by Tynessa
Working was the last thing on her mind so she decided to shut her computer down and call it a day. Walking to Derrick’s office, Heaven took a deep breath before knocking. Once he gave her the okay to enter, she went in.
“I’m not feeling too good, Mr. Walker. May I please leave early?” she lied. He looked at her through narrowed eyes before speaking.
“I know you’re having a hard time dealing with the fact that I’m your boss again so that’s why I’m going to let you go home early. You know, to let this shit sink it,” Derrick laughed. Heaven just turned on her heels and walked off. “Oh and Mrs. Reid, let this be the last time you come into my office faking sick just to leave early.”
It took all Heaven had to walk out that office without cursing his ass out. Zylen hated that man with a passion and she knew that. She needed someone to talk to about her decision of quitting or not. She didn’t want to keep anything from her husband but she loved her job. Decisions, Decisions, Heaven thought as she drove out the parking garage, heading to her mother, Sunshine’s house. She hadn’t spent much time with her since she moved back and they were certainly in need of a mother and daughter’s day.
Pulling up at the house, Heaven smiled at the sight in front of her. Sunshine was sitting on the porch with her Jamaican boyfriend, Edwyn. She’d met Edwyn three years ago during one of her many trips to Jamaica. He was a dread head, with the smoothest, sexiest mocha skin a person could have. Not to mention he was sexy as fuck. He was a really nice guy and Sunshine had been floating on cloud nine since she’d met him.
“Well, well, well. What do I owe for this visit?” Sunshine smiled as she stood to hug Heaven, followed by Edwyn.
“Don’t do that, Ma.” She took a seat at the spot Edwyn had just got up from.
“Don’t do that nothing. I haven’t seen you or my grandbabies in almost three weeks.”
“I know. I’m sorry and that’s why I came to take you out today,” Heaven said as she hopped up from her seat. Sunshine looked at her skeptically. She knew there was more to it. Heaven didn’t just pop up over there in almost three weeks just to take her out. She could fool someone else but Sunshine knew better.
“And?” asked Sunshine.
“And what ma?” Heaven laughed. “Just come on. I can’t wanna spend time with my ma?” she asked. Sunshine got up to go get her purse and let Edwyn know she was stepping out.
“We’ll see,” was Sunshine’s reply as she went inside. She returned shortly and they were on their way.
Heaven announced she wanted to do a little shopping and that was cool with Sunshine. She could use some new gear. Walking through the mall, they hit up mostly every store. They had so many bags security had to stand at the front entrance with Sunshine while Heaven pulled the car up front. They’d worked up an appetite so Heaven treated Sunshine to lunch.
“Ma, I need your input on something,” Heaven said once they were done eating and were waiting for the check. Sunshine smirked.
“I knew it was a reason yo’ ass was trying to take me out and be nice. You didn’t have to do all that to talk to me, Heaven,” she teased. Heaven rolled her eyes upwards and shook her head.
“What’s up, baby? I’m all ears.” Sunshine gave her her undivided attention.
“Well, it’s about my job. You know I was telling you about my old boss, Derrick. Well, some kind of way he came early. He wasn’t due to come until another two or three months. He’s already being a pain in the butt and I know when Zy finds out we’re working together again, he’s going to want me to quit. I don’t really wanna quit my job but at the same time I can’t hide the fact that I’m working with Derrick again, either. I just don’t know what to do,” Heaven said all in one breath. Zylen hated Derrick with a passion for whatever reason and her keeping it a secret was a disaster waiting to happen. Sunshine signed.
“Yes, you definitely need to tell him. If your husband has a problem with him then so should you. It has to be a reason Zylen doesn’t like that man. I never met him so I wouldn’t know. Let me ask you this though, Heaven. I know you love your job and want to work or whatever the case may be, but is your job more important than your marriage?” Sunshine looked her dead in the eyes and waited for her to respond.
“Of course it’s not, Ma. It’s just…” Heaven paused before clearing her throat. “I don’t want to have to depend on my husband. I wanna have something I can fall back on. I’m not trying to be one of those wives that lives off their husband’s riches. But that’s what Zylen wants me to do; be a stay-at-home mom. I’m not trying to stay at home bearing kids and sh—stuff like that,” Heaven said with teary eyes. Sunshine took hold of her hand.
“Trust me, I understand where you’re coming from, baby. But remember, just like you found that job, you can always find another one. Besides, I’m pretty sure Zy didn’t say he never wanted you to work, ever. You and I both know that man doesn’t care if you work. Whatever make’s his Heaven Sent happy makes him happy.” They both laughed because that was true. Zylen just wanted Heaven to be happy. Though she was happy at her job that was the one time he didn’t give a damn about her happiness; she wasn’t working with Derrick and that was all there was to it.
“Ugh, thanks ma. I needed this talk.” Heaven got up from her seat to hug her mother. “I love you, my Sunshine.” She really did love her unconditionally. There was nothing like a mother’s love and Heaven didn’t know what or where she would be without her. After paying the bill, she dropped Sunshine off and headed home. It was after five and she already knew Zylen had picked up the kids from daycare, like always. He was such a great husband and father.
Walking into the house, Heaven found it unusually quiet. Heading upstairs, she checked all the bedrooms and there was no sign of her kids whatsoever. She knew Zylen was there because his box Chevy he loved so damn much was parked in the driveway. It amazed her that after all those damn years he still had that car. The only difference was that he’d changed the color every year. Other than that it was in good condition.
She knew there was only one place that he could’ve been and that was his man cave. She decided to take a shower and let him have his moment. There was no doubt he would be up sooner, rather than later. Heaven was standing under the showerhead, letting the water run over her body when the shower door slid back forcefully, startling her.
“Shit, Zy, you scared me,” she said with her hand up to her chest. Her heart felt like it was about to jump out of her chest it was beating so damn fast. Zylen just stood there with the ugliest mug displaying on his face. It caused Heaven to frown. What’s his damn problem? she wondered to herself. But before she could ask, he spoke.
“Why the fuck you wasn’t at work today?” he asked with so much anger dripping from his voice. Zylen wanted to surprise her by taking her out to lunch, only to find out she wasn’t there. Instead he’d gotten another surprise, which he wasn’t too pleased with.
“I wasn’t feeling too well so I left early,” she replied with a shrug.
“Where did you go and why the fuck you didn’t call me?” Zylen was looking at her as if he was ready for her to lie so he could go off in her shit.
“Zy, I went to my mama house to chill with her. What’s the big damn deal? Why the fuck are you acting all crazy and shit?” She turned the water off, grabbed a towel, wrapped it around her wet body, and stepped out. “Where the fuck my kids at while you’re coming in here acting like a damn maniac?” she asked while walking inside their bedroom with Zylen hot on her heels.
“Don’t fucking worry about it! I have a better question for you, though. When was you gon’ tell me that you started back working with that bitch ass nigga? So you keeping secrets and shit now, Heaven?”
Damn. How the fuck did he know that? she wondered.
“Don’t look so fucking surprised. I went up there and instead of seeing you I saw his bitch ass. Smiling in my face and shit. So that’s how you doing it now?” Zylen nodded his head up and down. “It’s cool, though. I ho
pe that funky ass job worth it. You know I don’t like you working with that nigga. I don’t know what it is about him but something about that nigga don’t sit well with me. I’m telling you this for yours and his own goods. You quitting that fucking job and—” Heaven cut him off with a smirk as she held up her hand.
“It’s already done, baby. I know how much you don’t like him and I decided to quit. If it makes you feel any better, he started today and when I found out he was there I left early. I’m going in tomorrow to get my things and let them know I quit.”
That’s what the fuck Zylen was talking about. She was ten steps ahead of him.
Walking over to her, Zylen wrapped his arms around her waist as he pulled her closer to him. Just like that, his mood had changed. Just knowing they were already on the same page and she had already made up in her mind to quit without giving it a second thought caused his dick to instantly stand at attention. Feeling all ten inches of her husband’s hard wood pressing against her stomach caused Heaven to cream up between the legs.
Standing on her tip toes she kissed him with so much passion. Zylen snatched the towel off her body right before laying her on their huge California king-sized bed.
“You still didn’t tell me where my kids are,” Heaven said between kisses. She knew they were somewhere safe but that didn’t stop her from worrying. What mother wouldn’t want to know her kids’ whereabouts? Zylen let her know they were at La-La’s house right before he took Heaven to ecstasy.
Chapter 19
Two months later
The day had come for Fred and Kendra to find out what they were having and they both were beyond ecstatic. Though Fred didn’t want the baby in the beginning, he was looking forward to fatherhood; and Kendra would be lying if she said she wasn’t ready to bring her bundle of joy into the world.
Kendra sat on the bed waiting for the doctor to come into the room while Fred sat next to her in the chair, holding her purse. They’d been getting along so great since she moved in with him. It was like they had become closer.
“I’m so nervous, baby.” She turned to face him to find him fishing through her purse. “What are you doing, Fred?” she asked.
“Yo’ damn phone keeps vibrating,” he said, pulling it out to look through it. But to his surprise it was locked. “Here, unlock this shit and see who it is.” He tossed the phone over to Kendra.
She already knew who it was because they’d been calling her all damn week, day in and day out. It was Jay’s ass giving her one of his many threats. He claimed he was in town but Kendra didn’t take him seriously. He couldn’t possibly have known where she was because she hadn’t told him. That’s why she didn’t bother mentioning it to Fred. Little did she know, Fred already knew who it was.
“It’s probably La-La. I’ll just call her later.” Kendra sat the phone down beside her.
“Nah, I don’t think it’s La-La this time. Ken, I know all about that nigga calling yo’ phone. I hope you’re not thinking about getting back with his ass after all the shit he’s done to you, especially with my baby.” Fred was staring her in the eyes. Yeah, he knew about Jay calling her but he didn’t know what was going on. All he knew was Kendra had changed her number about a month ago, so he knew she had to be still having some type of communication with the nigga in order for him to have her new number. Yeah, that was some real fuck shit!
Just as Kendra opened her mouth to assure Fred that her leaving him was the last thing he needed to be worried about, the doctor walked in. There wasn’t shit anybody could say to her that would get her to leave him, ever. Though she hadn’t been with many guys in her life, he was still by far the best she’d ever had.
“Hello, Ms. Davison and Mr. Roberts. How are y’all today?” Dr. Shelly asked. They both said they were okay, but the tension in the room didn’t go unnoticed.
“Okay. So how have you been feeling?” she asked as she prepared to check Kendra. Kendra let her know she was fine. They made small talk as she put the blue gel on her stomach. Fred didn’t say a word as he watched.
“Such a strong heartbeat. Are you guys ready for the sex of the baby?” she asked while keeping her eyes on the screen. Once again the both of them said yes. “Well, we have a healthy baby...” Looking at them she saw the anticipation in their eyes. “It’s a boy.” She smiled.
Kendra rolled her eyes upwards and smiled as well, while Fred damn near jumped for joy. Though she was happy to have a healthy baby, she still wished for a girl; but a boy would work out fine.
Once making her next appointment they left and headed home. Fred was meeting up with the guys to run a little ball and to just have a day out with the fellas. Things were just getting back to normal between Zylen and Ali and Fred was looking forward to chilling with the guys.
Though they would be in the same room together they never really chilled with one another without the wives around since the whole baby shit when down; up until a couple of weeks ago. Ali’s car had broken down on the freeway. La-La was in an important meeting and Fred had other shit going on, so Ali had no other choice but to hit Zylen up. Zylen was hesitant at first, but when it was all said and done he would never leave Ali stranded—not if he could help it. His heart wouldn’t allow him to. He might play the tough role but Ali would always be his day-one nigga and he wasn’t going to let a ho like Tamar come between that shit.
Pulling up at the court, Fred saw Ali and Zylen was already there. They were playing a game one on one. A few of their other little homies were there as well so they got the game going.
“Man, this is some straight up bullshit!” Zylen said. He had always been a sore loser. “Y’all niggas ain’t shit.” He snatched his shirt off the bench and took a sip of his red Gatorade after sitting down.
“Man, that’s alright. We gon’ get y’all niggas back next time. Ain’t that right, Zy?” Tony said. He was one of their youngsters that Fred had put on his team when he took over the game.
“Man yo’ li’l young ass ain’t being on my damn team next time. Fuck you thought? Non-playing ass nigga.” Everyone laughed at Zylen’s rude outburst. Tony just waved him off. They kicked it for a little while longer before everyone started to clear out. It was a Friday night and they all made plans to get up in a few hours and head to the club.
********
Walking into his bedroom, Ali saw La-La looking through her closet and slinging clothes out. Noticing the clothes and shoes scattered on the floor and bed, he wondered what was going on.
“You trying to leave a nigga or something?” he asked. He tried to laugh it off but he was dead ass serious. He knew he hadn’t done anything wrong but he could never be too sure. La-La stopped what she was doing and smirked at her handsome husband.
“Baby, trust and believe, if I was trying to leave you, you would know,” she laughed and just like him, she was dead ass serious.
“A’ight. I just saw shit scattered everywhere. You had a ninja nervous. I was about to do some major begging. Like Keith Sweat on bended knees type of begging.” They both laughed as he pulled her into his arms.
“Baby, you’re getting soft. Back in the days you wouldn’t beg for shit.”
“Because you wasn’t putting it down like you’re putting it down now,” Ali teased and La-La slapped him in the back of the head playfully.
“Nigga, I must was doing something right. Yo’ ass wifed a bitch up. I been having you around for how many years? Eight? Nine?! Yeah, I was doing something right to keep yo’ ass running back for more. Even when you called yourself having a li’l girlfriend you couldn’t stay away,” she shot back at him.
“Yeah, I went on and made you wifey because I saw you wasn’t going anywhere. You kept coming back for the D.” Ali pulled La-La in by her waist so she could feel his nature rising. She giggled.
“You know what?! I cannot take yo’ high-yellow ass serious right now.” She wiggled her way out his arms to finish doing what she was doing. “But if you must know, we’re going out tonight. So y
ou have to watch the kids,” she informed him.
She was proud of Ali for finally starting to come around and getting used to Taylen being there. In the beginning he was bitter and still didn’t want to accept the fact that he was the father, but he slowly started coming around and now they were almost inseparable. When Taylen wasn’t with Ali, he was with Zylen. He was kind of cool with having a miniature him running around other than his girls.
“Going out with who and where?” he asked confusedly. La-La informed him that she, Heaven, and Kendra were heading to the club and what club they were going to. It was so ironic because that’s where he and the guys had decided to go. To say La-La was pissed would’ve been an understatement. She was looking to have a good time with the girls without their significant others. Damn, what a way to ruin a bitch’s plans!
“Ain’t this about a bitch?” she mumbled as she grabbed her phone to call Heaven. Ali was still rambling on about them riding together to keep from driving separate cars. It did make sense but she wasn’t trying to hear that shit at the time.
“Girl, how about Zy ass just told me they were going to the same damn club we’re planning on going to. This some bullshit! I wasn’t trying to party with his ass,” Heaven whispered when she answered, not even saying hello. La-La laughed.
“Girl, that’s why I was calling you. Ali just told me. Talking about riding together and shit.”
“Ugh. I guess that does make sense, though.” Heaven smacked her lips. “Let me go tell hubby that we’re riding together too. I am looking forward to partying with his sexy ass, though. We all haven’t been out together in a long time and I’m actually looking forward to it.” La-La could tell she was smiling. At least this time they wouldn’t have to worry about anyone trying to kill either of them.
“I know, right? Well, let me get off this phone so I can get dressed,” said La-La. After confirming the time they were meeting up, La-La called Kendra to run it by her.
Approximately three hours later the gang was sitting up in VIP drinking, smoking, and having a good time. Because it didn’t take much for the affect of the alcohol to hit Heaven, she was already feeling good and she was only on her second drink. La-La was taking shot after shot, while smoking. She had always been a heavy drinker and smoker. Kendra couldn’t drink but her ass was still enjoying herself.