Fool, Stop Trippin' Read online

  “Uh, you know you my sista and I love you, but there will be none of that kissing-on-my-man shit unless I do it.”

  “I promise to keep my tongue in my mouth.”

  “That’s not all that will be in your mouth if you even point your lips in his direction.”

  “Okay, I get the point. I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes. Be ready. We’re gonna have to haul ass to get there on time.”

  “I’ll be waiting by the door.”

  “Cool. I don’t want to be late and become the butt of a joke at the hottest play in the country. Tyler tapes his plays! Hell, with my luck, that tape will be the one he puts on sale.” I hang up and dash around the house grabbing last-minute essentials.

  I am still pissed off at Mike for standing me up, but now my anger is placed on slow boil until I hear from the rat bastard again. There will be hell to pay if I don’t get to see the play at all. I turn the radio up loud and let the top down on my convertible as I race to get to Sammie’s house.

  Thinking of Sammie brings an instant smile to my face. She is really blossoming under the love and affection of Buddy Love. He showers her with attention and makes sure she always has something to do. In fact, we have switched roles over the last two years since she has been hanging with Buddy.

  I discovered Sammie was my sister shortly after my thirtieth birthday. We both had the same father, but our mothers kept the information from us until we literally ran into each other at a club. We looked so much alike we had to get to know each other to see if we were related.

  In retrospect, it really was kind of strange how we met. We had been traveling in the same circles for years and never once ran into each other. If Sammie hadn’t gotten into that fight at the club, I might have missed her again.

  She had just finished kicking some girl’s ass and was about to be thrown out of the club when our eyes locked and I just knew she was my sister. Finding Sammie was like a small miracle to me. I was so lonely and she came into my life exactly when I needed her.

  I had just gotten divorced from my husband and my self-esteem was severely battered. Sammie’s love helped me through the hard times. We shared our horror stories and I learned that my life had not been nearly as bad as it could have been. Sammie taught me to be thankful, even for the bullshit, because it helped get me through.

  Sammie’s life was really hard up to that point. At least I had loving and supportive parents. Sammie’s mother hated her and she never even knew who her real father was until she met me. Her mother had lied to her for years, making her believe that her husband was Sammie’s father. It wasn’t until after he died that she learned the truth. That’s why it is so important to me that next week’s cookout comes off without a hitch.

  I was so deep in thought that the car appeared to have driven itself the fifteen miles that separated my place from Sammie’s. Without even realizing it, I’ve arrived. I see her boyfriend Buddy going into her apartment, so I allow them a few minutes of privacy before I interrupt them.

  Buddy is a good guy and even though I experience moments of jealousy because she is in a relationship and I’m not, he is the best man for my sister. Buddy and I met over four years ago. He was the radio personality at a club and tried to push up on me, but I was only interested in him as a friend. He had access to all the places I wanted to be seen in and he didn’t mind one bit sharing those places with me.

  Through him, I became a regular party animal with VIP access to the hottest clubs in ATL. I think that’s why it took me so long to meet Sammie—I was hanging with the celebrities while she was getting down with the regular folks. I introduced Buddy to my sister and they have been hanging tough for the last two years. I don’t mind because he is showing her the love that she’s been missing all her life.

  Sammie is the one in the know now. She knows about all the parties and I’m not mad at her. Sammie gets in free and I go along to keep her company. Talk about a win-win situation. I get to spend time with my sista and be in all the right places at the right times. So why aren’t I happy?

  I jump out of the car, rushing to the door. The trip down memory lane is going to cost us some valuable time, so Sammie needs to hurry up and say her good-byes.

  Buddy opens the door before I can knock.

  “What’s up, baby girl?” He smiles real big, opening up his arms for a hug. I allow him to give me a brotherly hug and then push away just in case Sammie is watching. So far I’ve managed not to display any overt jealousy and I intend to keep it that way.

  “Is Sammie ready?”

  “Yeah, she’s just waiting on you. You two have a good time and if you feel like it, swing by Visions for the after-party. I’ll leave passes for you at the door.”

  “Thanks, Buddy, we’ll see.”

  “Hey, sis, we better shake a leg if we don’t want to be late. Buddy bought us some chicken, so we won’t have our stomachs growling throughout the play!”

  “Oh, Buddy, you are a real sweetheart.” He really is a special kind of guy. I wonder why he never appealed to me in that way.

  Almost immediately I try to erase that thought out of my head. Nothing good would come out of this type of thinking. I had my chance at Buddy and I didn’t want it, end of story.

  “We got to rock and roll, girl.” I wave at Buddy and go back to the car to give them a few minutes to say good-bye.

  I see their mouths move over a few words and their arms entangle as they share a heated kiss. The kiss irritates me. I am being a bitch as I allow a green-eyed monster to control my thoughts. I might have felt differently if I’d not gotten stood up. Being stood up and watching a couple who is obviously in love is not the recipe for a good cake.

  Sammie gets in the car wearing a shit-eating grin. She looks so happy I can’t help but smile too. I feel ashamed of my jealousy. Sammie deserves to be happy and I am just going to have to find my own happiness.

  “Let’s do this!” I throw the car in reverse while giving Sammie the once-over.

  “Dag, sis, you are rocking that dress!” Sammie has lost some weight and she is looking good. She has on a sleek dress, black on one side and white on the other, that slims her look even further. Her hair is braided down her back with long silver earrings dangling from her ears. She still has a slight bulge in her stomach but it’s hardly noticeable when she stands up.

  “You ain’t looking too bad your damn self! Have you heard from that trifling nigga yet?” Sammie lights a cigarette and rolls down the window to let out the smoke.

  “Light one up for me too, please.”

  “Do what? Don’t tell me you’re smoking again?”

  “I just want one, okay?” I don’t dare take my eyes off the road, but I can feel Sammie’s gaze burning my skin. I quit smoking two years ago and have been bugging the shit out of Sammie to do the same ever since my mother was diagnosed with cancer.

  “I don’t know if I want to contribute to your backsliding.”

  “Light the damn cigarette, girl. I don’t need no lecture from you about it.” The closer I get to the Fox the madder I get. This is not the way I planned this night. I was supposed to be just coming out of Houston’s with a fine-ass man; he would be driving and I would be profiling. I should’ve been in the front seat of his cream-colored Benz with the leather interior, chilling to the sounds of Lena James as the wind blows through my hair, sipping Hennessy and laughing my ass off.

  “Jazz, I ain’t the one that stood you up.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Damn, that didn’t come out right.”

  “No, it didn’t, but your point is well taken. Sorry, girl, I’m just mad at myself for even giving the nigga a chance.”

  Sammie hands me my cigarette and I inhale deeply. I immediately start coughing. I toss it right out the window.

  “That’ll teach your ass.” I start to bitch, but she was right. I gave up the habit for a reason and my lungs aren’t going to allow me to have a pity party at their expense.

  “Yeah, I give up.
I ain’t trying that shit no mo.” We arrive ten minutes later and it takes us another fifteen minutes to find a parking spot.

  “Are you okay now?” Sammie asks.

  “Yeah, thanks, girl. I was just tripping.”

  “You ain’t even lied.” Before I could start to fuss at her good, my cellie rings. I look at the caller ID before I answer. Attitude is back in full force and effect.

  “What?”

  “Damn, baby, why you snapping on me like this?” Mike asks.

  “Uh, excuse you?” I unhook my seatbelt and nod to Sammie to do the same. We need to get inside. I open the door and the warning bell starts chiming, reminding me that the keys are still in the ignition. I snatch them out and slam the door shut. Sammie’s door echoes mine.

  “Where you at?” Mike demands as if he is entitled to an answer.

  “None of your damn business.” We start walking. I walk fast and Sammie is struggling to keep up with me. I cannot believe he has the nerve to call acting like everything is okay.

  “Look, baby, I know you’re mad, but I couldn’t help it. I got sent on a run and I just got back. I was out of range so I couldn’t call you.”

  “Whatever.”

  “It’s true. I’ll make it up to you even if we have to travel to South or North Carolina to see the show.” He is practically begging. Part of me wants to believe him, but that is the part of me that got stood up.

  “Like I said, whatever.”

  “You still haven’t told me where you are?”

  “Regardless of your half-assed excuse, it’s still none of your damn business. I gotta go.” I wasn’t about to tell him that I am going to the play.

  “Oh, alright, then, I guess I’ll go home and go to bed. It’s been a long day.”

  “’Bye.” I snap the phone shut.

  “What was his excuse?” Sammie asks.

  “His lying ass said he had to make a run outta town and he was out of range to call me. Claims he’s gonna make it up, even if he has to take me out of town to do it.”

  “You believe him?”

  “Hell to the fucking no! He blew his chance. I wouldn’t go out with his ass again if I was wearing gasoline drawers and he had the only water hose in the state.”

  “Aw, damn, Jazz, not the gasoline drawers.”

  “Yep. He’s probably screwing some skeezer as we speak. I say good riddance to bad rubbish.”

  “So why didn’t you cuss his ass out?”

  “What good would it have done to continue fussing with him? Would it change anything right now?”

  “Well, I guess you got a point. I think you let him off too easy.”

  “I didn’t say it was over. I’ll make his ass sweat for a minute before I tell him to kiss my entire black ass.”

  “Damn right.”

  “If the nigga is going to treat me like this and I ain’t even slept with him, imagine how his ass would act if I give him some.”

  “You definitely got a point.”

  “So I lead his ass on for another couple of months and then when he least expects it, I will pull the damn rug out from under his ass. I might even make another date with him and stand his ass up just so he knows what it feels like.”

  “Turnabout is fair play.”

  “Let’s talk about it after the play.” She pulls out the tickets from her tiny purse and hands them to a lady dressed in black with a mini flashlight. She skims the tickets and we’re directed to floor seats about ten rows from the front.

  “Sammie, these seats are great!”

  “Girl, I am surprised too. Buddy didn’t tell me where we were sitting. I assumed since these were complimentary tickets they would be farther away, especially on the first day of the show.”

  We settle in our seats, neither of us feeling the long lines at the refreshment counter. We decide to wait until intermission to get our drink on.

  Promptly at eight, the lights dim and the play begins. Buddy is hosting the show. This man is full of surprises.

  I lean over and whisper to Sammie. “How come you didn’t tell me Buddy is the MC?”

  “I didn’t know either.”

  “Hey everybody,” Buddy addresses the crowd from the stage. “How the hell is ya’ll doing? Welcome to the show. Before we get started, I wanna say a special shout to my lady, you know who you are. I love you, baby girl.”

  I glance over at Sammie as her mouth forms a perfectly shaped O.I would be lying if I said I’m not envious. Sammie is my sister. I was the one who introduced her to Buddy in the first place, so I have no right to be jealous of her. I reach across the armrest and grab her hand, smiling though my despair. The lights go out as we hear Madea announce she is in jail.

  This is not my first Tyler Perry play, but it is Sammie’s. She’s laughing so hard I think she is going to pee on herself. Our eyes are glued to the stage as one scene flows into the next until intermission is upon us. By now, we both are a little thirsty and I need to go to the bathroom.

  “Why didn’t you tell me this guy is so funny?” Sammie asks.

  “I tried to get your hot ass to slow down long enough to watch one of his DVDs, but you always wanted to go out. I got his entire collection at home.”

  “They ain’t bootlegged, are they?” We laugh again. Tyler makes it known how he feels about bootleg copies of his plays. And now that he has started doing movies as well, that is another threat that he has to watch out for. I give Tyler all his props because he went from being homeless to a millionaire. But the thing I love most about Tyler is that he didn’t forget about where he came from. He gave back to the community choosing to live right here in Atlanta with the people who made him.

  Buddy comes over to ask Sammie if she wants to take some pictures as we head to the lobby.

  “I’ll meet you back here, okay?” Hurrying off to the bathroom, I see a long line is already forming and I want to be able to still get a drink before we take our seats again.

  I luck up at the bathroom by getting there before the real crowds come in. I think people must have gotten their drinks first and they are going to pay the price.

  In the lobby, I order two Hennessy and Cokes for Sammie and me. I push my way against the flow to get back to where Sammie is taking pictures. Buddy must have pulled some strings because he got Madea to come out and take pictures with them.

  “Come on, Jazz, get in the picture,” they call to me.

  I hear a commotion brewing behind me. This ghetto woman apparently wants her picture taken with Madea, but her date isn’t trying to hear it. I chuckle to myself thinking everybody can’t be like my sis. I turn around to see who is causing such a ruckus, but the smile dies when I see Mike with his arm draped around this light-skinned heifer.

  Mike is so busy trying to hush his date, I am able to walk up on him before he notices me. He looks like a deer caught in headlights. If it hadn’t been such a painful surprise, it might have been funny.

  Madea, hearing the commotion, starts to perform right here in the lobby.

  “Looky here, looky here. I done told ya’ll you can’t take black folks everywhere. Some of ya’ll don’t know how to behave out in public. It’s a shame, a crying shame. What he needs to do is hit her upside the damn head. I’ll bet she’ll shut up then. Umph. Now, sister, dear, if you wanting to get this here picture, ya’ll betta hurry up ’cause I gots to get back in my cell before they find out I’m missing.”

  I want to wait to see if Mike will acknowledge me or just ignore me. Quandary is written all over his face. The look disgusts me and I twirl around, giving him my ass to kiss. I cross the rope to the photo area and join my sister taking pictures.

  “Was Madea talking about me?” Mike’s date ignorantly asks.

  I want to say, “Hell, yeah, she is talking about your loud ass,” but instead I allow my eyes to burn a hole in Mike. I’ll bet he will never forget the fury they hold. And if he does, I will always have a picture or two to remind him. That high-yella bitch isn’t even worth his efforts
to lie to me and since his woman of choice is showing out, I decide to show him I don’t need his sorry ass either.

  After a few more pictures, Madea excuses herself, then kisses us both on the cheek. I look to see if Mike is still watching, but he is gone. Handing Sammie her drink, we go back to finish watching the play. She is babbling on and on about how down to earth Tyler is, but she doesn’t notice the pain that I’m in.

  The rest of the play passes in a blur. The only thing that I can see clearly is Mike with this stupid-ass look on his face. I can’t understand why Mike would treat me in such a backhanded fashion. It is true I haven’t given him none, but he claims he respects me for it. Rat bastard!

  Jasmine

  “Do you want to go get something to eat?” Sammie asks.

  “Naw, I’m kind of tired. I think I just want to drop you off and go home.”

  “Are you alright? I can ride with Buddy if you’re too tired to take me home.”

  “No, if you want me to take you, I can. It’s just that I don’t feel like hanging out.”

  “This doesn’t sound like the sista I know. What’s wrong, Jazz? Didn’t you enjoy the play?” She’s right. I’m envious of her relationship and it isn’t making any sense. I know I should share with Sammie about seeing Mike at the play, but my mouth cannot form the words. I’m not used to being treated in this fashion and I am ashamed to admit that I’ve gotten played!

  “I’m alright, girl. To be honest, the green-eyed monster got a hold of me for a minute, but I am okay now.”

  “Green-eyed monster? Jazz, what are you talking about?”

  “You and Buddy. You two have come a long way, and I guess I got to feeling sorry for myself since I don’t have anyone special in my life.”

  “But, Jazz, that is your choice. You can have any man you want.”

  “I know, but I can’t really explain it better than I have. It’s not just the man thing; it’s everything. I need to find something that will give my life purpose.”

  “Purpose?”

  “Yeah, a reason to get up in the morning.”