Chapter 9

Kaylin

I was almost to the border of Mississippi and Alabama when I turned around. I realized I couldn’t go back to Georgia. There was nothing left for me there. The house, club, and cars were all material things. What I wanted the most was gone, so there was no point in me going.

So instead of me staying in Mississippi like I had planned to, I decided to pack up my kids and head on down to Louisiana. I needed me and my kids to be surrounded by people who truly cared about us, and I could only get that from my mother. So that’s where I was headed. I was heading home, straight to the Big Easy.

It didn’t take me long to get back to the house. I made it there in no time. I had already called Stacy and told her to help the kids pack their things so we could get on the road. When I pulled up to the house, there was only one light on. It was in the living room, which let me know that Stacy was still up. I really hope she don’t come questioning me, because I damn sure don’t have time for her shit. I just want to get the kids and our things and be out. I don’t want to argue or fuss, because that shit isn’t in me no more.

I got out of the car and walked up to the house. Before I could make it to the door, she had it open already. I brushed past her and went straight to the kitchen to get me something to drink. I thought that since I didn’t speak to her, she would know that I didn’t want to be bothered. Her simple ass didn’t catch the hint. She marched her aggravating ass in right behind me.

“What’s going on with you, Kaylin?” she asked as I opened the refrigerator door.

“Ain’t shit going on with me. Why you bugging?” I said, grabbing a bottle of water.

“Well, you could’ve fooled the shit out of me,” she said, being sarcastic.

“Man, look, right now ain’t—”

“The time for that. Yeah, well, when is the time, huh? According to you, it’s never the time for that,” she yelled, getting in my face. “It’s always the same damn thing with you. If you don’t want me, just tell me. Ever since Mimi done died, you changed.”

I didn’t reply because I didn’t want to hurt her little feelings. I just walked past her and went to get the kids’ things so that I could load up the car.

“Oh, so that’s it, huh? You don’t want me? What, you still stuck on Mimi?” she asked, still following me.

I refused to answer her, because I didn’t want to fuss over a dead issue. She knew from the beginning that I didn’t want her. I never did want her. I only dealt with her because she was the mother of my son. She knew that we couldn’t be nothing more than parents to our son.

I walked into the kids’ room and grabbed as many suitcases as I could.

“She’s dead. You might as well face the fact. Mimi is never comin’ back. You’ll just have to get over that shit,” she yelled.

“Ma, chill out before you wake up my kids.” My tone was low and menacing.

“Fuck that shit. I put up with your shit for too fuckin’ long, and you over here stuck on a dead bitch. If you want her so much, then go dig up her body!”

“Daddy?” Kailay called out, wiping her eyes.

“Yes, baby,” I replied, walking over to her.

“I want my mommy,” she said as she began to cry. I took her into my arms and began to rock her. Before all of this happened, I was her favorite person. Now all she did was cry for her mother.

“Shhhh, we already had this talk, baby. Mommy’s in heaven with the angels.” The minute I said that, she started to cry harder. I picked her up and carried her to my room. I didn’t want her to wake the boys up, or else I’d have to deal with three crying children instead of one.

I placed her in the bed and took off my shoes. I then got in the bed beside her, and I started to rock her back to sleep. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep. Once she was sound asleep, I slid out of the bed and went downstairs.

The minute I hit the bottom of the stairs, here came Stacy in my face again.

“So is it time yet?” she said, waving her hands around. I tried to move past her, but she blocked me. “No, you ain’t goin’ nowhere. This time you gonna talk to me, damn it.”

I’d finally had enough of her and her fucking mouth. I grabbed her and pinned her against the wall. “Bitch, check this out. I be tryin’ my hardest not put my hands on you, but you keep on postin’ with me. I don’t know who you think you are, but your mouth always be the one to get you in trouble. You ask me why I don’t want to talk to you, that’s the reason why. Your mouth is forever writin’ a check that your ass can’t cash!”

“You’re always runnin’ away from me, or tuning me out when I’m tryin’ to talk to you. You can’t keep doin’ that to me, Kay. That shit has to stop if we gonna be together as a family.” She had the nerve to continue talkin’, even after I told her why I couldn’t stand her dumb ass.

“Family? I don’t know where you got that shit from, ma, but you need to chill on that. We ain’t never gonna be a family, ma. You need to get that through your fuckin’ head. I don’t want your ass. You just the mother of my child and I don’t see us havin’ a future together. You not Mimi. She’s who I wanted a future with, but that can’t happen now. So I’m good on having a family. As long as I got my kids, I’m good,” I said, bursting her bubble. I tried to be nice, but I was tired of telling her that I didn’t want a family with her ass.

“Well, okay,” she said, pushing past me. I really wasn’t expecting her to be so calm and cool but, hell, as long as she wasn’t bitching, then I was cool with that.

“Good. Now, can you please get the rest of the kids’ things so that we can get out of here? I’m tryin’ to be in Louisiana before the sun comes up.” I left her right where she stood. I really didn’t care how she felt. I was tired of playing games with her, and she needed to stay in her place.

I was on my way to the kids’ room to grab the rest of the bags that I was supposed to get before Stacy had interrupted me. I was almost down the hall when I heard whispering. Walking a little farther, I noticed that the voices were coming from the bathroom. I placed my ear against the door to see if I could hear anything.

“We’ll be in Louisiana tomorrow morning,” I heard Stacy say to someone. I heard a pause, and then she said, “I don’t know where he’ll be staying, but I’ll try to find out for you.” There was another pause. Stacy whispered, “Just be on the lookout for me. I’ll call you when we make it there. See you in a minute.”

I started to interrupt her, but I didn’t want her to know that I knew what was going on. I wanted her to think that I was still clueless. I backed away from the door quietly, hoping like hell that she didn’t catch me. If she wanted to play, then I was going to play right along with her.

I quietly went back into the kids’ room, grabbed the bags, and went outside to the trunk. When I came back inside, she was walking down the hallway with two bags. I grabbed her and kissed her. I’d caught her off guard, and she let the bags slip out of her hands. Before she could respond, I let go of her and went to grab the rest of the bags. When I came back, she was standing in the same spot that I had left her in. I passed by her like nothing had happened. When I was done loading all of the bags in the car, I grabbed Kailay, woke up the boys, and we were out the door.

When I got outside, she was standing outside by the car. I made sure the kids were safely in their car seats, and I hopped in the car. I then beeped the horn to get her attention. She hopped in the car and looked at me. I still said nothing as I started the car and hopped on the highway, making my way home to Louisiana.