Brothers and Wives Page 13

  “I agree,” Summer tells me as she sips her punch. “But let’s step into the real world. People like us probably couldn’t get away with some sick-ass stuff like they did.”

  I shift in my seat, feeling uneasy. Although I’ve told Summer how great Scottie is to me, I still haven’t let her in on who LaNecia is and how he and his cousin were involved. Some things are too hard to talk about, even with your best friend.

  Summer continues, “It’s like the scandal hits, people gasp, and everyone goes on with their happy little dysfunctional lives. Hollywood is not real. Neil isn’t Mia. You aren’t betraying your relative.”

  “Scottie would be, though,” I quickly reply. “What if Neil never speaks to Scottie again? Or me? Or what if he doesn’t want to be bothered with Brax ever again because of a decision that we’ve made? I may not act like I care, but in reality, yes, it bothers me sometimes.”

  “Hey, hey, hey. I would love to be included in this conversation, especially since I seem to be the topic,” Scottie says. “I don’t want you to be stressed out over us. Over anything. I got you, boo!”

  And that’s what I love about Scottie Meadows. He’s a calming presence in my hectic life. I’ve been independent for so long that it feels wonderful to know that someone else is there willing to take over the reins.

  “Love is sometimes selfish.” Summer shrugs. “Think about it. What if almost every girl is in love with the most popular guy in high school? He’s attractive, charming, friendly, and popular. But he only has eyes for one main girl. And he chooses to take her to the prom. And the other girls feel hurt, angry, and jealous. Now, I’m talking about a situation where no one is anyone else’s brother, or adopted daughter, or ex-anything. Yet people are getting hurt left and right. The guy who was so beloved by many women has now made twice as many enemies because now the women who had a crush on him are hurt, and whoever else they’ve told is also mad as hell at the guy because he hurt the women who were in love with him.”

  “Extreme analogy, but guess what? You’re right. There will be pain inside of love. Shit, when I gave birth to Brax, it hurt like hell. A million times worse than cramps. But I loved him the second I laid eyes on him. Men are such bastards.”

  Scottie blinks. “Where’d that come from?” Before I can answer, he looks away and tilts his head.

  “Ah, hell. Sounds like someone is playing some Run DMC. It’s all over.” He hops to his feet and starts dancing.

  We spend another two hours at the party. Whenever one of Scottie’s friends arrives, he introduces me as “my gal.” I blush and try to engage his buddies in conversation for several minutes. Other times Summer and I steal away to a private area, giggling and laughing at people’s outrageous costumes.

  By the time we leave, Scottie is singing at the top of his lungs.

  “Hey, you want me to drive?” I ask with concern. “You seem like you’re a little too happy.”

  “Yeah, you do that. You take the wheel.”

  Summer and I hug, and I promise to give her a call to let her know we’ve gotten home safely. I take I-45 to the 610 West Loop. We’re flying down the freeway and soon enter the city of Bellaire, a suburb with lofty homes and wealthy residents that’s located in the middle of Houston’s southwest side. This spoiled city is eighty-nine percent white, and barely one percent African American.

  “We’re in Bellaire? Slow your ass down; you know how these cops can be.”

  “I already know, Scottie,” I tease.

  “Do I sound like I’m playing? Either slow down or get your ass out the car and I’ll drive.”

  “Why the fuck are you talking to me so rudely?” A crazed look covers his face. I swallow deeply and begin shaking.

  He doesn’t say another word to me until we pull up in front of Neil’s home. Earlier we discussed how we’d stop by the house so he could pick up some fresh clothes.

  “If you like, I can just leave you here and go back to my spot by myself. Wouldn’t bother me one bit.”

  “No, Dani, please don’t be mad. I’m sorry.”

  “You better be more than sorry, Scottie. I didn’t deserve to be treated that way back there. I don’t get it. We had such a good time tonight,” I reply, choking back tears.

  “Babe, I was wrong, I know, but I gotta tell you something.” He exhales. “I don’t like going through Bellaire, ever!”

  “Yeah, I know the white cops like to ticket black drivers, but so what….”

  “The white cops killed my black daddy.”

  “W–what?”

  “Some stupid drug dealer robbed a white woman at gunpoint. This was when I was barely a teenager. And my daddy happened to be in the great city of Bellaire,” he says sarcastically. “His Chrysler New Yorker broke down. Daddy loved that car. Back then that boxy-looking sedan was bad. So here he goes racing down the street searching for a phone booth. His car was stuck in the middle of Bissonnet, and he was worried about it getting hit. So he’s sprinting like a track star, minding his own business. The cops drive by and notice this big, bulky black man running through this mostly white suburb. They slow down, pull next to him, and yell out the window. Well, Daddy hasn’t done anything wrong, so he doesn’t think they’re talking to him. They kept yelling, and he gets mad and runs faster. And those no-good bastards shot him like a dog in the street.”

  Scottie’s veins pulsate on the side of his head as he stares into space.

  “If you a black man, you can’t run down any street in America. They’ll think you’ve done something crime related every single time. But my daddy didn’t do anything. He didn’t do a fucking thing. They rushed him to the hospital. Someone called my mom and told us to hurry and come see him. But he took his last breath right when we pulled into the hospital parking lot.”

  Scottie slumps down in his seat with his head against his chest, sobbing. “I never got to tell my daddy good-bye, Dani. Last time I saw him was that morning before I went to school. He dropped me off at the bus stop and told me he loved me, and that he’d see me later.”

  Scottie silently cries for a few moments and I don’t know what to say at first, so I just let him get it out.

  When his tears subside, I tell him, “Scottie, I’m so very sorry. I shouldn’t have hollered at you earlier, but I had no idea.”

  “It’s not your fault. I–I just don’t like Bellaire and I hate cops even more.” He sniffs and wipes his nose on his sleeve.

  “One more thing I gotta tell you. I did a brief jail stint when I lived in Michigan.”

  “Oh no.”

  “But it was because I refused to testify against a friend of mine. They tried to teach me a lesson, break me down, thought I’d do anything to get out that cell.”

  “I can’t imagine what that must have felt like.”

  “I hated it.” He laughs bitterly. “To this day I can’t stand confined spaces.” He peers at me. “So now you know more about bad-boy Scottie. I hope you understand. I hope you let me spend the night with you, too.”

  “Of course, Scottie. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Thanks for sharing that with me. The more I learn about you, the more I feel I know you.”

  When he opens the car door so he can go into Neil’s house to get some clothes, he eyes me curiously. “Don’t think for a second I’m letting my Mariah sit outside in the car, in this hood, by herself. Come on.”

  He spends the night over at my place. The next day, he makes breakfast and we laugh, and talk, and watch movies all morning.

  Vette brings Brax over in the afternoon, and all of us spend time reading Thomas the Tank Engine and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

  But by early evening, I yawn. “All this lying around is fun, but I gotta work off all the food I’ve been pigging out on. Anyone wanna join me working out?”

  My apartment complex has a tiny workout room with two treadmills, two exercise bikes, and two elliptical machines. Most of the time the room is empty, which is fine with me because I usually listen to my iPod
while I go through my routines.

  I grab my wallet in case I get thirsty and want to buy something to drink from the vending machine. I also pick up my keys and my music and stand at the door waiting.

  Vette shakes her head. “No thanks. Me and Brax are deep into Charlie Brown.”

  “Don’t be so lazy, Vette. I’ll get Brax dressed, and you can come, too.”

  “Trust me, Dani. I am perfectly fine being here, doing my lazy-afternoon thing with my nephew.”

  “Suit yourself.” I turn to Scottie with an expectant look.

  Scottie tells me, “You go on. I’ll be there in a minute.”

  “Why can’t you come now?” I smirk, just to give him a hard time.

  “Gotta use the men’s room. Is that okay with you?”

  “See ya in a bit.”

  Thankfully, all the machines are available when I arrive. There are two rows of equipment, and my eyes settle on a machine on the front row that’s next to a plain yellow wall. The front and back walls are covered by floor-to-ceiling mirrors. I glance at my reflection and place my wallet and keys on the empty machine next to me, put on my headphones, and stand on a treadmill eager to do an hour workout.

  I immediately get lost inside the playlist, which starts out with “Spotlight” from Jennifer Hudson’s debut CD.

  I punch a few buttons and the tread belt moves underneath my feet.

  One, two, three, four. I count and march to the beat. One, two, three, four.

  I’m staring straight ahead, counting, daydreaming, and listening to music. Two minutes into the workout, the hair freezes on my neck.

  Scottie’s behind me. I pause the machine, then turn around to acknowledge him. But this eerily skinny man who’s sporting a bad haircut and a wrinkled T-shirt and stretch pants is staring at me with his hand pointed toward me. I gasp, turn my head toward my wallet. He looks, too, then crazily smiles at me. I nervously look in the mirror, my body tense with anticipation.

  He steps onto the machine with my wallet. I feel his eyes on me the whole time.

  I hear Jennifer singing, “Hoo hoo, hoo hoo.”

  Then Scottie bursts in the room. “Hey!”

  The skinny guy looks agitated. “You talking to me?”

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “None of your business. I–I’m leaving.”

  Scottie walks up to the guy and pushes him so hard he stumbles. “You’re crazy, man. I haven’t done anything.”

  “I saw you the whole time.” Scottie snatches my wallet from the other machine. “If I ever see you around my gal again, I’ll give you a beating you’ll never forget.”

  The guy scurries backward until he reaches the door, then runs out of the room.

  “You all right?”

  “Scottie, he gave me the weirdest feeling. I can’t be in here anymore by myself. What would have happened if you hadn’t come?”

  “I’m telling you, Mariah, you gonna have to sign up at the big, expensive gym. I don’t like this small-ass workout room, and I go crazy when it even looks like a guy is trying to mess with you.”

  “I didn’t ask you to go Incredible Hulk on anyone.”

  “I know. But I will. I will turn into any Superhero. On anyone.”

  “But, why?” I ask in a shaky voice.

  “I know you’ve heard of ride or die. I’m your ride-or-die guy. I’m riding this relationship till the wheels fall off.”

  — 11 —

  LANECIA

  Trying to Play the Game

  Yep, I am more serious than a heart attack.” LaNecia raises her fingers to the sky, then crosses her hand over her heart.

  Neil is seated at a small table across from LaNecia at Pappadeaux restaurant. She just got off work and earlier contacted Neil and asked if he could come see her since they work in the medical center area. She had some interesting news for him.

  “So you’re saying that Scottie is messing around on Dani with another woman?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Look at this.” LaNecia logs in to her MySpace account and shows him her cell phone.

  “Scottie has been on my friend list for a long time. And I’ve noticed that every time I click on his page, strange women appear on his friend list. Gorgeous women who live in the Houston area.” She purses her lips. “How does he meet these chicks? And if he’s so faithful to her, why he talking to women online?”

  “But how do you know that?”

  “I just do. So I think you should tell her what’s going on. Because so far she is blinded by him and can’t see his true nature.”

  “I dunno, LaNecia.”

  “What don’t you know? The evidence is right in front of your face. He’s cold busted.”

  “But why do you care so much that she knows?”

  “I don’t want her to get hurt like I did.”

  “LaNecia, please. You can’t stand Dani.”

  “Look, nerd. I mean, listen to me, Neil. I don’t know what else to tell you. Scottie is a sneaky little something.”

  “Well, I may have a little talk with him. Regardless if you’ve discovered he has a ton of new female MySpace friends, he and her need to slow it down. I don’t like her spending the night in his room in my house like they’re broke teenagers. She has a place. Go over there.”

  She leans over the table. “That lady still likes you, Neil. She does. I see how she’s always smiling at you when Scottie leaves the room.”

  “That’s because she thinks it’s funny that she’s ended up with my brother.”

  “Well, she may be laughing now, but I know the bitch will be crying hard later on. Scottie is the type who draws you in with his personality, good looks, and charm. Then once he knows he totally has your heart, something happens and he’ll break it in two. The way he did me, I never saw it coming, I swear.” She winces as she recalls painful memories.

  “LaNecia, you may mean well, but I don’t think you have enough proof. I doubt that Dani will break up with him over some MySpace junk.”

  “Then I guess I’ll have to get more proof.”

  Two days later, Neil calls LaNecia during his lunch break. She is also on her job but ducks inside the ladies room to take his call. She stands in front of the mirror, toying with her braids and holding the phone to her ear.

  “Hey, what’s up cousin?”

  “Have you heard from Scottie?” he asks.

  “No, why?”

  “I’d stay away from him at this point. When I told him that you brought up the women he’s friending on MySpace, he sounded upset and wondered why you were still prying in his business. He claims those females are work colleagues that he’s met in the construction industry. That’s all.”

  “I don’t believe it. Men will say anything to save their asses. You know how y’all do. You claim ‘she’s just a friend’ until the girlfriend catches you in bed with the so-called friend. You just can’t believe him.”

  “I’m just relaying to you what he said.”

  LaNecia hangs up and thinks hard about what she can do to prove that Scottie isn’t as perfect as Dani might believe. She’s miffed at him because he broke his promise about getting back with her after she unsuccessfully tried to seduce him a whole month ago.

  Since that trick didn’t work, maybe a different plan will.

  She logs on to MySpace on her phone and types in Scottie’s e-mail address. She types in “yssup,” a password she knows he used in the past and feels relieved it’s the correct password.

  “This is crazy fun.” She clicks a couple of links and checks his friend requests. She sees that he’s asked to friend three different women last week. “They sure don’t look like construction industry workers to me.”

  She glances at his profile and turns blind with rage when she reads that his latest update reads, “I’m singing in ecstasy with my new lady.”

  She changes his status from “In a relationship” to “single.�
�� And she recalls all his new friend requests and deletes his five latest female friends.

  LaNecia logs off and sends Neil a text that she’s coming over for dinner “but don’t tell anybody.”

  Later that evening, she arrives at Neil’s front door. Instead of ringing the doorbell, she stands on the front porch and texts Neil she’s waiting outside.

  “He’s in his room,” Neil tells LaNecia as he widely opens the door for her. “You better make it quick because my baby’s mama is about to come over.”

  “I’m not afraid of her.” LaNecia runs to the second floor two steps at a time.

  She quietly settles in front of Scottie’s closed door and leans in. The only sounds she hears are pelts of water splashing in the bathroom down the hall.

  The lyrics “You are everything, and everything is you, Ohhhh” wail throughout the hallway.

  She walks a few doors down and wants to laugh out loud when she discovers the bathroom door is unlocked. She steps inside, turns down the toilet seat, and sits on top of it.

  Her clothes start to feel damp right away. LaNecia strips until she’s only wearing thong underwear, then slowly walks toward the shower. Scottie continues singing behind a black plastic curtain decorated with tan umbrellas.

  She stands at the end of the shower, then slightly draws the curtain aside and peeks inside. Scottie squirts a handful of green apple shampoo on top of his hair and starts massaging his scalp.

  Perfect.

  She takes a deep breath and steps inside the shower behind Scottie. She stares at his bare bottom then hugs his waist. His wet soapy skin feels good in her hands. She lays her head against his back and squeezes.

  “Mariah?”

  “Ummm,” LaNecia groans, savoring how it feels to hold Scottie in her arms once again. She presses her nipples against his back and starts rubbing her hands up and down his slippery belly.