The Night Before Thirty Page 7

  No way! Alecia screamed inside. This can't be. She can't possibly be William's wife.

  “By the way, I'm Donna Lake, this is Renee Border, and this is our friend Phyllis Masterson.”

  So this is my competition, Alecia thought. She sized up Phyllis, not able to find any flaws. Obviously well kept, Phyllis was elegantly and tastefully dressed. Alecia would expect nothing less in the woman William married.

  “Nice meeting you, ladies,” she said as calmly as possible, and excused herself without bothering to give them her name. Alecia wasn't sure if she should alert William or allow him to be busted and force him to make a choice.

  Her adrenaline was flowing overtime. She walked away from the bar so quickly that she left her drink sitting there. Once she got a few feet away, she realized she didn't have a plan; she froze and found herself standing in the middle of the VIP room, looking dumbfounded. She knew this was her one opportunity to find out where she really stood in William's life. If the shit hit the fan and the three of them had a face-off, she would find out who was number one. But her gut told her to leave it alone. Deep down, she knew the real answer: William would choose his wife.

  So she forged ahead out of the VIP room and sought William. When she found him, he was standing at the bar, alone, with a drink in his hand. His face was pale, and he looked as spooked as Alecia felt. When he saw her, he downed the rest of his drink, walked quickly toward her, and grabbed her hand. Pulling her along he fought through the crowd, practically dragging her behind him until they got to the front entrance.

  He grabbed the guy at the door. “Could you call us a cab?” He turned to Alecia and said in an uneasy tone, “I've got to get you out of here.”

  “Why, William? I'm having a good time,” she responded as if she didn't know.

  “She's here, Alecia.”

  “Who's here, William?”

  “It's Phyllis. She wanted to surprise me, so she rearranged her schedule and flew in tonight. She's here, at the club.”

  “You're going with me, right?” she asked. She moved close to him to make sure he couldn't avoid eye contact.

  “Alecia, you know I can't do that.” He tried to look at her but quickly turned his face away.

  Reality stung and lingered. The tears in her eyes said what her words couldn't.

  “I'm sorry.”

  “So are you coming back to the suite?”

  William lightly grasped her arms with his hands. Then he held her in an embrace. “Alecia, I do love you, so I hope you understand when I say that I need you to vacate the room before I get back.”

  “What?” Alecia cried. She became furious. “Don't touch me,” she said, pushing him off her.

  “Where am I supposed to go?” she demanded.

  “Jewel, calm down. You have my card, right?”

  “No, the bartender has your card.”

  “Well, put a room on your card. I'll take care of it. I always do, right?” William was becoming antsy, and every time the door of the club opened, he shot a look over his shoulder. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. “This should take care of your cabs between the hotels and your transportation to the airport tomorrow.”

  He moved closer to her and leaned down. “I'll make sure we're not on the same flight. We'll leave later in the day.”

  “This is just great,” Alecia sulked. She wanted him to feel guilty, but not just guilty enough to buy her more things. She wanted him really to consider life without her. “William, you leave me no other choice but to leave you for good. I'm going to leave L.A. altogether. Don't bother calling, because I don't ever want to see you again.”

  “Don't do this to me, Alecia—to us. We'll work this out when I get back. I promise. Don't make any irrational decisions.”

  The cab pulled up, and William rushed to it and opened the door. “I'll call you,” he said. Then he told the driver where to take Alecia and put her inside. “I'll call you,” he said again, and shut the door.

  HE MUSIC WAS bumping and everybody in the nightclub had moved into a comfortable party zone. Tanya and Chris were in his favorite booth, flanked with Cristal Champagne and some of Chris's closest homeboys from the neighborhood. Chris had been supporting his boy T-Roy's nightclub, the Palladium, for the past three years.

  Tanya used to love being there with Chris, because when they were in the Palladium, T-Roy made sure that they received star treatment. All eyes on them, they usually spent the evening getting pissy-drunk and partying until the lights came on. But lately Tanya had not been in the mood to be around Chris's bullshit-talking, lying-ass, thug friends. There was no substance to their conversations, only bottle after bottle of overpriced champagne, each guy trying to outdo the other with stories of their latest purchase. None of their girlfriends had jobs, and all the women talked about was what their “boos” got for them hot off the streets.

  Tanya wanted out of the lifestyle badly. The older she became, the more the world she knew so well and once enjoyed suddenly seemed foreign and scary and unappealing.

  “A'ight, my mother-fuckin' niggas, listen up 'cause Big C got something to say.” Chris held up his glass to make a toast. All eight people who were squeezed into the round booth held up their glasses except Tanya.

  Chris looked at her. “Put your glass up, baby, I'm making a toast.”

  “I don't feel like it,” she said. He couldn't hear her because the music was so loud, but she knew Chris wouldn't rest until everyone had their glasses up, so she raised hers.

  “I just want to say …” Chris began, and then paused to get his thoughts together.

  “Come on with it. Shit, we ain't got all night,” T-Roy's girlfriend, Rosario, said.

  “Okay, baby, okay. I'm gonna bring it. Listen up. I just want to say I'm deeply honored to be with my boys and all you lovely ladies. Especially you, T-Roy. Man, you been holding it down here at the Palladium. You brought the heat from the jump, and this place is still on fire!” Chris put his glass down and then lifted it again. “Excuse me, I get a little emotional sometimes, but I just want to say that whatever goes down, whenever it goes down, or if ever it goes down, just call me, man. I got yo' back.”

  “For sho,” T-Roy said, and touched glasses with him.

  “Word is bond,” another friend said. Everybody drank from their glasses.

  A new P. Diddy joint with a heavy beat thumped through the club and Rosario said, “That's my jam!”

  She moved her way out to the front of their table and began to dance. Only, she took her moving to the beat to an extreme; without removing her clothes, she was basically performing a striptease.

  “Okay, Rosario, baby, that's enough!” T-Roy said, and grabbed her by the arm.

  “Uh-uh, let me go. That's my song,” she said and maneuvered herself away from him, swinging her hips and rolling her body seductively.

  “I'm not gonna tell you again. This is my establishment, and these are my friends. Don't be trippin' tonight!” T-Roy demanded.

  Rosario kept dancing as if she didn't notice T-Roy becoming annoyed and disgusted. He jumped out of his seat, picked up Rosario, and carried her to a corner in the club. The whole time, she yelled at him, “Let me down! Let me down, T-Roy!”

  Chris leaned over to Tanya. “I told T-Roy he needed to let that bitch go. She ain't nothing but a little tramp. Always trippin'. She's fucking up his image around here.”

  Tanya was zoning. She wanted badly to leave but knew Chris enjoyed being out with his friends like this every weekend. Although there was no thrill for her, being out with Chris was a duty that came with being his girlfriend.

  He picked up on her dispirited mood.

  “You okay, baby?” he asked her.

  “I'm not feeling too well,” she replied. “I was thinking about turning in early, but I don't want to interrupt your fun.”

  “Nah, baby, that's cool with me. I was thinking about blowing this joint early myself. I'm not feeling it tonight. For real,” Chris said. He grab
bed her hand and squeezed. He poked out his lips and asked, “You think you can drive tonight? I've had a little too much to drink.”

  “Yeah, I can.” Tanya smiled softly at him. Damn, she loved this man; she just hated the element he surrounded himself with.

  “Look, let's just wait until T-Roy gets back, pay our respects and then we're out. Okay?” He kissed her on the forehead. “Now, hit me with a little more of the bubbly, bubbly!”

  Tanya picked up the bottle and raised it to fill Chris's glass.

  Suddenly T-Roy rushed the table and grabbed Chris by his leather jacket. “Come on, man, I need you.” There was rage in his voice, and his eyes were frenzied.

  Chris jumped out of his seat. “What's up, man?”

  “That nigga Payne is out front with about ten of his boys trying to get in. Man, I can't let them in here. You know they start trouble everywhere they go.”

  “What you wanna do, man?” Chris asked, putting his hand on his piece.

  “The bouncers should be able to handle it, but man, we need to be up there for backup so there won't be no question of who has the power.”

  “I got you, man,” Chris said and motioned for their other two friends, who were sitting with them, to get up and follow them.

  Chris kneeled in to Tanya. “Stay right here, baby. When I get back let's get the fuck outta here.” He took off with his boys.

  A chill ran through Tanya, and her fingers tapped against the table. She didn't know what was going on. As badly as she wanted to know, she was going to do what he said and stay put. The other two women at the table scooted over to her.

  “What in the hell is going on?” one said, popping her gum between words.

  “I don't know,” Tanya replied. She thought that if the expression on her face was as filled with worry as the two beside her, then whatever was going down couldn't be good.

  “I'm getting ready to go see for myself,” the other said.

  “No, Chris said to wait here. They'll be all right….” Tanya began trying to convince herself as well, but before she could finish talking, several gunshots were fired from the front of the club, setting off chaos. The music stopped instantly. Women were screaming, and a rush of people on the dance floor moved at once to one end of the floor. Several just fell to the ground in the hope of not being hit by a stray bullet. The people at private tables were seeking cover underneath their tables, including Tanya and the women with her.

  Rumbling could be heard near the club's front entrance. Tanya knew Chris was in the midst of the brawling. But there was nothing she could do but wait, panic-stricken, to find out if he was okay.

  She was wedged underneath a table with two women she barely knew. There was no comfort in being next to them, so she squeezed her eyes tight and said a short, silent prayer: Dear Lord, I don't ask much from you, but please protect Chris for me, because I love him and he's all I've got.

  Just then, another shot was fired, more rustling, and then one loud, startling scream.

  “That's Rosario!” Tanya said, and instinctively moved from underneath the booth. Her heart was racing, but she couldn't stop herself from going toward the direction of Rosario's cry of distress. She had to see what had happened. The lights flashed on.

  The chill from earlier revisited her spine. She moved through the confused and frightened partygoers and pushed her way to the front of the club, where Rosario was bent over T-Roy, who was laid out in a puddle of blood.

  “No, no, no!” Rosario was yelling and banging on his chest with her fist. Tears were pouring down her cheeks, and blood was all over her hands and splashed on her halter top.

  One of the guys who was at the table with them earlier reached down and pulled her off T-Roy's corpse. “T-Roy, no!” Rosario yelled as the guy carried her outside and away from T-Roy's dead body.

  Tanya's stomach bubbled over. She felt like she was going to puke, but she couldn't give in to the feeling. She needed to find Chris.

  Nothing seemed real. Everybody and everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Then Tanya noticed that outside of the opened door were two other bodies. Dead. Tanya was terrified to go near them. One of them has to be him, she thought. She couldn't bear to face Chris's death. Her legs grew weak and she heard somebody yell, “The ambulance is coming!”

  Scattered, Tanya somehow found a wall to catch her from passing out. There was movement around her, and voices, but Tanya had to pause. She didn't want to move forward and face the inevitable, so she just stood there, allowing the wall to sustain her until she was surrounded by a warm hug.

  It was Chris. Tanya fell into his arms and wept. She took deep, heavy breaths to release the energy she'd been reserving to handle the news that he'd been shot.

  Chris rocked her in his arms. “I can't believe this shit!” he said. There was anger behind his words. “T-Roy is gone, Tanya,” he said. His head fell on her shoulder.

  “I know,” she said, and embraced him tighter.

  “We gotta get outta here.”

  “What?” Tanya needed a moment. The thought of moving from that spot seemed too much.

  Chris grabbed Tanya's face and met her eye to eye. “We gotta go.”

  She understood. There was nothing more they could do for T-Roy. He was already dead. But Chris was alive and an adversary of the police. He didn't need to be anywhere near such a horrific crime scene.

  He hugged her tightly one more time, then took her hand and led her out the back door of the club.

  ORE CHILDREN AND parents were flowing through the gym than Elise had planned for, but instead of panicking, she delighted in their overwhelming interest and quietly thanked God that people were not only interested but signing their children up for classes.

  Every hour on the hour, from twelve noon until six p.m., the five high school and college student instructors walked onto the floor and gave a presentation. They had gotten to the last presentation of the day, and Elise was exhausted from talking to parents, meeting children, and answering questions. Just knowing that the day was winding to an end, however, gave Elise the energy she needed to go on. She asked the parents and potential students to take their seats surrounding the floor, while the instructors stood to the side.

  Elise introduced the Gotta Flip staff and their mission to the audience.

  “Hello, everyone, and thanks for coming out today. I am Elise Ross, owner and head instructor. At Gotta Flip, where our motto is 'safety comes first in our progressive learning environment,' we offer high-quality instruction while using the best available equipment.

  “If you're wondering if I'm qualified to instruct your children, the answer is yes. I am a three-time college national medalist in rhythmic gymnastics. Also, I was privileged to study under international gold medalist Wendy Hilliard, the first African American gymnast to represent the United States on the rhythmic gymnastics national team. I was a member of the U.S. Rhythmic Gymnastics Olympic team, but I couldn't compete because of an unfortunate knee injury during the trials.

  “Because of that injury, safety is essential to my coaching method. I, as well as the rest of my coaching staff, have been safety certified by USA Gymnastics. If you are searching for a gym and decide that we are not right for you, for the sake of your child, please make sure that the instructors at the gym of your choice have been safety certified.

  “I can't promise that your child will be one hundred percent free of injury—no coach can—but I can guarantee that the instructors here will take every measure to prevent accidents from occurring. Speaking of instructors, please allow me to introduce my staff to you!”

  As Elise introduced the instructors one by one, each entered the floor with an impressive tumbling pass, garnering oohs and aahs from the audience. When all five coaches were standing next to her, she continued talking.

  “I'm going to let our senior instructor, Mike, have the floor. He'll explain to you the various levels of instruction available, and then we'll break out and allow everyone a chance to become
briefly acquainted with all aspects of our offerings, including beam, bars, and vault.

  “After you've spent time at each station, one of the ladies at the desk will help you get your child registered in the wonderful world of gymnastics. Both ladies are well informed about rates, payment options, and class schedules. Remember, if you register your child for a full semester today, he or she gets a free Gotta Flip T-shirt. If you have any more questions at the end of the hour, please see me and I'll do my very best to answer them for you.”

  Elise handed the microphone to Mike, who continued with the presentation. She walked over to the desk to check in with the two older women who were helping for the day. While the new presentation was going on, there were still straggling parents with questions or those who wanted to see the presentation a second time before making a decision. Some wanted to speak with Elise personally, to ask her questions that had already been answered more than once during the course of the hour.

  “How are you ladies holding up?” Elise asked.

  The women were members of Elise's church and recent retirees. When Elise had approached them for their help, they enthusiastically agreed and offered their services. One was a retired accountant and the other a secretary; Hattie helped Elise keep the Gotta Flip finances together, and Darlene helped her remain well organized.

  “Whew, child! I tell you what, who would've ever thought that this many black people would be interested in gymnastics?” Hattie said.

  “Yeah, if I'd of known you were gonna have this kind of turnout I would have asked my sister to come over and help us,” said Darlene.

  “Ladies, I apologize. I wasn't expecting such a great response myself.”

  “I was a little worried about you, to be honest. I didn't think you had a leg to stand on trying to teach gymnastics over here. But I'm glad to say you're proving me wrong,” Hattie said.