Who Do I Run To?

by Black, Anna

  “No, Nellie, I didn’t mean it like that; I just meant if I was sure of what to do, I’d be doing it with one of them.”

  “Well, my gut tells me you wanna be with K.P., but you’re afraid.” That one actually took Janiece by total surprise, because she didn’t expect her sister to say anything that was in favor of K.P..

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Well, for one, you’ve love him forever and he is your first love, Janiece, and I think you are a little afraid because he is a man that cheated on his wife with you and you are a little concerned that same thing will happen to you.”

  “Yeah, I do wonder that a lot and it makes me a little scared.”

  “Jai, he is taking a huge step by leaving his wife and family. If a man leaves his home and gives up everything that should let you know that he cares and wants to make you a priority.”

  “Yeah, but what if I get with K.P. and he starts cheating on me with another woman?”

  “Well, li’l sis, we can’t worry about that, can we? All we can do is hope for the best and keep going. Even if you hadda meet K.P. before he married Kimberly and he would have been with you the entire time, we would never know if he would or wouldn’t cheat on you, Janiece. Just because of the situation with K.P. and Kimberly doesn’t mean he’s going to cheat on you. Chile, people are unpredictable, even Greg. I love and trust him, but at the same time, I’m not naïve.

  “We are all capable of being unfaithful, so if you truly love K.P., Janiece, that is who you should be with. Don’t waste time on love. Let him know it and start fresh with the man you love. Think about it, there was a time when you couldn’t see yourself sharing your bed with another man, and now what? You just slept with Isaiah so never say never. We got to just roll with it,” Janelle said and got up to go get herself something from the fridge.

  Janiece couldn’t believe her eyes when her sister came back to the table loaded with cheese and crackers. Janelle never ate stuff like that before. Janiece just looked at it and didn’t say a word. She thought to herself that her sister was going to be a big pregnant cow if she kept on eating like she was.

  “So, you telling me after all these years you’ve been hating on K.P., you are suggesting I get with him?”

  “Well, I’m not okay with him completely; that part is going to take some time. But if it makes you happy, Janiece, I don’t mind it one bit.” She smiled at her sister, and Janiece thought that baby was making her sister crazy, because she would have never given K.P. credit before, not even if he had found the cure for cancer.

  “Oh, Nellie,” she said and got up to hug her sister. She was so happy to have her support she didn't know what to say. She stayed over at Janelle’s house that night, and the next day, they met the locksmith at her condo. The alarm system couldn’t be installed until the following week, so she was concerned about having to take off a day of work to wait for them to come, but Janelle agreed to come over for her so she wouldn’t have to take off.

  Afterward, they went shopping and looked at baby clothes and furniture. Janiece was glad to be out; in fact, she was feeling better than she had felt in the last few days. She thought about K.P. and Isaiah a little but not enough to spoil her day out with Janelle.

  She got in around seven, and Janelle went home because she was exhausted from the day in the mall. She got sick for the first time, and it was so funny to Janiece, but Janelle didn’t see the humor in her getting sick from the smell of gourmet popcorn. That was one of her favorite things to eat before the pregnancy. Now, she couldn’t be in the same room with the smell.

  No way did Janiece want to think of having a baby after watching Janelle blow chunks in a nearby trash can because she couldn’t make it to the bathroom in time. She was happy at the moment that K.P. already had two kids. That way, there wouldn’t be any pressure on her. She looked at the clock. It was only ten after seven.

  She wasn’t tired, and she wanted to go out. She called her girlfriend Tia, and they caught up for a few minutes, and Tia made it clear that if they were going out, Rick would be going too, and Janiece was not in the mood to be a third wheel so she told her that was okay. She called K.P. before attempting to call Isaiah to see if there was a chance they could get together and at least talk, but he didn’t answer his phone.

  She didn’t leave a message; she just figured he’d see the miss call and call her back. She hoped he’d call because she wanted to tell him that he was the one, and she was sure that she wanted to be with him and nobody else.

  She put some of her things away to try to keep from calling Isaiah. She knew that she would be doing a bad thing by calling him, but she didn’t want to be alone on a Saturday night with nothing to do. She wished she still had Marcus’s number to call him so he could have gotten a hold of K.P. for her, to tell him to call her because it was important.

  A few moments later, her phone rang and when she saw K&K Paxton on the ID, she got excited but sad, because if it was K.P., he calling from home, meaning he may have decided to go back to Kimberly.

  “Hello,” Janiece said.

  “Is Kerry there?” Kimberly asked.

  “You have the wrong number,” Janiece said and hung up. Why Kimberly was playing on the phone she didn’t know, but she wasn’t going to go there with her. Before she walked away, the phone rang again. It was from K.P.’s house.

  “Hello,” Janiece said irritated.

  “May I speak with Kerry please?”

  “Again, Kerry doesn’t live here. You have the wrong number.”

  “Is this 773-555-0648?”

  “Yes, it is, but Kerry doesn’t live here.”

  “Cut the shit, Janiece, and put him on the damn phone,” the evil one said.

  “Look, Kimberly, Kerry doesn’t live here, okay? And don’t call my house again.” She hung up, and that crazy trick called back. Janiece yanked the phone from the base and pressed the talk button. This time she wasn’t going to be so nice.

  “Hello,” she said frustrated.

  “Look, bitch, don’t hang up on me again. I know Kerry is over there, now put that Negro on the phone, because he needs to come and pick up his kids. I got somewhere to go, and he needs to keep them.”

  “Look, Kimberly, he’s not here, okay? If he was, I’d be more than happy to let you speak to him concerning the kids, but I’m telling you for the last time, he is not here and he doesn’t live here and don’t call my motherfucking house again.”

  “I don’t want to call your apartment, Janiece; I’m just looking for him. I cannot reach him; that’s the only reason why I’m calling.”

  “Well, try him on his cell phone, Kimberly.”

  “Duh, you dumb bitch, don’t you think I’ve tried that. He’s not answering. That’s why I’m calling your apartment.”

  “Well, Kimberly, I don’t know what to tell you, but he is not here.”

  “Well, I tell you what. Since you want to take my place so badly, why don’t you keep his kids?”

  “Are you outta your mind, Kimberly? You are not serious.”

  “Like hell I ain’t. We’ll be there in about thirty minutes. So get in touch with their daddy or you will be keeping his kids tonight,” she said and hung up.

  That bitch is gone, Janiece thought to herself. She grabbed her cell phone and texted K.P., because she knew if she called he wouldn’t pick up. The text message said, “Urgent. I know you are not speaking to me, but your crazy-ass wife is on her way over here to bring your kids.”

  Within five minutes her phone was ringing.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “What? Kimberly said what?” he asked in disbelief.

  “She just called here talking ’bout having something to do and not being able to reach you, and she’s bringing the kids to me.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No, K.P., why would I joke with something like this?”

  “Let me call you right back.”

  “Okay, but K.P., please call me back. I really
need to talk to you,” she said, and he felt good that she wanted to talk so he agreed to call her when he was done talking to “‘Crazy’.”

  “Okay, baby, I will. Just let me handle Kimberly before she does something off-the-wall.” He hung up with Janiece and hit the speed dial to call his house. She answered on the first ring.

  “Oh, so you can’t answer when I call, but when I called your bitch, you hurry up and ring?”

  “Nope, I’m calling because I want to know why you’re harassing Janiece, and what is this bullshit about you dropping my kids off to her?”

  “I’m not harassing her. If you weren’t over there laid up with yo' ho and picked up your damn cell phone, I wouldn’t have called her.”

  “Kimberly, I’m not at Janiece’s house, and I didn’t pick up my phone because I had no desire to talk to your ass. Where are my kids?”

  “They’re here, and you need to come and get them, because I wanna go out.”

  “Go out where, Kim?”

  “None of your damn business, K.P.,” she said with much attitude.

  “Look, Kim, I don’t have a problem with watching my kids, and I really don’t care where the hell you’re going, but don’t ever call Janiece again for any reason, you got that?”

  “You can’t tell me what to do, you jackass. Do you think that I’m going to be nice to that tramp bitch? I will call her ’til I’m satisfied. I’m not happy, so why should she be happy?”

  “Yes, that’s right. Misery loves company. I’ll be there in twenty minutes to pick up my kids,” he said and hung up the phone, not giving her an opportunity to say anything else He drove to the house pissed off at Kimberly. He was so disgusted with her he hated he had to see her. He had gone by his house earlier that week to talk to the kids, and she purposely didn’t pick them up from her parents’ so they were not there when he arrived. It was just a plot to get him out there so she could try to seduce him, but it didn’t work.

  Now he had no clue what he might walk into once he got there. He was hoping she didn’t try that dumb shit again, because this time, he may have to slap her face. He pulled into the garage, and the kids rushed him when he walked through the garage door. They were so happy to see him, and he was just as happy to see them. They were talking a mile a minute asking him question after question. He let them get out all of what they wanted to say and then asked where their mom was.

  “She’s in her room putting on pretty-girl clothes,” KJ said making faces.

  “Oh, is she?”

  “Yep, and she smells real good too, Daddy. Are you and Mommy going to a fancy place?” Kayla asked.

  “No, your mommy has other plans.”

  “So where are we going tonight? Back to Grandpa and Grandma’s house?”

  “No, you guys are going with me over to Uncle Marc’s.”

  “Why, Daddy? Why can’t you stay here?”

  “Because Daddy won’t be staying here anymore.”

  “I told you he was going to leave us, KJ,” Kayla told her little brother, looking sad.

  “No, Kayla, I’m not leaving you. Your mom and I just have some grown-up stuff that we have to work out, but Daddy could never leave you guys.”

  “You promise?”

  “I promise,” he said and hugged his kids. He loved them more than he loved anyone, including Janiece.

  “Okay,” they both said and let him move around the house.

  “Now, let me go and talk to your mommy for a minute, then we’ll be going.” He walked up the stairs. Kimberly had the music playing loud and had a glass of something on the bathroom vanity. She was sitting down in her laced thong and bra, applying her makeup.

  “I got the kids, and I’ll bring them back tomorrow evening,” he said, trying not to look at her in her undergarments.

  “Call first to make sure I’m here,” she said and got up off her little bench and walked by him, giving him more than an eyeful of her sexy body. She had on one of his old favorites. He used to love that number he thought to himself as he tried to avoid looking at her.

  “Okay, whatever, Kimberly. I’ll call you,” he said and chuckled a little.

  “What’s so funny, K.P.?”

  “Nothing, nothing. Do your thing,” he said as he watched her step into one of the sexiest dresses that she owned.

  “So … what you saying, you can move around and do your thang, but I can’t?” she said as she sashayed past him, sat back at her vanity and took a sip of her drink.

  “Naw, you can do what you like. Drop like it’s hot, or whatever you want. I’m cool,” he said because he really didn’t care what she did. He was actually happy to see her doing something with herself and not whining over him.

  “I was gon’ say,” she said and applied her lipstick.

  “You look nice,” he said sincerely. He didn’t want her, but she was a beautiful woman.

  “This old thing, K.P.? You know you’ve seen this dress before.”

  “I know, but it looks good. Have fun tonight.”

  “Thanks. Just make sure you call before you come tomorrow.”

  “I will,” he said and was out the door.

  That was the first time things ended on a civil note. He was relieved that nothing ugly was said. He was on his way down when Kimberly called after him. He knew it was too good to be true.

  “Yeah?” he said answering her.

  “Don’t take my kids around that bitch, you got me?”

  “Oh, it’s okay to for you to call Janiece and tell her you’re going to drop my kids off on her, but I can’t take them around her?”

  “You know I wasn’t going to drop my kids over at her house. You know me better than that.”

  “So, you’re just doing what you do to make others miserable?”

  “No, I’m doing it because she’s a tramp bitch.”

  “Whatever. Just know this. Whenever my kids are with me, I take them where I want to take them, and I can have them around whomever I want as long as no one hurts them, so don’t tell me who I can have around them.”

  “Yeah, do it and see me act a fool.”

  “You always act a fool, Kimberly. That’s nothing new.” He walked away and called Janiece as soon as he pulled out of the drive. She answered, and her voice was a like a breath of fresh air.

  “Hello,” she said.

  “Hey, baby, is this a good time?”

  “Yeah, did you work things out with Kimberly?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, I have my crumb snatchers with me now.”

  “You do?” she asked feeling bad because that meant he wouldn’t be coming by and she wasn’t going to be able to talk to him.

  “Yep, you want to meet them?” he asked, and Janiece got quiet. She didn’t know if she was ready to meet his kids, and at the rate things were going with Kimberly, she wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. “Baby, are you there?”

  “Yea,” she responded.

  “So, what do you say? Do you want to meet my little ones?”

  “Yeah, sure. If you think it’s okay, it’s okay with me.”

  “Good, we’ll be there in about thirty minutes. Do me a favor. Order some pizza from Fox’s for us. They like cheese only and get the usual for us, okay?”

  “Okay, baby, see you in a few,” she said and they hung up.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Janiece ordered the pizza and ran into the bathroom to freshen herself up. She was happy that she was going to see K.P., but meeting his kids made her nervous. She had heard so much about them, and now that she was finally going to see his seeds and she was scared she would say or do something wrong.

  She walked into the kitchen to open the door after hearing K.P. outside with his keys. She had forgotten that the locksmith had changed the locks earlier that day.

  “What’s going on? My key didn’t work.”

  “Oh, Janelle insisted I change the locks. Come in, I’ll tell you what I mean,” she said trying to keep him from getting excited about the key situation.
She shut the door behind them and introduced herself to Kayla and KJ.

  “Hi, you must be Kayla.”

  “Yes, and this is my little brother Kerry, but we all call him KJ.”

  “Hi, how are you, KJ?” Janiece asked extending her hand to shake hands with the young man.

  “Thirsty, do you have apple juice?”

  “Hump, let’s see. I have orange and cranberry,” she said looking in the fridge for him.

  “But I really like apple juice,” KJ whined.

  “So do I, but I’m all out right now. How about you have some orange juice for now and when we go get the pizza, we can stop for some apple juice?”

  “Okay,” he said, and she poured him a small cup of orange juice. She chatted with them for a few before they all loaded up in K.P.’s truck to go to pick up the pizza. She reminded K.P. to stop at the store for apple juice, and he ran into the convenient store and got the juice and some candy. Then they went back to Janiece’s condo and ate and watched the Disney channel. When the kids fell asleep on the floor, Janiece stood up and got them a blanket and covered them. She was a bit nervous because it was time for her and K.P. to talk.

  “Your kids are beautiful.”

  “Thanks, they are the best thing that happened for me. The only thing I can say I love Kimberly for.”

  “Yeah, I can see what you mean. Guess what?”

  “What?”

  “My sister is pregnant.”

  “Is she?”

  “Yep.”

  “That’s great; maybe she’ll be nicer to me since she’s pregnant.”

  “K.P., Janelle doesn’t hate you. She just wants what’s best for me. She’s going to support me in whatever I do that makes me happy and you going between Kimberly and me didn’t make me happy.”

  “You know I’m done with her, Janiece?”

  “I know but ...”

  “What is it? I thought you’d be thrilled that I have finally stepped up to the plate and showed you how much I want to be with you.”