“You are a mess,” Crystal said with a giggle.
“You already told me that,” I teased.
“I can’t argue with you, girl. I understand your motives. I long for the days that I was emotionless and unattached. Marriage and commitment sucks.”
Here it comes. Crystal had that disgusted with her husband look on her face, which meant that she was about ready to stop acting like everything was okay and tell me what was really going on.
For Bambi’s poetry set, the music is always low and soothing; preparing the audience to be aroused. The atmosphere is dimly lit with candles and everyone merely mingles. Therefore, I was able to hear Crystal’s shit talking and bitterness loud and clear. She looked as if the words were just about to spill from her lips, but she was still too ashamed to begin complaining about the same shit she is always complaining about, so I gave her a little help.
“So did you ask Sean about Tonya?”
Crystal sighed and answered, “Yep. He claims Kristen was seeing things.”
“Now she’s blind,” I replied with a sarcastic laugh.
“Obviously.”
“And I’m blind too, right?”
“I didn’t even tell him that you and Vince were there, because I wanted him to hang himself.”
I recognized the agony in Crystal’s face. It was all too familiar.
“I am more upset with myself than him,” Crystal said. “I am the one that allows him to do this shit to me with no punishment. The text messages, the abuse, and the control; I allow it all and simply cook his dinner, wash his clothes, and be a good little wife as if doing any of that would be good enough to make him stop.”
“Don’t start blaming yourself.”
“Oh, I’m not solely blaming myself. It’s that hot dick’s fault too, but I play a major part as well.”
Just as I was about to tell her that a dog is a dog no matter what kind of woman he is married to, her cell phone rang. Just then I took the time to check my cell to be sure that I hadn’t missed any calls. I had but they weren’t important, just old flings trying to re-up on some booty for the holiday, I’m sure. That’s when I realized that since spending so much time with Vince, my hoe train has suddenly to come to a halt.
Before I could dwell on how Vince was so good at what he does, both emotionally and physically, that he caused me to subconsciously commit to him, though only for a couple of days, Crystal broke my concentration.
Suddenly, she jumped up saying, “I gotta go!”
Then she began to gather her purse and coat without any further explanation, but the tears forming in her eyes told me that something was terribly wrong.
“What’s wrong?!”
“I gotta go! I’ll call you later,” was her answer as she began to put on her coat.
I stood up and held her right hand to get her attention off of leaving without explaining. She also looked like she was in no condition to drive, since the hand that I was holding was trembling uncontrollably.
“Crystal! Tell me what’s wrong! What happened?”
“That was my neighbor,” she said, seemingly short of breath. “There’s a woman in my house.”
Hiding my expression was useless at this point. “You want me to drive?”
“Would you, please?”
It only took us fifteen minutes to get to Crystal and Sean’s home in Lansing. I drove like a bat out of hell. During the drive, Crystal and the neighbor were on the phone. Crystal was crying while the neighbor watched out of the window for the woman’s exit. Apparently the neighbor was standing in her back door when she saw a woman creeping through Crystal’s backyard and was then let into the house by Sean. That’s when she called Crystal.
I pulled into a parking space right in front of their house, since Sean doesn’t know what kind of car I drive. Then I sat and waited for Crystal to make a move.
“I can’t believe this shit is happening to me,” Crystal said as she wiped her face free of tears.
“Do you want me to go in with you?”
Knowing Sean’s ability to punch her without thinking twice, I felt like Crystal needed some kind of security- not that I could whoop his ass if he tried to hit either one of us.
“No. Just wait for me. I won’t be long. I just really want to see this shit for myself. He can’t convince me thatmyeyes are lying.”
As I watched Crystal get out of the car and approach her own house in fear, the memories of the nights Taij put me through this same misery came flooding back into my mind; the nights I sat up until four in the morning hoping he wasn’t in a ditch lying in his wrecked car because he wouldn’t answer his phone, the night I sat in front of his best friend’s house until six o’clock in the morning because I wanted to be sure that he wasn’t there, since I knew that would be his excuse when I saw him the next morning, and the day that I used the bathroom and it burned like I had douched with alcohol.
Just as I was recollecting, I saw Tonya creeping out the front door of Crystal’s home. Yes,Tonya, the same chick that was at Eve’s with Sean a few days ago. I didn’t do or say anything. I just watched her so that I could give Crystal full details when she came back to the car.
I couldn’t read Tonya’s expression as she walked down the street. I assumed that her car was still parked in the alley since she crept in through the back door. I watched her face to get a sense of her emotions, something to tell me what in the hell was going on in the house.
Suddenly, my phone began to vibrate and I quickly answered when I saw that it was Crystal calling from her cell.
“Hello?”
“Here I come,” was all she said.
I could still hear the tears and anger in her tone. I could also hear Sean fussing in the background, but couldn’t make out what he was saying.
“Everything cool?”
“That bitch ain’t here. He managed to get her out of here before I got home.”
“Huh? What you mean? I just saw her walk out the house.”
“What?!”
“I just saw Tonya walk out of the front door, so what do you mean he managed to get her out before you got there?”
“She’s outside right now?!”
Then all I could hear was Crystal’s heels against the stairs as she ran down them. I could also hear Sean’s footsteps closely behind hers.
“She walked right out of the front door. She is walking down the street.”
“You actually see her right now?”
“Yes, but she’s further down the street now. It was Tonya. The same chick that was at Eve’s with him.”
I didn’t mean to sound like a trick, but I also didn’t want to sound like I was lying either.
“SO YOU WERE HIDING THE BITCH IN MY HOUSE, MOTHERFUCKA?!!!...”
Then the call ended.
I didn’t know whether to remain seated, leave, or go in there to make sure that Sean wasn’t blacking those pretty brown eyes of hers. Luckily, I didn’t have to make a choice, because soon Crystal came barging out of the house. Sean was nowhere in sight. Crystal was carrying a duffle bag, which I am sure had clothes inside.
NINE
Thursday, November 27, 2008
VICTORIA
I told Crystal that she could stay at my place as long as she needed to. I have an extra bedroom and figured that her company would make a difference around my quiet and lonely home. She insisted that she wouldn’t stay more than a couple of days, but I honestly didn’t mind one way or the other. I saw so much of my own pain in her eyes, so wanted to comfort her the best way that I could because I knew how it felt.
Needless to say, by the time Crystal finished crying and asking how Sean could do this to her, it was three o’clock in the morning and I missed several of Vince’s phone calls and inquiring text messages. So, I called him as soon as I woke up, which was not until one this afternoon.
He answered after the first ring. “Hey, babe.”
“Hey, Vince. I am so sorry about last night. You wouldn’t believe th
e night that I had.”’
“What happened?”
I went into the spiel about Crystal’s neighbor calling and the events that followed, all while being quiet enough that Crystal couldn’t hear me.
Once I was done telling the story, Vince asked, “Now how did that clown try to get out of this one?”
“She said that he denied everything, said that the neighbor was seeing things, and even started to curse her out for going out with me.”
“He ain’t shit,” Vince replied with a chuckle.
“Right,” I agreed. “But while I waited for her outside, I watched Tonya walk right out of the damn house.”
“But Crystal didn’t know she was in there?”
“Right. Sean had hid her in the house somewhere until Crystal was out of view of the front door, and then Tonya snuck out.”
“That’s fucked up.”
“Isn’t it?”
“So what is she going to do?”
“I have no idea. She hasn’t even talked to Sean since storming out of the house. He called seventeen-thousand times last night, but she ignored his calls. I was shocked. I just knew she was going to fall for the okie doke.”
“It’s never too late.”
“You’re right.”
“So she’s staying with you?”
“For now. For just a few days, so she claims.”
“What a fucked up thing to go through on the holiday.”
“Isn’t it? I’m just glad she doesn’t have any children. That would have made it worse.”
Then both Vince and I let out slight sighs of frustration. I know that Sean’s infidelity and abusiveness isn’t either of our problems. It is just very draining and stressful when someone so close to you is enduring such stress and abuse; especially when they can’t find the strength to walk away.
Then Vince asked me, “So what time are you going to make it over here for dinner?”
This would be the second Thanksgiving that Vince and I would spend together. I don’t know whether it’s because of his feelings for me or because he knows that I have no family, but last year he insisted that I spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas with him and his family. Luckily for me, his family is so down to earth and adores me just as much as Vince does, so being around his family has become second nature. I have also spent the holidays in-between with them as well and have even been on some nonchalant outings with them.
“I plan on getting dressed as soon as I have a cup of coffee.”
“Well, hurry up and get your sexy ass over here,” he replied with a slight moan.
“Is that lust that I hear in your voice, baby?”
“Hell yea. I’ve had this shit built up inside of me since last night. I got something for you after the turkey and dressing is gone.”
I laughed away the chills that ran down my spine, but quickly made that coffee.
TRICEY
It felt so good to be around family again. Given my busy schedule with school and work, I find it very hard to venture back to the southwest side of Chicago to check on my mother, Star, and Jordan.
Jordan is now nine months old. Both my mother and Star have come a long way since when we found out that Star, my little sister, who was sixteen at the time, was pregnant by a senior. My mother is the exact kind of grandmother that I assumed she would be; in love and nose wide open. You would think that she was the one that gave birth to Jordan. I think deep down inside, she was happy to have a baby around, since her only two children are grown and nearly grown. She’s still hard on Star though. She refuses to allow her to become a statistic, so its school, books, and extracurricular activities for Star, first, and then she can be a mother once those chores are done. Grandma and I pick up the slack for her in-between time.
I’ve slipped heavily on my job in the past couple of months though.
“Is Amiel coming by?”
My mother and I were sitting at the kitchen table as we waited for dinner to digest so that we could return to the buffet for seconds. My grandparents and aunt were in the living room watching a Tyler Perry movie while Star and Jordan napped in Star’s bedroom.
My mother and I opted to be lazy this year, so we catered the entire Thanksgiving meal all the way down to the sweet potato pie and macaroni salad. It was expensive but quick, and just as delicious, since we catered through MacArthur’s, a soul food restaurant here in the city.
“He’ll be here in a few,” I answered my mother.
As far as my mother knows, Amiel is my boyfriend, period. She would keel over if she knew that I was dating a married man. My mother is very old fashioned and holds her C.O.G.I.C. standards to heart.
“He’s such a nice man.”
Amiel was sure to pour on the charm around my mother and Star. And in all actuality, he is a very nice man. It’s the wife that taints his reputation in my eyes. But hey, I choose to deal.
“That he is,” is what I simply said in response.
Amiel was always sure to spend the holidays with me. I assume it’s to prevent me from feeling like the typical chick on the side that never gets the holidays. Though I am sure he is with his wife and children right now, as always, he finishes off the holidays with me. The “family” gets the traditional dinner and family time, and I get the parties, dancing, and unbelievable sex afterwards.
I asked my mother with a devilish grin, “When are you going to have a boyfriend around for the holidays?”
She smiled. “How do you know he’s not on his way too?”
“I dare you. Where is he?”
Ever since I was a child, my mother rarely let Star and I meet who she was dating. By the time we met her boyfriends, they had been dating for a year, maybe even two. She was very careful not to parade one man after another in front of us, so we never knew whether mommy was getting any or not.
“Mama, we’re grown now. We can meet your manif you have one.”
My mother smacked her lips, saying, “Right. If I have one.”
Then I saw some sadness in her expression.
My mother is what I fear the most. I love her independence, intelligence, and ability to hold it down while raising two beautiful women. What I fear is being her age and being single, never been married and over fifty with not even a prospect. She puts up this front as if she’s a strong single Black woman, but I know that nothing would make her happier than having a man here to keep her company.
I am a woman who wants very badly to be married. I want it so bad that I already know how my wedding dress is going to be designed. I feel as if I was put on this Earth to cater to a man. I see my mother paying a mortgage and alone at her age and pray to God that that won’t be me.
I fear the possibility.
Yet, here I am dating someone who has made my dream come true with another woman.
Just before the usual distress came over me that thoughts of Amiel bring, my cell rang. I glanced at it, saw that it was Lyric, and quickly answered.
“Happy holidays,” I greeted.
“Bah Humbug!”
I laughed. “What the hell?”
Then my mother smacked my leg saying, “Watch your mouth”, so I got up from the table and exited to talk in privacy.
I asked Lyric, “What’s wrong with you?”
“This bitch is ruining my Thanksgiving.”
“Who? Veronica?”
“Who else?! If she isn’t calling my cell phone, she’s calling the house. She’s called ten times. TEN TIMES! How do I explain that to Bradley? I can’t! He’s looking at me upside my head like I’m crazy. We can’t even enjoy dinner.”
“Why won’t you just answer and tell her to stop calling?”
“Because I don’t have shit to say to the heifer! Why is she calling me? She should be calling Rick. Oh, wait! That’s right. New pussy doesn’t get the holidays.”
“That was a low blow,” I said with a giggle as I closed my mother’s bedroom door behind me.
“This damn girl is going to ruin my marriage befo
re I even have one.”
I asked, “Is she calling so much that Bradley is sensing something?”
“Well, first of all, he can’t understand why she is calling back to back on a holiday. Then he can’t understand why I won’t answer. I am just going to unplug the damn phone and turn the ringer off on my cell.” Then she sighed. “How did I get myself into this shit, Tricey?”
“Being greedy.”
“I just want this all to go away.”
“You can’t have a relationship like the one that you had with Veronica and expect it to just go away. You can’t wish it away. You all were friends.”
“Exactly. And you would think she would respect that friendship by not fucking Bradley’s friend. That was trifling.”
“Maybe you should explain that to her.”
“I did.”
“Reiterate it.”
Lyric huffed and puffed with great frustration. “This is so fucked.”
“That it is,” I agreed. “But you have to talk to her before she keeps acting a fool.”
“I don’t have anything to say to her.”
“Apparently she has a lot to say to you!”
“Her audacity is nauseating.” Then Lyric groaned. “I’m unplugging the phone. I’ll talk to her tomorrow. She’s not going to fuck up my holiday.”
“Maybe she’s lonely.”
“She should have thought about that before she decided to slut herself out.”
Soon Amiel made his way over to my mother’s house, but his visit was short lived. He made us reservations at Powerhouse on the North Side, so we left about twenty minutes after his arrival. After drinks and appetizers, we were going to meet Lyric and Bradley at Club 720 for a party being sponsored by Dwyane Wade.
The short time we spent at Powerhouse was the usual; us laughing, cracking jokes, and enjoying one another’s company. When we spend time together, life feels so real and free. When I am with Amiel, I feel genuinely happy. I knew it was the same for him. When Amiel is with me, he’s like a kid that can’t stop laughing and playing. He looks genuinely relieved to be happy.
Good Girls Ain't No Fun Boxed Set (The SIX romance and urban fiction volumes of the LOVE, SEX, LIES series) Page 12
