by Ambria Davis
I pulled up into the grocery store parking lot and quickly got out. I ain’t know shit about buying groceries, but I was going to learn how today. I was going to get most of Mimi’s favorites and a few things for myself, Mark, and Troy. I knew most of the things she liked. I just hoped that she remembered that she liked them.
After getting out of the car, I grabbed a cart and made my way into the store. It was late at night, and the store was rather empty, which made it easy for me to find the things that I needed even faster. I went up and down every grocery aisle and looked for what I needed. I picked up a variety of things such as cookies, chips, and vanilla ice cream. I grabbed up stuff to make mac and cheese, which was Mimi’s favorite. She said she liked it cheesy with fried chicken and green beans on the side, so I made sure to get that, too. I also grabbed fruit, water, soda, and Gatorade.
When I was sure that I had enough groceries to last us for a while, I made my way to the checkout line. On my way there, I could’ve sworn that I passed that dude Kaylin. I looked twice to make sure that I wasn’t tripping, but when I turned around, the dude was nowhere in sight. I must be trippin’.
It took me a minute to put all the things that I had on the counter, which made me regret not letting Mark tag along for the ride. At least the clerk wasn’t slow with ringing me up. It took us all of ten minutes to bag and put all of the groceries in the basket. My total damn near came to $300, but I wasn’t tripping because money wasn’t a problem for me. I was good in that department. I thanked the clerk and even tried to tip her, but she refused. Instead, she slipped me her number and told me to call her. I took the piece of paper even though I wasn’t going to use it, thanked her again, and I was out the door.
After locating my car, I took on the task of loading the groceries in the trunk. I saw why men rarely bought groceries. That shit was a part-time job. After loading up, I returned the cart to its little area, hopped in the car, and made my way back to the house.
On my way back to the house, my phone started to ring. I already knew it wasn’t nobody but Shelly, because I had done told all my boys that I would be MIA for Mimi’s funeral service tomorrow. Hell, now that she was back, I wondered if she’d be having a service at all. I decided to let Shelly’s call roll straight to voicemail. She wasn’t trying to do anything but work on my nerves. I didn’t know what part of “I don’t want you no more” she didn’t understand. She was going to drive me to putting my hands on her. She always drove me to that point, but I’d always restrained myself from actually doing it. These days she was becoming more and more determined to make me go over the edge.
It wasn’t even a good five minutes, and here she was, sending me a text.
Nigga, I know you see me calling that phone.
I simply deleted the message and set my phone back down on my lap, waiting for her to ring my line with either a message or a call again.
Cam’s over here sick, Jay. You gonna ignore your child, too?
The bitch knew what she was doing. Whenever I didn’t answer her calls or texts, she would always say some shit about Cameron. She knew my son was my weakness and, since I wasn’t there, I didn’t know if he was really sick, so I decided to return her call.
“What’s wrong with my son?” I asked the minute she answered the phone.
“Well, hey to you too, baby daddy. I see that you ignored me, but when I mention Cam, you hurriedly picked up huh?”
“Bitch, what’s wrong with my fucking son?” I yelled at her dumb ass.
“Why are you ignoring me, but yet you run when I say anything about Cameron?” she whined in that needy-ass voice that always seemed to piss me off.
“Bitch, Cameron is my responsibility, not you.”
“Nigga, you must not know that we come as a package deal.”
“Bitch, is you slow? I told ya ass before that I didn’t want you. What part of that statement don’t you understand?” I asked through gritted teeth. I loved Cam dearly, but I made a huge mistake when I decided to fuck with this bitch. I was beginning to think that she had a few screws loose or something.
“And I clearly remember that I said we ain’t over until I say we over. You must think I’m playin’. I don’t know what bitch down in Atlanta done made you trip and bump yo’ head but, nigga, you betta think again. I ain’t goin’ nowhere. I’m here to stay, so tell that bitch I said beat it.”
“Bitch, you trippin’ hard if you think I’m worryin’ ’bout yo’ dumb ass. Like I said before, we done. If the shit don’t have nothin’ to do with Cam, then don’t call me.”
“You really think I’m playin’, huh, Jayden? You think I’m one of them bitches you can just throw away? If so, then you better think again, because that ain’t me. Now you got three days to show your face in Virginia. If you don’t be here within seventy-two hours, I’m comin’ to Atlanta.”
I was about to reply when I heard dead silence. What the fuck? The bitch done hung up on me. Shelly knows better. She can come with that dumb shit if she want to. That’s going to be the day that I whoop her ass from here to yonder. I’ma shut that bitch down. That’s on everything that I love.
Not really giving much more into Shelly’s bullshit, I powered my phone off and threw it on the seat next to me. I then turned up Migos’s “Fight Night” song and relaxed for the rest of the ride. My baby was back, and I was supposed to be happy. I wasn’t about to let Shelly’s ass spoil my mood. Fuck her dumb ass.
When I pulled up to the house, Mark was standing outside smoking a cigarette. Good. Since he’s already outside, he can help me bring these damn bags up.
“It took yo’ ass long enough. I thought yo’ ass got lost or some shit,” he said, walking over to me with the cigarette hanging from his lip.
“Man, I didn’t take that long,” I replied, stepping out of the car.
“Hell, you think so? I started to send a search party after yo’ ass, nigga!”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I walked to the back of the car and popped the trunk. “Come help me get these bags out of the trunk, li’l nigga.”
“I ain’t no li’l nigga, homie,” he said, grabbing two handfuls of grocery bags.
“Man, why do people do that shit like they just can’t come back and get the rest of the bags or some shit?” I asked myself. I always wondered why people would take an assload of groceries that they could barely carry when they could just make several trips.
“Do what?” he asked, looking confused.
“Grab all them damn groceries like it’s so hard to make several trips to the car.”
“Man, you know how us black folks do shit. We’ll damn near try to carry every last one of our bags or die trying before we make a second trip to the car,” he said, laughing.
“Hell, I see that shit.”
We ended up having to make only two trips to the car. When we got back in with the last of the groceries, the girls were already in the kitchen putting things up. I look at Mimi, who in turn looked at me and smiled. Maybe she remembered me.
“We really would like to thank you guys for all of these groceries. I didn’t think y’all would get that much,” Mimi said.
“Ma, there’s really no need for you to be thanking us. That’s the least we could do since you let us stay in your home,” I responded.
“What he said. You let us stay in your home, so there ain’t no need to thank us. Besides, Jayden was the one who went and got all of this,” Mark said.
“Well, thank you, Jayden. I really appreciate it,” she said, walking over to hug me.
“No problem.” I hugged her. The minute our bodies connected, I felt a magnetic force.
“Oh, my,” she said, which let me know she felt it too.
“Um, so what are we going to do about the funeral service tomorrow?” I asked. “I mean, do we go or don’t we?”
“Yes, we’re going to the funeral tomorrow. We’re not quite ready for everyone to know that Mimi is still alive. So, we’re going to act like she’s still dead,” Troy
announced.
“Yeah, like she said, I’m not ready for people to know that I’m still alive. To be honest, I wasn’t going to tell her until after I sorted a few things out.” Her eyes looked sad as she spoke. “It was just in God’s plan for you all to come here tonight.”
“Well, okay. I feel you on that,” I said to her.
“Me too,” Mark said. “But you on ya Tupac shit, ma. Besides him and 50 Cent, you the only one I know who done took a couple of bullets and still lived like a G.”
“Well, thank for the compliment, I think,” she said, laughing. I stood in a trance, just staring at her. I wanted her right now, just as bad as I wanted her before, but I knew that I’d probably have to wait.
“Well, do you girls want something to eat or anything?” Mark asked.
“Um, not right now. Maybe later,” Mimi said, looking at Troy. They were looking at each other like they were trying to give each other a sign or some shit.
“Is there something wrong?” I asked, looking at them.
“Um, no,” Mimi replied, still looking at Troy.
“Nothing is wrong, Jayden. Mimi just wants to know if you guys want to go with us to her house,” Troy explained.
“But, I thought this was her house,” Mark said, waving his hand around.
“Technically yes, this is her house, along with several others, but she wants to go to the house that she previously stayed in with Kaylin,” Troy answered. Shit, I didn’t know my girl was banking like that.
“Uh, sure,” Mark replied, looking confused.
“Well, I’m down too, but what I want to know is why she want to go back over there?” I asked feeling some type of way.
“Because I need to,” she spoke softly. “Even though Troy’s told me everything, I still can’t remember it. I want to be able to remember and maybe going back over there will help me.”
“Are you sure this won’t be a little too much for you?” I was more than a bit concerned.
“No! It won’t be. I need this. This is probably the only way I’m going to remember anything.”
“Well, if that’s what you want, then I’m down,” I said, grabbing the car keys.
“Wait, let me go get my shoes on right fast,” she said, leaving the kitchen.
“Ay, are you sure your girl is up for this?” I asked Troy the minute she was out of earshot.
“Honestly I don’t know. I mean, I tried to talk her out of it, but she insists on going. This is what she wants to do, so I guess we can’t do anything but support her.” She shrugged her shoulders in confirmation.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Mimi called out as she entered the room.
“Well, let’s get going then,” I said, walking toward the front door. I didn’t go to church often, but I did pray some times. This was one of those times I felt I needed to say a silent prayer. I really hoped that this wouldn’t be too much for her.
Chapter 8
Jade
I’d been trying my hardest to find Kaylin, but I kept coming up empty-handed. I’d been to his club and the many apartments he had that he didn’t think I knew about. They were cleaned out and abandoned. Hell, I’d even been by his house, the one he and ol’ girl used to stay in, but by the looks of the high grass, yellow tape, and overflowing mailbox, no one had been there.
The shit was really starting to bother me, because it’d been weeks since my tracker stopped working. I ain’t no closer to finding him, then I was a few weeks ago. I was beginning to think that the nigga had left the fucking country or something. All I knew was wherever he was at, he better not let me catch him doing wrong or else it was going to be some shit.
I sat parked outside of Kaylin’s and Mimi’s old house for the third time. I came to the conclusion that something in there had to give me a hint of where Kaylin was at or where he’d been. I needed to make sure that no one saw me. So I waited until it was late and the streets were quiet before I made a move. I wasn’t trying to get caught and thrown in jail. I needed my freedom to find Kaylin’s lying ass.
When I thought the streets were silent enough, I slowly got out of the car and walked across the street toward the house. I had to be careful, because there was still yellow crime scene tape all over the place. When I got to the door, I found out it was still locked.
“Shit,” I cursed under my breath as I looked for a spare key. I know there had to be one somewhere around here, because rich people always kept one. I searched all over until I located it right underneath the doormat.
“Typical muthafuckers,” I said, removing the key. Carefully removing the crime scene tape, I unlocked the door and went inside, making sure to lock the door behind my back. I didn’t want anyone to walk in and catch me.
The minute I entered the door, I wanted to walk right back out of there. The place looked a mess from where I was standing. There were dried bloodstains, teddy bears and dust all over the place. The smell was horrible. I wasn’t trying to get caught in all of that, so I took my time as I made my way farther in to peep out the rest of the house.
I made my way toward the kitchen and, from the looks of it, you’d swear I’d walked in two totally different houses. The place looked like a restaurant’s kitchen. All of her appliances were up-to-date shit, with marble countertops, with floors that looked like you could eat off them. The living room was just as nice. There was a set of cream sofas, famous paintings, and two big flat-screen TVs. I got a bit jealous, thinking about how Kaylin had her living like this while I was barely making it. Moving along, I decided to just search for what I had come for, because I knew the rest of the house would make me go insane.
When I made it upstairs, it took me a minute to locate the master bedroom. They had like five bedrooms and two bathrooms. Hell, what could they possibly do with all them rooms? I cursed myself for falling for a kept bitch’s man bullshit and having the nerve to actually catch feelings for the nigga. Now I was in here playing Nancy Drew and shit.
After about three minutes of searching, I was finally able to locate the master bedroom. When I walked inside, I became jealous all over again of how the bitch was living. Not one room in the house looked ratchet. It was like she hired a personal decorator to decorate her whole house. The shit was impressive. I carefully looked around, trying to find anything that could help me find Kaylin. I checked all over, from the dressers, to under the mattress, to under the bed, but I couldn’t find anything. So I decided to check his closet. Yeah, they each had they own damn closet.
I pulled all the shoeboxes from their places and snatched all the clothes off the hangers. Still, I didn’t find anything. I then went to look through her closet. When I opened the door, I immediately spotted a safe sitting in the middle of the floor, halfway open. I pulled one of her shirts, grabbed the handle of the safe, and opened it. There wasn’t anything in there but empty envelopes and broken jewelry. I carefully felt around the safe, and that’s when I found a little compartment under a piece of fabric. I moved the fabric, but I didn’t find anything except some damn papers. It was a pleasant surprise when I looked at the papers and noticed that they were deeds to properties in Louisiana, owned by Kaylin.
“I bet my last dollar that his ass is headed to Louisiana, but I got his ass,” I said, taking the papers and putting them into my purse. I then hurriedly left the closet and carefully made my way downstairs. I was almost at the front door when I heard what sounded like the garage door opening. I picked up my pace and raced for the front door. I opened the door and quickly closed it behind me when a heard a voice enter the living room.
“Are you sure you’re up to this?” a female voice said. I recognized it as being that bitch Troy’s voice.
“I think so.” I heard a tiny voice that I didn’t recognize. I guessed that was a child, because the person’s voice was so small.
“Well, come on. Let’s get to it,” Troy responded. “Why don’t you guys give us a minute? Y’all make sure that the place is clear while I show her around. Oh, and catch the mail fro
m outside please.”
The minute I heard that, I broke out running to my car across the street. I wasn’t trying to get caught this time. Troy would’ve killed me. I already had too much shit to do. I ain’t ready to die yet.
It was a good thing that I left the porch when I did, because the minute I sat down in my car someone came to the door. They peeked out the door first, and then they came strolling out to the mailbox. I instantly recognized the dude Troy was with the past few weeks.
I wonder what the fuck they doing over here, I said to myself. I watched as he grabbed the mail, and I glanced down to see where my phone was. When I looked up, he was watching the car. I wasn’t worried about him seeing me, because the windows were heavily tinted. He started walking out into the street, which alarmed me. I grabbed my keys and shoved them in the ignition. If he walked over here, I was going to haul ass but, thank God, his friend came to the door and called him. He looked over at the car one last time and then started walking back toward the house.
The minute he walked inside and closed the door, I breathed a sigh of relief. I thought for damn sure that I was caught. Not wasting another minute, I started my car and got the hell out of there. I had already found what I was looking for. I didn’t care what the hell they was doing. My only concern right now was to find Kaylin’s ass. It looked like I’d be taking me a trip to Louisiana.
Chapter 9
Kaylin
I was almost to the border of Mississippi and Alabama when I turned around. I realized I couldn’t go back to Georgia. There was nothing left for me there. The house, club, and cars were all material things. What I wanted the most was gone, so there was no point in me going.
So instead of me staying in Mississippi like I had planned to, I decided to pack up my kids and head on down to Louisiana. I needed me and my kids to be surrounded by people who truly cared about us, and I could only get that from my mother. So that’s where I was headed. I was heading home, straight to the Big Easy.