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Authors: Angie Daniels

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BOOK: Careful of the Company You Keep

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Danielle

Wednesday was the day from hell. One bitchy mother after another, whining and complaining. I was so sick of cleaning bedpans and checking incisions I was ready to scream. Luckily, the day was almost over.

“Danielle, you have a call on line one!”

“Thanks, Jennifer,” I replied to the girl behind the reception desk as I moved away from the medicine drawer and over to the nurses' triage station to take the call. “Hello, this is Danielle.”

“Hello, this is Ms. Evans at Hickman High School.”

My eyes immediately rolled to the top of my head. The last thing I wanted to deal with today was my daughter. “I'm sorry, but you need to call Portia's father atâ”

She cut me off. “I'm not calling about Portia. I'm calling about Tamara Martin.”

“Tamara? What's wrong with Tamara?” And why were they calling me about Renee's daughter?

“There was an incident in the cafeteria at lunchtime, and as you know the school strictly enforces no fighting.”

“Fighting?” My brow rose with skepticism. Tamara was one of the sweetest kids I knew. So many times I wished my daughter was more like her.

“Yes, she was in a fight, and unfortunately we have to suspend her for the rest of the week. We tried reaching her mother and didn't have any luck. Your name was listed as an emergency contact.”

I glanced over at the clock on the wall. I was getting off in thirty minutes anyway. “All right, I'll be there as soon as I can to pick her up.”

I hung up and was thinking about Tamara as I moved back to the medicine cart. Renee was always available on either one of her phones. I frowned. There was no telling what she was doing.
Probably meeting Calvin at her house
. I knew that I was bitter, but damn, what she did was inexcusable.

I went down the hall to give one of my patients their afternoon medicine and spotted Chance at the end of the hall, talking to this narrow-behind nursing student. By the way she was smiling up at him, he was either flirting or saying something that was so good it had her hanging on to every word. I have straight attitude. Jealousy bubbled up inside of me that I tried to keep at bay, but Chance did say he was
supposed
to be my man. At least that's what I thought he had said, although since Chinese at my house, I hadn't seen him and all my calls gone unanswered. Now seeing him on our floor pissed me off. He'd been here all day yet he hadn't bothered to contact me. Before I left today, I was going to find out why.

I stood there pretending to be looking for clean linens on the cart at the end of the hall, but the whole time I was watching them. He tossed his head back at something funny she said and she placed a hand on his arm. Hell to the no. I was not going to let him get away with dissing me like that. After all, I was supposed to be his woman. I had given up Calvin for a chance with him.
Uh-uh
. He wasn't about to play me, especially not with that snaggletooth heifer he was talking to.

To make sure he saw me standing there, I moved to the center of the hall with my hand propped at my hip, and as soon as Chance noticed me, he ended the conversation and headed my way.

“Hey, baby girl. Damn, you look sexy. Whassup?” He smiled flirtatiously.

I rolled my eyes. “I should be asking you that. What were the two of you talking about?” I know I sounded jealous, but so what.

“Business, baby,” Chance said with that sexy gold-tooth smile and almost made me forget I was supposed to be angry with him. He reached up and caressed my cheek. “It's about the business of making money.”

I didn't believe a word of it. “What kind of money?”

“Damn, baby girl, give your man a break,” he replied angrily.

Boy, that had a wonderful ring to it. “My man? How you my man and I haven't seen you since Friday? It's now Wednesday. Usually I at least run into you at work, but that hasn't happened either. So where you been?”

“Damn, baby, get off these nuts! The less you know the better. Just be assured yo man is holding it down in these streets.”

I didn't have to have a college degree to know what holding it down means. He was hustling. I wasn't even surprised. In fact, I expected as much. On a technician's salary, the Navigator, expensive clothes, and pocket full of money should have spoken words all on their own. But instead of being turned off by the idea, I was more attracted to Chance than ever. He was a true soldier and I was proud to know he was mine.
Bitches, stand back!

My mind was already working. “What are you doing tonight? I could fix us some steaks.” It would mean going to the store, but I had a strong feeling that Chance was definitely worth it.

“You ain't said nothing but the word. What time you want me over?”

“How's six?”

He hesitated. “I got to go to court this evening.”

“For what?”

“You don't want to know.”

“Try me.” I was indignant.

“My license is suspended, so I ain't supposed to be driving except to work and home.”

“How did you get your license suspended?”

“Long story ain't even worth getting into, but the skinny of it is that the reason you haven't heard from me is because I got arrested for driving. A while back I let my insurance lapse and had a car accident and had my license revoked. Anyway, my boy Dre, who's always got my back, came and bailed me this morning.”

I laced my fingers with his and breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment there, I had thought he was lying. “Next time, call me. If I'm your girl, then that's what girls do.”

“That's what I'm talking about! Having a damn good woman in my corner.” He was grinning and seemed pleased I considered us a couple. He would soon learn that there ain't nothing I won't do for my man. Renee calls it being stupid. I consider it having my man's back. But what does she know? That's why she can't keep a man.

“I better go and clock out. I'll see you tonight.” He moved down the hall and I watched him move, shaking my head. Damn, my baby is fine!

I was moving to my patient's room when I noticed that nursing student staring as well. I moved up to her and glared down at her. “That's
my
man and I play for keeps.”

She had the nerve to roll her eyes and toss her long acrylic nails in my face. “Whatever.”

No, she didn't.
Oh, I got her whatever
. “Since you seem to have a lot of free time on your hands, Mrs. Carson in 713 needs an enema.” Her smirk turned into a frown and it took everything I had not to laugh. She was a student nurse, so she had no choice but to do as I said.

With a wink, I moved into my patient's room and suddenly remembered I had to go and get Tamara.

Thirty minutes later I was pulling away from the hospital heading to the school, grinning like crazy because I was spending the evening with my man. Mrs. Danielle Garrett. That had a wonderful ring to it, or maybe Brooks-Garrett. Yeah, that way I could hold on to my identity.

“Maybe Kayla won't be the only one walking down the aisle this year,” I mumbled to myself. Wouldn't that be exciting? Kayla and I getting married. Nadine hopefully having a baby with Jordan. And Renee getting a divorce. I had to smile at that one, because my girl has always had the world at her fingertips. Now she was struggling to keep from falling to the bottom.

Damn, I don't know why I was thinking so badly about Renee. Regardless of how crazy she is, one thing she's always had is my back. And I love her for it. She just pissed me off so damn bad. I was ready to go to her house and hold her down until she apologized. Now that I had Chance, there was no reason for the two of us to be mad over a man neither of us was with.
Or at least I hope she isn't with Calvin.
Nah, he wouldn't be blowing up my phone and coming to my job if he was.

I pulled into the school parking lot, parked in a visitor's parking spot, and hurried inside. Hickman High School was huge but I didn't need directions. I had been in this place so many times for my daughter it wasn't funny. Her hypochondriac ass always had one excuse after another as to why she needed to come home. I had to take a deep breath because just thinking about the roller-coaster ride she put me through, I was starting to get angry again.
Just thinking about my man will keep a smile on my face.

Sliding my purse farther on my shoulder, I moved down the hall hoping that Renee hadn't arrived and I had come all this way for nothing. Tamara was my goddaughter and I would do anything for her even if I wasn't speaking to her mother at the moment.

I turned at the corner and just as I was about to step inside the office, I spotted Portia standing in front of a row of lockers at the end of the hall with her best friend Celina. I froze in my spot and knew the exact moment she spotted me because her eyelids flew open. While we stood there staring at each other, I eyed her from head to toe. I hadn't seen her since I dropped by my parents' house two months ago and saw her sitting on the couch reading a book. Portia had ignored me and I had done the same.

Her face had grown rounder. Her thick black hair was longer and the ponytail made her look so young, too young to be an expectant mother. Her stomach was large. I wanted to run across and get my baby. Portia had always been a little on the thick side, so pregnancy hadn't changed her much.

I don't know how long I would have continued to stand there if the bell hadn't rung. Celina slammed her locker shut and turned and headed in the other direction. Portia gave me one final look, then went to catch up with her friend. My heart sank, but what did I expect? An apology this late in the game? As far as Portia was concerned, she didn't owe me anything. And I'd be damned wasting another second thinking about it.

Snapping out of it, I stepped into the office and spotted the secretary behind the desk reading a book. I had to clear my throat twice to get her attention.

“May I help you?” she finally asked.

“Danielle Brooks to pick up Tamara Martin.”

“One moment, please.” She punched a button on the phone, announced my arrival, then hung up the receiver. “Mr. Peterson is the last office on the left.”

I groaned because I really wasn't in the mood for a lecture from the principal's big football head. Victor Peterson attended high school with me back in the day and was a pain in the ass even then. Angrily, I moved down the hall. I was anxious to get to the store so that I could fix my man his steak. Now I was going to have to rush.

I stepped through the double glass doors and found two big cornbread-fed girls sitting on the bench outside his office with their heads hung low.

I hope good and damn well these aren't the girls Tamara got into it with.
Both of them looked like they needed to start pushing their chairs away from the table a little sooner.

I knocked once on the door, and as soon as I was summoned, I stepped in. Mr. Peterson was sitting behind his desk with Tamara sitting in the chair across from him. She had a busted top lip.

“Tammy, you okay?” I asked with a concerned look.

She nodded and I moved over and examined her closer. She didn't look okay, but I would worry about that later.

“Ms. Brooks, so good to see you again.”

I don't know why he sat there and said that lie. He rose and reached his hand across the desk. I shook it, then took a seat in the chair beside Tamara.

“What happened?” I looked from her to the principal.

“Apparently there was a little altercation in the lunch room this afternoon. The two girls sitting outside the office and Tamara got into a squabble that resulted in fists being thrown.”

Tamara glared over at him. “She shouldn't have stuck her foot out and tripped me!”

Mr. Peterson gave a skeptical look. “Unfortunately, we have rules, and you should have come to us to handle it.”

Tamara drew back on the chair. “And look like a punk? You've lost your mind.” She emphasized this with a roll of the eyes.

I agreed. She would never be able to hold her head up again.

Tamara turned to me. “Aunt Danny, they've been picking on me all school year. I tried to be nice but today was the last straw. As soon as I got off the floor, I punched one of them in the mouth. Then her sister gonna jump in it!”

I looked from her to Mr. Peterson, who gave her a long look, then folded his hands on the table and turned his focus to me. “It's really a shame that it had to come to this. Tamara is an honor roll student, but the school district has established a no-tolerance policy for fighting.”

“But y'all wasn't doing anything! I kept telling you them big girls were messing with me.”

“And I called and talked to their mother.”

BOOK: Careful of the Company You Keep

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