Derinda was furious. Demetrious had been out of jail for two weeks, and during that period, he had only spent one day with her and the kids. All the promises he’d made her while in jail didn’t hold. And to make matters worse, she knew he had been spending time with the other chicks who would have their babies any day now. This was too much for her to handle. She didn’t know why Demetrious had turned his back on her like he had; then again, she predicted that Demetrious’ friend must’ve told him already what they’d done while he was in jail. Nonetheless, she had only gone there with his friend one time to seek revenge against him. She had even washed those explicit photos from her memory; the photos didn’t matter, if Demetrious had gotten out of jail and done the right thing. Derinda told herself she could forgive him for being with another man. After all, Demetrious had a high sex drive. He had to do something while in jail or else he would go crazy. She made as many excuses as she could for his actions, but the fact that he hadn’t been spending time with her cut deep.
While the kids were at her mother’s house, Derinda had prepared a celebration dinner for Demetrious. The food was already on the table, candles were lit and soft music echoed in the background. The sleazy negligee she wore exposed her goodies, and with it being Demetrious’ favorite color, blue, she knew he would love it. No matter how fabulous she looked, though, she sat at the table with anger trapped in her eyes. Demetrious still hadn’t shown up yet, and he had called about an hour ago to let her know he was on his way. The food had been wasted. The chicken was now cold, as well as the string beans and garlic potatoes.
“That food looks really good,” Monai said to me as we stood in the dining room area, next to a window. “I wish I could eat it.”
“It does look good,” I teased. “If only you could’ve cooked like that for me.”
“Whatever. I did cook like that for you, but your mother had you spoiled with her cooking, didn’t she?”
“Yes, she did. So I apologize for saying what I did to you.”
We both laughed, but it was no laughing matter when Demetrious came through the door, rubbing his hands together.
“Mmmmm,” he said. “It smells good in here, Li’l Mama. What did you cook for me? I’m starving.”
Derinda jumped from the chair and moved closer to him. “Don’t you Li’l Mama me, nigga! Where in the hell have you been? I’ve been sitting here for hours waiting for you to come home. The food is cold and everything, so it doesn’t matter what I cooked.”
He looked at his watch, before strutting into the dining room area with that same smug look on his face.
“He should really think about growing his dreads back,” Monai said. “He looked so much better with them.”
“No, he needs to leave the dreads alone. Dreads have a significant meaning. A man of his caliber doesn’t have any business wearing them.”
“Let me correct you,” Demetrious said to Derinda. “This place is not my home. It used to be, but not anymore. I don’t get why you’re tripping with me. I know what you did while I was in jail. You of all people should know there’s a heavy price to pay for betraying me.”
Derinda cocked her head back and put her hands on her hips. “For betraying you? Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me? You’ve destroyed me, Demetrious, not to mention how badly you’ve dissed me. You don’t know nor do you understand how badly this hurts. I’ve been down with you for many years, and to be played like this is totally unnecessary.”
As Derinda became tearful, Demetrious walked closer to comfort her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and planted a soft kiss against her forehead.
“Ooooo, this is touching,” Monai said. “I guess he don’t even see what’s coming. She’s going to kill him, and didn’t he see that sharp knife in her hand?”
“Dang, baby, why did you have to say something?” I asked. “You just ruined it for everybody. Don’t you know how to keep a secret?”
“I do, but sometimes I like to let people know how things are going to go down ahead of time. That way, they’ll be prepared.”
“Well, I don’t think no one will be prepared for this.”
As those words left my mouth, Derinda backed away from Demetrious’ hold. That was when he looked down and saw the knife being aimed at his midsection. The smirk on his face vanished; he backed away from her with his hands in the air.
“Really?” He showed no fear at all. “This is what it has come to, huh? After all these years together, you want to kill me? Put the knife down, baby, and stop all this nonsense.”
“He is so charming,” Monai admitted. “And looking at this from the other side makes me want to puke. I can’t believe I fell for his bull.”
“That’s because you were seeking love by any means necessary with the wrong man. You weren’t satisfied with me, but we won’t even go there again.”
She playfully cut her eyes at me. “No, let’s not go there, okay? And stop talking to me. I’m trying to see what’s going to happen next.”
We tuned in again, as Derinda stood with the knife trembling in her hand. Tears streamed down her face as she mean mugged Demetrious.
“No, I’m not going to kill you,” she said. “I can’t kill you. I love you too much to do it, but he doesn’t love you at all. All he wanted was a piece of ass.”
Fredo came from the kitchen, and without saying one word, he lifted a gun and fired one bullet into Demetrious’ chest. His body slammed against the wall behind him, and as his hand trembled over his bloody chest, he looked at Derinda with fluttering eyes.
“Why?” he asked. “How . . . How could you do this to me?”
To our surprise, Fredo answered when he turned the gun to Derinda and fired a bullet into her stomach.
“No more freaking babies by this loser,” he shouted. “You die and he die too. Hell, you all die, ya hear me! All of you!”
Derinda’s eyes widened; she was shocked that Fredo didn’t follow their plan. Her body dropped to the floor, and before Fredo left, he was sure to finish Demetrious off by putting two more bullets in his head. The whole thing was too much for Monai. She turned to me and buried her head against my chest.
“It’s over, baby. It’s all over with now,” I said. “We can go.”
Monai nodded and we made our exit. As we talked later that night, I reminded her that you always reap what you sow. Demetrious had gotten exactly what he deserved, yet it was unfortunate that Derinda and her unborn child had to suffer too.
“He did it to us,” Monai said. “And nearly the same thing happened to him.”
“Absolutely. And, eventually, Fredo will have to pay too.”
“You’re so right. I’m starting to understand all of this a little better, but I know it’s going to take more time.”
“It will. I’m still learning some things too, and you must understand that there is a plan for people like Demetrious. Every step of his demise had been masterfully planned. Not by me, though. I was only, well, you already know, don’t you?”
Monai pecked my lips and smiled. “Yes, I do know. You and I are both—” she paused and we said it in unison.
“Not ghosts, but angels.”
“Spirits,” I added.
“Call us whatever you want. I’m not disputing this with you tonight.”
“Don’t because you’ll never win an argument with me.”
We went on and on about this subject. At the end of the day, who we were, wasn’t determined by us. It was determined by the people whose lives we protected and/or disrupted every single day. Good and bad things happened, for a reason of course. For me and Monai, though, life was all good.