After that, the workday was complete. I had everyone come out front because I wanted to thank them for a job well done, and the time and effort that they’d put in with me today. When one of my employees raised their hand in the end, asking me if she could pray us out, I could have cried. When I tell you, she had us all gather around to hold hands, and she walked over to me, putting her hand on my forehead, praying over me from the top of my head, down to my feet, asking God to protect me, andthis business. She asked Him to allow overflow to pour in, and to allow me, and my employees to stick together like family. I could just tell that she grew up in church. Her prayer was beautiful, and when she finished, I hugged her for over a minute, letting her know how much I needed that prayer.
The day was finally over, and with the time change, it was dark out, even though it was only 5:00 PM. I was getting ready to run to the Miami design district because I needed to exchange a pair of shoes that Tank got for me when he took me shopping a few weeks ago.
It was a pair of Chanel sneakers that I tried to put on this morning, but it didn’t have the fit that I was used to. It was a little snug, so I wanted to go up a size.
Literally, the second that I was pulling out, Tank started calling me. I don’t know if his ass secretly put a tracker in my car or something, but it’s like he always knew the proper time to call.
“Hi baby,” I answered for him.
“What’s up? What you doing? You want to go out to eat?” he asked me, and I smiled at his question.
“What? You mean to tell me that I don’t have to slave in the kitchen for you tonight, and make dinner? I took food out,” I told him, and he laughed.
The fact that I was comparing me cooking dinner for him as slave work, just proved how dramatic I was. Cooking was still something that I was getting used to. Tank didn’t play that shit with me. He made me get in the kitchen. I only got an off day on Friday’s, or Saturday’s because those days, we would typically go out for dinner. Sunday, he made me go all out. He wanted me in the kitchen cooking meals for him on a Sunday that someone’s big mama was supposed to be preparing. I do it with love though because as much as this man does for me, as much as he’s been dealing with my tantrums, and my mood changes, the least that I could do was get in the kitchen and make dinner for my man.
“That’s that dramatic shit that I be talking about. I can let you go off duty tonight. What you want to eat?” he asked me.
“I’m about to go to Miami design district. I want to exchange the shoes you got me for another size. Can you meet me out there? Bring your card with you just in case I see something else that I want,” I replied, as I was hopping on 95.
“Aight. Pick out what you want for Christmas while we in there too. Dionne, I don’t know what the fuck to get you. I’m usually good at gift giving, but bae, you got everything. Where the fuck would a nigga even start?” he asked me, and that question made me laugh because he sounded just like everyone else in my life.
Everybody always made it seem like I was the hardest person to shop for. I did have everything. So many times, in the past, my sisters would gift me something for Christmas or my birthday, and I would already have the item. Since that was the case, they would now text me links, just to see if I had it before they purchased it.
“It’s always something to get me, daddy. I’ll never have everything. I was talking to a few of my sales associates from some of my favorite stores the other day. I’ll text you over some of the stuff that they sent me, that I don’t have. Louis Vuitton just dropped their winter line, and it’s a few furs that I want. A couple of bags too. Chanel’s seasonal bags are coming, but I haven’t had the time to really browse through, but it’s Chanel, so I know I’ll find a few that I want. Dior’s drop is coming out within the next few days. That’s where I’m really going to hurt your pockets,” I let him know, and he sucked his teeth on the other end of the phone.
“Yeah, aight. How the fuck you even know all this shit? Is you cool with the owners or something? Why you know about drops, and all that other shit?” he wanted to know, having no idea why I was always up to date with all the fashion drops, and trends.
“I’m in a different league, Tank. Your old hoes don’t know anything about release dates, and seasonal fashion, daddy,” I had to let him know.
He laughed at that. My man thought that I was the funniest person in the world, even if my jokes could be a little corny at times. Just like a man had the power to laugh a woman right out of her panties, I promise you that I laugh him right out of those briefs any chance that I got.
I talked on the phone with him for a few minutes more, and then we hung up, letting each other know that we would see each other soon.
Instead of driving in silence, I chose to play some music. Lately, I couldn’t sit in too much silence because it would cause my mind to run, just thinking about too many things, putting me in a sad state. I’ve been thinking so much about my mom. Her cries that she released the other day after church, after I dropped the bomb on her, reminded me so much of the way that she cried when Nivea died. I broke her heart with the news, just like I knew I would.
Since then, I’ve talked to her over the phone a couple of times, and I could hear the pain in her voice. I kept reminding her that I wasn’t upset with her though, and that I didn’t blame her for any of this.
In my gut, I can feel that she might have told Tommie what happened because Tommie has been reaching out to me every day to talk to me, and I wasn’t getting the version of Tommie that I used to get. She was being softer with me, and I could tell that it was on the tip of her tongue to want to talk about what I told my mom, but she probably was hesitant because she didn’t know how I would react to it. If my sisters knew, I wasn’t going to be upset about it. It had to come out. That was all a part of the healing journey.
About twenty minutes had gone by, and Tank texted me, letting me know that he arrived, and for me to pull up through valet. I responded back to him, letting him know that I was two minutes away. I knew he would beat me there because for one, he drove much faster than I did, and plus he was closer.
I eventually pulled up, and there wasn’t a wait for valet. My eyes scanned, and they landed on Tank. He was standing outside of his car, with the valet driver standing next to him. Tank pointed with his finger towards my car, telling the worker something. I’m sure he was telling him to charge him for my car as well.
Seeing him standing there, caused me to smile. I was in love, and in lust with him. I truly appreciated him for the beautiful work of art that he was. Even when I was going through that stage of pretending that I didn’t want him, I always knew that Tank was an attractive man, but being with him, the attraction increased times 100.
Besides the physical, it was the way this man treated me that made him so attractive. If I’m pregnant with a little girl, Tank is the kind of man that I would want my daughter with when she’s old enough to date. If I was carrying a boy, I would want my son to be every bit of his father. I loved how manly he was. I loved how he allowed me to be a girl, and so many things I didn’t have to worry about. Even right now, as I’m pulling up to valet, I can’t tell you the cost because my man was already pointing at my car, letting the valet driver know that he was going to take care of the fee for my car as well.
I needed a man like Tank to come into my life and show me this kind of love. At times, it was hard because he would force me to talk about things, and handle things from my past that I didn’t want to, but it was shaping me to become the woman that I was.
I pulled the car up, and Tank didn’t even allow the man to do his job because he was the one that walked over to the driver’sside, and once I unlocked the door, he pulled on the handle, so that he could open the door. Like I didn’t just see this man this morning when I left the house, I smiled big, grabbing my purse, and I walked into his embrace, wrapping my arms around his neck, and his hands went for my ass, squeezing it. We kissed a couple of times on the lips, and I pulled back.
“Come on. Where the shoes at?” he asked me.
“In the back seat,” I let him know.
That’s when he took his hands off me, so that he could grab the Chanel shopping bag, and once he had it, he closed the door behind him. He kept the driver’s door open, letting the valet driver know that the keys were in the cup holder.
From there, we walked in through Saks. It was the wrong place to have me walk through because it was the women’s department, and right up front were the designer shoes. All I had to do was look at Tank, and he knew that I wanted to stop so that I could see what new shoes they had.
