My Mama's Drama

by La Jill Hunt

  I took a step back from him and turned around. “What the hell are you doing home, Kendra?”

  “I came to shower and change,” Kendra answered.

  “You sure that’s the only reason you up in here?” I looked Bilal up and down smugly. “You sure you ain’t do anything else?”

  “Oh my goodness! Yes, Mama. You know me better than that.” Kendra’s face turned beet red.

  “I know you up in this house butt naked with a fine-ass man,” I said. “Where is Ashley?”

  “She’s at the hospital. I told her I would bring her a change of clothes. She didn’t wanna leave.” Her eyes went from me to Bilal, then back to me.

  “But I told you to stay there until I got back,” I said. “Didn’t I?”

  “Yeah, but I didn’t even know how long that was gonna be. You didn’t come back at all last night, and you didn’t even call to check on Avery.” Kendra folded her arms.

  “Because I was out taking care of business. I had to go to the police station, and by the time I was finished, it was late as hell, so I came home to get some sleep.”

  “The doctor was even surprised when you weren’t there this morning,” Bilal said.

  “And how would you know what the doctor said?” I asked.

  “Because I was there all night with Kendra and Ashley, and I was there this morning when he came in to do rounds,” he answered.

  I turned and frowned at him, preparing to cuss him out.

  Kendra said, “Don’t worry about it, Mama. I’m going back.”

  “Don’t bother. I’ll go back my damn self,” I told her, suddenly becoming worried. If the hospital staff said anything to anybody about me not being there, I knew it would not be good—for me, or for the money I was trying to pull from folks.

  I jumped in my car and told Ronda to be ready and waiting when I got there, because we had a stop to make before we could be free to enjoy the rest of our day.

  * * *

  “Miss Hughes?” The nurse at the desk seemed surprised to see me as Ronda and I got off the elevator.

  “Yes, hello,” I said, giving her a half wave as I walked past.

  “The doctor was just about to have me call you and update you on Avery.” She stood up.

  “Why? What’s wrong with her? My oldest daughter said she was fine. She’s home taking a shower and resting. We figure it’s easier to be here in shifts rather than all of us here at once,” I told her.

  She said, “Oh, okay. Well, there’s no change in Avery’s condition right now, but she is probably going to need surgery.”

  “Surgery?” I repeated.

  “Yes, on her arm. The break is pretty bad.”

  “Oh, that’s all.” I sighed, wondering why the nurse made it seem like it was so serious.

  “Well, thanks for the update,” I said before continuing down the hall. I was almost to Avery’s room when I stopped dead in my tracks. Coming toward me were Ashley and Celia.

  “Ma,” Ashley mumbled when she saw me standing in front of them.

  “Ashley, I’m gonna go ahead and leave. I’ll call you later, okay, sweetie?” Celia gave her a hug.

  “Aunt Celia, please don’t go.” Ashley clung to her, and it made me cringe. I hated the way my children adored her like she was some kind of A-list celebrity.

  “What the hell are you doing back here anyway?” I snapped.

  Celia ignored me and looked at Ashley. “It’s okay. I’m sure Kendra will be back in a little while. You and Avery won’t be here by yourself for long, I’m sure.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean? I’m right here with her.”

  Again, Celia didn’t respond. I replayed the conversation I’d had with Darnell in my head. My sister was so angry that she was pretending I wasn’t there.

  “Celia, you’re being childish,” I told her.

  “You know what the doctor told us when he came in earlier?” Celia asked Ashley.

  “Yes.” Ashley nodded.

  Celia hugged her and said, “Good. Remember that. I love you.”

  The longer I stood there watching her and Ashley, the more agitated I became.

  “This is some bullshit,” I commented.

  “Di, come on. Let’s just go in the room,” Ronda said.

  “Naw, yesterday she up and left and didn’t give a damn about who was here. Now, this morning she done popped up acting all concerned, as usual, like they ain’t got a mama. You’re good for that, ain’t you, Celia? Only wanna be bothered when it’s convenient for you. But guess what? That ain’t how life works. I’m their mother twenty-four seven, whether I’m here or not,” I told her.

  Oddly enough, Celia looked at me and smiled. Then she had the audacity to laugh.

  “What’s so damn funny?” I asked.

  “You.” She tried to walk past me, but I blocked her.

  “Di, don’t do this. Let her go, and let’s go check on Avery so we can get up outta here,” Ronda told me.

  “Exactly.” Celia nodded. “Go make a pit stop and take some more pics to post. Ain’t that why you’re here?”

  “The question is why are you so angry with me all of a sudden, Celia?”

  “I’m not gonna do this with you.” Celia went to turn around and go the other way.

  “Tell me. Is this about Darnell?” I asked innocently, and Celia stopped.

  “Diane, not now, girl,” Ronda pleaded with me, and I felt her hand on my arm. “And not in front of Ashley.”

  I pulled away and took a few more steps toward Celia. “Naw, I’m good. And she needs to understand why her devoted aunt is abandoning the family—because she’s in her feelings over a man.”

  “Mama!”

  I turned around to see Kendra standing behind Ronda, along with fine-ass Bilal.

  “Well, well, well, perfect timing.” I looked at her and said, “This is all your fault anyway.”

  “What are you talking about? What’s my fault?” Kendra asked.

  “That your aunt is pissed at me. But I can’t say I didn’t know this was coming. Hell, I’m surprised it took it this long to tell her about me and her trifling husband. I thought you woulda been told her. Truth is, I was doing her a favor. I told you, Celia, life ain’t about doing shit when it’s convenient for you.”

  Celia’s stare went from me to Kendra. “So, it’s true. You’ve been sleeping with my husband. Kendra, you knew?”

  “Oh, shit,” I said, realizing it was me who had let the cat out of the bag. Before I could say anything else, Celia’s hand flew across my face, and I was knocked to the floor.

  “Di!” Ronda reached out and helped me get to my feet.

  No one else moved, which made me even angrier. I went to lunge at Celia, but the sudden appearance of hospital security stopped me.

  “What’s going on here?” the skinny white guy asked.

  “This woman is harassing me, and I want her escorted out,” I told him.

  “Ma.” Kendra finally spoke.

  “Shut up!” I glared at her over my shoulder. “And I want her banned from my child’s room. As a matter of fact, from this point on, anyone who tries to visit her must be approved by me. Family or not!”

  “Ma’am, you need to leave,” the security officer told Celia.

  “Tuh. Gladly,” Celia huffed.

  “Aunt Celia, please . . .” Kendra called out as Celia turned away.

  “I swear to God, if you go after her, I’ll make sure you’re banned right along with her,” I threatened. She frowned at me, but I gave her a look to let her know that I wasn’t bluffing, and she relented. “That’s what I thought. Take your sister and your grown-ass boyfriend and go in the waiting room.”

  Kendra looked like she wanted to kill me, but she did exactly like I told her. Now that Celia, normally her saving grace, was pissed at her, she didn’t have any other choice but to do what I said.

  Ronda and I walked into Avery’s room. The truth was that the reason I had stayed away from the hospital was that
I didn’t like seeing my daughter bruised and broken, hooked up to machines and IVs. She had always been my little shadow, my mini-me. I was scared. I touched her forehead softly, then leaned over and kissed her cheek.

  “Wait, Di. Do that again. I missed it,” Ronda said, reaching for her phone.

  “No, don’t.” I stopped her.

  “Huh?” Ronda frowned.

  “I mean, just give me a second,” I said, then touched Avery’s cheek and whispered, “Shug Avery, I know you can hear me. Listen to your mama. I need you to hold on for me. You got a lot of folk rooting for you, including me, so you’re gonna have to wake up soon. And I promise you, when you do, I’m gonna take you on a vacation, a real one, just you and me like we always talked about.”

  I smiled when I thought about the many times Avery had sneaked into my room and climbed into my bed. We would laugh and talk, and she promised that one day, when she got older, she would take me on a trip, just the two of us. Now, it looked like she wasn’t going to be able to keep that promise.

  “Okay, I’m ready,” I said, blinking away the tears as I posed beside Avery.

  Bilal

  Throughout my twenty-two years on earth, I had run into more than my fair share of bitches, but Kendra’s mom took the cake. Kendra had forewarned me that her mother was a bit of a drama queen, but the way that she behaved was horrible. I was taken aback by the way she carried on when she walked into her house while I was there, but it was nothing compared to how she showed her ass at the hospital. I was sitting in the waiting room, attempting to comfort Kendra when my uncle walked in.

  “Nephew? What you doing up in here?” He smiled.

  “’Sup, Uncle Pat.” I sighed.

  “Man, I was planning on calling you later this afternoon, and here you are, sitting up in here with these pretty ladies. How you doing, Kendra?”

  “I’m fine.” Kendra nodded.

  “And what about you, Miss Ashley?” he asked.

  “Fine,” Ashley politely answered.

  “That’s good, that’s good. And Miss Avery? How’s she doing?” Patrick sounded sincere. I wondered if his interest was genuine, but only for a second. More likely, he was fishing to see how much longer he was going to be able to ride his latest cash cow.

  “No changes,” Kendra told him.

  “Well, that’s a good thing.” He shrugged.

  “How?” Ashley asked.

  “Because even though she’s not as well as we want her to be, the fact that she ain’t any worse is something to be grateful for,” he told her.

  I had to admit, he was making sense.

  “I guess that’s true.” Ashley went back to playing a game on her phone, something that she’d been doing since we got into the waiting room.

  “What are you doing here, Uncle Pat?” I asked him.

  “I came to check on Avery myself and pray with her.”

  “She’s in a coma. She can’t pray.” Kendra looked at him strangely.

  “Well, pray nonetheless.” He glanced over and asked me, “So, tell me how you know this beautiful family, nephew.”

  “Kendra and I are friends,” I said.

  “Friends. Okay. That’s nice, neph, real nice. She’s a pretty friend to have, that’s for sure, just like her mama.” He winked.

  “And like Miss Nikki. She’s pretty too,” Kendra reminded him.

  “Uh, you’re right about that.” Patrick backed off a bit, then asked, “Speaking of your mother, where is she?”

  “She’s with my sister,” Kendra answered.

  “I’m right here,” Diane walked in and announced. “Did you get the pictures we just sent?”

  “Yeah, I got them. I’m gonna add them to the site in a few minutes,” Patrick said.

  “Good. And the other thing?” she asked him.

  “I got that too.” He handed her an envelope from his pocket. I noticed the church logo on the outside of it. “Courtesy of Mr. Simmons, the director of outreach.”

  “Cool,” Diane said, taking it from him and putting it into her purse without looking inside.

  “Nephew, can I speak to you outside for a second?” Patrick asked.

  “Sure thing.” I stood up, and we stepped outside the room. Then, he reached into his pocket and took out another envelope, bearing the same church logo as the one he had given Diane moments earlier. He passed it to me. I opened it and looked inside. It was the money he owed me.

  “Told ya I was gonna get your money to you.” He grinned. “Didn’t even take me the extra days.”

  “Unc, what the hell are you doing?” I said, almost giving him the envelope back.

  “What do you mean? Paying you your money back. Why? I know like hell Dell ain’t tryna charge interest, is he? See, this is why I told you to let me pay him back my way.”

  “No, Unc, he ain’t charging you no interest. Which, by the way, I think he should, considering how long you’ve owed him. But I’ma tell you like I told him: this is the last time y’all need to do business together.”

  “I don’t know why you’re tripping. We’re family. That’s why I went to him in the first place. He’s paid back in full, and that’s the end of that.” Patrick acted as if he were the one doing me a favor, instead of the total opposite.

  “I’m asking what the hell are you and Diane doing? This ain’t right, and you know it,” I whispered loudly. “That little girl is in there fighting for her life.”

  “Don’t you think I know that? That’s exactly why I’m getting the church and the community to support her and her family. I’m doing my duty as a deacon. The last thing Diane needs to be worried about is how her bills are gonna get paid, or how she’s gonna be able to afford these medical bills that are piling up every day that Avery is in this hospital. What ain’t right about that, nephew?”

  I didn’t have an answer. Had it been anyone else, I probably would’ve commended them for what they were doing. Hell, I probably would’ve joined the cause; but this was my uncle, who I’d known my entire life, and I knew he never did anything without it being beneficial for himself.

  “If you say so,” I told him. “I hope that’s all this is.”

  “That’s all it is.” He clasped his hand over my shoulder. “Now, let me go on and get out of here.”

  “I thought you came by here to pray for Avery, Unc. You ain’t even go and see her,” I commented.

  “Oh, yeah. You know, she’s got enough visitors right now. I’ll just make sure to lift her name and include it on our sick and shut-in list,” he said as we walked back into the waiting room. “Well, I’m gonna go ahead and head on out of here. I got some running around to do to get ready for tomorrow’s service. Diane, Kendra, Ashley, I’ll see y’all in the morning at church.” Patrick turned to me and said, “Nephew, you’re more than welcome to come as well.”

  “Naw, I’m good, Unc.” I shook my head.

  “We’ll be there. What time again?” Diane asked him.

  “Service starts at eleven. But you need to be there by ten, because I wanna introduce you to Pastor and First Lady,” Patrick answered. “See you in the morning.”

  When he was gone, Kendra looked at her mother and said, “Mama, I’m not going to church tomorrow. I’m staying here with Avery.”

  “You gonna go where the hell I say you’re gonna go. Just because you’re fucking a grown-ass man doesn’t make you grown.” Diane rolled her eyes at Kendra, who looked like she wished the floor would swallow her up just to get away. “Now, that damn pastor and congregation are expecting the three of us to be in service tomorrow, and all three of us are gonna be there.”

  Kendra glanced over at me, then back to her mother, and said, “I’m not going. You can go, but I’m staying here with my sister. Why would you even want her to be here alone?”

  “She won’t be here alone. Shit, Ronda will be here with her,” Diane answered. “You listen to me and listen to me good, Kendra. I ain’t gonna let you fuck this up for me. You’re gonna have your ass at
church tomorrow at ten o’clock. I swear, if you don’t, not only will I block your ass from being able to see Avery, but I’m gonna kick your ass out of my house. Do you understand me? You know what? Don’t even worry about coming tomorrow, and you can go ahead and leave now. Go to the house and get your shit.”

  “But Mama—”

  “You heard what the fuck I said. I want you out of my house and out of this hospital. I don’t know why motherfuckers keep trying me.”

  “Mama, please,” Kendra pleaded. “Fine. I’ll get out, but don’t make me leave here. What about Ashley? She can’t be here by herself.”

  For a split second, it seemed as if Kendra’s mom had forgotten all about her other daughter. She paused for a second and said, “I’m gonna allow you to visit with your sister, but I want your ass outta my house. I mean that. Come on, Ronda,” she said, and the two of them walked out the door. Ashley slid closer to Kendra and leaned on her, and Kendra affectionately rubbed her back.

  “If you go, Kendra, I’m going too,” Ashley whispered. The two of them were clearly used to leaning on one another.

  “I’ll be right back,” I said. I wanted to do something to help the situation if that was possible.

  I caught up with Diane and Ronda just as they were getting on the elevator. “Hold that.”

  The look Diane gave me as she stuck her arm out to stop the doors from closing almost made me say never mind. It was a look that I’d seen plenty of times before from women who clearly wanted me to know that I could have what they were offering without asking for it. It was the last look I wanted to get from her, because I already knew how much trouble she could cause. But I had to do something. I took a deep breath and stepped onto the elevator.

  “Thanks,” I told her.

  “No, thank you. It’s nice to have a fine-ass man escorting us down and making sure we’re safe.” Diane rubbed her hand along my arm, and I eased it away.

  “Yes, it is.” Ronda looked me up and down and licked her lips at me. I ignored her actions as well.

  “Ma’am . . .” I started.

  “Ma’am? Boy, please. I ain’t old enough for you to be calling me that. Call me Diane.”

  “Uh, okay, Diane, no disrespect, but I think you’re not being fair to Kendra,” I said. “It took everything to get her to leave the hospital this morning just to take a shower. Neither she nor Ashley wants to leave Avery’s side, and I don’t blame them. I know if my sister was in this situation, I wouldn’t want to leave either.”