3. Jeovanni
CHAPTER 3
JEOVANNI
I answered the door for my brother with furrowed brows. “You good?” My eyes darted around the yard even though it was dark out, and I wasn’t sure what I expected to see.
It wasn’t unusual for Jovani to pay me an impromptu visit. In fact, he had a key. The nigga even had his own room. But when he called asking me if I was home, the urgency in his tone made me aware that he more than likely didn’t want to stop by to have a few drinks and shoot the shit. There was an expression on his face that I couldn’t quite read, and that said a lot because I knew Jovani. I knew him well.
“You might want to go ahead and sit down. Matter fact, you might want to hit this blunt.” Jovani pulled a blunt from behind his ear while he peeked over my shoulder. “Where Celine fake ass at?” He didn’t even attempt to lower his tone. They couldn’t stand one another and neither of them tried to hide it.
“She’s upstairs. You know I hate guessing games. Just tell me what’s good.” I led him into the living room.
Rather than spilling the beans like I’d requested, Jovani walked over to the bar and began fixing himself a drink. I had three different bar areas set up in my home. I sat down on the couch with a shake of my head knowing that I was about to become more annoyed than I already was. Jovani had interrupted Celine’s pouting. When I walked in and caught her looking at wedding dresses online, my face must have displayed a serious look of disgust because her eyes instantly watered. I was sick and tired of trying to explain to a grown ass woman that I didn’t want to be pressured into marriage. Some people knew within a year that they found the one, and that was great for them. But I was my own man, and nobody was going to make me do anything before I was ready.
Jovani sat down beside me and extended his arm toward me. There were two drinks in his hands. I snatched the drink from him. “Jovani, I swear on everything, if you don’t stop playing with me, I’m gon’ beat yo’ ass.”
“Nah you not gonna beat my ass, but you might want to get someone to beat Rainah’s,” he shook his head pitifully making me frown.
“What are you talking about? What does Rainah have to do with anything?” I hadn’t even told him about seeing her in my bar on a date with PJ. I wasn’t sure if he saw her the night before in the club, but I damn sure had. And she looked too good.
“I saw her at her grandmother’s house today. With two lil’ light-skinned ass twins that look like they came straight from yo’ muhfuckin’ nut sack. I rolled down the window and spoke to her, and one of the little boys called her mommy. When I spoke to her, Rainah looked like she’d seen a ghost. Straight spooked.”
I drew back. The deep frown embedded into my face came from my brother’s outlandish claims. But I was also pissed off, and I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t even know why seeing her on a date made me feel some kind of way but knowing she had kids. That messed me up a lil’ bit. And not because I thought they were mine.
“Why the hell would you think they’re my kids? I haven’t seen Rainah in damn near five years.”
“And I’m damn sure not an expert on kids, but they look to be about five. I see your face every day. I look in the mirror every day. I know when someone favors us, bro. If those twins aren’t yours, then shorty went to Charlotte and immediately started fucking your doppelg?nger.
Anytime that I had to admit that Jovani was right, it annoyed me, but my brother had been spot on when he fixed me a drink. I pretty much drank the entire double shot in one gulp. “She must have done just that because Rainah isn’t that grimy. She’s scarred from her past. I don’t blame her for that but nah.” I shook my head and finished my drink. “That’s dirty work, and she wouldn’t even play with me like that.” My entire body was warm, and I doubted it was just from the alcohol that I’d consumed.
“Well, you know me, and you know I wouldn’t lie to you or steer you wrong. If those kids don’t belong to you, I’ll kiss you dead in the mouth.” I frowned. “Yeah, exactly,” he continued. “You know I’m not kissing yo’ ass in the mouth, so that should tell you a lot.”
“Rainah wouldn’t even play with me like that,” I gritted.
“Okay,” Jovani sipped his drink. “I won’t say anything else. I’ll let you see for yourself.”
I didn’t even know how to respond. There were a million thoughts swirling through my mind. Was it possible that she went to Charlotte, gave birth to my kids, and didn’t tell me? I met Rainah when I was eleven years old. Up until she left for college, we were cool. I wasn’t surprised when she didn’t want to deal with me after finding out I sold drugs. But to hide some kids? Nah. Hell nah.
Jovani and I sat in silence for a few moments. I had no clue what he was thinking, but I knew what I was thinking. I never in a million years imagined that I might hate Rainah. I didn’t even hate her for walking away from me. But if she kept my children from me for years, God help me for what I might say or do. Jovani had just parted his lips to speak when Celine ambled into the room. The moment she laid eyes on my brother, she rolled them. I wasn’t in the mood for their back and forth.
“Are you going to come back upstairs, so we can finish our conversation?”
I gave her a blank stare, because Celine wasn’t stupid by far. She liked to play childish ass games, and I wasn’t in the mood.
“Do you see that he has company?” Jovani asked with a scowl. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere watching a reality television show, so you can figure out who you want to cosplay next?”
“You’re way too fuckin’ obsessed with me,” she shot back while folding her arms across her chest.
“Girl, please,” Jovani waved her comment off. “The only person obsessed with yo’ ass is you.”
“Aye,” I stated with bass in my voice. I wanted them both to shut the hell up. Jovani liked taunting her. Normally, I didn’t care about their back-and-forth banter as long as it didn’t get disrespectful, but I wasn’t in the mood to hear it.
“I can just go home,” Celine pivoted and walked out of the room.
“Bye bitch,” Jovani mumbled, and I tossed him an icy glare.
“What bro?” he had the nerve to act clueless. “Bro you know she’s not it. You were with her for more than six months, and she didn’t even pass the twin test. How is yo’ lady standing directly in front of us, and she can’t tell which one is you? Bitch wanna get married, but she not even in tune with you. Only person her shallow ass is in tune with is herself.”
“Stop calling her a bitch,” I asserted.
Jovani placed a hand on my shoulder. “I know you have a lot to process, so I’m going to leave. Holla at me in the morning.”
I remained glued to the chair staring into space. Was it really possible that I had kids? Prior to Celine hounding me, the timeline I set for myself was maybe to be married in the next two or three years and to start on kids immediately after that. Despite my reluctance to propose to Celine, I wasn’t against marriage. I just refused to rush and marry the wrong person. And I damn sure didn’t want a baby mama. Celine stormed into the room with her oversized Chanel bag hanging from her shoulder.
“When you’re ready to grow up give me a call.”
I literally had to bite my tongue to keep from cursing her out. If Rainah did what Jovani was accusing her of, it wasn’t Celine’s fault, but she was in front of me talking stupid at the wrong time. I told her my stance more than once and if she didn’t get it, she could get the fuck on. At the moment, my feelings were fuck Celine and fuck Rainah too.
* * *
The next morning, I sat in Rainah’s grandmother’s driveway, cracking my knuckles. No matter what Rainah may have done, her grandmother wasn’t to blame. I had to keep that in mind. I’d never be disrespectful towards her, but I was pissed. Sleep hadn’t calmed me, and I woke up on the wrong side of the bed for sure. Since I had no way of contacting Rainah, her grandmother was my only choice. If Rainah’s kids were mine, who would know better than her grandmother? After sixty seconds of trying to calm myself, I exited my Lexus. Despite my annoyance, I chuckled inwardly thinking about how when I was in high school, a Lexus was my dream car. Years later, I’d copped a brand-new Lexus just to run errands in and use as my ‘every day’ car. My desire for nice things and a life that didn’t consist of struggle had Rainah possibly betraying me in a way that didn’t seem fathomable.
My knuckles halted just above the screen door as Ms. Nixon’s face came into view. With a smile, she pushed the door open for me. “Hey, Jeovanni. I haven’t seen you in the longest time. How have you been?”
Ida Mae’s house gave me nostalgia. It smelled sweet like she was baking something. I had no clue what it was because she didn’t bake every day, but her home had been smelling the same since I was a kid. Even though I was pissed with Rainah, I gave her grandmother a hug. “And that’s my fault. I should stop by more often.” I pulled back and peered down into a face that didn’t look anywhere near almost seventy. “Is there any way you can give me a way to get in contact with Rainah?”
I didn’t miss how Ms. Nixon’s irises darted to the side. She couldn’t even look me in the face. Her throat bounced as she swallowed hard. “I know you and Rainah have been friends since childhood, but I can’t give out her number without permission. I can call her and if she answers, I’ll pass you the phone.”
“That’ll work,” I smiled. On the outside I was calm. On the inside, my heart was working overtime. It was beating at the speed of a man that had just completed a marathon.
I didn’t expect her to just come right out and tell me I had sons, but the way she was acting all guilty, spoke volumes. Rainah hated me that much that her grandmother would be hesitant to give me her number? Nah. She knew what Rainah was hiding from me. I waited patiently as Ms. Nixion held the phone to her ear. The volume on her phone was up so high, I could hear the line trilling. When the trilling stopped, I held my breath.
“H-hey, baby,” Ms. Nixon’s words faltered. “I have someone here at the house that wants to say hello.”
She passed me the phone and as I placed it to my ear, I could hear the confusion in Rainah’s tone. “Who’s at the house and wants to say hello?”
“Me.” It didn’t matter how long it had been since we’d last spoken. I knew Rainah knew my gravelly voice when she heard it. The silence on the other end of the phone confirmed it. Since she didn’t say anything, I continued. “I asked your grandmother for your number. I want to talk to you about some things.”
“Um, okay. I’ll give you my number, but I’m also on the way to Scoops for a smoothie. If you want to meet me there.”
Scoops was an ice cream/smoothie spot that was located a few miles away from Ms. Nixon’s home. It was the perfect place to meet Rainah because it wouldn’t take me long to get there at all. “Bet. I’m on the way.”
Grateful that Rainah’s grandmother was willing to contact her for me, I passed the phone back with a genuine smile. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Jeovanni. Take care.” Ms. Nixon’s lips parted as if she was about to speak again, but she decided against it and just gave a head nod.
“You too.”
I didn’t smoke weed, and it was very rare that I drank early in the day, but the urge to consume some kind of substance was heavy. I wasn’t sure I could deal with Rainah sober and keep a level head. That said a lot because I was a man that typically liked to have a clear head in certain situations. I never handled business or anything important under the influence of anything. There had never been a time before when I prayed so hard that Jovani was wrong about something. I wouldn’t even be upset that he got me worked up for nothing. My day would be made if Rainah looked me in the face and told me her sons weren’t mine.
When I arrived at Scoops, I parked across from a bookstore called Reader’s Paradise and gave myself an internal pep talk to hear Rainah out and not explode if she told me what I didn’t want to hear. Sitting in my car, I cracked my knuckles relentlessly as I watched out for her. I had no clue what kind of car she drove but after I had been sitting for about five minutes, a red Acura pulled up, and I saw Rainah behind the wheel. Anxiety about what our conversation was going to be like plagued me but as she stepped out of the car, I had to admit that she was drop dead gorgeous. The purple wrap dress that she wore show cased hips that I didn’t remember being there before. The same hips that had my dick hard at the cub as she danced provocatively in a dress so tight it looked like a layer of skin. Her ass was fatter indeed, and her face had gotten a little fuller. Rainah looked even better than she did years ago, and that was saying a lot because she had always been bad.
I emerged from my vehicle, and she looked over her shoulder. When Rainah’s gaze landed on me, I could see the color drain from her face. She knew I was coming, but it was like the reality of my presence spooked her. My eyes narrowed, and my body grew warm as all thoughts of her being innocent went out the window.
“Let me get that for you,” I stated gruffly as I reached past her and opened the door. I was still going to exhibit manners until I had a reason not to.
“Thank you.” Her voice was timid. Nothing like it was that day in the park when she accused me of being no good after she found out I sold drugs. When I reminded her that her father had once been a drug dealer, she slapped the taste out of my mouth. There was nothing fragile or weak about Rainah that day, but the woman standing at the counter in Scoops looked like she’d swallowed a rock.
We both ordered smoothies. I paid for our orders, and we found a table in the back. There was no way I could beat around the bush. Rainah’s eyes were on everything except my face, but I refused to take mine off her. “Are your sons mine?”
Rainah shifted in her seat and cleared her throat. She still refused to look at me, and I grinded my molars together. When I spoke, my tone was low but filled with unmistakable venom. “I know good and got damn well you’re not about to sit here and tell me that you gave birth to my sons damn near five years ago, and you hid them from me.” The mixture of pain I felt from her betrayal along with anger had it feeling like my head was about to pop off my shoulders.
Rainah’s orbs finally found mine. “Don’t curse at me,” she asserted.
“You out yo’ muhfuckin’ mind,” I spat looking her up and down. “Fuck is wrong with you?”
She stood up with her bottom lip quivering. “When you learn some respect then we can have a conversation.”
I stood up too refusing to back down. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you’re playing with, but on Joanna Mitchell, you got the wrong muhfuckin’ one. You can leave, and I’m gon’ follow the fuck out of you. You’ll have to call the police on me or kill me.” I was serious as a heart attack.
Rainah’s nostrils expanded from anger, but I gave not one single, solitary, fuck. She sat down and flexed her jaw muscles. Once I sat down, she spoke in a harsh whisper. “I didn’t do what I did to hurt you. I did it to protect my sons. You know I don’t agree with your profession. You know what I endured as a child.”
“Go to therapy and get the fuck over it,” I snapped as Rainah’s jaw slacked. She glared at me with wide eyes.
“Did you really just say that to me?” She was beyond stunned.
“Yeah, I did.” I flicked the tip of my nose angrily. “That shit is foul. I don’t care how you try to clean it up. You act like I’m some kind of monster. I would never put anybody that I care about in harm’s way. You weren’t even in Ausnor Beach. No one knows me in Charlotte. I could have visited on a regular basis, and there would have been absolutely no threat to my children. You’re vindictive as hell. Vindictive and evil. I’ll never forgive you for this shit. I’m contacting a lawyer. I want joint custody of my kids. And I don’t want to have to deal with your ass to see them.” I was so livid, if it was possible for me to spit nails, I was sure I would have.
“And you think a judge will give you anything?”
“You’re damn right,” I replied confidently. “What are you going to tell him or her? That I sell drugs? You don’t know shit about me. I confessed to you five years ago that I sold drugs. You’ve never seen me do anything illegal, and this is the first conversation we’ve had in years. I own a very successful bar. You were there,” I smirked. “My record is clean as a whistle. I don’t have so much as a traffic violation. I live in a very large house, and I make my own schedule. Name one reason that a judge would deny me anything.” I sat back and waited for her response.
Fire blazed in Rainah’s eyes. “Two things I don’t play about are Jason and Jordan. I don’t care how smug you are or how much money you have. If I have to go broke, I will. It wasn’t my intention to keep them from you once we moved back to Ausnor Beach. But you have to prove to me that you won’t have my sons in any danger.”
Despite my anger, my heart warmed just a bit at the fact that they had J names, but I’d never let her know that. “They would have been in danger in Charlotte? You don’t even know that had I known about them I wouldn’t have walked away from the game. You didn’t even give me a choice.”
Rainah snorted. “We both know how that conversation would have gone.”
“We don’t know shit. Just because I didn’t choose you over the game didn’t mean I wouldn’t choose my kids.”
“Wow,” Rainah chuckled angrily. “Wow.” She shook her head. She had never seen me angry. She always got compassionate, loving, affectionate, nice, Jeovanni. “You are really a grade A jerk.”
My shoulders hiked into a passive shrug. “Takes one to know one. You’ll be hearing from my lawyer.” I stood up and walked away.
I was pissed beyond belief. I couldn’t put my hands on Rainah, so even if it was childish of me, I enjoyed being petty and hurtful. I had no desire to sit in a courtroom, but I would. I should have calmed down and scheduled a time to meet my sons, but I was sick of hearing Rainah’s bullshit ass excuses. I felt bad for all that she went through as a child. What she was even going through as an adult because her mother was still strung out on drugs. But I wasn’t her father.
A frustrated sigh pushed from my throat as I got in my car. I felt a little better, but now my dumb ass would have to wait a few days to see if Rainah calmed down, and I could meet my sons. Or if I’d really have to contact a lawyer. The dinner with Tony was coming up, and Jovani and I had a shipment coming in from Colombia that we needed to distribute. I had a great manager for Jonah’s, and the place ran smoothly without my constant presence. But I still liked to check in four to five days a week.
Then there was Celine. She was still acting like a brat. I knew news that I had twins would push her over the edge. Celine loved the fact that she would give me my first child. She made it clear to me that she wasn’t having kids unless she was married, and I was fine with that. She’d be hurt to learn that I already had not one but two sons. The entire situation made my head hurt. Jovani called me, and I dreaded answering. I wasn’t in the best mood, and if I told my brother he was right, he wouldn’t miss the opportunity to gloat.
“Yo,” I answered in a gruff tone.
“Did Ms. Nixon give you Rainah’s number?” Jovani’s voice was strained, and I could tell he was holding marijuana smoke in his lungs.
“Nah, but she called her for me, and we met at Scoops.” I eased my car into traffic. “The boys are mine.”
Silence. Even though he was adamant they were mine, I was sure he was still shocked. “Damn. I told you. I should have bet yo’ ass some money. Acting like I don’t know when I see some lil’ niggas that look like us. But damn, you got two kids. And they’re twins? Boyyyy Celine’s lips are going to pop that bitch is going to be so mad. Silicone flying everywhere,” he laughed hysterically as I ended the call and tossed my phone onto the passenger seat. I didn’t have the patience for Jovani and his dumb ass antics.