Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire

*JAMIRA*

The weekend flew by, too quickly for my liking. Before I knew it, it was time to go back to work. Fortunately, I had packed a work outfit to leave from Ayana’s house, or I would have been going back home and then to work. That was doing way too much.

Before leaving, I made breakfast to spare Ayana the hassle of cooking. As I stepped out the door, I turned to her and asked if she was okay. She simply stood there, staring at me.

“Do you have to go? Can’t you just call off and stay here?”

“Yana, I’d love to, but you know I can’t. The children…”

“Please, Mira. I need you. You’re the sister I never had.”

It was true. She was the only child, and we had been inseparable since middle school when I first moved to this town. We had shared everything—our first loves, losing our virginity, prom, and everything else in life. Because of that, I knew I couldn’t just leave her, but I also had bills of my own that required me to work. Deep down, she knew that, but I understood that her emotions were weighing on her, giving her the audacity to ask such a question. I empathized.

“Look, how about this? I’ll go home and get more clothes and just stay the week with you while you work through everything that’s going on?”

She wanted to smile, but she just nodded and said, “Deal.”

I was glad she accepted, because it was all I had. I left for work and was there early, to my surprise. I ran into Mr. Greene again. Just as cheerful as always, he greeted me with a smile and coffee this time.

“Oh, for me? I didn’t know you could be so kind.”

“You’re my favorite, just don’t tell any of the other teachers.”

We both laughed. Surely he didn’t know I was going to run into him this morning, so this was probably for anyone. I knew a blessing when I saw one, so I wasn’t going to question it. I followed Mr. Greene into his office to discuss my previous proposal. Now that the festival was over, maybe he would have some good news for me.

“Mr. Greene, about my proposal for the sleepover.”

“Ah, yes, I presented the idea to a few of my superiors, and they seem to be impressed. Considering the young age of the children and the presence of their parents, there’s minimal room for error.”

“Are you implying what I believe you are?”

“Yes, Ms. Hines, yes, you can have your sleepover. We were thoroughly impressed with the work you and your team have done on the festival, and we would like to witness more of your capabilities.”

Overwhelmed with excitement, I began to scream and rushed to embrace him.

“Hey, I’d prefer to retain my hearing if you don’t mind. Now, get to class; you have work to complete.”

“Thank you so much! I assure you, you won’t regret it!”

I headed to my classroom to jot down a few notes to bring to the committee so that we can discuss the specifics of the sleepover.

The day flew by quickly. Before I knew it, I was releasing my class to go home.

As the classroom emptied, I pulled Malaysia aside and shared the wonderful news with her, showing her the notes I had written. However, she didn’t seem as enthusiastic as she was about the festival, so I had to convince her of its merits.

“Girl, I’m not sure. Why a sleepover?”

“Malaysia, are you serious? It’s a fun and enjoyable activity for the children who don’t usually get to spend time at their friends’ houses.”

“Can I skip this one?”

“Malaysia, please don’t do that. You never know, Malik’s dad might show up, and you could potentially move in on him. It’ll be dark and cold.”

She looked off into the distance, as if she was seriously contemplating my words. Then, a wide, Kool-Aid grin spread across her face.

“You know what? You’re right. I can make my move and pretend to be scared and all that.”

“Calm down, we’re not playing any scary movies. Remember, this is for the children.”

She walked over to my desk and sat down in my chair. For a moment, she was lost in her thoughts, contemplating something.

“You think that could work, though? I know I’m fine and all, but you think he’d let me take him for a spin?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“At the festival, I attempted to make a move on him, but he simply curved me and mentioned that he was currently focused on his son but was open to being friends.”

“What’s wrong with that?” I asked.

“Girl, I’m not trying to be his friend. I’m trying to be his lady for the night,” she replied.

We both burst into laughter. I never knew what she would say, but I knew it would be outrageous.

“So, basically, he has standards and expects you to work for it?”

“Exactly. I don’t have to like you to do you, do I?”

“Malaysia, you know I don’t care either way. If you do him that’s cool. If you don’t, that’s cool too.”

“Aww, boo. Just support me, Jamira. Ugh.”

I rolled my eyes and smiled. She’s crazy.

“Okay, if it’s support you want, all I can say is this: go and get that penis, sis.”

“PERIOD,” she exclaimed with an excitement that surprised me.

“Okay, well, I have to get going. I’ll send a text in the group chat about the sleepover so we can start. Hopefully, we’ll be able to finish it by the end of the month.”

Malaysia waved at me, and I left without a second thought. I drove home, thinking about the next committee meeting and letting the others know our plans. Then, I remembered that I was only getting clothes and going back to Ayana’s.

I pulled up and saw an unusual car parked in my spot. It was strange, but nothing to be upset about. Maybe Chris had a guest over. But who would be here on a Monday?

When I walked through the door, what I saw made my head spin. Standing in my living room was Keema and my “man” arguing as if they knew each other. It wasn’t like how him and Ayana argued, but there was a palpable tension between them.

I stood there for a few seconds before they noticed me.

“You said you were going to leave her a long time ago!”

“I never said that! I love her, and you know that!”

“You weren’t saying that last week!”

My eyes widened at that because last week, he wasn’t home one of those days. I never would have imagined he’d been with her. My breathing became heavier as my heart sank to my stomach.

It was then that Chris finally turned his head and saw me clutching my chest and reaching for the wall. Keema merely turned, crossed her arms, and rolled her eyes. Chris rushed to my aid, but I pushed him off and made my way to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water. I gulped it down as if it were the first time I had tasted it.

Once I had caught my breath, I was furious.

“You want to tell me what the actual fuck is going on?!”

Chris looked at me, stunned, almost too scared to speak.

“Just tell her, Chris! I’m tired of hiding.”

“Shut the fuck up, Keema!”

“What is she talking about? Tell me what!” I demanded immediately.

“Baby, it’s nothing.”

Desperate for answers, I pulled out one of the knives from the drawer and started pointing it in their direction.

“One of you bitches better get to talking or I’m slitting both of your throats!”

I didn’t intend to hurt them; I just wanted to make them think I would so they would talk. Safe to say, it worked, or she was truly tired of hiding.

“Look, Jamira, I know we aren’t exactly friends. But Chris has been coming over my house for a while behind your back.”

My mind and vision blurred at that revelation.

“How long is a while?”

“A year.”

“A year! A fucking year, Chris! How could you?!”

I tried to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill out of my eyes.

“In his defense, he was my baby daddy. So it makes sense that he was coming back.”

“Ba… baby? Say what now? There’s a baby!”

At this point, the tears were streaming down my face like waterfalls.

Chris then interrupted the conversation, making things worse.

“She was pregnant… she lost it a while back. It was early in the pregnancy.”

Before I could process what I had just heard, I felt my hand go across his face, splitting his lip. He tried to apologize while wiping the blood from his mouth. All I could hear was ringing in my ears as I tried to make sense of everything that had just happened.

“You got her pregnant and made me feel like shit for fucking someone else when you were doing the same thing! You really had me out here looking stupid.”

“I’m so sorry, Mira. Please forgive me.”

I didn’t even bother acknowledging him anymore. I turned and walked towards Keema, who stood there with a smug expression on her face. It was one that said, “Ah ha!” It felt like she was mocking me with her eyes. That made me furious.

Before I knew it, my closed fist connected with her face. One hit, two hits, three hits. She hit the floor hard. Holding her face, she tried to feel the damage done to her jaw. I stood over her, pointing my finger at her head.

“And you, you smiled in my face and hung out with me. The whole time, you were trying to have a baby with my man!”

I delivered one final blow to her head. Then, I ran upstairs, got my things, and headed for the door. Before I left, I snarled at them both. I wasn’t sure which emotion was stronger—anger or sadness.