Jelisa’s face lit up, and a huge smile covered her face. She needed to hear that. It wasn’t that she doubted him, but she was beginning to feel overwhelmed with the thought of something happening to him. The fact of the matter was they both needed the reassurance. As much as she didn’t want to let him go Jelisa knew she couldn’t leave her client waiting too much longer. She reluctantly spoke up and whispered, “Well, baby, I need to let you go; my client just got here. I love you and congratulations on your award and stuff.”
“All right then, thanks. You just make sure to be safe leaving tonight. Watch your back; you know there are some crazies walking around out there. I love you, and I’ll try to call you tomorrow. Good-bye.”
“Love you too. Good-bye, baby.”
* * *
Shamar was feeling good about his award and upcoming promotion. It meant a lot to him that his unit recognized his efforts, and it didn’t hurt that there was some extra money involved. While heading to the chow hall for a late snack, he met up with Omar, who congratulated him, shaking his hand and patting him on the back.
“Congrats, homie! I heard the good news. How does it feel?” He chuckled, proud of his partner in crime.
“Man, it’s a cool feeling. It definitely took my mind off li’l dude; you know what I’m saying?”
“Yeah, I feel you. You talk to wifey lately? How she doing?”
“She all right, man, I guess. She told me some dude keeps calling her phone, got her bugging out. You know I don’t like that stuff,” Shamar said, shaking his head.
As they walked into the dining area, they got in line for the sandwich bar. It stayed open twenty-four hours a day for the different soldiers who had late-night and early morning missions. They continued their conversation as they made it through the line.
“Yeah, man, I know how you are about that stuff. But you ain’t on the streets anymore so let that go. I know you’d mess around and call home and try to put a hit out on somebody over her and baby girl,” Omar commented, making light of the situation. As he spotted a table to sit at, they made their way to the middle of the dining area.
They heard a faint voice saying, “Shamar. Shamar.” They both turned around to investigate. A tall, dark-skinned female corporal with big, gorgeous brown eyes and cute dimples made her way across the room toward them.
“You know her, man?” Omar asked Shamar.
Shamar squinted his eyes, trying to make out her name tag as she got closer. “Naw, man. She looks familiar, but I don’t recognize that last name.” Her name tag read GREENWOOD. That name didn’t ring a bell, but Shamar felt like he knew her from somewhere. The Army was a small world; you were likely to run into somebody you knew in the strangest places.
The young lady got within a few feet of them and said, “Jackson, you don’t remember me? It’s Tamika Johnson. Well, Greenwood now. How you been?”
Shamar scrambled to think back to where he knew her from. “Johnson. Tamika Johnson. Oh, snap!” he said as it dawned on him. He remembered now; he went to high school with her. “Tamika from Michigan City? Dang, girl, I haven’t seen you in years. What you doing over here? I didn’t know you joined the service.” Shamar’s eyes got big as his mind took him back to the eleventh grade, when he first met her. She was a grade behind him, but he had a crazy crush on her back then.
“Yeah, it’s me. Been a long time, huh? Look at you. Still got them pretty brown eyes, huh? Yeah, I joined the Marines right after high school. I’m a medic and my unit just got here from California for this joint taskforce. What you been up to?”
Once they all sat down at the table, Shamar realized he was being rude and hadn’t introduced her to Omar. “My bad, Mika; this is my guy Omar. Omar, this is my girl Tamika from back home.”
They shook hands and smiled as she turned her attention back to Shamar. “So, what you been up to? I heard you got married. What’s up with that? I didn’t think you were the marrying type,” she said jokingly with a smile on her face.
Shamar wondered what the odds were of him running into her this far away from home. “Yeah, I know, right? But I did it; been married almost seven months now. What about you, Greenwood? What’s up with that?” Shamar pointed at her name tag with a smirk on his face.
“Yeah, that’s a long story right there. I won’t be married much longer. My knucklehead husband acted a fool on me during my last deployment and messed around and got some chick pregnant. You know I couldn’t let that slide.”
Both Shamar’s and Omar’s faces had stunned looks on them. Unfortunately, that was commonplace among married couples in the military, especially with the Army and Marines. “Wow, that’s crazy, ma,” Omar said in disbelief. “Homie did you dirty like that? He had a whole baby on you? Man, that’s foul.”
Shamar shared his shock and disbelief. He looked at her and, for a second, he flashed back to high school when he was going after her. The look on Tamika’s face was numb; it seemed like it didn’t even bother her. Shamar lost himself in her eyes and wondered why somebody would treat a person, who was so beautiful, so ugly.
The breaking of a drinking glass in the background snapped him out of his daze. He continued with the conversation, stating, “That is dirty, Mika. How you holding up, though? I know that’s got to be hard, especially being over here.”
Tamika shrugged it off, not wanting to show that it was actually still bothering her. “I’m good, y’all; it’s nothing I can’t handle. Men and women make their own decisions, and you just have to take it for what it is. I’m just glad I found out before I gave that fool any kids. You talking about crazy, it would have been a totally different story if I had ended up being somebody’s baby mama. Anyways, on to a new subject. What’s going on with you, Shamar? What have you been up to these days?”
Shamar and Omar both laughed at her tactless attempt to change the subject and get the attention off of herself. “I’m good, man. Like I said, I’m married, and I got a four-year-old little girl. But we straight. Ain’t too much changed. I just had to get away from MC. I felt like I was stuck in like a black hole. People were either hustling or making babies; and, of course, I was doing both. So, either way it went, I was not going to come out on top. The Army saved my life, real talk.” Shamar was proud of his testimony; and as much as he and Jelisa went back and forth, he knew she was a rider.
Tamika had a smirk on her face, displaying her doubt. This wasn’t the Shamar she knew. Married life must have really made him soft.
“Why you looking at me like that?” Shamar said, puzzled at the awkward look.
“You know why,” she answered while clearing her throat, trying to dull the grin on her face.
“Girl, stop playing with me. What you mean I know? How am I supposed to know?” Shamar joked.
Tamika moved her chair over, closer to him, so that her thigh was touching his thigh. She was close enough that he could smell her perfume; the fragrance drove him crazy. He played it off and looked her in her eyes as she leaned over and frankly said, “You went soft.”
Omar clowned Shamar; he busted out laughing, stomping his foot and clapping his hands. “Wow. Bruh, she got you on that one,” he teased.
Not the least bit shaken, Shamar laughed it off. “Naw, sweetheart, never that. I just got tired of dealing with the same tired females. Everybody screwing the same people; my homeboys had kids by the same chicks. I had to find me one chick I knew wouldn’t cross me, and that’s what I got.”
Tamika couldn’t believe it. This ex-player and ex-hustler had been reformed. “Well, good for you. I’m happy for you,” she said. Although she didn’t believe a word he was saying, she didn’t want to push it any further. She still had feelings for him, but he was taken. While most women seemed to be drawn to men in his position, she wasn’t one of them. The Marines had made her heart tough; and, after being cheated on by her husband, she was callous toward men. Shamar was cool and all, but the most he could do for her was give her a good nut. That would only be if he was single,
because she refused to cause another woman the same pain she had experienced.
“Well, I appreciate it, Mika. Everybody has to grow up at some point. I’m hoping I get to go home on R and R next month to surprise her. Know what I mean?”
“Yeah, I know what you mean, but be careful with that.”
“What do you mean be careful? Careful about what?” Shamar didn’t know what she was getting at, and he had a confused look on his face.
Omar chimed in, saying, “Bruh, you know what she’s talking about. Be careful.”
Suddenly, it dawned on him what she actually meant. “Oh, man, my bad; I don’t know where my head is at. Yeah, I know what you mean. I’m good, though.”
Tamika didn’t really think he got what she was alluding to. “Shamar, you pop up on that girl unannounced if you want to and you might walk in on something you don’t want to see. I’m just saying.”
Omar concurred, nodding his head. “Yeah, bruh, that’s real talk, especially coming from a female. I know you got a good girl and everything, and she’ll ride for you, but we all know what these deployments can bring out of a lonely woman. We’ve seen it.”
Shamar was starting to get uncomfortable. He hated when people tried to get in his head, especially when it came to Jelisa.
They could see the irritation on his face, so Tamika tried to reel the conversation back in. “Look, I’m just trying to keep you from the same stuff I went through. I’m not trying to say that your girl is doing something; I’m just telling you not to set yourself up, that’s all. Anyway, it’s getting late. I need to get out of here,” she said, standing to her feet.
“Okay. What you got going on tomorrow?” Shamar questioned.
“Nothing. I’m not going to be here long. I’m on my way back to the States. I’m just here to help set up things before the rest of the unit comes.”
“Man, how you pull that one off?” Shamar was amazed that she was able to weasel herself out of a deployment. That was not an easy thing to do.
“Well, let’s just say I know all of the right people. I made sure that it would work out for me so that I didn’t have to be deployed the same time as my husband. But when you get back to the States, look me up.” She grabbed a napkin and wrote down her phone number and e-mail address.
Shamar and Omar both stood up, and he gave her a quick hug. Omar shook her hand, and they wished her a good night.
“I got you. I’ll get with you when I get back. Good seeing you again,” Shamar said as Tamika walked away, waving good-bye to them.
As she walked off, both Shamar and Omar checked her out and looked at each other. There was something about the way that combat uniform hugged her curves. “Boy, I tell you what, Omar; I swear if I weren’t married, shorty could get it,” Shamar said.
“Yeah, man, I know that’s right. She thick as hell, bro. How you miss out on that?” They both laughed about it and resumed eating their food.
It was refreshing to see somebody from home so far away, and Shamar wished that he had had more time to catch up with her. At the same time, he was thinking about Jelisa, wondering what she was doing. The warnings Omar and Tamika gave him still haunted him, as much as he tried ignoring them.
They finished up their late-night snacks and went back to their own quarters to get some rest for the next morning. The past week had its share of ups and downs but, all in all, it turned out to be a decent week for Shamar. He only hoped that the next month would have the same results.
* * *
Back at home, Jelisa was finishing up her last client when Donny made one last attempt at convincing her to come by his place that night. Jelisa had thought about it, and she concluded that she needed to get out of the house. She wasn’t about to be one of the Army wives who didn’t have any friends and didn’t do anything but stay in the house and work. But before she committed to hitting the town and having some fun, she had to get past the hurdle that was her mother. She would have to endure the snide remarks and weird looks as they mended what remained of their relationship.
After she had finished with her client, she cleaned up her station and got Mya together to get ready to go. She’d finished early, and it was close to four thirty. Mya had fallen asleep on the couch in the back, so she was half asleep as they proceeded to walk out the door. Jelisa looked back to tell Donny good-bye. Not wanting to miss his chance, he stopped what he was doing and walked over to her.
“Hey, Jelisa, hold up for a second.” He got extra close to her, to the point where she had to take a step back to put some space in between them.
She frowned her face up and leaned away from him. “Dang, boy, you awfully close, aren’t you? I’m getting ready to leave. What’s up?”
Donny, still grinning, backed up and responded, “Hold up, baby girl. You coming through tonight or what? The party won’t be the same without you.” He chuckled.
“Look, I don’t know yet. Maybe. I still have to find a babysitter. I’ll try, okay?”
Partially satisfied, Donny nodded and accepted her offer. He handed her his address, which he had already written on the back of one of his business cards in anticipation of her saying yes. She looked surprised and cracked a smile, slightly impressed by his confidence and persistence.
“All right, I’m gone.” She and Mya headed to the car and loaded up to head over to Sandra’s.
As she got close to the house, her stomach started doing flips. She was filled with anxiety, hoping that this wouldn’t be another blowup. In an attempt to level the playing field, Jelisa sent her older sister Shawnie a text, asking her to be downstairs when she got there, just to mediate. Shawnie was the second oldest and the one who would most likely be able to keep everyone calm. Having her there gave Jelisa a sense of security, knowing Shawnie wouldn’t let things get out of hand.
It was just before five o’clock when Jelisa arrived in front of the house. As she opened up the door and unbuckled Mya from her car seat, Mya had excitement all over her face. After she helped Mya out of the car and onto the sidewalk, Sandra appeared from behind the front door. Jelisa watched as Mya’s little feet carried her up the sidewalk and into her grandmother’s arms.
“Hey, Granny’s baby, come here,” Sandra said with a big smile on her face. Jelisa stood back for a minute, letting them enjoy the moment. Sandra bent down to pick Mya up; while doing so, she glanced over at Jelisa but didn’t say anything.
Jelisa started thinking back on the reason it was so hard for her to understand why her mother didn’t seem to like her. She hadn’t told anyone about it, and it killed her that she had carried this secret around for years. As she stood there in a daze, daydreaming about the past, she felt a breeze pass by the back of her neck. It gave her chills and shook her out of her stare.
“Y’all come on in,” Sandra said, waving at Jelisa.
When they got inside the house, Shawnie was sitting on the couch and Jelisa’s baby sister, TT, was sitting at the kitchen table, playing on her cell phone. Shawnie looked over at the entrance to the kitchen and called out to TT, “Hey, T, take Mya upstairs for me, would you?”
TT turned her phone off, got up, and grabbed Mya’s hand, leading her upstairs.
Jelisa walked over and sat down next to Shawnie. “What’s up, girl? Thanks for coming down,” she said, patting Shawnie on the thigh.
“Girl, it’s okay. I know how Mama can be,” Shawnie whispered under her breath. “Mama, can you come sit down so we can talk?” Shawnie said to Sandra, who was now standing in the kitchen by the refrigerator, staring out of the window over the sink. She let out a deep sigh as she could tell they were about to drop something heavy on her. As she made her way into the living room, she paused frequently as she attempted to light one of her Newports.
“All right, what’s up? What do y’all need to talk to me about?” Sandra sat down on the love seat directly across from them, flicking the ashes from her cigarette into the ashtray on the coffee table. Sandra couldn’t stand when people tried to corner her and
get her in her feelings. She hoped that they wouldn’t get too deep on her and start bringing up old stuff that no one could do anything about anyhow.
Jelisa cleared her throat and sat up, leaning toward her, and said, “Mama, I just need to know why you hate me so much.”
Sandra’s posture changed as she leaned forward, placing her forearms just above her knees. She took a deep breath and then a pull from her cigarette and mumbled, “Um hmm.”
“See, Shawnie, I knew she was going to do this. She ain’t trying to hear nothing I have to say,” Jelisa said, looking over at Shawnie.
“Just go ahead and say what you need to say, Jelisa. Don’t worry about all of that. She’s here, isn’t she?”
“Mama, I just don’t see what I did that was so wrong that you have to treat me the way you do. I mean, you don’t act this way toward anybody else, but as soon as I come around or I question something, you say then it’s a problem.” Jelisa could feel herself getting worked up. The heel of her right foot started tapping rapidly on the floor, and her knee bounced up and down rhythmically.
“Look, Jelisa, I’ll admit I have resented you because of your dad. When he left, it was the hardest thing I had ever experienced before. Your father always favored you over me, and I will admit that burned me to my core.” Sandra’s face grew grim as she relived the past verbal and emotional abuse handed down by Pete over the years.
Jelisa was amazed at the amount of anger and disgust that was written all over Sandra’s face. “Mama, I get that, but I was a kid. How can you blame me for stuff Daddy did? That was between you and him; I didn’t have nothing to do with that.”
“Jelisa, I don’t expect you to understand. He always treated you better than your sisters. And I hated the way he took your side whenever you and I got into it. Ugh!” Sandra grunted. In retrospect, Jelisa kind of knew the real reason Pete treated her and TT different than Shawnie and her oldest sister, Monica. Shawnie and Monica both had different fathers and Pete was Jelisa and TT’s biological father. Pete never felt like he could say much to the two oldest girls because he wasn’t their father.
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