“Shane, I told you she was coming by one of these days. Had I’d known you were gonna stop by, I would’ve told you not to come right now,” my mother interrupted.
“I just came to check on you and see if you cooked.”
“I did. I’ll make you a plate,” she said as she looked between Mia and me.
When she walked away, I turned and walked over to the dining room table. Hopefully it wouldn’t take long for her to fix my plate. I wasn’t trying to lose my shit with Mia, but I couldn’t help how I felt right now.
“Shane, will we ever get past this? I’ve apologized to you so many times and I don’t know what else to say. I made a mistake, but I never wanted us to break up.”
Lifting my head, we made eye contact and it was crazy to see she looked the exact same way she had the last time I’d seen her. Since she was a model, her frame was on the slimmer side, but she had the right amount of ass and titties. Mia’s signature hair style was a jet-black, neck length bob cut shorter in the back. Her complexion was light caramel and her brown eyes alwayshad a way of luring me in. I used to look at this woman and feel like I’d really hit the jackpot. Now, I felt nothing but deceit. The butterflies she used to give me no longer existed and the urge I used to have to kiss and touch her was no longer present.
“There’s nothing for us to get past, Mia. You did what you did and I did what I felt was right. End of story.”
“That’s not fair. You barely gave me a chance to explain myself. As soon as I started talking, you grabbed your things and left. You never let me finish what I had to say.”
“What else is there to really talk about? The first words out of your mouth were nothing but bullshit. There’s no way in the hell you spend years in a relationship with me and don’t include me on a decision like that. Shit doesn’t even make sense and that’s why I can’t fuck with it. If you knew for sure that baby was mine, you wouldn’t have done that,” I admitted.
“Here we go again with this. You keep insinuating the baby wasn’t yours and that pisses me off every time you say it,” she countered as she folded her arms.
“I don’t give a fuck what pisses you off, shorty. As far as I’m concerned, I’m the only person with a valid reason to be pissed off about anything. Now please, go back to the couch and wait for my mom. You came over here to talk to her, not me.”
With tears filling her eyes, Mia walked in the direction of the bathroom. Her tears didn’t bother me one bit. After I’d left her condo for the last time, for a while she tried to get in touch with me, but I was over it. She was right when she said I didn’t let her explain. At the end of the day, she shouldn’t have done no shit like that. I could see if I’d ever given her any reason to think I’d be a deadbeat, but that wasn’t in my blood. I was sure the truth would eventually reveal itself.
For now, I was cool on her ass and hoped she didn’t make it a habit to stop by my mom’s crib. I was fully aware that my mother could do whatever she wanted under her own roof, but havingMia over wasn’t going to work for me. This needed to be the first and last time this shit happened. As Mia closed the bathroom door, my mother came from the kitchen with a foil covered plate in one hand and a can of Sprite in another.
“Thank you, Momma. What you make?” I asked as I reached for the items.
“Jerk catfish, cabbage, and homemade macaroni.”
“How many pieces of fish you give me?”
“Four. I know you like it, so I was generous.”
Nodding, I turned to leave the house. I couldn’t wait to get home and spark a blunt before diving into this food.
“I’ll walk you out, son.”
Awkward silence filled the space between my mother and me as we walked to my truck. I knew she had something to say about the Mia situation, but I wouldn’t press the issue.
“This won’t be something that’s happening all the time. I told you that. I try my best to stay out of your business and Mia has never done anything to me. I told her she could come over and tell me whatever she needed to get closure and that would be it. She’d just gotten here not even ten minutes before you pulled up. I don’t like the decision she made, but again, that’s between you and her,” my mother expressed.
“Okay, Momma. I respect you and your house, but I don’t want that. Her being over here all the time can cause indirect problems in the future. It would be different if we had a child together and she had a reason to keep ties, but she doesn’t. I’m not with anyone right now, but I don’t ever want a lady I’m with to feel like my momma on some fake shit. I need my girl to feel like my family is her family and that’s not gon’ happen if my past keeps poppin’ up.”
“I get that. That’s why I said it won’t become a habit. You forgetting I have a husband. Your father was the same way. He made sure your grandmother was on the same page as him whenit came to me, even before I became his wife. I got you, son. How’s Celeste doing? Have you talked to her?”
“Nah, I haven’t. I may text her later on and see how she’s doing. The media has moved on to the next thing, so I haven’t heard anything,” I explained.
When it came to gossip, things came and went. Spinna and Serenity’s situation had been forgotten about and this week was someone new.
“Well, make sure you tell her I’m sending prayers. We women go through so much behind men that it’s sickening. She has a beautiful store and I hope it’s enough motivation to keep her on the straight and narrow. She was also telling me a little bit about her mother and that can’t be easy. Having a sick parent will really test everything in you. I couldn’t imagine doing all of that as an only child. You have no one to share the mental or physical load with. Just tell her I’m thinking about her.”
“I will, Momma. I’m just trying to stay in my place. She has a boyfriend; so there’s only so much I can do on my end,” I countered as I opened the driver’s side door.
“Oh please. That’s not gonna last too much longer. I can look at a woman and tell when she’s cooking up a plan. It may not happen when you want it, but trust and believe she’ll be out of whatever she’s going through.”
My mother and I spoke for a few more moments before I hugged her and settled into my truck. Once I made it home, I showered before rolling up. As I was eating my food, I scrolled aimlessly through social media. When a video Deontay posted came across my newsfeed, I stopped to watch it. Like any other day, it was a video of him wearing every piece of jewelry he owned, dressed in a white Balenciaga shirt that showcased the label on the front with a red Solo cup in hand. There were three half naked women on his lap, with a stack of money mountain high resting next to him.
Honestly, I didn’t know how this nigga was still doing the shit he was doing. It was like he didn’t give a fuck about not being next in line when it came to the family business. He only cared that his pops wanted it to go to me. There were several times when I’d wanted to sit my pride to the side and have a man-to-man conversation with my cousin, but every scenario that played in my head always ended badly. There was no way I’d be able to reason with a nigga who was jealous of me. All I knew was I needed to keep his ass close enough to keep an eye out. Deontay wasn’t a calculated man and he moved sloppily. If he was up to something, I’d be able to sniff that shit out before it came to pass.
