by Ambria Davis
I was about to say something, but something caught my eyes. Looking to see what or who it was, I spotted Kaylin in the corner by the door. Before I could say anything to him, he left. I had an idea of where he was going, which was why I said a silent prayer asking the Lord to protect him and to keep him out of harm’s way.
Back to the Moment
After the trip down memory lane, I finished the bottle that I was drinking. Lord knows that I wouldn’t wish that life there on my worst enemy. A life like that was not one that someone needed to live. After getting myself drunk, I hopped in the shower. When I was done, I lay across the bed and fell asleep.
Kaylin
If Mimi thought that I was playing with her, all she had to do is test me and find out. I’ve been calling her ass for a minute nonstop, but her phone is going straight to voice mail. She must have put me on the block list or something. I couldn’t even get through calling her privately. Fuck it, I thought. I’ma let her ass cool off for a minute. Then we’re going to have to sit down and work this out. I might even tell her about Stacy and Kaylin Jr. Nah, I won’t do no dumb shit like that. I’ma try my best to keep them away from Mimi. I might even move them to another state. Shit, I think that’s what I’m going to do. I’ma have to do something if I planned on keeping my lady.
After the fight we had last night, I went back inside. I swear I was missing my lady so much. I wish my kids were at least home so we could spend the day together. I haven’t been myself lately. I used to take my kids out for fun every weekend, but I been slacking. It’s a good thing I hired a couple of people to manage my strip clubs, or I would’ve been assed out. That’s why I’ve really considered quitting that nightlife to walk on a straight and narrow path. I couldn’t keep neglecting my responsibilities like this. Something had to give, and soon.
After I made sure that everything was locked and secured, I went upstairs to take a shower. Getting out of the shower, I tried to call Mimi’s phone again. I got the voice mail yet again, so I lay down and went to sleep.
I was awakened out of my sleep by the doorbell ringing. Looking over, I realized that it was a little after 10:00 a.m. I looked over for Mimi, but her spot was empty. Hearing the doorbell again, I got up to answer the door. When I got to the door, my kids and their babysitter, Ms. Emma, were standing there.
“Daddy!” my kids yelled, running to me once I opened the door.
“Morning, Mr. Williams,” Ms. Emma said.
“Good morning, Ms. Emma,” I replied back.
“Ms. Mimi was supposed to come get them at eight, but she never came. That’s not like her. Is something wrong?” she asked, walking into the den.
“There’s nothing wrong, Ms. Emma. Mimi’s just busy. It must have slipped her mind,” I said, pulling out some money and handing it to her.
“Okay, I have to go. I’m running late for my appointment. Have a good day,” she said to me.
She walked over to the kids, kissed each of them on their forehead, and said good-bye.
After seeing her out, I followed the sound of cartoons and laughter to the living room, then I sat on the couch with my sons, K2 and K3.
“Daddy, where’s Mommy?” Kayson asked, looking at me.
“Yeah, where’s Mommy?” Kaylon chimed in, repeating the question before I could answer. Like I said before, my little men were Mama’s boys.
“Mommy’s not here right now. What, y’all don’t want to spend any time with ya old man?” I asked.
“Daddy, can we go to IHOP for breakfast? Because I’m hungry,” Kailay asked.
“Yes, baby, Daddy will take you to IHOP. How about you guys? Do y’all want to come too?” I asked Two and Three, as my sons were affectionately known.
“Yesssssss,” they both screamed together.
“After that, can we go see Mommy?” Three asked.
“Sure, li’l man. We can go see Mommy,” I replied.
“Kailay, why don’t you go ahead and get dressed, while I dress me and these two,” I said, pointing between my two boys.
“Okay, Daddy,” she replied, heading for the stairs.
“How about us three guys dress alike today?” I said.
“Nah, Daddy, I love you and all, but we gotta have our own swag. We don’t want to dress like you,” Kayson said, heading to his room with his brother following behind him. I swear at only four years old, them little niggas thought they were fourteen.
I shook my head, and then I headed for my room. I looked around and sighed. Mimi needs to bring her ass home, I thought. I walked into the bathroom and quickly took a shower. After showering, I then proceeded to get dressed. Wanting to be simple, yet fresh, I threw on a fresh white V-neck, some blue True Religion jeans, and some fresh white Js. I then threw on my jewelry and headed to check on my kids. I made my way to Kailay’s, where I looked on as she strapped on her sandals.
“Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?” I walked up to her and asked.
“Yes, Daddy. I get it from my momma,” she responded.
“You surely do. Come on, beautiful, let’s go check on ya brothers,” I said, as we headed toward the boys’ rooms.
“Two, you all right in here?” I asked, looking at my son.
“Aww, Daddy, I told you that I wanted my own swag,” he said, looking me up and down. Just like me, he was dressed simple in a fresh all-white tee, his True Religions, and white Jordans. I have to admit, he looks like my mini-me, hair, clothes, and all.
“I betcha y’all ain’t as fresh as me,” Three said, walking into the room wearing the exact same thing as his brother and me. I had to laugh, because they wanted their own swag, but still ended up dressed like me. Like father, like sons, I said to myself.
“I thought y’all wanted y’all own swag. Looks like y’all wanna be like Daddy to me,” I said, looking at them. “Come on, y’all, let’s go.”
Once we were all downstairs, I locked up and headed to the garage. Since I had my kids, I pulled out my red Yukon Denali. After strapping my kids in, I began pulling out of the garage. Before I could get to the end of the driveway, I noticed a yellow envelope taped to my front door. I got out and went to retrieve it. Making my way back to the truck, I stuck the envelope inside of the glove compartment.
On my way to IHOP, I tried calling Mimi—still no answer. I was becoming angrier by the second. I mean, the least she could’ve done is call to check up on the kids, but instead, she wanted to act like a bitch. I was gonna put my foot up her ass when I saw her.
I pulled into IHOP’s parking lot and found a place to park. Finding a table was quick, because it wasn’t packed in here like it would normally be. Once seated, we ordered, then waited. As we were waiting, I could’ve sworn that I saw Stacy and Kaylin headed to the bathroom. I hope I was wrong, because Lord knows that I didn’t need this right now. If my kids saw him, they’re gonna know what’s up. Shit, he looked exactly like me, Two, and Three.
I turned around once the waiter set our food down. I thanked her, and we all proceeded to eat. We talked in between bites, but for the most part, there was more eating and less talking. Halfway through the meal, Kayson and Kaylon started asking about Mimi. I was about to answer them when I heard someone scream.
“Daddy!” Kaylin Jr. screamed, running toward our table. I didn’t know what to say. All of my kids were looking at me and my oldest son, who they knew nothing about. Turning around, I noticed Stacy walking up. I grabbed Junior and met her before she could even make it to the table.
“What the fuck! I told you about staying in your lane,” I said, heated. This bitch was really trying to test me.
“What the fuck you mean staying in my lane, nigga? We came to get some fucking breakfast,” she said, in a loud tone.
“Lower your fucking voice, and why outta all the places did y’all come here?” I asked.
“How the fuck you expect us to know that you and them damn kids was going to be here? I went to get your son like you said. On my way home, he said he was hungry,
so we came here,” she responded, waving her hand all over the place.
I really didn’t want to make a scene, especially not while my kids were with me.
“Look, man, I’ma need for y’all to bounce,” I said, referring to her and Kaylin.
“What? You expect us to leave, because you and your precious kids are here? My child belongs to you too, Kaylin, or have you forgotten that?” she replied with venom.
“Daddy, can I meet my sister and brothers?” my li’l man asked. Stooping down to his level, I looked into his eyes and kissed him on his forehead.
“Not now, Kay, but you’ll get to meet them real soon, okay? Daddy just has to get something straight first,” I replied back to him.
“Okay,” he responded sadly.
“Hey, li’l man, don’t be sad. Daddy will come check on you later on, okay?” I said.
“You promise?” he asked.
“Yes, I promise,” I replied, standing up. I then looked back at my kids who were watching my every move. I turned around and gave Stacy a stern look.
“Take him home. I’ll be there later,” I told her and walked off.
“Yeah, whatever, nigga. Come on, Kaylin,” she replied, grabbing him by the hand and storming off.
I watched as they both hopped in the car and left. I then turned and went back to the table with my kids.
“Daddy, who’s that boy and why does he look like you?” Kailay asked.
“Yeah, why he look like us?” Kayson asked.
“And why did he just call you Daddy?” Kaylon asked.
“Not right now, y’all. We’ll talk about it later. How about we go to the park?” I said to them.
My kids were never ones to beat around the bush. I knew this was going to happen, but what was I supposed to tell them? I couldn’t tell them that they had a brother, because then, they’d tell Mimi, and I’m sure that I’d lose them all forever. I have to tell them, but not now. I’d wait for the right time . . . if that time ever comes.
Mimi
I got woken up by the sun beaming into my room. I tried sitting up, but I was stopped instantly by my throbbing head. I located my purse to see if I had anything that I could take for my head, but I found nothing. Just my fucking luck, I thought to myself. When I couldn’t find anything to take, I lay back down and somehow ended up falling asleep again.
An hour later, my phone woke me up. Thinking that it was Kaylin calling, I answered with an attitude.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“Ummm, hey, good morning. I was calling to check on you, but if it’s a bad time, then I can call you back,” I heard a voice say.
“I’m so sorry, Jayden, I had no idea that this was you calling me,” I said, feeling bad for going off on him.
“It’s cool, ma. I was just calling to check on you,” he responded.
“Other than sleeping in a hotel and having a hangover with nothing to take for it, I guess I’m fine,” I said, getting up from the bed.
“What hotel you at, ma?” he asked me.
“I’m at the Ritz Carlton, room 1302. Why?” I asked.
“Oh, really? That’s the same hotel I’m at. In room 1305,” he said, getting excited.
“Well, well, well,” was all I said.
“Check it, ma, have you eaten breakfast yet?”
“No, I haven’t. Why? You want to feed me?”
If I kept this up, no telling how much trouble I’d get myself in.
“Why don’t I order us some room service and bring you something for your headache?”
“Sure, that’s cool.”
“Your room or mines?” he asked,
“My room would be fine.”
“All right, give me about half an hour to get everything ready and I’ll be there.”
“Okay, I’ll be waiting.”
After I hung up with him, I went to take a shower. When I was finished, I combed my hair and threw on some sweats and a tee shirt with my house slippers. I didn’t know what to call this thing that Jayden and I had going on, and I really didn’t care. I meant it when I said I was tired of trying to please everybody but myself. Today was the day that I started living my life for me.
Jayden
Things couldn’t have been better for me right now. Originally, my plans were to make the drop, then head out, but those plans changed when I ran into Mimi at the gas station. I wasn’t supposed to be making the drop in the first place. That was one of my homeboy’s jobs, but he couldn’t make it, so I had to do it. I was actually pissed about it, but now, I was glad that I came after all.
When I first laid eyes on Mimi, I knew from that moment that I had to have her. Shorty was fine as all outdoors, and she had class. Not to mention that her beautiful chocolate skin was flawless, and it had a glow to it. So when I saw her coming inside of the store, I bumped her, making her drop her phone. It was the only way that I thought I could get her to notice me. I was even happy to buy her another phone, because it meant that I would get to see her again.
What I wasn’t expecting was for her to have a boyfriend. That shit there pissed me off. I was glad when I heard that they were having problems. Baby girl got hands on her. The way she whooped ole girl’s ass was crazy. She even went after her old man. I kind of got mad when that nigga pushed her. That shit really pisses me off, ya dig? Where I came from, men didn’t put their hands on a woman. That’s why I stopped her from going after him again. If it wasn’t for the fact that I had a shitload of drugs in the car, then I would’ve done him something dirty. Instead, I got Mimi out of there and headed to my hotel room.
I sat in my hotel room, staring at my phone all night hoping that Mimi would call. When I got tired of waiting for her to call, I took a shower and went to sleep. The next morning when I woke up, the sun was shining. I checked my phone to see if I had any missed calls from Mimi, but I didn’t have any. Tired of waiting, I decided to call her. I was happy as hell when she said she was in the same hotel as me. Just the sound of her voice soothed me. I needed to see her, bad. That’s why I asked her if she’d eaten breakfast. Once she said that she hadn’t, I knew that this was my chance to see her.
When I got off the phone with her, I made a call to room service and ordered us some breakfast. After ordering damn near the whole menu, I rushed to take a shower and brush my teeth. When I was done, I threw on a wife beater, some basketball shorts, and some brand-new all-white Nikes.
I made sure that I looked and smelled good. Then I went across the hall to tell my boy Mark where I was headed and for him to keep an eye on the room. I went back in the room to make sure that everything was locked up and in order. Once I was sure that it was, I made my way to Mimi’s room.
I made it to her door and waited five whole minutes before knocking on the door. There was something about this woman I really liked. I got myself together, and then knocked on the door. I swear what was probably only a minute felt like hours as I waited for her to open the door, and when she finally did, it felt like time stood still. A lump formed in my throat as I tried to swallow. I stared at her in a trance.
“Well, good morning to you too,” she said, breaking me out of my thoughts.
“Good . . . morning,” I stuttered, embarrassing myself.
“Come on in, I won’t bite you,” she said laughing and opening the door for me to enter.
I walked in and immediately noticed that she had about three large suitcases. I wondered how long she planned on staying here.
“Excuse the mess. Have a seat at the table while I take these to the room right quick,” she said and walked over to her suitcases.
“It’s cool, ma, you don’t have to move them. I know you probably got in late and all. Oh, and here,” I said, handing her a bottle of Tylenol.
“Thank you,” she replied, taking it out of my hands. As she went to put her suitcases in the room, someone started knocking on the door.
“Yo, Mimi, somebody’s at the door,” I called out to her.
“Well, an
swer the dang door then, Jay,” she replied.
Thinking it probably wasn’t nobody but room service anyway, I went to open the door and was indeed greeted by room service. I hadn’t realized that I ordered so much food. They had to enter the room with three carts. After they set the food down on the table, I tipped them, and they were out the door.
“Yo, ma, the food’s here. Come eat before it gets cold,” I said, calling out to her.
“All right, I’ll be out in a minute.”
I don’t know what it was about this woman, because she had me open, and I’d just met her. What I do know is that I wanted her in the worst way, and I wasn’t going to stop until I had her. I only had a couple of days left here, and I planned on spending every last one of them with her.
Mimi
To say that I was excited to see Jay would be an understatement. Words couldn’t explain how I felt right now. I was really feeling this dude, even though I only met him a day ago. I wasn’t really trying to jump headfirst into another relationship, but I was willing to see where this thing was heading. Besides, after all the things that Kay did to me, I don’t think that I’d be able to trust another man ever again.
After putting my suitcases in the bedroom and spraying on some of my favorite perfume, I went back into the living room. When I got there, I saw Jay standing next to a table full of food. Shit, it looked like he ordered the whole breakfast menu. I mean, he had everything from grits and eggs, to sausage and bacon, cheese omelets, French toast, pancakes, steak, oatmeal, and home fries. He even had a side of fresh fruits with water, orange juice, and coffee. My mouth watered just by looking at it, but still, that was way too much food for the two of us to eat. I walked over to him, hugged, and kissed him, and then I sat down.
“Thank you, but are we expecting any company? Because there is way too much for here for us to eat.”
“I didn’t know what you like, so I ordered a little bit of everything,” he replied.
“Well, thanks again.”