My Mama's Drama

by La Jill Hunt

  I walked over, and he immediately pulled me into his strong embrace, holding me tightly. I allowed myself to enjoy the strength of his arms and released all the emotions that I had been holding onto into his chest. He held me so tight and so long that it felt like his arms were created by God specifically to comfort me.

  I tilted my head and stared into his eyes. “My life is falling apart. I don’t know what I’m going to do,” I told him.

  “Don’t worry. It’s not gonna fall apart. I’m here to help you hold it together.” He kissed me gently on the forehead, and in that moment, for the first time, I knew that I was in love.

  Celia

  “Are you sure?” Nikki asked as she sat on the side of my bed. “I know Diane is trifling in a lot of ways, but this is low, even for her.”

  “I’m sure, and the sad part is, I’m not even surprised by her. She’s always been a messed-up individual. Darnell, on the other hand, is fucked up,” I told her.

  “Where is he? Have you talked to him about this?”

  “He’s not home, and I’m glad he had sense enough to listen to me when I told his ass not to come home. There’s nothing to talk about. There’s no explanation he can give me for fucking my sister.” I shook my head, tears of anger once again forming in my eyes. I thought I was all cried out after spending all night wiping my tears, but sharing the situation with my best friend brought a whole new set of emotions. “I’m leaving his ass. He can go and be with her since he wanna sleep with her. Hell, they deserve one another.”

  “But did he say that he slept with her, Celia? He confessed when you asked him?”

  “He didn’t have to confess. I asked him, and I could tell by his reaction what the answer was.” I sniffed, and she handed me a Kleenex out of the box on my nightstand.

  “Celia, you may be upset for no reason. There was a lot going on yesterday, and everyone’s actions and emotions were all over the place, including mine. We were all on edge. Avery was missing, and then she was found, and the police were there, then Diane was acting crazy.”

  “What are you saying, Nikki? That I should ignore this because of what happened to Avery?”

  “That’s not what I’m saying at all. I am saying that you need to talk to him, and her, and find out what the hell is going on. It could just be a coincidence that neither one of them answered their phones.” Nikki shrugged.

  “That’s bullshit, and you know it. But let’s say you’re right. How the hell did Diane find out we were at the hospital? Who told her? And they just happened to show up at the same damn time?” I shook my head. I knew Nikki was naive when it came to Patrick, but there was no way she could believe what she was saying about Darnell and Diane.

  “Maybe her job called, or the police finally reached her. You don’t know, because you haven’t talked to her, have you?”

  I took a deep breath. “No, I haven’t. I left the hospital without saying anything to her. I didn’t wanna talk to her. Trust me, if I talked to her, I woulda knocked her the hell out, so it’s best that I left when I did.”

  “It’s kind of a good thing that you did leave, because shit got ridiculous and out of control.”

  “Oh, Lord. What happened?”

  “I guess Ronda stepped to Kendra, and some kinda way, Champ got involved and pushed her down. Then security got called, and Champ was arrested. Diane took a restraining order out against him and everything,” Nikki said.

  “What? That’s crazy!”

  “Oh, and then there’s a video of Diane going off in Avery’s hospital room, screaming ‘Justice for Avery’ that’s floating around, and these horrible pictures. It’s a mess.”

  “Why am I not surprised by any of this?” I leaned back against the headboard and closed my eyes.

  I felt so bad for my nieces. I had been ignoring Kendra’s calls all night, the same way I’d been ignoring everyone else’s. There was no telling how she was dealing with all of this.

  “Celia, can I talk to you for a sec?” Darnell walked into the bedroom, looking like he’d lost his best friend. I wasn’t moved at all by his pathetic demeanor.

  Nikki immediately stood up and said, “I’ll leave y’all alone.”

  “Nik, you don’t have to leave. Just wait downstairs in the den, please?” I asked, wanting her within earshot in case I needed a witness of some sort.

  “Okay,” she said, giving me a nod.

  “Celia, baby.” Darnell sat in the same spot that Nikki had gotten up from and reached for my hand. I snatched away from him, and for the first time that morning, I got out of bed. I went into the bathroom and closed the door. As I sat on the commode, I thought about what Nikki said, and I convinced myself to at least hear him out. When I walked out, Darnell was still sitting there, waiting.

  “Darnell, what do you want?” I rolled my eyes at him.

  “Celia, you’re really acting irrational, and I don’t understand why. Where is all of this coming from?” He exhaled.

  “It’s coming from the fact that you’re screwing Diane and I know it,” I snapped, standing at the foot of the bed.

  Darnell stood up and walked over to me. “Celia, why would you think that?”

  “Darnell, shit between us hasn’t been right for weeks. You’re sleeping in the other room, and you barely touch me. All you do is walk around and complain.”

  “I’m telling you I’m not sleeping with Diane. I’m just under a lot of stress at work. And you know the doctors have me on blood pressure pills, and that fucks with my libido. I love you, Celia.” He reached for me again, and I pulled back.

  “Darnell, I don’t believe you.” I shook my head.

  “What? Why would I lie?” he asked.

  I was about to answer him when I heard the doorbell ring.

  “I’ll get it,” Nikki yelled. A few seconds later, I heard her talking to a male. Then she reappeared in the doorway of my bedroom. “Celia, Detective Donaldson is here. He needs to speak with you.”

  I looked down at the oversized T-shirt I was wearing. “Tell him I’ll be down in a few.”

  “Celia, we’re not done talking,” Darnell said.

  “What the hell do you want me to do, Darnell? Tell the damn police officer I can’t answer any questions right now because I have to listen to my husband?” I snapped, walking over to my dresser and taking out a pair of leggings, a sports bra, and a hoodie. I pulled my T-shirt over my head and slipped my clothes on. I could feel Darnell’s eyes on me as I got dressed, and I cut my eyes at him. “Can you not?”

  “Why can’t I? You’re my wife, aren’t you?”

  “Barely,” I said as I slipped on my Nike slides and headed downstairs.

  Nikki and the detective were seated in the living room. When I walked in, he stood up.

  “How are you, Mrs. Baker?”

  “Please, call me Celia,” I told him.

  “Celia.” He smiled. “Sorry to come over unannounced, but my captain has the entire department working on your niece’s case, and I need to go over some questions with you that we didn’t get to yesterday.”

  “It’s no problem. Can I get you something to drink?” I asked.

  “No, I’m fine.” He nodded and pulled out a small notepad and a pen from his pocket. I almost laughed, thinking how cliché it was, and wondering if all cops still used a pen and paper rather than something digital. He remained standing as I sat beside Nikki and answered the questions about Avery and my timeline from the day before. He wore an intense look on his face as he jotted down my answers.

  Finally, he said, “That’s all I need for now. I understand your sister is filing suit against the department regarding the handling of your niece’s case, but I assure you, we did everything in our power to find her. It’s just that there’s a protocol to these things. I wouldn’t have handled it any differently had it been my niece. I know this is quite an ordeal for your family and—”

  “Well, she ain’t your niece, and I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to come over here
attempting to persuade our family into not filing suit,” Darnell said as he walked into the living room.

  “That’s not what I was doing at all,” Detective Donaldson told him.

  “Darnell, that was uncalled for,” I told him. “I apologize for his rude interruption, Detective Donaldson.”

  “Don’t apologize for me. I’m a grown-ass man,” Darnell said.

  “Then act like it,” I snapped.

  “I’m gonna go ahead and leave,” Detective Donaldson told me.

  “I’ll walk you out.” I stood up and cut my eyes at Darnell as we passed him. We walked out of the front door, and when we got to the steps, he stopped and turned to me.

  “Are you sure everything is okay between you and him?”

  “Yeah, he can be a little intense, but trust me, his bark is worse than his bite. I’ll be fine. But I do appreciate all of your help,” I answered.

  “Part of my job,” he said. “You still have my card?”

  “I do.” I nodded.

  “Feel free to call if you think of something or need anything else.”

  “Well, there is one small thing. I don’t know if you’ll be able to help, though,” I told him.

  “What’s that?” He frowned.

  “My brother-in-law—well, ex-brother-in-law. It seems he was arrested at the hospital last night for some craziness caused by my sister and her friend. If you could just check on him for me and let me know, I’d appreciate it. He’s a decent guy, and my sister, well, you’ve already witnessed her.” I shook my head.

  “She’s a piece of work. But I’ll definitely check into it and let you know.”

  “Thanks, Detective.”

  “Sean,” he said.

  “Huh?”

  “Sean. That’s my first name.”

  “Oh, Sean.” I smiled.

  “I’ll be in touch, Celia,” he said and headed down the circular driveway.

  I went back inside and was relieved that Darnell was nowhere in sight.

  “What the hell was that about? Why is Darnell tripping so hard and snapping at the damn police?” Nikki asked.

  “I don’t know. He’s acting out because he’s guilty, probably.” I shrugged.

  “Did you ask him about Diane?”

  “Yeah, and he denied it, of course. But I don’t believe him.”

  “I don’t know, Celia. So, you’re just not gonna go back to the hospital to check on Avery? I know you wanna check on her and Kendra and Ashley,” Nikki said.

  “I don’t know. I ain’t trying to run into Diane.”

  “Don’t worry about that. She’s over at the church with Patrick, because they’re planning some kind of rally for Avery. Maybe you can sneak over there now while she ain’t there?”

  “I don’t know, Nikki.” I shook my head.

  “Well, let me know if you want me to go check on them a little later.” Nikki gave me a hug.

  “Thanks, Nik. I appreciate it.”

  When she was gone, I walked back upstairs. Darnell was in the shower. I grabbed my phone off the charger and hurried down the steps and out of the house, determined to be gone by the time he was finished.

  I drove around for a few minutes, contemplating what I should do. My stomach began growling, and I pulled into the drive-thru at Panera. As I waited in line, I pulled up my Facebook page, and the first thing I saw was a picture of Avery, hooked up to IVs and machines in her hospital bed. There was a GoFundMe page linked to the post, with a goal of twenty-five thousand dollars. Already, more than nine thousand had been collected. I felt sick to my stomach as I realized my sister was using Avery as her cash cow.

  “Can I take your order?” the voice came through the intercom for the second time since I’d been sitting there.

  I thought about Kendra and Avery, who probably hadn’t eaten all morning, and Diane, who most likely hadn’t even thought about feeding them. I ordered enough food for all of us and headed back to the hospital, praying I wasn’t making a mistake.

  Diane

  “So, now what?” I leaned over and whispered to Patrick. We were sitting in the conference room of Mount Hebron Baptist Church, waiting on the man who ran their outreach program. I’d been invited to discuss a rally they planned in support of Avery. It seemed like Patrick’s little plan was working. Money was pouring in, I had done more news interviews than I could count, and had requests for more. We had used that fiasco in Avery’s room with Champ to our advantage, and now not only was the police department kissing our ass, but the hospital too. The pictures and videos Ronda took were just the icing on the cake. My girl always came through for me.

  “Well, the rally is Sunday night, so you, Kendra, and Ashley definitely need to be at church so folks can see your face and be inclined to come out. Plus, seeing you in person will make them more inclined to share the GoFundMe page on social media,” Patrick mumbled.

  “I told you I don’t do church,” I hissed.

  “You gonna do what I tell you, and that’s be here tomorrow morning for eleven a.m. service,” Patrick said, no longer trying to whisper.

  The door of the conference room opened, and a middle-aged guy came in and introduced himself as the director of outreach. I only half listened as he and Patrick went over the plans for the community gathering that would be held outside of Avery and Ashley’s school.

  My phone buzzed, and I looked down. It was Darnell, who had called me three times. Patrick gave me a dirty look.

  “Um, I gotta take this,” I said.

  “Of course.” The man nodded.

  I stepped into the hallway and answered, “What do you want? I’m busy.”

  “Where the hell are you? Is Celia at the hospital?” Darnell asked.

  “None of your damn business, and I ain’t even at the hospital. I’m in a meeting,” I said, suddenly enjoying how official I sounded.

  “A meeting? With who?”

  “Again, none of your damn business, Darnell. Why do you keep calling me?”

  “Because I need to talk to you. Celia knows.”

  I paused for a second. “Knows what?”

  “About us.”

  “And?”

  “What do you mean and?” he snapped.

  “I mean what I said: and?”

  “I don’t know why you’re acting like you don’t care.”

  “And I don’t know why you’re acting like you do. Hell, Darnell, if you cared about her, you damn sure wouldn’t’ve been screwing me. Now, I gotta go.” I hung up and went back inside.

  “Is everything okay?” the outreach director asked.

  “Yes, they were just updating me about some blood work. It’s fine. But I do need to leave,” I told him. Then I looked at Patrick and said, “I’ll talk to you later. “

  Patrick stood up. “I’ll walk you to your car, Sister Diane.”

  When we got to the parking lot, he said, “Don’t fuck this up, Diane. Everything’s in place and moving exactly the way we need it. I need you and your girls here tomorrow morning. Get here early.”

  I sighed. “Fine. But I’m gonna need some money.”

  “Money for what?” He frowned.

  “I damn sure don’t have nothing in my closet that’s appropriate for church. I need to go shopping,” I told him. He reached into his pocket and handed me some folded bills. I counted them then asked, “What the hell am I supposed to do with sixty dollars, Patrick? Don’t play me like I’m stupid. All that money we got sitting in that GoFundMe account and this is all I can get? I gotta get dresses and shoes for Kendra and Ashley too.”

  “First of all, that money stays in the account for a certain amount of time before they release it.” He reached back into his pocket and handed me a few more dollars. “That’s all I got.”

  “You need to get some more.” I counted the money, which now totaled two hundred dollars. “Don’t play with me, either.”

  “Fine. I’ll call you in a little while, and we can meet up.” He shook his head at me.

 
Satisfied that he understood that I meant what I said, I got into my car and headed out, waving as I drove out of the parking lot. I called Ronda and asked her if she wanted to go with me to the nail salon, deciding to treat her to a manicure and pedicure for all her help. She was more than happy to accept the invitation, and I promised to pick her up in thirty minutes after stopping by my house first. I hadn’t been lying when I told Patrick that I needed something decent enough for church, but I wanted to double check in case there was something in the back of my closet I could wear.

  I unlocked the door and stepped inside the house, nearly jumping out of my skin when I saw a strange man sitting in my living room.

  “Who the fuck are you?” I yelled, fumbling in my purse for my blade.

  “Oh, wow. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m Bilal, a friend of Kendra’s,” he said, standing up. He was tall, handsome, and fine as hell. I couldn’t stop staring at him.

  “Kendra? Where the hell is she?” I asked, relaxing a little.

  “She’s in the shower,” he replied.

  “Her ass is supposed to be at the hospital where I told her to stay. Why the hell is she home?”

  “I convinced her to let me bring her home and take a shower and change right quick. She had a long night, and the doctors even said it was a good idea for her to get some air,” he explained. “We’re going right back.”

  “Well, aren’t you a good friend. What did you say your name is again?” I asked him.

  “Bilal.”

  “Bilal, you’re just sitting here waiting, huh?” I eased closer to him. I swear, he had to be one of the best-looking men I’d ever seen.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He nodded.

  “And how old are you?” I asked, moving even closer to him. By now, we were standing face to face. I was expecting him to be nervous, but he didn’t seem to be, which turned me on even more.

  “Twenty-two.”

  Damn, I thought, the things I could do to his young ass.

  “I’ll be ready in a few min—” Kendra stopped dead in her tracks when she saw me. Her bathrobe was tied tightly around her waist, and she was rubbing her wet hair with a towel. “Mama?”