Jaylin

by Brenda Hampton

  “It will be a done deal! I don’t know why you think it wouldn’t be. Tell me why, Nokea? Why aren’t you willing to give us a chance?”

  I placed my hand on top of his, trying to calm him down. “There is no need for you to get all worked up over this.”

  He snatched his hand away and shot up from the chair. With anger in his eyes, he paced the floor and then halted his steps to look at me. I sat in disbelief behind his actions. I’d never seen him throw a tantrum—that was what Jaylin often did when he didn’t get his way.

  “Don’t make me give you an ultimatum,” he threatened. “I don’t stay in relationships with women for years, just to play house. If that’s what you want, you need to find yourself another man.”

  No words could express my frustrations. These demands were killing me. “Listen, okay? I will give what you said some serious thought, but you just don’t know about these things, Travis. Please respect my take on this and understand why I feel as if marriage should be on hold right now. If the shoe was on the other foot, you would understand how I feel.”

  “I doubt it, because the love we have for each other supersedes everything, including your past. Get over it, Nokea, and stop feeding me crap about you almost being married three times.”

  “You view it as crap, I see it as my reality. I said I would think about it, so drop it.”

  With an attitude, I walked past Travis to head to my room. I thought we were done, until he reached for my arm, spinning me around so I could face him.

  “Why do I get a deep down feeling that this has something to do with Jaylin? You’ve been talking to him, haven’t you? You also told him about the baby, didn’t you?”

  His fingers were pressed hard on my arm. I peeled them off and stepped back. “Why do I have a feeling that this is more about the alcohol you’ve been drinking, than it is about Jaylin? You can’t yell at me and expect for me to respond. If I do respond, I assure you that you won’t like what I have to say.”

  He threw his hands up in the air. “Yep, you told him. And just so you know, trying to put me on the defense doesn’t work. Neither does talking about my drinking habits.”

  I shrugged. “Well, something is going on because you’re not your usual self. You keep bringing up Jaylin, and he is the least of my worries. This is about my future with you. I told him about the baby, but he didn’t—”

  Travis immediately cut me off. He stormed over to the chair, snatching his shirt from it. “That’s what I figured. I knew he would try to talk you out of this. How could you tell him about the baby, before telling me? Did you tell him because it’s his baby, instead of mine?”

  At this point, I’d heard enough. I marched to the front door, opening it.

  “Come back when you’re sober and thoughts of Jaylin aren’t occupying your mind. I’m ready to celebrate our baby whenever you are. As for getting married, don’t count on it anytime soon.”

  Travis slipped into his shirt, mean mugging me as he approached the door. He stopped right in front of me. “I’m going to allow you some time to change your mind. Hopefully, you’ll come to your senses and decide to be with a man who really and truly loves you. If you don’t, Nokea, it will be your loss, not mine.”

  He gave me a hard kiss on the cheek, before leaving. I wiped it off and slammed the door behind him. I was pissed. No man, none whatsoever, was going to dictate my life and make any decisions for me. Not now, not ever and not anymore.

  JAYLIN

  Shane and I had just left an old warehouse in Miami that we were going to purchase and convert into office spaces and loft apartments. The warehouse had much potential. When I saw it for myself, it was a go. Shane agreed, and as we got in my car, he made a phone call to see if we could quickly finalize the deal. The purchase cost was only 3.7 million. We could end up making a fortune in the long run.

  While Shane was on the phone with the buyers, I looked out the window and saw a silver Mercedes speeding toward us at a distance. As the car got closer, I noticed Mario was inside. Within a few seconds, he positioned his car next to mine. Shane looked at me, removing the phone from his ear.

  “What does he want? You good?”

  “Always.”

  Mario stepped out of his car, I got out of mine. There was no smile on his face, I wasn’t smiling either.

  “What’s up, man?” he asked and lit a cigarette. He took a puff then leaned against his car.

  “You tell me. I take it that you’re interested in buying this property, since you’re all the way out here by yourself.”

  “No, no, nothing like that. I’m not into the property business. It’s too petty for me.”

  We were about to get off on the wrong foot. I could feel that Scorpio’s request wouldn’t get honored today.

  “Petty, but legal. I’m all about doing shit that’s legal, but I don’t have a beef with those who don’t.”

  Mario chuckled and raked his fingers through his hair. He took another long drag from the cigarette, before whistling smoke into the air.

  “No beefs, Jaylin, no beefs at all. I just kind of thought we were cool, man. Real cool, but I’m starting to have a change of heart. Something hasn’t been right, and my lovely wife hasn’t been completely truthful with me about certain things.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “If you feel as if she hasn’t been truthful with you, then why are you out here having this conversation with me? It may be wise for you to go home, have some wine, fix her a plate of pasta and chat.”

  “We did all of that last night, but I still got some fucked up feelings inside. Feelings about the day of her bachelorette party, where a little birdie told me she freaking spent the night with you. Scorpio says a simple conversation took place, but what do you say?”

  I didn’t like the questions and answers bullshit, so it was time to wrap this up. “I say I’m not your wife, Scorpio is. Whatever she says happened, then that’s what happened. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get back to some important legal business.”

  I tried to keep my cool, but when Mario held the door to my car so I wouldn’t open it, shit was about to turn ugly. Shane got out on the passenger’s side; we both delivered a look of death to Mario who needed to think twice before he did anything stupid.

  “No need for bodyguards,” he chuckled then flicked the cigarette on the ground. “And you can leave your cousin pooky and them on the sidelines for now. All I want is the truth. The T.R.U.T.H., truth!” He slammed his hand against my car, and had the audacity to move closer. So did I, and as we stood within inches of each other, Shane rushed over to my side. He stood beside me and Mario, trying to keep the peace.

  “Pooky and them will kick ass if need be,” he said to Mario. “But there is no need for us, as grown men, to settle our differences like this.”

  Shane was always trying to be the peacemaker. Me, on the other hand, I didn’t give a fuck. Mario had no business confronting me with this bullshit; therefore, he’d get an earful.

  “Instead of knocking you on your ass for interrupting my business dealings, here’s the truth, as I know it. If or whenever I want to fuck your wife, I can. If I want her to leave you, she will. If I had an urge to satisfy my dick on your wedding day, I did. And if she begs for sex with me again, I may possibly deliver and give her the five explosive orgasms she so desperately needed. How I proceed with this depends on how you treat me. So think hard about how we end this conversation. The ball is now in your court, but my balls may return to her mouth.”

  Mario raised his fist, attempting to throw a punch at me. Shane caught it midair and shoved him back. He staggered, trying to keep his balance.

  “Sorry, but it ain’t going down like that,” Shane said calmly. “You need to check out of here, immediately.”

  I stood with a smirk on my face, waiting for Mario to make another move. All he did was spit something from his mouth and continue to talk shit with his hands in the air, as if one of us had a gun. A crooked smile was on his face.

&n
bsp; “You win, Jay-lynnn. Today you win, but going forward, you grimy cocksucker, I do.”

  Words with no action didn’t mean shit to me. I left Mario’s pathetic ass standing there, looking like a fool. Shane and I got in the car, and as I backed up, Mario continued to stand with his hands in the air. He then lowered them and started shadow boxing.

  “La vita è bella, my friend. No matter what, my life is good. You’d better hope yours is, too.”

  I drove away thinking about how Scorpio needed to intervene and get his punk ass in check soon. I wasn’t about to trip with him over no pussy, and yet again, I was in the middle of her and Nokea’s mess.

  Shane said the same thing. “I don’t get why they always coming to you. You need to tell them to stop running to you, man. I saw Scorpio at your crib the other night. I was on my way out, she was going in. I guess Mario ain’t having it. And to be truthful, Jay, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to start fucking with her again. You really need to let that shit go.”

  Just that fast, Shane’s words had gotten underneath my skin.

  “Before you put your foot in your mouth, Scorpio and I shared one night together. That was it. When she came by the other night, it was in regards to this shit with Mario. I did not touch her, but you know what, Shane? If I choose to have sex with her again, I will. But I don’t want to, and I’m happy as fuck that she is with his ass. So don’t talk that nonsense to me right now about what I need to let go. Talk to me about what else we need to do to finalize this deal. That’s what’s important. All this other bullshit don’t matter.”

  To no surprise, he wouldn’t let it go. “It doesn’t matter, but you need to pull back on your tone when speaking to me. I’m not Mario, and I really do not have a beef with you. All I did was make a suggestion, based on what I thought. Nothing more, nothing less.”

  I fired back. “Your assumption was incorrect. And when you want to offer me advice, you need to be working with the facts.”

  “The facts can be muddled sometimes, and your tone is still up there. Bring it down or else.”

  This fool was tripping. I had to pull my car over so I could figure out where he was going with this.

  “Or else what?” I shouted, feeling irritated.

  “Or else I’m gon’ kick yo ass, Jay, like Mario would have done back there, had I not intervened. In case you forgot, he was a professional boxer.”

  “Who gives a damn? Mario couldn’t kick a fly’s ass, and you need to reflect back to years ago when I had to get you straight over Felicia.”

  “Get me straight? No, I got you straight and let you have that bitch. She became your problem, not mine. As is Scorpio, who I had to toss back to you, too.”

  “You must be smoking something, right? You cried your heart out when Scorpio left you—that’s why you’re in your little feelings over there, talking about fighting me. But no worries. You’re good and so is she. I won’t ever touch her again, so you and Mario can relax. Besides, the pussy was just okay that day anyway.”

  Shane laughed. “What? Just okay? Are you telling me Scorpio wasn’t up to par? That she didn’t whip that snapdragon on you and make you lose your mind like you used to?”

  “No, she made you lose your mind, not me. Again, your facts are twisted.”

  “If you say they are, cool. But we both know the truth and we have to face reality. The reality is, that muthafuckin’ pussy had us both doing some fucked up shit. I don’t know what she got between her legs, but whatever she got is like magic. It messed us up pretty bad.”

  I had to laugh. I also shook my head, briefly thinking about the past. “That was then, this is now. Now, things aren’t what they used to be, but if she had more practice, I’m sure she’ll be able to revive herself in no time.”

  “Sorry to hear that—what a shame? Mario seems satisfied, though, and you have to be careful because a pussy like that can make a man want to kill somebody. That’s the only reason I suggested that you back off. You don’t need the hassle, and Scorpio needs to find a way to get control of this.”

  I agreed, and all this talk about Scorpio was put on the back burner when we got to my house and found out the buyers for the warehouse accepted our offer for 2.9 million instead. We lifted our glasses of alcohol, tossing out a toast.

  “Here’s to the next five years,” Shane said. “May our pockets keep getting fatter.”

  “I damn sure will drink to that.”

  Later that day, I was in my office when I got a call from Nokea. My spirits were up, until she started talking what I didn’t want to hear.

  “I hate when we argue with each other,” she said. “But you have to understand that this isn’t about you, Jaylin. I just . . . just need someone to talk to about this. I told Travis about the baby. Now, he wants to get married. I’m not there yet, and giving me your honest opinion, do you think it’s too soon?”

  I answered by hanging up on her. We were close, but how dare Nokea think she could keep coming to me with bullshit like that? She had to work that craziness out on her own, because any advice that I gave would be beneficial to me, not her. She called back, but I didn’t answer. A few minutes later, I received a text message from her: WHAT A SHAME THAT AFTER ALL WE’VE BEEN THROUGH, U WON’T EVEN TALK TO ME. EVERYTIME U WAS GOING THROUGH SOMETHING, I WAS THERE FOR U. MY HAVE THINGS CHANGED. I’M LEAVING FOR A FEW DAYS. CALL U WHEN I RETURN. MAYBE YOU’LL BE READY TO TALK.

  I didn’t see anything shameful about it, so I deleted her text and didn’t bother to respond. I was too much in a good mood, so I went to the golf course with LJ. We returned home around seven, and by then, Nanny B had already cooked. We all sat down to eat a late dinner.

  “Jaylin, I need you to do me a favor,” Nanny B said while chewing her food. “Jaylene needs her backpack for school tomorrow. I told Nokea I would stop by earlier to get it, but it’s getting late and I don’t like driving at night. Will you go over to her place and get it? She’s out of town on business for a few days, so I’ll give you the key to get in.”

  “My backpack is in the closet in my room,” Jaylene said. “I can go with you, Daddy.”

  “No, I’ll go get it. After you eat, you need to take a shower and go get ready for bed.”

  Jaylene nodded and continued to eat. Justin, however, eased down from the chair and walked to the refrigerator. He opened it and started moving things around.

  “He’s looking for another soda,” Jaylene said. “Do we have any?”

  “No, not one,” I confirmed.

  Just then, Justin pulled out a soda and stretched his hand toward Nanny B, speaking softly. “Nanna, will you open this for me?”

  She looked at me; my eyes were already fixed on her. “What is it that y’all don’t understand?” I asked. “He does not need to be drinking no damn soda. There’s too much sugar in that shit, so why do you and Loretta insist on giving it to him?”

  Nanny B cut her eyes at me. “Jaylin, please. It’s just a soda. It ain’t like its gon’ kill him.”

  “It may not, but it damn sure can cause a lot of damage in the long run. I said no more sodas and I mean it. Stop giving it to him. This is my last time saying it.”

  I got up and removed the soda can from Justin’s hand. After I tossed it in the trashcan, he threw a fit. I tried to pick him up, but he wasn’t having it. Tears poured from his eyes, he could barely catch his breath.

  “Look what you than done to that poor child,” Nanny B said, reaching out for him.

  He rushed into her arms, squeezing her neck while his head was resting on her shoulder. His gray eyes that were identical to the color of mine were narrowed, and as snot dripped from his nose, his sniffles continued.

  “Daddy, you’re mean,” Mackenzie said. “Meanie, meanie, meanie. All he wants is just one soda.”

  “Yeah, Dad,” LJ added. “Like Nanna said, it won’t kill him.”

  Jaylene was the only one who hadn’t said anything. And just when I thought she’d had my back, she didn’t.
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  “Why throw it away? That’s wasting drinks, and you’re always talking about wasting food and drinks.”

  “Well, we’re going to waste plenty of food and drinks tonight,” I said. “Get up from the table and let’s all go to sleep. Anybody don’t like it, call DFS on me.”

  “What’s DFS?” LJ asked.

  “Division of Family Services,” Mackenzie said. “Somebody called them on my Aunt Leslie before, because she spanked her kids.”

  Jaylene scratched her head. “Should I call them, too? Mommy spanked my hand and it really hurt.”

  “Thanks for letting me know,” I said. “I’ll be sure to spank her when I see her. Now, off to bed.”

  They fussed and whined as they marched out of the kitchen, still referring to me as a mean dad. Nanny B tagged along, with Justin still crying as if I had beaten him with a damn bat. All I could do was shake my head, but it wasn’t long before I started feeling bad about my actions. Maybe one little soda wasn’t going to hurt. I opened the fridge to look for another one. I knew Nanny B had been hiding them somewhere, and sure enough, when I moved a few things out of the way, there was another can of orange soda. I opened the can, pouring half of it into a cup. I guess compromise wasn’t a bad thing after all.

  Justin was in Nanny B’s bedroom with her. As she sat in a comfortable suede chair, he was snuggled against her chest. I stood next to them with the cup in my hand. Justin looked at me, but didn’t move. I reached out my arms to him, but he turned his head, tightening his grip around Nanny B’s neck.

  “Gone with that soda,” she said, shooing my hand away. “You done hurt our feelings, so forget it now.”

  I put the cup down then grabbed Justin from Nanny B’s chest. As I lifted him in the air, he started to laugh. I dropped him on the bed, tickling him all over. He giggled loudly, and this time when I reached out to hold him, he came right into my arms. I grabbed some tissue to wipe his wet face.

  “Listen, I don’t know why you like so much soda, but water, milk and some juices are much better. Soda has too much sugar. If you keep drinking it, the sugar is going to fill your whole body and turn you into a sugar monster. You don’t want to be a sugar monster, do you?”