ELEVEN
Stephanie wasn’t the only person who was starting to get curious about what Tammy Powers was up to. She had spent years avoiding the spotlight of her tiny town, but the second a new man popped up, everyone seemed to be interested in Tammy all over again.
Randall had grown suspicious of Tammy around the same night Victor had slept over at his place. He had the feeling his hold on her was slippery. Randall toyed with the idea of trying to get Tammy back ever so often and now he was starting to see that getting her back might not even be possible.
She wasn't ready to fight him anymore. She would just look at him with those blank eyes... as if she was finished with him.
Randall couldn't have that. He had male urges after all and if he wanted Tammy to satisfy them, he saw it as her place to do so. That was his son she had after all. They were bound...for life.
I can get her back. Randall thought to himself.
He didn't concern himself with the technicalities of how he'd make that happen.
Randall knew he'd have to keep Tammy in line again. He didn't care who she thought she was seeing. He was her baby daddy... That meant something.
Randall rolled a cigarette, sprinkling a few crushed marijuana leaves onto the top and licking it closed.
Jabari is my son. She's turning him into a bitch. Randall thought.
Why should Jabari learn math and science? The only math he needed was how to keep track of his money. Randall considered himself a hustler. He wasn't one of those men who needed a job to hold him down. He weaseled in and out of trouble and found money wherever he could.
The man don't own me. Randall would say this to his son but Jabari would only stare at him blankly.
She's making a divide between us.
Of course, this was Tammy's fault. He should have known that girl was too dumb for her own good. He'd tricked her so easily into bearing his child but her naivete was no longer attractive to Randall, especially now as she was growing out of it.
He knew she'd need to be kept in line. Randall finished his cigarette and emptied the rest of his malt liquor. Tammy had ruined his life when she'd left him. But he'd always been comforted by the fact that she could take him back. Her distance meant something had changed.
Randall didn't like change. That woman would have to be kept in line...
***
Tammy walked into her living room after a long afternoon of running errands. She pushed the door open without turning the lock and she remembered finding that strange. She'd recalled locking the door. The neighborhood wasn't one for much criminal activity so Tammy didn't think much of it.
She heard a voice call out to her.
“Good afternoon baby,” Randall called to Tammy.
Tammy flinched, her stomach turning as she recognized why her door had been unlocked.
“JESUS CHRIST! RANDALL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE!” Tammy screamed.
“I’m waiting for you baby,” He continued.
He was drunk again. Or high. Or both.
If he were here, that meant he was up to no good. How the hell did he even get in? Jabari wasn’t home. Tammy had no one to call out to and Randall's presence never meant anything good. She needed to figure out an escape plan. Randall stood up, eliminating some of the distance between them. Dashing out of her house into the street would be decidedly unhelpful.
“What do you want Randall,” Tammy huffed.
She tried to make her body language as big and imposing as possible. She needed Randall to know that if he came here for funny business he wouldn’t be able to avoid her kicking and screaming.
Randall looked Tammy in the eye like she was his prey.
“Babygirl, I thought you should know that I’ve been spending a real nice amount of time with Jabari. I’ve been a real daddy to him these days. I thought you’d wanna know that he seems happy with all of this. I’m stepping up. I’m the man you want me to be,” he said.
Tammy wasn’t impressed.
Randall continued, “I’ve been thinking about taking Jay to the strip club this weekend. You know… I want him to be a real man, real familiar with how to treat a girl.”
Bile rose to the back of Tammy’s throat. Hot rage rushed to her face.
“You aren’t taking my thirteen year old to a strip club. Randall, I swear to God…” Tammy began.
Randall saw that he was losing ground fast.
He interrupted Tammy, “Fine, fine, no strip club. But I gotta ask Tammy… Speaking about that… You seeing anybody?”
Tammy rolled her eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was tell Randall anything about her personal life.
"No. I'm not."
"I think you're lying," he accused.
"I'm not."
Randall asked, “Who is it? I have a right to know who the hell is going to be around my son.”
“I’m sorry Randall but that’s none of your business,” Tammy replied, hiding her frustration.
"He's my son," Randall hissed, "Don't you think it's my right to know what kind of niggas you'll be bringing around him."
Tammy snorted.
"Since when do you care about who is influencing you son?"
"Are you mocking me?" Randall growled.
He approached Tammy, standing a few feet away from her. His nostrils flared and Tammy saw that large vein sticking out of his head that indicated he was angry.
"What are you going to do Randall? Break into my house and assault me? Is that how you show Jabari you care?"
"No," he growled, "That's not what I'm going to do."
He balled his hands up into a fist and swung hard, aiming for the wall just behind Tammy's head. She ducked and shrieked, clutching her head.
"GET OUT RANDALL!" She screamed when she stood to her feet.
She couldn't let him get to her like that.
"GET OUT!"
Tammy pushed past him and sprinted to her kitchen as fast as she could go. She reached over her counter for her baseball bat and cocked it over her shoulders.
"Try me, Randall," Tammy said, holding up the bat as she walked out of her kitchen, now gaining the upper hand over her ex.
He raised his palms in defeat.
"Hey, relax Tammy."
"No," she snarled, "I won't relax. I'm not the stupid girl I used to be and I won't let you roll up in my house and intimidate me."
Randall grinned, "Relax. Put the bat down."
Tammy gripped tighter so her knuckles turned white.
"Get out."
Tammy growled, "One more step closer to me and I'll use it."
She was ready to swing on him, for scaring her, for daring to think that he could threaten her.
“Now Tammy… No need to get crazy,” Randall said, trying to calm her down by lowering his voice.
Randall wasn’t such a strong man once he knew Tammy would fight back. Tammy knew she had won.
Tammy yelled, “GET OUT OF HERE RANDALL COMBS!”
She took a step towards Randall and hoisted the bat over her right shoulder to let him know she really meant business.
Randall didn’t need to be told a second time. He turned around and rushed towards the door. Once Randall was out of her house, Tammy rushed the door and locked it. She pressed her back against it and lowered the bat to the ground, exhaling sharply.
He'd be back, she knew that. He'd always come back. The next time, she couldn't let her guard down.