First, she draped her legs over his lower body to feel his heat. She tenderly lift her legs and turned her backside to him spooning herself against his genitals. She reached behind and caressed his penis. He was becoming harder, so she increased the rhythm of her hand going up and down his shaft. She turned to face him and kissed his lips, his ears, and his eyelid. Then she sucked his nipples while still stroking his penis.
As she continued to massage his erect dick, he slid his finger inside her lubricated walls. She moaned as he slid his finger in and out. As he fingered her, she positioned her body so that he could enter her. Moving his hand, she straddled him and slid his penis inside her. She rode him as if she was on a horse, trying hard to gallop back to the ranch before a storm. Finally, he hit that spot and she screamed out, “Fuck me Anthony.” He grabbed her ass and squeezed her cheeks together as he moaned and pumped inside of her. Finally, they collapsed. “Damn that was good,” she said. Anthony grabbed her and gave her a deep French kiss. Afterwards, they cuddled until they fell asleep. This was how it had always been with them, loving each other as if it was their first time together.
One of the things that Jerickca always loved about Anthony was that he had always satisfied her from the day they met until about nine months ago. Now he was not as passionate. In the past, he never went to bed without making her have an orgasm. That’s one of the reasons she loved him so much—because he was so unselfish and it seemed as if he really loved his family. He took good care, made their lives comfortable, and assured them that he was a loving father and husband.
Lately, he had changed. She noticed less than a year ago that sex was becoming secondary. Now, he wasn’t as tender as he had been. He was just pacifying her to avoid an argument. He made sure that he had sex with Jerickca often enough to avoid a confrontation. Jerickca was so frustrated, but she loved him, and as the long-suffering wife, she tried to adjust to his new way of having sex. But it was tough.
The Gathering
Chapter 15
It didn’t take long for the staff to bond. After several months, they had become as close as fingers in a pair of gloves. Whenever any activities were scheduled for families in the program, they would all assist in the planning and the implementation of the events. They were hard workers and very good at what they did. These were indeed some of best social workers that you could find, because they truly loved their jobs and the people they served. Even though the pay was better than average, they could always use more money, but they were really happy with the company.
Jerickca knew that this job provided them with so many benefits that money just couldn’t buy. This job provided the workers with freedom, flexibility, and laughter. Although they worked hard to accomplish their goals, they spent an equal amount of time laughing about the world and sex issues, as well as life on the job.
Jerickca was concerned about one staff person: Denver. She just didn’t bond well with the others. She tried, but her remarks only made her look stupid. She even laughed at the wrong times when someone was telling a joke. Now, Jerickca could clearly see why this girl was so good at writing proposals—because she was so bad at talking face to face with people. She felt more comfortable handling paperwork than she did people. She was surely going to be a hard nut to crack, harder than a hazelnut. Jerickca was really worried about Denver and was trying to find some assertive classes to send her to. She needed to do it in a hurry. Denver even looked out of place.
When Denver saw the door in the backroom closed, she wouldn’t get up to see what was happening. Most of the discussions would include all staff, but Denver seemed intimidated by her co-workers and remained in her office during many of the backroom discussions.
Denver spent a lot of time thinking about issues but never really saying anything. She was fast becoming invisible to her peers. Jerickca knew that she would have to encourage others to work closely with Denver, because she didn’t want her to feel alienated. It would take some work, but she had to try.
Jerickca had learned many years ago that it was painful not to be accepted by others. She remembered it so clearly. She would see this girl named Angela standing at her locker crying, with her pom-pom hairballs lying on the floor. Pom-poms were hair shaped in big round curly balls. Angela had very short hair and she often wore wigs to feel better about herself. But there was a girl named Denise who would harass Angela, and sometimes she snatched her wig pieces off while laughing with others. Angela would just stand at the locker crying until one day Jerickca decided to take action. She walked up to Angela, picked up her wig piece, and hugged her. They walked to the bathroom and Jerickca helped fix her hair while comforting her.
Then one day, she boldly walked up to Denise and said that if she ever snatched another hairpiece off of her friend’s head, she should consider her ass personally kicked by Jerickca. Denise saw the anger and hurt in Jerickca’s face and never touched Angela again.
This set up a long friendship between Jerickca and Angela. Jerickca had an affinity for rescuing underdogs. This is probably the reason she initially went into social work. So it was really important that she help Denver as much as possible.
As she walked down the hall carrying her briefcase and homemade lunch, she passed the backroom. It wasn’t unusual for the door to be closed in the morning, because Jerickca always informed staff that they should always keep their conversations away from the clients, particularly if the staff was discussing a client’s case. This morning, though, Jerickca heard the laughter, walked toward the door, and pushed it opened. “Good morning,” she said.
“Jerickca,” Phoenix said, “I wanted to discuss a case with you. I have talked about it with my co-workers because they had already heard about it. Come in and shut the door.”
“What is it?”
“Last night I got a call from my client, Tabitha. She lives in the Orr Weathers housing projects with her four children.” The Orr Weathers was low-income public housing that was notorious for crime, drugs, and gangs.
Jerickca asked, “Is she the twenty-year-old?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. Well, she told me that “Top Cop,” Glenn Burts, had her dancing at a strip club and she was so in love with him that she was only doing it to please him. The problem is, she doesn’t want to dance anymore because the patrons are touching and grabbing on her while she is dancing.”
“Phoenix, do you believe her?”
Before Phoenix could respond, Megan jumped in and said, “Yeah, I do and I don’t. I believe that the cop is messing around with her because he is a dirty dog. But no, she doesn’t want to quit dancing because she likes doing that stuff. I know her for her work, and that is the kind of thing that Tabitha does. I know she is dancing because she wants to. That heifer was probably stripping before she met that cop. That’s why he doesn’t want her to quit dancing. He ain’t forcing her trifling ass to do nothing. She’s probably angry with him because he dates other women. That cop is messing with all kinds of women. As a matter of fact, his wife of twenty years just broke up with him and moved out of the area. He is a big-time whore.”
Everybody knew that if Megan said it, it was probably true. She knew everybody in the city and could get the scoop on anybody, plus she was so nosy that she would contact people in the know to find out what they knew about the situation. She had the perfect nose for digging into others’ business.
“Please don’t speak about our clients in that tone and use that kind of language, because if it were not for them, we wouldn’t need you. I don’t appreciate it.”
“I realize that and I am sorry,” said Megan, “but these clients make me angry when they lie.”
Jerickca responded, “You need to learn how to separate your personal feelings from your job, plus we don’t know what the truth is until we speak to Tabitha.”
“You’re right, Jerickca. I will definitely work on my attitude.”
Jerickca asked Phoenix, “What is your plan for Tabitha? I know that she is grown and makes her own
decisions, but what about her children? Have you noticed anything different about them, seen any marks, any bruising, signs of hunger, a dirty house, or the kids without proper clothing?”
“Nothing. The kids are healthy and happy. The house is clean and they seem well-adjusted.”
Jerickca said, “Who keeps the children while she is dancing?”
“Her sister.”
“Well, the only thing that you can do is to remind her that you are a mandated reporter, and that if you see anything going on that could hurt or affect the children, you will have to report it. Also, inform her that she has rights, and if this cop is forcing her to dance at the strip club against her will, she should make an official report to the police department, as well as to the state office. Make absolutely sure that she understands that if she is lying, she could ruin someone’s reputation and job. But if she is telling the truth, there are steps she can take to get help. Even before making a report to the law authorities, she can go to a domestic violence shelter and they will assist her and guide her through the process of getting her life back. Let me know what happens after you meet with her.”
Phoenix stated that she had a scheduled home visit and would let Jerickca know something today. When Jerickca walked out the door, she could hear Megan talking. She was once again in the backroom talking negatively about the client. Jerickca knew that she would have to do something about Megan’s behavior soon. She heard Megan say as a reminder to everyone, “Those public aid recipients are always telling lies, and you have to be careful because they have motives for messing around with married men. Just tread lightly because the bitch is lying. I know her for her work and she ain’t right.”
The one thing that Jerickca hated the most about Megan was how she talked about the clients. Although she didn’t always put them down in front of Jerickca, often others told her about Megan’s comical putdowns of the clients. Jerickca had spoken to Megan twice, and she assured Jerickca that at no time in the past or present had she discussed clients when someone other then staff was around; and she further stated that she was offended that anyone would say that she had. She also said that she loved the clients and had never put them down to anyone. As Megan continued to talk about the client, Jerickca pushed the door open and everyone in the room looked up.
“What did I tell you, Megan, about talking about the clients?”
“I’m sorry, Jerickca. I got carried away.”
“This is the last time that I will warn you not to talk negatively about the clients,” Jerickca said angrily.
One thing Jerickca was sure of was that if the client needed something, Megan was the first to respond, no matter what. Megan would hug the clients tightly and assure them that she would handle everything for them. The clients trusted her with their lives. She had two faces, one of comfort and support and one of a snotty better-than-thou. Yet most of her clients were only aware of one of Megan’s faces—the face of support and comfort.
Megan was the staffer that received the most invitations to baby showers, parties, and weddings. She was very successful in helping clients make positive changes in their lives. As a matter of fact, she had the highest success rate of clients who were gainfully employed, and her clients’ salaries surpassed minimum wage by almost forty percent. Jerickca vowed to herself to help Megan control her personal opinions and work for the clients, because they paid her salary no matter what she thought about them personally. Megan must always respect the clients, or Jerickca would have to let her go.
Another situation happened that day that pissed Jerickca off. One of her workers from another department had asked to meet with her in confidence. Before Jerickca had a chance to find out what the situation was, she agreed to handle the conversation confidentially.
Precious Anderson stated that Candy, the receptionist, was sleeping with McNary. She said that she had stayed late one day last week and had walked in on them having intercourse. Candy was lying on the desk and they were having sex in the office. She said that they didn’t see her because she tiptoed out before they finished. Jerickca didn’t know what to do because she promised Precious that she wouldn’t divulge the content of their conversation. But now, she wished she had not made such a promise. Should she confront him and risk being considered untrustworthy? She felt trapped, and she decided to call Spencer.
When Spencer answered the phone, she listened to her dear friend complain about how she felt trapped with such a delicate situation. Spencer just listened. She knew that Jerickca was stressed-out because she was trying to handle too many things. She had told Jerickca previously to settle down, because she couldn’t be all things to all people, and that she needed to slow her role. She basically told Jerickca to slow down and think before she acted.
“What is your policy on dating co-workers?” Spencer asked.
“It basically states that we cannot fraternize on the job.” Jerickca said as she tried to visualize the policy in her mind. “I guess I can just go over the policy again and elaborate on that one point without singling out anyone.”
Spencer said that was a great idea. “But next time, girl, don’t agree to something until you have enough information. Make sure that you let people who ask for a confidential meeting know that you specifically state that if it is something that can harm a person or hurt the company, you will have to address it as the director of the program. Make sure you set those boundaries. You know you could have fired both of them for inappropriate behavior on the job. There could have been other problems if someone made rape accusations or if those two workers were not consenting to sex or something else was happening. But the young lady clearly told you that they were dating, right?”
“She sure did. As a matter of fact, I have heard other unconfirmed rumors that McNary was dating several women here at the agency.” Jerickca laughed. “He must be a hottie, girl.”
“I can’t wait to see this guy. He must be more attractive than you said,” Spencer laughed.
“Yeah, he is fine, but you know I try not to look too hard. I don’t want to put myself in a bad position. Well, I have got to get back to work. I’ll talk to you this weekend.”
Spencer reminded Jerickca to stay professional. “It’s hard, Jerickca, to lead a staff when you are too close to them,” she stated.
“I know and I’ll be careful. I’ll talk to you this weekend. Bye, girl.” Jerickca hung up the phone and planned a meeting for the following day. She wanted to cover the field trip that they were planning for the families. They were going to take them to the Saint Louis Zoo in about two weeks, and she wanted to be sure that each person had handled the assignments, the monies had been allocated appropriately, and all the families had been contacted. She sent out a memo informing staff to bring complete information on their assignments for the zoo trip to the meeting the following day. Jerickca felt better after finishing this task.
She had to pull herself together, but how? Lately, she hadn’t been as sharp mentally as she usually was. Her intuition was way off. Normally she could head off problems before they were noticeable to others, but lately she was definitely missing the mark. She didn’t even know what was wrong with her. She was disappointed by her weight, because she was getting pretty close to the two hundred-pound mark, and she was slowly losing control with her eating disorder. Yet this wasn’t a new problem. Once before, she had gained more than fifty pounds but lost them by eating right and exercising. She had always been able to handle her weight issue, but now things were getting worse with that and with her perceptions of herself. Jerickca had a big secret. She was bulimic.
Jerickca was having a difficult time with eating. Although she never physically felt hunger, she always thought she was hungry and constantly found herself stuffing her mouth with foods that she didn’t need. Jerickca could barely eat a meal and keep it down, because five minutes after eating she would feel so stuffed that she would have to dash off to the bathroom to stop from vomiting all over herself. She had been sticking her fingers d
own her throat so long that now she could just do it without any physical involvement with her hands. She basically could stand over a toilet and just throw up. Strange thing, though, was that she wasn’t getting any smaller—just more miserable, because now she was frightened for her health.
She knew she was in trouble but couldn’t find the strength to seek help. She had tried to tell her doctor that she always felt too full, even when eating small portions, but her doctor just told her to decrease the amount. Since she didn’t take the hint, Jerickca kept silent. Now she was totally out of control. She was finding herself throwing up after every meal. She would go to the store, buy all kinds of junk food, and eat it all, just so that she could throw it up. This was so stupid. She was harming her body and she was wasting money. Jerickca knew all about people who were bulimic.
She knew that she could easily die from the force of constant vomiting and could burst her esophagus. But she would silently pray and ask God not to let her die like that. She would never want anyone to find out she had died while throwing up her food because she had overeaten and felt too stuffed to keep her food down. Jerickca decided that either she would have to get help to find out why she ate too much or she would have to have stomach surgery, which she feared terribly.
She knew two people who had had the surgery with some degree of success. Jerickca also had read in the local newspaper about a prominent and wealthy man who had just died from the same surgery. So she had a lot to consider. One thing she was sure of was that if the weight stayed, she would never find true happiness with herself. She was planning on going on a diet, but every day, she changed the date before she started.
Jerickca had worked as a counselor before and received specialized training in eating disorders, so she knew the damage that she was doing to her body. Her dear friend, Spencer, was also a counselor, therapist, and psychologist who had experience in this area, but she was too embarrassed to tell anyone her secret, even a good friend. Even though she tried hard to keep her secret, she was beginning to feel that Daphnie was picking up on her problem. Daphnie had confessed to Jerickca that she had a friend at school who was bulimic and that they were really trying to be supportive of her. Jerickca thought about that conversation with her daughter.
Backroom Confessions Page 10