Lady Elect (31 page)

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Authors: Nikita Lynnette Nichols

BOOK: Lady Elect
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“Now what?” Portia asked Celeste.
Without a word, Celeste removed her key from the ignition. “I'll be right back.” She opened the door and got out of the car. After she shut the door, she pressed a button on her remote. The feature that Celeste had on her car was the same feature that the police use as car bait. Once a button is pressed on the remote, the car can't be opened from the inside. Because the windows were raised, Celeste couldn't hear the foul names Ginger called her as she ran inside the police station.
Two minutes later, Celeste returned to her car with an African American woman, Officer Phyore Montgomery.
Celeste pressed the button on her remote again and opened the passenger door.
“Ginger is the one sitting in the backseat.”
Officer Montgomery knelt and looked in the backseat. She asked Portia to get out of the car. With Portia out of the way, Officer Montgomery sat in the front passenger seat and faced Ginger. “Are you Ginger Brown?”
Ginger sat in the backseat with her mouth shut.
“I'm Officer Montgomery. I'm here to help you. Have you been abused?”
Not a word from Ginger. Celeste stuck her head inside the car. “Open your darn mouth, Ginger.”
Officer Montgomery patted Celeste's arm. “Mrs. Harper, please calm down. Give her time.”
Celeste rolled her eyes at Ginger and walked away.
Officer Montgomery saw tears streaming down Ginger's face. “Miss Brown, I've been on the force for twelve years. I've dealt with all kinds of abuse. Nine times out of ten, domestic abuse turns into murder because the victim is too afraid to report it. Your friends brought you here because they love you and want to help you.”
Ginger looked through the glass and saw Portia and Celeste glaring at her. “They kidnapped me. Isn't that a crime? Can I file charges against them for bringing me here against my will?” Ginger had just lied to Officer Montgomery. Back at her house she had agreed to come to the police station just to get Portia and Celeste to leave before Ronald got home.
Officer Montgomery had already gotten the full story from Celeste why she and Portia had brought Ginger to the police station. “They brought you here to save your life.”
Officer Montgomery didn't even entertain the thought of allowing Ginger to press charges against her best friends. “Have you been abused?” she asked Ginger again.
Ginger turned her head in the opposite direction. Tears ran down her face, but she refused to answer the question.
“Miss Brown, I can't help you if you don't talk to me,” Officer Montgomery said.
“Mrs. Harper said that your boyfriend threatened to kill you if you told. Is that true? Because if it is, I will personally see to it that you're placed in protective custody. We can have him picked up tonight.”
Nothing from Ginger.
Portia became frustrated. “Ginger, tell her about the time when you were five months pregnant and Ron kicked you in the stomach. That caused you to miscarry.”
Officer Montgomery's mouth fell open. “Is that true?” she asked Ginger.
A tear dripped from Ginger's chin.
Officer Montgomery pled with her. “The only way to stop this is to press charges. If you don't press charges, it won't stop. He's not worth your life. I know you're afraid, but you have to admit to me that he put his hands on you.”
Ginger focused on someone walking across the street. Officer Montgomery sat in silence for a few seconds. “You are a beautiful black woman. Learn to love yourself. It hurts me deeply to get called to a house because of domestic abuse and find one of my black sisters dead. And I'm gonna tell you something, Miss Brown. Eventually he
will
kill you. It happens like that all the time. So, get out while you can.”
Officer Montgomery waited another few seconds for Ginger to confess that she was being abused, then got out of the car and looked at Portia and Celeste. “I can't do anything without a complaint from her.”
That didn't please Portia. “This is bull crap. Look at her shoulder.”
“I understand, but I can't make an arrest unless she files a formal complaint.”
“So, what are we supposed to do?” Celeste asked.
Officer Montgomery shrugged her shoulders. “There's nothing anyone can do. Miss Brown has to help herself first.”
“But what if we say that we actually saw her boyfriend hit her?” asked Portia.
Officer Montgomery sighed. She understood Portia and Celeste's frustration, but she couldn't take a false statement. Neither of them had actually seen Ronald put his hands on Ginger. They'd only seen the marks he left behind.
“If Miss Brown is not willing to file a complaint, according to the law, to heck with what anyone else says.”
Celeste stormed around to the driver's door, got in, and slammed the door. Portia sat in the passenger seat. Officer Montgomery watched Celeste's tires burn rubber as she pulled away from the curb.
Celeste drove back to Ginger's house so that Portia could get her car. She pulled into the driveway and parked next to Ronald's car. “The fool is home. Hurry up and get out, Portia.”
Ginger yelled from the backseat. “Let me out, Celeste.” She knew Celeste was gonna try to take her home with her.
“No!”
Portia looked at her friend. “Celeste, Ginger is a grown woman. We can't make her do anything she doesn't want to do. Look what just happened at the police station.”
“I don't care. If you hurry up and get out, I can drive off.”
Ginger yelled again. “Celeste, I wanna get out of this car.”
Celeste switched the gear to park, took her foot off the brake pedal, then turned her upper torso around to face Ginger. “You know that if you go in there with your bags, Ron's gonna go off.”
“Well, then, keep the bags, Celeste. I'll get them from you tomorrow.”
“If you live that long,” Celeste commented.
Ginger couldn't believe what her friend had just said to her. “You know what, Celeste. Just because you live in a fairy-tale world with the perfect husband and the perfect job don't make you any better than anyone else.”
“What the heck are you talking about, Ginger? I'm trying to keep this fool from killing you. You better wake up and realize who really loves you. I'm tired of begging you to save your own life. If you wanna let that fool knock your brains out, then that's on you 'cause I'm through with it.” Celeste opened her door, got out, and then pressed the seat forward.
Ginger climbed out of the backseat. Portia exited the passenger seat and walked around to the driver's side where Ginger and Celeste stood.
Ginger looked at both of them. “I love y'all. I will see you at church in the morning.”
Portia hugged Ginger. “I love you too, sis.”
Ginger let go of Portia and looked at Celeste. “I'm sorry for yelling at you. I know you love me.”
Celeste made no effort to hug Ginger. She was angry. “Yeah, whatever. I gotta go.”
She got in the car and backed out of the driveway.
“You know Celeste is a hothead,” Portia said to Ginger when they were left alone in Ginger's driveway. “But she only wants what's best for you. We both do.”
“Portia, I love Ronald. And I know that he loves me too.” Ginger made the statement as though she was simply telling Portia what time of day it was. It saddened Portia that Ginger may have actually convinced herself of that lie. “Ginger, is he loving you when he's bouncing you off the walls?”
Ginger lowered her head and didn't respond.
“Do me a favor, Ginger,” Portia said. “When Ronald goes to sleep tonight, take a picture of his privates. I wanna see if it's been dipped in platinum. That's gotta be the reason you're tolerating this crap.” With that being said, Portia proceeded to her car.
 
 
When Ginger entered the living room, she saw Ronald lying on the sofa watching a basketball game.
“What did I tell you about leaving this house with dirty dishes in the sink?”
Ginger closed the door behind her and stood with her back against it. “I'm sorry, baby, I forgot.”
Ronald looked at the suit she was wearing. “Where have you been?”
Ginger nervously looked down at her suit. “I went to see a lady from the church. She's a seamstress. I needed to get my skirt hemmed for church tomorrow.”
Ronald repositioned himself on the sofa. “You went to church last Sunday. You ain't going tomorrow.”
Ginger started to panic. Her name was on the church program. She'd been looking forward to emceeing the Annual Women's Day program for the past three months. In preparation for the service, Ginger had been walking around the house pretending to hold a microphone in her hand, practicing her speech. What would happen if she didn't show up at church? Folks were depending on her to be there. Ginger had to be at church; she just had to.
She walked to Ronald and knelt down to kiss his lips softly before heading to the kitchen to wash the three glasses that she, Portia, and Celeste had drank tea from.
“Next time, I'm not gonna ask any questions about dirty dishes being left in the sink, Ginger. If you're gonna act like a two year old, then I'll treat you like one.”
“It won't happen again,” Ginger said over her shoulder.
“Make me a sandwich,” he ordered.
Five minutes later, Ginger brought Ronald a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich on a small wooden lap dinner tray. Next to the sandwich was a glass of grape Kool-Aid.
“Where's my napkin?” he asked. “And you know I like ice in my Kool-Aid.”
Ginger quickly returned to the kitchen for a napkin and to put ice cubes in the glass of Kool-Aid. “Can I go to church tomorrow?” she asked as she gave Ronald the napkin and Kool-Aid.
Ronald looked at her. “Didn't we just come to the conclusion that you went last Sunday?”
“Yeah, but tomorrow is the annual Women's Day celebration. I've been asked to be the Mistress of Ceremony.” Ginger stood in the middle of
her
living room, looking at this unemployed man who was
not
her husband lie on
her
sofa and watch the television
she
paid for, praying that he would
permit
her to go to church. It dawned on Ginger that Celeste was right. Ronald was ugly.
Ronald drank from the glass and swallowed. “I should not let you go anywhere 'cause I'm tired of telling you about leaving dirty dishes in the sink.”
With her suit still on, Ginger sat next to Ronald and pretended to be into the game he was watching. When he finished his meal and drank the last of his Kool-Aid, she took the plate and glass into the kitchen and washed them. Then she turned the kitchen light off, came back in the living room, and stood nervously by the sofa. “Honey, I know you're into the game, but I was wondering if you've decided to let me go to church.”
Ronald made Ginger stand there for a long thirty seconds while he continued to watch the game before he asked, “What's in it for me?”
Ginger didn't say a word. She knew what to do next. Right there in the living room, she stripped naked, then knelt before Ronald. He grabbed Ginger by the back of her head and guided her face toward his lap.
 
 
Celeste walked in the door and slammed it shut behind her. Her husband, Anthony, was talking on the telephone with their pastor. He watched as Celeste threw her purse and keys on the sofa next to him and walked toward the rear of the house.
“It was good talking with you too, Pastor. We'll see you at church in the morning.”
Anthony disconnected the call and went to find Celeste. He found her in the master bathroom sitting at her vanity removing makeup from her eyes with a cotton ball. In the mirror, Celeste saw Anthony leaning against the door frame watching her. She didn't acknowledge him, but by how far Celeste's lips were poked out, he sensed that she was upset.
Celeste tossed the cotton ball toward the trash can but missed. Anthony picked it up from the floor and threw it in the receptacle, then went and sat next to her. Celeste inched over to allow him more room.
Anthony faced his wife. “Let me guess. Ginger and Ron, right?”
“Yep, you guessed it.”
Anthony extended his legs and crossed his ankles. He leaned backward and placed his elbows on Celeste's vanity. “What did that punk do this time?”
“He hit her again, Tony. You should see her shoulder. Bruises are every-darn-where.”
“She showed them to you?” Anthony asked.

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