B-More Careful

by Shannon Holmes

  “Driving with a suspended license,” he weakly answered.

  “Why you ain’t call me to let me know, huh? I was waiting for you all night.”

  “They only give you one phone call. You ain’t have the money to bail me out,” he snapped, trying reverse psychology.

  “Well, why you ain’t call me when you got out? I know you saw my number in your pager,” she firmly stated.

  “I didn’t get no beeps. My batteries are dead.”

  This game was the best shit he could come up with. He had so much game, he should have been playing in the NBA.

  “Well, who was the girl that answered your phone?” Mimi asked, knowing some bitch definitely hung up on her.

  “Yo, ain’t no girl answer my phone. You must have dialed the wrong number,” Twan answered as if she was crazy, denying that shit to the best of his knowledge, information and belief.

  In the end, all was forgiven. Mimi fell for the okey-doke. She went against her better judgment, until the next time when the physical evidence would be simply undeniable. Twan burnt her. When Mimi’s gynecologist diagnosed her with a venereal disease, the proof was in the pudding.

  “No, it must be a mistake. Are you sure? I can’t have gonorrhea. Are you absolutely sure?” Mimi asked, like the doctor didn’t have a degree in medicine.

  “I’m 100% positive,” the doctor said, preparing to inject Mimi’s right buttock with a needle and having no second thoughts about Mimi’s diagnosis.

  Mimi, on the other hand, was shell-shocked. She just couldn’t believe it. She had no idea she was even carrying a STD. Her discharge was off, and she had some cramping, but nothing that hit her in the head. It was just something that made her want to get checked out. Sure enough, a venereal disease. She felt like crying and when the doctor told her the news, her face turned red and hot. She was so ashamed and so embarrassed.

  How could Twan do that? She knew it couldn’t have been her who got it, Twan was the only lover she’d ever had. It had to be him, of course it was him, but damn, how? Why?

  When she confronted him about the doctor visit, instead of apologizing, he flipped the script on her. He had the audacity to accuse her of burning him.

  “Who you been fucking?” Twan asked seriously.

  “Motherfucker, don’t play yourself! You know I don’t even get down like that. You know where I’m at and who I’m wit at all times. Too bad, I can’t say the same for you,” Mimi spat.

  “Whoa, what you trying to say?” Twan asked, asking nothing at all.

  Beneath the brave front, Mimi was miserable. She couldn’t believe how Twan could fix his face to say what he had. But, after hours of sweet talk and promises, it was all good again. He finessed his way back in, and before long, he was dogging her out, as usual. Standing her up and getting caught in lie after lie, time after time, was becoming the normal routine with him.

  Tina watched helplessly as her daughter went through the trials and tribulations of young love. Mimi was heartbroken, and Tina knew the symptoms all too well. She saw history repeating itself. Mimi’s father took her through the same hell before they were married. Unable to see her daughter suffer any longer, Tina said something about it during dinner. She dropped a jewel on her.

  “What’s going on, Mimi? You haven’t been yourself,” Tina questioned curiously.

  “Nothing,” Mimi said nonchalantly, while playing with her food.

  “You think I’m blind, deaf and dumb? I wasn’t born yesterday. I was once your age, you know. I know that boy is showing his behind. Baby, you don’t have to put up with that nonsense. You can’t make him do right. If you’re not happy, leave him. Don’t sacrifice your happiness for nobody. You’re still young and there will be others. Trust me. Always remember, a lying man is a half man and a half a man ain’t no man at all,” Tina said, sounding like she was Rev. Parker from the church.

  Seeing the logic in her mother’s advice, Mimi had no choice but to agree with it. It was the truth. The truth never needs support, but still, the heart wants what the heart wants, regardless of the consequences or if trouble is close behind. She continued to have sex with Twan whenever he requested it from her, thinking this would bring them closer. Finally, after coming to the painful conclusion that sex wouldn’t, Mimi had another problem to deal with. She had managed to get pregnant.

  This was the crossroad for her in her young life. Unsure of what to do, she debated on whether to have the baby or have an abortion. Her ill feelings toward Twan, combined with her goal of finishing school, had her leaning towards having an abortion. But, in her heart she knew it was wrong and her conscious was killing her. Ultimately, it was her decision to make. However, before could make it, she needed to seek her mother’s advice. Upset but not surprised, Tina took the news of her daughter’s pregnancy in stride.

  “Mimi, this is not what I expected of you. I wanted you to wait ‘til you was married and grown to have a child. You’re so young. Now you’ll have to grow up. All that acting you do like you’re grown, well this is responsibility, honey chile. There’s no more hanging out. Your new number one priority is your child. Can you handle that?”

  “Well ma, I was thinking about having an abortion,” she said, whispering as if it were a secret.

  “What?!” Tina snapped. “This family don’t believe in no abortions That’s just murder by another name. And the Bible says thou shalt not kill!”

  She reached into her religious bag for some spiritual inspiration.

  “You wasn’t aborted,” she said, with her eyebrows raised.

  That was all it took to convince Mimi to have her baby. All she needed was some maternal guidance, which is where Tina stepped in. Fortunately, the pregnancy bonded the two women. It was Tina who took Mimi to all her prenatal appointments and Lamaze classes. She ran out to the supermarket at all hours of the night, catering to her daughter’s crazy food cravings. Mimi finally realized her mom and her unborn child was all she had in the world. In her last month of pregnancy, Twan tried to pop back into the picture, but the damage was done.

  “Ain’t nothing happening, Twan,” Mimi said, standing in the doorway of her mother’s house, holding her eight-month-old belly.

  “I’m just tryin’ to check on you,” Twan said, in his normal, most sincere-sounding voice.

  “Twan, you ain’t been bothered to check on me. Why you botherin’ now?” Mimi asked, looking confused like she truly didn’t understand why he was there.

  “What you mean, ain’t you having my baby?” he said, as if that’s why after the last trimester Mr. Invisible was suddenly being seen.

  “You know what, Twan? Do us both a favor and don’t bother me by botherin’ yourself,” Mimi said, slamming the door in Twan’s face. She then wobbled back over to the couch where a bowl of sour cream potato chips and a pint of Haagen-Dazs vanilla bean ice cream to dip the chips into were waiting for her.

  Mimi told him wasn’t nothing happening. She had no love for him after all he had done to her. Still, Twan kept calling, trying to wear her down. He thought wrong. Mimi had loved him so hard, even she didn’t understand her new resistance towards him. He had worn her down with his mistreatment, his lies, his games, his betrayal, his misuse of the word trust and knowing that he wasn’t the one for her had finally set in. Mimi was over him and there was no going back.

  “Stop fucking calling me. Ain’t nothing jumping here no more!” Mimi screamed into the phone.

  “Go back to your other bitches, yo,” she added, tired of his phone games.

  “Come on now, stop playing. Keep acting stupid and I ain’t gonna claim that baby,” Twan said, threatening her.

  “Twan, that’s some real sucker shit to say. That’s how you wanna play, you bitch ass nigga? Don’t worry about me or my baby, cause you won’t ever see it,” she said, hanging up the phone.

  Her mother had just walked in the room and caught the end of Mimi’s conversation.

  “Don’t ever let me hear you talk like that again. N
ever ever say that to a man. Do you understand?” she asked.

  “But ma, you should have heard what he said to me,” said Mimi in self-defense.

  Tina raised her hand, signaling Mimi to be quiet.

  “I don’t care what he said. No matter what y’all two may be going through now, don’t you ever use the baby to get back at him. A child is not a toy. Don’t put it in the middle of a tug of war. It needs its father, just as much as its mother.”

  Hearing that, Mimi backed down from her mother. She would never apologize, though. Mimi was vindictive by her Scorpio nature, and this situation was justifiably so. She gave Twan her heart and he stomped on it.

  After nine turbulent months, Mimi went into labor. She delivered a healthy 8-pound, 2-ounce baby boy. Since her mother had supported her through her pregnancy, she let her name the baby. Naming the baby after Twan was never a possibility. Mimi swore her baby wouldn’t have Twan’s name, his first or his last.

  From the moment Tina laid eyes on her tiny grandson, all she could think of was the twins at birth. In honor of her dead son, she named her grandson Timothy Thomas. For Tina, her new grandson marked both her own sons’ lives. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Though nothing could replace her son or bring him back from death, having a new life certainly helped to ease the pain.

  With a baby to take care of and classes to attend, Mimi began to buckle down and fly right. As a reward for being so good, Tina was taking Mimi to New York on a shopping trip.

  “I’ve been saving some money for your new school clothes. I think this will be a good outing. We don’t ever get out no more,” Tina said, bundling up the baby.

  “I know ma, I’m real excited. I’ve never been to New York,” Mimi said, like she was really going somewhere.

  Tina picked up the baby and placed a bundled Timmy in her arms as she headed out the door.

  “If you so excited, why your shoes not on. We got a bus to catch! Whatcha doin’, come on, Mimi!”

  Chapter 5

  Everybody knew everybody on the bus. So, Netta stuck out like a sore thumb. By not knowing anybody in the church’s congregation, naturally she drew some curious stares. She returned their greetings with a kind one of her own, though she didn’t care about them or their church. She only had one thing on her mind, boosting in the Big Apple.

  Running late, thanks to you know who, Tina, Timmy and Mimi were the last ones to board the bus. There were only two remaining seats; one next to the Reverend’s wife and the other besides Netta. There was no way Mimi was going to sit next to the Reverend’s wife and get beat in the head with scriptures all the way to New York. She rushed down the aisle to the other seat and let her mother and son sit there. She didn’t know the strange face of Netta’s, having never seen her at church before.

  “Hi,” Mimi said, warm and inviting.

  “Hi,” Netta said, cold as ice.

  Quickly, Netta then turned her head towards the window.

  Well, fuck you too, then. What the hell is your problem, Mimi thought, reasoning at the same time that she was too nice to people.

  Netta completely ignored her. She thought Mimi was trying to get familiar and she didn’t need no born-agains all in her business. She went into her Coach bag and grabbed her Walkman. Switching it on and turning the volume up, she prepared for the long ride to New York.

  Closing her eyes and flowing to Faith, she was zoning out as she pictured herself coming off with fly gear.

  Them broads at school will really be sick if I show up in some new unheard of fly shit, Netta thought, smiling to herself.

  Right next to her, Mimi quickly dozed off and her head gently came to a rest on Netta’s shoulder. All those late-night feedings had caught up with her. At first, Netta started to wake her up, but she looked so peaceful sleeping, she let it slide. In three hours, they’d be in New York and she’d be getting jiggy.

  Finally, the bus arrived in Midtown Manhattan. It was a blustery winter afternoon in New York City. The lack of motion by the bus and Netta’s sudden departure awoken Mimi. She opened her eyes just in time to see Netta high-tailing it off the bus. As soon as she hit the pavement, she disappeared, blending into the sea of people on 34th Street. Netta was all business. She had a lot of stores to hit and only a few hours to do it.

  Not to be intimidated, Netta walked down the streets of New York like she owned them, returning the mean looks she received. She wasn’t some dumb tourist amazed by the mass of people or gazing up at skyscrapers. She was on a mission and carried herself like a native New York, moving from point A to point B. She was in a rush like everyone else.

  First up on her list was the Fendi shop. There, she boosted sweaters and khakis. Next came the Gucci shop. Netta thought she died and went to heaven when she entered the store. She boosted Gucci bags, slacks, shoes and shirts. All high-priced stuff. She planned on keeping all this for herself too. Damn, that was easy, she thought, as she made a clean getaway. Netta expected tighter security. She thought New York stores were more high-tech than the stores in B-More. With ease she snipped, ripped or popped her way through buzzer alarms and ink packs. It was like taking candy from a baby. Stopping back at the bus, she unloaded her haul. She wasn’t worried about leaving her stolen goods alone on the bus. She was with the church. Who would steal on a church trip? Checking her watch, she noticed two hours had already passed. She still had enough time to hit Macy’s, though.

  Strolling carefree around Midtown, Mimi, her mother and her baby looked every bit of the tourists that they were. In amazement, they stared up at the tall buildings. They actually stopped and gawked in amazement at the vibrant scenic look of New York. Going from store to store, comparing prices until they found the best buy, they went to various department stores and boutiques. They stopped to eat lunch and to change the baby before heading over to Macy’s.

  One of the world’s largest department stores, Macy’s had something for everybody. From yuppies to hip-hoppers, Macy’s featured all the designer fashions and was one of the biggest shopping attractions in New York. The children’s department was their first destination. Tina and Mimi were looking at clothes for Timmy. When they were finished, they went from department to department, browsing. Tina was notoriously slow and picky. Mimi’s attention span began to waver. Anxious to get her own shopping spree on, Mimi huffed and puffed, dragging Timmy along behind her mother. Finally, Tina let Mimi go shopping on her own.

  The urban department was where Mimi again laid eyes on Netta.

  What a coincidence! It’s the girl I sat with on the bus. Maybe she’d like to walk back to the bus together, thought Mimi.

  Damn, where’d this bitch come from? Netta said, cursing to herself. I hope she don’t see me doing my thing. That’s all I need, some born-again Christian turning me in. Fuck this holier than thou motherfucker, I got to get mines.

  Netta stood there and debated whether she should or shouldn’t. Completely ignoring Mimi for the second time and without a second thought, Netta went to work. Back and forth, she slipped in and out the dressing rooms carrying hangers of clothes. She had DKNY, Sean John, Roc-A-Wear and Fubu. These items were mostly to fill for her customer orders. They would pay top-dollar to be the first in B-More to have this gear. It was common knowledge that everything, especially clothing, hit New York before other cities like Philly, D.C. and Baltimore.

  Meanwhile, Mimi busied herself trying on gear, but her intentions were totally different from Netta’s. She planned on pay for her stuff. She peeped Netta in the dressing room doing her thing. Netta kept bringing more racks of clothes while never returning any.

  I’m just gonna mind my business, Mimi thought, keeping to herself.

  Netta was going for the gusto, being greedy. She wasn’t on her job, as she thought shit was sweet. If she hadn’t been slipping, she might have noticed the female store detective stalking her. Mimi saw her, though. Mimi was being mad observant, hoping to catch a sight of a rapper in the Big Apple. Who could miss the white lady b
ehind the mannequin? She was definitely 5-0. Mimi thought of a way to warn Netta that she was being watched. However, she didn’t want to take the chance of being mistakenly implicated in her crime, especially if Netta got arrested. Decisions, decisions. Mimi decided to help the girl anyway, just indirectly.

  The opportunity presented itself when the store detective was hot on Netta’s heels. Netta was on her way to the store exit escalator. Mimi watched Netta as she made her way down the aisle with the security officer proceeding behind her. As soon as the security detective attempted to pass Mimi, she jumped out of the aisle blocking her patch and momentarily cutting off the pursuit. The store detective attempted to side-step Mimi, but Mimi moved from side to side, right along with her.

  “Damn bitch, why the fuck is you following me? I ain’t stealing shit!” Mimi yelled at the top of her lungs real ghetto, “I got money too. Why ain’t you following no white people? You must be prejudice. You been following me since I left the children’s department. I’m warning you, you better stop following me or you’re gonna get more than what you bargained for, lady!”

  Mimi’s hostile words caused dozens of shoppers to stop and stare. Even Netta turned back towards the commotion as she made her getaway. The disturbance alerted her to the danger behind her. She put a pep in her step and raced for the escalator. Taking two steps at a time, she made her way down to the 34th Street exit. Looking around nervously, she kind of expected the exits to be swarming with security. When they weren’t, she thanked her lucky starts and tried her best to blend in with the other pedestrians as she made her way to the bus.

  Embarrassed, the store detective turned beet red.

  “Ma’am, I…I…I… wasn’t following you,” she said meekly, looking past Mimi for Netta who had vanished just that fast.

  “Oh, I guess I was wrong,” Mimi said, as she walked away laughing to herself.

  Offended, the store detective stood there, looking as if someone had just plucked her on the forehead.

  Back on the bus, Netta was sweating bullets, literally and figuratively.