“I ain’t bringing my son up to no prison while I’m carrying five ounces of weed. So either you’re gonna watch Tyler or you’re gonna explain to Derrick why he didn’t get his shit.” She folded her arms and waited for my answer.
That damn woman was so low. Talking about that shit right in front of her son. And the kid just stood there with a blank look on his face. I guess he was used to hearing that shit out of his mother’s mouth. I almost felt bad for him. But that didn’t mean I wanted to take him in. I wasn’t doing Wendy no favors like that.
“Why does he need that stuff? He’s getting out in a few days.”
“I don’t know. Maybe he wants to make one last score before he gets out. From what I hear, they’re making
stupid
money up there... ” She stopped herself abruptly as if she had said too much already. “But that’s none o’ my business. I do what I’m told. Something you better learn to do if you plan on being with Derrick.”
I rolled my eyes at her. That bitch had some nerve, trying to tell me how to keep
my
man.
“You gonna watch Tyler or what, ‘cause I ain’t got time to be teachin’ ‘How to Be a Drug Dealer’s Girlfriend 101.’ ” Wendy placed her hand on her hip and smirked.
I was about to tell her to kiss
my
ass and give her a little more of what she got at the prison. But her son was standing there looking up at the two of us like he was waiting for all hell to break loose. At least one of us could act like an adult in front of him. Besides, with Derrick coming home in a few days, it wasn’t worth the aggravation. Once he was out, he wouldn’t need her to make deliveries. Then he could put Wendy in her proper place. She was getting entirely too comfortable making demands. Anyway, Tyler wasn’t such a bad kid. I should get to know him a little since he’d probably be spending a lot of time here with Derrick soon.
“Come on, Tyler.” I motioned for him to come in, but he didn’t move.
“Go ’head, baby. Go with Auntie Jasmine. Mommy will see you at Grandma’s tomorrow.” Wendy bent down and kissed her son, nudging him into the apartment.
“He ain’t had nothin’ to eat, so make sure you feed him. And don’t let him drink too much or he’ll pee in the bed.”
“When you coming to get him?”
“You can drop him off at Derrick’s mother’s in the morning. She should be home by then.” Wendy didn’t give me time to refuse. She waved good-bye to her son and headed for a waiting cab.
“Well, Tyler,” I sighed, “I guess it’s you and me. What do you want to eat?”
“McDonald’s.”
Well, you ain’t getting no McDonald’s, so you can forget that. How ’bout some peanut butter and jelly?”
“I hate peanut butter and jelly.” He sounded angry. I can’t say I blame him, with a mother like that.
“Okay,” I sighed. “What about pizza. Do you like pizza?”
His eyes lit up. “Yeah, I like pizza. And can I have some Kool-Aid?”
“Yeah, I think I’ve got some Kool-Aid.” I walked to the kitchen and he followed me. Thank God Dylan had brought an extra frozen pizza on one of our video nights. It wasn’t like I had kids over here all the time, so my kitchen definitely wasn’t stocked with kid-friendly food.
While Tyler was eating, I made a bed for him on the sofa in front of the TV I was still exhausted and in need of some serious sleep. I figured that if I put on the Cartoon Network he’d watch TV until he fell asleep. I smoothed the blanket over the sofa and went back in the kitchen. He’d eaten half the pizza and drunk an eight-ounce glass of Kool-Aid.
“Wow, you really were hungry, weren’t you? You want some more pizza?”
“No, but I want some more Kool-Aid.” He pushed his glass toward me and I poured him some more. He gulped it down.
“Okay, time for bed.” We both got up and walked to the living room.
“Auntie Jasmine, you’re not really my auntie, are you?” he asked.
“No, but sometimes you call family friends ‘uncle’ and ‘aunt’
*
out of respect. You know what I mean?”
“Yeah, I guess. But what if you don’t respect them?”
“Then I guess you don’t call them aunt or uncle.”
“Well, I’m not calling you auntie, then.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Excuse me? Why not?”
“ ’Cause I don’t like you.”
“You don’t like me? Why don’t you like me?” I was trying to be patient, but this kid was getting on my last nerve.
“ ’Cause you’re a conniving bitch. And if it wasn’t for you, my daddy wouldn’t be in jail.”
“What did you just call me?” I had my fists clenched. I was trying to restrain myself from slapping the shit out of that little boy. “Where did you hear words like that?” Like I didn’t already know the answer.
“My mommy,” he said proudly. “She told my Auntie Joyce that if my daddy had stayed with her instead of running off with you, he’d never have gone to jail.”
“That’s not true, you know. Your daddy left your mother way before I ever met him. And I’m—”
He cut me off with a scream. “No, he didn’t! He didn’t leave my mommy! You made him leave. My mommy wouldn’t lie.”
“Yeah, she woul—” I had to stop myself in midsentence. I hated that bitch, but I refused to disrespect her in front of her son. “You know what, Tyler? I think it’s time for bed.” I think he was glad to drop the subject, ’cause he calmed down and climbed under the covers right away. That poor kid was full of so much anger thanks to his mother.
“Jasmine!” he shouted as I walked away.
“Yes, Tyler.” I turned to the sofa.
“I hate you.”
“I can see that, Tyler. I can see that.” I hoped his little outburst made him feel better, ’cause I sure felt like shit now. I wished Derrick was there to see this. Maybe he would appreciate just how much I did for his ass.
I left Tyler in the living room and went up to my room. I was still exhausted, but it took me a while to fall asleep. My mind was on Tyler and what he had said. He really did hate me, and I could understand why. Wendy had been corrupting him since the day she found out about Derrick and me. The thing that bothered me the most was that now that Derrick was coming home, I was afraid Tyler’s attitude would affect my relationship with Derrick somehow. I fell asleep worrying about it.
“Auntie Jasmine?” Tyler woke me up as he stood in my bedroom doorway and called my name.
“What, Tyler? What is it?” I sat up.
“I’m scared. I wanna sleep with you. My mommy always lets me sleep with her when I’m scared.”
This kid was really working my last nerve. An hour ago he was telling me how much he hated me. Now he was back to calling me “Auntie” and asking to sleep in my bed. I was tempted to send his ass back to the couch, but then I realized I wasn’t being fair. It wasn’t Tyler’s fault that his mother was such a bitch. If he had a better mother, he wouldn’t be such an angry little kid. I pulled back the cover and told him to come on. He climbed in bed without another word and was snoring within minutes. He looked so peaceful, and I was relieved. I was happy that I had decided to give the kid a break. Happy, at least, until I woke up in a puddle later that night.
“Tyler, wake up! Did you pee in my bed?” I turned on the light and looked down at him. His eyes were twitching like he was struggling to keep them closed. This kid was definitely awake, but he had the nerve to be pretending to snore. “Tyler!” I shook him.
He rubbed his eyes like a damn actor. “What’s the matter, Auntie Jasmine?”
“You peed in my bed, that’s what’s the matter.” I pulled back my satin sheets to expose the huge wet spot that covered my mattress. From the way he was smiling, I think the kid had actually done it on purpose. I was speechless. At first I wanted to wring his little neck as I sent him into the bathroom to get cleaned up. But as I stripped the sheets off the bed, I started thinking. That’s when I realized Tyler’s little stunt had just put me one step closer to making the most important decision of my life.
22
Stephanie
Two days after my visit to the clinic, I was in the kitchen doing the breakfast dishes when Travis walked in holding his stomach. He should’ve left for work over an hour ago, but he hadn’t been feeling well since he woke up. Every time I turned around, he was either in my face whining like a child or in the bathroom moaning and groaning on the toilet. I’ll tell you. When it comes to being sick, that man is just one big baby.
“Hon, I don’t know what type of virus you had last night, but whatever it is, I got that shit now.” He was hunched over the kitchen counter. “I feel like someone opened up a can of whup-ass and made me drink it. My stomach is
killing
me.”
“I know,” I told him sympathetically. “That’s how I felt last night. Did you try to use the bathroom? That made me feel better.”
“Girl,” Travis said, frowning, “I just spent the last half hour on the toilet. That ain’t no help.”
He grabbed his stomach and grimaced. I actually did feel sorry for him. He really did look sick, with his face all flushed, sweat dripping from his brow.
“Oh, my poor baby,” I soothed him. “Why don’t you go upstairs so I can take care of you? I’ll call over to the base and tell them you’re not coming in.” I walked over and rubbed his back, hoping he’d refuse my offer. I still wasn’t feeling too well myself. I’d taken that medication the doctor had prescribed for my little problem yesterday. I felt better than I had last night, but my stomach was still queasy.
“Shit, I wish I could, but I got a meeting with Captain Jenkins this morning and you know how he is.” Travis sounded so unhappy. “I’m just gonna have to pick up some Pepto-Bismol on the way over to the base and pray.” He kissed my forehead as he headed out the door.
I felt so bad watching him walk down the driveway, clutching his stomach. Oh, I was sure he’d be fine by the time he came home from work this afternoon, but I still hated that it was my fault he was feeling that way. Luckily, the phone rang before my guilt could get the best of me. Only problem was, the caller ID showed Jasmine’s number, and I knew she was calling just to make sure I
did
feel guilty.
“Steph, you okay? Can you talk? Is Travis there?” she whispered.
“Yeah, I can talk. He just went to work.”
“So what did he say? Is everything all right? Are y’all staying together?” Jasmine sounded sincere, but I knew she was just calling to be nosy. I was starting to like my sister, but she just asked too many damn questions.
“Yeah, everything’s fine.”
“Thank God.” She sighed, “What did he say when you told him?”
“Told him what?” I really didn’t wanna get into this. I know I had felt all sisterly with her the other day, but now I was not in the mood. My stomach was starting to do flips, and if she started in on me it would only make me feel worse. She had been so insistent that I tell Travis the truth. I didn’t feel like hearing her mouth when I told her I’d made other arrangements to solve my problem.
“Stop playing, Steph. You know what I mean. Did you tell Travis about the gonorrhea?”
Might as well just tell her. Maybe if I put enough attitude into it, she wouldn’t bother trying to tell me how wrong I was.
“Hell, no! I ain’t tellin’ him shit. Are you crazy? I ain’t ruining my relationship. I’m about to get married.”
“What do you mean? You gotta tell him, Steph! That man needs to know so he can go to the doctor and get checked out,” Jasmine scolded. “Didn’t we agree about this the other day?”
“He don’t need to know,” I insisted. “I’ve got everything under control.”
“Girl, have you lost your mind? You can’t let that man walk around with gonorrhea. You know that’s not right.” She waited and I waited, both of us silent. I was hoping she’d get mad enough and hang up the phone, but she kept right on lecturing. “Besides, sooner or later he’s gonna find out about this. Men have symptoms, Stephanie. And when he gets them, that’s gonna be your ass.” I hoped she was getting some pleasure from her little speech, ‘cause she was buggin’ the hell out of me. In a matter of days my relationship with my sister had gone right back to square one. I did not have time for her tryin’ to be my momma.
“Look, don’t you worry about my man, okay? I told you I’ve got everything under control. Travis ain’t gonna have no symptoms, and he ain’t gonna find out about me giving him gonorrhea. That is, unless you tell him.”
She raised her voice. “You know I’m not gonna tell him.”
“Well, then I guess everything’s all right, isn’t it?” There was a hesitation before Jasmine answered.
“What are you up to, Stephanie?” Her voice was full of suspicion.
“Nothin’. What makes you think I’m up to something?” It was time to shut up. She might be a pain in the ass, but Jasmine was far from stupid, and I did not need her all up in this business. The fewer people who knew my plan, the better.
“I know you, Stephanie. I know you like a book. Now, stop playin’ games and tell me what you’re up to. ’Cause we both know you’re up to something.”