by Pat Tucker
“I’m with her on this one,” Bishop said. “I know you don’t like ol’ girl, but what’s tripping me out is, you trying to tell us you willing to risk it all just because she’s messing with your man?”
The only thing missing from Bishop’s audacious statement was the shake of her head as if I was so pathetic she couldn’t fathom my thinking.
Edwards tried to give her the side-eye, but Bishop wouldn’t look in her direction.
“Seriously, Dunbar, why you mad at her anyway, when you should be mad at him? Females trip me out when they do that,” Edwards snapped back.
Her question made sense. But she didn’t need to know that I was mad at him too. The problem was DaQuan was already behind bars, so what more could I do to hurt or punish him?
“Why don’t you try talking to her? I don’t see why we all gotta be dragged into this if the beef is between the two of you,” Edwards said.
“Sshh!” I looked around the break room area.
The space was small; it was for the C.O.s and staff only. But we never knew who was nearby and we certainly didn’t know if someone was right outside the door.
When Bishop spoke this time, her voice was lower. But she still said the same kind of stuff.
“It’s not like she messes with anybody else. I mean, I don’t care for her because she walks around here like she’s the Queen or something, but other than that, she ain’t never done nothing to me.”
“But what about what she’s done to me?” I asked.
For so long, I thought the three of us were a team. I thought if someone messed with one, it was like they’d mess with us all.
Edwards leaned in again.
“I feel like you really need to think this one through some more. I get that you don’t like her, but it don’t make sense to blow our entire operation over some locked-up dick, is all I’m saying.”
Those words stabbed me like a thousand sharp knives. I thought Bishop and Edwards were my girls. There was no way in hell I would’ve come to them if I thought for a minute that they’d act the way they acted. It was clear. I was alone.
“What are you gonna do, go around and fight every female DaQuan fucks?” Bishop asked.
Her matter-of-fact tone really rubbed me wrong.
The look I tossed her way could’ve killed. She had gone too far. My blood boiled because they acted like the disrespect Jones showed me was no big deal.
I didn’t say anything, but I wondered if she would’ve felt the same way if Jones had pushed up on R.J. instead of DaQuan.
For a little while, we sat and no one said anything else. I felt uneasy now that they told me how they really felt, but I didn’t want them to know that.
“You know what, y’all are right. I’m tripping. I need to just chill and keep making this money. It’s enough to go around, and even more to be made since the last shakedown. Sometimes, I let my emotions get all worked up and it drives me crazy.”
“Yeah, that’s that baby messing with your hormones. You know how it is when you pregnant,” Edwards said.
“Yeah, what they call it, pregnancy brain?” Bishop added.
We all giggled a little at the thought that DaQuan’s seed had suddenly made me absentminded.
But while we laughed, I couldn’t help but contemplate which one of them I would have to sacrifice in order to get rid of Jones.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHARISMA
Everything about Lena had always been pretty. That had been drilled into my head from the time I was able to understand. When we were kids, people never passed up the chance to point out how pretty she was.
Oftentimes, they’d overlook me, and shower her with compliments about her beauty.
But even the prettiest girls had ugly ways. Nothing brought ugly out of my cousin more than when she felt jealous of me. And there were quite a few of those occasions.
The look on her face as we stood outside of my apartment and I showed her how the convertible top on my new BMW glided up and down with ease, was one of the ugliest I had ever seen.
Her arms were crossed at her chest and she had sucked her teeth as if a piece of chicken was lodged deep in them.
“I don’t understand.”
Even her tone was sour, to match the expression on her face.
“It’s really simple, Lena. All I have to do is press this button and it—”
“I’m not talking about the stupid car!” She cut me off. “I’m talking about this new man of yours. How come he’s such a secret? Where did you all meet and how come I can’t meet him?”
I sighed and looked at her.
“Lena, why can’t you just be happy for me for a change? I mean, really.”
She eyed the car like she was mad at me and it. Her lips were pursed to the side, and she pushed air out through her nostrils. I knew it was hard for her, but I obviously didn’t realize just how hard it had been.
“What if this guy is a drug dealer or something like that?”
She scrunched up her pretty little nose when she said that.
I wanted to tell her that I was the drug dealer, and not my man, but I knew that would crack her pretty little face even more and I didn’t want to kill the poor girl.
“He’s not. He’s just real private. And like he said, if we start letting people get all in our business, that’s when the drama creeps in.”
Lena rolled her eyes at me. She moved closer to the car.
When my cell phone rang, I had to get it, because it was about business.
“Hey, Lance; what’s up, Cuz?”
Lena was completely lost in the car. She fiddled with some of the features on the dashboard, and ran her fingers across the upholstery. I stepped off to the side so I could talk to her brother for a few minutes.
“Yes, I got your money, and no, like I told you, we’re gonna pass on those.”
“Y’all don’t even want the Valium?”
“Yeah, we want those, but not the others.”
“Okay, that’s straight. Hey, did you ever check out that blog I told you about?”
“It’s on my list of things to do; just haven’t had the chance yet.”
“Okay, well, I’ll roll through later tonight, and I’ll bring another shipment.”
Once I ended the call with Lance, I moved back to Lena. By now, she had reclined in my leather bucket seats, and she looked comfortable.
“This car has everything!”
Her voice had lost some of the sour tone from earlier and she didn’t act like she was mad at the car anymore.
“Yeah. I really like it.”
As she got out of the car, she turned to me. “Oh, what is Lance calling you about? He’s such a loser.”
I rolled my eyes at her comment about Lance.
“You do know he’s my cousin too, right?”
She snickered. “Well, first it’s this new secret, billionaire boyfriend; now you’re chatting up with my loser of a brother. It’s like I don’t even know you anymore, Charisma Jones!”
We laughed at that.
Lena was so off that she had no issues with the fact that she had all but alienated herself from the entire family. I wonder how that worked out for them. Lena always received the best of the best of everything before me, or even Lance. And once we were all grown, she barely talked to her own mother, despised her brother, and usually only spoke to me if I spoke first.
Later, back inside my apartment, I felt like Lena had channeled some Corey-type hate as she gazed around the place.
“Nice new furniture too. Something is definitely going on with you.” She looked at me. “Did you hit the lotto?”
“No, silly. Do you want something to drink or are you gonna keep trying to get all up in my business?”
Lena sat down on the sofa and glided her hands over the supple leather. “Yup, this is definitely top of the line.”
When the phone rang again and it was DaQuan, I nearly panicked. Then I realized she had no idea he was calling from prison. I grinned as I answe
red the phone.
“Hey, baby, I was just talking about you.”
Lena’s head whipped in my direction. Her eyes grew wide, and she frowned at the same time.
“Hey, ma. What’s good?” DaQuan asked.
“Nothing much. I was just showing my cousin the new car you bought me.”
“Oh, so ya boy Lance is there?”
“No. It’s my girl cousin, Lance’s sister,” I said. “Remember I told you I was spending some family time today?”
“Oh, yeah; okay, bet that. Well, look, I need to talk to ya about something, but it can wait. How long is yo cousin gonna be there?”
“I’m not sure, but I can go in the other room if you want.”
I knew for sure Lena’s ears were all perked up as they strained to listen to my conversation. I was certain she wished she had bionic powers to hear DaQuan too.
“Nah, it’s not urgent. I’ll call back in a few hours. Say, why don’t ya take her shopping and buy her a new bag or something; get one for ya’self too. I ain’t mean to interrupt.”
It was more than over the top, but I didn’t care. I squealed so loud and screamed, “Thanks, babe! Wait till I tell her.”
Lena’s eyes were the size of saucers. By the time I ended the call, she was damn near in my lap.
“What? What happened? Was that your secret boyfriend? What did he say? What’s the matter? What’s wrong?”
The urgency of her voice and movement told me she was anxious for something to go wrong. I saw the desperation in her eyes.
“Girl, is everything okay?”
Worry lines made their way to her forehead.
“Oh, yeah, he told me to take you to the mall and buy us both a new designer bag. He felt bad because he forgot I told him we were hanging today.”
“OHMYGOD!!” Lena’s mouth dropped and her eyes stretched wide. She began to tremble.
I thought she was going to hyperventilate right where she stood.
“H-h-he said buy me a bag? Like what? Michael Kors or something?” Her petite hands trembled as they covered her mouth. Her entire body shook too.
“Michael Kors? Girl, please, that’s not how he rolls. We ’bout to go hit up Gucci!”
My cousin shivered so badly I had to guide her back to her seat. Her limbs shook uncontrollably.
“Lena! Lena! Girl, you okay? You want some water or something?”
Unable to speak, she nodded.
I rushed, grabbed a glass and poured her some ice-cold water. She quickly gulped it down and exhaled.
“Okay, so are you trying to tell me that your new, top-secret man called and told you that because he interrupted our family time, you should go to the mall and buy yourself a fucking Gucci bag?”
“No,” I said calmly, and shook my head.
“Girl, I was about to say. Don’t play like that.”
She placed a delicate hand over her chest, I guessed to calm her heart, and that was when I gave it to her.
“No, I said, my new, top-secret man just called and because he interrupted our family time, he told me to take you to the mall and buy us both fucking Gucci bags!”
She bolted from the chair, screamed, and danced around. I watched as she flung her arms and kicked her legs like she had caught a bad case of the Holy Ghost.
Even with all of her over-the-top antics, for the first time in our lives, I finally felt prettier than my pretty cousin Lena.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
KENYATAYE
The other day when I drove past the apartments, I kept going because I knew there was nothing there for me to see. But on my way to work, I decided to take the scenic route, and boy was I glad I did.
My timing was perfect because not only did I see the trick and another chick standing outside, but the two of them were hovering over a new BMW.
I nearly pulled right over and told that trick what I really thought about her. As I drove on toward work, I wondered how Jones’s face would’ve looked if I had stopped, and told her friend just what she must’ve done to get that damn car.
There was no way in hell DaQuan would buy her a new car unless she was now his woman. Oh, he took care of his for sure, and I knew that as a fact. The sight of Jones as she showed off her new car pissed me off more than words could say.
“So he’s taking care of that bitch too! He bought her a fucking convertible?”
Hot tears burned the corners of my eyes, but I fought and stopped them from falling. I refused to shed a tear over his ass.
I smacked my steering wheel so hard, my palm throbbed. Both those bitches made me sick—him for treating her like she was something special, and her for screwing with a man she knew was already taken. Forget that I had done the same thing to Clarkson.
Clarkson and I didn’t work on the same damn shift. The fact that we were on the same team should have been an automatic deal-breaker for Jones, but she didn’t give a damn; she still fucked DaQuan.
I turned on Highway 90 in Sugar Land, and made a right on Harlem Road. About a block away from the prison, I made a U-turn and drove in the opposite direction. I wasn’t in the mood to be bothered with that foolishness today.
Initially, I didn’t have a plan for my sudden day off, but a while later, I pulled up in front of my house, grabbed my cell phone and called the job.
“Hey, this is C.O. KenyaTaye Dunbar. I’m sick. I can’t come in today.”
I blurted out my message, and before the supervisor could say anything, I ended the call. I knew that would put them in a bind; we were always dealing with staff shortages, but I couldn’t bring myself to go in there.
What would I say to DaQuan? “Hey, I see you bought her the same damn car you got me, but hers is a drop-top?” Or, “I wonder what she did to get such a nice new car?”
By the time I passed back by Charisma’s apartment, the fancy new car was gone. That meant the trick was out joyriding and flossing in a car my man bought for her. He made me want to throw up.
It didn’t take long for my phone to start ringing. The first call I ignored was from the bastard himself. About twenty minutes later, I ignored a call from Edwards. A few minutes after that, I sent Bishop’s call to voicemail.
“Get the damn message. I don’t feel like talking to anybody right now.” I slid the power off and put the phone down.
My mother jumped when I walked back into the house.
“Chile, I thought you was at work.”
Everything about my mother was plain. She had few friends, and she lived to take care of me and my kids. I appreciated having her help, but I wondered if I was destined to turn into her one day.
“Mom, how come you don’t have a man?”
Her eyebrows twisted as she looked at me.
“Who said I don’t have one?”
I laughed.
“Mary Dunbar. Puhleease! I am your only child. I think I know everything there is to know about you. If you had a man, trust, I would know that too.”
“Maybe I’m just a real private person who don’t want to put people all up in my business.”
She struggled to get that out with a straight face. I rolled my eyes at that answer.
I unbuttoned my uniform shirt, removed my belt, and stepped out of the boots. I was not about to think about those damn people or that damn job for the rest of the day.
“Why don’t you go change? It’s obvious you ain’t goin’ in today.”
My mother was right.
“I’ll fix us some lunch,” she said.
“Nah. Let’s go out. Let me change and we can go drop the kids at camp and spend the day out, having lunch, and shopping.”
“You don’t have to tell me again,” she said. She took off the half apron, tossed it to the counter top, and darted to her room.
Why not spend some of DaQuan’s money? Since he was so damn generous, I figured I’d like to have him treat my mother and me to a nice day of shopping and maybe even a spa trip.
We changed, got the kids together and dropped
them off at the expensive aftercare program I had enrolled them in. They loved it and so did I.
Once we were back in the car, I asked my mother why things never worked out with her and my father.
“KenyaTaye, I’ve told you that story a million times.”
She made a dismissive motion with her hand.
“No, you told me he wasn’t ready for another kid. You said he married someone else, but he didn’t tell you at first. And of course they all blame us for the breakup, but I never understood why things didn’t work out in the beginning with the two of you.”
“He was married when I met him. We were only together that one time.”
“What?”
I nearly drove off the road. I knew the story of their relationship, but I thought he had chosen another woman over my mother. I thought he’d chosen the woman who had his kids first over her. I had no clue my mother had screwed a man who was unavailable.
“Sometimes men don’t know what they want. He was in town on business. We met and hit it off. I had never done anything like that before. He was so nice, said all the right things, and next thing you know, I woke up in an empty hotel bed.”
My heart broke as I listened to the story. She told it, like it was nothing. And even though it was nearly thirty years ago, I could tell she might have wanted to give that impression, but it wasn’t true.
“So he was gone when you got up?”
“Yeah. He left. I figured he had an early flight. So, I told myself I could check a one-night-stand off my list, and I did. Well, six weeks later, I walked in to clean a room that had been trashed. The smell of vomit was in the air and it made me throw up all over the place.”
“That was me, huh?”
“Yes, ma’am. It sure was.”
We stopped at a light. I thought about some of the things my mother told me. I didn’t know I was the product of a one-night stand, and I damn sure didn’t know my father was married at the time. Could that have contributed to me being okay with unavailable men?
“How did he find out about me?”
At first, my mother didn’t answer. She gazed out of the window until the awkward silence made me think she might not have heard the question.