All That Drama (14 page)

I
opened the front door to find a naked Sammie and immediately pulled the door behind me to make sure the children did not see her.

“What the fuck?” I said before I could stop myself. Gazing into Sammie’s vacant eyes, I knew that something bad had happened, but I didn’t know what. I eased her onto the porch swing and ran inside for something to cover her up with.

She didn’t speak as I wrapped the blanket around her and guided her into the house. I tucked Sammie into my bed and allowed her a few minutes to compose herself.

I didn’t want Keira and Kevin to know that Sammie was there since she was in such a disoriented state. Several times I went to the bedroom to check up on Sammie and she continued to remain unresponsive. She never acknowledged me entering or leaving the room. And for the first time, I thought that maybe I should have dialed 911 instead of offering her a place to lay her head. I prepared a cup of hot tea for us and brought it into my bedroom.

“Honey,” I coached, “you need to eat something. Here, sit up.” I pulled on her arms until she managed to sit up in the bed. I reached behind her and used all my pillows to prop her up. She still had that vacant look in her eyes but at least she was cooperating. I had prepared some toast for her to nibble on.

I sat by the bed feeding her tea and toast while coaching her to tell me what happened.

“Sammie, where are your clothes? Did Jessie do this to you?” I asked.

“They took them,” she responded.

“Who took them?” I asked. “Honey, you are not making any sense. Did Jessie do this to you?”

“No, he didn’t do this,” she said, looking down at her bruised body. “But if he was there, it would not have happened. I was raped, Marie, by two guys,” she said, using the sheet to wipe her face. I handed her some napkins from my nightstand, which she accepted and quickly wadded up into a ball.

“When I left here, I went to my normal hangout. I was nervous ’cause I was the only one out there. I sat in the car for a full hour before getting out. Those young punks are the worst at hazing us. You never know if they are just kidding or trying to prove something to their gang friends,” she said, pausing to blow her nose. She wasn’t crying but I could tell she was having a hard time trying to keep it together. I patted her hand in encouragement.

“I was not on the corner long before this young guy, probably in his late twenties or early thirties, approached me. He had long processed hair, which he wore in a ponytail that fell to his shoulders. His face was kind and sweet. Marie, he had the nicest smile that I have seen in a long time. He looked like he just wanted someone to hold him.

“I couldn’t take him into the car, so the trick told me about a school not too far from the corner that they could go to and be alone. He was cute, so I went with him. We entered the school through the janitor’s door, which was propped open and I followed him down some dark corridors until we got to the gym. It was poorly lit but definitely should and could be classified as a gym. I asked him how he found out about this place and that’s when things got ugly.”

Sammie said he led her into the gym. She was trying to get into the mood of the seductress and was finding it hard since she was not in an element of her own creation. Instead, she felt nervous and slightly afraid.

There were some mats already laid out on the floor. Sammie started tugging at her clothes eager to perform the sex and get back to the comfort of her car and the gun that she had concealed in it. She also wanted to hurry up and finish so that she could return to her corner just in case Jessie rolled around to check up on her. Lord knows that if he had chosen that moment to do a drive-by, it would have made things that much harder for her when she got home.

“What’s the rush, sweetness,” the trick said in a soothing voice—one that was echoed by another male voice coming from behind the partition wall.

“Yeah, what’s the rush, sweetness?”

Sammie looked around and saw another guy approaching from the far side of the gym. Paralyzing fear consumed her limbs and crept up around her heart as she began to realize the severity of the situation. Not only was she away from her car and her gun, no one who cared about her knew where she was. Not to mention that there were two men against her. The second guy was short and stocky. Looking into his eyes was like gazing into empty sockets.

The original trick revealed a knife tucked in the waistband of his baggy pants. When Sammie looked into his face, he no longer had that sweet smile that persuaded her to come with him in the first place. Instead, it was replaced with an evil sneer that jeered at her.

“On your knees, hoe,” the other guy barked. He was clearly older than the original trick and was much more sinister. There was such a strong resemblance between them that Sammie could tell that they were related. He had a nasty scar down the left side of his face as if he had been on the wrong end of an infected switchblade.

Guy number two also had a knife but his was open as he came towards Sammie. Silently, she dropped to her knees.

Crocodile tears formed in Sammie’s eyes as she told me the rest of her story. The thing that tugged at my heartstrings the most was her confession that she was so tired of being scared. She had spent her entire life being scared of one thing or another and she prayed for release.

“Damn, bro, where did you find this fat bitch at?” the shorter guy complained. “Hell, we should have her paying
our
asses to fuck her!”

“Don’t you even complain, nigga; the pickings were slim tonight. I guess Five-O scared the rest of the whores off the block when they did that sweep this morning. She is probably the only bitch that missed the sweep,” he said, spitting a brown stream of spit in between Sammie’s legs.

“Please don’t hurt me,” Sammie pleaded. “I will do anything that you want me to. Just please don’t hurt me.”

“Well, bitch, then you had better make it good,” said the original trick. For the next two hours, Sammie sexed both men. They were plugged into her at both ends. Neither one of them let go of their knives the entire time they were having sex. When they were done with her, they took her clothes and left her in the school.

Sammie said she lost all concept of time during the event. All she kept thinking about was whether or not she was going to die and how badly Jessie was going to hurt her if she came home with no money after being gone so long.

She said that she walked through the streets to her car butt-naked. She did not even attempt to cover herself up as she drove home. Sammie was in shock but that was not enough to wipe away her fear of facing Jessie with no money. Briefly she had considered trying to stay on the corner to earn enough money to satisfy Jessie, but without clothes, she only would have wound up in jail.

She said she had driven to my house in a trance. Too scared to go home and having nowhere else to go she headed my way.

It was while I was fixing breakfast that I heard a story on the news about a drug addict getting beat up and molested. Instantly I thought it might be Jessie but quickly dismissed the thought as wishful thinking. When I saw his name flash across the television screen I ran into the bedroom to turn up the television. We listened in disbelief as the newscaster told of the arrest of a man they found in an alley behind the Sam’s Club.

According to the reporter, the police arrested Jessie Alexander after they found him bludgeoned and left for dead. He was taken to Grady Hospital where he was being treated for his injuries. Stunned, we just stared at each other. Finally, I broke the silence.

“You need to go home. If they have Jessie, I am sure he is going to call you and until you know what is going on, it would be better for you to be home,” I said.

“You’re right,” she said, getting out of the bed. She flashed me and I turned away. Seeing Sammie naked twice in one day was enough for me. That was more than I ever wanted to see of Sammie. I handed her a sheet for her to cover up with.

“Girl, I don’t have anything that will fit you, and the children can’t see you in this sheet!” I declared. I checked to make sure that the kids were still in their rooms and ushered a jubilant Sammie out of the house. She even gave me a faint smile as she left. Dazed by all the morning drama, I sat down on the sofa.

As the details of Jessie’s arrest began pouring in, I could not wait to call Sammie back to gloat.

“Hello,” Sammie said, clearly stopped up as if she had been crying.

“You heard for yourself, didn’t you! They got that motherfucker,” I said elated.

“Yeah, it was him,” she simply stated. I could not understand why she was crying and not shouting for joy.

“What’s wrong with you? He’s in jail. You should be damn singing and doing the happy dance!”

“I’m happy for the moment but what happens to me when he gets out of jail. He’s going to be pissed and when he’s pissed I suffer for it,” she whimpered.

“Look, I can’t come over now. We are having breakfast, so why don’t you come back over here and we can talk. Surely there is something that can be done to keep his ass in jail,” I replied.

“I’m tired now. I’ll get back to you later.”

“NO, damn it; get your ass over here now! You can’t sleep this away; you have to make a plan of action.” I hung up the phone before she could reply. I knew what she wanted to do. She was going to try to sleep her way out of her depression. This time, I was not going to let her go into her protective mode.

“Mommy, is Ms. Sammie coming over here today?” Keira said.

“Yes, sugar, so I need you and Kevin to hurry up and finish your breakfast and get dressed, okay?”

“Will she be crying again?” she asked.

Wow! I thought that Sammie and I did a good job of putting on a happy face whenever she was around my kids. I had no idea that they knew how unhappy Sammie’s life really was.

“I hope not, sweetheart, but if she does this time, she will be crying ’cause she’s got some good news,” I said. This was not exactly a lie so I didn’t feel too bad in saying this to Keira.

“Hurry up, baby; you don’t want her to see you with your hair all over your head, do you? Do me a favor and call Kevin to eat so his food won’t be cold.”

I went back into the kitchen to pour juice for them. My hands were shaking as I filled the glasses, and I pondered just how much I was really keeping from Kevin and Keira.

By the time Sammie made it to the house, the news was all over the radio and TV. Jessie finally had gotten what he deserved.

He tried to stiff a nigger and in return got a serious ass whipping. The guy beat him to a pulp and left him for dead in the back of Sam’s where they were supposed to be doing the wild thing. The trick rammed a stick so far up Jessie’s ass that it had to be surgically removed. I wish I could have seen that shit. The police found him the next morning. They took him to the hospital and once he was treated, they locked his sorry ass up for drug possession. They did not have any suspects in their investigation and were asking the public to come forward if they had any information.

At Jessie’s arraignment held later the next week, Sammie learned about his prior arrests for prostitution, assault, battery and drug possession. Sammie was stunned to find out that he would be serving the next ten to fifteen years in jail. Elated and afraid, she filed for divorce while he was in prison and closed a very unpleasant chapter in her life.

I just prayed that Jessie got bunked with a big guy named Bubba that liked his bitches skinny. Only goes to show you, what goes around comes around. I just wish I could have seen him so I could have done the happy dance in his face!

S
ammie decided to become proactive while Jessie was incarcerated. She had given Jessie thirteen years of her life and had nothing to show for it. It was a really scary time for Sammie because it was the first time in her life that she was responsible for herself. Her first step was to reclaim her children from her mother, Althea. She and I both knew that it was not going to be easy since they had been living with her for most of their lives, but she had to try.

Althea did not give up the children easily. Sammie had to retain the same lawyer that she had used for her divorce to get temporary custody of her children. Luckily for Sammie, Althea never had filed the papers that Sammie had signed as a youth giving up her parental rights.

The conditions of the temporary custody agreement were that Sammie maintain a full-time job and a stable home environment for the children. Therefore, she had to give up her job with the temp service. Although she had been working fairly regularly as a temp, it did not provide the health benefits that she also needed to maintain for the children.

After three months of battling, Sammie was a mother. Kendall was now thirteen and Tyson was sixteen. Both were bitter towards Sammie and she fought hard to earn their love and respect. They did not want to come live with their mom and they made it crystal clear every opportunity they got. I felt sorry for Sammie but this was the bed she had made for herself.

We were having Easter dinner at my house. My mother and her new friend had just left and Sammie and the children were coming in. Tyson hit the door first, walking up to the table bumping up against chairs. Kendall meekly followed him, never raising her eyes from the floor.

“Don’t you walk up in my house and disrespect me by not speaking,” I said to Tyson. Kendall cringed and I lowered my tone.

“Hi,” he mumbled under his breath. I shot Sammie a glance to find out what was going on. She simply shrugged her shoulders. Tyson and Kendall had been living with her for over a month and this was the first time that they were on my turf.

“Kendall, I want you to meet my daughter. Hold on and let me get her.” I turned around and went to the steps to call Keira. She came bouncing down the steps and they became instant friends. Kendall was three years older then Keira but as they turned to walk away, I could tell it made no difference. Tyson looked up but he still had that sour look on his face.

Kevin ran down the stairs as they were going up and almost knocked both girls down.

“Hey, hold on, mister. You ain’t outside,” I said firmly.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. He went right up to Tyson and asked him if he wanted to play one of his PlayStation games. It was like someone had flicked a light switch on Tyson’s face. He jumped up from the table and quickly followed behind Kevin.

“What games you got?” Tyson asked as they headed up the steps.

“Hey, what about dinner?” I said to their retreating backs.

“Aw, man, he ain’t hungry,” Kevin said, answering for Tyson. The only other sound we heard was the closing of Kevin’s bedroom door.

“So how is it going?” I asked Sammie now that we were alone.

“It’s tough; I ain’t going to lie. Tyson hates me and Kendall is afraid of her own shadow. I tried to get my mother to give me their clothes, but she is still being a bitch. She won’t give me any of their things and I can’t afford to buy them the things that they used to have!”

“Sammie, it’s not about possessions. They are still children and they are having a problem with accepting you after all this time. Just continue to show them love. They will come around; I promise you.”

Although I never met Althea, I learned to hate her just by observing the empty looks in the eyes of Tyson and Kendall. It was a look of someone who was desolate and beaten down. It was not a look you hoped to see in two teenage children with their whole lives ahead of them. I could tell that they had to fight every day of their lives to be who they were and that made me very sad.

Of the two, Kendall was worse. She was obviously in pain and would not let either Sammie or me in. She had questions about her father that Sammie could not or would not answer. She knew that her father still resided in California but had no way of contacting him without Sammie’s help. Sammie didn’t want to tell Kendall that her father denied paternity of her so she denied knowing his whereabouts.

Over the next few months, Kendall did develop a relationship with Keira. She pretended that Keira was her sister and enjoyed spending time with her at my house. Tyson, on the other hand, was totally belligerent and he made no attempt to disguise his contempt for Sammie.

Sammie tolerated this abuse at home but I would not allow it when they came to visit me. One day, I pulled Tyson aside and made it clear what I expected of him in my home.

“Look, you may not like some of the things that your mother has done, but the fact remains that she is still your mother and you can’t change that,” I said.

“I hate her!” he yelled, standing face-to-face with me. “Why couldn’t she just leave us alone? We don’t want to live in that funky apartment with her. We had our own rooms back at my real mother’s house. Why couldn’t she have left us alone?”

“Because she loves you,” I yelled right back at him, forgetting that he was still a child. I wanted to ring his fucking neck but I had to remember that all of his animosity probably had come from Althea. Children rarely hate their mothers regardless of how wrong they are.

“She had a fucked-up way of showing it,” he snarled. I snatched his narrow ass up by his arm and brought his face closer to mine so that we were facing each other nose-to-nose.

“Look, I told you once before that regardless of the circumstances, she is still your mother and therefore is entitled to your respect. She made some mistakes. I can’t deny that, but she is trying to correct them! You will not disrespect her in my house and I better not hear of you disrespecting her in yours. Do I make myself clear, mister?” I asked, making sure I pinched his skin hard enough to cause it to welt. He snatched his arm away from me and raised his hand as if he were about to strike me.

“Don’t even think about it buddy ’cause I will have your ass laid out on this floor before you can draw back the nubs!” Tears welled in his eyes but he would not let them fall. He still bucked at me and I swung hard enough to rattle his teeth. For a moment, we were both too stunned to move. Even though I did not mean to hit him, I knew I had slapped the taste out his mouth.

On impulse, I grabbed him again but this time to comfort him. He resisted my touch but I continued to hug and kiss him, telling him how sorry I was.

“I had no right to do that and I am truly sorry. You made me so angry. Don’t you see your mother is trying? Can’t you just give her a chance?” He did not answer me but he did not pull away from me either. We sat down together on the sofa.

“What are you so afraid of?” I whispered.

Very quietly he answered, “That she will leave us again and where will we go?”

“But don’t you understand; your mother never had a choice. She was still a teenager when she had you. Your grandmother would not allow her to take you both away. Your mother did not leave you of her own free will.”

He did not respond so I continued. “Could you give her a chance, please? It won’t be easy—I know that, and I am not going to sit here and lie to you that it will be, but I’ll be here for you and Kendall. If things get scary, call me. I can’t fix everything but I will damn sure try.”

At that point, Tyson and I formed a truce. Even though I still felt he didn’t like me for hitting him I thought that he respected me enough to listen to what I had to say.

He agreed to go to school and to stop all the senseless fighting with his mother. It was not the best truce in the world, but it was a start.