10
“Why you always wearing sneakers all the time? You need to pop out in some heels at least once.” Sade frowned when Caprice picked up another pair of Air Max. They were cute but she needed to step up her shoe game.
That was the third Foot Locker that they’d been to that week and none of them had what she wanted.
Her feet were big as hell, so none of the stores had her size.
More than likely, she would have to order online like she always did.
Sade didn’t know why she was doing so much to go to a party that her man didn’t even invite her to.
“Bitch, I’m tall enough. I’m not trying to be looking down on my nigga.”
Caprice and Monty were just about the same height, and that was bad enough. She hated being tall, especially since she was the same height or taller than most of the men that she dealt with.
“I can’t believe you’re still even claiming Monty’s sad ass. He wrong as fuck for not inviting you to his grandma’s party. Iva’s hoe ass must be going.”
“She go every damn where and he always be right there with me.”
“Yeah, well, things must have changed. That nigga didn’t even tell you about it this time. I wish a nigga would play with me like that.”
Caprice stopped walking and gave her cousin a look that could melt ice.
Sade had been on some other shit lately and she wasn’t feeling it.
She kept taking cheap shots at her relationship with Monty and she was tired of ignoring it.
She was in her feelings because the nigga that she had been dealing with lately got back with his wife and blocked her.
She was always falling for unavailable men and getting her heart broken when shit didn’t go her way.
She did the same thing with Dash, knowing that his heart belonged to Clover.
“Bitch, first off, you don’t even have a nigga. And the nigga that you do want don’t want no parts of you. Don’t get mad with me because he chose his wife over you.”
“Fuck him and his bad built ass wife.”
“Yeah, ok, your words ain’t matching your feelings boo.”
“Well, at least I can accept when a nigga don’t want me.”
“Monty ain’t got no muthafucking chains on his wrist. That nigga chose to stay there and pay all the bills because he wants to. My money is mine to do whatever I want. Them hoes can have him in the daytime because he sleeps home every night.
And you talking all that shit but you out here shopping for the same party. Where’s your invite, hoe?”
Caprice didn’t realize how loud they were getting until she noticed people staring at them.
She was embarrassed but she wasn’t about to let Sade keep trying to play on her.
Her cousin had a body count that she wouldn’t be able to catch up to in a lifetime.
And none of them niggas cared enough to wife her hoe ass.
It wasn’t the first time that she and Sade had it out and it more than likely wasn’t the last.
Truthfully, they were just looking for love, something that seemed to elude them both.
She hated to even think it but she knew that it was only a matter of time before they stopped fucking with each other.
Caprice fell out with her other cousin that she used to hang out with and she was closer with her than she was with Sade.
“Nah, not my family in the mall bout to throw hands, huh?”
Both women turned around and were shocked to see their cousin, Trent, standing there smiling at them.
They probably saw him three to four times a year and that was pushing it.
His father came around to see their grandmother but, most times, he was alone.
Trent’s mother didn’t really want him and his sisters socializing with the family and they barely did.
Both his parents were well off and acted as if their family was beneath them.
Caprice’s mother, Linda, didn’t go around the family anymore either since her father died.
She blamed her mother-in-law, Hattie, for her husband taking his own life.
Linda tried her best to help her husband with his mental illness but his mother made it almost impossible.
She never accepted that their grandfather had a condition and it was even worse with her son.
When Capice’s father killed himself, his insurance policy wasn’t worth anything.
By then, Hattie had blown through the lawsuit money that she got from their grandfather and she couldn’t help them.
Linda had always been a stay-at-home mom but she had small children that she had to care for.
Sadly, they lost their home and had to depend on public assistance.
They struggled for years until Linda got a job working for the state.
It paid decent money, and she was able to move them to a better area.
Once she remarried, things got even better but she vowed to never depend on a man again, even if it was her husband. That’s why she was always fussing at Caprice for relying on Monty to pay the bills. As much as she hated to admit it, her mother was right.
“Boy, bye, it ain’t like y’all fuck with this side of the family anyway.”
Sade rolled her eyes in disgust. Trent was batshit crazy just like her grandfather and uncle.
She never forgave him for drowning her dog when they were younger.
And just like always, their grandmother made excuses for his craziness.
His parents offered to replace the pet, but Sade and her sibling were scorned.
They didn’t even want a dog anymore. She remembered Trent laughing uncontrollably when one of their uncles got the dog out of their grandmother’s bathtub to take it outside.
His parents were financially stable but no amount of money in the world could fix their son.
Trudy was born into money so she never took on her husband’s last name.
She made sure that her daughters and son had the Latimer last name as well, even if hers girls did hyphenate it.
“Nah, we’re family. It’s always gon’ be love with us.”
“I’m going to the food court, Caprice. Call me whenever you’re ready.”
Sade walked away without even waiting for her to reply.
Seeing Trent always triggered something inside of her and she hated being around him.
His cheating, hoe ass mama always acted like he was normal but her uncle, Melvin, knew better.
They’d been sued and almost lost their house and businesses over Trent’s psychotic ways.
He’d violated multiple restraining orders because he couldn’t comprehend when a woman didn’t want him anymore.
All it took was one date and he was ready to get married and start a family.
And he had no problem putting his hands on a female if things didn’t go his way.
“Who you in here with?” Caprice asked once Sade was gone.
“I’m by myself. Who am I supposed to be with?”
Caprice wanted to say a therapist and a doctor but she refrained from letting her thoughts be spoken out loud. Trent should have been in a padded room with a jacket that allowed him to hug himself. Instead, he was walking the mall like he was just as sane as everyone else.
“Shit, you know your mama don’t allow you to be out of her sight for too long. I’m sure she’s tracking your phone right now.”
“I’m a grown ass man. I don’t have to tell my mama where I’m going or what I do.”
“Yeah, I hear you,” Caprice laughed, pissing him off.
He hated to feel like he was being laughed at and he was ready to lash out at her until something much more important got his attention.
***
“Come on nah, Boobie. How many pairs of shoes do we need? I thought we agreed to wear the Gucci kicks,” Clover fussed as she and Dash walked in the mall with their daughter.
Kardi liked to ride the mobile animals that they let parents rent for the kids.
She would stay in the mall all day just so she could stay on it as long as possible.
“We are wearing the Gucci kicks but we need something for the day after.”
“We’re not even doing nothing the day after and we have two other pairs of shoes if we do.”
“Stop complaining, Lucky. I didn’t say all that when you had me at the perfume counter for almost two hours.”
Candles and perfume were Clover’s love language.
Dash had shelves built in one of the rooms in their house just to store all of her items.
She had everything color coordinated and in its proper place.
He never went in there because all those sweet scents gave him a headache.
It was like Clover’s little shrine and she treated it as such.
“We all got three pairs of the same shoes and we still haven’t figured out what we’re wearing.”
Dash loved when they dressed alike, even if it was just the same shoes.
He had a huge presence on social media and they were all over his page.
He had over two hundred thousand followers and they knew Clover and Kardi if they didn’t know anything else.
Hank got a lot of business from social media and he had his son to thank for that.
“I always leave that part up to you.” Dash smiled while kissing her lips. Clover was his and Kardi’s personal stylist and she never missed.
“Sexy ass,” Clover replied, making him blush.
“This is the last store, Love, I promise. Then, we can go somewhere and eat.”
“Ok, I’m gonna sit down over there until you’re done.” Clover pointed to a sitting area near a fountain. Dash was like a kid in a candy store when he shopped for shoes.
“Can I come with you, Daddy?” Kardi asked.
“Yeah, baby, come on.” Dash waited until she got in front of him.
“Be careful, Kardi. Don’t run into nobody on that thing!” Clover yelled as they walked away. She chuckled when her daughter gave her the thumbs up.
As soon as she sat down, Clover pulled out her phone and went to the Gucci website. She wanted to see if she could find a shirt to go with the shoes that they’d bought the week before. She was in her element and no longer cared how long Dash took in the store.
“What’s up, Clo?” Clover snapped her head up to see who had just spoken to her. Seeing Caprice wasn’t a shock but she was taken aback when she saw Trent standing there with her. She didn’t know how they knew each other but she couldn’t wait to ask.
“Hey, girl. You getting in some retail therapy too, huh?”
“Something like that.” Caprice shrugged with a smile that never reached her eyes. Clover didn’t know why she felt the need to pretend. She should have just stayed away if she didn’t really fuck with her like that.