Who Do I Run To? (4 page)

“It’s all good. You enjoy your food and have a good evening
, Ms. Janiece,” he said and headed down the steps.

“Thank you
!” she yelled to his back.

“No problem
!” he yelled over his shoulder without looking back. She shut the door and went over to the counter to see what was under the foil. Man, it was homemade mac and cheese, potato salad, baked beans, greens, and grilled chicken. In another small piece of foil was a slice of pound cake. The plate was still warm, so she grabbed a fork and went to the dining table and dug in.

She ate and got full too quick
ly, which was good, because she had enough left over for the next day. Janiece went back into the kitchen and when she was about to put the foil back on the plate, she noticed that it was not a paper plate.

She thought to herself,
another way to see him again, and she smiled. She had to catch herself from going there. “Girl, stop it,” she said aloud to herself. She poured herself a glass of wine and went back into the living room, where she sat on the couch, grabbed the remote, and turned the music back on. She landed on the Smooth R&B station, sipped her wine, and reread a couple of magazines.

Before she knew it, it was ten after ten and she looked for her cell phone. It had been two hours, eleven articles, and three glasses of wine since she called
K.P. last. She was so mad that he didn’t at least text her to say one word.

She hopped off of the couch and went into her room and got dressed. She had to make a trip out to the south suburbs. She looked out the window, and the black Avalanche was still in her guest parking stall
, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t like she needed it.

She grabbed her jacket, purse
, and keys and headed out the door. When she was locking the door, people were coming out of the condo across the way. They spoke as they were going down the steps. They were two girls and one guy. She proceeded to lock the door, and Isaiah came out next and went down the steps. When she got to the bottom, he was talking to one of the girls that just passed her. That made her a little jealous, but she went on like she hadn’t known who Isaiah was.

She drove out to the south suburbs and pulled onto his block and
just sat in her car for about ten minutes watching his house. His truck wasn’t there, but his wife’s car was. She dialed his cell phone again, because she figured if he wasn’t home, he’d answer, but he didn’t. She sat there and looked at their nice house and his wife’s nice Jaguar and thought about how Kimberly had all the things that she didn’t—including K.P..

She sat there crying and cussing him out. She talked shit about how much she hated him and how she wasn’t going to allow him to hurt her like that anymore. She damned him and yelled in her car
until she was exhausted. Then she grabbed her cell phone and called him one more time, and again, he ignored her call and that made her want to go up to his door and ring the bell.

She wanted to tell his wife how her no
-good-ass husband had been fucking her for the past five years, and that the bastard was so selfish, that he was mad because she took too long having dinner with her sister; but she didn’t. She couldn’t bring herself to get out of the car. It would have been useless telling the wife, because she knew. She had to have a clue that he was messing around, and she wasn’t about to go anywhere.

Why would she? She had what she wanted. A nice big house in a nice neighborhood, and she had a nice ride. She wasn’t going to let
Janiece’s words of truth about her husband stop her from living the lifestyle she had grown accustomed to. “What would be the point?” Janiece asked herself.

So, she just sat there and noticed the clock. It was twenty after twelve, and
K.P.’s Escalade was still not in the driveway. He wasn’t with her, so he had to be somewhere doing something. Maybe he and the wife are out, she thought. Then again, his truck could have been inside of their garage, but she was exhausted with trying to figure it out.

She calmed herself down and dried her tears.
Then she started her engine and drove back to 95th.

Chapter
Five

When she got home, it looked like the party was over and everyone was gone, but the black Avalanche was still in her guest parking stall. She dragged herself up the steps and put the key into the storm door keyhole, and before she could put the key into the deadbolt, she heard the door behind her open. She thought to herself, what is wrong with this dude? She was so not in the mood to talk; she just wanted to get inside and cry. She continued to unlock the door and tried to get inside, but, of course, he said something.

“Do you always make a lot of noise at this hour?” he asked.

“Noise? What are you talking about? All I’m doing is unlocking my door!” she said with attitude.

“Oh
, I’m sorry, Janiece. My ears are just sensitive, and I hear everything. I heard you coming up the steps,” he explained.

“I’m sorry if I woke you coming up the steps
. Next time I’ll tiptoe!” she said giving him more attitude.

“Janiece
, are you okay?” he asked with concern.

“No, I’m not okay right now, but I’ll be fine,” she said going into her place. He came out of his sister’s condo and was at her door before she could shut it.

“Janiece, I’m a good listener if you wanna talk,” he said through the storm door. Since the weather hadn’t broken yet, she still had the screen in, so she couldn’t close the door and pretend she didn’t hear him. She wanted to talk and tell somebody how she was feeling, but she didn’t want to talk to him. She didn’t know him enough to be telling him her situation, especially about her married lover.

“No thanks
, Isaiah, I’ll be fine,” she said trying to sound convincing.

“Are you sure?” he asked
, and then she invited him in. She didn’t want to talk about her problems, but she didn’t want to be by herself either.

“Listen, I really don’t want to talk about my situation. I’m too tired to rehash my problems,” she said while taking off her jacket. She led him into the living room and offered him a seat.
Then she went and put her pj’s back on, and came out and offered him some hot chocolate.

“Sure
, I’d love some. I haven’t had hot chocolate in a long time,” he said with another flash of his pretty pearls.

His smile
is so beautiful for a man, she thought. Almost as beautiful as K.P.’s. She put the kettle on the burner, pulled two mugs from the cabinet and two saucers, and grabbed the box of Swiss Miss out of the food cabinet. Then she went back to the couch and chatted until the kettle whistled, and she excused herself from the conversation to fix the hot chocolate.

“Would you like marshmallows?” she yelled from the kitchen.

“Sure, and a splash of milk if you have it,” he requested.

“I sure do
. That’s exactly the way I like it,” she said and returned to the living room with two perfect mugs of cocoa. She sat on the love seat so she could look at him when they talked. He told her about his military career and how he only had one more year before getting out for good. He talked about his dad’s car dealership and how his dad wanted him to come back and be a part of the family business, which was something he was not too interested in doing.

He was an electrical engineer and that
’s the job he wanted to be in when he got out. He had his master’s and went into the military as an officer and worked in that field. Working in the car business was his dad’s dream for him, but not his.

He did most of the talking, and she asked a lot of questions to keep the focus off of her uninteresting life. She enjoyed hearing about his military experiences and the things that went on in Iraq when he was deployed over there. They talked and talked about hi
s and his sister’s childhood, and that made her realize how Iyeshia was able to have a different car every other week. Since it was after three
a.m
., he decided to go back to his sister’s and she walked him to the door. He paused.

“What do you have planned tomorrow night?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” she asked sounding retarded.

“Tomorrow—evening
—what—are—your—plans?—Do—you—have—something—going—on?” he asked again. This time he pronounced each word slowly, as if he was talking to a deaf person, and they laughed.

“Oh
, I’m sorry. You kinda threw me off for a minute. I don’t have any plans tomorrow evening. Come to think of it, I haven’t had plans on a Saturday evening in a whole minute,” she said thinking out loud.

“I don’t see why not. A gorgeous gal like
you should have bothers lined up at the door,” he teased.

“Man
, please, I barely get a hello in the grocery store,” she said.

“Well
, that is certainly hard for me to believe,” he said on a serious note. They both got quiet for a moment, and then he broke the silence after getting up his nerve.

“Well
, Ms. Janiece, if you don’t have any plans for tomorrow evening, would you like to go out with me?”

“You’re asking me out? You’re joking
, right?” she asked with a smirk.

“No, I’m not joking, and yes
, I’m asking you out,” he said waiting for her to answer, but she didn’t right away.

“What is it
…, do you have a boyfriend or are you seeing someone?”

“No…not…no, I don’t have a boyfriend
… look, never mind. I’d like to go out with you,” she told him. K.P. wasn’t her boyfriend, and she was still single and could go on a date if she wanted to. So what she had made a promise not to go out with other guys. Hell, he’s married and has a life, she thought.

“Okay
, that’s good. Can I have your number so I can call you tomorrow?”

“Yeah
, sure,” she said and grabbed the notepad from the fridge. She wrote down her cell and home phone numbers. “Here you go,” she said handing him the piece of paper.

“What time would be good for you?” he asked.

“I dunno. Whatever time is good for you,” she said, and she knew that would get them nowhere. “How about you call me tomorrow and we’ll decide then?”

“Okay
, that sounds good,” he said and reached for the doorknob. “Listen, thanks for the hot chocolate. It was good.”

“Not a problem.”

“And, Janiece, I am happy to see you smiling. Whatever was bothering you earlier, I hope it works out.”

“It will
; it’s just gonna take some time.”

“Well
, again, it’s been a pleasure, and I’ll call you tomorrow,” he said and touched her cheek. His touch was so soft it sent waves through her body. She knew then, it was definitely time to say good night.

“Okay
, good night, Isaiah,” she said, and he left. She shut the door and blew out the candles she had burning. After she crawled into bed, she snuggled under the covers. She prayed and asked God to forgive her for the mistakes that she had made and asked him for strength to move on and out of her current situation. She smiled at the thought of having a date on Saturday night after three years, with a man fine like Isaiah. She imagined how great it would be and finally drifted off to sleep.

Chapter
Six

When Janiece woke up, she felt good. She had a deep and good night’s sleep and she felt great. She went to the bathroom and washed her face and brushed her teeth. Afterward, she went into the kitchen and poured a glass of orange juice, and she couldn’t resist looking out the window. The black Avalanche was gone, and her stall was back to being empty. Janiece never had company unless it was K.P., her sister, or Tia, so she was pretty used to seeing the stall empty. She looked over at the grape clock on the kitchen wall. It was 9:17
a.m
., and that was a first for her. She never got up on a Saturday before noon.

She drank her OJ and turned on some music
, then began dusting a little and ran the vacuum. Her place was always clean; nothing was out of place, because she was meticulous about the way it looked. She made her bed, and then walked to the closet to go through her clothes to see what items could be returned to get some cash to get her hair and nails done for her date.

She was very low on cash, and her credit cards were not an option. She was trying to turn over a new lease on her finances so she could purchase her condo. It had been on the market for two years, and she wanted to be able to buy it, but she had to get her credit in order. She loved her building and where it was located. She just prayed to God every month that it wouldn’t sell, and so far
, she had been blessed. All of her neighbors owned their units, so she was sure she’d be next.

She was getting nowhere on her search for merchandise to return. She not only needed a touchup, she needed her nails filled and her eyebrows done. And all she could come up with was maybe enough for a shampoo and style
, and that wasn’t going to cut it. She debated with herself, and was dead set on not putting anything on her charge card, but she was starting to feel desperate.

She went to her computer and went online to check her account to see what items had cleared and what she had left, but she just couldn’t afford to put money toward hair and nails. She hated the thought of using her charge card, and the only other option would be to call Janelle
, and she really, really didn’t want to do that.

But her
date with Isaiah was so important to her, and after he had seen her looking so bad, she had to look good for their date. She was sad that she was in such a bind, that she couldn’t afford to get these things done. K.P. was supposed to give her the money on Tuesday to have everything taken care of, so catching an attitude with her was quite convenient for his wallet, but that’s okay, she thought to herself.

Just when she was about to get upset about the situation
, her phone rang. She got excited because she thought maybe she had talked K.P. up in her mind and she could get him to give her the money like he said he would, but when she looked at the caller ID, she noticed that it was a number she didn’t recognize. She started not to answer it, but she went ahead because it wasn’t an eight hundred number.

“Hello,” she said in a soft tone.

“Hello, beautiful,” the voice on the other end said, a voice she wasn’t familiar with.

“Hello,” she repeated herself.

“Janiece,” he said.

“Yes,” she
replied, still having a hard time catching the voice. She didn’t get too many calls, and especially not from men.

“How are you?”

“I’m fine, who is this?” she asked with a puzzled look on her face.

“Isaiah,” he answered.

“Oh, hey,” she said changing her tone to a sexier one.

“Good morning, how did you sleep?”

“Like a rock,” she said honestly. She had slept better than she had slept all weeklong.

“Good to hear.”

“How are you?” she asked taking a seat on her bed. She was delighted to hear from him and surprised he was up so early.

“I’m great,” he said upbeat.

“I see you’re up early.”

“Yeah, I had to get out early to get me a phone so you could have a way to reach me.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, and I guess my family too,” he said
with a grin.

“Yes
, that would be a good thing. At least your mom can get a hold of you,” she joked.

“Yep, my mom’s gon’ be calling me,” he joked
back.

“So, Ms. Janiece
, have you thought about where you wanna go?”

“Well
, not really. I’m just walking around wondering what to wear.” She had moved to her closet again, still trying to figure out what items that she could return.

“I’m sure you
’ll come up with something fantastic.”

“Well
, I’m glad you have so much confidence in me,” she smiled.

“
To be honest, you looked good in your SpongeBob outfit,” he said, and they laughed again.

“Hey, don’t be making fun of my pj’s.”

“All right, all right. But I’m looking forward to seeing you, and I’m sure you’ll be beautiful,” he said, and she blushed. Now, more than ever, she had to get her hair and eyebrows done at least. She looked at her nails. She knew that she could buff them and get away on that part, and if worst came to worst, she could pluck her brows to clean them up.

“So what time are you picking
me up?”

“Well
, I have some ideas on where I wanna take you, so I’d say around six. Would that be cool?”

“Six
? Wow, that’s kinda early,” she said. She figured about eight or nine.

“Well
, I figured if we start early, we’d have time to do a couple of things, but if that is too early—”

“No, six is fine. I’m glad I asked,” she said. She was happy to
talk with him, and she was eager to see him.

“Have you eaten?” he asked.

“No, why?”

“I
’m going to be back at my sister’s soon, and The Original House of Pancakes got some slamming food,” he said, and Janiece smiled, because that was her spot. She and her girlfriend Tia used to meet there a lot, before Tia and Rick fell so madly in love. Now she could barely get in a lunch with her girlfriend.

“Man, yes
, that’s one of my favorite spots,” Janiece said with excitement. The name of the restaurant woke up her stomach.

“
Are you dressed?”

“No, still in my pj’s,” she said. She was so mad her hair was in such
a terrible state because she couldn’t get dressed and ready to go in less than an hour. She needed to put the flat iron to her head.

“I’ll tell you what, I can pick something up for you if that’s okay?” he asked
, hoping she’d say yes. He really couldn’t wait to see her again. Six o’clock was over six hours away.

“You love to see a sista looking rough
, don’t you?”

“Man
, come on, you look fine.”

“If you say so, but you know a sista can’t resist
The Original House of Pancakes, so you will just have to look at the old monster Janiece one more time,” she joked.

“It will be my pleasure,” he said so sweetly
that she smiled. She told him what she wanted, and he verified that she had his cell number, and then she hung up. By now, she was going out of her mind and was left with no choice but to call Janelle. Isaiah had seen the worst side of her, and she had to clean up for their date. She dialed Janelle’s number nervously. Janelle answered on the third ring.

“Hello,” she said sounding half
-asleep.

“Hey
, Nellie, did I wake you?”

“Yes,” she answered.

“I’m sorry, I can call you back later,” she said getting ready to hang up. She didn’t want to ask her while she was half-asleep.

“No
, sweetie, I’m good. Are you okay?” she asked with concern, sounding exactly like their late mom.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” she asked again, truly concerned about her little sister. She knew that Janiece had lots of things going on that she didn’t share with her, and she knew that her sister kept a lot from her for the sake of not hearing her fuss so much.

“Yes, I’m good. How are you?”

“Good, same ole same ole,” she replied.

“Look
, Nellie, I know we had some words last weekend,” she said nervously.

“Chile
, please don’t worry about that. I know how stubborn and thickheaded you can be, just like daddy, so I’m not even thinking about that.”

“So you’re not mad at me?”

“Jai, please, I can’t stay mad at you. You’re my baby sister. I just need to accept that you are a grown woman, and I can’t keep treating you like a child, whether I agree or disagree with your lifestyle. It’s none of my business.”

“Oh really
?” she said surprised.

“Yes
, really, so what’s up?”

“Well
, I hate to ask you this, and you know ordinarily I wouldn’t, but I need a huge favor,” Janiece asked fretfully. She never asked for anything, even if she was down to hot dogs and water; she didn’t borrow.

“What is it?”

“Well, Janelle, I promise I will pay you back,” she said, and Janelle was fine with giving her anything she needed.

“How much do you need?” Janelle asked. She was glad to help Janiece with anything.
There had been times when she offered to do things for her sister, but Janiece wouldn’t take it. She’d have to always give her little sister big birthday gifts in order for her to give her any type of monetary gifts. That way, she wouldn’t refuse it. She’d try but she’d have no choice.

“Well
, first, I need it because I have a date.”

“A date
!” Janelle yelled and sat up in her bed. She was up for sure when she heard those words. “Bullshit! When—what—who—how? Jai, answer me,” she said sitting on the side of her bed. She couldn’t believe her ears.

“A guy I met last night
.”

“Get out
! No way. I’m gonna kick your ass if you're lying. I’m on my way over there, because I need to see your lying face,” Janelle said in disbelief. She knew her sister was so strung out on K.P., there was no way Janiece had a date with another man.

“Wait, wait, wait
, Nellie, let me tell you why I need the money,” Janiece tried to say, because she wanted to get the borrowing money part out of the way before Isaiah got there with their breakfast.

“Chile
, who cares what you need the money for. You have a date. This’s better than the Michael Jordan comeback,” she said mimicking Isaiah Washington from the movie Love Jones, and they both laughed.

“Nellie
, come on. Listen, he asked me out tonight and my hair is so nappy, and I need my nails filled, and my eyebrows look like the Beast master. As rough as I look, can you believe he asked me out? So I got to get cleaned up better than this. I will pay you back, I promise,” she explained like a little sister begging for candy.

“Chile
, please, if it’s for a date with a man other than that ugly-ass K.P., I’ll get your hair, nails, feet, eyebrows, teeth, legs waxed—hell, I’ll get you a new wardrobe. Give me an hour and I’ll pick you up. We’re going to have a sister’s day out, my treat,” she promised. She was more excited than Janiece. “And … I want to know every detail, blow by blow. Don’t leave one thing out.”

“Okay, but
, Nellie, I’m really broke. I’m gonna need a few dollars for my purse too, if you can. Momma always said we at least have to have cab fare,” Janiece said. She was already pushing it with her hair and nails, but she knew she’d pay back every dime.

“Jai
, don’t worry. I gotcha. Whatever you need, I’ll give it to you. Greg and I aren’t hurting over here, and you know all you have to do is ask. You need to stop acting like Daddy, like you too good to ask for help.”

“Thanks
, Nellie, but I promise I’ll pay you back, every cent!”

“Janiece
, stop it! You are not getting ready to put me in the poorhouse over something like this. Now, get ready, and I’ll be over in about an hour,” she said, and they hung up. Janiece was glad she broke down and called her sister. She knew that she would do it, but she just had that pride, and it was hard for her to call and ask. But she was glad she did, because now she was going to be looking fantabulous for Isaiah.

She ran to the shower so she could be ready when her sister got there, but she forgot Isaiah was still coming. As soon as she stepped out of the shower, her phone was ringing, and she heard knocking at the door.

She grabbed the phone and walked to the door, opened it, and talked in the phone, telling Isaiah to have a seat. Quickly, she threw on some shorts and a T-shirt after she lotioned up with her Cotton Blossom from Bath and Body Works.

“Hey
, the food smells good,” she said as she walked into the kitchen. He had found his way around and was putting her food on a plate.

“No, you smell good,” he said and smile
d at her.