by Ambria Davis
“Thank you Tee Tracy,” she said, laughing a girlish giggle.
“Girl, I can’t wait for you to meet my parents. They’re going to love you and you’re going to love them too,” she said. I didn’t reply, hell I was too nervous to say anything. I’ve never met Tracy’s parents, but she did tell me a lot about them already. I knew they were wealthy people from the way they kept her. That’s why I always made up excuses when she would invite me over to her house. I knew I wasn’t in her league, which is why I never got why she still wanted to be friends with me.
I’ll admit though, my assumptions of her were all wrong. She wasn’t like most of the rich girls that went to our school. She was cool and down to earth. She never judged me, even after I told her about my parents and everything that I was going through. She vowed that she was going to be there for me and so far, she’s kept that promise. I was grateful for her. If it wasn’t for her, I don’t know what I’d do or how I would be able to make it.
“We’re here,” she said, interrupting my thoughts. I looked up and almost fainted. The house she pulled up to must have belonged to a famous person.
“Oh my God, Trace. Girl, y’all house is beautiful,” I gasped as I admired the view. Immediately, I began fidgeting with my clothes, trying to make sure that they were straight.
“Calm down, Delaney. I already told you that you looked wonderful. So don’t go acting that way. My family is not like that, we’re still black. We don’t put people down, because they don’t have anything, instead, we help them. We don’t see dollar signs and we’re not bougie either. Now come on, because you look like you’re getting ready to run on down the street,” she said, laughing as we made our way towards the house. “Oh good, my brother’s here. Hopefully my other brother will come, so you’ll get to meet my whole family today.”
I didn’t reply. I just grabbed Dallas’s hand as we followed behind her. The minute she opened the door, I was taken aback. Of course, there was no butler or anything like that, but the inside of the house was as beautiful as the outside. The carpet was so clean; I was afraid to walk on it in fear of getting it dirty.
“Come on, let’s head to my room. I need to change first,” she said as she directed me towards some stairs. We followed her up the stairs and into her room, which was bigger than our entire apartment. Just like when we first walked in, I was scared to move or sit down, in fear that I would mess something up.
“Oh Laney, look,” Dallas said, running towards Tracy’s bed, where there was a whole bunch of stuffed animals sitting on it. When she got up on it, I almost caught a heart attack.
“Dallas Ranae McGuff, get your tail from off that bed. You know better than that,” I said, giving her the mad face. She looked at me and got down, before she walked over to Tracy.
“Delaney, I told you to chill. That girl wasn’t doing anything wrong,” Tracy said, walking over to me. She gave me a look of her own, before she and Dallas disappeared into her huge walk in closet. Moments later they came out, with Tracy now dressed in a floor-length sundress with silver sandals.
“Lay-Lay, can you put my hair in a messy bun like you always do?” she asked, handing me her comb and brush.
“Girl, come on,” I said, walking over to the vanity she had in the corner of her room.
Within no time, we got straight to it. Thirty minutes and many re-dos later, she was finally satisfied with the way her hair looked. She even let me cut a bang in the front of her head. Yeah, I knew how to do hair, but that didn’t mean that I liked doing it. I only used my skill on Dallas, Tracy, and my own hair. I didn’t have time to be doing anyone else’s hair. Shit, I had enough on my plate as it already was.
“Come on, before my mother come up here and embarrasses us,” she said, quickly straightening out her room. I decided to help her since my nerves were once again on the edge. I couldn’t believe that I was finally about to meet her parents. I really hope that they don’t look at me as if I was beneath them. I mean just because Tracy took to me, didn’t mean that they were going to do the same. I don’t care how much she said they were nice, I still felt shy and embarrassed. Hell, I hope they weren’t going to watch me all night, because I know that my clumsy ass would be bound to mess up or something.
“Come on scary,” she said, dragging me by the arms.
We left out of her room and made our way down the stairs. The whole way there, my heart was beating like a drum. The minute we reached the last step and I heard voices, I thought for sure that I was going to pass out. We’d reached the kitchen door, when we suddenly stopped.
“I was just about to come upstairs and get you all,” An older version of Tracy said, walking over to us. She hugged Tracy, before she noticed Dallas and me. “Hello sweetheart, my name is Lillian. I’m Tracy’s mother.”
“Um, I’m Delaney,” I managed to get out my suddenly dry mouth. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat, before placing a smile on my face. “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“Honey, you can cut it out with that ma’am stuff. You can just call me Lilly,” she said, hugging me. Surprisingly, I wasn’t shy or embarrassed anymore, so I hugged her back. “And who may this little cutie be?”
“My name is Dallas. It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Lilly,” she says happily. She took us all by surprise when she ran over to Ms. Lillian and hugged her as if she knew her.
“Aww, it’s nice to meet you too, sugar,” she said, picking her up. I was about to protest when Tracy gave me the eye and shook her head. “Come on, let’s go ahead and get you fed, baby. They can go ahead and starve if they want, but you won’t.”
Without another word to Tracy or me, Ms. Lillian took off with Dallas on her hips. I wanted to tell her that Dallas was six and perfectly capable of walking, but instead, I kept my mouth closed. By the way her eye lit up when she saw Dallas, I could tell that she loved kids.
“Don’t tell her nothing about Dallas. In fact, don’t even try to chastise or whoop Dallas in her presence, because she will not like it. Yes, I know that’s cheeky of her, but my mother loves kids and it looks like she has a soft spot for Dallas” Tracy whispered to me as we began walking into the kitchen. I didn’t have a problem with Ms. Lillian being attached to Dallas. My baby sister had that kind of effect on people. She would walk into a room and make everyone fall in love with her. She did that with Tracy and it looks like she was about to do the same thing with her mother.
After meeting both of Tracy’s parents and her oldest brother, we took a seat at the table in the dining room. Soon, everyone began engaging in a conversation. Mrs. Lillian was waiting for her other son to come, so that we could begin eating. I could see what Tracy was saying about her mother, because ever since we’ve been here, she’s had Dallas glued to her hip and she let her do whatever she wanted.
We sat there waiting on her son for a few more minutes, until she got the phone and called him. After calling and cursing him out two times, he finally said that he was outside. She then asked both Tracy and me to come help her with the dishes. We had to make two trips, because of all of the food that she had cooked. We were almost in the kitchen, when I heard a voice I thought I recognized. Shaking my head, I thought I had to be tripping, because I knew the world wasn’t that small, or that’s what I thought.
Walking into the kitchen, I spotted this cute little red chick sitting at the table. I could tell that she was stuck up and uptight, from the way she was looking at me, but I decided not to let that deter me. Instead, I spoke to her and kept it pushing. I wasn’t surprised when she didn’t speak back. She looked like one of those people who thought the sun rises and sets on her ass. What bothered me the most though, was the way she kept staring at me. I was two seconds away from asking her what the hell she was looking at, when Tracy tapped me on my leg.
“I see you over here ready to go off and shit,” she whispered trying to stifle a laugh. “Don’t let that bitch get to you. Trust me, when I tell you that she’s all bark and no bite.”
“I’m not worrying about her, but what I do want to know is why she clocking me so fucking hard,” I said, still looking at ol’ girl, who was still looking at me.
“She’s probably intimidated, that’s all. She does that every time someone new comes around. What she needs to be concerned with is herself. I don’t know why my brother is still with her cheating ass anyway.”
“So she cheated and around here acting like she was the one who was cheated on?” I asked, not believing the shit.
“Yup and my dumb ass brother took her hoe ass back. Now her hoe ass be on that stalking shit. If she knows like I do, she wouldn’t jump stupid. It’s only because of my brother that I haven’t whooped her ass, but she better not fuck around, or else I’m going to show her stupid ass,” She said, just as her mother called everyone’s attention. They began fixing everyone’s plate, before they prayed over the food. When I opened my eyes after staying amen, I got the shock of a lifetime.
“Do you want something to drink, Delaney?” Tracy had asked me. I heard her, but I didn’t. I was too busy trying to figure out why the dude I met in the mall was sitting across from me at Ms. Lillian’s dinner table. “Delaney, you okay?”
“Umm, I’m fine, boo,” I said, finally tearing my eyes away from him. I turned to Tracy, who was staring at me. I leaned in closer to her, because I didn’t want anyone to hear me. “Umm Trace, who that dude sitting across from us, next to the chick who was staring at me earlier.”
“Oh girl, that’s my other brother, Onijae,” she said, nonchalantly shrugging.
“Oh okay,” I said, trying to play the shit off. On the inside, I was screaming though. I couldn’t believe the dude I had a crush on and thought I’d never see again, was my best friend’s brother.
I Never in a million years, would I think that I’d be seeing him again, especially not sitting across from me at my friend’s dinner table. When I looked back across the table, he was staring at me again. I immediately put my head down, grabbed my fork and began eating. I could already tell that this dinner was going to be eventful.
* * *
Chapter 8
Onijae
I don’t know if it was fate or a mere coincidence that the girl I’ve been thinking about, was sitting across from me at my mother’s dinner table. At first, I thought I was tripping, but I’ve closed my eyes a few times, only to still see her sitting there. I had no idea that she and my little sister even knew each other, let along them being best friends. If that wasn’t the good Lord sending me another sign, then the stars must have been in alliance. I damn sure didn’t think that I was going to be seeing her in my parents’ house. I couldn’t wait until I was able to pull Tracy’s ass to the side. I needed to know how and why she didn’t tell me she had a friend this damn fine, and why is this the first time she’s come around.
I didn’t mean to, but I found myself sitting at the table staring at her. Shorty was so beautiful and perfect to me. When she smiled, she showed off a cute set of dimples that I didn’t notice the first time. My heart swelled once her little sister hopped off my mother’s lap and went to sit on hers’. I could tell that they had this tight bond. She and my sister were so engrossed in whatever my mother was saying that she didn’t even bother to glance my way. I decided to redirect my vision somewhere else, and when I turned my head, I found Bianca staring at me. I tried to play the shit off, but I could tell that I was in deep shit. I was caught red-handed. I didn’t even sit there worrying my nerves. When I spotted my little sister getting up, I got up and followed behind her. Bianca was just going to have to wait until later to bitch and moan.
“What’s up, Tracy?” I asked, as I followed her to the living room.
“What do you want, Onijae? I’m sure your little girlfriend is probably looking for you,” she said, sounding as if she had a bad taste in her mouth. My little sister didn’t like my girlfriend and vice versa, that was no secret. That’s why I made sure never to leave them in each other’s presence. I didn’t need shit popping off. I already knew how my little sister could get and it’s sad to say, but Bianca wasn’t fucking with that. Tracy would straight fuck her up, because my brother and I made sure that Tracy could defend herself.
“I’m not worrying about her ass,” I said, waving her off. “What I’m more worried about is why you didn’t tell me you had a friend as fine and cute, as the one you got sitting at Ma’s dinner table.”
“I didn’t know I was supposed to be telling you about my friends,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“I didn’t say all that, with your smart ass. I said, why you didn’t tell me you had a friend as fine as Delaney is?”
“Nigga, how do you know her name? And don’t act like we didn’t see you staring at her at the table either. You need to watch the shit, before your girlfriend starts popping off at the mouth and we have to beat her ass in here.”
“Chill out, T street,” I said, calling her by the nickname we’d given her when she was a child.
“Boy, don’t be calling me that shit,” she said, frowning her face up. “Now tell me what you want, because you really blocking me right now.”
“Blocking you? The fuck I’m blocking you from? Tracy, don’t fuck around and get fucked up, I’m still your big brother. Remember that shit!” I said, immediately flying off the handle. I don’t know who she thought she was talking to, but she needed to remember just who the fuck I was.
“Boy bye, ain’t nobody got time for that shit! Was you thinking about me being your sister when I told you not to take that skeezer back?” she clapped back. I didn’t say shit, because I knew what she was talking about. If my sister had it her way, Bianca would’ve been gone.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she said, pushing past me.
“Wait, wait,” I said, pulling her back. I could tell that she was frustrated, but I didn’t care. “Aye, give me ya girl’s number.”
“Oh hell no, that’s what you came all the way back here for?” she asked calling me out. I didn’t say shit, I just stared at her, because that was in fact, the only reason I did came back here.
“Nah Onijae, I’m not about to let you play on my girl, especially not while you’re fucking with ‘Ms. Want to be Barbie.’ No sir, I don’t need her trying my friend, because I swear I’m not going to be sparing her any ass whopping, if she fucks with her.”
“Chill out, I just want to ask her about the shoes I bought at her store the other day,” I said, not even believing the shit that was coming out of my own mouth.
“Well, if that’s the case, why don’t you go back to the store where you got them from?” Then she remembered something. “Oh hell no, you were the dude she kept talking about!”
“She was talking about me?” I asked, ignoring the faces she was making.
“Yeah, and my answer is still no. My friend doesn’t need all of what you’re trying to bring into her life. She’s a good girl, who already has a lot going on in her life right now. She doesn’t need some temporary fixture coming in to fuck shit up, and she especially doesn’t need a man who already has a woman,” she said giving it to me raw. Had I not been the one trying to get with her friend, I would’ve applauded her little speech. The shit she said was moving, but it didn’t move me much. I still wanted her and nothing was going to stop me from getting her.
“So I take it that I have to get her number on my own, huh?”
“Look, let me give you a little lesson on women, especially this one. No woman wants a man, who already has a woman attached to him,” she said, tapping me on my shoulder and pointing behind me. I turned around to see Bianca heading in our direction.
“Fuck,” I mumbled under my breath.
“My biggest advice to you, don’t put yourself in a new situation, while you’re already in a complicated one. She’s out of your league, a good girl. So I’m telling you to leave her alone,” she said, just as Bianca reached us.
“I’m ready to go,” she said, looking at Tracy and rolling her eyes. I wa
tched as Tracy smiled, and then look back at me.
“On another note, I’ll text that to you,” she said, smirking. She walked off, but stopped when she got a few feet away. “You better get this Bride of Chucky-looking bitch out of here, because if she rolls her eyes at me one more time, I’m going to poke her in them.”
“Bitch, you got me fucked up, so don’t think for one minute think I’m scared of your little ass!” Bianca retorted, before I could respond. I don’t know how she did it, but Tracy was back in front of us in two seconds flat.
“And don’t think that my little ass is scared of you either,” she said, putting her hand in Bianca’s face. I was praying that Bianca would just let it go, but unfortunately, God wasn’t hearing me today.
“Bitch, you better keep your hands out of my face, before I—” Bianca’s words were cut off when Tracy’s fist kept connecting with her mouth.
“Before you what, huh bitch?” Tracy asked, as she began pouncing on her. I don’t know how or why, but I stood there stuck. I always knew this day was going to come, but I didn’t know it was come like this.
“You got me fucked up little girl, now I’m going to whoop your little ass like your mother should’ve,” Bianca said, hitting Tracy with a two-piece combo to her face, which only seemed to make her even madder. Just as we’d her, she shook that shit off and countered that with a jab to Bianca’s nose. She then started raining blows to her face. It was only when I saw blood and heard Bianca screaming, that I finally came to my senses and broke them up.
Grabbing Tracy, I pulled her off Bianca and held her tight around her waist, which was a big mistake. Bianca got up from the floor and started swinging on her. She even caught me with a few licks.
“Let me go, Onijae! That hoe’s hitting me and you’re letting her!” Tracy yelled to me, kicking the shit out of me, but no matter how hard those kicks were, I was not about to let her little ass down.
“I’m going to handle it, Tracy, but I’m not letting you go,” I told her, as I walked with her into the living room.