was ready for bed. The sound of Syreeta saying, “You’re just a whore-ass baby mom” was still ringing in my ear. I started thinking of everything I could have said back to her but still couldn’t think of anything that would have hurt as bad.

  I needed to go somewhere, get out of the house. The only friend I had was a girl name Portia, whom I went to middle school with. We talked here and there. Whenever I ran into her, we would always exchange numbers and she would always say I needed to go out with her. Maybe she was out and I could meet up with her. I called her, and Portia answered with all this noise in the background. I could barely make out what she was saying over all the loud music. I asked her where she was and what she was doing.

  “I’m at Rascals. Come down. We’re having a fish fry for Jeremiah’s football team.”

  “A fish fry? That sounds so very country.”

  “It’s not country at all. We’re raising money for the team’s new uniforms, and it is Wagner’s unofficial reunion. You should come down, too.”

  “I probably won’t remember anyone from Wagner, girl.”

  “That’s why I have my yearbook. Come on, Crystal! If nothing else, come out and support my son. Get a platter and leave.”

  “All right. Okay. I’ll come down. Let me get dressed.”

  An hour later I was walking through the door of Rascals. Rascals Lounge was what most people would consider a hole-in-the-wall hood bar. It was crammed with people and had loud music and the aroma of fried fish and fries. A thick girl with a silver ball piercing right over her lip was collecting money. I paid fifteen dollars; she gave me a ticket and pointed in the direction of Portia. As soon as Portia saw me, she rushed over and gave me a hug.

  “Who did you come with?” she asked.

  “No one.”

  “Okay. Then come over here with me.” She had envelopes filled with tickets and dollars hanging out of them. She was multitasking, talking to me, texting, and greeting other people as they walked by. Over the music she leaned into me and asked me if I wanted a drink.

  “No, but thanks. I’m going to get this food and probably leave.”

  “No, you have to stay out for a minute. I need someone normal near me.”

  “Why you say that?”

  “Girl, everybody here I see from Wagner looks so old and fat. I’m, like, ‘I know we didn’t go to school together.’ Anyway, you look good. You can’t tell you had three babies.”

  “Thanks, but I feel like it.”

  A skinny older man approached us both and said, “Ladies, I got that MAC lip gloss and some smell goods.” He pulled an assortment of lip gloss and an array of perfume out of a yellow plastic bag. I was thinking, Who would buy lip gloss off a man in a bar? when Portia pulled out her money and bought a bottle of perfume and some lip gloss. The man thanked her, and right after he left, a girl with a big belly came over. The big-bellied girl had a brown drink in her glass. It didn’t look like soda, either.

  “I know you not drinking and you pregnant, Rhonda,” Portia said.

  “Please. All my kids had a sip, and they’re all fine. It’s okay to drink when you pregnant, just not every day.”

  “Right. If you say so. Well, thanks for coming out and supporting my son, girl. Make sure you get a platter. Take one home for your husband.”

  “Yeah, I might as well get him one, too.” She paid for her platter, gave Portia a hug, and walked away. As soon as she turned her back, Portia whispered to me that Rhonda’s baby was going to come out with twelve toes. We laughed, and then Portia tapped one of the bartenders and told him not to serve Rhonda anymore.

  Everyone was approaching Portia like she was the queen of the bar. We talked about our kids and jobs and then she saw someone she knew.

  “I haven’t seen him in years. Tap that guy for me,” she told me.

  I tapped him, he turned around, and I said, “She wants you.”

  He looked over and said, “Portia Stevenson.”

  “You can tell when you went to school with somebody. They always yelling out your first and last name,” said Portia. “What’s up, Rell? Where Shareef at?” They leaned into one another and gave each other a quick friendly hug.”

  “He doing good. Got a wife and a son.”

  “For real? When you see him, tell him I said, ‘What’s up?’ ”

  The man said that he would, then Portia told me she would be right back and the guy turned his attention to me. He asked how I had been.

  I didn’t know him, so I said faintly, “Fine.”

  “So now you going to act like you don’t know me? I sat behind you in sixth grade, and we had Mr. Hafler, the science teacher that had that real bad dandruff. Tell me you don’t remember that.”

  “Yes, I remember him, but . . .”

  “But what? You don’t remember me? Terell Glover? How can you forget me? We used to go together.”

  “We did not,” I said, laughing.

  “We did. You were my girl for, like, a week. You broke my heart, but I got over it.”

  “I didn’t. You are lying.”

  “No, you was my girl. But, anyway, you’re still looking good. Pretty as ever. No more big plaits in your hair, huh?”

  I laughed some more, wondering how he remembered the ugly big braid my mom would give us when she didn’t have enough time to do our hair. “You have a very good memory.”

  “What? The Turner girls? How could I forget? Y’all always were sitting on the steps with y’all’s pop. He always had that look, like, ‘Don’t look at my daughters.’ Your older sister was real, real pretty. What was her name?”

  “I don’t know. Now are you going ask me about my sister?” I asked playfully.

  “No, hold up. I remember her name. It was Colette.”

  “No, you’re wrong. It’s Yvette.”

  “Okay, so I’m talking to the sister I always wanted, anyway,” he said, flirting with me.

  And I fell
for it, because I started to blush.

  “Do you still live around here?” he asked.

  “No, I live in West Philly now.”

  “So what are you doing with yourself?”

  “Like work?”

  He nodded yes.

  “Uh, I work downtown at ACR Cable Vision. I’m a customer service rep. How about you?”

  “I just got out of the army. I did two tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan.”

  “Wow. How was it?”

  “Really hot. Just think of the hottest summer day times ten.”

  “Whew, that’s hot.”

  “I just got out about a year ago, broke up with my girlfriend, and moved home. I was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. I was going to stay down there, but I missed being home with my family.”

  “Really? I think I would love to move outside of Philly, see something different. I’ve never lived anywhere else.”

  “Yeah, but it gets lonely. So do you have any kids?”

  “Yeah, I have a son and two daughters.”

  “Wow, three kids. I knew someone would marry you.”

  I snickered quietly. “Kids, yes, but I’m not married, and me and my children’s fathers aren’t together.”

  “Oh, okay. I understand how sometimes relationships just don’t work out. I don’t have any kids yet, but how old are yours?”

  “My youngest just turned three months.”

  “Three months. So you just had a baby.”

  “Yup, I did,” I said self-consciously. Judging by his facial expressions, I knew what he was probably thinking. You just had the baby, and you not with the dad already.

  “Well, I’m about to get a drink. You want one?” he asked.

  I let him know that I was okay, and he walked to the other side of the bar and told me he would be back. However, I knew he wouldn’t be back. Who would be interested in someone with three kids?

  Surprisingly, Terell returned with his drink and my platter, which Portia had sent over with him. I ate my food, and for about an hour we reminisced about back in the day, and he insisted on making me remember who he was.