Bad as in Good (17 page)

He stood up and scratched his head with his fraternity letters keychain. His eyes were sunken in as if he hadn't slept all night. As he towered over her in his pinstriped suit and crooked smile, she wagged her finger in his face with her other hand on her hip. His con artist demeanor only angered her more as he refused to speak; instead, he moved out of her way as Hurricane Loraine blew his way.

Before Loraine could spew out any more words, a blue sedan pulled into Loraine's driveway. Two seconds later, Loraine's petite mother was making her way up to Loraine and her ex while a makeup-smeared Teona wobbled in their direction with her heels hanging off her fingers and her mini bodycon dress barely covering her butt. I considered getting out of the car, but I felt as if I'd be infringing on a family situation. But when Loraine stared at me as if she were all alone in a world full of pinstriped cheaters and drunken jailbait, I realized that I was the only one on her lawn that was on her side.

“What are you doing here, Lorenz? As you can see, I'm going through a lot.”

“I called him.” Teona brushed a few loose strands of hair from her face and squirmed past Loraine as she headed toward her front
door. Even when Loraine grabbed Teona's arm to stop her from walking in, Teona ripped her arm from Loraine's grasp and unlocked Loraine's door. “I can call whoever the fuck I wanna call.” Without another word, she disappeared into Loraine's home and slammed the door shut behind her.

“Give her some time, Loraine,” Loraine's mother said as she held Loraine back from chasing after Teona. We all stood outside quietly, trying not to address the elephant on the lawn.

Loraine avoided eye contact with her ex-husband by staring at her front door and twirling her hair between her fingers. Lorenz, who at first kept his eyes glued on the pavement, glanced over at Loraine and chuckled. “You love playin' in yo' hair.”

Loraine cut her eyes at Lorenz and stared into him as if she were trying to burn fiery coals on the pores of his skin. “What are you doing here, Lorenz? You have yet to answer that question.”

“Teona called him and then he called me,” interjected Loraine's mom. She may have only stood five feet three with salt-and-pepper dreads that almost reached her ankles, but her deep and booming voice was powerful enough to bring their bickering to an immediate halt. “If he hadn't called, we would have never heard from your sister.”

Loraine scowled at Lorenz and gritted her teeth. “What was she doing at the police station?”

“Police picked her up on some street corner,” Lorenz answered. “She told me it's not what it sounds like, though.”

“It's never what it sounds like when you're dealin' with that girl.” Disgusted with the situation Teona had placed them all in, Loraine grunted and walked inside. I followed and watched as Teona, with her hair wrapped in a silk scarf and dressed down in men's boxers and a white tank top, ate a bowl of cereal over Loraine's kitchen sink.

Teona avoided eye contact with all of us as she stared at Loraine's walls. Loraine's mother and ex-husband walked in a few seconds later. “Did you take a shower and wash the stench of the police station off you?” Loraine's mother questioned. Teona ignored her mother's question and stuffed spoonfuls of Fruit Loops into her mouth. “Little girl, I picked yo' butt up from a police station after not hearing from you in almost two days. You better answer me.”

Teona slammed her spoon down and rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Yes, ma'am.” With that, she flipped her leftover cereal bowl into the sink and stormed into Loraine's guest room.

“She's going home with you, Mama.” Loraine shook her head and walked into the kitchen to clean up Teona's mess. Lorenz walked into the kitchen as well. With his presence less than two feet away from her, Loraine stopped and folded her arms across her chest. “You couldn't call me and tell me where she was?”

Lorenz squeezed his fists. “Why are you trippin' so hard? You don't even answer my phone calls. I had to call someone who would answer.”

“Bullshit. You like the fact that Teona came to you instead of me.”

“No, I'm genuinely concerned for her.”

“And I'm not?”

“You're not acting like it.”

“Why are you even still here? Teona's here. You can go now. You ain't have to show up here.”

“I wanted to make sure everything was all good.”

“It is—bye.”

“Loraine, stop talking to him like that.” Loraine's mother stepped in with her unwanted motherly advice and quickly realized how unwanted it was when Loraine cut her eyes at her and twisted her neck.

“Mama, this does not concern you. If I wanna kick some random
man out of my house, that's my choice, not yours.” Loraine's mom scratched her scalp loudly as she pursed her lips.

“I'm random now?” Lorenz interjected.

“You're still here?”

Lorenz stared at Loraine, then at me. I was nothing more than an innocent bystander unfortunate enough to be forced into being a witness to the events of a woman scorned belittling the man who scorned her. I averted eye contact and decided to look through my phone and read Louis's text messages and emails.

Lorenz asked, “Why can't we talk like two adults, Loraine?”

“I would if there was another adult in front of me. Bye, Lorenz.”

Lorenz flicked his tongue. After a deep sigh, he said, “Bye.” He walked past Loraine and stomped out her front door. Loraine's mother and I both kept our eyes out of their business as they sorted through their own affairs. Nevertheless, we silently wished that Teona would walk back in so we'd have other issues that we could actually poke our noses in.

Loraine dropped her arms to her side and took a deep breath. “Mama, can you call your other daughter out here, please?”

Loraine's mother did as she was told, and we all waited for Teona to step out of the room. Five agonizingly long minutes later, Teona crept out and greeted our curiosity with an attitude. “What, Mama?”

“Come sit yo' butt down here.”

Teona stared at her mother, initially testing her authority. She walked over to Loraine's couch after losing her mother's stare-down. “I'm really not in the mood to talk right now.”

“Teona, I'm 'bout sick and tired—

“Be sick and tired!” Teona cut Loraine's sentence short with an intense eye roll and a serious smack of her lips. “I'm sick and tired of you tryna act like my mama.”

“Well, I
am
your mama, and I've
been
sick and tired of your mess.”

Teona looked up at her mama as if she wanted to talk back, but she knew better. “What do you want me to say, Mama?”

“We want you to explain. I've been patient with you for a long time, Teona. But the day I pick you up at a police station because the police suspected you of streetwalking, my patience has all but run out.”

“I wasn't streetwalking.”

“Then what were you doing?” Loraine asked.

Teona scratched the top of her head in attempt to avoid answering her sister, but her mother looked down at her, waiting for an answer. “I was…I left the club early to meet up with some guy. I must've been real drunk 'cause I forgot where I was supposed to meet him. I walked down the street looking for him, and some guy pulled up—I thought it was the guy. Turned out to be an undercover.”

“What was the guy's name, Teona?” Loraine asked.

“Does it matter?”

“You darn right it matters,” Loraine's mother answered. “Teona, you keep playing these games thinkin' these men are playing, too. Sooner or later, you goin' realize that these men aren't playing. This time, I picked you up at the police station; tomorrow, I might have to come identify your body. I'm tired of this. I thought you spending time with your sister would've helped, but this has gone far enough.”

Before Teona had the opportunity to say something, we all stopped when we heard someone banging at the front door. We all glanced at each other before looking back at the door.

Loraine walked to the front door and peeked through the peephole. “Who is it?”

Loraine shrugged her shoulders and opened the door slightly. “Can I help you?”

“Is Teona there?” a man's voice asked.

“Who are you?”

He stood quiet for a while. I noticed the man's feet fidgeting as Loraine waited for an answer. “Look, I'm sorry to be banging on your door like this. Teona's been blowin' my phone up since last night, and I wanted to talk to her, if that's okay.”

“You still haven't tol' me who you are, bangin' on my door like that. How do you even know to find her here?”

“She invited me here once. You must be her sister, Loraine. I apologize for my rudeness; I'm a little distraught. I wanted to make sure she was okay.”

The man's voice had calmed down, but I could tell he was irritated. Loraine swung the door open, which allowed Teona to see him. The man stepped inside and searched for Teona's face. Teona glanced over at him for a second, but I was the one staring. His voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't keep my eyes off his shoulder-length dreads, chocolate skin, and chiseled jaw.

“Louis.”

Initially, in his search for Teona, he hadn't noticed me standing there wondering
why
he was searching for Teona. He ran his fingers through his dreads. He slapped his hands together and stepped back outside.

Loraine asked, “You know him, Erin?”

Teona refused to meet my glare.

I walked over to Louis, who nervously rubbed his hands together. “What are you doing here, Louis?”

“Erin…what are you doin' here?”

“I asked you first.”

Teona walked up behind me and poked her head in my business. “He's here to see me.” Squeezing in between us, she addressed Louis. “As you can see, I'm fine. Maybe you should've returned my calls.”

As Teona stood between us, I cocked my head back and sneered at Louis. He walked backward and realized the mess he had entered.

Loraine tried to pull me back, but I yanked myself free. “Louis, what the fuck is goin' on?”

“Nothin'…it's not what you think it is.”

“Then tell me what is goin' on.”

Teona put her hand up. “Erin, he's here to see me. Can you give us a minute?”

“Excuse me—”

When I smacked Teona's hand out of my face, Loraine pulled me away before things got worse.

“Erin, calm down.”

I pulled myself loose and closed the front door behind me so Loraine could stop interfering. “Louis, you better start talkin'.”

“I gotta go. Can we talk about this later?”

“Louis, if you leave without giving me an explanation, don't worry about ever callin' me again.”

Loraine's mother opened the door. Teona got in Louis's face. “Can we talk somewhere else?”

I couldn't breathe. I heard my pulse racing. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead. No one was giving me answers, but everyone was tryna push me away. “You know what, Louis? Goodbye.”

As I brushed past him, Louis followed me and held me back. Teona grabbed onto Louis, forcing Loraine's mom to intervene. “Teona, get out of grown folks' business and get in this house.”

Teona ignored her mother's warning as she pulled Louis backward.
I took his hands off me and tried to rid myself of this entire situation. “Erin, wait. Let me explain.”

I flung around and snarled. “I've been waiting for an explanation for the past five minutes, Louis. Talk!”

“It's not what you think. I'm not messin' around with Teona. I'm not cheatin' on you. Things are real crazy right now.”

I folded my arms and slowed things down. “Louis…what…
the fuck
…are you doing here?”

“I told him I want him back, and he's here to come get me.” Teona yelled out before Louis could respond. My blood was literally boiling, and I couldn't stand there and hear Teona talk.

“I'm leaving.” I stormed past everyone, shooing away grabs that tried to hold me back. I was done hearing anyone else speak, and if I heard Teona's voice again, Loraine would have to pry my hands off her neck with a crowbar.

L
ouis blew my phone up for three days straight. He would pop up at my house, and I'd pretend I wasn't home. Sometimes, I'd let him know I was home and still not answer. Loraine called me, too. I wasn't mad at her, but if I heard Teona's voice, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from driving over there. I lied in my bed in the dark, thinkin'. I was knockin' on thirty, and I was the woman feening for a married man while I dated a man who knocked down doors to chase after a harlot. Eventually, I would need answers.

When I saw Louis after work, I skipped the small talk and led straight into the hard stuff. “What the fuck was that, Louis?”

Louis and I stood in my kitchen. I stood in baggy sweats and a tank top, hair pulled back like I was ready to fight. Louis came in with his dreads down. I loved when he wore his hair down, and he knew it. He also knew how much I loved it when he wore V-neck shirts that hugged his skin and slacks that gripped his ass. He looked good and wanted to show it. He said, “I'm sorry about all that. I'm happy you finally agreed to talk to me. I was dying not being able to talk to you.”

“You're not answering my damn question, Louis. I
will
kick you out.”

He took a deep breath. “I was datin' Teona at one point.” I opened
my top cupboard in search of my unopened wine bottle. “It's not what you think, though. I didn't know she was so young. I also didn't know she was sleepin' around with other guys; some of 'em were guys I knew. I backed off at that point.”

“So you were fuckin' her.”

He licked his lips and averted eye contact. I poured myself a tall drink of wine and gulped it down. “Erin, it didn't mean anything then, and it doesn't mean anything now.”