For Lovers Only

by Alex Hairston

  She picked up her pill bottle and started taking a few more pills. With each pill and every gulp of wine she began to feel better and better. She eventually pulled back the covers on Joel’s bed and climbed inside. She felt right at home and enjoyed the comfort of his bed. Renee felt so much better that she began to wish that Joel was there in bed with her.

  Chapter 30

  Mrs. Davis served a lavish and soulful spread that included her famous crispy fried chicken and mouth-watering buttery biscuits. On the side she had collard greens that were seasoned to perfection with smoked turkey, and potato salad with an even blend of chunkiness, creaminess and flavor. Joel and the girls had the ultimate pleasure of eating the cheesiest macaroni and cheese casserole in Baltimore. All of that was followed by delicious deep dark chocolate layer cake for dessert.

  After dinner they sat in the living room relaxing with Mrs. Davis. They sat on her brown microfiber sectional looking through old photo albums and talking about the past. The atmosphere was pretty relaxed. Their laughter mixed with the classic gospel sounds of Reverend James Cleveland playing in the background. Joel was sandwiched between Erin and Kenya and his mother sat slightly catercornered on Erin’s right side. Joel loved that Erin and Kenya appeared to be getting along so well with his mother. On the other hand, Mrs. Davis had a problem sharing her son’s attention. She felt that she couldn’t compete with Erin and Kenya at all. It was obvious that they had completely won her son over.

  Mrs. Davis showed Erin and Kenya a Christmas family portrait of herself, her husband and her two boys. She said, “That’s me and Joel along with his brother and father.”

  Erin said, “Hold on, I didn’t know Joel had a brother.”

  Kenya added, “Neither did I.”

  Joel put on a cheap smile and said, “Oh, that’s Shawn. I thought I told y’all about him.”

  Erin asked, “Where’s Shawn now?”

  Kenya asked, “And where’s your father?”

  Mrs. Davis felt the need to speak up. “Mr. Davis just isn’t home right now. And Shawn would have been here, but he thinks Joel is ashamed of him.”

  Joel spoke up quickly. “That’s not true. I love my brother. I’ve never been ashamed of him.”

  Mrs. Davis said, “Is that why you talk about him so much?”

  Everyone in the room sensed the awkwardness of the moment.

  “Ma, stop ... please.” Joel had a photo album on his lap and felt the need to redirect everyone’s attention. He pointed to a picture and said, “This was my first school portrait from kindergarten. Look at my nervous half-smile. I’ll never forget that day. I was in the gymnasium with hundreds of noisy kids.”

  Kenya said, “This picture is so cute.”

  Erin said, “Yeah, you were cute in this picture, Joel. I have a picture with this same background. More than likely we were in the gym together and had no idea how many times our paths would cross in the future.”

  Joel replied, “That’s funny. I wish we had been friends back then.”

  Erin smiled and said, “I know.”

  They kissed.

  Kenya let out a fake laugh and said, “Wow, I know y’all aren’t gonna sit here kissing and getting all mushy in front of Mrs. Davis.”

  Joel said, “My mother doesn’t mind. From now on, each and every picture deserves a kiss.”

  Erin said, “That’s fine with me. I think Kenya just wants a kiss too.”

  “Awww, does Kenya need a kiss too?” Joel said in a silly voice as he kissed her on her right cheek.

  Kenya blushed and said, “Stop acting like this in front of Mrs. Davis.” She looked at Joel’s mother and asked, “You don’t wanna see your son act like that, do you?”

  Mrs. Davis made an uncomfortable face, shrugged and said, “I don’t know. Don’t pay me any attention. I’m just like a piece of furniture ... just sitting here.”

  Actually she was doing a lot more than just sitting there. She watched closely how the three interacted with each other. What Joel didn’t realize was that his mother sensed something out of the ordinary hidden under the superficial front they put up to disguise the truth. She knew that something wasn’t quite right about the three of them being together so often and becoming such good friends in such a short amount of time. Being the same age and having common interests didn’t make people act the way these three acted. There was a whole lot more going on. Mrs. Davis was trying her best to figure out the dynamics of their relationship and was determined to have an answer at some point before they walked out of her front door.

  Joel gave himself away easily with his words and actions. Erin and Kenya’s body language gave them away and also their expressive silent movie actress type of eyes. Mrs. Davis was observant enough to notice Erin and Kenya giving Joel the same adoring gazes that captured the appearance of being in love. Joel and Erin were supposed to be a couple, but Kenya seemed to be caught up in Joel’s personal space quite often and nobody seemed to have a problem with it.

  Mrs. Davis was jealous of the three of them. Their lives were just beginning and hers was in serious jeopardy of ending because of two malignant one-centimeter lumps in her left breast. She envied the fact that they were young and unstoppable. She studied Erin and Kenya’s beautiful, smooth and supple skin.

  With their gorgeous facial features and even more gorgeous bodies, the world was theirs to do whatever they wanted. It was so clear that her son would give the girls whatever they desired. Mrs. Davis felt like she had lost Joel, and she didn’t like where he was headed.

  Mrs. Davis grabbed Joel by his hand and said, “We need to talk. Can you two please excuse us for a few minutes? You’re welcome to go to the kitchen and make plates to take home. Help yourselves and take as much as you’d like.”

  Kenya said, “Thank you. I was hoping we could take food home, but I was ashamed to ask.”

  Erin laughed and said, “Me too. Thank you so much, Mrs. Davis.”

  Erin and Kenya got up and headed to the kitchen.

  Joel looked at his mother and asked, “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m worried about you and those girls.”

  “Huh? What’s wrong with us?”

  “I know what you’re involved in. Are you sleeping with both of them?”

  “Ma?”

  “If you haven’t, I know it’s just a matter of time. Believe what I’m telling you.” She looked at Joel and cut him off before he could open his mouth. “Don’t say anything else because I don’t like you lying to me. And I don’t like what you’re doing with your life. You weren’t raised like this. I don’t approve of it at all. I want you to know something else, too ... God doesn’t approve of it. There’s something real strange about those girls. I know what it is, but I’m not even gonna go there. If you keep up what you’re doing you’re going straight to hell. That’s all I have to say.”

  “Good, because I think you’ve said more than enough. I’ve never disrespected you and I don’t wanna start now. So, I think we better go.”

  “That’s fine with me.”

  Joel hid his emotions. He headed to the kitchen to get Erin and Kenya while his mother sat on her sofa, sulking. She had her head buried in one hand and pounded the sofa with the other. She wondered if she had done the right thing. Her righteous mind quickly reassured her troubled heart that she had done the right thing even if it meant hurting her son.

  Mrs. Davis quickly hid her emotions as Erin and Kenya emerged from the kitchen, smiling from ear to ear, carrying plates loaded with food. Joel didn’t want to take his mother’s food. In fact, he didn’t want to take anything else she had to offer. He had had more than enough from her.

  Erin gave Mrs. Davis a hug and said, “Thanks again for everything, Mrs. Davis. The food was delicious.” She paused for a second and then said, “I really admire you.”

  Kenya walked over to Mrs. Davis and gave her a hug and said, “And I think that you’re such a beautiful person.”

  Erin added, “You’re the type of woman w
e hope to become one day.”

  Their kind words broke through her bitterness. Mrs. Davis manufactured a smile and struggled to keep her emotions intact. She had so much weighing on her that she just wanted to fold under the pressure, but her faith was too strong to let that happen.

  Joel gave his mother a hug and a kiss on her cheek. He said, “Thanks Ma, I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Just that fast it seemed as if Joel had completely forgiven his mother. He remembered the stress that she was forced to deal with—her husband’s infidelity and recent departure, being newly diagnosed with breast cancer, and the burden taking care of her drug-addicted son and his girlfriend.

  At that moment Mrs. Davis felt so bad that she wanted to take back at least half of the hurtful things she had said to Joel, but didn’t say a word. She simply stood in her doorway and watched Joel open the doors of his Jeep Cherokee for Erin and Kenya. She thought it was strange that Kenya was sitting up front with Joel. Then of course she thought the whole concept of a threesome was strange and incomprehensible.

  Chapter 31

  After returning from Joel’s mother’s house, the three decided to spend some time hanging out at Erin and Kenya’s apartment. As soon as they entered their building they sensed something different in the air. It seemed fresher and lighter than usual. The air was free of the typical mixture of Sunday dinner aromas. On most Sunday evenings the hallways were flowing with the scent of soul food coming from almost every apartment in the building, along with the unmistakable scent of Caribbean cuisine coming from one particular apartment on the first level.

  There weren’t any signs of nosey neighbors roaming the hallways. The building was absolutely quiet—covered in an unusual calm. The drama mounting behind Joel’s apartment door was perfectly disguised by peace and harmony. He and the girls were totally unaware of Renee’s self-destructive behavior and the mess and mayhem she had created. They walked right past Joel’s apartment without even looking in that direction. Renee lay unconscious in Joel’s bed in desperate need of help. Someone needed to intervene as soon as possible because Renee was slowly fading into a deeper and deeper state of unconsciousness. Time was of the essence and meant the difference between life and death.

  The three were in Erin’s bedroom, stretched out across her bed trying to find something interesting to watch on television. As they dealt with petty issues, Renee was at serious risk of becoming the unfortunate victim of a successful suicide attempt. Her fate lay in the hands of three people that had no intentions of moving from the comfortable spots they occupied. After scanning through hundreds of cable channels they weren’t able to find one decent program.

  Joel said, “We might as well head over to my apartment. I’ve got some wine chillin’ in the fridge along with a big container of fresh strawberries, whipped cream and about two pounds of grapes.”

  Kenya said, “Ooh, I love strawberries and whipped cream, but do you have any chocolate syrup to dip them in?”

  Joel shook his head and said, “No, but I have a huge collection of black romantic comedies and dramas like Love Jones, Love and Basketball, The Wood, The Best Man, The Inkwell, Brown Sugar and a whole lot more. We can watch whatever the two of you would like to see.”

  Erin stretched, yawned and then asked, “Can’t you just run across the hall and get all that stuff and bring it over here?”

  Joel said, “I could, but it won’t be the same. Over there we can watch the DVDs in high definition on my forty-two-inch plasma.”

  Kenya smiled and said, “All right ... let’s go.”

  It seemed like the three of them were about to move until Erin said, “Hold up a sec. We might have some chocolate syrup in our kitchen. Give me a minute to find it. Y’all know eating strawberries dipped in chocolate is so much sexier and sweeter than just eating them plain or with whipped cream.”

  Joel and Kenya laughed and agreed with Erin. They followed her to the kitchen and found an unopened bottle of chocolate syrup way in the back of their little pantry. Each of them seemed to be in a playful mood and didn’t realize how urgent it was for them to get over to Joel’s apartment before it was too late. Joel delayed things even more by kissing and fondling Erin and Kenya in the kitchen.

  Finally they headed over to Joel’s apartment. As soon as he opened his front door they were greeted by the strong smell of bleach. Right away they could see that Joel’s place had been vandalized. Everything was out of place except his largest pieces of furniture. Joel saw that most of his prized possessions had been destroyed. All of his time, effort and money that went into fixing his apartment up the way he wanted had completely gone to waste.

  Joel yelled, “What the fuck?” He punched his door and said, “Aw, man. Look at this shit. They got me.”

  Erin’s jaw dropped. She looked at the mess inside and all she could say was, “Damn.”

  Kenya stepped inside and said, “Oh no. Who do you think did this?”

  Right away Joel replied, “Spanky. I know he had somebody do this. Damn, look at my stuff. They sliced up my leather furniture. Everything is ruined ... everything.”

  Erin looked around and said, “Nah, you’re giving that boy too much credit. This is probably just a random act of violence.”

  Joel replied, “I doubt it.”

  Kenya asked, “Did you leave your door unlocked?”

  “No, you just saw me unlock the door.”

  Kenya thought for a second and said, “Yeah, you’re right.”

  Erin said, “Whoever did this must have had a key.”

  As Joel picked up a pile of books he said, “No one else has a key. Maybe I did leave the door unlocked and whoever did this locked it when they left.”

  Kenya said, “I don’t think so. It’s highly unlikely for someone to break in and then lock the door behind them.”

  With frustration in his voice Joel said, “I dunno. I guess it doesn’t really matter now anyway. All I know is that somebody destroyed everything I own. They even ripped my damn flat screen off the wall.”

  Kenya said, “Whoever did this did it just to piss you off because they didn’t steal anything.”

  “Well, it worked because I am pissed off.”

  The kitchen trashcan had been knocked over and trash had been scattered everywhere along with old newspapers and mail. Joel walked through the rubble and made his way down the hallway to his ransacked bedroom. His attention was focused straight ahead at the lamps that had been knocked off the nightstands. The light from the lamps created large shadowy shapes along the walls and concentrated light away from his bed. Joel’s room was such a mess that at first he didn’t even notice Renee lying in his bed. As he turned one of the lamps right-side-up he saw her lying there, balled up in a fetal position. The sight caught him off guard and nearly scared the living shit out of him.

  Angrily he yelled, “Renee, get your ass up. I can’t believe you did this shit to me. Get up!” She didn’t move. “I’m not playing ... get up!”

  There was an empty wine bottle next to her and Joel wasn’t sure whether Renee had drunk it all or whether she had spilled most of it in his bed.

  He assumed that Renee drank all of the wine and had vandalized his apartment in a drunken rage. He yelled, “Get your drunk ass up ... right now!”

  Erin and Kenya heard Joel yelling and came running. As they entered the room, they saw Joel shaking Renee. They shook their heads in disgust.

  Joel sensed that something else was going on. He pulled back the covers and saw that Renee had a pill bottle near her hands. He also noticed that she had found the friendship ring he had given her. She wore it on her left ring finger. Everything added up to serious trouble, and the condition of Joel’s apartment was the least of his concerns. He and the girls were obviously shaken by what they saw.

  Joel picked up the pill bottle and realized that it was actually an empty bottle of sleeping pills. He cried out, “Aw, no!” It felt like the floor had dropped from under his feet and the room began to spin. He
turned toward Erin and Kenya with a panicked look on his face and said, “I think she might have committed suicide.”

  Tears welled up in Erin’s eyes when she said, “Oh my God, is she dead?”

  Kenya said, “Please God ... I hope she’s still alive.”

  Joel feared the worst. He said, “I don’t know ... she doesn’t look right. Call 911.” He pulled back her eyelids and saw her distant pinpoint pupils. She looked dead, but Joel could feel that her skin was still warm as he scrambled to feel for a pulse. He said, “She’s still alive. Her pulse is weak, but I can feel it.”

  Erin was so nervous that she forgot that she had her cell phone on her hip. She went looking for the house phone and seconds later realized where her cell phone was.

  Kenya was so scared and upset that she looked like she wanted to run somewhere and hide.

  All three of them were in a state of shock—this seemed so unreal. They had planned to watch a romantic comedy and had no idea they would become part of a real-life romantic tragedy. Everything happened so suddenly and unexpectedly. Joel had always said that Renee was as unpredictable as the weather, but this had topped anything she had ever done.

  Kenya looked at Joel and said, “The ambulance is going to take forever ... we’ve gotta do something.”

  Joel thought for a second and then said, “Grab me a towel.”

  Kenya had to think about which way to go and exactly where the towels were located. She had been trained in CPR and first aid, and within a couple of seconds she had gotten herself together. She reached inside the closet for a towel and handed it to Joel. She leaned over Renee and put her ear near Renee’s mouth and nose to monitor her breathing.

  Kenya said, “She’s taking really slow, shallow breaths.”

  Joel replied, “I know. She’s barely alive.”