TWO
The transfer was finalized and within two weeks, Jabari began at Willowcrest Prep. Once his tuition had been paid and all the minor details had been hashed out, Tammy prepared to bring Jabari over for his first day at school.
Tammy hated firsts almost as much as she hated lasts. The stress, the caffeine overdose, and the pounding in her chest usually meant a tension headache later.
It had been a long time since she driven her little boy to school. But since it was his first day and Willowcrest was her old stomping ground, she wanted to make sure that he was introduced to everyone and that she could get a chance to speak to Headmaster Duffy in person and thank him for the second chance she’d been waiting for.
Tammy got ready quickly, dressing to impress without seeming as if she were too fixated on appearances.
At 31 years old, her skin had no sign of wrinkles. Growing up, Tammy had stayed out of the sun. Her parents always warned her about ruining her perfect skin and Tammy guessed it was starting to pay off.
“Black only cracks if you let it,” her mother would say, before forcing a hat on Tammy’s face to protect her skin.
Tammy’s skin was a deep coffee color. She stood at a willowy five foot eight. Despite her slim frame, her body possessed soft, gentle curves.
She had large breasts, a smooth stomach and an ass that was to die for. She slipped into a navy dress that hugged her curves and smoothed out her figure. Her youth and her beauty caused envy around town. Tammy was sure that was why most of the married women hated her, and death gripped their husbands whenever she was around.
Jabari leaned back and sighed, as if he were suddenly embarrassed of his young mother and her flashy red Audi.
“Is everything okay Jay?” Tammy asked him.
She brushed a bit of her hair out of her face.
“I dunno. I guess I’m nervous,” Jabari confessed.
Tammy replied, “It’s okay to be nervous. But you grew up hearing stories of Willowcrest. I’m sure it’s still the same… No matter what you make amazing friends and you’ll get the best education out there.”
Just talking about amazing friends made Tammy feel a little sad. Some of the best friends of her life had gone on after Willowcrest to accomplish amazing things. Tammy always worried about not living up to her potential. Not to mention, compared to her happily married friends, Tammy’s love life was a disaster and it had been ever since Randall.
It wasn’t long before she pulled the car into the parking lot of Willowcrest Prep’s admissions office. When she set foot in that familiar brick building, Tammy felt at home. She had never felt such a wave of nostalgia before. Tammy had not set foot in the building since her 10th high school reunion. Had it really been that long ago? Jabari followed her into the building. For his first day of school he was dressed up in long khaki pants with a navy blue polo. He looked handsome and like his father.
Tammy cringed at the thought. Tammy was proud of her son. He was so different from his father…
Once inside the admissions building, Tammy knocked on the door to Stanley Duffy’s office. She hadn’t seen him in person in years. She remembered when he was a middle-aged teacher. Now, Stanley Duffy was an old man and the headmaster of the school he had served faithfully for so many years. Stanley Duffy invited Tammy and her son into his office.
“Good afternoon Miss Powers,” Stanley huffed. He had gained about 100 pounds since Tammy had last seen him. His fat was covered in wrinkled, sunburned skin. Stan Duffy still had his signature mustache from his younger days and his classic tortoiseshell glasses. He peered over them with his bright blue eyes and looked at Tammy and her son with a mixture of nostalgia and joy.
“Is this young man Jabari Powers?” Headmaster Duffy boomed.
“Yes sir,” Jabari replied. He stuck out his hand to shake Headmaster Duffy’s. After a firm, strong handshake, Stan Duffy gave Tammy and her son idea of how things would work now that Jabari was enrolling half way through the fall semester.
Tammy could already tell that Jabari was excited to be surrounded by students who cared just as much about their education. As Headmaster Duffy gave him a run down of the school, his eyes gleamed with excitement.
This was a big change for her son. Once the Headmaster had told them where to go next, Tammy gave her son a hug and a kiss on the cheek before leaving the Admissions Office.
After sending Jabari off, Tammy gazed at him bounding down the hall.
You have to stop worrying. She told herself.
Tammy had to figure out where to go to join the parent teachers association. Since she was unemployed, she wanted to give her all by investing in Jabari. If she didn’t join the PTA, there would be no chance of her making friends with the other moms.
It won’t help to be more of an outsider.
Once Tammy had made it her business to get the e-mail address of the PTA secretary, she headed home to make an unfortunate phone call. Randall had begged her to keep in touch every once in awhile about Jabari’s life. If she didn’t call Randall about a big change like private school, she was certain he would be furious. Tammy couldn’t stop Jabari from speaking with his father so Randall would most certainly find out.
The man had been absolutely lazy about being a part of Jabari’s life but would randomly make demands like this. Tammy didn’t want to deal with Randall any more than she had to.
“Wassup babygirl?” Randall began when he answered Tammy’s phone call. Randall seem to live in a dream world where Tammy was still interested in him. Tammy wondered how on earth he managed to keep up this delusion. She tried to keep things professional.
They had a child together but none of Tammy’s love for Randall was present anymore. Had it ever really been “love” or was it all a manipulation. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that she despised Randall on some level.
“Hey Randall. I just called to tell you that in Jabari is starting at Willowcrest today,” Tammy said.
She was already regretting this phone call. The last thing she wanted to do was have Randall get started on whatever would inevitably upset him about her phone call.
“At Willowcrest? Who the hell is paying for that?” Randall barked.
Tammy felt her blood pressure rising. Randall didn’t even pay child support. He hadn’t invested more than $10 into Jabari in the past five years. What did he mean who was paying for it? She was the one who always paid for everything. He was clearly asked this question to get a rise out of Tammy and it worked.
Randall knew how to push her buttons.
“Well who the hell do you think is paying for it?” Tammy yelled back.
This was always how their arguments began. Randall would instigate her and Tammy would take the bait and fall for it. Randall launched into a long rant about Tammy and how she never let him see his son. That was always Randall’s go to argument when he knew he had no ground to stand on. He wanted to distract Tammy from the fact that he hadn’t paid a cent of child support and was barely involved in Jabari’s life at all. Tammy couldn’t believe she was actually sitting there listening to this shit.
She ended the conversation fast, cutting off Randall before he could insult her further.
“You know what Randall, I’m going to go cook dinner now. I don’t have time for your crap. Call me when you’re ready to be a real father to Jabari,” She barked before hanging up the phone.
Tammy hoped that Randall would stay far away from Jabari. He had no idea what it meant to be a real father. But the way he’d been talking made it seem like he had plans to show up in her son’s life again. He only ever did that when he felt like he had something to gain.
Her skin crawled at the idea of having to see him regularly.
Randall ruined everything he touched and he was a danger to everyone who was close to him. Tammy had found that out at a young age, but although young, it was still too late. Randall was toxic. And now, Tammy had to deal with him for the rest of her life. What’s worse, she wasn’t sure how much she could protect her son from him.