Somebody Else's Man

by Daaimah S. Poole

  At two a.m. the party was over and my feet were hurting. The back of my heel and my front toe felt like they were on fire. I was still trying to walk straight, but I wanted to take off my shoes. Maritza didn’t care. She took off her heels and was walking around barefoot while Vincent was struggling to hold her drunk ass up.

  She looked at me and I barely recognized her. Her eyes were blood-red and half shut. “You have fun? I told you we party hard and have lots of fun,” she said in a slurred voice.

  “You drive?” Vincent asked as we all made our way out of the hall.

  “No, I came with Maritza. I’m okay, I can catch a cab. I just need to get my stuff out of Maritza’s car.” We walked out to her car and I retrieved my stuff and thanked Vincent.

  “I’m not going to leave you out here. Just go to my house. I don’t live too far and we can call you a cab.”

  Vincent got us to his apartment safely. We all walked into his dark apartment and he flicked on the lights. He handed me his house phone and the yellow pages. He and Maritza went into the bedroom and before closing the door, he said, “Just lock the front door when you leave.” I turned to the taxi section and began calling cab companies. Some couldn’t come out and another said it would be an hour wait. Moments later the jangling of keys made me jump. It was Emanuel coming through the door.

  “You live here too!”

  “Yeah, you cool?” Emanuel asked as he turned the television on for me.

  “Yeah, I’m just trying to catch a cab home. It’s going to be like a hour.”

  “That long? Well, if you get tired, you can lie down in my room. I don’t bite.”

  “Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Four a.m. and the cab hadn’t arrived. All I wanted was to go home and get in my bed. I dialed the cab company back and a weary voice said, “We’re still trying to send a taxi out to you.” I said okay and hung up. I waited a little more for the cab and I drifted asleep. I was awakened by Emanuel tapping me on my shoulder and saying, “Come lie down.”

  My back was hurting on the small sofa, and I was so sleepy. I knew he wouldn’t try anything with Vincent and Maritza in the next room. So I took his hand and he led me to his teenage-looking room. He had this old wooden bedroom set, and his bedsheets didn’t match his pillowcases. I figured it was only for a few hours so it didn’t matter, but it did. I awoke to cracks of sunshine coming through the window and Emanuel lusting over my feet. His mouth was wide open, tongue hanging out. He looked weird and perverted. I was so scared. It was like he was imagining himself doing things to my toes. That totally freaked me out.

  “What are you doing?” I yelled.

  “Nothing. I was about to give your pretty feet a massage.”

  “No, don’t do me any favors.” I sighed really loud and got up and walked out of the apartment. I walked until I saw a cab, then took it home.

  CHAPTER 16

  Sometimes people are gluttons for punishment. That would be me. I had to ride to New Jersey for my DUI court date. I couldn’t believe I was still dealing with this mess. All of this because I had too much to drink and allowed Tia to talk me into driving her to Jersey. Emanuel had called and apologized for his weird appreciation of my feet. Maritza and Vincent said he was acting strange because he had a few drinks. I let it go and spoke to him when I was bored. I mentioned to him that I didn’t want to go to court alone. He said he would ride with me. I didn’t like him, but he was nice, and I was willing to be his friend. When I picked up Emanuel he was wearing his favorite color again, a bright-ass red sweatshirt and sagging jeans with untied construction boots. I thought he was dressed for the wrong decade. He looked so crazy I thought about pulling off as he reached for my car door. But then I didn’t. It didn’t really matter. He wasn’t my man and would never be. But since he was nice enough to go with me to my court date, I figured I should be thankful.

  “So, what’s going on?” he said, tapping my leg as he entered my car.

  “Nothing. Put your seat belt on.” I exhaled and reminded myself that he was doing me a favor. Minutes later, we were crossing the Benjamin Franklin Bridge.

  “We in New Jersey yet?” Emanuel asked, looking around.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Oh, because this is my first time out of Philly.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I never been out of the city. This is what’s up. I got to call my boys.” He took his cell phone out and called somebody. “Guess where I’m at? I’m in New Jersey. Yup. I know. I just crossed the bridge. I will. Okay.” He turned toward me and was like, “Do you do things like this all the time? I always wanted to start doing stuff like this. How far is the beach?”

  In my mind, I was screaming, You gotta be kidding! But I kept my shock and disbelief to myself. “It’s not close. It’s like another forty-five minutes. You never been to the beach?”

  “No, everything I need is in the city. I want to go to the beach one day, though, like maybe sometime in the next year or two. You been on a plane before?” he asked as he looked up in the sky, like a child popping his head in and out of the window, like the idea of traveling by plane was so amazing.

  “Yeah.” I answered without showing any emotion, but I was thinking, What a loser!

  “That’s fly. Wow, like I never knew nobody that’s been on a plane before. I would be so scared. I’m going to do that one day.” He looked out the window again, grinning with excitement. I really thought he was making a joke until he continued on. “When you was on the plane how did it get gas in it? Like, does another plane meet them in the sky?”

  Is this man for real or just slow? I asked myself. “Planes get filled up when they are on the ground at the airport,” I explained, forcing patience into my tone. I really felt like yelling, Shut the fuck up, stupid! But I didn’t because he was a nice guy. He couldn’t help it if he was intellectually challenged.

  “How you know?”

  I couldn’t believe he was even questioning what I was telling him. This time I ignored him. I turned up the volume on the radio and focused on driving.

  I walked in the courthouse and we went through security, and I started having crazy ideas, like how about if they arrest me and make me stay in jail for like six months? Feeling nervous, I walked in and signed my name. I was told to have a seat. Once in the courtroom, I noticed my attorney. She came over and briefed me on my case. She began telling me that since it was my first offense, I was just going to plead guilty. With my guilty plea I could just get placed in a program.

  “Your fine is going to be between three hundred and five hundred. Since your DUI resulted in an accident, and your blood alcohol level was just at .10 there is a possibility that you may be ordered to serve thirty days in jail.”

  “Thirty days in jail?” I felt a chill come over me. I stood up, feeling ready to run out of that courtroom. I couldn’t do any time. Thirty days is a long time.

  “You won’t get thirty days in jail. Have a seat. They will be calling your name shortly.” Twenty minutes later, my name was called and I followed my attorney to the front of the small courtroom.

  The county clerk’s office representative stood up. I didn’t know what to expect. The woman said, “The county asked that the defendant, Nicole Edwards, be given a fine of five hundred dollars and twenty hours of community service.”

  “Counsel, do you agree with that?” the judge asked as he turned to my attorney.

  “Yes, Your Honor. We do. We also ask that no points be added to the defendant’s driving record and that she be allowed an intoxication class in lieu of community service.”

  “Yes, we agree, but the defendant will be on probation until the fine is paid.” My attorney went back and forth a little more and then she came over to me and began trying to explain everything.

  “What happened? Am I on probation?”

  “You have to pay five hundred dollars and have to go to an Intoxicated Driver Resource program, and once you pay your fine and take your course—
and as long as you don’t get another DUI in the next six months—you will not receive points on your license or have a record. Just wait right here so I can get your paperwork.”

  Moments later my attorney came out with all the court documents I had to sign. I’d never been so happy to just pay a fine and take a class. It felt like a big weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

  “Now, make sure you go and register for the class and take it as soon as you can.”

  “I’m going to mail them a check tomorrow and register for that class,” I said and then thanked her. I wanted to give her a hug, but she was already walking away as she went to consult with her other clients who were waiting outside the courtroom.

  Whew! That was a relief! I am never driving drunk again. I called home and told Lolo the good news. She didn’t sound all that interested; she just said, “Okay, I’m on the other line. I’ll see you when you get home.”

  Emanuel was sitting in the back of the courtroom. “So, you got off? That’s what’s up?”

  “Yeah, I just got to pay a fine. Come on, let’s go.”

  After we left the courthouse we stopped and got gas. After the attendant began pumping my gas, I noticed a handwritten sign that read, “Cash Only.” What kind of place doesn’t accept credit cards?

  “All I have is a credit card,” I told the attendant pumping gas.

  “Only cash. Our machine is down, honey.” The attendant gave me a sympathetic look. “You can go across the street to the ATM.”

  “I have money.” Emanuel dug inside his pocket and said, “Here.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I got you,” Emanuel said as he handed me his money. I thanked him, and then we were on our way back across the bridge to Philly.

  Well, that drama was over. I really appreciated Emanuel’s company. He’d paid for my gas and all the tolls and was my entertainment during the ride. He was a very nice guy, but there was absolutely no way I would ever go out with him again. I was nearing his house and I couldn’t wait to get him out of my car. I was exhausted from his dumbness and court.

  “Thank you for taking this ride with me and thanks for paying the tolls and everything.”

  “You’re welcome. Oh yeah, make sure you hit the ATM before I get out, ’cause I needs my money.” The only thing that stood out was “I needs my money.” Huh, I thought. I needed him to repeat hisself. I know this broke dude was not asking me to return the money he’d offered. I thought I heard him wrong until he said, “I really need that money you owe me.”

  “How much do I owe you?” I asked, confused and also a little angry. He’d said not to worry about the toll and gas and now he was asking for his money back.

  He looked upward, like he was adding up figures. “I don’t know, like forty dollars. I paid for the gas—that was like thirty, and then I paid for however much the tolls was.” His cheerful expression had turned into an ugly frown. “I needs all my money, yo.”

  “Oh, my God. Are you serious?” I laughed.

  “Yeah, I’m serious. I don’t have it like that. I can’t be giving no chick no forty dollar. What? You think somebody rich or something?” He gave a snort. “It ain’t all sweet like that, baby.”

  “But you said don’t worry about it,” I said, confused.

  “That don’t mean don’t give me my money back. It’s hard out here.”

  I was steaming. I kept my eyes on the road. Wow, he wasn’t so nice after all. I saw a Hess gas station and instantly pulled into the lot. Two things were going through my mind: I should burn him and not give him the money at all, or I should withdraw the money and then throw it in his face. But being the type of independent woman that I am, I was determined to let him know that I didn’t even care about thirty-three lousy dollars. I got out of the car and slammed the door.

  “Can you get me a Sprite?” he asked.

  I laughed right in his face. He would be lucky if I took his ass all the way home. I bought a pack of Doublemint and a Cherry Pepsi. I took his measly forty dollars out of the ATM. I was still trying to decide whether or not I should throw the entire forty dollars at him, because technically I only owed him thirty-three dollars. Then I thought about it. I wasn’t giving his broke ass an extra seven dollars. Cracking open my Cherry Pepsi, I got back in the car.

  “You forgot my soda,” he said, watching me take a huge swallow.

  I didn’t say anything. I knew I was on a date with a crazy, delusional person.

  “You not mad, are you?”

  “No, not at all,” I said as I tried to hide my anger. I placed the money on the separator between the seats. I never looked at him or spoke to him for the rest of the ride. I pulled up to his house and as soon as I heard him shut the door, I pulled off at full speed. My tires must have left a burn mark, because I heard this loud screeching noise. I was mad at myself on the ride home. How could I have let this loser occupy a few days of my life? I couldn’t wait to get to work tomorrow; I was going to cuss Maritza out for introducing us.

  My phone vibrated on my dresser and then fell off, at one in the morning. My first thought was Dre. I wanted to pick up the phone and say Stop calling me, you stalker. But I’m glad I looked at the number before I answered. It was my job. Damn it. I didn’t want to talk to them either. I knew I was on call and there was a strong possibility that I might get a call, but I never thought the call would come this late at night.

  I answered sleepily. “Hello.”

  “Sorry to interrupt your sleep, but we have a major situation going on,” the night auditor, Robin, said.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “We are sold out and we have a guest here who has a guaranteed reservation and I gave her room away.”

  “Did you check to see if any other hotels in the area have any available rooms?”

  “Yes, every hotel is sold out. It’s a convention going on downtown. She said if we don’t find her a room now, she is going to sleep in the conference room or lobby or call the police.”

  “The police? What are they going to do? Never mind. I’m on my way.” I didn’t want to go, but I had to. I dressed in jeans and a hooded pink sweatshirt and drove to the hotel.

  I arrived and saw a tired brunette sitting on her suitcase right in the lobby. I walked over and introduced myself to the guest. I extended my hand. She looked up at me and stood up and said, “I’m not leaving this hotel, so you better find me a room.”

  I better? Who does she think she’s talking to? For a moment, I thought about telling her to go sleep her ass on the damn floor.

  “I have a meeting in the morning and my company is picking me up to take me to the building. It is now two a.m. and they will be here at seven. So tell me, what I am supposed to do? You reserve a room with a credit card for a reason. That’s why it is called a guaranteed reservation. So tell me why I don’t have a room.”

  “Please give me a moment and we will try to see what we can do.”

  “Don’t try. Get me a damn room. This hotel had the nerve to charge my card when you can’t even accommodate me with the room I’ve already paid for? I’m going to stay right here.”

  “Ma’am, I am very sorry we gave your room away. However, this is standard practice. Yes, you are correct…if you reserve your room with a major card we are supposed to hold your room. However, after twelve midnight, we assume that you may not be coming and we can sell your room to another guest. Now, if you give me a moment, I am going to find you accommodations elsewhere.”

  She stood stubbornly, with her arms crossed. “I am not going to any other hotel.”

  I was being extra nice because I felt extremely bad for her. But I was not going to let her keep telling me what I was going to do. I ignored her and went to the back office and began calling other hotels in the city. I was able to find her a room at the Holiday Inn in Olde City. I paid for her cab and gave her a voucher for her next visit. Then I scheduled a car to pick her up from that hotel and bring her to ours, so she could meet
with her company in the morning. The whole process took about two hours. I was so sleepy, I wanted to cry. I still had to get up and come back here to the hotel to start my regular work day in three hours. This was just too much.

  My alarm clock went off and I thought about staying in the bed. But I forced myself to get up anyway. I stopped at Wawa and bought two Monster Energy drinks. I was going to need something to keep me up all day. I sat outside in the car, looking at the front door of the hotel. I was still thinking hard about turning around, going home, and getting back in my bed and calling out sick. But then I saw Smokebreak. He waved to me as he swept up some cigarettes butts on the ground. Now that I’d been spotted, calling out was no longer an option. I tore myself from the car. Maritza saw me coming in the door and rushed over and pulled me to the back office.

  “What’s wrong?” I said, almost spilling my drink.

  “I was here at seven this morning and I heard Kathy and that guy from corporate talking about you.”

  “What did they say?”

  “They said that you were being let go.”

  “You sure?”

  “Something about they were bringing someone from another property with more experience.”

  I knew I should have stayed home. It was shaping up to be one of those days. Now I had to decide whether I was going to get fired in person or by telephone. This was really unexpected. I was making improvements and thought they were going to keep me. How am I going to pay my bills? How am I going to move? Shit, I thought.

  Right after I returned from lunch, Kathy said that she needed to meet with me in thirty minutes. It was official; I just had to hear the words come from her mouth. I came in the office and nodded. I was so happy I got the heads-up from Maritza. Knowing what was about to happen made me feel somewhat relaxed. Kathy was there with her boss and some other man I had never seen before. I sat down and waited to be told when my last day was.