Baby Momma Drama

by Carl Weber

  “Well, Dylan, it looks like your story checks out. You can go home right after I get the okay from my sergeant,” he told me. “Man, I’m not gonna lie. For a minute there you had me pretty scared.”

  “Shit, you were scared? I was the one with the cuffs on. I thought I was going to jail.” I tried to keep my tone respectful.

  “Hey man, I’m sorry about that. I was just doing my job.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Ron. I know you were.” I offered him my hand, and he took it with a smile. “I just can’t believe I got caught up in some shit like this.”

  “Who you tellin’? I damn near fainted when I saw my partner walk you outta that crackhouse. I’ll be honest with you. I thought you’d turned crackhead on me.” We both laughed, but not because anything was funny.

  I’d been arrested about an hour before, or at least detained, as Ron put it, until my crazy story checked out. And when I say crazy, I mean craaaaazy. Thank God Ron was willing to hear me out and the people at Phoenix House Rehabilitation Center answered their phones, or I’d be spending the night in jail with the other people who got caught up in the midnight raid.

  The whole night started when I got a call around midnight from Ellen Turner, Monica’s counselor at the Phoenix House Rehabilitation Center. Ellen had called to notify me that Monica had gone AWOL for the fourth time this month. If she didn’t return by eight in the morning, she’d be kicked out of the program.

  It had taken just about every contact I had to get her into Phoenix House, and she was slowly but surely screwing it up. I had paid almost ten thousand dollars for her to get into the program, and Ellen made it clear this was her last chance. That was bad news. With the baby coming, I was desperate to keep Monica clean. It turned out she was more hooked on that stuff than I thought. She wasn’t willing to quit on her own, like she said, so I had to force her to get help for the baby’s sake. That was my child’s life she was messing up with every hit of crack she smoked. Unfortunately, she was so hooked she didn’t seem capable of considering the baby’s health. There was only one thing she cared about, and that’s what she went in search of when she left Phoenix House again.

  When I got the call about her disappearance, I had a pretty good idea of where to find her. Either she was in the crackhouse on Washington Street, smoking crack, or she was on Halifax, selling her ass to get some money for crack. I decided to check out the crackhouse first, and I was right. But when I went in there to get her out, we both ended up in handcuffs. Now, thank God, I was getting ready to be released, but I wasn’t sure what was gonna happen to Monica.

  “What about her?” I pointed toward a cell where Monica was sitting with about ten other women who’d been caught up in the raid. “Can I take her back to Phoenix? She’s pregnant.”

  “No. We found paraphernalia on her, along with a couple o’ vials of crack. She ain’t going nowhere until she sees the judge in the morning.” Ron wasn’t so apologetic this time.

  “Well, can I at least talk to her?”

  “Yeah, go ’head. But let me give you a little advice first.” He turned his back to the prisoners and spoke quietly to me. “You’re a nice guy, Dylan. I know you wanna help her, but trust me. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want help. If I was you I’d get as far away from her as possible. It’s only gonna get worse. Look what happened today, and believe me, this is just the beginning.”

  “I appreciate the advice, Ron. But I have to help her. Maybe she doesn’t want it, but that’s my baby she’s carrying, and I’m gonna do whatever I can to save my child.”

  “Well, then, good luck to you, my brother.” He gave me a pat on my shoulder.

  “Thanks. I’m gonna need it.” We shook hands; then I walked over to the cell and spoke to Monica. She was hunched over on one of the crowded benches. She didn’t look up, but she knew I was there.

  “What do you want, Dylan?” she sneered.

  “I just wanted to tell you that I’ll see you in the morning. I’m going home.”

  She lifted her head and glared at me in disbelief. “You leaving me here? You’re not gonna bail me out?”

  “They found drugs on you. You’ve gotta see the judge before they’ll release you.”

  “Why? How come you get to go home?” She started yelling. “Didn’t you tell them that I’m with you? What the fuck is wrong with you, Dylan?”

  “Of course I told them that. They don’t care. You had crack on you.” I tried to speak in a soft tone, hoping she’d lower her voice, but it didn’t help.

  “Well, then, make them care!” she cried. “Don’t you care about the baby?”

  She’d hit a nerve, and it took everything I had to control my own anger. Who the hell was she to ask me that question?

  “I’m not the crackhead. So I should be asking you that. And stop yelling at me. You’re making a scene.” There was no use reasoning with her now. Shit, she was probably still too high to hold a conversation even if there weren’t a dozen other crackheads around to hear every word. “Look, I’m outta here. I’ll see you in court in the morning. Just pray they’re gonna let you back in the program.”

  “Fuck you!” she shouted. “I’m not going back to no fucking program.”

  “Yes, you are. Even if I have to drag your ass there. You’re not gonna fuck up my baby’s life.” With that, she jumped up and leaned against the cell bars to get as close as she could while she screamed the most hurtful words.

  “It’s not your fucking baby, so leave me the fuck alone.”

  “What did you say?” I could feel a rage building up inside me. I felt like everyone in the station house was staring at me.

  “I said the baby’s not yours, motherfucker! Can’t you hear? Only reason I told you that it was is ’cause I needed a place to stay. And I knew you’d be stupid enough to let me stay in your house.” She was spitting as she spoke, shaking her head the whole time.

  “Yeah, right. If it’s not my kid, then whose kid is it?”

  “Jordan’s. Who do you think? When this baby’s born, he’s gonna be light, bright, and almost white. Just like his daddy.” She gave me an ugly smirk.

  I swear it was a good thing those bars were between us; otherwise, I would have killed her ass.

  “Joe was right about you the whole time. You are one hell of a bitch! How could you do this to me? How could you lie to me like that? After everything I’ve done for you!” Bars or no bars, I tried my best to grab her, and every woman in that cell scrambled. “You think you can play with my emotions? I’m gonna kill you, bitch! I’ma kill your fucking ass.”

  “Dylan! Come on, man. She ain’t worth it.” Ron pulled me from the cell and into another room. I sat at the table and wiped my face with my sleeve.

  He waited until I calmed down a bit before he spoke. “You ah’ight, man? Think you can go back out there without making a fool outta yourself?”

  “Am I all right?” I stared at him like he was insane. “That wench just told me that I’m not the father of her child. And you wanna know if I’m all right? No, Ron, I’m not all right. I just lost a child that hasn’t even been born yet.”

  34

  Travis

  Brittany passed by my bed on the couch as she walked from her bedroom into the kitchen. I’d been staying at her place for quite a while, so most nights I wouldn’t even pay attention to her when she went by to get a midnight snack. But then again, most nights she wasn’t wearing a cut-off T-shirt and a thong that exposed every inch of her perfectly round rear end.

  “Travis, you awake in there?”

  I lifted my head and pretended to be half asleep, but with the TV on she had to know I’d been watching her the whole time. Things had been strictly platonic between us the whole time I’d been staying at her place, but shit, I’m still a man. There was no way I was turning the other cheek when a half-naked woman walked into the room. Especially one as fine as Brittany.

  “Yeah, I’m awake.”

  “Good. We need to talk.” She wa
lked out of the kitchen and sat in the chair next to the sofa.

  “Ah‘ight, what I do now?” I sat up. “Don’t tell me you fell in the toilet again. ’Cause I made sure I put the seat down this time.” I was trying to keep things light because Brittany sounded pretty serious.

  “No, I ain’t fall in the toilet again.” She pretended to be angry. “Why you always gotta bring that up, anyway?”

  “ ’Cause the shit was funny, that’s why,” I laughed.

  I will never forget the way she looked that night. Her legs and arms were flailing all over the place, but her ass was stuck in that toilet bowl. She was screaming at me to pull her out, but before I did, I couldn’t resist. I had to run into the living room and get my camera. I never developed the film, but man, was that shit hilarious!

  “Look, I didn’t come out here to get laughed at. I came out here to talk to you about our living arrangements.”

  “Ub-oh,” I sighed. “I knew this was coming sooner or later. You want me to give you some more money toward the rent?”

  I didn’t really think she wanted to talk about money, but I threw it out there just in case. I had to show her that I appreciated what she was doing. I didn’t want her to think I was some deadbeat trying to take advantage of her kindness. But this little conversation we were about to have was about way more than money. This was about Brittany’s personal space and privacy, something she’d lost when I moved in to her living room. With me there, she’d been real careful about covering herself up when she came out of the shower, taking her phone calls in her bedroom, shit like that. But I know that had to be bothering her. She should have been able to walk around her place butt-naked if she wanted to.

  So I knew what she was going to say. It was time for me to leave. And as a true friend, I could appreciate that. Shoot, I don’t think I could ever repay her for her kindness. She hadn’t complained once the entire time I was there. As much as I didn’t want to go back home yet, I owed it to Brittany to give her back her place.

  “This is not about money, Travis,” she replied. “You’ve already given me enough money to damn near pay my entire rent. I just can’t have you sleeping on my couch anymore. It’s just not right—”

  She sounded upset, so I cut her off. “Look Brittany, I can see where this is going, and I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. I’m gonna go find a place on the base in the morning. I’ll be out your hair by tomorrow afternoon, ah’ight?”

  “No, it’s not all right.” Her tone surprised me. She really sounded frustrated. “Damn, don’t you men understand anything about women?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Evidently not, because I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you.”

  She got up and sat on the edge of the couch.

  “You don’t know what I’m talking about? What I’m talking about is that I want you to move off my couch so that you can move into my bed, Travis.” She kissed me passionately and her hands roamed my body until my manhood sprang to attention.

  “Whoa. Where’d that come from?” I muttered as our lips parted.

  “It came from here.” She pointed at her heart, but her eyes never left mine. “Travis, I’ve tried to be respectful of what you have, or think you have, with Stephanie, but it’s been a while now and you haven’t even attempted to go home. I hope I’m not overstepping my boundaries, but you’re a good man and I’m sick of waiting for you to notice that I’m a good woman.”

  I’m not gonna pretend like I never thought about Brittany and me getting together. Hell, everyone on base already thought we were together. But the truth is, I didn’t know what to do about her. I still thought about Stephanie a lot. I had to get over one hurdle before I could attempt another.

  “Are you serious, Brittany? You really wanna be with me?”

  “Uh-huh.” She bent down to kiss my neck. “I’ve never been more serious about anything in my entire life.” She blew in my ear and I instinctively wrapped my arms around her back, holding on tight. I was ready to give in right then and there. She felt so damn good, and I really missed a woman’s touch. But my conscience wouldn’t let me do that. At least not until Stephanie and I officially broke up. I mean, hell, she was still living in my house.

  “Look, Brittany. I like you. I like you a lot. But I still have feelings for Stephanie. It wouldn’t be fair to you, because I wouldn’t be giving a hundred percent to the relationship. Not yet, anyway.” I removed my arms from around her waist.

  “I know you have feelings for her, Travis. I was just hoping that you might let me help you forget about them.” She gave me a quick peck on the lips then stood. “I’m going to bed, but my door is always open. Let me know when you’re ready to be with someone who appreciates you.” I watched Brittany’s hips sway in that thong and shook my head. Damn, was I really turning down an offer to get my hands on that? Well, at least Brittany had done one good thing for me tonight. It was time for me to stop feeling sorry for myself and make a decision about Stephanie and me.

  I stopped staring at the ceiling and got my ass up off the couch about an hour after Brittany went back in her bedroom. As you can probably imagine, I found it rather hard to fall asleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I’d see an image of Brittany’s ass swaying back and forth in that thong, and my johnson would get rock-hard. Unlike me, my johnson didn’t have a conscience. It kept trying to convince me to go in there and take Brittany up on her offer. Finally, after a lofty mental debate with my johnson, I caved in. I knocked on Brittany’s bedroom door to get some of what my body was craving.

  “Brittany?” There was a single candle burning, and she was lying on her bed naked. She wasn’t asleep, either.

  “Yes, Travis?”

  “You really think you can make me forget Stephanie?”

  “I sure as hell wanna try. Come on in here.”

  It was six in the morning when I moved Brittany’s arm from around my waist and slipped out of bed. I had to give her credit. She wasn’t Stephanie, but she was one hell of a sex kitten in the bedroom. We had two hours of the wildest and most uninhibited sex I’d ever had. And it was just what I needed. Or at least what I thought I needed.

  I really liked Brittany. We had a lot in common, with both of us being sergeants in the army and all. And even more important, I trusted her. Long before we had a physical relationship in Germany, we had developed a great friendship. That was something Stephanie and I never had. Maybe that had been our problem. Sometimes we’re more faithful to our friends than to our lovers.

  All that being said, I was still reaching into Brittany’s hall closet for my duffel bags. Even though I had a great time with Brittany, I still couldn’t fall asleep. The sex was great, but once it was over, my conscience went into overdrive, and my mind kept drifting back home to my son, to Maleka. And yes, to Stephanie. Yeah, she’d done me wrong, and I’d probably be better off without her, but I owed it to the kids to at least try to figure this mess out. Besides, I’d forgotten something when I went into that bedroom last night. I’d forgotten that I still loved Stephanie. So the best thing for me to do was get the hell outta Brittany’s house as quickly as possible. Staying with her just meant I’d end up sleeping with her again, and that would only complicate things more than they already were.

  “Travis, what are you doing?” I turned and Brittany was standing in the doorway.

  “I’m packing.” I zipped up my duffel bag and tried to keep my eyes from wandering over her body.

  “I can see that. I just don’t understand why.”

  “Because I don’t wanna hurt you, Brittany. Last night was beautiful, but it’s not gonna change the fact that I’m still in love with Stephanie. I can’t get her out of my head. I really thought being with you last night would help me forget, but it’s gonna take more time. If I stick around here, you’re just gonna get hurt, and I don’t want that to happen.”

  I walked over and kissed her forehead. “I wish things were different.” And I really did. Here was this beautiful, unde
rstanding woman offering to love me, and I was turning her down for someone who’d betrayed me over and over again.

  “You’re going back to her, aren’t you?”

  “Yeah, I think so.” I nodded. “I gotta give it one more try. If only for the kids.”

  “Lucky kids,” she said sadly. “You know, I should hate you for this, Travis. But I gotta take some of the blame. I knew what I was getting into when I asked you to sleep in my bed.”

  “I would understand if you did hate me, Brittany. Truth is, I hate myself for doing it. But I’d rather do this now than six months from now.” I reached into my pocket. “Here’s your key.”

  “No. Just lock the door on your way out. You never know—you may change your mind again.”

  I smiled at her. “You never know—I just might.”

  “If you do come back, Travis, just understand one thing. I want you to come back as my man. I’m not some chick you can just lay up with when you’re mad at Stephanie.”

  “I know. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  “Take care of yourself, Travis. I’m gonna miss you.”

  Brittany’s eyes looked misty, and she turned quickly and headed back into her bedroom. I sighed deeply, then picked up my bags and left.

  When I got to the house, I’d barely gotten out of the truck when Stephanie, fully dressed, ran out to meet me. Just the sight of her hurt. I didn’t realize quite how much I’d missed her, or how guilty I’d feel about cheating on her.

  “Travis? What are you doing here?”

  “What do you mean, what am I doing here? I came to see the kids.” I glanced at my watch. “Didn’t I tell you I’d be here at seven o’clock?”

  “Yeah. But I thought you meant seven o’clock this evening, not seven in the morning. We were supposed to have dinner.” She looked a little nervous. Same way I felt. There was so much we had to talk about.