28. Talitha
Talitha
“Come on, Gema. I guess this will have to do.” I frowned my face up at the outfit my mama had thrown across the bed for Gema to put on.
Had I known her ass was going to be this petty, I would’ve stopped and bought her something to wear. Just yesterday she looked presentable and today she gon’ pull out this bullshit.
The black velour track suit was full of lint and looked like some shit that Gema had for a couple of years. Hell, I had never seen it so clearly it was some shit she kept at her house for her.
“Law out there?” Gema asked.
“Ummhmm. I tried to get him to stay in the car, but he thought I was gon’ sock yo’ child in the eye.”
“Knowing you, he prolly right.” Gema laughed. “What we eating?”
“Your favorite, of course,” I gushed.
“As long as I can add the blueberries to my waffle, I’ll take it.”
“Gema.” I laughed. “You know those aren’t actual blueberries.”
“Ummhmm I’m knowing it,” she acknowledged.
Diabetes and all, my girl pushed it every time. She knew she wasn’t supposed to have a bunch of sweet shit, but I let her indulge from time to time. Only because I made sure her levels were checked three times a day. If at any point they started reading high, we would lay off the sweets.
My mama n’em on the other hand ain’t give her shit. Gema knew all of the indicators to determine if her sugar was high or not, but they’d rather treat her like an invalid instead of listening to her.
“They been giving you those pills I packed.”
“Litha have. She took me to the Walmarts and got ‘em transferred back down here.”
“And I’mma transfer ‘em the fuck back when I get home. Those were ninety-day supplies, by the time you need a refill, you will be back at home.”
“How Jessie doing?”
“As good as can be expected. Worried about you.”
“Yo’ mama… I swear.” Gema shook her head.
Tying the string on her shoe, I stood. “She was your daughter first. You ready to go Bertha Mae?”
“Ready for that waffle.” Stepping past me, Gema slowly walked out of her room. I grabbed her purse off the dresser and tossed her pill case in it.
Following her out of the door, I told her to head to the living room where Law was and tell him they could go to the car. I needed to get that phone from my mama. Her ass had been hiding in the back since I walked through the door.
“Jalitha!” I yelled as I walked down the hall toward her room.
“What?” she shouted back.
“Girl,” I groused, swiping at my nose. I laughed it off. “I need that phone.”
I stood at her room door and waited for her to open it up. I wasn’t playing when I said she wasn’t ‘bout to have my granny round here without any way to communicate with me.
Thank God Corrine was able to make the few strides that she did. The way my mama was acting, who knew when I was gon’ be able to see Gema if she hadn’t gotten the judge to sign off on it.
The sound of her unlocking the door had my eyes turning to slits. Scary ass did all of that talking to turn around and lock herself up in the damn room.
“Here.” She shoved her arm through a small crack and handed me the phone.
I snatched it out of her hand. “I’ll bring Gema back later on.”
“What time cause I gotta give her meds at a specific time?”
“Don’t play with me. I got her and her meds. I been doing this longer than you have,” I spat and slid the phone in my back pocket. “I’ll call you when we’re on the way back.”
I turned to walk away, but before I could make it down the hall I spun around. “Matter fact, I’mma bring her to her house. It would be wise of you and the rest of ‘em to meet me there. The tenants included.” Without giving her time to offer a rebuttal, I walked away.
* * *
“Why y’all not eating?” Gema asked and forked a piece of blueberry waffle that was drenched with sugar free syrup into her mouth. The three of us was smooshed in one of those tiny ass booths at Waffle House talking while Gema enjoyed her all-star breakfast.
“We ate earlier. We gon’ go for dinner before I drop you back off.”
“You handle that?”
“I did. I got all of the paperwork in the car. I can’t evict the folks living in your house but I’m meeting with them later and I’ll have them deposit the rent money into your account.”
“Litha ain’t got access to it do she?”
“I wouldn’t give your daughter access to my piggy bank,” I rasped, making her and Law laugh.
“Gema, your baby has been on one since we touched down. She tried to fight her mama earlier.”
“She ‘bout need to. I should’ve whooped her ass a long time ago.”
“Somebody should’ve. And where she get this too little outfit from,” I fussed. “She knew to pick you something better out.”
“She claims she ain’t want me to ruin my good clothes. Tuh,” Gema scoffed. “I told her all my good clothes back at yo’ house.”
“I know that pissed her off,” I tittered. “Prolly the reason she sent you out with them high waters on. Then the socks so long they damn hear touching the hem of them pants.”
“You know that girl ain’t got good fashion sense.” That made Law laugh so hard.
“I can’t wait for you to come home, Gema. I ain’t been back to work since you left.”
“You can’t do that, Tali. If it wasn’t for him–” She tossed her head at Law. “Being your boss, you would’ve been fired. Perks of laying under the boss I reckon,” she whispered the last part, but I heard her clearly.
“Bertha Mae, if you don’t cut it out.”
“I’m just saying.” She laughed.
“I wouldn’t have fired her, Gema. I understand life doesn’t began and end with work. All of my employees know I understand if their mind isn’t on the job, I can’t expect them to perform at their best. I would’ve still given her the time off.”
Giving him a pointed stare, she asked, “Who you tryna convince Law?”
“Keep me on my toes then Gema,” he teased.
“Before you drop me back off Tali, I want you to call Jessie so I can check on her.”
Her saying that reminded me that I still had her phone. Pulling it out of my purse, I sat it on the table beside her. “Don’t let her take it again, or me and you gon’ have a problem.”
“I ain’t know she had it to begin with. I went looking for it the other day and couldn’t find it.”
“Well, this time make sure you keep it on you. I’ll get you another charger cause I’on know what she did with the one you had.”
“Threw it away knowing her.”
“You ‘bout right. Hurry up and finish your food so we can go.”
* * *
After breakfast, Law and I took Gema to Walmart and got her a few more jogging suits. I made sure to grab her another phone charger. I even went as far as grabbing her a few of her favorite snacks.
While she rode around the store in the motorized scooter, Law and I filled up the basket with everything we figured she would need.
We’d stayed out long enough for us to have dinner and when Gema told me she was ready to take it in, I called my mama and told her to meet me at the house.
When I pulled up, everybody car was in the driveway along with a few cars that I’d never seen before, I assumed they belonged to the people renting the house.
My mama was damn lucky the outside of the house looked like it did when I moved. The inside better match as well.
Tapping my hand on the screen door, I waited for somebody to come to the door. When my cousin, Patrice, stepped into view, I knew like hell my eyes was playing tricks on me.
“Patrice, what you doing here?”
“Yo’ mama ain’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“I’m renting the house from her.”
“This bitch,” I mumbled. “Come on Law.” I waved for him and Gema to come inside.
“What this ‘bout Tali?” Willearl asked.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” When Law helped Gema sit down on the couch, I stood in front of the TV with the bank envelopes tucked under my arms. “When I left here, I thought we had an understanding on how things were supposed to work.
My Mama rented this house out and to her without my knowledge and hasn’t sent a dime of it to Gema. Going forward Patrice, whatever you pay her a month needs to be sent via money gram to me or you can deposit in Gema account.”
“I use that money to keep up the house,” my mama blurted.
“Shouldn’t be no upkeep. And if it is, that’s the tenants responsibility unless something breaks. And if that’s the case, Patrice got my number and know how to reach out to me.”
“This my mama house, Tali. You can’t tell me what to do with it.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Grabbing the envelope, I pulled the deed out and handed it to her. “This is my house. Not only do I own this property, but I own y’alls as well.”
“Wait a minute… what you mean you own ours?” Willearl asked.
“Papa Joe signed over every property that he owned to me.”
“You don’t own my house,” my mama popped.
“Actually, I do.” Pulling out her deed and the paperwork from the quick sale, I passed it to her. “Your husband fell behind on the property taxes. I bought it before the bank foreclosed on it. Ask Joe Lee, he will tell you.”
“This some bullshit. Mama, you let Daddy do this?” Louise asked in that shaky ass voice that pissed me off.
“I ain’t let Joe do nothing. He did that all on his own.”
“Correct. Gema had no idea. I don’t have no issues with none of y’all…
my only issue is with that one.” I pointed at my mama.
“I don’t want y’all house and y’all don’t owe me shit.
I’m willing to sign all of them over to y’all if y’all sister drop this bullshit ass abuse claim against Mrs. Jessie and bring Gema back home. ”
“Litha!”
“Willearl don’t call my name. Y’all ain’t see that purple bruise on Mama. Ain’t no way a fall in the shower caused that.”
“Gema is clumsy. She has to be watched at all times. You ain’t never seen me just let her walk around freely. The few times I do, I’m always close by. She don’t get around like she used to so a slip and fall is common. Why the fuck you think she wears that necklace around her neck.”
“What necklace?” she asked and looked over at Gema.
“You mean to tell me you ain’t paid no attention to the necklace around Gema neck.”
“We thought it was a regular necklace,” Betty Jo countered.