Blind Delusion

by Dorothy Phaire

  He returned to the living room and picked up the toys and shoved everything in the hall closet. Next, he sorted and folded the clean clothes that had been spread out on the sofa, separating the piles of clothes into his, Brenda’s and the baby’s things. As he was just about to start vacuuming he heard the doorbell ring. “Damn. I’m in no mood for company right now,” he said, and headed towards the door to see who it was interrupting him from his housework. “That better not be no church people trying to get me saved.”

  He looked through the peephole and saw his buddy from work, Alonzo Woods, standing on the porch. Alonzo had on one of his more flamboyant outfits, matching red slacks, shirt, shoes, and socks. Jerome swung open the door and reared back laughing. “Man, you look like Superfly in that ridiculous getup,” said Jerome, pointing and laughing as he waved Alonzo into the house. “Hurry up and get your ass in here, Fool before my neighbors see you.”

  “You just jealous ‘cause you ain’t got this hookup,” grinned Alonzo, with his chest puffed out. “Man, even my drawers and T-shirt match. Check it out, Brother.”

  “No thanks,” said Jerome, turning his head away just as Alonzo lowered his waistband to reveal a snitch of red underwear.

  “Why ain’t you at work, Buddy?” Jerome asked. “They bump you to the night shift or something?”

  “Nah, Man. The Barracuda suspended me for three days for a methods violation so I’m out here just chillin’. You know what I’m sayin’?”

  “Damn, Man. Now, she’s starting in on you.”

  “Nah, she been on my black ass from day one, Slick,” said Alonzo.

  “Hey Man, you don’t wanna piss-off Barracuda. You know she’s horny as shit,” laughed Jerome. “Why don’t you just sleep with her? Ain’t that what you told me to do, Partner?”

  “She don’t want none of my old meat, Jay,” said Alonzo, shaking his head. Alonzo paused for a moment and Jerome detected a brief look of exasperation on his friend’s face. “Why you think I’m here, Dawg? If I can get you to play nice with the lady, she’ll fix that drug report and hire you back, Brother. Won’t that be better than sittin’ around here all damn day doin’ nothin’?”

  “Ugh! Alonzo, have you lost your damn mind? That woman’s got more hair on her legs than I do. Naw, Man,” said Jerome, waving his hand and shaking his head. “I have a beautiful wife and a baby boy. Why would I screw her fat-ass just to get my old job back?” Jerome gestured with open palms, questioningly.

  “You should go on and tap that, Jay. She’s got a decent-looking face. You can’t deny that.” Alonzo momentarily stared down at his red polished shoes.

  “Maybe so, Alonzo. But she might hurt me with them big ass titties of hers.”

  They both laughed.

  “Don’t worry I’ma get my job back at UDS and with back pay too,” said Jerome as he stretched out his arms confidently on top of the couch. “Once I prove she had no right firing me. In the meantime I got me a new job lined up as a night security guard. If everything checks out with my references, I could be starting as early as next Monday. So you see, Alonzo, I’m not desperate for Odessa’s crumbs. Besides, I like being at home during the day, cookin’, cleanin’ and fixing things around the house.”

  “Okay, Martha Stewart,” said Alonzo as he settled down on the couch beside Jerome, turning to face him. As Alonzo spoke, Jerome noticed that his buddy’s eyes flickered about nervously. “But just so you know, she told me to tell you she’ll give you a gravy run makin’ 50 K if you drop the case.”

  “What kinda gravy run?” asked Jerome, folding his arms across his chest and giving Alonzo a skeptical look.

  Alonzo played with a pack of unfiltered Marlboros and kept taking them out of his pocket and putting them back. “For starters, she said you can shift in the yard. All you gotta do is drive the truck from bay to bay. You don’t even have to load, unload or sort anything. Somebody else’ll do all that and you’ll be makin’ $50,000 a year,” Alonzo explained. “You know Jay, I been at UDS ten years and I’m still on call and don’t have my own route. Only the guys who been there 25 years get to shift in the yard for that kinda pay, Brother. So whaddya say, Man? Miss Dillon’s offering you what the seniors get.”

  “Now she’s Miss Dillon? Humph,” said Jerome, wincing as he shook his head. “Beam me up Scotty—there’s no intelligent life here.” Jerome plopped his feet up on the coffee table. “You not hearin’ me Alonzo. Lemme put it to you this way … I ain’t never gonna have sex with that woman.”

  “That’s cool Jay,” said Alonzo. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you. Hey, Man, you got a beer or somethin’ in this palace? I know better than to light up in this air-fresh house, but at least a Brother can get a drink, can’t he?”

  “Nah, Man. I need to stay clear of alcohol. That’s a trigger for me. My sponsor’s coming by tonight at 8 to take me to my re-hab meeting. Want some lemonade or some orange juice?”

  “You’re kiddin’ right?” said Alonzo, turning up his nose in disbelief. “Damn Jay, I see you really mean business this time.”

  “That’s right. My wife took me back for the umpf-teenth time and I’m not gonna mess up again. I don’t want nothin' to do with Odessa Dillon or UDS. Not until they receive my EEO suit papers that I plan to file against her and the company. Then I’ll let my lawyer speak for me. I’ma ask my Uncle Ike to help me start the complaint next week as soon as he gets back from Las Vegas.”

  Alonzo gave Jerome a surprised look but quickly composed himself. “Oh, so that’s where the old dude’s been hiding out,” said Alonzo. “On vacation, huh? So you goin’ all the way with this suit, huh Jay?”

  “Damn straight. Odessa’s been getting’ away with this shit for too long. I heard last year she was playing footsie with Hector Gonzales but he finally got Big C to put him on another route to get away from her. Everybody’s scared of her, but I’m not.”

  “Does your uncle know about all the troubles you been havin’ at work, Man?”

  “Naw. I didn’t wanna worry him about it. He stuck his neck out to get me that gig. He still don’t know I been fired yet on that trumped up random drug test. Odessa’s gone too far this time. Uncle Ike’s been a supervisor at UDS for the last 8 years and he’s worked there for twenty. I know he can help me file my complaint and get it to the right people.”

  “I dunno, Man,” said Alonzo, shaking his head as he stuffed his hand in his pants pocket and began fidgeting with his cars keys. “I can’t see how in the hell you gonna talk your way out of a positive random drug test. The evidence is pretty air tight against you, Man.”

  “Man, that test was bogus!” yelled Jerome. “I swear I didn’t do no coke that day. I coulda ate a Poppy Seed muffin that morning for breakfast or maybe the test was off. I don’t know what the hell happened, but I didn’t do no damn drugs! At least not before I took that test.”

  “I doubt that poppy seed story is gonna hold up in court,” laughed Alonzo.

  “Go to hell, Man. I ain’t got time for your bullshit. I gotta get back to my cleanin’ before Brenda gets home.” Jerome shot up from the couch, hoping Alonzo would catch the hint and split, but Alonzo still sat there. Jerome walked over to the picture window and drew back the drapes so he could see outside.

  “Not that I’m justifying Odessa’s behavior or anything,” said Alonzo, “but her life ain’t been easy. You know, her husband caught a bullet during a drive by shooting six years ago. She’s been a lonely widow ever since.”

  “Good for him,” Jerome turned and sniped back. “They put him out of his misery of having to live with her.”

  “You know you makin’ it hard for everybody in the yard, Jay,” said Alonzo with a frustrated sigh.

  “That’s not my problem, Man.” Jerome stood in the middle of the living room. He rubbed his hand over his clean-shaven head.

  “You a damn fool J
ay,” said Alonzo, staring down at his feet, but still not moving to leave. “If it was me, I’d go for the easy money and keep my damn mouth shut. Just sit back and reap the benefits. Nobody would be the wiser.”

  “Look Alonzo, when I wouldn’t accept her advances, I kept getting railroaded for methods, lateness, absenteeism, failure to follow directions. You name it, any little bullshit violation she could pin on me. But I kept on turning her down. Do you know one day she even …” Jerome hesitated. He was almost trembling with rage. He couldn’t bring himself to relate what had happened that day she actually followed him into the men’s room. He was using the urinal and didn’t see her come in. He felt someone’s presence behind him, but he just naturally figured it was another dude. When he turned around and zipped up his pants, there she stood—grinning at him seductively. In complete shock, all he managed to say was, “What the fuck!” She tried to play it off and said she was just in there checking behind the new cleaning crew. He hadn’t said another word. He just stormed past her, right out the door.

  That incident was another thing he planned to put in his sexual harassment and unjustified firing complaint. But he couldn’t tell Alonzo about that scene in the men’s room. Besides, it was obvious this fool was going back and telling her everything. He’d tell Alonzo just what he wanted to get back to her. That way she’d know he wasn’t one of those other chumps she’d been dealing with. He planned to get paid big. Just being relocated to some other supervisor was not enough. Her little gravy run offer to work exclusively in the yard for $50,000 a year was not enough either. Before it was over, he’d have enough to buy Brenda her own house.

  Jerome turned to face Alonzo. “Naw, never mind. Anyway, next thing I know, I fail a random drug test and get fired. Doesn’t that sound just a little bit suspicious to you?” asked Jerome, staring Alonzo in the face. “That’s why I intend to put in a complaint to HR against her. Otherwise, this shit ain’t never gonna end.”

  “Jay. Do you know how many fools have tried to go to HR before you got there?” said Alonzo. “Those assholes down in HR don’t do shit. Man, nothin’ ever comes out of those complaints.” He waved his hand absently in the air.

  “Yeah, I found that out too after talkin’ to some of those guys. That’s why I’ma school Uncle Ike on what’s been happening to me as soon as he gets back from Vegas. And, I won’t stop at United Delivery Services’s HR department,” Jerome explained, “I think I got a good shot at winning a sexual harassment case with EEO.”

  “Are you crazy, Man? You don’t wanna bring the damn federal government into this. Nobody at UDS is gonna testify against the Barracuda. You’ll be all alone.”

  Jerome slumped down in a nearby chair. “Well, I talked to Hector before he left to report to his new supervisor. He said he wished he had taken his situation further. But he’s got eight mouths to feed and can’t risk losing his job and being outta work while an EEO arbitrator looks into his complaint.”

  “And you can risk that?” asked Alonzo.

  Jerome answered with passion in his voice, “That woman needs to be stopped and somebody has to have the guts to stand up to her. Odessa Dillon may be the boss and well, okay her face ain’t half bad to look at, but I ain’t nobody’s stud.”

  Alonzo shifted in his seat and screwed up his face before he spoke, as if deciding what tactic he should try next. “You know Jay, word on the street is, you owe a couple of bad dudes some dough.” That got Jerome’s attention, so Alonzo proceeded on, “I’m sure Miss Dillon would give you the bread straight up if you started being nice to her. The way I see it, your narrow ass belongs to either those lowlifes you usta hang with or Big Mama. And, your homies don’t like dudes.”

  “Listen Man,” said Jerome, pointing a finger at Alonzo, “You need to get this through your big empty head. I don’t need Odessa or her money. My Uncle Ike’s gonna help me straighten everything out. I don’t know who you been talkin’ to out in the streets, but I’m cool with those dudes. Ain’t nobody after me, understand?”

  “Aw’ight, I gotcha Baby,” said Alonzo with a half grin, “Don’t be mad at me, Slick. I’m just one begger trying to help another Brother get a crust of bread.”

  “I ain’t mad at you Alonzo. I’m just keeping it real.”

  “I may as well split then,” said Alonzo as he got up and headed for the door, “I’m getting nowhere fast trying to talk some sense into you, Jay.”

  “Okay. Later, Man. Stay outta trouble,” said Jerome and slapped the palm of Alonzo’s outstretched hand.

  “You the one, Baby. I’ma head on over to the Eclipse on Bladensburg Road so I can brush up on my Bop and hand-dance. Say Man, why don’t you come on out to the club with me this Friday night? They gonna have Trouble Funk, EU, and Chuck Brown as a special guest.”

  “Chuck who? Nah, Alonzo. Think I’ll pass, Brother,” said Jerome, shaking his head and chuckling.

  Alonzo shrugged. “Suit yourself. You youngsters today just don’t know good music. Later, Slick.” Alonzo waved, then, stretched out his hand. Jerome slapped him on his open palm one last time as a parting gesture of friendship.

  After Alonzo left, Jerome slumped back down on the coach. He clicked the remote to a daytime talk show. Alonzo’s visit had rubbed salt in his wounds. He had been trying hard not to think about his former boss and ruin his day. Now, he couldn’t stop thinking about how she had railroaded him. “Uncle Ike’ll help me clip that Barracuda’s fangs.” Jerome nodded. “Just wait ‘til they slap my EEO compliant on that heifer’s desk. This is one Brother, Odessa Dillon’s gonna regret tryin’ to set up.” Jerome cringed at the image of the woman the guys in the yard had nicknamed ‘The Barracuda.’ Mid-fifties, big boned with an equal combination of fat and muscle, dark eyes that could turn on you in a second, and always horny as hell—this is how he would describe Odessa Dillon if anybody asked. He had to admit that some men might find her attractive—he just wasn’t one of them. Jerome pushed the thought of her out of his mind. He forced himself to block out his former place of employment and everybody who worked there. He also couldn’t quite erase the fact that Odessa Dillon wasn’t his only problem.

  He still owed the Jett Set Crew a lot of money and had no idea how he would get his hands on that kind of cash right now. Again, the only person in the world who could help him out of both fixes was Uncle Ike. With Uncle Ike’s help, he’d pay back his debt as well as file a sexual harassment complaint against Odessa Dillon. That way he’d eventually get his old job back, Odessa would be the one they’d let go, and he’d have a nice pocket of change in the bank from the successful lawsuit. Of course, he planned to split the award money from his lawsuit with Uncle Ike. This was the way Jerome chose to see the outcome of his current problems.

  Just then the doorbell rang again. “Now, who the hell can this be?” he said and raised himself from the couch in no particular hurry. Jerome took his time getting to the door. The doorbell rang at least four or five times in succession. Whoever it was at the door, sounded determined. This time he didn’t bother to check through the peephole, but simply swung open the door. “What the hell! What the hell are you doing here, Leenae? asked Jerome, not bothering to invite her in. She held a shoe box under her arm and without invitation or uttering a single word, she elbowed past him and entered the house. Jerome didn’t need an answer. He could tell by the scowl on her face that she was pissed and he knew why.

  “Look Jerome,” she finally spoke, jutting out her chest in defiance. “We both know you shoulda married me.” Jerome didn’t know what to say. Her eyes were charcoal-black slits of hatred as she glared at him. He found himself standing in the middle of the living room, facing her. Not knowing what to do and hoping Brenda didn’t come home early and find her there, he stood defenseless against Leenae’s rage.

  “Why the hell did you walk out on me Saturday morning after all your promises Friday night. When I got up that mor
ning, you were gone. All I found was this sorry-ass scribble you left on my kitchen table. Telling me you couldn’t see me again. You know after all we been through together I don’t deserve that bullshit. Friday night you said you was gonna move in with me, you remember that?” She still clutched onto the shoebox under one arm, and pointed her finger at him with her free hand.

  Jerome finally found some words and coughed them up slowly. “I don’t have no good reason for what I done this past Friday night,” he said in a gentle tone, trying unsuccessfully to soften the stern look on her face. “I can see now it wasn’t a good idea to try to stay friends with you after me and Brenda got married. When I got fired, I needed a friend. I couldn’t tell Brenda what had happened at work. I thought you could be that friend but I took advantage of you and I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry don’t cut it, buster.”

  Leenae placed the shoe box on the coffee table. He looked at it and hoped she didn’t have a gun stashed in there. Then he reasoned she’d probably have her gun inside the leather pocketbook that hung from her shoulder, for easier access.

  She placed both hands on her hips as she spoke. “Me and you go way back. We been knowin’ each other since tenth grade. We had a good thing going ‘til she went and stole you from me.” He could tell her voice was rising and her face had started to look flushed. He had to be easy with Leenae because he knew this chick was not in her right mind. Jerome held out both arms to her as he tried to explain. “Look Leenae. I never lied to you. You always knew I loved Brenda. Now that we have a son together, I can’t risk losing that. Not even to keep a friendship with you.”