Authors: Michael Lewis
“That lying
bastard!”
“Huh?”
“This is all
about you.”
“Me? What do
I have to do with it?”
“It was your sorry
ass ex that arrested me. Then he tried to embarrass me by taking me into the
station with my dick hanging out.”
“Who, Jamal?”
“Yeah. He is
mad that he messed up and now you got a real man instead of his punk ass. He
can’t handle it.”
“He is not
going to get away with this. He has gone too far.”
“I don’t want
you to beg that bastard for nothing.”
“I am not
begging him for shit.”
“So how is my
boy Alton? Man, I hope he ain’t hurt too bad. I got the license plate number of
the car, but if I could have caught up with it, I would have rendered some hood
justice.”
“They had him
sedated. His face is wrapped up. He opened his eyes and communicated with me so
he is cognizant.”
“That’s good.
That wife of his is probably tied up in this. Do you think she would stoop to
trying to kill him?”
“Yes I do.
She probably flipped when she got served with the divorce papers. I told you
that bitch is evil.”
“Well just
take me to get my truck and I’ll go to see Alton.”
“Okay.”
On the way to
the hospital I got a call from Marlena and let it go to voice mail.
“Hi Jazz,
this is Marlena. I have some producers who are very interested in working with
you. Give me a call when you get my message.”
I went to see
Alton first. He was asleep and I didn’t want to wake him. I said a quick prayer
over him, and wrote him a note to let him know I’d been there and that I’d come
check on him a little later.
I returned
Marlena’s call when I got in my truck.
“Hello
Marlena this is Jazz. I got your message and I am glad to hear you like my demo.”
“Yes, your
work is very good. Can you meet with me
today?” “Sure, where and what time.”
“At the
office in about 2 hrs.”
“Okay. I’ll
be there.”
I called Zeke
on my way home.
“Hello, baby
I have a meeting with Marlena in a couple of hours. I am on my way home. I need
you to put out my navy blue suit, my blue and white tie and my navy shoes. So I
can just come in and take a shower and change.”
“Okay, I’ll
do it now.”
“Thanks.”
I ran in the
house and took a quick shower. Zeke had my clothes laid out for me so I changed
quickly. As always, I had trouble tying my tie. I just never got that whole tie
thing down.
“Come here
Jazz. Let me do it.”
“Thanks baby.
I’ll call you and let you know how the meeting went. I really feel good about it,
she seemed really excited.”
When I got to
the office I didn’t see anyone. Finally after about 20 minutes Marlena walked
in.
“I am so
sorry. I was running a bit
late.”
“It’s okay.”
“I like your
work and I am a person who shoots straight from the hip.”
“Okay, I can
appreciate the direct approach.”
“Good. I’d
like to evaluate a little more of your work before I say yes though.”
“Sure. I have
some more discs at home. I can go get them now.”
“No, that
won’t be necessary. I mean a different kind of work.”
“Huh.”
She leaned in
closely.
“I want to
see what kind of work you can do with this.” She said as she grabbed the crotch
of my pants.
“Damn, they
were right. I was warned about you. I’m sorry lady but I’m not interested in
that kinda work.”
“Let me
correct you. I’m no lady. Now are you sure you want to turn down my offer? That
would make me unhappy. You don’t want me to be unhappy do you? I wouldn’t want
me to be if I were you.”
“Are you
threatening me?”
“I don’t
threaten, I promise. If I get what I want, you get what you want. If not, you
won’t work in this city, let alone this industry again.”
“I don’t like
to prejudge people. I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt. You probably
didn’t even like my work.”
“I do like
it.”
“Well then my
work should stand on its own without a side order of dick to go with it!”
“You are new
to this and don’t really understand how things work. I’ll give you a chance to
think this through, but you better not make me wait too long.”
“Wait on
what? You ain’t gotta wait. I can tell you now I ain’t trying to fuck with you
like that. Besides, you are old enough to be my mother.”
“Oh trust me
baby, your mother couldn’t even imagine half of the things I plan to do to
you.”
“I’m outta
here.”
I couldn’t
believe that woman just grabbed my shit like it was nothing. The thought of
getting it in with that broad was enough to make my dick shrivel and hide.
Rachel
Never in a
million years did I think that Elias would do what he did to me. My decision
was already made when he hit me in the dark. I could never go back to him even
with all the begging and pleading in the world. I should have seen it coming
because he had been leading up to it. I should have gotten away from him then.
I am no fool who has to be burned twice to understand fire.
“Wake
Up! Wake Up! Rid yourself of the poison in your life!” I heard a voice saying.
I turned my head and found the voice was not in my head but on TV, on a
religious program.
The preacher went
on to say all marriages are not meant to survive. Just because two people say
vows in front of a preacher and God doesn’t mean it’s a match made in heaven.
He said only marriages that God is behind are blessed. That is the meaning of
what God has joined together, let no man put asunder. Many people fight a
losing battle trying to keep a broken marriage afloat when they shouldn’t be
together in the first place.
He challenged
everyone to look deep within and ask some poignant questions. Are you happy with
your mate? Does your mate want the same things you do? Does your mate love God?
Will your mate protect you just as he or she would protect himself or herself?
Does your mate think of the two of you as one or do they separate themselves
from you? Does your mate strive as hard as you do? What is the top priority in
your marriage?
He also said
to look around at the bountiful blessings that God has provided and ask
yourself if God would place you in a marriage to be miserable. Marriage is
supposed to be a gift and a blessing not a punishment or curse.
The minister
asked the same questions I’d asked myself many times before and all the answers
were a big, fat, resounding NO! He hit the nail on the head about what troubled
me for so long. All I could think about was Alton. In our last conversation
Alton wondered why we kept praying for our marriages if God wasn’t answering.
He suggested
that our prayers weren’t being answered because God was trying to tell us
something. When I took a good look at where I was, why I was there, and who
came to my aid, tears just started flowing. It hurt so deeply that the man I
loved had done this to me.
When I
thought about Alton my tears turned to a smile. I thought about his smile, his
heavily southern- accented baritone voice, his chivalrous manner, the way he
bashfully held his head down when I complimented his looks. I realized that I’d
been paying attention to things I never knew I was. I could vividly picture the
way he walked, the way he picked his food up when he took a bite, the way he
smiles out of one side of his mouth when he is amused. I’d noticed everything
about that man without actively focusing on it.
I needed some
fresh air. I got out of bed, put on my robe and slippers, and walked to the
elevator. A man walking down the hallway reminded me of Alton. His lanky gait
and bowed legs looked familiar. I looked down the hallway again to see if he
was coming to the elevator but he was gone. I got a cup of coffee, went out to
the patio behind the cafeteria, and took a seat at an empty table. I enjoyed
the fresh air, scented with the aroma of gardenias from the garden. They were
delightfully fragrant as their scent traveled the humid Atlanta night. I
couldn’t get my depressing thoughts off of my mind and started to cry again.
The man I’d
seen in the hallway came out to the patio. He walked over to me and handed me a
napkin before he began to talk. Alton was heavy on my mind because everything
this man did reminded me of him. The way he walked, his long slim fingers, the
way he picked up his cup when he sipped his coffee.
“What’s
wrong? Girl, you are too pretty to be crying like that.”
“You’re
sweet. I am just going through something right now.”
“You want to
talk about it?”
“That’s
awfully nice of you. I can see you have been through something terrible and
here you are offering me your shoulder to cry on, thanks.”
“It always
helps to talk about it.”
“Well I’m
here because of my husband. He attacked me; actually I think he wanted to kill
me. I feel like God has forsaken me. I did everything I thought I was supposed
to do as a good wife but then this happened to me. I know I should never feel
that God has betrayed me because I am still so blessed. There is a man, a
friend of mine, who is going through something similar. I can’t stop thinking
about him. He is the one who came to my aid and protected me. He saved my life
and brought me here.”
“I saw a
sermon today about getting the poison out of your life. The minister said that
many of us try so hard to hold on to the person we actually need to get rid of
all in the name of marriage. We sometimes block our blessings trying to hold on
to someone who’s killing us spiritually. If you allow someone to successfully
kill your spirit you are as good as dead anyway. This body is only temporary,
but the spirit is withstanding. The man said.”
“I saw that
sermon too and it really hit home with me.”
“So this guy,
your friend, do you like him?” He asked.
“Yes, he is
everything I want in a man. He is God-fearing, gorgeous, sincere, funny, caring,
warm and a real gentleman. He has been nothing but kind to me even while he was
having his own problems at home. I’ve also fallen for him.”
“Do you know
if your friend has feelings for you?”
“I think he
does.”
“I have a
strong feeling he may be in love with you also. He could be that blessing that
you were blocking trying to hang on to the man that put you here?”
“It’s funny
you say that. All during that sermon I was thinking that same thing. Alton,
that’s his name, could be the blessing in my life that I am blocking.”
“I think you
owe it to yourself to find out.”
“I think I
will. Thank you uh Mr.…. What did you say your name was?”
“Eugene”
“Okay, thanks
Eugene.”
“God bless
you beautiful lady.”
I went
straight to my room and called Zeke to get Alton’s cell number.
“Hello Zeke?”
“Hey, Rah Rah
how are you doing? I was just on my way to see you.”
“Oh I am
good. I’m calling because I want to get Alton’s number. I want to thank him.”
“Well, umm,
he…. hold on a minute.”
“Zeke, honey
what’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry, Rah.
Alton is in the hospital.” He said solemnly.
“The
hospital?”
“Yes. He was
in his truck on my driveway about to leave when someone drove up and…” Zeke
said before the line went silent.
Something bad
happened to Alton but I didn’t know what? I was frantic because I just knew
Zeke was about to tell me that someone shot Alton while he was sitting in his
truck.
About 10
minutes later, Zeke walked in the room with a little girl I recognized without
having seen her before. She was a little version of Alton and cute as a button.
“Hey Rae, I
am so sorry. My phone died.”
“I figured
that. What happened to Alton?”
“Someone
threw a Molotov cocktail in his window.”
“Oh my God!
Who would do such a thing to him?”
“I know
Nadiah and Ingrid are tied to this somehow.”
“She really
is crazy if she did that. What hospital is he in?”
“He is right
here.”
“In this
hospital?”
“Yeah, he’s
right down the hall. Come with me. It will cheer him up to see you.”
“Did he get
burned badly?”
“Well I
couldn’t really tell. The fire melted his dash. I had to pry the door open to
get him out and he was unconscious. They had him wrapped up with bandages after
applying an antiseptic as a precaution but they said he could take the bandages
off today.”
I went with
Zeke down the hall.
“Hey cuz.
Ready to take those bandages off?” Zeke asked.
“I am not
ready to face what may be underneath.”
“Well I have
two special visitors with me, Rachel and Paige.” Zeke replied.
“So that WAS
you! Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
The man with
the bandages was Alton. I thought the walk and the hands looked familiar.
“I’m sorry.
Once I knew how you felt about me, I wasn’t sure you would still feel that way
if I was disfigured. I wanted to wait to see what I looked like before I told
you. Please don’t be upset. I wasn’t trying to deceive you.”
“Alton, I am
not that shallow. I mean I love your face, but it’s not all I love about you.
The person you are is more than a face.”
“Will you
take the bandages off? I don’t think I can do it.” He asked.
“Sure.”
I opened a sterile
suture removal kit and used the small scissors to carefully cut the bandage
while waiting anxiously to see his face. I didn’t care if there were scars or
not. It was still Alton. I saw a glimpse of the skin on his forehead first. It
was the same beautiful caramel brown color. Slowly I uncovered the features of
his face one by one, his nose, his lips, and his neck. After I’d removed the
whole bandage I looked at Zeke and said,