19
SYLVIA
I sometimes knew another woman’s motive even better than my own. Courtney wanted my man and she wanted him bad. Every time I confronted Jonathan about it, he insisted I was out of my mind. If not that, he’d change the subject and say, “She’s just a young woman who’s excited about moving forward with a rewarding career.” That was bullshit and he knew it. I let it be known that I knew what the trick was up to. Earlier in the week, when I went to the office, I pulled her aside and told her I was keeping my eyes on her. I didn’t care if she told Jonathan, but I made sure she heard me out.
He didn’t know it, but I watched him leave the office with her several times. I had to make sure that nothing was going down. I remembered what we used to do on his late nights at the office and I feared he was doing the same thing with her.
As for trusting him, that bullshit went out the window months ago. I didn’t trust no damn body—never had and never would. If the opportunity ever presented itself, and he and I were on bad terms, I knew Jonathan would fuck Courtney in a heartbeat.
Worried about all the long hours he put in at work, on Thursday, I called his office to see if he wanted to have lunch. His voicemail came on, and instead of leaving a message, I went to the office.
Courtney wasn’t at her desk and Jonathan’s door was locked. I had a key, so I let myself in. I closed the door and sat at his desk. Being nosy, I looked through his drawers and glanced at the phone numbers in his Rolodex. When I saw Crissy’s number, I reached for the phone to call her, since we hadn’t talked in a while. Underneath his phone were two envelopes. I picked them up, and when I pulled out the cards from inside, they were both from Courtney. In so many words, this bitch told him how much she thought about him. The words just ate at me:
You brighten my day and bring joy to my life. You’re everything I imagined you would be.
What kind of shit was this? I thought. If he wasn’t fucking her, he knew damn well that she wanted to fuck him. And then to play me like I was the fool and tell me I was out of my mind—no way.
I looked at his calendar and it showed he was at the courthouse. Room 325 to be exact. As furious as I was, I jotted down the room number and left to go confront him.
Before getting there, I tried to calm down, but when I looked in and saw Courtney sitting in the courtroom, I lost it. He never took me to court with him and had the nerve to flaunt her around like she was the shit.
When I barged in, he was standing and presenting his case. I interrupted him, as calmly as I could, and told him we needed to talk. Getting all bent out of shape, he raised his voice.
“Have a seat until I’m finished,” he snapped. “I’m in the middle of something.”
“Now, Jonathan,” I said, raising my voice back at him.
He excused himself and stormed out into the lobby. I followed.
“This better be damn good, Sylvia! What in the hell is it now?” he yelled. I was sure everyone in the courtroom heard us because he spoke loudly and so did I.
I pulled the cards from my purse and shook them in my hand. “This is how you fucking play me! You’re around here fucking this bitch, sporting her all over the place, and allowing her to give you cards! Did you think I wasn’t going to find out?”
He snatched the cards and shoved me backward. “That’s it! I can’t do this with you anymore! I cannot do this anymore,” he screamed. “You have lost your damn mind!”
He stormed back into the courtroom, and still not feeling satisfied, I charged in after him. “I’ve lost my mind and you’re the motherfucker out here cheating on me? Really?”
He quickly swung around, and before I knew it, Jonathan smacked me so hard that my head snapped to the side, without me turning it. Shortly after, the police rushed to handcuff him. He tussled with them as they carried him away.
Mad as hell at him, I didn’t even give a damn that he was going to jail. The people in the courtroom appeared shocked, and after the police took a statement from me, I left.
I waited outside until I saw his bitch, then I confronted her. When she saw me, she appeared nervous and walked abruptly to her car.
“Are you satisfied now? Was all of this worth it to you?” I said, walking behind her.
She stopped and turned around. “I barely even know you, Sylvia, but please tell me what you have against me?”
“Your cards, Miss Thing. Why in the hell are you giving my man ‘thinking of you’ cards? Is it that good to you where you gotta go out and buy him cards?”
She looked surprised that I had known about the cards. “Look, I’m not going to deny the cards, but Mr. Taylor made it clear to me that he loves you. You are so wrong accusing us of being together because we’re not. I’m sorry for giving him those cards, but you should be ashamed of yourself for embarrassing him like that.”
“Girl, who do you think you’re talking to? You know damn well that you’re having sex with him. Don’t stand out here and try to protect him. Let’s just get it all out in the open.”
“If I were having sex with him, I would have the pleasure of telling you right now. For the last time, Mr. Taylor is not interested in me, nor has he ever been interested in me in such a way. Just face it, stupid-ass woman, that you are wrong.” She turned and walked away.
“Who in the hell are you calling stupid, you nappy-head bitch!” I yelled. “If I didn’t want to go to jail, I would kick your tail for starting this mess!”
Courtney just shook her head and continued to walk down the street. I got in my car, and by the time I pulled up in the driveway, I was a mess. Just what if Jonathan hadn’t done anything? What a fool I’d made of myself? I couldn’t believe how foolish I’d acted, and no matter what went down, I never imagined I could stoop so low.
Eager to get to the bottom of this, I called the police station around eight o’clock. The officer said Jonathan had already been released. I waited and waited for him to come home, but by one o’clock in the morning he was still a no-show.
Knowing exactly where he was when he needed to clear his head, I went straight to his office. When I pulled into the parking garage, Courtney’s car was there and so was his. My heart raced fast, as I pushed the eleventh floor on the elevator. It wasn’t moving fast enough, and I tapped my foot as I counted the floors on the way up. When I got off the elevator, I pushed the doors to the entryway but they were locked. I shook them, but when they wouldn’t open, I ran to the other end of the building and used my swipe card to get in. I swiped it, and as soon as the light turned green, I pulled the door open.
Jonathan’s office was on the other side of the building, so I hurried as fast as I could to get to it. Getting near, I could see his door was closed. I reached for my key to open it because I was sure it was locked from the inside. After I nervously fumbled around with the keys, I slid the key in the lock and turned the knob. Taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open and saw Courtney standing by Jonathan half dressed, with only her bra and skirt on. He was shirtless.
He jumped up from his chair, and having a loss for words, I ran out of the door. He yelled my name, but I just kept on running. By the time I got to the front doors, I remembered that they were locked. Jonathan rushed up behind me, so I kicked the door several times, trying to get out. A few pieces of the glass shattered, but the door wouldn’t come open.
“Stop it!” he yelled, then held me tightly from behind. I screamed and kicked the doors harder.
“Let me go gotdamn it! Let me go!”
He squeezed me tighter until I could barely move. Exhausted from the bullshit, I broke down and fell to my knees. He still had a tight grip on me and fell to the ground with me. “Why?” I screamed out. “Why did you do this to me?”
“Because this is what you wanted,” he said, calmly. “You were just not satisfied with me doing the right thing, so I was giving you the man you envisioned me to be.”
Jonathan released his arms from around me and walked off. Feeling as if the whole world had caved down on me, I stayed on my knees by the door and hysterically cried.
Moments later, I heard a door shut and I figured Jonathan and Courtney must have left. Still numb, I couldn’t move. When I did, I drove to the nearest hotel and got a room for the night. Seeing what a mess I was, the front desk clerk asked if I needed some help. I shook my head and walked to the room as if I were a zombie.