Carl Weber - Baby Momma Drama

Derrick was silent for a minute. I was tempted to slap him across that pretty-ass face of his, but I waited for his explanation. Finally, he spoke in a whisper.

“A couple o’ the fellas and I started a little business selling weed to the other inmates. Part of our agreement was that each of us would recruit someone to bring weed up to us each month. Now, baby, you’re my woman, so there was no way I was gonna ask you. I don’t want you gettin’ into no trouble” He smiled.

“But Derrick, why did you have to ask her? You know I can’t stand that bitch.” I was indignant.

“Because she’s stupid enough to do it. Wendy’s not smart like you, baby. She’s nothing but a ho from the street. You’re a college-educated woman.”

He covered his face up with his hands. I wasn’t sure, but I think he was trying to hide some tears. I hated times like this. The last thing I wanted was for my man to feel like he was less than a man.

“Jazz, I love you, baby. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about you coming up here to see me.” He reached over and touched my hand. “I’m just using Wendy so I can do business. She brought me two ounces of weed yesterday. Do you know how much that’s worth in here?”

I didn’t care how much it was worth. I didn’t like it. Derrick only had six months left to see the parole board. If he got caught, they’d give him another two years as sure as I was looking at him.

“Derrick, this is stupid. You have more than enough money in your commissary. Why do you have to do this?”

“Baby, I can make twenty grand easy in the next six months. I’ll be able to start up a legit business with that kind of cash.” His eyes lit up.

“I thought you were going to college. We don’t need any money. I’m making good money now that they made me supervisor at the post office.”

“Hey, lemme decide what’s right for us. I am supposed to be the man in this relationship, right?” He waited for an answer. “Right, Jasmine?”

I nodded my head weakly.

“Now, that’s my girl.” His voice brightened as he changed the subject. “Come gimme a kiss.” He opened his arms, and I went to him. I sat on his lap and just melted against his chest. Suddenly, Wendy and her little visit were the last things on my mind.

“I miss you, Derrick. I can’t wait till you’re at home.”

“Baby, not as much as I miss you.” He kissed me, and I held on tight. I didn’t want to ever let him go, but the captain had a different idea. He interrupted us with a loud bang on the table with his nightstick.

“Winter, you know the rules. No physical contact after the first five minutes. Don’t make me cut this visit short,” he threatened.

I slid off of Derrick’s lap reluctantly and made sure the captain saw me pouting as I walked back to my side of the table. He made sure I knew he didn’t give a shit when he repeated his warning before walking away.

“I hate him,” I whispered.

“Man, fuck that Uncle Tom motherfucker. I got something for his ass when I get outta here.” Derrick waved his hand like he was swatting flies behind the captain. Then he changed the subject. “Did you bring my comic books?”

“Yeah, I brought them.” I smiled.

Derrick and I shared Thanksgiving dinner in the special mess hall that had been set up for inmates and their visitors. It wasn’t my momma’s smoked turkey but it was all tight. Then we went to what they call the rec room and made small talk for the rest of our visit. There was lots I wanted to say that I couldn’t. I wanted to tell Derrick how much I loved him, how hard it was being without him every day. But I knew I had to keep things casual while I was there. Derrick was hurting as much as I was while we were apart. There was no need for both of us to break down and get all emotional. Especially with all those other inmates around. Derrick let me know early on he couldn’t afford to look soft in front of these people. So there were no tears, just lots of hand-holding and promises about how things would be when he was back on the outside. We would be together again, inseparable. I couldn’t wait for that day. Until then, I’d have to be satisfied with these visits and the small comfort they offered.

It was Thanksgiving Day and I looked across the dinner table and smiled at my very pregnant girlfriend Stephanie, who was helping her grandmother, Big Momma, with dinner. Stephanie and I met a little over three years ago at a club in Richmond called The Satellite. The Satellite was without question Richmond’s hottest black singles bar and club. It was situated right between cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris, the only place a brother could get a job making over twelve dollars an hour, and the Southside Projects, home of some of the finest single black women in Richmond. The Satellite had the reputation of being the perfect place to find a one-night stand, and that’s exactly what I was looking for the night of my twenty-eighth birthday.

Stephanie was hanging with a couple of so-so-looking sisters, smoking weed, when I pulled into The Satellite’s parking lot. I’d just bought myself a brand-new burgundy Expedition for my birthday, and my army buddy Matt had offered to buy me a few drinks to celebrate. Matt and I were both stationed about twenty minutes south of Richmond at Fort Lee army base in Hopewell. He was married and not really interested in hooking up with anyone but was happy to take the ride and get away from his wife for a few hours. I was hoping to get lucky. I’d just gotten out of a long-distance relationship with this sister in Germany about six months ago and it had been a long, long time since I’d gotten any. So you can imagine how eager I was to hook up for the night.

When Matt and I hopped out of the truck, the so-so sisters were all smiles.

“This your car?” one of them asked.

“Yeah, why?” I smiled.

“’Cause I wanna ride.” She said it like it was an order.

“So, what am I gonna get if I give you a ride? Today’s my birthday.” I was testing the waters. I could tell she wasn’t the brightest woman in the world by the way she smiled at that stupid-ass line I’d thrown at her. But at the time I didn’t give a shit about her IQ. Only thing I cared about was how fast I could get her to a hotel and between the sheets.

“What you want, birthday boy?” She opened up her coat, showing me her skintight spandex outfit. I surveyed the sister real quick. She was about five-eight, with an almond color. A little thin for my taste, but doable. I figured she was about twenty-two. Her friend, who turned out to be her blood sister, was the same complexion, a little thicker, with a much nicer body. I figured she was probably the older of the two.

“You wanna ride, too?” I turned my attention to her sister.

She nodded, trying to avoid eye contact with her sister, who had placed her hand on her hip and was sucking her teeth. That’s when Stephanie got out of their car. She was five foot five with heels on. Her chocolate skin was so pretty she didn’t need a drop of makeup, and wasn’t wearing any other than lip gloss. Her chest was small, but her hips made up for it tenfold. I hadn’t even seen her from the rear, but I knew she had one of the nicest asses I’d ever seen. There was no doubt in my mind she had it going on, and if I was going to take somebody for a ride it was definitely going to be her. She was fine in every sense of the word, with just enough attittude to keep a brother on his toes.

“Come on, y’all. He ain’t takin’ your sorry asses for no ride.” Stephanie stepped out of the car and took two steps toward the club.

“Only ’cause you’d be the one in my car, sweetheart.” I smiled until I realized how corny the line was.