I coughed, because for a woman Rim hit harder than any nigga I had encountered, especially if she caught me off guard.
“Yeah, my daughter ain’t gonna like you for too long. Got your ass in here beating on her daddy.”
“Reminisce, stop cursing around this baby. You don’t wanna get around somebody and she starts cursing.”
I shrugged. “She good, plus she don’t be listening to anything I say.”
Karim shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. She still shouldn’t have to hear you dropping all those curse words. Clean up your language, Reminisce.”
I was seconds from telling her I wasn’t cleaning up a motherfucking thing when lil man came back holding the boxes. I was about to look at him when I heard my baby’s voice and felt her tugging at my jacket. “Daddy, call coming.”
I glanced down and looked at the screen of my phone. It showed my sister was requesting to FaceTime.
“Answer it. That’s your auntie.”
Lil mama lit up and immediately clicked the screen to answer for Jade.
“So you bought her two iPads for what?” Karim asked, eyes lulling over Romance who was staring down at the iPad she had set up for her.
“I’m keeping the small one in the car so when that big one goes dead, she can hop on it. I don’t like sharing my phone. Every time I get it back it’s sticky and dying.”
Karim laughed. “You act like you don’t wanna be bothered, but your eyes light up every time she says daddy. I see it, Pops.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure, you don’t. Why am I just now talking to you?” Karim’s eyes finally left Romance and landed on me. They were always so expressive and life filled.
“Because you haven’t picked up a phone to call me, shorty,” I responded honestly.
She rolled her eyes. “When do I ever? You just pop up when you’re here?”
“And what, you miss that?”
She rolled her eyes and sighed. “That’s not what I said.”
“But it’s what you meant. Right?”
“Why do you make things so difficult?” She was irritated. I could tell when her eyes went tight.
“I ain’t making anything difficult, Karim. If you miss me, say that shit then. Ain’t no need to be feigning attitudes.”
The way she looked at me let me know she wanted to murder my ass but would spare me only because my daughter was sitting a few feet from her.
“Whatever.”
Now she was mad and that was so fucking sexy. “I missed your fine ass too, even though you acted like you couldn’t tell me that.”
Within seconds she was smiling. One thing about Karim, she couldn’t stay mad with me no matter how much I ever fucked up. We talked for a while longer. In true Karim fashion, shecontinued avoiding saying she missed me, but what the fuck did I expect? Even though I was the emotionally delayed one, she took the cake every time I even thought about taking it that way with her. It was cool though, because while Romance spent time with her cousins, I’d be pulling up. I knew like hell she had me fucked up if she thought she’d ever pay any nigga some real attention that wasn’t me. I was tired of playing these dumb ass games that neither of us ever won.
My first stop would be by this property I’d purchased to rehab and flip. What was wild was I’d bought it along with a few others, but this one I’d sat on. I did more customizing with less plans of selling. It wasn’t until I found out I had Romance and sat up way too long one night thinking about everything that I decided I wanted to raise my child there. So over the last couple weeks I had been conversing with Jason more and putting more into it.
Later that evening, when we finally made it to G’s house after dinner with Karim, I finally felt like I could breathe. Around her that shit felt hard at times. I was always holding back what I should’ve been saying. I couldn’t fathom the bullshit I’d gone through with Pynk repeating itself. Though I knew Rim wasn’t Pynk, my trauma with connections still existed.
“You bought her two iPads?” my brother asked, reentering the kitchen, holding two beers.
I accepted the beer he extended. “I’ont like sharing my phone. Phone be sticky, hot, and dead by the time she gives my shit back.”
A chuckle escaped G’s lips. “Price of having kids. How is everything though?”
