I laughed but the situation wasn’t humorous. It was almost angry but the only appropriate thing to do right now was joke before my mind got too far gone into that subject and I fucked up my camp performance. Contract or not, they could still trade my ass if I was out here looking unfocused and unskilled. “Not you saying somebody dying is a good result, Anthony. Gotdamn I would’ve expect that from ‘Twan not you.”
He hit me in the chest with his hand and that look of him questioning our friendship was back on his face.
“I meant Ami, nigga, please keep up. She’s the good result of dealing with that crazy chick. And yeah, it’s sad she’s gone, but I know I, for one am happy that she’s not around to taint Ami with whatever the fuck was wrong with her. Ami’s gone have good assrole models especially now that she’s got Sterling, AP, Rye and the rest of them in her corner.” He was signing people up to look out for my kid like he was their agent and I knew every one of them was down, but it was wild how he was moving like he knew they’d comply without question.
“My mama don’t count?”
He waved me off and handed the paperwork back to the staffer who had been assigned to work the table. “Your mama's still in Cali. We're talking about the core group of folks that’s gonna be looking out for her. Unless your ass trying to get traded to theStarsand shit and we don’t know it yet.”
I frowned because theStarswere the last franchise in the league I’d ever play for. “I’d retire before I had anything to do with them niggas.”
His face lit up and he looked like a big ass kid. “Good to know. Come on. We've been conditioning all fucking spring for this shit. Let’s knock out this first workout. We've got too many goals to hit this season. Everything is going to work out as long as we take the right steps. You did the first part, it’s only up from here.”
STERLING
“WHAT CAN WE find in the store today, hmm?”
I looked down at Ami’s sweet face and smiled even bigger at the gummy grin that was waiting for me. She was dressed in the cutest yellow onesie with a matching bow holding back her thick curls. Aldrich had been gone for almost five days and I was tired of sitting in the house. It was the first solo trip that I was taking with her but at almost four months old I was less worried about taking her out.
“You got me talking to myself thinking you’re going to actually talk back. But come on, we need to find something for your daddy.” I kissed the top of her head
I was thankful for the car Aldrich insisted on buying because without it I would’ve been stuck in the house. I wouldn’t tell him that but I was going to be silently appreciative and buy him something as a way of saying thank you.
We were in the upscale mall in the city and I was thankful that no one really knew who I was. The walk from the parking lot to the store I wanted to go into wasn’t far so I hadn’t bothered to valet it. I wished that I had Aphrodite with me but I knew she’d only draw a crowd and I didn’t want to put her through that.
Ami and I were hunting for a gift that meant something to Aldrich and I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. I had Ami strapped to my chest but was still pushing her stroller because I knew that even if I didn’t find something for Aldrich I was going to find something for us. Weather here in Texas was very different from back home and since I’d only packed up somuch, the amount I would normally bring for an assignment, I was constantly ordering items. It seemed that I was going to be needed for more events and the variety in my wardrobe had to elevate to look like I belonged in the spaces I was going to be in. I wasn’t blind to the fact that being a part of Aldrich’s life, even if it was just in the capacity of his nanny, would put me in the spotlight. I was going to face the same, if not worse, scrutiny for everything I did so I at least wanted to make sure that I didn’t give them something to talk about when it came to my looking the part. I wasn’t sure if the part was girlfriend or nanny but I was gonna stunt on whoever had something to say about either position.
The bougie baby store that Carine and Rachelle had taken me to was up ahead and I was definitely going to drop a bunch of money. I knew that Aldrich would be mad that I hadn’t used the house account card that he gave me, but I wasn’t about to spend his money when I didn’t have to.
“I think you need a few pairs of shoes to go with your game day ‘fits, lil Ami. Can’t have you wearing the same things week after week and your daddy hasn’t gotten you anything but sneakers. He must not know you’re a princess, huh?”
She gurgled and cooed at me and I could only laugh as she kicked her legs like she was excited about shoe shopping. I had a few ideas of what I wanted her outfits to look like and was going to get basic shoes I could embellish for whatever outfit she wore.Same baby girl, same.
We maneuvered through the shoppers, which was lighter than I expected even for the middle of the week.
“Stop!”
The sound came from behind us and the tone was frantic so I assumed they had a shoplifter in the mall. Since I wasn’t the type of person who worried about somebody stealing, because let’s face it corporations stole from people everyday, I went on aboutmy business unbothered. My cards were in the key cles attached to my keys since I hadn’t bothered with a handbag. I didn’t want to worry behind it while I was solo with the baby so besides her stroller everything of value was attached to me. It wasn’t until I heard the voice getting continually louder that I realized they were yelling at me. I turned around confused when I saw the crazy lady from the hospital running toward me.
“Oh, hell.”
I picked up my phone from the cupholder of the stroller and started to dial Aldrich’s number just as she got in my face. When her hands reached for Ami who was still strapped to the front of my chest, my protective instincts went on high. My phone fell as I grabbed the woman’s hands and pushed them away from me.
“Are you crazy?”
She was wearing loose fitted clothing and sandals while I was in sneakers, leggings and a t-shirt. While I was sure that I could take her, I wasn’t going to let Ami be in the middle of a fight. Especially since being crazy gave people that superhuman crackhead strength.
“That is my grandbaby! You don’t have the right to keep her away from us! You’re not even family so give me my granddaughter!” She had been pointing her finger at me screaming as she spoke. I took a step back just as she lunged at me again. I used my free hand to reach for my keys because I was definitely about to stab this lady in the eye if she touched me again. And God help her if she thought she was going to touch my baby.
“Somebody get this crazy lady away from me!” I didn’t mind yelling and drawing attention to myself if it meant protecting Ami. People stopped and watched and I was sure that someone was going to pull out their phone and start recording. My face wasn’t one that would draw attention so if it made it online,I prayed it would go through the media cycle quickly. Or that someone could get it taken down.
The last thing that Aldrich needed was to have this type of interaction aired all over the news and social media. With the baby strapped to my chest, I wasn’t about to risk her getting caught up in the fray, but her grandmother didn’t have any qualms about attacking me even if it meant that Ami would get hurt.
“Charlie, come to Grandma.” She started to coo at Ami again and reach toward my chest, a fucking violation and sexual assault if we’re being real, and I got fed up.
“Lady, get away from us!” I swung the stroller, hitting her hard enough for her to fall to the ground. She started screaming like I was murdering her and people started coming out of the stores and looking through the windows to see what was going on.
Finally, security rushed over after I had already handled this situation and part of me was pissed they’d taken so damn long. Ami whimpered and I was bouncing her gently to keep her from crying. My stress levels were too high for me to act as though I could fake like everything was okay, so soothing her was all I had. I kept my eyes on everyone that was around to ensure they weren’t getting too close because I knew she had a husband and I didn’t want him to surprise me.
