Babies and Fools

I’ve always reminded myself that Mama told me God looks after babies and fools, but I never knew for sure which one I was. I think I know now. With all the drama I went through with Jamal, from dealing with his ex-wife constantly putting me down to catching him at her place after he didn’t come home for days, this relationship has reached a new low. Well, maybe I shouldn’t call it a low, but it’s definitely an obstacle, and a huge one too.

The biggest thing I had to get over before Jamal and I got married was the fact that he put me out of his house while I was pregnant after I caught him over at Jill’s. He claimed nothing happened while he was there, but that doesn’t even sound right. Why else would a man with his own home spend so much time at a woman’s apartment? Unless he felt like I ran him away, which seems unlikely because he asked me to marry him.

It was a perfect day too, our wedding day. My parents came up from North Carolina to be there. It was cold out, so I dressed in my winter white suit that matched my winter white wool calf-length coat, and Jamal wore his best tailored black suit. We walked with our parents to the Baltimore City court house to exchange vows. Jamal stopped by a street vendor to get me a bouquet of roses so that I would feel complete.

As small as that gesture was, I really appreciated it. I just knew that our life together with our baby Eliana was going to be beautiful, and it was. Until the day he told me that Jill was pregnant with his baby.

 

Mahogany Butterfly

I know it’s been forever, and I was just getting the hang of this, but…the novel that these excerpts belong in is complete! Mahogany Butterfly comes out in October. But don’t go anywhere! I am now working on the second novel, The Opposite of Crazy (tentatively named), and will of course post the excerpts here! Check out my author website, aleishathewriter.com.  Thanks again for subscribing!

 

Familiar Strangers

“Hey, I’m Donna.”

Was that her speaking?  I thought so.  Not sure though.  My vision started to clear and I noticed I still wasn’t hit.  I focused on the face.  Did she look friendly?  Maybe.  I glanced down at her hands.  They weren’t balled into fists like she was about to strike.  But had she just spoken?  That voice had to have been her.  I had to find my voice, try introducing myself.

“Donna?” I repeated tentatively.  She nodded, smiled slightly.  I was relieved that she wasn’t beating me senseless.  I still wondered what made her approach me, though.  Maybe she was just one of those extra nice people who wanted to welcome all newcomers to the neighborhood.  The Westbury welcoming committee.

“I’m Desiree.  This is my friend Kim.”

“Okay, nice to meet yall.  You looked new around here, so I just wanted to say hi.  I actually thought you looked a little bit familiar though.”

Kim and I glanced at each other, silently questioning if the other knew Donna, then we turned back to her.

“Do you ever hang at the Skate-N-Shake?” Kim asked her.

“Nah, I haven’t been skating in years.”

“The only other place we really go to over here is the mall,” I offered, “but I can’t say I remember seeing you there.”

“I don’t usually go there too much either.  I’m mostly just here in the house.  Maybe I know your family then,” Donna responded.  “What’s your daddy’s name?”

“Nate,” I responded, relaxing a little.

“Nate?  Over in Herschel?” she asked, tilting her head slightly towards me.

“Yeah.  That’s where me and Kim live.”

“Oh, okay.  That’s probably where I know you from.  I know Nate.  Tell him I said hello.”

“Okay,” I told Donna.

I wasn’t about to tell my dad anything.  First of all, I was supposed to be at Kim’s house all weekend.  Second of all, if I did leave Kim’s house, I was pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to be in Westbury Park.

 

I was accustomed to people knowing my dad, he had been very popular ever since his childhood, but I was never before somewhere I shouldn’t have been when someone said, “You’re Nate Smith’s girl, ain’t you?  You look just like him and your mama!  I mean, just like ‘em!”

But meeting Donna was different, odd in a way.  I could tell she was a few years older than me, but she definitely wasn’t old enough to have attended school with Dad.  I started to question how she knew him, but changed my mind, not wanting her to get an urge to call him on the phone and say she had met his baby girl.  Where? He would ask. Westbury Park, Donna would say, and she was talking to boys who looked like adults and possibly were.  Donna was speaking again, but I missed what she said for daydreaming.

Kim answered her, saying, “Yeah, we can come in for some lemonade!  You’re right, it’s hot out here today.  Then to Mack, who was all but forgotten, “We’ll be back in a little bit.”

“Come with me, yall,” Donna said.

Kim began following Donna to what must have been her home, the third trailer from the end of the row.

“What are you doing?”  I mouthed to her while Donna’s back was turned.

“What?” Kim whispered.  “She knows your dad.  She’s okay.”

Exasperated, I followed them into the trailer.  Not that I had much of a choice.  I definitely wasn’t staying outside with the mean-looking girls and Mack’s hungry-looking friends who looked ready to pounce on the first female who would give them the time of day.  And, as Kim said, it really was hot outside.  I could stand some lemonade.

 

He’s going away…without me

A few times that I went to his house, he treated me to a dinner that he cooked himself, and surprised me often with chocolate candies wrapped in elegantly decorated boxes. For holidays and my birthday, he gave me jewelry, the most special of which was the pair of earrings he got for me for our first Christmas, because they were so cute. He had pinned the little gold heart-shaped earrings to the ears of a fluffy, brown teddy bear. The earrings had a G for Gavin in the middle of them.

“Those are to let everybody know that you’re mine,” he said with a smile.

“They already know that, I promise you,” I replied as I hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. Then I gave him my best serious, no-nonsense look. “In fact, you better make sure you tell all the hoes you got at Herschel High they better back down. Let me get just one more dirty look from one of your side chicks.”

“Awww, that’s cute! You’re jealous!” Gavin said jokingly, and we both laughed. I didn’t tell him so, but I could see us living happily ever after. 

After he made the decision to attend Gilliam, Gavin started visiting the campus several times throughout the year. Each time he returned, he brought home gifts for everyone with the college’s mascot, an energetic-looking beaver, emblazoned on them. By the end of April, I had been given a Beavers basketball jersey for women, a Beavers throw pillow, and the stuffed beaver himself, wearing an atrocious red and yellow cheerleading outfit that Gavin had the nerve to have personalized especially for me. I gasped out loud, then faked a coughing fit to hide my dislike when I saw my name, Desiree, stitched in mustard yellow thread on the back of the little bright red sweater. My parents and grandparents received Beavers coffee mugs. I maintained my composure and told Gavin I loved the gifts.

 

For each week that passed, I felt Gavin was slipping further from my grasp. It broke my heart that he was so excited to leave, even though I knew that wasn’t his intent. He spent less and less time with me due to the various activities he was required to participate in for his upcoming graduation and college freshman year. I loved the times that I did get to see him, when he would openly talk about how much he missed being around me. He also wanted me to share in his excitement, expected me to. 

Gavin knew that I was going through something, because he told me he would make sure he called me all the time once he got there and reassured me that he would not spend his time flirting with all the new girls he would meet. I knew he was joking, but this concept had actually not crossed my mind until he mentioned it, then it stayed on my mind constantly. Still, I tried not to bring it up again. I didn’t want to spoil his mood. Plus, with different females already practically throwing themselves at his feet, Gavin had been offered every opportunity to talk to as many other local girls as he wanted, and he had not taken advantage of that. I respected him for that decision, trusted him for it. 

 

Playin’ Dumb

One day when I was on campus and not feeling very well, I decided to skip my last class of the day to go home and rest. When I got there, Rico was at home just like he was supposed to be. Once again, I felt relieved, but Rico immediately started acting like he had somewhere to be in a hurry, saying something about he had to go do some favor for his boss. I said, “Okay, whatever,” and he was out the door.

I had barely put my books down when there was a knock at the front door. I was the only one home, so I went to answer it. When I opened the door, I saw a girl starting on her way back down the front steps.
“Can I help you?” I called out to the girl.
Surprised, she turned quickly, facing me. She was dark brown-skinned, kind of heavy-set with long flat ironed hair. She looked about my age. She also seemed a little shy.
“Umm, yes, is Rico home?” she asked innocently.
As I eyed her for a few fleeting moments, I realized that she obviously had no idea who I was and that she likely thought I was a relative or something. No wonder Rico had flown out of there so fast! I started to get an attitude, but I knew that there was no need for me to be mad at the girl for falling into the same trap that I had.
“No, he’s not here. You just missed him,” I answered her in a pleasant enough tone.
“Okay, thank you. Sorry to bother you,” she said timidly, and began walking away. She seemed very sweet, soft-spoken, and a lot like me. I contemplated for the few seconds that I watched her walk to her car whether or not I should tell her what she was getting herself into. I decided against it, I just didn’t feel like the added drama. Plus, this girl seemed smart enough. I was sure she could figure it out on her own. In fact, she probably would have thought that I just wanted him for myself, and wouldn’t have listened to me anyway.

When Rico returned a couple of hours later, I kept my cool and acted like everything was normal. Sitting on the couch next to him watching TV, I asked him how the favor went for his boss. He looked confused for a second, then remembering the lie he’d told me earlier, said, “Oh, it went okay.”
“Someone came by looking for you after you left.”
“Really? Who?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the TV.
“You tell me. Were you expecting a visitor?”
“No. Was it a bill collector?”
Now he was playing dumb. I left the topic alone. Strike one.

 

Losing Myself

I really don’t know how I got to this place. This is just too much drama! Now I got the police after me, and I didn’t even do anything! Well, not really. I know one thing, I hope that no-good bastard had himself a good ole time, because I don’t want to ever see him step foot on my doorstep again. At least when I get a doorstep. He’s probably gone kick me out of his house for sure now. Where am I supposed to go? Back to my folks home down south? I don’t think so.

Great, there’s a roadblock up ahead! Which way do I turn now? I wish I knew this part of town better. Nobody behind me anyway. No lights, nothing. The sirens are fading away. Once again, the stupid cops done went the wrong way trying to catch somebody. This time, I’m glad they’re so stupid, because they’re looking for me. Little ole me. What did I ever do to anybody? All I ever wanted was to live my life and be happy. Looked for a little bit of affection from somebody I’ve known a while, thought I could trust. We had a good thing going too, until his wife started to get her panties all in a bunch ‘cause he was happy somewhere else. Hell, she hadn’t wanted him!

Almost home now. I flew down that highway! Let me just get in here and get myself relaxed. He probably won’t even have the decency to leave his wife’s place after I just busted up his groove. Shoot, this morning when I left, I hadn’t even realized that I was on my way over there. I just got in my car to go pick up something to eat, and the next thing I knew, there I was going the opposite direction. He had been missing for going on two days now, but I knew better than to file any missing persons report. I knew where he was. He didn’t think I would remember that he’d told me she lived in that neighborhood, which wasn’t even close to being the best neighborhood, with her ole trifling self, walking around with her nose in the air like she got it like that. Just because I didn’t know the area didn’t mean that I wasn’t resourceful. I had my ways.

My heart had dropped when I pulled into the second parking lot of my search that morning and saw his candy apple red and black Ducati parked right beside her cheap, used Kia. I already knew what I wanted to do: get out and bust that door down, pregnant and all. I was dying to do it, cause a scene in front of all her low-class neighbors in this trash dump of a neighborhood.

But I didn’t because I didn’t know exactly which apartment was hers. All I did was pick up my cell phone and call. The first time, he had the nerve not to answer, so I hung up and called right back. He must have sensed my presence or something, because he picked up real quick that time.

“Hello?” The future father of my child spoke into the phone in a hushed voice, like he was afraid of waking that tramp up.

“It’s Desiree,” I said calmly. “You need to come outside.”

“What?! Look, it’s early and I’m tired. I’ll call you later on.”

Before he hung up on me, I let him know what the deal was.

“You better come out here right now before I knock your pretty little bike over on your wife’s jalopy!”

Then I saw him peeking out of a third-story window through some of those cheap plastic, somewhere between white and beige window blinds. It had to be him. Everybody else in this run down neighborhood was still snoring.

“That’s right!” I said into the phone. “I found you!”

I could hear his skanky whoring wife in the background saying she was gonna call the police.

“Okay, okay,” he was saying to me. “I’m coming. Just let me get something on first. Just calm down.”

He kept saying this while I could hear her in the background talking to someone. Then I heard the sirens.

“How could you let her call the police on me?!” I yelled into the phone. I was furious! The nerve of him! I hadn’t even turned the car off in the half-empty parking lot, so I took off immediately, heart beating hard and heavy, hot tears burning in my eyes.

At the house, I had gotten in and immediately ran upstairs to use the bathroom. It seemed like I had to go all the time, and I just knew I was putting on ten pounds a day. At three months, I was already swollen and miserable. I took a look at myself in the mirror and immediately regretted it. At least my puffy, red eyes matched the rest of me. When I emerged, something told me to go to the bedroom window and take a peek outside, just like somebody would do who was running from the police. To my surprise, I saw my future baby’s daddy at the corner standing beside his motorcycle.

Now he decides to come home, I thought. Why isn’t he coming in the house? All of a sudden, several police cars pulled up out of nowhere, no sirens, no nothing. I saw the person I thought I loved walk over to one of them. He said something I couldn’t hear from in the house, then they all started towards the front door.

What have I done? What has gotten into me? My life as I knew it was about to be over. All because I’d come back to this place, thinking I could make a life with this man. This married man who obviously didn’t want me. He had seemed overjoyed that I was carrying his child when I told him about my pregnancy. What am I gonna do? I can’t tell my parents about all this. They didn’t raise me this way. They raised a lady, sort of. At least, that’s what I’d let everybody think. They loved me for who they thought I was. Maybe I’m not a smart, intelligent, sweet country girl after all. Had the city changed me that much?

No. It was him! I was doing fine until he showed up. Or I showed up…in this city, in this relationship. I was successful, making plenty of money before I moved here, with enough in the bank to cover myself until I could find a decent position. Now who’s gonna hire me? A pregnant, homeless criminal! How long would I have to stay in jail? I knew this married man wasn’t gonna help me with this one. Hell, he was the one who brought the police to find me! He is obviously not the one for me.

I could hear the police coming up the steps to get me, telling my married man to stay downstairs as if I was dangerous. Ha! I almost wanted to laugh out loud. As if I was the one who was dangerous! Too bad it took me so long to see the fire through the smoke.

 

Strike two

Expecting to greet Rico’s mother or grandmother, I turned to drop my books on the couch.  When I turned back towards the kitchen, I was shocked to see Kirsten leaving with Rico behind her. 

In disbelief, I yelled, “What the hell are you doing here?!” 

I immediately got so angry, it felt like my blood was boiling, and I thought I saw a slight smirk on Kirsten’s face.  I looked towards the kitchen, and realizing that I would not have time to get a knife to cut this broad before she escaped, I started towards her.  Rico blocked me, and she quickly left before I could think straight. 

“Rico, what was she doing here?!” I yelled again.

“She just came by to visit,” he replied nonchalantly.

“What were you doing?!”

“We were just talking.  She asked about you.”

“What?!  What kinda dumb shit is that?!” I asked as I shook free of his grasp and walked to the door, looking out the window to see if Kirsten might still be within reach.  She was nowhere to be found.

“She called a couple of days ago, I told her you live here now, and she wanted to come over and see how I was doing.  That was it.”

“What were you doing in the basement?”

“Watching TV and talking.”

He musta thought I was born the day before yesterday.  I understood what was going on.  I wasn’t getting anything out of this idiot, but Kirsten had apparently called herself getting back at me because I’d moved in with Rico.  I couldn’t be sure if they had done anything in the basement, but I was sure that was the plan.  She probably had just gotten there and they just didn’t have time to start.  I had surprised them by coming home early.  My ongoing suspicions of him had been confirmed twice and there was no reason for me to trust him again.  Strike two.  

 

Three-timing

Keeping a steady gaze on Kirsten laying it on Rico, her cousin co-signing beside her, I limped towards my car. 

I had been paying so much attention to Rico being cursed out, I hadn’t even noticed anyone else in the car.  I was about fifteen feet from it when yet another girl stepped out of the passenger side.  The girl was thick and dark-skinned like me with a long weave, and she was snapping her fingers and weaving her head in circles, talking smack in response to Kirsten’s verbal assault on Rico.

“I ‘ont know why you even ack like dis errytime, Kirsten!  You know how Rico is!  You know he like dis! You ain’t even gotta ack like dat!” she commented loudly.

“You know what, Dawn?  I thought we resolved this the last time!  Why you always all over somebody else’s man?!” Kirsten responded, almost respectfully. “I didn’t even expect to have to deal with you tonight!”

“Deal wit me?!  I should be da leasta yo’ problems. Rico done got hisself some new pussy now!” Dawn said, gesturing towards me with one of her grotesquely long fake nails.  Then she turned to me.

“Hi, I’m Dawn.  So dis yo’ car, huh?” she asked, almost friendly-like.

I didn’t even answer, I just looked at her and wondered how I got in this situation in the first place.  Then, Kirsten spoke up.

“Um, excuse me!  I wasn’t done talking to you, Dawn!”  And they were at it again.  

Unbelievable, I thought.  These broads actually knew each other, and it seemed to be an ongoing thing with them!  Even more unbelievable was the fact that as I was watching this comedy show, Rico walked casually over to me saying, “Desiree, Desiree, it’s not what it looks like, it’s not.  Come on, you gotta believe me.  Come on, talk to me, let me explain this.”

I tried to block him out as I walked around to the driver’s side and heard the police sirens coming toward us in the distance.  I guess someone had called the law because of all the commotion in the usually quiet neighborhood.  Andrea got in on the passenger side after handing Dawn her imitation Coach bag.  One thing was for certain:  ghetto chicks don’t stop for the police.  They were still going at it.  I shook my head in disgust as I reached for the ignition to start the car. 

 

Daddy’s Girl?

I looked at my watch, and it was already after nine.  I had wanted to get back to Kim’s before her mom realized that we were out after the mall closed.  She was very easy on Kim, but I imagined even she had a limit.  I just didn’t want to take any chances.

Romeo and Shani had already been in that room for over an hour, and didn’t give any signs that they might reappear any time soon.  As much as I knew, they had fallen asleep.  I tried to relax, telling myself that Mrs. Easton never really checks up on Kim anyway.  Wasn’t that what I liked so much about her?  I sometimes wished my parents were just like her, except for the fact that I did appreciate how much my parents obviously cared about my safety.  Realizing that Kim’s mom was indeed not likely at all to send a search party to look for us, I allowed myself to calm down enough to watch a documentary on the origins of hip hop music.

That’s when I felt Jason’s hand touch mine.  I jumped when he did, nearly having forgotten he was in the room with me.  He leaned over and tried to kiss me, but I backed away.  He attempted to pull me to him, and I resisted.

“You don’t wanna give me a kiss?  Just one?” he asked, still tugging on my hand.

“I would, but I don’t really know you like that.”

“You got to know me earlier today.”

“That was only for a little while.”

“What else you wanna know?”

“Nothin’ really.”

“Then what’s up then?” He moved closer to me so that he was right up on me, and reached around to grab my hips, pulling me to him.

“I’m just ready to go,” I answered, pushing him away forcefully.

“Well, Romeo’s probably gonna be in there all night anyway, so your ride ain’t leaving any time soon.”

I looked helplessly at the door that Romeo and Shani were behind.  I wanted to go and knock on it, but since Romeo didn’t seem like that friendly a person in the first place, I decided against it.  I considered my other options, the few that there were.  I immediately dismissed the idea of calling family members, they would want too much information.  Public transportation was non-existent in this area, and a taxi would cost a million dollars to take us to Herschel.  I eyed that bedroom door again.

“So whatchu gone do?” Jason asked, still watching me.

It’s not that I wasn’t physically attracted to him, but I just felt kind of thrown into the situation.  I’d literally just met him that very day.  I didn’t even know his last name, not that it would help.  And what did he really know about me?  Nothing that mattered.

“Honestly,” I began, “I just met you.  I don’t know you, you don’t know me.  How do I know you don’t do this all the time, just meet new girls?” Although I was just fourteen at the time, I already thought I knew his type.

“I don’t,” he said, frowning.  “Whatever, girl.  So you gonna just sit here and be bored?”

My anger rose then, but I didn’t answer because I thought I heard a familiar sound outside on the street.

My heartbeat quickened as I got nervous, then the sound continued down the street.  I had been at home by myself enough to know the sound of my parents’ cars pulling into the driveway.  My mother’s Ford sedan had this particularly recognizable hum that was audible whenever she pressed the gas pedal.  That was the sound I heard right before I was about to curse Jason out.

I started to ignore my instinct, thinking there must be thousands of cars that sound the exact same way.  I was being paranoid.  But then, the familiar sound returned in a few seconds and a sweeping light from the approaching car lit up the living room momentarily as it pulled into the driveway.

I jumped up, yelling, “Kim!  Come on, now!  We gotta go!  My parents are outside!”

I don’t know how Kim flew out of that room so fast, but thankfully, she was fully dressed.  She reached the living room just as there was a loud knock at the door.

It had to be my dad.  Only he could make a whole house shake like that from the force of his pounding on it.  Romeo, Shani and Mack emerged from their rooms, all in shorts and tank tops, looking like they just woke up.  When none of them continued to the door, I went to answer it myself.  I decided it probably wasn’t a good idea for one of the boys to answer it.

I glanced over and saw Jason, standing now, looking scared.  What a punk.  They probably think it’s the police, I imagined.  I got the feeling that Romeo didn’t pay for his car by working at a gas station or anything legal.  With any luck, I thought, Dad might not notice the boys standing in the darkened room.

Opening the door felt like a death sentence as I stood there trying to look as innocent as possible, because I knew how bad the situation looked.  Three boys, three girls.  Do the math.  Get ready, I told myself, then I was standing directly in front of my father.

 

Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

It took me two weeks to move my stuff into my Great Aunt Sylvia’s house on the west side.  Aunt Sylvia had moved to Bullock years ago after divorcing her third husband.  She was now a no-nonsense sixty-seven-year-old who didn’t like anything that I did and made negative comments about everything.  She was very hard to live with, but my life was drama free, and that was what I wanted.  I was finally back to my old self again.

When I was strolling on campus one cold day in November, I almost walked right past an old acquaintance without recognizing him.  He looked different somehow, older.

“Tarik, is that you?!” I asked, excited about seeing him. He looked at me and his face lit up with recognition.

“Yeah, girl!  Whatchu been up to?!” he replied, giving me a hug.

“Nothin.’ Just school. Trying to graduate one day.”

“Oh, okay, okay.  That’s wassup.”

“So, where you been hiding?”

“Oh, I just been doin’ my lil’ comedy thang, ya know, did a show or two.  I had went back to New York to try and get my foot in, ya know?”

“Oh wow, that’s great!”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m workin’ on it,” he said smiling, looking me up and down.

I ignored his gaze as I waved at this girl walking by named Shelby from one of my classes.  Shelby had set her eyes on Tarik, who was fine in his own right.  He was a pretty boy…tall, thick and muscular, light skin and hazel eyes, but he was rugged too.  He sort of reminded me of the rapper, Method Man.  I had met Tarik freshman year and we had hung out on campus a few times.  He got a lot of attention from the ladies because of his looks, and they would glare at me as I sat laughing beside him.  He could crack me up with his jokes.  He was an up and coming comedian, and he had ventured down to Bullock to earn a few college credits while he stayed at his cousin’s.  But I hadn’t seen Tarik since the year before.

“So whatchu plannin’ on doin’ later, shorty?  You wanna go out, see a movie or sumthin’?” he asked.

“Yeah, sure.  We need to catch up.”

~~~~~~~

Since Tarik didn’t have a car, I drove over to the east side to pick him up from his cousin’s.  Then I drove us back over to the west side near where I lived because there was a dollar movie theater there, and we were two broke students. 

During the movie, Tarik kept reaching over to touch my breasts or my leg, and I kept telling him to stop and slapped his hand away.  I didn’t remember him being so aggressive!  I can’t remember what we were watching, but near the end of the movie, I excused myself to go to the restroom.  I was only in the restroom a couple of minutes when I heard the door open, reminding me that I needed to hurry before the movie ended.  When I came out of the stall, Tarik was standing by one of the small sinks, leaning on the vanity.

“You do know that this is the ladies’ restroom, don’t you? Why are you standing there?” I asked him.

“I just wanted to make sure you didn’t try to leave me.”

Tarik was getting stranger by the minute. I couldn’t wait for the night to be over!

“Why would I do that?” I asked as I washed my hands.

“Don’t know, just thought you might.”

When we got outside, the rain was pouring so hard, it was flowing in rivers on the asphalt parking lot.  I wanted to just hurry up and get Tarik back to his cousin’s so I could get in my warm, cozy bed.  I hopped on the parkway, which was the most direct route back to the east side.  I could barely see a thing through the heavy rain, and my windshield wipers were on overdrive.  I was also getting really annoyed with Tarik’s wandering hands.  As much as I had missed his jokes, it wasn’t hard to decide that I never wanted to go out with him again.  As I slapped his hand away from my breast once more, I tried to keep my concentration on the road.

All of a sudden, my car lost traction on the highway and started hydroplaning.  We did two full spins and ended up going across the low grassy median onto the other side, right into oncoming traffic!  When the car stopped spinning, we happened to be facing the right direction in the lane, towards the west where I lived.  For a few seconds, I just sat there looking straight ahead as other cars blew their horns and went around us.  Miraculously, we hadn’t been hit.

With my hands still shaking, I said, “Look, it’s raining too hard and I’m too scared to take you all the way back to your cousin’s house.  Since my house is closer, how about I take you there, you wait in the car, and I’ll go in and call you a cab.  Then I’ll come back out and wait for your cab with you.”  Aunt Sylvia would not have stood for a stranger coming in the house.

“Aight,” he agreed. “That’ll work.”

~~~~~~~

The moment I pulled onto the street and saw the house, I knew something was wrong.  I could see the fence surrounding Aunt Sylvia’s yard, and her front gate was open.  Aunt Sylvia never left her gate open.  She said it looked tacky.  I had to park about two houses away because there were no open spaces in front of the house.

“Be right back,” I said and got out of the car.

I closed the gate as I passed through it and noticed that there was a light on upstairs as well as downstairs.  Aunt Sylvia never left extra lights on!  She said that it wasted energy.  As I got closer to the door, I used my hand to wipe the rain away from an eyelash, and when I did this, I thought I saw the shadow of a man’s head at the front window.  Aunt Sylvia absolutely NEVER had a man over!  My steps faltered some as I was thinking of what to do, and wondering if Aunt Sylvia was okay. 

Suddenly, Aunt Sylvia appeared at the front door.  “Come on in out de weather, chile!” she urged. 

Relieved to see that she was fine, I rushed to get through the door, and when I did, I was attacked with a barrage of questions. 

“Are you okay?!”

“Did he hurt you?!”

“Where is he?”

“Are you sure he didn’t hurt you?”  the men asked.  There had to have been at least eight of them in the room and they were all wearing police gear that read ‘NYPD’ and ‘Bullock Police Department.’

“I’m fine!” I responded, wide-eyed with surprise.

“Where is he?  Is he out there?!” one officer asked. He opened the door and said, “He’s running!” and ran out to the street with most of the others following him.

“You okay, chile?” Aunt Sylvia asked. I turned to her and was even more surprised to see her looking so concerned.

“I’m fine,” I repeated.  “What happened?  Is Tarik in trouble?  Did he…hurt somebody?” I asked as I observed that a couple of the raincoats read ‘Homicide Detective.’

“Tarik Henson escaped from jail in New York over the weekend.  He’s raped five young women that we know of so far, and nearly killed two of them,” one of the detectives responded.  “Are you positive he didn’t hurt you?” 

“No, he didn’t do anything to me.  I’m fine.” 

I didn’t want to know how he had almost killed the women.  I could not believe what was happening! How could such a nice person commit such a violent crime?  I thought about how Tarik had been all touchy-feely the entire evening, but I had thought that was just how he was.  It seemed weird to me that Tarik could be a serial rapist and be so good looking.  He could get just about any woman he wanted! 

I hadn’t realized at the time that rape was about power, and perhaps Tarik didn’t want a girl who would just give it up.  I didn’t want to think of what the evening might have led to if I’d taken him all the way back to his cousin’s.  It was like God had literally picked my car up off the highway and set it to go straight to the police waiting in my aunt’s house! 

How did the police know where to find me anyway?  I thought about it and thought about it some more. No one knew my current address, and I hadn’t even updated it at school.  I thought of Shelby, who had seen me with Tarik on campus, but we didn’t talk to each other enough for her to care where I lived.  How ever they found me, I was appreciative!

“Okay, good enough.  If you think of something later on that you want to tell me, here’s my card.  You be careful now.”  The detectives thanked Aunt Sylvia for her assistance, said their goodnights, and left.  When I looked out the window after them, a couple of the officers were walking Tarik back up the street toward the house, but stopped at a parked car and had him lean against it.  Actually, they kind of pushed him against it.  I didn’t want to see anymore, and I turned away from the window.

“You sure you alright, girl?” Aunt Sylvia asked. “I was worried about you.  You put yourself in a dangerous situation this time.  I couldn’t reach you, you didn’t have your pager with you.  What would I have told your parents?  Lord, I wouldn’t know what to say.”    

“I’m fine, Aunt Sylvia, I just can’t believe this happened.” I hadn’t even realized I’d forgotten my pager.

“Me either!  Just think if the police wasn’t here, he could’ve come in the house and raped both of us!”

I doubt that, I thought, as I looked at Aunt Sylvia’s imagining expression through her thick, horn-rimmed glasses and almost laughed out loud.  I’d had enough surprises for the night.  I told Aunt Sylvia I was sorry about all the fuss and commotion over me, then went to bed and felt like crying.