His Last Name

Today was the first official event we were attending with the new team. The Hornets were sponsoring a Carnival for Cancer shoot-around. I was very nervous because Jabril was nervous. It was the first time he had to suit up. I already told myself during the ride over to the arena that I was going to be polite, but not too friendly to any of the wives I met.

I picked up my tickets from the will call office and I gave the young woman my name and ID.

“Ma’am, your identification says Zakiya Lee. The tickets are for Mrs. Z. Smith.”

“Oh, I didn’t change my last name yet . . .” I began to dig in my bag to search for proof that I was the wife of Jabril Smith.

“You don’t have to look. I believe you. I see that ring. It’s huge. You have to get your license updated.”

“Okay, yeah,” I said, looking down at the gigantic stone in my new wedding ring set.

It was early, and I saw children playing on the court. I didn’t see Bril yet. I looked over my shoulder and noticed a tall, thick woman who had a waist-length auburn weave dipped with blond at the tips approaching me. I tried my best to ignore her existence, but then she tapped my shoulder. I turned around and mustered a smile. “Yes?”

“Hi. Dawn Franklin. Your husband was the trade, right?”

“Yes, Jabril was traded here.” I was offended by the way she was referring to my baby as the trade, like he didn’t have a name.

“Not like that. I heard he is good.”

“Yeah, he is. He averages five rebounds, ten points, and six assists a game.”

“That’s good. We need a point guard. I contacted you on Facebook. My husband is Thaddeus Franklin, the team captain.”

“Oh, you did? I don’t really get on there,” I lied.

“So, you two are from up north, right? Philly?”

“Well, I’m from Philly. Jabril is from Jersey.”

“My husband is from Baltimore, and I’m from D.C. So, how do you like Charlotte so far?”

“It’s okay,” I said.

“A little slow, though, right?”

“No, not compared to Oklahoma. That was slow.”

“Let’s exchange numbers. When they’re on the road, I like to get out every once in a while. I don’t do it often because Thaddeus and I have seven kids.”

“Seven kids?”

“Yes, I already had two before we met, he had three, and now we had two together.”

“Wow, what a big family . . .”

“Yeah, we make it work. Only four are here with us. The other two are in Las Vegas and Tallahassee. You know, he was out there when he was young, and I was married and in the military. I can still go out, though. Have you been to any of the clubs here? My favorite is Estate.”

I didn’t want to be rude. I enjoyed her conversation, but how could I be clear that I had enough friends and was too busy to go out?

“I don’t really go out.”

“We can do lunch then.”

“Yeah, lunch. I have to see. I’ll take your number,” I said, hoping she would get the hint. She gave me her number, and I saved it in my phone. That was harmless. I just wouldn’t call her.

That’s what I promised myself: no new friends. But by the time the charity game ended, I hated myself for breaking my promise.

Dawn and I shared chicken fingers and juicy stories about the crazy fans and things we had seen being at games. She invited Jabrilah and me to her daughter’s birthday party the following week. There was something likable about Dawn, and the more we talked, the more I realized we had a lot of things in common. We were the same age—literally, down to the month—and our daughters’ names both began with the letter J. I noticed she wasn’t anything like all the other toxic wives I had met over the years.

Everything was calm and peaceful until a woman came and stood in front of us blocking our view to the court.

“Girl, look at her, can you believe some people. This is an event for sick kids, not the strip club. She could have put on a pair of jeans or something. At least some tights.”

I looked to see who she was talking about. She was pointing to a woman in a tiny black shirt dress who definitely needed a pair of pants on.

“Whose wife is that?” I asked.

“She has got to be a groupie, looking that cheap. Look at that white sticker on the bottom of her cheap shoes while she has the nerve to be carrying a two-thousand-dollar bag.” I couldn’t help but laugh. Dawn was right, the woman looked a mess. We were giggling hard and were oblivious that the woman we were talking about could hear us. She walked over and stood in front of us.

“When you talk about people, you should be a little more discreet. My dress is short, but I’m not deaf and maybe if you could, you would wear a dress like this. But you can’t, so mind your business.” We both were shocked at the lady’s boldness. I was speechless and didn’t say a word. But that didn’t stop the woman from coming to me and calling me out. She stood over me and put her hands in my face and said, “And just to let you know. I’m no groupie. Kadir Hall is my son and the reason this team will start winning some games.”

Dawn stood up, taking the attention off of me and said, “Well, I don’t know where you’re from, but we don’t dress like that down here. You might want to change into something more appropriate as the mother of a player.”

The woman looked around, and then said, “How about you might want to hit the gym. But if you really have an issue with me or the way I’m dressed, we can talk in the parking lot.”

Dawn walked closer to her and said, “We don’t have to go outside.” Then she lunged for the mom. I grabbed Dawn before she could swing. But the lady was still coming over toward her. Luckily, security came over and pulled her away. Dawn straightened her clothes and thanked me for holding her back.

“Girl, Thaddeus would have killed me if I would have fought at a game, but that lady better watch herself.”

“I don’t even know what just happened, but thank you for taking up for me. She was all in my face.”

I wasn’t even at my first game and already I had witnessed some drama. I left before the end of the event and all I could think was: different city, same shit.