by Shan
"Hell yea. Mo do need to get his ass back over here. Fuck that bitch. And Hova will have his day, believe that," Marco said as he smiled at his phone.
Rakwon reached over and snatched Marco’s phone out his hand turning his back to Marco so that he couldn’t get the phone back. He looked down at the text message between Marco and Cherie and burst out laughing. "I miss you too baby. Meet me at the hotel around midnight."
"Give me back my fuckin’ phone hoe!" Marco yelled trying to get his phone back.
Everyone laughed as Marco struggled with Rakwon watching the two as they fought over the phone. Rakwon continued to read through Marco’s messages cracking up at the fact that his boy was already falling for Cherie whom he’d just started seeing.
"Alright boo, see you later. Can’t wait to be wrapped in your arms again!" Rakwon read the message in a girly like tone. "What the fuck is this, bruh? You in love already?"
"Nah, bitch! Give me my shit," Marco snatched his phone and slid it in his back pocket. "Keep playing with me."
"Can you wrap your arms around me too, Marco?" Ju Ju teased his boy.
Marco laughed, "I see y’all got jokes. Let’s go, D-Money. These niggas on one. Y’all need to make sure y’all wrapping y’all dick while y’all ‘round here running up in Latifah."
"Oh, fuck you, Marco!" Latifah yelled from her living room.
"A’ight, I’m a holla at y’all. Hit me up if y’all need me otherwise I’ll be back through here in the morning," Devon said as he bagged up a few of the cookies that were sitting on the table left to dry.
"Aye, what about them new cats? What y’all wanna do with them?" Ju Ju asked.
"Send them to Lakeview in the back. We’ll be posted up over there for a minute," Devon said as he walked out of the house followed by Marco. Devon had to admit that he loved being back in the streets. Each time he stepped foot out his house; he felt a rush that he just couldn't explain.
It was something about the quick cash and thrill of the nightlife that excited him. Even though he risked going back to jail every day he was at it, he still loved it, especially this time around. He was much older now and far wiser than he was back before he got caught up.
And not only that, he was working at a higher rank. He was Quasym's right hand, his underboss---a street lieutenant. The cats in the streets had no choice but to respect him or else they wouldn't eat. The money was coming to him at a quicker rate, and that only added to his obsession.
Devon had gotten so enamored by the quick money that he was barely at home. He knew that Yessenia was more than over him by now, but he was working this hard for them. She still believed that he worked for UPS as a supervisor, and he planned to tell her that he was being promoted to manager within the next few weeks. He didn’t know how much longer his lies would work though.
Damn, I wish I could just tell her the truth. I hate this lying shit. She thinks I'm out here cheating when the only female on my mind is her. Devon thought as he relaxed his head against the headrest in the passenger's seat. The constant lying and sneaking around was getting to him and was taking a toll on his marriage. He and Yessenia hadn't had sex in two weeks, and she was always on his back about women she’d assumed he was seeing on the side.
The fact that he was lying and sneaking around Yessenia’s back every day was making it seem like he really did have a side bitch. Although there was no one else, he had to admit that it did feel as if he was cheating. There was no doubt that he was starting to love the streets more than he had anticipated. His heart was definitely in it, and there was nothing Yessenia could do to change that. He was already too far gone.
"You think I can borrow your car for a couple of hours? Need to go check on something," Devon said to Marco. He was feeling as if he needed to go and see his wife.
"Yea, but I’m a need you to get you a car. I don’t know what’s up with you and Sym. Y’all niggas still riding in hoopties and shit," Marco jabbed. He made a left into the Lakeview Townhomes on Bickers Road and parked his car in an empty spot. He reached into the center console and grabbed his sunglasses, his cigarettes, and a lighter and got out of the car.
Devon walked around to the driver’s side and slapped hands with Marco before getting in, "A’ight; I’ll be back in a couple of hours."
"So, what you wanna do about these new cats?" Marco asked.
"If you say they good then we gonna go with it. I can’t wait for Sym; we gotta make some moves now. But I’m a be back in a few, gotta make a run real quick."
"A’ight, get at me."
***
Yessenia stepped outside of the beauty shop and clutched her purse tightly against her body. She somewhat trembled as the cool air hit her face, and she suddenly wished that she had brought her jacket with her. She looked both ways before she crossed the street to the parking lot that was designated for the beauty shop.
As she removed her keys from her purse, she noticed Devon leaning up against her car. She wanted to smile at him, but the longing anger she had toward him wouldn’t allow her to do so.
She was sexually frustrated and emotionally tired. Almost every day she woke up with a migraine due to the fact that she went to bed crying and constantly woke up through the night from nightmares about Devon being with some woman.
He was driving her crazy, and she was feeling as if he no longer cared about her. She had been nothing but a good woman to Devon, and she didn’t understand what she was doing wrong. Yessenia followed everything she learned from her grandmother to the ‘T’ so the problem couldn’t have been her, it had to be Devon. He had allowed a woman to come between them and made him forget about everything the two of them shared. She was sure of it.
"What’s up baby?" Devon asked as he held out his hands.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" Yessenia said dryly. She ignored Devon’s gesture for a hug and leaned up against her car. She stared at the side of his face and slowly shook her head. Devon was different. This woman must be really something serious. His whole demeanor is different. He doesn’t even look the same. She eyed his attire from the Mavericks hat to his Trukfit shirt and cleaner sharp blue jeans. He was converting into someone else, and she didn’t like it.
"I figured you’d be going to lunch, so I wanted to catch you and take you out somewhere."
"Nah, that’s okay. I planned to go by the hospital to check on Zaria. I’m done for the day. Don’t you gotta be at work or something like that?"
"You know I don’t have to be to work until later. Why you acting like this, Yessenia?" Devon asked as if he didn’t already know.
"Because you’re a fucking liar, Devon. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, and I’m trying not to let it ruin our marriage, but I know you’re doing something foul. So who is she?"
"There ain’t no other woman, Yessenia. Man I promise you I’m not cheating on you. Damn, you haven’t let me touch you in two weeks all because you think I’m fucking around when I’m not. I’m just working."
"Let me see your check stubs, Devon. Show me all these so-called hours you are working."
"Yessenia, I’m tryna work this out. We got too much distance between us, and if we don’t fix it now it’s only gonna get worse."
"The only thing that needs to be fixed is you and your lies! Look at you!" she motioned to his attire. "you don’t even look the damn same! You look like you’re part of some rapper’s entourage or something. What is going on? She’s changing you that much. Just tell me the truth, Devon!"
Devon grabbed Yessenia and pulled her into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her and forced her to hug him. He didn’t want to lose his wife because of his lies, but he knew that he couldn’t tell Yessenia the truth, at least not just yet.
Once he purchased the house that Yessenia wanted, he would finally be able to tell her what was really going on. He just needed a little more time. Then, she would know that he wasn’t in the streets for nothing and that he wasn’t risking his life for some minor change. The house wou
ld prove that he was actually seeing some real money and Yessenia would be able to live with his decisions because they would be both benefiting from it.
Devon kissed Yessenia on her ear and hugged her as tight as he could. He could hear her sniffling and knew that she was crying. He felt so bad because it was his fault that she was hurting.
"I love you baby. I promise you that I’m not seeing anyone else. I would never do you like that," Devon promised. "If it helps, I can quit my job and try to get on at Dominoes. I saw a sign saying they were hiring for delivery drivers. It will be less demanding, and I can be at home like I used to."
"No Devon. I don’t want you to do that. I just need to stop tripping with you. I’m sorry. It’s just after what Quasym did to Zaria; I just look at everything you do as suspicious, and it’s driving me crazy as hell. I know it’s causing us to drift apart. I’m a do better though; I promise," Yessenia told him. "Let’s go get something to eat."
Devon breathed a huge sigh of relief glad that Yessenia didn’t pressure him about his check stubs. She almost sounded like his P.O.. That was one bullet he was able to dodge.
As he walked around to the passenger side of Yessenia's car, he started to think about how he was going to get this house and not raise any red flags. Being that he didn't know anyone who made that kind of money had him suddenly feeling like buying a house with cash may not be the smartest thing to do. Either way, he knew that however he went about it; he needed to do so quickly. He was tired of lying, and he wanted for Yessenia to be happy and to trust him again.
***
"Let me have the Baby Back Ribs with a double side of fries," Devon told the waiter as he took his order. He handed his menu over and took a sip of his Corona.
"Let me have the Bloomin’ Burger with an extra slice of cheese."
The waiter took down Yessenia’s order and left the two of them alone. Devon placed his arm around Yessenia and stared down at her phone as she played a game of Candy Crush.
"That’s a damn shame. You need to stop playing that shit," Devon chuckled.
"This is my guilty pleasure. They shouldn’t make this shit so damn addicting," Yessenia smiled. She looked up at her husband and kissed his lips. It felt good to be wrapped in his arms and getting ready to share a meal with him. They hadn’t done anything as such in a while, and this was definitely what their relationship was calling for.
"So, I think we should be ready to get that house in the next couple of weeks."
Yessenia placed her phone down and looked up at Devon again, "Are you serious?"
"Yea, I’m dead serious. The only problem is, I don’t think I’ll be able to put the house in our name though."
"What you mean, why not? What’s up with that? Quasym had to have his sister come through and put that townhouse I found for him, and Zaria in her name being he got a background and ain’t got a real job. We shouldn’t have no problem though since you and I both have a job, and we’re actually purchasing a house," Yessenia commented and then took a sip of her soda.
Devon sighed as he tried to come up with something that sounded plausible, "Well the job gave me a promotion a few weeks ago, and I haven’t said nothing about it because I didn’t want you to stress and feel like I wasn’t gonna ever be at home, but they gave me the management position and it came with a raise and bonus.
I got enough money to put down a huge ass down payment, but the thing is my P.O. think that I’m only making a certain amount of money and-I don’t know. I just don’t wanna throw up no red flags and then she thinking I’m out here doing something I’m not. You know?"
"Hmm, well I think that I should be able to just put it in my name. I don’t know baby; we’ll figure it out. Have you spoken with a real estate agent or do you need me to do it? What’s up baby, I’m ready to get this show on the road."
"Be patient, be patient," Devon laughed. "It’s gonna happen. I’ve been through there a few times and spoke with the real estate agent. I got all the details and the people I need to contact, but I gotta figure out how I’m a do this first."
"Well just give me their information, and I will have the house put in my name and if I have to get someone to co-sign with me then I can do that too. It’s nothing baby; that’s not even something we should be worrying about," Yessenia told him.
"Good, I’ll send you the chick number through text," Devon told her just as their food arrived.
Before eating, they said their grace and ate their food only saying a few words between each other here and there. Once they were done, Devon paid for their meal and left a nice tip. They left out of Outback hand and hand feeling like they did in their newlywed days.
"Well, thank you for lunch, babe. I had a great time," Yessenia said clenching on to Devon’s hand.
"No problem. Make sure you call up at the agent and check into that for us. I’m for real about this shit, and I’m ready."
"I’ll call her as soon as I get settled. So, does that mean that we can focus on bringing a child into this world?"
Devon sighed, "Not yet. Why are you in such a rush? We’re still young baby and got plenty of time to have kids."
"Devon, I don’t wanna wait until I’m damn near thirty before I start having kids, and I don’t only want one child. I would like to have at least two. What do you not want kids anymore?"
"Of course I want to have kids Yessenia, I just prefer to wait for a little while. I promise you; we gonna have some lil’ shorties running around here soon. Don’t get all down about it. Let’s get this house and get settled first and then, we’ll get into that."
Yessenia sighed as they walked back to her car. One they got inside; her mind was again filled with insecurities. The baby thing was still on her mind heavily, but lately she hadn’t said much about it to Devon. She was hoping that now that he was talking about them getting a house that they could finally sit down and concentrate on them having a baby, but he still wasn’t with it. She needed him to work with her on this.
The fact that she had issues conceiving meant that they had to work twice as hard. It wasn’t just the sex that was required, they had to have sex when her body temperature was a certain level, and they had to have sex constantly.
Being that Devon was always gone, it was hard to do any of the extra steps that they needed in order to create the beautiful child that she wanted. Yessenia just didn’t get it. He was always telling her later, and it seemed like now would never be the right time. She was twenty-three years old and felt like this was the best time. She was young and healthy, and she knew the older she got, the harder it would be. Devon needed to come with it.
"Stop at the gas station right quick so I can grab a few cigars," Devon said to Yessenia as they drove toward her shop to take Devon back to his car.
"How did you get up here? When will your truck be out the shop?" Yessenia asked.
"He said a couple of weeks. I think I’m a go and get me a rental."
Devon hopped out of Yessenia’s Honda and walked inside of the Chevron gas station. He paid for two cigarillos and quickly left bumping into Latifah on his way out.
"What’s up D-Money?" Latifah said as rubbed him on his arm.
"What your ass doing up here?" he asked her while placing some loose change into his pocket.
"I did a few runs for Rakwon and now I need to grab me a couple ‘gars and a six pack. Hopefully they’ll let my get the beers without checking for ID. Usually they do."
"A’ight, that’s what’s up. I’ll holla at you in a few."
Devon looked up and could see Yessenia burning a hole into him. He shook his head as he walked back to her car and got in. He already knew the questions were coming so he sighed and prepared himself to tell more lies.
"Who is that?" Yessenia asked on cue.
"I don’t know. She was asking me if I wanted to buy some shit she was selling, and I told her I was good."
"Hmm."
Yessenia looked through the clear glass of the Chevron and glanced at the youn
g girl once more. She rolled her eyes and quickly drove out of the lot.
Chapter 17: Going Home
Zaria scooted to the edge of the bed and pushed out a heavy breath. She was in a lot of pain, but she was happy to be alive. The doctors informed her that she had to be resuscitated twice, once when she was first brought in, and another time during surgery. Not only that, she'd found out that she was nine weeks along in a pregnancy that she had no idea about.
Miraculously, she and her baby were both doing fine. She didn't know how to feel about her unexpected pregnancy seeing how things were so out of place now. No matter how she was feeling though, she felt that the baby had to be meant to be. It just had to be; there was no other explanation on why it still survived after all that her body had gone through.
"They released you?" Quasym asked as he stepped into Zaria's hospital room. He was decked in a chocolate brown Gucci suit with some dark brown Mocassins lacing his feet. Earlier that morning, Quasym had to meet with lawyers to hear whether or not a grand jury would file charges against him for the deaths of the two guys that he killed in front of his home.
With Quasym's connection to Andres, and Andres' connections to plenty of law officials, charges were completely thrown out. The grand jury saw in favor of Quasym, and he was free from any persecution.
"Yea, they just left out and said I was free to go home. Gave me a shit load of medicine, but I don't want that shit," Zaria said weakly.
Quasym rushed to Zaria and knelt down placing her shoes onto her feet, "You need to take it if you in pain baby. No need to walk around here hurting like that."
"That shit knocks me out and I’m tired of sleeping all day. Tired of being laid up in this bed on my back unable to do nothing. I’m just ready to go home, take me a hot bath, and just get back to doing me."
"Yea well, you still in recovery Z-baby. Don’t go doing too much ma’," Quasym told her. He grabbed Zaria’s bag of her personal belongings and then helped her to her feet. Standing by the door was a nurse with a wheelchair ready to take Zaria out of the hospital and down to their car.