“Commonwealth of Virginia versus Jasmine Johnson. Possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute,” the clerk shouted as he handed the judge a folder.
A door to the right of the judge swung open. The occupants of the courtroom watched as three sheriff’s deputies escorted my sister to the front of the courtroom. She looked like shit in those orange overalls. Her hair was a mess, and you could see from her smudged mascara that she’d been crying. I’ve never felt so sorry for anyone in my entire life.
I’d gotten the news that Jasmine had been arrested late last night, when the operator woke me with a collect call. Jasmine never called collect, so I was nervous as I accepted the charges.
“Stephanie?” Jasmine’s voice was low.
“Are you all right? Did Derrick do something to you? You’re not at the hospital, are you?”
“No, I’m not at the hospital.”
“Thank God,” I sighed with relief. “So why the hell are you calling me collect?”
“Stephanie, I’m in jail. I got arrested.” Her voice cracked like she was about to cry.
“Arrested? For what? Don’t tell me. Your license was suspended?”
“I wish it was that simple.” Now she was scaring me.
“You did something to Derrick, didn’t you? Oh, my God, you didn’t kill him, did you?” I knew my sister was upset about the video, but I didn’t think she was that upset. To be honest, I didn’t think she was capable of hurting anyone enough to get herself locked up.
“No, I didn’t do anything to Derrick; he did something to me. He left drugs in my car.”
“Oh, shit. No, he didn’t.”
“Yes, he did,” she sobbed. “Look, Steph I need you to call Big Momma and see if you can get me a lawyer. Tell her I need a good one, ’cause they’re talking about giving me fifteen years.”
So now here I was the next morning, watching my sister trembling in front of the judge, waiting for her lawyer. It was obvious she hadn’t slept a wink. She sighed when a tall, wiry, baldheaded white man stepped forward.
“Robert Smith for the defense, Your Honor. Waive reading.” The judge wrote something down on the file, then turned to the Commonwealth attorney. “Mr. Green, what have you got?”
“Your Honor, Ms. Johnson was pulled over for a routine traffic violation. Her car was searched after the arresting officer found marijuana within her immediate reach. During the search of her car, the arresting officer and his partner found approximately twenty grams of cocaine.”
“This looks pretty serious; Mr. Smith, how does your client plead?” the judge addressed Jasmine’s lawyer.
“Innocent, Your Honor. There are some mitigating circumstances involved in this case that the Commonwealth is unaware of.”
“I see. Well, you’ll have to discuss that with them.” The judge looked at the prosecuting attorney. “Bail, Mr. Green?”
“In light of the amount of cocaine, the Commonwealth suggests a fifty-thousand-dollar bond, Your Honor.”
“Mr. Smith, I’m sure you have something to say about that?”
“We feel that’s excessive, Your Honor. Ms. Johnson is a citizen with no criminal record and heavy ties to the community. She’s a supervisor at the United States Post Office and is not a flight risk. We ask that she be released on her own recognizance.”
“considering the amount of cocaine in her possession, we’re not going to release her that easily, but we will reduce the bail. Bail is set at fifteen thousand dollars, cash or bond.”
The judge banged his gavel, and Jasmine’s body sagged. Her lawyer had to grab her arm to keep her from collapsing on the floor. I wanted to cry. My sister and I might’ve had some rough spots in our relationship, but she didn’t deserve this. That’s why I was glad that I’d called the right person to help her out of this.
“Where the hell is she?” I was pacing across the tile floor in the lobby of the Richmond city jail.
“Stephanie, relax. The deputy already told you it’s gonna take a while. They have a lot of paperwork to take care of before they can release her.” I nodded my head at Dylan but continued to pace.
I had calmed Dylan right after I hung up the phone with Jasmine last night. Once I explained what had happened to her, he didn’t hesitate to offer his help. The first thing he said was that he’d have his lawyer represent her. And I didn’t even have to mention bail before he started talking about going to the bank first thing in the morning. The way he was acting, there was no doubt in my mind about how much he cared about Jasmine. I mean, when it came down to it, the brother put up his house as collateral after the judge announced Jasmine’s ridiculously high bail. If it wasn’t for him, Jasmine’s ass would be sitting up in that jail cell a hell of a lot longer than this.
“Hey, Stephanie. I’m gonna go get us a couple of sodas. You wanna come?”
“No. I’m gonna wait here in case they let my sister out a little earlier.”
“Suit yourself. I’ll be back in a sec.” I watched Dylan walk out and had to smile. He was all right. Jasmine should’ve held on to him when she had the chance, even if he did have a little baby momma drama. Hell, these days it seemed like everybody had some type of drama. Especially me. But shit, who was I to criticize anyone after all the mistakes I made with Travis? I’d lost a damn near perfect man, and there was no one to blame but myself. In the two weeks since Travis had ordered me out of the house, we only spoke two times, and that was because he wanted to know when I was moving out. Malek had called with his crap a few times since then, but I let him know there wasn’t shit happening. As far as his demand for on-call booty, he hadn’t been pushing the issue. Rumor was that LaKeisha Nixon was nursing him back to health since the night he got jumped. I guess she was making him feel good enough that he didn’t need me anymore. And if he wanted to go to the police? Well, that was his prerogative. But he knew better, ’cause even if he did get me or Derrick locked up, Derrick had plenty of boys out there who’d be more than happy to finish the job for him.
So I stayed home with my kids most nights, wondering why I’d let my life become such a mess. How could I have been willing to risk everything just to mess around with Malek? I knew his ass was no good. I knew he hadn’t changed. Maybe I just got too comfortable with Travis. I got too used to being treated like the world was mine.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that a girl deserves to be treated like shit to keep her in line. I’m saying that Travis was almost too good to me. He just gave and gave and gave. He was the most generous man I’d ever known, with his money and his heart, and he hardly ever asked for anything in return. I got so comfortable with receiving things from him, I forgot to think about giving back. Not that I had a lot of money to be buying him things, but I should’ve given him my total devotion. Instead, I just coasted along, taking his gifts and figuring he was satisfied as long as I kept him well fed and well sexed. I had a lot to learn about truly being in love, and I was sorry for all I had to lose before I could start learning.
And my poor kids. Maleka had lost the only daddy she’d ever known, and T. J. would grow up never knowing what it was like to have a father living under the same roof. Sure, they’d be able to spend plenty of time with him after we finalized a custody agreement. I wasn’t about to fight over that. But it wouldn’t be the same. If I had used better judgment, they would have had both of us, together, all the time.
Thank God for my family. Big Momma offered to let us stay with her once I told her Travis wanted us out of the house. Of course, I had to listen to her rant and rave about how stupid I’d been, what a good man I’d lost. But what could I say? She was right, and we both knew it. So after she ranted for a while, Big Momma opened her heart and her home to us. I was packing a little bit each night after work, and we would be out of the house before the month was up.
Jasmine had also been really supportive through the whole ordeal. I never once heard her say “I told you so,” which is exactly what I would’ve expected from her. Well, maybe that’s what I would’ve expected in the past. But ever since she’d busted me at the motel with Malek, our relationship had been changing. She’d actually spent hours on the phone with me since Travis ended things, listening to me cry or scream or whatever I felt I needed to do. Maybe both of us were starting to realize that our lives were more similar than either of us had ever thought. After years of competing with each other for Big Momma’s approval, we finally realized it was pointless. We’d both made mistakes through the years, and Big Momma still loved us both, no matter what. We were her family, and we’d finally learned to start acting like family. It felt so good to have a sister now. That’s why I was so anxious for Jasmine to be released from the jail so we could get her home.
I walked over to the deputy behind the desk and asked the same question for the tenth time. “How long did you say it was gonna take before they release my sister?”
“Actually, ma’am, your sister’s being released right now.” He pointed toward a metal door. I looked up and saw Jasmine coming through the door with her lawyer.
“Jasmine!” I ran up and embraced her. We twisted and turned and cried for a full minute.
“Thank you, Steph. Thank you so much for getting me outta here.” She held me tight.
“Come on, Jazz. That’s what sisters are for. Isn’t that what you’ve been trying to get through my thick skull?” I stepped out of our embrace and looked in her eyes. “But it wasn’t just me.”
“Yeah, I kinda figured that.” She inhaled and braced herself for what she thought was coming. “Where’s Momma and Big Momma? I know I’m gonna hear it from them.”
“They’re at home. I didn’t tell them you got arrested.”
“Really?” She looked surprised but relieved.
“Please, you got enough stress right now. You don’t need Big Momma making it worse. I love that old girl to death, but trust me-she don’t know how to let shit die.”
“I know that’s right,” Jasmine smirked. “But if Big Momma didn’t bail me out, where’d you get the money? And who paid for my lawyer?”
“Dylan.”
“Dylan,” she repeated. “Dylan Taylor? Are you serious? He paid for my lawyer?”
“And your bail, too. He put up his house.” I smiled.
She shook her head in amazement.
“That man never ceases to amaze me. What made you call him, anyway?”
“I figured, why not? I couldn’t let you sit in jail. And he was the only one I could think of other than family who might be able to come up with the money. Besides I told you I saw him and he asked about you.”
“Yeah, you did, didn’t you. But just because he asked didn’t mean he would go out on a limb like this. I still can’t believe he did.”
“Look, Jasmine, whether you believe it or not, Dylan still cares about you. He wouldn’t have come here today and sat in that courtroom if he didn’t.”
Jasmine’s eyes darted around the lobby. “He’s here? Where is he?”
“I’m right here, Jasmine. You okay?” Dylan had come up behind us while we were talking. I don’t know how much he’d heard, but I don’t think it mattered. His eyes were glued on Jasmine like she was the only thing that did matter to him.
“Dylan, I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe you did this after everything that happened.” She was so choked up.
“I’m your friend, Jasmine. When your sister called and said you were in trouble, I knew I had to help. I couldn’t bear the thought of you sitting up in here for something you didn’t do, while Derrick’s roaming the streets.”
“But what about Monica? I’m surprised she let you out her sight.” Poor Jasmine. I know she didn’t really wanna hear about his baby’s momma right now. But then again, as fucked up as things had become for everyone involved, they might as well be up-front about the whole situation.
“I’m not with Monica,” Dylan said.
“You’re not?”
“I never was. That’s what I wanted to tell you.”
“But, what about the baby?”
“Just because she was having my baby doesn’t mean I wanna be with her. Besides, she disappeared with the baby. I don’t know where they are.”
“Oh, Dylan. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. She’s a crackhead. Sooner or later she’s gonna need money to get high, and when she does, I’ll find her. I just hope she takes good care of my baby until then.”
We were all silent for a few moments as we digested that scary thought. That poor baby could be anywhere with that crackhead right now. I think the thought was too much for Dylan, ’cause he changed the subject in a hurry.
“Listen, the important thing right now is that we get you out of this mess.”
“Don’t I know it!” Jasmine shuddered. “Thank God for that lawyer you got me. He thinks he might have a way to get the charges against me dropped.”
“That’s great news.” Dylan smiled. “I knew Robert would do a good job for you. So what about now? What are you gonna do?”
“I don’t know yet. I can’t go back home. I don’t wanna be alone there, just in case Derrick tries to come by. I can’t deal with that now. I might kill him.”
“No, you’re already in enough trouble; you don’t need to kill nobody,” he joked, trying to lighten the mood. “But on the serious side, if you need a place to stay, you can always stay with me.”
Jasmine shook her head.
“Thanks, Dylan, but I can’t I gotta do this by myself. I’ve been relying on men all my life. I gotta do me right now. I’m probably just gonna go stay with Becky or my grandmother.”
“Sure is gonna be crowded over there,” I interjected. “You know, me and the kids are moving over to Big Momma’s next week.”
Jasmine shot me a look. She knew exactly what I was trying to do. Dylan had offered her a place to stay. I just thought I’d help move things along between them. But my sister’s eyes told me she wasn’t having it. She didn’t look mad. More like she was begging me to just leave it alone for right now. I knew we’d talk about it later, but for now I just hoped that it didn’t mean she was letting this brother slip away again.
“Well, we’ll all just be one big, happy family then, won’t we?” I said as I wrapped my arm around Jasmine’s shoulder.
We all gave an uncomfortable laugh. There was definitely a lot that Jasmine and Dylan still needed to talk about. Maybe my sister could have the good life that I’d messed around and lost.
“You know, Dylan, Big Momma always did like you,” I reminded him. “When Jasmine is there, we can count on you to come around and visit, right?”
“It’s the only way I would have it,” Dylan answered. “That okay with you, Jazz?”
“I’d like that,” she answered before her lawyer approached.
“Hey, Dylan, how are you?” He stuck out his hand to shake Dylan’s.
“Good, Robert, but I’ll be better if you get my friend off.”
“Well, that’s what I’m trying to do,” he sighed, turning to my sister. “We’ve got to speak to the Commonwealth attorney now.”
“Okay.” Jasmine turned to face us. “I can’t thank you enough for being here with me today.”
Jasmine’s eyes got misty, and she gave me a hug. Then she turned to Dylan.
“Thanks, Dylan. I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you’re here.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. The tension in her shoulders seemed to relax for just a second when she leaned into his embrace. She took a step back, gazed into his eyes, and said good-bye.
Things were still not perfect. Jasmine was still gonna have to fight to get herself out of this mess. She was still gonna have to deal with getting Derrick and his shit out of her life for good. But I saw the way she and Dylan were looking at each other as she left with her lawyer. I had a good feeling about them.