All That Drama (22 page)

“You mean you are living with your girlfriend?” I said shocked again at how fast he was growing up. “Does your mother know this?” I asked while pulling out of the parking space.

“She knows but there ain’t a damn thing she can do about it.” He gave me directions to his apartment and I waited outside while he went in and explained Kendall’s situation. He came back out about twenty minutes later carrying a small overnight bag. He looked like he was holding the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Tyson refused my attempts to feed him and opted for turning in early. I think he just didn’t want to talk anymore and I did not press him. I told him he could take Kevin’s room and I would see him in the morning.

I found it difficult to get to sleep. I was plagued with fears for Kendall and Sammie. In my heart, I did not believe that Sammie was injured but this could not be confirmed until I spoke with her. I kept calling her cell phone every two hours hoping she would finally answer. It amazed me that she would allow her home phone to be cut off while her cell phone remained connected. I finally fell asleep around 3:00 a.m., holding the phone firmly in my hand. I forgot all about my dinner date with Norman and didn’t even check my messages when I got home.

Surprisingly, I did not wake up until 9:30. It was not the phone nor Tyson knocking at the door that caused my sleeping body to get out of bed. It was an urgent call from Mother Nature, which insisted that I get up. With nature’s business behind me, I called the hospital to check on Kendall’s condition. The lady who answered the phone said that her condition remained critical. I tried Sammie again before I got in the shower but still received no answer.

Norman had called several times during the night and I phoned him to let him know what was going on.

“Look, I’m sorry about dinner. I had an emergency. My girlfriend’s daughter is in the hospital and it does not look good,” I said.

“I’m so sorry. I was wondering why you had me come all the way over there and would not answer the door. Which girlfriend?” he asked.

“Sammie,” I responded not feeling the need to say anything more.

“Oh damn,” he responded. “Let me know if there is something I can do.”

“I will, but I got to get back to the hospital. I have Tyson here with me and we have not found Sammie yet.”

“Okay, baby, take care and I will talk to you later.” Whew, that was easier than I thought. I didn’t want to have to explain where the hell Sammie was ’cause I was having enough problems with that myself.

Tyson was in the kitchen and already dressed when I entered to start the coffee pot. To my surprise, he already had it hot.

“I remembered that you needed your java to start your day,” he replied with a sheepish grin. I smiled at him and gave him a kiss on the forehead. I went to the cabinets and pulled down a cup. I turned to Tyson to see if he wanted one since he was all grown up. He anticipated my question and said, “I’ll just have a glass of OJ.” He got up as I handed him the glass and pointed to the refrigerator.

After my first soothing sip of coffee, I looked Tyson fully in the face. He had looked older and wiser since the last time I had seen him less than twenty-four hours ago and no longer looked like the little boy that I remembered. He had dark circles under his eyes that matched mine but I concealed mine with makeup.

“As much as I hate to do this, Tyson, we are going to have to call your grandmother,” I said. Tyson dropped his head to his chest and he took a deep breath.

“I know,” he said with a heavy sigh.

“You are not going to fight me on this?” I said, not bothering to hide my surprise.

“My mother left you no choice. If you don’t tell my grandmother and something happens to Kendall, she will come after you like the devil chasing a fresh soul!”

A brief cartoon played out in my head with Althea chasing me in a red suit with a giant pitchfork. If the situation wasn’t so grave, I would have shared that visual with him but instead I got up to get the phone with him close on my heels. I didn’t know the number and Tyson had me try several different numbers before Althea finally answered the phone.

“Hello,” she snapped as if I had just peed in her cornflakes.

“Mrs. Davis, this is Marie Morgan, Sammie’s friend,” I started but she cut me off.

“She ain’t here,” she barked, clearly agitated that I was calling. “I ain’t seen her nor those kids of hers in about a year.” I was getting pissed but I tried to regain my composure.

“I’m sorry about that but I was not calling you to find Sammie. I have some unpleasant news for you.”

“What’s that heifer gone and done now?” she demanded. I was tempted to hang the phone up and would have if Tyson hadn’t reached across the table and grabbed my hand. I took a deep breath and continued.

“Kendall is in the hospital. She tried to kill herself.” For the moment Althea didn’t have anything to say. “Ms. Davis, her condition is very serious and I can’t find Sammie. I wanted you to know. Tyson is with me and we will be going back to DeKalb Medical shortly.”

“What do you mean you can’t get a hold of Sammie? Where in the hell is she?” Althea’s voice continued to rise as she fired questions at me that I could not or would not answer. “Why the fuck didn’t Tyson call me?” It was then that I snapped.

“Look, Ms. Davis, I am trying to be respectful. I know you are upset but yelling at me is not going to change the situation. Now if you want to meet us at the hospital fine. If not, that’s fine, too. I just thought you would want to know.” I slammed the phone down before she could utter a response. I was so mad that I could feel the steam pouring from my ears. I knew the woman was a bitch but that was the first time that I had to experience it and I didn’t like it.

I wanted to tell her ass a few things but didn’t want to do it with Tyson hanging on to every word I said.

“She’s pissed, ain’t she?” he said.

“That’s an understatement!” I responded. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s get to the hospital before she gets there and starts clowning.” I called my mother before we left to tell her that we were going back to the hospital. It was a good thing that it was a Saturday, and I didn’t have the added problem of calling into work.

We drove to the hospital in silence, each deep in our own thoughts. Luckily, Althea was not at the hospital when we got there. We stopped at the registration desk to let Dr. Phillips know that we were back. The nurse informed us that he was with Kendall, and she promised to let him know that we were there.

We settled down to wait for the doctor. I had given up on Sammie since she had not returned any of my calls. I was beginning to believe that something must have happened to her ’cause she never went anywhere without her phone. Sammie was the only person that I knew who could not stand to just let a phone ring without knowing who called. Just seeing my name on the caller ID should have been enough for her to get right back to me. Surely my last few messages to her should have alerted her about the urgency of the situation. The waiting was almost unbearable but it gave Tyson and me more time to really get to know each other.

“When this is done, I’m leaving,” Tyson said under his breath but still talking to me. His eyes were looking at the floor but I could tell he was scared.

“What do you mean leaving?” I said with fear mounting in my heart.

“I’m going into the army. I have already signed the paperwork and am waiting to hear from my recruitment officer for a report date.”

“You can’t go into the army; you are still a minor,” I said.

“Mom signed my papers. Don’t you see? I can’t stay around her any longer; she won’t do nothing but pull me down! If I stay, she will ruin my life. She will keep sucking me in like she did you. I can’t take it. No, I won’t take it.”

What the hell was I supposed to say to him? Hang in there; it would get better. He and I both knew that was bullshit. If I was honest with myself, he was doing the only thing that he could for himself.

“Will you keep in contact with me?” I asked.

“Sure. You never did me any harm. Thanks for being there when I needed you.” I gave him a hug. What happened next was a bit bleary. Sammie and Althea appeared almost at the same time.

Sammie was charging down one hallway and Althea down another. Sammie appeared haggard but still dressed to the nines. Althea looked like a raging bull. They locked eyes with each other and without even stopping to see how Kendall was doing, they immediately started screaming at each other.

When Tyson and I got to the hospital, we were the only ones in the waiting room but others had drifted in while we were talking. I glanced around the room and saw the looks of complete surprise on the faces in the room. I started to get up to stop them from making further spectacles of themselves but Tyson pulled me back in my chair.

“What the hell are you doing here, Althea,” Sammie demanded.

“I’m here because your trifling ass was nowhere to be found. Someone had to be here for that baby,” she said, throwing her shoulders back and raising her head.

“I have told you before, I’m her mother, not you; and she is hardly a baby.”

“When you start acting like a mother, then I will treat you as one.” I felt that blow as if she had physically struck me.

Tyson tightened the grip that he had on my hand but did nothing to stop their cat fight.

“I’m here now so you can just leave,” Sammie shouted, placing her hands on her massive hips. In the background, I heard this constant tapping on the floor. I looked around to see where the noise was coming from and I saw a man, barely 5 feet tall coming up to stand next to Sammie.

Althea was still blessing Sammie out and neither of them paid attention to the little man. I looked at Tyson to see if he knew who this character was and he shook his head.

The registration nurse came rushing over to calm Sammie and Althea. I stood up then to take over the situation. This time, Tyson let me.

“Sammie and Althea, you are about to get thrown out of this hospital if you don’t keep your voices down.” I waved my hands around the room for emphasis and said, “This ain’t about you and your problems. It’s about Kendall!”

The nurse reached us as the wind was sucked out of both Althea’s and Sammie’s sails. I wanted to ask Sammie where the hell she had been but I didn’t want to light a fire under Althea again.

Pissed, Althea turned around and left without even saying hello to Tyson or kiss my ass to me. Tyson sighed in relief and I sank back down to my chair. Sammie was still standing over us with the strange man holding her hand.

Dejected, I said, “Sammie, where have you been? I have been calling you all night.”

“Vegas. I got married!” she announced.

I felt like I had been sucker punched. I looked at Tyson and he had a look of disgust on his face. I turned back around and looked at the man by Sammie’s side. For the first time, I noticed the cane that the man carried and it occurred to me that he was blind.

Sammie was smiling and looked like she was waiting for us to congratulate her. I could not decide whether to head-butt her in the stomach or throw up. The little man just smiled.

Any further conversation was interrupted when Dr. Phillips joined our group. I jumped to my feet and introduced him to Sammie.

“Dr. Phillips, this is Kendall’s mother,” I said relieved to have something else other than Sammie’s marriage to discuss.

Dr. Phillips acknowledged Tyson and me with a nod and turned to Sammie. Sammie was scantily clad and he turned his nose up at her. I think she forgot why she was there but Dr. Phillips quickly reminded her.

“Your daughter attempted suicide by taking a massive overdose of pills. We pumped her stomach and she spent the night on a respirator. She was showing signs of improvement until a few hours ago. I’m sorry to tell you that she died approximately ten minutes ago. I’m so sorry. We did everything we could for her.”

I sat in my chair speechless. I knew that Kendall was in critical condition but I never entertained the fact that she would die. Warm tears flowed down my cheeks and I clutched Tyson to my chest, squeezing him so tightly I thought he would pop. He was softly moaning.

Sammie fainted, falling on top of her blind husband. If the situation weren’t so dire, it would have been funny. The entire waiting room shook when she hit the floor and everyone appeared to be running in our direction. For me, time was suspended. I could not move, and frames of our lives kept flashing before me.

T
he next few days passed in a blur. Mom was still watching the kids as I tried to patch up Tyson’s life. He was very bitter towards his mother and I was a bit miffed myself.

She did not have the money to bury Kendall and let me make the arrangements. Secretly, I blamed Sammie for Kendall’s death and could not forget it let alone forgive it. After all, it was her drugs that Kendall had taken. If Sammie had been more attentive to Kendall, she would have noticed the signs but she was so focused on her own life, she did not see the pain that Kendall was obviously feeling. I also blamed myself for not going the extra mile to take her under my wing.

Norman was a constant source of help during those hectic days. He did not complain when I told him that I would be unavailable until I got things straight for Kendall. Tyson moved in with me and was scheduled to go into the armed services the day after we buried his sister. He still had not spoken to his mother and I did not try to force him to.

Sammie checked herself in to the mental ward at Charter Peachtree. She claimed to be suffering from depression but I did not buy it. More than likely, she was suffering from guilt. Although she did attend the gravesite services, she was so doped up I doubt if she really knew why she was there. Althea did not show up at all. Kendall went out of this world as quietly as she had come into it.

Momma came and brought Keira and Kevin. Leah, my co-worker, and her new husband came to the services along with Norman. I appreciated all of their support. I hadn’t spoken to Leah since she had gotten married but I noticed she was either getting fat or was pregnant. A few of Kendall’s classmates came as well. We all stood over her grave and prayed silent prayers. Sammie sat throughout the services dry-eyed. I knew the drugs were keeping her quiet but to others, she appeared to be uncaring.

Tyson took it the worst. He clung to his girlfriend the entire time stealing hateful stares with his mother. He waited until the first pile of dirt was thrown on his sister’s grave before he approached Sammie. He did not scream or yell at her; in fact, he was almost respectful.

“This is your fault. You know that, don’t you?” he said and spun around and left. That was the last time I saw Tyson in person. He kept in contact over the phone and through letters, but he never came back to Atlanta as far as I know.

I gathered my children to me and we prepared to go home. “Thanks, Mom. I appreciate your taking care of them for me but I need to be alone with them for a minute. We will call you later, okay?” I said, hoping she would understand.

“Sure, baby. Take your time. If you need me, just call.”

I paused in front of Sammie but I still didn’t have anything to say to her. Surprisingly, her new husband was nowhere to be found.

I stopped by to thank Leah for coming and we cried together. As I pulled away from her, I asked, “Do you have something to tell me?”

“Yes, we are expecting,” she said. I was happy for her because despite my earlier misgivings, her husband appeared to be on the up and up. Leah had quit her job and was attending school full time.

“I better be the godmother,” I said half-joking.

“And you know this!” she replied. We hugged again and followed the crowd of people back to their cars. I was reminded of the last time that I had been at that cemetery and I started to cry again. Before we got in the car, I took the children by my Daddy’s grave and we said a prayer for him and asked him to watch over Kendall.