When He Cheatin' and You Still Love Him 2

by Cachet

  Inside the mall, I make my way over to the food court where Shanair and Kendrick are seated. He’s munching on a taco while Shanair is picking over her container of Chinese food. After I greet the two of them, I pull up a chair and take a seat beside Kendrick. Since I ate before I went to the gym earlier, I decline Shanair’s invite to some of her food. As they continue to eat, I ask them about how their day has gone so far. Kendrick smiles as he tells me that his mom has signed him up for Karate lessons for the summer. He said that that’s where they had just come from and he couldn’t wait to get his uniform.

  I laugh when he tells me that he will be a black belt in only a few weeks, and if I wanted he would show me a few of his moves when I came back home. When he asked me when it was that I was coming home, I sat shocked. Right away I look over at Shanair not sure of what to say. Meanwhile, she struggles to catch her breath after almost choking on her lemonade.

  “Mommy, are you alright?” Kendrick pops up from his seat and quickly moves around the table to pat his mother on the back.

  “Yeah,” Cough “I’m alright baby.” Cough…Cough “The juice just went down the wrong pipe, that’s all.” Shanair responds clearing her throat. “If you’re finished eating Kendrick, we can go.” She tells Kendrick not bothering to answer his question.

  For the next two hours, we go from store to store picking up items for all of the kids. I’ve had to go out to both Shanair and my vehicles to drop off bags twice, and it’s looking like in a few I’ll be off to do it again. Walking into Children’s Place, Shanair immediately goes to the back of the store towards the infant section. There she picks up a bright purple romper and turns around with it in her hands. On her face is the biggest smile that I’ve seen in a long time. I already know that it’s her way of asking me if I like it, so I nod my head and let her know that I do. It warms my heart to see her in a cheerful mood again. We spend the next twenty minutes finding the correct sizes for lil momma in all the other colors of that exact same romper. Once Shanair grabs almost every pink and purple item in the store, it was finally time for us to cash out and leave.

  “Oh my God Terry!” Shanair yells, startling me.

  “What’s up?” I ask looking to see what has got her so excited.

  “I’ve been looking for these shoes everywhere.” She tells me pointing to a pair of purple and black Air Max 95’s through the window of Finish Line.

  Before I can say anything, she rushes into the store with Kendrick, and I close behind. Shanair continues through the store, and over to the women’s section. While she looks for the shoe, I take a seat on one of the benches close by while Kendrick walks over to where he mom is standing. With the shoe in her grasp, Shanair turns around and scans the store looking for someone to help her. It takes a while because the store is pretty busy. I figure it’s because a pair of Jordan’s came out this weekend, and all the people who were able to get them were copping them now.

  “Here someone comes now,” Shanair cheered, happy to finally get some service. “Can I get these in a size six please?” She asks the worker who is blocked from my vision by the rack of t-shirts.

  “Sure, I’ll go check in the back.”

  As soon as I hear the voice my heart drops into the pit of my stomach. I know the fuck that ain’t Charlotte, I think to myself, all the while praying that I’m wrong. Out of all the fucking shoe stores in the mall, how in the hell did we end up in this one? I swear I totally forgot about Charlotte. If I had remembered, there is no way in hell that I would have allowed Shanair to come in the store, and if she did I damn sure wouldn’t have come in with her. A few minutes go by with me almost to the point of shaking in my boots. I’m hoping like hell that the voice I heard is someone else because I can’t afford to have any bullshit right now. I didn’t spend a lot of time with Charlotte, but I know the kind of female she is, and I’m almost positive that if she knew I was with Shanair, she would try her hardest to fuck my shit up. Especially, since I cut her off without any notice.

  “Here you go.” I hear in the distance.

  As soon as the voice comes close enough, I see that it is in fact, Charlotte. Not wanting to be noticed, I drop my head and pretend to play with my phone. I hope that she hands Shanair the shoes and keeps it moving. If she does, I’ll tell Shanair that I’m taking the bags to the car, and my ass won’t be back until I’m sure that she’s far away from this damn store. I peep Shanair take a seat on the other bench across from me. She grunts as she removes her sandals. Even though her stomach isn’t huge, it’s big enough to get in the way of her doing things like putting on her shoes. While I see her struggling to put on one of the Air Max’s, I continue to pretend like my phone has all of my attention because I see Charlotte’s shoes under the rack and know that she’s still close by probably waiting on Shanair to try the shoe on.

  “Terry,” Shanair whines.

  “Yeah,” I respond, knowing that my shit is about to blow up in my face.

  “I need your help putting this shoe on.”

  Even though I ain’t trying to be caught up, I know better than to ignore Shanair and allow her to continue to struggle to put her shoe on. Slowly I stand up and walk over to where she’s sitting. Shanair holds her foot out toward me, and I bend down to help her completely slide her foot in. All the while I keep my back towards Charlotte so she can’t see my face. Shanair smiles at me as I pull the strings tighter and tie her shoe.

  “How does that feel?” I ask her taking a step back.

  Shanair stands up and walks a few steps before replying, “They’re cool. Not too tight.” She turns her foot to the side. “What do you think?”

  “They look good to me,” I tell her honestly.

  “Terry?” I hear from behind.

  I don’t respond right away because I don’t plan to. My plan is to pretend like I don’t know who the hell this chick is. Unfortunately for me Shanair has already heard and is now looking from me to Charlotte as if to say, how the hell do y’all know each other. Charlotte calls my name a second time, but once again I don’t turn around.

  “Terry, I know the hell you hear her calling you.” Shanair scolds.

  “Oh, what’s up?” I finally say turning around.

  Charlotte just stares at me with a smirk on her face.

  “I guess this is the reason you couldn’t call a bitch back, huh?” She snarls. “You were too fucking busy playing daddy.”

  “Girl, gone with that bullshit.” I tell her brushing her off. “I ain’t spoke to yo’ ass in months.

  “Yeah, whatever Terry.” Charlotte waves her hand in my direction. “You ain’t gotta lie.”

  “I know, and that’s why I ain’t.” Tired of feeding into her dumb shit, I turn back around and face Shanair. “You got everything you need.”

  With a frown on her face, she looks me up and down and retorts, “Yeah…I guess.”

  Shanair takes a seat back on the bench and kicks the shoe off her feet. While she tries to redo the straps of her sandals, I bend down and pick up the tennis shoe. After placing it back into the box, I attempt to assist Shanair to fastening up her sandal, but she smacks my hand away opting to do it on her own. It takes her a couple of seconds, but soon she has it, and together she, Kendrick and I head to the cash register. As we walk, Charlotte follows closely behind us. She’s still talking shit, and I’m trying my best not to make a scene in this fucking store, but this bitch is really trying me. When I hear her say that she’s pregnant with my child, I turn around and snatch her ass up by the arm. I really wanted to wrap my hands around her neck, but I didn’t want to fuck around and get locked up.

  “Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but you better stop fucking playing with me,” I warn as I glance down at her flat stomach knowing damn well the bitch is lying.

  “Whatever Terry,” Charlotte laughs snatching her arm out of my grasp. “I don’t want yo’ little dick ass anyway.” She blurts out before turning to walk away cracking jokes about my manhood.


  Once her and her bullshit are out of sight, I allow the guy behind the counter to ring us up, and pay for the shoes. Shanair is quiet the entire time, and there is no doubt in my mind that she has an attitude. As we leave the store, she continues to give me the silent treatment, even though I try my best to spark up a conversation. I don’t mean to bug her, but I need to know just how much damage has been done. Outside at her car, I place her bags into the trunk with the rest of the bags. Making my way over to the driver side window, I stand there looking hopeless.

  “I know you’re probably mad baby, and you have every right to be.” I start to explain. “The thing is she’s old news. I stop fucking with her after we broke up the first time, and I swear I haven’t seen her since.” Shanair doesn’t say anything. She only stares straight ahead. “Can you say something to me please?”

  She turns to face me, and even though she’s trying her best to play hard, I can tell she’s hurt.

  “It doesn’t even matter.” She scoffs. “It’s not like we’re together anymore. You have the right to do whatever the hell you want to. By all means, please don’t let me stop you!” She exclaims throwing her hands up in the air.

  “Come on Nair, don’t be like that.”

  “I gotta go Terry.” She tells me starting her truck.

  “Okay, but can I call you later?”

  “Nah, I’m going to be busy.”

  I take a step back when I see her put the gear in reverse. As she pulls backward, Kendrick waves to me. I wave back as I watch Shanair straighten her wheel and pull off, leaving me standing there dumbfounded. Once her truck is out of sight, I start to walk to my car. A few minutes later I slide into the driver’s seat and just sit there. I can’t believe Charlotte’s raggedy ass fronted me in front of Shanair. I knew I should have never fucked with her dumb ass. Now I know Shanair ain’t gone take my ass back.

  My cell phone vibrates and snaps me out of my thoughts. When I pick it up and glance at the screen, I see that the call is coming from an unknown number. Thinking that it may be Brittany’s stalking ass, I send the caller to the voicemail. No sooner than I hit the button, it rings again in my ear. Knowing that Brittany can be persistent, again I send the caller to voicemail. Not even a minute later the alert sounds letting me know that whoever the caller was has left a voicemail. At first I start to ignore that as well, but something tells me to listen. After tapping a few keys, Katrina’s voice can be heard through the speaker.

  “Terry, this is Katrina,” she says, and I can tell she’s crying.

  This immediately makes me sit up from my seat in fear that something may be wrong with my son. My phone ringing interrupts the message, and once again unknown flashes across the screen. This time I hurry and hit the send button because I’m sure it’s Katrina calling back once again.

  “Katrina?”

  “Yeah, it’s me.” She sniffles.

  “Is everything alright?” I ask praying that there’s nothing wrong with my son.

  “I’m in jail!” Katrina cries so loud that I have to momentarily pull the phone away from my ear.

  “Jail? What the fuck you doing in jail?” I ask getting loud as well.

  “The fucking police came to my apartment a few hours ago talking about they got a call that there was drug activity going on. I told them they were crazy because there were no drugs in my house.” She went on to explain. “Anyway, they asked if they could come in. Since I knew I wasn’t hiding shit, I told them they could.”

  “Damn Katrina, you never let the police in your house unless they have a warrant.” I remind her.

  “Shit, I didn’t see any problem with it because I was clean!” She retorted raising her voice before bringing it down to a whisper. “Well, at least I thought I was anyway. “Next thing I know they are handcuffing me and hauling me off to jail, talking about…”

  Katrina continues to talk, but I zone out. The only thing I want to hear about is my son, and what’s going on with him.

  “Where the fuck is Shad?”

  “CPS came and took him.” Katina breaks down crying even harder.

  “Aww, hell nah!”

  “My mother said that she’s going to go down there and get him, but you already know how she is. I can’t afford to play with her right now. You gotta go get my baby Terry before they put him in the system. You gotta get him and keep him with you until I’m able to get out of here.”

  “I’ll be going to do that as soon as we get off this phone,” I tell her. My mind is racing so fast that I remember that Katrina hasn’t even told me why the hell they’ve taken her to jail. “Wait a minute, you never told me why they took you. Did they find anything?”

  “I did,” she smacks her lips. “You just weren’t listening. They arrested me talking about they’ve found my stash.”

  “Your stash?” My eyes buck because I know damn well this girl ain’t finna tell me that she’s been selling drugs. “Yo’, lil ass better not tell me you been selling, especially with my fucking son in the house!”

  “Come on Terry, you know me better than that. I wouldn’t dare do no shit like that where my baby lay his head!” She yells, and I can tell that me accusing her has hurt her feelings. “Look, I swear that shit wasn’t mine. Whatever they found in this house, if they found anything had to belong to Junior.”

  My face instantly frowns up when I hear the unknown nigga’s name.

  “Who the fuck is Junior?!” I yell. I don’t even give her a chance to respond before I hit her with another question. “Better yet, why the fuck is his shit in yo’ house?”

  Katrina sniffs a few more times before she replies, “He’s this guy I’ve been talking to, who comes over from time to time.”

  This is news to me. Last time I checked Katrina wasn’t fucking with anyone. I guess that’s why she was so cool the last time I saw her. She had another nigga and wasn’t worried about my ass no more. A part of me is upset because that’s my baby momma, and I don’t want no other niggas fucking with her, but another part of me understands that she had to move on. Since I wasn’t planning on fucking with her no more, I guess she went and found someone who would. Before I get a chance to ask her more about this dude, I hear a male voice in the background telling Katrina that her time is up.

  “I gotta go. I’ll call when I can to let you know when I go to court. Don’t forget to go get Shad.”

  “I’m going to head there in a few minutes,” I promise.

  Katrina starts to cry again. “Go get my baby and take care of him, Terry. Do you hear me?” Before I get a chance to answer, the phone hangs up.

  Confused, I shake my head before dialing Katrina’s mother’s number. As soon as she answers the phone and finds out that it’s me, her attitude immediately turns sour.

  “What Terry?” She snaps. I don’t know what that woman’s issue is with me, but right now I don’t give a damn. I’m calling to see if she’s picked up my son.

  “Hey, did you go pick up Shad yet?” I ask getting right to the point. I ain’t got time for small talk.

  “Nah, I ain’t got a chance yet.” She starts. “I’ll probably go down there tomorrow.”

  Instantly I get pissed because I know that this bitch didn’t plan to go get my son at all. It’s fucked up because he is her grandchild, and no matter how she feels about Katrina, he should always be her priority. What I really want to do is curse her stankin’ ass out, but I’m not even going to bother because I got more shit to worry about than her miserable ass.

  “Don’t even worry about it. I’m headed to get him now.” I tell her before hitting the end button on her dumb ass.

  Frustrated, I open the internet browser on my phone. After tapping a few keys, I’m able to find the contact information for Child Protective Services. Quickly, I dial the phone number. As it rings, I start my car and pull out of the parking space. Once the operator answers, I ask her a few questions and I am given the address to come down and fill out the proper paperwork. Since I now know exactly where I’m
going, I pull out of the mall parking lot and head toward the freeway. As I drive I say a little prayer that they allow me to get my son. I haven’t dealt with the system first hand, but from what I’ve heard they can be assholes sometimes and I can’t afford to play games with them right now. Not when it comes to my son.

  Chapter 14

  Shanair

  One week later…

  I’m so damn happy to be back home! It took them a fucking week to get my lights cut back on. If it would have taken longer, I don’t know what the hell I would have done because I missed the hell out of my house. I like being away from home sometimes like everybody else, but when it’s because you have no choice, that shit is annoying. Don’t get me wrong, the hotel suite we stayed in was cool. There was free breakfast, a fitness room, a pool which Kendrick loved, but it wasn’t home. It’s been three days since we’ve been back home, and I’ve been lying around the house enjoying being in my own shit.

  With it being summer vacation, Kendrick and I have been lounging around, and sleeping in late. He’s supposed to begin his Karate classes next week, so he’s looking forward to that. Honestly, I am too. It’ll give him a chance to not only get out of the house, but to meet some new friends as well. Right now the only friend that he really he has is Terrance Jr. Now don’t get me wrong, I love that little boy as if he were my own. I’ve basically been around him since he was damn near a baby. My thing is when he’s around he always reminds me of Terry, and I’m about tired of thinking about him.

  Speaking of Terry, I still can’t believe what went down at the mall the other day. We were in Finish Line, and I was trying on a pair of my favorite shoes when the chick that works there revealed the fact that she and Terry used to fuck around. I should have known something wasn’t right when I noticed Terry with his face glued to the screen of his phone. When I called his name to help me to put on the shoe, he acted like he didn’t even want to come over to where I was seated. He knew that bitch was there. He just didn’t want to get caught up. It was too late for that because she told it all. It killed me to stand there in that store and let that bitch say all kinds of crazy shit. The only thing that would have embarrassed me more was to get into an argument with her knowing that she fucked my man. That’s why I stood there and didn’t utter a word.