Chapter 36
Mimi
I couldn’t believe that everything was over and done with. I could actually breathe. I now had my kids back, we were headed back to Atlanta in a few days, and I had Jayden. I was not going to say that the road was easy, because it wasn’t. I’d had some trying times, and there were a few times when I wanted to give up, but by the grace of God, I was able to hold it all together. I had a great support system in Jayden, Troy, Mark, Weedy, and Margie by my side throughout this whole ordeal. I really had to thank God for Jayden. Without that man, Lord, I didn’t know where I’d have been. I’d have probably been in a mental institution somewhere.
It was now summertime, and I was enjoying the weather, so I decided to have a barbeque and pool party. I invited my friends and the people I considered my family. I never got a chance to relax after all of the things that I’d been through these past twelve months, so I was actually enjoying this little peaceful time.
From a distance, I sat there and watched as my kids, Jayden’s son Cam, and a couple of other kids from the neighborhood enjoyed themselves in the pool. As I watched Kayson, Kaylon, Kailay, and Kayla, my heart warmed up as I noticed the smiles that were plastered on their faces. I was so happy to be back in their lives. It felt good knowing that no one could come and mess this up again.
I was finally done with the bullshit. Stacy and Julius were probably somewhere in hell together. I made sure of that. Shit, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they bullied the devil for his spot. As for Kaylin, he wasn’t as lucky as they were. He was alive, but he was probably wishing that he weren’t. I didn’t blame him, though. If I were a paraplegic, I’d probably be thinking the same thing. I couldn’t live my life knowing that I had to spend the rest of it in prison while being confined to a wheelchair. See, I thought about killing his ass, but death would’ve been too easy for his ass. I wanted that nigga to be able to live and think about all the shit that he’d done, for him to see the grass wasn’t greener on the other side and how he should’ve never fucked with that duck-ass ho Stacy, because she’d been a snake. I wanted him to live his life knowing that he had kids he wouldn’t be able to see. I wanted him to see how the shit felt when they were doing the shit to me. They asked me if I felt bad for him, but I said no. Honestly, I didn’t. He never felt sorry for me, so I didn’t feel sorry for his ass. He deserved everything that he got, and if I had to do it all over again, I would’ve done it all over again.
I sat deep in my thoughts, just thinking about all the shit that I’d been through in the past few years. Some things were great, as others were not so great, but still and all, I’d somehow survived every storm that was in my way. There were a lot of people who would’ve gone through the things that I’d gone through and given up, but not me.
“Hey, lady! I see you over here daydreaming and shit. You all right?” Troy asked, sitting in the chair beside me.
I took a minute to look around at all of the people sitting in our backyard. There was a crew of people dancing, some were in the pool, others were playing Spades, and the rest were eating. When I was left to die, I never imagined that I’d be enjoying life again, and yet here I was. “Actually, I’m fine. I’m still overwhelmed. Everything still doesn’t feel real. I swear I thought I would spend damn near the rest of my life trying to get my life back in order, from what Kaylin and Stacy had put me through. I still can’t believe that everything is over. I mean, I finally get a chance to sit there and breathe, to enjoy my family, my kids, my friends, and my man, in peace. I don’t have to worry about looking over my shoulder or worrying about if someone is going to come and try to hurt me again. All of my enemies are gone, and I can’t do nothing but thank God and you all, of course,” I said to her.
“Girl, who you telling? That’s me. I thought that this thing wasn’t going to ever end. I mean, when I thought that you was dead, I was lost. Then Kaylin had taken the kids and Stacy’s old dumb ass was lurking around here. Not to mention all of the things I went through with not being able to find your body for the funeral and Kaylin’s little side pieces Jade and Star. Humph, shit was just all the way fucked up,” she said, taking a sip from her drink.
“Girl, who you telling? I thought for sure that I’d end up in a casket somewhere before I’d ever get to see all of my kids together again.”
“Who you telling? We must be some cats that got nine lives, because we done used about four of them already,” she said with a light chuckle, which in turn made me laugh also.
“For real,” I replied. We both sat there in silence, lost in our own thoughts.
“You think that the cops will find Julius’s and Stacy’s bodies?” she asked, looking at me.
“I don’t know and to be honest, I really don’t care. They’re right where they need to be,” I said, hunching my shoulders. “Besides, if they do, they don’t have any proof that we were the ones who did it, so I’m good,” I said, sitting back in my seat. I grabbed my drink from the table and took a few sips. The last thing on my mind was the police finding Julius’s and Stacy’s bodies. Hell, there probably weren’t any more bodies, because where we threw them, I was more than sure, the bugs and animals ate them all up. We didn’t need to worry about the police finding anything.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
“On another note, what’s going on with you and Weedy?” I asked her.
Her eyes damn near bulged out of their sockets as she swallowed hard. “What you mean?” she asked, with this dumb look on her face.
“Don’t play dumb with me. I know Weedy’s the one ringing your phone when you claim that it’s your cousin,” I said, busting her bubble. “You don’t have to lie. It’s me you’re talking to.”
She sat there for a minute, without saying anything. I know she was confused. Hell, if I were her, I’d be confused too. On one hand, she had a man who she had history with. Now everything wasn’t peaches and cream, but at the end of the day, they had a love that only they could understand. Then, on the other hand, she had the total opposite. Mark and she didn’t have a lot of history, but I could tell you that he genuinely loved her. I mean what man do you know would kick it with a bitch he only met, have her back when the going gets tough, and wait patiently when it took her awhile to give up the cookies? He could’ve been like most niggas and bounced, but he didn’t, which should’ve let her know that it wasn’t all about sex. Hell, the odds were clearly stacked in Mark’s favor. Weedy’d had a history of fucking a lot of bitches, bringing home diseases, and not being there when she needed him. Mark was the total opposite and the man she should clearly choose, but that was none of my business. I wasn’t trying to tell her how to live her life, because I’d made a lot of mistakes on my own. She should have known better and learned from my situation. If a man cheated once, he’d cheat again, no matter how much he said that he changed.
“Um, hello,” I said, snapping my fingers at her.
“Honestly, there’s nothing going on between Weedy and me. We’re just friends. I’m with and in love with Mark. He’s the one I want to be with. I’m not trying to mess that up,” she replied. I heard what she was saying, but her actions were telling a whole different story.
“Okay,” was all I said. I wasn’t about to go there with her. As I said, that wasn’t my business. It was hers. I just hoped that she knew what she was doing.
“Hey, my darlings,” Margie said, walking over to where we were. She gave each of us a hug before she pulled up a chair and sat down with us.
“Hey, Marg!” Troy and I said at the same time.
“How are my girls doing today?” she asked.
“We’re fine and you?” I said to her. Ever since that day Margie had helped me when I was in the hospital, we’d grown extra close. She’d been like a mother to me and a grandmother to my children. She even had Cam calling her Nana. She’d been there a few times to comfort me and to check my ass when I needed it.
“I’m doing great. Where are my babies?” she asked, referring to my kids.
“They’re in the pool over there,” I said, nodding toward the area where the pool was. She looked their way and smiled.
“Look at my babies. They look so happy and full of life,” she said, beaming with pride. I really didn’t know what my kids did to Margie, but they’d really grown on her. She was always coming over to take them to the park or bring them things. We were lucky to have her in our lives. “Oh, that reminds me. There’s a circus coming to town this weekend. Maybe we should take them.”
“That would’ve been lovely, but Jayden and I are surprising the kids with a trip to Disney World this weekend,” I said to her
“Aww, that will be so nice. The kids are going to definitely enjoy that,” Margie replied. “Just make sure that y’all take care of my babies and make sure that they have lots of fun.”
“We will, and I’m pretty sure that they will. Besides, we really do need this vacation.”
“I’m saying,” Troy said. “I think that’s what Mark and I need our-damn-selves.”
“Well, make it happen. I’m so used to thinking that I might not get a chance to live tomorrow, that I’m living for today and if tomorrow comes, then I’ll be living for that day,” I said to her.
“Girl, I feel ya. I just need a minute to enjoy my man,” she said, laughing.
“I second that motion,” I replied, grabbing my drink and downing the rest. It’d been a minute since Jayden and I did our own little thing, and the shit were long overdue.
Speaking of Jayden, I spotted him over by the barbeque grill with a drink in his hand, laughing at whatever it was that Mark was saying. Even though he had on an apron that was full of barbeque, I peeped out how sexy he was looking, in a wife beater, some True Religion, and some all-white Air Max 90s. The way the sides of his lips curled up and the deep print of his dimples when he laughed drove me crazy. He must have felt me watching him, because a minute later, our eyes met. I wanted so desperately to kiss him, to feel him, just to be near him, so I got up and walked over to him.
We held eye contact the whole time I was walking. I felt like there was no one else there, but him and me. When I made it to him, I threw myself in his arms, hugging him extra tight. No words were spoken as I placed my lips on top of his, parted his lips with my tongue, and gave him one of those deep, passionate kisses, the one that says, “I love you,” without having to speak the words.
“Well damn, y’all don’t worry about the house that’s behind y’all. Why don’t y’all just go at it right there in the back seat?” Mark said sarcastically.
“Shut up and mind ya business,” I said, punching him on his arm.
“Ouch, damn. You know you can’t be hitting on a nigga like that. You don’t hit soft no how,” he said, playfully holding his arm as if it was really hurting him.
“Boy, stop playing, you know damn well that shit don’t hurt,” I told him.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. What’s up with you though, ma? How you doing? You feeling good or what?” he asked, grabbing me and giving me a friendly hug.
“I’m doing fine. I now have my kids and life back, so I can’t complain,” I said to him.
“That’s good then, but let me holla at you for a second right quick,” he said, walking away from where the guys were standing by the grill.
“What’s up?” I asked once we were out of earshot.
“Look, ma. I’m only telling you this because that’s your girl and all, but something is going on with Troy and ya boy,” he said. I wasn’t surprised, though. Mark was the type of dude to observe shit. He knew shit that you thought he didn’t know.
“Mark, right now I don’t know what’s going on with Troy, but I don’t think that her and Weedy are messing around,” I said, lying through my teeth. I also knew that something was going on between the two of them, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. What kind of friend would I be if I were to rat my girl out?
“Ma, come on. You can’t tell me that you haven’t noticed the shit that she’s been doing. I’m trying to give her the benefit of the doubt, because I love her, but if I find out that she’s fucking with him, I’m done with her ass,” he said, looking me in my eyes. I wanted to say something, anything, to make things right for them somehow, but I couldn’t. There was nothing to say. He looked at me for a little while longer with those intense eyes that he had. For a minute, he seemed to be stuck, lost in his thoughts maybe. Then he walked off, leaving me there with my own thoughts.
I turned and spotted Troy over there looking at me. She raised an eyebrow as if to ask me what was up. In return, I hunched my shoulder while shaking my head, indicating that I didn’t know.
“What’s wrong?” Jayden asked as he wrapped his arms around me.
“Nothing. Why you asked that?” I asked him.
“Well, because for one, Mark came back with in a sour mood and for two, you’re standing over here with a confused look on your face. So I’m guessing that something has gone down between you two,” he said staring at me. There was something about the way that he looked at me, and I knew I had to tell him the truth.
“He came to talk to me about something with Troy and Weedy. It didn’t have anything to do with me,” I told him.
“Well, what’s going on?” he asked me. “You know my boy is not about all them games and shit.”
“Honestly, I asked her myself, but I really don’t know. She say that it was nothing, but I’m thinking something different.”
“Well for her sake, I really hope that it’s nothing, because Mark’s a real good guy. He’s not about playing, and he really likes her. That shit is very rare. He don’t really be ’bout that shit. Normally he’s all work and no play, but with her, it’s different,” he replied. I heard what he was saying, and like him, I hoped that the shit with Weedy and Troy was nothing, because I knew if it wasn’t, shit could get real sloppy and we didn’t need no more of that in our lives.
“Well, I hope not then,” I said turning to kiss him.
“You know if you keep on doing that, we’re going to have to end this little get-together early,” he said, palming my ass. He then leaned in and gave me a kiss that took my breath away.
“All right, you two. Cut it out. We have guests here,” Ms. Carol, Jayden’s mother, said, interrupting us.
“Ms. Smith, how are you?” I asked, leaning in to give her a hug.
“I’m doing fine and yourself?” she said. “And I told you to stop calling me Ms. Smith. You can call me Mom.”
“I’m doing fine and okay,” I replied.
“Amina, after all of the girls that Jayden has been with, I have to say that I like you. This time I can actually say that my son has finally found the right girl. I just hope he does right by you,” she said, cutting her eyes at him.
“Ma, you don’t even have to worry about all of that, because I plan on making her my wife one day,” Jayden said, looking in my eyes.
“Boy, stop playing, you know you damn well that you don’t want me to be your wife,” I told him.
“I was waiting for the right time to do this, but apparently there’s no time like the present,” he said, reaching in his pocket. He pulled out a small red velvet box, and then looked back at me. I was no stranger to this move, being that Kaylin had proposed to me already. He then looked over to his mother, who in turn nodded her head in approval, and he got down on one knee, making my eyes get watery.
“Mimi, baby, I know that you’ve been through a lot of things this past year, but throughout all of this, you’ve survived. You’re one of a kind, you’re like a rare gem, and I cannot let you get away. When I thought you were dead, my whole world was turned upside down. I thought for sure that I had lost you forever, but by the grace of God, you’re still here with us right now. You’re a great mother and a wonderful woman, who I’d like to have my own kids with someday, not to mention that Cam loves you also. Yeah, I know that we’ve met under difficult circumstances, and we haven’t known each other that long, but no matter what anyone says about it, I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So what I’m saying is, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
By the time he was through with saying all of that, I was in full-blown tears. He was right, I’d been through a lot, and he was right there by my side. He was everything that Kaylin wasn’t, and I didn’t have to worry about him cheating on me, because he made it clear that he wasn’t that type of guy. Still, I was skeptical about marrying him. Hell, who was I kidding? This was the perfect man, my man, and here he was, down on one knee, asking me to marry him. I’d never find another man like that and, to be honest, I was not planning on looking. I had my knight in shining armor, and I was sticking with him.
“Yes,” I said jumping into his arms, and then I gave him one sweet, long kiss on his lips. “I love you too, baby.” He picked me up and swung me around like I was a big old kid.
“Yay! Mommy and Uncle Jay,” my kids said, running up to us.
“Yay, Daddy and Mama Mimi,” Cam said, running up behind them.
“Thanks, babies,” I said, bending down, giving each one of them a kiss and hug.
“Congratulations, baby,” Ms. Carol said, hugging us.
“Thanks, Ma,” Jayden replied.
“Thanks, Ms. Carol,” I replied.
“You are very much welcome. Now that you’re about to be my daughter-in-law, you can definitely call me Mom.”
“Well, thank you, Ma,” I said, just to satisfy her.
“Jayden, baby, I have to go, but I promise to see you later,” she said to him. “Don’t be a stranger now, and, Mimi, remind that boy that he still has a mother, because sometimes he seem to forget that,” she said, laughing.
“Ma, chill out, you know that ain’t true. You gon’ play on me like that, huh?” he replied, smiling.
“Yeah, I bet. You be good and take care of that girl now,” she said, pointing a finger at him.
“I will, Ma.”
“I’ll see you later. We should do lunch sometime,” she said, hugging me.
“I’d love to. Just let me know when and where,” I said, hugging her back.
“Okay. Jayden come walk Mama to her car,” she told him.
“I’ll be right back, baby,” he said, giving me a quick peck on my lips.
“Okay,” I said, kissing him back.
“Congrats, bighead,” Mark said, hugging me.
“You know about this shit, didn’t you?” I asked him, poking him in his chest.
“I’m not saying that I did and I’m saying that I didn’t,” he said, laughing.
“Yeah, whatever,” I said to him as Troy walked up. He looked at her, she then looked at him, and he walked off.
“Girl, what’s up with that shit?” I asked her.
“I don’t know. Shit, he be fucking tripping. Let me see it, girl. Quit playing,” Troy said, reaching for my left hand.
I held it up so she could get a good look at it. “Girl, it’s beautiful. Congratulations.” She reached in and hugged me. When she tried to pull back, I pulled her closer to me, so that I could whisper in her ear.
“Whatever the fuck is going on between you and Weedy needs to end. You have to clean that shit up and dead it today. Mark’s getting suspicious, in case you ain’t know or you don’t give a damn. Either way, the shit needs to end. Otherwise, you’re going to end up losing your man, for the same man who left you high and dry,” I said to her. I didn’t wait for her to reply. I moved past her and made my way toward the house, leaving her there to think about what I had just said. I didn’t want any part in that shit. I’d already been through too much drama already. I wasn’t trying to get into this.
A few people who wanted to say congratulations as I made my way inside of the house stopped me. Most of them wanted to see my ring so that they could go talk about it among themselves, but I didn’t care at all. Today was one of the greatest days of my life.
Bitter Bitch
I was on my way to Jayden’s house. I was tired of playing games with his ass. It was time that I put my fucking foot down and dealt with him and his ma. I wanted my child from over there. I wasn’t about to let no bitch think that she could come in and play mommy to my child. Fuck that. I spent thirteen hours in labor when I had my son, and I wasn’t about to let the next bitch think that she was gon’ come in and take my muthafucking spot. I’d be damned if I let that shit happen.
As I was driving, I received a collect call. I already knew that it was nobody but my little boo, so I answered the phone on the first ring.
“You have a collect call from . . .” the recorder started to say, but I pressed number five so that the call could connect faster. I didn’t have time to be listening to that long-ass recording.
“What’s up, ma?” he asked, once the call was connected.
“Hey, boo, how you doing?” I asked him. Lately, he hadn’t been acting right. Hell, I still didn’t know how he was in jail in the first place.
“I’m doing fine, ma, considering the situation that I’m in. How are you?” he asked in that sexy voice that I loved to hear.
“I’m good. I’m about to go pick up my son.”
“I thought he was staying with his daddy,” he said.
“Yeah, he was, but I’m about to go get him. I’ve missed my baby, and I’m ready for him to come back home. It’s been too damn long since he’s been with them. Besides, Jayden done moved his new bitch and her kids up here, and I’m not trying to have that ho thinking she’s Cameron’s mother,” I said, getting pissed off. I hated Jayden’s new bitch with a passion.
“Come on, he doing it like that?” he asked me.
“Yeah, last time I talk to Cam over the phone all he wanted to talk about was Mimi. At first I thought he was talking about his grandmother, until I asked him. He said he was talking about his daddy’s new girlfriend,” I said to him.
“You said her name was Mimi?” he asked.
“Yeah, why?” I asked him.
“What’s her real name?” he asked, ignoring my question.
“Um, I think its Amina something. Oh, Amina Washington,” I said, snapping my fingers. “Why?” I asked, wondering why he wanted to know what her name was.
“Nothing, I just thought she was somebody I knew, but I don’t know her,” he said. “Say, I have to go. We’re about to go to chow. I’ma call you later.”
“Okay, I love you,” I said to him.
“Yeah, me too,” he replied, and then hung up. I pulled the phone away from my ear and just stared at it. This nigga was just acting all depressed and shit, but now he was all jolly again and shit.
Not thinking twice about it, I threw the phone on the seat, just as I turned down the street where Jayden stayed. I noticed that there were a lot of cars parked up and down the street, so I was guessing that they were having some sort of party or something. Oh, well, I’ma break this shit up if this nigga don’t give me my child in peace.
I spotted Jayden walking up to the front door, just as I was parking. I hurriedly exited the car and made my way over there, before he went inside.
“Say, Jayden, let me holla at you right quick,” I said as I walked, trying to catch up with him.
I was guessing that he knew it was me, because before he turned around, he blew up air in frustration. “What do you want, Shelly?” he asked.
“I came here to get my son, Jayden. I want my child to come home.”
“Well, if that’s what you came here for, you might as well get back in your car and leave, because you ain’t taking my son from over here,” he replied, turning around to walk inside the house.
“Don’t turn your back on me,” I said, grabbing him. “I’ve played things by your rules for the past couple of months. I’m tired of the shit. It’s time for you to give me my child back.”
“You must be tripping. You know the drama that you’ve caused between me and you. Then you bring the shit to my home. As if my girl’s life wasn’t already fucked up, you had to come around here and show your ass. Adding extra shit to the punch,” he said, snapping at me.
“Nigga, if you think for one minute that I give a fuck about your bitch, then you’re wrong. I couldn’t fucking care less about what that bitch was already going through. That wasn’t my problem nor was it my concern. My only concern around here is Cameron Jahavon Smith.”
“Bitch, I don’t give a fuck what you think. All I know is that you ain’t taking my child from here and that’s a bet,” he said, getting in my face.
“I’m really trying to be civil with you right now. Don’t make this shit worse than it already is, because I can guarantee you that neither you nor your bitch will like it,” I said, through gritted teeth.
“I know damn well this ain’t who I think this is,” I heard a voice say from behind Jayden. When he moved to the side, I came face to face with his bitch.
“Look, bitch, if you know like me, you’d go back inside and mind your business. This shit right here don’t have nothing to do with you,” I said, pointing my finger back and forth between Jayden and myself. “This shit is between me and my baby daddy. So butt the fuck out of this, or else you’ll regret it.”
“Look, bitch, I never whooped on your ass for the sake of my fiancé, because I knew no matter what, he’d have to deal with you, but I can guarantee that if you keep playing with me, I’ll light your ho ass up,” she said, stepping a little closer to us.
“Fiancé?” I asked, baffled.
“Yes, bitch, my fiancé,” she replied, holding out her left hand so that I could see the huge rock that was sitting on her ring finger. The minute I laid eyes on it, I lost it. Here I gave this nigga a seed, was with his sorry ass for six years, and he gave this ho here a ring.
“Nigga, you ain’t shit,” I said, walking up to him. I proceeded to slap the dog shit out of him, knowing that he wasn’t going to hit me back. He wasn’t the type of dude to hit on females, which was why I stayed slapping and punching on his ass, because I knew he’d never hit me back.
I turned around and was about to walk away when someone tapped me on my shoulders. When I turned back around, that Mimi bitch’s fist connected with my mouth, drawing blood instantly.
“Guess what, bitch? You picked the wrong fucking day to come over here with the bullshit. You want to hit on somebody, well I’m about to show you how the shit feels. See, you already know that Jayden will not put his hands on you, but that ain’t going to stop me from giving you a ass whooping,” she replied. I wanted to say something, but I was still in a daze. I really couldn’t believe that that bitch had just hit me.