I breathed a sigh of relief. “I was not in the mood to deal with crying and pouting if he lied again.”
“I know that’s right. How was work?”
“It was good. I’m really happy that London chose me to do her makeup the entire time she’s filming. I definitely need the extra money. It came right on time.”
“And I need you to know that whatever you and those girls need will always come right on time. God sees you. He loves you, and He hasn’t forgotten about you. Man will let us down every time, but He won’t. I know every time one of those girls cries or asks why they can’t go home it hurts, but don’t ever for one second doubt that you did the right thing.”
With a small smile on my face I walked over, bent down and hugged my mother. “I needed that. I’m about to take a showerand go to Alisa’s. I was supposed to go yesterday to celebrate the job, but I was so mad at Corey that I didn’t go.”
“Go have fun. You deserve to celebrate. Tell Alisa I said hello.”
“I will. Thank you, ma.”
In the shower, I closed my eyes and let the water pelt onto my skin. Life was different now. I had to get used to my new normal. I missed my home and my bed, but wherever I moved to would just have to become home. One time for a split second, I wondered if I had done the right thing by leaving Corey. It didn’t take me long to conclude that I absolutely did. Fuck his cheating ass. I deserved better. Love might not be easy for me to find with three kids, and if I was meant to be alone so be it. I’d never be desperate enough to settle for a man mistreating me. I already gave one seven years of my life and never even got proposed to.
I damn sure didn’t have to be cute to go to Alisa’s house, but I challenged myself to wear something besides leggings or sweatpants. After about five minutes of pondering, I decided on a black, silk, sundress and white sandals. Putting curls in my hair wasn’t a task that I felt like completing, plus I wanted to give my hair a break from heat, so I redid my bun. It was neat and slick. A coil hung by each ear, and I placed diamond studs in my ears. I got cute to go to Alisa’s office, but any other time, I walked around looking unloved and tired of life.
Alisa lived fifteen minutes away from my parents. When I walked into her house, she had a charcuterie board set up with pastrami, salami, turkey, pickles, various cheeses, crackers, grapes, strawberries, chocolate covered peanuts, and pickles. She also had mini red velvet cupcakes and three bottles of wine. Our canvases sat on mini easels that she had placed on her kitchen island.
“This is nice,” I gushed grabbing a strawberry. “All of this for me?”
“All for you my dear.”
“I’m flattered.”
Alisa had everything all set up. Easing onto the barstool, I took the wine glass she handed me. “Corey the cunt came through and got the kids?”
Her comment made the wine I swallowed go down wrong and for two point five seconds, I thought I was going to die. I was literally gasping for air. Beating on my chest didn’t even help, but I refused to go down without a fight. By the time I gathered myself tears were streaming down my cheeks, and Alisa was staring at me with wide eyes.
“Girl, are you okay?!”
“Please don’t say shit like that when I’m drinking. Jesus, if I would have died you would have been financially responsible for my kids,” I sniffed and patted my tears away.
“Sorry. Damn, I don’t want you to die. Especially not in my house.”
“Yes, the kids are with their father, and I pray that he keeps them through the night. I keep looking at my phone expecting to see a text. My babies are five, and that man has never kept them alone overnight.”
“I should have stopped by the house and got the girls hyped up on sugar before he came and got them,” she sat down beside me and sipped her wine.
Alisa’s newfound disdain for Corey had me chuckling. Before he cheated on me, she’d never had one bad thing to say about him. Even when I was angry with him, she would listen to me vent and give me unbiased advice. The moment I decided to leave him, she had nothing good to say about him, and I appreciated that because fuck him.
Alisa unlocked her phone and went to Apple music. The first song that came from the blue tooth was FNF by Glorilla. If I knew Alisa, there would be no sad, sappy love songs. We weregoing to vibe to every man hating song she could find, and I loved that for me. I couldn’t imagine going through a breakup with no support while having to be strong for three kids. I was grateful for my parents, my sister, and Alisa. I was also grateful to London for giving me a chance and being so kind to me. Maybe it was the wine I was sipping but for some reason, I had a feeling that everything was going to be alright. Eventually.
CHAPTER 5
HYMN
I’d playedfootball in front of hundreds of people. I’d played in the Super Bowl twice, but I’d never felt fear like the anguish that gripped me as I walked toward my mother’s hospital room. True to my word, when my sister told me she woke up, I flew there to see her. I didn’t even know what the doctor had said. I just wanted to get there and see her with my own eyes before I started hearing bad news. When I entered the room, Divine was standing at my mother’s bedside holding a cup while my mother drank through a straw.
Her head was bandaged, and she appeared much thinner than she had been the last time I saw her. When my grandmother was nervous or upset, she couldn’t sit still. I wasn’t surprised at all when I didn’t see her. More than likely, she was at home cleaning an already clean house from top to bottom. My grandmother had always loved herbal teas and spring water. She didn’t eat pork, and she went walking four days a week. She was in her seventies, got around great, had tons of energy, and kept her home spotless.
I knew if my mom needed care once she was discharged, my grandmother wouldn’t hesitate, but I didn’t want to put that burden on her. I would hire all the help my mother might need.Divine looked over her shoulder and gave me a small smile. When my mother stopped sucking, Divine moved the cup away from her mouth.
“You want something to eat?” she asked in a soothing voice.
“N-n-n-no.” My mother’s mouth was twisted to the left like she’d had a stroke.
My chest tightened, and I wondered if she’d be this way forever. Clearing my throat, I took another small step toward the bed. “What are the doctor’s saying?” ‘
