Trickery & Envy

by Johnson, D. C.

  “Neither one of you used protection?”

  Jennifer was surprised that her friend hadn’t taken precaution not just for the sake of getting pregnant, but for prevention of an STD. Jennifer was baffled by something else. “Still, how did that happen? Didn’t you have your tubes tied? You said you had been on birth control pills a long time and wanted to get off of them. I’m confused.”

  Vivian opened the microwave and placed her plate nearly full of spaghetti inside.

  Before Vivian could answer, Jennifer said, “Yeah, you’re pregnant with that mountain of spaghetti on your plate.”

  “Actually I opted for the ring insertion. It shifted.” Vivian went and took a seat at the table while her food heated. “Dr. Winfrey noticed it during my Pap smear. She asked me when the last time I had intercourse was and I told her a little over a month ago. She asked me if I was sure I had a cycle last month.” Vivian with her arms crossed looked in a stupor. “Then it dawned on me that it had been two months since my last period?” She requested I have a pregnancy test before having the ring removed and another one inserted.”

  While Jennifer sat listening to her friend Vernon was on the bus halfway to wherever he was going when he realized he left the briefcase behind. “Oh snaps,” he declared. He thought about it a few second and said, “Bump it. Wasn’t nothing in it but candy bars anyway. Man, they were my favorite,” he said of the three Snickers bars. “Oh snaps for real,” he declared again and this time drawing attention from a guy who glanced over at him from across the aisle. He thought out his next words, I’ve got to get that briefcase. My inmate number is etched inside. But I think I scratched them. Damn, what if they can make the numbers out. Vernon shook his head at his blunder and then stood to get off the bus at the next stop.

  Jennifer scratched at an itch in the top of her head. “Vi maybe you should think about it first. This could be a blessing for the both of you if you can get pass that he’s different. I think he really cared about you and I know you liked him, a lot. As long as I’ve known you, you’ve never invited a man to your home as quick as Toni was invited over.”

  Vivian narrowed her eyes at her friend. “He deceived me, Jennifer.”

  “Are you sure that’s what he did? You’re positive he set out to betray you? We all have secrets, Vi. Have you at least once looked at it from his point of view? How many possessive people when they meet someone say, oh, by the way, I’m very possessive?”

  Vivian twisted her mouth at Jennifer then got up for her food after the microwave sounded.

  “Possessive men don’t usually have breasts and a uterus under their penis,” Vivian replied.

  Jennifer frowned. “Well, when you describe it like that I can see how it would turn your stomach. Still the fact remains, he’s a man Vivian.”

  “A half of man and for the last time, he has breasts almost as big as mine and I’m a thirty-four B.”

  Jennifer put up her hands to quiet Vivian. “Okay, okay,” she said. “Just remember that it’s only murder when you know you’re pregnant.”

  Vivian looked over at her friend a little bemused by her comment.

  “Nothing,” Jennifer said. “I’m going to head on home,” and she stood and began heading for the door. “Oh, do you mind going with me to my treatment tomorrow. Having you there surly makes it easier to get through. I can at least look forward to a laugh.”

  “You know I’m by your side.”

  Vivian closed the drawer after taking a fork from it.

  “Thanks. It’ll be the same time as before.”

  “Where are your keys? You didn’t forget them did you?” Vivian said and sat her plate of food on the table then followed Jennifer to the door.

  “Oops, I left them at home. Thank God I’m only next door. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Vivian locked the door and then leaned back against it closing her eyes. They remained closed as she glided her hand over her belly that seemed to have inflated a bit since learning she was pregnant. “I get it Jennifer. I just hope God forgives me.”

  Jennifer moved casually across Vivian’s lawn passing a row of red and yellow roses, sitting between two perfectly trimmed bushes. She was glad she had walked over and spent some time with her friend. Outside of her husband and being an only child, Vivian was the only other close support system she had.

  “What?” Jennifer uttered, looking a bit confused after opening her security door. “I thought I closed this door.” Her entry door was wide open. She gave herself a second to reflect if she had closed the door on her way to the mailbox. “I guess I didn’t,” she said and went on inside the house. “Not only am I losing my hair I’m losing my mind,” she uttered and headed for the kitchen. As she got closer her nose turned up. “What’s that smell?” Jennifer didn’t know where the rancid odor was coming from. She went up the steps to the kitchen then suddenly stopped. She stood gawking at her chocolate cake and the large section missing. “How did that get there?”

  The cake was on the counter next to the blender. The lid was on top of one of the burners on the stove. Jennifer covered her mouth with one hand. She was almost too scared to move looking at her kitchen in a near mess. She shook her head at the pitcher of Kool-Aid in the sink with no lid. Her eyes then followed drips of Kool-Aid on the floor in front of the sink and to the refrigerator. She looked at her purse and the contents from it scattered on the kitchen table.

  “Somebody’s been in here,” Jennifer said softly and slowly began to back away from the kitchen. Her eyes shifted to the microwave door left open. Jennifer bumped into the six-foot floor artificial plant near the sofa backing away. It nearly tipped over. When Jennifer reached the front door, she quickly turned and ran out of it and over to Vivian’s.

  “All snaps...she’s already back at her crib,” Vernon said and came to a halt. He was a bit nervous watching Jennifer dart across her lawn to his sister’s house. He then rubbed his forehead thinking of what to do next.

  Jennifer pounded on Vivian’s front door. “Vi!” she called out. “Vi!”

  Vivian had poured herself a glass of wine, turned on the television and set a food tray in her lap. She had got comfortable on the edge of the lazy boy and had begun eating when the hard knocks to her door startled her. Her glass of red wine tipped over onto her carpet.

  Darling and Darren who were nestling by her feet ran and jumped up onto the sofa. Darren began to lick his paws of the red liquid that spilled on them. Liking the taste he leaped from the sofa and began to lick the wine that spilled onto the carpet.

  “I am getting sick of him! This better not be Vernon,” a steaming Vivian spewed, grabbing the fork from her plate and moving the food tray to the side. She stepped over the wineglass that fell from the tray as the pounds to her door kept coming. Though Vivian stood quick from the sofa she didn’t just snatch open the door and lash out at who she thought was Vernon banging on her door. She made a slit in the curtains to spy on who it was.

  “Jennifer?” she quizzed and opened the door. “Are you alright?”

  Jennifer moved swiftly into the house wrapping her arms around her. “Vi, somebody was in the house!”

  “What?”

  “Somebody was in the house! You should see it!”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Vi, call the police! Somebody was in the house. I need to call Charles. I have to call Charles.”

  Vernon spit out his toothpick contemplating if he should make a run for the briefcase. He decided to go for it and in the act heard someone opening their door. He turned and moved swiftly to the back of the house. He then hopped the fence and walked fast away.

  “Stupid!” Vernon called himself. “I messed up, but you know what forget it. If they make the numbers out I’ll just make up a story. ”

  Vivian quickly went for the phone in the kitchen and entered 911.

  “Jennifer, use my cell phone to call Charles it’s in my bedroom on the dresser.”

  Darling and Darren were now on all f
ours on the sofa with ears and tails sticking straight up.

  “Baby someone broke into the house,” Jennifer said fast and walking back into the living room.

  Both poodles head went from east to west watching the moves of Vivian and Jennifer. They then looked toward the house slipper Jennifer slipped out of pacing, but slipped back into.

  “I need for you to come home. Someone broke into the house...” Jennifer told him again and the phone on Charles end went to a dial tone. Jennifer laid the cell phone on the cocktail table and wrapped her arms around herself again.

  “Yes there has been a break-in. Can you send someone to...?” Vivian said.

  Jennifer began pacing the floor. “Who would do this?” she mumbled and ending her walking next to Vivian.

  “Thank you,” Vivian said and then disconnected her call to the police. “Are you okay?” she asked and laid the cordless phone down next to her cell phone. “They weren’t still in the house when you went in were they?”

  “I don’t think so,” a scared Jennifer replied. “It had to be somebody crazy to take a plug out of my cake.”

  “Your cake?”

  “I made that cake yesterday. They drank Charles’s Kool-Aid, too,” she whined.

  It was as if she was no longer afraid that someone broke-in, but mad that they had invaded her cake.

  Vivian twisted her mouth not believing her friend was more concerned about her cake.

  “Jennifer was anything beside the cake tampered with?”

  “It smelled like they may have eaten Charles’s pork chops. And my shoulder bag had been dumped on the kitchen table.” Jennifer then looked puppy eye at her friend. “Vi, do you think Vernon did this. He did just break in here and you told me what he did to your shop.”

  Vivian walked back over to the front window. “I wouldn’t doubt it,” she said and then looked as if she was taking in natures changing of the seasons.

  Crimson red and golden brown leaves swirled from the tree to the ground. They were churning like birds do when they come together and fly in unity. What Vivian was actually doing was putting more thought into whether it was Vernon. Why would he break into Jennifer’s house? He doesn’t have any issues with her. If it was him, how did he know no one was home? Oh my God,” Vivian then stated aloud.

  “What?” Jennifer said. She had taken a seat on the sofa and had lifted Darling into her lap. She began giving her a slow rubdown. Jennifer then revisited what she discovered after walking into her kitchen.

  “He’s watching me.” Vivian looked over at Jennifer. “He probably saw when I pulled into the driveway and when you went out for your mail. He watched you come here.”

  “Why would he mess with my house?”

  Darling not liking the rigid affection she was receiving leaped from Jennifer’s lap and over next to Darren who had settled on the side of the sofa.

  “Jennifer if he had been watching then he saw that you hadn’t locked your door before coming here. The police are here,” Vivian then stated.

  Jennifer rose from the sofa and over next to Vivian.

  “Come in,” Vivian said to the two officers.

  “I’m Officer Jones and my partner, Officer Reynolds.”

  Darren left the side of the sofa and went to sniff the intruders.

  “It’s actually my friend’s whose house that was invaded. She lives next door and came here after discovering someone had been inside.”

  The officers halted going inside. “Mrs., you mind leading us to your home,” the first that entered said.

  “Are you going to be okay Jen? If it was Vernon, I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to leave.”

  Jennifer acknowledged with a bob of the head and then led the officers across the lawn to her house. “I live here,” she pointed.

  “How far inside did you get before you noticed that someone had broken in?” Officer Reynolds inquired.

  “My kitchen, I was scared to go any further.”

  Officer Reynolds before going inside placed his hand against his holster.

  “I’m going to check around back,” Officer Jones informed them.

  Officer Reynolds stepped inside and quickly took notice of the briefcase by the door. He nodded at it. “Does this belong to you?”

  Jennifer looked at the briefcase a little surprised to see it sitting there. “No, it’s not mine or my husbands. I don’t remember seeing it when I first came home.”

  The officer moved further into the house. Jennifer was one step behind him. He said to her, “You can relax Mrs., I’m sure the intruder is gone.”

  Jennifer as if she was peeking from behind the officer pointed in the direction of the kitchen and said, “Whoever it was dug that hole in my cake. They also drank from the pitcher in the sink.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me,” the officer replied stepping up into the kitchen. “A lot of criminals make themselves at home after finding the house empty.”

  “What is that smell, it’s awful,” Jennifer said and trailing the officer in the direction of her bedroom.

  They both looked repulsed after seeing the burglar had taken a dump and that some of it had landed on the back of the toilet seat.

  Jennifer gritted her teeth. “Nasty bastard,” she hissed.

  Officer Jones entered through the front door and stood near it with his hands on his hips glancing around. He then moved forward to look at the photos on a black mantle. “Wow, she really does favor Angela Bassett,” he mumbled already having thought it.

  Officer Jones and Jennifer reentered the living room as Charles drove into the driveway. He drove into it so fast that he almost hit the garage door. He exited the car as the officers and his wife were coming out of the house.

  “Baby, are you okay,” he asked placing both hands on his wife’s shoulders and then bringing her into his chest.

  Jennifer smiled some. “I’m fine. Charles someone broke into the house. They didn’t actually break in I left the door unlocked when I went over to see Vi.”

  The police car out front had begun to bring out some of the neighbors. They stood taking in the scene from both sides of the street. The fact that the police had recently been on the block had triggered some curiosity to why they were there again. It prompted one of the neighbors to walk over.

  Charles released Jennifer and looked at her confused. “Why are you in your pajamas?” he asked.

  It hadn’t occurred to Jennifer that she was standing outside in her pajamas or had roamed from room to room with the officer in them.

  “I don’t know Charles,” Jennifer answered then took notice of one of their neighbors, a short elderly white woman coming from across the street. “I put them on after you dropped me off and then went for the mail.”

  Officer Reynolds interrupted their conversation. “Mrs. Washington we’re finished here. We’re taking these items as evidence and to check for prints,” he said holding up a plastic bag that had the picture, plate and some of Vernon’s waste inside. He had in his other hand the suitcase that was left behind. The officer then said, “The minute we hear something we’ll let you know. In the meantime, keep your windows and doors locked.”

  Charles extended his hand to the policeman. “Thank you, Officer,” he said and then put his arm back around his wife’s shoulder.

  “Charles lets go inside before all the neighbors come over asking questions.”

  “Okay, but let’s see if Mrs. Kanjorski seen something. You know she likes to sit near her front window.”

  The elderly neighbor slowly signaled with a wave of the hand to Officer Jones who was about to get into the patrol car. He waited for her and when she reached him, held on to his arm for support.

  “How can I help you,” the officer said to her with a smidgen of a smile.

  “I come to see if there is something going on that the rest of the neighbors needs to know about? Wondering if you being here have anything to do with the young man that went into their house?”

  “You saw
someone enter the house, Mrs.?”

  The elderly lady with a sagging face grinned up at the officer.

  “Kanjorski, I’m a widow,” and she patted him a couple times on the arm.

  “Reynolds, I believe we have a witness.”

  “Get the information. I need to call headquarters,” the officer replied then got inside the patrol car.

  “Are you able to stand without assistance?” Officer Jones asked Mrs. Kanjorski. “I need to take notes.”

  “I reckon I can a minute or two,” and Mrs. Kanjorski released the officer’s arm and planted both hands against the car near the hood for balance.

  “Can you describe the man you saw entering the home.”

  Jennifer utters to Charles, “I think you’re right. She must have seen something. Vivian thinks it was Vernon that broke in.”

  Mrs. Kanjorski said to the officer, “I sure can,” and she smiled at Charles and Vivian, acknowledged them with a slow nod of the head. “They are such a sweet couple. Well, he was African American and well dressed. He had on a suit. Though, I just didn’t understand why he’d wear gym shoes with such a nice suit.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I guess that’s just the way these young folks dress now. Oh, oh, he also had a briefcase in one hand. I thought maybe he was some kind of insurance salesmen. He just walked inside you guys house like he was invited in. So I didn’t think much of it.”

  “Do you recall the color suit the man was wearing?”

  “Well, it looked black, but it could have been dark blue, too. I was looking from my window. I always glance out when I’m up front knitting. I sit by the window and knits booties for my great grandchildren.”

  “Did you by chance get a look at the man’s face? Was he young, old?”

  Charles as well as Jennifer kept their focus on their neighbor hoping she could provide vital information.

  “I think that young man may have been about their ages,” she said and pointing at Charles and Jennifer. “You know I could be wrong, but I thought he might be that young man that used to live there where they now live. It was just something about the way he walked slow and sort of nonchalant. Course, I hadn’t seen him in years.”