Additionally, he reminded me a lot of Bradley; blue collar, down to earth, financially comfortable, and cool as hell with just enough street in him.
“Maybe we can hang out sometime soon? My work schedule is hectic. I am on-call a lot, but I’ll make it happen, if that’s cool with you.”
I wanted to say “Hell nah, it ain’t cool with me!”, because I couldn’t fathom kicking off another possible relationship.
Despite what I was thinking, I answered, “It’s cool with me,” said my goodbyes, and clicked over to Tricey, who was waiting for me on the other line.
“You still there, Tricey?”
“Yes, I’m here.” Tricey sounded very uncomfortable and tired.
“What’s wrong?”
“Girl, I’m having Braxton-Hicks contractions. If the pain gets any worse, Blood is going to take me to the hospital.”
“Aaaaaaaw, the dad,” I teased.
“Whatever,” Tricey hissed. “He’s putting me through enough shit as of late, so he owes me a ride to the hospital and then some.”
“What’s wrong? What is he doing?”
“Well, it’s not him in particular. Banks’ boys came back into town the other day, so he is just really tense, which makes me really tense and scared.”
“Do they know who killed Banks?’
“Of course they know. Everybody in the hood knows. It’s obvious,” she answered. “I was hoping they would just come into town and leave since they are allegedly turning the dope over so fast in Minnesota, but they’re still here.”
“What is Blood going to do?”
“There is nothing he can do but move everything and wait for them to leave. He’s putting his ears to the street, but after everything that has happened, he doesn’t trust anyone. He even moved everything by himself.”
“So your house is empty?”
“Tooootally.”
“Aw man! No more mortgage being paid,” I teased.
“Hell, you’re shittin’ me. He can bring it right back as soon as things die down. I like having residual income.”
“I’m sure you do. Tell him if he needs a temporary residence for his belongings, my house is always open.”
“I’m sure.” Then Tricey sighed. “I am just so worried about him. I don’t think he realizes how easily and willingly they will take his life.”
“I’m sure he realizes it. He just can’t let you see that fear and anxiety in him.”
“I guess you’re right,” she said as she sighed again. “Well, let’s change the subject before I get further depressed. Now who is this James dude you were on the phone with?”
Then I told her all about him… Well, from what I knew of him between our first meeting at the grocery store and our one telephone conversation.
“He sounds nice.”
“From what I know of him, yea.”
“But?”
“But nothing. I am not thinking too deep about him. I’m just not ready, ya’ know?”
“You aren’t ready because of Jelani, or because of Bradley?”
“Both. Emotionally, because of Bradley. Just plain ol' disinterest at the moment because of Jelani. I’m just worn out.”
“You should be! Fucking two people at one time is hard work!”
I laughed as well. “Whatever. Shut up.”
“Jelani was one fool out of the bunch.”
“But scary enough to scare me straight. I shouldn’t have been messing with a married man anyway. I’m always doing something I ain’t got no business doin’.”
“Yea, you are a dirty bitch.”
“Ouch!”
“You know it’s true.”
“Hey, these were special circumstances. I was caught between Veronica and Bradley, and I didn’t sleep with Jelani until I saw Evette giving her own cookies away.”
“Have you heard anything from Jelani today?”
“Not today. He text messaged me a few times yesterday early in the morning, but I didn’t respond. I haven’t heard from him since. I guess no news is good news.”
Seventeen
Thursday, August 6, 2009
LYRIC
The next morning, Tricey called and asked that I ride with her to the hospital.
Her contractions were getting stronger, and since Blood didn’t come in last night, she wanted someone there with her just in case.
I was more than happy to take a personal day.
However, the emergency was short-lived. Only after being in the examination room for an hour, she returned to the lobby saying that it was just false labor pains. But, her cervix has begun to dilate, so the doctor said that it will be any day now.
After leaving the hospital, we decided to head back to her place and catch up on some sleep. Her false labor pains kept her up the majority of the night, and I am always down to sleep in when I can.
When we got to the house, Blood was sitting in the living room with Smith. Of course, they immediately stopped their conversation when we came in.
Blood immediately was concerned. “You okay?”
“False labor,” she told him sounding very tired. “Are you okay? Where have you been?”
“He’s fine, Mom,” Smith joked.
Then Blood answered, “I was just out real late. Then we went to breakfast.”
As Tricey sat beside Blood and laid her head on his shoulder to rest, I wondered what Blood’s real motivation was for being here with Tricey. Though he has been a supportive male figure in her life during her pregnancy, something in the way he treated her told me that his relationship with her wasn’t strictly platonic. Let’s not forget that this is the same guy that tried to buy her vajayjay with designer shoes and bags a few years ago. He was obviously sexually interested in her then and I am sure he would still be now if she wasn’t all knocked up.
As I questioned his motivation in my friend’s life, Blood asked me, “Has that guy called you today, Lyric?”
“Jelani? No, as a matter of fact, he hasn’t.”
“No text messages? Nothing?”
“No.”
He simply nodded his head in satisfaction.
I asked him curiously, “What did you do?”
Though I gave him Jelani’s number, I would have never thought that Blood would actually do anything.
“Don’t worry about it,” he answered with a smile.
Tricey was also curious. “Did you beat him up or something?”
“Don’t worry about it,” he reiterated. “I handled it. That’s all you need to know.”
LYNN
“Tonight I want to talk about relationships; being single, courting, and marriage.”
My heart was so excited about Pastor Jackson’s sermon this evening. On my way to church, I prayed and asked God to give me a Word that will help me come to a decision about my marriage. As Vic and I walked into the church together, she too said that she was waiting on a sign or word from the Lord that would help her manage her strong desire for a man in her life.
It’s funny how as I am trying so desperately to get rid of my man, and she is frantic and anxious to find hers.
“Now, I bet you all didn’t know that God has called many of His people to singleness. Marriage isn’t the only thing ordained by God. Sometimes God ordains certain people to be single because it allows them to commit all of their energy into serving the Lord. There is an opportunity like no other for unmarried believers to impact the world, but because the church focuses so much of its teaching and doctrine on family, many singles believe that they are incomplete without a mate and underestimate their power in the world. If every single man or woman put as much power into their talents, opportunity, and ministry as they did in finding a mate, oh how awesome life would be!
“Marriage does not make a person whole. Only accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior can bring such an everlasting completion into your life! But the church and society has a hand in making singles feel pressured into seeking a mate versus seeking the will of God. This
pressure then leads singles into making wrong decisions. Stop believing the lie that you are missing something in your life because you don’t have a mate! Marriage may or may not be in God’s plan for your life. So, to my singles, in the mean time, do not worry if God hasn’t sent you that special person. Know that ‘steadfast love surrounds those that trust in the Lord’! Live and thank God for the life you have now and trust in your God for the rest!
“Some of you may be asking ‘Well, Pastor Jackson, how will I know what God has ordained for my life’? The first rule to seeking a mate is not to seek one. If it’s God’s will for you to marry, all you have to do is sit back and wait,” Pastor Jackson replied with a playful grin. “You see, your job is to simply recognize the mate He has already prepared for you!”
Members of the congregation, many of which who were already knee-deep in happy marriages, agreed in claps and praise. Those who were single as dollar bills sat in deep thought concentrating, waiting to be blessed with further instruction.
“It is very important that we pray for the ability to recognize who God sends to use as a partner because very infrequently does God send us who we think we will like. The purposeful marriage births growth from both parties, so God may mate you with someone very different from you; someone you can grow with and learn from. So stop saying ‘Oh he/she is just like me. We have sooo much in common. He/she is made just for me’... No, they’re not.
“God prepares for you a mate that is a complement to your weaknesses. Matches made in heaven balance out the strengths and weaknesses of the couple so that they come together to make a strong unit. Where one person is shy, the other may be bold and teaches the other to speak. Where one person may be bad with money, the other may be an accountant and teaches the other to maintain. Where one person is sloppy, the other one is clean and teaches the other sanitation. So please stop expecting God to send you someone just like you. You can throw your list of perfect mate qualities out of the window because He doesn’t work like that.
“This is why we as people of God have instruction to fast and pray for our mates so that He blesses us with the ability to know he/she when we meet them. Where many of us go wrong is when we choose the person we want and then fast and pray for God to bless the mess.”
Pastor Jackson laughed at the notion. Much of the congregation joined Pastor Jackson’s laughter in agreement, and some even in guilt.
Then he continued. “In relationships, particularly marriages, we have to really seek God to determine if He put us together, or if we put ourselves together. An easy way to recognize if the love you are experiencing is what He has for you is if the love you are receiving is identical to His love. His love will walk with you through your trials and comfort you when you come out of your trials. His love looks beyond your faults, gets arrested, and stands trial with you! The love that God has for you is a love that is ripe with mercy, grace, and benevolence. Seek a love that mirrors God’s love for you; a love that covers a multitude of faults, and a love that loves you even when you mess up.”
Eighteen
Saturday, August 8, 2009
TRICEY
Saturday morning I had a burst of energy, so I got out of bed at about six in the morning and started cleaning.
Some time ago, my mother told me that this burst of energy meant that the baby was coming soon. I wondered if that were true or whether my anxiousness over a multitude of things was giving me false energy.
Blood wasn’t home. As a matter of fact, he hasn’t been here since Thursday night. Smith called and told him that there was a bit of a problem; Banks’ boys have been going around the West side giving word that they were looking for Blood. He gave me no inclination of what he was leaving to do, but the fact that he hasn’t been back because “he doesn’t want me involved” has me worried.
On top of that, the closer I get to delivering my baby, the more and more I wonder if I did the right thing by keeping Amiel out of this pregnancy. I wonder, if had I given him a little more time, would things have turned out different between us.
I pondered these things aimlessly as I exited my building with two bags of trash in hand. My anxiety had me so restless that all I could see was the trouble I’ve gotten myself in. Because I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts, I didn’t see the two men coming towards me until they were right in front of my face.
One of them asked me, “Want some help with that?”
I quickly said, “No, thank you,” and threw the two trash bags into the dumpster.
Rarely was there anyone outside so early on a Saturday morning, so I attempted to walk a bit faster as I headed towards my building. Since I gained an extraten pounds in the last month, it was very hard to carry the extra weight, in addition to the baby, and walk any faster than I was. However, I did the best I could because the two gentlemen definitely looked like trouble. Their exterior was rough and they smelled of bullshit.
When I finally made it to the entrance of the apartment and put my key in the door, I was bumrushed. The two men who approached me on the sidewalk were suddenly right behind me; one pushing me so tightly into the doorway that he was putting tons of pressure on my belly.
I winced in pain and tried not to panic.
“Where that nigga Blood at?”
I quickly shouted, “He’s not here!” My heart began to beat manically as I realized what was happening. “HELP!”
I began to scream as the guy behind me grabbed my arm.
The other one pulled out a gun and put it directly on my temple. “Shut the fuck up!”
I shut my mouth like he told me to, closed my eyes, and began to pray.
The one behind me made demands as he twisted my arm. “Open the motherfuckin’ door!”
Again, I was wincing in pain. “Blood isn’t here!”
As I cried, the one beside me reached back with the gun and swung it against my face. As he pistol-whipped me, I fell against the door.
The other guy told him, “Man, hold up! Shit! Wait until we get her in the house!”
I was so scared that I began to cry hysterically, which was louder than they wanted.
The one behind me grabbed my hair so tightly that I could feel plugs of it ripping from my scalp. Then the barrel of the gun was right in front of my eyes.
“Bitch, I will shoot your ass right now! Shut the fuck up and open the door!”
I followed instructions and tried my best to quiet my tears. I hoped to God that someone would come out of their home, but this early in the morning with only one flight of stairs to go up, I knew my chances were slim-to-none.
With the gun fixed firmly into my side, the two men literally pushed me up the stairs and into my condo. When the dark-skinned one, the one who’d pistol-whipped me, closed and secured the front door with the chain, I feared how long the rest of my life would be.
“Go search the house,” the dark one told the light one as he continued to point the gun at me.
At this point, the side of my face was throbbing and I could feel blood trickling down my face. I sat in the floor where the light-skinned one threw me and prayed. I was saying my last prayer, the prayer that I was taught to pray that saved your soul. I asked God to forgive me for all of my sins, accepted Him as my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and begged Him to take my soul to Heaven.
“He’s not here,” the light-skinned one announced as he re-entered the living room.
Without warning, the dark-skinned one threw back his foot and kicked me in my back with all of his might. Wails came from me in a high pitch.
“Shut the fuck up!” He squatted over me, literally resting against my belly as I lay on the floor in pain. He put the gun to my lips as he began to bark orders at me. “Call that nigga Blood right now!”
As I dialed, I knew it was going to be of no use. Blood would never answer this early in the morning. He didn’t wake up on the weekend until long into the afternoon because his nights were so long. I knew that it would be hours before he could be reached.
Cory and I just returned from breakfast when there was a knock at my door.
I didn’t see anyone that looked familiar when we were on our way into the building, and I thankfully still haven’t heard from Jelani, so I seriously wondered who it was.
When I looked through the peephole and saw Evette, I felt the color leave my face.
“Shit!” I cursed quietly and pretended to stomp my feet.
And as if she heard me breathing on the other side of the door, she shouted, “Its Evette, Lyric!”
Cory sat on the couch behind me laughing so hard that he literally held his stomach and rolled around on the couch. I stood wondering what Evette could possibly want and regretted having to deal with this drama after such a laid-back morning.
“Open the motherfuckin’ door!”
I jumped as her anger caught me off guard.
“Oop! Is the bitch gettin’ froggish?!” Cory then began to roll up his sleeves. “It’s about to be a whaaaat? Cat fight!”
Against my will, I opened the door. I wasn’t scared of Evette. I just didn’t feel like having this cat fight; especially since I finally got excited about my date with James Owens this evening.
Immediately, Evette went in on me.
“Jelani told me how you came on to him, bitch! You ain’t shit! Pretending to be my friend just so your lonely ass can try to take my husband!”
Oh, I had so many responses for that, but instead I opted to let her say what she had to say as quickly as possible before my neighbors could hear her. My responses would only lengthen her stay.
Besides, Cory’s constant laughter left it hard enough for me to keep a straight face.
But Evette didn’t even notice Cory because she was so caught up in her own anger as she stood there waving her finger. “He told me that he left me because he felt so guilty about cheating on me with you. Now you’re stalking him?! Had your ghetto ass friends beat him up because he doesn’t want your ass anymore?!”
Good Girls Ain't No Fun Boxed Set (The SIX romance and urban fiction volumes of the LOVE, SEX, LIES series) Page 36