Pierre pushed out a low chuckle, but he didn’t respond with words. Instead, he did as I’d requested and got the fuck out my face.
The next day, Wonder and I were leaving the mall after doing some shopping for the kids, and she reminded me that Nina was having a cookout. Between working the jobs I would have given to Pierre, dealing with two toddlers at the crib, and still being pissed about what Misha did to my baby, I wasn’t exactly in the mood to be around a bunch of people.
I glanced over at Wonder. Typically, she’d be complaining about being tired or having morning sickness, but she had been good the entire time we were out. “You really want to go to that shit? You don’t need a nap?”
Wonder rolled her eyes. “I just want to pop in, say hi, and get a plate. I’m not turning down the chance to eat grilled hotdogs, hamburgers, and chicken.” Shorty licked her lips like she could taste the food on them. “We can stay for about thirty minutes and leave. Nina knows I get tired easily.”
“Aight,” I sighed.
I didn’t really feel like going, but thirty minutes wasn’t too bad.
“Have you talked to Pierre?” Wonder’s voice cut into my thoughts.
“Nah, not since yesterday. Why?”
I could see Wonder shrug from my peripheral. “Just asking. It’s crazy how he didn’t even call you to let you know he couldn’t do the job. That was inconsiderate. I was hoping he’d come home and be on something different.”
“It is what it is.” I wasn’t about to keep worrying about what Pierre was or wasn’t doing. I had my own shit to sort out.
When I arrived at Nina’s crib, I saw four cars in her driveway and a few more lining the street in front of the house. Themoment I stepped out of the car, the aroma of grilled food wafted into my nostrils. Rather than going to the door, we walked around to the back of the house where everyone was gathered in the backyard.
Nina and Pierre were together for a minute, so I was familiar with a few of her family members. I nodded and said hello to the ones I did know while scanning the yard for Nina. It didn’t take me long to spot her by the grill grinning wide in the face of the nigga manning the grill. He had light skin and thick locs. In my opinion, he looked a little young, but I didn’t have shit to do with that either. If Stella wanted to get her groove back, that was her business.
She noticed us walking toward her, and she smiled wide while squealing. “You came.” She rushed over to Wonder with her arms stretched out.
Wonder chuckled as she hugged Nina’s dramatic ass. “I’m not staying long. We just left the mall, and you know I’m tired. I had to say hello though. And get some food,” she coughed out making Nina laugh.
“I don’t even mind you coming for food. Feed that baby. Get as many plates as you want.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” Wonder’s entire face lit up. It was crazy how she loved food while pregnant. Like, she would cry over the shit. Lose sleep over it. Be ready to fight for it. If she had to fight a bear for a piece of steak, the bear didn’t stand a chance.
The dude that had been working the grill walked over to us and gave me and Wonder a slight head nod. “Bae that chicken is done.”
“Okay.” Nina gave him a quick glance then focused her attention back on us. “Y’all this is my boo, Nine. Isn’t that cute. Nine like the gun, and Nina like they call a nine?” she cheesed making my brows hike.
“That is cute. And scary,” Wonder agreed with a giggle. I chose not to speak. I was glad Nina was happy. Pierre was my nigga, but that didn’t mean I felt she should put up with his antics forever. I was also the last person to judge a person based off stereotypical things, but I got vibes that I didn’t like from Nine. Pierre was a street nigga too, but he had a different vibe than Nine. I wasn’t sure what it was. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I didn’t like him for her. I was going to keep that to myself, however. She didn’t ask for my opinion, and I wasn’t going to offer it.
“Come on boo. I’m going to take this chicken in the house, and you can get your plates.”
Wonder turned to me. “You want anything?”
“Yeah, throw me some of everything on that bitch.”
There were a few available chairs spread out in the yard, but I chose to remain standing. Out of the twenty or so people that were present, I recognized maybe five of them. I only remembered one of their names. Anytime I was distracted with the kids, work, or shopping, it made me temporarily forget all the stress I was under. It made the discomfort in my chest ease up. But then once I was still, it all came flooding back. Knowing how close I came to losing my daughter made a chill run down my spine every time I thought about it. I kept waiting for the day that I woke up, and I wasn’t angry anymore. It still bothered me that I was right in front of Misha, and I didn’t slap the taste out of her mouth.
I became so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t even realize that Nina and Wonder had been gone for a lil’ minute. I walked toward the house to find Wonder, and I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw her with her nose in a double Styrofoam stacked cup. Knowing that Wonder used to be addicted to lean, and she was hiding holding double cups in her hand made my heart slam into my ribcage.
When I remembered how to make my legs move again, I moved fast to close the distance between us. Before I knew it I was in her personal space, and she looked up at me with wide eyes like a deer caught in headlights. Before I could even process what I was doing, I was squeezing her cheeks while glaring into her eyes.
“I will kill the fuck out of you. I know you not out here playing with me while you’re carrying my baby.”
Furious wasn’t the word to describe how I felt, but when tears welled in Wonder’s eyes, I let her face go immediately. Using her free hand, she slapped me hard as shit. “Don’t ever put your fuckin’ hands on me.” A tear spilled over her eyelid. “This is Nina’s cup. I picked it up because the kids were over there playing, and I didn’t want anybody to pick it up and drink out of it. I’m not your other fuckin’ baby mama.”
I felt like shit. I knew Wonder and though she’d struggled with addiction in the past, thinking she’d relapse while pregnant may have been messed up. The bullshit in my life was starting to get to me. Crashing out was the last thing I wanted to do.
“I’m sorry,” I took a step back. “I just saw you smelling it, and I just freaked out.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Wonder used the back of her hand to wipe the tears away. “I’ll take an Uber home.”
