“Then the motherfucker followed her, walked right up to her face.”
“Damn. Probably a brother from the Eastside. You know how bold those niggas are.”
“Same way we used to be.”
“Wish I could count the fights we had with those fools.”
I went on, “It wasn’t him that got to me. That’s the crap that happens when you with somebody that’s half decent. What got me was her reaction to the situation. Looked like she was about to shit on herself.”
“She knew him.”
“Yep.”
He asked, “An ex or what?”
“Hell if I know. I’m pretty sure I’m the only man she’s dated since she came out here.”
“Man, you better wake up. You know the game. A woman will never tell a man about all the dicks she’s had the pleasure of meeting. She can be forty with five kids and she’ll still be crying virgin.”
“Lower your voice, Womack. Respect my side of Crenshaw.”
“Sorry. Just trying to fit in.”
“Anyway, where was I—yeah, Dana said the wait for a table was too long, and she grabbed me, damn near dragged me out of the joint, said she’d rather go to the Cheesecake Factory.”
Womack understood what I was saying. My partner in crime said, “Dana made you drive across town to get to the Shark Bar, then as soon as you get to the place, made you leave the Shark Bar and drive all the way to Marina Del Rey to the Cheesecake Factory, a forty-minute drive from Hollywood.”
“Plus . . .”
“What?”
“It’s simple, but it was something. Maybe that’s what got me to thinking there was more to it that what she said.”
“What was that?”
“All that time she was gone, she said she went to go pee. When we got back in the car, she still had to pee. Made me stop at a gas station.”
Womack stiffened his tone. “Why didn’t you rattle her cage right then?”
I shrugged. “Thought I might’ve been overreacting.”
“Damn.” Womack puffed out some air. He got up and headed toward his car, said, “Keep your ear to the ground.”
“You know it.”
“Gotta go tuck my crew in bed, if they ain’t already ’sleep.”
He took half a step before he turned around and asked me, “You got books about Africa in your crib?”
“A couple.”
I knew what that was all about. The Ethiopians had hit a sore spot. It’s always bothered him that he didn’t get that four-year degree. There have been times when he wanted a promotion, stepped up to the office, told the man, and the man told him that even though he had the experience and the know-how, that even though he was always on time, hardly took a sick day, he didn’t have that little piece of paper that separated folks like us from folks like them. Between wife, four kids, work, Harmonica having up and down health, Womack has given a lot of years to others, but the years haven’t given Womack the time to do anything for himself.
He said, “Next time you’re over my way, if you remember, drop them off. I wanna read up on them places. Kids had me so wrapped up in Barney and Bananas in Pajamas that it’s been a while since I had a chance to sit down and read. I’m starting to forget a lot of stuff.”
“I’ll bring ’em by tomorrow.”
“Thanks.”
Womack walked away, a load pulling his face down. All of a sudden, he looked as ancient as a pyramid. Older than Harmonica would ever live to be. With the little that he’s had, my friend has done a lot. Has taken care of everybody in his reach. Left his dreams behind and became a man. Not the man he had planned on being, not that civil rights attorney he’d dreamed of being, but in some ways, a better kind of man.
I yelled, “Womack, you never answered my question the other day.”
He yawned out his words, “What question?”
“Tracy Chapman or Whoopie Goldberg?”
He laughed so hard he started wheezing. I did the same.
When I calmed down, I caught my breath and said, “Okay, okay. I withdraw that one. Nia Long or Vivica Fox?”
“Now you talking.” He perked up, fell into a mackdaddy stance, held his crotch. “Nia Long on my love jones bone. I’d have her in the bathroom, leg skraight—and I did say skraight—skraight up in the air, just like she was in Soul Food.”
“Hey, why don’t you try that with Rosa Lee?”
A wicked smile crept across his lips. “How you thank we ended up with four kids, fool?”