Can I Get a Witness?

by ReShonda Tate Billingsley

  “Fuller, huh?” She brushed her oversize shirt down, making her pregnancy pretty evident now. “Fatter, you mean. But I’m lucky, so far, I’m all belly, so it’s not as noticeable.”

  He finally smiled. “I was just trying to be politically correct. But, pregnant, wow. Congratulations. You seem like you’d make a good mother.”

  “I just wanted to tell you because, I don’t know, I just want things to be on the up-and-up.”

  He nodded his appreciation. “Thanks.” He hesitated, then said, “I like kids. Maybe you’ll let me take the little fella out to the park sometimes. Or the little girl out for ice cream,” he added.

  “Sounds like a plan,” she said, smiling. She had no doubt Bruce would hold true to his word. She just hoped Roland would step up and do the right thing.

  Chapter 40

  Vanessa scanned the rack looking for the 120-watt flood lightbulbs she needed. Three of the lights were out in her kitchen and she could no longer put off replacing them. Today was the first day she felt her usual self, so she had to take advantage of that and get some things done.

  Vanessa silently cursed as she scanned the back of the lightbulb cartons. This was something Thomas normally did. She didn’t even know what type of bulbs she needed. Was it fluorescent or incandescent? she wondered as she read the back of both cartons.

  “Shoot, I don’t know,” she mumbled, tossing both into her basket. She pushed the basket down the aisle, frustrated. Vanessa hated Target. Truth be told, she hated shopping, period. She didn’t have the patience for it. But she needed all kinds of things around the house—toilet tissue, garbage bags, groceries—things Thomas used to get. Vanessa made a mental note to hire an assistant. She didn’t have time for stuff like this.

  “Well, well, well. Hello, Miss Vanessa.”

  Vanessa stopped just short of running her basket into a pink stroller. “What the…?” Her eyes made their way from the baby, up to a flat stomach, then to the smirk on Alana’s face, which seemed to be taunting her.

  Alana relished Vanessa’s shocked expression. “Oh, you didn’t know we had the baby?” She gently ran her finger over the baby’s caramel face. The baby was sleeping peacefully and looked like a little doll, except for the pink headband around her head that seemed to Vanessa like it was cutting off her circulation. “Her name is Thomasina. She’s three weeks old,” Alana proudly said.

  Vanessa looked at Alana, astonished. “And you have her out in a germ-infested store?” Vanessa didn’t know a whole lot about kids, but she thought that you probably shouldn’t bring a newborn baby out into public like this.

  Alana placed her hands on her hips. “Don’t you worry about where I got my baby. Her daddy had to work late or else he would’ve been here. So, I brought her out to get some air while I pick up a few things to cook my man dinner.”

  Vanessa didn’t know why Alana was so spiteful. Hadn’t she caused enough problems? Now she seemed to be taking pride in torturing her.

  “Mmmm-hmmm,” Alana continued. “I know all about how you tried to make Thomas into a househusband, but I take care of my man, the way it’s supposed to be. I give him what he needs.” She reached down and rubbed her baby’s head again. “And what he wants.” She looked back up at Vanessa. “You could learn a thing or two.”

  Okay, forget the career. Hello, jail. Vanessa was about to clean go off on this little tramp. “Little girl, you don’t know who you’re messing with,” she said, stepping away from her basket. “I will—”

  “You will what?” Alana said, bucking up to her. “Get me fired? Try to have me arrested? Been there, done that. I know you were responsible for me losing my job.” She was breathing right in Vanessa’s face. “But guess what? Since I didn’t have a job, Thomas had no choice but to let me and our baby move in with him in his apartment. So thank you. Your little plan only brought me and Thomas closer. And since I am so broke, I want you to hit me.” She raised her chin. “Make it good so I can get your house and your money in addition to your man.”

  Vanessa was indeed about to haul off and hit her in the jaw, but something wild in Alana’s eyes stopped her. This wasn’t some ordinary “I got your man” type of anger. The venom in her voice was laced with an emotion much deeper. All of a sudden it occurred to her that Alana just kept popping up wherever she was. Alana, whom she had never met prior to all of this drama, seemed to get a perverse joy out of tormenting her. She had Thomas. What more could she want?

  “Alana, what is your problem with me?” Vanessa calmly asked. “You’re the other woman, remember?”

  “I want your life,” Alana spat.

  “That’s obvious.”

  Alana bristled at Vanessa’s ironic response. “No. I want your life destroyed. I want to take away everything that ever meant anything to you. Your man, your money, your job. Everything.”

  Now Vanessa was really confused. “What is wrong with you? You act like I’m the one who did you wrong.”

  Alana released a maniacal laugh as she stepped back. “You really don’t know, do you?”

  Vanessa looked at her in surprise. “Know what?”

  “What this is all about?”

  “Really, I don’t.”

  “Do the names Mark and Leslie Irving mean anything to you?”

  Vanessa cocked her head, thinking. A vague bell went off in her head. Where had she heard those names?

  “Let me refresh your memory,” Alana said. “Mark and Leslie Irving are my parents.”

  Yes, she’d seen their names in the background check she’d had done on Alana. “And what does that have to do with me?” Vanessa asked, growing concerned. Hot tears had started streaming down Alana’s cheeks, and her anger seemed to be intensifying.

  Alana shot an evil look at an old man who had stopped to stare at them. He quickly scurried off as she spun back to Vanessa.

  “My parents came through your divorce court in April two years ago.”

  Vanessa looked at Alana like she was crazy. As if she remembered everyone who came through her court.

  Alana folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. “Isn’t that a crying shame? You destroy lives, then don’t even think twice about it.”

  “You know what, Alana?” Vanessa retreated behind her shopping cart. The crazed look in Alana’s eyes was scaring her. “I don’t have time for this. It’s obvious you have some issues.”

  Alana jumped in front of the cart to keep her from leaving. “Oh, no, you don’t! You’re not gonna just run off. My father stood in your courtroom and begged you not to grant my mother her divorce. He told you that she was sick. He asked you for six months to let them try counseling. Six months!” Alana screamed, causing more people to stop in the store and stare. “But noooo, you dismissed him. Told him to shut up before you had him thrown out. Then proceeded to grant my mother the divorce, and give her the house and half his money.”

  Vanessa was dumbfounded by this outburst. “You’ve got to be kidding me. How am I responsible for your mother wanting to leave your father?” She was trying her best to stay rational because Alana was losing it. Thomasina had woken up and was staring wide-eyed at her mother, but Alana didn’t seem to notice or care.

  “My mother was an alcoholic who cleaned herself up long enough to come in your courtroom and put on a front,” Alana continued, the venom in her voice growing stronger. “Had you bothered to listen to my father, or even given him a chance to get her to a counselor while she was in her right mind, they’d still be together. And my father…” She choked back her tears. “My father would still be alive today.”

  Vanessa’s hand went to her mouth.

  Alana nodded, finally wiping away her tears. “That’s right, my father was so distraught that he put a bullet in his brain three weeks later. And guess what? My mother sobered up long enough to realize what she’d done. She cried to me, telling me how much she loved him and wished she could do things differently. She said my father was right, that she didn’t really want the divor
ce. She only did it because he was trying to put her in rehab. She blamed herself for my father’s death and took a bottle full of pills. Less than one week after my beautiful father, the man I adored and loved with every ounce of my soul, took his life, my mother died on my bathroom floor.”

  If looks could kill, Vanessa knew she would be under the ground.

  “Alana, I can understand your grief,” she began calmly.

  “You can’t understand anything!” Alana screamed.

  “Excuse me, is everything all right?” Someone had gone and gotten the manager. He was standing at the end of the aisle with a security guard behind him.

  Vanessa looked from the manager to Alana, whose chest was heaving up and down. She couldn’t believe she was actually feeling sympathy for the girl, but Vanessa could relate to her losing her parents. “We’re okay. She’s a little upset. I was just leaving.” She looked at Alana. “I’m really sorry,” Vanessa whispered.

  “No, but you will be,” Alana spat as Vanessa wheeled her cart away.

  Chapter 41

  Vanessa pulled into Ida’s driveway. She was so shaken up that she didn’t want to go home. It was Sunday, so she knew her aunt had a soul food spread to die for. And a good meal was just what Vanessa needed after that horrible run-in with Alana.

  Vanessa couldn’t believe that Alana had purposely set out to destroy her life. That meant that she’d seduced Thomas on purpose. Vanessa shook away the sensation of fear creeping up on her. Thomas was sleeping with a woman who was emotionally unstable.

  She silently cursed as she stepped out of the car. She’d been in such a hurry to get out of the store that she’d left everything she’d needed. Now she was going to have to go back.

  “Forget that,” Vanessa muttered as she used her key to let herself in. She’d just have to pay Dionne to go do it because her shopping days were done.

  “Hey, baby girl,” Ida said as Vanessa made her way into the kitchen. Ida was leaning over the stove, stirring a big pot. She had traded in her signature lace dress for her signature duster dress. A lace apron was wrapped around her waist. Dionne was at the kitchen table, looking through an Essence magazine.

  “Ummm, it smells good in here,” Vanessa said, savoring the aroma of the candied yams. “Where’s Rosolyn?”

  “She had to go over to some church where Henry was preaching this afternoon.” Ida elbowed Vanessa out of the way. “Can you get your nose from all up in my pot? And what’s wrong with you?” she asked, eyeing Vanessa suspiciously.

  Vanessa tried to look innocent. “Who said something was wrong with me?”

  “That frazzled look on your face said so, that’s who,” Ida said, wiping her hands on the apron. “Dionne been sitting up here pouting all day. Now here you come looking all sad. Sit down and tell me all about it.” She motioned toward the kitchen table.

  “Aunt Ida, I said nothing’s wrong.”

  Dionne looked up, studied Vanessa herself, then said, “Girl, don’t even fight her on it. You know she’s not gonna let up until you tell her what’s wrong. And even I can see that something is wrong. Maybe your life is as messed up as mine.”

  “What’s goin’ on with you?” Vanessa asked.

  “Uh-uh,” Ida said. “I’ve heard her story already. What’s yours?”

  Vanessa removed her jacket, preferring to find out about her sister. “Where do I begin?” she asked, draping the jacket across the back of the chair. “I saw Alana at the store today,” she said as she sat down. “Honestly, I think she’s following me.”

  By the time Vanessa finished recounting what had happened, both Dionne and Ida were staring at her in shock.

  “Lord Jesus. What are you gon’ do about this cuckoo puff? She sounds like she’s unstable.”

  Vanessa nervously fingered a place mat. “You know I’ve harbored a lot of hate toward Alana, but it seems like her hate for me is even deeper.”

  “That’s exactly why you need to do something,” Ida replied.

  “You’re a better person than me,” Dionne said, “because she wouldn’t even have gotten a chance to tell me her reasons for busting up my marriage. The minute she got up in my face, I would have—”

  “We know what you would’ve done, Laila Ali,” Ida said shortly.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Vanessa said worriedly.

  “I’ll tell you what to do. Get a restraining order ’cause the girl is crazy,” Ida said. “And you need to make sure you tell Thomas about it.”

  “I haven’t talked to Thomas in almost a week.”

  “Well, you need to talk to him,” Ida said. “You and your sister and these relationships with your menfolk,” she continued, shooting Dionne a chastising look. “Y’all think I’m stupid, but somebody got something they need to be telling me. I had my fish dream again.”

  Vanessa looked at her aunt in bewilderment. “Fish dream?”

  “Yeah, somebody’s pregnant.” She eyed Vanessa suspiciously.

  “Don’t look at me,” Vanessa said, waving her hand no. “I just went to the doctor two days ago. I assure you that I’m not pregnant.”

  Ida turned her attention to Dionne, who quickly diverted her eyes. “Ummmm-hmmmm. I knew it. You never have been good at lying to me,” Ida said. “I knew something was up when you came up in here in that big ol’ shirt. Know you like skimpy little outfits.”

  Vanessa’s mouth dropped open. “Dionne, you’re pregnant?” She touched Dionne’s stomach, then jumped back. “You are pregnant!”

  Dionne was about to protest, but when she opened her mouth, a loud sob came out. She didn’t know what overcame her, but she began crying hysterically.

  Ida walked over to her. “There, there. You’re gonna be all right,” she said, stroking the back of Dionne’s hair.

  “B-but Roland won’t take me back!”

  “I thought you all worked that out,” Vanessa said.

  “We did. But I messed it up.”

  Neither of them asked what she did. Ida just continued to stroke her hair. “Well, you come from a line of strong women who have faced adversity head-on. You will be just fine.”

  Looking on, Vanessa’s heart ached for her sister. It looked like neither of them would get the happiness they so desperately wanted.

  A bout of silence hung in the room before Ida reached over, picked up the cordless phone, and handed it to Vanessa. “Now you. Call your husband.”

  “For what?” Vanessa replied, frowning up.

  “To tell him about that crazy woman.”

  She looked at the phone hesitantly. Part of her wanted to tell him right away, but the other part wanted him to stew in his own mess.

  Vanessa released a defeated sigh. No matter what Thomas had done to her, he at least needed to know about Alana, and about how the destruction of their marriage had all been carefully orchestrated.

  Chapter 42

  The sound of pounding on her front door caused Vanessa to bolt upright out of her sleep.

  “Somebody has lost their mind,” she muttered, glancing at the alarm clock, which brightly displayed 3:12 A.M.

  Vanessa grabbed the butcher knife she had started keeping under her mattress since Thomas left, and cautiously headed to the front door.

  “Vanessa, it’s me. Open the door, please.”

  “Thomas?” she said through the door. She’d called to tell him about Alana, but since he hadn’t answered, she hadn’t bothered to leave a message. So she had no idea why he was here now at this ungodly hour.

  “Yeah, please open up. I need to talk to you.”

  He sounded like he’d been crying, Vanessa thought, alarmed. She looked out the peephole. He had been crying. His eyes were red and he had on a pair of old sweats and a T-shirt, which was totally unlike Thomas, Mr. GQ himself.

  Vanessa unlocked the dead bolt. “This had better be good,” she said as she swung the door open.

  Thomas stumbled inside, another unpleasant surprise. He reeked of liquor and the stench made Va
nessa cover her mouth. “Ugggh, what in the world?”

  “She lied, Vanessa,” Thomas said, flopping down on the sofa. “I can’t believe that she lied.”

  Vanessa kept her distance. “Who lied, Thomas?”

  “Alana. She lied about the baby.” He buried his face in his hands and let out a heart-wrenching sob.

  Vanessa stood over him, not sure of what to do. She’d never seen him like that. “What are you talking about?”

  “Thomasina is not my daughter.” He looked up at her with a pitiful face. “I had a DNA test done. I got the results back today. She’s not my baby.”

  “What?” Vanessa didn’t know whether to be angry, ecstatic, or to just wring Thomas’s neck. He’d destroyed everything they’d built for this child—who wasn’t even his.

  Anger won in the end. How dare he come to her crying about the other woman’s baby? Any sympathy she was briefly feeling for him went out the window. “Well, that sounds like a personal problem. Why are you bringing this to me?”

  He continued to look lost. “I don’t know. I just left and started driving. This is where I ended up.”

  “You’re drunk.” She turned up her nose at the smell of the alcohol filling the room. “What are you doing behind the wheel of a car?”

  He ran his hand over his head. “I am such a fool,” he said, ignoring her chastisement. “I wanted a baby so bad that I let her con me.”

  Vanessa wasn’t going to disagree there. “If you wanted a child so bad and you believed her so much, why’d you have a DNA test, Mr. Oh-no, Alana-can-do-no-wrong? I thought you knew the baby was yours. Isn’t that what you said?” She knew he was hurting, and she probably shouldn’t be twisting the knife even further, but right about now she could only see that he’d destroyed their marriage for nothing.

  He regained some of his usual common sense. “As bad as I wanted it to be mine, I knew there was a possibility that it wasn’t. When she told me she was pregnant, I was happy.” He looked up quickly, not wanting her to take that the wrong way. “I didn’t want to hurt you, but I told myself, I’m finally going to be a father. I’m going to be the father I never had.” Darkness settled on his brow. “But I didn’t want to go through life with that doubt in the back of my mind. The DNA test was just to ease my doubt. I never expected it to come back with this.”