Chapter 12

 

It had been two weeks, three days, five hours and six minutes since I’ve heard anything from Reggie. Since the scuffle between him and Derrick, I haven’t seen him once. He had completely disappeared on me. And his actions weren’t warranted. Granted he got into it with my boyfriend but that was between those two. I had nothing to do with it.

I left him a few messages and still, no response.

Today, I was at work, sitting at my desk staring at the computer screen. I didn’t feel like working. I just wanted to talk to Reggie. I peeped out of my office door and called Brenda in. I had to get a woman’s point-of-view on what was going on with the men in my life. Brenda came in my office with her cup of coffee looking like she was ready to hear some office gossip. She shut the door behind her.

“Girl, what’s going on?”

I said, “Let’s say you had this friend…not a boyfriend, but a friend you’ve known all your life and all of a sudden, he stopped returning your phone calls.”

“Girl, what’d you do to Reggie?”

I laughed and said, “I didn’t do anything to him. He just stopped calling. Every time I try to call him, I get his voicemail.”

“Just go over to his place…see what’s up.”

“I’ve been by there several times. He wasn’t home.”

“Well go again. I mean what if something done happened to him, girl?”

Brenda was scaring me. What if something had happened to Reggie? What if he was somewhere stranded without a cell phone? I had to go back and check on him again. I couldn’t call Patricia and ask her. She and my Mom were on a seven-day cruise and they had five more days to go. There was no need for me to wreck their trip over Reggie’s disappearance. After all, I wasn’t sure if he had disappeared.

“You’re right, Brenda. I’ma go again when I get off work.”

“Ah’ight. My work here is done. Let me get back to my desk.”

“Thanks, girl.”

I rested my head on my desk out of frustration. What am I going to do? What am I going to do? What am I going to do? I kept saying it over and over again. Then I tried calling Reggie at work. I got his voicemail and left a message: “Hi Reggie. Where are you? I’m worried. Can you let me know where you are and if you’re okay? Call me.”

I called his cell phone right after I left the message on his office phone. That went to voicemail too. I left another message: “Reggie please call me.”

I skipped lunch. I was so worried I couldn’t eat.

 

AS SOON AS the clock struck five, I left my office at the speed of light. Reggie was on my mind. I had to find him. I needed to know where he was. His disappearance reminded me of the time when we used to play hide and seek as kids and when I couldn’t find him, I would cry. Then Reggie would come out of hiding and console me. This time, he wasn’t coming out of hiding.

I flipped my cell phone open again and dialed his home number. After a few beeps, I heard an automated message: “This number has been disconnected or is no longer in service.”

Reggie never let his phone get turned off. What’s going on here? The suspense was killing me. I needed to know where my best friend was. I pulled up in front of his apartment and rushed to the door. I knocked a few times and was surprised when I heard footsteps creeping up closer to the door. So he is here and he’s okay, I said quietly to myself. For a moment, I felt relieved. Reggie was okay and I had nothing to worry about anymore. The door slowly crept open and I waited with great anticipation to see Reggie. Finally, after all this time he owed me an explanation right then and there on the spot.

“Can I help you?”

My mouth fell open when I saw who answered the door. There before me stood a big-boobed, blue-eyed Caucasian woman with a dirty blonde bob, her voice similar to Dolly Parton’s. She was wearing a tight white tank top with an orange bra dominantly showing through along with some cut off jean shorts. Looked like she was on her way to a wet T-shirt contest.

“Ah…um…is Reggie here?” The girl had me stuttering and the situation had me confused. What was she doing there?

“No ma’am. I’m the only one who lives here. I just moved in two weeks ago.” For a second, I thought Reggie was playing a joke on me but the woman looked serious.

“Okay. Sorry to bother you,” I told her as I walked away from the door more confused than I was when I arrived. Why would Reggie move and not tell me? He told me everything, so why wouldn’t he tell me he was moving? And why hadn’t I heard from him in over three weeks? I tried calling him again. No answer.

As soon as I got into my car my cell phone rang. I looked at the display, hoping it would be one of Reggie’s numbers but it was a number I didn’t recognize. Hesitant to answer at first, I went ahead to see who it was.

“Hello.”

“Hey Tiffany,” I heard Reggie’s voice say to me in a somber tone.

“Reggie? Hey! What’s going on? Where are you? I just left your apartment and some white lady answered the door and—”

“Tiffany…Tiffany,” Reggie called my name rapidly to get my attention.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t live there anymore.”

“Well why didn’t you tell me you moved? What’s going on, Reggie? Why haven’t I been able to reach you? What’s up with that?”

Reggie was quiet though I could hear him breathing as if he was sitting right next to me. Then he said, “Tiffany, I need to get some things off of my chest.”

“Reggie—”

“Before you say anything, I want you to listen to me right now. We have been best friends all of our lives and I love you from the depths of my heart. From the deepest parts of my soul, I love you. That love has turned into feelings, feelings you obviously don’t want to…ah…share or explore with me and um…” Reggie stumbled on his words as he tried to relay his thoughts to me. “What I’m trying to say is I need to move on and I know this may sound harsh but I have to move on without you. I’m ready to really start my life and start living. I bought a house, Tiff. I have a new outlook on life and for the first time, I know what I want. I want to settle down, have a family and I want to be happy. I want a wife, a woman who loves me. I want that woman to be you, but since you don’t feel the same way then obviously that can’t happen. So I hope everything goes well for you and Derrick, but I can’t be there to watch another man love the woman I’m in love with. I can’t and I won’t.”

There was nothing I could say. My mouth was numb. Tongue lifeless. My throat was so dry, I dared to swallow. My eyes were watering. Body tense. Stomach had more knots than Buckwheat’s hair.

“Tiffany, I’m sorry baby but…”

I made a right turn into a gas station parking lot, panting.

“Tiffany.”

He called out to me again. My mind wanted to speak but my mouth wasn’t working. I couldn’t even open it.

“Tiffany, I’m sorry.”

Midway into my paralytic state, I flipped my phone closed. Then I felt a long streak of water on my face. I panted harder, thinking that I might need to see a doctor if this continues.

I pulled myself together so I could slowly make my way home. I was dizzy and the smell of gas was adding to my disorientation.

I can’t even remember how I got out of the car. My eyes were flooded. I tripped on my stairs as I stumbled into my apartment like a drunk person. I threw my purse and keys on the floor and laid face down on my bed crying like I’d just lost my best friend. Actually, that’s what happened. I just lost my best friend. Since I had a boyfriend, he couldn’t be tight with me any longer. On top of that, he said he wanted me. But why did he realize that now that I had a boyfriend? Why didn’t he realize it before?

True love should be just that – true, not brought on by a sudden burst of envy. Reggie needed to understand that.