Chapter Thirty-two
Ke’yoko woke up bright and early so she could catch Nadia before she headed to the shop. She was so happy that her best friend was back to her old self again. It had taken a lot of convincing for Nadia to finally believe that she wasn’t mad at her and didn’t blame her one bit for what Ja’Rel had done to her. Nadia was relieved but still a part of her felt in some major sort of way that she owed Ke’yoko her life. One good thing that had come out of Ja’Rel’s infidelity was that it had brought Ke’yoko and Nadia even closer than before, if that was possible.
“Wassup, sis?” Nadia asked, answering the phone.
“Hey, girl, you ain’t at the shop yet, are you?” Ke’yoko asked.
“Naw, not yet. Just dropped A’Niyah off at the daycare. Why, wassup? You good?”
“Yeah, I’m good. I was just callin’ to tell you about the voice mail Ka’yah left me last night,” Ke’yoko said as she climbed out of bed.
“How she leave you a voice mail?” Nadia inquired.
“Girl, I do not know,” Ke’yoko said as she headed down to the kitchen to fix herself something to eat. “All I know is I checked my messages before I went to bed last night and here her bitch-ass is on my phone lightweight threatenin’ me.”
“Threatenin’ you how?” Nadia inquired.
“Talkin’ ’bout if I don’t come down there to visit her she was gon’ tell Ja’Rel about Ross,” Ke’yoko said, pulling the eggs out of the refrigerator.
“Whaaaaaaaat?” Nadia asked, surprised.
“Girl, yes.” Ke’yoko laughed as she grabbed a skillet off the pot rack and put it on the stove and turned on the fire.
“That bitch got a lot of nerve,” Nadia said, shaking her head in disgust.
Ke’yoko grabbed a bowl out of the cabinet and began cracking her eggs. “Who you tellin’? Bitch, yo’ ass in jail. You ain’t in no position to be talkin’ shit!”
“Right. If anything, the dumb ho should be tryin’a kiss yo’ ass so she can get some money on her books for commissary,” Nadia joked.
“Exactly!” Ke’yoko agreed, grabbing the butter and cutting a couple of slices off into the skillet before pouring her eggs in.
“Well, what you gon’ do? You gon’ go visit or nah?”
“I’ma go visit her silly-ass tonight. But not because of her threat, ’cause I can give less than a fuck about what she tells Ja’Rel. Shit, I don’t even know how she gon’ talk to him ’cause I went through his cell phone the other night and he got about a hundred missed calls from her,” Ke’yoko said, scrambling her eggs.
“Whaaaaat? I wonder why he ignorin’ her?” Nadia questioned.
“Girl, I don’t know and don’t care.” Ke’yoko turned the fire off from underneath her eggs.
“I don’t blame you. What you gon’ say to her?” Nadia asked as she pulled up into the hair shop’s parking lot.
“I don’t even know. I’ll think of somethin’, though.”
“I know you will. And I would give ten million dollars to be a fly on the wall,” Nadia said, turning off her car.
“You know I’ma fill you in.”
“I know you are. I can’t wait! Call me as soon as you leave the county,” Nadia said.
“Say no more.” Ke’yoko hung up the phone, fixed her plate, and sat down at the kitchen table. “One down and one to go.” She smirked before feeding her face.
* * *
Ke’yoko quickly hung up the phone as Ja’Rel walked into the bedroom before walking into the bathroom.
“Who was you talkin’ to?” Ja’Rel walked over to the doorway and asked his wife.
Ke’yoko looked at him like he was crazy. “Why?” she asked while picking up her brush and brushing her hair back.
“Because I asked, that’s why!” he said in a raised tone.
“For the past few weeks you been hurryin’ off the phone every time I walk into a room like you got somethin’ to hide!”
“I ain’t got shit to hide! And let’s not forget I’m grown, too,” Ke’yoko said, picking up her hair tie and putting her hair into a neat ponytail.
“What you bein’ grown got to do wit’ anything?”
“It’s got a lot to do wit’ it! Bein’ that I’m grown, I don’t have to hide shit, unlike some people I know,” she said smartly, while looking at Ja’Rel like he was scum.
“I don’t got shit to hide either,” he said defensively.
“Yeah, a’iiiiight,” Ke’yoko said sarcastically before brushing past Ja’Rel.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ja’Rel asked while turning to follow Ke’yoko into the bedroom.
“Oh, nothin’,” she said uncaringly.
“It shouldn’t mean nothin’ ’cause I ain’t doin’ shit!” Ja’Rel said.
“Okay,” Ke’yoko said nonchalantly, pissing Ja’Rel off with her laidback attitude.
The way Ke’yoko had been acting lately had Ja’Rel feeling like she really did know what he’d been up to; either that or he was just being paranoid just like he had been ever since Ka’yah had gotten locked up. A few times he’d thought he was being watched by the cable guy who was parked down the street from the shop. Another time he thought he was being followed, and had pulled into the gas station to get away, and when the car pulled in behind him, Ja’Rel had been relieved to see that it was an old white lady driving. He didn’t know what Ka’yah was in there telling the police. He knew she wasn’t built Ford tough like Ke’yoko. Ja’Rel knew if anything ever went down, even though she didn’t know his business, Ke’yoko wouldn’t open her mouth. Ka’yah, on the other hand, would be talking so much the police would probably have to beat her to stop talking.
“Don’t get fucked up!” Ja’Rel replied.
“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t,” Ke’yoko said while grabbing her purse off the bed, putting it on her shoulder.
“Where you ’bouta go?”
“Damn! I’m goin’ to see Ka’yah if you really must know,” she huffed.
“About damn time! I would hate to be your sister. That girl been locked up for a few days and you just now goin’ to check up on her!” Ja’Rel shook his head in disgust.
“She good. I’ve been callin’ down there checkin’ up on her. Shit, how come you ain’t been to see her? You said she’s your family too,” Ke’yoko asked facetiously.
“You know I can’t go down there. You know I’m on papers,” Ja’Rel said.
“You do everything else while you on papers,” Ke’yoko said smartly.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ja’Rel asked suspiciously.
“Nothin’. I’ll holla at’chu later.” Ke’yoko walked out of the bedroom, leaving Ja’Rel standing in the middle of the bedroom wondering what all Ke’yoko really knew about him.