Finding Mrs. Wright

by Sherri L. Lewis

  Mom agreed to keep Brianna for the night and even drop her off at art class on Saturday morning. I was grateful to not have to see Cassandra except for when I picked Brianna up after class. I wasn’t looking forward to the silent treatment and then Brianna’s advice on women or her tears afterward.

  On Friday afternoon, I was at work playing Sudoku when my cell phone rang. It was the time when Mom would be picking up Brianna from school. I hoped she wasn’t sick.

  “Hey, Mom, everything okay?”

  “No, Devon. Brianna’s not here. Her teacher is saying that her mother picked her up as scheduled.”

  I sat up in my chair. “What?”

  “I thought you said she wasn’t going over there anymore. Did we get our signals crossed?”

  “No. Not at all.” I pulled my briefcase out of the bottom drawer and got up to leave. “Shauntae signed her out?”

  “That’s what the school roster says. Her signature is right here.”

  “Okay, I’ll call her and call you back. Go ahead and go home. I’ll let you know what’s going on as soon as I figure it out.”

  I speed dialed Shauntae. I thought it would go to voice mail, but she picked up after four rings. “Hello?” She said it all innocent like nothing was wrong.

  “Shauntae, what are you doing? Why did you pick up Brianna today?”

  “Because like I told you, the custody agreement says I’m supposed to have her on weekends. I’ll drop her off at school on Monday like the agreement says. And you need to get me my check like the agreement says.”

  “Shauntae, you and I both know that you’re not in a position to take care of Brianna right now.” I looked at my watch. “Have you checked her sugar?”

  “I’m not supposed to check it until four o’clock. Stop trying to play me like I’m stupid.”

  “Do you even have insulin for her? A glucometer and the strips to check her sugar?”

  “I stopped by the nurse’s office and picked up her machine and I still have what you brought to the house when you brought her last weekend.”

  “Let me talk to her.”

  “She’s fine, Devon. She’s with me. You can talk to her on your time. On Monday.”

  “Shauntae, there’s no reason to—”

  She hung up the phone. I cursed under my breath. I dialed Brianna’s cell phone number.

  “Daddy?”

  “Bree, are you okay?”

  She started to cry. “Daddy, can you come get me? I thought I didn’t have to go back to Mama’s house. I’m scared. Mama’s acting funny.”

  “Brianna, Daddy will be there to get you. Are you at Mama’s house?”

  “I told you that this was my time with Brianna.” Shauntae’s voice came through the phone. “And don’t bother trying to come get her. We won’t be at my apartment this weekend.” She hung up again. I cursed, this time not under my breath. When I got out to my car, I wasn’t sure where to go. I knew Shauntae hadn’t lied when she said she wouldn’t be at her apartment. She knew I would come there to pick up Brianna.

  I didn’t know where she would go. I didn’t know much about any of her ghetto fabulous friends except by hearing about them from Brianna. I wouldn’t know how to find out where any of them lived. Shauntae didn’t have any relatives in Atlanta she could stay with. And if she couldn’t pay her rent, she couldn’t go to a hotel. If I found out she took Brianna to some dude’s house, I would have to kill her and hide her body somewhere where no one would ever find it.

  My conversation with the social worker was haunting me. If I had had Shauntae arrested, Brianna would be with my mom right now. And I couldn’t call the police, because as Shauntae had pointed out too many times, we had a legal document saying that Brianna was supposed to be with her right now.

  I dialed Brianna’s cell phone a couple times, but there was no answer. The next time I called back, it went straight to voice mail so I knew Shauntae had turned it off. When I called Shauntae’s number, it rang but she didn’t answer. I sent her a text:

  Bring Brianna to my house and I’ll give you your check.

  She texted me back: I need cash. Call me when you get it and I’ll tell you where to meet me.

  I banged the steering wheel and cursed loudly. I sat and took a few deep breaths. “Sorry, God. That’s not the way I want to deal with this thing.” I let out a deep breath. As had come to be my habit since Brianna’s whole sickness started, I decided to pray.

  “God, it’s been crazy lately with Brianna and now you see what Shauntae is doing. Please protect my little girl from her crazy mother.” I stopped for a second, thinking whether that was the right way to pray. I remembered what the pastor said about being completely honest with God and talking to Him like He was my boy. I would definitely say something like that to Chuckie so I figured it was okay.

  “God, please tell me the right thing to do. I don’t want Shauntae to think that any time she wants some money, all she has to do is pick up Brianna and keep her until I pay her. On the other hand, I gotta tell you, I’m worried about what might happen with her being with Shauntae.” I figured it didn’t make sense to tell God I was worried about something that I was asking Him to take care of.

  “So, God, I’m not gonna be worried. I’m gonna trust you to take care of Brianna. And God, I need you to do something for once and for all. Like, end this craziness with Shauntae. I hope it’s not wrong, but I think you would agree with me that it’s best for Shauntae not to be in Brianna’s life. You know she doesn’t care about her and, to keep it real, she’s dangerous to her. So, God, can you get rid of her some kind of way? I don’t mean kill her or anything like that. Just . . . I don’t know. You know best. Do what you do and be God in our situation.”

  I didn’t know why it came to my head to add to the end of my prayer. I shouldn’t have been thinking about it with Brianna being with Shauntae. But I said it anyway. “God, You know what’s up with Cassandra. I know I’ve done a lot of things wrong when it comes to women. I already asked forgiveness. So since you’ve forgiven me, can you just . . . I don’t know . . . fix things with her? I promise I’ll try real hard to do things your way.”

  I felt better and started the car. I added, “Oh, yeah. In Jesus’ name,” to make sure the prayer went through the right channels to get to God. My cell phone rang and I saw my mother’s number. I had forgotten to call her back.

  “Hey, Ma. Sorry I didn’t call you back. I was talking to Shauntae and then talking to God.” I explained to her what was going on. She was silent for a second and then I heard her talking in hushed tones, explaining to my father what was going on.

  The next thing I heard was his voice. “Don’t give her a dime. You hear me? Enough is enough. This . . . stuff has to end.”

  If I didn’t know any better, I would swear that the righteous Deacon Wright had almost cussed. “I hear you, Pop, but what if I don’t get her the money and something happens to Brianna? I would never forgive myself.”

  “You can’t keep letting her get away with stuff. Shoulda put your foot down with that crazy girl a long time ago. Can’t you call the police?”

  “She has legal joint custody of Brianna. She’s supposed to have Brianna right now. I can’t call the police.”

  “But after what happened last weekend, I thought them hospital people were gonna put her in jail.”

  I didn’t mention my conversation with the social worker. Both my parents would have me shot if they knew I opted not to have the police pick up Shauntae. “Dad, there’s no legal action I can take. All we can do is pray.”

  He was quiet for a second and then said, “You praying, son? Well, I guess things will be all right then.” He passed the phone back to my mom.

  “So what are you gonna do, Devon?”

  “I don’t know, Ma. I want to go ahead and give her the money so she can bring Brianna back today and then I’ll need to go to the court and get an emergency change to the custody papers.” I heard her talk to my father again. He took the phone ba
ck.

  “I’m telling you—you can’t give her any more money.” He passed the phone back to my mother.

  “I don’t know, dear. Maybe you should give it to her to get Brianna back today and then do what your father is saying.”

  “Mom and Pop—I appreciate your input. I think I’m gonna go home and try to get my head together and figure out what to do.”

  When I got home, I called Shauntae again.

  “You got the money?”

  “Shauntae, how do you expect me to put my hands on six hundred dollars cash? You can’t take that much money out of the ATM and the banks are closed now. Just let me give you a check. Have my checks ever bounced since I started paying child support?”

  “You’ll put a stop payment on the check as soon as you get Brianna. I know you.”

  She was right. That was exactly my plan. “Why would I do that? The most important thing to me is Brianna’s health and I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that.” I looked at my watch. “Did you check Brianna’s sugar yet?”

  “Don’t be checking up on me. I told you I had everything under control.”

  “Let me speak to Brianna. I don’t see why I can’t talk to her. I’ve never stopped you from talking to her when she was with me.”

  “I’ve never tried to call her when she was with you.”

  I bit my lip to keep from saying something about how that was because she was a bad mother who didn’t care about her child. That would only worsen the current situation. “Please, just let me say hello to her.”

  Shauntae hung up. I walked back to my bedroom and sat on the bed. A few minutes later, my cell rang. It was Brianna’s number. “Bree?”

  “It’s me, Daddy. Mama said I could call you.”

  “How are you, baby girl? How was your sugar?”

  “It was okay. And Mama just gave me some insulin. It hurts more when she sticks me. And it seems like she gave me a whole bunch.”

  My stomach tightened. “Did you eat yet? Did you see how much insulin was in the syringe?”

  “I didn’t see the number but it looked like a lot more than you give me. And I told Mama I needed to eat soon since she gave me the insulin. She tried to give me some pizza but I told her that I had to eat the right thing. I’m not gonna mess up like I did last time, Daddy. I promise.”

  “I know, Bree. You have your special bag of peppermint?”

  “I do. And I have a juice box left from school.”

  “Okay, you know what to do if you get shaky, right?”

  “Yes, Daddy.” Brianna started crying again. “Can’t you just come get me? You said I didn’t have to go with Mama no more.”

  “Where are you, Bree? Daddy will come get you right now.”

  “We’re still riding in the car but it looks like—”

  “Now, I let you talk to her but don’t you go worrying about where we are.” Shauntae’s voice interrupted Brianna. “You just worry about getting my money. You can go to a ATM and then you can get your parents to give you the rest. Call me when you have my money, Devon. I don’t know why you made me do this.”

  I hung up the phone. I knew Pop would object but I needed to get some cash and pick up Brianna soon. If Shauntae had given her too much insulin, she’d be bottoming out in the next hour. Just as I picked up the phone to call my parents back, it rang. It was Chuckie. I forgot all about our outing.

  “Chuck, man. I can’t make it. Shauntae kidnapped Brianna from school today and she’s demanding cash to get her back. She might have given her too much insulin which means she might get sick soon.”

  Chuckie laughed. “Stop playing, man. If you don’t want to go, just tell me.”

  “I ain’t playing. I’m serious.”

  “What? That girl is crazier than I thought. You need me to go over there with you to get Brianna?”

  “Shauntae’s not at her spot and she won’t tell me where she is.”

  “So what you gon’ do?”

  “Put some money together and get my child. Dude, you got any cash you can let me hold until tomorrow? It’s in my account—I can only take so much out the ATM in one day.”

  “I got you, but are you sure you want to give in to Shauntae’s demands?”

  “Now you sound like my parents. I gotta get my daughter back. I’ll worry about the details later.”

  “A’ight, man. I’m on my way.”

  At least I wouldn’t have to call and argue with my dad now. I sat on the edge of the bed for a second. Chuckie would bring me the cash and then I would get the rest at the ATM on the way to meet Shauntae wherever she was. I put some fruit and a sandwich in a bag to take so I could feed Brianna as soon as I got her. My cell rang again. I was surprised to see Cassandra’s number.

  “Hey?” I said it almost like a question.

  “Devon, I just talked to Charles. I can’t believe . . . Is Brianna okay?”

  I didn’t know why it stung a little that the only reason she decided to call me back after a week of ignoring my messages was because of Brianna. “She was okay when I talked to her a few minutes ago, but she thought Shauntae gave her too much insulin. I got to get to her soon. Can I call you back when this is all over?”

  “I’m on my way over there. If you’re gone when I get there, I’ll just wait until you both get back.”

  “You don’t have to do that, Cassandra.”

  “I know. See you in a few, okay?”

  I didn’t have time to figure out why my stomach felt funnier after hanging up with her. I dialed Shauntae. “Okay, the money is on the way. Where can I meet you?”

  “On the way? I said to call me when you had it. Stop playing games with me, Devon. I know you think I’m stupid, but I ain’t no fool.”

  “I’m not playing games. Brianna thinks you gave her too much insulin and if that’s the case, then she’s gonna get sick really soon. Please, can you bring her here or tell me where to meet you and I promise, you’ll have the money as soon as I get my hands on it.”

  “I told you I ain’t stupid. You trying to play me. This is how this is gonna go down. My rental office is about to close. So Brianna stays with me tonight and then after you bring six hundred dollars to my rental office first thing tomorrow, you can pick her up. If you get here soon enough, you can take her to see her precious Miss Cassandra.”

  “Shauntae—” She hung up the phone. I kept myself from cursing. “God, take care of my little girl,” was all I could say. I paced back and forth from the bedroom to the living room. “God, please tell me what to do.” And then a thought occurred to me.

  I dialed the number for the social worker at the hospital. I described the situation to her. She asked a few questions and then said, “Well, under normal circumstances, you couldn’t do so, but if you believe Brianna’s health is in danger, you can call the police and have them pick Shauntae up.”

  “But I don’t know where she is. How can I tell them where to find her?”

  “Just call and make the complaint and let them do the rest.”

  At least it was something. I hung up with the social worker and called the police. It seemed like it took forever for the cop to write down everything I was saying and he kept asking me to repeat myself. He confirmed that since Brianna had ended up in the hospital after being left alone with Shauntae and because I believed her to be in danger now, they would be willing to pick her up. I had no idea what to tell them about how to find her.

  I kept checking my watch, wondering exactly how much insulin Brianna had gotten and whether Shauntae had fed her. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. I had forgotten all about Cassandra.

  When she walked in the door, she put her arms around me and held on tight for a second. “Any word?” she whispered into my ear.

  “Not yet. I have the police looking for her.”

  “So what do we do?”

  “Wait, I guess. I’ll try to call her again. Maybe if I tell her I have the money, she’ll meet me and then I can have the cops meet us there.” The
whole thing felt like something on television and I couldn’t believe it was my life and my daughter.

  She placed a stack of cash in my hand. “I called Chuckie back and he said he was headed here with this. I hope you don’t mind me picking it up from him to bring it over.”

  “It’s fine. Thanks.” My first thought was that with the way everything had happened over the past week, I would have rather seen Chuckie than her. As my eyes drank in her smile and as I inhaled that peachy smell, I felt a little different. But just a little.

  I led her into the living room and gestured for her to sit down on the couch. I called Shauntae’s phone ten times in a row and she wouldn’t pick up. I hoped it was because she was being stubborn and ignorant and not because something was wrong with Brianna.

  “Devon, sit down.”

  I didn’t realize I was pacing until Cassandra said it. I joined her on the couch, careful not to sit too close. She scooted herself closer to me and placed a hand on my back. “Everything’s going to be all right. Okay?”

  I nodded. “I know. I prayed and I know God’s gonna take care of my little girl.”

  We sat there without saying anything, with a weird vibe between us. I would have been glad to have her there with me if it weren’t for the way things had ended last time we talked.

  “Shauntae would feed her, right? And if she didn’t give her enough, Brianna has her peppermints and a juice box. I’m worrying for nothing. She’ll do fine overnight and I’ll get her first thing in the morning.” I had to counter every crazy thought going through my mind with some rational ones.

  “Brianna’s a smart little girl. She’ll take care of herself, even if her mother won’t.”

  We went silent again. I almost wished Cassandra would feel uncomfortable enough to leave. But with the way she felt about Brianna, she probably wouldn’t go until she was sure she was okay.

  “You gave your number to the police, so they’ll call you if they find her?”

  “Yeah, but how could they find her? No telling what little black hole Shauntae is hiding in.”