Another Time, Another Place

“Yah, good for attitude problems,” I mimicked, tilting my head toward Otis. He played with the toothpick in his mouth, eyeing me from head to toe. I sucked my teeth. “Otis, you need a damn tutor yourself. Who gonna teach her English?”

He gave me a sinister stare. “Whatcha doin’ here, homewrecka?” He howled again, as if he was truly funny. I threw sweet tea in his face. He jumped up, looking at his wet tank shirt, then back at me with a deep frown. Harrison dropped the ax and flew over, getting in between us.

“Woman, you lost yo damn mind!” Otis screamed, wiping his face. His woman did the two-step, all in a tizzy that her man’s shirt was soaked.

Harrison tightened his fists. “You better not even look like you gonna hit her. You make a wrong move, and I’ll be sure to give you another bum knee.”

I threw the jar to the ground. “He ain’t gonna do nothin.’ He just pissed off, ’cause I told him to eat dust off my shoes, after he said he wanted to fill Adam’s shoes—asking me for sex.”

“What!” Harrison yelled, positioned like he was ready to punch Otis.

I pulled him back. “Let’s go. He ain’t worth your time.”

We gathered our things and started to walk away when Otis yelled. “That’s right. Get off my property! Damn vanilla house negra, keepin’ a henpecked joker.”

Harrison ran back to the porch, knocking Otis flat on his back. “Whatcha talkin’ now, fool!” he hollered, throwing punch after punch on Otis.

I tried to intervene, grabbing him by his belt. “Harrison, that’s enough!” Neighbors were starting to come out on their porches to see the show.

All Miss Saigon did was fling her arms, screaming, “Ha gris! Ha gris!” Like she thought that meant, stop.

Harrison heard her and suddenly stopped, shaking his head at her efforts to settle things down. I pulled him off the porch as Otis stammered to his feet. He had a swollen eye, and was rubbing his jaw. I smiled at the woman. “You keep practicing, rice puddin,’” I said. “You’ll need those hot grits sooner than later.” Harrison tried to hide a smile. I pinched his side, letting him know I’d caught him holding a laugh as we walked away.

***

Harrison and I sat quietly on a rock near the dunes, watching seagulls hunt for fish in the water. I touched his shoulder. “How long you gonna be mad?”

He looked down, rubbing a piece of seaweed between his fingers fingers. “As long as I gotta see her.”

“Seem like a long time. Sapelo ain’t that big.”

He flicked the seaweed down to the sand, shaking his head. “Big enough to make a fool out of me. I can’t believe she was with my best friend, Floyd. The whole time, screwin’ him on the side. Carryin’ his seed while I was in combat, fighting for my life. Nobody tell me nothin’.” He put his head in his hands and broke down in tears. “Keenan mean the world to me. I bust my ass, working long hours to make sure that little boy got what he need. And he ain’t even mine?”

I bit my lip, not knowing what to say. I reached for his hand, but he resisted, opting to crack his knuckles instead. “Floyd was smart to run off to Atlanta. Can’t figure out why Naomi’s ass ain’t follow him?”

I smiled and kissed his cheek, trying to make light of the situation. “She doesn’t wanna have him for a husband. She got you. She just needed somethin’ extra.”

His jaw tightened as he looked at me. “That’s always what I am, somethin’ extra. Ain’t that right, Miss Jasmine?”

I looked at my hands for a second, then touched his thigh. “I didn’t mean it that way.”

“No other way ’round it,” he said, looking off to the water.

I happened to glance behind us, and thought I’d pee on myself from the sight.

I swallowed hard as I slowly turned back. “Harrison,” I whispered. “Don’t look now, but there is a big-ass gator, sun bathing three feet behind us.”

He did exactly the opposite of what I told him. He slowly peered back to find the gator, grinning under fangs, like we were Labor Day ribs. He turned slightly towards me while he kept his peripheral vision on the gator. “We got three seconds to put his ass on a diet,” he whispered. “We jump on…shit!” The gator made the first move, jaws wide open.

Harrison pushed me down to the sand, miraculously throwing the blanket we’d sat on over the gator’s head with his free hand. By the time the gator gripped the blanket, unveiling his elongated head, we’d haul-tailed it up shore. When we reached the dirt road, we slowed down. “That was close,” I said, laughing as I massaged a cramp out of my side.

“You ain’t never lie,” Harrison said, bending over to catch his breath. He rose back up and pulled me into his arms. “You all right?”

I nodded as I looked up at him. “You?” I asked, concerned as I caressed his face.

He pulled my hands down, holding them against his chest. “I don’t know, Miss Jasmine. Seem like life shouldn’t be this stressful.”

I kissed his fingers. “Harrison, you’re a good man. Don’t let Naomi’s lies make you bitter.”