Chapter 14
14
Mona
“ I t’s good to see you again, Clinton. I’m glad y’all could make it on such short notice,” Karla said after greetings were exchanged.
“It’s good to see you. Thanks for the invite,” Clinton replied.
“Mona knows she’s always invited but chooses not to come. When I reminded her, and she said you two would be here, I was so excited. It’s been ages since she’s joined us, so thank you for bringing my friend outside.”
“Don’t be like that, friend. You know exactly why I opted not to participate.”
“I do, but that doesn’t mean you weren’t missed.”
“Where are the kids?”
“With my parents for the weekend, thank God. I needed a break.”
We slipped out of our shoes and followed Karla to the family room, where game night took place. Lariah and Dominick sat on the couch while Cairo sat in a folding chair.
“Hey, baby. This is Clinton, Mona’s boyfriend. Clinton, this is my husband, Cairo. You already met Lariah, and that’s her husband, Dominick.”
“It’s nice to meet you both, and good to see you again, Lariah.”
Everyone stood, and Clinton shook Cairo and Dominick’s hands before he exchanged a quick hug with Lariah. After greeting me with hugs, Dominick and Lariah returned to the couch, and Cairo asked to speak with Karla in the kitchen.
“We’ll be right back,” she said with an awkward smile.
“The kids with your parents?” I asked Lariah.
“Actually, my sister offered to watch them. I know she wants something because she never does anything unless she’s getting something in return.”
“You’re right, but maybe she’ll surprise you this time.”
“Clinton, right?” Dominick asked and Clinton nodded. “You look familiar. What’s your line of work?”
“I’m part owner of a finance company. You?”
“Postal worker. What’s the name of your company?”
“Hollister and Michaels.”
“I’ve never heard of it. Is it with Primerica?”
“Uhh, no. We mostly work with large businesses and corporations.”
“I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before,” Dominick continued.
“You don’t look familiar to me, so I’m not sure if we’ve crossed paths before.”
“How long have you owned your business?” Lariah asked.
“Close to fifteen years.”
“That’s dope. Congratulations,” she said.
“Thank you.”
Suddenly, we heard muffled but loud voices coming from the kitchen. Clinton frowned, but I said nothing. Across the room, Lariah and Dominick looked as unbothered as I felt. We were used to our friends and their spats.
“Are they good?” Clinton asked and waited for one of us to respond.
“They’re fine,” Dominick said. “Cairo and Karla are always fussing about something. It’s their love language. They don’t know how to communicate like regular people.”
“It’s true. They love hard and fuss harder. It’s probably over something trivial,” I added.
“They probably only left the room for your sake since you don’t know them like that,” Lariah said. “We aren’t usually spared from their back and forth.”
Just as Lariah finished her statement, Cairo returned to the family room with Karla on his heels. Their expressions indicated that they hadn’t resolved whatever they were discussing in the kitchen.
“Aye, don’t take this the wrong way, but y’all gotta go,” Cairo announced.
Karla stepped in front of him. “Don’t listen to him. Y’all can stay.” She turned to face her husband. “Cairo! I asked you not to do this.”
“And I told you I didn’t have a choice. Winston is on his way.”
“Aww, hell. Baby, let’s go.” Clinton stood and offered me his hand, which I took, allowing him to help me to my feet.
“Please don’t leave,” Karla pleaded. “I had no idea Cairo had invited Winston over. I’ll make him leave when he arrives.”
“No, you won’t. You didn’t tell me you invited Mona and her new man over,” Cairo countered.
“Why do you still talk to that asshole?” Karla questioned.
“Hold up. Y’all ain’t even gotta do all this. We’re leaving,” Clinton announced.
We headed back to the front door with Karla on our heels. Clinton kneeled to help me slip into my sneakers while Karla continued.
“Mona, I swear I didn’t know Cairo still talked to Winston. To my knowledge, he hasn’t been here in over a year.”
“Maybe Winston randomly reached out, and Cairo invited him. Regardless, this isn’t something you two should be arguing about.”
While Karla and I talked, Clinton put on his shoes. As he opened the front door, I noticed him pat the front of his hoodie before saying, “Shit, I left my phone in the other room. You mind if I grab it?”
“Go ahead. Hopefully, my knucklehead husband apologizes.” We watched Clinton take long strides toward the family room as Karla continued her rant. “Cairo knows I don’t fuck with Winston, and I thought we were on the same page.”
“Sis, you can’t—” Suddenly, the screen door opened, and I was face to face with the worst mistake of my life.
“Excuse you!” Karla yelled, stepping between me and Winston. “Have you ever heard of knocking or ringing the doorbell?”
He stepped around her, ignoring her question.
“What the fuck is this crazy bitch doing here?”
“Who the—”
Before I could finish, Clinton stood between me and Winston.
“Watch your fucking mouth!” Clinton barked.
“Cairo!” Karla shouted. “Cairo, get in here.”
“This has to be a joke. Are you fucking my wife?” Winston asked Clinton.
“Nah, I’m fucking your ex -wife.”
“Out of all the women in the world, you couldn’t find a bitch that wasn’t my leftovers?”
“Aye, man! You got—”
“You can’t be mad at the truth, nigga. Mona don’t know the first fucking thing about keeping a man happy. She’s a lazy fuck, she can’t suck dick, her pussy is dry, and she can’t carry a child. She use—”
Clinton’s fist hit Winton’s face so fast that I was sure Winston didn’t see it coming. Karla moved out of the way just in time to miss Winston’s body, which fell against her as he stumbled. When he gained his footing, he charged Clinton, but Clinton stepped to the side and shoved Winston to the floor.
“What the hell is going on up here?” Cairo demanded to know.
Lariah and Dominick were with him and looked surprised by what they’d walked in on.
“Let’s go, baby,” Clinton said for the second time tonight.
He grabbed my hand more aggressively than expected, keeping me close to him.
“That’s right. Take that grimy ho and go. You’ll see why I had to get my rocks off elsewhere.”
We could still hear Winston talking shit once we were outside. I had to work to keep up with Clinton’s long strides. When we were both inside his truck, his tires screeched as he peeled away from the curb.
Neither of us spoke during the ride back to his condo. I wanted to say something, but honestly, I didn’t know what to say. He was obviously pissed and probably needed some time to calm down, so I decided to wait until he said something, which wasn’t until he’d parked his car.
He ran his hand down his face as he released a sigh. “I know those are your friends, but count me out the next time they invite us over.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Fuck you mean it’s not fair? If those niggas still fuck with him after all the shit they know he put you through, those ain’t the type of niggas I want to be around, nor do I want you to be around them. There is no guarantee that they will protect you if that bitch ass nigga shows up.”
“You knew he was cheating on me, and you were still his friend.”
“First of all, don’t say that shit again. I’ve told you more than once that he wasn’t my friend. I ain’t never had that niggas’ phone number or shared space with him unless he was invited by someone else. Secondly, is that all you got out of what I said?”
“No, that’s not all I got, but those are my best friends. At some point, we’ll have to be around their husbands again. We can’t avoid it forever.”
“Maybe not, but it won’t happen any time soon. I’m too old to be out here fighting niggas for disrespecting you. I will in a heartbeat, but that ain’t the kinda shit I’m on. If I run into him again and he’s on that same disrespectful bullshit, I won’t hesitate to choke his ass out, but I have a business to run, and I’m about to be somebody’s father. I can’t be out here risking my livelihood and freedom for ignorant muhfuckas.”
“I’ll talk to Karla and find out if—”
“Nah, you ain’t gotta find out a damn thing from Karla. Until further notice, if they want to see you, y’all can meet up somewhere, or they can come to your apartment.”
“But—”
“And I don’t wanna hear shit about you being a grown woman. This is nonnegotiable.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Baby, I’m serious as fuck. I’ll let you slide on some shit, but this ain’t up for discussion. Are we clear?”
I didn’t like his tone or the way he was talking to me, but my pussy loved it. I unwillingly squirmed in my seat, trying to relieve the pulsing between my thighs.
“I—”
“The only thing I want to hear from your mouth is, yes, baby, we’re clear.”
I hesitated for a moment, not wanting to give in to him so quickly, but eventually said the words he wanted to hear.
“Yes, baby, we’re clear.”