Page 3 of F*ckin’ With Me

Many Years Later . . .

“Hey, Simonette.” My boss, Carlton, stepped next to my workstation in the lab. He didn’t continue until I removed my eye from the telescope. “You did an amazing job on that murder case last week. They were able to get a conviction because of your hard work and your expert testimony.”

My chest poked out just a little bit. “Thank you so much, Carlton. Yeah, I was happy that I was able to have the evidence retested and the right person convicted. There are too many black men and women in jail wrongfully convicted.”

I had my dream job as a forensic scientist in a crime lab.

I also worked with organizations that took on cases of people who were wrongfully convicted.

When I came to my boss about doing the work, he didn’t hesitate to run it up the ladder to approve my request. My work helped my lab get more federal funding than normal.

Carlton smiled. “Thank God they have someone like you on their side. I’ll let you get back to work.”

It was the same lab I completed my internship at when I was in college.

They offered me a full-time position before I graduated.

I didn’t make a lot of money in my profession, but $74,000 a year was enough for a single woman without kids.

I was also paid if I was needed for a disposition or a trial as an expert witness for either the prosecution or defense.

I got back to work on the sexual assault case that had taken up my time for the past few hours.

When I wasn’t bombarded with cases, I made sure I worked on the back log of evidence from sexual assault cases.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) reported that there were over 450 backlogged sexual assault kits that needed to be tested.

That sickened me, so I wanted to make an impact the only way I knew how.

After graduation, I decided to stay in my home state and city of Augusta, Georgia, although I did have offers from other labs in other states.

I wanted to stay close to my family… well, my dad.

My mother and little sister, not so much.

My father, Robert, told me all the time that I didn’t have to stay in Georgia.

He spent a lot of time traveling away from home because of his executive position at a pharmaceutical company.

Simone Brand, on the other hand, would never lift her finger to work at anyone’s job.

It would be an insult to even suggest it.

She was the epitome of a housewife. It was her job to take care of the house, the kids—oh, and judge them too.

When she wasn’t doing that, she was brunching, shopping, and gossiping with her sorority sisters.

She had me at twenty years old when she was in college, and she stayed in college long enough to join a sorority before she dropped out.

My father was twenty-four when I was born and well on his way to success.

My alarm went off, letting me know I needed to wrap things up to go home. The alarm was Carlton’s idea. He knew, without it, I would work into the wee hours of the morning. I wouldn’t say I was an overachiever, but I also wouldn’t say I wasn’t.

I made sure I secured all the evidence that I worked on that day. Being a forensic scientist, there was no room for error. An error could determine how a person would spend the rest of their life.

Once everything was locked up, I grabbed my crossbody purse and was out of there.

My smile was showcased when I got to my vehicle to see the doctor rubber ducky that rested in my door handle.

I reached into my crossbody and took out a rubber glove.

Once it was on, I picked up the ducky. You can never be too safe.

After my door was unlocked, I climbed in and locked it.

The rubber ducky went into a small container of disinfectant solution that I kept in my vehicle.

I would take it out, rinse it off, and place it in its rightful place on my dashboard when I got home safely.

The lab was twenty minutes away from my house. Once I pulled into my garage and the door closed, I sat there for a moment. My house was my oasis. It was all mine. I took the time to do what I needed for my new ducky to sit on my dashboard.

Like I always did, I stripped out of my clothes when my foot stepped on my bedroom floor.

Straight to the shower, I went. The ringing of my phone let me know that my shower would take longer than normal just to avoid the call.

Thirty minutes later, I was out of the shower, and the phone rang for the fourth time. “Hello, Mother.”

“Simonette, I have been calling you for over an hour. Did you not see me calling?” My mother’s exaggeration annoyed me to no end.

The huff under my breath was accompanied with an eye roll. “Mother, an hour ago, I was at work, and you did not call me. You started calling me after I got home in the shower. I was only in the shower for thirty minutes.”

She sucked her teeth. “How would you know how long you were in the shower, young lady?” She tittered. “You act like you set an alarm.”

“Actually, I did. My showerhead has a timed shutoff option that I set when I get in. It’s important to preserve water where you can, Mother.” I told her, didn’t I!

Simone insisted my sister Lanette and I called her mother instead of mom, mama, or mommy.

Those sounded less sophisticated. It was an absurd notion.

She tried to make us call my daddy, father.

He told us not to, so I never did. My sister, the golden child, on the other hand, went headfirst with the father crap.

I long ago recognized that she wanted to be Simone Brand.

“Only you would have a timer on your shower. That is not why I called you. Did you get the package from the carrier today?” she asked.

I wanted to scream, but instead, I answered her. “Yes, I received the package that you sent to my job. Please don’t do that again. You could have sent it to my home.”

“I wanted to make sure you got the package. You’re always at that little job, so I figured that was where I would send it,” she said unashamedly.

“Now, that is what you are to wear this weekend to your sister’s bridal shower.

Simonette, wear everything in the package, including shoes and accessories.

If you come in here with Mary Jane anything, I will make you leave. ”

Did she just give me a way out of this! Right before lunch, the receptionist of the building called up to the lab to tell me that I had a package.

I spent my lunch in my car, my house, or a deli that wasn’t too far from the building.

That day, I went home to see what was in the package from mommy dearest. A dress, shoes, accessories, a fragrance, and we can’t forget about the pantyhose.

Life without pantyhose was a fashion sin, according to my mother.

“Mother, I think I can dress myself at thirty years old.”

It sounded like she laughed with her whole chest. “Well, if that were true, then your sister and I would never have had to go shopping for you to ensure you looked presentable. Neither of us want to be embarrassed.”

How could a person ever have a slither of confidence with a mother like Simone and a sister like Lanette? “Well, from the top of my heart, I thank you both. I have to go, Mother. I was in the middle of doing something.”

I didn’t give her a chance to say anything before I hung up.

There was nothing left to say anyway, so I went on with my night.

There was a new method of blood analyzation I wanted to research.

After I was comfortable in my bed with my books and tablet to take notes with, my phone dinged. I rolled my eyes before I picked it up.

Mommy Dearest:

You know I often ask God how He could create one perfect daughter then you. It can be so disheartening at times.

There was the reminder that she gave me every quarter. I wasn’t the perfect daughter she doted on. I was the daughter that would be hidden in a cave if she could have her way.

I glared at my books for a second. I didn’t feel like doing research that night. I just wanted to go to sleep.

Bridal Shower Shenanigans . . .

The perfect bridesmaid always does what she’s told. That was the vibe at my sister’s bridal shower. Every ten seconds, it was Simonette, do this. Simonette, do that. I couldn’t wait until it was over.

My sister was marrying Justin Everland, who she’d been with off and on since she was a junior in high school. My mother didn’t know they were off and on. Lanette made sure her and Justin’s off-seasons were secret. He even showed up to events during their off-season to keep up appearances.

The theme of the bridal shower was your typical tea party. All the elites were there. Justin came from a very well-to-do family. He was perfect for the image that my mother and Lanette wanted to have.

We all sat around the cute setup that probably cost my father a fortune. “So, Simonette, you look nice today,” Mrs. Doris, my mother’s best friend, complimented. She looked down at my feet. “Oh, I see you left those God-awful Mary Jane shoes at home.”

“Oh, that wasn’t by choice,” my sister blurted with a snooty giggle. “Mother and I brought her entire look today. Those Mary Janes are probably why she doesn’t have a man.”

The entire room burst into laughter. That was how it went at every event my mother forced me to attend. I’d rather be at home, individually plucking the hair from my legs.

My mother clapped her hands. “Right, Lanette. The few dates that I did set her up on, the reviews from the men were horrid.” She tittered before her eyes locked onto me. “One day, she’ll get it right. Even if it is in heaven.”

Once again, everyone had a laugh at my expense. I hate it here. I stood from my seat. “I need to use the bathroom. Excuse me, ladies.”