“You act like I wanted to get locked up. That shit wasn’t my fault,” Moonie yelled and started crying.
“Nothing is ever your fault Moonie. Do you know how embarrassing it is for my daughter to tell me that her friends’ parents don’t even want them around her anymore? You were supposed to be responsible for those people’s children, but your ass was too busy fighting and going to jail to care. I can’t even blame them for how they feel. Your own children had to witness you getting cuffed and being carried off to jail like a fucking savage,” Mitch yelled angrily.
“I didn’t start any of that. I didn’t want none of that shit to happen, but I can’t take it back,” Moonie cried.
“So answer this for me, who threw the first punch?” Mitch asked.
When Moonie didn’t answer he knew what it was. The kids had already ran it down to him, but he wanted to hear what she had to say about it.
“That’s what I thought. You always want people to feel sorry for you, but you create most of the problems that you have. A real lady knows how to walk away, but I guess you haven’t figured that part out yet. You can continue to have your pity party, but you’ll be doing it by yourself. We’ll see you when we get back tomorrow,” Mitch said right before he hung up the phone.
Moonie threw the phone on the bed and curled up in a fetal position and cried until she was all out of tears. After texting back and forth with Mia about what happened, Moonie watched TV for a little while. She didn’t remember falling asleep, but when she woke up the time on her cable box let her know that she’d slept through the entire night. She wasn’t surprised seeing as how she didn’t get any sleep the night before. The hot, urine smelling jail cell that they were in was no place to get comfortable.
“Hello,” Moonie groggily answered the phone when she saw Mia calling.
“Come open the door. You have the deadbolt on and I can’t use my key,” Mia said.
“Okay,” Moonie replied while getting out of the bed.
When she unlocked the door, she was pleasantly surprised to see Mia and Jabari walk in carrying bags of food from The Waffle House. They went straight into the kitchen and took the plates out of the bags. Moonie excused herself to complete her morning hygiene before she joined her kids at the kitchen table for breakfast.
“Where are the kids?” Jabari asked.
“They went to the water park with Mitch. They’ll be back sometime today,” Moonie replied.
“He left you, huh?” Jabari asked with a smirk.
“Yep, but his ass better not say shit to me when he gets back,” Moonie frowned.
“Here go your keys. Your truck is parked in the driveway,” Jabari said handing Moonie her keys.
“Damn Mia,” Moonie yelled. “You acting like you ain’t ate in years.”
“I stay hungry, but it don’t feel like I can ever get full,” Mia said with a mouth full of pancakes.
“I see that,” Moonie laughed.
“I need to run something by you right quick Moonie,” Jabari interrupted.
“Oh Lord, I can’t take no more drama Jabari. I’ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime.”
“It’s not drama. It’s good news,” he replied.
“Now that I can use. So, what’s up?” Moonie asked.
“Me and Tiara are getting married next week. It’s about that time for us to make this thing official,” Jabari replied.
“Aww Jabari, I’m so happy for you. But hold up. What do you mean y’all are getting married next week? Y’all have been planning a wedding without me?” Moonie asked.
“No, honestly we were just going to go to the courthouse. Tiara’s mama begged us to let her pastor do it, so we agreed. We’re going to church with her next Sunday and we’re doing it right after service. I want everybody to come if y’all can,” Jabari answered.
“Of course we’re coming. Are y’all going on a honeymoon or something?” Moonie asked.
“Yeah, but not until next month. I couldn’t get off from work before then. We’ll just probably go out to dinner afterward.”
“I can’t believe that both of my babies are getting married before me,” Moonie fake pouted as she stood up and hugged her son.
“Your day is coming as soon as you stop pissing Mitch off,” Jabari laughed.
“If that’s the case then I’m never getting married,” Moonie waved him off.
She enjoyed her children’s company for a few hours while she prepared her Sunday dinner. Mitch sent a text telling her that they would be home soon and she was happy that she’d got her cooking and laundry out of the way. When Mia and Jabari left, Moonie ironed her kids’ uniforms for school the following day before sitting down in the living room to watch TV. Being at home all day was never her thing and being home alone was even worse. She was so happy when she heard Mitch and the kids at the front door. It took everything in her not to jump up and open the door, but she played it cool. When they walked in the kids were so excited to tell her about all of the fun that they’d had at the park. As mad as she was with Mitch for leaving her she was happy that her babies still had a good time in her absence.
“Do y’all want something to eat?” Moonie asked them.
“No, we ate pizza already,” Tootie replied.
“Okay, well y’all can put y’all stuff away and start taking your showers,” Moonie replied.
She and Mitch just looked at each other, but none of them said anything. Since everyone had eaten already, Moonie put the food up into containers for the next day and cleaned up the kitchen. She sat back down and watched TV for about an hour before going to check on her kids again. It was only a little after eight o’clock, but all of them were in their beds fast asleep. Moonie figured that they were probably worn out from a weekend full of fun and she was right. After turning off the TV in the living room Moonie took a shower and got into the bed where Mitch was already lounging. They were both silent for a while until he decided to speak up.
“Do you have to pay a fine or go back to court or anything?” Mitch asked her.
“Do you even care? Obviously you don’t since you were out having fun without me,” Moonie snapped.
“You can miss me with your attitude. I’m not the one that fought in a public place and went to jail.”
“So I guess this is something else that I’ll be punished for.”
“With four kids in the house already I’ll be damned if I pacify a grown ass woman. You always want somebody to feel sorry for you when you create these situations that you find yourself in. Sometimes I feel like I’m talking to a child because you don’t listen to nothing that I say. I don’t understand why you want to be married so badly. You’re having a hard time being my girl, so I know you’re not ready to be my wife.”
“I don’t even care anymore. I’m slowly giving up on that idea anyway since it’s probably never going to happen,” Moonie flippantly replied.
“Why should it happen when you can’t even do right? I’ve been telling you for months that we need to take the necessary steps for us to become homeowners. You’re home all day, but you never even tried to pick up the phone to look into it. I’m making money that most people can only dream of and we’re still living in the projects,” Mitch yelled.
“Oh, so now we’re getting to the real problem. You’re too good to live in the projects now?”
“You’re missing my whole point Moonie. I don’t have a problem with us living in the projects if this was all that we could afford. I make enough money to get us a nice house in a nice area to raise our family. You want to be a wife so bad, but you have the mentality of a side bitch. You need to step your game up or we need to go our separate ways. I love you with all my heart, but I’m tired of going through the same motions. Either we do this shit right or we don’t do it at all.”
“Mitch I’m sorry, but you know that all of this is new to me. I’ve never had somebody to make me responsible for my actions. I want to do better, and I’m trying. It’s a lot that I have to le
arn, but I’m willing to do that for you and my kids.”
“Don’t just do it for us Moonie. Do it for yourself too,” Mitch replied.
“Okay, I will,” Moonie promised.
“I’m serious Moonie, no more excuses,” Mitch said looking directly at her.
“I promise baby, no more excuses,” Moonie swore as she received the kiss that he was offering her.
Moonie felt better after their much needed talk. They cuddled for most of the night and talked about their plans for the future. She could tell that Mitch was once again getting fed up with her reckless behavior and she knew that she had to do better. She didn’t want to lose him for a second time. Especially since she knew there was probably no coming back if he left again.
“What are you doing?’ Mitch asked when Moonie started placing kisses on his chest and down on his stomach.
“I’m trying to relax you and put you to sleep,” Moonie replied with a sexy grin covering her pretty face.
When Moonie slipped her perfectly manicured hands into his boxers and pulled out his erection, he was done talking for the time being. She stroked him slowly a few times before she licked her full lips and took him all the way to the back of her throat. Mitch hissed at the warmness of her mouth and enjoyed the feeling that she was giving him. He hated when he and Moonie argued, but the making up was always the best part. She was right about one thing, though. If she kept sucking him the way she was doing he would be relaxed and sleeping in no time at all.
Chapter 14
Rainey pulled up in front of Paige’s apartment and called for her to come out. Paige had asked Rainey to pick her up for work because her boyfriend was picking her up afterwards. Rainey agreed to do it this time, but she was hoping that she didn’t make a habit out of it. Paige lived an hour away and that was entirely too far to drive every day. Besides, Paige had just purchased a brand new Dodge Durango and she should have been picking Rainey up instead. After waiting for a few more minutes Rainey saw Paige doing a slow jog towards her car. She had on sweatpants and a t-shirt with a bonnet covering her head.
“Sorry I took so long girl. I had to make sure my kids ate first,” Paige said right before they pulled off.
“It’s cool. Who’s watching them, your nieces?” Rainey asked.
“Hell no, those scary bitches better not come nowhere around me. I can’t believe they sat there and didn’t even try to help when we were fighting at the skating rink. Then they lied and told their daddy that too many people were in the way and they couldn’t get to me. If they wanted to do something they should have walked over there with us when we went to confront them,” Paige said angrily.
“That’s messed up, but I’m not surprised. After Tank got them jumped they’re probably scared to scrap.”
“Girl fuck Tank! That nigga ain’t nobody to be scared of. Even your girl helped us, but my own nieces sat their scary asses down and didn’t do shit. I was talking about her, but she gets much respect from me after that,” Paige said referring to London.
“I told you that she was good people,” Rainey nodded.
“Yeah, I see that now,” Paige agreed.
They traveled the rest of the way in silence until they came upon the first building that they had to clean. They didn’t have a key to any of the buildings. Instead they had to scan their I.D. badges on the security box in order to gain access. That way the customers, as well as the employers, knew who was there and what time they arrived. If anything ever went wrong, they knew just who to go to if they had to ask questions. Nothing of value was ever left out in the open, so that was never an issue. Their first job of the day was a law office on St. Charles Ave. that never really seemed to be dirty. Aside from emptying the overflowing trashcans and vacuuming the floors, nothing else was ever out of place. Usually, Paige would take her time and move at a snail’s pace, but today she was moving with speed. She wanted to be done earlier than usual since she had more pressing business to attend to with her man. Rainey wasn’t complaining about the rush job that they were doing. She was ready to scoop London up and hit the streets. They’d been hanging more than usual because London and Cheryl couldn’t seem to stand the sight of each other anymore. Apparently, Cheryl, had a new man in her life and London couldn’t stand him. She said that he was using her mother, but Cheryl couldn’t seem to see it.
“Thank God this our last building,” Paige sighed when they pulled up to a small adult daycare.
She and Rainey put on their gloves and got right to work cleaning the bathrooms and sitting area. Paige plugged up the vacuumed cleaner and got to work on the floors while Rainey cleaned the inside windows. Once they sprayed the place down with air freshener, Paige grabbed her duffel bag and went into the bathroom to freshen up and change. Her new man, Carter, was on his way to pick her up, and she needed to be ready when he showed up. Rainey waited around with her so that they could lock up and leave together.
“Girl, where the hell are you going dressed like that?” Rainey asked when Paige emerged from the bathroom.
She had on a pair of skin tight high waist shorts with a tube top. The five-inch wedge heels made her toned legs look longer than they actually were. Paige had a nice shape back, and her outfit left very little to the imagination. Rainey couldn’t help, but to admire the freshly sew in Brazilian hair weave that she was rocking. The nude colored gloss on her lips made them pop even more.
“I’m going to spend some time with my man,” Paige smiled while applying some more gloss to her lips.
“A brand new car and a new hairdo. I didn’t even know these people paid that much for you to get all of that,” Rainey pried.
“That’s what I have a man for boo,” Paige answered.
When her phone rang displaying Carter’s number she grabbed her bag and headed for the door with Rainey walking right behind her. They turned off the lights and left through the back door just like they did when they came in. When they walked outside Rainey’s mouth almost, hit the pavement when she saw two fine ass men standing outside of an all-black Dodge Charger bearing a Mississippi license plate. Paige smiled brightly as she walked over to them adding a little more twist to her stride. The one who stood near the driver’s side grabbed her into a tight hug, squeezing her ass firmly in the process.
“Hay baby,” Paige cooed right before engaging in a heated lip lock with the man who she claimed as her own.
“Who is that Paige?” Carter’s younger brother Chase asked when he saw Rainey walking to her car.
“That’s Rainey. We work together,” Paige replied.
“Call her over here,” Chase requested.
Paige was a bit skeptical because she didn’t want or need Rainey to be all up in her business.
“Look Chase, as far as she knows I make my money just by working for the janitorial service. We’re not really friends like that for me to tell her my personal business,” Paige noted.
“Just call the damn girl over here like the man asked you to,” Carter said with authority.
Paige blew out a breath of frustration before doing what she was told. She didn’t want to piss Carter off since she knew how he could get when he was mad.
“Rainey!” Paige yelled calling her over to where they stood.
Rainey hesitated for a moment, but she eventually made her way over to the car. Curiosity got her best of her and she wanted to know why Paige was calling her. She also wanted to get a closer look at the two men who were standing there. Just as Rainey thought, Paige’s man and his accomplice looked even better up close and personal. They were both tall and nicely built with low haircuts and skin the color of peanut butter. They looked so much alike that Rainey knew they had to be related, but the one who Paige was with looked a little older.
“What’s up?” Rainey said when she walked over to them.
“My brother-in-law Chase wanted to meet you,” Paige said while pointing to the man who Rainey now knew as Chase.
“What’s up pretty girl?” Chase asked making
Rainey blush.
“Hey,” Rainey smiled shyly.
Paige looked at her and rolled her eyes at how stupid she looked. Rainey got around just as much as Paige did, but she was standing there acting like she was a virgin in the presence of Chase. She was probably flattered because he called her pretty, but Paige knew that it was just a game to him. Chase would tell her whatever he thought she wanted to hear if it meant that he would get what he wanted from her.
“You got a man Rainey?” Chase asked.
“No, I’m single,” she replied.
“Cool, so that means that you can kick it with me tonight then, huh?”
“I don’t know about tonight. We just met a few seconds ago,” Rainey replied uncomfortably.
She’d seen enough of the First 48 to know that being alone with a stranger was not a very good idea. Chase was cute and all, but she really didn’t know anything about him.
“I know, that’s why I’m trying to spend some time with you. I want to get to know you,” he replied.
“I don’t know,” Rainey mumbled.
“Rainey stop acting like a little ass girl and loosen up. He ain’t gon’ do shit to you,” Paige yelled angrily.
“Where do you want to go?” Rainey conceded.
“That’s up to you, but you’ll have to drive since I left my car back at the room,” Chase answered.
“The room?” Rainey countered.
“Yeah, I know you see the Mississippi plates. We don’t live down here,” he smiled making Rainey weak in the knees.
“Okay, well I guess you can ride with me,” she offered although she was still unsure.
Paige was looking at her with a scowl on her face while Carter just looked disgusted. She didn’t want to seem childish, but she really wasn’t comfortable with being alone with Chase. Rainey walked back to her car while texting London to tell her what was up. If anything were to happen she needed somebody other than Paige to speak up for her. She looked back at the Mississippi license plate and discreetly took a picture of it to just in case something went wrong. She had to have her own back since it seemed that Paige didn’t.
Creepin' 3: A New Orleans Love Story Page 10