I looked at my mother and nearly fainted. I always knew it would come back to bite me in the ass. But damn, never like this. I had to say that I was a user because they were trying to put me in jail with Deshaun for possession and intent to distribute. My mother shook her head, and the devil continued, “She is a crazy nymphomaniac, drug addict, and a criminal.”
I interrupted, “Oh my God! Are you kidding me?”
The judge raised her hand. “Look, I’ve asked you once not to speak without permission and I will not ask again. The next time I will dismiss the case.”
It was killing me to sit quietly and watch her lie about me. Facing Tracey, the judge asked, “Where did you get this information from?”
“Your Honor, off her computer and out of her bedroom.”
My mouth hung open. How could I have gone against all my intuition and fall for this? It was so unbelievable.
“So, did she give you permission to print these letters and search her belongings?”
“No, but she didn’t hide it. And her criminal record is public record. She was indicted ten years ago . . .” The judge nodded. “She still corresponds with her coconspirator through letters. She’s sent him pictures of the baby and I’m concerned she may be taking him to visit.”
I covered my chest. How did she know about my relationship with Deshaun? Why was she making this stuff up? I couldn’t dispute anything she said. I just had to suffer through all the lies.
She smiled politely and said, “Yes, more than anything, my husband and I are friends. I moved to Maryland to help him with the baby, because he knew Ms. Dixon was doing a horrible job.”
My lawyer said, “Objection, Your Honor?”
“Overruled.”
I looked at Tracey and she gave me a conniving grin. “So I agreed to help him and it just so happens, I had to move into the house with him and his mistress.”
The judge smiled politely at her. “You are a good woman.”
No. She is a bitch in disguise.
Then the judge turned her attention to Dwight. “What do you think about this situation?”
“Well, I would like to have the honor of raising my son. A woman can’t teach a man how to be a man. Especially a woman who repeatedly says, ‘I wish I could go back to when I was childless.’ I don’t think Ms. Dixon ever intended to be a mother.”
I gasped. He glanced at me and, almost as if he had been hypnotized, he said, “She relinquished custody for a reason.”
They were ripping my character to shreds and had the judge eating from their hands. I was a drug-abusing mistress who had a close boyfriend in jail that I communicate with via mail. I used to sell drugs, and I had a crazy lesbian lover. Isn’t it crazy how someone can paint such an ugly picture? Before the judge left to deliberate, I knew the verdict. I prayed for a miracle, but what’s a prayer without a voice? I was hopeless.
My mother demanded that I hold my head high when I walked into the courtroom, but I felt defeated. Tracey came to court with weapons of mass destruction and all I had was my word, and that didn’t amount to shit. The judge looked at me. “Ms. Dixon, it seems that you are very spontaneous. You want this today. You don’t want it tomorrow. You want to get high today. You want to be clean tomorrow. Raising a child takes structure and commitment. The problem with society now is that so many people want to turn parenting on and off.” She paused and looked at Dwight. “Now, Mr. Wilson and . . . Mrs. Wilson, you spoke about values.”
Tracey nodded confidently and I just shook my head. The judge continued, “You want to raise your son. But what kind of morals do you teach him? Do you say it’s okay to lie and steal?”
My neck snapped back, as did Tracey’s. “From what I can tell, there was a period where you were married to both Ms. Dixon and Ms. Tracey Wilson. Are these records correct?”Tracey shouted, “It was a mistake. He thought we were divorced!”
The judge removed her glasses. “You’re a bigamist, Mr. Wilson, and I believe Ms. Dixon. Why would she sign her son over to you after you lied and misled her?” She looked at me. “Did you think he was divorced?”
I nodded. She cleared her throat. “Ms. Dixon, I’m going to return custody to you. Ms. Wilson could have had any jackleg notary verify these custody papers and they will not hold up in my court.”
I covered my mouth in excitement and clenched my mother’s hand. Tears welled in her eyes. The judge raised her finger, warning us not to get too excited. “But I am going to order you to court-appointed parenting classes. Unfortunately, they will have to be taken in Florida. Will that be a problem?”
“No, Your Honor. Whatever to get my baby back.”
Tracey shouted, “He doesn’t even know her. I’m the only mother he knows.”
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter. An officer of the court will escort you to the Wilsons’ home this evening.” She turned to look at them. “You will need to gather his things and have them ready by four o’clock. Judgment in favor of the plaintiff.”
Tracey broke down in tears and it appeared that Dwight’s eyes watered, too. She cried hard. A part of me knew it hurt her, but the other part said it didn’t have to be like this. We could have worked this out. Now, after so much lying and deceit, I wasn’t certain that I ever wanted my son to visit them. Dwight stood up and faced me. I stared at him, searching for the man I loved, but he was gone. They headed toward the door. Suddenly, I became overwhelmed with emotion as I watched them walk out of court together. I wished it would have been just as simple as handing him over. Unfortunately, I had to face them again.
My mother and I met the officers outside of the Wilsons’ home at four on the dot. I’d bitten my nails down to nubs. I prayed that DJ didn’t act a fool when they handed him over. We stood at the bottom of the driveway and the officers knocked on the door. Tracey opened the door; her eyes were puffy and her pale cheeks were red. She held DJ tightly and kissed his face. Dwight rubbed her shoulder as the officer stripped them of DJ. I closed my eyes. DJ squealed like he was in pain and that made me cry. The officer rushed down the driveway to me. I said, “DJ.”
He abruptly stopped crying and smiled at me. I grabbed him in my arms and held him tightly, crying and kissing him feverishly. I thanked God for the second chance to prove I appreciated His blessing.
1. Do you think Tracey was too hard on Dwight? Should she have moved to Maryland with him?
2. Do you think Dwight was wrong for moving even when he knew Tracey was adamant?
3. Would you consider Dwight a good man? Why or why not?
4. Did you think Alicia was wrong for pursuing Dwight?
5. Do you agree with Dwight’s decision to leave his family to make something work with Alicia? Or was Alicia the easy way out?
6. Do you think Dwight and Alicia’s sexual encounter was inevitable? Or is it possible to remain friends under those kinds of circumstances?
7. Would you have been able to share your man with another woman?
8. Do you think Tracey really loved Dwight, or was she in love with his money?
9. Did the women have ulterior motives for sharing Dwight? If so, what do you think these motives were?
10. How many women do you think could handle an arrangement like this? And under what circumstances is it acceptable?
C
ANDICE
D
OW
is a native of Baltimore, MD, and a graduate of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and Johns Hopkins University. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked as a software engineer. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Rho Xi Omega Chapter in Baltimore, and enjoys mentoring teenage girls. Candice is the author of three novels:
Caught in the Mix
,
Ain’t No Sunshine
, and
A Hire Love
. She is currently hard at work on her next novel.
D
AAIMAH
S. P
OOLE
was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. She graduated from Temple University with a BA in journalism in 2003. While attending Temple, Daaimah worked almost every job imaginable—receptionist, car salesperson, bill collector, waitress, tutor, and substitute teacher. She would later say she was unintentionally doing character research. Daaimah completed her first novel,
Yo Yo Love
, at the age of nineteen, without owning a computer or knowing how to type. Originally published by Oshun Publishing and later picked up by Kensington Books,
Yo Yo Love
went on to become an
Essence
magazine best-seller. Her subsequent novels,
Got a Man
,
What’s Real
,
Ex-Girl to the Next Girl
,
All I Want Is Everything
, and
A Rich Man’s Baby
have cemented her reputation as an author on the move. Visit
WWW.DSPBOOKS.COM
.