CHAPTER TWENTY
Her ringing phone woke her up and she answered it quickly. “Hello?” Then she looked at the time. It was just before three a.m. “Hello?”
“Hey baby.”
Joy froze when she heard that voice. She almost wanted to end the call right then and there. “Yes?”
“How you doing baby?”
She closed her eyes. And opened them again. “I’m okay.”
“I heard you was locked up. That’s why I was so surprised to see you. But I saw Tony at the club and he said you got out.”
Joy didn’t respond to that.
“I’m happy for you. That’s real good.”
Another long pause.
“Who was that white man you was with anyway? He was driving around in that fancy Mercedes. He’s rich ain’t he?”
Joy could not believe she was hearing this. “Ma, what do you want?”
There was another pause “Baby I owe this dude some money okay? Serious money. I need you to help me out.”
“Money?” Joy frowned. “Ma, I just got out of jail yesterday. Where I’m getting money from?”
“I hear you staying with that white man. He got money, don’t he? Well don’t he? You can get him to shoot you a few bucks.”
Joy could not believe it. “Bye Ma!” She angrily ended the call. Then she laid on her back disgusted.
That woman, that woman, that woman! Never gave a damn about her and now she wanted money because she thought her own daughter was whoring for some rich man.
Even she had to know Joy was nothing like that.
But that was good old ma. If she would do it, she figured everybody else would do it too.
Even her own daughter. Joy shook her head.
Although it was still early, she figured it was as good a time as any to get on up.
She was used to getting up before the crack of dawn in that jailhouse anyway, and she knew, after that phone call, she wasn’t hardly going back to sleep.
So she got up and made up her bed. Then she brushed her teeth and gargled and took yet another bath in that tub.
Not that she needed one. She didn’t. But she so enjoyed the first one so much that she couldn’t wait to take another one. Those showers in jail were a joke.
But when she got out and was drying off, she suddenly heard what sounded like William’s voice in distress.
“No! Stop it! Stop it! Nooo!”
Joy’s heart dropped as she dropped the towel, threw on William’s dress shirt that she’d slept in, and ran into the bedroom looking for a weapon to grab. When she saw the iron fireplace poker leaned against the fireplace, she grabbed it and hurried nervously to her bedroom door.