My Sister's Ex (18 page)

“That’s going to be awesome when it’s done,” Jeff says, a glint of happiness spilling from his eyes.

“I know it is, babe. We gotta go celebrate, too. My treat.”

“No, no, no,
my
treat. You paid for our dinner last time, so I insist.”

“Okay, cool. I won’t argue with you,” I say and laugh, but stiffen up a bit, being overly paranoid that something might go wrong with the tat.

Another hour passes and then we’re done. Silas quickly cleans off the tat with some rubbing alcohol, then applies
A&D ointment, a scar-healing cream that feels slightly cold on my skin.

I sit up. But before I can even get off the table, Silas says, “Do you mind if I take a photo for my portfolio?”

“Suit yourself,” I tell him and pose for a picture.

Jeff reaches in his wallet and hands Silas two twenties. We admire the fancywork for a minute, then head out to the parking lot. We drove over here in Ella. I can tell that Jeff’s in a good mood, because whenever he feels good, he likes to whip around in his favorite car. Plus it’s super sunny in Houston this afternoon, perfect for riding in a convertible. The sun blazes so brightly, I take it as an omen that my future is so bright, nothing but good can happen from now on.

When we stop at the side of the car, Jeff grabs my hand in his and kisses me fully on the lips. I’m surprised by his sudden display of affection, but I close my eyes and kiss him back. Anything he gives me, I want to return it to him 100 percent.

“You’re the best, Marlene. I love that about you. You’re down for whatever. No arguing, no drama.” He looks amazed. “Do you realize since we’ve been hanging out we’ve never even had a half of an argument? Unreal,” he mutters, shaking his head. Then he grimaces as if he’s sick or has gas or something.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“Well, if there’s anything I can do to help, let me know. I got everything in my pocketbook. Tums, migraine medicine, vitamins, cold and flu pills.”

“No, no thank you. The thing I got can’t be cured by anything that’s in your purse.”

“Oh,” I say flatly.

“Let’s ride.”

When he opens the car door, he instructs me, “Don’t put your purse on the floor like you did last time. Some of your stuff fell out …”

“Oh, okay.”

“No, it’s just that I had to spend time wiping up lotion off my carpet. It’ll never be the same again, you know what I’m saying?”

“Ahh, yeah. I know what you’re saying,” I say sweetly. “I’m sorry about that.”

“No, no, it’s cool.” By now he’s hopped in on the driver’s side, and he waits a few seconds before starting the car, then drives off. I notice that about him. It seems like he says a quick prayer every time we get in the car. Like he wants the Lord to protect us or something. I think it’s a good idea for him to pray even for a few seconds, because I need all the prayer I can get.

“So we gonna hang out? You gonna hang out with me? You wanna do that, Beautiful Girl?”

Blushing, I say, “Uh, you know I wanna be with you. I don’t care what we do.”

“You sure?” He winks.

“I’m sure.”

“Good, because I am hungry again and want to grab a bite to eat. Then I need to make a run on the south side. Gotta pick up some rent from a tenant who’s late.”

“Oh, yeah? Who is that?”

“Some lady who’s been with me for about eight months. She had been doing pretty well, you know what I’m saying, but I guess she’s been having some issues lately. Hey, I don’t care about all your personal problems. I need to get my money.”

“Wow, I’m so proud of you, Jeff. You are so business-minded. A lot of the guys I’ve known have been very irresponsible.

They either live with their mom who pays for everything, or they have roommates who fight over the bills. It was a mess. I would tell some of them, ‘If you can’t take care of yourself, how on earth can you take care of me?’”

“Yeah, well, that’s the difference between a boy and a man. A real man handles his business. And I, young lady, am a real man. I guess you know that already, huh?” He gives me a wicked grin, and I blush some more, looking like a big fool.

“Oh, you must be talking about—.”

“Popping that cherry, and believe me your cherry is sweet, hot, and juicyyy.”

“Jeff,” I squeal. “Hush.”

“Oh, what? Are you ashamed of making love to your man or something? Hey, if you got it good like that you need to tell somebody. Make it known that you got a good man.”

“Jeff.” I laugh. “My mama told me to never tell another woman all the details of all the good things your good man does … so I won’t be spreading the good word anytime soon.”

“Hmm, interesting,” he says, and his face grows serious. He doesn’t say anything else to me until we get to the restaurant. We stop by Murphy’s Deli and order some French onion soup, turkey pitas, and drinks to go. I’m glad Jeff wanted to get some food, since I didn’t feel like eating any of Rachel’s.

“I hate to eat and drive,” he explains once we’re back in the car, “but I need to meet this lady.”

“Oh,” I say and get a bright idea. I grab the Murphy Deli’s bag that’s sitting on a blanket on the back seat and remove one of the pitas.

“What are you doing?” he barks while driving.

“I’m taking care of you.”

I carefully peel back some of the paper that’s wrapped around the pita and order Jeff, “Open your mouth.”

“What?” he screeches. “Don’t do that!”

“Huh?”

“Put that shit, I mean, set that food back in the bag. We’ll eat when we get to the house.”

“But I thought—.”

“Look, I’m hungry but not
that
hungry,” he remarks, looking worried. “And if you are, you’ll just have to exercise some patience. We’ll be there in twenty. If you want to sip on that bottled water, that’s okay. Just make sure to use that straw.”

“Oh—” I give him a blank stare.

“Did you hear what I said? Just be a sweetie and put the food back in the bag. Hurry, before tomatoes and lettuce fall out and make a mess.”

“Yeah, right. It’s cool.”

Inside I’m rolling my eyes, but on the outside I’ll be sure to let him see me doing what he wants.

Just as he predicted, we arrive at one of his rental properties twenty minutes later. This property is located near Hobby Airport. It’s a one-story duplex that is in bad need of paint. The grass looks like it hasn’t been mowed in weeks.

When we pull up in the narrow driveway, a brown-skinned lady with a short Afro is standing behind an old black Nissan Sentra that’s parked in front of us. We step out of the car. I see at least three other little heads through the back of the Sentra.

“Damn, Jeff, it took you long enough.”

“Hey, Lola, I don’t wanna hear all that. If you made me wait for my rent, then you can wait, too.”

“Shit, I got better things to do and—.”

“I don’t wanna hear it. Where’s the rent? It’s five dollars extra a day every day that you’re late, so you owe me seven hundred thirty-five.”

She frowns and rolls her eyes. Reaches in her tiny purse and pulls out a crumpled check.

“What the fuck is this? I told you cash only or a money order. I don’t want your bouncy checks, Lola.”

“I didn’t have time to go to the bank or nothing, so take it or leave it.”

Jeff’s veins pop through his forehead looking like snakes crawling under his skin. He quietly swears under his breath.

“Don’t tell me you wasted my time and gas making me fly over here and almost getting into an accident to get my money, and your money is acting funny. I don’t do personal checks, Lola, you know this.”

“Damn, Jeff, I got bills to pay, you not the only one with your hand stuck out. My baby daddy skipped out on child support, and I had to scrape up money the best way I can. My sister loaned me some money, but she gave me a check … that’s why I’m giving you a check.”

“Which sister?”

“Bunny.”

“Sweaty Drawers?” He grins.

Lola holds her hand over her mouth and giggles. “Ooo, you know you wrong about that. She lost ten pounds recently, so she ain’t as big as she used to be.” Lola eyes me curiously. “She about the size of this chick,” she says and nods at me.

“Anyway,” Jeff says loudly. “Bunny is cool, but Lo, you know how I do. I wish you would’ve taken time to draw the money out the bank.”

“I know, baby, I know, but I’ll do that next time, I swear to God.”

She smiles encouragingly at Jeff, and his scowl gradually turns into a toothy grin.

“All right,” he says and snatches the check from her. “How’re the kids?”

“Bad as hell. I’m about to take ’em to their Nanny, and then I gots to go to my second job. Damn shame, if their daddy would pay the child support like he’s supposed to I wouldn’t have to take a second job working at the damn Taco Bell.”

“I bet you look real fine in that uniform, Lo.”

“Whatever, Jeff. I’ll be talking to you. Give me a call sometime. You know how to reach me.” She gives me a piercing, nasty look and twists her butt around, switching all the way to her car.

Jeff and I stand there looking at each other. “See what I go through?”

“Whoa. That’s all I have to say.”

“But see, I don’t do banks, and now I got this check. Can we do a third-party thing with you? I’ll give you one percent.”

“Huh?” I ask.

Lola loudly blows her horn, rolls down her window. “Get the fuck out the way. You heard me say I’m running late to work.”

“That bitch is tripping,” Jeff mutters. “Get in the car,” he says to me.

We return to Jeff’s ride and hop in, and he backs out the driveway and speeds down the street.

“Jeff,” I say, but he just stares into space while driving. His quietness allows me to reflect on the not-so-wonderful parts of Jeffrey Williams. He seemed unnecessarily rude to his tenant. Sure, she owes him money, but acting like a butt-hole won’t make her give him his money any faster. Maybe he’s stressed. Or maybe he’s just not as good of a man as I thought.

“So you gonna hook me up on this check?”

“Did you hear me saying ‘huh’ just a minute ago?”

“What? No, babe, sorry. I have a lot of stuff on my mind. What were you saying?”

“Um, never mind. It wasn’t important.”

“Anything that you wanna talk about I may want to talk about, too,” he says and starts laughing at his own joke.

“No, it’s fine. I’m probably overreacting. Loretta says a real woman never goes to extremes and overreacts in situations that don’t lend themselves to high emotions.”

“Your mama said that?”

“Why you ask? Are you shocked?”

“She doesn’t seem like the type … Well, who am I to judge. Women don’t always easily fit in the categories that I think they fit in. Take yourself, for example.”

“Yeah? What about me?”

“On the outside you look like a woman who will put up a fight for what she believes in. Yet you’re one of the sweetest young ladies I’ve ever met. And I’ve met a lot of them … being in this type of business, of course.”

“Oh, so are you saying I’m soft?”

“You don’t
look
soft … but I know you’re the other kind of soft … warm … cozy … affectionate. All good things, babe.”

I blush, nod.
Keep going
, I think inside.

“And when I’m doing my thing on the real estate tip, filling out paperwork, paying utility bills, checking and responding to a hundred e-mails, you’re the very next thing on my mind. I wonder what you’re doing throughout the day. Wonder when I can see that beautiful smile again. Then I get an unexpected call, and I hate that I have to dial you up and let you know I’ve had a change of plans.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed you did that a couple of times last week—”

“But it doesn’t happen on purpose. You know how it is; sometimes you just can’t plan how everything happens. Things come along that kick you in the face, and you either deal with the pain or pretend like it’s not hurting.” He sighs and looks like he’s in pain. I hate seeing him look this way. He works hard and deserves to enjoy the fruits of his labor.

“Anything I can do to help?”

“Nope,” he says.

“All right.”

“Wait, yep. Do the check for me. Please.”

“Jeff, I’d better not do that.”

“Why not?”

“You can cash the check at a twenty-four-hour check-cashing place.”

“I know that. They charge two percent.”

“Oh, so you’re trying to cheat me?” I laugh.

“No, no, never that. Just thought I’d ask, though. Never mind. Don’t want you doing anything that makes you feel uncomfy.”

“Jeff,” I say quietly.

“Yeah.”

“Is it okay if I eat now?”

“Huh, no. Sorry. I got distracted by Lo and forgot all about the food. Tell you what, if you promise to be real careful, go ahead and take a bite out of that pita. Or if you’re very hungry, let me hurry up and drop you back off at your spot. I got some things to do myself.”

“What? I thought we were gonna hang out.”

“I thought we were, too, but Baby Doll, I gotta be about my business. Gotta take care of some things that just came up.”

“Oh, Jeff. I’m sorry. I was looking forward—.”

“We’ll do something tomorrow. Promise. And I don’t make promises too often.”

“Then why did I take a shower? What was that about?”

“I know you want it, girl, but sometimes a man has to do things that shoves sex to the bottom of the to-do list. Real talk.”

I want to say something nasty, but since he’s noticed we haven’t had our first fight I will shut up and wait until we really have something substantial to argue about.

“Tell you what. Take me to my mama’s. I want to go see about her and my father.”

“No problem.”

We head over to Blinky’s. I see Aunt Perry’s car parked outside their house. I grab my food and wave bye to Jeff. He blows the horn and answers his cell before speeding off down the street.

I ring the doorbell. Perry opens the door. “Hey, knucklehead girl. What you doing over here?”

“Oh, I got dropped off. I’m going to need a ride home later. How long will you be over here?”

“Not long. I came to see my big brother.” She finally opens the door and whispers in my ear as I slide past her trying to get in the house. “Your daddy asked me for some money. I told him he’s got two working daughters. Humph, he said he didn’t want to bother ya’ll.”