by La Jill Hunt
“Yes?” I looked at her in the rearview mirror.
“Can we stop at the store?”
“No, Ashley. It’s getting late. We gotta get home. Besides, Aunt Celia has to drive all the way back after she takes us.” Kendra frowned.
“But we don’t have anything to drink at home,” Avery said.
“Stop begging. We have plenty of water,” Kendra told her.
“And Avery and I need some soap,” Ashley said.
“It’s fine. We can stop, but I’m not getting out. Target is the devil, and he won’t win all of my money today.” I laughed and pulled into the front of the store. I reached into my purse and handed both of them a twenty-dollar bill—the same twenties that I had been planning to give their mother. They hopped out of the back seat and ran inside the store.
I looked at Kendra and asked, “Do you need anything?”
“No, I’m fine,” she told me before getting out of the car. “But I better go in and make sure they hurry.”
I was waiting for them to come out when I looked over and saw a guy waving at me as he walked out of the store. I waved back, and he walked over to my car.
“I thought that was you. How are you doing?” he asked after I rolled my window down.
“I’m good. How about you?” I smiled.
“I’m great. Busy as ever. Still waiting on that call from you.”
“I know, I know. You’ll hear from me soon.”
“Okay, I’ll be waiting. You still got my number?”
“I do.” I nodded.
He reached into his pocket and handed me a business card. “Just in case you don’t.”
I took it and said, “Thank you.”
“All right, well, you enjoy the rest of your Sunday.”
“You too. And I’m going to call.”
He grinned and walked away. I couldn’t help but watch him as he went to his car. Lord knows he was fine as hell. If I wasn’t married and was a few years younger, there was no telling what would happen. I glanced back over to the front of the store and saw Kendra standing and staring for a few seconds before coming to get back in the car.
“Is everything okay?” I asked when she got in. “Where are the twins?”
“They’re paying for their stuff. You know that guy?” she asked with a strange look on her face. “The one you were just talking to.”
“Yeah, Bilal. You know Ms. Nikki’s boyfriend, Patrick?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s his nephew. Why? Do you know him?” I asked her.
“No. Well, yeah. Well, no,” she stammered.
“What in the world? Either you know him, or you don’t.”
“Well, he was a customer in the store last month. He came in to get his phone fixed. So, I don’t know him know him.” She shrugged.
“Well, damn. Do you wanna know him?” I teased.
Kendra immediately blushed and shook her head “Oh my God, no, Aunt Celia. I was just wondering how you knew him, that’s all.”
“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. That’s one fine man, and he’s smart. Hell, I was just thinking if I wasn’t married to your uncle, I would holler at the brother.”
“Aunt Celia!” Kendra gasped.
“What? You know he’s fine. That’s why you asked about him yourself. He can get it, huh?”
“Oh my God, Aunt Celia. Please don’t talk like that. I’m begging you.” Her face reddened even more.
The back doors opened, and Ashley and Avery got into the car, chatting about what they had bought. Kendra looked relieved as she conveniently joined their conversation.
I drove them home. They all seemed disappointed when they arrived and saw that Diane’s car wasn’t in the driveway.
“Don’t forget to get those plates out of the trunk,” I told them as they were getting out of the car.
“Thanks, Aunt Celia,” Ashley told me.
“Love you, Aunt Celia,” Avery said. They both gave me a kiss through the driver-side window before getting the leftover food that I had packed up to for them to take home.
“Love you too, sweeties. Have a good week at school. And text me,” I told them.
Kendra remained seated in the front seat. “Sorry again about my mom, Aunt Celia.”
“Stop apologizing for her ignorance. It ain’t your fault,” I told her. “Y’all gonna be all right?”
“Yeah, we’ll be fine,” Kendra said softly as she looked out the window. “Aunt Celia?”
“Yeah?”
“You and Uncle Darnell . . . you . . . he . . . Mom—” She stopped.
“Kendra, your Uncle Darnell and I know how your mother is. She’s family, and there’s nothing we can do about her or her bad behavior. But we love you and your sisters, and we’re gonna do everything we can to help you girls,” I assured her.
“Thanks for coming to get us today.”
“Anytime, darling.” I leaned over and kissed her forehead.
She got out and went inside the house, waving to let me know she was safe inside.
* * *
Later that night, I was getting ready for bed when Darnell came into the bedroom. “Can you believe Diane acted like that?” I asked him.
“I can’t believe a lot of shit you and your sister do,” he replied with such an attitude that it caught me off guard.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“I’m just saying that sometimes you antagonize her, and you know it.”
“How did I antagonize her? Giving Kendra my car is antagonizing? Really? Bullshit,” I said as I brushed my hair.
“You have a tendency to cross a line when it comes to her children, that’s all.”
“Again, that’s bullshit. I love my nieces, and I make sure they are taken care of.”
“That’s my point. You make sure everyone knows that you take care of them, especially Diane. You ain’t have to make a whole fucking announcement at dinner and shit, Celia. You made her look bad.”
“She made herself look bad. And since when did you start taking up for her?” I demanded.
“I ain’t taking up for her. I’m stating facts. And when did we decide that you were even getting a new car?” he asked.
“I didn’t know I needed to discuss it with you.”
“I’m your husband. Of course you needed to discuss it with me. You were quick to discuss the fucking money we took out for all them damn IVF treatments that ain’t work.”
Darnell’s words stung, and I felt like I’d been slapped without him even touching me. The last thing I needed to be reminded of was my inability to have children. It was a fact that I dealt with every single day.
“You were the one who wanted to try in vitro, Darnell,” I said, fighting to hold back the tears.
“Because both of us wanted to have a baby, Celia. The in vitro was for us, not you.”
“Well, I was the one who had to go through it—the injections, the stress, and the miscarriages—so I know they didn’t work. You don’t have to remind me. And for the record, I just got a promotion and a raise. I can afford to buy a car if I want to. It won’t affect our household account one bit,” I said matter-of-factly. “I work hard, and I deserve it—unlike my sister, who you’re so quick to defend.”
“Listen, you’re the one who started this conversation by asking me a fucking question, and now, because I won’t side with you, you got an attitude.” He snatched a pillow off the bed and headed out the bedroom door.
“Darnell, what the hell? What are you doing?”
“I’m not gonna stay in here tonight with you acting like this. I’m going to sleep in the guest bedroom. Wait, no, that’s Kendra’s bedroom. I’m going to sleep downstairs,” he said.
I couldn’t believe my husband was acting like this. I didn’t know what the fuck was going on with him lately, but he needed to get it together and get it together quick, because one thing I wasn’t about to do was deal with him and his tempter tantrums much longer.
Kendra
>
I walked into the house still in a state of disbelief. When I had walked out of Target and saw Bilal standing by the car and talking to Aunt Celia, I thought I was seeing things. I had been thinking about him ever since the day he came into the store. When I found out he had come back to pick up his phone when I wasn’t at work, I was disappointed. It didn’t help that Dante bragged about how he’d been the one who was there when Bilal came in “looking like a whole snack.” Dante even helped Bilal pick out a new protective phone case. Sierra suggested that I give Bilal a “courtesy call” to make sure his phone was working properly, but I was too afraid. I accepted the fact that I would probably never see him again, until tonight. I had to call Sierra.
“Kendra, are you still gonna twist my hair?” Ashley asked as soon as I walked in the door. “You promised.”
“Uh, yeah, in a little while. Go take your shower first,” I told her, heading into my bedroom.
“Mine too?” Avery asked.
“No, don’t even try it. You are not getting your hair like mine. I asked her to do this last week. You wasn’t even thinking about getting your hair twisted. You told Mom you wanted braids like hers,” Ashley snapped.
“But she said she ain’t got the money to get them done yet,” Avery told her then turned to me and said, “Please, Kendra.”
I looked at her, then back to Ashley, who was waiting for my response with her arms folded and an attitude on her face. I shrugged and said, “We’ll see. Go take a shower, both of you.”
“Okay.” Avery smiled. Satisfied with my response, she hopped up and ran down the hallway.
“Don’t worry about it. You can just do hers. I’ll do my own hair.” Ashley gave me a disappointed look.
“Ash, don’t be like that. I told you I would do it. Just go take a shower and make sure you wash your hair good.” I winked. “I’m not twisting any hair that ain’t washed.”
Ashley grinned, realizing that there was no way Avery was going to wash her hair without being told, minimizing her chances of my twisting it. She gave me a hug, then just like Avery had done moments before, took off down the hallway.
I smiled and headed toward my bedroom. As I passed my mother’s door, I could hear the sound of nineties R&B playing. The aroma of marijuana hit my nostrils, alerting me to what was going on inside. I figured she had to be in there with that Terry dude she had brought with her to Aunt Celia’s house. He seemed innocent enough. Although I was disgusted by the fact that, once again, she had brought another random man into our home for sex, I was glad that it wasn’t my uncle this time.
As soon as I got into my room, I dialed Sierra’s number. She had barely said the word “hello” before I started talking.
“Guess who I saw at Target today?”
“Was it somebody famous?” she asked.
“No, nobody famous,” I told her.
“Was it a regular?”
“No, not a regular, but it was a customer,” I hinted.
“From your excitement, I’m thinking it’s a guy. Oh my God, Kendra, did you see him?” she gushed, and her excitement now matched mine.
“Yes, it was him.” I laughed.
“Did he see you? Did you look cute? I hope you looked cute, Kendra. Please tell me you looked cute. What did you say to him?”
“I didn’t say anything, and it doesn’t matter if I was cute or not. He didn’t see me.”
“What? Why not? You didn’t speak to him? Was he with a girl?”
“No, he was alone, I think. And the only girl I saw him with was my Aunt Celia.” I laughed.
“Wait. What? I’m confused. He was in Target with your aunt?”
“No, when I walked out of the store, he was talking to her while she was sitting in her car. But she does know him. It’s her friend’s nephew.”
“Oh, shit! So this whole time we’ve been tryna find out how you can see this dude—”
“I haven’t been tryna figure out anything. That’s all you.”
“Come on, Kendra. Don’t act like you wasn’t feeling that dude. Y’all had all types of sparks and fireworks and shit going off while he was in the store. And you said yourself that he could get it. Now you wanna act like this?”
“I ain’t say he wasn’t fine. But right now, I’m tryna focus on school and taking care of my sisters. The last thing I’m gonna be doing is getting involved with a dope boy. That ain’t me,” I told her.
“I’m ready.” Ashley stepped into my room with her hair dripping and a towel around her neck. She had a plastic bag full of hair products in her hand.
“Listen, I gotta go twist my sister’s hair. We’ll talk more when I get to work tomorrow.”
“Definitely, because this ain’t the end of this conversation, heffa,” Sierra said before hanging up the phone.
“Come on in here, silly rabbit.” I beckoned for Ashley to come in. I grabbed a throw pillow off my bed for her to sit on and put it on the floor in front of me. She plopped down and shook her head, spraying water everywhere “What the hell?”
“Oh, sorry,” Ashley said innocently “Who was that?”
“None of your business, nosy,” I said and began towel-drying her wet tresses.
My mother may not have given us a lot physically or emotionally, but two things my sisters and I had been blessed with that definitely came from her were our thick, wavy hair and our cute figures. I looked at her hair hanging past her shoulders and knew it was going to take at least an hour and a half to complete.
As soon as she sat down, Avery walked into the room.
Ashley wasted no time telling her, “Your hair ain’t washed, so it ain’t getting twisted.”
Avery rolled her eyes at both of us. Just before walking out, she said, “Fine. Mama said I could get braids next week anyway.”
When she was gone, Ashley asked, “Do you have a new boyfriend?”
“What?”
“I heard you talking about being with a dope boy.”
“See, this is what I tell you about ear hustling. You always get stuff wrong. What I said was that I’m not going to be with a dope boy. I have more important stuff to do with my life, and I have too much to risk, so being with a dope boy ain’t happening.”
“Don’t you want a boyfriend with money? Dope boys always got money,” Ashley said.
“I have a job. I make my own money. When I graduate from college, I’ll get a better job and make more money. And I plan to date a guy who has a job and makes his own money, too—legally. Anything worth having is worth working for. Guys that sell dope may make a lot of money, but it’s easy money and easy to lose their life or their freedom over. Remember that,” I told her.
I constantly tried to teach my sisters to make the right choices, especially since my mother constantly made the wrong ones.
“Remember when Mama was dating Doobie?” she asked. “He used to give her money all the time. And us. And he had that nice car. He was real nice. I liked him, and he was a dope boy.”
“And where is Doobie now?”
“Mama broke up with him,” she said matter-of-factly. “That’s why he stopped coming around.”
“He’s in jail, Ash. He got pulled over, had a gun under the seat. They ended up raiding his house and finding a shitload of powder. And now he’s behind bars. All that money he had ain’t doing him a bit of good,” I told her.
“For real?”
“For real. Now, turn your head around so we can get these twists done.”
I spent the next hour twisting her hair and watching Power, making sure to remind her that there was a difference between what happens on TV and what happens in real life. I was nearly finished when Avery came back in.
“Kendra! Come here!”
“She’s not doing your hair!” Ashley told her.
“You’re mean,” I said to Ashley, laughing with her.
“Kendra!” Avery called my name again. This time I could tell it was serious, so I got up and went to see what she wanted. She beckoned for me
to come farther down the hallway
“What?” I asked, confused until I heard yelling coming from the other side of the door.
“Listen,” she whispered.
“What have I told you and Ashley about ear hustling?” I hissed, not even wanting to know what kinds of sexual sounds she was hearing. “Get away from that door.”
“Something is wrong. I think they’re fighting.” She had a panicked look on her face.
I listened closer, and sure enough, I heard my mother cursing.
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. You’re crazy. Get the fuck out of my house!”
“I ain’t going no fucking where until you give me my fucking money. Now, where is it?” Terry’s voice was loud, but I could tell he was trying not to yell.
“I don’t have your fucking money.”
“You’re lying. I know how much money I had in my fucking pants pocket. I had two hundred and thirty-seven fucking dollars, and now it’s only thirty-seven. You stole two hundred dollars from me, and I want it back now.”
“Get your fucking hands off me, bitch. I don’t have your fucking money! Let me go!”
There was a loud crash, and before I could stop her, Avery grabbed the door and ran in.
“Avery!” I took off behind her. Inside the room, Terry, wearing only his sweatpants, had my mother pressed up against the dresser. The loud crash was the sound of the mirror crashing to the floor.
“Get the fuck off my mama!” Avery screamed.
“Move back, little girl.” Terry tried to hold my little sister back with his one free hand as Avery charged at him.
“Avery, get back here.” I grabbed at her, but she was too quick.
“You’d better not touch my fucking daughter!” my mother screamed at him.
“You’d better give me my fucking money!” Terry yelled, squeezing her arm tighter.
“Let her go!” I yelled, as I still tried to grab Avery, who was now clawing at Terry.
Suddenly, Ashley came running in and joined in the chaos. The three of us were too much for Terry to handle. We proceeded to pounce on him until he released my mother from his grasp. Once she was free, she lurched at him again, but I restrained her. Ashley stood behind me, crying and sweating. Her hair that moments ago was neatly twisted was now unraveled and wild. Avery stood against the wall near my mother’s nightstand, barely moving.