by La Jill Hunt
“Arianna, its Terrell. Have you talked to Nicole?”
“Huh?”
“Did you call here and talk to Nicole last night?” he questioned, trying not to sound frustrated.
“What time is it, Terrell?” she asked.
“Eight thirty,” he answered, looking at the time on the cable box. He knew it was too early to be calling someone on a Saturday morning, but at that moment, it didn’t matter. “I see on the caller ID that you called here last night. What did you want? How did you even get my number?”
“Nicole called here from that number and I called her back. Is that okay?” she whined. “Now, I need to call you back, Terrell. It’s too early in the morning for this.”
“I don’t give a damn how early it is. I need to find my girl. When I left here last night, she was asleep. I come home an hour later and she’s gone. She’s not at home, not answering her cell, and you’re the last number on the caller ID. Now, I need to know number one, was Nicole here when you called? Number two, if she was, did you talk to her? Three, do you know where the hell she is?”
“Look, Terrell, I don’t have to deal with your attitude. I really don’t have to deal with you, period. But out of the kindness of my heart, I will tell you that I talked to Nicole last night and you don’t need to worry. She’s fine.”
“What the hell do you mean you don’t have to deal with me? You call my house and talk to my girl and then she ups and leaves without saying anything to me? What did she say? Where is she?”
“I don’t know where she is.”
“You’re lying. You know she’s okay, but you don’t know where she is? That’s bullshit and you know it! What did you talk about? What did you say to her?”
“None of your business. I tried being nice and telling you that she’s fine, but it didn’t work, so now I’m hanging up. And don’t call back,” she said.
“I will come over there and—” The sound of the dial tone in his ear stopped Terrell from finishing his threat. He redialed the number, but the voice mail picked up immediately. There was no point in calling back because she had obviously turned her phone off. He had no idea where she lived. Deciding he couldn’t just sit there, he grabbed his keys and hurried to his car.
Terrell hoped that by the time he made the fifteen-minute drive to Nicole’s place, her car would be parked in front and she would be home. To his disappointment, neither of those things happened. He became desperate and went to the only other place he thought she could possibly be. He prayed all the way there, asking God to help him. Lord, I need you to be there with me and help me remain calm as I do this. I love her. Make her see that.
He turned down the street and pulled in front of the house. His stomach was a bundle of nerves as he got out of the car and knocked on the door. He didn’t know what he was going to say to her or what to anticipate.
“What the hell do you want?” Gary growled when he opened the door.
Terrell took a deep breath before answering. “I don’t want no trouble, Gary. I just wanna talk to Nicole.”
“And?”
“Don’t play games with me. I just wanna talk to her.”
“Nigga, ain’t nobody playing. Obviously you did something wrong to think that she’s over here! Where the hell is my sister? What did you do to her?” Gary stepped out the door toward Terrell.
Taking a step back in case Gary tried to swing on him, he replied, “When I came home last night she was gone. The last person she talked to was Arianna, so I figured she was over here, that’s all. Now, is she here?”
“No, she ain’t. Wait right here while I go call my girl and find out what the hell is going on.” Gary turned and went back inside his house. Terrell looked around, peeking inside the storm door. He noticed that even though it was small, it was nice. There wasn’t a lot of furniture, just a small grey sofa with a matching chair, a coffee table and a television. Everything was in its place. He didn’t know why, but he expected Gary’s place to be on the junky side.
A few moments later, Gary came back outside. “Well, looks like my sister finally came to her senses. Seems like your little secret has been found out and she’s got firsthand knowledge that you are the loser I told her you were.”
“Gary, you’ve got to believe that I never did anything to hurt Nicole. I swear. I love her. That was one of the reasons I did it!”
“You are crazy! You did something as trifling as that out of love? What the hell was that supposed to prove? How is that love? That’s selfishness. And you never thought Nicole would find out about it, but she did and she’s hurt. I don’t blame her.”
“I don’t blame her either. And I’m sorry she had to find out about it the way that she did. I didn’t want Arianna to be the one to tell her. I should have. And yes, I did it out of love—love for Nicole. There was no way that I could have a baby with that girl. I thought that I was doing the right thing by taking her to get rid of it. Especially since Nicole was carrying our child.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Arianna ain’t tell Nicole nothing. Nicole overheard you talking to your boy on the phone before you went to the club, and y’all was talking about some girl you boned three months ago. If that shit wasn’t foul enough, now you standing here talking about some girl you took the clinic for a vacuum job? Nigga, you is foul!” Gary hollered.
Nicole must’ve been listening on the other end, Terrell thought. His heart began pounding in his chest as he realized what was about to happen. With a swiftness, Gary’s right arm came out of nowhere and caught him in the face. In an attempt at self-defense, Terrell blocked his next shot and recovered with one of his own to Gary’s abdomen. His opponent doubled over in pain but was determined not to be defeated. He raised himself up and charged at Terrell, knocking both of them to the ground. They rolled across the front of the lawn, ending up near the edge of the driveway. Neither of them noticed the green Toyota pulling up as they fought.
“Oh my God! What are you doing?”
“Stop it! Stop it!”
The two men continued to wrestle on the ground, ignoring the screams. Terrell had pinned Gary when he felt someone tackle him from behind. He fell to the side, landing next to Gary. He looked up just as Arianna pounced on him. It was then that he recognized Nicole’s screams.
“Please, please, all of you! Stop it right now!” she cried as tears rolled down her face.
Terrell rolled over, pushing Arianna off of him and rushed over to her side. “Nicole, baby. It’s okay.”
He tried to grab her, but she pushed him away. “What are you doing here? What is your problem?”
“I came here to find you. When I came home last night, I was worried to death.” His face was drenched with sweat and the taste of blood was in his mouth. He wiped it with the palm of his hand, checking to see if he was actually bleeding.
“Ari, are you okay?” Nicole walked over to the woman who was still sitting on the ground. Gary rolled over and led beside her as well, scowling at Terrell.
“I’m fine,” she replied, checking her arms and legs for war wounds.
“I’m sorry,” Terrell told them.
“You need to leave.” Nicole shot him a look of hatred, which made him feel worse than he already did.
“I will, but I need to talk to you first,” Terrell told her. She stood up and walked over to him, her round belly leading the way.
“There’s nothing I have to say to you, especially right now. You know my brother is on probation, and you come over here and fight him in front of his house? Just leave right now, Terrell.”
He reached for her once again, thinking that maybe if he could just touch her face and look into her eyes she would feel how much he loved and needed her. She stepped back from him and shook her head.
Gary jumped up and stood in front of his sister. “You’d better do what she says before I whoop your ass again!”
“You ain’t whoop my ass the first time. Your girlfriend saved you,” Terrell hissed. Gary charge
d at him again, but this time Terrell was ready for his attack. He stood firm and pushed him to the ground in one quick movement.
“What are you doing?” Nicole screamed at him. “Leave!”
A look of horror came over her face and she grabbed her stomach. Arianna rushed over, putting her arms around her. “Nicole!”
“Aaaaaaaaauuuuugh!” Nicole grimaced. Terrell caught her right before she collapsed.
“Call 911!” Arianna shouted to Gary. Before he even made it off the ground, Terrell had already lifted Nicole and was headed to his car. He hit the alarm and Arianna opened the door for him.
“Wha . . . shouldn’t we . . . where . . .” Gary started mumbling.
“Shut the hell up and get in the car!” Terrell told him. He glanced over at Nicole, whose face was filled with pain, and told her, “Hold on, baby. I’m right here.”
As he sped off to the hospital, he wasn’t the only one praying this time.
59
“So, did you talk to her?” Isis asked as they got to the stationary bikes in the center of the gym.
“Yeah, I did,” Toby answered.
“Good. That’s a start.” She straddled the bike and set the timer. “Thirty minutes?”
“Forty-five,” he told her, “and we didn’t really talk that long.”
“But you talked to her. That’s all that matters. I mean, let you tell it, you were never talking to her again. That means you’re healing.”
“No, that means she cornered me at my truck as I was leaving the club.” He began pedaling.
He and Isis had been working out every weekday for a while now, and he looked forward to the two hours he spent with her each day. It was therapeutic for him, and it was easy for him to open up to her. “But you’re right; for some reason, I talked to her.”
“Because you’re no longer bitter toward her. I told you time heals all wounds.” She smiled at him. He couldn’t help laughing. Her ‘Isisms,’ as he called them, had become a part of their daily workout. Each day she had a quote, scripture or line from a movie that somehow suited whatever situation they were discussing.
“Okay, Ice, okay.”
“What did you all talk about?”
“Like I said, nothing really. She asked me about Fourth of July and if I was having my annual backyard bash and I told her no.” He shrugged.
“Why not? I heard that’s become like a must attend event around here. People have already started looking for outfits,” she told him. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m just not in the partying mood, I guess. And I’ve only had two, so it can’t be that big of an event.”
“I heard the one last year didn’t end until two days later.”
“That’s not true; it lasted two days,” he corrected her.
“Well, what are you gonna do to celebrate the Fourth? It’s next month, you know. And what are the masses gonna do without a DJ Terror backyard bash to celebrate?”
“That’s not my problem,” he said, panting. The bike was on uphill mode, and he adjusted his pace. “Like I told Roni, I’m not hosting it this year. She suggested we go away for the weekend.”
“That’s a nice idea. It would give you two the chance to spend some quality time together. You should go.” Isis pedaled with ease. Toby looked over at her bike to see what setting she was on. He did a double take when he saw that she was also on uphill.
“I don’t think so. I’m taking things nice and slow. I have to admit she looked good. I was glad to see that,” he said.
“You guys will work things out. You just need time. I’ve been telling you that. I haven’t been wrong yet, have I?”
“No, you haven’t,” he answered, “but I don’t think we’ll be getting back together. I don’t trust her. Even after I got home last night, I was wondering if she went to see him after she left the club.”
“I thought you said he lived out of town.” She looked over at him.
“He does, but you know what I mean. I always wonder how many other times she lied about where she was and who she was with. It’s gotten a lot better, because I was tripping after I first found out,” he told her. “But you already know that.”
Isis just laughed and continued pedaling. He knew she understood what he was talking about. Toby had been on an emotional roller coaster. Some days his mood was dark and depressing, and others he was full of rage. The only people in his life that he found it necessary to talk to were Isis and Jermaine, who he now worked with regularly.
Both of them seemed to understand what he was going through in their own way. Jermaine was always reminding him that he had his back with whatever he needed him to do, including using his business contacts to seek Sean out and beat him down. Isis was there for him every day to encourage him, and he found himself confiding in her more and more. That also added to the attraction he had for her. But when he mentioned it, she told him that what they both needed in their lives was a true friend, and that’s what they would remain to each other, nothing more. He agreed and never brought it up again.
“Is she still wearing your ring?”
“Huh?” he asked, slowing his pace.
“You heard me. Is she still wearing your ring?”
“Yeah,” he said slowly. It was a hearty laugh that escaped her this time, and he looked over at her like she was crazy. “What?”
“You’ll get back together.”
“Why?”
“She’s still wearing the ring. Let me ask you this: have you ever asked for it back?”
“No. I wouldn’t ever do that. I bought that for her. She can keep it. I know most guys would’ve took it off her finger the day they walked up on her and another dude, but it was a gift, and that would just be petty. You know what I mean?”
“No, but I can tell you what I think. I think that you’re hurt and mad, but you’re still in love with her. And she’s still in love with you, because she is still faithfully wearing that ring and reaching out for you. It’s only been three months. I say that by the end of July, you all will be back on the road to romance.”
“Why are you pushing this, Isis? I mean, you push this harder than Roni does. Is she putting you up to this?” He reached for his towel lying across the front of the bike and wiped his face.
“I’m trying to stop you from making the mistake of throwing away happiness, that’s all. You deserve to be happy.”
“What about you?” he frowned.
Her legs worked faster and faster on the pedals. Her sports bra was wet with perspiration, drops of it running down her back into the basketball shorts she was wearing. He could see the muscles in her calves as he admired her smooth, shapely legs. He knew she was ignoring him because she refused to look at him.
“Don’t ignore me. What about you, Isis?”
Her legs stopped and the bike slowed down. She hopped off the seat and snatched her towel off the back of the bike. Toby knew he had struck a nerve with her, but he was tired of being the only one sharing his issues and Isis keeping all of hers inside. He stopped his bike and stood up as well. He touched her arm, forcing her to look at him.
“What about me?” she asked, placing the towel around her neck.
“Don’t you deserve to be happy? What about your true love?” He stared at her. He could see the rising of her chest as she inhaled and wondered if it was from the workout or anger at his question. “What about you?”
“I lost my chance at happiness that night, remember? I don’t deserve true love,” she answered. He was speechless as she turned and walked away from him, leaving him standing alone.
A chill went down his spine as he thought about the night she was speaking of. It was a night that played in his head a million times, like a dream etched into his memory. For him, it was one of the greatest moments of his life, but he knew that for her, it only reminded her of the worst moment of hers.
That night, both couples had decided to hang out together, Meeko and Terry along with Isis and Toby. They went to check out Ricke
y Smiley at the comedy club then went down to the waterfront to have dinner. They had a ball, and were finishing up dessert when Terry suggested they walk along the pier.
They all looked at Isis, who knew she was outnumbered. She shrugged her shoulders and sighed. “I don’t care.”
The tab was paid and the two couples exited through the back door of the restaurant, leading directly to the pier. It was a nice fall night, with just a hint of a breeze. Terry and Meeko walked ahead of them, hand in hand. Toby strolled beside Isis, close enough to notice the small chill bumps that were beginning to form on her arms and shoulders.
“You cold?” he asked, taking off his blazer and wrapping it around her.
“Not really.” She smiled and thanked him. “It actually feels nice.”
“Then what’s up with the goose bumps?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t worry. I have that effect on women sometimes.” He smiled.
“Don’t flatter yourself.” Isis rolled her eyes at him.
He couldn’t resist stepping behind her and putting his arms around her waist. She squealed and tried to get away from his grasp.
“What are you doing?” she shrieked, turning toward him. He looked down into her big brown eyes and got lost in them for a moment. She looked so funny standing with her hands on her hips and her head cocked to one side, waiting for his answer.
“What? I was trying to keep you warm, that’s all. I’m not trying to attack you. You got people looking at us about to call 911.” He gestured toward an older couple who was staring at them, cell phone in hand.
“Oh, sorry. I’m fine.” Isis waved at them. They nodded and turned away.
“See, that’s how innocent black men get locked up,” Toby told her, sitting on a nearby bench.
She paused, looking ahead and asked, “Where did Meeko and Terry sneak off to?”
“Do you really want me to answer that question?”
“I guess it was kind of dumb of me to ask.” She took a seat beside him. Her pager began beeping and she looked at it.
“You need to use my cell phone?”
“No, I know who it is. It can wait.” She sighed, placing it back in her purse.