“What the hell have you been doing that you need more drawers?!” Skeet tossed new packages of briefs and T-shirts at Trae. “Stay away from Ebony.”
Trae picked the packages up off the floor, then closed the blanket wrapping him. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”
Skeet followed him into Ebony’s room. “So what’s up?”
“She smelled like crap, so I threw her ass in the shower. Let’s just say she wouldn’t go peaceably.”
Skeet laughed. “So that’s why the house’s a mess. You better clean before Marissa comes home.”
He changed his briefs and T-shirt, then put on his jeans and Cubs jersey. “Do you know what her class schedule is? I can tell she’s not gonna cooperate.”
“Ebony has never missed class a day in her life. You know she exercises in the morning. She probably doesn’t have any morning classes.”
“You didn’t see her. She’s miserable.” He wrung his hands. “I could break Smoke’s neck for hurting her.”
“Chill out, Trae. They had a lover’s quarrel. You need to step back, and let them do their do.”
“I’m staying out of it,” he paused, “for now.”
“Don’t start trouble.”
“I didn’t start shit. He did, when he disrespected Ebony. You can’t expect me to let this shit slide.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I want to kick his ass for hurting Ebony, but we can’t jump in every time they have a fight.”
“This is more than a fight. He disrespected her. No one disrespects my girls.”
“I’m with you. I just think it’s best to let her handle things her way. Give her time to cool off.”
“I can’t stand seeing her like this, Skeet.”
“Come on. Let’s get out of here before she comes out.” Trae had acted unpredictably lately. When Skeet heard Richard had actually punched Trae, he was shocked Richard was still alive. Allowing Trae to spend the day with Ebony had
bad idea
written all over it.
“Nah, you go ahead.”
Skeet folded his arms over his chest. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing. I just want to make sure she goes to school.”
“I’m tellin’ ya, she won’t miss class. Not Ebony. You’re trying to get some rebound action.”
Trae stalked out of the room with Skeet close behind. “I wouldn’t do that to Ebony. I told you I was steppin’ out, and I meant it.” He moved the kitchen table back to the center of the room. “I gotta clean up this mess. You can stay and help if you want. That way you can keep your eye on me.”
Skeet shook off the uncertainty. Trae loved Ebony. He wouldn’t do anything to harm her. “I don’t need to keep no eye on you. I’m out.” Skeet beat on the bathroom door as he passed.
“Go away, Skeet!”
“Ah, the sound of love. See ya, dawg.” He nodded on his way out.
* * *
Ebony rubbed sweet pea lotion into her legs. The soft fragrance calmed her.
Smoke
. She pinched the bridge of her nose, massaging lightly.
The humiliation and embarrassment that had clouded her judgment had dissipated. She set the lotion bottle on the sink, then wiped the foggy mirror with a face towel. She could think clearly again. She combed her fingers through her thick, black hair. Richard seemed to like it much better than the blonde.
She turned away from her reflection, then dressed in the Tigger T-shirt and jeans Trae had laid out for her. She had preached to Jessica about the appropriate corporate America appearance. If the shoe were on the other foot, she wouldn’t have invited herself to a business meeting the way she had looked. And she hadn’t. She had changed before the interview, then again before the dinner.
Richard said he wanted to take her business shopping, but she had blown him off. She quickly cleaned the bathroom, then rushed out.
“I hope you’re running for your book bag,” Trae said from the couch. He flicked off the television.
“Nope.” She grabbed the phone.
He quickly crossed the room and snatched the phone before she could finish dialing.
“Hey, what are you doing?” She stretched across his body, reaching for the phone. He moved his arm further away. “Stop fooling around, Trae.”
He unplugged the cord from the wall. “Who you tryin’ to call? It’s time for school, not socializing. You’ve come too far to blow it now.”
“Not that it’s any of your business—Mr. Freezing Shower—but I’m calling Smoke to apologize.” She turned to find her cell phone.
“What, are you crazy?” He stepped in front of her. “I can’t let you do this.”
“Get out of the way.”
“Why are you calling him? He’s the one who was wrong.”
“Because I overreacted. He isn’t ashamed of me. I need to let him know.”
Trae dragged her into the living room. “Listen to me, then you can call.”
She sat on the couch. “I can’t believe I doubted him. I have to apologize. He needed me to listen, but I shut him out.” She blinked her tears away. “I’m no better than his family.”
He sat on the coffee table, facing her. “I’m not saying you can’t apologize to Smoke. I think you should.” She cocked her head to the side. “I know. I sound crazy, don’t I? All I’m saying is he should apologize first. He was the one who was out of pocket.”
“You didn’t hear the horrible things I said to him, Trae. I accused him of working for you.”
“You were angry.”
“Well, I’m not angry anymore.”
“What kind of precedent are you setting for your relationship? He makes an ass of himself, lies, humiliates you, punches me, disappears for days, then you call him and apologize. Wrong freakin’ answer, baby girl.”
“But I told him it was over.” She wiped her misty eyes. “I love him.” She reached for her engagement ring, which was still on the end of the coffee table.
He grimaced. “He knows you were angry. He’ll call and apologize, or he doesn’t deserve your love. Don’t you have faith in him, Ebony?”
“Of course I do.” She studied the exquisite diamond ring, priding herself in learning from her mistakes. Her lack of faith in him was what led her wrong in the first place. She slipped the ring onto her finger. “I fully believe in Smoke.”
“Oh really? Can you explain why you were about to apologize to him first? If he’s so in love with you, he’ll give you time to cool off, then call and apologize.” He gently nudged her hair behind her ear. “I know this is hard for you, but this fight was minor. You still have to deal with his snobbish parents. If he can’t bring himself to apologize for this stupid shit, how will he stand up to them?”
Disheartened, with the fight knocked out of her, she leaned on the arm of the couch. “I’ll wait for him to call.”
“Don’t worry, baby. He’ll call.”
She caught the anxiety in Trae’s voice. He sounded as if he had as much riding on Richard calling as her. She sighed. In a way, he did. Trae seldom allowed anyone close enough to let him down. She prayed Richard called for both of their sakes.
“Where are your school books?”
“I’m skipping class today. He may come by.”
“He knows you have class. He won’t come by.” His cell beeped with a text message.
“Missing one day of class won’t hurt anything. I’m staying and you’re leaving.” She needed time alone to sort out her feelings.
“Promise you won’t call or visit him.”
“I promise, Big Daddy Trae.”
He looked at the number displayed on the cell, then grumbled.
“Is something wrong?”
“Nah. I’m just tired of all the shit.” He paused. “I’m tired.”
His cell beeped again with another text. Without checking the message, he tossed the phone toward the table. It skidded across and dropped onto the carpeted floor.
“I’m really proud of the way you handled yourself the other night.” She examined his face for bruises and found none. “I’m sorry I thought you hit Smoke. He picked a fight in front of the whole neighborhood, and you acted like a real man.” She patted his cheek. “You made me proud.”
With all the signs of change he had been displaying, she prayed he would allow her to adopt Crystal, soon. When Richard said that Trae had asked him to adopt her, her immediate reaction had been fury. She had been
begging
Trae for years to relinquish his parental rights, but he had refused; yet he hadn’t even known Richard two good months and was
asking
him to adopt her.
She buried the resentment and anger she felt. This was no time to allow it to surface.
He chuckled lightly. “You’re proud of me for being knocked on my butt? What has the world come to?” He wrapped an arm around her.
“I haven’t issued a beat down in at least five years,” he lied. “That’s why I wasn’t ready.”
Emotionally drained, she leaned her head on his shoulder. “You’re lying.”
“Think what you want, baby girl.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Don’t tell anyone. Not even Skeet. I’d never live it down.”
“I won’t tell.” He was so close to giving up the life. She could feel it. Spending so much time with a legit man close to his own age had paid off. She still couldn’t figure out why he had asked Richard to adopt Crystal instead of allowing her to. Maybe it was to show her he was in control.
His cell phone rang. “Damn.” He leaned over the table, snatched the phone off the floor, then checked the caller ID. “What?” he answered.
She watched him pace the room as he listened. For a second she thought she saw panic in his eyes.
“Son of a bitch!” he spewed. He sat on the floor by the shoe rack, disconnected, put on his Nikes.
“Trae.”
Without a word, he drew his legs up and lowered his head to his knees. “I can’t live like this,” he finally mumbled. He looked over his shoulder at her. “I’m tired, Ebony.”
She quickly crossed the room and wrapped her arms around him from behind. “It’s time for a change,” she whispered. The urge to preach the same old lines about giving up the drug life, reiterating how unhappy it made him and how unfulfilled he’d become, were all shelved. He knew. Now she prayed for him to take action. She hummed softly.
“Soon we’ll both have what we’ve always wanted. I promise.” He pulled away. “I planned to spend the day with you, but I have something to take care of.”
She watched him ready himself to leave. “I’ll be fine.”
Skeet needed time to cool off before talking sense into Richard. He pulled his BMW over to the curb a few blocks from Richard’s condo. The quiet residential neighborhood was only a mile and a half from Ebony’s flat, but was a totally different world. Her world was a war zone, while his was utopia.
The streetlights were out. He smiled. There was one thing the two neighborhoods had in common. The power had gone out in Ebony’s neighborhood several times over the winter. The outages never lasted long, but were a real pain.
He rested his head on the steering wheel, inhaled deeply, then exhaled. Maybe Ebony was right, maybe he was no better than any other drug-dealing thug. He viewed himself as a businessman. No worse than an owner of a liquor store, tobacco company or gun dealer. If he didn’t supply the need, someone else would. Why shouldn’t he make the profit? Yet, there he sat a few blocks from her fiancé’s home, ready to beat the man. He wiped his hands over his face.
I’m not a thug. I’m a businessman. I’ll talk sense into him.
He took out his cell phone and dialed Ebony’s number.
“Hello, Smoke?” Ebony’s fretful voice came on the line.
“I’m afraid not.” He heard her sniffle. “Please don’t. I can’t stand to hear you cry.” He felt his rage increasing.
“I’m sorry.” She hiccupped. “I’m not crying.”
He checked the clock on the dashboard. “It’s after midnight. I shouldn’t have called so late. Go to bed.” He’d called to see if the trip to Richard’s was necessary.
“I’m too upset to sleep. Instead of believing in him, I shut him out.”
“Don’t start. This ain’t your fault. He’s the one…”
“I’ve already had this conversation with Trae. I can’t go through it again.”
“It’ll work out, Ebony. I promise.”
* * *
Breathing labored, eyes swollen almost completely shut, Richard lay on his dining room floor rolled in a ball with his arms guarding his head. He knew he wouldn’t survive many more kicks. “Pees, Tae,” he breathlessly eked out.
Trae stood over him. “Why don’t yo’ trick ass go to the cops now?” He kicked him in the back. Richard cried out in pain; every inch of his body hurt. “Did you think they wouldn’t warn me, you stupid-mindless ass? I have people everywhere! I should kill you for being stuck on stupid.”
The blood he tasted in his mouth and smelled in his nose couldn’t be real. Trae beating him to death couldn’t be real. Him lying dying couldn’t be real. This was all a bad dream. Ebony would wake him any minute and save him.
“Let me tell you how this is gonna work.” Trae crouched down, leaned forward. “You listenin’ to me? This is important.” He pried Richard’s hands from his face. “Damn, man. I let my anger control my ass on this one. I didn’t mean to beat you this bad. You’d better not die on me. I have big plans.”