TYCE 3

by Shareef Jaudon

  Angelique looked at her lovingly. “I don’t know. What do you wanna name her?”

  She finally opened up her eyes and looked up at me. Her little black pupils were saying hello there. I could see the fine hairs where her future eyebrows would be and she was making a sucking motion with her miniature lips. As I replayed the question that was just asked of me the perfect name slid into my mind.

  “I think we should name her Khari. Khari Angelique Adkins.”

  Angelique cocked her head to the side smiling. “Hmmm I like that. How would you spell it?”

  “K H A R I.” I said slowly.

  “Good cuz I don’t want people seeing her name and calling her Carrie.”

  “Well for all the illiterate people out there, I’ll be sure to tell em her name is pronounced car reeee.” I stretched the name out.

  Angelique repeated my words. “Car reee, I love it. How did you come up with that?”

  “It jus’ seems to fit her. Don’t you think?”

  “Yes it does baby. It’s perfect.”

  Mad Woman

  I can’t believe that bitch tried to choke me to death! She was actually trying to kill me! Yeah I hated Angelique, but I would never murder her. I just don’t like the way she played me. If it wasn’t for her I would still be with Tyce now. I would have gotten pregnant in a few days or weeks and he would have never known I lied. I mean, what’s the big deal, eventually we would of had a baby anyway. But, she had to go and fuck everything up!

  Why couldn’t Tyce see that I was only trying to look out for him? Sometimes you have to lie to keep what’s rightfully yours. I lied to protect him. I lied so that he would see that he belonged with me and only me.

  If she thinks this shit is over, that bitch is coo coo for Cocoa Puffs. I’m just getting warmed up.

  Family Guy

  After four days in the hospital all three of us were finally home. The chair that doubled as a bed in the recovery room was hard as hell and my lower back was sore from sleeping on it. Angelique was still on bed rest, so taking care of Khari was all on me. Angelique insisted on being on the lower level of the house so she wouldn’t feel isolated. That was cool with me because I wouldn’t have to run up and down the stairs tending to her and the baby. So with the help of Carmela I made a make shift recuperation room in the living room. I had a twin bed delivered and set it up across from the T.V, so Angelique could interact with everybody and watch her favorite shows. At night we would all go up to our room and sleep up there, but during the day she preferred to be down stairs.

  Carmela was excited about the new baby and tried her best to help out. I didn’t have to worry about cooking breakfast, lunch, or dinner because she had that covered. Carmela offered to take care of Khari, but I would only let her do so much. I wanted to learn how to take care of my own daughter and the only way to do that was to jump right in.

  Sadness flirted with Angelique every now and then. She felt helpless and dependent. Dr. Rosent told her to take it easy for the next four weeks. For a woman like Angelique, staying in bed not doing anything was extremely difficult. She was used to coming and going as she pleased. Her body was still weak from her surgery, so her movements were slow and shaky.

  I had to admit that taking care of a new born was hard ass work! For the most part Khari was a good baby, but at times she would fuss and cry for no reason at all, or at least no reason I could see. I had to learn to anticipate and guess what she needed. The first time I changed her diaper it took me ten whole minutes! I couldn’t get the damn thing tight enough. After a few more times, I got a little better at it; cutting the changing time down to like four minutes. I kept thinking I was going to hurt her or break her little legs, but Carmela assured me that babies were more durable than they looked. After hearing that I relaxed a little.

  The four a.m. feedings were easy for me cuz I was used to being up late anyway. I would turn on the T.V in the master bedroom so I could see what I was doing. I used the T.V. for light cuz the lamp would wake Angelique up and I wanted her to get her rest.

  My world changed over night, I couldn’t explain this newfound paternal instinct running through my soul but it felt good. I loved that little girl with all of my heart. I’d fight a pack of wolves with a tooth pick for her. I’d kill a dead tree for her. I’d love her if she was gay, an astronaut, a janitor, or any fucking thing. She was my daughter and I wasn’t going anywhere.

  Pamela and Gloria lent their assistance and baby expertise whenever I needed it. One, if not both of them stopped by each day to check on us.

  I tried to divide my time between my woman and my baby. One thing I didn’t believe in was putting a baby first. I know some people would disagree with me but fuck that! My number one priority was making sure my woman was happy. I mean what would happen if I neglected Angelique? Eventually her discontent would grow like a fungus and cause problems in our relationship. In my opinion you keep the order how it came, Khari was born from our love. Why disregard that? If Angelique was happy and madly in love with me then that would make our family tighter. Too many couples break up cuz they put their children first and forget about each other. When they’re not together the children are the ones that suffer the most.

  As long as I held Angelique down she would hold me down and we both would hold Khari down…simple.

  Restless

  I’ve never spent so much time in bed in my entire life and it was really starting to annoy me. I felt helpless. Some people would relish the idea of staying in bed all day having people wait on you hand and foot, but not me. I was used to doing my own thing, fending for myself. I’d been on my own since I was 16, granted it was by choice, but still the same-I was on my own.

  Tyce was being super helpful and I was impressed with his parenting skills. All the baby books he read came in handy. He was doing the lion’s share of the baby duties while also taking great care of me. The doctor said I would need four weeks of recovery and I had one more week of bed rest. She removed the staples from my incision the last day I was in the hospital. I still had dissolvable stitches on the inside of my stomach and the pain was beginning to subside. Instead of taking six pain pills a day I was now down to one or two.

  Having Khari was a breeze, shit I was knocked out for that, but the painful part came after. Twice a day for two days the heavy handed nurse would come in my room and press down on my stomach. She said she had to make sure all the after birth and fluids were pushed out of my womb. That shit hurt like a bitch! I almost slapped the shit out of her extra cheery ass more than a few times!

  Over all it was all worth it when I held my daughter. She was so beautiful and smelled so good. For some strange reason I wasn’t producing enough milk, so I had to bottle feed her. Although she was a tiny little thing she ate like a beast. She would polish off four ounces of milk in no time and have the nerve to want more. I guess she got her appetite from me cuz I could eat a four piece meal from Popeye’s in ten minutes flat.

  Here I was propped up on three pillows in the middle of the day watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta. I never watched it before and I didn’t see why it was so popular. Those fake ass, barely rich, anti cute broads were a trip! The only one with some sense was Kandi, from the singing group Xscape. As far as I could see she was the only one that was dealing with reality on that wack ass reality show.

  “Wasup babe?”

  Tyce sat down on the couch next to the baby who was sleeping soundly on the cushion.

  “Nuthin’ much. Jus’ watching a lil’ T.V.”

  I sighed heavily looking over at him.

  “Can I get you anything?”

  I rolled my eyes in deep thought. “Yes. You can get me a cigarette.”

  “What?” He asked shocked.

  “You heard me. I said I want a cigarette. I’ve stopped smokin’ for nine months and I can really use one right now. I jus’ wanna get some sunshine out by the pool, drink some lemonade and smoke a cigarette. I haven’t felt the sun on my face in days. C
ome on baby, I promise I’ll jus’ sit there and relax.”

  Tyce folded his arms across his chest while he contemplated my request.

  “Alright, but I’m comin’ out there with you. Jus’ let me get a Heineken real quick.” He headed for the kitchen.

  Five minutes later I was sitting in a lounge chair in the warm California sun, enjoying a smoke.

  “Thanks babe. I needed this.” I smiled lovingly. “Can I have some of your beer?”

  “Don’t press your luck.” He chuckled at me.

  Stalker

  Dallas walked around the back yard staying in the shadows so she wouldn’t be detected. She was dressed in a black running suit with a baseball cap pulled low on her forehead. A backpack hung over her right shoulder. It was close to midnight in the quiet neighborhood she used to call home. When she passed the pool she moved closer to the high stone wall kneeling down in the darkness.

  Several lights illuminated the inside of the house giving it a warm inviting glow. Her curiosity propelled her legs as she moved forward to get a closer look. To keep from being seen she relocated to the side of the house and looked through the cracked blinds.

  Her eyes narrowed and anger surged through her body as she witnessed the scene inside the large living room. Dallas watched as Angelique held a beautiful baby in her arms. Her blood boiled as she observed her nemesis stroking the child’s silky black hair softly with her hand. Now with her face just inches away from the glass she saw the love of her life enter the room holding a plate of hot wings. Dallas remembered how she and Tyce used to eat late night snacks all the time. When those images flashed across her mind her fists balled up and her teeth clinched.

  Her body remained frozen in the dark, unable to move away. All she wanted to do was be on the other side of that window. She belonged on the other side ofthat window. For several minutes she stared at the couple enviously before making her way to the front of the house. She walked across the long driveway pausing when she got to the front of the Jaguar. Taking out her keys, she nonchalantly strolled along side the luxury vehicle putting a deep scratch in the paint that equaled the length of the car. She stopped and looked back at the door panels to admire her work of vandalism. A satisfied smile spread across her lips as she moved her attention from the wavy scratch to the shiny bumper.

  Ten minutes later she was back in her car rolling down the city streets singing along with the stereo. She snatched her purse from the passenger seat and searched for one of three coconut flavored vodka shooters that were stashed inside. The mini bottle finally emerged from all the other stuff inside and Dallas used her knee to steer the car as she opened the tiny cap and downed the shot quickly.

  Tupac provided the soundtrack for the night as Dallas rapped right along with his baritone voice laced with rage blaring from her high powered speakers.

  “I aint a killa but don’t push me, revenge is like the sweetest joy next to gettin’ pussy!”

  Where The Money At?

  Sway pulled up in front of Tyce’s house with Ranae and the kids. Ameenah and Malik quickly hopped out the truck and ran toward the front door yelling at each other playfully.

  “I’ll ring the door bell!” Ameenah ran up the steps.

  “Nooooo! I wanna do it!” Malik countered trailing behind her.

  “How ‘bout you both push it at the same time!” Sway yelled as he got out the driver’s side.

  Ranae held on to a huge shopping bag as she and Sway made their way up to the porch. Before they stopped by Ranae insisted on picking up a few things for the baby. Two hundred dollars and two hours later they were finally here.

  “Ok you two rug rats, both of you can ring the bell together. There’s no need to fight about it.” Ranae instructed.

  Before the overly excited children got the chance to push the button Tyce opened the door to greet his extended family.

  “UNCLE TYCE!!” Ameenah and Malik hugged each of his legs.

  “Hey you two. What’s goin’ on!” He reached down rubbing their backs. “Ya’ll

  ‘bout to knock me down.”

  Ameenah looked up. “Uncle Tyce can I have 20 dollars?”

  “Me too!” Malik chimed in.

  “Dang. I remember when children asked for a dollar and now it’s 20!” Tyce shook his head.

  He dug his hand into the pocket of his red cargo style shorts, pulling out a thick wad of money with a rubber band around it. He shuffled thru the top layer of hundreds before landing on two twenties.

  “Ya’ll gonna break me.” He joked.

  “What do you say kids?” Ranae eyed each of them.

  The lil ones both sang out, “THANK YOUUU.”

  After the brief shakedown everyone made their way into the living room to chop it up. Angelique was in her usual spot laying on the twin bed holding Khari.

  “Hey girl!” Ranae sashayed over to her. “Now you know you gotta play pass the baby so give her to me.”

  “Hey Ranae. I thought you said you were gonna be here two hours ago. What happened?”

  “Girl you know I couldn’t come empty handed, I had to get my lil munchkin some presents!”

  Angelique looked at the shopping bag, “I see. Thank you soooo much Ranae.”

  “Girl you’re welcome, you aint seen nuthin’ yet. I’ma spoil this lil one. Let me hold her.”

  Ranae put the shopping bag on the floor next to the bed and leaned over lifting the baby into her arms.

  “She’s so precious.” Ranae smiled down at her.

  As the women and children took over the living room Sway motioned for Tyce to follow him out to the pool. Tyce caught the hint and moved toward the back part of the house.

  “Hey babe, me and Sway will be out back.”

  “Ok.” Angelique didn’t look up.

  She was busy reaching for her purse to give the kids the 20 dollars they’d just begged her for.

  Once outside in the privacy of the backyard, Sway opened up about what was on his mind. The two men sat down, but were briefly interrupted when

  Carmela brought them two Coronas with pieces of lime sticking out the top of the bottles.

  “Thanks Carmela.”

  “Denada Tyce.” She slid thru the glass door.

  Tyce turned his attention back to his friend as they sat around the unlit fire pit.

  “Wasup man?”

  “Nuthin’ much I jus’ needed to holla atcha you in private for minute.”

  “What’s on your mind? You got beef with somebody? If you got some static we can clear that up right now nigga.”

  Tyce cocked his head back and forth as he spoke showing he was serious.

  Sway chuckled, “Naw man. It aint nuthin like that.”

  “Oh ok, then what is it?” Tyce squeezed the lime into his beer.

  Sway was hesitant to spit out his point and he shifted in his chair before he let his words go.

  “Man, I’m jus’, ahhhh, I’m a lil…I jus’ need to make some more money man.”

  Tyce looked confused, “Are you broke? Did you get robbed or somethin’?”

  Sway shook his head, “Naw man, nuthin’ like that I’m jus’ worried about the future. I mean, no woman can go backwards in life financially. Sure Ranae loved me when I was barely makin’ ends meet, but now that she’s tasted the good life she’s not gonna be happy eatin’ anything else. I can’t give her New Years Eve and then fall back to Ground Hog day. I’m not sayin’ that will happen, but I need to make sure it doesn’t you feel me?”

  Tyce nodded his head. “I feel you bro.”

  Sway continued to express his concerns after he took a long drink from his bottle.

  “I got a little over a million left and jus’ like you said before, a mil don’t get you very far in high priced California. Ranae is spendin’ money like crazy man. Jus’ the other day she bought new plates and shit for the house and those muthafucka’s cost seven hundred dollars! I’m talkin’ ‘bout fuckin’ plates and cups!” Sway threw up his hands.

 
; “Damn, those musta been some nice ass plates.” Tyce joked.

  “I’m serious man. I wanna give Ranae and the kids everything we didn’t have when me and you were growin’ up, but at the rate she’s spendin’ I won’t have enough money to maintain it. I wanna have money when we grow old. I wanna have money to leave my children, so they don’t have to struggle when we die.”

  Tyce sat back in his chair. “Shit, money talks man and to most people it say’s bye bye.”

  “That shit is the fuckin’ truth bro.” Sway sighed.

  “Look man I can go in the crib and crack the safe. You know I gotchu. I jus’ spanked Diego’s ass for eight mil. I’ll get you a to go bag stuffed with like two million. Come on nigga. Let’s go in the garage and get you straight.”

  Tyce put the beer on the table and started to get up, but Sway stopped him.

  “I knew you was gonna say that, but I can’t take your money. I don’t wanna hand out. Besides, I look at that money you jacked from Diego as punitive damages for all the shit you went through behind his ass. That money belongs to you bro. I was kinda hopin’ we can get together and hit another lick.”