by Kiki Swinson
I headed up the flight of stairs that led to Jillian’s bedroom, but she wasn’t there. So I called her name. Got no answer though. I looked in the bathroom that was a few feet away from her bedroom and she wasn’t there either. So I headed back downstairs.
“Did you see her?” my grandmother yelled from the den.
“No.”
“Check the front porch. She’s always hanging out there.”
“Thanks,” I said and walked toward the front door.
Immediately after I opened the front door, I saw Jillian sitting in the passenger side of a beat-up, smoky-gray, two-door Honda Accord. Irritated my Jillian’s lack of respect for my wishes concerning the bottle of Percocet, I walked off the front porch and stormed toward the car. As soon as I got within a few feet of the vehicle, Jillian opened the passenger-side door and proceeded to get out.
“Where’s the bottle of Percocet?” I wanted to know. I gave her a hard stare.
“She gave it to me,” a guy said, as he leaned over into the passenger seat so that I could get a glimpse of him.
“And who are you?”
“Tedo, and I sure appreciate it.”
I took my attention off the guy and looked at Jillian head-on. “Why the fuck did you do that?” I screamed. I was fucking livid.
“Stop yelling. You’re embarrassing me,” she snapped under her breath while she tried to close the passenger-side door.
“No, fuck that! Give me back that bottle,” I demanded, looking at Tedo while I prevented Jillian from closing the car door.
“Listen, I don’t know what the fuck y’all got going on, but I ain’t doing shit. So, get the fuck away from my car before you make me do something really ugly.”
Shocked by this guy’s words, I realized that this Tedo was no pushover and that he meant business. So I released my grip on the door so that Jillian could shut it. The moment she did, he sped off down the block. I instantly turned my focus toward Jillian.
“Can you tell me what the fuck just happened?” I hissed. I swear, I was about to lose my fucking mind. My heart was racing at the thought that I’d have to find a way to cover up that missing bottle.
“I just made you and me a shitload of money.” Jillian opened her hand, revealing a wad of bills.
“I don’t care about that fucking money. Do you know I’m gonna get fired for stealing all of those pills? Sanjay may even call the cops on me too,” I tried to explain.
Jillian grabbed my right hand and opened it. “Take this twenty-five hundred and tell me how it feels in the palm of your hand.”
“It doesn’t feel like anything, Jillian. And it ain’t gonna mean shit once Sanjay calls the cops on me,” I expressed. I was so mad with Jillian that I wanted to smack the shit out of her.
“If what you told me really happened at the pharmacy tonight, Sanjay ain’t gonna notice that the bottle of Percocet is missing,” Jillian tried assuring me.
I stood there for a moment and then I said, “You better be right.”
Jillian tried to embrace me, but I pushed her back. “No, don’t touch me,” I whispered.
“Oh no, you’re gonna let me hug you,” she said. I protested again as she bear-hugged me and said, “Now, come back in the house so you can get some of Grandma’s food.”
On my way back into my grandmother’s house, I asked Jillian exactly how much that guy paid for that whole bottle. “He gave me $3200 for 330 pills, so I gave you $2,500 and I kept $750.”
“What happened to the other twenty pills?”
“I kept ’em,” Jillian replied, giving me a look like I’d just asked her a rhetorical question. I nudged her in the back, making her stumble as she walked over the grass in our grandmother’s front yard.
“I bet you did,” I commented.
Back inside the house, I got me a plate of food so I could eat it later, and then I said my goodbyes. I’d had a rough day and I figured the only way I’d be able to settle my nerves was to go home, take a nice, long, hot shower and get in my own bed so I could catch me a few z’s.
Unfortunately for me, that didn’t happen. I tossed and turned the entire night thinking about what Sanjay was going to say to me when I walked back into the pharmacy in the morning.
4
WHAT NOW?
I dragged myself out of bed the next morning, not wanting to go to work. I picked up my cell phone to call in sick, but I was too afraid to hear Sanjay’s voice, so I put my cell phone back down on the nightstand and got up to go to the bathroom. It didn’t take me long to take a piss, wash my hands, and brush my teeth. I was in and out of my bathroom in less than three minutes. Instead of going back into my bedroom, I strolled into the kitchen to fix myself a hot pot of green tea. Upon filling up my favorite Wendy Williams Wonder Woman coffee mug with water from a half-empty spring water bottle I left on the counter the night before, I placed it into the microwave to get it piping hot.
One minute later the microwave sounded off, and I grabbed my mug and dropped a tea bag in it. I used the spoon I grabbed from the silverware drawer while the mug was in the microwave, to push the tea bag to the bottom of the mug. All the herbs filled the mug up with faint green color. Moments later, I put the mug up to my mouth, blew on the tea a few times, and took a sip. The tea was hot but it was tasty. With my mug of green tea in hand, I walked out of the kitchen and headed back into my bedroom.
I placed my tea mug down on the nightstand next to my cell phone and then I grabbed the remote control and powered up the TV. It was 6:17 in the morning, so I knew that all I was going to watch was the local news. I gave in to the fact that I had no other choice. I lay back against one of my huge pillow cushions and cradled my tea mug in my hands until it got too hot, and I’d put it back on the nightstand.
I watched everything from the local news, traffic, and weather reports. It was all foreign to me ’cause I’m usually asleep or in my car during these broadcasts. What they had to say really didn’t affect my day. Three minutes into my teatime I heard my doorbell ring. Irritated that someone would stop by my house this time of the morning, I hopped out of my bed and headed for the front door. Normally, I’d yell and ask who was at the door, but situations and circumstances in my life had changed, so I had to stay on my toes. Speaking of toes, I crept to my front door and peered through the peephole and realized that it was Terrell’s worrisome ass standing on my porch. I let out a loud sigh. “What do you want?” I yelled through the door.
“Let me in and I’ll tell you.”
“I’m not letting you inside my apartment. So, go back to where you came from,” I yelled back through the door. How dare he come to my house this time of the morning? He lost those privileges when he cheated on me. He needed to go and fuck himself.
“Misty, I am not leaving here until you talk to me.” He stood his ground.
“You’re talking to me right now.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Listen, Terrell, say what you gotta say and leave, because I’m not letting you inside of my apartment.”
“Well, will you at least come outside so we can talk face-to-face?”
“What is there to talk about? We’re no longer together. So leave,” I yelled. He was getting on my freaking nerves. I was two seconds from calling the cops on him.
“Misty, just give me one minute,” he pleaded.
“No, Terrell, I’m not opening my door, so go away before I call the police,” I said with finality, and then I walked away from the front door.
Boom! The front door flew open and hit the wall behind it. The cool air from outside engulfed me as Terrell walked into my home. Startled by what had just happened, I stood there in disbelief. All the years I’d known, I’d never known him to act like this. “Are you out of your fucking mind? Who’s gonna pay for that?” I yelled at him as he walked by me.
Instead of answering my question, he raced down the hallway toward my bedroom. I turned around and followed him. “Where the fuck is that nigga?” he roared as
he entered my bedroom.
“What fucking nigga?! There’s no one here,” I screamed.
Terrell didn’t believe me because he kept searching. He went from looking through my closets, to looking underneath my bed, and he looked behind my shower curtains. He didn’t stop there, because as soon as he left my bathroom he looked in both of my hall closets and then my kitchen closet. I stood there, livid, watching this idiot invade my space. “Are you done?” I hissed. I wanted to spit in his fucking face.
“This wouldn’t have happened if you’d just opened the door when I asked you,” he said as he walked toward me.
“Get the fuck out of my house!” I huffed. But he didn’t move. He stood toe to toe with me while I looked him in the eyes.
“You know this is all your fault, huh?” he said, panting like he had run a mile up the block.
“Oh, so you’re gonna blame it on me? Are you out of your damn mind? I caused this shit?” I spat as I pointed to the front door.
“Oh, that’s nothing. I’ll do it every time I come over here if you don’t open the door,” he threatened me.
“Terrell, just get out!” I roared while pointing at the entryway of my apartment.
“Yeah, okay, I’ll leave. But I’m warning you that if you bring another nigga in here, I’m gonna kill ’im. You understand?” he warned me, and then he reached in his pants pocket, took out a couple hundred bills, and threw them at my feet like I was a fucking stripper in a nightclub.
He didn’t utter a word as he exited my apartment. I stood there in utter disbelief because he had never acted out like this. He used to be this charismatic guy. He was a cheater to his heart, but he never went to his level of violence unless it was toward another guy. But never to a woman.
After I gathered my thoughts I closed the front door, even though I couldn’t lock it. I called a locksmith to work some magic on my door. As badly as I wanted to take a shower and get ready for work, I couldn’t because I was too afraid to leave my front door unattended. I had a total of one hour if I wanted to get to work on time. And when I realized that I wouldn’t make it, I called Sanjay’s cell phone number, even though I dreaded it.
My heart started racing as I sat on the living room sofa and held the phone upright in front of my face after I placed the call on speakerphone. I was literally shaking in my boots while I waited for him to answer the call. After the third ring he finally answered. “Morning, Misty, it’s you?” he said.
I listened intently to the sound of his voice. I listened for distress or anxiety, but the tone in which he spoke didn’t sound like he was experiencing either. This was a relief to me.
“Morning, what can I do for you?” he wondered aloud.
“I had an accident here at my apartment, so I was wondering if I could come in at nine o’clock instead of eight.”
“I’m so glad you called,” he started off, “I was gonna call you and tell you that you don’t have to come in today. As a matter of fact, I’ll give you the day off with pay,” he concluded.
Shocked by his gesture, but at the same time happy, I said, “Oh thanks.”
“Well then, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” he continued.
“See you tomorrow,” I replied and then I ended the call. I placed my cell phone on the coffee table in front of me and wondered what was really going on down at the pharmacy. Sanjay had never told me to take a day off with pay unless I put the request in for myself. And to top it off, he didn’t even mention anything about the missing bottle of Percocet. Something wasn’t right. And whatever it was, I knew it had something to do with those guys that were smacking him and his brother around yesterday.
5
SOMETHING ISN’T ADDING UP
The second after I got Sanjay off the phone I called Jillian. “Hello,” she answered groggily.
“Get up. We need to talk.”
“What time is it?” she asked.
“It’s time to get up,” I insisted.
“Okay. Hold your horses and calm down,” she huffed.
“I’m calm. Now listen to me, because I’m only gonna say this once.”
“Well, say it,” Jillian spat after she yawned once more.
“I just got off the phone with my boss to tell him that I was gonna be running late this morning and he told me that he was going to call me and tell me to stay home and pay me for the day.”
“Okay, and what’s wrong with that?”
“Jillian, he’s never told me to take off and that he’s gonna pay me too.”
“Maybe he’s turned over a new leaf.”
“No, I think he’s trying to hide something.”
“Like what?”
“Do you know that he didn’t even question me about the missing bottle of Percocet?”
“Isn’t that a good thing?” Jillian replied sarcastically.
“Of course, it’s a good thing. But you know that I don’t like to be in the dark about things going on around me.”
“Just take a chill pill. You’ll feel better,” Jillian joked.
“It’s not funny, Jillian. There could be some major shit going down there at the pharmacy and I could get caught up in the crossfire.”
“Stop being all paranoid. You say it yourself that he always sends you home or on lunch when someone stops by to see him.”
“Yeah, I know, but—” I started, but Jillian cut me off.
“But nothing, I think you’re overthinking this too much. Just enjoy your day off with pay and take care of some things that you’ve been neglecting to do.”
“Speaking of neglecting, do you know that Terrell stopped by my apartment about ten minutes ago and kicked in my front door because I wouldn’t open it?”
“Are you freaking kidding me right now?”
“No, I am not. I’m sitting here on the edge of my sofa waiting for the damn locksmith to come by and fix the door.”
“What’s his deal?”
I sighed heavily. “He thought I had another guy in here. So he searched all my closets and underneath my bed. And when he saw that I hadn’t, he throws a couple of one-hundred-dollar bills at me and threatens to kill something if he catches a guy in here.”
“What? Aren’t you two broken up because of all the bitches he’s cheated on you with?”
“That’s exactly my point.”
“So, when has he started throwing his weight around like he’s gangsta or something?”
“I don’t know. I asked him that same question.”
“Well, be careful either way.”
I let out another long sigh. “I will,” I assured her.
She and I talked until the locksmith guy showed up. Before we hung up with one another, she planted a seed in my mind and said, “I know this may be too soon, but when you go back to work and happen to stumble over another bottle of those stress relievers, let me know because I’ve got another buyer for em.”
“See, I’m not messing with you. You’re trying to get me fired.”
“Girl, please, your boss ain’t thinking about that bottle because if he was, he would’ve said something. And besides, I know you could use another twenty-five-hundred-dollar payday.”
“Bye, Jillian,” I said, and then I ended the call.
6
BACK ON THE J.O.B.
The locksmith showed up, fixed my door, and even added a dead bolt above the other locks, so I should be good just in case Terrell gets the idea to kick in my front door again. Speaking of which, I still couldn’t get over the fact that Terrell did that. Was he insane or what? Was I going to have to keep my guard up? Or be forced to take out a restraining order because I refused to live in fear? No way. I won’t let that happen.
“Thank you for helping me out with this,” I said to the locksmith as I paid him with the money Terrell gave me.
“That’s what I am here for,” he said and then he handed me his business card.
I smiled and let him out of my apartment. I thanked him once again, closed the door, and lo
cked it.
I finally got my mind right after everything that went down this morning. It seemed one thing happened after the next and it was nonstop. I was just glad that now I could climb in my bed and watch a TV show or two without any interruptions from my boss and the other people in my life. I’d had more than enough of them for one day.
* * *
I tried to watch a few television shows and take a nap, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t get my mind off my boss, Sanjay. The incident that happened yesterday after I clocked out from work and the fact that he didn’t mention anything about the bottle of Percocet I took had my mind running in circles. Was he really genuine when he told me to take the day off with pay? Or was he trying to hide something from me? Whatever the situation was, I hoped it didn’t affect me negatively.
Not having anything to do, I got undressed and got into the shower. The entire time I was in the shower, I couldn’t take my mind off everything that was going on around me. The drama with Terrell, having to deal with the fact that my mother was a fucking alcoholic, my cousin was a prescription junkie, and the man I work for allows guys to come into his place of business and smack him around. I knew I needed to make some changes concerning everything going on around me, I just needed to figure out what to do.
I decided that the only way I’d be able to get my mind off of everything, is to go out and spend some of that $2,500 I got from Jillian the day before. Who knows, I may splurge a little bit on a Louis Vuitton tote bag. I’ve been wanting one for a few months now. And now I could say that I could afford it.
After I got out of the shower, I got dressed in a pink Puma sweatshirt with the sweatpants to match. Then I slipped on my favorite white Puma sneakers. And since my hair was braided up in the big, poetic braids, I didn’t have to do my hair, so I looked in the mirror in my bedroom to make sure none of my hair was out of place, and when I saw that everything was good, I grabbed my handbag and car keys from my dresser and headed out the front door. The cool air hit my face and it felt good too. My day started off rocky, but who knows, things might turn around for the good.