“Hey Casey, how is everything going?” Monica asked when the father of her child answered his phone.
“Everything is going well; Josiah is having a blast. Let me get him for you.” Casey answered reassuringly. Monica’s heart was tearing apart. How could she be with this man for nearly ten years, have a child with him, and almost marry? How could he be so calm and treat her like an ordinary friend? Her mind could not understand how he could break their family up. She knew it was ridiculous to continue to mourn her relationship with Casey, but he was her comforter, and now she felt like a stranger.
“Okay,” was all Monica could muster as the lump in her throat grew and the muscles in her trachea stiffened. “I will not cry,” she whispered while waiting for her son to get on the phone. Monica heard some ruffling just before the melodic sound of Josiah getting on the phone. “Hi, mama!” Josiah said excitedly.
“Hi baby, how are you?” Monica asked.
“Momma, I’m having so much fun with Daddy! We went to a park where they have this big slide that you have to climb to the top to get on and go down really fast. It was so fun!” Josiah excitedly shared. “Don’t tell anybody, but I think daddy was scared. He tried to be brave as he tells me to be, but I think he was scared.” Monica laughed in line with her son. Hearing his voice truly warmed her heart. Monica also knew the perceptive five-year-old was right; Casey did not like heights, so she found it a miracle that he even agreed to get on the slide with their son.
Monica listened closely as her son shared his adventures since he had been back in San Diego. It had only been a week since Casey’s mom had picked Josiah up to take him back to California for the remainder of the summer. This would be the longest amount of time she’s been away from her son. “Baby,” Monica interrupted Josiah, “put your daddy back on the phone, I need to speak with him briefly.”
“Okay, mommy. Love you!”
“I love you too, JoJo,” Monica started, “now go get daddy.” Monica gave herself a mental kick for her lapse in word usage. How could she forget “your”? Before Casey dumped her, they lived as a happy family, and Monica would often refer to Casey as daddy when talking to their son. Adjusting to life as a single mother was more difficult than she anticipated. Though in public, Monica was committed to giving the appearance that she was managing her business like a boss bitch, even if on the inside she felt like anything but that.
“Hello?” Casey’s deep voice interrupted her thoughts.
“He- hey!” Monica stuttered and recovered, “Hey, yes, so I finally found a school to enroll Josiah in that has an amazing record for Kindergarten that I think he will like.”
“Word?” Casey responded giving Monica permission to continue.
“Yes, I’ll text you the link to the school so you can look into it for yourself. And, it’s expensive but not that bad.”
“How much is ‘not that bad’ Monica?”
Monica couldn’t figure out why she was nervous as she fidgeted with the pen laying on the notepad next to her, “It’s thirty-five thousand a year.” “But, the price does come down each year as long as he stays at the school through the 8th grade,” Monica quickly offered for rationale.
“So, what is the preferred tuition payment schedule?” Casey asked, “Do they want monthly payments, or can I just make one payment for the year?”
“The portal allows for us, well you, to determine the fee schedule.” Monica started, “I believe the options are month, quarterly or annually. I have a meeting next with the school administrators and will need to provide a five-thousand-dollar deposit to hold JoJo’s spot. I should have all of the information then and can send it to you. Do you want me to email it or text it to you?”
“Email it to me. I’ll order a cashier’s check for the deposit, text me your address and the bank will have it overnighted to you.”
“Thank you, Casey.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Josiah is my and I want to make sure he has everything he needs. You’re a good mother and I trust your judgment when it comes to our son.”
“Thank you,” Monica started, “I really appreciate you saying that. There’s just one more thing.”
“What is that?” Casey asked.
“The school needs to conduct their initial assessment of Josiah before he can officially begin the fall term. And, they are expecting to meet him next.”
“Monica,” Casey started as he pinched the bridge of his nose to alleviate tension, “JoJo is here with me for a limited amount of time. Is there any way they can make an exception to assess him for when he returns after Labor Day? If they need a donation to take this request under consideration let me know.”
“I can do that,” Monica confirmed.
“Thank you, I really appreciate it.”
Monica and Casey remained on the phone a few minutes longer to confirm logistics and to exchange pleasantries before disconnecting the call.
********************
“JoJo will be home next weekend, the time flew by,” Monica yelled out to her baby sister Sharmaine. “This will be my last weekend free, and I need to enjoy myself before I enter full on mommy and student mode.”
Sharmaine was in the full-length hall mirror, adjusting her dress, “I feel you, sis! I am surprised you agreed to come out. You never wanna hang out these days.”
“That’s because I’ve been there and done that, plus mothering comes first,” Monica said to defend herself.
“Yeah, well, you haven’t been out with me.” Sharmaine chided as she playfully slapped her sister’s butt.
“Hey!” Monica protested, “I’m going to charge you next time you do that.”
********************
Monica and Sharmaine met up with Sharmaine’s friends in the parking lot of Roman’s Bar & Lounge to celebrate the birthday of Sharmaine’s close friend Tamika. Monica was not wholly comfortable with the group of women because she only knew her sister and Tamika. This would be her first time meeting the other six ladies, and they appeared to be a wild bunch. Monica prayed that the women were not the drama type because she did not have time for any mess.
When the group of women made it to Roman’s, Monica watched as her sister walked up to the large, menacing bouncer and hugged him before she motioned for the party to join her at the front of the line. Another bouncer, who looked to be Pacific Islander, emerged from inside the club, smiled at Sharmaine, and proceeded to wave her in. The ladies quickly scampered to catch up to the fast-walking bouncer as he led them deeper inside the establishment.
Roman’s was a lot larger on the inside than Monica had anticipated, as the group started to slow down, they were ushered into a roped-off booth on the dance floor just below the elevated stage where the DJ was spinning hot records from the summer. “It’s been a while since I’ve done this,” Monica thought.
Monica watched from the safety of their VIP booth as her sister and her friends danced in the middle of the dance floor and only returned for a break or a drink. During this time, Monica had turned down countless offers to dance. She began to tear up as she realized this was the first time she had gone to the club without Casey since college. In the past, she and some of their closest friends would shut the club down. They had done everything from buying the bar to throwing money to dancing on the stage. Now, she sat in the middle of what appeared to be a popular nightclub, sitting alone and looking after shoes and purses.
Monica had been so deep in thought that she had not realized the Music had stopped. “Aye, yo! Are y’all having fun tonight?” The DJ asked the crowd of clubgoers. “I want to bring a man who needs no introduction to the stage.” Monica watched as the crowd erupted in cheer. Why were they cheering? The DJ didn’t even announce who it was yet, she thought to herself. Monica watched closely to see what was happening on stage but could not get a good angle. The DJ took his place behind the turntables and immediately dropped the beat for one of the summer’s musical anthems, and Juve da Great ran onto the stage to perform his hit record. For a moment, Monica found herself stunned. An hour prior, the man rocking the stage had asked her to dance, and she politely declined his offer.
As the music continued and Juve performed his hit records, Monica bopped and sang along to the music. Monica felt a tap on her shoulder and saw it was her sister, motioning for her to join them on the dance floor. Monica obliged her sister’s request and quickly wondered where they were going as they walked across the dance floor. At the back of the stage, Monica realized that she and her sister’s friend would soon be in the spotlight on the stage with Juve da Great and his Hustle Cru. The music stopped again, and for a moment, she locked eyes with Juve, who had since removed his sunglasses. He winked briefly before turning his attention to Tamika, adorned with her birthday tiara at the center stage. Juve introduced Tamika to the audience and led them as they serenaded her with the Stevie Wonder version of the “Happy Birthday” song.
The ladies remained on stage for one more song as they danced and sang along before they were escorted back to their booth, where they proceeded to party until the club closed at 3 am.