by Mercy B
“Alright then. Get your shit, and let’s go. We’re on schedule this morning.”
“Tell me. What are our plans for the day?”
Hampsher knew that she probably wouldn’t get anywhere questioning Rafeeq, but she decided to push it anyway. He was adamant about completing the tasks on the list that he’d created but wouldn’t allow her access to. According to him, he had made preparations for the remainder of their week to be enjoyable. From the looks of it, though, he was having more fun than Hampsher. It was obvious that he didn’t move around much or take any time from his strenuous schedule to enjoy the fruits of his labor. He was all business and barely any pleasure besides tearing down the insides of women every now and again.
“Bring your ass on. You’ll find out as the day unfolds.”
Shrugging, Hampsher accepted her loss and rose from the couch to follow Rafeeq to the elevator. The two waited side by side as the numbers appeared above the elevator to warn them when their stop was up. Thankfully, the elevator only led to Rafeeq’s home, which meant that it only took a split second to grant their request.
There was complete silence as they both stepped into the rectangular space. Hampsher, taking note of any and every aspect of life, began dissecting, immediately. Her antennas stood high in the sky as she watched Rafeeq lean forward and tap the button that wasn’t labeled as the others were. The circle was blank.
“Aren’t we going down?” She couldn’t hold her tongue.
That seemed to happen often as of lately. In the last few weeks, she’s used more of her vocabulary than in the last few years of her life. Human interaction wasn’t common for her. It was all new territory, especially constant interaction with the same human.
“It’s only up from here, baby girl.” With his hands tucked into his pockets, Rafeeq’s lips curved into a sinister grin.
Hampsher’s nerves splintered, and her cheeks reddened beyond her preference. As she took a quick second to admire the crevices of Rafeeq’s frame, she came to the realization that whatever she felt for him wasn’t considered normal, or maybe she didn’t understand the logic of partnership. In a brief moment’s time, she’d developed a sickening obsession that she’d been burying so well.
From the tip of his head to the arch of his foot, Hampsher had deemed Rafeeq Jones hers. Even if time had gotten in between them, and he’d given up the chase after she continuously ran, she knew that they’d both captured something within each other that was not refundable. Maybe it was ties to the soul or strings of the heart. Whatever the case or reason, there was a magnetic force between them that couldn’t be interfered with, not with time, distance, lack of commitment, or even consequences.
“How is your mother?”
“My mother?” Rafeeq asked. He hadn’t mentioned why he’d ended their date the previous night, only that he would make it up to her once he’d climbed in bed that morning.
“You mentioned her in your sleep.” Hampsher pulled a different hat from her bag of tricks, becoming a liar, immediately.
Chuckling, Rafeeq shook his head. “She was in an accident last night, but she’s fine. My father insisted that she be seen by a professional because he wasn’t taking her word for it. Nothing serious. A scratch here and there.”
“Good. I’m glad she’s well.”
There was that obsession she had, rearing its ugly head. As malicious and heartless as Hampsher may have been classified, she had a soft spot—mothers. A mother was someone she didn’t have the luxury of spending life with and wanted every one of them among the living to be treated as royalty and be appreciated by the masses. She knew all too well the feeling of having one snatched away. Not even her enemies could force her to wish that pain on them.
“Let’s go.”
“Why are—”
Hampsher’s words were cut short as the elevator doors opened to the top of the building and strong winds began howling. There was so much ruckus that she couldn’t even hear herself think. There was no need to question anyhow. It was obvious why they had been let out on the rooftop. The helicopter pad was occupied and being put to good use. The chopper that sat before them was gorgeous.
“Rafeeq?” Hampsher spoke anyway, knowing he couldn’t hear her.
With that damn grin that made her melt one hundred times over, Rafeeq grabbed Hampsher’s hand and pulled her into his chest where her head rested as she wondered how she would tell him that she wouldn’t be joining him. Even the thought of the air at the moment was causing her insides to churn. She could feel the sickness from in-flight destroying whatever plans he’d had for them. There would be disappointment, but there would also be understanding. Hampsher was sure of it.
“I can’t,” she yelled above the winds coming from the blades of the chopper.
“What?” Rafeeq lifted her head and stared down at her.
“I can’t get on there with you.”
“Hampsher, I need you to do me a favor and put some trust in a nigga. You’re in good hands.”
Trust had always been an issue for Hampsher, but not this time. It wasn’t Rafeeq that had anything to do with her sudden displeasure. It was beyond him and his doubts of her trusting in his ability to care for her.
“It’s not that. I just… I don’t feel too well. Where are you taking me? Can we just take the car?”
“I made plans for us to visit the Statue of Liberty. The place is completely reserved for the two of us, today. Are you sure that you can’t?”
“I’m sure, Rafeeq. I need a bathroom immediately.”
“Aight. Let’s go back downstairs. I’ll handle this in a second.”
Rafeeq guided Hampsher toward the elevator where they’d stepped from. Inside, they both remained quiet. She could sense the disappointment he harbored and wanted to melt it all away. Truthfully, she simply didn’t feel good and getting more rest paired with lying beside him all day seemed more enticing than the helicopter ride.
“I know I screwed this up for you, but I really don’t feel good. I think I’m coming down with a stomach bug or something. I haven’t felt like myself all week long.”
“It's all good, Hampsher. Your health is more important. I can have the family doctor come check you out immediately. In the meantime, what can I get you?” Rafeeq spoke as they entered his place.
“Nothing. I’ll be out in a minute. Maybe you can get undressed, and get in bed with me for a bit. I’d like that.”
“Aight.”
Hampsher trailed off to the bathroom where she emptied her bladder before flushing and then falling to her knees. She felt as if she would need to empty the contents of her stomach at any second. The fatigue that she felt was making her miserable to the point that she just wanted to lay on the cold floor, but she held herself up.
The sound of the elevator startled Rafeeq. Straightening his posture, he removed his gun from his waist and aimed for the doors, awaiting the person behind them. He hadn’t invited any guests and neither had he been warned by the desk downstairs that anyone was on their way up. Whoever was behind those doors was an uninvited guest, and he’d allow his gun to inform them.
“Are you really going to shoot your sister?”
“Damn near did. I told you about that, Reign. I’m not one for surprises.”
“And that’s why I just can’t stop surprising you.” Stepping from the elevator, Reign walked into the arms of Rafeeq and allowed him to spin her around without complaining.
“What brings you by?”
“Your bathroom. I need to take a leak. Mom and Dad have the kids and I snuck away to get to the hospital to see Rowe. She went into preterm labor and has been scared out of her mind.”
“How is she?” Rafeeq’s brain shifted as he began to worry about the fate of his first cousin’s unborn child. R, whose father was married to his mother’s sister and happened to be his father’s brother without biological ties, was expecting a child with Reign’s best friend, Rowe.
“She’ll be fi—”Reign’s sentence wa
s cut short at the sight before her.
Hampsher was bent over the toilet, puking her guts out. The poor thing looked like she’d pass out at any minute. Rafeeq squeezed his lids together after realizing he’d neglected to tell his sister to use the other bathroom.
“Oh, honey. Are you okay? Rafeeq!”
“I know, Reign.” Rafeeq rushed toward the bathroom. “Reign, this is Hampsher. Hampsher, this is Reign. Are you OK?” He noticed the paleness to her skin. Just a few minutes ago, she seemed fine, but he knew otherwise by looking at her with her head lying against the bowl of the toilet.
“No. She’s not okay, but I know these symptoms from anywhere. Rafeeq, go get her some crackers and ginger ale. Nice to meet you, Hampsher. You will be just fine. Give me one second. I need to run downstairs, and I will be right back.”
Ten minutes later, Reign returned with Hampsher still in the same spot. This time Rafeeq was rubbing her back and dabbing her forehead with a damp towel. The sight was so precious and reminded her of the gentleness Kierce displayed with her.
“Rafeeq, I think that I can take it from here. Can you give us a minute of privacy?”
“For what? And you ran to Walgreens?”
“I mean… it is right downstairs, Heavy.”
“What you get? She said she doesn’t want anything.”
“It’s not about what she wants right now, and to answer your question, I got her a piss stick.”
“A what?”
“One of the things women use to find out if they have a foreign object in their body that is making them miserable like Hampsher is now.” Reign removed the pregnancy test and began ripping it from the box. “Now, can you give us a second?”
“You think she’s? Reign, I doubt if…”
“Have you been using protection, Rafeeq?”
“Not really.”
“Is she on birth control?” They were talking as if Hampsher wasn’t in the bathroom with them.
“Shit, I don’t know. I told her to get on that shit.”
“Move. Give us a second, and congratulations in advance. Hampsher, baby, you’ve got to get up and give this test a try.”
Reign shut Rafeeq out of the bathroom as she prepared the test for Hampsher.
“I can’t.”
“Yes you can. I’m going to help you up. Come on.”
Reign helped Hampsher up from the floor and onto to toilet after they’d gotten her pants down. Once she was situated, Reign handed her to stick. An awkward silence combed the air as Reign stood waiting for Hampsher to utilize the test.
“Are you going to leave so that I can pee?”
“Actually, I’m not. Ain’t nothing that you have that I haven’t seen. Pee on the end furthest from the display window.”
As Reign gave her instructions, Hampsher’s bladder offered just enough urine to fill the small white section of the stick. She held it out for Reign once she was done and watched her place the blue cap on it before sitting it on the counter. Finally, Reign turned to leave as she began cleaning herself.
“I’m going to let you all have this moment, but congratulations,” she said over her shoulder, “Rafeeq, she’s all yours. I’ll use the other bathroom and then get out of your hair. Feed her crackers and ginger ale. It’s possibly the only thing she can consume right now. There are many days like this to come, but they’ll soon be over. And be patient with her. The poor girl looks lost!” Reign coached her brother as she made her way to his bedroom.
Rafeeq immediately rushed into the bathroom where Hampsher was flushing the toilet. He noticed the pregnancy test on the counter but wanted to make sure that everything was good with her before checking it. She looked like she could use a nap.
“Are you OK?”
“I’ll be fine, Rafeeq,” Hampsher retorted with the hint of an attitude.
“Will you? No matter what this test reads? You’ll be fine?
“Yes, Rafeeq. I’m an adult. I know that I’ve been careless. This is what happens when you’re not thinking.”
“Well, someone sounds disappointed.”
“I am. Being with someone and accepting them into your life is one thing. Getting pregnant by someone you barely even know is another. Let’s not pretend this is an ideal situation.”
“It’s not, but it’s our situation. One that we’re not going to pout about like fucking five year olds and handle like responsible adults. Right now really ain’t the time for your shit. We possibly ’bout to be parents. You can save that shit for another day. This is my moment. No matter how unplanned or unexpected, it is what it is.”
Rafeeq didn’t hesitate any longer to pick up the pregnancy test. And sure enough, it confirmed Reign’s suspicions. Hampsher was expecting his child. The amount of joy that filled his frame was unspeakable. He marveled over the word displayed in the window before taking a peek at Hampsher who had managed a smile of her own.
“Ya ass is pregnant, H.”
“I see,” she replied, referring to the happiness radiating from his body.
Neither Hampsher nor Rafeeq’s plans went astray. With Rafeeq having a few meetings to attend and Hampsher needing rest, he decided to drive her back to New York after she awakened from the much needed nap she’d taken shortly after they’d discovered her pregnancy. There was a comfortable silence among the two of them during their time together. As Rafeeq dropped her off to her apartment, he made a promise to return the following evening and spend the next few days in the city with her. Hampsher agreed and promised to be waiting. Their departure was both emotionally charged and filled with uncertainty. However, neither spoke a single word about their obvious feelings. Instead, they basked in the moment and said their goodbyes.
A week after Rafeeq had dropped Hampsher off at home, there still had been no word from her. The cell phone that he’d given her had been going directly to voicemail, which made tracking it impossible. Although he didn’t want to worry, everything in his body told him that he should.
“Boss man, are you ready for business?” Rafeeq took a second from his phone to give his new muscle a nod.
Since Crimson’s death, his father had placed another good soldier in the line of fire for him. His name was Bruce, and he had been a hired gun much like Crimson, but the two were polar opposites. While Crimson was hard-faced and commotion seeking, Bruce was disguised as a regular nigga, and he was everything but.
“Yeah.”
“Alright. I’m sending the first in.”
Transaction after transaction, Rafeeq handled the cases that would soon transform into money lost or gained. Either way, he would come out of the shuffle a winner. That was simply the way his operation was set up. It would be a success, no matter the odds stacked against him or in his favor. A genius businessman, it had been seven years since he’d lost a dime, and that was back when he first started out in college. In fact, it was when he promised to never lose again, and he hadn’t.
The blaring of his cell phone pulled him from his thoughts as he counted the tickets that were to be processed for the night. A twinge of hope glowed through the darkness of his office with thoughts of Hampsher finally returning his call. Rafeeq grabbed his phone without hesitation and mashed the button set to connect him with his caller.
“Yeah?”
“Well, that is no way to greet your grandfather when he calls. I’m going to try this shit again.”
Though his insides were fuming and heart had grown heavy, Rafeeq couldn’t conceal the chuckle that fell from his lips after realizing his grandfather had hung up the phone in his face only to call back.
“Mason.”
Mason was his grandfather’s name, which he preferred to be called over anything else. If Rafeeq wound up slipping and calling him anything but, then the phone would go dead on him again. Even up in age, he was a firm old man. It wasn’t complicated to pinpoint where his own father had gotten his ways.
“Aye, uh. You talked to your grandmother?”
“Not in a few weeks. Is everyth
ing OK?” Leaning forward, Rafeeq straightened his posture and listened closer as if his grandmother was standing before him.
“Yes. Everything is fine. I was just wondering. She’s been talking about you for the last week. Said you’ve been on her mind. When you get some time, make your way on over here to see her.”
“Noted. Tell her I will see her in a few days.”
“I sure will, and tell that knotty headed ass daddy of yours that he’d better pay up before I come bust his shit like ya boys do them fools who don’t want to pay up over there.”
“Aight.”
The call ended a mere second later with Rafeeq still knee deep in thought. His frustration was evident from the way he handled himself through the day and possibly how his night would end. If Hampsher’s pregnancy wasn’t a factor in her disappearance, then Rafeeq would let her ass go. He was completely fed up with her inconsistency and indecisiveness.
It was shameful how often women placed the blame on men for flawed relationships and the lack of communication. Some even went as far as preaching about how men weren’t up for the chase anymore. From Rafeeq’s standpoint, that was all he’d been doing since he met the damn girl—chasing her, attempting to communicate, and build something other than what she was accustomed to—nothingness.
Deciding that he was done for the night, he prepared himself for departure. Instead of going home to his empty bed, Rafeeq headed toward the bar. Per usual, it was a madhouse once he stepped from confinement and into the public’s view. Everyone in his path went to great lengths to consume his attention, but no one was successful. Fraternizing was something that he was neither interested in or had time for.
“Two shots of Henny, Andrea.” Tapping the bar, Rafeeq requested his drinks from the bartender as he took his seat.
“Two shots coming right up.” As sweet as she wanted to be, the bartender cooed before twirling and reaching for the Hennessey.
Rafeeq had every opportunity in the world to bag the baddie that he’d hired as the head bartender, but he’d always been on his best behavior around her. In his line of work, he was aware that it wasn’t smart to mix business with pleasure. Before Hampsher had stumbled into his life, there hadn’t been the constant presence of a woman, and he knew how fucked up that would make Andrea feel, especially with them working together nearly every day.