"Haveyou talked to your no-good ass father lately?" my mother, Camisha, asked me.
My mother never missed a beat when it came to talking about my father, even though they spoke on a daily. That was crazy to me. Then she didn't want me to disrespect him, even though I clearly got it from her.
I nodded, reaching for a fry to dip in the ketchup. "I did, but he didn't want anything."
My mother and I had gone out to eat at Dunk's Wings. It wasn't every week thing that we got together and talked. When we did, we'd converse for hours, and sometimes it would be about my father. My mother and I had a close relationship. She was someone I could share my secrets with. She took her role as a parent seriously, too. I'd never disrespect my mother. At my big age of twenty-seven, she'd still knock my teeth down my throat.
She lifted an eyebrow. "So, why did he call you? He told me how you got smart with him on the phone. You know I raised you better than that." She gave me a stern look.
I rolled my eyes skyward. "Of course, he'd go run and tell you something."
I hated that my parents still had a relationship after being divorced for over fifteen years. Truth be told, I didn't know why my mother still talked to that man. My father used to do her wrong. He cheated on her every chance he got. I used to hate wiping my mother's tears. It made me despise my father. I had to keep the way I felt for him to myself. If I let my mother know how I felt about him, she'd beat my ass.
"Of course. Even if we're not together, that man is still running after me. I don't care how many wives he had after me. I'm still in his life and not about to go anywhere."
I scrunched my face up. "I don't want to know that. Y’all need to focus on having a friendship then. When he’s ready to have a relationship with me, then we can talk. I don’t care how many wives he had or has. He still isn’t a good father to me.” That was something I hated. I didn’t get how he could run and tell my mother on me, but he wasn’t telling her, he was still a deadbeat ass father. Until he was serious about wanting a relationship with me, we had nothing to talk about.
The only thing my mother could do was shake her head. I was always a cheerful person with a smile on my face, but when I talked to my father or about him, it brought my mood down. I hated when that happened since I had to go to work later tonight.
"You need to cut it out, Chy. I didn't raise you to be spiteful. What happened to my bubbly child?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.
I placed a hand against my chest and stared her straight in her eyes. "Oh, trust me when I say, I'm still here. You know that whenever I talk about that man, it gets me in a sour mood. This is nothing new." I wouldn't treat it as such either.
I picked up the cup and took a sip of the Pepsi. It was my favorite drink, and I had to have a bottle of it every day. I glanced around the restaurant, not at all surprised by the crowd that had gathered. Dunk's Wings was a very popular wing stop in Skyeville. They sold the best wings, keeping their customers coming back for more. I was one of the customers who could eat their wings daily if I wanted to.
"All I know is, Tip had better not call and tell me you disrespected him again," she stated in a warning tone.
I averted my eyes to my tray of wings and fries. "Yes, ma'am," I mumbled.
My cellphone vibrated on the table, making me push my glasses up. My best friend, Jacey, texted me, wanting us to go get our nails and toes done. One thing that girl did was get her nails and toes redone every three weeks. She kept me inside the nail salon with her. I didn't mind at all since I enjoyed self-care.
"I need to get out of here. Before I go home, I need to stop by the grocery store," my mother stated.
I gathered my trash to throw away. "Jacey texted me, wanting to get our nails done. When I leave here, I’ll be meeting her there.”
"Make sure you give her my love."
I smiled, walking out of the restaurant with her. "I sure will."
After my mother and I said our goodbyes, she went to her car, and I headed to mine. I was glad to get into my car. The wind was blowing furiously. October weather was no joke. Halloween would be here in four days, and I couldn't wait. It was one of my favorite holidays. What made it even better was that my job was having a Halloween party.
I pulled out into traffic and made a right. It was a good thing traffic was light today, so that I could get to the nail salon quicker. I bobbed my head to the music that played on the radio.
I pondered what my mother and I had talked about. I never intended to treat my father that way. He made me do it by the way he treated me. Every time a new lady entered his life, he stopped calling and checking on me. I'd reach out but wouldn't hear from him for a week. Then I'd have to hear it from my mother about why he stopped checking on me. That hurt my feelings and made me not want to have anything to do with him. That wasn't on me, but on him.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realize I had reached the plaza where the nail salon was located. Jacey's car was already parked. I bet she texted while she was on the way to the nail salon. I got out of the car and swiftly walked across the parking lot. The wind nearly blew me away. It was a good thing that the sun was shining. If it hadn't, it would've been colder.
I jerked the door open and walked in, spying Jacey almost immediately. With her big afro, she wasn't hard to miss. A bright smile spread across her lips when she saw me. The salon was packed with customers in every seat, including the pedicure seats. I didn't know why Jacey loved this place so much. With the business they got daily, they were popular, but to me, they were too slow.
Jacey threw her hand in the air. "Hey, sis."
I smiled back and made my way over to take a seat next to her. "Hey. How are you getting your nails done this time?"
She wasted no time, pulling up a picture of the nails she wanted. Jacey was never afraid to pay hundreds of dollars for her nail care. Hell, she had it like that with her boyfriend being a drug dealer.
Jacey showed me a Halloween-themed nail set of Ghostface, which was too cute.
"I like that, but I'm going to keep mine simple and get orange tips."
