All Out of Love: Where Do We Go From Here

The End Of The Beginning

          "Oh my God! Derrick, a mouse! Look right there!" 

           I jumped up on the kitchen chair as a mouse flew past my feet. My husband, Derrick Brown, came running his chocolate, husky but muscular frame into the kitchen. When he saw me up on the chair, holding a frying pan, this fool began laughing at me. 

           "Babe, what are you doing up there? You plan on frying the mouse up for breakfast or something? Come down off that chair." 

          I shook my head because I didn't see what was so damn funny. 

          Here I was on top of the chair with my heart beating out of my chest--scared to death of the furry little critter that was hiding under my stove. Yet Derrick was standing in the kitchen, laughing up a storm, instead of catching it for me. 

           "Really! I don't see what's so funny, but you can go ahead and laugh, Mr. Brown! But I'll tell you this right now... Long as that thing is under my stove, yo' ass won't get a hot meal up in this house!" Frustrated, I tossed the pan down on the table and climbed off the chair. I walked my thick ass out the kitchen, huffing and puffing all the way up to the bedroom. 

            See, our neighbor, Marfret Ashton, kept a messy ass house with a dog and two smelly ass cats roaming around with fleas. I repeatedly told Derrick that we needed to move. Everytime this lady had some type of problems over in her house, we seemed to end up with those same problems in our house and at the same damn time. Last month, Margret had bed bugs; now, it was mice. I busted my ass, cleaning this house every day and night, just for this dusty ass bitch next door to have her pet mouse running wild around my house.

            That was why we'd moved out of the damn projects. Those bitches out there were more worried about chasing after a man and his money than feeding their kids and keeping their apartments clean. Shit was crazy. Now, I was living in a duplex, on Jackson Avenue, next door to a bitch that couldn't keep her house clean to save her life. Last year, I was going to beat her face into the pavement for being so nasty. 

             It doesn't matter, because Derrick won't be eating  this morning, I thought to myself/ He can thank that dust-bucket ass bitch next door for that shit!

             I went upstairs to get dressed for work. I was an accountant at People's Bank. I was working at a job in which I loved, thankfully. I enjoyed my job but hated my racist ass boss, Mr. Baldwin. 

             Derrick was an armed security guard at People's Bank as well. We both were making good money. For that reason, I didn't understand why he wanted to continue to live next door to a dusty bitch like Ms. Ashton. After getting dressed, I walked down the stairs in a white-collared, button-down blouse, a black pencil skirt, and black pumps. Derrick was already dressed in his security uniform. We planned to leave out together, so I planned to keep my car parked. Forty-five minutes after leaving the house and making it to work, I was already ready to go home. As soon as Derrick and I walked through the front doors of the bank, all we saw were ploice officers throughout the bank's lobby.

             A few of them were walking behind the teller's stations too. I looked over at Derrick, wondering what the hell we'd just walked in on. Without saying a single word to me, Derrick headed towards the  elevators to go up to the security office and clock in. I headed to my office to drop off my Coach Hudson work bag. But as soon as I placed my bag on the floor beside my desk, my boss, Mr. Baldwin, came walking through the door. He was accompanied by two officers.

              "Mrs. Brown, sorry to bother you this morning, but these officers would like to speak to you."

              Mr. Baldwin stepped to the side as one of the officers stepped closer towards my desk. His partner was standing right behind Mr. Baldwin.