***
About fifteen minutes later, we pulled into Gabe’s neighborhood. I pointed out the directions as we swung around corners in Tricia’s little blue Camry . We got to the house and parked along the street. There was no sign of the Mustang. I didn’t buy it.
I got out of the passenger side. Tricia accompanied me as I walked to the front door. Rashon stayed put in the backseat of the vehicle.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
I banged on the door. No one answered.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
I pounded on the door harder. I could hear someone moving inside. I wasn’t going to go away without speaking to someone.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
The door slowly creeped open.
It was Gabe. “What’s up, Kate? How are you doing, Tricia?” he said with a forced smile.
“You saw Facebook. You know what’s up,” I said. “Where is he? Where is Justin?”
Gabe nervously answered. “He isn’t here, Kate. I know you guys are going through some stuff but I’m not in it.”
I didn’t budge. I knew Justin too well. He prepared Gabe for my arrival in advance. “You’re in it as long as you’re lying for him. Now where is he?” I retorted.
He sighed. “Ok. You didn’t hear this from me though. Justin is gone.”
“Gone?” I said. “That’s not good enough. Where is gone?”
He anxiously continued. “I’m not supposed to tell you this, but he left. He came by for like ten minutes and then left.”
Something was still up. I wasn’t getting the complete picture. Tricia butt in. “When did he come here and where did he say he was going? Stop playing with us, Gabe.”
Gabe was taken aback by her energy. He didn’t want any problems. He came clean. “About an hour ago, he came by to tell me you would be looking for him. He told me he was leaving town for good. He said he’d probably try to stay with his parents but he wasn’t sure they’d let him.”
I took a moment to take it in. Justin really had nowhere to go. “So he’s going to Minnesota?” I asked.
“He seemed pretty serious about it,” Gabe answered. “That’s all I know, ladies.”
A still tear rolled down my face. Tricia held a strong poker face. She was my backbone, and she was the only one not emotionally invested in hearing the facts. She was not fooled by Justin’s setup as easily as I was.
She folded her arms and snapped at Gabe. “Where does this bitch Sandra live?”
Gabe was confused. “Sandra?”
Tricia got right in his face. She wasn’t playing any games. Her neck popped and eyes rolled with each word. “Don’t act like you don’t know who we’re talking about. Where does that bitch stay?”
Gabe backed down. “I don’t know. I don’t know her. I’m being honest. I don’t hang out with that group. You’d have to ask Davis.”
Tricia looked at me. She could see I was in deep thought. “Kate!” She snapped at me. “Do you know where Davis stays?”
I looked down as I thought deeply on where my life was headed. “Yes. I know,” I said.
“Good. We are out.” Tricia turned her back on Gabe without a word as we headed to the Camry.
“Hey Kate,” Gabe called out from his door. I acknowledged him. “I’m sorry to hear about this,” he said. I nodded as I got in the car to head to Davis and Mandy’s home.
Fifteen minutes later, we were in the suburb on the opposite side of town, where Davis and Mandy’s home was. They lived in a nicer neighborhood that was adjacent to a golf course. All of the homes were large residences with four car garages and neatly manicured lawns. It was the kind of place you dream of raising a family.
We pulled into Davis’ empty driveway. He always kept his vehicles in the garage. I knocked on the door as Tricia and Rashon quietly sat in the car with the engine running.
KNOCK. KNOCK.
Mandy snatched the door open with glee. “Kate! Oh my God, I was not expecting you!” she said with a big, warm smile as she hugged me. Their children were scattered between daycare and school, so the place was unusually quiet. “Come on in!”
“I kind of can’t,” I said as I pointed to my friends in the car. “I just came by to ask Davis a question really quick.”
Mandy looked confused. She must have not checked Facebook. She had no idea what was going on and I could tell my vibe was throwing her off.
“Ok?” she said. “Do you want me to call him?”
“I kind of need to ask in person. I need the real answer,” I said. She was still baffled.
“Ok. He is on his way home now. I can call him and tell him hurry up. He stopped to get some groceries on the way. I’m making stuffed peppers. You guys can totally stay for dinner if you want.” It was a genuine invitation, but we didn’t have time to accept.
“That’s fine. Maybe another time,” I said. “If you could call him, that would be good.”
Mandy plucked her iPhone from her pocket and dialed her husband. Her eyes had a look of overt concern behind her square-rimmed glasses. Davis picked up.
“Hello? Babe? Can you cut the shopping short? Yeah, I have Kate here. She really needs to talk to you. Ok, bye. Love you too!”
She looked back to the car. “Your friends can come in while we wait.”
We sat around their grand oak dinner table as Mandy insisted on serving us homemade iced tea. She was the ultimate host. You could just tell she was born to be a homemaker. She took great pride in every detail of her family and home from the perfectly framed crayon pictures on the refrigerator down to the spotless glasses our tea was served in. It was the type of life I once imagined for myself and Justin.
“This place is really, really nice,” Rashon said.
“You should come over more often,” Mandy replied. “We do a big Sunday football dinner. I make nachos and tacos. Consider yourself invited. Don’t be shy. Go Cowboys!”
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.
The sound of boots clacking the hardwood floors quickly approached. Davis was here. He was still dressed in his cammies.
“Hey babe,” he said as he kissed his wife and placed the shopping bag full of ingredients neatly on the counter. “What’s up everyone?”
We all nodded and smiled as he joined us.
“I hear you need help with something?” Davis asked.
I softly spoke up. “I don’t know if you know yet, but Justin and I had a big fight.”
Davis leaned in to listen as I went on. “He left and I don’t know where he is. I went by Gabe’s and he isn’t there. I think he’s with Sandra. I need to know where she lives if you don’t mind.”
Davis leaned back and let out a loud sigh. He massaged his shaved head as he shook his head in disgust.
“I knew this would end bad,” he said. “I don’t know why they let Sandra in the group.”
“I thought you’re the one that knew her?” I asked.
“I was but it wasn’t my idea for her to start hanging out with us. She invited herself. It was just no one said no.”
Tricia and Rashon quietly looked on as Davis compartmentalized his train of thoughts.
“I can tell you where she lives but Kate, don’t go over there and kill that girl. Don’t do something stupid. I know you’re upset.”
“I’ll try not to,” I said.
“Alright. I’ll write the address down for you,” Davis replied. “If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to come back,” he added.
We immediately set towards Sandra’s place. She lived about forty-five minutes away. The distance didn’t matter. We were on a mission. Tricia put the address in her GPS as we hit the highway.
DING! DING!
“What’s that sound?” Rashon asked from the backseat.
“We’re good,” Tricia said. “That’s just my gas light. Don’t worry about it. There’s a BP station not too far from here.”
12
Tricia rolled the blue Camry next to the BP station’s gas pum
ps. Yes, that BP station, the exact same one I met James in weeks earlier. My back itched as the hair stood up along my spine. My elbows burned. Sweat rolled down my legs. I was having a full on panic attack.
“Do you want to get gas somewhere else?” I asked Tricia quickly.
“And run out of gas? I can’t,” she said. “Unless Rashon is going to push us to the next gas station. What are you worried about? I got this. You can pay me back whenever.”
She had no idea it was deeper than BP’s overpriced petrol. I slammed my head back on the passenger seat as I exhaled loudly.
“Kate? Kate? Are you ok?” Tricia asked.
“I’m not ok,” I said.
“We are just going to go up there, see if he’s there and go. You don’t even have to knock on the door if you don’t want to,” she replied. My eyes cut to the double doors of the station as another customer walked inside. I peered deep into the store to see if I could see James.
“It’s not that. Just hurry up and get the gas,” I said sternly.
“You don’t have to cop an attitude with me. I’m helping you out. I am not your enemy.” I let her get the last word as she finally got out of the car to pump the gas. She shut the door. I turned to Rashon in the backseat.
“I have a problem,” I said quickly.
“What’s going on?” he asked in a confused haze. I probably knocked him from a daydream. He was quiet the entire ride. I looked back towards the store as I debriefed Rashon with instructions.
“Listen. I want you to go inside the store and buy something. Buy a few things. Get a lottery ticket or something. Just take a long time.”
“Ok. I’ll do it. But you’re weird.”
I shoved a handful of dollar bills at him. “Spend all this and be slow about it.”
He took the money with the most perplexed look on his face. “On three, get out and I’m going to switch seats. One. Two. Three!”
We executed the plan to perfection. Rashon slipped out and I swam to the backseat. Tricia looked confused but kept pumping the gas. A minute later, she got back in the car as we waited on Rashon.
“What’s the matter?” she asked.
“Headache,” I said as I lay down across the backseats.
“I understand girl. I wish Rashon would hurry up!” Tricia said. Five minutes later, Rashon came back with a bag full of sodas and cigarettes.
“This is the best I could do,” he said.
“Good,” I responded.
Tricia fired up the car and we were back on the road. She headed for the direction the GPS lead us as we listened to the radio. About ten minutes later, Rashon broke the conversation.
“Oh yeah, Kate. I’m supposed to give you a message. Some guy said to tell you thank you. He got his dog back.”
My heart fluttered. My eyes misted. I couldn’t deal with the emotional typhoon in my chest. Feelings of being appreciated, abandoned, lusted after, and discarded all hit me at the same time.
I just smiled. “Oh yeah? That’s cool. Thank you for telling me that.”
“What’s the deal with the dog?” Tricia asked.
“Nothing much. A friend of mine was going through some stuff with the courts and his dog. I’m just glad he got it all squared away.”
The feeling was warm and heartfelt but it wouldn’t last. We still had one more person to visit that day.