Good to Me (7 page)

“Hello, Emmitt.” She stood to greet him.

“Hey. Sorry we’re late.” He stepped back. “Traffic was a little bad getting here.”

“That’s okay, I needed the extra time. Would you like something to drink, or a sandwich to take with you on the road?”

“No, thanks, I’ll be okay. I didn’t come alone.”

“Oh, did you bring James? Why didn’t he come in?” she asked, opening the door to invite James in. He was still her friend
too. But when she stepped out onto the porch, she saw the image of a female in the passenger seat. It was hard to make out
who she was through the semi-tinted windows. She refocused her eyes to see if it was his mother before she jumped to conclusions.
Realizing it was a woman she had never seen or heard about, she closed the door slowly trying to think of what to say next.

“She’s just a friend,” he started to explain.

“Xavier,” Charity called. “Why don’t you take your things to your room and get ready to go to Mah Mah’s.” When she was sure
he was out of the living room, she continued. “You don’t owe me an explanation about who she is. But I would’ve liked to have
known that my son was spending time with someone I don’t know.”

“I thought about that. But since she ain’t all that important to me, I just didn’t know if I should tell you about her.”

“She’s not all that important? You mean, you would introduce our son to someone who’s not
all that important
? How many other unimportant women does he know?”

“If she was all that, I would’ve brought her in here to introduce her to you.”

“Whatever Emmitt, you’ve got someone waiting. Get on out of here.”

“Lil’ Man,” he called to Xavier. By the volume of his television, they could hear that he was playing his PlayStation 2 video
game system.

Xavier ran into the living room. He stopped short in front of his father. “Yes, sir?”

“Daddy’s leaving. I just wanted to say thank you for such a good weekend. I’ll see you in two weeks.”

“Okay, Daddy. Tell Ms. Shawanda I said thanks for the Crash Bandicoot game, I’m playing it now.”

Charity saw Emmitt mask his scowl by hugging Xavier. Charity walked over to the door and opened it for him.

“Good-bye, Emmitt.”

“Charity, please don’t—”

“Good-bye, Emmitt,” she repeated, slamming the door behind him.

She was glad Xavier had run back to his room. She did not want him to see or hear her heaving over the toilet.

CHARITY LOVED GOING TO HER MOTHER’S HOUSE,
especially for Sunday dinners. It was the one place she felt absolutely free. There were no unrealistic expectations of her—not
even from herself. No one cared that she was a minister or therapist. She could dress any kind of way, say what she wanted
and how she wanted to say it, and do whatever she felt like when she was there. The more she thought about how good it felt
to not be under the microscope, the faster she drove to get to Mama Lorraine’s.

“Did you hear me, Mommy?” Xavier asked from the backseat.

“Mommy’s sorry, baby, what did you say?”

“I have a little sister at my daddy’s house.”

“Umph, sorry,” she apologized for driving up on the curb. “A little sister?” she asked, trying to keep her voice even and
interested, and to keep the car on the road at the same time.

“Yeah. Her name is Destiny. Ms. Shawanda is her mommy.”

“Is that so?”

“She can’t talk all that good but she can sing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’ over and over.”

“That’s cute. How old is she, baby?” she asked, not believing that Emmitt would have another child and not tell her. Let alone
take care of another child, when he was not financially supporting his firstborn.

“She one, but she says she two.”

“Did your daddy tell you that you’re a big brother, or are you saying that you are?”

“No, Daddy didn’t tell me. I just know it.”

“Oh.” She felt relieved.
If Destiny was his daughter he would’ve told Xavier that he was her big brother. Then again, I would’ve thought he would have
told me about this other woman
. “Baby? We’re almost at Mah Mah’s house, let’s play the quiet game until we get there, okay?”

“I’m good at this game, Mommy. I bet I can beat you.”

“We’ll see. 1-2-3 go!”

Xavier was a talker. Charity had to admit that he got it honestly. She loved to talk. She’d always thought that she was either
going to become a talk-show host or a therapist. The latter came easier. Emmitt was also a talker. So, the only way she could
get some peace and quiet was to play the quiet game. She had no idea what she was going to do when Xavier got too old to play.

“Give your grandma a kiss, baby,” Mama Lorraine said to Xavier as he and Charity walked into the house.

“Hey, Mah Mah, I missed you,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. “Where’s Sha-Lai and Raquan?”

“You’re so used to them being here that you think they live here. They’re with they momma. They’ll be here in a minute. Go
put your coat up and tell Mah Mah all about your time with that pappy of yours.”

“Hey, Ma,” Charity said, hugging her mother, more so to keep her quiet. Charity was against speaking bad about Emmitt in front
of Xavier.

“Hey, Cherry,” she returned the hug. “You okay, baby?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m good,” she said, hoping she was convincing. “Have you heard from Iesha?”

“Yeah, she’s on her way. Go on and get your coat off. Your daddy’s in there.”

Charity’s father was lying across the bed watching a movie on his wide-screen floor model television. He moved over to make
room for Xavier and Charity to lie beside him.

“What’chu watching, Pah Pah?” Xavier jumped in the bed beside his grandfather.

“One of the old
Rocky
flicks,” he answered.

Charity lay down on the bed. “Zavey, when your Auntie and I were little, Pah Pah used to show us all of the
Rocky
movies. Didn’t you, Daddy?”

Xavier looked up at his grandfather and said, “Gosh, this movie is old.”

“You better watch it, boy, your grandfather doesn’t like anyone talking about his age.”

“You’re old too, Mommy.”

“Xavier, you’d better stop while you’re ahead,” Mr. Brown said. “You doing all right, baby girl?”

She thought she must be transparent, considering she had not yet been in the house for five minutes and had already been asked
twice if she was okay. “I’m fine, Daddy. I’m just a little tired. That’s all.”

“Pah Pah, I got a new sister at my daddy’s house,” Xavier said proudly.

Charity’s father’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her for an explanation.

“Yes, Daddy,” she began choosing her words carefully. “Emmitt’s friend, Ms. Shawanda, has a little girl named Destiny.”

“Is she his?”

Charity shrugged her shoulders. “And she can sing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle’ can’t she, Zavey?” she said, hoping her father would
not ask more questions.

“Does your momma know?”

“No, but—”

“Mah Mah.” Xavier ran out of the room to tell her the good news. “I got a new sister.”

Charity stayed with her father, knowing she would be called for clarification.

“Charity Lachelle, come here.”

Her father followed her into the kitchen. “Zavey, go play with the toys in the back. Raquan and Sha-Lai are going to be here
in a minute. Go get things ready, okay?”

“Okay, Pah Pah.”

“What is that boy talking about?” her mother asked before Xavier could turn the corner.

“Emmitt’s girlfriend—”

“Girlfriend? You mean he found somebody who’d want his sorry behind?”

“Lorraine, let her finish.”

“You shut up. Go ’head, baby. I’m sorry.”

“All I know is that his girlfriend, Shawanda, has a one-year-old daughter named Destiny. That’s all I know. I don’t know if
it’s Emmitt’s baby or what. I found out the same way you did, through Zavey.”

Her parents stood there in silence. Either they did not know what to say, or what they wanted to say would be too ungodly
to say in front of Charity.

“And—”

“There’s more?” her mother interrupted. “You see there, Charles? The boy is still trying to ruin her life. I knew we should
not have let Cherry—”

“Lorraine, please.” Her father waved his hand to shush her. He motioned for Charity to go on.

“He brought her with him to drop Zavey off today.”

Mama Lorraine held her hand over her mouth. She was glad to be distracted by clumsy knocking on the door.

“Y’all just in time,” she said, letting Raquan and Sha-Lai in. “How you doing? Give your grandma a kiss.”

“Hey, Mah Mah, hey, Pah Pah, hey, Aunt Cherry,” they sang as they hugged every one they named. “Where’s Xavier?”

“Back there in the back waiting on you,” their grandfather answered.

“What’s uuuuuup?” Iesha asked, walking in the door like a rapper with a limp.

“Girl, do you have to be so loud? Come on in here and close that door,” Mama Lorraine said.

“I love you too, Momma,” she said, hugging and kissing all over her face.

“Go put your coat up so we can eat.”

“Sis, you chilling?”

“Hello, Iesha, I’m all right. How about you?” They hugged.

“Hey, Esha,” her father spoke as he got the plates out of the cabinet. She walked over and kissed him on the cheek.

“Y’all been talking about me?” Iesha asked. “’Cause y’all mighty quiet. It ain’t been this quiet in here since Cherry broke
free from Mr. Jail.” She laughed until she realized she was laughing alone. “My bad, what I miss?”

“It’s okay, Iesha. I was just telling Mom and Dad that Xavier thinks he’s a big brother because Emmitt’s girlfriend has a
daughter.”

“Well, is he?”

“I don’t know yet. I just found out on the way over here.”

“From Zavey?”

Charity realized that if Iesha thought the situation was bad, then it was really bad. “May we please eat. I’m starving,” she
said, attempting to break the tension in the room.

“We ain’t gone be watching a movie today,” Mama Lorraine said as she sliced herself some butter and passed it to her husband.

Iesha kept her eyes on her plate.

“We’re not?” Charity asked.

“Nope, today we’re gonna talk.”

“About what?”

Mama Lorraine looked at Iesha and then at Charity.

“I think we have a small problem in the Brown camp that needs to be discussed. Ain’t that right, Esha?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s a problem—”

“Well, it sounded like a problem on Friday.”

“You don’t like working at Horizons do you, Iesha?” Charity asked.

“It’s not that, Cherry. Momma seems to think I have a problem because I’m not like you.”

“What?”

“Momma’s always comparing us and when she do I get upset because I always get the short end of the stick. I always end up
looking like the bad seed.”

“Cherry, I don’t compare y’all, do I?” asked Mama Lorraine.

Charity could see the hurt in Iesha’s eyes. “Momma, I’ve worked hard to make y’all proud of me, to show you that I appreciate
everything you’ve done for me. But there have been times I felt like you hold me on a higher pedestal above Iesha.”

“Thank you,” Iesha said, waving her fork at Charity.

“Charles, tell these girls how much I done struggled to treat them equally and how hard I worked to not show favoritism.”

“That’s true, girls. Your mom and I have talked on several occasions about what to do and what not to do for one because of
the way it might appear to the other.”

“I agree with what you’re saying,” Charity said. “You guys didn’t give one of us something without giving the same thing to
the other one. But I think what Iesha is saying is different. Esha, give us an example of what you’re talking about.”

Mama Lorraine rolled her eyes at the ceiling. “I done told you about treating us like we one of your clients. Leave that therapy
mess in your office. We black and that mess don’t work for us.”

“I’ll give you an example,” Iesha offered. “When Cherry called us from that women’s shelter and told us she had left Emmitt,
Momma, you was so distraught you wanted to kill Emmitt yourself. But had that been me, you would’ve just overlooked it and
fussed at me for messing with the wrong type of man.” No one responded to her, everyone looked like they were more interested
in what was on their plates.

“Okay, I got a better example,” she continued. “I got my house before Cherry did. No one threw a housewarming party for me.
But when Cherry bought her house, you would have thought Oprah was coming to town, the party was so big.”

“Now, I’ll give you that one,” Mama Lorraine said. “You did
get
a house before Cherry. And we did come to your house for a housewarming dinner and we bought gifts for you. We threw a different
celebration for Cherry because she
bought
her house.”

“So, I don’t deserve a housewarming party because I live in a Section 8 house?”

Mr. Brown interjected, “Honey, all Lorraine is saying is that a Section 8 house is rental property. Did we give you a housewarming
party when you were renting apartments?”

“No.”

“Okay then.”

“Well, here’s another example. I just started working my first job, and no one has said anything to me. I didn’t get a congratulations
or nothing.”

“Esha, since when did you become so needy?” Mama Lorraine asked. “I never felt the need to praise you for every little thang.
I thought you were the strong one. Cherry was the one who always needed to be praised and validated. She was the one with
the bruised ego. Girl, working a job is like cleaning your room. That’s something you supposed to do. Don’t get me wrong,
I’m glad you working. It’s about time you see you worth more than a welfare check in the mail every month.”

“And I’m glad to have you working with me,” Charity added.

“Are you sure about that? I mean, I don’t wanna embarrass you ’cause I don’t talk like you, and I don’t dress like you,” she
said sarcastically.

“Iesha Nicole, that’s enough,” Mama Lorraine intervened. “We getting ready to squash this. Don’t nobody owe you nothing, and
ain’t nobody mistreating you. You need to get up off your high horse and realize that.”