“Look, Stephanie. I’m gonna go kiss my kids; then I’m gonna go make me some breakfast. Whatever surprise you have for me is no big deal, because I’m home.” I pulled my arm away from her and headed for the house.
“Travis, don’t!” She ran behind me.
“What do you mean, don’t? What’s going on, Stephanie?”
“I mean, don’t go in the house.”
“Why?” I halted in my tracks and turned to face her. My arms were crossed tightly over my chest, because I was afraid of how I might use them if she said what I thought she would.
“Because Malek is in the house,” she said quietly. I felt like I was gonna explode. My muscles tensed, and it took everything I had not to slap her.
With tears in her eyes, she tried to explain. “It’s not what you think, Travis. Not at all. He just-”
My hands flew up in the air and she flinched. I took a few steps back to put some distance between us.
“He’s in my house with my kids. With my son! You fucking bitch! You have fucked me over for the very last time.” I took a step toward the house, then stopped myself. If I kept going, I’m sure I would have killed Malek and possibly Stephanie. “I want you out my house. You got exactly one month to get all your shit out my house.”
Her eyes were wide and her voice trembled. “No, Travis! Please don’t do this. Please let me explain. We can work this out. You just have to listen to me.”
“Ain’t nothing you could say that would make me change my mind.” I headed for the truck. “I mean it, Stephanie. You got one fucking month. After that, I’m throwing your shit out.”
“What about T. J.? I thought you didn’t want him to grow up in the projects.”
“I didn’t want his mother to be a whore, either, but she is. I’ll have my lawyer contact you about custody.” I started the engine and watched her crumple to the ground in hysterical sobs as I drove away.
I made it back to Brittany’s in record time. When I got to the door, I let myself back in with the key she’d let me keep. She was standing in the kitchen making breakfast.
“You’re back? Did you forget something?” She turned away from the stove to face me. Her tone told me she wasn’t expecting me-and wasn’t too happy to see me. I couldn’t blame her, after the way we’d left things this morning. I knew she must be pissed.
“I didn’t forget anything.” I sat down at the kitchen table. “Except maybe that Stephanie was no good. I should’ve known not to bother giving her another chance.”
“What are you talking about, Travis?” She turned off the stove and came to sit at the table with me.
“She had Malek there. I can’t fucking believe it. He was in my house, Brittany, with my kids.”
“You didn’t hurt anybody, did you?” she asked nervously.
“No. But I’m through trying to make it work with her. I told Stephanie she had a month to get her shit out my house.”
“Where’s she gonna go?”
“Probably back to her grandmother’s house. I really don’t give a shit. We’re through.”
“What about the kids?”
“I ain’t worried about that. Stephanie might be a ho, but she loves them kids. She knows I love them, and she knows they love me. If she’s got one decent bone in her body, she’ll do the right thing.”
Brittany sat silently for a minute. I waited to see what she would say. It could go either way right now. I might’ve been bringing more drama than she could handle. I wouldn’t blame her if she put my ass out, told me to find another place to stay.
“So why’d you come back here? This ain’t about you looking for revenge, is it? I don’t want you comin’ back here just to make Stephanie mad for a while, then I end up kicked to the curb so you can make up with her again.”
“I meant what I said, Brittany. You know I’ve never lied to you. I won’t ever be going back to her. I mean, shit, there’s only so much a man can take.”
Again, she didn’t answer right away. Got a faraway look in her eyes as, I guess, she imagined the possibilities.
“Look. I’m ready to move on. If you want, I’ll move back onto base. Just don’t shut me out. We can take it as slow as you want, but I want you to give me a chance. Let me show – you that I mean what I say.”
Brittany reached across the table and took my hand in hers. Finally, she gave me a real smile. She pulled me up from my chair and started leading me through the living room, toward her bedroom.
“Well, then. Let’s rewind back to last night. Pretend this morning never happened. You wanna start over? Come on in here and show me what you mean.”
35
“Jasmine! Jasmine!”
It was Thursday evening, and my whole family was over to celebrate my mother’s fiftieth birthday. My aunt Mary made pigs’ feet and collard greens, and Big Momma made my favorite homemade sweet potato pie with the coconut on top. We were havin’ a real good time. Well, at least I was until Big Momma started yelling my name.
“What you want, Big Momma? I’m right here.” She was sitting at the kitchen table with my momma and a few other relatives. I was standing right behind her, slicing the pie at the kitchen counter.
“Whatever happened to that good-looking Dylan Taylor? Lord knows he’s the man you should be getting married to next week. Not that no-good, drug-dealin’ Derrick. I bet it was his idea to have this heathen wedding in Sin City you planning to have.”
That’s when I knew Big Momma wasn’t happy at all with the fact that Derrick and I had planned to elope to Las Vegas next week. She was never one to hide her feelings. And believe me, she let it be known that she did not approve of me getting married away from my family and friends to a man she thought was beneath me. And the fact that I wasn’t getting married in church made things even worse.
I knew Big Momma would be mad when she found out I was marrying Derrick, so I tried to keep the wedding a secret until we came back from Vegas. I was doing pretty good, too, until big-mouth Sabrina started yapping about how she couldn’t believe I was getting married next week. And she didn’t do it in private. My whole family was there when she opened her damn trap. Next thing I knew, everyone in the house was asking me fifty million questions.
I must admit, though, my momma made me feel good. Whatever she thought of Derrick, she kept her opinions to herself. She kissed me and offered to let me use her wedding dress. But Big Momma wasn’t about to let me off so easy. She let it be known, loud and clear, that she thought I was making the biggest mistake of my life. Why couldn’t I find a good man, like Stephanie had found Travis? I had to bite my tongue when she said that. Everyone in the room knew how Stephanie had handled her good man. But I wasn’t about to bring that up, even if it might’ve taken the heat off me. So I just shut my mouth tight, hoping that it would all just pass, but Big Momma brought up the one person I was trying to forget. She hadn’t stopped reminding me since.
“Child, did you hear me?” she asked again. “Whatever happened to Dylan?”
“We don’t speak anymore, Big Momma.” I tried to sound matter-of-fact, even though it hurt just saying those words out loud. I really missed Dylan.
“I thought you said he was one of your best friends.”
“He was, Big Momma. But things have changed a lot in the past few months, and well…” I hesitated. “Dylan and I are better off this way.”
“She’s lying, Mrs. Washington.” Sabrina had come into the kitchen and interrupted. “Derrick and his friends beat Dylan up so bad that he hasn’t been around since.”
My mother, who was sitting at the kitchen table with one of my aunts, stared at me. In fact, it felt like all eyes in the room were on me. Well, except for Sabrina’s. She was avoiding eye contact with me. But what else should I expect from a sister who had just sold me out?