I peered out into the parking lot, observing the fine man with flowers on the hood of his car as he sat patiently, awaiting my arrival.
“The devil comes in many forms,” I whispered to myself as I took the first step.
And then I took eleven others until I was on level ground. I made my way toward Flocco, completely caught off guard by his generosity and personal interest in my freedom. My heart ached in my chest. Fine bumps had sprinkled themselves all over my body. And, suddenly, I was wondering if I looked good. Smelled like prison sheets. Or had the staleness of the toothpaste on my breath.
Unsure of either, my feet never halted. I passed Flocco, prepared to walk all the way home. My nostrils widened to capture his scent. He smelled divine. I closed my eyes briefly to savor the aroma, marking it in my mental rolodex.
“You’re one stubborn woman, Hyph,” he said, calmly.
No yelling.
No urgency.
No frustration.
“I don’t have the capacity, Flocco– For whatever it is that you want. So instead of wasting your time or mine, let’s just let it be.”
The scent I’d tried etching in my brain was no longer too distant to fully capture and hold onto. It was close. It was behind me. It was on the side of me. It was in front of me. Fresh flowers in hand. Finally, I froze.
“Let’s not,” he demanded, extending the flowers in my direction.
My shoulders curled inward. My chest sank. I was in a whirlwind, and I wanted nothing more than for it to stop. It didn’t. Not until he opened his mouth. And, every time he closed it, it began again.
“I know somebody fucked your shit all up. And, I understand you’ll need time. I’m a patient nigga. I’m in no rush for something–forsomeonewho I already know is mine. So whether it be today or ten months from now, nothing changes.”
“What do you want from me, Flocco?”
“A date–”
“A date?”
“Yeah. a fucking date, Hyph.”
“Because you bailed me out, although I didn’t ask you to?”
“Nah. I wanted to take you out before you got yourself in a jam. I freed you because I couldn’t stand the idea of you in there. No woman of mine will be left sitting in that bitch if I can help.”
“I’m not your woman.”
“Yeah. Aight.”
He pushed the flowers in my direction. I took them. They were beautiful.
And pink.
And white.
And yellow.
They reminded me of the softness I’d leaned into over the last four years. It washed away like mud in the shower the moment I stepped foot outside of the home I’d created with Zeek. Everything hardened that night.
“Lesson number four… I’m going to buy you flowers, and you’re going to take care of them. You’re also going to tell me which ones you hated, so I never buy them motherfuckers again. And every time you walk past them in your home, you have to think of me. It doesn’t matter if we’re on good terms or bad terms… I’ll always get you flowers.”
I tittered. “More lessons?”
“One date, Hyphen. And, a ride back to Dooley.”
I sighed with a shake of the head.
