Sister Girls

by Angel Hunter

  “Because I want to know where you’re going.”

  “I’m going out on a date.”

  “What’s a date?”

  “When a woman and man go out to dinner and a movie.”

  “So, when you and I go out to dinner, are we on a date?”

  Jewell gently held his face in her hands. She kissed him on the cheek and said, “Yes, we are.”

  “Well, we haven’t been on one in a long time, ever since you started working and stuff.”

  Jewell didn’t have an answer for that because she knew he spoke the truth. Ever since she started working and going to school, there was less time left for her baby. She did feel guilty, but in order for them to get better things, move to a bigger place, she had to do what she had to do. She didn’t want Tyson to want for anything.

  “How about we go out on a date tomorrow?” She would take him to the Hibachi place. He loved that.

  “I’d like that.”

  “Good, now go play in your room while Mommy picks out something to wear.”

  Opening her closet door, she stood there hoping an outfit would grab her. She didn’t want to appear too sexy or too conservative; she wanted something in the middle.

  “I need some new clothes,” she said out loud.

  Jewell pulled out three outfits: a black wrap dress, an olive green suede skirt set she’d recently purchased from Wilson’s Leather, and a one-piece jean outfit that showed off her curves. As she was spreading them out on the bed, she heard the doorbell ring. Jewell glanced at the clock and knew it was the babysitter. “Tyson, let Ms. Tracy in!” she yelled.

  Soon, she heard footsteps coming down the hall.

  Tracy poked her head in the door. “Can I come in?”

  “Sure. Maybe you can help me decide what to wear.”

  Tracy stepped in. Jewell was thankful to have such a nice girl as a babysitter. She had been Tyson’s babysitter for the past two years and was always on time and dependable.

  Looking at the clothes on the bed, Tracy asked, “So, where are you going?”

  “Dinner and a movie.” Damn, now that Jewell thought about it, what if she didn’t like this guy? Dinner and a movie, that’s about three or four hours. That’s a long ass time with someone you don’t know.

  What if she didn’t like him? That was a chance she had to take when she agreed to go on a blind date. Her girlfriend, Kim, who set it up, said he was extremely nice, well mannered and wealthy. Not that the money mattered much, but it was a plus.

  Glancing at the clothes on the bed, Tracy told her, “Wear the skirt set. It’ll show off your legs.”

  Jewell smiled because that was the outfit she was leaning toward. “Yeah, I think I will.” She put the other items of clothing up in the closet. “I’m going to take a shower.”

  “I’ll be in the living room with Tyson.”

  Jewell followed Tracy into the hallway and made a left into the bathroom. She pulled a shower cap out from beneath the sink and slipped it on her head. Poking her head out the bathroom door, she told Tracy to answer the phone if it rang.

  Fifteen minutes later, as Jewell was putting the final touches on her makeup, Tracy knocked on her bedroom door.

  “Come in.” Jewell looked up to see Tracy smirking. “What’s up?”

  “Your date is here.”

  Jewell looked at her clock. “He’s early.”

  Tracy didn’t say a word. She just stood there with a big smile on her face.

  “Why are you looking like that?”

  “This is a blind date, right?”

  This question caused Jewell’s heart to skip a beat. “What, is he ugly?”

  “No.”

  “Fat?”

  “No.”

  Growing irritated, Jewell said, “You know what? Never mind. I’ll come see for myself. Tell him I’ll be out in five minutes.”

  Tracy turned and left the room. A couple of minutes later, Jewell went to meet her date. Standing in the middle of the living room was a white man.

  I’m going to get Kim for this, Jewell thought. Walking up to him, Jewell said, “Hello, I’m Jewell.”

  He introduced himself as Evan as he reached out to shake her hand.

  “Mommy, that’s a white man,” Tyson said.

  “Tyson, watch your mouth.”

  Looking at Evan, Jewell apologized.

  “That’s okay,” Evan assured her. Then after an awkward moment of silence, Evan continued, “You didn’t know I was white, did you?”

  “Actually, no.” Jewell noticed that Tracy and Tyson were all in their conversation. “Can you two excuse us?”

  Busted, they left the room.

  “Is it a problem? If it is, I’ll understand. We haven’t left yet,” Evan said.

  Jewell had never dated a white man before. Never even thought about it. She couldn’t wait to see Kim. This was why she wouldn’t describe him. She just kept saying how nice he was. Jewell didn’t have the heart to cancel with him standing there. Plus, she’d been looking forward to getting out of the house all day. She decided to go through with it.

  “No, it’s not a problem. Let me grab a jacket and we can go.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

  “I’m positive, but I can only do dinner. My sitter has to leave kind of early.”

  “That’s fine with me,” he told her while he waited for her to retrieve her jacket.

  When they stepped outside, Jewell was surprised to see a black Hummer with rims parked in front of the building. She could feel her neighbors staring at them as he opened her door and waited for her to climb in.

  Once he was in and they each had their seat-belts fastened, Jewell found herself staring at him. “Have you dated black women before?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  As he pulled off, Jewell asked, “Do you date mostly black women or white women?”

  Evan looked over at her, surprised she was being so blunt. “Um, mostly black.”

  “Why?”

  “Why?” No one had ever asked him that.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “I don’t have a specific reason. This may sound corny and all, but I grew up around black people. Some of my best friends are black. My partner is black.”

  “Your partner?”

  “Yes. I have an investment firm.”

  Jewell knew to be impressed.

  “Plus, nothing beats being out with a beautiful woman like yourself.”

  Jewell smiled at the compliment. She knew she was a cutie, but didn’t let her confidence turn into conceit. She was considered a redbone in the black community, and had what black folks called good hair—long, silky and straight. Because of this, people assumed they could take advantage and pick on her. In her neighborhood, the darker you were the tougher you were. She didn’t understand how people equated the color of her skin with whether or not she could fight, but they did. That whole “if you’re light-skinned, you’re a punk” theory was not true in her case. She would put up her fists in a second. She was not one to back down, but because of her mixed heritage, people tried her anyway. Some times, she would sit back and think about it, take a look around at the other light-skinned girls and what she found was that they rarely befriended other people. It was like they were in a class by themselves. The darker sisters were tight, hung out together, fought together. They were a clique that she wanted to belong to but was unable.

  Her mother was black and her father Spanish. He left shortly after she was born. Her mother never spoke of him. When Jewell would ask questions, her mother would tell her, “He’s not here now, never was, so let’s do him like he did us and pretend he never existed.”

  When she was younger, people would come up to her and say, “Girl, you look just like your father.” She wondered if this was why her mother mistreated her, because she was a reminder of her father.

  Looking at Evan, she wondered why she never dated a white man or a Spanish man, only black men. When she thou
ght about it, she realized that the only white man she was attracted to was John Travolta, and she knew she didn’t stand a chance with him. Come to think of it, Evan had that Travolta strut. He was also handsome; she had to admit it. Tall, olive skin tone, a buzz cut, dark hair, startling blue eyes, and to top it off, he had dimples.

  Evan felt her staring at him and asked, “Is this your first time dating a white man?”

  Jewell asked, “Is it that obvious?”

  “Yeah, it is.”

  Together they laughed.

  “So, where are you taking me?” Jewell wanted to know.

  “Ms. Smith’s. Have you been there before?”

  She had not. It was out of her financial league. “No, but I heard the food was delicious and the décor was romantic.” Deciding to tease him, she asked, “Are you looking for romance tonight?”

  Surprised, Evan asked, “Are you teasing me?”

  Laughing, Jewell told him, “Just a little.”

  Evan didn’t reply. He just smiled as they arrived at the restaurant. “We’re here.”

  The clientele in Ms. Smith’s was mostly African American and she was wondering how the people—forget the people—how she would handle being in a room full of Blacks with a white man. She wondered if she would be able to handle it.

  As they pulled up to the valet parking lot, a gentleman opened her door. “Good evening, sister,” he greeted as she climbed out.

  He won’t be calling me sister once he sees who my date is, Jewell thought.

  Before the young man could get to his side, Evan was out of the truck. He handed the gentleman the keys. Noticing the color of Evan’s hands, the young man looked up and mumbled under his breath, “Look at this shit.”

  Jewell knew Evan heard him because she saw him tense up just a bit. Leading him by the elbow, she said, “Come on. Let’s go inside. I’m starving.”

  As they started to walk away, Evan stopped, turned around and said, “Excuse me,” to the valet.

  Before the valet could respond, Jewell took Evan’s hand and pulled him along. “Come on. Let’s go eat.”

  Evan heard the nervousness in her voice and decided not to pursue the issue.

  Walking into the restaurant was like walking into a new world. Jewell had not been out in quite a while. The places she used to hang out at definitely weren’t classy like this. There were mirrors everywhere and the room was dimly lit. The seats were close, giving the room an intimate feel, and candles were on every table. The cream and wine color scheme set the mood. There was a jazz band playing in the middle of the floor where couples were dancing or swaying. One couple appeared to be making love to the music.

  “This is nice,” Jewell managed to say while they were being led to their table. “This is real nice.”

  “I’m glad you like it.”

  As they were taking their seats, Jewell glanced around the room. When her eyes hit the door, she saw Elsie walk in with another female. Jewell noticed that they were holding hands, smiling and looking at one another intimately. The woman dropped Elsie’s hand and wrapped it around her waist.

  “So, that’s it.”

  “So, that’s what?” Evan followed Jewell’s gaze.

  Jewell didn’t realize that she had spoken out loud. “Oh, nothing.”

  Elsie and her date, Summer, were being led to their table. It wasn’t too far from Jewell and Evan. As they got closer, Elsie spotted Jewell and almost stopped in her tracks. Taking a deep breath and making the decision not to acknowl-edger her, Elsie kept her attention focused in another direction as she walked toward their table.

  Elsie knew she was dead wrong for not speaking. She felt like a coward. After all, she and Jewell had to see each other five days a week.

  “Is everything all right?” Summer sensed Elsie’s preoccupation.

  Elsie told her everything was fine, but it wasn’t. She had tried so hard to keep her sexuality a secret.

  “Are you sure?” Summer asked.

  “Yeah, I’m sure,” Elsie told her, knowing that was a lie. She would have liked to say “Let’s go eat somewhere else,” but what would have been the point? They were already spotted.

  “What are you ordering?” Summer asked Elsie, pulling her out of her daze.

  “You can order for me,” Elsie said, standing up. “I’ll be right back. I saw someone from the office.”

  When Elsie approached the table, Jewell was laughing at something Evan said. Against her better judgment, she was actually enjoying herself.

  “I’m actually having a nice time,” she told him.

  “You sound surprised.” Evan replied.

  Before Jewell could respond, Elsie was standing at the table. “Hi, Jewell.”

  Jewell was surprised when she looked up and saw Elsie standing next to her table.

  “Well, hello.”

  “It’s good that you spoke up for yourself today.” Elsie couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  “Thanks. I figured if things got out of hand, you and Crystal had my back.” Jewell smiled, letting Elsie know it was in jest.

  “Well,” Elsie shifted, “enjoy your dinner.”

  “You too.”

  Jewell watched Elsie walk away.

  “You two work together?” Evan asked.

  “I’m so sorry.” Jewell realized that she didn’t introduce them. “That was so rude of me not to make introductions. She’s one of the attorneys I work for.”

  “That’s all right. Maybe I’ll get another opportunity to meet her.”

  Jewell didn’t respond. She knew that was his way of asking her out again.

  THE PAST WILL HAUNT YOU

  Crystal was sound asleep, sprawled across her bed when the phone rang. Popping up, she noticed that it was 10 p.m. She wondered who could be calling her at this hour. For a brief second, she was going to let the answering machine pick it up, but recalled that she’d turned it off.

  “Hello,” she snapped into the phone.

  “Crystal Gem?” the voice on the other end asked.

  From the tone, she knew it was the rape crisis center where she was a volunteer. “Yes, this is she.” Crystal sat up.

  “We need you at the hospital. Are you available?”

  “Of course. Which hospital is it?”

  “Park Memorial.” The person on the other line proceeded to give her all the information she needed, such as the name of the victim, the age, any available information regarding the incident. After hanging up the phone, Crystal threw on a pair of jeans, a black T-shirt, her leather bomber jacket, socks and boots. She grabbled her ID and ran out the door.

  Whenever Crystal was called in to comfort someone and help them through the exam, she recalled her own past. This time, she told herself she wasn’t going to go there, so she drove with the radio on loud all the way to the hospital.

  It seemed to take forever to get to the hospital when in reality it had only taken 10 minutes. Pulling into the parking lot, she took a quick look at her reflection in the rearview mirror.

  “Okay, here goes,” she said out loud.

  She walked through the revolving door, past the people waiting impatiently to be seen. When she reached the front desk, she pulled out her ID and told them why she was there and who she was looking for. The nurse told her to go through the double doors, straight down the hall to room number six.

  Crystal did as she was told. When she reached the door, it was closed. She tapped on the door. “May I come in?”

  “Are you from the center?” a meek voice asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Come in.”

  Crystal opened the door and on the bed sat a petite young lady with hazel eyes, wearing a hospital robe. She was looking at the floor.

  “You must be Tina,” Crystal said.

  Looking up, Tina opened her mouth to say something then closed it. Her shoulders shook and she started to cry uncontrollably.

  Crystal approached her slowly and held both of her hands. “It’s okay, baby. Le
t it out. Do you want to tell me what happened?”

  Tina looked at her and whispered, “He raped me.”

  “Who raped you?” Get a name, Crystal said to herself.

  The cops had not arrived yet, and in case Tina went into shock, at least she would have that much.

  “Jake, Jake Newton.” Tina said it so quietly that Crystal had to ask her to repeat it.

  “Who did you say?” Crystal couldn’t believe what she thought she’d heard.

  “Jake Newton.”

  Unable to breathe, Crystal put her hand up to her chest. Don’t let it be. Please, don’t let this be. Jake Newton. That was the name of the man who raped her when she was fifteen. Crystal knew she should call someone else in at this point, yet she stood paralyzed. She had to know more.

  “How old is he?” she asked.

  “Nineteen,” Tina murmured.

  “How old are you?” Crystal needed to know if she was a minor. Her frame was so small, she couldn’t tell.

  “I’m eighteen.”

  Damn, she thought. Could it be his son? What if it was? Should she be this girl’s counselor? Should she get involved? Was it unethical, a conflict of interest?

  Sitting on the edge of the bed Crystal asked, “Tell me what happened.”

  Clearing her throat, Tina began. “I know him from school. We were at a party, I went into a room with him. Maybe I shouldn’t have done that, but I really liked him. I thought all we would do is kiss. I didn’t think he’d . . . I told him to stop. I tried to get him off me and everything. He just kept doing it.” She looked up at Crystal and said, “I shouldn’t have went in the room with him.”

  Crystal knew about self-blame and how a woman’s mind could trick her into thinking it was her fault or she deserved what happened. “Don’t blame yourself, sweetie. It’s not your fault. You told him no and that’s what’s important. You told him to stop and he didn’t.”

  There was a knock on the door. Crystal jumped off the bed and cracked the door open. It was the police and a physician. She let them in.

  After all the questions were answered and the exam was done at almost 1 a.m., Crystal offered to take Tina home. They drove in silence. When they arrived in front of Tina’s apartment complex, Crystal pulled out her card and told Tina to call her any time of the day or night if she needed to talk.