Homecoming Weekend (35 page)

But just before it was time to go, Kevin's sister's dorm room got raided by campus police. And with Kevin being a drug dealer, there was marijuana all over the place. Jimmy had walked Deborah to her room and went to another dorm to get Kevin so they could get on the road. As he was walking down the hallway, searching for the room, he witnessed the police go in and Kevin come out in handcuffs.

“That was a crazy night,” Jimmy told Kevin. “I'm still amazed they let you go. What did you tell them? I asked you then, but you gave me some bull. You had to negotiate something. They had you dead to rights.”

“I didn't tell them anything,” he said. “When they got me away from everyone, I said, ‘What will it take to make this go away?' One cop was like, ‘What you got?' I said, ‘I got about six hundred dollars.' I told them I went to Norfolk State and I wouldn't be coming back. Man, they took the money, gave me my product back and said, ‘Don't let me catch you on this campus again.' They drove me back to my car. You were standing there looking at me like, ‘What the hell just happened?'”

“Wow, all these years I had no idea you bribed those guys,” Jimmy said. “But it makes sense. You were only gone about fifteen minutes, maybe thirty minutes. You had the keys to your car. I had no money to bail you out. I was standing there thinking, ‘How the hell I'm gonna get back to Norfolk?' Crazy night.”

“I'm guessing you got out of that business,” Carter said

“Yeah, long time ago,” Kevin said. “I run a rec center in Kenilworth in D.C. But it's good to be back here.”

Carter got the text from Barbara that she and Donna were coming
in. He paid their admission and greeted them at the door. Donna looked happy and pretty, her hair pulled up. Barbara was stunning: a long red dress that fit her curvaceous body like a pair of panty hose. Her cleavage was pronounced, but not so much that it looked like her breasts were going to spill out.

Significantly, she took off her wedding ring. She decided there was no need to not be up-front about her divorce or her love for Carter. He noticed her naked ring finger almost immediately, but did not say anything. He hugged the women and led them through the hotel lobby into the ballroom area.

Barbara broke away for a few minutes to greet some old classmates outside of the ballroom, including Anna Burch, who was from New York but made her home in Norfolk. Anna worked Saturday so she missed the game and the tailgate, important parts of the festivities.

When they finished chatting, Carter led Barbara to a table on the right side of the ballroom. That was another reason Carter had planned to arrive early; he wanted to assure Barbara a seat.

“You've gone from being distant with Barbara to kissing her feet,” Jimmy said. “You all right?”

“Yeah, I'm good,” Carter said. “I have some heavy stuff I need to share with her and I need to do it before we leave tomorrow.”

“Really? About what?” Jimmy asked. “About how you feel about her and her moving to New York? Not trying to be nosey, so don't feel pressured to say.”

“Well, that's it in a nutshell,” Carter said. “We need to talk about it,
really
talk about it, before she gets there.”

“I hear you, man,” Jimmy said. “Good luck.”

Jimmy sat for a few minutes with Donna, who took a few classes at Norfolk State but graduated from Old Dominion. “So, how's this weekend been for you?” he asked. “You look great, by the way.”

“It's been good,” she said. “And thank you. I have met a lot of people, a lot of fun people. You Spartans are pretty live. I'm feeling it. How has it been for you? I'm
sure
you've had a good time.”

Jimmy smiled. But he detected something in Donna's delivery that he didn't like. “You say that like you think I've been chasing women,” he said. “Why do I feel that?”

“Well, I wasn't trying to convey that, but that's what men do, right?” she said. “Especially when they leave their wife at home for the weekend.”

“You seem pretty . . . won't say obsessed, but interested in my wife not being here,” Jimmy said. “That's at least the third or fourth time you've alluded that point. Why's that?”

Donna said, “No, I wouldn't say that. I'm just giving you my observations.”

“What is it?” Jimmy asked. “You like me?”

He was surprised that he asked her that, but he was not in the mood for innuendo or hints.

“Yes, I do,” Donna said. “You asked me and I told you. Now what?”

Jimmy was again surprised. He considered himself a keen judge of people and certainly could tell when a woman was interested in him.

“You sure haven't shown me that you like me,” he said. “I'm flattered that you do. Trust me, I am. But . . . ”

“But you're married?” she said. “You're married, but you chose to come here without your wife. You did that for a reason. Weren't you looking for something? Someone?”

“I'm married,” Jimmy said. “I didn't come here to find something or someone. I came to see my old classmates, enjoy my time away from home—”

“Blah, blah, blah,” Donna said. Jimmy was taken aback. She had
been very quiet the whole weekend, observing without commenting on much. Suddenly, she was open and direct.

“Do you like me, have an interest in me?” she said. “Aren't you leaving tomorrow, going back to your wife? Aren't you looking for a highlight of your weekend?”

“I'm going to go get a drink,” he said, “because I need one. Not too many times in my life I have needed one. After surviving being attacked by locals early in my Iraq tour, I needed a few drinks. This is the first time since then.”

“You thirsty? Or are you hot?” Donna said.

Jimmy didn't answer. He just got up and went to the reception area outside the ballroom. He chatted with NSU national alumni president Butch Graves for a minute before he found Carter coming from the bathroom. “Yo, this is crazy,” he said.

“What?” Carter asked.

“Your girl's friend, Donna; she's coming on to me stronger than any woman ever has, well, except for Regina. She basically just asked me to hit it. I can't believe this.”

“You can't believe she did or you can't believe you're considering it?” Carter said. “Look, man, I don't care what you do. I don't. In fact, I know you won't hit it. That's who you are. You're one of the few good guys who would turn it down. And that's great. But I do need you to occupy Donna a little bit, dance with her, talk to her. I need to spend some time with Barbara and she's worried about Donna being by herself. You see these guys in here; most of them out here in the lobby talking and laughing instead of in there with tables full of women.”

“All right, I got you,” Jimmy said. “But I need to get her under control.”

After getting a shot of Absolut, Jimmy went back into the ballroom. He did not even sit down. He grabbed Donna's hand
and took her to the dance floor. That gave Carter the space he needed to talk to Barbara.

“Barbara, I really want to share some things with you about you moving to New York,” he said. “We can try to find someplace more quiet.”

“This is okay,” she said. “No one is here right now. We have some privacy.”

“Okay,” Carter said. “I really want to tell you about Marlena, the woman whose text you read . . . She's . . . she's my wife.”

The music was loud and Barbara was not sure she heard him correctly. He just couldn't have said what she thought he did. “What?” she asked.

“She's my wife,” Carter said.

Barbara heard him clearly that time and her poise and elegance were shattered. She was flustered and confused. “Your wife?” she said. “What the fuck are you talking about, Carter?”

Barbara hardly ever used profanity, but she was incensed. Carter took a deep breath and looked down at his shoes. Then he raised his head and looked into her teary eyes. His heart was pounding and a queasy feeling arrived in his stomach.

“We got married almost three months ago,” he said. “We—”

“How in the fuck could you get married and not say anything to me?” she said. “How in the fuck could you call yourself loving me and marry someone else? How in the fuck could you try to condemn me for getting a divorce? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

That was the most he had ever heard Barbara curse in all the years he had known her—combined. He literally was scared because he had no idea where she would go with her anger. There was a drink on the table and he picked it up and moved it far away from Barbara.

“I'm sorry, Barbara. I am,” he said. “This was not about love. I, uh, we decided it was the right thing to do considering the circumstances.”

“What fucking circumstances?” she yelled.

“She was pregnant,” Carter blurted out. “Her period comes like clockwork and when it didn't, she took the test. She's a Seventh Day Adventist and premarital sex is forbidden. Her parents are staunch in their religion. She said she was going to be ridiculed and basically catch so much hell if she was pregnant before marriage.”

“And you fell for that shit?” Barbara said. “You are a very smart man. You telling me you fell for the dumbest, lamest trick in the goddamn book?”

“It wasn't a trick,” he said. “I know her family. It was real. It would have been messed up for her if they found out she had premarital sex. And I couldn't let her go through that. I was trying to protect her relationship with her family.”

Barbara seethed. “Oh, so now you're Mr. Save-a-Ho? You're Mr. Morals? You get married because someone is pregnant? And that's supposed to be something I should believe?”

Carter was in unfamiliar territory. He had never seen Barbara in such a rage. Worse, he did not know how to handle it.

Tranise, Mary and Charlene

T
rue to her word, Tranise showed up looking beautiful, sporting a little black dress that plunged in the front, displaying a set of breasts she did not have as a college student, and a chiffon back. She knew Brandon's attention would be hers. But she did not expect to see Kwame there.

“There goes your young suitor,” Mary said. “Did you tell him you were going to be here?”

“I must have; I can't remember,” she said. “I haven't talked to him since I saw him at the game. We didn't talk about tonight. But it's cool. I'm fine.”

“This is a little older crowd, but it's sophisticated,” Charlene said. “Maybe we can learn something. Or teach a few things.”

“To who?” Mary said. “You on the prowl?”

“It's the last night. Damn right I am,” Charlene answered. “Tyrell is a nice backup plan.”

“Is Rodney coming?” Tranise said.

“Of course, he is,” Mary answered. “After what I gave him last night, how could he not come back for Round Two?”

“I'm scared of you,” Charlene said.

“Y'all so freak nasty,” Tranise said. “I don't even know if I should be hanging with you hookers.”

The ladies laughed as Kwame came over. His youthful energy was apparent. His interest in Tranise was, too.

“So this is our last night together, huh?” he said to her. “I feel kind of sad about that. I'm thinking we should extend the night.”

Tranise smiled. She knew what he meant but she wanted him to say it. “Extend the night?' she asked coyly. “What does that mean? Go to breakfast after the party?”

“Actually,” Kwame said, “no. I was thinking about my place. It's small. But it's clean and it's cozy.”

“Are you open to learning?” Tranise said.

“Teach me everything you know,” Kwame eagerly answered.

“Here's your first lesson,” Tranise said. “Understand who you are talking to. If you understood me at all, you know I would not go back to your apartment. You would know, in fact, that I could be offended that you asked me that after meeting me yesterday.”

Kwame was thrown. He had not been rejected much in his young life—indeed, he had his way with women—and so he did not know how to respond. Tranise was as interested in educating him as she was getting to know him.

“You are a good catch,” she told him. “You're smart. You have charisma. You're handsome. You obviously know a good catch when you see one since you are interested in me. Sorry, I couldn't help it. Seriously, though, you have to be able to discern a woman from a ‘trick.' A trick would go to your apartment tonight to ‘extend the night.' I know you don't think I'm a trick. You probably have used that same approach to others and it worked. But it won't work and shouldn't be used on everyone. You have to be able to discern how you should be with individuals based on that individual. I know I didn't give you any indication that I would go home with you. So . . . ”

Kwame felt awkward. The competitive gene in him wanted him to continue to go for it. Maybe he could turn her. The conscious side of him felt like a little boy in class, admonished by the teacher he admired.

“Thank you for telling me that,” he said to Tranise. “I'm sorry. I hope you know I would never try to offend or disrespect you. I don't know. I guess I just wanted a chance to see you in private before you left tomorrow.”

He's good
, Tranise thought,
especially to be so young
. There was an innocence and genuineness to him. “Let's just have a good time tonight,” she said. “I like you. I think you're cool. And I gave you my number, so we can keep in touch.”

“I'm good with that, Kwame,” he said. “I'm good with that. Let's hug it out.”

They embraced and he kissed Tranise on the side of her face. She smiled. “Seems like you're trying to do more than hug, Kwame,” Tranise said as she pulled back.