by Natavia
“I’m cool with that,” he said.
Ricardo kneeled next to Ke’Ari and kissed the side of face. He teared up a bit. I remember a time when I used to stand in the doorway of Ricardo’s living room, watching him play around with Ke’Ari on the floor. I felt like the luckiest woman alive but that wasn’t my reality. Watching Ricardo say goodbye to our son was now our reality. It didn’t mean I was meant to be a single mother, it was about us knowing we created something special without being made for each other. Ricardo stood up and wiped his eyes.
“I’m leaving to go to my new home now,” he said. I walked him to the door and he turned around to face me.
“I don’t know if you found out, but I was paying Sinna to keep tabs on you,” he said.
“I had a feeling it was her. But anyways, safe travels.”
“Goodbye, Essa,” he said.
He kissed my cheek then walked away. While Ricardo was leaving out, Governor was coming in. They didn’t say a word to each other. Governor didn’t even look at him. I held the door open for him.
“I want you to meet someone,” I said, pulling his arm to Ke’Ari’s bedroom. Ke’Ari stopped playing and looked at Governor.
“He’s ready to take my head off already,” Governor said.
I picked up Ke’Ari and gave him to Governor. They stared at each other and it was the cutest thing.
“What’s your name, lil’ man?”
“Ari.”
Ke’Ari wasn’t pronouncing the first part of his name yet so he called himself, Ari.
“You can call me G.”
“Really?” I laughed.
“Why not? It’s easy to say,” he said, and I blushed.
Boyyyyyy, you about to be a daddy for real!
Governor covered Ke’Ari’s ear and Ke’Ari laughed, thinking Governor was playing with him.
“Yo, Essa. You wild!” Governor laughed.
“Oh my gosh. I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”
“Yeah, aight. You gonna be if you don’t stop tryin’ to harass my sperm,” he whispered in my ear. Governor put Ke’Ari down, so he could finish playing.
“Look, Mommy,” Ke’Ari said in his sweet little voice. He gave me a toy truck. He ran back to his toy chest and handed Governor a stuffed animal. Governor was smiling ear-to-ear. Kids are great judges of character. Ke’Ari shared his attention with Governor. I went into the kitchen to get breakfast started. Governor and Ke’Ari came out the bedroom and went into the living room.
“Yo, Essa. I’m hungry,” Governor said, and I playfully rolled my eyes.
“Stop rushin’ me!”
“I want bacon,” Ke’Ari said.
“Yeah, me, too,” Governor said while turning on the TV.
“The office opens back up tomorrow, but you can take time off to get yourself situated. I know lil’ man gotta go daycare,” he said.
“I’m sorry about everything. I got nervous because it was like déjà vu all over again and I didn’t want to get hurt. I caught feelins for you—a lot.” Governor came into the kitchen and sat a set of keys on the counter.
“These are the keys to the house I was talkin’ about. It’s finished, and you can move in now if you want to. Hopefully this grows into sumthin bigger and you move in wit’ me later on down the road,” he said. I reached over the counter and grabbed his face, so I could kiss him. He had gloss on his lips and I wiped it off.
“Thank you for everything. Ricardo told me you had a talk with his father. Taking that family to court would’ve mentally killed me.”
“I told you I got this, shorty. But on the real, you been through enough and I wanted to carry that for you,” he said.
“Can we see the house after breakfast?”
“No doubt,” he said.
He went back into the living room and sat with Ke’Ari. Our eyes locked, his stare was intense. He didn’t have to say it at that moment, but he loved me, too.
**********
“This is soooo nice!” I said in excitement.
Governor pulled up to a cute brick house with blue shutters. He said it had three bedrooms and a basement. It was perfect for me and Ke’Ari. I got out the truck then opened the back door to get Ke’Ari from his car seat. He wanted to get down and run around. Ke’Ari was very hyper. I was still exhausted from chasing him around the apartment when I tried to get him ready to leave. Governor had to catch him because he hid underneath the bed. Governor unlocked the front door of the house and I put Ke’Ari down, so he could burn off some energy. The house smelled brand new inside. The walls were pure white and I could see my reflection in the wood floors.
“The bedroom downstairs is small because we had the wall knocked down to make the living room bigger,” he said.
“It doesn’t even matter. I love it.”
“Go look at the kitchen,” he replied.
The kitchen was spacious and had a center stove. I loved stoves that sat in the middle of the kitchen; it reminded me of a restaurant. The house was like Governor’s home just way smaller. He must’ve used the same people who did his house. I picked up Ke’Ari and took him upstairs, so we could look around. There were two bedrooms upstairs.
“My mother and Mayor had the upstairs rooms. I had the bedroom downstairs,” Governor said.
“You used to sneak girls in while everyone was sleep?”
“Yeah, until my mother caught me. She tried to beat me wit’ a belt and all that. I got my own crib after that and haven’t been back home since,” he replied.
The master bedroom was twice the size of the bedroom inside my apartment. There was also a bathroom inside of it. Governor told me to look out the window and there was a small playground in the yard.
“How much is my rent?”
“Rent for what?” he asked.
“For this house. Remember I told you I was going to pay my own rent?”
“Oh yeah, I forgot. We can discuss that later,” he said.
“I’m serious. I want to be responsible for sumthin.”
“The light bill, groceries and cable,” he smirked, and I playfully punched him in the arm.
“I’m serious, Governor.”
“Aight. I paid it up to a year, but we can call it a gift,” he replied.
“I don’t want to be like those other women that you looked out for. Let me do sumthin.”
“The difference between the two is that I’m your man, not your landlord. And as your man, I can do what I want to make sure you ain’t gotta stress about nothing. You do a lot for me, too. For a while I didn’t have a clear direction but now I can see perfectly. I’m done hustlin’ because I’m not tryin’ to miss out on what we got between us. So, I’ll say you showed me freedom, shorty. I owe you,” he said. I was a straight-up sucka because I got emotional. I was the type of person that would cry from being overly happy—they were real tears of joy.
“Yah crybaby ass,” he said and hugged me.
“I’m a thug, boy, hush. Dust got in my eye.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he replied.
**********
An hour later, we were back at my apartment. Ke’Ari was asleep. I took his pants, jacket and shoes off before lying him down on his toddler bed. Governor was on the couch fighting to stay awake and I was tired myself. Just when I got comfortable on the couch, my cell phone rang on the coffee table. It was Kitty calling me.
“Yes, girl.”
“Mayor is home and, bitch, I’m scared,” she whispered into the phone.
“For what? He did sumthin to you?”
“I’m hidin’ in the closet,” she replied.
“Want me to come and get you?”
Governor pulled away from me and got on his cell phone. I didn’t think much of it until I heard Mayor’s voice on speakerphone.
“She in the closet, bruh,” Governor told Mayor.
“Did he just snitch on me?” Kitty asked, and I fell over laughing.
“How do you know who
I’m talkin’ to?” I asked Governor.
“I’m layin’ right here and shorty is loud,” he said.
“Ask her what closet she’s in?” Mayor said to Governor. I could hear him opening and shutting doors in the background.
“I’m not tellin’ y’all shit!” Kitty said with an attitude. I laughed so hard I couldn’t breathe.
“She ain’t tellin’ nobody,” Governor told Mayor.
“Tell her dumb ass stop actin’ like a house cat wit’ this hidin’ shit and come see what I want. The fuck is she hidin’ for anyway? Kitty act like I be beatin’ on her or sumthin,” Mayor said.
“See what he wants. Me and Governor are tryin’ to take a nap before Ke’Ari wakes up.”
“Awwww, Ke’Ari is home. I’m gonna come and see him tomorrow mornin’. Why didn’t you tell us?” she asked in excitement.
“I’ve been busy. I was gonna tell y’all later after I woke up from my nap.”
“KITTYYYY!” Mayor yelled out and Governor hung up his phone.
“I’m in here! Stop yelling!” Kitty shouted back, and I hung up on her, too.
Governor laid on my chest and fell asleep. My life was put back together again. Ke’Ari was home, I had a job and Governor. I closed my eyes and drifted off into a peaceful sleep. I had never slept so well.
Kitty
Five months later…
Watch big, coulda bought a Range Rover
Chain little, but I spent some change on it
Nigga mad, I’ma put the gang on it…
I was dancing around the kitchen to City Girl’s “Twerk” song while I cooked dinner for me and Mayor. My stomach wasn’t as big as I thought it would be, so I was able to move around without feeling stress on my back. When the beat dropped to the song, I bounced my ass cheeks. I was due to go into labor any day so I was doing everything for my water to break. Mayor came into the kitchen and slapped my ass while I was dancing.
“Get it, shorty,” he cheered me on.
Our relationship was better than it had ever been especially since everyone knew about us. We became more than lovers; Mayor was like my best friend.
“I still got it,” I bragged after the song went off.
“You aight,” he joked.
Mayor lifted the lid to the pot and I smacked his hand because I hated when he got in my way while I cooked. The doorbell rang, and Mayor went to answer it. More than likely it was his mother, Kendra. Over the past months, Kendra had been very helpful. She made sure I was eating right, and she was always shopping for the baby. Kendra was spoiling Ke’Ari, too, from what Essa told me. Kendra walked into the kitchen while I pulled chicken out of the grease.
“It smells good in here!” Kendra said, lifting up the lids. I wanted to pop her on the hand, too.
“Your son got that from you.”
“His special ass didn’t get nothing from me,” she laughed.
“I heard that! That’s why you ain’t babysitting,” Mayor threatened her, and she gave him the finger.
I was taking a few courses online but after I had the baby, I planned on going to actual classes. Essa helped me to decide to go for a business degree, so it could be beneficial for me and Mayor later on down the road.
“Help your mother set the table,” I said to Mayor.
“It’s only three people eating. She got it,” he joked while grabbing the napkins.
“That boy is gonna make me age,” Kendra said.
I took the cornbread out the oven and sat it on top of the stove. While I was buttering the top, my water broke.
“My water just broke!”
Mayor shot up the stairs to get my bag. Kendra told me to have a seat at the table. She went back into the kitchen to make sure everything was turned off, so the house wouldn’t burn down. I sent a group text to my family letting them know my water broke. Mayor came back downstairs with my leopard duffel bag. Tinka replied back to the group text telling me to call maintenance if my water is broke. I was on the verge of cursing her out but a pain shot up my back and made me drop my phone.
“You gotta relax cause it’ll worsen if you panic. Just take deep breaths,” Kendra said. Mayor helped me up and my body felt too heavy for my legs. The cramps almost paralyzed me.
“Pick her up and carry her!” Kendra smacked Mayor on the back of his head.
“Kitty isn’t a small girl, Ma. Damn, you want me and her to be stretched out on the floor?” Mayor asked.
It was early February and snow was outside on the ground. Kendra grabbed my coat from the coat closet and a pair of snow boots, so I wouldn’t slip. Mayor helped me into the truck after we left the house and the contractions were coming back to back. I doubled over in the seat. Mayor’s truck almost slid down the driveway from us speeding.
“Go ahead and kill us!” Kendra said.
“Ma, please chill out before I say some foul shit to you. Kitty up here screamin’ and you yellin’ at me!” Mayor said, getting agitated. We were stressing him out. I didn’t think he’d be nervous, too, but he was. On the rest of the way to the hospital, I took deep breathes so I wouldn’t scream so loud. The weather was bad, and I didn’t want Mayor to crash. Kendra was on the phone with Governor, telling him to come to the hospital. Thankfully, the hospital wasn’t far from the house and we made it there in twelve minutes.
Five hours later…
The doctor and nurses were telling me to push but it was hard. Mayor was recording me while I squeezed his hand. Tinka and Essa were in the room with me, too.
“I know you can push harder than that!” Tinka said.
“Eat a dick, hoe!” I screamed at her.
Although I had an epidural, I was still feeling pressure in my lower stomach and back.
“Tinka, chill out before you stress her. Dang, you should’ve stayed in the waiting area like everyone else,” Essa said.
“The head is crowning!” the doctor said.
“Just one more, Abreesha. You’re almost done! You doin’ good, shorty. Our baby girl wanna come out,” Mayor said. He wasn’t nervous anymore, he was actually excited and helpful. I pushed everything I had in me and somehow my life flashed before my eyes. It turned out to be a joyful moment. Bringing a new life into the world was a gift and I was blessed to have it. I remember a time in my life when I did stupid stuff. Now here I was becoming a mother. I made a vow to myself that no matter what happened to me, I would never go back to being that irresponsible girl again.
“She’s out!” Essa said in excitement.
I heard soft wails and Mayor got emotional. Essa hugged him and Tinka was trying to hold the baby.
“The mother holds the baby first, Tink. Get you some business and have your own baby!” I said to her.
“Why you actin’ ghetto?” Tinka asked in her fake bougie accent. I reached out to my baby while the nurse was handing her to me. She looked exactly like me and my cousins when we were babies. Mayor kissed her forehead then kissed me. When we found out we were having a girl, we picked out a name for her. We chose the name Zaliya Sanaa Brooks. The nurse took Zaliya to clean her off before everyone else came in. My father almost knocked everyone down when he got into the room.
“She’s so beautiful. I’m a grandfather now,” my father said.
“Pass the baby over, Grandpa,” Kendra said.
“Wait your turn, pretty lady,” my father replied, and Kendra blushed. Malorie sucked her teeth and I didn’t understand why she was in my hospital room. That bitch always had to be involved in something.
“Let me hold my niece. Y’all bein’ stingy,” Governor said after everybody held Zaliya except for him.
“I can’t wait until me and Kendra adopt a baby,” Malorie said and Essa sucked her teeth.
“Wait a minute, Ma. Y’all adopting a baby?” Mayor asked.
“We’re lookin’,” Kendra said.
“Governor gettin’ baby fever?” Malorie asked while he was holding Zaliya. The way she asked him bugged me, and Essa must’ve caught on cause she
grilled Malorie.
“Why do you want to know? Matter of fact, why do you keep questioning my man like he belongs to you?” Essa asked.
“Hell, I wanna know, too,” Tinka said.
“We all do!” Kendra said, feeling some type of way herself.