The Johnson Sisters (12 page)

“I was a gentleman this time. I stayed as long as I could stand her, and then I was honest and told her I had somewhere else to be. She didn't seem happy and made it known.”

“How?” I asked.

“Viv, she went off on me in the middle of this restaurant, talking about I was leaving her to go sleep with some other woman.”

“Shut up,” I said, putting my hand to my mouth.

“She said she felt disrespected because she was really feeling me and was hoping our relationship was going to go to another level.”

“Damn, she was getting ready to make you baby daddy number eight,” I said, laughing.

“I felt like that too. I only knew this chick for a couple of hours and she acted like we had been dating for years. You know I hate confrontation because of my temper, Viv. I told you on several occasions I need anger management.”

“Boy, do I know,” I said sarcastically. “So what did you do?”

“I tried to be nice,” Sheldon explained.

“What did you do?” I asked again.

“I called her out her name and told her she didn't know me like that.”

“And?” I said, knowing there was more.

“And I told her she was a whore and needed to learn how to keep her legs closed and I wouldn't sleep with her if her pussy spit out hundred-dollar bills.”

“Sheldon!” I yelled, hitting him on the arm.

“She deserved it. She screamed on me until I exited the restaurant. I don't know if I can ever show my face there again.”

“Take me next time,” I said jokingly.

“They might turn me away at the door once they see me coming with another female,” he said, causing me to laugh.

“Well, I'm glad you escaped without any charges being filed.”

Sheldon was so nice and sweet, but don't let his laidback demeanor fool you. He really did need anger management. I think he liked confrontation. His frame alone was intimidating, since he lifted weights a few times a week. He wasn't real big, not like those weightlifters looked with veins popping out of their necks. Sheldon had a nice build, but his size was threatening to some people.

One time Sheldon and I went to the grocery store to get items to have a hot dog night, so we could chill and watch movies. While we were in the bread aisle looking for some hot dog buns, this middle-aged Caucasian man came walking up and stopped right in front of us, blocking our view. Sheldon looked at me, pointing at the dude like, “What the hell?”

“It's okay,” I said, upset by this man's ill manners also, although I couldn't show this because I knew how Sheldon was. He wasn't racist, but as an African American man, he felt like he was always been targeted. I do believe this has been the case sometimes. So when it came to some races, he felt like he needed to be on guard, and for this man to blatantly stop dead in front of us like we were a nonfactor ticked both of us off. One disrespectful person doesn't define an entire race in my book, and Sheldon believed this too, but when things like this happened, his judgment sometimes got clouded.

“Yo, my man. You didn't see us standing here looking for bread too?”

The man turned and looked at Sheldon but didn't say a word. Then he turned back around like Sheldon didn't say anything. I knew it was going to be on now. Here was the nonfactor situation that this man put us in, and Sheldon was about to let him know the true facts about the type of man he was.

Sheldon stepped around the dude, getting all up in the man's face. “Did you hear me talking to you, man?” he asked furiously as the man backed up fearfully now. “Where are your damn manners?”

“Don't make me call the cops,” the man said.

“You see, Viv, this is the type of shit I'm talking about. The man sees I'm black and immediately thinks the cops need to be involved,” Sheldon addressed me.

“Sheldon, it's okay. Let him get his bread and go.”

Sheldon turned his attention back to the middle-aged man and asked “How are you going to dial the cops with broken fingers and the ability to not say nothing once I knock all your damn teeth out your mouth?” Sheldon threatened.

“I just came here for some bread.”

“So did we, before you rudely stood in front of us. Now, I would advise you to get the hell out of here, but not before apologizing to this young woman.” Sheldon gestured toward me.

The man ended up saying he was sorry. He looked at me when he said it, because Sheldon was still up in his face. I nodded it was okay, but I did that because I wanted this to be over. I didn't want Sheldon to get in trouble.

“Sheldon, he said he was sorry. Step back and let the man get his bread,” I told him.

Sheldon listened, and the man left without any bread. I was waiting for management or security to come and escort Sheldon out of the store, but no one ever came, thank goodness.

Then there was the night we went out to a bar for drinks and this dude wasted a drink on Sheldon's back. Instead of apologizing, the guy started laughing like it was funny. Sheldon punched the guy in the face, breaking his nose. Sheldon ended up with an assault charge, having to pay the man's medical bills. So yes, he did need to get some help for his anger.

“Viv, I'm going outside to get the bread. Can you heat up some gumbo and we can have a little pajama party?” he asked.

“You don't have any pajamas.”

“I came prepared. I packed a bag just in case to come over here. So I brought some.”

“Well, aren't you the one who plans ahead?” I said.

“I knew it in my gut that this date wasn't going to work, and I was right. I should have stayed here and ate dinner with y'all.”

“We can eat now. Go get my bread and I'll heat us up some gumbo,” I said, pulling the covers back to get up and go into the kitchen. I drank the last bit of wine that was in my glass.

Sheldon jumped up too, sliding on his boots to go get the bread. My night had turned around quickly, and I was happy for the diversion. Thanks to Sheldon, my evening was turning out to be a good one after all.

 

Just when I didn't think my night could get any worse, I was being pulled over by the police. I merged over to the shoulder of the road, with the police car doing the same. I did not need this right now. I wiped at the tears that were steadily falling from my eyes. More tears trickled down my face as I watched the officer walk up to my window and tap on it.

“Good evening, ma'am,” the African American officer said, with his left hand holding a flashlight and the other hand on his gun.

“Yes,” I said angrily, looking up at him. His skin was dark like chocolate. I scanned his body, which looked like he worked out. The uniform was tight across his chest, and the silver shield identified him as Officer Winn.

He shined the light around my car to see if anyone else was with me, which there wasn't. “Can I see your driver's license and registration please?” he asked.

I reached into my glove compartment, retrieving my registration. I then pulled my license out of my wallet and handed both to the officer.

He shined the light down on it and then asked, “Do you know why I pulled you over, ma'am?”

“No, sir, I don't.” I shrugged, answering him through tears, which were still trickling from my eyes.

“Are you okay, ma'am?” he asked, bending down a bit to get a better look at me.

“No, not really. I've had a really bad night,” I explained.

“I'm sorry to hear that. And I'm pretty sure this isn't making it any better,” he said kindly.

“You would be correct.”

“I'm just doing my job. I pulled you over because you were doing forty-two in a twenty-five mile an hour zone.”

“Okay,” was all I could say. I was so defeated at this point I didn't care. I was hurting. I was sad. I was angry. He stood there like he expected me to say something else or talk my way out of this, but I didn't have any fight left in me. I wasn't Phoenix, who would probably show some cleavage or pull out her breast to get a warning, or Shauna, who would probably cuss the officer out and get arrested. I was Dawn, the Dawn who had no fight left.

The officer must have caught the hint and said, “Ma'am, I'm going to run your information. I'll be right back.” He walked to his car and got in.

I saw there was another officer with him and a camera on the dashboard, recording this violation. I lowered my head, willing the tears to stop falling, but they wouldn't. As hard as I tried, the stress of my evening won and broke me down. I didn't want to look up, because I didn't want the people riding by, as their speed slowed after seeing the flashing lights, to see who it was who got pulled over. Just like I had done in the past, they were probably counting their lucky stars it wasn't them.

Minutes later, the officer was back at my car with a slip of paper, letting me know he went through with giving me the ticket.
Great,
I thought.
Like I should expect anything less with the type of night I'm having. Let's just add more things to my already terrible evening.

“Sign here, ma'am. This is stating I stopped you for doing forty-two in a twenty-five mile an hour zone. Your court date is here if you want to dispute this. And here is the address you can mail your money to if you decide not to dispute it. There is a number here if you have any questions. Do you understand what I have told you tonight?”

“Yes,” I said dejectedly.

“Honestly, I would have let you off with a warning, but my superior officer is with me, and I had to do it,” he said kindly.

I nodded as I agreed and signed the paper. I didn't care. I took the ticket, rolled my window up, and tried my best not to squeal tires as I pulled off.

 

 

When I walked into the house, I walked to the den to see Corey lying on the couch, watching a football game. I was so happy to see him.

“Hey, baby. How was dinner?” he asked.

“Horrible,” I said, dropping everything in my hands to the floor.

“Baby, what's wrong?” he asked, sitting up. “Come over here,” he said, patting the spot next to him.

I did what he asked and fell into his open arms.

“I guess you told them about us getting married.”

“I thought regardless of how they felt about you, Corey, they would be happy for me, but they jumped on me, saying you are a dog and a cheater,” I said through tears.

“Wow. Strong opinions coming from people who mean nothing to me in my life,” he said.

“But they mean something to me. Rather, they did,” I said glumly.

“You can't help who your siblings are, but you can control your own happiness. I hope being with me will make you happy,” he said, kissing me on the cheek.

“You do make me happy, baby,” I said, wrapping my arms around him.

“I know I've made mistakes, and I hoped they wouldn't hold those mistakes against me, but I guess I was wrong. I have changed. I hope you can see that. They haven't changed your mind about us getting married, have they?” he asked.

I looked up at him, saying, “No. I want to be your wife.”

“Even if it costs you your sisters?” Corey asked.

I paused, thinking about it for a minute. I knew I hadn't told Corey the full story about what happened tonight, but he didn't know everything that pertained to my past either, and I wanted to keep it that way. I was pretty sure there were things I didn't know about his also, so why tell him how my life had turned out? All he knew was my real mother passed away. He didn't know which mother I was referring to, because as far as he knew, my sisters and I had the same mother and father. He knew my dad was in jail, but he didn't know the real reason why. I told him it was for embezzlement and fraud. Of course, that was a lie. I knew going into our marriage with a bunch of lies was wrong, but what else was I supposed to do? My business was my business, with the exception of my sisters knowing the huge aspects that made up my dysfunctional life.

Until tonight, I didn't know the things that happened had affected them like they did. Shauna's words hurt more than anything I'd felt in my life. It began to make me wonder how they all really felt about me. I felt like the black sheep, and in a way I was, due to the fact that our dad and my real mom caused all this drama in our lives. Why did we, as the children, have to pay for the sins of our parents? As mad as I was, I had to look at all sides, which was something I was not ready to do at this time. My antagonism prompted the floodgates to release devastation on us. I could have heard what each of them had to say and kept it moving, but I had to push back like I always did. This time it backfired, leaving me brokenhearted and my spirit destroyed. I had to figure out how I was going to put the pieces of this situation back together.

My sisters were my world, but Corey was going to be my husband and my life. He should come first before them. After what went down tonight, it made it that much easier choosing him over them.

I looked up at Corey and said, “Even if it costs me my relationship with my sisters, I'm going to be with you forever.”

“I love you,” he said, kissing me again and wiping away my tears. “I can't wait to make you my wife. I want a big wedding. I want everybody to know how much we love one another. So . . .”

“So, what?” I asked, smiling.

“You ready to make some money for this extravagant wedding we are going to have?” he asked devilishly.

“You want to do that tonight? We did it last night.”

“I know. We said a couple of times a week, but the more money we can make, the better. Did you see the last amount of money we made?” Corey asked.

“Yes,” I said, remembering my excitement when I had seen four figures.

“Then let's make this money, baby,” he said, chuckling.

“Okay. Give me fifteen minutes to freshen up and get ready. You go set everything up,” I told him, removing myself from his arms and rising from the sofa.

“It's already done. All I need is my leading lady,” he said, causing me to blush.

Corey smacked my behind, causing me to giggle. Even though my night had turned out horrible, I was going to make sure the ending was fantastic.