“This is all over money?” Randi asked.
“Boo, it’s always over money,” Stacey replied.
Randi gave Stacey a peculiar look, as if she wasn’t quite sure what Stacey was referring to exactly. Before Stacey could reply, there was a tap on her back window.
“Sasha!” Randi blurted out.
Stacey unlocked the door to let her in.
“What are ya’ll doing in here?” Sasha laughed as she hopped into the back seat.
“Girl, where did you come from? I didn’t see you in the church,” Randi asked.
“Don’t worry about where I was,” Sasha teased. “I’d like to know what transpired in there with Stacey. I’ve never seen her get so hood.”
“Shut up, Sasha. That woman had the nerve to give the church two thousand dollars and she owes me almost three months’ rent. Larry has been giving me hell over money lately. I just blew up. I don’t know what happened.”
“Girl, you’ve just lost the victory,” Sasha said as she laughed to the point of tears. Stacey and Randi joined in.
“When was the last time that we laughed like this?”
“Randi, would you stop analyzing and being so deep all the time.”
“Whatever, Sasha. Someone needs to have some logic and sense, because we all know that you don’t have any,” Randi replied.
“Well, look at you ‘Miss Timid’. You’ve come out of your shell ever since that makeover, huh?” Stacey joked.
“About that. Stacey, I saw you leave the church and noticed some woman behind you. I thought to myself, who is the broad chasing after my sister. I was about to take off my earrings, then I saw the kids sitting with the usher and realized that it was Randi. Girl, you look good!”
“Thank you so much, Sasha. That means a lot. Actually, that’s why Russell isn’t here today.”
“Why is that?” asked Stacey.
“He’s been tripping ever since you bought me those clothes. And oh my goodness, he can’t stand the fact that I’m beginning to lose some weight.”
“What? Russell’s jealous?” Sasha laughed.
“Stop laughing, Sasha,” Randi said. “He’s really upset. I wasn’t motivated to lose weight before. But after you messed with that married man I had to do something. Girl, you had me paranoid after that.”
“Wait! What?” Stacey said, confused.
“See, Randi. Look what you’ve started,” Sasha exclaimed. “Ok, Stacey, calm down. That attorney who you liked so much ended up being married. Randi came by right after I found out and I made her promise not to tell you. I was really embarrassed.”
“You weren’t that embarrassed. Didn’t you tell me that you were seeing someone at your new job?” Stacey pointed out. Randi looked disgusted. She nodded her head and covered her ears to filter out any unwanted information.
“Yes, I did tell you that Stacey. However, this time it’s different.”
Stacey and Randi began to laugh hysterically.
“Really, you guys. I think I love him,” Sasha said.
“Love? Sasha, this guy hasn’t even been with you through two menstrual cycles. What do you mean that you love him?” Randi asked in her motherly tone.
“He accepts me for being me. He’s interested in Tia and makes us a priority. He adores Tia. I’m so blessed to have him in our lives. He puts her to bed at night and whenever she wakes up in the middle of the night, we take turns. I’ve always dreamed about having a father for her. Seth sometimes takes her to daycare for me, too. He’s such a good man.” Sasha blushed from raving about Seth to her sisters. She knew that they would be skeptical about her new love interest, so it was imperative that they hear only good things about him.
“I see that this man has you blushing awfully hard. What’s his name?” Stacey asked.
“Seth. So can we change the subject?” Sasha suggested eagerly.
Randi laughed at how uncomfortable Sasha had become.
“Well, how’s everything going with Tia’s childcare?” Randi asked.
Sasha rolled her eyes because she did not favor the topic that Randi chose to discuss.
“I found an affordable babysitter.”
“Do you like her?”
“Why, Randi? Are you going to find me someone else? Are you offering to pay?” Sasha became irritated.
“I was simply asking, ‘Miss Feisty’. No need to forget that you just got out of church.”
“No, you’re just being nosey. To answer your question, she’s ok. She’s older and seems to know what she’s doing. But she always gets an attitude when I pick up Tia.”
“Why? What did you do or not do?” Stacey jumped in and accused her.
Sasha began to laugh.
“See, I knew that you must have done something wrong.” Stacey shook her head as Sasha confirmed her faults.
“Ok, Ok, I don’t like her because she gets mad for me being on the phone when I pick up Tia.”
“That’s because you’re being rude to that lady. She sat and watched your baby all day and you couldn’t give her enough respect to get off the phone. Who are you usually talking to anyway?” Randi asked, disappointed yet again.
“I’m usually talking to Seth.”
“Well, where is this Seth? Because we need to meet him right away,” Stacey insisted.
“He’s still inside the church with Tia.”
“What? That’s impressive…Oh my goodness, I forgot that my kids are still inside too.” Randi threw open the car door and ran back inside. Sasha got out of the car and followed behind her.
“I’ll call you guys later,” Stacey yelled from her car window as she drove off.
Chapter Thirteen
“Hello, Randi.”
“Good afternoon, Sasha. How are you?”
Sasha pulled up to her apartment but did not turn off the car. She sighed as she glanced back at Tia.
“I’m good. I just don’t understand why Tia cries so much.”
“She’s a baby, Sasha. What do you expect her to do?”
“I know that she may whine at times, but not like this. She cries and screams every morning when I drop her off at the babysitter. Then it’s the same thing when I pick her up.”
“Have you considered that Tia may not like her babysitter?”
“Of course, but I don’t have any other choice. I can’t afford to take her anywhere else.”
“What is she doing now?” Randi asked.
“She cried herself to sleep again. Sometimes she’ll stay asleep all night and won’t even get up to eat dinner.”
“What? Something isn’t right about that,” Randi said. “You’ve been taking her there for over six months.”
“Exactly. Seth said that I should look into a childcare center and that he’d pay half. Randi, you already know how I am. I’m not about to rely on no man. Then if he gets mad and decides to leave, I’m stuck with the bill. No ma’am, I don’t think so.”
“How is that going anyway?”
“What? Seth and me?” she confirmed as she turned up the heat to make herself more comfortable. It was extremely cold outside and she didn’t feel like carrying Tia inside just yet.
“Yes! You and Mr. Seth.”
“We’re good! I’m just not used to a man around me all the time. He comes over for dinner and stays over nearly every night to be exact.”
“Sasha, it sounds like you’re playing house.”
“No, I’m not. We just spend a lot of time together. Randi, he really wants to be in my life. It’s getting pretty serious between us. I think he may ask me to marry him soon.”
“Wow. I wasn’t expecting that.”
“I know. I wasn’t either. He’s been bringing it up lately though. But we’ll see what happens. I need to have a ring placed on my finger first. I don’t want to jump to any premature conclusions.”
“I’m happy for you. I hope everything works out. God honors marriage. I’ve always wanted to see you walk down the aisle.”
“See!
Now you’re jumping to conclusions,” Sasha giggled.
“OK, OK, OK,” Randi laughed. “Well, I have to go. Russell just walked through the door.”
“Ok, I love you,” Sasha said.
“I love you too, baby sis.”
Sasha hung up the phone feeling happy and less frustrated. Randi had a way of making her feel better.
Chapter Fourteen
“Baby, I’m going to call you back. I think Tia is finally getting up.”
“Alright love! Don’t worry about calling me back tonight. I’ll just see you tomorrow.”
“I miss you. I can’t wait until tomorrow,” Sasha murmured.
“I miss you too, baby. I wanted to come over there tonight, but I had to do laundry.”
“I could have done it for you.”
“I know, baby! But I wouldn’t do that to you. You have enough on your plate. Just call me when you wake up in the morning.”
“Sure thing. I love you, Seth.”
“I love you too, Sasha.”
She pulled back her comforter and hurried to get Tia.
“Hey honey! Are you hungry?”
Tia simply laid her head on Sasha’s shoulder and wrapped her legs around her waist. The night shirt that Sasha was wearing started to get wet from Tia’s diaper. She realized that she had not changed her since she got home. Sasha got the diaper bag and laid Tia on the floor in front of her. As she began to unbutton Tia’s onesie, she noticed how Tia began to squirm around. Frustrated and not in the mood to play, Sasha commanded Tia to lie still. She finally had restrained her enough to open her diaper. What she saw overwhelmed her and she began to gasp for air. She closed her eyes and picked up her sweet baby. But the sight of the blood that stained Tia’s diaper was burned into her brain. “Oh Lord,” she cried out, feeling nauseated and bewildered. Her head started to spin out of control with awful thoughts. She wanted to believe that the blood was caused by a urinary tract infection. The more she tried to justify the blood-stained diaper, the more she felt that something terrible had occurred. Sasha bit her lip and tried to control her rage. Unable to restrain herself, she began to throw and break anything that she could grab. “NO GOD, NO,” Sasha pleaded as she covered up Tia’s innocent pearl with a wet wipe. Her heart felt like it was about to leap out of her chest; she felt helpless. She uncovered Tia to exam her more thoroughly. Instantly she recognized that her flower was raw and red—nothing like a diaper rash or anything she had ever seen before. She knew without a doubt that her baby girl had been molested. Her strange behavior started to make sense. “Tia, you don’t play with a baby doll like that. Where did you learn this from?” Sasha remembered the time she noticed Tia trying to insert her fingers between the baby doll’s legs. The thought made her want to vomit. The tears of pain trickled slowly down her cheeks as she tried to smile and stay strong for her baby, who lay confused and uncertain.
Feeling faint, she tried calling the babysitter, but was unable to dial her number. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably. Desperate to question and confront Miss Susie, Sasha took her frustration out on her phone. Throwing it against the wall, she watched it break into tiny pieces. Tia still lay there, quietly and innocently, while Sasha continued to torment herself. She could not believe that she had kept taking Tia to Miss Susie’s. It was clear that Tia did not want to go over there, but she continued to take her anyway; Sasha began to feel guilty that she was too interested in Seth to worry about Tia and what Tia was trying to tell her.
With no way to call anyone for help, she buttoned up Tia’s clothes and stormed out of the house. As she strapped Tia into her car seat, tears fell and her vision blurred. Slamming the car door shut, she realized that she did not know where she was going. The air was freezing and the steam from her breath blew out like a bull. She got into the car and flew off. All she could think about was revenge. Her pain overcame her as if she was having a terrible nightmare but could not wake up. Snot ran down to her lip. She tried to wipe it away with the back of her hand. A million thoughts ran through her mind, but none of them were of God. She desperately needed something to calm her nerves. God seemed not to hear her cries, so alcohol became her solution. She remembered suddenly that she had an unopened bottle of vodka in the trunk of her car. Drinks at the club were always so expensive that she kept her own bottle with her. It became a routine for Sasha and her girlfriends to get drunk right before they started partying.
There was a nearby gas station and Sasha needed somewhere to park. As she pulled into the lot, she thought about what she was going to do. She knew that she had to do something to protect Tia, but her options seemed few. “Pop.” Sasha opened up her trunk. She smiled as soon as she saw her comfort drink. Quickly she sat back in the front seat and opened the bottle. Vodka dripped down her chin as she downed the burning alcohol. It felt like fire as it went down her throat, but it could not compare to the pain that she felt in her heart. Minutes went by and she still did not feel a buzz. Trying to avoid drawing attention to herself, she rushed to put the empty bottle back inside the trunk. She opened the trunk again and threw the bottle in. As the trunk door was closing, Sasha spotted her empty gas container. Seth had put it in her trunk for emergencies, just in case she ever ran out of gas. Sasha could not ignore her feelings of rage. She began to stare at the red container. Instead of putting aside her thoughts, she chose to entertain them. A deviant grin came over Sasha’s face. Tia began to cry. She’s probably hungry, Sasha thought. The more Tia cried, the more Sasha’s mood deteriorated. The gas station’s pumps became more and more appealing to her evil thoughts. She drove swiftly to the closest pump. Looking at Tia through the back window, Sasha began to fill up the empty container and gas started to spill over the sides. She began to feel the effects of the vodka. She put the heavy gas-filled container in the passenger side seat, spilling gas everywhere; the station attendant peeked out of the door to see if she needed help. He yelled, “You got it?” Sasha did not reply. She drove off leaving her credit card still in the slot at the pump.
Drunk and determined to prove a point, Sasha drove up to Miss Susie’s house. It was dark and the neighborhood was quiet. She grabbed the container of gas and closed the car door with her foot. She could hear Tia’s cries from outside the car. She closed her eyes and paused. Then, proceeding towards Miss Susie’s house, she began to pour gas around the perimeter. Not satisfied, she then walked up on the porch to pour out the last few drips that remained. Just as she tried to retrieve the lighter that she often carried with her, she looked down and saw one laying on the porch as if the devil himself had placed it there. Extremely drunk and more relaxed, she fumbled to light it. On her third try, just as she began to walk away, the lighter finally caught. She tossed it on the porch and the flames flickered in her blood-shot eyes like powerful demons.
Chapter Fifteen
“What’s wrong? Who was that on the phone?”
“Not now, Larry.” Stacey dropped the cell phone, jumped out of bed, and began to throw on anything that she could find.
“What are you doing, Stacey?”
“That was the police station. They have Tia.”
“Huh?”
“They said that if I didn’t come down there to get her, protective services would send her to foster care,” Stacey cried.
“Where’s Sasha?”
“I DON’T KNOW. I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING. I have to go. I’ll call you as soon as I know something,” Stacey yelled as she rushed out the door. On her way to the car she began to call Sasha’s cell phone. Nothing. It went straight to voice mail.
“RING, RING, RING.” Stacey waited impatiently for Randi to pick up. As she located the police station’s address in her navigation system, Randi finally answered.
“Hel…lo.”
“Randi! Wake up.”
“Stacey, what’s up? Why are you calling so late?”
“I’m on my way to the police station to get Tia. The police just called me.”
“Going where? To get wh
o?” Randi sat up in bed to make sure that she had heard Stacey correctly.
“Have you heard from Sasha?” Stacey asked anxiously.
“Earlier. I spoke to her when she got off work. What’s going on?”
“I have no idea. The police just called me and said that I need to come pick Tia up,” Stacey replied in a panic.
“Oh my goodness. Ok, I’ll meet you there. I’m on my way.” Randi slammed down the phone.
Stacey was beyond worried. Clueless about the situation, she rushed to get Tia. The thought of her going to foster care was horrifying. The speedometer said eighty-five miles per hour and it was not nearly as fast as Stacey desired.
“Turn left,” instructed the navigation system. Stacey pumped her brakes to slow down. She spotted the police station and began to wipe her tears as she parked. Goose bumps covered her body as the midnight wind blew across her silk pajama top. She realized suddenly that she had forgotten to grab her coat. The station appeared to be quiet, and it was not at all like she had expected. She walked up to the clerk’s desk.
“May I help you?”
“Yes. Someone called me about thirty minutes ago to pick up my niece. Her name is Tia Watson.”
“Oh, ok. You’re here to pick up the baby?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Stacey replied, her voice trembling.
“Do you know where my sister Sasha is?”
“Have a seat and someone will be right with you,” the clerk said as if she was used to people picking up babies from jail in the middle of the night.
Stacey had sat for almost twenty minutes when the door flew open. It was Randi.
“Randi!” Stacey shouted.
Randi walked over to Stacey and gave her a huge, heartfelt hug.
“Where’s Tia and Sasha?”
“I don’t know yet. They just told me to have a seat.”
Randi sighed and sat next to Stacey. Several minutes later a tall, slender man in a police uniform walked towards them.
“Hello, I’m Officer White. Thank you for coming down here under these circumstances.
“That’s why we’re confused. We have no idea what’s going on. Someone called me and told me to come pick up my niece,” Stacey explained.