“Jade, please. I’ve had so much going on that I don’t know left from right. I would’ve told you eventually, but there’s really nothing to tell,” I admitted.
“Shit, it’s something to tell if a nigga got you smiling. You know my motto. If you wanna get over your old nigga, go lay up under a new one,” she stated with a shrug.
Laughing, I finished catching Jade up on everything I knew about Shane. I didn’t know why I was expecting more judgment from her, but she didn’t have much to say. That was better than her telling me I was out of my mind for even having another man on my mind with everything I had going on. Once the two of us finished, we walked back to the store and got back to the online orders. Erick was ringing up a customer and he looked nice in his three-piece suit.
Jade and I were in the zone until it was time for me to head to the assisted living facility to check on my mother. Today, I was taking her a new throw blanket and a few other things I’d picked up from the store. I like to switch up the decorations in her room every now and again to keep it feeling like home. It was bad enough she had had to spend her last days in a facility. I was approaching a red light when my phone rang with a call from Allen. Ignoring it, I went to the music app and turned to my favorite playlist. The tune didn’t even have a chance toplay before I received another call. My face scrunched up in annoyance, thinking it was Allen.
I relaxed when I realized it was Shane. Right before I answered, I remembered I’d never responded to his text. I had been so busy talking to Jade about him that it slipped my mind.
“Hello?”
“Celeste?”
“Yes. Hello, Shane.”
“If you knew it was me, why you ain’t text me back?”
“My bad. I was at lunch with my best friend and it slipped my mind.”
“Aight. I was only callin’ to check on you. When you didn’t respond, I wanted to call to make sure this was really your number,” he said.
“Yeah, it’s me. How you been?”
“I been straight, shorty. Same shit, different day. What you up to?”
“I’m on my way to visit my mom. I try to see her as often as possible,” I informed him.
“My mom was asking about her last night. She told me to tell you she was sending you prayers and shit.”
“That’s nice of her. Tell her I said thank you again for allowing me under her roof without knowing me from a can of paint.”
“Listen, I’m not about to be the messenger. Y’all asses got too much to say to each other. I’ll send you her number and you can tell her all that shit yourself.”
“Okay. That’s fine,” I stated with a chuckle.
When the line went silent, I tried to think of something else to talk about. It was nice talking to him and I didn’t want our conversation to end so quickly.
“Are you at the studio right now?”
“I am. The person I’m working with just went on a break, so I’m chillin’ until he gets back.”
“How long will you be there?”
“Only for the next few hours. I should be out around eight. Why you ask? You wanna see a nigga or somethin’?”
“What if I said yes?” I asked boldly.
“We can make that happen. You know where the lakefront is off fifth avenue?”
“I do. Downtown, right?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll meet you there when I leave. There’s usually not many people there on a weeknight, so we should be good on privacy.”
“That’s cool. Text or call me when you leave the studio and I’ll leave from visiting my mom then.”
Once the plan was finalized, I ended the call and drove in silence the rest of the way to my mom. I didn’t know what the hell I was thinking right now, but I’d be meeting Shane. Allen crossed my mind, but only because of the fate of my store. I couldn’t care less about how he’d feel knowing I was with another man. As far as I knew, he was laid up with Serenity at this very moment. When I made it to the nursing facility, I parked in the visitors’ lot and grabbed the bags from my back seat. After hitting the lock button on my key fob, I walked in and signed in at the receptionist desk. I made my way down the hall once I had my pass.
“Knock, knock,” I sang as I lightly knocked on my mother’s door.
