Drama Queen Saga

by La Jill Hunt

  “And lock my door when you come out!”

  “I know to lock the door behind me.”

  “Obviously you don’t. It was open for you to go back in and get her bag.”

  “Look, I gotta go. I’m supposed to meet Nicole in a minute,” he said, grabbing the bag and leaving once again.

  “A’ight, I’ll talk to you later.”

  He clicked back over and heard Anjelica singing along with Maxwell.

  “Yo, chill with all that,” he told her.

  “Shut up. Did you get the bag?”

  “Yeah, I got it. Thanks, I gotta go.”

  “A’ight, player. Call me when you get the chance. And don’t forget to put that key back!”

  “I already did,” he lied and took the key out of his pocket, laying it back under the mat and replacing the plant on top. He got back into the car and checked on the baby. She was still sleeping. Must be nice, he thought as he sped off.

  “Ms. Rogers, this young man is looking for you.”

  “Tell him he’s late,” he heard Nicole say. The women laughed and then he was told to come in.

  “I’m sorry,” he said as he entered the small room. She was giving him a fake evil eye.

  “You’re late,” she repeated.

  “I know. They took longer than expected with my car and then Kayla called and asked me to drop Day off so she wouldn’t be late. I left the diaper bag and had to go back for it.”

  “Okay, okay. Kiss me and you’re forgiven.” She smiled. He leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the lips.

  “Hey, that’s how you two got like this in the first place,” a deep voice interrupted them. “How you doing, young man? I’m Dr. Fisher.”

  Terrell looked up and shook the hand that was extended toward him. The man looked just like James Earl Jones. “Terrell Sims. I’m great.”

  “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Terrell. I take it you’ve come to see your child’s first picture?” The doctor walked over to the tiny sink and began washing his hands.

  “Huh?” Terrell asked, looking at Nicole who had lay back on the examining table.

  “He means the ultrasound, Terry.” She shook her head at him.

  “Oh, yeah.” He laughed nervously. He wasn’t really prepared for all this. He was under the impression that he would just be meeting with Nicole’s doctor.

  Dr. Fisher sat on the stool near the table and pulled over a cart holding what looked like a portable DVD player. He advised Nicole to lift her shirt then put some gel on her flat stomach. Terrell stood in silence as the doctor clicked on the machine and the dark screen lit up.

  “There we go. Right there, Nicole. See?” the doctor said.

  “Oh my God. That’s my baby’s heart beating,” she whispered. “Look, Terrell.”

  Terrell leaned to see what they were talking about, but all he saw was a grey screen. Then, ever so faintly in the corner, he saw something moving fast. He put his finger on it. “Is that it?”

  “That’s it. That’s your child. Tiny as a pea, but that’s it.” Dr. Fisher laughed.

  “Wow, it’s small all right.”

  “Terry, I’m only nine weeks pregnant.”

  Nine weeks. Darla was twelve weeks. A little further along than Nicole. It was strange that as he was watching the heartbeat of one child, across town the heartbeat of another was being stopped. He wondered how that baby would look on this monitor, but then told himself not to be stupid. That probably ain’t even your kid. Besides, that fetus is long gone, and after this weekend you won’t ever have to deal with that trick again.

  He looked down at Nicole and took her hand into his. She looked up at him and he told her, “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  “Well, everything looks fine. I don’t have to give you the specifics, Nicole. You know to eat right, take your vitamins, and get lots of exercise. No smoking or drinking, and I’ll see you next month for your next appointment. Call my office if you need anything. Terrell, this young lady is one of the best nurses this hospital has. You get a gem and you need to treat her like one. You take care of her.”

  “I will, Dr. Fisher,” he assured the doctor.

  He helped Nicole get cleaned up with the doctor’s words ringing in his ears. Nicole was a gem and he really cared about her. He had to get himself together if not for her, then for their baby that she was carrying. For the first time in his life, Terrell was ready to be a father.

  After making an appointment for the following month, they walked to the parking lot. He saw that it was ten minutes before 1:00 and he had to go back and pick up Darla.

  “You wanna go and get something to eat?” Nicole asked.

  “I got a meeting at one, but we can meet up later.” He pulled her to him.

  “Well, I have some studying I really need to get done, especially since I didn’t get anything done last night.”

  “Oh, you ain’t get nothing done?” He looked at her provocatively.

  “You know what I mean, silly.” She blushed and put her arms around his neck. “We got more than enough done.”

  “I don’t think we finished, either. We only went three rounds.”

  “We finished. Believe me, we finished.”

  He felt the vibration of the phone in his pocket and knew without looking at it that it was Darla. He walked Nicole to her car and hurriedly kissed her, promising to call after his meeting. He smiled as he thought about the image of his child on the monitor and the beautiful woman carrying it. He was definitely about to make some serious changes in his life. He would give Darla the money to get the hell outta dodge then make things work with Nicole.

  By the time he made it to the clinic, he was damn near on cloud nine. The fact that Darla was already waiting outside the clinic made it even better. He figured he would have to push her in a wheelchair and help her to the car or something, and he just knew she would be putting on the performance of a lifetime, moaning and groaning as if she was dying. However, none of that took place. Thank God, he thought as he got out and opened the door for her.

  “You a’ight, yo?” he asked her softly.

  “I’m cool,” was her response. He saw the folded up pieces of paper in her hand and asked if she needed to stop anywhere. “No. I just wanna go home.”

  He looked over at her and saw the tears streaming down her face. She rolled her eyes at him. He pretended not to notice and turned the radio up, nodding his head to the beat of Jay-Z. She turned and looked out the window, sniffling. As he turned his car into the parking lot in front of her building, he noticed a guy leaning against her black Neon. He was a grungy-looking older man wearing a baggy sweat suit and a pair of run-over Reeboks.

  “Shit,” Darla whispered as she saw the man, who was now scowling at Terrell.

  “Who the hell is that?” He frowned, turning down the music.

  “Turk,” she said barely above a whisper, looking shocked.

  “Who the hell is Turk? Man, I’m telling you I ain’t for no shit, Darla. Who the hell is he?”

  “Nobody.”

  “A’ight, nobody.” He pulled into the empty spot on the other side of her car and the guy began walking toward them. “You better tell him something quick because I will knock him the hell out if he start acting crazy.”

  “I said it was nobody,” she answered as she opened the door to get out.

  “Where the hell you been?” Turk demanded as Darla stepped out of the car. “And who is this nigga?”

  “Don’t trip, Turk. He just gave me a ride from work, that’s all.”

  “Don’t lie, Darla. Your ass ain’t even go to work. I went by there and they said you took the day off. And when I got here, Pooh told me you left wit’ some dude. I’m guessing that would be this nigga here,” he said, pointing toward Terrell, who was watching him, deciding whether to get out of the car. “Now, where the hell you been? Is this that nigga from the club?”

  Ignoring him, Terrell rolled the window down and asked, “Yo, you
gonna be a’ight?”

  “What do you care? I’m sick of all y’all! Both of you need to leave me alone!” she screamed and rushed into the house. Neighbors began peeking out of windows, curious to see what was going on.

  “I advise you to get the hell away from here, chump!” Turk growled at him.

  Terrell was tempted to respond but thought better of it. Forget it. She ain’t my problem no more. He kicked his car into gear and blazed out of the parking lot. For a quick second, he even tried to figure out who the loser was waiting for her at her house, but stopped himself. Relieved that the situation was now taken care of, he smiled to himself and decided to go to the mall and get his shop on. After all, he did have a new baby to buy for.

  44

  Toby flipped through the crates filled with albums, searching for some old school LL Cool J. It was only 9:00, but Dominic’s was already crowded. It usually didn’t get packed until after 11:00 on a Saturday night, but since spring finally seemed to be in the air, he figured people were ready to get their party on. Females were showing off flat abs and pedicured feet as they bounced to the bass pumping from the speakers. He loved this time of year; it gave him a new appreciation for the female physique.

  “What’s up, DJ T?” a voice yelled from the side of the booth. “A little bird told me you got married.”

  He peeked over to see who it was and a grin spread across his face. “Whatever, girl. What’s been up with you, Meeko? You been hibernating or something?”

  He opened the small door and let her into the booth, giving her a big hug. He inhaled the scent that he recognized as Miracle, one of his favorites.

  “So, why didn’t I get an invite to the big occasion?” she asked, folding her arms.

  “Stop playing. You know I didn’t get married.”

  “The rumors are coming from somewhere, and this one came from a reliable source. It all went down last month at Jasper’s. You sang to Roni and then asked her to marry you, then you all jumped in a limo and headed to Vegas where you tied the knot. She must be pregnant . . . Is she?”

  “No, she ain’t pregnant!”

  “Don’t lie to me, Toby. Remember, I was almost your sister-in-law until your can’t-keep-it-in-his-pants brother messed that up!” She laughed and Toby had to agree. A few years ago, Meeko was head over heels for Terry and everyone knew it, but he wasn’t ready to settle down and she wasn’t about to be strung along. Toby admired that about her.

  She began flipping through his music and passing albums for him to mix.

  “Something wrong with what I’m playing?” he asked.

  “Whatever. Somebody gotta hype this crowd up!”

  Sure enough, when he began to pump Mary J. Blige’s “Real Love” mixed with Special Ed’s “I Got it Made” the already crowded dance floor became flooded with people. She remained in the booth, helping him mix and shouting into the microphone until it was time to slow it down. He put on a slow jams mix CD he made and they exited the booth, heading for the bar.

  “You look good, Meeko. I’m glad to see you,” he said as they sat down. “You still drinking Long Island Ice Teas?”

  “Naw, that was in my younger days. I can’t take them anymore. Let me get some Stoli, straight.”

  “You can’t handle Long Islands but you can handle Stoli? Go figure.” He ordered their drinks then turned to look at her. It had been over a year since he had seen her and she hadn’t changed a bit. She wore a fitted denim dress on her medium frame and her chin-length bob was tinted a color between burgundy and damn near pink. She wore red frames on her face the same color as her hair. Anyone could look at her and tell she was a firecracker.

  “I ain’t never been no punk, remember? So, how you been, Toby?”

  “I been good, Meeko. What’s been up with you?”

  “You know how I do. I’ve just been working. That’s pretty much it.”

  “You still writing?” Meeko could write songs like no one else Toby had ever met, and he had met some of the best.

  “Not really. Guess I kinda been in a slump. Writing really hasn’t been on my mind.” She sighed. She looked over at him and took a deep breath. “I heard she sang for you that night after you proposed.”

  He swallowed the remainder of his Whiskey Sour and looked down into the empty glass. Meeko was the first one to bring up Isis since that night. He fought thoughts about her, but in the back of his mind he knew he wanted to see her, to talk to her, make sure she was all right.

  “She sang for us.” He nodded, not looking up.

  “How did she look . . . I mean, did she seem okay?” Meeko asked, her voice full of concern.

  “She seemed good. She sounded great—better than great. She was awesome. Blew everyone away, including Roni.” He laughed. “I haven’t seen or heard from her since that night. Have you heard from her?”

  “I haven’t seen or heard from her in two years. All I do is pray that she’s okay and trust that God is taking care of her. She knows that if she needs me, I’m there. She’s my best friend. Always has been, always will be,” Meeko told him.

  “Same here. It was just weird, though, Meeko. At first I thought I was dreaming. Everyone was clapping and congratulating us and then she was on stage. She looked and sounded perfect. Did you hear what song she sang?”

  “Nope, but I bet you twenty dollars to a dozen doughnuts that it was ‘Inseparable,’ wasn’t it?” She gave him a knowing look.

  “How’d you guess?” he laughed. He could tell by the song that was playing that it was time for him to get back in the booth. Plus, the crowd was getting antsy and standing near the dance floor.

  “Well, at least we know she’s alive, so that’s a good thing, right?” Meeko sounded like she was trying to convince herself as she said it. “She coulda called me, though. I wanted to see her. That’s how friends do, though, huh?”

  “True, but she’ll call. She showed up, didn’t she?” He stood up and stretched.

  “Oh, yeah. I heard Jermaine was at Jasper’s too. How is he doing?”

  “Same old Jermaine. He’s moved back here. You know he opened his own business and he’s doing really well. I’m proud of him.”

  “You, Jermaine, and Terry. The Three Anegroes reunited.” She smiled, referring to the nickname they gave themselves. “Hey, isn’t that Terry over there?”

  Toby looked over to where Meeko was pointing at a guy hugging and laughing with a familiar girl in the corner of the club. Although it looked like his brother, he didn’t want to believe it was, not after all the bragging he had been doing about changing his ways and being in love with Nicole.

  “I don’t think so,” he answered as they made their way back to the deejay booth.

  “Well, it was nice hanging with you, Toby.”

  “You leaving?”

  “Yeah, I told you I can’t hang like I used to. I’m getting old.”

  “A’ight, Meeko. Call me some time, girl.” He wrote his numbers down and passed them to her. She put them into her pocket.

  “I will,” she assured him. She hugged him and turned to walk away.

  “Hey,” he called after her. “When she calls, tell her I asked about her.”

  Giving him a knowing look, she nodded. “I will. Bye, Toby.”

  “Meeko!” Terell was headed toward her smiling like a kid on Christmas morning.

  She looked back at Toby and shook her head. “I told you that was him.”

  Toby didn’t respond. He watched them walk away then focused his attention on mixing music and refilling the near empty dance floor. He combined current hits and old school jams until it seemed like everyone in the club was grooving. He became engrossed in his work, filling requests and sending shout-outs so that time seemed to fly by. He was surprised when the bartender signaled him that it was last call. One more hour then I can bounce, he thought.

  He scanned the crowd, hoping to see Roni or one of her friends. She told him she was coming tonight, but she hadn’t shown up. They’d only bee
n engaged a month, but she was already full swing into planning the wedding, which was probably the reason she didn’t make it. Still, he thought she would have at least called and left a message.

  “Man, Meeko looks good as hell, huh?” Toby didn’t answer Terry, who was entering the booth. “I forgot how fine she was.”

  Toby began repacking his crates in preparation to leave. He was tempted to ask Terry about the girl he saw him hugged up with earlier, but didn’t. Instead, he asked, “Hey, did you talk to Kayla tonight?”

  “Nope. What, you were looking for Roni?” Terry waved at a group of women who were leaving the club.

  “She said they were coming to hang out but I ain’t see ’em. I was wondering if Kayla was with you.”

  “Sorry, bruh. I ain’t talked to her.” He shrugged as he helped his brother pack up. It was nearing 3:00 a.m. and the crowd was thinning. “You want me to take these out to your truck?”

  “Yeah, grab those for me.” Toby nodded toward the crates stacked in the corner of the booth.

  “Where are your keys?”

  Toby reached in his pocket and tossed him the keys. “Be sure to lock it when you come back in.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know.”

  Finally, the last few stragglers had vacated the club and the wait staff began cleaning. He put on another CD for them to enjoy then went into the owner’s office to get his check. He got his schedule for the next week and told everyone good-bye as he exited the back door. As he entered the parking lot, he could hear shouting.

  “You are a trifling, no-good, nasty whore! That’s what you are!”

  “You’re one to talk! How many men that come in this club haven’t you slept with? So don’t even come off at me like that, yo. I ain’t even trying to hear that. Now, I’m warning you, you’d better get in your car and leave!”

  “I ain’t going nowhere. You ain’t even call to check on me!”

  “See, that’s where you’re confused. You’re not my woman. I don’t have to call and check on you. For what?”

  “You just dropped me off like I was a hitchhiker or something! Like I hadn’t just left the abortion clinic getting rid of our baby!”