Chapter 11
Tionna
Tionna had never been inside an actual police precinct. When Casey asked her to stop by on her way to work, she’d imagined a scene similar to what was shown on one of the cop shows on television, where the holding cells were in the same room as the policemen’s desks. In Casey’s office, there were no holding cells or criminals waiting to be processed. There were private offices with huge see-through windows along one of the walls and a series of desks with computers on them for each officer and detective.
As instructed by the receptionist, Tionna stood by a tall artificial plant and waited for Casey. She surveyed the large open-spaced room, trying to figure out which desk belonged to him. She’d been to his bachelor-pad apartment a few times, and although his place smelled pleasant and things were in order, it could still use a woman’s touch. Tionna imagined that his desk would need some feminine attention too.
A door opened at the end of the hallway, and Tionna redirected her attention. Casey was in the private office with a small group of policemen, some dressed in uniform, others in street clothes, like Casey. As he pointed to images on a screen, Tionna felt proud. He’d been a cop for only seven years and a detective for less than three months. She pictured him running the office by the time he turned forty.
When he ended the meeting, everyone piled out of the room and returned to their desks. Casey was too busy talking to recognize Tionna standing by the front door. Her eyes followed him as he sat at a corner desk near a slightly opened window and put away the folders that were in his hand.
Suddenly, a woman close to Casey’s age appeared and sat close to him on the edge of his desk. By the way she giggled and tapped his arm whenever he said something funny, knew they weren’t discussing business. Tionna’s left brow rose suspiciously. Who is that woman? And why is she so comfortable with my man?
The receptionist noticed the flustered look on Tionna’s face and stood up to draw Casey’s attention in her direction. At the sight of his woman, Casey jumped up from his seat and strolled toward her, beaming with pride.
“Hey, babe,” Casey greeted and unexpectedly kissed Tionna on the lips.
Standing tall at six feet four inches, Casey was the perfect height. Because she was taller than the average woman and loved to wear heels, it felt good to look up and into his eyes. Unless she wore flats with the guy she was dating, Tionna was usually the one bending down for a kiss.
For the next ten minutes Casey escorted Tionna around the office, introducing her to his colleagues. Some names Tionna recognized, and quite a few she forgot the minute she left the person’s presence.
“I know who this is,” the mystery woman said, gloating, as they approached her desk, which was positioned next to Casey’s. “You have to be Dr. Tionna Jenkins. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about you.” The woman gave Tionna a friendly hug.
“Wish I could say the same about you,” Tionna remarked and limply returned the embrace.
Casey grabbed Tionna’s hand. “This is my partner, Lee. LeAnn Davis,” he said, as if that would jog her memory. “I told you about her.”
Yes, Casey had mentioned his partner several times. But he never mentioned the fact that Lee was short for LeAnn.
Trying not to twist her face, Tionna remained polite. “Nice to meet you.”
“What brings you by?” asked Lee.
“I promised Casey I’d bring him lunch on my way to work,” Tionna replied.
“My baby makes the best chicken marsala I’ve ever tasted,” bragged Casey.
Lee sat on Casey’s desk again and grinned. “So that’s how you got him. I better take a few lessons, or I’ll be single forever. You free on Wednesday nights?” she kidded, but Tionna didn’t find her remarks funny.
“I only cook about five dishes really well,” she answered.
“Tionna’s so modest,” Casey said and squeezed her hand. “She can throw down in a kitchen.”
Casey and Lee talked about their favorite foods and restaurants Tionna had never heard of. Tionna felt like a stranger as she listened to them compare notes, and suddenly she felt old. Lee was much shorter than she was, and had muscular arms, full hips, and perky breasts. Tionna also couldn’t overlook the fact that Lee’s long, silky ponytail was jet-black. When she compared herself to Lee, she didn’t understand why Casey was so attracted to a tall, slender, and gray-haired old lady.
“I hate to leave,” Tionna interrupted, “but I have a class in an hour. I should probably head out.”
“Okay,” Lee said with an upbeat tone. “It was such a pleasure to finally meet you. I hope you come back soon so we can get to know each other.”
“That would be nice,” Tionna said, just to be polite.
“Let me walk you outside,” Casey said as Lee finally returned to her own desk.
“I’ll be okay. You stay here and enjoy your food.”
“Thanks again, babe,” he said and kissed her. “If I’m not here too late, I’ll stop by your place tonight.”
Tionna let go of Casey’s hand and waved to a few friendly faces as she headed out of the precinct. Casey didn’t give her a reason to be suspicious or jealous, but it bugged her that his partner was a woman. Now she had another reason to stay guarded.
Every seat in the classroom at the clinic was filled with people suffering from some type of sexually related problem. The majority of the attendees were her patients, but there was a growing number of people coming to sessions who were patients of other doctors in the clinic. If enrollment continued to rise, she would have to recruit another doctor to teach the same class or cut back on the hours she spent treating patients.
Tionna had had no idea that the classes she offered would become a vital addition to the clinic. The information and support she provided in each eight-week session had become one of the reasons people chose to visit her facility. With so much success the first year, Tionna had enrolled in a two-year counseling program at Temple so that she would be well educated and qualified to lead the groups. This was now the fourth year she had offered the classes.
Today was the beginning of a new session that would help people deal with the leftover scars from former relationships. It was ironic that Tionna led such a class. She hadn’t been delivered herself from the relationship with Brian. In some ways, the discussions in class served as therapy for her as well. Each time she coached someone through their problems, she pretended she was talking to herself. Many of her friends couldn’t see the change that had taken place in Tionna’s heart, but the classes had softened her heart . . . just a bit. For years she ignored signs of interest from men enthralled by her beauty and intellect, but a year after teaching classes, Tionna occasionally entertained a friendly lunch or a brief conversation over coffee. Now, three years later, she was in a relationship.
The first day of each session was not as intense as the weeks that followed. The entire hour was spent engaging in interactive exercises to help participants get to know one another. It was important for each member of the midsize group to feel comfortable sharing sensitive information.
By the end of class, people were more relaxed and willing to share their story. Tionna sat among the group with a notepad in hand, ready to take notes. In order for her to address each person’s specific issue, she needed to record important details about him or her. One would think Tionna would be numb to the various stories shared in her classes. Many of the stories were similar at their root and thus were the same issue, just different players. But that was far from the truth. She listened to each testimony with fresh ears and a heart filled with concern.
Today a woman in her late twenties told the group that she contracted a disease that would one day claim her life. The man she’d been involved with had been her best friend for more than ten years. When the friendship transitioned into a relationship, she didn’t think twice about using protection. Now she was paying the price for trusting a man she had once loved. A middle-aged man admitted that he had abused several women intimately and emotionally because his wife left him for another man. He was unable to have a decent relationship because he still blamed his wife for ruining his life. The last gentleman who shared his story brought the group to tears. He had spent several years in prison for a rape he didn’t commit. While he was in prison, his family alienated him and he was violated by another inmate in the worst way. Although he’d been a free man for many years, anger dwelled in his heart, keeping him from moving forward with a happy and emotionally healthy life.
Listening to each story, Tionna thought about J. Amanda. What she was doing was risky. She hadn’t seen Hunky in almost a decade, yet she was willing to put her marriage in danger. Tionna said a prayer for her friend. At this point, no matter what J. Amanda decided, someone was going to get hurt.
Tionna ended the session with prayer and then headed back to her office. She had a few patients to see and patient records to update. Before digging into her work, Tionna checked her cell phone for messages. She was expecting a call from Brianna.
The first message came from Kenya. “You may need to come bail me out of jail tonight. Mack took Tyree to Chuck E. Cheese’s with his new woman without my permission. He’s on his way here, and my box cutter’s in my hand.”
Tionna laughed aloud. Kenya should’ve been a comedian.
Brianna left the next message. “Q and I are going to the movies tonight. I should be back before midnight.”
Quentin, or Q, as he preferred to be called, was Brianna’s boyfriend. He wasn’t the guy Tionna wanted her daughter to date, but she knew better than to force Brianna to date someone else. Quentin was smart. He attended Central High School and had been accepted into the University of Pennsylvania, but he had a know-it-all air about him, something the girls his age found attractive. Brianna could’ve chosen a less desirable young man as her boyfriend, so Tionna tried not to complain. Though she did pray college would expose them to new interests.
The last message came from Casey. He had called to tell her that his colleagues were jealous. It wasn’t every day that a beautiful woman came to the office to deliver a home-cooked lunch. “Lee wants you to make her a plate next time,” he said and laughed.
Tionna deleted the message and then responded to each of them via text. She told Kenya she’d see to it that Mack and the woman raised Tyree if she went to jail. That should be enough incentive for Kenya to behave when Mack arrived. She told Brianna to make sure Q brought her home on time, and she told Casey that she looked forward to seeing him tonight. She didn’t respond to what Lee had said. Until she understood their relationship, Tionna wasn’t going to prepare lunch for her or invite her over for cooking lessons.
Tionna put her phone in her pocket and grabbed the folder of her next patient. Before going into the waiting room, she scanned his medical history and jotted down a few notes. Tionna hadn’t seen a new patient in months, but she was doing a colleague a favor and the patient was a member of a current group. When she finished writing down information that she had learned in today’s session, Tionna tucked the manila folder under her arm and headed to the waiting room.
“William,” Tionna called, and the man looked up from the magazine he was reading. “C’mon back to my office.”
The house phone rang at 9:35 P.M., as Tionna was sitting at the kitchen table and reading the notes she’d collected in today’s group session. She looked down at the cordless phone next to her arm and smiled when she saw Casey’s name on the caller ID. “Hey,” she said. “Are you on your way?”
“Can I get a rain check?” Casey asked, and Tionna frowned. “Lee and I made a huge bust tonight. We have a few more people to interview and paperwork to turn in.”
“I suppose I have to accept that,” she replied, unaware of the shift in her tone.
“Is my baby upset?” Casey asked playfully. “I can still come by, but it’ll be closer to midnight. I wasn’t sure if you’d still be up.”
Though Tionna had never given him a curfew, she had insisted that they shy away from spending the night together. She hadn’t been intimate with a man since her last boyfriend several years ago. After their breakup, Tionna decided she didn’t want to share her body with another man until she was married. This was often an issue for the few men she had briefly dated. But not for Casey. He was raised by a Christian mother, and although his job prevented him from going to church as often as he liked, he understood and respected Tionna’s decision to remain celibate.
“It’s really okay, Casey. I’m working tonight, anyway,” she said.
“No, I can tell you’re upset. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
There was no reason for Tionna to be upset. Casey worked late many nights. That was part of his job, and she understood that. Still, the thought of him working late hours with Lee bothered her. Maybe her feelings would be different if Lee had been his partner for more than three months, but that wasn’t the case. “Go ahead and finish working with your partner. If you and Lee don’t have plans for tomorrow, maybe we can catch up.”
“So . . . is that what you’re upset about?” Casey questioned. “Babe, you know you have absolutely nothing to worry about. I only have eyes for you.”
Tionna wanted to believe him. She even told herself that she was acting like a child, but she couldn’t control the words that came out of her mouth. “I’m not naive, Casey. I see the way she looks at you,” she answered, careful of her tone. She and Casey had never had a major disagreement, and she didn’t want Lee to be the reason they had one tonight.
Still in a pleasant mood, Casey chuckled softly. “It doesn’t matter who looks at me, Tionna. You’re the only woman I’m crazy about.”
“Can you honestly tell me you haven’t had intimate thoughts about her? I mean, you haven’t been with me, and we’ve been together six months,” Tionna replied. “Not many men can hold out that long.”
“They can if they really respect a woman,” Casey stated with more bass in his voice. “It’s not just about sex with you and me.”
“You’re definitely in the minority with that thinking.”
“Well, I’m not the average man,” Casey replied in a serious manner. “I thought you knew that about me.”
Tionna suddenly felt bad and tried to turn the conversation around. “I’m sorry, Casey. I guess I got nervous when I saw how young and beautiful Lee is.”
“One day you’ll understand that your age is more important to you than it is to me. I’m not out to hurt you. I’ve never been that kind of guy.”
For fear of saying the wrong thing, Tionna felt they needed to say good-bye for the evening. “Well, we both have work to do, so let’s—”
“It’s getting too hot for you, huh?” Casey remarked. “You know, not all men are dogs, Tionna, and every man won’t do what Brian did to you. I’m going to let you go, but . . . I think you need to figure out whether or not you want to pursue a relationship with me. I’m not a man to play games, and I don’t want to spend all my energy trying to make you believe how much I care about you. So when you’re certain you want to have a real and honest relationship with me, give me a call.”
Astonished, Tionna swallowed hard and stared at the phone. The lump in her throat prevented her from responding, and it was probably for the best, because she was clueless. What should she say?
“I know I’ve said a lot, so I’ll let you go,” Casey continued after a brief silence. “I do hope I hear from you,” he said and then wished her a good night.
Tionna stared at the phone for at least fifteen minutes after Casey hung up. In her mind she replayed the conversation several times, and each time she pointed out a different reason why it had ended poorly. She wanted to call him back and apologize for her immaturity, but she was embarrassed by her behavior. Plus, she wasn’t sure that she was ready for a man like Casey. It was clear that her heart was still too fragile.
“Guess I messed up again, God,” Tionna whispered and leaned back in her chair. Before she called Casey back, she was going to take his advice. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him, so Tionna decided to pray for direction. She wouldn’t make another move where Casey was concerned until God answered her prayer.