Drama Queen Saga

by La Jill Hunt

  “What’s up, Terry?” Jermaine greeted him. “I see you brought your date from work.”

  “Your girlfriend has a big mouth,” Terrell responded.

  “Hey, don’t talk about my woman. You wouldn’t want me to say anything about yours now, would you, Anita Hill?” He cracked up and then noticed Terrell wasn’t laughing. “Just kidding, bro. What can I get ya?”

  “Man, I don’t care. As long as her ass can drink it and she won’t be thirsty no more.”

  “How about a Margarita?”

  “Fine. Just hurry up before she comes over here and someone sees her.”

  “Man, you can’t miss her. How tall is she, ’bout six feet? And she got on all red. How could you not see her?” Jermaine passed him the drink.

  “Thanks, Jermaine. If I wasn’t already feeling bad about this situation, I definitely would be feeling that way now,” he told him as he turned to walk away.

  “No problem, Terry.” Jermaine snickered.

  Terrell had just made it back to the table when he saw Kayla dancing with Geno. Toby had thrown on one of his line dance CDs and everyone was up doing the Bus Stop to a mix of Teddy Pendergrass’s “Get Down” and Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ’til you Get Enough”. Even Meeko was dancing with some corny-looking dude wearing glasses.

  “Come on, Terrell, let’s dance!” CJ pulled at his arm.

  There’s no way I’m dancing with her so everyone can see us, he thought.

  “I hate line dances,” he lied. “They remind me of square dancing we had to do in high school.”

  CJ finished her drink and stood up. “Well, I’m going out there and join them. You sit here and be a spoil sport all you want. You’ve had a stank attitude all day. If I were you, I’d change it. After all, your girl’s job depends on it. Isn’t that her over there? I think I’ll go and speak.”

  It took all he could not to curse CJ out right then and there. He took a few deep breaths and told her, “Wait. You want to dance, we can dance.”

  They joined the bunch dancing in the middle of the yard and began sliding with the music. Terrell started to relax and told himself that he needed to loosen up if he wanted the evening to go off smoothly. After a while, the crowd of dancers thinned out as people went to eat the food that Uncle Jay was spreading on the table. It wasn’t Toby’s usual smorgasbord, but they had hooked it up the best they could.

  Terrell told CJ he was hungry, and they went to stand in line to make their plates. He was trying to make eye contact with Anjelica to give her the signal, but she was too busy yapping with Isis. He excused himself and scurried over to where they were talking near the bar.

  “Uh, are we gonna do this or what?” he asked her.

  “Do what?” Isis looked at him like he was crazy.

  “Not you. I’m not talking to you.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about either.” Anjelica smirked.

  “Come on, Anjelica. Don’t play with me.”

  “All right, all right. Calm down. You ready for me to do it now?” she asked. Isis looked at both of them, trying to figure out what scheme they were about to perform.

  “Not right now. We’re about to eat. But as soon as you see me taking our plates, you come and get me. Okay?”

  “Okay.” She nodded.

  “What’s going on here?” Isis squinted her eyes at him.

  “She’ll fill you in later. I gotta go,” he said, noticing CJ had started fixing her plate. Terrell was on his way back to her side when the goofy guy Meeko was dancing with earlier started screaming. He was standing right in front of CJ.

  “What the hell are you doing here? Someone call the cops! Now! Toby! Jermaine, call the police!”

  Toby came flying from behind the grill and Jermaine from behind the bar.

  “What’s going on?” Jermaine yelled.

  “Stan, calm down!” Toby told him.

  “I told you he was stalking me! How did you know I was going to be here? You’d better get away from here! I have a restraining order against you!” Stanley yelled.

  “I had no idea you were going to be here. Terrell brought me here as his date. I suggest you leave if there’s a problem. I am an invited guest, the same as you.” CJ popped her neck and put her hands on her hips. As much as she talked about Kayla acting ghetto in the parking lot that day, she was doing a good job herself, Terrell observed.

  “Stanley, she’s my brother’s date. She came with him,” Toby explained calmly.

  “Do you know who that is? That’s the guy that’s been stalking me for the past six months.”

  “Oh, hell!” Jermaine’s eyes widened. “This is him?”

  “What are you talking about, him?” Terrell asked, confused by everything they were saying. “What the hell is going on, CJ? What the fuck is he talking about?”

  “I am very much a woman, Terrell. I don’t know what they’re talking about,” CJ responded. “This man is obviously crazy, and I can’t believe you’re asking me this, especially in front of these people.”

  “Tell her to prove it!” Anjelica yelled from where she was standing.

  He turned and looked at CJ. She had a pleading look in her eyes, and he didn’t know if it was from the embarrassment of the situation or because she knew Stanley was telling the truth. “Prove it, CJ.”

  “I will do no such thing. How dare you!”

  “She can’t prove it. She’s a pre-operative transsexual. A man, living as a woman, who plans on having the surgery one day. A man who fools people into believing he’s a real woman,” Stanley announced, cutting his eyes at CJ.

  “I don’t have to take this from you. I’m leaving.” She ran out the gate leaving everyone at the party stunned.

  “I knew it! I knew there was something about her! I told you, Terrell! A man!” Kayla laughed out loud. Terrell looked at her, his eyes filled with anger.

  “Chill, Kay. This ain’t funny right about now.” Geno told her. “It may be later, but right now, it’s not.”

  “Damn, Terry. I know you ain’t one of those DL brothers, are you?” someone cried out.

  “You never can tell these days. Maybe that’s why he tries so hard to be a mack anyway,” another guy said, laughing.

  “Fuck all of y’all!” Terrell yelled, still baffled by what had just happened.

  His brother patted him on the back then called out, “What happened to the music? And Uncle Jay, we need some more fish. Y’all wanted me to have a party, so hell, let’s party.”

  “I ain’t even realize the music stopped,” Terrell looked over and told Toby.

  “The music always stops when the drama goes down. You know that, baby brother. But the party always starts up again. Always remember that.”

  “Now you giving out words of wisdom?” Terrell laughed.

  “I learned from the best,” his brother told him, looking over at Isis, who was talking to Uncle Jay. She looked over at the two brothers and blew them a kiss. “Was that for you or me?”

  “I think that one was for me, Toby. She knows I need some feminine affection right about now. I can’t believe CJ is a dude. I knew she was tall, but she ain’t even look like a dude. Am I losing my ability to screen them out? Am I giving out a signal or something?”

  “No, man. It was just one of those things that just happened. It has nothing to do with your manhood. And don’t let this mess with your head, either,” he told him. “I gotta get back to this grill before Geno burns my crib down. You gonna be all right? I need to call Nicole and get her over here so you can feel better?”

  Terrell laughed. “I wish she could, then I wouldn’t be in this mess, for real. I miss her.”

  “I know you do, but time heals all wounds. Believe me, I know.”

  “More words of wisdom?”

  “I got plenty if you need them. I’ll check on you in a minute.” Toby rushed back to the grill where it looked like Geno had started a small fire. “Geno, man, what are you doing to my meat? Don’t you know this
is steak?”

  Terrell sat at the table, still in a state of disbelief.

  “You mind if I talk to you for a second?” Stanley asked.

  “Naw, have a seat,” he sighed.

  Stanley sat across from him and took off the white derby he had been sporting all evening. “I think that I’m the only one out here that can relate to what just happened, and I feel the need to tell you that it’s not your fault. That was the first issue I had to deal with myself when he did the same thing to me. Just because you didn’t know, or even the fact that you were attracted to her, doesn’t make you a punk—or shall I say a homosexual? These guys nowadays look just as good if not better than most of the females out here.

  “But what they’re doing is deceitful, and they don’t understand that they could easily wind up hurt. I commend you for not snapping on her and taking a swing,” Stanley laughed.

  “I ain’t the one to talk about anyone’s lifestyle,” he continued, “but when you try to infringe on mine and be deceitful about it, that’s just wrong. That’s all I wanted to tell you.”

  “I appreciate that, Stanley. I really do.”

  “Now, I have a new lady I’m trying to impress myself, so I’d better get back over there before someone scoops her up from under me.” He stood and put his hat back on.

  Terrell gave him a handshake, and as Stanley walked away he told him, “Hey, Stanley, the lady you’re trying to impress, she loves poetry. Oh, and walks on the pier.”

  “Thanks, man. Good looking out.”

  The vibration of his cell phone caught him off guard and Terrell nearly jumped out of his skin. He didn’t recognize the number and hesitated as he answered it, thinking it might be CJ stalking him now. “Hello.”

  “Terrell Sims?”

  “Uh, who’s calling?”

  “This is Leah. I’m a nurse in labor and delivery over at County Hospital. Your girlfriend has just been admitted and she wanted us to call you,” a snotty voice told him.

  “Very funny, Anjelica. You know I ain’t in a playing mood,” he uttered.

  “I’m sorry, sir. This isn’t a joke,” the woman replied.

  He looked over at the bar and saw Anjelica feeding watermelon to Jermaine. She looked over at him and waved.

  “Uh, I . . . I’m on my way!” He closed the phone and rushed out, ignoring his brother and Kayla, who were calling behind him. I’ve got to get to my wife and my child, was all he could think about as he raced to his car. As he turned the corner, he saw CJ climbing into the back seat of a cab. Please, God, he thought, no more drama.

  63

  “He should have never invited her over here to begin with,” Kayla told her friends as she grabbed a Pepsi from the cooler. “I told Terrell a long time ago that there was something wrong with that woman—I mean man. Well, whatever it is. But he didn’t want to listen to me. He’s gonna mess around and Nicole is gonna leave him for good if he doesn’t get his act together.”

  “I can’t believe she found out about him and your sister. And she has the nerve to be here all up in Jermaine’s face,” Yvonne added.

  Toby was still flipping burgers and hot dogs on the grill, glad that they hadn’t mentioned his name. But when he saw Anjelica standing behind them, he knew it was about to get ugly and the music was about to stop again.

  “That’s right. I’m here all in his face because he is my man. And you know what? He ain’t got no complaints. You barely got a man yourself, Yvonne. And you, Ms. Hopkins, let me tell you a thing or two. The reason Terrell brought CJ was because she threatened to fire you if he didn’t. So to save your ass—again—he did what he had to do.”

  “What?” The two sisters stood face to face.

  “She was going to fire you when they did the departmental cut backs next month. Now, you know and I know that you haven’t done anything to be fired because Ma and Daddy would kick your behind. But you were about to be let go, sweetie, until your boy stepped in. So, while you’re talking about him behind his back, you need to be thanking him.”

  Anjelica turned, walked over to Jermaine and placed a passionate kiss on his lips. She smiled and called out, “Sweetie, I think you know all about my past and what went down with a few people here tonight, don’t you? There are no secrets between us.”

  “You’re right.” Jermaine nodded then gave Geno a wave. Yvonne and Kayla looked appalled.

  “Now, since he doesn’t have a problem with it, that’s all that matters. Anybody got any questions?”

  No one made a sound as she looked around. Satisfied, she called out, “What happened to the music? Y’all wanted to have a party, so hell, let’s party!”

  The music came on again, and people began dancing. Meeko beckoned for Toby to come inside, and he followed her. Uncle Jay was placing candles on the birthday cake.

  “I know you got a lighter somewhere around here, Tobias.”

  “Should be one in this drawer right here. Here it is.” He passed his uncle the lighter then said to Meeko, “I see you and Stanley looking cozy over there. What’s up?”

  “I mean, he’s cool. A little corny, but he’s a sweetheart.” Meeko smiled and sniffed her roses, which were sitting on the counter.

  “I bet you he is. Brought all them flowers like it was a funeral or something,” Toby teased.

  “Don’t hate because he’s a romantic. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there, Uncle Jay?”

  “Nothing at all. Matter of fact, I can get real romantic myself. Get some candles and some baby oil . . .”

  “Okay, Uncle Jay. We get the idea. Let’s take the cake out. The candles are melting.” Toby opened the door and held it while his uncle and Meeko walked out. Everyone started singing, and he grabbed the microphone next to the stereo.

  “Happy birthday, Isis. I know you thought we forgot, but we didn’t. We love you,” he told her. She looked at him and he saw the tears in her eyes. Meeko ran to her side and gave her a big hug. “Now, may I have this dance, birthday girl?”

  She nodded and met him in the part of the yard that was the designated dance floor. He took her hand in his and held her close. The music began to play, and he looked down to see her reaction. People had to be wondering why he chose that song, but he knew why and so did she. They smiled at each other as they rocked to Klyymaxx singing “I’d Still Say Yes.” It was the one CD that he didn’t have in his collection, but he searched on Amazon and had it rushed out to him so he would have it in time for this night. It was the best idea he’d had in a long time.

  “Thank you,” she whispered to him.

  “For what?” he asked.

  “Just being you.” She laid her head on his shoulder.

  He had no doubt that her friends were watching, but he didn’t care. Isis was his friend, and she deserved everything he was doing and more. She had been there for him when he was at his lowest and taught him a lot about himself.

  The song went off and they began jamming to “The Men All Pause.” Everyone was having a ball, and Uncle Jay began putting away the food.

  “Having fun at your party?” Toby asked.

  She looked up at him and smiled. “Don’t even try it. This isn’t my party. This is your annual bash. It’s just a coincidence that my birthday is today. But I am having fun. Is it always this excitement-filled?”

  “Yeah, it is,” he admitted. “Let me go help Uncle Jay before he calls me out. After all, it is my house.”

  “I’ll help out too. After all, it is my party,” she hit him playfully on his chest.

  They began carrying trays of leftover food into the kitchen to put away. It had gotten dark and Toby said they needed to hurry because the fireworks were about to start.

  “I think I’ve seen enough fireworks for tonight,” Uncle Jay told them. “I knew something wasn’t right about that woman when she shook my hand. I tried to give Terry the look, but he didn’t see it, I guess.”

  Isis cracked up. “What look is that, Uncle Jay?”

  “You know;
the look.” Uncle Jay’s eyes widened and he gestured with his head as he grimaced, demonstrating the look he gave Terrell.

  “How was he supposed to know what that meant, Uncle Jay? You just made the same face when you wanted me to open the fridge for you.” Toby shook his head. Isis laughed even harder.

  “That was this look, not that one. And he should have known something was up when I made it. Shut up and hand me that foil!” Uncle Jay snatched the box out of his hand.

  They finished just as the fireworks began. Toby grabbed Isis by the hand; she grabbed Uncle Jay, and they returned to the backyard. Toby put on some mellow music then sat close to Isis on a picnic table, away from the rest of the crowd.

  “I thought you said you weren’t having a party.”

  Toby turned and was shocked to see Roni standing behind them.

  “Hey, Roni. Believe it or not, I didn’t plan on having a party. All of these folks just showed up. I think it was a set up, though, because as you can see, they’re all dressed in white.” He jumped off the table and stood up. He looked at Isis, who excused herself. He reached out his hand and helped her off the table.

  “She didn’t have to leave. Obviously she was an invited guest, unlike me. I can’t believe this. I’m walking around here wearing your ring and you have a party, don’t invite me, and when I do show up, I catch you hugged up with some chick.” Roni folded her arms in disgust.

  “Hold up. I told you I ain’t plan to have a party. You know you would’ve been invited if I did. And I wasn’t hugged up wit’ nobody. Don’t even come here with that bull. We’ve had enough drama for the night,” he warned. She looked at him and he saw the look on her face soften. He couldn’t help smiling at her. “You want something to drink? We got strawberry daiquiris.”

  “With whipped cream?”

  “Always a diva, huh? But I think we can make that happen. How was your mom’s?” They strolled over to the bar where Jermaine was holding Anjelica in his arms.

  “It would have been better if all of my friends had shown up there instead of here.”