Payback With Ya Life

by Clark, Wahida

  They were so exhausted that after they settled in they slept until almost noon the next day. They were chillin’ while waiting for Tasha’s cousin Stephon to come over. They had about six houses to look at and he was going to be their tour guide. They were sitting on the couch in front of the big screen, which was on mute while watching ESPN2. Trae was on his cell phone talking with a Realtor. Tasha had her legs thrown across his thighs as she watched and listened to him take care of business.

  “My wife is pregnant and I need something that we can occupy immediately. We’re expecting twins so we need to get settled in as soon as possible.” Trae reached over and began doing his favorite, rubbing Tasha’s belly. He was silent as he listened to what excuse the Realtor came up with. Tasha placed her hand over his as she guided it to where the movement was.

  “What’s up, twins?” Tasha whispered.

  “Call me within the next hour. If I don’t hear from you I’m moving on to the next man.” He pushed the end button then leaned over and began kissing Tasha on the lips. “Man, these clowns out here got so much money they act like they don’t wanna make no more! I have no understanding of this bullshit.”

  “Give the poor man a chance, baby.” Tasha laughed. “I mean, what you want the man to do? Throw the people out of their houses today?”

  “Hell yeah! Daddy needs a house.”

  “And Ma Ma needs for Daddy to chill out.”

  “I need to chill?” He tongued Tasha down.

  “Mmmmmmmmm-hmmmmm,” she moaned as she came up for air. “Yes you do. That’s my job, to clock out on niggas.”

  “Aiight then. You got that.”

  “Thank you. Now go answer the door.”

  “I love you more than anything, you know that, right?”

  “Of course I know that. You show me that every day.”

  “Aiight then. Just don’t forget that shit.”

  “Open the door, nigga!”

  Trae winked at her as he walked across the room to open the door. Tasha watched nervously as Stephon came in. She hadn’t seen him since they were teenagers. He was the one to bring her the bad news about her brother getting shot to death. He was around when both of her parents got hauled off to prison. He was there when Social Services came and took her sister Trina and brother Kevin into custody. When she saw him it was a mirage of her childhood. She felt that seeing him was like reopening the door to her past, something that she felt she wasn’t ready to do. She didn’t like that feeling.

  He had spoken with Tasha and Trae over the phone on several occasions. Especially when they had confirmed that they were coming to LA, which he called his playground. He promised them that he would do everything to make their transition as smooth as possible.

  “What up, man?” Stephon greeted Trae. They gave each other the dap followed by a brotherly embrace.

  “Good to finally meet you in person,” Trae told him.

  “Same here, man. My cousin sounds like you’re keeping her very happy.”

  “Well, actually, we do that for each other,” Trae said with sincerity. Then yelled out, “Yo, Tasha, your family is here!”

  “Damn, look at this room. Y’all rollin’ like this?” Stephon was admiring the plush suite.

  “Illlk!” Tasha teased when she got up on her cousin, immediately forgetting those bad feelings she was having. “You look just like Uncle Bill.” She gave him a big hug while Trae stood back and watched his wife.

  “And you look just like Aunt Seleta. So I don’t know why you turning up your nose. My dad and your moms is sister and brother remember?” He held her back to get a good look at her. “Even though I look better, you do look good. You look very happy. I’m happy for you.” He hugged her again.

  “I feel good too. But you wrong about looking better than me. You trippin’ already! So where you taking us? I’m ready to get out and smell some of this Cali air. That Realtor you referred us to is moving too slow for ‘Mr. Make It Happen Right Now’ over there,” she said, referring to Trae.

  “Later for that bum. That’s what I wanted to tell Trae. What I got to show y’all you’re gonna love. I should be able to get the keys in a few days if you want it and if you got the paper, which I know you do. My man out here got other moves he tryna make and plus he got the connections to make the deal close very fast. Y’all couldn’t have come at a better time.”

  “Now that’s the shit I’m talking about. Somebody that’s tryna get paid!” Trae exclaimed. “How big is it?”

  “Trust me. It’s big enough. It has a guesthouse and a pool in the backyard. Master bedroom, about four or five other bedrooms, living room, dining room, family room, den and I don’t know how many bathrooms. I’m telling you, y’all won’t have to ever move again.”

  “Sounds too big to me.” Tasha was turning up her nose.

  “Cousin, you sayin’ that now, but wait until you see it. Trust me.” Stephon was getting more excited by the minute.

  “Aiight then. Can we go check it out?” Trae asked, catching on to Stephon’s enthusiasm.

  “Let me call my man right now.”

  “Babeee!” Tasha squealed as she entered the master bathroom for the third time. Her eyes glittered as they roamed the his-and-hers commodes, two-person shower, sunk-in Jacuzzi that looked like it could seat four or five and the his-and-hers marble sinks. “Oh my God!” she gasped as she looked around.

  “C’mon, let’s see the rest of the house again.” Trae grabbed her hand.

  “I don’t have to see it again. I want this; no, I gotta have this house,” she whined.

  Stephon was grinning at her excitement. “Damn, girl. What about the man of the house having a say-so in the matter?” Then he turned and whispered to Trae, “Who do she think she is?”

  “I heard that, nigga!” Tasha shot at him. Then she said to Trae, “Baby, school this nigga on what time it is.”

  “If my baby says she gots to have this house, then it’s my duty to make it happen for her,” he informed Stephon and winked at Tasha.

  “Aiight, Cousin.” Stephon raised his arms in surrender. “I didn’t know it was like that. My bad!”

  “Well now you know, playboy,” Tasha scolded him.

  “Aiight, Tasha. Anyways, where did Tasha come from? You went out and got a name change on me? Roz!”

  “No, Cornelius!” she mocked, emphasizing his middle name. “I didn’t get a name change. That’s my middle name.”

  “I got your point. But for your info I did change my middle name; it’s now Neal.”

  “Oh my gosh. No you didn’t!”

  “Yes I did.”

  “Whatever tickles your fancy. I see that fake-ass LA done got the best of you! I ain’t mad. Go ahead and let your man know we want the house. C’mon, baby. I do need to see the pool again.” She grabbed Trae’s arm and began pulling him down the stairs.

  “Yeah, you do that while I make it happen,” Stephon agreed as he pulled his cell out of his pocket.

  One month later . . .

  Trae and Tasha had been trying to get situated in their new home. It was so monstrous to the both of them that the challenge of getting it furnished and decorated were almost overwhelming. However, Tasha was so excited about their new Brentwood estate, and Trae was more worried about Tasha overdoing it with her pregnancy. Nevertheless, Tasha was in heaven. And as far as Trae was concerned if Tasha was in heaven, everything else would fall into place.

  “Baby, pick up the phone!” Trae was yelling from the family room. He was posted in front of his big flat-screen TV.

  “Hello.” Tasha was going to get it anyway because she knew Trae wasn’t going to answer it.

  “What’s up, girl? How you doing?”

  “Ho, when are y’all coming over? Can I see my peoples for a change?”

  Kyra laughed. “I miss you too, smart-ass! I told you we’ll get over there. It’s not like I live right around the corner. I’m taking two classes, Marvin has been doing some things and I know you and Trae are tryi
ng to get settled in. And I know your busy ass is overdoing it.”

  “No I’m not. I’m just excited and anxious at the same time. Trae just put up the cribs for the twins, so my main concern is their room and our bedroom. I’m dying for you to see it. It was empty the first time you saw it, but now I got some thangs!”

  “Trae told Marvin that you are getting big and fast. How are you feeling?”

  “Tired. But like I said I am soooooo excited!”

  “Look, Tasha, you don’t need to be overdoing it.”

  “I’m not. When I feel myself getting a strain I chill out.”

  “Umm-hmm.” Kyra doubted her. Plus she knew how Tasha was. “Ho, I think I need to come visit your ass for real now!”

  “Yeah, I miss you. I need to see my people,” she whined. “You gotta see the twins’ bedroom and I need to see my niece. You know she gonna help me with the twins, right?”

  Kyra laughed. “Let her help, ’cause I ain’t having none no time soon that she can play house with.”

  “Yeah right.” Just then Tasha’s phone beeped. “Hold on, Kyra, let me take this call.”

  “Girl, just call me back.”

  “No, Kyra, hold on.” Tasha didn’t want her to hang up.

  Kyra sucked her teeth. “Girl, go ’head.”

  “Hello. Hey, Nana.” It was Trae’s mother. “I’m fine, thank you. How’s Pop Pop?” Trae magically appeared in the doorway.

  “How long you gonna be on the phone?”

  “It’s your mom,” she mouthed.

  “Give me the phone.”

  Tasha rolled her eyes at him. “Nana, here’s your rude son. I love you too.” Tasha covered the mouthpiece. “I think something’s wrong,” she whispered before passing Trae the phone.

  “Hey, Ma. Everything aiight?” Trae was silent as Tasha watched his facial expressions. When he ran his hand over his head she knew something wasn’t right. “Ma, calm down. Put Daddy on the phone.”

  “What’s the matter?” Tasha was now up and standing in front of Trae.

  “Dad, what happened?” Tasha watched as the tears rolled slowly down his cheeks.

  When he hung up, Tasha asked, “Baby, what’s the matter?”

  “We gotta go back to New York.”

  About the Author

  WAHIDA CLARK was born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey. This Trenton native owned and operated L.M. Clark Printers & Publishers Inc., a printing and publishing company in Trenton. She decided to write fiction while incarcerated at a women’s federal prison camp in Lexington, Kentucky.

  She was crowned the “Queen of Thug Love Fiction” by Nikki Turner, a mogul in urban fiction. Her Essence best-selling novels include Thugs and the Women Who Love Them, Every Thug Needs a Lady, Payback Is a Mutha, and her latest and highly anticipated Thug Matrimony. In June Wahida was released from the federal prison camp in Alderson, West Virginia, and is now back in New Jersey, where she is hard at work on her next book.