A year and a half later, everything was back to normal. Aleesha had opened up two more dispensaries, one in Arizona, and the other in Nevada. She had given birth to twins, a baby boy who they named Anthony, and a baby girl named Aniya, who were now nine months old. She decided to slow things down to take some time out of her busy life to care of her children, so the family and friends who were managing the shops were given more responsibilities. They now met with suppliers and ordered various things for the shops until she was ready to jump back into the working life.
One day while she and the twins were out shopping at the Victoria Gardens, she bumped into Noelle. They both were inside The Children’s Place, and Noelle was coming out as Aleesha was walking in.
“What a surprise,” Aleesha said as she stopped in her tracks. Noelle was also pushing a little girl in a stroller who resembled someone, but Aleesha couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
“Hey,” Noelle said as she stopped pushing her stroller to talk to Aleesha. “Look, I’m not tryna start no drama right now.”
“Me either,” Aleesha said as she stared at her.
“Do you think we can go somewhere and talk?” Noelle asked.
“Sure.”
The two women pushed their strollers out of the store and sat down at the nearest bench.
“I see you and Savage had babies of your own. Congratulations. They’re so cute,” Noelle said as she looked at the twins.
“Thank you,” Aleesha responded as she smiled and looked at the twins also.
“What are their names?” Noelle asked.
Aleesha smiled back up at her. “Anthony and Aniya.”
“That’s beautiful. It fits them.”
“Thank you,” Aleesha said as she looked at the baby in the stroller Noelle had been pushing. “Is this your daughter?” she asked Noelle.
“Yea, this is my one-year-old Miracle,” Noelle said as she looked at Aleesha. She could tell by Aleesha’s uneasy facial expression that she was wondering who fathered the child. “Don’t worry, she isn’t Savage’s,” Noelle responded, but Aleesha still had the same uneasy look upon her face. “She’s Marcus’s seed,” Noelle stated, shocking Aleesha.
“Oh my God,” Aleesha exclaimed, “she does look just like him.”
“Yeah,” Noelle said as she laughed.
“She’s beautiful though.”
“Thank you.”
“So you and Marcus fucked around before he died?”
“Actually,” Noelle replied with a pause, “me and Marcus were together for years—well ... on and off, ever since he did that three-year sentence.”
“Wow,” Aleesha said as she shook her head. I wonder why Savage didn’t tell me that. I know his ass had to know, she thought to herself.
“I know it sounds fucked up, and I’m pretty sure you never knew about me and Marcus, but we were in love, or so I thought anyway,” Noelle said as she shook her head with a scorned look on her face. “But we planned on having her,” she said as she looked at Miracle and began smiling.
“You know what, I would say I’m surprised but nothing surprises me anymore,” Aleesha casually stated. “Once you find out someone’s true colors, nothing amazes you about them anymore.”
“That is so true,” Noelle agreed as she looked back up at Aleesha. “It actually took me having this little girl to realize what I was really doin’ in my life. At one point in time, I actually believed him when he said he loved me and that we would be together. I was really fooled by some good dick.”
“Girl, you ain’t ever lied. I know the feelin’,” Aleesha agreed, shaking her head.
“So how’s Savage, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“He’s good. He’s away in New Orleans producing music.”
“Oh, that’s good. I’m happy for you two and your family,” Noelle said with a sincere look on her face. “I really wanna apologize about the stuff that happened in the past.”
“Girl, say no more,” Aleesha said, putting her palm up. “I wanna apologize too,” she said as she put her hand back down and looked at Noelle. “We could’ve handled ourselves way better, but I’m glad we learned from it.”
“Yeah, after Marcus died and I realized I would be raising our daughter without him,” Noelle said with a scowl, “it really cleared my head up and I knew I had to be better for her, I don’t want her traveling down the same road as me. I don’t even want her to know who her mother was back then you know.”
“Yeah I totally understand,” Aleesha said as she nodded her head in agreement. “So what have you been up to?”
“Well,” Noelle said as she began smiling again. “I’m in school for nursing now. I have my LVN license and I’m studying to be an RN.”
“That’s hella good!” Aleesha exclaimed. “I’m happy to hear that.
“Thank you,” Noelle y replied appreciatively.
“Can I ask something?” Aleesha cautiously asked.
“Yeah sure.”
“How did you know Marcus tried to have sex with me?”
“Well, believe it or not, Marcus talked to me about everything, especially when he was drunk or high,” Noelle regrettably confessed. “He always resented the fact that you and Savage were together. He told me when you guys first met, he liked you but Savage got to you first. And he was hella jealous knowin’ you was out there grindin’ for him. He felt like that should have been him in Savage’s place.”
“Oh wow,” Aleesha responded, astonished. “But why did you keep messing around with him knowing how he felt and knowing him and my best friend were together?”
“Because it didn’t bother me,” Noelle stated bluntly. “We participated in threesomes, orgies, and all types of stuff. I thought you just dealt with those things when you were in love. Don’t get me wrong, I knew what I was doin’ and I enjoyed it, but Marcus also had a slick ass tongue. He made everything sound so good and always justified everything he said and did. He told me he tried to have sex with you to see if you were really loyal to Savage, but I already knew the truth because I knew how he felt.”
“I always knew he was messed up in the head,” Aleesha sadly admitted, “but I tolerated it for my husband. I mean he did grow on me and we became closer over time, but it just fucks me up that his jealousy got that far,” she said as she shook her head.
“Yeah, I know. But I gotta get going,” Noelle said as she stood up to leave. “Gotta get her to my mom’s before I’m late for school.”
“Okay, well it was nice seeing you,” Aleesha said as she stood up. “I hope we can keep in touch,” she said as they exchanged a hug.
“We will, you know my lurkin’ ass knows how to find you,” Noelle said, laughing as she walked away with the stroller.
“You silly,” Aleesha said, laughing as she walked back into the Children’s Place.
She made a mental note to send Noelle money for Miracle on behalf of Marcus. Even though they were responsible for his death, it didn’t stop them from helping to provide for his family. Aleesha finished shopping with her children and went home. She couldn’t wait to tell Savage of the encounter she had today and the new information she learned.