Man Enough For Me (32 page)

What did he want with Germaine?

Even though Jules had told Easy that Germaine had never been involved with drugs, Easy had still kept his distance from Truuth’s cousin. So she was surprised to see them have what seemed like a civil conversation in ‘Dre’s backyard. Jules was even more surprised when she saw them shake hands.

Easy said something to Germaine, and he laughed in response. Soon the two of them were chatting like best buds. Jules felt more than a little annoyed.

So what, they’re friends now? Unbelievable.

Jules decided she had had enough. It was time to go home. Slipping into the house, she looked around for ‘Dre so she could say her good-byes. There were only a few people inside, but she thought she heard ‘Dre’s voice, and so she followed the sound into the kitchen.

“Momma, you know you wrong,” Angela, ‘Dre’s older sister, said, enraged. Her eyes were flashing angrily, as she stood glaring at her mother, who seemed equally upset. ‘Dre was standing on the other side of the kitchen island looking more upset than Jules had seen him in a long time.

Realizing that she had walked into a family conversation, Jules began to back out of the kitchen.

“I ain’t no kinda wrong. I told you I don’t want to see you messin’ with no white girls. I don’t care if she’s Lady Di reincarnated. Don’t bring no white trash up here in my house to me!”

Jules’s mouth fell open as Momma Clayton’s words stung her ears. She had not heard such blatant racism in a long time, and certainly never from anyone she knew and respected—or used to respect anyway.

Suddenly everything ‘Dre had said fell into perfect harmony for Jules. She understood completely why he was hesitating with Tanya. He never wanted her to have to deal with this kind of unkindness.

But it was too late. Because in the heat of the argument no one had noticed Tanya enter the kitchen from the back deck. She had been just in time to hear Momma Clayton’s scorching words.

“‘Dre.”

‘Dre noticed Jules for the first time, and followed her eyes across the kitchen to where Tanya was standing. A mixture of fear and horror framed his face when he realized that she had
heard everything. But it paled in comparison to the look of brokenness reflected in Tanya’s features.

He rushed toward her, but she was already pushing through the door to the deck.

Jules glared at Momma Clayton, who, even after seeing Tanya’s despair, didn’t seem the least bit apologetic.

“Look what you did, Momma,” Angela said to her mother angrily. “How could you say something like that?”

Jules didn’t stick around for the answer. Exiting the kitchen, she looked around for either Tanya or ‘Dre.

“What’s wrong with Tanya?” Maxine asked, appearing out of nowhere. “She just rushed past me looking crazy upset.”

Jules quickly explained what had happened in the kitchen to Maxine. When she’d heard it all, Maxine seemed even more enraged than Jules.

“The nerve of that woman,” she muttered angrily.

“Did you see where Tanya went?” Jules asked worriedly.

“Yeah, she ran in there,” Maxine said, motioning toward the downstairs guest room where all the guests had been asked to leave their coats.

“Wait,” Jules said, grabbing Maxine’s arm to stop her from rushing into the room. “Did ‘Dre go in there with her?”

“Yeah.”

“Then we should probably let him handle this,” Jules said. “The two of them have a lot of things to work out.”

As Maxine and Jules stood in the middle of the hallway wondering what to do next, Easy appeared.

“Hey, baby girl,” he said, throwing one arm around her in a half embrace. “How come you didn’t come holla at me?”

“‘Cause you were busy with your new best friend,” Jules said. She grimaced as her own words stung her ears.

“Who, Germaine?” Easy asked, puzzled.

“Yes,” Jules said grudgingly. “Who else?”

“Hey, you were the one who was on my back about him being good people,” Easy said, shrugging. “We were kicking it at Truuth’s place the other day, and it turns out he’s not too bad. You
know he used to do some production for a label out in Vancouver?”

Jules rolled her eyes. “So what, now you’re his number-one fan?”

Easy chuckled. “He’s really got you turned out, don’t he, baby girl.”

Jules threw Easy a nasty look. He shook his head and grinned in reply.

As if on cue, Germaine came strolling up to them, casually taking a swig out of the soda in his hand. He was looking at Jules curiously. Jules wished he wouldn’t look at her at all.

“Okay, I’m gonna go,” she said suddenly, walking toward the coat room. It was getting a bit too crowded for her.

“I thought you were gonna give them time?” Maxine called after her.

“They’ve had enough time,” Jules threw back.

“Has she been like that all day?” Jules heard Easy ask Maxine.

“No, just since certain people got here,” Maxine replied. Without looking back she could tell that Maxine was glaring at Germaine. Jules wished they would all go away and leave her alone. But if they wouldn’t go away, at least she could.

As she cracked the door open, it occurred to her that maybe she should have knocked first. If she had, she might not have caught ‘Dre and Tanya kissing. They jumped apart as soon as the door opened.

“Maybe knock next time, Jules,” ‘Dre said, annoyed.

“Sorry, guys,” Jules said, grinning as she quickly grabbed her jacket off the chair. “As you were,” she said cheekily. She hurriedly exited the room, but not before she caught a glimpse of Tanya blushing furiously.

Without any other farewells, Jules slipped through the front door and headed toward her car. She was so busy digging through her bag for the keys that she didn’t notice Germaine leaning against the driver’s side, until she was less than three feet away from him. She stopped suddenly.

“So how long are we going to do this?” Germaine asked casually.

“Do what?” Jules asked innocently, rooted to her spot.

“Avoid each other.”

“I’m not …” Jules stopped short. There was no point in lying. But since there was also nothing else she could think of to say, she just stared at him.

“I think we have an unfinished conversation,” Germaine said, watching her carefully. “Remember, the one we started at the hospital?”

“You seemed to have finished it with LeTavia,” she said dryly. For the second time in less than an hour, Jules wished she could take back her words.

“Wow,” Germaine said, raising an eyebrow in mild surprise.

“I’m sorry,” Jules said, closing her eyes. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

She stood in the middle of the sidewalk fingering her keys. The truth was, she did not know what she should say. Everything she wanted to say seemed wrong. She sighed heavily.

“What do you want from me, Germaine?” she asked tiredly. She searched his eyes for any sign that he was as tired of this back-and-forth as she was.

“I meant what I said, Jules,” Germaine said, taking a step toward her. “I do miss you.”

Jules noted that there was considerably less emotion in the way he said it this time. Maybe she had just imagined something more the morning at the hospital. She was starting to think that she had imagined a lot of things, like how much Germaine seemed to care for her while they were together. If you cared for someone that much, how could you let it go so easily? How could you so casually move on to someone else?

Lord, I am trying, but You really got to work with a sister on this one.

“I miss talking with you. And working with you,” he said, taking another step toward her. Jules resisted the urge to step back and away from him.

“Look, we’re going to see each other a lot. I don’t want everyone feeling like they have to pick a side when it comes to the two of us,” Germaine said practically. “Can we at least be friends?”

Jules looked at him closely to see if there were any visible signs that he had lost his mind. Who was he kidding? She couldn’t be in the same room with him for more than a few minutes, and he wanted them to be friends? To work together? To hang out together? There was no way on earth that was possible.

“Okay,” Jules said. “Friends it is.”

Y
es, this “‘friends” thing was definitely a bad idea.

“He wants us to have lunch,” Jules said, clicking her cell phone shut and rolling her eyes.

“Who? You and him?” Tanya asked from the treadmill beside Jules’s.

Jules glanced in annoyance at her friend, who didn’t seem to be the least bit out of breath even though she had been in a brisk jog for at least twenty minutes. Jules, meanwhile, could barely keep up, and kept having to drop her speed. She knew it was her own fault, since she hadn’t been to the gym in a full three weeks. But that knowledge didn’t make it any less irritating.

“All of us … Me … you … ‘Dre … Easy, the whole gang … after church this weekend,” Jules said between breaths.

“Oh,” Tanya said thoughtfully. “That’s nice of him.”

Instead of answering, Jules grunted and lowered the speed on her treadmill again until she was at a brisk walk. It was less than a week since Jules had agreed to the peace treaty with Germaine, and it was already backfiring on her.

“Come on, Jules, you have to admit it was a nice gesture, considering we’ve always invited him over to our places,” Tanya said reasonably.

“Whatever,” Jules said, still annoyed. “I just don’t get why he has to call me. Couldn’t he tell Truuth and Maxine, and let them spread the word around?”

“He could, but he knew that if he didn’t invite you directly, you probably wouldn’t show up,” Tanya said knowingly.

Jules snorted. That “probably” was more like a “definitely.”

“I don’t know what you’re so upset about. You were the one who agreed to be friends with him,” Tanya said, smirking.

“Only because he asked,” Jules said. “What was I supposed to say? Sorry, I’d rather not see you again for the rest of my life?”

“I don’t know, is that what you told all your other ex-boyfriends to make them disappear?” Tanya asked, laughing.

Jules shot Tanya a dirty look. Tanya was well aware of Jules’s rule about ex-boyfriends: they were neither to be seen nor heard from ever again. Germaine was the only one who seemed to have slipped under the radar.

“Who stays friends with their ex, anyway?” Jules countered, in annoyance. “He was the one who said he didn’t trust me. Why would he want me around?”

“If I remember correctly, Jules, what he said was, ‘I can’t be with someone who doesn’t trust me,’ “ Tanya corrected. “He didn’t say he didn’t trust you. He said you didn’t trust him.”

“Thanks, Tanya,” Jules said. “I’ll remember not to share any details with you the next time a guy kicks me to the curb.”

“What? You know it’s true,” she said, as she slowed the treadmill down so she was walking at pace with Jules.

“You also know that deep in your heart you hope he’ll change his mind, which is why you’ve agreed to this fake friendship with him,” Tanya said.

Jules bit her lip but said nothing. Tanya could think whatever she wanted, but Jules knew she didn’t have to confirm or deny any of it.

“Furthermore, if he wasn’t unsure about things himself, he never would have brought up the friendship thing anyway,” Tanya continued.

“Should I start calling you Dr. Phil now? Or should I wait until you get your own talk show?” Jules asked.

“Whatever,” Tanya said, not the least bit miffed. “Everybody knows the two of you still have feelings for each other.”

“Funny how that everybody doesn’t include me,” Jules said, turning off the machine and grabbing her towel. “I’m done. But you’re free to stay here and analyze my life on your own.”

Tanya rolled her eyes and followed Jules back to the changing rooms.

“Look, honey, I’m not trying to upset you,” Tanya said gently. “I just want what’s best for you. I know you’ve been trying to hide it, but I can tell that you’re hurting over this thing with Germaine. I just hate to see you like this.”

“Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine,” Jules said. “ ‘The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.’”

But deep inside Jules didn’t feel half as sure as she sounded. Though she was trusting God to take her through this rough patch in her life, she admitted to herself that there were days, like today, when she couldn’t understand His plan. She knew that every experience He gave her was to teach her something, but she was finding it hard to find the lesson in the emptiness that filled her heart.

Jules could tell from the expression on Tanya’s face that she wasn’t buying Jules’s optimism either, but before Tanya could respond, her cell phone rang.

“Hello? … Hey, sugar, what’s up?”

Jules rolled her eyes, knowing from the change in Tanya’s voice that it must be ‘Dre on the line.

“Oh, Lord … Where are you? … Oh, God …”

“What’s wrong?” Jules asked with concern as she watched Tanya cover her mouth, while her face went from pale to white. Tanya looked up at Jules, and the fear in her eyes turned Jules’s blood to ice. Wordlessly Tanya handed Jules the phone before sinking in tears onto a bench in the changing room.

“Hello? ‘Dre? What’s going on?” Jules asked, unable to keep the panic out of her own voice. Already a million horrible thoughts were flashing through her mind.

“Jules, it’s Easy,” ‘Dre said. His voice was hoarse, and he
sounded strained. Jules felt her heart pound faster in her chest as an ominous feeling began to build in her stomach.

“There was … a shoot-out, in front of his place,” ‘Dre began shakily. “He was getting out of his car, and he got shot … three bullets to his chest. They took him to the hospital but …”

Jules sank to the floor, her whole body shaking.

“No, no, no …” she whispered, as she cradled the phone by her ear, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“They did everything they could, Jules,” ‘Dre said, his voice shaky on the other end of the line. “But he didn’t make it.”

Jules began to feel dizzy as ‘Dre’s words came into focus for her. This could not be happening.

Please, Lord, no …

“I’m sorry, Jules. Easy is gone.”