Mad Max

Alright, here’s another short for you, as promised! If you enjoy this one as much as you enjoyed my previous short, Suite Sixteen, let me know in comments and likes! In the meantime, happy reading and Happy Labor Day!

Mad Max

By: Stacie Dobson Bell

Maxine sat quietly in the black Toyota Corolla rental a block and a half away from Jamal’s duplex. Careful to park underneath the cover of pine tree foliage, she sat there for hours, not to be moved for anything less than an opportunity to confront Jamal about that little tramp he’d been seeing. However, her best friend, Wilhelmina, was not nearly as enthused to be trapped in the passenger seat as an accomplice on the stake-out.

“Max, how much longer are we going to keep sitting here like this? It’s been hours and nothing is happening.”

She brought the night vision binoculars she ordered online from her dark, squinted eyes and said, “I already told you, we’ll sit here ’til the butt crack of dawn if we have to. So just sit back, chill, and keep an eye out for the cops.”

Mina blew out an exasperated sigh, folded her arms, and sat back in the seat. Another minute passed and she said, “I’m hungry and I have to pee.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. You had the chance to eat and use the bathroom before we came here.”

“I didn’t ask to come here. I only agreed to come out with you last night because you said you wanted to go to the movies…over six hours ago! This is stupid! We have been sitting here like crazed maniacs and I’m ready to go home!” she whined.

“Oh, how quickly we forget! Wasn’t it you who dragged me along so I could help you break into your supervisor’s apartment and kidnap both of her Pomeranians when you thought she was messing with Antoine behind your back last year?” Max asked.

“That was different and you know it! Besides, the restraining order is up in less than a year.” Mina shot back.

“The point is, when you needed me, I was there for you. Now, I need you. So stop complaining and have my back on this. I need to know what’s going on between Jamal and that girl.”

“What makes you think there’s anything going on at all?”

“When we met up for lunch last week, his phone rang and there was a picture of this curly-haired, mocha-skinned, top-heavy girl and the name “Kitty Kat” typed underneath the photo! When I asked him about it, he said “she’s just a friend”, paid the tab and left!”

Mina closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh.

“It’s been six months, Max. You really need to let this go. He’s moved out and moved on with his life. Isn’t that what you wanted? Wasn’t it you who said you were tired of him coming in at all hours of the night, not answering your calls, and driving your car all over town to do God knows what with God knows who?”

Max let out a sigh of her own and shrugged.

“Yes…no…I don’t know. All I know is that I didn’t expect things to be like this. I’ll never forget the first time I laid eyes on him. One look into his eyes and it was love at first sight. He was the most beautiful person I’d ever seen. Beyond that, we used to be the best of friends. He treated me like a queen. He would bring me flowers on Sundays, fix whatever needed fixing around the house, and even pay my bills from time to time. It was my shoulder he used to cry on. I used to be the one who would tell his deepest secrets. Now, he doesn’t even call like he used to. Instead, he’s been talking to this little…scallywag, who’s probably taking up all his time and spending up all his money! Hell, I bet he’s even paying her bills and taking care of-”

“One Time, fool, get down!” Mina hissed.

They sunk down in their seats and waited while the patrol car drove slowly past them and then around the corner. The women poked their heads up; scanning the area to make sure the coast was clear.

“Whew, girl, that was close.” 

“I know. Aren’t you glad I insisted we wear all black?” Max asked as she slid back up in her seat.

Mina shrugged.

“Yeah, I guess. I still think the skull caps are a bit much, but that’s neither here nor there. Anyway, Jamal has moved on with his life. Why don’t you?”

“It’s not that simple and I refuse to let some random, new chick come in and take my place in his life.”

“You need to get a grip on reality and accept-”

“Shush, he’s coming outside right now!” Max whispered.

The women ducked down just low enough to be hidden, but remained watchful. Sure enough, Jamal stepped outside and hurried over to his silver Charger sitting in the driveway, talking on the phone as he went. Although faintly; Max and Mina could hear every word of his conversation through the cracked driver’s side window.

“Yeah, I’m on my way over there now. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for to see you. The Biltmore Hotel, yeah, I know how to get there. Which room? Cool, I’ll be there. Oh, I know you won’t disappoint, you never do. Okay, see you in a bit.”

With that, he tossed his phone in his coat pocket, hopped in the car, and drove off. Fuming, Max sat up in her seat and turned the key in the ignition.

“Maxine, what are you doing?” Mina asked, her eyes widening.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m following him! This time, he won’t be able to hit me with that “just a friend” bull crap!” she said angrily as she flipped the car around and sped down the street.

“Please, for the love of God, don’t do this! I got priors and I’m not trying to go back to jail!” Mina said, while gripping the side door handle.

“Well, somebody’s going to jail today and it’s probably going to be me once I get my hands around that chick’s throat!” Max hissed.

They followed Jamal through the streets of Long Beach to the Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. Max swung the car around a corner where they could be hidden from sight, but still be within eyeshot of the hotel entrance. She watched anxiously as Jamal stepped out of the car and tossed his keys over to the valet. He eagerly jogged up to the curb and met with the same curly-haired beauty Max saw on Jamal’s phone. She was dressed in a designer, cream colored pantsuit, with red-bottom 8 inch pumps, jet black, bouncy curls flowing in the morning breeze, and a smile that was so bright, the wattage could power the Staples Center. He embraced the woman happily and they walked arm in arm to the hotel lobby as if they were Barack and Michelle. Pure, red hot rage surged through Max’s veins. Without another thought, she jumped out of the car and stormed across the street to the hotel. Mina stumbled out after her.

“Maxine, wait, what are you doing?!”

Ignoring her best friend, she all but bulldozed her way into the building and up to the concierge desk, startling the two clerks present.

“Which room is Jamal Latimore checked into?”

The two women, one blonde, the other a tall sister with long, box braids stared at the woman in all black camouflage. She snapped her fingers in their faces.

“Hello, are ya’ll dumb, stupid, or slow? Which room did Jamal Latimore check into?”

The blonde one spoke up first, although stuttering through her words.

“Uh, give me ju-just a second to f-find a uh-what did you say the name is?”

“For the umpteenth time, his name is Jamal Latimore. He just walked in here and checked in.” Max said impatiently.

Mina finally caught up and said breathlessly, “Max, please. Don’t do this in here. You’re going to embarrass yourself.”

“I’m already embarrassed, Mina, but when you love someone as much as I love Jamal, you learn not to care about how you look to other people.”

She turned her attention back to the blonde desk clerk and asked, “Have you found his room yet, Miss?”

“No ma’am, there isn’t any record of a Jamal Latimore having checked in today.” said the clerk meekly.

“What? No, that’s not right, I just saw him walk in five minutes ago! Check it again!”

The sister with the braids stepped in. “Excuse me, ma’am. As Chastity just stated, there is no record of a Jamal Latimore having checked in today. In any case, I have to ask that you relax your tone. It is a disturbance to the guests in the lobby.”

Max cocked her neck to the side while Mina closed her eyes and blew out a breath.

“Excuse you? I’m a grown woman and you don’t tell me to check my tone! You check yours!” Max hollered.

Mina put her hand on Max’s shoulder in an attempt to calm her, but she shook it off. Clerk Sister-Girl cleared her throat, seemingly unscathed and said, “Ma’am, I’m going to ask you one more time-”

“And I’m going to tell you one more time…” she scanned the sister’s uniform for a name tag. “Quotasia, I’ll get as loud in here as I want to until I get some results around here! Now do your job and get Jamal Latimore down here immediately!”

“Chastity, get security down here now.” Quotasia ordered.

She nodded and took off at top speed, more than eager to get away from the building scene.

The lobby was now bustling with guests and most had begun to whisper and stare at the women in amusement. Mina was far from amused and had enough. She grabbed Max by the elbow and hauled her off out of the hotel, kicking and screaming.

“This isn’t the end! You’ve haven’t seen the last of me!” Max yelled, her voice echoing off the marbled floors and vintage walls.

“This better be the last we see of you or you’ll be personally seeing the inside of a police cruiser!” Quotasia hollered back.

Before she could respond, Mina yanked her hysterical friend out of the hotel. By the time they reached the car, she tossed Max in the passenger side seat and hopped into the driver’s side.

“Maxine LaToya Scott, you have officially lost your mind!”

“Does it not strike you as strange that Jamal just walked in right before us but somehow, they can’t find him listed? And what about Poetic Justice in there? She acted as if I’m some kind of terrorist!” Max cried.

“That’s because you went off in there as if you were.”

“Whatever. Jamal and that girl are probably knocking boots right now!”

Mina rolled her eyes and said, “Yeah, single adults tend to do that from time to time. Staking out in front of his place in the middle of the night is not going to change that. You have to let go and let him live his life. While you’re at it, get one of your own!”

“I don’t want to let go! I love him and what’s so wrong with that? Is that such a crime?”

“Call it “love” if you want, but the law calls it stalking and they have thrown saner people than you under the jail for less. With that said, we’ve both had enough excitement to last us the rest of the day. We’re going home, period.”

Max sat there, pouting. Deep down, she knew Mina was right, but the fact was, she and Jamal shared far too many precious memories for her to just go home and forget. If she was bread, he was her butter. The milk to her cereal. She couldn’t let go. No, she refused to let go.

Just as Mina turned on the car and began to pull off, Max spotted the alley behind the hotel and an open door that led inside…no doubt the kitchen…and a way in. Without another thought, she unsnapped her seat belt, flung open the door, and sprang out onto the street.

“Maxine!” Mina hollered from the car, screeching to a stop, causing the cars behind her to slam on their brakes and honk their horns. Max ignored the chaos she left in he wake and bolted towards the alley. She ran through the door and past the chefs looking at her, curiously, and up a flight of stairs to the second floor.

A moment later, she stepped into a dimly-lit, lavish, Victorian-style hallway. Treading quietly, she pressed her ear to every door, hoping to hear something, anything that sounded remotely like Jamal. After checking several doors, there was nothing. She hopped on the nearest elevator and took it to the next floor up. Fifteen minutes later, she’d gone through another row of rooms and still came up with nothing. Still not one to give in, she continued to the next floor up and pressed her head to each door. She was on her hands and knees trying to glance underneath one door on the fourth floor, when suddenly, two men burst through the elevators at the end of the hall. As soon as they made eye contact, they started towards her.

“We found her! Stand by!” one of the brutes said into his walkie-talkie. 

Silently cursing Mina for her big mouth, Max jumped up and took off down the opposite end of the hall.

“Lady, stop!” yelled the brute.

She picked up the pace and made a right turn around the nearest corner. It was a dead end with an open window and a pair of elevators to her right. The men turned the corner moments later and swung their heads toward the closing elevator doors.

“She took the elevator! C’mon, to the staircase! Go, go, go!” One goon yelled.

As they took off down the stairs to the left, Max stepped back inside the hallway from the window, grateful for the catwalk right outside. She resumed checking each door for anyone that sounded like Jamal. By the fifth door, she heard a familiar voice coming from inside and pressed her ear to it.

“I knew meeting you here would be worth it.”

“I’m glad you think so. Are you still okay with the price?” asked a kitten-like female voice.

“More than okay. As far as I’m concerned, it’s priceless” said a baritone voice.

Jamal, Max thought.

“True, you can’t put a price on something as sexy as this.” said the feline voice.

“I know that’s right.” said Jamal.

Oh my God, he’s hooked up with a whore!

Having heard enough, she stepped back a few paces, kneeled down, and tightened the laces on her combat boots. After a brief countdown, she charged the door and kicked it open. Jamal and the busty, curly haired siren jumped up from two chairs and a desk against the window, startled. Max started for the frightened woman and served her with a backhand so fierce, it launched her to the other side of the sofa, her body hitting the ground with a loud thud and shriek.

“You stay away from Jamal, do you hear me?!” she hollered.

Jamal stood off in a corner of the room, shocked at the sight of Max standing over her body, seething with rage.

“MOM!”

“Don’t you ‘Mom’ me!” she yelled, whirling around and pointing her finger at him. “What do you think you’re doing here with this tramp?”

“What in the world is going on in here?!” shrilled a voice behind them.

Max swung around and faced Quotasia, the two goons, and Mina who was standing behind the big men trying to catch a glimpse of the action.

“Ma’am, you are officially trespassing on private property!” Quotasia yelled. 

“Do you know that your so-called hotel is servicing deviants? What’s worse is this slut has dragged my only child into her den of iniquity! You probably knew about this all along and that’s why you and Blondie down there didn’t want to tell me where he was in the first place! This isn’t a hotel, it’s a brothel!” 

“If you don’t leave now, we will call the police.” Quotasia warned.

“Do what you gotta do, you New Jack City, broke down-!” 

“Rodney, call the police now!” Quotasia yelled at one of her brutes.

“Mom, you need to calm down. You’ve got it all wrong!” Jamal said.

“Are you telling me I didn’t see what I just saw?! Are you trying to call me a liar?!”

“What? Why would I call you a liar?”

“I’m not going to ask you again! What were you doing here with this harlot?”

The wounded woman, still rubbing her stinging cheek, climbed up on the sofa, hastily pulled out a small black, velvet box from her clutch purse and tried to hand it to Jamal, but before he could take it, Max snatched it from her hand.

“There better not be an engagement ring in here, or I’m really about to set it off! I will not have this in my family!” she declared.

Jamal dropped his head and let out a deep sigh.

“Mom, just open the box.”

“Oh, I’m going to open this box and we are going to take this ring right back to wherever you-”

She stopped abruptly and her eyes widened. Jamal stood silently and waited for his mother to react.

“Jamal, what am I looking at?” She asked.

“What, you haven’t seen a pair of car keys to a brand new Porsche before?” he asked, a hint of a smile in his voice.

She stared down at the shiny key and fob for a few seconds, the first time she’d ever been at a loss for words. Then without warning, she flung the keys at him and yelled, “You bought her a Porsche?!”

“The Porsche is for you!” Jamal said, sighing loudly.

Max stood dumbfounded. He took his mother’s shaking hand in his own and placed the Porsche keys in her palm.

“Happy Birthday, Mama.” He said, grinning.

“Jamal, where in the world did you get money for this? You just barely turned twenty one.”

“I picked up a second job at the plant on top of the one I have at the bank and I’ve been working overtime for both of them. I saved up everything I could for months so that I could give you this. If you’ve noticed, that’s why you haven’t seen as much of me in awhile.” 

Fresh water sprung to her eyes as she thought about how wonderful her son was and how ashamed she felt in being so overprotective, obsessive, and crazy. As Max wiped at the tears streaming down her face, she noticed Kitty Kat standing off to the side, clutching her face.

“Well then, who is she?”

“This is Katrina Waters. She’s a fellow auto loan officer who helped me get the car. I was just meeting her here in her hotel room because she’s only in town for the weekend for a conference. She pulled major strings for this, Mama.”

“Oh God.” Max said horrified at the magnitude of what she’d done.

Katrina smiled as much as her smarting face would allow.

“Oh don’t worry, Ms. Scott. I have a husband and two teenaged sons at home myself, so I understand.” She said gingerly.

“Is there a problem folks?” asked an officer who had just walked into the room behind them.

Before anyone could answer, Quotasia said, “Yes, there is absolutely a problem. I have asked this woman to leave the premises repeatedly but she refuses and has even made a point of assaulting my guests!”

The officer’s eyes zoomed over to Katrina standing there, holding her cheek.

“What happened to you?” he asked.

“Oh, I…fell while walking up the stairs of the hotel. There were drops of water on the steps and after my nasty tumble, these kind folks assisted me back to my room.” Katrina said quickly.

He looked from her to Max suspiciously and asked, “Are you sure this woman hasn’t harmed you?”

“Yes, positive. She and her son were just about to call 911 before you showed up. If anything, I should file a suit against the hotel for creating a hazardous environment where guests can be seriously injured.”

She flashed a look over at Quotasia, whose face had gone ghost white. The officer eyed Katrina for a few moments before turning to Quotasia.

“Look, it appears to be a simple misunderstanding. If you don’t want this woman to press charges against your establishment, I highly suggest you accommodate her for her injuries, drop the issue, and go on about your day.”

Quotasia’s eyes widened in shock.

“No, are you crazy? I just told you she’s already trespassed! Book her!”

“Ma’am, refrain from raising your voice or I will book you.” the officer warned.

Quotasia shut her mouth and glared at Max before spinning around and leaving. After apologizing profusely to Katrina, Max, Jamal, and Mina headed downstairs to the parking lot where her brand new candy apple red, cream colored leather, wood finish Porsche waited in all its delicious glory. As she all but nose-dived into the driver’s seat and giggled like a little school girl, Jamal and Mina watched her proudly.

“Mom, what were you thinking?” Jamal asked, laughing.

“I don’t know what I was thinking, son.” she answered.

“She wasn’t thinking, believe me.” Mina chimed in.

Max chuckled and said, “I guess the thought of some new girl taking my place made me a little crazy. It’s hard for moms to let go, you know.”

“I told you about that weird Oedipus Complex you got going on. It’s not a good look.” Mina said half-jokingly.

Jamal nodded and said, “Listen, no one could ever take your place, because I can only have one mother. However, I’m your son, not a little boy. If and when I do meet someone special, you will have to respect her as such and give us our space as adults. So that means no more stalking, threatening folks, or attacking every woman you think I might be interested in. Being apart of my life is not a competition because you are not competing for the same role. Can you feel me on that?”

Max nodded her head and said, “Yes, son, I feel you and I promise not to act like that ever again.”

He nodded and said, “Good, I hope you mean that.”

“I do. In the meantime, it’s still my birthday so let’s take my new baby for a spin and hit the beach!”

A few hours later, the trio pulled up to Venice Beach, lay out in the warm, toasty California sun and enjoyed lunch on the beach. One bite into a BLT, Max spotted someone familiar standing at a Margarita stand with a big breasted, red-headed woman in a hot pink bikini. He was pulling bundles of cash out of his pocket and laughing obnoxiously. She narrowed her eyes dangerously.

I know that laugh anywhere, she thought. She dropped her sandwich and glared at the couple. Jamal looked up from his lunch, confused by her sudden change in demeanor.

“What’s up, Mom?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong with you?” Mina asked.

When she didn’t answer, Jamal looked over at the stand and his eyes widened in recognition. Before he could tell his mother to be cool, she was already marching across the sand toward the couple. Jamal jumped up and down, yelling, “Mom, no!”

Mina chuckled knowingly and said, “Just let her go, Godson. You know they don’t call her Mad Max for nothing.”

Max reached the stand moments later and yelled, “Where have you been, Chauncey?”

The short, stocky man at the stand turned his attention to the crazed woman, clearly caught off guard.

“Maxine! What the hell are you doing here?!”

“How are you going to be up here, making it rain with this bubble-headed tramp on your arm when you know you owe me two months’ worth of alimony!” she yelled as she lunged and wrapped her hands around his plump throat.

“Becky Lynn, run! Get help!” he shrieked at the frightened young woman. She took off running down the strip, Pamela Anderson style.

While Mina laughed as hard as she could, Jamal hurried to break up the hysteria that was drawing yet another crowd. That evening, after he convinced his father to pay up and not press charges, he reflected on the woman who gave him life. Max may have acted paranoid, possessive, and all out crazy at times, but if he didn’t know anything else, he knew that there was nothing in the world quite as complex, intense, and unconditional as a mother’s love and no matter how grown he was, that wasn’t about to change.

“Mad Max” is an unpublished literary work

© Copyright by Stacie Dobson Bell

September 2015

All Rights Reserved