Drama Queen (10 page)

“Can I get my hair like that?” Kayla asked Roni, pointing to a girl in the nail salon. It was the Friday before Father's Day and Kayla had to be at work in an hour. She decided to get her nails and feet done because she knew the salon would be packed tomorrow.

“Those are tracks, Kay,” Roni said.

“I know. But you can do tracks, Ron.” Kayla picked out a pretty lavender polish for her hands and feet.

“I know I can do tracks. I'm just surprised you want some. I thought that was the whole point of you cutting your hair.”

“I just feel like something different. Will you do it for me?” Kayla sat down in the princess chair in front of the nail technician.

“You gotta come to the shop tomorrow if you want that done. And you know it's gonna take a minute to put in. I don't wanna hear your mouth, Kayla,” Roni warned her.

“I know, Ron. I'll come and I won't complain.” Kayla smiled.

“I'll pick your hair up tonight. Be at the shop by noon. On time.”

“Thanks, Ron. I know you love me.”

“I'll love you even more if you come with me to Dominic's,” Roni pleaded.

“Ron, I can't. I am so worn out that I can barely drive home. I can't be hanging out at the club in this condition. Besides, I am getting too fat to fit into any of my clothes.”

“You're barely showing, Kayla. It's just for a little while. I just want to check out the deejay. Please, Kay.”

Kayla could not believe her girlfriend was sweating the deejay from Dominic's. This was a total change for Roni. She had the guys looking for her. And what made it worse, Roni still had yet to meet the man. Every time they went to the club, he had a flock of chickenheads lined up at the booth.

“Ron, he is a straight dog. You of all people know the type. I am not going to Dominic's so you can fantasize about a man who has just as many women as you have men.”

“Fine, Kayla. But you have got to admit that is the sexiest brother you have seen in a while. I think he is my type. I am so attracted to him,” Roni said as she blew her wet nails.

“No, you're attracted to him because he is a challenge. Unlike every other nigga you meet, he is not all up in your face.”

“Not yet, anyway.” Roni winked at her girlfriend who shook her head.

Kayla made it to the shop at twelve fifteen the next day. She tried her best to be on time, but she had been having these funny feelings in her stomach. She prayed that nothing was wrong as she looked at her tummy getting bigger. She took her time getting dressed and stopped to pick up a doughnut. She craved sweets to no end. The shop was pretty full when she got there.

“Hey there, stranger. Roni didn't tell me you were coming in here today.” Ms. Ernestine greeted her as she came in the door.

“Hi, Ms. Ernestine,” Kayla greeted. She put her bag of goodies down on the table in the waiting area and walked over to Ms. Ernestine's station. “Where's Roni?”

“Back here. Mama got me washing hair,” Roni called from the shampoo bowl.

“Kayla, is that you?” a voice called from under the dryer. Kayla turned to see who it was. It was Geno's mom, Ms. Gert.

“Come here, girl, and give me a hug.” Ms. Ernestine reached and gave Kayla a big hug. All of a sudden she stood back and looked at Kayla strangely. “Girl, Roni ain't tell me you were having a baby! When are you due?”

Kayla felt her heart beating and looked into Ms. Ernestine's eyes. She looked from Ms. Ernestine to Ms. Gert, but knew there was no point in lying to either one of them.

“Baby? Kayla's not having a baby,” Ms. Gert said as she lifted the dryer all the way up. “She would have told me.”

“Thanksgiving Day,” Kayla said and took a deep breath. She could not turn around and face Ms. Gert, so she walked back to the waiting area and sat down. It was so quiet in the shop that even the dryers seemed to have stopped humming.

“Kayla, you're having a baby and didn't tell me?” Ms. Gert came and took a seat next to her.

“I'm sorry, Ms. Gert. I just didn't know how. I mean, it's not Geno's, and . . .”

“That doesn't matter to me, Kayla. You do. I love you like you are one of my own children. Does Geno know?”

“Yes.”

“He still cares about you, Kayla. You do know that, right?”

“We were engaged, Ms. Gert. Geno and I will always care about each other.”

“So you still love him?”

“Ms. Gert, I'm pregnant by another man and Geno is living with another woman. I don't think how we feel about each other is relevant. It's over. We have both moved on.” Kayla looked at the woman she had grown to love over the years. They were as close as she and her own mother at one point, and like everyone else, she could not understand why Kayla and Geno broke up.

“I understand, Kayla. And if that's how you feel, I respect that. But you will always be a part of my family and nothing will ever change that.” She reached over and hugged Kayla as a chorus of “awww”was heard in the shop. The women looked up and saw that everyone had stopped and all eyes were on them.

“Are you two finished with your Hallmark moment so Roni can get some work done?” Ms. Ernestine smiled at them.

“Mama, I know you ain't trying to rush nobody when they working for free!” Roni put her hands on her hip.

“Free? Child, you still owe me for that college education I paid for. You just lucky I don't garnish your wages like the student loan people do.”

“What is you doing, dawg?” Terrell asked her Monday afternoon when she got to work.

“What are you talking about, Terrell?” Kayla knew she looked fly. Her white rayon outfit was perfect from her manicured hands to her perfect feet, which wore Kenneth Cole heeled sandals. Roni had hooked her hair up and it was flowing down her back. Her eyebrows were arched and she had put on her M•A•C makeup like a professional artist.

“You are trippin' for real.” He sighed as he sat at his desk.

“Terrell, what are you talking about?” Kayla knew he would have a smart comment. She was prepared for it.

 

“You can not, I repeat
can not
leave on Friday night with a short bob and return on Monday with hair down to your behind.” He touched Kayla's tracks and acted like he was gonna pull them.

“You can if you're a diva.” Kayla batted her eyes at him and stuck out her tongue. The rest of the class laughed as he took his seat, smiling.

During lunch break, Kayla bought a honey bun and a bottle of Pepsi. She sat at their regular table and pulled out the
What to Expect When You're Expecting
book that Roni had dropped off to her that morning. She was determined to find out why she kept having those strange feelings in her stomach. The book confirmed that the butterflies in her stomach were called flutters. Kayla smiled as she realized she was feeling her baby move for the first time.

“Who's having a baby?” Terrell asked as he sat down and looked at her book.

“I am.” Kayla smiled.

“Yeah, right. When?”

“In November.” Kayla opened the honey bun and decided to put it in the microwave for a few seconds to get it soft. She returned to the table and saw Terrell flipping through her book.

“You having a baby for real, Kayla?” he asked.

“For real,” Kayla said and prepared herself for the sweet, gooey food she had sitting before her. She picked up the warm honey bun and was about to bite into it when Terrell snatched it from her and tossed it into the trash.

“What is your problem?” Kayla stood up and asked him angrily.

“You can't be eating that stuff. It's not good for you,” he answered and went back into the cafeteria. Kayla wanted to cry. She had been thinking about that honey bun all day and now his big behind had thrown it away. She sat back down, too furious to move.

“Here,” Terrell said, placing a tray in front of her. On it were a grilled chicken sandwich, some baked chips, an apple and a glass of milk. As bad as Kayla wanted to stay mad at him, she couldn't.

“You know I wanted to stab you, right?” Kayla told him.

“Whatever, diva. You wouldn't dare if you want that hair to stay pretending like it's yours,” he joked.

“You're just mad because I won't let you touch it,” Kayla threw at him.

“My uncle has a stable down South. I know what it feels like.”

Kayla stuck her tongue out at him and began to eat her food.

“Man, you don't even look pregnant,” he said.

“Coming from anyone else I would take that as a compliment, but from you, I don't know.” She looked up from her plate.

“Was that your baby daddy the other night at the club?” he asked as he reached on her plate and grabbed some chips. Kayla raised the fork over his hand and pretended to stab him.

“If you must know, no, that was not my
child's father
. That was my ex-fiancé and his new girlfriend,” she told him.

“He's still feeling you. Does he know you're pregnant?”

“How do you know he's still feeling me?”

“Because I saw the way he looked at you. That's the reason ol' girl was mad at him, because he was more interested in you.”

“Well, we're over.”

“Where is your baby daddy?”

“That's a whole 'nother story and he's out of the picture too.” She finished her sandwich and gave him the remainder of the chips. He didn't hesitate to take them and she laughed.

“What happened to him?”

“I didn't appreciate the fact that he was married,” she informed him. He gave her a surprised look.

“You, somebody's mistress? I underestimate you and your
playerability
.” His shoulders shook as he laughed at her. Kayla was not amused.

“I am
not
anybody's mistress. I didn't know he was married and, like I said, he's out of the picture. I'm all alone,” she said sadly. Kayla realized that indeed she was alone. She thought about having to go to birthing class and doctors' appointments by herself. There wouldn't be a proud father with her in the delivery room waiting with a camcorder in one hand and a digital camera in the other. She looked down at the empty tray, reminding her of her empty heart.

“Hey, you're not alone. You got your girls. I know they got your back. And you got me. You're my dawg.” He gave her an encouraging look and Kayla shook her head at him. Over the past few weeks, she had learned that Terrell was a great listener. They would share stories and thoughts with each other and he always seemed to understand what she was going through. Although he acted like he was a player, she knew he had issues of his own. Even so, to her, he was genuine in his own way.

“Your
dawg
?”

“My ace, my buddy, my girl, you know . . . my dawg! Now come on, before we're late,” he told her and pulled her up from the table.

The June heat was bearing down on Kayla as she sat on the hood of her car. She was traveling along the interstate when it went dead. She got out and popped the hood as if she knew what she was looking for. She called Roni, but got no answer on her cell or Yvonne's. She knew Tia was at work and she wouldn't be able to reach her. Luckily, her father had her on his AAA account and they came and towed the car to her house. The tow truck driver told her that her transmission was gone and it would take about two thousand dollars to repair.
Where the hell am I supposed to get two thousand dollars?
She wondered as she rode home in the tow truck.
I don't even have two hundred dollars in my savings account.
Her situation was going from bad to worse.
How am I gonna raise a baby with no man, no car, and no money?

She slammed the door as she went into her house and sat on the sofa. The phone rang and she picked it up on instinct.

“Hello.”

“Hey, Beautiful. I was calling to see how you were doing.” The sound of Craig's voice pissed her off even worse.

“Why the hell do you care? All you wanted was for me to have an abortion, right? I didn't and I haven't told your wife,
yet.
”

“I know you didn't. That's why I'm calling. I appreciate that, for real. How are you feeling?”

“Not good. My car broke down and I don't have the money to get it fixed. Are you gonna help me out?”

“How much you need?”

“Two thousand.”

“Dollars? Hell, you can buy another car for that much.”

“Are you gonna give me money to buy another car then?”

“I don't have no money like that. I mean, I can get you some loot, but it ain't gonna be no two thousand dollars,” he told Kayla. She was totally surprised. She didn't think he was gonna offer her any help.

“How much can you get me?” she sat up and asked him.

“Let me check some stuff out and I'll get back with you,” he told her. She had heard this from him before and she wasn't even falling for it this time.

“Whatever, Craig. Don't lie to me. I know you ain't gonna call me back,” she told him.

“I am, Kayla. I just gotta check on something and then I'll call you back.” Craig sounded as if he meant what he said.

“I need for you to call me tonight so I'll know what I need to do,” Kayla told him.

“Okay. I'll talk to you then,” he said and hung up the phone. That was at quarter after seven. At twelve-fifteen, Kayla went to bed.
I knew he was lying.

She woke up early the next morning. She had to figure out how she was gonna get to and from work. She couldn't very well ask her girls to be her personal taxi service. She went on line and found a bus schedule and mapped out her route. She made it to work twenty minutes early.
At least I know I can make it here on time everyday
, she thought, relieved. The only bad part was catching the bus home at ten o'clock at night. But Kayla knew she had to do what she had to do. Walking to the bus stop after work, she tried not to panic when she saw a car pull beside her.

“What are you doing, dawg?” she heard Terrell call as the window rolled down.

“Going home. The same thing you're doing,” she answered.

“Where's your car?” he asked.

“My electrical system went out. Costs almost two grand to fix.”

“I'll give you a ride. Come on. Get in.” He reached and opened the door. Kayla looked at him, hesitating.

“Where do you live, Terrell?”

“Do it matter? I'm the one taking
you
home. Get in, girl.” He smiled.

Kayla got in his Altima and they pulled off.

“So, where am I taking you?” He fumbled with his radio.

“Terrace Gardens, the townhouses.” She sat back.

“That's not far from where I live. As a matter of fact, it's on the way. Why didn't you say anything about your car being broke, yo?”

“Because that's my problem. I don't want to be airing my issues to everyone,” she said.

“So you were just gonna catch the bus to and from work, not expecting me to offer you a ride? Come on, we peoples. You know that by now. This is my joint right here.” He turned up the volume on the radio and began to nod to the music. “You don't know nothing about that, girl.”

Kayla laughed and directed Terrell to her house. “Thanks, Terrell.”

“No problem, Kayla. I'll see you tomorrow. Be ready at eleven-thirty. I'll blow the horn. And have me some lunch ready.” He smirked.

“Imagine that.” She got out and closed the door, shaking her head.

“Well, at least be ready on time. I'll let you slide with the lunch part. Tell your girl Roni I said what's up, though.”

“She's out of your league, Terrell. Besides, she's caught up with another guy right now. I will give her the message, though.” She started to go in the house.

“Peace, Kay. And eat something healthy before you go to bed,” he called out as he pulled off. Kayla shook her head and was grateful that they had become friends.