Casting Down Imaginations (11 page)

twelve

Karen

I gave
myself a final look in the mirror. My eyes were a little puffy and the
uneasiness of my stomach showed on my face. Even still, I was determined to go
to church this morning. Earlier I woke up and turned on the TV. A local pastor
was on teaching. His message was really good, and I wrote down the address to
his church, which was a few blocks off campus. Service started in twenty
minutes, and if I wanted to be there on time I had to catch the bus that left
in five.

Knock,
knock, knock.

“Just a
minute,” I called out.

It was
one of the cleaning ladies coming to change the sheets on the bed. I didn’t
have time to wait on her. She was just going to have to leave them in the
living room and I’d put them on myself when I got back.

Knock,
knock, knock.

“Just a
minute!” I yelled.

These
people were getting impatient! I didn’t have time to wait for her to change my
sheets. I only had five minutes to run two blocks down the street to catch the
bus.

Knock,
knock, knock.

Now I
was mad. I marched over to the front door and snatched it open, ready to go off
on the woman that was sure to be standing there with a stack of clean white
folded sheets in her hands.

But it
wasn’t a woman.

There
in front of me was a man. Tall, handsome. Vaguely familiar. Muscular build,
with eyes that resembled love I used to know.

I gasped.

No…
It couldn’t be…

My
stomach dropped.

“Hey
baby,” he smiled.

What
the…?

“Terrance?”

He rushed past the door and picked me up in his arms, hugging
me and kissing me on the cheek as he spun me around. Standing what seemed to be
a good two inches taller than he was in high school and a whole lot bulkier,
the sight of him was tantalizing. And it terrified me.

“Put me down!” I yelled.

He didn’t even hear me. In his excitement he kept right on
spinning.

“Oh, girl,” he sang after finally returning me to my feet. He
stood back and looked at me. “It’s so good to see you, baby. You look so good.”

I shook my head, trying to wake up from the dream I surely
must have been having.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him. “How did you…? What
did…?”

He clasped his hands together and flashed a big smile. Pretty
white teeth greeted me.

“Your moms hooked me up,” he answered.

I felt like he’d punched me in the ear. I had to blink
profusely in order to keep my balance.

“What?!”

He chuckled. “Yeah. I saw your moms last week and she gave me
your address. So, I took the week off from work, and… here I am.”

“What? A whole week?”

Full of energy, he picked me up and hugged me again. He
smelled so good. I had to fight to keep from hugging him back. In the middle of
our embrace I spotted his overnight bag on the floor in the hallway.

Did this fool really think he was going to stay with me for a
whole week? Without even asking first?!

I pushed him away from me. “Terrance, what are you doing?”

I was becoming angry. I hadn’t seen him in over two years and
he somehow thought he could just show up at my doorstep for a whole week. He
may as well move in! What kind of cheap motel did he think I was?

It was clear he was caught off guard by my attitude. “What? I
thought you’d be happy to see me.”

“How did you figure that?”

He drew back, becoming defensive. “What? Did we not just
spend five hours on the phone yesterday?”

I rolled my eyes. We had been talking on the phone almost
every day, but that didn’t give him a right to just show up whenever he felt
like it.

“You should have called first,” I scolded, still not believing
that he was actually standing in front of me.

“I was trying to surprise you.”

Dang, he was fine!

“How did you get here?” I asked.

He smiled at me. “The whole time we were on the phone
yesterday I was in my room packing and getting things ready to come see you. I
worked the night shift, got off, hopped in the car, and drove all the way up
here to see you.”

Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. It was a sweet gesture,
but just out of order.

“What made you think that you could just drive up here
without even talking to me about it first?”

He shrugged. “Your moms said it would be cute. It was all her
idea.”

My head began to spin, but this time I was too mad to feel
dizzy.

“What?” I asked. He needed to reiterate that last bit of
information, and he needed to do it slowly so I could make sure I got every
word.

“Your moms said it was a good idea. Yeah, I saw her at the
mall last week, and we talked. I told her how we got back in touch, and she
said I should come to see you. She told me where you were staying, so, here I
am.”

“So you just decided to show up?” I asked.

He was growing irritated. “Look, we both thought it would
make you happy. I don’t understand what the big deal is.”

Why was he trying to get rude? He was the one who waltzed in
here uninvited. I didn’t know what his problem was, but it was too bad for him
I wasn’t the ho he thought I was. And I couldn’t believe my mother! How could
she just send a man over here without even consulting me? I didn’t care if he
was my baby’s dad. That crap was a long time ago and it didn’t matter anymore.

“Listen. The next time you and that witch get together to
decide what happens in my life, you should let me in on it. I’ll be happy to
tell both of you where you can go.”

I began to walk away.

“Where you going?” he asked me.

“Out,” I said. My emotions were getting the best of me. I had
to get some fresh air before I attacked him… or kissed him.

“Where?”

“Out,” I repeated, and didn’t look back as I grabbed my
purse. “If I were you I wouldn’t be here when I get back. Take your things and
go.”

I closed the door behind myself before he could respond and
made my way outside. The bus that I was supposed to take to church blared past
me down the street.

Great. So much for my spiritual needs.

I dug in my purse and pulled out my cell phone. I’d been
silent for too long. Mama was gonna get a piece of my mind, whether she wanted
to or not.

Using speed dial, I called home. Kevin answered on the third
ring.

“Hello?”

“Hey, baby boy. It’s me.”

“I know it’s you, Karen.”

“How do you know?”

“’Cause,” he answered. “I just do.”

In the background I heard Mama tell him to hurry and put his
pants on. They had to be on their way to church. In the Stephens household, if
you weren’t sick or out of town, missing church wasn’t an option.

“You wanna talk to Daddy?” he asked.

“No.” I was trying as hard as I could to keep my voice from
quivering. I didn’t want Kevin to become upset. “I actually called to talk to
Mama.”

“Really?”

I couldn’t blame him for being surprised. I’d be surprised
myself if I wasn’t so pissed off.

“Okay,” he said, and handed her the phone.

“Karen?”

“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked her angrily.

“Excuse me, young lady?”

She didn’t appreciate my tone, but I didn’t care. Maybe I
would have considered her feelings if she would have considered mine before she
sent Terrance up here for a week long rendezvous. But since she didn’t, I was
returning the favor.

“Why did you tell Terrance to come here?”

“Don’t you take that tone with me, young lady,” she warned.
“You ain’t too grown yet!”

Her threat put no fear in me.

“Why did you tell him to come up here? What were you
thinking?”

She laughed, trying to brush it all off. “Look, I just
happened to see Terrance last week, and he told me that the two of you were
communicating again—”

“Yeah, thanks to you giving him my phone number. Don’t give
out my phone number to anyone else unless I tell you to.”

“Oh, listen at you. I don’t take orders from my children,
Karen. I never have before and I’ll be damned if I sit here and let you talk to
me as if I were a child. How could you? And anyway, according to Terrance, the
two of you seem to be hitting it off again. So it looks to me like you should
be thanking me. It’s been years since you’ve been in a relationship. The way I
see it, I did you a favor.”

“That’s by choice, Mama,” I snapped. “And what gives you the
right to think that you can just send a man to come live with me for a whole
week? A week, Mama! You think I’m a ho or something? I’m a grown woman, and I
decide who I want to have my phone number, who I want to be in a relationship
with, and who I want to come see me. I decide. Not you!”

“How dare you?” she snarled. “Is he right there with you?”

“No.”

She paused. “Where is he? You didn’t send the boy back home,
did you?”

I hesitated. I had to force myself to remember that she was
my mother before I lost all sanity and cussed her smooth out.

“He’s upstairs, Mama. In my room,” I answered.

“You mean you just left him up there?”

“Yes.”

She sighed. “Karen, you know I’ve taught you to be a better
hostess than that.”

“Hostess!” I exclaimed. “Hostess! I didn’t send him an
invitation!”

“Lower your voice!” she demanded. “Listen. You have got to
play this cool, alright?”

Something sounded funny. She was up to something, and I
needed to know what it was.

“Why?”

“Look,” she whispered. “I wasn’t supposed to say anything,
but I spoke with his mother.”

“Mama!” I was outraged. What was she doing bringing his mom
into this? Why was either mother involved? This was out of control. I didn’t
ask for this!

“Just listen!” she hissed. “Look, Terrance might be coming to
DU as a student.”

I gasped. “What?”

“Don’t say anything, and if he brings it up act like you
don’t know, okay?”

“Okay.”

“You
know how he busted up his knee or whatever when he was in the NBA, right?”

“Right.”

“Girl, he lost
everything. His house, all of his endorsements. Everything. He had a little bit
of money left over, but not much. It was a real hard time for him. But Terrance
worked hard and made a full recovery. The doctors were amazed because that type
of recovery hardly ever
happens.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, girl. You know that boy got a praying grandmamma!
Anyway, the NBA tried to get him back but he turned it down. He told his mama
he had a new outlook on life and wanted to get his education. He said the one
thing that no one could take away from him was his mind, so he wants to go to
school. Now, a lot of schools approached him, trying to get him in their
athletic programs, and he could go to school for free. The school he’s most
interested in is DU. You wanna know why?”

I stalled. “DU is one of the top schools in the state, Mama.
You know that. Shoot, I’m lucky to be here.”

She smacked her lips. “Girl, stop acting innocent. You know
that boy is coming up there to be with you. I figured he may as well spend the
week with you since he gon’ be there while he’s checking out the place. Who
knows? You two might find love again. Wouldn’t that be something?”