2. Citrell #3
For the first four years after I gained custody, Iesha was in and out of jail for contempt because she didn’t pay her child support.
I never gave a real damn, but my lawyer stayed on her head.
Eventually, I got sick of her missing her scheduled visits because she claimed she had to work extra jobs and hours to pay her bills and her child support.
I gave her an ultimatum. If she didn’t miss her scheduled visits, I would take her off child support.
I knew her struggle more than likely came from poor budgeting. When Beverly died, Iesha inherited a paid off house and car. Her mother’s life insurance policy paid her eight thousand dollars. She complained that her mother didn’t have a bigger policy than that.
What Iesha didn’t know was that Beverly had two policies.
The other policy was three hundred thousand dollars, and it was for Callira.
Per the instructions from her lawyer, I was the beneficiary, and the money was for the care of my baby.
I decided to place that money in an interest-bearing trust for my daughter.
I loved that Ms. Beverly thought that much of me and her granddaughter to make sure that we were set up even more than her own daughter.
Iesha agreed to the ultimatum, so I took her off child support. She did good with her visitation for about a year and a half then she slacked off again. Her ass got it together when she got that family court summons for child support.
After I finished my shower and dressed, I picked up my phone to call my mother. She answered on the second ring like she always did. “Hey, baby boy.”
“Hey, Mama. I was calling to check in and make sure everything went smooth with the pickup.” I always called to check before I came to her house to see my baby.
If she ever told me something that I didn’t like, I would need a moment to get my mind right before I stepped foot in front of my baby girl.
My daughter’s empathetic gift was stronger the older she got.
I also would drive my ass over to Iesha’s house to dig in her ass.
Anyone could get it when it came to my daughter—even her mother.
The pause before my mother’s response put me on high alert.
If everything was good, she would have just said that.
“When I got to Iesha’s house, Calli was very agitated.
You know how she is when she’s agitated.
I asked her mother what happened, and her stupid ass response was that she was just acting spoiled.
” She huffed. “I think she had a man over there because I smelled cologne, and there was a car I didn’t recognize in the driveway. ”
See, this was that bullshit. I had no issue with Iesha fucking with niggas.
That was what she did, even over eight years later.
What I had a problem with was having these niggas around my daughter.
My daughter didn’t take well to new people without a rev up to them being in her space.
The major influences that my daughter had in her life were me, my parents, Marco, and the staff at my bar acted as a support system for both of us.
I zoned back in when my mother said something about a meltdown in the middle of the grocery store. “ Mama, I’m so sorry. Let me go see what’s up and I’ll be there within the hour.”
“Arzeniq Citrell Wick, don’t you go over there and show your ass. Do you hear me?” When she called me by my whole name, she meant business.
I scoffed. “Mama, I’m not about to do anything to that big head ass girl.
I just want to remind her of a few points that she may have forgotten.
I’ll see you and my baby soon.” I didn’t give her a chance to say anything before I hung up.
The longer I stayed on the phone with her, the longer it would take for me to get to my baby girl.
Iesha’s house was on the other side of town but that didn’t mean that it would take me long to get there.
With the feelings that sat on my chest, I just passed it to my foot that pressed on the gas pedal.
When I pulled into her driveway, I assumed the mystery car was the same car that my mother saw.
I didn’t want to assume he was a dope boy because he drove a dope boy car.
Hell, most people would say that I did as well.
His car sat on rims in tires that were way too big for the frame, and that was the reason I would say he was either a dope boy or a lame.
Neither was the kind of person I wanted around my daughter.
I intentionally parked behind buddy’s clown car.
I was dressed casually in case I had to beat a nigga’s ass.
I made sure my toolie was secured on me before I locked up.
I knocked on the door as I reminded myself to not punch this bitch in the face when she opened it.
It took her less than a minute to answer the door.
“Hey, baby daddy.” Her foot did this twirl. I wasn’t sure if she was trying to be flirtatious, but it looked foolish. How the fuck did I get caught up with this ho?
I pushed past her. “We need to talk.” I didn’t give a fuck about an invitation into her home.
When I got to the living room, there was a nigga sitting there in boxers with a blunt in his hand. From the smell, I knew that it was laced. His head turned to the side when he heard me. There was a flicker of fear that flashed in his eyes, but he masked it quickly. “What’s up, homie?”
“Aye, how long you been here, homie?” I asked his ass. He gazed at me like he didn’t understand the words that were coming out of my mouth. “I’m sorry, sometimes I forget that people are dumb. Let me ask you a close-ended question. Have you been here all weekend while my daughter was here?”
Iesha came around my back to step in front of me. “Citrell, you won’t come into my house and tell me who I can have in it. That’s not what you’re going to do.”
My head slowly looked down at her. Iesha was far from an ugly female.
She had an around the way type of beauty to match her around the way pussy that she loved to pass out like club flyers.
“You’re right, I will not come into your house to tell you who to spend your time with.
What I will do is tell you who the fuck you can have around my daughter.
” My arms went over my chest. “Tell me why Callira was agitated when my mother picked her up earlier.”
Her arms flailed in the air. “Oh my God, this again! Look, that little girl is spoiled because of y’all and thinks the world revolves around her.
When she got here Friday, I introduced her to Dorian and her rude ass immediately said that she didn’t like him.
Y’all need to teach that little girl some manners. ”
My fingers squeezed the bridge of my nose.
There was no way she was this damn dense.
“Iesha, I don’t give a fuck what you feel about your daughter.
When she said she didn’t like this goofy, you should have told his ass to leave and probed why she didn’t like him.
You know just like I do that if she doesn’t like a person, she will give you a valid reason even at eight years old. ”
The bitch on the couch scoffed and Iesha rolled her eyes.
“Here we go with that empath bullshit. Look, I’m not about to adjust my life for her to the point that I’m single forever.
Yes, I care about her opinion, but at the end of the day, I only see her ass on the weekends and for a few hours on holidays and her birthday.
Shit, if I wasn’t her mother, she probably wouldn’t like me. ”
I couldn’t really argue with her. Callira loved her mother, but if I told her that she never had to come over here again, she wouldn’t object. “You having a man is not the issue, dummy. It’s the type of bum ass niggas that you choose to deal with.”
Ole boy put his blunt out and stood. Let’s see what stupid shit he’s about to say.
“Look, homie, I’ve sat here and let you play on my top.
I’m trying to be cool, but you have one more time to talk shit and I’m going to beat your goofy ass.
” He stepped into my wingspan. “It’s not my fault that your retarded ass daughter is sensitive because her bitch ass daddy is sensitive too. ”
My blood pressure pressed against the top of my head.
It threatened to cause it to explode. I glanced at my daughter’s mother to see how she would handle this shit.
When she popped her hip out and gave me that he said what he said look, I knew that moment that my daughter wasn’t safe around this woman.
I didn’t need a second incident to decide to protect my daughter.
My head tilted. I weighed my options on what I wanted to do.
Should I just kill him or beat his ass? Both can land me in jail, but murder for a much longer time.
With a decision made, I punched that nigga dead in his face.
See, there was a certain spot on everyone’s face that had the capability to put their ass to sleep.
Homie was on the floor taking a little nap.
Iesha jumped before she basically slid her ass on the floor over to him. “Why would you do that?” She shook goofy’s shoulder. “Baby, baby, are you alright? Get up, Dorian.”
“Look, on some real shit, you don’t have to worry about my daughter coming over here as long as you’re with this goofy.
I know y’all dummy vibes matched each other, but nah.
You let this nigga sit here and call our fucking daughter that disgusting shit.
Yeah, fuck that. She’s not safe here,” I roared.
Iesha looked at me with fire in her eyes.
I knew whatever she said would piss me off further.
Instead of waiting for her to say whatever stupid thing she would say, I turned and started my way out of her house.
To my back she spoke. “Fuck you, Citrell. Good, because I have a fuckin’ life so you not hurtin’ me.
I have other things that I can do on the weekend rather than sit in the house with that little girl. Let her fuck up your weekends!”
Something told me that she wanted to call our daughter what her man did which was disheartening.
I hated this girl to the point I would risk going to hell behind it.
I walked out of Iesha’s house hurt that this might be the last time Callira spent time with her mother.
Regardless of what it was between me and Iesha, I wanted her in my daughter’s life.
I just had to settle on the fact that Iesha was not the mother she needed.
“Oh, you had to be there, Citrell,” my mother raved.
“I wish you could have been there. I was in the freezer aisle about to break down. I’m not sure what happened at her mother’s house, but Callira showed her ass in that store.
There was a young lady in the store who was like a Callira whisperer. She was able to calm her right down.”
I got to my mother’s house about an hour after I left Iesha’s house.
I needed to calm myself down before I got here so I went back home to smoke a blunt on my back deck.
After my blunt, I took another shower because my baby didn’t like the smell of weed.
Weed gave me a more calming high than edibles, so I needed the calm.
When my eyes and jaw tightened from my mother’s words, she threw her hands up. She caught on to my silent question. “No, it was none of that. I asked her when we got home. You know good and well if it were something like that, you would have heard about me on the news because I murdered that ho.”
My biggest fear in life was that someone abused my baby girl in any kind of way. My daughter was diagnosed with down syndrome when she was two months old. It was a devastating blow, but not the end of the world. Every day we made strides to her greatness.
When she was diagnosed, Iesha’s silly ass went around telling folks that my baby was autistic. The two were not the same. Only 5 to 18 percent of individuals diagnosed with down syndrome were also autistic. My baby did not fit into that percentage.
With what happened this weekend, it was understandable that Callira was agitated.
My mother’s story of her having a complete breakdown in the store was on brand because of the trouble that individuals with down syndrome often had managing their frustration.
“Well, she’s not going over there as long as that nigga is around.
I’m happy that someone stepped in to help. God has angels all around.”
“Yes, He does,” my mother said with a smile. “If you keep Callira away from her mother, can’t you be held in contempt of court? I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
I waved the thought off. “I could, but I’m not worried. If she happens to grow a brain and takes me to court, I have what I need.” I tapped on my phone, then held it up. The recording of the conversation Iesha and I had earlier played. I was far from a fucking dummy.
My mother smacked away a tear that fell.
“I should slap the shit out of you for falling into that woman’s pussy trap.
Oh, wait! I got a business card from that angel in the grocery store.
She owns a tutoring, aftercare type of business and specializes in special needs.
Maybe we could use her because Callira said that she liked her. ”
My baby girl was down for a nap. I would probably look into it because my mother homeschooled Callira.
I knew that she needed a break. My mother had her mainly during the weekdays for school and on the nights I was in the bar, which was not every night.
The main night that I was there was on karaoke night and brunch, which Callira came with me most of the time.
“Here it is.” She handed me the card. “She was such a beautiful soul.”
I looked down at the card. Brilliant Minds, owned by Sundae and Wynsdae Jacobs. There was no damn way the world was this small.