The Johnson Sisters (13 page)

 

I got a crazy baby mama in my life. I'm not talking about her getting on my nerves every now and then. I'm saying she's literally crazy. The elevator don't go all the way to the top crazy. It gets stuck in the damn basement where darkness lies crazy. I'd never been a person who was scared of anybody, but this demented chick had me reconsidering.

“Is you and your baby dead yet?” she asked, calling my house for the seventeenth time that day. “Your baby too ugly to be living. Maybe you should drop her from the second floor of your house.”

“Trick, I told you to stop calling my damn house,” I yelled.

“Or what? What are you going to do?”

“Keep calling and you will find out.”

“I been calling you, bitch, and you ain't done a damn thing. You ain't nobody, and neither is that ugly baby of yours,” she yelled.

“Oh, okay. I know what this is about. You mad because Tyree is with me and I gave him the daughter he's always wanted and you couldn't,” I taunted.

“I'm pregnant now with his child, bitch,” she revealed.

“In your dreams,” I tried to say back with confidence, hoping she didn't hear the uncertainty in my voice from her revelation. I can't lie; her saying that was like a gut punch, but then again, everything she said to me was gut punches. Still, a small part of me wondered, was she telling me the truth?

“No, bitch, in my reality. You think you have Tyree all to yourself. Please. He comes over here all the time, and it's not only to see his son. He keeps coming back to get some of my good pussy.”

I didn't believe Juanita. After all the hell she took Tyree through, the sliced tires, the bleached clothes, getting him fired, and even cheating on him, he would be a damn fool to go back and screw her.

“If you call my house one more time, I'm going to call and have a restraining order put on you for harassment,” I threatened.

“Well, get ready to dial, because I'm going to call as many times as I damn well—”

I hung up on her. I didn't have time to argue with this trick. As soon as I walked away from the phone, it rang again. I looked at the caller ID to see it was Juanita again. I clicked the line on, but immediately clicked it right back off, hanging up on her again.

Tyree walked into the kitchen, yawning and wiping the sleep out of his eyes, asking, “Who keeps calling?”

“Juanita, that's who,” I said furiously. “You better check her, Tyree, or I'm going to hurt her, and I mean it,” I warned.

“Baby, calm down,” he said nonchalantly.

“Don't tell me to calm down. She calling here asking me if our baby is dead yet and how I should drop her from the second-floor window. I mean, who does that?”

“Juanita,” Tyree said, walking over to the coffee pot on the counter and pouring himself a cup of coffee like this was a normal day for him.

“Tyree, I'm tired of this. It was bad enough she had the nerve to call me in the hospital while trying to deliver Nevaeh, wishing we both died during childbirth. Now she's calling our home.”

The phone rang again, and I picked up the receiver to see it was her again. I held the phone up to show Tyree, and he held his hand out to take the phone.

“Naw. Let the voicemail pick it up. The more threatening messages she leaves, the more evidence I'll have against her to file harassment charges and put a restraining order against her,” I said, slamming the phone down on the counter.

“You don't have to do all that,” he said, walking over to the kitchen table to sit down.

“You suggested I do that at the hospital. Then you talked me out of it for your son's sake. She's taking this thing too far. I listened to you and left it alone, but look where that has gotten me,” I said with outstretched hands.

“She's not worth it. She's mad because I chose you, babe,” Tyree said convincingly.

“Are you sure you chose me? Because she told me you two are still sleeping together and she's pregnant with your baby.”

Tyree took a gulp, forgetting he was drinking hot coffee. He yelped as the hot liquid burned his mouth. He ran over to the sink and ran cold water into his hand, cupping it as he brought the liquid to his mouth to help cool it.

I stood there with my arms crossed. Was that a sign of guilt or what? He was that damn nervous to forget what he was drinking. “So you are sleeping with her,” I said suspiciously, hoping his further behavior wouldn't make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up more than they already were.

“No,” he said, standing and turning to me. “You know I don't want her.”

“Then why burn yourself?”

“You caught me off-guard. There is no way in the world I would ever go back to her. I regret the day I ever met her.”

I gave him a skeptical look.

“Come on, Serena. I wouldn't do that to you or my daughter. For goodness' sake, she's threatening my child. I couldn't be with anybody like that.”

The phone rang again, and again it was Juanita. He dropped his head in defeat as I held the phone up again for him to see it was her. I waited for the phone to stop ringing and decided to listen to the voicemail messages to see what else this trick had to say. I put the phone on speaker so Tyree could hear what his baby mama was saying.

“You have five new messages. First message . . .”

“Bitch, I know you still at home. Don't make me come over there and check you and that ugly baby of yours. Will y'all please die already? It would make this world so much better. Two ugly bitches gone for good. So kill your baby first, and then kill yourself.”

I saved that message and went to the next, looking at Tyree like, “You see what I'm saying?”

Second message: “Trick, pick up the phone. I need to speak to my man for a minute. His son would like to speak with him. Pick up, trick. I know you there.”

I saved that message also, still looking at Tyree, fuming with each message that played.

Third message: “Say, ‘Die, bitch,' . . . Die, bitch.”

Tyree stood straight up then. Juanita had the nerve to have their son on the phone repeating what she was telling him to say.

I looked at him and tilted my head at him like, “Now what?”

“Say, ‘Your baby ugly.' . . . Your baby ugly.

“Say, ‘I hate you.' . . . I hate you.

“Say, ‘bitch.' . . . Bitch.

“Say, ‘bitch' again. . . . Bitch.

“Say, ‘Kill yourself, bitch.” . . . Kill self, bitch.”

“That's enough!” Tyree yelled.

I saved that message too. I started to listen to the next one knowing it was from her, but I decided to click the phone off. I placed the phone down on the counter and looked at him. “But you don't want me to file charges.”

“I can't believe she's got my three-year-old son saying that,” Tyree said in disbelief.

“Believe it. If she can do that, Tyree, what else is she capable of? I'm trying to protect our daughter here. You might not take Juanita seriously, but I do. I remember the stories you told me she did to you when y'all were together, and it was enough to make me leave you; but I didn't because I loved you too much. I'm here now, with your daughter, in our house, trying to make this work, but, Tyree, I can't deal with Juanita. Something has to give,” I pleaded.

Tyree walked up to me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to him. “Babe, I'm sorry. You are right. You don't deserve what she's doing. If you want to call the cops, I'm behind you.”

Tyree backed away a bit to look down at me. I looked up and our eyes met.

“I love you, Serena. I love our daughter. Do whatever you got to do, okay?”

I nodded and leaned in to kiss him as the phone rang once again.

 

I didn't know who to talk to, but the first person who popped in my mind was Renee. Man, I missed her for times like this. I really needed her shoulder right now. Then I thought about Dawn, but she wasn't speaking to me, so she was not an option. Shauna was at work, and Phoenix didn't answer her phone, so that left Serena. I called her, and she told me to come right over, which I was happy about.

Serena and I didn't talk much without the others around. It wasn't like I didn't love her. I was used to turning to Renee before she passed. Now that she was gone, I turned to Dawn with my issues, and I saw where that had gotten me. She used my situation against me. I called Dawn to apologize about what happened, but she kept sending my calls to voicemail. She had yet to return my call. Why I was apologizing was beyond me, but I felt like somebody needed to step up and try to start mending things between us. I was willing to do that to get back our sisterly bond, but nothing was working. Dawn was stubborn, but I was persistent and wouldn't stop bugging her until she spoke to me. But today that wasn't going to happen. I was going over to Serena's home to talk to her about some things going on with me.

I walked into my niece's nursery to see Serena changing little Nevaeh's Pampers. My niece was not happy about it either. She was screaming at the top of her little lungs and had the nerve for some tears to run down the sides of her little face.

“Aw, what's wrong, sweetie?” I asked, leaning down and rubbing her head, but she kept squalling.

“She's mad because I'm changing her butt. Some days she's good, and other days she squeals like this. I think this time she's hungry, but I didn't want to feed her without getting that poop off her first,” Serena said, snapping her pink onesie and then picking Nevaeh up. “You can stop crying now, Miss Thang. I'm going to feed you,” Serena told her as Nevaeh whimpered. She even had the nerve to stick out her bottom lip before she burst into tears again.

“Can I feed her?” I asked, putting my purse on the first shelf of the changing table.

“Sure,” Serena said, handing my niece to me.

She was still crying. I placed her on my shoulder and bounced with her for a bit, but it wasn't working. Serena picked up her bottle out of the warmer and put it to her cheek. She then squirted some of the milk on her wrist, checking the temperature, making sure it was perfect.

I sat down in the reddish brown swivel chair trimmed in pink contour lines and the matching ottoman, which was positioned next to the window. I didn't know the cushiony chair glided until I sat in it. “I like these chairs,” I said, looking at an identical one on the other side of me. A pink table sat between the two chairs positioned right under the window.

“They were a gift from Tyree. He wanted us to have two so one of us wouldn't feel left out on nights we could sit in here together.”

“Aw, that's sweet. Have you guys sat in here together yet?” I asked.

“We sit in here a lot. I think it's the tranquil innocence of the space. This room definitely calms me,” Serena said, looking around the nursery.

I put Nevaeh in the crook of my left arm, covering her with her pink receiving blanket. Serena handed me the bottle, and I placed it in my niece's little mouth. As soon as she felt the nipple, she began sucking the warm liquid down.

“You see. She eats all the time,” Serena said, gathering the dirty Pampers up and placing it into the Diaper Genie. “Would you like something to drink? I got water, juice, and soda.”

“I'll take some water,” I said, gliding back and forth.

Serena left the nursery. I looked around at how my sister had decorated the space. Light pink was on the walls. Nevaeh's name in white letters was over the espresso-colored crib. Pink-and-brown bedding adorned the crib with ruffles and soft blankets. The closet was open to reveal the tiniest of clothes hanging up. And it was full. This room was beautiful and serene. I leaned my head back, continuing to rock back and forth in the rocker. I looked down at my niece. She had her little fist balled up around her face as she looked up at me.

“You are so precious,” I said to her. I knew she couldn't understand what I was saying, but she had to feel my words were said in love.

Serena came back into the room, putting the water down on a coaster she placed on the pink table. She then sat down in the glider across from me and began drinking the bottle of water she brought for herself.

“Serena, you have done a beautiful job in this nursery.”

“Thank you,” she said, looking around at her work.

“I know you were surprised to hear from me,” I said.

“It has been a while since you wanted to talk to me. You usually talk to Dawn. I guess she's not an option now,” Serena said.

“You're right. She's not speaking to me right now.”

“Nevertheless, I know whatever you have to say has to be big for you to come over here and see me,” she said, taking another sip of her water.

“I hope you don't mind me wanting to talk to you?” I asked, looking down at Nevaeh, who was still looking up at me.

“Girl, I don't mind. I'm here for you always. So what's going on?” Serena asked, getting more comfortable as she brought one of her knees to her chest, with the other tucked beneath her. My sister looked comfortable in a pair of gray drawstring pants and a white tee with a gray feather print on the front.

“Before we get started on me, what's wrong with you?” I asked.

“Nothing. Why are you asking?”

“Come on, Serena. I can tell something is going on with you. I know we don't talk often, one on one, but you are still my sister. I can tell when something is up with you.”

She sighed and paused, taking another sip of her water. She looked at me and said, “You didn't come over here to hear my problems, Viv.”

“Just like you just told me and, yes, I'm going to give your own words back to you. I'm here for you always.”

Serena smiled and got up off the chair, walking out of the room. For a minute I thought I had offended her, but I couldn't see how. It wasn't long before Serena came back into the room. She plopped down in the chair with an envelope in her hand. When she held it up for me to read, my mouth fell open.

“What in the hell is that?” I asked.

“It's what it says it is,” she explained.

“But medical facilities aren't supposed to print up envelopes like that. That's an invasion of someone's rights to privacy. Hell, I know about the HIPAA laws.”

“This was in my mailbox today,” she said glumly.

“Stop lying,” I said.

“Vivian, I wish I were.”

I was looking at a stamped envelope addressed to Tyree Coleman. In big, bold capital letters across the front for everybody handling this piece of mail to see, it said
HERPES
TEST RESULTS INSIDE.

“Did you open it?” I asked.

“You damn right I did. Sis, I was so mad I forgot about any federal offense laws and the possibility of me being arrested for opening his mail. I didn't care. I had to see what was inside.”

“And?” I asked curiously.

Serena reached in the envelope, pulling out the piece of paper. She opened it and began reading it to me:

“Get checked, Tyree, because you may have herpes. And since you have been sleeping with me, I thought you should know you need to get checked. Sorry for any inconvenience, sweetie. Love, Juanita.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” I said in astonishment.

“This woman is certifiable. I mean, who does this? She sent this through the postal service on purpose, stamped, delivery confirmation and all. Look where it came from,” Serena said, pointing to the postal stamp.

“New York,” I said.

“Exactly. This bitch just left New York, taking her son to visit with some of her family. She sent the letter from there with this official-looking envelope,” Serena explained.

“I'm sorry, sis. My problem is nothing compared to what you are dealing with right now. Does Tyree know?”

“Yeah, I showed it to him and he was pissed.”

“I hope he hasn't left to go over and confront her,” I said.

“He said he wasn't, but who knows. As mad as he was, he might have. Really, I don't care at this point. This is too much for me to deal with. I was so happy when you called me this morning wanting to come over.”

“I feel bad now.”

“Please don't. As you can see, I needed you as much as you need me. Now let's stop talking about me. What's your deal?” Serena asked.

“I did something that I think I might regret,” I began to reveal.

“And what's that?” She looked at me suspiciously.

“I slept with Sheldon,” I said, flinching like what I said hurt.

“For real?” she asked excitedly. “When?” Serena damn near jumped up and down on the chair.

“The night of our disaster dinner. He came over after his hell date, and we chilled out like we always do.”

“I know it was good. He looks like he can lay some good pipe—and real long pipe,” she said.

“Serena,” I said, giggling.

“I'm sorry, but that man is fine, Viv. I know it was good, wasn't it? I want to know. Give me all the juicy details,” she said eagerly as she propped her elbow on the arm of the glider and leaned in to listen.

I paused before saying, “It was real good. I mean, it was so good he had me
gon
good. G-o-n, gon. No man—and I mean no man—has ever made my body feel like Sheldon did.”

“Damn, Viv. He put it down on you like that?”

“It was so good, Serena, that when we got up the next morning, we did it again, and it was just as good, if not better, than the hours before. I was sore as hell, but I didn't care. To have that man's body next to mine felt right,” I said, looking down at little Nevaeh's eyes beginning to close.

“So, what now?”

“That's just it. I don't know. Sheldon and I are best friends.”

“A fine best friend at that,” Serena said.

“Now that we've crossed this line, I wonder how is this going to affect our friendship. This man knows more about me than y'all do. He knows my favorite ice cream and has seen me looking my worst without makeup. He knows my bad habits and deals with my attitudes no matter what. He knows about all the men I've slept with and vice versa. We are so close that if I get a pimple, this man will pop it. We pass gas around each other. As crazy as all this sounds, Serena, I love him for that. He is my comfort zone.”

“Wow. He sounds like the perfect man for you, Viv,” Serena said in a suggestive tone.

“But he's my perfect friend. I never thought of him as my man.”

“Never?” she questioned.

“Never,” I said.

“Y'all didn't talk about what happened that morning?”

“When we finished, we both fell back to sleep. When I woke up, he was gone.”

“You haven't called him?” Serena asked.

“And say what? ‘Hey, how's it going? By the way, let's talk about the sex we had the other night'?”

“Yes,” Serena blurted, chuckling.

“I can't do that.”

“Why are you scared?” my sister asked.

“I just am. I can't explain it.”

“You have known Sheldon forever. Talk to him. You will be okay. Just like you said, this man knows everything about you, so regardless if you talk to him now or later, when you do see him, he's going to know something is up by your demeanor.”

My sister was right. I never looked at it like that. This man could read me like a book.

“I don't want this to ruin our friendship. Sheldon is the best thing that's happened to me in a very long time. I could confide in him about anything, Serena. If sex changes this between us, I'm going to be devastated.”

I removed the bottle from Nevaeh's mouth and picked her up, placing her on my shoulder, patting her back to burp her. She was sound asleep and looked so beautiful. I could feel her little breaths on my cheek, which caused me to smile.

Serena said, “Viv, you can't pretend like this never happened. You never know; you might get around him again and your hormones might start to rage. You know you are going to jump his bones again.”

“It can't happen again,” I disagreed.

“If you say so, but I know it is. If it's as good as you say it is, and for that man to come back for seconds the following morning, it's going to happen again. You two need to talk this over if you don't want it to ruin you all's friendship for real.”

Serena was right. As much as I wanted to pretend like nothing happened, my body let me know it did. I could still feel the residual effects of what his manhood brought to my body. Thinking of Sheldon used to make me happy. Now the thought of him made me horny. I loved him as my friend, but I loved him even more as my lover. I didn't want to fall in love with him, but in a weird sort of way, I already had. The sex took it to the level I'd been fighting a long time. I didn't want to feel this way if he didn't feel the same about me. I knew that was what my hesitation in this entire situation was about: him not feeling anything for me after our night together.

I hoped Dawn wasn't right. I hoped Sheldon wouldn't be another man who would use me for what he could get out of me. But why should I think this way? This was my best friend. He would never use me. I did know him better than that. What I didn't know, and feared most, was if this would break our bond. The thought that I could lose him saddened me.