Somebody Else's Man

by Daaimah S. Poole

  I am not a drunk. How did I end up sitting in a jail cell? I kept asking myself over and over. Dumb ass! All I could think about was if I’d followed my first instincts and hadn’t crossed that bridge to take Tia to Lamar’s, I would be home in my bed right now. Now, because I didn’t say no, I was going to have to miss a day of work. I might even get a criminal record for this bullshit.

  I used my one phone call to call Lolo. I told her what happened and where I was, and without saying one word, she hung up on me. I didn’t know if she was on her way or not. But when I was released from the jail, she was there with Ernest. I was given a notice to appear in court in thirty days. During the car ride home, I was waiting for my mom to lecture me about how she told me about drinking and driving and I should have called a cab. But she didn’t say anything. My head was still spinning. I felt like a teenager who got caught being out late and my parents were picking me up from the party. Every time she would look at me, I felt like I was going to get slapped or popped upside the head. I wanted my mom to calm down before I attempted to explain what happened. I knew that it was very unlikely. Lolo couldn’t go without saying something to me.

  “So are you an alcoholic now? Let me know if I have to send you to rehab so I can start saving up,” she blurted out.

  “Lolo, leave her alone. She don’t have to go to rehab, she just had one too many and got caught,” Ernest said as he looked at me through the rearview mirror.

  “You shut up. I’m talking to my daughter, not you. Nicole, you could have killed somebody.” I didn’t bother responding to her. I knew everything she was saying was true and I didn’t feel like discussing it.

  As soon as I got in the house, I showered—and tried to get my thoughts together. Then I called my job and lied to them about the seriousness of my car accident. After I got that out the way, I called Tia to make sure she was okay. Her phone rang like eight times. I was about to hang up when she finally answered.

  “Tia, you okay?”

  “Yeah, girl, I’m fine and the baby is fine.”

  “Well, I got locked up,” I sighed.

  “You are lying.”

  “No, I’m for real. I got a court date.”

  “Shut the fuck up.”

  “When you left, that cop made me walk a straight line and take a Breathalyzer and I failed the test.”

  CHAPTER 6

  Last week taught me so much. One, I would not drive at all after I’ve been drinking. Two, I wouldn’t drink for a long-ass while. I had to get my mom’s car fixed after I just got mine fixed. I had to hire an attorney, and pay all kinds of fines. If I got found guilty, I could get points on my license. I just wished it had never happened. My mom hadn’t said too much, and that meant she is like a ticking time bomb, waiting to explode on me. Even though I knew it was coming, I just didn’t know how and when. I came in from work and I tried to rush upstairs to my room, but my mom caught me.

  “Uhm, did Tia say anything to you about the accident?”

  “No, why? Mom, I’m really busy,” I said, trying to avoid a confrontation with her.

  “That bad-shaped, flat-assed hefa is suing me. I received a certified letter today. She ain’t getting a dollar out of me.”

  “Mom, what? Who is suing you?”

  “Your so-called friend, Tia.”

  “Tia is not suing you. There must be a mistake. I’m going to call her now and get it straightened out.”

  “Ain’t shit to straighten out—she ain’t getting shit out of me. Then, she got that real big injury attorney off the television commercial, Ed Tolamge, like she really got a case. I hope she don’t think she is going to get paid. I thought you said she wasn’t hurt, Nicole?”

  “She wasn’t hurt. She went to the hospital as a precaution, ’cause she’s pregnant. I’ll talk to her, Mom.”

  “You better before I do. I don’t need this shit right now. This girl trying to sue me. Ernest got problems with his prostate and he’s sick! I got enough damn shit on my plate.”

  “Wait a minute, Ernest got prostate problems—like cancer?”

  “Yeah. He got an appointment to go to the doctors again tomorrow. They gonna run some more tests.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I don’t know. You was looking all sad lately, you know, since you went to that funeral and everything. Plus, Ernest ain’t really want anybody to know.”

  “But Ernest is like my dad. I still want to know what’s going on with him.” Oh, my goodness, this is horrible, was all I could think as I went to my room.

  After work I went straight to Tia’s house. I knocked on her door and she didn’t answer, but her car was there. From outside her house, I called her phone.

  “Where you at, Tia?”

  “I’m at Lamar’s house.”

  “I’m at your house. I need to talk to you. Why did my mom just get a letter from your attorney saying that she is being sued by you?”

  “Oh, yeah, I’ve been meaning to tell you about that. Lamar thought I should sue the insurance company because I am having a little back pain.”

  What Tia was saying didn’t register with me. Was she serious? I should have known shady-ass Lamar was behind this bullshit.

  “Okay, listen, Tia, when you sue the insurance company, you know you are suing my mom, right?”

  “No, I’m not suing your mom. I’m suing the insurance company.”

  “You’re suing my mom. You are not even hurt. I see you got that con artist in your ear, again.”

  “No, it’s not like that at all. I’m suing the insurance company. The way my attorney explained it to me, that’s what insurance is for. You are supposed to use it. Your mom won’t have to come out of her pocket. When I settle, I will throw your mom a little something.”

  “My mom don’t need you to throw her anything. What she needs is for you not to sue her.”

  “Uhm, Nikki, I got to go. I’ll talk to you later,” she said as she hurried off the phone.

  The first day I wasn’t that mad at Tia. The second day after my stepfather said something to me, I still wasn’t really that upset. But when my mom burst into my room on my day off and said I had to go to the insurance office with her, I became fuming mad. Her agent said she needed to come down and discuss everything with him. I so didn’t need this shit.

  We walked into the insurance office nestled in the busy strip mall. My mom’s agent, Rick Sarento, told us to have a seat. I tried not to make eye contact with my mom. I knew she was about to say something to me, so I turned the other way. I couldn’t take her mouth right now. But she wouldn’t be Lolo if she didn’t criticize me.

  “You not going to let yourself go, are you?”

  “Mom, I threw this on to come down here with you.”

  “But still, nobody could ever catch me outside looking the way you do. Nicole, you always look a mess. You never listen to anything I say. We could have avoided all of this if you would have listened. I warned you about that girl like thirteen years ago—she ain’t right, but you will learn.”

  “Ladies, are you guys ready?” Mr. Sarento asked as he pulled out all this paperwork and placed it all over his sloppy desk.

  “Now, here’s the deal, Mrs. Edwards. It is not going to be my decision, but it is very likely the adjuster may deny the claim.”

  “Why?” my mother asked, surprised.

  “How can they do that?” I jumped in.

  “Well, first, you were not on your mother’s policy. Secondly, when there is alcohol involved it is pretty much a shut case. The blame is pretty much on the driver.”

  “I wasn’t that drunk. I was more tired than drunk.”

  “It doesn’t matter, but don’t get all excited. They haven’t denied the claim yet. But I wanted to give you the worst-case scenario, because there are a lot of variables,” he said as he looked up something on his computer screen and then printed out something else.

  “So, that’s what you think is going to happen?” I asked.

  “
Yes,” he said as he looked at my mom, and then at me. “The adjuster is going to make a determination based on the investigation. So, Miss Edwards, if we deny the claim you will be responsible for damages to your own car and any civil case or injury cases.”

  “She is not even hurt,” my mother said, shaking her head.

  “Well, good. Maybe you can talk to this friend of yours,” he said as he strained to read the police report.

  “So, she does have a case?” my mother asked.

  “Not really, but she can definitely sue for medical bills, but anything above that, such as pain and suffering, she doesn’t have enough evidence to make a case. It is going to take a lot of rehab and extensive treatment and a bunch of doctor visits to convince a judge that she deserves compensation. Something like that would take, at the very least, six months to two years. But if she follows through and is successful, she can put a lien on your house.”

  Hearing the words “lien on your house” was all my mom needed to hear. On the way home she called me every type of retarded, stupid bitch there was in the world. I was so mad at Tia, and even madder at myself.

  I tried to reach Tia for about two weeks. She didn’t answer my texts or calls. My mom had even left a few messages for her. I even did a few drive-bys past her house and she was never there. I really couldn’t believe she was acting like this. This was not the Tia that I knew. That dumb-ass man must have been all in her ear all kinds of ways. First, he got her to want to sue my mom and now she is not speaking to me. Something is definitely up. And even though I had promised Reshaun weeks ago that I would go to dinner with her and Michael, now I didn’t want to go. I didn’t know what I was liable to do when I finally saw Tia’s ass. I knew she was going to be there, but a promise was a promise. However, I couldn’t be sure that I wouldn’t kill Tia.

  Michael and Reshaun were already seated in a private room in Maggiano’s Italian restaurant. The table was white, with candles and place settings for five. Michael stood up and gave me a fast hug and thanked me for coming. Reshaun hugged me and was still rocking her married look. She looked cute, though. She was wearing her glasses, a blue button-down shirt, and black slacks. Our waitress was pleasant and came around and took orders for our appetizers and wine. As I ordered my calamari and a red wine, Tia and Lamar took their seats. I looked across the table and rolled my eyes. I didn’t acknowledge either of them. Tia spoke to me anyway, but I ignored her. I picked up my phone and began checking my messages and acting like I was sending a text. As far as I was concerned, Tia and her man didn’t exist.

  Halfway through dinner, Tia was still trying her best to make conversation with me. It was so obvious I was still not speaking to her, but for some reason she still kept trying to make idle conversation. I looked over at her, sighed, and shook my head. Then she looked at me and asked what was wrong with me. I twisted my lips and was ready to get up from the table. The more I stayed in their presence, the more and more pissed off I became. Here it is, I’ve been calling and leaving her messages and she didn’t even bother to call me back and now that she was in my face, she couldn’t stop talking. I rolled my eyes again, letting her know…I don’t think so, you slimy bitch! Then she had the nerve to ask me what was wrong with me. So since she asked, I leaned forward and said, “Tia, I don’t believe you are going to sit across the table from me and act like nothing happened.”

  “What you talking about?” She looked around at everybody like I was talking crazy.

  “You got a lot of damn nerve acting like nothing is going on. Me and my mother have been calling you and leaving messages every day for you. And you didn’t have the decency to return any of our calls. You know my mom can lose her house if you go through with this lawsuit,” I screamed across the table.

  “Listen, I told you what is was. I gotta protect myself,” she yelled back.

  “You not even hurt. What’s wrong with you? You not going to get anything. You wasting your time and putting my mom through unnecessary stress.”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about. How you let this part-time con artist and full-time loser, come between us?”

  “Who you calling a loser?” Lamar asked, looking over at me.

  “Thirty-four-year-old d-boy, sit down,” I said. He acted like he wanted to hit me and I gave him a look that said, Do it, so I can whup your ass.

  As we argued, I heard Michael ask Reshaun what a d-boy was. She whispered, “A drug dealer.” Then Reshaun said, “Please y’all, come on, we are here to celebrate. Let’s relax and discuss this later.”

  “I can’t relax. My mother’s house can get taken. I’m not playing with you, Tia. You better do something.”

  “You not playing with me? Please,” Tia said.

  “No, I’m not. I’m serious. You need to call your attorney and tell him that you want to drop the case. ’Cause if you don’t, Tia, I swear, you going to make me fuck you up,” I said as I balled up my napkin and sat with my arms crossed.

  She stretched across the table. “Fuck me up! Please! Don’t tell me what to do, Nikki,” she said as her voice elevated.

  “Tia, for real? Really? Wow, I can’t believe you going through all this. Times aren’t that hard. I can’t believe you. You’re a dumb-ass bitch,” I said as I stood up and Michael tried to get me to sit back in my seat.

  “Don’t call me out of my name, bitch,” she shouted.

  “Fuck you, bitch, and the nothing-ass you got sitting beside you.” I was so mad I wanted to reach across the table and choke her for being so dumb. I couldn’t, so I picked up my glass and threw red wine in her face. It splattered everywhere, all over Tia and the table. By now, the restaurant manager came to the table and asked us to leave. I was on my way out anyway. I got up and walked out of the restaurant. Reshaun and Michael followed me as Tia tried to wipe the wine off of her clothes.

  “You okay?” Reshaun asked.

  “Yeah. I’m fine. How much do I owe you?” I asked as I opened my wallet and tried to hand Michael some money.

  “No, no, please. I’m so sorry to see you fight. I’m taking care of the bill,” he said. I thanked Michael and told Reshaun I would call her. I was about to get in my car when I heard footsteps coming toward us. It was Tia and Lamar. Tia was really trying to test me because she was still mouthing off. I was trying not to hurt her silly ass. I knew her drinking always made her think she was invincible, but I was about to show her she wasn’t. She ran over to me, still talking shit. So I had no choice but to pop her right in the middle of her nose. Her nose began to bleed and then Reshaun and Michael grabbed me, instead of grabbing her. This gave Tia enough time to punch and scratch me in my face. After they pulled her off of me, she then ran back to her car. I chased her, and then she grabbed a crowbar out of her trunk and began swinging it at me. I backed up and tried to take it away from her. While all this was going on, Lamar wasn’t doing nothing. Finally, Reshaun and Michael got to her and made her drop the crowbar, and began holding her back. Tia couldn’t get to me physically, so she just started yelling insults.

  “Kiss my ass, Tia!” I screamed and began walking back to my car.

  “No, you kiss my ass. You stupid drunk-ass bitch. Nicole, that’s why you got a DUI.”

  “Your mom! You stupid bitch!” That was the only thing I could think to say.

  “At least I got a mom and dad, you fucking bastard child. How about that?”

  Those words pierced my heart, hurting me worse than any other low blows she could have come up with. I looked over at Tia in disbelief. I knew she just didn’t go there. I began to rush toward Tia again, but was stopped by Reshaun, who kept screaming, “Y’all better than that. Y’all two grown women fighting. Come on, we all grew up together, we are like sisters. Cut it out before somebody gets hurt.”

  Realizing that I couldn’t get past Reshaun, I yelled, “Tia you’re a loser-ass bitch, and you are never going to be anything as long as you keep a nothi
ng-ass man in your life.” Lamar was just standing there looking dumb, because he knew I was talking about him.

  “Whatever, at least I got a man. How about this, Nikki? How about you go get your own man and keep other people’s men’s dicks out of your throat, you dumb-ass whore.”

  Whoaa. Tia was taking it too far. First she wanted to call me a bastard child, and now I got other people’s dicks in my mouth. If she thought I was going to let that comment go, she was mistaken. I climbed over the Honda Civic parked next to my car to get to her. She was talking mad shit and I wasn’t the one. This time, Reshaun and Michael couldn’t keep us apart. I grabbed her hair and started dragging and pulling that bitch around the parking lot. I just kept hitting her in her head and punching her all in her face. I could hear them screaming for me to let her go, but I wouldn’t. At the same time, Lamar grabbed her, and Michael and Reshaun got to me. I still had pieces of her hair in my hand. I came back to my senses when Reshaun said the cops were coming. I was not for sitting in a jail cell again. I picked up my handbag and got in my car. My phone started ringing instantly, but I didn’t bother answering it. I pulled out of the parking garage as fast as I could, mad as hell. If I had a gun I would have gone to Tia’s house right then and shot her ass without a bit of remorse. I tried to calm myself down until I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. There were scratches all on my neck and she had put a big one across my forehead. The entire ride home, the words bastard child kept ringing in my head. How could Tia sue my mom and then talk about me like that? She had really crossed the line. Some things you just don’t say unless you mean them. Over the years, me and Tia have been through a lot of things. But nothing ever this bad.