by La Jill Hunt
“Anjelica does this shit all the time and they still act like she’s God’s gift.” She was too mad to cry, even though she wanted to.
“Stop tripping, Kay. I’m talking about Geno. I know you’re pissed.”
“Uh, that’s where you’re wrong. I’m happy for Geno. I am glad he has finally found someone to spend the rest of his life with,” Kayla lied. She could not believe he was engaged to someone else. Her heart felt as if it had been ripped out of her chest; it took everything she had to not curl into a ball and cry. But she was determined to be stronger than that.
The phone rang before she could go on. She snatched it up without checking the caller ID.
“Hello,” she snapped.
“Dang, Merry Christmas to you too, beautiful.” Craig laughed into her ear.
“Yeah, whatever,” she replied.
“I guess Santa damn sure wasn’t good to you. How is my gorgeous Day? She enjoying her first Christmas?”
“Yeah, she is.”
“Well, can I come through and bring Day her gifts? And you too?”
“You bought me a gift?”
“Of course. You are the mother of my child. And a good mom too, I might add.”
“Well, I have company right now, but I’ll call you when they leave.”
“Bet. I will check you later.”
“Bye.” Kayla found herself smiling as she hung up the phone. Craig bought her a gift. She had no doubt that he was getting Day gifts. But he had gone so far as to get her a gift, too. She was digging that.
“Who was that?” Terrell asked.
“Craig.” She shrugged.
“Why are you smiling?” He looked at her funny.
“He got me a gift.”
“So did I, but you ain’t smile like that. Don’t do nothing dumb,” he warned.
“What are you talking about, Terrell?”
“I mean, I know you’re pissed at Geno and here this nigga is buying you a gift.”
“I am the mother of his child. Besides, it is Christmas.”
“Whatever. Just be mindful of the games niggas play.”
“Okay, Terrell. Ain’t nobody playing no games. Damn, it’s just a Christmas gift.” She laughed because he was always suspicious. They went back into the living room where her mother and sister had rejoined her dad.
“Kayla, I want to apologize,” Anjelica began.
“Save it. Mama, Daddy, we need to get ready to head over to Aunt Ernestine’s. I have to get back here so Day can spend time with her father.” Kayla ignored her sister completely, hoping she’d get the picture.
“Well, your father and I have decided to head to Aunt Margie’s for dinner. You go ahead to Ernestine’s and tell her we send our best,” her mother said.
“Well, I’ll talk to you all later.” Kayla kissed her parents as they left behind her sister, who made no comment. She closed the door behind them and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Your life makes the soap operas look boring.” Terrell shook his head. “I wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”
27
Kayla made it home by nine o’clock Christmas night. She called Craig as soon as she got in.
“Dang, you just now getting home?” he whined.
“Yeah.”
“Is Day still up?” She could hear a lot of people in the background. “I still haven’t given her the last feeding. If you come now, you can do it. Where are you anyway?”
“Uh, I’m not that far. I got one stop to make and then I’ll be there. Just keep her up until I get there.”
“You’d better hurry. When she gets hungry she gets demanding.”
“Like her Daddy. I’ll be right there.” He laughed.
“Yo, Craig, you got something good for me?” She could hear a woman laughing in the background.
“Who is that?” Kayla demanded. He had been swearing to her that he was no longer with Avis and she never questioned him about other women. Maybe she should.
“Nobody. Give me fifteen minutes, Kay, and I’ll be there.” He hung up.
Kayla changed Day into her pajamas and set her in the swing, hoping she would be content until Craig got there. She had just begun to get feisty when the doorbell rang.
“You’re right on time,” Kayla said as she opened the door. Craig’s arms were full of wrapped boxes and gift bags. “What did you do, rob the mall?”
“It’s my baby’s first Christmas. What do you expect?” He followed Kayla into the living room and placed the gifts under the tree. He walked over to the swing and picked Day up. “Hi, Day. Merry Christmas.”
“I have no room for all of this stuff. I can’t believe this.” Kayla looked at the mass of gifts under the tree.
“Open them for her while I feed her and put her to bed, Kay,” Craig said, reaching for the bottle sitting on the table. He sat down and began to feed Day, looking like a natural. Kayla knelt down beside the tree and began opening gifts. Craig bought Day any and everything for an infant age six months and up. He had musical activity sets and games, toys that attached to her stroller and car seat, he even bought her a piano that she could kick and play with her feet. Kayla laughed every time she opened a gift. She was delighted when she opened a small box that contained Day’s first pair of earrings.
“Diamonds, of course,” Craig informed her.
“Just like her father,” Kayla commented, noticing the studs he wore in his ears. He stood and took the sleeping baby into her room and placed her in the crib.
“I’ll be right back,” he said and opened the door.
“Where are you going?” She jumped up to go behind him.
“Chill. I gotta get your gifts out of the trunk,” he told her. She sat back down and waited for him to return. He came back with another armload of packages.
“I know all this isn’t for me.” She raised her eyebrows at him.
“Merry Christmas, Kayla. These are from Day.” He passed her three large boxes. She was too shocked to even thank him. She just began to open them one by one. The first one contained a beautiful, ivory cashmere sweater and matching leather pants.
“Oh my God. Craig.”
“Keep opening.” He laughed. She opened the second box and found an ivory Coach bag and wallet. Kayla could not believe it. She had never bought herself a Coach bag because her mother had told her that there was no point in spending more money on a purse than you had in your wallet.
“One more from Day,” he said, sliding a longer box toward her. She opened it to find a pair of ivory leather boots. She sat back on the sofa, stunned by what he had just given her. No man, not even Geno, had ever given her such elaborate gifts. Stuff like that only happened to Roni. “What’s wrong? I got the right sizes, right? You don’t like it?”
“I love it. I’m just surprised. I never expected this,” she said.
“Well, you still have your gift from me to open.” He pushed a long box into her hand. She carefully opened it and lifted a thick, gold chain out, holding a heart-shaped charm with a diamond. “Open the heart.”
Inside there was a small picture of Kayla holding Day in the hospital. She had given him a copy of it after he started being a good father. She felt the tears swell in her eyes and tried to brush them before they fell.
“Look at the back,” he whispered in her ear as he stroked her hair. There were three small words engraved on the back of the charm: Kay & Day. She fell into Craig’s arms and cried. All of the emotions she had gone through that day came pouring out at that very moment. Craig just held her and let her cry.
“Thank you, Craig,” she finally said after she had gotten herself together.
“Kayla, you are my daughter’s mother and more importantly, you are my friend. I give you mad props because you deserve and earn your respect. You don’t hassle me, you let me know in a proper way if I ain’t handling my business and you are a damn good person. Hell, I been feeling you from the moment I met you and you know this. But I have my issues; you know that. I
just want you to know that I care about you and appreciate you, even though I ain’t that nigga Geno,” he added.
“You don’t have to be Geno. I appreciate you too, Craig. You have really surprised me. I thought you were gonna be one of these dads. Missing in action, but you proved me wrong.” Kayla wiped the remainder of her tears and smiled at him. Craig’s cell began to vibrate and he took it out and looked at it.
“Look, Kay. I gotta dip. But check this out, I would like to take you out tomorrow night if it’s cool. If I get my moms to watch Day, you wanna go grab a bite at Dolce’s?”
Kayla did not have to think twice. Dolce’s was the premiere spot for dinner.
“That would be nice. I would love to go.” She stood and walked him to the door. He bent down and caressed her neck as he hugged her. She tilted her head so that her lips met his. She closed her eyes and felt her mouth open as he began to suck on her bottom lip. She didn’t want to stop and knew he didn’t either, but the vibration from the phone stopped him.
“Mmmmm, see you tomorrow night, beautiful. I’ll pick you up at seven,” he whispered and kissed Kayla once more on her forehead. Too bad he don’t act right, or else he just might be the one for me, Kayla thought as she went to try on her new outfit and boots.
28
“I need to talk to you,” Geno said when Kayla answered the phone. She had been avoiding him for weeks now and he still hadn’t let up.
“For what, Geno? I ain’t your fiancée, you don’t need to talk to me about shit.” Kayla grabbed her purse and the diaper bag. She and Craig had an appointment with a childcare provider and she knew she couldn’t be late.
“Kayla, I swear. I thought we were much cooler than this. You don’t return my calls, and on the off chance that you do answer the phone, you still won’t talk to me. I’m getting real pissed.” Kayla could hear that Geno was frustrated, but she did not care. He wasn’t her man; let Janice deal with him.
“Look, Geno. I am on my way out the door, I have an appointment and I can’t be late.” She picked up the carrier, where she had already placed Day, and opened the door.
“Look, Kayla. I gotta go outta town for a few weeks, but I need to see you when I get back. Face to face. This is an entire month’s notice, so you have plenty of time to clear your schedule. You owe me that much, Kayla. And I wanna see Day, too.”
Kayla sighed. Geno was right. She did owe him the opportunity to apologize to her face to face. “Fine, Geno. Just let me know when.”
“The last Saturday in March.”
“Fine. I gotta go.” She hung the phone up and rushed out to meet Craig. Kayla was scheduled to return to work the first week of February. As much as she hated to leave her baby, she knew she had to go back to work in order to survive. She had diminished her savings down to almost nothing and although Craig was a good provider for Day, she still needed her own income to live comfortably. Tia had told them about a woman named Ms. Cookie who had an awesome childcare center, but she was always full. Craig had told Kayla to let him worry about getting Day in. She had no idea what he did, but he had called Kayla that morning and told her to meet him at Ms. Cookie’s for their tour and interview. The neatness and cleanliness of the center impressed Kayla. There were four different rooms; three of them set up with cribs and tables. The other was a multi-purpose room, holding a large screen television and shelves of toys and books. The unique thing about Ms. Cookie’s center was she exclusively kept infants up to age two.
“Well, we will see you all next week then.” Ms. Cookie smiled as she walked them out.
“You mean she’s in? I thought you had a waiting list.” Kayla was stunned.
“She has a very persistent father.” Ms. Cookie nodded. “I can respect that.”
“Thanks, Ms. Cookie. We’ll see you next week.” Craig carried the carrier to the car and strapped Day in.
“What did you do?” Kayla asked him, incredulously.
“I got my daughter in school. I handled my business.”
“How?”
“Don’t worry about all that. You said you wanted her in, now I got her in. She’s in and I paid her first month’s tuition up front, so you don’t have to sweat that either. Now I got some other business to handle. I’ll be by there later, and tonight I’ll do the three a.m. feeding.” He winked and kissed Kayla as he jumped into his new Jeep. He told her he had gotten a major raise because they sold the restaurant to a new man, and rather than see him quit, he offered Craig double what he was making. Kayla waved as he drove off. The sight of a red car caught her eye and she turned, but it was gone. She had been seeing a red Benz following her for a couple of days now. The tag read LIBRAGAL. She knew Avis drove a red Benz. She scolded herself for being paranoid and got into her own car.
She knew she had a surprise planned for Craig. Karen had already given her the okay to have sex, but she wanted tonight to be special. She raced home to prepare. She covered her bed with the navy blue satin sheet set that Tia had given her for Christmas and placed candles all over the bedroom and bathroom. She thought about cooking but decided against it when she remembered she had no culinary skills. So she ordered some Chinese delivery. Once the food had arrived, she called Craig to see what time he would be coming and reminded him to pick up some wine and strawberries. She already had whipped cream in the fridge. She put a slow jams CD in the stereo, double checked Day and waited for her soon-to-be re-lover’s arrival.
“Damn, I shoulda got Day in school earlier.” He laughed as Kayla opened the door. She was wearing a blue, silk kimono and matching slippers. Her hair had grown out to its original length and she had it pulled on top of her head. She had sprayed herself with Escada, knowing it was his favorite scent for her to wear.
“Come on, dinner’s ready.” She turned to go into the kitchen.
“Oh, no. I hope you ain’t cook.” He groaned.
“You’ll have to come and see.” She rolled her eyes and he followed behind her. The table was laid out beautifully and she had the variety of oriental dishes in her glass serving plates and bowls.
“This is beautiful,” he commented as he sat down.
“You get the wine and strawberries?”
“Yeah, right here. Give me a corkscrew so I can open the bottle.”
She passed him the opener and reached into the cabinet to get two glasses. She could feel him walk behind her and reach around her waist. Her body got hot and she had to catch her breath.
“Here,” she said as she turned around, holding the two glasses. He took them from her hand and placed them on the counter with one hand, pulling her to him with the other. She put her arms around his neck and stood on her toes. His arms felt so good around her as he lifted her up off the floor. She wrapped her legs around his thick waist and they kissed each other hard. Kayla found herself biting at his mouth, matching his heat. She had never wanted anyone so bad in all her life. She could feel him through his pants as he carried her to the bedroom. Once there, he laid her on the bed and looked around at the sensual surroundings Kayla had created. He didn’t waste any time removing his clothes and climbing next to her. She had already removed her robe and he was staring at her sexy body. She was now even thicker than the first time he saw her nude body. Her breasts were fuller and her nipples were inviting his touch. He took his time running his fingers all over her body and nibbling her every crevice. She moaned in delight as he blew erotic kisses over her body. He kissed and licked from the top of her head to the arch of her foot, which he teased with the tip of his tongue, causing her to squirm. He knew what he was going to do next and so did she. His tongue found his way into her now melted openness and the wetness invited him home. He enjoyed the invitation and let it be known. Kayla found herself lost in the ecstasy he was taking her to. She tried to be mindful that their child was now sleeping in the next room, but could not stop herself from calling his name and letting him know she was there. Just as she caught her breath, he mounted her and began riding her gently. She bucked at fi
rst, because it was painful, but soon began to enjoy the ride, her hips rising to meet his. It was Craig who began to moan this time as the heat and wetness from her body began to contract around his thick muscle each time he entered. He began to thrust faster and faster, the sound of their bodies connecting and the scent of their lovemaking making it even better. As they had the first and only time they had ever made love, they reached their climax together and with each other’s names on their lips.
“I love you, Kayla,” Craig whispered. Kayla didn’t know what to say. She knew she cared for Craig, he was after all the father of her child, but deep down, she knew she still loved Geno. But he was with another woman. What was the use of holding on to those feelings? Can I love two men at one time?
“I love you too, Craig,” she said as her mind told her heart to shut up. He kissed her once again and rose from the bed, walking into the bathroom. He returned with a warm cloth for her to clean herself up. “Thanks, but I think I need a shower after that one.”
“We did get kinda funky. I think I’ll join you. That is, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all.” Kayla grinned as he pulled her up. “Start the water. I need to check on Day.”
She peeked into the dim nursery and made sure Day was still sleeping. I can’t believe she slept through all of that, she thought. She walked into the room just in time to hear Craig talking on his cell phone.
“Damn, man. I told you I couldn’t meet up tonight. I got something to do. We just have to handle it in the morning. Man, naw. Because. Look, meet me in ten minutes and your ass better be there when I get there. Whatever.”
“Who is that?” Kayla asked, causing Craig to damn near jump out of his skin.
“Don’t be sneaking up on a brother like that, girl.” He turned and smiled at her. “That was Darrell. I gotta go meet him at the crib right fast.”
“But I thought we were gonna take a shower.”
“Look, give me thirty minutes, baby. I promise you I will bathe you from your head to your feet,” he said as he pulled on his jeans and Tims. He looked so sexy. Kayla sat on the side of the bed and rolled her eyes. “Thirty minutes. I promise, Kay.”