“Red,” Tack whispered.
I shook my head. “No, it’s okay. I’ve decided just now to let it go because, looking back on it, it was stupid. I should never have let it get to me.”
“It ain’t stupid. That shit is whacked,” he clipped.
This response surprised me but the vehemence with which it was uttered surprised me more.
“Really?” I asked.
“Fuck yeah,” he bit out. “Christ, bitches. They’re the worst. I’ll take a pissed off man, his fists and the best man wins any time. But bitches, no. They play their mind games, f**k with your head. Jesus, darlin’, I hate that happened to you.”
Wow, that was sweet too. Very sweet.
“Are you, um… speaking from experience?” I asked.
“Yeah, experiencing you tellin’ me that shit,” he answered. “But no. There’s a reason I am who I am, where I am and do what I do. I got a minefield of politics I have to negotiate but I also got a brain in my head, I’m smart enough to be cautious, I got my own weapons and I’m not afraid to use them. What I don’t got is bitches who play mind games because they’re pissed off about somethin’ in their lives. Or they’re pissed off that they’re small, not good enough and know it and instead of doin’ better, workin’ harder, they gotta tear down someone who doesn’t carry their load of shit. Jealousy is an ugly emotion that makes people do some seriously whacked shit and when a woman is experiencing it, it’s worse. No, I am who I am, where I am and do what I do to avoid that kind of bullshit hassle.”
I had to admit, it felt nice not only that he didn’t belittle that situation but also that he understood it. And more, that he was angry on my behalf because it happened to me.
Before I could find the words to share this with him, Tack spoke again.
“So what’d you do?”
“I quit.”
His head tipped to the side. “That’s it?”
“Well. Yeah. One day, I’d had enough and it hit me. I wasn’t going to be incarcerated for quitting my job. I had enough money to get by for a while. I wasn’t eating and I couldn’t even brush my teeth. That poison was infecting me. She was winning. So I packed up my desk and walked out. I didn’t even tell my boss I was going. I just left.”
“You didn’t f**k with her back?”
“No. I just left.”
“Babe, someone f**ks with you, you f**k back.”
“Looking back, she didn’t deserve the effort.”
“Wrong.”
It was me who blinked this time.
“Pardon?”
“Wrong. Bitches should not get away with that.”
“Tack, she has to live her small life knowing she’s not good enough and swimming in her own poison. That’s her penance.”
“Wrong again, Red.”
“But –” I started, his arms gave me a squeeze and I stopped talking.
“That shit starts, you key her car. It continues, you slash her tires. That shit keeps goin’, you get creative.”
His words surprised me so much my, “What?” was high-pitched.
“Life is lessons and she needs to learn hers.”
“By keying her car and slashing her tires?” That was high-pitched too.