“I could send my cleaning lady through. I’ll pay for her to clean and disinfect everything even if you aren’t contagious. I doubt you’ll feel up to deep cleaning in a day or two.”
Giavanna was shocked. She wanted to tell him he didn’t have to, but a cleaning lady sounded like music to her ears. The infection had Giavanna extremely tired for the past few days and taking care of a newborn that didn’t sleep through the nighthadn’t made it any better. Her mother helped a lot with Unique, but she worked twelve hour shifts four days a week. It would have been much better if she could rest the entire time Unique was gone and didn’t have to worry about taking half a day to deep clean. Her home had three bedrooms and three bathrooms. One of the bathrooms she never used, but she still liked to wipe the counters down and sweep and mop the floor.
“Um that would be nice. If it’s not too much trouble.”
“It’s definitely not. I’ll hit her up as soon as I get home.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Brazil made his way into the living room where Unique was sound asleep waiting in her car seat. He had everything Unique needed at his home, so he didn’t have to grab a bag. Brazil had outfits for every season in three different sizes for his daughter. There was an array of everything from blankets and onesies to shoes and toys. When Brazil left, Giavanna breathed a sigh of relief and went straight to her bedroom. When it came to having kids, Giavanna had been scared straight at a young age. Her mother had six kids, her grandmother had nine kids, and her Aunt Jolie had eight kids. Giavanna’s cousin, Mika had two kids before she even graduated from high school.
Her grandparents were still together but as for everyone else in her family, she saw what could come from having kids with no good man in sight. No part of her wanted to stuggle. In college, she had her fun but made sure to take her birth control pills faithfully. At the age of twenty-eight, she’d never even had a pregnancy scare. She had an excellent career as a marketing director for a very popular energy drink. Giavanna had achieved every goal she set for herself. Marriage and kids didn’t seem to be on the horizon because all the men she met were trash, so she got comfortable with being single.
When Kera died, keeping Unique until other arrangements could be made was a no brainer. Her and Kera weren’t theclosest, but she thanked God that her cousin had shared with her who Unique’s father was because although she didn’t mind keeping Unique, she wouldn’t have wanted to do it alone. When it came to contacting Brazil, she was apprehensive. Soccer players may not have been on the radar as much as NBA and NFL players, but he was still a pro athlete. Giavanna didn’t know if he was an arrogant asshole that would ignore her or refuse to help with Unique, but Brazil was a good one.
All she wanted to do was get some rest, and it felt good knowing Unique was in good hands. Kera’s mother was Kera 2.0. Even at her big age, she spent her nights out in the clubs trying to find the next man to take care of her. She wasn’t interested in raising anymore kids. Not even her own grandchild. Giavanna also wanted to keep Unique away from people that might have ulterior motives. From the moment it was confirmed that Brazil was the father, certain family members were too worried about if he was going to pay her any money for having Unique. Giavanna wasn’t rich by far, but she didn’t want anything from Brazil except for him to be a good father to Unique. When the day came that she may have to give him full custody, she’d be able to do so without worrying.
Giavanna thought of Kera every day. Her cousin was caught up in the fast life, and she was addicted to toxicity, but Giavanna had faith that she would have been a good mother. The way she lost her life was sad and it further proved to Giavanna that sometimes, dealing with a man wasn’t even worth it. She would rather be lonely any day than to be stressed out and dragged through the mud by someone’s nappy headed son.
As her body sank into her mattress, Giavanna released a content sigh. Rest and someone to clean her house for her would hopefully do her some good. Thank God for Brazil and his offer.
Symphony was leaning against her kitchen island eating a bagel with cream cheese when her doorbell rang. She was expecting Block because they were riding to the airport together, but he wasn’t supposed to arrive for another twenty minutes. Mason was at school, so she wasn’t sure who it could be. When Symphony saw Monique standing on the other side of her door, she froze. Her sister hadn’t come to her house in more than a year. It didn’t take long for the shock to wear off. Finishing off her bagel, Symphony dusted crumbs off her hands and opened the door.
Monique had lost a little weight, but it wasn’t anything drastic. “Hey.” Monique seemed unsure about being at her sister’s house. “I’m sorry to just pop up on you, but I wanted to give you something for Mason.”
Monique reached into her pocket and pulled out a bank envelope.
“Please take this and buy him something. Put the money in his hands, or you can even save it. But just take it from me, please.”
The pleading in Monique’s tone broke Symphony’s heart. She genuinely wanted to give her son the money, but if she held onto it too much longer, she knew as well as Symphony that she’d spend it on drugs.
Taking the envelope, Symphony gave her sister a small smile. “I will.”
“Thank you.”
“How have you been, Monique? You look good.”
“I’m okay.” The small smile on her sister’s face didn’t match the pain in her eyes.
Monique left, and Symphony closed the door. She wished that her sister would spend time with Mason, but the money was a start. She was trying. Symphony counted $900. When she got back from her trip, she’d give her nephew $100 of the money and save the rest. She’d give him $100 a week for nine weeks. He had clothes, shoes, a new cell phone, and air pods. She couldn’t think of anything he needed that would require him having more than $100 at a time.
Symphony moved around the room tidying up the space until the doorbell rang. It felt as if butterflies were congregating in her belly as she spotted Block on the other side of the door. “Hi,” she smiled, and his eyes danced over her frame.
In sweatpants and a matching hoodie, she was dressed down, but the sweats hugged her shapely hips and made Block lick his lips. “You ready?” he stepped over the threshold and grabbed her suitcase.
“Yes, I’m ready. I just need to grab my carry on.”
Symphony wasn’t dwelling on the fact that Block had been in another woman’s presence, and she had called him bae. They weren’t exclusive, and she wasn’t letting a slight case of jealousy ruin her trip to Chicago. The way she needed a break, she was pretty much willing to let a lot slide. Symphony could take herself anywhere she wanted to go but if it was up to her, she would have kept putting the trip off until she was too mentally exhausted to even enjoy it. She was always in hustle mode. Then, she had to consider Mason’s schedule and the fact that she was helping to raise him. Block ignited the fire underneath her that was needed in order for Symphony to finally take some time for herself.
She got comfortable in the car and attempted to calm her nerves. With Block, a good time was always had. The sex was phenomenal, and he was a great guy, so Symphony wasn’t surewhy she was nervous. Going out on a date wasn’t quite the same as going out of town, but she didn’t have any concerns.
“You got an itinerary planned?” he implored after pulling out of the driveway.
“No. I have a list of restaurants that I want to try but as for what we do each day, we can just go off vibes.”
“That sounds like a plan to me. Since we arrive around 2:30, I did go ahead and book us massages at the hotel at 4:30. After that, we can get ready for dinner. We can head out to eat around seven maybe.”
It hadn’t been long since Symphony’s last massage, but she could never get too many. Especially since she had such a busy schedule. She hadn’t made the time to go to yoga in more than two months, and she could tell that she’d been neglecting stretching her body. The massages helped, but she made a mental note to get some yoga in. Not only did it make her loose and her joints less stiff, it also helped to increase her flexibility in the bedroom. Prior to meeting Block, that wasn’t a concern for her but since getting a taste of the D, she wanted it all the time, and she wanted it to be good each and every time she got it.
