I’d just come home from work and was about to drive over to the day care and pick up the kids when the doorbell rang. I ran to the door praying it was Travis. I hadn’t heard from him since he left a week ago, and I was beginning to think he wasn’t gonna come home. I can’t even begin to explain how much I missed that man. I opened the front door, and standing right in front of me, grinning like I was supposed to be happy to see him, was Malek.
“What’s up, Shorty? What you doin?”
“What am I doin’?” I snapped in disbelief. “I’m thinking about ways to kill your ass for all the trouble you caused me. What the fuck do you think I’m doin’?”
“Damn, why you so hostile? I made sure your boy Travis’s car wasn’t here before I pulled up.”
“Ain’t nobody ask you to come here, Malek.” I stuck my head out the door and looked both ways. It’d be just my luck that today would be the day Travis decided to come home. “What do you want anyway, Malek? Haven’t you caused enough trouble?”
“I just wanted to see if you were all right. Make sure that nigga Travis didn’t rough you up after I told him about them condoms.”
He had the nerve to laugh. So I reared back and swung at him, but my blow didn’t connect and he laughed even harder. His laughter pissed me off even more. I threw a barrage of punches and slaps at him until I connected, busting his lip.
“Yo, what the fuck’s wrong with you?” He rubbed his hand against his lip and got angry when he saw the blood. “You better chill the fuck out before I knock your ass out. I ain’t that nigga Travis. You better recognize.”
“Recognize what? That he’s a man and you’re not? That you’re a loser who can’t keep a job at Home Depot? I mean, tell me what the fuck I’m supposed to recognize, and I will. ’Cause what’s standing in front of me ain’t shit.”
“Oh, so it’s like that, huh? I ain’t shit.”
“You damn right. Now get the fuck off my property before I do something we both might regret.”
“Oh, please. What you gonna do?”
I held the phone so Malek couldn’t see the numbers I was dialing, and called 411. I started talking before the recording even picked up.
“Hello? I need the police at Twenty-one-sixteen Harrogate Road.” I said it in a panic as I smirked at Malek. “What’s the emergency? My daughter’s father just got out his car with a gun. His name? His name is Malek Robinson and he’s driving a white Honda Civic. Please tell them to hurry. I have two children in the house.” I clicked off the phone and glared at Malek. “You wanted to know what I was gonna do, Malek? That’s what I’m gonna do. Now, you probably have about three minutes to get the hell outta here before the cops are all over your ass. And if you don’t, you’re going to jail, ’cause I know you got weed on you.”
“Well, if I’m going to jail, maybe I should slap the shit outta you before the cops get here. At least then I’ll be going to jail for a good reason.” He lifted his hand like he was about to slap me, and I wished I had really dialed 911 instead of information. Thank God he came to his senses and turned toward his car. “This ain’t over, Shorty. Trust me, this ain’t over at all. I’ll be back, and maybe it’ll be when that nigga of yours is home.”
“You know what, Malek? You done fucked with the wrong woman. I’ma get somebody to fuck you up.” My words were tough, but I didn’t have a clue how to back them up. Or did I?
I knocked on Jasmine’s door for the third time. Derrick finally answered a few seconds later with a shout
“Come in!”
I must’ve been the last person he expected, ’cause when I let myself in, he jumped up and quickly tightened his robe. I couldn’t help but smile, though, because he didn’t get his robe closed around his johnson quick enough, and what I glimpsed was a hell of a lot bigger than anything I would have ever expected. I mean, he was in Malek’s league, and I didn’t think anyone could compare to him. Well, good for Jasmine. Now that I saw what she was working with, I could understand why she stood by Derrick all those years. Shit, the man definitely had something worth waiting for. I was sure she was having a hell of a lot of fun now that he and his big old johnson were back in town.
“Stephanie?” He sounded skittish, though I don’t know why. This was my sister’s place, after all. “Jasmine’s not here. She’s at work.”
“I know. I didn’t come to see her. I came to see you.”
“Come to see me? About what?” He kept tightening the belt of his robe nervously. Maybe he was afraid his johnson would pop out and I’d see it again. Okay, so maybe I was having trouble keeping my eyes away from his groin. But you can’t blame a sistah for wanting a little peep show once in a while, can you?
“I got some things to talk to you about.” My eyes finally made their way back up to his face. “But first I gotta use the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
You should have seen him. I thought Derrick was gonna break his damn neck trying to leap across the love seat to stop me.
“There’s somebody in there. You gotta use the one upstairs.”
“No, that’s okay. I can wait. It’d be just my luck Jasmine would come home as I was walking down the stairs. I got enough problems. I don’t need my sister thinking I’m trying to get with her man.” Besides, I wanted to know who the hell he was hiding in the downstairs bathroom.
“No, really. You can use the one upstairs. Jazz won’t be home for hours.” He tried to guide me toward the stairs, but I shrugged him off.
“Why you so eager to get me upstairs? You got a girl in there or something?” I took a step toward the bathroom, and he stepped in front of me, which confirmed my suspicions. “You do got a girl in there, don’t you? Does my sister know about this?”
He didn’t have time to even make up a lie before the bathroom door opened and a brown-skinned woman about my height and complexion walked out. She looked familiar, but I just couldn’t place her, and she wasn’t about to give me time to figure it out.
“Who the hell are you?” She eyed me from head to toe and sucked her teeth like she owned the place. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was tryin’ to intimidate me. I was about to put her in her place when Derrick cut in.
“Look, Wendy, this is Jasmine’s sister, Stephanie, so will you be quiet?” She actually got the look off her face pretty fast. I guess Derrick was in charge when it came to this wench. He turned to me with a lame attempt at an explanation. “This is not what it looks like, Stephanie.”
“Oh, no? Then what is it? ’Cause it looks like you got some bitch over here in my sister’s place about to get your groove on.” I sucked my teeth, showing a little sister-girl attitude of my own. Derrick was visibly nervous, and he hesitated before he spoke. He knew enough to choose his words wisely.
“Nan, it ain’t nothing like that. You see, Wendy’s my son’s mom. And, well, we were discussing his schooling. Right, Wendy?”
“Yeah, whatever.” She twisted her lips and shrugged. “Look, Derrick, I’m outta here. I need a hundred dollars to buy Tyler some tennis shoes.”
He reached for his wallet on the coffee table and handed her some money. He looked like he was in a big hurry to get her out, ’cause he didn’t even bother to count what he handed her. I guess she’d be getting her nails done with the change.
“Get him a pair of those baby blue Jordans. Like the ones I got last week,” Derrick suggested. Wendy nodded and headed for the door. She didn’t have anything else to say, but she made sure to smirk at me on her way past. I just shook my head and walked into the bathroom. When I came out, Derrick was sitting in the recliner smoking a cigarette.
“Yo, Stephanie.” He put the cigarette down and leaned forward. “I hope we can keep this between us. I mean, your sister and Wendy just don’t get along. Know what I mean?”
No shit. And after seeing Wendy and her stank attitude, I could see why my sister might have a problem. I was about to jump in Derrick’s shit until I remembered why I was there. I needed his help.
“Look, I came over here to ask you for a favor, not to blow you up. Just don’t be hurtin’ my sister.”
“Man, why would I hurt your sister? I love her. Shit, she did a three-year bit with me, so you know I got love for her. It’s just that she don’t get along with Wendy, that’s all. So I gotta keep them apart and see Wendy on the low, if you know what I mean.”
“Whatever, Derrick.”
“For real, Steph,” he insisted. “Ain’t no funny shit going on. My baby takes good care of me.”
“That ain’t none of my business as long as my sister don’t get hurt. Shit, I got my own problems.”
“I heard that.” I know he was relieved to be changing the subject. “So what brings you over here? You said you needed a favor. I didn’t think anyone in your family would ever ask me for a favor.”
“Look, I’m not Big Momma,” I told him. “I don’t care what you do for a living. That’s your business. Only thing I care about is that you take care of my sister.” I glanced at the new entertainment system that had appeared in Jasmine’s living room not long after Derrick got home.
“You know, Steph, I knew there was a reason why I liked you.” He gestured for me to have a seat. I sat on the love seat next to him. “So what’s this favor you need?”
“Well, I don’t know if Jasmine told you or not, but me and my fiancé broke up recently.”
“Yeah, she mentioned it. I’m sorry to hear that.” He actually sounded sincere.
“Thanks, but I’m gonna get him back eventually.”
“That’s good. So what’s the problem?”
“Do you remember Malek, my daughter’s father? He used to rap with KRN.”
“Yeah, I remember that nigga. He’s the one who stole that bag of weed from my boy, Butter. Man, Butter beat the shit out that nigga.” Derrick laughed at the memory. “And that soft-ass nigga is your baby’s father?”
“Yeah, and he’s also my problem.” I was actually glad to hear that Derrick didn’t like Malek. It would make it easier to get his help. “Malek keeps harassing me. And now he’s trying to blackmail me into sleeping with him.”
“Damn, that’s fucked up.” Derrick leaned back in the recliner and smirked. “But from what I hear, you were sleeping with him anyway. Weren’t you?”
Hadn’t he said Jasmine had just “mentioned” that Travis and I broke up? Sounds like she did more than mention it. Shoot, she might as well have taken an ad out in the local paper, as much of my business as she was giving up. I didn’t give a damn if it was only to her boyfriend. But I’d have to deal with my sister and issues of loyalty later. Right now I needed help from Derrick.
“Uh-huh,” I sighed. “I was sleeping with him, but I stopped. I love Travis, Derrick, and he left me because of Malek. I can’t get him back if Malek won’t back off. That’s why I need your help.”
“What you want me to do about it?”
“I want you to go talk to Malek. Tell him to leave me alone. Send him a message.”
“Whoa! Hold on a minute.” He stood. “This ain’t no damn gangster movie or nothin’. And I ain’t the Godfather. I’m on parole. How I look sending that nigga a message? You tryin’ to get me sent back upstate?”
“Look, I’m just asking for a favor, Derrick. Same way you asked me to do you a favor and keep my mouth shut about your baby momma’s little visit. I mean, what would Jasmine think if I told her you were hanging out with Wendy with your johnson hanging out your robe?”
“Aw, shit. Why you gotta go there? Now you trying to blackmail me.” He sat back down, looking a little defeated.
“Hey, I’m not trying to blackmail you. But I am desperate, Derrick. He’s scared of you and your crew. Especially Butter. If you pay him a little visit and tell him to leave me alone, I can fix things between me and Travis.”
“And if I do this, you’re gonna completely forget about Wendy stopping by here?”
“Derrick, if I never came by here, how can I tell Jasmine about Wendy?” I gave him a knowing smile.
“Ah’ight,” he sighed. “Where can I find this nigga?”
I wrote down Malek’s address and handed it to him.
“You do realize this might not work. This guy might not scare off so easy.”
“It’ll work. It’s gotta work. ’Cause as long as Malek’s around, I’m never gonna get Travis back. So do what you gotta do.”
Derrick nodded and I smiled at him, taking one last glance at his lap before I left. It was too bad he was my sister’s man, ’cause I could work with that.