She found the piece of paper that Simone wrote her number on and dialed the number. After the fifth ring, Joy realized that she didn’t think about what she would do if Simone didn’t answer or had new number, it has been a few months now.
Just as she took the phone from her ear, she heard someone shout hello.
“Hey, It’s Joy.” she said, and waited to see if Simone remembered her.
“Oh, Ohhhh hey. It’s been a while. How have you been?”
“Okay, I guess.”
“Are you sure you sound sad or something?”
Joy told Simone everything that happen from when she left Simone’s job until now.
“Damn, that sounds crazy.” Simone said, when Joy was done.
“Yea, so I need a place to stay to get my head right.”
“Well…” Simone hesitated.
“I only wanted to know if you knew where I could just pay cash for an apartment and not have to worry about paperwork or anything.” Joy said, irritated.
“Oh yea. You can probably get something in the building where I live. My boo is cool with the manager. You probably have to shoot the manager a couple dollars.
“Ok. That’s no problem. Give me the directions and I’ll be on my way.”
Joy was relived to hear the good news. She hated to leave without telling Kevin but he just was too controlling. She made sure she collected all the money from under the bed. She did leave him one of the plastic bags with money in it. She didn’t count it, she didn’t know how much it was but she knew it was several stacks. She left a sticky note next to it that read, I love you, Joy.
As she got in the cab, she glanced back because she expected Kevin to come home and stop her. She knew that he wouldn’t because he had a wedding in Edgewater, NJ. In fifteen minutes she arrived at Simone’s. Simone lived in the Northeast, right around the corner from her job.
The building looked a rundown. Weeds grew out of the bricks and the grass was overgrown. Joy walked through the front door and went to the intercom. She buzzed Simone’s apartment and waited. Seconds later she was on the elevator. Once she got to the door, she listened. She heard a males voice but couldn’t make out what he was saying. So she knocked. A short man about 5’2 answered the door, a toothpick stuck out his mouth. He sucked on the toothpick, as he looked Joy up and down. Joy blew her breath loud to show him her irritation but he didn’t notice. He was one step up from being ugly. He had no type of body. He was stick skinny, with a huge gut. Joy had had about enough of him, when she heard Simone tell him to move and let her in. Joy thought that they made a funny looking couple. Simone was 5’’7’. She had long, wavy, jet-black hair. She had flawless golden brown skin. She was very pretty and her body was top notch. She had a tiny fame but a fat ass with melon size breast.
“Have a seat Joy.” Joy sat down at a table that was in the living room.
“Jamek, this is Joy. Joy this is Jamek.”
“Was sup?”
“Hey.” Joy said.
Instantly, Joy disliked Jamek. He talked too loud and his only goal at thirty-two was to be a rapper. He made this known to Joy right away. Just in case she knew someone or someway he could get a deal with. After fifteen minutes of Jamek talking nonstop, Simone was even tired of him.
“Jamek didn’t you say you had something to do?”
“Oh yeah. I’m out. Joy holler at me. Simone got the number,” he said then left.
“Damn, I’m glad that nigga gone.” Simone said and laughed.
“Was that your boo?” Joy asked trying to keep from laughing.
“Girl, hell no! That’s just the weed man. He always looks out when I cop from him. He double on anything I buy. Even if I get just a nick, he hand me a dime bag.
“You smoke?”
“Not in a minute.”
“Oh shit, yeah I forgot.” Simone said, reaching over to run Joy’s belly. Joy showed fully now thru her oversized tee shirt. As she looked down at her sweatpants she thought about the day Kevin came home with them. She asked him can he take her to get some maternity clothes and he came home with bags of sweatpants and tee shirts.
“I can’t wait until I have this baby.”
“Do you know what you’re having?”
“A girl. Can I use your bathroom?”
“Yeah. Go in the bedroom, it‘s in the corner.”
Joy got up, letting out a breath. It was harder and harder to get up everyday. She waddled to the bathroom. When she came out the bathroom, she saw that someone else was sitting at the table with their back turned towards Joy. She walked back to her seat and sat back down. She made eye contact with the person and knew right away that it was a female. Despite the baggy clothes and the fitted hat, She had a pretty face, with small facial features and gray and hazel eyes.
When Joy realized that she been studying her, she turned away. Simone stopped talking and introduced them, “Joy, this is my boo Ronnie.”
“Hi.” Ronnie said in the softest voice Joy had ever heard.
“Hey.” Joy said, holding her hand up in a nervous wave.
Simone laughed, she loved the reaction she got from people who didn’t know she was gay.
“You got a problem?” Ronnie said taking offense.
“No. I was just surprised.”
“Ronnie cut that shit out.” Simone said.
“Where you say you met this broad at again?”
Joy’s hand went to her stomach. “Pregnant or not, I will fuck this bitch up.” She thought.
“Ronnie don’t start your shit. Can you just do me this solid? Joy’s not gay. Don’t you see that she pregnant? Chill.”
“Yeah I don’t know why you trying to help her. It’s a reason behind it.”
Joy knew that Ronnie was jealous. Though she remained quiet, she wanted to tell her she had nothing to worry about. She shook her head but she got up and strolled to the door and left. Once she left, Simone tried to laugh off her behavior.
“I’m sorry bout that. I don’t know why she acts like that. I think she’s bipolar on the low.”
“It’s cool.” Joy said like it didn’t bother, but she knew that she would have to watch out for Ronnie.
The wait wasn’t long. Ronnie came back with a woman in her forties. She wore glasses but looked at Joy over the lens. “How old are you?”
“22,” Joy lied.
“Okay. I’ll show you the apartment. You need to have all the money up front, today.”
“Okay.”
Joy followed the woman out the door. They walked down the hall and turned the corner and came to a door. The manager took out the keys and opened the apartment. She allowed Joy to walk in first. It was smaller than Simone’s but had the same setup. There was the living room with the kitchen off to the side. As soon as you walked into the apartment, the bedroom was the door in front of you.
“How much?” Joy asked.
“$710 everything included. Altogether it will be $2130 for first, last and security. Rent is due every month on the first. Pay it directly to me. I’ll show you where the office is. If I’m not there, wait until I come.”
“Okay.”
“Let me show where the office is.”
They went down to the first floor and into the office. Joy asked to use the bathroom, where she counted off the money. She took an extra $500 for the lady looking out. Even though she didn’t ask, Joy knew that she expected something in return.
She paid the manager and got the keys. She went up to her apartment. She felt as empty as her new apartment.
Chapter Fourteen
Joy never thought ahead about anything that she did, so she had no clue what to do next. She stood in the middle of her floor. She didn’t own anything to put in her apartment. Months ago, this would have been fun but she realized that she really didn’t want to be bothered. She didn’t even have a way to get around.
She stood up against the wall. She didn’t want to sit on the floor because she knew she would have a hard time getting up. Her ce
ll phone rung but she ignored it. Kevin was looking for her. She knew that he would blow up her phone as soon as he knew that she was gone. It was dark and she already regretted her decision to leave Kevin. She was starving. With Kevin she never had to worry about food. His refrigerator and cabinets were always stocked and he had a drawer full of menus, for any kind of the food she could think of.
The baby kicked as if she agreed with her. Joy rubbed her belly. She still had a lot of doctor appointments to go to. Not only did Kevin take her, he was her support. Deep down, she cared about Kevin. He was always in her thoughts. She prayed to God that the baby she was carrying was his because she wanted to share so much with him. She was too busy thinking about what she wanted for herself. Kevin stood by her and he wasn’t even sure that it was his baby. She didn’t think before now about what she would do with the baby. She couldn’t take care of the baby alone. She didn’t know anything about raising a child. She went down the call log in her phone and looked for the number of the cab company she used earlier. She called and had a 45-minute wait. She figured he would forgive her if she cried and apologize enough. She dialed Kevin next. When he didn’t answer, she decided to listen to the messages he left.
“Joy where are you and where did you get this money from? Whoever you stole it from better not come looking for me. All your shit seems to fall back on me. You better not be with that nigga. Fucking him with my daughter in you.”
“You know something Joy I guessed by now that your are not coming back. It’s been hours and I aint heard nothing from your ass. You think you can throw a few dollars and shit cool? When you have the baby, I’m getting a DNA test and then if she’s mine I’m getting custody.”
“This is my third and last message to you bitch. Fuck you and I don’t want nothing to do with you. I don’t even know what I’m doing even blowing up your phone. All the shit I’ve done for you when you had nothing or nobody. You probably out smutting that nigga, you bitch. I know why you wasn’t giving me none.”
“Damn,” Joy thought.
After hearing Kevin’s messages, she had second thoughts about going to him. He needs time to cool off. Joy knew that she couldn’t stay the night. She didn’t have a lamp or a blanket even if she attempted to sleep on the floor.
She didn’t know whether she should let Kevin cool down or not. The cab driver called and let her know that he was outside. She walked towards the elevator, Simone and Ronnie were coming out there apartment. Ronnie sucked her teeth.
“Where you headed?” Simone asked.
“Don’t really know.” Joy said, still undecided about what she was going to do about Kevin.
“Do you need help or anything?” Simone asked as they stepped on the elevator.
“Not really. I just need to get to a store and get some things.”
“Oh, it’s a whole bunch of stores on Cottman.”
“I saw a lot of clothing stores. I need a shower curtain and stuff like that.”
“There’s a Sears up there. Is that cab for you?” Simone asked when they walked outside.
“Yeah.”
“You don’t have a waste your money on no cab. I can run you up there.”
Simone didn’t notice the look Ronnie gave her but Joy did. It made her shake a little. She couldn’t understand why she hated her so much. Ronnie lit a cigarette and started blowing smoke in Joy’s direction. Joy moved closer to the cab.
“It’s cool. I don’t want to hold y’all up or nothing, but thanks,” Joy said and jumped in the cab. She didn’t like the way Ronnie was looking at her.
As the cab pulled away from the curb, Joy knew that she wasn’t coming back. She headed to the only person she had left, the person who was there when she had nothing. She only hoped that he would take her back again. She felt like that Jasmine Sullivan song, “I need you bad.” She played out what she would do and say to get him to forgive her.
When she arrived at the apartment, Kevin wasn’t there. Joy used the key hidden on top of the doorframe to get in. She went straight to the kitchen to get something to eat. When she turned on the light, she saw roses and a card in the trash. She reached in and took them out.
Opening the card, she smiled at the cover that read “Thinking of you.” The inside was blank except for what Kevin wrote, “Joy I’m sorry for the way I’ve been treating you. I love you.” Joy read this, tears dropped from her eyes onto the card. She searched for something to put the roses in. She found a pitcher in the cabinet. The longer she stared at the roses and the card, the harder she would cry.
She went into the bedroom when she lost her appetite. She wanted to rest. The money sat on the bed where Joy left it, but Kevin had placed a towel over it. Joy pushed everything over and climbed under the covers. She closed her eyes and cried herself to sleep.
Chapter Fifteen
Hunger woke Joy up hours later. Her eyes hurt from all the crying. She went and peed for what felt like two hours. When she came out the bathroom, she noticed that clock read 2am and Kevin was nowhere to be found. Joy got up and looked outside to see if Kevin was sleeping in his car again. No sign of Kevin’s car. Joy went back into the kitchen. She put on a pack of Ramen Noodles and ate Cheez-Its until they were ready. After her meal, she debated about calling Kevin and decided against it. Her phone had died anyway and she just placed it on the charger.
She figured he was still mad. She got back in the bed and fell back into a deep sleep. When she awoke again it was 8:30am. Joy was upset that Kevin never came home. “He didn’t even know that she was here, so where is he?”
Joy turned on the TV and flipped through channels. She stopped on The CW channel and watched the guy do the weather. She was lost in thought about what she wanted to say to Kevin, when she heard the news lady say something about a massacre at a wedding reception last night. She turned the volume up.
“Police tell us last night in the Northeast section of Philadelphia, a man believed to be in his thirties, crashed a wedding reception, killing seven people. The names of the victims haven’t been released. The shooter is still at large and police are asking that anyone with any information please contact them. They want to review the videotape and talk to witnesses before they released a suspect description. We will have more on this later today.”
Joy ran in the kitchen and looked for the calendar Kevin kept in the drawer. She looked at yesterday’s date and read where Kevin worked. He had an 11am in Springfield, and then 5pm in Byberry. Joy dropped the calendar. There was a sharp ringing in her ears and she felt like she was under water.
She panicked as she searched for her phone. First she checked in the bedroom, she remembered that she had the phone in the kitchen on the charger. The phone was still dead because she forgot to connect the charger to the socket. She plugged it in and each second that it took for it to come on felt like hours. Finally, it came on. The phone beeped, she had a voicemail message and her hands shook as she waited for the message to come on.
“Joy,” she heard Kevin’s voice and covered her mouth to keep from screaming. Tears flowed from her eyes. He sounded so far away. She heard him cough and he continued. “I love you. I know that you’re carrying my little girl. Don’t worry…”
Joy heard him gasp a deep breath. “Joy I…” She listened to see if she could hear him but he didn’t say anything else. People shouted in the background. She kept the phone pressed to her ear until the message cut off.
After saving the message, she pressed the button to retrieve the time and date. The call came in at 8:03 last night. Joy went back to the bedroom and sat on the bed. She tried to slow her breathing. “No.” she screamed. She curled up into a ball in the middle of the bed. “This can’t be happening.” She said out loud. She tried to think of what she could do. Her mind was blank and her own loud crying blocked out her thoughts.
She jumped up. Maybe it was a mistake. Kevin is okay; he is just injured and couldn’t call yet. She reached for her phone. She couldn’t remember what the number was on the n
ews so she dialed 911. She told the dispatcher that she was trying to find out if her husband was one of the people killed in the shooting. She was transferred to a Philadelphia number. She repeated the same thing to the person who answered the phone.
“Ma’am, what is your name?”
“Joy Jacobs. My husband’s name is Kevin Jacobs.”
“Okay, hold on one moment please.”
Five seconds later, a man picked up the phone. “Mrs. Jacobs? Do you have someone there with you?”
“No.”
“Is there anyway you can come down to the station?”
“Um I don’t know.”
“If you need a ride we can send someone to come get you.”
Joy didn’t answer. She already knew. Kevin was gone. Her chest hurt. It felt like her heart had shattered. She was on her knees. She clutched the phone, no longer listening to what the man was saying. She closed the phone.
The room felt like it was spinning, Joy closed her eyes. She tried to take a step and before she knew it, she fell to the floor.
Chapter Sixteen
Joy opened her eyes to a blinding pain. She looked around and realized that she was on the floor. Her head throbbed and she had no idea how long she was out. She climbed to her feet. A sharp pain shot from her stomach down to her vagina. She felt wetness travel down her leg. “Shit!” she screamed.
She needed to get to the hospital. She didn’t want to call an ambulance. She called a cab, but the wait was too long. She had no choice but to call Simone but Simone didn’t answer. Ronnie answered and hung up before Joy could say anything. Joy waited for the cab.
Joy sat on the bed bent over, holding her stomach. She felt the baby moving. All she could do was cry. This was too much for her to handle. She laid back and rocked. An hour passed and the pain subsided. She closed her eyes and went to sleep.
Nookie's Secret (Nookie 2) (Nookie Series) Page 5