Fool, Stop Trippin' Read online

  I go in the kitchen waging a mental battle to decide between having a drink versus a cup of coffee. My rationale for choosing a drink over coffee is that I am already hyped. I need to calm down and nothing calms you down quicker than a glass of gin and juice.

  Two drinks and one hour later, I call Buddy. He doesn’t answer so I leave a message. I am finishing my third drink when he returns my call, and I am so laid back, I can’t remember why I was upset in the first place.

  “Hey, baby.”

  “Oh, you sound tired.”

  “I am. We’ve had three live feeds today and I still have to host the party tonight at Visions. If I could get out of this one, I’d go right home and go to sleep.”

  “Poor baby. If you were here, I would take care of ya and make the stress go away.”

  “I know you would, but baby girl, I’m too pooped to handle you tonight. I would be no good to you.”

  “I bet I could change that.”

  He chuckles. “I have no doubt about that. So what’s up? I got to get moving to the club.”

  “Oh, yeah…I did call you, didn’t I? Well, Jazz’s mother is throwing a cookout next Saturday to introduce me to my father’s side of the family. I wanted to know if you would come with me.”

  “What time? We are running hot and heavy this month because it’s our anniversary and every jock has to work something all over the city.”

  “It’s going to be early since my dad’s brothers and sisters are up in age. The youngest is seventy-four, I believe. I’m sure it won’t last long. You don’t have to stay for the whole thing, but I could use some support.”

  “How early?”

  “Noon.”

  “That’s good. I could swing through before I go on location at four.”

  “Thanks, baby.”

  “Shoot, I need to see you as much as you need to see me.”

  “That’s what I love about you.”

  “Love you too. Gotta go, but I will holla at you in the morning. Sweet dreams, boo.”

  “I’ll be dreaming of you.”

  “Damn, you sure paint a picture for a brotha that makes it hard to think about work.”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make it hard for you to work, but I intended to make it hard for something else. ’Night.” I hang up to his laughter. So what was so difficult about that? He’s nothing but a big old puddy tat and I’m his bowl of milk. I got drunk for nothing. I stumble into my bedroom and fall out on the bed with my clothes still on. My last thought before passing out is of my ex-husband, Jessie, which is like living through an episode of “Nightmare on My Street.”

  Jessie was abusive, both mentally and physically. He beat me down so bad I almost killed myself trying to get away.

  Leah

  As usual, Kentee was late returning the children and my schedule has been shot to hell. Regardless of how many times I explain to him how important my schedule is, he continues to act as if it doesn’t matter. That, coupled with his repeated attempts to push up on me, has me wondering if having him in their lives is worth it.

  “Kayla, I want you to take a bath in Mommy’s bathroom. Do you have all your homework done?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’ll double-check after I finish my bath.”

  “Good. Malik.”

  “I can run my own bath water. I’m a big boy now.”

  “That you are. Please don’t play in the tub. We are running behind schedule.”

  “I don’t play in the tub. That’s Kayla.” I laugh because he isn’t telling a lie. If I gave Kayla a few minutes, then walked into my bathroom, I’ll bet water would be all over the floor. I would let Malik use my room since he is so quick, but I’m hesitant because my tub is so much deeper than theirs. I would only allow him to use my tub if I were in there with him, but he is at the age where he doesn’t want me to see his private parts, which is a good thing.

  With only Mya to attend to, I lead her to her room and help her take off her clothes. As I help her into her robe, she sits on her bed in an apparent daze. I wish I could look into her brain to see what she is thinking. The ringing phone distracts me from my musing. I have to rush across the hall to get it since I do not keep a phone in Mya’s room. The ringing could send her into a fit since she cannot process loud noises. I grab the phone on the third ring.

  “Hold on for a second. Kayla, no playing. You’ve got to get ready for bed, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “I’m back.” I glance at the caller ID to see whom I’m speaking with and am pleased to see it’s Sammie.

  “Hey, girlfriend.”

  “Hey yourself, stranger. What you been into?”

  “Same old thang, girl, same old thang. I’m just trying to make it day by day.”

  “I hear ya.”

  “Look, I won’t hold you because I can hear you trying to get the kids settled for the night. I just wanted to know if you and Craig want to go to a cookout with me next weekend.”

  “I’ll have to check with Craig, but it sounds good to me.”

  “Cool, let me know. Jazz’s mother is throwing the cookout to give me a chance to meet my dad’s side of the family.”

  “Wow, that’s real sweet and unselfish of her.”

  “I know and I appreciate it, but I can’t help being apprehensive about it.”

  “That’s understandable. Look, I left Mya unattended, so I’ll call you back after I talk to Craig, okay?”

  “Sure. Talk to you later.”

  “’Bye.” I am not out of the room good before the phone rings again. This time it is Craig.

  “Hey, boo.”

  “Just checking to make sure the kids got back on time.”

  “They’re back, but not on time. I’m bathing them now, so I will call you back, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  Mya is sitting in the corner when I go back into her room. Malik has put on his PJs and is already in bed. Smiling at his efficiency, I run Mya’s bath.

  “Did you have a nice time with your daddy?” I sign to her. She just looks at me, so I don’t press her. She has her moments when she wants to talk, so I assume this isn’t one of them. We finish the bath and she allows me to dress her. After I kiss her good night, she lies on her pallet and closes her eyes, but I know she isn’t sleeping. That is another thing about Mya—she doesn’t sleep with her eyes closed. When she’s truly asleep, her eyes are open. Sometimes it scares me but that’s just another trait of her autism.

  The sad part about this disease is that no two patients have the same symptoms making early diagnosis difficult and oftentimes leading to misdiagnosis. Craig was the first person to detect Mya’s hearing deficiency, which led to her first surgery. We found out that Mya had water in her ear canal. This was drained and tubes were placed in her ears. As a result, she isn’t allowed to play in the pool like her brother and sister.

  From there, also with Craig’s help, Mya started taking sign language classes and when that appeared to be working, the whole family took classes so we could communicate with her when she is in a talkative mood. Kentee even agreed to take the classes, a real shocker for me. So things have improved tremendously over the past two years. We still have a long way to go with her behavior and her social skills.

  Autism affects one out of 166 children a year and the numbers are growing. Fortunately for Mya, we met Craig, who helped me push her past barriers that we couldn’t overcome alone. Pausing to kiss Malik, I turn on the nightlight and turn off the overhead.

  “Good night.”

  Kayla is still in my tub when I return to my room, but stops splashing as soon as I step into the bathroom.

  “Sorry, Mommy.” She proceeds to bathe while I mop up the water on the floor. She finishes quickly and scurries to her room. After she gets her pajamas on, she pulls out her book bag. As I suspected, there is unfinished homework.

  “Kayla, this is the last time that you are going to pull this stunt on me. It’s no
t funny and it’s not cute. The next time you try this, you won’t be able to go with your father. Do you understand me?”

  “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

  “Okay, now hurry up. Do you need any help?”

  “No. It won’t take me long.”

  I leave her to her homework and take a quick shower. It’s already past ten o’clock and I still want to call Craig back before it gets too late. We both have to get up early in the morning.

  Kayla is done by the time I finish my shower and is sitting on my bed looking at television.

  “Oh, no, sweetie, it’s past your bedtime.”

  “I was waiting to give you a kiss.” She kisses me and skips off to her room. Strangely, they didn’t say anything about what happened with their father over the weekend. Normally, Kayla would not be able to shut up, but she didn’t utter a word. I start to go in her room and ask her, but have second thoughts. Nine times out of ten something happens that would piss me off and I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if I knew, so it is better to just leave this alone for now. It will more than likely come up in the next few days. It always does. Kayla could not keep a secret if she carried it in a bucket. Somehow it always spills out.

  Alone at last, I call Craig back, but because of the lateness of the hour our conversation is short.

  “Do you want to go to a cookout with me next week? Sammie and Jasmine are having one.”

  “Isn’t that a Kentee weekend?”

  “Well, yeah, but I thought if you didn’t mind, we could spend some time over there.”

  “I was trying to surprise you with a short trip, but if you have your heart set on going to the cookout, then we can do it later.”

  “Do I look like I got ‘fool’ written on my forehead? I’d rather get away with you.”

  “Won’t Sammie be upset with you?”

  “She’ll get over it. I didn’t confirm it with her. I told her I had to check with you. The only reason I even thought about going is because she is going to meet her dad’s family for the first time.”

  “Wow, now I feel bad taking you away at such a critical time for her.”

  “She won’t be alone. Jazz will be there, and of course Buddy will be there too. Sammie will understand. She knows that we don’t spend nearly enough ‘quantity’ time together.”

  “What we don’t have in quantity, we make up for in quality.”

  “I know that’s right. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, baby.”

  “Alright, I enjoyed you this weekend.”

  “I enjoyed you too. Good night.” We don’t talk about love too much or where our relationship is going. We’ve both been there before and carry our own sets of luggage. It would be great if we could step things up a notch but until that happens I’m content with the way things are between us. The next thing I know, the alarm clock is ringing, marking the beginning of another work week.

  Tarcia

  Lasonji is in her room poring over some books and I am pacing in the hallway. Part of me is glad that she has those reference books, the other part is pissed that she brought them into my house after I had asked her not to. Her face is grim. She has just about torn a whole box of Kleenex to shreds as she flips pages. If that isn’t enough to make me nervous, the damn tapping of her feet on the hardwood floor certainly makes up for it.

  “It says here that the absence of the snake means the evil has gone.”

  “That’s a good thing.” I start to relax.

  “However, the shedding of skin means that the jinx is still present. We have to flush out that evil and dispose of the skin, so it cannot harm us. We also have to make certain the snake didn’t shed twice.”

  “Twice, why would it do that?”

  “If the jinx is for you, then it would leave a skin for each of your personalities.”

  “Each of my what?”

  “You’re a Gemini. It stands to reason, there are two of you.”

  “Girl, how many times have I told you I don’t believe in that crap?”

  “Whether you believe or not is irrelevant at this point, wouldn’t you say? And despite your denial, there are two of you. I’ve met them both—one I call Tarcia and the other I named Marcia.”

  “Oh, now you’re trying to say that I’m a nut.”

  “No, I’m not saying that. What I am saying is that you have two distinct personalities in the same body. Lots of folks have two personalities but their distinction is muddled.”

  “So who am I now?”

  “Girl, I don’t mean that someone is taking over your body like in The Exorcist. Both of your personalities are still you.” Exasperated, she gives me her undivided attention.

  “Then make me understand.”

  “The Tarcia side of you is reasonable. I can talk to you and even if you don’t agree with what I am saying, you will hear me out. Marcia is close-minded and will not entertain any such thoughts. Understand?”

  “Yeah, but I thought everyone is like that.”

  “They are up to a point. Marcia goes beyond that point. She is unreasonable to her own detriment. Everything cannot be logically explained. Marcia doesn’t believe that. If she can’t explain it, it does not exist.”

  “Oh, I get it.”

  “Are you willing to admit something strange is afoot?” I hesitate for just a moment before nodding my head.

  “Good, that means I am speaking to Tarcia.” She opens the books again as I continue to pace. She has me rethinking my entire life since I left New Orleans. My mother was a Gemini too. Her birthday was two days after mine.

  “Did my mother have two personalities too?”

  “I can’t really recall. Back then, children did not speak unless spoken to, but if I were to guess, I would say no.”

  “Why not?”

  “She wouldn’t have run away. Her dominant side would have forced her to stay and figure out how to co-exist in the mystical world. That is why it’s so important that I figure out what all this means. If there’s only one skin, I need to know why. The other one could very well be hiding in the house, or it could’ve ridden the evil out of here and shed someplace else.”

  “Truth is, there’s no way to know for sure which personality dominated her.”

  “So true. Give me a few minutes to understand what I’m reading.”

  She has a point since I cannot think of any logical explanation for the intensity of my dreams or the whereabouts of the snake.

  “Oh, okay. Sorry.” I am too scared to go to my room or any other room in the house without Lasonji, so I just sit on the floor in the hallway. This way I could keep an eye open for any trouble headed my way, if it is visible, that is. However, fatigue wins out over fear and before I know it, I am sleeping, my head resting on my knees.

  Jasmine

  “Ain’t this a bitch? I know this hoodrat is not going to stand me up.” I anxiously tap my foot on the floor. I hate waiting more than anything else in the world, and I warned that buster to be on time. Glancing at my watch for the umpteenth time, I loudly suck my teeth.

  “Shoot. And to think I was planning on breaking the brother off tonight, but he just lost those privileges. That’s why I don’t fool with these thugged-out motherfuckers. Always perpetrating, talking yang and don’t mean shit they say. All game.”

  I reach over to check my cell just in case Mike left a text message. Flipping the phone shut, I jump when it starts ringing. Arranging my hair out of my face, I bark into the phone. My hands firmly planted on my hips, I wait for Mike to explain himself.

  “Damn, girl, you need to take one of those anger management classes they are giving out at the local high school,” Sammie says, laughing.

  “Bite me,” I reply. I glance at my watch again accepting the fact that there’s no way Mike and I will get dinner prior to the start of the play.

  “Uh, look, I ain’t trying to argue with you. I just wanted to tell you to have a good time,” Sammie says, sounding like she’s preparing to hang up.

&nbs
p; “Well, I might not be going.”

  “Say what? What happened?”

  “Mike happened. He hasn’t shown up yet. We already missed our dinner reservations and now it looks like we are going to miss the opening if he doesn’t get his black ass here in the next few minutes.”

  “What time is the play?” Sammie asks.

  “Eight, and it’s already past seven. My gut told me not to go out with this man, but I wanted to see the play so badly, not to mention he had front row seats!”

  “Yeah, I feel ya, but you don’t want to walk into a Tyler Perry show late because he will call your ass out in a heartbeat.”

  “Don’t I know it, and I ain’t in the mood to have someone clowning me. I am so mad I could spit. Mike hasn’t called or anything. He better be dead or dying!”

  “He must not know who he is dealing with. Obviously, he ain’t read the ‘How to Treat a Diva’ book.” Sammie hates it when her sister is upset.

  “Obviously, but what really chaps my ass is that for the last three months he bugged the shit out of me to take me out and when I agree to go, he pulls this shit.”

  “Niggras ain’t right.”

  “I wish I would have held on to the tickets but he insisted on holding them. He said it was his insurance that I would keep the date with him.”

  “Well, I can’t blame the brother there because if you had held on to the tickets you would have rolled out on his ass with a quickness.”

  “You damn right, and thought nothing about it.”

  “Well, never fear, good ole Buddy to the rescue. The radio station was giving out tickets at the station this morning and the lady who won them didn’t pick them up, so Buddy said I could have them if I wanted them. He’s on the way over to drop them off.”

  “Are you shitting me? He’s bringing you two tickets?”

  “Nope, I’m not shitting you and yes it’s two tickets since he knows me well enough to know that I wouldn’t go by myself. Come by and scoop me up, so we won’t be all late and shit.”

  “Thanks, Sammie. Remind me to kiss that man of yours.”