I was parked at my and Bregan’s meet up spot when I got a text from my sister, Kay, about ole girl that I told her to check on. Shit was crazy how so many people could have so much, while others had so little. Baby girl even left before we could do anything, so for now we had to just let that situation be.
Bregan pulled up in a white-on-white Tesla, and as soon as she parked, my girls, Ava and Logan, popped out and ran to my car with their mom walking behind them.
“My babies,” I said while pulling them in for a hug.
“Daddy, I have my Christmas list already for you,” my youngest, Logan, said.
“I’m sure you do.” I laughed. “And what’s on it?”
“Training bras,” my oldest blurted out and started laughing.
“That is not fair. Daddy, tell her to stop please,” Logan whined.
“Aite y’all, go and get in the car and figure out where we are eating tonight.”
The two both ran to the car, leaving their mom and me alone.
“How have you been Jahfar?” she asked.
“I’m straight,” I replied, and then there was silence.
“Oh, so I guess you don’t care how I’ve been,” she stated with an attitude.
“Come on man, you can answer that for yourself.”
“Okay, so Jahfar you know that we have to co-parent until these girls are eighteen. It’s been two years. When are you going to forgive me so that we can move on?”
“Man, I’m not trying to hear all of that. My kids are old enough that they can talk to me. You and I don’t even have to communicate at all.”
“See, it was you and this stubbornness right here that drove me to do what I did. It’s your way or the highway and that shit is not gone get you far.”
“Well how far is far enough away from you? Huh? It’s funny that you want to be Chatty Cathy now, but when you were out sucking niggas’ dicks you ain’t have nothing to say.”
“Jahfar, please don’t try to play me. Yeah, I stepped out on you and I was wrong for that, but I had to get it from somewhere. You didn’t want me and paid me no attention. It felt like I was just a distraction at first until you didn’t need me anymore for you. Is that what I was?” she asked, damn near touching my face with her finger.
“Yo, chill the fuck out before I embarrass you in front of our kids. What would you have been a distraction from?”
“FROM YOU! I met you when I was fourteen, but whatever happened before I came into the picture really fucked you up. I think me and all my problems helped you escape from yours for a while, and then after you put all of your demons aside and fixed yourself, you didn’t need me anymore. How many times did we even have sex the year that I had Logs? Five, six times? Don’t try to play the victim here Jahfar. I was wrong to step out, but you are not faultless in this situation. Oh, and let’s not forget, you stepped out way before I did,” she laid into my ass.
“You finished or you done? Because I don’t have time to hear this shit,” I said, walking off. No matter what she said to try to justify her actions, she was the one who fucked up. Yeah, I cheated a few times, but that was when we were petty ass kids and before my daughters. When we were grown enough to establish something real, Bregan was the only woman I needed. But the same couldn’t be said for her. I still loved Bregan for the sake of my kids, but shit would never be the same between us. We could never go back.
“Boy, I know you’re not just going to walk past me,” Chi Chi from the South side yelled to Fu Fu.
“Girl, gone ‘head and leave me alone,” he yelled.
“Yo, didn’t you fuck her a few days ago? Why are you fronting on her?” I asked my friend.
Rod was doing a stint in Juvie and Fu had moved to the hood after he left.
“Yeah man, but I don’t want her to be my girlfriend or nothing like that. She’s worrisome as hell,” he said, wiping the sweat that formed along his brow. It was another hot ass summer, but we loved it.
“So, you don’t hear me talking to you Fuquan!” she yelled out his government name which cracked me up because he hated that shit.
“Girl, fuck you!” he said, flicking her off. “Oh, too bad I already did that, hoe!”
“Who are you calling a hoe?” Her friend stepped up for her. “I know you’re not calling my cousin a hoe!”
That wasn’t even her damn cousin.
“Aye shorty, mind your business. This is between him and her,” I butted in.
“Lil’ boy, who is you?”
She pranced over to us wearing some hot pink shorts and a white halter top. Her hair was in this crinkly style with the colorful butterfly clips all throughout.
“Lil’ GIRL, it’s who ARE you? With your dumb self,” I corrected her.
“Boy, you need to correct Dee and not me!” she said, with her hands on her hips.
“Who the fuck is Dee?” Fu asked, “’cause me and my guy will fuck his ass up.”
He put his arms around my shoulders.
“DEES NUUUTTTS!” she and Chi Chi said together and busted out laughing walking away.
“Yo, who is that?” I asked, talking about the new girl who I had never seen that claimed to be Chi’s cousin.
“Man, she ain’t nobody. I think her name is Bregan or something! Her fine ass.”
Fu was right. She was dope as hell and she wore the newest Jordan’s with her outfit. It didn’t hurt that she had this little pudgy face, sort of reminding me of the girl from Love and Basketball when she was little.
“Yo, you need to be nice to Chi Chi so she can put me in deep with her.”
“Man, hell no! Chi is too crazy, and she’s been acting dumb since I took her virginity. Bitch was bleeding all over my sheets.”
“Nigga that ain’t nothing. You do know that you popped the cherry if it was her first time.”
“Yeah nigga, but that shit is nasty. You on your own with her and Chi Chi, bruh.”
“Man don’t worry about it. I can get her on my own,” I said, walking off and leaving him. Bregan was gone be my girl whether she knew it or not. Just watch, she was gone be mine.
My girls arguing knocked me out of my thoughts as I looked in the rear-view mirror and they were shoving each other. Ava was thirteen and Logan was nine, and they could not get along for more than five minutes.
“Logs, stop patronizing your sister and Ava, chill out with the attitude,” I said, scolding both of them.
“Ouuh, someone had a grumpy salad today,” I heard Logan tease me.
“Yep, and they had extra grumpy dressing,” Ava joined in.
Now they were getting along at the expense of me. I only chuckled and continued to drive to nowhere since the girls couldn’t decide where they wanted to eat. This weekend would be full of laughing, crying and arguing so I needed to prepare.
“Have y’all decided where y’all want to eat? Or do y’all want oodles of noodles?”
“Ewww Daddy, Mom says those are for people who live in the ghetto.”
“Well, maybe yo’ mama forgot, but she used to live in the ghetto.”
“Well Daddy, not to undermine the ghetto, but I would much rather have Chipotle,” my sassy nine-year-old said.
“Chipotle it is, even though I thought that we would go to a sit-in restaurant.”
“Daddy, it’s late. We just want to eat and go home to watch Netflix,” Ava commented. “Oh, and has Marisol cleaned my room yet?”
I shook my head at my spoiled daughter.
“No, she didn’t clean it. That is your job. What do I pay you allowance for?”
I was about to go on and on about how hard work paid off when Logs stopped me.
“Oooh Daddy, look at that lady laying on the cold ground. Can we help her, pleeaaase? You always say that charity is the greatest of all. Annnnddd she’s black.”
“Baby, what does her being black have to do with it?”
“Welll, if she was white, I would say keep it moving because she has her own kind that can help her.”
Damn, I was thinking I had been talking around her for too long because she was starting to adopt my way of thinking. I mean, I wasn’t a racist, but I was all for MY people.
“Baby, when giving and helping someone, their skin color shouldn’t matter, okay? It’s okay to be for your people, but you still don’t treat others badly.”
I stared out of the window at the familiar face laying on a park bench. It was the same woman that was outside of Kay’s store. I guess she had relocated so Kayla wouldn’t bother her anymore, but that didn’t work out so well.
I walked over to her with the girls on my trail after they begged to come with me. Laying on the bench, her face was buried in her hoodie, shielding her from the cold. I tapped her lightly and she jumped, causing the girls to jump as well.
“This is public property. I am allowed to lay here,” she protested before I could even say a word.
“Shorty, I’m not trying to bother you, but it’s cold out here. Let me get you a hotel room for the night.”
“Umm, I’m good,” she said, never making eye contact with me.
“Look, I know you don’t like being helped, but I can’t leave you out here tonight. It’s not safe out here, baby girl.”
She looked weary.
“Come on, we can help you. My daddy is a nice man. He won’t hurt you,” Logan said, gently grabbing her hand. She grabbed her things and then followed us to the car. The car ride was quiet, and she still didn’t make any eye contact with me.
“You mind if I ask your name?” I asked.
“Your sister didn’t tell you already?”
“Nah, she didn’t.”
“It’s Anna.”
“Oh, okay. Well I was just about to take my daughters to get Chipotle. Would you like some?”
“What’s that?” she asked, finally looking up at me.
“Oh my god, only the best place ever. They sell like rice bowls and wraps and stuff,” Ava chimed in.
“Ohh, sounds healthy,” Anna replied.
“Tuh! Hardly!” I said, negating that healthy comment.
“Ohh, well I will take whatever. It’s fine.”
“Okay, girl. I will hook you up. Be right back.”
The girls and I went in and Anna stayed in the car. We came back about ten minutes later. The aroma of the food filled the car and I heard shorty’s stomach rumble. I wondered if she had eaten since the day Kay gave her food.
“You can eat in here if you want to,” I told her.
“Ohh, it’s okay. I don’t want to spill anything.”
“Oh, it’s fine. Our dad gets his car cleaned at least twice a week. We spill stuff all the time,” Logan said.
She laughed a little, but quickly stopped as if she didn’t deserve to laugh. I peeped it all. About twenty minutes later, we arrived at the Marriott hotel and I checked her in. She offered me a simple thank you and then scurried along. The wheels were now starting to turn in my head again.