Going Down (34 page)

“What’d you say to that?”

“I was pissed off by then. I’m so tired of going through this with him, it isn’t even funny no more. So I yelled, ‘Because he’s my business partner! If something is wrong with him, I need to know about it!’”

“You never told him?”

“No. Because I knew this would happen. But I was on a roll. I told him that I invested my money in the company. He wants to know what money did I have, when we here struggling. I told him he was the reason we were struggling. And we went around and around about that, until I just got fed up with it. I told him I wanted a divorce.”

Tears began rolling down her cheeks.

“He slapped the shit outta me. I said, ‘I’m outta here.’ He said, ‘No, you ain’t.’ And I said, ‘Yes, I am.’ And I grabbed my coat and started walking toward the door, mumbling that his broke ass doesn’t have any business telling anybody what they can’t do. He ran up behind me, grabbed me by my hair, and slammed my face into the door. Then he spun me around and started punching me in the face. I couldn’t run because he was still holding my hair.”

I went and sat next to her on the couch. She put her head on my shoulder.

“When he let me go, I ran and started throwing everything I could get my hands on at him. I made it to the kitchen and there was a pot of water on the stove. He came at me and I hit him in the head with it. He fell back and slipped on the water. He hit the floor. Hard. I grabbed my coat and got outta there.”

“My God. You think you killed him?”

“No. When I was backing out, I saw him coming out the door. Going to get in his car.”

“You think he followed you?”

“I don’t think so. I drove around for a while before I came here.”

“Do you think he’ll come here?”

“No.”

“I think you need to call the police, CJ. ’Cause if he comes here I’m gonna shoot him, and I don’t need to go to jail tonight; so you need to call the cops and let them go get him.” I looked at her face and I knew if he came to my house and started some shit, that I could kill him. I love CJ and look what he’d done to her.

After a while, I was able to convince CJ that calling the police was the right thing to do. She composed herself long enough to dial 9-1-1, and told them that she wanted to report a case of domestic violence. She explained what happened and told them where she was. “They said they would send somebody.”

“What are you gonna to do now?”

“I guess I’ll wait for them to get here.”

“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”

“I’ll go see a lawyer tomorrow. Damn, I hate to lose my house.”

“Why you gotta lose your house?”

“I’m not going back there as long as he’s there. I know he can’t pay the mortgage. I can’t put him out. The house is in both our names, so he’s got just as much right to be there as I do. And I’ll be damned if I’ma keep paying the mortgage for him to live there for free.”

“You may have to until the divorce is final, and you can sell it and split the money.”

“What money? We don’t have any equity in that house. All the money I poured into that house is down the drain.”

I wanted to put a positive spin on the situation, but there was none. CJ was going to come out of this, the big loser. There was no way Manny was going to do the right thing and let her have the house that she brought with her credit and her money. He wouldn’t sign the divorce papers, he would drag this out as long as he could. He would force the matter into court; drag white folk into their business for no reason at all. “It’ll all work out.” Only time would tell.

The first officer on the scene took one look at CJ and called in to have a car dispatched to CJ’s house to pick up Manny. The paramedics arrived shortly after and attended to CJ’s wounds. While the paramedics did their thing, I talked to the cop. He noticed the bump on my head and wanted to know what my involvement was in this situation. I knew where he was headed with this.

I told him that I was her business partner and I left it at that. It raised an eyebrow, but I didn’t care. He recommended that CJ take out a restraining order and we talked a little about the states stalking laws. Once the paramedics finished with CJ, the cop took her statement. While CJ talked to the cop, the paramedics took a look at my bump and gave me a cold pack. Once he was finished with CJ, the cop left, but returned shortly thereafter to update us on the situation. “When the officers got to your house to take your husband into custody, he had been drinking and resisted arrest.”

“How long can you hold him?” CJ asked, and looked at me.

“Until he makes bail. Not very encouraging. I know it sounds bad that a man can do what he’s done to you and be out within the hour, but that’s the law.”

As soon as the cop left, CJ looked at me. “Chris, I need a big-time favor from you. I’ll understand if you say no.”

“What’s that?”

“Two favors, really. First, can you ride with me to the house to get some of my stuff? It’s not gonna take Manny long to make bail. And I really don’t want to see him.”

“No problem, let’s go. What’s the second one?”

“Can I stay here with you for a while? I just don’t want to be alone for a while.”

“I understand and it’s no problem, CJ. You stay as long as you want to. As long as you need to.” That was a no-brainer. I smiled and kissed her on the forehead, and she smiled back. We got in her car and drove to her house to get her stuff. CJ drove quietly for most of the way. At one point, she cried quietly for a while. I felt her pain. She pulled it together by the time we got to her house. I told her to go ahead and get her stuff. “I’ll wait out here.”

Once she got her things, we came back to my house. I carried her things into spare bedroom and I left her alone. The passage of a few hours and a cold pack had taken some of the swelling out of CJ’s face, and she began to look like her old self. Beautiful.

I went to my room and laid down on my bed. I gave some thought to the situation I found myself in. I smiled at my good fortune. I was now living with the woman that I’d been in love with for years. This time I would do everything in my power not to let her slip through my fingers again. Let her know exactly how I felt about her.

But not now.

Now wasn’t the time. The last thing she needed now was for me to bum-rush her. She needed time to heal, both physically and emotionally. I closed my eyes. There was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

“I know I’ve asked a lot of you tonight, but could I sleep—and I mean sleep—in here with you?”

“Of course you can,” I said, and moved over on the bed.

“Thank you. I just don’t wanna be alone tonight.” CJ laid down on the bed. I put my arm around her and CJ laid her head on my chest. We fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Wow!

What a night. I can’t remember a time when I felt this good. Hard
Bop’s
opening night was a big success. The audience loved us and more importantly, Mr.
Olberman
, the club’s owner, was there for the third set. I saw him talking to Dexter after the set, and judging from the look on his face, I knew that
Olberman
was saying something that he wanted to hear. Once they were finished talking, Dexter came to the table where we were doing our drinking. “Great news, man,” Dexter said and sat down. “Beginning Tuesday night, Hard Bop will be appearing here through the end of the month.”

“That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout,” Butch said to a round of high fives.

Dexter held up his hand to get our attention. “Hold it, hold it—” he began. “That’s not all.”

“What else?” I asked.

“He said he’s got a good friend who runs a club downtown and he’s gonna talk to him about booking us there for a month, and then bring us back here. How does that sound?”

“Sounds like Hard Bop has arrived!” Gordon stood up and shouted.

That just gives us an excuse to order another round of drinks. Two rounds later, the club was getting ready to close. After we broke down our equipment and packed up, I said good night to everybody and headed for the door. There was one woman sitting alone at the bar. As I got closer, I was totally shocked to see that the woman was Carmen.

“Hey, Tee,” Carmen said, and gave me a friendly hug and kiss on the cheek.

“I didn’t know you were here.” It was good to see her. I hadn’t seen her in so long, I’d forgotten just how absolutely gorgeous Carmen was. “To tell you the truth, I’m actually shocked to see you.”

“You did invite me, didn’t you?”

“Yes, yes I did. But knowing that you don’t like jazz and how you feel about me focusing on my music, instead of accounting, I didn’t think you’d come.”

“I guess I’m guilty on both counts, so you have the right to be surprised to see me. But I started thinking about how important tonight was to you. And the fact that you would invite me, meant something to me.”

“What did it mean to you?”

“It meant that you wanted to share something that was important to you with me. That maybe you thought that I was important to you. And that’s all I ever wanted.”

“You were always important to me, Carmen.”

The bartender walked up and wanted to know if we wanted another drink before he closed up.

“No, thanks. I had enough to drink already. But for the lady, whatever she’s drinking.”

“Another ginger ale?” the bartender laughed.

Carmen smiled that smile I fell in love with. “No, thanks, I think I’ve had enough, too.”

“Hey, good show tonight. You guys were great,” the bartender said.

“Thank you.”

“That always means better tips for me,” the bartender said and walked away.

“By the way, how long have you been here?”

“I was here when Zack and Chris got here.”

“What? You been here just about all night.”

“That’s why I’m drinking ginger ale. Unlike some people, I know when I’ve had enough. Y’all had to partially carry Chris out of here.”

“Yeah, he was pretty wasted. But if you were her that long, why am I just now seeing you?”

“You been busy with your friends and I didn’t wanna interrupt. I didn’t want you to think I was forcing myself on you.”

“You wouldn’t be forcing yourself on me. You could have sat with them and enjoyed the show. Which reminds me, did you even enjoy the show?”

“I’m sorry, Tee. You were great.” Carmen kissed me on the cheek again. “I didn’t know you were that good. I was so proud of you.”

“That means a lot to me.”

“It does?”

“Yes, it really does. You’re important to me, Carmen. You always were important to me. What you think of me is important. And you thinking I was great is the best part of the night. But you still could have sat with Zack and Chris, so I would know you were here.”

“Your friends don’t like me.”

“No, Carmen. You don’t like them.”

“Whatever,” Carmen said, and took a playful swing at me.

“If I knew you were here, I would have dedicated a song to you.”