Single Ladies (21 page)

Lisa sat up in the bed, inching her way to the edge of it. She sat there, looking down at the patch on her stomach covering the bullet wound. Right when she was about to get up, Ralphy walked into the room, stopping her before she could get to her feet.

“Come on, Lisa. Chill out, yo. Whatever you need, just let me know,” Ralphy said, pulling his arm out of the sling. “The doctor said that you still need to rest.”

Lisa smiled at how good it felt to be catered to by Ralphy again. She missed him so much, and so did Naomi. Having him home just felt right. “Can I ask you something?” Lisa said, looking up at him.

“Yeah, what's going on?” he asked, taking a seat next to her on the bed.

“Who was that? I mean, who were those men who shot us, and what was it about?” Lisa had been curious about that the whole time she was laid up in the hospital, and the way the detectives questioned her about Ralphy's involvement made her a little concerned.

“I don't know who those niggas were,” Ralphy answered and, right there, Lisa knew that he wasn't telling the truth.

“You know you can't lie to me,” Lisa said, raising her hand up to the back of his head and smacking it playfully. “Just tell me that we're safe.”

Ralphy looked over at her with a serious face. “Yeah, you're safe, and I don't want you to worry about that situation. I'ma take care of it,” he assured her.

That was a problem in itself, because Lisa was well aware of how ugly the streets could get. The hood didn't have any picks when it came down to killing, and since Ralphy was back on the block, he was now fair game, and subject to be held for court on the streets.

* * *

Lamar looked into the glass case, staring at a nice ring that caught his eye. He'd been in Tiffany's for over forty-five minutes looking for the perfect ring. The bank employees thought that he was going to rob them the way he browsed around without saying a word.

“Can I see that ring?” he asked the older white lady standing behind the glass.

She hesitated for a moment then called over to a male employee, Tim, to assist her. Lamar could see that she was a little nervous, so he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wad of money and placed it on the glass counter.

“Don't be so quick to judge black people,” he looked over and told the lady, then turned back to Tim. “I'm looking for an engagement ring for my girl, and I like that one,” Lamar said, pointing to the ring.

Tim pulled the ring from the display case and set it on the glass. He felt a little bad for how his fellow employee had treated Lamar, so he tried to be as kind and pleasant as he could to make up for it. “This is a beautiful ring. It's a two-karat princess cut, surrounded by a half karat of canary diamonds,” he said, passing Lamar the ring.

Lamar looked at the ring and then at its price tag. It cost a little more than five grand. Money truly wasn't the issue at hand. His real concerns came as he fought with himself over whether he was ready to make this kind of commitment this early on in the relationship. Things had been going well for him and Kim, but was proposing the right move at this point? There was no question whether Lamar loved her, because there wasn't a day that went by when he didn't think about starting a family with her. He just wasn't sure if Kim was on the same page; and he didn't want to make a fool of himself asking her to marry him if she were to say no. Rejection never sat well with him, and he didn't know how he would take it if it happened. The crazy part about it was that Lamar loved Kim so much he was willing to take a chance, even if it cost him $5,300.

* * *

Ralphy turned his head from the stove as he sat in the kitchen cooking Lisa something to eat. He grabbed his gun off the kitchen counter and took the safety off then tucked it into his back pocket. He wasn't taking any chances, and wasn't about to get caught slipping again. He walked over to the front window and peeked out the curtains. It was Falisha and Tammy, standing on the porch.

“Hey, ladies. If you're looking for Lisa, she's—”

“Boy, if you don't move out the way . . .” Falisha said, pushing right by Ralphy.

“We just got off the phone with her.” Tammy smiled, smacking Ralphy in his gut with the back of her hand, as she too brushed by him.

Ralphy's shoulder hurt too much to even play around with the girls. Besides, Falisha was already at the top of the steps before Ralphy got the front door shut.

“Hey, bitch!” Falisha yelled out playfully when she walked into Lisa's bedroom.

“Hey, crazy,” Lisa responded, giving Falisha a kiss on her cheek. “I thought you and Tammy was going shopping.”

“We were,” Tammy cut in as she entered the room. “We just came to chill out wit' you for a minute,” she said, leaning in to give Lisa a soft hug and a kiss.

Lisa reached over and grabbed the joint that was sitting in the ashtray. She wasn't too big on taking pain killers, or any kind of pill for that matter, so she turned to Ms. D's remedy, which was the cannabis.

“Oh, you gangsta. You got shot and you smokin' weed now,” Tammy said, sitting on the bed next to Lisa.

Lisa took two pulls then tried to pass it to Falisha. “Nah, I'm good,” Falisha said, waving the smoke from in front of her face.

Lisa put an eyebrow up at her, then looked over at Tammy, who looked off, trying her best not to blurt out Falisha's business. It only made Lisa even more curious. “What's wrong with you?” Lisa asked, taking another puff of the weed before putting it back in the ashtray.

Falisha took a seat on the bed on the other side of Lisa. She wasn't sure if she was ready to let the whole world know that she was with child, but after considering the fact that she was going to keep it, it wasn't going to do any harm letting her girls know. She only wanted to keep the news away from Lamar.

“Girl, I'm pregnant,” Falisha announced to her, shocking the hell out of Lisa.

“Pregnant? Who in da hell is crazy enough to knock you up?” Lisa chuckled through the pain in her stomach.

“It's by Lamar, but please don't say anything.”

Falisha got quiet when she heard Ralphy coming down the hallway. He had Lisa's baked tilapia fish and sautéed vegetables on a tray, along with some apple juice and Patrón. He also brought fresh bandages for Lisa's wound. He had Lisa covered.

“A'ight, we ain't gonna interrupt y'all little family time,” Falisha said, jumping up from the bed, not wanting Ralphy to hear anything about her pregnancy. “You want something from the mall while we're out?” she asked.

Lisa shook her head, still smiling from the news. She got her hugs and kisses and watched as Falisha and Tammy made their speedy exit. If it weren't for Ralphy standing there looking handsome as he wanted to, Lisa would have gotten some more of the juicy gossip she'd missed out on while she was laid up in the hospital.

* * *

Johanne walked out of the supermarket with two bags of groceries in her arms. When she got to the car and put the bags in the back seat, she pulled out her phone to call Ralphy and see if he'd be coming home for dinner tonight. He hadn't been there for a few days, but Johanne was optimistic about tonight, because he gave her his word that he would come.

“Yo, shawty,” a deep voice said from behind while Johanne was leaning up against the driver side door. She looked back and saw a young black guy leaning against the passenger side door, looking right at her. He was rough looking, too. He was black as motor oil with two missing teeth in the front and a scruffy beard to match the nappy hair he had on his head. Before she could say anything, another rough-looking man walked up to her from the side. He was a little more clean cut, but the scar running down the center of his eye made it look like he'd been through some things in the streets. Johanne looked around to see if anybody else was coming out of the woodwork.

“Where's ya li'l boyfriend at?” the man who walked up from the side asked. “Think about it,” he warned, lifting his shirt up slightly so Johanne could see the butt of his gun.

“Hello! Hello!” Ralphy yelled into the phone. Johanne forgot that she had dialed Ralphy's number and still had the phone to her ear the whole time. She thought about dropping the phone and running across the parking lot, but decided against it, not wanting to risk being shot in the back. So Ralphy could hear what was going on, Johanne let the call run; but she took the phone away from her ear.

“I don't know where Ralphy's at. I haven't seen him in a few days. Please don't hurt me,” Johanne pled.

“You think it's a fuckin' game. Bitch, I'll blow ya fuckin head off,” the man said, pulling his gun from his waist and resting it on the side of his thigh.

“I swear, I don't know where he's at,” she cried, looking around to see if somebody would notice she was in danger and come to her aid.

Where she was parked, nobody could see what was going on. Ralphy sat there listening to the whole confrontation, wishing he could jump through the phone and start blasting. All he could do was sit and listen, and hope that they would let her go.

“Next time you see ya boyfriend, give him this message for me.”

“Please, I'm pregnant,” Johanne yelled.

The gunman let off a single shot, hitting Johanne in her shin. She fell to the ground, dropping the phone and her car keys in the process. She held on to her leg, yelling out in pain as the gunmen walked over and stood over her. She knew for sure that this was it, and in what she knew were her last moments on earth, she called out the only name she could think of: “Ralphy!”

The phone went dead before Ralphy could yell back into the phone.

Lisa looked over at him standing by the bedroom window with a distraught look on his face. She knew that something was wrong and wanted to ask him what it was, but by the time Lisa finished swallowing her food to clear her mouth out, Ralphy was headed out of the room, only saying that he'd be back in a couple of hours.

* * *

Lamar pulled up to the block, only to see Ralphy's Range Rover driving down the street. He beeped his horn at him a couple of times, but Ralphy kept moving. Lamar wanted to get the opinion of a once-married man, to see if the whole husband and wife thing was as good as some people said.

When he got in the house, Kim was lying down in the bed, balled up under the sheets. She wasn't exactly asleep, but was more daydreaming about how her life would have changed if she had kept the baby.

“What? You got off work early today?” Lamar said, diving into the bed next to her.

“Yeah, I took off a half day. I'm not feeling good,” Kim said, closing her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at Lamar.

“Awwwweeee! My baby sick right now,” Lamar said in a playful manner, leaning over and kissing her. “You know, I been thinking about a lot of stuff as of late and I wanted to run a few things by you to get your take,” he said, reaching into his back pocket and grabbing the small suede box containing the ring he'd just bought.

“Not right now, babe. My period is on, and I don't feel like doing anything but lying here and going to sleep,” Kim said, turning over and giving Lamar her back.

Lamar could see that now probably wasn't the best time for him to pop the question. It was frustrating, because he'd waited all day and rehearsed his words a thousand times, hoping that they would come out the way he'd planned. Now that he was lying beside her, the mood was the only thing that wasn't right; and instead of trying to force the issue, Lamar placed the little suede box back into his pocket, scooted up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist. They both eventually fell asleep without saying another word.

“Mommy, Mommy, whose house is this?” little Anthony asked as he got out of the car.

“Why do you have to ask so many questions, Anthony?” Tammy said as she unstrapped Sinniyyah from her car seat.

“I wanna know who's house it is, Mommy,” Anthony continued, looking around at the unfamiliar area. It was a far cry from where he was used to living. There had to be about twenty kids out on the street, riding their bikes and running up and down the sidewalk. Anthony had never seen this many white kids in one place before, although there were a few black children among the crowd. This definitely was something new for him.

Darious, who was in the garage with the door up, walked out to the driveway, surprised that Tammy had the kids with her. She walked up to him with Sinniyyah in her arms, waiting to see what he was going to say.

“Are you sure?” Darious asked, wondering if she was ready to bring her kids into his life.

“Mmmm hmmmm.” She nodded, leaning in to kiss him.

This was a big step for their relationship, but Tammy felt comfortable enough to have Darious around her kids on a more permanent note; plus, she was tired of always having to find a babysitter in order to spend some quality time with her man. Tammy felt that if they were going to be together, then Darious might as well get to know the kids. He'd only seen them a couple of times, and that was due to Tammy trying to give Chris some respect by not having his kids around another man. That way of thinking had run its course, and it came by way of the fact that Darious wasn't just another man, he was Tammy's man and the person she planned to spend the rest of her life with. Darious being a part of her kids' lives was inevitable, and that was something Chris was going to have to learn how to respect.

* * *

When Ralphy pulled up to the block, Scoop was in the cut, sitting on some steps a nice distance away from the heavy dopefiend traffic heading for the workers. The moment Scoop saw Ralphy pull up, he removed the gun from his waist and set it on his lap. He wasn't sure what type of shit Ralphy was on, or if he'd put it together that he had something to do with the shooting at the dentist office, but just to be on the safe side Scoop had his gun at the ready.

“What it do, big homie,” Scoop greeted him, extending his fist for some dap, which Ralphy returned.

“Yo, I think we might have to go to war with these niggas on the west side,” Ralphy said, easing his arm out of the sling.

“War? Niggas don't go to war like that anymore.” Scoop chuckled. “Especially when the beef is personal. And what makes you think it was the niggas from the west side?” Scoop asked, trying to see where Ralphy had come up with that idea.

“Man, it had to be. Them niggas came for blood not money. I don't know how, but I got a feeling Dre's people know I had something to do with his death.”

Ralphy didn't sound all that sure, which made Scoop feel like he was in the clear. “Yo, my nigga, you ain't been out here in a while, and I tried to warn you.”

“Warn me about what?” Ralphy shot back with a little attitude behind it.

“This street life ain't you anymore. You're a family man now, and that's where you belong. Shit gets ugly out here if you're not careful,” Scoop told him.

Ralphy was a little shocked by what Scoop had said. It was as if he didn't have any respect for Ralphy's G card anymore. The more Ralphy sat there and thought about it, it also sounded like Scoop didn't want him out there on the streets at all. It wasn't what he said, it was how Scoop said it that caught Ralphy's attention.

“So you're gon' put dis work in wit' me or what?” Ralphy asked, but only to check Scoop's temperature on the matter.

“Homie, I really don't got the time for war. I'm trying to make some money right now,” Scoop said, turning his head away to look down the street. “Just let that shit die down before you get yaself killed,” Scoop said, before getting up from the steps and walking off down the street toward his workers.

Ralphy knew right then and there that Scoop was no longer on his side. He didn't know if or to what extent Scoop had something to with the shooting, but if it came out that he did, Ralphy wasn't going to hesitate in putting a bullet through his head, so-called friend or not.

* * *

Just about every Sunday, Ms. D had a dinner, and it was a guarantee that everybody would show up. She fried chicken breast, fish, and a few other seafood creatures like shrimp and crab cakes. Mashed potatoes with gravy, macaroni and cheese, greens, corn, and white rice were also on the menu. Her house smelled like a soul food restaurant, and in the midst of the great smell, the aroma of her specially made apple pie blended in the air. Mrs. D could cook her ass off.

“All right, somebody clear this table off,” Mrs. D yelled out from the kitchen.

Lamar wasn't getting up from in front of the TV and neither was Ralphy. The football game had them locked in, so it was up to the females to get the job done. Lisa couldn't do much of anything with her wound, and Falisha was upstairs in Mrs. D's bedroom talking on the phone. Tammy and Kim were left to take care of the dinner table.

“Are you okay?” Tammy asked, seeing the blank look on Kim's face as she sat at the table.

Like many women, Kim still had the abortion on her mind, and she wanted so bad to tell Lamar what happened. She just didn't know how he was going to react to it. She loved him, and didn't want to risk losing him. At the same time, she didn't like hiding things and keeping secrets from him. It just felt wrong all the way around the board.

Mrs. D finally got everybody to the dinner table. Little Anthony, Sinniyyah, and Naomi all sat at the kitchen table, with Mrs. D going back and forth to check up on them. As soon as everyone was seated, Falisha said grace.

“Heavenly Father, thank you for this food you have provided for us, and thank you for allowing friends to come together and enjoy this meal. God, I ask that you protect us from the evil plot of the devil, and to make us all strong enough to move on. God knows that strength is what we're gonna need. And please protect us from these wolves in sheep's clothing. In the name of Jesus. Amen!”

Lamar looked up at Falisha knowing that after that sarcastic prayer there was more to follow, and nine times out of ten, it wasn't going to be good at all.

Mrs. D even gave her a look as if to say, “Don't start ya shit.”

Falisha kept her cool and began to eat along with everybody else. For the first few minutes, it was pretty much silent except for the sounds of spoons and forks hitting the plates and a couple of moans from the delicious taste of the food.

“I got an announcement I wanna make,” Tammy said, wiping her mouth with the napkin. I'm moving next week,” she said, taking a sip of her juice.

“What? I know it's not with that boy,” Kim spoke, surprised to hear that coming from her.

“His name is Darious and he's far from a boy,” Tammy quickly corrected her. “Besides, he makes me happy.”

“That's right, girl. That's all that matters,” Falisha cut in.

“You know Chris gon' kill you and him when he gets home.” Ralphy chuckled.

“Chicks ain't got no loyalty nowadays. A nigga go to jail, and a female is so quick to forget about everything a nigga did for them before he got there,” Lamar said with a slight attitude. “I don't respect it,” he concluded, taking a bite of his chicken breast.

“Lamar!” Kim yelled, smacking his arm, “Don't be rude.”

“Nah, nah, that's cool, Kim. I'm not mad at Lamar. He's only saying how he feels. But let me say this to all the niggas who's locked down in the pen: I didn't put a gun to nobody's head and make you be a trap boy. Chris did that on his own. I would have stood by his side if he worked at McDonald's in order to provide for his family. He knew what he was doing, and the possibility of being taken away from his kids. But, guess what, he kept doing it. Meaning he didn't give a damn about me or our kids. He left this pussy out here so he could be around a bunch of men and dicks. If you think I'm about to put my life on hold for the next ten years, you and every other nigga got another think coming,” Tammy said, pointing her fork at him.

Lamar sat there and continued to eat his food. He really didn't have anything else to say. Chris had always been a cool dude to him and, from the outside looking in, it looked like Tammy was leaving him when he most needed her.

Ralphy, on the other hand, had something he wanted to get off his chest. He cleared his throat, reached into his back pocket, and pulled out an envelope. Inside were the divorce papers signed by him and Lisa, and ready to be processed. He held on to them for good reasons and the most important of them was that he wanted to make sure a divorce was what he really wanted.

“Me and Lisa been together for a long time now, and I know everybody is aware of what happened between us. I just wanna say that when you love somebody as much as me and Lisa love each other, you can make it through anything,” Ralphy said, taking the papers and ripping the up into little pieces, “Me and Lisa are back together.”

“You just sayin' that 'cause she got shot. Nigga, the streets is talking,” Falisha said, biting down on her fish.

“You out of pocket, Falisha,” Kim said.

“Look who's talkin',” Falisha shot back. “Don't you got something you wanna say, since everybody got announcements?”

“I got an announcement,” Lamar said, reaching into his pocket for the ring.

“And who you screwing now?” Falisha shot at him. She wasn't taking any prisoners today. Her hormones were running wild and she was just saying whatever came to mind. Lamar was so shaken he put his ring back inside his pocket and continued eating without attempting to respond to Falisha's comment.

“Damn, you cold,” Mrs. D said, shaking her head at Falisha.

“Yeah, and don't think that I don't know you got cancer. You like a fuckin' mother to me, and you hide some shit like this from me . . . from us.”

Mrs. D leaned over and backhanded Falisha right in her mouth, splitting her bottom lip on the side. Falisha knew she was wrong, and that's why she did nothing but cover her mouth with her hands and remain quiet while Mrs. D said what she had to say.

“Yeah, I got cancer, but that's my business. I was going to tell the rest of y'all, who didn't know, on my own terms, not yours,” Mrs. D said, cutting her eyes over at Falisha. “Now, if y'all don't mind, I wanna enjoy the rest of this meal without the negativity. So if you don't have anything positive to say, then don't say nothing at all,” Mrs. D concluded before digging into her plate.

Everybody was in agreement with trying to salvage what good was left in the Sunday dinner. Silence took over the table, and just when everybody thought that the day was over, Falisha rocked the table with her own shocking public announcement.

“Well, how about one more quick announcement. I'm pregnant!” Falisha said before turning around and walking out of the kitchen on her way to the bathroom.

* * *

Johanne sat in her hospital bed looking at the positive pregnancy test the nurse had given her. She was so astonished by the good news she could barely feel the metal rods keeping her shattered shin bone in place. This whole time, she had no idea she was absolutely with child and the more she looked at the test, the more excited she became.

“Excuse me, Nurse. Is it possible for you to find out how far along I am?” Johanne asked, reaching over and grabbing her cell phone off the stand.

“Sure, just give me a minute,” the nurse responded.

Although Ralphy said that he'd be back around eight o'clock, Johanne couldn't help but to try to call him. She wanted to give him the news right away, hoping he would be just as happy as she was. Unfortunately, her few attempts at calling him ended up going straight to his voice mail. She thought about texting him, but that was a little too cheesy. Johanne would have to wait; but, in the meantime, in between time, she was going to bask in the beautiful gift of motherhood.