Cheaper to Keep Her part 3 (More Money More Problems)

by Unique, Kiki Swinson presents

  “Come on, let’s go,” I instructed him.

  “Where are we going?” he wanted to know.

  “To the nearest breakfast diner.”

  “Well, I know this spot on the other side of the city, so follow me,” he insisted.

  “Okay. Let’s do it then,” I replied and then I headed to my car.

  I followed Sean to an all day breakfast spot called Tops Diner on Passaic Avenue. Immediately after he parked his truck, Sean rushed over to my car, opened the door and held it open so I could step out. “Thank you,” I said.

  Minutes after we entered the diner we were seated at a table near a window. The restaurant wasn’t busy so we were able to get our food very quickly. I had chicken and waffles, while Sean dug into a Colorado Omelet.

  In the beginning, Sean and I made small talk. I gave him some of my backstory of where I was from and my educational background. When he asked me how Bishop and I met, I stretched the truth a bit. I told him Bishop and I met at a strip club back in Virginia, which was partially the truth. I failed to tell him Bishop only came to Virginia to avenge his brother’s death and the real reason why I followed him to New Jersey. I was sure if I had told him about all the murder and mayhem that happened back in Virginia, he would’ve ended our breakfast date in the blink of an eye.

  I wasn’t on America’s Most Wanted, but I had some bad history that no one needed to know about. And I wasn’t stupid enough to share that kind of information. Even if Sean was the bad boy type, no way I was sharing information I had tucked in the back of my head and would carry to the grave. No one in their right mind would admit any wrongdoing or the fact that they were on the run from the police. So I continued to smile and act like I was Ms. Goodie-Two-Shoes.

  Halfway through breakfast Sean became flirtatious and I loved every minute of it. After he told me he was twenty-nine years old with no kids and he had just graduated from Penn State, I was really impressed.

  “So, what do you do for a living?” I pressed on.

  He smiled shyly. “I’m kind of between jobs right now,” he admitted.

  “Well, how do you pay your bills?” I wanted to know.

  Something inside of me told me Sean was slinging some type of narcotic. I always had an eye for a street hustler and Sean had the look to a tee. And most often when a guy worked on the street, he had a certain mannerism. Meaning, he would cut his money with his back facing the person in front of him, he would talk in code while he was on the phone and he would always look over his shoulder.

  Since Sean and I had been eating, he had looked around checking out our surroundings at least ten times, if not more. That kind of behavior had drug dealer written all over it, but how was I to judge. I felt as if those were the only men I attracted, so I figured why fight it or try to change it.

  Immediately after he told me that his parents where well off and that they sent him money to pay his bills, I kind of took it with a grain of salt and said whatever. At that point it really didn’t matter. I figured the less I knew about him, the better off I’d be. Besides, at the end of the day, how he got his money was his business, not mine.

  “So, how many kids do you have running around here?” I asked him.

  “One. I’ve got a seven year old son named after me.”

  “That’s cool. Where is he?”

  “He lives with his mother down south.”

  “Down south, where?

  “Atlanta, Georgia. His mother moved down there about a year ago to take care of her mother after her father passed.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Oh, it’s cool.”

  “So, how often do you see your son?”

  “Three to four times a year. But lately, I’ve been able to see him more since I’m out of school now.”

  “How do you feel about him living so far away?

  “It doesn’t bother me like it used to. They live in a really nice neighborhood and she’s taking good care of him, so that’s what really counts.”

  “How long have you and she been apart?”

  “She and I separated right before my son’s fifth birthday.”

  “Can I ask why?” I pressed the issue.

  Sean smiled. “It wasn’t anything huge. We just grew apart.”

  “Come on now, be honest. You know you cheated on her.”

  Sean’s smiled even harder. “I’m being honest,” he tried to convince me. He continued to tell me about his past relationship with his son’s mother and then we switched gears and talked a little about my past relationship with Duke. To protect the guilty, which would be me, I refused to give him specific details pertaining to real names or the actual cities my ex-men resided in. I did, however, let the cat out the bag that Bishop had another woman and that I was the chick on the side.

  Sean seemed very disappointed in me after I told him about the status of my relationship.

  “Come on now, I know you know that you’re selling yourself short?” he stated.

  I didn’t respond. I turned my head and looked out of the window.

  He reached across the table and grabbed both of my hands. “Look at me,” he instructed me. I turned my head back around to face him. “Are you happy?” he continued.

  “What do you mean, like right now?”

  “I’m talking about your situation with your man.”

  “I have my good days,” I told him.

  “Okay. But are you happy?”

  I sat there and thought for a moment before I answered Sean’s question. It didn’t take me long to weigh the pros and the cons and discover that I really was not happy. But with everything looming over my head, I had to take what I got. Bishop may have been playing me, but he was keeping a roof over my head, lining my pockets with weekly allowances and making monthly payments on my whip.

  Where else could I get a nigga to pick up the tab for my living expenses? Nowhere. So, I might as well suck it up and deal with his bullshit before he replaced me like Duke did.

  To close Sean’s mouth, I lied and told him that I was fine and I had plans to leave Bishop high and dry once I got my act together. He acted as if he believed me, but then again one could never tell. Men sure know how to put on a facade when they need to. But let me be the first to say that women have mastered it. And that’s some real shit!

  Once we were done eating, he offered to take me to the 11:30 a.m. movie, but I declined. I lied and told him I had a hair appointment. As much as I wanted to go, my heart wouldn’t allow me. I had to remind myself that I was living here in New Jersey on Bishop’s tab. He had provided me everything I needed so I had already played myself by accepting Sean’s first date. And to accept an extended date would be blatant disrespect to Bishop. I knew it didn’t seem like it, but I had some morals. So, after I thanked him for breakfast, I gave him a warm hug. And he returned the gesture with his cell phone number and then we went our separate ways.

  When the cat’s away the mouse will play!

  Cheaper to Keep Her part 3 Unique

  Is Blood Really Thicker Than Water? – Chapter Five

  From the time I got back into my car and until I drove about five miles, I could not get my mind off Sean. He was the perfect height, the right weight, the right complexion and his choice of clothing was on point.

  What more could a woman like me ask for when going out on a date?

  In addition to his outer appearance, he drove a nice SUV and I could tell he had enough money to spread around. And what would seal the deal with he and I was if he had the balls to sweep me off my feet and snatch me right from under Bishop’s nose. That would be some wicked shit! And if I found out his money was way longer than Bishop’s that would be even better. Oh my God! That would be the ultimate bonus on my part. Time would only tell though.

  Instead of going back to the apartment, I decided to go by the hair salon where Bishop’s sister Bria worked. This was my way of finding something to do since there was a slim chance that I’d be able to spend time with B
ishop. He left the apartment a couple of hours ago angry, so there was no telling when he’d return. Bria was the only associate I had outside of Bishop so I utilized every waking moment she gave me.

  Upon my arrival to the shop she worked at, I didn’t see Bria’s car parked outside. So I called her cell phone to see where she was but to no avail. I disconnected the call on the fifth ring. I sat there in my car for a few minutes and then I tried to call her a second time. Still, no answer. I debated whether I should go inside the salon to see if anyone knew where Bria was. But as fate had it, I didn’t have to. Sarah, Bria’s boss and the owner of the salon came outside and headed towards her car.

  “Hey, excuse me Sarah, is Bria in the shop?” I yelled from inside my car.

  She stopped in her tracks after I got her attention. Sarah was a very attractive Dominican chick. She sort of reminded me of Jennifer Lopez with the body and all. She was a few years older than I was but she didn’t look it. “No, she’s not here. And I haven’t seen her in two days.”

  “Really,” I said. “Well, if she happens to come in or call, let her know I came by.”

  “Okay. But if you talk to her before I do, tell her to call me,” Sarah insisted.

  “Alright,” I replied and then I pulled off.

  A couple of minutes into my drive away from the salon made me wish I’d taken Sean up on his offer to go with him to the movies. In a perfect world, things would go the way I wanted them to, but for some reason my luck superseded anything I put my heart and mind to. Karma was a bitch when it came to me. So I had learned to play the cards I was dealt.

  I went back to my apartment, hoping I’d catch Sean so I could take him up on his movie date. To my surprise, he wasn’t there. I was so devastated when I pulled up and didn’t see his truck, I let out a long sigh and shook my head.

  “Dammit!” I shouted as I punched the steering wheel with my fist.

  I sat in the car for a few minutes, trying to figure out what to do. When I couldn’t think of anywhere to go, I turned off the ignition and went into the apartment. I tossed my handbag and keys onto the coffee table and sat down on the sofa. Minutes after I laid my head back on the headrest, I grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned on the TV. Nothing was playing that I was interested in watching, so I casually surfed through the channels and stumbled across my favorite music video on Black Entertainment Television.

  I rocked my head back and forth to Jay Z and Kanye West’s song Niggas in Paris. I didn’t know the words to the song but acted as if I did. I became so engrossed in the song that I didn’t hear the front door when it opened. I only realized Bishop had walked into the apartment after he closed the front door shut. He literally scared the hell out of me.

  “Woooo, you scared me,” I commented as I looked directly at him.

  I noticed he wasn’t wearing the same clothes he had on when he left the apartment this morning. I knew he had gone to the house he shared with Keisha and changed clothes. I started to make mention of it, but I changed my mind. I was too tired to go through another one of his screaming matches. I just wanted to relax and think about Sean.

  “How long you been home?” he wanted to know.

  “I just got back a few minutes ago,” I told him while searching his face to see where this conversation was going. I also listened intently to the tone of his voice to determine what mood he was in.

  He stood about three feet away from me and started asking me a series of questions. “Have you talked to Bria today?” he began.

  “Nah, I haven’t. I went by the salon to see her but Sarah said she hasn’t been to work in two days.”

  “Oh, that ain’t unusual. Sometimes Bria won’t go to work for days at a time,” Bishop explained. “She’s probably running behind that nigga she just started fucking with.”

  I started to comment, but I didn’t. Bishop knew his sister better than I did. So, I just allowed him to say whatever he wanted to. “How much gas is in the car?” he asked me.

  “It’s half full.”

  “Well, get up ’cause I’m gonna need you to run to the store for me.”

  I rolled my eyes as I dragged myself off the sofa slowly, because I was not in the mood to go anywhere. Bishop saw my facial expression and had something to say. “Why the fuck you frowning?”

  “I’m not frowning,” I replied immediately.

  “Then, what do you call it?”

  “Why are you trying to start an argument? Everything was fine before you came in here,” I commented sarcastically.

  “Don’t forget that you’re in here because I pay the motherfucking bills.”

  I sighed and totally disregarded his comment. I knew he paid the bills so why should I add fuel to the fire. It was obvious he was still pissed off at me for answering his cell last night. It made me wonder about this Chrissy chick.

  Anyway, to avoid an all out war with him, I tried to diffuse the situation by asking him what he needed from the store. He gave me a list of five items that he wanted me to get. After he peeled off two twenty dollar bills from the bank roll he had in his front pocket, I grabbed my things and headed back out the front door.

  En route to the supermarket, I thought about Bishop’s plot to send me on an errand run so he could be in the apartment alone. It bothered me that he didn’t give me enough credit to know what’s going on. Those asshole flunkies of his didn’t burst into my apartment for nothing. Bishop’s plan to scare the hell out of me was done to prepare me for what he had stashed at the apartment. He acted as if I never had a nigga in my life who didn’t hustle and kept his dough stashed in a few hiding spots around the house. Quiet as it was kept, I had fucked more cats in my life that hustled in the streets than worked a nine to five. Hell, Bishop needed to get with the program.

  The more I thought about it, I realized it would be kind of weird to fuck with a cat that had a legitimate job. How would I be able to steal money from his stash if he didn’t have one in the first place? That would be a disaster if you asked me. Chicks like me always needed a gangster, his money, a Taser for bitches like Keisha and a get out of jail free-card when shit started to pop off. If all of those things are in order, my life would probably run smoothly. Kind of run smoothly.

  While I was at the checkout counter paying for the things Bishop asked me to get, my Blackberry rang. I looked down at the caller ID and saw an unfamiliar number. It was a New Jersey area code. Although I had my doubts, I answered it. “Hello,” I said. But the caller on the other end didn’t say a word. It was dead silence. “Hello,” I said once again. This time I heard a muffled noise, so I said hello for a third time. After getting no response for a third time, I disconnected the call.

  Walking outside to the car I thought about the phone call I had just gotten. Curiosity tore me apart on the inside. I wanted to know who was on the other end so I contemplated dialing the number back. When the possibility of it being Keisha’s dumb ass came to mind, I knew not to waste my precious time. It wouldn’t surprise me if she had gotten my number out of Bishop’s cell phone this morning. I knew one thing, if I found out it was her, she and I were going to have some serious problems and there wouldn’t be a happy ending.

  Back at the apartment, Bishop was nowhere in sight. I searched the entire place and I ended up with nothing. The thought of feeling stupid engulfed me and I became livid instantly. The grocery bag containing his fucking cigarette lighter, sandwich bags, baking soda, a two-liter Pepsi and plastic cups were tossed on the kitchen table the moment I entered the kitchen. I couldn’t hold my composure. I had to get Bishop on the phone and blast his ass for sending me on a dummy run to the fucking supermarket to get him some shit he didn’t need and then leave before I got back. What kind of inconsiderate shit was that?

  I wasted no time getting Bishop’s ass on the phone. His phone rang twice before he answered it. “What’s up?” he said.

  I didn’t want to come off strong or cause an argument, but I knew my tone had to be stern. I needed to l
et him know that I didn’t appreciate the way he played me. “Are you coming back to the house?” I asked him.

  “Yeah, later. Why?”

  “Because you sent me to the store to get those things you had on the list but when I came back you weren’t even here,” I replied. I sighed so he’d know that I was more frustrated than angry.

  “I had to make a quick run. But I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he replied nonchalantly.

  “Yeah, a’ight,” I said as I ended the call.

  I stormed out of the kitchen after I hung up with Bishop. The fact that he had no regard for my feelings made my blood boil and I felt the need to do some more snooping. There was something he was trying to hide from me and the only two things that came to mind was money or dope. Bishop didn’t know me that well. I was going to find out which one it was.

  The first place I searched was the bathroom. I took the lid off the back of the toilet, I looked underneath the sink in the bathroom, I searched through all the contents of the cosmetic drawers and then I looked through the dirty clothes hamper. Shit, nothing. I found absolutely nothing.

  The next place I searched was the hall closet. Bishop had a few boxes of his things stacked on top of each other, but I didn’t touch them. I could tell he hadn’t moved them. I could also tell he hadn’t moved the two storage containers stacked on the shelf and since I knew there weren’t any secret storage place inside the closet I closed the door and headed into my bedroom.