A Bittersweet Hood Dilemma 2: A Naptown Love Story

by Natavia

  “Calm down, nigga, damn! You are making me nervous,” she said. A white couple looked at Tokyo and shook their heads because of the language she used.

  “What the fuck y’all looking at me like that for? Damn! Black folks can’t say shit in public but y’all bad-ass kids can go to the movie theaters and take everyone out?” she spat.

  I shook my head and refused to say anything to her. Tokyo’s mouth was filthy and I didn’t feel like hearing her curse me out. I wasn’t saying nothing to her! Her attitude been messed up since she got pregnant and once she started fussing she didn’t shut up!

  The couple gasped then covered their mouths. The husband put his hand on his wife’s stomach. I chuckled to myself because their reaction was as if someone pulled a gun out on them.

  “What the hell y’all doing that for? Stewie is planning to kill y’all already!” she said, rolling her eyes. The doctor called us back and I was relieved.

  “Stewie?” I asked Tokyo as we walked down the hall.

  “You know, that little white baby from ‘Family Guy’!” she said.

  Once we got into the room Tokyo got onto the bed. The doctor lifted her shirt up. They squirted a thick gel-like substance onto her stomach. I pulled my phone out to record it. I wanted to send it to my parents. They don’t know she is pregnant and I wanted it to be a surprise. I didn’t want them to know until we found out the sex of the baby.

  “Let’s see who we have here,” Dr. Fern said. Tokyo said she’d been seeing her since she was fourteen years old. She was a heavy-set black woman. She always wore her gray hair in a bun.

  “Well, looks like you two will be decorating your baby shower pink!” she said. I started choking up and I tried my hardest not to cry like a punk. But those tears fell anyway.

  Dr. Fern handed me a tissue. “It’s okay! Fathers always react that way! It’s just reality sinking in that you are going to be a daddy,” she said, leaving the room. Tokyo sat up then looked at me. Tears were falling from my eyes too.

  “You want a hug?” she asked, getting down then sitting next to me.

  “All I’m thinking about is a little chubby daughter, with two pig-tails eating a melted ice cream cone, with her front teeth missing cussing motherfuckers out!” I said then Tokyo punched my arm.

  “She sounds adorable,” Tokyo said smiling. She kissed my lips then wiped my eyes.

  “You talk about Nybree like that again we coming for your ass, nigga!” she said, standing up. We walked out of the room then down the hall to the main lobby. Tasira was sitting in the waiting area in the OBGYN section. She waved to us then boldly blew me a kiss.

  “What the fuck?” Tokyo said walking towards her, but I pulled her back.

  “Ignore her,” I said, pulling her out of the office. Since the day she dropped her car off I haven’t seen her until now. I’m going to let Pat handle it when she comes to pick it up in a few days. I don’t want Tokyo thinking something is going on with a woman I don’t even know.

  When I got to my truck there was something on my windshield. When I pulled it off they were wet. I dropped them after realizing they were balled-up wet panties. There was also a note attached to my windshield. Tokyo snatched it off.

  “I creamed in my panties just thinking about you. That bitch!” Tokyo yelled after reading the note out loud.

  “Are you fucking that bitch?” Tokyo asked me.

  “Here we go! After the stunt your sister pulled you still are naïve to shit, aren’t you? Damn, if you are this easy to convince that I’m doing something we don’t need to be together!” I told her.

  She lowered her eyes at me then grilled me. I didn’t pay it any mind as I got into my truck. She got in then slammed the door.

  “I swear I picked a wrong fucking time to be walking around here pregnant! There’s two bitches that need some ass whipping and I can’t do shit but try to be the better person! I have to deal with this and you just don’t understand how I feel!” she said.

  “Can you calm down, Tokyo?” I asked her. She banged on the dashboard.

  “I can’t fucking calm down! That bitch boldly disrespected me in my face, not once, but twice! She put panties on your windshield as she came in! That crazy bitch needs to get merked!” Tokyo said, letting her hood come out.

  Our drive home was silent. She didn’t say anything to me, she was too busy texting on her phone. She probably was texting Kyree, telling her what just happened.

  “Take me to No Hands’s house. I’m not trying to go home yet,” she said, putting on her lip gloss.

  When we pulled up, like always, No Hands was sitting in front of his house, smoking. Tokyo got out and hugged him, as he kissed her cheek.

  “About time you came to see me. What you been up to?” No Hands asked her.

  “Nothing, working, going to art school and being pregnant! I would ask you the same but I already know. I’m not going to get into your ass right now, but trust me, tomorrow I will be cursing you the fuck out for doing Kyree like that. Oh, and just so you know I’m not being cordial with neither one of your baby mamas, so don’t have them bitches around me,” Tokyo said, sitting down on his step.

  “What y’all niggas having?” No Hands asked, ignoring what Tokyo had said.

  “A girl. I can’t wait! Nybree is going to be an angel, just like her mama!” Tokyo smiled.

  “With a name like Nybree I highly doubt that. You letting her name y’all daughter that? That’s a ratchet-ass name,” No Hands stated. He wasn’t lying about that part! I didn’t like the name either but I didn’t feel like arguing with Tokyo.

  “Her mama’s ratchet, what you expect?” I said chuckling. No Hands walked to his mailbox when a black Elantra pulled up. It was about to be some shit! That was Shimmy and I already knew what was ready to happen. Shimmy had a blunt hanging from her mouth with her music playing loudly.

  “Why is Shimmy just sitting there in the middle of the road?” Tokyo asked.

  “That’s that kush she be smoking! Shimmy ass is crazy!” I said as we continued to watch her.

  No Hands stepped out in the street and Shimmy took off after him.

  “GET THIS CRAZY BITCH!” No Hands yelled as Shimmy sped towards him, trying to run him over. She had her head hanging out the window.

  “You going to learn today, nigga! You got bitches beating my sister’s ass and going into her purse?” she screamed, trying to hit No Hands. He tried to hop over his fence but he couldn’t grip it, so he fell. I ran over to him to help him while Shimmy was backing up. She put the car in drive then came flying towards him. I got No Hands out of the way just in time, because Shimmy drove right into his fence. She got out of the car with fighting gear on.

  “Yeah, nigga! You pissed the right bitch off, now!” she said, charging him but I blocked her.

  “Cut that shit out, Shimmy!” Tokyo yelled, pulling her back.

  “Fuck that! I don’t care about that handicap nigga! Nigga couldn’t appreciate a good bitch when he had one! You should be lucky someone wanted your ashy-nubs ass! Nigga can’t even wipe his ass right but stay fucking bitches! You wait till I see Aries! I’m going to her home next! I don’t give a fuck about her being pregnant either! Y’all did my sister wrong! Had her out here walking barefoot like she live in a village in Africa! OOHHHHHH, I’m pissed off!” she spat, reaching over me, hitting No Hands in the eye.

  “I’m going to shoot your ass!” No Hands said, covering his face up as I stood between them.

  “Bring it, nigga!” Shimmy said. Tokyo finally got Shimmy under control.

  Shimmy yanked away from Tokyo. “I’m cool now! I’m fine! Now, where is my blunt at?” Shimmy asked, looking on the ground for the blunt she was smoking. This was unbelievable! I have never seen a broad this ratchet and hood in my life! I can’t understand how Dez does it!

  Shimmy found it then sparked it up. She leaned against her car smoking it like she didn’t just crash into a fence.

  “Did you take your medicine, Shimmy?” Tokyo
asked concerned.

  “I’m smoking it right now! I’m not on no damn medication! I keep telling y’all bitches that! Only illness I have is ‘a bitch better not come for me’ illness,” Shimmy said, laughing. As pretty as Shimmy is you wouldn’t think she was that way.

  No Hands was frightened of Shimmy. I remember two years ago she almost stabbed him because No Hands was caught fucking a girl in her car in front of his crib. After all the threats he received from Shimmy you would think the nigga would straighten up.

  “Your car is fucked up, Shimmy,” I said to her.

  “That’s small shit, Kauzie! When it comes to my sister I don’t care about nothing! Kyree tried her best being a mother to me, so when someone fucks with her, I take that shit to heart. That simple-ass nigga knows that too! Next time y’all may not be around! I’m going to dead that nigga!” Shimmy said.

  “Let me explain!” No Hands said.

  “Save that shit, Pernell! I don’t want to hear it! I was there when she had those abortions! And you have not one, but two baby mamas, and one of them, by the way, is a whore! It might not even be your baby dumb ass!” Shimmy said.

  “I’m going in the house!” No Hands said, walking up the steps. We stood out front of the house and waited until the tow truck came to get Shimmy’s car.

  The Next Day…

  I was sitting in my office, scheduling, while Jessup and Pat worked on an old school Chevy. We needed to hire someone because we were getting a lot of business and there was only three of us. Our appointments were starting to run into each other and sometimes we were overbooked. I also have a house that’s being worked on before I can rent it out. I still haven’t been by to see what the workers have done to it.

  The Edible Arrangements people walked in with a huge fruit basket. It wasn’t the average type of fruit. I can tell whoever had it sent spent a grip on it. It had the type of fruits from my island. US fruits were okay but there was nothing like island fruit.

  “Are you Kauzie?” The delivery guy asked me.

  “Yeah,” I said.

  He sat the basket down on my desk then asked me to sign for it. After I did there was an envelope in the basket. I curiously opened it and there was nothing but one hundred dollar bills. There was also a pair of panties in the envelope. I called the guy back before he walked out of the door.

  “Ay, yo! Come here, real quick!” I said to him.

  “Take this with you. It’s on me. Keep the money too,” I said to him.

  “You sure?” he asked me.

  “Positive!” I stated.

  “Thanks, man! My wife will love this!” he said smirking.

  “Make sure you trash the panties though! She might kill yo’ ass if you take that to her,” I said. He thanked me again then walked out. I went into our costumers file to look for Tasira’s number. I called her and it rang twice before she answered it.

  “HELLOOOOOO!” she answered.

  “Shorty, is something wrong with you? Yesterday you left panties on my truck and now you sending me shit? Bitch, are you crazy?” I asked. She laughed.

  “Sounds like you have a stalker. What makes you think it was me?” she asked me.

  “I know it’s you!” I spat.

  “Well, handsome, you got the wrong bitch! Maybe it was Tassana. I know all about y’all. What a twisted love story it was. But maybe you can call and ask her,” she said giggling. Then she started moaning.

  “Your voice is making me so horny, Kauzie,” she said between moans. I hung up on the crazy bitch. I walked back into the garage.

  “Hey, Pat. Tomorrow morning as soon as we open up, call Tasari to tell that bitch her car is ready!” I said to him.

  “Come on, man! She don’t like me!” Pat said.

  “That’s the whole fucking point, Pat!” I said to him.

  The next couple of days were worse! Tokyo left for work yesterday morning and when she went to open up the car door, shit was under the handle. She fell out in the grass screaming with tears in her eyes. I never thought a complete stranger would be so obsessed over a nigga. The bitch doesn’t even know me!

  I was at my parents’ house venting to my mother.

  “You have to get a restraining order out on her,” my mother said.

  “That’s the problem, Ma. She doesn’t come around me. I only saw her three times, twice at the shop and once at the doctor’s office. I don’t even have proof it’s her. It could be Tassana too,” I said. I have two crazy, scandalous-ass bitches in my life. I can understand Tassana’s issue because I left her for her sister. But Tasira got some other shit going on.

  “I don’t know what to tell you, Kauzie. She sounds like a woman who has done this before. She is very smart about it. You have an idea it’s her but you can’t really prove it,” my mother said.

  “It’s driving Tokyo crazy and she’s pregnant,” I said. I wish I knew where that bitch lived. I would like to strangle her crazy ass!

  “Now, Kauzie, don’t you go and do anything that will jeopardize your life. You have a lot to lose. I’m proud of my sons. Y’all are not out here standing on the corner with your pants sagging,” she said.

  My pops came into the house doing some type of dance with a blunt in his mouth. He had his knitted cap on and was shirtless. His long socks came up his scrawny legs and he had on a pair of pink shorts. This man still thinks he is back home!

  “Come on, pops!” I said.

  “Kauzie, mon! What doin’, bwoy?” he asked, doing some type of dance that looked like that Nae Nae dance everybody be doing.

  “Sit down, crazy mon!” my mother spat, hitting him with her newspaper. He started dancing against her arm, playing with her dreads.

  “I’m in love, woman!” he said, kissing her. I fell over laughing because my pops stay clowning around. My mother complains but you can see the love in her eyes.

  “Where is my colorful gyal? Since she started working she haven’t been seeing us much. She and I used to get blazed, mon! But I can’t wait till our first grandbaby is born. She is going to get down with her old mon,” he said. I had sent them a video of Tokyo’s visit when we found out the sex of the baby. My mother cried for a whole day and my pops been dancing since. They were excited that they were going to be grandparents.

  “Sit your scrawny behind down! This mon is coco! All day long he dances around the house like he sat on something hot! He is worse than a chile!” she said laughing.

  Chapter 10- Tokyo

  “That bitch did what? Oh, hell no! I’m whipping her fucking ass!” Kyree said while we sat down in the lounge room at work. I love her because she is a loyal friend but Kyree isn’t whipping anyone’s ass. She can’t even beat up No Hands when he doesn’t have his hands on.

  “Yes! Shit! Fucking shit! That bitch is crazy! But I got something for her, though! You just wait! I don’t give a damn what you or Kauzie say! I’m fucking her ass up! The bitch brought her stankin’ ass to my house to put that shit under my door handle! I don’t even know how the bitch knows where we live!” I fussed.

  After our break I went back to the front desk. I had a lot of things on my mind. Tasira needed to get dealt with! I bleached my hands in hot water until my skin looked like it was ready to peel. She wanted my man but she ain’t getting him! Her crazy games were not pushing me away! I needed to remain focused because of the art show that was coming up. I entered my two drawings and I feel accomplished by doing that. If it wasn’t for Kauzie pushing me, I would’ve had them just sitting around—another reason why I’m not letting that bitch run me away. Kauzie is my rock. He is everything in my life.

  After I left work I stopped at the grocery store. I walked past an isle then someone caught my attention. I went back to look and it was Mya! Aries came around the corner walking towards Mya. I just felt like going into the nearest bathroom to cry. I wanted to fight them really bad but I knew I couldn’t. I’m so darn frustrated because I have a lot of built-up anger in me.

  “Heyyyyy, Tokyo! I feel like
we need to be cordial because of how close you and No Hands are,” Aries said to me.

  “Sweetie, you got me fucked up! I wouldn’t even piss on you if you were on fire! When you see me, don’t speak to me! Don’t even fucking look at me! Don’t even breathe by me, bitch! I don’t fuck with side-chicks! If y’all relationship can’t be directed then it doesn’t get respected! Have a nice one!” I said walking off then I turned around.

  “Oh, and by the way, Kyree is soooo much prettier than you. You ain’t shit!” I said to her.

  “You are fucking your sister’s man!” Aries spat back and I laughed because that comment no longer bothered me.

  “But who is fucking your man? Don’t worry. I know it will take a long time giving me the list of names. I have somewhere to be. You don’t even have to answer it,” I said. She mumbled something but I continued getting the items that I needed for dinner.