Excerpt
The Day Crazy Came To Dinner
Nikki Jenkins
Melanie slammed the dishes into the sink. "Greens! I don't make greens!" she murmured to herself. Angered by her mother's harsh tone and her lack of sympathy, Melanie opened and closed the oven door each time louder than the first, until the handle fell to the floor. Charles Kendricks, her husband of 20 years, walked past the kitchen door on his way to the garage. He ignored his wife's tantrum, having experienced them before and having been the cause of many in the past. Her words were unintelligible and he dared not ask what the cause of her anger was. Melanie heard the garage door open and then close as her husband backed his car out and drove away. She expected him to return shortly as his only early morning trips were to the Starbucks around the corner for a latte.
They hadn't spoken in four days. So Charles believed that he probably wasn't the right person to inquire about her despair this morning. She was fine before they went to bed - she in one room, he in another - so what could have transpired between midnight and seven this morning he didn't know, nor did he want to.
"It would be so much easier for me to make macaroni and cheese. Felicia, uuuhhgggghhhh," Melanie threw her hands over her head. "She makes me ill. Who put her in charge?" Filling a large pot with water, Melanie dropped in the jowl bacon and allowed it to boil. She stared at the sink overflowing with greens: kale, collards, turnip. "Ugggh," she screamed at the top of her lungs.
"Mommy! Are you alright?" Angela rounded the corner and entered the kitchen. She bent down and retrieved the oven handle from off of the floor. "What happened to this?" She held it up, dangling it in her hand.
"Oh, huh?" Melanie responded as if nothing was wrong. She glanced in Angela's direction, "Oh, I don't know." She pretended to be unaware.
"Have you told daddy?" Angela asked as she jumped up on the tiled counter. She peeled a banana and took a bite, her small nightgown barely covering her long legs.
"About what?" Melanie turned to see her daughter. "And put some clothes on! Angela, it's much too early for this crap!" Melanie pushed back the hair that had fallen in her eyes. In and out of the water she plunged the greens, peeling off the stems and over ripe edges.
"You know, about Christina. Daddy is going to hit the roof." She laughed to herself. "I'm glad it's not me. Oh, and wait till Nana finds out," Angela whooped, sliding down off the edge of the counter pulling the gown down stretching it to cover her round behind.
"Oh you think you're so innocent. Where were you last night?" The window over the sink began to steam up. Condensation formed. The back yard and her children's swing set and sand box that they had outgrown years ago was no longer in Melanie's view. "I heard you creeping in at four o'clock this morning. My advice to you is to get some sleep, because you’re going today."
"Mom!" Angela huffed and stormed to her room. Melanie heard the door slam shut and her daughter’s stereo turn on. The vulgar rapper's words filled her ears. Bitch this! Bitch that! But Melanie didn't have the energy to fight this morning as she had the night before. She knew that Angela went out after she was supposed to be home. That boyfriend of hers was a pain in Melanie's ass. He was arrogant and thought he knew everything. The only thing that saved him from Melanie's wrath was that he was an honor student. He had dreams of being a doctor and even though he laid with her daughter any and every time he wanted to, he was responsible enough to use protection, not wanting to damage his dreams of being a neurosurgeon. But was that enough to allow him to violate her first born? Melanie struggled.
"Who's the joke on now?" Melanie mumbled to herself. She wasn't sure if she was being vindictive. But she believed that if she had to be at dinner and be tortured, everyone had to be at dinner and be tortured. Times had changed so. When she was younger, she couldn't wait to see her aunts, uncles and cousins, but with all the drama that accompanied life now, she would just rather climb back into her bed and cover her head with the blankets.
Work had consumed her, her marriage was failing, her son had joined the Nation of Islam and it was he against the world, her oldest daughter was giving away her goods to any boy that had a nice car and a little cash, and now her youngest daughter was pregnant. It was all too much for her to deal with. The perfect life she so longed for, worked so hard for, had disappeared right before her eyes. And to top it all off, she had to make greens for Thanksgiving dinner. If Felicia were standing in front of her, Melanie swore she would wrap her fingers around her neck and squeeze the life out of her. "I've got her number. That heifer, she needs a man." Melanie continued to mumble under her breath. It was her rationale that everyone who bugged her's problem could be resolved if they just had a man.
"Mommy." The soft voice of her 16-year-old daughter, Christina called to her from the doorway of the kitchen. "Mommy?"
"Cut the act, Christina. You're no longer the innocent little girl I thought you were, or that you pretended to be. The jig is up." Melanie had no pity for the girl who switched from child to adult and back when it was convenient. She continued to clean the greens in the sink in front of her, not wanting to look at the girl who had had such a promising future. It was Christina; Melanie swore she would make her proud. She started out to be everything Melanie wanted for herself. She was smart, had lots of friends and was on her way to being an acclaimed ballet dancer. Christina had received an offer to dance with the Alvin Ailey dance company. But once they hear that she's gotten knocked up, Melanie thought to herself, they'll rescind that offer quick, fast and in a hurry. Just as fast as the stick turned from blue to pink.
"Fine. I made a mistake. How long are you going to punish me for it?" Her voice raised two octaves, revealing that she really wasn't all that innocent, all that sweet or all that angelic.
"Mistake? Mistake? A mistake is buying tooth paste when you meant to buy gel. Mistake? A mistake is agreeing to make greens when you really wanted to make macaroni and cheese. What you made was a life-altering fuck up! You fucked up, Christina!" Melanie dropped what she was doing and turned around to face her daughter. She lunged at her, hoping that she would scare some sense into her, "Who's going to fix this? What are your plans?" Melanie crossed her arms, soaking her long-sleeved white T-shirt.
Christina diverted her eyes. She was embarrassed that her mother knew that she had had sex with a boy. "I don't know." Marty, her boyfriend, promised her that he would stick with her through this, that he would be with her when she told everyone. But where was he now, today? They agreed that he would spend today with her family, revealing the news of their new addition, ensuring them that it wouldn't interfere with their future plans, but so far things hadn't worked out as she had planned. He wasn't there when she needed him now, and she had a sinking feeling he wouldn't be there later. Marty was no longer eager to return her phone calls nor was he standing at her locker when she got to school. So much had changed in the past few months; Christina was scared about how much more things would change after she pushed the baby out. She cursed Angela. It was she who let the cat out of the bag, after she overheard Christina talking to her best friend, Karen.
"You don't know! Oh, I bet you knew what you were doing when you were having sex." Melanie was screaming at the top of her lungs. She scared herself. "Laying up with some God-damned boy." Again, Melanie mumbled to herself. Her back to her daughter, she plunged the leafy vegetables in and out of the water, soaking the floor and herself.
The door swung open and Charles walked in. Christina, fear in her eyes, watched her mother's erratic behavior. Melanie quickly turned her head to see her husband enter the room and then just as swiftly swung around and continued at the sink. Up and down, she pushed the greens under the water, swishing them back and forth, transferring them from one side of the sink to the other. She didn't seem to be making a dent in the job before her. And right then, that was the theme to her life.
"What's going on?" Charles asked. "Did I interrupt something?"
"Go on Christina, tell him. Might as well ruin his holiday, too. Mine is shot to shit." Melanie let out a devious laugh. She threw back her head, wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"Chris?" Charles asked. "What's mommy talking about?" His stomach turned in anticipation of the news that would come next.
Christina burst into tears and rushed into her daddy's arms. She nestled her head in his jacket and her body shook uncontrollably.
Melanie looked over her shoulder and snickered at the scene. "Charles, Christina's pregnant." Her words were matter of fact, as if she had just asked for cheese on her hamburger.