Within a few minutes, while waiting for the Medics to arrive, Ralphy died with his eyes open, and only two people were on his mind before his final breath, and that was Lisa and Naomi.
Chapter 6
Stressed out to the max, Kim and Tammy took the day off from work to go to the mall and do a little shopping. It was something about spending money that made life a little easier to live, and that was the common bond that they shared.
“So did y’all even plan the wedding date yet?” Tammy asked, picking up a sundress off the rack and holding it up.
“No. He told me that whenever I was ready, just let him know. Girl I’m not gon’ lie. I don’t think it’s going to be a wedding,” Kim said, looking down at her ring.
“Dat boy just mad right now. He loves you, and I think that all he needs is a little bit of time—”
“He didn’t come home last night,” Kim said, cutting her off. “He didn’t call, leave a text, or anything, and when I tried to call him, he didn’t answer.”
“Yeah, that’s crazy, but it’s typical. Men do dumb shit like that when their little feelings get hurt,” Tammy said, shaking her head at the dress’ color blend. “I’m telling you girl, he’s going to walk through that door today and he’s going to be fine.”
Kim hoped so. Since Lamar agreed to move to Philadelphia with her, Kim called her boss early that morning to let him know that she was accepting the offer. She thought that the move would give them a chance to start fresh, and if Lamar got her pregnant again anytime soon, she would be sure to keep it.
“So what about you and Darious? How are things going with y’all two?” Kim asked as she headed for the register with a couple items in her hand.
Tammy couldnt even get into the details of their life. She was confused herself about wanting to tell Darious that the DEA was watching them. It was even a time during the course of their nightly pillow talk, that Tammy almost slipped up and told him. Agent Grant’s voice continuously repeating, twenty years in federal prison, always seemed to keep her in check.
“Everything’s good. He bought Anthony an X-Box One… “
Tammy was interrupted by her phone buzzing crazy in her bag. She reached in and grabbed it, and saw that the screen read number unavailable. At first, she wasn’t going to answer it, but she did anyway, thinking that it might have been Agent Grant calling for an update.
“You have a prepaid call. You will not be charged for this call, this call is from…”
The operator didn’t have to go any further before Tammy pushed 5 to accept Chris’ call. This was the first time he’d called since her visit.
“Damn stranger!” Tammy answered, paying for her stuff then excusing herself away from Kim.
“Wassup wit you?” Chris replied, leaning his back against the wall. “How are you doing?”
Tammy was smiling from ear to ear. He sounded so good, all she wanted to do was stay quiet and let him talk. Being honest with herself, she missed Chris a lot, and thought about him daily, wondering if he would ever call her again. The current situation Darious had her in, made her appreciate Chris even more. It was no way he would have ever involved her in his illegal activities.
“I’m good. The kids are good, and I’m still working my ass off. I got some pictures right here in my bag, and as soon as I see a mail box, I’m going to send them out to you,” Tammy said, taking a seat in the food court.
“Yeah thanks. I haven’t seen my kids in a while, and believe it or not, I do love them.”
“I now you do, and I’m sorry for not bringing them up there. You know me and ya sister got into a fight a few days ago, so I hadn’t had a chance to see if ya mom wanted to ride out there with me. You know I don’t like to drive by myself,” Tammy smiled.
“Yeah, I heard about that, and I told my sister, just because we not together no more, you still the mother of my children, and don’t make me fuck somebody up for fucking with you. By the way, I miss you,” Chris said, putting his head down.
Chris had always been so protective over her. Tammy’s eyes started to water and the ball in her throat prevented her from being able to swallow. She missed him too, and wished that he was home to enjoy watching their children grow. She hated him being locked up in prison.
“I know you don’t have long on this call, and I give you my word that I will bring the kids up there to see you this weekend, even if I gotta come by myself,” Tammy spoke.
“That would be so nice,” Chris responded.
“I want you to know that no matter what I do out here, and no matter what you hear from anybody else, Chris, I do, and I will always love you no matter what. And whenever you get home, I’ll be right here to help you in any kinda way I can.” Tammy said, wiping the single tear that fell down her cheek.
Chris stayed quiet on the phone. He didn’t think that Tammy would ever love him again, nor did he expect for her to be there for him when he came home. As far as he knew, it was over between them two, but listening to her, he couldn’t help but feel that there was some hope for them to get back together.
They sat and talked for the rest of the time about the kids, school and work. Kim sat across from her at the table smiling while Tammy glowed. She hadn’t seen her friend smiling and laughing that hard in a long time. Even though she was with Darious physically, and may have even loved him, a part of her heart would always belong to Chris.
__________
Falisha yelled up to her mom to see if she wanted something from the store while she was going. Hunger had set in, and for some odd reason, she wanted a large breakfast this morning, including eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, home fries, toast with jelly and some orange juice. After the morning sickness phase of her pregnancy had passed, the craving hit her full blast.
“Oh shit! Boy you scared the hell out of me,” Falisha said when she stepped out on the porch and Lamar was standing off to the side. “What do you want and why da fuck is you out here on my porch?” Falisha snapped.
Lamar had been sitting out there just about all morning, hoping to catch Falisha either coming in or going out. He had more than enough time to think last night, and he really felt bad about how he handled the news of the baby.
“Can we talk?” Lamar asked, lowering his head in humility. “I really need to talk to you.”
“About what, Lamar? You said what you said and that’s it.”
I know, I know, and I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean for it to come out that way, and I should have let you punch me,” he said.
Falisha unbuttoned her shorts and adjusted them so they wouldn’t feel so tight. Lamar couldn’t help but to notice that she was picking up a few pounds around her waist. Her thighs were also looking a little thicker as well. Lamar thought it was cute.
“Look, I’m hungry, so unless you plan on taking me to get some breakfast, I’ll talk to you later.” Falisha said, turning around to lock the front door.
Lamar smiled. “Yeah, I’m kinda hungry myself, I’ve been out all night,” he said, leading the way down the steps. The closest spot was Grandma’s dinner, which happened to be Falisha’s favorite breakfast spot. It was only about five minutes away by car, so there really wasn’t much conversation during the ride. Falisha used that time to check her missed call log and her text messages, most of which were from Lamar.
“Damn I can’t believe Grandma’s is still da shit,” Lamar said when they walked into the diner and saw that it was a full house.
Falisha didn’t need a menu. As soon as she got into the booth, she called the waitress over and began ordering. It was everything she had a taste for when she left the house. Lamar kept it simple and got some egg whites, toast, and some orange juice.
“So can I ask you something without you getting an attitude?” Lamar asked, not wanting this conversation to turn into an argument. “Are you really keeping it?”
“You think I’m buying all this food for nothing? Of course I’m keeping my baby, and if yo
u don’t want to be a part of our lives, then that’s fine, Lamar. The only reason I told you is because I wanted to give you chance to step up and be a man. You and I both know that I can take care of her by myself.”
“Her?” Lamar asked, excited about the gender.
Falisha chuckled. “I’m hoping it’s a girl. I don’t know what I’d do if I had another you running around here.”
Lamar got up and sat in the booth next to Falisha. He reached over and placed his hand over her stomach. Falisha put her hand over top of his. His touch was gentle, and the little tummy ache she did have earlier, went away the moment he touched her.
“Damn, that’s really my baby in there,” Lamar asked with a huge smile on his face.
“Yeah, you’re gonna be a daddy soon,” she answered, also smiling at the thought of motherhood.
Hearing those words made Lamar happy. So happy he leaned over and kissed Falisha on the cheek. She turned and could see the joy in his eyes, and as they sat there staring at each other for a moment, the inevitable happened. Lamar leaned back in, but this time he kissed Falisha’s soft, full lips. In her mind, she wanted to resist, but her lips were calling the shots right now, and they were begging him not to stop.
A guilty shock raced through his body, causing him to pull back. “Damn, I’m out of pocket,” he said scratching the top of his head.
Falisha was about to respond, but stopped when the waitress brought the food to the table. His guilt was a reminder to Falisha that he still belonged to someone else. It was so embarrassing and humiliating that Falisha lost her appetite. It was ugly, but a reality check both of them needed at the time.
__________
Tammy and Kim pulled up to the block to see several cop cars sitting in front of Lisa’s house. At first, Tammy thought that they were there for her, and she was about to back up and take her chances running. Lisa’s loud screams made Tammy and Kim abandon the car and race down the street towards her.
“NOOOOO! NOOOOO! OH GOD NOOOOO!” Lisa cried out, falling to the ground in tears.
“WHAT HAPPENED! WHAT HAPPENED!” Kim and Tammy yelled, pushing their way through the crowd of police officers and homicide detectives.
“HE’S GONE. OH MY GOD RALPHY’S GONE!” Lisa yelled, kicking and punching the air.
“What? What you mean gone? What happened Lisa??” Tammy questioned
Kim kneeled down next to her and wrapped Lisa in her arms where she cried like a baby. Tammy couldn’t hold back the tears as she kneeled down and began rubbing Lisa’s arm. They all sat there for a while until finally they had to help Lisa up. Her legs was totally gone and the girls had to drag her limp body towards the house.
“They killed my babe, my husband, my Ralphy is gone.” Lisa kept repeating.
“We would like to ask you a few questions about your husband ma’am, the detective said, as Kim and Tammy led Lisa up her steps.
“Can’t you see that now is not a good time?” Kim responded. “Damn, have some fucking decency.”
The woman disappeared into the house and slammed the door behind them. Neither of them, especially Lisa, had anything to say anyway. Right now, Lisa really needed to be around some people who loved her and not be questioned about her husband’s death.
Chapter 7
It’s had been a week since Ralphy’s death, and Lisa still hadn’t left the house. His funeral was tomorrow and Lisa wasn’t even sure if she was strong enough to make it. Ralphy’s mom had to go down to the morgue and identify his body, because Lisa didn’t want to see him lying on a cold metal table. She didn’t want that image to be stuck in her head.
“Mommy Mommy!” Naomi said, coming into the bedroom where Lisa was. “Is Daddy coming home today?” she asked so innocently.
Lisa tried and tried to explain to Naomi that her daddy wasn’t coming back, but Naomi figured he was just away again, like when him and Lisa had separated. She didn’t know any better, and every time Lisa tried to explain life and death to her, it brought Lisa to tears.
“Baby, come here for a minute,” Lisa said, patting the bed. “I wanna talk to you about your daddy.”
Naomi got up on the bed and sat between Lisa’s legs with her Teddy bear. Lisa began taking out Naomi’s barrettes so that she could redo her hair.
“Do you remember Grand Mom?” Lisa asked, speaking about her mother who had passed away a little over a year ago.
“Grand Mom Puddin,” Naomi said, looking back at Lisa.
“Yup, Grand Mom Puddin. Remember when I told you that you weren’t going to see her again for a while, because she went to heaven. Well, that’s where your daddy went,” Lisa told her.
Thinking about how she hadn’t seen Grand Mom Puddin again, Naomi didn’t like it.
“But I don’t want my daddy to go to heaven. I want him to come home,” she said in a sad voice.
Lisa fought back the urge to cry. She knew that she had to be strong for Naomi and help her understand. As her mother, Lisa was all she had left as a parent.
“I don’t want Daddy to go to heaven either, but he already left. But guess what?” Lisa said, trying to sound excited.
“He’s gonna be watching over us from heaven every day,” Lisa smiled, kissing Naomi’s head.
The road ahead was going to be rough, but Lisa had no other choice but to prepare for it. First and foremost making it through Ralphy’s funeral was the top priority, which was going to be a task in itself. Physically, her body was able to do it, but mentally, Lisa was out of it. It was going to take a near act of God for her to bury her husband tomorrow, or at bare minimum, some type of medication to help relax her.
__________
Tammy walked up and got into the back seat of Agent Grant’s car on Market Street. She had more than enough information for Grant to go to the Grand Jury with an order to get an indictment. She had video and audio recordings of her and Darious talking in detail about his drug operation. She also brought names of clients and people she was to deliver the pills to every week, along with receipts from all the prescriptions she went to the pharmacy and did herself.
“You know you’re doing the right thing,” Agent Grant said as he looked over the evidence.
“But why does it feel so wrong?”
Davis put the Gucci bag down and turned to face Tammy, who was on the passenger side. He went through this on a regular basis with females cooperating against their boyfriends or fiancé, and in some cases, their husbands. He could see something in Tammy that he had seen in every woman he’d ever dealt with.
“It feels wrong, because you love him. He treats you good, gives you money, and probably makes you feel like the only person that matters,” Grant spoke.
“Yeah he do,” Tammy smiled, thinking about how much of her life Darious changed.
“But don’t be fooled, Tammy. Darious doesn’t love you. If he did love you, he wouldn’t be out there selling drugs and putting you and your kids’ lives in danger. Do you know how many home invasion cases I worked where nobody in the house survived… too many. When the stick-up boys come, they don’t care who’s in the house. If somebody holds you and your kids for ransom, do you think he’ coming for you, or when these indictments start getting tossed around, do you think for one second that he won’t sacrifice you in order to get a lesser sentence?” Agent Grant spoke. “Trust me,” he chuckled.
Tammy sat there listening to him, wondering if he was right about Darious. She began to question whether Darious did in fact love her. This was the effect Agent Grant wanted. He was good at manipulating the females, and it worked out well, because it made his job easier when they were on his side. Most of the time, strong to penetrate, and the only way that bond could be broken, was if the woman could be convinced that her husband or boyfriend didn’t love them. Once that happened, it’s nothing like a woman scorned.
“Next week, I’m going to need you to testify in front of a Grand Jury,” Grant said, placing the evidence in his back s
eat. “After that, it’s pretty much over.”
“Just call me, and I’ll be there,” Tammy said then got out of the Agent’s car.
__________
“Now, I’m going to apply some gel,” the nurse said, rubbing the green goo on Falisha’s stomach.
Lamar opted to go with her to this doctor’s appointment to show his support, since it was established that Falisha was keeping the baby. He stood on the other side of the bed looking into the monitor at pretty much nothing. The baby wasn’t formed yet, but after adjusting the device against Falisha’s stomach, the faint sound of a heartbeat could be heard.
“That’s your baby,” the nurse said, turning the volume up on the monitor.
She explained to Falisha and Lamar that over the course of the next few weeks, the baby would start to take it’s form, and by the fifth month, she would be able to tell them what the sex was. This was the experience of a lifetime for the both of them, and something that they would be able to share for the rest of their lives.
Looking down at Falisha lying there with her shirt up over her stomach did something to him. It was a reality check that he needed, and a reminder that there was more to life than what he knew. He also had a new found respect for Falisha, and standing there in that room, listening to his baby’s heartbeat, he also had a new found love for her.
__________
Tammy pulled up in the driveway, put the car in park, and just sat there. The conversation she had with Agent Grant was weighing on her. Some of what he said did hold some truth to it, but she also was well aware of what Agent Grant was trying to do.
Single Ladies 7 & 8: That's What Friends Are For Page 9