by Ni-Ni Simone
You don’t have time for anything.
“Besides, the last time I joined a group with a buncha dudes who worshipped colors and called themselves brothers, I was a Crip, and chasing behind them landed me six months in juvey, had me selling weed, and almost landed me back in prison. I’m good, baby.” He pointed toward the Ques and Kappas. “I’ma let them have that.”
“Being a Crip and being in a fraternity are two different things.”
“Maybe for you. But I’m not interested. And besides, the life of a square is hard work. Between working and going to school, and making time to spend with you, I have zero time for anything extra.”
He kissed me on my temple.
“Okay,” I said dryly.
Zaire looked down at me and squinted. “What? You feeling some kind of way about me not wanting to pledge?”
“No.”
“Then what’s the shade about?”
“No shade. I’m fine.”
Zaire paused. “What? You wanna pledge?”
“Not really... I never really thought about it. I just think it upgrades a cutie to a hottie.” I let my eyes wander over to the drum majors in the distance. Big Country and a few others were banging out a beat on their basses and Khya was directly behind them, kickin’ it with the other flag twirlers.
“You know if you wanna pledge, Seven, I’ll support you.”
I didn’t respond. Instead I changed the subject. “I was thinking . . .”
“About what?”
“About me and you hanging out with my friends. It’s a party tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“Why’d you say it like that? All funny-style.”
“Another party, love? We just hit a party last night and now you wanna party tonight? Don’t you need to study?”
“Study?” I gave him a crazy screw face. “What are you, god of the study hall? I got this. I know when to hold and when to fold. And tonight I can place studying on hold because at this moment there is nothing to study for. Like you said, classes just started.”
“Exactly. It’s only the first day of classes and you’re about to hit your second party. And on a Monday?”
I frowned. Last I checked, Zaire was my boyfriend and not my daddy. “Why are you nursing the days of the week? Don’t do the daddy on me.”
“Don’t play me, Seven.”
“I’m not playing you. I’m just saying you need to turn it up a notch. So what if it’s a Monday? What difference does it make? We’re in college. It’s a party every day of the week.”
“Look, I don’t doubt that you got this. And if you wanna go to the party, then cool. I’ll chill with you on my day off. But I have classes tomorrow. And I work full-time. And your level of I got this and me gettin’ it are two different things. I don’t have a mother to go home to. Being a failure is not an option for me.”
“Are you saying I’ma be a failure?”
“You know me better than that. I would never say that about you. What I’m saying is that after this I don’t have another chance. So I can’t go to every party.”
I didn’t say a word. I let my body language speak for me as I moved an inch out of his embrace.
He pulled me back in. “Oh, it’s like that?”
Silence.
Zaire draped his arms over my shoulders and spoke against the side of my neck. “How about we chill at my place on my day off? We order pizza.” He ran a series of kisses along the side of my neck. “We watch some Netflix.” He ran his fingers up my back. “And just chill the rest of the night together.” He landed a soft peck on my lips.
I stared at Zaire. And for a moment it had crossed my mind to flat out say, It’s because of you and your never-ending ordering of pizza, that I hate it. I can’t stand Netflix. And your idea of chilling sounds likes a night out at the nursing home.
But I didn’t.
I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, especially when he was trying so hard to please me. The least I could do was go with the flow. “Okay, baby, if that’s what you want to do, but I would like to . . .”
“Like to what?”
“For me and you to chill with my friends and their boyfriends.”
He sighed.
I acted as if I didn’t hear it as I said, “I promise you it will be sooo much fun. Just give them a chance.”
“All right.” He gave in.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Let’s do it.”
“Sure?” I looked at him suspiciously.
“Yeah, I’m sure. And stop looking at me like that.”
I hugged my baby tightly. Then I collapsed in his arms and laid my head back on his chest. Zaire stroked my hair and whispered in my ear, “You know you’re the prettiest girl in the world.”
I closed my eyes and smiled. “Really?”
“What do you mean, really? You know it. And I knew it from the moment I spotted you.”
“You mean after you splashed a puddle of water on me.”
“It was an accident.”
“You were driving too fast. And it was raining.”
“I was. But I’m glad that I was, because if I didn’t try and go around that bus, I would’ve never met you.”
“And that would’ve been anti-destiny.” I snuggled in the crux of Zaire’s arms as he wrapped them around me.
“Exactly. Because you’re the only girl for me.”
I turned toward him and slid my arms around his neck. “I love you.”
“You better,” he said as I nestled into his hard chest. “A’ight, love, I gotta get up and get back on the grind.”
“Already?” I whined.
“Yeah. I’ve been here almost an hour. And I only get a half hour for lunch. I’m surprised my supervisor isn’t looking for me. I’m sure my cell will be ringing any minute.”
“Aw, can’t you stay a few minutes longer?”
“Nah, I gotta go, baby.”
I sighed. “Okay.” We stood up and I dusted specks of grass from my pants.
“Don’t worry. I’ll make up for it this weekend.”
“I can’t wait,” I said as we walked down the sidewalk holding hands. I stopped at the stop sign and watched my boo get into his UPS truck. And as he disappeared into the distance, I wondered why, if being in his arms felt like heaven, suddenly heaven didn’t feel like enough.
8
Maybe . . .
I had Pandora going.
My hair flowing.
And my gear on extra cute.
Boom.
Pow.
I was straight workin’ it out.
Peep the vision: glued-on blue-and-white floral skinny jeans that fit my wide and sexy hips like bam! And a deep-cut, V-neck white tee that gave sneak peeks of my blue lace bra.
I stepped into my four-inch heels, looked at my baby’s reflection in the mirror, and said, “You ready?”
“Love.” He was clearly agitated. “I’ve been ready for the past hour. And if you could get out of the mirror, we could roll.”
“Okay. All right.” I gave myself one last glance before turning around and facing him. “I’m ready.”
“Cool.” He grabbed his truck’s keys and we walked out the door. “Where are we going again?” he asked as we got in the truck and he started the ignition.
“It’s a surprise. All you need to know is that it’s in the shopping plaza on Prentiss Avenue.”
He smiled as he began to drive. “Must be that Chinese spot over there. I’ve heard the food is great. I’m starving, too.”
“Didn’t I just tell you it was a surprise? Don’t be trying to get the spot out of me. And besides, it’s my treat, so chill.” I giggled.
“We’re here. Now where should I park?”
“At Jay and Buster’s.”
“What?” Zaire looked at me like I was crazy. “Jay and who?”
“Buster’s.”
“I thought that’s what you said. So you mean to tell me that I missed doing overtime for a game
of Pac-Man and some fries?”
Oh, this mofo has lost it! “For the record, nobody plays Pac-Man anymore and if you don’t like fries, then don’t order ’em!” I opened the truck’s door, got out, and slammed it.
Ugh!
Take it down . . .
Nine... Eight... Seven . . .
I walked back over to Zaire and said, “What is the problem? You don’t want to be here? If you don’t, we can skip it, because I don’t feel like arguing. I just wanna have fun with you and my friends.”
“I have to work tomorrow, so I can’t stay long.”
“Look, if you want, after we eat we can leave. And I already know you have to work tomorrow.”
“Seven, I just didn’t know this is where we were going. It’s loud. It’s crowded.”
“And this is where everybody from Stiles U hangs out.”
“Exactly. I thought it was going to be a quiet evening.”
“Zaire, let’s just go in and have some fun. At least for tonight. If you want to spend a quiet evening, we can do that tomorrow, but as for now, let’s just hang out. Okay? For me?”
“For you.”
I kissed him. “Thank you.”
We held hands as we walked into Jay and Buster’s: a mega arcade, burger joint, and movie theater. A hot spot. Where practically everyone who opted not to hit a campus party hung out. There were video games everywhere. In the back were bumper cars and mini golf. And along the sides were booths where you could dine and order the best burgers and po’boys in town!
“Hey, girl!” Khya yelled, waving us over to the booth where she and Bling sat with Shae and Country. She scooted over and patted the space next to her. “Y’all sit here.”
“Wassup?” Zaire gave my girls a head nod and their boyfriends a pound.
“So here’s what I was thinkin’ we could do.” Khya popped her lips. “I figured we could throw down on the mo-down. And then go bust out the bumper cars. Okay?”
“Heck, yeah!” I said, extra amped. “Yo, let me tell you I couldn’t wait to get here and rock the bumper cars! So that I could what? Tear y’all up!”
“Oh no you didn’t!” Shae said. “Did you hear that, boo?”
“I sure did, Cornbread.” Country looked at me and then to Zaire. “Yo, my man. Your girl is trying to bring it.”
“I guess so.” Zaire mustered up a smile.
“You wouldn’t be trying to bring it, would you, Seven?” Bling said.
“Whaaat!” I looked at them and giggled. “It’s already brought. Tell ’em, baby!”
“You got it,” Zaire said dryly.
I wanted so badly to turn to Zaire and say, Let’s just leave. It’s obvious you don’t wanna be here. But I didn’t. Instead, I did my best to play his dryness off, because the last thing I wanted was to defend him.
I reached under the table and squeezed one of his hands in hopes that it would help him loosen up some.
It seemed to work, because he leaned over and asked, “So what’s the best burger up in here?”
Country responded, “Yo, son, you gotta try that triple bacon, triple beef, double deep-fried onion on a sub roll.”
“That sounds like a heart attack.”
“It is.” Country smiled.
“I’ll try it then.”
“It’s gon’ put some hair on yo chest, chief!” Bling added.
I looked at my baby and smiled. Finally he seemed to be getting into the groove of things, and soon we were all having fun.
We ate, joked, and laughed at just about everything.
“Aw, man, this food was the bomb,” Zaire said. “Next time we’ll be able to stay a little longer.”
Stay longer? What? Was he serious? I looked at Zaire. “Why are we leaving so soon?”
“I have to work tomorrow.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“I told you that.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“I told you that when we were in the truck, love.”
I couldn’t believe this. Like seriously, I wanted to floor him.
“Oh yeah, sweetie.” I did all I could to hide my embarrassment. “You’re right. You did.”
“You’re really leaving, Seven?” Khya frowned.
“Yes,” I said with attitude.
“Okay,” Shae said, and I could tell by the look on her face that she wanted to say more but didn’t.
Zaire gave the guys pounds and I waved bye to my roomies. I walked out of Jay and Buster’s pissed, and Zaire walked out oblivious.
I was quiet the entire ride back to his house, and the only reason I didn’t have him drop me off at my dorm was because the thought of Shae and Khya giving their unsolicited opinions about my man was something I did not want to hear.
Of course, in true old-man fashion, Zaire went to bed soon after we got in. But I couldn’t sleep. This whole deal bothered me. I wanted to be out with my friends. Not lying in the bed, bored.
I reached for my cell phone and wondered who I could call, pour out my heart to.
I needed to talk to someone about what I was feeling. But I knew for sure that Shae and Khya were not an option.
I should call my mother.
Oh, I must be trippin’. ’Cause that’s the true definition of cray-cray.
But sometimes... talking to her is okay.
No. She never forgets anything and she always picks the worst time to toss my admissions in my face.
Call her.
You need somebody to talk to.
True.
But what if?
Don’t worry about if.
Just do it.
Here goes nothing.
Before I changed my mind, I quickly went into the living room and dialed my mother’s number. She answered on the first ring. “Hey, baby girl!” She was way too excited. “You must’ve heard me talking about you to your stepfather and Cousin Shake.”
“Saying what?”
“What else? That you don’t call home enough.”
I attempted a laugh and hopefully it didn’t sound as fake to her as it did to me.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, Ma. I’m fine.”
“Sure?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, Cousin Shake wants to speak to you.”
I am sooo not in the mood for this dude. “No, Ma. Wait!”
“Hey, Fat Mama,” Cousin Shake said, calling me by my childhood nickname. “I know you been missin’ me, ’cause I’ve been missin’ you.”
“Aw, really?”
“Sho’ have. And I just told yo mama that we needed to call you and make sure that you weren’t somewhere gettin’ yo nasty girl on.”
“Cousin Shake!” I heard my mother say in the background. “Watch it.”
“Let me go on in another room. ’Cause your mama acts like nobody can say a thang to you.”
I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. I could hear him breathing heavy as he walked from one room to the other. “Now what was I saying? Oh yeah. I told your mama we need to make sure you’re not being all greasy down in the bayou. ’Cause Lawd knows, had Minnie checked up on lil Bootsy, she wouldn’t be around here babysittin’. And she knows I don’t even like kids. ’Specially when they’re interfering with me and my wife gettin’ our ron-day-vu-vu on.”
“What is that? You mean rendezvous?”
“That’s what I said. Gettin’ our ronday-vu-vu on. I’m only sixty-four years old, and in the middle of the night, I like to get my roll on.”
Ew. “Cousin Shake, that’s gross. Now can you put my mother back on the phone?”
“Don’t be rushing me. I told you I missed you. And I ain’t talked to you in a minute. But see, I ain’t like your mama. She’s around here with her feelings all hurt ’cause y’all don’t talk much. But I’ma make you talk to me, Fat Mama.”
Oh no!
Cousin Shake carried on. “Now let me tell you ’bout your sisters and brothers. Lawd, your mama got all these chil’ren round here
. Well, your twin sister, Toi, she runnin’ round here half crazy. Done changed her major to premed. Scared da hell outta me! I wouldn’t let that hoochie check me for a fever and now she wants to diagnose somebody? Oh, nawl. Anybody who had a baby at sixteen, I don’t trust ’em.”
Jesus must hate me.
Cousin Shake went on, “And your lil nephew, Noah. My Gawd. He runnin’ round here like a lil hood rat. I’m waitin’ for him to try and rob me at bottle-point any day now. Anybody that’s two years old with five teeth, I don’t trust ’em.”
“He’s just a baby, Cousin Shake.”
“Yeah, that’s the same thing your mama said, but that don’t mean a thang to me. Now your little brother, Malik. He’s about the most respectful one around here. Only thang is, he eats up everythang in sight. The other night I thought I was gonna have to handle him for the way he was watchin’ my pork chop.”
“Cousin Shake, can I please speak to my mother?”
“Oh, you just gon’ cut me off and be all rude.”
“I wasn’t trying to be rude.”
“Good. Now let me tell you about your sister, Gem. I’m waitin’ for her to get sexed into a gang any day now. And your other brother, Man-Man, the fake playa, I told your mama that the way he stays in that bathroom, I swear he’s washing off some freaky-deaky disease.”
Oh my God! Oh my God! “Cousin Shake, can you please put my mother on the phone? Please.”
“Calm down. You don’t wanna talk to her no other time; what’s the rush now? Plus you know we got to pray before I let you go. ’Cause I know you ain’t had a good Thank-Ya-Lawd since you left home. Now bow your head.”
I had no idea why I was listening. But I was.
“Your head bowed?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Okay, let me start. Ah. Hmmm, yeah, Father and Bruh Man in the Christmas.”
“You mean Christ?”
“That’s what I said. Now keep your head bowed. Bruh in the sky, we thank Ya! And we ask You to touch Fat Mama and let her know that pimpin’ ain’t dead, but hoes ain’t in style. And keep her away from the Kool-Aid, and the Ring Dings, and the potato chips, and the fried meats. ’Cause she’s already a dinner and there’s no need for her to be a buffet. In the name of Mary and James Jenkins. Hallelujah. Amen.”
“Amen. Now please. Please put my mother on the phone.”