Crazy Summer (6 page)

“You remember you got in the bed with me?” Summer asked.

Mrs. Diane giggled. “Do I remember? I know you passed gas and tried to blame it on me.”

“That was you, Mama, and you know it. You made the bed vibrate.”

They both laughed in unison and then silence slowly set in.

“What’s on yo’ mind, baby?” Mrs. Diane asked. “You can talk to me.”

Summer took a deep breath; her chest rose and fell. She relaxed a little and felt herself getting comfortable. As Mrs. Diane held her tighter, Summer suddenly spoke softly, with her head tilted at an angle where she could gaze toward the ceiling.

“I believe Red Bone is smoking dope.”

Shocked, Mrs. Diane sat silently for several seconds before finally saying, “And what makes you think that?”

“When I was at her house today…I jus’ know, Mama.” She really didn’t want to talk about it, and her mother could tell. “I smelled it on her breath,” she added, shaking her head.

“So what ‘cha gonna do?” Mrs. Diane asked.

“I ain’t gonna do what she’s doin’,” she snapped.

“You got a purpose in life, Summa. You got two lovely twin boys who desperately need their mother, and you definitely need them. You should never let yo’ kids down or at least try not to. I always tried not to let y’all down.”

“You always made a way fo’ us, Mama,” Summer said.

“Give them boys a betta life. ‘Cause once you build yaself mentally, physically, and spiritually, it ain’t nothing out there that can stop you from succeeding.”

Summer always enjoyed talking to her mother one-on-one. She looked up to Mrs. Diane, even though Summer was far too fast and had absorbed a majority of her skills from the street. However, if it weren’t for Mrs. Diane, there wouldn’t be a Summer.

The following morning, a Richmond County Sheriff car was parked out front. Summer knew they were there for her, and she was glad Danté had given her that money. When the officer placed the cuffs on her, Mrs. Diane stood on the front porch with the twins. With one standing on her left and the other on her right, tears streaked her face, but she managed to stand strong. After Summer was placed in the backseat, the police car disappeared.

It was just past eight o’clock in the morning, and the sun hadn’t quite heated the area fully yet. Mrs. Diane was slow going back inside the house. Once inside her bedroom, she sat down in her chair, while the twins ran around the house freely. Mrs. Diane picked up the phone and slowly punched in a few numbers. Her hands trembled nervously as she positioned the phone against her face.

“Hello,” a voice answered from the other end.

“Eric?” Mrs. Diane said. She knew her son’s voice, but she wanted to make sure.

“Hey, Mama. How you doin’?”

She breathed a sigh of relief, and her eyes closed briefly. She knew she was all right now.

“I’m doin’ so-so, baby. Listen, Summa jus’ got locked up, and I’ma need to borrow some money to get her out.”

There was a long silence.

“Ain’t she on probation, Mama?” Eric asked.

“Yeah, but she ready for a change. I know she’ll need a lawyer.”

“What is she locked up fo’?”

“I don’t know yet, but I think she got to fightin’ wit’ another girl.”

“Listen, Mama, don’t stress yaself out about this.” He paused. “I’ll call the county jail and see what’s her charge, okay?”

“And you gonna call me back and let me know?”

“Yeah, I will.”

“Okay, baby. I’ll talk to you in a lil’ while.”

She hung up, lowered her head, and began praying silently.

Jesus will fix it,
she said to herself.

*****

After Summer was fingerprinted, they took a picture of her and made her empty her pockets. They’d asked her a list of questions concerning her health and any other questions they could think of. Being inside of a county jail always made her nervous, but not the nervousness or fear of another woman. She’d pretty much handled herself well the last two times she was here. It was always the smell and extremely cold air conditioner that chilled the building.

Finally, a guard escorted her to a holding cell where two other females were sitting on the cold concrete slab. Once the door slammed behind her, Summer took a seat on the end closer to the door. She tucked her legs underneath her and stared straight ahead at one of the gray cinderblocks.

One of the females in the cell took a look at Summer and asked, “Don’t you be in Barton Village?”

Summer’s eyes cut toward the lady just long enough to see if she knew her or not. She didn’t recognize the lady until she said something about boosting some clothes from Regency Mall with Red Bone’s mother. That’s when Summer looked at her again, more of a stare this time. A smile almost came over her face, but she cut it short.

“Yeah, I remember you,” she finally said.

“Me and Red Bone use to be together. I was at the house when y’all came over one night.” The lady smiled. “I called you bowlegs, and you got mad.” She stood and made her way toward Summer.

Summer allowed her legs to drop to the floor, but remained seated.

“I’m Ann,” the lady said, sitting next to her and extending her hand.

Summer shook her hand while stating her name. They talked for nearly an hour about why each one of them was locked up. Ann explained to Summer the situation she was in, how her life turned from alright to worse, and Summer just listened patiently to a story that sounded more like she was lost somewhere in the middle of fantasy land. It sounded so good that she tried picturing herself as Ann. Hearing her past history about how she went wrong and then why she couldn’t ever get herself back on track…you know, do the right thing with her life.

Hearing the rattling of keys on the outside of the cell, everyone turned their attention toward the thick metal door. When it opened, there was an officer and a trustee inmate standing with three Styrofoam trays of cold-cut sandwiches.

      Ann stood first, with Summer taking a place behind her. The other woman continued sleeping as if she’d been running the streets nonstop for the last month.

      Once Summer received her tray, the officer pulled her out so she could use the telephone. She still maintained her graceful walk on the way to the phone. She knew the other holding cells were filled with men, and she definitely gave them something to look at. Everyone noticed her eye-catching walk, including the officers that worked the jail. She picked up the phone and positioned it in the crook of her neck. After dialing the number, her mother answered on the third ring.

“Hello,” Mrs. Diane said from the other end.

“Hey, Mama.”

“Hey, baby, you alright?”

“I’m fine so far,” she said with a steady voice. “I don’t know if they’ll give me a bond because of the probation.”

There was a short silence.

“I called Eric to see––”

“Don’t ask him to do nothin’ fo’ me, Mama,” she said, her voice rising slightly. She frowned and a surge of anger flowed through her body. She didn’t want her brother Eric to help her with nothing.

“Well, who else gonna help you get out, Summer?”

“Not him. I don’t need him fo’ nothin’, Mama.”

Eric was the oldest child of Mrs. Diane’s, and it was when Summer had gotten pregnant that her and Eric exchanged several harsh words about her running the streets. He’d stated she was the neighborhood freak and less than a woman. It actually wasn’t her fault she had gotten pregnant and that really wasn’t the issue. The major problem occurred when Summer didn’t know who the father was of the twins. Eric had thrown all of this in her face. She would never forgive him, and at this point, she hated his guts.

“I’ll get out on my own.”

“How? I ain’t got no money.”

Summer breathed so deep into the phone, her mother could tell she was getting frustrated.

“I’ma call you tomorrow or maybe later on tonight.”

She slammed the phone down, letting her quick temper take control of her. She never even bothered asking about her kids.

Red Bone sat at the foot of her bed wearing panties and a long pink t-shirt that was bunched around her waist. The room was dark, but she managed to use the light from the TV to roll her joint. She crushed up a small piece of rock and sprinkled it from one end of the joint to the other. A horrible odor hung in the air, stale sex mixed with sweaty body musk. She sat through it as if roses dominated the air.

After rolling her joint, she stood up and brushed the crumbs from her clothes. No more than ten minutes ago, she’d smoked one and didn’t bother letting the high wear off. She scanned the bed searching for her lighter, her small fingers crawling over the sheets. Her eyes went to the floor, where she had dropped it. She bent over to pick it up, placed the joint between her lips, and struck the lighter. The small flame gave the room a glow that made her eyebrows bunch together. At the same time she lit the joint, the house phone rang. Ignoring it, she smoked freely. A new scent filled the room, and the stinking smoke enveloped her.

The phone continued to ring, but she never thought about answering it. When the answering machine clicked on, she walked toward the nightstand to listen at the message.

“Red Bone, this is Summa. I’m locked up in the county jail for aggravated assault on some bitch I don’t even know. You know I’m on probation, and I need a lawyer. Can you help me?”

Red Bone never picked up the phone. Instead, she just sat there smoking her joint while staring into space. She licked her cracked lips and realized the joint had gone out. She put the fire to it again and pulled on it, the rush slamming into her brain cells. Her eyes became teary, not from emotions but from her high. She leaned back on the bed, when suddenly her phone rang again. Her head turned toward the nightstand, her eyes glowing. It continued to ring, and she continued to look at it. Again, Summer’s voice filled the room from the answering machine.

“Red Bone, if you home, please pick up. Can you go ‘round da corner and talk to Danté fo’ me? Tell him where I’m at and that I need a lawyer.”

Spaced out, Red Bone refused to answer the phone, but not because she didn’t want to talk to Summer. Paranoia had taken control of her to the point where she didn’t know where to turn. She finally closed her eyes and decided to get some rest.

*****

The next morning, Summer was out of her cell and anxious to get on the phone. She moved gracefully, even though she was clad in the county blues and had her hair pulled back in a neat ponytail. The wall held four payphones one beside another and just above her was a wall of Plexiglas where the officers monitored the women. She picked up the phone and got ready to dial, when one of the officers beat his fist against the glass. Out of instinct, she glanced up. When the officer pointed at her, she pointed at herself to make sure he was talking to her. He nodded and directed her to the sally port.