God Ain't Through Yet (30 page)

I
smelled bacon as soon as I rose out of bed the next morning. I grabbed my robe and padded down to the kitchen immediately. Pee Wee was gone, but he had prepared a breakfast fit for a queen.

“Mama, that sure smells good,” Charlotte exclaimed, running into the kitchen. “So what is going to happen next with Jade? Is she going to be okay?” Charlotte asked, already spooning grits from the pot on the stove onto a plate. She plopped down in a seat at the table.

“Jade had an accident, but she's going to be all right,” I answered. I wasn't hungry, but I poured myself a cup of coffee, and I plucked a piece of bacon off the tray on the stove. I quietly sat down at the table and faced Charlotte. She was humped over her plate like a pig at a hog-trough.

“An accident? Yeah right!” Her mouth was full of food. She talked and chewed at the same time. “Puh-leeze! Getting hit by a car or falling out of a tree is an accident! Mama, I'm not stupid. I don't know why you and everybody else keeps treating me like a child.”

“Because you are still a child,” I reminded her firmly, giving her the kind of look that made her sink down into her seat.

She swallowed hard and gave me a critical look. “I know Vernie beat Jade's butt and sent her to the hospital, and he didn't do it by accident.”

I didn't like the amused look that was now on my daughter's face, but I could see the humor in the situation. “Get that stupid look off of your face, girl. What happened to Jade is not funny.” It was a struggle for me to keep a grin off my face.

“And I know that Vernie is in jail, Mama. I already told you that I hear things when nobody knows I'm listening.”

I gave Charlotte a threatening look. I wanted her to know that she was on thin ice. “You'd better stop listening, because sooner or later you're going to hear something you don't want to hear.”

“Yes, ma'am.” She licked her empty spoon and remained silent for a few moments. “So…since Daddy stayed the night here—I heard you and him talking last night when you thought I was asleep—does that mean you're going to let him come back home?”

“He stayed here last night because…because this is still his home. Technically, at least.” I sipped some coffee. “Now shut up and finish your breakfast.”

I called Rhoda's number twice during the day, and each time Bully told me she was too upset to take my call. I was tempted to go to her house again, but under the circumstances, I had a few issues of my own that I needed to focus on. One was, I still had to contact Jacob about the money he owed the funeral home.

I waited until the following Monday evening to make that call. I knew he worked during the day, and leaving messages on his machine would be a waste if time. I decided to call him around eight thirty that night.

“Jacob, this is Annette,” I began. I was leaning over the counter in my kitchen. I had brought home the red folder that contained the paperwork related to his account. It was open to the first page, but I turned to the second page because I had dog-eared it. I was amazed to see that three of my employees had left that man a total of twenty-eight messages on his answering machine. He had had twenty-eight opportunities to make some arrangements to resolve this issue. He had ignored them all.

“Uh-huh! I figured you'd come crawling back to me soon! I am not perfect, but I'm a good man, and I know you will eventually see that and stop clowning me! I don't know what you expect in a man at your age. You ain't no Queen of Sheba.”

“Jacob, this is a business call,” I said calmly.

“You can call it whatever you want to call it. The thing is, I still have feelings for you.”

“The thing is, I'm calling about a bill you still owe. I need to collect on it.” It felt good to knock him off of the high horse he had climbed onto. There was complete silence on his end for what seemed like a very long moment. “Jacob, are you still on the phone?”

“Yeah.” He paused again and cleared his throat, gurgling like he was choking on a bone. When he spoke again, his voice was so loud it sounded like he was talking through a megaphone. “A bill? What bill?! What the hell are you talking about? I don't owe you a damn thing. You must have me mixed up with one of your other punks! Like the one I saw sneaking off your porch that time!”

I was so tempted to tell him that the “punk” he'd seen “sneaking” off my front porch was Vernie. But since that poor boy was in jail and until I had all of the facts, I didn't even want to bring up his name to a fool like Jacob. Vernie was going to get demonized enough when all of the Richland meddlers got wind of his predicament.

“Jacob, in case you've forgotten, I work for the Mizelle Collection Agency. My job is to collect unpaid—”

“Wait a minute! Is this about that steak house thing
we
didn't pay?”

“No, this is not about that steak house thing
you
didn't pay. It's a real unpaid bill.”

I heard him gasp so hard he choked on some air. I leaned back on my legs and braced myself.

“Woman, I know damn well you didn't call me up about a damn unpaid bill! I don't owe nothing to nobody in this world! You need to learn how to do your damn job right, because like I said, you must have confused my name with somebody else's! Shit! You just ruined my evening! And to think that I was about to call you up and ask if I could treat you to a nice Italian meal! You…you—now you're acting just like a black woman!”

“That's because I am a black woman,” I reminded him.

“And that's your problem! I bet if I had me a half-white woman like Pee Wee, I wouldn't be going through all these changes!”

“I'm just doing my job.”

“Fuck you and your
job
, BITCH!”

The only reason I didn't complain about Jacob's unnecessary use of profanity was because I was used to it. It came with the territory and I expected it. I couldn't remember the last time I'd had a pleasant conversation with a debtor.

“Do you want to dispute the claim from the funeral home?” I asked in a gentle, very professional voice. I wanted him to know that his hostile reaction didn't faze me.

“Huh?”

“Do you have proof that you paid off your mother's final expenses in full? Because if you do, then I apologize on behalf of my company. But if you didn't and need to set up some payment arrangements, I can assure you that we can negotiate—”

“You negotiate my dick, BITCH!” Jacob hung up so fast and hard, my eardrum started throbbing.

Before I snapped his folder shut, I removed a marker from my notions drawer and printed a note to myself on the front page:
Initiate garnishment of wages. Mr. Brewster has made it abundantly clear that he has no intentions of settling this account.

Before I could leave the kitchen, the phone rang. I groaned and prayed that it was not Jacob calling me back. It was Pee Wee.

“I'm going to go see a man about them pit bulls later tonight. I should have you set up by tomorrow evening,” he told me.

“I don't want to be cleaning up after three dogs. But I'd appreciate a very good security alarm. I think I'm going to need one now.”

“Oh? Did something else happen? Was there another burglary in the neighborhood last night?”

“Not that I know of. I just…I'd just feel safer with a security system in place. Just in case.”

“Annette, I know you. Is there somethin' goin' on that you don't want me to know about?”

“I really don't want to talk about it yet,” I said. “I don't want to make a mountain out of a molehill.”

“It's Lizzie, ain't it? She called you up about me spendin' the night over there!”

“What makes you think that?”

“Because she told me she was goin' to do it! She told me this mornin' when I got home that she was goin' to put you in your place—”

“You can stop right there!” I hollered, holding my hand up in the air like he could see it. “I've got enough mess going on in my life without Lizzie adding to it. You tell that nasty-ass bitch if she ever tries to ‘put me in my place,' I will beat the dog shit out of her—again!” I hung up before Pee Wee could say another word.

I was so stunned I started breathing through my mouth. In addition to all of the other problems I already had, I was not going to add Lizzie to the mix. I knew that the most effective way to make sure that didn't happen was for her to hear it from me!

A
s soon as I got to work that morning, I called up Pee Wee's barbershop. I was glad Lizzie answered.

“Lizzie, this is Annette. We need to talk,” I stated. I was too agitated and angry to sit down. I had the speaker on, so I talked as I paced back and forth in front of my desk.

“About what?” she asked, sounding nonchalant.

“About my husband. It's time we had a woman-to-woman talk about this situation.”

“That's fine with me,” she hissed. “What's your problem?”

“Look, you are one of my minor problems, but don't think I won't come over there and bitch-slap you in a major way! If you've got a problem with
my
husband coming to see me and
his
daughter, that's your damn problem, bitch. If you want to ‘put me in my place,' all you have to do is tell me where to meet you. We can settle this once and for all.”

“I am not about to fight you or any other woman over a man. And anyway, you've already lost the battle. Your husband lives with me!” Lizzie slammed down the telephone.

I didn't like to cuss, even though I had done it a lot lately. And I certainly didn't like to fight and act like I had been raised in a jungle among wild animals and savages. But the way things were going in my life, I knew that it was just a matter of time before I snapped. And when that happened, I was not going to be responsible for my actions.

Just as I was about to slam my fist against the wall, Rhoda called.

“Thank God it's you,” I told her. “I'm having a bad day.”

“Who isn't? I've gone through two beers already this morning.”

“How are you doing? How is Jade doing?”

“She's goin' to be fine. Listen, I've been thinkin' about what you said about Vernie, and me doin' the right thing. Uh, he was only tryin' to defend himself.”

“Does that mean Jade's not going to press charges?”

“Oh, she wants to. She's been jumpin' up and down in that hospital bed. She wants to see him suffer.”

“With all due respect, the boy's been suffering since the day he met her, Rhoda. What more does she want?”

“Well, I can tell you what she doesn't want, and that's a divorce. She said it would be too much of an embarrassment for a girl like her to get a divorce.”

“A girl like her?”

“Yes, a girl like her!”

I couldn't stop myself from laughing. I covered my mouth as soon as I could so Rhoda couldn't hear it. “Are you telling me that she thinks things are going to go back to normal? And in her case, that's pretty scary.”

“I know, I know.” Rhoda groaned under her breath. “Otis bailed Vernie out of jail this mornin'.”

“Oh? Well, that's a move in a positive direction. And I know he's not happy about what he did to Jade. How is Vernie feeling?”

“Annette, he wants to leave and go back to Alabama! He—he wants to desert my daughter the same way that Mexican did. When she hears about it, it's goin' to crush her! Oh—I'm at the end of my rope!”

“Calm down. You don't need to work yourself up into a frenzy again. Do you want me to meet you for lunch today? It sounds like you need a shoulder to cry on.”

“Yes, please let's do lunch. Come by around noon. The puffiness around my eyes should be gone by then.” Rhoda sniffed. “You don't know what a lucky woman you are, Annette.”

“Come again.”

“Well, other than Pee Wee leavin' you, you don't have a whole lot of drama goin' on right now. By the way, how are things between you and Jacob? When you talk to him, tell him I'd like to invite you and him over for dinner as soon as things settle down with Jade. Do you think you all can make it?”

“I can, but I don't think he can.”

“Excuse me?”

“I won't be seeing Jacob anymore.”

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

“Not over the telephone. Let's save it for lunch.”

“That's fine. Let me ask you one more thing before you hang up. How's Pee Wee takin' the news about Lizzie wantin' to go work for his rival?”

“What did you say?”

“You didn't know? You didn't know that Lizzie went on an interview with Henry, and that she's goin' to go work for him?”

“I didn't know. I guess she decided she'd rather clean up his barbershop than do manicures, huh?”

“No, she's goin' over to Henry's to do manicures and pedicures. Pee Wee's business is boomin' and it's kickin' the hell out of Henry's. Now he wants a cute woman on his payroll. Lizzie has a lot of regular customers who will follow her to Henry's place. I don't know how they worked it, but she had to do some sneaky shit to be this far along so fast. I got the whole story from Scary Mary this mornin'. I thought you'd know by now.”

“Well, I didn't. Uh, listen, I'm about to have a staff meeting. I'll see you at noon.” I was still reeling from the bitch-slap that I'd received from Jacob. I didn't think that I could stand to hear more on the subject of Pee Wee and Lizzie at the moment. But as soon as I got off the phone with Rhoda, I called Pee Wee's barbershop. To my everlasting horror, Lizzie answered again. “Put my husband on this phone!” I ordered. Pee Wee came on immediately.

“What's wrong now?” he wanted to know.

“Why didn't you tell me that Lizzie was leaving you to go work for Henry Boykin to be his manicurist?”

His silence spoke volumes. “What? That's because I didn't know!” he snarled. “I—this is news to me! When is this supposed to happen?”

“Ask her,” I said. Then I hung up.

 

Rhoda had to cancel her plans to have lunch with me. The hospital had called her up after I'd talked to her, and told her that Jade had just suffered a setback. Rhoda was too upset to go into detail, but it had something to do with the fact that Vernie was planning to do a disappearing act.

I was sitting at my desk, toying with some lettuce on the salad that I'd picked up for lunch, when Pee Wee called. As soon as I heard his voice, I started talking. “I am not in the mood to waste any more of my time talking about that woman.”

I was so sick and tired of dealing with one issue after another, I knew that I had to do something. One thing was, I was going to stop letting Lizzie and Pee Wee's actions get on my nerves anymore. The biggest concern I had now was Jacob. I had already started the process of having his wages attached. There was just no telling how he was going to react.

“I didn't call you to talk about Lizzie. I called to talk to you about our daughter,” Pee Wee told me in a sorry voice.

A large lump immediately formed in my throat. “What about her?”

“If you didn't want her hangin' out with that pregnant child, why would you let her hang out with those Turner kids? They are way worse than that Patsy girl.”

“Look, I have no idea what you are talking about. Yes, I told Charlotte to stay away from Patsy. A pregnant preteen is not the kind of kid I want my daughter hangin' out with. I know all of her other friends, and none of them is pregnant.”

“You know that Jasmine Turner?”

“Of course I know Jasmine. She sleeps over at least twice a month. She goes to church
every
Sunday, which is more than I can say for Charlotte.”

“Well, goin' to church every Sunday ain't doin' her much good. She smokes more weed than a Rasta man, and she's been screwin' around with some of them boys from the high school. Did you know she was into all of that?”

I was almost speechless. It was a struggle for me to find my voice. “I didn't know. And how did you find out?”

“Jonah Ripley came up in here for the first time to get his hair cut this mornin'. He's sick of goin' to Henry's place. He's related to the Turners, and he's the one who told me about Jasmine.”

“I'll talk to Charlotte as soon as I get home this evening. And the Turner family is such a nice, quiet, churchgoing family…”

“I ain't finish,” Pee Wee said quickly. “You know that Jasmine's got three older brothers?”

“Why are you asking me a question that you already know the answer to? One of those boys delivers my newspaper every day. You know that.”

“That ain't all he delivers. He's got three different girls pregnant, and they are all due to give birth the same month. Did you know that? And I was told that every day, as soon as them Turner kids get home from school, they party like Rick James.”

“Like I said, I'll be talking to Charlotte when I get home. I'll call you later.”

“I'm comin' over there tonight,” Pee Wee informed me. “Maybe you can't control my child, but I can!” He hung up. I sat at my desk, glaring at the telephone like it was a dirty diaper. I couldn't even finish the salad in front of me or concentrate on my work.

Somehow, I made it through the rest of the day. Charlotte was in the bathroom when I got home. I decided to wait for her in her room, sitting on her bed. Just as I stood up to leave, I noticed something sticking out from under her mattress. I pulled out what I thought was a T-shirt or one of her undershirts. It was a pair of her white cotton panties.

The crotch was covered in blood.

Of all the things that had happened to me in the past and in the present, this was my worst nightmare. Somebody had violated my child. And whoever that hound from hell was, he was going to have to answer to me.