She was working hard, trying her best to blow his mind in the bedroom, as well as stimulate him intellectually so that he would want her to be his wife. So far, he hadn’t even discussed marrying her. Now she was about to be interviewed for this job. She had to find something better than what she had, because she wasn’t sure she could continue to lay next to her cold-fish husband.
When Phoenix walked up to the desk, she told the receptionist her name and was given the application to complete. Smiling and showing the gold tooth in the front of her mouth, the receptionist said, “My name is Candy. When you complete the application, bring it back to me and I’ll let Ms. Parker know that you are ready.”
“Thank you,” Phoenix said as she walked away. She was thinking that somebody should have told the receptionist to get that gold out of her mouth, because it was so ugly. After all, the receptionist was sort of attractive, with long, auburn-colored hair that she wore in a wrap. She had pretty features, including almond-shaped eyes and high cheekbones.
As Phoenix completed the application, she glanced around the area and thought about how nice it would be to work in this place. It was a stunning red-brick building that was almost half a block long. The building had incredible windows all around the front and about twelve doors from the front to the back. It must be no more than two years old, if that. She looked at the workers, who where walking around smiling. Those who walked close enough to her spoke to her.
One young lady, who looked to be in her twenties, stopped and talked to her. She introduced herself and said that her name was Karen Thomas and she was the secretary to Ms. Parker. She asked if Phoenix was ready to see Ms. Parker, and Phoenix answered “Yes.” Karen was wearing a navy blue suit with a navy blue and white shell. She looked very professional. Phoenix figured that she had to make some good money, because her suit looked like it was a Valerie Stevens, and her navy blue pumps were the same ones that Phoenix had purchased at Famous Barr to match her navy blue suit by Preston and York. Good, she thought. If the staff dress that way, then I won’t have to deal with jealous women talking behind my back, and this will be a smooth transition for me. She had long ago tired of working with African American women, because if you dressed better or looked better than those around you, there would be hell to pay. Phoenix was so tired of the drama.
Karen escorted her to an office that was beautifully decorated in burgundy and sky blue. There were beautiful pictures on the wall, and she noticed that Annie Lee had done most of them.
“Good afternoon,” Ms. Parker said as she stood and extended her hand.
“Good afternoon. I’m Phoenix Harrington, and I’m happy to meet you. Thank you so much for seeing me today.”
After all the pleasantries were done, they settled down to get to know each other. The interview lasted about one hour. Although, Phoenix interviewed satisfactory, she did not overly impress Jerickca. She had limited skills as a caseworker but demonstrated, through her interview questions, that she was willing to learn. Jerickca noticed during the interview that Phoenix was extremely nervous and constantly folded or rubbed her hands together, as if she didn’t know what to do with them.
She decided to give the poor woman the break that she seemed to need at the moment. If by any chance she didn’t work out, she could be dismissed before her ninety-day probation ended. Jerickca couldn’t totally read Phoenix, because she seemed very nervous and somewhat careful about what she was saying. This didn’t necessary mean she had something to hide, but for some reason it bothered Jerickca. She didn’t know why, but she decided to hire Phoenix and train her to handle the position.
Chapter 14
After the final group interview, Jerickca had her secretary call and offer jobs to Phoenix, Megan, Denver, and McNary. They had demonstrated the most cohesiveness out of all the candidates. Not only that, but they actually helped each other answer questions to ensure that the person who was speaking answered the question to Jerickca’s satisfaction. They laughed together and supported each other as if they were the best of friends, even though they did not know each other. Jerickca was definitely impressed.
The following day, everyone contacted her and confirmed their salaries and start date. Other letters were mailed to those interviewees who had not been selected, thanking them for participating in the interviews. Jerickca personally wanted to notify each candidate, because she hated when someone applied for a job and never heard any response.
It was now time to start the program and get to work. In the next two weeks, Jerickca wasn’t sure what to expect. She knew that her hiring skills had always been above average, but lately she had been so exhausted that she didn’t know whether she was going or coming.
It started with a sluggish feeling and then escalated to an increased feeling of hopelessness and worthlessness, which caused her to lose her ability to concentrate. Jerickca was also having a difficult time sleeping and was spending a lot of time in the bathroom reading. This was the one place that she could find some peace. She seemed to concentrate better in her bathroom. It was like her intimate library with books, ink pens, highlighters, and other reading materials. Sometimes she would stay in the bathroom hours at time thinking, reading, and trying her best to become sleepy so she could retire to bed. Most mornings, she would finally drop off to sleep around 2:00. This was probably why her body was worn down. She needed to go to the doctor, because now her head was hurting more than ever.
Jerickca had already planned the orientation and was ready to get down to business. The people she had hired would be easy to train. The training program was basically an orientation to the agency, its mission, and other services. Other training would include the actual program they would be working in and the paper flow. This included writing case notes, completing assessments, and learning how to broker and refer clients throughout the metropolitan community for specific services, including food, clothing, money for utilities, and mental health services.
When Jerickca had completed her paperwork and forwarded it to the personnel office, Karen called to inform her that her sister, Pamela, was there to see her. Jerickca immediately stood up and walked the long hallway to the front to greet her sister. When Jerickca saw Pammie, she smiled, because she was pleased to see that she had dressed nicely to come to her job.
Although she used drugs, Pammie was not your average crackhead. She was beautiful and smart, and most of the time, she dressed immaculately. This was how she lured her businessmen, who had unknowingly given her money to keep her supply of drugs available. Since she was so beautiful, they never suspected that she was using drugs. In actuality, she had been using them for more than six years and was one of the most skilled manipulators anyone would ever meet.
“Jeri girl, I gotta talk to you about something important, and I hope that you won’t be disappointed in me,” Pammie said while looking deep into Jerickca’s eyes. Usually if Pammie showed up at Jerickca’s job, it was to ask for money. So Jerickca was always prepared to make her explain in full detail what she needed money for, and if she wasn’t satisfied with the response, she wouldn’t give her a dime. Sometimes, just because she loved her sister, she would give her half of whatever amount she had initially asked for.
“Why would I be disappointed in you? What have you done?”
“Jeri, I’ll tell you that when I get over to your house. I hope you don’t mind but I want to bring a friend over to your house this evening and we can talk then. Okay?”
“I don’t have any money, and you know how I feel about your bringing your thuggish ass friends over to my house, so if you‘re coming over to beg, stay home,” Jerickca said as a matter of fact.
“Please make sure that your husband is there, too. I have some coins that he might want to look at,” Pammie said, as if she had this great amount of coins that some lucky guy would be able to cash in and thus become a millionaire.
“I don’t play that shit. Don’t bring any stolen goods to my house. Do you understand that?”
; “Yeah, but these coins were given to me by a friend who I did a favor for, and I don’t have to steal,” she sneered while putting both of her hands on her tiny waist and imitating Mae West. “A man will give my fine butt anything I want, and don’t ever forget that.”
“Pammie, I’ll see your crazy butt tonight. And don’t stand me up!”
“All right. Later,” Pammie responded, as cool as ever.
As Jerickca’s sister walked away, she looked as if her skin was melting into her bones. She was so thin. Although Pammie had never weighed more than 120 pounds, it was easy to tell when she was using drugs again, because her weight plummeted to 100 pounds and below. No matter how small Pammie would get, she still looked good. She was built like a “brick shit house,” as they said in the hood.
Jerickca wondered what her sister had to tell her. Usually, she wanted to beg for money or something. But rarely did she just want to talk, because she was simply too busy looking for her next piece of crack. Jerickca would just wait until she saw her sister again to see what she was up to now.
The day had been long and Jerickca was extremely tired. She looked forward to getting home tonight so that she could go to bed. Once she got into her car, she felt a need to hear some gospel music. So she looked through her CD case and found Yolanda Adams, “Mountains on High,” and went straight to number five. This was the jam, “In the Midst,” and after listening to it, she skipped to number seven and heard the uplifting, soul-stirring ballad, “Open my Heart.” This Yolanda chick could really blow, and Jerickca could rock along with her. Jerickca had that smooth, second soprano voice that could easily shift to alto when needed.
However, most of her singing was so closely related to gospel singer Helen Baylor, it was scary. When Jerickca put her CD in the CD player and started to hit those notes, you couldn’t tell who was singing, Jerickca or Helen. Jerickca could rock a house, too, especially if she did the one thing her brother told her to do, and that was to look real ugly when she “s-a-n-g.” But Jerickca refused to make all those ugly faces; after all, you get the same voice no matter how many ways you twist your face. Her brother was adamant that people felt your spirit better when you looked ugly while singing. Well that was his opinion, one she wasn’t willing to experiment with to find out.
When Jerickca walked through the house, she went through her usual routine with her husband. They spoke while he made dinner and Jerickca changed clothes. She asked Daphnie how her day was and she simply stated fine.
“Daphnie, do you have any homework?”
“Yes, Mommy, I have homework in English, math and science. Oh yeah, I have spelling too, but I finished that in study hall.”
“Well, sweetheart, get your homework completed early tonight so that I can check it. Mommy is really tired and she wants to go to bed early. Okay?”
“Okay, Mommy!” Daphnie said.
After dinner, Jerickca checked her daughter’s homework and told her that she had done a good job. They made a few corrections after Jerickca explained what Daphnie had done wrong. The doorbell rang and Anthony got up to answer it.
“Hey Pam,” he said with slight agitation in his voice.
“What’s up Anthony? This is my friend, Jamie,” she said.
“Nice meeting you,” Anthony said, barely audible.
“Where’s my sis?” Pammie asked. As she walked through the house with Jamie close behind, she turned and said, “Jamie, I told you that my sister had a badass house. Ain’t it tough?”
“It sure is,” Jamie said as she glanced around. “I love her color scheme. This mauve and off-white is kicking.”
“Hi,” Jerickca said. “I’m Jeri.”
“I’m Jamie, Pammie’s friend.”
Jerickca smile and said, “Nice meeting you.”
“You and your family have a beautiful home,” Jamie exclaimed.
“Thank you. My husband pretty much decorated it. I’m terrible at planning colors, and I don’t have the patience to match pieces. He is very patient, almost to an extreme, but I appreciate how he handled things like an expert interior decorator.” Jeri looked at Anthony, who made a face. “Would you like something to drink? A soda, wine, or something?”
“A soda would be great,” Jamie stated.
“Let’s sit in the kitchen. It is very comfortable there.”
They all walked toward the kitchen and sat down at the circular oak wood table. Jerickca prepared sodas for everyone while Jamie and Pammie chatted. Finally, Jerickca sat down after serving the drinks.
“Now, what’s so important that it couldn’t wait?”
Pammie looked intensely at Jerickca. Her eyes danced around as if she was having a difficult time trying to find a place to park them. Then she said, “Jeri, I hope this doesn’t disappoint you, but Jamie is my lover.”
“Really!” Jerickca said as if she was surprised. Her mom had already told her the 411 on this story. It was no surprise to Jerickca or the rest of the family. Pammie had always gotten into trouble for giving away her things like clothing and watches, which she did while trying to impress her friends.
Pammie broke the silence by saying, “I hope that you are not disappointed in me, because I need your support in my life.”
“The last thing you have to worry about is losing my support. If you are happy with Jamie, then I’m happy for you. Jamie, I do have a question for you. Are you aware that Pammie is a drug addict?”
“Yes, I’m aware of that. In my previous occupation, I was an Affirmative Action Officer who dealt with people morning, noon, and evening. It didn’t take long for me to figure that out. I have taken classes in substance abuse, and I’m going to try and help her kick the habit.” Jamie smiled.
“What do you do now?” Jerickca inquired.
“I’m an engineer.”
“Well,” Jerickca sighed, “I’ll be very frank with you. Before you help Pammie kick her habit, if you are not using drugs, then you will be by hanging around her. I hope you both understand that kicking addiction is difficult and you need more than love to quit. You need treatment in a facility and you need Jesus.”
“Yeah, we know. But she’s doing great right now and she is not using drugs,” Jamie said as she smiled at Pammie.
Pammie got up and went into the living room to inform Anthony of their conversation about her new love, Jamie. Jerickca thought Jamie must have some money because Pammie fell in love too quickly. It never took much for Pammie to find someone with money she could use to pay for her drugs. So, this could possibly be the same kind of situation.
Jamie and Jerickca discussed their careers and talked about their families. Jerickca found out that Jamie was the youngest child in a very rich and prominent family in the city. She had an older sister and brother. Pammie was only thirty-one years old, but Jamie was forty-three. She was older than Jerickca by a few years.
After they had all talked, everyone said their goodbyes while welcoming Jamie to the family. After they left, Jerickca asked Anthony what Pammie had said to him, and he laughed. “She told me that Jamie had the best tongue technique she had ever felt.”
“Gross!” Jerickca shrieked.
“A lot of women are going that way now. You see them holding hands in the clubs, grocery stores—everywhere,” said Anthony.
“I don’t get it. I know the world is coming to an end now, because the Bible said that men and women will become lovers of themselves, but I thought that meant people would be masturbating all over the place. Now, I think it means the same sex will date, or most likely that is what it means. I can’t explain that any other way,” Jerickca said as she shook her head.
“There you go again with the world is coming to end,” Anthony said as he went up stairs.
Jerickca knew it was. It had to be. Too much stuff was happening right out of the book of Revelation, like earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, wars, loose morals and killings. All these things seemed to be happening suddenly around Jerickca.
Jerickca went upstairs to showe
r and retire to bed. Before turning off the lights, she got on her knees to pray. “Lord help us,” she said. “Help us all, because we are all sinners and need you to forgive us. Please help us to become more Christ-like, and forgive us for our many sins. Please don’t punish Pammie and Jamie for their ways, but show them the way to your kingdom, or give them the desire to thirst about your Word, and then they can learn about your love. I ask that you bless Anthony and Daphnie, so that we will always know your love, and bless us as we sleep tonight. Please forgive us for our sins. Bless my mother, father, sisters, and brothers as well as Anthony’s family. Bless the sick, those who are frightened and hungry, and the meek. Help us to do those things that would please you. I ask that you bless everyone tonight, no matter what their problems or concerns, and that you will help them with their needs. Thank you for blessing my family, and please, Lord, send an angel to guard us as we sleep. I love you for sending your Son to earth so that we may live. Amen.”
Jerickca never went to bed without thanking God for her life. Anthony also prayed daily. Most times, they both were on their knees at the same time. Jerickca really believed the saying that “a family who prayed together, stayed together.” At least that was her hope.
As she lay in bed next to Anthony, she threw her leg gently over his body. He felt hot and comfortable to Jerickca and this was so soothing to her. She couldn’t sleep if he wasn’t in bed with her, because she found the bed to be cold and unfriendly. So she loved it when they did not have to travel, because then she wouldn’t have to sleep without him beside her, keeping her body toasty and warm.
Backroom Confessions Page 9