Chapter 5
5
Weston
F or the past five minutes, I’d been scrolling through Taja’s Instagram, looking at her pictures. I frowned at her drinking from a big margarita glass, advertising the opening of a new Mexican restaurant with soul food flair. She first brought it to the office for a test trial. Everyone went crazy about it except for me. She ignored my disgust, yet somehow, a Mexican street corn mixed with Cajun seasoning ended up on my desk. No matter how hard I tried to ignore it, the scent and the presentation won, and I destroyed it behind closed doors.
I won’t lie. Taja had this effect on me. The way her big curly hair sat freely on her head. The way her full pink lips pouted every time something upset her. All the women I dated wore luxury items that were black, nude, or brown. Unlike Taja, whose clothes were colorful, loud, patterned, and form-fitting. Taja’s curvy figure hugged every piece of clothing that she wore. It was getting hard sitting in meetings with her and seeing her shapely figure that I once had my mouth on.
“Aye, you’ve been on that phone the entire time. Who are you fucking on tonight?” my best friend, Keezy, asked.
I laughed.
Keezy was the only person I didn’t mind spending time with. He didn’t use me for my money, unlike the others. He had his own. We both came from nothing and made something of ourselves. We made a promise to get out of the hood, and that’s just what we did. I made myself a promise that anyone who impeded my dreams or used me for money, I would cut them off: family, friends, and coworkers. I didn’t spare anyone. Keezy understood that, which was why he was the only person I never cut off.
“Mind your business,” I asserted, still scrolling through Taja’s Instagram.
“How can I? Shit, you invited me out. You have been scrolling on the phone since we sat at the bar. I could’ve been working on getting me some action too!”
I ignored Keezy and continued strolling. Before I knew it, my phone was snatched out of my hand.
“Damn, man, what you doing?” I tried reaching for my phone, but Keezy moved out of the way.
A stupid ass grin appeared on his face, and I knew what for.
“Damn, shawty’s bad. I see why you’re ignoring me. I would be in a trance about her too.”
My body heated as I listened to Keezy talking about Taja. I wasn’t sure if it was jealousy, but I didn’t like it.
“Man, it ain’t nothing like that. She works at TRU.”
“Is she single?”
“Why?”
“What you mean, why? Put me on my nigga! Shawty’s different. It’s something about her that’ll make a man like me want to settle down.”
I scoffed and snatched my phone back. I felt myself getting hotter when Keezy was talking about Taja.
“How can you tell from scrolling on her Instagram? She ain’t single. She got a man.”
Keezy scoffed and reached for his phone. “I’m about to add her and slide in her DMs. She might have a man, but she ain’t got a man like me,” he quipped.
There was no way in hell I was going to introduce Keezy to Taja. A part of me was possessive of Taja. The moment I laid eyes on her in the club, I knew it was something about her. That night we spent together, I don’t think I ever smiled and laughed so much. She even had me eating McDonald’s. She was everything that I wasn’t — friendly, carefree, approachable, and easygoing. Everybody flocked to Taja. She never met a stranger. She was special. It was something about her, but she wasn’t checking for me. Taja was confident enough in herself that you couldn’t change her. We were opposites. She had a glow when she walked into any room, and I couldn’t care less if I made the next person smile.
“Leave that girl alone. I just told you she has a man. Plus, she doesn’t need to be introduced to your corrupt-ass lifestyle.”
Keezy looked at me with a raised brow. “You like her?”
“Huh?”
“You heard me.”
He laughed. “You feeling her, ain’t it?”
“What makes you say that?”
He sucked his teeth. “You ain’t ever told me not to explore no woman. We done had the same ones plenty of times. It seems like with this one, you don’t even want a nigga to follow her on social media.”
“Nah.”
I surprised myself. Keezy and I always discussed the women we were with or had been with. However, this time, a part of me didn’t want to bring up the night with Taja. I didn’t see her as someone to fuck and then pass off. It was something different about her. In my eyes, she was untouchable, unfuckable with.
“Hmm, I’ll let it slide for now, but I know you, nigga.”
“Man, whatever —”
My phone pinged, drawing my attention to it. It was a text message from my sister. I already knew what it was.
Rae: Can you come over tomorrow? Mom is asking for you.
Me: Raven, I sent money last week. I told y’all I give a lump sum every month, nothing more, nothing less.
The three dots appeared. I stared at the phone, waiting for her to respond.
Rae: It’s not about the money, Wes. Damn! Just come over and see what she has to say.
I didn’t even bother to reply. I closed the thread and chucked down my beer. I could feel Keezy’s eyes on me.
“Is everything all right?” he asked.
I nodded. “Same ol’ shit. They want money, but I already broke them off this month. Motherfuckers are greedy.”
“How much she asked for?”
“She didn’t. She says it’s not about money, but my mama be using Rae as a ventriloquist doll.”
I thought about how close Rae and I used to be before money and my mama getting in her ear. She was the last person in my family I stopped dealing with if it wasn’t from a distance. Raven, but I called her Rae, was my older sister by eight years. She helped my mother take care of me when my dad would go on these episodes of abandoning his family and then return like nothing even happened. Then, he and my mother would go on living as if they didn’t have two kids to care for. No one helped us. It was just Rae and me against the world. When my father did his final disappearing act, he never returned, leaving my mother heartbroken and weak. Rae and I both felt sorry for my mother. She depended on my father a lot, financially and mentally. I made a vow I would take care of her, but over the years, my mother never got out of a funk. To me, it felt as if it was always a handout for her. She eventually got into Rae’s ear, causing her to become a beggar. It broke me to see my sister turn into my mother.
“Wes, just go over and see what they are talking about. It wouldn’t hurt. It could be an emergency.”
I scowled. “Yeah, for money.”
“You never know, man. I’ve been speaking to my dad.”
My eyes widened as I looked at Keezy. His dad had been in prison since he was a little boy, so he literally had to be the dad of the house, making sure he took care of his three younger sisters, Kieran, Koty, and Kassidy. His mom worked two jobs just to keep food on the table. After his father served his fifteen-year bid, his mom welcomed him back with open arms. That shit pissed Keezy off. Once he got his construction business up and running, he went and got his three sisters and has been spoiling them since. While he still helped his mom here and there, the relationship was strained, along with his father. So, hearing him say that they were speaking was a surprise to me.
“Damn, man. How did that happen?”
“Kieran had to have surgery after breaking her wrist playing basketball with a bunch of niggas,” he said, rolling his eyes.
I laughed.
“She called Ma right before the surgery, and they both popped up there. He pulled me to the side, and I listened to what he had to say, including all the apologies and shit. I’m not saying I forgive him, but it’s baby steps.”
I nodded my head. “That’s good shit, man.”
“Appreciate it. Now, like I was saying, go on over there. You never know.”
* * *
Here I was on a Saturday night, walking up to the red brick house I had bought for my mother a while ago. It was a four-bedroom, two-car garage with a huge backyard and a pool that neither she nor my sister ever used. I bought this house because I knew this was something she deserved. However, it wasn’t enough for her. My mom was never satisfied. She wanted more and more. It pained me to know I made a way for myself and set her up, but it still wasn’t enough.
I hesitated not to turn around and head back to my car, but I bit the bullet and knocked. A few seconds later, the door swung open, and my sister Raven stood there with a soft smile on her face. The younger brother in me wanted to reach out and wrap myself in her arms. It had been two months since I saw her, and I missed her deeply, but the cards were laid, and it was what it was.
“Hey, Wes,” she softly greeted.
I studied Raven’s appearance. Even though she was the oldest, she looked as if she could be the youngest. She had darker colored skin, which she inherited from my mom’s side of the family. She had beautiful long locs that were now purple. She always changed the color of them. She had big doe eyes and full pink lips. She was the spitting image of my mother in her younger years. She had a heart of gold, which is why it was so easy for my mother to manipulate her the way she did. Raven’s heart was forgiving, and her patience was out of this world, while I was the opposite.
“Sup, Rae,” I replied, trying to contain the annoyance in my voice.
“Come on in. Ma is in the living room.”
The aroma of my mama’s pot roast filled my nose, and although it made my stomach growl, I knew it was something. She only made our favorite foods when she was trying to butter us up. She’s been doing it since we were kids. As soon as I turned the corner to head to the living room, my mother was facing the TV. I couldn’t help but notice how much weight she had lost since the last time we saw each other.
“Hey, Ma,” I voiced, making my presence known.
She turned around with a smile on her face. It was as if the wind was knocked out of me. Her once full face had sunken in, and her eyes had black circles around them. The once creamy chocolate skin she blessed my sister and me with no longer shined. It was ashen and pale.
“Hey, son.”
She slowly made her way to me, opening her arms for me to give her a hug. We hugged briefly, and I pulled away. I moved around her, and I sat on the couch. She and Raven glared at me. I was aware of what they wanted. I let out an exhausted breath and sighed.
“How much this time?” My tone filled with annoyance, yet my heart filled with pain.
“Wes—” Raven started, but I cut her off.
“Let’s make this quick. I already know what it is. Ma cooks my favorite food, gets me over with sweet talk, and asks for a lump sum of money. So, as I stated before, how much?”
Raven let out an annoyed sigh, and I could see the tears welling up. She prepared to say something, but my mother cut her off.
“It’s not that. We just wanted to invite you over for dinner. I made Raven’s favorite the other day, so I wanted to make yours. That’s it, that’s all.”
Raven looked at my mother with wide eyes.
I sneered. She was lying. She played the role of trying to make me feel bad, but it was no longer effective. A part of me regretted even wasting my time coming over, knowing what it would be. However, there was a piece of me that hoped it would be different. I stood to my feet, preparing to leave.
“Where are you going?” My mother asked.
“Home. Can you box my stuff up to go?”
“Ma!” Raven damn near screamed, eyes bouncing between the two of us.
My mother held her hand up and smiled. “Sure thing, Wes. Give me a few minutes.”
She proceeded to the kitchen, leaving Raven and me there. This time, the tears were streaming down her face. I did my best to show ’Rae that her crocodile tears did not faze me.
“Money changed you,” she uttered through her tears.
“Nah, money changed you and your mama. Just like how she said she made your favorite the other day, she didn’t invite me until she made my favorite to get something out of me.”
“That’s not true, Wes! We knew you wouldn’t have come.”
“Now y’all can read minds now.”
She rolled her eyes and wiped her tears. “Money is the root of all evil.”
“Y’all would know.”
Before she could rebut, my mother came around with a grocery bag. “Here you go. I gave you the majority of the roast.” She looked at me, and I noticed her eyes were sadder than I had ever seen. She was getting good with these puppy dog eyes because I felt an inch of sadness for her but shook it off instantly.
“Well, I got work to do. Y’all text me how much it is you need, and I’ll see what I can do.”
Neither one of them said anything as I made my way to the door. I knew I would hear from them soon. Without even a goodbye, I left, sending a text to one woman in my phone. I needed to release some frustration, and I knew just the right way to do it.