Train rides to the westside were always interesting, especially at night. Thankfully, so far Lil' Jamal was sleeping softly through the hour-and-a-half commute home. I wish I could go back to a time where life was that simple. "There's nothing more beautiful than watching a baby sleeping," I thought. However, that thought was abruptly disrupted by a vociferous passenger.
"Excuse me, everyone, may I have your attention, please? EVERYBODY LISTEN UP!!" He screeched.
The man looked completely unkempt and ready to risk it all. The looks on the surrounding passenger's faces immediately showed both apprehension and irritation. So, who was this man and why the hell was he shouting? We all knew he could only want one of a few things— to preach, to rob us, beg for money, or sell something.
The disheveled man reached into his pocket, and everyone guardedly held their breath. After a brief struggle to remove the mysterious contents, he pulls out a pocket bible. Audible groans filled the train car.
"Do you know God? If not, you're going to hell unless you give your life to him today! RIGHT NOW!" He blared.
Rather than put up with the disturbance, I switched train cars at the next station. Once settled, I pulled out my phone to see who I could bother with a phone call. The call to my sister went unanswered, so instead, I called my bestie Mone'. I was curious to see whether or not she had gone on the date with her newest prospect. The man was super fine with a 6'4 frame, and chiseled body to match. Mone' answered after a couple of rings.
"Sis, why haven't you called me since yesterday?" I interrogated.
"Biiiiiiiiiitch, let me tell you about the foolery that happened last night...never again! Hold on a sec," Mone' abruptly put the phone on hold to end the call on her other line.
"Yeah, hello?" Mone' says in a calm manner.
"Girl, don't play with me! Quit stalling! You know I have to know all your business, so spill the tea." I urged.
"Calm down," she laughed. "Soooooo, I don't know why I even wasted my time last night. Basically, we wanted to keep it simple, so we went out for drinks at that new bar downtown.
"The Loop bar?" I interrupted.
"Nah, Tantrum." Mone' corrected. "So, anyway, the night was going smoothly, right...the conversation was...AMAZING! He's an intellectual and I love it! You can totally tell that he is not from Chicago.
"Okaaaaaaay, so what's the issue? Sounds like a winner to me, what's the tea sis?" I asked impatiently.
"You didn't let me finish! Tell me why this man has an ex-wife who put a restraining order on him! He definitely tried to downplay the situation. But, even though he volunteered the info, I still looked him up when I left! B**ch, you know I had to do a quick background check." She laughed. "Apparently he spent 2 years in prison for violating said restraining order and aggravated stalking! I cannot!" Mone' exclaimed.
"Shut up!" I shrieked in disbelief, forgetting where I was for a second. "Guess I'm not the only one who attracts crazy ninjas. Girl, get out of that situation as fast as you can!"
"It gets even crazier! At the end of the night, his card was declined twice when he tried to pay for our drinks," Mone' complained. "Girl, I was heated and embarrassed! His excuse was he went over his limit for the day, so I had to foot the bill. In his defense though, the next morning he shot me a quick-pay for the bill so I got my money back, but still..."
I shook my head at the craziness I had heard. The rest of the phone call took up much of the train ride and was full of soap opera-worthy drama. Hearing about Mone's date from hell almost made me glad I wasn't out on the market just yet. Trey was enough to make me want to be single and celibate for the rest of the foreseeable future. I did, however, still, want to go out and at least be seen. After all, I had dropped most of the baby weight and wanted to see if I could still pull a couple of fine ones.
The Puerto Rican parade was happening that weekend, so I knew that would be the perfect time to test the waters. Only one thing was standing in the way of my plans— the baby...
YOU ARE READING
Fault
Non-Fiction"If you leave me, I will kill you," he said. This is how my story started. I left him 7 months ago, he'll swear we never parted. Recollections of such memories just brings my eyes to tears, it's the most pain I've ever experienced in my 21 years...t...
