All Or Nothing (9 page)

“What’s up, girl?” Dee-Dee said. “That was Mario on the phone, stressing me the hell out, again!”

“Anyway!” Shantell spat. “I don’t even wanna hear it. That’s your business.”

“Whatever!” Dee-Dee joked. “Anyway, where was y’all all morning? I woke up and you and the baby were gone.”

“Me and Jordan took a little ride. We cruised around town. I just wanted get some fresh air.”

“I hear that,” Dee-Dee expressed. “I can’t wait till I have a kid, so I can do little fun stuff like that.”

“Don’t rush yourself, girlfriend. It ain’t all that it cracked up to be.” Don’t get me wrong, I love my daughter, but sometimes I need a break or a day off. But ain’t no breaks in this motherhood thing. It’s every day, all day.”

Shantell and Dee-Dee had become very close since their initial meeting. This was evident by their current living arrangement. Shantell was a loner by nature, so for her to allow Dee-Dee to become her roommate spoke volumes about her feelings for her.

Dee-Dee’s presence in the apartment seemed to have a settling effect on both Shantell and Jordan. Not only did she help out with the rent and household chores, but also helped ease Shantell’s motherly responsibilities. Dee-Dee would get up and feed or watch the baby whenever Shantell didn’t feel like it or was too tired to. Dee-Dee showed Jordan so much love that Shantell couldn’t help but love her back. In the ultimate act that cemented their friendship, Shantell named Dee-Dee as the baby’s godmother. God forbid, if something happened to her, she knew that Dee-Dee was more than capable of loving and caring for her daughter.

Dee-Dee was also good to have around for another reason. She was Shantell’s alter ego, her conscience. She wasn’t as brash or daring when it came to making money at the strip club. Shantell had a real hardcore attitude in areas where Dee-Dee was hesitant or unsure. Shantell went all out for that bread. A lot of times Dee-Dee would intervene when she saw that Shantell was out of control. She was always that calming influence that could bring Shantell back to her senses.

It was too bad that Dee-Dee didn’t exercise the same restraint in her own personal life.

It was another typical night at Club Champagne. Shantell and Dee-Dee were on the job. As always, they were chasing the almighty dollar, hustling hard for that money. Dee-Dee was doing her required dance sets up on the stage when she suddenly bolted from the stage. Shantell had seen her walk off the stage before her set was completed and followed her. They headed straight for the locker room.

Dee-Dee wore a frustrated look on her face. She lit up a cigarette to calm her nerves.

“I don’t believe this shit,” Dee-Dee spat. “This shit is going too far.”

“What’s wrong?” Shantell asked. “Why you leave the stage like that?”

“Girl, you ain’t gonna believe this shit. I saw that nigger Mario standing there, staring at me from the bar. He had a funny look on his face and it kinda fucked me up.”

Dee-Dee took long drags from her cigarette. She exhaled huge clouds of smoke. Momentarily it seemed to calm her nerves. Shantell had never seen her friend so shook up like this. She saw something strange in Dee-Dee’s eyes, and it was fear.

“That’s it! I’m going to go back out there and tell that nigger off,” Shantell ranted. “This nigger is going too far. First the phone calls, now this. I mean, what’s next? Describe that nigger to me. What he got on?”

Dee-Dee replied, “He tall and light -skinned. He got on a red New York fitted baseball cap and a red-and-white Snowman shirt. You can’t miss him.”

As Shantell left the locker room, Dee-Dee didn’t even put up a protest. Now she was just beginning to see that Mario was much more than a thorn in her side. He was a problem. Maybe, just maybe, she needed someone to intervene. She hoped Shantell could run him away. Maybe she could talk some sense into him, explain to him that Dee-Dee didn’t want him any more.

Where is this nigger at? Shantell mused as she walked around the club.

Every possible place that a patron could possibly be in the club, Shantell looked. She looked by the bar, by the pool table area, upstairs in the champagne and the VIP rooms. She couldn’t find anybody who came close to fitting that description. Finally, Shantell asked around and she was told a guy matching that description had left already.

“I looked but I couldn’t find that nigger nowhere. Somebody said he left right after we walked into the locker room,” Shantell admitted.

It seemed like a burden had been lifted off her chest. Dee-Dee’s mood immediately began to change. She began to make lighthearted jokes at her predicament.

“I guess I gotta be more careful who I give this pussy to, huh? Just my luck I wound up with a fucking psychopathic, stalking-ass nigger!”

“You need to take out a restraining order on his ass,” Shantell told her. “Something is seriously wrong wit’ that nigger.”

Dee-Dee went on to explain to Shantell how she didn’t want to involve the police in this matter. How she still had some feelings for Mario and she didn’t want to see him possibly arrested. At one point in time he had been very good to her, so she felt she owed him that. Dee-Dee said she would call his mother and explained the situation to her. She felt that Mario would listen to his mother.

After they talked it out, Dee-Dee and Shantell headed back into the club. Shantell picked up where she had left off, chasing that paper. She had immediately put Mario out of her mind. For Dee-Dee, it was a lot harder for her to get her mind right. Mario’s presence haunted her long after he had disappeared.

Meanwhile, outside in the parking lot, Mario sat inside his car, fuming. The sight of his lady, Dee-Dee, dancing naked for other men in the club had enraged him. It took everything in his power to refrain from jumping up on the stage and pulling her off it. Mario may have been crazy but he was far from stupid. He knew that an act like that might spark more trouble than he could handle by himself. So rather than to continue to spy on Dee-Dee, he left under his own power.

Suddenly Mario reached into his glove compartment and grabbed a pen and piece of paper. He began to feverishly jolt down his thoughts and feelings, some of which weren’t comprehensible to anyone but him.

“Dee-Dee, when I saw you up on that stage it hurt me to my heart,” the note began. “I know I made mistakes, but so did you. You said some mean things but I forgive you. Nobody could love you like I will. I know you still feel me. They say if you love something let it go, but I can’t. I’ll love you to death.”

After tipping out Shantell and Dee-Dee left Club Champagne. They headed to their car, totally exhausted. They both seemed to spot the note attached to the windshield at the same time. At first they thought it was a party flyer but upon further inspection they knew what it was. Since Shantell was the first to reach the car, she picked up the note and read it to herself.

Shantell read every word of Mario’s note. His chilling words disturbed her. When she was finished, she passed the note to Dee-Dee. Dee-Dee’s hands began to tremble as she read along. By the time she was through reading, she was a nervous wreck. She couldn’t think straight.

“Mario’s just hurt, that’s all,” she explained. “He doesn’t really mean it. That’s just talk.”

At first, Dee-Dee tried to downplay the note’s deadly undertones. She made all kinds of weak excuse for her exboyfriend.

The fear on Dee-Dee’s face was evident. To Shantell, her mouth was saying one thing but her body was saying something totally different.

“So this nigger loves you? Huh?” Shantell asked. “If he does, he got a funny way of showing it.”

Shantell hated to be sarcastic at a time like this, but right about now she would do anything to get her point across. She really believed Mario was dangerous. If only she could convince Dee-Dee.

Right there in the parking lot, the two women had a lengthy conversation about Mario. Dee-Dee began recounting the events that led to their break up. She told Shantell about his cheating ways, including the other woman Mario had gotten pregnant. She told her about the arguments, then the physical abuse. Dee-Dee admitted that he had even given her a black eye and broke her arm at one time or another. It didn’t take long for Dee-Dee to paint a picture of domestic abuse. Shantell came to the conclusion that Mario was indeed over possessive.

Distraught, Dee-Dee handed her keys over to Shantell so she could drive. After piling into the car they took off, heading home. Shantell pulled out of the parking lot and for the rest of the way home, the duo drove in silence.

Unbeknownst to them, as soon as they merged into traffic, another car had begun to follow them from a safe distance.

Love Ya Ta Death

After a good night’s sleep, Dee-Dee awoke with the same problem on her mind: Mario. Although she had every right to go to the authorities and seek some type of police action against him, like a restraining order or an order of protection, she chose to take a diplomatic approach. She called Mario’s mother.

“Good morning, Mrs. Hughes.” Dee-Dee affectionately said. “It’s me, Denise.”

“Oh, baby. Sorry I couldn’t make out your voice. I haven’t heard from you in so long,” Mrs. Hughes replied. “You can keep in touch, you know.”

“Yes, I know, ma’am. Lately, I’ve been a little busy. I apologize for that. Please forgive me,” Dee-Dee pleaded. “I won’t let it happen again.”

Dee-Dee had the utmost respect for Mrs. Hughes. She looked at her as a surrogate mother of sorts. She had a special place in her heart for Mrs. Hughes ever since she had let DeeDee live there, rent free, for a few years. Mrs. Hughes had taken Dee-Dee in after her own mother had thrown her out. She let her move in, no questions asked. For that, Dee-Dee was indebted forever to her.

Dee-Dee continued. “Anyway, the reason I called is… it’s about Mario. As you know, me and him are no longer together. And…for whatever reason, Mario keeps bothering me. I don’t wanna be bothered with him no more, but he’s not listen to me. I was hoping you could talk to him for me.”

“Oh, baby I wish you kids would stop that nonsense and get back together,” Mrs. Hughes insisted. “God knows ya’ll love each other.”

Needless to say, this was not the type of reply that DeeDee expected from her. Then again, what did she expect? Mrs. Hughes was older than your average parent. She had Mario very late in life. As result, she had been a lot more lenient on Mario than her other children. He, in turn, took advantage of his mother’s kindness from childhood to adulthood. Mrs. Hughes had a childlike perception of her son; in her eyes, he could do no wrong. No matter what her son did, she sided with him.

Dee-Dee decided to spare Mrs. Hughes the details. She couldn’t bring herself to tell Mario’s mother exactly what he was doing or what he had done to her. Besides, she wouldn’t believe it, anyway.

“No, Mrs. Hughes, I don’t think we’ll be getting back together anytime soon. Our relationship is finished.”

“Denise, you shouldn’t talk like that. You never know, so don’t be like that. You kids need to just sit down face to face and talk it out. That’s the key to everything. Nowadays, y’all kids don’t communicate. Y’all just make rush decisions, and that’s not good.”

“But…” Dee-Dee began. “Forget it Mrs. Hughes. Nice speaking to you. I’ll be in touch real soon. Goodbye.”

“Okay, baby. You do that. Think about what I said in the meantime. You know haste makes waste. Y’all belong together.”

Dee-Dee didn’t get anywhere by talking to Mrs. Hughes. As a matter of fact, she came away more frustrated than ever. She couldn’t believe how naïve Mario’s mother was. She was blind to the overly aggressive ways of her son. If ignorance was bliss, then she was in heaven. They didn’t make women like her anymore.

From the comforts of her bedroom, Shantell had overheard Dee-Dee’s secret conversation. Judging from the side of the conversation she had heard, her friend was no closer to the

resolution of this problem than the day it began. Shantell got up

to have another talk with Dee-Dee.

“Who was that you were talking to?” Shantell asked.

“Mario’s mom.” Dee-Dee replied flatly.

“Well, what she have to say?”

“She didn’t say a damn thing. Mario got her brainwashed. I don’t know why I even called her. That lady is stuck on stupid,” Dee-Dee insisted. “I ain’t never seen no shit like that in my life.”

Shantell fired back, “Well, I guess you ain’t got no choice but to go to the police, then, since your way didn’t work. Whether you know it or not, you’re not the only one involved in this. You got me and my baby involved too. Think about us. What about our safety?”

The statement hit home. Dee-Dee began to ponder the question Shantell posed to her. She soon realized that it wasn’t fair for her to jeopardize the lives of two innocent people,. Not because she had made such a poor choice in men. No matter how she looked at it, Dee-Dee saw no right in it.

“Alright, I’m going to get dressed and head down to the police station. I’m going to take out an order of protection against that motherfucker.”

Quietly, Shantell was relieved that Dee-Dee had finally taken a stance against Mario. She felt nothing short of the police would stop this guy. To her, Mario was a ticking time bomb, just waiting to explode.

Dee-Dee got dressed and headed out the door. Her destination was the nearest police station. As soon as she got close to her car, she noticed another note had been placed on it. To her that could only mean one thing: Mario now knew where she lived. She perished the thought.

After removing the note, Dee-Dee quickly read it. She slowly mouthed the words.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It doesn’t envy, it doesn’t boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not

delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. I thought you loved me? At least that’s what you said.”

When she was done, Dee-Dee began to take a quick inventory of her surroundings. She became paranoid, as if Mario was lurking nearby in the bushes or behind a car.

She couldn’t decipher what the poem really meant. All she knew was that Mario was really giving her a bad vibe. DeeDee shoved the note into her pocket and hopped into her car and drove off. She planned on showing the note to the police. This was the proof she needed.