“Well, I made dinner so you two just come on in the kitchen and fix your plates, so we can catch up.” She made her way back to the kitchen to prepare the table to eat. She put together a grand spread as only Miss Lydia could pull off. Jamie grabbed plates, forks and knives to assist in setting the table as she often did with her grandmother when it was time for dinner. “I ran into Raquel the other day at the Marriott and it looked as though she is still creeping around. It’s no wonder why Charles is reckless!”
“Mama!” Lance shouted. “You have no right to judge.” Miss Lydia could not resist sharing her gossip with her lack of friends; she spilled most of the tea to Lance.
“I may not have a right to judge, but that woman has slept with all the officials in Oakland. I know how Charles got out of that jail time, but I’m going to mind my business because I know that is yo’ friend and we have company. By the way…how is he doing?”
“He’s hanging in there. I met up with him at The Shadow Bar. He is laying low for a while.”
“The Shadow Bar? I heard about that boy Elijah on the news that was murdered there. They said he had been involved in some kind of gang war. I don’t want you going around that place anymore.”
“That’s a lie!” Lance slammed his fist down on the counter in the kitchen where he stood, startling them both with his outrage. “Mama, you know that was my boy.”
“Then he must have been doing something illegal if somebody wanted him dead. I tried to tell you about hanging around them thugs.”
“Mama, we are not going to have this conversation, right now. I don’t want to be disrespectful to you or your home, so please drop it!” She sensed that it was too soon to pry and dig deep into the situation. She glanced over to Jamie for confirmation, but she remained silent with her head facing down. As a mother, it was her duty to be concerned, but not at the expense of someone else, she opted to digressed.
“Ok, baby, I’ll let it go. I just don’t want to see anything like that happen to you.” Lance allowed the moment to pass to keep from getting worked up all over again. He was grateful, in a better place mentally; especially since Jamie decided to give him another chance. He promised himself to make every attempt to keep it right.
Just as they were seated ready to bless the food; like clockwork, there was a loud banging against the door.
“Mama, are you expecting someone?” Lance blurted out in frustration tossing his utensils down on the table.
“Now you know that you are the only person who stops by here.” Lydia sat still in her seat. She was convinced that the knocking guest was not for her. “Unless you have a surprise date for me?”
“Lance, open up! We need to talk.”
“Boy, you need to get a handle on these little girls. I can’t keep having them stopping by my house causing trouble.” Lydia pulled her plate in closer to her and indulged. She refused to allow one of Lance’s girl-toys to disturb yet another meal. “I’m going to eat and you need to get the door.”
“I don’t even know who that is, Mama.” He refused to even look in Jamie’s direction. He knew that this was not the way to get back into her good graces.
Jamie quickly hopped up dodging his attempt to grab her and ran over to the door. She was so amped up about the stranger behind the door; she didn’t take the time to check to see who it was. Lance and his mother were so comfortable discussing personal matters in her presence, she felt right at home. Secretly, she was hoping it was Darnise to confront her face-to-face.
“What do you want?” Jamie demanded to the knocking guest.
“I want to speak with Lance. I don’t want any trouble with you; I’m here to set things straight with him.” The young lady looked Jamie up and down holding her belly and composure.
“Lance, your baby mama is at the door. I think you may want to handle this one on your own,” she rolled her eyes clear to the back of her skull and released the door to Lance.
He took in a deep breath and gathered himself up from the table to face her. It had been a never-ending cycle and things were well out of his control, why should they stop now he pondered to himself. He moved Jamie to the side and whispered for her to go back to the kitchen, so he could handle it. He gently kissed her cheek to show Tanisha that he had moved on and if she came to try to get him back in any way, she didn’t have a chance. It didn’t hurt to get some cool points with Jamie either.
“So what’s up?” Lance leaned up against the edge of the door, propping up his back and folded his arms.
“A lot has happened since I was here last. I found out that the baby is not yours. I actually don’t know who the father is.” A sign of relief crossed Lance’s face allowing him to breathe easy. The weight of despair lifted from his shoulders and he actually listened to the remainder of what she had to say. “I didn’t mean for my brother to get involved, but I had no other choice but to tell him you raped me. You put your hands on me and I was upset.” Her voice went up a few octaves and tears welled in her eyes. “Because of this mess, I lost my brother, my only brother. I know you had nothing to do with it, but I just wanted to come to you and let you know that I am sorry.” She shielded her face in shame, sobbing uncontrollably. Lance only watched, unsure of how to react. He wanted to console her, but that could easily send the wrong message. He didn’t want to just shut the door on her, because believe it or not, he cared about her feelings. “Darnise came to me and convinced me that I should file charges against you, to teach you a lesson. I feel terrible about everything and I just want to right my wrongs before I give birth to my child. I hope you can forgive me.” She gradually turned and walked away without waiting for his response.
“Tanisha!” Lance called after her. She paused and turned to hear him, “It’s all good. Take care of yourself. Let me know if you need anything. I know what you are going through and I wouldn’t wish that feeling on anyone.”
He gently closed the door. Surprisingly, it was a hard pill for him to swallow. He considered the idea of being a father. It was not in his best interest to have a baby by a woman he didn’t love, but his mother was right. If it was, in fact, his child, he would have stepped up to do his part.
“Baby, let’s just thank God that it is not your child and that when the time is right, you will build your family.” Lydia pressed her hand against his back, turned and winked at Jamie Lynn. “I just heard a mouthful. You have a lot of explaining to do! Now I don’t want to have to go after Darnise and put hands on her, but I will, and I don’t mean holy hands. You know Mama will do that.”
“How about you call her up and have her to come over here. I think I want to share some words with her, loving, kind words.” Jamie suggested, standing with her hand on her hip, motivated by his mother’s intentions. “Call her up.” She pointed to the cell on his hip.
Lance was reluctant to dial that number because he only imagined how it could all end. However, the idea of his new woman checking his ex was every man’s fantasy. He proceeded to call her up. She answered and agreed to come over and talk.
As soon as Darnise pulled up, she shouted out the window for Jamie to come outside and face her like a woman. Jamie tried her best to keep her composure, but she did bring it upon herself. In her mind, she would come over, they would sit down like ladies and explain how Lance has moved on, and her services would no longer be needed in their lives. Yet, the devil had full control over her and she couldn’t resist him.
Jamie Lynn darted out the house toward her vehicle. She flung open her door and yanked Darnise out by her freshly braided box braids, unbothered by her oversized cousin who sat next to her in the passenger seat. Darnise attempted to swing back in her direction and block her from getting a good grip, but she was ill prepared for the ambush. With all her might, Jamie maneuvered her body out of the car and dragged her into the grass of Miss Lydia’s front yard. Jamie didn’t really have a plan of attack and didn’t intend on fighting the girl, but her rage was unpredictable. She kicked and punched missing more than sh
e landed, as Darnise blocked her every attempt. “Get this ho’ off of me,” she screamed.
Her cousin scrambled around from the passenger side to the opposite side of the car to grab Jamie off of her. She locked her thick arm around her neck from behind and pulled her body weight down to free Darnise from her grip.
Lance allowed a few more landed blows before deciding to intervene. He needed to see how well Jamie could hold her own. The neighbors heard the squeals and yelling from the three women tussling outside of their homes and positioned themselves on the porch for a front row seat to the action. The community was very familiar with Darnise and her drama. Many of them awaited the day that Lance would put on his big boy pants and let her go. For that reason, they delighted in the sudden showdown and thought it best to let them fight without the confusion and interference of law enforcement as long as it remained a bloodless battle.
“Okay, Okay, Okay. That’s enough.” Lance who kept his distance on the steps finally pulled Jamie from atop of her advising her to get into the house. Darnise’s cousin proved to be of little help. After her chokehold move, her air passage closed on her and she was left, wheezing off to the side of the yard, fighting for her next breath.
Lance glanced over Jamie’s body amazed how she kept herself together. Her clothes were a bit tattered from the tussle; however, she didn’t have a scratch on her. Lance smiled inside. He was thoroughly impressed with her fighting skills. Shockingly, the sweet soul before him had hands. The feisty demeanor he witnessed before was out. He was clear of the reason he had been so attracted to her.
“So this is what we do now? You set me up?” She slowly unwrapped herself from the fetal position. She placed her hands down as an anchor to regain her normal breathing pattern, wiping off sweat and a little blood from her lip resulting from her initial impact with the ground. She searched around for her partner in crime, who sat on the edge of the lawn gasping for air. She dusted the dirt from her jeans and blouse and continued her rant, “You get stank hoes to do your dirty work?”
“You got it all wrong, Baby. You set yourself up when you tried to get me locked up. I was down for you and I thought you had my back.” Lance kept his distance, in case the rest of the “Zoo Crew” was standing by, waiting to attack. All she had to do was give the birdcall and they would come running. He did not desire to put his hands on her or he might injure her for real.
“Lance, I had your back, even when you had every chick in the city in and out of your bedroom. So yes, you are damn right. I set you up. I couldn’t kill yo’ ass, so I tried the next best thing.”
“Hold up! Are you trying to say you tried to get me killed? I know you are not saying that.”
“Hell no, I’m not saying that. I just wanted to scare you a bit, but it went further than expected,” she turned her face away to avoid the eye contact. “I told Tony to do what he had to do, but not to kill you. I didn’t know you would leave the club and I didn’t know that both you and Charles messed with Tanisha. Apparently, he got the two of you mixed up.”
Lance charged at her and grabbed her by her neck. “Because of you, my boy is dead and you got another man killed. You don’t deserve to live. You think this is a game?” She wriggled in his grasp, choking for air. He tightened his grip with each phrase becoming more and more enraged.
“Lance, let her go right now!” Miss Lydia was furious. She watched from the window in the living room and could not take it any longer. She busted through the door to keep him from killing the girl, already ready with her hair pinned back to stay out of her face. She pried his fingers from the lock he had around her neck. Lance dropped her immediately as he came to from his brief blackout. “I will take care of this. Go in the house!”
Miss Lydia wanted to go to work on her like she was sixteen again fighting in the streets, but she knew Darnise was a troubled girl. She needed help more than anything and she had been battered enough. She whispered a quick word of prayer over her and let her lay in her quandary.
Jamie Lynn instantly got on the line and called up her father. She explained the situation to him. Five cop cars surrounded the house and instructed Ms. Brown to back away from the girl. The neighbors were already on standby to share their version of the story of how Jamie Lynn was attacked by the jealous ex-girlfriend who was mad that her long-time boyfriend had moved on. The officers under the direction of Detective Johnson arrested Darnise and took her down to the station for booking.
Chapter 18
Everything in the house looked just as it did when I left, cluttered. I hoped that with me being out of the house, they would attempt to clean up the place and have a garage sale of some sort. It was merely my high hopes. I had been eager to see Samson for a change; being away from him made me miss him a small bit. I guess being away does make the heart grow fonder. Growing up, we spent many summers together swimming and going to the park, when life was simple. Before jealously and animosity entered the picture. Before our eyes became wide, open to the ways of the world. Speaking on the phone just wasn’t the same and I needed to get the inside scoop on all of the drama I had missed being away and why it was necessary for me to come all the way home.
“Debra, get your bags from out of the hallway.” Charlene’s nagging voiced roared in my ear. I nearly just arrived home and my mother already had a reason to complain. I reluctantly picked up my belongings to appease her and keep the peace. I took them to my former bedroom, now a converted office, to keep her off my back.
“Where is Dad and Samson?” I asked hoping they were just working on something out in the backyard. The way my mother made it seem, my dad couldn’t wait to see me and honestly, I was unsure if Samson had been welcomed back into the house. There was no physical sign. It was all my way of getting the scoop without dishing it out. Then it dawned on me that he didn’t know I had sex, let alone been with a boy under his nose before I left; but with the news of the miscarriage, the cat was out the bag. He probably wanted to send for me to personally strangle the life from my promiscuous body. Suddenly my desire to know his whereabouts faded and I quickly dropped the subject.
The vibration from my cell startled me.
Did you make it? Sarah XOXO
Seeing her text gave me a great sigh of relief that she was alive. Nightmares were the very reason I stayed away from watching scary movies. Any scary movie that played with the idea of demons sent my subconscious into high gear. I responded so she wouldn’t freak out on me and quickly turned it off to keep her from bothering me for the duration of the trip. I liked the girl, but at times she could be a nuisance; talking of her and Brad wanting to be married due to an STD gave me a headache, whether it had been real or imagined.
The fatigue from the flight began to settle in. I decided to lie down for a moment to allow my body some much-needed rest since the woman on the plane was determined to keep me awake. Her persistence seemed genuine, but unwarranted. I closed my eyes and thought of all the possibilities of why I had been summoned back home. Maybe Samson got a girl pregnant and my mother wanted everyone to know at the same time. Maybe my dad was finally going to retire and we needed to make plans on what the next steps would be. Maybe my parents were going to get a divorce…God forbid that happen. My eyes shot open. That thought didn’t sit well with me and I knew if I continued to let my mind wander, the thoughts would become more morbid and intense.
The light tap on the door reminded me that I was not in my dorm room alone to my wandering thoughts. I shifted my body to my side to receive the knocking guest.
“Debra, after you settle in; I need you to meet me in the kitchen.” My mama sounded sweet for a change. It was awkward and strange, but I could get used to it. With a small amount of mustered-up strength, I raised my body from its former resting position.
I pulled out my complete UCR Freshmen outfit, consisting of a t-shirt, hoodie, and sweat pants. I removed my traveling clothes, took a quick five-minute shower and changed into my college girl attire. The weather in Oakland was a
lways cooler than Southern California, so I always made sure to pack accordingly; plus, I really wanted to put some miles into my new outfit.
I did just as instructed and met my mom in the kitchen. She was prepping for dinner. I couldn’t help but notice her shaking as she chopped the onions and bell peppers for the meal. Charlene was a very strong woman, loyal to her man, quick to run at his every command, but still strong. I didn’t often see her sweat. Yet she appeared bothered, troubled almost.
“Mama, what’s going on?”
“Nothing, Debra. Pass me the potatoes out of the pantry.” She continued chopping, hoping I would drop it and move on.
“Why are you bleeding?” A thin layer of blood trickled down her hand as she chopped. She was so distracted by convincing me that she was all right that she didn’t even notice. She looked down at her hand and let out a small gasp. She hurried over to the sink, rinsed it off, and blotted it with a paper towel.
Beyond the Hurt Page 17