by Carl Weber
“Hey, baby, everything go ah’ight with your mom’s party?”
“Yeah, I wish you could have been here.” I smirked at him. “You were the main topic of conversation. In fact, my family saw a part of you they’ll never forget.”
“Is that so?” He looked puzzled.
“Yeah, let me show you.” I clicked the remote for the VCR and watched Derrick’s skin turn pale.
“Oh, shit.” He collapsed onto the couch, his mouth hanging open.
“How could you, Derrick?” I finally broke down in tears. “And with Sabrina! That’s my best fucking friend!”
I couldn’t believe it, but he wasn’t trying to come up with some creative lie. All he did was stand there and stare at me. I wanted to get up and smack the shit out of him. My world was crumbling around me, and he was as calm as a meditating monk.
“Where’d you find it?” he finally asked.
“Big Momma found it in the camcorder. They thought it was the tape from T. J.’s christening.”
He turned his head and bit his lip. I wondered what was making him feel worse, the fact that he was stupid enough to leave the evidence in the camera, or the thought that my whole family had watched his damn freak show with Sabrina. I looked at him from where I was sitting, and I just wanted to explode. But it wasn’t all about Derrick. Oh, he and I were through. There was no question about that. But I was just as angry with Sabrina. She’d broken every rule in the friendship book.
“Why Sabrina, Derrick? Do you hate me so much that you had to fuck my best friend?”
He started to sniffle like he was holding back tears. As if it was going to get him sympathy or something.
“What the fuck are you sniffling about?” I shouted. “I’m the one who should be crying! I’m the one who got fucked over! I could have fucked a hundred men while you were upstate, motherfucker! But I didn’t do shit! So tell me, what the fuck are you crying about?”
He turned around to walk up the stairs, probably to get his shit. He couldn’t possibly think I was gonna let him stay. But I had to make it perfectly clear he was out of my life.
“You ain’t staying here, motherfucker! And your shit ain’t upstairs, ’cause I tried to do a Terry McMillan on your ass and burn it up!”
“My comic books,” he mumbled.
“You damn right! That was the first shit to go.” Believe it or not, that was the first thing that got him to show any real emotion since he walked through the door. It was sickening how important those damn comic books were to him.
“Bitch, you burnt up my comic books!” he yelled, stomping toward me. “Do you know how much them things are worth? I’m gonna kill yo’ ass.”
I believed him, too. He grabbed me by the shoulder and raised his fist high above me. I struggled to get loose.
“Come on, motherfucker! I wish you would hit me! But if you hit me, you damn sure better kill me, ’cause I’ll have your parole violated before you get out the door.”
I’d hit a nerve. He sure wasn’t ready to give up his newly earned freedom so quickly. The grip on my shoulder loosened. I wiggled free and ran to the other side of the room.
“I love you, Jasmine. I’ve never loved anyone more than I love you.”
“You don’t know what love is, Derrick.” We were both panting from the exertion. “Now, get the fuck out my house. And I better not catch your ass trying to stay with that bitch Sabrina.”
“You’re making a big mistake, Jasmine. Let me stay and we’ll work this out, boo,” he pleaded.
“Get the fuck out. Now!” I turned my back and waited until I heard the sound of the front door slamming.
My eyes were stinging from holding back the tears, but I was not about to cry now. That man had hurt me so many times, and I was furious. I thought it was bad, way back at the start of our relationship, when I found out he was really a drug dealer. But even that lie wasn’t as bad as what he had just done to me. I’d been faithful to Derrick for three long, lonely years while he was away. Shoot, I’d even made nice with his pain-in-the-ass baby’s momma, bringing her money and watching her kid. And this was how Derrick repaid me. I guess all my sacrifice meant nothing to him if he could throw it all away for a damn blow job.
I looked around the apartment at all the photos of Derrick and me. Him with that pretty-boy smile, always with his arm around me. And me looking up at him like he was the best thing that ever happened in my life. I felt like such a fool. Just the sight of those memories made me hurt. I had to get out of the apartment. I grabbed my keys and headed for my car, not sure where I was going.
I got onto U.S. I heading south, thinking that a drive might clear my head. And it did help a tittle. I drove for at least an hour, surfing through radio stations to avoid hearing any romantic song that might remind me of Derrick. My mind wandered back over so many incidents in our relationship that at the time seemed minor. In the bigger picture, though, it was becoming clear that Derrick really never was the great man I thought he was. There were so many times he’d manipulated me. I was forever giving in to his demands, doing things a real man would never have asked of his woman in the first place. And yet with Derrick, not only did he ask me to do them, but he worked every possible angle until he got me to agree. But I guess I was at fault, too. I should have been stronger, said no a lot sooner. The more I thought about it, the more I realized we were both just really bad for each other. After all we’d been through, I doubted I could ever hate Derrick, but I was pretty sure that soon I’d be happy to be without him.
So as I drove, my mood started to improve a little bit. I was actually singing along with a song on the radio when I got the call that put me right back in a foul mood.
“Hello?”
“Jasmine.”
“Who is this? I can barely hear you.”
“It’s me. Sabrina.” I almost swerved into another lane.
“What the fuck do you want, bitch? You already fucked my man.” I hung up the phone, but she called right back.
“Stop calling me!” I shouted.
“Jasmine, you gotta listen to me.” She spoke fast. “I’m sorry. It was an accident. I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“An accident! What? Did you accidentally wrap your lips around his dick so that my whole family could see you suck it? Please, bitch, don’t insult me. You already got an ass-kicking coming to you. Don’t make it worse than it already is.” She had me so pissed off, I ran a red light.
Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!
I looked in my rearview mirror and saw the flashing lights of a police car.
“Damn it! See what you did, bitch?” I clicked off the phone. “Shit! What the hell else is gonna happen today?”
I pulled over to the side of the road and waited for the officer to get out of his car. A tall, broad-shouldered cop approached my car. He shined his flashlight in my face.
“License and registration, please.”
I thumbed through my purse and handed the information to him.
“You know you just ran a red light, don’t you?”
“I’m sorry, officer. I didn’t realize it until I was halfway through.”
“Well, this is a heavy pedestrian area. You might wanna stay off that cell phone and pay attention to the road.”
“I know, officer. I’m just having a bad day. I just found out my boyfriend is cheating on me with my best friend.”
“Is that so?” He actually looked sympathetic as he handed back my license and registration. “Look, I’m gonna let you off with a warning, but—” Something in the car caught his eye and made him pause. “Ma’am what’s that?” He pointed at my ashtray. I gasped when I saw the half blunt lying there. Once again, Derrick had screwed me over.
“It looks like a blunt,” I admitted. “But I swear it’s not mine. My boyfrie—”
He didn’t let me finish. “Have you been smoking marijuana, ma’am?”
“No. I don’t mess with that stuff,” I told him honestly. “I work at the post of
fice. We have random drug tests.” I guess he’d used up all his sympathy with my first story, ’cause now he wasn’t hearing it.
“Ma’am, can you step outta the car, please?”
“Step out the car? For what? I told you it’s not mine.”
“I understand that, but I’m gonna have to search the car. So I’m gonna need you to stand over here.” He pointed to the spot on the curb where he wanted me to go, and then he opened my car door. I was not happy, and I let him know it.
“Go ’head. There’s nothing in my car but that blunt.”
“Well, if that’s the case, you’re lucky, because we only give citations for that amount of marijuana. Now, can you sit on the curb, please?”
I sulked over to the curb and sat down to watch the officer begin his search. After a few minutes, another squad car pulled up, and an officer got out to assist The two of them looked through the car pretty quickly, and they didn’t find anything, just like I knew they wouldn’t. I smirked at them as they headed for the trunk. I couldn’t wait to get back in my car and go home. One of the officers stepped away from the trunk and gestured for me to get up.
“Ma’am, can you please stand up and place your hands behind your back?”
“Hands behind my back? For what?” I asked as he came near.
“Ma’am, you’re under arrest for possession and intent to distribute a controlled substance.” His partner held up a sandwich bag full of white powder.
“What? That’s not mine. That’s Derrick’s.” I was so shocked, I couldn’t even cry. “It has to be his, ’cause it ain’t mine. It’s not mine.”
“Well, it’s in your car and you’re driving,” he stated with no emotion. “So I have to inform you of your rights. You have the right to remain silent....”
38
Stephanie
“Commonwealth of Virginia versus Jasmine Johnson. Possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute,” the clerk shouted as he handed the judge a folder.
A door to the right of the judge swung open. The occupants of the courtroom watched as three sheriff’s deputies escorted my sister to the front of the courtroom. She looked like shit in those orange overalls. Her hair was a mess, and you could see from her smudged mascara that she’d been crying. I’ve never felt so sorry for anyone in my entire life.
I’d gotten the news that Jasmine had been arrested late last night, when the operator woke me with a collect call. Jasmine never called collect, so I was nervous as I accepted the charges.
“Stephanie?” Jasmine’s voice was low.
“Are you all right? Did Derrick do something to you? You’re not at the hospital, are you?”
“No, I’m not at the hospital.”
“Thank God,” I sighed with relief. “So why the hell are you calling me collect?”
“Stephanie, I’m in jail. I got arrested.” Her voice cracked like she was about to cry.
“Arrested? For what? Don’t tell me. Your license was suspended?”
“I wish it was that simple.” Now she was scaring me.
“You did something to Derrick, didn’t you? Oh, my God, you didn’t kill him, did you?” I knew my sister was upset about the video, but I didn’t think she was that upset. To be honest, I didn’t think she was capable of hurting anyone enough to get herself locked up.
“No, I didn’t do anything to Derrick; he did something to me. He left drugs in my car.”
“Oh, shit. No, he didn’t.”
“Yes, he did,” she sobbed. “Look, Steph I need you to call Big Momma and see if you can get me a lawyer. Tell her I need a good one, ’cause they’re talking about giving me fifteen years.”
So now here I was the next morning, watching my sister trembling in front of the judge, waiting for her lawyer. It was obvious she hadn’t slept a wink. She sighed when a tall, wiry, baldheaded white man stepped forward.
“Robert Smith for the defense, Your Honor. Waive reading.” The judge wrote something down on the file, then turned to the Commonwealth attorney. “Mr. Green, what have you got?”
“Your Honor, Ms. Johnson was pulled over for a routine traffic violation. Her car was searched after the arresting officer found marijuana within her immediate reach. During the search of her car, the arresting officer and his partner found approximately twenty grams of cocaine.”
“This looks pretty serious; Mr. Smith, how does your client plead?” the judge addressed Jasmine’s lawyer.
“Innocent, Your Honor. There are some mitigating circumstances involved in this case that the Commonwealth is unaware of.”
“I see. Well, you’ll have to discuss that with them.” The judge looked at the prosecuting attorney. “Bail, Mr. Green?”
“In light of the amount of cocaine, the Commonwealth suggests a fifty-thousand-dollar bond, Your Honor.”
“Mr. Smith, I’m sure you have something to say about that?”
“We feel that’s excessive, Your Honor. Ms. Johnson is a citizen with no criminal record and heavy ties to the community. She’s a supervisor at the United States Post Office and is not a flight risk. We ask that she be released on her own recognizance.”
“considering the amount of cocaine in her possession, we’re not going to release her that easily, but we will reduce the bail. Bail is set at fifteen thousand dollars, cash or bond.”
The judge banged his gavel, and Jasmine’s body sagged. Her lawyer had to grab her arm to keep her from collapsing on the floor. I wanted to cry. My sister and I might’ve had some rough spots in our relationship, but she didn’t deserve this. That’s why I was glad that I’d called the right person to help her out of this.
“Where the hell is she?” I was pacing across the tile floor in the lobby of the Richmond city jail.
“Stephanie, relax. The deputy already told you it’s gonna take a while. They have a lot of paperwork to take care of before they can release her.” I nodded my head at Dylan but continued to pace.
I had calmed Dylan right after I hung up the phone with Jasmine last night. Once I explained what had happened to her, he didn’t hesitate to offer his help. The first thing he said was that he’d have his lawyer represent her. And I didn’t even have to mention bail before he started talking about going to the bank first thing in the morning. The way he was acting, there was no doubt in my mind about how much he cared about Jasmine. I mean, when it came down to it, the brother put up his house as collateral after the judge announced Jasmine’s ridiculously high bail. If it wasn’t for him, Jasmine’s ass would be sitting up in that jail cell a hell of a lot longer than this.
“Hey, Stephanie. I’m gonna go get us a couple of sodas. You wanna come?”
“No. I’m gonna wait here in case they let my sister out a little earlier.”
“Suit yourself. I’ll be back in a sec.” I watched Dylan walk out and had to smile. He was all right. Jasmine should’ve held on to him when she had the chance, even if he did have a little baby momma drama. Hell, these days it seemed like everybody had some type of drama. Especially me. But shit, who was I to criticize anyone after all the mistakes I made with Travis? I’d lost a damn near perfect man, and there was no one to blame but myself. In the two weeks since Travis had ordered me out of the house, we only spoke two times, and that was because he wanted to know when I was moving out. Malek had called with his crap a few times since then, but I let him know there wasn’t shit happening. As far as his demand for on-call booty, he hadn’t been pushing the issue. Rumor was that LaKeisha Nixon was nursing him back to health since the night he got jumped. I guess she was making him feel good enough that he didn’t need me anymore. And if he wanted to go to the police? Well, that was his prerogative. But he knew better, ’cause even if he did get me or Derrick locked up, Derrick had plenty of boys out there who’d be more than happy to finish the job for him.
So I stayed home with my kids most nights, wondering why I’d let my life become such a mess. How could I have been willing to risk everything just to mess around
with Malek? I knew his ass was no good. I knew he hadn’t changed. Maybe I just got too comfortable with Travis. I got too used to being treated like the world was mine.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that a girl deserves to be treated like shit to keep her in line. I’m saying that Travis was almost too good to me. He just gave and gave and gave. He was the most generous man I’d ever known, with his money and his heart, and he hardly ever asked for anything in return. I got so comfortable with receiving things from him, I forgot to think about giving back. Not that I had a lot of money to be buying him things, but I should’ve given him my total devotion. Instead, I just coasted along, taking his gifts and figuring he was satisfied as long as I kept him well fed and well sexed. I had a lot to learn about truly being in love, and I was sorry for all I had to lose before I could start learning.
And my poor kids. Maleka had lost the only daddy she’d ever known, and T. J. would grow up never knowing what it was like to have a father living under the same roof. Sure, they’d be able to spend plenty of time with him after we finalized a custody agreement. I wasn’t about to fight over that. But it wouldn’t be the same. If I had used better judgment, they would have had both of us, together, all the time.
Thank God for my family. Big Momma offered to let us stay with her once I told her Travis wanted us out of the house. Of course, I had to listen to her rant and rave about how stupid I’d been, what a good man I’d lost. But what could I say? She was right, and we both knew it. So after she ranted for a while, Big Momma opened her heart and her home to us. I was packing a little bit each night after work, and we would be out of the house before the month was up.
Jasmine had also been really supportive through the whole ordeal. I never once heard her say “I told you so,” which is exactly what I would’ve expected from her. Well, maybe that’s what I would’ve expected in the past. But ever since she’d busted me at the motel with Malek, our relationship had been changing. She’d actually spent hours on the phone with me since Travis ended things, listening to me cry or scream or whatever I felt I needed to do. Maybe both of us were starting to realize that our lives were more similar than either of us had ever thought. After years of competing with each other for Big Momma’s approval, we finally realized it was pointless. We’d both made mistakes through the years, and Big Momma still loved us both, no matter what. We were her family, and we’d finally learned to start acting like family. It felt so good to have a sister now. That’s why I was so anxious for Jasmine to be released from the jail so we could get her home.