A Good Dude (21 page)

By 2:30, she was pretty sure the phone wasn’t in the living room.

At 3:15, she was done in the front room but still hadn’t found her phone.

At 3:30 she had to stop work in the bedroom to answer the front door. It was Trisha.

“Hey,” Candace said, wiping her forehead with the back of her arm.

“Damn, girl. What the hell you doing in here?”

“I’m cleaning up. The police threw stuff everywhere.

Look at this floor.” She stepped aside to let her see. “What’s that?” Trisha asked.

“That’s Comet. They tracked it all the way in here from the bathroom.”

“Why you didn’t tell me you were back? I didn’t know if you got in here or not.”

“I’m sorry,” Candace said. “I’ve been so busy. I sold the rims off my car to get the money for the landlord, and now I’m looking for my cell phone. They broke my house phone.”

Trisha came in and did a quick 360. “Damn, girl
.
They went crazy in here. You should’ve came and got me. I got a phone cord you can use.”

“I thought you didn’t have a phone.”

“I don’t have phone
service
, but I got a phone. Who don’t have a phone in they house? Girl, you’re gonna have to learn how to ask for help.”

“I didn’t think anyone would want to help.”

“I’ma go get that cord,” Trisha said. “I’ll see if Miss Flora can watch the boys. Put some music on. You can’t clean up without music.”

Candace smiled and let out a grateful sigh of relief when she was gone.

* * *

When Trisha came back with the cord, Candace’s apartment was rocking to the tunes of Kanye West.

“Where you want me to get started?” Trisha asked.

“Take your pick,” Candace said. “I’ma go call that CPS lady right quick, all right?”

“Go ahead.”

Candace took the house phone to her bedroom so she could make the call in private. As badly as she wanted Leila back, this was a call she dreaded. She knew she would have to explain her whole life to a stranger who already had negative thoughts about her.

She plugged in the new cord, and sat on the side of the bed nibbling her thumbnail. She wondered what she should tell them. Her fingers trembled as she dialed the number. Inwardly she hoped to get a voice mail, but someone answered halfway through the second ring.

“Hi, this is Gabriella.”

“Hi,” Candace said. “This is . . . . Gabriella Sands?”

“Yes. Speaking.”

“Uh, hello. Hi. My name is Candace. Candace Hendricks. I got your number, I mean your card, from the police. I had a baby while I was in jail. I mean, I was going to jail. I just got arrested.” Candace sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m nervous.”

“It’s okay,” Gabriella said. “Did you say you had a baby?”

“Yes. I got arrested two weeks ago. I didn’t do anything, though. They let me go today. When, when I got arrested I had my baby. They said I have to talk to you about getting her back.” Candace took the phone away from her face and exhaled loudly. She felt like a fool. Her palms were slick.

“What did you say your name was?”

“Candace Hendricks. My baby’s name is Leila. Leila Denise Hendricks.”

“Hold on for a second.”

Candace waited and listened to fast typing. She knew what was coming. The woman was going to tell her that she couldn’t have her baby back. Leila had been adopted by a well-to-do family, and she was better off where she was. If Candace wanted her baby back, she should have retrieved her within the first forty-eight hours. After that, Leila became a ward of the state.

“I do have your file here, Miss Hendricks.”

Candace held her breath.

“It looks like you delivered on the thirtieth and went to jail on the second.”

“That’s right. Where’s my baby?”

“She’s fine. She’s been placed in foster care.”

“What does that mean?”

“That means a foster family is looking after her. She lives with them.”

“Where? Can I go get her?”

“You want to—no
. No
, Candace. You can’t just
go get your baby
. It doesn’t work like that.”

“When can I get her?”

“Well, Candace, this is the first time I’ve talked to you. You’re going to have to come down here and fill out some paperwork. I have to meet with you.”

“But when can I get my baby?”

“It’s not going to be an overnight thing. You understand that, right?”

“No,” Candace said. She lowered her head and rubbed her face with her free hand. She felt tears welling in the corner of her eyes, but they weren’t going to fall. She wasn’t a crybaby anymore. That part of her life was over. Whatever she needed to do, she would do it as a woman.

“CPS does not want to keep your child,” Gabriella said. “We believe that the best place for any child is with his mother or father or both.”

Candace was glad to hear that. She exhaled hot fumes from her nostrils.

“Is this your first child?”

“Yes,” Candace said.

“Well, this is your first experience with CPS, and I’m sure you have a lot of questions. Would you like to set up an appointment so we can meet? I can explain the process to you.”

“I just want to know when I can have my baby back. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“There’s no set schedule on that,” Gabriella said. “All I know about you is what I read in your police report.”

“I’m not a drug dealer. I already cleared that up. It was a mistake.”

“Well, obviously that’s something we’re not going to take your word for. We have a process, Candace. It takes time.”

“Well, can I at least see her?”

“Yes. She’s your baby. I can arrange for visitations with the foster family.”

“When?”

“Candace, listen. You’re going to have to slow down. Before you get anywhere near your daughter, you’re going to have to meet with me. The very soonest you’ll be able to see your daughter is, hmmm, let’s see, today’s Wednesday . . . . Monday’s the absolute soonest.”

Candace felt like she got punched in the stomach.

“Why don’t you come see me tomorrow,” Gabriella offered.

Candace relented. She got directions to the CPS office and scheduled an appointment for the very next morning. When she got back in the living room, Trisha read her expression and didn’t ask too many questions.

“Is it gonna be all right?”

“I have to meet with the caseworker tomorrow,” Candace told her.

“It’ll be all right,” Trisha promised. “Once she meets you and sees what kind of person you are, you’ll be fine. Most of them bitches going up there be smelling like smoke, tracks and shit on they arms. They got teeth missing.”

Candace smiled halfheartedly.

“What you gon’ tell Rilla about those rims?” Trisha asked.

“I don’t have to tell him anything,” Candace said. “He’s not getting out after I testify against him.” Trisha’s mouth fell open, and Candace laughed. “Let’s talk about it after we get done.”

CPS

Trisha found Candace’s cell phone in the kitchen sink, of all places. She plugged it into the charger, and they took a break from cleaning at 7:00 p.m. The mess wasn’t as bad as it looked. Trisha restocked all of the groceries that weren’t damaged, and Candace got all of the clothes picked up in the bedroom. The bathroom turned out to be the worst, but Candace got it spic-and-span in only thirty minutes. She ordered a pizza and took the garbage out while they waited.

By the time food arrived, they were both exhausted. They lounged in the living room watching the tail end of Jim Carey in
The Mask
. That was an old movie, but still a good one.

“The police never said who the informant was?” Trisha asked.

“No. They didn’t even say if it’s a guy or a girl.”

“You really think CC would do that?”

“He was mad, Trish.
Real mad
. He told me, ‘
Don’t you ever say nothing about that baby being mine
.’ And before he left, he said, ‘
I got something for you
.’ I’ll never forget the way he said it, like he knew he had me. The next thing I know, the police were banging on the door. I can’t think of anybody else who would lie on me.”

“Why would CC lie?”

“I think he hates me that much. He said he can’t stand that I was with Rilla. You should have seen him, Trisha. I thought he was going to shoot me or something.”

“You tripping.”

“No. I’m not. I’m really scared of him.”

“Are you going to tell Rilla?”

“I don’t even want to talk to Rilla anymore. I hope he
never
gets out.”

“You don’t care about him at all now?”

Candace sighed. “I guess I do. But it’s hard for me not to hate him, Trish. Everything that happened to me is his fault. Rilla knew he had responsibilities. He knew me and the baby depended on him. He could have got a regular job. I never asked him to do anything spectacular. But he wanted the quick money. You shouldn’t do that when people are depending on you.”

“So you’re going to testify against him?”

“What choice do I have? I’m not going back to jail for his drugs.”

“I don’t know,” Trisha said. “Some people might think that’s kind of shady.”

“What do
you
think?”

“I don’t know.”

“You wouldn’t do it?”

“No, I wouldn’t, but you gotta do what’s right for you. I guess.”

“Trisha, it’s either him or me.”

“I know.”

“I would still be in jail if I didn’t agree to testify.”

“Yeah, you told me.”

“I might have lost my baby.”

Trisha nodded.

“But you still don’t think I should do it?”

“Candace, I’m just saying I wouldn’t do it. But you and me is different. You got dreams and shit you want to do. I’m just saying, me, I couldn’t do it.”

Candace frowned, wondering if she made the right decision. Trisha put a hand on her knee.

“Don’t trip, girl. Most women would do what you did. It’s only a small percentage that are
down-ass bitches
like me.”