Chapter 16 #2
I greeted her back just before she turned around and went back to the area that she was in before she came in here.
“So I saw my mother at the shop.” She was tapping away on her phone before she looked up at me.
“What mother? Girl quit playing.” I waved her off thinking she was joking.
She shook her head. “Nope, not a joke.” Then she gave me the rundown of what happened and by the time she was finished I was floored.
“I mean what are you gonna do?”
“Nothing. There isn’t anything I can do. She lef—”
“You and I both know she came there for a reason. She came to see you for a reason and if she didn’t get to say what she wanted to say then she’ll be back. The question is if you’ll talk to her.”
“I don’t know. I mean I want to just write her off, but the mother part of me wants to hear her out.
I wanna hear her out because I need to know what was so pressing that she just up and left her kids.
I wanna know the full story and why my father said the things he said.
The things that I know for a fact he won’t tell me. His way of protecting me.”
I nodded. “I mean to be honest with you I don’t know what I’d say to my father if his fat nose ass showed up at my doorstep.
Matter of fact I probably wouldn’t even recognize him.
But what I wouldn’t do is allow too many what if moments to fester.
Probably even tell him to meet me at the curb so we could shoot this fair one. Shit, you never know.”
North
When I walked in the door Surah was sitting at the island and Ommy was over the stove as always.
For somebody who said they didn’t fuck with cooking my baby sure knew how to throw down in the kitchen and she loved to experiment.
At first I wasn’t with all that, but then I saw how excited Niema was.
That had a nigga wondering just what the fuck Ommy had up her sleeve.
I had to give it to her and not only that but she came in the crib giving home cooked meals and the whole nine.
She had a nigga used to the king treatment as she called it.
Instead of interrupting her time, I kissed her cheek, greeted Surah, and then went to finally have this conversation with my sister.
I was dreading it, but I needed her to know why I was so on edge when it came to this lil’ nigga that she called herself liking on.
I know nothing I could say would give her the answers she wanted, but she had to know that everything I was doing was to protect her.
Shit, I thought about putting this shit off on Mari, but knowing him it would’ve gone all wrong.
“You up, Niema?” I asked walking into the area of the house that she resided in.
I wouldn’t necessarily call my house a mansion or anything like that.
It was just enough space for us all to have our own areas.
When I turned the corner, she was seated on the sofa staring at her phone with a smile on her face.
Damn I wish I could just take her phone and lock her ass in a fucking tower until she was like fifty.
Niggas wouldn’t look her way when she was fifty.
“Yes, North. How can I help you?” She still had a lil’ attitude from two days ago.
She asked me if she could go over to the lil’ nigga Aron’s crib.
I told her hell naw, and I swear she hasn't talked to me since.
I called her earlier and asked her to tell Ommy to answer her phone.
She literally said less than five words to me during that call.
“We gotta talk, shorty.”
She blinked a few times before she sat her phone on her lap faced down. Hell yeah that nigga was on her line.
Keeping my irritation at bay I took a seat on the sofa across from her and just stared.
I didn’t know how to start the fucking conversation, but the motherfucker had to be had.
She wasn’t about to be stomping through this motherfucker like she paid bills or ever had to worry about where her next meal was coming from.
Niema was taken care of all the way around and never wanted for shit.
Matter of fact she was sheltered as fuck, of course that was mine and Namari’s fault.
The point still stood though, she was too fucking trusting and didn’t read motherfuckers well.
“Are you going t—”
“You got an attitude with me, right? I get that but you’re not seeing anything from my point of view.” Weak ass start, but it had to come from somewhere. Plus, Ommy said I had to see like I was appealing from her side before I laid some law. Hell yeah I consulted her on this conversation.
“I ju—”
“Lemme finish. I was your age a while back and I like to think I know a thing or two about being a lil nigga. At your age all they want is what you’re willing to give. You know niggas, Ny… You had first class seats to the shit Mari and I did out here.”
“But what if he isn’t like that, North? I was just going over to his house to hang out.”
I just peered at her. Where the fuck did I go wrong?
Hell yeah she was so fucking sheltered that I just knew this conversation was about to fail me.
“Do you know how many females I had come over to the house to just chill at yo’ age?
Just chilling is code word for fucking. I ain’t that fucking old that I don’t know what a nigga is on when he’s try—”
“Just leave North, you're not making any of this better.” Before I knew it she was on her feet and racing to the bathroom. The moment exploded so fucking fast that it wasn’t shit else I could say.
So, I just got up and left. Matter of fact I decided I was going to let Namari have this conversation.
I wasn’t built for teenage girl’s hormones.
By the time I made it onto the other side of the house Ommy was locking the front door after Surah.
“I’m guessing that didn’t go well.”
I shook my head no and walked right into her space. Within seconds I had picked her up and carried her into the living room. I took a seat and laid back with her in my arms. “Shit was like talking to a brick wall.”
“I wonder where she gets it from.” Omyia looked upside my head for a few seconds before she picked up her phone and unlocked it.
“I’ma let that shit rock though. How did your pops do it?`` The frustration that I was feeling was probably oozing from my pores at this point.
“Every heavy conversation was had over a blunt, baby. Plus Odis let me make my own mistakes and then made me voice those motherfuckers after I made them. I don’t want to overstep, but would you like some help with this?”
I nodded. “Be my guest. I doubt you can get through to the brick wall I just left.”
She chuckled then seconds later mashed her phone against her face. It rang for a moment, then seconds later she spoke into it. “Hey, can you come downstairs for a few?” After hanging up the phone Omyia pointed at me with her phone and squinted her eyes. “Don’t say anything.”
“My fucking pleasure and I swear of that’s a girl in yo’ stomach I won’t say shit then either.”
Seconds later the seed of chucky turned the corner and of course she wouldn’t even look at me. I mean what the fuck did I say so bad? I wanted to ask her, but I didn’t. As a matter of fact I wasn’t about to say shit. I was about to let Ommy see for herself.
“Yeah, Ommy?” Damn her tone was even different. She wasn’t combative or shit.
Ommy climbed from my lap and sat on the cushion next to me. “I wanna talk to you. Sit down baby girl, take a load off.”
Without another word Niema sat down and looked anywhere but at me.
“I’m not gonna pretend to know what conversation you and your brother had attempted to have. All I do know is that it didn’t go too well, because you both are just alike. You gotta talk things out and be willing to hear one another out.”
Niema nodded. “But I—”
“Let me finish. I promise you’ll have the floor and both of us will be listening.”
Niema just looked.
“At your age I didn’t have a mother either.
All I had was Knoxx and my father. Two overbearing men who thought they knew everything in my opinion.
The thing is I was so sheltered that I didn’t know the first thing about boys or their intentions.
I knew my intentions, and to me that’s all that mattered until I went over to a boy's house and he had other plans. Imagine my sixteen-year-old ass held up in a bathroom calling my older brother crying because I wasn’t ready for what watching a movie at a boy’s house entailed.
Now, I’m not saying Aron is like that because I don’t know him and neither does your brother.
However, if a boy or man is truly interested in you, your first date won’t be on his couch or in his front room.
Your standards shouldn’t even allow that.
You are not a come see me type of girl, you deserve to be dated before anything. ”
I looked between Niema and Ommy and I didn’t know what to say. Shit, Ommy’s opening speech was fucking flawless and I could tell Niema felt that shit too.
“Do you hear me?”
Niema nodded.
“I know he’s probably asking you when you’re coming to see him.
So y’all can get to know one another better, right?
Why can’t he do that over dinner? Matter of fact, why can’t he do that over here?
Read intentions, because I’ma say this straight up in front of your brother.
Most niggas ain’t shit. They’ll say whatever to get whatever and it doesn’t matter the age.
You have your whole life ahead of you. Read the game and if you’re confused about any of it, I’ll lend a listening ear and so will your brothers.
I’m sure they know more about the immaturity of the male mind better than anybody.
Also when you’re ready to take that step you’ll know and it definitely won’t be on somebody’s mama’s couch during a come see me moment. ”
Niema chuckled.
I was looking upside Ommy’s head because I think I counted about two insults during that part of her speech. “You had me until you got to th—”