Forbidden Fruit

by Nika Michelle

  "You got that sneaky look in your eyes bitch," Daren said. Her curly red hair was in two afro puffs with a zigzag part down the middle. It made her look like a little girl.

  "Ya'll too fuckin' nosey. For your info I ain't got my eye on nobody but my man. So kill that noise," I said. The Fendi bag was on sale so I grabbed it and put it on the counter with a brown leather Prada tote bag and a brown Prada belt.

  "Ya'll hungry?" I asked handing the cashier the money. She looked at me enviously. I guess the fact that a black woman could afford designer prices made her jealous.

  "Thanks," I smiled as she counted out my change.

  "You're welcome," she said handing me the receipt.

  Daren and Teji led the way out of the mall. They had more bags than me.

  "Where we goin' to eat at?" Teji asked.

  "We eatin' at Maya's. Free food bitches," I said whipping the Mercedes out of the mall's parking lot. I suddenly saw blue lights and then I heard the siren. I looked up at the rearview mirror. "What the fuck?"

  "The fuckin' cops behind us," Daren said.

  "Duh!" I snapped at her.

  I pulled over and waited for the officer. A black cop got out of the car and walked over.

  "License and registration," he said with attitude.

  "What did I do officer? I wasn't speeding." I said. I made a mental note to remember his name, Officer Hanson.

  'No ma'am, but you made an illegal turn," he said waiting for me to give him my license and registration.

  I removed my dark Chloe glasses and glared at him. He was lying about the illegal turn. I had only made one turn and there was nothing illegal about it.

  "I'm sorry sir, but I disagree," I said reaching for my purse. I took my license out and grabbed the registration out of the glove compartment. "I made a left turn leavin' the mall about a half block back. What was illegal about that? I waited for the light to turn green." I gave him my license and registration.

  "This your car ma'am?" He asked.

  "What does that have to do with anything Officer Hanson?" I asked and retrieved a pen and slip of paper from my purse. I scribbled his badge number and then stared at him. He avoided looking at me. "I'm sorry, but you have stopped me with no probable cause and now you're interrogating me. Would you mind if I ask you which precinct you work for? I bet your superiors would be interested in how you stopped a young black woman because she's driving a Mercedes," I said folding the paper with his badge number on it. I put it in my purse and waited. I had a feeling that the cop was familiar with the car because he'd seen Diablo driving it.

  Officer Hanson handed me my license and registration card. "Have a nice day," he said and walked away.

  Daren and Teji let out nervous sighs as the police car sped away.

  "What the fuck ya'll scared for? I ain't do shit, and I ain't dirty for once."

  "You know how these cops are. Shit, the black ones are even grimier than the crackers," Teji said.

  "Alright now. I'm fifty percent cracker," Daren chimed in.

  We laughed as I headed to Maya's to raid her always overly stocked kitchen.

  * * *

  When we got to Maya's Mel was there. He had a disgusted look on his face and I knew that we'd come at a bad time.

  "Yanna, Daren, Teji, what's up?" Maya asked looking and sounding all nervous.

  "Is this a bad time?" I asked.

  "Hell yeah!" Mel yelled from the sofa. "Tell them why," he added.

  "Ignore him. He got a fuckin' nasty ass attitude like always!" She yelled.

  "'Tell 'em why Maya! You tell 'em err'than’ else!" He yelled back.

  I looked at Maya and stepped into the apartment. That nigga was tripping and I couldn't hold it in. I was known for giving a tongue thrashing. It didn't matter who it was.

  "Mel, you need to stop trippin',' I intervened calmly. I would try that approach first. If he wanted to catch it he could 'cause I was strapped. I didn't play when it came to my little sister.

  "Yanna, your fuckin' sister is crazy," he said lowering his voice. He was talking to me, but looking at Maya. "I'll tell 'em Maya. Since you tryin' to act like you don't know what I'm talkin' 'bout." He suddenly turned his eyes toward me.

  "Shut the hell up!" Maya yelled. She looked at me. "Maybe this is the wrong time."

  "No! You sister should get the scoop before them hatin' ass bitches in the street hear ‘bout it. Yeah Yanna. I bet you ain't even suspect xct this shit. I saw that nigga Ju today at the fuckin' barber shop. He told me that Lexus ain't mine, she his. That's why Maya said that Lex was early,” Mel explained.

  Maya's mouth was wide open, but no sound came out. Tears slid down her cheeks as she stared at me shaking her head. "It's a lie Yanna," she finally whispered.

  "Mel that's some foul ass shit!" I yelled. "You goin' believe Ju over Maya? She is your woman! Why you wit' her if you don't trust her? Huh? Let her go then if you think it's true! Mel, personally I think it's some bullshit. Ju still love her and he's tryin' to fuck up what ya'll got. You goin' let him?" I asked.

  Mel looked at me. His eyes drifted to the floor and then back to mine. "Yanna, I don't know. Maya always givin' me mouth and shit. On top of that she used to do some strange shit when we first got together. That's what make me think she did fuck that nigga."

  "Look Mel, Lexus is your daughter. I know you love her, and you just pissed off right now. You gotta know that that little girl is yours. I know that you still love Maya too. Ya'll just goin' through a tough time, but you gotta be concerned about that little girl," I said hoping that Mel would come to his senses. Lexus had to be his daughter. My sister was too moralistic to do some shit like that. She loved Lexus too much to lie about who her father was. I believed my sister.

  "Fuck that shit Yanna! I want a blood test. I'll pay for it. I love Lexus, but she's still a baby, and I wanna know now, not when she's a grown ass woman! I’ll always love that little girl, but if she ain't mine, I'll be out. If she need anything I'll help out, but I won't lie to her. Shit, if she really ain't mine then I say fuck you Maya! Fuck you!" He was teary eyed, but he didn't cry.

  Maya sobbed pitifully and I pulled her into my arms and hugged her. "A'ight Maya. It's goin' be okay baby." I said rubbing her back as her hot tears hit my shoulder. "C'mon now Mel, you bein' ridiculous."

  Daren and Teji looked at us, but kept their mouths closed. They didn't want to interfere in a family affair.

  "Why don't we leave Yanna. Maybe they need a moment alone....to talk," Daren said.

  I looked at my friends and sighed. Maya pulled away from me. "You goin' be okay?" I asked.

  "Yes," she said sounding calmer. She wiped the tears away like she was suddenly embarrassed for crying.

  Suddenly Mel stood up. "Fuck that shit. I'm gettin' that blood test done as soon as possible. I don't wanna be left alone wit' that....that." He held his tongue and proceeded to the door.

  "Mel, let me talk to you for a minute, baby please," Maya begged shamelessly.

  "I'm out Maya!" He yelled and slammed the door on his way out.

  Maya started crying again and she sank down on her knees. Her sobs came out in loud shrills that sent chills down my spine. That was how she used to cry for mama, and I hated to hear her cry.

  "Fuck him! He ain't shit Maya! You hear me?" I asked sitting on the floor beside her. She rested her head on my lap and I rubbed her head gently. "You don't need him. If he don't wanna trust you then to hell wit' him."

  "I love him Yanna. I fuckin' love that nigga," she said pitifully. "I can't believe Ju did this to me."

  Daren and Teji looked at Maya with pity in their eyes.

  "Love is only a part of it Maya. He gotta have some respect in there too," Daren said.

  "Yeah, he need to trust you a lil' bit more than that. You don't need a nigga that's gonna add to your stress. Shit, you got a daughter to take care of," Teji advised Maya.

  "Thanks ya'll," she said and smiled for the first time since we'd walked in. I felt the need
to do more for her. I would go to Ju myself and get him to undo the mess he'd started. You can't go around ruining people lives just because you feel like it. That's what I'd tell him, but first I had to get rid of Daren and Teji. That part wouldn't be so hard.

  "Well, take me to the crib Yanna," Teji said examining her immaculate pink, acrylic nails.

  "Yeah, me too. I got some chicken breasts thawing out in the fridge, so I'm straight," Daren chimed in.

  I looked into Maya's hurt eyes. "I'll be right back," I said. I would fix it for her, because that's what I always did.

  Maya shook her head and forced a smile on her tear streaked face. "Okay."

  I left and took Daren and Teji home. I knew that Ju would be at the pool hall that his boys were always posted up at. I pulled up, parked the car and waited to see if I could spot him. There he was drinking a forty of Old E. He was sitting on his Indigo blue Cadillac Deville with three of his boys. I stepped out of the car in a short jean Burberry skirt with the print on the back pockets, a cute little Burberry print top, and Burberry flats. If only them niggas knew I wasn't just some prissy bitch in a skirt. Everyone was smiling, except Ju, because he knew why I was there. The other niggas just wanted to gawk at my ass.

  "Damn shawty, you thorough as hell," one of the guys leaning on the car flirted with me. He was cute, but not my type. He had too much hair on his face and the nappy hairs on his chest didn't help. He had his button down shirt open like that shit was sexy or something. When I made it all the way to the car I spoke.

  "What's the deal Ju?" I asked.

  "Ain't shit Yanna. Chillin'. What the deal wit' you?" He asked.

  "Shit. Can I talk to you? Alone please?" I asked eyeballing his goons.

  "You strapped?" He asked.

  "Damn lil' mama, you roll like that?" The other cat asked.

  I gave him the stone face and looked back at Ju. "Where the hell would I put a burner?" I asked knowing damn well I had the baby .22 tucked in my thong strap. The safety was on of course.

  "I'll be in there in a minute ya'll," Ju said. The two men got up admiring my body as they walked off.

  "Ya'll wanna take a picture?" I asked.

  The hairy one nodded and said. "Yeah, can we get your autograph too?"

  "Why don't you ask my man."

  "Fuck him. I want you," he shot back.

  "Yo man, that's Ablo's girl," Ju said shutting the dude up. He quickly made his way inside the pool hall with the other nigga on his heels. "What's goin' on Yanna?"

  'You know why I'm here. What's this shit 'bout Lexus bein' yours?" I asked.

  "The truth," he said sticking to his story.

  "What you tryin' to do Ju? Maya loves Mel. Are you tryin' to ruin their relationship 'cause you still want her?"

  "Look Yanna. You think you know your lil' sister. She ain't as sweet and innocent as you think. I remember when she used to love me. During that time she was wit' Mel. We fucked constantly wit' no protection. I couldn't get enough of her, shit, your sister a real freak. She came to me ready to fuck when Mel went out of town. He was gone for 'bout a month. Lexus is mine, and that's the reason I told Mel. I want to be a father to my daughter."

  "Ju, c'mon. Maya could've just told you that Mel was outta town. Plus, Lex don't even look like you," I said starting to feel some doubt about Maya's story.

  "Yeah, she did tell me, and I was up in that mufucka every night that nigga was gone. Raw dog too. Plus, if you look at the picture of my four year old daughter when she was a baby you'll see that Lex look just like her," he said pulling out his wallet. He flipped through the pictures and then handed it to me. I looked at the picture and my mouth fell open. His daughter looked identical to Lexus, but she was a little darker.

  "Damn," was all I could say.

  He closed the wallet and smiled at my reaction. "See, they both look like my moms."

  "Damn Ju, I didn't know," I said. “She didn’t tell me.”

  "No hard feelings Yanna. You just gotta convince your sister that the truth gotta come out for our seed. She need to know me. I might not’ve done right by Maya, but I'm a damn good daddy. I take care of mine."

  "Whoa Ju. This shit is between you and Maya."

  "But you quick to run down here and try to intimidate me into backin' off. It was your business when you thought a nigga was bullshitin'. What am I goin' try and ruin your sister's life for? Shit, she ruinin' mine if you ask me. I been sittin' back for a long ass time watchin' another nigga play daddy to my child. I sat back and watched the woman I love be wit' another nigga. The shit was fuckin' wit' me Yanna. Fuckin' wit' me hard."

  I tucked my hair behind my ears as the wind blew it in my eyes. "Ju, are you sure Lex is yours?" I asked.

  "You seen the picture."

  "Yeah, but that don't mean shit Ju. There’re plenty of babies who look alike who ain‘t no kin," I said knowing that I was in denial.

  Ju laughed. "You just like Maya, but ya'll so different. Ya'll think if you don't deal wit' shit it'll go away."

  "No, it's just that..."

  Ju cut me off. "You think Maya can't do no wrong. She got the fuckin' wool pulled over your eyes good. Well, I ain't under her lil' innocent spell no more. She a grown ass woman and she need to fix this shit she started. She knew from day one that Lexus was mine. I see if she had been wit' Mel durin' the time she got pregnant. Out of selfishness she tried to save her own ass by sayin' that Lex was premature. That's how connivin' your sister is. Instead of comin' clean she fuckin' lied to save her relationship. How the hell can she care about that little girl if she'd fuck her life up to keep a fuckin' man." He shook his head in disgust. "I know Lex is mine Yanna 'cause I nutted inside Maya every time we fucked. We both was caught up in how good that shit felt and we won't thinkin'. I know it Yanna."

  Maya had fucked up big time, but she was still my sister. I had to back her up no matter the situation.

  "Look now Ju, I can't let you drag my sister's name in the mud. I don't give a flyin' fuck what she did. This is what we goin' do. I'll talk to Maya, but you have to do sumthin' for me."

  "What?" He asked anxiously.

  "I need you to promise me that you'll stay away, for now."

  "Fuck that! I wanna see my child!" Ju yelled.

  "Shit, come on Ju. I listened to you now you listen to me. I don't know how yet, but I'll try and help you. Until then you stay away from Lex and Maya. I'm afraid you'll do sumthin' stupid to jeopardize any relationship wit' Lex. First of all you went about it the wrong way wit' Mel. Don't fuck this up worst. Check this, give me a week to work on Maya okay. Next week we goin' meet here at the same time a'ight?" I asked.

  "Okay," he agreed.

  I drove back to Maya's in a dazed state of mind. I couldn't believe that she had lied about Mel being Lexus's father. I pulled up to Maya's, parked the car and got out after a few minutes of reflection. I turned the car alarm on and walked up the steps that led to her apartment. After knocking for what seemed like forever Maya finally opened the door. Her eyes were all red and puffy and Lexus was crying.

  "Get her Maya, and get yourself together," I snapped at her.

  She looked at me and rolled her eyes. "She's workin' my damn nerves," she said.

  I walked into the house and picked my niece up. Her sobs were replaced by soft whimpering and then she stopped crying completely.

  "Maya, sit down," I said.

  She looked at me with defiance in her eyes. "You not my mother!" She snapped with her hands on her hips.

  "Girl, sit your ass down! I'm the only mother you know!" I yelled.

  Maya sat down on the sofa with a pout on her face. "What's your problem?" She asked.

  "I saw Ju a lil' while ago and he told me the truth," I stated.