“I-I wanted to make sure I wasn’t late for work.”
“What? What the hell does that have to do with anything? If you aren’t gonna tell me the truth, don’t insult my intelligence. I already know you were staying at the shelter when I picked baby girl up. My question is, why aren’t you sleeping at the shelter instead of outside in a public area? What happened?”
When I first found out she lived in a shelter, I instantly wanted to step in and save her. I considered letting her stay at my place, but I knew her stubborn ass wouldn’t agree. Plus, I had too many women at my house. I planned to give her a bonus on Friday so she could get her own place, but it was clear those plans would have to change.
“I got into a fight at the shelter, and they put me out. I figured this would be a safe place for me to sleep, and I would be close to the job. My plan was to get dressed in the office and then?—”
“And then what? Why the hell didn’t you call me last night? There’s no way I would have let you and Promise sleep out here. The neighborhood is cool, but it ain’t that damn cool. I thoughtyou had enough sense not to put your child in danger, but I guess I gave you too much credit.” I fumed as Promise interrupted our conversation to show me a game on her mom’s phone.
“You think I wanted this? I’ve been trying to hold it together. You want to stand here and judge me, but you don’t have any idea what this feels like. I can’t keep a roof over my baby’s head, I can barely afford to keep our clothes clean, but I’m trying to keep my head above water. If that makes me a bad mother, then I guess I’ll own that. I don’t know what else you want from me.”
Her cries tugged at my heart, making me realize I might have been a little tough on her. Promise peeled her eyes away from the phone to peer at her mother.
“Momma, you crying?” Promise asked, trying to climb out of my arms to get to her.
“Let’s give momma a moment. You want a snack?” I figured the mention of a snack would catch her attention.
“Yes. I yike snacks.”
“I’m gonna give you a minute to yourself. We’re gonna figure this out.” I wasn’t the best at comforting women outside of my sisters, and even then, they complained that I wasn’t soft enough.
Promise, and I went into the leasing office and headed over to the vending machine. I put a couple of dollars in and got her a bag of puffs and a granola bar. Once the snacks were secured, I sat her down in a chair so she could eat.
I retrieved my phone and called Maliah to let her know Peace would be out of the office for the day. Instead of making her come in, I told her she could work from home, and I would close the office for the day. There were a few things I needed to check on, so I would be here if anyone showed up.
After I got off the phone with Maliah, I got the keys I needed, grabbed Promise, and headed out of the office. The closed sign was placed on the door as we headed back over to her momma.When she saw us coming, she wiped the rest of her tears with her shirt.
“Come with me,” I told her, then headed towards the townhouses that were behind the complex.
Promise talked my ear off until we reached the building. I used the key to open the door, then stepped back so Peace could walk inside. She hesitated, and her eyes were filled with unasked questions. I wasn’t in the mood to answer any, so I was glad she kept them to herself.
“You like this place, pretty girl?” I sat her down on her feet so she could look around. There wasn’t much to look at because there was barely any furniture in it, but there were two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The place was technically mine, but I didn’t have any use for it. The only reason I kept it was in case a family member needed a place to crash, or I needed a place to crash on a late night.
“My room?” I smirked when I heard her little voice. Promise held her hand out for me to take it. I picked her up again and showed her and her momma around the place.
“This room will be yours. We can decorate it with whatever you want. Ponies, Trolls, or even Princesses.”
“Oh, I want Twolls, Doe. Twolls.”
I wasn’t surprised at all because we had watched the movie more times than I could count. If I had to quote a scene from the movie, I knew I could nail it.
“Alright, pretty. Let me make a couple of calls, and I’ll get all your stuff ready for you, okay?”
“Otay, Doe! Muah.” Promise kissed my cheek and made a gangsta melt. When I turned to see Peace, I noticed that she seemed uncomfortable. We needed to talk about a few things, so I decided to get some things straight. I escorted baby girl back to the living room, sat her on the couch, and turned on a movie onher momma’s phone. She swung her little legs while singing the intro.
“Come on. We need to talk.” I led the way to the master bedroom, then stepped back so she could walk in first. As soon as I closed the door, Peace let loose.
“I’m not some sad charity case that you have to rescue. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, but I don’t want you doing anything else. You’ve made it abundantly clear what you think of me as a mother, and the last thing I want is for you to feel like you have to keep saving me.” She rambled with her arms folded across her chest. My nostrils flared, and I knew the conversation was about to get heated.
“Let me explain something to you. I’m not the type of nigga who likes to repeat myself. You’re in your feelings because of what I said earlier, and that’s cool. I can admit that I jumped the gun with my judgments, and for that I apologize. As far as you being a charity case, I don’t see it that way. At the end of the day, I care about that little girl in there, and I wouldn’t be able to call myself a man if I allowed her to be on the streets.
“This isn’t some freebie because I fully expect you to pull your weight once your money starts coming in. I’m simply lending a helping hand because I see that you’re trying to do better for your daughter. All I ask is that you respect my space and open your fucking mouth when you need help. Pride won’t get you anywhere, and you have to put it to the side when it comes to that little girl in there. Don’t make her suffer because you don’t want to open your mouth when you need help.”
“You’re unbelievable. Even when you’re trying to do something nice, you sound like an asshole.” Peace scoffed.
“Yeah, well, I hear that shit all of the time. As long as I make shit happen, my delivery shouldn’t matter.” I shrugged, then sent a message to Justice’s wife, Ciyani. She was the person I called whenever I needed help dealing with women or needed anopinion on how to handle my sisters. Money, guns, and fucking were things that made sense to me. Women were a completely different task.
“I have a few people who will be coming by in the next couple of hours. Do you and baby girl have something you can change into right now?”
