by Sparkle
Brandon had parked and was by my side by the time I was finally able to find out where my mom was. As soon as the nurse gave me the information I needed, I rushed to the room the nurse directed me. I heard a woman scream out Calvin's name and enter a room a few doors down from where my mom was at supposedly.
“Must be one of his women,” I said to myself as we continued down the hallway.
We reached the door. I was fearful of what was waiting on the other side. Brandon squeezed my hand. “I'll be right here if you need me,” he assured me. Brandon stayed outside the room as I said a quick prayer and opened the door.
I sighed with relief when I saw my mom awake with the bed in a semi-upright position.
“Mama, I got here as soon as I found out,” I said, with a tear-stained face.
“I'm okay. Just got a little bruised. That's it,” she tried to assure me. “Where's Calvin?”
I was disgusted. “Screw Calvin. He's the reason why you're here.”
“Sade, Calvin didn't cause the accident.”
“That's not what I heard. I heard y'all were fighting in the car and he pulled out in the intersection.”
She didn't deny what I said. “It was an accident.”
I said, “Well, I called the officer who came up here the last time you got admitted.”
“You did what? Are you crazy? What if Calvin sees me talking to the police? Where is Calvin by the way?” My mom asked question after question.
“Calvin's in the room down the hall, but guess what? He had a visitor and she didn't look like no relative to me.”
“Say what?”
I responded, “I saw this woman wearing some tight jeans and low cut blouse go in his room while I waited on Brandon to park and meet me up here.”
“That bastard. What room is he in because I'm going to kill him,” she said as she used the remote to position her bed.
“Mama, you will do no such thing. You need to relax and forget Calvin right now.”
My mom ignored me. She let the rail down and placed her feet on the floor. “Where are my shoes?” she asked. “Sade, where are my shoes?”
“Here, mama.” I pulled out a pair of shoes from the bag the nurse had given me.
“Pass me that shirt,” she said as she pointed to the shirt she had on earlier.
I did as I was told. “Brandon's outside. He wanted to come in and check on you.”
She ignored what I had to say and asked, “What room is Calvin in?”
“He's three doors down, but mama, you need to get back in the bed.”
My mom stormed out the room and down the hallway. She glanced at the nameplate and burst into the room. I wobbled behind her. Brandon followed.
The mystery woman was seated in a chair next to Calvin's bed. The look on Calvin's face was priceless to me. I was glad my mom caught the woman still in Calvin's room. Now she could see Calvin for the slime he truly was.
“Who in the hell is this?” my mom asked.
“I'm Lisa and who are you?” the woman stood up. She was a few inches shorter than my mom was, even with her three-inch heels on. Her ebony straight hair accented her dark-piercing eyes and she had a butter pecan complexion. She was cute, but not prettier than my mom was.
“I'm his wife and the only one up in here asking any questions.”
“Wife?” the woman blurted.
“Yes, wife.”
Calvin remained quiet as he watched the women go back and forth. “Coward,” I said to myself as I watched the exchange.
“You might be his wife, but I'm his woman,” Lisa boldly said.
Lisa didn't seem too worried about my mom doing anything to her, so she bent down to sit back down. My mom pounded on her and they started tussling. Brandon rushed over to break the women apart. Lisa's fresh weave was now sprawled out all over her head. “Calvin, you better get your wife before I hurt her.”
Calvin responded, “Lisa, I think you better go. Tell your girls I said thank you for the teddy bear.”
“Yes, Lisa, I think you better,” I said, with folded arms.
“Little girl, you better stay in a little girl's place.”
“You don't talk to my daughter like that,” My mom said, sounding out of breath. She reached for Lisa but Brandon grabbed her. “Ms. Joyce, she's not worth it.”
“Calvin, I'll talk to you later,” Lisa said. Lisa turned and faced my mom. “I see why he doesn’t want you now. You're crazy.”
I grabbed the woman by her arm. “Come on. I think you've caused enough drama.”
The woman snatched her hand away. I followed Lisa outside of Calvin's hospital room. My mom could be heard cursing Calvin out.
Now that Lisa and I were alone, I said, “Lisa, since you know so much about Calvin, did you know he's the father of my baby?” I rubbed my belly so it wouldn't be no mistaken that I was pregnant.
“Say what?” Lisa stopped and said.
“You heard me. Calvin and I have been sleeping with each other for six years. He's my baby's daddy. I hope you protect your girls, because Calvin loves little girls.”
Mission accomplished. I noticed the ghostly expression now on Lisa's face. I turned around and headed back towards Calvin's room. Lisa rushed past me and burst through the door. “You bastard. I don't want you nowhere near me or my children. Lose my number.”
My mom was now seated in a chair near the foot of the bed. I could tell she was still upset, but she looked worned out.
“Lisa, what are you talking about?” Calvin asked. He seemed more concerned about Lisa's feelings than my mom's.
“Ask her.” Lisa pointed at me and stormed out of the room.
Brandon sat next to my mom and had his arm around her attempting to console her.
Calvin looked at me with venom in his eyes and asked, “What is she talking about?”
“You should be more concerned about my mama than some trick.”
“Sade, watch your mouth,” Calvin snapped.
“Or what Calvin? You're going to beat me like you beat my mama.”
Calvin looked at my mom. “Joyce, you better control your daughter. This IV won't keep me in this bed.”
“Screw you Calvin. I'm out of here.” My mom said as she got up and walked away.
“Joyce, don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you.”
My mom sped out of Calvin's room with Brandon and me fast on her heels.
I hated to see my mom in pain, but was glad to see her walk out on Calvin. Maybe, just maybe, that meant she was walking out of Calvin's life.
“Here, I thought my birthday had been ruined, but mom walking out on Calvin is the best birthday present ever,” I said.
Brandon asked, “Sade, but that's your mom. She's in pain.”
I wanted to say something, but I wasn't ready to reveal everything about Calvin. Brandon would never understand. Besides, I couldn't risk sharing the information with Brandon. He accepted my pregnancy, but would he accept the fact that Calvin was my baby's daddy? It was a chance I was not willing to take.
~47~
JOYCE
I had just gotten out of the hospital gown and into some clothes when I heard a knock on the hospital door. “Come in,” I said.
The female officer from the last time I was in the hospital entered followed behind Maddie. “A little birdie told me you were here,” Officer Parish said.
“That little birdie's name wouldn't happen to be Sade, now would it?” I asked, although I already knew the answer.
“Well, it wouldn't be a little birdie if I told you,” the officer responded.
All three of us laughed. Officer Parish asked, “Seriously, Ms. Washington. How are you?”
“I've been better, but nothing like the last time.”
“I heard it was an accident, but what I'm concerned about is what happened before the accident.”
I looked at Maddie and then back at Officer Parish. “We were arguing about something and the next thing I know we were being hit.”
Maddie said, “You can save your breath. She's not going to turn on him.”
Officer Parish asked, “Did you read any of those pamphlets?”
“I didn't have time,” I lied. I did not intend to read them. I was living the life mentioned in those pamphlets and didn't feel the need to read about it.
“I understand he's right down the hall. I can have him escorted straight to the police station. All we need is a statement from you,” Officer Parish eagerly said.
I didn't have the heart to be the cause of another black man going to jail. “I just can't do it. As much as I'm upset at Calvin right now, he's still my husband.” I looked at Maddie. “Maddie, I'm ready to go.”
The officer and Maddie both looked disappointed, but I couldn't concern myself with pleasing them. I'm the one who has to live with my decision. I didn't want to be the reason why Calvin was behind bars. Besides, he would only call me for bail money and then I would be out of money. No. I would deal with my problems with Calvin on my own and outside of the legal system.
Maddie took me home. I thanked her and enjoyed peace in the house at least another day because Calvin hadn't been discharged from the hospital yet. Sade insisted on staying home from school to help me out.
“You could have gone to school. I'm okay,” I said as Sade plumped up a pillow and placed it under my head while I laid on the couch.
“I didn't feel like going.”
“Nothing's wrong with the baby is there?” I asked. She was close to her due date and I'm sure all of this stress wasn't good for her or the baby.
“No. Just tired. I don't know if I'll be able to carry this baby to term mama. My back hurts. My legs hurt. My whole body hurts.”
I didn't mean to laugh, but couldn't resist. Sade didn't find anything funny. “Baby girl, welcome to motherhood. It'll get worse before it gets better.”
“Ugh,” Sade groaned. She plopped down in the chair.
“Don't worry. You got your mama here to walk you through the rest of your pregnancy.”
Sade didn't seem to be reassured. She flipped from station to station and then stopped on the music video station. “That's my song there.”
“Speaking of songs. When can I hear one of your songs? You've yet to let me hear one.”
“I didn't think you were interested.”
I shifted on the couch. “I'm always interested in what you're doing. Mama just didn't have much time with work and things, but now that I've been fired, all I have is time.”
“Fired? What happened?”
“It's not important. We'll be all right. I got six months of pay and it's not going to take me six months to find another job. I'm hoping I get one quick and then I can use the money for a nice down payment on something for us.”
“As long as HE's not going, then I'm cool with that.”
I didn't have the energy to discuss Calvin with Sade. I changed the subject to Brandon. “Brandon's a special young man. I hope you realize that.”
“I hope he never changes.”
I remembered being young and in love. Now I was older and in a messed up situation. I loved Calvin, but if truth be told, I was falling out of love with him. I zoned out while Sade talked about Brandon.
My mind drifted to the woman who boldly stepped to me in Calvin's hospital room. I wondered how long Calvin and Lisa had been messing around. It was obvious from the woman's response that she knew about me. It’s one thing when the woman doesn't know about the wife, but when the woman knows and tries to act like she's the main woman, the other woman needed to get her assed kicked. That's what upset me the most. This woman knew. I wanted to whoop her behind from the front of the hospital to the back.
And that Calvin. He sat in the bed all smug. Since I've been discharged from the hospital, Calvin's been blowing up my cell phone with calls and texts, but I refused to talk to him. I don't know when he's being released. When he does, he can find his own way home. In fact, he needed to call Lisa.
“Mama, are you going to call the landlord so we can get the locks changed?” Sade repeated herself.
“Sade, this thing between Calvin and I is our business. I got this. You just worry about you and that baby.”
I felt bad for my tone of voice, but how could I tell Sade what my plans were, when I had no clue on where I wanted to go from here. Things couldn't go back to how they were, but still at this point, I had no plans.
~48~
SADE
I was sitting on the couch chatting with Brandon on the phone when I heard a knock on the door. “Brandon, let me call you back. Somebody's at the door.” I placed my phone on the couch and went to the front door. “Who is it?”
“Sade, open up the door. It's me,” Calvin said from the other side of the front door.
I didn't know if I should. My mom hadn't told me not to let Calvin back in, so reluctantly; I unlocked the bottom lock and then the deadbolt.
“Bout time,” Calvin said, bursting through the door, barely giving me time to move out the way.
“Mama's sleeping,” I said, hoping he would keep the noise down.
“She needs to wake up and tell me why I had to find another way home. I waited two hours and if it wasn't for my boy Mike, I would have had to catch the bus.”
I snickered. “Well, it's not like she had a way to pick you up. Because of you, her car is totaled.”
“Oh, you think it's funny huh.” Calvin turned from where he stood and the look on his face caused me to stop in my tracks.
Maybe I had crossed the line. I didn't want him to try to attack me and harm my baby, so I tried to play it off and said, “Can't you take a joke.”
“Ain't nothing funny.” Calvin stomped away to his room.
I sighed. Now that Calvin was back, I didn't feel like being in the living room. I grabbed my cell phone off the couch and went to my room. I wrote a quick diary entry about Brandon and then eased the diary back under my mattress.
I undressed and got in bed. I was not only physically exhausted, but also mentally exhausted. It didn't take me long to drift into sleep. At first I thought I was dreaming when I felt lips kissing my chest, but the moment I realized I had forgotten to lock my door, I knew I wasn't dreaming. This was real and now I was fully awake and scared. My eyes flew open and saw Calvin in my personal space.
“Shhh. Don't move,” Calvin's voice said.
I pushed him. “Mama! Mama!”
“Your mom's sleep,” Calvin said and went back to groping me.
“Calvin, please get off me. I beg you,” I whimpered. All I could think about was my unborn child. I didn't want to fall of the bed and hurt my baby, but I had to get Calvin off me.
Calvin used his hand and brushed my bang away from my face. “You're so cute when you try to resist. You're having my baby and I want to feel you. Now come on. It won't take long.”
“No, please don't do this. Calvin, this isn't right. You know it,” I said. “It ain't right,” I said repeatedly.
Calvin slapped me. “Didn't I tell you to shut up?”
I screamed out. My face stung as tears fell down my face. I was tired of being the victim. I mustered up as much strength as I could and fought with all of my might to get Calvin off me.
He was stronger and every time it seemed like I was getting loose, Calvin was able to pen me back down. “The more you fight, the more exciting it is for me,” he said.
“You're evil. I can't see what my mama sees in you.” I cried.
“Well, if you hadn't run Lisa off, I wouldn't have to do this. Now, I need some release and you, Sade, are going to give it to me.”
I wouldn't give up. I fought, but it didn't do any good. Gone was the little girl who was afraid to scream out. I shouted as loud as I could. “Help! Somebody help me!”
“Nobody's coming to your rescue, so you might as well shut up.” Calvin stood over me.
Maybe Calvin was right. My mom probably took another one of her sleeping pills. I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable.<
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Pow! Pow!
My eyes snapped open when I heard the gunshots. Calvin's body seemed to be moving in slow motion as it fell to the floor. My mom stood in the doorway with a gun aimed at Calvin. The two bullets she fired hit him in the back.
“That'll be the last time you will touch my daughter, you lying bastard!” my mom yelled.
Her and my eyes locked. She walked and stood over Calvin. She kicked him. Calvin groaned in pain. He moaned, “I can't believe you shot me.”
“I can't believe I believed your lies. All of this time. Right under my nose, you've been molesting my daughter.”
“It's not what you think. She came on to me. Things haven't been going too well with us. I'm a man. Can you blame me?” Calvin blurted.
Tears streamed down my mom's face. Her eyes were blood shot red. She aimed the gun at Calvin's head. “I took up for you. I married you. I almost lost my daughter because of you.”
“Joyce, baby. We can talk this out. Put the gun down,” Calvin said.
Without taking her eyes off Calvin, she responded, “I don't want to hear anything you have to say.”
As I watched the whole scene transpire, I grabbed my robe and put it on. I went to stand next to my mom. She was scaring me. I was afraid she was going to shoot Calvin in the head. “Mama, he's not worth it.”
My mom held the gun, but her hand was shaky. With the gun still aimed at him, she turned and looked at me. “Baby, I'm sorry I didn't believe you when you tried to tell me about this monster.”
I had mixed emotions right now, but I believed her when she said she was sorry. I just wished she would have believed me sooner. I tried to assure her things would be okay. “Mama, that's okay. It's all right now. He'll never hurt me again.”
She looked at me and then down at Calvin. “I know he won't. He'll never hurt you, me, or another person again.”
My mom let go of the trigger, but instead of bullet being released, the gun jammed up. Calvin laughed. “Don't you know you can't get rid of me?”
She kicked him in the chest. Calvin coughed. My mom shouted, “Shut the hell up.”