Another Man Will (16 page)

C
HAPTER
23

Yvette

“W
hat are you doing here?” I asked, shocked, as I opened the door for Crystal and a man. I was not expecting any company. I invited them in and pushed down my hair to make myself look more presentable.

“I came to get Mimi, remember?”

“Oh yeah, I forgot.” Mercedes ran up to Crystal and gave her a big hug.

“Auntie Crystal, I already took my shower. All I have to do is put my clothes on.”

“Hurry up, Mimi. Sorry she is not ready. I really forgot when you talked to me last night—I was half asleep.”

“It's okay, and, Vette, this is my husband, Terell.”

Her husband greeted me, and he and Crystal had a seat.

“Oh, and guess what? He used to like you back in school,” Crystal revealed.

“Really? Me?” I asked, playfully brushing my hair back down some more, not feeling very likeable. “Is that true?”

Terell nodded. “Yes. I told Crystal, everybody in the neighborhood used to like you.” My first impression of Terell was that he didn't seem like half the loser Dana had described.

“You sure you want Mercedes to go? She is a piece of work,” I said.

Crystal smiled. “Yeah. You know I want my Mimi over. Jewel and Mimi, they will just drive Nasir crazy. I'll probably take them to Chuck E. Cheese's or something, and we are going to pick up Rell's nephew, Shareef, too.” She paused for a moment. “Vette, tell me why Dana running her mouth like she normally do. Did she say anything to you about me getting married?”

I shook my head. “Uh, no, not really. You know Dana thinks she knows everything. If I were you, I wouldn't pay her any attention.”

“I know, but she keeps hyping stuff up to Mommy and Daddy. We haven't even been able to sit down and talk to them sensibly since we've been married.”

“Don't worry. They will come around. Daddy doesn't like it when you run off and get married. Remember I did it.”

“You know what? I forgot all about that. How could I have forgotten when I caught the wrath of God?” Crystal said. “ ‘Daddy can I go to the store?' ‘No! You might run off and get married.' Daddy started picking me up from school, and I wasn't allowed to go anywhere. All because of her, babe. I use to cry, because anything I wanted to do she had already did and got in trouble for.”

“I wasn't that bad.”

“Yes, you were. Remember the time Mommy and Daddy told you not to go out, and you snuck out and went to that teen club dance, and they came to the club? Daddy got onstage, looking for you. You were so embarrassed and was hiding in the bathroom. I was, like, thirteen, and I was just happy to see the inside of the club.”

I laughed. “Oh my God, yes. I do remember that. Oh well, what can I say? Those were the days.”

We had a few more laughs about growing up, and then Crystal changed the subject. “So you know my baby was in the army. Served in Afghanistan twice and Iraq. Wasn't Doug there, too? Babe, her ex-husband was in the army, too!”

“Where was your husband stationed?” Rell asked me.

“In Pine Bluff, and then from there we moved all around.”

“Oh, I know people there,” said Rell.

“Oh, and, Vette, he got the kids cleaning up like they in the military. Right, babe?”

He grinned, and I just told her that was good. I don't know why, but I got the impression that Crystal was trying to sell him to me, which was unnecessary, because she had already bought him. It didn't matter if I like him or not.

Brandon came strolling in the living room, letting me know he was going out. He gave Crystal a hug and shook Terell's hand, then walked back toward the door.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“To the court,” Brandon replied.

“Not in that dingy white tee, you are not. Throw on something better,” I told him.

“Man, but I'm only running ball,” he muttered.

“Stop with the ‘mans,' and you look crazy and dirty. Put on something better to walk down the street, or don't go,” I ordered.

“I don't see what the big deal is,” he said, looking down at his own clothing.

“You heard what I said, Brandon.”

“Let him live, Vette. He's fourteen now. You sound like Mommy and Daddy. You don't get dressed up to play basketball, do you, baby?”

Terell shook his head no.

I frowned. “I don't care how old he is. He does and wears what I say.”

Mercedes was now ready to go. She had her purple overnight bag and another bag full of her belongings. Terell took the bags and said he would be waiting in the car.

“Okay, Vette, so what do you think about my husband?” Crystal asked the moment he left.

“Does it really matter, Crystal? You are already married to him,” I said.

“I know, but I still wanted to know what you think.”

“He seems really nice.”

“And he is, and he is so good to me and the kids.” She paused and then dug around in her bag. “Oh, and before I forget, here,” she said as she handed me two hundred dollars.

“What's this for?”

“Daddy told me to give you this. He said to answer your phone, and Mommy wants you to call her.”

I didn't want to let on how happy I was about the two hundred dollars, but I was. I walked them to the car and called my dad and left him a thank-you message. I was happy he didn't pick up, because I still didn't want to speak with him. Before long I began to enjoy Mercedes being gone. I was just relaxing on the love seat with the remote. Brandon came in the house and stood right in front of my
Law & Order
episode.

“Move out of the way Brandon.”

“Oh my bad. Uhm, Mom, can I go to the movies? Semaj 's mom is dropping us off and picking up.”

“Call his mom so I can talk to her.”

He dialed Semaj's mom. I spoke with her to confirm she was dropping them off at the movies and would pick them up. I gave him twenty dollars for the movie and told him to have a good time. Later on that night Brandon called me, asking if he could spend the night at Semaj's after the movie so he wouldn't have to come home late. I thought he was being responsible by calling, and I didn't really want him to be walking around at night. So I said that if it was okay with Semaj's mom, he could stay.

That was last night. This morning I received a phone call from Semaj's mom, thanking me for letting Semaj stay at my house overnight. I told her I thought they were at her house, and we began to call around for both the boys. I couldn't believe Brandon was dumb enough to try to get one over me. When I caught him, it was going to be a wrap. He was crazy. I thought,
Like, really, you are going to try to stay out all night at fourteen? At least wait until you're sixteen or seventeen. And even then you won't get away with it.

That afternoon I was furious when Brandon came through the door like everything was fine.

“I give you money to go to the movies and you stay out all night? Where have you been all day?”

“Out at the court.”

“You smell funny,” I said as I walked up on him and sniffed his clothes.

“I wasn't doing that. That was Damon and Semaj.”

“They were smoking weed!” I exclaimed.

“Yeah.”

“Then you can't be with them.”

“Why not?”

“Because they will have you smoking it, too.”

“I'm not going to smoke it. I know how to say no.”

“So where did you spend the night?”

“We were at Semaj's, but then we walked to Damon's house. You can call his mom.”

“I'm not going to call anyone. You asked to go one place and then took your behind somewhere else. This is why I can't trust you and you can't do anything.” I yelled at him, getting all in his face and finally smacking him upside the head. He flinched a little. I couldn't tell if it was a reflex or if his arm was purposely coming in contact with mine. Just the thought of him thinking about trying to hit me back enraged me.

“Act like you want to hit me back. You know everything that I'm going through, and you still want to act like a fool. I give you what I don't have so you can go out and have a good time, and what do you go and do? You go out all night, to who knows where, and you come back smelling like a bag of weed. Don't you know if you get caught at the wrong place at the wrong time that it is over for you? You will be another black boy in jail. Or another black boy dead. Stop putting yourself in situations.”

“Are you done?”

“Am I done? Who are you talking to, Brandon?”

He didn't say anything. He just stood there. I reached for my phone and called his father. I knew with all the stress I was under, I would smack him again, and he wouldn't be able to get up off the ground.

“Doug, you might have to come and get your son, because if he acts like he is not going to listen to me, I'm going to send him to one of those juvenile facilities for baby criminals.”

“You can't send him away, Vette.”

“Yes I can. I'm not going to have a kid that lies and doesn't listen in my house. I'm doing my very best and he is running around following after people. I keep telling him it is so easy to get caught up. I'm tired.”

“Vette, don't talk like that. As soon as I get some more money, I'm going to send for both of them. Give him the phone. I'll talk to him and we will work it out.”

“I sure hope so, Doug, because I can't take him right now. Come get this phone and talk to your father.”

Brandon talked to his dad saying “No sir” and “Yes sir” for a few minutes, then handed the phone back and said that he was sorry, and then went to his room and slammed the door shut. I didn't go after him, because if I did I would be in handcuffs.

C
HAPTER
24

Dana

I
was meeting Adam for another date. We had been on our official date, which went well. And since then we'd been on two other cute half dates. Tonight he was taking me to one of his favorite places. He said it was a special place his mother would take him and his sisters. I was excited, not knowing what to expect. I felt so special that he thought so highly of me already. That was why I was confused when we were standing in front of a drive-up ice cream place near a corner bus stop in a residential neighborhood. There were moms walking past with strollers and a baseball team getting a treat—I suppose for winning a game.

“So you say your mom used to bring you here, but you can't sit down or go inside. So where did the memory occur?” I questioned him, still confused.

“Are you kidding me? They have the best mint chocolate chip ice cream.”

“Really?” I folded my arms in front of my body and said, “Adam, I'm trying to figure out if this is a cheap date or a cute date.”

“Do you think I would be cheap with you, Dana? I'm not like that.”

“Well, you are an accountant. There is a rumor that you guys may be a little on the cheap side.”

He laughed. “Absolutely not. That's just a stereotype. I really like this place. My mom and sisters love this place, and I really thought you would like it. They have the best ice cream in the city.”

“Okay, I'm going to take your word for it.”

I still was unimpressed, but after eating the ice cream and talking with Adam, I considered it to be a cute date and not a cheap one. He filled me in on life growing up in Bucks County, right outside of Philly. His parents divorced when he was young. When his dad left, he married another woman and didn't help out his mother very much. He referred to his mom as a supermom because she took him everywhere and exposed him to everything, even though they had very little. It wasn't until she remarried that she was able to go back to school and get a better job. We just walked and talked and didn't realize how far we'd walked until it began to drizzle. Adam showed me he was a real gentleman when he gave me his jacket to cover my hair. He noticed how upset I was becoming about it getting wet. Once we reached my car, we ended the date with him giving me a romantic wet kiss in the rain and asking me on another date, to a Phillies game.

 

 

I met Adam outside newly built, gigantic green Citizens Bank Park. It was so big, it looked like its own planet. It was loud, and people were calling out to the players. Our seats were fairly nice. I wasn't very familiar with baseball outside of gym class at school. Adam couldn't believe I had lived in Philly my entire life and had never been to a game. I told him I grew up on football and basketball.

All the die-hard fans were dressed in blood red baseball jerseys with their favorite player's name and number in white on the back. The game was easy to follow, but there wasn't as much action as in other sports I've watched. This player Jimmy Roland hit a home run while the bases were loaded, which meant four people scored at the same time. A guy in front of us caught the ball. Adam was so excited, he began jumping up and down, while other people in the crowd were swinging T-shirts and screaming, “Go, Phils!” I jumped up also, and in the middle of all the excitement Adam playfully grabbed my face and gave me a really nice kiss. The Phillies won, and Adam wanted to meet up and celebrate the win with Leah and Stephen. We decided to meet them at a well-known sports bar called Chickie's and Pete's and enjoyed the rest of the evening.

C
HAPTER
25

Crystal

I
was still becoming accustomed to having Rell around full-time. I loved being married. A lot of things had changed in my life and I just felt so much happier. It seemed like since Rell had been here everything had been much easier. Nasir and Jewel had been making their beds and putting away their toys, without me asking. Rell helped me out so much, he even helped them with their homework and took them trick-or-treating. Even Kori was in line; now she went to bed at 9:00 p.m. and didn't wake up until the next morning.

It also felt wonderful getting to work fifteen minutes early instead of late. I got to get breakfast, talk with my coworkers a little, and just relax before logging in my phone. I kind of became cool with my cubicle mate Gloria. She was nice, and I kind of spoke to Delphine now, too!

So life was so good. The only thing that hadn't improved was my relationship with my parents. I still hadn't been able to make amends with them. I did, however, attempt to. I spoke to my dad briefly. He asked me if I was ready to apologize and if Terell had a job yet. I told my dad the truth: he was waiting for a company to call him back. So for being truthful, my dad insulted me some more and told me I wasn't his daughter anymore.

I entered our home. “Hubby, I'm home,” I called out to Rell. I checked the mail and noticed that the entire house was clean, and it smelled of powdery fresh dryer sheets. I heard noise coming from the basement.

“Rell, you down there?” I asked as I came down the basement steps.

Rell was washing and folding clothes. He had allotted half of the basement space to the kids' toys and had filled the other half with all his army and workout stuff. I reached the bottom of the steps, and Rell welcomed me home with a tight, warm hug, followed by a few kisses. When we parted, I noticed the huge television in the corner of the basement.

“Babe, what made you get it?”

“I don't know. I was in Walmart and saw the TV. I had one just like it in North Carolina, so I bought it.”

“This is nice. The kids are going to love this thing. How big is it?”

“Sixty inches. That's why I said, ‘Wait until Nasir sees it'; he can play his games. I want to go get a rug and a few chairs from my mom's to put down here so it can be a real man cave. And babe, I need your car. Shareef came and picked up his car.”

“Is he going to give you the car back?” I took the keys off the ring.

“No, he is keeping it. I had it forever. I'm just going to have to grab something else.”

I followed him back up the stairs into the kitchen.

“Oh, and I made dinner. Some dirty rice.”

“You did,” I said as I sampled the rice with pepper and ground beef dish. “This is good.”

“It's nothing special. It comes in a box you and just add ground beef. My brother makes it the nights Angel works late.”

“Thanks, babe. This looks good. I'm so lucky I have a great husband that cooks, cleans and is so good to me.”

“No, I have a great wife. That's why I'm going to do everything I can to make her happy.”