Careful of the Company You Keep. Angie Daniels

agree with the way I raised my child. Too bad. I never wanted my daughter to turn out like me and my siblings. A bunch of spoiled brats. We grew up in a middle-class family, and Kendall, Constance, and I got everything we wanted with a pout and a few tears. Portia acted the exact same way, which was why she had my parents wrapped around her little finger. As a little girl, I had thought the behavior cute, but over the years I learned that my child was a manipulator, and I’ve done everything in my power to nip that shit in the bud.

      “Since you’re not listening, I guess I’ll go upstairs with Alvin.”

      “Mama!” I cried, halting her from moving upstairs and making the whole matter even worse than it already was. As soon as she saw those tears, she’d start taking up for Portia’s lying ass, and I wasn’t having it. “Go home.”

      “What?” she cried, shocked.

      “I said, go home. Let me and Alvin handle this.”

      She released a heavy sigh. “Fine. I got sense enough to know when I’m not wanted.”

      I watched her leave, then took a seat and waited for Alvin to come down the stairs. It was another thirty minutes before he came with his hands tucked in his dark dress slacks. Part of his uppity attire. He was too good to simply wear jeans. When we were together that’s all he owned. Portia followed, came halfway down the stairs, and took a seat.

      “Well?” I asked impatiently. “So how are we going to handle this situation?”

      Alvin started popping his knuckles. He knows I hate when he does that. “I need a moment to get my temper in control, because after what my daughter just told me, I’m ready to go to jail.”

      “Jail?” I barked as I glanced over at the smirk that she quickly shut down. “I told you before you went up the stairs that girl is lying.”

      “And you heard what she said. She isn’t lying.”

      Portia dropped her head.

      “She’s lying. That’s all your daughter knows how to do is lie.”

      Alvin was so angry, he was shooting venom. “Face it. Your man messed with my daughter and I’m going to have his thug ass arrested.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Portia, honey, go get your things. You’re going home with me.”

      Obediently, she moved up the stairs.

      Uh-uh, no, he didn’t just come in and make my ass look like I’m the one to blame. I sprang from the chair. “Make sure you take all your shit, because you ain’t coming back here!”

      Alvin stood there and rocked on the back of his heels. “You sound like a fool.”

      “No, you’re the fool believing your daughter, but then she gets it honest so that explains it all.”

      “That’s the reason why we’re not still together.”

      “We’re not together because I left your sorry ass.” I put my fingers in his face and he had the nerve to laugh at me.

      “I blame you for our daughter being pregnant.”

      “What! How is her spreading her legs with some nappy-headed boy my fault?”

      “If you were giving her the guidance she needed instead of chasing after all those young thugs, none of this would have ever happened.”

      I started laughing because I was so angry and because he sounded crazy as hell. “Go right ahead and press charges against Ron, and I’m going to let the entire world know what kind of tramp your daughter is.”

      “Yes, well . . . and I’ll let the world know that if you weren’t so busy dating men half your age, this would never have happened in the first place.”

      “No, if she’d kept her legs closed then none of this would have happened.” I was too through with him. “Listen, I don’t have time to be arguing with you. I’ve got something to do.” I turned on my heels, grabbed my keys and my purse from the living room.

      “Where you going, to find that nigga?”

      I pierced him with an icy look. “Don’t worry about me. Just take your daughter and be out of my house by the time I get back.”

      I hurried to my Durango, then peeled out of the parking lot and immediately put the car in drive. My cell phone rang and I looked down to see it was Mama. I didn’t feel like hearing her mouth because for once in my life, I knew what I was doing. I loved Ron and he was my man and from now on, he had to come first.

      I just don’t know how I could have been so stupid. Something in my gut had told me my daughter, who had a habit of crying wolf, wasn’t telling the truth, but no, I listened to my friends and did the motherly thing and believed my daughter’s word, even though deep down I knew something wasn’t right. Even after Ron pleaded his innocence.

      See, my daughter had been a problem since she started high school. Meeting men over the Internet. Running away, accusing a college student of raping her. Portia had been out of control. And when she accused Ron of seducing her, I believed he fathered her child no matter how much it hurt me, because it was the right thing to do. What a fool I was.

      As I drove, I thought about the last several weeks and had to blame my boo as well. Damn you, Ron! If he had told me months ago that Portia had walked in on him coming out of the shower, then I would have known how Portia knew he was uncircumcised. Instead, everything had spiraled out of my control and left me with no choice but to believe my daughter. What mother wouldn’t? I know several hos that put their men before their kids. I know of a girl in Portia’s class who had tried to tell her mother her stepfather had been sexually abusing her, but her mother refused to believe her and kicked her out onto the streets. Two days later, the girl hanged herself. It had been all over the news. And that was why I had chosen to believe Portia.

      Angry tears streamed down my face as I made a right at the corner and then a left.

      I met Ron about two and a half years ago. Shop & Save was running a sale on ground chuck and there wasn’t any left in the bin. I rang the bell for the meat department and Ron came out. My tongue was hanging out of my mouth. He was fine as all get-out. Tall, dark, sexy, and a white-toothed smile dripping with charisma. After he brought out a family pack of meat, he asked for my number. That night he called, and by Friday, we’d gone out on our first date. It never bothered me that I was twelve years his senior. Hell, I’d dated men younger than that before. Cornrows braided straight back, jeans hanging off their butts, long white T-shirts and Timberland boots—there wasn’t anything sexier. I didn’t know why I was attracted to those types of men. It wasn’t that I liked young dudes. I just had a thing for thugs, preferably one with a job. As an LPN, I could have dated and probably married a doctor by now. Instead I wanted a man like Ron in my life and I was going to do whatever it took to get him back.

      “He’s gonna forgive me. He’s gonna forgive me.” I chanted that over and over as I drove, and by the time I made it into town, I was sure that he would listen to what I said. After all, Ron loved me as much as I loved him. We’ve split up before but always managed to work it out. A smile curled my lips. Yes, everything was going to be okay, I was certain of it. We had been together two years strong before Portia fucked everything up.

      It didn’t matter what anyone said. Ron was one helluva man. My man. Maybe he didn’t have a legit job and was forever in court for one thing after another. None of that mattered. I loved him and if, correction, when I got him back I’d stand by my man and tell all them haters to kiss my ass. I’m serious, there was just too much time invested in our relationship to just walk away. And that wasn’t happening.

      As I headed east on Providence Road, I started planning the rest of the evening. We definitely needed an entire night of make-up sex. Hopefully, he would just pack his bag and come back home. Hmmm. I would have to remember to drop by the store on my way home. Ron loves getting up in the middle of the night looking for Twinkies. What my man wanted, my man would get. I even planned to take off tomorrow so we could sleep late and then spend the entire day and night