Almost Doesn't Count

by Angela Winters

  Sherise had been hoping to get Ryan to contribute to a charity she was raising funds for. She hadn’t want anyone to know she was wooing him because she’d felt that if she had, someone would try to usurp her. She had been trying hard to get into the inner circles of the back elite in Washington, DC, and she knew there were more than a few women who hadn’t thought she belonged. Ryan was going to be her surprise contribution to the organization’s major charity event of the year.

  Very few people knew they even knew each other, and as soon as she’d made that awful mistake of sleeping with him, she cut of all ties with him. He didn’t make much protest, having known that she was married in the first place and probably not wanting to risk destroying his marriage further. When he moved to Atlanta, Sherise was about five months pregnant and nothing could have relieved her more.

  Was he back? Was he curious to find out if Cady was his?

  Just when she thought Justin possibly having an affair was the biggest problem in her life, Sherise realized that things were way out of her control. She wasn’t going to let anyone rip Cady from the only father she’d ever known, and no matter what Justin was doing behind her back, Sherise knew he loved Cady desperately and she would never want him to find this out. He couldn’t. This just couldn’t happen.

  What was she going to do? Whatever it was, she couldn’t do this alone. It pained her to no end, but Sherise knew that she might actually have to do it: She might have to tell Billie and Erica about Cady’s possible paternity. She didn’t want to. She was on the verge of losing her marriage and having her whole world fall apart. Was she going to lose her two best friends in the whole world as well?

  “You’ve called emergency nine-one-one. Can I help you?”

  “I want to report some drug activity in the alley on Charlie Street,” the elderly female voice on the recorder said. “Y’all need to get over here.”

  “What is your name, ma’am?”

  “Etta Gladstone. Y’all need to get over to the alley behind that shelter off Charlie Street. They selling drugs over there.”

  “Are you witnessing this now, ma’am?”

  “They just started,” she said just above a whisper. “It doesn’t last long, so y’all better get on over here.”

  “Are you talking about Charlie Street in Southeast, ma’am? What is the cross street?”

  “Look, y’all know where it is. It’s, um . . . I don’t know the girl that is buying, but it’s Ricky dealing again and that boy, Randy or Ralphy or whatever the hell they call him.”

  “Are you witnessing a drug transaction, ma’am, or does it just look like it could be one?”

  “I’m sick of you guys not doing anything.” She made a loud smacking sound with her mouth. “You want to get these dealers off the streets, you get over there. If not, then don’t. I’m done doing my part.”

  The emergency services person said hello a couple of times, but the call was dead.

  Billie pressed the stop button on the recorder. This was the only 911 call that mentioned the shelter that her investigator could retrieve for her. He was still trying to track down the others.

  She had been eager to get her hands on this recording ever since that mysterious phone call she had gotten the other day. Despite wanting to ignore that call, the fact that this emergency report was not removed indicated that it was separate from the case at hand. Now that she had heard it, Billie had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  Reason told her that this call had nothing to do with her case. Her case was about faulty housing code violations, and she suspected someone was trying to get Saturn House shut down so they could move Ricky out of there. She still believed this to be true, but there was an aching feeling about this call.

  Ricky wasn’t a drug dealer. She had defended many of them in her short career as a public defender, and she never got that vibe from Ricky. The woman sounded very elderly and Billie doubted she could see clearly in a dark alley from the comfort of her home.

  She looked at the log for the call and it was three thirty in the afternoon. So it wasn’t a dark alley, but still.

  Billie knew she should set the call aside and focus on the other aspects of her case. This was a personal journey she had taken and shouldn’t have done it. She shouldn’t give a damn what Ricky did or didn’t do behind the alley. The enemy here was the housing development officials in the pockets of the developers trying to push an important resource out of the way.

  But she did care. She cared about Ricky and she cared about who he was and knowing that, even if she couldn’t be with him, he was at least a man worth wanting to be with. She needed to know more about this call and about what went on in the alley behind the shelter for herself.

  “Erica! How you doing, girl?”

  “Hi, Tia.” Erica smiled as she approached the receptionist desk of Destin Limo Services’ small office in Silver Spring, Maryland. “It’s been so long.”

  Tia, who in addition to being the receptionist was the daughter of the company’s owner, seemed genuinely excited to see her. She was a very perky, petite girl who reminded Erica of Billie sometimes. Erica felt sorry for the girl because there were no other women working there. It must feel lonely at times.

  “When was the last time you’ve been by here?” Tia reached over the counter to meet Erica halfway and gave her a hug.

  “It’s been a while.”

  “Well, girl, it was hard around here for a while when you and Terrell broke up. He was not the easiest person to get along with for a while.”

  “Well, that’s over now,” Erica said, hoping it was true. Despite her and Terrell’s recent arguments, she still wanted him back in her life again. “Is he here?”

  “Yes, let me call him and—”

  “No, I want to surprise him.” Erica patted the large canvas bag around her shoulders. “I have some treats in here. I want to walk in and surprise him right away.”

  “Okay.” She pointed down the hallway to the left. “He’s all the way at the end on the right now.”

  Outside Terrell’s office, Erica heard a man’s voice that wasn’t Terrell. She wasn’t sure what to do. She didn’t want to interrupt a business meeting. She thought she might wait a moment, but wondered, if this was a meeting, why Tia hadn’t said anything?

  Erica jerked back a little as there was a sudden slamming sound from the room. Immediately after, she heard Terrell yell.

  “I said no! Are you fucking deaf? Not him!”

  The other person in the room started laughing and Erica couldn’t hold off for another second.

  She knocked on the door, but wasn’t waiting for permission. She swung the door open to the tiny office and surveyed the scene. Terrell was leaning slightly forward behind his desk, his hands formed in fists on top of the desk in front of him. Erica didn’t recognize the other man standing in front of the desk. He looked about twenty-five years old, was fair-skinned, and had a short afro. He was wearing Washington Redskins gear that was one or two sizes too big. They were both staring at her, and she could tell, despite the laughter of the one man, that she had interrupted something serious.

  “Baby!” Terrell stood up and started toward her. His arms opened wide. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came by to see you.” She hugged him and he kissed her quickly on the cheek. Looking into his eyes, she saw he seemed nervous and uncomfortable.

  She looked at the other man, who had stepped away from the desk and was leaning against the wall now. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her, annoyed. Erica did not get a good vibe from this guy.

  “I wanted to bring you by some lunch.” She pulled the bag out of her oversized purse. “Am I interrupting something?”

  “Why aren’t you at work?” he asked, taking her by the hand and leading her to his desk.

  “She works for the government,” the other man said, his voice dark and deep. “They get any excuse for a holiday off.”

  Before Erica turned to the man, s
he noted the death-ray glare that Terrell sent him.

  “You seem to know who I am,” Erica said. “But I don’t know who you are.”

  “That’s your man’s fault,” he said. He stood up straight and headed for Erica.

  It looked as if he was going to hold his hand out to shake hers, but Terrell stood in between them.

  “That’s Reedy,” Terrell said. “He’s one of my old friends from high school. He works at the car wash that we use a couple of blocks away and he has to get back there now.”

  Reedy laughed, nodding his head. “I get it. Okay. If my lady was this fine, I would want to be getting rid of you just as fast.”

  Erica feigned a smile as Reedy looked at her one last time before walking slowly to the door. She turned to watch him leave and noticed his style was just like the boys she grew up with. He thought he was hood and refused to grow up. He wasn’t in high school anymore, but was virtually indistinguishable from high school boys in the way he dressed, talked, and carried himself. It was the way Terrell used to be before she came into his life.

  “Who is Reedy?” she asked, turning back to Terrell.

  “Nobody.” He was focused on the large Tupperware box in her hand. “What did you bring me?”

  “He looks shady,” she said, sensing that Reedy was the last thing Terrell wanted to talk about. It made her curious.

  “Every brother who ain’t wearing a suit and tie looks shady to you.” Terrell opened the Tupperware, looking inside. “He’s okay.”

  “What were you arguing about?”

  “We weren’t arguing,” he said. “You like my office?”

  Why was he trying to distract her? “I heard you yell at him and he laughed.”

  “He laughed ’cause I was just joking around.” Terrell removed a paper plate and plastic utensils. “It’s all good. He’s just looking for a job. He wants to leave the car wash and start driving. That’s why he came over.”

  “Terrell, why won’t you look at me?”

  Terrell stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. He looked confused and a little nervous. Then he smiled and shrugged.

  “I’m sorry, baby. I’m a little nervous. I was hoping to have this place looking a little better before you saw it for the first time. I wanted to impress you.”

  He walked over to her with an apologetic grin. “This is not a lot, but it’s all I have and I want you to be proud.”

  “I am proud of you.” She reached out and gently touched his cheek with her hand. “I don’t care how big your office is, Terrell. I just felt like you were trying to hide something from me with that guy.”

  “I’m not,” he assured her. “I wouldn’t do that. I love you, Erica. I just know that you don’t like me hanging with my old high school friends and I didn’t want you to think we were friends or anything.”

  That was not what she wanted. She had come here to take a step forward in their relationship.

  “Hey,” he exclaimed, pointing to box. “Is that fried chicken? I know you didn’t fry up some chicken just for me.”

  Erica smiled, proudly. “I didn’t just make you some fried chicken, but I made mashed sweet potatoes and coleslaw. All your grandmother’s recipes.”

  “What?” His eyes opened wide. “You dusted those off?”

  She nodded. “I wanted to make it special for you. I was slaving over the stove all night.”

  His smile was ear to ear as he watched Erica place the food on the plate, and it made her so proud.

  Standing behind her, Terrell wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body to his.

  “I love you, baby.” He kissed her on her neck softly. “I hope this is just a wonderful gesture for gesture’s sake.”

  “It’s an apology,” she said. “I’ve been hard on you because of Jonah.”

  Terrell’s enthusiasm disappeared as he let her go and backed away. “Can we please not talk about that man?”

  “I’m trying to apologize to you.”

  “You don’t have to apologize to me.” Terrell sat down in his chair. “Just be careful about him. That’s all I want. All I’m thinking about is you, baby. He’s a dangerous man.”

  “And I know I’ve been trying so hard to prove to you that I can protect myself.” Erica handed him a plate full of food. “But I want you to know that I love that you want to protect me. I’m not slapping you in the face.”

  “It feels like it.” He took a bite of the potatoes.

  She reached out and ran her hand over his hair. “I just need you to respect me enough to make a decision about Jonah on my own.”

  “You want me to stay out of it.”

  “No.” She sat down in his lap and took the fork from his hand. She reached out and took another helping of potatoes.

  “You gonna feed me?” he asked. “Best apology ever.”

  “I want you to support me.” She playfully placed the fork full of food in his mouth. “I want you to be there for me. I want . . . I want you to be with me like you used to.”

  “I’m here for you, baby. You know that.”

  “No, Terrell.” She pointed to his heart. “I know you’re here for me there. I want you here for me physically. I want you back.”

  Terrell’s eyes widened as he realized what she was saying. “You want me . . . back?”

  She nodded. “I want you in my bed and I want you to make my house a home again.”

  “Baby!”

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. He kissed her on the lips, shaking her until she starting laughing.

  “Where in the hell is my phone?” Sherise yelled as she entered the main ballroom of The Willard Hotel in downtown DC. “Has anyone seen—”

  “Here!”

  Sherise was taken aback at seeing Erica there holding out her phone to her.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, retrieving the phone.

  “You asked me to help you, remember?” Erica could see that Sherise had no idea what she was talking about. “Sherise, I took the afternoon off of work to come and—”

  “Oh, yeah,” Sherise said even though she didn’t remember. “I’m sorry. I forgot. I’m glad you’re here.”

  The event the next evening was for Northman’s first official fund-raiser since announcing that he was launching an exploratory committee for a possible run for the presidency. He was giving Sherise an opportunity to help with communications and press. She was at the hotel to get video and pictures of the setup. Only her mind was anywhere but there.

  She had found out that the health records request had been faxed from the Fairmont Hotel in the West End neighborhood of DC. She had not heard back from the doctor’s office on the phone call, but intended to call them again today and remind them of her threat to sue them. She had contacted the hotel but had gotten nowhere. She was going to have to hire someone, someone who would be willing to break the law if that was what it took to get the job done, to get more information.

  She had pretty much ignored Justin when he’d gotten home. She was afraid he would notice she was terrified and also afraid that he still might be behind this and she would give away that she knew something. She didn’t trust him. She was barely functioning at this point. She knew she should care because this was her test for Northman, but too much was at stake.

  And seeing Erica standing there didn’t make things better. She ached to tell her what she was going through, but she didn’t. Right now, her girls were the only people in her world she could trust, and she didn’t want to risk losing them.

  “What do you need me to do?” Erica asked, noticing that Sherise had a frantic look in her eyes. “Hey, are you okay?”

  “No, I’m not. The photographer took forever to get here. I lost my phone and . . .”

  She looked down at the phone and realized that Justin had tried to call her twice, but did not leave a message. What did he want? Had he found out she was investigating who wanted her medical records? Had the doctor’s office screwed up aga
in and contacted him? What did he—

  “Sherise!” Erica snapped her fingers in front of her face. “What’s going on with you?”

  Sherise blinked, trying to focus again. “It’s just crazy around here. Look, I need you to pose for some pictures. We need to add some more diversity to the images we want to use for the Web site. So can you—”

  “I’m just here to make it seem like Northman has a diverse staff?” Erica frowned, placing her hands on her hips. “Good thing you didn’t tell me beforehand. I would have said—”

  “Can you just not judge for five seconds and help me out?”

  “Yes,” Erica responded. “And I can also turn around and walk out.”

  Sherise sighed. “Erica, I just need you to help me out today.”

  “That’s what I’m here for.” Erica was confused. Sherise was usually game for their back and forth, but seemed unable to keep up this time. “What can I do?”

  Sherise pointed to the woman standing on the ballroom stage. “That woman in the red dress is Eden Gale. She’s the event manager. She’ll tell you what she needs help with. Then let me know, so I can send the photographer.”

  “Fine,” Erica said. She turned toward the stage, but remembered something and turned back. “I have a condition.”

  Sherise sighed. “I’m gonna strangle you.”

  Erica laughed. “Terrell gets to come with me tomorrow night.”

  “No,” Sherise protested immediately. “Absolutely not.”

  Erica placed her hands on her hips. “If I come, he’s coming.”

  “Then you don’t come.” Sherise pointed at her. “You’re not even invited. This is a fund-raiser at twenty-five hundred dollars a person. You’re only coming as a friend of mine. One poor person at this party is enough.”

  “Fuck you, I’m not poor. I want him there with me.”

  “He wouldn’t even enjoy it, Erica. This is not his element. Besides, there will be metal detectors outside.”

  “Bitch.” Erica socked her in the arm. “You’re not funny.”