Pretty Girls in the Vip (9781617730283) (22 page)

C
hristie was so blessed to have me and Nichelle as friends. Well, really, she should be so happy to have me as her friend, because I paid for the majority of the baby shower. Nichelle didn't do half of the things she promised to. I had to go and buy the cake and the flowers. I was going to just hire a party planner for the coed event. However, the guy I interviewed thought it was totally preposterous that I wasn't interested in any of his traditional pink or blue themes.

He couldn't decorate the shower the way I wanted, so I found everything I needed at the party store. I felt at home planning and decorating everything. I might have finally found my calling.

I decorated the suite in the Thunder colors of navel orange and electric blue, with a splash of hot pink. On each table there were pompoms and basketballs. Christie had a long registry and I bought almost everything off of the list. I bought her every receiving blanket, sleeper, stroller, bouncy seat bassinet, and pacifier. I had been running around everywhere, and I was exhausted and feeling a bit under the weather myself. I felt like I was about to pass out.

I couldn't believe Christie and Omar had the nerve to be late to their own baby shower. I told her to be there by two and it was now three. She knew everyone on the team was leaving for an away game tomorrow; The majority of the people who were in attendance were just people from the franchise that knew Omar and not her. His family didn't like her and wasn't coming. Her mother said she didn't fly after I offered to buy her a ticket to attend.

At three fifteen, Omar and Christie arrived. Christie was wearing a cute pink wrap maternity dress and pink and white heels. Omar looked like he was fresh off the block. He was wearing dirty-looking jeans and a gray hoodie. They came and spoke to everyone, and once everyone was seated, Nichelle took over the shower like she had planned it, starting the baby games and directing the caterers. She could take all the credit because all I wanted to do was sit down. I felt so nauseous myself. I ran to the bathroom and let everything up that I had eaten in the last two days. I kept flushing the toilet, hoping it was over and that I was finally done. I heard someone enter the bathroom. The person was checking each stall. Then I heard Christie's voice asking, “Are you okay, Zakiya?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” I said, finally feeling a little better. I came out of my stall. I rinsed my mouth and grabbed a towel to wipe my face.

“I wanted to thank you. No one has ever done anything like this for me in my life. Everything is so pretty, and this means so much,” Christie said, hugging me. “I got everything off my registry.”

“That's great. By the way, why were you guys late?”

“Omar was arguing with me again. He has been so moody now, like he is pregnant. Can you believe he asked me for a paternity test?”

“He did?”

“I'll give him one. I just think he is acting so weird. I don't know, after this is all over, I may just go home. I don't want to, but I can't have him keep finding reasons to be mad at me.”

“You can't go home. He is probably just nervous about becoming a dad.” I ran back in the stall to throw up.

“I hope so. What's wrong with you? You don't look so good.”

“Yeah, I'm just not feeling that well.”

“Are you pregnant?”

“Yeah. I took a test this morning.” I wiped my face with water from the sink and washed my hands. “I didn't tell Jabril yet,” I confessed.

“Oh my God, really? You have to tell him.”

“I will. We were trying. So I knew it was going to happen—just not this soon. I'll tell him when we get home.”

“Okay, well, come and have a piece of cake with me. The babies are hungry.” She laughed.

“I'll be out there.”

I came out and took a seat next to Jabril. I just wanted to go to sleep. I lay on his shoulder and waited for them to figure out how many pieces of toilet tissue it took to wrap around Christie's big waist. I just wanted the baby shower to be over.

 

Christie had opened all her gifts, and people were beginning to leave. She thanked everyone for coming and tried to get Omar to say something, but he just shook his head. He was an ass.

“Thank you all for coming out and celebrating our baby. Me and Omar appreciate it, and I'm sure if we need a babysitter we can count on all of you to come over. Right?” She looked around at a few people, laughing. “Well, I really want to thank my girls, Nichelle and Zakiya, for throwing this great shower, and I also want to make an announcement. I know you said not to say anything, Zakiya, but Omar is not the only one about to be a daddy on the team.” Everyone looked at each other. “Jabril, Zakiya has something she wants to tell you.”

Jabril looked over at me with a surprised look on his face. I nodded my head and he was so happy. Everyone came over and started congratulating him. It wasn't the way I had wanted to tell him, but the secret was out.

A
n artist named Nerv Trap had reserved the entire club for his birthday party, and it was twelve thirty and he hadn't even shown up. He was a gangster rapper from Baltimore with hardcore fans. He was in Philly for a music conference and wanted to celebrate his birthday with us. Just for the night, I had to relax the dress code to accommodate him and his fans.

Ian came to town just to help out and get some footage, and we brought in some extra security for the night. Ian came gave me a peck and brought over a Red Bull. I thanked him. Although at times Ian was irritating, I appreciated that he had come up for a few days while he had a break in filming to help me. I still had mixed feelings about Ian. I wanted to make a clean break from him, but he was still trying, so I was going to hang in there a little while longer.

“So what time is this guy coming?”

I looked down at my cell phone and said, “He was supposed to be here by now.”

“Adrienne, just be patient. This is a good connection to have. He's hot right now, so any footage of him is going to pop and give the club so much more exposure. Whatever I film tonight, I'm going to have it posted to your site by next week.”

Everyone was still waiting for Nerv Trap to arrive. I dialed his manager so many times and he finally got on the line and said, “We're pulling up in front of the club now.”

“They are out front.”

Ian, Keldrick, and Mack followed me to the door to usher him into the club. People noticed, and as soon as he came into the club the atmosphere changed. He was dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt surrounded by an entourage of bodyguards. He got on the microphone immediately.

“Thanks, everyone, for coming out to my party. I want y'all to enjoy yourselves, and just for showing me love, I want to buy you the next round. Y'all heard me right—the next round is on me.” My radar went up. I grabbed Nerv Trap's manager as he strolled to his seat.

“Excuse me. How is that going to work?” I asked him.

“We gave you a ten-thousand dollar deposit. That should cover it.”

“That was the for the club rental fee. Not for liquor and buying the entire club a round.” He huffed at me, then handed me his American Express card. I wasn't giving any free drinks out until the card had been charged. I got approval for another ten thousand. I did my math: at fifteen dollars times five hundred, that should cover his drinks and then some.

APPROVED came up on the receipt. His manager signed, and Waliq and Terrance began serving everyone. I could rest easy. My girls were taking care of Nerv Trap, and Ian was filming everything. I finally was able to take a break—until I was called to an emergency coming from the bathroom.

“Someone call an ambulance!” Darcel yelled out when I reached the doors of the restroom. A young Puerto Rican girl was lying on the bathroom floor having a frantic seizure with foam bubbling out of her mouth. Then she stopped moving altogether. I was so scared she was dead. Mack stepped near her, and I ordered him not to touch her.

“I know CPR.” It was a genuine gesture, but we didn't know what was going on with her.

“Anything can be wrong with her. Just wait until the paramedics get here. They are close by. I can hear the sirens.”

The paramedics and fire department rushed into the bathroom, ordered everyone out, and tried to revive her. They pressed on her chest, but she was not responding, and I wasn't sure if they could successfully bring her back. Thankfully they knew exactly what to do. They gave her a shot in the arm and she sprang up and started coughing. The paramedics then carried her away on a stretcher through the back door. I asked them what was wrong with her, and they said they weren't authorized to say, but the last guy leaving said she had overdosed.

 

The girl in the bathroom didn't die, but the night from hell wouldn't let go; it just kept going. There was a big uproar in the back of the club. The only thing visible was a huge free-for-all. Mack and all my security guys were trying to pull people apart, but people were fighting, running in every direction, smashing tables, and throwing chairs. It was like a war zone. Ian grabbed my arm and pulled me into the men's bathroom. He didn't let me go until we got the okay from Keldrick that everyone had evacuated the club and the police were outside.

“Is everyone okay? Where are the girls?” One by one they were accounted for. I didn't want to talk to anyone until I knew exactly what was going on. I pulled my security team together and asked Mack what exactly had happened.

“One of Nerv Trap's boys kept pushing up on this dude's wife. So the guy was like, that's my wife, don't disrespect me. So then Nerv Trap said, fuck you and her, and he grabbed his nuts and poured liquor on them. So Bull snatched a bottle from another table and cracked it upside Nerv Trap's head. Then everyone began warring after that.”

“So, Nerv Trap started all of this?”

“Yeah, he started it all. You want us to start cleaning up?”

“No, just make sure no one was injured please.” God, I sighed. I wasn't sure if my insurance covered rappers fighting like this.

 

I glanced outside the club doors and saw that the police already had a bunch of people in handcuffs and sitting on the curb. Then the news vans started pulling up. I wanted press for the club, but not this kind. I didn't want to cry, but I was on the verge of it. Then, to add insult to injury, Nerv Trap's manager started calling me, screaming, “Your club needs better security! My client is sitting in the emergency room with glass cuts and a black eye. He is supposed to leave for his European tour next week! How can he do that? You are responsible for all of this!”

“What? Your client
started
all of this.”

“You will get our bill, and we are reversing the charges on the credit card. We are not paying for shit.”

“Try it and see how fast I sue you.”

I was done. I just walked out. I couldn't take any more. The girl almost OD'ing, the fight, and now he was trying to take his payment back. How much more could happen?

 

The day after, I awoke to the nightmare of Belize being associated with five arrests. We had had a drug overdose and we were on the front of the Philadelphia daily newspaper. I immediately got up and headed over to the club.

The devastation in the daylight was almost unbearable. My mirrors were broken, my white curtains were pulled down, and dirty track marks and spills were all over the white furniture.

Ian was more hype than I was. He wanted to get the club repaired quickly and he began pricing everything. I didn't know if I wanted to call the insurance adjuster. I didn't even know if it was safe to open the club back up. Hopefully we would be able to be back in business by the weekend.

T
he phone rang in the middle of the night. Jabril and I both jumped up, but surprisingly it was my phone. Sleepily I picked it up and heard Christie tearfully say, “Zakiya, have you seen Omar?”

“No, why? Is everything okay?”

“No, it is not. He hasn't been home in two weeks. I have no idea where he is. I didn't want to say anything at first, you know, but now I'm getting concerned.”

“I'll ask Jabril.” I muted the call and then asked Jabril if he had heard from Omar. He turned his head in the other direction and said, “I don't know anything. I'm asleep.”

“Christie is on the telephone. What should I tell her?”

“Tell her that he is fine. I talked to him earlier today. Then you hang up.” I told her what Jabril said and that I would call her in the morning.

Jabril turned over and said, “Zakiya, they are going through something, and you need to stay out of it. We have our own baby and family to worry about it.”

The next morning I didn't listen to Jabril. I called Nichelle to ask her if she knew anything about the Omar/Christie drama.

“Nichelle, did you know that Omar hasn't been home in two weeks?”

“Maybe he is getting scared since her due date is any day. Reality is probably setting in. Lloyd said that Omar didn't really want the baby. He's been telling her to go home, but she won't leave. He said they had breakup sex and she became pregnant. He didn't want to be a deadbeat dad, so he has been forcing his self to stay and be with her, but he doesn't love her anymore. He was complaining that she keeps the house dirty and never cooks. We know that's true.”

“Why can't he just work it out with her and hire a full-time housekeeper? He was acting like an ass at the baby shower.”

“I don't know, and I can't worry about them. Christie knows how he is. This is not the first time he's been shady to her. He'll be back, but in the meantime just stay out of it.”

 

I didn't have a cold heart, so I couldn't just mind my own business. I had to go check on Christie. I knocked on the door, and she answered, looking extremely disheveled. I entered the house and it was filthy again. Dishes were everywhere, and the dogs were barking from the garage and hitting the door like they were trying to escape. Christie looked at me and started whimpering.

“It's going to be okay. You are not alone,” I consoled her.

“He didn't leave me with any money, Zakiya. There is nothing in the refrigerator, nothing in my bank account. Why would he do me like this?”

“I don't know, but I'll take you to the market and give you some money. How about your doctor appointments? Are you good? Do you need a ride?”

“No, I've been to my appointments. There is a little gas left in the car. That's the only place I've been.”

“Well, if you need anything, I can help you.”

“Thank you, Zakiya, you really are a friend. Nichelle didn't answer the phone for me. This is all crazy. I just never thought this would happen: me pregnant, broke, and alone. I'm the one who freaked my man out. I made sure he eats. I don't cook, but I ordered him whatever he wanted. I'm not the cleanest, but I took care of him and hired someone to clean up and I really love him.”

“I know you do. Don't worry about anything. And he'll be back.”

“I think he has already moved on. He has a new girlfriend already.”

“Don't worry about any of that. Let's just focus on you and the baby.”

 

I drove Christie to the market and stocked her refrigerator. We fed the dogs through the slit underneath the door, and before I left I helped her straighten up some. She asked me if she could borrow some money, and I gave her what I had on me, which was nine hundred dollars. I then promised I would be over to give her more later.

 

Jabril hadn't done anything to Christie but I came home mad, and I was heated with him, too. How could he be friends with someone who didn't take care of his responsibilities?

“Where have you been all day?” he asked, taking his eyes away from his PlayStation game.

“Helping Christie.”

“Helping her do what?”

“Your friend left her with nothing, and she needed to get groceries and things. I mean, she didn't have
anything
. It was horrible. I couldn't imagine being pregnant and helpless like that.” I started crying. I had been strong for Christie all day, and now I was in the comfort of my own house and I could let it out. Jabril jumped up and comforted me. He said that Omar had said Christie was crazy and being with her was driving him mad.

“But does that make it right for him to walk away from his responsibilities?”

“No, but I'm sure he has his reasons. And whatever they are, I don't need you stressing over them. I want you relaxing so that
our
baby can get here healthy and worry free this time. Listen, I want you to go away. You, my mom, and Nichelle should take a trip somewhere exotic and I'll pay for everything. ”

“That sounds good, but can you at least talk to Omar about going home and trying to work it out with Christie?”

“I'll talk to him.”