As Talise disconnected, Lois walked through the door of their apartment. Talise couldn’t remember the last time she had cursed someone out, probably when she was a teenager. It wasn’t her character to lash out at people like that.
“Talise,” Lois yelled, as she dumped her keys on some nearby hard surface and kept moving through the apartment.
Without answering, Talise threw her new cell phone on the bed, ran into the bathroom, and locked the door. She turned on the faucet and began to pat cold water on her face. Her nose was swollen and her eyes were puffy.
Looking at her image in the mirror, she was certain her disheveled look would play out over the next nine months. Talise hadn’t told Lois yet, but she knew she couldn’t hold out too long. After all, they shared the same living space.
At the moment, she needed to regroup. Contrary to her intentions, she didn’t push Ace to the bottom of the list and broke the news to him sooner than planned. Now it was a regretful decision. Thinking back to their conversation, Talise wasn’t proud of the names she called him, but his nonchalant attitude irked her.
“Talise,” Lois repeated again from the other side of the bathroom door.
“Just a minute.” That was a lie. She needed longer than a minute to regain her dignity. Without actually saying the word, Ace had basically called her a slut. God, why was I so stupid?
“Are you okay?” Lois asked, now knocking on the door.
“Yeah.”
“Girl, what’s wrong? Unless you’re polluting the air in there, open up. I heard you run into the bathroom when I came through the front door.”
This would be another moment of truth. Besides Sinclaire knowing, and now Ace, Lois might as well be next to find out about her baby. Turning the lock, Talise cracked the door open. Lois shrieked when she took one look at her face.
“What’s going on with you? Spill it! What happened? Did someone die? Oh, God, your sister. She didn’t get hurt, did she?” Lois grabbed her by the arm and dragged Talise out of the bathroom.
“Sinclaire is fine, but I’m pregnant,” she blurted it out, hurried to her bed, and collapsed.
Lois froze with her mouth hanging open. She blinked and then formed an “O” with her lips, but no words came out. Her roommate had the most comical expressions. Talise would have laughed at her dumbstruck look, but this wasn’t the time and she didn’t have the energy.
“What did Ace say? Is he happy?” She flopped down on the foot of the bed. “When did you find out? How far along—”
The girl had a Rolodex of questions.
Taking a deep breath, Talise gathered her strength to answer. She was sure to hear the questions again from others. “Ace basically said, ‘See ya.’ He’s definitely not happy. I found out on Friday. My baby is six weeks along. I’m due sometime in January.”
Crossing her legs, Lois counted on her fingers. “What do you mean Ace isn’t happy?” She slanted her head. “What does ‘he’s definitely not happy’ mean?”
Lois paused. “Okay I’ll let you slide for not telling me two days ago. But let’s revisit questions one and two because I’m not feeling this abbreviated version.”
“The truth is, Lois, I’m on my own.” Talise sniffed. Would she ever get used to saying that? “He acted like he didn’t believe me, as if I’m making this up. Why would I do that? Right before you came in, his callousness triggered the ghetto somewhere in my family tree to emerge. I think I created some new curse words while I chewed him out.”
“Good for you.” Lois bowled over laughing, and Talise chuckled until she started laughing too. Then wiping at a tear, her expression became serious.
“I know Ace doesn’t think the baby’s not his?”
The question pricked at Talise’s heart. “He didn’t say it, but sometimes silence is golden.”
Lois sprang from the bed, almost twisting her ankle on her stilettos. Once she steadied herself, she wagged her finger. “No man is going to call you a tramp, whether he verbalized it or not. I can’t believe Ace! I thought that man loved you. The jerk!”
She bit her lip and continued her line of questioning. “Okay, girlfriend, how do you want to handle this? Hit-and-run, broken bones, what? It’s your choice, or all of the above. Say the word and I’m on it. Your footprints on his backside, or it could be both of ours, you call it. I’m speechless.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” Talise attempted to joke.
Lois was geared up. “This is my fault. I never mentioned to Cameron that my roommate was new to the area. It was his idea for us to set you up with Ace. Oooh, the nerve …” Lois practically growled, as she balled her hands into fists.
When it appeared that she was on the verge of tears, Talise became the comforter. “You had no way of knowing when you introduced me to him how things would turn out. I fell in love with Ace, although I never told him. He protected himself and I protected myself …” God spoke. Adam and Eve couldn’t cover their nakedness. Neither can you hind our sins from My eyes.
“But the woman always gets caught holding the bag, and the man walks away without a care in the world,” Lois added.
Practically ignoring her friend momentarily, her conscience was cutting her to the core. Throwing her hands up in the air, Talise shrugged. “What better time to turn to God, but when I’m in trouble.” She sighed in disgust with herself.
“I have thirty-four weeks to prepare for a little one. That’s where I need to focus. Ace won’t have to worry about any baby’s mama drama from me.”
“Can I borrow your drama? When I didn’t see Ace this week, I didn’t think anything of it.” Lois pulled her iPhone out of the case hooked onto her belt.
“Who are you calling?”
“Cameron. I’m going to give him a piece of my mind, your mind, and then …”
Lifting her hand, Talise was drained from this bout of theatrics. “Let it go, Lois. I can do this. I would prefer to be married to a man who loved me before I had a baby. But this is the bed I created, so now it’s time for me to wash the sheets and make it up. Seriously, Lois, let it go.”
“Sure,” she said with a sly grin. Somehow, Talise didn’t believe her.