by La Jill Hunt
“Don’t touch me!”
“What the hell is wrong wit’ you, Kayla? Shit was all good between us, and now you trying to act brand new. What’s wit’ this change of attitude?” He frowned at her. This was not the way he thought this was gonna work out and she knew it.
“Where’s your wife?”
“What? You know me and her ain’t . . .”
“Don’t lie to me. I am so sick and tired of your lying that I don’t know what the hell to do. I heard you talking to her on the phone, Craig. I heard everything. Everything!” Kayla felt her voice getting louder as she talked. “You no good, dope dealing, cheating mothafucka. Well, you know what? You can go to hell and take your fat ass wife wit’ you. I don’t need you and neither does my daughter.”
“Hold up, Kayla. I was trying to keep her calm. I would say anything so she would leave us alone. Don’t you see that? It wasn’t you I was lying to, it was her.”
“I don’t give a damn. Get the hell out! The next time I see you will be before a judge,” Kayla told him. He had a look of defeat on his face. The door was pushed open and Geno stuck his head in.
“Everything okay, Kayla?”
“I’m leaving, man. Just know that this ain’t the last of this bullshit, Kayla. All I wanted was for us to be a family and to do right. But you so stuck under this mothafucka that you can’t see that. It’s all good, though. You do what you gotta do and I’ma do the same. Believe that.”
“You threatening me, Craig?” Kayla’s nostrils flared in anger. Craig didn’t answer her. He just touched Day’s arm and wheeled himself out of the room. Kayla knew there was something to what he said, but she was determined to not let it bother her. Craig was so full of it, she didn’t know when to take him seriously. She could only hope that this was one of those times he was just talking.
“So, now what?” Geno looked at her. Kayla really didn’t have an answer for him. She knew she loved him, but could she really trust him? She looked down at her sleeping daughter and was grateful for her. She recalled what the spirit had told her the night she was stabbed. Trust me.
“Now we move forward,” she told him.
“Together?” he asked her, hopefully. To make sure she knew what he meant, he got on one knee next to her bedside. “I love you, Kayla. I love Day. I want us to be together.
“You begging?”
“Kayla,” he said threateningly.
“I’m just asking. Day and I want to know. Are you begging?”
“I’m begging,” he answered and kissed her fully. She looked down at her squirming daughter and saw that she was smiling.
36
It was a week before the wedding and Kayla was too excited to breathe. She had checked and double-checked everything. Things were going perfect, too perfect. That was what worried her. She and her bridesmaids were meeting at the boutique for their final fitting. As she pulled into the parking lot, she had the feeling that she had forgotten something.
“My shoes,” she said out loud. She quickly made a U-turn and headed out of the parking lot, stopping when she spotted Roni and Tia pulling into the lot. She pulled beside them, rolled down her window and told them, “I forgot my shoes.”
“I’m not surprised,” Roni said.
“I’ll be right back. They’re right by the door at home,” she said. “Hurry up. I gotta meet Theo later,” Tia warned. “I will.” Kayla sped down the street and made it home in a record ten minutes. She quickly hopped out of the car and went inside. She could hear Geno talking to someone on the phone and walked into the bedroom where he was. His back was to the door and he hadn’t heard her come in.
“No, I’ll tell her. It’s okay. I know. We’ll be there as soon as we can. Okay, good-bye.”
“Who was that?” she asked as she walked behind him and put her arms around his waist. He jumped because she had startled him.
“Damn, Kay. You scared me.” He looked at her and took her into his arms. She could tell something was not right by the look on his face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Sit down, Kayla. I gotta tell you something.” He motioned for her to sit on the side of the bed, his eyes never leaving hers.
“What’s wrong, Geno? Did you forget to take the check to the limo company? I told you to drop it off last week or they wouldn’t be able to hold the limo. You know . . .”
“Kayla, that was your Aunt Lorrene.”
“What did she want? I know she ain’t tryin’ to bring a whole bunch of people to the wedding.” Kayla smiled, but Geno didn’t smile back. She knew this was more serious than the limo or the guest list. “What’s wrong, Geno?”
“Kayla, she called for your parents. Anjelica . . .”
“I don’t want to hear about it. I don’t give a damn who calls, she is not to come to my wedding. I never want to see or talk to her again. That’s final.” Kayla went to get up but Geno stopped her.
“Kayla, that’s not what she was calling about. Baby, Anjelica’s dead.” His head fell and he looked down as he said the words. They sounded so final.
“What?” Kayla was confused. She began to gasp in small breaths as she tried to think. Maybe she didn’t understand what Geno was saying. “What did you say?”
“Baby, Anjelica’s dead. They found her body a few hours ago in her apartment.” Geno looked at Kayla. She had the strangest look that he had ever seen.
“No, she’s not. This is just another one of her stunts she’s pulling to get some attention. This is her way of spoiling my wedding next weekend,” she assured him. She tried to breathe, but could only gasp.
“Baby, she committed suicide. We need to get to your parents’ house as soon as possible.”
“She’s really dead?” Kayla asked. Geno only nodded. She began to shake her head and he pulled her to him. She buried her face into his chest and cried, “No!”
On the day they were supposed to wed, Kayla buried her sister. The church was filled to capacity for what was scheduled to be a momentous occasion, but was now one of tragedy. As she sat on the front pew beside her parents and her fiancé, Kayla looked at the ivory casket that stood where she was supposed to be standing to say “I do.” Her mind was filled with memories of growing up with Anjelica. Kayla tried to remember only the good times, but they were few and far between. After the choir sang and the minister gave a moving eulogy, the casket was reopened for the family and friends to give their last good-byes. People hugged Kayla and her family after they had their last viewing. Anjelica looked beautiful in a gold, Oriental style dress, holding a red rose.
Finally, it was time for Kayla to say good-bye. Slowly, she walked to her sister’s casket, escorted by Geno. She leaned in and gave her a kiss on her cold cheek, whispering “I love you” as the tears streamed down her cheeks. As she took her seat, Craig came down the aisle, holding another rose. He walked up to the casket and placed the flower next to Anjelica’s sleep-like body. After he paid his respects to Kayla’s parents, he walked up to Geno and whispered loud enough so that Kayla could hear what he had to say.
“You ain’t the only one that had both of them, player!”
37
Terrell rolled over and grabbed the ringing phone off the nightstand. He thought he was dreaming when it first rang, so he ignored it. Whoever was on the other end was persistent and determined to talk to him, so the ringing continued, letting him know that this was indeed reality.
“Yeah,” he whispered into the receiver. He cleared his throat as he fought off the grogginess of sleep. “Terrell,” the small voice came through the phone, “I’m sorry it’s late.”
“It’s a’ight. You have that dream again?”
“Yeah, they’re getting worse. This time she killed herself and Craig showed up at the funeral.” Terrell rolled onto his back, listening as she talked. “In the dream, he told Geno he slept with her too. You think that happened for real?”
“I doubt that seriously,” he laughed.
“It’s not funny, Terrell
. Look, I know you’re ’sleep. I got a little freaked out, that’s all.” Kayla sighed.
“Have you talked to her?”
“Who?”
“Your sister. Isn’t that who we’re talking about?”
“Hell no! What am I gonna talk to her about? The drama she’s caused? I ain’t got no words for her.”
“You need to talk to her, Kay. The dreams ain’t gonna stop until y’all squash this and you find out what happened. Why or if she even caused all that stuff.”
“I told you I have no words for her,” Kayla restated. He knew that she wasn’t changing her mind and he didn’t feel like arguing, so he decided not to press the issue.
“You home by yourself?”
“Yeah, I mean Day is here with me,” she said, referring to Terrell’s six-month-old goddaughter. “Is Nicole there with you?”
“Naw, she’s at her own crib.”
“You decide what you’re gonna do yet?”
“No, not yet. I got something else I got to take care of first.”
“I hope that something is named Darla. I can’t believe you slept with that shank. Are you at least gonna tell Nicole?”
“Look, I thought you called to talk about your nightmare.”
“Well, now the convo has turned to your nightmare,” she replied, voice dripping with condescension. Terrell knew it was time to end this conversation. He was not in the mood to discuss his multitude of problems, especially at 3:00 in the morning.
“A’ight, Kay. I’m hanging up now.”
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Terrell.”
Hanging up the phone, he folded his arms over his face. He loved Kayla to death, but sometimes she seemed like a thorn in his side when she tried to be all up in his business. He didn’t need her reminding him about his issues; they were ever present in his mind. Darla. He didn’t even want to think about the fact that he had ever slept with her, but now it was evident because she was pregnant.
Then there was Nicole. There was no doubt that he loved her. She was beautiful, intelligent, funny, and ambitious—everything he desired in a woman. Possibly, wife material. Now, he had jeopardized all of that in a stupid moment of weakness. He could kill himself every time he thought about that night when he left the club. It wasn’t even that memorable, but he was drunk and Nicole wasn’t up for company. Darla, on the other hand, welcomed him with open arms, breakfast on the table, some bomb-ass Kool-Aid and a warm bed. What more could a man ask for? How about a condom, stupid? But you didn’t use one, and now she’s pregnant, pregnant, pregnant. The words had seemed to echo when they came from her mouth. He thought she had to be joking. There was no way she could be pregnant, especially since Nicole had just told him the exact same thing three hours earlier.
It was amazing how differently he felt when both women told him the same news. With Nicole, it was unexpected but still came with a sense of joy. With Darla, he felt as if he had just been handed a death sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. Darla was threatening him with suicide because according to her, he broke her heart. Nicole was hell bent on him committing to her, which he planned to do, but he wanted to be sure. The stress of both women carrying his seed began to take a toll on him and he became frustrated with everyone around him.
Last night, he needed some chill time by himself. Avoiding both women, he drove around until he found himself at Floyd’s, a small jazz bar he frequented when he wanted to disappear. A couple rounds of drinks, a few turns on the dance floor, a little small talk and he was ready to leave. He hadn’t left alone.
“Was that her?”
Terrell turned to face the woman who was stirring next to him. “Who?”
“Your soon-to-be fiancée.”
“No.” He reached over and touched the naked shoulder. The glow from the streetlight came streaming in, casting shadows on the wall.
“Who was it?”
“None of your business.” He pulled on the thick covers, revealing the contour of the naked body, and snuggled closer.
“Well, then it must have been Ms. Kayla.”
“Whatever,” he said, caressing the smooth skin with his fingers.
“Come on. Tell me what’s going on now.”
Terrell felt the hand moving higher up his thigh. “Nothing. She’s just having these nightmares.”
“Aw, poor baby.”
“Let it go,” he groaned.
“Oh, so you want me to let it go?” The hands teased between his legs.
“You know what I mean.”
“No, tell me what you mean.
“I mean you and your sister need to squash the nonsense.” Terrell pulled the firm body onto his and kissed Anjelica full on the mouth before she could say anything else. He felt her placing the condom on and as she mounted him, all thoughts of Nicole, Darla, and Kayla immediately vanished. Moments like this made him realize maybe he wasn’t ready to settle down. So many women, not enough time.
38
Terrell sat in his Camry and watched as the rain fell on the windshield. As much as he loved the rain, he hated driving in it. He flipped the switch to turn on his wipers. For a moment, they swished back and forth to the same beat that Biggie was rapping to. He turned up the volume and nodded his head to the notorious one asking why she had to stick him for his paper. It was just the song he needed to put him in the right frame of mind for what he was about to do. He had told himself that no matter what, he would remain calm.
He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the numbers as he pulled in front of the apartment building. She answered on the first ring.
“Yo, come out here for a minute. I need to talk to you.” He knew he sounded cold, but he wanted to get this over with.
“Why can’t you come in? It’s raining.”
“And what, you gon’ melt? Come out here. And hurry up ’cause I gotta go to work.” He hung up the phone and leaned back on the headrest. A few moments later, she came outside and walked to the car.
“Hey, baby.” She smiled and tried to lean over to kiss him. He put his hand up to let her know that it wasn’t happening. He noticed the look of disappointment on her face but disregarded it.
“Look, we gotta take care of this situation before it gets any further. You know what I’m saying?”
“I don’t wanna handle it, Terry. I love you and I wanna have our baby.”
“Darla, don’t be crazy. There is no way that I can have a kid with you. I don’t want a kid with you. It ain’t happening.”
“So, what do you want me to do, kill it? Kill our baby?”
“Be realistic. You already got two kids that you’re barely taking care of now. You don’t even have a steady job. Does it even make sense for you to have another kid? Come on. You and I aren’t even all that tight.” He looked over at the heavy woman with fair skin. Her long hair fell around her chubby face. “I mean, we cool and everything, but Darla, I don’t love you.”
“So, you do want me to kill our baby,” she sighed.
He could tell that she was hurt, but Terrell didn’t respond. They sat in silence with only the sound of the rubber blades whisking the raindrops off the heavy glass he was staring out of. He watched as the city bus stopped and an older woman with two small boys got off. They all held hands as they ran into the building next door. For some reason, it made him think of his own brother, Toby, and how their mom worked hard as a single parent.
“I’m telling you to be smart.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the card that he picked up earlier. “I made you an appointment for nine in the morning.”
“Huh?” She looked up at him, confused.
“I’ll pick you up at eight fifteen. I’m sorry that this all happened the way it did. You’re a sweet girl, and—” The sound of his cell phone interrupted him. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Nicole. He sent the call to his voice mail.
“I’ll be ready.” Darla wiped the tears from her eyes as she opened the door and got out.
&nbs
p; Terrell breathed a sigh of relief as he watched her slowly walk back to the building. It had gone better than he had expected. From the way Darla had been acting over the phone, he anticipated a teary-eyed, scream-filled temper tantrum.
He listened to the message Nicole left, telling him that she loved him and asking him to call her later. He reached into the back seat and grabbed his CD case. Finding the disc he was looking for, he pumped the volume as Jodeci sang “Forever My Lady.” Things may work out after all, he thought.
39
“What are you trying to say, Roni?”
“I ain’t trying to say nothing. What I’m saying is that your brother got set up. Darla couldn’t get you, so she went after Terry. Now she’s pregnant. That means she’ll be tied to both of you,” Veronica called out from the bedroom where she was getting dressed.
Toby checked the clock on the stove to make sure she wasn’t running late for work. He knew she didn’t intend on spending the night at his place last night, but as usual, he convinced her that it was too late for her to drive back to her apartment. He grabbed a dozen eggs out of the fridge and started preparing one of his famous omelets he knew she enjoyed. The sounds of his morning mix, which was aired on the local radio show, drifted from the other room.
“She ain’t gonna be tied to me. It ain’t my kid!”
“But it’ll be your niece or nephew, Uncle Toby.”
“If you think for one moment that Terry is gonna let her have his kid, then you’re crazy. Hundred dollar bet it never happens. You want bacon or sausage?”
“Sausage. And it’s not his decision; it’s hers. Nasty, she’s just nasty. I can’t believe y’all slept with her. Both of y’all, at that.”
He caught a glimpse of her as she walked past the kitchen and into the den. She had a way of being sexy without trying, and he loved that about her. He continued to spy on her through the breakfast bar which separated the two rooms. She casually sat on the edge of the sofa and placed her black high-heeled shoes on. He loved watching her dress. She stood and pulled her short, black skirt down, adjusting her white blouse. She caught him admiring her and licked her lips seductively then blew him a kiss. He remembered the food on the stove and focused on cooking.