Money-Makin' Mamas 2

by Silk Smooth

  “I’ll take some chicken, a hotdog, and a hamburger. Make sure my hotdog is as black as you, and I would like extra barbecue sauce.”

  Honey and Simone never really got along, but he piled the food high on her plate without saying anything harsh to her. “Extra sauce can be found on the picnic table over there, and the buns are over there too.”

  Simone didn’t bother to thank him, and I heard him whisper “ungrateful bitch” under his breath.

  She heard it too, and quickly turned around. “Yo’ Mama, bastard. How about that?”

  Mama slammed her hand on the table. “How about you leave me out of the bullshit and get yo’ nappy-head ass somewhere and sit down?”

  Simone was working the natural look too. She rocked all brand-name clothes, and the Jimmy Choo pumps she had on had to cost a fortune. Nobody was surprised that Simone was still doing video porn, but if that was how she wanted to get down, so be it.

  “Excuse me,” Simone said, putting her hand on her hip and addressing Mama. “I was talkin’ to Honey, not you. You always tryin’ to take up for him, and every time somebody got somethin’ to say to that nigga you come runnin’ to his defense.”

  Mama pursed her lips and she threw her hand back at Simone. “Don’t feed me that bullshit, Simone. Yo’ ass the one who threw me under the bus, and the only person I was defending was myself.”

  Simone rolled her eyes and walked over to the picnic table to get her sauce, buns, and potato salad. Honey came over to us and kissed Mama on her cheek. That surely made her smile, and it was no secret to any of us that Honey was Mama’s favorite.

  “Are you gon’ eat something or not?” he said to her. “If so, you’d better get on it now, because the food is starting to fade by the minute.”

  “Nah, I’m not gon’ eat right now. I got too much on my mind.”

  Honey looked at me. I turned my head and all he did was laugh and walk away. Bastard, I thought. Ugh, I hated him, but still loved him to death. All I could do was laugh to myself about how confused I was.

  Honey made his way over to Audrey, who was watching her nephew ride a pony. I guess they settled their dispute from earlier, because the bitch was now smiling. She wrapped her arms around him and looked over his shoulder to see if I was watching. I turned my attention to Simone who had sat at the table with me and Mama.

  “Nice party,” Simone said. “Too bad the birthday girl ain’t enjoyin’ it, but at least you’ll have a whole lot of pictures to show her when she gets older.” Simone held up her phone and put her face next to Mama’s, taking a picture. We laughed, but Mama didn’t even smile. Simone elbowed Mama in her side. “What’s wrong with you, old lady? Why you actin’ all funny and stuff?”

  Mama sipped from her can of beer and evil-eyed Desmon and Chyna. “Nothing. There’s nothing wrong with me—I’m just ready to go back home.”

  “I thank you for comin’ to Shania’s party, and if you want to leave you can,” I said.

  “When I leave, gangsta baby goin’ with me,” Mama said as a matter of fact. “You can stay and play all you want to, but peace awaits us back at home.”

  Simone looked around the backyard at all the kids happily playing. “Peace?” Simone said. “This birthday party is drama free, and the only drama that may come about will be between you and me, when I ask why you called me a nappy-head bitch. Are you sayin’ that you don’t like my new style?”

  Mama looked at Simone’s hair that was shaped into a wild, nappy afro. To me, it was cute, and I got tired of seeing Simone with long weaved-in hair.

  “I do like your new style,” Mama said. “But the shit is real nappy. Why you got it so nappy? Maybe you need to spray some of that Afro Sheen shit in it, just to give it some shine. It needs some shine and—”

  Mama stopped talking when Chyna and Desmon came up to the table. Desmon was dressed preppy in a Nike outfit and cap. He looked like he was on his way to play golf, rather than being at a child’s birthday party. Chyna was in a simple, strapless sundress that cut right above her knees. Her long braids looked freshly done, and they were pulled back to show the roundness and beauty of her smooth, chocolate face.

  “Jazel is having a wonderful time,” Desmon said to me. “Thanks for inviting us, and it’s been such a pleasure watching Chyna do her thing with Jazel. One day she’s going to make a great mother, and I can’t wait for that day to happen.”

  Chyna blushed. Simone and me smiled, but Mama gagged. She coughed and covered her mouth as if she was choking on something. Simone reached over to pat her back. “Mama, are you okay?” she said. “Are you chokin’?”

  Mama squeezed her watered down eyes and cleared her throat. She swallowed, then looked at Chyna. “All I can say is good luck with that. If you wouldn’t mind getting me a bottle of water, I will shut my mouth and stay calm like you asked me to.”

  I wasn’t sure what all of that was about, but Chyna went over to the cooler to get Mama’s water. Desmon excused himself and said that he needed to go to the bathroom. When Chyna came back, she gave the bottle of water to Mama.

  “You know you’s a fool,” she said to Mama. “When all is said and done, Desmon is nice, and he’s my soul mate.”

  “No,” Mama said, removing the cap from the bottle. “When all is said and done, Desmon is married and he will never divorce his wife. He’s using you for sex, he’s paying you for your pussy, and when he gets tired of you he will dump you and move on to the next dumb bitch. Aside from that, I said it once and I’ll say it again. A thug is the one to love. Most of them will provide for you like no other, he will protect you, he will have yo’ damn back, and you don’t have to worry about him committing suicide because of his struggles. He has a strong backbone like no other, but that wimpy-ass nigga you’ve been wasting your time with is too weak. If his money goes, so does he and so do you. I’m just warning you, Chyna, and yet again, you sure do know how to pick them.”

  Simone and me didn’t say a word. Obviously Mama and Chyna had had this conversation before. That was why Mama seemed pissed, but as with all of us, Mama needed to let go and let us make our own decisions, good or bad.

  Chyna didn’t bother to respond to Mama. She went inside to find Desmon.

  “I’m going inside to go check on gangsta baby,” Mama said. “Maybe I can talk some sense into her, because I damn sure can’t talk no sense into y’all.”

  I stopped Mama before she got out of her seat. “She’s still sleepin’, Mama, and I have the monitor right here next to me. If I hear her, I’ll go get her. For now, you need to chill. I don’t know why you’re so upset, and we’re supposed to be here having a good time today, ain’t we?”

  “I am having a good time,” Mama said. “But it’s hard to sit here and pretend that everything is all good, Karrine. Chyna around here flaunting around another woman’s husband as if he belongs to her; you still playing the sucker role for Honey; and Simone has now settled for hardcore porn with the nutty professor. So, no, I’m not happy right now. I wish that y’all would do better. I thought that if I pulled myself away from y’all that things would get better. I’m not seeing progress, and if you want to impress me, I need to see some for-real changes being made.”

  I didn’t know where to start with Mama, but it was the wrong time for her to come down on us about all of this stuff. Simone was ready to get into Mama’s shit, but when we both saw a prissy bitch come into the yard with Chanel sunglasses shielding her eyes, our attention turned to her. She glanced around the yard as if she were looking for someone. I knew I hadn’t invited her to the party, but maybe she was someone who knew Honey. She looked in his direction, but he didn’t appear to be the one she was searching for.

  “Who is that bitch?” Simone said with a twisted face.

  Mama sucked her teeth and reached for her beer. “You’ll soon see. Pay attention, bitches. This shit is about to get real interesting.”

  I was confused, but everything became clearer to me when Chyna and Desmon came outside tog
ether. The woman charged our way with a mean mug on her face. Once she reached the patio, she removed her shades and rushed up to Desmon, smacking the shit out of him. Chyna backed a few inches away, while Desmon grabbed the woman’s hand as she attempted to smack him again.

  “Wha . . . what in the hell is your problem?” he shouted to her. “Are you serious, Marva? You couldn’t wait until I got home?”

  “Hell, no, I couldn’t wait, and I don’t give a damn where I find you! I told you that if I caught you with this bitch one more time that there will be trouble! Didn’t I?”

  As we all looked on, embarrassment covered Desmon’s face. He tried to pull his wife away from everyone, but she snatched away from him and kept on crying out for a resolution to their madness. “You told me it was over,” she tearfully shouted. “You said that you were done with this bitch! Why do you keep lying to me, and when will the lies ever stop?”

  Chyna folded her arms and released a deep sigh. “Just so you know,” she said to the woman. “You’re on bitch number two. By the time you reach three, some shit that you may not appreciate gon’ pop off.”

  “Out!” Desmon said, shoving his wife away. By now, though, many people had stopped what they were doing and were watching the scene unfold. Honey rushed up to the patio, trying to see what was up.

  “What’s shaking?” he asked.

  “My wife was just leaving,” Desmon said, following another shove to his wife’s shoulder.

  His wife, however, wasn’t having it. She karate kicked his ass right in the nuts and then hit him across the head with her purse. Desmon grabbed his dick and dropped to his knees. That was when she rushed around him and stormed up to Chyna. Unfortunately, that was the wrong move. Mama was already on her feet and so was Simone. Both of them had their guns aimed directly at the woman’s face. She stopped dead in her tracks and stood still as if cement covered her.

  “One more step, one more word, one more move, and you’s a dead bitch,” Mama said. “On the count of three, you gon’ turn yo’ ass around and slowly exit the premises. We’re all going to pretend that this little incident didn’t happen, and any issues or concerns that you have with your slick-ass husband will need to be done on his time and his premises, not mine.”

  “One,” Simone said.

  The woman released the deep breath she was holding and slowly exited. All eyes were still on her, but you best believe that some of the parents had gotten their kids the fuck out of there.

  “Two.”

  The woman picked up speed as she made her way to the gate. And by the time Simone reached “Three” the bitch was gone. Desmon stood and squeezed his eyes as if he were still in pain.

  “I am so sorry about this,” he said, looking at all of us. We all had blank expressions on our faces. “I . . . I don’t know what got into her, and she—”

  Mama was so mad that she didn’t bother to hold back. “Get yo’ punk-ass out of here,” she hissed. “No explanation is needed, because some of us around here already know what yo’ ass is already about.”

  Desmon defended himself. “No . . . no, it’s not really like that. My wife and I—”

  Mama lifted her hand with the gun in it and aimed it at him. “One,” she said.

  “Man, you’d better jet,” Honey said, walking up to Desmon. “Especially if you don’t want your brains splattered on this concrete.”

  “Two.”

  Chyna rushed up to Desmon and pulled on his arm. “This is ridiculous,” she fussed and rolled her eyes at Mama. “Come on, let’s go.” She pulled on Desmon’s arm and they left together.

  I stood in awe and couldn’t believe this shit was going down at Shania’s birthday party. It wasn’t long before everybody checked out of there. Honey and I were both left speechless as our friends, neighbors, and families exited.

  Honey’s friend, Dingo, walked up to him and gave him five. “Man, y’all need to have this shit on lock, especially with all these kids around. That wasn’t a good look.”

  “You damn right it wasn’t,” his girlfriend said, holding her daughter’s hand. “This shit is crazy.”

  I didn’t bother to comment. It was crazy, but she made sure her daughter left with three of the goody bags in her hand. I walked away, and rolled my eyes at Audrey, who appeared to be shocked by the incident too. When I went inside, Mama was sitting on the couch in the living room, flipping through a magazine. She acted as if nothing happened. I guess I couldn’t blame her for standing up for Chyna.

  “I’m staying at a hotel tonight,” Mama said. “And I’m going back to Cali in the morning. Like I said earlier, Shania is goin’ with me. Are you?”

  “I’m leaving on Monday. I don’t care if you take Shania with you, but do me a favor, okay Mama? Stop tryin’ to live our lives for us. Stop interferin’, and allow us to do what we wish. You don’t have to keep stressin’ yourself out like this, and one of these days we’ll all have to get our acts together.”

  “I hope so, because I’m tired of putting myself out there like this. Chyna knows she’s in a fucked up situation, so why keep fucking with that fool? You too, Karrine. You know damn well that you haven’t put this shit with Honey to rest. I’m not going to keep talking about it, but after today, it will be a long time before I come back to Chicago. Y’all can have this shit for real.”

  Within the hour, Mama had gathered her things and was ready to go. She carried Shania in her arms who was eating a piece of her birthday cake that never got cut.

  “See you soon, precious,” I said as I walked with them to the car. I gave Shania a kiss and watched as Honey put Mama’s belongings into the car.

  “Call me when you get to the hotel,” Honey said to Mama. “Unfortunately, I got some heat swinging my way that I need to tell you about. I know you don’t want to hear about it right now, but it is what it is.”

  “No, it is what it is because you haven’t been listening to me. I know what you’ve been doing, and don’t blame me when all those chickens come home to roost. Maybe I’ll call you when I get home, but if I don’t, don’t take it personal. Tonight I need some rest, and I want to make sure my gangsta baby enjoys the rest of her birthday.”

  Honey appeared frustrated, too. He walked off and went back into the house. I was left out in the cold about so much, but it was apparent that Honey had been doing some things that Mama didn’t approve of.

  I strapped Shania in the car seat and waved at her as Mama backed out of the driveway. The house was a mess, as well as the backyard. Simone said that she would stay to help us clean up, but as we stood in the kitchen, I told her that Honey and I would do it.

  “If you insist,” she said, sliding lip gloss across her lips. “Besides, I have something to get into tonight. I definitely don’t want to be late.”

  “Late for what? And what did Mama mean when she mentioned you and the nutty professor doin’ porn?”

  “First of all, Mama needs to mind her own business. She believes that I’m indulged in porn movies with the professor. It ain’t even like that, and all I’ve done is add him to the mix, sometimes, when I put on my little shows.”

  “It’s not her business, but you make it her business when you tell her stuff like that. Stop tellin’ her what you’re doin’ and keep whatever it is that you’re doin’ private. Be safe and know your boundaries with that shit. I guess if you’re happy, so am I.”

  I reached out to hug Simone and she embraced me back.

  “I am happy, very happy, doin’ what I do. I’m still in school, too, so please don’t worry about me. I’m just buildin’ my life the way I want to do it, and to whoever don’t like it, fuck them.”

  I felt the same way. I walked Simone to her car, and after she left, I went back inside to see where Honey was. He was in the backyard talking to Audrey. She was standing between his legs as he sat on the picnic table hugging her. Her nephew was jumping in the balls with Honey’s friend’s son. His friend was talking to one of the neighbors, and they were the only ones le
ft.

  I was so jealous as I watched Audrey and Honey laughing and talking. I hated to keep putting myself in these situations with him. I could have left with Mama and Shania, but I hadn’t been alone with Honey in quite some time. I had been keeping my distance, and there was a part of me that wanted to know if I had the strength to truly move on without him. It was so hard to ignore my feelings, but I had to keep being fake.

  I stayed in the kitchen to clean up. More mess had been created in the backyard, but with everyone running in and out earlier, opening the fridge, and with paper plates and cups lying everywhere, I got busy. I wasn’t sure if Audrey was going to stay all night with Honey, but I guess that would be left up to him. I suspected that she wouldn’t, especially since her nephew had been dropped off. I was sure she had to take him home, but what if she came back?

  Either way, I cleaned and waited. I waited until everyone was gone, and I peeked out of the living room curtains as Honey stood in the driveway by Audrey’s car. They kissed, but as they were smacking lips, I saw a car with tinted windows parked several feet away from Honey’s crib. The only reason the car alarmed me was because I noticed the window go halfway down and then it went back up. Not knowing what was up, I hurried into Honey’s office and pulled a gun from his drawer. I tucked it behind my back, and then I went outside and stood on the porch with my hands in my pockets.

  “Honey,” I called out to him. “Come here for a minute, please.” I hoped that he didn’t think I was trying to interfere with him and Audrey. Even though I may have been, I was more concerned about the suspicious car that was parked nearby.

  “In a minute,” he said, continuing his conversation.

  “It’s urgent. I need to tell you somethin’. Now.”

  Honey sighed and Audrey rolled her eyes at me. Her nephew was already in the car, but as soon as she opened the car door, the suspicious car skidded around the corner. The tires screech loudly, causing Honey to rush in my direction.